#Has the smile of someone that would sell you debt
Text
Another small task I've been putting off.
I've had this character in my head for the explorer universe for years now: "What if person, but too long?"
Very chatty, very slinky. Carries a banned dagger that works like a detonation-charge-powered can opener. There's probably crimes.
#long#monster person#armor#dagger#fangs#ominous smile#too much neck#looks really trustworthy I'm sure#I imagine they can slink through tiny gaps like a long rat#Has the smile of someone that would sell you debt#snakepixel
387 notes
·
View notes
Note
Mafia!Konig X Reader who borrowed money and now has no way to give it back (que to porno scene of her paying back with her bod-)
You knew borrowing money from someone like him was a bad idea. Worst idea you had in your life. Usually, when a person is having money troubles, they should come to the bank and ask for a loan nicely. Maybe talk to some friends and relatives. If anything, just come to some predatory cash transfer service.
Of course, if you had any of those options available, you wouldn't be sitting on your knees now, sucking the dick of some ex-military asshole who decided that his PTSD and connections give him the right to police normal, law-obeying citizens. Of course, if you had literally any other option, you would have just gone with it. But it's not possible, not for you - and you needed money as fast as possible. Without any way of paying it back, you're surprised they didn't just kill you outright and then harvest your organs.
"Come on, Schatzi. Be nice and I won't sell you, ja?"
There is a gun nudging in your forehead as you suck deeper, trying so hard not to choke. The man - Konig, fittingly, although you fucking hated that stupid name - was enjoying the struggle you put on as you tried to deep-throat his beast of a cock. It's too much, he is choking you without even moving - but you want to be good because otherwise, you'd be dead. And this is...well, not an option. Not even in the slightest.
He promised that he wouldn't sell you for organ harvest and wouldn't kill you if you were good for him. He said you're cute, cuter than the usual borrowers. He mumbles something about the last girl he had running away after they found out what he did - but you won't be like this, surely, you already know who he is, and you aren't scared. It's weird, to listen to his mumbles like you're already together - and you don't want to be like this, but he almost sounds...hopeful. Happy.
He pats your head with his gun and you can hear a smile in his voice. Nice, kind words covering you - something about giving you more time to pay out the debt. Something about leaving you with him, since he does needs an arm candy. You can refuse - if you have money to pay out, of course. You don't.
Looks like Vienna's criminal scene will finally open up to you.
811 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ruben Dias x Reader - Fake Love Part 7
Reader is a kindergarten teacher. Nothing more nothing less. But following an accident whistle vacation in Dubai she somehow makes her boyfriend believe that she does somthing else for a living, something that earns her way more money than she has. Her boyfriend, Ruben, is just happy to have found someone who understands him so well, someone who doesn't want him for his money since money isn't an issue for neither reader or himself. Or so thinks. Would finding out the truth ruin their newfound relationship? Readers thinks so, and does everything to keep up the lie, although it has some bad people from the middle east looking for her.
Enjoy!
"Okay, how much is that?"
"About 7 000 total."
"Ugh, we're still 13 000 pounds short." You groaned, falling back against your couch.
You and Alicia agreed to sell all the things that she had bought, in order to pay Mr Siddiq back. You managed to sell most of her designer items online, and some of the items that she hadn't even worn yet were returned to the store for a refund. You spent all week living like savages, glued to the computer, making phone calls to meet up with potential buyers.
"I don't understand why we can't eat, though? Or have heat?" Alicia asked, wrapping her body up in a blanket.
"Eating costs." You muttered. "So does heat. All of our money is going to paying back Mr Siddiq. I've told you this."
"Yes, but like you said, we're still 13 000 pounds short. I don't think we will be making that much money in 24 hours and I'm starting to get hungry."
You rolled your eyes. You really couldn't with Alicia. How could her financial judgment have been so poorly? I mean, her mother is an accountant for God's sake. However, it might have been her dad who used to spoil her as a child. The thrill of a man paying for everything she pointed to must be her aspiration in life. But today Alicia's aspirations had gotten you in a lot of debt.
"Would you please pick up your phone, my ass doesn't want to vibrate forever, and I'm pretty sure your boyfriend is calling me now."
It was true, you recognized Ruben's number on Alicia's screen. You stood up to take the call, disappearing into your bedroom.
"Ruben?"
He had been calling all week. But with everything going you weren't in the right head space to talk to him, let alone be honest with him.
"Hey, baby. Is everything alright?" He sounded concern, probably because you were talking to him through someone else's phone.
"Everything is fine. Life is just pretty hectic right now."
"Oh, sorry if I'm disturbing you..."
"It's fine Ruben. Hearing your voice is really what I needed."
"Good." He shriped and you imagined the dimples that came with his smile.
"I've actually got some news that might cheer you up?"
"Really? A man named Mr Siddiq and his entire family sadly passed away in a plane crash?
"Yeah, I'll be in London this weekend for our away game against Chelsea."
"Oh"
"Oh?"
You perked up. "I mean, that's...that's really nice Ruben. But I'm not in London this week?"
"No? Where are you then?"
Don't lie, don't lie, don't lie.
"Stevenage!" You blurred out, immediately regretting it.
"Stevenage? What is that?"
"Um, it's a city. Where I grew up actually. Where my parents live."
"Oh, you're visiting your parents?"
"Yes, so I'm pretty busy."
"I'd love to meet them someday."
"You do?" You paused, Ruben's answer suprised you.
"Of course. Wouldn't you like for me to meet them?"
You had just gotten comfortable calling Ruben your boyfriend, him meeting your parents would mean another milstone reached before you had told Ruben who you really are.
"Sure." You mumbled.
"Let's make it happen someday." He said, sounding happy about the fact.
"Um, I've got to get back to work..."
"Of course. It was nice to hear your voice too. Can I call you again later tonight?"
"Um, sure."
"Alright, talk to you later then. I love you."
"Bye Ruben."
The room fell silent as you ended the call, however the guilt and shame inside you was louder than ever. You dragged yourself back to the living room, handing Alicia back her phone.
"You good? What did he say?"
"He said he loved me." You plotted down on the couch, eyes staring blankly into space.
"Oh my god, really? What did you say."
"I said, bye Ruben."
Alicia frowned.
You turned to her with tears in your eyes. "He's never gonna talk to me again when he finds out."
"Finds out what?" She cought you as you slumped into her embrace. "That you're nothing but a gold digger?"
You sat back up. "That's not funny Alicia."
Her shoulders shrugged when she laughed.
"I am not a gold digger. You on the other hand...."
"Okay, okay. I get, I messed up. I'm the bad guy in all of this. But speaking of gold diggers...." She said, with that look that often haunted your dreams. "Wouldn't it be easiest to just ask Ruben for the remaining money? I mean surely he's good for it, and if he really loves you..."
You batted your eyes. Baffled by what was coming out of Alicia's big mouth. Surley anyone would agree that now would be the only right time to slap your best friend in the face. "Alicia." You said, with the lowest most calmest tone you could extract from yourself. You were convinced that this was the only way that she would understand you, if you were babying her.
"Yes, Y/N?" She said, with that naive twinkle in her eyes.
"Have...you...learned...nothing. You are NOT. I repeat NOT, borrowing money from anyone ever again, especially not Ruben."
"Then how are we gonna pay the last 13 000 back?"
"I'm...." You said, getting up and walking over to grab your coat. "I'm going to talk to someone I trust and know will lend me the money, with a promise that I'll pay him back with interest."
Alicia looked over to where you stood. "It's not Byron is it?"
"That's none of your business." You hissed, slamming the door on your way out.
Byron agreed to hear you out over a beer. You met in a small pub in town and to your suprise Byron agreed to lend you the money.
"And don't worry, you won't have to give me all of it until June."
"It's okay." He said.
"It is?" 13 000 punds was alot of money. However, there was something else on Byron's mind, a question.
"Is this you?" He asked, showing something off his IPhone.
Heat rose to your face seeing a photo of you in the club with Ruben and his friends, Ruben's arm waying over your shoulder as you sat next to him.
"Um..."
You had seen it before, the photo, going around the internet, with the caption talking about Ruben and his new boe. It was first posted on Lauren's Instagram. Lauren who was Ruben's teammates girlfriend.
"Yes, yes that's me." You sighed.
Byron nodded. Of course it was you in the photo, he wasn't blind. People in Stevenage watched Football and knew of the hype around it. You only belong to the few people who didn't.
"How do you know Jack Grealish and Ruben Dias ?" He followed up, in a way that sounded more like you were being accused of a crime rather than asked a simple question.
"I um....met them during a night out with friends." You lied. He wasn't Ruben, you had no problem lying to Byron.
"And so the two of you...?" He was reffering to Ruben.
"Took a photo and then went our separate ways." You nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much what happened."
Byron didn't look to believe you, but proceeded. "It's obvious that you're seeing someone Y/N, I mean you never come over for game nights anymore and I've seen you texting someone when you should be paying attention to your class."
You chuckled. "Byron I have no idea what you're point is, but if this is you criticizing the way I teach my kindergarten class then..."
He shook his head. "No, it's not that."
"Then what is it?" You really didn't have the time. You should get back to the apartment, help Alicia sell her clothes. And Ruben would want to facetime soon.
"I like you Y/N."
"There it is." You sighed.
"And I'm not lending you the money so that you'll finally agree to be my girlfriend, but...."
"But?" You frowned. "There is no but in this Byron. Either you lend me the money out of the kindness of your heart, or you don't. This is not an exchange of services."
"Then, no." He said, fixing his posture as he sat across from you.
"No? What do you mean, no?"
He got up to leave, grabbing his jacket. He looked down on you with pitty on his face. "Life is about choices Y/N, and you seem to keep making the wrong ones."
With that he left.
You got back to your apartment, pretty sure that smoke was coming out of your ears.
"Y/N, there is something you should..."
"Not now Alicia."
You stomped across the living room.
"But you should really..."
"God, not now Alicia." You hissed, not meant to take your anger out on her. Nevertheless the damage was already done as Alicia crumbled where she sat on the couch. "I'm sorry I..." You ran a hand down your tired face. "I just got to facetime Ruben first. I have to tell him that I love..." The handle to your bedroom door pressed down just as you were about to do it. The door opened and he appeared in the frame.
"Ruben?"
He grinned. "You sounded down over the phone so I brought something that might cheer you up."
"W...what?"
He stretched out his arms. "Me!"
Warmth erupted inside you. You stumble forwards, melting into his giant embrace. Although this was a bad thing, a really bad thing that he was here, you really needed to be held right now.
#fanfiction#football imagine#ruben dias#man city#manchester city#ruben dias x reader#ruben dias imagine#footballer imagine#footballer x reader#football angst
61 notes
·
View notes
Text
Topsy Turvy Days in Scarabia
What are the chances that the Adeuce combi somehow both ended up picking the same alternate dorm to be in 🤣
Azul voice) You two are downgrades from Jade and Floyd.
The Sorcerer of the Sands, and his Spirit of Mindfulness.
Azul Ashengrotto…
… leaves the Mostro Lounge in Trey’s capable (enough) hands and packs his own bags for the sands! To Azul, this dorm exchange program is just another extended business trip, and he intends to capitalize on every possible moment of it! The seeds he sows today will become fruitful sources of connections, supplies, and revenue for the future. Look at that, he’s already thinking with all the forethought and mindfulness of a Scarabia student!
He’s wise enough to prep in advance for what he knows will be a difficult climate to adjust to. Part of Azul’s luggage contains transition lens glasses (to deal with the sun!), a variety of moisturizers, and a massive water bottle to keep himself hydrated and to slow the loss of moisture in his very delicate merman skin! But no matter how dry or overheated he may get, Azul absolutely refuses to assume his merform or to unceremoniously submerge himself in water in very public places (the fountain, the desert oasis). He’ll stay here in the shade, thank you very much!!
As soon as Azul pulls up to his new dorm, he starts greeting and cozying up to people, bowing, shaking hands, and handing out his business cards like they’re candy. (A good first impression is very important to establish amicable relationships!!) “Please do feel free to get in contact should you ever be in need of assistance,” he insists, sliding his card and a smile over. “I would be more than happy to hear your woes.”
It isn’t long before Azul learns that life in Scarabia is runs at its own pace. Under Kalim’s reign, the students are just kind of allowed to do whatever they want (and though they are intelligent, the lax leadership has not encouraged them to meet their full potentials). Azul seizes the opportunity to take charge of those poor, unfortunate souls, leading study sessions and guiding them through mentally enriching activities (cooking, crushing other at board games, etc). Once the Scarabia students are in his debt, he can call on them for favors 🙃
He’s nosy, so he’ll snoop around Scarabia looking for anything of interest. (If anyone catches him, Azul will explain it away as “just being curious” about the architecture of the dorm. There’s all sorts of things to ogle and make note of, from the unique flora and rich fabrics that adorn the lounge to the ornate lanterns strung overhead and the rare spices lining the kitchen cabinets. The list of things he wants to acquire for the Mostro Lounge grows ever longer…
Azul happens upon Scarabia’s storage room and marvels at all the jewels and other treasures contained within it—but though he admires that enormous wealth, he refrains from taking any of it for himself. That amount of money is something he wants to be able to earn for himself, not shamelessly steal. Goals reaffirmed, Azul sets his sights to a future lined with gold.
He doesn’t intentionally concern himself with babysitting Ace or Deuce, but their paths inevitably cross. Azul has to be the one to tell them off or to get them out of trouble, because if the duo fucks up hard then it makes him, by association as an outsider, look bad. In other words… those meddling kids are getting in his way again!!
Azul not-so-subtly hints that he would like for everyone to put in a good word about him to Kalim and Jamil upon their return. Imagine the benefits Azul could reap if he connected with Kalim’s father, or he could befriend someone as skilled as Jamil!! (Somewhere in Ignihyde, Jamil sneezes.) He sells the idea to Scarabia as “I wish to deepen the bonds between your dorm and Octavinelle!” … and enough of them buy it for him to be satisfied with all the efforts he out into this con investment.
“Fufu. Truly, the cultural differences of the land and the sea are nowhere near as vast as they are between Scarabia and Octavinelle. That is, perhaps, what lends each of us our unique strengths and assets. I have become all the richer for all the knowledge and the connections I have made here. May we forge an ever stronger union between the world above and the world below the depths, so that we may create a whole new world together.”
Ace Trappola…
… is tugged by the ear and forced to sit down for a “chat” with Riddle before he’s let loose in Scarabia. He’s in for a looong lecture about “proper etiquette” and “respecting the legacy of the Sorcerer of the Sands”. Ace just rolls his eyes and goes, “Why do only I have to sit through this and not Deuce?! This is discrimination against ME specifically!!” (There’s a fiery back-and-forth between them, concluding with Ace reassuring his dorm leader Riddle doesn’t need to “worry his own damn head off” about his behavior “cuz I can handle myself just fine!” He’s got to keep one jump ahead of the lawmen—)
… Anyway, Ace then proceeds to live a very hedonistic lifestyle at Scarabia like a stereotypical frat bro or something 🤣 The luxury’s here, so he might as well indulge and enjoy it while he can!! You’ll often find him reclined in a sea of silk cushions, soaking up the sunshine and snacking on whatever is left lying around on their tables.
The opulence kind of goes to his head at a certain point; Ace starts snapping pics of all the cool stuff Scarabia has and posting it on Magicam to flex on his haters followers. Here’s Ace running his hands through piles of gold while he’s literally swimming in it. and here’s Ace sticking his tongue out at the camera while lying on a complicated tapestry. (There are consistent likes from Cater, but also DM requests from Riddle coming in, which Ace promptly ignores.)
With his quick wit and bright personality, he makes quick friends in Scarabia. Ace likes doing character impressions for his new buddies, which are always sure to earn him applause and laughter. His most popular impression at the moment is Jamil (whom Ace knows rather intimately thanks to their many encounters during VDC/SDC training camp and in Basketball Club). “Wow, that’s exactly what Jamil-senpai sounds like!!” the Scarabia students cry out in awe.
Ace parties hard at the banquets (which, in the absence of Jamil, Azul has organized)!! Without all the stuffy rules and regulations of Heartslabyul to keep him down, nothing’s stopping Ace from dancing the night away and eating ‘til he passes out from a food coma! He’s here for a good time, not a long time!
He plays some games with his new dorm members, but doesn’t exactly always do so fairly. While the opponent’s distracted, Ace will get ahead by making an extra move or using sleight of hand to remove an important piece from play. )That’s how he ends up winning so many games of mancala!) When Deuce calls him out on this, Ace just shrugs and tells him, “I’m not cheating! I’m using deliberation, idiot. That makes me an ideal Scarabia student!”
Ace isn’t above pocketing some of the loot from the storage room. He doesn’t try to take as much of it as he can unlike a certain hyena would, but just a few large rubies he thinks he could resell for a good price. (Kalim-senpai won’t mind, right? He’s got tons of these, he’s probably hand me a whole sack of ‘em if I asked! Ace reasons with himself. Besides, I don’t have enough spending money for myself this week! I should just do this now while Jamil-senpai’s not around.)
When you think that’s the worst of the antics he gets up to… think again! Late in the evenings, once everyone else has gone to sleep, Ace sneaks out and steals the magic carpet for a starry joyride! He soars, tumbles, and freewheels through and endless diamond sky, in a whole new world way up in the clouds. It is here where he feels the most free—free from the rules, from the expectations, free from the inhibitions, free from everything.
“Man, Scarabia’s awesome!! I can basically do and say whatever I want, there’s no Riddle ryocho breathing down my neck… This is definitely right up my alley!! … I say that, but Heartslabyul’s got a heck of a lot going for it too. I guess in the end there’s no place like ‘home’, huh? N-Not that I miss Heartslabyul or anything, like I’d miss that place and its teapot tyrant!!”
Deuce Spade…
… is all fired up for Scarabia!! He’s been doing a ton of self-reflection lately, and he knows that an area of weakness for him is stopping to think before he acts. What better way to work on that then immersing himself in a dorm teeming with mindful students? Maybe some of their smarts will rub off on him!!
Deuce appreciates that Scarabia’s uniform allows for liberal movement. He’s also pretty fond of the flames on his new hotpants; he thinks they’re super cool, and they remind him of how used to dress as a delinquent. “It’d look even more cool if we added skulls! Can I add some patches to my uniform?” he asks, earning stares from Ace (”Dude, how edgy are you?!” and Azul (”I would refrain from tailoring your borrowed uniform, Deuce-san. That is a privilege reserved for dorm leaders.”).
Without their Heartslabyul senpai to keep an eye on them, Deuce vows to keep his fellow first year under control! (That’s what an honor student would do!) Unfortunately for Deuce, that more often than not leads to bickering, and then him getting roped into Ace’s shenanigans rather than stopping them… like the time Deuce stepped on the magic carpet while trying to yoink it out of Ace’s hands, spooking it and sending it shooting out of the window with both of the boys clinging onto it!! (“You’re just as guilty as I am now, so don’t tell a soul or we’ll both be busted!!” Ace hisses at him. “You’re the one that hijacked Asim-senpai’s stuff though!!” Deuce shoots back. “Go and apologize to him right now!!” The magic carpet wonders if all Heartslabyul kids are like this.)
The menagerie of animals kept at Scarabia (mostly on account of Kalim) is huge. Deuce becomes particularly enthralled by the exotic birds, though he can’t keep any of their names straight so he just calls them different kinds of variants of chicken. (”They can’t ALL be chickens, Loosey Deucey!” Ace sighs, bonking him on the head.)
He defers to Azul’s authority, since he’s a dorm leader and their upperclassman! Sure, Azul kind of has a shady record, but Deuce decides to place his trust in him regardless. He believes that if he’s making an honest effort to change, then so can Azul–and everyone deserves a second chance, right? The merman finds Deuce’s naivete childish yet oddly charming, for it is his willingness to forgive that reminds him so much of Kalim in the aftermath of Jamil’s… incident. He’s not wrong, Azul muses. People are capable of change. Even a diamond can be found in the rough.
Deuce takes the time to keep up with his training for Track and Field Club even in a whole new dorm! You’ll find him sprinting around the perimeter of Scarabia, occasionally trekking all the way out to the desert oasis on particularly rigorous workouts. (It’s a challenge since the sands interfere with his speed!) Once his routine is done, he’ll dunk his whole head in a fountain or in the oasis waters to refresh himself!!
There are times when he makes his way to the oasis when he’s frustrated or needs some alone time. It’s the next closest thing to the ocean, and the only body of water big enough for him to shout to. He’ll vent about his inadequacies and the difficulties of catching up to those who are naturally talented–but once he has laid out all of his feelings, Deuce feels much better, and ready to tackle the next day at full throttle!
He becomes absolutely fascinated by the idea of astrology and divinations (areas which students of Scarabia often excel in). Deuce asks for them to tell his fortune or to see into the future using the stars!! … His stares of anticipation are so intense that the Scarabia students feel awkward while they go through the process–but once Deuce has his reading, whether it’s good or bad, he gets even more motivated to do his best. Affirming a good prediction or turning over a bad one–that power’s up to him and him alone to wield!
“The more I see of Scarabia, the more I realize how much there’s still left for me to learn. I didn’t know there was food so spicy it makes you feel like your tongue fell off, or that stars could be so bright up close. I thought I was a chick before, but I was wrong! I’m still barely hatched from my egg! So… I’ll use the time I have left here to learn everything I can. I’ll go back to Heartslabyul a better man than I was yesterday!”
#Azul Ashengrotto#Ace Trappola#Deuce Spade#twst#twisted wonderland#twst anni#twisted wonderland anni#twisted wonderland anniversary#twst anniversary#curiouser and curiouser#twisted wonderland headcanons#topsy turvy days
147 notes
·
View notes
Text
ᴍɪɴɪ ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛ > ＣＯＴＴＯＮ ＣＡＮＤＹ ＣＬＯＵＤＳ˚۰
ＶＩＮＹＬ 💿 ＲＥＣＯＲＤＳ
ｓｈｉｎｊｉ ｘ ｇｎ！ ｒｅａｄｅｒ
request. Anonymous asked: Hope I'm early but can I request Shinji with vynil records ? It feels like that word is there for him (and my mind instantly came up with so many potentials)
tw. none. sweet modern (or not?) au.
wc. 1.3k
masterlist.
“You should close the store; nobody still buys vinyl records”
“I will…” but I don’t want to.
Is not that you were extremely attached to the past, but your family has been running that business since a long time and now it was in your hands. Sure, technology has managed to overcome the old vinyl discs, but you still had hope. There were some amateurs who would buy some, but, time passed, and the industry slowly decayed…
“You are in debt. Severe debt” your accountant tells you, straight to the point through the phone while you play with an old vinyl around your index. “There is a man that wants to buy the shop, he is willing to pay double the amount of your debt. They are planning on setting a bubble tea shop”
You sigh… another tea shop. It’s ok, your place is located in a good place where summer days are lively and the fairy lights shine with charm on winter busy nights.
“All right. Give me one more week and I’ll give you an answer”
Some tears form in the corner of your eyes. Everybody is right. You should use this last week to finally say goodbye. There is no way you can transform your business by yourself, and apparently nobody is willing to help either.
You spend longer than expected inside, well passed the closing time. You decided it was time to see which of the things you will take with you, and which ones you were willingly to sell on the internet.
Scrutinizing old boxes you have in the back, you find some particular one. A set of Jazz vinyls that catches your attention immediately. In the front cover a man, with blond almost yellow hair and straight bangs smiles.
“What a particular smile…” you mumble, inspecting the disc. “This looks extremely old, it’s probably been here since my grandfather opened the store” you think, while you turn on the turntable to try it.
As soon as you place the needle on the black surface of the disc, and after some white noise, a peculiar song starts playing. It has Spanish vibes, but it’s also jazzy.
You have no idea what the title means, but, apparently the band is called “Vizards” and the first song “Escalon”
And, for some reason, you enjoyed it way more than you thought you would… and it made that last week a little more bearable. Selecting what goes and what not, cleaning and selling the last stuff before closing was clearly breaking your heart, but, the weird songs of that old vinyl made it all better…
The seventh day had arrived. Being the day you have to finally give the buyer an answer, you walk through the same streets you had always walked to get to your shop.
There is something in the air that makes it difficult to breathe, like a high pressure over your shoulders. You try to dismiss it, it’s probably just anxiety.
Playing with your keys as you approach your store, you keep humming that “Escalon” song. The sky is clear today, so you let the sun kiss your cheeks with its morning yellow light.
But, even if your life was about to change, there was someone who was willing to change it to a totally different idea of what you had already imagined…
“Hey! Are you the owner of this shop?” A blonde guy, with straight bangs and fancy looking clothes startles you at the very entrance of your shop.
There is something about him, something that feels familiar…
“Not for so long… I’ll be right with you, sir” you tell him, while the keys slide on the lock.
“You have no idea how much I’ve been looking for a vinyl store! I’m new to Karakura town, so, I’m so glad you are open!” he says, smiling…
oh, that smile…
You turn around to take a look at him before opening the door, and while you do, and the little bell chimes you realize how similar he looks to the guy on the “Vizards” vinyl. What a strange coincidence.
You sigh, though. He is glad you are open, but he might be the only one after all. “Actually, today is the shop’s last day” you confess.
“What? Why?!” he asks, taking his beret off completely outraged.
It makes you kinda laugh, he might not realize he is the only person wanting to buy vinyl records.
“Because nobody else buys vinyls anymore, sir” you say, turning the turntable on to musicalize the shop, while you get ready to sell whatever is left to that smiling being in front of you.
The man takes his hands to his tiny waist. He seems annoyed at your statement; he is there to buy, so, nobody wouldn’t be the proper term.
However, even if he wanted to say something, the melody that starts playing makes him go silent. He comes closer to the music source, and tilts his head to the side so that he could read the title on the spinning vinyl.
“I can’t believe it… I want a copy now” he chimes, excited as if he had found something he’s been looking for so long.
“Unfortunately is the only one I have… you see I found it on an old box, probably my grandpa’s belongings from when he opened the store” you excuse yourself, realizing that the last disc you were probably selling cannot be sold.
“Then, I will come back here to listen to it every day” he says, giving you the sweetest, most big smile you’ve seen. It leaves you startled, out of words.
When he is about to leave you gain your voice back; “Sir this is the last day of the store, you can take the vinyl for free!” you tell him, after all he was kind enough to believe in you when the rest didn’t.
“Are you sure this is the last day? Maybe things are about to turn upside down for you. See you tomorrow!”
You stutter, what is he talking about? As he leaves you simply laugh, sure that that man is nothing but a crazy one…
“So, (Name), if you are finally willing to sell the shop, the buyer will visit you there at 3 pm. I will be there too so that we can sign the papers”
“Yes… I will. May I ask what’s the name of the buyer?” you inquire him, just to know the name of the person that will transform your family’s legacy into yet another cafeteria.
“Hirako Shinji, he is the owner of “Upside Down”. You know, the bubble tea chain from out the state”
“Upside Down, you say…?”
You smile to the phone… If that’s a coincidence, you don’t wanna know…
The weird Spanish like song of Escalon fills the shop with their notes, it’s almost 3 pm and the inevitable it’s about to happen. However, there is something inside you telling you to be at peace.
The first to arrive was your accountant. He is not a bad guy; in fact, he has been there since the beginning for your family and you when you had to take over the business.
“The man is lovely, you will see. He is a little bit weird, but you can trust” he says, while you smile.
And just as he says so, the chime on the door announces the arrival of the buyer.
“Hello, hello! I’m back! I forgot to tell you my name, I’m Hirako Shinji” he presents himself, shaking your hand with great enthusiasm. Making you smile so widely. “So, let’s give this beautiful Vinyl store a little bit of life. Do you think you can still work for me? I want people to have some tea while listening to your wonderful melodies”
You gawk… this man… “So, you don’t want to get rid of the vinyl records” you ask, with glimmering eyes.
“Of course not, I knew this was the perfect place the moment you had my grandpa’s band playing in your store. I love jazz, and I’m a collector myself. I want you to help me and I want to help you make this business bloom… what do you say, cutie?”
You laugh at the “cutie”… but how can you resist when he has just arrived to put your world upside down? 💖
#bleach#bleach x reader#hirako shinji#shinji hirako#hirako shinji x reader#shinji hirako x reader#shinji x reader#bleach fanfiction#bleach fic#bleach tybw#bleach manga#bleach anime#bleach shinji#shinji bleach#shinji hirako x you#hirako shinji x you#shinji#hirako bleach#sashi ya#candy cotton clouds event
155 notes
·
View notes
Text
Silence - Chapter 43
Pairing = Thomas Shelby x Reader
Summary = Ana has a craving but doesn’t want to ruin their evening and keeps quiet about it. But Tommy always finds out.
Warnings = Language, Grammar, Fluffs, Alcohol, Smoking.
Word Count = 2424
Note = This chapter is based on an anonymous suggestion about Ana craving fish and chips and Tommy going to get it despite being annoyed. So whoever you are...I hope you enjoy it. Happy Friday.
It had been a few days since that evening in the betting shop. Both John and Arthur couldn't believe that my parents agreed to 'sell' me to settle a debt. That was the thing about the Shelby family, they were quite progressive when it came to women and the idea of selling someone off against their will disgusted them.
As the news fell, I could see the turmoil behind Arthur's eyes – instantly blaming himself once again.
I hadn't heard from either brother since Tommy had sent them off on a stakeout to make sure that the voice I heard matched up to the face they were able to see. The only issue was that had to enter enemy territory, therefore they would have to move without getting caught otherwise – war.
It was late in the evening when Tommy returned home, a stoic look on his face as he whipped the peaked cap from his head, hanging it on the hook along with his coat. He nodded his head in my direction as he passed, opening the cupboard to pull out his glass and pouring a hefty measure of the brown liquid.
"Long day?" I asked, circling the rim of my tea cup with my finger. I could feel the tension in him the minute he walked through the door.
"It was." He responded flatly, looking ahead towards the bedroom, the gears in his head still churning, never stopping.
"Do you want something to eat?" I asked, standing to my feet, taking the now empty cup with me, and moving next to him, his woody yet smoky scent filling my nose as I placed the cup into the sink.
"No, I'm alright. Have you eaten?" He asked, eyes flickering over to me.
"Not yet." I shook my head, reaching out to take the glass from his hand, placing it on the table, and stepping into his space, resting my hands on his chest, simply enjoying his closeness.
"Why?"
"Why haven't you?" I challenged back, pushing my hands up until they lay on his shoulders. Glancing down to watch my hands I noticed a red stain on the collar of his shirt.
Furrowing, I took the fabric into my hand, rubbing it between my fingers. Not moving. Swallowing back, my eyes slowly made their way back up to his eyes. They were watching me intently, a coldness in them sent a shiver down my spine.
I felt my breathing stop as the realisation hit me.
Nodding, I cleared my throat, offering Tommy a small smile before stepping away from him, putting my arms around myself as I thought about what he has done. It had to be done. He was protecting me, at least that was what I would tell myself.
Walking towards the sofa, I sat down, taking the paper in my hands reading over the headlines to distract myself from the truth.
"I did it for you."
"Can you take off the shirt? I can try and get the stain out but it may be a lost cause at this point." I answered, glancing over toward him. "I'll be going shopping with Esme in the morning so I will pick up a new shirt."
"Did you make it hurt?" I asked, closing my eyes at the tingling feeling rushing through my body due to his loving touches.
Unsure of what to say, Tommy simply nodded. His nimble fingers worked the buttons of his waistcoat removing it along with his jacket with a sigh.
Moving to walk past me, he placed a soft kiss on the top of my head, a hand resting on my shoulder.
"To an extent." He replied, pulling away to unbutton the white shirt.
Turning around to face him, I kneeled on the sofa, reaching a hand out to pull him closer to me, undoing a few buttons myself. "Will they know it was you?"
"No." His answer was short, quick. "Arthur and John are dealing with the body. It will look like a mugging gone wrong."
"Okay" I nodded, looking up at him through my eyelashes. "Probably best we burn this shirt, limit any suspicion."
"Agreed" Tommy nodded, pulling the white fabric from his shoulders revealing his long sleeve undershirt.
Throwing the shirt on the back of the sofa, he walked around the sofa towards the fireplace, nudging the dulling embers with the poker before throwing on more coal and bringing it to light once more.
Standing to his feet he patted down the remains of the coal on his trousers, reaching a hand out for me to pass him the shirt. Taking the material in my hands our fingers grazed as I passed it along, watching the entire thing burn once Tommy tossed it on the burning fire.
"You need to eat Stace," Tommy spoke, bringing my attention away from the fire. He stood before me, hands resting on his hips, eyes looking down at my sitting position.
"I know but I don't want to cook." I sighed, playing with the material of my dress.
"Then let's go out for dinner eh? You deserve it"
******
Looking over the menu, I couldn't help but sigh nothing was grabbing my attention. My mind continuously went back to the local fish and chip shop a few streets back, the smell had my mouth watering and my stomach grumbling. But Tommy wanted to treat me, so I kept my mouth shut.
"What are you thinking?" Tommy asked next to me.
The waiter instantly recognised Tommy when we walked through the door. He had sat us towards the back of the restaurant, in a booth far away from anyone else, giving us privacy.
There were plenty of opinions on the menu, chicken, beef, fish you name it, they had it. But it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted dirty and greasy food tonight.
"Uhm, I don't know." I forced out a smile. Nights like this were rare, I didn't want to ruin the moment between Tommy and me. I was determined to enjoy it.
"What about you?" I asked, glancing over at him. He wasn't even looking at the menu he was rolling an unlit cigarette along his lips – his eyes taking in the environment around him.
"A smoke and a whiskey will do me love."
"Tommy that isn't much of a meal" I huffed out a breath of annoyance but there was no point in arguing with him when he was like this.
The waiter returned with a smile, asking if we were ready to order, to which Tommy looked over at me expectantly. "Do you need a few more moments Ma'am?"
"Oh um no, no I…" I stumble over my words before something fell from my lips. "Chicken, yeah the ah spring chicken please."
"And for you Sir?"
"More whiskey." Tommy titled his quickly emptying glass towards the waiter who simply nodded, writing it down on his little pad before disappearing. "What going on in that pretty little head?"
"Nothing." I smiled, sneaking a peak at him while my fingers rubbed the hemlines of the cotton napkins. "This place is nice."
"Do you like it?" Tommy asked, nodding thanks to the waiter once he returned with a large glass of whiskey. "Honestly?" A smile grew on the sides of his lips, it was like he could read me like the chapters of his favourite book.
"It is definitely a date night place to be." I nodded, returning the smile.
Leaning over to him I waited until he exhaled the smoke from his mouth before pressing a soft kiss to his lips, staying there a little longer before pulling away completely.
“Thank you”
"You are welcome." Tommy nodded, puffing heavily on the cigarette. "But you don't have to thank me."
"I want to, I know how busy you are Tommy and it's little moments like this that make me smile."
"Is that right eh?" He smirked, noticing the redness of my cheeks. I wasn't embarrassed admitting my feelings to Tommy, quite the opposite. I rather loved him knowing how he made me feel. It got me all hot and bothered inside.
"You know I love you right."
"You remind me every morning and night."
"Does that bother you?"
"Don't ever stop," Tommy confirmed, leaning across and pressing his lips tightly against mine. His hand rested on the back of my head, deepening the kiss when the young waiter returned with my dinner, forcing us apart.
"Thank you"
"Anything else please don't be afraid to let me know."
******
"Don't you like it?" Tommy asked noticing how I was moving the food from one side of the plate to the other.
"No, it is. It's lovely" I nodded not a word of a lie. It was rather nice, beautiful in fact but it wasn't hitting the spot. It wasn't what the baby wanted. "Would you like a taste?"
"How long have we known each other Anastasia?" Tommy huffed out ignoring what I had asked as his hand reached up to wave at the waiter.
"Almost three years?" I answered, the question catching me off guard.
"Exactly" Tommy nodded at me, the waiter returning to the table with a nervous smile on his face. "We will be taking the chicken home."
Tommy had told the young waiter, who seemed speechless before him. With a quick nod of his head, he lifted my plate scurrying off towards the back to fulfill the request.
"Why did you do that?" I asked, afraid that I had upset him in some way. My brain worked overtime thinking of how I could have possibly done it within such a short space of time.
"Because." Tommy sighed, finishing the last of his whiskey before standing to his feet, and fixing the collar of his suit jacket around his neck. "You're not enjoying it."
"I'm sorry" I whimpered, feeling overcome with emotion.
Tommy's movements stopped as he looked over at me, tears in my eyes, my bottom lip quivering. Glancing over his shoulder he checked to see if something had caught my eye to upset me, not quite understanding where this show of emotion had come from.
"Why are you crying eh?" He asked softly, sliding back into the booth next to me, his soft hand came up to caress my face. Leaning into his touch, I tried in vain to stop the tears from falling from my eyes.
"You took me here so we could have a special night together and I ruined it."
"Jesus Stace, you didn't ruin anything." Tommy exhaled, the candlelight on the table catching the blue of his eyes. "but I know you, you weren't having a good time."
"Like you were?" I scoffed, reaching up and pushing aside a stray tear. "I don't know what's wrong with me Tom. I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for yeah?" Tommy rested his forehead against mine briefly before the sounds of footsteps pulled him away.
"Your food Mr. Shelby." The young waiter had returned, placing the chicken on the table, wrapped and ready to go. Tommy nodded his thanks, reaching into his trousers pocket and pulling out some notes, handing them over to the boy before waving him away.
"Come on, let's get you home."
Walking through the cold streets that were Birmingham, I wrapped the coat tighter around myself as Tommy guided me home, a gentle hand around my back as we moved around the late-night crowd.
I had to suppress an unsatisfied moan as we passed the fish and chip shop once more, my stomach almost growled at the smell. It was obvious what the baby had wanted. I had told myself that when Tommy returned to work later tonight, I would satisfy these cravings.
Returning home, I put my coat on the hook, giving Tommy a soft smile as I hoovered around him by the exit, waiting for him to tell me he was going to the betting shop.
"What's that look for?" He asked, removing the cap from his head, and holding it in his hands for a moment before shoving it into his coat pocket.
"Nothing." I shook my head, squinting at him.
"You sure?" Tommy chuckled, shrugging the coat from his shoulders.
"Are you not going to the betting shop tonight?"
"No, I told you Arthur and John are settling what needs to be done. I'm spending the evening with you."
"Oh"
"Oh?" Tommy repeated, placing his hands on my hips. "What? You want rid of me? You playing around Miss Adler?"
"No, God no Tommy I would never."
"Good"
"It's just I thought you would return to work like you always do," I answered carefully, using the softest tone I could muster. Tommy just stared through me, eyes squinting as if he could read my thoughts.
"What's going on?" Tommy asked, already growing bored of the back and forth between us.
"It's nothing" I tried to play off but he wasn't having it. His hands on my hips squeezed tighter, the expression on his face turning emotionless as he waited. "Well, I was going to go out and get something."
"What?"
"Doesn't ma-"
"Anastasia I swear to God I am not…"
"I was going to that fish and chips place on Queen's road. The baby wants it real bad."
"The baby wants it?" Tommy asked, a smile pulling at his lips at the mention of his growing child.
"Yeah, we smelled it on the way to the restaurant. It smelled so good Tommy."
"If that was what you wanted why didn't you say something before eh?" Tommy asked with a deep sigh, his index finger and thumb coming up to pinch his nose, eyes closed in frustration.
"Because I didn't want to ruin your evening."
"It was your evening Stace." Tommy pointed out, throwing his hand from his face, reaching over to grab his jacket from the kitchen chair, throwing it around his shoulders, ready to brave the evening once more.
"I should have said something, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, you should have but don't be sorry." Tommy pointed his finger at me after he put his peaked cap over his head. "I'll be back soon." He nodded, pressing his lips against mine before disappearing out the door.
I couldn't stop the smile growing on my face at the thought of Birmingham's most feared gangster disappearing into the night to get me and our baby the food we had been craving all night. It was the little things that proved just how much Tommy loved me.
Taglist
@shelbyteller @seleneshelby @forgottenpeakywriter @babayaga67 @sweetmilkshakeluminary @slutforcoffein @sydneyyyya @happysparklingshadows @margew76 @midnightmagpiemama @pierre-gasssllyy @duckybird101
#tommy shelby#tommy shelby fanfic#tommy shelby x reader#thomas shelby#thomas shelby x reader#thomasshelby#thomasshelbyxreader#peaky fucking blinders#peaky blinders
111 notes
·
View notes
Text
Her right-hand man
"Boss! They have arrived!"
"Boss! The Dual Swords are here!"
"Boss—"
Dong-suk slammed his fists against his desk. He bellowed at his subordinates. "I know! Damn it, you don't have to tell me twice!"
He got up from his chair and marched out of his office, along with the four who had come to fetch him upon the news of the Dual Swords arriving in the vicinity. The Dual Swords was a fellow clan, who was known for being brutal and merciless to strike superiority among others, and it was a clan who had been wanting to join hands with him because he possessed weapons that would be useful to them.
When he arrived in the hall, Dong-suk found his steps halting upon witnessing the unexpected difference in the table. Instead of a middle-aged man, it was a woman. Petite, short blonde hair that fell above her shoulders, and wore a stern expression on her face. She had her jaw resting on her palm while she tapped her nails on the wooden surface. A man stood next to her, which was also someone Dong-suk was not familiar of.
"That's the daughter of Destroyer, boss," one of his men whispered.
Ah, Destroyer — the man whose real name was completely sealed and had only gone with his alias. Not even the most competent spy had cracked the mystery. Dong-suk didn't even know that he had a child, which was probably how she had gotten in through his security, and he could not help but he surprised. However, he kept his usual face on as he made his way toward the chair that was awaiting for him.
He looked at the woman across the table, noticing how similar she looked to the old man. She really was his daughter. But looking at the rest of her features, part of him thought how farfetched she seemed in the place of her father, who had most likely passed away since he would never give his position away as long as he was alive.
"Are you done staring? Let's get this over with." She spoke in a blunt tone.
Dong-suk let out a chuckle. "Wait, wait. . . Are you sure you are the boss of your clan? I didn't think Destroyer has a child."
"The name's Cha Hae-in, his successor," the woman introduced herself. She wore a white shirt underneath of her black leather jacket. "You must be Hwang Dong-suk. My father had told me about you, as well as the weapons you sell in a high price. As part of his will, I came here to form a negotiation with you — serve us the best weapons you have whenever we need it."
"What makes you think I will join hands with you? I lead an independent clan!" Dong-suk exclaimed. "Even if you give me money, I will never ally with you."
"You have a debt to pay for my father, so consider accepting my offer as your payment," said Hae-in calmly. She intertwined her hands under her chin. "I suggest you should do it while I'm being nice."
"PUAHAHAHAHA!!" Dong-suk laughed and got up on his chair, pressing his callused hands on the table. "That's it, I'm done acting in front of you. Nice? How cute! Does Destroyer have another child? I might've accepted the proposal if he has a son in your position. Ms. Cha, you are not fit in the throne of leadership, I think you'd be more suited in being a servant."
Hae-in chuckled. "Believe it or not, I'm his only child. Why would I give away the role he had entrusted me to fulfill? Watch your words, Mr. Hwang."
"You should be the one who watches her words. Confidence doesn't suit you, brat."
A man rushed forward, but Hae-in held her arm to block him. She shot him a knowing look. The built, oranged-haired man took a step back and tucked his hands behind him, fixing the Black Lizard's leader with a deadly glare.
"Seems like I came in a wrong time," Cha Hae-in stood up. She smiled at him. "I will visit again tomorrow, so be sure to think about it."
With that, she walked out of the hall. Her subordinates followed her in tow and Dong-suk scrutinized each of them, memorizing each of their faces, then he realized he had only recognized a few of them. Could it be that the new Dual Swords boss had replaced most of them? How pathetic! He thought. Though, he noticed someone was staring at him within the departing crowd, he barely could tell who it was, due to he amount of dark-clad members.
He shook his head.
"They'll just waste their time," muttered Dong-suk. Then, his lips tugged into a smirk. "With that woman leading, looks like the Dual Swords is going to fall from the highest ranks."
"You will finally get the taste of victory, boss!" His nearest subordinate concurred.
He laughed. "Now! Fetch me a drink. Are the ladies available? Tell them I'll be there at the club by eight!"
There was nothing Dong-suk had to worry about.
Cha Hae-in looked rather inexperienced for a leader, and he had a good eye for a person's character, so he wasn't doubting when he hadn't taken her seriously. He was telling the truth. The Destroyer had been a man he knew as lethal and ruthless, but he could not find those two things in the clan's new leader.
He wouldn't be surprised if the clan would crumble.
He wondered if the other clans had known about the news. And if they did, they might probably start plotting. The higher the clan was, the more power they held over the rest of the clans, but Dong-suk just chose to be stubborn. They would gain nothing from him.
. . . At least that was what he thought.
The sky had turned dark by the time Dong-suk had stepped out of his shower, donned in a white nightgown over his soaked body. He scrubbed a clean tower to wait for his hair to dry. He made his way to his wardrobe and scanned through the assortment of clothes, tugging one for a quick inspection then shoving it back, and proceeded to rummage through until he finally chose one, but just before he could pull something out—
He heard an uproar.
*crash!*
*thud!*
*bang!*
"What the hell is that ruckus?" Dong-suk grumbled. He shoved the door shut and stormed out of his room, he walked barefooted across the corridor and reached the stairs where he climbed down to find out what chaos was raging in his humbled home. "OI! What are you fools doing when I'm in the middle of—"
He paused his sentence.
Fighting amongst one another was the last thing his clan could ever do. Unless there was a traitor. But this time, Dong-suk couldn't believe it in his eyes — someone was raging havoc and taking each of his crew down.
A man, donned in a black attire and a black mask to conceal his true face, was firing punches at his men. He moved in a blink of an eye, as fast as a lightning, Dong-suk could barely analyze his movements. He stood in a frozen shock. Some guys had brought out their guns to pull the trigger, but the intruder lunged at them first and tore the weapon out of their hands to smash it against their heads to knock them out.
Dong-suk caught another man pulled out another gun to point it to his back. He let out a grin. However, when the masked intruder turned around, a knife struck his subordinate at the neck — the blade came straight from the man himself as if he knew someone would point a gun behind him.
Just who. . . Is that guy?!
Once all bodies were on the floor, while some seemed to be remaining on the ground in fear, the intruder was the only one left standing. Dong-suk met his eyes. Shivers ran down his spine. His heel bumped against the staircase which he almost tripped, and when he looked up, the masked man began to near him.
Growling, Dong-suk clenched his fist and lurched his punch. But the man raised his arm to block his and punched the clan leader's abdomen with his other hand, sending him to the staircase. Agony cried throughout his body. Dong-suk was about to rise again when a boot pushed him back, the man's size was smaller than him, yet had the weight of bigger than his own — or perhaps that was just how powerful he could be.
He grunted. "What— what do you want?! Who sent you?!"
The man took off his mask and rested his arm on top of his leg that was pressing him down. Dong-suk widened his eyes. The face looked familiar, as if he had just seen him earlier. . . Right!
It was the man who stood next to Cha Hae-in during their meeting.
"Accept the agreement and then I will leave," he said gruffly.
Dong-suk still managed to laugh. "Cha sent you, didn't she? How wonderful! Isn't she that des—"
The muzzle of a gun touched the bottom of his jaw. He swallowed in fear. The gaze above him was dark and cold, almost as if the abyss itself was staring into his soul.
"If I hear her name from your filthy mouth, I'll burst a hole through your damn skull," the man growled and pressed the gun deeper, his finger moving to the trigger. "Do we have a deal? Accept the terms and I will no longer set a foot in this place."
"Y— yes! Yes! I'll accept the terms!" Dong-suk croaked out. "Just leave this place already!"
His lips curled into a grin. "Good."
The man lifted his foot off him. Dong-suk was about to push himself up again when a powerful strike bruised his face, blood dripped on the ground from his nose and his cheek was burning in excruciation.
"That's for insulting my boss." The intruder walked away. One of the men soon rose after being knocked out, but was shot in the shoulder to collapse again.
It seems I have underestimated Destroyer's daughter. . . Dong-suk thought.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Sung Jin-woo returned to the Dual Swords building a few moments later, after taking a quick stop at the convenience store for a canned drink. Everything was in dead silence just like he had left it. The building was also the home of every member of the clan, so in that way, the members wouldn't have to journey all the way for a meeting. He knew everyone in his clan, especially his boss—
She was Cha Hae-in. His friend since childhood and the person he swore to serve for the rest of his life. He was her right-hand man the moment her father had given her his place. It had been a week since Hae-in had took over the clan, she first announced her presence to the clans they were allied with and continued with the unfinished businesses her father had left.
Jin-woo walked out of the elevator and made his way to his door. He peeled his gloves off and touched the handle to open it when he heard someone call his name.
"Jin-woo?"
A smile lit on his features as he turned over his shoulder. "Yes?"
"Have you gone somewhere?"Hae-in asked.
"Yeah, I just took a walk and bought this," he held up his drink. "Want me to go back and buy you one?"
"Oh, thank you, but I'm good." Hae-in smiled.
Jin-woo nodded. "What are you doing up this late?"
"I was heading to see Byung-gyu. He sent me a message that he finally found the White Frost's new location and said he's going to try to call the contact number." Hae-in explained.
"That's great to hear. But, are you sure you aren't overworking yourself?" Jin-woo said to her. "You don't have to do everything at once. I'm always here to take on any task."
Hae-in smiled. "You don't have to worry anything about me, Jin-woo. And yes, I can always call you if I need help." She glanced at his door. "Now go inside and take some rest."
"Alright," nodded Jin-woo and went inside. Instead of closing, he left a small space to let his left eye peer outside, watching his boss walk past his door and proceed with her journey to see Byung-gyu, the head technician of the Dual Swords.
Leadership had brought her to a new light. Hae-in had promised her father that she would never fail him and maintain the clan's glory. As a result, she poured herself into work and taught herself how to become a better leader. So far, she hadn't done a single mistake, and Jin-woo was proud of her for that.
Unfortunately, due to her status and the revelation that she was Destroyer's successor, a lot of bosses did not take her seriously, especially people like Dong-suk. Jin-woo had witnessed harsh words were thrown at Hae-in, they mocked and even laughed at her, and it brought nothing but make his blood boil. He had to fight every urge to wreck their faces until pain was all they cry, but Hae-in, the woman of composure she was, would always stop him by her signal.
Every word, every mockery. . . She took it all and dismissed it, reasoning that she came for business, not to fight. Unlike her father, who hated it when things didn't go on his way, Hae-in took a calmer path and relied on her brains.
And Jin-woo liked her for that.
The next day, they visited the Black Lizard again and initiated the meeting. Surprisingly, the clan's boss had appeared quicker. Jin-woo resisted his grin upon the sight of Dong-suk, whose face was bandaged just like most of the members around, and he saw no glint of arrogance in his eyes, but anxiety.
"Seems like you had a rough night, Mr. Hwang," spoke Hae-in. She cleared her throat. "Anyways, about the—"
"I accept!" Dong-suk exclaimed.
"Come again?"
He grunted. "I accept the negotiation. Call me whenever you need weapons and I shall provide you the best in quality."
"Hm," Hae-in's eyes lit up and leaned back on her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. She grinned. "I do not have time for jokes, Mr. Hwang. You know that I can destroy everything you have if you do not stay true to your words."
"I mean it! I'll even give you anything you want. I swear on my grave that I will not betray you, Ms. Cha." Dong-suk said to her.
Hae-in spared her second-in-command a look. Jin-woo met her eyes, hearing the silent question whether or not they should trust Dong-suk. Remembering what he had done last night, Jin-woo could tell that the Black Lizard boss was not lying, especially when there was a pint of dread under his tone.
"There is nothing wrong in trying, isn't it, Ms. Cha?" Jin-woo said. He looked across the table, flashing Dong-suk with a grin. "If Mr. Hwang turns back on his words, whether he means it sincerely or not, everyone knows what Destroyer does to traitors. I wouldn't mind if his daughter follows his example."
The whole place fell into an ominous silence. Several of the Dual Swords members smirked. A wave of satisfaction flushed in when the opposing clan realized they had been overpowered.
"Very well. So that settles it!" Hae-in stood up. "Oh, I will be leaving my right-hand man, Mr. Sung Jin-woo," she placed her hand on his shoulder, "here and some chosen people of his choice to see the weapons."
"A— as you wish, Ms. Cha," Dong-suk mumbled.
Hae-in smiled at him. She turned to Jin-woo. "Report back once you are done."
"Will do, Ms. Cha," Jin-woo replied, twitching the edge of his mouth to reciprocate her smile. At last. . . Another problem was solved. He was thankful that he was given this task, in that way, he could enjoy seeing Dong-suk's crumbling composure beneath his eyes.
Did Hae-in know the truth behind his nightly walk? No, he didn't think she would need to.
Hae-in wouldn't need to know what he truly did whenever he was taking a walk on his own in some time of the night.
Jin-woo had made a promise to himself that he would protect her in every way he could. He knew she was strong and tough, but as his duty as one of her most trusted people, he must know when to take action to his hands if people had stepped way into the line. Hae-in had too much on her plate, so Jin-woo was not going to allow anything else bother her more.
Once his time was done in the Black Lizard, he and his companions went back to the headquarters. Jin-woo parked his motorcycle into one of the available slots and turned his keys to switch off the engine. He took off his helmet and shook his head before combing his fingers through his messy hair.
"Home at last!" Tae-gyu raised his fists in the air. "Geez, those guys give me the creeps. I don't understand why Sung even chose me to stay!"
"Well, someone has to watch his back," Kanae said as she against her motorcycle, spinning her keys around her finger.
Tae-gyu glared at her. "Says the one who punched one of the guards when we are supposed to inspect the rifles!"
"He's staring at me inappropriately. What can you expect me to do?!"
Jin-woo sighed. "Let's go, you two. I still have something to report to Ms. Cha."
"Ohoho~ why are you always excited to see boss? I've always wondered. It's not like she's going to be mad when she didn't specify a time for us to return." Kanae huffed.
"She gave me a task, so I must get it done," Jin-woo said.
"Huh. No wonder why most of the guys envy you. You are devoted to your role as her second-in-command so much that everyone has pretty much called you 'her favorite'."
"Isn't that how a second-in-command supposed to do?"
Tae-gyu clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Look, man, what Kanae is trying to say— before we were recruited, boss chose you, who came out of the blue, to be her number two without a second thought. Are you sure you didn't know her for a long time?"
"I met her father before he stepped down," Jin-woo partially lied. He couldn't bring out the whole story as it was too personal and he worried that the others might view the relationship he had with her differently. "He discovered that I used to work as a mercenary until I decided to take a different path and become part of the Dual Swords."
"Mercenary, eh?" Kanae pushed herself from her vehicle and walked past him. "Seems like the reason behind it is another story to tell. Welp! I'll just wait for it and get my beer ready."
"At least that explains why he's so lethal in a fight," Tae-gyu shrugged as he got off and headed to the door. "Good thing I didn't challenge him for a match, otherwise I'd be in a wheelchair."
Jin-woo chuckled.
There were a lot of things the whole clan didn't know about him. To them, he was just someone outside the clan whom the former boss knew and that his recruitment was one of the things Hae-in must do in favor of her late father. Jin-woo might have gotten along with a lot of people, yet some held a certain grudge against him for stealing the spot they had been desiring to have.
He could say that they were unfortunate. But to Jin-woo, he had planned everything out — to gain Destroyer's utmost respect, he must have a job that was under his interest and that was someone who was capable than an average human. And a mercenary was one of the options. Jin-woo had spent three years in the service before announcing to his superiors about his resignation, knowing well enough that he would be able to take on any task.
Luck might as well played a part, but the Dual Swords had been his main goal.
He asked around to where the boss was, which he received some looks, yet they still answered his question. No matter how disgruntled they were to see his attachment to their leader, they knew better than to face his wrath. Jin-woo nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets as he proceeded his way to where Cha Hae-in was.
She was at the kitchen, preparing a cup of coffee on the counter. She had her back facing him, which willed his urge to sneak up and surprise her, but Jin-woo decided that'd be a task for some time.
He cleared his throat as he walked up to her. "The weapons are all fine. Mr. Hwang had also presented the knives and they had been inspected by Kanae — she said that they are easy to carry and the edges are sharp. Meanwhile, Tae-gyu and I checked the firearms, most of them are in best conditions."
"Great work. The Black Lizard will be a very useful to the Dual Swords in the near future." Hae-in said. She turned around and stirred her teaspoon around her cup. "Did Dong-suk pick up a fight?"
Jin-woo let out a chuckle. Oh, if only she was there to witness how Dong-suk had not dared to take a step close to him. "No. If anything, he looked quite nervous."
"Wow. To think how Dong-suk acted when I first visited, I wonder what made him so afraid." Hae-in shrugged. She took a sip on her coffee and began to walk past him.
Unfortunately, Jin-woo moved aside to block her path. He smirked at her. "Probably because he realized how fearsome the boss can be. Am I right, Hae-in?"
"You just called me by my name," said his boss. "Jin-woo—"
"There's nobody here," Jin-woo spoke in a low voice as he leaned his head down to her height. "Don't worry. I still have our deal."
Hae-in glowered. "You better."
"Promises are promises."
"Whatever you say," she shook her head. "I'll be in the office if you need me."
Jin-woo was about to say something, yet decided to hold himself back, knowing what reaction she would make if he spoke his mind out. Even if they had known each other for a long time, it wouldn't stop the disdain some of the members had toward Jin-woo, and even though he was not affected by it, Hae-in still thought it would be better that way.
Jin-woo could only imagine their faces would be if they found out. . . But if Hae-in didn't wish to reveal her deep connection to him, then he would respect it.
After all, becoming her right-hand man was more important and it meant having more reasons to stay by her side.
Later that day, Jin-woo was at the gym. It was located in the top floor of the headquarters. Sweat tricked on his sun-kissed skin as he fired punches at Yoon-ho, who was blocking his attacks with the boxing pads. Yoon-ho was one of the few people who could reach his level of power. With a large built, muscular arms, and a terrifying gaze, Yoon-ho was a fearsome man who had come from a lineage of powerful people.
And he was exactly the person Jin-woo liked to spar with since others who had challenged him were a bunch of pieces of cake.
Yoon-ho lurched his hand forward, but Jin-woo ducked and launched another punch at the abdomen. Yoon-ho grunted and retaliated. Jin-woo blocked and slung his arm around his opponent's neck, then Yoon-ho threw his weight on the ground to release the firm grip off him.
Jin-woo rolled across the mat and pressed his palm to steady himself. He rushed again and struck his fist. Yoon-ho blocked it with the pad he was wearing, along with the rest of the incessant punches his comrade had fired at him. Such situations would've ended his opponent ending with a bruise, but Yoon-ho was built different, his concentration was sharper than a blade itself. Jin-woo threw his leg toward him this time and managed to hit some area in Yoon-ho's hip.
Yoon-ho flinched.
Jin-woo let out a grin, knowing he finally got an advantage. So, he was about to lunge his fist again when a loud voice boomed in the air.
"Yoon-ho!" Hae-in called across the place. "Are you done?"
Jin-woo paused his supposed attack as the two of them turned to their superior.
"What is it, boss?" Yoon-ho asked.
"There is something I need you do," she held out a few papers to him. "Goto Ryuji of the Razor Fangs is here in the country. Take Jong-in since he's good at persuading people and Kanae too — she can serve as your translator in case neither of you don't understand each other."
"And then we will hand these papers to him?"
She nodded. "Yes. I found them in one of the drawers and as it turned out, our clan and the Razor Fangs have an unofficial alliance. Once Goto Ryuji signs these, we finally have them on our side."
"Will do, Ms. Cha!" Yoon-ho stepped down from the platform and walked past her.
"Be sure to hit the showers first!" Hae-in shouted. "You know how Jong-in doesn't like the way you smell after sparring with someone!"
Yoon-ho raised his thumb above his head as he exited the gym. Now. . . It was Hae-in and Jin-woo in the place. An idea sparked in Jin-woo's mind, he moved over to the edge and crouched on his toes to place his arms on his lap.
"Wanna spar, Ms. Cha?" He asked her with a grin.
Hae-in turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Aren't you tired from Yoon-ho just now?"
"Yoon-ho is just one guy. Besides, you know that I've fought an entire group by myself." Jin-woo shrugged. When they had come to visit the first clan, someone had attempted to assault Hae-in, which soon ended up Jin-woo fighting the guards. "I can still handle someone like you."
"Is that so?" Something glinted in her eyes. "I may have lost to you in our first spar, but you know how strong I've gotten, right?"
Of course, he knew. While he fought the guards, Hae-in had dealt with the clan's leader and made sure she got off her high-horse rather than commencing an attack out of the blue. Besides that, Hae-in had made the clan boss pay for what she had done by destroying every connection she had with other clans and made them go to the Dual Swords for alliance.
She was quite more dangerous than her own father.
Jin-woo smirked. "I accept the challenge, Hae-in."
So, Hae-in joined him on the platform and took off her jacket to toss it on the edge, leaving her with a dirty green tank top. Her eyes blazed with determination as she faced Jin-woo's competitive grin. She clenched her hands into fists, whereas her opponent waited with his hands on his sides, and finally. . . She dashed forward.
She first swung her leg at him, but Jin-woo blocked it with his hand, along with her incoming punch. He retaliated with the same move this time, only to go past her. But Hae-in used his extended arm to grab it with her own and yanked it downward and rolled over his back to move on the other side and struck his stomach with her foot.
"You did get stronger, huh?" Jin-woo remarked.
"Please. . . Just because you used to be a mercenary doesn't mean you are the strongest." Hae-in huffed.
"Well see about that!"
This time, Jin-woo took the first attack and shot his aim at her. As expected, Hae-in quickly stepped aside. Jin-woo how powerful his attacks could get, he could even break a bone, but no matter how concerned he get at the thought of possibly hurting Hae-in, he had faith in her that she would be unscathed throughout the whole fight.
Hae-in had been taking defense lessons from her mentor since she was young. Her father had made it sure that she would be capable of conquering anything against her path and that included getting her hands dirty from her opponents or enemies.
She was known as 'The Dancer' in the clan due to her flexible movements almost appearing like dance moves. She was swift and had a sharp eye for retaliations. Hae-in was another person whom Jin-woo liked to spar with, her combat strategy rivaled his brute attacks as though she had the whole fight analyzed and sometimes knew two steps ahead for the next attack.
Jin-woo began dodging her attacks and did some occasional blockages with his arm if her aims were heading toward his head or if she was using her legs. Her agility never ceased to amaze him.
Finally, he grabbed her left fist and spun her around until her back was pressed against his chest. Several tendrils of her hair had latched on her cheeks while her chest was heaving above his arm. Jin-woo let his lips curled into a smirk as he leaned down on her ear, fanning his breath over the shell, thus feeling her shiver against him.
"Exhausted already, Ms. Cha?" He said.
At first, Hae-in panted. Jin-woo saw another bead of sweat streaming down on her neck. Something ignited in him. Then, she spoke. "No."
Hae-in crashed her elbow against his torso and freed herself from his grip and slammed her leg against his that was strong enough to jerk his kneecap forward. She whirled around to grab his shoulder to pin him on the ground.
Jin-woo was about to make another move when Hae-in pressed her arm against his neck and placed her leg on the other side of his waist, straddling him while her other leg had found its way between his own. She flashed him a smirk amidst her breaths.
"I win this time, Mr. Sung."
"You rascal."
She chuckled. "If that's the case—"
A yelp burst out of her mouth when strong hands went to her waist and Jin-woo pinned her this time. He placed his hand next to her head. Hae-in stared at him wide-eyed, which he laughed lowly at her reaction.
"You can never let your guard down even if you are close with your opponent," he told her.
Hae-in recovered and sent him a glare. "I just had you!"
"You knew I won't surrended until I say so."
"Jackass," she rolled her eyes.
Jin-woo chuckled. "We can go for another one if you are so determined to win."
Suddenly, a phone began to ring.
Jin-woo pushed himself off her, knowing whose phone it belonged, and Hae-in got up to make her way toward her discarded jacket to pull out her phone from one of the pockets. She answered it and pressed the screen to her ear.
"What is it, Hee-jin?" She asked the caller
There was silence as Hae-in listened to whatever Hee-jin got to say. Then, Jin-woo noticed the change of expression on his boss. With her lips slightly parted, he could already tell that something bad had just happened. Once the call was over, Hae-in was left staring on her phone, deep in thought.
"Did something happen?" Jin-woo walked toward her.
"Jin-woo." Hae-in began. "Do you know who could be a spy in this clan?"
Jin-woo widened his eyes.
A spy? As far as he knew, the clan was composed of people who had passed the trustworthiness level in Destroyer's eyes and also Hae-in's most trusted acquaintances. Everyone knew what would happen if somebody dared to turn their back on the clan. It would be as if death was in their doorstep in every breath.
"I'll see what I can do, Hae-in," said Jin-woo. "You don't have to worry."
"How can I not worry? This is the very first time I've heard that someone is plotting to betray the clan! I— I maintained everything the way it is and, and. . . " Hae-in began to panic.
Jin-woo instinctively pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her frame. He rubbed her arm to ease her senses. "You are doing a great job. I'm sorry that my words made you overthink. But believe me when I say that you are not failing as a leader, and I assure you — we'll get that traitor before anything else happens."
"I can only hope, Jin-woo. . . " Hae-in sighed.
And so, Hae-in had called for a private meeting with her most trusted people: Tae-gyu, Hee-jin, Byung-gyu, and Dong-wook. Jong-in, Yoon-ho, and Kanae had also arrived just in time when the members were being summoned. They accumulated in the office where the walls were thick and nobody could hear even from the door. Jin-woo locked the doorknob and joined the group.
Everyone was shocked, except Hee-jin, when their boss had declared the news.
"I just got Goto to sign the papers and I came home to this? What gives?!" Jong-in gritted his teeth.
"Usually, it's the neighboring clans who does all the spying. In return, they spent a week of suffering." Dong-wook said. "Clearly, it's way worse if that is one of ours, right?"
"Yes," Hae-in grumbled. Her eyebrows furrowed into a glare. "Which is why I called you all here and do an underhand inspection on everyone. And but everyone— that includes dad's. Who knows maybe that person had been plotting way back? We need an immediate action!"
"I can update the security cameras." Byung-gyu suggested.
She nodded. "Thank you, Byung-gyu."
"I'll take a night patrol with Yoon-ho." Tae-gyu said.
"I will prepare the weapons to use once we got that snake."
"Just keep your ears up for any sus conversations, Kanae. Let boss do the decision of punishment."
"I'll talk to some of the members and see if I can get any trace of treachery."
"Oh! I can join in the night patrol. This building is pretty big, and Tae-gyu and Yoon-ho can't watch over all corners at once."
Hae-in nodded and smiled at everyone's suggestions. It made her feel glad that she had people she could trust with anything. "Thank you, everyone. I may still be getting a hand on this position, but thanks to you all, the Dual Swords is maintaining its glory."
"Don't downgrade yourself, Hae-in! You are the one who has been working very hard not to tarnish the clan's name." Hee-jin said to her. "You are such a good boss!"
Hae-in chuckled.
Meanwhile, Jin-woo had a smile on his face. Just moments ago, Hae-in was trying to keep herself together, but now— she was back to her determined self. Even then, Hae-in always had moments where she felt she was not good enough, but in the end, she picked herself up and took her strength back. She was the softest and toughest person he knew.
Everyone had their own part to play. Jin-woo, who was the only one who hadn't spoken a word since the meeting began, had his own plan and besides that, he must also guard Hae-in for any unexpected attacks when he was not around.
Sure, he knew that she could take care of herself, but he could never let his guard down. Especially when the clan was in a situation that a single traitor would bring everything into shambles.
He promised to her father. He promised to her. He promised to himself.
Jin-woo asked Byung-gyu to send him all of everyone's documents and a few minutes later, he received a file with all of the resumes and backgrounds of the members. He sat on his chair and began to analyze the information of each person, even taking note of any detail that was deemed as dubious to him.
This had become his routine. In the day, he would stay by Hae-in's side while she did her own work and discussed meetings with the visiting leaders, she also did her role in finding the spy among her clan as she could not sit still even though Jong-in and the others reassured her not to stress about them. Jin-woo, being the right-hand man he was, would distract her in any way he could such as spending meals with her and chatting various topics that didn't involve the Dual Swords.
One of her favorite topics was his family. Hae-in was an only child whose mother had passed away when she was very young and her father was focusing on his work most of the time. Therefore, she didn't have a lot of memories in terms of family. And unlike her, Jin-woo was raised in a loving family, he had his parents and also a little sister who had graduated from college two years ago.
Speaking of his family, his phone let out a sound in the middle of his lunch with Hae-in. Jin-woo picked it up and saw a message from his mother.
[ Kyung-hye (mom): Jin-woo! I was going to call you just now, but your father said you might be busy. You know that your sister is going to get married this week, right? I hope you'll come home and spend at least three days here. You hadn't been home for a long time and I miss my son already. xx mom. ]
Jin-woo widened his eyes in realization. Jin-ah was going to marry Yoo Jin-ho, who was also Jin-woo's closest friend in college, two days from now. He couldn't believe he had forgotten such an event whereas he was too caught up on capturing the spy. . .
"Is there something wrong, Jin-woo?" Hae-in asked.
Jin-woo looked up from his phone and placed it down. "Nothing. I just got a message from my mom, telling me to come home now that Jin-ah is going to get married this Thursday."
"Jin-ah? That's great news!" Hae-in smiled. "Why didn't you tell me, Jin-woo?"
Jin-woo swallowed. "I might have forgotten it—"
"Some brother you are," she rolled her eyes and brought her spoon to her mouth.
"Can you blame me for being so dedicated to my job?" Jin-woo said. "And besides, I still haven't track down that—"
"Jin-woo." Hae-in cut him off. "Take a few days off."
" . . . " Jin-woo raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"
She groaned. "Go to your family and attend your sister's wedding. I'll hand my gift to you so you can give it to her at the event. This is an important day in your sister's life, so don't miss it."
"What about you?"
"What about me? Jin-woo, I know you're just looking out for me, and I appreciate that." Hae-in let out a smile. "But I can take care of myself and I'll never let my guard down. So go ahead — everything will be fine once you're back."
"But—"
"That's an order."
Jin-woo sighed.
Hae-in was the most stubborn person he knew.
But knowing that Hae-in hadn't seen anyone in his family for such a long time, Jin-woo knew he must go back to his family with the presents, not just for Jin-ah.
After Hae-in had chosen Jong-in to occupy his place, Jin-woo made sure to brief everything to him, only then to receive an eye-roll at his substitute. Everyone knew how serious Jin-woo was toward his job and that he wouldn't abandon it no matter what. But since his family needed him. . . He must be with them.
And besides, he missed them too.
He left the next day and rode on his motorcycle to the small town in Gangwon. Once he arrived, he expected to see his family, but it was his father who had greeted him and Jin-ho came out of nowhere and hugged him tightly. Jin-woo realized he had come home to a bachelor party. He sighed.
It seemed that he wouldn't be reuniting with his mother and sister until he was at the wedding venue.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
It had been three days since Jin-woo had left to be with his family. Not that Hae-in was missing him already, although she was, but she wanted him to spend more time with his parents and sister, along with his newly brother-in-law. The thought of it had rather made her feel quite jealous of him — to have a family to come home to behind the life of being part of a dangerous clan. . .
Jin-woo was indeed the luckiest person she had ever known.
Hae-in shook her head. She shouldn't probably think about him too much. . . Not when the spy was finally found.
It was Kang Tae-shik.
He was one of the youngest members around when her father was still reigning in the clan. He was a sniper just like Tae-gyu and was one of the fastest around, yet also very dangerous. Kang Tae-shik was the kind of person who found joy in inflicting pain around people and even laughed when his victims cried in agony. Hae-in even felt quite uncomfortable around him due to the malice in his eyes and the devilish smile on his face.
So finding out that he would be the snake to bite them, Hae-in should've trusted her instincts and saw beyond the fact that he was one of her father's best members.
Byung-gyu had kept a close eye on him through the tracking device that he installed from the tracker he had Tae-gyu place on him. So when the clock hit nine, he caught the red dot had left the building and called his boss.
They immediately geared up and got on their motorcycles to follow the traitor. Along the way, Hae-in realized Tae-shik was heading to a place that was somewhat familiar to her, so she called a close ally of hers to ask for a favor.
The clan soon arrived in their destination and parked their vehicles on the side. Hae-in took off her helmet and hung it on the handlebar, she removed her phone from the holder and noticed the flickering red dot was still on the move.
"Ms. Cha."
Hae-in looked up and was met by a familiar face. She smiled. "Mr. Woo."
Woo Jin-chul, the boss of the Golden Piercers, lightly smiled back and nodded. He was a close friend of hers in college and the successor of his grandfather to the clan. The Golden Piercers was the first clan who reached out for an alliance when Jin-chul learned that Hae-in was now leading the Dual Swords.
"How has leadership been treating you?" Jin-chul said.
"Great. Sometimes difficult, but I managed."
"Good to know. And oh, I notice that your right-hand man isn't with you."
"Jin-woo? Well, he had some important matters in his family to attend to." Hae-in replied. "He should be gone for a couple of days."
"I see," nodded Jin-chul. "Anyways, as you've said, I had some of my men scatter around to catch that traitor of yours."
"Thank you, Jin-chul. The Dual Swords shall be in your debt." Hae-in thanked him.
"A nice coffee with the boss should suffice," grinned Jin-chul.
"Guys!" Byung-gyu exclaimed. He stared at his device. "I think he stopped moving."
Hae-in checked her phone and spotted Tae-shik was in the northern-east. Her face scrunched into a glare. "Everyone, let's move!"
It was an old construction site. She had a strange feeling about it, so she asked Jin-chul to move his subordinates around the area. Jin-chul obliged and called his right-hand man, Liu Zhigang, to lead their crew in the construction site. They rushed toward the unfinished establishment and was greeted by a bunch of muscular men, cracking their knuckles in the entrance.
Hae-in walked up to them first, fixating the group with a cold gaze. She reached her hand over the baton she hid under her shirt. "Step. Away."
The men spared one another a look, chuckling. One made his way toward her and grinned maliciously. "Well, aren't you such a—"
*WHAM!*
Hae-in slammed his neck with her now outstretched baton and ducked over to hit her elbow against his waist and rushed to his back and shoved him to the ground with her foot. The rest of the group had made their attack, but Kanae was the first one to lunge at them and was followed by the rest.
Hae-in managed to push through them and entered the building. She turned and saw someone had their gun pointed at her and was about to pull the trigger until a bullet burst into their head.
It was Hee-jin. Hae-in flashed her a brief smile and began to hear gunshots resonating through the quiet place. It must be the Golden Piercers doing their job. She looked at her phone and noticed Tae-shik still hadn't moved.
Could he be waiting for someone? Or the person was already there?
Nonetheless, Hae-in knew she must hurry.
"Ms. Cha! Look out!"
She looked up and caught someone throwing a punch at her, so she swerved and grabbed the knife in her boot to stab the attacker on the neck. Blood spilled out and she shoved them out of her way. Hae-in rushed to the stairs where more people came to block her, but she quickly swung her leg at them and dragged her body aside to strike her fist at their bodies.
Just how many people were in this abandoned place? Could there be a clan she didn't know about?
Tae-shik was in the top floor. Hae-in's blood boiled just at the thought of him, which drove her attacks into becoming more harder at the ones who were on her path. She even knocked someone out and used him as a shield against the raging bullets. She dashed toward the gunman and stomped on his leg to snap the gun out of his wrist and used it to hit on his head.
She had gone ahead of the others. But did she think that how many could be in the top floor? No, and she would be still prepared anyway. What mattered to her was to get the traitor in her bare hands and make him beg helplessly for her forgiveness.
Hae-in made to the top floor and two guards were standing on each side of the door, but she shot them through their heads as she strode toward them. She kicked the door to bust it open.
"Kang Tae-shik! Where the hell are you and face me with that damn face of yours!" Hae-in bellowed.
There were people. . . Lots of them.
And the person she was looking for was just right inside of the crowd.
The others were still fighting downstairs, and since Hae-in was fast, it might take some time for them to follow.
Not that she was afraid, the fate of her clan was in her hands. Her father. The people who had created a place in her heart. They were all depending on her.
"Ah, boss! What a surprise? Are you here to see me? How nice!" Tae-shik exclaimed. "Too bad Big Man isn't here yet. Wanna wait for him with us?"
"Shut the hell up!!" Hae-in yelled at him. "My father had taken you in under his roof! How could you betray him like that?!"
"Aw! Daddy's little girl has spoken!" Tae-shik guffawed. "You know, I quite anticipated that you'd find out at some point. So I'mma give you brownie points for being clever!"
She gritted her teeth. "You know I can kill you here in an instant, right?"
"Hmm. . . Be my guest!" Tae-shik spread out his arms. "Kill me." The smirk in his face grew. "If you can handle these guys. Big Man has thugs, murderers, any dangerous people you know."
"Do I give a bullshit?" Hae-in growled. "I won't stop until I get my hands on you, you imbecile."
"Okay!" Tae-shik clasped his hands together. "It was nice knowing you, Cha Hae-in. Hopefully this fight will last long for Big Man to witness."
The men rushed to attack her. Hae-in's adrenaline pumped as she fought them, pouring every ounce of her power into taking them down as possible. She ducked and swerved and hit everywhere she could land her eyes on. She slit her knife through them and pushed through, aiming to reach Tae-shik.
Her mentor told her that she was stronger than she ever thought. Her father may have been one of the deadliest people to exist, but she had her own way of being lethal.
Hae-in had a dream, and that was being with her father and create memories with him that she never received as a child. However, he had passed before they could even continue those memories together. Her dream crumbled. . . But instead of swimming in grief, Hae-in decided to honor him by making him proud.
Bodies soon littered the ground, and even as they managed to get back up, Hae-in brought out her gun and killed them. Her hands quivered, bruised from the battle, and she was trying to hold herself together.
I. . . I still can do this! She reminded herself.
And just in time, her back-up had arrived.
Kanae threw her knives at each of them and Yoon-ho and Dong-wook knocked them senselessly with their fists. Jong-in dodged their attacks before plunging his blade against them. Zhigang also appeared and ruthlessly drew his sword at them, coloring the ground with more red. Now, Kang Tae-shik had his eyes wide in shock — the very first time fear had touched the demon.
"Are you still able?" Jin-chul asked her, holding his pistol.
Hae-in drew the back of her hand under her chin. Tae-shik still stood and watched the chaos in front of him. Her blood fueled and was hungry to make him feel tremendous amount of pain. "Just get me a clear path to the traitor."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
"Are you alright, son?"
Jin-woo looked away from the sea to his father. "Dad."
"You've been like this ever since your sister packed all of her things from the house," said Ill-hwang. He sighed. "Can you believe it? Your little sister is not so little anymore. It feels like it has been yesterday since she learned how to walk. . . "
"You and mom cried."
"Hey! You can't expect your mother and I not to be emotional. When you said your first word, I actually asked my boss for a day off to spend time with you."
Jin-woo chuckled. "I wonder what will it be once you have a grandchild."
"Oho! Don't get me started on that! I was thinking of starting a bet with your mother." Ill-hwang laughed and placed his hands on his hips. "But something tells me that there is another reason why you're out here after eating dinner."
"Sorry. I'm just. . . Worried." Jin-woo sighed.
"About Hae-in?"
He looked at his father.
Ill-hwang let out a smile. "You want to go back, don't you?"
"Something just came up. But, it's been so long since we've eaten together as family." Jin-woo frowned.
"Jin-woo, you're twenty-five years old. You know that you are free to do whatever you want." His father told him. "And besides, I was kind of hoping that you'd bring her here next time. Isn't she the reason why you asked me to let you become a mercenary? It's amazing how Hae-in has this much effect on you."
Jin-woo hummed. "Are you sure you and mom will be okay with me going back even though my days off isn't over?"
"Like I said, you are free to do whatever you want. You love this woman so much." Ill-hwang said. "So, when are you leaving?"
Before Jin-woo could answer his father, he felt his phone vibrate against his pocket. He pulled it out and saw Jong-in's message. His heart suddenly raced. "Now."
So, Jin-woo raced back to his house and immediately began shoving his clothes into his bag. His mother asked him what was going on, he told her that there was an emergency in the Dual Swords. Jin-woo planted a quick kiss on his cheek and hugged his father before rushing to his motorcycle.
Fortunately, it was night, therefore there weren't a lot of vehicles driving in the road. Jin-woo accelerated the speed and drove his vehicle rapidly, almost the same way his heart was.
The spy was found. The Dual Swords had gone out to capture him. A fight occured.
But Jong-in's last sentence was what pushed him into returning to the headquarters as much as possible. Jin-woo couldn't believe it.
When he reached the building, he parked his motorcycle and rushed to the stairs instead of the elevator. Jin-woo raced up the stairs and didn't take a moment to pause and catch his breath. Seeing his boss was his priority. No matter how his shirt had been drenched in sweat due to the endless run, he didn't care.
He shoved the door open and entered the right floor. He dashed past the rooms and turned to the right hallway where Hae-in's quarters was located. Suddenly, Jong-in blocked his way.
"I just sent you that message one hour and a half ago and you're back already?" Jong-in said. "Some speed you got there, Sung."
"I need to see her, Jong-in!" Jin-woo glared.
"Okay, first of all, let's calm down and— hey!"
Jin-woo shoved his backpack to Jong-in and brushed past his subordinate to make his way to the door. The door was not locked. Thank goodness. He twisted the doorknob and headed inside.
In the middle of the dim room, Hae-in sat on her bed next to the lampshade. Her shirt and jacket was discarded next to her, which only left her in a dark sports bra, and she had a bandaid on the corner of her forehead. Jin-woo sighed in relief upon seeing she was still in one piece. A roll of bandage sat on her lap while she was applying some ointment on her bruised knuckles.
Jin-woo walked toward her. He knelt down in front of her and touched her hand. Hae-in looked up and widened her eyes.
"J— Jin-woo! Since when did you come back?" She asked.
"Jong-in texted me," said Jin-woo. "Why didn't you tell me that you found the spy? I could've gone with you and stopped you from getting hurt!"
"I'm fine, Jin-woo."
"Kang Tae-shik almost stabbed you. How can you expect me to sit still and think that you are okay?!" Jin-woo failed to resist to raise his voice. "Hae-in, who knows what might've happened if you didn't have Mr. Woo with you? I—"
"I'm still alive, Jin-woo. And I'm still here, okay?" Hae-in reassured him. She reached out to touch the side of his face. "All's over now. Yoon-ho had Tae-shik in the basement."
Jin-woo was silent. He just stared at her, eyes filled concern for him when he was the one who was all concerned about her. He touched her hand and leaned against it, then he gently pressed his lips on her inner wrist, he flipped her hand to check the knuckles that were stained with red and even had small specks of bloodied dots. He kissed the back of her hand.
"You know, when we were kids, you once hit your head and couldn't stop crying," he said. "I had to kiss your forehead to make you feel better because your mom often did it to soothe you down."
"I wasn't crying."
"But I can tell you are holding back," Jin-woo told her. He rubbed his thumb on her skin. "You don't have to hide anything from me, Hae-in. You may be my 'boss', but we both know we are more than that." He sighed. "How long do we have to hide it from everyone?"
"I'm sorry," Hae-in murmured.
"I understand. I wouldn't be here if I don't." He said. "Not even your father knew anyways." Jin-woo leaned up and gently pushed her bangs to plant a lingering kiss on her forehead. "I'll take care of the rest, just finish healing yourself and get some shut-eye."
She nodded. "Okay."
Jin-woo got up and left the room. He quietly shut the door behind him and noticed Jong-in was still there, holding his bag. Luckily, Hae-in's walls were thick and all their shared conversations could never be heard.
"Which basement did you guys keep that snake?" He asked the red-haired.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Tae-shik spit out some blood through his mouth after a solid punch struck his stomach. He panted while he sat on a steel chair. Yoon-ho watched him in an excruciating pain. Dong-wook, Tae-gyu, and Kanae stood nearby. As for the rest in the unfinished building, they were taken by Jin-chul and his clan for interrogation and punish them for using a location owned by the Golden Piercers without permission.
"I told you everything about Big Man! Why are you still beating me up?!" Tae-shik seethed.
"Silence!" Yoon-ho roared. "We didn't bring you here to tell us about that lunatic. You are here because you got something to pay."
"Hasn't me becoming a punching bag enough?!"
"You know the rules here," growled Yoon-ho. "Kanae."
Kanae smirked and took her butterfly knife from her pocket, whipping the sharp blade. She was about to step forward when a new voice chimed in.
"You should sit this one out, Tawata."
She stopped and turned over her shoulder. "Sung?"
Jin-woo stepped out of the shadows, hands tucked into his pockets. A deadly look was plastered on his face. His eyes were darker than ever. Everyone knew that look, they had seen it, and it made them feel glad that they were on his good side. It was either he found out that their boss got hurt or someone insulted her when he was around.
Either way, he must've known that Tae-shik had almost took Hae-in's life during their fight.
There was no other reason why Jin-woo was this mad.
Yoon-ho stepped aside. Tae-shik looked up to the second-in-command of the clan, his bloodied mouth managed to crack into a grin. "Oh. It's you. The loyal dog of the—"
Jin-woo grabbed a fistful of his purple hair and smashed Tae-shik's face against his knee. He didn't allow him to recover from the abrupt attack. Blood dripped from the traitor's nose. Jin-woo threw a kick on his stomach, which was enough to drive the chair against the wall and topple on the floor. Dong-wook, Tae-gyu, Kanae, and Yoon-ho watched every inch of his movement. Jin-woo made his way closer to Tae-shik and raised his foot over his hand and—
Tae-shik cried in agony.
Jin-woo made sure a crack was heard from the hand he had stomped on. His expression remained impassive, but his eyes spoke every emotion within him. If he hadn't left, Jin-woo might've taken Tae-shik out without letting his boss get hurt. . . His lover.
He was done.
Jin-woo was done with people insulting Hae-in instead of acknowledging her. He was done witnessing her absorb all the brutal words. He had enough of people trying to drag her down just because her father was gone and she was his successor.
"If you are that determined to be involved with her, then prove it."
"This life has never been easy, Sung. Now you know why I must stay out of my daughter's life ever since her mother got murdered."
"Go through hell with her. The moment she takes my place, clans will use that to their advantage."
"You know how I hate seeing my daughter meddle with incapable people, young man."
Was he worthy now? It seemed like he did.
Jin-woo swore to himself and he would live by those words for the rest of his life.
An action against her was an action against him.
Jin-woo made Tae-shik suffer in tremendous pain that was greater than the pain his subordinates had delivered. He stopped once Tae-shik no longer moved an inch and looked lifeless. Jin-woo got up and began to leave, feeling satisfied even though he wanted to feed the body to the wolves.
"Is he dead?" Tae-gyu asked.
"Probably. But if he still has a pulse, leave him somewhere to rot." Jin-woo said.
And that was how the problem was eliminated.
Despite needing to heal more, Hae-in argued with him and continued her tasks, but only under the condition that she would give half of them to him. Jin-woo took her place as the clan's representative when Goto Ryuji came to visit and Hae-in dealt with the arrested attackers locked in the Golden Piercers' headquarters. She gathered new information on who the people were working for and commenced a meeting about it with her clan.
Everyone in the building knew what happened to Kang Tae-shik. And that news set as a reminder for the members if they ever thought of stabbing the Dual Swords in the back.
Everything returned to what it was supposed to be.
Jin-woo, on the other hand, had some unfinished business to attend to and a proposal Hae-in could never refuse.
He shut the door behind him and found Hae-in, who was taking off the bandages around her hands. She stretched her hands to inspect it and the wounds were now gone as though they had never existed. A smile curled up on his lips and made his way toward her.
"Hey."
Hae-in looked at him. She smiled. "Hey yourself."
Jin-woo wrapped his arms protectively around her. He brushed his lips briefly on her shoulder before resting his chin on it. Hae-in placed her hands on his arms and leaned against him.
"Is there something you want to tell me, Jin-woo?" She asked.
"Yes. But it's not about clan matters."
Hae-in sighed. "Jin-woo. . . "
"I know. And I still don't mind keeping our relationship as a secret from everyone." Jin-woo said. "If anything, I find it funny that others think you are easy to get when you're already belonged to me for a long time."
Even when he was working as a mercenary, they were still together in spite of the lack of communication. They waited for each other.
"Oh, how much of a surprise it will be if they know that the boss of the Dual Swords is involved with her right-hand man," chuckled Hae-in.
"Do you want to?"
"No. The building will be a mess if that happens."
Jin-woo chuckled and inched his nose to her neck. "How about we go on a date without anyone noticing us? We haven't done that since you took over the clan."
"I thought that being by my side is enough for you?" Hae-in teased.
"No," he pressed his lips on the skin. "I want you to focus on me only."
Hae-in rolled her eyes. "Greedy idiot."
"Want me to show you how greedy I am?"
"Someone could knock from the door."
"I locked it and who cares if someone knocked," Jin-woo grinned. "Unless you can keep yourself quiet. You know how these walls only hold conversations."
Hae-in flushed, yet managed to flash him a glare. "Jin—"
He crashed their lips together hungrily. Jin-woo held the back of her head as he snuck his tongue through her teeth. Hae-in whimpered against him. She turned around to face him properly so their chests were pressed against each other.
Jin-woo felt like breaking some rules today.
Hae-in told him to keep his hands to himself for three months and if he succeeded, she would let him do whatever he wanted. Jin-woo decided to agree with her, but he knew that even if he broke his deal with her, Hae-in would never be mad at him — it was not easy for her to keep resisting him anyway.
Especially now.
Hae-in was as starving as he was.
She ripped his shirt that sent its buttons flying. Jin-woo widened his eyes. He was about to say something when she dragged him down with her.
"You know someone will ask if they see me like this."
"Hmm. . . And whose fault was it?" Hae-in smirked beneath him. "All I ask for is three months."
"How nice to hear that coming from you," Jin-woo growled. He leaned down and fanned his hot breath on her ear. Hae-in shivered. "I hope you'll wear turtlenecks tomorrow."
It was too late for Hae-in to complain now.
#bamf hae-in and bamf jin-woo lezgooo#last fic before school starts aaaaaaaaaa#could've been nice to write these two fighting side-by-side but that's another story for some other time#solo leveling#sung jin woo#cha hae in#jinhae#sl fics by rei
28 notes
·
View notes
Note
As someone who knows very little about the Beach Boys but is curious, I would love to know all the tea on Mike Love.
"Mike Love isn’t just not rock … he’s actually in the red, like the anti-rock. He’s in rock debt and should spend his next life wearing golf pants and selling hairpieces." — Tony Hicks, Riff Magazine
A real article.
Let me take you on a journey.
Every Beach Boys fan starts to hate Mike Love as a joke, and then it gradually becomes real. (Mike Love defenders, I am truly sorry; you are the devil's strongest soldiers.) The traditional narrative is that when Brian Wilson (the eldest Wilson brother and de facto leader) stopped touring and began spending all his time writing music for the band, Mike Love (Brian's cousin, lead singer, lyricist) became worried that Brian would go off on his own and leave them behind. Mike had good reasons to worry; when the band came back from an extensive tour in Japan, Brian excitedly showed them what he had been working on: Pet Sounds. Widely considered their best album, and one of the best albums of all time, Pet Sounds is chamber pop music, with a wall of orchestral instruments and complex vocal harmonies, interspersed with really off-the-wall sounds, like bicycle horns and theremins, all in service of a "concept album" (the first ever such thing) about a young man entering adulthood and struggling to manage a relationship. Oh, and Brian had already recorded all of this with the Wrecking Crew (professional session musicians, who adored him), written all the lyrics with a new guy, Tony Asher, and then ushered the Beach Boys in to record the final vocals.
Mike Love was probably justifiably a bit peeved that Brian had just like ... done the thing without him and without the band, but that was Brian's job; that was the deal they had worked out when Brian decided he couldn't handle the pressure of touring anymore. Brian was already considered a savant composer at the time and the key to the Beach Boys' success; the Beatles adored his work, and he was in a constant battle to do something as spectacular as the Beatles were doing with albums like Rubber Soul. But when the band came back and got to hear the full thing (Mike was consulted on some of the lyrics beforehand), Mike was like, "This isn't us, this won't sell." (Other members had similar concerns, especially about having to recreate these elaborate orchestrations with a few guitars and drumkits on tour, but they trusted Brian.) The stressors between Mike and Brian continued when Brian started doing an even more ambitious album, Smile, using a really avant-garde lyricist who dealt in poetic imagery rather than concrete stories. Mike once again spent all the recording sessions whining about it and resisting any push toward psychedelic imagery. Legend has it he said something like, "Don't fuck with the formula" (of cars and girls and surfing), and basically shat all over what would have been the most innovative pop album of all time (purely from a production standpoint, it was a beast, needing to be constructed in tiny segments and then edited back together using analog recording equipment). It would have been, as Brian described it, "a teenage symphony to God."
Brian, being mentally fragile, did not do well with conflict like this, (he had already, with great struggle, gotten his father, Murry Wilson, fired as their manager, after Murry's abusive, controlling behavior made it impossible for them to record) and the disappointing reactions from the band and from the public toward Pet Sounds and Smile essentially killed his confidence, meaning that he soon retreated from being the band's leader and took less and less of an interest in writing. (He was more involved than popular imagination might think, but it was certainly a turning point in his creative output.) The pressure quickly became too much, and Brian, who was struggling severely with his mental health, shelved the entire Smile project. It was not released in any complete form until 2004, when Brian had the support around him (hint: not the Beach Boys) to let him put it into an acceptable shape and release a legendary lost piece of media. And it was incredible.
Now, at this point, most fans are like, "Aw, that Mike! Always sticking to the formula!" while acknowledging that he was right about how big of a risk these albums were. Points were made, and Pet Sounds didn't actually sell as well as their other stuff! Smile was very weird! Pet Sounds was so influential among rock musicians at the time (the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was a direct response to it), but it wasn't a commercial smash. And music does need to be somewhat concerned about the business side. So maybe some fans are like, "Well. We give Mike too much grief for this, Brian had to be responsible for his own confidence, this stuff happens, whatever."
But there's never really a moment where Mike Love is vindicated. He is never satisfied to be "right" about one thing; he must be right in all things. As you keep learning about him, you're like, "Mike is just an asshole."
Very famous picture of Mike and Brian. You can see the whole relationship here.
The main reason the clashes in '66-'67 are still a sore spot is because they're a microcosm of the decadeslong war for the soul of the band. In the 1990s, Mike wrested control of the Beach Boys name from the other surviving band members after the death of Carl Wilson, Brian's brother (a saint, a diplomatic soul who kept the band together when they would otherwise be at each others' throats). This gets into complicated legal weeds, but basically Mike won the rights to tour as "the Beach Boys" even though he only toured with one other member. All of the members share in the profits but are not allowed to do their own tours with the name. Brian had no interest in touring with him at the time, and neither did Al Jardine, another surviving member, but Mike went after Al for touring as "Beach Boys Family & Friends" and successfully sued to prevent any of the other boys from doing anything similar. At the same time, he excluded them from working with him on the official tour. He has kept the band in stasis, rarely playing songs beyond the 1962-1966 eras, and keeping the band's image as a good-time surfing group, when they are so much more, and it grates that they are not more known for how musically significant and groundbreaking they were (I count the entire band's contributions in this, not just Brian, as many of them are great songwriters in their own right and did wonderful production work in the late '60s and early '70s). Mike stands athwart that deserved legacy because he finds it difficult to share the spotlight, and his contributions in the later years were simply not good. Mike isn't solely responsible for the Beach Boys being classified as a nostalgia act; that impression began when Capitol Records, their first label, put out a greatest hits album that sold far more than anything new the band was making in the early '70s. But Mike leaned into that, and instead of capitalizing on renewed interest by showing how the band had grown, Mike wanted to show that the band was exactly how you remembered them.
He is also known for being bizarrely abrasive at times, to the detriment of the band's reputation. When they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, Mike interrupted Brian's sweet statement and wound up going on a ramble lambasting other Hall of Fame members for suing each other (THIS IS DRAMATIC IRONY) or for not "showing up" for that year's event because they've "always been chickenshit to get onstage with the Beach Boys." I have never been able to get through this video in one sitting, I have to stop because the secondhand embarrassment is too much.
youtube
ELTON JOHN: Thank FUCK he didn't mention me!
He later blamed his tirade on not meditating that day.
In the 1990s, Mike began to sue the other members for damn near everything. While Mike was somewhat justified in regaining songwriting credits from the Beach Boys' early work (Murry Wilson had something to do with wanting to keep the credits for the Wilson brothers), he went on to claim that Brian including a picture of the Beach Boys in the album sheets for his version of Smile "damaged" the image of the band. Jesus wept. He also sued Brian for how he was portrayed in a (to be fair, mostly ghostwritten and bad) memoir without having read it.
The surviving members of the Beach Boys reunited in 2012 for the band's 50th anniversary. They put out a new album (it was great!) and toured together for the first time since the 1990s. David Marks, an early member who left during the first year, was invited back to play with them. It was healing to see them together and genuinely enjoying performing. Audiences were thrilled. Brian Wilson and Al Jardine both expressed how excited they were to keep it going, not just as a one-time anniversary tour but something they could conceivably do year after year, healing the split between Mike's band (with Beach Boy Bruce Johnston) and the tours that Brian and Al did together. But before any of that could be worked out, Mike just ghosted them, along with David. He announced that the tour was going to go on without them without doing a joint release. Brian and Al wrote a freaking letter to the editor stating they hadn't been told. So it's definitely another "Mike is why we can't have nice things" moment. He has described his exclusive ability to tour as "my nourishment and my revenge," framing it as a way of recovering lost royalties after being cheated out of songwriting credits for a long time, even though he was already awarded monetary compensation for that. In actual fact, he just cannot handle being upstaged.
Some other things that Mike gets flak for: getting obsessed with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Transcendental Meditation movement, writing songs exclusively about the concept and trying to turn the Beach Boys into an official Maharishi touring group; overclaiming writing credits for his small contributions to certain songs; playing for Trump's campaign events; playing for a trophy hunter guild (these last two in spite of public disavowals from Brian and Al). There are probably other, more private things that I don't think are necessary to get into. None of the band members have completely clean hands in how they've treated one another. What sets Mike apart is that he makes it public and cannot move on.
Everyone has a different breaking point with him, I think. For me, it's his continued digs at Brian, particularly relating to Brian's mental illnesses. Even extending some grace to him for dealing with difficult working conditions as some of the band members spiraled, I cannot excuse how disgusting his language is and how much he clearly wants to erase the empathy and love people have for Brian, with whatever tool he has at hand.
For context, Brian Wilson was locked into an unspeakably abusive conservatorship with his psychologist, Eugene Landy, for a decade, up until 1991. The abuse involved improper prescription treatment that continues to affect Brian to this day. (He is lucky it did not kill him.) I don't even like to think about it much because it's so dark, but Landy controlled what Brian could eat, what he sang, and who he could talk to. He sold off Brian's publishing rights and represented him in public and corporate matters. Thanks to a longtime fan and music journalist, David Leaf; Brian's future wife; and intervention by the family (who had been cut off from communicating with Brian), he was given control of his own life again and eventually properly diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. He has gotten to lead his own life again, making music that helps him deal with auditory hallucinations and depression, and working with who he wants to.
With that background, it's absolutely fucked for Mike to say this:
"He’s not in charge of his life, like I am in mine. His every move is orchestrated and a lot of things he’s purported to say, there’s not tape of it. But, I don’t like to put undue pressure on him, either, because I know he has a lot of issues. Out of compassion, I don’t respond to everything that is purportedly said by him. I’ve noticed where he says he really regards me as his greatest writing partner and that he loves my voice. Even on the 50th (anniversary tour), he made it quite clear he really liked watching me do my thing while he was at the piano. So, there’s a lot of positivity there.” (X)
So many layers there. He's so comically up his own ass, but the things he says about Brian upset me so much. He's so vile for no reason. Even if this were a criticism of Brian's PR or legal team, he could say so, instead of using Brian's past abuse to brush aside his opinions. He always does this thing where the Wilsons' addictions and illnesses are the result of bad choices, while he's never done anything wrong and was victimized by them. It's so infuriating, but it's also hard to get too upset with him because he's genuinely blind.
The thing about Mike is that he's so ... bad that he's fun to hate. Is he truly the worst person in the world? No. But is he actually the worst person in the world? Yes. His terribleness makes me laugh. That might have more to do with the cerebral way Beach Boys fans cut Mike Love clips, but goddamn, it gets me. (Beach Boys fans have had to deal with an awful lot of kitsch against their will, and I think this is their way of coping.)
LISTEN TO THIS MANIAC, I AM WHEEZING AT WORK.
youtube
(It's so crazy, he even added in that psychedelic riff at the end of the video! That's not in the song! It's just to emphasize how weird he thinks "Good Vibrations" is and how much he has to "apologize" for it. What is happening. Even when he is "joking," there's such a dark energy about it.)
In conclusion:
youtube
youtube
A real article. "His memoir leaves him neither vindicated nor convincingly tolerable as a human being."
#anyway in spite of all this 'big sur' slaps#and guess what so does 'student demonstration time'#okay bye#the beach boys#this was so fun to write; thank you for giving me an excuse to type this all up!
46 notes
·
View notes
Text
Monster of the week rancher au part 4: small things that make me happy.
1. The first time Tango makes Jimmy a bouquet was made of Poison Ivy. He is trying his best. Yes Jimmy grabbed it and now has to deal with his hands being itchy for the day or so
2. Impulses shitty van is the Nokia of cars. It can handle being throw like every weekend by the monster of the week but has the worst engine. Type of car that is on its last legs engine wise.
3. Jimmy and Grian Great Grandma used to be a moonshiner back in the day. And whenever they visit her she always said back in my day but like wack stuff. Ex: “Back in my day we would sunk you in the lake”
4. Jimmy is a western/cowboy nerd. So much that his dnd character he plays in his friend’s campaign is a cowboy. Has a whole ass collection of Clint Eastwood Movies.
5. Tango loves those wack conspiracy and alien/monster documentary. Solely to laugh at it because it’s always so off. Yes he watches documentaries about himself as well.
6. Tango has actual beef with the Mothman. Yes mothman exists in this au and tango is no brain just punch whenever he sees the mothman.
7. Jimmy has to keep a ladder in Impulses van because Tango gets stuck on the roofs of buildings so often.
8. Jimmy is a Eagle Scout and is lowkey bullied by the younger Boy Scouts. But at the same time the small kids will beat up others for their weird teen.
9. Jimmy is definitely a flannel bisexual. He always is wearing some sort of flannel overtop.
10. Jimmy mom always wins the community baking competition with her special Apple pies. No one knows her secret why they taste so good.
11. Tango has gotten his hand stuck in a Pringle can. Jimmy had to olive oil it out for him.
12. Scar has wore a overcoat and was like “Whata ya buyin” but instead it’s like potions and crystals. The teachers thinks he is selling drugs tho.
13. When Tango is really happy his purrs are so loud it shakes the room he is in like a earthquake.
14. Tango loves to be fully human but when only Grian is looking at him (especially when he’s over at their place for dinner) loves to show off slight monstrous traits. Like blinking with a second eye lid or smiling with way too much teeth.
15. Jimmy does know how to hunt but boy it took him forever for him to get a squirrel to present to Tango as a token of his affection. He is trying his best to monster flirt.
16. Tango because he doesn’t know how to human flirt does present dead animals usually deer to Jimmy as a way to flirt.
17. Tango is surprisingly rich af. It’s just he had no concept of money before meeting Jimmy and his human friends. He stole so much from campers and hikers.
18. Tango got manipulated into joining journalism once he went to the school as a student. And everyone in said journalism class is wanting to do a piece on him as the red stalker. But no one believes he is the red stalker even when he plainly admits that fact.
19. The fact is the one high vampire that can infect others in town is literally decades worth in debt and lives in the attic of his shitty tourist plus secret pawn shop trap. (Vampire Scott my beloved)
20. Tango doesn’t pass the mirror test. He sees his reflection he thinks it’s someone else. On his bad days he may try attacking the stranger. Tango is a feral good boy. But I never said he was smart.
75 notes
·
View notes
Text
𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
Name: Erena Ryūjin
Based on: Monkey D. Luffy
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿: Non-Binary (She/they)
𝗔𝗴𝗲: 18
𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗮𝘆: 26th of March
𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻: Aries
𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 153 cm
𝗘𝘆𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿: bright blue
𝗛𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿: Black with Orange gradient
.
𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗦
𝗗𝗼𝗿𝗺: Nakaumi
School: @deaths-academy-of-combat
𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿: second year
𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀: 2-A
𝗢𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Dorm Leader
𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯: Gymnastics
𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁: Mixed Martial Arts
Homeland: Unknown (kinda drifted across many sea cities)
Sexuality: Asexual Demiromantic
Weapons: Her stretchy arms most of the times but if she is really force to have a weapon... she results to a simple sword.
.
.
𝗙𝗨𝗡 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦:
𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱: ambidexterous
𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱: Meat on the bone, Kebab, just in general anything meat
𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱: Its hard to find something she doesn't eat
Likes: the seas, adventures, meeting new people, being known, her straw hat,
𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀: swimming ( she can't), unnecessary violence, seagulls,
𝗛𝗼𝗯𝗯𝘆: Keeping a photobook, tending to ships, photography in general,
𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: stretching herself inhumanly so, convincing people of her ideas, getting into trouble, kleptomancy
𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬:
Erena as a young girl didn't really have a home... she actually did have parents but got kidnapped by pirates a long time ago... yet despite that, watching them from where she was trapped she was fascinated by what they all did... they wanted to sell her to someone who can have her a as a child worker for a scheme but she broke up in a more unconventional way... however she was still lost on what to do and so tried just to survive with what she had... becoming a poor street thief who tried to get by where she could... however one day this landed her into trouble with a circus, where she got caught sneaking in without paying to see the show and the head clown wanted her to work off her debt... this is where she met Slice... working with him for a while and finding out about her unique magic, which made her a great performer for the circus for a short while with how much she can stretch her arms... however she never wanted to stay a performer... and Slice knew that too... both didn't really have a choice in the end. The town they stayed in got attacked but in the commotion they met Shanaya... who saved them both out of this situation and after Slice lost his mentor in the commotion... both decided to be mentored by her and go along with her for a while... untill eventually they started their dorm.
Erena is despite the hardships very optimistic and always smiling... its hard to get her down, but if she is angry you know something went wrong... Some people would call her reckless when she calls herself moreso fearless... even her confidence is hard to get down, she has no hesitation to walk up to a stranger and strike up a conversation. Its why she became such a good leader of the dorm cause she strikes in first and tries to face any situation headon...
Unique Magic:
A Devils Taste
Similar to her inspiration she can just stretch all of her limbs very long.
#twisted wonderland oc#twst oc#twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland ocs#twst#disney twst#twst ocs#twistedwonderland#twistedwonderlandoc#erena ryujin#nakamumi
13 notes
·
View notes
Text
Facing the Krayt Dragon
Note that this will be majorly AU, and also contain a ton of fanon/headcanon ideas. Rule of thumb? If you recognize it, probably not mine. You will see… Alderaanian culture stuff, force sensitive ideas, jedi stuff, amavikka stuff(aka Tatooine Slave Culture from various fandom writers, though one of the largest is @fialleril ), and maybe a touch of naboo culture stuff. Nothing will be Jedi critical.
Leia had followed Han to Tatooine for several reasons.
The mountains of Alderaan echoed in her bones but the waters of Naboo sung through her blood and the sands of the desert made up her soul.
One reason was Han’s capture.
One was the call she felt to the place her rebel brother called home.
One was to see the ghost of Obi-wan’s last years of life.
One was that she had heard a voice roaring for her to come home. To walk the blood soaked sands. To wake the dragon.
Yes, Leia had many reasons to walk beneath the twin burning suns.
Her war braids entwinned with mourning white ribbons as she approaches Mos Eisley. She knew she could handle herself.
Even if she felt adrift without her twin sun to orbit.
Leia was not prepared. Jabba the Hutt, sniveling worm that he was, had decided that she was pretty. Luke had nothing good to say about the place, and even less about the few times his family had to work off a debt to Jabba in the dry years. Leia knew she would be in for months, if not years of struggle. Luke’s advice still rang in her head like the mountain top cathedral bells. “If you must go to Tatooine, hide yourself first. You are foreign, pretty, young, and obviously fierce. They will think you are worth the risk of hunting to sell.”
Leia had not stayed hidden. And by the time several months had passed? She could feel the call to the desert growing stronger, and the urge to resist growing weaker.
“Child.”
Leia looked up immediately. An older weequay, named Shirsu Terramitta was approaching.
“Yes, Shirsu?”
The old weequay smiled. “Come to my rooms tonight. It is a time of joy. I would like to invite you to partake.”
A voice, unfamiliar but kind, spoke. “She will never be a jedi.”
“No. She will be someone else. Can you not hear the Force proclaiming such, as loud an a chorus sung across the mountains of Alderaan?”
Leia thinks long and hard, but nods. “I will be there Shirsu.”
“I will be waiting, Sister.”
Something stirs. That name is familiar, in the way that a favored bedtime story half-remembered is. Yes. I am Sister.
—
Jabba releases his dancers early. Rumors of a sickness tearing through his pets makes him wary of keeping them too close. All of his dancers move to Shirsu’s room.
“Leia, you are coming to Grandmother today?”
Leia pauses, nodding. The human, Itza, smiles. “Then I am glad to walk beside you.”
Leia remains quiet. The air feels like the moment before a sandstorm hits.
Anticipation. Danger. Survival.
Hope.
———
Shirsu welcomes everyone is, and says “My people, one has joined us. She looks towards the desert each day. She is Called. We now must bring her into our family. She must have her Name.”
Leia felt something building, something charging the air. A cool sensation like morning dew on Alderaan surrounded the quartet.
“Leia, we name you kin. You have been a slave, you will always remember that. You are one of us. I tell you this story to save your life.”
Shirsu- Grandmother- tells her the story of the stealing of Ar-Amu’s children. Of her promise. Of Depur and Ekkreth. Of Akar Hinil, Tena, Ebra, Mitta, the Twins who carried the suns.
Of Leia and Lukka. Of how the Krayt chases the sandstorm, and the sandstorm the krayt. Forever orbiting each other.
Leia learns about the piece of herself that never fit. She grows. She learns. And one day, many months after Bentu Depurak, Jabba is displeased with his senator toy. She had tried to poison him. He decided to send her into the desert for face the storm.
Leia, the call of the desert like a deafening scream, keeps her smile small and secret.
She knew the poison would come in handy
#star wars#headcannons#feed the machine#teeaves does star wars#amatakka#amavikka#tatooine slave culture#Facing the Krayt AU#accidently posted this way to early…#Part two is coming soon.
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
Pet and Owner
Sweet as Sugar Masterlist
trigger warnings: restrained, gagged, pet whump, lady whumper, collared, dehumanisation, humiliation, captivity
When Myles opened his eyes, he found that he couldn’t see a thing. He tried to blink away the drowsiness, hoping it’d clear his vision, but the pitch black refused to dissipate, filling up the space like the thickest ink.
When he tried to move, he felt an odd weight on his hands, and heard the rattling of heavy chains. When he tried to call out, he realised there was something blocking his mouth. Duct tape?
Panic set in, and he began to thrash around. Muffled cries for help were drowned out by the concrete prison, and he eventually decided to try and conserve his energy by staying relatively still – apart from the horrible shivering he just couldn’t seem to stop.
Saccharine had drugged him. That was the only logical explanation, yet it seemed so wildly unrealistic. Why would she do that? She’d just said she would help with the loans, she invited him over, they were friends.
Unless… Unless by helping with the loans, she meant something entirely different. Myles felt his heartbeat skyrocket as the terrifying thought wormed its way into his brain. Saccharine was making him into a pet, then selling him for the price of all his loans, maybe even more. That would both get rid of the debt and make her some profit, and… and they’d never see each other again.
They weren’t really friends, were they?
Myles curled up on the floor, awkwardly trying to manoeuvre around the uncomfortable and rigid chains. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and he saw no point in trying to keep them at bay. He knew that the people he usually talked to as potential business partners weren’t fond of him, of course, just as he wasn’t really fond of them. God, his family wasn’t even fond of him. He’d considered Saccharine his only real friend, the only one who tolerated him despite having clearly stated that she would never take him as a partner. For how long has she been pretending? Had there ever been a time when she wasn’t?
The basement door creaked open, and Myles made no effort to lift his head off the ground. Someone flipped a switch, and the lights finally came on – soft purple, instead of the blinding white he’d been expecting. Saccharine did complain a whole lot about headaches, now that he thought about it. White lights would’ve just made it all worse.
Now that he could see, it was obvious that his cell was one of a few. There were at least three others from what he could see. Were they empty?
“Have you woken up yet?” Saccharine came into view in front of the glass door of his own little room, interrupting his thoughts. His wide eyes must’ve been enough of a response for her, because she swiped her card and made the door open without any further inquiries. She was carrying a little box with her, the contents of which Myles desperately wanted to avoid. He’d seen enough little training boxes in his life to know there was never anything fun inside.
The box had been set on the desk in the corner, and Saccharine sat down on the chair next to it. Her soft smile was the exact same as before, when they were still just two friends sitting across from each other at a cosy little table. Maybe even friendlier. It made Myles shiver.
“You must have so many questions,” she mused, crossing her legs and getting comfortable. A show of dominance in a situation where he had no chance to lessen the pain of the position his body had been forced into. “I will answer… some of them, I suppose. Starting with the easy and obvious ones, like, what happened? Where am I? What’s going to happen?”
Myles shook his head slightly. He didn’t care about any of that. He knew the answers to those questions. He only wanted to know why. She ignored him.
“I made you drink a spiked cocktail, which made you pass out and then be transported down here. Here is of course under my house, in my little pet training centre.” She took off the lid of the box, and took out a collar, making his heart drop. “As for what’s going to happen… I’m going to train you. You asked how I train my pets so fully and perfectly in the space of just a few months. I’ll grant you some insight after all.”
He whimpered behind the tape, pathetic and miserable. It only served to make her giggle.
“Don’t be scared, now. I treat my pets very well. It’s an intense training period, but it pays off.” She stood up and walked over to where he was still lying on the dirty floor, motioning for him to get up. “If you comply, it might not even hurt that much.”
Myles stayed down. He didn’t want to comply. He didn’t want to be collared. He wanted to get out and run for his life. The treacherous tears of hopelessness were threatening to make an appearance again, humiliate him even further in front of his former friend.
“Collaring is the first and easiest step,” she said gently. “I don’t even have anything to punish you with at this stage. It’s not a time to be stubborn and proud, it’s just… the first interaction between pet and owner. I don’t want it to be tainted by pain.”
The easiest step… with no pain… maybe it was that, or Saccharine’s sweet voice, but Myles found himself longing to please her. Just for a little while. He wouldn’t be able to during training, he knew that. And he had never been able to, out in the real world. Maybe this was his only chance of ever pleasing her.
He pushed himself up, slowly and anxiously.
“Good boy,” she praised softly, leaning down to get the collar around his neck. It was light, but constricting. Uncomfortable. He was never getting it off again. “There you go. Nothing to be afraid of.” She pet his head, running her slender fingers through his hair, scratching behind his ear like one might do with a dog. He felt his face heat up – still, it was so much better than pain. “I’m giving you the name Biscuit. I think it’s pretty cute.” She flicked the tag on his collar, and Myles thought it might have his new name on it. Maybe some contact info as well. A proper little pet.
He wanted to beg so badly, but the duct tape prevented it. Please, reconsider. You’ll never see my face again, just let me go. I didn’t realise you hated me, and I’m sorry. Saccharine wouldn’t get to hear those words.
She straightened her back and walked back to the box, taking out a bunch of cables and a remote. She sank the remote into her pocket and began detangling everything. Myles whimpered. He recognised those things as electrodes, and he recognised the remote as one of the top brands in the business. He’d seen one up close before; he’d seen one in action. That thing went up to voltages that could easily kill a person.
“Familiar?” She chuckled, making the poor man tremble even more. “Remember, sweet Biscuit. Being good means being safe. Not fully. You’re never fully safe with these things on. But it brings temporary safety, and I suggest you take advantage of that.”
~
taglist: @whumpsday @lonesome--hunter @hidden-dreamland @throwawaywhumper @kim-poce
33 notes
·
View notes
Text
Mc is a Ghost- Mammon One Shot
this part has 1362 words and I´m pretty sure this OOC so sorry and like always I´m always happy if you have tips how I can better my writings and ‘ ‘ is for thoughts
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Stupid casino throwing out the Great Mammon because I apparently cheated.” I grumbled to myself while walking ‘How did they even find out? I was sure I hide everything perfectly this time.’ I thought before someone ran in to me
“Oi! You there watch it!” I shouted after them but they just kept running ‘What´s this guys problem?’ I would have continued walking if it wasn´t for the fact this guy lost something which looks really valuabel
“Guess it´s my lucky day after all!” I grinned and crouched down to inspect what the guy dropped “Seems like a necklace made out of pure gold and diamonds~ even if it is a fake it looks so well made I could made a fortune of of it either way~” I talked to myself and started grinning ‘with this thing alone I could pay of the majority of my debts no problem~ the only thing now is to find a buyer.’ and with this thought I hurried home
~at the House of Lamentation~
I took a closer look at the necklace “Was this guy loaded or something? This thing is covered in a bunch of smaller gems.” I don´t know why but this necklace gives of bad vibes “Well not that it matters because you´re going to make me rich.” I gave a quick kiss to the necklace ‘But it would almost be a shame to sell something valuable as this maybe I could keep and sell a forgery to some poor idiot?’ but before my thought could continue
“That´s really gross you know? You don´t even know where this has been.” and unknown voice said right in front of me
I quickly transformed in my Demon form “Who are you and what are you doing in my room?!” it looked at me for a moment before
“This is my necklace obviously and before you say anything else this guy didn´t drop it accidentally he did it so he could get rid of me.” I stared at it ‘can this thing read my thoughts or something?’
“No I can´t read your thoughts but believe me you´re a really loud thinker who can´t seem to shut up.” I blushed a little “Shut up! And besides you´re dead anyway so why would you care about this dumb old necklace anyway? Looks like a fake to me.”
It glared at me “For your information this is a priceless family heirloom that during my lifetime was watched all the times and it was daily checked if someone stole it or tried placing a convenient forgery in it´s place.” it´s glare lessened a bit “and as the last heir to my families name I was buried with it but of course after countless centuries people forgot about me and my grave was unwatched where grave robbers stole it.” it now smiled ‘I sure am glad it´s not talking about me.’ it din´t seem to pay attention to me “after stealing my most prized possession from my skeletal remains I simply decided to follow the thieves and after finding them I dealt with them appropriately.” it was still smiling “I´m sure you know what I mean right?”
‘This thing is seriously scary but still I´d rather deal with this than my debt collectors.’
it looked at me or rather at the necklace I was still holding “If you´re thinking about all the money you could make of off it but I would recommend doing so fast otherwise I could just deal with you like all the other thieves.”
‘Why does it smile reminde me of Lucifer when he is angry?’ “Whatever I don´t have anything to worry because I´ll sell this thing faster then you could blink!”
“I would love to see this.” it laughed ‘I´ll show you you stupid ghost’
~Next Day~
“What do you mean you won´t take it?!” the Pawn Shop owner looks at me like I´m crazy “Everyone knows about this stupid thing, nearly killed me too you know? I would not want to meet them again.”
“Whatever! I´ll just find someone else” this guy had the nerve to grin at me “Believe me when I tell you your best bet is to dump it on someone else no one will buy it and who knows what they´ll do once they get bored of you.”
I didn´t even answer I just left ‘Whatever I´ll just find someone else.’ but no matter how many times I tried I always got the same results
‘at least I´m finally ho-’ I looked at the Ghost sitting on my bed “and what are you doing here? I thought you follow your stupid necklace.”
the Ghost laughed at this “You aren´t the first one who thought they could sell my necklace and get ride of me and like this stupid Pawn Shop owner said no one will buy me.”
I glared at them “Shut up!” it doesn´t seem to care but I noticed something in their hand “Where the hell did you get this thing from?! It looks expensive as hell!” it smiled “I always where lucky with such stuff you know? I can always find the most valuable stuff just lying aroung.”
this got my attention “Lucky you say? What else could you find? and would you be able to help me with other things?” I needed a pause to carefully think about my next words “Actually I have a great idea! You help me make money and I´ll return your necklace to your bones what do you say? it´s a Great idea right?!”
“and why would I trust you?”
“Easy! After I got my money I won´t need your stupid necklace!” they glared at me ‘what´s their problem now?’ they just kept on glaring at me “so what do you say?”
I expected an answer but before that they gripped my hand in their ice cold one “I would recommend you keep your end of the bargain, well if you want to live that is” I tried to make them let go of my hand “and believe me when I say if you cross me while I may not be able to kill you I will make you wish I could Demon” they let go of me and quickly disappeared
I looked around nervously ‘I think this was a mistake.’
~Some months Later~
“Okay Ghostie! How many wins did we have today? Huh? We sure made a lot of money.”
I couldn´t stop smiling while may have been caught they didn´t take my winnings and with Ghostie at my side “you know I told you to stop calling me that.” Ghostie sighed at this
“I think it´s a cute nickname! Well as cute as a nickname could be for some rude as you.” I blushed a little ‘they sure are Great good luck charm! And they should be honored to spend time with the Great Mammon’
I heard them sigh again “if it wasn´t for the fact that I was stuck with you I wouldn´t stay around you know that, right?” the looked angry again “I can´t believe someone dug up not only my grave but those of my family as well and threw our bones away! I mean who does that?! Fuckers know Ghosts exist so why would the want to provoke some!”
guess I should try to calm them down again “yeah but you saw your relatives again and they made sure to make them pay” the smiled at this ‘Great crisis averted I hate when they get upset like this’ I smiled a little to myself luckily they didn´t notice
“Well this was at least the only nice part, it was great to know in excruciating detail what they made with those idiots.” I shivered ‘Yeah those guys weren´t shy about admitting their crimes.’
they took a look around “you know I still don´t understand why you didn´t just leave me with my family? I thought this entire thing was about getting ride of me.” I blushed “Oh! Would you look at the time! Seems like we´re going to be late” and quickly walked away from them I could hear them laughing at me from the distance.
#obey me!#obey me#obey me shall we date#obey me imagines#obey me headcanons#obey me fanfiction#obey me fanfic#obey me fic#obey me mammon#mammon avatar of greed
36 notes
·
View notes
Text
Still tearing my way through Like Wind On a Dry Branch and it's maybe the best straight slow burn romance I have ever read?
The main love interest is the archduke who took in the female lead to save her from being buried alive with the corpse of a man who owed him a great debt.
Everyone in a 10 mile radius is like "my lord you're in love with her, why can't you admit it and ask her to be your wife, she basically runs the manor anyways and you obviously favour her and wish to keep her near." And they have been doing this for most of the story.
In the past few episodes/chapters two very important/interesting developments have occurred. I'm just over 70 chapters in at this point btw.
1. In a low moment where the archduke was absolutely desperate to get some space even if it meant scaring her away all so that he could avoid talking about a trauma he pinned her beneath him and made some lewd comments because he knows she has been pursued and very likely sexually abused by men in positions of power over her multiple times in her life, the last of which lead to the murder of her husband and the selling of her toddler into slavery and her almost death by getting buried alive.
And this woman who used to flinch away from holding hands for a cover story and has very clearly been traumatised just smiled and pointed out that he was obviously not actually trying to assault her and offered to simply bless him (as part of her role as his mage) and leave without pressing for conversation.
She has grown so comfortable and safe with him that even when he actively tried to be threatening in a way specifically tailored to hit her weakness she didn't so much as blink and calmly resolved the situation.
The first thing he did upon seeing her the next morning was apologise for his actions the night before.
2. The archduke's head knight was once again calling him out on being in love with the mage and the archduke finally was like
"ok let's say hypothetically I did harbour feelings for her as you say, I am a man with a position of considerable power over her what kind of feelings do you think that's going to evoke if I were to inform her of this when you yourself have been investigating the abuse she suffered by the hands of two different men who both held considerable power over her at different points of her life? Do you really think it is right that I make someone I am sworn to protect feel unsafe and put her in a position of reliving her traumas by asking her to be mine?"
Which like given part 1 is absolutely wild. My dude you could tell her and even if she didn't feel the same (unclear but leaning towards she does, there's something going on and she either needs the crutch of duty to feel comfortable in expressing her feelings, or she's gonna ruin his life for an undisclosed reason. The writing is good enough that I think theory one may be more likely than the shock factor of theory 2) she would feel safe enough and knows you well enough to believe you'd be chill about getting turned down.
And I just know this story is gonna take SO many more chapters before he even considers that fact. I fucking bet you this idiot is going "I only got away with my I'll considered stunt because she could tell I was lying about wanting her in that context, if she saw truth in me she'd be much more afraid."
It's such a slow burn I worry my meat is gonna fall off my bones before they ever acknowledge their feelings.
13 notes
·
View notes
Note
I can't get over Terry betraying Kreese. Like wow talk about cutting off his heart. And yet--- it seems like Terry still talks to Daniel so sweetly in the teaser. I would love to see Terry being cold and threatening to everyone but genuine and soft with Danny boy. Fingers crossed the s5 trailer gives us more silverusso scenes!
Hi 👋
Thanks for the comment / 🥰
I think Terry “betraying” Kreese makes sense!
I don’t think Kreese himself, the actual person, is his weakness.
War creates a bond that no one can understand unless they’re lived it - as does the bond created when someone saves your life.
BUT
To have a debt like that on your head - that you owe someone your life. Knowing you will never be able pay that debt back - to be free of it. That you will always feel indebted to that person for everything you have - your very life …. I cannot imagine what that feels like nor do I want to know.
Must feel like your neck is always in the guillotine esp when the relationship with that person whom you owe that debt to isn’t the greatest.
AND
You can tell Kreese won’t let him forget and holds it over him.
And you can tell how sick of it Terry is - “ahhh there it is”
He expects and knows Kreese will bring it up - he also knows Kreese is a “user.”
When they first meet again - it’s quite biting - “you want me to cut you a cheque?!”
Kreese is also clearly stuck in the past, unable to live in the moment.
Trying to pull rank for example - like Terry is still under him, which is clearly not the case. He has no control of Terry - just thought he did, and I think Terry is fed up with Kreese’s bullshit and holding onto that part of their past and the weight it carries. It’s why he rejects his offer the first time - he doesn’t live in the past like Kreese does. He at least tried to get help to move on and live his life - he wants no part of it.
So I think the weakness in terms of their relationship is the fact that he feels he owes Kreese his life and all the entails.
I equate cutting Kreese out of his life to cutting out a cancer and how it makes you feel - disease free.
Look at his reaction:
Not only does Terry have no issue at all with doing it, but look how happy he is after he does it - he’s free.
Kreese is the one who’s shocked - all because he thought he was in control and he does not know Terry as well as he thought.
Also, come on - you think Terry wouldn’t have found Kreese if he really wanted to. He let Kreese leave his life without giving a damn or a second though for three decades.
And it’s not Kreese that draws him in.
Why do you think Kreese mentions Daniel?! - to hook him back in because he wasn’t biting on what Kreese was selling.
“Danny boy?!” That reaction!
The only reason he even started down the path of batshit insanity was Daniel and his rejected apology.
“What’s next?”
“We wipe the floor with the arrogant prick.”
Kreese smiles - he knew that would be the outcome. At least he knows that much about Terry.
Also, end note - to be clear - Daniel is not responsible for Terry’s actions - as you are under no obligation to accept an apology - sincere or not - nor are you responsible for another grown man’s actions.
Fingers crossed we do get more Silver/Daniel interactions because the few we got were still so poignant IMO.
And yes - such fondness for his Danny Boy - the way his voice is - “it’s good to see you.”
The fact that (in the trailer) he warns his boy.
Kind of like - don’t make me hurt you.
Kreese never got the warning - just framed for attempted murder 😂
So I’m all for Terry who is a gentle giant around Daniel (Danny boy has him wrapped around his finger) while ruthless with everyone else.
25 notes
·
View notes
Text
𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐊𝐘𝐎 | 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨
"𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚. 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞 𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙."
being the daughter of one of the big-shot mafia bosses out there, l/n y/n found it hard to take after her father despite being one of the 'debt collectors'. however, she saw the opportunity to break through the tradition of 'men can only rule' by seeking a fake marriage with the guy who crashed her bike.
14. hearts come together
the sunny afternoon served as a perfect ambiance for the couple who walked along the leaves covered path with ice creams in hand.
after a long day going 'round tokyo preparing for the anticipated remarriage, a simple cone of the cold dessert wouldn't hurt anyone- it's a form of destressing themselves from the hardwork that they had to endure all week long.
"i still don't get why they don't sell (f/flavor) ice cream there... it's a universal flavor for fucks sake!"
sano shinichiro had to bite back a laugh that's forcing it's way up his throat as he looked at his wife who was still pouting because the ice cream shop wasn't selling her favorite flavor- guess who's going to lose a company when they get home.
"but at least they have (o/f/f). that's good, right?" y/n shook her head, still glaring down at her poor cone of dessert as a small stripe of it began falling down the sides of the waffer due to the intensity of both her glare and the sun.
the raven haired man let out an amused chuckle at how childish his wife was acting. it's not a bad thing- but seeing the usual stoic woman showing off some emotions other than her seriousness was honestly quite a change in scenario.
whenever the two were at home, the young woman would always have this serene look on her face that shows a side of her that she definitely doesn't show in her work place. and to shinichiro, it feels like an honor for him to be able to see her vulnerable side- it means that she trusts him enough for that.
or whenever she'd have a look of disgust every time that her least favorite character gets screen time. he's still amused that one time when she almost threw the remote at the television because of this.
to others around them, she's nothing but a professional business woman with a scary looking face.
but to sano shinichiro, she's nothing but his twenty-three year old wife who hates not getting her ice cream flavor from the shop- someone who's soft and has the side to show her vulnerability.
looking around the empty park, the man took a deep breath and relished in the smell of the sakura blossoms that are in season. smiling because it almost reminded him of l/n y/n.
soft looping an arm around hers, the (h/c) haired woman stopped on glaring the poor ice cream to death and turned to her husband who had a soft smile etched on his features.
in her own little world, smiling always suited him.
"let's stop here for a short while. and after, we can head home." he proposed. well sort off- he's just dragging her off to a shaded bench, not giving her a chance to voice out her opinions as the two sat down in silence.
it wasn't the type that would have you shaking in your boots due to nervousness and anxiousness- no.
it's the type that makes you feel serene, like you're at home on a regular sunny day.
the two of them doesn't know how to explain the feeling... but it's just- it feels like home.
(e/c) eyes looked at his features, eyes holding an intense amount of emotions inside of them yet at the same time, soft. he had that small smile on his face that he'd give to her on a daily basis- it's always etched on his face no matter the time of day.
the sound of laughter broke her off her trance, noticing that her husband was chuckling at her sad excuse of a dessert.
"your ice cream melted."
her heart skipped a beat, feeling his calloused hands wrap around hers and softly took the melted treat out of her hold and onto the nearest trash bin- which was coincidentally stationed beside their bench.
she looked down and saw that her hands were thankfully free from the sticky substance, sighing to herself as she let herself relax on the wooden seat, letting her mind wander off for a little bit.
y/n doesn't mind working all week. whether that be domestically or her usual debt collecting- she knew that she had to at least partake in each activity to help around and make money.
however, she's also just a mere twenty-three year old who seemed to grow up fast.
being affiliated to the port mafia at the ripe age of eighteen, she didn't have the time to relish on what girls her age would usually do. painting their nails, going to salons- none of them.
she only had experienced shopping, her favorite past time up until now.
the young woman wasn't complaining about her usual workload, she knew that one day, she'll have to at least experience what it's like on being a responsible adult- she just didn't expect it to come so soon.
her daydreaming was cut off when she heard the man sigh beside her, opening her eyes to see shinichiro with the same look of content on his features.
"since you told me that you're part of the... yeah? i think it's time that i told you a little secret of mine."
this made the (h/c) haired woman hum, turning her full attention to him as he gave her a soft pat on the head. a habit of his that he managed to develop overtime.
"i'm actually once part of a gang- i'm the founder of the black dragons."
sano shinichiro felt bad that he was aware of his wife's true occupation, something that he knew was her biggest secret that she kept from him for protection- that's why he decided to tell her about his affiliation with the black dragons.
he wasn't planning on doing so at first, thinking that it's useless telling her about him being part of a gang when it's all in the past now. but the way on how she trusted him even if her being in the port mafia was exposed by her co-worker, she trusted him enough to keep it between them.
and he feels like he should repay her.
"back in high school, takeomi, wakasa, arashi and i decided to make a gang for fun. i never expected it to become one that other's would look up to."
shinichiro talked and talked about his gang. talking about past experiences and how he became the most respected delinquent in all of tokyo- and l/n y/n listened silently with eyes filled with nothing but love and adoration that she feels for the man.
it was always times like this that the young woman had learned to appreciate- times where her husband would just let go and talk about the things that makes him happy and enjoys the way on how a smile would make its way on his face every time.
to others, it's just a simple smile showing his interest on the topic.
but to her, it's something that shows just how loving and caring her husband is to everything around him.
and that's why she loves him to no end.
the man trailed off on his words, albeit nervous because of the silent treatment that his wife was giving him.
oh god, does she hate him now?
shinichiro knows that he didn't really do anything to make her mad or disappointed- but would she really want a previous gang leader who can't even fight to be her husband?
however, he was proven wrong when his dark eyes met with her's, a smile etched on her lips and a amused look on her face.
he couldn't help but let his heart skip a beat at this, wanting to look away before it's too late.
but, he can't- not when he saw love and adoration swirling in her irises in such clarity that he felt like he's fallen off to oblivion.
"i'd never guess that a man like you is capable of leading the most known biker gang there is- that says something about you, sano shinichiro."
y/n let out an amused chuckle as shinichiro looked away in embarrassment, pouting at her teasing demeanor as she tried calming herself down.
honestly though, who would've thought that a man as clumsy and awkward as he is, is actually capable of leading and forming a gang- even being the most respected delinquent there is!
she always knew that there was something special to her husband that she couldn't pinpoint just yet. and now that she's told that he was a gang leader, now she understood why she'd always feel a sense of power whenever his demeanor would change.
a man who's weak in women and weak in fighting- yup, that's her husband alright.
shinichiro let out a hum of wonder when he heard her laughter stop, looking back to her to see a soft look etched on her face- something that he's grown to love.
"thank you for telling me your secret."
"in return, let me tell you mine." now this got the man all wondering what she has to say.
he's aware that she's a woman with a lot of secrets, and he respects that! but what he can't decipher is what secret could she possibly tell him?
was she a spy from another organization that's tasked to infiltrate the port mafia?
no, that's impossible- her father leads the yakuza for heaven's sake!
then, could it be that-
"sano shinichiro, i love you."
did he hear that right? love?
now, it isn't the first time that the man has ever received his 'i love you's, his siblings would always tell him that whenever he goes to visit- so he isn't a stranger to the word of affection.
however, hearing it come from the woman that he loves... it feels different.
it's like a thousand fireworks all simultaneously combusted in his chest and is sending his heart a fuzzy and warm feeling- something that he's
definitely new to.
a feeling so foreign yet so familiar at the same time- a feeling that only he can get whenever he's with her.
looking into those pools of (e/c) that people would normally call eyes, he's never been sucked in deeper than he is right now.
because in front of him, the woman that he loves confessed into feeling the same towards him.
"only the heavens above are the ones who knows how much i deeply adore every single bit of your existence."
this was the first time that l/n y/n has ever shed tears.
because in front of her, the man that she loves
confessed into feeling the same towards her.
"l/n-minamoto y/n, i love you too."
only the heavens above understands just how deep the two has fallen for each other.
and only the heavens above saw the kiss that the two shared underneath the sky of pastels, exchanging their silent vows of love and endearment in each others world.
#sano shinichiro#shinichiro sano#tokyo revengers#tokyo revengers x reader#sano shinichiro x reader#shinichiro sano x reader
15 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
aireservofsouthnashville-blog
Aire Serv of South Nashville
shimmerforall
There’s a monster inside all of us.
mahi-does-some-art
Praying for Shirota Family drama
jemmaasimmons
science, biatch!
yayamazin26
Yayamazin❤️