#father black

[stjohnstarling]

One of the sources of inspiration for Father Black:

Around the same time Bill Koch, an American billionaire who found fake bottles in his collection, hired private detectives and filed a lawsuit. Authentication experts saw more and more dodgy consignments emerging from these record-breaking auctions. At last the FBI got involved. In March 2012 they raided Kurniawan’s house in Arcadia, California. They found a fully equipped counterfeiting workshop, complete with corking tools, labels, empty bottles and extensive tasting notes. Kurniawan had been taking cheaper wines – though still better than you will find in your average off-licence – and putting them in more expensive bottles, or altering bottles to appear more valuable.

The most expensive wines are so rarely drunk few can claim to be expert on how they taste. On the occasions they are opened, it is usually courtesy of a generous host. It is poor guestmanship to lob aspersions on any proffered bottle, let alone one that cost as much as your car. What’s more, several scientific studies have shown that even professed experts are hardly better than chance at identifying different wines

[pseudo-apollo]

A Sinfully Good Book (Review)

I read The Sacred Sins of Father Black by @stjohnstarling (available here on Amazon) over the course of about a day and a half (and it would've been less if I hadn't been procrastinating).

For those unfamiliar, I'll begin with a short summary:

FBI Agent Quentin Day is investigating a forgery ring that is flooding the market with incredibly good counterfeit wines. Quentin finds himself assigned to the picturesque oasis of a town called Hopewell. There he meets Father Sebastian Black, and the two immediately hit it off. The more time Agent Day spends in the town, the closer he grows to Father Black, and the more conflicted he feels. He feels a strong tie to his sense of duty and justice, but is the tie he feels to Father Black stronger?

(Review below the cut -- Spoiler-free)

I'll start with my brief thoughts and then go more into detail. Overall? I liked the book, in fact I really liked it. I'd give it 4/5 stars, a very solid 8/10.

I'm not going to lie, though, I struggled a bit getting through (approximately) the first half of the book. It was a slow start, and I couldn't figure out the pacing. However, once I hit that halfway point, everything picked up and fell into place. From that point on, I couldn't put the book down.

It felt like the mixed pace in the beginning came from the heavy lifting of needing to do a lot of set-up. I can definitely relate, I've been there. You have to get all your characters in the right places, introduce them, etc etc. The good news is, it paid off, more than I ever expected. It kind of felt like climbing a hill, and then falling down the other side (in the best way possible). In a way, it was very fitting as it aligned very closely with our main characters' own experiences of finally experiencing a significant release (haha get it?).

Really, I found the book very compelling. The entire time there is a sense of many moving pieces, along with an undercurrent that never quite gets resolved. Toward the end, it started to remind me of the movie Midsommar, a movie I've only seen pieces of, mind you. It was the vibrant intensity of it, the sense of strength that a small community has, and the way it can fundamentally change people.

This was definitely not a horror book, but the intensity it held was very much disarming, bordering on overwhelming (again, in a good way). I began to feel more and more connected with the experience of our Agent Day, and wow how vivid of a picture we were painted.

Now, this does bring me to another small gripe I have, but I will keep it vague, since, as promised, there will be no spoilers here. There is a major event very near the end of the book, which gets nothing more than a passing glance. It is significant, and I would argue, the ultimate turning point for our main character (the main character himself asserts this turning point was earlier, but this was the event I felt most marked his firm departure from the character he began the book as).

I think this difference of opinion is why it frustrated me, though. Considering our main character from the end of his character arc, it makes sense that this would be naught but a passing event, but as a character in the final stage of transition from one identity to another, I feel it should have gotten more attention as the event that really quite truly marks the ultimate point of no return.

I think that alone made the ending feel a tad rushed to me, but it wrapped up so nicely that I really couldn't complain. There was still an undercurrent of something more that went largely unexplained, but I honestly felt that made the book and characters all the more compelling. To have one final, tiny mystery still unresolved, but the feeling that it needn't be. The sense of total acceptance of things as they are, and that they are as they are meant to be.

This review has gone on much longer than I expected, so I'll end it with a final:

tl;dr This book wrecked me. It was intense, and beautiful, and captivating. It's a quick, but memorable read, and I highly recommend it. If you're impatient like me, just be prepared, and remember: when it gets good, it gets good.

[umbrace-rambles]

The Sacred Sins of Father Black (spoiler free review)

I very rarely post things myself but I was pleasantly allowed to read and review @stjohnstarling's debut book The Sacred Sins of Father Black and considering the things I post and share in this blog I'm sure many here would enjoy it!

You can purchase the book on Amazon and Payhip.

The Sacred Sins of Father Black was both what I expected it to be and a very unexpected wonderful surprise.

I must say if you're coming for a slow building romance this is not exactly it. I personally love stories where characters slowly fall for each other, especially if it catches them offguard, but this is not exactly the case in this book. The appreciation the main characters have for each other is almost instantaneous but it does have a more slow build towards them acting on it. This did distract me from the book at times but it's more based on personal preference than a fault of the book itself.

The first half of the book is slower, with character presentation and setup as would be expected. It really starts to pick up towards the second half and it surprised me with some wonderful plotwists towards the end that honestly sold the book for me. They touched a lot of things I love in stories and I'm more than happy I decided to read this book. I really hope we get to see more of Sebastian, Quentin and the whole Hopewell community and find out all the little mysteries left open by the end- they are fantastic to get your mind and theories going! What else does Father Black hide, I wonder?

Overall, the characters are interesting and endearing if some feel a bit underused/underdeveloped, Hamish feels a bit on the nose to pose as the Bad Cop of the story but I can't complain with his ending. The prose is very nice to read and follow, with some wonderful writing at times, especially when Father Black shares his views and thoughts about his faith and the world. As an avid lover of monologue I ate that up completely. The descriptions are detailed enough to give you a clear picture of where you are, while leaving room for you to fill the rest in- especially beautiful towards the end of the book. I am an artist and I was left wanting to draw and concept some of the imaginery described, I think that says enough!

I think this is a nice read to pick up if you're looking for both a genre you already know you're going to enjoy but also want something more original to spice things up and surprise you by the end of it.

[yumeika]

The Sacred Sins of Father Black + Character Names

This book has been bouncing around my head for the past week or so and made me go out in the pouring rain to get my grubby little heathen hands on a copy of the Bible from the nearest bookstore to further understand Christian theology. Therefore, I’d like to get some of my thoughts out here. I’ll start with names here and talk about the chapters and themes in a different post once I’ve gathered more information since this post is already quite long. 

Quentin Day

Quentin of Amiens is a saint who was martyred in modern day Saint-Quentin, Aisne in France during the Diocletianic Persecution. He is the patron saint of prisoners and locksmiths - a fun little thing to keep in mind while you’re reading the prison breakout scene with Hamish in Chapter 19. 

I wasn’t able to find too much information on him, but it seems he’s quite popular in France, with many cities named after him. 

The surname “Day” has many possible roots, one of which is a derivative of the name “David.” I found this interesting - considering how his partner Hamish is portrayed and how a small but methodical act on Quentin’s part leads to the destruction of Hamish’s career and a catalyst for his death, this would make Quentin the David to Hamish’s Goliath. 

Another more obvious reason his name is Day is his role as the Sun at the end of the book. The character design of white hair + honey skin + dark eyes make me think of Yang, in contrast to Father Black’s light eyes + dark hair symbolising Yin. 

Hamish

There are two ways to pronounce this name: Hay-mish and Ha-meesh. The former is the Scottish form of “James,” a name meaning “supplanter.” The latter is a Yiddish/Arab name. I figured Hay-mish was the correct pronunciation for the following reasons:

The character himself doubles as both an antagonist and a symbol for a corrupt, self-serving government taking advantage of its citizens. Considering this story takes place in the US, a way to characterise this would be in the form of a white man who abuses his power. A white man of Scottish descent playing the role Hamish does in the story would be more fitting than having a white man of Jewish/Arab descent in that role.

“For a brief moment... like it was Hamish’s body they were carrying” to the well for a sacrifice. (Ch. 17, page 122). In the end, Hamish does end up becoming the sacrifice, “supplanting” the dummy and the other forms of sacrifice for the well.  

Just a hunch, but I don’t think Hamish likes Jews and Arabs and would go by something else if he had a Jewish/Arab sounding name lmfao

Sebastian Black

Sebastian is another saint that was martyred during the Diocletianic Persecution. There’s a lot to cover with him and I’m not sure where to start.

First, I invite you to look at paintings of Saint Sebastian on your search engine. Do you notice something? That’s right - a lot of them are drawn in an erotic manner for some reason or another. In fact, they are so horny that one of those paintings was the sexual awakening of Kochan, the protagonist of the book Confessions of a Mask.  Confessions of a Mask is an autobiographical account of the author Mishima Yukio’s life, and Mishima himself went on to pay homage to the painting during the later years of his life. Some articles even credit Saint Sebastian as the patron saint of homosexuals. 

Saint Sebastian’s influence on the LGBT+ community is wonderfully summarised here, and you can find various depictions of him drawn by more modern homosexual artists such as David Wojnarowicz and John Keith Vaughan. 

All that to say: it’s a good name for a sexy gay priest. 

Tying in with his association with the LGBT+ community, he is a patron of the plague-stricken - the litany and short film Sancte Sebastian ora pro nobis calls upon Saint Sebastian for protection against pestilence, specifically naming AIDS. I’ve seen a couple of articles saying the gay community in the 1980s also prayed to Saint Sebastian for their sick brothers, but I couldn’t find any primary sources.

While the community of Hopewell doesn’t have a plague, it does have the issue of being a town with little income. In Father Black’s words, “This town is dying.” (Ch 14, page 110), and he considers it his duty to carry on with the wine forgery despite the risks to help his people. 

Going back to Sancte Sebastian ora pro nobis, there is a part that states:

Use your unstoppable energy not to punish but only to humble those who dedicate themselves to oppression and evil.

And we know what happened to Hamish in the end.  ┐(￣∀￣)┌

There are a couple of other parallels I could draw, such as the two martyrdoms of Saint Sebastian and Quentin’s exposure to the forgery papers two times, but I feel like they’d be a bit of a stretch. 

Also, Saint Sebastian is the patron saint of athletes, and Father Black is mentioned to be quite athletic. You know that man is ripped from carrying around all those chairs for Sunday school. 

The surname “Black” could be complimentary to Quentin’s “Day” and Father Black’s role as the Moon to Quentin’s Sun. It is also a colour primarily associated with sin.

Lindsay Woodmancy

This is probably another stretch, but Lindsay’s name is associated with linden trees, a symbol of Freyja and Aphrodite - both goddesses of love and fertility. Like how the name of the bar being “Bacchus” is a nod to the town’s wine and cultural practices, Lindsay’s name is another reference to the non-Christian practices we see in Hopewell. 

But this is also a name you can get from pulling up a name generator, so take this one with a grain of salt. 

[toffins]

big day for all twelve black doom fans

[doc-anders]

Cassandra: “Sir, Superman is on line one.”

[raptorreadsalot]

The Sacred Sins of Father Black (Review)

I was provided an E-Arc for the purpose of review

An easy read that can be knocked over in a few days. It is very character focused, with the mystery of the wine forgery being a background plot that gets answered early. However the characters themselves are a treat, each have a distinct voice that makes seeing them each time fun and interesting. The descriptions are great, and help offset the strange pacing. Plus the growing tension between Agent Day’s job and Father Black’s agenda made it hard to put down.

[blackcouplesera]

Jonathan Owens + Simone Biles Owens

[stjohnstarling]

EDIT: The Sacred Sins of Father Black is now out on Amazon! If you’re interested in future opportunities to receive ARCs please feel free to fill out the application form. It may be some time before I have another available, but new people are always welcome on the team!

I've been working day and night on putting the final touches on my priest romance novel, The Sacred Sins of Father Black. I couldn't have imagined what an immense undertaking this would turn out to be, or how many of you might be around to see it.

For those of you who have been gorgeous, lovely, brilliant, and above all marvelous enough to show interest in my writing, I have an announcement: I'm going to be giving out free review copies of the novel soon. (You can read a description of the novel here) If that sounds like something you might be into, check this out:

[pawified]

tw: heavy punishments ( bruises , slapping )

father figure bf!toji punishments are down right mean and filthy.

lets say you have been acting out all week, not following the rules, talking back, skipping school, doing everything your boyfriend hates. the thing is toji knows you and the games you like the play.

the only reason why you are doing these things is because his lack of attention you have been receiving from him this past week due to his corporate ceo job. he is coming home later and later throughout the week which means you are spending more time with his stuck up and bitchy assistant than you are with him.

you think toji isn’t aware of the little shenanigans you are pulling because he isn’t around much but that far from the truth. how can he not be involved in his princess’s school academic career.

toji just so happens to decide to stop by your school to see how you were doing and too take you out for a nice lunch but when he reached the school’s office and asked the sweet old lady at the desk to page for you, he was made aware that you hadn’t been at roll call this morning.

toji’s face drops, he said a quick thank you to the lady, phone already up to his ear. ringing your phone only to be met with a fucking voicemail. steam practically coming from his ears,“this fucking brat” he barked out, as he climbed into his car speeding home.

thats how you end up bound to his office chair with a vibrator in hand, pleading out sorrys. your face is stained with tears , discolored bruises from the love bites scattered about and welts on your ass from the blows toji left.

“please sir, i’m sorry“ you try to reason with him but he doesn’t let up. he is sat on the opposite side of you, on the phone as his gaze burn into your skin. lifting the phone away, he finally speaks “you’re being to loud , i can’t hear kento. and i don’t remember telling you, you could speak.”

you let out a whine, more like a cry. this had been going on for an hour now and you are at your end. you plead once more, just as toji is ending his phone call and walking over to you. “ daddy, i-i swear m’ sorry.. i was dumb, please please.” he tilts his head, staring down at you all while stroking your check. “ i know puppy, but you have to learn your lesson, daddy’s way too nice with you.”

you try kicking out your legs in protest but toji’s palm comes down on your inner thigh heavy, “ow ow , okay m-m sorry. i will be good, please can i have a kiss please, please gimme kiss” you beg, your emotions are heavy and he can tell your dropping into the headspace where he needs you at.

he gives your check a light tap, “no. until you learn to behave properly, you don’t get anything from me.”

[jadiah]

[karmavongrim]

Dear Father fanfic idea

DC x DP crossover fanfiction

Fanfic idea of Danny adopting everyone. He’s worse than Batman since he does it 200% deliberately with no age nor race restriction.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Absolutely fucking not.”

Yeah, nope. No way in hell was he, John mother-fucking Constantine going to let this happen. Only over his dead body, which might actually be the case by the end of the bloody day if they couldn’t come up with something else other than that. And he wasn’t going to change his mind no matter how much the kid currently gallivanting as a demi-god whined. Wasn’t that a news when he found out several months ago.

“Come on Constans, we both know he wouldn’t mind. Besides what else can we do, we’ve tried everything.” Captain Marvel pleaded with the older man as he gestured their surroundings.

It couldn’t be described as anything else other than apocalyptic. A complete fucking shitshow.

Apparently a prophecy of some kind came to fruition right under their bloody noses and they were left grasping straws to try and stop the end of the world from happening. If only-

“Call him or I’ll call him John! Your choice.” Pressed Marvel who was getting fed up with the magician’s nonsense but he wasn’t bugging, no siree!

“Shut up, we don’t need his help! Just let me-” John yelled while buried head first in his spell book, desperately trying to find away that didn’t require him to relinquish the last few pits of his shabby dignity. Or what was left of it anyways. But Marvel was having non of it.

“Nope, that’s it! I’m making the call!” The red glad man shouted over the blonde brit and pulled out his personal phone which looked like it had been pulled strait out of a sci-fi movie.

This caused John to lunge at Marvel who in return floated away out of his reach.

“Are you daft? I’ll never hear the end of it so don’t even- Hey! Don’t you dare, I swear-!” They were quickly interrupted by a black looming silhouette quickly approaching them.

“I hope that you two have come up with something since you’re able to play around like this.” Batman demanded in gruff manner, man looking worse for wear just like the rest of them. Marvel swiftly positioned the dark one between him and his would-be assailant.

“Oh we did have a solution from the very start but someone thinks that we don’t need any help. His poor ego wouldn’t be able to handle it.” He told as he threw a look over his makeshift barrier’s shoulder.

“Shut your cakehole.” John hissed but was reluctantly put in place by a hard glare from mister darker and gloomier who turned to the floating magic-user.

“What is this solution exactly? Help from who or what?” At his inquiry the boy-man hero couldn’t help but beam when he began to explain what, or rather who he had in mind.

“Well I was thinking calling our-” But he was rudely cut in before he could get far.

“We aren’t calling anybody because we don’t need his help! We can take care of this on our own!” Batman turned back to the blond and was clearly at the end of his patience.

“We are running on borrowed time Constantine, if there is any chance to for us to stop this then we should take it since we don’t have any other options left.”

The two began to argue so heatedly that they didn’t pay attention to Marvel speed dialing the number he kept close to his heart. With a dopey grin he bounced on his heels while he waited for the other side to answer. After just two rings the line connected.

“Hi kid! What are you calling in for, did you get out of work already?” A jovial, baritone voice rang out which instantly relaxed the kid-not-kid hero. The all-composing feeling of warmth, protection and safety could almost be felt through the phone which never failed to make him feel comfortable and at peace.

“Hi dad! No, I’m still at work and we kinda shorta need your help. Badly.”

He could near feel the change in his father’s mood and he definitely heard it in his voice.

“What do you need? Where are you?” Came the rapid questioning. His smile never left as he thought how dad always went strait to business when it came to his family and friends. Always ready to help no matter what or why.

“Well, apparently the apocalypse is happening and we have no idea how to stop it… Can you help us? Please?” He tentatively asked as he glanced back at the bickering duo. Sometimes he asked himself if he really was the only secret child there.

“Ha ha, no need to beg, let alone ask. I’ll be there in a jiffy once I know where you guys are. Just try and hang in there kid.” Voice on the other side commented in lighter tone.

Marvel let out a sigh. He knew that everything would be okay after all.

“Thanks dad. We are currently stuck on Metropolis in it’s central, it’s a complete mess in here.”

“Everything will be fine. See you soon.” The voice chuckled and cut the call.

Yes, everything would be just fine. He turned to call out to the idiots who looked to be near ripping each other a new one.

“You two can stop now, he’s already on his way!”

He had to wince at the speed which the blonde turned his head to stare at him. Then came the familiar cursing.

“Fucking shite!”

He merely rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in irritation. He glared at the magician.

“Seriously, what’s your problem? It doesn’t have to be this difficult you know.”

Before John could comment, Batman pushed pass and stalked up to Marvel.

“Who did you call?”

He couldn’t say much before more of their fellow heroes started to trickle in. Flash no surprise being the first.

“Hope you got something up your utility belt Bats, we can’t take this much longer.” Pleaded the red speedster. He was joined by Green Lantern carrying injured Superman and ouch did he look roughened up.

“Have to agree with Flashpoint. Were running out of juice fast, and even Big Blue is out cold.”

Marvel looked at the others coming in. Martian Manhunter, Zatara, Wonder Woman, Black Canary and even Doctor Fate was there, none of them looking any better.

“Well, I’m glad to announce that help is on their way so we can all sit back and relax for a bit. This will be over in no time.” He declared brightly.

The others goggled at him like he made the most outlandish statement in all of history, minus Constantine who has decided to use this small window of calm to drown his headache in his flask while he still can.

“What the hell are you on about? What help? Who could possibly help with this!” Flash yelled out the question in everybodies mind.

“I would like to known this too finally.” Batman demanded this as well.

Seeing everybody hanging onto his up coming explanation he smirked at John who gave him oh-so-eloquently middle finder in retaliation. Well to bad, he would have to just deal with it, the big baby.

“Oh nobody too important, just the most powerful and influential being in all multiverse. Some of you might know him by his monikers like the First Champion, the Balancer, the High King and the Great One.” He said flippantly as he pretended to check his nails, trying his absolute best to hid his smug smile when he noticed Zatara and Fate going rigid and pale.

Zatara near stumbled thanks to his shaking knees. He took couple faltering steps towards the Champion of Magic. His expression mix of reverence and fear as started to whisper as if dreading that someone or something might hear him if he spoke too loudly.

“Y-You couldn’t possibly mean King-”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence for they all felt the change in the air, in the ground.

He has arrived.

Time came to a crawl, the world slowed it’s movements in face of approaching force. It quaked, it trembled, it slithered. Leak becoming a downpour, a tear in reality of sickly green opened above the group, high out of reach. What little light still had remained in the hellish landscape around them were drained as if all the world’s shadow congregated around the opening to greet its master like a deprived servant. Then a figure of black and white caped in light seemingly holy, descended from it. Even from afar they could distinguish their towering form who’s muscles failed to hide under its full-body armor. Their mountainous presence becomes more and more apparent the closer they came. What they thought as wings of pure and white was actually a cape of moving light.

Blazing green eyes as that of the tear gazed upon them from under their moonlight hair, which coupled with the iron grown of flames created figures of shadow dancing across their hardened features as if to praise their beholder’s glory.

Zatara had already collapsed on the ground in utter disbelieve. All the myths and legends were true all along.

“King Phantom.” He spoke in awe and bowed before the king as did equally shocked Doctor Fate.

“Hi dad!” Marvel yelled and dragged the laughing magician by his coat to greet their new arrival.

All of their associates looked between the clear powerhouse of a being and their red heavy hitter in utter incredulity at the revelation. Zatara and Fate near had a heart attack at the way their magical colleague addressed the mythical presence. Marvel had a father? And this horrifying existence was it? What sent them reeling even more was how the king’s responded.

With his arms stretched he lowered himself fully to gather the two smaller men in his embrace.

“Kids! Boy, when you said that you needed help bad I think you might have underestimated a tiny bit.” He joked with a toothy smile as he moved to get a better look at his more-or-less willing captees of his affection. His expression softened even more at the face of Constantine, not the others could see.

“John, it’s so good to see you as well.” He said softly and ruffled both of their hairs, eliciting a laugh from his youngest and indignant pout from his fourth oldest who tried to swat the offending hand away.

“Whatever.” John growled but Phantom didn’t mind since he could see the blush caking his scratched up cheeks.

Now this drew his attention, both of his boys were in horrendous shape and he would do something about it after his job was completed. Looking at the blood willed sky no longer colored by his green and the burning wreckage that is this dimensions earth, he knew he didn’t have much time.

“I suppose we should get this over with then. You two better get back to the Keep after this, understood.” He stated and then was gone just like that.

Now that the oppressive feeling of death and power has left along with the godly being, every single one of the heroes present turned to the two for explanation. Marvel send a pleading look towards his brother, but John pointedly turned away and began to nurse his briefly forgotten drink which was now empty, damn you dad.

Discreetly gulping his nerves down he twirled to face his peers.

“Okay, let’s start with one question at a time please.”

This caused the floodgates to open and Zatara practically jumped him in his feverishness.

“You are a son of King Phantom? The King Phantom? I thought he was nothing more than a myth! A legend told through out several histories!”

As Marvel was trying to dislodge the man he was approached by Doctor Fate.

“I too held the believe that he was nothing more than a story to strike fear onto the forces of evil and to aspire heroes of both old and new. To think he was real this entire time.” He mused, and before Marvel could say anything, Flash barged in as well.

“And what about you John? This might be the first time I’ve seen any otherworldly being be happy to see you.” He pointed at the man who chose to wisely stay far behind.

“Fuck you too!” Shouts the offended man from the back. Even if it’s true doesn’t make it any less rude. And oh look here comes Batman.

“Enough! Marvel, explain.” He demands as he moves effortlessly to the front of the pack.

“Well… you see-” Marvel stammers as he tries under the pressure to come up with something to say but was thankfully saved by the sky shifting again.

As quick as a snap the red sky was returned to its blue color, signaling the King’s victory over his enemy. Marvel smiled widely and even John couldn’t stop a heavy sigh of relieve from escaping his mouth. Good old dad, always up to any task he comes across.

“Incredible.” Wonder Woman gasped, even Lantern had to give an impressed eyebrow at the instant change in atmosphere. And while everyone was distracted by his dad’s handiwork, Marvel shimmied his way to the grumpy magician who was in progress of making his getaway.

“I think we should continue this some other time, there’s a lot of cleaning up to do and me and my bro need to do a little house call. So bye!” He called out with a wave as he was crabbed and transported to their destination before anyone could stop them.

Others could do more than blink as Batman stewed in his place. In Lantern’s arms Superman began to stir.

“H-huh, what did I miss?”

[beanghostprincess]

zoro and his two daughters that he has with two different men

[sbrown82]

Linda Martell - "Color Him Father" (1970)

**Beyoncé's latest album 'Cowboy Carter' spotlights Linda Martell, a pioneer and trailblazer who paved the way for Black country music artists, as she was the first commercially successful Black female artist in the genre.

[breadandblankets]

there's something about nickname drift that always gets me, so it starts like this:

steph call duke a pineapple one time, duke retaliates by calling her aubergine, then he calls her eggplant, then finally just "egg", steph calls him "pine" and eventually just starts calling him different tree varieties

this culminates with duke calling on the comms "this is tree boy paging egg" (babs, who hasn't run day shift comms for a fat second has to be like uhhh come again) this is their little inside joke when its just them and eventually when they run into each other at GothU