#I can be trusted with nuclear weapons

[rhxorb]

[MIND IS SOFTWARE]

[YOUR BODY IS HOLDING YOU BACK]

[daydreamerdrew]

Marvel Team-Up (1972) Annual #2

[blingblong55]

Silent allies- Simon "Ghost" Riley

Based on a request: Hiii I hope you're doing well Could you write a fic where the task force gets to know about a lab where makarov is making a huge weapon, they believe it's a nuclear weapon or something like that but when they reach the lab they see a huge metal room and inside, a woman. Probably in her 20s, bruised and chained and shock collar around her neck and all. They rescued her, brought her for questioning and found out she's the experiment and she has powers like enhanced strength durability stamina and energy production and manipulation telekinesis telepathy and blood manipulation. They recruit her thinking she'll be a useful addition to the team and she's very powerful, as they see her on the field. Then simon and her form a connection and they find solace in each other's trauma. ---- F!Reader, superhuman!au, romance?, fluff?(lets not trust these two tags) ----

A/N: I think I got carried away...so...yeah

The helicopter blades cut through the thick night air as Task Force 141 approached their target: a remote lab deep in the Ural Mountains. The mission brief had been grim—Intel suggested Makarov was developing a catastrophic weapon. Nuclear, perhaps. They couldn't let that stand. With Captain Price's gruff voice crackling over the comms, the team moved with the precision and lethality they were known for. "Approaching LZ," Soap announced, his voice thick with anticipation.

This was Soap's opportunity to finally end the name Vladimir Makarov.

"Remember, lads," Price said, "we're in and out. Neutralize the target, get the intel, and get out. Simple." Ghost exchanged glances with his teammates. His skull-patterned balaclava barely concealed the cold determination in his eyes. Ghost was a man of few words, but his presence was a comforting constant in the chaos of war. The lab loomed ahead, a dark, angular shadow against the snowy landscape. As the helicopter landed, the team disembarked, weapons at the ready.

The night was silent save for the crunch of their boots on the snow and the distant howl of the wind. "Alright, let's move," Price ordered, and the team advanced. They breached the lab's perimeter with practised ease.

Inside, the corridors were sterile and dimly lit, the air thick with the hum of machinery. Moving swiftly and silently, they cleared room after room, encountering minimal resistance. It was almost too easy. "Something's not right," Gaz muttered, voicing the unease they all felt. At the end of a long hallway, they found it—a massive metal door, more secure than any they’d encountered so far. Price signalled for a breach. With a deafening blast, they forced their way in, weapons raised. What they found inside made them freeze. The room was vast and industrial, filled with complex machinery and computer banks. But their eyes were drawn to the centre of the room, where a large glass chamber stood.

Inside was you—bruised and battered, chained to the floor with a shock collar around your neck. “Bloody hell,” Soap whispered, horror and anger lacing his voice. Ghost moved forward, his eyes locked on you. You looked up, and despite your condition, your eyes were defiant. This was no ordinary prisoner. “Price, we need to get her out of here,” Ghost said, urgency in his voice. Price nodded. "Ghost, Gaz, cover us. Soap, see if you can disable that collar." Gaz worked quickly, and with a few deft movements, the collar fell away.

Ghost gently lifted you, your body light and frail in his arms. You flinched at the contact but didn't resist. As he carried you out, the rest of the team provided cover, their weapons barking in the darkness as more of Makarov's men converged on your position. You made it back to the helicopter under a hail of gunfire. Once inside, you collapsed onto a stretcher, your breathing shallow but steady.

They secured you, minds racing with questions. Who were you? What had Makarov done to you? Back at the safehouse, the atmosphere was tense. You had been stabilized and were resting, but they all knew the real work was just beginning. As they gathered in the briefing room, Price addressed the team. Laswell had given Price your file. A subject stolen from a testing lab was easy to find the name of because of the serial number on your neck. “We need answers,” he said. “Y/N is our best lead. We’ve seen what Makarov is capable of, and we can’t afford any surprises.” Ghost had been quiet since the rescue, his eyes never straying far from where you were being held.

There was a connection there, a silent understanding that went beyond words. The interrogation room was cold and clinical, a stark contrast to the warmth they tried to project. You sat across from Ghost, your eyes wary but no longer filled with fear. “Y/N,” Ghost began softly, “we’re here to help. Can you tell us what Makarov was doing to you?” You hesitated, your eyes flicking to the door where Ghost stood guard. Finally, you spoke, your voice a whisper. “I was… an experiment. He wanted to create a weapon. Not a bomb, but a person.”

The room went silent. Ghost leaned forward. “What kind of weapon?” Your eyes met his, and he saw the pain and power within them. “Me. I have… abilities. Enhanced strength, durability, and stamina. I can manipulate energy, and use telekinesis, and telepathy. Even control blood.” The gravity of your words sank in. Makarov hadn’t been building a weapon; he’d been creating one. And now you were sitting in front of them, a living testament to his twisted ambitions.

“Why didn’t you fight back?” Ghost’s voice cut through the silence, gentle but firm. You looked at him, a flicker of something passing between you. “I did. But he had ways of controlling me. The collar… it wasn’t just to shock me. It suppressed my abilities.” Ghost exchanged a glance with Price. This changed everything. “Y/N,” Price said, “we want to help you. We could use someone with your skills. But we need to know if you’re willing to fight with us.” You looked around the room, your eyes lingering on each of them before settling on Ghost. “I’ll fight. Not just for me, but for everyone Makarov has hurt. He needs to be stopped.” From that day on, you became part of Task Force 141.

Training with them was intense—your abilities were unlike anything they’d ever encountered. You could lift vehicles with your mind, and heal wounds with a touch, and your combat skills were unparalleled. On the battlefield, you were a force of nature, your powers turning the tide of many engagements. But it was your connection with Ghost that truly stood out. You spent hours together, often in silence, yet there was an unspoken bond between you. Both of you carried scars from your pasts, both had seen and endured more than anyone should.

You found solace in each other’s presence, a quiet understanding that needed no words. One night, after a particularly brutal mission, you found yourselves on the rooftop of the safe house. The night was clear, stars scattered across the sky. You were sitting on the edge, your legs dangling over the side, while Ghost stood beside you, his mask pulled up just enough to reveal his mouth. Ghost approached quietly, not wanting to intrude. But you noticed him and gave a small smile.

“Hey,” you said softly. “Hey,” he replied, leaning against the railing. “You alright?” You nodded, “Just needed some fresh air.” Ghost’s eyes were distant, his mind clearly on something else. “I never thought I’d be here,” you said after a moment. “Fighting alongside people who care.” Ghost placed a hand on your shoulder. “You’re part of the team now. We’ve got your back.” You looked at him, gratitude shining in your eyes. “Thank you. All of you.” Ghost’s hand found yours, a rare gesture of comfort.

The two of you stood there, the night wrapping around you like a cloak. At that moment, despite the darkness and the war raging around you, there was a sense of peace. You weren’t just soldiers; you were a family…a messed up, military, full of badass soldiers with dark backgrounds kind of family.

Over the following months, your integration into the team was seamless. Missions that seemed impossible were now within reach thanks to your abilities. Whether it was breaching heavily fortified compounds or extracting high-value targets, your skills made the difference. During one mission deep in enemy territory, you found yourselves pinned down by heavy fire. The situation was dire, and retreat seemed like the only option. But you had other plans.

“Stay behind me,” you ordered, your voice steady despite the chaos. With a wave of your hand, an invisible force field sprung up, deflecting bullets and giving the team the cover they needed to advance. You moved with purpose, your powers creating a path through the enemy's defences. It was awe-inspiring and terrifying all at once. Ghost stayed close to you, his skills complementing yours. You worked in perfect harmony, a deadly duo that left the enemy scrambling.

By the end of the mission, the objective was secured, and you all made it back in one piece. Back at the base, as the adrenaline wore off, you noticed Ghost watching you. He had a soft spot for you, and it was clear you drew strength from each other. One evening, as you sat around a campfire, Ghost finally opened up about his past. His voice was low, the crackling fire casting shadows across his face.

“I lost everyone I cared about,” he said, his eyes fixed on the flames. “My family…friends. All gone. I thought I’d never find that kind of connection again.” You reached out, your hand covering his. “You have us now,” you said softly. “You have me.” He looked at you, the pain in his eyes softening. “I know. And I’m grateful for that every day.” In the quiet moments between missions, you found yourselves together often. You found solace in each other’s company, healing the wounds that ran deep. It was a slow process, but with each passing day, the scars seemed a little less painful.

Then came the day of the final assault on Makarov’s stronghold. The mission was clear—take him down and end his reign of terror. The stakes had never been higher. As you prepared, you approached Ghost, determination etched on your face. “This ends today,” you said. He nodded, his eyes meeting yours with a fierce intensity. “Together.” The final assault was brutal. The stronghold was heavily defended, and every step forward was hard-fought.

In the end, it was a combination of your powers and Ghost’s precision that brought Makarov to his knees. As the dust settled, you stood over him, the weight of your journey crashing down on you. It was over. Back at the safehouse, there was a sense of relief but also a lingering sadness. You and Ghost stood together, looking out over the horizon. “We did it,” you said softly. “Yeah,” Ghost replied. “We did.” You turned to him, your eyes reflecting the shared pain and hope. “Thank you, Simon. For everything.” He pulled you into a gentle embrace, his touch a balm for your wounded soul. “Thank you, Y/N. For giving me something to fight for.” In each other’s arms, you found the peace you had long sought. Together, you were stronger. Together, you were home.

It's a funny feeling to have found a home in the arms that once rescued from a cage.

Tags: @liyanahelena @goldenmclaren @ghostslillady @moonsua1 @rvivienner @Krinoid24 @iruzias @frazie99 @night-mare-owl-79 @saoirse06 @juneonhoth @tiredmetalenthusiast @jinxxangel13 @Simonssweetgirl @luvecarson @willowaftxn83-87 @ikohniik @nobodys-coffee @strawberrychita @sae1kie @queen-ilmaree @Llelannie @Macnches2 @avidreadee123 @talooolaaloolla @skelletonwitch @bittermajesties @Nyx_Flower @sparky--bunny @honestlyhiswife @who-can-appease-me @ghostwifeyy @konigssultwithghost @kaoyamamegami @the_royal_bee @beansproutmafia @soapybutt17 @asianbutnotjapanese @a-goose-with-a-knife @foxface013 @born4biriyani @mychemichalimalance @marshiely @sleepyycatt @believeinthefireflies95 @noodlezz-bedo @alexaseeraj @trinthealternate @vampsquerade @azkza

[homunculus-argument]

Actually I'm still gonna rant about war history.

One of the reasons why war history is the least interesting branch of history for me is because it all just boils down to the banality of evil. War isn't about who's right and who's wrong, just who survived and who didn't. The choices that were good weren't ones that were morally good, only ones that ensured survival or achieved whatever goal was at hand. Nazi Germany didn't collapse because they were evil and deserved to lose. They lost because they were stupid and made bad choices. The fact that they were doing atrocities that now work as a case study of how fucking awful a human being has the capacity to be had nothing to do with it.

The year I was born, Ukraine signed a peace treaty with Russia, getting rid fo their nuclear weapons in an exchange for a promise of never being invaded. Yes, this is a massive oversimplification of the matter but if you want the wikipedia version, just go read the wikipedia article, that's not the point I am making here. Point is, they took a massive risk in hopes for peace, taking a leap of faith trusting in the goodwill of the eastern neighbour. Was that nice of them? Was that right of them? Someone has to be the one to take the first step towards the right direction.

Now they and their children are paying the price for that. One of my friends is a finnish teacher, and though she wanted to just teach literature for kids, she's now teaching it as a second language to immigrants and refugees. A good chunk of her students are from Ukraine. None of them ever wanted to come to Finland and have to learn this atrocious language. They wanted to mind their own business at home.

War history is boring because it's just the same thing repeating over and over and over. Trying to choose the least shitty options when all of your options are shit, and nobody can be trusted to not find a way to be even shittier than that.

[thattiredanimator1t0mblr]

| soft!father figure!Miguel o'hara x teen!spidey?reader | Headcanons | (platonic)

(Miguel o'hara x reader platonic)

(Miguel o'hara x teen!reader platonic)

(Miguel o'hara x reader platonic)

A/n: reminder, miguel is gonna be OOC(out of character) as HELL because I legit forgot how to write, and I lost all my skills because of art block 2 years ago and stopped. So, just a heads up, Ooc!Miguel.

Trigger warning: cursing, mentions of loss of family members/and or friends, mentions of death, mentions of dead family members(?), potentially overprotective/slight platonic yandere!miguel(?), etc.

Miguel....looks at you, the same way he looks at his own pride and joy, which is also you, ofc. (Because you are the main character and are amazing.)

He'll try and brush your hair, no matter how short or how thin it is. if you have a buzz cut, he'll just lightly massage your head. If you have braids or an afro, etc, he'll try and learn hair styles like that for you, like how to do braids, or afro puffs for you (please correct me on terminology, I'm not black, so forgive me if I accidentally say something wrong or call a hair style the wrong name/gen)

He will help you with anything and everything. You are his new pride and joy, sit down, and don't worry about a thing. :)

He'll help you with missions, homework, hell, even on how to build nuclear weapons if you ask nicely enough.

You're his kid(metaphorically), why shouldn't he help you with everything and dote on you?

However if you are more independent or less likely to understand/and or like how much he tries to help you in everything, he'll back off, he trusts you, he just cares about you too much to let you do anything(as horrible as that sounds, it comes from a place of good)

He's like those overprotective dad's that tell you, your outfit is too revealing, or some horror story about some random kid getting kidnapped before you go out. (Is that just my parents? Maybe I'm projecting a little, sorry!)

He will judge your friends, especially if its other spiders, hobie? He won't say anything to you but he will lecture hobie for 2 hours on making sure not to be a bad influence on you, gwen is...alright, he may not really like her but he understands why your friends (whatever that reason may be.), miles? Oh fuck no. Miguel would rather set himself on fire and destroy the spider society instead of letting miles be friends with you, and (aromantics, don't read this part.) If you're dating miles, congrats, miguel is popping a blood vessel from how pissed he is.

Of course, he may lecture you, or even 'ground you'(he'll start to get very emotional after 2 hours of being away from you, he can not risk losing another kid, you are too important to him.), but a little bit of pestering/and or convincing, and he'll begrudgingly accept you and miles are friends/dating.

He may teach you Spanish, if you're up for it.

Calls you spanish nicknames. (Hispanics and people who speak spanish fluently, I am so sorry, I don't know spanish and I'm using Google Translate, please forgive me for this. Please correct me in the replies/comments so I can edit this and fix it./gen)

Princesa/Príncipe, Cariño, Mi sol, mi corazón, mi vida, etc.

He lets(makes) you stay with him on his platform office thingy(sorry, I don't know what to call it.), he'll pull up a YouTube video or movie on some hologram, or holographic screen and let you watch while he works.

Honestly, does not know now to use basic cooking appliances, if you're from a universe where the year is like, anything under 2060, congrats, miguel will not understand any terminology or technology you have(like a regular phone, ipad or a regular computer from 2020, his universe is so futuristic and such, those things are ANCIENT to him, God forbid you quote any vines infront him, he will not understand and there's like a 30% chance his grandparents/great grandparents used to quote vines.)

Will ask you to help him with a fucking microwave,, his universe is so futuristic.

Sometimes, he sends you with him on missions that aren't missions, like jsut going out to soem really nice universe he thinks you'll like, and being 'undercover'(you're both gonna wear whatever you want, hell probably wear casual, you can wear anything you're comfortable in.). To which you'll both jsut be hanging out at some cafe, library, amusement Park, cinema, whatever place you like or he thinks you'll like, and pretends that you're looking for some anomaly but in the end he'll jsut tell you to go back to HQ or your own universe and he'll take care of the anomaly(there was no anomaly, he lied so that he could hang out with you.)

If you lose or are going to lose any family members, friends, lover, etc, maybe from the Canon or something else, he'll do everything to cheer you up, highest quality therapy, stuffed animals(if you like those), the entire series of a book you like, he'll even pay for your favorite Netflix show to get a 2nd/'random number' season, he is a billionaire, he won't let you on any missions, he'll make you rest, help you mourn and even maybe help arrange the funeral if you trust him enough.

This man has severe abandonment issues(hc), he has lost his daughter and family, he cna not lose you too.

He is a bit clingy and overprotective, he doesn't, like, read your texts or anything, but he does silently judge your friends, aswell as sometimes glare at anyone.

He has a huge soft spot for you.

If he's in the middle of lecturing or arguing with someone, maybe because of a mission, and you walk in or he notices you walking by, he will stop and say good morning/good afternoon/whatever time it is.

Warning, 'cringe' below, because I do not know how to use spanish nicknames properly, please forgive me :(

"(Random spiderman) this mission was important! You made mistake that could've costed someone their life!- good morning, Cariño."

^ this is what I mean by that.

Sometimes, he makes lyla monitor you on missions 10 times more then any other spider because he gets worried about you.

He will help you with your spidey suit, and making a suit if it rips or you don't have one yet.

This man will watch soccer, and get pissed off at how badly they're playing, like, you could jsut be in another room or sitting next to him doing your own thing and all of a sudden you'll hear a roar of spanish curses and such, because someone made a stupid move while playing.

He'll make you pack lunches, burritos, Quesadillas, Empanadas, Enchiladas, etc, (now I'm hungry thinking about it😭). If you don't like any of those or are allergic to certain ingredients used in those, he'll make you something else, a sandwich, burger, maybe French fries, sliced fruit, strawberrys dipped in chocolate (if your not allergic), pasta, lasagna, etc. Or he'll just buy you some takeout and put it in a lunch box for you. Whatever you prefer :)

Supports you no matter what, no matter your identity, religion, sexuality, race, etc, he supports you :).

---

[mhsdatgo]

I've recently seen a lot of discourse sprouting on the fact that in the original writing of the Dance of the Dragons, Rhaenyra is wed to Harwin and she still gets usurped, thus somehow "confirming" that the greens were nothing but misogynists after all, and that she was usurped on nothing but accounts of her gender.

While misogyny is one of the main reasons why Alicent and Otto pushed most lords to agree and pledge loyalty to the Greens, saying it was just because of that is not understanding the position Alicent was in, and what brought her to think that what she was doing was in fact necessary for the sake of her ambitions and children.

Alicent, both in book and show, was a victim and the perfect example of what women in a quasi-medieval setting are promised in exchange for all the pain and sacrifice they go through. In Fire and Blood, she is the daughter of the Hand of the King, the second most important man of the realm. She probably accepted to marry Viserys because she had been promised all the delight that would come with being a Queen, much more if she would've been able to give the King sons, which was what he lacked and what he was remarrying for. Anyone would be happy with that idea. Especially an 18 year old girl who, although described as smart for her age, was surely not a mastermind that wanted to rule the world, please, she just wanted to be happy despite the horrors of the world she was born into.

It's that when she does her duty and gives Viserys not one, not two, but THREE sons and he still doesn't do shit about the succession crisis that is actively waiting to happen then what is she supposed to feel? All her life has been a lie, she's stuck in a position she would've never chosen for herself if only she knew better. To top it all off, the princess that is actually named heir does whatever she pleases and trusts her father to clean up her mess, which somehow ALWAYS WORKS, and is proving herself to be a major risk to the lives of her children if she doesn't react as soon as she gets the chance.

She's had multiple reasons to believe Rhaenyra could and would have killed her brothers the moment they stood in her way, and they kept piling up one after the other, but of course dowright admitting she was doing it to preserve her own safety would draw little to no support, duh, lords don't care about anyone's children unless it's theirs, of course they had to argue it was because Rhaenyra was a woman and she had bastards. That was the only way someone might've been interested to join their cause, because to the eyes of other nobles it turned into a matter of keeping up a certain model of society that gave them various advantages.

And let's not act like the Lords on Rhaenyra's side were that much different either. The Velaryons were Team Black solely because of Baela and Rhaena's betrothal, and other houses simply did the math between the side that had 11 dragons and the side that had 4, and chose the one with more flying nuclear weapons. At that point the ulterior motive was choosing teams because you genuinely wholeheartedly supported Aegon or Rhaenyra, not because you had something to gain lol.

So yes, Rhaenyra is still getting usurped even if she marries Harwin Strong, because she's still a risk to Alicent's children and because siring bastards is probably the least bad thing she's done up until that point. Rhaenyra's genitals and her kids are not the only arguments the Greens can use against her, I promise.

[kisu-doodles]

Big tw: for child abuse and manipulation

Idk about u Babez but I really would like to see jack winters featured in Scott’s story in mainstream x men adaptations. Like idk I just feel like it’s a really integral part of his character (which is why all the beauteous fic writers include him) that just gets ignored in the shows and movies!

Like scoots has a ton of trauma already but there is something so upsetting about jack winters and the also how he parallels other people in Scott’s life (specifically Xavier and sinister).

I think it was demonstrated best in the children of the atom comic, especially that scene where scott comes home and jack just starts raging out of nowhere. But also in other comics you see how he can be ‘nice’ to Scott like getting him his glasses but this further tightens his control over him making Scott think that his only option is staying with him. Jack knows Scott is way more powerful than him so he abuses him to make him feel helpless then does basic things like let him go to school (which I thought was odd that he was registered as Scott’s foster father in CoA since he’s a wanted criminal but then I was like oh he’s using a fake identity and having Scott at school means he can get money from the government which somehow makes it even more gross)

Like just from Scott’s pov, he’s on the run after accidentally destroying the orphanage, effectively blind for fear of opening his eyes and living with a traumatic brain injury and the after effects of sinister’s experiments, thinking he’s some sort of monster because of his mutation. He was probably homeless for a long long time which would be even harder due to his blindness and then suddenly he is approached by a man who he inexplicably trusts (since Jack is a low level telepath) who gives him food and shelter and what’s more he’s a mutant just like Scott. Scott probably thinks this is the only person in the world who understands him but then little by little he gets coerced into doing things he doesn’t want to do just little crimes at first and when he refuses jack becomes a terrifying monster that beats him and yells before calming down and reminding Scott that if he wasn’t such a dumb ass he wouldn’t get angry but hey Scott can’t help it being an idiot because his head is fucked up.

Then after raging he gives Scott the greatest gift, his sight back and what’s more he lets him go to school because he finds scott irritating so it would be nice for him to be out of his hair for awhile, maybe learn how to look people in the eye and stop mumbling like an idiot. Also he better do well in class and also no he’s not going to be allowed to take gym class not because of the signs of abuse, but because what if his glasses get knocked off and well it’d suck if they find out what a freak scott really is right? They’d probably send him to die in prison but Scott shouldn’t worry because Jack always looks out for him even if he’s an irritating pissant.

So Scott does everything jack says but it doesn’t stop the raging and Scott becomes convinced that he’s just a rotten to his core and that’s why Jack gets so mad at him. But it’s hard to keep up appearances at school when he’s so terribly underweight, wears the same dirty clothes everyday and can’t help zoning out during class because he was up all night helping Jack commit crimes, so Scott avoids getting to know anyone and it’s pretty easy because people tend to avoid the greasy haired weirdo with stupid glasses.

Then the heist at the nuclear plant happens and suddenly Scott is being coerced by another telepath to kill Jack and he just can’t do that, jack is the only one who could tolerate him, he gave him back his sight, he took him in when the world wanted nothing to do with him.

Then this telepath says he’s taking Scott to his home and he’s going to be a weapon for him but unlike Jack it’s for the greater good but Jack also said that, well what other choice does he have? Scott’s always been a useful object even if he is an brain damaged idiot so he goes, maybe it won’t be easy for Xavier to beat him like Jack but he’s also an infinitely more powerful mutant compared to jack but maybe if Scott does everything he says he won’t hurt him or at least not more than he deserves.

[redpenship]

Do you think mobians should be supplied nuclear armaments to protect themselves against Eggman?

No.

There are a few reasons why this is non-viable:

The Mobian state is basically non-existent. The most expensive/annoying part of possessing nuclear weapons is the upkeep involved with them. Who's paying for this? Why does ANY government trust Mobians, given the closest thing to a government that they appear to have is the Restoration (run by teenagers that cannot be counted on to act rationally during nuclear escalation). It's a major risk for basically everyone involved--including the Mobians!

Moreover, in cases of nuclear sharing, what we see most often are states sharing knowledge. Is a country going to train Mobian scientists to build bombs? How to enrich uranium in a reactor? If this country is simply handing over the nukes, and if this is really just to protect against Eggman, then it violates what we know about extended deterrence. The reason the United States put nukes all over Europe and in Canada was make sure their own allies did not develop their own nuclear programs. For example, if Germany armed itself, the USSR would have gotten pissed, so the US worked very hard with Germany to convince them that a dual-key system (in which both the US and Germany would need to give approval for the nukes to launch) was viable to protect them from Soviet aggression. They made similar efforts with Taiwan during the first strait crisis. Do Mobians want an atomic bomb? If not, they probably aren't getting one any time soon.

They would not deter Eggman. The point of nuclear weapons is to promise retaliation in the form of pain. All a nuclear bomb will do is hurt his robots, which Sonic has proven just fine of dealing with on his own. As the saying goes, there is nothing you can accomplish with a nuclear weapon that an army cannot accomplish with ice picks. Why invest is big ass rockets when Sonic can do the same thing?

Further more, if both parties have nuclear weapons, this does not - necessarily mean they will have a 100% deterrence rate. Eggman has never attacked the islands with nuclear weapons. Even if the Mobians have them, he can still get away with using conventional weapons. This is a result of the stability-instability paradox: if the conflict falls below the threshold of threat, as in is not serious enough to require nuclear intervention, then a conventional war will continue instead. Sino-Soviet border conflict is an example of this.

Putting nukes on the islands could cause another Cuban Missile Crisis-esque episode between Eggman and whoever supplied them. Especially if they are close to his territory.

Eggman takes over the islands ALL THE TIME. If deterrence fails, and Mobians don't fire their nukes, then they will fall into his hands. He's capable of making them on his own, but it probably wouldn't be awesome for him to learn more about the inner workings of xyz country's missile launchers/bombers/whatever. It would just make things more dangerousl

I could probably get more into this but I am going to stop now. To summarize, it would be a giant waste of time and probably not help anyone.

(ty for the question!!! its very late here so I hope it is comprehensible, i am writing this while sleepy lol.

[mcflymemes]

SPY / ESPIONAGE PROMPTS *  assorted lines from popular spy & action films

how many times has the government betrayed you?

what the hell are you doing?

you were shot.

you're going to ruin this mission.

where'd you get a suit?

you're my bodyguard, not my business partner. just focus on guarding my body.

thanks for the ride.

tell me where the bomb is.

you're the person who caught him, aren't you?

please don't make me go through you.

the blood is on your hands.

if you were in your office right now, we'd be having this conversation face to face.

i don't trust anybody outside of this room.

hold on! how did you get in the helicopter?

i'm gonna get the detonator!

if you ever feel like you've been poisoned, chew one of these.

jesus, you're intense.

they'll kill you for giving me this.

people do all kinds of weird and amazing stuff when they are scared.

what's your source?

who paid you off?

everything you need is in there.

we prefer to keep a low profile.

did you ever choose not to?

how close are we?

my argument is not with you.

you're really good at staying alive.

stay put and secure the premises.

i told you to send me in there instead.

this is a bad idea.

why don't you come with me?

so now you're going to kill me.

how long do i have?

that is how you survive.

by the way, i can see your gun.

i pulled up my file.

i need you to untie me now.

you have no idea what you're into here.

i don't want to do this anymore.

this is where it started for me. this is where it ends.

do you know what? you play it too safe.

they found a body.

you really think you're ready for the field?

it's just a job. no hard feelings.

ten seconds or you're dead.

i think one day you will understand.

how do you like my english accent?

why won't you just die?

i'll figure it out.

he drove off the roof.

he killed our man.

we're in the middle of an operation.

i sent you to be invisible.

these people will kill you if they have to.

i'm a motherfucking spy.

thanks for your weapon.

look at this. look at what they make you give.

so what's the plan? who are we meeting?

we have to stop the sale of a nuclear bomb.

sorry, the other wire.

i told you to come alone.

you haven't slept for a long time now.

there's a body in the streets.

i'm working on it!

all of the systems are state of the art.

this whole operation was a mole hunt.

nobody does the right thing.

oh, stop screaming. you loved it.

i'm jumping out a window!

you do not have the authority.

we have to find the other bomb.

why are you helping me?

everything i found out, i want to forget.

how could i forget about you?

kill everyone? that's your plan?

you start down this path, where does it end?

how long was i out?

the only person allowed in that room has to pass through a series of security checks.

i got enough trouble, okay?

put the gun down.

i knew it was going to end this way.

they knew we were coming.

if i ever feel somebody behind me, there is no measure to how fast and how hard i will bring this fight to your doorstep.

what's going on at the CIA?

i think we lost enough agents for one night.

you're a total goddamn catastrophe.

someone started this, and i'm going to find them.

you're only alive today because he didn't have the guts to kill you.

you don't understand what you're involved in.

every now and then, send up a signal. let me know you're safe.

the greater the suffering, the greater the peace.

we have to evacuate these people!

you move, you die.

i saved your ass again.

my team! my team is dead!

i tried to protect you.

perhaps we can arrange a meet.

he went out the window. why would someone do that?

i work alone, like you.

i don't think that's a decision you can make.

accept it. you've lost this one.

i heard you talking.

why do you have to make things so fucking complicated?

[sga-mcshep-4ever]

"No. How's that for an answer?" "It's pithy, I'll give you that." "I'm sure you already agreed to this." "Only because we'll get something out of it." "And we do need allies, Ma'am." "Allies? You just said these people were ready to string you up. How can you trust them?" "Hey, I don't trust them as far as I can throw them. There's a reason they insisted that McKay and Teyla stay there, and it's not just to help them with their bomb. But we have something they need, and they have something we need. I thought that's what negotiating was all about." "Oh, well, it is. Personally, I stop short of offering nuclear weapons." "They were building them anyways." "Oh, if they were building them anyways, Lieutenant, why didn't you just say so? You realize I originally sent you out for food?" "I think we can still get that." "I don't see why not." "We kind of moved past it with the whole atomic bomb thing." "All right, bottom line, can you pull this off?" "We'll have to watch our backs, but…I wouldn't put my team at risk if I didn't think so." "Okay, go, and then maybe we'll talk about making nuclear bombs."

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders #345: Kriemhild

today on grailfinders, we’re getting close to the end of our traum(a), but before that, we need to get revenge! on what, you ask? doesn’t matter, I’m sure we’ll think of something in the planning phase. to help out, we’re gonna be making a build of Kriemhild, Siegfried’s wife and avenger. (a “kriembuild”, if you will)

Kriemhild is a Mastermind (mistressmind?) Rogue to be a cunning little cutthroat, as well as a Hexblade Warlock to steal her husband’s gold and sword and start lopping heads. whether the gold or sword is the hexblade in this situation doesn’t matter that much, either way it’s a magical lump of metal giving you power.

...are nuclear power plants hexblades? I’m getting off topic.

check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet here!

next up: waka waka waka waka

Ancestry and Background

once again, Kriemhild is Human, and with the variant rules that gives you +1 Intelligence & Charisma, as well as proficiency in Arcana (or maybe Nature? idk what skill would help you figure out your husband’s weak points), and the Lucky feat to forcibly re-roll a d20 that directly involves you up to three times a day. Kriemhild’s a schemer, and just like I said in the wodime build, sometimes you get to actually plan, some times you just have to pretend you meant for stuff to happen after the fact.

you’re a Noble of course, but we’re mixing it up and giving you proficiency in History and Intimidation. I hope I don’t need to explain that Kriemhild is scary. don’t cut her in line, trust me

Ability Scores

on that note, it’s no surprise Kriemhild’s Charisma is as high as it is- she’s scary, sure, but she’s also plenty devious and tricksy too. after that is her Dexterity. she wears like, zero armor for most of her ascensions, so good luck not getting hit. third is Intelligence for better scheming, and we’ll at least keep your Constitution positive so you can survive the occasional hit. just don’t go pissing off any gentleman inspectors. this does mean your Strength is a bit low, but it turns out that’s optional for wielding a greatsword, who knew? just drag it around til you need to murder people. of course, this all means we’re dumping your Wisdom score. berserkers, am I right?

Class Levels

1. Rogue 1: starting as a rogue gives you a lot of proficiencies, like Insight, Deception, Persuasion, and Sleight of Hand. you plan around people, and I don’t even know what proof “that Siegfried, and not Gunther, has taken Brunhild's virginity” (to quote wikipedia) would even look like, but you probably forged that. also, Dexterity and Intelligence saves, which is nice. you like fire, it would never hurt you.

if that’s not enough proficiency, you also get Expertise in two skills, doubling your bonus for Deception and Intimidation! you can also add a Sneak Attack to your damage while wielding a finesse or ranged weapon, though you also need either an ally standing next to your target or advantage to hit. it’s a bit situational, but an extra d6 is an extra d6.

also, you know Thieves’ Cant! it’s a language!

2. Rogue 2: second level rogues can make Cunning Actions- or, cunning bonus actions, anyway. you can dash, disengage, or hide as a bonus action, leaving your usual action open for anything you want, like murder! or planning murder!

3. Rogue 3: third level Mastermind rogues get a lot of stuff, including the full-class feature Steady Aim. if you don’t move before or after attacking on your turn, you can spend your bonus action for free advantage! just drag that big ol’ sword around and everything will work out eventually

but all that’s for later. for now, you’re a mastermind, which means you’re a Master of Intrigue- you’re proficient with even more stuff- the disguise kit, the forgery kit, one gaming set, and an extra two languages! you can also copy accents you’ve heard before.

also your sneak attack grows to 2d6. I’m probably going to forget to mention this every time, so just know you add another die every odd level.

if you’re eager to get to fightin’ you’re also a Master of Tactics, letting you use the Help action as a bonus action and at range! so I guess you’re not fighting with this, but every bit helps.

4. Rogue 4: use your first ASI to bump up your Dexterity. this’ll help you not get hit, and also use something small like a dagger. don’t worry, the sword is coming I promise. presumably your husband’s still alive at level 4.

5. Rogue 5: fifth level rogues get an Uncanny Dodge- if you get hit by an attack, you can react to turn a direct hit into a graze, only taking half the damage in the process. don’t die, basically.

6. Rogue 6: at sixth level you get a second round of Expertise, doubling down on Sleight of Hand and Arcana. forge gooder and remember how your husband can be killed. I’m sure that will never bite you in the ass.

7. Rogue 7: seventh level rogues get Evasion, so now your failed dexterity saves protect you as if they were successes, and your successes negate all damage!

8. Rogue 8: use your next ASI to bump up your Dexterity once again. not dying is a great strategy, keep it up.

9. Rogue 9: ninth level masterminds are Insightful Manipulators- if you spend a minute with someone out of combat, you can learn how their soft stats (intelligence, wisdom, charisma) or levels compare to yours, or you can even learn bits of their backstory or personality!

10. Rogue 10: tenth level rogues get another ASI, so start working on your Charisma. scheme better, and uhhh, this’ll help later too. that’s for later though.

11. Rogue 11: eleventh level rogues are a Reliable Talent, so now every time you roll a skill check you’re proficient in your roll will always be count as at least a 10. that means every deception check you have to make will always count as at least a 22 in total.

12. Rogue 12: did I say 22? let’s make it 23 by bumping your Charisma up to maximum with this ASI.

13. Rogue 13: thirteenth level masterminds can put a taunt on another party member with Misdirection- if you would take an attack while another creature is standing next to you, you can react to force said creature to take the hit instead. every good plan needs a scapegoat.

14. Rogue 14: at level 14 your Blindsense lets you detect invisible creatures within 10’ of you. I guess you could consider this the dragon sword helping out? it’s a little early, but at least it’s harder to get the drop on you now.

15. Rogue 15: with our last level of rogue, your Slippery Mind gives you proficiency with Wisdom saves. I wish it wasn’t so, but we don’t need any more warlock spells, and your levels have to go somewhere. what a shame.

on the plus side, your husband’s dead now.

16. Warlock 1: so, sorry about your husband, but on the plus side you inherited his Hexblade, so you get some Pact Magic out the gate! you only get a handful of spell slots, but whenever you cast something using your Charisma you can recharge the slot on a short rest!

speaking of spells, Eldritch Blast is a generic ranged option, Sword Burst lets you spin around and hit everyone, Wrathful Smite lets you add a little damage to your attack and frighten creatures who get hit by it (surprisingly effective against dragons btw), and Distort Value will make people care a lot more about some worthless rocks than they really should. yeah I’m giving you the rheingold too, it’s in your bond CE so it counts.

you’re also a Hex Warrior, so you can use your charisma instead of strength or dexterity to attack with a weapon chosen after each long rest. this doesn’t work with Siegfried’s sword yet, but we’ll get there.

for the time being, at least you can use Hexblade’s Curse on your next target, giving you bonus damage, an improved critical hit rate, and you regain health upon your target’s death, all for up to a minute, once per short rest.

17. Warlock 2: second level warlocks get two Eldritch Invocations, though we’re really only using one this level- the other is getting swapped out in a level anyway. Armor of Shadows gives you free mage armor on yourself for what is basically a permanent +3 bonus to AC while unarmored. ironically, your third ascension actually has armor, so this spell’s a bit late.

you also learn the spell Illusory Script, letting you write one thing but have it look like something else. I don’t think should really be part of Kriemhild’s kit, but it certainly fits the theme, doesn’t it?

18. Warlock 3: now that you’ve entered into the Pact of the Blade with an Improved Pact Weapon, you can summon just about any weapon you wish as an action and use charisma to wield it expertly. that being said, you can also turn a magical weapon like Balmung into your pact weapon.

of course, no matter what ability you use to swing it, a great sword will never be able to use your sneak attack, which is why you can also summon a Shadow Blade now. it’s a light weapon that deals psychic damage when it connects, but more importantly it has the finesse property. you can also summon it to your hand as a bonus action, and it lasts for up to 1 minute.

19. Warlock 4: now that your AC is decent enough and your Charisma is maxed out, use your last ASI to improve your Constitution for more health. you can also cast True Strike now, which is steady aim but worse, or use Crown of Madness to sow the seeds of war. if your target fails their wisdom save, you can force it to attack a creature of your choice, causing chaos and wasting its action. you also have to waste your action to keep the spell going, but rogues have tons of stuff they can do as a bonus action, so it kind of evens out.

20. Warlock 5: for our last spell, you can invoke the rheingold to Incite Greed, charming nearby creatures into congregating around you for up to a minute. they also have to repeatedly fail wisdom saves, but I’m sure it’s fine.

if that doesn’t work, you can always take the direct approach and use Eldritch Smite, burning a spell slot to add 4d8 force damage to your hit and forcing a save or knocking the target prone. this is actually a really nice way to knock a dragon out of the sky if you’re okay bending the rules to grab a bow, so I think our anti-dragon damage condition has been met by this point.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

with easy access to advantage and improved critical chances from your hexblade’s curse, Kriemhild is really good at dishing out critical hits, and thanks to sneak attack and smites, you can really capitalize on those to deal a ton of damage quickly.

you’re also great at sowing discontent in enemy forces, falsifying written orders and forcing them to attack each other with spells and misdirection.

on top of that, you make for a great party face thanks to your maxed out charisma, complete lack of critical failure on charisma checks, and expertise. you’re great at weaseling your way into a situation, then hacking your way back out.

Cons:

balmung is a greatsword, or at the very least a longsword. regardless, that fact seriously neuters the cohesion of this build. smites are nice, but you were already dealing way more damage with a regular dagger by this point. plus, being a sword prevents you from using ranged attacks, which are way more helpful when taking down dragons. basically if you play this build too close to character, it messes with the build mechanics and its flavor.

like mentioned above, your warlock stuff is cool, but it’s already outclassed by your rogue features by the time you get it at the end of the build. it’s a shame siegfried dies near the end of the nibelungenlied, because his sword would be way more useful early on.

every feature you have outside of your sneak attack is pretty situational, since a ton of it relies on fighting things that actually think. in fate and in history, this isn’t too much of an issue, but dnd has armies of undead, constructs, and wild animals that’ll shut down your provocations before they ever get started.

...ignore the fact that we've been infinitely more productive the two days ff14's been offline, that's a coincidence, I swear.

[yanderes-galore]

Could I request a Metro Yandere Artyom? Maybe it could be all three games in a concept? Or if not it could be Metro 2033 since it is the first game in the series

I'll do a general concept that can be applied to all three games if you want :) I'm sorry his character may be off... still new to the series!

Yandere! Artyom Concept

Pairing: Platonic -> Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Overprotective behavior, Manipulation, Violence, Murder, Blood mention, Trust issues, Paranoia, Subtle yandere, Dubious companionship/relationship.

Metro creates a world infested with factions, mutants, and rampant radiation.

In that case I can see Artyom being protective of another human in the Metro.

Perhaps Artyom met you before he met Anna.

As a result you two often work together to survive the hellish world filled with nuclear fallout.

Artyom is a silent protagonist said to be thoughtful and well-meaning... although is also described as inexperienced.

He is a skilled scout and you two are most likely both Rangers.

I feel, like most silent protagonist yanderes, Artyom is protective over you.

After all, have you seen the dangers in the Metro series?

Mutants, cannibals, all sorts of different human factions... and radiation damage.

Naturally Artyom wants to keep you alive as an ally.

Friends are hard to come across in these lands, he's only ever known the Metro when growing up.

The surface isn't safe, but the people everywhere aren't really safe either.

You might have grown up alongside Artyom.

This would've made you both close since the start.

Artyom's obsession is either him being overly protective due to you being close friends... or him seeing you as a lover now that you're both grown up.

Artyom doesn't fully develop a possessive quality in his obsession, this is because he's mostly focusing on how dangerous others are.

He is still aware that others can take you easily... but not in the romantic sense.

He feels everyone and everything could kill you.

So he doesn't really have the time to be possessive.

The only time I can see that happening is if you were close to others he knows are allies.

Even then he's mostly just wary.

Artyom is used to violence.

If anyone threatened you, Artyom is close by with a weapon.

Kindness is not a common trait in these radiated lands.

Artyom knows this and most likely makes you know it too.

The only kindness you should expect is from him.

As a result, Artyom may manipulate you into relying on him.

He's been beside you since childhood, hasn't he?

Artyom doesn't care if he's stained red when looking after you.

He probably trusts you the most out of anyone he's met.

Even when he meets Anna in this concept he feels you're the perfect one for him.

You may even go along with it since... well... Artyom has protected you so far, right?

Your dear childhood friend would never betray you.

He rarely leaves your side, always checking your mask to make sure you don't contract any illness.

He even makes sure you watch every step so you don't fall.

He doesn't let anyone separate you, you both scout together.

Artyom wants you close so you both don't hurt yourself and no mutant or faction hurts you.

If they did... Artyom's seeing red.

There's no need to focus on the monsters of this world...

Artyom distracts you, holding your face gently.

Artyom may be a yandere to successfully obtain his darling.

Mostly because you have no reason to distrust him.

His more "toxic" traits are excused since it's hard to trust others.

You can't tell if he's manipulating you or is genuinely protective.

As a result... you reciprocate his affection when he holds you.

When he kisses you... you don't fight.

Don't you love him? He does so much for you!

Who cares if he threatens others... who cares if he isolates you?

In a world crawling with threats... perhaps he has a point.

Artyom loves you... he protects you... he isolates you... he smothers you...

Why should you trust anyone else in a tainted world such as this?

[iirulancorrino]

Movies that attempt something different, that recognize that less can indeed be more, are thus easily taken to task. “It’s so subjective!” and “It omits a crucial P.O.V.!” are assumed to be substantive criticisms rather than essentially value-neutral statements. We are sometimes told, in matters of art and storytelling, that depiction is not endorsement; we are not reminded nearly as often that omission is not erasure. But because viewers of course cannot be trusted to know any history or muster any empathy on their own — and if anything unites those who criticize “Oppenheimer” on representational grounds, it’s their reflexive assumption of the audience’s stupidity — anything that isn’t explicitly shown onscreen is denigrated as a dodge or an oversight, rather than a carefully considered decision. A film like “Oppenheimer” offers a welcome challenge to these assumptions. Like nearly all Nolan’s movies, from “Memento” to “Dunkirk,” it’s a crafty exercise in radical subjectivity and narrative misdirection, in which the most significant subjects — lost memories, lost time, lost loves — often are invisible and all the more powerful for it. We can certainly imagine a version of “Oppenheimer” that tossed in a few startling but desultory minutes of Japanese destruction footage. Such a version might have flirted with kitsch, but it might well have satisfied the representational completists in the audience. It also would have reduced Hiroshima and Nagasaki to a piddling afterthought; Nolan treats them instead as a profound absence, an indictment by silence. That’s true even in one of the movie’s most powerful and contested sequences. Not long after news of Hiroshima’s destruction arrives, Oppenheimer gives a would-be-triumphant speech to a euphoric Los Alamos crowd, only for his words to turn to dust in his mouth. For a moment, Nolan abandons realism altogether — but not, crucially, Oppenheimer’s perspective — to embrace a hallucinatory horror-movie expressionism. A piercing scream erupts in the crowd; a woman’s face crumples and flutters, like a paper mask about to disintegrate. The crowd is there and then suddenly, with much sonic rumbling, image blurring and an obliterating flash of white light, it is not. For “Oppenheimer’s” detractors, this sequence constitutes its most grievous act of erasure: Even in the movie’s one evocation of nuclear disaster, the true victims have been obscured and whitewashed. The absence of Japanese faces and bodies in these visions is indeed striking. It’s also consistent with Nolan’s strict representational parameters, and it produces a tension, even a contradiction, that the movie wants us to recognize and wrestle with. Is Oppenheimer trying (and failing) to imagine the hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians murdered by the weapon he devised? Or is he envisioning some hypothetical doomsday scenario still to come? I think the answer is a blur of both, and also something more: In this moment, one of the movie’s most abstract, Nolan advances a longer view of his protagonist’s history and his future. Oppenheimer’s blindness to Japanese victims and survivors foreshadows his own stubborn inability to confront the consequences of his actions in years to come. He will speak out against nuclear weaponry, but he will never apologize for the atomic bombings of Japan — not even when he visits Tokyo and Osaka in 1960 and is questioned by a reporter about his perspective now. “I do not think coming to Japan changed my sense of anguish about my part in this whole piece of history,” he will respond. “Nor has it fully made me regret my responsibility for the technical success of the enterprise.” Talk about compartmentalization. That episode, by the way, doesn’t find its way into “Oppenheimer,” which knows better than to offer itself up as the last word on anything. To the end, Nolan trusts us to seek out and think about history for ourselves. If we elect not to, that’s on us.

[deeptrashwitch]

A Haunting Past (pt.8)

Tw: mention and allusion to kidnap, mention and allusion to death, mention and allusion to torture, mention and allusion to severe wounds, allusion to SA

Alyssa Price, referred as Aly in the first part of this part, is an OC who belongs to @alypink ! Please go and give her love, she's amazing!

Taglist: @alypink @stuffireadandenjoy @snootlestheangel @tapioca-milktea1978 @islandtarochips

@justasmolbard @mutantthedark @mctvsh @welldonekhushi @midnight193

"What are you thinking about?" Wraith quietly asked her with a raised eyebrow

"I'm confused about what happened, because...why kill the biggest weaponry supplier of the goddamned web? It doesn't make sense" she murmured

"Yeah, it's weird, do you think they'll try to do the same with the rest? I mean, we take Green Chameleon and Black Swan out of the game, and they killed White Tiger" Dominique murmured now frowning "they only are three now, it's good for us, but I don't understand..."

"Me neither, but we need to continue...I don't think we can go one by one, we have to take the two apart of Red Dragon all down at the same time"

"Do you wanna use the second squad?"

"...No, we need teams like us"

"So?"

"Let's call Aly, she knows what teams can fit better in each mission. We can give her all the intel that we have, and you can coordinate with her about the time, day and team that'll help us"

"Well, Alyssa is certanly someone I can trust about this, but it worries me what Red Dragon can do if he knows we have allies like her"

"Include her into our back up plan, we can protect Lily and anyone who needs protection. Also, Price is Price, he'll be damned if he let's something to Aly"

"Don't be so sure, something changed"

"What?"

"Soap MacTavish was shot in England trying to stop Makarov and a bomb used for an attempted attack, he's stills alive...but Price and his people are erratic because of it" Wraith explained with a sigh "I can't predict what will they do, even if he will protect Aly and Lily as usual...I'm afraid I don't know the reach of his consecuenses now"

"...Then let's bring them to Black Tomb, we're a high security base and we can protect them better"

"I like that plan better, I'll call her as soon we finish here"

"Thanks Dominique"

"Don't mention it" she said while she went to prepare everything for the explanation

Alicia sighed when Wraith proyected part of the archives of Firewall, trying to wrap her head to tell them about it. She stood in front of the table just waiting, then looking at Jackson and Edward in silence, wondering what their reaction will be. Dominique nodded towards her at the same time that the old emblem of the operation appeared in the screen.

"Alright, before I start telling you about Broken Statue...you need to learn about the operation before. During many years the USSOCOM chased after a trafficant with connections all over the world, and in 2016 we prepared an operation to get him and get information about a nuclear weapon cache" Alicia said with serious voice "I was sent and Wraith was assigned as intelligence there as well"

"We talked with many superiors of the different branches, retired and in active service, to know which teams should go to the locations. There were six, and so were six places where we could find Anwar Carabalí, well...Orisha" Dominique intervened to explain the technical part "two from the Army, two from the MC, a SEAL Team and a team from the USAAF. Alicia, I hope you remember the places...?"

"I do, and the teams. SEAL 3 was sent to Casa Blanca, the 101th was sent to Yamena, the 4th from Raiders went to Cairo, the 720th went to Brazzaville, the USSOCOM sent the 8th from the Rangers to Beirut...and the 267 was sent to Luanda" she muttered while she looked away "by that moment, I was the command officer of the Task Force, and that same year they died"

"You were there...?" Edward whispered, getting pale as he shared a look with Jackson

"Yes, I was there as well as you were" she answered with tired voice "I continue, SEAL 3, the 4th, the 101st and the 720th didn't find much information, some things about some other sites, useful...but not what we were looking for. Instead, the 8th found about the cache and we found Carabalí, but it wasn't good, we got the worst part"

Dominique showed ten archives under the name "Burning Heaven", all of them were soldiers, and half of them were marked as dead.

"This is the case from Lebanon, they called it Burning Heaven after the trap was known. Their Captain, Taylor Smith, talked with me once I came back to the US...we were in the same hospital ward" Alicia admitted with a long sigh "they were locked into the room with the information, none of them were meant to leave that place, but they had charges prepared for any case, so they escaped. From ten soldiers three of them died for chemical exposition, chlorine gas especifically, two died days later because of their injuries during the withdrawal and exposition to the gas...the rest of them were hospitalized during more than two months because of the gas and the Captain was discharged of the Army for permanent damages to his lungs and throat"

"What I'm about to show you, is a recording of that day recovered from the body cameras of the three first soldiers" Wraith said with a stone face "you need to understand, everything that you see here, our enemies are replicating it. So be aware of the danger you'll be exposed from now"

"I'll be outside, I can't bear watch that, call me when that finish" Alicia said, walking outside without being able to look at anyone

"Alicia" Wraith called, looking outside "it's time"

"On my way" she answered, walking towards the conference room

"Are you sure about this?"

"No, but I need them to know, I won't let the story repeat"

Dominique nodded with sadness, but followed her inside, where the ten Specters and the Colonel were silent, thinking. Then as Alicia took the pictures from the envelope and Wraith started to desclasify the archives, everyone looked at her.

"What you will see might change the whole perspective you have about me, and probably will stain all memories we have together" she said in a whisper that was well heard by everyone "I won't blame you if after this you decide to hate me or fear me, that would be understandable"

"All ready" Wraith said, making Alicia sigh

"At first se were supposed to raid the places at the same time, but for logistic reasons it wasn't the case. Instead, the 267 started the mission first and the other teams folowed, and that day was when we were declared MIA" she said with steady voice and shaking hands, making her cross her arms "someone betrayed us and we were ambushed by Orisha, once he captured us, we were jailed into one of his sutes in the middle of the angolan jungle. During two weeks and four days we were there, and...I was the only one who came back"

"Cap, but the inscription on the memorial-" Marcus tried to say, shutting up when he noticed the shineless eyes of his Captain

"I know, a helo crash...that was the excuse the CIA put for it, but the reality was other"

"What happened there?" Jackson asked, having a bad feeling

"Hell on earth" she muttered with pain "Carabalí wanted everything, the future raids, the members, the back ups and the equipments. As the officer in command, I was the only one with the complete information, and he tried to get it. At first he attempted with bribes and threats, when he didn't get anything about it, he started to use all kind of torture to make me talk"

It left everyone frozen, and instinctively they looked at Alicia's scarred arms and face.

"I never said anything despite what he did, for...a complete week I was cut, burnt, beaten, psycologically tortured and electrified in an attempt to make me tell them everything. And after that week, they learned about how loyal I am to my people and my ideals, so they started to use my team against me"

"What does that mean?" Luke murmured, thinking about the archive he accidentally found

"...During some days, after especially horrible times on that room, Carabalí's men took one of my soldiers and also started to torture them. I heard all their screams, and I couldn't do anything about it" she whispered while her grip over her arms became stronger, almost making little wounds "all of them had it worst, most of them didn't have the information they needed...those bastards just wanted to break me with them"

Alicia sighed, closing her eyes for a second, but shook her head before taking the envelope again. When she opened it she stared at them for a second, then took the pictures and walked towards the table, yet not looking at anyone.

"These are pictures that came to the light after the rescue mission, whoever betrayed us that time got this...this was us during that second week, our worst days"

The first picture was of a man, with his eye inflamed and his jaw in a weird position, also filled with little cuts.

"The Lieutenant, Richard Porter...he went as Blade"

The next one was a woman, her face was covered with dirt and bruises, her eyes filled with absolute fear and pain...and with bruises on her neck.

"Kate Petrova, Sergeant and the only other woman...she suffered the most, they did the unthinkable to her" Alicia whispered, letting a tear fall "she went as Hope"

While she whipped her tear, she left the third picture. Another man, muzzled, with blood running down from his forehead, frowning with anger.

"He was Leo Jameson, used to go as Tiger, our second Sergeant" she clarified looking away

When the fourth picture was left on the table, almost everyone was feeling sick, but they said nothing. It was a man too, with a long cut over the place where his eye should have been, but the eye wasn't there...and that was just one of his wounds.

"Sean Walker, Private, went as Marble..."

The fifth picture was a man, tired and filled of sadness, with part of his cheek gone and with his nose broken.

"Arthur Greenhill, Private, went as Lotus" she said, tapping at the picture with one finger "he...saved my life"

And the last picture left everyone frozen with horror, and Alicia was shaking as she put the picture over the table, trying not to see it. It was maybe as young as Francis if not more, with red eyes because of the crying, bruises all over his face, cuts and burns.

"...Jason, his name was Jason King. The kid went as Runner, a young one just sent to the 267 by that time"

As everyone tried to process everything, Alicia left one more over the table, calling everyone's attention. Every single soldier had to hold their breath and their desire to puke, because they now were staring at Alicia's picture during that time. She was staring at the camera with emotionless eyes, with all the cuts around her mouth open, with bruises all over her face and little burns going down her neck...the only thing missing was the huge burn scar on the side of her neck.

"They died because I was stubborn, because I didn't say anything, mostly after the Lebanon raid. And a day before the rescue team found me...I had to see them die" she said as she gathered the pictures inside the envelope and gave it again to Wraith

"Alicia" Dominique murmured, worried

"If I don't do it now, I never will"

"...Okay"

"Blade was first, they promised him our freedom if he killed himself and so he did in front of me. Hope was forced to drink machinery antifreeze, she...she begged me to help her, to make it stop" she muttered with broken voice, at the same time that her eyes filled with tears "Tiger was shot in the head, Marble...they left him to bleed out. Lotus had an option, or he used a red hot iron to burn me, or they'll bury it in my eye...he chose the burn and once he did it, he was shot. And Runner, he was alredy insane by that time, he just wanted to go home and once he looked at me and begged to take him home...they shot him as well"

"W-what did you do after that?" Noah asked, pale and scared

"Nothing, for hours I did nothing, I couldn't move for the shock...until I heard that Carabalí would be there the next day" she hissed while her eyes filled with anger again "I waited to the next day, and then I snapped. When I went to the old comms office, I digited a code that only US troops knows and that gave the sign to the rescue team"

"How many were...?" Elliot asked, having goosebumps

"There were 12 mercenaries inside" Wraith intervened, with obscured eyes "none of them survived. The causes of death were slit throats, broken necks, smashed traqueas and one with bullet wounds...but that last one wasn't Alicia's doing"

Alicia sighed, looking at her boys and at Alejandro, but they said nothing. She put her hands in front of her, for a second seeing in a flash how they were dirty and covered in blood.

"I know I'm a monster, I won't deny it, I was consumed by rage" she admitted, looking away in shame "I don't have any justification, but you needed to know"

"What happened with Carabalí?" Alejandro questioned, dead serious

Alicia and Wraith shared a look, and the Captain nodded towards the agent, who just sighed and went to look for a video.

"It's better to see it yourself"

[Video]

[The camera moved with the person wearing it, getting near to the entrance of the prison site, which was pitch black inside. But some sounds alerted them, and all the rifles pointed towards the entrance, everyone expecting an army going outside to fight them. Instead of it, it was just a person who walked (rather limp) towards them.

It was Alicia Marchant, who just limped towards them with a metal box on her right hand and...a head on her left hand, Carabalí's head, dripping blood yet. She looked at them with a stone face, throwing the severed head to the ground in front of them, looking at all the soldiers.

"Orisha is dead, and there is the rest of my team" she said, pointing to a pyre "maybe even more soldiers under the soil"

After saying that, she limped towards the helicopter, with everyone getting out of her way because of fear. The camera noticed how she hugged the box against her chest, with a tight grip, and with a little tear running down her dirty cheek.]

The short video finished, while Alicia leaned against the wall, with her eyes closed and with a frown, don't wanting to remember.

"You okay?" Wraith asked quietly, walking towards her

"...Kind of" she admitted, feeling chills "it isn't the best thing to remember"

"I bet, I still remember those first nights when I visited you"

"Mmm"

"What do you think they'll say?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is...I won't blame them"

"But what about Alejandro?"

"I'm scared of loosing him" she admitted with a vulnerable voice "but I can't tie him to me without knowing my dirty secret, it wouldn't feel right"

"We can always go to drink if anything happens"

"Hmm"

"And about the boys?"

"I won't force them to stay, they're free to go if they want to"

For a second nothing happened, with Alicia already preparing herself for the hate, the screams, the scolding, while Wraith was ready to take her out of there. But when Luke hit the table, with enough strenght to make it sound like a thunder, they both jumped out of fear as Alicia reached instantly for her karambit. The red-haired Lieutenant was furious, cursing down his breath before standing up and start walking like a caged animal.

"If he wasn't dead, I would kill him myself!" he roared, passing a hand over his hair "that son of a bitch! He should've suffered as much as they did!"

"Calm down" Jackson hissed, livid as well "he's gone, but there's still a traitor. That's the one we need to hunt"

"We don't even know who is it" Alexander pointed, angrier than they ever saw him, but controlling himself "even if we investigate, how we will be sure that they won't have more power than us?"

"Oh, fuck that" Elijah snarled, furious as well "if we have to fight the goddamned president. We. Fucking. Will"

Alicia was seriously surprised just as Wraith, and they were equally confused when they shared a look, shrugging without knowing what to do. Then Alejandro also stood up, leaving everything in silence as the team glared at him, and walked towards Alicia while Wraith took some steps aside. The Captain looked to the floor, expecting the worst, but was dragged into a desperate hug on Alejandro's part.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, hugging her tightly, trembling "I should've gone there, I...I should've helped with the rescue. God, maybe if I didn't listened to my superiors and went anyway-"

"It's not your fault, Alejo" she whispered too, hugging him back "there was nothing you could've done, and I'm glad you didn't have to see me like that"

The man didn't say anything else, just kept the hug going, until he broke it and smiled sadly.

"Can you give me some time? I...need to think some things, before I do a stupid decision"

"All the time you need"

"Thanks, amor"

Alejandro kissed her cheek and walked outside, mumbling something down his breath with a worried expression, under Alicia's sad stare. Then Edward sighed and walked towards the screen that had that last frame frozen, turning it off before walking towards Wraith, who just nodded in silence. Soon the pilot looked at his friend, and he put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it a bit.

"I'm happy you're alive" he said, with his eyes also filled with tears "sorry, I never noticed"

"Never say sorry to me, I didn't want any of you knowing this"

"Still, rely on us too. We prefer you alive, so don't overwork yourself and let us help"

Everything was in silence again, but slowly Alicia noticed how none of her boys was hating her, instead they were furious on her behalf. Even Francis, always the happier one, was spitting with rage as he learned everything, and let's not talk about the short-tempered ones. She couldn't stop a giggle, that called everyone's attention, and soon she was laughing.

"Cap?" Nicholas asked, confused and worried "are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just...that's been a long time since someone was like this. Usually people wish I died there" she answered, looking at them with a touched smile as she cried "I'm just overwhelmed and happy that you want me alive! Sorry"

Everyone looked at her with surprise, even Wraith this time, and felt bad for the woman while she continued crying. Then Marcus took out a handckerchief, walking towards the Captain, offering it to her with a soft smile.

"Well, you've always been there for us and treat us like your family, Cap. And you're part of our family too, of course we want you alive! We'll stay by your side every time, doesn't matter what will happen" he said while she took the handckerchief "also, you're the only one who can control our craziness..."

Alicia laughed again, this time with joy, and then she looked at her team. They all were smiling at her, even Jackson was, and it felt...good.

"Well then, we still have work to do" she said, back with her usual steady voice, cleaning her tears "the traitor stills out there and even if I wish we can hunt them, Six Aces still are the biggest threat for us right now. Let's go for them, then we go for the traitor, you copy?"

"YES CAPTAIN!" they answered at unison, determined

"Then I'll talk with Aly, I'll bring news soon" Wraith said with a little smile "let's finish here as soon as we can"

[cultofdixon]

Stick with me at all times

Daryl Dixon [PLATONIC] • They/Them Pronouns • People come and go, family is forever. Even when it’s found. Even when it’s lost. There is always someone sticking by you through the chaos. • ANGST/SFW • TW: Canon Violence / Injuries / PTSD / Depression / SH Scars / Talks about Past Attempts

Requested by: Anon

“Stick with me at all times” you would say that growing up and enforce it now that the world ended. It annoyed me Abe. It annoyed me a lot because for the most part, you didn’t trust me.

Never did I think ever…that I would miss those words coming from you

~

“Stick with me at all times, alright?” Abraham states a bit harshly towards them given the hell they had just endured in Terminus.

“Yeah yeah whatever..” They brush him off and left to double check to make sure they weren’t being followed by anybody that could’ve survived Terminus.

“You gotta lay off Abraham, or they’ll leave. Again” Rosita emphasized her point on that last bit knowing damn well if he flips, they’re gone.

“They bicker like their parents. But she doesn’t look anything like the small one” Glenn whispers to Maggie as she immediately elbows him. “What?”

“You don’t gotta be blood related to be family, besides. Abraham has to be their dad right?”

“We’ve been with them for a bit now and it’s still a bit confusing.”

“Y/N Ford is Abraham Ford’s younger sibling.” Eugene of course startled the two along with a few others at his abruptness. “I don’t understand the point in whispering about it”

“Because we didn’t want to be rude, Eugene.” Glenn sighs having to get used to his forward self. “We’ve gotta find somewhere for the night”

Carol lead the group to the house she had Tyreese coop up in while she went to save the others. The sight of Rick and Carl reuniting with his baby sister Judith, made Abraham instinctively wrap his arm around Y/N’s shoulders pulling them in close.

“Ours was a bit more hellish”

“Don’t remind me Abe”

________

“Gotta protect Eugene at all cost” Abraham states cleaning his knife after taking out a few walkers to clear their path.

“Then why are we in this infested cul-de-sac. What is here that is so important?” Rosita frowns following Abraham’s lead with Eugene quickly trailing her looking around them.

“The best packrats I fucking….” Abraham stops talking when he approached what used to be the picture perfect nuclear family home with the white picket fence and everything…has been broken into and partially burned. “Fuck. FUCK” he ran into the place instantly.

“What in the hell is going on?” Rosita enters after Abraham seeing him frozen in the middle of the place. “Abe—-“

“ROSITA ABRAHAM!!”

Abraham immediately snapped out of his thoughts and ran as fast as Rosita did to find a random figure pining Eugene to the ground aiming their arrow to his head. Rosita instantly took her gun out aiming it at the stranger’s head.

“Lower your we—-“

“Y/N Ford!”

The stranger instantly lowers their weapon turning toward Abraham who forced Rosita to lower her gun.

“Could you kindly—-“

“Fuck off!” They snap, getting off the guy and immediately approaching Abraham removing their mask. “You’re an asshole, yknow” they continued getting closer and right as the younger Ford got into punching range, they did exactly that.

“Hey!” Rosita split the two right after Y/N got him square in the face. “What the fuck is your problem?!”

“HE FUCKING LEFT ME”

________

Y/N pushes his hand off their shoulder taking in the temporary happiness where they can get it before continuing to follow Rick’s lead.

The group set up camp for the night and Daryl of course took the first watch. But he expected to be alone and not find someone he barely knew sitting outside the camp.

“Are you the army one’s kid?”

“I’m not even a kid. Or his kid.” Y/N snaps, soon immediately forgetting it and cowering. “Sorry. I’m just his little sibling.”

“Mm” Daryl sat with them in more awkward silence before striking again. “Were yea with him since the start?”

“Imma need a name before you ask shit like that”

“Daryl”

“Y/N, and no I wasn’t. I was with our parents after…uh. Something when I was enlisted so I had to go home and deal with shit. Then the world ended” Y/N couldn’t help the uneasy feeling crawling up their back as they quickly stood to their feet and when they did, Daryl noticed it.

“Could be somebody—“

“Tracking us. Gotta let your friend know” Y/N finished his sentence walking back inside the camp.

It didn’t take the group long to find the skittish priest and inevitably his safe house being the church he preached at. The group found themselves settling in once again temporarily and Y/N kept to themselves again just within the four walls.

“You okay?” Rosita joins Y/N in the pew they found purchase in. The two had gotten a bit close since they’ve met. Even with the rage introduction.

“It’s weird being around this many people again”

“I get that, but if it makes you feel any better. I trust them. Not as much as your brother but. Yknow”

“Abe is talking about continuing the DC trip…part of me wants to stick with my brother. But I’m done trying to find a cure. I don’t…even entirely believe it” Y/N frowns messing with the tip of one of their arrows.

“Would you rather stay with them? It is your choice. You’re not a kid”

“Abraham only sees me as a little kid. Always has”

Rosita frowns watching them tense to the sound of the floor boards creaking whenever someone took a step. That lead them to take a breather outside as she was about to follow when she just decided they’ll need it.

She never expected Y/N to get roped up in the search for Beth.

“Did you mean to drag them with us?”

“They’re alright.” Daryl shrugs, guess the bitchy first impression struck him. “They’ll keep an eye out for us and vise versa”

“Alright. Now come on” Carol took lead once the three got into the city. She knew a place for them to hide out in without being sought out for, if such was happening.

The story was retold back to Michonne and if Abraham was there, he would be blaming Daryl for what happened. Even the new guy Noah.

Neither of them expected Y/N to do what they did though.

“I don’t think handcuffing me to the gurney is going to help you in any way”

“This is a hospital, there’s no prison. We don’t know where to keep you and Dawn doesn’t have a job for you yet”

“Like I know who the fuck that is” Y/N snaps at the cop on his way out as they were handcuffed to Carol’s gurney. They didn’t leave her when the cops hit her with their car. Noah stopped Daryl and when he tried to stop Y/N, he failed in doing so.

Part of them…couldn’t leave her behind.

________

“What do you mean left yea behind? I had a wife and fucking kids. I ain’t gonna live with mommy and daddy forever like—-“

“I didn’t…you thought I did that on my own free will? Not everybody wants the picture perfectness of life. I only followed in your footsteps because that’s what dad wanted. Both kids following his legacy. I did it…until it broke me” Y/N frowns hating the aching feeling of remembering something that brought a whole lot of pain while struggling to piece itself together. “You…just. Didn’t show up. You were always there when I was a kid. But when I really needed you…I had already fallen off the edge”

It didn’t click at first. Because how could you be forward about needing to be committed for your own safety after trying to take yourself out of the equation of life? It’s hard. Telling that to someone you looked up to.

And that’s what broke him. Yeah, life moves on. You’ll get through this. Was what he thought in the moment, when their parents did call to tell him what happened. Abraham didn’t think that they would need him the way that they did.

“I’m not going anywhere anymore”

“Now how can I trust that?”

“Yea stick with me, at all times. I ain’t leavin’ yea anymore”

________

Even if they keep straying away.

It wasn’t a fair exchange. They’re both adults. With different agendas in the apocalypse. But deep down Abraham needs his last bit of family and Y/N needs to know that they’re never going to lose him. They both need to open themselves to more people.

Abe did that.

And Y/N is trying.

“You alright?”

Daryl snapped out of his thoughts spotting the youngest Ford looking down at him with the same unreadable look that could mean a whole lot of things to everyone around them.

“No”

“At least you’re honest” Y/N brought themselves to sit beside him staring at the barn he had found when taking a walk from the group. Wanting to be alone.

“Why’re you here”

“Why are you?”

The silence that grew after that made it clear he was affected by what they saw in the hospital. He didn’t like to show how he felt around others.

“You didn’t know’er and yea cried just as hard as her sister.”

“Before y’all made the deal, I was handcuffed to Carol’s bed and then just handcuffed in her room cuz there’s not jail cells in the hospital. Beth would hide out in her room. We talked. And I met someone…that understood what I felt at the start of all this mess. Then it was ripped from me” Y/N shrugs hugging their legs close to their chest feeling the anxiety build up inside them like times before as they hid their face from his gaze. “Everything good gets taken from me…”

“Same here” Daryl frowns staring at the ground for a moment. “Lost my brother. Yeah he fought for the wrong side at first, but then he died for the right one. He annoyed everybody. Annoyed the fuck outta me. But he was still my stupid big brother. Would do anything for another second with his bitchass”

“I’m afraid of losing my brother…just don’t tell him that. Cuz he’ll just hover”

“Ain’t it his job to worry about yea?” Daryl looked at them for some kind of change in their expression. But it was weird. Seeing that same blank expression that he carries, on someone who shouldn’t have to deal with a world like this. “What happened to yea before the world ended? Clearly you weren’t peacefully hunting and then a walker came out of nowhere”

“The end of my freedom.“ Y/N leaned up against the tree frowning. “Heard Rick’s story from his son. Woke up from a coma to the undead and then the magical reunion for a lifetime with his now dead wife and now annoying teenage son. I wish I was in a coma. Instead of coming home with compression bandages and hearing how much of a disappointment I am the second before—-someone set a fire on my childhood home to get the walkers away”

“Jesus fuck” Daryl scoffs taking out another cigarette from the pack he snagged and before he could even think about offering, Y/N took the one he had in hand right away. “Damn. Didn’t even offer”

“You would’ve right?”

“Nah. I’ve been told I’m selfish”

“From what I saw earlier, that’s a fucking lie” Y/N laughs taking out an old zippo they’ve only used for emergencies and lit the cig for themselves. “Don’t tell my brother. I’m still a baby in his eyes”

Daryl crossed his heart as a promise and brought back the silence between the two. It occurred to him that they find a sense of comfort with him and part of him wants to protect that. Like he couldn’t with Beth.

After the rough storm in the barn and the reveal of the mystery man in the shadows, the group found themselves following this guy named Aaron to a place behind walls. Reminded half the group of the prison era and the other half of the old world with gated communities.

Y/N stood before the gates with the rest of them feeling the tightness in their chest grow thinking about all the things that could go wrong. That the second they heard Daryl whistle, he knew that got their mind off what’s inside there. He approached them resting something in their extended hand. It being a rubber band.

“Wear it, and whenever you’re anxious. Just snap it” Daryl states snapping the rubber band once Y/N had put it on their wrist. Next thing you know, he’s taking out a possum before the gates opened up for them.

Interviews.

Job placements…

Parties?

A whole lot of the old world expressed itself through this community and not everybody was having it.

“Daryl”

The archer looks up from his spot on the porch to lock eyes with the ex-marine standing before him watching him struggle to find his wording. Guess they both have that in common.

“Y/N likes yea, so I need a favor”

Forward. Daryl nods setting the arrow he was working on down beside him.

“If anything, and I mean anything happens to me. You’d stick by them”

“Always”

It wasn’t a binding contract, Y/N is their own person. But having someone look out for them other than himself, eased Abraham’s anxieties. Especially in the end.

“My mother... told me... to pick... the very... best... one... and you... are...” Negan smirks stopping his bat right in front of Abraham’s face. “…it”

The sound was muffled. All there was was buzzing. Pounding. The fear rushing up their spine that Negan clearly saw when saying what to do if anybody moves or says a word. Next thing that happened was Y/N watching Lucille meet their brother’s skull.

“Oh! Look at that!” Negan laughs after the first hit letting Abraham rise to look at him. But his attention was more on the shock expression resting on his sibling’s face. “Taking it like a champ”

“Suck…my…nuts” Abraham spits out and that was his last words.

Y/N watched as Negan continued.

Blow…after…blow…

The blood…

The scream that wanted to escape their throat and failed…

Negan continues to laugh, happy to the fact that he brought pain amongst those he thought deserved it. He turned slowly toward Y/N seeing the tears roll off their cheeks and the hesitation their body had trying and wanting to cover their brother from any more pain but there they knelt frozen. Only to flinch like the rest when he swung his bat too close to them, just to get Abraham’s blood splattered on their face.

“Love tearing families apart” and right after he said that, Daryl quickly lunged socking him square in the face. Only for him to be pinned to the ground next.

Daryl fought against them at first but when he kicked eyes with Y/N’s, watching them shake their head slowly. Pleading with their eyes for him to stop. So he did. But both feared that his fate was next.

When the next death was Glenn, and everybody was falling apart at that moment. The next actions only brought pain and anxiety to force Y/N back into a corner of their mind they thought they were safe from. Y/N tried to speak out when they watched a few men grab Daryl forcing him into the back of the van, but nothing came out except for a straggled scream that they so desperately wanted Negan to hear when he killed their brother.

The group kept their distance when they watched Y/N crawl over to Abraham’s body and Maggie struggle to walk to Glenn’s. Maggie knelt by her husband’s corpse not wanting help to take care of him as Y/N laid themselves over Abraham gripping onto his jacket not saying a word.

“Y/N…we…we have to move his body” Sasha frowns kneeling besides Y/N resting her hand on their back watching their whole body flinch. “Y/N…”

“Hun…” Rosita frowns watching Y/N lift their head to look at her and all there was was pain in a neutral expression.

Numb…

________

“Yea like having your brother back?” Daryl asks Y/N as the three of them were scavenging a small station after finding a truck full of supplies.

“Yeah, even if everybody thinks he’s my dad”

���Well anybody would be lucky to have you as their kid” Rick adds entering one of the few buildings as Y/N stuck with Daryl examining the tipped over vending machine.

“Rick’s right yknow”

“How?”

“You’re hella smart. Know a good knot to secure arrow heads. You’re always watching out for everybody. Know what to do in immediate crisis. If yea didn’t, Carl would’ve probably lost more than an eye. Have a good eye when searching for certain things. I don’t know. Very apocalypse focused but. Hey I’m proud of yea for the shut you’ve done. Even if we only met a few months ago”

Y/N couldn’t help the smile in the moment.

________

Oh how he misses that moment

Maggie went to the back of Hilltop where they buried Glenn and Abraham. Expecting to be alone. But she couldn’t help the worry that stirred when finding Y/N laying in the dirt right beside their brother’s grave wearing the jacket he had worn the night he died. They’ve been there since they buried him. They scream at everybody who asked if they were okay, because they weren’t. Maggie brought herself to their side seeing their cloudy eyes lock onto her as she sat on the ground beside them.

“How long has it been?”

“About a week, you ain’t cold at night?”

Y/N shook their head immedieatly hugging themselves for a moment as Maggie moved herself to lay down.

“You…uh….Never mind”

“Y/N, I’m here for you” Maggie reassures that negative thought striking them currently as they tugged at the rubber band on their wrist.

“Could…Daryl be alive?”

“He’s a fighter”

“my brother was a fighter…and…” They stopped everything they were doing and let the painful tears resurface as Maggie carefully took one of their hands into hers even if their body tensed to such. “I feel selfish…for laying here…stuck in my head…when both Rosita and Sasha are trying to avenge him…as I just…want him back. Want…Daryl back to tell me it’s alright instead of thinking he’s dead too…and now I’m feeling even worse”

“If the next thing outta yea, is about me. How you feel bad for feeling what you’re feeling. While I also have lost someone close to me. Imma kindly tell you to shut up” Maggie scoffs squeezing their hand as they squeezed back. “We’ve got each other. We’ll…always feel this pain but we’ll always be there for the other. Even if that means laying in the dirt for a while longer before fighting…and Daryl? The guy talked about you like you were his little sibling. Knowing him? We all need a drive to keep goin’. And he’s gonna fight to get back to his family. You need to keep living to see that”

“Can…can you stay with me a little longer?”

“I’m sticking with yea for however long you need me”

________

“Stick with me at all times, alright? I don’t trust this place either” Daryl states watching Y/N nod before going to Michonne when she called for them a second.

Maggie watched the two from the infirmary trailer steps for a moment as she smiles when Daryl caught her watching. He walks over thinking she had something to ask of him but instead-

“You’re protective of them. It’s cute”

“Shut it. I’ve heard that three times today”

“Oh yeah? Who else” Maggie smiles patting the spot beside her as Daryl sat down leaning back.

“Michonne, that Jesus guy thought I was also their brother”

“Well…aren’t yea?”

“What?” Daryl looks at her confused when her happy expression was already clear as day.

“We’re a family Daryl. You are especially a big brother to Y/N Ford and I don’t think they mind it either. They wanted their family back when this hell all started and they got a whole lot more than just Abraham”

________

“Is…Y/N dead?”

“No?” Jesus laughs, he fucking laughs. He wasn’t there when Rick told Negan that both Maggie and Y/N died because of what he did to their brother and her husband. Daryl wanted to kill him right then and there, didn’t care if he was a lackey in that moment. He wanted to strangle the life out of him for killing his kid indirectly.

But when the doors to Hilltop showed Maggie alive and relieved to see Daryl alive as well…

She knew what she had to do.

“Take it easy alright? They’re still back at that line up…they don’t…they ain’t okay.”

Daryl frowns wishing he had fought more to stay with them instead of being whisked away by the Saviors to the hell called the Sanctuary. He follows Maggie to where they buried the two and saw Y/N laying on the ground. Still frozen in that state of mind of wishing what happened didn’t happen. Maggie left him to be alone with them, even if she wanted to see the look on Y/N’s face…

When Daryl came into view causing Y/N to suddenly lunge forward hugging onto him as he was trying to kneel down slowly. Making him stumble into the dirt.

“Stick with me at all times alright?”

“Ain’t going anywhere, kid”

[pickledpascal]

Killer Queen

Chapter Two: Walk This Way

Warnings: barely any plot, smut, oral, could be considered a bit non-con but id say its more consensual non-con, the start of some pavloving, slurs

Word Count: 2.9k

Killer Queen Masterlist

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Taking care of Soldier Boy, and housing him, was not what Amber signed up for when Butcher told her about this imaginary weapon. But Ben was powerful, very powerful. Enough to take away the powers of any Supe within distance of his blast. So Amber complied with Butcher's request. She was careful enough not to drive down any populated areas just in case the street cameras caught a glimpse of him. 

"Man, you live in the middle of fucking nowhere." Ben murmured as he slammed the car door shut and took in the house in front of them. 

It wasn't too far away from the city but far enough that Butcher trusted Ben, and Ryan, wouldn't be found. Ryan especially. The house looked plain on the outside, siding painted white with blue roofing, and had two stories. But there were a few surprises inside. 

Amber bit the inside of her cheek. The urge to slam the guy against her car and show him who the boss was bubbled inside her. She refrained with gritted teeth. "Might be good for you, not fucking randos every chance you get." She led Ben inside, checking to see if Eden was home. If she was, Ryan wasn't too far behind. "Eden! Where ya at?" 

"My room!" She heard her friend call back. 

Amber had Ben stay in the living room as she went to go talk to her friend. Which left him with the only option to look around the house. He observed the living room. A flat screen TV donned a wall while framed posters hung on other walls. They looked like movie posters but Ben didn't know any of them. 

After a few minutes, Ben got bored and ventured into other parts of the house. The kitchen was uninteresting. Partly because he didn't care about cooking. So he scaled the stairs and tried to look through a few rooms. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Most were locked until he came to one at the end of the hall.

"Oh, hello," Ben hummed as he entered. Lights were hung up at the edges of the ceiling, there were quite a few shelves hung up, more posters, a desk, and a large bed that sat in the middle of the room. 

But what piqued his interest the most was the porn magazine that rested at the edge of the bed, it was open but faced down to keep its place at a certain page. Ben lifted it to take a look and blinked, heat on his face. He didn't think shit like that affected him anymore. Nonetheless, it did. On the page was a girl, with a strap-on, fucking a guy whose face was incredibly blissed out. 

Ben nearly dropped the magazine when the door behind him slammed closed. "Whatcha got there?" Amber glared at him. 

"Found it." The man tried to be as nonchalant as possible but it wasn't working, Amber could tell how he felt. 

But Amber could care less about that. She snatched the magazine from his hands and threw it on her desk. "Look, I have a few rules I'm gonna need you to follow." Ben rolled his eyes but stayed silent. "A kid lives here and I don't need you being a dick or saying something you shouldn't." Amber took a breath. She was way too worked up and she knew it. Might be best she kicked Ben out of her room after this and did something with her frustration. "Don't be saying slurs and shit, at least not when he's around." 

"God," Ben sighed, shaking his head. "Y'all are a bunch of pussies these days, huh?" In the last few days, he could tell the world was a lot more sensitive than back in his day.

Amber's jaw clenched. Her chest rose and fell with a deep breath. She tried to remind herself that she needed to calm down. "I can take your shit but I don't want this kid growing up to be like you." She stared him down. They were the same height and Ben was physically bigger than her but Amber knew she would be able to hold her own against him, nuclear powers or not. 

That cut Ben a little deeper than expected. So he returned the fire like he always did. "So he could grow up to be like you? A tranny who probably didn't get enough pussy so he decided to get one for himself, huh?" 

Amber let out a breath through her nose and decided fuck it. She grabbed Ben's jaw harshly, causing him to claw at her shoulder to try and get her off him. She didn't budge. Not an inch. Amber grabbed one of his arms and twisted it behind his back. Ben winced. He hadn't felt that kind of hurt in a while. "You think you're funny? Watch your fucking mouth." She whispered into his ear, "Or maybe," Amber glanced down. Ben had quite the hard-on. "Maybe you need a lesson." 

"Fuck you." Ben growled, his nostrils flaring as his other hand grabbed at Amber's arm. 

Amber twisted his arm a little more, making him take in a sharp breath. "Say it again. Tranny. I fucking dare you." Her breath was hot against Ben's ear and he couldn't help the strained noise that escaped his lips. Her brain lit up with a twisted desire. The man was all macho on the outside but he liked this. Not being in control, letting her take the reins. 

"You didn't even cut off your cock, huh?" Ben could feel Amber's crotch against his back as he struggled. "I bet any guy in their right mind wouldn't like that," He accentuated the word. Partly because he wanted to see what would happen if he did. "Tranny." 

That was it. Amber let go of his jaw and slammed Ben against the wall. His cheek was pushed up against it as he struggled to break free. "You like it." She pushed her knee between his legs. He swallowed, not wanting to admit it. "Be a good boy and do what I say and you might be able to form a coherent thought tomorrow." 

"Fuck off." Ben spat. The only response he could come up with.

Amber clicked her tongue, "That's no way to talk to a girl." She kicked the back of his knee, causing him to lose balance so she pushed him onto her bed. "You were looking at my porn for a few seconds too long for you to be disgusted by it. You liked it. You want that don't you?" She bent over him, flush against his ass as she whispered into Ben's ear. "You're lucky I come with the attachment." 

Ben glared at her from the side of his eyes. "I'm not a fucking bitch. You can't–" Amber took off her shirt and suddenly he was speechless. Her hands were removed but he stayed there. On the bed. By choice. 

"Can't what?" Amber grabbed the back of Ben's head by his hair and pulled. He let out an involuntary whimper. "You like me being in charge. I think I could do whatever I wanted with you and you'd like it." 

Ben swallowed thickly. Somehow, Amber figured him out in the matter of being with him for just a few hours. He had been at the top for years, in all senses of the word. And, well, Amber was one of the only women to ever retaliate against that. And had the strength to match. His body responded to that in ways his brain told him it shouldn't. 

Amber retracted her hands and looked down at Ben with a dark glint in her eyes. "Tell me you don't want me and I won't. But if you do, you're going to be mine. And that means every single time you do something wrong, you're gonna face consequences." 

Ben's eyes narrowed a bit at the mention of punishment. A part of him wanted to know what they could be. "Fine." He huffed, sitting up on the bed. 

"Then get on your knees." Amber ordered as she unzipped her pants. Underneath was a pair of plain blue underwear. Ben complied without a second thought. He didn't know why. Just her voice—the way she sounded, he had to listen to her. "That's better." She ran a hand through Ben's dark hair before she gripped it tightly. "You said a few choice words earlier. Hurtful stuff. Which means you don't get what you want. Only good boy's do." Amber slipped her underwear off and shoved her cock in his mouth. 

Ben let out a noise of surprise and tried to push off her but Amber's grip on his head was like a vice. No budging. Her dick was long enough that it made Ben gag but he couldn't move his head and so he was forced to adjust to the feeling of her in his mouth. It took a while. Tears started to form at the edges of his eyes and saliva dripped from his mouth. Ben couldn't remember the last time he cried. He couldn't remember if he cried at all. His brain felt fuzzy and he wasn't sure why. It scared him. And excited him all at the same time. Ben's hands naturally sat behind his back after a while. Amber hadn't even told him. 

"That's a good boy." Amber used her free hand to brush a few strands of hair that fell into Ben's face. "If I let go, are you gonna be a really good boy and suck me off?" She loosened her grip on his hair. Just enough to let him nod. 

Ben looked up at her and nodded. There was an eagerness in his eyes that wasn't there before. So Amber completely loosened her grip as he swallowed, causing a soft sigh to escape her lips. Ben had no practice in this area, at all, but there was that gnat in the back of his head that seemed to know what to do. With its guidance, he started to move his head. His gag reflex seemed to disappear since Amber's cock hit the back of his throat multiple times. 

He loved it. 

He didn't know why. In his right mind, Ben might've been disgusted with himself. Scratch that. He certainly would have been disgusted. But he wasn't. 

Ben loved the noises Amber made. Small huffs of air or light pants escaped her lips. He also loved the power she had over him. The way she could have easily shoved him onto her bed and had her way with him didn't go unnoticed. Instead, Amber chose this. Similar. But different where it counted. Ben, begrudgingly, knew he would have liked that too. 

"Almost there…" Amber breathed, twirling a finger around a few strands of Ben's hair. "You want a taste, right?" 

Ben simply hummed in response, a little too focused on getting her off that he didn't fully register the question and what it meant. And then he felt something shoot down his throat. He pulled off Amber, coughing. Nothing came up since he already swallowed it but the surprise was enough.

Amber looked down at him, amused as she pulled her underwear back up. She tilted Ben's head back up at her with a finger under his chin. "Stand up, sweetheart." Ben pursed his lips as he slowly stood on wobbly legs. She guided him into her bed with a hand on his waist. 

Like a switch, Ben drew in a deep breath. "I can't believe I fucking did that…" That headspace. He didn't know he was capable of going there. Especially with someone like Amber. And, strangely, he didn't mean her extra parts. 

Amber let out a small laugh as she got redressed. "You know I own you now." She whispered. She could picture Aang's disappointed face. 

Ben swallowed at her tone. He did. God, he did. "I'm not… easy." He sat up a little in the bed, bending his knee. Ben wet his lips as he looked up at her. She was standing at her full height and he felt… small. 

"I don't expect you to be." Amber said honestly with an eyebrow cocked. She imagined it strained Ben to be even a little open with her about his feelings. "Unfortunately, you're a product of your time. It's the 21st century, though, so you don't get a fucking pass if you wanna act all pissy anymore." 

Ben stared up at her, jaw clenching and unclenching. He looked away, a scoff escaping his lips before he could even think about it. 

The bed shifted with the added weight of Amber. "You want something." She studied his face. As much as Soldier Boy wanted to hide his emotions, they showed on his face. They usually came out as anger but Amber was quick to see past that. "You want comfort." She hummed. 

In her mind, Amber was screaming at herself to stop whatever was gonna happen next. She knew she was better than this. Better than all of it. She should've just kicked him out of her room and punched a wall or something. But another part of her wanted to see what Ben would do. Apparently he was pretty good at following orders when he wanted to. 

"Eat shit." Ben huffed, crossing his arms. His defense was back up already.

Amber pursed her lips. Soldier Boy had been put through a lot. Perhaps she needed to be the bigger person and take his words with grace. Sometimes. She lifted a hand to his face and he flinched before he felt just how soft her touch was. 

Amber studied Soldier Boy. His posture was rigid and, judging by his reaction to her touch, he hadn't had a good experience with supposedly comforting touch. Whether that was because of his previous life or the Russians she didn't know. But she could tell he wanted it. Badly. It was those 1940s gender norms that told him he couldn't accept it. 

"Look at me." Amber said. Begrudgingly, Ben complied. "If this… thing is going to work, you're gonna need to tell me how you're feeling. No pushing shit down." She wasn't playing around and he knew it. 

Ben let out a breath through his nose as he nodded. "I'm feeling…" He paused. "Like I want to kiss you." 

That wasn't exactly what Amber meant but she wouldn't exactly complain. "Okay." She leaned forward to press their lips together. Ben's lips were rough against hers but he was on ice for forty years so that might've contributed to it. 

Ben lifted a hand to cup Amber's cheek out of instinct, bringing her close with a hand on her shoulder. Amber's lips were gentle, soft and slotted against his perfectly. He didn't know he could feel like this. It scared him. Amber had him under some sort of spell that he didn't want to get out of. It felt like every single emotion he blocked for the past hundred years he'd been alive suddenly bubbled over. Ben didn't register the tears rolling down his cheeks until Amber had pulled away and wiped at his cheekbone with her thumb. 

"I'm… yours, huh?" He swallowed, feeling a tightness in his throat for the first time. 

Amber hummed. "Yeah. Mine." She whispered.

"I-I could," Ben paused, glancing away from Avery with a sniffle. It was taking all this willpower not to completely break down. "I could get used to that." 

Out of pity, Amber wrapped her arms around Ben and hugged him. Just like that, he cried into her shoulder. His earlier anger had dissipated into pure sadness. The person he thought he loved sold him out and hated him. He didn't know what hurt worse. The fact that the Countess despised him or what the Russians did to him all those years. The Countess didn't even get paid to do it. She wanted to get rid of him. Forever. And for what? She died in the end. 

"Shhh, it's alright." Amber cooed, rocking him slightly. "You're alright. You're safe here." The complete truth. It was why Butcher trusted her enough. The safest place on Earth for anyone to be was near Amber. And sometimes she forgot that. 

Ben shook with sobs, clutching onto Avery like a lifeline. "Don't… don't leave me." Everyone did eventually. They either died or left him. No one ever stayed. He blamed himself for that. Ever since he took Compound V, his life had been a rollercoaster. Ups and downs. Mostly downs. 

Abandonment issues were not on Amber's bingo card. PTSD, for sure. A narcissistic personality disorder, yeah. This? Absolutely not.

"I won't," Amber's mind cursed at herself. She was supposed to house Soldier Boy. Not this. She couldn't help it. She had a knack for thinking she could help people. Apparently, Soldier Boy was no different even if he was a major bitch when they first talked. "I won't." She repeated. 

When Ben's tears stopped flowing, he pressed his face into her neck and sighed. She smelled nice. It lulled him to sleep. Though, his emotional outburst did take a lot of energy out of him too. 

Amber rubbed his back and sighed, opting to lay in bed next to Ben. Hopefully, they'd talk a little more in the morning and he wouldn't revert back to his asshole ways. Though, Amber knew it would take a while for him to get her lessons through his thick head. This was a stepping stone. A small one across a lake of problems. 

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