#chapter 08

[big-bad-a-detective-story]

Chapter 08

“Will he… be alright?”

Sound. Murmured, but most certainly voices. The darkness still had a strong hold on me, feeling tight and clinging around me in its heavy velvet blanket. I groaned, only barely recognizing it as such, which seemed to cause the void to laugh.

“Oh, he’ll be fine, Ms. Meaiz. Look, the young man is coming to, already.” 

That name. I knew that name. It was at that moment I recalled I had eyes, and attempted to open them. I hissed as the light stung, instantly blinding me. I flinched away from its hold, back to the darkness. 

It was realizing I couldn’t move at all that jolted me awake.

“What… What happened?” I blinked rapidly, trying to focus. Attacked… I was attacked. To my left was the goat woman, still sitting in her seat, brows furrowed with worry. It was then, with a limp flop of my head, that I noticed another figure looming from the side. 

Even in my compromised state I knew who my attacker had been.

“YOU!”

HIM: the Crooked Man! Just as horrid looking as his name implied. He was hunched, leaning on a cane so as to throw his weight off a leg that looked like it had been broken every which way. He smirked, wrinkled lips cracked into a smug smile as he limped closer. I growled, baring my teeth.

“Alright, you maladjusted mangled miscreant-” I jerked, only then thinking to look down and noticed I had been tied to a chair. I put my focus back onto our captor. “What did you DO to me?”

The Crooked Man scoffed.

“Come now. You’re the master detective here, my boy. Surely you should know when you’ve had a run in with chloroform?”

Ah. Yes, of course. Not even someone such as I can stand up to the wonders of that solvent. I inwardly cursed myself for letting my guard down to such a drastic degree. It only took a few more fruitless tugs to realize I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

My only consolation being I didn’t see the kid. I had hopes she left safely. Perhaps she’d get help.

And perhaps she’d get distracted by something bright and shiny along the way. Kids: adorable, but not the most reliable.

“Alright, fine. Next question; why kidnap this little lady, hm? What’s she got to do with any of this? You’re not using her promised safety in return for Larry’s silence, are you?”

I didn’t know why I was asking, I already knew it to be true. But the man only gave a low chuckle.

“Oh, what good would that do? No, I simply borrowed the little miss in hopes of finding answers. How much Larry knows, what he plans on oversharing. I need to cover my bases, and well, I can’t very well ask him directly, now can I, Mr.Wolf?”

He gave me an unimpressed glare that told me I was being accused of something. The, putting Larry Lemonade behind bars, kind of something. 

“Oh, like it’s MY fault he decided to go from petty theft to kidnapping.” I turned as best as I could in the chair to throw a glare over at the other prisoner. “Really, lady, you sure know how to pick ‘em. What, planned on raising a couple thieves of your own?”

Ms. Meaiz blinked rapidly, looking between both men with shock on her features.

“Oh my, heavens no. Larry would never! He’s… He’s constantly teaching them right from wrong.”

HA! The woman was clearly delusional.

“I’m afraid Mr. LeMond doesn’t speak much about his work.” It was the Crooked Man who spoke up this time, shrugging some as he held onto his cane. “Talks over tea made that abundantly clear-- Ms. Meaiz has no knowledge of the criminal world outside of simply knowing it’s his profession. The plan had been to let her go come morning, showing her beloved the leverage we could pull should he fall out of line again.”

The crooked but pleased smile had fallen from his face, features growing dark as he shook his head with pity. Something told me I wouldn’t like where this was heading.

“Alas: you, sir, caused a complication. You’ve seen too much, and two sets of eyes can be a dreadful hindrance, indeed. More likely to mention what’s been seen.”

And it was at this moment the doors to the room opened-- in walked a startled pair of goons. This seemed to please the ringleader all the more, as he let his good eye land upon both the cat and mouse.

“Ah, Mr. Zig and Zag. Just in time. I’m afraid dinner plans must be put on hold. We have more important arrangements to make.” He limped forward, his underlings having already headed out the door from which they came. The Crooked Man stopped for a moment as he looked me in the eyes.

“We’ll leave you two a moment to say your prayers. I am not without some kindness. It will take a bit to set up the woodchipper, after all.” That good for nothing creep! I was fuming, and getting all the more worked up as he had the audacity to throw a pitied look at the woman next to me. “Terribly sorry for all this, my dear. I take no pleasure from this. Merely business.”

I practically expected her to tell the guy she understood and forgave him, but instead she closed her eyes and hung her head sadly. I could feel her Mother’s Disappointment radiating off of her from where I sat. Powerful stuff.

“You won’t get away with this!” I called out after him as he left and the door shut behind him. Tacky, cliche, overused, yes I know. But I had to say SOMETHING. Things weren’t looking very bright for the two of us, my unshakable determination and optimism had been both shaken and stirred.

The door creaked open slowly a moment later, my train of concentrated thought broken. What was left of my good mood shattered as I watched the little girl shuffle inside, quietly shutting the door behind her, glancing around the room with wide eyes.

She hadn’t gotten out. Now she was in grave danger, too. Fantastic.

“Daniya? Oh, sweetie, what are you doing here!” Ms. Meaiz sounded suitably worried, but the kid was all smiles as she sprinted across the room toward her lost and found mother.

“Momma!” Daniya threw her little arms around her mom in a hug she was unable to return. “Don’t worry, I’ll save you! I’m a stickyboot now, the detective said so!”

Stickyboot. Right. The kid stretched up as far as she could to whisper loudly to her mother. “Stickyboot is super secret code for detective.”

“Gumshoe.” I instantly corrected, refusing to humor the scene. I shifted in my seat, demonstrating the situation. “Look, Daniya, I’m going to need your help.” 

This got the kid’s attention. Good. I nodded towards my chest-- not an easy feat, you know.

“In my coat there’s a pocket knife.Upper inner pocket, near my chest. Do you think you can grab it to cut us free?”

I had to give it to the girl, her enthusiasm-- even in such a dire situation-- was infectious. Daniya gasped, pleased at the idea. She ran to my side of the table, and even with stretching myself as much as I could, it was evident that the kid just wasn’t tall enough.

“Climb.” I growled in a low voice, ear twitching as I tried to focus on any distant noise that would tell the whereabouts of our captors. I looked the kid in the eyes, her focus completely on me as I elaborated. “Climb into my lap. Hurry!”

Daniya didn’t need to be told twice, as her short boney limbs jabbed my thighs. I oofed as a knee came in contact with my stomach.

“Oh, do be careful, honey.” Ms. Meaiz told her daughter-- whether it was for me or so her daughter wouldn’t fall, as she dug a hand down my jacket… well. I suppose it didn’t much matter, did it? The kid flailed, desperately digging and patting about.

Having elbowed me in the jaw in the process.

“Hey, watch the merchandise!” I hissed.

“Got it!” The little girl cried, holding up her prize with triumph. She plopped down onto her bottom, using my lap as a slide back to the floor. Oh… I was going to feel all those bruises in the morning.

If we even lived through this, that is.

“Okay,” I instructed, getting back my bearings. “Open the case. Good. Do you think you can come behind the chair and cut through the rope? WITHOUT cutting either of us, I mean.”

She stood up straight and gave an awkward but enthusiastic salute. “Detective Daniya is on the case, leave it to me!”

I couldn’t help but feel I was being mocked. Saluting isn’t even a thing detectives do! Ms. Maeiz’s little giggle only solidified the notion, but looking back on it now, at least it distracted me from the reality of a young child wielding a knife mere centimeters from my person. In fact, I was so distracted, the next thing I knew, my bonds were loosened, and I was able to wriggle myself free of my trappings.

The kid was alright.

“Nice work, kid! Keep working hard, and I see real sidekick potential in your future.”

Daniya gasped and smiled. Yeah, I’ve always been pretty handy with kids.

“Mr. Wolf?” I turned my attention to Ms. Maeiz. “He put your gun over there. In the top drawer, if you need it.” She tilted her head in the general direction of a crooked cabinet in the corner.

I nodded my thanks, as I was already heading towards it.

“Gumshoe, cut your mom free and get her out of here.” I pulled out my tranquilizer gun, pleased it didn’t look tampered with. I flashed a heroic grin at the ladies in the room. “I’ll take care of the Crooked Man.”

And with that I was gone, running from the room as quickly and quietly as I could. I needed to be focused, my thoughts couldn’t stray to what ifs and what’s whats. I would have to trust that the Meaizs would follow my instructions.

[percontaion-points]

The Chemist chapter 8

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 8

The pictures that were Daniel but at the same time weren’t. 

The holes in the file on Daniel’s history, the missing photos. 

Time, dates, birth dates —the easiest small changes to make if you wanted to hide something. 

Daniel’s strange reluctance to believe what he was seeing when he looked at the spy images. 

His struggles with loyalty. 

Those long, long fingers. 

“Other Daniel,” she whispered. 

Is this book seriously trotting out the “evil identical twin” trope? JFC stop. 

She nodded to the photographs scattered on the floor. He seemed to notice them for the first time. He leaned over to examine one, then bent down to grab it. Then the one underneath, and the next. He crumpled t

hem in his fist. 

“Where did you get these?” “Compliments of a small department working for the American government—entirely off the books. I used to be in their employ. They asked me to freelance.” 

His face contorted in outrage. “This is highly classified!” 

“You wouldn’t believe my clearance level.”

And what? He thought that somebody grabbed Daniel, took him to a farmhouse dozens of miles outside of the city, and started torturing him… FOR FUNSIES?!

“Well, since you already know the details, I guess it’s not a huge breach of policy for me to tell you that I shut down the de la Fuentes situation six months ago. De la Fuentes’s death is not common knowledge. What’s left of the cartel is keeping this quiet so they don’t appear vulnerable to the competition.”

Naturally, the mysterious government agency that couldn’t be bothered to find out that Kevin Beach is still alive, also can’t be bothered to find out that the terrorist HASN’T BEEN ALIVE FOR HALF A YEAR. 

First things first. She reset the screen saver on her computer to come on after fifteen minutes of inactivity.

I love how she knocks Kevin out, and the first thing she does is the most inane activity imaginable. 

Explaining things? Pfft! Not in this book!

Back to Other Daniel. The Batsuit was a chore to remove.

The stupidest thing about this is that as soon as Julie saw him, she identified him as Kevin Beach, Daniel’s supposed-to-be-dead identical twin brother. 

SO WHY THE FUCKITY FUCK IS SHE STILL CALLING HIM “OTHER DANIEL” AND “BATMAN”?!

There would be repercussions to deal with. She needed time to rest and heal —time no one was going to give her.

Chapter 8 summary: Julie tells the mystery man (she will not stop calling him “Batman” because he’s dressed in all black; I refuse to stoop to her level of stupidity) that she’s sedated Daniel. The mystery man then ties Julie to a chair, and takes the gas mask off. Julie is surprised that it’s Daniel’s identical twin brother… the one who’s supposed to be dead.

He then finds the photos of him talking to the Mexican drug lord who’s supposed to be in charge of this terrorist attack. Julie spills everything, about the attempts on her life, about being asked to step in to deal with “Daniel”. She guesses from the gun Kevin has that he’s CIA, but that if not even her agency knew Kevin was still alive, that he’s working off the books with this one. Kevin is more angry that somebody tortured his brother than the fact that somebody’s clearly setting both Julie and Kevin up (and using Daniel as bait). 

Julie then… somehow or another, gases both Kevin and his giant dog. Julie holds her breath, and despite the fact that her hands are zip-tied behind her back, she manages to put the gas mask on. She frees herself before she locks the dog into a room, and parks the car in front of the door to prevent it from getting out. After that, she checks Daniel’s body all over more closely for a tracking device, and finds one “nestled against his femoral artery”. She figures that it sent out an alert when she started torturing Daniel, which is why Kevin swooped in to save the day. 

She then resets her broken nose. And will not shut up about the mysterious chemical concoction she made that she nicknamed “survive”. It’s kept intentionally vague, but the only thing I can think about is that it’s mainly to hide how dumb the entire thing is. She then passes out on the cot. 

[pink-yuri]

♡ Gushing Over Magical Girls ♡

[fisheito]

how it feels to read chapter 14 but still have to do event dailies afterwards

[kimmiessimmies]

Answers (20/34)

Dante watched the faces of the people gathering near the cemetery entrance. James and he were waiting beneath a big oak tree, not in the immediate centre of attention. Dante reckoned that the people who were standing here now, some of them talking amongst themselves in Italian, must be friends and acquaintances of his mother or the family. The immediate family would doubtless be arriving later, as part of the funeral procession.

Dante nervously shuffled his feet and felt James’ hand lightly stroke against his left arm. He looked up to meet James' eyes, who smiled warmly at him. “Are you okay?” He asked quietly.

Dante shrugged; he wasn’t sure if ‘okay’ was the right word when part of him wished to run away.

James put his arm around Dante’s shoulders and briefly pulled him closer. “Remember to breathe,” he whispered in Dante’s ear, and Dante felt that was a very big ask in these circumstances, as he fought the desire to snuggle up against James and just stay there until the day was over. But he couldn’t. For one, because James let go again almost instantly, and secondly, because the procession appeared on the path towards the cemetery. This was it. The small crowd parted and stood in silence as the coffin bearers inched closer with the family in line behind them.

Read this chapter from the beginning by clicking here

[gavinreedcentral]

[jtl-fics]

A little helping of TBD? 🥺

11/20/24 WIP Wednesday (Closed) | TBD AU

So he buries his hands in Neil’s hair, pulls him closer and kisses him far more passionately than he would have that night at Roland’s bar. He rolls so that Neil is pinned under him. There was another reason that they had moved to Neil’s separate lockable apartment. There were things that Andrew wants to do to and with Neil that are not things children need to possibly walk in on.

For now, Andrew presses his lips to Neil’s, letting his weight press Neil further into the mattress as he takes his time relearning the skill of kissing someone, specifically Neil Josten, breathless. It had been a skill that he had honed to its highest possible refinement before Petito tried to take Neil’s head off.

It’s muscle memory that he finds is still there even five years later, though it is nowhere near as refined as it had been before the years-long break. Neil’s breath hitches and Andrew finds he does not mind the idea of mastering the skill again.

[boybolt]

🖤

Edit NaruHina by Yuzozx ( Pinterest)

[stromuprisahat]

I like to think that despite his sunshine behaviour, fedyor is just as much as, if not more of, a mean asshole as Ivan(is he really or is it just Alina's biased pov?). But while Ivan wears his grumpy nature obviously, fedyor is nice because he knows how mean he can be

Well, in books we never really get to know him. He's kind and patient in Shadow and Bone, confusing in Siege and Storm. The sunshine personality is a matter of the show, where we get a glimpse of the steel under the surface too:

He has his ruthless moment in second book too, although it gets lost in all that validation of Alina's attitudes:

As for Ivan- he's open, loyal and mistrustful, that's why Alina hates him. He's the first person to ask the question Alina's avoiding thinking about- how did she hide her abilities? Where Alina's more than willing to accept comfortable lies, he's requiring truth and solutions. He isn't willing to treat Alina in kid gloves before and certainly not after her escapes. That's why she sees him as a bully.

He wants her to face consequences of her own actions just like everyone else has to.

[al-hekima-madara-blog]

Uchiha branches (headcanon)

Musashi Uchiha, also known by the nickname Water Boy comes from the civilian branch in a farmer family and thus tends to be underestimate and mocked by his shinobi peers.

Despite his humble origin, Madara immediately saw in him an extraordinary potential. But having the leader's full attention can also be a source of stress. His expectations are higher than the moon.

More about the Water skilled Uchiha in chapter 8 : The Core of Ninjutsu. Wednesday 8th of November 2023, 10pm CET

***

Forgive me for the delay, those last weeks I wasn't in a mood for writing anything. But today at last, I can confirm that chapter 8 is released tomorrow on AO3.

[lowstakesvampires]

[percontaion-points]

Firstlife bonus chapter 2 & chapter 8

Today’s review might be difficult for some; reader discretion is advised

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Bonus chapter 2

TROIKA 

From: A_P_5/23.43.2 

To: L_N_3/19.1.1 

Subject: Ten, Ten, Ten 

So this is apparently going to be an ongoing thing. 

At least it’s not between every freaking chapter. Unlike some books I could mention. 

Bow is toast. The inferior Shell malfunctioned, allowing the Unsigned to overpower me, and Killian to stab me.

Speaking of the worst spirit in the Everlife, Killian has the girl all to himself right now—and that’s the good news. She’s intrigued with him, just like—never mind. I can see it in her eyes, and I know any attempt to keep the two apart will only make the intrigue stronger. How would you like me to proceed? What have I been cleared to do?

Clearly Archer missed the memo that he’s in a YA romance novel. He should have gone into a hunky male shell. Because then he’d be the actual other end of a love triangle, instead of “fat, crazy Bow”. 

Also, watch your six...or rather, your ten.

[Image description: A screenshot from animated series Futurama. In it, Zoidberg, The Professor, and Hermes are sitting in an auditorium. All three of them are wearing tuxedos and bowties. The Hermes looks annoyed. The Professor is holding opera glasses that look like his actual glasses up to his face. Zoidberg has his claws up to his face. It is captioned with “Your joke is bad and you should feel bad”. End description.]

Subject: I Really Hope... 

I’m not this irritating to Ten.

Bonus chapter 2 summary: Emails between Archer and his commanding officer, Levi. After Killian shoved the knife into Bow’s chest, I guess Archer was forcefully ejected from the shell and went back to Troika. He asks Levi what his next move should be. Levi says that he’ll give Archer another shell. 

Levi talks about how when Ten was born, there was a light that was so blinding. Myriad claims that Ten is fused with one of their generals, so that’s why she’s so powerful. Nobody is sure what she even is. 

He encourages Archer to try anything he can. He advises that Killian is too pushy, and to offer Ten up literally anything to see what’ll stick. 

Chapter 8

“Just want girl.” Biggest takes a swing at Killian and curses in Russian when he misses. 

“Aye, I know that.” Killian lands a punch to the guy’s jaw, causing him to whirl while spitting blood and teeth. “Problem is, I’ve never liked to share my toys.” 

So I’m a toy now?

Remember this going forward. Neither side views Ten as a person with her own wants and fears. To either of them, she’s a useful tool, willing to be fought over. 

“You, I’m not going to hurt. Why would I? I now own your soul. Isn’t that the save-a-life rule?”

This is one of our love interests, everybody. He’s so desperate to own Ten that, again, he no longer views her as a person. 

“He loved—loves—me.” 

“Are you sure? You would stake your life on that fact?” 

“Yes,” I start to say, only to hesitate. Zero! I can’t overlook evidence just because I don’t like it.

 “Did he?” I ask softly. “Does he?” 

“You tell me.” Not this crap again. I need the truth, even if it does shatter me. At least I’ll be able to put myself back together. “I admit he’s a Laborer, okay. Now you tell me. Was I simply a mission to him?” 

He gazes at me with heat growing in his eyes, and it’s like a fever suddenly overtakes me. “Remember, the truth hurts for a little while. Lies hurt forever.” His voice is as soft as mine. “Yes, you were merely a mission to him. I’m sorry.”

This is rich coming from the guy who’s being nice and rescued Ten simply so that he can convince her to sign. 

“Your threshold for pain surprises me. I thought you’d scream.” 

“Why would I scream? Physical pain will never compare to mental anguish.”

The girl has literally been caned, waterboarded, and injected with poison. What’s a little scalpel through the wrist?

“Lust will never be more important than commitment.”

Do you think that you could say that a little louder for your mom? Who’s only now starting to realise that switching sides to be with a boy was a dumb choice. 

“That’s so. Prepare to experience your first defeat, Killian.”

Chapter 8 summary: After Killian “killed” Bow, he turned around and started to deal with the two would-be rapists. Ten is more concerned with Bow, and goes over to the “body”. Except that there’s no blood, and Ten realises that she can literally see through to the back of Bow’s skull; there’s no eyes, and literally nothing in the head at all. She doesn’t understand what any of this means. 

Ten then gets anxious that once Killian is finished with the two men, he’ll turn around and murder her. Since he literally killed Bow, and is intent on finishing those men as well. She fights a little, but when the men are dealt with, Killian stops fighting. 

He tells her that Bow was nothing but a shell, and from that, Ten deduces that Bow was a Troikan Labourer. Killian carries her back inside the cave, where he starts tending to her wounds. She asks if he’s a Myriad Labourer, but he refuses to outright say it until she says that he is. Then he agrees. As I’ve said (and I’ll probably keep saying over and over), neither side seems to view Ten as a person, only a tool to be obtained. It’s really dumb, and in no way romantic in the slightest. 

Anyway, earlier Bow had mentioned to Ten that her dead boyfriend was an ML. And upon finding out that Bow was a TL, she now begins to question if James really was an ML or not. Killian flat out tells her that yes, James was pulling the long con on her. Which is obviously super upsetting that the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with was only doing it as part of a job. 

[pink-yuri]

♡ The Moon on a Rainy Night ♡

[kimmiessimmies]

Rainbow (30/31)

James pulled away and looked at Dante who stared at him big-eyed. “Was that.. Was that not good?” He asked with a stammer.

“No! No! I mean, yes! It was good. It was great. But Dante…” James grabbed his hands, “I… um… I like you too. A lot even. And I also don’t want to lose our friendship. But the feelings you have for me… That’s not what I feel… And that’s not on you. Not at all. That’s me. I just don’t feel that way easily… As you know… And even though I like you so much and you’re a great friend, I don’t think my feelings for you are romantic. And I kissed you… Because I was curious…" It sounded even worse saying it out loud. "Ugh. I’m a shit, Dante. I shouldn’t have done that to you. I’m so sorry…”

Read this chapter from the beginning by clicking here.

[gavinreedcentral]

[jtl-fics]

I have been screaming and beating a pillow against the wall over tbd (not an exaggeration unfortunately) so I think that means I need more please

-ofsunshineandfoxes

11/20/24 WIP Wednesday (Closed) | TBD AU

Dion beams at the thanks, giggling before running off. Smith appeared at Andrew’s side and it takes a lot out of him not to instinctively lash out when he’s startled. Smith seems long used to people nearly punching him out as he offers a small smile, “Let's get you inside.”

Andrew finds himself folded into the Wilson/Gordon/Smith family household easily. He and Neil are fully off of any team related thing for the entire week.

They ate dinner with the family before they retired to Neil’s apartment. Crawling into Neil’s bed and going to sleep that first night without doing or saying much to one another, neither of them had really slept properly in the hospital or even since Neil had declined his confession.