#v; {tbd}

[therapardalis]

[Starter for @flyfreemyscarab.]

Just supervise the set-up, they said. It'll be fun, they said. Well alright, those hadn't been the actual words, but the result was the same; Thera walking the paneled floor of the Special Exhibits Gallery, low heels clicking. A small group of workers stood by the entrance, waiting for her final 'OK' that meant the job was finished and they could go home.

She let her gaze wander over the display cases, the signage, the lights, the security cameras set high in the corners. Weeks of planning, the combined efforts of tradesmen setting things up, curators arranging the items for exhibit, and now the after-hours janitors sweeping up the last of the sawdust and the marks of work boots left on the tiles.

"Thank you, everyone," She said at last, turning to offer them a smile, "I think we're good." Murmurs came back to her as they departed, leaving her among the cases and the quiet, alone except for the casual swish of the cleaner's broom.

[salemspirit]

@museflocked || starter call.

"We're screwed. You get that, right? This isn't something we get to just walk away from."

Ronan slumps against the dirty brick wall of the alley, hands shaking as he reaches for his lighter. Regular folks think the most dangerous enemies a street thief can make are the cops, but it's other criminals who you really need to watch out for-- people who have nothing to lose and everything to gain by thinning the herd of their competition.

Chad and Ronan are small-time, hardly worth the notice of actual organized criminal groups in the area. Usually. How were they supposed to know that the guy they robbed last Tuesday had some connection to some girl who knew the brother of a gunman in one of the local gangs? It's a ridiculous situation, a trail of loose associations that ought to have nothing to do with the duo.

And yet.

"I saw one of their men down the street. I'd say we have around three minutes before he wanders this way and catches up to us. If we run, he runs after us. If we shoot him, they send three more in his place. So what exactly do you propose we do to keep ourselves from winding up with a knife in our gut and a bullet in our chest?"

[king-of-darkness]

Sigyn drove her sword into the dirt as she took off her helm, blonde curls tumbling down her back, before taking a handkerchief brought to her by a servant to wipe the sweat from her brow. A smirk pulled out her lips as she observed her new husband watching from the sidelines, "You enjoy the show, love?" she called out. Sigyn had put some of her best work into today's training. The new valkyries learned fast, and she was happy that her mother and Hnoss had decided to include her in today's lesson. It wasn't something she'd have a part in often when she took the throne in a few months, but it was exciting nonetheless.

Loki was stood with his arms across his chest and leaning against a wall with one shoulder touching it. A dumb smirk smeared across his face. "It was quite a show." He pushed himself off the wall and cockily stepped toward her. Loki snaked his hands around her waist, pulled her against him, and clasped his hands, entrapping her. The god smiled down at her. "Should I be worried about mariticide?"

[astrivagrant-a]

"your bandages— you’re bleeding through them." || @vizslajetii

Zu'elah rushed into the building with Vizsla hot on her heels, the fiery hot pain in her back ached and throbbed with every footfall, but she knew she had to push it aside so she could just get some distance.

There was an awful lot of running in this job.

Satisfied that they were far away enough and obscured, she whirled around and faced her companion with heaving shoulders. Their brief interlude before their most recent trip, which allowed for rudimentary medical care, was insufficient given the egregious nature of their activities. Crimson dots speckled the back of her shirt as dozens of small cuts littered her back.

The whistling of the missile had gone unnoticed - undetected by her implants - and she was unable to duck out of the way, bits of shrapnel and duracrete tearing into her back as the ground near her exploded with a detonator. Not her best moment, but at least grateful Viszla was at her side.

A shaky hand crossed over her body, checking her shoulder blade for blood. What came back was not promising. Her body buzzed with adrenaline, legs near-trembling with determination to keep moving.

"Kriff," the swear fell from her lips as she glanced from her hand to Tarre. "Do I need to redress?" Zu'elah's fingers scrambled into her pouch for a stimulant; painkillers would only make her sloppy and weak

[littlebennettbitch]

@little-miss-buffy | from here.

[ text ] nothing so fancy. [ text ] i was running low on tea. you only find this brand a town over.

[afoolenvelopedindarkness]

" You had a new assignment for me, Sir?"

From: Here voidaldrifters

He nodded, auburn curls bouncing around his face. Alistair kept his hair up in a ponytail most days. Though that didn't stop a few stray curls from falling around his face and the back of his neck. Nothing was bothering the other at the moment, but that could change. Would change; it was all a matter of when.

" As far as I know, yes." He responded. The master was a tall man, a giant, really, over eight feet tall.

Ansem has seen all sorts of people and things; it was hard to phase him at this point. "Good..." Picking up a piece of paper from the pile, he looks it over some more. "Then I believe you can be done for the day. If you like, you can ask others if they need any help, but do not push yourself."

He was one to talk. "After all, cannot protect others if you cannot protect yourself." Setting the paper down, Ansem looks up. "Anything you want to discuss?"

[wickedspriite]

you can't be serious.

( @bluebellestorybrooke , from Belle 🩵)

"Oh, but I am," he crooned, his grin twisting wickedly. With a flick of his wrist, he spun the medallion he’d just stolen from behind the cabinet and slipped it into his pocket. "You know, Belle, it’s almost fun watching you pretend not to see the mischief. How many times have you looked the other way for my boy, hmm? Or do you enjoy playing the fool in his little games?"

[hackxr]

She hauled herself up the fence, breath labored as it rattled under her weight. A dark, wet trail followed up the chain link grooves.

Don’t you fucking quit now.

The job had gone horribly wrong. It was supposed to have been easy. A basic break in, plant some malware, then leave and collect the pay. Standard corporate espionage. But once she had navigated past locked doors and security cameras to the executive office floor, things changed. Rapidly. Guards, if you could call them that, rushed out of several offices, guns raised, leaving Sen7inel to scramble up the stairwell to the roof. With no easy way back down the twelve story building, she sprinted as fast as she could and bounded over the gap to the next rooftop.

She barely made it.

Then the gunshot. A searing pain in her side — sharp, burning. Still, she moved, rushing down a fire escape and into the streets.

—And that’s how the Coyote found herself limping through city blocks, trying to put as much distance between her and the mark she’d failed to hit.

Sen7inel flung one leg over the fence with a grunt, then the other. Her first step down was steady. But the second, the same side as her wound, faltered. Slipping, she fell in a pile to the ground with a heavy thud.

“Shit.” The curse tore through the alley, too loud in the silence, as she yanked her mask off her face. She tried to push herself up, but nearly collapsed again, the hot, sharp pain flooding her nerves. Her hand reached down to her side and met a warm, sticky fluid.

Then — footsteps. Movement at the other end the alley. Someone coming this way.

Fuck! Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Just…

Sen7inel shuffled across the ground, tucking herself behind a dumpster, hoping desperately she got out of the line of sight in time. She pressed herself into the cold metal, heartbeat hammering in her ears.

Don’t move. Don’t breathe.