#granted it could have been done better but hey my skills be limited here and I did the best I could haha
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
intotheelliwoods · 1 year ago
Text
Tumblr media
To whoever is still alive after all that, congrats! You made it through the hard part! Hope you enjoyed the week event~ Not sure if I will be doing another one anytime soon though haha, also do expect a small break from me after this!
Few things to make clear to those who missed stuff:
This timeline is safe! The two Leos who are currently in the timeline will be happy and well by the end of things! From this point on its just them healing~
If by chance you are confused on what happened, I lovingly hand you this post! If you are still confused, feel free to send me an ask!
I am not paying for any medical bills <3 But hey the huggy leos persisted through just like I promised-
136 notes · View notes
ladyeliot · 4 years ago
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The September Foundation Grant
Request: @iawaythrown Avengers x Teen reader. The reader is a brilliant engineer, that makes (grade A+) battle armor & weapons. The Vulture and the reader works together by selling these illegal armor & weapons. (The Vulture even gives the reader profit because the reader lives alone) The reader learns at school (The R is the quiet/loner kid) about Vulture getting arrested and they soon decide to leave New York and disappear. They grab all their money and leave but is followed/arrested by Tony and Peter at the reader house. They learn that the Vulture snitched on him. Ending could be up to you.
Pairing: Vulture / Iron Man / Spider-man x Teen!Reader
Warnings: Illegal work.
Word count: 1829
A/N:  Sorry it took so long! / Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.
Tumblr media
Anything could happen in New York City. A place that never slept, that was always awake at all hours, where criminals and children went everywhere hand in hand. Everything was hidden, but also in plain sight, if you knew where to look. Its streets were a labyrinth, but they always led to a way out, everything had an end. Its neighbourhoods were small communities distributed by culture or social status, but that did not prevent them from relating to each other. A teenager raised in Queens might have different limitations than one raised in the Upper East Side, but it all depends on the person. What I mean is, you never know what your life is going to be like in New York City.
Your mind was in constant operation, even if you wanted it to, it never stopped, it never rested, in a millisecond the thought passed through it 'when was the last time I slept'. You were in a hangar near the Harlem docks, this lucrative activity occupied a large part of your free time after high school, taking up your weekends as well. You could call it 'extracurricular activity' or also 'gainful employment', or maybe a combination of both, after all you were improving your engineering skills and earning money for it.
You had been enrolled in that new business for more than five months, your expectations for the future had changed, now you weren't so sure if going to university was what you really wanted. You were not driven by the easy money, what you were doing was much more than that, it was money, knowledge and all the adrenaline possible to do something legally binding. All the talent that you thought would be wasted and that you had never been valued was now being used to do something else, to be someone in the world, even if it was in the hidden world.
You designed, created and crafted technologically advanced combat armour and weaponry, you built things you hardly thought you would be able to make. All you needed was the time and the facilities that Adrian Toomes had offered you. He discovered you, he had set his sights on you and trusted you, something that many other people had not done before. In your past years you dreamed of getting a position at MIT, but now it was no longer among your priorities, at least for the time being.
Adrian's discovery came about in the most natural way possible. You were attending Midtown School of Science and Technology, and one day during a chemistry class the teacher had the brilliant idea of paired assignments, so you were paired with Liz Toomes. Liz is a really intelligent young woman, the problem in question was the wide difference between your characters, your quiet countenance and your passivity for social relations caused discomfort among your classmates, but leaving that aside, you decided to go to her house to do the work. It was there that you met her father, Adrian, who found your project notebook when you dropped it on your way to Liz's room. He was clever, slipping in a note with his personal phone number expressing his interest in your projects. At first you were completely shy of the idea, but eventually you agreed, otherwise you wouldn't be in that situation.
The first project you did was an improvement to his exo-suit, he had been working on it for years, but for reasons you didn't know he didn't want to tell you who had helped him make it, he just told you that you had everything you needed at your disposal and that he wanted to see what you could be able to do, and so he did.
Since that day the small business you had in your hands had evolved, Toomes was in charge of the public-facing transactions, and you were hidden away carrying the full weight of engineering. But that didn't mean that when you went back out on the streets you became a normal teenager again.
On a Monday like any other Monday, New York City was glowing in the sunlight. On the drive to school we went over in a steady stream what we had studied for the maths exam you had in the fourth period, although it was really something you had passed a long time ago. You kept yourself hidden under a pair of headphones, listening for anything that would prevent you from interacting with people. Your day-to-day actions when you walked through that door were mechanical. You walked thirty-three steps down the main corridor, turned right, twenty-seven steps to your locker, entered code 5432, opened it and took your books, dropped off your lunch, closed it again and headed for your class, trying not to bump into anyone who crossed your path. That, day after day.
But that day, that second between songs, when your ears came back to the real world you heard a word "Vulture". Your senses quickly focused on the conversation that group of girls were having, you stopped the music and without looking at them you sharpened your hearing.
"My cousin just sent me the video," one of them said, showing her mobile phone to the others. "He was arrested tonight, on the Harlem waterfront. Isn't Spider-man cool?"
"Wow!" exclaims one.
"I can't believe the Vulture is Liz's dad," adds another girl. "By the way does anyone know anything about her?"
That conversation caused a pang inside you. You quickly, but as calmly as possible, closed your locker and headed in the opposite direction of the entire student body, heading back outside. You knew what this meant, your mind had explored various scenarios about the possible events that could happen if the FBI or anyone else discovered you. You knew what you had to do, how to do it and where to go, you had created a plan in your head. You didn't trust Adrian to take all the blame and you would come out of the situation unscathed, you were a minor and could always appeal to a corrupt situation, but that wasn't your style either.
Step by step you were fulfilling your plan, the first thing was to erase any traces that implicated you in those events, you had to go home and get rid of everything you had in your possession that implicated you, both physically and virtually, then it would be better for you to disappear for some time, you had plenty of money to do so and you knew that your family would not care too much where you were.
You went into the house, you had hours ahead of you until one of your parents returned. You went to your room and began to tidy up every gadget or item on your bed that connected you to the crime. It took you very little time compared to how long it took you to erase your fingerprints from the virtual world, it was obvious that you kept your figure hidden under a pseudonym, but every weapon or armour that the FBI had confiscated had your fingerprint on it, a fingerprint that could lead them to you.
The hours passed, you knew that sooner or later your parents were going to walk through the door, time was running out for you to catch a bus out of that city. You opted to pack up your things, leave that note and continue erasing data during the long trip to Arizona, but it was too late. A loud noise from the hallway alerted you that your time had come to an end.
"Ms. Y/L/N, you know what they say about sometimes you have to run before you walk?" Iron Man appeared before your eyes. "Too slow."
The armour that stood before you cut off your main passage to the exit, though you knew in your gut that there was little you could do against it without outside help. Slowly you reached inside your backpack and pulled out one of your unfinished projects, a laser that fired a powerful beam at the armour. That mere distraction allowed you to turn around and head inside your bedroom with the intention of climbing out of your window and down the fire escape, however as you were about to do so a body burst through the window, launching a slimy mass that stuck you to the wall of your room.  In front of you Iron Man and Spider-man, both staring at you, and you feeling the most vulnerable being at that moment.
"Wow!" Spider-Man picked up the laser from the floor. "This is cool! What kind of energy does it work with?"
"Hey kid! Put that down," his ally informed him. "Okay, do you know why we're here?" he asked waiting for an answer that never came. "Not very talkative, I understand, I was going to explain it to you anyway, do you know Adrian Toomes? I guess so, at least he knows you, he gave your name." your face hardened. "Yeah, well, I wouldn't be that surprised."
You remained impassive, listening to his every word and trying to form a plan in your head that would help you escape the situation.
"Listen, I have no intention of selling you out to the police," suddenly the Iron Man suit vanished, revealing the figure of Tony Stark before your eyes. "I admire you, I really do, well I don't mean I admire that you joined a group of criminals and created technologically enhanced weapons and sold them, but I admire your skills.
"Isn't that what you've done?" you finally interjected, responding to her retorts.
"Oh! She speaks!" he pointed at you, looking at Spider-man. "Good point. But to the point, you decide, you either come with us and decide to join the good side, or we leave you here for your parents to find you, explain everything that's happened and then to the police. You decide. The clock is ticking."
Your mind was reactivated again, it was clear that there were two options and only one of them was within your prospects. It might take you a while to forgive yourself for what you were going to do next, but it was your only way out. You nodded slowly and clenched your jaw tightly as you surrendered to those in front of you.
"Good choice," Tony said with a nod as Spider-man released you from those webs that had invaded your body.
From down the hall you heard the front door open and two people walked in, engaged in conversation, your parents. Your eyes widened exponentially.
"Just in time," Tony said. "See you later, kid. And you and I," he looked at you, "are going to explain to your parents about the September Foundation Grant."
Tumblr media
Requests/Taglist Open (DM)
MAIN MASTERLIST
108 notes · View notes
maxismatchccworld · 4 years ago
Text
Patch Notes
Update 06/03/2020 PC: 1.63.133.1020 / Mac: 1.63.133.1220 Console: Version 1.25
The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle Expansion Pack drops in just a mere few days, and since we know that living your best Eco Lifestyle can take a little extra elbow grease, we’ve added some exciting quality-of-life improvements to help pave the way.
Between Inventory updates, new CAS assets from a surprise partnership with M·A·C, the return of two beloved NPCs, as well as some really cool new Build features, we hope you enjoy the update.
-SimGuruJill & SimGuruRusskii
NEW & IMPROVED FEATURES
INVENTORY UPDATES
Fellow hoarders, this one’s for you: We have updated the Sim Inventory with the ability to Filter, Sort, Favorite, Multi-Select, and Multi-Sell in one easy flick of the wrist. Managing that cumbersome pile of collectables you’ve been racking up for the past five years has never been so easy!
FREE PLACEMENT OF DOORS AND WINDOWS
Following in true Eco Lifestyle fashion, Door and Window placement is now also Off-the-Grid. But not that kind of grid. The limiting kind of tile grid that used to keep you from placing your windows and doors precisely where you wanted them. By holding down the Alt key while dragging, you can enjoy the smooth sensations of free Door and Window placement.
LADDERS
Ladders have been added as part of the Build System. Find your free Classic Wooden Ladder in the Build catalog in the Stairs (& Ladders) category. Unlike Island Living’s Dock and Ladder objects for use on water lots, these Ladders can be placed anywhere on your lot and like stairs, they can be used as a means for Sims to traverse from one floor to another.
M·A·C COSMETICS
Did you say you needed some fresh looks for your Sims? We’ve collaborated with none other than M·A·C Cosmetics to bring you 12 fashion-forward makeup assets suited for everything from everyday to night out glam. If you’re not already using it, on PC and Mac we recommend trying out the “Uncompressed Sim Textures” setting in the Options Menu, which is now enabled by default on the High and Ultra graphics settings profiles in order to see these looks really shine. While console versions of The Sims 4 do not have the setting in the Options Menu, each console spec is automatically using the optimal graphical settings based on system resources.
REPO PERSON NPC
The Repo Person NPC has graduated with honors from Discover University’s University of Britechester with a Degree in Villainy and has comfortably taken up residence in Base Game. Now everyone can taste their wrath if Bill payments fall behind.
BILLS UPDATE
Speaking of Bills, we’ve added a cohesive breakdown of Sim’s Bills information that can be accessed via an interaction on the Mailbox or Phone. Now instead of lumping everything together, you can see what percentage of your Bills go to Water, what percentage go to Power, insight into any Fees, Reductions, or Penalties. All this and more, calculated and cleanly presented for your finer understanding.
LEGACY NEIGHBORHOOD MAP TAGS
We have gone back and added Map Tags with Neighborhood Descriptions to existing neighborhoods that didn’t yet have them. We now have delightful icons, names, and descriptions for the no-longer-forgotten Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, Newcrest, and Windenburg. Ok, feel free to freak out now.
OFF-THE-GRID UPDATES
This one is tricky to list out in a single paragraph with attempted wit, so I’ll just drop this bullet list off right here:
The Off-the-Grid Lot Trait now ties into our new Bill updates, drawing from Water and Power utility. Without excess utility, lots function off-the-grid as they did before. With excess utility, they function more like an on-the-grid lot.
There is a new Off-the-Grid Build category that will allow players to find Off-the-Grid and survival-esque objects.
We've done a pass on candles to ensure they properly work when electricity is out.
Off-the-Grid supported Fridges now have an "Add Ice" interaction that will allow them to keep food preserved—so long as the ice remains!
Sim will now autonomously use stoves and fridges when Off-the-Grid, not just grills.
Harvestables now grant unique buffs when consumed off-the-grid.
Dogs and Toddlers now have a unique interaction to be bathed in Bathtubs even when Off-the-Grid.
Objects can now be cleaned using the "Use Elbow Grease" interaction. Yummy.
Players are able to gather Water utility from fishing spots in base game. With Island Living they can gather from the waterfall. Water can also be gathered from any world with swimmable 'ocean' water. With Seasons, water can be gathered from snow drifts.
Off-the-Grid specific buffs will now take into account motives and Sim traits when determining if a Sim should receive a positive or negative moodlet when living Off-the-Grid.
We've added multiple new recipes that can be cooked while Off-the-Grid given a Sim has the proper cooking skill level. Some recipes require special ingredients like the Boiling Frog Hot Pot—which adds a really neat survival element to off-the-grid gameplay, while providing Sims with powerful new moodlets that will help them survive in the wild.
NO TRESPASSING
Some people who have the Vampires Game Pack appreciate Vlad’s antics more than others. I personally love receiving a charming visit from Vlad, and sometimes I could really use a kind compliment about my neck. But we’ve heard there are a select few that don’t quite like having their Sim’s necks bitten and motives tanked by an invasive nighttime visitor with no respect for boundaries. Keep Vampires and other unwanted visitors at bay with a new No Trespassing interaction we’ve added to the Door.
SEND HOME INTERACTION
Speaking of unwelcome visitors, we’ve also added a new Send Home interaction that’s available on visiting NPCs or as a self-interaction in the case of multiple visitors. How is this interaction any different from Ask To Leave or Go Away, you might ask? Convenience. Unlike its less efficient predecessors, this interaction is nearly instantaneous and leaves your visitors with no hurt feelings or Relationship impact. We added it as a useful tool for players, not necessarily as a story-telling mechanism.
BUILD MODE ITEMS GRANT GAMEPLAY EFFECTS
How you build your lot can now affect your gameplay. Certain objects such as wall patterns, floor patterns, fences, and columns bring different gameplay modifiers. Some of these modifiers affect how your Bills and utilities are calculated by decreasing or increasing your Power or Water utility production or usage, as well increasing or decreasing the price of bills. Environment Score can now be impacted by certain objects and materials. Drywall walls without wall patterns applied now decrease environment score like they did in The Sims 3! The choice of floor and wall materials used can also affect the ability to spread fire or puddles at an increased or lessened rate. And if you’d rather build your lot without having to think about these things, don’t worry. There’s an Option in the Gameplay menu to turn all of this off.
FIREFIGHTER NPC
Oh hey, and speaking of Fire, that reminds me. Did you hear that we’ve added Firefighter NPCs to the game? We took nods from classic Firefighter NPC behavior from The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3 and added a few small twists for The Sims 4. When a fire breaks out, Firefighters will come automatically to your lot if you already have a Fire Alarm installed. That way, if you still like to let things burn baby burn, you can just “accidentally” forget to place a Fire Alarm. It’s okay. We won’t tell anybody. If you honestly did forget to place a Fire Alarm, you can call the Fire Department from the Phone or by clicking on the fire itself. If the Fire Department is called, but there is not an active fire, they will call you on your lapse in judgement and charge you a fine. You won’t be punished if there was legitimately a fire that was extinguished before they arrive though. The Firefighter Uniform can be accessed in CAS and gives any Sim wearing it the Fireproof Buff, which gives them some extra protection against fires as well as make them more efficient at putting out fires themselves. It’s worth noting that Firefighter NPC’s do not show up in Island Living’s Sulani. Sulani already has their local Fire Brigade to handle these kinds of emergencies and besides, who wants to wear all that heavy Firefighter gear in the tropics?
STYLED LOOKS FOR TOTS AND KIDS
More than 20 New Styled Looks have been added for Children and Toddlers, using existing Base Game CAS assets to better flesh out some outfit categories that previously felt sparse.
BALANCING PASS OF PHONE CALL INVITATIONS
After five years of Expansion Packs, Game Packs, and Stuff Packs our phone call invites were admittedly starting to get a little spammy. Moments after moving in, you’ve got Lucas Munch hitting you up, asking you to go to the Bluffs with him. Then not long after, you might have had Vivian Lewis asking you to join her at The Spice Festival. Jeez, let me get settled in first, why don’t ya? We’ve done a tuning pass to rebalance all of these previously competing Phone invites to give you a more meaningful and holistic experience.
LESS INVASIVE EARBUDS
In the same vein as the above balancing pass, we wanted to smooth out one of our more pressing notifications. The free earbuds pop-up that comes with Fitness Stuff has been changed to a more passive TNS and gifts your Sim the earbuds automatically when it triggers. The days of telling the game over and over that you don’t want free earbuds, or worse - hitting OK by accident - is a thing of the past.
CONSOLE UPDATES
Eco Lifestyle releasing on the same day across all platforms marks an important milestone for The Sims 4 as Simmers get to play the same content and share new creations on The Gallery together. In this update Console Simmers have a few additional features to improve their quality of life:
We have added a new Controls Overlay Reminder that shows up throughout CAS, Gallery, Live Mode and Build Mode which should make it easier for new Simmers to jump in and not need to remember all the controls.
If you don’t want to be reminded and you know all the controls by heart, you can turn off the Controls Overlay Reminder in the Game Options > Other menu
The controller overlay screens remain available for those who want them.
Now onto the fixes and updates:
The Sims 4
macOS players should no longer encounter the setLocale.zsh error. However, both Origin and TS4 must be up to date.
Sims will not have random accessories or clothing pieces when changing into towels.
Style Influencer Sims can now remove trends they have created, with the Reset Trend interaction.
Fixed an issue where Sims were not able to Care for Self after they had been in daycare when they were a Toddler.
Some roofs were updated to remove the appearance of black sides when placed on ceilings.
Active Sims will no longer get a Tense moodlet for lack of exercise when finishing exercising. Do you even push up bro?
Sims will no longer get the Fatigued moodlet immediately after starting a workout. Now, we know that endurance takes time to build, but we decided to give Sims a chance to enjoy their workout before being completely fatigued right away.
Child Sims will now be able to unlock the Video Gaming Skill after they have maxed out their Mental Skill instead of their Motor Skill, which was causing adult skills to reset for Child Sims when they completed aspirations.
Fixed an issue in which some Households did not have their names displayed in Manage Worlds.
Corrected requirements for completing the Great Landscaper task that is part of the Mansion Baron Aspiration.
Fixed an issue in which when utilities are shut off (either because of past due bills or Off-The-Grid) adding objects from Build Mode such as Lamps, would add them turned On.
The Water Pump, Fishing Holes, Romantic Garden’s Whispering Wishing Well, and Get Famous’s Luminary’s Exotic Water Garden now have the Gather Water interaction when the Off-the-Grid Lot Trait is applied.
Fixed an issue in which the Subtle Saucer Light was not being so subtle and made objects added from Build Mode be placed randomly when dragged near it.
Teen Sims will now see the appropriate tooltip when trying to acquire the Fertile Trait from the Rewards Store. No, they are not Robots.
Fixed an issue in which some Roof Eaves were clipping into enclosed blocks.
Fixed an issue in which the Clean Up interaction would drop off the queue if dirty dishes were placed on a counter.
Since we added a new trash bike to Eco Lifestyle, we’ve made the bicycle helmet available for everyone in CAS. Now you can outfit your Sim in a helmet, regardless of owning a pack that includes bikes.
Sims will now not receive occasional text messages asking them for a Date from other Sims that they are not romantically involved with. Because it was aaaakward…
Toddler Sims will not be able to Ask for Mentoring on some in progress mentoring interactions to strangers. Except for “Invite to Bob to Music” because we can dance if we want to, we can leave our friends behind, ‘cause your friends don’t dance and if they don’t dance well... they’re not friends of mine.
Fixed an issue with textures for the tops and landings on some Staircases.
Fixed an issue that did not allow randomizer to work correctly when Male Sims had Makeup on Create a Sim.
Plants can now be placed closer to foundations with moveobjects cheat enabled, as long as most of the plant's footprint is outside of the foundation.
Fixed an issue in which Simoleons were not added to Household Funds when moving and selling furniture.
Fixed an issue in which previewing certain windows on diagonal walls reverted their color back to the default color swatch.
Simmers on macOS Catalina and Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 GPU will no longer experience seeing a squared shadow under their Sims.
Fixed an issue with the Wooden Prairie-Style Two-Panel door in which color swatches were not displaying correctly on both sides of the door.
Sims now can dispose of packed lunches that have spoiled. Out, foul food!
Fixed some oddness with disappearing Stairs within enclosed courtyards.
Fixed a Stair issue with Landings not working properly on lots with raised foundations and basements. Sims will no longer walk through walls and things should now look appropriate.
Fixed missing Career Promotion screens for careers in various packs.
Fixed User Interface elements and Icons across multiple packs.
Spandrels can now be properly applied on Fences.
Stairs will now not shrink when increasing Foundation heights.
Get Together
Fixed an issue in which non local Sim Townies would spawn in Windenburg’s Island, now named The Crumbling Isle.
Fixed an issue that caused an error to occur when deleting or editing Clubs.
As much as Windenburgians (Windenburgers? Windenburguese? Windenburglites?) love visitors from other worlds, they have voted them off the Island. Sorry, not sorry!
City Living
Fixed an issue that caused time to be desynchronized at Speed 3. Bending the space time continuum no more!
Vet Clinics can no longer be placed in Penthouses.
Yard Sale customers will no longer wander inside Sims’ houses and interact with their belongings. While prospective buyers are nice to have in any sale, this was just rude, this is NOT a Welcome Wagon.
Cats & Dogs
Game progress will no longer be lost when editing/adding/deleting career outfits in Create a Sim.
Fixed an issue that made Pets’ needs to not be fulfilled if not playing an active household.
Pets’ ehm… poop is now able to be used as plant fertilizer. Happy gardening!
Seasons
Sims can now sell Flowers in stacks from their Inventory.
Sims will now appropriately put their Umbrellas away before performing some interactions. Because WooHoo while having an Umbrella out in the open, seems complicated, we are not judging… but seems complicated.
Fixed an issue that made Simmer created Holidays in the Calendar populate after a season ended.
Father Winter will now be able to remove his beard and change in Create a Sim if he is part of an active Household. But who would dare shave Father Winter’s beard?? Who?!
Get Famous
Fixed the issue with the Actor Career where Sims were unable to complete their gig when they would travel and return home before it was time for the gig.
Island Living
Lotta Cocolatas will now be made with actual Coconuts taken from Sims’ Inventories. What were they made from before? We will never know! Never accept imitation Lotta Cocolatas… never!
Fixed an issue in which some quick meals were requiring a Microwave while being Off-The-Grid when it is not needed. Yogurt needing a microwave? I think not!
Mermaids in Create a Sim will no longer be able to have their Traits randomized. This allows them to keep their Mermaidism, as well as their air of mystery and charm.
Mermaids now will wear appropriate career outfits when going to work. So I can picture this now, Mermaids as Doctors would be a great TV show.
Fixed an issue in which some Island Living Tank Tops were categorized incorrectly in Create a Sim.
Mermaid Children made in Create a Sim will now grow up to be fully-functioning Mer-dults.
The Go To Work button for Odd Jobs has been fixed for Sims on Vacation.
The Eyedropper tool will now work on Stilts instead of only working on the Foundation Trims.
Fixed an issue in which Sims in Off-The-Grid lots were showering constantly. Now they will shower when appropriate. Though, with this heatwave, anything goes in my opinion!
“Dr. Mermaid/Merman, what do you recommend?
“I am prescribing some Vitamin Sea”
Give Russkii more coffee please...
Discover University
Student Sims will not lose their Term Presentations Boards when signing up for another term.
Simmers with Seasons additionally installed: Student Sims will no longer receive Academic Probation if they were on planned Holidays through the Calendar.
Student Sims will no longer be labeled as Graduate after completing the Graduation Ceremony. Congratulations!
Fixed an issue in which homework assignment progression was too slow and timers might have been missing in some instances.
Fixed an issue in which Sims were taking showers fully clothed. As much as the current heat wave is giving us creative ideas to cool off, it would be more efficient to not be fully clothed when showering.
Hair Style ymHair_EP08MensShavedPonytail_Black has been updated for Teens, Adults, and Elders to display all swatches. Similarly yfHair_EP08ShortBobBraid_Black has been fixed to appear as an option for Teens.
Sims that re-enroll in University after graduating or dropping out, can now rejoin their Secret Society. Likewise, if Sims get suspended and re-enrolls their progress will not be lost.
Fixed an issue with the "Gameday Glute Accommodator" chair that occasionally could make Sims invisible if they placed it in their Inventory. We don’t know what other powers the "Gameday Glute Accommodator" may have but invisibility is now not one of them.
Sims in the Law Career can now Attend Depositions from their Computers and Phones. Because you don’t need to break your computer to complete an assignment, that seems impractical.
Vampire Coffins and Sleeping Pods can now count as Beds in University Dorms.
Fixed an issue in which the Write and Publish Research Paper interaction would disappear from the options if it was cancelled midway. I mean, I understand rage quitting something but not to the point of my options to do it disappearing...amirite?
Fixed an issue with yfBody_EP08DressParty_SolidPurple in which pendant necklaces were not able to be seen if this asset was worn by Sims.
Fixed an issue that could make the Soccer interaction Study Plays with drop out from the interaction queue.
Corrected Final Exam Requirements for Elective Courses to say that for studying they need to do so on Computers or Research Machines.
To anyone who may have noticed the tiny head effect in the thumbnails if you wore the Dragon or the Lobster mascot costume without their hats, that issue has been fixed.
Humanoid Robots will no longer be able to have Traits or Aspirations modified in Create a Sim. You are a real Sim to me Robot friend, you are to me.
If a Sim already knows about the Secret Society, is it still a secret? Time will tell.
Outdoor Retreat
Herbalism recipes can now work while Off-The-Grid, however only on Off-The-Grid supported stoves.
Dine Out
Random NPCs will not leave Hamburgers on tables at restaurants anymore. As much as we like to receive free food, we don’t think it is proper to get them randomly from a stranger.
Vampires
Vampire Sims working on the Master Vampire Aspiration will no longer have the task “Survive for an Additional 20 Days as a Vampire” reset after traveling.
Vampire Sims with Full Sun Resistance are now able to properly tend to gardens and not tend to plants one at a time.
Fixed an issue in which you could set the Registered Vampire Lair Lot Trait for Venues.
Vampire child ears can now be changed after being aged-down from adult Dark Form.
The Rustic Candle Chandelier now has flame effects on the candles.
Jungle Adventure
Fans/Stans will no longer follow their adored celebrity into the jungles of Selvadorada.
Realm Of Magic
Spellcasters have regained access to Styled Looks.
Fixed an issue in which a Tank Top belonging to this pack was not categorized correctly in Create a Sim.
Hot Tubs that have been upgraded to unbreakable will no longer be broken upon performing the Zipzap Spell.
A Spellcaster is never not in vogue, but it’s always nice to have options.
Moschino
We fixed an issue in which some hotkeys in Photo Mode (particularly E and Q) were not working.
After popular demand, the Libearian bookend will now cost Simoleons. Nothing’s for free, nothing’s for freeee... take it away!
Tiny Living
Murphy beds will now be more resilient after first use. Warranty terms pending.
Fixed an issue in which Game Consoles were not usable with the all in one entertainment systems.
Fixed an issue in which Hair Styles from this pack appeared with their color swatches out of order in Create a Sim.
Fixed an issue in which Sims could not Put Bed Up their Murphy Beds after WooHoo.
We have also adjusted their pricing and comfort levels, bang for your buck!
Now the “Media Marathoner All on the Wall” will be actually the Media Marathoner All on the Wall.
308 notes · View notes
wordsfromthesol · 5 years ago
Text
I Don’t Need a Babysitter (1/2)
Author: @wordsfromthesol Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader Warnings: Uhmmmm…violence kinda? Cursing probably? Word Count: 1.8k Requested: @lemontree205​
Tumblr media
Part Two
“Hey Bats, I could really use a favor.”
“Hal Jordan asking for my help. What could be so important?”
“The Corps is sending me on another deep space mission. I’m still not sure how long I’ll be gone.”
“I’m sure we can hold down the fort here on Earth without you Hal.”
“No…that’s not. Listen, my kid sister is at Gotham University. I’d been checking up on her, but now I won’t be able to.”
Bruce held up his hand in acknowledgement. “You got it Hal.”
“Listen, she doesn’t know…”
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on going up to her in the Bat suit.”
“Awe man, so even she’ll know who Batman is before I do?”
“No.” Before Hal could question him further, Bruce climbed into the Zeta Tube and was gone.
**
“Alright boys. I have an assignment for you.” Bruce looked around at his boys all sitting at the dining room table. “Y/N  Y/L/N.” He threw a file on the table.
“What’d she do? Drug runner? Arms dealer? Assassin?” Jason started spurting off anything he could think of.
“GL’s half-sister?” Tim questioned as he scanned through the file.
“Don’t tell me we are babysitting.” Jason huffed out, clearly agitated.
“No. I just need someone to check on her every day. You can all take turns.”
“How did you rope us into this?” Dick arched his eyebrow and smirked towards his adoptive father.
“Hal asked for a favor. And it’s family.”
“Alright, we’ll check on the brat. Is she at least close by?” Jason words were sharp yet understanding. It was for family.
“Gotham University, Junior, Double Major, Physics and Structural Engineering.” Tim rattled off the facts in the file.
“I still do not see the purpose in this. Can the girl not defend herself?” Damian finally spoke up.
“I’m sure she can, but I’d rather be safe.” Bruce tried to explain to his youngest.
“I’ll take tomorrow.”
“Jay, did I just hear you offer to take the first shift?” Dick’s eyebrows raised questioningly.
“I figure then I won’t have to ruin my weekend.”
**
As night fell Jason left for patrol. He stopped by your apartment every few hours, watching as all you seemed to do was study. Finally, Jason got bored and headed back to the cave.
“This girl is so boring. Why does she need us to check on her?” Jason complained to Tim as soon as he arrived.
“I’m sure Hal is just worried. He doesn’t know how long this mission will take.”
“Well, fair warning…bring a book on your shift.”
This went on for a few weeks and all the boys were getting bored with your lifestyle.
“I don’t understand how all she does is study.” Jason complained yet again.
“I have theorized she simply has no companions.” Damian joined in.
“Maybe she just prefers her studies. People can be tiresome.” Tim reasoned, understanding of your demeanor.
“But even you break away from the computer sometimes Timmy.” Dick pointed out.
“It just baffles me that she’s related to Hal at all.” Tim thought about the Green Lantern’s personality in comparison to yours. “Wait…it’s Wednesday night. Whose turn is it? Shouldn’t they be out by now?”
The boys all looked around at one another, unsure of whose shift it was.
**
Finally. You thought peering out your window. There was no sign of any vigilantes staring you down. Though you had to admit, their presence did force you to study a lot more than usual. Worried that your time was limited, you stalked out of your apartment and headed to an abandoned warehouse – your usual training spot.
Your muscles ached at the movements. The two weeks you had gone without were really taking their toll. You stepped out of the warehouse and immediately realized you’d been found. Shit. Not only could you feel someone watching you, your eyes darted immediately to the vigilante. You just told them more than they needed to know with one look.
**
They soon figured out that Jason, unshockingly, was the one missing patrol. He set out immediately and a panic set in when he got to your apartment and you were no where in sight. Thankfully, with Tim’s help they were able to trace your location.
Jason waited on a nearby rooftop, catching glimpses of your routine through the dirty and broken windows. What is she doing? Your eyes darted to him as soon as you stepped outside. That couldn’t be a coincidence. That skill comes with training. He waited, wondering what you would do next, though he was slightly disappointed, as you continued forward as if you hadn’t seen him at all. That’s impossible right. She looked right at me. Didn’t she?
**
You knew you had to play this right. Hal had gone too far sending babysitters while he was away. As if you didn’t know he was a Green Lantern. As if he thought you couldn’t take care of yourself. You decided to pretend as if you hadn’t seen Red Hood at all, going on your way back to your apartment. Though you were disappointed you didn’t see any action tonight, at least you were able to train. As you got back you immediately went to sleep, hoping to throw off any suspicions the vigilante had.
**
Now she’s just going to sleep? I need to get into that warehouse. Jason headed back the way you came and crawled in through one of the broken windows. He looked around, both in confusion and shock. Targets littered with bullets and arrows filled the walls. Training dummies and equipment were scattered about the space. Upon further investigation he even stumbled upon a locked room. He rang Tim upon seeing the security system connected to the door.
“Hey Timbo, you busy?”
“I guess not. What did do you? Did you find Y/N?”
“Yeah yeah, she’s asleep. I’m looking into something and it’s got a security system. Do you have a minute to hack it?”
“I suppose, but you owe me. Take my shift tomorrow for babysitting.”
“Done.” Jason would’ve offered to take it anyways. You were just starting to get interesting.
Jason was in awe as he pushed open the door. The weapons and gadgets cache was truly impressive, especially for a college student. There can’t be a vigilante in Gotham we don’t know about…right? He thought to himself as he rifled through your stash. Jason was fully invested and completely caught off guard when you approached behind him, pistol aimed at his chest.
“Care to leave my shit alone Hood?”
“Care to tell me why you have all this shit?”
“Not really.” Silence ensued as he slowly picked up one of the throwing knives and inspected it. You holstered your gun, “Look. If my brother sent you, I’m releasing you from service. Clearly, I can take care of myself.”
“But you were so boring!”
“Yeah, on purpose. So you idiots would leave me alone. You weren’t exactly subtle with the check-ins.” You walked over and grabbed the throwing knife from his hand. “Then again neither was Hal.”
“Wait, you know?”
“Dude, he’s not exactly subtle with the glowing green shit.”
“Hm. So are you a vigilante? Why haven’t I heard of you?”
“Probably because I don’t go around in some ridiculous costume.”
“Ha! So you are a vigilante.”
You rolled your eyes, “I don’t know if I would call it that. Either way, your services aren’t needed.”
“Unfortunately for you, I don’t think I could get out of them. Batman kinda promised your brother we’d keep an eye on you.”
“Wow. He must be desperate to ask the Bat for a favor. What happened?”
“Uhm…I’m not sure –” Jason words were cut off as you brought a small dagger to his throat. “Okay okay.” He threw his hands up in defense. “All Hal said was the Corps were sending him on a deep space mission. He didn’t know how long before he would be back.”
“He’s been on those before. What are you not telling me?”
“That’s all I know!”
You sighed, dropping the dagger to the floor. “Dammit Hal.” You mumbled, knowing full well there was more to this.
“So why,” Jason gestured around, “all this.”
“It started a few months after Hal became Green Lantern…wait, what am I getting out of telling you this?”
“How about I help you find out what’s really going on.” You look at him, skeptical. “I guarantee I have a lot more resources than you, no offense.”
“Fine.” You continued with your story, “Anyways, as soon as I found out I knew the idiot would become a target. Me being family, automatically makes me a target too.”
“So this is all out of self-preservation?” Jason questioned, he had watched you for weeks, he knew there had to be more to it.
“Yes and no. I never want to make Hal chose between saving me or saving the world. Hell even saving me or saving one other person. So I began to train and every now and then I head to the Narrows to get some real world experience…with the added bonus of helping people.”
From then on the two of you were virtually inseparable. Jason did everything he could to get his brothers shifts to watch you. Whether it was making bets he knew he would lose or asking for favors. He always made sure you knew if he wasn’t your babysitter for the night. Unfortunately, the two of you had found virtually nothing on why your brother was so worried about you. Granted you didn’t have much to go on to begin with.
**
“He’s hiding something, right?” Dick asked Tim and Damian one night while Jason was out with you.
“It does seem like Todd has been trying to obtain babysitting duty. He purposefully lost a bet with Drake just yesterday.” Damian commented on the matter.
“And one with me last week.”
“You don’t think he’s skipping out?” Tim asked with a worried expression.
“He better not, Bruce would have all our heads. Look up his location.” Dick motioned to Tim, suddenly concerned about his brother’s nightly activities.
Tim’s eyes grew wide. “He’s at a warehouse.”
“What? Where?”
“Dick…there’s something we didn’t tell you. Remember that night we forgot whose turn it was?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, Y/N wasn’t at her apartment. I was able to trace her through traffic cams to a warehouse. This warehouse.”
“And now they are back there?”
“That’s not all.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well I didn’t think it meant anything. But later that same night Jason had me hack a security system. I checked his location…he was back at that warehouse.”
“So what is it?”
“It seems to have been abandoned years ago.”
“Why do we not just go see for ourselves?” Damian interjected.
“Good point, Dami. Let’s suit up…just in case.”
596 notes · View notes
thesims4blogger · 4 years ago
Text
The Sims 4: New Game Patch (June 3rd, 2020)
There’s a new Sims 4 PC update available via Origin.
Remove all MODS and Custom Content before updating your game
Update 06/03/2020 PC: 1.63.133.1020 / Mac: 1.63.133.1220 Console: Version 1.25
The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle Expansion Pack drops in just a mere few days, and since we know that living your best Eco Lifestyle can take a little extra elbow grease, we’ve added some exciting quality-of-life improvements to help pave the way.
Between Inventory updates, new CAS assets from a surprise partnership with M·A·C, the return of two beloved NPCs, as well as some really cool new Build features, we hope you enjoy the update.
-SimGuruJill & SimGuruRusskii
NEW & IMPROVED FEATURES
INVENTORY UPDATES
Fellow hoarders, this one’s for you: We have updated the Sim Inventory with the ability to Filter, Sort, Favorite, Multi-Select, and Multi-Sell in one easy flick of the wrist. Managing that cumbersome pile of collectables you’ve been racking up for the past five years has never been so easy!
FREE PLACEMENT OF DOORS AND WINDOWS
Following in true Eco Lifestyle fashion, Door and Window placement is now also Off-the-Grid. But not that kind of grid. The limiting kind of tile grid that used to keep you from placing your windows and doors precisely where you wanted them. By holding down the Alt key while dragging, you can enjoy the smooth sensations of free Door and Window placement.
LADDERS
Ladders have been added as part of the Build System. Find your free Classic Wooden Ladder in the Build catalog in the Stairs (& Ladders) category. Unlike Island Living’s Dock and Ladder objects for use on water lots, these Ladders can be placed anywhere on your lot and like stairs, they can be used as a means for Sims to traverse from one floor to another.
M·A·C COSMETICS
Did you say you needed some fresh looks for your Sims? We’ve collaborated with none other than M·A·C Cosmetics to bring you 12 fashion-forward makeup assets suited for everything from everyday to night out glam. If you’re not already using it, on PC and Mac we recommend trying out the “Uncompressed Sim Textures” setting in the Options Menu, which is now enabled by default on the High and Ultra graphics settings profiles in order to see these looks really shine. While console versions of The Sims 4 do not have the setting in the Options Menu, each console spec is automatically using the optimal graphical settings based on system resources.
REPO PERSON NPC
The Repo Person NPC has graduated with honors from Discover University’s University of Britechester with a Degree in Villainy and has comfortably taken up residence in Base Game. Now everyone can taste their wrath if Bill payments fall behind.
BILLS UPDATE
Speaking of Bills, we’ve added a cohesive breakdown of Sim’s Bills information that can be accessed via an interaction on the Mailbox or Phone. Now instead of lumping everything together, you can see what percentage of your Bills go to Water, what percentage go to Power, insight into any Fees, Reductions, or Penalties. All this and more, calculated and cleanly presented for your finer understanding.
LEGACY NEIGHBORHOOD MAP TAGS
We have gone back and added Map Tags with Neighborhood Descriptions to existing neighborhoods that didn’t yet have them. We now have delightful icons, names, and descriptions for the no-longer-forgotten Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, Newcrest, and Windenburg. Ok, feel free to freak out now.
OFF-THE-GRID UPDATES
This one is tricky to list out in a single paragraph with attempted wit, so I’ll just drop this bullet list off right here:
The Off-the-Grid Lot Trait now ties into our new Bill updates, drawing from Water and Power utility. Without excess utility, lots function off-the-grid as they did before. With excess utility, they function more like an on-the-grid lot.
There is a new Off-the-Grid Build category that will allow players to find Off-the-Grid and survival-esque objects.
We've done a pass on candles to ensure they properly work when electricity is out.
Off-the-Grid supported Fridges now have an "Add Ice" interaction that will allow them to keep food preserved—so long as the ice remains!
Sim will now autonomously use stoves and fridges when Off-the-Grid, not just grills.
Harvestables now grant unique buffs when consumed off-the-grid.
Dogs and Toddlers now have a unique interaction to be bathed in Bathtubs even when Off-the-Grid.
Objects can now be cleaned using the "Use Elbow Grease" interaction. Yummy.
Players are able to gather Water utility from fishing spots in base game. With Island Living they can gather from the waterfall. Water can also be gathered from any world with swimmable 'ocean' water. With Seasons, water can be gathered from snow drifts.
Off-the-Grid specific buffs will now take into account motives and Sim traits when determining if a Sim should receive a positive or negative moodlet when living Off-the-Grid.
We've added multiple new recipes that can be cooked while Off-the-Grid given a Sim has the proper cooking skill level. Some recipes require special ingredients like the Boiling Frog Hot Pot—which adds a really neat survival element to off-the-grid gameplay, while providing Sims with powerful new moodlets that will help them survive in the wild.
NO TRESPASSING
Some people who have the Vampires Game Pack appreciate Vlad’s antics more than others. I personally love receiving a charming visit from Vlad, and sometimes I could really use a kind compliment about my neck. But we’ve heard there are a select few that don’t quite like having their Sim’s necks bitten and motives tanked by an invasive nighttime visitor with no respect for boundaries. Keep Vampires and other unwanted visitors at bay with a new No Trespassing interaction we’ve added to the Door.
SEND HOME INTERACTION
Speaking of unwelcome visitors, we’ve also added a new Send Home interaction that’s available on visiting NPCs or as a self-interaction in the case of multiple visitors. How is this interaction any different from Ask To Leave or Go Away, you might ask? Convenience. Unlike its less efficient predecessors, this interaction is nearly instantaneous and leaves your visitors with no hurt feelings or Relationship impact. We added it as a useful tool for players, not necessarily as a story-telling mechanism.
BUILD MODE ITEMS GRANT GAMEPLAY EFFECTS
How you build your lot can now affect your gameplay. Certain objects such as wall patterns, floor patterns, fences, and columns bring different gameplay modifiers. Some of these modifiers affect how your Bills and utilities are calculated by decreasing or increasing your Power or Water utility production or usage, as well increasing or decreasing the price of bills. Environment Score can now be impacted by certain objects and materials. Drywall walls without wall patterns applied now decrease environment score like they did in The Sims 3! The choice of floor and wall materials used can also affect the ability to spread fire or puddles at an increased or lessened rate. And if you’d rather build your lot without having to think about these things, don’t worry. There’s an Option in the Gameplay menu to turn all of this off.
FIREFIGHTER NPC
Oh hey, and speaking of Fire, that reminds me. Did you hear that we’ve added Firefighter NPCs to the game? We took nods from classic Firefighter NPC behavior from The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3 and added a few small twists for The Sims 4. When a fire breaks out, Firefighters will come automatically to your lot if you already have a Fire Alarm installed. That way, if you still like to let things burn baby burn, you can just “accidentally” forget to place a Fire Alarm. It’s okay. We won’t tell anybody. If you honestly did forget to place a Fire Alarm, you can call the Fire Department from the Phone or by clicking on the fire itself. If the Fire Department is called, but there is not an active fire, they will call you on your lapse in judgement and charge you a fine. You won’t be punished if there was legitimately a fire that was extinguished before they arrive though. The Firefighter Uniform can be accessed in CAS and gives any Sim wearing it the Fireproof Buff, which gives them some extra protection against fires as well as make them more efficient at putting out fires themselves. It’s worth noting that Firefighter NPC’s do not show up in Island Living’s Sulani. Sulani already has their local Fire Brigade to handle these kinds of emergencies and besides, who wants to wear all that heavy Firefighter gear in the tropics?
STYLED LOOKS FOR TOTS AND KIDS
More than 20 New Styled Looks have been added for Children and Toddlers, using existing Base Game CAS assets to better flesh out some outfit categories that previously felt sparse.
BALANCING PASS OF PHONE CALL INVITATIONS
After five years of Expansion Packs, Game Packs, and Stuff Packs our phone call invites were admittedly starting to get a little spammy. Moments after moving in, you’ve got Lucas Munch hitting you up, asking you to go to the Bluffs with him. Then not long after, you might have had Vivian Lewis asking you to join her at The Spice Festival. Jeez, let me get settled in first, why don’t ya? We’ve done a tuning pass to rebalance all of these previously competing Phone invites to give you a more meaningful and holistic experience.
LESS INVASIVE EARBUDS
In the same vein as the above balancing pass, we wanted to smooth out one of our more pressing notifications. The free earbuds pop-up that comes with Fitness Stuff has been changed to a more passive TNS and gifts your Sim the earbuds automatically when it triggers. The days of telling the game over and over that you don’t want free earbuds, or worse - hitting OK by accident - is a thing of the past.
CONSOLE UPDATES
Eco Lifestyle releasing on the same day across all platforms marks an important milestone for The Sims 4 as Simmers get to play the same content and share new creations on The Gallery together. In this update Console Simmers have a few additional features to improve their quality of life:
We have added a new Controls Overlay Reminder that shows up throughout CAS, Gallery, Live Mode and Build Mode which should make it easier for new Simmers to jump in and not need to remember all the controls.
If you don’t want to be reminded and you know all the controls by heart, you can turn off the Controls Overlay Reminder in the Game Options > Other menu
The controller overlay screens remain available for those who want them.
Now onto the fixes and updates:
The Sims 4
macOS players should no longer encounter the setLocale.zsh error. However, both Origin and TS4 must be up to date.
Sims will not have random accessories or clothing pieces when changing into towels.
Style Influencer Sims can now remove trends they have created, with the Reset Trend interaction.
Fixed an issue where Sims were not able to Care for Self after they had been in daycare when they were a Toddler.
Some roofs were updated to remove the appearance of black sides when placed on ceilings.
Active Sims will no longer get a Tense moodlet for lack of exercise when finishing exercising. Do you even push up bro?
Sims will no longer get the Fatigued moodlet immediately after starting a workout. Now, we know that endurance takes time to build, but we decided to give Sims a chance to enjoy their workout before being completely fatigued right away.
Child Sims will now be able to unlock the Video Gaming Skill after they have maxed out their Mental Skill instead of their Motor Skill, which was causing adult skills to reset for Child Sims when they completed aspirations.
Fixed an issue in which some Households did not have their names displayed in Manage Worlds.
Corrected requirements for completing the Great Landscaper task that is part of the Mansion Baron Aspiration.
Fixed an issue in which when utilities are shut off (either because of past due bills or Off-The-Grid) adding objects from Build Mode such as Lamps, would add them turned On.
The Water Pump, Fishing Holes, Romantic Garden’s Whispering Wishing Well, and Get Famous’s Luminary’s Exotic Water Garden now have the Gather Water interaction when the Off-the-Grid Lot Trait is applied.
Fixed an issue in which the Subtle Saucer Light was not being so subtle and made objects added from Build Mode be placed randomly when dragged near it.
Teen Sims will now see the appropriate tooltip when trying to acquire the Fertile Trait from the Rewards Store. No, they are not Robots.
Fixed an issue in which some Roof Eaves were clipping into enclosed blocks.
Fixed an issue in which the Clean Up interaction would drop off the queue if dirty dishes were placed on a counter.
Since we added a new trash bike to Eco Lifestyle, we’ve made the bicycle helmet available for everyone in CAS. Now you can outfit your Sim in a helmet, regardless of owning a pack that includes bikes.
Sims will now not receive occasional text messages asking them for a Date from other Sims that they are not romantically involved with. Because it was aaaakward…
Toddler Sims will not be able to Ask for Mentoring on some in progress mentoring interactions to strangers. Except for “Invite to Bob to Music” because we can dance if we want to, we can leave our friends behind, ‘cause your friends don’t dance and if they don’t dance well... they’re not friends of mine.
Fixed an issue with textures for the tops and landings on some Staircases.
Fixed an issue that did not allow randomizer to work correctly when Male Sims had Makeup on Create a Sim.
Plants can now be placed closer to foundations with moveobjects cheat enabled, as long as most of the plant's footprint is outside of the foundation.
Fixed an issue in which Simoleons were not added to Household Funds when moving and selling furniture.
Fixed an issue in which previewing certain windows on diagonal walls reverted their color back to the default color swatch.
Simmers on macOS Catalina and Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 GPU will no longer experience seeing a squared shadow under their Sims.
Fixed an issue with the Wooden Prairie-Style Two-Panel door in which color swatches were not displaying correctly on both sides of the door.
Sims now can dispose of packed lunches that have spoiled. Out, foul food!
Fixed some oddness with disappearing Stairs within enclosed courtyards.
Fixed a Stair issue with Landings not working properly on lots with raised foundations and basements. Sims will no longer walk through walls and things should now look appropriate.
Fixed missing Career Promotion screens for careers in various packs.
Fixed User Interface elements and Icons across multiple packs.
Spandrels can now be properly applied on Fences.
Stairs will now not shrink when increasing Foundation heights.
Get Together
Fixed an issue in which non local Sim Townies would spawn in Windenburg’s Island, now named The Crumbling Isle.
Fixed an issue that caused an error to occur when deleting or editing Clubs.
As much as Windenburgians (Windenburgers? Windenburguese? Windenburglites?) love visitors from other worlds, they have voted them off the Island. Sorry, not sorry!
City Living
Fixed an issue that caused time to be desynchronized at Speed 3. Bending the space time continuum no more!
Vet Clinics can no longer be placed in Penthouses.
Yard Sale customers will no longer wander inside Sims’ houses and interact with their belongings. While prospective buyers are nice to have in any sale, this was just rude, this is NOT a Welcome Wagon.
Cats & Dogs
Game progress will no longer be lost when editing/adding/deleting career outfits in Create a Sim.
Fixed an issue that made Pets’ needs to not be fulfilled if not playing an active household.
Pets’ ehm… poop is now able to be used as plant fertilizer. Happy gardening!
Seasons
Sims can now sell Flowers in stacks from their Inventory.
Sims will now appropriately put their Umbrellas away before performing some interactions. Because WooHoo while having an Umbrella out in the open, seems complicated, we are not judging… but seems complicated.
Fixed an issue that made Simmer created Holidays in the Calendar populate after a season ended.
Father Winter will now be able to remove his beard and change in Create a Sim if he is part of an active Household. But who would dare shave Father Winter’s beard?? Who?!
Get Famous
Fixed the issue with the Actor Career where Sims were unable to complete their gig when they would travel and return home before it was time for the gig.
Island Living
Lotta Cocolatas will now be made with actual Coconuts taken from Sims’ Inventories. What were they made from before? We will never know! Never accept imitation Lotta Cocolatas… never!
Fixed an issue in which some quick meals were requiring a Microwave while being Off-The-Grid when it is not needed. Yogurt needing a microwave? I think not!
Mermaids in Create a Sim will no longer be able to have their Traits randomized. This allows them to keep their Mermaidism, as well as their air of mystery and charm.
Mermaids now will wear appropriate career outfits when going to work. So I can picture this now, Mermaids as Doctors would be a great TV show.
Fixed an issue in which some Island Living Tank Tops were categorized incorrectly in Create a Sim.
Mermaid Children made in Create a Sim will now grow up to be fully-functioning Mer-dults.
The Go To Work button for Odd Jobs has been fixed for Sims on Vacation.
The Eyedropper tool will now work on Stilts instead of only working on the Foundation Trims.
Fixed an issue in which Sims in Off-The-Grid lots were showering constantly. Now they will shower when appropriate. Though, with this heatwave, anything goes in my opinion!
“Dr. Mermaid/Merman, what do you recommend?
“I am prescribing some Vitamin Sea”
Give Russkii more coffee please...
Discover University
Student Sims will not lose their Term Presentations Boards when signing up for another term.
Simmers with Seasons additionally installed: Student Sims will no longer receive Academic Probation if they were on planned Holidays through the Calendar.
Student Sims will no longer be labeled as Graduate after completing the Graduation Ceremony. Congratulations!
Fixed an issue in which homework assignment progression was too slow and timers might have been missing in some instances.
Fixed an issue in which Sims were taking showers fully clothed. As much as the current heat wave is giving us creative ideas to cool off, it would be more efficient to not be fully clothed when showering.
Hair Style ymHair_EP08MensShavedPonytail_Black has been updated for Teens, Adults, and Elders to display all swatches. Similarly yfHair_EP08ShortBobBraid_Black has been fixed to appear as an option for Teens.
Sims that re-enroll in University after graduating or dropping out, can now rejoin their Secret Society. Likewise, if Sims get suspended and re-enrolls their progress will not be lost.
Fixed an issue with the "Gameday Glute Accommodator" chair that occasionally could make Sims invisible if they placed it in their Inventory. We don’t know what other powers the "Gameday Glute Accommodator" may have but invisibility is now not one of them.
Sims in the Law Career can now Attend Depositions from their Computers and Phones. Because you don’t need to break your computer to complete an assignment, that seems impractical.
Vampire Coffins and Sleeping Pods can now count as Beds in University Dorms.
Fixed an issue in which the Write and Publish Research Paper interaction would disappear from the options if it was cancelled midway. I mean, I understand rage quitting something but not to the point of my options to do it disappearing...amirite?
Fixed an issue with yfBody_EP08DressParty_SolidPurple in which pendant necklaces were not able to be seen if this asset was worn by Sims.
Fixed an issue that could make the Soccer interaction Study Plays with drop out from the interaction queue.
Corrected Final Exam Requirements for Elective Courses to say that for studying they need to do so on Computers or Research Machines.
To anyone who may have noticed the tiny head effect in the thumbnails if you wore the Dragon or the Lobster mascot costume without their hats, that issue has been fixed.
Humanoid Robots will no longer be able to have Traits or Aspirations modified in Create a Sim. You are a real Sim to me Robot friend, you are to me.
If a Sim already knows about the Secret Society, is it still a secret? Time will tell.
Outdoor Retreat
Herbalism recipes can now work while Off-The-Grid, however only on Off-The-Grid supported stoves.
Dine Out
Random NPCs will not leave Hamburgers on tables at restaurants anymore. As much as we like to receive free food, we don’t think it is proper to get them randomly from a stranger.
Vampires
Vampire Sims working on the Master Vampire Aspiration will no longer have the task “Survive for an Additional 20 Days as a Vampire” reset after traveling.
Vampire Sims with Full Sun Resistance are now able to properly tend to gardens and not tend to plants one at a time.
Fixed an issue in which you could set the Registered Vampire Lair Lot Trait for Venues.
Vampire child ears can now be changed after being aged-down from adult Dark Form.
The Rustic Candle Chandelier now has flame effects on the candles.
Jungle Adventure
Fans/Stans will no longer follow their adored celebrity into the jungles of Selvadorada.
Realm Of Magic
Spellcasters have regained access to Styled Looks.
Fixed an issue in which a Tank Top belonging to this pack was not categorized correctly in Create a Sim.
Hot Tubs that have been upgraded to unbreakable will no longer be broken upon performing the Zipzap Spell.
A Spellcaster is never not in vogue, but it’s always nice to have options.
Moschino
We fixed an issue in which some hotkeys in Photo Mode (particularly E and Q) were not working.
After popular demand, the Libearian bookend will now cost Simoleons. Nothing’s for free, nothing’s for freeee... take it away!
Tiny Living
Murphy beds will now be more resilient after first use. Warranty terms pending.
Fixed an issue in which Game Consoles were not usable with the all in one entertainment systems.
Fixed an issue in which Hair Styles from this pack appeared with their color swatches out of order in Create a Sim.
Fixed an issue in which Sims could not Put Bed Up their Murphy Beds after WooHoo.
We have also adjusted their pricing and comfort levels, bang for your buck!
Now the “Media Marathoner All on the Wall” will be actually the Media Marathoner All on the Wall.
84 notes · View notes
hutchhitched · 5 years ago
Text
Maybe This Summer, Prologue
Tumblr media
After many months and several delays, I’m excited to finally share Maybe This Summer with you. Last year, I offered an auction for a 50,000+ word story for @fandomtrumpshate​, and @ldyglfr62​ won the bid. She gave me free reign to create a mild age gap!Everlark story with Gale as Katniss’ best friend. With a little inspiration from Dirty Dancing and the second season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Maybe This Summer is the result. The story will post on Tuesday mornings at 11:00 am CDT.
Big thanks for @ldyglfr62​ for bidding and trusting me to create this story (and being patient and gracious as I worked through some personal issues) and @xerxia31​ for mad beta skills and turning the nine pictures I sent into this gorgeous graphic.
Summary: Katniss Everdeen needed a vacation. On a whim, she reserved three months at Panem Resorts in North Carolina. She expected to spend her time recovering from the recent death of her sister, exploring the nearby nature reserve, and reminiscing about happier times. What she didn’t foresee was bumping into Peeta Mellark, one of Panem’s most valued employees, during his early morning run. Neither did she think she’d grow to admire him when she’d hated him from first sight, but his killer smile and gorgeous blue eyes had a way of breaking down the walls she’d built around her heart. Maybe this summer she’ll finally get what she’s always deserved. AO3
_______________
Winding Road
A canopy of trees shaded the ribbon of asphalt as Katniss Everdeen sped along the winding country road. She hadn’t been there in ages, two decades passing since the last time her mother requested time off from work and bundled her daughters into the car and took them on vacation. She’d chosen the same place for nostalgic reasons and was determined to find something to smile about during her time at Panem this summer. She needed that.
 Things hadn’t gone too well for her over the past few years. Her mother and she had almost no relationship anymore—not since her younger sister Prim passed away—and it was hard for Katniss to care about much of anything anymore. She still had her best friend Gale Hawthorne and his wife Madge, but otherwise, she felt more alone than not. When her boss noticed her increased stress levels and a few minor mistakes in her data that could have been much worse, he ordered her to take some time off and center herself before coming back to work. She should be grateful he hadn’t fired her, and she was, but she also had no idea how to fill her time without spending it in the lab at West Virginia University.
 Katniss didn’t like to sit still, and the weeks had loomed before her when she sat alone in her empty house. On a whim one night, she flipped through an old photo album she’d taken from her sister’s place after her funeral. On the third page, she stopped, troubled by the happy smiles jumping off the page and making her heart hurt. After a sleepless night, she maxed out a credit card booking three months—from Memorial Day to Labor Day—at the resort. She needed something. Maybe, just maybe, this was it.
 “I wish you were with me, Little Duck.”
 Her voice echoed in the empty car, but if she tried really hard, she could almost hear her sister answer.
 I wish I was, too. We had so much fun the last time.
 “We did, didn’t we?” Katniss chuckled. “You remember that little girl we made friends with? Rue, I think her name was. You two were so alike. Both tiny and sneaky. You used to slink out into the night and meet up with her. I never could catch you, but I knew you were doing it. Mom never did figure it out—or believe me.”
 She saddened at the memory. “You were always her favorite.”
 Of course, I was. I’m the baby! Was the baby.
“You’ll always be the baby, Prim. No matter how old we get.”
 And you’ll always be my hero. The big sister who can do no wrong, who can slay dragons and bullies alike. The one who protected me all her life and made everything that much better when I was still with you.
 “I couldn’t protect you from that.” Her voice broke on the last word, and she heard Prim agree.
 No, you couldn’t. No one could.
 “I should have been able to do it.”
 You should stop blaming yourself.
“Maybe someday.”
 Maybe someday. Maybe this summer.
 Her smile faded as her sister’s voice trailed into silence, and Katniss shook herself and looked at the GPS. Prim was gone, and they hadn’t seen or talked to Rue since that one summer twenty years ago. She wasn’t thirteen anymore. She was thirty-three, a professional agro-botanist working in a grant-funded lab at a major research university. She didn’t have a sister anymore, and she certainly wasn’t going to encounter either one of the young girls dancing in her memories at the resort this summer.
 Still…she wanted something more than what she had. Why did the past pull at her so hard?
 “Just a little bit of time. That’s all you need,” she muttered to herself, unsure if she was trying to convince herself or merely fill the quiet. When her phone rang, she cursed as she was jerked from her internal dialogue and jerked the wheel before righting the vehicle and pressing down on the brake.
 “Hello?”
 “Hey, Catnip,” Gale rumbled from the other end. “How’s the drive?”
 “Terrible,” she snapped and narrowed her eyes when he chuckled.
 “I’m sure it isn’t that bad. You should be almost there by now unless you stopped every five minutes to take soil samples.”
 “Well, fuck. I should have stopped every five minutes to take soil samples. Why didn’t I think of that?”
 “I’m sure you’ll work that in some once you’re there. Ferns, leaves, bark, soil. You’re a super nerdy scientist through and through. You picked that place for a reason, Kat, and it’s not just because you and your sister had a good time there back when you were teenagers.”
 “You don’t know me,” she grumbled but had to admit he was right. She was hoping to get some work done while she was there, despite strict orders to leave the lab back at the university. A real scientist always observed, and if she happened to do that through a microscope that just happened to be in her backseat…well, then, that was just part of the charm of spending her summer at a resort surrounded by a nature preserve called The Woods.
 “I know you better than you know yourself,” he retorted. “That’s also why Madge and I booked a cabin next to yours for the week of the Fourth until mid-July. Thought you might be ready for some company by then, and Madge loves getting out of the city for time by the pool. I figure you two can have some girl time, and then I’ll steal you away for nature walks and the like.”
 She was so pleased she couldn’t quite stop the smile from tugging at the corners of her mouth. Unwilling to admit her glee, she joked, “Fine. You do know me. And Gale…”
 “Yeah?”
 “Thank you.”
 She was serious, and he knew it. He’d been there through everything—her father’s death when she was eleven, her mother’s snap with reality, Prim’s diagnosis and demise, her own depression as she mourned and floundered. Gale was a godsend friend who shouldered her burdens without making her feel like she owed him. The fact that he’d married her only other real friend solidified his presence in her life in a way that made her grateful that he cared about her and relieved he respected her independence. She hated owing anybody anything, and she especially didn’t like taking anything from strangers.
 “You’re welcome,” he answered gruffly. “Text me when you get there, and try to relax a little bit, okay? You really do deserve some time to yourself. You’ve never had time to grieve properly.”
 “I mourned Prim,” she reminded him, but that wasn’t all he meant.
 “Your father, your mom, Prim, all of it.”
 “Yes, all of it. That’s enough, Gale.”
 “I’ll talk to you soon, Catnip. Safe rest of the trip.”
 “Goodbye, Gale.”
 She hung up and checked the screen again. Two more miles, and then she’d take a left into the nature preserve. Just past that was the entrance to the resort’s lodge, and she was ready to be there. Ready to take a shower and get the road off her skin and hair. She wanted a nap and a good dinner before escaping into the book she hadn’t quite managed to finish before leaving on the trip.
 When she turned the corner, she flipped off the air conditioner and rolled down the front windows. A warm, humid breeze whipped through the car until she slowed to the requisite 35 miles per hour speed limit. The hybrid motor was practically silent, and she could hear birds chirping to each other as she passed under the natural awning of oak, ash, and maple trees. It was absolutely beautiful, and her heart rate slowed a little as she meandered along the lane that led to her summer escape.
 Excitement coursed through her, and she tamped down the tingling sensation that something life-defining awaited her in the next three months.
 “I miss you, Prim. If only you were here to share this with me,” she whispered and listened to the wind rustle through the trees.
Maybe I am, came the silent reply.
29 notes · View notes
goddessofthundathighs · 5 years ago
Text
Tumblr media
VIII. CONFESSIONS
The dull morning sky was soon cloaked in light as the sun made her grand appearance. Blankets of orange and pink illuminated the sky, casting an ethereal glow through the large bay window of O’Shea’s bedroom. The soft, sensual sound of Ari Lennox’s voice could be heard faintly in the background, the perfect soundtrack to the lovemaking that was taking place. O’Shea panted softly as Erik lazily thrust into her, slowly and deliberately, making sure she felt each stroke. Her hair was a messy halo around her face as she gazed up at him, eyes blown in pleasure. Her vocal cords had been silenced some time after Erik choked her and told her that she was his and his only. One of his hands was currently fisted in her coils while the other gripped her headboard, anchoring his position above her. Her nails dug deep into the skin of his back, a sting that hurt so good as Erik’s hips snapped into her, grazing her g-spot with deadly precision.
“What’s my name, Princess?” he whispered against the shell of her ear before pulling on her earlobe softly with his teeth. She choked out a soft whimper as her walls repeatedly clenched and released around him.
“You cummin’ again, ma? You ‘bout to coat Daddy’s dick with that sweet cream again?” Her nails dug deeper into his back as she felt that familiar tingle building in the pit of her belly.
“Give it to me, baby,” he groaned, prolonging his release until she came undone again. She chewed her bottom lip, opening her eyes to finally look up at him. The sight took her breath away. His dreads were a mess atop his head and his bottom lip was between his teeth revealing his golden canines. The sunlight gave him a golden glow, one that made him look more like a God than a man. The sight brought tears to her eyes.
“What’s my name, Princess? You doing more whimpering than talking. Tell me who owns this pussy. Tell me who Daddy is..”
The theme song to Game of Thrones pulled O’Shea from her slumber.
“Son of a bitch!” she screamed as she rolled out of bed and stomped angrily to her alter, muttering nonsense as she lit her goddess candle. The black and gold statue of Bast stared back at her, almost teasingly as she lit her white sage and cleansed her bedroom as well as herself.
“If you’re not gonna manifest him as my man, keep him out of my dreams,” she spat before praying and asking for forgiveness for her foolish words. She knew better than to disrespect her goddess and set out some honey and chocolate as peace offerings. Once she finished her morning prayer ritual, she showered and headed to the shop. Today was the day Erik was to return home and she needed to get through her day as quickly as possible if she wanted to see him. Per his request, she had refrained from calling or texting him and in her opinion had done well in not thinking about him in general until two nights ago. That’s when he began manifesting in her dreams, each time they were either having sex or he was professing his love to her. She took those as positive signs, but currently their situation was still very much one-sided. She wondered what he’d have for her when they were finally face to face. Would this meeting end in goodbye? Had she gone through this whole come to Jesus meeting for nothing? She shook her head softly to rid herself of negative thoughts. It had been a long week and no matter how things would play out on the relationship front, she missed her friend and was happy that he was back.
**
“I got the grant!” Skylar screamed happily from her office chair, causing O’Shea to jump from the sudden squeal.
“What grant?” O’Shea asked quizzically, meeting Sky in the doorway of her office.
“Recently I’ve been looking into surrogate partner therapy and its effects on the female orgasm and I just got the funds to begin independent research and practice!”
“What in the world is surrogate partner therapy?” “It’s what the name says it is. The therapist of a single client will implement a surrogate partner to help said client in their sexual dysfunction.”
“So basically a prostitute for the sake of mental and sexual health?” “Yes and no. The difference between prostitution and SPT is that prostitution focuses solely on sexual gratitude. With SPT, sexual and sensual touch is rarely involved. It mainly focuses on helping clients build social and physical self-awareness, consciousness, and skills in the areas of physical and emotional intimacy.”
“Interesting. So how much funds were we given for said research?” “Eight figure funds,” Skylar cheesed, still unable to contain her excitement. “We should go out to celebrate! Everything on me,” she exclaimed.
“Hell yes, we should. Who knows, you might get yourself a freak for the night,” O’Shea teased, causing Skylar to turn her nose up playfully. 
“Well if you must know, I already have my eye on someone.” “That little light bright that came in here the other day? What was her name? Oya?” Skylar smiled softly at the thought of her latest potential conquest.
“Yes, Oya.” “Do you and Erik make moves on all of your patients?” O’Shea teased, which caused Skylar to clutch her imaginary pearls.
“If you must know, you and Oya are both special cases. I’ve been too hung up on Monica and Erik was a stickler for keeping his business and personal lives separate.
“I was only teasing. You and her would be cute together though and we already know she’s a lesbian so there’s a plus there.”
“You’re right, but I’ve gotta take things slow. It’s very much illegal and unethical for us to engage in any type of intercourse while she’s my client so I’ll have to tread lightly in that area.”
“So like you could lose your license?”
”If things went sour and the board found out, yes. The difference between Erik and I is, he’s using himself as the surrogate and on paper, I’m listed as your therapist. A loophole so to speak.” “But Erik and I haven’t had sex.” “No, but you’ve explored other methods of intimacy and other sensual practices, correct?” O’Shea was quiet as she thought about the time she and Erik had spent outside of his office. There were many instances in which lines were crossed, but she had no idea they held such severe consequences. Sky noticed the worried look in her eye and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
“Calm down, kid. Everything’s going to be fine.” “But you just said --”
“I know what I said and I also know Erik Stevens. If everything plays out the way we want, everyone will get their happily ever after and the board will be none the wiser.” O’Shea nodded, trusting her friend. Her mind couldn’t help but dwell on the words ‘happily ever after’. Did this mean that she and Erik shared similar feelings? She smiled to herself as she walked back to the design table, stealing a glance at the time. She wanted to text him, but stopped herself.
“Only a few more hours to go.”
**
Skylar’s deep wavy locs blew in the wind as she made her way to The Grove. She and Oya had agreed to meet at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar to discuss how the toys she’d suggested had worked out. She also wanted to apologize for the way their last meeting had abruptly ended thanks to Monica. The Grove was one of her favorite places to go for lunch because of its open concept. It was springtime and the last thing she wanted was to be cooped up inside while the weather was so nice out. She smiled softly as Oya’s curly blonde fro came into view. As she stepped closer she saw that she was wearing a black cropped top, ripped blue jeans and open-toe sandals.
“Hey there, gorgeous,” she said with a smile as Oya pulled her in for a hug. 
“Hello yourself, Dr. Greene. You look amazing,” Oya replies looking her up and down. Though her outfit was simple, a red and yellow top that said ‘ Honey’, some blue jean shorts and matching Vans, Oya watched her as though she were otherworldly. After exchanging hugs and hellos, the pair sat down and began looking over the menu.
“Before we discuss the toys, I want to apologize about how our initial meeting ended.” “No need, I didn’t feel offended. If anything, I wanted to pop ole girl for the way she barged into your shop. Is she always like that?” “Yes and no. She has her days, but you need not worry about that anymore. Now, down to business, how did the toys work for you?”
“They worked surprisingly well for a minute, but I think I need something…. More.”
“Explain.”
“I enjoyed being able to time the toy and the thrill of trying to make myself cum, but edging is so much more fun when you have someone else setting your limits, you know?” Oya explained with a sly smirk.
“So you like being told what to do and when to do it?” “Oh I love it, almost as much as I love not doing what I’m told.” “So you’re a brat?” Oya’s answer wasn’t verbal, but her smirk said it all. “Have you been in a domme/sub relationship before, Ms. Ramirez?” “Yes, but my last domme wasn’t what I needed. She was good at playing scenes, but it was hard to pull herself out of the dominant role and she never gave me any aftercare.” “So she was an emotionally abusive bitch that got off on your pain?” “Pretty much.” “Terrible.” “But, when I spoke to Dr. Stevens, he said that you could possibly help me. I get domme energy from you.” “Domme energy?” Skylar asks with a chuckle. It was true that she and Monica had done a few scenes during their relationship, but she hardly considered herself a domme. 
“Yeah, domme energy. You command attention when you step in the room and I feel that if you snapped your fingers, every man and woman here would kiss the ground you walk on. You might not see it, but you have serious big dick energy.” Skylar laughed then, because Oya wasn’t the first to tell her that.
“Are you asking me to be your domme, Ms. Ramirez?” “I’m asking you to treat me and if that treatment involves me being your submissive, I wouldn’t be opposed,” Oya replied smoothly. Skylar nods as the waitress comes over to take their order.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
**
Megan Thee Stallion’s voice filtered the club as Cash Shit thumped through the speakers. Behind the velvet rope of the VIP section, Skylar and O’Shea sat with Erik and a few other colleagues as three cocktail waitresses came by with 3 bottles of Ace of Spades topped with sparklers.
“Congratulations to my best friend on securing the bag for her research,” Erik toasted as he poured Sky another glass.
“Thank you bestie, glad you could make it.” “Now you know I wouldn’t miss this night for the world, no matter how jetlagged I am,” he said with a wide smile, cutting his eyes at O’Shea every now and then. He had been watching her intently since he stepped foot in the section, admiring how well the gold long sleeved dress accentuated her curves and complimented her skin. She looked like a trophy and he was ready to have her on his arm officially, but he had to tread lightly. He didn’t want to be too forward and scare her away, but he also didn’t want to move too slow and push her into the arms of someone else. He was still fighting an internal battle that was pulling him in different directions. 
“This shit is smoother than I thought,” O’Shea quipped as she finished her third D’usse Sidecar.
“That means you’ll be drunk before you know it,” Skylar noted, picking up on how relaxed and loose Shea appeared. “Ready to take it in?” Shea nodded swiftly, stumbling slightly as she stood from her spot on the couch.
“Guess it’s a good thing you drove,” Erik stated to Sky as he lead O’Shea out of the club by her hand.
“Yep, I already knew how this would go. I’m gonna take our Princess home and I’ll call you once I make it in.” “Sounds like a plan. Night Princess,” Erik gestured to O’Shea as he walked back to his NSX.
“Night Daddy,” O’Shea slurred slightly as she slid into the passenger seat of Skylar’s Maserati. Erik stopped, turning to chance one last glance at O’Shea as Skylar guided her into the passenger seat. He contemplated jogging back over to her, using the fact that they needed to have another session as a means to linger in her presence, but he resisted. He decided to wait until they were both completely sober, that way they could both clearly articulate whatever it was that they were feeling. He opted to follow Skylar, using the fact that he wanted to make sure O’Shea got home safely as an excuse before closing the door to his NSX and revving the engine. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Skylar, he just needed to see O’Shea one last time before he called it a night.
The ride back to O’Shea’s was quiet. Skylar chuckled softly as she glanced over at the sleeping beauty, her head nestled between the glass of the window and the passenger seat. She snored softly, a sign that she’d partied a little too hard. Skylar helped her out of the car before fishing the house key out of her bag and guiding her inside to her bedroom.
“Do you need me to stay with you?” “No, I’ll be fine,” O’Shea’s soft voice called from the bathroom. Though she was drunk, she was still coherent enough to remove her makeup and finish her other night time rituals before climbing into bed. No sooner had her head hit the pillow did her mind drift back to Erik. He looked and smelled amazing with the all black sequin tux and his dreads braided to the back. He had purchased another set of fronts while he was away in Wakanda, this one being white gold with diamond settings and the sight of it shining in the low lights of the club had O’Shea itching for the chance to feel them against the sensitive skin of her vagina. The memory alone had her clenching her thighs. It had been months since the banquet where he'd had her wrapped around his fingers, literally. She wanted her thighs wrapped around his neck. It would have to happen sometime soon. Her hands found the inside of her thighs as she laid on her side. In her mind his fronts gleamed as he smiled, that professionally distant but slightly lustful look in his eye. Her thoughts faded.
Once Skylar was back in her car and on the road, Erik facetimed her. She had something to say and she'd been waiting all night, he could tell. He looked over at her face in the low light of the car. 
“So how was the trip?” she asked as she weaved through traffic back to her condo.
“I was cool. I hadn’t realized how much I missed my family until I saw them, T’Challa included.”
“Well that’s good. Have you had time to think about your current situation?” There it was. That’s the question that Erik had both been dreading and waiting for. 
“I have and I think I’m ready to make a move.” “You want to be with her?” Erik didn’t answer verbally, he just nodded.
Their conversation was interrupted by an incoming text message on Erik’s end. He waited until he came to a stop light to open the message, chuckling softly once he realized who it was from.
Tumblr media
Shea smiled sleepily before placing her phone back on the nightstand. Her Daddy had missed her just as much as she missed him and hopefully he would give her one of the orgasms she’d been missing for the last few months. That thought alone was enough to lull her to sleep.
“What’s so funny and why you got me paused?” Skylar’s voice rang from the phone screen.
“My fault, ma, I got a message.” “Mmm. The little drunk baby misses her Daddy, huh?” “Man, chill on me. But if you must know, yes it was Shea.” “Oh I know. You two were eyefucking each other all damn night. Somebody needs to put on their big girl or big boy undies and say something.” “I got it, Sky. I set up an appointment for her tomorrow.” “That soon?” “I know me, I can’t put this off too much longer.” “Well whatever you decide, I’m behind you. You know that.”
“I know and I appreciate you for everything, ma. Have you met with Oya yet?” “I have. Her symptoms are almost like Shea’s but I think she’s more interested in hardcore BDSM and I haven’t dabbled in that in a while.” “Oooh, Oya about to meet Mistress Sky,” Erik teased with a wide grin.
“Nigga shut up!” Sky giggled. “Mistress Sky has long since hung up her whip and fishnets.” “”Mmhm, you saying that now. I think Ms. Ramirez might give you a run for your money.”
“We’ll see as time goes on. For now, I’m going to coax her into trying my methods on the partners she has now and if that doesn’t work, then we’ll try the SPT. I think she’ll take well to vabbing.” “Vabbing? You mean pussy juice perfume?” Skylar’s shoulders bounced as she laughed.
“I swear you get on my nerves.” “But that’s what it is! Rubbing pussy juice on ya neck for perfume.” “It’s more than that, asshole! The pheromones attract potential suitors. I was gonna have O’Shea try it too.”
“Aye! She don’t need to be tryna attract nobody else. Her suitor is right here.” “Oooh, somebody’s spicy,” Sky teased with a smirk.
“Mhm, keep playing, Nola."
**
O’Shea’s heels clicked happily against the marble floor of Erik’s office. She’d been excited all day at work, impatiently waiting for the 5:00 hour so that she could be back in Erik’s presence. She bounced happily in the seat across from his desk, waiting for him to finish a conference call before acknowledging him. 
“You look beautiful,” he finally smiled, hanging up to take in her full appearance. She felt like she was glowing under his gaze. 
"Thank you, Dr. Daddy," she grinned, hands clasped excitedly on her knees. "You look very handsome today."
"You think so," he teased resting his elbows on his desk. His hands folded under his chin as he leaned forward. "You had a long night. How's my Buttercup feeling today?"
"Buttercup misses you terribly," she pouted fussing with the hem of her skirt. Erik held his arms out, gesturing for her to come nearer until she was close enough for him to gently tug her arm. Pushing from the desk in his rolling leather chair, he pulled O'Shea into his lap, both of her legs turned to hang over the side of the chair while she clung to his shoulder. 
He trailed his index down the smooth skin of her arm. The alluring scent of her perfume cradled his nose. 
"I missed you too, Buttercup.. I missed all of you." O’Shea melted, allowing the feel of his body to warm her to the core. She inhaled, letting his signature Coach cologne dance throughout her senses.
"Speaking of.. we've been putting off this discussion. How do you feel about extending sessions indefinitely?"
“Indefinitely?”
“Yes. I picked up some new methods I’d like to try with you, but only if you’re ready to move forward.” O’Shea pondered a bit before nodding her agreeance.
“So how was your trip?” O’Shea asked as she curled up into a ball in his lap, much like a baby kitten. She watched his lips intensely as he licked them before beginning his explanation. He told her of the great palace and his royal lineage and of the delicious foods Wakanda has to offer, more specifically, the ice cream.
“Y’all have ube?”
“Mmhm and taro too,” he replies, noting how wide her eyes got. He learned of her obsession with the purple goodness on one of his random ice cream pop ups to the shop while she and Skylar were working.
“Is there Disney in Wakanda?”
“Not yet, but my little cousin is working on it,” he replies with a chuckle, brushing a curl behind her ear. “How were things around here while I was gone?”
“Quiet and a little boring, however, Skylar did get me into ganja yoga which is surprisingly really fun.” “Weed and yoga? Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good time,” Erik remarks as he stared down into her brown orbs. He’d forgotten how easy it was to get lost in them and for a second he was stuck staring. That was until her smile stretched into a sly smirk.
“What’s so funny?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You. You do this thing where you just stare at me and it used to make me think I had something on my face, but then Skylar told me that that’s what you do when you really like someone.” It was his turn to smile now, more so from embarrassment that his own best friend had revealed part of his secret.
“Wooow, it really be your own people,” he says, burying his nose in her hair. 
“So you do like me,” she exclaims, sitting up so that their eyes meet one another. Erik rubs his neck nervously before lifting his head to match her gaze.
“It’s complicated.” “Explain.” “It’s a long story.”
“I got time.”
“How did I know you would say that?”
“Because aside from Skylar, I’m the most difficult person in your life yet you trust me with your most guarded secrets.” “You sound pretty confident, Ms. Powell,” he says, growling her name lowly as a means of throwing her off her game. It worked briefly, but she quickly regained her resolve and moved to sit in front of him atop his desk while he explained his answer.” “Spill it, Stevens.” He watched her intently as she crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to continue. He watched her eyes and the rest of her body language waiting for a change, any indication that she wasn’t being genuine in wanting to know about his past, but there was none.
“I’ve only ever felt this strongly about two women in my life. The first was a girl I grew up with back in Wakanda. Her name as Lynda. She was the daughter of one of the merchant tribesmen and at the time, the center of my universe. We did everything together and had planned to marry one another. Our families approved, so in my eyes, things were good. Well, of course, I chose to go to college here in the states and we didn’t talk as often, but I still had it made up in my mind that we were gonna be together.” O’Shea listened intently as he continued his story.
 “So fast forward to Christmas break of my freshman year. I’m excited to see her again so I’m calling and texting her, but I’m not getting any response. I chunked it up to her being busy because Christmas is a big deal in Wakanda. When I got there, however, I found out that she’s married to a member of another tribe and she’s pregnant with his child. I was crushed and for a while, I ain’t gonna lie, I was a dog ass nigga. I wanted to make other women feel the way Lynda made me feel. Looking back, I know I was trash as fuck for that, but that’s how I felt in the moment. After that I stopped going home and a few months later I got a call from my aunt saying that she had passed away giving birth to her daughter, which she named Ericka.”
“I’m so sorry, Erik.”
“Don’t be, shit happens. I said all of that to say this, yes, I feel very strongly towards you and I want to give us a shot to see if we’d work out, but I’m also extremely apprehensive because of past experiences as well as the parameters of practice. I'm sure you see where I'm going with this.. Anyway, I'm not comparing you to Lynds and I'm not saying that you’d do the same, but I don’t want to make myself that vulnerable again only to have the same thing happen, you know?”
“I understand that completely,” O’Shea says with a nod as she gazes into Erik’s eyes. The sincerity and vulnerability in his eyes was something she hadn’t seen before and she was happy that he felt comfortable enough to reveal that side of him to her.
“One question?”
“Yes ma’am?”
“You said she named the child Ericka. Is she..?”
“I’d asked, but her father was adamant that she wasn’t. I’ve seen pictures and in my personal opinion, she’s the splitting image of her mother.” “Did you ask for a DNA test?” “The merchant tribe doesn’t believe in them. My aunt watches over her, though. Just in case she is one of us. Now, your turn. How do you feel?” O’Shea was taken aback at how quickly he changed the subject, but answered anyway.
“I feel a lot of things, to be honest. Having someone to acknowledge my little personalities and cater to each of their individual needs is something I’ve never experienced in a relationship and I’m happy that you were the first to not only accept them, but nurture them as well. I realize that it’s your job as a therapist, but it means a lot to me. On the same hand, I’m also apprehensive. Skylar said that you could get in trouble if the board found out about us.” Erik sighed softly. It was something he’d been considering ever since he realized that his feelings for O’Shea were more than professional and weren’t going away.
“I’ve thought about that and I have a solution. I’d stop being your therapist.” “But what about my treatment?” “You’d still be getting it, just not from me. Well not from me on paper.” “So you’d list Skylar as my therapist?”
“Yes, and she’d do the same for Oya if the two of them became serious. Small loopholes to ensure happiness,” he said with a wide grin which O’Shea happily returned.
“So what happens now?” she asked, sliding back into his lap.
“How about some ice cream?”
"As soon as I ask you ten more questions. So, you sound unsure of whether or not you're the father. Is that it? Or will you stay close?" 
"Partially, yes. However, I won’t continue to impede on their culture. As I said, my family does keep an eye on her in the event that she is mine.”
"Did you ever wish she was yours? Do you want children?" O'Shea asked. Erik sighed, thinking before he spoke. It was a complex question.
"Yes, when I was still in love with Lynda. Yes, when I was bitter. I wanted her to be mine out of spite, although I know that was childish. I actually wouldn't mind having kids and if something happened to her father, the merchant, I'd probably try again to see about having her tested. But that's really neither here nor there. She has a father."
O'Shea hesitated trying to think of another question as Erik waited patiently.
"No more questions?" He asked. O'Shea looked deeply into his eyes before standing from his lap.
"One more. Can we make it Coldstones?"
TAG LIST:
@vikkidc @thadelightfulone @sydneebleu @blktinkerbell @madamslayyy @chaneajoyyy @jozigrrl @thehomierobbstark @ @iamrheaspeaks @mareethequeen @forbeautyandlife @whatmoredoyouwantamericaa @blowmymbackout @wakanda-inspired @yaachtynoboat711 @nickidub718 @heyauntieeee @princessstevens @bakarilennox @xaviera108 @alexundefined @raysunshine78 @dameshaemonique @laketaj24 @youreadthatright @theogbadbitch @bugngiz @amirra88 @post-woke @im5ftbutmythroat66 @blackpinup22 @maya-leche @blessyd-bthyname @unholyxcumbucket @eclecticblkgirl @kissmyafropuff @rick-sosa @jennajai @allhailqueennel @killmongersbaby​ @eye-raq​ @thickemadame
89 notes · View notes
fangirlingincamouflage · 4 years ago
Text
265 Days of Drabbles: Day 13
Title: Dreams and Prophecy Author: Rosie Dayze Word Count: 2,503 Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Reader Story Rating: PG-13 Themes: Angst,  Comfort, Nightmares, super powers, Disclaimer I do not own Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, nor do I make any money off of this fanfic. Wanda is the property of Marvel/Disney. Author’s Note: This fanfic assumes that you have super powers, I used a random super power website to generate a power. I kind of love it. Also, out of all of my drabbles, this is the one I’d love to make into a multi-chapter fic.
Tumblr media
Things float when she dreams. For the first couple of weeks that you lived at the Avengers compound it was a little disconcerting. You'd roll over, half awake, and see that the glass of water you'd left on your nightstand was hovering steadily alongside your cell phone and that paperback you kept forgetting to read. Then, after nothing fell, or broke, or got slung into your face, you just decided that that's just the kind of thing that happens when a wall is all that separates your room from that of a witch.
Witch? Was it okay to call her that? It fit, certainly. But sometimes people kinda liked to make it sound like a bad thing. Sort of like, Inhuman, which, as it turns out, is exactly what you are. Not that you'd known that. You'd been going about life, mostly content with your lot in life. And then, one fateful day, your entire world changed. It had been such a small thing; inconsequential at the time, important in retrospect. Your life hadn't been in jeopardy. You weren't in the middle of some life-changing, traumatic event. You'd just been walking down the street, feeling a little lost, and wishing you could read the sign; if only it hadn't been so damn bright. And then, like magic, the light had shifted. You'd felt it like a tickle behind your eyes, a heat in the tips of your fingers. You'd chalked it up to a bit of sun-sickness and went about your way.
But then it had happened again. And again. Subtle shifts in light gave way to full-on apparations that depicted your daydreams. Nothing like everyone at work knowing that you were totally thinking about smooching that hotty from Game of Thrones.
It hadn't taken long for Tony Stark to find you, and bring you into the Avengers Homebase for testing. Light-Manipulation, he'd called it. The ability to bend, alter, and control the visible spectrum of light. He'd dubbed you The Illusionist, slapped an Avengers stamp on you and set you up at the compound. Your days were split into two parts. The first was training, where you learned how to test and push the limits of your Inhuman power. You learned how to bend light in such a way that you vanished from view. And how to change your appearance and those of others. Your strongest skill, however, was the ability to create believable, if soundless, projections. You were trained physically, and mentally, to withstand all the crap that might happen to you while opperating as a masked vigilante.
You'd been doing just fine (mostly) until they'd decided to set you up with Wanda as a training partner. The moment she'd walked into the room you'd felt your mouth go dry. Your knees went squishy. No one, you'd decided, should look that good in jeans and a T-shirt. But there she was, with her hair pulled back into a loose knot, and green eyes that seemed to stare directly into you.
"Alright," Natasha Romanoff had said. "Let's train."
You'd done terribly. Steve and Nat had taken the two of you out into the real world. He'd put you in a busy street and both you and Natasha had taken turns trying to sneak up on Wanda. The assumption, of course, was that your ability to cloak yourself, paired with the ability to bend the light to change your appearance, would make you excellent at espionage and tailing. Problem was, every time Wanda even kind of looked in your direction your concentration had cracked and you started to glow.
Glow. Seriously. Like a lightening bug. A big ol' nimbus that screamed 'look at me'.
Fan-tastic.
That had been two and a half weeks ago and you hadn't got much better. But Natasha had taken it upon herself to turn you into the best spy she could, and Steve wanted Wanda to be more aware of her surroundings. So the pair of you kept getting forced into situations together.
It was a surprise you got any sleep at all, you think as you watch the water cup continue to hover. You reach for your floating cell phone and check the time. It was almost six in the morning. Early enough that you could get back to sleep if you try, late enough that you know that someone in the compound is bound to be awake.
You don't notice the glass shaking until a drop of water fell unto your cheek. It is lukewarm and dibbles down your skin, leaving a line of sensitive skin in its wake. Curious, your eyes dart up. The water sloshes around in a tiny whirl inside the cup, like a miniature aquatic tornado. It shakes harder and harder. With a tell-tale creak, a growing crack appears to one side. You dive beneath your blanket just in time. With a glassy scream it shatters. The nearly forgotten paperback goes whirling through the room, slamming into your bedroom window. The drawers of your dresser slap and creak. High tech blinds, resistant to all kinds of damage according to Stark, bend and shake. Streaks of chaotic light illuminate your room.
Then, amidst the steadily growing pandemonium of your room, you hear the sound of Wanda's cries. Before you can even think you yank your blanket back and charge the nine steps to her door. It takes all of your strength to pull it open, revealing the living horror scene within.
You know what an inescapable nightmare looks like, and it's written all over her. She's kicked the blankets off and she is twitching and groaning. Her face is twisted up with sadness and pain. The room mirrors her fright. Drawers of red and black clothing have been tossed like phantoms across the floor. Belts slither around like snakes. Cracks decorate picture frames and glass. The bed creaks in protestation, like some great, invisible weight is pressing down on it.
"Wanda?" you take a careful step into the room, ducking as a shoe flies out of the closet. You put what training Natasha has given you to use and treat the room like an obstacle course with Wanda as the goal. With agility you didn't have three months ago you duck, bend, and weave. You kept your eyes fixed on her as you navigate your way past hair supplies and leather jackets. "Wanda!"
The bedsheet seems to spring to life as you approach. It billows and pulses like it is breathing. It seems to shimmer with the red light of her magic, casting strange and lovecraftian shadows across the walls and you. You wish, not for the first time, that your ability had granted you something that let you attack. The best you'd managed was blinding so that you could run away. that required, you know, eyes. Bedsheets were notorious for their lack of eyes.
"Come on, Wanda," you mutter to yourself. "Wake up."
The next sound she makes is so close to a tear-filled sob that you swallow your fear, dive through the creepy sheet, and land on her bed. Your knee jabs against her leg. The external pain jerks her up and out of sleep, another cry caught in her throat.
"Hey," you say as soothingly as you can manage, "it's okay. I'm right here."
She makes a confused sound. Without her magic everywhere, it is dark. At last, something you can fix. You feel the heat of your own power rise and fill you, and you send it out through the room, casting a soft warm glow across the bed. The light illuminates her too-pale face and sweat-soaked features. It's her eyes that bother you the most. Their green depths are filled with some haunted truth that you can't even begin to fathom.
"Are you okay?"
She blinks, and swallows. "What time is it?" her voice, tinged with Serbia, is cracked and dry.
"Early."
She looks around the room. Her confusion gives way to embarrassment. "I was dreaming."
"You could call it that if you want." You want to reach out, touch her, offer some paltry show of comfort. But you hesitate. You aren't sure what she was dreaming, or if she wants to be touched. You've been working with her for weeks, thought about her in ways you wouldn't even confide to yourself, but you can't bring yourself to close that single gap without some kind of invitation. “Did you want to talk about it?”
The light of your magic turns her green eyes to glass. They peer at you, cool and empty. It's a trick of hers that you've noticed, this ability to put on a mask of absolute nothingness. Usually, it fascinates you. Right then you saw it for what it really was; protection.
“I'm sorry that I woke you,”
“Don't worry about that. Can I get you anything?”
She looks away, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. A little color has returned to her cheeks, but not much. Not enough that you'd be comfortable leaving her with whatever thoughts are haunting her dreams.
“I live in Stark Tower.” She says it like a curse, like it's some ugly, terrible thing. Since you don't understand it, you stay quiet, letting her speak at her own pace. “Growing up, Stark meant bad. It meant pain and weapons and explosions.”
To be fair, growing up Stark meant pretty much the same thing to you. But as you watch the way she continues to look off into the distant light, caught up in the memories of what was, you realize that the difference is that Stark, and everything that his company had stood for, had been the shield you'd been behind, not the weapon at your throat.
“He's given that up.”
“Has he?” Her gaze flicked to yours, a red light gleaming out of their depths. “He still makes weapons, he just gives them names and costumes now.” Her hand was like a phantom slicing through the air, encompassing the room and the destruction therein.
“Oh...Wanda,” you whisper. This time you do reach out and touch her shoulder. She does not move away. “You aren't a weapon.”
“Oh? Then what am I?” Her lips formed a grim line of defiance as if daring you to disagree.
You could tell her. You could use every word you know for amazing and beautiful, but it still wouldn't express exactly how you see her. Wanda has too much beauty in too many facets to be relegated to a few words. So you do the only thing you can think of.
With one hand you smooth out the rumpled bed sheets. With the other you beckon what little light is in the room and you start to twist it. A city street forms, reminiscent of the one where the two of you were paired together to fight. You recreate the people walking, the street vendors and their wares. You add in the cars and their bumper-kissing traffic. Every detail about that day that you can remember, you recreate. Then, when everything is just right, you add in a woman walking down the street. She is dressed in a pair of boots, worn to perfection, and an aged leather jacket. Every step is like a dance. The swing of her violin shaped hips is like music. Even the way the breeze catches her hair is an aria to her beauty.
“Wow,” she whispers.
Encouraged, you shift the scene. You add yourself to the moment, leaning against a light post with your face half hidden by your phone. You let the scene pick up the way you watched her that day, the fact that you couldn't keep your eyes off her. The way that the moment she turned and spotted you everything seemed to fracture and fall apart. Then you show her the next time it had happened, and the next.
“You are powerful,” you say, lost in your display, “but that's not all you are. You are also talented, kind, and smart. You could take your power and use it to rule the world ten times over, but instead, you sign up with the one and the only group that's trying their best to keep this planet spinning.” Your illusion shifts, focuses on her face. The rendering is nearly perfect. The way her eyes can go from flat and empty to angry to amused. The way her nose crinkles when she laughs. The flutter of her hair around the roundness of her lips. Every detail that has driven you mad in recent weeks. You don't even think about how honest you are being until she reaches out and touches your wrist. Her skin is cool against yours. Again, your phantom play shatters.
“I know,” she says softly, though there is an impish tilt to her lips. “I've known for a while.”
The way she says 'know' leaves no room for guessing her meaning. “Guess I've been kind of obvious. You make it hard to concentrate when we practice.”
“It's not that,” she answers. There is a softness to her. All that fear and self-doubt have evaporated. “Did you know that sometimes you bend light while you sleep?”
“Oh...oh no.” You hide your face suddenly behind your hands. Considering all of the dreams you've had about Wanda, you can only assume that she knows way too much. “I am so sorry.”
Her hand slides down your arm, tugging lightly until your fingers drop away from your face. When you open your eyes she is much closer than she had been, mere inches away. The red of her magic is shimmering around her.
“You came to my rescue tonight,” she says.
“I-”
She places a finger on your mouth, silencing you.
“I've always been the one saving others.”
She closes the distance between you slowly. You forget what it's like to breathe. or think, as her mouth presses ever so lightly against your own. Her hair brushes against your cheeks as she tilts her head, the soft press of her tongue slides against yours. You hear a moan, and are surprised when you realize it's coming from you. But when she returns the sound you melt into that kiss.
You shift your weight, pushing her down to the bed, riding her to the mattress in a slow, controlled motion. Her hand skips down your back as you taste her. The feel of her thighs wrapping around your hips sends electricity running to all the places that you like.
“Wow,” you whisper when you finally manage to pull away.
“I've been wondering.” She takes your hand, bringing your fingers to her lips, kissing the tip of each one in succession. “That heat that you give off when you do your projections...can you do that anytime?”
The weight of her words hits you like a hammer. “Well, there's really only one way to find out.”
2 notes · View notes
wheremytwinwatches · 4 years ago
Text
[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 6
Road Trip! Since the Elric’s need repairs (mostly Ed, since normally I think he could fix most anything with his Alchemy, but without his arm he can’t do it), they’re off to visit Winry. Let’s get started!
Narrator’s talking about how Scar went after Ed, and how our little baby was ready to accept death (cue heartbreaking shot of Al struggling to get up and stop him), but Colonel Roy Mustang intervened (or rather, Riza saved the Colonel's life and The Mighty Armstrong distracted Scar). The Elric Brothers realized the joy of being alive and were filled with Determination and decide to head home for a patch job. Episode 06: “Road of Hope” About time we had an optimistic episode, these last few have been depressing as all getout. Camera pans over a train-station (what, no [chugga chugga choo choo] caption? You disappoint me, show), Hughes raps on the window to Ed’s car to get his attention. The rest of Eastern Command were tied up with work, so the Lt. Colonel came by in their place. Ed’s grateful, but- YESSSSSSSSS! The post-credits didn’t lie, The Mighty Major Armstrong is indeed “sharing” a bench with Ed. And may I say that the man cleans up nice, that is a snazzy suit. Hughes says that The Mighty Armstrong’s there for protection, in case Scar comes after him again. Ed’s in no shape to fight, and hey that’s a nice touch, showing Ed’s empty sleeve wave around when he takes offense at being called a child. Speaking of, where’s the little brother? Oh. Oh my Leto. You stuck him in a box with the sheep?! Why?! Ok ok, maybe a half-wrecked suit of armor wouldn’t really fit in among the other passengers. But sticking him with livestock? Really? “I thought he might get lonely without a little company. *sparkle*” ...you are just the most peculiar mix of sense and cluelessness, aren’t you Armstrong? I mean, you’re not wrong, but still. Sheep, dude. One final salute between the three, and the train’s off. Away through the picturesque landscape we go, Armstrong reading while Ed takes a nap. The train makes a stop, Ed’s just starting to wake up when Armstrong notices someone walk by the train and crushes Ed in getting out the window. A Doctor Marcoh? Marcoh… does not look very happy to see Armstrong, goes sprinting away. Look, I know the guy can be a bit bombastic sometimes, that’s a bit of an overreaction. Armstrong says that he’s a talented State Alchemist from Central, who was researching into possible medical applications of Alchemy. But after the Ishvalan Civil War, he went missing? Like, he defected, or retired? Ed insists on disembarking, as a doctor might know some useful things about bio-alchemy. Fingers crossed it doesn’t end up like the last bio-alchemist they visited. The State Alchemists are in the city now, seems Armstrong’s the one carting around Al In A Box. They’re looking for Marcoh by showing a picture of the man, one that Armstrong drew? I’m as surprised as Ed that Armstrong’s such a good artist. Strong, a skilled Alchemist, reader, and now an artist? Is there nothing that The Mighty Armstrong cannot do? Ah, of course, “the art of portraiture has been passed down through the Armstrong family for generations.” The townsman they’re questioning says it looks like a Dr. Mauro to him. All the town’s previous doctors got drafted for the Civil War, but afterwards Dr. Mauro came. Further interviews with the townsfolk are all positive, about how he’ll see anyone and heal them with a big flash of light. Sounds like alchemy to me. Ed and Armstrong (and Al, he’s been pretty quiet so far) arrive at a house, Ed goes to knock on the door- What the Leto, dude?! Ed just opened the door, and Marcoh shot at him! He stands there with gun shaking, ranting that he won’t go back, that they’re here to silence him. Armstrong tries to calm him down. Then when that doesn’t work he flattens him with Al’s crate, to Ed’s displeasure. Now the four are sitting around a table, Armstrong’s talking about how when Marcoh left he took top-secret material with him. So he did defect? Marcoh says he couldn't handle it anymore, order or no order to “dirty his hands researching that thing”... What “thing”? Ed has the same question. The Philosopher’s Stone! Houston, we have confirmation that it exists! Marcoh took his research documents, and the stone itself. Does he have it?! Uh, dude? That’s a vial of liquid. You understand the difference between a solid and a liquid, right? Oh. OH. “The Sage’s Stone, The Grand Elixir. The Celestial Stone. The Red Tincture. The Fifth Element” The Stone is supposed to ‘create’ a liquid that grants eternal life, isn’t it? Along with the whole “lead into gold” thing. Nobody ever said that it was a solid, did they? Marcoh’s saying that just as the Stone has many names (Ed, don’t poke it! That’s a highly powerful substance!) it can take on many forms. But it’s not a complete product? Ah, so this liquid is an imperfect Stone, amplifying power but still having a limit. Like Cornello’s Stone, able to amplify his power but still fracturing in the end. Ed seizes on this knowledge, demanding access to the research materials. Marcoh is taken aback, and further shocked when Armstrong explains that his “child” is a State Alchemist. He tries to explain how many State Alchemists turned in their certifications after the War, and now a child… Ed insists that he has no choice, that if it’s a mistake then it’s a mistake that he has to make. Now the doctor’s examining Al, remarking how incredible it was that Ed could transmute Al’s soul. Maybe Ed does have the skills to produce a complete Stone. But still, Marcoh refuses to show his research and continue the Devil’s research. Not even Ed exclaiming that he’s already been through Hell can change the doc’s mind, who finally asks them to leave. Sad faces all around, the three SA’s walking away while Marcoh sits on a bed and thinks over Ed’s last words. At the train station waiting for their ride, Armstrong asks why Ed didn’t take the Stone from the doc, even if it was incomplete. Ed says he wanted it, but he and Al agree that they don’t want it badly enough to deprive the town of their only doctor. Aw, they’ve still got their empathy! And hey, we know now that it’s possible to make different forms of the Stone, the Elrics’ possibilities have expanded considerably. At least some good’s come out of this. And Armstrong’s not going to report back to Central? “I met a simple, small-town doctor today. I can’t see any real reason to report that.” Good for you, Armstrong! Oh hey, Marcoh’s here! And he’s handing over a map to his materials? This day keeps getting better! Doc wishes them luck, hoping that they will be able to restore their bodies. ...ok, what’s the catch? Way too much is going right for our characters. Is Marcoh secretly evil, setting up an ambush with the Goths? Did he already destroy his research out of guilt from the War? Will they find it, only to decipher a recipe for Ovaltine? What’s the catch? According to the note, the research is stored in the National Central Library. That’s not a bad place, one book in what I assume is a huge library would be difficult. But they have a clue now! Marcoh gets home, sighs- aw crap! Lust! I was kidding about a Goth ambush earlier, don’t tell me he actually is working for them! Well. I’m guessing this is the last we’ll see of the poor doctor. Sorry buddy! Now we’re at a familiar house, Automail sign out front. Granny, who I guess is actually Pinako based on the captions but I’ll keep calling Granny, calls for Winry who’s working away at a desk. At a mention of their “best customer”, Winry looks up. Outside, Ed and Al are greeting Granny, who just asks what they’ve done now. A common occurrence, this? Ed introduces the Major as- hey, the dog has an Automail left leg! That’s a neat touch! Armstrong’s shaking hands with Granny, then she steps back and remarks that it’s been a while, but Ed’s gone and grown- smaller. Hah! Still getting in the height jokes, eh Granny? But why would she say something so clearly untrue? Ed starts shouting-
Seems like Ed needs to work on the Five D’s. Here’s Winry! Yelling about how Ed’s supposed to call first when he’s heading back for maintenance. Hey Winry, looking good! Still got the aim from Episode 2 I see. She’s happy to see Ed again, even as Ed grouses about his head.
Uh oh, Winry is no longer happy when she sees the damage to her work. “A little smashed up” is a bit of an understatement, Ed. Winry is shaking in fury over her creation- wow, really Ed? “It’s basically the same; it’s just in smaller pieces.” Yeah, like you’ll be if you don’t stop antagonizing your mechanic, Ed! Winry gives that line the only response she can, and while Ed groans on the floor she asks Al how he’s doing, what trouble they’ve gotten into. Then she goes and kicks the Giant Suit of Armor in the helmet, sending Al down with Ed. Yeah, I gotta agree with you Armstrong. Best to sit quietly and drink your coffee. Granny’s checking Ed over, seems he needs adjustments to his leg too. Cue height teasing from Winry. But the arm’s busted, that’ll have to be built from scratch. Ed asks if it can be done in a week, Granny asks for him to give them some credit, says three days. Three days to build a new mechanical arm? I like this setting! Until then, Ed’ll make do with a spare leg. Winry gripes a little bit about this taking three all-nighters, but says since they need to get to Central ASAP she’ll work her butt off for them! (Aw, Ed’s blushing!) She does expect a fortune in rush order fees. Outside- well, Armstrong appears to subscribe to the Steve Rogers School of Log Splitting.
And we are treated to some magnificent shots of Armstrong at work as Al sits quietly, watching chickens. Taking the wood inside (come on Granny, turn around. You don’t know what you’re missing!), Armstrong asks where Ed’s hanging, seems he’s gone to visit Mama Elric. Shots of peaceful village music and shepherds waving to Ed, as Granny asks the Major what kind of lives the brothers are living. Aw, you guys don’t even send them letters? Come on, stay in better touch with the Rockbells! Armstrong remarks how Ed and Al are well known for their Alchemy, even in Central. And sometimes that gets them in trouble. But they’re strong boys, and Granny agrees. Awwww! It’s a picture of the Baby Blonds! Baby Winry’s dragging a surprised Al and begrudging Ed in for a picture, a smiling Mama Elric and stoic Granny behind them. That’s adorable. Granny goes on to explain to Armstrong that she’s been watching them ever since they were born, as a friend of the family. Their absent father was even a drinking pal of hers! But one day he “up and left the village, abandoning his wife and sons.” Why? Granny doesn’t even know if he’s still alive. (Mysterious Father continues to be Mysterious. And there’s the picture of the Elric family, the dad’s face covered up. Rude.) Then Armstrong asks about Winry’s parents. Ah, so this is how it was done in the manga? We know from Brotherhood’s second episode that they died in the war, but I guess this is when Armstrong learns as the audience surrogate. We do learn that they both were surgeons. Granny mentions that it’s time for supper, overrides Armstrong’s polite refusal by saying that food tastes better with guests, and adding one more person won’t be any inconvenience. Then Armstrong asks about the house that the Elrics grew up in. It’s gone, since- wait, they burned it down? “My guess is they did it because with no house to come home to, there could be no turning back.” Later that night, Ed gets back- GAH! Emotional Armstrong! Moved by the tale of the Elric Brothers, The Mighty Armstrong embraces the poor boy, who struggles to escape as Al, Granny, and Winry look on. “What unyielding love to try and bring your mother back to life! *sparkle* What a tremendous sacrifice to give up your arm in order to transmute your brother’s disembodied soul! *sparkle* What determination to burn down your own house…! To make sure… there was no retreat! *sparkle sparkle sparkle* Come Edward! *strip* Allow me to offer you this comforting embrace!” “Just stay back! Don’t rub your chest on me!” ...stay awesome, Armstrong. Next morning Ed stumbles out of bed to a buzzing sound, sees Winry working away at her table. Ed heads over and compliments her working so hard in the morning- “Been up all night.” Later, heads over saying she must be almost do- “One more all nighter.” Next day, Ed skulks up, looks around curiously until Winry gets fed up and tosses him out. Al, Ed, and Robo-Dog are all outside resting on the grass, Al counseling Ed to be patient while the older brother waves his arm and legs in frustration at knowing there’s a clue out there. Then winry comes out, new arm all ready to go! Inside, Ed’s grimacing while Winry and Granny count down, grits his teeth when the new limbs are attached. Guess it’s painful for the nerves to connect like that. Ed’ll be happy to kiss that pain goodbye when they get the Philosopher’s Stone, Granny says she’ll be sad to lose her biggest source of income. Meanwhile Winry… has an Armstrong Moment over the perfection of her automail. “Crazy gearhead.” “You’re lost without me, alchemy freak.” Mechanical Engineering versus Chemical Engineering! Fight! Ed does some flexes, as Winry talks about how she used a higher percentage of chrome to prevent rusting. Nice, functional and decorative! Although it won’t be quite as strong, so he shouldn’t do anything too crazy- too late Winry, he’s already out the door to fix Al. Armstrong’s asking if Ed can really fix Al right there, Ed says he can do it, but he has to be sure not to mess up the symbol inside the armor that binds Al to it. One hand-clap later, and the Giant Fanged Suit of Armor is good as new! The brothers have a little practice spar, and agree to leave for Central first thing the next day. That night, Ed’s snoring away on the couch, Al griping that he’s sleeping with his stomach out again. Granny jokes that Al’s the older one, to which he just says that someone has to look out for Ed. Winry brings a blanket over, and we get established ages of fourteen for Al and fifteen for Ed. Man, how long has Al been trapped in that armor? So much of his life, stuck in metal. Winry remarks that someone as young and small as Al… can be used as a human weapon. Winry, that’s not funny! That’s depressing! I thought I told you to be funny again, show! Now Al’s formally thanking Winry and Granny, always welcoming them like they’re really family. And Ed may not say it, but he feels the same way. “Granny… Winry… thank you.” Yup, right there with you, Armstrong. Right in the feels. Ed and Al are heading out now, Granny’s there to see them off. Winry’s not, since she’s stayed up three nights in a row. Now that’s dedication to your craft. The State Alchemists make to leave, Granny tells the boys to come back for dinner sometime, and Sleepy Winry waves goodbye from the balcony. Ed turns away and rubs his head before waving back. Say goodbye to Winry directly, you fool! Eh, whatever. I’ll badger him about my ship later. Credits! Aw, that was a sweet episode, nice respite from the downers of the last few. I mean, it wasn’t completely sunshine, I’m pretty sure that Marcoh won’t be making another appearance and we had to revisit the absence of Papa Elric and Winry’s parents. But overall, very nice. And you’ll never hear me complain about more Armstrong. Next time! Wait, nevermind. Back to Sleepy Winry walking down the stairs, complaining that she slept through almost the entire day and now she needs to clean up after human-tornado Ed. Then she finds a screw? “Whoopsy?” Uh oh. Don’t tell me Ed’s gonna lose his arm again next episode? You do realize he’s getting into combat, right? Or does she? I mean, they don’t tell the Rockbells what they’re up to. Now, Next time! “Doctor Marcoh’s notes on the Philosopher’s Stone were indeed in the place he said. But nothing is ever that easy. Unfortunately for the Elrics the Enemy is always one step ahead, leading the boys ever deeper into the maze of “truth within the truth.” Next time, on Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood-” Episode 07: “Hidden Truths.” “The only way to reach the destination is to never turn away.”
2 notes · View notes
magmasliveblogs · 5 years ago
Text
1.12
aaaaaaaaaaand im back with the 14th chapter! irl stuff is semi dealt with so i have time for the three updates! to recap: last chapter was an interlude, where we discovered erin was summoned as part of some ritual to summon heroes. only one group was actually summoned to the ritual site, with the rest being summoned across the world. to recap the last actual chapter, erin saved pisces from execution by withdrawing her testimony of him being a [necromancer] 
Erin woke up. Generally this was an ordeal. Today however, it was fairly easy. Because the real ordeal would come later.
Such as right after breakfast. Erin stared glumly at the three shriveled blue fruits on her plate. She bit the first experimentally and chewed. And chewed. And chewed.
“Rubbery.”
It was incredibly difficult to chew the fruits. The skin on these ones were so tough to bite into, it did remind Erin of eating rubber. Not that she’d ever done that since she was a baby.
Plus, they’d lost their delicious juices and tasted—well, flat. There was no sweetness left in them, and they were quite, quite unappetizing when you put all these qualities together. But Erin ate them, mainly because she had nothing left to eat.
“I’m in trouble. Yup, yup.”
It wasn’t that she was out of blue fruits. There were plenty—well, some—still ready to be harvested from the orchard. But they, like all food, were in limited supply. Besides, the issue wasn’t that. It was her guests.
“Who’d want to eat blue fruits all day? Raise your hand if that sounds like fun.”
Erin didn’t raise her hand. Granted, they were tasty and made a good fruit drink, but when you got down to it, they were still just fruits.
“And I want food. Real food. Not fruit. I want bread! I want pasta! I want pizza and soda and salad and ice cream—actually forget the ice cream. I need meat. Or fish that doesn’t bite back! I want sushi, cheeseburgers and fries, toast, waffles…cereal…”
Erin pressed her hands to her rumbling stomach and tried not to cry.
“Even instant ramen would be nice. Is that too much to ask?”
It was. She knew that. But just thinking about the food made her tear up a bit. She could handle Goblins. She could deal with rude Necromancers and fight off evil rock-crabs. She could even handle giant fish that tried to nibble on her when she took a bath. But she wanted food.
“Plus, I need to feed my guests.”
Erin nodded. The math was simple. No food = no guests = no money = starvation. But the little flaw in the equation was that in order to get the food, she’d need to spend the money. And she had no way of doing that.
“Unless I go to the city.” 
finally! we are going to the city! its been so long since she initially noticed it! 
Now, that was a thought. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thought, but it was the only option she had available. The city. Erin went to the window. Relc had shown her where it was…
“There.”
Erin stared at the small buildings in the distance. It looked far. But then, everything looked far around here. And the city would have things. Like food. And clothing. And toothbrushes. Still, Erin didn’t want to go.
“It’s far. But I have to go. Maybe? Yes…no. No? Yes. I need food. And I need to feed my guests. It’s my duty as an innkeeper.”
She paused and thought about that last statement. Erin collapsed into a chair and cradled her head in her hands.
“Am I an innkeeper? Is that what this world is doing to me?”
Maybe. It was probably the [Innkeeper] class.
“Soon I’ll grow a huge beer belly and start hauling around kegs of ale. That’s what innkeepers do, right?”
She didn’t actually know. It wasn’t as if she’d ever paid that much attention to medieval history, at least the parts that were actually history.
“They never mentioned innkeepers in the legend of King Arthur. Or did they?”
There was no Google to help her so Erin abandoned that train of thought. Really, she was distracting herself. The problem she was facing was simple.
“To go to the city or not, that is the question. Actually, there’s no question. I need to go to the city. I need to go…shopping.”
Shopping. It would be a lot more appealing if she wasn’t trying to buy things to survive. But it had to be done. She knew it.
Still. Erin really, really didn’t like that idea. She liked people, she really did. But she had a negative reaction to A: leaving her safe inn, and B: travelling to a far off city probably full of giant lizards and insects that walked on two feet.
erin. its the difference between being uncomfortable and being dead. i know that being alive is much better than being dead 
Glumly, she stared at the three sticky blue fruit cores on her plate. She walked outside and threw them as far as she could. The juices left her hands feeling unpleasantly sticky, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.
“Guess I’ve gotta go to the stream. Who knew washing your hands was so much work?”
Erin grumbled as she wiped her hand on her jeans. Then she paused. And looked down.
Her jeans were blue. The blue fruit juice was blue. But against all odds, the blue stain still showed up quite visibly on her clothing. Or rather, the blue fruit stains. And they weren’t just on her pants.
Erin’s shirt was a nice, commercial t-shirt with a lovely company logo on the front and back. Really, she wasn’t that attached to it, but it was perfect to wear when she was just staying at home. It wasn’t her choice of clothing.
…Which was good, because Erin would have cried if she’d inflicted the same damage on a t-shirt she really liked. She gazed down at the blue stains covering her shirt. She poked at the rips and cuts on the sleeves and the burn marks on one side. She lifted the shirt, sniffed once, and gagged.
For the first time Erin felt at her hair. She raised a hand and smelled her breath. She thought about the last time she’d brushed her teeth, taken a bath, or even used soap. Then she tried to shut down her mind.
“Well, that settles that. I’m off to the city.”
good that we are finally going, but i do find it kinda funny that its her hygiene thats the last straw 
Erin walked through the grass. She wished there was a nice road to follow, but for some reason no one bothered to pave a road through the empty wilderness. Come to that, she wondered again why anyone would build an inn in the middle of nowhere.
Maybe there used to be more people in the area. Or maybe there was just an idiot who thought he was breaking into an untapped market. Either way, Erin was grateful for the inn.
“But why does it have to be so far away from anything?”
Erin walked down the slope. At least there was that. The inn was located on an incline. Not a steep hill, but a really long slope that gradually went down the more she walked. It was nice, until Erin looked back and realized she’d be climbing up all that way again soon.
“Wow. That’s a big hill.”
She stared for a while and kept walking. Relc and Klbkch had called the journey to the city a walk of about twenty minutes.
“They lied to me.”
Or maybe they just walked really fast. Erin could actually see the city Klbkch had called Liscor in the distance. It was still small, but given how close it seemed now compared to before and multiplying her velocity by her legs and given energy divided by her willingness to keep walking…
“Thirty minutes. No; probably an hour. Yeah, that sounds about right.”
Erin sighed. But exercise was good for her, right? It built character. Or something.
perhaps the guards have movement/speed related skills? or are they just taller/have longer strides 
“So, what do I need?”
She took a quick inventory check. Her coins were securely packed into the bottom of one pocket. They were heavy. She had her clothes on, which was important, and she looked like…well, like a homeless person. But she had money. So what should she buy with it?
“Um. Clothing. Right. And soap. And a toothbrush, if they have toothbrushes. And toothpaste…which they probably don’t have. But something. And I need food obviously, soap, towels, laundry deter—more soap, and a comb.”
Erin walked a few more feet.
“And a sword. I need a sword. And a shield? And armor? And uh, anti-Goblin spray? Oh, and books! Tons of books. Maps, history books…can I read any of that? Well, Relc and Klbkch speak English. So that’s weird too. And I need bandages, a sewing needle, someone to teach me how to sew…”
Erin felt at her pocket. The coins jingled. She wished there were more to jingle.
“And I need to rob a bank.”
Okay. Erin retraced her thoughts.
“What’s essential?”
She counted off on her fingers.
“Clothing. Food. Toothbrush. Soap. And a lamp.”
She snapped her fingers.
“Right. A lamp! And a sword.”
She felt at her pocket.
“…Just the lamp.”
you are not rich erin, you cant afford a sword and all that stuff.  
Flat grass, flat grass, all I see is flat grass.”
Erin sang as she walked. She wasn’t sure if there was a tune, but at least the singing kept her company.
“Horses eat grass, but I’ll pass, so I’ll go to the city fast. Or I’ll die of starvation! And once I’m there I’ll eat ten pears and—hey, is that a Goblin?”
Erin turned her head suddenly and the small head ducked down. She squinted. Yes, that was definitely a Goblin. It was hiding up on a small hill to her left, but she knew it was still there. Watching her.
Well. She was being followed. Erin wasn’t sure what to make of that. She looked around and two more heads disappeared as their owners dove for cover. They didn’t look like they were trying to ambush her, just follow her.
“Hm.”
Erin bent down and searched the grass. Eventually she found what she was looking for. She waited until one of the Goblins decided she’d forgotten about them and poked his head up again. Then she turned and shouted.
“Shoo!”
Erin hurled the rock. It missed the Goblin’s head. And the hill. But the green midget took the hint and disappeared in an instant. Erin sighed to herself.
“Great. They’re like cockroaches. Evil, giant, green cockroaches. With teeth. And sharp knives. And red eyes.”
She wondered what she should do. Then she thought about what she could actually do.
Erin kept walking.
The city kept getting larger the further she walked. She felt at some point it should stop getting bigger, but soon the buildings loomed in her vision. They were no skyscrapers, but they were taller than she felt medieval buildings should be. But the city was still far away. So she walked.
And she was being watched. Multiple pairs of eyes stared at the young woman as she walked through the grass. They watched her for signs of weakness, for things that could be exploited. She was watched. Occasionally she turned around and threw a stone.
goblins! goblins are watching! 
When Erin got to the city gates she stared up for a while.
“That’s a big wall.”
It was a big understatement. The wall was high. And that was high even by wall standards. It was nearly forty feet tall, which Erin had no way of knowing was perfectly normal for a wall. She had no way of knowing it was forty feet tall either. She just thought it was big.
But what was unusual about this particular wall, and what Erin did notice was the way the gate was constructed. It was no iron grating of a portcullis with handy holes to shoot and poke at enemies, but two solid metal doors. Erin wondered why, as the gates looked solid and hard to budge. They were, and for a reason. But she didn’t find out that reason until much later.
hmm, large plains, solid doors, everything is built on hills. does this area flood often? 
Erin approached the gate. There wasn’t really anyone else going through at the moment, so she felt very alone and small as she walked up to them. She stopped when she saw the guard.
He was big. He was armored. He was also a Drake, and he had yellow scales rather than green ones. Pale yellow, so Erin was reminded of popcorn. He also had a curved sword, and so it was with trepidation that she approached.
“…Hi.”
The Drake flicked his eyes down towards Erin and then resumed looking off into the distance. He was holding a spear at his side and a metal buckler on his left arm. Since he wasn’t using either to bash her to death, Erin considered this to be a good first start.
“Um. Nice weather, isn’t it?”
Again, the guard glanced at her. Again, he didn’t respond.
“…Right. It’s just that I’m new here. And I’m Human. Nice to meet you. My name is Erin. I uh, know another guy who works with you. Relc? And Klb…Klb…the insect guy? So yeah. They know me. I’m no threat. And uh, I saw some Goblins running around a while back. They’re not here right now, but I felt you should know.”
The Drake sighed audibly. And loudly.
just, ugh. i would normally skip this interaction because i dont like awkward scenes like this, but its very short 
“Go on in, Human. Anyone can enter the city.”
“Right. Thanks. Uh, have a nice day!”
Erin smiled. He didn’t smile back.
“I’ll just be going. Now.”
She walked past the guard. As she walked through the iron gates she heard him mutter under his breath.
“Humans.”
see? 
Erin’s smile froze a bit on her face but she kept walking as if she’d heard nothing. Everyone was grumpy when they had to stand and deal with obnoxious tourists. And besides, he was just a guard. She walked through the imposing gates into the city. And then she had to stop.
Because she had entered Liscor. A city of the fiery Drakes, built with the help of the industrious Antinium. Home to the prideful Gnolls and the occasional Beastkin, not to be confused with one another. Visited by many races, home to countless more. And now entering—
One human.
oo gnolls! that means dog/hyena people, yes? also beast kin! this probably mean other animal people. 
also, this is the end of the chapter! will erin experience a good bit of racism? is there a reason humans arent that common in the area? are these plains flood plains? 
see you on the next post! ive got to eat so after that i shall post the next two chapters 
2 notes · View notes
zoadgo · 6 years ago
Text
Kinktober Day Eleven | Object Insertion | Literally | Murphy x Raven | The 100
Words: 2897
Tags: Object Insertion, Anal Sex, Rimjob, Inappropriate use of mechanic’s tools, Questionable Sanitation, Questionable consent, Rough sex, No climax, Semi-public sex
Note that this is a kinktober prompt fill. It will be explicit smut, and quite likely, kinky. Mind the tags.
ao3
Raven can fix almost anything. She knows this, and unfortunately, so does everyone else. Which means she doesn’t get any time off, because there’s not enough people who know what they’re doing to repair all the broken stuff around Arkadia. Even when she tries to make herself scarce like she did today, someone manages to find her and tell her they broke the rover. Again.
It’s a damn good thing the rover bay is empty when she gets there, because Raven is annoyed enough to have snapped at anyone just for looking at her. She’s been working flat out for weeks, doing more than most, nevermind her leg which wakes her up with phantom pains most nights. She’s exhausted, in constant pain, stressed, and based on the telltale cramping she’d woken up with this morning, PMSing as well.
Lord have mercy on anyone who gets in her way today.
She manages to work out a bit of her frustration against the rover, throwing tools and wrenching parts around with more force than is strictly necessary, cursing vehemently under her breath the whole time. By the time she’s got the biggest problems mended, Raven is almost in control of her anger. But then she sees an oil leak and a wrecked tire, and that goes to hell.
She’s just about to curse both the parents and the descendants of whoever the hell had messed up her baby so bad when the thud of boots announces the approach of someone, moments before they open the door. Raven whips her head around, expecting another emergency, but finding only a new annoyance.
“Go away, Murphy,” Raven says without any hesitation, grabbing rags and patching materials to try and at least slap a bandaid on that oil leak.
“My, my, she’s feisty today,” Murphy drawls as he completely ignores her words, strolling further into the room as if he owns the place. Not that it’s off limits or anything, but still, it feels like an invasion of her privacy.
Which, it occurs to Raven as she opens her mouth to tell him off, is probably exactly Murphy’s intent. Little attention hog, he knows the best way to get anyone to talk to him around here is to piss them off. Him and Raven get along better than most - sometimes she might even call them friendly - but today she has no patience for his shit. So she does the best thing she can think of; closes her mouth, lays down under the rover, and ignores him.
“What, no smart response? Come on, Reyes, you’re letting me down,” Murphy sighs dramatically.
“Do you actually need something?” Raven grumbles, wiping oil away to see what the issue is. A small crack, nothing she can’t handle, but that doesn’t change the fact that she shouldn’t have to handle it in the first place. She’s told those drivers a million times, this thing is tough, but it’s made for slogging through gunfire, not ripping off road. Once upon a time, maybe, but the rover is a patch job just like everything else around here.
“Nah, I’m just bored. Didn’t feel like mopping today.”
Raven bites back her indignant response to that. He didn’t feel like it, so he just didn’t do it? Why does Murphy, who has no real skills other than pissing people off, get to live like that, and she doesn’t? She tries all the damn time, and it just gets taken advantage of. It’s not like she could just say no, it would kill her to see someone else butcher her work.
Raven bites her tongue and shoves a rag into the leak to seal it while she preps the area for a patch. She should weld one on, but honestly, she’s not sure the substrate would tolerate the stress of a full thickness metal patch. So it really will just have to be a bandaid, then, metal bonding adhesive and some metal-fiber patching material. It won’t hold up that well, but if people just stop using the rover like a punching bag, it’ll do until someone can salvage a better part for her.
“Wow, you really are in a mood. Not even going to tell me to leave you alone again?” Murphy pointing out her sour temper does absolutely nothing to help the situation. “You wanna talk about it?”
While his words may not be the worst, his tone is entirely patronizing. Raven closes her eyes and breathes in the thick scent of old motor oil, calming herself. Sort of. She’s calmer than before, but definitely not actually under control. She grits her teeth, bonding one side of the patch. She’ll have to be quick about it, before the oil leak starts again and ruins the prep work she’s done.
Raven coats the remaining edges of the patch with adhesive, swipes the rag out and slaps the material in place in a heartbeat. She breathes on it, heat activating the bond, using the proximity to inspect for any leaks. She doesn’t see any, although she’s distracted by the sounds of Murphy rifling through her stuff. Her teeth creak as she grinds them. He knows how to get a rise out of her at the best of times, and this is not the best of times.
The patch looks good, so Raven pushes out from under the rover with a heavy sigh. Just gather up the tools for the wheel, swap it out, and keep ignoring Murphy.
Come on, Raven, you can do this.
Her mental pep talk works until she sees the mess Murphy made of her workbench, and that he’s twirling one of the tools she needs in his hands as if it’s a toy. Raven stalks over, grabbing everything else she needs before turning on Murphy.
“Hand it over,” she demands, holding her hand out. Murphy raises an eyebrow at her, scoffing and walking away, not a care in the world.
“So you’re talking to me now, huh?”
“Not if I can help it,” Raven mutters under her breath, depositing her tools and the spare tire next to the rover. When she turns back, Murphy’s looking at her, almost sadly.
“Come on, Raven, this is no fun. You’re gonna burn yourself out like this,” Murphy points out, shaking the wrench at her as he speaks.
Okay, maybe he’s right. But he shouldn’t say it, because Raven doesn’t want to hear it. She wants to get this done with and go back to her room and be miserable. Granted, imagining killing Murphy is taking her mind off of her cramps and other things, but still.
“I swear to god Murphy, if you don’t hand me that torque wrench right now, I’m going to take it, and I’m gonna shove it where the sun don’t shine,” Raven growls, advancing on Murphy who simply smirks.
“That’s more like it! But be careful, Reyes, or I might think you’re sweet on me, making promises like that.”
Murphy twirls the wrench in question in his grip again, and Raven grinds her teeth. God, of all the people on all the days to try her patience…
“Don’t let your mouth write checks your ass can’t cash,” Raven cautions, and Murphy shakes the tool at her sternly.
“Hey, I’ll have you know my ass is perfectly capable of cashing any and all checks.”
He probably means it as a joke, just more of their back and forth bickering that he seems to enjoy so much, but it causes a mental image to spring up in Raven’s mind. Murphy, bent over, being drilled mercilessly until he can’t talk shit anymore- Raven shakes her head to clear her mind of the image, blaming it on her fluctuating hormones.
“Give me the torque wrench, Murphy,” Raven grits out through her teeth, taking slow, even breaths against her anger.
“Nah.”
His flippant reply is the absolute last straw for her. Raven lunges, and Murphy retreats quickly in his surprise. Too quickly, for someone who doesn’t know the layout of the room as well as Raven does; he stumbles back into her workbench, materials clattering to the floor.
“Shit!” Murphy yelps, dropping the wrench and spinning around to try and catch things before even more falls to the ground. The mess does nothing to help with Raven’s fury, and the sight of him bent over the table does nothing for the images in her head.
She scoops up the torque wrench from the ground with a disgusted sigh, mostly at herself. She shouldn’t even be considering this. It’s Murphy, and sure, maybe they’ve fooled around a few times when moonshine is involved. Maybe even once or twice when it’s not. But it’s always Murphy panting after her like a desperate dog, not her pressing up against him, mouth hovering next to his ear.
She does so, despite her better judgement, tapping the wrench on the back of his neck. Murphy goes entirely still before chuckling awkwardly.
“Come on, Ra-”
“Shut the hell up, Murphy,” Raven cuts him off rudely. “I warned you, didn’t I?”
“You did, but-”
“I told you exactly what would happen, but you kept pushing anyway, huh? You always do that, don’t you? Well, guess what, your actions have consequences,” Raven grits, anger at an all time high. It’s not solely Murphy’s fault, of course, but he’s the closest person she can take it out on.
Raven shoves at Murphy’s shoulders, forcing him into a more bent over position, and he doesn’t fight back. Because of course he doesn’t, isn’t this just giving him more of the attention that he wants? Well, it also serves Raven’s purposes, to treat him as her personal punching bag.
Raven kneels behind him in order to drag his pants and underwear to the ground around his ankles, and she stays crouched there, ignoring the protest in her knee. Much as she would love to just ram the wrench up his ass, she knows that’s not exactly feasible. Plus, he does have quite a nice ass for such an annoying prick, and there’s something Raven’s always wanted to try. She places the wrench in her lap and leans forward, spreading Murphy open with her hands.
“What the- fuuuck, Raven.” Murphy’s words of confusion rapidly become eager as Raven drags her tongue over his hole. She presses firmly at the tense ring of muscle with the flat of her tongue in slow, hard drags. “Holy shit, Raven, that’s-”
“Don’t you ever shut the hell up?” Raven growls against his tailbone.
“Oh come on, it’s part of my charm,” Murphy drawls, as if she’s not currently got him bent over a table, ass spread.
Raven spits in between his cheeks, saliva dripping over his hole. Well, he’s sort of got a point; if he hadn’t been so fucking annoying she’d never have hit her breaking point like this and needed to show him who’s boss. She wouldn’t exactly call it charm, though.
“How about this?” Raven says, dragging the pad of her thumb through her spit, spreading it over his hole and pushing slightly, making Murphy shudder, “You stay quiet, and I won’t stop. You say anything that pisses me off, and I walk away.”
“You wouldn’t,” Murphy cranes his neck to look over his shoulder at her, offended.
“I’m not invested in this,” Raven punctuates her words by pressing her thumb more firmly, forcing the muscles to give way ever so slightly, “I can leave whenever I want.”
She probably wouldn’t, if she being entirely honest, but it’s a hell of a satisfying idea. To bring Murphy to the edge, and then just walk away, leaving him a mess, letting him sort himself out. With that scenario playing out in her mind, Raven drops her mouth back to his rear again, resuming the diligent work of her tongue.
“I- fuck!” Murphy starts to speak, but he cuts himself off as Raven pokes the tip of her tongue into him. Just a little, just enough to tease him. The next noises that come from him are muffled, and Raven breaks away just long enough to look up and see Murphy biting the back of his hand.
“So the cockroach can take directions, who would have thought?” Raven chuckles.
Murphy doesn’t respond, which is all good in Raven’s book, so she returns to lubing him up with her saliva, and loosening him with her tongue. He responds quite nicely to her touch, actually, rocking back desperately against her mouth. It only takes a few dozen thrusts of her tongue into the burning heat of him before she feels his muscles relax and stay relaxed.
With a few more spit heavy licks of her tongue, Raven pulls away, turning the torque wrench over in her grip to hold the head, presenting the shaft towards Murphy. It shines in the light of the rover bay, and Raven feels a certain twisted pleasure in the coolness of it against her skin. This is going to feel cold as hell to Murphy, and Raven has absolutely zero sympathy for him. He brought this one himself, and given the pathetic whining noise he makes, he even wants this.
Well, Raven does always help out in any way she can. With a vindictive grin, she presses the cold metal against his prepared hole, forging forward even as he jumps with a gasp. He’s burning up from her attentions, the unyielding steel must be a harsh contrast to the soft touch of her tongue. Raven watches him clench around the handle of the wrench in surprise, slowing its progress.
“What’s this, Murphy? Did you talk too much game?” Raven taunts, and she watches as Murphy forces first the muscles in his back, then lower down to relax.
“Fu-” Murphy starts to speak, and probably to say something uncharitable by his tone, but Raven twists the torque wrench, cutting him off.
“Careful,” she cautions, tapping a finger firmly on the shaft, knowing he’ll feel it through the metal.
Murphy shuts up, hanging his head heavily. Raven can see him biting his lower lip from this angle, and isn’t that just a pretty picture. The loudest mouth in Arkadia, shut up because of her. Raven drives the wrench in a few more inches, watching Murphy’s chest heave as he breathes in sharply.
“See Murphy, you can’t just keep running your mouth and expect to get what you want,” Raven lectures as she draws the wrench out halfway before slowly pressing it back in. “People will only put up with you for so long.”
Raven keeps up the slow thrusts with the shaft until the movements become easier and Murphy begins making noises in his throat again. He even moves his hips, and she’s sure if he could talk right now without fear of her leaving him with a hardon and a wrench shoved up his ass, he’d be demanding more. Well, Raven is happy to oblige even without the verbal demand.
She drives the wrench faster, watching the drag of it in and out of him. It’s almost hypnotizing, the way his muscles twitch, so obviously telling her what he wants. She can see when she hits that sweet spot inside of him, the way his whole lower body twitches, and his whines and moans cut off as he loses his breath. Raven hits it time and time again before purposefully avoiding it. She said she’d shove the wrench up his ass, not that she’d get him off with it.
Murphy squirms desperately until Raven releases her grip on his ass to deliver a swat to the cheek she’d been holding. That gets him to hold still for a moment, and Raven keeps intentionally missing his prostate as she pushes to her feet. She places the hand not fucking him in between his shoulder blades, forcing him down to the table and holding him in place.
“You still think you get what you want? You pissed me off, Murphy, I’m just holding up my end of the promise,” Raven explains.
She sets an almost punishing pace; although, considering that the metal has no give and isn’t intended for this purpose, it probably is less than comfortable. But the whole time, as Raven twists her wrist and thrust the wrench in and out, Murphy keeps his mouth shut. So, even like this, he doesn’t want her to stop. Which works well for Raven, because she’s having too much fun, ghosting over his sweet spot and watching him jerk when she does so.
Raven thinks she could keep this up for hours, teasing and drilling Murphy until he’s half mindless, a mess under her touch. She has half a mind to do so, but the sounds of boots in the hallway reminds her that they’re not exactly in a private place, and there’s no lock on the door. Raven’s heart stops, and she reacts quick as she can.
“I’ll deal with them. Finish yourself off, or at least clean yourself up,” Raven mutters in Murphy’s ear, and then does exactly what she threatened to. She walks away, leaving him with the torque wrench still firmly planted within his ass.
As Raven distracts the would-be intruder in the hallway, she wonders if there’s any way she can get a new set of tools, because there’s no way she’ll be able to look at that wrench the same way ever again.
14 notes · View notes
vestedbeauty · 4 years ago
Text
How to Become More Resilient
New Post has been published on https://vestedbeauty.com/how-to-become-more-resilient/
How to Become More Resilient
Resilient, AKA: How Not to Lose Your Sh&t All. The.Time.
It was outrageous. Totally and completely unfair.
Unjust.
Unreasonable.
Unconscionable.
And she had had it. 
She could feel her tears rolling down her cheek - too many to even wipe away before they dropped into her mouth. Even the salty taste of them seemed to remind her that she had been done WRONG.
Courtesy of BoredPanda.com
Hey, I feel her.
We’ve all seen these slideshows of toddlers crying for reasons that make perfect sense to them… but that adults realize are kind of silly. 
Granted, as moms, we coach and coax our little kids through these moments to help them through what, to them, is very real grief and anger.
But when it’s someone else’s kid on the internet in a meme, it’s funny.
It’s not so funny when we feel like that as allegedly grown-up women.
Having thrown my fair share of hissy fits, and having grown to despise my own behavior in those times, I’ve given some thought to resiliency.
Here’s what I’ve come up with as a guide for myself on how not to lose my ever-living shit over stuff that really won’t matter in five minutes, much less five years.
Maybe it’ll help you, too.
Throwing a Fit Feels Good (Until It Doesn’t)
Think back to the last time you lost your cool over something that happened. Specifically, think about an instance that you vented about to multiple people.
It feels good to vent, to get people to see your side, even to get sympathetic comments. Even better if you’ve got someone who wants to hear the whole story - and any updates that happen.
Maybe there’s nothing wrong with that… In fact, that’s kind of how therapy goes. You talk. They listen. They get it.
But there also comes a time when you can get trapped in the story, like an endless loop. Like watching a movie too many times, it gets old. For everyone.
If you’ve ever reached that point, you understand. You start to hate the sound of your own voice telling your sob story. You feel embarrassed by being stuck in it. You know it’s not serving you. Yet… it’s hard to stop.
Why Does It Feel So IMPORTANT?
It occurs to me that part of why those meme toddlers feel so devastated by these little tragedies is that they don’t have a whole lot of life experience.
If you’ve only been around for a couple of years, and only acutely aware of your experience for half that time, everything is a big deal. Everything.
You have no greater context to help you determine what matters in the greater scheme of things.
As adults, we have that context. 
  Will It Matter in Five Years?
It’s kind of a cliche question. But it can be remarkably hard to remember to ask ourselves.
The answer is usually no.
But even when it WILL matter in five years, there’s another question that helps.
“Are you willing to carry this heavy story indefinitely?”
var quads_screen_width = document.body.clientWidth; if ( quads_screen_width >= 1140 ) if ( quads_screen_width >= 1024 && quads_screen_width < 1140 ) if ( quads_screen_width >= 768 && quads_screen_width < 1024 ) if ( quads_screen_width < 768 )
You may have to deal with the repercussions of what happened for a long time. 
That can be hard.
But you can make it even harder by adding the weight of your story. In fact, the story may be heavier than the actual event.
But Did You Die?
One benefit of reaching midlife is that we’ve been to a whole lot of rodeos. We’ve watched this movie before. There’s not a whole lot that’s truly new - at least when it comes to "smaller" problems. 
So, we have a broader perspective.
Suggestion: Make a list of all the terrible things that you’ve experienced. Or, even limit it to the top five. (Granted, your feelings about these events may have cooled or heated with time… it’s completely subjective.)
As you read through the list, notice something:
You didn’t actually die.
As much as the tough times sucked, as gut-wrenching, enraging, unfair, or horrible as they were… you made it. In fact, you’ve got a pretty awesome track record of surviving.
That’s important to remember. 
You’re someone who’s seen tough times and made it through them.
Watch Your Mouth
Ever noticed how a good novel sucks you in and makes you feel? It’s all in the author’s descriptive skills. A great author paints a picture of what’s happening. They show rather than tell. They choose their words carefully for maximum impact.
We can do the same.
We can choose the most dramatic, powerfully descriptive words to tell our tale.
Or…
We can make it super boring.
Example: 
Think of the movie Marley & Me. It was pretty gut-wrenching, emotive, moving. (It’s old enough that a spoiler alert shouldn’t be necessary, right?)
But really, it could be described as:
A family gets a dog. 
The dog is nuts until it grows up.
The dog gets sick and dies.
The family is sad.
I can’t remember whether they eventually got another dog. They probably did. If so, eventually that dog would die, too. It’s sad. But it’s life.
If you can tell just the facts of the story with the most boring words you can, it helps take the sting out of it.
Example:
This thing happened.
It really sucked.
I’m still here.
I learned some lessons. (sometimes that applies)
Life goes on, and I’m going to live it.
Once you drain the emotion out of the story, it’s a lot easier to let it go. Being resilient helps us bounce back fast
And when you do, you have the space to create something you love.
Every day is a choice. Every moment, really. 
Maybe this advice for becoming more resilient will help you. Maybe it doesn’t apply to your experience. I wrote it for me… as a reminder, and in case it helps you, too. It takes practice, and that’s okay. 
We got another day. How will you spend it?
  var quads_screen_width = document.body.clientWidth; if ( quads_screen_width >= 1140 ) if ( quads_screen_width >= 1024 && quads_screen_width < 1140 ) if ( quads_screen_width >= 768 && quads_screen_width < 1024 ) if ( quads_screen_width < 768 )
0 notes
chronicbatfictioner · 7 years ago
Text
Fast Car - Chapter 17
"You've got the meds?"
"Yeah, one patch is on. Scheduling is on." Tim replied. "Synced with your cellphone so you can nag me if I forget to replace it."
It had sounded scary at first, for both Tim and Jason. Jason suspected that it would've been scarier, still, for Tim. He was the one who'd need to wear it at all times, after all. The patch looked like a simple, clear-colored band-aid, but it was actually filled with a plethora of electronics underneath, "the nutshell version is having electroshock therapy device attached to you at all times, but it'll release hormones instead of electricity," Tim had explained. It would be placed just under his hairline, on the nape of his neck. Tim assured him many, many times that it does not deliver actual electric shocks and/or will be shorting when the wearer is showering/swimming. "That's the first thing I made sure of, duh. The second was the invisibility." Because Tim understood the stigma of a mental health diagnosis quite well, and a light-colored patch on a dark skin would look like a beacon advertising the wearer's affliction. 
The last of the cuts on his arms had faded to nearly invisible scars on Tim's pale skin, crisscrossing the old ones. Random passers-by wouldn't have noticed them. Jason could feel them, still, when he run his hand over them. And Tim's face--
There would always be a faint hint of peach on his cheeks these days, and not so much of the purple raccoon eyes that had shocked Jason four months ago. Jason had trimmed Tim's hair, there are still enough for Jason to grab and play on, but not too long to cover his eyes.
Within a mere month after Jason moved back with him, the sunken-ness of Tim's cheeks had filled up some, earning him comments of "you look younger!' from his colleagues. Jason could always tell when some of Tim's colleagues teased him about his age and looks - Tim would commandeer the electric shaver the next day and let it run across his smooth chin and jawline, hoping that he would grow beard or some sort of facial hair. So far, still no luck. But Jason still counted a win when a pout and sulk and an attempt to shave would be as far as Tim would do. And in the lab, Conner was good enough to steer Tim clear off Tim's intention of researching ways to grow facial hair.
There are no blades in the loft, Jason made sure of it. All of their kitchen appliances are locked, with only Jason allowed access to them. A little extreme, sure, but they have reached an agreement that it was better for both of them if all kinds of temptations were out of sight and access from Tim.
But then again, Tim's needs for... the 'distractions' have abated a lot, a whole lot with Jason being there. He was still busy with the lab below, but with Bruce granting Jason special access key to the lab, Tim really couldn't run away - or lock himself in, which he'd done a few times before Bruce gave Jason a key - when Jason went into the lab and demand him to go home and get some sleep. Now, Timmers, or I'll haul you up. The excited and expectant gawks from Tim's lab-mates would usually be enough for Tim to stop whatever it is he was working on and followed Jason home with a massive pout and several choice-words of curses and grumbles.
Hopefully he would still miss the low-fives or fist bumps Jason got from Bart or Conner whenever he'd make Tim leave the lab. Or the fact that Conner would promptly close the lab some five minutes after Tim left.
Conner had brought his girlfriend, Cassandra Sandsmark, and Bart brought his girlfriend, Kiran Singh; on just about every weekends to have triple dates. Or in lazy and/or blizzard times, they would stay in and stream some movies while Conner and Jason practiced their culinary skills. So far, Bart noted, he hasn't needed to call in for emergency pizza to the rescue. Or booked a trip to the ER for food poisoning.
Jason had fully moved out from the Wayne's barn, and temporarily moved in to Tim's loft as their house was being renovated to accommodate Tim's work space and his garage. Jason had also managed to argue Tim out of making him the sole owner of the house, after a whole lot of arguments and getting Barbara's help to make him a slideshow presentation.
Seriously. There was a presentation describing the benefits of co-owning the house vs having just his name there. Credit scores and all. Jason never even know what his credit score was.  Or that he even had a credit score. He'd always thought those things were just for people who has a lot of money or born with money and/or inheritance.
There will be their individual work spaces in the opposing wings of the house, and there would be no locks on the doors of the work spaces. They have both agreed to have alarms to limit their home-working hours and remind the other to take care of themselves. And this, Jason knew, this would be something Tim would adhere to. His organized mind just simply not able to not follow a schedule. That point was prominent in Jason's mind when he wrote his part of the vow.
The Vow that he and Tim would recite in a few weeks, Jason mused as he felt the cold metal around his ring finger, and caught the glint of the ruby on the ring around Tim's finger as Tim's arm hooked around Jason's. His own arms were full of tupperware boxes - Alfred was not joking when he said he'd pack leftovers after their Sunday Dinner at the Wayne Manor. They would be eating well for the next week. Maybe. Or at least the next three to four days, if neither of them would end up with overtimes and eating less than two meals per day at home.
Or two days, if Bart managed to sneak his way in to their home.
"Home," Tim suddenly said.
"Hm?"
"I was just thinking... for a pair of orphans, we've managed to have not one, but two homes for ourselves." Tim said. "Not too shabby."
"Not too shabby at all." Jason agreed, pressing his lips on Tim's temple. "Thank you."
"Jason," Tim smiled ruefully. "Thank you, for not leaving me behind. In BrisTown."
"I couldn't. You've got the fast car." Jason grinned impishly.
"Well now you've got the literal fast car." Tim grinned at him. "How does it feel?" he asked as he helped Jason putting the boxes into Jason's car, a 2013 Mustang that used to belong to Dick and Jason had acquired in exchange of making five of Dick's other cars - including, of all things, a 1974 VW Beetle ("this is the last that was built in Germany, Jason! Before they moved the factory to Mexico!") - working and running again. Damn thing was older than Bruce and by all means should have been buried with its dignity intact, long ago. But Dick refused to let her die, and Jason had wondered if he'd have to make ritual sacrifices for parts, until Tim gave him the number of his contact in Germany who provided a number of cobbled-together parts.
"It feels..." he caressed the car's roof gently. "Well, you really can't go wrong with Mustang." he grinned. "But you really can't go wrong driving it with the one you love."
Tim snorted mirthfully, taking a seat on the passenger's side. "God, you cheesy." he said, scrunching his nose.
"You've known me for a long time now, and you just found it out now?" Jason quipped as he entered the driver's side.
"No, just didn't think I'd like it so much." Tim replied, a hesitant smile on his face as his lower lip started to tremble.
Jason reached over and tugged Tim's chin gently. "Hey, come on now. What is it?"
"I'm screwed, aren't I?" Tim said, a line of tears starting down his cheek.
"Welp, technically, you're legal and consenting. So I don't see the needs for the waterworks." Jason grinned at him, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Tim laughed and swatted his hand. "You jerk. I was trying to be sappy and all." he made a face. "But we'll need some stuff. I think we're out of lube."
"Whaaat? Again??"
"Hey, I'm not the one who use that thing like you're deep-frying!"
They drove away from the Wayne Manor in relative silence, Jason's non-driving hand on the nape of Tim's neck.
"I love you." Tim suddenly said.
Jason didn't take his eyes off the road, but squeezed Tim's neck lightly and replied. "I love you, too."
Maybe, Jason silently prayed, maybe they can fix themselves well. Together. They have a good number of people who could support them, anyway. Bruce, Dick, Barbara, and Alfred to help Jason through his doubting days; Conner, Bart, Cassandra, and Kiran, to support Tim if/when Jason was being a jerk. Surprisingly, when Damian was informed of Tim's clinical condition, he was incredibly interested to help keep an eye on Tim, "to see if the device works or not, Todd!"
Jason suspected it's just another thing Damian is keeping records of, to use against Tim when he couldn't win in a normal argument. Dick assured him that Damian's scathing ways were simply his way to show he cares. The jury is still out in that, though.
"You know what else we've got?" he said as something struck him.
"What?"
"Family." Jason smiled and scratched Tim's head a little. "Lookit that, orphan boy, we've got a family."
"We do, don't we?" Tim smiled brightly. "Whaddya know..."
They were silent for a few heartbeats until Tim spoke again, "so we gonna stick our vows on my mom's grave, too?"
Jason grinned mischievously. "You betcha, Timmers. Let her know that we've made it."
Note: End of this segment! I hope y'all like, and as always, comments, likes & reblogs are very, very appreciated! This here be the first multi-chaptered fanfic I've ever posted. And it feels kind of poignant for me that the last chapter is posted on NYE. Bye, 2017! Hello, 2018! Here's to hoping that our respective lives will be better in 2018 and brighter. And our muses remain as active if not more active as ever and allow us to tell their stories - preferably not at the same time. Maybe I should devise a queue number for them muses, like at banks... Anyway! Again, thank you everybody who'd left comments, likes, and/or reblogs, the lifeblood of all artworkers. Have a happy New Year, all!
8 notes · View notes
renyc9 · 4 years ago
Text
The Sims 4: New Game Patch (June 3rd, 2020)
There’s a new Sims 4 PC update available via Origin.
Remove all MODS and Custom Content before updating your game
The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle Expansion Pack drops in just a mere few days, and since we know that living your best Eco Lifestyle can take a little extra elbow grease, we’ve added some exciting quality-of-life improvements to help pave the way.
Between Inventory updates, new CAS assets from a surprise partnership with M·A·C, the return of two beloved NPCs, as well as some really cool new Build features, we hope you enjoy the update.
-SimGuruJill & SimGuruRusskii
NEW & IMPROVED FEATURES
INVENTORY UPDATES Fellow hoarders, this one’s for you: We have updated the Sim Inventory with the ability to Filter, Sort, Favorite, Multi-Select, and Multi-Sell in one easy flick of the wrist. Managing that cumbersome pile of collectables you’ve been racking up for the past five years has never been so easy!
FREE PLACEMENT OF DOORS AND WINDOWS Following in true Eco Lifestyle fashion, Door and Window placement is now also Off-the-Grid. But not that kind of grid. The limiting kind of tile grid that used to keep you from placing your windows and doors precisely where you wanted them. By holding down the Alt key while dragging, you can enjoy the smooth sensations of free Door and Window placement.
LADDERS Ladders have been added as part of the Build System. Find your free Classic Wooden Ladder in the Build catalog in the Stairs (& Ladders) category. Unlike Island Living’s Dock and Ladder objects for use on water lots, these Ladders can be placed anywhere on your lot and like stairs, they can be used as a means for Sims to traverse from one floor to another.
M·A·C COSMETICS Did you say you needed some fresh looks for your Sims? We’ve collaborated with none other than M·A·C Cosmetics to bring you 12 fashion-forward makeup assets suited for everything from everyday to night out glam. If you’re not already using it, on PC and Mac we recommend trying out the “Uncompressed Sim Textures” setting in the Options Menu, which is now enabled by default on the High and Ultra graphics settings profiles in order to see these looks really shine. While console versions of The Sims 4 do not have the setting in the Options Menu, each console spec is automatically using the optimal graphical settings based on system resources.
REPO PERSON NPC The Repo Person NPC has graduated with honors from Discover University’s University of Britechester with a Degree in Villainy and has comfortably taken up residence in Base Game. Now everyone can taste their wrath if Bill payments fall behind.
BILLS UPDATE Speaking of Bills, we’ve added a cohesive breakdown of Sim’s Bills information that can be accessed via an interaction on the Mailbox or Phone. Now instead of lumping everything together, you can see what percentage of your Bills go to Water, what percentage go to Power, insight into any Fees, Reductions, or Penalties. All this and more, calculated and cleanly presented for your finer understanding.
LEGACY NEIGHBORHOOD MAP TAGS We have gone back and added Map Tags with Neighborhood Descriptions to existing neighborhoods that didn’t yet have them. We now have delightful icons, names, and descriptions for the no-longer-forgotten Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, Newcrest, and Windenburg. Ok, feel free to freak out now.
OFF-THE-GRID UPDATES This one is tricky to list out in a single paragraph with attempted wit, so I’ll just drop this bullet list off right here:
The Off-the-Grid Lot Trait now ties into our new Bill updates, drawing from Water and Power utility. Without excess utility, lots function off-the-grid as they did before. With excess utility, they function more like an on-the-grid lot.
There is a new Off-the-Grid Build category that will allow players to find Off-the-Grid and survival-esque objects.
We’ve done a pass on candles to ensure they properly work when electricity is out.
Off-the-Grid supported Fridges now have an “Add Ice” interaction that will allow them to keep food preserved—so long as the ice remains!
Sim will now autonomously use stoves and fridges when Off-the-Grid, not just grills.
Harvestables now grant unique buffs when consumed off-the-grid.
Dogs and Toddlers now have a unique interaction to be bathed in Bathtubs even when Off-the-Grid.
Objects can now be cleaned using the “Use Elbow Grease” interaction. Yummy.
Players are able to gather Water utility from fishing spots in base game. With Island Living they can gather from the waterfall. Water can also be gathered from any world with swimmable ‘ocean’ water. With Seasons, water can be gathered from snow drifts.
Off-the-Grid specific buffs will now take into account motives and Sim traits when determining if a Sim should receive a positive or negative moodlet when living Off-the-Grid.
We’ve added multiple new recipes that can be cooked while Off-the-Grid given a Sim has the proper cooking skill level. Some recipes require special ingredients like the Boiling Frog Hot Pot—which adds a really neat survival element to off-the-grid gameplay, while providing Sims with powerful new moodlets that will help them survive in the wild.
NO TRESPASSING Some people who have the Vampires Game Pack appreciate Vlad’s antics more than others. I personally love receiving a charming visit from Vlad, and sometimes I could really use a kind compliment about my neck. But we’ve heard there are a select few that don’t quite like having their Sim’s necks bitten and motives tanked by an invasive nighttime visitor with no respect for boundaries. Keep Vampires and other unwanted visitors at bay with a new No Trespassing interaction we’ve added to the Door.
SEND HOME INTERACTION Speaking of unwelcome visitors, we’ve also added a new Send Home interaction that’s available on visiting NPCs or as a self-interaction in the case of multiple visitors. How is this interaction any different from Ask To Leave or Go Away, you might ask? Convenience. Unlike its less efficient predecessors, this interaction is nearly instantaneous and leaves your visitors with no hurt feelings or Relationship impact. We added it as a useful tool for players, not necessarily as a story-telling mechanism.
BUILD MODE ITEMS GRANT GAMEPLAY EFFECTS How you build your lot can now affect your gameplay. Certain objects such as wall patterns, floor patterns, fences, and columns bring different gameplay modifiers. Some of these modifiers affect how your Bills and utilities are calculated by decreasing or increasing your Power or Water utility production or usage, as well increasing or decreasing the price of bills. Environment Score can now be impacted by certain objects and materials. Drywall walls without wall patterns applied now decrease environment score like they did in The Sims 3! The choice of floor and wall materials used can also affect the ability to spread fire or puddles at an increased or lessened rate. And if you’d rather build your lot without having to think about these things, don’t worry. There’s an Option in the Gameplay menu to turn all of this off.
FIREFIGHTER NPC Oh hey, and speaking of Fire, that reminds me. Did you hear that we’ve added Firefighter NPCs to the game? We took nods from classic Firefighter NPC behavior from The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3 and added a few small twists for The Sims 4. When a fire breaks out, Firefighters will come automatically to your lot if you already have a Fire Alarm installed. That way, if you still like to let things burn baby burn, you can just “accidentally” forget to place a Fire Alarm. It’s okay. We won’t tell anybody. If you honestly did forget to place a Fire Alarm, you can call the Fire Department from the Phone or by clicking on the fire itself. If the Fire Department is called, but there is not an active fire, they will call you on your lapse in judgement and charge you a fine. You won’t be punished if there was legitimately a fire that was extinguished before they arrive though. The Firefighter Uniform can be accessed in CAS and gives any Sim wearing it the Fireproof Buff, which gives them some extra protection against fires as well as make them more efficient at putting out fires themselves. It’s worth noting that Firefighter NPC’s do not show up in Island Living’s Sulani. Sulani already has their local Fire Brigade to handle these kinds of emergencies and besides, who wants to wear all that heavy Firefighter gear in the tropics?
STYLED LOOKS FOR TOTS AND KIDS More than 20 New Styled Looks have been added for Children and Toddlers, using existing Base Game CAS assets to better flesh out some outfit categories that previously felt sparse.
BALANCING PASS OF PHONE CALL INVITATIONS After five years of Expansion Packs, Game Packs, and Stuff Packs our phone call invites were admittedly starting to get a little spammy. Moments after moving in, you’ve got Lucas Munch hitting you up, asking you to go to the Bluffs with him. Then not long after, you might have had Vivian Lewis asking you to join her at The Spice Festival. Jeez, let me get settled in first, why don’t ya? We’ve done a tuning pass to rebalance all of these previously competing Phone invites to give you a more meaningful and holistic experience.
LESS INVASIVE EARBUDS In the same vein as the above balancing pass, we wanted to smooth out one of our more pressing notifications. The free earbuds pop-up that comes with Fitness Stuff has been changed to a more passive TNS and gifts your Sim the earbuds automatically when it triggers. The days of telling the game over and over that you don’t want free earbuds, or worse – hitting OK by accident – is a thing of the past.
CONSOLE UPDATES Eco Lifestyle releasing on the same day across all platforms marks an important milestone for The Sims 4 as Simmers get to play the same content and share new creations on The Gallery together. In this update Console Simmers have a few additional features to improve their quality of life:
We have added a new Controls Overlay Reminder that shows up throughout CAS, Gallery, Live Mode and Build Mode which should make it easier for new Simmers to jump in and not need to remember all the controls.
If you don’t want to be reminded and you know all the controls by heart, you can turn off the Controls Overlay Reminder in the Game Options > Other menu
The controller overlay screens remain available for those who want them.
Now onto the fixes and updates:
The Sims 4
macOS players should no longer encounter the setLocale.zsh error. However, both Origin and TS4 must be up to date.
Sims will not have random accessories or clothing pieces when changing into towels.
Style Influencer Sims can now remove trends they have created, with the Reset Trend interaction.
Fixed an issue where Sims were not able to Care for Self after they had been in daycare when they were a Toddler.
Some roofs were updated to remove the appearance of black sides when placed on ceilings.
Active Sims will no longer get a Tense moodlet for lack of exercise when finishing exercising. Do you even push up bro?
Sims will no longer get the Fatigued moodlet immediately after starting a workout. Now, we know that endurance takes time to build, but we decided to give Sims a chance to enjoy their workout before being completely fatigued right away.
Child Sims will now be able to unlock the Video Gaming Skill after they have maxed out their Mental Skill instead of their Motor Skill, which was causing adult skills to reset for Child Sims when they completed aspirations.
Fixed an issue in which some Households did not have their names displayed in Manage Worlds.
Corrected requirements for completing the Great Landscaper task that is part of the Mansion Baron Aspiration.
Fixed an issue in which when utilities are shut off (either because of past due bills or Off-The-Grid) adding objects from Build Mode such as Lamps, would add them turned On.
The Water Pump, Fishing Holes, Romantic Garden’s Whispering Wishing Well, and Get Famous’s Luminary’s Exotic Water Garden now have the Gather Water interaction when the Off-the-Grid Lot Trait is applied.
Fixed an issue in which the Subtle Saucer Light was not being so subtle and made objects added from Build Mode be placed randomly when dragged near it.
Teen Sims will now see the appropriate tooltip when trying to acquire the Fertile Trait from the Rewards Store. No, they are not Robots.
Fixed an issue in which some Roof Eaves were clipping into enclosed blocks.
Fixed an issue in which the Clean Up interaction would drop off the queue if dirty dishes were placed on a counter.
Since we added a new trash bike to Eco Lifestyle, we’ve made the bicycle helmet available for everyone in CAS. Now you can outfit your Sim in a helmet, regardless of owning a pack that includes bikes.
Sims will now not receive occasional text messages asking them for a Date from other Sims that they are not romantically involved with. Because it was aaaakward…
Toddler Sims will not be able to Ask for Mentoring on some in progress mentoring interactions to strangers. Except for “Invite to Bob to Music” because we can dance if we want to, we can leave our friends behind, ‘cause your friends don’t dance and if they don’t dance well… they’re not friends of mine.
Fixed an issue with textures for the tops and landings on some Staircases.
Fixed an issue that did not allow randomizer to work correctly when Male Sims had Makeup on Create a Sim.
Plants can now be placed closer to foundations with moveobjects cheat enabled, as long as most of the plant’s footprint is outside of the foundation.
Fixed an issue in which Simoleons were not added to Household Funds when moving and selling furniture.
Fixed an issue in which previewing certain windows on diagonal walls reverted their color back to the default color swatch.
Simmers on macOS Catalina and Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 GPU will no longer experience seeing a squared shadow under their Sims.
Fixed an issue with the Wooden Prairie-Style Two-Panel door in which color swatches were not displaying correctly on both sides of the door.
Sims now can dispose of packed lunches that have spoiled. Out, foul food!
Fixed some oddness with disappearing Stairs within enclosed courtyards.
Fixed a Stair issue with Landings not working properly on lots with raised foundations and basements. Sims will no longer walk through walls and things should now look appropriate.
Fixed missing Career Promotion screens for careers in various packs.
Fixed User Interface elements and Icons across multiple packs.
Spandrels can now be properly applied on Fences.
Stairs will now not shrink when increasing Foundation heights.
Get Together
Fixed an issue in which non local Sim Townies would spawn in Windenburg’s Island, now named The Crumbling Isle.
Fixed an issue that caused an error to occur when deleting or editing Clubs.
As much as Windenburgians (Windenburgers? Windenburguese? Windenburglites?) love visitors from other worlds, they have voted them off the Island. Sorry, not sorry!
City Living
Fixed an issue that caused time to be desynchronized at Speed 3. Bending the space time continuum no more!
Vet Clinics can no longer be placed in Penthouses.
Yard Sale customers will no longer wander inside Sims’ houses and interact with their belongings. While prospective buyers are nice to have in any sale, this was just rude, this is NOT a Welcome Wagon.
Cats & Dogs
Game progress will no longer be lost when editing/adding/deleting career outfits in Create a Sim.
Fixed an issue that made Pets’ needs to not be fulfilled if not playing an active household.
Pets’ ehm… poop is now able to be used as plant fertilizer. Happy gardening!
Seasons
Sims can now sell Flowers in stacks from their Inventory.
Sims will now appropriately put their Umbrellas away before performing some interactions. Because WooHoo while having an Umbrella out in the open, seems complicated, we are not judging… but seems complicated.
Fixed an issue that made Simmer created Holidays in the Calendar populate after a season ended.
Father Winter will now be able to remove his beard and change in Create a Sim if he is part of an active Household. But who would dare shave Father Winter’s beard?? Who?!
Get Famous
Fixed the issue with the Actor Career where Sims were unable to complete their gig when they would travel and return home before it was time for the gig.
Island Living
Lotta Cocolatas will now be made with actual Coconuts taken from Sims’ Inventories. What were they made from before? We will never know! Never accept imitation Lotta Cocolatas… never!
Fixed an issue in which some quick meals were requiring a Microwave while being Off-The-Grid when it is not needed. Yogurt needing a microwave? I think not!
Mermaids in Create a Sim will no longer be able to have their Traits randomized. This allows them to keep their Mermaidism, as well as their air of mystery and charm.
Mermaids now will wear appropriate career outfits when going to work. So I can picture this now, Mermaids as Doctors would be a great TV show.
Fixed an issue in which some Island Living Tank Tops were categorized incorrectly in Create a Sim.
Mermaid Children made in Create a Sim will now grow up to be fully-functioning Mer-dults.
The Go To Work button for Odd Jobs has been fixed for Sims on Vacation.
The Eyedropper tool will now work on Stilts instead of only working on the Foundation Trims.
Fixed an issue in which Sims in Off-The-Grid lots were showering constantly. Now they will shower when appropriate. Though, with this heatwave, anything goes in my opinion!
“Dr. Mermaid/Merman, what do you recommend?
“I am prescribing some Vitamin Sea”
Give Russkii more coffee please…
Discover University
Student Sims will not lose their Term Presentations Boards when signing up for another term.
Simmers with Seasons additionally installed: Student Sims will no longer receive Academic Probation if they were on planned Holidays through the Calendar.
Student Sims will no longer be labeled as Graduate after completing the Graduation Ceremony. Congratulations!
Fixed an issue in which homework assignment progression was too slow and timers might have been missing in some instances.
Fixed an issue in which Sims were taking showers fully clothed. As much as the current heat wave is giving us creative ideas to cool off, it would be more efficient to not be fully clothed when showering.
Hair Style ymHair_EP08MensShavedPonytail_Black has been updated for Teens, Adults, and Elders to display all swatches. Similarly yfHair_EP08ShortBobBraid_Black has been fixed to appear as an option for Teens.
Sims that re-enroll in University after graduating or dropping out, can now rejoin their Secret Society. Likewise, if Sims get suspended and re-enrolls their progress will not be lost.
Fixed an issue with the “Gameday Glute Accommodator” chair that occasionally could make Sims invisible if they placed it in their Inventory. We don’t know what other powers the “Gameday Glute Accommodator” may have but invisibility is now not one of them.
Sims in the Law Career can now Attend Depositions from their Computers and Phones. Because you don’t need to break your computer to complete an assignment, that seems impractical.
Vampire Coffins and Sleeping Pods can now count as Beds in University Dorms.
Fixed an issue in which the Write and Publish Research Paper interaction would disappear from the options if it was cancelled midway. I mean, I understand rage quitting something but not to the point of my options to do it disappearing…amirite?
Fixed an issue with yfBody_EP08DressParty_SolidPurple in which pendant necklaces were not able to be seen if this asset was worn by Sims.
Fixed an issue that could make the Soccer interaction Study Plays with drop out from the interaction queue.
Corrected Final Exam Requirements for Elective Courses to say that for studying they need to do so on Computers or Research Machines.
To anyone who may have noticed the tiny head effect in the thumbnails if you wore the Dragon or the Lobster mascot costume without their hats, that issue has been fixed.
Humanoid Robots will no longer be able to have Traits or Aspirations modified in Create a Sim. You are a real Sim to me Robot friend, you are to me.
If a Sim already knows about the Secret Society, is it still a secret? Time will tell.
Outdoor Retreat
Herbalism recipes can now work while Off-The-Grid, however only on Off-The-Grid supported stoves.
Dine Out
Random NPCs will not leave Hamburgers on tables at restaurants anymore. As much as we like to receive free food, we don’t think it is proper to get them randomly from a stranger.
Vampires
Vampire Sims working on the Master Vampire Aspiration will no longer have the task “Survive for an Additional 20 Days as a Vampire” reset after traveling.
Vampire Sims with Full Sun Resistance are now able to properly tend to gardens and not tend to plants one at a time.
Fixed an issue in which you could set the Registered Vampire Lair Lot Trait for Venues.
Vampire child ears can now be changed after being aged-down from adult Dark Form.
The Rustic Candle Chandelier now has flame effects on the candles.
Jungle Adventure
Fans/Stans will no longer follow their adored celebrity into the jungles of Selvadorada.
Realm Of Magic
Spellcasters have regained access to Styled Looks.
Fixed an issue in which a Tank Top belonging to this pack was not categorized correctly in Create a Sim.
Hot Tubs that have been upgraded to unbreakable will no longer be broken upon performing the Zipzap Spell.
A Spellcaster is never not in vogue, but it’s always nice to have options.
Moschino
We fixed an issue in which some hotkeys in Photo Mode (particularly E and Q) were not working.
After popular demand, the Libearian bookend will now cost Simoleons. Nothing’s for free, nothing’s for freeee… take it away!
Tiny Living
Murphy beds will now be more resilient after first use. Warranty terms pending.
Fixed an issue in which Game Consoles were not usable with the all in one entertainment systems.
Fixed an issue in which Hair Styles from this pack appeared with their color swatches out of order in Create a Sim.
Fixed an issue in which Sims could not Put Bed Up their Murphy Beds after WooHoo.
We have also adjusted their pricing and comfort levels, bang for your buck!
Now the “Media Marathoner All on the Wall” will be actually the Media Marathoner All on the Wall.
0 notes
acashgirl · 7 years ago
Text
Untitled Marvel Project: Part 5
THIS IS WHAT WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR! Hopefully it’s not utter disappointment, haha. Please enjoy, or don’t, and catch you on the flippity-flop!
(First) (Previous) (Next) (Index)
   You slept for hours that night and when you woke your pillow was still damp. The disorientation you felt was most likely from the dehydration you were experiencing which caused dizziness and kept you lying down. Pondering began, what was to happen now? Bruce seemed pretty opposed to you being here and Tony had even said you had put them in danger. Yet he also seemed interested in keeping you around but… Vision, he was under attack because of you and in danger because of it. But where could you go? This was… you don’t… what now?
“Friday, who is here currently?” “I am unsure if I can share that information.” “Well are Tony Stark or Bruce Banner in the building?” “No not at the moment. May I ask why miss?” Sighing to yourself you slowly got up and moved towards the door. “Miss what are you doing?” “I’d like to get some water, I’m feeling dizzy and I think I should probably get some before I need an IV. I was hoping to go to the kitchen.” “I do not believe that to be the best idea.” “Friday I may actually die from dehydration.” You had made your way to the elevator and were pressed against the door. “I suppose. Please stay calm.” You rolled your eyes at the thought that even the AI was concerned about the safety of everyone else. The door slid open and you stumbled in, the drop in your stomach made you feel nauseous. They opened to the familiar hallway in which you last left the Captain and headed towards the lounge. Eventually making it to the large room you got to the faucet and cranked it on drinking directly from the tap. It was so satisfying and automatically you felt better. You thought you had heard someone head up the stairs but you were much too consumed with rehydration. “Hey Friday is Mr.Stark- Uhm hi?” You had never heard this voice before, a higher pitched male voice but not childlike. He was definitely more of an adult. Feeling embarrassed over your animosity you sheepishly turned to face the curly haired boy who had waved to you over a week ago. “Hey, uh, who are you? I mean you’re the girl from awhile ago but I never uh- I never got your name. You know Mr.Stark he uh- he never did tell me-” On the spot you blurted out “I’m Y/N” “Y/N, oh uh- that’s a great name origin from latin or uh… M-my names Peter, Peter P-Parker.” You smiled to yourself, it was easy to tell he was becoming embarrassed. “D-do you need a glass? They’re um- they’re over here.” He placed his backpack that was slung onto his shoulder on the ground and made his way over to you. Looking over at you he reached up by your head to open a cabinet revealing glasses. He grabbed one and filled it with water glancing over at you quite often causing him to almost overfill the glass. “Peter!”  He snapped from his near trance and turned off the faucet, then outstretched the cup towards you to which you gently grabbed. “Thank you.” “Sorry about the uh-the-” “Thank you.” He smiled shyly and you could see the blush run to his face. “So Peter, you’re looking for Tony?” You made your way across the island and sat on the familiar stool. “Yeah I wanted to talk to Mr.Stark-” “Tony?” You raised an eyebrow. “Right Tony..,” The word seemed foreign to him,”Just tryna get in some combat training or uh- something.” He nodded and bit his lip. “Why are you so nervous?” “What I’m not, I’m not nervous-” “You’re starting to blush.” You took a sip from the glass. “What no I’m not, it must be the lights or… something.” Holding eye contact for a second you broke off and shrugged, “Yeah you’re right.” He let out a deep sigh, almost choking on air. You offered the water which he awkwardly declined. “So combat training?” “Yeah just tryna brush up my skills for the bad guys you know?” He lightly laughed. “Bad guys huh? Schoolyard bullies gettin’ pretty bad?” “Psh, I have them on lockdown. If they knew what I could do they’d never mess with me.” “If they knew? Sounds like someone has some secrets.” “Secrets, me? No-no I don’t have any secrets?” “I felt a question mark.” “I mean me being here already reveals my biggest secret.” “Which is?” He leaned in a bit and whispered, “I’m an Avenger.” You smirked, “Then why do you need Tony for combat training?” Stumbling over his words a bit he worked out an answer, “Well I mean t-this is technically h-his property, so uh, it’d be r-rude of me to just waltz i-in like I own the p-place.” You let out a laugh, “By the way, Tony isn’t here right now.” “Oh, well then I should probably get going-” “Huh?” “What?” Looking at you with wide eyes. “I mean..,” you sighed, “might as well try some honesty, you’re the first person to treat me normal, like any other person. I was kind of enjoying it.” “How am I supposed to treat you?” Finally you broke contact and looked into the glass, “Never mind, it’s nothing.” “Have they been mean to you or sumthin?” You glanced back up to see his face staring concerningly into yours. “No no, Tonys been very accommodating.” “Well then why aren’t they treating you normally?” You couldn’t face him, you didn’t want to tell him the truth. Granted that’s how the current situation had came about. Dammit. “Maybe you should go Peter.” Not facing him. “W-why?” This hurt. “I…I just want you to okay?” Your voice raised. “Look I’m sorry if I said something-” “Please.”   You couldn’t see his face but you felt the change, the whole atmosphere had dropped 10 degrees and you were freezing. Trust no one, even one with a good heart. The footsteps echoed around and as he swept up his bag he glanced at you, causing you to almost break. This guy was concerned and caring, even Tony hadn’t felt like this to you. He was different and felt so pure! All of this made your decision clear; you would never tell him and could never be close, you had to protect him from yourself. He left without another word leaving you to feel more anxiety about everything. Tears began swelling, you were so emotionally weak why must you always cry. Breathing in deeply they retreated back and you exhaled from your mouth and took a swig of water. “Have you eaten anything?” A familiar accented voice said. You look towards a hallway you hadn’t been down to see Wanda in a black camisole and military green pants. “Oh um,” clearing your throat, “no not yet.” “I could make some eggs if you make toast.” She smiled. “Yeah, that sounds great.” She walked over to the fridge and grabbed a carton and proceeded to retrieve a frying pan. “The bread is in that cabinet, any kind will do.” She motioned toward one near the ground. You crouched down and settled on a multigrain as opposed to the 6 other kinds you have never heard of. “So if you don’t remember, how do you know how things work?” You fiddled with the toaster, “Instinct I suppose. An action will just feel right or something I say won’t feel weird or maybe it’ll just blurt out.” She laughed, “At least you have that, don’t have to start all over.” “If that ever happens… no.” “Ah shit I forgot to turn in the stove top.” “I got it-” “It’s fine.” With a wave of her dainty fingers the knob flipped over. “Well that seems handy.” As you stared at the burner. “It has its perks.” She pushed past you, pan in hand, and placed it over the element, “So what about you? Your powers?” “They’re uh, they’re something.” “Well they must be handy as well no?” “No benefits I see so far.” You pulled a smile and turned on the toaster. “What can you do?” “That’s not… it’s not important.” “I remember when I first began playing with mine, so fascinating and magical, no wonder they call me a witch.” “Didn’t it ever scare you?” She smiled down at the eggs, “Of course, but there’s no use in being scared of yourself. I learned that awhile ago with an incident… Well that’s in the past. But now I know my limits and, to an extent, what I can do. I’ll probably never understand myself but I just keep trying.” The pop in the toaster caused you to jolt and turn back to it. “How do you like your eggs?” “Any way is fine.” You looked over your shoulder. “Okay than they’re done.” She moved the pan off the heat and held it over the island. A cabinet opened behind her and two plates hovered over to the counter to which she slid two eggs onto each place. “Toast please.”   You quickly grabbed the toast and nearly burned your fingers on the crisp crumbs. She grabbed a plate and motioned for you to follow her towards the large glass table. The two of you sat on opposing sides and Wanda released a sigh. “I am very forgetful today.” She waved her fingers and you heard a drawer open behind you. Two sets of silverware rushed over and landed gracefully on the table. “Yup definitely handy.” Nodding to yourself in self agreement. As you both ate away at the plates you heard some footsteps come up the stairs. “Wanda, uh you, what are you two bonding over? Telekinesis? Mind control? World domination?” “Hello Tony, does the thought of that worry you?” “I’ve faced worse.” Wanda smirked at you, maybe she was hoping you’d chime in, but you couldn’t face Tony as it felt wrong. “Uhm Peter was here.” You murmured. “Oh was he? Surprised he didn’t call… whelp he did. Who gave him my number again?” “You did Tony.” Wanda replied. “Right, why did I do that?” The fridge opened and then quickly shut. You felt like you wanted to say something else but nothing came out. Footsteps trailed close and you peered over to the edge of the table to see Tony bite into an apple. “So Wanda, did our guest tell you about her amazing powers.” He looked at you and smiled. “She didn’t seem all that comfortable talking about it so I didn’t press.” “Well you should,” he wagged his finger at you with the same hand holding the apple, “it’s a nifty party trick.” He walked away looking pleased with himself. You glared at his back but it was no use, you did want to show Wanda. She poked at what was left of her eggs, “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it.” You sighed, “I do. I want to not be afraid of them but I just have so many thoughts in my head.” “Like what?” “It’s… it’s too powerful, and then you add in my lack of memories and I could be a ticking time bomb! Wasn’t there someone like that? It feels familiar-” “One of Steve’ friends. His name was Bucky and he was in a similar ship to that.” “Bucky?” “He had some…issues.” “Had? What happened to him?” “That’s not important-” “Please tell me?” She let out a sigh, “He was nervous of what he’d do.” You leaned back in the chair, “Of course he was,” biting your lip. “But you’re not him, you don’t know-” “I don’t know myself Wanda.” Her face appeared worried as she looked into you while you looked into the ground. “I want… I want to show you.” She straightened in her chair and relaxed her face ready for anything. You placed your unused knife between the two of you and sighed. The two of you connected for a moment before you concentrated in on the metal. The discomfort began to appear and you brought it up your spine with the knife following. Past it you could see Wanda’ unsurprised face and you quickly blew out the pain. The blade exploded while keeping its shape as it self orbited and through the particles her wide eyes were scanning each inch of the expansion. You had noticed the discomfort was much less intense and slowly you closed the space, the knife coming back together as a puzzle. Slowly it descended back onto the table and lightly clicked onto the glass which cued you to look into Wanda. She inhaled and let out a sigh. “Well thats nifty.” You smirked at the comment and looked into your plate, “Pretty nifty.” She nodded and smiled at you, “You’ll be okay, I promise.” You copied her facial expression and nodded, “I’m uh- I’m going to head back to my room. Thank you for breakfast, I really appreciate it.” Widening the smile. “You’re welcome, and you can talk to me whenever. I understand.” “Okay.” You pushed out of the chair and traveled back to your room as silently as possible trying to not think of anything. You entered and exited the elevator and walked into your room dropping onto your bed. Well shit.   Some days had past with you just ducking in and out of your room for the bathroom or the kitchen; maybe if you ignored everyone nothing could be triggered. It was seemingly working but it was also very disheartening. No one had checked on you at all, not even Friday had asked questions. This time you knew most were home as you had caught glimpses of them as you’d scurry back to your room and yet nothing came out of it. They probably knew you needed space from the overwhelming situation which you should’ve appreciated, right? Sure. But eventually this became tiresome and the feeling of abandonment came back. You wanted to talk to them, you wanted to be friends, you wanted to do something. But the danger… what about that? How could they trust you while you’re like this? You lied to Peter about your name just to seem more normal but yet wouldn’t tell him about the one thing you did know; your power. So you decided to venture out and stop being a hermit.   The kitchen was the heart of the building and that’s where you’d be. You traveled down the familiar trail and saw the large window open yourself to the outside world. Gosh it had been forever since you felt real air. There was a door that led outside which drew you in and you turned the knob open. The air was slightly chilled and smelled fresh from the trees. You breathed in so deeply to seemingly flush out the air that now felt so stuffy in your lungs and smiled to yourself. This is where you wanted to be, how you wanted to feel; relaxed, no worries, happy. There was a bench somewhat down the expansive porch and you set your sight on it, quickly making your way down to it. You sat down and continued to stare into the trees blocking out all the other thoughts that tried to shove their way in. The atmosphere was quiet with just the wind quietly whispering through the buildings edges so it was easy to hear the door open down from you. Snapping your head in that direction you saw the familiar Peter in a flannel hesitantly making his way towards you. You stopped staring and began looking at the trees again. “H-hey Y/N.” “Hi Peter.” Still not looking at him. “Look I’m sorry if I had upset you, I-I really hadn’t meant to. I just-” “It’s fine,” you smiled down into your lap, “I was just… it’s just something I don’t want to talk about.” “I get it, everyone needs secrets right?” He let out an awkward laugh. You laughed yourself, “You can sit if you’d like.” “T-thanks.” Feeling his presence reside next to you. “So,” finally looking over at him, “What are you doing here today?” “Same as last, trying to get in some combat training.” As he nodded his head. “Why are you so adamant on that?” “I just want to prove myself y’know? I don’t want to be seen as this kid forever amongst superheroes.” “But you are a superhero.” “Huh?” He looked at you with wide eyes. “Well you are aren’t you? That’s what Tony had said-” “Mr.Stark said I was a superhero!?” “Uhm, yeah? Why is that so surprising?” You chuckled. “It’s just… Wow. You know I respect his opinion so much so hearing that he said that is uhm-it’s pretty cool.” He looked off into the area. “How do you feel about yourself?” Copying his position. “Myself?” “The opinion you should value the most is your own. Other opinions will change, constantly, but yours shouldn’t be so transforming. You are who you want to be and only you can change yourself. Yes I understand that Tony is a big guy but if you believe in what you are that is who you are.” He was staring at you, you felt it, so you returned the look. “What?” you said, curiously. “That’s really nice to hear.” “Didn’t you already know that?” “I think part of me did, but y’know you just depend on others opinions so much that you change yourself. I want to be seen as a hero to people because that’s how I feel. I want to do good for everyone.” “You don’t need to be a hero to do good.” “I know,” he looked back out but leaned toward you, “but it definitely helps.” You laughed, “Yeah I bet it does.”   Both of you looked out and sat in silence, his presence made you feel happy which in turn scared you; he was such a positive force and it radiated off him. Not to mention he was actually kind of attractive, yes Tony and Bruce and even the Captain all held their own rankings in your head but he was different. He made you feel different and was too relatable. The other men were dominant in your eyes, they were superiors, but Peter wasn’t that way. He wasn’t on your level, you definitely felt floors below him, but he wasn’t like them. “So what are you doing out here?” You felt his eyes on your cheek. “I haven’t been outside for while, it’s a big place y’know. I just wanted some fresh air.” You looked over at him which caused him to begin blushing. “Yeah-yeah of course.” “Why are you blushing?” You laughed. “What! I’m not-I’m not blushing-whaaat?” This caused it to happen more. “Oh my gosh it’s okay! Calm down!” You were genuinely laughing now and grasped his shoulder. “Well don’t touch me that’ll make it worse!” He was smiling and trying to shake your hand off. “What do you mean?” You replaced it every time it’d shrug off. “Stop it!” He swung his leg over now straddling the bench and tried grabbing at your wrist. You copied his motion and began trying to grab at his which led to an on and off poking match where either you were trying to grab him or vice versa. It felt great to laugh and smile and act like a normal person as opposed to the lurking thing in the shadows you had felt like. Eventually your grasped one of his wrists but he also caught your other one. “Looks like we're at a draw.” You laughed. “I mean I’m not one to give up so-” “Well neither am I!” “Guess we're gonna have to live like this forever.” He beamed a smile. “That doesn’t seem so bad.” “You’re the one blushing now.” “I am very aware of it!” With the hand holding onto you he tried poking your abdomen. “Well don’t touch me that’ll make it worse!”   He wholeheartedly laughed and you guys began rough housing again while keeping grip on each other. You felt so much joy that you couldn’t stop smiling and lost focus giving him the upper hand and he caught your other wrist. “Well it looks like I win!” You rolled your eyes and relaxed your body, “Damn I was looking forward to the forever part.” The blood ran to his face again, “Y-yeah me t-too.” You smiled and he slowly relaxed his grip while placing your hands onto your thighs, “Stay.” “They are not dogs Peter.” “I-I know that.” He smiled, embarrassed. He looked down into the space between you and him while you looked into his glowing face. He must’ve felt it because he returned your gaze and it made you smile. “Uhm kiddos don’t mean to break up day care but daddy’s here to pick up his little man.” You looked past Peter to see a suited Tony stroll over and place his hand onto his shoulder. This caused Peter to stiffen up just a bit and glance in that direction. “Hey M-Mr.Stark.” “Hello Peter, what are you two up to?” “Emotional bonding.” You replied. Tony looked through his yellow tinted sunglasses at you happily surprised, maybe he had missed your quick responses but it was too soon to tell. Peter on the other hand was wide eyed and beginning to blush again which yet again caused you to smile. “Well doesn’t that sound fun. Look so I’ve got some time on my hands and I just thought of a group activity we could do as a family.” Tony smiling maniacally towards you. “What’s that?” Peter glanced back over his shoulder not seeing your face drop at the thought of what could happen. “Well Petey you’ve been so adamant on some combat training that I thought maybe our little friend… Y/N, would like to learn something too.” Shit. You caught Peters turning head just in time to place a smile back on your face as he enthusiastically looked at you, “Do you want to come?” The internal struggle was very real. “Of course she does,” Tony stared at you, “She wants to be an Avenger right?”
37 notes · View notes
bangtan-only · 7 years ago
Text
BTS: House of Cards (Pt.2 Gang AU)
Character profile
Prologue
Chapter 1/2
Chapter 2 “Forgotten Cards”
GLAM ( One of Seoul’s hottest clubs)
  You parked your car in your usual parking lot before walking towards GLAM. You see the sea of bodies right front at the entrance. You rolled your eyes. You never understood why people would spend hours and hundreds of dollars to get themselves inside and get wasted or whatever. As you walk up the endless queue, you saw a man with bright orange hair, too striking, too familiar but the darkness of the night prevents you from recognising him which you decided it wasn’t important either.
   People were complaining that the queue wasn’t moving, fidgeting about, complaining about VIPs having the very valuable VIP pass granting them to enter. But then again, money makes the world go round. So, it’s either you are absolutely rich or ridiculously poor.
   You were immediately let in when the bouncer sees you. Everyone was glaring at you but you could feel someone staring intently at you until you disappear into the club. You don’t sense a threat, just pure discomfort.  You head towards the room with a sign that states “staff only” which have obviously seen better days. You make a mental note to upgrade this. Just when you thought you could make a coffee to keep you awake, a sharp knock was on the door.
  “Madam! Madam!” Accompanied by more hurried knocks. You open the door and glared at your innocent subordinate.
  “You could have open the door on your own you know ?” You scoffed.
  “Sorry Madam! But we have urgent issues!” Bogum informed.
  Bogum was put in charge of the bar after your previous bartender decided to get himself landed in the hospital. And today was his first day of work. He was pretty much a nice kid. Shouldn’t be working under such conditions but after his persistence and his very absolute bartender skills, you decided to accept his application. Under the condition that you and the club won’t be held responsible if anything happens to him. After all, you have warned him and he should know that these places are dangerous in the first place.
  “What ?” You answered, unfazed. Probably the same old problem. You have seen a fair share of conflicts that it doesn’t even cause you to panic.
  “A-a fighting have broke out! The bar-the bar is ruined.” Bogum informed.
  “And ? Get the bouncers there.” You replied calmly.
  “They demand to see the in-charge.” Bogum looked worried.
  “Hmm? Okay. Do your work at the second floor bar.” You instructed.
  You walked out of the staff room and put on a stern facade. You immediately see people gathering around the bar, making a circle. You can see your bouncer and the man trying to negotiate.
  “Thanks. I will take over from here.” You put your hand on the bouncer’s shoulder.
  “Get the the cleaners too.” You added.
  “Hey everybody, nothing to see here. Drinks are on the house for tonight. Collect it at the second and third floor bar. Enjoy your night at The GLAM!” You dismissed, with everyone’s drunken cheering. The masses is placated. Now you have to deal with the scowling man in front of you.
  “Sir, how may i help you?” You asked, plastering a smile on.
  “I have lost my limited edition Rolex in YOUR club, isn’t it your duty to help me retrieved it ?! You staff here did not so their duty! And even fought with me!”
  “Look!” He pointed to his split lips.
  “I demand a medical fee.”
  “Sir, lost of item is not under our judiciary. However, if your item is found, we will contact you. So please leave your contact number behind.” You explained, placing a pen and paper on the counter behind.
  “As for your medical f-”
  “Oh shut up woman! Do you know who am i ? I can buy over your club and get you kick out of here.”
  “I demand a compensation!” The man fumed.
  “Sir. Truly, i don’t know who you are.”
  “But a word of advice. You are messing with the wrong place. Go con elsewhere, if you are lucky enough, you might succeed.” You smirked.
  “You ass-”
  “Now, if you can, the door is right there.” You pointed to the glass door.
  “Lead him out.” You instructed the bouncer.
  If you weren’t having a great day before, you definitely have a terrible day now. You felt nauseating, the changing lights, the crowd, the noise, you should have been immune to such influence, but heaven thought it was a good idea to play with you.
  A distinct laugh and a clapped was heard directly behind you. You immediately turned back, standing in front of you was no other than, Park Jimin.
  “Long time no see. (Y/n).” He smirked.
A/n: 2 Chapters in a week for BTS 4th Anniversary! A promise that this will get better and BTS will appear for more than 5 secs in the future chapters. And yes. Feed backs are welcome and i will do a college au once i am done with lies and do check that out too. 
BTS & ARMY!
-J.L
Here you go: smug Jimin
Tumblr media
32 notes · View notes