The Madman of Coldfront

Aldous Haswell Battle medic, RED team. Coldfront. "You better have a good reason for visiting my infirmary."

[zehypocriticaloath]

ALDO. GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS. >:D

No.

I am shoving wads of cotton in my ears.

[zecuddlyblumedic]

Now, now, you two. No fighting.

[blusollyjd]

BUT WHAT FUN IS THAT?

[zehypocriticaloath]

Be thankful my brother is on your side. 

[blusollyjd]

I AM. SO MUCH. EVERY DAY. :)

[zehypocriticaloath]

This is too sappy. Get out of my infirmary, you two.

[zehypocriticaloath]

ALDO. GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS. >:D

No.

I am shoving wads of cotton in my ears.

[zecuddlyblumedic]

Now, now, you two. No fighting.

[blusollyjd]

BUT WHAT FUN IS THAT?

[zehypocriticaloath]

Be thankful my brother is on your side. 

[zehypocriticaloath]

The medbay doors were all but kicked open as the towering German stormed inside. "We are in a state of fucking emergency. There is-!" He sputtered and ducked as Roderick chose that moment to fly inches past his nose, "there is no fucking coffee on this base! Your brother is over there right now, trying to push tea on all of us!"

Sharply he snapped to attention as the medbay doors flew open with the type of urgency that denoted the base was set to blow up. The pen was firmly placed back down on his desk with a sharp clack. His lips curled back into a barking snarl, but the bitter gripe faded before it could be formed. "There is--" Aldous abruptly pushed back his chair and stood. Roderick screeched and attempted another dive bomb towards Fritz (the raven, for some reason, tried to bully the taller man), but his owner seemed to ignore the corvid's antics. "There is no coffee on this base?"

Aldous was not a man to readily show fear. But this was not a typical situation. This was an apocalyptic emergency.

"No, no, no." He moved around his desk to meet Fritz halfway. "There has to be some! We couldn't have run out! Tea?" He made a disgusted grimace. "Over my dead body."

[nichtschaden]

At yet another dive bomb, the raven was snatched clean out of the air and held up to the medic's face by the wing joints. Even pissed and alarmed, he knew not to hold a bird by the chest and suffocate it.

"Roderick, now is not the time!"

The bird shrieked with absolute indignation before he let it flutter up into the rafters with the rest of the ravens.

"I am telling you, we are OUT. It was on the supply order for our base, and it wasn't on the train! The fucking WAREHOUSE must be out of it, and who fucking knows when they're going to get it back. I'm going to try to make it to town, because I can't live and work under these conditions. I need to see what they have that we can ration between the two of us, this is ridiculous."

[zehypocriticaloath]

With seething disgust, Roderick settled in on a beam and glowered down at Fritz, ego bruised and his little beady eye fixated on the tall man with an almost envious leer. With a snarled out “asshole” towards the bird, Aldous continued his dramatic closing of the distance. 

A hand shot out and grasped Fritz by his pastel blue smock and, with a quick tug he made the man lean down until their gazes could properly meet. Sometimes their obvious height difference pissed the older man off. “I am going with you,” he snapped out. “There is no way I am letting you go into town in those metal death traps the company calls ‘cars’. American built, American shit. We are buying a year’s supply of whole bean if we can manage it.”

[zehypocriticaloath]

ALDO. GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS. >:D

No.

I am shoving wads of cotton in my ears.

[zehypocriticaloath]

🥐🥐

There were two croissants on his desk. Given to him, by a Pyro. Surprisingly, they were not burned. Using his pinkie, he nudged one about its plate, as if to test to see its validity.

Curiously he quirked an eyebrow. "I should... thank you?"

[brimmstonedreams]

"Maybe if you have good manners but you are already playing with your food." Jingles a bit, when their hands go to their hips. "Thank me for setting you aflame, and we might get somewhere." Having too much fun, obviously. Red medics loved to be on fire, they wouldn't be trying to saw Brean if that wasn't the case.

[zehypocriticaloath]

His lip curling back into a distasteful sneer at the ‘aflame’ comment, he suspiciously eyed the croissants, as if considering them to have some strange ulterior motive on their own. “I do not play with my food. I don’t have time for such childish notions.”

[zehypocriticaloath]

The medbay doors were all but kicked open as the towering German stormed inside. "We are in a state of fucking emergency. There is-!" He sputtered and ducked as Roderick chose that moment to fly inches past his nose, "there is no fucking coffee on this base! Your brother is over there right now, trying to push tea on all of us!"

Sharply he snapped to attention as the medbay doors flew open with the type of urgency that denoted the base was set to blow up. The pen was firmly placed back down on his desk with a sharp clack. His lips curled back into a barking snarl, but the bitter gripe faded before it could be formed. "There is--" Aldous abruptly pushed back his chair and stood. Roderick screeched and attempted another dive bomb towards Fritz (the raven, for some reason, tried to bully the taller man), but his owner seemed to ignore the corvid's antics. "There is no coffee on this base?"

Aldous was not a man to readily show fear. But this was not a typical situation. This was an apocalyptic emergency.

"No, no, no." He moved around his desk to meet Fritz halfway. "There has to be some! We couldn't have run out! Tea?" He made a disgusted grimace. "Over my dead body."

[zehypocriticaloath]

🥐🥐

There were two croissants on his desk. Given to him, by a Pyro. Surprisingly, they were not burned. Using his pinkie, he nudged one about its plate, as if to test to see its validity.

Curiously he quirked an eyebrow. "I should... thank you?"

[thedovahcat]

Sketch commission for @cuddlyplaguedoctor and @nichtschaden of Aldous and Fritz and their car Baby! (who is not sentient in the slightest I think)

Staring at something happening... is it paranormal? Is it just normal? Either way it's getting judged heavily in German. Even Baby can't really believe it.

[zehypocriticaloath]

[Sorry guys, replies are taking a little while longer. After my hella busy week, I got sick. So I’ve been trying to recover from that. But I totally will reply!]

[kottkrig]

Spending all my art time working on this comic during October-November, and I can’t show you much yet but check out this cool bird

[serratedpens]

Jacqui Germain

[rp-ask-memes-deactivated2026012]

please reblog if you love oc’s / fully support your oc rp partners 

[zehypocriticaloath]

Morning Coffee Soliloquy

ft. @nichtschaden

Aldous busied himself with grinding the precious beans that would make the perfect batch of coffee. The blood in his veins screamed for the comforting sweet jolt that caffeine would bring him.

The adventurous shenanigans of last night tumbled about his tired brain like a blown over house of cards. Each card flashed a different face, a different place, and a different action taken. Flashes of clarity and thought. The understanding that there was a traumatized Scout snoozing away in an infirmary bed, and a good friend slumbering next to him in a nearby bed.

Things were always better in the morning. 

“Morning is here, there is nothing to fear, the shadows have all gone away.”

He whispered these words to himself. Words his mother once spoke to him in the wee hours of the night, when nightmares had consumed his sense of peace and he had been too afraid to sleep. Days that had been long and stressful, with skinned knees and quarrels with his twin. Afternoons filled with uncertainty towards the future. Flared tempers and the silly fears only a child could have. The mantra had settled his mind when nothing else could.

The coffee started, he went back to the stove and cleanly cut a pat of butter off from a stick. Rubbing it along a heated pan, he watched the wisps snake up from its surface. Breakfast would soon be done. He had already made breakfast for his beloved, Alexei. The Russian had come by in the early hours, whilst Fritz and the Scout, Bosco, still snored away. He had fed the gentle giant and made sure he had a thermos of tea (he shuddered at this) for him to sip at while he tended to the base’s greenhouse.

An option of bacon, eggs and pan-warmed toasted points. He still had some of the salad that he had offered Alexei. He could begin to smell the start of the coffee, and he clicked his tongue. It was time to get at least one of them up.

He quietly tread the distance to the curtained off beds. With a whispered rustle he pushed aside the curtain around Fritz’s bed, and he scowled down at the sleeping man. His ravens were laying atop him in a bundled up bunch, with heads tucked neatly under their wings.

“Bah. Lazy.” He rustled the curtain sharply, causing his unkindness to startle away. “Fritz. Breakfast.” 

[nichtschaden]

How did your debts get paid?

@zehypocriticaloath | continued

"It wasn't a competition." Fritz's thoughts gathered in English at last, and he reached under his aviators to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I was scared your chip might be carved out, and I had good reason to be. No one is coming for mine!"

Not that it mattered when Haswell had made up his mind, but his scowl was returned.

"If you get caught just to be even with me, for a race that shouldn't be a race, I really will take the kids and leave." An empty threat, and they both knew it, but the idea still turned his stomach. At the very least, it was going to be a bit before Aldous could break into his own base -- there was still a sick scout to care for. And he was promised morning coffee.

"Oh mein Gott," he muttered at the veteran's threat as he climbed to his feet, "read to your fucking birds, I'll go make myself a bed."

The sharp ache in his bad leg reminded him just how long he'd sat idle, and Fritz held his controlled exhale until he made it to the linen cupboard. He left the empty bed beside the scout vacant and dressed the one beside that as efficiently as Aldous had not so long ago. The medic did pause to check his vitals, and although he didn't love the story they told, Bosco would still live. He needed rest, fluids, calories and time, but he would bounce back.

He didn't care enough to look for something softer to sleep in, he just unbuttoned his shirt. The jacket and tie had already been left on a chair so he could borrow Aldous' to work on the machine. His boots were slipped off, and if the veteran was paying attention, he'd get to see Fritz roll up a pant leg to reveal the metal brace that was fixed over his left calf. It was unstrapped and laid beside his boots and his glasses were left on the nightstand before he tugged the blanket over his shoulder and rolled onto his side, away from the doctor.

Fritz thought he'd lay there awake for another hour or two at least, if his insomnia chose to show mercy, but he was wrong. The toll of the day pulled him down into sleep within half an hour. His dreams were nebulous, and they weren't enough to wake him.

[zehypocriticaloath]

How Did Your Debts Get Paid?

[previous] // ft. @nichtschaden

Keep reading

[nichtschaden]

The resistance Aldous felt wasn’t reluctance, it was like the unmooring of a ship. A heavy mass on a fluid surface. He only followed when his arm was pulled taut, and there was no more slack to give.

You foolish man.

Had ever there been a sentence that summarized the German more succinctly than that. It was given to him again as he was made to sit down in the doctor’s chair beneath a handmade blanket. Fritz’s gaze was still fixed to the floor, anywhere but Aldous’ face. The weight of Lenore had him flinch, just for a moment, before a numb hand appeared from the blanket for her inspection. Even more than cats, birds required explicit permission to be touched. It was so ingrained, he didn’t need the churning static that was his mind to tell him.

His eyes squeezed shut and his head tilted at the ‘code to my demise’ comment. That hadn’t been considered in the slightest the day he broke in to read the veteran’s file. He found it almost immediately after their conversation, a lifetime ago. It never even occurred to him what having that code meant, the harm it could do, even if that had never been his intention.

“It should have been me. I just wanted it to be over.”

The German’s statue stance finally broke, and a tired hand scrubbed down his face.

“I didn’t suffer at all, that was the point. I was terrified there was a reason. I don’t… regret what happened. What you did, or what I planned to do. It was war. We all do desperate things in war.”

After what happened to Abel, if Aldous died? Fritz never would have been able to look the veteran BLU in the eye again.

“I’m trusting you in return. Because you’re right. If the company knew what I know, what I’ve done, what I can do again? They ruined me for less. That was another factor in my initial plan to be the offering, it’s always felt like I’ve been living on borrowed time.”

[zehypocriticaloath]

Keep reading

[nichtschaden]

“I meant I wasn’t gutted like the rest of them. I wasn’t hunted, I was just a witness.”

A slight hardness had returned to the medic’s voice, a good sign if anything. The whole toxic memory had been wrung out to dry, and he felt wrung out to dry in return.

Fritz weighed the veteran’s words, and he almost managed a smile. Almost.

“I don’t know if I’ve been your guardian so much as no sane person would ever follow my line of thinking. We live and die by that machine, but it’s not our god. It’s just a machine.”

There was nothing to trick or bargain with, no higher meaning when it failed to do its job. Aldous was hardly the first person to see a glitch, even as tragic as Bosco’s, as a finality. Something that couldn’t be fixed. Fritz had, years ago now, met a soldier who was alone because her boyfriend had died and not respawned. Like it had been some sick twist of fate. It wasn’t fate, it was hardware. An interrupted line of code.

What they had in every base was so fundamentally wrong, people were quick to accept its infrequent failures. Fritz was just one of the madmen willing to wield it for what it was – a machine. Unthinking, unfeeling, uncaring. Ready to accept any prompt it was given, no matter what the outcome would be.

“… I’m glad I never had to use it. For what it’s worth, it’s safe. I don’t think anyone would consider doing what I’ve done, but even if they did, it would still be safe.”

The fear had ebbed, and his rabbit-fast pulse had slowed. Fritz was drained and exhausted, body and soul.

[zehypocriticaloath]

Keep reading

[nichtschaden]

Of course, that would be what was asked of him. A payment he couldn’t give.

“Aldous, I don’t know mine. What good what it do me? Even if I needed it, I can’t give a console command from the grave.”

Fritz had never considered looking up his own respawn code for that reason – it was pointless. He wouldn’t be alive to use it, and it would be a risk beyond risk to leave on whatever scrap paper he could scrounge for a will. If the company turned his room and the medbay over to find it, everyone he’d ever been acquainted with would be interrogated. Jane might have prepared his whole life for that challenge, but the rest would not share his enthusiasm.

“Let’s just… leave it with: I’m not going anywhere. I will continue to harass you and your brother, and only the angry hands of the administrator can stop me.”

The hug shocked him still. For a long moment, Fritz didn’t move. It was muscle memory that guided his arms around the other man, but it was his heart that made them squeeze.

“I might just crash on an infirmary bed. Abel’s used to that. I do want to look over the scout in the morning, if you don’t mind. I trust you, I’ve just done this song and dance before.”

[zehypocriticaloath]

“If you don’t know yours,” Aldous scathingly began, “then I’ll do what you did and fucking find out myself. It’s an imbalance if you have access to my code and are able to revive me, but I don’t have your code as a failsafe. But then you expect me to hear a simple ‘don’t do it’ or ‘no need’ and think I’m going to obey that?” He snorted. “This industry has dealt with my rebellious nature for as long as they’ve employed me. You’ve known me for a long time. Is this a shock to you? So shut up, and let me do it.” Giving him the traditional ‘Haswell’ stare of judgement, his mouth turned down into a soured scowl. “Why must you always burden yourself? You take on everything. Learn to let me take some of it.”

Aldous let his breath escape him in a tired sigh. The stresses and strains of the day began to creep into his bones. He felt a weariness that played, hand-in-hand, with that abysmal chill of this damned base. This young hooligan wasn’t thinking with his head. Clearly he was thinking with just his heart. And while being driven by one’s emotions often kept one alive, the brain was a vital organ to heed. Another time and place, had he been allowed to continue through school and not get drafted to the war, Aldous would have become a neurologist. But that was the past.

Oh, the irony of it all. How his mind and thoughts often betrayed him now.

“I have no objections.” He got up and plucked a particularly interesting looking book from a nearby shelf. Returning to his previous seat, he opened it and began flipping to the first page. As if that were some sign engrained in the brains of his unkindness, they all fluttered from their respective hiding spots and gathered about Fritz and their beloved owner. “Now, close your eyes. I am going to keep watch for a bit. And you’re not allowed to object to this. If you want me to read to you, I will. Otherwise, it is story time for my children. And if you so much as make a funny little comment about how cute this is, I’m ripping out your tongue.”

[zehypocriticaloath]

@ all my mutuals whom I owe replies to: they are coming, promise! The last few days have been very, very busy. Not to mention new changes at work that just ate up my entire work week. 

You have not been forgotten, and I thank you for your patience. 

[zehypocriticaloath]

How Did Your Debts Get Paid?

[previous] // ft. @nichtschaden

Keep reading

[nichtschaden]

The resistance Aldous felt wasn’t reluctance, it was like the unmooring of a ship. A heavy mass on a fluid surface. He only followed when his arm was pulled taut, and there was no more slack to give.

You foolish man.

Had ever there been a sentence that summarized the German more succinctly than that. It was given to him again as he was made to sit down in the doctor’s chair beneath a handmade blanket. Fritz’s gaze was still fixed to the floor, anywhere but Aldous’ face. The weight of Lenore had him flinch, just for a moment, before a numb hand appeared from the blanket for her inspection. Even more than cats, birds required explicit permission to be touched. It was so ingrained, he didn’t need the churning static that was his mind to tell him.

His eyes squeezed shut and his head tilted at the ‘code to my demise’ comment. That hadn’t been considered in the slightest the day he broke in to read the veteran’s file. He found it almost immediately after their conversation, a lifetime ago. It never even occurred to him what having that code meant, the harm it could do, even if that had never been his intention.

“It should have been me. I just wanted it to be over.”

The German’s statue stance finally broke, and a tired hand scrubbed down his face.

“I didn’t suffer at all, that was the point. I was terrified there was a reason. I don’t… regret what happened. What you did, or what I planned to do. It was war. We all do desperate things in war.”

After what happened to Abel, if Aldous died? Fritz never would have been able to look the veteran BLU in the eye again.

“I’m trusting you in return. Because you’re right. If the company knew what I know, what I’ve done, what I can do again? They ruined me for less. That was another factor in my initial plan to be the offering, it’s always felt like I’ve been living on borrowed time.”

[zehypocriticaloath]

Keep reading

[nichtschaden]

“I meant I wasn’t gutted like the rest of them. I wasn’t hunted, I was just a witness.”

A slight hardness had returned to the medic’s voice, a good sign if anything. The whole toxic memory had been wrung out to dry, and he felt wrung out to dry in return.

Fritz weighed the veteran’s words, and he almost managed a smile. Almost.

“I don’t know if I’ve been your guardian so much as no sane person would ever follow my line of thinking. We live and die by that machine, but it’s not our god. It’s just a machine.”

There was nothing to trick or bargain with, no higher meaning when it failed to do its job. Aldous was hardly the first person to see a glitch, even as tragic as Bosco’s, as a finality. Something that couldn’t be fixed. Fritz had, years ago now, met a soldier who was alone because her boyfriend had died and not respawned. Like it had been some sick twist of fate. It wasn’t fate, it was hardware. An interrupted line of code.

What they had in every base was so fundamentally wrong, people were quick to accept its infrequent failures. Fritz was just one of the madmen willing to wield it for what it was – a machine. Unthinking, unfeeling, uncaring. Ready to accept any prompt it was given, no matter what the outcome would be.

“… I’m glad I never had to use it. For what it’s worth, it’s safe. I don’t think anyone would consider doing what I’ve done, but even if they did, it would still be safe.”

The fear had ebbed, and his rabbit-fast pulse had slowed. Fritz was drained and exhausted, body and soul.

[zehypocriticaloath]

“There is a reason I like you. We both lie between insanity and sanity. You’re the same as me when it comes to pulling off outlandish acts.” He gave a soft chuckle. “You foolish man.”

Lenore took comfort in Fritz as the conversation settled comfortably around them. The ever faithful ticking of a nearby clock reminded them that the witching hour was soon upon them. The Scout, of course, slumbered within his sequestered off recovery room, quite oblivious to the sentimental woes voiced between both Medics.

“Here is hoping you never will need it. But, that being said, I wish to know yours. In the event something similar might happen, I want to bring you back.” He gave him a stern look. “After all, this life wouldn’t be half as interesting if you weren’t around.” 

Cupping the warm raven in his hands, he placed Annabel down on a nearby table. Rising from his stool, he knelt down in front of the chair and, with a bit of positioning, he reached over and drew Fritz in a rare hug.

“Thank you. To know someone would go to that length to ensure my survival... is a comforting notion. Now, rest. I’ll wake you up in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee.”