#Von writes stuff

[thestarkerisobvious]

“You said it was sensitive… here…” Peter said as gently as he could, trying to pretend he hadn’t been dreaming about this for years. He placed his fingers gingerly on the edge, two fingers on the reactor itself, two fingers on skin.

Then he looked up and tried to use his best ‘innocent’ eyes. “I wasn’t sure what that meant.”

Tony shuddered, his eyes fluttered shut, and his lips parted. Peter had seen that look before, but only during sex, when the pleasure was too much. Tony opened his eyes and looked at Peter. He reached his fingertip down next to the boy’s hand. “Here,” he traced the narrow line of white scar tissue around the arc reactor’s housing, “is sensitive.” He took Peter’s finger and showed him. “And here.” He moved the boy’s finger to the smooth unmarked skin. “But here…” He shuddered again. “Where they meet. Where the sensation blends…”

“In a good way?” 

He bit his lips trying to keep the words in. All he could do was nod in assent. He swallowed. “Yes,” he finally admitted. 

He took Peter’s fingers and placed them on the arc reactor itself. He closed his eyes again. “I know I can’t feel it. But I feel it.” His breath hitched. “You don’t mind this?”

“Mind it? Tony, it’s beautiful. I’m… and I’m not just saying this because I’m a big science geek… I mean I want it known I was on a freaking spaceship and also another planet and… Tony, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s a beautiful, precise, work of engineering. Something I created. But… nothing more than a machine,” he said, rather flatly, as if repeating someone else’s words...

[krazieka2]

Vampire Mercedes lore doodles (and vampire Lorenz bullying)

[unsat-and-strange]

jonny d'villes heart ticks audibly. the crew can hear it during the few and far between quiet moments on board the aurora. it's so steady, tick tick tick, a reminder that he is there and they are all alive together, never speeding up or slowing down. sometimes they joke about using it as a metronome during practice.

jonnys heart ticks. he can hear it every waking moment. tick tick tick. it never slows down, even in the deepest sleep according to the rest of the crew. it never speeds up even when his blood is more adrenaline then actual blood, times when normal peoples hearts would be racing. whether he's laughing his ass off or terrified for his life (I guess old habits die hard?) it. never. speeds. up. sometimes it's fine, he can ignore it but there are days when the constant tick tick tick tick tick tick tick is too much. the days when he has to drown out the sound with gunfire and screams or music loud enough to make his ears bleed. some days even that barely cuts it and he debates putting a bullet in his head just to make it quiet for a few hours. the rest of the crew has gotten pretty good at recognizing those days, and they know how to help him get through them, just like he knows how to help his crew through their bad days. nastya will bring him into the near deafening engine room and theyll play with power tools until their hands are covered in grease and grit, or Tim will sit him down on a speaker and play the bass so loud the whole ship can feel it, or Marius and raphaella will tell him about unethical medical practices they've witnessed/performed or Brian will just hold him close until the rhythms of the metal man's body distract from the tick tick tick tick of his own heart. the constant tick of immortality is loud. jonny can't deny his luck in finding a crew that is almost always louder.

[stergeon]

25 rejected edeleth fluff ideas

here are some edeleth stories i thought a lot about but did not write. if anybody wants to actually write one of these, be my guest (and also pleeeeease send me a link, i'm desperate for content about Them Girls™)

byleth takes edelgard on a fishing trip and she has an absolutely abysmal time

edelgard makes a valiant attempt to corral byleth's atrocious fashion sense ahead of a formal event

byleth teaches edelgard swear words

edelgard tries some of those weird herbs rhea used to give students to relax; byleth is more than happy to babysit

byleth does edelgard's taxes. she's wearing her goofy professor glasses. it does something weird for edelgard

edelgard takes byleth on a date to the opera and byleth cries the whole time

byleth reads a work of fiction for the first time ever. it's a horror story. she did not like it. edelgard reads her something nicer.

edelgard gets byleth to pose for a portrait and shows it to her

byleth has to give a speech at a big event and is a nervous wreck. edelgard has been waiting all her life for this coaching opportunity

edelgard tries to teach byleth how to draw (she is very bad at it)

byleth cannot for the life of her figure out which fork is used for what purpose at this fancy dinner. edelgard covers for her

edelgard goes all out to celebrate byleth's birthday on the day byleth thought was (read: randomly chose as) her birthday, not her actual birthday; byleth doesn't have the heart to tell her

byleth brings edelgard various souvenirs from her travels around the country. edelgard tries not to be so soft over it, even though they're… not all hits

edelgard attempts to make dinner and botches it beyond salvation. they get takeout.

byleth will not shut up about this cute house she saw when she was out on a mission and how nice it would be for them to "have something like it one day." edelgard arranges to buy the place

edelgard sees byleth in a dress uniform and cannot stop swooning

byleth is being relentlessly pursued by a suitor who won't take a hint and edelgard challenges the idiot to a duel

edelgard decides she will learn to swim. it goes poorly, to say the least, but she manages in the end. as it turns out, getting to see byleth in a swimsuit is a good motivator

byleth gets caught kissing edelgard by hubert. the resulting conversation is unpleasant for everyone. ferdinand, meanwhile, is overjoyed

edelgard is having a terrible, horrible, no-good very bad day. she chews byleth out over nothing and immediately feels awful about it. byleth forces her to take the rest of the day off to chill

byleth is going away for a month-long mission. both girls are inconsolable. they write each other letters literally every day.

edelgard really puts somebody on blast in a council meeting. byleth gets stars in her eyes

byleth concocts a very, very elaborate story about some kind of summit in faerghus; she and edelgard leave enbarr for two weeks to attend. surprise: there's no summit, it's a spa retreat

edelgard arranges a "normal date" where they go out in town in disguise and do very boring things like run errands, look at furniture, buy socks, etc.

doropetra-edeleth double date

[ananinidraws]

You absolute fool... You will never draw the Dark Lord Von Karma!

"You naive fools..."

"You thought i'd never show up... But i hijacked AnaNini's art blog!... Now i'll change it to VonKarmaDraws... And there's nothing you can do about it!"

Von Karma, no!!! Give me my blog back!

[sobeautifullyobsessed]

Watching 'The Sound of Music' and boy is it ever feeding my craving for tropes. Older man/younger woman. Curmudgeon (who is also a Hero) whose heart is melted by a sunny, generous, loving spirit. And tall, dark, handsome man with a piercing blue gaze...

Much pining...and oh the dancing, wherein the parties are breathlessly aching to kiss but don't quite realize the other feels the same...

Yum! Oh, and did I mention tall, dark, devastatingly handsome man with a piercing blue gaze?

[characteroulette]

A study on prosecutors -- (previous) (next)

Let's get into the weeds of the Investigations games.

Judging any of the prosecutors in the Investigations games, Edgeworth included, is a difficult thing to do. We're not privy to their style of prosecuting, after all, since the whole game takes place outside of any trials. I guess this shows how much stock I take from said trials, but it is a core mechanic to the Ace Attorney series, so I feel justified on that one. Judging a prosecutor from half of the usual info makes things a bit of a harder sell to me, they really missed an opportunity to get us into the courtroom properly.

But I digress. Let's go down the list.

First off, Jacques Portsman. He's a first case villain for sure, as we know he committed the crime and his over the top performance is really grating. I kinda never believed him when he claimed to be a prodigy or some up and coming star because of that, though. Like, sir, you're a first case murderer. You're not that hard to crack, especially as the game has to tutorialise everything for us.

His being pretty awful is kinda the point, however. Here is one of many prosecutors whom Edgeworth has to work alongside in the office. He's as corrupt and ruthless as anyone else, he's another in the many who believe that winning and making a name for themselves is all that matters in the world of the law. He's a symptom of the way the law operates in this world, far from the cause. That's at least one fascinating aspect to him.

It's yet another show of how Manfred could have gotten away with his forty year streak without anyone so much as batting an eye at it.

Speaking of, let's dig into Manfred a bit deeper, seeing as he's the only other prosecutor we really meet in the first game. (Faraday gets like one line before he dies, so I can't really count him.) He's acting Edgeworth's superior here, no matter how much Edgeworth refers to him as his mentor. This is a disconnect that always struck me about what we get to see of their interactions; Edgeworth really does respect Manfred from the bottom of his heart. He sees Manfred as someone who helped him find structure and strength in his life after what happened to his father. But Manfred doesn't return that respect at all. Really, a lot of how Manfred speaks to Edgeworth here reads as condescending, and that's before he goes off about how worthless Edgeworth is. His promise of an hour of recess is also one that stood out to me; he expects Edgeworth to partake in some of the dirtier tactics that he (and Franziska) might. He's leaving that option open for Edgeworth to do whatever necessary to get his guilty verdict, to prove himself a perfect von Karma. It doesn't end up happening because we have to preserve continuity -- I mean, the trial gets cancelled due to murder shenanigans, but it's a detail that's always stood out to me.

We get a lot more intriguing a look into Manfred's character in the second Investigations game. He adores his wife to the point of proclaiming her the best chef in the world. That's weirdly humanising for him!! And he loves his daughter, too, even if he's not very good at showing it. He may be a wicked man, but it wasn't actually by his own hand that he had to tamper with evidence. Hell, maybe that's why Gregory was able to call him out. (He forged a WHOLE BODY and that'll forever be hilarious to me.) (Well, an autopsy report. Same difference.) What I would GIVE to be able to see the actual trials between Gregory and Manfred, with Gregory struggling to find any hold and Manfred acting composed while also hoping his evidence doesn't get called out. It had to be one hell of a battle, Gregory isn't one to go down without a fight.

Anyway, Byrne Faraday. I figure I might give a bit of a thought on him from what we can extrapolate.

Kay loved him dearly and he was definitely doing his best by her. That promise notebook they had between them is so sweet, the man was trying his best to be a good dad. He had some level of corruption, though, considering he was one foot to the Yatagarasu. Sure, it was more for justice than our usual prosecutor fare, but he was still cheating to get guilty verdicts. Even if his corruption swung the other way than where we're used to seeing, it shows he was willing to get his hands dirty for his justice. It shows his lack of faith in the legal system he was a part of, another symptom to this dark age. (As an aside, these two games are the true lead-in to Dual Destinies. Not Apollo Justice. You want the themes and points of DD to ring stronger or truer at all? Play the Investigations games before going into DD, it'll all make more sense that way. Or, as much sense as it can make.)

It is fun seeing how much they have to strain to get us to like Faraday, though. At least, I feel he's supposed to be likeable, since they focus on him being a good dad and not the fact that he was working behind the scenes to help rig his trials. A perfect contrast to Manfred, whom the games don't even try to make likeable since we all know what becomes of him in the end. And yet they put in just enough to get you to see him as less a monster than you might have. (The Inga solution! It works on me every time!!)

Also funny that there are only two new prosecutors introduced in the first Investigations game and they're both basically bit parts. Because then we get into the second game and meet our more traditional opposing prosecutor, Sebastian Debeste.

Ahh, Yumihiko Ichiyanagi. A mess of a child. Starts out pompous and believing he's always right because that's what everyone around him is forced to say to him. He's a nepotism baby, his dad's the Chief of the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee, after all. He's a brat and a pest and he's also so stupid you find yourself wondering how the hell he managed to get his badge in the first place.

Well, this is a world of dumbasses, you suppose. How else could simple logic be a superpower? You move on and concern yourself more with whom you suspect to be the true villain pulling the strings here, Justine Courtney.

Her subtle pushes and buttering Sebastian up are near sinister. It's like she's using him as a mouthpiece at times, a way to get her own goals and work done here. She wants to seemingly destroy Edgeworth, nearly singularly focuses on this goal at times, and you can't help but find pity for Sebastian being caught up in her scheme. He's seventeen and it shows far more on him than it does on Klavier or Franziska. He's floundering while everyone simply congratulates him on a job while done, unable to save him from those depths, that darkness.

What is the point of using this boy as a smokescreen, you wonder. How can parading him around be worth any of his foolishness?

Then we meet Blaise and realise, oh. He really was just a pawn in the grander scheme. He was a way to get closer to the true villain. He was merely getting in the way, being a foolish and stupid child, of everyone's true goals.

Franziska whips him and he doesn't even protest. He shouts out in pain like everyone else, but he never once tells her to stop. He just takes it, doesn't think of his usual profession of being the best.

He just takes it.

From that small detail alone, I couldn't help but immediately worry for him.

Justine shows her hand at last. Even if she had come to care for Sebastian, she's out to strike Blaise down no matter what. Blaise is the one behind that one strike against Manfred's reputation, he's behind this whole smuggling ring, he's everyone's antagonist as we all converge on this one point. Sebastian tries to stick up for his father, but even that lends to our favour. He gets in the way once more, he slips up just enough to give us what we need, and his father reveals to him in the cruellest possible way that everything he thought he's accomplished has been a total lie. He couldn't even be a worthy pawn to his father. He's a failure, through and through.

And Edgeworth gets to be the one to help him stand back up on his own two feet.

I cannot stress enough just how excellent an idea it was to have our final logic chess game be against Sebastian. How we have to use it more as a way to break through all that despair and anguish instead of for our own gain. Edgeworth being able to be a voice of strength for Sebastian, being able to offer this boy you thought your enemy for most of the game a spot of hope, is so good. It's exactly taking the lessons behind what made Edgeworth himself so good in the first game, at least in my opinion.

And we get to see bits of an actual trial!! We get to play assistant as Sebastian stands up to his father in one of the most hype scenes ever!! I'm so proud of this fail boy who came such a long way. A crybaby who, with the help of those actually willing to back him up and show him the right way instead of propping him up with false praise, is able to stand his ground and prove his father the villain he is.

He breaks that chain of legacy tying so many of our Ace Attorney characters down. Holy shit we were robbed this game, actually, huge shout out to the translation team who allowed us all to experience this cathartic moment.

[blueberry-beanie]

Qualifizierte Unwissenheit | Die Anstalt vom Juni 2020

English translation below:

Qualified Ignorance | Die Anstalt from June 2022

(1) MU: And what is your qualification? (2) CvW: I am a communication scientist, why? (3) MU: Well, because you also talk about viruses in your show a lot. CvW: Well, ok. I am doing this professionally, alright? I'll be talking about something else again in four weeks. (4) CvW: What these people simply don't want to understand: I can talk about things I don't understand - (5) CvW: - because I have learned this in my studies.

[terrified-spider]

D&D Vampirism & the Results of Regenerative Abilities

A small note:

I’ve posted about both Elder Scrolls and D&D on this blog, and I’m pretty sure I’ve already written some headcanons about TES’s portrayal of vampirism. What’s described here is only for my D&D world building, Barovia/General Ravenloft in particular, where the condition is generally treated much more like a curse than in the Elder Scrolls franchise, where it’s a contracted illness. I won’t promise that I will or won’t write about TES vampirism, as i think it’s fun, it’s not something I find fitting for the Domains of Dread.

This post contains spoilers for the heavily modified version of Curse of Strahd I will be eventually running, and spoilers for the novel I, Strahd. Changes from the RAW 5e module include:

Alek is back! He’s not having a good time. 

Escher is Van Richten’s lost son. It’s not that important to this essay, but I do mention their shared eyesight problems in passing.

Shout out to @mx-lamour and their fanfic "What have I done?", for being the reason I finally sat down and wrote this all out. 

An Introduction to Vampirism & Wound Recovery in Undeath:

Whether described as a curse or blessing, Vampirism is a magical condition, one that has a number of effects on the patient’s natural recovery/healing process, and by extension, the development of scars throughout one’s unlife. While none of the information here is intended to impact gameplay and balance, it can have an influence over roleplay and certainly does in character design. Flavor is free, and I want it all.

Becoming a vampire is akin to pressing pause on one’s life and body, stopping the aging process, but not reversing it. For example, no more of Strahd’s hair will turn gray, but the streaks that are there will never change back to black. Escher’s eyesight and the myopia inherited from his father are impacted by age, getting worse over time. While being turned provided him with some new dark vision, he will remain nearsighted to the same extent he was upon death. The march of time has stopped, but that doesn’t mean it can be reversed. 

Scar tissue is subject to the same forces, and old scars obtained during life will stop fading, remaining just as visible or unapparent as they did upon the body’s death. Unhealed wounds will repair themselves only once regeneration begins, but are subject to the same factors as other wounds obtained post mortem.

General Post Mortem Wounds and Scaring Trends:

While there is some variation in these trends, there are three main degrees to which wounds will leave a lasting impact.

Minor wounds don’t last. These are the results of unsilvered weaponry, mild damage from running water, and necrotic magic. Very little is in the way of the regeneration and healing process, so there are less chances for something to go wrong, such as debris entering the wound, or the injury to scab over, and increase the chances of a scar forming. On the off chance one does form, it usually vanishes within an hour at the latest.

Most magical damage provides the same level of regenerative difficulty as that of sivered weapons and most instances of water damage. Silver and water, both considerable weaknesses of vampires, react poorly with the dark magic of a vampire’s curse, and interfere with it’s influences over the body. Similarly to those described prior, these scars will fade with time, simply taking longer, usually over the course of a couple days, or several weeks at most. 

Sunlight will cause the most dramatic injuries, leaving burns over the exposed skin, and healing to form scars that never fade.

Turning Wounds:

Turning wounds are usually bites, the injuries that kill someone as they become undead, and the place of the curse’s transference. Given the nature of the wound, magic doesn’t make the wounds particularly easy to heal, even with the assistance of vampiric regeneration, which is usually what heals them.

Unlike other wounds that result in varying scar types and will reflect the type of damage when applicable, turning wounds usually lave behind contracture scars, where the skin has tightened over the wound in the healing process, giving the impression of skin stretched over the injury. It results in much more obvious scar tissue that can sometimes cause the individual pain, both due to the nature of the scar type, and the magical influences.

While most turning wounds are bite marks, such as those on the necks of Alek and Escher, they can take the form of other injuries, such as the numerous arrow marks across Strahd’s torso and chest.

Different Types of Vampires & Exceptions to the Trends:

The patterns here assume that the subject described is a vampire spawn, a common type of vampire within Ravenloft and Barovia in particular. Consumption of blood will have an impact on healing speed, where greater access to blood will speed up the process, and under feeding can drag out the process for months or longer. However, differences in the nature of one’s curse can manifest as much more dramatic differences in healing ability.

Failed Spawn - Alek Gwilym:

For some reason, the curse didn’t transfer right. In the case of Alek, his blood was already used to reanimate someone, and the Dark Powers forbid Strahd from ever having a good time. Alek just got caught in the crossfire.

Technically they use the Nosferatu stat block but that’s behind the DM screen, not in game.

Turning wounds on failed spawn don’t heal properly, leaving open wounds that won’t bleed, but can be opened up further, and can cause significant pain if not kept clean or become irritated.

The Dark Powers hate you in particular - Strahd von Zarovich:

Aside from turning wounds, any scar will fade with time, including severe sunburns.

Injuries resulting from critical hits will have lasting impacts, such as vision or movement issues, punishment for mistakes in combat.

It needs some work, but this is inspired by the parts of Strahd’s relationship with Barov I’ve been able to flesh out. It needs some work still, but the man taught Strahd mistakes have lasting consequences, either in a material sense, or Barov holding failures over Strahd.

Cleveland Clinic on Scars (:

[ashtonisvibing]

"One last lullaby?"

Fandom: Jacksepticeye Egos

Alternate Universe: Normalcy AU

Ship(s): None

Character(s): Robbie the Zombie, Henrik von Schneeplestein

Warning(s): None

Originally Published: Nov. 28, 2023

Author's Notes:

yayaya, more stuff with robbie and henrik!

robbie's much more aged up than the last entry with them, and wants one last song before they head off to college :}

pronouns check:

henrik - he/him

robbie: they/them, he/him, it/its

Full Story:

"C'mon you stupid suitcase-!" Robbie grunted out as they tried to put all of their weight onto the suitcase on the floor, one arm carefully slipping from under their chest so they could grab the zipper and finally zip it closed. They'd spent nearly half an hour now to close their luggage despite the glaring issue that the case was simply too full. And that issue became even more obvious when they realized the zipper stopped nearly halfway around, with the same happening to the other zipper. "Oh you fucking-" They simply let out a frustrated sigh before collapsing face down onto the luggage. No point in continuing when it was obvious that failure was the only option here.

"I think that you might have packed too much there." A voice and a chuckle sounded from the doorway. Robbie tilted their head enough to see their papa, Henrik, now standing with an amused smile as he watched his child lay in defeat. They simply responded with a whine and a roll of their eyes as they moved their head so it was back in the rough material. "You do know you can bring more than one suitcase, ja?" Henrik chuckled again as he came over, sitting down in front of his child.

"Thought I could make it easier and put everything in.." They mumbled before finally sitting up, doing a quick shake of their head to get their bright purple hair out of their face. "That way I'm not overloading Casey's car. She's letting me ride with her, remember?"

The doctor sighed as he unzipped the luggage to see what Robbie could have packed. There were some clothes, their bear stuffie, accessories, various hygiene products. Nothing was packed properly though, it was all just piled into the casing haphazardly, ensuring that the luggage would have never closed properly. "Bärchen, this is an absolute mess! No wonder you couldn't close this, nothing is even folded properly!" He made quick work to pull everything out of the suitcase and started folding the clothes so they wouldn't just be a bunched up pile. "And this is hardly enough for a university student. Even if you put more stuff into a separate backpack this would not be enough." He set a folded pair of overalls into the case before continuing. "This is why I suggested that you just have me drive you there. That way you can bring as much as you will need. You were going to bring your hamper and trash bin with you, ja? And what about hang-"

Henrik quickly cut himself off when he noticed that Robbie had started crying while he was speaking. Now he was immediately filled with worry and a bit of panic. He thought that maybe his parental ranting had caused the tears, maybe he was being too harsh without even realizing. He shifted himself so he was now sitting in front of his child, gently pulling them into his arms. "Oh, bärchen, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so harsh.. You don't have to bring everything with you if you do not want to, I was just making suggestions.."

Robbie shook their head, their arms wrapping just as tightly around their papa. "Mm-mm, I just-" They sniffled. "I'm gonna miss you being so... Parental all the time.." They chuckled a little as they used the sleeve of their hoodie to wipe their tears away. "Why I was so insistent on Casey bringing me.. Cuz you wouldn't be seeing me cry when I- I had to leave.." Despite their attempt to wipe their tears away they had come back at full force. They hid their tears away in their papa's neck as he gently pulled them into his lap so he could hold them closer. He wasn't able to help his own tears that had started to form.

"Robbie, that is the silliest reason I have heard to not wanting me to drive you to university.." Henrik chuckled softly as his fingers gently combed through the other's hair. "I am fine with you wanting to ride with Casey, you know that I trust her. But I also want to be there during such a big moment. This will be your first day of university, I wouldn't want to miss this for anything. I even requested the day off just in case you changed your mind." He then gently pulled Robbie from their hiding spot so he could look at their face. "I have seen so many tears from you, and I will be perfectly happy with seeing some more tomorrow, okay?" Robbie only gave a little nod in response. "Okay. You do not have to go in until the afternoon tomorrow?" They nodded again.

"Yeah, around twelve or so."

"Alright. How about we save the packing until tomorrow morning then. And I will help you so you are not piling clothes into your suitcase." The pair shared a chuckle as Robbie gave another nod, wiping their eyes of their tears. "For now I think you could use some sleep. Do you want me to drive you tomorrow?"

Robbie paused a second as they thought over their answer. Although deep down they knew what that answer truly was. "... Yeah. I'll text Casey sometime tomorrow to let her know the change of plans and stuff. She'll probably make it seem like I'm breaking up with her." They snickered as they stood up, stretching their arms up over their head.

"Which you two are not, correct? Because you're-"

"Yes Papa, we are not dating." Robbie rolled their eyes a little as they pulled their bear stuffie from the rest of the pile that Henrik hadn't finished, plopping themself onto the edge of their bed. "That kiss was just a "fuck it, why not?" moment between friends. There's nothing more between us." Henrik was constantly asking if Robbie and their friend were dating, ever since he caught them sharing a kiss in the bedroom. He was fine with it being a kiss between friends, and he was fine with the possibility of anything more coming out of their friendship. But that didn't mean he wasn't always trying to find out if anything had suddenly changed between them.

The doctor put his hands up in the air as he chuckled softly, showing he was backing down. "Alright, alright, I'm just making sure. There would be nothing-"

"Yeah, yeah, nothing wrong with us dating, I knowwww." Robbie let themself fall backwards so they were now laying down. "You're the most supportive dad in the world, I know you'd be fine with pretty much anything so long as it's not illegal. Though even then if it's shoplifting you'd be cool with that, too."

"So long as it is shoplifting for necessities." Henrik chuckled as he started putting the rest of the pile of clothes into the suitcase still on the floor so that they weren't just sitting there. "I am fine with your love of anarchy and such so long as it doesn't get you into too much trouble." 

Robbie could only respond with a little hum as they adjusted themself so they'd be under the covers, watching their papa fold the clothes and put them all away far more neatly than they ever could. They figured it probably came from him having to pretty much be both their mom and dad for them their entire life, at least until they were old enough to take care of themself. Kind of had to do everything as neatly as he could, and Robbie was always thankful that he bothered. It wasn't very long until Henrik had finished packing at the very least the clothes, just placing the rest that was in the luggage on top for later. Yet in that short time Robbie was already starting to fall asleep, and when Hen noticed this he couldn't help his soft chuckle as he got up and placed a small kiss on his child's head.

"Get some sleep now, bärchen..." Henrik spoke as softly as he could, moving a little bit of hair out of the other's face. "I'm sure you will need it, you have a busy day tomorrow..."

Before he was able to even turn away he was stopped by a hand carefully grabbing his wrist. Robbie was almost completely covered by their blanket, only the upper half of their head being visible now. "Could you sing me something..?" They were interrupted by a yawn. "Like when I was a kid.."

Henrik had to swallow back the joy and adoration that hearing that question gave him. It had been years since he sang Robbie to sleep, he had only really stopped when he also stopped putting them to bed in general. It made him feel a sense of nostalgia from when they were so much younger. How could he possibly say no to such a thing? "Of course I can. Move over." He chuckled a little, and once Robbie moved over he got himself under the blanket as well. The other was quick to snuggle right into his arms, head resting on his chest and unable to help their sleepy little smile when they heard the faint sound of their papa's heartbeat. It was such a soothing rhythm that they were tempted to just fall asleep right then and there. But they managed to keep awake long enough to at least hear the beginning of the lullaby.

Robbie didn't expect themself to remember the melody so quickly. It was completely in german, one that Henrik always sang to them when they were a child and just completely unable to fall asleep. According to the doctor it was a song his own mama sang to him as well. Henrik's voice wasn't the absolute greatest when it came to singing, but Robbie would never complain, especially not now when they had so many happy memories with this lullaby. And it's not like they could complain if they wanted to, what with how tired they were becoming. They could barely keep their eyes open as they tried to snuggle closer to their father. The last thing they noticed before they finally drifted off to sleep was the kiss on their head and Henrik's arms wrapping tighter around themself, and it left them falling asleep with a smile. They didn't know if their papa stayed after the lullaby was gone, if maybe he fell asleep in their bed with them. At the moment they didn't really care. All they cared about was hearing that precious lullaby one last time.

Before they had to go off to college, and take their first step into adulthood, they got to feel like a kid again.

[thestarkerisobvious]

Yes, I am reading Von's Starker Mafia Fics

Yes, there is a reason.

This one is called "A Long Day" and while it is a Dark!Tony, the story is surprisingly loving and tender.

...being worried didn’t mean that he couldn’t distract himself. He might not be able to go out shopping, but that didn’t mean shopping couldn’t come to him. Peter smiled in the mirror before he danced down the curved marble staircase on the balls of his feet. 

“G’morning Bucky,” he said when he got to the bottom. He leaned up and pecked the cheek of the man who’d been left behind to be his bodyguard. 

“Good morning, princess.” All of Tony’s men called him that. Tony was the boss and Peter was his princess. “No trip into the city like we planned yesterday. Sorry.”

“That’s okay. Daddy opened me a new account at La Perla.” He turned his tablet around to show Bucky a webpage full of lingerie. Whenever Peter was downstairs and not alone with Tony, he always called Tony ‘daddy’.

“Sounds like your day is made then.”

Peter grinned. “And his night.”

[sleepy-phant0m]

So um. I wrote a fic.

Check it out if you like Funger, ig?

[dumbasswithapen]

Mechtober day 27 - shenanigans

They’re just hanging out. Being silly. Coming up with plans. Yk

[imsosocold]

A really dumb scene came to me for a revival au where Gregory is  brought back from the dead ( through possession or what) around the time Manfred gets released from prison. Basically it’s just Gregory and Manfred driving to the offices they used to work at, it being the first time they’ve been properly allowed alone. Unsure what to do, one of them press the radio to fill the silence.  Shot through the heart plays. The most awkward eye contact is made.  The radio is turned off. Silence.   

[spinchs-field]

in which Lyfrassir wakes up on the Aurora

shenanigans ensue. inspired a little by this post (: warning: implied violence/death, Lyf has short traumatic flashbacks (kinda), and mentions of a coma

Lyfrassir opens his eyes, heart pounding in his head. He winces, gripping his temples in agony. 

There’s the sound of movement from somewhere in the room, but his screaming headache won’t allow him to look. 

Heavy footsteps approach, thumping against a steel floor before stopping, very close. Machinery whirs, and cold metal presses against Lyfrassir’s forehead. 

“Are you awake, inspector?” A gravelly voice asks. Lyfrassir recognises it instantly.

He pries his eyes open, looks up, and sees the tired, but still very joyful face of one Marius von Raum. 

Confusion and hatred roils in his very core, and he shoves Marius’ mechanical arm away with fury.

Marius takes a step back, raising his hands defensively. “Calm down, inspector, I just asked you a question.”

“Where am I?” Lyfrassir asks harshly, his voice rough with little use.

“My, you sound thirsty. Can I get you a drink?” Marius deflects, already turning to leave.

Something crackles in Lyfrassir’s chest as his anger rises. “Where the hell am I? Tell me!”

Marius drops his smile for a look of disdain. He looks off toward the door for a moment before sighing. He turns around, grabs a nearby office chair, and rolls it over to the operation table Lyfrassir is laying on. Marius drops into the chair and crosses his arms. 

“You are on the starship Aurora, far from the Yggdrasil system. You have been in a coma for the last four years, and you conduct electricity very well. Happy?”

Lyfrassir stares at Marius, confused and horrified. 

There is a long, tense silence that befalls them. Behind him, Lyfrassir can hear his own heartbeat beeping away on a monitor. 

He leans back, dropping onto the pillow so kindly placed on the hard metal table, and stares into the ceiling.

“What’s got you so bug-eyed?” Marius asks, leaning forward, lingering in Lyfrassir’s periphery.

“I’ve been in a coma for four years?”

Marius lets out a high-pitched noise, tilting his head slightly to the left. “Give or take, at least. Time is weird out here.”

Lyfrassir lets out a weak huff of a laugh. 

“But, really, inspector, do you need a drink? Those IVs don’t seem to be doing much.”

Fear sparks in Lyfrassir’s stomach and his eyes flick down to look at his arms. A vivid, grotesque image replays in his mind, and he grabs the cord with all the might of a feral dog. Before he can rip it from his arm, Marius takes hold of his wrist, metal pressing hard into his skin, refusing movement. 

Lyfrassir looks up, and feels crushed beneath Marius’ intense gaze. Reluctantly, he lets go, and Marius softens his grip. 

“I know,” Marius says gently. “But you need to calm down. We’ll take out the IVs once you’ve been awake for a day or two, okay?”

Lyfrassir just stares at Marius, eyes glazed with fear. “Okay,” he responds weakly. 

Marius sighs and stands up straight. “I’ll go fetch some water. Raphaella will keep watch over you.”

After that, Marius turns and makes his way to the door, pushing his hands into his pockets. Lyfrassir watches as he kicks the door, the metal pulling up into the wall. On the other side, a familiar blonde woman stands with an excited smile. They exchange words quietly, and she pushes past Marius and into the room. The door hisses shut behind her, and she hurries over to the operation table. 

“Hello!” She says happily. Streaks of rainbow in her hair glisten under the artificial light, giving the illusion of a brightly coloured halo. “We’ve met. I’m Raphaella la Cognizi, in case you forgot.”

“Ah,” Lyfrassir says, staring up at her with cloudy eyes, “Yes, I remember you. You um…” He reached up, waving his hand vaguely. “I don’t remember you having those… rainbow streaks, however.”

Raphaella only smiles wider, and she shakes her hands excitedly. “Yes! They’re from the Bifrost! Marius and Ivy have them too! And look!” 

She reaches down and takes hold of some of Lyfrassir’s long hair, lifting it up to show him the bright colours. Every strand glistens with the rainbow hue.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Raphaella asks, letting go of Lyfrassir’s hair and dropping into the chair beside the table.

Lyfrassir’s heart drops into his stomach, and he feels sick suddenly. He closes his eyes, trying to force down tears. 

“What’s wrong?” Raphaella asks, resting a hand on his arm. “There’s nothing to be upset about. I think it looks lovely on you. They’re also very interesting scientifically! If you cut a strand off, it just vanishes! Poof!”

Lyfrassir opens his eyes, staring at Raphaella with curious, tired eyes. 

“The placement of the rainbows stays consistent, however. While we were hunting you down, I actually shaved all my hair off. The rainbows are right where they were before! Isn’t that fascinating?” She goes on, and there’s a shine in her eyes that he can’t remember ever seeing before. 

It’s in that moment that what Marius told him finally processes, and Lyfrassir is suddenly wide awake. “Wait,” he says quickly. “Vom Raum– he told me I… I conduct electricity? What did he mean by that?”

Raphaella’s smile drops for a moment, before returning slowly, this time with a laugh. 

“That’s right!” She says as she stands up. She hurries off to one of the many bookshelves in the room, none of which actually have books on them. She rummages around for a moment before finding a jumper cable and a massive battery. 

She comes back over, dropping the battery onto the chair with a loud thud. She takes hold of Lyfrassir’s hand and closes one of the clamps around his fingers. He shouts in pain, but she doesn’t seem to care as she snaps the other end onto the battery.

Instantly, neon rainbow sparks explode from Lyfrassir’s skin, crackling around the metal clamp and shooting down the cable. In a matter of seconds, the battery is fully charged. Raphaella takes the clamp off Lyfrassir’s hand and grins at him, a wild excitement in her eyes. 

“Isn’t that cool?!” She shouts, her mechanical tail wagging back and forth like mad. Her wings fan out, fluttering gently. 

Lyfrassir stares at her, eyes wide in shock. Painless smoke streams from his hand, and his hair stands on end. 

“What the fuck?” He barely whispers.

It’s then that the door slides open, and Marius stands in the archway, eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them. In one hand, he holds a glass of water, in the other, a blood-soaked knife. 

“Tim lost it again,” Marius says simply before making his way over to the pair. He hands Lyfrassir his drink and looks down at the battery. 

It’s only now that Lyfrassir can see the rainbow streak shooting a jagged line across Marius’ dark hair. It’s a stark contrast; but a nice one. 

“Did you show him?” Marius asks with a smirk.

“Yeah,” Raphaella responds, voice shaking slightly with excitement. “He could be our little battery for when Aurora loses power.”

Marius chuckles, and that same sick feeling from before returns to the surface. Lyfrassir glares at them, disgusted. 

“You’re sick,” Lyfrassir says harshly. 

Marius straightens his posture in surprise, seeming to remember something. “Ah! Right! Never mind then. We can just use Brian.”

“He’s barely electric,” Raphaella says as she picks up the battery as if it weighs nothing. “He works better as a motor.”

“Doesn’t he have a motor?” Marius asks, flicking blood off his knife and hand. The droplets float freely in the air, and Lyfrassir gags at the sight. 

“Yes. Why do you think he’s so… rumbly?”

Lyfrassir side-eyes the pair as he takes a drink from his glass. 

Marius and Raphaella talk quietly to each other for some time, hardly giving Lyfrassir a chance to cut in. 

Eventually, he just blurts out, “Who the hell is Brian?”

The pair turn to face him, surprised. It’s like they completely forgot he was there at all.

“He’s our pilot,” Marius responds quickly. “Did you not– oh, you didn’t.” He laughs. 

“You’ll probably see him soon,” Raphaella says with a smile. “Speaking of, shouldn’t we get Tim down here?”

Marius waves his hand dismissively. “Operation table’s taken. He can go regenerate in the living room.”

“He’ll get blood everywhere, though,” Raphaella responds sadly. 

“Oh, trust me, he already has.”

“Could you two shut up?” Lyfrassir barks as he sits up. 

“Shant,” Marius says simply. 

Raphaella giggles. “You’re free to join the conversation, inspector.”

“It’s Lyfrassir,” he corrects. 

“Oh, we’re on a first name basis already?” Marius asks, surprised. “I thought he’d want to only do formalities for the first hundred years.”

Raphaella laughs. 

“At this point, I don’t think it even matters,” Lyfrassir says, defeated. 

“Oh, don’t be like that, Lyfrassir,” Raphaella says gently. She smiles to herself. “That’s a lovely name… anyway! Don’t be like that, there’s plenty to do on the Aurora! We have lots of videos and files you can rummage through! Ivy would love the help, I think.”

Lyfrassir wants to tell her that’s not what he meant, but he stays quiet. 

“I’m going back to sleep. Be quiet,” he finally says, letting go of his glass and letting it float stagnant in the air. He lays back down, sighing gently. 

“Oh,” Marius says quietly. He’s silent for some time before knocking gently on the wall. “Aurora, can you turn off the lights, please?” 

After a moment, the lights flicker off, shrouding them in darkness. It’s not a darkness Lyfrassir has ever seen. It’s oddly comforting. He doesn’t know when he falls asleep, but when he finds himself back in his Midgard office, fear shoots through him, and he suffers through the same nightmare once again.

[huffle-dork]

Etwas Peilen (Swapboys AU)

Continuation of Welcome to the Show exploring Alt and Henny’s relationship!

Masterpost | More Swapboys

Before the new friends parted ways, the good doctor Jackson rounded them all up to get their scratches and wounds tended to. Bro and Jackie were already helped, with Bro giving a detailed report to the police and Jackie icing his aching nose.

Dr. J had Alt up on the bar stools with him, lightly dabbing antiseptic on the cuts on his cheek. Alt hissed and was trying not to glitch away as Jameson held him still.

Henrik watched anxiously, wringing his fingers back and forth. He… can’t believe Magnificent just… let them go. Guess they proved themselves? Maybe… but- Henrik was scared the puppetmaster was only biding his time. And until now… he had no one who he could confide in.

Until… Alt.

As the good doctor started to gather his supplies and finished up with Alt, popping a clean white bandage on his cheek- Henrik hesitated before slowly approaching. The normally charismatic actor felt nerves in his throat but he tapped the glitch on the shoulder.

Alt looked back and raised an eyebrow at him, “Schneep? Uh… wassup?”

Henrik tapped his legs as he tried to find his voice, “T-Today was… long day. But- we… we have found ourselves in a uh… similar position, yes? And so I… I was wanting to invite you to make the drinkings with me?”

Alt’s eyebrows furrow in slight concern, “Are you suggesting alcohol to wash our troubles away? Cuz I don’t think the doc would approve of that-“ He glanced back towards Jameson as he went to join the others.

The gentleman laughs and shakes his head, “No no! Not in that way… I- just think it would be nice to… get to know each other better? Since well… you know.” Henrik messes with the back of his head anxiously, trying to give an award winning smile to Alt.

The younger man stared at Henrik with an unreadable expression for a couple beats. Then, he sighs and stuffs his hands in his pockets, going to pull his mask up out of habit but stopping himself to look back at the actor.

“…I should warn you I’m not an open person so… I dunno how much getting to know each other they’ll be… but, sure. Tomorrow night… meet me at Insomnia.”

Henrik tilts his head slightly, “Not tonight?”

Alt laughs, though, it looks kinda pained. “Nah I… I got a gig tonight.” He laughs some more and pushes his bangs back then tugs on them, “god… I have a gig… I… I should get ready for that…”

Henrik frowns in sympathy and hesitates before putting a hand on Alt’s shoulder. “Please… do not push yourself too hard my friend… and you… you are injured…”

Alt blinks in surprise at the gesture and then glitches back to his feet, looking at the actor warily. Henrik blinks and holds up a hand and Alt attempts to give a forced smile. “I-I would cancel but… I need money for drinks now.”

Henrik steps back and wildly waves his hands, half signing out of habit. “No no! You will not pay! It will be on me!”

The glitch seems surprised by this too. But, now he smiles more genuinely. “Well… all the more motivation then, huh?”

He lightly hits Henrik on the shoulder as he starts to walk away, turning so the gentleman can still read his lips. “…see you tomorrow then, Schneep. You know how to reach me.”

He then pauses and fully turns back towards Henrik, something dawning on his face. “Wait… you Do know how to text right? U-Use a phone?”

Henrik laughs and nods, “Ja I know the telefon! I’m not as fresh from the past as you think, my friend. I have learned very much!”

“Oh… okay- good then…” Alt nods then sends a two finger salute Henrik’s way, glitching away into that night. “See ya.”

Turns out Henrik did know how to text but… not… well-

Around 7 pm the next day Alt’s phone buzzed with:

Schneep

🍺🙏☑️❓❓❓

Alt

…Yeah man- how’s 9 sound?

Schneep

😁🥰❗️❗️❗️

Alt

U kno u don’t have to use only emojis to text right?

Schneep

👍

Welp- guess that answered that. (Asking Jackie about it- apparently after Dr. J helped Henrik get his phone, the teal gentleman accidently got stuck in the emoji menu for a couple days and now is like- addicted to them. Alt wasnt sure if that was better or worse than old man texting-)

A little after 9, Alt glitched in front of the small pub downtown called Insomnia. He liked it here- good place for a drink after some of his shows.

He walks in, nodding towards the bartender that recognized his mask. Then, it was surprisingly easy to find Schneep- cuz he barreled right towards Alt with his arms open.

“Hallo, Alt!! My friend!!” He shouted.

Alt quickly stumbled back, his shoulders buzzing as he tried to keep out of Henrik’s grip. He hurried to take off his mask and hold up his hands. “Uh- hi Schneep- sorry just- not good with… contact-”

Henrik tilted his head in confusion but then got the memo and nodded, a bright smile back on his face. “Oh yes! Not to worry- I will save huggings for later!”

“Y…yeah- sure-” Alt muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck. Damn- this guy was too sweet. It was kinda intimidating…

A furry head peaked out from Henrik’s leg and Alt recognized Schneep’s dog, Sahne. He felt himself bristle a bit like an offended cat. But, she just blinked at him, her tail slightly wagging. She had her vest on- guess she was working. So, Alt tried his best to ignore her.

Henrik led them towards a quieter part of the bar where he had already set himself up with a small book. Though, once Alt got closer he recognized it as something more than just a paperback novel- it was a small moleskin sketchbook. Henrik plopped into the seat and Alt hesitated before sitting down and gesturing towards the book.

“You… draw?”

The gentleman’s eyes sparkled as he eagerly nodded. “Oh yes! I quite like making art in my spare time! Normally, I like to paint… but when I wait for friends I like to draw portraits!”

He shows Alt his sketches- quick gestures of other patrons- mostly anyone with a very striking appearance. Henrik smiles as he looks at them. “I think… learning people is helping me to understand more and more about how people work now. Sometimes- it helps it feel not too different.” He pats Sahne’s head as she sits down next to him. She licks his fingers then settles down to rest under his barstool.

Alt listens and nods to his words. He then flushes and fumbles for his backpack. They were trying to get to know each other and… well- this was something most people don’t know about him. But, artists liked showing off to other artists. It couldn’t hurt… He pulls out a thin tablet and then turns on the screen, flipping to show it to Henrik. On the screen are designs he’s done for his illusions and shows- and concepts of graffiti tags, most featuring a green eyeball with red x’s and a stitched smiley face over its iris. Alt’s face turns very red as he stammers out, “I uh… I draw too. And, um… i also like- painting but… not in the way you do.”

The German actor looks beyond pleased, sparkles practically coming off his body as he grabs Alt’s hands and holds them close. Alt yelps and pulls himself away and Henrik apologizes quickly, “Oh yes sorry! But Alt! You are good! Such fun colors!! I wondered if it was bright paint on your clothes! Someday you must show me more of your work!”

The glitch turns even more red and hides a bit in his hoodie, “Um… yeah- if I can… find one that’s uh- in a good spot… I can show you.”

Alt had been trying to find more free spaces lately but- doesn’t mean he doesn’t still tag where he’s not supposed to. Not that anyone could catch him- he had quite the streak for heaven spots around the area. Couldn’t take Henrik to see those though- well, at least up close.

Alt flagged down the bartender and ordered some Irish whiskey, watching as Henrik got what looked like his 3rd pint of beer. He smirked and sipped at the drink, taking a second to appreciate it before he sighs and looks back at Henrik.

“Alright, you had something on your mind, right? Or were you serious about getting to ‘know me’?” Alt added the air quotes to make sure his sarcasm wasn’t lost on Schneep.

Henrik blinked and then played with the pages of his sketchbook. “Oh ah… I do- want to get to know you… I think you seem- well… very rough around edges- but… sympathetic too. I think I would very much like to be friends.” He tried to smile at Alt. But, then he sighs and takes a sip of his drink before continuing.

“But- if you want to skip pleasantries then- we can talk about the elephant in the air-”

“...do you mean ‘elephant in the room’?”

Henrik flushed and then laughed, “Oh is that how that is called? But… ja- let’s talk about this elephant.”

He then gets quiet and looks down, tracing the lines in the table.

“...Magnificent-” He eventually whispers, suppressing a shudder. “I… I could not help but notice… that he treated you and me… very different from each other.”

He looks to meet Alt’s eyes now, “I do not know how it works for you… maybe it is different… but when I am ah- puppet… I see it all. I remember. Not right away but… it comes to me in my dreams…” He grips one of his hands into a fist and closes his eyes as he takes a shaky breath. Sahne seems to sense his distress and reaches up to rest her head on his leg. He continues, “I cannot control what my body does. I cannot form my own thoughts- but I still… see it. I am forced to take in what awful things I am made to do…”

Henrik hesitates again before meeting Alt’s gaze. “in the warehouse, when he gave you his power… did you mean it? That you wanted all that or… was that his ah- thinking forced in you?”

Alt frowns. Wow- that was… immediately very deep. He takes a long sip of his whiskey before he responds, but his voice is quiet. He almost forgets he needs to turn enough for Henrik to read his lips.

“I… I was definitely influenced but… I guess. I do.. kinda want that?” He grips at his head slightly, “It’s… complicated… and goes wayyy into my backstory that I’m not sure you’re at a level to unlock yet.”

Henrik looks confused.

Alt shakes his head.

“Sorry video game joke uh- im not sure we’re… close enough yet… to explain why… but-”

“Then, can I share some of me?”

The glitch blinks at the actor. “Huh?”

“If you know me better then- we would be closer. And you can explain better, ja?” Henrik smiles.

Alt looks confused by this but eventually laughs and knocks back some more of his drink. “Alright, shoot.”

Henrik hums and looks up, “Oh… where to begin…?”

“Oh!” He grins at Alt, “I know is hard to believe because of my accent but- did you know I am not full German? Actually, I am a full British citizen!”

Alt’s eyebrows shot up, “...that is hard to believe.”

The gentleman laughs lightly, “I know my accent is everywhere- but I spent many of my early years only speaking German- and sometimes French!” He gets a dreamy look on his face, “My father was a British doctor- he learned in France where he met my mother. She was full German but was trying to study with some artists there. They met… fell in love and then moved to London and had their 5 kids.”

“5 kids?!”

“Yes! I was the baby!” Henrik added with glee. “I had 4 older siblings- two brothers, Peter and Fritz… and my sisters, Gabi and Ilse.” He smiles sadly for a second and pauses to take another drink before sharing more.

“Father used to say when he grew up he hated German because he was expected to learn it. But then, he met my mother and it was suddenly the most beautiful language to him. We loved speaking it- even while in England. I wouldn’t even see Germany until I was grown.”

He then frowns and leans more on the table, absent-mindedly petting Sahne’s fur back. “... that changed with the war. The great war… Then, our accents and our language was suddenly not to be spoken. People would get angry with us for sounding too German. We made sure to hide our German sounding names… Father was on the lines, as were my brothers.

So… they were… somewhat safe when the Zeppelins came. Safer than we were…”

Alt’s heart and stomach dropped.

“No one was prepared… we were out shopping and… and-” Henrk clenched his glass tight with both hands, his fingers shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a stuttering breath. Sahne whined and leaned more on his leg. Alt didn’t know what to say-

“... Mama, Ilse and Gabi didn’t have to suffer. But, I never saw them again-”

“...Schneep-” Alt tried to interrupt. But, Henrik was lost in his re-telling.

“That’s how my deafness started, I was… 11, I think? Peter found me, he was working in a hospital nearby. He took care of me. Some kind soldiers taught me sign while I recovered- then... Then father was-”

“Schneep!” Alt exclaimed and gripped onto Henrik’s shoulder. The gentleman looked up with slightly misty eyes. Alt was quick to pull away but he held up his hands. “Dude… you… you more than earned your level- I… I can answer your question now… if you want.”

Henrik blinks and then laughs, looking a bit embarrassed as he rubbed at his eyes. “O-oh ja… I forgot that was the point… we are not here to hear such sad story!” He tried to smile it off but Alt could tell it was forced.

Alt swallowed and then knocked down the rest of his drink, the alcohol burning his throat. He quickly ordered another one, shaking himself out. “Need a bit more liquid courage for this…” He muttered.

Once the new drink is gotten, Alt holds it in his hands for a second before sighing and turning enough for Henrik to understand but not enough to look in his eyes. Pixels vibrate around his head and shoulders in a way that’s hard to see in the dim light of the pub.

“… I dunno if you met anyone like me in your time. And not just.. cuz of the glitches and magic but… I was… born… wrong.” He clenched his teeth slightly and tried to ignore the feeling that was screaming at him- telling him that every eye was on him. “…And I grew up… constantly thinking about it… how I wanted to be something… better. Stronger… because I didn’t feel like I was… as I am.”

He traces the rim of his cup in thought. Henrik watched him very patiently. Alt felt like that was more than he deserved.

“I know Mag was spitting fucking bullshit- but… some part of me… wants to believe him. And I’m not sure if that’s his mind tricks or… the part of me that wants to be… something more. I.. I want to be stronger… but I don’t know how to get there… and for just a little bit… I did believe him. That he could… make me stronger. And… things would get… easier.”

He leans his head on the table, starting to feel the alcohol in his cheeks. Schneep leans closer to make sure he can still understand. Alt angles his head a bit better as he mumbles in defeat.

“I’m sorry… I know you want to find some good in me but… my life has royally sucked. And… sometimes what Mag purrs out sounds… argh!”

He suddenly grips at his head, a headache blooming alongside his conflicted mind. Purple seems to spark weakly in his eyes.

“I dunno! I’m confused! I… I can still hear his stupid smug voice in my head…! I don’t know what I want…! I just- I just… I’m so fucking tired…! Of all of this-! I’m tired of being hungry and- and- powerless and a-scared… I don’t want to feel so lost anymore…!”

He starts to cry but hides his face and he hiccups “I want all of this to stop…!”

Henrik almost misses the last part but- his eyebrows crinkle with sympathy. Alt starts to come back to himself and then shoots up, looking at Henrik with wide eyes and red ears.

“Fuck I- I didn’t… I didn’t want to-“

The gentleman hesitates, going to reach out like he wants to touch Alt’s hand, but then stops to just loop his pinky around Alt’s own. Alt almost pulls away but- that’s… that’s not so bad.

“I understand,” He says softly, “He whispers siren songs- into your head. But… he will only tell you things you want to hear. He does not care… he only wants control. His promises are… empty.”

He sighs and looks down, shrugging. “That is how he got me. He used my confusion and promised to help me… he did not. He is nothing but ein lügnerischer Bastard.”

Alt looks away but- he’s afraid to tell Henrik how little he cared. Before, he met the others. Before he even thought he could become friends with them… with anyone. He didn’t care who he hurt- if he got hurt. Because- he’d finally be somewhere better…. Someone better. ….right?

Henrik lets go of Alt’s pinky and then waves a hand, giving a nervous smile.

“This is getting too of the serious! We should… talk about other things!”

Alt looked down at the table and sighs. “ I… I think… I need to go home…”

“No!” Henrik suddenly yells, startling the glitch and Sahne, who bumped her head on his leg. The actor then pleads to Alt. “We do not need to talk anymore if that is what you want! We can just… do the hangings out! We could… draw together and drink! No more serious talk!”

This gives Alt pause. Actually… that sounded like it could be fun. The pickpocket slowly smiled, bringing back his tablet. “You know what Schneep… I’ll bite. But it’s on your wallet-“

Schneep beamed brightly.

The two spent a while just drawing together. Alt tried to copy Henrik’s idea of drawing others around him. But- he wasn’t nearly as good as Schneep. So, he went back to what he knew- he even tried making bubble tags of the others' names. Just for fun. It was nice to just- doodle for a change.

He glanced at Schneep who had paused in his drawing to stare at someone across the way. He had a somewhat lovestruck look on his face.

Alt tried to follow his gaze- and saw what looked like a man- but honestly their gender was pretty ambiguous. They had tan copper skin and wavy brown hair. They were dressed in shiny silks with celestial patterns on them- even Alt had to admit they were very pretty. Maybe they were a model.

Henrik seemed to think so too- cuz as Alt looked at Henrik’s sketchbook- the whole page was filled with studies of that one person.

The glitch smirked and then bumped Henrik enough to get his attention. “Like something you see?”

“Hm? Oh! Ja… very much-“ Henrik sighed as he looked back. “He is… so pretty- I cannot stop looking…”

Alt rolled his eyes and waved a hand in front of his face. “Careful- you don’t want to creep them out-“

Then Alt frowns, realizing something.

“Wait… Schneep- are you… gay?” Alt makes a face and thinks, “wasn’t that like- a sin back then or something?”

Henrik’s face turns bright red with embarrassment and alarm. He holds his cheeks and ducks down, whispering, “ah yes right I- I cannot think such things!”

Alt wasn’t expecting such a response- so he hurries to correct him “no no it’s okay! it’s… not like it was anymore. It’s okay now- no laws against it!” Alt hurried to look around then gestures vaguely at a cluster of gay couples on another side of the pub. “Like see there’s a couple guys over there too- you’re fine…”

The actor seems to calm slightly at this and nods. Alt hesitates before adding, “I just- didn’t expect someone from your time to even be into that…”

Henrik laughs “Well it was- against the law. Very strictly for a longtime… but it does not mean the thoughts are not there.” He looks back to study the pretty person again as he swirls his drink in his glass. “Though… I think I like just- pretty people in general. I do not care what sex they are, you know?”

“Well- if it helps, I think they’re non-binary- from what I can tell at least.” Alt shrugs.

“Ah yes… that is- neither girl nor boy… yes?”

“It gets… complicated but- yeah basically.” Alt answers. He makes a face and takes a long sip of his drink. “Gender is weird.”

He then starts to think about this too. Maybe he was having too much to drink by now but- he finds himself muttering. “I get it… the pretty people thing. I- think I’m the same…? Though… I dunno- I don’t… crush on anyone. But I think if I knew someone for long enough… maybe-” Alt sighs dramatically and falls back against the table, squishing his cheek against it. “feelings are weird too…”

Henrik smiles and shakes his head with a laugh, “They are indeed…”

“Fucking hate them-“ the glitch muttered. Henrik shakes his head with a quiet giggle.

“You know- I had many chances to visit Berlin once I started acting. And it was such a sight…! It was… more okay there- to be queer. Even here in Brighton, it was becoming better and better! It made me feel… so happy. Like I could be understood- eventually.”

He looks to Alt and smiles, “Even when I was younger… I think I heard of people like you, Alt.” Alt’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

He grips his glass and looks down at the table. “However…It all started to change… right before I- I was brought…“ He pressed his lips together and suppressed a shudder.

Alt’s face creases in sympathy. He knocks back the rest of his drink then adds quietly. “…you dodged something really awful, Schneep…”

“I know…” Henrik’s voice cracks. “…I am… grateful in some ways… that I did not have to suffer another war… but…” He bites his lip to keep from crying.

Alt can tell there’s a lot left unsaid in the silence but he can read it well enough. No need to draw out this pain for the poor guy. Alt’s been pretty sensitive to touch tonight but- he leans his shoulder against Hen and flags down the bartender for another round. “…it’s okay, Schneep. I get it… let’s talk about something else, alright?”

Henrik quietly nods.

There’s quiet for a second before Alt asks, “uh… I don’t know- a lot of sign yet… wanna try to teach me? Something simple though.”

Schneep’s face instantly lights up with excitement and nods. “Oh yes!! I have the perfect thing!!”

Turns out- in sign, you can either finger spell a name or whoever’s signing can make up a sign that’s faster for someone they know. So, Henrik made quick work of teaching Alt the signs he used for their little group.

Bro Fantastic was the letter B then the sign for hero. Jackie was J then the sign for tired. Dr. J was easy- it was two J’s then the sign for doctor, naturally. And Sahne was cream, dog. Because Sahne in German meant Cream. Not the most creative name but- Alt had to admit it suited her.

Eventually Henrik starts to sign something that starts with A- then he makes a jagged motion in the air. Alt tilts his head.

“What’s that one?”

“It’s you! A- then lightning! Alt!” Henrik adds cheerily.

Alt feels his face heat up slightly. He then grins and laughs, “heh- awesome. Got any others?”

Henrik thinks- and Alt can see his cheeks getting flushed and warm like he feels on his own. So everything was a bit harder to slug through- but it was definitely more fun.

Finally, Henrik laughs and then starts a sign that looks like he’s drawing whiskers on his face. Then he taps his hand on his forehead, holding it straight up and touching the thumb to his skin.

Alt narrows his eyes. “Mmmm what’s that mean-“

Henrik grins real wide as he shows again, this time explaining. “Cat, bitch!”

The glitch’s eyes widen and then he barks out a laughs nearly spilling his drink. “Magnificent!”

“Yes! You got it!”

They both erupt into drunken laughter and giggles, falling over on each other.

The night wears on for a bit longer before the two admit they’ve had enough to drink. Alt feels it a bit more than his German counterpart and ends up stumbling into him as he attempts to stand up, nearly running into Sahne.

“Oops… s’rry pubby-“ Alt mumbles. Sahne wags her tail vigorously in response.

Henrik laughs then asks, “Can I help you outside, or?”

Alt grumbles and waves his hand. “Yeh ye- do wh’ev’r ya want…” He then pushes his face somewhat against Henrik’s side and the taller man quietly giggles at the sight.

Henrik leads the two outside and then tries to flag down a cab. He helps hold Alt up with one arm, while Sahne guards his other side, alerting him to any sounds he needs to watch out for.

He feels Alt shift and looks down to see the tired glitch try to find his eyes.

“…hen?” Alt slurs out.

It takes a second for Henrik to process that but his eyebrows shoot up. Alt hasn’t attempted to use his first name yet- it still wasn’t it fully, but it was close enough to make Henrik’s chest feel light.

The glitch looks away at first but then looks back to mumble out, “…it was nice. To not drink… alone.”

Henrik smiles and nods, “…I thought so too! It was very funny! …Perhaps we can… do it again sometime?”

Alt can’t help but feel himself smile. “…yeah… I think I’d like that…”