#if i didn't give a shit I could afford it but I've been waiting for HW2's flatmode since the game was announced

[glitch-in-the-code]

I really wish I could buy The Generation Loss VHS tape

[yuri-is-online]

And in With the New (Scarabia, Pomefiore, Ignihyde, and Diasomnia x Yuu)

"Look I would get rid of this thing if I could afford a new sweatshirt." You drag the offensive article of clothing over your head completely missing the spark of curiosity and mischief in your companion's eye. "I've got a lot of bad memories associated with this."

"If it's that uncomfortable we can go look for a replacement instead of-"

"Oh no not like that, it's super comfy. I just don't like it because it technically belongs to my ex."

notes: they/them used for Yuu, their ex is implied to be kind of a shit person, other dorms can be found here (x) Ortho is somewhat included in Idia's part but does not have one of his own.

Kalim- "Do you have any other things from your world?"

Kalim has expressed a desire for you to see as much of Twisted Wonderland as possible, and he stands by that, but it would really suck if the only physical connection you had to your home was something that brought up painful memories. Your past relationship isn't something that makes him jealous, just concerned since it clearly causes you distress. He can wait to get you more appropriate clothing until after he makes sure you're ok. If the sweatshirt really is the only thing you have from home, he'll be asking if there are any foods you remember or activities you liked to do with the people you actually cared about that the two of you can recreate in Twisted Wonderland. That way you won't have to feel the need to hold onto something painful and he gets to make you happy.

Jamil- "Then why didn't you get rid of it before you came here?"

On the one hand he does feel a bit second rate at the thought of you holding onto something form an ex, but his primary concern is the implication that your financial straights have always been this... dire. He definitely wants to know about your previous relationship so he can judge them for how much better he is, but once he notices that the memories are a bit on the traumatic side he stops pushing and feels just the slightest bit guilty. But really, if it's something that hurts you to hold onto then why do it? You aren't him, you don't need to do that, people love you and want to take care of you, him included. He's not going to just give you his hoodie, he would literally die of embarrassment, but he does get you a sweatshirt. If for no other reason than to keep him from staring holes into your back now that he knows where the other one came from.

Vil- "It doesn't suit you at all."

If his treatment of Epel is anything to go by, Vil is not above spending money on something he considers to be a pet project. Not that this... friendship is one of those, nor is he particularly jealous of some no name extra who was too blind to beg on their hands and knees to get back in your good graces. Not that he needs to do that you understand; as arrogant as Vil has a reputation for being, he is one of the people who has been more genuine when expressing concern and gratitude for you. His comment isn't meant to be a slight, clothing that makes you feel bad about yourself is failing to do its job as fashion, and as a world class super model that is unacceptable. In other words get in the car looser we're going shopping.

Rook- "Ah, I thought it was something like that."

Is it bad if he says he meant he hoped it was something like that? Not that he was rooting for your ex to be a bad person, he would never wish a subpar lover on you. But when he saw the tattered edges of your sweatshirt and how it clashed with the things you bought for yourself, he hoped that maybe someone in your world hadn't wanted your hands to be cold. If that's not the case, then if you are ok with letting it go as a lover of romance who is he to deny you your freedom? Granted tossing roses onto a fire while you burn an ugly sweatshirt is both very extra and very Rook but hey. He's having fun and you've got a new jacket.

Epel- "Afford shamford I could'a just made ya one!"

Offering their sweetheart their hoodie is something manly tall guys get to do and Epel has really really REALLY. Been looking forward to getting to that point in his relationship with you. He wants to feel like a real man, like your real man to be specific. The thought of some other piece of shit getting to do that first and treating you like a used dish rag pisses him off. Best believe he is huffing and puffing his way back to Grandma Felmier's boot camp with a mission to do you one and your ex two better by knitting you a pullover to go with your uniform. Everything that comes from Harveston is a top quality product prefect, better than whatever you left behind he guarantees it.

Idia- "So this is that kind of route huh..."

Of course you had a partner back in your world, if he can see your good points then a normie absolutely could. That doesn't make you less appealing, it just makes him feel all that more convinced he doesn't have a chance. He's halfway through whipping out his tablet to excuse himself when Ortho asks what you meant by "shitty memories" and they both get blindsided by just how much vitriol you have for a person whose clothing you technically kept on you. And suddenly he's back in business because there are few things that unite Idia with someone faster than a good old fashion bitch fest. Sure, his insults are weirdly possessive of you, but if he had any doubts about your feelings for this person he doesn't now! He's never heard you talk about anyone like this before and he finds it so attractive he almost forgets to short circuit when Ortho convinces you to try on his hoodie. Almost.

Malleus- "..."

Sometimes he feels like a broken record, constantly marveling at how little fear you have of him, but really child of man, you have no fear. Malleus has very little in the way of emotional intelligence, so he doesn't fully understand that what he is feeling is jealousy he just knows the thought of you with someone else's clothes hurts. Unfortunately for you both, in addition to not being emotionally intelligent he also isn't with the times and there is a non zero percent chance he will be bringing you a cloak and be genuinely confused when you don't immediately replace your old hide for his. (Lilia takes responsibility for that, he was making a joke honest.) Oh? The point was it's supposed to be something he wore so you can feel closer to him when he's gone? Well why didn't you say so child of man, he is more than willing to offer you a scale- what do you mean you can't wear that either?

Lilia- "Oh? Are you asking for one of mine?"

Shame has not been a word in Lilia's vocabulary since long before you showed up prefect. He always buys oversized clothing because of how cute the long sleeves look on him, but oh they would be so much cuter on you prefect, don't you want to see? Oh and while the two of you are at it, why don't you let him paint your nails and do your eye shadow. He's never had one of those slumber party things you humans do, you should make a night of this so you can both get a new experience out of this. He can have a slumber party and you can be the center of someone's world. Also what do you mean you're supposed to summon the devil at these things, he's already here.

Silver- "Would you like one of mine?"

Lilia raised a very good boy who thinks nothing of offering the shirt off his back to save someone in distress. Silver isn't a jealous person by nature, he's more concerned with making sure you are safe and taken care of than he is making sure you don't still have feelings for your ex. Above all else, Silver wants to be a safe space for you to come home to at the end of the day, like a proper knight in shining armor. Though he does have to admit, you look really nice in Diasomnia colors, they're really close to Briar Valley's so if you decide to come and visit he's assures you that you will fit right in. He's sure his father would be very happy to play host. Maybe too happy.

Sebek- "HOW UTTERLY DISGRACEFUL."

You think he's upset at you but he's not, that's made painfully clear with the rant he starts to go on about proper courtship procedure. Offering clothing to someone is supposed to be a sign of high affection, nay eternal devotion! And it suddenly becomes clear to you that Sebek has somehow managed to confuse the concept of a stolen hoodie and a knight's favor. He seems to have managed to convince himself, in the span of two seconds, that you are wearing this not because it is one of your only pieces of clothing, but because your ex convinced you that they're the only one who could love you which IS NOT TRUE. YOU UNDERSTAND HUMAN? DO YOU UNDERSTAAAAAAAAND?

[vin-taege]

How It Starts, How It Ends

summary: a series of pivotal moments in your relationship with Chishiya, pre and post-Borderlands.

genre: some fluff, heavy angst, established relationship

pairing: chishiya x art student!reader

words: 3.5k

warnings: major character death, hurt no comfort, depression, possible spoilers for S2

First Meeting

"Look at this cute beetle I found."

The small insect gently crawled up your pudgy hand as you held it out. The boy in front of you didn't seem too impressed, responding with only a blank stare. You had always seen him by himself during recess and felt bad that he had to eat alone daily. The other kids were either scared of his dad or thought he was weird—but you minded no such things.

"Those carry germs. Some species of them even hiss or bite," he deadpanned.

"But not this one," you pouted, nudging your hands closer to him. "Look, I think he wants to meet you."

Truly enough, the beetle was inching its way off your fingers, seemingly heading towards the stoic boy. He glanced at it before looking back at you, then he sighed. He didn't think he could get rid of you, so he'll entertain you for now.

"I'll pet it, but I'm not gonna hold it."

"Deal!" 

The way you beamed at him made him feel weird, like something was stirring in his chest. Interesting, he noted.

"I'm ___," you smiled, watching him swipe his finger back and forth the beetle's shell.

"I'm Chishiya."

   .❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

First Date(ish)

"I'm about to implode."

Chishiya looked over your notes and let out a snort. Almost everything was highlighted and it all looked like one big splotch of spilled ink on paper. You ignored him, opting to rearrange your home-made flashcards instead. 

"Physics isn't that hard," he murmured.

"Yeah," you glared at him. "For you."

He chuckled again before getting shushed by someone sitting a shelf away from your table. This made you snicker, worry melting away for a split-second. "I don't get how you can grasp this so easily. The formulas all look the same and I don't know which one to use."

He hummed thoughtful before scooting his chair nearer you. "Just start by focusing on the question. Look at what variables they're giving you and at what's missing, then just match them up with the formula that fits."

"I know~ but—" you huffed. "It's a no-formula-card type of exam."

The way you pouted at him almost looked exactly like how you did all those years ago. You were his first—only—friend, and over time, him simply tolerating you had turned into him growing fond of you.

"How many formulas have you memorized?"

"Two, almost three."

"There's six right? Almost there," he gave you a genuinely encouraging smile.

You loved Chishiya for all his snark and cleverness, but you also loved how soft and supportive he can be when it comes to it. These were small moments you held near your heart, and you doubt you'll ever let them go.

He gently took the flashcards from your hands, tapping rhem on the table to align them. He moved a little so the blank sides were facing you and peered at you over the cards. "If you can get this all down by 5 pm, I'll buy you a snack."

"I want a box of macarons."

"I'll buy you a snack that I can afford."

"Deal!"

   .❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

First Milestone

"How was your finals, doctor?"

A light blush bloomed across Chishiya's cheeks. You were a constant pillar of support for him in life, one he hadn't experienced before from anyone else. Since college had begun for the both of you, you were consistently waiting for him after every finals exam he had—a small strawberry cake roll ready in your hands as a reward for him. It became a tradition for the both of you, and even though Chishiya wasn't the best with words, you knew he was appreciative of your actions.

"I've been offered to intern," his voice was neutral, though you know he was at most pleased with himself with the way his eyes crinkled up. In his mind, however, he was more excited about the cake in his hands rather than the position.

"Holy shit?!" you wrapped your arms around his neck, careful not to squish the frosting. His breath hitched for a second, before he wrapped his free arm around you. He buried his face in your hair, lips quirking up as he shut his eyes to savor the moment. "I'm so proud of you, Chi."

The sunset was slowly trickling into the wide windows of the school hallways. Chishiya didn't expect to be in that laboratory for so long, and it was only now that he realized how long you must have waited. Reluctantly, he pulled away from you to see your face better. 

"Have you eaten yet? You might get an ulcer."

You chuckled lightly, "I've eaten lunch a few hours ago. I wanted us to have dinner together, but I've eaten some crackers while I was waiting."

"Crackers," he pressed his lips in disapproval. "Those aren't nutritious."

Lightly chuckling, you took his hand, leading him out of the building and soon, the campus. The weather was a bit chilly even though you had worn a jacket. Still, you were too stubborn to say anything. Fortunately, Chishiya read you like an open book. Without prompting, he took your hand in his.

"How was your finals? Did your prof like the color application?"

Your heart swelled up. You honestly didn't expect him to remember.

The final project your professor gave you for color theory was to pick an existing painting and evoke the opposite emotion of it by changing the colors and composition. It seemed easy enough, but it had stumped you since you wanted to pick just the perfect base.

The night you were finishing it, Chishiya stayed over at your apartment to "make sure you were eating"—an excuse for him to spend more time with you. He was adamant about getting you to sleep early for the sake of your circadian rhythm, and when he couldn't convince you, stayed up with you instead.

"He seemed to like it, thank god. The composition flowed well and he like that I used a tertiary color scheme."

"I told you the risk would pay off," he smirked.

"I know," you stuck your tongue out. "I should listen to my all-knowing boyfriend more."

Boyfriend. 

He loved it so much when you called him that. Until now he couldn't believe you were real, that what you had was real. He would give anything in the world to stay with you forever.

You passed by a ramen shop, stopping in your tracks to scan the bowls of steaming noodles in longing. You had badly wanted something to heat you up, but one glance at the prices shot down your hopes. 

"I'll treat you," he said softly. "You deserve it."

"But you're the one who got the internship," you pouted at him.

"I'll be treating myself too by buying myself good ramen," he raised an eyebrow, silently pleading that you'd just give in. "And you did treat me. You got me cake."

He raised the small box by the ribbons wrapped around it. When you stayed silent for a couple of seconds, he sighed. You were still stubborn about having to "owe" people things, especially if you felt like you "didn't earn it."

"Fine. I'll buy you ramen tonight and you can make it up to me by taking me to the cafe next week."

"Deal!" you gave in.

   .❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

First Game

Your first game in the Borderlands already had you running for your life. It was a five of clubs called Cat and Mouse. Set in a large office building, you needed to find the four mice scattered all over the place and take their tail—the twist being that the "mice" were actually people donning masks and guns. Red bandanas were attached to their belts, the tails you needed to get.

Chishiya was just behind you, heavily breathing as he slid between the winding hallways of the game arena. His hands were still in his hoodie pockets, much to your dismay. You had told him it'll slow him down, but he just shrugged you off. 

"I know where the final mouse is."

The gunshots faded as you ran farther away from the main room. The two of you teamed up with a group of three other players, and Chishiya came up with the idea to lure the third mouse so you can ambush him.

You had seen another player holding a bandana, and by Chishiya's deductions, you only had another tail left to catch. "The gunshots stopped. We know that there's two mice either dead or incapacitated. Judging by how they seem to be on defense, I think there's only one left."

"Because it would be risky for the last one to come out," you murmured moreso to yourself, completing his thoughts.

He hummed in approval. "We need to find the other players to see if we can cover ground faster. Unless..."

He halted, staring straight down the dimly-lit hallway. You nervously looked around, readying the crowbar you held tightly in case anything were to pounce on you. Chishiya. 

"Maybe we shouldn't stop in the middle of the hallway," you chided him, though he was still deep in his thoughts.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up with a realization. "Unless the mice aren't on the floors."

You're gaze trailed up to the ceiling, landing on the thin slits marked on some parts. Chishiya grinned proudly. Your intelligence has once again made him fall impossible even deeper. 

"They're in the vents," you surmised. He nodded, looking at you in awe and love—as if you were God who came down from heaven to bless him, your devout worshipper.

"We need to tell the others so we can prepare another ambush then." You had considered going back to the main hall, but the other players might have left or been dead by then.

"Don't you want to rest first?" He asked teasingly. 

You snorted. "Shuntaro, we have—" you glanced at the phone, "—five minutes left."

He hummed, feigning contemplation. That name was reserved only for serious occasions, and he knew you were getting riled up. "How about this: we tell them now, but we let them do the handiwork."

This was a side of him that you dreaded seeing. His entire "pawns go first" philosophy bothered you—in fact, you were strongly against it. You didn't like how this place brought out the worst in him, how it brought out the coldness and slyness of his heart.

Yet here you were, unable to leave him. You knew that he was only doing it to protect you. He wanted you to go back together safely as much as you did, but he did it in his own ways.

You bit your lip, voice laced with hesitation.

"Deal."

   .❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

First and Last Goodbye

The first game of the face cards round decimated what might as well be half of the players. 

During the first onslaught King of Spades, you and Chishiya got separated from Kuina, Arisu, and Usagi. The crowbar you had kept from your first game served its last purpose when you used it as a makeshift golf club to hit the grenade away from you. Just as you did, Chishiya dove and pulled you downwards with him to take cover.

You eyes were closed tightly, and the only things you could hear were the ringing in your ears and the beating of his heart. For a second, you swore you had died. Then the arms wrapped around you loosened, followed by a hand running through your hair.

"Are you okay?" Chishiya whispered. His eyebrows knit in worry. "We need to move. Now."

You nodded wordlessly. slowly and quietly rolling off him. Screams and the roar of a rifle were still audible near you, but seemingly moving in the opposite direction. He helped you up, giving you a quick scan to make sure you weren't heavily injured.

"We need to find a sparsely populated area," he spoke once he deemed the King was far enough. "Looks like he's going after large crowds."

"We can go to the edge of the city and follow the river. We're bound to hit a forest sooner or later," you suggested.

"That might take time." He looked your tired state. The bags under your eyes darkened and small scars littered all over your body. An almost empty backpack slung over your shoulder, looking almost as sad as you were.

He weighed out his options: what you suggested was the ideal choice, but you were in no condition for a long trek. Finally, he came to a decision. "But that'll work. We need to do a supply run first."

Was it risky still being in the city? Yes. Did he want you to starve? No. As a compromise, he steered clear of the shops on the main streets. Unfortunately, the smaller stores you ventured into were already looted, only expired goods left in the wreckage.

You could tell Chishiya was getting frustrated. His jaw clenched each time you failed to find food or water. His composure was starting to crack for the first time since you got here. You sidled next to him, slipping your hand into his. He relaxed a bit, though his lips were still pulled into a small grimace.

"We'll be okay," you offered him a small smile. He kissed you on the forehead, returning only a small hum in response.

After thirty more minutes of searching, the two of you finally stumbled upon a shack that had edible food. There were candies at the front, the strawberry ones catching your eye.

Grabbing a handful of them, you strode up to Chishiya. His back was turned to you, the blond busy searching through shelves of cup noodles and biscuits. You tapped him on the shoulder. 

"I got this for you," you brought up the candies like an offering. His eyes sparkled, and he couldn't help the grin that broke through his face. 

"Charming." It was supposed to be teasing, but it came out genuinely grateful. He turned the backpack he was filling up towards you so that you can drop the candies in.

He held it in place for a few seconds longer, looking at you as if he wanted something. You raised your eyebrow in question. He hesitated for a bit, before leaning forwards and connecting his lips with yours.

You reciprocated the kiss, pressing closer to him. The bag landed with a thud on the ground, him favoring pulling your waist closer instead. He was rarely the one who initiated physical affection, but it only took him a bit of prodding to follow through.

He broke away, only to look you in the eyes. "I'll take you home. I promise."

"We'll take us home," you gave him one last peck on the lips. 

For a moment, it felt normal again. It was just you and him against all odds. You were in your little bubble near the outskirts of town, safe from all the hurt.

Then the gunshots started again and they were scarily nearer this time.

Your eyes widened and Chishiya froze. You quickly picked up the bag while he slowly peered out the glass panes of the shop. The caped King was just down the road, a shotgun in his hands. He shot towards the inside of a shop, and Chishiya was certain he hit whoever his target was.

"That's not good," he muttered to himself. "___, run when I tell you to."

"I won't leave you," you snapped.

"I'll be right behind you. I promise." He gave you a reassuring look before peering out the shop window again. 

"Fucker must have tracked us." With the crowbar gone, you had only the small bomb Chishiya made for protection.

He took it out of the inside of his jacket, waiting until the King got close enough. Chishiya knew it wasn't enough to kill anyone, but it would buy you time. That's all that mattered to him.

The crunching of boots on gravel drew closer. Chishiya twisted one of the wires around his finger, ready to pull the activator. The King shot into another store, closer to the one you were in this time. He emptied the round and lowered his gun to reload. In one swift movement, Chishiya pulled on the wire and chucked it as hard as he can.

"Go!"

The two of you sprinted out the shop. The can clunked on the ground as it landed before splintering into pieces with a loud boom. Chishiya yelled after you.

"Don't look back!"

Yet you did, just in time to see the King dodge behind the doorframe. Just in time to see he had the now loaded gun pointed at Chishiya. 

In a split-second, you turned on your heel and pushed Chishiya into an alleyway, the bullet meant for him digging its way into your chest. 

The impact slammed you against the brick wall. There was ringing in your ears and your eyes were blurred by tears. When did you start crying?

Chishiya grabbed your upper body, dragging you deeper into the alley. You could see his lips moving. He was trying to tell you something but everything was so fuzzy.

With adrenaline pumping in his veins, he scooped you up, carrying you as he ran. There were footsteps following not far from him. Pushing his legs to go faster, he inched around the twisted alley, slinking in and out of connected rooms, running and running until he found a door to a semi-basement hidden behind tarps.

He forced it in with his shoulder, careful not to hit you. The room used to be for storage—construction items and dust filling the space. He slid behind a pile of wooden beams, gently setting you down. The surroundings outside settled, and he knew the gunman had lost you.

But god, the bloodbath before him was the scariest.

He'd seen this happen before. He's seen how pale a person could get after so much blood loss. He's seen how it becomes more evident with the lips, cheeks, the tips of your fingers. He's seen that faraway look, the one where he knew the person was starting to drift away.

He put both hands on your chest, putting pressure on the wound. Your blood leaked through your shirt, soaking his hands. Frantically, he took his hoodie off and pressed it against you too. 

"Don't die on me, ___. Please." He whispered, voice breaking.

His words brought you back, tearing your eyes away from the corner of cement bricks and bringing it back to his warm, brown ones. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. He's never cried before.

You tried to move your lips, only a croak escaping from your throat. "Chish..."

"Don't leave me, please. Please, ___."

A crimson puddle on the ground was growing at an alarming rate. He had no tools, no help. He was a doctor but he couldn't fucking save the only life that mattered to him. 

Shakily, he held you closer. His voice never sounded this gentle before. "Stay with me."

"C-candies. Eat well... okay?" Your voice was hoarse. The humid room felt colder now. "L-love you."

"We'll eat well together. We'll go back together, I promised you. I'll get you macarons and ramen and those paints you've always wanted, okay? Deal?" His voice was wavering. He tightened his grip on you, pressing your chest harder with his other hand. "Deal?"

You looked up at him with a sad smile. With the last bit of your strength, you brought your hand up and pressed it against his. He laced your fingers together.

"___?" He whispered, finally letting the tears fall. "Deal?" 

You didn't respond. You didn't get to hear him say he loved you too.

   .❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

First Grief

One minute.

Landing in the Borderlands. Cat and Mouse. The Beach. The face cards. Losing you.

It all happened within a minute in the real world.

Chishiya made a promise to himself while he was in the Borderlands. When the candies would run out, he'd stop fighting. When the last traces of you would leave him, he'd join you. Yet by divine intervention, they lasted enough until he beat the King of Diamonds. Long enough until Arisu and Usagi cleared the final face card. 

And now here he was. Sitting on a hospital bed, knowing that he wouldn't find you anywhere in the hospital or the Earth for that matter. 

He hadn't spoken since, only nodding or shaking his head in response to the doctor's questions. As a doctor, he'd known he would've been pissed at a patient that acted like himself. But nothing mattered anymore.

"We found you holding this. Your fist was wrapped around it pretty tightly that we thought the blood had cut off," a nurse told him. She placed a singular piece of strawberry candy on his bedside table.

He looked at it with mixed feelings of remorse and dread. He waited for the nurse to leave the room. Wordlessly, he reached over to close the curtains separating him from a patient with burn injuries. He allowed himself to break down again that day.

When his wounds had recovered enough for him to stand, he found himself sitting in the garden area. The candy was still unopened, sitting on the oak table in front of him. A part of him still hoped that you'd join him out of nowhere. That he'll hear your voice like tinkling bells calling out to him.

"I promised," he thought to himself. How was he supposed to continue everything you've built without you? How was he supposed to go home and face all the things you've left behind?

He wanted to cry again. He wanted to tear his heart out so he'd stop the hurt. He wanted you back. He'd give anything.

The small buzz of wings pricked his ears. He lifted his hand a little, discovering a tiny beetle that had landed near him. He stared at it for a few seconds before gently nudging it with his finger.

It grasped his skin, spiky limbs crawling up his hand.

"___ would've loved you," he whispered.

[steddieas-shegoes]

wasting company time

for @corrodedcoffinfest warm up round prompt 'get a job'

rated t | 736 words | no cw | tags: they're idiots and i love them, especially gareth, he is my most special boy

🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸

If Gareth had to help one more person today, he was going to quit his job.

Which he couldn't. He was the only one in the band who currently had an income.

Eddie had been fired for missing too many shifts because of shows, Jeff was too busy with classes to also have a job, and Frankie was waiting for the right thing to come up. Gareth sucked it up and worked nearly full time at the diner.

He couldn't cook for shit so he was a waiter, and being a waiter was not his ideal position. The waitresses he worked with wore short skirts and flirted their way to decent tips. That didn't exactly work for Gareth, who worked the shift when mostly truck drivers came through with exhaustion seeping from their pores and gruff voices barely even placing an order before ignoring him.

The bell rang above the door and Gareth groaned.

"Have a seat anywhere!" He said from behind the counter, taking an extra minute to gather himself before having to help.

"Nah, you're gonna come with us."

Gareth looked up to see Jeff, Eddie, and Frankie standing at the counter, grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm clearly working. I don't get off for another hour."

"You don't need to work anymore."

Gareth was not gonna get his hopes up. They may be smiling and encouraging him to leave his job, but they all were irresponsible sometimes, even Jeff.

"Did you all get jobs?"

"We all have a gig. A decent one. One that pays," Frankie leaned against the counter. "One that requires us going on a little tour."

"You're telling me we have nothing for two years and suddenly we have a tour? With who? Where?" Gareth folded his arms across his chest, frowning. They were fucking with him.

"We didn't have nothing for two years, we had shitty gigs. Everyone starts with shitty gigs," Eddie argues. "And one of those shitty gigs had someone who works with a metal band who's going on tour in a month. They opened for Sabbath on their last tour. We're so fucking in, baby."

Gareth still couldn't believe it.

How did they land that? How did anyone see their Hideout show and think 'yeah, those are the guys we need'?

"I don't understand."

"Take off the apron, even though it's doing wonders for your hips," Eddie wiggled his brows playfully. "And come to the trailer. I've got everything there for us to look at with a lawyer."

"A lawyer? We can't afford a lawyer."

"Correct. But Steve said Nancy could take a look at it and make sure the language isn't trying to fuck us over," Eddie poked Gareth's cheek. "Jeff's mom said her brother could look at it, too, but he technically is an insurance lawyer so it may go over his head."

"Nancy Wheeler is gonna read a contract to make sure we don't sign our lives away?"

"Precisely," Frankie nodded.

"Anyone better for the job?" Jeff asked.

He had a ridiculous crush on Nancy, so of course he would think she could do it easily.

"A real lawyer maybe? Someone who is used to reading contracts?" Gareth was not quitting his job for this.

"Okay, well, do you have real lawyer money hiding somewhere in that apron?" Eddie threw his hands up.

"What's your obsession with this apron?" Gareth teased. "I just don't wanna end up jobless and then not even have this gig to fall back on."

"It's your damn hips! I said!" Eddie rolled his eyes. "If I promise to find a lawyer, will you please quit this stupid job?"

"If you can find a lawyer willing to work for free to look at that contract, I will quit this job and give you my last paycheck."

"Deal!" Eddie ran from the diner immediately, leaving Jeff and Frankie shaking their heads.

"He's never gonna find one," Jeff said.

"I know. I'll see you guys in the morning for practice."

Frankie waved and walked back out the door, but Jeff stayed for a moment.

"Hey, I know you're being cautious. But also, I think this would be good for us. We should probably give it a go."

Gareth looked behind him at the line cook shoving a french fry into his mouth, then at the one guy asleep at a table in the corner.

"Yeah, alright. Let's give it a try."

[moongumi]

⁀➷ ∵  ❝country boy and his clown❞

⟶ phillip graves x oc/reader

⟶ cw. graves babygirl confused, funny banter, shadow boys, aloof OC, lots of jokes, third person <3

⟶ note. this is basically my little drabbles collection that will accumulate into a long story at some point about my OC Leech xd she's also the ones in all the other MW2 fics i've written

everyone likes that new girl. all the boys were drawn to her and graves can't believe the god damn sight of it all.

on the first mission the damn girl had her little portable gaming device, graves didn't catch what it was called. she whistled as she played whatever game on it. graves felt a fuckin' tick itching on his face from the clicking and tapping.

"shut that god damn thing off, fucking hell."

the girl sighs, putting it into her cargo pocket. "Sorry, Commander." she listens well, at the very least.

graves walks over to her and within an instant she stands up and salutes him. "What they call ya'?"

she's a new transfer, a sort of trade off with a friend. graves needed someone like her but her age was somewhat of an issue, not that young but maybe not old enough to know the ropes of an elite company.

"leech."

the fuck? grave left a migraine forming in his head now. "what?""

"leech, sir."

"got a backstory for that one?"

she laughs, "of course, i would never pick it myself. bit some guy's carotid off during my first deployment—i swear i didn't drink his blood though—"

"i didn't think that," graves sighs, pressing his fingers between his brows. "continue on then, sergeant."

"yup yup."

she catches on quick.

──────⊹⊱♝♜⊰⊹──────

"get this thing open!"

she sighs, tapping away at her little computer in her crouched form. "look boss, you've given me 2 seconds how about you give me 10 more seconds and maybe—oh, look it's open, you're welcome."

graves can see this girl making him lose his will to live. but he was no patient man and well, she was far too chill and nonchalant for this type of work.

when they get inside she's on the computer right away, jamming combinations of numbers and symbols to get what he wanted from this place.

"yikes, lots of porn on here."

graves almost snaps his neck turning to her. "what?"

"joking, got what we need." she pulls out the drive from the computer and pocketing it. she pulls her gun from her side back into her hands. "time to find out way out, commander."

──────⊹⊱♝♜⊰⊹──────

"i don't think i've met anyone more annoying." graves admits.

shadow 1-1 laughs, "boss, she's pretty cool and she's cute."

"she's funny, she said her callsign was because she ate a live lizard on the field—" shadow 1-2 mentions.

hes interrupted by 1-1, "wait what? she told me it's because she was sucking on her military ex-boyfriend's dick one time in the barracks and she accidentally cut off his foreskin."

"that's a fuckin' lie, if i've ever heard one."

1-1 takes offense, "yours sounds more fake than mine."

somehow this makes graves grab his head, what the hell has this girl been doing to my men. now it makes him doubt if the story she told him was even real.

she ponders, pursing her lips, "sir, i told you the real story—it's just fun telling all the boys different shit, they all go around tellin' each other the wrong thing and it's funny when they all get confused."

the girl looks around aimlessly, seemingly waiting for him to say something. "alright, you're dismissed. see you tomorrow, leech."

graves sighs in his office, the girl in front of him now dressed in a more business attire even if her skirt was far too short and the buttons her shirt were on wrong—the sheerness of that top too, jesus christ could she not afford a shirt didn't look like a piece of tissue? he could see her bra straps through the damn thing.

"are ya' lying?"

"maybe."

[lunerna21]

It's been such a freakin hot mess the last several weeks in my life, but I really wanted to talk about the recent update (or last month) with the JPN server

***SPOILERS FOR JPN SERVER AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED***

When I tell you I was ready to see my sweetheart Kalim again, I actually started crying seeing his sweet smile again lol

AND VIL SCREAMING HIS HEAD OFF ABOUT LANDING FROM DREAM TO DREAM WAS HYSTERICAL I'VE NEVER HEARD HIM SCREAM LIKE THAT

It was so sad though to think that Kalim didn't go to NRC in his dreams, and everyone questioning if he enjoyed his time at school

AND BTW THE SCHOOL?!?! LOOKS STUNNING I WISH I COULD HAVE MY DAD AFFORD A SCHOOL

....And then seeing a happy, go-lucky Jamil right from the start of Kalim's dream...

WHO ARE YOU?! STRANGER DANGER!!!

EVERYONE COLLECTIVELY AGREEING THAT JAMIL BEING THAT NICE WAS SO ICKY I HAD TO STOP CAUSE I WAS LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY AT EVERYONE'S REACTION

Like nope that's disgusting I want the old Jamil this is definitely a nightmare 😭

The outfits for both Jamil and Kalim are stunning I honestly don't know which one I prefer more!!

AND FREAKIN EVIL BLOT JAMIL TRYING TO USE SNAKE WHISPER AGAIN ON KALIM WAS MESSED UP YOU DON'T DO THAT TO KALIM

AND KALIM BEING SO HARD ON HIMSELF IM JUST SO HAPPY KALIM IS ABLE TO BECOME BETTER FROM HIS PAST SELF CAUSE HE NEEDED GROWTH (even though he grew a lot also during Book 6)

And then jumping into Jamil's dream and seeing his handsome face!!!

LIKE GODDAMN HE LOOKS AMAZING I CAN PLAY JASMINE AND FALL INTO JAMILS ARMS HES JUST AHDFEAJFJ

And I know Jamil having to face his past self was so freakin important, and both Kalim and Jamil hashing it out was SO WELL FUCKING DESERVED

Those two having so much built up between them and I'm so happy that instead of talking it out they literally fought each other and addressed they conflict between one another

Both of their positions aren't ideal and both have it's pros and cons but at least Jamil and Kalim got through pretending everything was okay and instead hashed it out once and for all

When I tell you I was relieved at the ending, knowing we're getting closer to seeing everyone and adding Kalim and Jamil to the list was SUCH A GREAT FEELING!!!

NOW, WE HAVE:

OCTAVINELLE!!!!!

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE MORE ABOUT THESE LITTLE SHITS, AND I MISS AZUL SO MUCH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE MORE ABOUT HIM

And Jamil remembering every little dirty secret about Azul so he can just blackmail him later 😂👏🏻

I cannot wait for the update tomorrow! We're getting so much closer to seeing everyone again!! (ACE AND DEUCE I MISS YOU SO SO MUCH!)

(Screen shot from https://www.youtube.com/@gasmask01

They post updates quickly check them out and give them love!!)

[sapphic-bats]

Yes, this is based off of personal experience. In this case, I am Robin. Proceed:

Robin absoLUTELY tried to convince Steve that you can eat tampons.

Started with a conversation about period products. They're talking about tampons, when suddenly she says, "What's your favorite flavor?"

He gives her a blank stare. "What."

"Flavor. Of tampon." She restates, leaning against the counter.

And poor Steve looks so lost. "You... you can eat tampons?"

"Yeah! I'm partial to strawberry, myself." Then she shakes her head. "Hold up, you're telling me you've never eaten a tampon?"

He blinks. "No! Why the hell would I eat a tampon?"

Robin shrugs.

"Wait, but aren't they for...?" He makes a hand gesture that obviously signifies inserting a menstrual product.

"Yeah, but you don't wanna waste them. If you don't use some before their expiration date, you just eat 'em."

She's trying so hard not to laugh.

"Oh." Is all he says.

Oh my god, she should be an actor.

This continues. Another discussion about menstruation, and they're talking about comfortable products. Nancy's asked by Robin about what she uses, and Nancy shrugs.

"I don't get periods anymore. I've been on the pill for four years."

Robin raises her brows, impressed. "Good for you, honestly. Wish I could afford that."

"The pill?" Steve frowns. "What's that?"

Nancy turns to Steve. "Birth control. It's a contraceptive, but variants can also stop women from getting periods."

"Shit. Sounds a lot better than tampons." Steve nods, then scoffs. "I still can't believe they're edible!"

Everyone freezes. Robin included.

"What?"

Steve knits his brows. "Tampons. Robin told me that you can eat them."

Eddie forces back a snort, meets Robin's eyes. "Did she, now?"

She grins, nodding at him quickly. "Uh-huh."

"Well, it's true." Eddie plays along, because why the hell not?

Steve whirls around to look at him in confusion. "How did you know that? You don't even have periods!"

Eddie nods. "It's true, I'm a guy, but I'm also a feminist. I know that tampons are edible because I've done my research."

"I'm a feminist, and I didn't know that!"

"Guess you're not feminist enough, Stevie."

Steve is, once again, incredibly lost. That's when Nancy take pity on him.

"They're fucking with you, Steve."

He glances from Robin, to Eddie. Both suspects burst out laughing, snickering about their act. And Steve groans.

"Oh, god damnit, Robin!"

(Everyone, remember when this is set. Nancy said "women" because it was the '80s. The common terminology wasn't normalized quite yet.)

[sootmemes]

SENTENCE STARTERS: LYRICS THAT HIT ME IN THE FEELS [PT. 1] change words as needed ! ctrl + shift + v to paste into the inbox on desktop.

❝ if you choose not to decide you still have made a choice. ❞

❝ we can’t afford to be innocent. ❞

❝ just ‘cause it’s part of a plan doesn’t make it right. ❞

❝ even at the best times I’m out of my mind. ❞

❝ I’m that kind of trouble you know you want to get into. ❞

❝ and when they tell you to give them a smile why don’t you show them how sharp your teeth are ? ❞

❝ my addictive personality finally got the best of me. ❞

❝ I’m just talking but they tell me I’ve been screaming. ❞

❝ this here isn’t singing, it’s just screaming in tune. ❞

❝ I can taste you in my rage. ❞

❝ when you think your wounds are greater a victim can be perpetrator. ❞

❝ I hate this, but push came to shove. ❞

❝ forgive us these smiles on our faces ❞

❝ just picked out an early grave to bury shit; not me, just the weight I’ve been carrying. ❞

❝ maybe in another life we could have done this right, but I guess we’ll never know for sure. ❞

❝ think of all the horrors that I promised you I’d bring. ❞

❝ the only thing I know is it’s easy to miss when you never aim. ❞

❝ i want to know what it’s like to feel wanted for more than something that’s less than dishonest. ❞

❝ there’s a bright side to every wrong thing if you’re looking at me through the right eyes. ❞

❝ even a well lit place can hide salvation. ❞

❝ funny how a fall could feel just like flying when I'm waiting for it to hit me ❞

❝ if we've got no honor then we've got no shame ❞

❝ somehow you slayed your hope, but didn't let yourself know it had died ❞

❝ what would you do if I took this dagger in me and removed it ? ❞

❝ take it out on someone who won't hit you back ❞

❝ say goodbye to your mr. nice guy; you got your wish, he's rotting in hell ❞

❝ maybe I'm a good guy standing on the wrong side; maybe I'm a sweetheart trying to make my own scars ❞

❝ I do this all the time, blending in between the lines of my fiction ❞

❝ I'm feeling pretty empty, this attitude is expensive ❞

❝ paradise waits only for the lonely, the escapist, and the brave ❞

❝ drag me to death, like a lit cigarette ❞

❝ so if I'm honest, I think I'm beginning to question how much I want this ❞

❝ if you know the hunter is coming then you hide or keep on running, because they have slain the gods before. ❞

❝ by the time you figure out the rules I broke I've already won the game ❞

❝ have I done wrong ? am I guilty ? ❞

❝ now would you pray before you twist the knife ? ❞

❝ I'd like to pause, no matter what I pretend, like a pilgrim who learns to transcend; learns to live as if each step was the end. ❞

❝ I was given a name before I was given blood, like you were given your faith before there was made a god. ❞

❝ you say 'please don't ever change' but you don't like me the way I am ❞

❝ the more we think we know about, the greater the unknown ❞

repost of an old meme I created. also here is a playlist based on these prompts ♡

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

I'm having a lot of feelings in the wake of my trip to the ER again this week and like. I don't really have the capacity yet to fully flesh it out but at least part of it is: I have watched national stage trans rights orgs categorize my home state as increasingly dangerous and hostile to my trans existence and while I don't doubt the metrics they're using to assert this, it also doesn't escape me that my life here has been the safest amd most accepting (of ALL of me, not just of my gender) I've ever experienced despite a lifetime of living in "Blue" states.

It was a hospital in "Blue" Portland, Oregon thaf barred my step mother from my room on the ward even with my mother's and my explicit consent because Oregon refused to recognize my parents' marriage license and so they didn't consider her family.

It was a "Blue" district in "Blue" Northern California where my mother used to wake me in the middle of the night and crawl with me to the bathroom to tuck me into the porcelain and cast iron tub there because it was a room at the center of our house with no windows or external walls and there were armed skinheads outside again.

It was a "Blue" township in "Blue" Massachusetts where cops near on broke down our living room door and hauled my wife to jail in handcuffs at 9pm on a Saturday night because of a missed traffic court date, leaving us both traumatized and fleeing a home we'd lived in for two years because of the legal consequences and continued frightening encounters with the arresting officers who worked at the police station a block away.

It was in the heart of Smith College territory where my wife had to sleep with a an automotive wrench near our bed for six months because of domestic disputes with roommates the police literally told her they would arrest her for defending herself within, where near on every person we met would look at me while talking to my wife because they LITERALLY COULDN'T LOOK A BLACK TRANS WOMAN IN THE EYE

Meanwhile, my time in a "Red" state has been filled with people who remember my wife and chat with her at the local coffee shop, where my transition and hers have been fully supported and accommodated by our care teams. Where people have welcomed us and treated us like community and visibly stood quiet watch over us whenever they knew someone was in the vicinity who might wish us harm. The racists here who harass my wife do it in the shadows where they think no one else will see because they are more afraid of the judgement and reaction of our neighbors than they are motivated to humiliate or harm her. The transphobes who give me shit here won't do it unless they think no one will overhear because they know that I have family in the area and that makes them TERRIFIED of angering community members they respect. I have never experienced this kind of safety in any of the so-called progressive spaces I spent my life in.

I have continued to experience safety and welcome and coexistence here in ways I simply do not and have not in places that prided themselves on being on the right side of history. It is therefore difficult for me to watch the world I just left, a world that has ALWAYS failed me, a world that fundamentally prefers prescriptivist morality to practical or functional morality, demonize this genuinely very loving place.

Some conversations happened among us ER waiting room patients, every one of us poor, every one of us desperate for ourselves or someone we loved, every one of us exhausted from having literally waited until after business hours on a Friday night to get medical care because we all instinctively knew we could not afford to be hospitalized during the work week. They were.......sensitive and vulnerable, and were had with full throats and no fear, nothing but a shared solidarity and desire to understand our own community through the people that make it up. We were clearly all of us at different points on the political spectrum, and whenever someone dipped into dogwhistle that rankled someone else, we would all pull back, rephrase with our own words, and immediately the tone of the conversation would settle and shift and continue. We moved through so many different topics, all of them "politically controversial" from homelessness, to public health policy, to the economy, to education. And in the end, we.....we all agreed. Not just on what we wanted, but on HOW we wanted it to happen. It turns out that if you put a dozen people who are in community with each other alone in a room where they are waiting to have their needs met, they will talk about those needs, and it turns out that most of them all need the same things in the same ways and KNOW that they need those things but have learned others DON'T. The reminder, human and staring them in the face, that every human being needs those things, is often enough.

Like I said, none of this is coherent right now, and I definitely don't have a point. But there's something in the experience of it all for me that matters.

[rebouks]

Hello! I'm that anon who once asked you about the lots you use in your gameplay and whether you built them all. I'm so impressed that you create most of them yourself! But ever since you replied to that question, I've been trying to envision a lot for one of my upcoming gameplays, but I'm struggling to fully see it in my mind, so I was wondering if you'd mind giving some tips on your process of building your lots. Building is my weakest skill in the game, but I want to give it a try!

hello again anon!! i'm very flattered u think it's impressive 🥺 i truly love creating spaces for these guys! i'll try my best to kinda go into my process but be warned.. like anything else i do it's pretty much just chaos/winging it dkjsdkj (it'd be much easier if i used floorplans or smth simple so i could be like, here do this! but alas...)

okay i'm prolly gonna ramble a lot here but i mostly base my builds off random visions/future scenes that pop into my head or straight up vibes.. which isn't very helpful ik but hopefully if i explain it'll make a bit more sense!

so with Oscar's house above i knew i wanted it to be BIG, but i didn't want it to feel like a mansion they couldn't afford so i added some other houses on the lot and just gave em the biggest plot! i also knew i wanted it to be symmetrical, but only from the outside cos i wanted it to feel slightly chaotic on the inside, also hence the random tower addition on the left and the sunroom on the right.. like it used to be a big grand symmetrical "mansion" (prolly at the time it was built) but over the years kinda ended up as a convoluted mess left to rot until someone rescued it (yay for Oscar's impulsivity 🤸‍♀️) AND IT NEEDED AN ATTIC!! u kno cos where else would Clementine live?? 👻

so really i had no inspo pics or house plan layouts to go off here, just a vibe and an idea, i started with a rough shape and worked out all the kinks from there, then added the other lots.. be prepared to hate your wip and start over tho cos ig it's all part of the fun!

here we have an actual wip to use as an example! so with this one i basically knew i wanted a wrap around style house around a "courtyard" but since mt. komo is shit and doesn't have any decent sized lots we'll have to go with an L-shaped design and a third floor ig 😩 i started with the ground floor and just pissed around with the others until i ended up with smth just right, like anything else i do, building is just ruminating on an idea until i'm like.. yeah that works sdkjskj.. also handy to place the bare minimum furniture items as u go to get a feel of how the space does or doesn't work so u can fix it n stuff!

also feel free to make shit look strange if it works, for example these window placements look weird as hell on the outside, but real life houses aren't always symmetrical or perfect on the outside and we spend most of our time on the inside where the windows make perfect sense so.. yeah! i'm big on views from the INSIDE of the house so i just make stuff work, also big fan of using ivy/wall decs n stuff to "fix" the way it might look on the outside if needs be too..

the school i made for Robin n' co. was entirely built around this pool (cos it's IMPORTANT) and the fact that it had to have a glass roof (it just HAD to ok idk why but we must kneel to the vision when it strikes 🧎‍♀️) i tried to make the rest of it make sense around it tho, like maybe it was added on afterward so the rest is a pretty standard shape with offices n shit near the entrances etc.. ALSO (wait i actually need to explain smth else before we get to this also BUT BEAR WITH ME!)

ask yourself some questions (if u want? or just dl a house idk dskjdk)

i treat building similarly to writing and that means asking yourself some questions.. like you might ask why a character is doing/saying something, what happened in the past to make them this way? what're they aiming for in the future to choose these paths etc etc.. WELL.. what's this building for, who is it for, who chose to live here, who got stuck here, why do they like it, why do they hate it, etc etc.

we either get stuck somewhere we hate and it doesn't suit us, or we're lucky enough to choose somewhere that we love, but why? Oscar's house is sprawling and chaotic because they kinda are, and it suits them! all the random cupboards leading nowhere and the quirky additions are just perfect for them, if they were real people looking for a real house they'd view it and LOVE it, but other characters definitely would NOT 😅 the wip is neat and practical cos the people who're gonna live there are! 👀 and the school (see we got to that ALSO eventually) has that huge "grand" courtyard at the front that's actually pretty useless because it's a shitty comprehensive school that wants to give the image that it's decent, but actually it's a bit shit and there's nothing going on in the back, nowhere for the kids to play outside and very limited resources/equipment for them either.. like everything is built the way it is for a reason, which is why i think i find it so impossible to use other ppls builds, cos they don't fit all these visions in my mind...

ok i'm gonna shut up now but i HOPE this rambling mess somewhat explains how i go about starting a build and why.. i'm not sure i can help with the vision part since your brain is your own but floorplan websites and things like pinterest or even just google images are great for giving you ideas if you're struggling!

[smoothpowerforthestreets]

❤️‍🔥🗡️🍸🌹I TRIED POPULAR FEMME FATALE TIPS FOR A YEAR🌹🍸🗡️❤️‍🔥

Hello everyone! I always have been fascinated by the femme fatale energy and I was so obsessed as a kid with femme fatales like Ava Gardner, Marilyn Monroe, Gilda by Rita Hayworth and some characters by Angelina Jolie or Penelope Cruz.

I never tried to tap into the femme fatale energy because I always thought that I didn't fit the "aesthetic", then I read Ava Gardner's biography how she made womanizer Sinatra go suicidal for her and I noticed that femme fatale energy isn't about looks or aesthetic (partially) but your attitude, energy and self love. So I started to get all the information I could about femme fatales and these are the most popular tips I've tried:

💋 Let them pursue. Let them show you how much are they interested in you and how far would they go for your attention.

I think this one it's not exclusive about FemF it's something that every girl should do. It's really simple: if they really want you they'll move mountains for you, and girl, don't even think it's because you set your standards too high because it's the bare minimum. Stop being in situationships where it's very clear that he doesn't want you, I'm sorry but it's really pathetic.

My experience: I've been applying this boundary for a long time now and it's the most effective way to see who actually wants you. Why? Because it's too simple, if they want to they will. This saved me a lot of situationships and giving access and power to someone who doesn't want me. The results are a little annoying because let's be real, boys🤡, they always come back so when I say it's annoying it's because it's ridiculous to see them get confused and then pursue you when it's too late. AND LET ME TELL YOU, when I put a cross on your name there's no way to erase it (metaphorically). Ugh, really why do they do that? They make clear that they don't want you and when you cut them off they decide to come back in the way you seem to want. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, don't go back to them, if they really wanted you that badly they would never have put you in that position.

💋 Don't be impressed by the things they think can get you. I'm talking about superficial things like physical appearance, fame, money, properties, cars, luxury lifestyle, etc. Please I know everyone loves money but believe me when I say it doesn't get you anywhere mentally if you don't have your shit together, don't let desire for rich appearances guide you to shitty men just because they can provide money. You should be able to afford your things so you don't have to be waiting for a man like a poor dog.

My experience: Girl I'm going to spill some tea about this one. I had two famous men asking me on a date, one of them I no longer speak to him and the other one is currently pursuing me like crazy just because he saw I was not amused about the luxury things he was bragging. We're friends for now because I don't trust him lol but he tries every now and then to ask me on a date. Girl trust me it's not that rare to get that type of men, almost every friend of mine has been pursued by a man in power.

💋 Trust in the feminine power. Trust in the power that a smile or a gaze has, learn from the best: Angelina Jolie, Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner... A subtle way to let a man know that you like him and you can have him going all over you. How many times a man has approached you just because you looked at him? That's the power you have, women have that power.

My experience: Not so long ago I had a thing with a man and somehow we lost contact but we have a friend in common so we see each other often. The other day I tried this technique to see if a gaze was enough to let him know that I'm interested and it's true, I looked at him directly into his eyes and that was enough to have him the rest of the night right by my side.

💋Red nails theory. The color red is said to represent passion, love and sensuality. The red nail theory got viral on TikTok because a girl said that the reason she attracted more men with red nails was because they saw a lot of red nails while growing up.

My experience: I got my nails done red and I don't think much changed. I think red is a color that generally attracts men but I don't think it's something exclusive for nails. A red lipstick or dress will always be on point.

💋 Be cold af. Not every time but when he does something to annoy you don't react. Could be he's trying to make you jealous, to see how you react or how much you care about him. DON'T REACT, even if it's killing you inside. Act like you couldn't care less and move on. He still flirts to other girls? Then that means you're not in a committed relationship and you can flirt with whoever you want to too.

My experience: This one is sooooo fun to apply and I like to add a little spice and mirror their behaviour. Because when they do something I don't like I usually cut them off and that's it, but when I know they did it to hurt me I like to have my revenge. You've met your match bitch.

I was getting to know this guy who made very clear that he enjoyed single life so I did too and when he saw me on another date he went nuts and stopped seeing other girls. But one day he got angry because I said that I found attractive one of his friends and that night he started a little flirt in front of me with a girl so I just said I'm going to say hello to someone and I went to do the same with his friend. He immediately came so angry, asked for a word alone and told me to stop messing around. He asked me to be in a committed relationship the next day and that was the last time I saw him. I know it seems so toxic but I didn't want a relationship with him and he tried to hurt me so idc.🤷‍♀️

Sorry if you see some spelling mistakes, english is not my first language!

[his-tamine]

life update :3 (a little vent-y)

sooo, been over 200 days since the house caught fire and we had to move. obviously, a lot of stuff's been happening. can't go into deep details for fear of someone I don't want to find this, finding this, but I'll say this much: FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've very rarely mentioned family on here (for obvious reasons - this account is NOT made for that lol) but here goes. tw for pretty heavy topics: mentions of abuse, father issues, health issues, transphobia & financial issues. I turned 18 Feb 21st, literally just almost 2 months before the damn house caught fire. Meanwhile, my brother's still a minor. MEANING, I narrowly escaped the custody battle my mom & dad are in. But unfortunately, he's still stuck in the middle of it. :( My pops was not really the nicest person to me when I was a kid -

whooping my ass whenever I did anything wrong, no matter how minor the offense was.

Telling me that he loved God more than he loved me, because "You're God's gift to me. God is the one who gave you to me in the first place," when I was four.

Telling me that if I didn't start being ok with receiving physical affection from family - which he knew made me uncomfortable - I was "going to grow up to be a S3R1AL K1LL3R" (yes he said that.)

Telling me that "God doesn't make mistakes," and that he "made me into a beautiful young woman for a reason" after I came out to him personally at 14 - big mistake 0/10 stars, would never do again. You get the idea. And those are the tame examples I could think of. So, I finally cut him off. As soon as my mom, brother, & I were in our new place, I blocked his number and haven't talked to him since. I was sick of him not respecting my boundaries, and repeatedly demonstrating that he thought of me as nothing more than a possession. Tired of him making me feel crazy all the time too. But now he's fucking with my mom & brother. Intentionally not paying child support till the last minute possible - & then making it in as small of payments at a time as he possibly can (yes he can afford it btw.) Trying to force my brother to go over to his place, even when my brother does NOT want to - which has begun giving my brother psychological issues & issues with school, mirroring the ones I used to struggle with bc of that bastard. My mom is juggling all sorts of things, & I really at least wanna try to help financially by getting a job, but I can't yet because: she says that I'm only 18, & shouldn't have to get a job to help out (I disagree.) I don't have an ID bc she wants me to wait on my legal name change - which costs a pretty decent chunk of change - reason is bc she "wants me to have as easy an early adulthood life as possible" (love her.) AND, I haven't actually graduated - No, I dipped in 11th bc school was hell (not exaggerating,) & instead just decided to pursue a GED, that I haven't been able to work towards bc of the shit show that is life in midwestern america. So I've been very depressed, exhausted, & hopeless. The least I can do is clean up our house while she's at work, & get this - some days I don't even have the physical energy to do THAT! I do not know what the hell is wrong with my body currently, but it absolutely sucks. & I'm really tired of just taking up space all the time. She's dealing with health issues too, & I'm always worried ab her. Idk what the hell to do, but something's gotta give. Everybody needs a fucking break. I keep trying to shoo away all the dark thoughts, push myself as often as possible, & keep my fingers crossed, but jfc... Sorry just needed to yell into the void for a sec. I'll live, I'm sure - I've survived worse. Sometimes things just suck. But I like to think that someday they won't. :,)

[sodaabaa]

stolen tires, chapter five

jason returns to gotham after the world believed him to be dead. heavily inspired by the film, under the red hood.

tw: mentions of death, angst, self loathing, grief, abuse

"Well that was close." Roy said, mock wiping sweat off his brow. 

I rolled my eyes and turned to Koriand'r. 

"So what were you saying before we got so rudely interrupted by Mr. Bruce Wayne?" I said. 

I was shaken over the fact that he had walked up to us. I hadn't seen Bruce in over five years and I honestly don't know how I feel. The moment he walked in I felt as though I would start yelling at him or crying. Either way I had emotions bottled up inside me with nowhere to go.

"Right, I was thinking of forming a team of our own. I left the titans a while ago and Roy isn't Oliver's sidekick anymore so I thought we could make a little trio of misfits and fight crime together. It doesn't even have to be based in Gotham. There's so many place we could go." She explained.

I had to admit, this was a good idea. The three of us could make a well oiled team. I saw the possibilities but for right now my focus was on Bruce. I would have to decide some other time. 

"Are you in Jason?" Roy asked.

The two looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. I couldn't let them down but I also didn't want to make a decision I would regret later on so I said, "Give me a day or so to make up my mind, this is a serious commitment and last time I checked Roy, you're not so good with commitment." 

Roy chuckled and said, "You've got forty-eight hours to decide, otherwise... BANG! You're dead." 

I laughed along with him and Kori smiled at us and said, "Well I've got to go. I'm meeting up with Dick." 

After Kori left, Roy and I had a drink and then left the club. We said our goodbyes and I made my way to my car while Roy went to his. My car was parked out back behind the club in near a narrow alley. I walked to the parking in the back and heard a crash. I jogged in the direction the sound came from and saw my car's tires being removed by a boy who looked about thirteen with shaggy hair and torn clothes hanging off his body. He was on his knees, wrench in one hand and the other was holding onto the tire. He was stealing the tires of my car. I had to get these tires. They were in perfect condition and clearly looked expensive. I was rushing to unscrew the tires from the sleek, black car. It was a beautiful car and I almost felt bad for dismembering it but I needed the money these tires would provide me with. I might even be able to afford a new pair of shoes! Before I could finish taking off the second tire, I heard footsteps and someone clearing their throat. I froze. Shit. I had been caught. I turned around to see a tall, dark figure. It was him. It was the Batman. Out of all the tires I could steal, I somehow came across his car and his tires! Just my luck. 

"Care to explain what you think you're doing?" He said. His voice was just as intimidating as his height. 

"U-um. Sorry, Batman sir. My parents, my parents are dead and I need money and food." I stuttered. Was he going to kill me? Wait, he doesn't kill. I was at least safe from that fate.  "Come with me. I might be able to help with that." He said. So I followed. 

"Sorry mister. I needed the money and food those tires could give me. Can you spare some change mister?" I heard.

I looked down at the kid and felt a twinge of pain. He was just like me. I crouched down and pulled out my wallet. I took out three hundred dollar bills and some loose change. It was all I had with me. I didn't need it half as much as he did.

"Here you go kid, spend it wisely. I was just like you once. I did the same thing, stole tires for a living. Be strong and you'll make it through." I said, smiling I handed him the money and gave him a pat on the shoulders. He looked at me with a look of gratefulness and for a moment I thought he was going to cry. Instead, with the money clutched in his fist, he threw his arms around my torso and hugged me. I hesitated but gave into the hug, wrapping my own arms around his frail figure. He pulled away, smiled at me and turned around and ran off into the alley. I stood in the alley for a moment, wondering what had just happened. I shook my head and crouched down to restore the tires and make my way home.

When I arrived home, I plopped down on my couch. I sat there and took a breath for a second, rewinding everything that had happened so far and planning out everything I was going to do. I sighed and went to freshen up a bit before tracking the shipment that was supposed to arrive at the docks later.  "The shipment is a robot. Why would Kord Industries send a robot, and that an amazo robot to Gotham? It would be better off in Metropolis where there's actual superhumans. I mean isn't that the whole point of an amazo in the first place? Suck up all the abilities of a superhuman? Do you think there's metahumans here? Or maybe they're trying to take Batman's 'powers'." Roy said.  Since we found out what the shipment is we've been trying to figure out what it could possibly be doing in Gotham. We were keeping watch of the docks over a rooftop trying to hide from plainsight at the same time. Because of Roy Bruce knows where I'm going to be tonight so I'm trying to be a bit more stealthy. 

"Four armed hostiles at twelve." I said. 

There were four armed men. Two were sitting on the dock and the other two were keeping watch and walking in lines back and forth. 

"Shoot an exploding arrow towards the dock to get rid of them." I told Roy. 

He looked at me smiling through his mask and was already pulling back his bow with the exploding arrow. 

I counted down and he shot the arrow. The men were most likely dead but who were we to care, they were probably part of Black Mask's operations. This whole thing was probably funded by him. Roy and I were getting ready to jump of the rooftop when a batarang was thrown our direction. The batarang scraped my arm and left a small scratch. It landed in the wall right in between us. I looked back to see the Bat himself and his little sidekick Nightwing. 

"Look who decided to show up, the Bat and his trusty sidekick Robin." I spat.

"Sidekick?! I'll have you know that I am no longer anyone's sidekick bucket head." He retorted. 

I couldn't help but laugh at his remark. Dick really thought he wasn't a sidekick anymore just because he wore a new suit. 

"Who are you?" Bruce grunted 

"He speaks!" I said back. 

This whole time he had been quiet, no doubt he was trying to figure out who I am. 

"I asked you once, I'm not going to ask again." 

"Yeah I'm totally gonna tell you who I am right away. No, I want you to go crazy over this. There's no doubt you're already obsessing over trying to figure out who I am. I want you to be a clueless. And they call you the world's greatest detective. Yeah right." I scoffed.

He glared and made his way forward but by the time he took one step forward I took two back, Roy and I fell backwards off the roof, he shot a grappling arrow to the right and I shot my grappling hook towards the left. We split up to make it harder to track both of us. I ran as fast I could towards the closest building with Bruce right on my tail. I jumped up onto a wall and grabbed onto anything I could, window sills most commonly. I scaled the walls but being over two hundred pounds of muscle I had some trouble, as did he. I made it up to the rooftop and ran across, jumping onto the next and using my grappling hook occasionally to provide backup in case I lose footing. Bruce threw a nylon cord around my ankle but before it could wrap around too tightly I pulled out my knife and sliced through it in one swift motion. I kept running across rooftops and I saw a motorbike below me. I had to do it. I closed my eyes, took a breath and jumped down, landing on my side causing the impact to knock the wind out of me. Quickly recovering I scrambled to get up and ran to the bike and hopped on. I revved the engine and just as Bruce made it down I yelled, 

"You haven't lost your touch Bru-" I was cut off by a bus driving between us. By the time the bus left I was already gone and Bruce was left in the dust.

[theclaravoyant]

I've been hearing the theory that Gerrard is going to captain the precinct for a while because something happens to Bobby?? Do you think you could write something about that? *prayer/please hands emoji*

AN ~ all aboard the Everybody Hates Gerrard Train!! whoo WHOO XD I am loving writing solidarity of these guys against that bench. I do have something angstier in the pipeline (ooof the buckbobby feels) but in the meantime I wanted to have a little fun with it.

tw for gerrard being ... Like ThatTM I may have dialed it up a bit for funsies. and because if Gerrard gets the Captaincy when Hen and Chim are sitting right there it might be dynamically interesting and whatever but imma still punch him tho

equality

“What are you wearing?”

Buck grins, turning away from the oven with a smear of cheese on his nose, and gestures down at his newest favourite apron. Printed across the front it reads: In my defence, I was left unsupervised.

“Hen got it for me.”

Gerrard is distinctly not amused.

Buck's smile falters. Yeah, they warned him about this.

From the table behind, Chimney attempts an assist - “Buck's in charge of the kitchen when Cap's not here. It's kinda their thing.”

“Well.” Gerrard turns back to Chimney and gives him a bitter smile. “Then it's a good thing 'Cap' is here. So I'll decide whose thing is what. Wilson! Get in here!”

“Shocker,” Hen mutters, but she moves nonetheless.

“What was that, Firefighter?”

“I said, yes sir.”

At least Buck, who's been doing his best not to look like a kicked puppy, gets a snort out of that. Chim bites back a grin.

“Good,” Gerrard spits, glaring. “'Cause it'd be a shame to have to write you up.”

“Really?” Hen challenges. “'Cause it would be a joy to report you.”

Buck and Chim's expression turn from quiet glee to panic. Abort, Abort. Hen resists the urge to bite her tongue. She's put her foot in it, and Gerrard relishes the stumble.

“For what, hm?” he presses, closing slowly in on her. “For making one of my subordinates do something she doesn't want to do? Boo hoo.”

Hen takes a deep breath. She has to choose her next words quietly - She can't afford to make a wrong move, and set off the trap. But then a new voice interrupts from the top of the stairwell. Eddie.

“For putting the only woman on the team in the kitchen. Again,” he points out. His voice is clipped. Confident. Impatient. “When somebody else has clearly volunteered to do that task.”

Hen groans silently. She's pretty sure there's nothing Gerrard would love more than to fire them all in one fell swoop. And probably nothing Eddie would love more than to punch the guy and set that chain reaction going. But- it seems to work. Sort of. Gerrard stops closing in on her and throws his hands out as if this has all been an innocent mistake.

“Ohhh, so that's the problem! Why didn't you say so? Wilson. What's something Buckley hates doing then.”

“Uh... Laundry I guess?”

Buck flashes her a look - come on, man – but he gets it. She has to take the out.

“You heard the woman,” Gerrard orders. “Laundry. Stat.”

“Okay, um,” he waffles out some handover instructions - “It's on 350 degrees at the moment, if you wait about forty five minutes then dial it up for the last ten-”

Gerrard clears his throat. “Step to it, Buckley! I think the gym rags need doing. And you'd better not have that thing on when you get back.”

Hen mouths, sorry.

“Don't even worry about it. Happy to serve.” Buck forces a smile at their Captain, hands Hen the tea towel he's got draped over his shoulder, and jogs off down the stairs.

“Problem solved, then,” Gerrard resolves on their behalf. “Equality.”

He fixes Eddie with a shit eating grin. Lets his hands linger outstretched as if he's going for a big, weird bear hug. Eddie grimaces as the man goes for a half-embrace-half-shoulder punch instead.

“You've got balls, mi amigo,” he says. “I like it.”

[thatautisticlesbian]

i did a lot today, had a full day of class and got up early to eat breakfast, i tried red bull for the first time other energy drinks were ok but my mother was really weird about red bull so i had never had it, its mid anyways compared to other drinks, i biked 15 miles and almost got hit by countless cars only a few were my fault, i did this ride to go to two goodwills a Walmart and a five below got some stuff was hoping for scene/emo/punk/lesbian clothing found very little and felt weird in the woman section but keep reminding myself that i am a woman and i have a right to be here, signed up for a rewards card and the woman asked me my named and i confidently gave her my preferred name not giving a fuck that i looked like a dude with a woman's name, i didn't end up buying any clothes because i can wait until they are on sale in a week or two, i thought about shoplifting but i didn't have the energy to deal with it if things went wrong, but at Walmart i had a shopping cart with nothing but a Korn cd in it for the longest time, felt funny but then i picked up a package of those Kool-Aid things with the weird twist off nipple thing, had them as a child and wanted them and a thing of Italian seasoning(for my ramen) there was a person watching the self checkout and stared me down ringing up my fucking seasoning lol i biked back after google maps who has grown to be one of the supervillains in my life told me to talk a road that doesn't exist and kept beeping at me for not being on the road(sidewalk) like its a 45 mph zone no i don't want to take up a full lane even if i could legally. but going down the highway in the shoulder is fun and when you have a massive cargo truck or bus go by there is a lot of heat and light and noise and urge to throw myself in front of it, but that would prevent me from talking to my girlfriends and i have a package coming. i don't feel like sleeping even though I've been awake for 16 hours and should be tired, and i know i will be so tired and in so much pain tomorrow but i might i might not just stay up all night and go to bed in like 30 hours or some shit, i hate having to spend money and stuff like what do you mean i can afford to buy a new game or cute clothes i want both and i need a new pair of headphones and 90 bucks isn't that much and a great deal for this but its expensive when i don't have much money i hate spending, being unemployed sucks shit i need to find a way to not bleed money, there is so much wonder and beauty in the world and i can afford none of it

[rinwellisathing]

Papa Bhaal's House of Horrors: Part 7

Alfira led Rolan and Zevlor to the alleyway between Last Light FM and Sorcerous Salvage. Zevlor raised a hand to the two, motioning them to stay back as he reached into his belt pouch and produced a pair of rubber gloves, pulling them on and approaching the blood spatter, crouching down carefully to examine it. There wasn't a body per se, but there were bits of insides and an errant finger or two, not to mention the massive pool of blood extending into drag marks and then drippings. There weren't any identifying features, well, unless the tips of the two or three fingers were preserved enough to gather some prints. He withdrew some tweezers and a baggie, collecting them to bring to Z'rell. He resented the idea of working with that woman, but she was all he had to go by around this town. “So?” Rolan leaned in a bit more towards the patrolman, trying to get an idea of what was going on. It was his work place after all and he could already feel the knots forming in his stomach at the thought of ending up involved in all of this. “So far it's like Alfira said, with this much blood, whoever got hurt here isn't likely to have survived.” Zevlor explained. “Then it looks like they were dragged a bit before being lifted up and carried somewhere else. The blood leads in this direction.” He stood and pointed towards the side of town where the old, abandoned diner stood.

“Ugh....just perfect....As if I can afford to be out of work while they investigate this.” Rolan groaned, pressing a hand to his face and shaking his head. “Somebody is dead, Rolan!” Alfira frowned. “Yes, along with my chance to actually get into the university I've been working towards. Not as if you'd understand after you gave up your shot so quickly.” He scoffed, glaring at her, his nose wrinkling in annoyance. Alfira tensed, fingernails digging into her palms as her shoulders shook slightly. “You don't even know why I came back here.” She murmured accusingly.

Rolan had already turned to follow Zevlor in the direction of the blood trail. Alfira simple sighed and hurried after the two down the dark streets, dimly lit by the guttering neon signs of the few places still open and the very faint light of the moon through the dense fog which tended to permeate Reithwin town. ----- Sentry arched his back with a cry of pleasure before pitching forward to sink his teeth into Enver's shoulder deeply enough to draw blood, his tongue lapping eagerly at the red that issued forth. His legs were fully raised over the human's hips and his tail was lashing back and forth eagerly as he felt those hips tense and spasm as Enver's load filled him, warming his insides. The tiefling's eyes fluttered as his juices dripped down onto the desk beneath them as the two rested in the after glow. The post-sex ecstasy didn't last long, however, as Sentry's head rolled back and his eyes fluttered open, coming face to face with the rather perturbed red eyes of Sceleritas Fel standing just at the edge of the desk and giving him a somewhat disappointed frown.

“Young master, your older brother has sent me to retrieve you.” He coughed into his hand, looking away from the scene, but not before casting a withering look at Enver. Sentry shifted and stretched slightly, arms lazily slid around Enver's shoulders. “Oh shit, have I been gone that long?” “They simply couldn't perform their ritual without him? Or it couldn't wait?” Enver smirked, slowly sitting up, arms slipping around Sentry's waist to bring the tiefling with him. He gazed down at Fel, waiting for a response. “You know very well they cannot, Banite.” Fel's voice wavered slightly in its usual professionalism. He looked to Sentry and inclined his head. “Lady Orin refuses to listen to Gary or Jackal, she claims she will only attend the ritual with you.” Sentry's expression softened and he gently began to extricate himself. “Oh, yeah...I did promise her.” Enver rolled his eyes and sighed as Sentry nuzzled at his neck and gingerly wriggled out of their embrace. “I'll have more time to...ah...hang out tomorrow, Envy.” He promised as he scooted off the desk and began to reclaim his clothing from the floor. “Well, if it really can't be helped.” The human stood as well, pulling his pants up and buttoning them, slowly approaching Sentry and placing his hands on his shoulders, kissing the young man's neck. “But I'll hold you to that, you know...” His hands slid down Sentry's body to the tiefling's hips, resting there a moment before letting go and watching him walk off, tail swishing behind him as his ass swayed a little too provocatively not to be intentional.

Fel glared once more at Enver before joining Sentry. “I did also take the liberty of collecting some parts from your earlier kill while I was tidying up a bit.” He informed him. “Oh, perfect! Orin and I could use some more parts for our sculptures and I think she'll really like the hair on that one. Truthfully it was the only good part, I think.” Sentry smirked as he made his way out of the dimly lit trailer and towards the woods.

----- The dumbwaiter deposited Jaina in what appeared to be a small, somewhat sterile office. The room was lit by fluorescent light but the lack of windows gave it a gloomy and oppressive appearance. Certificates and diplomas lined the walls from universities from Neverwinter to Thay, each one in complex sounding sciences and schools of magic. On the desk were several photographs, a glamour shot of the beautiful dark skinned woman, her face not yet lined with those obsidian scales yet in the image as she posed expertly in a fashionable green dress. Another still of her standing on a stage receiving one of her many diplomas, looking no less like a model even in the somewhat generic red cap and gown. Another image of her smiling with a cocktail in her hand in a white swimsuit on the beach with the beautiful elf, the white dragonborn, the young male tiefling, and the pale little girl. The desk was neatly organized with files and a few clunky machines sat on the desk as well, which Jaina wasn't too familiar with.

She approached the door slowly and pressed her ear to it, listening carefully to ensure she couldn't hear anyone outside. When she felt certain no one was down here looking for her, she carefully pushed the door open and exited into a large laboratory, the tile floors were set with drains at even intervals, each one disturbingly tinted red, several gurneys and operating tables were evenly spaced throughout the room, a few with sheets covering the still forms of bodies of varying sizes. One was still uncovered, a blonde githyanki woman probably not much older than Jaina. Her eyes gazed sightlessly up at the ceiling and the skin of her face on one side had been peeled back, revealing red dragonic scales, soft and newly formed blossoming beneath. Though her eyes were cloudy, one seemed to have once been a brilliant blue while the other had slowly been turning vivid yellow. Her arms were bandaged with gauze taped in several places as one would do to cover injection sites. Jaina covered her mouth in horror. Metallic clanging and rattling jolted her out of her terrified state only briefly and she backed away, gazing around nervously, afraid the sound would draw someone to this place. She could see cages lining the walls and in them, various figures moving sluggishly, those who could approached the bars and reached out with groans of agony. Tieflings, humans, gnomes, all manner of people, and each one bursting with strange tumors or sprouting odd, sickly scales. As Jaina backed away further, she bit back a scream, her head quickly turning as she heard footsteps coming towards the only door out of this nightmare. There was no time and she did the only thing she could, crawling up onto the gurney and pulling the crisp white sheet over her body as the door slowly creaked open.

------

Wyll realized all too quickly he didn't have time to wait for Jaina to send the dumbwaiter back up. The voices outside the door were not leaving any time soon and were getting closer. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the ropes of the pulley system and began to shimmy down until he found an open hatch. Peering cautiously out of the darkness, he saw that he was back in the kitchen. No one currently occupied the room and the lights were off, so very quietly, he crawled out of the hatch and into the room. It had been spotlessly cleaned since dinner, not a trace of the meal or of the table settings remained, leaving it almost eerily spotless.

The door wasn't far, just across the room, he could make it out and catch up with Jaina, or at least get help if not. But then, what if she didn't make it? What if something happened to her while he ran for help? No, he had to find her before he left the house. Leaving her behind was not an option. He carefully made his way towards the other end of the kitchen where the dim light of the TV still glowed from the living room and he could hear the dull murmur of whatever movie had been playing on the screen. As he crouched down out of the light, he noticed the little girl was no longer sitting in front of the TV and the tall, imposing female tiefling was still staring blankly ahead at the screen, quiet and cold. He held his breath as he passed behind her, deciding to see if Jaina had ended up in the basement. The stairs that led there were just down the hall from the look of things and his pathway there was unimpeded, at least for the moment. The stairs were old and Wyll's eyes widened as each step caused them to creak and groan. There was no helping it now, he had to hold out hope that if anyone heard, they would assume it was simple a member of their family walking about in the house. As he neared the bottom, he paused in his tracks as he saw the two beautiful women, the elf and the human, opening the doorway on the right side of the hall, the side where the dumbwaiter would have let out. He cursed under his breath hoping Jaina had already gotten past them, but he had to be sure. When the two had passed the threshold and the door closed, Wyll entered the small corridor and looked the way the two had gone, then turned his head to the left, gazing at the older, more imposing door. Something evil radiated from it. Something red and rotten and hungry, but he pressed on. He had to find Jaina, so drawing up all his courage, he slowly pressed against the old door. It was strangely warm to the touch, almost alive, but it did not budge.

He paused to examine it, fingers dancing over the markings and writings, trying to decipher the ancient language, but it was hardly one of the ones they teach you in The Gate. He frowned and turned his attention back to the metal door on the right. Inhaling deeply, he crossed the hall to the door. ----- “Here, give me the bag of parts, I kind of owe Orin an apology for earlier.” Sentry held out a hand to claim the bag from Fel, who graciously, almost reverently handed it to him as they approached the shed. The door was just slightly ajar and the light was on inside, Sentry approached slowly and gave a light, gentle knock at the door. “Oh Orin? Baby sister? I've got something for you.” “Oh, my wayward slaughter-kin finally returns from his filthrut with Gorebag.” Orin scoffed, not looking away from their earlier art project, which she was finger painting with thick lines of Sentry's special paint mixture. Sentry gave an exaggerated frown, holding the bag behind his back as he approached, shoulders drooping dramatically, the picture of pitiful and pleading. “Awwww, come on, baby sister....Don't put it like that, I know I messed up.” He shuffled his feet sheepishly as he approached. “Look, be mad at me all you want, but it'd be a shame for this to go to waste, yeah?” He waited for her to turn and spare him a glance, her large pale eyes looking him up and down, widening with excitement as the still dripping bag came into view. She scurried over to him and claimed it from his hands, setting it down on the ground and opening it up, reaching inside and withdrawing a pallid, slack-jawed head, its eyes milky and empty, long ginger hair still immaculate and pristine, how Sentry had avoided cutting half of it off when he was so fond of using an axe was a mystery, Orin couldn't pretend she wasn't impressed with her big brother's precision. She tried to manage a sour look, but a smile illuminated her face, twisting up fully into a wicked smirk. “I have ideas for him!”

“I thought you might.” Sentry held out his arms and Orin, despite herself, hugged her brother tightly. “But after the sacrifice or we'll both be in trouble, okay?” He gently lifted her up in his arms. She wrinkled her nose and blew out her lips. “Fine. But this time, I want a killing blow, Slaughter-kin, make them let me do it! You're one of the chosen after all. I want to feel the lifeblood drain.” Sentry nodded. “Why not? After all, I've already had kill tonight, fair is fair, I suppose.” He nodded to Fel to put the new parts in the freezer chest while he shifted Orin onto his shoulders, ducking gingerly as he left the shed, and carrying her towards the house as she told him her plans for the parts he had brought, which guest she wanted to kill most and what parts she'd choose from them for their next piece. He listened with a smile.

----- Zevlor had insisted Rolan and Alfira stay back when they had arrived at the location the body had been moved to, an old, reeking trash pile behind the long-abandoned diner. Years worth of wildlife and scavengers had met their end here by now along with the general litter people threw with little to no concern that the place hadn't been inhabited, and therefore cleaned, in years. Actually, to call it a body seemed a bit generous, what it really was was more to the point a hollowed out torso with half of a leg and a quarter of an arm still attached to it. The tiefling was hardly new to crime scenes, but this one caused bile to rise in his throat and he turned his head, partially to ensure the two younger ones were far enough back to avoid seeing the carnage, but also to take a quick breath.

Rolan paled slightly, a look of discomfort crossing his face as he could see at least a little of the scene from where he stood. The remnants of the shirt definitely belonged to Lorroakan. He couldn't say he felt sorry for his boss or even that he wasn't relieved he was gone. The man had been a nightmare to work for in so many ways, after all, but the sight of a body so heavily mutilated along with the knowledge that there was no way work would be open for quite some time caused anxiety to rise inside him, turning his stomach. Alfira gazed sightlessly foreward, her expression utterly passive. The sound of her heartbeat hammering in her chest and her blood pumping through her veins assaulted her ears, sending the world into a dull roar. She was back there again, wrapped in one of those trauma blankets speaking in a monotone as she told a police officer whose face she didn't remember everything she remembered about the last time she saw Lihala alive. Gods, there was so much blood. She was only vaguely aware that she was shaking.

“I'll have to get ahold of Sheriff Z'rell...” Zevlor frowned. “This isn't my jurisdiction and if I make one wrong move any chance of bringing this killer to justice is gone.” He inhaled sharply as he stood up. “I know it's a lot to ask after what you've both already seen, but would you accompany me to the station as witnesses?”

“Witnesses to what? All we've seen at this point is a mangled corpse! We don't know what happened, for all we know it was a bear or something!” Rolan snapped, gesturing towards the woods which surrounded the town. “I need to go home and figure out what I'm going to do now that my job situation is well and truly fucked.” “A bear couldn't make cuts that precisely.” Alfira spoke up hollowly. “It wasn't a bear and you know it, Rolan. A person did this and whoever it was could still be out there.” She frowned at him, slowly shaking off the dissociative state. “Hells, for all you know Cal or Lia could be in danger if we don't do something, could you live with that?” Rolan opened his mouth to reply and then simply shook his head, fuming. “You're right. Damn it all, you're right....But will the sheriff even believe us?” “Well, it would certainly explain all the missing tourists and abandoned vehicles around the area...” Alfira suggested, looking to Zevlor. “That it would.” He nodded. “Now stay close, Alfira isn't wrong, the killer could still be around.”