#setting: bloodgulch

[january-summers]

Just thinking about how the Doc thing could have been more painful, if we’d gotten the Chorus battle.

Under the cut because this got wordy, and also spoilers.

Picture it. We see Washington go down, bleeding out, and Doc races to his side, promises that Wash is going to be okay, and then an explosion goes off and Doc gets hit by shrapnel or shot, and more medics, maybe Grey arrives, but the sound is gone, and first watch through, we assume we’re experiencing Wash’s “too close to that boom” hearing loss.

But the action switches back to Carolina or the Reds and Blues, and we don’t know who survives, or if anyone does, but the team is told “Wash and Doc were amongst the casualties” and Wash is being kept unconscious, because his injuries.

Later, Tucker and Carolina go to visit Wash, who’s still unconscious, and Carolina goes to track down Grey and Tucker is left standing there, watching Wash. The image flickers and for a split second it’s Maine watching Wash on the MoI, Sigma over his shoulder. But Sigma takes a second too long to vanish, remaining for a brief heart beat after the image returns to the present. And that’s when Sigma starts Meta-fying Tucker.

The Reds are talking to Grey when Carolina gets to her, and Sarge says something along the lines of Doc is one of them, they should go see him. I’m imagining him saying something that, on first watch sounds like they’re going to visit him in recovery, but if you stop and think it seems weird for Sarge to care that much. Second watch you realise they mean they’re going to visit the morgue.

Later still, Carolina has to go off to deal with the UNSC on behalf of Chorus, so she’s not there when Tucker starts acting weird, but before she leaves she tells an awake Wash, who thinks he should be allowed to leave already, to make sure his emergency beacon is working before he escapes the hospital, so if he exacerbates his injuries Carolina can be there in a heartbeat to scold him. (And help him out.)

Insert some “hey we’re (as far as we know) the sole survivors of PFL and all its fucked up shit and no one else is going to understand what I went through if you’re gone” emotional banter before she leaves. Once the door closes Wash says something that’s the affection version of calling Carolina a worry-wart. Pan over to Doc sitting in one of the visitor chairs and he berates Wash, reminding him it was a really close call, and that Wash has really almost does this time.

Meanwhile, the Meta starts to Meta, leading the Reds (including Donut) and Caboose on a chase as they begin to figure out what’s happening to him. Maybe one of the fragments jumps ship to one of the others? Maybe Record-Epsilon as canon?

Doesn’t matter, this is about Doc’s reveal. Someone gets word to Wash about what’s going on, or maybe he sees on the news first, but he gets word where the team is going, back to where it all began for them. Bloodgulch. Maybe hoping Bloodgulch will mean enough to Tucker to help him fight back.

Doc and Wash talk about why Wash has to go, because in the end he couldn’t save Maine, just like he couldn’t save Connie or the other Freelancers, like he couldn’t save Alpha or Delta or Epsilon, just like he could’t… the point is he wants to stop loosing people, and if he doesn’t at least try, maybe they shouldn’t have saved him (Wash).

The duo arrives to see the remaining Reds and Blues trying to fight the Meta (I keep portmanteau-ing him as MeTucker in my head, but pronouncing it Meh-Tucker) and he gets one of the team on radio to discover they haven’t called Carolina, or they have and they can’t get a hold of her, but Caboose has a plan, maybe.

Up on the cliff, because they got dropped off in the wrong place, Wash and Doc have another conversation. Wash lays out the plan: he can get Carolina there, by setting off his emergency beacon. He’s not recovered enough to be much use in a fight, but he can set off his beacon, he’s just got to set it off.

Doc says he can set it off for Wash, he doesn’t need to jump. And Wash looks at Doc quietly, and says “no you can’t.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Doc tells him, “you don’t need to die to make up for it. It was my job, not that I was ever really good at it.”

“Yeah it was, Doc, but don’t worry, I’m not going to undo all your hard work. I don’t get to die, that’s my punishment for all the things I’ve done. I have to live with the consequences.”

And then he yeets himself off the cliff and flails all the way down. Doc is waiting for him at the bottom, telling him not to move even as Wash drags himself up so he can see the battlefield.

Afterwards, after Carolina has watched Caboose carry out Tex’s final plan, she tracks down Wash, who’s waiting quietly with Doc.

“Is Tucker…” Wash starts to ask, but can’t get it out, because what if the answer is bad.

“He’s alive,” Carolina tells him anyway, “I don’t know if he’ll be okay though. We should be there for him.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, suit took most of the fall damage.”

“That’s not what I meant. Wash, what happened to Doc, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes it was.”

Carolina looks away, but Doc cuts in, “it was my job, Wash. You didn’t fail me, and you didn’t fail Tucker, you can’t keep holding on to all that guilt. I’ve told you that before, you didn’t listen to me back then, but maybe it’s time to. Let it go Wash, let me go, don’t fall into the same trap as the Director, don’t chase ghosts when there are people who still need you to be there.”

*Flashback*

The scene where Wash and Doc got injured, but the audio is audible this time. One of the medics checks Doc and declares him deceased, Grey tells them to focus on Wash, DuFresne got far enough into treating Wash that he’s not going to die, but they need to get him seen to or that’s going to change quickly.

*End Flashback*

Carolina echoes Doc’s statement, that Wash isn’t to blame for everyone they’ve lost, and that he still has the Blues, and Carolina… and the Reds too.

And Wash has his goodbye moment with Doc, and yeah maybe all the Freelancers (not the Triplets because they showed up during the Chorus battle and they’re helping Kimball atm).

And Wash tells Carolina that he doesn’t ever know if he’s going to be okay, but he’s not going to abandon his team, or her.

And Carolina says, “okay, let’s go home, and gestures to Blue base.”

“Okay,” Washington says, and then, “by the way my leg is like, super broken and I can’t stand.”

So Carolina calls over Locus, who the others picked up during their run around plot stuffs, and he carries Wash into Blue Base.

-

By the ways this was originally supposed to just be “wash tells doc The Plan and doc says ‘but i can set the beacon off for you!?’ And wash says ‘no you can’t’ because he knows doc isn’t real.” But then double fake out death scene.

(Also would have preferred no one die at all, but fine if you’re gonna do it anyway…)

[thed20isbad]

Mini-rant the second.

There are too many intelligent things with their own societies in modern fantasy settings. And far too many of those can be PCs.

82 are playable.

And that doesn't even include the subraces they've been slowly killing off. Sorry, Gully Dwarves, maybe next decade.

But still... 82 playable races, and there are still monsters? There are still intellectual equal or superior monsters? How? Why? Well, there'd be no adventure without baddies to fight! But when every ecological niche from the sky to the core of the earth and the space between the stars is filled with possible PCs it doesn't seem feasible. More importantly, it continues to stretch the fragile nature of the suspension of disbelief.

So as a bit of free advice, limit player choices in race/species and limit the amount of "sentient badguy/non playable races/Species" (ideally with a power creep) like goblins, drow, mind flayers. And maybe drop a neutral/3rd party faction in like gnolls or furbolgs.

But like a total of 6-8 intelligent humanoid/playable cultures and 2-4 non playable.

More mythical beasts, more mindless creatures, one off intelligent monsters that are incharge of areas. (The old fashioned Dragon leads a big tribe of kobolds or simple like A Moon Beast has mind controlled a city)

Try thematic campaigns! A few of the more anthropomorphic races vs the robots and undead, or just humans, or small vs large(the kneecapper rebelion), goblinoids vs reptilians with neutral plant people. Bloodgulch pistols only. Two races in a box canyon fighting for ownership of a shitty shitty place.

[northlight14]

Arlo Steelash

Basic Information

Pronouns: he/they (no real preference)

Alias’: “my boy” (Miguel), “my brother” (Lucas)

Relatives: Miguel Steelash (father), Julia Whitetail (mother)

Affiliation: The Watering Hole Saloon

Occupation: bartender at The Watering Hole saloon 

Personal Information

Eye Colour: hazel

Hair Colour: dark brown

Height: 6,2

Gender Identity: non-binary boy

Sexuality: demisexual, biromantic

Species: human

Marital Status: single

Status

Age: 24

Star Sign: Capricorn

Date Of Birth: 4th January

Place Of Birth: Bloodgulch 

Status: alive

Background Story

Arlo was born in the western setting town of Bloodgulch, a place mostly known for its dinosaur ranches. Arlo’s mum being a ranger and their dad being a former miner. On the whole his childhood was pretty good, his mum and dad both being free spirited people that Arlo thought of as fun. At some point in childhood, Arlo made friends with a boy named Lucas who soon became his best friend, and that fact has never changed. 

In his early teens, Arlo’s parents divorced, and his mum moved away without him to join the rangers outside of Bloodgulch. It was around this time that Arlo’s dad started gambling but Arlo didn’t think much of it, he and Lucas having fun trying to beat his dad at poker and other card games. Arlo and Lucas got up to all sorts of mischief during their teens, predominantly sneaking into saloons when bands were playing that they wanted to hear (almost always being caught) and going onto dinosaur ranches at night to ride the dinosaurs, Arlo being caught at one point and getting their ass kicked by one of the people working on the ranch. 

On the whole, Alro shared their parents' free-spirited nature and dreamed of leaving the town to see what was out there. Their goal was to at some point move to the city, get a good job and make a name for themself. This dream would end up being squashed once Arlo became an adult. Their dads gambling and drinking finally caught up with him and he ended up in debt to a man named Rick, the founder of The Watering Hole, a saloon which maintains a facade of being a normal saloon on the outskirts of town but in actuality is a hub for criminal activity. As a result, Arlo was now expected to begin working there to pay off his dads' debt. Any admiration for their dad was quickly lost by Arlo, seeing his gambling as no longer a fun thing and more the thing keeping them tied to this town. On top of that, Arlo was forced to work in terrible conditions with an ungrateful boss and bad hours, most of the work they do not even being in the contract such as working black-market deals or cleaning up blood from bar fights. And then after it all, Arlo only gets to keep 20% of their wages, the rest going to their dad to pay off the debt. However, that money typically just gets spent on more gambling, alcohol and get rich quick schemes that never work, and the cycle starts over again. 

Personality

Understandably so, Arlo is almost always tired and has an air of just being done with life. Beneath that though, Arlo still has some of that ambition and fiery spirit as well as a love for mischief, this usually manifesting in Arlo lying a lot to get out of work because he knows he’s not going to be making much money anyway. He also has a sassy side to him, not being afraid to tease the people around him and having to physically bite his tongue to avoid being snarky with his boss. Ultimately though he’s all bark and no bite, keeping snarky comments to himself and while he’s able to lie to get himself out of trouble, will be shaking and freaking out the entire time mentally and openly freak out once the danger can’t see him.

Despite appearances, Arlo does genuinely have a very kind heart. They’re loyal to those around them and tend to just want to help. Arlo arguably also has a bit of a savior's complex, refusing to stop helping their dad and leave him even though they have every right to because without Arlo, their dad will have nothing. Arlo also has some resentment to the rangers and ranch owners because he feels they took his mum away from him in some capacity. But he tries to not take that out on the rangers around him, specifically the other party members. 

Appearance

Arlo has light brown skin with a lot of freckles. His brown hair is very long and curly, usually having it mostly down and just with the front tied back. However, when he’s working, he ties it back fully in a bun. Arlo also has very prominent eye bags as a result of overworking a lot. In terms of body type, Arlo has some muscle but overall is pretty lanky. 

In terms of style, Arlo dresses appropriately for the wild west style of Bloodgulch, with his own sort of goth/punk twist to it. Outside of work he wears a black cowboy hat, white or grey shirts, black ripped pants, black boots and occasionally a long black jacket and fingerless gloves when colder. Alternately, Arlo also likes wearing knit sweaters or flannel shirts paired with band t-shirts. Essentially just a casual style fitting with the wild west with an edge to it. He also paints their nails black and wears smudged eyeliner and chain necklaces. Inside work at the saloon however they wear their uniform which is a white button up shirt, black pants, and a black waistcoat and bowtie. 

Trivia

Arlo started smoking when they were 16, their friend Lucas being the one to get them to try it and the one they shared their first cigarette with. He still addictively smokes to this day.

Arlo and Lucas started a band together for about a week when they were in their early teens.

If Arlo ever made it out of Bloodgulch, they’re not sure what they’d want to do with their life

Their favourite drink is whiskey 

MBTI is ISTP

Arlo occasionally likes wearing skirts sometimes, though mainly wears pants

They’re Latin American descent but his family immersed themselves well into Bloodgulch culture so Arlo doesn’t know very much about that part of their culture, nor does it play much a role in their life because in the universe of Bloodgulch, racism, sexism, and homophobia etc aren’t really a thing (because non of us are comfortable with that being part of our gameplay)

Arlo is the only guy™️ in the party

They’re a dog person

[misty-groves]

Migraine day

*this is all pre-character development and so they are still at their worst rn. This is the start of Tucker showing Josie he isn't the worst towards women. (Eventually I will wrote a cohesive story with them swearsies)

-------

It's months after Josie arrives to bloodgulch that she is fully incapacitated by her chronic illness and pain. The migraine and muscle spasms have her hiding in the dark of her room.

Church has taken pity on her and sent Caboose out with Shiela to do something. The man dosen’t show care well but he understands the pain.

There's banging on her door and she whines into her pillow. "Go away."

"Sweetcheeks! Come on lunch is ready-"

"Fuck off." Josie snaps, harsher than she has been in her whole time here. She can't make herself deal with this shit.

"Woah, you don't gotta be a bitch-"

"I will eat your fucking kidneys, get the fuck away from my door, asshole." Josie growls loudly, trying to keep her breathing even as another muscle spasm starts.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?"

"Tucker leave her the fuck alone." Church snaps as footsteps approach her door. "She feels like shit."

"What is she on the rag?"

"Dude what the fuck?" Church manages, trying to decide how stupid his teammate is.

"You dumb asshole, I'm- God fucking damn it!" Josie breaks off into cursing and whimpers as pain tears violently down her back.

There's silence, and Josie thanks every deity she can conceptualize regardless of knowledge.

"Sorry I asked if you were on the rag..." Tucker says, sounding odd.

"Please fuck off." Josie groans, curling together.

Footsteps recede, and she allows herself to whine again. She can't do this. She can't do it. She dosen’t know how she's going to survive this without her old team.

She's had migraines and muscle spasms since she got here. But she's been able to push through them. Bit this set-

She thinks she might like to try dying again.

"You need to drink more liquids." Omikron chimes as he flickers to life above her.

"Fuck. That. Moving is agony."

"I know."

Josie loses track of time, managing to drink a little liquid. With all the water gone, she has personally resorted to Gatorade she procures from an UNSC contact.

She startles when someone enters her room, the lifht causing a full body flinch and a keen of pain. The door shuts quickly though.

"Hey uh... I brought you a protein shake and uh- some more pillows." Tucker says.

"What?" Josie asks dumbly.

"Look I get it. Chronic pain sucks. Or well- I don't but you know what I mean."

"Oh. Shit- thanks?"

Tucker sets the protein shake on her bedside table and sets segral pillows beside her on the bed. "My sister has migraines... they're a bitch."

"You have a sister and talk to women the way you do?" Josie manages, though her voice pauses a few times.

"You're not the first to think that." Tucker says, "Did you want some pain killers?"

"I couldn't find them."

"I'll get some."

"Does upir sister know you're a raging dough nugget?"

"Marcy hates it." He admits, not bothering to elaborate.

She dosen’t press. But she thinks it bumanzies him a little. He's still a massive asshole, but like- human.

Tucker leaves again. Josie just slumps backwards.

She allows herself to adjust the pillows to better hold her weight. She relishes the comfort Omikron sends through her mind. Her ever loyal friend.

When Tucker comes back he hands her some pain killers. "Here."

"Thank you." Josie manages.

"Yeah well, I'm not a total asshole."

Josie dosen’t know what to say to that. But she swalllws the pills without question.

Josie takes a slow breath, rubbing her temples. She's fine. This is fine.

"Here." Tucker says, setting a cold eye mask on her stomach.

"Where did you get this?"

"Don't worry about it."

Josie wants to argue. But she’s in no position. She groans as yet another muscle spasm down her spine rips through her.

She places the mask on her face and immediately bates the new temperature. But it will help probably. She's willing to try.

"Can- do you want anything else?"

"I don't even know. Thank you though."

"Alright. Uh- call if you need me."

Josie makes a choice. She hates to be alone when she's in pain. And Tucker is right here.

And yes, he is a sexist asshole who calls her weird pet names. Yes, he is derogatory towards women. Yes he is a selfish man.

And yet he came and helped her. More than any one else here has. He hasn't made one sexjoke since he came in.

"Can- can you stay?" Josie asks.

"You sure?"

"I asked, didn't I?"

Tucker snorts at that, "Okay sweetcheeks."

Josie still dosen’t love that name but whatever. She's been called worse.

He sits on the ground beside her bed, running over stories from his life. The longer he talks the less he thinks. He ends up talking about his sister a little, and his nephew.

He talks about Church and the man's bitching mood. He talks about how they ended up drinking ketchup. He talks about captain flowers who he knew for less than two days.

Josie just listens. He's still a coarse asshole, and when he talks about women that aren't his sister he's crass as hell, but he has really opened her eyes.

He's still a major asshole... but like- not a complete utter duchebag.

Josie falls asleep to the sound of him talking. And when she wakes up hours later Tucker is there still, stretched out on the floor asleep.

She frowns as she squints at his form, that can't be comfortable. She's not a huge fan but he just spent hours helping her, so she's not going to just let him sleep on the floor.

So, she calls his name until he wakes up.

"What?" Tucker croaks.

"That dosen’t seem comfortable." Josie says simply.

"Are you offering ypir bed?"

"Not that way for sure."

Tucker just laughs. He has no issue with Josie. He thinks she's funny and bad ass.

[seawardboundsammy]

I posted 4,712 times in 2022

That's 1,574 more posts than 2021!

19 posts created (0%)

4,693 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@trainwreckgenerator

@elinaline

I tagged 573 of my posts in 2022

#unreality - 83 posts

#save - 51 posts

#fave - 17 posts

#sammy screeches - 16 posts

#disco elysium - 12 posts

#asks - 10 posts

#prev tags - 7 posts

#ref - 7 posts

#disco elysium spoilers - 6 posts

#red versus blue - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#marcy is retired in a little library with their partner and goes for a nice sunrise run every morning (more insane than all of the murder)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

back again with another fic promo post, but its grimmons this time! short fic from Simmons’ POV about their relationship and the how it changes from Bloodgulch to Sidewinder. link here

25 notes - Posted September 7, 2022

#4

wrote another grimmons fic! this one is a bit longer than the last, focusing on how simmons thinks about grif (and how pretty he thinks he is when he smokes). second person pov, set sometime in later bloodgulch, link here!

30 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

#3

first chapter of my new Wash fic is up! it centers around how he maintains his hair (both the cut and the bleach) and how that interacts with his mental health and relationships! its got tuckington and mainewash (not romantic), some nice hurt/comfort, and is set from when wash was in 8th grade to chorus. second chapter will be up tomorrow. link here!

39 notes - Posted September 15, 2022

#2

i wrote another tuckington fic! this time it’s tucker’s POV towards wash having a nightmare on chorus, set in between season 12 and 13. once again, hurt/comfort, cause of course. link here!

43 notes - Posted September 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

i wrote a short fic about wash having a depersonalization/dissociation episode, and its hurt/comfort with tucker there. its not particularly heavy for its subject matter. if you’re interested, please give it a shot! link

59 notes - Posted August 26, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[lilrvb]

Based off that one vine

[ramble-writes]

Forget-Me-Not: The Face of Death

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Chapter 5

So here’s chpt 6! Desperately do I try to make sure to make this a slow burn so things don’t seemed forced and rushed. But I think I’m doing ok so far, as the need to not rush things is why I started to rewrite this. So yeah! Also please make sure to like and reblog this story so it can get around ;w;

-

The performance, to say the least, was the most eccentric thing the group had ever seen except for Kai, who had joined in with the screaming crowd since she's seen flexible twinky men, but never a flexible build man who could move and bend the way the owner did. And in heels, no less. With the dance over and the men leaving the stage, a server came around to the five and offered drinks on a tray. Wash blinked at the sight, then looked at the server with a raised brow.

"Wouldn't we have to pay for these?"

The server shook their head. "No. It's on the house from the owner himself."

"Don't mind me!" Kai gladly took one and had a taste, letting out a satisfied hum. Tucker took one when she did, then followed in suit. The server told them the owner also had a reserved private booth ready for them and that he would join them shortly. Eyebrows were being raised at that, but they went to the booth the server pointed out to them.

As the others sat down, Kai took off to the bar to get seconds, or something more robust. While she was gone, Wash set down the untouched glass on the table and clasped his hands together.

"Ok. I'm not the only one thinking how weird it is that the owner got us a table, right? Like how did we even get here?"

"I mean. He was probably alerted when the bouncer saw us," Tucker pointed out. Wash nodded. That much was true upon being recognized as the Reds and Blues; they were let in whether they were on the list or not.

"Well, whoever this owner is, he sure knows how to treat people!" Kai plopped down with her new drink in hand before taking a sip of it. She relaxed with a sigh and looked out to the crowd to see if she could spot the man until the crowd parted to let in said man.

Those dark curls were still in a bun with some gold whisps flying free from their confinement. He too, was dressed in a corset vest, a deep blue and black with gold floral patterns on the side over a black shirt. A grin spread across his face as he slowed from the small jog and stood at the table the booth centers around.

"¡Bienvenidos! It's so nice to finally meet the wonderful saviors of Chorus!"

Kai tried her best not to choke on her drink. Nonchalantly, she practically shoved Tucker over thus squishing him between her and Carolina to make room for the man. The owner chuckled, then lifted his hand up to wave it a bit before he sat down. As he got settled in, a server came over with a drink and handed it to him. He thanked the server, then crossed his legs.

"So! To what do I owe the pleasure to have you lot in my club? And am I right to assume I'm speaking to the Reds and Blues?"

It was Tucker that spoke up.

"Yup."

The man nodded, then looked at Kai with his head tilted. "You're Kaikaina Grif, yes? The woman known for her infamous raves within ye old Bloodgulch?"

Was she flattered at being recognized? Yes. She giggled and leaned back into her spot and crossed her own legs.

"Yup! And I bet you can tell who the rest of these bastards are."

"Mhm. Lavernius Tucker, who still has yet to pay off all that child support. Coulda used protection, friend. So that leaves the other woman here being Lady Carolina with the ever-calm Washington. I can call you Wash, right? Unless it's strictly friends only."

Wash perked up at hearing his name, confused for a second before letting out a silent 'oh' and nodding. "Wash is fine."

The man let out a hum to that, then turned his golden gaze to Sam, who tensed up at realizing he was now being stared at by everyone. Kai took a hint at the silence and gently tapped the owner's knee.

"That's Sam. He's my bodyguard. He's uh... What did you say you were again?"

"An ex-marine from the Great War," he sighed out. That perked the other's interest.

"Really? I was also a veteran of the war. What's your last name?"

"Ortez."

There was a silence that followed, save of course for the music that was playing and the chatter of patrons. To someone unfamiliar when it comes to reading body language, his silence could be taken as him trying to remember where he's heard the name. But internally, it was like sirens going off in the back of his head. He found his thoughts interrupted when the red-head spoke.

"Now that you know who we are, it's fair if we know yours. Since, you know, you're the owner of this place."

"Ah! My apologies. It slipped my mind there for a moment. My name is Ermando Romero. I was a part of a recon team way back when."

Sam made a sound in his throat. Even though the last name is common,  it still brought up some memories. His own thoughts wandered as the others began chatting and faded into the background. He would've gotten lost had it not been for a particular question that made for Wash to nudge him.

"You good?"

"Mm. I'm fine." Sam then notices everyone is looking at him again.

"What."

"Ermando was asking what brought us here. And Tucker opened his mouth and said you have that answer."

Speaking of, Tucker shrunk in his spot as if trying to hide between Kai and Carolina. He just quietly took a sip of his drink to ignore the burning holes he swears Sam is boring into his head. It didn't help everyone was now looking at him instead of the bigger man. The void was then filled when Wash piped up.

"Oh yeah! We're here looking for a rouge mercenary that popped up on the radar. From what we were told, he was a part of the Chorus War. Goes by the name Anubis."

Ermando raised a brow. "Oh?"

"Mhm. He had these jet packs too. Scared Palomo out on the battlefield since he thought it was a demon of sorts."

"Waaaash," Carolina started.

"Hm? Did I say something?"

Carolina gently cleared her throat and let her eyebrows rise and fall. It took a moment for Wash to get what she was implying, but once it hit, he muttered an apology and lowered his head a bit. He swore he was getting better at making sure he didn't lapse like that, but it happened. Carolina gently placed a hand on his forearm to reassure him that it was out of his control and it was nothing to feel guilty over.

Ermando silently questioned on what just happened, but he then remembered the news he saw about the injury the ex-Freelancer sustained. With a slight shake of his head, he brought the topic back.

"As for this Anubis character, I can't say I heard of him. And I've heard lots of things from my travels. What did this man look like?"

"He wears the standard black armor as the other mercenaries did, but he had blue accents," Sam clarified. Ermando had to think for a bit. Black and blue armor, could fly due to jetpacks, and the code name is Anubis. None of it seemed to ring any bells for him.

"Nothing sounds familiar. But I'm curious. Why come here to ask such questions?"

"From what we were told, he has a history of killing his targets in clubs. And we got word his focus turned to Chorus."

"And you think he might've had a target here and caused a ruckus? Tch. I have a strict no-weapons policy. Guards are only equipped with tasers or stun batons to take down those that cause trouble. The entrance has a metal detector encase something is missed. Even the back doors and the door to the roof. The last thing I want is for the back hallways to become a classic shoot-out with bodies at every turn."

Carolina blinked at the last part. "I'm sorry. Explain why you said that?"

"Yeah. I admit I zoned out a bit, but you saying that is kinda putting me off along with the excessive amount of security measures," Wash pointed out. "Did something happen?"

Ermando let out a sigh. "Some time ago after the war and I was discharged, I heard about a club shooting. A bit over 50 bodies if I'm correct. The owner went missing and was found dead. Turns out he was the son of a crime boss."

Sam stared before clearing his throat a little. He was the cause of said deaths at that club and the end to the Lazano line. Guess it would make sense to have high security to avoid things repeating themselves. A fair price not to be listed as a killing hot spot.

"But, if you were to ask. I have heard a different club some blocks down got hit. Maybe your mercenary is there?"

"What's the name?"

"It's called Epileptic. As far as I know, it's been hit 4 times in the span of a week and a half."

Sam took in this information. That lines up with what he was told, but there was something that was nagging at him that didn't sit right. He would have to check the information he was given once they were out of here to confirm or ease his suspicions. Ermando then gestured outside the booth, suggesting that for now, they all head out to enjoy the rest of the club with all it has to give since Kai was starting to look restless.

Tucker was all for getting out to the floor to leave the pit of embarrassment from being called out for the child support papers and wanting to get away from Sam after the stare-down. Plus he has yet to see Wash drunk as Carolina mentioned and he was determined to see it with his own eyes. Sam was the last to leave the booth. He glanced over his shoulder to the owner who's hasn't made a move, but he was looking right back at him. The bounty hunter found his cheeks heating up a tad at the way golden eyes scanned his form up and down. He knew what that look was and needed to move away fast. Not right now, not yet...

-

3 out of 5 were drunk. Tucker got the video he wanted of a drunk Wash dancing while he himself was smashed so the video was a bit wobbly, but it was a well-earned sacrifice. At some point, Carolina had to step in to prevent Wash from having a third drink since 2 was enough for his still recovering mind. When she got him off the floor, Sam rounded up the other two and the group made their way out of the club. Sam looked over his shoulder to the bright neon sign that read Resurrection, a sigh leaving him as his thoughts went over the conversation they had with Ermando.

It was a bit of a struggle to get both Kai and Tucker back into the car with how much they were moving, while Wash was like a limp noodle that wanted to fall to the ground. As Sam and Carolina got the three buckled up, the bounty hunter brought up how there is a decent motel next to his apartment complex they could stay the night to sober up in. Sam started the car up once he was in, then looked over when the drunk blond grumbled about something poking his butt. It took a moment for Wash to fish out the object from his back pocket, then he stared at the pocket knife warm in his hand.

"Oooooooh right! I had thiss in my pocket... 'Lina look! It was there the whoooole time!"

Indeed she did look. Her eyes widened before looking at Sam who was staring with a hard gaze.

"Didn't Ermando mention he has security at every door?"

"Yes." Sam turned his head to look back at the club as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "He lied. The entire place is a death trap to lure targets in."

"So. You're saying he could be Anubis?"

"Possib-"

"Yo... Ermando isss Anubisss."

Carolina shook her head with a slight smile. "No. We're saying he might be, not that-"

"But he is though... He totes is... He was wearing black with blue accents. Think! We had a table. Wouldn't he need that table to get those table monies? But he wasn't worried. He has that mercenary blood moneyyy."

Wash went quiet, only nodding to himself that for sure what he said made sense. Yet it felt like it did through his drunken stupor. Kai mumbled how Ermando is hot and a killer, much like Sam is. So it makes sense and she agreed with Wash.

"Remind me after we interrogate someone, is get Wash drunk because that was the most clever analogy. Chaotic and drunk, but on point," Carolina stated.

"I doubt he needs to be drunk to even see the things we don't." Sam let out a sigh and exited the parking lot. Many things were running through his mind that he would have to return and see about getting inside. Thanks to Wash, Ermando is now a prime suspect.

[ao3feed-grifsimmons]

The Bloodgulch Kids

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2TkGezd

by PvtS1mmons_Gr1f

The Bloodgulch Crew goes home, and starts families of their own. But not everyone is happy.

Words: 447, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Red vs Blue Kids

Fandoms: Red vs. Blue

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Other

Characters: Dexter Grif, Dick Simmons, Lavernius Tucker, Agent Washington (Red vs. Blue), Agent Texas | AI Program Beta, AI Program Epsilon | Leonard Church, Kaikaina Grif | Sister, Michael J. Caboose, AI Fragments (Red vs. Blue), Franklin Delano Donut, Frank "Doc" DuFresne, Agent York (Red vs. Blue), Agent Carolina (Red vs. Blue)

Relationships: Dexter Grif/Dick Simmons, Lavernius Tucker/Agent Washington, Michael J. Caboose/Kaikaina Grif | Sister, AI Program Epsilon | Leonard Church/Agent Texas | AI Program Beta, Franklin Delano Donut/Frank "Doc" DuFresne, Emily Grey/Sarge, Agent Carolina/Agent York (Red vs. Blue)

Additional Tags: My First Fanfic, Dog Freckles (Red vs. Blue), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Human Junior (Red vs. Blue)

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2TkGezd

[punishandenslavesuckers]

Say, if your AU where Tex is alive to see Carolina return, how would things change in some events: 1. Blood gulch w/ Sister 2. Vacation planet in season 15, and end of project freelancer.

Okay I have not seen season 15, so I can’t speed to that. And as for an AU where Carolina returns I basically already wrote that and it’s called Alpha. However, my idea was that Carolina returns in the same timeframe that she did in the show and that Tex was alive because of events during Season 8. So it wouldn’t impact anything in Blood gulch.  

Now, if Tex had simply not died in that explosion during the fight with Wyoming, I have a feeling that she would not have stayed in box canyon very long and probably the events of Season 8 would have gone very differently if a self-aware AI Tex had been present when Agent Washington came looking for the Meta. I still think she would have left the canyon, the group would have been reassigned, and Wash would have come along as usual. 

The difference being when the Meta shows up to go for Alpha, she’d be waiting. I don’t think her being around would change much of Bloodgulch... because she was basically there pretty much the whole time in Bloodgulch? Her dying was the catalyst that sets off the real Freelancer arcs basically and would mostly impact those storylines.

[ao3feed-tuckington]

The Bloodgulch Kids

read it on the ao3 at http://bit.ly/2TkGezd

by PvtS1mmons_Gr1f

The Bloodgulch Crew goes home, and starts families of their own. But not everyone is happy.

Words: 69, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Red vs Blue Kids

Fandoms: Red vs. Blue

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Other

Characters: Dexter Grif, Dick Simmons, Lavernius Tucker, Agent Washington (Red vs. Blue), Agent Texas | AI Program Beta, AI Program Epsilon | Leonard Church, Kaikaina Grif | Sister, Michael J. Caboose, AI Fragments (Red vs. Blue), Franklin Delano Donut, Frank "Doc" DuFresne, Agent York (Red vs. Blue), Agent Carolina (Red vs. Blue)

Relationships: Dexter Grif/Dick Simmons, Lavernius Tucker/Agent Washington, Michael J. Caboose/Kaikaina Grif | Sister, AI Program Epsilon | Leonard Church/Agent Texas | AI Program Beta, Franklin Delano Donut/Frank "Doc" DuFresne, Emily Grey/Sarge, Agent Carolina/Agent York (Red vs. Blue)

Additional Tags: My First Fanfic, Dog Freckles (Red vs. Blue), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Human Junior (Red vs. Blue)

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2TkGezd

[lilrvb]

[lilrvb]

[lilrvb]

Church: At least it's quiet.

[lilrvb]

Donut: I'll light some candles.

[lilrvb]

Tucker might have given him some sweets.. and coffee.

[lilrvb]

How do they get anything done?