Tick-Tock

Archie "Don't Call Me Archibald" CrockDetective

[archibaldcrock]

@cosette-fox​‌:

Cosette frowned at the man who came in as he definitely insinuated that she might be fucking Brandon Goddamn Wolfe of all people. What the hell anyone in this town saw in her uncle as sexy was beyond even her most bizarre imagination. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Uh, not really a surprise since I texted him I was bored, but I guess it’ll be a surprise when he finds out I wound all his paper clips together in a nightmare knot of my own horrifying creation,” she blew a bubble and the loud pop of gum filled the room. “You must not know me yet. I’m sure you will soon. My name’s Cosette Fox, but you can just awkwardly refer to me as Brandon’s niece while you look away to ensure you aren’t meeting my eyes like all the other officers do.”

Archie let out a snort as he moved to lean against the open doorway to Brandon’s office, “You only turned them into a knot? I once hid every single one of his paperclips in different places around his office. I’m pretty sure he still hasn’t found them all.” Archie had been particularly annoyed that day, getting another shitty case that had ended in a miscommunication and he’d wanted to have a little petty revenge. “Well, Cosette Fox. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Archie Crock. I work with  your Uncle and would appreciate any and all dirt you manage to find on the guy.” His grin was affable, amused beyond all recognition that Brandon had a niece who was a bit of a spitfire. He really couldn’t wait to see the two of them in the same room. 

[archibaldcrock]

@rosie-flanagan​

Archie crossed over to the counter and waved over a familiar face with a grin, “What’s good today, Rosie?” He slid onto a stool at the counter, moving a little slower than usual, but he had been burning the candle at both ends since the earthquake. Every day they seemed to get another strange witness statement or case that had to be followed up and Archie had seen more of this town in the last week than he had in the five years he’d lived here. “ I’m looking to really clog those arteries today. “

[archibaldcrock]

@danielxmickey​

Archie crossed over to the other detective’s desk and tossed a bag full of burgers next to his head where it was slumped over. He set down the drink more carefully next to, keeping it away from any flailing limbs, and grinned as he leaned against the other man’s desk. “You just ‘resting your eyes’?” Archie himself had caught a few Z’s at his desk over the years, so couldn’t fault the man for getting some rest. It’s why he was feeling in a charitable mood and brought extra food back from the diner for him. “Eat something. It’ll do more for you than a nap on your keyboard.”

[archibaldcrock]

@cflocksley​

“Robin.” Archie rubbed at that spot just behind his eye that had a special place for all the people that struck that chord between frustration and amusement. “Do I want to know why you’re here?” Here being a crime scene of a recent robbery, one that did not need any sort of ‘civilian’ help considering Archie was fairly certain the robber had been caught on tape. “At least tell me you brought coffee.”

[archibaldcrock]

@kaipalakiko​

“Jesus, you get bigger every time I see you, you know that?” Archie slipped onto the stool next to the other man and sent the bartender a charming grin as he gestured for a drink. He didn’t really have a reason to be there, besides keeping a constant eye on all the places in town that seemed to have extracurricular activities. Currently Archie didn’t have any real lead on anything other than a gut feeling that there was something else going on with the other man and his...boss. “What’re they feeding you? Twelve chickens a night?”

[archibaldcrock]

@violentgallows​

Archie brought the few things he’d gotten from the convenience store to the front counter, and barely noticed anyone else there waiting. It was nearly midnight, but he’d been on the late shift for the last week and struggling to adjust his sleep schedule. Energy drinks seemed to be the way to go, but his stomach would be killing him for it for the rest of the week. When he reached into his pocket to pay he noticed that his wallet wasn’t there and let out a soft, “Fuck.” Turning he noticed Danielle standing just off to the side and sighed, “You seen my wallet anywhere?”

[archibaldcrock]

@jxcksummer​‌:

Nothing felt as good as being helpful again. Nothing except maybe being believed in. Jack’s eyes shifted between the hand on his shoulder and the man attached to it, then he stopped dead in his tracks. He sent a small nod the other’s way to acknowledge what he was saying. “I- I hadn’t thought of that yet.” He mumbled mostly to himself, looking at his arms cradling rocks for no reason. Archie hadn’t been trying to stop him from helping, let alone been seizing Jack up and deeming him unfit. That was just a ridiculous thought that had settled in Jack’s stubborn little head until he heard the words ‘you can do the job’ for himself just now. 

“Really? Yes, of course, I-I’ll get over there first thing.” In his excitement, he was already one step out the door - well, clearing - before Archie could change his mind. If his arms would’ve been free, he might’ve even dared to return a good shoulder pat. Instead, he found a good spot to crouch down and drop what he was holding - pretty carefully even, only one rock landed on his big toe! As he bit through making any suspicious sound, Jack glanced back at Archie over his shoulder. “I guess I’ll see you in a bit. To check in on you. Or you check in on me. Or we’ll see, yeah.” 

And right then and there, despite having perfectly gotten his way, it fell hard on him to turn his back on his colleague. The very man he’d come looking for first in this crisis. One who had been so kind as to keep an eye on him not just today but ever since coming to town. So why was he not doing the same after clearly witnessing both danger and exhaustion out here? Jack could feel he was going to jinx it and overstay his welcome by asking this but he slowly turned regardless. “I almost forgot to ask but you sure you will be okay here on your own? Or you know… I mean, are you okay?”

Archie liked Jack. He was a good kid. One of those people that you could ask to do something and they would put their whole head and heart into it. Jack could be anything he wanted to be, which was why Archie didn’t understand why he was working at the department as an IT person. He probably could’ve taken on the world, given the chance.

Archie winced sympathetically where he stood, finishing off the last of the water Jack had brought him, as the rock landed on his toe. He’d definitely been there, and learned a long time ago to wear steel-toed shoes wherever he went. “Yeah, yeah I’ll be okay, Jack.” Archie was definitely feeling the weight of the last few hours on his shoulders, but there was still so much to do and so few people to do it. Jack’s hands would help the work go quicker, at least. Every little bit helped. “You go on ahead. The faster we get this done, the faster I’ll go home and rest, that make you happy?” Chuckling he gave Jack a clap on the back and turned to find another group of volunteers heading towards him in need of instruction. “We’ll be done in no time.”

T H E  E N D 

[archibaldcrock]

@jcvimoreno​‌:

It seemed the earthquake drove everyone a little bit crazier than usual, and it was letting all the cockroaches get out of their hidings. First Carrie, now Archie, who else was going to be showing up? Javi didn’t like this kind of surprise visits, and sure as hell, neither the rest of the guys. It was too soon to tell if it was good or not that the rest of the Seven weren’t there right then. “Detective, always lovely to see you.” Saccharine smile plastering his lips, though it wouldn’t help hiding his discomfort for long. “What can I do for you? I don’t think you’ve come personally to Underland to check how I’m doing.”

( @archibaldcrock​ )

“Moreno!” Archie walked into the building like he belonged there, a shit-eating grin taking over his features as he gave the room a cursory glance. He hadn’t gone here with the intention to find the Deadly Seven with their pants down, but baby steps were the way to go. Little by little he hoped to win his way into the gang’s favor, insomuch as he could with them suspicious of his every move, but Archie was a patient guy. He knew how to play the game. “You hurt my feelings. What if I had come here to check on your well-being? You are a citizen of this fair town I call home. I just wanted to see how you were doing after the freak-earthquake we had. Everything still running at a hundred percent?”

[archibaldcrock]

@sleepy-struggles​‌:

Jesus heaved a sigh; of course the man was approaching him. Well, if he’d just witnessed the deal, or decided he wanted to search Jesus, he’d find a small treasure trove of pot. Short of sprinting away and hoping the other didn’t catch him- and, looking him up and down, Jesus very much didn’t doubt that he would be caught- there wasn’t really anything to do but submit to the conversation and hope that Crock didn’t feel like making an arrest that wouldn’t stick for more than a few days. 

“Officer Crock- or is it detective?” the question was a genuine one, and took the place of any kind of cordial greeting. “… you’re fucking around, right? You’re not actually here about global warming and Co2 levels and stuff.”

Archie had spent the last few years figuring out who the major players were in town, and keeping his eye on them. It didn’t make him a fan of the criminals in town, but he was used to being hated by them. He figured if he wanted to have friends, then he wouldn’t have gone into law enforcement, or take the bribes he’d seen so many of his old co-workers take back in New York. Archie wasn’t like that, and had never been. He’d always felt like he caught more flies with honey. The nicer he was to them, the more he caught them off guard, and found a way to either help them out of their predicament, or let something slip enough to give Archie the evidence he needed.

He didn’t have any nefarious intentions when he was the younger man, more quiet amusement at just how oblivious Jesus could be at times. “Detective, if you wanted to be formal about it. Or you can just call me Archie. And damn straight I care about the environment, and you should to, because without that pesky sun in the sky, there’s nothing to help grow your extracurricular activities.” Archie wasn’t an idiot, and had worked in the City long enough to pick a pothead out of a crowd, but he wasn’t interested in petty arrests. When he went in, he went in for the whole shebang, and as ‘innocent’ as Jesus may be, he could still be a way in for Archie into his gang. “You telling me you don’t care about the polar bears?”

[archibaldcrock]

@gio-panicucci​‌:

It had been a few days since the festival – a few days since what had happened underground – and he was safe. He should have been happy about it. He was happy about it; it wasn’t as if he had wanted to die underground or anything like that, but it would have been a lie to say that Gio felt as ease now that he was safe. Wounds had been bandaged up, he had gotten a night or two of decent enough sleep – no worse than he normally got at least – yet still he didn’t feel okay. There were times he would hear that sound, the sound of something following them, and he could hear Luke’s yells at him to keep moving, but he couldn’t move. Then he would snap out of it and realize he was fine. Nothing was following him and he wasn’t underground any longer. He was okay.

This time as he snapped out of it, Gio realized he was still just waiting for his lunch to-go order to be ready. The Red Apple seemed a little busier than he was used to, something he wasn’t really a fan of as he tried to step off more to the side, desperate to get out of people’s way. As he tried to back out of the way of one patron, Gio backed into another, quickly turning around to apologize.

“I am so sorry. I swear I’m not normally this distracted and clumsy.” That was not entirely true, but they didn’t need to know that at the moment, not when he was trying to somewhat apologize for knocking into them. “Are you alright?”

Archie felt like he was running on fumes, but so many others of the first responders felt the same way. It’d taken a few days to get to where they were, but finally most of the rubble had been cleared away and the town felt like it could breathe again. Archie was among those few who couldn’t stop going until everything was as it should be, so was more or less running on fumes. He couldn’t quite figure out how he’d ended up at the Red Apple, but he blamed the rumbling in his stomach and the fact that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a meal.

So focused on the menu, unable to settle on what he wanted, he was knocked out of his thoughts by someone colliding with him. His hands reached up automatically to hold them and keep the other person from falling, and he let a low hum, “Yeah, no. I’m good.” Realizing he was still holding onto the man’s shoulders, he gave him an apologetic smile and let them drop, “I wasn’t paying attention either, so I’d say we’re both at fault.” Glancing over the man’s shoulder, he then noticed he didn’t have any food with him, “You didn’t drop your meal, did you?”

[archibaldcrock]

@rushingbrontide​‌:

“See, now you’re talkin’,” he agreed, shooting Archie a grin. “I’m better in the peanut gallery anyway.” He remembered watching a show as a child, with puppets – the Muppets, maybe? – and there were two old men who would throw their popcorn and heckle the show. He likened himself to one of them. A moment of silence, spent watching the earnest performers on the stage, who while not talented were certainly bold, and then Paul felt a buzz in his back pocket. He pulled out his phone to see a message from Simon, and frowned. “Well, it was good running into ya,” he said, nodding in Archie’s direction, “but I gotta get going. There’s beer here and it’s calling my name.” He turned to set off in the direction of the tents with food and drink, and looked back at Archie. “Have a good one.”

T H E  E N D

[archibaldcrock]

violentgallows‌:

@archibaldcrock​

Archie chuckled softly and scratched under the dog’s chin, shrugging his shoulders, “Heard it’s cries, figured it could use some help.” He sent Danielle a small smile before nodding, “I think you’re right. You’re welcome to join this little guy and me, but I can tell my welcome has been worn out.” Archie couldn’t blame her, he was the cop that had put her and her brothers away, but he had been doing his job. And had been trying to help the three of them since they’d gotten out in little ways, wanting the Mason siblings to have a better go of things then before.

She shook her head. “It’s tempting, with the pup and all, but I’ve had enough of older men trying to buy me dinner for one night. I’d rather spend it with a cup of ramen in the bath. Thanks but no thanks,” she added with a wave of her hand which was more for the pup than the officer holding it as she started to walk back out from the scene she’d happened upon and go on with the rest of her night. 

FIN

T H E  E N D

[archibaldcrock]

@cosette-fox​

The last thing Archie expected to walk into when he came to work was a bright-eyed young woman twirling around in Brandon’s office chair. Raising a brow he set his stuff at his desk before crossing to stand in the doorway, arms crossed as he leaned against the doorjamb, “You’re either here for processing, or you’re a surprise for Brandon. If it’s the latter, please let me know, so I can make sure my phone is out and ready.”

[archibaldcrock]

@harrietredding​‌:

Harriet couldn’t help but roll her eyes when the male mentioned the fact that she hadn’t ever seen powdered sugar. “Of course I’ve seen it. I’m just not used to having deserts where it’s covering the entire thing.” her head shook, fearing how high her sugar would be spiked after this. “My mother, despite letting us have everything we wanted, always kept a close eye on the food we ate.” Then she rolled her eyes more because she knew exactly why. “Is this something you eat often? God, Archie. Coffee and Sugar? I’m going to buy you bottled water and healthy snacks to keep in your cruiser.”

“You sure, because you could’ve fooled me. It looked like this was your first time enjoying the finer things in life, and you have me to thank for it. Aren’t you lucky?” Chuckling softly, he tore off a chunk of the funnel cake and gestured with it. “Careful, Harriet. Law enforcement isn’t allowed to take bribes.” There was a delighted gleam in his eyes as he tossed another piece of funnel cake into his mouth before the radio on his shoulder let out a squawk. He listened for a moment before he sent her an apologetic smile, “Unfortunately duty calls. Enjoy the rest of your night, Ms. Redding.” With a wink, he turned to head away from her to deal with whatever idiotic domestic squabble he had to contend with now.

T H E  E N D

[violentgallows]

@archibaldcrock​

Archie chuckled softly and scratched under the dog’s chin, shrugging his shoulders, “Heard it’s cries, figured it could use some help.” He sent Danielle a small smile before nodding, “I think you’re right. You’re welcome to join this little guy and me, but I can tell my welcome has been worn out.” Archie couldn’t blame her, he was the cop that had put her and her brothers away, but he had been doing his job. And had been trying to help the three of them since they’d gotten out in little ways, wanting the Mason siblings to have a better go of things then before.

She shook her head. “It’s tempting, with the pup and all, but I’ve had enough of older men trying to buy me dinner for one night. I’d rather spend it with a cup of ramen in the bath. Thanks but no thanks,” she added with a wave of her hand which was more for the pup than the officer holding it as she started to walk back out from the scene she’d happened upon and go on with the rest of her night. 

FIN

[archibaldcrock]

frost & cinnamon

frost - if you could give some advice to your younger self, what would you say?

“Listen to your Dad more. He may have been a bit of an asshole, but he knew what he was doing.”

cinnamon - if you had to live in a time period different than the present, which would you choose and where?

“I’d be lying if I hadn’t imagined what it would be like to a detective in one of those Noir films. But what kid didn’t want to be a gruff detective who got all the best lines?”

[archibaldcrock]

maize, pumpkin, cocoa

maize - share the weirdest encounter you’ve had with a stranger on the street.

“Once had one of those street statue performers, grab me and have me join them in their skit. It was fun till I realized he was just trying to steal my wallet. I may have enjoyed tossing him into my cruiser a little too much after that.”

pumpkin - do you think that humans are inherently good or bad?

“I like to think everyone’s got a bit of goodness in them. If I don’t, then what’s the point in trying to do my job if everyone’s just going to let me down? If I don’t believe that everyone is good, then--I should just quit right now.”

cocoa - if you could have any type of hair, what colour and cut would you have?

“Oh jeez. Figure there’s some photos out there when I was a punkass teenager with a blue mohawk, but good luck finding them. I burned whatever I could find.”