Ask Itty Bitty

"This isn't Pies-R-Us, Pie city, or Thousands-of-Pies-in-One-Place. This is a bells-on-the-door, pies baking, mom-and-pop place. We chit-chat here." Indie RP blog for Olive Snook from Pushing Daisies. Open to both gifchats and paras, though I'm better at paras. Will plot and RP with anyone who'd like to.

[askthepiemaker-blog]

"Maybe we should try to be optimistic about this.”

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

"Yeah. Right. Be optimistic. Right."

[ileadasimplelife]

I Think We're Alone Now | Olive & Neddy

[ileadasimplelife]

Ned listened to the dizzying array of conspiracy theories Olive was coming up with. He could imagine that all of her theories were plausible, but the one question that stuck in his mind was that of Pauly pointing the finger at Emerson Cod. The large private eye certainly did not have such tiny feet, but if he wasn’t the killer then why did poor, murdered Pauly Shad say he was? For a moment, the Piemaker was distracted by trying to picture the man with a same-sex lover, but then he shook his head.

 Ned was having trouble putting the small amount of evidence they had together. “Do you think it’s possible that someone could dress up like Emerson? I mean, enough to fool someone who knew him?” His mind spun around what it would take to pass as Emerson Cod, especially considering the apparent size of said someone’s feet. “I mean, his feet must be three times that size so unless the killer had some odd, hereditary defect that causes tiny feet…” He looked Olive over, realizing that, in all likelihood, the killer was much closer to her size. Before he could contemplate the odds of the pint sized waitress being a cold-blooded killer, an angry scream rent the air in Pauly Shad’s waiting room.

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

Olive jumped backwards at the frightening sound. "Jiminy Crispies!" she yelped, fear rippling through her small body. "Should we, y'know...see what's going on?" she asked quietly, her tiny frame contracting in order to protect herself from any possible threat. "I feel like we should. But then, maybe not." Olive sighed. What exactly did one do when they heard a scream in a murder victim's office? The tiny blonde shot a nervous look at the Piemaker, and then ran out the door, before she could have an attack of better judgement.  "Ah!" Olive shrieked. "Ned? Come quick! You need to see this!"   

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

//I feel like I really need to do more stuff with Olive. I love her, and Rping her is super crazy fun, but I hardly do anything on this blog.

So, if some people out there in the various rp tags wanna help me remedy that, could you please 'like' this, and I'll whip something up for you? Thanks a ton!

[lonelypiemaker]

"Whatever you do.. please, please, please  don’t say you need an apple pie for tomorrow..”

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

"Rest assured, no pie will be needed in my case!" Olive chirped. "Are you gonna need me tomorrow? I'd be happy to help, if that's the case!"

[ileadasimplelife]

I Think We're Alone Now | Olive & Neddy

[ileadasimplelife]

A surprised smile crossed the Piemaker’s face as he wiped away the beads of sweat from his brow. “I can’t believe that actually worked,” he breathed. “Olive! You were amazing.” Ned’s smile faltered as a pinkish hue touched his face and he quickly turned to the left to take a look. “Um, yeah, sure. I can take the left.” With that, he tucked his hands into his pockets and carefully tiptoed away.

 When Ned had pressed himself as far left as was physically possible, he let out a breath and rolled his eyes at his own silliness. It was true, his life was falling apart and he certainly needed Olive’s friendship, but one thing he’d never been certain of was how to feel towards the tiny waitress. She was bubbly, direct and overly affectionate. All three were things Ned found hard to be or to handle in others.

 Before the Piemaker could contemplate further though, he stumbled into just the clue they were looking for. A moment before slipping on what appeared to be Pauly Shad’s blood, he hopped back. “Ugh,” he mumbled and crossed his arms in a self-hug. 

But then another thing crossed his line of sight. “Olive! Over here!” he yelled. It seemed that someone else had slipped in the PI’s blood; someone with much smaller and much daintier feet than Emerson Cod.

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

"Wha-?" Olive mumbled. She'd been frantically rifling through papers in Pauly Shad's desk, trying very, very hard not to make it obvious how happy Ned's compliment had made her. She rushed over to the piemaker, grimacing at the red puddle near his feet. "Yikes. That isn't his, is it?" She gritted her teeth and made herself stare at the gruesome sight. "What exactly am I looking for here?" The blonde cringed. "Are small blood-smears really that helpful?" A grin spread over her small, excited face. "Nothing related to Emerson would ever be dainty!" she cried happily. She looked at Ned excitedly. "Was that it? Does that mean he's not the culprit?" Olive was talking faster and faster now, pacing around the office. "But then, why would our poor deceased P.I. friend say otherwise?"

"Hmm, maybe he had a mistress who killed him in a fit of desperate anger! Or a mister, I'm not one to judge. Is that even a term? Well, a same-sex lover anyway."" Olive was really enjoying this now, concocting backstories for Pauly Shad. "Maybe a wife who killed him in order to collect big bucks on his life insurance policy. I saw that in a movie once."

[ewoksarecute-deactivated2024072]

pushing daisies meme | three relationships [3/3] » olive snook & charlotte charles  

[ileadasimplelife]

I Think We're Alone Now | Olive & Neddy

[ileadasimplelife]

  Ned turned to Olive, a look of horror creeping across his face and then glanced back at Emerson who seemed to have lost the ability to speak. This, perhaps, horrified the Piemaker even more. 

"What do you mean, Pauly’s dead?" the private investigator finally managed to squeeze out. 

"Like Olive said, he just came in and died."

"In the Pie Hole?"

"Yes, in the Pie Hole."

"Did you, uh, talk to him?" Emerson mumbled with a quick glance at Olive.

Ned fidgeted and then said, “Look, Emerson, you really shouldn’t be here.” When he only got a blank stare in response, he moved closer and gave the large man a small push. Between the man’s size and the Piemaker’s lack of touch skills, it didn’t do much good. In fact, the only reaction was a curious look on Emerson’s face. 

"No really, you can’t be here,” Ned repeated and tried pushing a little harder. “A little help here?” he muttered to Olive when the big man still wouldn’t budge.

[askthegardentalent-blog]

Olive watched Emerson’s exchange with the Piemaker with trepidation. Of all the people to barge in on their little mystery-solving spree, why did it have to be the apparent culprit? 

The petite blonde hurried to her employer’s side without a second thought.  ”Alright, Emerson,” she said carefully, running behind him and tugging hard on the arm opposite Ned. “Just..back up a bit, mm’kay?” she wheezed, breathing heavily with the effort required to pull her friend. “Go on, over the threshold ya go.” The dubious look present on the P.I’s face grew more pronounced, before he finally relented. “Fine, fine. You two are seriously creeping me out.” he grumbled, spinning around and gently shaking off both Olive and the Piemaker. “Enjoy whatever mess you’ve thrown yourselves into.”  he said, giving the pair an awkward wave, before slipping out the doorway and down the hall.

"Phew." Olive breathed a sigh of relief, peering up at Ned. "That was trickier than expected." She examined the office, scanning the small space for clues. "Now, how about we get down to work?" she proposed, flashing him a little smile. "Should we split up? A ‘you take the left side, I’ll take the right’ kinda thing?"  

[ileadasimplelife]

I Think We're Alone Now | Olive & Nedy

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

ileadasimplelife:

"No, we’re not up to anything," Ned sputtered. "You make it sound like a bad thing. No, we were just…uh…" As Emerson Cod stepped closer, the Piemaker stepped back, beginning to circle the room without realizing it. He looked to Olive, but he could tell that she was trying not to speak at all. "We, we were just looking for something…for a friend."

"Looking for something?" Emerson repeated, a look of disbelief gracing his features. "For who?"

"Pauly Shad," Ned answered, a bit too quickly.

"Pauly Shad?"

"Pauly Shad. Did you know him?" The Piemaker asked, crossing his arms and trying, unsuccessfully, to look casual.

Emerson’s eyes narrowed. “What d’you mean, ‘did I know him’?”

"He..he died." Olive blurted. The pint-sized pie waitress bit her lip nervously. What now? The blonde did what she usually did under pressure. She kept talking. "Walked right into the Pie Hole and just...dropped dead." It wasn't really a lie, but not really the truth either. Was there some kind of happy medium for this sort of thing?

Unfortunately, Olive's bout of half-hearted truth-telling caused more harm than good. Fearing she'd somehow managed to make them look more suspicious, the Piemaker's partner in crime-sloving turned the tables. "Why are you here, anyway?" she asked Emerson nervously.

[ileadasimplelife]

I Think We're Alone Now | Olive & Ned

[ileadasimplelife]

The Piemaker shrugged; his heart pitter-pattering from nervousness. He’d dealt with more dead bodies than he cared to admit to, but they were usually at the morgue or some other appropriate place for the dead. They were not lying cold on the Pie Hole floor. “I guess the freezer will do,” he admitted and grabbed one of Pauly Shad’s arms. Sadly, the man turned out to be much heavier than he looked.

After struggling to drag him half way to the freezer, Ned let the dead man’s arm drop to the floor. He wiped the gleam of sweat from his forehead and announced, “I think that’s good enough. No one can see him back here. We’ll just close the blinds and lock the door.” With that said and done, he hopped into his car and drove them to Mr. Shad’s office. Oddly, the door was unlocked and as the Piemaker stepped inside, he could see why; it was a mess to say the least. “I think someone’s already been here,” he whispered to Olive.

Suddenly, there was a commotion behind them, causing Ned to turn as a slight screech left his lips. He found himself staring into the beady, suspicious eyes of one Emerson Cod.

"What are you and Itty Bitty up to?"

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

Olive spun around at the sound of a familiar voice. "Oh....oh crap." she squeaked, the words almost falling out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Uh, hi Emerson!" she chirped, trying desperately to hide her nervousness. "We were..we were.." Olive trailed off, biting her lip to keep from speaking. She  shot a panicked glance at the Piemaker. Do something! she pleaded inwardly.

Emerson raised his eyebrows at the panicky duo. "Alright,  you two are most definitely up to somethin'." he observed. "Out with it." 

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

Open

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

  Olive Snook – I'm Not That Girl

A 9 track Olive/Ned fanmix.

All songs are from Olive's perspective.

[Listen]

[ileadasimplelife]

I Think We're Alone Now | Olive & Ned

[ileadasimplelife]

Ned didn’t quite know how to explain to Olive that he’d had quite enough of touching dead things in his life. Deep down he knew that his gift was what kept him from touching much of anyone really. But the Piemaker also knew that now was not the time for existential contemplation. He watched as the waitress rifled through Pauly Shad’s pockets, hoping to find some clue in the now permanently dead man’s belongings.

The second living Olive had spoken of, hadn’t exactly been one Ned had eagerly pursued. One could say he’d fallen into it quite against his own better judgement. Still, it had kept the Pie Hole going when pie-eating had been thin and had gained him a friend in Emerson Cod. However, the Piemaker had to admit that the excitement now emanating from his much smaller companion was somewhat infectious. And he knew that Olive could be quite helpful in a pinch.

"Yeah, why not?" he said with a smile. "Plus, we have his keys, you know, if we need to check his house." Ned could barely believe he’d just suggested breaking and entering and yet, he had no desire to take back the suggestion. Perhaps it was time to turn some new leaves. "Come on, Olive," he said confidently and then took her hand and made for the door. Once there, though, he turned and frowned. "Maybe we should hide the body first, though."

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

Olive stared at her longtime friend in disbelief. "You wanna break in? Hmm. Never thought you'd be up for that. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure I'm up for that." The blonde's surprise continued to mount when the Piemaker seized her by the hand. Not that she was complaining, but it was fairly unlike him. Olive's thoughts were interrupted by Ned's suggestion. "Oh. Right. Right." Olive scratched her neck nervously. "Do we, uh stuff him in the freezer or something?" she asked, grimacing at the thought. "Or just find a place to bury the poor sap?" She shrugged awkwardly. "What's proper 'You died and came back to life, but then died again' etiquette?" she wondered, temporarily forgetting the Piemaker could hear her. "I vote we hide him in the freezer and deal with him later, but it's up to you."  

[ileadasimplelife]

I Think We're Alone Now | Olive & Ned

[ileadasimplelife]

That was, indeed, the question. Was Emerson Cod capable of killing someone? The truth was, the Piemaker didn’t know. He stood up, hugging his arms tightly around him and began to pace the floor. Questions and very few answers buzzed around his brain. “I don’t know if I know how to do this without Emerson,” he blurted out. “And obviously we can’t call Emerson or Chuck, because well, Chuck…” He let the thought of his childhood sweetheart drift off. “She can’t help either,” he simply stated, rather too sharply.

Finally, Ned took a deep breath, struck by the realization that he and Olive would have to solve the mystery alone. “Well,” he started slowly, “I guess we don’t really know much since he…died before he could explain anything. Um,” he added, his voice taking on an unnaturally high pitch. “OK, we need to find out more about his relationship with Emerson. An office!” the Piemaker exclaimed in triumph. “He’s a PI, he has to have an office. Maybe there’s some evidence there. Maybe he was even stabbed there! Check his pockets. Maybe there’s a business card or something.”

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

Olive looked sympathetically at the piemaker. Solving a murder would be hard enough for the plucky pair, why did the number one suspect have to be a close friend. "At least you'll have me." she said quietly. The petite blonde took a seat on a nearby stool and drummed her fingers furiously on The Pie Hole's hard wooden counter. Typically, moving quickly helped Olive calm down. She just needed to get the nervous energy out. But no amount of noisy tapping would help Olive today.

The pint-sized pie waitress was broken out of her panicked thoughts by Ned's sudden stroke of inspiration. Olive wandered back over to Ned and nodded. "Perfect! That's a great place to start." she said brightly, before Ned's next two sentences surprised her. "Why do I have to do it? You're the one who does this stuff for a  second living." She looked at the Piemaker and shrugged. "Nevermind. Wish me luck." With great hesitation, Olive gingerly went through the dead man's pockets. "Okay, house keys, breath mints...Oh, here we go!" Olive pulled out a thick brown wallet. She picked through it carefully, laying each item she found beside her as she worked. "We've got..20 dollars, credit cards.." A bright smile came over the woman's face as she continued rifiling. She pulled out a smart, white business card. "Paul Shad, private investigator. 103 Fraise Ave." she read slowly. "We've got an address!" she grinned. "What now? Do we find this place?"

[maybealittlehopefultoo]

Olive often imagined there was an orchestra in her heart - music heard only by her except when her heart broke open and it spilled out into the world.

-The narrator (Pushing Daisies

[ileadasimplelife]

I Think We're Alone Now | Olive & Ned

[ileadasimplelife]

For a moment, Ned simply continued to stare into the space formerly occupied by Olive. His reverie was broken though, when the waitress knelt next to him.

"Yes," the Piemaker seconded Olive’s question. "Please elaborate; why would Emerson want to kill you?"

"We’ve been rivals for years now. Oh, Pauly Shad, Private Eye." 

"Shad? Come on, really?" As the man started to reach for a business card, Ned waved the question away. "Anyway, how do you know he’s the one who stabbed you? It was in the back." The man glared at him and he could sense a long-winded, angry answer coming, but time was up. He covertly touched the man’s hand again and he fell back, dead forever, leaving the Piemaker confused and bewildered.

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

Olive shot a worried look at the piemaker. "Well, that was strange. Is he dead again?" she wondered, giving the PI a poke. "Uh-huh. He's dead, alright." She pondered the exchange with poor Pauly Shad. "So, what do we do know?" She frowned. "What if Emerson really did kill him? I can't picture it, but, you never know." Olive shuddered at the thought.

[ileadasimplelife]

I Think We're Alone Now | Olive & Ned

[ileadasimplelife]

The dead man, who was currently dead no more, hadn’t heard Olive’s questions. Instead he began to yell and thrash about, trying with only minor success, to turn himself over. The Piemaker’s hands flew out of the way so as not to inadvertently touch the alive-again man. As he did so, he glanced at his watch again. There were only forty-five seconds left and he knew he needed to get down to the business of how the man died.

"Sir, do you know who kil- stabbed you?" he blurted out, while trying to avoid Olive’s gaze. He knew there was no point in trying to get the man help, even if she didn’t.

The stranger lying on the Pie Hole floor looked up with a glint in his eye. “You better believe I know who stabbed me. It was that no good, two bit private eye, Emerson Cod. That’s who!”

For a moment, time seemed to stop for the Piemaker. When it started again, his mouth dropped open and he glanced up at Olive in disbelief.

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

Olive stared in terror as the man thrashed about. She really shouldn't be so traumatized, she thought. She'd been in plenty of dangerous situations in her short life. She'd been stuck in a locker, shoved in the trunk of a car and nearly perished at the hands of a mouse-swallowing psycho in the space of just a few years. Not to mention hanging from a cliff with the very man who was kneeling a few feet away.

Olive's mouth gaped as she processed what the dead man who was not dead had said. "Did I just hear that right? I couldn't have heard that right." she whispered. "Do you think he's telling the truth?" Olive continued prattling on, unaware of the ticking clock the piemaker currently dealt with. She rushed over and knelt down next to Ned. "Can you elaborate a bit, please?" she asked the stranger.

[ileadasimplelife]

I Think We're Alone Now | Olive & Ned

[ileadasimplelife]

The facts were these: 

The Piemaker did not not know the identity of the body currently lying dead at his feet. It belonged to a man he’d never in his life laid eyes upon. And furthermore, this was the kind of situation generally reserved for the work he did with his PI partner, Emerson Cod. People did not, in fact, usually fall dead at Ned’s feet.

"I don’t know what we’re supposed to do," Ned blurted out, though he found his mind drifting back to a certain funeral director he once found in the Pie Hole’s freezer. "People don’t usually come here to die. And customers really shouldn’t be coming around the counter; it’s for employees only. But I guess that doesn’t really matter now."

On the other hand, this was exactly the kind of thing he was hoping for; not the someone dying part of course, but the figuring out why part. But what about Olive? The Piemaker casually knelt down next to the dead man. “Maybe we should look for some kind of ID,” he mumbled. As he did so, he covertly glanced at his watch and then quickly brushed a finger against the dead man’s hand. “Oh, look Olive! He’s not dead!” he exclaimed as the dead man sputtered back to life.

[hopelesslydevotedolive]

Olive paced around nervously,wringing her hands. "Should we call someone? An ambulance? A coroner, maybe? I could call the nuns. They could..Pray over him or something."Olive was broken out of her frazzled brainstorming by the unknown man suddenly flashing back to life. "What what?" Olive blurted. "Are you alright, sir? Besides, y'know, the knife in your back?" she asked the alive-again stranger.