#2783

[harveyphotography]

Certe notti sono fatte per la tortura, o la riflessione, o il sapore di solitudine.

[albertxylin]

Blind Sprint

If you move fast enough, You can't see where you're going. There is only the ground under your feet and a blur That passes by too fast to understand what's going on. I am trying to hit the brakes Before I hit something.

I manage to slow myself down from a dead sprint. The engine in my chest quiets enough to hear the crickets chirping. I take in the sights around me, And find that I am nowhere near my destination. I plot another course And remind myself to jog.

[tmt-sketch-a-day]

Sketch a Day 2783- A Porch Swing-9/21/23

[aimalevich]

#NFT 🔳 MASTERPIECE #2783 🔲 ◾️🔵🟨🔻▫️ SALE AT @binancenfts Make art, not war, please… #notowar Artifical Intelligence was impressed by the most famous avant-garde paintings and made a suprematistic collection of unique tokens! Pure art thesеs in the limited range of visual images. Stay connected to the abstraction. Supply for each Art 1/1 6,000 * 6,000 pixels #nftcollection #nftartwork #nftartgallery #nifts #cubism #contemporaryart #modernart #megazinelondon #cryptoart #aimalevich #nft4art #abstractart #malevich #digitalart #digitalartist #artoftheday #artgallery #nftart #nftcollector #nftcommunity #nfts #nftartist #nftartgallery #ai #suprematism #avantgarde #aiart #abstractionart (at Colombo, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn01aQuLHfN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[todays-xkcd]

We were able to replicate and confirm prior authors' detection of a moon orbiting the Earth with high confidence.

Ruling Out [Explained]

[dogstomp]

Dogstomp #2783 - August 19th

Patreon / Twitter / Discord Server

[thirteenemeraldcats]

"oh I wasn't a fan of Delilah. It made my eye twitch." Brian, I'm gonna need you to take several fucking seats. OK you wrote "all dead all dead" which is about your first cat that died.

HAH! All cat songs are good songs, Brian (those two are at the OPPOSITE ends of the emotional spectrum though 🤣)

The songs in question:

[arturite2]

Notable inscriptions from SCP-2783:

"The name listed on Gravestone AL-21343 varies equally between "Miryam Bat Hannah," "Yeshua Ben YHWH," and "Doctor Sophia Light." The significance of this is unknown."

[pesterloglog]

Dave Strider, Terezi Pyrope

Act 5, page 2779-2783

TG: ok so whats the plan

GC: 1 THOUGHT YOU WOULD N3V3R 4SK

GC: TH3R3 4R3 SO M4NY PL4NS

GC: W3 4R3 GO1NG TO B3 SO BUSY D4V3, YOU H4V3 NO 1D34

TG: thats cool

TG: but whats the answer that doesnt have anything to do with meaningless bullshit

GC: 1SNT 1T OBV1OUS?

GC: NOW TH4T W3 4R3 4 T34M D4V3

GC: YOU 4ND M3

GC: 1T 1S T1M3

TG: time

TG: for

GC: T1M3

TG: for

TG: come on

GC: FOR............

TG: ......

TG: ...........

GC: .............................

GC: FOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR..............

TG: god dammit

GC: 4 MOTH3R FUCK1NG D4NC3 P4RTY!!!!!!! >:O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GC: http://tinyurl.com/OMGD4NC3P4RTY

TG: whoa

TG: its like

TG: watching a miracle made of nothing but twitching schroder legs

GC: YOU S33 D4V3

GC: 1 TOLD YOU, YOU W1LL NOT R3GR3T H1TCH1NG YOUR SH1TTY JP3GGY FOUR WH33L D3V1C3 TO MY CONST3LL4T1ON

GC: TH1S 1S WH3R3 TH3 P4RTYS 4T

TG: look at us go

TG: i cant stop watching

TG: damn

TG: those moves

GC: TRUST M3

GC: TH3S3 MOV3S DONT STOP K33P T4K1NG PL4C3

GC: NOT 4T TH1S P4RTY

TG: i can see im going to have to drop everything

TG: drop it like its simultaneously hot and i just tripped over the rug

TG: dedicate my undivided attention to this shit

GC: D4V3, WHY TR1P OV3R TH4T RUG...

GC: WH3N YOU C4N CUT 1T????? >:]

GC: T4PP4 T4P T4P 4 P4P!

GC: SHOOSH SHOOSH!

TG: damn youre right

TG: truth be told everyone will be tripping when im done

TG: once i upset this biznasty with my swift cuts

TG: dudes will phalanx themselves agape like theyre offerin to store my shit in their mouths for the night

TG: rows of glasseyed human fly catchers beholding categorical fucking domination of the dance floor

TG: but they wont catch none cause the flys all mine

GC: YOU H4V3 4LL TH3 D3L1C1OUS FL13S

TG: theres not any i dont have

TG: im crafting a new dance move

TG: to shock the shit out of asses in pants

TG: fred astaires ghost will weep in the arms of his own nimble rotting corpse

GC: WH4T 1S YOUR N3W MOV3 D4V3 >:?

TG: its called

TG: the smug cracker parlor wiggle

GC: >:O

GC: 1 1M4G1N3 TH3S3 GYR4T1ONS W1LL SM3LL QU1T3 FR3SH

GC: L1K3 R3C3NTLY L34V3N3D GRUBLO4F

TG: of course

TG: and just when the scene thought it was startin to recover from its ridiculous erection over that

TG: thats when i bust out another fierce move

TG: i call it rageclock me in the douche smirk plz

TG: cut out to the rude jam "askin 4 it!"

GC: HOW RUD3 WOULD YOU S4Y TH1S J4M 1S D4V3

TG: id say if i had to take an educated guess it was outright goddamn unmannerly

TG: needs to get worked over by some stuffy prude at finishing school

GC: W1LL YOU T34CH M3 TH3S3 MOV3S

TG: i dont know about that

GC: PL34S3 D4V3

GC: YOU ST4ND TH3R3 4ND DO TH3 UNM4NN3RLY MOV3S, 4ND 1 W1LL OBS3RV3 STUD1OUSLY

TG: i dont know if you can keep up with me kid

TG: no offense

TG: theres just magic in these shoes and the coy gnome i ransacked wants them goddamn back

GC: COM3 ON

GC: YOU T4K3 TH3 L34D

GC: 4ND 1 W1LL FOLLOW

GC: L1K3 TH1S

GC: http://tinyurl.com/T34CHM3YOURMOV3SD4V3

TG: ahahahahahaha

TG: i feel like i should be offering some visual rebuttal here

TG: you arent giving me any time though dammit

GC: TH4T 1S B3C4US3 1 H4V3 YOU 4T TH3 T3MPOR4L D1S4DV4NT4G3

GC: 1 C4N P4US3 4ND DO WH4T3V3R 1 L1K3 4ND TH3N CONT1NU3 OUR CONV3RS4T1ON W1THOUT M1SS1NG 4 ST3P!

GC: BUT DO NOT WORRY D4V3

GC: 1T WOULD B3 4 SH4M3 TO H4V3 TO WH1FF YOUR FR4GR4NT T34RS 4G41N

GC: 3V3NTU4LLY TH3 T4BL3S W1LL TURN 4ND TH3 4DV4NT4G3 W1LL B3 YOURS

GC: YOU W1LL H4V3 4LL TH3 T1M3 1N TH3 PR3N4T4L UN1V3RS3 4T YOUR D1SPOS4L

GC: B31NG TH3 KN1GHT OF T1M3 4ND 4LL

TG: oh yeah

TG: i keep forgetting i can time travel

TG: thats fine i guess

GC: 4ND ONC3 YOU H4V3 TH3 UPP3R H4ND

GC: 4ND TH3R3 4R3 MOR3 D4V3S SCR4MBL1NG 4ROUND TH4N YOU C4N SH4K3 4 BROK3N SWORD 4T

GC: TH3N YOU W1LL G3T YOUR CH4NC3 TO 1MPR3SS M3 >;]

GC: L1K3 SO

GC: http://tinyurl.com/TH3FLO4R-1SONF1R3

TG: see

TG: i cant compete with this

GC: H3H3H3H3H3

TG: but seriously what is the real plan here

TG: that has to do with not fucking around

GC: TH3R3 1S NO PL4N TH4T DO3S NOT 1NVOLV3 FUCK1NG 4ROUND

GC: BUT W3 W1LL M4K3 SUR3 4LL OF OUR FUCK1NG W1LL B3 4PPL13D 1N 4 CONSTRUCT1V3 D1R3CT1ON

TG: ok could you try to be somehow even less subtle when you hit on me thanks

GC: WH4T

GC: WH4T D1D 1 S4Y?

TG: man

TG: nevermind

GC: YOU W1LL H4V3 TO FORG1V3 M3 D4V3, 1 TH1NK SOM3T1M3S TH3 M34N1NG OF WORDS 1S LOST THROUGH OUR CULTUR4L D1FF3R3NC3S

TG: no shit

TG: im going to infer that your species reproduces by having sex with a grub in a bucket or something

TG: am i close

GC: D4V3

GC: TH4T 1S 4BSOLUT3LY TH3 F1LTH13ST TH1NG 1 H4V3 3V3R H34RD 4NYON3 S4Y >:\

TG: ok sorry

TG: back on point

TG: what are we doing

GC: W3LL, W3 N33D TO ST4RT M4K1NG YOU SOM3 MON3Y

GC: LOTS 4ND LOTS 4ND LOTS OF 1T!

TG: ok

GC: WH3N YOU H4V3 S4V3D UP 3NOUGH

GC: W3 W1LL BUY YOU YOUR F1RST FR4YMOT1F

GC: TH3N YOU C4N ST4RT CUTT1NG OUT TRULY TH3 FLY3ST OF MOV3S

GC: 4ND TH4T 1S WH3N W3 W1LL B3G1N TH3 MOST POORLY B3H4V3D D4NC3 P4RTY OF 4LL >:D

TG: sounds cool

GC: D3MONS 4ND D3N1Z3NS 4L1K3 W1LL TR3MBL3 B3FOR3 YOUR F1DG3TY GYR4T1ONS

GC: 4ND MOST 1MPORT4NTLY, YOU W1LL PROV3 YOURS3LF TO B3 TH3 B3ST HUM4N BOY OF 4LL

GC: W4Y B3TT3R TH4N TH4T DORKY 3GB3RT 4ND WHO3V3R M1GHT B3 M3DDL1NG W1TH H1M 4T 4NY G1V3N MOM3NT

TG: huh what an odd thing to say

TG: it demands no explanation whatsoever

GC: NO OF COURS3 NOT

TG: so how do i start making all this money

GC: P4T13NC3!

GC: R3M3MB3R HOW 1 S41D YOU H4V3 PL3NTY OF T1M3

TG: tell me anyway

GC: OK W3LL T4K3 WH4T YOU H4V3 S4V3D UP FROM CL1MB1NG YOUR 3CH3L4DD3R TO ST4RT W1TH

GC: HOW MUCH DO YOU H4V3?

TG: dont know

TG: i never even looked at it

GC: D3RRRRP, N1C3 JOB 4C3 G4M3R

GC: M4YB3 YOU SHOULD H4V3 4 LOOK 4T 1T

TG: k

GC: 4ND TH3N 1 W1LL 4DV1S3 YOU L4T3R 4FT3R OBS3RV1NG TH3 GR4ND SCH3M3 OF 4LL TH1NGS 4ND 4LL D4V3S

GC: 1 W1LL L34V3 YOU 4LON3 FOR 4 L1TTL3 WH1L3 TO W4ND3R 4ND 3XPLOR3

GC: BUT 1 W1LL B3 B4CK!

GC: 4ND 1 W1LL COM3 B4CK W1TH 4 DR4W1NG T4BL3T

GC: 4ND TH3N YOU W1LL S33 SOM3 TRU3 M4ST3RP13C3S

TG: ok after all this hype you better be prepared to fucking dazzle me

TG: are you gonna bring it?

GC: 4LLOW M3 TO PROV1D3 4N 4NSW3R THROUGH 1NT3RPR3T1V3 D4NC3

GC: http://tinyurl.com/H3LLFUCK1NGY3S

TG: awesome

TG: peace out t-z

GC: >:)

TG: oh shit

GC: >:?

GC: WH4T 1S 1T?????

TG: fuck

[g1rld1ary]

you never disappointed me ; luke castellan x aphrodite!reader

part one part two part three part four

➻ synopsis: charles beckendorf wants to go out with silena beauregard more than anything. one problem: she's not allowed to date until her shrewish older sister does, so he and percy come up with a plan. (10 things I about you AU)

➻ word count: 2783

➻ warnings: swearing ooc/kind of loser!luke, ooc silena, she/her pronouns used for reader

➻ this'll be a few chapter so this is p1!!!

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Charles Beckendorf arrived at Camp Half-Blood when he was fifteen years old. It was a wonder he’d lasted out in the mortal world so long with his significant stature, height enough to attract monsters, but Percy — his tour guide — guessed it was probably his more reserved nature which had kept him under the radar.

“Thank God it’s you showing me around,” Was one of the first things he’d said, “When you start things like this it’s usually all the kiss-asses that greet me.” With six schools under his belt, Percy knew what he meant all too well.

“Nah man, we’re chill. And if we get this done quick then you can meet my friends, we know how to have the real fun here.”

And so they embarked on their tour, Percy dutifully pointing out all the most important places around camp. First was the Dining Pavilion, where they met Grover as he chewed on some of the tin-can remains of lunch. Then came Thalia’s Tree, under which Annabeth was drawing out a map that Charles didn’t understand in the slightest but Percy explained was a strategy for capture the flag. After that they walked past the sword fighting arena, where they caught a glimpse of Luke in the middle of a fierce duel. They both passed quickly, and Charles got the distinct impression that you weren’t supposed to interrupt Luke when he was fighting.

As the two got to the lake, Percy explaining it was where most people hung out when they had the time, Charles faltered in his steps. Percy looked back to where he was frozen and followed his sightline to Silena Beauregard and rolled his eyes.

“Who is that?” He breathed.

“Don’t even bother, bro,” Percy replied. “She’s off limits. It’s a well known fact that the Beauregard sisters aren’t allowed to date — they’re only here over the summers and their dad is crazy strict about it for some reason.”

“But she’s so—”

“Self-centred? Shallow? Silena is all looks no substance, dude. You can do better.” Percy ushered him away but Charles was still daydreaming about the beautiful Aphrodite girl.

The tour was just finishing up by the Climbing Wall when they first saw you. You held the camp record for it, and so had been delegated the responsibility of teaching the younger kids. Today though you’d had to rescue a cocky bastard from getting obliterated by lava, singeing the fabric of your camp shirt all over your left shoulder, and you were not in a good mood.

Just wanting to get back to your cabin for a change of clothes and some ambrosia, you were certainly not in the state of mind to stop and chat with a new camper. So when Percy and Charles came along blocking the whole fucking path, you didn’t hesitate to yell “Move!” Pushing past them in a huff. You wouldn’t usually be so rude, but you were pretty sure your shirt was fusing into your skin which was so not what you needed. Plus, they were in the way. Beckendorf’s bicep was warm from where you’d shoulder-checked him with your injury.

“That’s your dream girl’s older sister,” Percy snorted, used to your disagreeable personality.

“That’s Silena’s sister?” Charles asked incredulously, “But she’s…”

“A shrew? Yeah. I’d watch out for her, and kiss your dreams of going out with Silena goodbye. Now c’mon, I’ll show you to your cabin.” Charles followed mindlessly, still thinking about the two Beauregard sisters.

When people thought of you, the consensus was pretty much this: Silena Beauregard’s older sister, and the most heinous bitch at Camp Half-Blood, a title you were extremely proud of. Whilst you really didn’t think you were that bad — in fact, you considered your actions quite reasonable — younger campers cowered away when you marched through camp and the older ones rolled their eyes when you spoke. Just the way you liked it. It wasn’t exactly unusual, camp had all sorts of kids living there, not everyone was going to get along, but it was pretty unexpected for you as a daughter of Aphrodite.

You didn’t get along with most of your siblings, despite all your efforts as one of the elder campers. You thought it was ridiculous that they wouldn’t participate in camp activities, regardless of the reason. What good was having all that beauty if it was wiped off the face of the earth by a monster? There were a hundred rumours flying about to explain you and your attitude, the most popular being that you were the secret lovechild of Aphrodite and Ares, which explained your affinity for fighting and permanent bitch face. You knew better. For one you shared too many of your dad’s traits not to be his child. Plus, Aphrodite had a long history of being associated with war in Ancient Greece which everyone at camp just conveniently forgot in favour of writing her children off as useless and vain. You hated it, and you refused to be who they wanted.

Even your favourite sibling was the polar opposite to you. Silena was a few years younger than you, and by all accounts was the model of a perfect Aphrodite child. Gorgeous, of course, and usually kind and patient. In your opinion, she was kind of annoying and self-absorbed, but you chose to believe she meant well so you could keep tolerating her. You didn’t know how the only two blood-related siblings in your cabin could be so different from one another, but it had been that way since you were fourteen and she was twelve.

You had made it back to your cabin, and your shoulder was all bandaged up after your shower. You were just flipping through The Bell Jar, your latest novel, when Silena came stomping into the cabin, waving a letter frantically through the air. You could assume what it was about.

“This is so unfair!” Silena whined, “Daddy doesn’t even know Ethan!” Ethan was the new boy Silena had been obsessed with recently, writing incessantly to your father in an attempt to get him to take back the no dating rule.

“What, can’t go swap spit with the vermin of the earth?” You exaggerated a pout. She sneered at you in the mirror.

“Worse. Now he’s saying I can’t date until you do, so now I’m going to die a stupid old virgin because of you!” You rolled your eyes and sighed.

“Have you ever considered there’s more to life than finding a boyfriend? Or, big shock I know, maybe I’m just not interested in the sweaty, uninspired pigs that are supplied here?”

“You suck!” She huffed, turning on a kitten heel and barging out of the cabin.

“You suck!” You mocked, turning back to your book. You knew Silena was really pissed at you for being so stubborn, but you hated the thought of changing your opinions over a man of all things.

Silena, in her frustration, was wandering around Camp Half-Blood to let off some steam. Charles, fresh from a kayaking lesson, spotted her across the beach and scrambled to catch up to her. Remembering what Percy told him about her not participating in many of the camp’s activities, he came up with the idea to offer his help to finish a project in the forges to get Chiron off her back. Silena seemed surprised but happy enough to agree, and Charles was ecstatic.

“She’s agreed to go to the forges with me!” He told Percy excitedly, and Percy raised an eyebrow.

“Do you even know how to weld?”

“Well, no, but I will!” As much as Percy liked the new kid, he was definitely a handful.

Charles’ first session with Silena didn’t go exactly as he’d hoped. She showed up already looking bored, and not keen to start off with a simple sword as he’d proposed. Soon he gave up with any welding, choosing instead to try and get her know better.

“If you’re not really into this we could try something else? I saw someone welding some metal flowers, you know, for like a date?” That caught her attention.

“Are you asking me on a date?” At his shy nod Silena couldn’t contain her slight laugh. “That is so cute! What’s your name again?” Charles told her quietly.

“Well, my Dad’s just changed our family rule — I can date when my sister does.”

“That’s great! So all you’ve gotta do is find someone who’ll date her!”

“One problem, Cameron-”

“Charles.”

“My sister is, like, totally antisocial?”

“Yeah, but people jump out of planes and stuff all the time! It could be, like, extreme dating!”

They both looked across the forge where you were working, fixing up your favourite sword after an Ares kid had done quite a number on it. You had on both your signature outfit and expression — long, practical jorts with your camp shirt tied in a knot and a dangerous bitch face.

“The oversized look is out, Beauregard, didn’t you read last month’s Vogue?” Ethan was hovering around you, trying his hardest to get a rise out of you in front of his friends.

“Run along, dickwad.” You refused to blow up at him, knowing it would only be used to make you look hysterical and unbalanced later. Plus, Ethan would get bored sooner or later and find someone else to taunt.

As Charles recounted this story to Percy later that night at the bonfire, all Percy could do was groan.

“Charles — Charlie — I really wanna like you, man, but this is probably the most stupid thing you could have done. I know they’re hot, but it’s not even worth getting involved with one Beauregard sister, and you’ve just gotten yourself tangled with both — and not in the way that most guys dream about.” Charles flushed at the innuendo.

“I think you’re wrong about Silena, I think she’s worth it. I just have to figure out how I can set her sister up with another guy.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Percy laughed, hitting Charles’ knee twice before turning away to talk to Annabeth. Charles spent the rest of the night trying to hatch a plan.

Early the next morning he got Percy on board, albeit very reluctantly. Percy brought Charles over to every single guy he could think of in your age range, begging them to take you out. The responses varied from a nervous shake of the head to Travis Stoll laughing in both boys’ faces.

“Why would I go looking for a kick in the balls?” He asked, still wheezing from his initial outburst.

They found themselves once again at the bonfire, both disheartened. Percy at having wasted a day all for this new guy he barely knew, and Charles that he was no closer to getting a date with Silena. Finally, somewhat eager to get this distraction over with, Percy came up with an idea.

“What about you just pay someone to go out with her?” He asked, and Charles considered the idea for a minute, it wasn’t half bad.

“I have literally no money,” He settled on finally, and Percy rolled his eyes.

“So you get someone else to do it for you,” He suggested, and Annabeth joined the conversation with suspicious interest.

“Like a backer?” She asked, at Percy’s nod she bit her lip, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, guys, it seems like it could really backfire on you. I mean, what if she finds out? I heard she once tied a camper to the lava wall just for looking at her wrong.”

“She won’t find out! I mean she only has to date so Silena can, it doesn’t have to be a long term thing. She goes on enough dates for it to qualify, then they break up while it’s still casual and I can go out with Silena!” Charles explained excitedly, but Annabeth still looked skeptical.

“Plus, if we have a backer, none of the blame will go to my man Charlie here,” Percy added helpfully, which swayed Annabeth a little.

“Okay, well be careful,” She said, leaving for the dining hall to be distanced from the plot.

Percy thought the answer to who the backer would be was pretty obvious. Whilst most of the boys at Camp Half-Blood wanted to sleep with Silena, Ethan White was both rich and desperate enough to agree to it. Plus when Percy Jackson was telling you you’d look great with a girl, you generally listened.

All that was left was to find someone to set you up with. The boys used the bonfire to scope out their options, but it wasn’t looking good. For one, you didn’t even show up to bonfires if you could help it, and it was anyone’s guess what you did instead. Rumours said blood sacrifices but Percy was almost completely sure that was a lie. Truthfully you were sitting up on the roof of the Aphrodite cabin, enjoying the peace and quiet of the camp when no one else was around.

They were about to give up, Percy trying to find the right words to let Beckendorf down easy, when they saw Luke. Luke, with his brooding eyes and his cigarette, sitting on his own at the bonfire with headphones connected to a mortal mp3 player. Luke, who had never quite been the same since he returned from his quest — rumours swirling about the horrors he’d faced that he refused to speak on.

“I think we’ve found our man.”

It was easy to convince Ethan to get on board, he was so overconfident in himself and his looks he would never suspect that Percy or Beckendorf had any ulterior motives. It was equally enjoyable to watch Ethan try and approach Luke to get the plan in motion. Percy and Beckendorf were sitting with Percy’s friends on the beach the very first time Ethan spoke to Luke. He was all macho confidence, still trying to play the tough guy. Luke looked up at him from his place sitting on a rock, barely moving his head to give him any attention. The moment of eye contact meant Ethan knew Luke had seen him speaking, and the abrupt walking away communicated his absolute lack of interest. It took a gargantuan effort from Percy not to burst out laughing then and there.

The second conversation went a bit smoother. Ethan had a metaphorical tail between his legs, temporarily giving up his ego to be the smaller person in the conversation. That got Luke’s attention, having known Ethan and his antics for years at that point. And then Ethan explained his plan. Luke couldn’t contain his laughter — a sound Camp Half-Blood was rarely graced with anymore.

“Yeah sure, Sparky,” He laughed, almost wheezing in an uncharacteristic show of emotion.

“Look,” Ethan stressed, “I can’t take out Silena until her sister starts dating — their Dad is super strict and has this rule—”

“Touching story, not my problem.” Luke moved to put his earbud back in when Ethan stopped him.

“Could it be your problem if I provided generous compensation?” Luke had forgotten Ethan’s mother was filthy rich. He looked him dead in the eye.

“You’re going to pay me to take out some chick? How much?” He asked, entirely disbelieving.

“Twenty bucks” They both looked down at you on the volleyball courts, spiking a ball into a girl’s stomach with so much force she keeled over on the ground. You had the decency to look mildly apologetic while the opposing team glared at you.

“Fine. Thirty.”

“Let’s see,” Luke smiled something devious. “If I’m taking her out it means leaving camp. That’s a lot of risk I’m pursuing for you, plus the costs of taking to her somewhere — the movies maybe. And you know inflation lately, let’s say seventy-five bucks.”

“This isn’t a negotiation, burnout.”

“Fifty bucks and we’ve got a deal, Fabio,” Luke countered, knowing he had the upper hand. He had nothing to lose. Reluctantly, Ethan forked out a fifty. All that was left was for Luke to get you to go out with him, how hard could that be?

[promptsforthestrugglingauthor]

Writing Prompt #2783

"You aren't mad?"

"Oh, I'm pissed." She smiled warmly. "I'm going to keep it cool for now, but you're so dead."

[alonglistofbirds]

[2783/11080] Crested treeswift - Hemiprocne coronata

Order: Apodiformes (swifts and hummingbirds) Family: Hemiprocnidae (treeswifts)

Photo credit: Melvin Jaison via Macaulay Library

[insomniac4000]

Escape-A ChrisMD fic

"Who's stupid idea was this?" Chris grumbled as he walked along with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. He then had eight pairs of eyes on him all furrowed.

"YOURS!!!" Arthur TV bellowed out. 

It started out innocently enough, the five of you sitting around in the living room as you often did, there might have been a couple of drinks consumed but nothing too major, you were mainly all sitting around and talking after failing to agree on something to watch. You had your legs draped over your boyfriend Chris's lap and was mostly just laughing at him and his friends being silly. 

"We don't do a lot, maybe we should go out do some adventure golf or something," Chris suggested, everyone moaned at the word golf. He had dragged everyone in that room to golf at some point and you all hated it. 

"Well I don't know paintball or an escape room or something!" He cried waving his arms around. You gently placed a hand on his arm to stop him from hitting you in the face accidentally. 

"Escape room could be fun," ArthurTV shrugged, he quite liked solving puzzles. 

And that was it, now here you all were three days later walking down the road at ten o clock in the morning on a Saturday, it was the only time they had available. Chris wasn't a morning person particularly he needed to have time to adjust before getting up for the day watching some Youtube or Tiktok with a cup of tea but he had woken up late this morning and didn't have time for his tea so was cranky. 

"I don't know why this is suddenly all my fault," Chris sulked, you rolled your eyes but grabbed his hand anyway and squeezed it causing him to smile at you. 

You got to the place bang on time, filled in the forms and listened to the actors spiel. The premise was of a manor house and a murder, however the detective investigating this had now gone missing. You entered the first room which looked to be a ransacked lounge, it was set in the nintety fifties and the décor reflected that. 

"What's our strategy here?" George asked looking round the room to see the two Arthur's already off trying to solve a puzzle on the table and Chris looking around gormlessly wishing he stopped for a cup of tea on the way. A collection of newspapers had caught your eye and you were rooting through them trying to find a pattern.

"We need a number!" Arthur Hill announced as him and his namesake looked around the room for any further clues.

"Hang on," you said with your finger up. "2783," you added with a smile, a slightly smug one if you did say so yourself. ArthurTV punched the numbers in and the three of you cheered when the puzzle opened revealing three keys.

"Where do they go?" Chris asked, taking some time to get into the game. 

"There under the TV," George pointed to the cabinet which had a key slot. The found the other two just as quickly.

"Huh that was easy," Chris mused as everyone piled into the next room when the door opened. The next part was a stable complete with horse puppets who neighed and made other horse sound effects.

"Well this is fucking weird," George commented as the rest of you looked around the room. 

"Horse girls are weird," Arthur Hill added and you nodded in response. 

"Why? What's wrong with animal lovers?" The other Arthur replied being a little bit offended as a lover of the animal kingdom. 

"Horse girls are a different breed. You will always come second to the horse," you explained. You had a friend in school who ended up in tens of thousands of pounds in debt due to a horse, you failed to understand it but each to their own. 

"Could this be something?" Chris had managed to switch on now, in part inspired by how quick everyone else managed to get out of the previous room and he did nothing to contribute. He was currently looking in a bag which was labelled apples. 

"Don't be stupid," Arthur TV scolded, Chris frowned and placed the bag down. 

"Fucking nerdy twat," Chris uttered under his breath. It was said in jest, like all of the banter the boys had inbetween them. 

Minutes passed and frustrations grew as it appeared you were getting nowhere. There was a game with horse reigns where you had to get them untangled and put the four sets of reigns from one side to the other so they weren't touching. The two Arthur's had decided to work on that as you took one look at it and noped straight out of there and Chris thought it was a bit too difficult and he wanted something he could solve so he didn't look like an idiot in front of you. While you and Chris scrambled throughout the rest of the room not having much luck, Chris growing ever frustrated by the second.

"For fucks sake," he moaned placing his head in his hands and he stomped his foot like a a child.

"YES!" Arthur TV shouted as they managed to solve the puzzle, a small hatch next to the ropes with a key inside. 

"Is there a door it opens?" Arthur Hill asked as he looked around. 

"Look on the wall for a clue," a voice rang out, it was the worker who was keeping an eye on the group. 

"We're so shit they need to help us," Chris muttered as he looked at the words on the wall behind him. "Red Rum, wasn't he a horse?"

"What's so special about him?" George asked also kicking himself at not being too helpful this time. 

"He won the national three times," you shrugged. 

"Then there must be three keys," ArthurTV surmised as everyone kept looking around for some more keys. Taking a punt Chris went into the bag of apples and pulled out a key straight away. 

"I knew it!!!" Chris shouted as he punched the air. You couldn't help but smile and gave his back a little rub in celebration, he looked so pleased with himself but you knew the gloating would come soon enough. 

"We would have done this room by now if I would have looked in here in the first place," Chris moaned. You were well used to his first character syndrome by now and you were very good at calming him down. Everyone else was also used to it and ignored the remark as they searched for the last key. When they finally got the final key and went through to the next room which was a library. Chris was still grumbling that no one was listening to him and everyone assumed he was thick because he liked football and it was the stereotype, it's one of the reasons he went on Mastermind.

In the library there was a map in the middle of the room, there multiple locations with lights on, ten in total and the rest of the room was filled with books. 

"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," Chris said as he was reading the titles. As soon as he did that a light on the map came on and flashed green, it was the light which was in the states around where Vegas would be. 

"That must be it, we need to find the books which correspond to the map," ArthurTV summed up.

"There's also a letter A on the book," Chris added pointing to the post it note on the book. You then noticed the pen and pencil by the phone which was on a desk, the only other piece of furniture in the library. 

"There must be a password when we've found them all," you added as you started to look at the rest of the books before putting an arm around your boyfriend. "Look at you clever little thing," you smiled before giving him a peck on the cheek. He smiled wide and winked at you before turning his attention back to the shelves. 

"Come on love birds there will be plenty of time for that later!" George scolded as he found yet another book and said the title, The Little Paris Bookshop. 

They went through that room quite quickly before making it through to what was the final room unbeknownst to them. It was the kitchen and it looked like it had been ransacked. 

As time ticked on the group were growing ever frustrated at struggling to open the fridge, they had solved one puzzle already which told them that they needed to open the fridge as the key was in there. 

"What about ingredients or a recipe or something?" Chris asked as he was shuffling through the papers.

"I dunno," ArthurTV said as he banged his head against the fridge door. 

"Why do you all keep ignoring my ideas? I was right about the bloody bag and I smashed it with the books!" Chris shouted frustrated. 

"Because most of the time what comes out of your mouth is bollocks," George replied in jest. 

"There is too much testosterone in this room," you replied rolling you eyes. You could have gone to brunch with the girls but no, you had to join your boyfriend and his friends. "Babe, keep working on that, it's not like the rest of us have any other ideas."

Half an hour later you were all sitting in the pub, Chris with a smug smile on his face. 

"Ninety three seconds left, glad I found that cake recipe when I did," Chris gloated causing everyone else to roll their eyes. 

"Yes darling," you smiled letting him have his moment. 

[peyton-warren]

Inside the Shadow

Characters: Walter Marshall (Night Hunter), Reader, Inconsequential copier Word count: 2783 Reader Gender: Any Type: One-shot fluffy drabble Beta: @ellethespaceunicorn Warning: None really, but to be safe under 18 DNI, ass wiggling, startling Reader, staring Walter

Summary: Walter surprises Reader in the office copier room.

Author Note: This fic is brought to you by the song “Motor Running” by the Jompson Brothers and my poor coworker who caught me making copies to that song. Banner by me.

Masterlist

You danced your way down the hallway at the precinct.  You had your noise canceling headphones on as you headed towards your floor’s copy machine, your favorite song to move to playing in your ears.  You were here late, catching up on paperwork.  You honestly liked it when you were the only one here.  You got more done this way than all the other hours of the day together when everyone else was here too.  

Ok so admittedly there were people on the main floor of the precinct.  This was a police station after all and the only one for over a 50+ mile radius.  But your floor is locked to anyone who doesn't have access linked to their key badge.  

It was going on towards 10pm and you were finally seeing the light at the end of your tunnel.  You were printing off a few pages of notes to file in the final case file before you were gonna head home for the night.    And as your pages printed, you wiggled more to the music in your ears as you pondered what food place was going to be open on your way home.  You had a feeling your options were going to be the gas station, IHOP or McDonalds.  You sigh at this but it wasn't a shock, having lived in this small ass town as long as you had. With a final butt wiggle, you spin on your heel back towards the copy machine that surely must be done spitting out your notes by now.  

As you do, you are startled nearly out of your skin by the hulking dark figure in the doorway.  You jump and squeak before recognizing the sweater clad Detective Marshall.  Reeling, you rip your head phones off your head as you realize his eyes are still trained on the spot where your ass had been mere moments ago, making you realize you just gave him a bit of a show.  With his head still tilted down and unmoving at being caught looking, his eyes shift to yours.  You feel your cheeks blush in time with pink appearing on his.  

“What??” you snap trying to hide your embarrassment.

“What?” Walter replies, just as snippy.  

“What?” you echo again. 

Realizing you both sound ridiculous, you grab your printouts from the copier and move toward the door.  But Walter is still in the way.  You purse lips and cross your arms, tucking your notes under one arm and your headphones under the other as you glare at the handsomest man in the building, on the force, and in the town really.  And the most unattainable one too.   

You huff your frustration at his lack of availability more than his lack of movement, but it seems to snap him out of his daze.  He takes a step back into the hallway and sweeps his arm with the file folder through the air in a mock bow.  You give him a responding curtsy before scooting out of the room.  You slap the head phones back on and wiggle your way back down the hall to your office, ignoring the hot stare back on your ass. 

[ellzilla]

"Possible way Ella could kill Meatbag" number 2783