#trigger warning for violence

[nerdieforpedro]

Her smile was worth it

Pero Tovar (modern AU) x plus size female reader (La jefa)

Word Count: 1882

Warnings: DARK FIC, mobs and their enforcers, mentions of general violence and graphic violence, mentions and descriptions of torture, descriptions of injuries, solving problems Tovar style, comfort food and tea

Summary: Pero Tovar only has a few people he chooses to interact with willingly. The bookstore owner is one of them. Someone made a very stupid mistake, Tovar will handle it and still have his tea.

Notes: This was written for @iamasaddie ‘s writing challenge 2.0. My color was Mob Enforcer and the prompt was “Hurt/Comfort” and “Who did this to you?” We're longer than a Drabble again, we dribbled quite a bit. Such is Nerdie.

I may have leaned too hard into the ‘hurt portion’ but we’ll see. 👀

Main Masterlist/ Pero Tovar Masterlist/ Writing Challenges

The only good thing about doing collections, was that most of the time, Pero wasn’t using violence. Just intimidation. The shopkeepers knew why he was here and knew the amount they needed to pay to The Family. It’s been the same amount for the past six months, in was raised temporarily for some needed repairs on the club the Valentino family owned. The actual story was that a few of the younger members had been ordered to torture a few members of a rival family and went overboard. The walls, floors and everything needed to be scrubbed. 

Tovar’s been with the Valentino family for fifteen years and as one of their premier enforcers for the last seven working his way up from errand boy. His height and broad frame discourage crossing him, and even if someone is dumb enough to do so, they find themselves bloodied, battered and with at least one thing broken. 

Today’s last stop for collections was planned and one that Pero normally did by himself. The bookstore owner also functions as the town’s librarian since the town doesn’t have one. It’s a smaller town and to get to a library you must drive two towns over. She normally offers him tea and some type of baked goodies. He wouldn’t admit it, but he’s grown to have a slight sweet tooth. Maybe. Really, he could care less about the sweets, he usually chats up the owner and barrows books. Considering he is collecting money from her, he felt he should pay but she always said no. He got the sense it wasn’t out of fear, she liked knowing his thoughts on different books. At first, he didn’t like the idea of discussing them. The enforcer wasn’t sure if he could really talk about different themes, symbols, characters and the like he often heard people talk about when discussing these books. 

La jefa (the boss) as he often greeted her didn’t judge him on his answers or lack of them. He’d talk the best he could about what he read, even if he didn’t understand it all. She listens and sips her tea, then asks him questions to draw more answers out of him. It fustrated him at first. But he grew to enjoy the bi-weekly sit downs with her. 

The chime of the bell goes off as he opens the door. The sun is at Pero’s back as he enters the bookstore. He comes early in the afternoon around two. She’s not at the counter, though the shop is listed as open. Calling out for her, she doesn’t answer, and he sucks his teeth. It isn’t like her at all. There’s no tea out either. There are no books that appear out of place and making his way behind the counter, nothing appears to be wrong with the register.

The enforcer goes into the back of the shop, he only knew where the bathroom was back here. He was looking for anything that resembled an office, as he walked down the hallway, there was a sniffle. As he kept going, they got louder. Taking a breath while he stood in front of a door that was slightly ajar, he tried to prepare himself. Maybe it was a bad day, maybe she got a papercut or was reading a sad book or something. Tovar instantly knew none of those were the case when he opened the door. 

Sitting behind the desk, her shoulders were slumped, and her hands were covering her face. He saw the scabs on the back of her hands, defensive marks. “Jefa dejame ver. (Boss, let me have a look).” Her sniffles stop for a moment as she shakes her head, turning her body away from him in the swivel chair. His eyes widen at the mark on her neck he spies it when she turns, it looks like it could be from a palm. Moving to her side, Pero places a hand on her shoulder, “I need to see cariño (sweetheart) or just give me a name. Who did this to you?” She finally drops her hands, but she turns her face away.

“I don’t want you to see. The envelope is on the desk Pero. Please.”  It is on the table, and he’ll put it in his jacket shortly - it is why he came here in the first place, but he can’t just leave like this. On top of her being one of a small number of people who he wants to be around, it could get around that the protection money the shops pay isn’t worth a damn because you could get beat in your own shop, and nothing will happen to whoever did it.

“Then tell me a name.” It’s sterner this time, but he’s released her shoulder and instead picked up her hand, his thumb tracing the scabs on her knuckles. She’d tried to fight back at least. She’s biting her lips when she finally looks at him, most of the discoloration is on the left side of her face though there’s a cut on her chin and one on her bottom lip. A large bruise is on her chest across her right clavicle, partly covered by her shirt. Pero’s able to keep his face motionless. “Por favor cariño (please sweetheart).” He doesn’t recognize the name she says, but he kisses her forehead and wraps an arm around her. “Gracias (thank you). I’ll be back princesa (princess).” 

Pero puts the envelope in his jacket pocket and heads out of the office. “Close the shop now and have the tea ready when I come back. Between eight and nine tonight.” He’s going to be quick about dropping the money off and he’s texted one of his associates with the name she gave. Within fifteen minutes, Pero has a picture to go with the name and a location. Marcello talks way too much, but he’s the best Tovar knows at tracking people.

Pero finds this man himself and tells Marcello to tell the higher ups that he needs to demonstrate a lesson in messaging with the family. He’ll need the basement and he’ll keep the clean up to a minimum. It’s not that there wouldn’t be blood. There might be too much blood so the powers at be approve the basement use but ask that Marcello and a second enforcer be there so that the man isn’t killed. There’s only murder when necessary and it wasn’t they viewed in this case. Pero sucked his teeth for the second time today but would make sure the man in question lives. Just not with all functioning limbs. 

After the submission of the money and subsequent torture was complete, the man’s body was bandaged by one of their doctors on the payroll and dropped off at his home, during a time they knew his family would be home with the message, “The Valentino family suffers no fools.” Pero carved it into his back to emphasize the point. He was still alive but would not be the same. Not after, as Tovar saw it, he’s violated one of his favorite places. 

La jefa has long closed her shop and made herself dinner. Now that she thought about it, she’s never made Pero any of her food, just cookies, brownies and the like. Since he said he was coming back, she would make extra. The worst that would happen would be that he would say he didn't want any.  It also dawned on her that she has not made a book recommendation today. She should pick one out before he comes, straightening out her mint green dress. Turning off the stove, she went downstairs to look for a book and saw Pero standing at the door ready to knock. It was a quarter after eight, he was glad he’d taken the extra time to shower. He didn’t want to be late, but he didn’t want to be dirty either. 

“Ah! Mi princesa del librios es bonita (My Princess of books is pretty). You have our tea ready tonight?” His question follows the chime of the bell above the door as she unlocks it and lets him in. She then locks it again and nods.

“I have tea and I made some extra for dinner. I didn’t pick out a book for you yet.” She seems a bit brighter than this afternoon but still trying to make sure she was facing him with her right side. Pero takes her left hand and tugs it a little, not hard, just enough so she faces him fully.

“Hermosa (gorgeous) you don’t have a bad side. Don’t worry about the book. I haven’t finished with the other one yet. I want my tea and I want to see what you made for dinner.” The corners of her mouth curve and finally she smiles, squeezing his hand and leading him up the stairs. Pero watches her walk up and into her living area. It’s cozy as it has books scattered about as well. 

“I don’t know if you like stew, but I made that and heated up some rolls. There’s butter too. I have water, apple juice, coke, and some rum.” The last option surprised him as he didn’t picture her drinking at all. Maybe she had a glass or two when she sat up here before bed. She poured herself a glass of water as Pero pointed to her glass and held up an empty bowel on the table. She filled both and they sat down across from each other. “I hope you enjoy Pero.”

“I don’t doubt that I will cariño.” The food went quickly as they ate, and she asked what other kind of foods he liked. Pero felt he might be getting greedy. Perhaps he’s been gluttonous of her attention each time he comes here. She gives it so willingly. 

Tonight’s tea is mint like her dress which makes Tovar chuckle as he takes up half of her loveseat sitting down. She takes up the other and they sip tea, speaking of past books they’ve read and things he may want to read. 

Even if he got an urgent call, he’ll ignore it because he’s having his tea. Pero Tovar doesn’t feel like an enforcer or a conduit for violence. He just has an arm around one of his favorite people as she places her head on his shoulder. The tough pads of his fingers touch the injured side of her face while he tells her that it’s been taken care of. He won’t tell her details. Tovar figures she can put it together. If he can just have moments like these where he’s just a man with someone he cares for, Pero can use that to sleep. He prays she can rest without crying or being scared. 

The loveseat has his feet hanging off outside of the blanket he found on the back of it. So far, he hasn’t heard her sniffle again. Pero carried her to bed after she fell asleep in his arms. The faint scent of mint mingling with the earthy smell of the books lulls him to sleep. He had blood on his hands again today, but it was fine. It was for her sake, and she hasn’t cried again.

It was worth it.

[crawlingdrawing]

Master post to the X-men evolution fan comic The cage

When a mission to find missing mutants goes awry, Nightcrawler ends up separated from the X-men and trapped in the private freak show of one Amos Jardine.

Inspired by Nightcrawler (2004), and Weapon by Name by CNWrites. Takes place after season 4 of X-men Evolution.

Cover

Chapter One: Part One, Part Two

Chapter Two: Part One, Part Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six: Part One, Part Two

Chapter Seven: Part One, Part Two

Chapter Eight: Part One, Part Two

Chapter Nine: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

TW: kidnapping, torture (off-screen), dehumanization, misgendering, sexual harassment, attempted sexual assault, implied sexual assault (off-screen), panic attacks, blood.

Extras

Epilogue, Kurt and Rogue: Part One, Part Two

Nightmares

Got your back

All asks and doodles

[woventiesgang]

Question for Mikey:

You didn't grow up with your brothers, but you've observed some different versions of them in other timelines, right? By the time you pulled your current brothers from their timelines, did it feel like you already knew them pretty well? Is there any disconnect without shared experiences?

[fluffyglass]

Something Ain't Right - Bugsnax

[pineconepie]

The tooth pain reminds me of when I got my wisdom teeth out and you have to flush out the gum holes with salt water, and when they did it to me, it was so incredibly painful that I nearly passed out and vomited at the same time.

How would Octavian and Vincent, Cullen and August react to that?

Octavian would react with horror and most likely tears, frantically apologizing. It'd take all his willpower to not just put a stop to it, reminding himself you need it. He'd definitely reward your bravery and pain with lots of cuddles, and make your favorite soup <3

.

Vincent loves to spoil you normally, but this would definitely make him do that twice as much. He's getting you anything you want, whether that's physical items or extra affection from him (though tbh you'll get that either way ^^;

He knows its not the dentist's faults, but he'd still feel salty towards them (no pun intended).

.

August would be crying for you and coddling you afterwards, and while Cullen would also be sweet and loving about it, he'd be less emotional because he'd rather have you in pain than risking a future infection. He even had to reason with August that this is necessary, even if he doesn't like it either.

[yutaslaugh]

introducing vampire! dong sicheng as situ weilian in snowfall ep 13

[boar-sjn]

violent metamorphosis (or death of the old self)

extra stuff:

^ accidentally drew the piece a little too far to the left and by the time i noticed it was too late. so. meh. 🫠

[indigoire]

You know I hate fucking talking about it but I'm literally sick, like physically ill, and I can't sleep or relax, so yeah, let's fucking talk about the hypocrisy of gun violence in America. It's no big deal if a man is shot and killed for dodging a $3 subway fare by the NYPD, but it's a HUGE fucking deal that a CEO was shot and killed for indirectly killing people and indirectly bankrupting families. AND because the CEO was shot and killed, Blue Cross Blue Shield retracted their stupid "no anesthesia after a certain time limit" policy. Talk about direct action.

Like truly, our healthcare system in the US is heartless, it kills us in a million ways. If your life is saved you might be buried in medical bills instead. We've all been subject to its millions of humiliations and degradations. But god forbid we celebrate getting some of our own back. God forbid we should project our anger onto the shooter and feel as if justice was finally, finally served. I think the closest we've come to seeing true justice done on these leeches was back when Martin Shkreli was convicted in 2017. Even then it wasn't half as satisfying as seeing...well.

Meanwhile we are subject to viewing a thousand unjust deaths and injuries, children dying of gun violence in school, innocent men shot down in broad daylight, and with bodycams on our police it doesn't stop it, just makes it so we can see how stupid and incompetent these pigs were before killing their victims.

A baby was shot in the head during a domestic dispute just one month ago. Both her and the mother were killed.

But we can't defuuuund the poliiiiiiice! Think of all the good they do! Like. Uh. Like when--uh. Hm.

So when they say they're looking for the shooter of the UHC CEO I hope they never find him. I hope he lives his best life. I hope other CEOs have at LEAST a few sleepless nights, wondering if they're next. I hope they bankrupt themselves hiring private security. It won't come close to what their insurance agencies have done to the people of this country, but it will feel a little bit like justice. It will feel a little bit like getting our own back.

For my FBI agent: I do not own a gun, I do not condone gun violence. I am not asking folks to arm themselves. I am not asking for retribution.

For everyone else: I am asking for everyone to understand the hypocrisy of these mealmouth politicians and celebrities that condemn the shooting of Brian Thompson but do not condemn the NYPD. That do not condemn police killings all over this country. That do not call for gun laws. That do not call for universal healthcare. That do not call for the dissolution of healthcare insurance agencies.

Deny. Defend. Depose.

[tired-lamb]

lone honeybadger: bunga

what did you bury, before those hands pulled me from the earth?

trigger warning — the following post includes mentions of dead animals and loved ones, hunting and killing of animals, hallucinations, a brief mention of dissociation, and talks about grief. please proceed with caution.

[ pt: trigger warning ]

briefing . . . lone honeybadger is a tlg au exploring a ‘what if?’ situation where ono is unable to save bunga in the volcano in the battle for the pridelands and bunga dies. the events that follow include kion losing control of the roar and causing the volcano to erupt— killing more than half of the population of the pridelands and the outlands, as well as resurrecting scar (again). the survivors are now forced to live a life under scar’s rule, for there is no longer anyone to save them. fast forward a few years into this apocalyptic-like universe, and a miracle occurs. bunga, the honeybadger, returns.

[ pt: briefing . . . ]

character’s importance . . . bunga is the cause and the catalyst for the eruption, though he is unaware of it. he is revived presumably by the circle of life (which, it seems, is not yet ready to let bunga complete his journey). there is no explanation given to him whatsoever. for bunga, he was gone in a blip and returned in the same way. he is the same age, in the same state as he was during the battle for the pridelands. he has no knowledge of the events that passed after his ‘death’. 

he serves as a reminder to the survivors, both of the outlands and the pridelands, of all that they had been promised and all that they had lost. none of them have had the time to properly process or grieve those they’ve lost— and so when bunga returns all that they can think of upon seeing him is how betrayed they feel by the guard, how they wished they had escaped the pridelands before any of this happened, and how lovely things had been before they realised they had lost. 

the survivors form the group known as the resistance, led by jasiri. apart from the young ones and jasiri herself, none of them accept bunga and none of them are willing to take him in. they barely have the heart to even tell him what happened. bunga, on the other hand, is in severe denial about the events that followed his ‘death’ and of the death of his friends, too. he tells them that they are lying, and that there’s no way they failed to defeat scar. unfortunately, bunga being bunga, he then plans an.. adventure, of sorts, and travels to the volcano in order to prove that scar is defeated. 

of course, bunga is met with his worst nightmares and is forced to accept that he, too, has lost everything while the glowing head of scar floats not far from him. he is lucky enough to be saved by jasiri and the resistance before scar sees him, however he’s put the entire group at risk and thus has forced them to relocate. the entire resistance is unhappy with this development, and insist jasiri to let him go. before jasiri can turn around, however, bunga’s gone already. 

[ pt: character’s importance . . . ]

character in present timeline . . . bunga in the present timeline is.. rogue, in all senses of the word. he’s not himself anymore, nor does he feel like it. this is where his character takes heavy inspiration from ronin from the tmnt last ronin comics. he goes missing for sometime before, all of a sudden, there is news of a honeybadger in the lands. there hasn’t been one since the time before scar’s reign, and so this catches everyone’s attention. fruit and hoards of insects are found near the resistance’s ever-changing base, mysteriously appearing just at the right time and the right place. hunting is usually reserved for scar’s army (a law that the resistance don’t follow as much as they can), but these days both sides find animals dead and bearing scar marks that none of them can recognise. there’s a chill, a sense of someone new in the game. the resistance hope this will mean something good for them. scar’s army fail to make scar think of this as a serious situation. after all, how could a single honeybadger ever break the hems of his carefully stitched and crafted plan? 

as most of you have probably guessed by now, the ‘mysterious honeybadger’ is bunga. he does, indeed, go on rampages and ‘killing sprees’, though he doesn’t do any of this on .. purpose. it’s a panic reflex; an involuntary action. maybe even a coping mechanism, of sorts. he blanks out— dissociates, in a sense, and next thing he knows he’s back with blood on his claws and a dead or injured animal in front of him. he never means to do this. it takes some time before he gets used to it and decides to at least have something good come out of it, and leaves the animals close to where he believes the resistance base is. the resistance are always relocating, so sometimes he gets it wrong, which leads to scar’s army getting to know that there’s someone else, someone more bold, in the lands now. someone who dares to hunt and leave it out in the open like this.

another important aspect of present lone!bunga is that he carries the ghosts of the guard with him. not in a positive, ‘I’ll carry their memories and hopes with me’ sense, but more of a literal sense. bunga is plagued with hallucinations of the guard in spirit form, and they come and go as they please. they never say a lot. they first started a couple of days after bunga ran away from the resistance. bunga is not at all ready to process the death of his friends nor is he ready to process the raw loneliness that is bound to come with it. at the back of his mind, he knows they’re dead, but instead of letting himself move on from this he lets himself live in the past— that’s all bunga does, really. live in the past. can you blame him, though? 

[ pt: character in present timeline . . . ]

character as grief . . . bunga is one of four main characters in this au that represent something. he, in particular, represents grief. the way I portray this is bunga going through the stages of grief, while also being a symbol of grief for everyone else. as mentioned above, he reminds everyone of what once was and what was lost. he’s a walking corpse, literally and figuratively. he was meant to stay dead. he was not supposed to be revived. he is grief and grief is him. the stages of grief he goes through each and every day consume him entirely. bunga’s current fate was never meant to be— he was never meant to be. not now, not here, at least. he is not of this world. he will never be. 

[ pt: character as grief . . . ]

[randomshiptime]

credit to randomlifelog24 on X/Twitter, account deleted

[ieppiq]

More info through here:

WANGI & PINCH INFO

If Inkitt prevents you from reading the whole story without logging in, here’s the alternative:

https://open.substack.com/pub/sksdrabbles/p/lamb-and-canines?r=5h0dr3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

tagging peeps who’ve interacted with the ask post (feel free to ignore): @amaiguri , @chauceryfairytales , @moremysteriesthantragedies , @pluttskutt , @write-with-will and honorary tag @redotter .

[irlangelsdiary]

Facts about intrafamiliar sexual abuse, COCSA, and CSA.

• COCSA can happen with children of any age, but potential incidents can increase as children enter puberty and adolescence.

• 40% of Children who were sexually abused the perpetrator was older and or more powerful

• 5% of children have been affected by sibling sexual abuse.

• It is one of the lowest disclosed forms of sexual abuse, meaning the statistics around this are likely to be higher.

• More than 90% of abusers are people children know, love and trust.

• 30-40% of victims are abused by a family member.