#and its a heard thing to break out of

[ask-icancraft-it]

Caught (Extended)

(( An extended version/different perspective of the ‘Little Moment’ I wrote titled ‘Caught’. It’s been a long time since I sort of dove in to how nasty and controlling I feel Gene can be, particularly towards Felix, who doesn’t know how to handle it. This has potential to be a multi-part fic, but we shall see! )) -----

“Has anyone seen Felix?” Gene raised his tiny arms in exasperation. The Nicelanders bustling around him shook their heads and shrugged.

“Oh I’m sure he’ll turn up soon! Don’t you worry,” Mary plastered on a smile, carrying a freshly baked pie.

“No, something is wrong. I can feel it,” the mayor wiggled his mustache after polishing off his morning martini. “I’m going to check on him.”

Gene had knocked a total of three times on the superintendent’s apartment door, which was uncharacteristically locked. Luckily for him, as the landlord, he had a copy of the keys. Flipping through his ring, he inserted the correct key into the knob and opened the door to a quiet living room.

“Felix?” Gene huffed as he searched the area. His eyes narrowed as he turned to the closed door into the handyman’s bedroom. Determined to get to the bottom of things, the tiny man burst in through the door, his anger growing when he spotted a sleeping lump in the bed.

“Felix!” he shouted. “What’s gotten into you? The arcade opens in five minutes!”

The handyman shot up, shirtless, slowly followed by a second figure; a tall, blonde woman with hardly anything on.

“What the—Who the?!” The mayor could barely string words together, his face turning red.

“Gene!” Felix squeaked, hopping off the mattress, just in his boxers as he attempted to usher the Nicelander out the door. “Please! Let Miss Calhoun and I get decent!”

“You?!” Gene remembered that name, having briefly met the sergeant at a party a week ago. He’d hardly recognized her without all that ghastly armor on.

“Nice of you to remember me,” Tamora smirked over her shoulder, pulling up her camo pants.

“Her?!” the mayor spat at Felix. The handyman’s face soured and he pushed Gene through the bedroom door, locking it.

Felix's face glowed bright red as he turned around to face his lady. Grabbing two fistfuls of his light brown hair, he let out a long, tapered whine as he suppressed a scream.

“I knew this would happen,” he berated himself. “I mean, I didn’t know. But I did.”

“Deep breaths, Fix-It.”

“How are you so calm?” the 8-bit was beside himself. “You were half naked in front of a strange man!”

“Being one of the very few women in the corps, you get desensitized to that pretty quickly,” Tamora explained. “Sorry to tell you, but you’re far from the only man I’ve ever undressed in front of. Besides, who cares what that little squeaker toy thinks?”

“I do!” the handyman lamented as he pulled up his jeans. “Tammy, I live with these people. I work with them and for them every single day. For thirty years I’ve been their perfect, dedicated and trustworthy hero. And now that pretty picture they’ve painted of me will forever be tarnished…”

“You sure know how to make a girl feel special,” the sergeant quipped.

“I’m serious, Tammy,” Felix whimpered. “You don’t know what they can be like, how Gene can be when he disapproves…”

Tamora’s wry smile withered, but before she could reach out a fevered knocking rapped at the handyman’s door.

“Three minutes!” Gene shouted from the other side.

“Save yourself, my lady,” Felix whispered, throwing open his window that led out to the fire escape. Handing the sergeant her cruiser as she ducked through the opening, he gave a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you at quittin’ time.”

“I’ll be waiting,” she smiled, grasping his white shirt collar to give the handyman a proper parting kiss. He couldn’t help the pang of uncertainty as she took off.

Turning around, Felix grabbed his work shirt, slipping it on before thrusting open his bedroom door.

“Uh-huh,” Gene huffed, zoning in on the open window behind the hero. “Sneaking off like a two-bit criminal. You sure know how to pick ‘em.”

“Do I?” Felix spoke impassively, brushing past the mayor and finishing buttoning up his uniform.

“Oh you sure do,” Gene insisted, shadowing the handyman as he walked to the entryway where his toolbelt hung on the wall. “First Pauline, and now…this woman!”

“Tamora,” Felix corrected, exiting the apartment with the mayor at his heels. “And as I recall, you all did the matchmaking when it came to Pauline and I…”

“Biggest mistake I ever made,” Gene huffed, bumping into the handyman when he turned around.

“Can I remind you that the major problem you had with Pauline is that she had an amicable relationship with Donkey Kong, and advocated the concept that ‘good’ and ‘bad’ went beyond our programming? And now we all know that she was right.”

His point made, Felix continued down the hall and to the stairwell, ignoring the tenants that peeked out of their apartments curiously as the arguing pair strolled by.

“She was a troublemaker, and a bad influence,” Gene huffed, trying to keep up with the handyman as they descended. “And clearly this Tamora is no different.”

“I’m starting to think that you just don’t want me to be happy,” Felix said in an eerily calm tone.

“That’s ridiculous. We just want the best for you. We’ve done nothing but love and support you all these years!”  

A pit formed in the handyman’s stomach, all too familiar with his turning point in their arguments. Face flushing and heart beat rising, Felix wished for an escape as he burst through the double doors to the outside. Tucking in his shirt and pulling the rest of himself together, he made for his starting position.

“It’s always like this with you,” Gene wagged a stubby finger, barking at the handyman’s ankles still. “One little thing doesn’t go your way, you act like a petulant child!

Felix stood on his mark, brows furrowed and heart crumbling.

“Arcade’s opening,” he murmured, hesitant to say more. He unconsciously held his breath until the mayor left his side to enter the building. Letting it out with a shaky exhale, the handyman steeled himself, eager to get through the day…

“Uh, hey–” a welcomed voice approached gently.

“Ralph,” Felix spun around, struggling to tamp down his agitation as he put on his gloves. “Do me a favor and please throw our dear mayor as hard and as far as you can today.” He took a moment to look up into his friend’s wide, unblinking eyes. “Just chuck him, please.”

[benevolenterrancy]

~ Extremely Unwilling Magical Protagonists Attempt To Outrun The Plot And Not Fucking Die ~

(@takofukkatsumi this tag is from a while ago but it hasn't left my brain -- L-Space got very weird all of a sudden)

[humanmorph]

"This is a message to you, who listens. You must trust me, because we are friends. You just don't know it yet. "

(The Road to PARTIZAN 05 : Ech0 & dusk to midnight)

currently halfway through PARTIZAN (making my way towards palisade extremely slowly. see u guys there in a month or two) & this is to date my favourite intro Austin has done. what an great introduction to an extremely cool character

[radioisntdead]

listening to ASMR again, WHY DO THEY KEEP KILLING OFF MY FAMILY??? WHAT DID THEY DO?? THEY COULD BE ALIVE? THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PLOT YOU JUST KILLED THEM OFF FOR FUN???

[hinamie]

having a good time drawing late night angst as usual then get right fv comes on and i am once again reminded that fushiguro megumi will never leave my head

[sunderedazem]

14 - bitter

Ancients? :)

You KNEW what you were asking for. So have some Elidibus POV of Azem and Emet-selch's break-up before the Sundering.

-

There are shards of red on the steps, and utter silence in the square. He blinks. Etheriys feels a little like a dream now, with the soft roaring of so many souls dulling his senses- but this sting of sorrow and shame he feels, distantly. It aches in a way he's sure he's forgotten, almost. And yet he and all those within yet remember…

The people are watching (not saved- but soon) stricken, frozen - all but one, whose cowl hangs down his back, whose silver staff is still tight-gripped in white-knuckled fingers. Who is walking away with a snarl on his lips and tears streaming down his bare face. Who has before the entirety of Amaurot denounced the Convocation, who has accused them of forgetting their duty, who has- has accused him of bias- 

They had to save the star. They have to save the star. And He was their answer. Is their answer. The roaring in his ears will never cease, now. He thinks the stretch of his very self was a small price to pay for the blue of the sky. He knows it. He volunteered.

So many had. And yet-

Azem storms out of the city center with his staff aglow in Light, wreathed round himself like a shield against- something, and he does not look back. There is only the sway of his long white braid as he departs, and Elidibus- watches it. Watches the narrow shoulders and frail stature recede into the distance, until shattered and broken and burning buildings obscure him from sight completely. Watches as one of Themis's closest friends turns his back on Zodiark and all the salvation he promises.

Elidibus does not understand it. He- remembers. Azem had pleaded with the Convocation to stay Zodiark's summoning, to give him time to find an alternative. Half the lives of their people was too awful a price for him - and Elidibus cannot condemn him for that love he has for their star and people, cannot condemn him for his dissent. Azem is the Traveler - the Shepherd. It would go against everything his seat stands for to agree. Lahabrea had not agreed - nor had Pashtarot - but in the end, Elidibus could not be partial. And thus Azem was given his time to find another way. But should Amaurot begin to burn- then they would have to act.

But he returned too late. Three days too late. And his solution was…incomplete. An effort commendable, to be sure. A solution worthy of gentle praise, and perhaps use later. But the star had fallen to ruin, and Zodiark could restore it. And then- then the star could restore their people. And Zodiark would save them all. He would save them.

He will. No matter if one man refuses to understand. Elidibus and Zodiark will save him too.

No matter how bitter that salvation tastes.

There are shards of red on the steps. Emet-selch is kneeling among them, his hands shaking, gathering the pieces one at a time. He is not crying, Elidibus thinks. Not yet, at least. He seems more stunned than anything. Of course, he is not the only one, if the way the silence still rings deafening has any meaning.

Azem has always had a temper, though it was not often apparent. But this- this by far had been the worst outburst Elidibus had ever seen from anyone, let alone from Azem. And worst of all, it had been a willful misinterpretation- a cruel misinterpretation, made solely to make a point about their plans to sacrifice the lesser creatures of the star to return those given to Zodiark to life. And- and perhaps Azem even had a point, if a misguided one.

He had always been thin of aether, incapable of all creation magicks no matter how simple, and sickly for it besides. His elevation to the Fourteenth Seat had been long delayed by a discussion of his health and the risks posed to his own wellbeing, rather than any disagreement with regard to his temperament or accomplishment as a researcher and theorist both. But to use his own recurring illness - which Emet-selch had cared for him through countless times - as a bludgeon to say that the Convocation must therefore count him among those lesser creatures-

I too am thin of aether. Weak, sickly- imperfect. Incapable of creation. Are these the only requirements for you to be willing to slaughter living beings in order to undo the willing sacrifice of half our people? I gave you another option! Those who are thin of aether - thinner than me! - may use this dynamis to restore our star, and you dismiss their capabilities save for their worth as livestock? You swore to hearken unto my solution, Emet-selch- you promised me you would have faith I would find a way and now you- you reject what I have found in favor of dishonoring your seat and returning the dead to life? Fine then! I count myself among these lesser beings freely, for I am more akin to them than you. And should you wish to wet Etheriys with their blood, you will start with me. And you will draw the blade across my throat with your own hands.

But even if he had a point- Emet-selch had only stared, utterly lost for words. The entire square had been quieter than death. Even Zodiark had seemed to still. And then, caught in the folly of sentiment, Emet-selch had stepped forward, had reached out a hand, had called- 

Helios- Helios, please-

There had been a whirl of black, a flash of red- and then Azem's mask had shattered on the wall above Emet-selch's head, had shattered into shards of his office even as his sigil had glared red over silver eyes.

I am Azem,  Emet-selch. I revoke the privilege for you to call me by my personal name- not only do I not know this man you have become, but us lesser creations have no names to speak of, now do we?

Elidibus had not known how to stop him. Emet-selch had just dropped his hand, jerking a little as if he had been struck by a physical blow.

And then Azem had gone.

And now he is gone. And Emet-selch is on his knees, gathering the shards of that shattered mask, cradling them carefully, as if he could piece together what was broken. As if he could repair a heart threaded with thorns, or another cracked down the center. As if saving the mask would save the man.

“...he will come back,” Emet-selch whispers then, staring at the bitter, broken ashes of Helios in his hands. “...I- I will have that much faith in him.”

And Elidibus- and in Elidibus, the dark waxes strong, and he lays a hand on Emet-selch's shoulder. 

“Nay- we will save him, my friend,” he promises, and watches as golden eyes behind a red mask snap to him and glaze over. There is weight in his words now - the promise of a thousand thousand souls and the hope of their people. “We will save him, and the star as well. We will.”

The doubt and grief in Emet-selch's eyes disappears, wiped clean by faith. And Elidibus smiles, heart heavy with certainty and the knowledge that in time, Themis's dearest friends will mend the rift born between them here. They will save Azem - they will - and the star he so loves, and all the people too. Elidibus will not allow for any end other than perfect salvation. The bitterness of these sorrowful days will fade, and Azem will smile again, and look upon Emet-selch with that loving mischief in his eye, and this will all be but a distant memory. 

They will. 

He will make sure of it.

-

Enjoy the angst/keep the change ya filthy animal

[faaun]

ok let's catch up quickly

[puppyeared]

for like 3 weeks i was wondering why i was sleeping so much and felt listless. and just now I managed to email 3 people and responded to a month old message in the span of an hour because I got back to TAKING MY FUCKIN MEDS..........

[mastcrmarksman]

@transistorized gets a little dragon age with the most vague of setting

❝ Why is it, every time we have to work together, we end up in the most blight ridden, undead crawling of places? ❞ Oh, he was going to make Tony regret being born today with the level of complaints he had. He was a criminal then a treasure hunter. Yet for some reason, because he shoots better than anyone in all of the Southern and Northern lands, he ended up contracted by whackos trying to save all of Thedas. ❝ You couldn't have taken me somewhere sunny and nice, like a beach? It always has to be the wettest and smellest of marshlands? Is for robbing your coffers? I paid you back... ❞ Three years later... that's besides the point, though he had never apologized but it feels too late for that. You apologize for borrowing your neighbor's cow without permission, not for robbery.

[phagodyke]

dating an art student was so crazy I'm just thinking abt that one birthday I had where my ex got me stickers from the etsy of the person they were cheating on me with....

[downfallofi]

If I had to describe the mood, it really is like when you grow up with an abusive parent; and there are bad days where you're just willing for them to go to work and be gone all day so you don't have to hear them yelling and slamming shit

[dirt-str1der]

Saejima and majima are so guys that walk around the city for hours and then ask okay where are we going / idk i was following you / but i was following you

[bitegore]

getting mental healthcare is really cool, its like asking someone to take a sledgehammer to your self-interest and then saying thank you after because it makes your life moderately easier even though you have to deal with this shit now

[turnedpalefromlackofsun]

starscream got himself a harem in earthspark? im pissing myself

genderbending like half the cast is interesting. i wonder why they decided that? just for fun?

well, i like it. ive been thinking about harems a lot so it was funny. and also i want to draw it. fundamentally im never in favor of this but im not taking it seriously anyways

usually i prefer genderbending just starscream and leaving sw and tc as male. reverse harem. but like this too. idk why i never thought about it before

[sk3l3t0n444]

this is fine im not hyperfixating on fnaf...and its totally not turning into a special interest...anyways everybodys opinion on the timeline of fnaf is dumb and im the only right one/hj

[saturnsuv]

return of the relationship anxiety