#abandonment warning

[sour-heart-treats]

mm..I want..I really want.... firekraka and DJ agnst

"Cracker, really, you don't have to worry about me. You know I always come back, right?" DJ never really broke from their casual speech, though they considered it to be a blessing. After all, it made things a lot less worrying for Firecracker, who was anxious as hell of being left alone. The music maker has a small pat upon the smaller's head, grinning for reassurance. "You just play your D-Ess, and I'll be back in an hour, got it?" Though there weren't any words from the littler one, the nod and tiny smile given was enough for them. They didn't want to be left in their adoptive sibling's room alone, but... Business called, as dumb as serious stuff was to the both of them.

The music meister would depart, though not without a final look back and a thumbs up to Firecracker, and then the younger of the two was left to their own devices. Two devices, in fact: A phone and the aforementioned D-Ess. Though being alone wracked Cracker with anxiety, they hoped that attempting to finish their shiny hunting of a shiny Diagal would be enough to pass the time with. They've been working on this manual hunting method, not really knowing any actual strategies, and there have been at least three days of work put into getting this shiny version. They... They may or may not be jealous that DJ had somehow gotten a shiny Pahlkia first try, so... Haha, they hope they can get one to seem just as cool.

Though, with minutes passing by, the thought of being left alone just wouldn't be quelled. No matter how many times Firecracker reset their game, no matter how many times they heard the cry of the Diagal, it just stuck in their mind. Soon enough their D-Ess was on low battery, and without a charger, all that was left was their phone. Super PEWPEW was at home, something Firecracker still internally regrets, but it deserved some time to charge, as much of a game addicts Firecracker knew that they were. Nevertheless, something about the thought of being abandoned... Again... Just wouldn't leave their head.

They found themself gently shaking, and combatting that shaking with a more voluntary version of it. "C'mon, Cracky! They said it'd only be an hour! It hasn't been that long!" They told themself off, deciding to take out their phone and check the time. Certainly, they couldn't have been gone for an hour already! The time... 7:43 PM. Helpful to know, but worryingly, the sparky cookie didn't remember what time their older sibling had left. Well... If they weren't back by 8:43 at least, then they'd know it was over an hour! They... They really hoped this wouldn't come to be the case. They don't want to go through that type of loneliness again.

And yet, 8:43 came and went...

9:43...

10:43...

At this point, Firecracker was getting desperate. The thought of being stuck here, alone, it... They couldn't bear it. They attempted texting DJ an hour ago, yet there was still no response. Their message wasn't even left on 'read', just 'sent'. Firecracker was tired, scared, and even a little hungry. Their phone was low battery, just like their D-Ess, and they may as well be too when it came to energy. They wanted to nap, but the thought of being left to be picked up by the next random stranger that decides to take them in flooded their mind. Was this to be their life now? Just going from person to person without any real guardian?

Riddled with fear and shaking more violently than they would have expected, Firecracker to looked to the exit of the studio that DJ had departed from hours and hours ago. They were gone, weren't they? DJ just wanted to leave them here to lose them here just like their dad, right? Just like- Just like when they were five... Tears pricked at the edges of Firecracker's vision as they felt their chest heave. They- They didn't want to be left alone! They loved DJ, they loved being around their sibling, and they... They needed someone to be with, anyone! Being alone- again- that just... Oh, they couldn't see, vision blurred by fear and tears.

Their gaze fell to the floor, their arms latching onto themself as they attempted to keep any semblance of calm. They couldn't do any grounding exercises that DJ had taught them in this state. All they could do was let their mind run wild and torture them with thoughts of being alone once again. DJ... Oh, please, DJ...

"Ple... Please c-come back... please..."

[stillheresanctuary]

I found a little Softy Bones outside my apartment building, near the dumpster and covered in snow. He’s all cold, and I can’t tell if he’s alive— I’ve been trying to warm him up by the car heater, but no signs of him waking up yet, he hasn’t even shivered and his fingers and toes look really blue somehow... His little pajamas have the name “Snoozy” on the tag, but no address or anything. I hate to think he was dumped out there, but maybe he wandered away and got lost? He needs help either way.

If he’s not dusted, he’s alive, however narrowly.

Your car heater is a good start, but the warm air isn’t going to stick around his body, it’s going to flow away. The best bet for warming him is going to be uncomfortable for you, but it will work much more securely and swiftly. Go ahead and tuck the little fellow into your shirt, or if that’s too uncomfortable, put on a sweater so you can have a layer between you and him with him still being contained in an insulating layer close to an ambient heat source AKA you. Once you have him tucked into a good warm spot, between the pectorals/breasts or against the stomach are really good spots, secure him against your body with either a scarf or similar cloth so it will be safe for you to move around without risking dropping him or exposing him to cold.

If he’s not too stiff and he hasn’t already done so himself, see if you can very gently tuck his hands under his arms and fold his legs to tuck his feet behind his knees. It’s an awkward pose, but it puts the very small extremities of his fingers and toes into high heat focused areas, as the joints of all living things are a narrow high activity high way of energy and heat, magical or otherwise.

After all that, get yourself here as swiftly and safely as you can.

I’ll talk to Halim and we’ll get some gear set up to help with the magic stagnation caused by hypothermia, and with any luck, we might have him conscious enough to eat something by the end of the night.

[the-ancients-son]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BTS5aE4UVMjwEZC9ONPges1BWyLocvzcqK4PsRefcd4 I did writing about James dealing with a nightmare he had. Good thing he isn’t alone.

[smoking-mercenary-archive]

Meanwhile...

“So.... what do you think of them now? Now that you’ve gotten to see them in action after all those years of waiting?”

“Broken, Unusable, and unstable. Emotions are why we fail in times of high stress. To see them having these sort of thought processes is sickening. No work done, nothing, only foolish personal goals and visions.”

“And how would you go about fixing these problems?”

“I’m not. They’re a waste now. A waste in the world full of liars and traitors. Let them rot for all I care. Unless you can prove to me that they can be used again, then they have no place here. We have no use for opinions from our own projects, let alone one that was never meant to be alive”

“...I see”

[theprettiestgirlattheparty]