#abuse implied -

[partsoftheunknown]

[crplpunkklavier]

3. teenage messiah

from @nosebleedclub‘s october prompts | previous | first

/

when private detective johnny nichols has made it up to the front door, it is already ajar and greeting him with a laminated piece of paper fastened to the handle.

welcome to house cronbach!

1. please take off your shoes here.

2. my employee will lead you into the parlor.

3. i will be sitting in my chair, facing my bookshelf. you will not see my face. please do not be alarmed. nobody ever does, as i am sure you have heard, if you're coming here. please do not attempt to catch a glance. if you do, i will have to have you escorted off the premises by my personal security team.

4. do close the door behind you, if you would be so kind.

number two has been crossed out in wonky blue ballpoint pen, and a crude arrow has been drawn in the margin instead. johnny dignifies this with a snort, takes off his shoes, closes the door, and follows that arrow to the parlor. sure enough, there is a large chair turned toward a larger bookshelf, and all johnny sees from the back is a pair of crossed legs, ending in comically plush slippers.

"mister cronbach," he says.

"mister nichols," says the chair. "did you take off your shoes?"

"yes, sir. like the note said."

"thank you. i apologize for the state of things. the employee mentioned on it is not here today."

"francis montana," johnny says. "you know where he is?"

"oh, certainly not. mister nichols, who sent you again?"

"his family, sir. apparently he didn't come home from work last night. did you see him yesterday?"

"that i did."

johnny waits for him to elaborate, until it becomes clear that he won't. he sighs. "mister cronbach," he says. "i'm sure i don't have to point this out to you, but you are now the last person to have seen francis montana alive, by your own testimony."

"i thought you aren't with the police, mister nichols."

"i'm a private eye, sir. his family reached out to me this morning."

there is another beat of silence, interrupted only by a low, amused sounding hum from the chair. johnny imagines cronbach swirling wine around a glass over there, smiling to himself about some joke johnny isn't in on. "whatever they are paying you," the chair says, "i can give you double."

slowly, johnny asks, "to do what?"

"francis started working for me when he was sixteen," the chair tells him, which is not an answer to his question. "a few years later, he left for a while, for college. then he came back, and i still saw that little teenage kid in him. he reminded me of me, you know. i started working at sixteen, too."

"at your father's emporium," johnny remembers.

"well. we would call it a firm, mister nichols, but yes. i hadn't been disfigured yet, then. i rose up fast. at college age, i was taking over my father's job. and then..."

"the accident."

"yes. i was lucky, mister nichols. people like to say it like that, they like to say, you should have died. in that tone, you know? they don't mean they wanted me to die. they mean that by all laws of nature, i should not be alive anymore. so i was lucky. but still. it changes a person. when francis returned to me after college, he was as youthful and good looking as ever. but there was something in his eyes, mister nichols. i recognized it."

johnny says nothing. he's still waiting for that answer.

"it's his family," says the chair. "having to return to them after college broke the boy. and yesterday, i helped him leave. he isn't missing, private detective johnny nichols, and he certainly isn't dead or what have you. he is, however, far gone by now, and i will do anything in my power to keep his parents from finding him."

"for example," johnny says, "paying me double."

one of the slipper-clad feet bobs in the air, as if nodding along to inaudible music. "for example, paying you double."

[minmos]

what the fuck layer of discourse is this

[halycondaze]

'can you walk?' for el... hehe

                       angst starters ✦ @remsearched​

♔ — ONE ARM comes round Lindhart’s neck,  her leg limp underneath her.  Lindhart had been kind enough to voice no suspicions about her supposed training accident.  Truth hadn’t been her friend,  as of late,  and lies by omission seem to favor her more and more.  Even as her ankle buckles,  she tries to put weight on her leg.  Edelgard bites her hand, to stop herself from screaming.

     ❝  No…  ❞  she admits,  suddenly sheepish.  How could she explain this away,  tomorrow,  when all her friends notice that she is limping to class?  How will she chase away the concerns of you’re only ever injured when your uncle is visiting?  Edelgard doesn’t know what to do,  but she tries so hard to hold it in.  ❝  Can you…  help?  I don’t wish to trouble Manuela. ❞  I don’t want our classmates to see.

[whatthefucksasin]

@chaosandcocktails

It’s one’s the biggest “ships” fans have for us and it’s literally the worst.

[mahokotei]

don’t let your friends know you can’t pay your debts.

[quixoticrobotic]

“Your daddy was a crooked soul with heavy hand and bourbon cold. I shot him dead you walked in you were the prettiest thing I ever stole.” Is such a compelling lyric like Ludo wtf you can’t jam that interesting a story into two sentences

[starpawed]

    mother had gone through another meltdown , etsuki wasn't sure what it was about this time  ----  but it was severe  (  the ache in their cheekbone reminded them of that every few seconds  )  . their dearest twin  (  their savior  )  had stepped in to take the brunt of it ,  &&  through their unspoken rule etsuki took takehiko  &&  fled into the crowds of the nearby city .

    their grip had remained vicelike on the boy's shoulders , but even so they managed to lose him . stopped at a vending machine  (  their dinner for that night  )  they'd released him to buy him the candy he desired with their meager pocket change . he was a child ,  &&  while smart , he'd had a rough night  ----  wandering away for a mere moment devolved into losing track of one another entirely .

    ❝  t - takehiko  ----  !!  ❞  as that all too familiar cold feeling settled in their gut they darted through the crowd , calling his name . a few minutes passed ,  &&  their desperation grew . spotting a tired looking man they stopped in front of him , blocking his path .

    ❝  sir  ----  i lost my brother , have you seen a child anywhere near here , alone ? h - he's about yea high , elementary schooler , black hair  ----  ❞  speaking rapidly , too frazzled to use their usual verbal quirks , they search the man's face for any sign that he knew something , anything , about their brother . // @oshikakei ; starter call