#riddle underpass | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chilling-seavey · 3 years

Text

Qui Totum Vult Totum Perdit (d.s.) - 6

A/N Out in the open

Warnings: This story is centered around a murder so there will be graphic descriptions of blood, death/manslaughter, dealing with corpses, possible domestic abuse (physical/verbal), crime/covering up a crime, shock/grief, and other possibly heavy or triggering topics. Please read at your own discretion.

You may think you understand stress, dear reader, but I can assure you that you do not. You do not understand stress unless you have driven around the city in broad daylight with a body in the trunk of your car. There was only so much guilt that a hat and sunglasses could cover.

“We should stop by the bank…take out some cash before we leave the state.” I suggested, my hands tightening on the wheel slightly as I drove.

Jonah nodded and reached into the backseat to pulled over his bag to shuffle through it. It was always full of random junk from snacks and a water bottle to notebooks and his wallet and phone charger. He carried his life in that bag. He pulled out said charger and helped himself to the port in my car to plug in his phone.

“Jo.” I said.

“Yeah?”

“Why aren’t you…freaked out?” I asked.

“I am.” Jonah answered as he dropped his bag in the backseat again. “My best friend called me out of the single most important studio session of our careers to get me involved in the murder of his wife. Who wouldn’t be freaked out? Why aren’t you freaked out?”

I shifted my hands on the wheel nervously, “I-I am freaked out. I just…I don’t know what happened at all and I think I’m just in shock.”

“Do you think you killed her?” Jonah asked quietly.

I could sense the nervousness in his voice as if he was scared of me too. I honestly didn’t know what to tell him…I didn’t know what to tell myself to reassure either of us. I loved Avalon. I loved her with almost everything in me. So what would be my motive to kill her? Would our argument about my job be enough to enrage my conscious to see nothing but red?

I could only answer my best friend truthfully. After all, he risked so much to come help me.

“I don’t know.”

Jonah nodded stiffly. He probably expected that reply from me. I had been saying it all morning.

“Well, we’ll go to the bank and check out this J person at the Lincoln motel and see where that takes us.”

Jonah and I were by no means celebrities, but our jobs certainly put us in the spotlight more often than we might have liked – especially in a situation as we found ourselves in with Avalon. Owning one of the top record companies in the country was not an easy feat and the publicity that came with it often made going out in public a bit of a hassle. I couldn’t tell you how many times Avalon and I were interrupted on a date for someone to want to talk to me, slide me a demo, or – for some reason – even get my autograph. Even Hollywood Fix seemed to have a soft spot for Jonah and me.

Avalon hated paparazzi. She hated paparazzi more than any other aspect of my job honestly. They made her nervous and claustrophobic and she always felt completely tense the entire night we were out if the paparazzi greeted us at the restaurant. Seemed like no matter the country they followed us everywhere. Even on our honeymoon we couldn’t catch a break.

“It’s just a few cameras.”

Avalon glanced out the tinted window of the rental car to the sidewalk that was swarming with paparazzi and their crew, waiting for us to step out.

“That’s hardly a few.” she mumbled.

“Just keep your head down and don’t say anything.”

“I can’t just ignore them.” she turned to me, “That’s rude.”

“Well what do you want me to say?” I sighed.

“I want to have a date with my husband that’s not riddled with strangers and their cameras.”

“Sorry to be such a burden in your life, honey.”

“Oh, Daniel, stop that.” she scoffed, shaking her head as she turned back out the window.

I stared at her a moment, her bottom lip held between her teeth and her arms crossed over the chest of the tight tropical dress she wore. I slid my hand over her thigh and gave it a squeeze to get her looking back at me. Her brown eyes were shimmering in anxious tears.

“I want to go back to the hotel.”

“No, no. It’s fine. I promise. I’ll be right beside you.” I assured her, capturing her chin in my hand to pull her lips onto mine for a quick kiss before reaching for the handle on the car door, “Come on.”

Thinking about these things only made me realize how much we actually argued. Maybe how dense I was to her feelings. Did that make me selfish? Well, I’m no perfect man. I can only push that fact on you so much, dear reader.

Jonah and I stared up at the brick bank building in front of us. The few steps to the ATM seemed like a mile. I took out my wallet from my jeans pocket and flicked through it to pull out my credit card with a sigh.

“5k?” Jonah suggested.

“Yeah, sounds about right.” I mumbled, adjusting the cap on my head as I scanned the curb we were parked in front of. “I’ll be quick.”

I stepped out of my car before I could psych myself up anymore and hopped up onto the sidewalk towards the ATM outside the building. I stood close to the machine, head down, and slid my credit card into the slot. I typed in my pin number with shaking hands and waited for my withdrawal request to go through while I tried not to think about what I was hiding in my car just behind me.

The sun beat down on the back of my neck as I hunched over the ATM, trying my best to keep myself in the shadows. It felt like ages had gone by until the machine slid out a stack of one-hundred-dollar bills and returned my card. I kept my head down as I turned on my heel and crashed right into a man walking towards the front doors of the bank.

He must have apologized – I remember him saying something to me – but the fear that our sudden collision injected into my veins had me bowing my head and rushing off to my car a few feet away without a word. I was breathless when I closed the door behind me as if I had just hiked up the Hills and back and I tried to play it off as I flicked through the bills in my hand.

I held out half the stack to Jonah so we could split the total just in-case anything happened to either of us, “Twenty-five-hundred for you. Twenty-five-hundred for me.”

“Great.” Jonah reached into the backseat and grabbed his wallet from his back to tuck the cash safely away and I slipped my half into the glove box of the car.

We had to keep moving so I pulled out of the bank parking lot back towards the main roads while Jonah brought up the address of the motel in the GPS and set the route navigation on. We drove in silence, not even bothering to put on any music, and he scrolled through his phone as we hit some traffic on the freeway.

“The place looks musty as hell.” Jonah said casually.

I glanced over to his phone screen to see him checking out the Expedia site.

“It’s like 1 out of 5 stars. Reviews say bed bugs, broken furniture, unfriendly staff. Why would Avalon want to go within five blocks of this place yet alone meet someone inside?” Jonah mumbled and he set his phone back down to charge.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think the interior design what she was particularly worried about.” I muttered as I switched lanes towards the exit for Pasadena. I couldn’t help but let the jealously come out through my tone of voice.

My phone rang through the Tesla speakers and I glanced at the screen to see Christian calling me for at least the third time since the night before. I declined it.

“Fuck. Why does he need to know where I am so badly?” I grumbled.

“Maybe you should just tell him you’re busy at work.” Jonah suggested.

“It’s none of his business where I am.”

“It’ll get him off your back.”

“It’ll get him asking questions. We really don’t need that.” I sighed tiredly.

Jonah kept quiet.

The Lincoln Motel was right off the freeway and was so closely built under the underpass that it could have passed as a troll under the bridge. Honestly, it sort of felt like that same sort of sense as I pulled into the cracked parking lot of the nearly crumbling orange stucco two-storey building. My white Tesla looked like a diamond in the rough beside the motel and I would have been worried about it being stolen if it wasn’t for the body in the trunk already depreciating the car.

I parked in the spot closest to the building and Jonah and I took a moment to prepare ourselves for not only the person we were going to meet uninvited but also to face the decrepit building firsthand. I leaned forward to see up to the second storey balcony – all the rooms being outdoor entry – and located number nineteen. This certainly was not what I had planned when I woke up that morning.

Detective Team: @jonahlovescoffee @randomlimelightxxx @stuffofseaveyy @hopinglimelight @tempus-ut-luceant @br4nd1s @xkelsev @hiya-its-amber @sexyseavey15

#🔪#daniel seavey #jonah marais #why dont we #jack avery #zach herron #corbyn besson #why dont we fanfic #why dont we music #daniel seavey fanfic

38 notes · View notes

tuesdayx · 3 years

Text

So I thought it would be fun to do a song-by-song breakdown of our latest album Essential.

Essential started as some rough demos designated for a side project in late 2019, which then became our largest album to date in terms of song selection. Many of the themes deal with learning to cope with the changing world thanks to Covid, with a perspective of someone who had to keep working at an "essential" job with no option of self-quarantine. I was happy to continue working and being able to pay my bills over the past year, but there was always elements of stress, fear, and tension lingering over myself and everyone else in my position.

So here we go; starting from the top let's look at the Songs of Tuesday X's 6th album Essential.

1. Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steel Beams: the title was a reference to the 9/11 conspiracy memes, which as stated in the opening lines, "has nothing to do with this song." Written in January of 2020 before Covid had made any significant impact in the US, the song touches on many themes which happened to occur throughout the year, such as [another] Californian forest fire (Australia too), new diseases (Covid), a riot (the BLM movement over the summer, which I will state everything that movement has been fighting for is 100% justified and the United States is in desperate need of Police reform, as does our political system which has remained inherently racist to this day.), Civil War (and exaggeration for sure, but the civil unrest and political division in our country will soon split us apart further), more corporate giants(companies like Amazon profited more from this Pandemic than ever before and have helped further the gap between the American working class and the top 1%). Favorite line: "I won't get philosophical, I only wanted your attention."

2. The Only Difference Between You and Me is a Sense of Apathy and Your Brand New Nikes: This song is a blithing criticism of the American political system. Our two party system has left Americans with a choice between "the lesser of two evils" and allows politicians with no true interest in our needs to rise to power. The use of 3rd parties as an alternative is a overly simple compromise that would only just begin to alleviate the problems created in our political system. Both of our main parties are considered conservative parties to the rest of the world, and any progressive measures that would benefit society and reduce the effects of climate change are considered radical and preposterous by politicians with financial stakes in our crooked system where corporatations hold control and the people are treated as fuel for an otherwise worthless currency. Favorite line: "Listen to the radio, they played my favorite song. Now I'm bored and wanting more."

3. Blame it on the Elves: the title is a reference to an episode of the Podcast "Lore" by Aaron Menke (i can't recall which episode, but you should check it out anyway because it's great listen.) An instrumental interlude inspired by ragtime music of the 1920-30's, with an edge of course.

4. Class of Dropouts: This song was written when I was 16 during my sophomore year of high school and was originally featured on my now unavailable album "trees" before adopting the Tuesday X monicker. I brought it back 6 years later because I loved how raw and punk it was. The lyrics are dorky but I decided to leave them as is, it's a cool track for high school stoners to blare and let out their teen angst. Favorite line: "Walking in on my friends fucking."

5. Polaroids on My Bulletin Board: This is a song about growing up. As a 22 year old (now 23) who decided not to go to college straight out of high school, I felt isolated from my peers in a way. By going into the workfield right away I sometimes feel like I skipped a few years and missed out on a lot of opportunities. I regret not leaving my hometown sooner than I did and chasing my dreams of being a touring musician in a band. More often than not I reminisce of my youth playing shows and getting into trouble, as I now feel old and out of place in a scene I grew up in. Favorite line: "I know what it's like to be alive, I know what it's like to live a lie."

6. Labradoodle Underpass: Going back on the theme of growing up, this is about my recent experience with shows as an adult. When I was a teenager I felt ambitious and ready for anything, and I would drop literally everything to go to the nearest show. As an adult I feel introverted and constantly anxious about the world around me. I've missed out on a lot of great shows due to my own self doubt's and anxiety. Now that shows have been canceled for over a year I feel even more regret by not appreciating them more while I could. Favorite line: "23 years and a lingering fear that anything could happen, why am I here?"

7. Some Shit: This was me trying to be modest mouse lol jangly guitars and half talking/half singing vocals describing the world around me. I guess in a way it was an exercise in writing character description and setting, but otherwise it's just a chill track that almost feels aimless at parts. Favorite Line: "it's just some shit I learned from a friend. Just some shit I learned when I was trying to prepare."

8: Woe is the World: On the album this is a chorus snippet that barely a minute long (the full version is available as a bonus track on bandcamp, and it was actually a demo that turned out better than the final version.) I originally wrote this song when I was 15 with a different set of lyrics, but I came back to it while writing this album and re-wrote it to reflect my mental state and the world around me. Overall, just another melancholy track in a sea of melancholy songs. Favorite line: "you've never felt more alone than you do now, was everything worth it in the end?"

9. Then Why Was it Named Gideon?: the title is a reference to a line in Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour (my favorite series) and like the first track on this album doesn't have much to do with the song. "Gideon" is a simple love song, talking again about how growing up sucks but having the right person by your side can make all the shitty times worth it in the end. Favorite line: "it's time to move on, you're taking too long."

10. I am Here, I'm Looking at Her, and She is Beautiful: This song is entirely about the book "Perks of Being a Wallflower". That's it. Nothing else, let's move on. Favorite line: "Over Christmas I read them a poem about a brown paper bag and the boy who wrote it."

11. Try to Be a Filter, Not a Sponge: Like the previous song, this one is also mostly about "Perks of Being a Wallflower", but with elements of my own experience with toxic relationships. I like to think of it as the character Charlie's experience with Mary Elizabeth overall though. Favorite line: "She called my favorite book washed out trash, said I have no taste and I'm still too sad."

12. Lavender Spray Bottle: This instrumental dates back to 2017. I recorded the guitar part as a demo on my phone and forgot about it. Over time I forgot how to play the guitar part, so I used the demo as a basis and layered everything else on top of it. The title is a reference to a bottle of water with lavender essential oils mixed in that my ex used to fend away spiders in the house we lived in at the time.

13. Hindsight is 2020: I will admit, this is my favorite song on the whole album and was actually the last to be written and recorded. With a simple guitar part and layers of vocals, this song is a direct reflection of life during the peak of the pandemic. With curfews in place and rising case counts, I had to learn to cope with life at home during my late nights away from work. My partner was quarantined during this time and I reflected on the mental strain this put on her. Favorite line: "Don't go to work, you need the money but you're not happy when you're there. Sometimes life is so unfair."

14. I Don't Know How to Deal With Serious Emotions Without Turning Them into a Fucking Joke: the title came from a meme I found on my phone from high school. The song itself was about my own inability to handle serious emotions without coming off as sarcastic. In both the music and lyrics, the song starts as a simple confession before exploding into raw chaos. Favorite line: "it's so hard. I'm so scared, what have I become?"

15. Say Hello to My Little Friend: the last instrumental on this album. A short haunting tune that reflects the final two tracks. The title is probably a reference to Rambo or something, but I never watched it and I thought it fit the feeling of this song.

16. Minneapolis: What became one of the most emotional tracks on this song actually began as a joke. My partner was snap chatting a friend one night and they asked me to write them a song on the spot. So I improvised the first two verses and chorus of this song, referencing her going to school there at the time. I found I actually liked what I had written however, so I refined the track and changed it from a sassy country song into a melancholic lament of my experience in the twin cities and southern Minnesota. Favorite line: "I miss Camp Snoopy, and Paul Bunyon's log flume ride that went around the whole damn mall."

17. Before the Sunrise: the final song on the album is an intimate look at my relationship with my partner. Through past experiences i have become riddled with self doubt and always looking at improving myself as a person. With hopes that one day I'll be the person I'd like to be for mine and their sake, it's an optimistic tribute to my best friend. Favorite line: "the cycle ends until the sun rises again, you're my best friend."

Thank you all so much! Check out Essential and our other music on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple, and other places! I hope you all enjoyed this personal look at these songs that got me through the worst parts of 2020.

#tuesday x #emo #music #alternative #art rock #diy music #diy #midwest #underground #lyrics #essential #covid19

5 notes · View notes

ambdgyt · 6 months

Text

Emotes I made for the riddle school amino discord server

#riddle school #riddle underpass #ambdgtag #richy riddle school

8 notes · View notes

5starprez · 2 months

Note

5 blushing when talking about richy...? "hes so cool"...?

you like richy from your class....dont you 5?

:3 (OP: I'm an avid Voting Hall Shipper guys-)

#riddle school #5 riddle school #ask 5 #ask blog #riddle underpass #ask5

6 notes · View notes

riddleunderpassofficial · 8 months

Text

UPDATE DUMP + Old concepts

The pictures are some of the oldest riddle underpass concepts I have. Ah yes, the days of no anatomy. And Bivs early design

#riddle school #riddle underpass #5 riddle school #r:up official updates #5 riddle underpass #ru:p #Biv Riddle Underpass

4 notes · View notes

mangomixes · 1 year

Audio

Colors: Lobby theme for riddle underpass

#riddle underpass #AmbDGTag

12 notes · View notes

swindlersstole · 4 years

Text

SO. @exiledatrocity, i have no idea if you remember this:

but I remembered and I finally did it can I get a yeehaw

17. Under a bridge

This grove was way too lousy with little devils, Erik decided.

Truth be told, he’d decided that when they dealt with the first one in the chest, but while they hadn’t gotten any less annoying after that, they had at least stayed at the same level of threat—which was, to say, none at all. A nuisance, yes, but not the worst thing to happen to him and Nova all week, he thought.

Then one popped up riding on a cyclops’ shoulder.

This was a pretty common sight back in the forests of Sniflheim--trolls and ogres and the like hiding underneath bridges and underpasses waiting to get the drop on a hapless traveler was such a normal happenstance that it really only worked on people outside of the region. The locals knew all too well which areas to avoid, and Erik was no different. But it was a trend that didn’t seem to extend far beyond the Hekswood, so he’d never thought he’d have to worry about it until the day he went back.

If Erik had to make a guess, this was probably the fault of the devil. Little schemers, as the name suggested, it must have been smart enough to know there was power in numbers, and sensible enough to realize there was also power in being huge. It was certainly cackling like that was the case, laughing relentlessly at the puny humans unfortunate enough to cross their path.

In fact, it was laughing quite a bit. At his right, Nova gave Erik a very confused face, and Erik could only shrug back in turn. The cyclops seemed pretty weary of the situation, too.

The cackling didn’t seem to have any sign of stopping, and Erik cleared his throat. “Uhh… can we help you?”

“Kyaha--hrrm!” The devil snapped back to attention, posing as menacingly as it could on the troll’s shoulder. “You’ll be doing a lot more than that, chum! You lot are sneaking onto our territory, don’t you know.”

“No, we don’t.” Nova said, no less confused than he had been before. “We literally just walked over from the campsite.” The bundle of firewood they had collected for the night sat in his arms still as evidence. “You… definitely weren’t here five minutes ago.”

“Seriously. Were you stalking us, just waiting to get the drop?” Erik smirked. “Gotta say, that’s pretty lame of you. Following some strangers around just to toss a riddle on them.”

“Wha--a riddle?” Nova repeated, but went unanswered, because the little devil flung its fist around in a growing tantrum.

“How dare you! I was planning on taking your goods, but I’ve a right mind to clobber you senseless for that!”

The devil jumped up, and Erik’s hand darted for his dagger--but the cyclops was faster, and pushed the devil back on its shoulder with one smooshing of its big hand.

“Easy there, now.” The cyclops said, calm and steady. “We got ourselves a man a’ culture, ‘ere.”

The cyclops turned to look at Erik with a look of--what Erik assumed to be--newfound respect. “Y’know ‘bout the ol’ troll traditions, do ye’, guv?”

Still hesitant about the situation, Erik lowered his hand slowly. “About handing out riddles to travelers under bridges? Sure.”

“That’s… a thing?” Nova asked, bewildered.

“Yeah, it is. You don’t really see it this far south, though.” Erik crossed his arms. “Or from… well. From not a troll, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

“No, right you are on that.” The cyclops seemed to take no offense, and beat at its chest once with its fist in pride. “Mum was a troll, though. Got th’ blood in me, I do.”

“Ah. Family tradition, then. I can respect that.” Erik nodded. “So, am I wrong in thinking that’s what we’ve been stopped for?”

“Well, it wasn’t ‘ntended. But, seein’ ‘as ‘ow yer in the know,” said the cyclops, almost sagely so, “I can’t rightly ignore th’ call. If you gents can answer a riddle, we’ll let ye by, no strings attached.”

“Really?” asked Nova, clearly relieved.

“What?!” shrieked the little devil, clearly ticked off.

“And if we can’t answer it,” Erik continued, with a raised brow, “we’ll have to go through the whole ‘grind our bones to make your bread’ song and dance, I take it?”

“Nah, just a regular ‘old up.” The cyclops waved away the clarification, like it was all just business as usual. “We did away wit’ the bones thing ages ago. Threw it out wit’ the bathwater when we unionized.”

“You unionized?” Color Erik surprised. And impressed. “Huh. Good for you.”

“Ex-cuuuse me!” The little devil looked more akin to a kettle left to boil, whistling up a storm. It tapped its heel against the cyclops’ shoulder to get its attention. “What do we look like, sphinxes?! We’re not running a bleedin’ brain teaser operation here!”

“Oi.” The cyclops narrowed its eye, voice still calm but laced with a threat. “It’s in me nature, it is. Can’t fight nature. An’ I ‘aven’t stopped you from playing yer dirty tricks up till now, now ‘ave I, mate? That’s your nature, innit?”

“Hrrrrgh...!” The devil grabbed at its horns in frustration. “At least make them… I don’t know, do something humiliating! You can’t just leave a chance like this be!”

The cyclops rolled its eye with a groan, before addressing Erik again. “Awful sorry ‘bout this, guv. You mind terribly answerin’ with an action, an’ not a word? ‘Fraid I won’t be ‘earin’ the end o’ this, otherwise.”

Erik and Nova glanced at one another, pity for this honorable cyclops on both their faces. Nova shrugged, and Erik ran a hand through his hair.

“Well, you’re being awfully considerate about it.” And the cyclops really was—easily within the Top Ten Monsters Erik Had Ever Met. “Wouldn’t be right if we started being picky now. Give us your best.”

The cyclops pounded its fist in his free hand, pleased by the answer. “Right, then. This should go down nice for everyone.”

It cleared its throat--and the guy really did seem pretty eager for this, Erik noted. Even monsters had itches to scratch, it seemed.

“‘Shared between two’,” the cyclops began, “‘Most often to woo. Sometimes hot and sometimes cold; the beginning of us all, young and old’.”

Out of the corner of Erik’s eye, Nova suddenly and very visibly tensed.

“Now, remember, to make this one ‘appy--” The cyclops gave the devil the side-eye, “--I’ll be needin’ ye to show me the answer. Not just say it.” It grumbled. “Really, dreadful sorry ‘bout it. Tried to give ye a nice one.”

“Oh, no trouble at all.” Erik said, swinging an arm over Nova’s shoulders, and noting all too clearly how he jumped from the contact. “Give us a minute to discuss.”

He turned them both away from the monstrous pair, and got a good look at Nova’s face. As Erik had suspected, he looked more frazzled than a simple riddle should have arguably left the Luminary, of all people. It didn’t bode too well.

“So. Judging from that face, you know the answer?”

Nova clutched at the firewood like a lifeline. “I--yeah, I do, actually. Do you?”

“Nope,” Erik said, “so how about you share the damage?”

For whatever reason, this very clearly did nothing to ease Nova’s nerves, and Erik swore he could probably hear how hard his heart was beating from the other end of the grove. “Are you… feeling alright?”

“It--ugh, cripes.” Nova brought a hand to his face, rubbing his temples. “I’m… fine. It’s nothing we can’t actually do, but it… there’s no getting around it, this is going to be awkward.”

“You’re beating around the bush, man.” He gave Nova’s shoulder a hearty pat. “Come on, spit it out.”

Nova made a strangled noise--and that got an excited gasp out of the devil, Erik heard--before his shoulders sank in defeat.

“Erik,” he said, “we have to kiss.”

Erik blinked. He slid his arm off Nova’s shoulders, hand coming to his chin, and he paused to consider this information.

“...Ohhh.” He said at last, understanding and unbothered, “‘Shared between two, most often to woo’... yeah, that does fit the bill, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it… yeah.” Nova lowered his head--the devil snickered not discreetly behind them at the sight--and he sighed. “So, you can see why this is a problem.”

“Not really, no.”

Nova snapped back up to look at him so fast, panic in his eyes and no color in his face, Erik was sure he heard his neck crack.

“You’re... okay with this?” He may as well have squeaked the word out. “You’re okay with this. How are you okay with this.”

“Hey, comparatively? That cyclops is on our side.” Erik shrugged. “It could have given us something way worse, or just skipped the formalities and come at us swinging. I’d say we got out pretty lucky.”

“Well… I guess, but—“

“Nova, come on.”

His hand fell back on Nova’s shoulder, and when Nova looked at him, he smiled. Erik hoped it was at least a little bit comforting; poor guy had way too much excitement in the past few days for just a simple country boy, and preferable as this riddle was to another fight they were too exhausted to handle, this might’ve been the last nail in the proverbial coffin for the Luminary.

“I got a plan, so just follow my lead. It’s gonna be okay. Trust me.” He squeezed Nova’s shoulder, and smirked. “You do trust me, right?”

Nova swallowed, but some color returned to his face--specifically in his cheeks, and probably not the color he would have wanted. It took some self-restraint on Erik’s part not to laugh; turned out Yggdrasil’s favorite little leaf was surprisingly (or perhaps fittingly?) chaste.

“I… of course I do, Erik.”

“Fantastic.” Probably not the wisest decision the Luminary could make, but it did do wonders for Erik’s ego. “Just relax, and let me handle it.”

He didn’t wait for an affirmation. Erik turned on his heel, back to face the monsters with confidence; Nova followed him in lockstep, anxiously clutching the firewood like a lifeline. “Hey! I think we got it all squared away.”

“Oh, we’ll be the judges of that!” The devil laughed, and the cyclops sighed in turn. At least the little demon was in on the bit now. “Go on, get to showing, then!”

“Man, you really have no sense of romance, do you?” Erik sighed. “Have it your way. Hold still a sec, Nova.”

That was not going to be a difficult request. Nova had planted his feet firmly on the ground, as it steeling himself for a hit, and when Erik brushed his left hand on Nova’s right cheek, he near well flinched at the touch. Erik couldn’t help the snicker that got out of him that time, and the glare Nova gave him was more akin to a pout; for his sake at least, Erik was glad his hand was blocking Nova’s face from the monsters.

Not that he couldn’t block much else about this, but. Price of the plan.

“Remember, just keep cool.” He muttered. “This’ll be over before you know it.”

“I… okay, but--” Nova whispered back, “But you still haven’t told me what y—”

Erik cut him off, swiping his right thumb on Nova’s lips, and pulled their faces to meet.

Nova made a noise, somewhere between a yelp and a muffled scream, and Erik had to imagine that he was making an expression to match, so it was a shame he had to miss it. Erik had closed his eyes once his lips had hit his thumb; one of them had to make this all believable, and that duty had long since fallen on his shoulders. Lucky for them he wasn’t half bad an actor.

To his credit, Nova was a fast learner. And if they’d had some time to prepare this plan in advance, he probably would have sold the act just as well. But they hadn’t had the time, and Nova went stock still in Erik’s hands, and his face and neck burnt against Erik’s fingers.

The fake kiss barely lasted a second--four, at the most, just to really make it convincing--and Erik pulled back with aplomb, and… yeah, Nova’s face looked just as alarmed and ready to combust as he’d imagined. Even his pupils had seemed to shrink from the shock. Erik wondered, idly, if this was how shypox got around so quickly. Could the Luminary even catch shypox? The chances seemed surprisingly high now.

Still calm and collected, he smiled at Nova with a raised brow, and patted his cheek once before walking back to their riddle assailants. “There. Happy now?”

The devil shrieked with raucous laughter, pointing and hollering at the two of them with unbridled joy. “Ohhhh, ho ho ho, that’s good! That’s good! His face, that’s so good! Oh, that’s gonna keep me going for a long while!”

“Glad t’ see ye’ve come around, mate.” The cyclops said, clearly relieved that its companion was satisfied. “All’s well, then, I’d say?”

“All’s very, very well!” The devil hopped off the cyclops, landing on the ground in a triumphant flip. “We’ll let you humans off easy now for giving us such a great laugh. But you’d better watch yourselves! We might not be so lenient next time!”

“Well, that’s mighty gracious of you.” Erik prodded along. “So thanks for that. I don’t think we’ll be forgetting anytime soon.”

The devil turned up its nose and puffed out its chest, thankfully unaware it was the butt of the joke. With a pleased hum, it turned an about face, and skipped off deeper into the grove.

The cyclops made move to follow its friend, but stopped before Erik, bending over to offer him its fist.

“Nicely done there, guv. Have t’ respect that kind o’ finesse.”

“I’m a tricky one.” Erik bumped his fist against the cyclops’; his hand barely covered one blue finger. “Can’t say I envy you with a partner like that, though.”

“Ah, s’alright. Fate’s got a funny way o’ workin’ out like that. Maybe he don’t got a fine head o’ hair like yers, but he’s a fine bloke when y’ get down to it.”

The cyclops pulled back its hand, large fingers unfurling into a point behind Erik. “Speakin’ of. Is he gonna be alright?”

Erik looked over his shoulder. Nova hadn’t budged even a bit since he’d stepped away, and looked like he was passing through sixteen different panic attacks--one for every birthday candle, Erik supposed, but still. It didn’t bode well for how settling down for sleep would inevitably go.

“...well,” said Erik, “he’ll snap out of it eventually.”

#panda does a write #he did snap out of it but it haunts him for the rest of the game #there was gonna be a part where it got into why erik knows how to do this #but i've been sitting on this one long enough as it is i need SOMETHING to get done this month

15 notes · View notes

dragon-kazansky · 5 years

Text

The hypnotist - Jervis Tetch x reader

Summary: Jervis has lost his sister and is bitter towards Jim, blaming him for her death. He comes to you. You’re the only one left he can trust, but you don’t know how to feel about that.

This chapter is a long one, strap in folks.

I also apologise that’s it’s so linear to the episode again, but I’m building up the connection between you and Jervis.

Chapter 3 - Choices

Several days passed since the tragic event of Alice's death. Her scream as she fell haunted you ever so slightly, but you can't imagine the pain Jervis is going through. His whole reason for coming to Gotham was gone and there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

You put Jervis to the back of your mind. You assumed he would have skipped out of town and have gone far away. He had no reason to be in the city any more.

You busied yourself with work from Barbara, who scolded you slightly for the not getting her errand done the other day. You made it up to her by being on top of your game from now on. Barbara didn't have all that many jobs for you and at one point pointed you towards Cobblepot, saying the Mayor would most definitely have more work for you.

It kept you busy at least.

On the tenth day after her death, you were home alone, taking some time to rest and not over work yourself. You needed some time to yourself for once. Things were starting to go back to normal, well, as normal as Gotham was.

The knocking on your door startled you. You weren't expecting anyone and you didn't know anyone who made house visits to you, you had very connections in the city.

You got up cautiously, inching your way over to the door. You pondered not answering for a moment, maybe they would think no one was home and they would leave.

That didn't seem to be the case. The second round of knocking sounded a little more urgent than the first, so you swung open the door.

You were not expecting Tetch to be standing there.

"Jervis?"

"Y/N, my dear!" He looked so pleased to see you, almost as of he hadn't seen you in quite some time. It was almost enough to make your heart race, but everything that happened came rushing back.

"What are you doing here? I thought you would have left the city." You let Jervis into your apartment.

"I cannot leave with serving James Gordon his punishment for what he did to my dear Alice." Jervis removed his top hat and turned to look at you with big brown eyes. It made your heart ache to see him like that.

"You're going to get revenge?"

"Quite, but first I had to see you. You're all I have left here in Gotham. You're the only one I can trust." He spoke softly, as if he was treading on dangerous ground. He didn't sound so convinced by his words, and frankly you weren't either.

"I see."

"Please, my dear, I hope you don't think bad of me. I can see it in your eyes that you were not, and still not, pleased with what I did to Gordon. I cannot let him get away with taking Alice from me." His gaze shifted to the ground.

You licked your lips nervously and stepped a little closer, not wanting the distance to give him the idea you didn't want him here.

Mentioning the possibility that Alice would have preferred death over leaving with him was a bad idea, so you remained far away from that thought.

"I understand you're hurt about what happened. I can't even pretend to imagine what you are going through, but must you retaliate? Jim won't let you get away with it." You returned his sorrowful gaze, though his expression did seem to light up with your words.

The idea that you were worried for him lit up something within him.

"I won't let Jim know you dropped by, but I need time to think. I've become quite fond of you after the time I spent with you, but I'm not sure I'm OK with the hypnotising yet. Give me time to think?" You stood there awkwardly, hoping he would grant you your request.

Jervis gave a small smile as he placed his hat back onto his head.

"Very well, I don't want Jim to take you from me too. Take all the time you need, I'll be only a phone call away." He held out a small piece of paper with a number on it.

"Thank you, Jervis."

You walked with back towards the door, both of stopping just as you reached it. He turned to you and with a smile, lifted your hand to his lips pressing a gentle kiss there.

"Please don't let James Gordon turn you against me too." He said, just loud enough for you to hear. There was so much emotion in those words.

You didn't say anything to that and opened the door for him, watching him leave.

Once he was gone you turned around and let out a long drawn out sigh. Your mind was once again conflicted with him. You felt awful about what happened to Alice and you could see it in his gaze that he was suffering from her loss. There was something sinister about him that night, the way he was using his sister's blood as leverage over her. The way he almost had Jim shoot himself. He was evil, but you couldn't hate him.

You had no idea what it was he had in store for Jim, but something told you it was for the better that you didn't know.

You decided it was probably best to busy yourself, so you began to tidy your apartment while you thought about what Jervis had said.

Jervis left your apartment feeling like a slight weight had been lifted from his shoulders, but he wasn't quite in the clear yet. He couldn't forgive Jim for what happened to Alice, but the rage he would feel I'd you were turned against him too, that was something he didn't want to even think about.

Pulling out his watch, he checked the time.

“I must change.”

Jervis was going to put his plan into action and the time was now.

A newly wedded couple leave the chapel holding hands. The bride is smiling as she approached her father. She thanks him for her special day as they hug, she returns to the groom’s side and they wave at their family and friends. The chauffeur opens the door to the car and waits till they have climbed in before closing the door and turning around.

Jervis Tetch smiles as he tips his cap to the father and makes his ways to the drivers seat. This was step two. Step one was the young boy sitting in the passengers seat.

Despite the fear in the couple, Jervis told them their fate was on James Gordon’s hands. He did what he does best and drove off, hypnotising them along the way.

Jim had just left the diner where he had met Valerie, a reporter seeking answers to Gotham’s secrets, one such secret being Alice Tetch’s blood. He was following an odd fellow dressed all in white. The odd man had come to Gordon with a riddle from Tetch, so naturally Jim had to go with him.

He was to an underpass, a public phone on dull display. It wasn’t until he reached the street corner that the phone began to ring.

Gordon walked over and answered it.

“This is Gordon.”

“Hello James.”

“Jervis. Never should have left that hole you were hiding in.”

“Oh, I wasn’t just hiding, I put the time to good use. Made a thorough study of you.” Jervis listed what he had learned of Gotham’s James Gordon. Jim looked around trying to see if Tetch was near by. There was no sign of him.

“And here I didn’t think about you once.” Jim refrained from rolling his eyes as Jervis droned on.

“Oh James,” Jervis chuckled as he let the couple out of the car, “I’ve been inside that head of yours. I’ve seen the web of lies you tell yourself,” The couple began to walk away from the car, “strung together to keep that fragile psyche of yours in tact.”

“Well, it’s been nice catching up with you.” Jim made a move to put the phone back, but Jervis’ voice could still be heard, so Gordon put the phone back to his ear as he listened to the mad man drone on.

“I’m going to force you to confront who you really are and I’m going to drive you mad doing it.”

Jim furrowed his brow.

“Now, please, direct your eyes to the overpass.” Jim looked up. “Meet Dave and Amy Walters. Married just this morning, lovely ceremony. In thirty seconds they are going to jump to their deaths. Take the stairs and you can save them. However, down the street is a little boy. His name is Shane and he’s going to be hit by a truck driven by my highly esteemed associate.”

A truck pulled up further down the street.

Jim knew what was happening right away.

“The choice is yours James. You can’t save both. So, who’s it going to be?”

Jervis hung up and climbed back into the car, leaving the choice to James Gordon. This was his punishment for what happened to Alice. Jim would have to live with the fact he let someone day today to save the other.

As Jervis drove away his mind went back to you.

He wondered for a moment what you would have thought of him if you had known what he was doing. It’s not as if you and James Gordon were friends anyway, you had a mutual friend in Barbara. Though it would be the fact he was using Gordon the way he was that might upset you. He wouldn’t forgive himself he caused your hate.

If Jim thought this choice was bad, wait till he saw what else Tetch had planned.

Jim ran for the boy, pulling him right out of the way of the truck. The couple fell with a splat, Gordon could only watch. He had made his choice.

Gordon moved the boy from the street and looked down at the couple. Tetch’s words lingered in his head, ‘You can’t save both,’ over and over in his mind.

The phone began to ring again. Jim ran over and answered it.

“You son of a bitch!”

“Good.” Of course it was Jervis again. “Now I have your attention.”

“They were innocent Jervis, you didn’t have to kill them.” Jim was angry.

“It was your choice, James. You practically pushed them off the ledge. Stay with me, James.” Gordon wasn’t answering. “James!”

“What?” Gordon spat the word out, grinding his teeth.

Jervis gave him an address and time, telling him not to be late. Any police and more people would die.

The GCPD received word of the dead couple and were on the scene quickly. Harvey questioned the little boy, Shane when he arrived. The boy couldn’t remember much, but Harvey thanked him for what he did remember and let another officer take him away from the scene. He joined Barnes’ side.

“You’re not going to believe this, he said Jim Gordon saved his life, pulled him out of the way of a truck.”

“Get him on the phone. Now.”

“I already tried him. No answer.” Harvey took note of Barnes without his cane, but his only answer was that the captain didn’t need it any more. That’s when he saw the odd man in white.

“Hey, does that guy look strange to you? I mean more strange than the usual wack job.”

Both men approached him, the captain calling out to him. The man turned in their direction slowly as if he was acknowledging them, but he wasn’t really. He was repeating the same line over and over again.

“James Gordon, I have a message for you.”

“James Gordon I have a message for you.”

He said nothing else. Just stood there on repeat. It was clear they weren’t going to get any answers from him, verbally anyway. Harvey knew exactly what was up.

“He’s hypnotised.”

“Tetch.” Barnes caught on.

It was now clear what was happening. In slight worry, Harvey pulled away from the two men and pulled out his phone. He had been so focused on Jim, he forgot about you. If this really is Tetch then there was a possibility he would go to you. After all, you did say you were friends with him.

The phone rang three times before you picked up.

“Hello?”

“Y/N, thank God you’re there.” Harvey let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m fine, why? Something happen? How did you even get this number?” You were stood in the middle of your apartment having just finished cleaning it. “Dis Barbara tell you I’d do you a favour? I’m already on the Mayor’s list.”

“No, that’s not it and don’t worry about it. Have you seen Tetch?”

“Jervis Tetch?” You felt your heart drop, but you were a pretty decent liar when you needed to be.

“Yeah, have you seen him?”

“Not since that night. I figured he would have left town.” You sat down on your sofa. “Why? What happened?” You were more than a little concerned about what Harvey was going to say next.

“I think Tetch is messing with Jim again. A couple have fallen to their death and there’s this hypnotises dude here saying his has a message for Gordon. I figured he would come to you since you two seem to be friends.” Harvey hated thinking you might be involved in all of this some how. He didn’t really know you, but seemed like a decent enough person.

“I haven’t seen him. Like I said, I thought he had left town.”

Silence fell over the phone and you found yourself silently praying that Harvey bought the lie.

“Good, if he calls you, let me know.”

“Sure.”

“At least let me send some police protection.”

“No thanks Harvey, I don’t need police hanging around my place.”

“Right, well, stay safe.”

You hung up.

You sat there in silence wondering what was going on. Had Jervis used Jim to kill someone? Why weren’t you more surprised? Perhaps you have just grown used to the ways of Gotham and the crazy people who lived there. You bit your lip anxiously.

Then the phone rang again.

You picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Y/N, my dear!”

“Jervis! Are you alright? What’s happening? Harvey Bullock just called me. I didn’t tell him you came by earlier.”

“I’m fine, dear. James Gordon and I are having a little chat. Everything that happens is on his shoulders.” He sounded so calm. “I hope you’re not worrying too much about me. I’d hate to cause you distress.”

“I’m fine, I just... what’s going on? I’m not here to lynch on you, I just want to know what you’re doing to those people?” He could hear the worry in your voice and it made his frown.

“Don’t worry, please don’t worry. Everything is Jim’s choice. He is the one to blame. I can’t talk for much longer, I must make another call, I want you to come and see what Jim will do.” Jervis gave you an address and a time. “I want you to see the real James Gordon.”

“Alright. I’ll be there.”

Jervis smiled, of course you couldn’t see it, but he hoped you could tell from his words.

“See you soon, my dear.”

He hung up.

Jervis was standing in the middle of the street, dressed in usual attire. He was looking up at the building in front of him with his phone in hand.

Jim Gordon was inside, he picked up the ringing phone after looking at the information Jervis had collected on him.

“Jervis.”

“Cutting it close, James.”

“Like what you did with the place.”

“Everyone needs a hobby.” Jervis sounded rather cheerful. “Take a peak though the lens, let’s chat face to face.”

Gordon moved over to the telescope.

Jervis smiled and waved.

“I wonder, what is you have against married couples? Bad memories perhaps. Understandable, given the last time you saw a woman in a wedding dress, she had a shotgun pointed at you.”

Jim was caught off guard with just how much Jervis knew about him.

“Hey Jervis?”

“Yes, James?”

Jim hung up.

Jervis glared up at the window and instantly dialled the number again, angry with Jim’s behaviour.

“Don’t you ever do that again!”

James hung up again.

Jervis called him straight back.

“This is about your sister isn’t it? In your adult brain you blame me for what happened to her.”

“Don’t you talk about her!” Jervis was fuming.

“I got to know her Jervis, she was a good person, that’s why she hated you,” Jim was also seething with anger, “why she died trying to get away from you. You want revenge? Kill yourself.”

“Dismissive. Rude. I don’t like your attitude!”

“I also have to wonder what you did to make Y/N so fond of you. You’re sick, Tetch. She called you her friend when I saw her last.”

“Don’t talk about her either.”

“She’s not involved in any of this is she?”

“I know Y/N wouldn’t be too happy to know the details, but she’s the only friend I have here in Gotham. I won’t pretend with her. I’m going to show her who you really are, then maybe she’ll understand. Now, are you quite finished?” Jervis didn’t want to talk about you any further to Jim.

“Tell you what, I’ll come down and we can talk in person.” Jim offered.

“Hang up again and she dies.”

“What are you talking about?” Jim pondered for a moment if he was referring to you, but he had spoken so fondly of you. Who else could he be talking about?

Jervis looked smug. “Surprising really, given that every relationship you’ve been ended with such misery, and yet, you make the choice to date again. Poor girl, she had no idea who she was getting into bed with. She will soon. See for yourself!”

Jim angled the telescope further up the street. Valerie, the girl he was seeing, was being dragged away by one of the brothers who were still under Tetch’s influence.

“Great thing about reporters, tell them you have a story and they’ll meet you anywhere.” Jervis grinned.

Jim hung up and ran out of the building.

The van had driven off already.

While Jim followed Tetch’s instructions, you were at home making yourself look presentable for whatever it was Jervis had planned. You found yourself rolling your eyes at the idea of trying to look nice for someone you didn’t know all that well. Yet, his impression of you mattered to you.

You kept yourself occupied until the time you had been given, and set off to the address, unaware the afternoon Gordon was having. Jervis had given him another choice, but it didn’t quite work out in Jim’s favour.

The house wasn’t familiar to you, but it was very nice. Clearly whoever lived here had plenty of money. The door was unlocked, a note left behind telling you to come in.

You entered.

Music could be heard from the dining room. You walked in slowly, not sure what to expect. What you did see, however, was far from what you had thought.

A tea party.

Valerie Vale and Lee Thompkins were facing each other on either side of the table. Jim Gordon sat at one end, Jervis Tetch as the other.

Jervis stood from the table with a bright smile on his face, he was so pleased to see you. You couldn’t help smiling back at him as you walked over to him, ignoring the looming figures behind him with guns in their hands.

“Jervis, what is this?”

“This, my dear, is Jim’s final choice of the day. Please, sit.” Jervis pulled out a chair next to his, leaving space between you and Lee. You sat down and watched him take his seat again.

“I don’t understand.” You turned to him confused.

“Jim took away someone I loved, so I will take away someone he loves.” You turned slowly to Jim.

“So, this is what you’ve been doing. I see.”

“Y/N, don’t listen to him! Tetch is insane.” Jim called out, but Jervis glared at him and hit the table once with his fist.

“Don’t tell her such things!”

You sat there quietly unsure what else to do. Jervis relaxed his hand and turned to smile at you again. He was trying to comfort you, not that you needed it much. You couldn’t deny that you weren’t scared of him. Honestly, you weren’t shocked at all with what was happening.

“Ah yes, your gun. Place it on the platter.” Jervis had been so caught up in waiting for you to join them, he needed to focus back on the main guest.

“Really?”

“Now you have to think about it? Not everyone here has to die, James.”

You cast your gaze between to the other two women at the table. He was going to make Jim pick one. You really weren’t sure what to feel now. Was he going to make you watch?

He did say he was going to show you who Gordon really was...

Jervis began to pour tea for everyone.

Jim looked between the two ladies. “It’s going to be OK.”

Jervis looked up and gave James a disappointed look, just as he was about to fill your tea cup. “Don’t lie to them James.” He turned back to you and smiled as he filled your cup. You gave a small smile and picked the cup up, watching as he filled the next cup and asked Lee to pass it down the table.

She did as she was told.

“I must apologise for the hideous china.” Jervis chuckled softly. “Frankly, I expected more from Don Falcone’s son.” Tetch filled his own cup last. “Guess I know what I’m getting you for your wedding.” He gave Lee a smile.

You sipped your tea quietly.

This would have been lovely if not for the eerie atmosphere and the fact Jervis was going to have someone in the room killed. His hospitality was otherwise quite sweet.

“To good health!” He lifted his cup.

Lee and Valerie opted out, causing the hatter to frown. So far you were the only own being considerate enough to drink what he had prepared. With how he had been with you so far, there was no reason to think he had done anything. Why poison the tea if he was going to force Jim’s hand anyway?

“You know what,” Jim lifted his cup, “I’ll have some.”

“Bravo James.”

The two men simultaneously drank from their cups, you took a slow sip of yours right after. Everything was still too weird right now.

“Now, I’d like to begin by telling a story of a brother and a sister, separated for years, but whose love never waned. Fair warning though, it has a sad ending.” Jervis glanced down.

Here we go. You knew your heart would yearn to comfort him. The events didn’t happen so long ago and everything was still fresh. You wondered how long it would take for his heart to heal.

“But I couldn’t find my sister alone, so I turned to this man, James Gordon. Whom everyone said was a good man, an honourable man, and what did this good man do? Why, he found my sister,” Jervis banged the table with his fist again. “and he turned her against me! Poisoning her mind and then he killed her!” He hit the table again, only with more force this time. You jumped slightly in your seat.

Jervis lowered his voice as he eyed James across the table. “Does that sound about right, James?”

You looked to Gordon, wondering what he would say or do.

“Sure, why not.” He said nonchalantly.

“Now James, i get the sense you’re not being honest.” Jervis pointed at him. “Though that’s not surprising, considering you’ve run from your true self every day of your life, but you can’t run from this choice. The woman you love, is going to die.”

You knew it.

“I just need to figure out which one it is. So, let’s review our options! shall we?”

Jervis looked between the two ladies.

You really weren’t sure how comfortable you were anymore. You sat with your hands in your lap and you bottom lip between your teeth, your eyes flickering between each of their faces.

You weren’t even sure why you were there. Not really. You didn’t have any personal connection to Jim, or the other two. Perhaps Jervis wanted to show you exactly what he was capable of.

“On the one hand, we have Lee Thompkins.” Jervis moved to stand beside her, giving your shoulder a light squeeze as he passed behind you. Intelligent. Kind. She thought she could save you from your darkness, drag you into the light. What did she get for her efforts? Hm? Pain and sadness.”

“Don’t listen to him Lee.”

“Look in her eyes. She still has love for you James.”

The silence was awkward.

“And then there’s Valerie Vale.” Jervis moved over to Valerie. “The entrapped reporter from a blur collar family. She still has hope for you. What will happen when she learns who you really are?”

Jervis returns to the end of table, standing beside you. He gazes at you as he explains that those are the choices Jim has. Tetch reaches for Gordon’s gun and holds it out.

“Now it’s up to you.”

You looked at Jim wondering what is going on inside his head.

“Which,” Jervis points the gun at Valerie, “lady,” then at Lee, “has your heart? Who do you love?”

“You want me to choose? Tell these idiots to lower their guns. I don’t trust them not to shoot me by accident.”

“You’re right. They are stupid.” He chuckles. “Down boys.”

The two goons lowers their guns.

“Now you drop your gun.” He looks Jervis in the eye.

“Jim.” You sigh. “Really?”

“No, no, it’s alright, my dear.” Jervis chuckles. “Though she is right, why would I do that?”

“Because I’ll shoot you.” Mario Calvi comes into the room from behind you all, you only knew of him because he’s a Falcone, plus his engagement to Lee was in the paper.

“Brilliant.” You mutter to yourself.

“Well well,” Jervis gazes over his shoulder, the gun still pointed at Jim, “this was your grand plan, James? Play along until the doctor could sneak in and shoot me dead?”

You glanced back at Mario.

“But there’s only one small problem.” Jervis wasn’t the least bit concerned about the extra person in the room. “Before you arrived I went down to the basement and switched the magazine in that gun with an empty one.”

You couldn’t you were impressed. Tetch really thought this out apparently.

Mario tried to fire the gun, but Jervis spoke the truth as the gun only made a small clicking sound. You let out a small chuckle, instantly covering you mouth. This really wasn't funny, you were just impressed.

Jervis glanced down at you having heard you and smiled at you. He made you laugh! Oh how happy he was. He turned his gaze back to Mario.

“My apologises, I only set the table for five. Dumfree, will you please escort doctor Calvi to the bathroom?” They left. “Now, I’m out of patience!” He was raising his voice again and waving the gun around slightly. “Who do you love?” He pointed the gun back at Jim.

Your attention was back on the ex-cop.

“You want to talk about love, fine. Let’s talk about who you love.” Jim glanced your way and you furrowed your brows at him. No way! You’ve known Jervis a number of days. “Or loved.” Jim looked back at Tetch.

That was more like it.

“Don’t.”

“Your sister knew you were crazy.”

“Just stop it!”

Jervis hated Jim talking bad about him when you were in the room. He wanted to show you who Jim really was and perhaps impress you, but right now it was looking bad for him. He didn’t want to look at you and see your disappointment in him.

You were more confused than anything. You couldn’t say you were disappointed in Jervis because from the beginning you knew there was more to him than he let on.

“She was terrified of you.” Jim continued. “She hated you.”

“Enough!”

“She told me. What you did to her, when you were kids.”

You glanced up at Jervis, you remember what she said.

“The thought of you disgusted her.”

“Lies! Deceit! The sorry you tell is incomplete!”

“Jervis...” You want to reach out, but he’s still holding that gun. The last thing you want is to accidentally shoot someone. “She loved me!”

“She loved you? She killed herself rather than be with you.”

“She didn’t... no.” Jervis didn’t believe those words for a second.

“She impaled herself on a spike and died in agony because even that was better than having you touch her.” Jim didn’t stop.

“No, no, no, no ,no, no.” Jervis shook his head, he couldn’t even look at Jim. You were sure Jim was somewhat telling the truth, whether or not the fall was on purpose or accident, Alice didn’t want anything to do with her brother, but you didn’t like this sight. Jervis was becoming confused, sidetracked. Jim was spewing words at him and it was hurting him.

“I saw her when she was dying, her face when she knew she was finally safe from you, she was smiling.”

“Jim!” You hissed.

“Because despite the pain, she was happy.” He ignored you.

“LIAR! She was the only thing I ever loved!” Jervis stomped over to where Jim was sitting and pointing the gun right at his face. You stood from your chair concerned about what was going to happen. “And you! YOU, sent her soul to heaven above!”

Jim grabbed Tetch’s wrist.

“That’s right. Me. I’m the one you want, so let Lee and Vale go, keep me, but let them go.”

Jervis was so close to shooting him, but he took a deep sigh and lowered the gun. You let out a sigh of your own.

“Oh James, you’re trying to confuse me, but I won’t let you. No, I’m determined that you’ll live on and suffer without your love as I have. Choose.”

“No, I won’t choose.”

“You will. You will!”

Jervis returned to where you where standing at the end of the table, you looked awfully nervous. Tetch sighed as he gathered himself once again.

“I’ll make it easy for you, one the count of three, instead of telling me who you love, tell me who to kill.” The gun was being pointed again between the ladies.

You began to shift in the spot. At this point you just wanted this whole thing to be over. You didn’t think your heart could take much more of this.

“Or I shoot both of them which would be such a thrill.”

“One.”

You could feel your heart racing in your chest.

“Two.”

Jim kept looking between them both.

“Three.”

“Kill Lee.” Jim replied instantly.

Lee gasped.

Jervis pointed his gun at her. “Oh, finally!”

You took a step back as he looked at her.

“The truth is revealed. You chose Lee because you love Vale. Very well!” Jervis turned to gun to Valerie and shot her in the stomach. You covered your mouth in shock as you stared wide eyed at her.

You should have guessed Jim would play this game.

“I knew you had it in you, James. All this time, you made everyone believe you were the hero, but deep down you always knew the truth. You’re a villain!” Jervis opened up his arm with a smile.

Jervis turned to you, his business was done here.

“Come, my dear. Let’s go.” He held out his hand to you. You looked at Jim and the girls once more before taking his hand and leaving with him. You just wanted out of that room. Jim had made his choice.

You weren’t sure what was going to happen now.

Jim Gordon would never let Tetch get away with that. Tetch still won in the end and it was defiantly going to eat away at Gordon.

Now you wondered what was going to happen to you.

Jervis held you hand do gently as you both climbed into the car and drove off, far away from that house. You knew now what this man was capable of, yet here you were, willingly going with him.

Perhaps a part of you was mad too.

Tags:

@mistressoftorture @fandombeehive @awyr

#jervis tetch x reader #jervis tetch #gotham #the hypnotist #chapter 3

27 notes · View notes