#malpractitioner

[kodahonk]

zealot boyfriend? more likely than you think.

stupid comic prompted by DraconicBlade on discord

alt 2nd slide + og prompt under cut

no i dont remember the context for this

[hungover-and-broke-student]

A little something based on an old thread with @malpractitioner that I've had rotating in my brain for a while. Cut for length!

After one last look around and with some irritated grumbling, Riley finished the last of her night shift and headed home into the night. Winter had arrived in full force and in the earliest hours, well before the plows and salt trucks got out to clear it, the snow made the city almost unrecognizable. Street lights now offered a hazy glow instead of harsh shadows and the usual car honks and sirens were replaced by the soft hiss of snowfall and crunches underfoot.

Block by block, she made her way home, enjoying the scenery as snow filled in her footprints. But as she approached the outermost edges of campus, with the oldest and most neglected buildings and almost a dozen blocks still to go, a cruel wind began picking up. She was prepared for a few flurries, not a blizzard, and her layers were proving insufficient.

Cold. Burning, numbing cold crept deep into her bones, chasing all sensation from her hands and feet as she stumbled up the steps of the old, imposing medical building and tested the handle. Expecting it to be locked, Riley was almost startled at the ease in which it opened, the warmth inviting her as she slipped in.

"Hello?" Riley quietly asked the sprawling darkness. But only silence answered back. Perhaps the cleaning staff forgot to lock the door when they left? Were they still here? Was she not loud enough?

"Anyone here?"

No response. Just cold, quiet, darkness and the soft drip of snow melting onto the floor.

A bit odd, but nothing to worry about. She was just grateful for the chance to warm up enough to get the feeling back in her hands before braving the rest of the way home.

Wandering deeper through the halls, she had just turned to leave when she heard it. When walking through the woods, people will sometimes jump a bit before realizing that they've noticed a snake in their path, and this was eerily similar. Her eyes widened, hair stood on end and heart raced before she could even register the single scream ringing through the hall, clawing its way to escape, to anyone who might hear it. A single, desperate, and terrified, "HELP ME!" Came from down the hall behind her.

And then it was quiet again. Nothing to be heard over her own heart in her ears. Leave. Immediately. But who could be down there? Doesn't matter. What would have made them so scared? Do you want to find out? Maybe I can help them? Your phone died hours ago. Isn't it better to know what danger may be there?

Riley crept deeper into the dark, taking care to step lightly and listen for any sign of who or what screamed, but it was just her footsteps and the silence around her. Until she noticed a soft glow from a small window on a door to one of the labs and crept close enough to peer in.

It was hard to tell what was going on at first, some papers on a desk, some chemistry equipment, an empty coffee maker, some chairs tipped over... and a body on the floor. Horribly still, eyes rolled back and mouth agape in a post-mortem scream. Locked in horror, time slowed around her until movement caught her eye. Someone else was in the room, and he saw her.

At once, she turned heel and raced back to the entrance, stumbling blindly through the shadowy labyrinth. The halls seemed to have gotten longer since she first wandered through, she couldn't have really walked so far, right? Did she pass through these classrooms already? Did she take the right one? Before she could despair, she saw it, the soft red glow of an EXIT sign. With a loud 'CRACK' she ran into the handle, but the door didn't budge. It wasn't locked. It was frozen shut.

"Riley?"

So caught up with the door, she hadn't heard him approach, now blocking the main hall. Despite the darkness, she recognized the long limbs, large glasses and imposing stature of her psychology professor, Doctor Jonanthan Crane.

"What are you doing here?" He didn't sound angry, moreso confused and almost amused. Like they ran into each other at a gas station out of town, instead of getting caught for murder. He looked slightly disheveled compared to his lectures during class, eyes bloodshot and shirt untucked, but the way his gaze pierced through her was all the same.

"I swear to God, I didn't see anything." The words spilled out without control.

He paused for a moment, before simply stating with the authority of an educator getting a confession from a problem student, "That's not what I asked, is it?"

She stared for a moment, so wound up with her own fear she had to organize her thoughts enough to go through that night's events. Starting with her shift ending, the freezing walk and her stumbling back to their current conversation. Whether he believed her, or cared enough not to, she couldn't tell. He just stood there. "I swear, I won't tell anyone."

There was a flash of amusement as he took a few steps toward her. Riley had nowhere to back up. "I can't see why you would, it's your word against mine, isn't it?" Who would you believe? He didn't have to say it, she already knew the answer and it made her insides twist. A celebrated doctor and professor, head of the psychology department versus a mentally ill drug addict. Who would you believe? Who would you believe?

He closed the gap between them and terror wrapped itself around her neck like a noose, slowly growing tighter. "Please dont kill me." It was hardly louder than the soft buzz from the sign above, but it wouldn't have mattered. She was going to die, alone and terrified, just like the other student. But this time, without anyone snooping around to find out what happened. Would anyone even notice she was gone?

Terrified and with no way out, a memory flashed through her mind, a final hail Mary. It couldn't make things worse, could it?

"I'll help you! Y-you need help with your experiments, right? If you don't kill me, I swear I'll help you." There was a flash of surprise as he studied her face, leaving her in the agonizing limbo between life and death. Time dragged as he clearly relished her uncertainty, before turning and gesturing for her to follow.

"Alright then, let's get started. "

[hungover-and-broke-student]

@malpractitioner continued from here

Extinguishing the last of her cigarette, snow was just starting to fall around her and the thought of classes cancelling that day brought a childish grin to her face as she entered the lecture building. The excuse for security always unlocked this building first so it made for a nice break from the frigid Gotham winter in the early mornings when she had to trek to work. Rubbing some warmth back into her hands she made her way down to the bottom floor’s water fountain. 

Halls still dark from the weekend would stay dark and quiet for another few hours until the janitor staff came. About halfway up the first flight of stairs from the basement she heard... something. Almost like a last desperate wail-coming from the lecture room down the hall behind her. 

Creeping lightly toward the closest door, she found the thin window covered from the inside. Putting her ear just above the wood she listened for a clue, there were still sounds coming from inside, but nothing loud like before.

There was a sliver of light coming from around a darkened corner, the blocker had come loose and become crooked, leaving a big enough gap to look in. All that could be seen was what looked like a sweaty and disheveled professor Crane standing over a pile on the floor. The scene before her was almost normal, maybe the man was grading papers or editing a lecture early or something? Still it was jarring enough to see the usually well dressed and well groomed man unkempt for once.

Until he moved aside and she caught a glimpse of a classmate’s face frozen in twisted, agonizing terror, contorted as if he was still screaming even after death. The kid had always been nice enough, she didn’t know his name but he didn’t deserve this. Nor does he deserve to be forgotten as soon as the next student is found dead somewhere on campus. Which could very well end up being her if she doesn’t get away from the door.

Taking care to walk lightly and look back almost every other step, Riley just made it past the water fountain when she heard the unmistakable clunk of a door unlocking down the hall.

[hungover-and-broke-student]

@malpractitioner continued from here

Showing up unannounced as she started sobering up for the day could be considered brash but she fixed her hair a bit and opened the door to let him in. “Sit down if you want,” She picked up a few pieces of clutter so the place didn’t look too terrible, “What uh, what can I help you with?”

[riddledpsyche]

Waking up to some replies is always fun until SOMEONE is ruuuude.

“Nygma talked too fast and too loud – said too much without really saying anything at all. Nothing of substance. It was a shame all of that intelligence was trumped by how utterly irritating he was.”

@malpractitioner    R00D!!!! Im a delight to be around! It’s your boring scrawny ass that is irritating. I’m going to stick you in a round bale of straw, Jonathan! Then roll you down a hill. <3

OTP material right here. :D

[riddledpsyche]

Eddie: Let me seduce you with my awkwardness.

Jon: What the fuck is seduction?

Eddie: This...*Careless Whisper starts playing*

Eddie: So, Jonathan-

Jon: Never mind just stop.

[apocalypsxmaidxn]

@malpractitioner

              [[ ✡ ]] “I’ve been through worse so whatever you’ll do will seem like child’s play..if I can handle being in hell with my father, then I can handle whatever hell I’ll be put through.”

[hungover-and-broke-student]

@malpractitioner

“H-hey professor, w-wait look I-I know this is like standard procedure and y'all have to do this whenever someone is depressed or whatnot. But this isn’t exactly a new problem for me a-and I’m honestly managing it just fine in my own.”

Despite Riley’s nervous insistence that she was fine, the heavy bags under her eyes and with her forearms multitude of scars littered with fresher wounds, said she was telling anything but the truth.