#collecting stories

[collecting-stories]

Cheat - Otis 'Brian' Zvonecek

Summary: After getting drinks with Adam, Otis gets the wrong impression.

Request: Brian accuses her of cheating on him when in reality they’re not even technically official but nevertheless he feels cheated on because he thought they were pretty damn solid regardless, He wants her all to himself but failed to make it clear.

A/N: I cannot tell you how nice it was to get back into writing something and posting on here. I know I've been trying to sporadically but it's been tricky with school and I finally felt like this week I had a little bit of time and just needed to write something.

banner by: @saradika

One Chicago Masterlist

Otis was a man on a mission. It wasn't exactly an important mission and it was, more or less, a mission of his own creating due 100% to the fact that he wasn't capable of articulating the sentence "do you want to date me" and Adam Ruzek, of all people, apparently was. The Adam Ruzek thing wasn't a definite, solid, actual thing as far as Otis could tell. It was more a spur of the moment thing if Shay was to be believed because, according to her, you had gone on a date with Adam after he had dropped by 51 with Antonio and, while there, asked you on a date. Because he could actually get the words across without fumbling them or overthinking all the ways that asking you out properly could go terribly wrong.

He knew this was technically all his fault and he knew that you weren't just going to wait around forever while he acted like you were a couple but didn't say that you were a couple. Still, when he saw you in the locker room that morning he felt like someone had driven a knife right through his back. His ears were practically ringing Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" and he really wanted to throttle Adam. You were talking to Joe, laughing at something he said about Leon, and Otis turned right back around and stormed out of the room. 

"Brian!" "Otis!" Your voice mingled with Joe as you called after Otis' retreating form, frown etched on your face. 

You shut your locker, offering Joe a quick apology before heading off after Otis. Shay had mentioned that he looked upset last night at Molly's when she "unintentionally" mentioned that you and Ruzek were out on a date. You hadn't really wanted Otis to know, or rather you were going to mention it to him yourself, this morning, in case he took it the wrong way. 

"Brian!" You followed Otis out of the locker room and into the bunk room, rushing passed him and stopping him with a hand on his chest. "Wait, wait a second."

"I have to go check the truck-" he tried to move but you moved with him, blocking the path. 

You moved your hand from his chest to his wrist, dragging him into Matt's empty office and shutting the door. "We need to talk."

"I don't have anything to say," Otis replied, crossing his arms over his chest and looking out Mattt's office window, trying to look serious and not like he was pouting. "If you wanna see other people-"

"I don't wanna see other people Brian, would you let me explain?" You said, cutting him off. "I told Shay not to tell you that I was going out-"

"Knowing or not knowing, being cheated on-"

"I didn't cheat!" You practically shouted, "For the love of god, Brian, just listen to me!"

"I am listening."

"No, you're cutting me off every second and putting words in my mouth. I didn't cheat, I can't cheat. We," you gestured between the two of you, "aren't together. Regardless of that, I wasn't on a date with Adam...I'm friends with Kim and he wanted to talk. They're still trying to work things out."

"Oh," he deflated slightly, all the anxiety and anger he'd come into 51 with disappating in a matter of seconds. 

"That's it? Just oh?" 

"Shay said you were out with Adam and I'd seen you talking to him when he was here the other day...I just. When Shay mentioned it I...I don't know. I was just seeing green. I know we aren't but I mean...we-"

"If you want us to be then just say the word Brian," you replied. "I told you before that I had feelings for you, that hasn't changed." 

You had told him months ago that you liked him. It was terrible timing because he had just started going out with Severide's sister but you had waited it out and tried to be there for him solely as a friend and co-worker. That relationship had ended months ago though and Otis hadn't made any move to indicate that he was interested in more than friendship with you. There were signs, and you were pretty sure that Otis felt the same way about you he just hadn't said anything that definitely indicated that he wanted the two of you to be anything more than friends. 

"I just throught, you went out with Adam-"

"It wasn't a date, we just grabbed drinks-"

"You could've grabbed drinks at Molly's." Otis reasoned.

You groaned, leaning back against Matt's desk, "I feel like I'm talking in circles. I didn't go to Molly's because I didn't want everyone at 51 acting like I was on a date. We went to a bar in Canaryville. I know Adam, we're just friends, he's literally dating a friend of mine." 

"We're friends."

"Are we, cause you booked it out of the locker room and accused me of cheating on you but now you're going to say that we're friends? That's it? You get to be upset with me for having drinks with a friend of mine and I tell you that I still have feelings for and I haven't even thought about going out with anyone since before you and Katie broke up and you're going to hit me with 'we're friends'." You asked, voice rising slightly. "I will make this so simple for you Brian, do you like me?"

"Of course-"

"Would you actually date me? Not just hang out on off days cause cause we're friends but be with me, an actual defined relationship where I can introduce you to people as my boyfriend?"

"Yeah, yes," Otis replied quickly, "I wasn't sure how you felt after Katie and I broke up...if you were still interested or just wanted to be friends." 

Before you could say anything to him the door to the office opened, Matt standing there looking between the two of you, partially confused and partially amused. He'd heard from Joe that Otis had run out of the locker room and you'd gone after him but he wasn't expecting to see the two of you in his office.

"I hate to interrupt but I have actual woork to do...and I feel like I remember telling you to do truck inventory," Matt said, looking over at you curiously. 

"I was just heading over there now." You slipped passed Otis and Matt, the latter taking your place at his desk so he could sit down. Otis was still standing in the office, embarrassed and somewhat stuck on the conversation that had been abruptly interrupted. 

"Otis?" Matt asked. When he didn't answer, still staring at the door, Matt called his name again, "Otis."

After another beat Otis seemed to snap into action, apologizing to Matt as he hurried out of the office and through the bunk room. You were in the hallway, headed out to do the truck inventory that Matt had asked you to do that morning, when Otis stopped you. He mirrored your actions from earlier, rushing around in front of you and forcing you to stop walking so you didn't run into im. 

"Brian-" You started to say but Otis cut you off, grabbing your upper arms gently and kissing you. It didn't last long enough for you to even really register what was happening before he pulled away, dropping his hands and taking a step back. 

"Sorry, sorry. I shouldn't just kiss you without-"

You cut him off this time, grabbing him and kissing him the same way he had done to you. He kissed you back, niether of you aware of the fact that you were standing right in front of the common room and there was an audience of people sitting there staring at the two of you kissing. Or that Joe was handing Shay a twenty.

"I told you they'd get together in the firehouse," She said, smiling as she pocketed the money. 

[ruubesz-draws]

Showing off the babies

(I watched Ultraman Rising! It was good!)

Bonus:

From this

[shiny-eyed-corvid]

things found on the ground during my California road trip

favorite finds: a stone dolphin pendant found at the San Diego Zoo and a mysterious charm reading “Three Potato Four” from the streets of San Francisco

[aethersea]

I do think Blazing Saddles handled its one depiction of native americans very poorly, and the full extent of its representation of chinese workers on the railroad is they were literally just there. not even one single speaking line. unclear if this is worse or better than the redface.

it's fucking phenomenal at lampooning antiblack racism though. extremely blatant, extremely funny satire, which is constantly and loudly saying "racism is the philosophy of the terminally stupid at best and morally depraved at worst, and we should all be pointing and laughing at them 24/7"

plus the main character is a heroic black man who has to navigate a whole lot of bullshit but is constantly smirking at the extraordinarily stupid racists and inviting the audience into the joke. the one heroic white character is a guy who was suicidally depressed until he met the protagonist and they just instantly became buds, and he's firmly in a supporting role the whole time and happy to be there. the protagonist saves the day with the help of his black friends from the railroad, and uses the position of power he was given to uplift not only those friends, but all the railroad workers of other minorities too, in an explicit show of solidarity.

anyone saying "Blazing Saddles is racist" had better be talking about its treatment of non-black minorities. it had better not be such superficial takes as "oh but they say the n-word all the time" or "they have nazis and the kkk in there!" because goddamn if that's the full extent of your critique I very seriously suggest you read up on media analysis. there is too much going over your head, you need to learn to recognize satire.

[salemoleander]

I am BARELY resisting going full red-strings-corkboard on this season. And by barely resisting I mean not resisting at all here is an extremely long list of the events those pins would be marking out.

BigB getting a Task that was a different color than everyone else's. It's not just a randomly assigned Hard Task, bc Scar rerolled for a Hard Task and his was also just a white envelope. It's fundamentally different.

That task taking BigB away from socialization, and seemingly being an incredibly time-consuming and dull request. Of profound disinterest to any watchers.

The phrasing of his Task!!

Dig a big hole. All the way down. At least 3x3. Make it your base if you want.

Everyone else's are direct and formal - the only one with more than one sentence was Skizz's, with the rule clarification of "One attempt only." Bigb's Task is four short abrupt sentences. It is also the only Task to contain extraneous information, 'Make it your base if you want.' The requirements (at least 3x3) feel like an afterthought to mimic the numerical/specific demands of the other tasks.

Evo symbol on the face of the Secret Keeper statue.

The fact that there's a statue at all; the fact that there is a physical representation of what is assigning tasks that everyone must complete, when previously everything was always handled via commands and unseen RNG.

Grian talking to the statue, and (bc of his Actual Role as game organizer) acting as a mediator for the impartial decisions handed down, speaking for it.

Grian making one last bad joke and saying he doesn't know if it counted or not- depends on whether we the audience laughed.

Grian asking for task recommendations from the audience. The watchers are making the tasks. The Watchers are making the tasks.

Again I could be off-base, and I'm not usually even that smitten with bringing in Evo lore. I don't want a Big Bad really...but. It feels like something very unusual and intentional and cool is happening in this series. And I'd guess we'll know if theres something going on once we have more than one data point.

My largely unfounded suspicion is that there is another being (maybe Listeners, maybe something else) trying to reach out to the Players via decoy Tasks, and BigB was the first recipient. Get them alone, make them of disinterest to the watchers, and tell them something we don't get to know.

Because that's the really, really fucking cool part (if my wacky theory is remotely right): We're the bad guys. We're the ones giving out tasks - hell, we're the ones actively brainstorming harder and crueller tasks in Grian's comments!

If they actually made a story where the Players have to keep secrets from us I will be delighted. Bc that is the same genius bullshit that made Evo Watcher lore so fun

[apricatt-art]

them!!!

[egophiliac]

back at it again with the extremely self-indulgent diafams! I am being emotionally supported by overly-cutesy interactions between anime characters right now, don't judge me.

(also continuing with my headcanons that 1) mustache Bauru, and 2) he'll be hugely tsundere about it but you can, ultimately, convince him to do just about anything via careful application of Sebek.)

[infamous-if]

I've been asked many times to gather my short stories/drabbles in one place and I finally did it. There's not many or maybe I missed some but Tumblr search is shite so to help you:

SPICY SNIPPETS (im aware I haven't finished them I will do it one of these days) (please take note these were before f!O was added I did not purposely exclude her)

F!SEVEN | M!SEVEN ORION | VICTORIA

DRABBLES (half of these were written in the early days of infamous)

ORION DRABBLE VALENREIGN POLY PROMPT ORION PROMPT #1 SEVEN PROMPT VICTORIA PROMPT SEBASTIAN PROMPT SEVEN FIRST KISS DRABBLE SEVEN POV OF MC'S BOTB AUDITION ROWAN CRUSH ON MC AU DRABBLE SEVEN RANDOM PROMPT SEVEN LETTER TO MC (when they were in their pride and prejudice era)

VALENTINE SPECIALS

[braisedhoney]

fighting back? against who? they're so happy—they've been waiting for you.

you are wonderful. don't you know that?

bonus: they play sims together :)

[taylorswiftstyle]

Chiefs vs Ravens | Kansas City, MO | September 5, 2024

Versace 'Medusa Bustier' - $1,325.00 For Future Reference 'Vintage 1970s Ancient Bronze Coin Necklace' - $12,750.00 Three Stories Jewelry 'Single Long Love Explosion Starburst Charm' - $590.00 EF Collection 'Diamond Mini Huggie & Prong Set Chain Stud Earring' - $850.00 Wove Made x Michelle Wie West 'Custom Diamond Tennis Bracelet’ - $5,680.00 (starting) Lizzie Mandler 'Three Row Cleo Bracelet' - $18,300.00 Howl Jewelry 'Ruby Cocoon Ring' - $4,800.00 Retrouvai 'Cushion Ruby Impetus Interlocking Puzzle Ring' - $29,100.00 Louis Vuitton 'Side Trunk Bag' - $3,950.00 Grlfrnd 'Whitney Shorts' - $115.00 Giuseppe Zanotti 'Frannie Boots' - $1,650.00

Touchdown - she’s back. Many wondered how Taylor’s style playbook would shift (if at all) for “National Sportsball Observation”: Season Two. You might recall that during her “rookie” season, Taylor’s opening outfit was, as we’re calling it now, demure. A simple, lace-trimmed white cotton tank to + denim shorts + sneakers + a Chiefs jacket she picked up at the Arrowhead pro shop. As a way of testing the waters in a completely new setting, it was a lowkey, casual entrypoint into a very headline-exploding relationship launch. As we saw her continue to show up to games, her clothing choices became bolder. Bigger jackets, taller heels, tighter bustiers, cheekier cut denim. It all signalled a growing confidence in herself — and her relationship. 

When you makeout on the field at the Superbowl, there’s no going back to demure. This denim on denim moment is obviously sexy, and yet entirely familiar to where we last left off with Taylor’s game day fashion thanks to some repeat silhouettes. Which in my opinion makes this an extremely well executed strategic start to her season - and a hot and spicy one to boot!

Bustiers: Bustiers + corsets have become TTPD’s “signature” item. She wore plenty to previous Chiefs games last year. You might even recognize this exact one because she wore it in black the night she ‘killahardlaunched’ her relationship with Travis when they were photographed leaving Saturday Night Live in October 2023. 

Jewelry Stacking: Another era-specific signature that became key over the course of TTPD. Taylor became comfortable heavily layering larger, statement pieces of jewelry over the last few years. 

Denim: Taylor wore a lot of denim last year (like the distressed Ksubis from her first game and a crystallised Area pair at the NY game). But to go denim on denim feels like a pointed “painting the town blue” democratic signal to me. 

Boots: Thigh high boots by Louboutin and Larroude were incorporated into her game day style through the winter games.  

As an aside, this particular cut and fabrication of bustier is giving me flashbacks to her 2023 MTV VMA after-party look, which was by EB Denim. Given the 2024 VMAs are next week, I can’t get over the genius use of slideshowing.

As we saw throughout Taylor’s game day fashion playbook last year, she would often employ sentimental pieces through her jewelry. Items that were named for certain goddesses, or that were adorned with a certain jersey number. It was a subtle way of bejeweling a little bit of romance into her outfit.

The ‘Long Love’ name feels both appropriate to the circumstances for why she’s at the game and it also sounds a lot like her own song “Long Live”.

For her Retrouvai piece, the brand notes that it is from their “Impetus collection” which includes a lot of puzzle motifs that they say “represent that we are each individually part of a much larger picture. The force behind this collection was thinking about the idea of purpose and drive.” Love that!

As a repeat, Taylor also rewore her 'TNT' bracelet - a custom gift to her from Travis she wore when the Chiefs won the 2023 AFC Division game against the Ravens back in January. What a full circle moment to reference as they kick off the 2024-2025 season.

Just this past summer, FFR launched a curated collection of unsigned, one-of-a-kind vintage pieces exclusive to Bergdorfs. The pieces range from the 1940s through to the 1980s.

Upon launch, FFR founder Randi Molofsky told National Jeweler, “I think the idea of vintage is in the zeitgeist, and clients are actively seeking out jewelry that has stood the test of time.”

It’s not surprising to me that Taylor would gravitate towards a stunning vintage piece like this. She’s long loved vintage fashion since she began to incorporate it into her wardrobe around the Speak Now era and really leaned into the aesthetic in the RED era. Just last summer, she acquired a vintage Cartier necklace she wore often that was valued at just above $27,000.

I reached out to Randi Molofsky directly who told me a bit of history with this special one-of-a-kind vintage piece. “This one-of-a-kind vintage necklace is the ultimate in sexy 1970s style — it’s bold and powerful and makes a real statement,” said Molofsky. “In the ‘70s, oversized medallions and chunky chains had a major moment — heavily influenced by the disco movement and Italian resort style — and that look is having a resurgence now. I love that Taylor chose vintage for this moment not only because is it good for the planet, but because these pieces have lived lives before us and they will still be treasured for generations to come.”

Taylor often will wear a lot of red-tinged jewelry to her Chiefs games as an obvious nod to their team colours which makes the Howl ruby ring make total sense here. But a part of me can’t help but smirk at the ‘three row’ bracelet and wonder if it’s an optimistic fingers crossed moment for a Chiefs Super Bowl threepeat (they won the big trophy in consecutive years in 2023 and 2024).

Lastly - those 'girlfriend' shorts? Girl, please.

Photo by David Eulitt via Getty Images

[buckets-and-trees]

I'm Your Man Collection

a short series featuring Andy Barber as a soft dark mafia boss who set his sights on you and never plans to let you go

While Andy Barber was well-known in Boston, there are whispers of a darker side, but few know the depths of his darker side. He's successful, he's charming, he's generous, and you're about to find out just how dangerous he can be.

Content Warnings: [check individual parts for their respective warnings] DUBIOUS CONSENT, extortion, explicit smut: oral (female and male receiving), vaginal fingering, vaginal intercourse, spitting, dom/sub undertones, breeding kink, unprotected sex, dacryphilia, somnophilia, financial spoiling

COLLECTION:

I'm Your Man [3k]

Morning Radiance [750]

Prepare for Takeoff [1.5k]

Don't Look Too Far [6.4k]

Burned Off the Haze [4.5k]

ask: a moment on your honeymoon [350]

Make Her Glow [1k]

EXTRAS: ↠ will Andy let the reader work? ↠ what if Andy were forced into marriage with the reader?

[yeesiine]

sext: meet me at the second hand bookstore, i’ll bring coffee.

[stratos-ane]

keith!!

[tapakah0]

[timethehobo]

Just finished Emmy’s personal questline and am too full of feels rn so all I have is a tiny doodle tonight. I love him sm. 😭