🌐 24/7 Video Game - All the best video games, all the time. Watch no commentary gaming videos live and on demand. By Adrian M ThePRO the GameProfessional.
2025.01.19 15:00 GameProfessional 🌐 24/7 Video Game - All the best video games, all the time. Watch no commentary gaming videos live and on demand. By Adrian M ThePRO the GameProfessional.
 | submitted by GameProfessional to 247videogame [link] [comments] |
2025.01.19 15:00 RepairComfortable729 Dm
F4M dm for fre sexting on telegram @teres20 zangi: 1039200852 discord:teresashingler
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2025.01.19 15:00 Jumpy_Manner7460 Why can narcissists have personal heroes?
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2025.01.19 15:00 glatureae El regreso del dólar a Cuba, una mano larga hasta el bolsillo del exilio
 | submitted by glatureae to CubaOnReddit [link] [comments] |
2025.01.19 15:00 luckygrunt105 Two Cats is a Necessity
 | I always just wanted one cat to pamper until my wife convinced me to keep the orange one Hughie. I was worried about them getting along, but now 3 months later they’re best of friends. Jealous honestly. submitted by luckygrunt105 to cats [link] [comments] |
2025.01.19 15:00 V01d3d_f13nd A Buddha statue in Afghanistan before it's destruction in 1992
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2025.01.19 15:00 MetaKnowing "Sam Altman has scheduled a closed-door briefing for U.S. government officials on Jan. 30 - AI insiders believe a big breakthrough on PHD level SuperAgents is coming." ... "OpenAI staff have been telling friends they are both jazzed and spooked by recent progress."
 | submitted by MetaKnowing to OpenAI [link] [comments] |
2025.01.19 15:00 consumethedead Eucalyptus Mint. One of my favorite scents.
 | The throw on this is amazing. 10/10 submitted by consumethedead to Candles [link] [comments] |
2025.01.19 15:00 DR0516 Since the meeting after the Buffalo loss, Sens are 5-0-1 with an xGF% of 56.4%
Wanted to share some positivity this morning. Is this a coaching stat? Leevi stat? Either way, we’ve been playing well without our star goaltender who’s coming back soon. There’s reason for optimism!
xGF% from Evolving Hockey.
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2025.01.19 15:00 KSE84 I miss summer..#districtgreen
 | submitted by KSE84 to Audi [link] [comments] |
2025.01.19 15:00 Subject_Young_2106 Ordering form Skinorac with Paypal
 | Hi guys! I'm trying to order from skinorac using PayPal from the uk and after clicking PayPal option it takes me to a screen that loads to 99% and just stays there, any ideas? Thank you 😁 submitted by Subject_Young_2106 to tretinoin [link] [comments] |
2025.01.19 15:00 AssociationDue5655 why on spike esenciall software my train motor dosent work and i have a city hub
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2025.01.19 15:00 cronfile The last tiktok I saw before it got banned
 | submitted by cronfile to Chiraqology [link] [comments] |
2025.01.19 15:00 Few_Mulberry_6508 Squid game online reality game
 | We are hosting a squid game style org, taking place on the 12th march Cash prize to be won Can your survive the squid games? Link in comments submitted by Few_Mulberry_6508 to discordapp [link] [comments] |
2025.01.19 15:00 throwaway01983628 Concern over my younger brother
My brothers instagram following is every single porn start imaginable, it’s so disturbing. I would say hundreds at least. Especially having me as an older sister and two younger female siblings of 8 and 6 years old, knowing my brother consumes that content just disturbs me so much.
I don’t feel as if it’s my place to intrude or even bring it up as it’s awkward speaking to a 16 year old about that stuff, but a following list is public for everyone to see and the fact you are FOLLOWING never mind just consuming the content is insane. I do feel a responsibility deep down as an older sister but again it’s just how would I even go about a conversation like that?
My parents talk about when he will get a girlfriend etc, honestly I hope something changes before he even would ever get to that stage as being with someone with those views just sounds like a nightmare. I wish things in society were different and I didn’t have to look at my own brother in this light.
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2025.01.19 15:00 Putrid-Assistant-851 My Highball build. Do hardtail get love here?
This was supposed to be a budget build, but things naturally spiraled as I found sales and friends offered up deals on used stuff.
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2025.01.19 15:00 SongFeisty8759 Ukrainian Equipment Reserves (2025) - Production, Aid & Equipment Attrition.
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2025.01.19 15:00 Muein27 I have Coldplay tickets for 26 Jan Ahemdabad
 | DM for buying I'll not sell in very much inflated price I'll sell very reasonable price ..coz it's important for me to sell them as my friends ditched me in last moment 🥲 submitted by Muein27 to Coldplaytickets [link] [comments] |
2025.01.19 15:00 ContemplativePebble What would you do in this position?
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2025.01.19 15:00 OkPiccolo9835 חמאס להיות כמו
 | submitted by OkPiccolo9835 to ani_bm [link] [comments] |
2025.01.19 15:00 BrodogIsMyName Frontier Fantasy - Pillars of Industry - Chap 70
RR (Just to hopefully get the cover appearing on reddit) [First] [Previous] [Next]
Hey! I got Book Cover Art commissioned for Frontier Fantasy, check it out!
Edited by Evil-Emps You should check out his story, The Endless Forest!
- - - - -
“Sixty barrels of lantern oil, four-hundred square meters of netting, forty packages of salt, and two-hundred ‘even-paces’ of cloth,” Harrison stated casually in the dark of the early evening, gesturing to the packed sleds off to his side. There were plenty of stacked wooden barrels, rain-resistant parchment packages, and rope used to tie it all together.
The two simple plate-armored and fur coat-wearing Malkrin that came to greet him were wide-eyed, gawking at the fulfilled deal in the same way they had when he accepted it a few hours earlier. Though, the more he traced their vision, the more it might also have had to do with the bright shoulder-mounted lights on all the settlers’ shoulders. They were currently standing, ready and waiting, behind him in case anything went sideways after the delivery.
The native population had, at best, some primitive lanterns back at their home base, but used torches for the most part. So, seeing Harrison’s Malkrin cutting through the night with white light must have been a rather curious sight. Thank God he engrained light discipline in the colonists, so most of the glare was at least pointed toward the ground or what they were working on instead of anyone else's eyes…
“That should be all. Your group got the fish and vegetables a little while ago, right?” he asked, absently tapping the side of his shotgun’s receiver with his trigger finger.
The yellow-skinned Malkrin slowly tore her attention away from the pile of goods off to the side, clearly unsure of herself and how to feel. “Th…That is correct, star-sent. I… Thank you?”
“You’re welcome,” Harrison replied flatly, happy to have the unexpected task crossed off for the night. Though, a nagging question still lingered on his mind over the short interaction. “So, where’s the paladins? I’m fine to complete my part of the deal as is, but I was under the impression they would be overseeing the handoff.”
The other Malkrin, a dark gray-skinned female, suddenly straightened her back, snapping out of her thoughts. “Ah, High Paladin Pinan’khee is… busy… as of now. And the other holy warrior is similar. Will their absence be an issue?”
He shrugged, already tired enough from the past few hours. “Nah. It’s no problem as long as she knows it’s here.”
In truth, he was going to ask how long the paladins planned on staying and what they were going to do the next day, given they were essentially bumming it out in his meadow. They were also in the way of Cera’s half-klick shooting range, but that was less of an issue, considering Kegara’s people were always in her sights. He could try and look back to see if he could spot her, but any attempt would be in vain with her tall grass camouflage and the dark of night. It was a damn good time to practice her skills.
The engineer was ready to turn around and leave, about to gesture for Shar to follow him out, yet a short, unsure instant of intent stopped him.
“Excuse me, s-star-sent?” the yellow-skinned Malkrin asked, meekly holding up a hand.
“Yeah?” he returned flatly, raising a brow.
“Is it true that you are from the stars above?”
Harrison bobbed his head, humming in the affirmative.
She lowered her head, nervously continuing. “A-And your purpose is to create a colony?”
He stared at her skeptically, hesitant about where this stranger was going with those direct questions. “That’s… correct.”
The yellow-colored female seemed to draw a bit of confidence, craning her head in closer to him, her green eyes lighting up. “Then, would you work under our Kegara, knowing your goals are aligned? I feel as if your combined efforts are more than enough to find success. It is clear you have many accomplishments as is, so it would be preferable to submit to the Hand of the Grand Priestess and achieve more, no?”
The gray-skinned Malkrin behind her nodded along. The engineer felt the bridge of his nose scrunch up at the thought. He wanted to find some common ground, but the idea of letting Kegara have any say in his work was…
His teeth clenched harder than he’d ever felt before, holding in a few choice words on the end of his tongue. The stories and facts he had accrued of this one Malkrin ruined any hope of cooperation beyond the trade of goods. Slavery, zealotry, severe punishments, and an absolute hatred of the other sects of their ‘Tridei’ religion were the first things that came to mind based on the first-hand accounts he had heard of her.
Harrison shook his head, speaking coldly and tersely. “No. Our goals aren’t aligned. I don’t think that would be possible.”
Kegara’s supporter recoiled, her brows pinching together. “Whatever do you mean? What separates your divine tasks?”
How could he possibly describe how the only similarity he shared with the ‘Grand Paladin’ was the ever-present struggle for survival; everything else about his industrial plans and idealized future was wholeheartedly departed from anything the Land Faith desired… especially with how different his own convictions were compared to theirs.
The engineer was no longer interested in keeping up with the questions, cutting the conversation by its shins with a simple response. “I don’t see the Malkrin here as ‘banished.’”
The two females were left stunned, and Harrison did not bother with waiting for them to recover. The discussion was going nowhere. And so, he made his exit, stopping only long enough to gather his settlers before starting on the short journey back to the walls.
Most of his companions had lost their stone-faced expressions, their various-colored eyes glowing brightly in wonder as they stared upon him, subtle grins of respect sewn permanently into their maws, and ears happily perked straight upward. Shar, who had been quiet for the entire interaction, was much the same. She rested the barrel of her M2 over her shoulder, staring down at him with an appreciative gaze.
“I must admit, dearest Harrison, I am quite pleased to see you have come into your position so confidently.”
Harrison gave her a bemused look. “What do you mean? Like, as a leader?”
The happy paladin pointed directly at him, her sharpened teeth showing through her beam. “That is exactly what I mean. You have described yourself as a leader. I recall some time ago you had elected not to refer to yourself as such, wishing for a more humble title.”
“Oh… right,” he responded with a slow nod. “Yeah, I suppose I have.”
Honestly, he hadn’t really noticed any shift, but now that he thought about what went through his mind and how he acted, there was certainly some truth to it. He had come into his position out of necessity at first, but now it felt like more.
The engineer had spent every hour of every day working to progress the burgeoning colony and to guide the loyal Malkrin who depended on him, constantly making difficult decision after difficult decision. Some time ago, he had once only considered every advancement to be for his survival. Yet, now, that focus had shifted toward the settlers—and it wasn’t just because he relied on their labor…
When he first handed an M2 to Rook a few weeks prior, he felt a certain anxiousness and pressure to do so. It was a requirement to teach them how to aim, reload, and choose their targets at the range. Now, when he handed one of his girls an upgraded piece of equipment or a new toy to use, he did it with a firm nod or a confident pat on the arm.
It felt purposeful… Meaningful.
Sure, he didn’t treat them exactly like family, but it drew a similar feeling of respect and responsibility, wearing heavy on his heart to see them safe and protected, despite them being magnitudes stronger than himself. He had spent nearly every hour of every day in their presence, training, working, and building a functioning colony by their side. He wanted them to thrive, and half of that was keeping them alive. If he didn’t, who would? Kegara? She got twenty Malkrin killed.
The amount made him sick. He only saw to the needs of thirty-five, and if he saw over half of them die while they relied on him… Only God knew the kind of monstrous guilt that would burn through him wholly, leaving nothing left of himself but a burnt out, hollow husk in its wake.
That fear, along with the underlying passion to preserve that spurred it on, was a growing pillar of what kept him working day in and day out. It moved him, pushing him forward. He could tolerate any pain, any exhaustion, any worry. He had more than himself to look out for, and just as he had made clear in his outburst of raw emotions not too long ago, there was no one coming to save him or anyone else…
The engineer continued with his tasks for the day after the several-hour adventure that was Pinanky’s visit. He went about preparing the cave raid with the strike group and Tracy until it was time for squad training. As usual, it consisted of leadership roles and communications practice along the walls. However, the same drills were getting old by then. The Malkrin had become experts in traversing the palisades and directing one another with their avenues of intent.
The only thing different this time was the lack of males; Tracy was teaching them in the ways of the hunter. She was, currently, having them and the injured carpenter start by playing ‘MechBattler 11’ with a setup mimicking Rei’s control equipment—three movement sticks and a keyboard. It was a unique way to show them the ropes, yet it was the only way until they had printed out the other ARISA mechs and the pilots had enough skill to operate them without issue.
And that was where he had started to scrape together an idea for another way to build cohesion between the groups, outside of stiff and straightforward drills. Tracy’s video games not only taught the males how to use the equipment, but it also showed them how to apply what they learned in different scenarios, training them in multiple ways.
So, while Harrison was running alongside the towering females during squad drilling, he considered all the possible indirect ways he could teach cooperation. He was heavily leaning in favor of certain games he remembered fondly at grade school recess, given their knack for requiring teamwork.
The hour or so of drills went without an issue. Tracy once called over the radio about a small swarm poking about the far western tree line, but her harpies made quick work of them. The only real interesting thing about the event was how she went on about the three recon drones she set up around Pinan’khee’s camp and how the group of Malkrin ran circles around each other in fear and confusion over the loud, distant gunshots.
He couldn’t help but smirk either, imagining their reactions.
The engineer quickly returned to his usual grind at the workshop afterward. He took the time to study more team games, cave combat, and the various chemical reactions he would need for producing higher-quality rocket propellant—the usual night, by now. It all came and went like a blur, the notes file on his data pad growing by a significant margin by the end of it. All that was left to do was to try and get as much sleep as he could before it was time to do it all over again… God, he missed the weekend.
He made a quick circle around the workshop and the field of wind turbines to check for any backups in his production lines or malfunctions before he returned to see how Tracy was doing. She was sitting in the programming section of her little corner of the building and was absently typing away on a bulky computer. Various wires poked out and connected it to a skeletonized brick of circuits and electrical components. He assumed it was something to do with the ARISA networking or maybe their rappelling attachment.
He casually grabbed a rolling chair from another section, pulling it up to her side. The technician noticed and took her headphones off, pushing a loose clump of silken black hair over her ears in their absence. There was a good bit of exhaustion hanging from her eyes, but she managed to give him a small, animated smirk in contrast.
“Hey.”
The engineer laid his shotgun on the side of the table, resting an elbow on an open stretch space away from her components and tools. “Hey, I was just about to hit the sack but I wanted to check in with you. How’re you holding up?”
She gave a brief look at her work, shrugging. “I’m making pretty good progress in reconfiguring the hunters. Once I’ve gotten this input converter done, we should have an easier time swapping out the components and controls for the rappelling equipment with the jump jets and vice versa. With that, we’ll be able to print out the fun stuff pretty soon. Rei and I will take care of training the others in their use afterward, of course.
“Nice, nice. Sounds like we’ll be in business soon,” he commented with a grin before his curled lips tempered down to a softer smile. “…But that’s not what I was really asking you. How have you been… you know—“ He tapped his temple with a finger. “—emotionally. I know it hasn’t been long since we talked about it directly, but I wanna know if you’re feeling alright.”
“Oh…” She looked away, a small flush creeping along her cheeks, absently playing with the strap of her mechanic’s overalls. “I, uh… You know, now that you bring it up, I can’t say I’ve had any uhm… nightmares… the last two nights.”
“Really?” he asked with interest. “None at all? That’s good to hear. What do you think’s helped?”
Her eyes still failed to meet his, but her growing smile didn’t falter. “I mean… I think it may be because I’ve been sleeping a bit better?”
Was that so? He considered the last two nights for a moment. The first was when she went into Shar’s nest and fell asleep next to him, and the other night… Hmm. He could have sworn Tracy went to her own bed, but in the morning she was bundled up beside him in the sea of pillows, blankets, and mattresses.
Both nights, she wasn’t by herself. Right… it made perfect sense. The trauma that cut her so deep stemmed from days and nights of loneliness. She was left by herself in a dark, half-flooded abyss, never knowing when or if she would ever be found. It must have been weeks that she spent awake, submerged in fear over whether or not she had been damned to suffer on an alien planet with nothing but waterlogged and scrapped equipment.
Only God knew the depths of despair she swam in.
Harrison nodded sympathetically, looking deeply into the short woman who had been abused by the planet from day one. A wider frown carved through his cheeks. His heart clenched, tightly pinning his chest in commiseration. He hated the idea. Something deeply primal and disheartening gnawed at him, digging into his bones and scratching away at his nerves. This parentless, five-foot-two-inch women, who gave herself away to pioneer another planet with her purpose being to ‘change the solar system’ sulked in her own terrors nightly.
It was wrong. He wanted to see her smile more. He wanted her to feel comfortable. He… He wanted to be kind to her. To make her feel at ease…
The engineer drew in a slow breath. “So, you’ve been sleeping better? Do you think it has anything to do with sharing a bed? As in, having someone nearby to ease any feelings of isolation?”
His question perked up the abashed woman. The red along her cheeks grew further by the second, her response subtly gaining conviction. “No, I… I, uhm… Yeah…? Yes. It helps. It definitely helps.”
He raised a brow. “Right, then would you feel better joining me and Shar tonight?”
The technician stared back at him with eyes full of wonderment, her lips condensed to a tiny stretch across her face in stupefaction. Her response was mouselike, almost as if she heard something too good to be true. “…You wouldn’t mind?”
“Of course not,” he admitted, shaking his head with an incredulous look. “Sharing a bed would be the least I could do to help you out, Trace.”
…It’s not like he’d be against it anyway.
“Sooooo,” she started, continuing to play with her overall straps. “You said you were going to sleep pretty soon?”
He hummed in the affirmative. “I can wait for you to finish up the coding here. No pressure to finish it any faster, though.”
Her brows raised, a sense of excitement in the motion. Tracy waved her hands profusely. “Oh, no no. I’m already done here. We can head back to bed uhm… together now.”
“Sounds good.” The engineer stood up and pushed his chair back into place, picking up his items and slinging them over his shoulder. He couldn’t help but feel a creeping enthusiasm warming up his chest and up his neck. It wasn’t like he was anticipating anything special, but the idea nonetheless tugged at his cheeks, trying to get him to smile.
It was an expected reaction to having an attractive women agree to come to bed with him—even if it was purely platonic, and that neither of them had the intention of letting it become anything more than that.
The technician quickly saved her progress and turned off the computer before putting her current project away in a shelved box. She jogged over to the nearby ‘battle station’ and looked over all the camera feeds as she tapped away at something on her data pad. A short ‘hmph’ left her, confirming whatever she was looking at. With that done, she turned around and happily skipped to his side, evidently completing the last of her tasks for the night.
“What was all that about?” he asked curiously, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Just checkin’ that Sebas is analyzing the cameras and that my pad is connected to the system. Probs unneeded, but it’s a good habit to check.”
Interesting. As always, his respect for her work grew even more. If there was something to admire about the black-haired grease bunny, it was definitely her loyalty to doing things the right way and making sure things never got messed up in the process.
Tracy grabbed a large sweatshirt on the way out, putting it on and letting her teched-up goggles fall down to loosely hang around her neck. Her black locks failed to keep their shape without the makeshift hairband, forming into a long, natural inverted bob with a middle part that just barely nipped at her peripheral vision.
It was… cute, and oddly went well with her shorter stature in a way he couldn’t place. Something about the way it forced her to try and push the thick strands behind her ear to look at him drew a gentle smile out of the engineer.
“What’re you looking at, bozo? Never seen me let my hair be all loose?” she jabbed, squinting at him.
He chuckled, pushing through the workshop exit. “Nah. I was just thinking that it kind of fits you in a way.”
She followed right behind him, stuffing her hands in her large sweatshirt pocket. “Is that meant to be a compliment?”
“It could be if you wanted.” He shrugged, clenching his teeth from a stray frigid breeze until he made it to the first lamp-bound heater. He relished in the thick heat surrounding the warm orange glow, already making his way to the next one on his way to the barracks. They’d shut off sometime soon to save on power overnight, so he wasn’t going to just wait around by them.
The technician grinned, leaning in close to stare up at him. “I’ll take that as a yes, and that I’ve got the cutest haircut on the planet.
He gazed back down with an amused look, raising his brows. “Technically true.”
“Huh? What… Oh…” Her pale face welled up pink, putting a halt to her smirk for a brief moment before it returned with twice the strength as she whispered to herself. “Damn right.”
Harrison couldn’t help but snort at her sudden self-confidence, looking away and shaking his head.
Tracy leaned in even closer, pushing her shoulder into his side. She wore an unserious pout in his peripheral vision. “Really? Laughing? I thought you were being nice just then!”
He gave her a lighthearted glare. “I never said anything. That’s all your doing, so don’t go putting words in my mouth.”
She fully extended her arms, stretching out her stomach pocket and looking away. The playful technician pursed her lips in a sarcastic ‘cool guy’ manner. “Pssssh, shaddup. You wouldn’t have said anythin’ if u didn’t mean it.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
Her eyes lit up with sparkles under the path lights. She swung around and slipped her hand out of its warm cloth home to poke him directly in the chest. “That doesn’t. You do.”
He… helped her sleep at night? Well, yeah, obviously. He just figured that out. It was how… personal her emphasis and touch was. A hot sensation crawled along his face, the ends of his lips subconsciously tightening into a smile against his will. The stars up above him suddenly seemed like a great place to stare instead of the wide grin of the devious creature he once thought was a human woman. Her excitement seemed to peak at his falter.
“Oh. My. God! Did you just blush? Holy shit! I didn’t think it was possible!”
“Keep your voice down. I don’t wanna wake up Cera or Akula if they’re asleep in there,” he chastised with a hush… For the sake of the sleeping inhabitants of the building and definitely not for his ego.
Tracy looked to have another sentence on her tongue to tease him with, but thankfully held onto it as the two of them entered the barracks and started up the stairs to the bunk room. That didn’t mean she stopped boring her over-animated eyes at him, her wicked smirk never falling.
He turned into the bunk room, the door opening with a low ‘woosh.’ The room was dark, save for a small yellow light held within the jaws of a Malkrin, illuminating a few pages of scripts. The very same Malkrin was also bundled up in a mountain of blankets, reducing her to an adorable snout peeking out from a pile of cloth with a singular hand snaking out to hold her studying material still.
“Still awake, Shar?” He asked quietly, putting his rig, gun, and sack down by the door. He had already taken a shower after the squad training, so he was free to go right to sleep.
The sheet-covered muzzle sluggishly turned to look at him, the faintest glimmer of her glowing orange eyes peeking from beneath the fabric. Sharky’s intent was beyond exhausted, reduced to a low, gravelly mumble. “Mmm, greetings Harrison. Have you finally returned for slumber?”
“‘Finally?’ You’ve been waiting?”
The paladin weaseled her snoot further out of the covers, lidded irises gazing longingly into him. “Of course.”
He couldn’t help but softly chuckle as he slipped his shoes off. She must’ve been hoping for head scratches before bed. Poor girl looked like she was about to pass out at any second, subtly wavering back and forth on drained muscles.
The engineer made his way to the nest of mattresses, nodding for Tracy to follow. “Well, I guess the waiting’s over. Do you mind if Tracy takes part of the bed tonight?”
The paladin hesitated for a moment before tiredly looking behind him and at the technician, gently shaking her head. “I have no qualms against her presence.”
“Excellent,” he whispered, stepping onto the bundle of comfort. The sea of white and gray fabric gave way with his feet, sapping the last of his energy through his fatigued soles.
Shar patted around the blanket for a loose corner, opening it up for him to join in beside her. He considered it for a moment, but held up a hand to decline. There wasn’t any concrete reason for it. It was more that it felt a bit inconsiderate to invite Tracy to use the same bed to ease her isolation… just to section her off while the paladin was trying to siphon off all his heat. He’d just find a place somewhere between.
The engineer slowly crumpled into a spot just within reach of his colossal guardian, finding some wayward cloth to surround himself with and a clump to rest his head on. He felt all the pressure and stress of the day seep out of every pore on his body.
The comforting aura of imminent sleep replaced all his mental strain with reminders of all the physical burdens he had been trying to ignore—stinging bruises, a constant pressure choking his chest, and a slow-beating headache. Thank God he’d be able to sleep through it all and take painkillers in the morning, cutting his suffering down to however long it took for exhaustion to take hold.
He closed his eyes, ready to leave the realm of the living for five or six hours when he felt a… disturbance. A singular shuffle of cloth was easily ignored—there were two others sleeping in the same area. It was the nearing displacement of the mattresses and blankets that took his curiosity, tiny intermittent steps depressing the cloth around him.
Any questions he had were answered as a heavy object gently nestled its way underneath the hand he had resting atop his chest, the paladin’s large head snuggling into him greedily. The rest of her body fell down to the bed with a ‘whump’ as soon as her scratching spot was secured. He didn’t even have a say in her not-so-subtle demand, his hand already forced to the top of her snout where it instinctively began to rub and scratch.
It was kind of amusing how Sharky got more and more direct as the days went by. He could have sworn she would’ve been much more nervous to ask him for a head massage before, but here she was, all but forcing his hand to do so. He didn’t mind it one bit, though.
His fingers got to work, covering the cool, smooth skin of her muzzle, cheeks, and forehead with light circles of his nails. He slowly moved them around to her temples and the ends of her jaws. She responded in kind by eagerly rotating her head around to tell him exactly where she wanted to be scratched and pushing into his every ministration, despite her prior fatigue.
His massage coaxed deep rumbling purrs, the cushions beneath him vibrating with her satisfaction alongside the shallow ‘fwumps’ of her tail wagging beneath the covers. It came to a crescendo when he reached a certain spot between her frills and her ears, the simple mix of kneading and scraping of her skin melting the beast into a puddle of shark.
She held a singular arm over his waist with how she lay prone over him, and he could swear he felt her hand twitch and flex each time his digits carved through that specific area. It was sweet.
This giant monster of a woman, who could lift a damn tree over her head was reduced to the whims of his touch. She let herself be so vulnerable. Her defined, taut muscles relaxed so readily. The paladin had been barking orders in full armor just a few hours prior, yet here she was, purring like a house cat. It was hard not to fall pleasantly into the motions, her noises of appreciation becoming a lullaby to his tired mind.
He’d ended up so enraptured in pushing all the Shar’s buttons, that he hadn’t felt the slow approach of another curious being.
A weight pressed down atop his free arm’s shoulder. The sudden attack spiked his weary nerves. He snapped his eyes down to the side in confusion, calming down the second he saw black hair contrast the white sheets behind it in the dim room.
He could somewhat make out Tracy lying on her side, having evidently backed up toward him, shuffling closer until she could lay her head down on the soft flesh above his armpit. Her body squeezed his bicep into his side in the process, uncomfortably pinning it there. His brief pause stirred the half-slumbering shark nestled into him, but he ignored her quiet, yearning whine to continue his ministrations.
The pressure held atop his poor arm was ignorable, given he wasn’t losing feeling in his fingers just quite yet. However, the technician seemed to be… pushing down on the upper half with her shoulder blade, exacerbating the feeling more and more by the second.
What the hell was she doing? Was it on purpose? It was like she was trying to put all her weight on him in that specific area, going so far as to arch her spine to do so.
His exhausted voice came out in a mumble. “Trace, what are you do—”
In a split moment, he felt her hand dive under her lower back and snatch his own, yanking it underneath her. She snaked his palm around her side and pushed it onto her warm, uncovered stomach before letting go, content with the position. She fell back into a normal sleeping position on him after, relieving his bicep from her applied pressure and settling it over his entire arm. He could barely hear what she whispered, but he could swear it had the word ‘dumbass’ in it.
It took him a few moments to truly understand what he had just experienced. She arched herself up to give him space to put his arm around her side. In the process, she just so happened to put almost all her weight on his upper arm. Huh.
He blinked a few times, absently feeling her hot skin with short strokes of his fingertips… Why the fuck was his main worry about the slight pain her method caused? She had just about wrangled his arm onto herself, forcing the two of them into an—honestly, rather soft and comfortable—embrace. She laid on her side next to him at a perfect distance downward that kept his limb like a seatbelt under her side and over her stomach.
Maybe he would lose feeling in his hand some time later, but for now? It was kinda nice, and he couldn’t bring himself to dislike the way she nestled her head on his shoulder and her back into him.
Only Shar seemed to have an issue with his sudden preoccupation as she nuzzled her snout into his chest, blatantly requesting him to continue scratching. He happily obliged, allowing his free hand to be taken up by another denizen of the nest. His mind too became occupied, now over the ‘why.’
He had originally thought Tracy would be fine to just share a bed and be within arms reach to be comfortable sleeping again, but he was obviously mistaken. The last two nights she felt safe and went without nightmares weren’t helped by a proximity to others, they were impacted by being physically consoled.
It was clear to him now that her isolation dug so deep into her heart and mind that her internal nerves and primal thoughts needed direct confirmation to be calmed. She needed to be reassured by the unmediated touch of another, and it was apparent he may just be the only one able to do so…
His heart was depressed at the idea of her terror being so close to her core, that it required such close attention, but he couldn’t blame her for any of it. It was no one’s fault, and given she was the only other human on the planet, it wasn’t like he could ask for someone without trauma—which was hypocritical of the highest degree, considering his own state of being. Plus, what would he even have to complain about? Someone warming up his bed?
Tracy was perfect in every other aspect, and was hands-down the best person he could have asked for in this shit situation. The worst thing to come from it—outside any other unknown issues she may be hiding—was how she was an absolute furnace in his arms. Thankfully, he had a massive heat sink on his other side, who did her best to drink up any of his excess heat with gusto, using her tail and any other limb she could manage to grip or wrap around his exposed or unexposed skin.
Hell, he was pretty sure she even snaked a hand around him to sap some of Tracy’s warmth too.
Harrison didn’t quite know what he felt about everything. Should he feel bad about Tracy’s pain, or happy that he was able to help in some form? At the bare minimum, he was comfortable. The problems writhing underneath his own skin were dulled for the time being. Taking care of someone and being taken care of all at once seemed to section off the deeper worries festering in his mind, allowing him to find some semblance of normalcy and solace where he once thought there was none to be found.
It was something he hoped to keep forever.
- - - - -
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