#there is so much info out there and it's almost all nonsense | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yeoldenews · 2 months

Note

While we’re on the subject of names, is there an explanation for how traditional nicknames came about that are seemingly unrelated to, or have little in common with, the original name?

ie- John/Jack, Richard/Dick, Henry/Harry/Hank, Charles/Chuck, Margaret/Peggy/Daisy, Sarah/Sally, Mary/Molly, Anne/Nan, etc

I am actually over a week into researching a huge follow-up post (probably more than one if I’m being honest) about the history of nickname usage, so I will be going into this in much, much more detail at a hopefully not-so-later date - if I have not lost my mind. (Two days ago I spent three hours chasing down a source lead that turned out to be a typographical error from 1727 that was then quoted in source after source for the next 150 years.)

As a preview though, here’s some info about the names you mentioned:

The origins of a good portion of common English nicknames come down to the simple fact that people really, really like rhyming things. Will 🠞Bill, Rob🠞Bob, Rick🠞Dick, Meg🠞Peg.

It may seem like a weird reason, but how many of you have known an Anna/Hannah-Banana? I exclusively refer to my Mom’s cat as Toes even though her name is Moe (Moesie-Toesies 🠞 Toesies 🠞 Toes).

Jack likely evolved from the use of the Middle English diminutive suffix “-chen” - pronounced (and often spelled) “-kyn” or “kin”. The use of -chen as a diminutive suffix still endures in modern German - as in “liebchen” = sweetheart (lieb “love” + -chen).

John (Jan) 🠞 Jankin 🠞 Jackin 🠞 Jack.

Hank was also originally a nickname for John from the same source. I and J were not distinct letters in English until the 17th Century. “Iankin” would have been nearly indistinguishable in pronunciation from “Hankin” due to H-dropping. It’s believed to have switched over to being a nickname for Henry in early Colonial America due to the English being exposed to the Dutch nickname for Henrik - “Henk”.

Harry is thought to be a remnant of how Henry was pronounced up until the early modern era. The name was introduced to England during the Norman conquest as the French Henri (On-REE). The already muted nasal n was dropped in the English pronunciation. With a lack of standardized spelling, the two names were used interchangeably in records throughout the middle ages. So all the early English King Henrys would have written their name Henry and pronounced it Harry.

Sally and Molly likely developed simply because little kids can’t say R’s or L’s. Mary 🠞 Mawy 🠞 Molly. Sary 🠞 Sawy 🠞 Sally.

Daisy became a nickname for Margaret because in French garden daisies are called marguerites.

Nan for Anne is an example of a very cool linguistic process called rebracketing, where two words that are often said/written together transfer letters/morphemes over time. The English use of “an” instead of “a” before words beginning with vowels is a common cause of rebracketing. For example: the Middle English “an eute” became “a newt”, and “a napron” became “an apron”. In the case of nicknames the use of the archaic possessive “mine” is often the culprit. “Mine Anne” over time became “My Nan” as “mine” fell out of use. Ned and Nell have the same origin.

Oddly enough the word “nickname” is itself a result of rebracketing, from the Middle English “an eke (meaning additional) name”.

I realized earlier this week that my cat (Toe’s sister) also has a rebracketing nickname. Her name is Mina, but I call her Nom Nom - formed by me being very annoying and saying her name a bunch of time in a row - miNAMiNAMiNAM.

Chuck is a very modern (20th century) nickname which I’ll have to get back to you on as I started my research in the 16th century and am only up to the 1810s so far lol.

#names #nicknames #onomastics #history #asks #nicknames are really hard to research you guys #there is so much info out there and it's almost all nonsense #and I'm talking academic books with listed sources not buzzfeed listicles #some guy in the 18th century forgetting to mention Bill on a list of common nicknames does not mean it wasn't in use at the time ma dude #i've had to get very creative with sources #god bless word for word murder trial testimony

2K notes · View notes

keesdarlin · 4 months

Text

☆// take care of you (MDNI, 18+)

info! 141 + keegan + könig / fluff, established relationship (?) + gender neutral reader

cw! reader is sick (nothing gross at all, you're just not well)

prompt! you're ill and the boys insist on taking care of you

notes! thought i was dealing with some really gnarly allergies. went to urgent care and it turns out that i have an upper respiratory infection rip. so i'm writing this as copium, enjoy :]

PRICE :

price is all over it the second you say something about not feeling 100%. only really worries about getting sick himself as an afterthought, then scraps the thought as a whole when he thinks about how whatever he's doing is making you feel better. cooks you chicken soup, makes sure you stay in bed, prepares tea for you and gathers stuff for you to do so that you don't get too bored while you're giving your body time to rest. if you're clingy when you're sick (like me), he's cuddling you. again, doesn't really care about getting sick until he has time to think about the risk afterwards.

GAZ :

kyle's mostly clingy, not completely sure of how to handle you being sick. you're a tank! you're not supposed to get sick. so when you say that you're feeling a little under the weather, he's kind of at a loss. he stays by your side the entire time that you're feeling sick, petting your hair and kissing your forehead. the likelihood of him getting sick is ridiculously high and he knows that, if he does, he'll probably get his ass kicked for it, but he figures that he can deal with it if it means that you're feeling even a little bit better. follows you around the house to make sure that you're okay. he'll even sit in the bathroom while you're taking a shower, rambling nonsense at you. if you ask him to go pick up something from the store for you or make you something to eat, he definitely will, it's just not his first thought when he sees you all uncomfortable like that.

SOAP :

this one has a much better idea of what to do when you're not feeling super well. even if it's just a cold or some really gnarly allergies, johnny would be the one to insist on taking you to the doctor just to make sure. he just worries a lot. but once you get out of that appointment, he drops you off at home and ushers you into the shower, making sure you have something nice and cozy to wear once you get out. while you're doing that, he'll run to the store to pick up whatever meds you were prescribed and anything else that might help -- tea, cough drops, soup, snacks. once he gets back, he gets you into bed and queues up all of your favorite movies, tv shows, and/or comfort videos (a little extra incentive to keep you in bed and resting). he'll stay in bed with you, waiting on your every need to try and get you back on your feet as soon as possible.

GHOST :

i feel like he gets a little bit awkward when you get sick. he views you very similarly to the way gaz does. you're indestructible in his eyes and it simply doesn't compute that you would be taken down for a week or so by something as simple as a bad cold. but he's on it once he gets over the what the hell is happening to them phase. it's maximum efficiency with this guy. along with having timers on his phone so that neither of you forget when to take your medicine, he's also making you try every reasonable home remedy to try to get you better as quickly as possible. makes you sit in a hot bath, brings you tea and soup, rubs vicks on the end of your nose to try and clear up your congestion. he almost has you on a schedule with all he's doing to try to get you feeling better. it's honestly really adorable how hard he's trying.

KEEGAN :

keegan doesn't really like giving you special treatment just because you're his partner, but he just can't stand to see how uncomfortable and in pain you are when you're sick. if you're in the same line of work as him and you're feeling a little too foggy to communicate with your superiors properly, he's down to track down your higher-ups and relay any messages for you. he's also pretty good at the soup and the tea and all of the home remedy stuff. kind of tries to take care of it at home, but if it's any worse than a cold he's dragging you straight to the doctor's office. another one that has you basically stuck to his side while he takes care of you. not ridiculously affectionate, but he will definitely let you hang all over him if that gives you any kind of comfort. will stay in bed with you while you lean against his side, hugging him around his middle as he plays with your hair and draws patterns into your skin. super adamant about making sure you rest.

KÖNIG :

like keegan but softer almost. you're usually pretty capable of sucking it up and getting through injuries and allergies and the like, so when some kind of illness gets you down, he worries. doesn't like the idea of forcing you to go to the doctor's so he tries his best to take care of it at home. leans pretty heavily on home remedies -- the good ol' fluids and rest regimen. buys you packs and packs of your favorite gatorade flavor and that chicken noodle soup mix that comes in the little envelope. keeps you in bed and has the wet rag on your forehead if he's worrying about you getting feverish. he doesn't like the idea of making you leave the house, so if it seems that bad he'll make you do one of those virtual urgent care visits. otherwise, your ass is staying in bed. he turns your whole bedroom into a recovery zone with vicks, tissue boxes, a lil snack tray set up on your bedside table, humidifier, all of your favorite movies. literally anything you could possibly need, he has it for you. mans is serious about making sure you get better.

500 notes · View notes

satocidal · 4 months

Text

𓂂 ˚ ☆ ꙳ * ࣭Destination(!): Middle of Nowhere — Toji Fushiguro

Synopsis: A long drive—a little crush and a hot dilf, not much can wrong- only that you were drunk and he was no less of a bastard.

— Word count: 2.2k

— A/n: Nobody come at me ok? This was meant to be full smut and just a drabble but here I am 💀 and this is like a piece I’m writing after a decent while so stfu ok- as is Toji ain’t my boo

— Warnings: smut!! MDNI!! Toji x Fem! Reader (reader is at least 19); age gap (reader is the age of Megumi and they’re not in college <3); stupidly fucked sense of alcohol consumption and hangover (for the sake of plot); degradation; spanking; idk basic nonsense- exhibitionism; usage of word "daddy" (twice)

“That’s what you fuckin’ like huh?” A sharp slap landed on your ass, whimpers barely contained as you sobbed as his fast-set pace—“Gettin’ fucked at the side of the highway?”

Days spent saving the money so carefully, so long—it had to be a night well spent.

“Gumi’!” You sounded out again, the skirt rested so low on your waist—the top barely holding up too, you grinned as your friend made his way to your car, disgruntled a face.

“Why the long face lover boy?”

Not a word, motioning just his head for you to focus on the body in the periphery—it was similar to your Friend, well, at least by the face of it and some mannerisms.

Megumi’s father after all, was the book definition of what a dilf is—you couldn’t help but giggle at the way the older man flicked off his son—usual banter, you presumed.

“What happened now?”

“I was running late, so I made eggs—he wanted to eat some cereals or whatever,” you chuckled at the annoyance his tone held still—“and he couldn’t have made it himself?”

A deadpan that Megumi passed you, “is it not obvious the only thing he can make is women pregnant left and right.”

Another gaze, yours flickered to his father- shyly looking away immediately when your eyes seemed to catch—he was, in most senses, scary.

But hot—because how else would you explain the sudden flutter of the nerves as your eyes caught sight of Him, pants resting low on his hips—no shirt, fuck was he hot.

Another laugh, unassuming as your car revved away.

The concert was fun, mostly.

Besides the time that you lost sight of Megumi, besides the creeps that you caught along the way, besides getting your drink almost spiked- yeah.

What wasn’t fun, it was simply realising that you did not in fact have a ride to go back anymore. But as it was, absent father or not, he made for a decent chauffeur- because there at 11:30 at night he stood with his car.

“How the fuck do you lose your car keys?” His voice was rushed, Megumi’s—staring daggers at you, you simply chose to giggle, too drunk to register anything properly.

“I lost you at the concert- I think losing is a simple concept,”

A scoff- Megumi could not deal with this anymore.

“Remember when we lost our virginity-? That motel was so shady, and the bitch you were with-” words punctuated with hiccups and giggles, Megumi groaned, ears burning when his dad replied with “Hah?” To your words, apparently having heard everything.

A hand shoved to cover your mouth, Megumi grimaced-“don’t mind her, she’s drunk, I need you to take her home- ours,”

A short silence followed the info, “take her? Where will you be?”

Megumi paused, “I’ll stay off at a friend’s t’night—need you to take her back,”

A scoff—Toji’s, “can’t the brat stay with you too? M’busy,”

“He wants to get railed,” you hollered from behind—warning yourself a gruff smile from Toji, not that you’d care at the moment- “off y’er rockets, both of you,” a mumble Toji passed, then a scoff.

“Alright,” he finally muttered, not without making Megumi beg thrice, compensating the night drive by leaving the apartment alone to his father for three days further, “stay with her while I back the car- don’t lemme catch ya fuckin’ some whore when I get back either,”

“Don’t ya worry Mr. Fushiguro—ain’t gonna let him get STD so fast,”

Another short chuckle, hm, the ride could after all be fun.

“Thanks dad,” Megumi muttered another his breath- fastening your seatbelt, not daring to meet his dad’s eye, all too aware of the smirk on his face.

“The chick’s hot,”

“That’s why I’m leaving with her and not- oh,” Megumi paused mid-statement realising it was you his father was referring to, not the girl he was leaving with, he bit his lip hard.

“Don’t try your shit with her, don’t mess with her,”

A smirk, “how would you know,” Toji shrugged, “I could fuck her roadside and you wouldn’t know,”

A lick of his lips, “which is why I’m asking you to simply not do it,”

Flick of his head, “I’ll do what I want,”

Megumi watched as his father’s gaze lingered upon your form, it was simply too easy- especially the way Toji’s eyes held a hungry look.

And just like that, you—half passed out, beside Toji swerved away, Megumi would’ve perhaps minded a little more, had the girl beside him not been actively trying to kiss his face off- not that he minded.

Ps. One thing about Toji, he did do what he wanted after all.

The ride back home was smoother, partially because you were almost passed out, and there was no traffic to hinder your way either—and yet, hours it took the both of you to reach.

After all, there were stops made continuously, here and there- “ya hungry?” You muttered suddenly, 15 minutes into the ride, the silence all so overbearing—a mindless “huh?” Toji passed, a mere snicker you offered “hungry? I am,”

Toji stared blankly at the road—he wasn’t sure, a small smirk made its over still, “you don’t typically talk so much,” and true he was of course—but that was mostly because Toji always shivered your timbers, which rarely mattered when you were as drunk as you were.

“I’m typically never this hungry either,” a gruff scoff he passed, “Gumi’ didn’t feed ya or what?”

A silence you let pass over the two of you- he sighed taking the worse of the cases, “whatever I’ve got me some cash, sure, whatcha’ wanna eat?”

“Whatever pops up on the road first,”

A smirk, Toji looked over the convenience store that seemed to be approaching—“I like decisive girls like you,”

A giggle you passed, so drunk, “wanna know a decision I’ve made?”

A cocked brow met your gaze as Toji pulled the car over the side of the road—“you’re one man I wanna fuck,”

A cough and a widened set of eyes fretted Toji before the smirk could even wipe you across the floor, a short silence met you- sober you would’ve already climbed over the lay on the road ready to be run over, the sheer embarrassment.

A small chuckle the older man offered, “y’er not so bold usually eh?”

“You’re scary,” your voice came out as half a whine,

“eh? And I’m not scary right now?”

A giggle again—“you’re much more fuckable right now, especially with how you were in the morning- been on my mind since,”

Oh?

Oh.

The vision of himself in just a vest and grey sweat-pants, understandable, he shrugged—“gotta be honest doll, you look way more slutty than I did,”

An amused smile he held as you giggled again—“yeaaaah?” Your words dragged, “S’pretty skirt ain’t it? Gumi’ thought it was too short,” a small pout that you held with end of the statement.

A snort Toji passed—“Gumi? An idiot, a doll like you deserved to flaunt that ass in as short of a skirt you like, don’t ya?”

Your head bobbed in compliance, slowing only when his hand came to rest way too high on the plush of your thighs—it felt hot.

Hot in the way it seemed to creep up your skirt, hot in the way the hem of your skirt tickled you—hot in the way his gaze held yours, hot in the way Toji knew exactly what he was doing.

A lick of your lips, a lean in from him, a lean in yours—“you were hungry, yea?”

And just like that, Toji did exactly as he pleased.

Toji stared, jaw stacked as his eyes remained stuck on your form, bent over—legs spread, all just to tease him while you pretended to be confused about flavour sandwiched you wanted to grab.

A hum entered his ears, you bent over further—your panties, the fishnets all on display —“I don’t like the mayo they used in this,” a whine as you wiggled your ass, his eye twitched.

A step forward, he stood directly behind you, crotch pressed to your ass, a hand on your back which kept you in position—“and I don’t like the way you’re acting,”

The store was empty, you smirked—grinding back into him, “you seemed to like how I was back in—”

-slap!

A sharp inhale, yours, a sting that you could feel building up on your ass—“hey! What are you-”

-another harsh slap fell on the same spot, the fat of your ass squeezed suddenly, “what do you think y’er doing?” Almost a growl—the store was empty, he was using it to his advantage.

A smile rested on your lips—“trying to decide on what I wanted to eat but…” despite the dull warmth you’d just felt you grind into him yet again—your intentions were clear, all too drunk to even care about being humped in the middle of a convenience store—as you seemed to be at the moment.

Toji realised all of this— in the sound of your gasp as he pulled at your hair roughly, back arching as he brought you close enough to his mouth as he leaned down himself—you could feel his hardening dick pushing against your ass—“but what?”

A smile, almost innocent that you flashed, “I don’t think I’m hungry anymore…” a bite of your lip—then another hitch as you felt him spank you yet again, all too done with you.

The heat radiated through your body, “you think it’s funny huh? Grinding’ into me like a whore?”

A moan escaped you, his fingers roughly pushing at your clothed pussy, skirt hiked up- your face heated up at thought of someone walking in—fingers feeling around your wetness as it spread, “wearing such a fuckin’ short skirt—I can practically see your slutty pussy when you bend,” another sharp slap, you whined at the absence of his fingers from your cunt.

“Ofc Gumi’ let ya go—such a whore, poor boy had to take care of you huh? But that’s ok—daddy’s better than him at dealing with bratty ones like you,”

Shameless, in the way you moaned—not caring about the store manager who was probably watching through the store camera—you smirked.

“Yeah?” You grinned up at him, “what’ll you do hm? What does “daddy” do?”

A hard stare he passed, suddenly pulling away from you entirely, let alone for the hand that grasped your hair, “think I prefer you better when you’re quiet and crushin’ on me,”

A mischievous smile that you held—“you should gag me then,” he couldn’t help but roll his eyes, and smile at your words—you were adorable, he wouldn’t deny that—he pulled you away from the shop slowly, back to the car, not without winking at the guy working at the store—all too aware of the breathy moans he’d let out stroking himself, watching the two of you too.

As for gagging you, Toji would.

Fifteen minutes the both of you rode in silence—sheer fear that his words had held, “not a peep,” he’d whispered as he closed the door for you, a hard glare followed as the engine was turned on.

Fifteen minutes gone by, you were wet—turned on simply by the silly ministrations in the store, your cunt was practically begging to be touched.

But ah—for someone too afraid to even breath loudly at the moment, to touch yourself seemed off the plate, but the thought may enticing nonetheless.

“Feelin’ horny?” His voice rasped—and oh boy, you were—“same,” a short smirk has evident in his voice, “no touching or sounds till you’re at home though,”

And quite Instantly and regrettably, “Please…” you whispered, hand reaching over to stroke his thigh once —just as quick the car was pulled aside, Toji’s face remained blank.

“Get out,” he murmured, breaking the moment of silence—his gaze was hard, “huh?” Was all you could manage, “ya heard me doll, out. Out and your hands on the hood,”

And as if on a spell, there you were- bent over, it was chilly, pleasantly so—waiting all so impatiently, squirming, he sat in his seat, light shining all upon you- his star of the night.

Slow, taking forever it seemed, that he stood up- walked off, you dared not to move, staring in the little awkward position that he held you in, as he stretched in his leisure.

He didn't seem to come close, not once- or at all, not a single word —“Mr. Fushiguro…please?”

A smirk- fast spread to a grin- “shy again? We gettin’ sobered up? Not so quick doll,” and yet, with all his teasing words, not a single step taken to help- you squirmed, ass sticking out, it was tempting but Toji was a man of will power.

“Please,” you muttered meaninglessly- and the moment continued for a decent two minutes- nothing made sense, you knew he was merely teasing- but oh how the riddle onto whatever that would make him crack was unrelenting.

And perhaps, when he couldn’t take it further, “what’s my name?”

A hesitant, “Mr. Fushiguro,” you dropped off yours lips- he smirked, a step closer- your panties, soiled already we’re almost dripping now and you were sure no piece of groundbreaking porn would ever get you this worked up again- “No. What is my name?”

And as if a light bulb got switched on- “Toji,” you whispered- he was finally close enough though, close enough with his hands on your tits, roughly squeezing and slapping them, “what was that?”

You purred softly, the way his hands pushed your spine, arching your back further- fingers brushing against your hip, “Toji,” his name rolled off your tongue again, louder- he snickered.

“That’s the name you’ll be screaming alright? Why will you scream it doll?”

And yet again, all logic flew off you as you felt his hard-on press onto your ass, “because I’m a slut who deserves to be fucked shamelessly on a highway,”

A final cackle that Toji held- a slap to your face, soft- “such a good fuckin’ whore.”

All of this work is original and entirely my own—please refrain from copying or reposting.

Likes and Reblogs highly appreciated!

227 notes · View notes

writeforfandoms · 6 months

Text

Waking Lions 18

Find the series masterlist

Remember, if you kill me, I can't finish the story.

In which there is a war meeting, some new-old faces, and some secrets come to light. Aka Ace is in trouble.

Warnings: Miscommunication, swearing, shouting, public argument, Ace is still morally gray.

Word count: 2.2k

John Price x f!reader

The war room was significantly more crowded when you and John arrived the next morning.

Kate was there, as were the last two members of John’s little group. Soap and Ghost. Then there were two men you knew by sight but not by name. You knew they worked against Valeria.

That was potentially a problem.

Of course you, John, and Gaz caught all the attention when you entered the room. You caught the flash of Kate’s surprise as she looked from you to John, and shook your head a tiny bit. Later. You’d have time to catch her up later.

She stepped forward to introduce you to the other two. “Colonel Alejandro Vargas,” she said, nodding to one. “And Sergeant Major Rodolfo Parra.” She looked at them. “This is Ace.”

“Just Ace?” Vargas asked, eyeing you in a way that said he recognized you.

“Just Ace,” you confirmed with a smile, gaze flicking between him and Parra.

Vargas’s eyes narrowed. Yup. He definitely recognized you. “Laswell–” he started.

Kate held up one hand. “I trust her,” she said simply. As if it were that simple. It wasn’t. It never was.

But it was enough to quell Vargas, for now. His lips thinned but he nodded once, short and sharp. He did keep shooting looks at you, though.

As expected, you weren’t much use in this little war party. You stood back, observing the lot of them. The primary problem now seemed to be lack of manpower. There were three primary targets, now that Valeria was off the map.

John had called another group, but they seemed to be caught up in their own troubles. Farah, as you’d heard John call the person on the other end, must have been genuinely apologetic, but still unable to help.

Soap and Gaz tossed some ideas back and forth, but the two didn’t have a clear answer. You weren’t surprised, since they were the youngest of the group. Ghost didn’t join in, arms crossed over his chest, studying the map.

None of your contacts would be good for this.

Kate stepped out to make a call, and Vargas took the chance to move closer to John. You didn’t watch them, weight settling on one hip as you focused on their words instead.

“...evidence she worked with Valeria,” Vargas murmured, almost too quiet for you to hear, especially with Gaz and Soap still bantering.

“She’s an informant,” John replied, just as quiet. “Worked with Laswell for a long time.”

Vargas grunted softly, acknowledging John’s words. “Are you sure she doesn’t inform the other way, too?”

Kate came back into the room, halting their discussion, leaving your heart frozen. Well, Vargas was kind of not wrong… But only in certain cases. You’d always been careful not to give away too much. Besides, how else were you supposed to get the info Laswell needed?

Abruptly, anger at Vargas flashed through your veins. He had no idea what your life was like. No idea. Yet there he stood, doubting you. It was all you could do to clench your teeth and not bare them at the colonel.

“One more group will be joining us,” Kate said before anyone could ask. “They’ve been working parallel to us for a while, we just didn’t know it.”

You had a sudden terrible feeling about this.

“Who?” Soap asked, fortunately, so you didn’t have to.

Laswell shifted her weight, a move you saw that betrayed her unease, even if her expression never shifted. “KorTac.”

“Fucking hell,” Ghost grumbled, arms crossing over his chest.

Laswell held up a hand to stall any further protest. “They’re here to help,” she said, stern and no-nonsense. “You will cooperate as much as necessary.”

Nobody objected again, the silence thick and uncomfortable. You were trying to remember if you’d heard of KorTac before.

Planning stalled until the new people arrived, so you wandered out into the hallway. This was odd for you. You had no contacts to follow up with, no place else to be. No real part in the planning, and yet your life hung in the balance as surely as theirs did.

You didn’t think you liked this. Relying on other people. You hadn’t been stuck in a position like this since Kate had taken you in.

The door opened and Gaz stopped next to you, giving you a quick once-over. “Alright?” he asked softly.

“Good enough,” you said with a little shrug. The way the two of you were standing, you could still see into the room through the glass door. Ghost and Soap had migrated together, standing near Kate. Vargas, Parra, and John were on the other side of the room, Alejandro speaking.

When his eyes met yours through the glass, you knew he was talking about you. Probably yet again trying to convince Price that you were a liability, or that you’d go selling the information. You were not prone to hatred, very rarely allowed yourself the indulgence of it considering your line of work… But Vargas was giving your self-control a run for your money.

“Don’t worry about him,” Gaz murmured, making you glance at him. “Alejandro’s a good man, he’ll come around. He just doesn’t like that you’ve worked with Valeria. But Price knows what kind of person you are. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

You nodded, not at all convinced. His assurance was, well, less than reassuring. Because you were not a good person. Oh, you weren’t horrible, but you weren’t good. You did what you had to do to get the information you needed. You kept secrets. You had all kinds of contacts, many of them very firmly in the underworld.

Really, Vargas was not wrong to be wary of you. But he was wrong about one thing.

You’d never betray Kate, or John.

The door opened and Soap joined the two of you in the hallway. “You two have the right idea,” he said, settling on your other side. “Got an idea while we wait.”

“Yeah?” Gaz raised an eyebrow at Soap.

“Candyland rematch.” The Scot’s grin was full of teasing.

Gaz groaned. “Not a chance, mate,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re a vicious cheater.”

“Am no’!” Soap puffed up like an indignant rooster.

You relaxed, the banter helping to settle your nerves a bit. These two were good for that. You barely even had to say anything for them to keep bantering, too. Excellent.

Kate stepped into the hallway, ignoring the three of you, gaze focused on the elevator. Which made you straighten, also focusing on the elevator.

It dinged.

Three men stepped out, and your heart sank. Shit. Shit. You knew them. The giant was impossible to forget, hood still in place. Sunglasses took barely a second longer, and of course there was the one who’d actually grabbed you to start.

You were fucked.

The urge to run pulled at you, tugged at your feet and your fingers, echoed in your chest.

But you didn’t have a chance to act on it, Gaz nudging you into the room ahead of him. You ended up next to John again, dread making your heart beat fast.

“Alright, love?” John leaned close to murmur, just for you.

You didn’t respond verbally. You couldn’t. You just nodded once, short and sharp. That would have to be good enough for now.

The meeting room was significantly more crowded now with the three new additions. Kate had handled introductions while you were working past your urge to run, but you did manage to catch their names. Fortunately.

“Ace,” Declan said, voice just as you remembered from Finland. “Good t’see you again.”

There was a moment, a single moment, of dead silence. You swallowed. “Certainly better conditions this time,” you quipped, because humor was all you had left between yourself and imminent disaster. “So, what’s the plan, Laswell?”

“Again?” Price’s soft rumbled question derailed your attempt to get things back on track. “You’ve worked with them before?”

“Not exactly,” Declan answered before you could.

“Just a misunderstanding,” you tried to interrupt, gaze darting between the group of three and Price.

Declan snorted at you. “If you call Finland a misunderstanding, I’d hate to see what an outright mistake is,” he joked, apparently trying to lighten the obvious tension in the room.

Which backfired spectacularly. Price looked down at you, recognition in his eyes. “Finland?” he questioned quietly. “Is that why you wouldn’t tell me why you were late?”

Fuck fuck fuck you would rather be anywhere else right now.

“Wasn’t relevant,” you tried, waving a hand as if to dismiss the incident. “It still isn’t relevant, actually–”

“What happened.” This time, it was a demand, not a question. Price didn’t look away from you, jaw clenched, intent on getting his answers. This was not the man you’d shared a bed with last night. This was the Captain.

“Does it matter?” you shot back, taking a step away from him. Everyone else in the room had ceased to matter, all your attention narrowed down to this contest of wills.

“Perhaps this would be best revisited later,” Parra piped up. Trying to get things back on track to what actually mattered. Your opinion of him instantly shot up.

“Let these two finish their business first,” Vargas said, although why he switched to Spanish, you weren’t sure.

“Yes,” Price answered you, arms crossing over his chest, only emphasizing the size of him.

“John–” Kate started, stepping up behind you. Normally that would have comforted you, but now? Now you were already worked up.

“I got out of there just fine,” you pointed out, completely reasonably. “We didn’t exactly introduce ourselves, so I had no useful intel to give you. It was fine.”

“Your well-being is more important than useful intel,” Price rumbled, leaning closer to you.

Your scoff was louder than you meant it, even as you took another step back from him. “It’s really not,” you scoffed. “It never has been.”

Price froze, eyes going wide as the utter conviction in your voice hit him. Nobody moved.

For a room full of people, it was completely silent.

“Well then.” Price rocked back on his heels, gaze cool now, veiled, as he looked at you. “Maybe you should take a walk.”

You didn’t flinch, mostly because you were too shocked to move for long moments. He was dismissing you. Essentially.

You’d wanted this, you’d wanted out of this room. So why did it hurt so much to be let out now?

“What is the American saying?” Vargas asked, softly, but still drawing nearly every eye in the room. “Loose lips sink ships?” His gaze was only for you, though, too pleased with himself.

Wasn’t hard to tell that he knew of your association with Valeria. Dammit. You’d gone so long practically unknown, and now everything had fallen apart around you.

You couldn’t even think of words to defend yourself. You just ducked around Kate, ignoring her reaching hand, and slammed out of the office.

You took the stairs.

Sunshine made for a pleasant day, but you barely felt the warmth on your skin. You couldn’t figure him out. You really couldn’t. Your worth had always been tied to your deeds. Always. You’d always had to have something worthy to be worth anything. Your wellbeing was more important than intel? Not fucking likely. Maybe once, before Gray. Before Laswell.

But now? Everything you were was tied in to your job.

He certainly hadn’t complained when you’d brought him good intel, workable intel. None of them had. Even those three from Kortac - you’d given them all the info you had on the ultranationalists, and they’d benefited.

So why the sudden punishment for being good at your job? Why push you away now?

You swore softly, tipping your head back to glare up at the sky. Why did it even matter so much? One night didn’t change anything, clearly.

Price was set on being unreasonable, and you wouldn’t be the one to cave. Not this time.

You finally paused at a crosswalk so you wouldn’t get run down, shoving your hands into your pockets. Shame you didn’t have a room key, you could go gather up your things. Not that you knew where Kate was staying, anyway.

Someone stopped next to you, a reasonable amount of space between you. You paid the person no more mind as the light changed, busy stuck in your own head. Trying to figure out why this hurt. Trying to figure out what went wrong.

You turned to go down the street, only vaguely aware of where you were. But a call of your name stopped you.

Your birth name.

You turned to look, slowly, ice filling your veins.

Gray hadn’t changed much at all over the years. Not as tall as your nightmares would have led you to believe, but his hair was still dark, still styled the same. His eyes were still far too green, far too sharp.

His teeth were still entirely too white in his smile.

“I think it’s time we had a chat, don’t you?”

#waking lions #john price x reader #john price x you #f!reader

177 notes · View notes

pearwaldorf · 5 months

Text

This is an introduction to Hozier playlist for my friend @junemermaid. The categories are a little idiosyncratic, but I think they make sense. I don't know what music services you have access to, so there are no links. I trust you can figure out how to get access to the songs.

Things I didn't know I needed words for until I heard these songs

Foreigner's God

Butchered Tongue (an introduction to the song from the Choctaw Theater in Oklahoma)

(additional reading: “A’ghailleann”: On Language-Learning and the Decolonisation of the Mind, by my friend Iona. It is about Gaelic and not having access to the first language you spoke, and how we deal with those sorts of things.)

Wry narration from self-aware narrators

Jackie and Wilson

Almost (Sweet Music)

Nobody

(What I mean is in contrast to something like this from Lord Huron. The narrator's a fucking idiot but I'm not sure he's aware of that.)

Horny but not really about sex (but not not either)

De Selby Part 2 (the video, starring fellow Irishman Domhnall Gleeson, is so pretentious, I love it to bits)

Talk (the song I'm totally going to make a Hannigram vid to, one of these days I swear)

NFWMB

Yes he really is Like That, Tumblr was not exaggerating

In a Week

Like Real People Do

In the Woods Somewhere

To be fair, I think he's gotten away from this a lot more since the debut album. People mean the bog prince nonsense affectionately, but I think they also use it as an excuse to ignore his more political songs. (On the other hand, the oatmeal.)

The way white people should cover songs by Black artists

Say My Name (more info on why he decided to cover it)

Problem > Regulate (As a child of the 90s I respect this so much)

The ones I'm really fucking angry about because they're gorgeous and beautiful and poetic

Work Song (the second song I would put on any Shepard/Garrus playlist)

Shrike

Unknown / Nth (this is an Aziraphale/Crowley song to me; the bridge fucking took me out at the knees the first time I heard it)

Abstract (Psychopomp) (This song is deeply weird in the best way. It is the perfect early oughts pop song I always wanted from Coldplay but it's about a formative and somewhat disturbing event in the narrator's childhood. But also about romantic love somehow?)

Unreal Unearth is, I think, a level up in terms of poetic lyricism.

The prettiest song you will ever hear about domestic violence and is really weird to sing along to live because of that

Cherry Wine

A disturbingly well-adjusted breakup song

All Things End

That random EDM song he did a couple years ago that's actually really good??

Tell It To My Heart

#hozier

139 notes · View notes

yestrday · 1 year

Note

wait so what are the [established] alliances between the rivals in the academy au? aether seems like a middle man all the way around, always willing to share info with the rivals of other grades and his peers. but I don't know about anyone else 😭 like they all have mutual grounding.. right? something of mutual respect maybe noted somewhere within the contract they agreed to?

the first years (xingqiu, chongyun, bennett, razor, aether, lumine) are all part of one particularly tight friend group, so snabbing one of em is snabbing the whole group. so, mm, good luck with that.

ayato and thoma, of course, is another alliance. thoma is inclined to obey his master's desires, and ayato's desire is no other than you. ayato loves to entertain the thought of you and thoma serving him dutifully, and the two men pampering you as a treat. thoma also indulges in similar perverted fantasies.

xiao and zhongli have a similar master/servant relationship. xiao reports to zhongli on any updates on your life, as zhongli is the one who sent him to trail you. xiao reveres zhongli almost as much as he reveres you, and zhongli is especially fond of him too.

childe mayyy or may not have an alliance with zhongli too. the two strangely get along (more like, zhongli likes to use his wallet), but they both prefer not to share with the other as much as possible. however, if the circumstance needs them to share, they can work it out too!

cyno and tighnari is another pair of close friends that a very unlucky darling might nab. they both have a no-nonsense attitude, and their patience when it comes to a darling’s transgressions is pretty much zero. a pair that is on top of the ‘most likely to kidnap you’ list!

kazuha, heizou, gorou, and surpisingly, itto, all get along too. while they might not be as close as the other groups on the list, they help each other out whenever they can. they have a special mutual understanding, and if, hypothetically, they were to all take care of one darling... i suppose they would also be a tighter-knit friend group.

everyone likes to get along with aether and lumine because they have a personality that can get along with almost everyone! the twins have helped everyone out at least at one point in their lives, and they’re all fond of them. the twins give out info on you when they can, as well as help out with any sort of tasks the others might have (with a price, of course! her brother might be somewhat of a pushover, but lumine knows when to exploit other people!)

#yandere genshin impact #yandere x reader #yandere ayato #yandere thoma #yandere xiao #yandere zhongli #yandere childe #yandere cyno #yandere tighnari #yandere kazuha #yandere heizou #yandere gorou #yandere arataki itto #yandere aether #yandere lumine #yester.shorts #yester.au — academy 📓

659 notes · View notes

am-i-the-asshole-official · 7 months

Note

WIBTA if I asked my friend to stop joke-insulting me?

I (20X) am a part of a few friend groups, the newest one being a trio of me, Jamie (20M) and Tessa (21F) (not real names for privacy reasons).

I only met them about a year ago more or less through college but we got along fairly quickly. I'm usually more quiet and reserved with new people so for the first few months of me knowing them I was just this kind, polite and quiet kid who barely talked to them (maybe like once a week and even that was about classes since Jamie and I are the same major so we ended up with a lot of shared classes). I'd make sure to always be the ideal friend and be pleasant to make them happy.

But the thing is I am very different when I feel comfortable with people. And over time I got more and more comfortable and felt like I belong with my college friends (I even asked to change my schedule to take almost all of my classes with Jamie). So one day me and Jamie were going to my dorm when I realized my keys are not on my person and I have no idea where they were. Naturally, I panicked and me and him went looking through all of the places I've been to try to find the keys. After about half an hour of running around college he went to grab his phone from his jacket and lo and behold, my keys were there (apparently I asked him to keep them for me while I went to the bathroom). I was so relieved but I don't know what came over me so I just punched him and called him a whore and he looked really shocked for a second but then he just laughed and said I'm a dickhead. And since then it's been pretty much a joking insult war between the two of us, when once we used to call each other smart or cool now it's just saying mean stuff (while not meaning it obviously)

And as much as I have fun joking around with him sometimes I get sad about it because I worry he actually thinks those things (even though he clarified most of the things he says about me are not ment to be taken seriously) and he does still say nice things about me sometimes and we still have serious conversations and take each other seriously but I miss when it was just that because I have plenty of jokes with my non college friends and I was so happy to get new ones because I missed having people to actually talk about stuff with and not just say nonsense all the time.

So I thought about asking him to lay off the insults a little even though I'm the one who basically started it and I still do it a lot myself but every time I just end up feeling bad and wishing I'd just been serious for once. But I feel like an ass because again, I started it and it's unfair to let myself laugh at him and then get upset when he does the same to me. But again I don't really want to laugh at him it just comes out naturally because when I'm comfortable with someone it just happens.

Tessa keeps saying we fight non stop and I know she knows and we all know it's not serious but I just hate that idea even as a joke, fighting. I don't wanna fight I just want a comfortable space to be myself and have people like me and have fun with them.

So would I be the asshole if I told Jamie I don't really like the play fighting anymore even though it all started with me?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

79 notes · View notes

ginnsinabin · 11 months

Text

Wrench with “rival” hacker hcs

+Gen neutral

(not at all sure what this is, its different than my normal hcs but its not exactly a one-shot type? maybe a blurb no idea but here ya go)

-Now this all started because of a coincidence, you two just happened to be hacking the same item

-No war, no mission, not even trying to out hack the other

-Just two hackers wanting a bit of cash and just so happened to choose the exact same atm and the same time

-You managed to hack it just a bit before wrench tried to, thus causing a notification to come up on wrenches phone saying that there’s no money available

-Now this wouldn’t be a problem, it could have just had no more cash to withdraw, however the screen also comes paired with a small character with its middle finger shown

-This leads wrench to let his wild paranoid mind fly free

-Who the hell is fucking with him and why? Is this prime_eight wanting another ass kicking?

-While you go on about your day with your newly “found” money, wrench is festering

-He spends the next several hours tracing signals, networks and the like until he finds your blurred and practically nonexistent ctos profile

-But this wasn’t enough info to find and payback this person, he needed to fuck with whoever fucked with him

-This turns into a day's long investigation of non stop searching for some rando he didn’t even meet

-His last resort was just to sit on a nearby bench by the atm, just sitting and waiting

-He stayed there for quite a few hours

-Just as he was about to give up, finally tiring himself out of his own insanity, a small cha-ching echos through the air

-Wrench snaps his head up, scanning the area

-Almost no one was around at that time of day, and absolutely no one stood at or near the atm

-Yet lo and behold there’s a ‘transaction complete’ pop up on the screen featuring the same character flipping the bird

-It took several head swivels to spot someone on their phone, in the same general direction the sound was heard, turning on their heel to calmly walk away

-Wrench, with in his new found crazy, jumps up and legit chases after you

-While wrench is spouting absolute nonsense about ‘revenge’ this and ‘you messed with the wrong hacker’ that, you are the most confused you have ever been to date

-After a very brief and simple explanation that this is just the atm you typically hack cause of the high foot traffic around the area, wrench is brought out of his self-absorbed fantasy

-Now that he can see clearly now the rain is gone, he takes in your appearance and presence, finding not only his interest peaked but his heart deciding that this person is now its target

-After a moment, or two, of a long drawn out silence following your non antagonistic actions, wrench decides that this is a good time as any to ask for your number with a slightly cocky yet embarrassed emote on his mask

-While this is by far the weirdest pick up starter to not only start a conversation but to also ask for your number, you evidently say yes

-How could you turn some the very much weird and spiked dude that was a fellow hacker?

(i kinda like this topic with wrench, might continue it but probably in headcannons instead of this weird blurb like thing)

#wrench #wrench x reader #watch dogs 2 wrench #wrench wd2 #wrench x y/n #watch dogs 2 #watch dogs 2 x reader #watch dogs x reader #wrench x you

145 notes · View notes

teacasket · 7 months

Text

skz as contestants on the bachelorette

genre: unserious nonsense au: non-idol au, reality tv au?, bachelorette au? warnings: swearing word count: 1k pairing: none but it could be f!reader x ot8 if reader is the bachelorette background info: the bachelorette is a reality tv show where a bunch of men compete to get engaged to the bachelorette. contestants are eliminated every week in a rose ceremony where the bachelorette will hand out roses to the men she wants to move forward with. there are group dates (a bunch of men and the bachelorette) and one-on-one dates (one guy with the bachelorette). the person on the one-on-one has a chance to receive a rose before the rose ceremony, and one contestant on a group date can receive an early rose. itm stands for “in the moment” and where the contestant being interviewed will go over their thoughts and the day in present tense. men tell all is a reunion episode where the men will discuss things that aired on the show with a little more depth and bring up grievances. bachelor in paradise, or paradise, is a spin-off show comprised of past contestants from the bachelor and the bachelorette. it’s another reality tv dating show, but this time it’s a free-for-all in regards to dating options.

bang chan - the bachelor edit

➵ if he doesn’t win, he’s going to be the next bachelor. the audience loves him and starts a petition in case the producers haven’t gotten the message already (they have) ➵ has an instant connection with the bachelorette, constantly reassures her during their conversations, is the first one the bachelorette says, “i’m starting to fall in love with you,” to ➵ tangentially related to the drama because he plays mediator (and loses like a year off his life because of it), unofficially the dad of the house because everyone keeps calling for him whenever shit goes down ➵ absolutely stuffs his face with shrimp at the cocktail party on the second night and has to lie down, almost misses the rose ceremony ➵ most memorable moment: disappointedchan.jpg

lee minho - sir, how are you still here??

➵ more reserved so he gets zero screen time but still manages to squeak by every rose ceremony before being eliminated before hometowns ➵ really didn’t think he was going to make it this far, and he didn’t pack that many suits with them, so he’s wearing borrowed suits in nearly every scene ➵ super close with jisung, they come in a pair and everyone refers to them as “minsung,” cutest friendship in the franchise ➵ is the mvp of the team on the football-themed group date, doesn’t know how it happened because he’s not usually this good at sports ➵ most memorable moment: talking about how much he misses his cats in his itm

seo changbin - here for the right reasons

➵ his sister nominated him to go on the show, and he’s super into the idea, actually willing to trust the process ➵ first one out of the limo, gives the bachelorette a construction paper heart because “you have my heart always” ➵ tries to stay out of the drama but really needs to his piece because they’re pissing him off and cutting into his time with the bachelorette ➵ accidentally breaks the ice cream parlor’s ice cream machine on his one-on-one date (production covered the repair costs, but he was so afraid he would have to fork out the money) ➵ most memorable moment: lip syncing and dancing to oops!... i did it again by britney spears during the swimsuit fashion show

hwang hyunjin - if hot, why villain?

➵ the source of all of the drama, overreacts when something doesn’t go his way (e.g. he didn’t get the one-on-one and complains about it all day) and brags when things do go his way (e.g. when he receives the group date rose, he reminds everyone that he got the rose and that they need to step it up) ➵ is the first person to tell the bachelorette that he’s falling in love with her, later reveals that he said it without thinking about it so he must be have real feelings about her ➵ falls into the pool after running from a bee ➵ cries when he gets eliminated and cries during the men tell all when he rewatches his elimination, audience actually feels bad for him ➵ most memorable moment: when seungmin asks him if he hates jisung, hyunjin says, “no, i don’t hate anyone.” cut to an itm where hyunjin explicitly says, “i hate jisung. fuck that guy.”

han jisung - snitches get stitches to go on paradise

➵ the other person involved in the drama, is not afraid to tell off hyunjin and almost ends up in a fist fight with him (the other contestants intervened before it could go too far) ➵ only lasts as long as he does because he tells the bachelorette everything that’s going on in the house, there's no romantic connection between them ➵ is on every single group date and is always hyped for the event, no matter what it is ➵ the producers mainly cast him so he could be on paradise, but he does try to campaign to be the bachelor for like a week before giving up ➵ most memorable moment: running into the ocean after getting the group date rose and immediately getting knocked over by the tide

lee felix - here to make friends

➵ the bachelorette is cool but the boys?? even cooler; getting eliminated is sad, not because he loves the bachelorette but because he’s going to miss hanging out with his new friends ➵ lowkey has no idea what’s going on with hyunjin and jisung, shit always goes down when he’s not in the room ➵ compliments the bachelorette’s eyes and when she replies that his own eyes are dreamy, he gets flustered ➵ eats during the food during the night portion of his one-on-one even though he’s not supposed to because he’s starving, cue the asmr ➵ most memorable moment: roundhouse kicking jeongin into a pile of plushies during a sleepover-themed group date

kim seungmin - here to make enemies

➵ planned to be villain of the season the minute he got cast, but hyunjin is doing too good of a job, so he settles for being a shit stirrer instead ➵ everyone tells him everything for some reason?? he comes off as a good listener when he’s really saving all of this knowledge for later ➵ serenades the bachelorette during his limo entrance, continues to sing throughout the season because he's trying to get instagram followers and then a record deal ➵ makes up the worst poem in the world during the shakespeare-themed date and wins the contest anyway because he sings his poem and adds unnecessary runs, everyone hates him for it ➵ most memorable moment: smiling and drinking champagne in the background while chan is visibly stressed by the drama

yang jeongin - clout is king

➵ is a well-known fashion influencer and aspiring model when he’s cast on the show, only here to increase his following and for future opportunities ➵ gets into a minor scuffle with some of the contestants on the first night because he jokes that everyone else dresses like garbage compared to him ➵ has a very playful relationship with the bachelorette, likes to egg her on to do stupid things (e.g. racing to see who can go down a hill the fastest on a bike [jeongin won]) ➵ tries to insert himself into the drama during the men tell all for more screen time, gets called out for it by seungmin of all people ➵ most memorable moment: hiding underneath a pile of pillows and blankets and scaring anyone who walks by

64 notes · View notes

mintmatcha · 2 months

Note

can u tell us what you didn't like about hazbin hot? I'm not a big musical person so I also tuned out when they started singing lol

Yes lol here's a long ass nonsense rant under the cut.

The creator of the show has done some really racist shit in the past and hides from criticism behind her queerness, but whenever that's brought up, it's immediately shot down and I'm told to separate the art from the artist.

that being said. here's my critique of the show itself.

but hazbin relies so much on material outside of the show. there's things you're supposed to know from twt and tumblr and other sources to make the show make sense. you can't say the show needs to exist in its bubble away from the creator and then make us dependent on the creator for information about the characters.

for me, it's less about "why is a show bad?" and it's more "what makes a show good?". Frankly, I don't think there's anything in this show to make it good.

First off- the show is ugly. The character designs aren't good and often repetitive (suits. same color palettes, same body shapes, etc) The animation itself isn't good either, unfortunately.

We have to stop pretending alastor isn't a crime to character design. He's so ugly. there's almost nothing redeemable about how he looks.

I thought the show itself had one of the weakest plots I've seen. it felt like the first draft of a 14 year old and tried to fit 5 seasons worth of ideas into 8 episodes, so the pacing was just awful. There's no semblance of time passing or real urgency in most episodes because vivziepop was trying to fit in all 50 of her OCs.

example: There was almost no reason for the V's to be in the show-- and the other overlords for that matter. None of them really do anything other than Valentino, who's just there to make Angel's story stronger in this season.

(not to mention Valentino and Vaggie, the series to latinx characters, fall into some fucked up stereotypes)

We are just told this collection of people is strong and scary, but we never really see WHY. It's a waste of time in a crammed show.

That being said, one of the main characters sir pentious had no real weight as a character and had less screen time than some of the nothing characters. Half of alastors time should have been used building him up, including, I dunno. all of episode three. There's no reason to introduce all of those characters other to give alastor the info that an angel has died, right? He's. The radio demon. he should just have some sort of news ability or connections to get him that info. (also that episode makes it really easy to know who killed the angel. there's no mystery to it.)

There are also so many things that simply don't make sense in the show? They are told almost immediately that their plan will not work, so they go to heaven to be told... the same thing.

Vaggie is amazed that angels can be hurt and killed when she is an angel who was hurt and almost killed. (Vaggie and Charlie have a super weak relationship btw. I think it's so poorly done. In a show about sucking dick and cock, it made me roll my eyes that the lesbians have such a pg relationship. how come everyone else gets to be horny other than the lesbians? Because its harder to fetishize? )

the ending was just. awful. Lucifer won the fight without that much of a struggle. It feels like he could have just done that. whenever.

Im going to get murdered for saying this but the songs aren't good, they just have a killer vocal cast. the backing music sucks every time.

26 notes · View notes

pinkluver93 · 19 days

Text

The Triangle of Pizza and Love

Told ya I felt that inspiration! Well, I acted on it, and here is the result. Enjoy!

Summary: This continues two months after “Finding Time”. Nasir and the Ovenist are dating, but not publicly. However, nothing gets past Dr. Michael Keh, who has a secret of his own. Nasir X Ovenist X Keh.

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

It’s after 10 p.m. and Dr. Keh has just finished closing his shop. He grabs his things and walks out the door, locking the door behind him. He gets to his car, opens the door and sits inside. Instead of turning on the car and driving home like most people, Dr. Keh likes to sit in his car in silence and admire his pizzeria, humbling himself.

“I’ve come so far since Ambrosia. No Ovenist in this town is amazing like I am. No one. I am and always will be above all of the regular people in this world.”

He takes his phone out of his pocket.

“Before heading home, let’s see all of the “regs” out there buzzing about my astonishing business and I, as per usual.”

Keh chuckles heartily to himself (“Regs” are regular people that are not and never will be Keh.) as he scrolls through the posts on his feed. He smiles to himself as he reads all the posts. Finally, he stops on a post that stands out to him.

“that ovenist from (Your Pizzeria) is totally taken, you know. I saw them with some guy. DM me if u want more info!”

Keh scoffs. “Please. They’re not with anyone.” He looks around at his surroundings to make sure he was alone. “They’re going to ask me out soon enough, maybe. No one is a better companion than I, THE Dr. Michael Keh!”

He reads the comments, which he assumes are speculation, and throws his phone down in anger.

“I don’t need to waste any more of my precious time reading nonsense. I need my beauty sleep.”

He starts his car and drives home.

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

As soon as you walk inside your place, you lay down on your bed, exhausted from the day. You still had your work clothes on, with dried sauce stains that missed the apron. Luckily it wasn’t the pesto sauce today, since your pesto sauce is incredibly strong. You almost let yourself fall asleep but....

“Oh shoot, I gotta call Nasir!”

You remembered that you had to call Nasir so he knew you were home safe and sound. When you two agreed to be a thing, Nasir was well aware of your late work hours and wanted to make sure you were alive and okay. You two also had to keep your relationship on the down-low for now (the investigation just ended recently and Nasir had to go undercover again for work). This meant that you each cherished the time you two were able to talk and spend together.

You dial Nasir’s number and he answers on the third ring.

“Hey (your name),” Nasir sweetly said.

You blush and chuckle. “Hey you. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of you saying my real name.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of your laugh either. How was the drive?”

“It was fine,” You say. “I’m glad I got home before the skies opened up. People drive like crazy in the rain.”

“Yeah,” He said. “People are just so reckless because they’re always in a hurry.”

You yawn. “Exactly.”

“I know I said I want you to call me when you get home each day you work, but if you’re ever too tired, don’t feel like you’re forced to do it.”

Your heart stops to a halt, and you swallow. “Oh, so you don’t want me to call you?”

“No no no, it’s not that! I just-” Nasir pauses and sighs. “I don’t wanna pressure you into doing anything that might be...too much trouble, you know? We both have tiring jobs so, I just want something that works out for everyone.”

You smile as you think of something. “What if....instead of phone calls, I can send a text to you with my picture confirming I’m okay and safe? It’s not just a wordy text that any kidnapper could send to you using my phone.”

Nasir chuckles. “Kidnappers?”

“Yeah!” You blush as you joke. “With a picture of my smiling face, you can tell if I’m all good or in a pickle, so to speak!”

You swear you could hear Nasir dreamily sigh on the other end of the phone line. “Well, it would be nice to have more pictures of you without me ruining the shot....”

“Hey!” You say. “We look great together in pictures, when we’re able to hang out that is. Speaking of that, how’s your new investigation been going?”

“Heh, it’s going.” Nasir says. “It’s just so time-consuming though. But don’t worry, I have plans for us when I’m actually off!”

“Well,” You smile, rubbing the back of your neck. “It HAS been a while since you stopped in for a pie....”

“I can come in after work next Tuesday! I’ll even come out of uniform and surprise you.”

“Hang on, let me check my calendar!” You mute your phone so that you can jump in the air happily, pumping your fists. You couldn’t wait to see him! You unmute him. “Well, I’ve got no pizza meetings or family dinners or anything like that, so consider it good!”

“Alright!” Nasir said. “I’ll see you around 9 next Tuesday! Let’s talk tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay, bye!” As you hang up the phone, you lay in bed, wondering what he’ll order when he comes in.

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

Next Tuesday comes sooner than you know it, and it’s now 8:40. You feel like you broke even with your orders today, and now it’s settling down. You look at your MyPad and check out what your friends are doing on BakedIn. You become so enraptured in what you’re looking at that you don’t hear your front door open. You look up and smile.

“Hey, didn’t think you’d come so-”

“Well well well...”

You look at who the voice belongs to and frown. “Dr. Keh?!”

It is, indeed, Dr. Keh in the flesh. He looks smugly around your shop. “(Your name). I see your shop hasn’t changed much. Not surprising....”

You look around as if you are worried. “What are you doing here?”

He takes out his phone, finds something on it, and places it down in front of you to see. You look with curiosity. “What am I looking at?”

He sneers at you. “This buffoon says that you are....well, SEEING somebody, as in....dating a specific someone.”

Your heart pounds in your chest, but you make sure to not let your face show it. “Okay? Someone says I’m dating someone? Why does that affect you?”

He harshly takes his phone back and shoves it into his pocket. “Nothing, it doesn’t affect me at all. In fact, I congratulate you. I just assumed you would die alone, if your companion skills matched your pizza making skills.”

You roll your eyes. “You’re just jealous that you’ll never be happy or feel fulfilled unless you cheat at something.”

Upon hearing this, he chuckles. “It always goes back to that, doesn’t it Ovenist? Hopefully you do not make an excessive amount of excuses with this person you’re dating....whoever they are.”

“I can do what I want.” You retort. “Last I checked, we weren’t dating, Keh....”

He gives you an evil smile. “It’s so cute of you to say that, because I KNOW you wish you were dating me. There is no man out there that even compares to me, and you know it....”

You shrug. “It doesn’t matter. Now, can you please leave? Unless you needed to order something?”

He laughs. “Yes, just what I’d like, a pizza from a sad, mediocre Ovenist. Sure, I’ll take your House Special.”

“I highly suggest you take that to go....”

Neither you nor Keh said that, so you both looked to the front door to see who the voice belonged to. A man with gorgeous red hair, sunglasses and a peacoat jacket holds his detective badge.

You give a small, but grateful smile. My hero....

Keh looks him over, and grunts. “Oh, it’s you, that detective from the Zarena case.”

Nasir, with his hands now in his pockets, walks up to the front counter where Keh and you are waiting. “I was just coming in to get a pizza and saw you here verbally assaulting this Ovenist for some reason. Why is that?”

Keh dismisses the detective and pulls out his wallet. “I don’t need to explain myself to you. I’m just here to order something and leave.”

You ring Keh up for your House Special. “I’ll go make it right now.”

As you go to make it, you overhear Keh and Nasir talk.

“Do you really enjoy the pizza from here?” Keh asks with confidence.

“Yes, I do.” Nasir says.

“Pfft, your tastebuds must not feel well....” Keh chuckles.

“Funny, because you just paid for a pizza here.” Nasir says, taking his glasses off to look Keh in the eyes. “So you either secretly enjoy it, or you’re buying a pizza from this establishment for nefarious purposes that are quite familiar....”

“Ha!” Keh looks at Nasir with amusement. “You really think I need to steal (Your name)’s pizza recipe for my own gain? I’ve got news for you, “detective”. I don’t need to steal anyone’s recipes because my pizza stands out on its own. I have simply turned a new leaf.”

You put Keh’s pizza in the box and walk out with it. “What’s your new leaf then?”

He smiles at you. “I’m finally supporting small businesses like yours. I can’t relish in all of the glory, you know. I have to let other Ovenists feel like they’re at least putting in 1/10 of the required effort a Master Ovenist like me puts in every day.”

You roll your eyes. “Whatever helps you feel better about yourself....”

He takes his pizza into his hands and starts to walk out, looking back at you. “You’ll want to not have so much focus on your...personal life....if you want to stay afloat while I’m in business. Try not to drown, Ovenist.” He chuckles as he walks out.

Nasir shakes his head. “I don’t know what’s up with that guy, he’s such a-”

You cut him off by going up to him in front of the counter and roping him into a big hug and kissing his cheek. “You have such great timing. I thought he was gonna bury me alive.”

Nasir blushes as you let go. He smiles. “Heh, I’m pretty sure Keh is all bark and no bite at the end of the day.”

You smile at him. “Regardless, I’m grateful. I’ll surprise you with the toppings, but did you wanna set up a table for us?”

“Actually,” He says. “I was thinking we could take this pizza and have a night picnic at Havarti Park. I brought some beverages in a cooler and a blanket, plus the weather is nice.”

“Our usual spot, huh?” You grin. “It’s also pretty....quiet and serene this time of night there as well, isn’t it?”

Nasir blushes and rubs the back of his head. “Yeah, I-I figured it’d be....nice for us to...catch up and...you know...”

You smile sweetly seeing Nasir act so shy about your relationship. “I’ll make your pizza and get changed. Be right back!”

You go to make his pizza with so much happiness as you await what Nasir has planned for you two, completely forgetting about the uninvited guest you had....

#good pizza great pizza #gpgp #gpgpfanfiction #nasir amin #nasir x ovenist #dr. michael keh #dr keh #dr keh x reader #dr. keh X reader X nasir #nasir X reader X dr. keh #It's so hard to pick one of them at times #I feel like Nasir is more loyal and marriage material whereas Keh might be an angry one-night stand lol #who would you pick if you were the ovenist?#dr. keh is super jealous in this #Nasir is a protective boyfriend and comes to your rescue hehe

20 notes · View notes

popculturebuffet · 1 month

Text

Batmarch: The Secret Origin of Batman's Trophys (Comission for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people and welcome back to Batmarch, or celebrations of all things that go bump in the dark knight

Today we've got a special treat... and i'm not just talking the nice art Kev had comissioned! Looks really good and I really appcirated it. Thank you KEv and thank you Alan Patreon. It was a nice suprise gift.

As for what this is about, this was a fantastic idea Kev cooked up: the batcave is one of the coolest hero bases in all of fiction. The layout is never 100% consitant across media but your usually guaranteed a batmobile, a big ass computer at the center, water falls, and over time a display for various costumes from past sidekicks, alternate outfits etc.

What really spruces the place up are three distinct decorations that we almost always see in the comics and ocasionally in other media, if not live action since these bitches would be expensive to make: A giant dinosaur, a big ole penny, and a giant playing card of a joker. These three are staples of the bat cave, to the point when the original was caved in during the earthquakes that ravaged gotham in the build up to no man's land, Bruce made a point of fishing them out for the new cave he built after that traumatic year.

Yet most of us.... have no idea where he got these wonderful toys. Even I didn't. The Joker Card comes from an obvious grinning source, but what CASE did it come from? Where did he get that dinosaur? What was someone using that giant Penny for? It's a question i've asked once or twice but never looked into. Kevin did though, and while the through and lovely DC wiki helped him find each one, he went the extra mile, asking for a review. And I was entirely on board with this comission as I just.. never had those answers and I doubt i'm the only one whose wondered what the context for these things were. So today we're looking at three disntinct golden age batman stories, at a time when goofy nonsense reigned supreme, logic was optional, and weird shit like this was just another day in the batcave. IN other words, this is going to be a LOT of fun so join me under the cut as we look at gambling themed death traps, penny obessed gangsters and batman being hunted by the most dangerous game: mechanical dinosaurs.

The Giant Joker Playing Card:

(from Batman #44)

I love these old titles, such flair and cheese. It's incredible.

Anyways this one starts because Joker decides to hit an off the books casnio after his win. Luckily for them, he just wants to play which feels entirely like a joker move: instead of robbing an easy target that can't call the cops and that the mafia presumibly running it would be stupid to retaliate on, he decides "fuck it let's try this whole gambling thing men, sounds like a hoot and a half".

And sure enough.. it goes really well. He spends what's implied to be the whole night just winning and winning until he cleans house. This being the joker this gambling bug can only end one way

I just.. love everything about this. Joker just had fun at a casnio and turned it into a death trap. It's such a brilliant setup.. and one that while nicely goofy, is also well done: it fits the joker's unpredictablity to just go a gamblin and it fits him just as much to turn a new hobby into a death trap. I also love Lewis' reaction calling it SUPERGAMBLING., like he's some gambling expert and most dangerous game shit is a type of gambling.. which given we're in the dc universe, you probably DO need a name for this kind of thing in the crime world.

So he set shte perfect trap: he has a random balding middle aged man tell the two he has info on a recent raidum theft, raidum a hospital badly needs. To save the presumed orphans about to die without eating their radium, Batman and Robin go to a sketchy island with one house perched on a hill

The World's Greatest Detective.. sees NOTHING wrong with this and goes ahead and gets caught in the most devious trap imaginable.

Several head injuries later, our heroes wake and joker reveals the radium theives, who he captured for this scheme but have kept the radium's location to themselves. This is by deisgn: the joker wants the two and their "radium screts" as the ante here, along with Robin to make sure Batman does this. Batman repedately states "I don't gamble' as if logic suddenly works on the clown man who set up a gambling death trap, so Joker reveals if Batman won't play his three supergambling games, he'll just kill the hostages. Batman reluctantly agrees,

Game 1 is super pinball.

But when Batman proves to be an expert at the snes Joker goes with plan b.. his giant pinball table of death. Sorry his giant SUPER pinball table of death.

As you can see the same joker face from the card is here and you see it all over his lable. it seemed to be Joker's logo back the. I love this whole setup and mostly show it not only because it' sdope but because those pins must've been what bumpers were. I also had no idea PInball used to be a gambling thing. Makes sense, it's just fun to find out.

The game goes well mostly though one of the guys nearly slams into a pin. Thankfully Robin is an expert gymnist and batman smartly saved laucnhing robin till the last minute and Dick's able to save the goon.

Game two is super rolling some dice, which apparently used to land on numbers. This yugioh style death game involves our bait being tied to polls on three of the numbers. If Batman guesses wrong, someone dies. Or maybe not since the board is pretty damn big. Not every death trap can be super murder pinball. Batman spots some mud on the dice though and correctly guesses they'll pivot. This is the weakest of the death traps here, a bit convolunted, not really guranteed to be as deadly. I know the chance of nothing happening is part of it.. but with pinball there's really almost no chance you won't hit the bumpers. Here it feels like pure luck or simple cheating that both dice flew at the joker.

Next game and the one that introduces our prop, though the dice apparently are also in the cave sometimes which I love. The game is a game of cards.. batman has to correctly guess which face matches the door Robin and the hostage goons are in or they'll choke to death on the deadly gas released inside.. and naturally he figures out it's the Joker card. It's too joker not to work.

Turns out though, naturally the joker isn't playing fair both having a final one on one game ofr him and Batman and having his goon go to get robin behind the joker card door... and Robin dispatches him hilaroiusly and awesomely

With that the hostages are free and the final death game begins. A giant super roulette wheel with both batman and joker getting in a slot. looser gets crushed alive. It's an awesome finale, and it fits joker to put himself at risk: after all he risks his life all the time why wouldn't he for such a fun gag?

Batman's able to get the wheel to turn fairly and then escape it, leading to a chase. THe Radium Theives agree to give themselves and the radium up but there's still the matter of the joker and we get a short but neat final chase as Joker uses the dice against the heroes then jumps off a cliff, gambling his life one last time.. and rightfully batman isn't betting on the joker having died.

Gamble With Doom is an excellent story. While the trophy we get out of it is only in it briefly the story itself is pure fun. It has some fun dated elements like Bruce's opinon gambling is EVILLLL and the old fashioned designs on the traps, but it's pure fun. The traps are clever, the tension palpable and the climax great. The gambling motif's really fit the joker and it adds up to an all time great joker story with a suprise impact. The Trophy Itslef. is barely in it but Robin DID break a guy's face with it so i'll say it was still cave worthy.

(From World's Finest #30)

The Penny Plunderer is a name I had heard but had no real context for. I assumed he was some goofy silver age villian with pennies for eyes who drove around chucking pennies at everyone.

I am an artiste.

Instead it's just a guy in a suit. He has the backstory of any good golden or silver age villian to justify his gimmick

I love.. everything about this backstory. It reads like if a writer was given the thought exercise "Make the pettiest batman villian origin you can find.". I mean other villians gimmicks make sense: Poison Ivy was a botonist, Mr Freeze had a horrible accident, the penguin was born looking like a penguin with a lot of money, the Joker fell into a vat of chemicals and came out a clwon, the riddler liked puzzles.

Here Joe just... got screwed over by pennies a lot. Even funnier is that the last one has nothing to do with pennies. Like.. even if it'd had nickels he'd still be arrested.

So Joe vows since pennies runied his life, he'l lbecome the penny! Sadly this does not mean him dressing up like a giant penny with a cane and top hat.. nad now I can't show you it that last drawing put me too far behind and... oh fuck it.

Instead he just wears a suit but makes his gimmick pennies. Commit to the bit man. I do get it as some golden age villians were just guy in a suit, even Joker and Penguin technically counts but one is a clown and the other is a rich penguin man. They have mor ethan just "suit and a vendetta against pennies that somehowturns into stockholm syndrome.

So the penny plunderer begins his reign of terror, setting up a penny arcade as a front, and cashing in a roll of pennies in the most diabolical scheme ever devised by man.

A true criminal mastermind.

Batman picks up on this pattern because it's what he does and finds his next case, a coin and stamp exibiton with a rare one cent stamp. It's here we meet the reason we're here: the giant penny!

Yeah to my shock the penny had NOTHING to do with the penny plunderer other than being at the site of one of his robberies. He prefered just.. chucking pennies at people.. which is awesome and a truly great tactic only topped by Batman's use of said giant penny

I adore the fact that this iconic artifact is there not because it was seized from the villians or a police options.. but because, presumibly, Bruce thought this penny he found was kick ass and bought it off it's actual owner.

Most of the theives escape but they find one willing to squeal. Unfortunatley he dies for his hubris

Yup bet you weren't expecting the penny guy to kill someone and to see his corpse weren't you but here you are. Also batman is apparently a cop now. George Lopez tried to warn us...

But we didn't listen! We didn't listen!

A fight breaks out at the gambling parlour and we get two of the best moments in batman history that much like the blue beetle film, ar ehighly underated.

I just.. I get the sense that is how batman ALWAYS plays pinball. Just judo kicks it every time even as bruce wayne. Both bruce wayne and batman have been banned from so many arcades.. often the same ones. Perks of having a secret identity. We then get coyne once again THROWING pennies at someone and it working. I don't know why he hasn't been brought back with the telkeentic ability to contorl pennies. Give him a copper helmet and a proper costume and oh dammit..

Then Joe knocks batman out iwth his one weakness: a roll of pennies. He's trapped them in the parlor for your standard batman death trap, having removed their belts and ripped out the phone lines as usual. He then throws them a few pennies when then prove to be a mistake as it's time for SCIENCE WITH DR. BATMAN, who uses one old penny, copper, and one new penny, zinc to make a battery. Good thing jimmy didn't wish it away THIS week.

The cops arrive to free one of hteir own and batman finds a clue once the parlor is cleared of gas. Turns out Coyne was catering a penny slot party for a rich billinoare's houseboat, and naturally their filled with gas. I swear it's always gas with these golden age villians. Get another knockout device fellas.

With that our final chase enses as Batman and robin chase Coyne and while he nearly bests them with a good game of 1940's donkey kong

He's foiled by his own gimmick: he has only pennies but the pay telephone.. dosen't.. take 5 seperate pennies for some reason? the hell? I get payphones not taking pennies once they went up to a quarter but come the fuck on 1940's payed telephones. he's foiled.. and sentenced to death.

Yes folks that's the cannoical till some lucky fellow brings him back fate of the penny plunderer: PUT TO DEATH.

This story is as you can tell nonsense that's only gotten more hilarious with the passage of time and I loved every page on it and on getting the panels for this review, I only found MORE hilaroius nonsense to laugh at. We have a story where a guy with a penny gimmick smacks batman with a roll of pennies, trips robin with more, kills a man without pennies, is foiled by pennies yet somehow dosen't actually use the giant penny that's the only reason people know he exists. It's beautiful bollocks and worth your time.

(From Batman #35)

As I hope you are, this issue had me hooked from the first panel: Batman vs dinosaurs being forced to fashion a bow and arrow for some reason. Yes... fuck. Yes. Also nice of bruce to eat Ollie's lunch.

Okay so this story starts, as many real life stories do, with a billionare having a zany idea; Mr. Hart is a man who puts on shows: ice follies, aqua carnival, 40's razzle dazzle type stuff. For his latest idea though he's going above and beyond: a DINOSAUR ISLAND. With mechancail dinosaurs and cavemen who throw giant sponges at you. Thankfully spongebob wasn't born yet but his great great grandpappys quarepants did the honors. Honorable old fool.

To ramp up the insanity, Mr Hart is inviting a club of big game hunters to eat mammoth steak with batman.

If that weren't enough, and in any other golden age story it might be... our heroes get CHALLENGED at dinner by one of the rich assholes. Yeah turns out rich assholes who hunt innocent animals for sport and eat reheated mammoth aren't the most stable indviduals and Mr. Breech scoofs at the fact Mr. Hart says Man is the most dangerous game. He's hunted man, they went down like cowards. COWARDS. He feels Batman couldn't hut a dinosaur without his gadgets, and certainly not his bare hands... even though as this issue with prove and has already shown early man had tools.

To prove his point he challenges batman to a fucking challenge: survive on Dinosaur Island: no utility belt, no vehicles. If the dinosaurs touch him he looses. Mr Breech will man the controls. Honestly i'm convinced Breech knew hart well enough to know he'd both agree to this for the publiclity and why he'd invite batman and robin and just wants to play iwth giant mechanical dinosaurs and also batman. Which granted if I were invited to this sort of thing i'd also want to chase batman with mechanical dinosaurs for fun, who wouldn't, so I totally get it and respect the game.

Hart is on board, offering 5000 to the winner's charity and Batman is like "Why the bat-fuck not. Let's go".

Now you might suspect Breech's real motive is trying to kill batman. I mean you have a setup where batman will be without his weapons, the plausable deniablity of a machine malfunction and a secluded island with 24 hours to kill the batman. And you'd shockingly be wrong. Breech really just wants to prove dinosaurs are the most dangerous game so when that Jurassic Park he's working on opens no one will object to him hunting them for sport.

But his plans are foiled by Chase, anothe rich knob who wants to kill batman and robin to, as he says later form a "crime combine". So he wants a bunch of middle aged guys drinking beers to yell at him for not training the joker on tackling well enough. I see.. well played.

So the game is afoot and our heroes take a bit to catch up, first brushing off a real rock among the sponge rocks as a mistake. Theis ends when a Triceratops to trismash them into a tree. Batman calls for a war council on a nearbye island but naturally THAT'S NO ISLAND

Batman fought a mechanical fucking seamonster. That.. that's cannon. To almost every batman timeline. God bless you Golden Age, god, bless, youuuu. Also i'd be stupid if I didn't say that Tally Ho, Batman! is one of the greatest phrases in batman history up there with "I Am the night" , "I'm batman" and "Something something joker's boner".

So now the games for their lives, Batman and Robin don't have to play fair and start fashioning bows, arrows and knives out of mechanical dinosaur bones. You know.. sometimes this job can be draining: 2-3 reviews a week, many a plan having to be delayed due to a review taking longer than expected.. but then you get a review where Batman and robin have to outrun a manical billinoare who hyjacked dinosaurs from a diffrnet billionare who was having a charity dinosaur hunt with batman and robin using a third billionare's dinosaur, while fashoining weapons from mechanical dinosaur corpses and fashion a kite from a mechanical ptreadon and remember why you love reviewing stuff so mucH: sharinng a good story with the world and finding a good one or two yourself while your at it. And thanks to Kev i've found three truly wonderful, truly bonkers batman stories, with this one being the easy winner. It's both a decent enough concept for the time and hilariously insane.

And I ddin't make up the kite thing: when, after a night of survivial, Robin brings up the batplane, Batman has an idea: since the flying dinosaurs are on a programmed pattren rather than directly controled, they can use them to make themselves a kite yor style.

So to win the day Batman has a plan: he uses himself as bait since Robin's the more agile of the two, and has robin CATAPULT HIMSELF into the air after chase, who is riding on t-rex back with an army of dinosaurs.. and how does he defeat chase' smighty dino army?

It's both genuinely clever and wonderfully bonkers: Robin defeats an evil billionare RIDING a mechanical t-rex.. with water balloons.

Also props to this story: in the previous two the trophy was impressive.. but it was taken from what felt like a minor point in the story: the card flip game was fun as was batman slammin ga door on a guy, but it's sandwitched between far more elaborate death traps, while the penny, again awesome, wasn't even something the penny plunderer used. Batman just bought it off some offscreen character to relive fond memoreies of crushign some crimianls alive with it. Here the main villian ROAD IN on the thing. Granted he still had to likely buy it off his actual owner, but this time at least a criminal actually used it as a murder weapon. I can see Batman wanting this thing for his cave.

Batman chases chase over the now still dinosaurs and punches the guy out. With this Batman's saved the day AND won the bet. 5000 for batmobiles for kids, donate your batmobile today!

As for chase...

With that our story and this trilogy comes to an end.. and as I said, it's great. check out all three of these issues their a lot of fun. Next time dc puts some up for sale I may have to get some 40's batman, this stuff is golden.

Thanks for reading

To conclude batman month: Wait'll you get a load of this

#batman #robin #bruce wayne #dick grayson #the joker #golden age #1940s #penny plunderer #dinosaur #dinosaurs #comics #dc comics

23 notes · View notes

ten-cent-sleuth · 10 months

Text

A Galling Yoke, Part 2

<- Prev | Next ->

for the “That actually hurt” square on my July Break Bingo card

See this post for main info, including a masterlist and synopsis. See this post for warnings.

Word Count: 2.8k

Pairing: Sherlock Holmes x f!Reader

Rating: Teen

DO NOT TRY AT HOME THE EXPERIMENT DEPICTED BELOW.

For days, you had successfully avoided Sherlock. There had, admittedly, been close calls: once, you had been about to exit the library when you heard the floorboards creak in the corridor and decided to wait until silence had again fallen, and upon peeking out the door, you glimpsed Sherlock’s coattails as he rounded the corner; ereyesterday, you had been walking down the stairs when you spotted a familiar silhouette coming your way, and you had had just enough time to turn around and act like you had been going above-stairs instead, though your bad knee had protested at the rough reversal.

Such measures were necessary evils—necessary embarrassments. You did not want to see Sherlock. You did not want to talk to Sherlock. You could not talk to Sherlock. Too much was unsaid; too much was unknown; too little was unfelt.

So it was that you crept down the hallway in your own home, your ears tuned to Sherlock’s indelible timbre, your eyes cut on what was before you. Indeed, such focus served you well as you stepped back in time to avoid the kitchen door swinging open.

“Oh! Madam! I’m heartily sorry, I—”

“Fret not, Cook,” you reassured the scrawny woman in front of you. “You could not have seen me behind all those dishes—or, indeed, behind the wooden door. Would you have me call a maid for assistance?”

“No, no.” Cook craned her neck around the tower of plates in her arms and smiled. “Thanking you, ma’am.”

“Make no mention of it.” Gesturing to the door behind her, you asked, “Is Mrs Rogers in there?”

“The kitchen? ’Fraid not, ma’am, she be straightening out that new laundress.”

“I see. I had hoped to share my afternoon tea with her, but—”

“Oh! Well, I can have Lucy bring you a tray in your sitting-room if you wish it, ma’am.”

“Nonsense; Lucy must have plenty of chores to take care of. Since I am already here, I do not mind preparing my own tray. Although…if you wish it, Cook, feel free to join me once you have put those away.”

Cook’s eyes lowered almost as soon as they lit up. “Oh, ma’am, I couldn’t possibly—”

“Of course you could.” This time, you craned your neck to make sure she saw your smile. “If you are busy, then never you mind for today; we may have tea another time. However, if you would like to join me, please do.”

Finally, Cook met your gaze. “I would like to, ma’am. Tha— I thank you. I’ll return in a trice.”

With a nod, you let her pass before opening the door and slipping in. The pleased thrum in your veins that always arose after an auspicious social interaction vanished as you locked eyes with Sherlock across the kitchen.

“Wha—?”

“Your ladyship,” he greeted in a rush, bowing and straightening almost as quickly as he could, as though he did not want to let you out of his sight any longer than necessary. You barely had time to curtsy before he blurted out, “Do you always take your meals with your servants?”

You blinked, then you glowered. “Do you always eavesdrop on conversations in others’ private homes?”

“Not always, but sometimes a case does necessitate more underhanded methods…”

Scoffing, you turned away from him to begin preparing a tray of refreshments. “I hope, sir,” you bit out, “your now knowing that I do not treat those in my employ as a separate species is helpful to your investigation of my husband.”

A teacup rattled on its saucer as you placed it down, and you paused to take a steadying breath. How had so much bitterness seeped into your voice?

“I apologise that you thought I meant I was suspicious of you, when I had only overheard your conversation by accident, and the words I spoke were uttered out of confusion, not judgement.” Why does he sound so close? “I did not intend to offend you. In fact… Well, in fact, I had intended to thank you.”

You whirled around, but the “What do you mean?” on your lips broke into a gasp as you realised Sherlock was standing right there, right in front of you.

Holding your gaze, he said, “On my first day here without Lord Coltidge, your butler—Rogers, if I am not mistaken—told me that I had free rein to conduct my experiments if I wished to. That was kind of you.”

“Yes, well…” You adjusted your sleeves. “I recalled how those experiments helped you clear your mind when we were young, and I—” You bit down on your tongue before more bitter words about getting him out of your hair as quickly as possible could trip over it. “I wanted to save you the trouble of going between Baker Street and Grosvenor Square if I could, sir.”

Sherlock’s smile was as sudden and as dazzling as fireworks. “Would you like to…see what I am working on?”

You blinked again. “Er…” This time, you did not have it in you to glower.

“Excellent!” He grabbed your hand, effectively silencing any protest from you with the abrupt dryness of your mouth, and pulled you to the counter at which he had been standing when you entered. “I have wanted to do an experiment such as this for a while now, but my flat does not have electricity. When did your house get outfitted with it?”

You shook yourself from staring at your and Sherlock’s clasped hands to answer, “Ah, ’82, perhaps? Not too long ago.”

“Brilliant!” he exclaimed, letting go of you to fiddle with whatever needed fiddling with. You bit your lip as you watched; his excitement was unnerving, not because you disliked it, but because it reminded you of the times when you shared his excitement.

You couldn’t possibly do so now.

“Since I did not want to waste an arc lamp, this contraption here shall inform us of a successful electrical current: if one is made, these tin cans shall have opposite charges, which shall make this metal earring essentially bounce between the cans.”

“Akin to a ringing bell?” you asked, not quite understanding Sherlock’s sparse simplification but managing to visualise the described results.

“Indeed! Now, see these two bowls? The first one I filled from over there—standard pump water. This one, I filled with deionised water; I had to buy that for a few florins.”

Your eyes bulged. “A few fl— For water?”

He chuckled at you, not in the way your brother did at times, but…you shook your head and paid attention to his explanation: “’Tis worth it, I assure you, at least if you are curious-minded as I am or you are”—confound the heat rising in your cheeks at how easily he grouped himself with you!—“and I shall prove it to you. Electricity does not traverse all matter equally. That is why these wires”—he pointed to the couple of cords resting on the counter, each attached to the bell-to-be contraption—“are made of copper but wrapped in rubber.”

Gently, he took your hand again and laid your fingertips on top of the wire. “The rubber is safe to touch, see? No electrical shock.”

“But the copper is not?” you couldn’t help but ask, shifting towards the naked end of the wire. Before you could make contact though, Sherlock snatched your wrist away.

“Do not—!”

You stared up at him. “Mr Holmes?”

Eyes darting away, he cleared his throat. “It would not permanently injure you, but it would…it would hurt. A little. I suppose.” He blushed with the weakness of his argument, and you chuckled, which seemed to bolster him. “If you would truly like to touch the water, I believe I know how you may do so in a safe but curiosity-satiating way. Do you trust me?”

Your heart stuttered in your chest. “In matters of science? Unreservedly.”

He hesitated, as though he could hear the chained beast struggling in the cage of your ribs, before nodding and picking up one wire. “This bowl has the deionised water,” he said. “Ions are rather permissive of electrical charges, so do you believe this water will be safer or riskier than the pump water?”

After thinking it over, you replied, “Safer?”

“Have a little confidence in your hypothesis, my lady.” Were his smiles always so soft? “Now, I shall wrap this wire around your middle finger…”

As you watched him do so, you sluggishly wondered whether he had truly been holding your wrist this whole time—and how you had not noticed before this moment.

“I shall let go of you now, then you may dip in your index finger, but you must not touch anything besides the water. Your dress must not even skim the table. Oh—you are wearing rubber-soled shoes, are you not?”

Your lips twitched; he really had not changed. “Yes, Mr Holmes, luckily for you the Harding Street cordwainer recently made the first batch for ladies. They are quite put out that the Americas fashioned them first.”

Chuckling, Sherlock placed the second wire into the bowl, then jerked his head at you. On an inhale, you dipped your finger into the water.

You felt nothing, yet the contraption rang as Sherlock described, the earring slamming into one tin can then flying into the other then back into the first and so on.

“My!” you breathed. “Am I playing a part in this? I feel naught! Yet how could I be uninvolved?”

As he explained open and closed circuits, a cold numbness spread across you, the realisation that your resolve to resist his enthusiasm and his intimacy had crumbled so soon and so easily. But dash it all, of course restraint was difficult when Sherlock was so…was so…was so unrestrained. You had been marvelling at how familiar he was after all these years, but now, that familiarity soured in your mouth. Did he truly not feel the need, as you did, to avoid a renewed attachment? Was he truly unaffected, then, by how you two had parted ways?

“Why do you not do something, too?” you asked before you could think better of it, cutting into his spiel as sharply as you wished to cut out his disruptive presence in your perfectly contented life.

Oblivious to the edge in your voice, Sherlock smiled, and guilt sprouted in your stomach. “Why not, indeed,” he answered as he gestured for you to lift your hand out of the water. Taking both wires and submerging them in the other bowl, he said, “Electricity shall move more easily through the pump water, but it always takes the most direct path. Hence, when the wires are beside each other like this, I can put my hand in on the other end of the bowl and be unharmed.”

He did so, and shrugged at you to show he felt nothing.

“However, the closer I drift, the more I shall feel.” When his hand moved into the middle of the bowl, he added, “Ah, here, it begins: something feels off.” When his hand was nearly at the wires, he cried out, “The current is certainly passing through me now. Is this not thrilling, your ladyship? Do you not miss my experiments?”

His words struck you in the chest, knocking the breath out of you. What questions! With every inhale to regain your equilibrium, you seemed to breathe in poisonous anger as well. What questions! “Why do you stop there?” you asked. “Would it be unsafe to pass directly between the wires?”

Sherlock blinked. “Er—no, I do not believe it would be. When I first tried this earlier, I was tempted to do so even, but I had second thoughts.”

You did not speak, focused on calming yourself. You were normally quite good at controlling your words of frustration and offence—having a viscount for a baby brother and a pompous old earl for a father would do that to a lady. What about Sherlock made you speak out of pain that you didn’t even acknowledge to yourself?

Before you realised how he might take your silence, Sherlock moved his hand between the wires. The next instant, he yanked it out of the water and yelped, “Bloody hell!”

Shaking his hand at the wrist, he gave you a sheepish look. “Pardon my language, your ladyship. I did not expect… I shall have to note down that doing that actually hurts…”

He glanced around for his notebook, and for both your and his sakes, you tried to joke, “Have I aught to pardon? You shall remember that you and I learned that language side by side at Ferndell.”

Turning to you, Sherlock was most certainly not laughing. Bemusement rent the smoothness of his brow, and what typically gave you a boost of pride—how often did one befuddle the great Sherlock Holmes, after all?—only sickened you now, as hurt clouded his expression. “There is bitterness in your tone and mien,” he remarked. “Have I done something?”

The guilt that had sprouted in your stomach took strangling root in your hip, in your knee, in your ankles, and you suddenly had to lean on the counter for support. “Mr Holmes…” How could you answer that question, so simple yet so complex? You had thought avoiding him would protect you, but maybe it would be more effective to face your muddled emotions head-on. “Perhaps it is time we talk.”

“I would like nothing more”—he hesitated—“my lady.”

You took a deep breath. “Why did you take this case?”

He took the wires out of the bowl, to all appearances to stop the contraption’s dinging but, you knew, truthfully to occupy his hands. “I…wanted to see you.”

Your eyebrows shot up. Of all answers, you had not expected that.

Seeing your face, he rushed out, “When your father came to me, I saw it as my opportunity. It has been years, I know, but I never stopped—”

“Why did you not write?” you burst out. “Or call on me? You knew the Voss London address! If you had somehow forgotten it, the walk from Ferndell Hall to Jotyard Manor so you could ask my brother is very little time compared to fifteen years!”

Sherlock grimaced. “Petal, you know how I struggle with…with… See, it was always you who could explain to me which social avenues are permitted and which are disallowed! I had never visited your house in Town, nor had I visited your estate, come to think of it—you always came to Ferndell. How was I to know I could simply call on you?”

Incredulous, you stood with your mouth agape.

He rubbed his face. “I see now that I…maybe I ought not to have taken the case after all,” he sighed. “You do not seem to want to see me, although I have been struggling to understand why.”

The guilt flowered, its blossoms stuffing your lungs.

“At first,” he mused, “I thought you were being distant because the years had cleaved you to your station. You seemed to look down on my work—my ‘exploits’, as you called it. You acted the part of an earl’s daughter more dutifully than I think your governess would have thought possible. You revoked the permission you had happily given me to call you your Christian name. I was displeased but satisfied with these findings, then today, I…”

He looked at the door behind you, and you remembered the conversation with Cook he had overheard.

“No. Evidently, you are the same girl I knew who does not think she is better than everyone else for simply being born a Voss.” Turning back to you, his eyes pierced you. “Why then do you sneer at me, your ladyship?”

Sneer? “Do you— Do you seriously not understand why the very sight of you hurts me?”

Loathsome tears stung the backs of your eyes, but even through your blurry vision, you could make out the surprise on Sherlock’s face.

The guilt withered.

“So it is then,” you said. “In that case, I can only imagine how little regard you have for the battered vessel in my chest.”

The door behind you opened. “Ma’am, I—”

“Cook, I have prepared the sandwiches and the cups, but I fear I have forgotten to boil the tea.” Brusquely, you went towards the door. “Would you please prepare that, then bring the tray to the… Oh, I do not know, how do you like the yellow room?”

“I never been,” she replied, eyeing something over your shoulder, “but I’ll ask Lucy for directions. Everything all right, ma’am?”

“Certainly,” you said as you blinked away your tears. At the threshold, you turned back briefly and curtsied, but did not dare lift your gaze.

Thank you for reading. Please let me know if you would like to be tagged for updates. :) Feedback is always welcome! Nota bene that I totally screwed with scientific history in London here though; I tried to stay true to the timeline of electrical and deionisation technology, but yeah no, parts of Sherlock’s experiment would not have been possible for at least a couple of decades. Sorry! 😂

#sherlock holmes x reader #sherlock holmes x you #henry cavill sherlock x reader #enola holmes #a galling yoke #the dimensions of fandom

72 notes · View notes

penguinmerchant · 1 year

Text

Death and the Prince

My next binding! This one is based off of @arahir‘s lovely work, Death and the Prince. All of arahir’s stuff is great, but I chose to do this one because my (graphic designer) boyfriend offered to make the cover for me. And boy is it a cool cover.

Once I saw how ridiculous it was I also let him know he was going to be weeding it as well, which was a (predictably) terrible experience for everyone involved. He also designed some of the interior chapter headers, which turned out pretty neat. There’s a different one for each character.

(the text isn’t printed blurry, it just looks like it on my camera for whatever reason)

And here are the beautiful endpapers. I love buying golden marbledy papers, can you tell?

More info about the binding process under the cut.

This binding was a little more fraught with errors than my previous one (terrible weeding job of the fiddly cover aside) as I accidentally forgot to trim the covers before putting the cloth on. Which I’m pretty sure I only did because I messed up the spine and it came out super wonky, large on one side and small on the other, and I had to rip all that out and do it again and I got stressed out by the whole thing. Whoops.

I’m so sorry, beautiful duo cloth. At least I was forced to buy a crap ton of you due to Talas’ insane shipping (I had to make the shipping costs worth it!) so I still have a bunch left over. Maybe I’ll try and make a text block that will fit in there. The dimensions are almost 5x7, which is a respectable size for a book, it just doesn’t fit as well in my hand as much as the 4.5 x 6.75 one does. Ah, who am I kidding, they’re almost the same. I’ll make it work.

Anyway, this was a pretty easy bind except for the above nonsense, only 4 signatures which got sewn up pretty quickly. I used the 7mm gutter space again because I wanted the spine to be prevalent since it would have text on it, and I think it turned out looking great for such a small book. Bookcloth is duo (again, I love you duo) in grape, which is a lovely red/purple color that shifts in the light. End papers are marbled jute from Mulberry Papers. Cover is HTV and Cricut and was such a dumb idea for such a fiddly little design. I might try printing on cloth next time and using the toner reactive foil because this was just the hugest pain. But even with all the little problems it had it ended up looking great.

Look at it on my shelf there! So cute! (Also check out my first printing hardback copy of Goblin Emperor, that was the find of a century at $7.99, also that paper cut version of Emma on the end, also very cheap, I love you Half Price Books and your dumb pricing system)

Arahir if you see this thank you so much for all your great writing! Everything you write is incredible, there will probably be more bindings of yours in the future because I love everything you do. If anyone has any questions about the binding process please let me know! I’m still very new at binding and trying to get better so any criticism or help is welcome.

#ficbinding #fanfic bookbinding #bookbinding #arahir #hadesgame #I played and beat Redacted while my boyfriend weeded this cover lol #and with the bow too!#i suck at the bow #but not as much as i suck at that stupid spear #i love the fists the most #this is now a hadesgame blog

151 notes · View notes

bornonthesavage · 1 year

Text

Detective Steve x Serial Killer Eddie

CW: Discussions of dead bodies and methods of murder

The hot tip of the cigarette smoldered red, burning up the end as smoke swirled away into the damp afternoon sky. It had been a wet October, the air already thick with the smells of dead leaves and petrichor. Steve liked the rain, he did, but shit. Sometimes it would be nice to stand out in the sun. At least it wasn’t raining now, something his hair was grateful for. He tilted his head back and blew out a cloud of smoke, the tip of his tongue pressing into his bottom lip.

Behind him he heard movement, the steady sound of familiar footsteps, followed as always by Nancy’s no-nonsense voice. “Steve, hurry up with your smoke break. We have work to do.”

He nodded once, taking a last drag before stubbing it out on the nearby wall. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Don’t get your holster in a twist.”

When he turned, she was already giving him a stern look. “This is no time to mess around.”

“Why not? It’s not like the body’s going anywhere.”

It was the third one in a month. Which, for a city like Indianapolis, wasn’t a ton. The problem was that they knew all the murders had been committed by the same person. They had a serial killer on their hands. It was Steve’s first, since he’d joined the force three years prior. Sure, he’d dealt with plenty of homicide cases, but a serial killer was something else entirely. It set the force on edge, as they knew they were on a time crunch before someone else ended up dead. Nancy most of all, it seemed.

“Stop joking. Henderson says he has some more info for us.”

Steve nodded. “Alright. Lead the way.”

They marched through the first level of the empty building, a construction sight that had been put on hold, until they reached the stairs. The victim had been found on the second level early that morning by the owner of the property, as he’d been doing his weekly inspection. As soon as they’d been called in, Steve knew what they’d find. It was a gruesome sight.

They stepped into the room together, the space already full with others as they moved around and collected evidence. Jonathon was crouched near the head of the victim, taking photos, while Henderson stood nearby taking notes.

“What information do you have for us?” Nancy asked at they approached.

Henderson glanced up and gave Steve a head nod. “The body is in pretty much the same state as the others. All the bones in each limb are broken, as is the jaw. We’ll need to do an autopsy, obviously, but I’m willing to bet all breaks happened premortem. As did the removal of the eyes.”

“So, they were tortured,” Steve summarized. “Just like the others.”

“Yep.” Henderson nodded. “As you can see, the body was also strung upside down using cable wire. Again, we’ll need an autopsy, but the cause of death was almost certainly blood loss from the cut throat.”

Yeah, Steve sort of gathered that. The kiddie pool filled with blood, placed just below the strung-up body, sort of made it obvious. He took a step closer and leaned down to get a better look at the gash along the throat. It was deep, done with a sure hand.

Nancy looked back at Henderson. “So, you’re absolutely positive that it’s—”

“The Upside-Down Killer? Yeah, positive.”

Steve snorted as he straightened up. “I can’t believe you’re all calling him that.”

“Them,” Nancy corrected. “We don’t know it’s a man.”

“Statistically, it’s the most likely outcome though.”

Nancy pursed her lips, unable to argue that point. “Alright, well, were you able to find anything else? Anything that might help us catch the son of a bitch?”

At that, Henderson’s face lit up. “Actually, yes. Maybe. Come over here.”

They followed behind him to the far corner of the room, Steve keeping a pace behind. Henderson crouched down and pointed to what looked like a partial boot print. It was just the back half, imprinted in some dirt that must have blown in during the last rain storm. A small smile tugged at Nancy’s lips.

“This is good. This is the first bit of evidence we’ve been able to gather on this guy.”

Steve quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, so it is a guy now?”

“Obviously. Look at how big that boot print is. So unless the killer is a woman with oddly large feet, it’s a man.”

Steve hummed, his eyes trailing back to the print. It was extremely clear, easily picked up to add to evidence. The killer was getting sloppy. This was good for the department, evident by Nancy’s bolstered mood. She straightened up and turned to Jonathan.

“Make sure you get plenty of shots of the boot, with measurements. Then get the rest of the team in here to collect the body and get it back to the lab. If our killer already messed up with this boot print, who knows what other ways he could have slipped.”

Jonathan nodded, already making his way over. Nancy turned and marched out of the room, but Steve lingered behind. He stopped beside the body, taking in the gaunt and twisted face of the man. It never really got easier, to see bodies twisted and mutilated in this way. It was a part of the job, sure, but there was a reason Steve hadn’t gone into pathology. He would rather be on the puzzle solving side. Henderson came to stand beside him.

“We’ve got to catch this monster, Steve. He’s getting bolder. This murder happened only a week after the last. A whole week sooner than between the first and second. He’ll kill again, and soon.”

Steve let out a deep sigh and nodded. He knew that was true, of course. More people were going to die. He clapped his hand onto Henderson’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“Don’t worry. We always catch them eventually, especially nowadays. He’d have to be a mastermind to get away with this for long.”

Henderson gave him a smile. “There’s the cocky Steve we all know. You always get your man, huh?”

Steve tossed him a wink. “Always.”

By the time he made it outside, Nancy was finishing up her call beside the car. He caught the tail end of what she was saying as he approached.

“Yeah, will do. We’re headed back to the station now, and once we have the full autopsy we should have a better grasp on this thing. Yeah. Okay. Bye.”

She hung up and turned to Steve. “Hopper says to get back to the station now so we can write up our full reports. We need to figure out if this guy has any relation to the other victims.”

Steve nodded as he climbed into the car. “He might be the missing link we’ve been looking for. I still haven’t been able to find any common thread between the other two, but maybe we’ll find something here.”

“Hopefully. We need a break in this case.”

Indianapolis had never been where Steve wanted to end up. It was never more obvious than on days like this, with the sky overcast in grey and the littered streets flitting past outside the car window. No, Steve had always wanted to move some place with more sun. Maybe California or Arizona. Someplace warm. But for now, he was needed here.

Steve had always had a thing, ever since childhood, that made him need to be useful. Perhaps it was because his parents never even looked at him unless he was doing something they deemed good, something they could show off to all their friends. Daddy issues, how original. It was the whole reason he’d gotten into this line of work to begin with. As a detective, he could help someone in a way that really mattered. In a way that was important.

His therapist would tell him it was unhealthy to get off on the idea of only holding value so long as he could provide a service. That was precisely why he didn’t have a therapist. There was no way he needed another person inside his head, picking apart all the reasons he did what he did.

When they reached the precinct, Steve lingered in the car for another second while Nancy jumped out almost as soon as it was in park. She was always like this when there was a case she deemed important. At first, some of the other guys had called her Nany Drew. Both she and Steve had shut that down pretty damn fast. Steve watched as she marched up the steps and threw open the door, not even waiting to see if Steve was following. Which was fine. He usually needed to take a moment before walking into the chaos. Steve leaned against the headrest and took a few measured breaths, then pushed open his door and climbed out.

Almost as soon as he was through the door, the new recruit, Will, approached him. “Hey, Hopper’s waiting for you in his office. I think Nancy’s already there.”

Steve gave him a brief nod. “Thanks for letting me know.”

By the time he got to Hopper’s office, Nancy was already pacing back and forth as she recounted the new information they’d learned. Steve leaned against the wall beside the door and listened.

“This means he’s getting sloppy. And that’s only what we have on a first inspection. Once forensics gets in there, who knows what else they’ll find? I think we’re getting close. I can feel it.”

Hopper leaned back in his chair. “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. This guy is a sick son of a bitch and we don’t know what he’s capable of. I want you two to revisit what we have so far and this new evidence. Get an ID for this victim, see if there are any connections.”

“Already on it,” Nancy said. “I have Max looking through the missing people who’ve been reported in the last week. If this victim has anyone who cares about him, he’ll be there.”

“Good. Steve, what have you found about the previous two victims?”

Steve straightened up and pulled out his phone, where he’d made a file. “The first body we found belonged to Andy Phillips. He was a local tax broker, no history or record in our systems. As far as I can tell, he was pretty straightlaced. The second victim was Martin Brenner. He was a surgeon, one of the tops in his field in fact. There were some rumors about him being sued for malpractice, but nothing ever came of it. So far, I haven’t found a connection.”

Hopper drummed his fingers on his desk. “Alright. Get to work on adding this new evidence to the case. I want the report on my desk by tomorrow morning.”

“Yes sir,” Nancy said, already storming out the door. Sometimes it surprised Steve, just how much of a force of nature she was.

It was hours later, when Steve was bent over his computer and writing up his report, that Nancy burst into the room with a wide smile on her face. It was a little unnerving, considering the case they were working on. She slapped a file down on his desk.

“Fred Benson.”

Steve blinked, looking at the papers. “What?”

Nancy slid a few sheets around until it revealed a picture of a bespeeched man in a white pressed shirt. “Fred Benson. That’s the name of our newest victim.”

“Jesus, how did you find that so fast?” he asked, picking up the file to flip through.

“Oh please, you know I’m just that good. Max also helped. This guy was reported missing two days ago when he didn’t come home from his job. Apparently, he worked for Indianapolis Times as a journalist.”

Steve hummed as he read the missing person report. “Any connections to the other two bodies?”

She shrugged and moved around the desk to sit in the chair opposite him. “I haven’t got that far yet. But I do think we’re starting to see a pattern in this guy’s victims.”

Steve snorted. “What, that they were all really fucking boring?”

“No,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “They’re all middle to upper class white men.”

“Eh, that’s not really an MO.”

“How can you say that? If they were all women with red hair, you’d see it.”

He tossed the file back onto the desk and leaned back, kicking his feet up. “Yeah, because that would be specific. These guys look nothing like each other. Hell, that Brenner guy was at least forty years older than the other.”

Nancy pursed her lips. “Still. It’s something that we should consider.”

“And we will. We’ll consider everything, just like we always do.”

Nancy opened her mouth to say something more, but just then the door opened and Chrissy walked in carrying two cups of what smelled like coffee.

“Hey guys!” she said with a bright smile. “I heard you were working hard on that new serial killer case and thought you might both need a pick me up.”

“Oh my god, you’re a life saver,” Nancy said, reaching out for the mug offered to her.

“It’s no problem,” she said, turning to hand the other mug to Steve. “Have you made any headway?”

Steve motioned to the file. “Yeah, actually. Nancy thinks we finally have an MO for who the killer goes after.”

Chrissy’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Well, that’s good, isn’t it?”

“Eh,” Steve waved a hand. “Sort of. Considering so far all we have is ‘White guys’, I’d say that’s not too helpful.”

Nancy shot him a look. “Hey, it’s something! We can start building a character analysis, at least.”

Chrissy took the file from Nancy’s hand and flipped it open, her big eyes scanning through the papers. “Let me take this down to evidence so it can be documented. I’ll let you guys get back to it.”

Steve raised his mug and gave her a smile. “Thanks, Chris.”

She slipped out the door with one more wave. In her wake, Nancy got a thoughtful look. Steve knew that could only mean trouble.

“I think this guy, this serial killer, has some issues.”

Steve almost choked on his coffee. He set the mug down and dabbed at the drops that had fallen on his tie. “Gee, Nance, you don’t say? What could possible have given it away? Was it the torture? Or was it the kiddie pool filled with blood?”

“Cut the sarcasm, Harrington,” she said, pointing one manicured nail at him. “And I mean, yes, it’s all of it. But more so, it’s the painstaking details this guy goes through to make every kill the same. Usually, it’s something pretty simple, like strangulation with electrical cord or cutting off a persons head. But not this guy. He always makes sure to break all the bones in the exact same place, saving the jaw for last. Then it’s the eyes, which he takes. After that, he strings them up in the exact same manner with the same pink kiddie pool beneath them. It’s so specific. Like, there has to be something there.”

Steve turned his eyes away, back to the blinking cursor on his computer. Nancy had always been good at this, at seeing the patterns he couldn’t. It was amazing she hadn’t been promoted yet. Surely within the next five years, she’d be his boss rather than his partner. Puzzles really weren’t his thing. Which was ironic considering his job. But when everyone else gave him the pieces and showed him where they went… yeah, he could do that.

“You’re probably right. And if that’s true, there’s a good chance he sticks to other patterns in his life. And patterns mean leaving clues. Don’t worry, Nance. We’re going to catch him. It’s just a matter of time.”

By the time Steve left the precinct that night, it was pushing ten o’clock. He didn’t love working long hours, but it was better than sitting in his empty apartment, letting the worry and stress take over until he spiraled. At least if he was working, he was getting things done.

He trudged up the stairs to his second floor apartment and shoved the key into the lock with a little more force than was necessary. But his feet were killing him, and he could already feel the migraine coming on. All he wanted now was to drop into bed and close his eyes until morning.

Once inside, Steve kicked off his shoes and shrugged his jacket from his shoulders, hanging it on the rack beside the door. He left the lights off as he walked down the hall to the living room, where he dropped his carrying bag. The room was a little colder than he’d expected, which he realized a moment later was due to the window he’d left open beside the sofa. Well, there went his heating bill.

Steve began to walk toward it when a sudden pressure at his throat made him stop. His whole body froze up at the cold press of metal and the contrasting hand that wrapped around the base of his throat. A spike of adrenaline rushed through his system, making his heart pound harder and his breath catch. The feeling of a body pressing to his back stopped him from shaking too bad.

A voice spoke directly into his ear, the touch of wet lips and hot breath making him shiver. “Guess who.”

Yeah, he could take a pretty good guess based on context clues. Steve licked his lips. “What are you doing here?”

A deep laugh rolled across his neck, making Steve’s hair stand on end. “Oh, I just couldn’t stay away. I saw you today, outside the site of my latest work.”

Steve turned his head slightly, feeling the soft scrape of the blade. “You were there?”

“Mhmm. And I have to say, you looked fucking delicious. All brooding, with your long coat and cigarette. Can you really blame me for not staying away?”

The hand tightened slightly before relaxing again. Slowly, Steve turned around. The blade never left his throat, just shifted to sit along the underside of his jaw. He took in the dark eyes and wild curls of the other man, the wicked tilt of his lips as he drank in the sight of Steve. He wore a nondescript black long sleeve, with just the hint of tattoos peeking out. Steve met his eye, barely able to make out the depths of them in the shadows of the room. Then, slowly, a smile grew across Steve’s face.

“Hey baby.”

Eddie’s own smile softened. “Hey Sweetheart.”

#steddie #steddie au #steddie fic #steve harrington #eddie munson #My writing #I have like #A whole entire fic thought out for this concept.#With a back story and Eddie's motives #Also lots of smut #But I know if I start it I won't be able to stop and it'll take over my life #So for now #accept this snippet

140 notes · View notes

jitterbugjive · 1 month

Text

I hate that people can easily find the stupid and shitty things I said and did over 5 years ago and jump to the conclusion that that's who I am, and there's no easy way for anyone to see all the efforts I've been making since then to NOT be that person. It's hard to find all my apologies and explanations because I didn't tag them all properly. I've tried time and time again to explain that I was mimicking the behavior bad adults gave me when I was growing up and that no one really called me out on that behavior until it was too late. I've tried to explain that since then I've been going through extensive therapy to separate bad learned behavior from who I want to actually be. There's so much more to this whole story than what one small chunk of the internet is making it out to be. People who actually know me know that this has been eating me up constantly and that I am always living in fear of losing everything to this drama.

especially since some of that info takes quotes out of context, jumps to conclusions that aren't true, or flat out lies about what certain artworks are depicting or meaning to convey (Like claiming a grown ass adult is a child even tho I have proof the character looks totally different as an adult than as a child, or claiming that a shock piece meant to make people reel back in horror was a fetish when it was not at all that)

It takes clips of things without the full picture and puts words in my mouth.

Here's a little something about how I used to talk about sore subjects: I would make a controversial sounding statement, but then I would explain myself in a way that would show the statement wasn't as bad as I was making it out to be. A lot of the time they just take that bad statement and paste it for the world to see, without giving any of that context of me explaining why I said that and why it's not what it sounds like.

I wish people were smart enough to spot cherry picking when they see it, but they just aren't. They'll see one sentence, and someone saying "look they're supporting this bad thing" and that's all they need to think that's what it is. People aren't smart enough to really ask questions and try to understand a situation, all they want is face value to tell them how to think and feel.

People aren't going to bother to listen to me because I'm "the bad guy" and I'll "say anything to cover my ass".

Listen, if I was really that horrible of a person, don't you think there would be more evidence out there that is very clear and blunt and not just making assumptions on what a thing means?

I'm never gonna sit here and say what I said and did wasn't wrong, it was, but it was not done because I was trying to be a terrible person or prey on anyone. It was because I was insanely misguided by someone who groomed me for 5 years since childhood and then abused me for another 3 in a really toxic relationship. And then I never got HELP for it, I never got therapy to cope with it, I never even realized until way later that 'holy shit this person was 7 years older than me and was taking advantage of me the whole time'. Like I knew they were abusive but adults being friends with children was so normalized in my head, and throughout my life many adults or older kids exposed me to things I shouldn't have been and it skewed in my head what was appropriate behavior or not. Or what was okay to draw or not. And a lot of my opinions were formed around this adult who convinced me things like loli/shota were fine as long as they were strictly made up, and he fed me a lot of nonsense about what does and doesn't make a predator to cover his own ass. I was seriously fucked up almost beyond repair for a long time.

I have a warning on my blog now that minors shouldn't be following me, I make it a point to not ever work with minors on projects or talk to a minor in any capacity beyond a fan to artist relationship. I understand now that it is my responsibility as a NSFW artist that I simply cannot have minors as friends. And being much older now I don't even want minors as friends anyway. When I was in my early 20s the age gap didn't feel as bad but I'm definitely feeling it now and I just don't want to deal with minors any more.

I'm not a danger to anyone, I'm not spewing apologetics for horrible people, I've been doing my best to be a much better and more informed person

And I have no easy way to prove any of it in a way that will matter

I'm only talking about this now because once again I was kicked out of something because someone found that old info and that was all it took. No one cares about my side of things.

And I don't know if this will ever go away

I don't know if I'll ever find any amount of comfortable success because I can't get rid of this shit and on the internet it doesn't matter how long ago you did something or how much you've changed, you did it and therefor you're bad forever.

I hate this shit so much.

#vent #drama #sorry #apology

15 notes · View notes