#I just gotta make customizing for me more difficult!

[babyjakes]

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event | kinkmas 2023

prompt | harness

pairing | daddy!dom!ari levinson x little!sub!reader

warnings | ddlg and dom/sub dynamics (daddy dom!ari and little sub!reader.) me not knowing anything about handiwork lol. reader struggles to ride. size kink. minimal foreplay (pussy rubbing, nipple play.) reference to rope play. p in v sex, protection unspecified. riding (with help lol.) safeword reminder. mostly sweet praise and encouragement, a little bit of mocking/humiliation tho (he calls reader a whore once.) they come together :D!!! orgasm from penetration. he comes inside. soft sweet reassurance/beginning of aftercare at the end.

word count | 1,284

an | kind of scared that people might not like this one, but i've had this fantasy for soooo long lol i just had to finally put it out there. something about a big beefy daddy laying back and casually tugging at a rope (WITH BIG ARM BC. I LOVE ARM) as he pleases to fuck his pretty little baby up and down along his cock, ,, it gets to me 🤤 also if you're confused by the logistics of the harness, i made diagrams 😭

thinking about daddy dom ari with his sweet little subby baby who has a hard time riding him (understandably!!)

you're such a good girl, you try so so hard but it's just too much 🥺 you get up there and he's soo huge you can barely take all of him. and even if you do manage to lower yourself all the way down onto his massive length, then you have to find some way to move yourself up and down along him?? poor baby, it's just too difficult 😔

so daddy comes up with a brilliant idea, he's gonna install some very special hardware in the bedroom to help with your little problem

he makes an entire day of it. mapping out the blueprint in a notebook, checking to make sure there's a sturdy ceiling beam overhead, researching the best parts to buy on his laptop as you lay comfortably at his side, snuggling into him

the harness itself he orders online, custom-made for your measurements. you're curious and ask to see, but he wants it to be a surprise. he makes a list of the rest of the parts and takes you with him to the hardware store. you get to ride in the cart as he's picking everything out 🥺

"you excited, baby?" he asks on the way home as you hum along softly to the radio. he's smiling as you nod sweetly, reaching over to brush back your hair. "gonna make sure everything's right for my little girl," he promises. "just gotta be a little patient when we get home, sweetheart. you can watch daddy work if you want"

you're a little intimidated when you see it starting to come together. he installs the eye hook as the system's anchor in the ceiling and puts together the pulley system with the sturdy rope he bought. he sees your wide eyes and comes over to kiss your forehead, promising, "don't worry, baby. it'll all be safe. daddy's making sure of it"

a few days later, the harness arrives in the mail. he brings you to the bedroom and has you undress, helping you into it. it's not too bulky or uncomfortable, but sturdy enough to be safe. your heart melts as you see the baby pink and white accents he chose. "so pretty, daddy!" you cheer as he undresses himself and climbs up to lay in the center of your shared bed

he gets you sitting up on his thighs, facing him. your poor pussy leaks excitedly as your legs are spread by the wide straps wrapped around your upper thighs. "you wanna play with daddy a little, baby?" he prompts as he softly begins to run his fingers over your bare mound

you take his big cock in your hands, teasing gently at it as he works your clit in circles for a bit with his thumb to warm you up. with the other hand, he's adjusting the ropes to make sure they're all untangled and ready for when he wants to strap you in for your first ride 🤠

his dick and your cunt are both twitching in anticipation. ari can see you eyeing the contraption a bit warily. "you're okay, baby," he hums as he brings a hand up to pinch and tweak at one of your nipples, making you whimper. the harness is conveniently designed similarly to a lot of your daddy's rope work, tightening around the breasts and thighs to keep you prone and in place

he waits for some of the apprehension to leave your face. finally asking, "you ready, sweetheart? you gonna let daddy setb you up in your pretty new harness?" your eager nodding is all the convincing it takes

he buckles you in with the safety-grade carabiners, giving the rope a gentle tug as a test. it jerks you up slightly, bouncing you on his legs. he gives you a wide, nearly greedy smile "okay baby, let's get you up on daddy's dick"

he tugs again, helping you up a bit into the air (though your legs are still resting some on the bed below) and moves you over with the other hand to position you over his hardened length. all you have to do is sit in the pretty gear and let your daddy do as he pleases. he positions his tip at your dripping entrance, gently easing you down onto him as he loosens the tension on the rope little by little. you let out such a sweet moan as you're filled to the brim, your eyes rolling back slightly in delight 😍

"shit, princess," ari takes a moment to adjust to your tiny little pussy swallowing him up. he tightens his grip on the rope, his voice low and rumbly, "you gonna be a good girl and let daddy fuck you now? that's it baby, just let daddy do the work"

he tries to go easy to start but part of him can't help it; he's been waiting for this moment for so long. he gives you a few pumps up and down on him at a gentle pace, but the feeling of you bouncing like that so effortlessly and the sight of your mouth falling open as your sweet little cries intensify quickly cause him to start acting with abandon

the system works so well, it looks like it's straight out of a porno. ari lays back, groaning deeply as he jerks at the rope at whatever pace he pleases. the way his arm looks when he flexes is so 😮‍💨each tug bounces your perfect form against him, your poor insides aching in pleasure as he rams right up against your ceiling

"d-... d-... daddy!" you sob, your little hands flailing a bit as you grow increasingly overwhelmed by his forceful pace

his eyes flash with a hint of satisfaction at your adorable undoing. "c'mon baby, you can take it. remember your word," he reminds you as he uses his free hand to gather both of your wrists and secure them tightly behind your back. you're left completely helpless, nothing but a living, breathing toy for your daddy to use

"d-daddy, it's s-so much... 'm gonna..." he's grinning wider as he sees your impending orgasm; it's rare for you to come from penetration alone

"oh are you, sweetheart? are you gonna be a good little whore and come for daddy? such a dirty girl, getting off on daddy fucking you like this"

"mmmhhh.... d-daddy!!" you're squealing as you squeeze down on his slippery cock. the sight of you coming like this nearly sends him over the edge, he quickens his pace, tugging more forcefully at the rope to bounce your poor little pussy over him faster

"fuck, baby. daddy's gonna come," he growls, tightening his grip on your wrists as his face contorts with concentration. "you want me to fill you up, princess? want daddy to come in that sweet baby cunt of yours?"

"y-yes please, daddy! please, please fill me up! please, want your come!!"

he lets go of the rope just in time, letting you slam down against him as he hits his peak. he grabs your waist to hold you firmly in place as his seed shoots up into you, your walls fluttering in sync with his dick's throbbing

when you both start to come down, you slump forward onto your big daddy bear 😮‍💨he's rubbing your back, whispering so sweetly in your ear, "good girl, so good for me, baby. so proud'a you, did so well. i'm here, sweet girl. daddy's here"

hmmm yeah i don't even care if no one else is into this, this is MY dream scenario let me have it 😭😭

#eun's writing #kinkmas 2023 #ari levinson #ari levinson fanfiction #ari levinson smut #dom!ari levinson #daddy!ari levinson #ari levinson x little!reader #ari levinson x sub!reader #ari levinson x reader #ari levinson x you #ari levinson x y/n #ari levinson blurb #ari levinson drabble #ari levinson headcanon #ari levinson one shot #ari levinson imagine #the red sea diving resort #chris evans #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans smut

[seths-rogens]

cardboard houses, cardboard hearts | M | 1.9k | ao3

should’ve been finishing my infidelity au, but instead the cardboard joe cutout i was given inspired me to crank this out in one sitting,, anyway, please enjoy :)

—————

Eddie often thanks God that he took the leap and moved to Indianapolis after he finally graduated high school. Not that he really believes in God. Just… figure of speech and all. Though, maybe he’d believe in God if they were a metalhead with tatties and an eyebrow piercing, but he thinks that might ruin their image honestly.

He’s getting off topic.

Eddie often thanks God for Indy in moments like these. Moments where he has a fucking beautiful man pinned to his own front door, strong, thick fingers tangling in his hair as Eddie desperately tries to fit his key into the lock. He shoves his thigh between Pretty Man’s legs - he didn’t catch his name - and presses upwards. Pretty Man whines, grinding down and making it all that more difficult to unlock the goddamn door.

“Hold on, Sweetheart. I just gotta-“ Eddie bites back a groan as Pretty Man kisses down his neck, sucking a bruise over his pulse as the key finally slips into the lock. Chrissy’s never gonna let him live the marks down.

He’s surprised he picked anyone up tonight at all. He’d gone to a concert alone for once, as Chrissy was staying at her new girlfriend’s place, and Gareth and Jeff weren’t the biggest fans of his guilty pleasure artist ‘King S’.

And honestly? In any other world. Eddie wouldn’t be either.

King S isn’t his usual style. Where Eddie usually loves a hard drumline, thrashing guitars and lyrics you can only scream, King S is all soft melodies and crooning vocals set to slow drum beats.

He’d stumbled upon him completely by accident, honestly. It’d been a slow day at the record store Eddie manages. He’d been there for nearly five hours and so far he’d only served maybe three customers - and two of those customers were an old couple shopping for their granddaughter. So he’d picked the first magazine he could reach off the stand by the counter, and flipped it open to a random page.

It’d been an interview with King S, who’d just released his first album at the time. He was talking about his inspiration for making music - his best friend and little brother who, he’s quoted as saying, ‘always ragged on him when he played his pop shit in the car’ - and the meaning behind his stage name - reclaiming an old high school nickname he’d been given after his brief stint as a bit of a mean girl, though now he promises he’s using it for good.

He’d flipped the page to find a double page spread of King S curled up in a bathtub. His eyes were squeezed shut through the lacy masquerade mask that was supposedly his staple (no one knew his real identity after all). His hair was messy and flying all over the place. He was…

He was naked. Or at least that’s how it seemed.

His arms and legs were bare, the black and white photo only emphasising the toned curves of the muscles in his arms and back and the dark hair covering those lush thighs.

Call him obvious but Eddie had been intrigued. He knew they’d received a new shipment of records that morning that weren’t supposed to be hitting the shelves until the next day, so he figured what the hell!

Ten minutes later, elbow deep in a shoddily painted green wooden crate, Eddie emerged victorious with King S’s debut album ‘Robins and Tadpoles’ in his hands.

The album cover was two people’s hands clasped together, matching ice cream cone tattoos on both wrists. There was a little dedication on the back. To R & D.

He took it out to the turntable on the shop floor and dropped the needle. When the soft music started, he was hesitant, but as the album moved on he quickly realised he was hooked.

He’d gone into the shop bright and early the next day - on his day off no less - and bought the album. Only slightly laughing at the look on Mike’s - part time Lit student, part time cashier, full time grump - face.

That had been two years ago, and Eddie had been solidly on the King S train since.

Sure, Gareth and Jeff - and Grant too when he was in town - would tease him about abandoning his people, about betraying the freaks and the weirdos, but really they supported his love for the artist, even if they didn’t quite get it.

So when King S announced a stop in Indy on his second album tour, the guys (and Chrissy) had banded together to get him tickets as an early 26th birthday present. Except when the day came, they were all busy, so he went by himself.

He didn’t mind really, was just happy to be there to appreciate the music. (And the man himself, Eddie has eyes, come on now.)

Elated and feeling just a little self fulfilled after the concert, Eddie had gone to his favourite queer/metal bar, Crash. He’s picked people up there before, sure, but they’ve all been metalheads, just like him, and as many of his friends have said in the past, he’s cursed to have the hots for the preppy jock types.

Usually, that’s not the type of guy he’d find in Crash. Tonight was different.

Eddie had been sat at the bar, thinking about King S’s arms beneath the crimson sweater he wore on stage, when a gorgeous man had stepped up beside him to buy a beer. The man was wearing a dark, charcoal coloured t-shirt under a light grey Members Only jacket, paired with light blue levi’s.

Eddie kinda felt his jaw hit the floor. Could this be the perfect end to the perfect night?

This brings us back to now. Eddie finally pushes the door open, swings Pretty Man around and pushes him back against it.

He drops his keys somewhere. It doesn’t matter. He’ll find them tomorrow.

They’re grinding fast against one another now, only their harsh, panting breaths filling the silence of Eddie’s apartment. Eddie slides his hand into Pretty Man’s hair, tugs on this side of too hard. Pretty Man moans, loud, almost echoing, and tilts his head to the side, baring his neck for Eddie to defile.

Eddie leans in, presses his lips to those two little moles, and—

“What the fuck?”

Eddie pulls back to look at Pretty Man’s face. He’s still, not looking at Eddie, instead staring with wide eyes into the open plan of Eddie’s living room.

Eddie follows his gaze and… Oh. Yeah. He forgot about that.

See the King S tickets hadn’t been Eddie’s only birthday gift. He knew this would come back to bite him in the ass, but his friends thought it was hilarious. Eddie thinks they’re assholes.

Because Pretty Man is staring at a life size cutout of King S, standing by the wall.

Eddie winces, pulls away. This guy might not look like a metalhead, but he was in a metal bar, there’s no way he listens to King S. He’s gotta come up with an explanation for this, and fast.

“Um, yeah… About that… would you believe me if I said I didn’t buy it?” He asks sheepishly, avoiding Pretty Man’s eyes.

“You’re a fan?” Pretty Man asks, except he sounds dejected, which Eddie thinks is weird. And actually? Fuck this guy. He’s allowed to like whatever he wants.

“Yeah, man. What’s wrong with that? Maybe it’s not for everyone but King S actually makes really good music.” He gets more than a little defensive, takes a step back and crosses his arms over his chest.

“No, no… that’s not what I meant.” Pretty Man raises his hands placatingly.

“Then what did you mean?”

Pretty Man sighs, rubs a hand over his face. “Don’t you recognise me?”

Eddie furrows his brow in confusion. “Do I like, know you or something?”

Pretty Man raises his eyes to the ceiling like this is difficult. “Really? Nothing?”

Eddie shakes his head. “I don’t…” Pretty man nods, sighs, and then walks past Eddie further into the apartment. “Hey, you can’t just—“

“How about now?” Pretty Man asks, stopping right next to the cardboard cut out.

Eddie flits his eyes between the man and the cut out, trying to understand what Pretty Man is getting at until he sighs again, pulls down the sleeve of his jacket to reveal…

A tattoo of an ice cream cone, and suddenly it all clicks.

Oh. Oh no. That’s… oh holy ever loving fuck.

“Holy shit!” Eddie exclaims, pointing frantically between Pretty Man and the cardboard. “You’re King S!”

“Yeah. It’s uh, Steve, actually.” Pretty Man, King S, Steve nods, seeming much more shy than he was ten minutes ago. He’s curled his arms around himself, trying to make himself shrink. Eddie feels bad.

“Did you think I was trying to sleep with you because you’re famous?”

“I mean, weren’t you?” Steve won’t meet his eye. Instead he’s staring around the room, taking in all the little details of Eddie’s life.

Eddie takes a step towards him. “No, man. I just thought you were pretty, that’s all.”

“You really didn’t know who I was?” Though he still looks unsure, Steve finally meets his eye.

Eddie shakes his head, coming to a stop in front of Steve. “I didn’t even buy that thing, dude. My friends thought it would be funny because you’re like, the only non-metal artist I listen to.”

Steve smiles at that. He really is so pretty, Eddie can’t help but think. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, man. Heard your first album right after it came out and I was hooked!” Eddie laughs softly. “I used to be a little bit narrow minded when it came to music, but I heard yours and it’s like the world of music blasted wide open.”

A pretty pink blush spreads its way across Steve’s cheeks. “Oh, uh… That’s really cool. I’m glad you like it.”

“I was at your show tonight, actually.”

“You were?”

“Yeah!” He shrugs. “I used to play in a band in high school, we were never very good but I liked to think I had good stage presence, right?” Steve nods and Eddie grins, leaning in a little. “I was nothing compared to you. It was fucking electric, I felt like my skin was buzzing.”

Steve’s smile seems to grow even wider. He sways forward into Eddie’s space, almost unconsciously. “This might be crazy, but do you wanna start over? Forgo the one night stand and just, I don’t know, get coffee or something? I know this cute little 24 hour place, Victoria Street, it’s only a couple blocks away.”

Eddie narrows his eyes a little. “Stevie… barely anyone knows Victoria Street. Are you, dare I say it… local?”

Steve’s cheeks darken even further. “Maybe.”

Eddie laughs. “Then, I’d love to start over. I wanna get to know you as Steve, not King S.”

Steve slips his hand into Eddie’s, tugs him

back towards the door. “God, how much do you know..?”

“I may have read a couple interviews.”

Steve groans, embarrassed, as the door clicks shut behind them.

Then, a few moments later. “Shit! My keys!”

The date goes well. As does the second, and the third, and so on, and so on. They’re officially exclusive by date 7.

Steve meets Chrissy and the boys on date 20. Eddie meets Dustin and Robin, right before date 45.

On date 94, Steve presents his third album to Eddie. There’s a different dedication on the back cover this time.

To E, my love.

——————

taglist: @judasofsuburbia @gothbat99 @cheatghost @flowercrowngods @fastcardotmp3 @simplebtromance @gonzofromspace

lemme know if u wanna be added to a permanent taglist for anything i do in the future, i’m thinkin’ that might be funky :)

#zee writes #steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fic #the adventures of cardboard joe #<— starting that tag just in case 👀

[melodygatesauthor]

Praying for Love

Marc Spector X Stripper f!Reader

Not Beta Read - For the @moonknight-events Bingo Event!

Prompt: "Beg."

Summary:

Marc comes to the club where you work every week religiously. He always asks you the same question, and you always give him the same answer, no matter how pretty he looks when he's begging.

Tags/Warnings:

NSFW, stripper reader, dirty talk, begging, teasing, lap dance, coming in pants, drinking, mentions of (Marc) being drunk.

Word Count: 1.1k

You stood between Marc’s legs, dancing the same dance you did every other night he waltzed into the club. He grabbed onto your hips, his hands squeezing tighter than usual.

“Marc, you know you’re not supposed to–”

“I didn’t come here for a lecture, honey.”

You bent over, planting your ass in his face the way he liked. You felt him tuck some bills into your panties right in front of your cunt.

He chuckled, “oh, you’re wet, having a good time?”

You turned around and looked down at him, “not as good a time as you,” you nodded, staring right at the bulge in his pants. 

His cheeks flushed, and he scowled coldly at you. Despite being a difficult man, Marc was one of your favorite, and best customers. He was easy to pull a few hundred dollars out of every night with the simple act of making him think you loved him. The man was so desperate for affection and touch he’d be willing to spend any amount just to have you lie to him.

That’s not to say that you didn’t care for him in some way. You weren’t heartless, but you cared about him the way a grocery store clerk might care about the old woman sharing her life story at the checkout line unprompted. You could call it natural human empathy. Marc was a sad man, and you were trying to pay rent. The two of you had a symbiotic relationship.

He didn’t want a real relationship anyway.

You carded your fingers through his lightly gelled hair, climbing into his lap one leg at a time and straddling him. You lowered yourself so you were brushing against his bulge, rubbing your cunt along the hard length of him. You bit your lip.

“So hard for me, Marc, so big,” you leaned in, kissing the skin right below his earlobe.

“Fuck, honey,” he whispered in a raspy tone, the smell of alcohol heavy on his breath.

You churned your hips more, whining into his ear and making sure to sound desperate. He liked when you really acted like you wanted him. It wasn’t far from the truth. Of all the men you’d danced for in the bar, Marc was in the top five that you’d consider actually sleeping with. You weren’t going to though. You had a strict policy of not sleeping with your customers. They tended to get too attached. 

That didn’t mean you couldn’t ruin a pair of pants or two though. It always kept them coming back for the hopes that next time you might give them more.

“When are you gonna let me fuck that pretty little cunt, hm?” He asked in a low grumble.

You chuckled, “maybe if you beg real nice I’ll consider it.”

Marc sneered at you, lip curling up in a snarl. He grabbed your asscheeks roughly, eyes locking onto yours while he looked at you from under his lashes. He always got a little rough when he was that drunk, and you liked it.

“Just fuck me, come on.” He rubbed the meat of your hip, trying very clearly to keep his composure.

“You gotta do better than that,” you whispered, grinding your crotch even harder against his.

“Fuck, just take it out, please, just sit on my dick for a second baby. Just a goddamn second. I won’t tell,” he looked up at you, eyes pleading desperately.

You dragged yourself along his clothed bulge again, watching his eyelashes flutter so pretty.

“You want this?” You rocked yourself on him again. “You want my pussy baby?”

You moaned in his ear, peppering soft kisses along his jawline in between each breath you took.

“Beg,” you demanded.

He growled and held your hips against his lap tightly, rutting upward and breathing heavy.

“I’ll give you a thousand dollars just to let me stick the tip in. Just let. me. fuck. you.” He breathed.

You tutted, rolling yourself over him more, moving your body in a dancing motion like you were supposed to all along.

“Is that all you think I’m worth? A thousand bucks?” You chuckled. “I’m not a cheap whore, try again big spender.”

You bit your lip and you could tell you were starting to get under his skin. He pressed his lips together in a thin line, you felt his cock getting impossibly hard underneath you. You could hear his breathing grow more ragged. If looks could kill, Marc Spector killed you ten times over just now.

“Honey, I’m not gonna last much longer and I know you want this. That little pussy of yours is so wet, why don’t you give it what it wants, hm?” He tucked his fingers into the leg of your panties, under the bills he’d put in there and he brushed his knuckle against your swollen clit.

You leaned in and whispered, “baby boy, I’ve been wet since my shift started a couple hours ago. You’re not special for making me horny. I do this job for a reason.”

His brow turned up and stitched together in the most pathetic look you’d ever seen on a man. He sucked in his bottom lip and looked up at you, eyes pleading desperately.

“What do I have to do,” he conceded his ego, and for that you almost - almost - gave in.

“Be a good boy and come for me,” you said against his ear, flicking his lobe with the tip of your tongue.

As if his body was under your command, he came, cock twitching wildly against the zipper of his pants. You sighed, kissing his neck and nipping at the skin as if to leave a little mark for him to enjoy in the mirror the next day when he was sober and regretting his life choices. He jolted, holding you tight against his lap, his cum soaking through onto your thighs. After a moment, Marc’s breathing returned to normal after a moment, and his chest stopped heaving against yours.

You leaned back, grabbing his hand and pulling his finger from your panties. You brought his hand up to your mouth, popping the arousal slick digit into your mouth, sucking it free of your juices before kissing it and putting it back down at his side. You left him with a kiss on the cheek and a tap on his nose with your index.

“I’ll be back next time, honey, and next time I’m gonna feel that cunt,” he slurred on his way out the door.

“I’ll look forward to it,” you smirked, knowing full well that you’d have the same song and dance next time, and every time after that.

Moon Knight Masterlist

Main Masterlist

#marc spector #marc spector fiction #marc spector headcanon #marc spector x reader #marc spector x you #marc spector smut #moon knight #moon knight drabble #marc spector drabble #moon knight smut #moon knight fanfiction #moon knight fic #marc spector fanfiction #marc spector fan fiction #marc spector fanfic #marc spector x reader insert #reader insert #moon knight reader insert

[ask-maxie-boy]

Goonion's Ghoul (Part 4)

Bruce does a little digging. This one's a little more serious, but dont worry, the shenanigains resume next chapter <3

Part 1 & 2 Part 3

The pool hall was fairly quiet tonight. It was a dim place who's customers were the only thing shadier than its corners. The smell of smoke lingered in the whole building, but the usual cloud that held over the room seemed to be gone.

The "No Smoking" sign on the door was new, and it seems like people were listening. Bruce fiddled with the stick match between his fingers - he wondered if it was going to be a problem.

"8 Ball, side pocket" Clack!

"Tch. Good game, whatever."

As the men and small crowd around them get their bet earnings, Bruce approached with a predatory grin. "Hey fellas, mind if I get in on a game?"

Most of the men seemed to be sizing him up, but one in particular (the one who won the last match) inhaled sharply. "Matches fuckin' Malone, I haven't seen you 'round here in a while! You sonofabitch, where ya been?"

'Matches Malone' pulls his titular match out from his teeth, and puts on an annoyed face. "Bah, deal went south, had to lay low for a while." Someone handed him a pool stick, prompting Bruce to nod and grab some pool chalk.

"I getcha. We can go a round, Matches. Loser buys a round at the bar for everyone."

"Jeez, I said I was just layin' low and thems are the stakes?" Matches' grin comes back, a gleam rolling along his aviator shades. "Guess I could use a free drink, so why not?"

The other guy rolls his eyes. "Well, aren't you confident. Promise that'll changes once the game starts."

The game gets set up quickly, and they let Malone break. He lines up his stick, but isn't too concerned about exactly how to hit this shot.

"Say," Bruce asks, "I heard there's a new way of gettin' some help around here. Any'a you know about it?" The cue ball slams into the triangle of other balls.

"Oh, you're askin' about the Goonion? You don't gotta beat around da bush. Even if you weren't in good company, there ain't no need to be hush about it." The 7 ball rolls into a corner pocket, a solid color sunk.

Its an easy shot to the 5, side pocket. "Wouldn't expect that from a big band 'a criminals," Bruce says, casually lining up the hit, "but I guess that's Gotham for ya. So, how do I get in contact?" *Clack!*

"There's a big place on 29th street, down by Proctor Ave." The 5 cleanly rolls into the next pocket. "They put up a big sign just yesterday, you cant miss it."

The next shot is a bit more tricky, trying to get the 3 without hitting the 10 in. "No shit? A big ol' sign that says 'Hey, a buncha lackeys here!' right out in the open?"

The other guy snorts. "I mean, the cops don't give a damn, and the criminals are already in on it. That just leaves the bats, but between you and me? I hear the robins are in on it."

Not only does Bruce miss the 3, he knocks the 10 in, closely followed by the cue itself. A scratch. "Well, now I know you're just fuckin' with me."

His opponent grabs the cue ball with a chuckle, and puts it just by the 12 for a clean corner pocket hit. "Like how you were with that last shot? Yeah, yeah, I'm messin' with you... kinda. There's a runnin' joke that the robins should be considered one of us."

Second stripe down, Bruce's eye twitches, hidden by his large sunglasses. "I don't see whats so funny about it, considering how many times we've had our ass handed to us on a black-n-blue platter by 'em."

Its a more difficult shot to hit the 9 in the side pocket, but the opponent aims anyway. "Yeah, Danny's got this big ol' thing about how Vigilantism's a crime and Batman's a crime lord. Ya kinda have to hear him say it, but damn if it isn't funny." He makes the shot, but the cue ball slides in the pocket with the 9, as Bruce bites back a grumble.

Its his chance to get back in the game, and clean it up. Bruce puts the ball on the table, and lines up a shot that should also get him in position for the next few. "Danny, eh? Whats his deal anyway? Everyone seems all buddy buddy with the guy, but I can't find out a thing about him. He some kinda "

The normal sound of a pool stick hitting the cue is clean, crisp, and short. A satisfying ricochet right to where it was aimed, sealing a calculated move into victory.

That is not the noise that echoes through the hall.

Instead, the stick bounces off of the cue strangely, shaking awkwardly as a much harsher CLACK! attacks everyone's ears, as the ball rolls slowly in the wrong direction, and hits nothing.

His opponent, and everyone with and without money on the game, look right at him. Some are giving dirty looks, some seem angry, others just discontent. A few look ready for a fight to break out, as the sudden tension ensnares him. He gets the feeling its not the bum shot they're upset about. "Uh... any chance I can try that hit again?" He asks sheepishly, analyzing exits, preparing for the brawl that might happen, and a cover story for how Matches got out of being attacked by this many people.

Bruce winces as his opponent places their hand on his shoulder, but doesn't strike back just yet. His opponent still seems tense, but not rearing back an attack. "Matches, you'se a good guy, so I'm gonna let you off easy on this one. But for 'da future, dont go askin' around about Danny. He doesn't like people poking into his business.”

The crowd seems to calm down a bit, but there's still a few bad looks being sent towards Bruce. He puts some hint of worry in his voice, dusting off his suit to sell the idea that that shook him up. “I.. I see. Caposh.”

His opponent goes back to the table, picking the cue off the table after Matches' bad hit. “...He's just a kid, Matches. Smart, kind,” he lines up his next shot on the 11, “I'd call him naive if he didn't prove he knew what he was doing.” A clean shot, into the side pocket.

“If you're goin' to the Goonion, you'll meet him and see.” Another easy shot, 13 into the corner. “He does good work. The Hood may have started the union, but Danny stoked the flames, kept us together when we wanted to fall apart.” A hard hit, the cue ball stopping dead as it strikes its target, knocked straight into the pocket. “He fought for us, went up against some of the most dangerous people in Gotham and told them to kneel.” Someone in the crowd murmurs, “Stronger together,” which has him roll his eyes. “Yeah yeah, we all did it, sure. But someone needed to face 'em down, and not only did he bite the bullet,” 14 ball, corner pocket, “he spat it right back out at 'em.”

“He got us dental!” Someone cheers, and most of the crew cheers with him, clinking beer bottles together.

“Point is, he's a good guy who does a good job, and the least we can do is stick our noses out of his business.” 15 ball, opposite corner. “We don't need him getting hurt because we couldn't do that.”

Something flickers in Bruce's eyes at that last comment, noting the slightly somber tone. “...he didn't ask you to stay away, did he?”

“He didn't need to. I told ya, you'll get it when you meet him.” He points out his last shot, “8-ball, corner,” and hangs over the table to aim his cue. “People like him don't usually stick around Gotham, and not by their own choice. If someone finds out you're the one who made him leave, whether you meant it or not...”

The 8 ball rolls cleanly into the pocket, a promise fulfilled. “You'll be lucky if you're found with a bullet to the head.”

An open secret. One that puts him in harms way if the details get out. Details people are purposefully avoiding, out of gratitude. Makes things difficult for him.

“...Well, a deal's a deal. A round on me, everyone!”

@akikkobara @thegatorsgoose @addie-lover-of-stories @apointlessbox @screamingtofillthevoid @semiprofessionaldumbass @sailor-goddess @malice-of-the-sunrise @savaton @spikedlynx @emergentpanda-blog @starlightcat04 @demented-trashcan @vehan-tikkun-olam-and-stuff @soren1830 @vixen-uchiha @rowanaway-fromthisbs @space-dreams-world @wolfeyedwitch @the-legal-shipper @gmkelz11 @dannyphantomphan @idkmrpianoman @somuchyikes @blankliferain @thatonegirl10 @thewondersoflebanon @cass-brightwood @coruscateselene @hallowsden @avelnfear @ultimatebluff @kryzs2000 @blep-23 @jaguarthecat @all-mights-asscheeks @meira-3919 @ricekristytreaty @illya-roma @mentalcarebear @wackyattack @fisticuffsatapplebees @love-has-no-labels @dat1angell @igotafewbadideas @thordottir45 @idfk-man10 @choppedphantomsweets @dragonfirefeather @smol-book-nerd @randomkiddoscrewingaround @alinmenttreasure @queen-of-the-grapefruits @cyber-geist @bianca-hooks123 @gaelic-holiday

#the goonion #dc x dp #dp x dc #goonions ghoul #haha bruce get fucked #also please dont put danny in danger ;c #told you the goonion takes confidentiality very seriously

[joshua-beeking]

People going " Don't be alarmist and discourage people to get into professional art, photography didn't kill it, AI won't either." It won't kill it as a hobby but in a society where a paying job is mandatory: Yes it is killing jobs, just like photography/industrialization did.

It won't disappear, but when it was ALREADY difficult to live off it, it'll get even harder. When a retired painter told me directly he's seen WAR TIMES sell better in the art department than current times: there's a big problem. Its not only AI the problem, but capitalism.

People demanding more for less and less, seeing artisan craft as too expensive compared to industrialized stuff, and not wishing to pay people a living wages. People care less and less about artisan craft, and any artisans will tell you horror stories about it.( entitled customers demanding months of works for 20 bucks because " I can get something similar for 10 bucks at wall mart! ( no, no it isn't the same.).)

Hell current internet culture encourage a type of consumption that is all about "I want my free content and I actively refuse to spend a dime on it to pay the people making it properly. They gotta figure out themselves how to live off it ,as long as its free for me" its nonsense.

#artificial intelligence #artist problems #artist struggles

[daughterofcain-67]

𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 (pt.1)

(Beau Arlen x Female Reader)

(masterlist)

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Every day the sheriff comes into your coffee shop, and every day you both seem to put a smile on each others face, even when Beau is working his saddening cases. You’d be lying of you said you didn’t have a thing for the sheriff- but what woman with a working set of eyes didn’t? What you didn’t know was who you would meet in your cafe later that day…

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: mentions of kidnapping because of the case Beau is working on

The smell of coffee was all around you since you were in the process of brewing some pots or some of your early morning customers. You were wearing your cream colored polo with your purple apron. The apron as well as the polo had the name of your business on the top left corner called ‘Morning Glory Coffee’ in cursive on a white mug along with the flowers by the same name beside it.

You heard the bell on the door ringing out, signaling that someone else was walking into your little cafe. Wrapping up your last to-go order, you glanced over to see who was there and you smiled when you saw the familiar stature of the sheriff.

“Sheriff Arlen! You’re here early.” You grinned as you turned around to get his typical order started.

“Ms. L/N, you know you don’t have to be so formal with me.” Beau said as he pulled out his wallet.

“Now you know I can’t do that. And don’t worry about payin’ this time. It’s on the house.” You insisted as you handed him his cup of coffee.

“Well, if you’re insisting on the coffee, I insist that you call me Beau from now on.” You saw the smirk on his face, causing you to grin.

“Alright, Beau.” You said, accepting the little compromise.

When he took the coffee, your fingers grazed and you pulled away when he had a grip on his cup. As he took a sip, he let out a low hum. “My, my, Y/N. I swear you make the best coffee I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Awe, well thanks! I’m glad you like it so much.” You insisted, but honestly you just loved that he seemed to come in practically every day. It was honestly when made your mornings happier, that boost you needed just a little more than caffeine.

“How are things going? Got any new cases you’re working on?” You asked curiously as you grabbed a rag to start cleaning up the counter. It was a slow Wednesday morning so far so every once in a while you liked to talk to your customers when you had the time. No one was even there at the moment since it’s been mostly to-go orders.

“Yeah, kind of a big one. You heard about those missing women?” He asked and you lifted a brow.

“No? Then again I haven’t had much time to watch the news.”

“Well, two women have gone missing. We don’t really have any leads yet but I’ve got some interviews today with the missing persons’ loved ones. Conversations like that are always hard.” He sighed and you frowned, knowing he’s been in those shoes before.

“I can’t imagine having a job like yours. You see a lot of dark things from day to day and it’s gotta be a difficult thing.”

“It can be. But in the cases where I’m actually able to get those families reunited, it makes it so worth it in the end. It’s worth it when the right justice is being served and we get the guy.”

“Well, I won’t keep you from getting one step closer to justice. Just do me a favor and be careful out there, alright?”

Beau smiled at you, that same smile that made you feel oddly warm and fuzzy on the inside, “Will do, Darlin. See you around.”

When Sheriff Arlen left your business partner, your little sister named Cadence, was holding a tray of banana bread and some muffins with some sort of knowing smirk on her face.

“What?” You asked as you went back to cleaning up the counter.

“You have it for him so bad.” Cadence teased.

“What? No I don’t! And even if I did, he’s a cute enough guy that would have more people interested in him than just me. I wouldn’t stand that much of a chance. Plus he hangs out with Cassie and Jenny a lot anyways.” You reminded just to hear the exasperated sigh from Cadence as she set the tray in the display case.

“Are you kidding me?! You both have a thing for each other! ‘Oh Y/N, this is the best coffee I’ve ever had!’ ‘Oh promise me you’ll be careful, Beau, my love!’” Your sister began to swoon dramatically while you shook your head.

“I didn’t sound like that. And Beau just likes the coffee. It’s not a big deal.”

“Oh yeah? Well you guys should at least give it a shot. I mean you haven’t dated in three years ever since… well you know. And Beau’s single too. You guys hit it off just fine and you talk almost every morning every time he comes in here.”

“I can’t date him. He’s got too much on his plate with being the sheriff and all. He sees a lot and he has a lot of things to do and a lot that he goes through and he probably doesn’t even have the time for a girlfriend.” You tried to reason and Cadence lifted a brow.

“Really? You’re trying to use that as an excuse? You realize that when Beau got married he was in law enforcement anyway, right? Clearly he’s done it before and I bet he’d be willing to give it another shot rather than being alone and unhappy.”

You listened and tried to think. You knew she was right, but you also knew men like Beau Arlen didn’t go out with women like you. You’ve gotten your hopes up for relationships before and you knew what it was like to be rejected when you first started dating again after unspoken chapter of your life. You weren’t exactly open for that kind of rejection again.

“What if I talked to Jenny and Cassie to set you up with him? I’m sure they’d love that!”

“Are you insane?! No, I don’t think that’s really a good idea.” You shook your hands in front of you.

Your sister groaned, clearly unhappy that you were being so stubborn about this. You really did appreciate her efforts in trying to get you back in the dating game. Couldn’t she try to set you up with someone that’s more realistic for you in stead of someone like Beau?

The door opened up again and there were more customers coming back in, interrupting your conversation with Cadence about the Beau situation - thank goodness.

Beau strode into the office with his coffee in hand. He enjoyed going to your shop in the morning. Seeing your smiling face always gave him a bit of a jump start he needed.

“Well, well, well! Did you go over to see your girlfriend again?” Hoyt greeted as she put her hands in the pockets of her jeans. She had this smirk on her face like she was trying to tease Beau, who only smirked and shook his head.

“Yeah, you wish.” He said as he started walking to his office, just for Jenny to follow behind him.

“Oh come on, just admit that you have a thing for her! When was the last time you went on a date, huh?”

“Instead of questioning me about my nonexistent love life with the coffee shop owner, can you tell me if we’ve got any more information on those missin’ women? And where’s Pompernickle?”

“Right here, boss!” Poppernack called as he held up a file and made his way to Beau’s office as well.

The three of them walked inside and Beau shut the door, “What do we got?”

“Well, we’ve found the families that way we can ask them if they’ve seen anyone in the womens’ friend groups that were a little peculiar. Maybe the family members noticed something that the missing two didn’t see in them?” Poppernack said.

“Oh if only it was that easy. Yeah, sometimes it’s someone the victim knows - hell half the time that’s the case. But then there’s those small percentages where it really is a complete stranger.” Beau reminded.

“Woah, they aren’t victims yet. They’re captives. Hopefully they’re still alive.” Jenny interjected, Beau nodded.

“Yeah, that’s always the hope that’s why we’ve gotta step on the gas with this before things get worse and someone else goes missin’.’ Is that all we’ve got?”

“No. I’ve got a witness from a gas station that said they saw one of the girls, Sidney Ferguson, filling up some gas in some green SUV.” Hoyt began.

“From what he said, it looked like a Hyundai. Couldn’t tell you the license plates because the manager said the security cameras were out and they’re in the process of replacing them.”

“Great, a green SUV with no plates to track them down with. Are we even sure she drives that kind of vehicle?”

“I’ve seen Ferguson around before she went missing. She didn’t drive that from what I can remember. A white Jeep Wrangler. 2015 I think.” Poppernack said, “Issued a warning once. Speeding.”

“There’s a lead. Pops, why don’t you do some research and see how many of those SUVs are runnin’ around town. Jenny, you take Ferguson’s family this morning and ask some questions and I’ll talk to the other girls family. Hopefully there will be a lead on Ember O’Riley here soon so we have somethin’ to tell that family.” Beau said.

“Maybe one of the families or even some of their friends know something about that SUV. It’s worth a shot to ask about that too.” Hoyt reminded as she started walking towards the door so they could start their morning.

Beau watched as his two deputies left. Then he looked down at the cup you gave him. That was when he noticed you actually left a note for him, ‘Have a good day, Sheriff.’ He had never seen your handwriting before but it was cute that you put a sheriff’s star to dot the ‘I’ in your note.

He smiled fondly to himself before he took another sip and made his way out of the door of his office. Yeah Hoyt may have teased him once in a while about the fact that maybe he liked more than just your coffee, and maybe she wasn’t exactly wrong. It’s just that while he was friendly with people, he didn’t want to get close. Not after losing his partner, not after losing his wife and daughter to Avery. He didn’t want to get attached and lose anyone else no matter the circumstances. Death or otherwise.

Once he snapped out of his thoughts, Beau found himself already outside and he felt his phone buzz in his hand. When he pulled out the device while walking to his car, he saw that Poppernack gave him the address to the O’Riley household.

“And off we go.”

It was noon and your sister just left for her lunch break since you had already come back from yours. You had put out some baked goods in the display case for whoever would stop by and decide they may want something more than something to drink. As you were doing this, you heard the door bell sound out again.

You turned around and you saw someone walking in. You hadn’t seen this person before but he seemed nice. Then again you tried to see the good in all your customers. Everyone had a good quality about them and this man? Well he seemed to have a nice smile.

“Hi there, what can I get for ya?” You asked with a grin.

“Actually, this is my first time coming in here. Can you give me some kind of recommendation?” He asked. He had a kindness in his voice. His hair was dark brown, his eyes were a hazel and his skin was tanned like he tended to spend a lot of time in the sun.

“Well, I have the typical black coffee with an assortment of creamers. I can get you an americano, latte, cappuccino if you want something a little on the warmer side. For some colder options I’ve got cold brews with different flavored cold foams like Irish cream, hazelnut, sweet cream. Then I’ve got some energy drink options. Just a little of everything really. So what’s your poison?”

“A little of everything, huh?” He asked, “I think I’ll take a cold brew. With some of that Irish cold foam if you don’t mind?”

You smiled at him, “Of course. Can I get a name for that order?”

“Andre.”

“Andre… Nice name. Actually you’re the first one I’ve met.” You admitted and he chuckled.

“Yeah, I hear it’s not exactly a common name, especially around here.”

“Let me go ahead and get that drink started for ya, Andre.” You insisted and walked off.

As you got started on making the cold brew, you could hear some of your other customer’s talking in the corner.

“So the police came and talked to your family? What did they want?” Said one teen. You stayed quiet as you continued with your task, “Yeah. They said they may have some kind of a lead to find Sid. But they didn’t say anything about what that lead was. I guess they didn’t want my family to get involved.”

“Yeah, That’s fair. I mean your mom and dad are going through a lot as it is with her going missing and all. I feel bad for the O’Rileys too.. I heard Ember was an expectant mom to be too… She must be terrified.”

“Yeah if she’s not dead already.”

“Guys, it’s only been a week! Mrs. O’Riley and my sister will both be fine, I’m sure. Sheriff Arlen and Deputy Hoyt are really good at their jobs, I’m sure they can find something if they’re the ones on the case.”

Your heart ached at hearing those girls talk about the case. It was even more heartbreaking that one of them had a sister that was missing. You were glad that she was still hopeful and you really hoped that Beau would be able to find this Sid girl as well as Ember as soon as he could before it was too late.

“Here you are, Andre. One cold brew with cold foam.” You smiled once more and handed him the cup and a straw.

“Thanks.” He grinned and you could notice a dimple on his left cheek. He handed you the card and you took it for the payment before he spoke again.

“By the way… can I ask what your name is?” He asked.

You looked up at him. You were a little skeptical as to why he wanted to know your name, but you didn’t think too much of it. Maybe he was just new around here and wanted to make some friends or something.

“Y/N. I’m glad you came in today, and I hope you enjoy.” You grinned as you handed him the card back as well as his receipt.

“Thanks! You have a good one.” Andre said and he left.

“You too!” You called as he walked out of the door just as Cadence was walking in.

You watched your sister do a double take and her gaze lingered before she looked at you, tilting her head and she walked behind the counter again, “So who was that? He’s new to coming here isn’t he?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“He’s pretty cute though. Nice ass too.” She smirked and you rolled your eyes, grinning.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend already?”

“Uh, I didn’t mean cute for me. Even if he does have a nicer ass than Corbin’s.” Cadence said, “I meant for you.”

“What happened to the whole Beau thing?”

“Oh are you kidding me? That’s my number one option for you. He’s totally unbeatable. But since you’re being so stubborn about not going out with him, it’s always good to keep your options open.”

“Cadence, this was literally the first time he’s ever been in this shop. We don’t know if he was visiting town or what his deal is.” You reminded and you watched your sister cross her arms, wanting to sulk like a child.

“Why do you always want to burst my bubble!?”

“Well don’t say I popped it just yet. He did ask what my name is, so maybe he’s moving here, or he already has moved here and is trying to make some kind of acquaintances or something.” Then Cadence’s eyes lit up almost like a Christmas tree.

“He asked you your name!?” She practically squealed, causing you to cringe a little.

“You don’t think it’s odd or anything?”

“What? No. How else are you supposed to meet people if you don’t talk to them or if you don’t know their name! So what was his name?”

“Andre.”

“Andre!? Ugh, that’s so dreamy! If he comes in again you have to take a shot.”

You smiled, shaking your head at your sister’s nonsense, “Oh go clock in now, would you?”

“This is where the love triangle starts, Y/N! I’m tellin’ ya!”

Hi everyone! Here’s the start of a new little series I’m starting and I hope you like it! There’s more to come with this series.

Tag List:

@roseblue373 @deans-spinster-witch @chriszgirl92

#jensen ackles #beau arlen x female reader #beau arlen x you #beau arlen x reader #beau arlen #big sky #big sky fanfiction #jensen ackles big sky #supernatural #spn #jensen x reader #big sky fanfic #beau arlen ff

[chaichaiiskai]

Jack hanma x male reader … you can just do wtv you feel like doing for this … this is probably gonna get ignored cz it’s just ‘jack x male reader’ but if you do .. Yk do smth, thank you 👍🏾

Gotta be honest, I don't remember jack shit about jack (pun intended) aside from his ability to not lay tf down despite getting his ass beat so--- he's very stubborn so I think I can do something with that... Ya didn't give me much to work with but I'll take the reins on this one.

Now, personally, I don't think jack would be too interested in romance since his number one goal is to beat the shit outta his father but for the sake of your request I'm just gonna feed into the fantasy and add a bit of spice. Jack's definitely gonna be ooc

Let's say this takes place a little while after he's defeated by Baki and he's a bit more humble, also he's at the heaping height of 7'11 aka 241 cm. I had no idea what to do!!!! But let's do this.

jack hanma! x male! amab! reader

warnings: amab reader, male reader, mlm, he/him pronouns, homophobes dni, overprotective behavior from jack, no smoot this time cause i wanna give jack the cuddles he deserves and male readers deserve fluff too 🥺

Working could have its downfalls and its moments of relief, especially in this special part of the city. It wasn't exactly the most rundown place, but it wasn't all that safe either. However, you chose not to let that bother you as you focused on doing your job, collecting tips, and then heading back home. Being a waiter proved to be easy enough when you weren't dealing with difficult, idiotic customers who had some kind of privilege problem, complaining about the food not being hot.

"Sir, I'm more than happy to have another meal prepared for you, it won't take too long—" Your insistent words were soon cut off by the sound of the angered man you'd been serving, slamming his fat fist onto the table. You could practically see the veins in his forehead and neck looking close to popping, his reddened face reminding you of Red from Angry birds, he even had the brows to match.

"NO! How dare you disrespect me with this fucking SLOP!" He shouted, and then moved his other hand. In a flash, and before you could brace yourself for what was to come, you grunted when a plate was tossed at you, a bloody steak and hot potatoes were thrown directly at you. Fortunately, you were able to bring your arms up to quickly cover your face, the food and plate hitting your arms before it all crashed to the floor after covering your uniform and shoes in the man's tantrums. A light burning sensation spread over your arms and elbows, but not harsh enough to call for medical care, thankfully.

"Where do you get off thinking you can get away with this, boy!?"

Before you can explain yourself, or even defend your character, perhaps even offer to refund him for the meal he seemed to have a problem with, you felt a heavy hand on your shoulder. Along with the weight, you smelt a familiar cologne, your senses being invaded with a sudden sense of comfort and relaxation. Though, the hairs on the back of your neck knew what was to come next.

Jack.

You looked up at the heap of a man and he didn't look at you, instead, he offered the cloth napkin that he had gotten from the table he'd been dining at. You took it and stepped back, starting to wipe your arms off, taking note of the remaining slight sting you felt from the hot food, you would live but you couldn't believe this guy had the audacity to lie about the food being cold. Why? Did he just want to cause problems on unsuspecting waiters and waitresses? Was it some kind of elaborate scheme to humiliate those that he deemed below him?

"And who in the fuck are you!?" The difficult customer suddenly asked, making a show of getting out of his seat to stand off with Jack even though the blond easily towered over him, but their physiques were somewhat similar. Two walls built of muscle. All that proteins seems to go somewhere.

"Just a concerned customer. You're disturbing my meal, and you're lacking manners." Jack replied, his tone calm and his features as nonchalant as ever. This seemed to anger the other man considerably, seeing how he suddenly thrusted a finger in Jack's chest, soon to be met with the sound of crunching.

He'd broken his finger.

It was his own fault for carelessly touching a man who seemed to be crafted from sheer marble and stone.

The man let out a scream, clutching his broken finger with his uninjured hand, cradling it against his chest. In response, you took another step back and watched, along with many other patrons and staff members. Jack, on the other hand, grinned and looked back at the witnesses who couldn't take their eyes away from the scene.

"You all saw who touched who first, correct? You're all my witnesses."

Before anyone could even confirm what the blond had said, he covered the entirety of the angry customer's skull with his hand and lifted him off his feet. With the swift, calculated movements of a seasoned pitcher, he pulled the man towards himself just by holding his head like an oversized baseball and tossed him forward... right through the restaurant window, much to the horror of everyone in the restaurant-- aside from Jack and you. No, you were already groaning at the idea of needing to find another job.

...

"You can't keep doing this, Jack! Do you know how many jobs I've had to resign from because of you butting into everything?! Those poor people can't even fire me because they think you'll come after them and bash their skulls in with your bare HANDS or something!!"

You exclaimed, lecturing your boyfriend on his repeated offenses when it came to protecting you and your pride at every restaurant you worked at, mostly doing waiter work. The massive man simply chuckled at your words, tossing his arm over your shoulders as he pulled you closer into his hardened side, the warmth he gave off was a nice contrast to the approaching winter night but you were still upset. The two of you were in the back of the van he had bought to accommodate his large stature, while his chauffeur drove you both to the apartment building Jack owned.

"I don't get why you need to work when I can easily take care of you. I already do, but you always insist on working. Are you planning on saving up money and leaving me or something, short stacks?"

You rolled your eyes at the pet name, wanting to ignore him for the rest of the ride, but you couldn't bite your tongue back from recanting. "No. I can't do that even if I tried because I somehow fell in love with you. But that doesn't make me want to stop from going out to work, I want to contribute. You already pay all the rest of the bills." You murmured, crossing your arms over your chest and sighing, your anger dissipating into saddened frustration as you looked down at the van's floor, frowning at the sight of your dirtied shoes.

Jack simply watched you for a few minutes, the gears in his head starting to turn about before he spoke up.

"Why can't you apply for any other job then? Do you have to be a waiter?"

"I don't know what else I'm supposed to do, Jack! It's not like jobs are just falling from the fucking sky and are ripe for the taking!"

He seemed to linger on your words, not effected in the slightest by the raise in your voice. Instead, he wanted to be a problem solver, even if he wasn't the smartest guy out there, he figured there could be something out there for you.

Before the conversation could continue, however, it was interrupted by the van parking, the backdoor opening and you climbing out, rushing out into the underground garage to head straight for the elevator so you could go up to the penthouse and bathe. Jack simply watched your retreating back, rubbing at the back of his neck before he finally climbed out after you. With a quick dismiss of his driver, he began the trek to the stairs, which he preferred to take instead of the elevator, despite living on the 20th floor. How could he even pass up on a workout? It already took a lot out of him to not try and run everywhere, but you insisted on getting a van because you didn't want his body to continue breaking down at such a fast pace. And you usually would have forced him to take the elevator with you, but you were too upset with him and grossed out by your soiled clothes to wait.

As soon as you got into your shared place, you took your shoes off and left them by the door, shuffling across the hardwood floor with your somewhat soiled socks and dropped your bag on the living room couch, making your way directly to the bathroom. Once inside, you didn't bother to shut the door behind you and headed for the shower, turning it on so that it could heat up to the proper temperature before stripping out of your clothes. You dropped the articles of clothing on the floor, knowing you'd drop them in the washer after you were done bathing, and hurried into the shower, instantly sighing in relief as the water began to shower off the stickiness of that asshole of a man's dinner from your skin.

The shower was pretty much a massive glass box, and like everything else in your home, it was meant to fit two Jacks inside of it, making it almost seem like a giant's castle with you inside of it. That was okay with you, everything was just extra comfortable, especially the shower that had sprayers behind you, in front of you, and on the ceiling, rinsing every inch of your body if you so desired. It was a great contrast to the frustration from the day. And you preferred to stop smelling like meat and potatoes.

Eventually, about halfway through your shower, Jack had finally made it inside, grunting as he kicked off his shoes haphazardly, entering and taking a brief look around. It didn't take a genius to know where you'd gone. He put on his house slippers and went further in, shoving his hands into the pockets of his dark sweats as he entered the bedroom, deciding he'd be of some help.

By the time you came out of the shower, feeling more refreshed with your head a bit clearer, a towel wrapped around your waist and another emcompassimg your wet head.

You noticed Jack first sitting on the edge of the humongous bed, and then a fresh change of clothes splayed out on the mattress beside him. "Thanks, babe."

He hummed in response, removing his phone to unlock and look through it. Whenever he held something significantly smaller in his hand, it was always amusing, no matter what mood you were in. You sighed and shook your head to keep yourself from chuckling, moving to get dressed in one of his t-shirts that drowned you in fabric (no matter what size you are), and pair of comfortable bottoms you tended to lounge around. You decided to finish drying your hair, plopping down beside him, sinking into the firm yet soft bed.

The silence was comfortable in a way, with the sounds of him tapping and you lightly scrubbing away at the moisture on your head.

"How about this?"

You paused what you were doing when he suddenly put his phone in front of your face, showing something to you. You squinted in confusion and leaned in a little to get a better look at what he was showing you. A job listing for a remote job. Immediately, you took his phone from him and looked over the requirements, the description, and everything else in-between. It was almost too good to be true. How did he find something so easily in such a short amount of time? You decided not waste anymore time to rush over to gather your laptop, carrying along his phone, and went to apply for this job as quickly as possible. Luckily, you had a little desk you often used in the bedroom tucked away in the corner nearby the closet. If you got this job then that means you'd have to make up your own office. What were the odds? If you got this job, you might not be as frustrated with Jack as you were before... Who were you kidding? Even if he didn't present this golden opportunity you wouldn't have lasted much longer being frustrated with him.

With a new sense of determination, you were quick to upload your resume along with your application and a few other things you needed, a sense of hope settling itself on your shoulders. Alongside the hands that were currently resting their, Jack peering over your shoulders, not leaning any of his weight on you as he watched you diligently type away.

"Will I get a reward if you score this job?" He finally asked after you hit 'submit' on your application. Breathing out a sigh from your nose, you tilted your head back to look up at him, bumping into his hard abdomen. "Hm... don't know. You acted pretty hasty today, knowing I could have handled it on my own... I think I should punish you."

Jack blinked in surprise for a moment, his mouth soon forming an 'o' shape, followed by a cheeky grin that spread across his face like a forest fire.

"Punish me? Kinda wanna see you try. Doubt you could do anything though." After challenging you, he removed his hands from your shoulders and crossed them over his chest, raising an eyebrow in wait.

You nodded and then pushed yourself out of your chair.

"Bet."

And with the speed of lightening, you hurried over towards the bed and flopped onto your side, immediately getting comfortable and pretending to sleep.

Jack: 🧍

"You little shit."

#jack hanma #jack hanma x reader #x male reader #male reader #amab reader #— chai’s asks. !! #jack hanma x male reader #jack hanma x amab reader

[maddogofshimano]

The Value of Lies: Majima Boss Rush

Mild spoilers for Y0

A new Majima event! They added a few new cards alongside it

I had a moment of “huh, why’s Shimano from 1985 and not 1988? that’s too late for the YK2 flashback--oh NO............ during Majima’s torture in the Hole????” 

anyways, Shimano is not in the event. sorry to the Shimano stans

Summary: 6 months into Majima’s stint as manager of the Grand, he’s still chasing after as much profit as he can and has scouted a new batch of hostesses. One of them seems lackluster, but there’s more to her than meets the eye...

[Half a year after Majima Goro had began working as the manager of the Cabaret Grand.] [The Grand's revenue had been steadily rising, but was still nowhere near the desired amount-- For the sake of further profits, Majima was aggressively scouting other clubs to refine his own business...]

<door opens, Majima walks in> Majima: ...Sawabe. How'd the new girls do today? (tl note: The name is 沢辺 which is pretty much just Sawabe or Sawanabe)

Grand Employee Sawabe: ...They seem to be doing reasonably well, the customers who like inexperienced girls have been asking for them. Majima: I see. Any gals seem like a standout?

Sawabe: I don't know about a standout, all of them have something special... except for one. Majima: ...Except one? What's goin' on with that?

Sawabe: ...There was one who just didn't seem very motivated. Her name is Arisa. Sawabe: But it's my job to make girls like that useful, so I've been trying to provide lessons. Majima: That's true. I appreciate the help. With how the number of customers keep goin' up, I'll take all the help I can get. Majima: Unfortunately I still gotta be out of the club, so you're my only hope for trainin' the girls here. Sawabe: Please leave it to me. Sawabe: I know that people are the same as water, if left alone they'll settle in low places.

Sawabe: I'll manage the new girls diligently, and make sure they're trained well. Majima: Please see that you do. Majima: ...And just to be sure, ya ain't gonna fall for some of the girls you're teaching and get handsy, right? Sawabe: ...Absolutely not. I could never allow my family to be on the street because I broke one of the club's rules.

[two weeks later...]

<the door opens, Majima enters> Majima: ...I'm back. How'd thing's go, and how were today's sales... huh? (tl note: TWO WEEKS DUDE???)

Sawabe: Ah, welcome back, manager. (tl note: oh okay Majima didn't walk in on hanky panky. my bad. sorry for doubting you Sawabe) New Girl Arisa: ...Well, I'm going back to the floor. Majima: ...Was that Arisa you were just talking to? Sawabe: Yes sir. She just lost her parents. But she still comes to work and does her training because she didn't want to miss any days... Sawabe: So I hear her out when she has difficult feelings that she can't express to the customers. Majima: .........I see. Sawabe: At first I thought she just wasn't motivated at all... I even scolded her a few times before realizing this was the case--she just couldn't get into the right headspace with all that sadness. Majima: ...And ya believe that? Sawabe: Huh? O-Of course. There was nothing to indicate she was lying. Majima: Gotcha. Majima: Seein' as she's havin' such a hard time, I ought to talk with her. <out on the floor> Majima: ...Arisa-chan. Ya got a minute?

Arisa: Yes? Can I help you with something? Majima: If you're makin' a play at Sawabe, it'd be best if ya stopped. Arisa: Huh? What are you talking about? I'm not making a play... Majima: ...Heh, I'm just sayin'. Majima: If ya have any troubles I'm also someone ya can come talk to. Arisa: Umm... Th-Thank you. If you'll excuse me. <she leaves> Majima: ............

[another 2 weeks later]

Sawabe: I'm sorry, Arisa. We can only meet up after everyone has already left. (tl note: I RETRACT MY PREVIOUS APOLOGY. SAWABE YOUR FAMILY!!!!!!!!)

Arisa: No, don't apologize. I'm the one asking unreasonable things... I know we can't let anyone find out about this. Arisa: Besides, I would be happy being anywhere with you, Sawabe-san. Sawabe: Arisa... Arisa: ...Still... The manager isn't going to be back today, right? Sawabe: Yep, he said he was heading straight home. Arisa: So then... it's really just the two of us. Sawabe: Yeah, just us two. .....But, is it alright if I do a bit of work first? Sawabe: It's the last day of the month, so I need to get our sales money so it can be transferred to the bank tomorrow. (tl note: Sawabe if you flake to go fuck a hostess and Majima gets the shit beaten out of him I'm going to throttle you on his behalf) Arisa: Okay, I can wait 🎵 Sawabe: I'm sorry. I'll get it done quick. <she leaves> Sawabe: Now then just gotta get the money out of the safe... <he opens it> Sawabe: ...Hmm? Oh, Arisa must have needed to use the restroom. Now then... huh!!?? <a bunch of goons rush in> Arisa: Sawabe-san. Thanks so much for opening the safe 🎵  ....Now I'll be taking allll the money in it.

Sawabe: Wh-... What the hell's going on? <a goon punches him> Sawabe: Guh... <he drops> Brawny Thug: That dumbass was a good mark for this... Have a nice nap. Arisa: Soooo cool 🎵 Thug's Pal: Hehe... Now we just stuff all this cash into the bag.

???: ...I went to all the trouble of warning you. Arisa: !? Majima: I already told ya, "If you're makin' a play at Sawabe, it'd be best if ya stopped".

Arisa: Wh-Why's the manager... Majima: I noticed ya gettin' awful cozy with Sawabe a little while ago. Majima: So I started doin' a little diggin' and figured out your plan. Had to be gettin' some thugs to rob the safe with ya--your parents aren't dead, your little brother doesn't exist, all ya've been doin' since ya got here is lying and cheatin' people outta money. Arisa: .......... Majima: And on top of trickin' Sawabe, here ya are tryin' to clean us out, which is a much bigger issue. Thug: Well... Even if all of that is true, how do you expect to get yourself out of this situation now? Thug: I don't see any cops around... Don't tell me you plan on handling this all by yourself? Majima: ...Of course I plan to. Thug: The hell? Are you mocking me! <goons rush in> Thug: That's just fine!! If you can do it, go ahead!!!!

<EVENT HAPPENS>

Brawny Thug: N-... No way...

<he collapses> Arisa: ...! <Majima walks over> Majima: ...We're done here.

<he kneels down> Majima: Hey, can you stand? Sawabe: Ugh... S-Sorry... <they're both back to standing> Majima: Don't worry. I'll let ya off easy this time, since I knew what was happenin'. Think ya'll get tricked again? Sawabe: Th-Thank you so much...! Nothing like this will ever happen again...! Sawabe: But... I really didn't think Arisa would do something like this... Arisa: I'm sorry Sawabe-san, Majima-san... That thug was threatening me... that's why I... Sawabe: Eh...!? Majima: ...Are ya that stupid. Now I know ya ain't the kinda guy for this. On the other hand, you were the one that was trickin' that man, ain't ya? Sawabe: Eh... Wh-What do you mean? Arisa: ...Haa, I messed up. That guy said he was a former pro boxer, but he was way too weak.

Sawabe: A-Arisa... you... Arisa: I guess I can't fool you. Are you going to hand me over to the police? Majima: Heh, that's surprisingly upstandin' of ya. Majima: However, I ain't handin' ya over to the cops. Arisa: ...Huh? Majima: There's no profit to be made in that. Majima: I'd rather have ya work at the Grand again. Arisa: Work at the Grand...? Majima: Exactly. Of course, if ya run off or play hooky then I'll throw ya to the cops without mercy.

Majima: And you'll have to make yourself a diligent hostess and work hard--I'll forget about this whole thing if ya become a girl that earns more than ya were gonna steal from this safe. Arisa: ....... Majima: ...What d'ya say? Arisa: I will... return to working at the Grand. Majima: Heh, that settles it. Arisa: Sawabe-san... I'm sorry for deceiving you. I'll do my best from here on out. Sawabe: H-Hold on a minute, boss! I-Is that really okay? Even after all this... Majima: Mhm. Sawabe: I know I was the one who got scammed, so it might not mean much from me, but still... Arisa-chan has the worst sales out of the whole club.

Sawabe: And then she tried to rob us, so, is it really okay to hire that girl...? Majima: It's true that her sales were bad, but that's cause she was half-assin' it. Majima: You experienced first hand just how good she is at this, didn't you? Sawabe: ........... Majima: To keep up a deception like that, ya need all sorts of skills. Majima: You're much warier than most, but she still got her fingers on your purse strings-- Majima: Seein' that you're a very doubting person, she used a lie about her parents' death to get ya sympathetic-- Majima: Two weeks or so of keepin' up that lie, playin' the part of the girl ya'd want, all with the goal of slowly foolin' ya-- Majima: Even with the risk of "If I lose my job my family will be out on the street" ya still caved. Majima: Gettin' someone ya just met's guard down, gettin' them to open their wallet, lying to find out more about them-- Majima: And of course, keepin' up the lie so the person you're talkin' with doesn't catch on... Majima: To me, those are the ideal skills for a hostess. Majima: If she approached our guests with the same diligence that she went after you, I have no doubt that Arisa would be our number one. Majima: In order to make 100 million yen in sales, even though there's a risk, I'm not going to let a profitable woman like her go. Sawabe: ...You may be right, boss. Majima: Whew... Well, I'll see ya tomorrow, but... try not to get scammed again, okay? Sawabe: ...Y-Yes sir.

[Afterwards, when Arisa resumed working at the Grand, things went exactly as Majima predicted. With her ability to see through her customers and her skillful lies, she had one man after another captivated by her. Seeking to become the Grand's number one hostess, she has risen to the very top.]

<EVENT END>

Bonus stuff:

unrelated to this event they released a White Day Kiryu where he awkwardly gives you a return gift. I’m not even making fun of him that’s literally what the title of his card is

Ichiban got one too where he bashfully gives you a senbei

and then not a White Day card but still a guy giving a gift, we got a new KSR 1995 Nishiki

something I didn’t notice until looking through Nishiki’s cards is that they give a date on Nishiki’s new hairdo

ONE YEAR??? NISHIKI YOU ONLY HELD OUT A YEAR??????? it was Christmas in 1995 too so depending on when in 1996 this is it could be even less time. it does make it a kind of cartoonishly awful year for him to have experienced though, if you condense all of the flashbacks into that span. that’s rough buddy

enjoy him looking so sad and dejected (he failed to beat up Haruka)

#yakuza #like a dragon #Ryu ga Gotoku #ryu ga gotoku online #Majima #Majima Goro #Goro Majima

[ghouljams]

Oh excellent, we’re talking about darlings we’ve fallen deeply in love with. Anyway, please please please Liebling give me a chance I’ll work at the shop and clean and do whatever you need please please please—

You want Liebling??? Huh??? For real???

Ok this got a little long and sweet sorry about that. Liebling can't be flirty like Goose and Threat, she's gotta be a freak. You gotta woo her.

You answer the help wanted ad more because the pay is good, and the owner is cute, than because you have any real interest in flower arranging. You have enough retail experience that you're not surprised when you get an interview. You are surprised by the strange series of questions the woman interviewing you asks.

Have you ever lost time during a full moon? Do you find yourself uneasy around rivers? When's the last time you walked through the forest? Do you ever see things you can't explain to other people? Has anyone ever given you a gift that wasn't a gift?

By the end of it you have more questions than you've ever had for an interviewer, and she takes a long time staring at you. Not that you mind, like you said she's cute and having her stare at you is a great opportunity for you to stare back.

"Alright," she finally relents, "you can start Monday." You've never been hired straight out of an interview before. She stops you before you can thank her, you're reminded people in this city are weird about what you consider normal pleasantries.

There are a lot of weird rules to this job, but the owner is kind. You'd say nice, but honestly she's prickly and blunt in a way you want to call mean, but can't. Somehow the word doesn't fit right. Guarded, maybe. Terribly kind though.

"What's this?" You ask, turning over a new box of tea as she sets the electric kettle one morning.

"Strawberry tea," she tells you, "you said you liked it, and I saw it at the store, so-" she waves a hand, dismissing her own kindness.

"Oh, thanks," you tug the top open to pull a bag free for yourself.

"Don't mention it," she grumbles. It makes you smile to know she was thinking about you, that she remembered something you'd mentioned in passing.

She does that all the time, remembers things. You mention you're planning something with friends after work and she lets you go early. You say you want to try something from the new bakery that opened and the next day there are extra sweets in the back. It's strange you never see her extending the same kindness to anyone else, but with you it's like she can't be kind enough. Still prickly though.

You can't ask her about it, and she hardly lets you thank her. If you mention she's being nice she seems to go out of her way to be difficult the rest of the day. You've noticed she doesn't smile at the customers, or make jokes. She hardly seems to enjoy her work except the rare occasions you've seen her working on an arrangement. The way she smiles at a bundle of camellias makes your heart skip a beat, it's so painfully soft you feel like you've intruded on a private moment. You wish she'd smile at you like that.

The most you get are tight apologetic smiles. She presses a heavy ring into your hand after work one night --one of hers-- with a slip of paper through the middle that just reads "be safe." She looks sorry when you laugh and slip it on your finger, but somehow you do feel safer walking home. She pulls you away from a customer that's making your head spin, and sets you in the back with a tight smile and a short apology.

All that kindness compounds. Every huff when you tell a bad joke, every small compliment, every gift, every thing she remembers, it all piles and piles until you can't help but wonder if she feels something for you. It's care, she cares for you in a thousand small ways. You can't even point all of them out, and she'd hate it if you did. But there's this... thing about her that makes you want to keep quiet about it. That makes you think mentioning it will make it stop somehow.

You work with her for months. Months of your heart fluttering when she brushes your hand. Months of being cared for by someone that seems to think they have a heart made of ice. Months of being in love with this woman who is desperately trying to convince the world that she doesn't need that sort of thing.

When she rings you on your phone one morning you pick up before it can buzz twice. You know she prefers texting, so it must be important. And you want to hear her voice. You always want to hear her voice.

"Hey, don't worry about coming in today, I'm taking the day off." She tells you over the phone. You switch your phone to your other ear to get a better grip on the bag you'd been packing.

"No problem, everything alright?" You ask, switching your work lunch from the bag back to the fridge.

"Yeah, yeah, um," She hesitates and you pause, "it's my birthday, so..." She trails off, like she doesn't want to talk about it. You chew your lip, debating whether or not to wish her a happy one when she sounds like that.

"Ok," You tell her with faux brightness, you'd sort of been hoping to see her today. It finally feels like you've worked up enough courage to tell her, well to tell her something.

"I'll see you tomorrow," She finishes, hanging up before you can say good-bye.

Ok, you think maybe this is where your friends would call you obsessed, or insane. You really can't leave well enough alone, and it really won't take you long. It's maybe 15 minutes to her favorite bakery, another 10 to her flat, that leaves you at least a half hour to panic over your hasty decision making. With any luck she won't think you're a stalker that happened to check the return address on some mail she was sending out.

You spend a good ten minutes on her doorstep debating if this was the worst idea of your life before knocking. When she finally yanks the door open it's sort of comforting the way her annoyance melts to confusion on seeing you. Your eyes dart over her, taking in the haphazardly buttoned flannel and bunny slippers, you don't think you've ever seen her in anything but work clothes. Ah dammit, how are you supposed to start this?

She leans against the door frame and crosses her arms over her chest. "I thought I told you to take the day off." She reminds you. As if you showed up at the store and not her house. You hold up the patisserie box. She squints at it, "What's that?"

"Cake."

"Cake." She parrots, like she hadn't heard you right.

"It's the one with raspberry, I know that's your favorite," You tell her quickly, "figured you should have cake on your birthday, or whatever. This is-" You cut yourself off before you start digging your hole too deep, and because she's looking at you with that impossible softness. Her lips ever so slightly curved and her eyes earnest.

"Thank you," She replies quietly. Something warm and heavy settles in your chest. You don't think you've ever heard her say that before.

"Any time," You breathe, and you mean it. If she looks at you like that, you'd do anything for her.

#ghoul speaks #I love her but why??? #x reader #oc x reader #oc: liebling #you are insane and I respect that but like why this one??? #Liebling is a person whose love language is acts of service and gift giving #doomed to live in a world of fae and strings attached #reader x oc #liebling x reader

[fuck-customers]

I have have worked at this shitass job for over 4 years, in three months it'll be my 5th anniversary. I have worked my ass off, going above and beyond in the first 3~ years, even despite management actively sabotaging me. (It's my first "real" job- my last job was short and seasonal)

Covering every shift my coworkers called out for. Going out of my way to do everything the correct way, such as making new labels for products that have had labels ripped off, instead of just putting them back on the shelf like everyone else. Going aisle by aisle and recovering and organizing each aisle. Making sure all the go-backs were 100% finished before my shift ended, even while having a manager actively sabotaging me by grabbing random items off shelves and creating a new "go-backs cart" that my coworkers confirmed witnessing. Taking the initiative and having my coworkers train me in a department when my managers refused to train me and me not being trained was negatively affecting my coworkers, so I took it upon myself to be trained. I go out of my way to help customers however I can and am friendly and approachable, which is difficult for me personally, because I have never, ever been a people person and actually hate people, even before working retail. But I can fake it pretty well. Actually training new hires when I am not actually a trainer and would not get training pay or a bonus/raise/promotion, etc. while having to juggle my own daily responsibilities.

And what do I get for it? Jack fucking shit. No raise (beyond the automatic 10 cent yearly raise just for being an employee) No promotion. Not even full-time status. In fact, I'm getting fucked over more and more. My hours are in the single digits. I'm 3 months away from my anniversary and I have a whopping 9 hours for the week.

I'm furious. I'm not a complete moron though, I've been totally phoning it in the past year, maybe year and a half. Been looking for other jobs, but it's all the same retail bullshit and haven't heard back from anything. Something's gotta change next year or I might seriously lose it.

Posted by admin Rodney.

[phantom-playdough]

Hello! Could you write an Mk with a gender neutral s/o who has shadow powers? Like, Macaque helps them train and teach them how to control themself.(he totally wasn't using them before this though-👀)

But yeah. Could the interactions also be fluffy? I'm dying from the lack of Mk content.😭/hj

Thank you so much!

-🍞

Okay, 🍞! Here ya go! I hope that this fluffy enough for you! Tried my best!

MK x GN!Reader: My Sweet Shadow

Y/n slipped through the shadows, appearing suddenly in their apartment. Feeling tired from using their powers so much, Y/n plopped face first onto their couch.

Y/n had just gotten back home from training with their master, Macaque. They always had the power to become a shadow and used it often. Apparently, however, they were sloppy with their power because Macaque stumbled across them becoming a shadow to hide from some muggers.

Macaque took an interest in them, wanting to use them for the sake of his own gain. So, he took them under his wing and began training them. But the training was incredibly difficult for Y/n.

So, when they got home and felt their stomach growl violently, they decided to order some noodles from Pigsy Noodles. They wanted to try the noodles there for a while now, so why not?

They placed their order and waited. And waited. And waited.

After what felt like years a knock at the door sounded through Y/n's apartment and they shot up to answer the door.

"Hey, I-I'm sorry for taking so...long..." MK said, trailing off slightly as the customer answered the door. MK was absolutely floored with how perfect they looked.

"No worries." Y/n was screeching inside their mind as they took in MK's adorable appearance. He looked like they were doing a lot of deliveries for a while, exhaustion clear on his face but they still looked awe-struck for some reason.

Y/n looked down at themself and felt a strong blush of embarrassment appear on their face. "Sorry, I was just out and stuff. I swear I don't always look this...messy."

“No!” MK said a little too quickly. He cleared their throat. “I-I mean, psh! Nah, you look fine!” MK tried playing it cool, failing miserably but it served to make them more adorable.

Y/n laughed. “Well, thank you!”

MK handed Y/n their order, feeling his heart skip when their hands touched briefly in the exchange. Y/n looked into the bag, eager to see their food smiling back at them. But they were a little taken aback to see the food in the bag was... not theirs.

MK was in the process of leaving when Y/n called out to them. "Uh, this isn't my order?"

He all but froze when they heard that. MK sped back over at a speed so fast that Y/n had to blink once or twice to register that he was back in front of them. "Oh, my God! I'm so sorry!! Here, I'll take it and bring your order back. What was it you got again?" MK asked, clearly frazzled.

"U-uh, it was (favorite ramen or noodle recipe)."

"ARUGH! I KNEW that was yours, too! I'll bring it back ASAP!" They said, not giving Y/n much of a chance to respond before he was gone again.

===

Y/n was sat in their apartment, scrolling through their TV's watchlist, trying to find something to distract from the rumbling in their stomach. Eventually though, Y/n heard a loud knock at their door.

When the door was opened, MK all but shoved Y/n's order into their arms. "Here ya go! I-I'm, uh... sorry about that." They said, scratching his head awkwardly.

"No worries, dude. I know how it is. So long as I got my food, that's all that matters." Y/n flashed a soft smile, making MK's heart skip a beat or two. Or three.

"Well, uh... I gotta get goin'. But hopefully I'll see you around?" MK tried to not let hope edge into his voice, but it did anyway.

"Sounds like a plan. I'm Y/n, for the record."

"Call me MK!" They said, holding up a hand.

Y/n high-fived MK, before MK left.

Once they were back inside, Y/n opened their bag of food. They were relieved to see their order staring back at them. But they also saw something else in their bag. It was their receipt. But it had something written on it.

'Hey! It's MK, your noodle-delivery guy! I wouldn't mind talkin' to you again! Here's my number!'

Y/n had to hold back so hard to not scream at how ADORABLE this "noodle-delivery guy" was being!!!

Needless to say, it didn't quite work if you ask Y/n's neighbors.

===

From that day onward, Y/n was continuing their training with Macaque, but in their free-time, they were in their shadow form in order to follow MK around. Don't get them wrong, they did want to hang out with MK, like a lot. But Macaque had just recently had a talk with Y/n, telling them to not associate with MK or his mentor, Monkey King.

The reasons behind these bans, however, were left to interpretation to Y/n. But the fact that these bans existed hurt Y/n more than they thought.

===

Today, Y/n was off from training for a change, as Macaque was off on some sort of hunt for some artifact or something. So, while he was gone, Y/n followed MK over to Pigsy's Noodles. They watched him interact with some people who Y/n gathered were named Mei, Tang, and Pigsy.

But as Y/n was in their shadow, Tang noticed Y/n's form near the corner of the shop.

"Hey, uh guys? Am I the only one who sees that shadow there?" Tang said, giving away Y/n's position. Everyone turned around and stared at them for a good thirty to forty seconds.

Y/n stepped out of their shadow form slowly. "Uh, hi... I was just-omph!!!" They were cut off by MK rushing over and hugging them incredibly tightly.

"Hey, Y/n!!! Where have you been?" MK flashed some sweet puppy-eyes at Y/n, making their heart skip a beat. Or two. Or three.

"I-I, uh...I just was busy."

"Uh, MK? You gonna introduce us?" Mei asked.

"Yeah! I was gonna do that... in a sec." Only then did MK release Y/n from his death grip. Their eyes sparkled so brightly that Y/n felt nothing but guilt for avoiding him for training sake.

"Um, my name is Y-Y/n. I met MK here when he delivered me some noodles." Y/n said awkwardly. They kicked themself in the head for the lame excuse of an introduction. But from the looks of things, no one else seemed to mind at all.

"So, how were you able to hide in the shadows like that?" Tang asked after a small discussion started between Y/n and the group.

"I've always been able to do that. I was kinda, just born with this power." Y/n answered calmly. "I don't normally get so careless with being noticeable, though. Guess I'm getting a bit rusty in that department." They said with a nervous chuckle.

"Well, it's a super cool power to have!" MK reassured Y/n. It worked luckily, but both of them were oblivious to the suspicious and knowing looks headed their way from Mei, Pigsy, and Tang.

After a good day of chatting with the group, Y/n and MK were walking back to Y/n's apartment. Once they reached that destination, the two of them just stood in front of the door awkwardly. "Y-you know, it meant a lot to me that you said my power was cool. It was cool coming from you."

"Really? Thanks! I-I, uh, I mean no problem!" MK fumbled with their words. But then his face turned serious. "I-I didn't do anything wrong, did I? Like, you've been kinda MIA lately and I was just wanting to double check that I didn't do anything wrong."

Y/n's heart broke almost instantly at MK's words. They felt so guilty for ditching them for training. Macaque's words echoing in their mind made Y/n all the more certain that he was wrong. MK was too pure and perfect to be as awful as Macaque described.

"No, no... you did nothing wrong. I was just prioritizing something over you when I shouldn't have been. I-I'm sorry for that." Y/n decided to do something a little daring to make their apology more genuine. So, they leaned in real close and gave MK a small kiss on the cheek.

When they pulled away, they saw the gears turning in MK's eyes. It was as if he was trying to decipher the meaning of life and death as we knew it. But they snapped out of their daze and smiled a smile so real and sweet that it made Y/n feel a tiny bit nauseous at how cute he looked.

But the moment had to end with Pigsy calling MK's phone in that moment.

After a rushed conversation between the two, MK looked at Y/n and scratched their neck awkwardly. "Uh, I gotta go. But if you wanted to...do something sometime?"

"I'd love that. I'm free this Friday evening." Y/n said sweetly.

"Cool! Cool! I-we can just, uh, sort out the details later! I'd better go before Pigsy fires me or something."

"I think if it wasn't for the fact that you're so cute, he would've already done that." Y/n teased.

"Yeah, right?" A beat of silence. "Hey!!" MK shouted, making Y/n cackle like a drunken wizard.

MK left, but not before sneaking one little kiss on the cheek for Y/n.

===

Y/n driving over to Pigsy's noodles really should not have felt so intense, but it did.

Tonight, was their first date with MK. The two of them simply agreed on something basic for the first date, being a movie and video games at MK's apartment.

When they finally arrived, they asked Pigsy where MK's apartment was. He directed them upstairs, although he gave an intense glare to Y/n that said, 'Hurt my son and you will die a horrible death'. It was both intimidating but also kind of wholesome.

Y/n headed up to MK's door, knocking gently. Almost immediately, there was a loud bang inside the apartment. There was some rushing around from what it sounded like, along with MK shouting, "Hang on! Hang on!" over and over.

After a minute or two of both sounds being repeated, Y/n contemplated grabbing Pigsy. But before they got the chance, MK swung open the door so fast it almost smacked them in the face.

"Sorry! Sorry. I was just, uh, doing some last-minute cleaning?" MK said, rocking back and forth on their feet slightly.

"No worries. Sorry, didn't mean to cause you that much trouble." Y/n responded, scratching their neck.

"NO! No, it's just-I wanted to make this...good 'cause..." MK sighed. "I've honestly never been on a date before."

"WhAt!?" Y/n all but shrieked. "B-but you're so precious!! How could someone like you not be taken should be a question SCIENCETISTS should study!" They only just then seemed to register what they were actually saying.

"Sorry. That probably was a little too forward." Y/n apologized, covering their face with their hands.

MK laughed and grabbed Y/n's hands, pulling them away from their face. "No, that was nice to hear actually. But, uh, come on in!" MK then pulled Y/n inside his apartment.

Once the pair had settled in with some snacks and drinks, they sat down on MK's bed to play a video game. After a few rounds, MK kept losing to Y/n. So they decided to raise the stakes a bit. "Alright, Y/n. I got a bet for ya."

"What kind of bet?" Y/n cocked their head to the side curiously.

MK had to ignore the butterflies in his chest at how cute Y/n looked doing that. "Loser of the next round has to do whatever the winner wants."

Y/n laughed. "So, you're writing me a blank check, are you?"

"Wha-no! Not yet at least! You don't know you'll win yet!" MK said defensively.

Y/n laughed. "You're on."

===

After the next match, MK was deemed the winner. They jumped up off his bed, doing a big old dance as a way to celebrate their victory.

"Alright, Monkie Kid. You win. What do you want me to do?" Y/n said sweetly. Even though they were a bit bitter over not winning, MK was so cute that it was hard to stay mad.

MK snapped out of his trance and sat down next to Y/n on the bed once again. But Y/n noticed that they seemed timid when just a moment ago, he was dancing around like he was a king.

"Close your eyes?" MK squeaked out.

Y/n seemed surprised. That was all they wanted Y/n to do? Seemed like a strange request but at least it was easy and whatnot.

They did as they were told, of course. MK took a deep breath in, out, and in again before leaning in to kiss Y/n.

When Y/n felt MK kiss them, their eyes shot open. But, it felt so nice kissing MK. He felt so warm and soft. Y/n did an internal shrug and kissed back. They gripped the orange jacket MK had on as though it was the edge of a cliff. MK was rather surprised at how bold Y/n was, but they weren't complaining.

The kissing grew in tandem, Y/n ended up pushing MK down on the bed, pinning his hands above him to kiss him on the neck.

"W-woah! H-hey! That tickles, Y/n!" MK laughed.

Y/n laughed, pulling away from MK's neck and just laid on top of them. The two of them ended up falling asleep laying like that... until Pigsy came along the next morning to wake MK up. Needless to say, he just shut the door and tried to pretend he didn't see that.

#lmk x y/n #lmk x reader #lmk mk x reader #lmk mk #lmk qi xiaotian #lmk qi xiaotian x reader #lmk xiaotian x reader #lmk xiaotian #lego monkie kid #lmk

[aquaquadrant]

Hi there. I’m going insane and it’s your fault. Like I discovered your absolute emotional masterpiece of a fanfic the other day and it’s all I think about anymore I’m so obsessed; I downloaded tumblr bc of you and I don’t really know how this site works but I do know how to click the ask button so that’s your problem now. I got words for you

First off: HOLy the writing and the voices are so good??? Like the characters say things the way their irl counterparts would say it? How?? Teach me your ways? Actually tho what did you do to learn to do that, is it innate, do you practice?

Second: “He wouldn’t have known the sight of Tango’s pale skin flushing bright red all the way down his chest.” That sentence just kinda stuck out to me from the last chapter… for some reason... anyways (idk what my point is here but it sure has got me thinking thoughts :P )

Third: I said I was obsessed, and I think it was an understatement. I didn’t study for my chem final because of this (still got an A tho so dw) and I went to bed for three days straight thinking about it and I woke up every morning thinking about it. (It took a solid hour to snap myself out of it when I actually needed to get work done lol) And on the plane ride home for break I drew some things so I’ll just leave these here if you don’t mind (umm ignore the tango faces on the first page and his left hand on the second, there's something Wrong™ about them I gotta practice, ok?)

idk if the formatting is good or whatever but here they are

As you can see I love love love the scene after the nightmare. If I remember correctly, Tango started wearing the gloves to protect his claws so they could heal after he escaped, and then when Jimmy gets hurt he just instinctively gives them to him?? Hello, the symbolism??? Tango just surrenders his own protection, both physically, because he would rather protect Jimmy, but also emotionally bc it immediately reveals what he considers a flaw in himself, monstrous, hideous. And Jimmy sees him throw the walls up again, “He quickly shoves the gloves at Jimmy, moving to get up. “I’ll uh, I’ll get another pair tomorrow-”” but Jimmy won’t let him, instead looks at what could be considered Tango’s entire soul —his trauma, his Hels origin, the feral, blaze side of him, the side that lies and hides and lashes out at any who get too close, the “ugliest” parts of him —and loves him despite it? Even sees the beauty in him? Yea, no, I’m normal about that—

Anyways idk how long these things are supposed to be but I have a couple more thoughts so you’re still stuck with me. Ummm let’s see… I adore your impulse design. So I’m taking that, thanks. (If that’s ok) also was thinking about how Jimmy would wear shirts with the wings getting in the way (see bottom of 2nd pic), and then thought maybe that’s why he’s so good at embroidery or sewing in general, cuz he has to make custom clothes. And then I thought what if he made some *cough* outfits and had Tango judge them… or asked for help putting on/taking off a particularly difficult shirt... haven’t had time to draw that yet but ya know… one day. Aaaaand the blaze rods could theoretically make a pretty cool fire crown when Tango's angry, also blazes do damage when you touch them, but I don't think you get set on fire? So it must be the blaze rods themselves doing damage, so I imagine when Tango's fighting they swirl around him both to attack whoever gets too close and to block any incoming projectiles (see middle left of 1st pic). +gradients on the blaze rods :]

Last thing, I showed my sister the fic last night and she’s already read through it twice so you’ve infected two of us. We were theorizing on what’ll happen next chapter. We both think that the others will piece together, to some extent, Tango’s backstory before they figure out how to remove the collar, what with the cuffs he wears, the comments Atlas made about a farm, Atlas’s mentioning about using Jimmy that way for his feathers, etc etc. and the comment that Tango can hear everything? Yea, no, when that collar comes off he’s gonna be distraught, I’m wagering that everything immediately bursts into flames around him or something (cuz that’d be cool). I think he'll probably try to run away, too, but we'll see

Anyways, that’s not all my thoughts but this is getting pretty long, so maybe I’ll send another ask later if that’s alright. Have a good day! Post again soon! Please. Please I'm begging you. For my sanity plea-

(actually tho take ur time. quality is worth it, and this is nothing but quality)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! omg welcome. this was genuinely SUCH a lovely ask to read, but i wanna take the time to properly answer it so i’m gonna continue under the cut cause boy can i ramble

first off: HELLO, you got a tumblr bc of HTP?? incredible. i’m honored that this gay angsty little block man au was your introduction to the hellsite (affectionate). and don’t worry, i welcome asks no matter the length (tho i might not get to everything in a timely manner)

second of all: i’m SO happy you enjoyed my character voices. that’s definitely something that’s taken a bit of practice, especially for more understated characters that don’t have super obvious or unique vocal traits/vernaculars. i find it helpful to a) have spent a decent amount of time watching the source material and b) always go over my dialogue with the character’s voice in my mind, and see if it sounds like something they’d actually say. ofc, sometimes liberties can be taken based on the plot/setting of a fic but generally i spend a lot of time and effort on getting character voices right, so i appreciate the appreciation <3

thirdly: i like that particular sentence too ;0

fourth: THAT ART THO??? oh man. impulse looks amazing (i’ve always loved demon!impulse and gotta credit @lunarcrown for bringing that vision to life 💃) and the wings are SO well done, like you conveyed that leathery thin bat skin texture perfectly. the various tangos are SICK, i luuuuv seeing him in full blaze rage mode, using those blaze rods to their full effect. and those hands… goddamn. not only do i respect the hand anatomy but the ROSES… the shackles and their metallic texture… the gradient on tango’s claws… chef’s kiss 💋👌 and THANK YOUUU the post-nightmare scene was one of my favorites from that chapter, and you’ve summed it up beautifully.

moving on: as with all of lunar’s designs, she’s happy to inspire so BEHOLD, DEMON IMPULSE UPON YE (that’s a yes from both of us LOL) i love ur idea about jimmy making custom shirts to work around his wings, that’s one of those little details i never put much thought into but it fits so nicely with him being into embroidery. so jimmy def makes a lot of his own clothes (and occasionally some for tango), co-signed and approved. and ur on the right track about tango’s blaze rods- most of his defensive fire comes directly from them, doing that crazy swirly fireball thing that actual blaze do, but he does also have the ability to produce fire from his hands, he just doesn’t do it often. it takes a bit more concentration and practice, and he spent so long trying not to use his abilities that it doesn’t come second nature to him anymore. he was way more of a fire starter as a kid in hels.

last but not least: AWW it’s so sweet u got ur sister into the au (lord knows i’ve dragged mine into many a fandom 😂) glad y’all enjoyed it so much, AND now u have someone to theorize with 👀 i won’t say anything more on the matter other than i hope to get the next chapter out over the next couple weeks, so stay tuned…

#hels to pay au #HTP ask #HTP gift art #seriously thanks so much for sending this in i loved reading it

[onippep]

After

And I was just thinking, like, I actually don't know that much about you. And I admit I haven't been very open or, like, talkative to you about your interests or anything like that, because you're...

(Because I'm like you?)

Yeah, it's like, a preconceived notion that because you're some sorta replica of me, we're gonna have the same interests or whatever, and that's your whole thing. And it's not. It's not fair of me to think of you like that.

(I don't blame you for that, though. Honestly. My existence isn't exactly a one-sentence deal.)

No one's is.

Croak! (Not my point. B-but...) [chuckles]

Lost your point, didn't ya. It's not that big of a deal, anyway.

(Give yourself some credit, Peppino, I think you've done a very good job at caring about me and what I do. Just in different ways than you may be used to.)

Well-- yeah. It's the least that I owe you.

(Your care is not owed. There's no cycle to feed; my affection already has its unconditional catalyst.)

Stop gettin' philosophical with me, demon! Sheesh. I'm trying to be sweet here.

...

...Er.

Hmm!~

WHAT!

(If you want to be sweet, try actually flirting.)

Is that a challenge? Alright. I can flirt. And no, it's not croaking, I've already learned my lesson from that.

RrRRRrrrrrHRHRHHRRHHHRRR!~ (Sorry!)

[Sighing] OKAY. So. "Cutie". Uh. You come here often? Nice suit. You look nice. Handsome even. Yep. Uh huh. Wow, tall too. Double whammy. You know, everyone's taller than me, and that's fine. I like havin' a tall nasty frog to care for me all the time. Oh and the WAAAY you SNUGGLE on up to me at night; fantastic. A+. Like a weird oversized housecat. And you know just what food I like and the shows I like and how I prepare my coffee in the morning when I don't have enough time to do that before opening the store and you carry me when I'm too exhausted and you cook for me and listen to me when I gotta just yell about shit and--

[Has dissolved onto the floor]

--Ah- Oni! [laughs] Hey! Come on! [reaching into the goop] Come ooon. Is that all it takes?? That was nothing! Get back up here, you coward!

(Your face is red.)

It's-- always red! And I'm sorta tipsy! [wheezes]

(I DUNNO HOW TO TAKE THIS RIGHT NOW. ARE YOU STILL PLAYING ALONG OR NOT.)

[stops] Hhah, wh-- playing along? [flabberghasted] Nah nah nah, hey...! I agreed to come out here because I wanted to-- like... humour it! Try it! Not just because I was feelin' bad, you know?

[slowly reforming] MMmmn?... (You're. Serious?)

Y-yeah! I think...! Hah..!

RRRRBBRBBVBVVBWW. VBRVVB... S-- SO DO. UM. (DO YOU--)

Do I whaaat! [grabbing at him] Speak to meee! [chuckling]

(YOU'RE. THIS. IS. THIS IS ACTUALLY A DATE.)

Yes! YES IT IS! IT'S A DATE! I'm on a date with you!

[ugly frog shrieking]

AAHHAHAHA...!! Jeez! What was THAT?!

(Wh-what's with the change of heart?? A-and there was the whole hiding it from your family thing--)

BECAUSE I DUNNO WHAT I FEEL YET! AND-- AND BEING HERE, WITH YOU AND GUSTAVO N' BRICK, and just having so much fun, I feel like I can finally-- think! And not have some fuckin' weirdos watching me from that askbox! Or my family breathing at me! It's-- it's wild! I'M FREAKING OUT! I'M FREAKIN' OUT ONI HOLD ME--

A--BBBUHH?? [gripping him]

IT'S-- IT'S NOT. ANYTHING SERIOUS OR DECISION-MAKING TONIGHT. I JUST. WANNA DO THINGS WITHOUT-- FEELING SHAME. So just. Hold me. Alright?

O-OKAY. RRRRRR.

Everything's gonna go back to routine tomorrow, and who knows what's gonna happen. [chuckles] I don't even wanna go. I just wanna stand here.

Rrrrr... (Can you... explain a little more why you're a little... hesitant about me?)

Ah... jeez, lemme... see if I can word it right. I... have a real hard time letting people in. You see how I live. I haven't even seen Gustavo since before our window got broken. I never have people over. I don't even like talking to customers that much.

(You've gotten better at it. I wouldn't say you have gone back in such a thing, just hitting a wave where it is more difficult than usual.)

Maybe you know me more than I thought. Either way, I... I've never really been a fan of dating. Just in general. All that romance-y garbage hasn't ever worked out for me. It's like a storybook moreso than a reality. Doesn't work the way I do. It's too... strict. Closed. Weird. Ruins friendships. I've lost some good men and women to dumb shit that either I've done or they've done. It crumbles too fast and doesn't feel worth it.

(Is... forging a bond like I have in mind considered... dating?)

I dunno. Is it?

(What you're describing sounds... torturous. Nothing like what I have in mind.)

Is that so. Mind tellin' me what you have in mind, then?

Croak-- MMf-- It-- RIBBIT RIBBIT RIBBIT RIBBIT RIBBIT--

Aye, aye! Hey! [squishing his cheeks] Easy! One word at a time. Let's hear it.

RIBBIT. RIBBIT. RIBBIT. RI-- RIb--ribbit... (It's... it's... almost the same as what... we have now. Just... returned?)

That's it?

???

You're telling me this "bond" thing you've been wanting is just, what we kinda do already, but with me "returning" it? Like-- like how?

(LIKE. L-LIKE. IF. LIKE.) [sticks his tongue out]

I already "do the deed" with you.

NO NO-- [leans in, gently licks his cheek] TH-- (I DON'T KNOW THE WORD FOR IT.)

Kissing. You're thinking of kissing--

(YEAH KISSING.)

... [ponders]

HHHNNNN. HHHHHHHHH. HHHHHHN..?

... [gum click] Wow. That, uh, changes some things, actually. And here I was thinking you wanted some sort of enchanted frog prince and princess fantasy bullshit. That's what the askbox tries to make it out as, anyway.

(I'll be honest, I'm not 100% acquainted with the more mortal and human structures of that whole concept. I don't enjoy what you've told me so far.)

[more nodding]... Huh.

...

Well, uh, I got some things to think about now. [chuckles] Lotta. Things.

(Please don't let this ruin anything.)

I won't! I won't. Just forgive me if it takes a while. Heh. We gotta go into work tomorrow, and focus on that, yadda yadda... I'm gonna be a little private about it.

(Shy about it.)

Yeah. [rolls his eyes, smirking]

...

You look so nervous. Hey.

It's okay. Remember what we've gone over.

(R-REMIND ME...)

We'll see what this is. Together. Got it?

(Y-YEAH... yeah... you'resocloserightnowI'mreally--I--)

[smirks]

...

Sorry. Even with some drinks in me I still can't seem to kiss you. [chuckles]

(You tease.)

Just kidding.

#;pepperoni #;pizzaplot #;colomba #;oni speaks #;peppino speaks #suggestive cw #<--only for offhand mention again #long post // #((the slow burn continues........................... #((have some food yall... #;snapshots

[drabblesandimagines]

Honey

Rei x (afab) reader Buddy Daddies

Your line of work was non-conventional, of course, but it paid the bills nicely and there were worse things to be doing. You’d got into it completely by chance through a connection made at your old job. You worked at one of the seediest bars that side of town – which was saying something – but an ex-boyfriend had helped you get it and other work was hard to come by. It was a slow night, so slow you’d already cleaned the bar three times by the time there was a patron. He looked out of place to the usual clientele that would fill the bar over the weekend - tall, brunette, wearing glasses and dressed entirely in black. He asked for a whisky on the rocks and sat at the bar stool, it squeaking slightly under his weight. You nodded, poured the drink and then went to start your usual patter in the hopes of picking up a tip when he held up a hand, silencing you.

“No need.” He slid a few notes across the bar, far more than what that pour of liquor was worth. “For my drink, and for listening to what I’m about to say.”

Well, that certainly piqued your interest, though you knew you would’ve felt uneasy about it if Riku wasn’t in your eyeline – the tall, steroid-powered bouncer by the door would’ve been over like a shot if you gave him a wave.

“Go on, then.”

His name was Kyu. He was looking for some information about a certain regular you had on Saturday nights. He said it was a business issue, but you could read between the lines. He wanted to know if he had a regular drink, seat, who his company was… And, if you were able to supply that information, there’d be more money in it for you.

You didn’t have to think too hard – the pay here was awful, your boss saying your wage was subsidised enough by the generous tips the weekend crowd threw in. You were at least 95% sure it wasn’t a real functioning bar, just a money laundering scheme. The job market had been difficult and you couldn’t bear the thought of moving back to the countryside with your parents. You were scraping by, making ends meet and the idea of extra money to cover the bills that month would be nice.

He'd asked you to load all the information on a USB stick he provided – your crappy laptop barely hanging on to life, but it made it through creating the document at least – and he gave you the address off where to drop it off. Yadorigi Café. He greeted you like any other customer and you slid the stick over to him, before he retrieved an envelope of money and bid you good day. Easiest money you ever made.

Which is why the next month, when the bar had been busted by the cops and your place of employment made a crime scene, you found yourself back at that counter, pleading.

“Is there anything else I can do?”

“Nope,” he shrugs, cleaning a glass methodically. “Sorry.”

You groan, dumping the last copies of your CV on the counter - fed up of handing them out in every bar, café and shop you’d come across on the way here.

 “I can’t get work anywhere. Surprisingly, people don’t trust you if your employment history is blank, or if you put down your last place of employment as one that made national news.”

“It was a one-time thing…” He begins but, thankfully, as if by divine intervention, the café phone rings. You sulked into the coffee that Kyu had given you – another one-time thing he’d stressed –and tried not to eavesdrop on the conversation. “Now?” A pause. “It’s a pretty inconvenient time for me.” A sigh. “Fine. I’ll be with you in half an hour.” He hangs up and rubs the bridge of his nose.

“You gotta go – I need to close for a while.” The bell rings over a door as a group of women come in, sheltering from the rain.

“My apologies, ladies…” Kyu starts but you interrupt.

“Come on in out of the rain, please.” You smile, gesturing to one of the empty booths. Kyu gives you an incredulous look.

“I can watch the place while you’re gone. I’m barista trained,” you whispered, stabbing your finger at the part on your CV.

“I’m not going to hire you,” he scoffed.

“I’m not asking you to. Please. Just give me a cut of the profits in the time you’re gone, huh? Like, tiny, just of whatever they buy.” He stares at you in disbelief. “Please, I’m desperate.”

Kyu looks at the ladies now getting settled in the booth – it would be hard to get them out now and, as much as this is a cover gig for him, he does have a reputation to uphold.

“Fine. Gimme your ID.”

“My ID?” You raise an eyebrow.

“You think I’m going to leave my establishment to a total stranger? I need collateral.”

You dug your purse out of your backpack and retrieved the card, handing it over. He didn’t even scrutinise it for long, slipping it in his apron pocket and turning to the occupied booth.

“Ladies, I’m afraid I have to go out to deal with a personal errand. But don’t worry”, he yanked you forward by your arm, “Honey’s here to take care of you.”

Honey?

--

That had been a couple of months ago. Kyu had sent you away after he’d returned, delighted to see the place was not ransacked or razed to the ground, before sending you away with some cash that should get you through another week if you were careful. Those ladies you’d served and apparently charmed with your service, however, turned out to be part of a lunch club and recommended the establishment to all of their friends. It became hard for Kyu to keep up with dealing with the informants and assassins that popped in through the day, and serve the groups of people now filling up his booths on the regular. It was then that he’d called you – you’d stuck a CV in one the drawers, just as a reminder, as you were heating up the last cup of flavourless noodles from the back of the cupboard, asking if you were interested in working there… Under a false name, of course.

You were good at identifying those who had genuine café interests and those who were there for other purposes. Kyu didn’t let you deal with the initial conversation, but, as time went on, he did begin to trust you enough to allow you to take the information off informants and hand over payment when he wasn’t around.

For the past month or so, there’s been a dark-haired man taking up space at the counter. He’d come in one late morning near the start of your employment, alongside a blonde man when you were cleaning the booth tables. They’d seemed a little suspicious of your presence, but Kyu had offered them reassurance. Kazuki and Rei - you’d learned a little later on. Kazuki was there on his own sometimes, but Rei had started coming in on his own – sometimes with a book, sometimes with a game on his phone as he slipped on some orange concoction Kyu had shown you how to make, before he’d entertain you in any sort of conversation. It turned out you shared a love of video games. You’d used your most recent batch of tips (old ladies are generous to a sweet young lady, it seems) to invest in a second-hand console and were excited for recommendations. He’d even brought in some games for you to borrow…

It's on another rainy afternoon when Rei enters to find the stool at the counter already occupied by Hiro, one of Kyu’s newest recruits and he scowls. This isn’t the first time he’s been unable to sit at the counter when he’s visited. Kyu didn’t seem impressed by Hiro’s work and didn’t seem to have offered him anything since, but he’d started coming in for drinks and you could hardly kick him out in front of legitimate customers.

Rei gives you a small smile as he heads, slowly, to a booth near the front. You smile back and start preparing his usual drink without a word.

“Honey,” Hiro drawls, using the name Kyu had bestowed on you months ago, “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Oh,” you reply, a little annoyed at his persistence. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Well, that’s a shame.” He smirks, spreading his arms across the counter. “A pretty thing like you? Who keeps your bed warm at night?”

“I have an excellent electric blanket, actually.”

“Oh, you’ll break my heart with all this talk.”

“Ah, well, you’ll get over it.” You reply, dryly, stepping out from behind the counter to deliver Rei’s drink to the booth. You can’t help but notice his phone is lying face down on the table, and his fists are clenched as you approach.

“You okay?” You raise an eyebrow as you place the drink down – he looks unusually tense.

“Is he bothering you?” He asks, in a low voice.

“Hiro? Er…” He is, a little, if you were being honest, but he’s harmless enough. “No, he’s fine.” From the scowl that remains on Rei’s face you know he doesn’t believe you.

��Hey, did you see they’re releasing a second edition of Morio Kart over the winter? Looks fun!”

“Mm.” He nods, “it does.” But his eyes are still trained on Hiro at the counter. Despite there being three stools up there, Hiro has placed himself right in the middle, spreading his legs wide enough so no-one would dare sit besides him. Rei’s not an idiot, he knows he’s done it deliberately.

“Well, let me know if you need anything else, okay?” You smile warmly, squeezing his arm briefly before turning back to the counter – wary of leaving it unattended too long.

“Good, you’re back! I was getting lonely.” Hiro quips.

“You, lonely? Impossible.”

“See, that’s what I like so much about you, Honey. You’re so witty.” You can see why Kyu hasn’t given him any work since – he’s incredibly dense.

“Can I get you something else to drink?” You hint. His glass has been empty for a little while now and he’s shown no sign of moving on. You know he’s not waiting for Kyu, either. He’d been here when he first arrived behind he headed out on a “stock run”.

“Hm”, he pulls out his wallet. “One more, then.”

--

You watch, a little reluctantly, as the last group of ladies of the lunch rush bid you farewell – leaving a generous tip – and head out the door. They’d at least given you an excuse to get a break from Hiro’s terrible pick-up lines every so often. He’d made sure to sip his drink incredibly slowly – there’s still half a glass left in front of him.

Suddenly, Hiro gets to his feet and you let out a breath you’d been holding - he’s finally leaving. He strides to the door and instead of opening it as you’d expected, he flips over the open side to closed, and twists the lock on the door.

“Er, what are you doing?” You asked, perplexed.

“Giving us some much-needed private time, Honey,” he smirks, returning to his place the counter. “Come sit beside me, hm?” His hand pats the stool besides him.

“Look, I’ve told you already – I’m not interested in you like that...” Your stomach sinks. You’d have to volley yourself over the counter to get to the front door and your athletic prowess is non-existent. “And you can’t just lock the door either and shut the place down – you’ll get me in trouble with Kyu if he comes back and finds it like that.” You know Hiro wants to be on Kyu’s good side, so maybe that’ll be incentive enough? Kick some sense into his dumb head?

“Oh, you’re not interested?” He lets out a dry laugh. “Well, I can be pretty convincing when I need to be…”

It all happens so fast. Rei is suddenly behind Hiro and wraps his hand around the back of his neck, before smashing his face against the counter. There’s a loud crunch as his nose breaks against the hard surface. He’d been so quiet this entire time you’d forgotten that Rei had still been in the first booth, sitting slightly behind the divider. Silent, unassuming Rei, who apparently had more strength in that slender body than one would expect.

“What the…?” Hiro mumbles, obviously dazed, blood trickling down his nose. “Who the hell are you?”

“Her boyfriend.” Rei grunts, picking him up by the scruff of the neck and hauling him over to the door with minimal effort. He twists the lock with one hand before opening up and shoving Hiro out into the street. The man groans but doesn’t attempt to get up. Rei shuts the door, not locking it – Hiro would be an idiot to come back in and take a swing - and walks over to the counter opposite you, a concerned look on his face.

“Are you okay?” Your heart is thudding in your chest at what transpired over the last few moments. You know you should definitely be more concerned of what Hiro thought was going to happen, but there’s only one thing on your mind in that second.

“My boyfriend?”

Rei’s face flushes red. “It… It came out before I knew what I was saying. I couldn’t stand the way he was all over you.”

“Boyfriend?” Your brain is stuck in a loop.

“I mean, I know I’m not, that we’re not…” His face is growing redder by the second. “I should go.”

He turns to leave but you lunge forward, grabbing hold of his sleeve and pulling him with a strength you didn’t know you possessed back to the counter.  

“Please don’t.” He looks confused at that for a moment, before settling his arms down on the surface. “What I mean is… I like you too.”

An adorable smile creeps across his face. It’s most likely the adrenaline, you decide, but to hell with it. You lean forward, grab hold of his shirt and yank him into a kiss. It’s messy, heated, and tinged with a citrus taste when the bell over the door rings and you pull apart like deers caught in the headlights. Kyu’s in the doorway, a knowing look on his face.

“Well, I was gonna ask why Hiro’s sat in the bins with a bleeding nose and crying, but this might explain it.”

-- Check out my masterlist.

#ghostdogwrites #buddy daddies x you #buddy daddies fanfic #suwa rei x reader #rei x reader #rei suwa x you #rei suwa x reader #requests open #buddy daddies

[obamousse]

Osamu is the mighty boss of Onigiri Miya, resourceful, confident, efficient, a leader who takes no shit from horrible customers and will face unexpected problems head on. But sometimes, running a restaurant is so stressful. He was having a bad day, plagued by stress and pressure of servicing customers, keeping track of products and finances and employees on time. Even on his mind, he wonders and calculates and thinks how his business can be more successful and how to avoid losses. The next day, he broke down upon discovering he forgot to wash his laundry.

He woke up early, before Suna. As usual, before making breakfast, he would check his chores and the state of the house. Not that he didn't complete them the day before-

A basket of 2-weeks worth of dirty laundry, which he had promised himself to deal with yesterday.

God, was he so stuck up with dealing with restaurant problems? How could he forget such an important chore? Now how would he have clothes in store to wear? He already woke up hung-over with light sleep, and his forgetfulness of yesterday might just kill him.

He doesn't cry, he swear. Atsumu only saw him cry when they were kids. Osamu would shrug it off and move on, solving the problem as quick as possible before having a quick lunch and open Onigiri Miya on time.

And it feels so difficult. Waking up at 5, driving one hour to the city center, and opening the shop at 6, then go home at 11 to his husband at 12. His employees wonder how the boss could keep up such a scary lifestyle, and right now, Osamu wonders it too.

Meanwhile, Suna found himself lacking Osamu's warmth in the bed, and got up to find him. It was no surprise Osamu would wake up early and leave Suna completely in deep sleep. But he'd always kiss him before going to work silently.

Suna went outside, to see Osamu sitting and staring at the laundry. Chests heaving. Osamu was distressed. As he got closer to Osamu, he realized the man was crying silent tears. He wouldn't look up at Suna, but Suna knew.

But Suna was terrified too. For the first time Suna could recount, Osamu cried. He had never noticed him crying before, even though Osamu often asks him for comfort when he's down. Suna had doesn't know how to comfort someone when crying, and he's afraid he might hurt Osamu. But he has to do something, because he cannot let him cry like that.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I have to get ready for work."

"No. Really what's wrong? If it's about the laundry then I can do it for you. No need to beat yourself over that."

Suna shook his shoulders. Voice full of confidence. Not what he often does to comfort Osamu. Even holding Osamu's hands in his to maximize the effect.

"Fine. It's stress. Running the restaurant's hard, you know?"

"Then take a day off. Relax. I don't want you to cry again. Go to sleep, and you'll feel better after that."

"Promise?" Osamu looked up at him in teary and weary eyes.

Suna wasn't sure what he said was true, but he has to go through it. He wants to believe in it too.

"Promise."

"Thanks Rin, but I gotta go to work. They need me."

Suna guess he couldn't keep Osamu with him for too long before he'd be back at the restaurant, his work, his passion.

"But come back early, yeah. I want you to have a good night sleep." He said, dejectedly. He thought Osamu could stay with him and relax and take a day off work.

"Promise." Osamu wiped his tears, simply smiled and kissed Suna on the forehead as usual before leaving work. Now that's the familiar kiss before he goes to work. Suna went back to bed and tried to continue his sleep.

Osamu cries few tears, and for a few times. But he knows how to bounce back and carry on, with the right support. And one day, when the business gets better, he could allocate more time to his home and Sunarin.

#haikyuu!! #haikyuu headcanons #suna rintarou #miya osamu #sunaosa #established relationship #they live in the same house #idk what I'm even writing #I'm so sleepy rn #got this idea from twitter even though twitter does it better than me #so credits to luxrayfics I guess #mini fanfic #I guess

[linisiane]

Been thinking about a Modern!Babel AU centered around colleges aimed around Silicon Valley

Immigrant kids being funneled into CS because it’s the field where the money is (linguistics? Where’s the money in that? You want to starve?).

International students coming to America because all the Big Programming Languages and their documentation are in English, because translations of documentation is to err and to betray, because English is the programming lingua franca, because if you don’t know English then you’ll be “trailing edge.” Source

“As an American and native English-speaker myself, I have previously been reluctant to suggest this, lest it be taken as a sort of cultural imperialism. But several native speakers of other languages have urged me to point out that English is the working language of the hacker culture and the Internet, and that you will need to know it to function in the hacker community.” Source

So they come to America to improve their English because you have to be fluent to be taken seriously. Or maybe they’re born in America and can feel the rot of their native tongue as they grow up, even as they learn more and more programming languages.

Java, C++, Ruby, XML, Python, Swift, PHP, etc.

It’s funny, but programmers, even as they’ve decided on English as the one true language, they create more and more programming languages to suit their needs/problem solving efficiency:

Source

[ID: XKCD comic that is titled "How Standards Proliferate (See: A/C chargers, character encodings, instant messaging, etc.)" It reads,

Situation: There are 14 competing standards. Cueball (stick figure): 14?! Ridiculous! We need to develop one universal standard that covers everyone's use cases. Ponytail (other stick figure): Yeah! Soon: Situation: There are 15 competing standards.

End ID]

(transcript taken from the ExplainXKCD wiki)

And of course, the students from countries on the Indian subcontinent are acutely aware of the unbalanced nature of the work they do, the way they’re expected to do export IT work, despite the digital divide in India, Bengal, Pakistan, etc. Especially since it’s a sign of being well-educated (wealthy) to speak English fluently thanks to the history of British Imperialism on the subcontinent.

Chinese IT students sink or swim thanks Mandarin monolinguism making it difficult to learn English. Americans programmers struggle not to link choppy English with choppy code, even while being monolingual themselves!

Not to mention the heavy sexism in the IT field! Female programmers taking on nicknames on emails and resumes to pretend to be men, so they’ll be taken seriously. Despite the history of women like Ada Lovelace being foundational to computers.

And of course we gotta bring up the ethics of AI, how it’s a march towards the inevitable that only Luddites would oppose. Despite the millions who’d lose their jobs once implemented into the workplace.

Commercial transportation sector lost to self-driving cars.

Digital artists lost to DALL-E.

Manufacturers automated.

But can’t they tell that progress is inevitable? That this is the future and to try to stop it is foolish?

As Anand Giridharadas put it in Winners Take All:

“In [Silicon] Valley, prediction has become a popular way of fighting for a particular future while claiming merely to be describing what has yet to occur”

Elon Musk is a genius. Bill Gates is so charitable. Bezos is customer obsessed, and they’re the future, don’t you see? Infinite growth forever and ever.

Tower of Babel? Valley of Silicon.

Unfortunately I suck at STEM, and I’m an uncultured Asian American, so I don’t know programming languages well, nor do I know enough about other cultures to do Ramy, Victoire, Robin, or Letty justice. Just the bare bones to see the structure of this AU and put it out in the world to see if anybody would like to play with it or add on.

#babel or the necessity of violence #babel #babel an arcane history #babel rf kuang #my thoughts #infinite growth is the silver #or maybe crypto as silver lol #Silicon Valley is babel #tech progress is our version of the inevitable empire #okay now this is the part in my notes where I ramble #Silicon Valley shined so bright but I feel like we’re reaching the point where it’s bloating everything #not everything can be solved by programming #AHEM NFTs are a nonsense solution made by tech bros to scam money under the illusion of useful technology #bc we want that infinite growth baby #I don’t hate AI but I do think the way it’s being implemented right now is unethical #and that said unethical-ness is being buried under the idea of ‘pragmatism’ or ‘progress’ #the way a certain type STEM major considers feelings to be ‘irrational’ and therefore to be ignored #honestly that gives me repressed Robin vibes #I don’t actually think there’s anything wrong with there necessarily being a lingua franca for STEM fields #I get that it’s useful for international communication #but also it’s like a colonialist elephant in the room that could be explored through creative liberties