#coach spiffy | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lafflanes · 2 years ago

Text

i decided to write down all the names on the name generator in Toontown Rewritten for convenience sake (since the TTR wiki doesnt seem to have it, and TTR has more names in the name generator than TTO did), and i thought itd be useful for other people as well!!

the list is under the cut, theres a looooot of names so i just grouped them by letter

please let me know if i left out or misspelled anything!

Title: Aunt Baron, Big Cap'n, Captain, Chef, Chief, Coach, Colonel, Cool, Count, Crazy Daring, Deputy, Dippy, Doctor, Dr., Duke Fancy, Fat Good ol', Grand ol', Granny, Grumpy Judge King Lady, Little, Loopy, Loud, Lucky Madame, Master, Miss, Mister, Mr., Mrs. Noisy Prince, Princess, Prof. Queen Sergeant, Sheriff, Silly, Sir, Skinny, Super Ugly Weird

First: Abigail, Albert, Alice, Alvin, Angel, April, Arnold, Astrid, Astro, Aurora B.D., Banjo, Barbara, Barney, Bart, Batty, Beany, Beatrix, Bebop, Becky, Bella, Bentley, Beppo, Bert, Billy, Bingo, Binky, Biscuit, Bizzy, Blinky, Bob, Bonbon, Bongo, Bonkers, Bonnie, Bonzo, Boo Boo, Boots, Bouncey, Bridget, Bruce, Bubbles, Bud, Buford, Bumpy, Bunky, Buster, Butch, Buzz C.J., C.W., Candy, Carol, Casper, Cecil, Chester, Chewy, Chip, Chipper, Chirpy, Chunky, Claire, Clancy, Clara, Clarence, Cliff, Clover, Clyde, Coconut, Comet, Cookie, Corky, Corny, Cranky, Crazy, Cricket, Crumbly, Cuckoo, Cuddles, Curly, Curt Daffodil, Daffy, Daphne, Darla, Dave, Davey, David, Dee Dee, Dinky, Dizzy, Domino, Dot, Dottie, Drippy, Droopy, Duchess, Dudley, Duke, Dusty, Dynamite Elmer, Ernie Fancy, Fangs, Felix, Finn, Fireball, Flapjack, Flappy, Fleabag, Flint, Flip, Flora, Fluffy, Freckles, Fritz, Frizzy, Funky, Furball Gale, Garfield, Gary, Giggles, Ginger, Graham, Grouchy, Gulliver, Gus, Gwen Hans, Harry, Harvey, Hazel, Hector, Holly, Hoppy, Huddles, Huey J.C., J.J., Jack, Jackie, Jacques, Jade, Jake, Jay, Jazzy, Jellyroll, Jenny, Jester, Jimmy, Johnny, Jonah, Joyce Kiki, Kippy, Kit, Knuckles Ladybug, Lancelot, Leo, Leonardo, Leroy, Lily, Lionel, Lloyd, Lollipop, Loony, Loopy, Louie, Lucky, Lucy, Lulu Mabel, Mac, Maggie, Marigold, Mary, Max, Maxie, Maxwell, Melody, Midge, Midnight, Mildew, Miles, Milton, Mitzi, Mo Mo, Moe, Molly, Monty, Murky Nathan, Ned, Nelly, Nutmeg, Nutty Octavia, Olaf, Olive, Olivia, Orville, Oscar, Oswald, Ozzie P.J., Pancake, Patsy, Patty, Peaches, Peanut, Pearl, Pebbles, Penelope, Penny, Pepper, Peppy, Petunia, Phil, Pickles, Pierre, Pinky, Pippy, Poe, Popcorn, Poppy, Presto, Punchy Rainbow, Raven, Reggie, Rhubarb, Ricky, Robin, Rocco, Rodney, Roger, Rollie, Romeo, Rory, Roscoe, Rose, Rosey, Rosie, Rover, Roxy, Ruby, Rusty Sadie, Sally, Salty, Sammie, Sandy, Sassy, Scooter, Skids, Skip, Skipper, Skippy, Slippy, Slumpy, Smirky, Smudge, Snappy, Sneezy, Sniffy, Snuffy, Soupy, Spiffy, Spike, Spotty, Spunky, Squeaky, Star, Stinky, Stripey, Stubby, Sunny, Sunshine, Susan, Sylvia Taffy, Tammy, Teddy, Tegan, Tex, Tom, Tricky, Trixie, Truffles, Tubby, Tutu, Twister Ursula Valentine, Velma, Veronica, Vicky, Violet, von Wacko, Wacky, Waldo, Wally, Wendy, Wesley, Whiskers, Whitney, Wilbur, William, Willow, Winnie Yappy, Yippie Z.Z., Zach, Zachary, Zany, Ziggy, Zilly, Zippety, Zippy, Zoinks, Zowie

Last (first part): Bagel, Banana, Barnacle, Bean, Beanie, Biggen, Bizzen, Blubber, Boingen, Bumber, Bumble, Bumpen Cheezy, Crinkle, Crumble, Crunchen, Crunchy, Cuddle Dandy, Dizzen, Dizzy, Doggen, Dyno Electro Feather, Fiddle, Fizzle, Flippen, Flipper, Flower, Fluffen, Frazzle, Frinkel, Fumble, Funny, Fuzzy Giggle, Glitter, Google, Grumble, Gumdrop Honey, Huckle, Hula Jabber, Jeeper, Jelly, Jiffy, Jiggle, Jingle, Jinx, Jumble Kooky Laffen, Lemon, Loopen Mac, Mc, Mega, Mizzen Nickel Octo Paddle, Pale, Pedal, Pepper, Petal, Pickle, Pillow, Pinker, Poodle, Poppen, Precious, Pumpkin, Purple Razzle, Rhino, Riddle, Robo, Rocken, Ruffle Slimey, Smarty, Snaggle, Sniffle, Snorkel, Sour, Spackle, Sparkle, Squiggle, Super, Swinkle Thunder, Tinker, Toppen, Tricky, Tweedle, Twiddle, Twinkle Wacky, Weasel, Whisker, Whistle, Wild, Witty, Wonder, Wrinkle Ziller, Zippen, Zooble

Last (second part): batch, bee, beep, berry, blabber, bocker, boing, boom, bop, bounce, bouncer, brains, bubble, bumble, bump, bumper, burger, butter chomp, corn, crash, crumbs, crump, crunch dazzle, doodle, dorf face, fidget, fink, fish, flap, flapper, flinger, flip, flipper, fluff, fuddy, fussen gabber, gadget, gloop, glop, glow, goober, goose, grin, grooven, grump hoffer, hopper jinks klunk, knees loop, loose marble, mash, masher, melon, mew, monkey, mooch, muddle, muffin, mush nerd, noodle, nose, nugget paws, phew, phooey, pocket, poof, pop, pounce, pow, pretzel quack roni scooter, screech, smirk, snooker, snoop, snout, socks, son, song, sparkles, speed, spinner, splat, sprinkles, sprocket, squeak, sticks, stink, swirl tail, teeth, thud, toes, ton, toon, tooth, twist whatsit, whip, whirl, wicket, wig, wiggle, wire, woof zaner, zap, zapper, zilla, zoom, zoop

#doing this made my brain turn to soup #also i find it so amusing that cookie is a name in the generator #anyone who follows my main can probably guess why lmao #strato says #toontown #toontown rewritten #save

47 notes · View notes

drcharlottehayes · 2 years ago

Link

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Coach monogram sneakers.

0 notes

buzzcutperfection · 2 years ago

Text

Plain Ridge High: Nick

It was the early fall which meant a new year of school. Time for summer to draw to a close, no more late-night swims and weekend barbecues. Back the usual grind for five days a week, seven hours of the day for the young men at Plain Ridge High Academy for Boys. But this would be the last year of this usual song-and-dance for the seniors, before they all set off next spring into whatever their life had in store for them: college, work, or service. So it was important that these young men make the most out of the next ten months of their young lives before the real world set in to motion. Nick was a budding student and a bit of an athlete, although perhaps more of a student than an athlete when you took once glance at him. He had big, black thick-rimmed glasses that definitely caught everyone’s attention when you passed him in the hallways. Having suffered the early years at this school not being called Four Eyes but rather Bug Eyes. But he just smiled and got on with it, there were worst names to be called he supposed, right? Better they called him out for that rather than his butt-chin, with the little dimple there. Although some girls might have found it cute, he didn’t get to endure the other sex’s sensitivity and support while at Plain Ridge High during the weekdays. So, just grin and bare it, as he always said. Even if the glasses may have made him a complete dork on the face side of things, at least he had his beautiful blonde locks on the top of his head. Perfectly coiffed up and over, with a hard part on his left side, combed down and then tapered very gently almost to the skin on the sides and back. A nice and clean look he had to maintain to have a very gentleman like appearance, both for the sake of his school and his parents who were filled with pride of all the things their boy might do one day. Thus every morning he took the time after his shower to perfectly comb the strands into place, applying some gel and oil that way they may stay strong and spiffy all day long as he went about his business and then afterwards for activities. He had some prospects of places he’d like to go to college next fall, all thinking more in the academic realm of things. Its not that he didn’t want to play basketball, but being just shy of six foot tall and never feeling the urge to be actively recruited by university scouts, he had always settled on his studies for the future. Right now, the sport was for fun and to have consistent friends. He would plan this fall though, now having his own car he earned from hard work all summer, to spend a lot more time playing with some of the guys after school, keeping himself going, maybe even try to get himself to go on solo runs in the morning before heading to school. Anything to stay in shape and have a good season ahead of him for his senior year. Memorable and enjoyable! Nick was walking through the halls with his books and bag on the first day of school when he came across his basketball coach and stopped to chat with him. His coach asking how his summer was, Nick asking likewise, the two of them going back and forth discussing any trips they may have gone on with their families, how it was time to get back down to school business. Coach asking if Nick was excited to be a senior, what his plans were, thoughts on the upcoming season of basketball. "You know Nick, I know basketball is still a season away. But still something to think about." "I know, I definitely want to make sure that I keep myself in shape and don’t slack off too much until then," he laughed. "Atta boy," his coach slapped his shoulder. "Might I even suggest a few things? Focus on some of the drills we had worked on at the end of last season. They’ll be good to think about and possibly help us strategize for plays to make and plan for the team. I know your more of a brains guy so we could use your help there." "I can work on that," Nick could definitely think back on how last season went and look towards what they could improve on, and especially what he could. "Great, I’d appreciate that," coach smiled. "Might I also suggest," he eyed up Nick now, "a tight butch before the season starts? I think you’d look sharp with one, think about it. I’ve always meant to say it to you. Its what my own boys used to wear when they were in season." "Oh," Nick felt speechless, "I’ll consider it, s-sir." "Fantastic, I’ll see ya around Nick," coach slapped him once again, this time on the back as he moved down the hall. A tight butch? What did that mean? Of course, Nick knew coach was referring to Nick’s hair. Wasn’t the first time someone had suggested Nick change up his hairstyle, the style he took such pride in grooming each day. He wasn’t even necessarily familiar with what a "butch" was, let alone a tight one. But he shook this notion off and headed for his homeroom classroom where a few of his buddies were already seated on tops of their desks or chairs, talking with each other. After the school bell rung to get everyone to their classes, and then the Pledge had been recited, and announcements made, their homeroom teacher began to hand out a few different flyers and papers to boys in the room. One of them was for their yearbook pictures which would be taken the following week. These would be their senior portraits too, the ones in the yearbook as well as ones they would give away to family and loved ones in the spring, in either large frames or little wallet size portraits. Vintage photos on the flyer showing young men looking their best, extra sharp. Nick adjusted his glasses a bit, felt his throat lump up for a second, taking this all in. Pictures next week, coach’s comment in the hall just moments before. Maybe waiting for the basketball season for this supposed tight butch cut might not have to happen. Why wait until then when he could do it now for his portraits? Besides, coach said he always could see Nick having a haircut like that. Maybe it was meant to be? Nick went home that day after school, had dinner with his folks, showed them all the things he got on his first day, having them sign what was necessary that he could bring back to his teachers tomorrow, before the weekend would start after the last bell. That night, before going to bed, he looked at himself in the mirror a little closer than usual, sifted his hands through his luscious locks, some of the strands still firm and stiff from the product earlier that morning, holding the outer shell of his hair in place like a piece of chocolate or something. And then the thickness within Nick’s scalp, soft and smooth strands that kept all the weight together and in proportion. His hard part still in tact like usual, he really did take good care of his hair! But at the same time, some of these hairs had probably become so toxic from all the product he put in daily, they probably weren’t the healthiest. He ought to not overdue it so much, but he couldn’t help himself. Nick liked everything in place. And besides, if he didn’t smooth it all out, to him at least in the mirror, his hair looked like it was going to frizz out. Hence why he took the time to keep it in check. But what about the new style coach had suggested? What would that be like? Maybe he wouldn’t have to use so much product anymore. Maybe a little less product would do him some good, and not in a money sense, but health wise. He did sometimes feel when he would sweat a lot during basketball practice or games that he could almost smell the hair oil from the droplets down his forehead and sides of his face. Maybe he would have to take coach’s advice? Even though, he wasn’t all that sure what a tight butch entailed, and Nick was a little nervous to ask his dad, or any of his friends the next day at school. Just because he didn’t want to have to deal with any of their reactions. He would just see what the weekend brought, and then he’d make his decision. Saturday morning was filled with an early pick-up game of basketball with some of the guys on his team and other kids they knew that did not play a fall sport and had the time to meet up. They met at one of the local parks and took over one of the courts and played for nearly three hours! It was a lot of fun but a lot of sweating, Nick was definitely feeling it. He’d also not applied too much product to his hair that morning, just to see how he would fair. And as expected, he definitely felt like his blonde hair was starting to curl and whack out of shape. What he gets for not carefully grooming it all back like usual. But who was to say it would have stayed in check anyways? They played a lot of basketball and it was getting hotter and hotter by the time it was after twelve and everyone had to call it quits, either get home for lunch or going somewhere like a family function or something. When Nick got back home, his parents were both out, running separate errands, saying they’d be back later though. Nick took a quick shower after having a small sandwich just to eat something. As he stepped out of the shower, he towel dried his hair off until it felt like there was not a wet droplet up there. When he looked at himself in the mirror with his glasses back on, he could tell how wide his hair had gone from the towel rubbing. He got out a brush and began to comb it all back and up, trying to get things in place. Some of the hair was able to relax down, but it still all looked massive and big. Like one big floof like a dog on top of his head! Man, he needed to do something about it. He immediately went to grab some of his usual products but he refrained himself, perhaps it was a sign. Not a sign to take this mess, but to do something more serious about it. The hair oil and gel wasn’t gonna cut it…literally. Nick quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a clean t-shirt before he headed downstairs, grabbed his car keys and then headed on out. He knew exactly where he was going and wasn’t going to change his mind at this point. His mind had finally been made up, time to put it into action. Nick parked out front of Towne Barbers, knowing that on a Saturday afternoon he might have to wait a bit for a barber. But that was not an issue with him, not like he hadn’t been used to that most his life coming here with his father. All part of the tradition of getting a haircut after all, especially at a real barber shop, right? The men cutting the hair of the men seated in their chairs, testosterone and barbecide in the air like it were the pollen in spring, just effortlessly and naturally existing with the atmosphere. Truly just part of the man’s-man experience, right? So Nick swung open the front door, the bell dinging off to signal a newcomer. He was surprised to find all of the barbers working away at clients in their chairs, and only a couple of gentlemen waiting across the way in the foldable chairs against the wall opposite. He plopped a seat and waited his turn, taking in the surroundings, barbers conversing with clients, barbers conversing with neighboring barbers, everyone getting in on one whole conversation. Just the absolute place to be on a Saturday afternoon. Since Nick was the third guy in the waiting area, he thought he might have to wait a bit until he was called up to one of the chairs. But when he thought it was the second guy waiting’s turn, he deflected and told Nick to go on ahead of him, he was waiting on a different barber. This didn’t make Nick feel upset or scared though, the barber who was going to be servicing him today he had had on a number of occasions before, and he even remembered his name. Of course the usual "Wow you’ve gotten old" which was probably better than saying "Wow you’ve gotten big" which was only okay when you were a legit kid and not a teenager in high school. So the barber in his mid-forties caped Nick up in a white cape that the faintest gray pinstripes blended in that you might not have noticed from far away, but the white matching to the white tunics all the barbers were wearing today. Nick removed his bulky glasses from his face, his vision temporarily blurred for the duration of the haircut, but maybe that was for the best as what he was about to endure. "So Nick my boy, what are we thinking today? Usual short on the back and sides tapered down, and then we comb this rat’s nest into place with a bit of a trim as well," the barber felt through Nick’s hair that was now borderline blonde afro. "Actually, sir," Nick cleared his throat. "I was wondering something, my basketball coach suggested something a haircut for me, but I wasn’t so sure." "You’re over at the Academy, correct young man?" "I am, sir," Nick politely affirmed. "Ah, I know your coach, client of mine too, and his boys were when they used to live in town. Good man and family." "Ah, cool," Nick nodded. "Funny you say that, he said his sons used to have their hair cut like this. He said something about a tight butch?" For a second there, Nick almost swore that the barber was going to bust out in hysterical laughter, and he felt like he caught the neighboring barbers and clients listening in on their conversation now. Why was everyone so intuned? "Is that right what he suggested?" the barber tried to keep his cool. "Well, Nick, it would be very different from what you have had in the past and right now. You realize that?" "I figured it would be much like that," Nick sounded a little dejected. "But I feel like I need to do something about my hair, its definitely gotten out of control, and coach said it would be good for the season, even though I know I have a little while until then." "You’ve got that right, both good for the season and you have time. But maybe it would be worthwhile you gave it a try, you know? See if you actually liked it or not?" "Do you think it’s a good idea, sir?" Nick asked timidly. The barber smirked back at Nick in the mirror and said, "Well, we aren’t going to know unless we try, right young man?" "I suppose…" Nick wasn’t totally convinced. "Worth a try," the barber shrugged back, "Besides, we can both agree that your hair is definitely a little out of control today, and perhaps a nice, tight butch would allow your hair to be a little healthier. I can tell you use a lot of product daily." "I know, I’ve tried to be better about it, but I can’t help myself." "Well this cut would definitely help you in that dilemma, my boy." It would?! Now this caught Nick’s attention: "It would?" "Ain’t nothing better to help solve it, actually," the barber silently smirked again. "Alright, then, I’m in," Nick brightly smiled up and sat up a little straighter and upright in the chair. "That’s it then? You sure, son?" "One tight butch, please," Nick responded. "One tight butch coming up, then," the barber said. Nick sighed of relief, if this was going to help him use less product in his hair, allow it to maybe be a little more healthy, and then he wouldn’t deal with the mess he had right now, then maybe whatever this haircut was wouldn’t be so bad at all! Nick completely ignored the barber firing up the clippers, just assuming he was going to begin tapering the sides and back of Nick. The fast-feeding clippers with their metal teeth had no extra guard in them, so Nick thought nothing of what was about to happen, as the barber placed them at the top of Nick’s forehead and slowly peeled towards the crown. As the barber made the first swipe across the center towards the back, Nick could feel a sensation like never before as the clippers made contact with his defenseless blonde hair. Those once beautiful strands were no match for the machine making its way through them, like a plow in winter! Nick felt the clippers tear right down the middle, reducing him down to nearly stubble. It couldn’t have been more than a #1 guard on their, if even that. For the feeling the clippers gave off as it did its damage felt frightening yet also releasing. As the barber came back to the front and plowed through once again, making another swipe towards the crown. Now Nick was totally in sync with the whole moment as the barber continued to buzz him down. The blonde hair falling off and down onto the cape and floor, lifeless and limp. Left in their wake was the now short roots of Nick’s hair, almost making him look more like a brunette rather than a blonde for the first time in his life. Like all he was going to have on top of his head was five o’clock shadow! With each movement, the barber continued to reduce the top of Nick’s head down to stubble, with him having to sit there and just grin and bare it like he was always good at with everything in life. He couldn’t really see all that well with his glasses removed but he knew this was definitely going to give him a completely new look, and one that required less fuss after the shower with sadly no hair products whatsoever now. Not what he had in mind, but then again, he wasn’t familiar with a butch cut and had never endured a summer buzzcut as a child. And the word "tight" included, well, boy was Nick naïve. He should have seen something like this coming a mile off. "That’s it, this will keep you nice and cool through the fall," the barber said as he came back across the top to double check his work. Nick was half afraid he was going to find more hair to carve out and away, but thankfully the barber was just doing a good job of making sure that he got every little hair and nick in place, down to the short uniform length that Nick wasn’t even sure he could consider bristles. He wanted to touch the top of his head but he figured he’d wait and hold out. The barber clipped back more off the top of Nick’s head, the tickling sensation he felt as the clippers would go across a section that had already been buzzed down, almost like one of those vibrating tools old people used. And then when it came across a new patch that hadn’t been turned over yet, Nick could feel it in the root of his scalp as well as his soul. The hair surrendering to those fast-feeding clips, making quick work and no turning back. Nick felt those hair fall off like daisies in the spring, as if it was all natural having a haircut just like this. Well, he supposed it was when you used the clippers like this! Even though Nick couldn’t totally make out the sight of himself in the mirror, he was certain he looked a little funny right about now, the top of his head clipped down severely while he still had some hair on the sides and back of his head. But it wasn’t long until the barber asked him, "Head forward and down, son, please," and Nick quickly obeyed as the barber brought the clippers behind and soared them right through the center and back. Wow! That was quite the feeling. Of course Nick had had his hair cut short on the sides and back for quite a while now, but this was a whole new world as the hair in the back was reduced down to the same length as it was on top. This really was going to be a short haircut, and he figured he was lucky he wasn’t going to be completely bald in the back and sides at least. The barber cleared out the rest of the back before moving to Nick’s left side where the hard part always was. Well, no more of that pruning and prancing into place in the morning. Nick caught in the mirror remnants of that hard part fall down onto his shoulder and then slide down to the edge of his cape as the barber moved the clippers through the left side like it was nothing. At this point, Nick finally shrugged and relaxed in the chair, knowing that this was the new look he was going to have to get used to. And for some reason, he was sort of glad he was getting it. Then the barber clipped off the right side, bringing the haircut near its close before he squared off and lined up the back of Nick’s neckline and then edged off the clippers towards the top of Nick’s ears, maybe a bit shorter than he would have liked but perhaps that was what it was meant to be like for this haircut. Nick didn’t know, he didn’t even know what the haircut was going to be like in general! And here he was, scalped down so severely he didn’t think his family or friends would even recognize him. Then the barber brought out the tools for the hot towel and shave around Nick’s neckline and ears, he always liked that most about coming to Towne Barbers. It just added again to the whole ambiance of this place. And here Nick was, getting a real man’s haircut too! The barber applied the warm and sweet smelling foam to Nick’s skin, attached a new blade for the straight edge razor, and began to quickly swipe and clean up around Nick to edge him out and clean him off even sharper. Then the barber applied some of that strong smelling and itchy tonic to the places where he had shaved around Nick’s new cut, then with those oily hands rubbed all across the top of Nick’s head, which did to be honest sting a little, making sure that everything was good and there wasn’t a single short strand out of place. "Alright there, Nick, one tight butch for you and the coach," the barber released the cape from Nick’s neck, and the client was finally able to bring the glasses back up to his face and inspect his new look. Woah….just woah…it really was short, even shorter now that everything came into focus. Now way was he going to have to worry about anything being out of place. Nick took his right hand and slowly grazed it across the top of his head. The short little spikes that were so close to the skin made the hair on Nick’s arms stand up as he rubbed his palm up against them. This was going to definitely take some getting used to. Especially because now he felt like his glasses really stood out with the lack of hair on his head, oh man. But, one thing was for sure, the barber had done a great job. No denying of that, this was truly one tight cut! Nick finally stood up and shook the barber’s hand and said, "Thank you sir, just what I wanted," and he couldn’t believe he had even said that last half. They went up to the front so Nick could pay and tip the barber and then be on his way. When he got home afterwards, both his parents were home and totally blown away by his new appearance. They asked why he had done it, he said it had been suggested to him by coach, but he hadn’t known what a tight butch would entail. This made both his parents laugh, but they said it did really look good on him. His mom even suggested maybe he’d consider getting contact lenses now, which did turn on a light bulb in Nick’s brain. To avoid the big bulky glasses still on his face. But that would be another problem for another day. Until senior photos were next week, and he hadn’t even thought about it, rushing from his class to his assigned time for his portrait. Sitting there on the stool in his good suit as the photographer positioned him correctly before a few clicks of the camera. Complimenting Nick that he looked swell. After the portraits being done, Nick stepped off and passed a few other boys waiting in the queues, some of them who also had been severely barbered down this weekend as well. At least he wasn’t the only one with a short cut. "Nice cut, dork, they match your frames real well," one of the guys in a posy of others joked. When he said that, Nick reached his hands to his face so fast, realizing that he had his glasses on for his senior portraits, along with this short haircut. It hadn’t even dawned on him to remove them for pictures sake, he should have! Maybe the contact lenses wouldn’t be needed, because now his senior portraits were of him, with his new short haircut, and his thick-rimmed glasses. Oh brother… But one positive came out of it, that first week of the short haircut, Nick felt a lot cooler, no longer stressing about his hair in place. He even started to go for two mile runs in the morning in his neighborhood before going to school. And a quick shower and towel dry off, man, his hair was done like magic. No need to mess around with any products. It tempted Nick to throw away all those old products he still had in his medicine cabinet in his bathroom. But maybe he wouldn’t, save them as keepsakes, of old memories. Perhaps before college he would finally toss them out or something. As he continued to stare at the new him throughout the fall, making more frequent trips to Towne Barber and being taken down to the tight butch cut he was sticking with, and his body starting to fill out more and more from all his workouts. The glasses weren’t really a problem in the end, he did need them after all. They were just another part of his identity, like everything else. If anything, he was going to keep them. He could see clearly with them both literally and figuratively, change was good.

Originally Written by: Armando94

from haircutstory.net

https://haircutstory.net/index.php?mode=2&storyid=3451

15 notes · View notes

justkending · 4 years ago

Text

The Number One Rule. Chapter 26.

Summary: Y/N has always been seen as “Steve’s rambunctious sister.” However, she grew up, graduated, and moved to London to study abroad for 4 years and get her bachelor's degree. The girl that returns looks nothing like the teenager that left, but don’t worry the attitude is still there and stronger than ever. What’s to come of the two grown adults that used to push each other's buttons, but now have a lot more in common than they’ve ever realized.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Y/N Rogers (Steve’s little sister)

Word Count: 3800+

A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen. This is the last chapter. I know I say it almost every time, but I truly think this is one of my personal favorite top stories. At LEAST in the top 3. Now it is time for me to go through and read it all the way through and revise where I can. I’m so glad you all loved it as much as me and I am happy to say, I am already working on a new series!! And yes, it is a Bucky x Reader. I just can’t seem to stray from them lately. His character is stuck on my brain and I’m not mad. Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you once again for all your love and support with this one! I loved each and every single comment and thought thrown my way:) Also, BONUS, I will probably write a one-shot explaining the Bumble Bee nickname, since I was never able to work it into this... If not that, maybe a prologue... I don’t know we shall see;) With that being said, enjoy this ending and let me know how your heart feels after!!

Chapter Twenty-Six:

A whole year had passed. Today marked the 1 year of Y/N and Bucky finally coming together after all this time of being friends and making it official as two people who loved each other deeply.

To give you a quick update in the time passed…

Steve and Peggy went on a first date after she came back for a second time and made her move to New York permanent. He had been sweating buckets while getting ready and Y/N and Bucky coached him from the couch as he came in and out of his room trying on multiple outfits for the night.

Y/N had suggested taking her to some different places around Manhattan, kind of like the scavengers hunt Bucky did for their first date. But instead of knowing the different places, Peggy really hadn’t known the city at all, so it was more so a tour guide kind of date.

It was a simple and solid plan. However, Steve wasn’t used to the confidence that Peggy tended to give off. Did he admire it and love it? Yes, no doubt. Did it scare him at times, or more so intimidate him? Yes, again.

So after some light teasing from his little sister, she gave him some tips to impress her best friend, as well as, reassured him she was a sweet girl on the inside. Just someone who has lived in a man's world a little too long and has to put up a front of intimidation. Once you get past that, you have a loyal and kind person to bond with.

Needless to say, the date went off without a hitch and the two were now celebrating two strong months of dating.

Becca had finished up college and was already secured in a job as a child psychologist at a new hospital in upstate New York. She was a little further away now, but that didn’t stop her from coming and visiting. It just so happened that her new boyfriend lived down the hall from Y/N. If you know, you know.

His name was Thor and after some light flirting every other time she came to visit Y/N, she asked him on a date which he accepted. They were on the route of 3 months of dating now. He had joined the friend group to an extent and got along great with the whole crew.

Wanda and Vis’s boys were growing up faster than light itself and would be about 6 months soon. After Bucky and Y/N’s last time babysitting, they were recruited a few more times since they did so great with them. They may have been thrown for a whirlwind the first time around, but they were a lot easier the next few date nights.

Nat and Clint had gotten married last month. They were coming back from their belated honeymoon now in Budapest. The wedding was beautiful and everyone being together all at once again, was a joy and it showed just how much the group of friends was growing. Each of them hitting a new and different stage in life.

Back to the present...

Bucky had planned a one year anniversary date for him and Y/N. One that was bound to be unforgettable.

Y/N asked if they could keep it simple with just a picnic in the park since it was going to be cold soon in New York, and she wanted to soak up the last bit of summer that was left.

“Ok, you have everything set for the night?” Steve asked as Bucky buttoned the cuff to his button up.

“I hope so. I go to pick up Y/N in 10 minutes,” Bucky sighed in nervousness.

“Hey, don’t worry about it man. You know it’ll all work out how it’s supposed to,” Steve chuckled, coming over and patting his friends shoulder in reassurance. “Plus, you had Peggy and I help you plan this out. No way it could go wrong with our expertise.”

“You say that, but watch me slip up somewhere,” Bucky mumbled, straightening his clothes.

“You’re putting nerves where they aren’t needed. Stop thinking worst case scenario,” Steve groaned, walking out the bedroom door with Bucky behind. “What would Y/N say about that?”

“That it’s premature and won’t do me any good to think negatively,” he muttered, knowing the exact words to come from the optimist.

“Exactly. So stop stressing and go with the flow of things. Nothing good is going to come out of you waiting for the worst thing to happen tonight,” Steve shook his head.

“It’s supposed to be a night to remember. Not a night to dread,” Peggy interrupted as she came to Steve’s side with a little note in hand she saw on the counter in a spot it may have been easily lost. “Here, you may want this though if you do want it to go well.”

“Right, thanks,” Bucky nodded quickly, taking the item.

“You guys will meet us there right? Everyone else ready too?” Bucky asked.

“Everyone else is ready. You’ll be fine Buck,” Steve laughed again. “You sound like me the night I took this gal out.”

“Is that so?” Peggy smirked, leaning more into Steve’s side as he wrapped an arm around her.

“Yeah, he’s a little worse than I was, but he’s doing something a little bigger than a simple date,” Steve winked to Bucky. The brunette sent him an eyeroll.

Peggy looked down at her watch and gasped. “You need to get going, Bucky. She’ll be expecting you any minute,” Peggy moved to push him out the door with a bouquet of flowers in her hand to give him.

_______________

Bucky had made it to Y/N’s apartment in perfect timing, but found himself faltering at the door. His whole body was made up of nerves at that moment. He couldn’t seem to shake them no matter what he told himself.

Lucky for him, all it took was Y/N opening the door and sending him that sweet smile accented with one of her simple little dresses, that made those nerves dissipate.

“You look great,” he said with a lovestruck school boy and sappy smile.

“Thanks B,” she blushed, scrunching her shoulders in a bashful way. “Here, come in for a second before we leave,” she motioned him in as he followed. “I need to put on a pair of earrings and I’ll be set.” She stood on her toes giving him a gentle kiss to the lips.

Before she could walk off, he put the flowers between them and smiled.

“For you as always,” he winked.

“And everytime, it makes me happier and happier,” she winked back, giving him a bonus kiss. “I actually bought a new vase since I’m lucky enough to get gifted with them everytime we go on a date. Want to put those in it?” she asked as she started walking to her bathroom.

“Hard not to give a pretty girl flowers every chance you get,” he noted, going into the kitchen where the new vase sat. “That plus, I know you like the greenery.”

“It makes me very happy,” she smiled, coming back in with her hands working to put the last pair of earrings on. “Ok, I’m all ready handsome. Shall we?”

“I would love nothing more,” he smiled back offering his arm.

“I like this little routine we have,” she giggled as they walked to the door.

“I can agree,” he nodded, pressing his lips to her temple before they left the building.

__________________

They started off with a quick stop to Winnie’s shop, as Bucky said he had a gift there for them to pick up.

Winnie was all dressed up and Bucky’s dad and Becca were also there.

“Well, you guys look all spiffy,” Y/N noted, walking in the doors where the group was patiently waiting for the couple. Becca and Winnie in dresses and Bucky’s dad, George, in a nice button up like his son. “You're not by chance celebrating an anniversary like us, are you?” Y/N teased still locked into Bucky’s arm.

“We can celebrate yours a little with you too, can’t we?” Winnie asked, going in for a hug.

“The more the merrier,” Y/N replied cheerfully.

“No, no. We wouldn’t intrude on your anniversary date,” Becca nodded off. “However, we did want to give you guys a gift before we go off to dinner. We’re meeting Thor to eat soon.”

“Oh, I see. Boyfriend’s meeting the parents?”

“We’ve already met him and we enjoy him,” Winnie waved off. “Plus, we have Bucky and yours sign of approval, so that goes a long way too.”

“These are the facts,” Bucky agreed. “Uh, Mom, we do have to go to the next stop I have planned though, so…” Bucky said with a raise of his eyebrow in a hinting manner.

“Right, right! I won’t keep you long I promise!” Winnie rushed to the counter where a book and a picnic basket was sitting. “Ok, here you go, but don’t open that book until after dinner,” she warned Y/N as she handed it off to Bucky for safe keeping. “It has another little gift in it I don’t want to spoil.”

“In that case, I’ll let Bucky hold onto it then. You know I can’t help opening a book if it’s sitting right in front of me,” Y/N chuckled. The rest of the crew laughed with her.

“Ok, Ma, Dad, Sis,” Bucky waved off redirecting the two to the door. “We’ll see you guys later.”

“Yeah, later!” Becca said with an odd tone. One that showed she knew something, but Y/N didn’t know what.

______________

They made it to the park where Bucky had the whole nine-yards of a pinterest perfect picnic planned. His mom had packed a light meal, while the rest of the basket held a blanket, wine glasses, and other little decorations to make the set up special.

“Look at you being oh so the romantic,” Y/N noted once they had set everything out. “This is impressive.”

“I would say I did it all, but Becca helped with the decorations aspect of it,” Bucky chuckled as he set up some of the food.

The two sat and ate for a little, watching the motions of the park play in front of them as they talked about their day and any other thoughts that came to mind. They were facing straight west, so the sun would be setting right in front of them when the time came. And it was coming soon as they finished up their meal.

“Ok, present time,” Y/N noted, turning to her purse and pulling out something from it. The gift was wrapped in a little brown wrapping paper with a twine string around it. “Open mine first because I can’t wait to see your reaction.”

Bucky chuckled at her childlike excitement and took the present as he sat up from where he was laying on his side. Carefully not to disrupt her precise wrapping, he undid the bow and peeled away the brown wrap around the box. Taking off the lid, inside sat two little slips of paper that looked like tickets.

He quirked an eyebrow confused at what they could be, and when he turned them over and looked closer, he saw they were plane tickets.

“Two tickets to… Rome?” Bucky gasped. “Y/N-”

“I wanted to show you everything I got to experience. Italy, Verona, Venice, and all,” she smiled softly, leaning closer to him. Her eyes never broke away from his face.

“Y/N, this is…” He smiled down at the paper before bringing his eyes up slowly to meet hers. “I would love nothing more than to experience that all through your eyes.”

Y/N blushed hard and the two leaned forward in sync to kiss.

“I’m glad you like it. But I want you to see it in your own way, I’m just happy to be your tour guide,” she smiled harder. Their noses were practically still touching.

“Either way, it’ll be an experience I’ll be counting down for,” he said, leaning in for one more kiss.

When he pulled back he noticed the sun was settling down with the perfect glow. It was now or never…

“Ok, I guess it’s my turn for the gifts,” he said, taking in a deep breath. “It’s actually in the book.” He turned around grabbing the book his mother had handed off to him earlier, and carefully opened the cover. “This one’s long overdue, but it’s one that I’m starting to realize may have been meant for this specific time in our lives anyway.”

Handing over an old letter, she noticed it had changed colors from small stains and wear of when it was originally written. She was confused some by the details of the packaging, but when she saw it was addressed to her on the front, she picked up on what it was.

The address and her name was that of her childhood home, but what gave away it’s age, was the return address of where Bucky was stationed all those years back when he was in the army.

“Buck,” she said softly.

“I wrote it way back when. Shortly after I realized that you were someone I…” He paused trying to find his wording. “Well, when I realized you were the kind of person I would want to spend the rest of my life with.”

Y/N looked up from the letter she was holding ever so delicately in her hand. Scared she would damage the antique writing.

“You don’t have to read it now, but to sum it up, I never sent it because I knew, at least I thought I knew,” he chuckled under his breath looking down at it. “I could never deserve someone like you. You were always so kind and wise when I was going through my mess of life overseas. You had things of your own that you were working through, and yet you put it aside for me when I felt like I was alone and drowning in a foreign home.”

He closed his eyes, picturing all the times he wanted to give up. When he wanted to call it quits after the things he saw, the things he did. It killed him on the inside. Mentally, emotionally, he didn’t hold strong like he thought he would be able to.

“The only thing that kept me sane over there and gave me hope, was receiving letters from you. I know I teased you to begin with, but as time went on, your words, your advice, and your love that you somehow were able to ship overseas to me with just ink on a paper, kept me alive. Kept me from giving up.”

He looked up finally and saw tears in Y/N’s eyes. The look on her face was heartbreaking yet so loving all at once. It showed how she hated hearing just how lost Bucky was, but also showed just how grateful he was there. He was there now and it was partially because of their letters to each other. More than she could ever imagine though.

She believed she may have played a role, but it was Bucky himself that held strong. He was the one who pushed through in those hardships and made the effort to keep going on. Not her. But to him, she was the angel on his shoulder keeping him from sinking in times where the waves were just too strong to push back on.

“I wrote out all my feeling and thoughts in that letter. I think it’s like five pages,” he said in a single laugh. “But I never sent it.”

“Why?” was all she breathed out and he moved his hand to wipe the stray tear off her cheek. His hand staying there and running over the bone it had landed on. She leaned into the touch like it would be her last time feeling it.

“I didn’t deserve you. Hell, I’m still not sure I do, but I’m going to make damn sure that I spend every waking hour of my life, every minute, doing my best to get there.”

There was a pause as she took his hand and moved closer to him, their foreheads pressed to the other.

“Bucky you deserve everything and more in this world,” she said softly. “Don’t ever think you should have anything less than that.”

“I know, doll. And it’s because of you I realize I can strive for it all,” he sighed, breathing in her presence.

They stayed like that for a while. Taking in the moment. Taking in the air. Taking in the wholesome and doting atmosphere.

It wasn’t until the lights started to get low, Bucky realized he would run out of time for his next gift soon.

“Y/N, I have one more thing to give you,” Bucky sighed, nervously pulling back and grabbing the book again. “Now, I know this is a cheesy way to do this, but I couldn’t think of a better way,” he chuckled lightly.

He grabbed her hand and helped her stand. The sun now on the horizon giving the perfect golden shine to everything around them.

When she stood with him, he brought the book in between them.

“Ok, open it carefully to page 214,” he nodded, handing her the book.

She sent him a confused look, but followed the directions anyway. Like asked, she gently flipped the books from the beginning before she reached said number. Just as she pulled back page 213, right in the middle of the book, the pages stopped lifting and inside was a little cut out square that held a small ring. One with a beautiful white shining stone in the middle, encrusted by a gold intricate design.

“Oh, my-” she didn’t even finish the sentence as she looked down a the ring. Her grip on the book tightening as her other hand came up to cover her mouth.

Bucky let out a small nervous chuckle at the reaction before slowly taking out the ring and bending to one knee. The book still in her hand, she gasped again watching Bucky move down.

“Y/N Josephine Rogers,” he started with the brightest smile on his face. “I would be nothing but forever grateful if you allowed a guy like me, to have you as my wife.”

She didn’t answer right away as she was clearly in awe and still processing the last 20 seconds of what just happened. The only thing breaking her out of her shock, was the sound of Bucky laughing again.

“Is that a yes, or am I indeed just making a fool of myself?” he said with a scrunch of his nose.

“No! Oh, my God, yes! Yes, yes, yes! A thousand times yes Bucky!” she jumped up and down before wrapping her arms around his neck and tackling him to the ground.

He let out an, ‘oof’ sound as he caught them from the fall and held tightly to the ring not to lose it. He was now on his back and she was laying on top of him giggling and squeezing him in excitement.

“Ok, good. I was worried I might have read the signals you were giving me wrong,” he joked.

“You’re a dork,” she laughed, pulling and looking at him lovingly before going in for the kiss of all kisses.

They were quickly pulled away from it when cheers and whistles started going off around them.

Y/N looked up from where they were laying on top of the other and noticed herds of people they knew coming out from random parts of the park smiling and whooping in elation.

“Is that-?” she started, once again taken aback.

“Everyone? Yeah. They were kinda in on it,” Bucky chuckled. “Hey, did you get that last part?” he shouted toward Nat who was coming around a tree with Clint and a professional camera in hand.

“Oh, it was the best picture of them all I’m pretty sure,” she smirked.

“You little stinker,” Y/N scoffed, pushing off of him to sit up more. “How in the world did you pull this all together?”

Wanda, Vis, and the twins were there. Steve had his arm around Peggy with Sam next to them and Sarah next to Steve. Winnie, George, Becca, and Thor were all there too smiling and laughing. Everyone was there. The whole crew was apart of the moment.

“It was easy. I told them I was asking the girl of my dreams to marry me, and they asked when and where. Not much convincing on my part,” he answered, offering her his hand as they stood back up.

“You guys,” Y/N gushed, wrapping her arms around Bucky’s waist, which he gladly wrapped his arm around her. “This is too sweet.”

“Nothing sweeter than you giving Bucky a run for his money with that delayed answer,” Sam teased.

“Back off, punk,” Bucky rolled his eyes, pulling her closer to him as if any second she’d change her mind.

“I will say, he did catch me off guard,” Y/N laughed in response.

“Oh, my sweet girl is getting married! And to the sweetest boy a mom can hope for,” Sarah interrupted, instantly running to her daughter and almost tackling her like she had Bucky.

“Mom!” Y/N laughed, catching her balance.

The next 15 minutes went on like that as the sun set behind them, giving off the final glows of the evening.

Sarah and Winnie blubbering on about how their little boy and little girl were going to be husband and wife. Then of course going on and on in excitement for the wedding details of it all. At that point they pushed them off for George and Becca to handle as they talked with everyone else.

Wanda and Vis saying how Billy and Tommy would be glad to be a part of the wedding if they needed them to. Nat gave Y/N little details and advice with planning the party and also offering to lend a hand where it was needed since she just got done with her own.

Then Steve and Peggy also congratulate them and express their excitement for all that was to come for the couple, and all the fun double dates they would/ already had been taking apart in.

Once it got dark, Steve announced to the crew the little celebration they had set up at Roger's home for an after party of the engagement. Everyone agreed they would meet there.

So as Y/N and Bucky grabbed their things and started walking to the car, Y/N stopped him as he was about to close the car door for her.

“Hey,” she turned where she was standing on the sidewalk. Bucky just inches from her.

“Hey,” he responded with a goofy grin.

“I love you so so much. You know that right?”

“I know Y/N. And I love you so so much too, doll.”

Thank you so much for reading!! Keep an eye out for a possible one-shot/ prologue of this story;)

The Number One Rule (TNOR) Taglist:

@shadowolf993 @semistablecentenarian @hello-i-am-daydreaming @jessyballet @emmabarnes @kmuir1 @beautifulrare4leafclover @thefallenbibliophilequote @l0ve-0f-my-life @shawnie--jo–jojo @asoftie4bucky @katiaw2 @sheeple @sznri @bxtchboy69 @taliarosej00 @bakugouswh0r3 @stopjustlovethemcu @babemendesbarnes @jenniereiji @taliarosej00 @loveyou5everr @natdrunk @im-a-light-child @stucky-my-ship @fairykimseok @alexfms97 @awkwardnesshabitat

My Lovelies forever:

@natura1phenomenon @lauravicente @kakakatey @traceyaudette @notyourtypicalrose @laneygthememequeen @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @sandlee44 @thorne93 @thefaithfulwriter @essie1876 @greyeyedsmile14 @capsiclehan @xostephanie @averyrogers83 @awesomenursingstudent @gh0stgurl @cs-please @carls1022 @jjlevin @rainbowkisses31 @carls1022 @anise-d-castle6 @deannotmoose @their-bibliophile @kitkatd7 @willowbleedsonpaper @mariaenchanted @snffbeebee @couldabeenamermaid @rebekahdawkins @alyispunk @valsworldofcreativity

Bucky Barnes Tags:

@chloe-skywalker @charmedbysarge @jbarness @bellamy-barnes @katiaw2

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx @death-unbecomes-you @heyiamthatbitch @lizzymacy555 @srrymydood @xa-dia @redhairedfeistynerd @morganclaire4 @connie326 @captain-asguard @mollygetssherlockcoffee @teenagedreams-bucky @shower-me-with-roses

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x steves sister #justkending #marvel bucky fanfic #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes x reader insert #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x y/n rogers #the number one rule #bucky barnes au series #bucky barnes series #marvel au #marvel au series #bucky barnes marvel

248 notes · View notes

angstyjellybean · 3 years ago

Text

9-1-1 Lonestar “Spring Cleaning”

✨spoilers✨

Tommi my love

Mmmmm Julius

Cinder fella

Divorce?

Yup

RIP my man Wingo

So it’s her fault he fell down the chute

I love Nancy and Marjan

Oh no what the fuck

Why would that thing have a plug wtf

COACH BOLTON

I love this family so much

He’s making this up as he goes very Judd fashion

Does Mateo have have a lady friend

MATEO AND NANCY

I DIDNT EXPECT THIS SOMEHOW

Short king

Why does he not wanna do this?

I love Carlos so much

Oh this is Catan

Fire fam game night

Why’s he’s getting so mad tf he’s the one that agreed to tell and backed out?

I feel like this is such a weird song to sing infront of your nieces to their mom

PLEASE DONT LET THEM FUCK OR KISS

FUCK THIS

“Hello husband” IVE BEEN KISSING YOUR BROTHER

TK seems so hurt about being told she’s sick of Catan

Girl don’t move behind it nooooo

Poor kids and mom fuck

God he got there fast

That smirk on the husbands face would make me wanna cause a scene too

Fuck yeah thank hell for Owen for once

Looking spiffy Wyatt

Oh he’s severely overdressed oh no

I feel like job interviews should have dress codes

Why does everyone look so mad/sad/disappointed

Knock boots they understood

Carlos resting his hands on Paul’s shoulders like a comforting father I can’t

So it is a height thing

Oh my god Paul Carlos and Marjan resting their heads together

She’s horny rn??? Bruh it’s supposed to be game night

I love how Grace just knows her husband like that

What is Juddy thinking oh lord

Not Tommi and Julius again ugh I love them independently just not as a unit

Oh shit! This moved quick what the hell

I KNEW IT

You really let her get her heart into this and YOU LEAVING

What is Judd gonna do?

Oh thank hell I thought Judd himself was gonna do something, Nevermind yes he is

They gotta stop showing me Wyatt I’m falling in love

JUDD NOOO

WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING LEAVE THEM ALONE

Fuck this

#911 lone star #911 lone star spoilers #judd ryder #tk strand #grace ryder #nancy gillian #mateo chavez #owen strand #carlos reyes #paul strickland

12 notes · View notes

high-fructose-jay-syrup · 4 years ago

Text

Hey, y’all! So I’ve just come up with a spiffy new way of organizing my tasks, and instead of actually doing any of the tasks in question, I’ve decided to write it out all neat and pretty with colours and stuff and share it with the wider internet. (Further proof that just because you have a neat and tidy little checklist for your tasks, doesn’t mean you’ll actually do any of them. But I’ll get started on them after I’m done writing this post.)

This method is somewhat inspired by The ABCDE Method, which you can find explained here. But I think it’s different enough that I can safely call it my own.

If this doesn’t work for you, no pressure! I like it for myself, but everyone’s brain works differently, and organization is all about finding something that works for you. I’m putting this out there not with the expectation that it’ll work for everyone, but with the hope that someone out there could find this useful.

So, what do you do? You start by making a graph:

[Image ID: a graph drawn on a piece of graph paper. The y-axis reads “Time until due date.” Markings on the y-axis read “now,” “1 day,” “3 days,” “1 week,” and “3+ weeks.” The x-axis reads “Consequences if left undone.” Markings on the x-axis read “nothing,” “embarrass myself/slightly lower mark,” “let someone down/much lower mark,” “let a lot of people down/fail course,” and “death (figurative or literal)”. end ID]

Since most of my tasks are school-related and have due dates only a few weeks off at most, these are the labels that work best for me. But there’s no pressure to use these labels! For someone who’s working or someone who’s a stay-at-home parent, the concept of marks is nonexistent, so they’ll want to come up with different labels for the consequences axis. For someone who’s in university and writing their master’s thesis, certain due dates are months in the future, so they’ll want to expand the time axis to reach that far. Use whatever labels fit your situation best!

Now, with the graph drawn out, it’s time to plot your tasks. Here’s an example using my current tasklist:

[Image ID: the graph from before, with tasks plotted on it: “yearbook page,” “philosophy journal,” “reading seminar prep,” “coaching reflection,” “flashcards,” “expository argument,” and “voice lesson practise.” end ID]

The tasks in the bottom right corner, those with the least time and the highest consequences, are the most urgent. The tasks in the top left, those with the most time and the lowest consequences, are the least urgent. You can stop here and just move from bottom right to top left, or you can do fancy colours (I like fancy colours):

[Image ID: the graph from before, divided into five diagonal stripes, each going in the direction of bottom left to top right. The stripes are blue, green, yellow, orange and red, with blue in the top left corner and red in the bottom right. end ID]

These sections are the urgency of the tasks, and as you can see, for me most of the tasks fall into the yellow category. My yearbook page is orange, since it’s due in two days and I’d be letting a lot of people down by not finishing it, so that’s a pretty clear first priority for me. My voice lesson practise is green, since I don’t have a lesson for another five days and it’s not the end of the world if I don’t practise, so I’ll leave that until I’m done all my other things.

When you have several tasks that fall into the same colour category, you can sort them in several ways. You could divide the stripe up into narrower stripes and move from bottom right to top left; in this case that would mean my philosophy journal was first, then my coaching reflection, then my reading seminar prep, then my expository argument and lastly my flashcards. Or (and this is my preferred method) you can sort them by how palatable (or easy or quick) they are. Personally, preparing for my reading seminar strikes me as the most fun (or least terrible) task to do, so once I’m done writing this post I think that’s what I’ll do after finishing my yearbook page.

What’s important to note, though, is that it’s generally better not to do a yellow task before an orange task. (Or a green task before a yellow task, or...) I say “generally better” because phrasing it as starkly as “you should never ever do tasks in this order” can sometimes lead to a mental block where you “have” to finish your yearbook page before you start on your reading seminar prep but you can’t bring yourself to finish your yearbook page so you end up not doing anything at all, which is worse than if you’d done the reading seminar prep before starting on the yearbook page. But if you can, it’s recommended to do tasks in the order from red to blue. (Even if it’s very tempting to get all the small insignificant tasks out of the way to simulate the feeling of productivity while leaving the big things undone. I know. I’ve been there.)

Another important note is about big, far-off projects. Everybody says “divide your big tasks up into steps and set individual due dates for them,” but who actually does that? Or even if they do, who actually sticks to that plan? But for this system of organization, it’s an important thing to do. Because if you don’t, you run the risk of putting that essay (or master’s thesis) far off in the green or blue zone, where sure, consequences are pretty big if you don’t do it, but that’s a month or 6 months away, you don’t need to worry about it now. Right? Except then suddenly your essay is due in 3 days and you haven’t started on it because it was always so far away that you didn’t need to worry about it yet. Better is to divide that big essay into tasks like “find sources,” “take notes,” “write rough draft,” each with different due dates for them, and plot them on your graph individually. This ensures that big, far-off tasks will actually end up getting done.

(I admit this is something I haven’t actually done on my own graph. My flashcard assignment, for example, is a pretty big assignment, but it’s not due for a couple days so it’s in the green zone. Better would have been to set tasks like “finish 10 flashcards” for today and “finish 20 flashcards” for tomorrow, ensuring that I wasn’t overwhelmed the night before the due date. As you can see, I’m not perfect.)

“So Maize, this is great and all, but how do I actually, like, Make Myself Do Things?” I wish I could help you. My best piece of advice is to take baby steps towards accomplishing a goal: if reading an entire chapter seems impossible, try reading the first paragraph and see how you feel. If finishing an entire project seems impossible, try working on it for just five minutes - sometimes the satisfaction of getting a little bit done gives you the energy and motivation to keep going. Or sometimes, if you’re having a fight-or-flight response to the task, taking baby steps and chipping away at it just a little bit can make you realize that it isn’t as bad as your brain is hyping it up to be. For this specific system, sometimes you have to do tasks in the “wrong order” (e.g. a green task before a yellow task) and that is okay. Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly, and doing a low priority task before a high priority task is still better than not doing any tasks at all. This won’t work for everybody, of course, but sometimes it helps me. And maybe it will help some other people as well.

Anyway, I’ve spent long enough on this post, so I am going to go and do some of these tasks. Farewell, folks!

(Watch this get, like, 3 notes. But it’s fine. I write for myself, right? Right?)

((Also, I’ve seen the bolding of important parts in other people’s posts before, and I liked it because I felt that it made long paragraphs easier to read, but I’m not sure if it’s useful to anyone else? So please let me know if it’s good or not? Thanks!))

#organization #productivity #graphs #long post

23 notes · View notes

hardtchill · 3 years ago

Note

i agree that there are problematic nwsl coaches, but come on. aluko is on a different level. imagine if alyse lahue was arrested for breaking lockdown rules, proudly admitted she had voted for trump, and was spouting qanon bullshit. that’s what aluko is doing. just because the politics are british and she’s hired by a spiffy new team doesn’t mean that she isn’t actually publicly worse than any other figure in the nwsl. i’m not a fan of holly, but there is a notable difference between having lost a locker room and having made some poor, egotistical decisions and aluko’s continued behavior. i really do not like burke, and i think that he should not be a coach if his homophobic abuse has continued, but publicly, he actually has not been ever, and especially not recently, terrible like aluko. i think that something about aluko is clouding your judgement, but she is extremely clearly a terrible person. i had hoped that she would at least keep her social media uncontroversial with her new job, but clearly she can’t separate her gross politics from anything, and that also belays a giant issue.

You haven't heard about Holly and the Visa scandal have you? Anyway, the simple fact is that the NWSL is filled with asshole coaches and managers. If you can't deal with that you should either distance yourself from the league or report these people.

#ask #nwsl #acfc #eni aluko #fucking Jill is involved in SD did you really expect any team to be asshole free?#Also don't pretend like someone not running their mouth in public means they don't do so in private #Personally i prefer the public assholes to the sneaky ones because at least i know i need to avoid them instead of finding out later

4 notes · View notes

dumbofassjoey · 4 years ago

Photo

↳ INSTAGRAM: @dumbofassjoey uploaded a photo DUMBOFASSJOEY: there should be boy of the year bc i would simply win! happy 2041!!!! ↳ 1.3k LIKES, 30 COMMENTS

camevanss: lookin good 😍 jettlp: I STG THE KING IS HERE ophiemeeks: joey comin in clutch with the MOST handsome award 😤 ivystjames: yes u sooo would! finnschuester: aw jo ): tracylaurence: u'd only win boy of the year bc u've yet to hit puberty jojo ljholls: fuck it. gay little tworty. anelson10: shut the fuck up. vsantos: ok now post in color datdomdotcom: Better not let your coach see you out of the Cheerios uniform, Joey! 😛 lemonlopez: you simply would and that's a FACT winnieclarington: joey ur like so hot but link would obvi win puckermanoah: looking fly jo zoepuckerman: not you being the best dressed hummel-anderson at the pageant !!! sterlingduval: the winner in my eyes! benjilynn: you're my boy of the year ❤️ frankiepucker: lookin SPIFFY joey ottomeeks: so handsome 🥺 bobbybukowski: idk j, i’d be some tough competition 🤠 elistjames: ur bathroom is nasty <3 rubyzizes: okay james bond chic theobeiste: my mf boyfriend 😤 julienschue: not if i won first!!!!!!! xanny9000: but how could you win with me competing against u ??? 😘 jazevans55: can I be ur escort? 👀

#instagram

5 notes · View notes

festivaloftheundead · 4 years ago

Text

AA re-reads the Vampire Rites trilogy: Trials Of Death

🔥Chapter 8🔥

* REPORTING TO YOU LIVE FROM THE HALL OF STAHRVOS GLEN, PREPARE TO PARTY YOUR ASS OFF

* We are SPIFFY boys and girls

* Enjoy yourselves and that’s a direct order

* I LOVE this absolute chaotic shitshow. It’s so gloriously extra. I am smiling so hard as I read this.

* I love how much they all love Harkat!!!!

* Darren gets in a rope swinging/punching/kicking contest and gets destroyed but he loves it

* For some reason I thought Vampire Mountain ONLY had ale and wine but I guess whiskey is canonically available. I headcanon Mika as a whiskey connoisseur but sort of figured he had it brought in or picked it up here and there in his travels.

* Kurda’s being a square lmao

* Arra challenges him on the bars and he’s not keen but of course he gets up there and everyone’s like OOOHHHH SHIIIT

* Darren is coaching him LMAO SHUT UP DARREN you’ve been here a WEEK

* Their banter is so sassy I love them

* Arra is SO STUBBORN I can’t even be mad. She sticks to her damn guns.

* Kurda’s so humble and righteous and noble (with a few obvious exceptions lmao). He’s nOt LiKe OtHeR vAmPiReS.

#darren shan #cirque du freak #cdf #saga of darren shan #aa vs dss

7 notes · View notes

drcharlottehayes · 2 years ago

Link

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Coach monogram sneakers.

0 notes

shy-magpie · 5 years ago

Text

RQG 89

They are joking about hoping the funeral gets attacked to spare more emotional fallout Hamid is leader-y and provides everyone with appropriate outfits Oh sweet image of Grizzop getting up early and spiffying his outfit only for Hamid to provide proper clothes Ow Sasha Thank Aphrodite for Azu lightening the mood Bryn/Hamid brings that mood right back down Living Garment is awesome Grizzop has actual emotional intelligence and apologizes for his behavior yesterday Ow Sasha/Lydia, Sasha is not feeling the love and Lydia has the words to express it. From tool all her life to valued tool. How bad is it that I am hoping the funeral helps her understand that people care for others not just as they are useful? Hamid/Bryn is distressed by Azu's color palette Helen's laugh as she asked what she is wearing is troubling. Public funerals suck Alex just bows out of describing the funeral Who is this by the tree? Tall humanoid? Ben & Lydia recognize it as the dementor from Barret's office Saleh Jr panics at seeing it, dammit Jr what did you do? Sasha is panicking just a bit about Barret's reach Discussion of Halfling ages is interesting Sasha is proper panicked, everyone follows her cue when she runs to check out the tree the dementor was at. I and Lydia love this team, no misunderstandings, Hamid apologized for stopping them mid ceremony instead of being mad. Hamid wants the team with him for confronting Jr Not funny Alex (actually a mood switch was needed and he is good at it) I was worried Hamid would try to keep family and team business separate; relieved he is actively seeking their help Wake is going to be more lively Oh I like Sasha & Grizzop teaming up to attack the dementor. Alex's reasonable tone of voice is scary Thank Artemis it is actually the dementor I assume that string of numbers means Sasha did well and is built for this Is that the first time they noted the D/s nature of the relationship players have with a GM? Nice Grizzop shoots it in the head as Sasha stabs it. Ben is getting along with the dice Nice timing Hamid "you have a glint, I don't like it" Alex on Bryn I love a ranged attack Ben is coaching Helen as Azu charges in "Ominous" Great Axe indeed has the best description ever as pink is added to every sentence Yeah I am never playing that is so many numbers to remember to add Ben sounds gleeful as Alex learns once again that it is impossible to get an enemy in their range: they die or they overkill it. Honestly he is going to have to get the drop on them or separate the team because if they move first, they will turn it into a greasy stain together. 82 total damage before the dementor could act Sasha has a cathartic moment screaming about Barret as she continues stabbing the dementor

#Rusty Quill Gaming #rqg spoilers #RQG season 3 #live blog thingy #RQG 89

5 notes · View notes

quiet-onset · 6 years ago

Text

Pâro (1)

Pairing: Cap!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 2,264

Tag List: @thisisbullshytt, @here-for-your-bullshit, @unknownuserhasjoined, @bees-are-more-important

A/N: I’m so excited guysssss!! You’ll find this series has an element of the Marvel comics in reference to a certain character, but I’ll work all the important info into the fic. I hope you guys like it! Enjoy! (Also I made that graphic from a generator, so be proud of me lol)

Bucky had learned in a short two weeks that being Captain America was a tough ass job.

He tried to keep to his routine. Get up at six in the morning, go for a run, come back around seven for training with recruits, then deal with all the menial tasks, paperwork and such. He quickly realized that everything was changing now that he’d taken Steve’s old mantle.

His morning run seemed almost an impossibility now. Ever since hearing Steve Rogers was stepping down, and Bucky Barnes was taking over, reporters and paparazzi have been outside almost all day. They wanted to ask him a thousands questions, all of which seemed very accusatory. So the morning run had to be changed to a run on the treadmill.

Then, he was told he was no longer training recruits. He would initiate and oversee them, but training was given to Sam. He found that Captain America only trained recruits in exceptional circumstances, like Wanda or Peter.

The icing on the cake, though, was that he had a lot less paperwork to do. He had to go to various meetings with Tony where they would approve new tech or assign missions to agents and the team. Bucky felt like hadn’t signed this many papers since he joined the army in the forties.

But Steve left the job to him, so he had to do his best.

Bucky was with Bruce, getting his metal arm checked out when the sirens sounded off loudly, meaning the Avengers were needed. Bucky looked up with a kind of fear in his eyes, a fear that Bruce recognized as fear of failure. “Hey,” Bruce called. “You’re gonna do fine.”

Bucky sighed as he stood from the table. “I sure hope so.”

“Wait.” Bruce quickly grabbed a suitcase and placed it on the table. “If you’re gonna be Captain America, you’re gonna need a new suit.”

—

Sam was the first to tease his new captain. “Well, don’t you look spiffy!”

Bucky shook his head as he drove his motorcycle through traffic, trying to get used to his new suit. It was modeled after Steve’s, though it was tailored a bit more to Bucky’s taste. The chest was its normal cobalt blue with the silver star and stripes. The accents were a dark red, and everything from the torso down was black, very indicative of his style. He still had holsters for his guns and knives, and his shield was hooked snugly onto his back. He’d forgone the helmet, figuring everyone already knew who he was. He was thankful, though, that Bruce left the suit without a sleeve for his metal arm. Bucky figured it would help others get used to having a new Captain America.

“Shut up, Wilson.” Bucky said into his comms, still bobbing and weaving through cars.

“Alright, Cap.” Tony said as he arrived on the scene. “You’re up. What’s the move?”

Bucky opened his mouth to speak but was immediately taken by surprise. Their villain, whoever this guy was, was a giant head in some kind of floating chair. Bucky had seen many things in his life, aliens, talking animals, monsters that seemed akin to creatures he’d only seen on television. But one thing he had never seen was a twelve foot tall head. “What the hell is that?” He muttered to himself.

“We can deal with the what later, Barnes.” Sam told him.

“Right.” Bucky said to himself. “Work on incapacitating him, maybe aim for the chair. Where’s the Spider-kid? We need civilian control.”

“Not here.” Tony grunted. “Dealing with some Fisk business uptown.”

“Alright, alright. Our priority is making sure everyone is safe. We can deal with this… thing afterward.”

Bucky tried to think on his feet as he began ushering people away from the scene. Many people stopped to stare at Bucky as if he was the one with the giant head. He felt the world’s eyes on him as he took a deep breath. He wasn’t used to being in charge; he was always the one who took orders. But now, he had to step up.

So ignoring all the prying eyes, he let out a determined grunt and pulled his shield off his back before throwing it directly at the villain’s chair. The giant head faltered, slowly turning around to look at Bucky. “Mr. Barnes.” He said venomously.

“Giant floating head.” Bucky nodded. “I don’t know what your problem is, but you’d do better surrendering.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Mr. Barnes. See, I’ve done the calculations. Do you know the probability of you defeating me?” Suddenly, light started to shine from the band on his forehead, as if it were charging up. Bucky realized he was defenseless without his shield as it was stuck in the chair, so he ran behind a nearby truck. “Zero.”

Bucky couldn’t see the beam of energy that was shot at him, but it had enough strength to send him and the truck flying in the opposite direction. Landing on the pavement, he groaned but stood back up. “Sam.” Bucky called as he pulled out his knife. “Need you to get my shield out of his chair.”

“On it.”

Just before another beam of energy could be shot at him, Tony fired at the chair, throwing him off his balance. Sam took the opportunity and glided in to get the shield. Moments later, the shield was back in Bucky’s hand, and he was jumping from car to car, gaining momentum. When he was ready, he leapt into the air and land on the back of the chair.

He used his knife to pry a panel off before he was thrown off. When Bucky landed on the ground, he noticed writing on the panel he pulled off. MODOK. That must be his name, Bucky thought. “Banner, his name’s MODOK. Look into that for later.” He groaned.

MODOK laughed at Bucky as he stood back up. “Do you really think you can do this? Be Captain America?”

Bucky didn’t answer. He knew that he couldn’t give in. He couldn’t let him prey on his deepest fears.

“Being Captain America requires making difficult decisions. For example,” MODOK used a beam of energy to tear a pillar off of a nearby statue before throwing it at a woman. She seemed frozen in her place, her expression void of any emotion besides shock. “Get me, or save her.”

Bucky didn’t even stop to think about it. He quickly called for the team to stay on MODOK before running towards the woman at full speed. Just as he arrived in front of her, he shoved the shield into her hands. “Hold this in front of you and crouch down.” Bucky ordered, shouting over all the chaos.

You had no time to question him, following his orders immediately. Bucky braced himself and reached his hands out. Seconds later, Bucky was holding the pillar over the both of you. You peeked over the shield when you didn’t feel any impact. “So you’re the new Cap?” You asked.

Bucky looked back at you with friendly eyes. “‘Fraid so. ‘Scuse me for a minute.”

He tossed the pillar into the empty street before jumping to the top of a bus. Sam landed on a nearby roof, “He’s gone, Buck.”

Bucky sighed but nodded. “It shouldn’t be very difficult to find a giant floating head, right?”

“We’ve dealt with crazier. I think.” Tony said from above.

Buck hopped off the bus, “Alright. Back to the Tower for a briefing.”

You met Bucky halfway, holding his shield in both hands. You gave it back to him with a smile on your lips. As you looked him over, you thought that maybe all the bad things you heard about him weren’t true. After all, he’d just saved your life. You looked up at him, almost shyly. “I think this is yours.”

He let out a breath. “Yeah, thanks.”

“Thank you.” You said. “Ya know, I’d probably be dead if it weren’t for you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“Well, I am.”

Bucky chuckled as he looked down at the ground. He felt weird. His heart was pounding, he was sweating, his cheeks felt hot. He reminded himself that he just battled a supervillain, and that everything he was feeling was normal. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of your wrist, which seemed a bit swollen. He nodded to it, “You should head to the hospital.”

You looked down, wincing as you cupped your wrist in the your free hand. You let a small smile form on your lips, “I’ll do that.”

—

When the briefing finally ended Bucky and Tony hung behind. Tony was closing the presentation when he saw Bucky staring at the wall, seemingly in thought. Tony waved a hand in front of him. “Hello, anyone home?”

Bucky snapped out of it quickly. “Right. Sorry.”

“You okay?”

“I just keep thinking about earlier.”

“We’ll get him. We always do.”

“No, not that.” Bucky shook his head. “I mean, how people were looking at me. I was just trying to get people to safety, but to them, I wasn’t a hero. I wasn’t Captain America. I was still the Winter Soldier.”

“People are fickle, Bucky. They’ll warm up to you. You just have to keep doing what you know is right.” Tony shrugged.

“They hate me, Stark.”

“Well, I hated you until not too long ago. And if I can change my mind, so can everyone else.” Tony pointed out jokingly. “Maybe you should go to the hospital and see some of the victims.”

“For publicity?” Bucky’s brow furrowed.

“For your conscience. But, yes, also publicity. Ya know, show them you care. ‘Cause I know you do.”

It took some convincing, but soon enough, Bucky was on his motorcycle in civilian clothes, on his way to the hospital. From the moment he took off his helmet, reporters swarmed around him. Bucky went over Tony’s coaching in his head as he prepared to be bombarded with questions.

“Who was the villain that attacked New York today?”

“Are the Avengers paying for the damages?”

“Where is Steve Rogers?”

Don’t answer any questions. Half will tell the truth, and the others will twist your words.

“Were you Steve Rogers’ first choice to become the new Captain America?

“Do you think Steve Rogers would be proud you let the villain escape?”

“Why are you the new Captain America?”

Don’t get worked up from any of their questions. They take a reaction as an answer. If they ask for a statement, just say…

“I’m here to visit the victims of today’s attack and make sure they’re okay.” Bucky recited verbatim. “Thank you.”

Hospital security escorted him inside whilst keeping all the reporters out. Bucky looked around at everyone waiting for medical attention. Luckily, no one seemed to be to be gravely injured, but it was still jarring for Bucky. It reminded of his days in the army, watching soldiers die under the hands of nurses who were simply trying their best to keep them alive. A young girl pulled on his pant leg, and he looked down with kind eyes. “Hey there, kiddo.”

“Are you the new Captain America?” She asked innocently as he crouched down to her height.

“I suppose I am.” He let out a deep breath.

“What happened to Steve Rogers?”

“I can’t really say.” Bucky told her. “But he’s okay, and he’s still watching out for everybody.”

She gasped, “Like an angel?”

He let a small smile form on his lips as she grinned up at him. “Exactly like an angel.”

“Well, if he chose you, I think you’re gonna be the bestest new Captain America.”

His heart warmed as he saw the hope and excitement in her eyes. She suddenly buried herself in his chest, wrapping her little arms around him. He let out an endearing chuckle as he embraced her as well. “Thanks, doll.”

After she adorably insisted on taking a picture with him, he continued further into the hospital, painfully aware of all the eyes on him. On his arm. He tried his best to ignore that feeling as he spoke to as many victims as he could. He endured all the insults and criticism and gratefully took in the little encouragement he received. Just as he was heading back toward the entrance, he looked in one of the rooms, seeing a familiar face.

It was you.

You were sitting on the hospital bed on the phone. He could by the crease in your forehead that you were angry with whoever was on the other end. When you adjusted your position, you winced, remembering that you now had a sprained wrist. When you looked up, you saw Bucky’s curious blue eyes looking at you, and you smiled. Sheepishly, you gestured for him to come in as you said goodbye to whoever was on the phone. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Bucky smiled, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “How’s the wrist?”

You held up your right hand, displaying your new brace. “Sprained. But it should heal in two weeks or so.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks to you. Have I thanked you yet?”

“A few times actually. But I appreciate it.” Bucky chuckled. “I, um, I actually have to go. But I’ll be in touch.”

You realized he was asking for your name, so you put your left hand out for a handshake. “Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Y/N Y/L/N.” He repeated, trying to bite back a smile as he shook your hand. “Nice to meet you. Again.”

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #cap!bucky barnes x reader #cap!bucky x reader #Pâro series

67 notes · View notes

musikat18 · 6 years ago

Text

Glass Watches and Galas (John Kennex x Reader)

For @thefanficfaerie‘s Fairytale Challenge!

Pairing: John Kennex/Reader

Summary: All John wants is to crash one little possible InSyndicate party. With a little help from Dorian and Rudy, he’s able to make it to the gala, but a more-than-charming woman and a case of mistaken identity might make midnight a little less than pleasant.

Warnings: Language, canon-typical violence, mentions of trauma, implication of PTSD attack

A/N: Enjoy!

Once upon a time, a police detective by the name of John Kennex would’ve really rather been anywhere else.

“The reports are part of the calls, too, Kennex,” Paul frowned at the large pile of unfilled data chips on the detective’s desk.

“We all have reports,” Kennex shot back. “I’ll do mine if you do yours. Deal?” The other detective recoiled with a huff at his colleague’s sharpness. Fine then. If Kennex wanted to be sharp, then Paul could be sharp, too.

“Still looking into Moore’s disappearance?”

A huff of distaste puffed out of the detective’s mouth, “Does it really matter that much to you?”

“It just looks real shady looking into the ambush that you were the only one who escaped alive from. That’s all.”

Darkness clouded over the sitting man’s hazel eyes, “Thanks for the reminder.”

Paul frowned to one side and plopped a stack of new files on Kennex’s desk, “Well, these actual important things need to be filled out, and they’re yours. Try to get them done before Maldonado gets on both of our asses?”

Kennex tried not to burn a hole in the other man’s back as he walked away, but the words were stinging too hard on him.

What was he supposed to do? Walk away from what had happened like nothing?

Act like it wasn’t now his responsibility to fix things?

Act like Martin had meant nothing to him?

Act like he wasn’t hurt by….

He hesitated, trying not to let the thought cross his mind. No, it was best not to think about her in relation to what happened.

“John? A word, please?” Maldonado’s voice shook him from his thoughts, and he held back a grimace as he stood and crossed the threshold to Maldonado’s office. This was not going to be pretty.

“If you want to tell me to apologize, I’m not going to, it’s his fault,” Kennex crossed his arms, watching Maldonado as she shut the door behind him.

“That’s not what this is about, though I suppose it would be nice if you stopped picking fights with the other detectives.”

Kennex’s brow furrowed, and he followed her with his eyes as she made her way back to the other side of her desk.

“I know you’ve been looking into the whereabouts of the InSyndicate.”

John’s shoulders tensed. His jaw fell open as he began to explain himself, but Maldonado held up her hand.

“I didn’t really expect anything else, given what happened. I’m not mad, and I’m not putting it on your record. What I do want is to keep you informed.”

Maldonado pulled up a series of holofiles that stole Kennex’s interest away. The logo, a hotel, a man he didn’t recognize...what did she know that he didn’t?

“Tobias Tate is a business mogul with ties to lots of the biggest tech companies in the city. He also happens to have been spotted with more than a few Syndicate POIs in the last few months, and now he’s hosting a gala for all the most reputable tech distributors in the city tomorrow night. We don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

“Great,” Kennex squared his shoulders. “What do you want me to do?”

A look of consternation crossed Maldonado’s face.

“What?”

“John...you know I’m just as upset about the ambush and InSyndicate’s actions as you are.”

Kennex felt a pit in his stomach, suddenly not really liking where this was going.

“But…” he trailed off.

“It’s too close for you, John,” Maldonado said seriously. “I’m sorry. Even if you didn’t have so much other work to do, it’s too personal. I can’t send you in. It would be too easy for you to be compromised.”

Kennex’s jaw ticked, “I can handle it. If you let me and Dorian go in, we could take care of it.”

“I can’t be sure about that,” Maldonado sighed. “John, you’re one of my best detectives, but you’re not exactly known for subtlety. Or control when it comes to the Syndicate. I can’t afford losing my best detective and the upper hand to them.”

With a sharp inhale and flared nostrils, Kennex balled his fists, trying to contain his anger and disappointment. If anyone should’ve been at that gala, it was him. He needed closure. Desperately.

“...I understand, Captain,” he said, voice even and short, and he turned hard on his heel and left the office, unaware of Dorian’s eyes on him as he plopped back down at his desk and buried his nose in his reports, steam practically pouring out of his ears.

“I got maintenance last week, Dorian,” Kennex grumbled as the DRN model walked him to the tech lab. “I don’t need Rudy looking at my damn leg again. It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

“You don’t sound fine, though,” Dorian noted. “I saw your stress levels spiked after talking to the captain yesterday, so I listened to the audio from her office security to find out what the problem was.”

Kennex whipped his head towards Dorian, “You-- wait, you what? That’s eavesdropping! And you don’t need to scan my stress levels! My stress levels are perfectly normal!”

Dorian shot Kennex an unfortunately familiar look of judgement and disapproval. Kennex merely sighed gruffly and continued following.

“Alright, alright, what are you doing?”

Kennex had to school his disbelief and confusion into just his eyebrows at the sight of a well-tailored black suit on a mannequin, paired with a dusty blue tie and an elaborate silver mask with subtle blue details.

“...I’m not putting on that suit.”

“It’s a masquerade gala,” Rudy insisted. “If you want to go and blend in and get the intel on the Syndicate that you want, you gotta look the part.”

Kennex huffed; he wasn’t really a fan of fancy suits and stuffed shirts, but if it would give him his chance to investigate, he supposed playing along couldn’t be terrible. He disappeared into one of the nearby locker rooms to change, and once he decided he looked spiffy and well-coiffed enough, he went back into the lab, watching Rudy calibrate an interesting-looking watch, one that looked nearly made of glass.

“Let me guess, to help me blend in with the idle rich?” Kennex asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Aesthetically, yes,” Rudy explained. “This watch has a log, a recording device, and a direct line to Dorian if you get in any trouble. I’ve synched it to your fingerprint; you’re the only one who can unlock all the higher features, since no one will be expecting you there, no one will be thinking to replicate it ahead of time.”

Kennex nodded in approval as he clicked the watch onto his wrist.

“Great. Do I get a pumpkin coach, too?”

Dorian looked a little too smug, “Nope. But I do finally get to drive the car.”

“This feels wrong.”

“Of course it’s wrong,” Dorian said from the driver’s seat, “that’s why we’re here.”

Kennex wanted to remind Dorian that he was going to be back in the driver’s seat by tomorrow, but he held his tongue.

“Rudy’s caught some kind of weapons signatures moving in...you have to try and figure out what the deal is by midnight. Once midnight hits, alert me with the watch, and I’ll call in backup or help extract you from there.”

“Alright,” Kennex nodded. A pause… “Hey...you guys could totally get fired for helping me do this, so...thanks.”

Dorian smiled just a little.

“You’re welcome. Now...good luck.”

John nodded to his partner and slid the mask over his face, getting out of the car and measuring his movements to blend in. Casual...relaxed...even a little confident. He strode up to the door, quickly realizing he seemed to be the last one to arrive.

“Invitation?” the doorman asked.

“It’s...excuse me, one moment,” Kennex felt a swell of panic in his chest. Was he supposed to have an invitation? He patted around his jacket, and he disguised his sigh of relief at the invitation in his inner pocket as an exhale. “Here.”

The doorman examined the document, and with a nod of approval, let Kennex in.

Great, he thought. Where to start?

As Kennex scanned the ballroom with his eyes, he couldn’t help noticing a man who looked remarkably like the Tobias Tate shown to him by Maldonado...with a companion.

You were getting rather bored of entertaining Mr. Tate. He was a charming host, that much was certain, but you had some bigger fish to fry and other things to worry about.

Silver mask, blue tie, you reminded yourself. Silver mask, blue tie...that’s the saboteur.

Your eyes swept the ballroom one more time, pretending to laugh at something Mr. Tate had said, when your glance finally fell on a latecomer, striding into the ballroom in-- what else?-- a dusty blue tie and a silver mask.

“Will you excuse me for a moment?” you smiled sweetly at Mr. Tate.

“Eager to leave before the grand announcement?” he feigned disappointment, but you kept up your playful facade.

“Oh, don’t think me such a lightweight, Mr. Tate,” you giggled. “I just need some fresh air.”

You unwound yourself from his arm and headed to the stairs, careful not to get too ahead of yourself or your wide skirt. Your eyes flitted back to your target-- he was still watching you. As he came closer, you feigned a stumble.

“Are you alright?” he asked, steadying you as you moved to the ground floor.

“Oh, yes, I’m just fine,” you said, laughing off your feigned faux pas. “Even the best pair of heels can be so uncooperative.” You fluffed your gilded white skirt in lieu of exposing your footwear.

“I can’t relate, but you have my sympathy.”

When the song, changed, you offered him your hand.

“Think I could thank you with a dance?”

You felt a little flustered by the intent, hazel gaze under the mask, but steeled yourself under a charming smile.

He took your arm with a disarming smile of his own, “I think that should suffice.”

Kennex had to admit, you were making a very good distraction. Though, were you in on the scheme? He supposed it was better to be safe than sorry, holding your waist in one hand and your hand in the other. If he thought about it long enough, you fit against him rather well.

“So Mr. Tate seems like he likes you quite a bit,” he began, trying to open a conversation to see what you might know.

“Yes,” you smiled, “I’ve been told I’m quite charming. Though I think you could give me a run for my money, that was quite the smooth save back there. Most people here might’ve just let me fall.”

“You? How rude.”

You shrugged a little, “Well, I’m not exactly important. Believe it or not, this is my first rodeo. I’m not very into the party circuit. I like to be behind the scenes.”

Kennex cursed your ruby-crusted mask for concealing your face. You would be much easier to read if he could see your cheekbones.

Undeterred, he continued on, “What kind of behind the scenes?”

“Well, I’m not exactly a billionaire. But I’d certainly say my services are invaluable, anyway.”

Kennex was caught a little off-guard when you moved your hand away from his shoulder to curve around his tie, “But I want to know about you. What brings you by? Just another stuffed shirt? You don’t act like it.”

He chuckled and took your hand, “Guilty as charged. I’m like you, I guess. Behind the scenes.”

Kennex was suddenly very unnerved by the way your eyes iced over behind your mask.

“It’s nice to find a kindred spirit,” your eyes flickered to his watch, and his stomach dropped at the time. 11:59...had it really been fifteen minutes? It was too close to the endgame.

Your voice jolted him from his thoughts, eyes tracing over the handiwork of the glassy, intricate piece, “That’s a lovely watch. Very interesting. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

A beat.

“...Thank you. It was a gift. I...I think I should move along...wouldn’t want to ignore the host, I should look for Mr. Tate…”

Too close. He was coming too close to being made. How had you made him? Had you made him?

“Getting shy on me?” you grabbed his wrist, fingers clasping around the edges of the watch, and you looked him dead in the eyes as you hissed under your breath, “What the fuck are you planning to do to these people?”

Several explosions suddenly shook the room, jolting the two of you apart.

Kennex felt his heart rate spike, and he took a moment to shake himself away from an ambush a year and a half ago.

Midnight, Kennex realized with worry. He felt down around his wrist, suddenly feeling a well of panic when he realized Rudy’s watch was missing. He stood and began whirling around, trying to find where it could have fallen off in the excitement.

He almost felt lucky to catch a glimpse of you dashing off up the stairs again-- were you wearing combat boots? Kennex saw you turn and look over the chaos, messing frantically with the watch and looking around with frantic confusion when nothing happened.

“Dammit,” he grumbled under his breath. So help wasn’t going to be coming, not as long as you had his watch. Kennex turned his attention to the masked attackers, dressed in finery and shooting down at the fleeing partygoers. He practically jumped up the opposite set of stairs, slamming the face of one into the balcony railing and running towards another, only to be nailed down by a man in a silver mask and dusty blue tie. His assailant shoved the mask up off of Kennex’s face, and an evil grin developed.

“Detective John Kennex,” he smirked, stomping Kennex’s lights out.

He was beginning to understand why you were suddenly so hostile.

Access denied. Access denied. Access denied.

“Dammit,” you grumbled under your breath, scrambling up the stairs with the watch. Why were none of the attacks stopping? “Open up!”

Access only authorized to Detective John R. Kennex.

“Detective?” you muttered under your breath.

Wheels began turning in your head as you watched the man you’d nicked the watch from run up the stairs and attack one of the assailants before being tackled by another man in silver and blue.

“Oh...shit….”

You tore away the overlay of your skirt and pressed the button hidden in the embroidery of your bodice, protective sleeves sliding out from the caps. You pocketed the watch in one of your pants pockets and broke off into a run.

You didn’t know who this Detective Kennex was or what he was doing here, but it seemed better to have one kind-of competent ally around in this firefight than none at all.

Running up to the rooftop from the stairs, though, you encountered a bit of a problem.

“Are you serious?” Kennex grumbled, not really a fan of this whole damsel-in-distressing. He tugged his wrists hard against the pole, deciding he hadn’t held his wrists tight enough when he got tied down to slip out now.

“I’m always serious about not getting my ass blown to hell by the FBI,” his assailant said. “Now, I’m gonna leave you here for our fair-weather friend to find, and I’m gonna-”

“Freeze, FBI!”

Both Kennex and his attacker snapped their heads to look at you, gun pointed, mask still on, and clearly trying to make sense of the situation. If Kennex knew how to alert you to the danger, he would, but he felt vastly unlucky that your apparent actual target also seemed to be a dark-haired male.

“Thank god,” the impostor said with a sigh of relief. “Glad you made it out okay.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Kennex barked, “Don’t listen to him!”

A hint of hesitation in your eyes. Your gaze flickered between the two men, not sure what to do or who to trust.

“...Unlock the watch, then.”

This seemed to take both men by surprise.

“Pardon me?” The standing man chuckled. “What watch?”

“The watch,” you kept your gun up with one hand and used the other to dig into your pants pocket and pull out the glassy watch, clasp broken but otherwise intact. “The one that broke in the explosion. I found it on the ground. I’m very sure I remember you wearing it.”

If Kennex had his mask off and was standing, you might have noticed him grin. The other man, meanwhile, froze at your challenge.

“I...of course.”

He took cautious steps forward, and you kept as tight a grip you could on the watch as he pressed his thumb to the face.

Access denied.

The man went to strike you, but you blocked his arm, stomped the inside of his knee, and struck him hard across the face, knocking him to the ground and turning him flat on his back.

“You’re under arrest for association with the criminal organization InSyndicate and organizing and partaking in a violent attack on a private event on private premises.”

Kennex fidgeted as you read the man his rights and picked up the watch from where it had been knocked to the ground. You approached Kennex and cut one of his wrists free.

“I’m guessing this is yours, but it’s really better to be safe than sorry,” you said, smiling a little. He chuckled under his breath and pressed his thumb to the face of the watch, smiling as it lit up with commands and buttons.

Hello, John Reginald Kennex, the screen read, and Kennex huffed at the name as you suppressed a laugh. Calling Dorian.

“John!” The DRN’s face appeared on the screen, “Are you alright? You didn’t call at midnight. Did something happen?”

“Got a little caught up, Dorian,” Kennex said. “We...might have a little to talk about to the FBI, but that’s fine. I’m alright. Is everyone okay from the gala?”

“Minimal casualties, Maldonado sent in Paul. He alerted the proper authorities, they’re getting treatment.”

Kennex scoffed, “Ugh, I can’t believe she sent him of all...fine, great. Okay. Get somewhere they won’t recognize you, I’ll find your coordinates.”

When Kennex closed the call, he took his mask off. You decided he was pleasant-looking.

“Sorry if I kind of derailed your entire operation,” he said. “I...InSyndicate is kind of personal for me. My captain didn’t want me coming, but I...I couldn’t leave it alone.”

“Me too,” your lips pulled into a soft smile, “not the unsanctioned investigation thing, the personal part. I’m sorry I thought you were with them. Y/N Y/L/N, FBI Cyber Crimes unit.”

“John Kennex,” he grinned back. “I work in Investigations in the Delta section, near my place in District 07.”

“Funny,” you pushed your mask up onto your forehead and chewed at your lip, “I...also live in District 07.”

Kennex had to fight a boyish grin off his face. Smart and badass and beautiful…. He understood where you got that ‘charming’ line from.

“Well, that’s a real funny coincidence. Might have more in common with you than I expected.”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “So...I guess you did kind of get in the way of an official FBI investigation. But it wasn’t actually your fault that you dressed like the perp, so I’ll just let you off with a strong warning.”

“Thanks, Agent,” Kennex smirked. “I’m...assuming Agent. It is Agent, isn’t it?”

“Sure,” you laughed. “Agent.” You scribbled something down on a notepad from your pocket and tore the paper for him. “If you need anything...or want anything...give me a call.”

Kennex had to smile down at the phone number written under the name Agent.

This debacle of a stakeout was turning into what seemed to be able to lead to a happily ever after….

Tagging: @shimmershoo @feelmyroarrrr @annathewitch @yallneedtrek @goingknowherewastaken @bkwrm523 @queenmismatched @bookcaseninja @fearofdeathkeepsusalive @kjs-s @lauuerodz @atomicdna

#john kennex x reader #almost human imagine #almost human fic #challenge fic #sweet kennex #he'd make a beautiful cinderella #also I had lots of fun imagining the textile engineering of reader's dress #the bodice is essentially a stylized bulletproof vest with tech to transition between formal and combat wear

92 notes · View notes