#it's probably better to have a backup plan in place than not

[zelzahdarkcloak]

I'm very inconsistent on Tumblr in general, so if the end is imminent (whenever that actual date may be), it's not so much a loss of my own posting and more missing all of everyone else's excellent content. :(

If you do want to find me elsewhere, I am still active on Discord under the same username. There's already so many communities we may run into each other on, but otherwise feel free to shoot me a dm! (I do take breaks from Discord too but I will reply eventually).

I do also have a backup account on cohost, but it's empty currently (and under a different name). I may transfer some of my favorite posts and use it as an archive (?) but otherwise it'll be private until a later date. In that scenario, I'll just send the link to it directly to people.

Regardless, it was amazing knowing you all! Until we meet again. <3

-Zelzah

[ms-demeanor]

fucking client emailed in requesting a license last night at 10, called today before nine asking for the license and if I could hurry this along because it was urgent; being the person that I am I went to go find some more information and discovered that the customer wants to do an in-place upgrade on a nine-year-old free license to a recent server license which is.

A) not possible with the service pack they have installed B) probably not compatible with the two kinds of software they have talking to the database C) probably not compatible with their actual server, which blew up spectacularly in January.

(all of which is to say nothing about the wide variety of possible ways to purchase and install the license, but probably standard is what they want even if they're technically too big for it)

I talk to my team, most of whom do not have much experience with upgrades/migrations for this software and we all agree that more research into their environment is needed, including possibly calls with their other software vendors and also possibly maybe replacing their twelve year old server.

Call the client at 2pm and let him know that this project is going to be more rigorous than just ordering a license, let them know that this isn't being dropped or ignored, but we need more information and will be in contact when more of the team knows what's going on.

5:14 PM, my coworker messages me "hey, do we have a tenant for this client?"

I message my coworker: "fucking lol, this is about their license, isn't it?"

It is about their license. They have sent in an emergency after hours ticket describing the issue as urgent: they have purchased the license on their own from a consumer vendor unaware of the fact that they need admin access to a tenant to download the software.

I create a tenant for the client and document the information, then provide the tenant ID.

And then since it's urgent, it's an emergency, I begin gathering data and composing an email.

The license won't populate to the tenant for hours at least and probably not for a full day.

They didn't actually tell us what license they've got, but if they plan to use it with one flavor of software they've got they probably need a secondary license they were totally unaware of.

I have found no evidence whatsoever that this license is compatible with their other software.

I hop into an after hours meeting with one of our tier three consultants to get the exact version number of the software and confirm that there is not a straightforward upgrade path between the license they have and the license they want.

I send an email advising that if their developer wants to make an upgrade they MUST back up the database because we have emergency backups, not database backups, let them know in writing "per our conversation this afternoon, this is why we don't think this will work" and thank them cheerfully, letting them know to reach out if they have questions about licensing.

hit send at half past eight.

Combined after hours work on this "emergency" "critical" "urgent" ticket is now probably about half the hardware cost of a better server.

I get that emergencies happen, but buddy if I tell you "hey, I know you are in a rush with this but we have to take our time to do this correctly" and you ignore me and make me stay late to handle your "critical" ticket, you and I both are not going to have a good time.

[enwoso]

How about a lovie angst where harrison kinda breaks alessias teust and does somerhing she wouldnt approve of? x

fractured | alessia russo x child!reader

grumpy masterlist

alessia had always been cautious when it came to harrison, she was still a little wary. but she had no choice but to co-parent with him now that you knew about him and you wanted have your dad apart of your life.

but trusting him was still the main reason why alessia was wary as he hadn't fully earned that badge yet.

alessia was sitting on the couch, unwinding after training. you'd having been with harrison since yesterday afternoon when he’d picked you up from nursery. it being his night, for you to stay at his for the night.

something alessia was still trying her best to get used to.

it still being early days since harrison was able to have you for long periods of time without alessia being present and she'd be lying if she said she didn't have a heavy heart every time you weren't with her.

but so far harrison had been trying really hard to not mess up and it did make alessia happy to see but he still had a long way to go until she trusted him fully.

alessia being just  about to move from the comfort of her couch and make herself some dinner before you got home a little later on, her phone buzzed.

glancing quickly at it, expecting it to be from one of the girls maybe making plans for after the game but the second she glanced at the name and saw harrison's name flash across the screen, her stomach dropped slightly.

harrison | ‘less, can you call me. please.’

her heart thudded against her ribs just that little bit faster as she sat up straighter, her fingers tightening around the phone.

harrison | ‘i don't think it's a big deal but i feel i should probably let you know’

that alone was enough. his uncertainty in her voice was enough to send a sharp bolt of unease through her entire body.

harrison | ‘she's fine, i swear. we’ve had a great day. just need to talk to you. maybe face to face is better.’

a shiver ran through her entire body. she's fine. no, no he wouldn't be saying that unless there was something to not be fine about.

alessia didn't hesitate, shooting up from the couch grabbing her keys with shaking hands. kyra who had been lounging on the opposite end of the couch, immediately sitting up her brows furrowing, "less, what's wrong?"

alessia didn't even stop to explain, too busy shoving her feet into her runners, "harrison, that's what wrong."

kyra was up in an instant, already grabbing her own jacket, "right, let's go."

the drive to harrison's apartment was suffocating, alessia driving in silence, jaw clenched as her fingers tapped against the steering wheel impatiently. kyra knowing better than to try and lighten the mood with a joke, so she just sat tight lipped.

"you want me to come in with you?" she asked when they pulled up outside harrison's place.

alessia shook her head firmly, "no, i'll be okay." kyra hesitated before nodding, "i'll wait here, just in case you need backup"

alessia didn't bother responding—she was already halfway out of the car.

—

harrison barely had time to even register who it was at the door before alessia was shoving past him into the flat, her eyes scanning the room frantically.

you were curled up on the couch, your tiny frame being swallowed by a hoodie that was far too big for you. your hair all tangled and your face puffy from exhaustion but other than that you were unharmed.

alessia let out a shaky breath, just enough to stop her heart from hammering out of her chest, but relief was short-lived.

"mummy?" your voice was small, groggy as you looked up at alessia as she forced a smile moving to crouch down in front of you. "hey lovie, you okay?"

you nodded, rubbing at your eyes. "daddy let me stay up really, really late! we watched loads of movies, and then we went to see uncle jamie!"

silence. the kind that made alessia's blood run cold. jamie. well he was just not the type of person you wanted around your kids. he wasn't to be trusted.

alessia remembers the first time she met him, back in the states the boy staring an argument with a harmless stranger cause in his eyes he looked at jamie funny. alessia didn't like him, and she certainly didn't want her daughter around him and his activities.

harrison shifted behind her, clearing his throat. "less—" alessia stood slowly, turning to face him. "you what?"

harrison had the audacity to look sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck. "we went to see jamie, i didn't think it would be a big deal."

"not a big deal?" alessia repeated, her voice shaking with barely contained rage. "you took our daughter to see your brother—without asking me?"

harrion sighed, exasperated he could see just why alessia was so upset about it. "less, he's my family."

alessia let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. "family? you mean the same brother who's been arrested more times than i can count? the same one who drinks himself stupid and picks fights for fun? that jamie?"

"he's not like that around kids," harrison argued, but even he didn't sound too convinced.

"you don't know that, you don't know how he's gonna be from hour to hour." alessia snapped. "because you don't know him anymore. and you sure as hell don't get to use our daughter as some kind of excuse for a bonding experience with him."

harrison's jaw clenched. "she is my daughter too, alessia."

"then start acting like it!" alessia's voice cracked, her hands shaking, alessia seeing nothing but anger. "because a real father doesn't make reckless decisions and then text me after the fact like it's nothing. a real father thinks before he acts. a real father asks before putting his child in a situation that could be dangerous."

harrison exhaled heavily, his hands moving to his hips. "ok, i made a mistake, alright. but nothing happened. she's fine, she's happy."

"that's not the point haz!" alessia's voice broke, and for a second, the anger slipped, replaced by something far more painful. "you just don't get it, do you? you weren't there. you weren't there when i was pregnant, when i was terrified and alone. you weren't there when i held her for the first time and promised to keep her safe. you left, harrison. and now you think you can just walk back in and do whatever you want? like none of that ever even happened?"

harrison's face paled, his mouth opening, but no words came out. the past truly starting to catch up on him, quicker than he could imagine as he'd spent years trying to get rid of it.

"you haven't earned my trust," alessia continued, quieter this time, but no less sharp in the way she spoke. "and you sure as hell haven't earned the right to make decisions for her on your own. not without consulting me beforehand"

you watched them with wide eyes from the couch, your little fingers gripping the fabric of the hoodie as you tried so hard to concentrate on the film on the screen. alessia swallowing hard, forcing herself to pull it together.

she turned back to you, kneeling down again. "lovie, go and grab your things, okay? i think it's time to go home."

you hesitated, glancing at your daddy before nodding. "okay, mummy." you slid off the couch and padded towards your bag, your small frame weighed down by exhaustion.

alessia turned back to harrison, her voice dangerously low. "if you ever, ever do something like this again, i swear to god, you will not be seeing her without me there. do you understand me?"

harrison nodded slowly, guilt flashing across his face. "loud and clear."

you returned with your tiny backpack slung over your shoulders, your stuffed esme the elephant clutched tightly in your arms as you looked up at your daddy with tired eyes. "bye, daddy. i love you."

harrison's expression softened instantly just at the innocence of your words. he crouched down, opening his arms. "come here, little one."

alessia's body tensed. she wanted to tell you no. she wanted to scoop you up and walk out without looking back. but she knew that would only hurt you more, and no matter how angry she was at harrison, she couldn't do that to their daughter. so instead with a deep breath, she gave a small nod.

you didn't hesitate, stepping into your daddy's arms. harrison holding you tightly as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. his eyes shut, as his grip lingered just a second too long, like he was afraid to let go.

"i love you, princess," he murmured against your curls. "you'll always be my little girl, okay?"

you pulled back slightly, your tiny hands resting on his shoulders. "promise?"

harrison swallowed hard, nodding. "promise."

alessia looked away, biting the inside of her cheek. because promises weren't something harrion had ever been good at keeping. but for your sake, she hoped—just this once—he meant it.

[raylynnn]

Katsuki x Y/n (Drummer Katsuki AU)

Warnings ⚠️ heavy smut, BJ, fingering, oral, vaginal sex, cursing, and getting caught. Hope you enjoy<3

It was out of nowhere honestly. The group had joked and dabbled in the thoughts of starting a band, but no one ever thought it would take off like it did. It started off as more of a joke, I mean seriously we probably had 2 maybe 3 people who could actually play instruments. We all knew Katsuki could play the drums and knew Jiro could play about any instrument you threw at her. But the others not so much, including yourself. You and Mina excepted that this whole “band” thing wouldn’t work for you two. So y’all were just kind of the girls who took tickets and then watched behind the curtain while the others killed it on stage. You had Katsuki as your drummer, Ejiro as your bass player, Sero as your backup bass guitarist, and Kaminari as your lead guitarist. Everything worked out that way.

You and Mina would regularly go watch their band practices and plan out their next concert and etc, but out of the group you were definitely the closest to katsuki other than Ejiro. At performances his only focus was the music, not the crowd surfing, not the absurd amount of fangirls flashing him from the crowd, or the money, but sometimes you’d catch him let go a little bit, every time he did he’d look at you watching from the corner of the stage. Sometimes especially if the band killed it you would catch him giving a small smile at you from the stage. At one of the garage practices they were trying this new song that jiro had written. And it was a big step from their usual music. She had given Katsuki a drum solo. And he would never admit it, but he was nervous when he couldn’t get it the first try. He had played drums for so long their wasn’t much he couldn’t play.

The practices lasted about 2-3 hours, but katsuki waited behind for a bit. He couldn’t get it down and jiro had reminded him multiple times he had plenty of time to master it but he just wasn’t satisfied. Since you didn’t play an instrument the least you could was lend them your garage right? And lots of times one or two members would stay behind to work on some music solo, and it never bothered you cause to you it just meant they were dedicated.

About 30 minutes after practice ended everyone pretty much had left. So it was just you and Katsuki. You went to your room for a bit just to chill out but you started thinking about how close you and katsuki were compared to the others. You wanted to seek him again, talk to him or something. You were about to get a drink from the fridge out in the garage anyway..so what could it hurt really.

When you headed out to the garage you saw katsuki looking over the music once again before hammering at the solo again it sounded a lot better but it wasn’t as fast as it needed to be from what jiro had said earlier. “Still working on it?” You said as you opened the fridge door. Katsuki set his sticks down before wiping the sweat off his forhead looking over at you and you grabbed a water. “Tch..yeah I can’t belive I’m saying this, but this solo is kicking my ass” he said tiling his head back a bit stretching his back from being hunched over the drums for so long. You tossed a water to him which he caught taking the lid off. “How long have you played again?” You said thinking it over, must of been a while to be as good as him. “I started playing when I was 6, so probably 12 years” he said taking another sip. “What about you nerd? You play anything?”

You let out a soft laugh before shaking your head. “Haha..no I tried a few times but never stuck with me, always thought the drums were cool though” you said as you closed the top on the bottle. Katsuki chuckled slightly before patting his lap gesturing for you to come closer. “C’mere” he said softly. He got out of the chair and stood behind you while you sat down of the stool chair. He took the sticks and placed them in your hands fixing your hold and posture. He grabbed your wrists gently before hovering your hands over a symbol and a smaller snare. “Here put your foot on the base drum, and tap your foot against the pedal continuously and take your right hand and hit this-“ he explained oddly calm and relaxed, his lips near your ear as he talked you through the steps. “Dammit” you muttered after your 3rd attempt of trying the simplest beat.

“Here get up.” He said you got up thinking he had given up on you but then he pulled you into his lap and positioned you just like you were before instead his foot was on the base. He grabbed your wrist and started maneuvering your wrists like a puppet. The beat came out at a good Rhythm thanks to him basically playing the drums for you, but you didn’t give two shits. You were in Bakugo’s lap with his hands on your wrists and his face close to yours. So you were winning anyway.

Getting closer to the end you started moving your wrists on your own with his grip still guiding you but with all this movement..you didn’t even realize what you were doing to him until his hands faltered all of sudden when you moved back on his crotch. Fuck. You didn’t even mean to but that’s all it took. You weren’t fully sure so you tried something. You stopped with the drums for a second before muttering. “Um..hey katsuki can you move your keys It’s a little uncomfortable to sit on” he rested his forhead on your shoulder trying to hide his best red face. “Those..t-those aren’t my key” he said flustered as ever hoping he would just nuke right there. Your face flushed red as you giggled slightly. “Excited are we~?” You giggled out. He brought his hand to his face trying to conceal his burning hot cheeks. “Tch..shut it, it’s y-your fault” he muttered out trying to fix himself under you. Suddenly without thinking you went to get up rubbing back once more this time stealing a groan from the boy under you.

“Ngh..” he groaned slightly. You relized this was your mess to clean up. If you had just stayed in your room none of this would have been happening. I mean the least you could do was help him out. You sighed nervously before getting up and dropping to your knees. His eyes widened before he stuttered out. “W-what are you doing..?” He said covering the lower half of his face with his palm. “Just..shut up and let me take care of you..ok?” You said undoing his belt before slipping them down till his boxers were visible. He wasn’t just hard he was solid. All because of you. That tent in his boxers with a little wet spot assumably pre. The big bad katsuki all of sudden looked so vulnerable so needy and eager. God this was such a beautiful sight.

You looked up at his before taking his boxers down. “Is this ok Katsuki?” You said laying your head ontop of his crotch. He nodded eagerly. “Y-yes..” he stuttered. You slid down his boxers revealing his cock. Pretty and pale with a light pink tip smeared with pre, god he was perfect. You took his cock into your hand giving it a few pumps before taking it into your mouth you only reached about halfway yet he was already throwing his head back and gripping onto your hair. It took so much not to just you like a rag doll and push you down farther but he managed for you using the last ounce of respect he had. Your mouth left his dick with a loud pop before you muttered saliva dripping down your chin and eyes lidded. “Just use me katsuki.” You could tell he was getting needier from below.

His eyes widened before he gripped your hair shoving you back down on his cock. Shoving you down till your nose hit his blonde tuff. “Ngh..fuckkk. Your so fucking g-good for me..f-fuck” he said bucking his hips into your mouth, you could tell he was close. You braced your hands on his thighs digging your nails slightly deeper as he used you like some sort of fuck doll. “Fuck..baby- ah fuck I-I’m gonna..g-gonna..” he babbled thrusting impossibly faster. “FUCK!” He said before he shot his load into your mouth and once you pulled off slightly choking he released the rest onto your face and chest. As he rode out his high he started babbling on and on about how good you felt. “B-baby..f-felt so good..need you a-again..” this is was such a different side of katsuki and you were loving it.

You had a cheeky smile worn on your cum covered face as you watched him calm down a bit. When he caught his breath he locked eyes with you and relized the mess he had made of you. “Fuck..sorry I didn’t mean to be too rough” he said taking your jaw into his hand while using his other hand to grab a rag he had next to his drum set for when he gets sweaty. He took it to your face and wiped most of it off. “Heh..it’s ok I liked it, plus..I kinda told you too” you said sheepishly while trying to conceal the slight red tint on your cheeks. He just smiled at you as he wiped your face “yeah well..we’re not done yet pretty” he said tossing the rag to the side as he scooped you up setting you in his lap facing him this time.

You giggled as he sat you in his lap. He smirked slightly before bringing his lips to yours. God everything about you was so intoxicating. He could get drunk just off your lips. He brought his hands from your waist to resting of the fat of your ass squeezing gently. He trailed open mouth kisses down your neck till his got to your collar bone, he pulled away from your skin looking up at you through his soft lashes. “Can I take this off..?” He asked tugging at the hem of your shirt. You smiled softly before nodding and kissing forehead gently. He lifted your shirt off your shoulders leaving you now in just your leggings and black laced bra. “Fuck your gorgeous..” he muttered before groping your breasts gently before unclipping your bra.

When he finally took off your bra you almost thought he was mimicking kaminari when he would go dumb. When he finally snapped out of it he looked up at you with hungry eyes and you could tell somthing changed. “Lift your ass up hon” he said grabbing your ass and gesturing you to hover. Once you did he slid off your leggings and pulled your panties to the side. “Fuck..look at her already soaked for me yeah?” He said swiping a finger through your lips. He took two fingers into his mouth after coating them he brought them to your slit once again his thumb rubbing soft circles while one finger started to prod into your little hole.

Your eyes widend and you gripped his shoulders trying to brace yourself. He slid in another finger moving at quick pace. “Yeah? Does that feel good pretty?” He asked whispering in your ear while you bucked against his fingers. You were too blissed out to answer until he slapped your clit. “I need an answer princess..” he growled. You whined at his mean way to keep you in line but soon you babbled out your praises. “Y-yes..f-feel sooo..” you babbled out trying to answer him but he started to remove his fingers leaving you feeling empty. He wrapped his hand around his cock and brought it to your entrance. “This ok pretty..?” He said looking into your big innocent eyes.

You nodded your head hoping he’d give it to you but he just sat their. “I need an answer pretty, I won’t fuck you unless you tell me it’s ok” he said sternly. You smiled softly before whispering, “y-yes..you can fuck me katsuki..I need you to fuck me.” You said holding onto his hand. He grinned slightly at your words before taking his cock and lining it up with you again. He pushed slowly entering your pussy, he let out a small quiet groan and he was only tip in.

“Oh god k-katsuki..” you moaned out as he layed your body back sprawled out against the drums as he stood up slightly hovering over you as he pushed in farther. Once he was half way in he stayed still for a second trying to give you time to ajust. “Am..am I g-good to move pretty..?” He asked sweat beading down the sides of his face. “Yes please..” you moaned out. He soon started to move at a slow pace before gradually getting faster. He really tried to hold back, to hold onto the last bit of self control he had..but he simply couldn’t not with how your walls were squeezing him so tight, your greedy cunt sucking him in like your life depended on it. Soon he was railing the fuck out of you. Pulling almost all the way out before slamming right back into your greedy cunt.

He was stuffing you full, you felt high almost you could remember how this even started and you didn’t even want to imagine it ending. The way he pounded into your soft hole treating you as you were some time of toy somehow only made you wetter. His grip on your waist was dangerous, you were holding onto the rim of the snare drum trying not to break it, he noticed this and figured you were uncomfortable so he raised you from your back, his dick still digging into you like a dog. He sat you in his lap and thrusted his hips up to meet yours. This position made you feel him a lot deeper causing you to lose yourself in the moment.

“FUCK..oh god..oh my god K-Katsuki! Fuck me baby! Cmon please..p-please don’t stop dadd- K-katsuki..” you babbled out like a slut. You were to caught up in the pleasure of his cock assaulting your cunt you didn’t even notice you were calling him daddy. His eyes widened before he smirked like a devious mf. “Fuck. Call me that again princess..” he said lifting you up off his dick almost all the way before slamming you back down. You moaned out loud due to the overwhelming pressure. “Fuck d-daddy..please” he smirked again and his movements started to get sloppy. “Fuck baby..tell me your close..” he groaned resting his head between your tits.

“Y-yes baby..gonna..gonna CUM” you moaned out bucking your hips to meet his as you had a death grip on his shoulders. “!Cum..cum..cumming” you moaned out as your body shook and trembled over his cock. Soon he whispered “f-fuck where can I cum..” you didn’t even answer you just wrapped your legs around him and trapped against your soaked cunt grinding against him trying to ride it out. His eyes widened as he thrusted hopelessly against your pussy whimpering like a dog. “Yes..yess! Plzplzplz..” he babbled shooting his hot, sticky, load into your cunt. “Fuck baby..” he muttered. your body’s both relaxing into each others touch.

He pulled out his body stuttering due to the overwhelming sensation. He watched his cum spill out of you like a fountain and he couldn’t help but want to pump you full again. But as much as he wanted too..all good things must come to an end. The two of you’s sexy and intimate moment was cut short due to the sound of the back door next to the garage door opening. You forgot you gave the band members keys so they could practice anytime. Their came Ejiro and Sero walking through. Y’all quickly scrambled to get your clothes but y’all knew that they knew.

“HOLY SHIT” cursed Ejiro as sero just started cackling. Katsuki took one of the black drapes that was usually used to cover the drums to cover y’all’s..sticky situation. Bakugos face flushed red as he yelled at the two. “GET TF OUT!” He barked trying to cover the two of you. They stepped out for a bit while y’all got decent and when you did you yelled out “your good now..” you said trying to hide your tone of embarrassment. Katsuki was still sat on the stool as he zipped his pants and fixing his belt his shirt still on the floor though.

“Heh..sorry sero forgot his music here, seems like hall you too were making some of your own..” he snickered as sero tried to mask his laughter. You and katsuki couldn’t even defend yourselfs. Soon they left with their forgotten music before it was just the two of you again.

“Aside from their appearance..I had fun katsuki.” You said behind a soft smile. “Me too pretty..” he said kissing your lips softly before looking around the garage. “Jesus were messy..” he said behind a small chuckle.

[astray-anomaly]

The first Chapter of Sea Level!!

TW: Hurt, character injury, violence, mention of death and experimentation

Here is the Ao3 link, if you rather not read it on Ao3 the chapter is below the cut!

Chapter 1: A Promise

12-5-25

13:42

For two days the whole Hadel Blacksite was drowned in complete darkness ever since the crystal was taken and with that all power was gone from the site, even the backup power was now offline. Meaning that small computer couldn’t work anymore, the same computer Sebastian was now wrapping up in a waterproof crate he had found in one of the storage units. Putting all of the extra wires and pieces in place along with a few classified documents he had left. He then covered them up with extra layers so they wouldn’t shuffle around as much to avoid any damage. Afterwards he shut and sealed the crate.

He swapped out the Scrambler on his back in favor of the crate, it was a bit heavier with all the extra equipment inside but he could carry it relatively easily. He quickly checked the radio he had on him, still no signal. He groaned and shoved it back in his jacket. He needed to get it, he did make a promise to get them out of here, he didn’t want to break it. True he had no intention of keeping it in the first place but damn it, he just had to get attached to this stupid old computer in only the two months they’ve known each other. Even if he still had doubts this was possible, he had to try to complete his promise, this was the one good thing he could do now with nothing else left.

It was worth a shot to get out of this forsaken hellhole then wait to get gunned down or probably die of starvation. He knew Urbanshade would soon send down groups of their guards again to clear out the place and start to repair it despite the multiple devastating damages to the site. Urbanshade would never just abandon this place, they would eventually get this place fully functioning again so he didn’t want to be there when they arrived. It was between the chance of seeing the sun again or death. Even if he was gonna die, he wanted to do it looking at the sky one last time.

He was hoping they would be able to reach Innovation Inc. once at the surface. It was one of the rival companies of Urbanshade he had been able to contact before all the radios were cut off, none of the others responded. Maybe he could finally get them both the help they needed if he had found that company, but he has to get out of the Hadel Blacksite first.

The only guide they had now was the dimly lit esca on Sebastian’s head and his poor night vision as he started his journey through the twisted and broken hallways of the facility. More and more water had begun to leak in as the outer pile system started to implode on themselves from the outside pressure. Even though the pressure here was the same as it would be just at the surface, the facility could only take so much after the power was gone and the pipe system was the first to collapse. So the whole facility will be flooded with water, leaving everything left to rust. But he knew Urbanshade wouldn’t let that happen so he had to get out quickly.

At least now there were more places to swim than having to slither through the cold hallways decorated in broken furniture, shattered glass, and sharp scraps. Sebastian had already caught his tail on a few pieces, even though most of them didn’t cut through the hard scales a few small parts managed to catch themselves in his flesh, making him bite back a painful hiss. Still he kept going forward.

All of the docks were blocked off by now so the plan was to find Z-317’s old containment cell and follow the passageway out to the ocean. The one that Sebastian had originally opened before when releasing Z-317 during the lockdown.

If only he could get there faster but his injured tail had to drag him down, yet it was better to be slow to not alarm the other creatures still roaming the facility. Even after releasing them they were still animals, they had to hunt, no doubt they would attack him on sight if they ended up spotting him. Even if he could fend for himself, that computer on his back was not as strong as he was, one slip up and it could possibly be over. He wouldn’t let that happen.

He had already been roaming around the dark facility for what felt like hours, at this point he was convinced he was going in circles, right, left, right- crash

Sebastian froze at hearing a loud noise behind him, screaming starting to echo through the halls. He’d been here for just long enough to recognize which entity was which just by their screeching alone and out of every single creature it just had to be this one.

Sebastian darted his way to find a side room or some sort of tunnel as quickly as possible as Pandemonium’s screaming drew nearer and nearer. When he couldn’t he just punched in one of the broken doors and pulled his way through, at least the mantis shrimp DNA was useful for something. He quickly curled into one of the corners as the room started to shake.

He held his breath as the creature’s roaring passed, it was silent for moments afterwards and Sebastian started to uncurl his tail from around himself and pull himself out the corner only for the screeching to start up again. Sebastian panicked, moving down the hallway as fast as he could. There was so much rubble scattered everywhere that he had to slither around, no wonder this hall was blocked off.

Sebastian growled in pain again as something else dug into his tail, he kept his shrimp claw holding onto the crate on his back as Pandemonium got nearer. He eventually spotted what looked like a way out, at least he hoped but he couldn’t escape that easily. Pandemonium was just behind him.

“That's it you ugly bastard!” He snarled angrily, swinging his tail back to hit the creature and basically ripping his shotgun out of the hostler. Shooting repeatedly at the mutated beast's face, managing to get the two main eyes, making the creature shriek in pain. Sebastian then took his chance to run for it, even with the two main eyes gone there were still many more staring at him.

At least the shock and pain from the creature gave him enough time to make his escape into the underwater tunnels, he didn’t stop to look back, not for one second.

Eventually everything was quiet again and Sebastian could relax a bit. However when the adrenaline died down he was hit with the agonizing pain in his tail from a big metal scrap impaled in his side,painting the water red. He bit his tongue as he held back tears. The salt water just made everything sting more, still he continued his way down the tunnel, trying his best despite the excruciating pain.

He finally got to the exit, dragging himself out of the water and crawled up the ramp. He laid down on the cold concrete floor, catching his breath and coughing up some blood. He had to sit up, pulling the crate off his back and pushing it to the side as he examined his tail that was dripping in blood. He still had a medkit left even if it wouldn’t help much, it was something.

He quickly scavenged through the small kit and pulled out the antibiotic ointment and bandages. He then looked back at his tail and saw just how badly the metal had stabbed itself in there, still it had to be taken out.

He bit down more on his tongue to the point of making it bleed as he gripped onto the metal tightly. Closing his eyes as he pulled, wailing as it was removed but was able to cover most of the noise. He couldn’t alarm any more monsters down here.

He threw the piece of metal back into the water, leaning back and holding his tail while also holding back tears. He reached for the antibiotics and started to apply them to the gaping wound, not even reacting to the cold sting anymore. He took whatever was left in the bottle and applied it to the more minor injuries, he didn’t want to waste bandages trying to wrap them up since they weren’t as severe. Once the bandages were applied to the large wound he laid down on the ground, catching his breath and closing his eyes. “..Fucking hell..” He groaned, knowing he had to get back up, after a bit he strapped the crate onto his back again and continued on his way.

Unfortunately now he was even more lost, not exactly sure where they ended up after having to make a quick escape from Pandemonium in a panic. So they could have been farther or closer to their destination, Sebastian prayed they were closer as he navigated through the dark corridors.

After an hour of mindlessly dragging himself around he noticed a familiar pair of large heavy doors, this was where the controls to the containment cells were, they were closer now.

He used the keycard he still kept from killing that one elite guardsman to unlock the door again. The door didn’t seem to open much with the mechanism damaged so he was forced to squeeze through. The inside was a complete mess, even the control console was torn apart by one of the creatures.

Sebastian continued his way through the labs and containment rooms. Keeping his gaze down on the floor so he didn’t have to see anything that could possibly trigger his memories. The smell here already made him feel nauseous.

He counted the doors until he finally saw the one that read Z-317. The room was taken up mostly by a large aquarium where the Eyefestian would originally be kept in. Now the glass was cracked and the tank was mostly drained with water spilling on the lab floor.

He debated on what to do for a moment, instead of picking carefully at the glass he decided to punch it in. Wasn’t the best choice but it was the quickest. He shook his hand off, his ears perked up when he heard the wailing sounds of another creature nearby, Frogger.

Sebastian carefully pulled himself through the glass and dropped into the water. Swimming down before the creature could bounce back to see him. Once at the bottom he let himself relax as the cold water completely engulfed him, releasing the tension in his body. He was no longer being chased, he could finally relax for a second. They were so close to the end now. He found the doors which lead the way out of here, they would finally get out to the ocean.

He slithered through the door and continued into the dark tunnel. What felt like an endless void with only his own esca to guide him which was getting dimmer with each passing minute, showing just as much energy he had left in him.

He swam through the tunnel for minutes with barely any light. His injured tail trying to push him along as much as possible. Until he finally saw a glimpse of light up ahead followed by the sound of rumbling footsteps. He had forgotten that the Trench Bleeders were still mobile because their power was separate from that of the Hadel Blacksite, they were still being controlled from somewhere else.

Sebastian darted to the light, swimming with all his strength until he heard the wretched sound of metal bending. “Shit-“ He cursed, noticing that the tunnel was closing in on itself. He swam faster even if it hurt to push himself, the water still stung. Hearing the creaking of the metal getting louder until finally-

He shot his way up through the exit and soon fell back onto the ocean floor as the tunnel crushed in on itself. Yet he wasn’t out of his troubles yet, he had to move, he had to get up. The Trench Bleeder was right over him, the lights from underneath the giant mechanism's foot blinded his already poor seeing eyes, he was about to be crushed if he didn’t move now.

He forced himself to get up, pushing his way through the water as the Bleeder’s foot came crashing down, shaking the whole place and making Sebastian’s entire head ring. After that everything went pitch black.

12-6-25

4:18

Everything was aching when Sebastian had opened his eyes again, he suddenly became aware of every part of his body that hurt, he could barely move to lift his head. His esca flickered on as he looked around to figure out his surroundings, his eyes taking a moment to adjust. He found himself in some small cave in the ground, he took a breather and rested his head back down on the smooth rock, he was still so, so tired.

He had to remember why he was here, he had to get out of here or both him and p.AI.nter would die, or worse, p.AI.nter would be forced back to roblux mining. He couldn’t let that happen, he had to make it to the surface, he had to make it to Innovation Inc. he couldn’t just give up now. There was no time to rest, no matter how tired he was, he already got the rest he needed. The hardest part of the journey was already over.

Sebastian forced his body to move, wincing at the pain in his tail and spine. The crate was weighing him down a bit from his body being weaker. He swam out of the cave into the open water, everything was dark, the Trench Bleeder looked to be long gone by now, how long had he been asleep?

He didn’t stop to think about it, starting to swim upwards.

“Where are you going?”

Sebastian suddenly paused at the familiar voice that echoed in his head. He turned around to be met with the bright green glow of multiple eyes staring right at him. He used his hand to shield his eyes from the shining light before slowly lowering it back down and looking back at the curious radioactive shark before him.

“Well?”

“I thought you had left a long time ago, there is no prey for you here, not anymore.” Sebastian replied, staring down the creature, meeting her gaze.

“Where else would there be for me to go?” The shark circled curiously around Sebastian, moving closer.

“The surface.” Sebastian answered. “That’s where we are going, to get help.” He paused. “To go back to my home.”

“The surface isn’t where I belong, that is where you come from. I have no home to return to.” The Eyefestian responded blankly.

“Do you not remember anything?” Sebastian looked curious.

“No. If there is a home for me I doubt it would be very welcoming now. These depths are now my home.”

“You know you could come with us, you don’t have to stay in this place, with all the bad memories.” Sebastian reached out his hand, offering.

“I know you want me to, but I know you’ll do just as fine without me. Plus I’ve made some good memories down here too.” Eyefestian gently pushed her snout into Sebastian’s hand. “Go see them again..”

Sebastian just nodded, gently petting Eyefestian. He had so much to thank her for, she was there ever since the start of his experiments. She was the only creature to know what he truly looked like before and he was the first one to be able to appreciate her beauty without dying.

No further words were exchanged before Sebastian watched Eyefestian disappear back down into the dark depths again.

He wiped his eyes before focusing back on his mission, firstly making sure the crate was still fully secured before continuing up. Swimming for minutes on end as his tail guided him through the water until he felt the sudden crushing feeling of the pressure shifting, feeling like his whole body just collapsed in on itself within a second. Trying to catch his breath as his throat was squeezing and his body froze.

He was no longer in the Let-Vand Zone, he was in the deep sea now.

It took him a moment to get used to the extreme pressure change until his body slowly began to relax and he could breathe at a stable pace again. He checked the crate on his back, nothing looked crushed. The crates were very reinforced but that didn’t mean they could last long, he had to get to a lesser pressure level quickly.

It was harder to tread through the dense water, but he forced his tail to push himself through with as much force and speed as possible. Even if he could breathe normally everything still felt suffocating, making him feel lightheaded. He wasn’t even sure how fast he was moving with the water crushing his whole body.

Everything was completely black, not even his vision helped, he wasn’t sure if he was even moving upwards anymore, he could have been moving in any direction and he wouldn’t know unless he ended up hitting something or managed to breach the surface. It made him paranoid of anything jumping out at him, it was too dark, anything could come from any direction.

All he could do was hope he would run into nothing, he had to keep pushing. He was determined to get to the surface, his determination being more powerful than his own exhaustion. The more he swam, the more the pressure seemed to lift off of his body and he could finally move faster. It felt so freeing to be able to stretch out and move around without having any more worries, he wasn’t entirely free yet but he was getting close.

He swam for another hour, his tail barely dragging him along, until finally he saw an actual light reflecting from off the ocean’s surface. Dashing up to it in his excitement and breaking through the water. The smell of fresh air filling his nose, the gentle wind blowing through his wet hair, sounds of seagulls flying overhead and the gentle waves moving. He made it, he actually did it.

Sebastian smiled happily as tears poured down his cheeks. He used his hand to shade his tired eyes as he looked in the distance at the rising sun that had come up to welcome him back to the surface.

[robinvomit]

†  all the flags : tim.

⋆˙⟡ “i'm not.. emotionally unavailable. i'm emotionally encrypted. you're just not running the right program.”

⋆˙⟡ request: kal, im gonna need to see the green red and beige flags for your v1 boy ↦ kalico note: ♡ being colorblind is perfectly fine.

↦ GREEN FLAGS. "Christ, I'm in love with a problem."

says "be careful" every time you walk out the door.

gifted you a flashdrive and a note saying "if anything happens to me" and it's just a bunch of surprisingly well written love letters.

your likes, dislikes, soft spots, fears, etc. are all just locked away in his brain.

remembers your first birthday: what you wore, what the weather was like, what music was playing - the moment he realized he fucked up and actually liked you.

has a bunch of playlists inspired by you but won't actively tell you.

asks things like "what's your favorite book?" or "dream vacation?" during patrols.

has your routine down better than you.

stays up all night researching things you've mentioned in passing.

doesn't say 'i love you' but makes it clear in a thousand quiet, understandable, obsessive ways.

knows your go-to orders everywhere.

has a backup plan for all of your backup plans.

he treats your secrets like ancient, sacred knowledge.

respects your boundaries like they're the law.

doesn't offer unsolicited advice, despite wanting to, and waits for you to ask ( aka, need him. )

he's never forgetting a single thing you've told him. even things you don't even remember.

fixes things without being asked.

protects you like his life depends on it.

let's you play with his hair.

holds your wrist when out in public.

won't let you walk near the outside of the sidewalk.

slides you a snack or cup of tea when he notices your upset.

he knows all of your allergies, disorders, health issues, etc. and knows how to handle it if something goes wrong.

he has 100% broken into a vending machine for you.

defends you over the smallest things when you aren't around to hear it.

keeps a photo of you with him at all times - no, you have never seen it.

will never ask you to change. ever. for any reason.

can and will show up at your house at 2am.

can and will break into said house to be there when you get home.

has a box of every single receipt, ticket, note, letter, etc. you've ever given him and/or he acquired while with you.

he keeps the first voicemail you ever said 'i love you' in on his phone, seven different drives, backed up in several places like it could save the world someday.

tugs you by your shirt and kisses the top of your head when you get upset over something he said that wasn't meant to upset you.

he's not great at it and it only works about 20% of the time, but he attempts to watch how he sees things.

does not let you pay for food.

leaves a shirt or hoodie behind for you to find later on.

routinely messages "good morning." every single day.

will not, at any point, let either of you sleep until a fight or argument is resolved. even if he won't admit he's wrong.

↦ RED FLAGS. "God, if I say that's attractive, I probably need therapy."

he will absolutely repress his feelings into oblivion before asking for help.

he doesn't lie to you, per se, but he will omit like.. 87% of the truth.

would rather lose you than ever let you get hurt because of him.

every single person in his life is traumatized because that's simply who he lets in. ( it's red bc it's not always healthy. )

has days where he struggles with who he is outside of the mask.

he has no clue how to deal with unconditional love without dissecting it and giving you reasons to not love him.

believes in hope and redemption for everyone but himself.

he's got a file - mental, but it's still there - of everyone, including you.

copes with sarcasm and cruel comments.

deflects hurt by hurting others.

apologizing is barely something that crosses his mind and when it does, he's shit at doing it to your face.

he solves his problems by disappearing for a week.

texts after that week "what's up" like you weren't thinking he was dead 8 hours ago.

he's not going to tell you he's hurt until you find him stitching or bandaging or wrapping something.

he knows if you lie to him, and yes - he will be a hypocrite and call you out on it.

he has and will emotionally manipulate people for the greater good, even if it hurts the person.

he's not going to fight you if you want to walk away - he'll just nod, let you go, and deal with how he feels on his own.

however, sometimes, he makes it easy. silence, distance, emotional retreat.

if he feels like you're pulling away, he's going to do it first.

there is 100% a tracker on you that you have no idea about.

thinks protection involves keeping you in the dark.

his idea of opening up, early on, is brushing everything off and telling you he's fine and not to worry about it.

will ignore you if he's bothered by something. ( bothered, not mad. )

he's going to apologize more for stupid shit like burdening you or dragging you down before he apologizes for something he did wrong.

he has trained himself to not need comfort. ( he thinks it worked until you come along. )

he thinks he's expendable. which is why he can be reckless if it means protecting someone.

sleep is optional if he has work to do.

he will, at no point in his existence, admin he's jealous. but he will make someone else's life a living hell for it. behind your back.

if he sees you reciprocating anything like flirting, even leaning too close when you laugh, he's gonna up and vanish. for hours.

he does not want to be considered needy, jealous, etc. so, he just won't tell you how any of these things make him feel.

god help if you're in danger and one of the others gets to you first - he will be very quick to cut them off and take over.

self sabotage is burned into his soul.

does have deeply personal information on all of your friends, ex friends, ex lovers, etc.

↦ BEIGE FLAGS. "You're so fucking weird.."

will use outdated slang for shits and giggles - he's said "jazzed" so many times.

all of his electronics have names. yes, he expects you to use them.

you've caught him eating cereal, half asleep, with a fork.

can pick any lock, get through any firewall, dismantle any security system - but lord help if he needs to open a bag of chips or a can of biscuits.

will ghost you - then show up two days later with your favorite take out and a not-really-an-apology apology.

can skate like a pro but will trip over his own feet. ( please look into his early robin training days, it's hilarious. )

he has two forms of flirting:

blunt, straight to the point.

fighting over detective work until you're red in the face and want to strangle him.

buys you flowers often but does not give them to you, just leaves them on a counter or table.

told you he loved you on a mission once, then pretended it never happened.

corrects you, feels bad for the next week.

he has a color-coded sheet for your communication quirks.

will stare you. will blush when caught. will call you crazy if you mention it.

the type to correct things when watching a movie.

will let himself get torn to shreds if it means petting a street cat.

goes nonverbal for hours on end for absolutely no reason. just existing. nodding when needed.

disassociates on the balcony at 3am.

according to him, after being called cute, he's "statistically speaking, i'm not." aka, you're wrong but thanks.

genuinely knows this because of his time looking at data on facial symmetry, global average, basic attractive features, etc.

don't tell him you miss him because he'll never say it back, just glance to the side then be like "i'm right here."

he has mugs, silverware, specific shirts, and jackets that you are not allowed to touch. because they are his.

he will send you a total of 9 paragraphs in a text at one in the morning about something interesting he found.

like everyone else, he has favorite rooftops and spots in gotham; he will get offended if someone else is using it.

makes you watch documentaries with him.

he sent you a cute little thing for your anniversary once. it was labeled "sentiment.archive" - it was a very, very organized timeline of photos and memories.

↦ BONUS. reacting.

i love you. "okay. well.. uh, noted."

you're cute. "do you mean that in a romantic human way, or the manipulative way because you want something?"

i missed you. "i never turned the comms off?"

why do you love me? "because you looked at all the broken, beat down bullshit and still said 'that's mine.'"

your happiness is important to me. "let's settle on functional unless you plan to redefine happiness."

you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. "please aim higher."

i don't want to lose you. ( i'll be nice here- ) v1: "both of us already have. bits, pieces - parts of me. a long time ago." v2: "you're not losing me.. you won't. unless you decide it's time to go."

you cry in front of him. "hey, tell me what you need - little slower. i'm listening, i'm right here."

you reach for his hand. "hold on too tight and i might not let go."

i hate you, said during a fight. "…okay…. okay."

[anim-ttrpgs]

The whole "better to embrace the vore" thing got me thinking, Since vampires don't need to breathe, in a Mixed Monster Group featuring someone else like a Gorgon, could they technically be used for endosoma representation? not sure if representation is the right word, but you get the meaning. could lead to a Medusa spitting out a backup combatant. or hiding their vampire friend from others.

(I had to look up with “endosoma” means.)

Well, maybe. Vampires don’t need to breathe that’s true, but a gorgon’s stomach is not a place they probably would want to be anyway, what with the stomach acid and stuff. Sure, they’d probably regenerate faster than the acid could wear them down, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t sting painfully the whole time. Hypothetically maybe, like, a full-body scuba suit (plus oxygen tank if the subject isn’t a vampire) might make it so that surviving in a gorgon’s stomach is 1 degree less horrible but that’s still a crazy plan. Good luck convincing anyone to go through with it. (But it’s any party of investigators does pull this off somehow, let us know.)

That’s assuming this is a gorgon with a “regular” stomach, though. If it’s a aqua regia gorgon, well, vampire or not anyone she swallows is going to dissolve in minutes.

This also reminds me that recently one of our team members proposed a way to “get rid of” a vampire that I’m a little afraid to say would actually “work” really well.

Vampires don’t have any real superhuman power and basically can’t do any damage when they are manifested as a small bat, and vampires can only manifest as something larger than their current manifestation if there is enough open space for it. A vampire with a sufficiently tiny bat manifestation could be grabbed put in someone’s mouth, and swallowed “alive” by even an adult mundane character. The vampire would be unable to do basically anything about this once grabbed and would be helplessly stuck there in the dark, forever, unable to escape or be digested to death and remanifest elsewhere. As long as the mundane character could put up with the tickling.

[seafoamreadings]

week of september 1st, 2024

these are written predominantly for the *rising* signs but they are also intuitively "channeled" enough that they should work for any dominant energy you have! (try your sun if you don't know rising, or more advanced readers can try moon, anywhere you have a stellium, etc and see what works best for you!)

aries: this is not a week of small transits. while grounding is typically not the name of your personal game, you might want to give it a serious try this week just so you don't get too frazzled in the momentous shifts occurring.

taurus: the vibes are earthy and mostly quite solid although change is still auspicious. it is good to be strong and grounded without being brittle, inflexible, or completely immutable. your sign is well known for stubbornness but at this time, avoid it as well as you can.

gemini: if you need to move to a new home, shake things up in your current household, or unearth some old family secrets, this is the time to do it. conversations around home and hearth and ancestry are favored this week, thanks to the new moon in virgo. on the other hand such a new moon is always useful for just getting your life together if that's where you're at.

cancerians: this week has a new moon (in virgo) which is always a whole thing for you - clean slate, do whatever you need to do! writing is super auspicious too! and also mars moves into cancer. other things happen too of course, but these are the things that will reinvigorate you and get you going where you want to go.

leo: your priorities this week should focus around your subconscious and your resources - money, time, energy, whatever. in fact, consider all the ways in which your subconscious *is* a resource. if it doesn't feel like one, it needs some cleaning out, so do your shadow work while you spreadsheet your budget or whatever other resource maintenance you mean to do.

virgo: this tensely mutable energy features a prominent new moon in your sign. broadly this should be fairly comfortable for you, and yet you may feel an itching, urgent pressure to work for a development. it may be better to sit still, focus on your plans, backup plans, and flow charts and see what unfolds for now. leave room for flexibility and spontaneity in all that planning. don't set anything in stone.

libra: the new moon may hatch a new dream in your psyche, but it's likely so deeply ingrained you can't see it clearly yet. let it gestate. meanwhile you have some strong nodal activity occurring. fate lines are more visible than ever; you see where you come from and where you are going. embrace your destiny, whatever it is, and leave a little room to make your own choices about it.

scorpio: there is a certain social and friendly tone about the week and yet a lot of murky intensity along with it. this is a time to build trust, and yet not to exercise it naively or wildly. let it be earned.

sagittarius: probably this week proceeds relatively smoothly for you but there will later in the week be a sun-saturn opposition. this need not cause any serious turmoil but it could reflect some frustrations in your life where you feel stuck, or in a tug of war between one part of your life and another. meanwhile, all week, excessive spending is definitely not advised.

capricorn: the big highlight of the week is pluto back into your sign for the last time in a couple hundred years. the lord of the underworld hangs out in the farthest reaches of your sign for just a couple of months. use this period to clean up the vibes you want going into the pluto in aquarius era.

aquarius: sometimes, like probably right now, it feels like your hard work has paid off only it setbacks, or having to go back to fix things. the blast from the past taking place is not necessarily pleasant, but isn't it always good to have a second chance to make sure things in the future go just how you want them to?

pisces: tension you can practically touch permeates the air, or whatever subtle plane you are experiencing now. but this tension is highly productive, provided you don't shy away from it too much.

[mediocrecowboyhat]

Set in sand - Chapter 10

We mark the year 1934 and a peculiar journal falls into your hands. It's telling the tale of an outlaw and the downfall of a gang. Some pages are torn and others are downright unreadable, but nevertheless, you are still able to make out some parts of the tragic story.

With the help of a certain time traveler friend of yours, will you be able to safe the author of the journal or will you be the cause for his demise?

Previous chapter

Next chapter

Word count: 3148

TW: end-game spoilers will be mentioned very early on in the story, 18+ MDNI, sexual themes, violence, gore, death, misogynistic themes (anything that happens in the game as well), she/her pronouns

"Are you interested in some money?", you ask leaning your hips against the edge of the table and your arms crossed infront of your chest.

Sadie looks up from the hunting knife she's fidgeting with and raises an eyebrow in curiosity. "I'm listenin'."

"So there is this bank coach that will come from Saint Denis and will stop in Rhodes and I was thinking..." You leave the rest of the sentence unspoken and raise both eyebrows in anticipation.

The widow immediately understands what you're trying to say and her entire face lights up.

"Ya wanna rob a coach with me?" The way she voices the question makes it sound like you asked for her hand in marriage.

"Of course! I was thinking to get Karen on board as well."

Sadie nods. "That woman knows how to work a gun, alright. Do ya have a plan?"

You haven't worked out the fine details just yet, but a plan definitely exists. At first you had thought of being the distraction yourself since Sadie and Karen have more experience with shooting, but then you remembered that the driver knows you already. It was not a great first impression you had left on him either.

Sadie most likely wouldn't want to take on the role as a damsel in distress, so out of all three of you Karen is the best choice. Of course you had played with the thought of getting one of the men on board as well, but you want to try it without their help.

Thanks to the driver's much welcome cooperation back at the saloon you know almost the exact route the coach will take and how many guard will be posted. It's not a small number, but nothing overwhelming either.

They probably don't expect for people to bother looking into something that goes to such a backwater place like Rhodes. Granted, you don't anticipate to be bathing in riches after this job, but there is a faint chance that this could end up to be something huge.

Considering how rich the Grays and Braithwaites are rumored to be, this coach might very well be loaded with gold, jewels and all kinds of valuable stuff.

You recall telling Lenny that nothing about these jobs and such is a competition, but here you are, desperate to prove yourself to the others as if you're going to get a price or a medal or some shit. Unbelievable what the past few months have done to you.

One day you were going about your day to day life as a good and honest citizen and now you're finding yourself trying to outdo the other gang members by robbing a state bank. A sigh leaves your lips at that revelation.

"Sounds like a solid plan to me.", Sadie rips you out of your thoughts and you nod to yourself.

Of course she's fine with the lack of a backup plan. She's perfectly content with shooting her way out if you all manage to end up in trouble which is precisely why you want her with you.

Her unwavering confidence and unstaggering bravery is what will keep you grounded during the job. Your nerves are beginning to feel the pressure and Sadie is the sole pillar that is holding up your house of cards.

Hopefully it will get better over time. Hopefully you will get used to it some more after today and then it won't be such a struggle to keep a cool head.

Together you find Karen at her tent and explain the situation to her. As expected, she seems a tad less excited than the other woman.

"I love you. You know this.", she says directed at you. "But are you sure? Don't take this the wrong way, girl, I know you got thick skin, but I haven't seen you handle a gun yet."

"I understand and I won't be upset if you decide to stay here, but I want you to know that you can trust me. I can take care of myself just fine now. Ask Lenny.", you answer confidently.

The young man has seen you at the saloon. Even though the memory of you pulling out your Schofield is still kind of blurry in your mind, you're quite convinced that you had looked like a true outlaw when doing it.

If Karen goes to ask him about you and the events then he will answer in your favor and she knows that. That's why she's giving you that look right now. That look that tells you she's going to ride with you.

"Count me in. We'll show them men how it's done.", she exclaims with a wide smile and picks up her rifle that was tucked away under a blanket.

While the three of you get the horses ready, you go over the plan once more. Karen agreed to be the distraction and threw over a fitting outfit. Sadie and you will in the meantime join the coach from behind.

It sounds good, it sounds solid. You only hope that a fight won't break out. You've gotten a whole lot better at hitting the mark during your target practice, but you're not sure how well you will perform doing the same thing on horseback.

Quickly you shake these doubts off. It's no good to go into this with a negative attitude. This is your first job where you're taking the lead and you intend to do excellent work.

Much to your relief, the camp is quite deserted at the moment, so your departure isn't turning any heads. No one is wondering where you're going with all this suspicious amount of firearms.

"Ladies!", you call out from over your shoulder as you ride out. "How are we feeling?"

"Great!", Sadie yells and her voice really does sound like the part. It's oozing with excitement and anticipation and it fills you with confidence.

After finishing up the preparations, you had spread a map of Lemoyne on one of the tables and traced the rode the coach would take with your finger. It's not a long drive considering how close Saint Denis is, so you all agreed to stop them somewhere in the middle, away from civilization.

As you make your way to the spot, you try to clear your mind and tell yourself that it will all turn out just fine. You have two competent women by your side who you trust blindly with your life. They got your back and you got theirs.

After a while you and Sadie separate yourselves from Karen and take a left turn at an intersection. You two will wait up on a hill that oversees most of the road, so you will see the coach coming while Karen stays on the low ground.

She's somewhere hidden in the bushes and will come stumbling out to put on a show. Now you only need patience.

It doesn't take look for you to spot a carriage approaching in the distance. Judging by the single riders surrounding the vehicle, this must be your target. Sadie and you cover your faces under bandanas and wait silently.

None of you say a word to each other as the coach pulls closer and a familiar figure strolls out from between the shrubs. You watch the coach come to a halt and listen in on the conversation.

Karen is a fantastic actor. She almost has even you fooled and you're aware that it's only an act. The driver on the other hand seems less happy about the unforseen interruption and he yells.

Almost casually, you and Sadie approach the bank coach from behind and you reach into your pocket to grab the revolver. It clicks as you disable the safety and point the barrel at one of the guards.

"No one move!", you command in a stern tone. It comes to a surprise to you at how calm you sound.

You were a bit worried that your voice might betray you and you will end up sounding anything, but threatening. A sense of triumph fills your chest at that.

"Open the back of this coach or I'll blow your brains out!", Sadie roars menacingly and it sends a shiver down your spine. Every now and then you find yourself relieved that you can call this woman your friend and not your enemy.

There are four guards posted around the coach and all of them are heavily armed. Though so far it looks like none of them is planning to stir up any trouble. This is exactly what you wanted to achieve.

With Sadie and you closing in from behind, they won't only be unable to see you coming, but they also won't know how many of you there are. There is no way of telling if you're here with a small army or not.

The man she's pointing her rifle at slowly gets off the horse with both hands in the air and steadily makes his way to the back of the vehicle. You narrow your eyes as you watch him. Something doesn't sit right with you. He's taking too long.

As if you predicted it, the man suddenly turns around to face Sadie and readies his weapon. The woman is faster than him though and blows off his head without hesitation.

Blood splatters all over the walls of the coach and the shrill noise of her rifle startles not only you, but your horse too. It stands up on its back legs and you loose your balance.

With a yelp you come crashing down onto the dirt and gasp. The fall has knocked out all the air from your lungs and you're gathering all your strength to roll over and pull yourself back up on your feet.

Something roars right past you, only mere inches away from your head and you instinctively throw yourself behind the first rock. You hear Sadie and Karen yell profanities at the men and you sigh in relief. At least they're alive and well.

You dare a peek from behind the rock and spot one of the guards trying to sneak up to Sadie to catch her off-guard. Without thinking, you lift your revolver and recall Arthur's advice.

Once your lungs are empty, shoot.

You pull the trigger and the man falls down. He stays down and you force your attention somewhere else. You can feel your mind wanting to linger, wanting to contemplate your actions. A voice in the back of your head speaks up.

This is the third light now that you've extinguished.

All your senses are focused on the battle.

When will you stop?

Another shot falls from your gun and another person ends up in the dirt. Everything within you wants to go up and check if your shot was fatal or not, check if the man was alive and breathing. With all your might and willpower, you push against it and stay put.

It feels like only a few seconds have passed when the shooting comes to an end and you stand up with wobbly knees. Adrenaline is still rushing through your veins and the Schofield is trembling in your hand. You're gripping it so hard that the whites of your knuckles are showing.

Karen and Sadie also come out of their hiding spots and you all exchange looks. No one seems hurt and a great weight falls off your shoulders. This entire time your mind was racing with worry and now you have one less thing to be concerned about.

Sadie shoots the lock of the trunk open and you lift the lid. A strangled gasp escapes you as your eyes wander over the piles of cash. There must be at least a thousand dollars in here and you feel like you could sob from relief.

"I reckon this was quite a success.", Karen comments and you rub your hand over your forehead. A success indeed.

Quickly you all pick up the stacks and split it up between each other with majority of it meant for the camp funds. Sadie holds it out to you.

"You should be the one who gives it to Dutch.", she says, earning an approving hum from Karen.

A simple 'okay' is all you can manage at the moment and you stuff the money into an empty satchel you had brought. You all decide it would be better to split up and not go directly back to camp in case there were any witnesses you have failed to notice.

Taking a detour is a good opportunity to reflect over what happened, but you're not sure if you're quite ready for that. More people have died by your hand today and your chest feels heavy.

Oddly enough it's not as devastating as it was the first time when you wrestled with the O'Driscoll on the ground. Back then you felt like something had dragged you down right into hell, but now you feel different.

It's kind of dampened now. Still terrible, but definitely dampened. A pit forms in your stomach at the realization and you swallow a lump that is forming in your throat.

Am I getting used to it?

You signal for your horse to pick up on speed and focus on the wind whipping around your face. It pulls on your hair and clothes and makes your eyes tear up.

Maybe it's not the wind that's making you cry, but you don't want to think about it right now. A deep sigh leaves your lips and soon you find yourself back in camp.

As you hitch the borrowed horse, you notice that Sadie and Karen haven't made it back yet and you give the satchel with the money a light squeeze as if to make sure that it hasn't vanished into thin air on your way back. You make your way towards Dutch's tend and spot him talking to Hosea and Arthur.

The three men are so engrossed in their conversation that they don't notice you approaching and you clear your throat. Their heads turn to you and you suddenly find yourself shying away slightly.

Is there a specific way to hand over the money from a job? Mental images of you presenting the cash all ceremonial with a theatrical speech and down on one knee pop up in your mind and you stifle a snort.

"Can I help you?", Dutch rips you out of your thoughts and you awkwardly cough into your fist.

You hand over the satchel and watch him inspect the contents. Arthur throws in a curious glance as well and he immediately raises an eyebrow at your direction.

"What is this?", he asks and your lips curl up into a smirk. All awkwardness disappears from you and is being replaced by pride.

"I heard of a bank coach passing through from Saint Denis, so I took Karen and Sadie with me to see what it's all about.", you explain.

Dutch closes the satchel again as he nods, clearly pleased. "This is quite a sum. Well done, ladies."

Your grin grows ever wider and it feels like someone placed a crown on your head. It feels good to contribute.

"Did you run into any trouble?", Arthur asks and furrows his brows. His expression is a vast contrast to yours and you can't decipher what exactly it is that bothers him.

"The guards weren't exactly cooperative, but it was nothing we couldn't handle." Your voice is oozing with confidence. It's true that you three had it all under control. They didn't stand a chance.

The outlaw looks like he wants to say more, but he stays silent and so you excuse yourself to grab a bowl of stew. All day you haven't had anything to eat and with all the action and adrenaline you didn't even notice how starved you are up until now.

Your stomach produces a growl loud enough to make the citizens of Rhodes aware of your hunger and you find yourself a nice, quiet corner to eat at. Then a shadow falls over you and Arthur takes a seat across the table.

Silently you continue finishing your meal while he fidgets with his knife. It did seem like he was anything but excited to learn about your robbery, but all that has disappeared by now.

After a while he breaks the silence. "You did well with the coach."

"Thank you."

He clears his throat before speaking up again. "But next time you decide to do somethin' like that, bring me."

"I was thinking about it today, but I assumed you'd try to talk me out of it. I wanted to bring in some money myself, you know?", you explain and he nods along.

"I know, I know and you're right. I probably would have stopped you. It's not that I don't trust you." Something tells you that that's not quite the truth, but you bite your tongue. "I just don't want you and the other women to get hurt."

"Don't worry. Next time I plan a robbery, I'll bring you with me.", you say and the corners of your mouth curl up reassuringly.

He returns it with one of his half-smiles and motions with his hand towards your leather bag. "But now you got enough cash for a horse. Are you free tomorrow? 'Cause I could help ya look for one."

The smile on your lips turns into a smirk.

"I'm free, yes."

---

As the day is being replaced by the night and more and more people retreat to their tents, you slip into your sleeping garments as well. The flickering light of the campfire is the only source illuminating the camp and you swat away a mosquito that's been buzzing too close to your ear.

"Hey, got a moment?", you hear Sadie behind you and you turn around on your heels.

"Of course.", you answer, sitting down on your bedroll and patting the spot infront of you to signal her to sit down as well.

With a grunt she lowers herself to your level. "I wanted to say that I enjoyed riding with you today."

Her words earn a warm smile from you. "Me too."

"And I wanted to thank you.", she quickly adds. "You saved my life."

You recall the man who had tried to sneak up to her. The man you shot. The memory lingers for a few seconds before you shake your head to get rid of it.

"It's not a big deal. You would have done the same for me."

Sadie places her hand on your shoulder and gives it a light squeeze. The look in her brown eyes is something you can't quite discern, but it doesn't last for long and she stands up from her spot.

"I'll see ya tomorrow mornin' then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Sadie.", you say in a hushed voice and watch her leave.

Taglist: @shackspossum @heloixe @abducted-cowz

[digisims2]

Hey it's been a while and this is the annual "I'm no longer active on this account so follow me elsewhere instead" post. So without further ado, find me at:

Simblr.cc (for all the newer stuff)

DigitalAngels/DigiSims2 repository (WIP, still empty as I'm posting this since I literally just asked for it to be made moments ago. I need some place to store all my old stuff, hoping to handle this after the one below this is handled)

Backup from my time running Packrat stuff @ GoS (this also is pretty new, started in in December and it too is WIP at this point but not too far from being done actually*)

Pillowfort (this one's pretty inactive but it still exists, I'm more active on my other account there)

GoS (Profile, Updates thread, Uploads at GoS)

You're probably noticing that WordPress is missing from this list, this is because I'm planning to nuke it completely once I've copied all the posts from it so it'll be gone completely later.

*while posting these I found out that SFS has deleted some of my files. I hope not too many of them are gone but just in case you encounter a dead link somewhere I didn't remove it myself. :|

This is also reminder that everything shared in any of the links above is offered as is and no support is offered if something somehow blows your game up or something (though honestly, I'm very impressed if you managed to do that)

Also apparently tumblr's been nuking and banning blogs left and right so I hope you all have backups somewhere safe in the case that hits you. If it hits me I won't even fight it, good riddance. I recommend simblr.cc for alternative option, it seems to be reliable enough.

Below this just some real life stuff for those who have wondered where I've disappeared, feel free to ignore if you're only after Sims related stuff.

So. I became a student again in January and it's been eating a lot of my time and on my free time I'd rather just sleep or do something actually fun rather than copy paste hundreds of Sims posts from one place to another but I do plan to get all done eventually whenever I have the time and energy for it. I don't really have much interest in continuing doing Sims stuff anymore so dealing with all these files is a slog and it literally can't be over soon enough. 🙃

On my free time I've been playing lots of Dungeons and Dragons and have tried out other roleplaying games too and I'm having tons of fun just playing those with friends and drawing. I feel I'm mentally doing a lot better than I have for years and actually feel pretty okay overall. It hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows but I won't go into finer details about that here. I hope everybody here has been fine too. ♥

[angelofthenight01]

Operation Paws Rescue

Kate Bishop x Reader

genre: fluff     ||     warnings: none 

Summary: you and Kate are on a mission to save some adorable dogs.

The Avengers had fought many battles, saved the world more times than anyone could count, and taken on threats that no one else dared face. But today? Today was different.

Kate Bishop stood confidently in the center of the briefing room, her purple bow slung over her shoulder, hands on her hips, looking far too serious for the task at hand.

“We’re rescuing dogs,” she announced with a perfectly straight face.

You blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard me,” Kate nodded, her tone unwavering. “Super important mission. Top-secret, high-stakes stuff.”

There were a few exchanged glances in the room, but none of the Avengers seemed to argue with her. Clint Barton was grinning behind his coffee cup, Tony Stark was scrolling through his phone (probably ordering more tech), and even Natasha gave an almost imperceptible nod. It was clear that no one was going to question Kate’s mission. It was too ridiculous, too adorable to resist.

You raised an eyebrow. “So... what’s the mission exactly?”

Kate leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “There’s an underground dog-fighting ring in the city. The pups are being held captive and used for illegal matches. They need to be rescued, and I’m the only one who can do it.” She swung the bow dramatically. “And I need a partner.”

You shot her a half-smile. “You want me to help you rescue... dogs?”

“Yup. We’re going undercover as dog trainers. I have my credentials.” She pulled out a laminated ID that read “Top-tier Dog Trainer Extraordinaire” with an absurdly cute photo of her and a Golden Retriever.

“Wait,” you asked, chuckling. “You’re a certified dog trainer?”

Kate’s eyes sparkled. “Well... it’s a temporary certification. But I’ve been around enough dogs that I think I can wing it.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, alright. I’m in. Let’s go save some dogs.”

* * * 

When you and Kate arrived at the shady warehouse on the outskirts of the city, she wasted no time. She pulled a pair of ridiculous sunglasses out of her bag, placing them firmly on her face as she strolled up to the entrance like she owned the place.

You followed, trying to match her confidence but realizing you probably looked more like a confused civilian than a secret agent.

“We're here to assess the dogs,” Kate said to the guard at the door. The man raised an eyebrow, looking Kate up and down like he was questioning her credibility.

Kate smiled brightly, holding up her fake ID. “I’m a professional. We’re here for a very important inspection.”

The guard squinted at the ID, shrugged, and opened the door without saying another word. Kate’s plan was working better than you expected.

Inside, the warehouse was dark, full of cages with barking dogs. Some were huge, others tiny, and they were all either pacing anxiously or wagging their tails at the sight of you both.

Kate immediately dropped to her knees, pulling out a bag of dog treats she had smuggled in her jacket. “Who’s a good boy?” she cooed, reaching for a scruffy-looking terrier who immediately jumped into her arms, tail wagging like mad.

You laughed, shaking your head. “I swear, you’re more excited about the dogs than the mission.”

She grinned up at you while holding the terrier in her arms like it was a prize. “I’m just really good at multitasking. Saving the world and making new dog friends.”

Before you could respond, a loud crash came from the back of the warehouse, and two massive guard dogs appeared, their growls echoing across the room.

Kate immediately stood up, her eyes locking onto the beasts. “Okay, I got this. You handle the backup.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Backup? You just want me to… what? Do what?”

Kate was already on the move, pulling an arsenal of dog treats from her bag, each one more extravagant than the last—peanut butter bones, bacon-flavored chews, and something called a "mega squirrel snack" (which, frankly, sounded terrifying).

“Distract them with the treats! I’ll deal with the big guy.”

You blinked. “I— what?!”

With the guard dogs distracted by Kate’s incredible supply of snacks, you made a beeline for the smaller cages, unlocking them and ushering the dogs out with a lot of awkward coaxing. Some of them were scared, others just wanted pets. It wasn’t exactly glamorous, but you were doing your part.

Meanwhile, Kate had managed to convince the giant dogs to sit in front of her by bribing them with an entire bag of peanut butter biscuits. “You see, I’m really good with animals,” she said proudly, holding one of the dogs’ faces between her hands like it was a tiny puppy.

You just shook your head, watching the scene unfold. Only Kate Bishop would think she could single-handedly calm down guard dogs with treats and an overwhelming amount of charm.

Eventually, all the dogs were freed. You and Kate both knelt down to meet them, laughing as they swarmed around you. “Mission accomplished!” Kate cheered, holding a small, fluffy dog over her shoulder. “We did it, partner. We saved them!”

You smiled, scratching one of the dogs behind the ears. “Yeah, we make a pretty good team.”

Kate’s grin softened for a moment, the satisfaction of a job well done settling in. “I couldn’t have done it without you,” she said sincerely, then added with a wink, “Plus, you look pretty cute with a bunch of dogs around you.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle. “Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself, Bishop.”

As the dogs wagged their tails around you, you couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, saving the world wasn’t always about facing down supervillains or alien invasions. Sometimes, it was about saving a bunch of adorable, slightly confused pups from a bad situation—and having a hell of a good time doing it with Kate Bishop.

The mission was definitely a success.

[whumpsday]

Ancient Evils

Whump Oneshot - Writing masterlist

find my G/t blog here: @smallsday

content: g/t whump, giant whumpee, demon whumpee, magical whump, isolation, claustrophobia, burns, forced to obey, rescue, hurt/comfort, caretaking

Whumpmas in July Day 21: Abandoned GT July Day 21: Coveted Hug a Giant Day

dammit i did that thing again where i write a oneshot and it turns into the setup for a miniseries. will write a followup to this eventually lol but it also works as a standalone <3 (edit: might just leave this as a standalone, who knows)

-

The tomb was covered in glowing runes Berian knew from his studies, but had never encountered in use until today. Symbols carved painstakingly into stone by ancients, covering every inch of the thirteen-foot stone box, all screaming a single purpose: keep whatever lies inside sealed within.

The magic used to activate them was powerful, powerful enough to seal the tomb for two thousand years, powerful enough that the caster had surely died, given what they had to work with back then. It was likely all they could think to do in their desperation, back then. Berian uttered a quick prayer for the caster who came before him, who had sacrificed themself to save countless: long-dead, but not forgotten.

At least he wouldn’t have to follow in their footsteps. Two thousand years was, thankfully, enough time to develop a better solution. A way of utilizing the demon’s own magic against itself.

Though it was always in the back of his mind as a backup, in case something went wrong. Hopefully, the knot of anxiety in his stomach would dissipate after it was done.

Berian looked to his watches, lined up one after the other on his wrist, all still in sync, and waited.

As soon as it hit twenty seconds until release, he began chanting as practiced, his staff pointed directly at the tomb. He had to time it just right, or his colleagues out at the entrance probably wouldn’t even be able to come retrieve his corpse.

“Finis.”

Precisely at the same moment Berian bound the spell, the runes ceased to glow, a forceful BANG sounding from within the tomb.

He exhaled slow. The lid stayed shut. After only a few seconds, the runes resumed glowing once more. He’d done it.

The entity inside screamed.

Berian jumped back. The screaming did not stop, a wail of agony and despair. Barely audible under it all, his phone beeped, the least of his worries.

“Hello?” he called out, hesitant.

A voice roared from inside. “LET ME OUT.”

In all his wildest imaginings, Berian had never imagined the demon would speak to him.

He could, he realized. The spell had bound the demon to his will: it would have to obey him even outside the tomb.

And it was the only chance he would ever get. And they had backup plan after backup plan in place in case things went horribly wrong.

“...Okay. Don’t move.”  This would at least be a good test of whether the spell would hold, he told himself. It was safer this way, really.

Berian tried to lift the lid, but it was simply too heavy, a gigantic slab of solid stone. He pointed his staff to it, muttering just the right words to let it slide off to the side.

The demon looked like a man. He hadn’t expected that. He was as tall as the tomb was long, easily more than twice Berian’s height, with large, curled horns protruding from his head, but other than that, he looked human.

True to Berian’s order, he did not move a single muscle. His body lay stock-still within, his arms raised and palms up–he’d been attempting to push the lid off himself. Overlapping scars streaked down his skin wherever it touched the stone in the pattern of the runes, burned in as though with a branding iron. Massive shackles cinched tight around his wrists, ankles, and neck, chains binding him to the inside of the tomb.

The demon did not speak again, his eyes wide with overwhelming alarm.

It was only after a moment of taking him all in with awe that Berian realized it was him preventing the demon from doing so.

“You can move,” he amended. In addition to forcing the demon to use his own magic to re-activate the runes, the initial spell had contained a command preventing him from leaving the tomb. This would just be going overkill.

The demon gasped, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “OUT. OUT. YOU WILL RELEASE ME.”

Berian winced. “I can’t do that. You’ll hurt people, like last time, right?”

To Berian’s continued amazement, the demon began to cry.

“ONLY YOUR ENEMIES. OR NO ONE AT ALL. WHATEVER ARE THE TERMS. WHAT MUST I DO TO BE RELEASED?”

Berian could have sworn he heard that powerful voice break, just a little.

“NAME YOUR TERMS,” the demon insisted. Berian was sure now, the desperation palpable.

The demon shifted slightly, and everywhere the stone touched new skin, it burned.

“You–you will harm no one,” Berian started, before he’d even thought how this was going to work. “You will stay in this section of the cave. You will not touch my staff or any other conduit of magic. You may exit the tomb.”

Berian had never seen something so huge move so quick. The demon burst from the stone box like a firework, chains snapping like rubber bands under his freed might, the ends hanging limply from his shackles. The cave ceiling was not tall enough for him to stand and he did not try, scrambling as far away as he could get and huddling against the wall there.

His phone beeped again.

The demon glared at him, his chin tucked into the metal wrapped around his neck, breathing heavily.

This wasn’t right. This was a demon that had wrought terror across lands, responsible for thousands of deaths, a giant among men. He wasn’t supposed to be… pitiful.

“Hey–”

“I WILL NOT GO BACK IN.” Now that he was out of the tomb, Berian could see the true extent of the damage, the burns even more intense on skin that had been pressed against the bottom. As huge as the box was, it had been built scarcely larger than the man before him, big enough to fit him and no more. Skin that had been pressed against the bottom was particularly scarred, so much so that it was essentially a giant burn, the symbols impossible to make out.

“I’m not going to make you go back in there,” Berian promised. Maybe a stupid promise. What the fuck was he going to do? “So just… it’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

He certainly wasn’t expecting that. The demon’s glare gave way to surprise. “GOOD.”

Berian took an experimental step forward, like he was coaxing out a feral cat. “Do you have a name? Mine’s Berian. I’m–” Don’t say caster. “...A researcher.” It wasn’t a lie, after all.

The demon picked his head up. “THEY CALLED ME ALARIC. ALL-POWERFUL.” The words rang bitter.

“Were you… awake in there, all this time?” Berian asked, dreading the answer.

The glare returned. “I DO NOT SLEEP.”

“We didn’t know you were awake. You weren’t supposed to be awake.” Berian took a couple more steps forward.

Alaric put his hand up, huge, sharp claws protruding from every finger. Berian flinched, squeezing his eyes shut with a small yelp, but there was no attack: his commands prevented it. When he opened his eyes, he found Alaric merely motioning for him to stop.

“DO NOT BRING THAT NEAR ME.” He pointed to Berian’s staff.

“Okay! Okay.” He set the staff down on the ground, bringing his hands up in a placating motion. “See? You follow my commands, I follow yours, it goes both ways. I don’t have it.”

Alaric lowered his hand. “YOU MAY PROCEED, MAGE.”

Heart fluttering and permission granted, Berian did. He walked right up to him: even huddled on the floor, Alaric was taller than Berian was standing.

“STATE YOUR PURPOSE HERE.”

“Right! I, ah, I was sent to… re-seal you. But I won’t!” Berian clarified hurriedly. “Really, I was just sent to make sure nobody gets hurt. Like–like the last time you were out. That’s fine, right?”

Alaric narrowed his eyes. “IT IS DONE.”

“Good! Good.” Berian hovered a hand inches from his skin. “You’re hurt.”

“YES. THAT.” Alaric nodded toward the tomb and shuddered.

In order to create something that could contain a demon, they’d had to make something so totally opposed that it had harmed him. Berian didn’t blame the ancients: they had to stop the massacres one way or another, and they worked with what they had. They were desperate.

But there was no massacre now.

Without his staff, the kinds of spells he could perform were limited, but not nothing. While he couldn’t cast outright healing spells–would they even work on a demon?--he could at least cast something soothing. “I could… help. If you want.”

Alaric eyed him silently for a few moments before responding. “DO AS YOU WISH.”

“I can touch you?” Berian asked.

The demon nodded. Berian laid his hand lightly against Alaric’s back, red with harsh welts. He could feel Alaric’s muscle underneath, tensed, twitching slightly at his touch.

His whispered incantation didn’t do much. It was the magical equivalent of putting aloe on third-degree burns. But it was something, and Berian felt Alaric relax just slightly under his hand.

Berian performed the spell again and again, touching wherever it looked the worst. Between this and the earlier binding, he quickly exhausted himself, but that was fine.

“Better?” he asked.

“...YES.” Alaric looked down at him with a little less apprehension now. “YOU WILL BE SPARED, MAGE.”

“Haha, great!” Berian squeaked. “Just–just like everyone, right?”

“THOSE WERE THE TERMS,” Alaric agreed.

Berian wanted to get those shackles off. He wanted to take Alaric out of here, bring him to the lab. No, the lab wouldn’t be big enough to house him comfortably. Nowhere would. They’d have to build a custom facility, and there was no way he’d get permission for that, much less the funding. He couldn’t so much as let anyone know the state in which he’d left Alaric, or they’d find another caster and find a way to finish the job.

His phone beeped twice.

“I have to go, okay? You just… stay down here for now. I’ll be back soon,” he promised. “I’ll bring you things.”

“BRING ME A SHEEP,” Alaric demanded.

“I’ll bring you a sheep! Sure! And–I’m sorry about this, but if someone finds you, it’s going to be really bad, especially for you. So… be quiet,” Berian ordered.

Alaric did not respond. He couldn’t. His features set back into a glare, but he nodded: he was the one who stood to lose, after all. At least he understood.

Before Berian could think better of it, he leaned in and wrapped his arms around the demon as much as he could manage to. Alaric did not push him away, even though he could have. If anything. Alaric leaned into it slightly.

He stayed like that for a good minute before stepping away. “I’ll protect you. That’s my job.”

Berian raced out toward the entrance, already planning his next visit.

Oneshots taglist

@icyheart-and-friends

@kira-the-whump-enthusiast

@whuarri

@reborrowing

@paperprinxe

-

@what-if-i-just-did

Everything taglist

@lilac-and-lemon-whumps​

@t0rture-me

@whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

@sowhumpshaped

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G/t taglist

@whumpinthepot

@cupcakes-and-pain

@reborrowing

Events

@whumpmasinjuly

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[pandorasprongs]

CHAPTER ONE | nothing good starts in a getaway car.

'it's nice to have a friend' fic masterlist + playlist | previous chapter

PAIRING: jamie tartt x fem!reader

WORD COUNT: 3.9k

SUMMARY: after attending the last richmond match of the season and being stranded in nelson road, reader has to hitch a ride with an old friend, jamie tartt.

WARNINGS: language

A/N: welcome to chapter one! the title of this makes it seem a little more dramatic than it actually is, but i just thought the lyric fit haha. hope you all enjoy!

“Oh my God, I really can’t believe it. AFC Richmond might actually make it back into the fucking Premier League!” Liv exclaimed, and you playfully rolled your eyes while putting on your shoes. “And I can’t believe my awesome boyfriend got us tickets to the finals!”

“What better way to spend the eve of our anniversary, yeah?” Freddie pulled his girlfriend into a side hug before helping her put on her jacket.

You hold back from smirking at the couple. If only your best friend knew what was about to go down, you'd probably go deaf from all the additional squealing. Even now, she was way too excited about the game to even notice how shaky her boyfriend was acting and the small bump on the left side of his jacket.

You never really liked watching football anymore, let alone going to games, but after Freddie told you a month ago about his plan, you just had to be there for his proposal. Well, possible proposal. The whole thing hinged on Richmond being promoted, so he needed at least a draw to get down on one knee. Of course, if the team lost, the two of you had already planned a backup proposal for their dinner tomorrow — which was the whole reason Freddie asked for your help in the first place.

You were so excited for the two of them, but it wasn’t enough to stop the pit in your stomach from forming. While you hadn’t been following football as much as you used to, you knew at least that Jamie was back at Richmond. You’d sometimes see your co-workers watching their games and praising the guy for being such a great player. They never asked you about your own thoughts cause they just assumed you didn’t know anything about the game, given you never talked about it. And that was good enough for you. But this was for Liv, and you’d do anything for that girl.

As you exit onto the sidewalk, Liv leans in to whisper, “Sorry about the shirt, by the way. It was the only one available at the stand. Apparently, there’s a surplus of Tartt shirts in stock.”

You had been friends with Liv since university when you became dormmates, so she knew about your former friendship with the player. Who else would know better than the girl who comforted you as you wept that night in your second year? But that was years ago, and you’ve been doing your best to put that in the past.

“It’s fine,” you laugh it off as you interlock your arm with hers. “It’s just a shirt, anyway. And not to mention, pretty low likelihood of him seeing me specifically in the crowd.” At least, that’s what you kept telling yourself. You weren’t exactly sure where in the stands your seats were, but even if you were right near the dugout, wearing this shirt meant you’d just blend in with the sea of red and blue. Plus, it was sunny out, so it was socially acceptable for you to wear shades to the game, too.

The three of you load into Frankie's car, with you in the back seat. During the ride, you started to tune out whatever the couple was talking about and mainly focused on trying to stop your legs from bouncing. You try and admire the surroundings, but you've lived in London for so long that the touristy effect has worn off. If anything, looking around Manchester would excite you more.

It was a short ride to Nelson Road, but there was still a hefty amount of walking given that cars weren't allowed past a certain point. You'd tried your best to get there as early as possible, but there was already a swarm of fans heading to the stadium.

You'd already claimed your tickets a few days ago, so you only had to push your way through the crowd once to get to your seats. Frankie managed to get tickets for the ones right behind the net, so you had a pretty good view of the game. If only that was all you were worrying about.

As you settle down in your seats, you try and shake it off. This isn't about Jamie; it hasn't been for years. You're here for Liv and Frankie, and that's all it was.

Though, after that terrible first half, you were wondering if the results would be too disappointing for the couple to even enjoy.

"What the actual fuck is going on with them?" You question as the teams return to their locker rooms.

Neither Liv nor Frankie gives you an answer, but the latter leans into you and whispers, "You double-checked the reservation for tomorrow, right?"

You sigh and nod your head. No matter the outcome, Liv was going to have a great proposal story, but wouldn't it be nice to tell everyone you got engaged at the same place and time as Richmond's promotion?

When the game starts again, you join the rest of the fans at the edge of their seat. Despite your efforts to distance yourself from the sport, — and in turn, Jamie — you couldn't deny the rush you got from watching it, especially in the stands. So when Sam Obisanya manages to score a goal, you're up with the rest of the crowd celebrating.

"Christ, I didn't realize you such were a big fan of Richmond," Frankie jokes, but you're quick to deny it.

"I'm not!" You cool down your tone when you see him widen his eyes and explain, "My formative years were spent in Manchester, so I know enough about football. Haven't been to a match in so long though," All of that was true, but you hold back from telling Frankie about your history with a certain player.

He seems satisfied with that answer and you go back to watching the match, your hands curling on the railing.

"Tartt is there. Is this the moment for Richmond?" You hear one of the sports commentators say and that gets all three of you out of the chair.

"Come on, Jamie." You whisper under your breath, and for a moment you forget everything that's happened between the two of you. He's just a football player and you're just a fan watching.

So when an opposing player tackles him, you're quick to shout, "Referee!" with the other people in your section.

"And it's a penalty!" You turn to Frankie and Liv as the crowd starts cheering, before turning your focus back to the teams getting ready. His cockiness wasn't always a good look, but it's kept him winning his entire career.

Jamie walks up to the net and you get the urge to keep your head low and avoid eye contact. But he hands the ball over to Dani Rojas, and so you look back up to watch the deciding goal, joining hands with Liv. You watch Dani mumble something under his breath before he kicks the ball right into the net.

"Richmond have done it!" You and Liv hug in celebration, but after a moment, you quickly separate. Your best friend keeps her eyes on you, but you watch as Frankie gets into position.

"You're gonna have another thing to celebrate." You say and before Liv can even give you a confused look, you turn her around to face her boyfriend, who is down on one knee.

Some of the other fans in your section started watching the proposal, with varying expressions. Some of your fellow hopeless romantics had a fond look on their faces, while the people who just wanted to watch a football game couldn't wait for it to be over so they could get back to celebrate in peace.

You knew Liv well, so it was no surprise when she started jumping up and down again, shouting "Yes!" repeatedly. You smile and let the couple have their moment before your best friend turns to you. "I can't believe you managed to hide this from me."

"I told you I was a good liar." You joke, then pull the two of them into a group hug. Now, today had two celebrations.

As the team headed back to their locker room and the crowd started to disperse, the three of you start heading back down Nelson Road to the car. You were lagging behind the couple and crowds of people around you made it harder and harder to keep up.

It's their special day anyway, you think, and once you manage to catch up to them, you say, "I'll find another way home! You guys enjoy yourselves,"

"You sure?" Frankie asks and you nod enthusiastically. The couple start walking to the car and you look around to find a shop to wait out the crowd in.

Luckily, there was a nice bakery on the other side of the road with a good number of people. You order a chocolate muffin and a caramel macchiato before settling down in one of the seats near the window. You decide to start booking a taxi now because judging by the crowd, it was going to take a few tries.

As expected, you managed to find a driver after twenty minutes. Most of the crowd had already left, so it would've been easy for you to find the car. Then, the driver canceled.

You went through that routine two more times till this point, where you were waiting outside for the fourth and final driver you booked. You were starting to regret letting Liv and Frankie go off on their own and promise that if they cancel again, you're walking.

When you hear someone call out your name, you sigh in relief till you realize that the map showed the taxi wasn't anywhere near Nelson Road yet. You turn to see Jamie Tartt peeking his head out of his car window. The look on his face is a mix of surprise and confusion.

Well, shit.

"Is that you?" His Mancunian accent catches you off guard after years of not visiting your childhood town.

"Hi, Jamie." Words you didn't expect to say ever again. You're not sure what else to say, especially since it's your first time seeing him since you were 19.

After a few more quiet moments, Jamie looks around the empty walkway before he asks, "You waiting for someone?"

"Yeah, I just," You glance back down at your phone to find the driver canceling on you once again. "Nope, the driver canceled for the fourth fucking time," you swear and instead of a sympathetic look from the footballer, he just laughs. 

Your expression morphs from disappointment to judgment, while Jamie remarks, "Christ, is your rating that bad?"

You roll your eyes. "Fuck off, will you?" You may have said it harsher than you intended. Well, that's on him for joking around like nothing ever happened. Not just that, but you were clearly not in the mood for it, especially from him.

You watch the footballer's expression falter but he quickly bounces back. "Deserved that." In more ways than one, you think to yourself. "But I didn't mean it like that. I probably have a shittier rating than you do after the times I've vomited in a taxi."

That makes you crack a smile, though you hide it from Jamie. He didn't need any more reason to think it was fine to joke around like you were seventeen again.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Jamie." You move to turn around and start walking home when he calls out to you again.

"D'you wanna ride? You always hated exercise, even walking." Jamie offers.

"Bold of you to assume I haven't changed in half a decade." You try and keep a straight face when turning to him, but you think about it. You squint at the accuracy and sigh. "Even if you're right. Thanks,"

You head to the passenger side and get in the car, and when you do, you encode your address in the GPS. As you lean towards the console, you can't stop yourself from tensing up. This is the closest you've been to Jamie in years. After, you tuck your hands under your thighs — a nervous habit of yours since childhood — as the car starts heading off Nelson Road.

The footballer notices this action but decided not to say anything. The fact he was even able to get you to accept his offer was a miracle in and of itself. He didn't want to make you more uncomfortable than you already were. He was just glad to see you again, after everything. 

Maybe he did come off a little strong earlier, and your response to his joke was warranted, but seeing you in a Richmond jersey — specifically his — brought him back to his teenage years, filled with happy memories with you. He almost completely forgot about how things actually ended between the two of you.

And when a Taylor Swift song starts playing in the car, you start to feel Jamie's eyes on you.

Nervous about his reason for staring and possibly crashing, you decide to ask, "What? Is there something on my face?" Your tone wasn't playful, but it wasn't hostile either. An apathetic sweet spot, you might call it, even if it's far from what you're actually feeling.

"No," Jamie answers quickly. "It's just... Taylor Swift," he nods towards the console. "You used to love her back then. Wouldn't let me get near the controls when a song of hers was playing, so you could sing along."

"Yeah," You start getting flashes of fond memories involving driving around town when you were bored on weekends, specifically, the time when Jamie officially got his license.

"Are we breaking the law?" You ask hesitantly, as you buckle your seatbelt. "You sure we're not gonna crash?"

"Hey! You're acting as if this is the first time I'm driving you." He protests and you shake your head.

"You picked me up from a failed date. We just drove home and even then, you almost drove off the road, didn't you?" You recount the memory.

Jamie scoffs. "In my defense, you asked me if I thought you were hot. Any guy would've lost control too!"

"Excuse me, I was very vulnerable that time because of stupid Tim. And, all I asked was if you thought I was attractive." You're practically gripping the seatbelt with your left hand, your knuckles turning white.

"Same thing," Your best friend rolls his eyes, but seeing as your nerves haven't subsided, he raises his right hand and promises, "I solemnly swear that I will not crash the car. If I do, (Y/N) will be permitted a lifetime of 'I told you so's,’ so help me God."

You try and act annoyed but you soon let out a chuckle. "Just drive the car, Jamie." As he backs out of the driveway, you turn on the radio, and just your luck, it's Taylor Swift's newest song.

"Christ," you hear Jamie mutter under his breath. Despite how he reacted, Jamie loved listening to you sing. Even if you only ever did it in front of him and your respective families. It always gets you into a good mood, even if you said it made you look goofy. He was just happy to see you like that.

You laugh at Jamie's supposed annoyance. "If you want me to calm down, you have to let me do this." You say, before breaking into song, matching the lyrics word for word.

You stop yourself from smiling at the memory when your chest starts to ache at the reminder of how things used to be. You quickly change the topic, pushing that flashback to the back of your mind. "I forgot to say, congrats on the promotion. It was a really good game, especially as a spectator."

"Yeah, thanks. The team really stepped up today," Jamie says, sounding like he's answering one of those after-match interview questions. It wasn't like before, when after every game, he'd recount every feeling and thought he had to you, mentioning even the smallest details like how blades of grass managed to get into his sock and he had to power through the inconvenience for the second half of the match.

"Thought you'd still be off celebrating with them. I mean, don't football teams usually go out for drinks after wins, especially promotions?" You point out, before turning to face Jamie for the first time. You realize how much he'd grown up since the last time you'd seen him. 

He changed his hair, you note. Well, it was closer to what it was before he joined the league. You always cringed when you saw his spiked-up hair from last season and even more so when you would see pictures of his fully slicked-down hair when he went back to Manchester City. It was the same kind of hair he had when the two of you were eight because his mom was always too scared that the loose strands would get in his eyes and he'd get into an accident.

This suited him, but you think a middle part would be better. You get the urge to reach out and move his hair around just to see how it would look, but Jamie's response snaps you back to reality.

"Yeah, we do. We're meeting up at a pub later tonight, but everyone wanted to head home first." He explains, and you turn back to the road. Out of the corner of his eye, Jamie sees you nod at his answer. 

There are a few moments of quiet silence before he finally asks. "Did you come to the game," to see me play? he almost adds before backtracking. "alone?"

You're slightly taken aback by the question, but when you remember how Jamie found you, — alone in the walkway, staring at your phone, — then it doesn't seem like such an obnoxious assumption.

"No, I went with my best friend and her boyfriend." Ten year old you would be heartbroken to hear you refer to someone else as your best friend, but that was the reality now. You explain your presence at the game, "He was planning to propose to her after the match, as long as you guys got promoted. So thanks for that."

"Oh, that was them?" He turns to face you as he stops at a red light, before expounding. "Dani and Sam saw it happen and mentioned it on the way back to the locker room. They were 'aww'ing the whole time."

"It was pretty cute," you add, smiling and remembering the feeling of witnessing it. "But honestly, I didn't really think it through 'cause then I would've had to third wheel them for dinner. Which isn't the first time, but newly engaged people can be so fucking horny."

You're not sure why you added that, but it causes Jamie to chuckle. "Guess you dodged a bullet there, yeah?"

"Yeah," you laugh as well until you remember you're supposed to be mad at Jamie. Your smile disappears quickly and you swallow the feeling.

Jamie watches your expression change, but he continues to drive until he finally has enough of it. This might be the last time he gets the chance to do it and he has been on a self-improvement kick these past few months. Might as well try and fix one of his oldest relationships. And if not fixed, at least improve it enough to let yourself laugh around him.

The car arrives in front of your building, but before you can leave, Jamie says your name. Softly, softer than his voice has been this whole ride, and you already know what's going to follow this.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for," Jamie pauses and swallows the lump in his throat. "That night. It was a real prick move, especially after I gho—"

"Jamie, can we not?" You interrupt him before you even comprehend the words coming out of your mouth. Jamie backs up slightly, taken aback by your statement, but he shuts his mouth.

You sigh and close your eyes for a second. You didn't realize how much harder it would be to actually confront him about it, despite your harshness towards him earlier for acting so chummy with you. Maybe Jamie was on to something, pretending as if nothing had changed. That you guys were just old friends who were catching up after ending on good terms.

And you thought you were ready. You've spent multiple nights imagining how it would be to hear him apologize, to talk about what an arse he was back then, and how he never meant to hurt you. You imagined slamming the door in his face, shutting him out, and hurting him in every way that he hurt you. But as you’re faced with it at this exact moment, the thought of going through all of that makes your chest heavy. Almost heavier than it was that night in the pub.

"Look, I'm sorry if I'm been weird this whole time." You start, shaking your head. "But you don't have to explain anything. Honestly. These past few years, I've just been trying to forget that night." And you. "Because if I did, then it wouldn't ruin all the memories we made as kids. So, let's just not talk about it, yeah?"

Jamie still seems to be processing your words, but you continue on and propose, "We can pretend the last time we saw each other was when I left for uni."

Dr. Sharon told Jamie that avoiding conflict will never actually solve it and he's tried to internalize that. That's part of the reason why he wanted to apologize. But at this point, if you didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to make you.

"Sure," he finally says and you feel your muscles relax. "If that's what you want."

Was it what you wanted? It was the easy way out, but easy wasn't always the best way. Then again, Jamie always brought out your less logical side, even after all this time. Maybe knowing that he was sorry was enough. And after the whole drive, you were starting to believe those articles that said Jamie Tartt was no longer the prick he was before.

"Okay then," you say. "Thanks for the ride. And uh, good night, Jamie." You smile at the footballer, a genuine one to try and convince him — and yourself — that all was well in the world again.

And maybe it was. At least, for now.

"Wait," You sense Jamie reaching out to you, but you turn before he can actually grasp at your shirt. "Could I have your new number?"

You hadn't actually changed your number since you were 15, but things seemed to be going well, so you decide not to mention it and type it into his phone.

"Thanks," Jamie flashes you a smile and your heart swells, just like it did when you two were kids. Maybe it was going to be okay.

"I guess, call me when you're missing an old friend," are your parting words with the footballer. You miss his reaction when you slide out of the car and walk into the building resisting the urge to look back at him.

A/N: yay, first chapter! just a warning, things are definitely not going to be resolved this easily.  this denial thing is actually gonna make it so much worse later on but! right now, things are looking up for reader and jamie. also, you'll find out about that night in future chapters hehe. :) i hope you guys liked it and stay tuned for chapter two!

TAGLIST: @moonflowersandsparkles @faith-alons26 @rexorangecouny @aiyaiy @thegirlthatwantedtowrite @giggling-sewer-ginger @katdahlali @higherthanheroes @guccilongboard @alipap3 @rockchickrebel @ellietartt @shineforever19 @scaramou @rae4725 @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo (couldn't tag you for some reason?)

[kiingfluffybuns]

I wanted to rant a bit as I bring back my infamous analysis of the TGED comic.

Bc I have seen that some ppl didn't exactly saw the mayor point I was trying to make about the dynamic of Lloyd Frontera w his parents, mainly w his father, Arcos.

* Disclaimer, I have yet not read the novel bc I want to focus on the comic more than the novel, since it's an au of the former, that being said, take my takes w a grain of salt and this time don't sent me hate(it happened once), Im willing to share povs, okay? lol.*

Anyway.

The main point of my analysis is to bring up the fact that Arcos Frontera's affection is conditional.

What do I mean with that?

In the comic it's heavily shown how Arcos is disappointed by Lloyd, mainly for being a violent alcoholic, which as much as he was unhappy about it, he rarely did anything about it.

And that's bc Arcos already had a backup plan for the state, meaning Javier.

He sent his youngest son away from the responsibilities of being the heir and made sure to get the child he brought home and raise it as the heir.

Why am I so sure?

Javier being given the clothes that a heir would wear. Same style and as Arcos, and then he's seen wearing the same coat the Lord wore when he took him with him back to the manor.

He did absolutely nothing about Lloyd's behavior, and let people see his son being a bad person alongside Javier, who was behaving properly and getting the favor instead of his own child.

He worries for his wellbeing, okay. He's a good person, after all. And yet, he never takes initiative to involve Lloyd into the affairs of the estate, but he has Javier as his confidant, about his plans and to keep an eye on him.

To just keep him alive.

Then the fated night happened. Lloyd suddenly making a 180 out of nowhere.

And then, he absolutely did nothing as the Lloyd ™️ began to take over the estate affairs, he was hesitant, but he still let him, bc I like.l to think he wanted to see what he would do, bc he probably didn't have high expectations in the first place.

Bc he's not a good Lord either, he had no idea what he was doing. It was Arcos himself who got them in debt, if I remember, in the first place.

What could Lloyd do that isn't worse than he did?

So, what happens when things start getting better? He's suddenly listening to Lloyd, he's suddenly doing what he says, and he's suddenly trusting him, bc he sees Lloyd being a way better estate Lord than him.

And because he's giving results. He took him out of debt, and he made the living conditions of the territory way better than any other in the country.

A good Lloyd is worth to lisent and care for, after all.

I don't particularly believe Marbella shared this kind of mindset, since she was the parent that showed more care and affection towards Lloyd before he started to 'act' good. Which makes me believe that Arcos probably let all slide for her sake.

But who knows. This comic is mainly made as a comedy, which I adore, and I like to just over analyze and theorize, just bc its fun.

[agardenofbasil]

ohhhh “you’re always so warm” with pedrigavi please? 🥺🫶

Hello my dear mythical friend. 💚 Thank you for the request!

“Goddamn it.”

“Relax. We have extra blankets. Wear another sweater.” Gavi claps his hand on Pedri’s back. “You’ll be okay.”

“I hate the cold,” Pedri grumbles. “And, by the way, we pay too much fucking money for the power to go out this easily.”

“I told you we should’ve gone with the other place,” Gavi says in a sing-song voice. “But someone wanted to be farther from the training grounds.”

“What does the distance matter if half the fucking city’s electricity’s out?” Pedri snaps. 

“Can you stop acting like the world’s ending? It’s just a power outage. The building probably has a backup generator.”

But Gavi is proven wrong when thirty minutes pass and the dead of the night settles in. As well as the cold. There’s no snow on the ground or ice on their windows, because after all, this is Barcelona, but the howling wind is enough to creep into their hardwood floors and chill the air. Gavi stifles a laugh when he sees Pedri wearing thick socks and sweatpants.

No one’s laughing when it’s past midnight, though.

We’re in fucking Barcelona. Not the arctic, Pedri thinks to himself as he huddles up in bed. Gavi was kind enough to give him his spare blanket, but it’s nowhere close to enough. He’s already sporting two sweatshirts, a shirt, and sweatpants. And yes, the socks are on, to his horror, for he hates the idea of socks in bed. But there’s no choice. Sacrifices must be made. Pedri groans loudly, tossing around, wishing his damn teeth would stop chattering because the sound is starting to bring on a headache.

That, or it’s the frostbite.

We’re in Barcelona! We’re not going to get frostbite!

Yet.

Pedri sighs loudly. Maybe if he shuts his eyes hard enough, he can transport himself back home. Home. His island. He groans again. The fucking sun. The sun. He misses it. When was the last time he saw that beautiful sun? Must’ve been weeks ago. Must’ve been-

His door swings wide open.

“Are you good, bro?”

Pedri bolts up, but doing so has his blankets sliding down. He scrambles to bring them up back to his chin while Gavi looks at him like he’s grown two heads. “What? What are you doing?”

“Are you dying? You sound like you’re dying.”

“It’s cold.”

“Move over then.”

“What?”

Gavi shuts the door. “Move over.”

“What are you-”

“Trust me. I’m better than some damn blanket. Or do you plan on spending the rest of the night groaning?”

“I’m not groaning-”

“Then move.”

Pedri shifts over. Gavi slides up next to him and before Pedri can second guess whether or not he should be sharing a bed with his teammate, Gavi wraps an arm around his waist, pulls, and holds him to his chest. Gavi pulls in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. Then, silence.

It’s weird that it’s not weird. It’s weird that it feels right.

So Pedri closes his eyes and lets Gavi’s body heat cascade over him. “You’re always so warm,” he whispers.

“That's why I’m here.”

“Thank you, Gavi.”

“You’re welcome, Pedri. Goodnight.”

“This isn’t weird for you?”

“Not unless you make it weird, you idiot.”

“I’m just asking. You came in like… like you were ready to…”

Behind him, Gavi huffs loudly into his ear. “I watched a documentary.”

“You watched a documentary about people cuddling?”

“No, you- It was about animals huddling together to stay warm.”

Pedri snorts. “Great.”

“Why are you complaining? Isn’t it working?”

It is, but Pedri doesn’t want to admit that. Surely, by now, Gavi has noticed that his chattering has slowed. “I guess. It's just an awkward position to fall asleep in.”

“I can leave-”

“No,” Pedri hastily amends. “I meant it might be better if I turn around and face you.”

“Yeah? Is that any different?”

“It'll be like a hug.” Which we do all the time. 

“Makes sense.” Gavi moves his arm away. “Here.”

Pedri turns. He briefly looks up at Gavi, whose eyes are hooded from sleep. “Okay. So, I'll just…”

“Hug me?”

Pedri shifts and leans into Gavi’s open arm. A one armed hug that has Pedri nuzzled face first against Gavi’s throat. Warm. Pedri wraps himself around Gavi, his hand brushing against the back of Gavi's neck-

Gavi jerks back. 

“What?”

Gavi exhales. “Your fucking hand’s cold. Damn, you weren't kidding.”

Pedri laughs. “No, I wasn't.”

“Here. Gimme that.” Gavi takes Pedri’s hands in his own and presses them together. “There.”

“How am I supposed to sleep like this?”

“Give it a minute, Pedri. And they say I’m impatient.” For once, Gavi is right. It takes time, but the chill from his hands warms away. 

Sometime between taking his hand and pressing, Gavi dozes off.

“Gavi?”

No answer.

Pedri sighs contentedly before gently pulling his hands away. And he doesn’t know if it’s Gavi’s subconscious or if he’s roused awake, but Gavi pulls him closer, until Pedri’s body is flush against his. Pedri feels his cheeks flame as Gavi nuzzles into his hair, muttering something about penguins before squeezing Pedri tight. Mint is exhaled with each of Gavi’s breaths. It should further chill Pedri, but somehow, the scent is more comforting than the clothes and blankets. He breathes in deeply: more mint, just less exhilarating, comes from Gavi’s skin: his body wash. Pedri looks up to see the faint scar from when Gavi fractured his jaw. There’s another near his temple, but he doesn’t know the story behind it. He’d like to know, though. Like how he knows that Gavi’s used to not sleeping alone, having shared a bed with cousins during sleepovers. And how Gavi mumbles in his sleep whenever he’s dreaming. He supposes he will learn new things about Gavi when they wake up: if Gavi steals the blankets. If he prefers to stay tangled in bed or to separate after some time.

Pedri hums as he takes Gavi’s hands in his. He looks forward to finding out.

And because I am so fond of you, you're also getting an Ao3 version that has an extra surprise attached to it. 🍃

[searchforahero]

uh hi i was planning on posting a timjay fic for christmas but uh. that obviously didn't happen, and i have no idea if i'm ever going to finish it now, but it'd be a shame to let it rot in my notes, so. here is my partially finished timjay christmas fic :]

Christmas time always makes Jason astutely aware of just how alone he is. He’s seen the creepy spy camera footage of the Wayne holiday party. Not the one hosted by Brucie Wayne, but the real one, where Dick and Bruce try their damndest to make nice for Damian’s sake, and everyone pulls the Christmas crackers and gets overly excited for the shitty prizes contained within.

They’re always an intimate affair, Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Cass, Damian, and sometimes Tim. Jason feels his own absence deeply when he sees them, but he doubts they do. He won’t ask Bruce if he gets an invite, and he won’t admit it’s because he’s scared to hear the answer. The entire point is moot anyways, considering that even after all of these years he’s been playing nice with the Bats, and he still refuses to set foot in the manor.

He’s sitting on a high rooftop at the edge of Burnley and Newtown on Christmas Eve, watching shoppers and retail employees stumble home while the night shift and partiers take up their place. The city is bustling at this time of night, with street lights flickering and car horns honking. He can almost pretend he’s part of something, even from all the way up above it all.

Just as he’s trying to gear up to start patrol in earnest, a shadow goes flying by two buildings across from him. He watches the figure with mild interest, until it comes into the light and he can make it out to be Red Robin.

Jason wonders what he’s doing out here, sure, crime doesn’t stop for anyone’s birthday, even if that birthday belongs to Jesus himself, but It’s usually on a lesser scale around this time. Typically they can get away with having Jason keep an eye on the city with the help of a police scanner and have everyone else available for backup.

Jason watches as Tim gets closer and closer on each swing, until he lands next to him with a flourish that is found in everyone who has ever held the Robin mantle. Jason shifts slightly so he’s angled towards Tim and asks “What are you doing here Birdy?”

Tim plops down next to him with a big huff, from here Jason can see Tim’s face better. The domino only covers his eyes, and with them hidden he looks younger than he is. It’d drive Tim crazy if he said something about it, if he pointed out how even after all these years protecting the streets, the people probably still think he’s a high schooler, but to do that he’d have to admit he was staring, so he keeps quiet.

“The party was too…” Tim makes a nonsensical gesture with his hand, waving it back and forth and twisting a bit at the wrist “y'know?”

“There are so many” Jason replicates Tim’s motion “that you could be talking about that I honestly have no clue man.” This elicits a chuckle from Tim and seeing him smile, even so minutely, makes Jason realize that he’s quite sure Tim hasn’t done so at all since he landed.

Soon TIm’s shoulders fall once more and he looks down at his boots, one is bouncing along with his knee. He opens his mouth without saying anything a couple of times, little starts and stops of a sentence, until he settles on a simple “It’s been five years since my dad died.” He pauses for a good little while again, fiddling with the seams on his gloves until they’re perfectly aligned. “Christmas and Bruce and just… All of it makes me think about him on a good day, it got to be too much and I… Left.”

Jason takes that in slowly, he can’t say he hasn’t been feeling the same. He knows that Tim holds guilt over his fathers death. Jason can’t quite understand how that feels, except for in the way that everyone who has ever been left alive feels guilty that someone they loved did not. Regardless, he knows it must weigh something horrible on the other man.

What a pair they make. Waiting for Christmas together and yet not. Both alone by a self imposed prison of grief, while the people they love sit happily in front of the glow of the fireplace.

At least the person Tim is mourning is actually dead.

Jason realizes he’s been sitting there a bit too long without saying something so he shuffles a little so he can knock shoulders with Tim.

“I miss my Mom, Catharine that is. Especially around Christmas time. She loved Christmas.”

Tim twists so he can look at him, and the expressive way his lenses widen to stare at him has to be a security risk. “My Dad loved Christmas too. At least in the last few years. He, and I, and Dana would drive out to see the lights every year. Dana hated turkey, said it was always dry and tasteless, but Dad was determined to get her to like it, so we’d all crowd into the kitchen and try to make an actually good turkey. I don’t think Dad liked turkey that much either to be honest.”

Jason’s pretty sure Tim hardly breathed for that whole story. Jason and Tim are friendly to be sure, but Tim rarely if ever speaks up for much more than witty one liners, challenges to air hockey, Mario Kart, or rooftop racing, and mission briefs when it’s him and Jason.

Jason knows Tim has it in him to be chatty. He’s seen him talk Superboy’s ear off about skateboarding and he’s crashed at Dick’s apartment enough times to be used to finding Tim sitting at the kitchen island prattling on about his Wizards & Warlocks games, but that doesn’t usually extend to him.

Even just that short little story, especially about something so personal, feels foreign to Jason. He’d long since given up on anything more than a working friendship with Tim, especially after the less than warm reception Tim gave him when Bruce took him on as Wingman. He doesn’t want to get his hopes up, Tim is clearly lonely and hurting, but he can’t help it.

“Mom and I would rent skates for the evening for the frozen trails in Robinson Park. Have you ever been? They’re so pretty at night.”

When Jason chances a glance over at Tim he finds him smiling at him. He can’t see his eyes but his lips are quirked up minutely at the corners. Jason’s glad he made the right choice there, he didn’t know Tim well enough to say if ‘bond over dead parents’ was an acceptable conversation direction.

“I’ve never been no. I hardly knew how to skate until Bruce taught me.” Tim drums his fingers on the ledge before he adds “Do you want to go? It probably won’t be too busy with how cold it is tonight. You do have skates in your uniform don’t you?”

Jason startles a little, he kind of figured Tim would be on his way soon. He’d either work through his Bruce issues and head back to the manor, or he’d call Superboy and hang out with Young Justice. But he seems pretty settled on hanging with Jason for some reason.

“Uh, sure yeah. I do. We can do that.” Jason’s always thought it would be more practical to have high tech no-slip boot soles instead of extendable skates in their uniforms. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to axe the design after years of twirling around Mr. Freeze on skates as a child. Stupid Bruce.

the plan from here was that they were going to go skating and then tim would invite jason to spend christmas with him and dana and they'd cook a turkey together <3 but. alas.