#IF WE GIVE EVERYONE ELSE GUNS TO PROTECT THEMSELVES!!

[heretherebedork]

I see you in the tag and you keep saying that unlike Joke, Jack's life matters to him and therefore he doesn't sacrifice himself. But Jack is the guy who took a knife to the guts to protect Joke though. Like, Joke was about to get stabbed, and Jack just threw himself in front of the impact. For Joke. And then, he told him to run away. How is that different from what you say about Joke? How is that not Jack giving up his life for the sake of someone else? I don't understand

It's the intention.

Jack does not intend to die. Jack knows that his life matters to the people around him. Jack has worked very hard to not die and to keep living and to keep taking care of his grandmother. Yes, he will sacrifice himself and yes he will put himself in immediate danger to protect Joke (or his grandmother) but he would not do that for anyone else.

I mean, we saw that he told Auntie Jeab to give them the money and they'd figure something out later. Jack believes in living. He got stabbed protecting Joke but that is an inherently different kind of sacrifice in the middle of a battle than Joke standing directly in front of a gun for someone who isn't Jack or his grandmother or Joke knowingly putting himself in life-threatening danger (from the preview for the next episodes).

Joke has a complete disregard for the value of his own life because he sees no inherent value in his own life. He doesn't see people who would care if he was gone. His father, who supposedly missed him so badly he bought his favorite ramen and stocked up, insulted him and basically told him that he could never, ever change. Jack's first act of self-sacrifice was to pull away from Joke and then push him away even harder.

Jack's sacrifice in the middle of a battle is different than Joke' premeditated habit of carving off bits of himself and hiding the pain from everyone around him because he doesn't think any of it could possibly matter.

Jack protecting Joke in a fight that was going to get one of them stabbed is different than Joke willingly accepting a chance of his own death for the sake of Jack's freedom because his life doesn't matter to him.

They are both self-sacrificing and will put themselves in danger for the other, yes. But Jack knows he has something to come home to and wants to live, wants to keep going, wants to keep his grandmother safe and that is the end goal of all his sacrifice. That's why the truth game worked on him! Because he knows he is loved and he wants to come home to them at the end of the night.

But the truth game wouldn't work on Joke. He doesn't have the same sense of being loved or needed like that. He would deflect any truth onto a different one, about Jack or his grandma. He would tell the whole truth without giving away any of what he had sacrificed because his own sacrifices don't matter to him. It's not like he was the one who told Jack he talked to his abusive father, that was grandma and Joke just shrugged it off!

It's the same issue but in different fonts and one of those fonts is the will and the want to live.

[z00oo1]

Joel Miller Recs

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She’s a Gun @cowgurrrl

Somebody didn’t give the new guy a heads up about talking about Joel Miller’s family

Big Fan Big Fan II @atinylittlepain

Joel is smitten. But he's having a hard time figuring out when she's being real and when she's just acting.

Feeling You @peterparkersnose

Y/N confesses something to Joel she shouldn’t have when she saw him awake for the first time in weeks after his accident

Unexpected Expecting @atinylittlepain

Joel Miller x pregnant!f!reader

From Love and Life @bubbles-for-all-of-us

you're heavily pregnant but your medical assistant is needed in a close by town. 

We Bleed Together @bubbles-for-all-of-us

What if instead of loosing Sarah, Joel lost you - the mother of his two children and the person who had built him up to a better man.

If the door was open series @heartpascal

months of travelling with joel and ellie come crashing down on you, the fear is suffocating.

Something is rotten @heartpascal

arriving in jackson brings painful feelings, and even worse conversations.

All my faith @heartpascal

Joel finding a little girl after the outbreak (before Ellie),

to do the right thing @pedgeitopascal

When you find out that you’re pregnant, getting rid of it seems to be the only option you have but when it doesn't go as planned, you think of another solution.

oneshot @firsttimewriter92

Joel's time being taken up by another woman

Survive @alloftheimagines

Ellie stays back to keep an eye on Joel so reader gets kidnapped

pieces of our path @atinylittlepain

Joel request please!Reader collects keychains from the different states/places she travels

i’m yours baby @youlightmeupfinn

you can't help but feel inferior when two women throw themselves at joel upon you moving to jackson.

I never stopped loving you I never stopped loving you II @musings-of-a-rose

The disciple @floralsandthesauce

y/n and Ellie have been taken by David and his loyal company.

Man I hate Golf @j0elmill3r

Oneshot @forever-rogue

reader gets hurt protecting Ellie

Needle and thread @uhlunaro

You picked on someone twice your size, and Joel begrudgingly patches you up.

The cure @alloftheimaginess

reader swaps places with Ellie and reader is the one Joel rescues.

Your Bear Your Bear II @rrickgrrimes8

Joel Miller doesn’t just lose Sarah that night but his other daughter too

Oneshot @secondsistershelby

Healing You @astrid-sorensen

A long 12 years after Sarah’s death, Joel can’t seem to open up to you again. But you’re never gonna stop trying.

Code Red @softlyspector

Joel finds out that its the reader's turn to go on patrol. And he is not okay

Settled @softlyspector

Joel and Ellie are finally mostly settled in Jackson. Joel just wants to take care of you, but you find it hard to let some things go.

Too Late @alloftheimagines

in which joel makes the decision to stay in jackson out of fear,

Oneshot @forever-rogue

Joel teaching reader how to swim

Slice of Paradise @bubbles-for-all-of-us

Joel dream of having a farmhouse comes true.

Butterfly @bubbles-for-all-of-us

When Joel thinks that his life is over his little butterfly sends him a new reason to stay alive.

Darling Don’t You Cry @pagesfromthevoid

In an Instant @mishasminion360

Happy birthday, Joel Miller.

Clouded Judgement @bluebeary-jay

it was a long time since Joel had felt a maddening rage

Apothecary @atinylittlepain

joel becomes curious about the woman running the medicine shop

Secret Garden @hevstlouera

As you were well aware, your parents work was something you should never be involved in

White Lies @poeticbarnes

Joel would do anything for you. He does anything for you. And he makes sure you don't know a thing.

Old Soul @softlyspector

You're never quite sure of your place in Joel's life. Everyone else seems to know exactly what it is.

Don't Let Me Drown @alloftheimagines

in which the reader falls into the river of death, and it's joel's job to save you and find shelter.

No Time To Die @davosmymaster

With your life now hanging by a thread, Joel is determined to get you to safety, but the clock is ticking faster than he can run.

Don't Let Me Drown @alloftheimagines

in which the reader falls into the river of death, and it's joel's job to save you and find shelter

Old Soul @softlyspector

You're never quite sure of your place in Joel's life. Everyone else seems to know exactly what it is.

White Lies @poeticbarnes

Joel would do anything for you. He does anything for you. And he makes sure you don't know a thing.

Untitled @forever-rogue

Protective!Joel

A Long Time Coming @criminalamnesia

You go on patrol with Joel, unknowingly sealing your fate.

All Yours @punkshort

Tommy and Maria want to meet a group from another community to establish a trading relationship. One man comes onto you a little too strong, sparking a reaction from Joel.

Edge Of Darkness @hyzer34

After being placed in a tiny apartment for 5 months with a man who rarely talks. you both decide to leave the QZ.

Wattpad

Cowboy Like Me by JOELM1LLER

Till Death Do We Part by Bloodlvstflims

A husband and wife find themselves in a unique situation when a fungal virus infects the city surrounding them, where they're forced to make tough choices for the sake of living.

Ao3

Like Knives by Aerith123

Joel and Ellie come across an unlikely ally

Surrender by Ezrasbirdie

Weeks after the events in Kansas City, Joel and Ellie stumble across a woman lost in the Nebraska wilderness. With her knack for foraging and unending patience for Ellie's ceaseless questions, Daisy quickly becomes an asset on their journey.

Crack Shot by TomeOfTheForgotten

You must choose to leave behind the safety of Lincoln to bring Ellie to the terrorist group you swore you would never seek out again. It's been years since your last smuggling run, but you always were the best sniper the Fireflies ever had. With Joel at your side, you're ready for anything the open road could throw at you.

[the-eeveekins]

The 24th Day of G-Witch: Unrelenting Tenderness

Screenshots can't really do this scene (or much of the Calibarn's scenes) justice because of just how fast it moves, but Suletta is just really incredible during this fight. I can be hard to see with the speed, but she's actively blocking, punching and kicking the Rebuild's bits away instead of destroying them because she knows each one contains a child of the coven.

I've read analysis on why Lauda's motivations make sense from his point of view and why he's doing this, but it's very hard to care when he's such a minor character and this has absolutely no bearing on the main events of the story happening right now. Almost to drive home how far removed this fight is from the main story, Guel and Lauda are having this fight by themselves, completely away from Quiet Zero and everyone else.

It's just hard to care at all about any of this when it's really just an excuse to keep Guel involved to some degree in the finale, and give the Schwarzette some screen time to sell model kits.

And to be fair, the Schwarzette is an absolutely awesome mobile suit, one of my favorite Gundams (It's also a REALLY DAMN GOOD gunpla kit). It just oozes cool during this fight and I wish they had found a reason to include it earlier (Like Guel piloting it against Shaddiq in episode 20). It almost feels like they had to nerf it by giving it to an incredibly unpopular character (I attribute Lauda's popularity bump post-series to the Schwarette).

Ericht is trying her hardest to push Suletta away, but Suletta won't have any of it. She doesn't want to see her beloved family members do something awful that could kill so many people. She vehemently rejects Eri's plea for her to forget them and go back to school, because Suletta desperately don't want to lose her family and wants to be there for them, even in difficult times.

Finally realizing that she can't convince Suletta to leave them alone, Ericht resorts to threatening Miorine and Suletta's friends to try and push her away, but she's stopped by someone else within Quiet Zero.

Now we know this is Elan (4), and for the connection to Suletta next episode, that certainly makes sense to a degree. But I still really wish it had been Notrette, protecting her daughter. Sadly, despite her connection to Quiet Zero, her goals, motivations and what caused her death largely remained a mystery.

I really thought Guel was going to die here, but G-Witch firmly rejects death as atonement, and Felsi comes in and saves the day. Every Gundam series needs a Felsi to come and stop someone from dying a stupid death due to a misunderstanding and miscommunication. Guel and Lauda owe Felsi drinks for the rest of their lives.

But I hope to see her and her fire suppressant gun play a role in saving lives in a future Super Robot Wars.

Okay, as a long time Gundam fan, I've grown to expect the sudden giant space station laser. It would be more of a surprise if a Gundam series DIDN'T invoke this trope at least once. And it does serve an important narrative goal: Prospera is NOT the ultimate antagonist, and Suletta needs something to fight in the final episode as a culmination of her arc, but that culmination needs to be non-violent. The SAL Laser fits that role perfectly. I just wish they had done a little bit better of a job building up the SAL throughout the series instead of largely dropping minor details in the background here and there. The laser didn't need a huge amount of build-up, but I feel like they should have hinted at it at least once before this episode to make it feel a little less like an ass pull.

I would like to point out that while the SAL clearly has a lot of pull, they're not all-powerful, and they don't have the influence to do as they please with impunity. They didn't have the military strength or political power to suppress the Benerit Group until they had evidence of Quiet Zero and Peil split off, and needed to resort to secretly aiding terrorist attacks against their own people while framing the Group to generate the necessary support to intervene. And they needed to frame firing the laser and destroying the L4 fronts as an accident instead of just blatantly firing it off.

The point is: Even if the laser wasn't destroyed at the end of the next episode, it's not like the SAL could keep using it with impunity. Their actions of funding terrorist attacks were outed, as well as their intentions of wiping out millions of their own people on purpose to seize power. We don't see it because it's not a focus of the story, but the SAL was probably neutered/dissolved by the sovereign governments and corporations that made up it's membership after the leaders tried a blatant power grab with terrorism and mass murder.

A shame we didn't get to see it (thanks episode 15), but Suletta clearly informed Miorine about Prospera's plans and Ericht after their reunion. I love how frustrated Miorine gets over Prospera focusing on Eri to the detriment of Suletta. She knows how scared Suletta is of dying, but that she loved her mom and sister so much she was willing to board the Calibarn and fight for her life for the chance to talk them down and bring them home to be a family.

Lynn and Mamiko Noto have both pointed out how incredible Miorine is in this scene. As Suletta's fiance, it would be easy for her to simply tell Prospera to love Suletta more, but Miorine knows how important Eri is to both Suletta and Prospera and tells her to love them both equally. It's incredible that she would take that into consideration, but it's because Miorine has already accepted Eri and Prospera as members of her family with Suletta. Considering what Prospera did to her, something I think 99% of people would consider unforgivable, it's incredible that she loves Suletta so much and respects Suletta's desire for family so much that she's willing to accept not just her sister-in-law, but her mother-in-law as part of their new family. She's not being vindictive, or snarky, and it's not just for the sake of trying stop Prospera in this moment. Miorine genuinely wants them all to be a family when this is all over.

And it's notable that Miorine does not include Delling as a member of her future family.

This is the most ridiculous coincidence in the entire show. Notrette was the type of woman to leave a backdoor into her super weapon(?) just for her daughter, with the password being the genetic code for her strain of tomatoes. Something Miorine apparently never considered looking up and only knew about because Rouji just happened to decide to take a look at it? Why did we have a pointless fight between Lauda and Guel instead of learning more about this woman.

Unrelenting Tenderness. It's Suletta's unrelenting love for her family that won't let her back down and forget about them while they potentially terrorize the Earth Sphere. It's Miorine's unrelenting love for Suletta that she's already accepted Eri and Prospera as family and wants them all to have a happy future together. And finally, Eri's unrelenting love for her mother and sister means she'll do anything to protect them both, even sacrificing her life to save them.

[0heartangel0]

Pt. 4: Everything Else And Loading Some Bullets

After Sojiro promises the thieves he'll nab them an RV from a friend of his, we transition to the next day, where we comically cut to Zenkichi being all shocked and up in arms over them getting a camper.

(sorry, I had to. This line is too funny not to include).

He then brings up the problem of having the boys and girls sharing sleeping space (you can argue that this odd concern could be foreshadowing for something we find out about him later), to which the girls bring up that they can protect themselves.

Zenkichi then rightfully backs off from that topic all together, which lets Makoto ask him for Alice's phone, something she requested from him the day before (how she got his contact information, since we never see this exchange, I'll never know). He hands it to Futaba, who goes through it and discovers someone's been monitoring her phone. However, she can't trace who it is....

WAIT-

....why are you like this?

I like this little detail, where Futaba admits that that's all she could find, but Zenkichi still congratulates her for finding what she did.

It's cute! See? He DOES care! Despite being a smug d-bag!

The thieves are disappointed, but Zenkichi points out that there's more cases they can work with in the future that might turn up with more leads. And with that, Zenkichi confiscates the phone to give back to Alice and takes off, bidding the thieves fairwell.

BUT! This isn't the last time we see Zenkichi this arc, for he has one last appearance to close things off.

We see him waiting in the police meeting room we saw at the beginning of the game, seemingly lost in thought. So much so, that he somehow doesn't notice Kaburagi enter, walk in, and stand right next to him. He claims it's because he hasn't slept in a bit due to this case, but considering all the other crap we see him stay up for, I'm having my doubts. Also, what part of your stalking routine forced you to stay up for 3 days straight? What, was he looking through our window while we slept?

He then explains that he has successfully made cooperation with the Phantom Thieves, and that despite their standoffish-ness with him, he promises to fully win them over eventually. Is that what you were doing these past 3 days?

What proceeds is what I like to call, 'The Loading Of Chekhov's Gun.' Basically, we get a back-to-back of different setups that will pay off later on.

Kaburagi goes on to praise Zenkichi for being so "dependable", with him stating that it's only due to her taking him under her wing, and that he'll always do what she asks of him.

Bullet #1

She then reminds him that due to the brass wanting this case done and over with for some reason (foreshadowing), he should not in any way get attached to the thieves, for their arrest is only but inevitable. Zenkichi responds accordingly:

Load that second bullet into the chamber and place your bets, everyone!

Also love how not even Kaburagi believes him, it's great!

Before Kaburagi leaves, she then asks:

We don't know who she's talking about at this point, but judging by Zenkichi’s reaction being with a downcast, "Ma'am", we can only guess it's someone that's personal.

Bullet #3

As soon as she leaves, Zenkichi points out the obvious that there's no way in Hell his Commissioner would believe anything about the Metaverse, so wisely kept it to himself. He then goes on to ponder how he's gonna get something out of the thieves, and says this:

So, remember the deal he made with you, not...YESTERDAY ago?

Yeah, he was lying.

Despite it being for just in case the case were to go south, he's still basically going against the deal that he's been working oh-so hard for.

What makes this situation even more screwed is, remember what he says as a response to you threatening him if he went back on the deal?

He KNOWS the consequences if he goes back on the deal, especially given his newfound knowledge about the Metaverse, but the fact he still goes through with planning to backstab them shows that he's either,

1. EXTREMELY suicidal, or

2. Very dedicated to his job and loyalty to Kaburagi.

Either one I find absolutely intriguing and says so much about his character.

AND THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST ARC OF THE GAME!

So, what was the point of me covering this arc with just Zenkichi? Well, the answer is simple: he's great!

Well, that, and...

The wiki is utter garbage.

Pt. 1

Pt. 2

Pt. 3

[sugolara]

Bait

ft. K.B x S.T x I.M x fem! reader

Synopsis: After a deadly virus leaks all over the world, every country is forced to close down it's borders and airports to prevent anyone from coming in and out. Though, it's to late for some people. The dead has rose and is looking for revenge. Cw: gore, quirkless! au, apocalypse! au, zombie! au, weapons, death, angst, lots and lots of blood, cannibalism, suicidal thoughts, slow burn

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“Flagged this aisle.” Denki said and ripped the tape with Izuku’s knife. He then handed it back to the male as they both stayed behind. They left the entertainment section and now stood in the clothing section. Before they started, they decided to leave a flashlight in each department. If one fell over or if one casted a shadow they would take cover and proceed quietly to that designated spot. Izuku had thought of the idea.

“This looks cool, right?” Denki held up a t-shirt with a band. It was in good condition, a bit dusty, but a quick wash would get rid of it. The others waited for Shoto to finish changing out of his bloody clothes as he felt he might actually crawl out of his skin if the blood continued to touch him. It had the girl mentally smirking as he still had his wealthy behavior.

“Isn’t that Kyoka’s favorite band?” Eijiro asked, his expression softening as Denki’s face fell and placed the shirt back on the table, before following the others, leaving the red-head and Izuku behind.

“What happened to her?” Izuku asked, a little afraid to hear the worst news.

Eijiro grabbed the shirt, giving it a look before placing it in his bag, “She was out scavenging before we had left and it's been two months since she hasn’t come back. Usually, we all return in a few weeks to let everyone know we’re still okay since our radio doesn’t reach that far and since she hadn’t returned, he didn’t want to leave without a sign of her still…alive.”

Hearing the red-head let out a soft sigh, they both followed behind the others. His diopside eyes glanced over at his friend, “What was her role?”

“She, Tenya, and Mashirao went out to look for weapons. It was a risky job considering everyone else is looking for guns to protect themselves. Denki didn’t want her to go, saying he’ll miss her making fun of him and miss hanging out with her, but she refused to stay.” His eyes looked down, “But after the first month had passed and they hadn’t come back, everyone in the community assumed the worst. Last we heard was Mashirao’s voice breaking up with static.”

It was very sad to think that the classmates they loved and had spent many fun memories with had passed on. They could only wish that their deaths weren’t painful and that their last second before their eyes closed, they had thought about those they dearly loved. After a while of walking, they made it to the produce section.

“You think these still work?” Shoto opened the freezer and grabbed a box of frozen vegetables. He checked the label for the expiration date, but it was barely visible due to box melting and causing it to get sloppy.

“Maybe?” F/n said while looking at the box, “It has been frozen, so maybe that stops its process.”

“Months ago.” Katsuki said while rolling his eyes at them, “Have you guys ever eaten frozen food or what? If it’s no longer frozen then it gets bad. You can freeze it all you want, but it’s still bad, idiots.”

“What did you eat if you didn’t want to cook?” Denki asked, grabbing a tub of ice cream and opening it. It was watery and smelled awful, “I know Shoto said he had maids or something, but what about you F/n?”

“Sleep.” She shrugged, continuing to walk as the three behind stared at her, though they soon followed after. Izuku and Eijiro quickly caught up as they noticed they were lagging behind. When they turned, their lights around their heads aimed at a dozen rotters lying on the ground. It was difficult to tell whether they were dead since they were covered in blood. The light had seemed to startle them as they all looked their way and began to get up, moving towards them.

“God damnit.” Katsuki glared at the dead growling.

“It was bound to happen at some point.” Shoto said and grabbed his knife from his back pocket.

With a dozen rotters coming their way and being in a small aisle, they would most certainly get caught as they barely had enough space to move around. It was then when Izuku looked at Eijiro and Denki, their guns hanging by their side. He quickly moved his feet and began pulling boxes of drinks, stacking them together, “Eijiro, come help me!”

While the others continued to watch the dead, waiting for them to at least split up and give a little room to stab them, Eijiro and Izuku hurriedly stacked boxes. It didn’t have to be perfect, it just needed to be stable enough and allow Denki and Eijiro to get up onto the big racks that stored extra drinks.

Moans were then heard on the other side, behind the group. F/n turned only to be met with another few dead, “Shit!”

Katsuki also noticed, “Whatever you have planned, hurry it up, Deku!”

“Okay! Denki, come!” Izuku pointed at their guns then to the rack, “Your guns reach the one we can’t get. You two will get up, be our back up, get rid of the ones that are behind while we try to get the ones that are near us.”

“Got it!” Eijiro said and then got on the boxes, pulling himself up to the racks where he then helped Denki.

Those on the floor had pulled out their own weapons and let the rotters get near them. They tried to separate the dead, but there were so many that even F/n had trouble with them. It would be different with a gun and they couldn’t exactly use the one’s they had stolen from back then since they didn’t want to accidentally shoot each other, so having Eijiro and Denki on higher ground was excellent and she was glad that two males were doing their part with no whining.

But how long would their bullets last? The sounds of the gunshots would only draw out more which they did not like. Sure, the warehouse doors were closed, but there might be some in the aisles they haven’t cleared out yet.

She had tripped as she stabbed one, her body getting tired as she swung her arm. One of the dead had grabbed her foot, its decapitated body and jaw missing ready to munch on her clothed calf. She had little energy as she tried to get up and although she could feel its cold, wet and wrinkled skin, she had no fear in her.

Perhaps this was meant to b-

“You trying to get yourself killed!?” Katsuki stepped on its head, turning it into mush. He then yanked her up, “The hells the matter with you.”

A short growl was heard behind the two before a gunshot rang through the air. The dead's blood splattered on Katsuki’s cheek, he in return glared at his friend that stood on the rack. Eijiro let out a relief as the dead almost bit the blonde's shoulder, “Sorry.”

His knife was dull and its rust began to show. It was tricky to get the dagger out of the rotters head as Shoto had to move it side by side in order for it to loosen. He could hear it squelching as he did so, the noise making him cringe. Though as he pulled the knife out, the blade had broken, snapping in two pieces. He let out a pant, his eyes widening as he stared at the handle in his hand as the blade let out a clunking noise as it fell to the ground.

He glared at it as he threw the handle away and then to the rotters that moaned as they got closer. In order to use his gun, he’d have to pull it out from the duffel bag and that sure would take time which he did not have, however, Denki quickly caught on as he yelled at Shoto and upon catching his eye he threw his gun at him. He ignored the questionable glare the scar male gave him as the younger blonde had thought of something better.

He moved towards the boxes of sodas that were attached to a wooden palate. It was right at the edge of the rack and since the sodas were wrapped in plastic if one fell, the others would follow. The noise was a problem, but he was taking out a couple at a time, sparring Shoto with whatever bullets were still left in his rifle.

Shoto, having paid no mind to Denki, continued firing. While they dropped like flies that didn’t stop them from coming, though he did notice some had gotten distracted and went backwards.

“C’mon!” Denki grunted out as he tried to shove the sodas onto the dead. He had put his whole weight on it as it was heavy and just barely could he feel it move inches. As soon as it had put its weight onto the edge he could feel it tipping. He then slammed himself and let out a grin as the sodas fell on top of the dead. A big crash was heard and sodas exploded, wetting everything around it. The noise had the group startled as they turned to see what was the cause of it.

“Thanks.” Shoto said to his friend, almost astounded at how quick Denki thought. Turns out he would have been fine without needing people in his life. It was only then that he had noticed Izuku wasn’t around. He glanced around him, his thoughts began to pour as he feared the worst, “Where’s Izuku?!”

F/n finished the last dead as she too looked around. From the corner of her eyes she saw a dash of green and looking towards it she noticed Izuku inside the freezer where they had previously gotten the frozen vegetables. She could slightly see him as he waved at something ahead of him. Squinting, she also looked at whatever he was looking at before her eyes widened as she saw him motioning to at least a dozen rotters, so they followed him. They crashed into each other, trying to reach the freckled male.

“Izuku!” She quickly ran towards the freezer. With the entrance having rotters flooding in, there was no way out for him unless he chose to dive underneath the frozen food rack. At the frantic of her voice, one that was unusual to his hear, Katsuki glanced their way, before running after her, “Are you fucking insane, Deku!?”

Before they could open the door, Izuku shook his head at them. He had a plan to trap them in here and he didn’t want the dead to lose their focus. Yes, it was a risky plan, but this was better as they could kill them by sticking their knives through the cracks of the rack.

“Shouldn’t we help him?” Eijiro asked as he got off the rack, his tone was placed with worry.

“He doesn’t have a weapon or does he?” Denki listened to the muffle groans. It sent shivers down his spine, knowing that they must be hungry. But do the rotters even get hungry?

“A knife.” Shoto then went to the end of the freezer where he then opened a door, the others soon following and then helping him. He quietly spoke and carefully moved unfrozen products off the racks, so that the rotters didn't get distracted and Izuku could continue to do his thing, “Hurry and help me before he reaches here.”

Eijiro grabbed the boxes that Shoto gave to him. He threw it behind him while the others waited if they needed to take action. They did also keep an eye out in case a rotter tried to sneak on them and no doubt Izuku was terrified. The closer the dead inched towards him, he saw himself on death's door. He was stupid for coming up with this plan. He just wanted to try to be useful even if he dies, but damn, he was really, really fucking scared. It's not like those times where he had gotten close to them and killed them. He was trapped, with only an end he wasn’t even sure would get him out.

“C’mon, get closer.” Izuku whispered to them as he continued to wave his hand. He would stop to let them catch up and to not lose interest, but with blood coursing through a body and was practically giving himself to the rotters, of course they wouldn’t get distracted. He looked behind to see that his friends were giving him a way out. Once he almost reached the end he quickly ran towards the small space, trying to fit his body through. He underestimated how slow the rotters were as they quickly caught up.

“Get your ass out of there!” Katsuki harshly pulled on him.

“Om my god, oh my god, oh my god–” Denki bit his nails as he watched the rotters right behind Izuku.

“Shut it, Denki!” The group said as they anxiously tried to help their friend.

When he felt a hand grab his ankle, Izuku shivered. He didn’t have time to think of negative thoughts as he was then dragged out and the slam of the freezer closing behind him. He was on hands and knees letting out shaky breaths with sweat rolling down to the cement floor and eyes wide as he couldn’t believe he had just escaped. He stayed still before properly sitting and looked down at his feet, noticing his right shoe was missing.

“You damn moron!” Katsuki smacked Izuku’s head, “You have any idea how bad your shitty idea could’ve been!?”

“The hells the matter with you.” F/n crossed her arms, glaring at him. She would be lying if she didn't feel her heart race in both ways, “You could’ve told us! We would have thought of a better idea instead of you playing bait.”

Izuku embarrassingly scratched his head, “I had to think fast. There was no way we could’ve all taken them down.”

“How did you even manage to get into the freezer?” Denki asked as he looked ahead to where he had previously dropped the crate of sodas.

“Eijiro and Shoto left an opening for me.” Izuku got up to his feet, “They didn’t realize they had.”

The three looked at the red head and the dual-haired male. They too embarrassingly looked away, muttering a small apology.

“Still.” F/n placed her eyes on Izuku, examining him as he continued to sit, “With so many bodies you could’ve died. We didn’t even see you.”

“Yeah, sor–” Katsuki let out a scoff, eyes glaring down at his childhood friend with arms crossed, a hint of concern in his voice, “Never do that again, Deku. Don’t forget you only have one life. Quit playing with it like you'll be given a second chance.”

The freckle male looked away, lips twitching, feeling rather disappointed in himself, “I got, alright? Sorry.”

“Izuku knows his rights and wrongs.” Shaking his head, Shoto grabbed his pistol from the duffel bag as his knife had given up on him, “We should keep going.”

“Agreed.” Eijiro nodded, adjusting his gun.

Giving one final look to Izuku, he waited until the freckle male stood in front of him, shoving him forward so he wasn’t behind him. It was a death scare to see him locked inside a freezer. He didn’t have to think he’d need to keep an eye on Izuku as well. Leaving the muffled groans and moans from the rotters locked in the fridge behind they continued. Hopefully, the glass door wouldn’t crack as they pushed into each other. 

[chainoftalent]

would it be a bit much to ask for the whole yandere profile for shuichi? 👉👈

I am NOT late to this ask it is NOT over a month old I am ON TOP OF THINGS forever and ever, (tw: dark content, plus nsfw and noncon themes below the cut)

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

Shuichi is mostly lucid accept around you specifically, to everyone else when you're not around he's lucid, sharp, and his usual shy self. However with you he kinda gets...rose tinted glasses. Nothing he does to you is bad, and nothing you do to him is bad. There's always some other thing that's making it bad. You're not the bad one it's your friends making you be bad, he's not being abusive, he's just trying to protect you but he got a bit overwhelmed. It's fine! We're happy. Do not try and tell him you're not he'll get mad

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

Decently high, if you're the kind of person who has few friends and never leaves the house he'll probably just move in. However if you're not a shut-in seeing you interact with people who don't do it like he thinks they should will grate on him until he nabs you for a greater good

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

The first attempt is the easiest because of his delusion that you're happy, however once he learns you're gonna try it gets HARD, he's a detective after all. He knows lots of stuff about manipulation, containment, and the like. Prepare for so many secret cameras and bugs!

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

Hard, unless you REALLY play into his desires for family and love. He's a sap and weak for you, but he's still smart. Playing along makes him easier to manipulate.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

Decently lenient, he doesn't WANT to punish you, and he blames everyone else for your misdeeds. He's more likely to give you a sad puppy look, but he can get serious. He's not afraid to get physical if he thinks he has to, and he's not afraid to take away rights. Speaking of rights, you'd be mostly allowed to just be yourself besides intense monitoring. However, he wants his soft fluffy fantasy, so he's going to feed into that, which means soft clothes for his love, and nothing overly engaging, nothing that's not saccharine sugary sweet. You wanna read a tragedy? Nope. You wanna play a tough game? Sorry guns aren't very kawaii of you we can't have that.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

For what it's worth the rules aren't too complex, let him dote on you, don't try and escape, don't talk to anyone unworthy, and don't disobey him. Simple basic stuff for what it's worth.

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

He'll either try and make them go away through social manipulations, or just straight up frame them. He doesn't like to get bloody about it, but if they push him hard enough he will.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

His anger is a held back anger, a dark look in his eyes and a wrinkle in his brow from his pinched face. It's a deep calming breath and tightening hands, it's a voice that's trying to sound steady but you know it's not asking why you couldn't just let him do this for you. Do not push back against him and his affections if you don't want him angry.

Do they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

His love is absolutely above him, so perfect and kind, he must have more.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

He's SO DETERMINED he's DESPERATE to fix his abandonment issues via the person he falls in love with, he won't stop.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

He's more shy, while he gets a bit more firm once he has control over the situation, he's still shy and awkward and likely to hide behind his hat.

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

He's touchy, but a shy touchy. He loves to touch his love, but he's the type to brush a face with his thumb, go bright red, and then pull away because he's too shy. Once he starts to get used to it though, his hands are going EVERYWHERE to make his love feel good, to hold his love closer.

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

He wants you to want it, but if he thinks it'll make you feel better or happy, your willingness is second to your pleasure.

What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

He's got such a body worship thing and a praise thing, he needs to be slow and soft and tie up his love in silk and ribbons and worship them and praise them and make them feel so sososo good.

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?

YES YES YES he wants like 2-3 kids and a white picket fence and to hold hid kids close and love them very much and make sure they weren't left alone like he was.

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

They don't do those kinds of punishments, the furthest I can see him going is a gag and maybe some spanking from bad behavior.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

They love it all really, but their thighs, their arms, it's all so good to him.

[biggerbetterbat]

WITH YOU [45] AT THE END OF THE TRACKS

Daryl Dixon x OC!Charlie Reed

Summary: The group finds out that Terminus is just a trap, and their friends wait for a certain death there. Carol decides to save the group. Charlie worries that she will have to take care of Tyreese and Judith now.

Warning: maybe language?, violence

Song: Deep in the Meadow Jennifer Lawrence

Words: 1,947

A/N: Hi, guys! So like I told you, I’m taking a break from posting new chapters. However, I will be updating the old chapters as I think they lack some dialogues or descriptions, because the connections seem not that deep (I already updated from chapter 4-9). The plot won’t be changed tho, so if you don’t like, you don’t have to re-read.

Thank you for reading PART 1 of my work, liking and commenting. And I hope I will see you soon :)

"I told Albert I want the kid's hat after they bleed him out."

"Keep your finger off the button and drop it," Carol commanded, ready to fire right through the stranger's head.

"Listen, y'all don't have to do this," he said. "Whatever you want, we got a place where everyone's welcome."

"To bleed us out, too?" Charlie leaned to him as he was being tied up. "We're the friends of the chick with the sword and the kid in the hat. So give my friend one reason not to shoot."

Charlie was angry.

Her chest heaved with fury as she stared down the man who was casually talking about taking belongings of her family after killing them like animals. Anger simmered beneath the surface, muxing with the bitter taste of betrayal in her mouth. The people of Terminus had lured them in with promises of sanctuary, only to reveal themselves as nothing more than predators preying on the desperate and vulnerable. No better than the Walkers. In this juxtaposition, the walkers served as a reminder of the world's fallen state, while the people of Terminus underscored the thin line between civilization and barbarism.

However, beneath the rage, there was a flicker of relief, a glimmer of gratitude for the fact that Carl and the others were still alive. It was fragile, of course, but it was better than what she had even hours ago. Her family was, hopefully still alive.

"They attacked us!" the man tried to convince them. "We're just holding them."

As Charlie stood there, her fists clenched at her sides, struggling to calm her annoyance at the stranger who was clearly lying.

"Who else do you have? Do you know their names?" Charlie asked.

"We just have the boy and the samurai, that's it," he said. "We were just protecting ourselves."

"Hmm," Charlie nodded. "And the Santa Claus is real," she said and got up from her knees, walking away.

"Wait, no! Let me go," he strutted as Tyreese pushed him into a wooden house, more of a shed. "There's a bunch of us back there in six different directions. We need to set off our charges all st the same time to confuse the dead ones away. It's good for you too."

"No, it isn't."

"There's a herd heading toward Terminus right now," Carol answered. "We don't want to confuse them away."

"They'll see you coming," the man said. "If you even make it that far with all the cold bodies heading over."

"Don't worry about her pretty boy," said Charlie and walked out to keep a watch. "Are you sure you want to go alone?"

"Just...Stay here with them," the other woman said. "Tyreese just looks tough, but you know him."

"I do."

"And..." she opened her mouth, but just stared into the younger's eyes. "Don't hesitate to hurt the guy. It's either him or us."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Charlie looked down.

Carol pouted and squeezed Charlie's arm to show her support. "Take this. You will need it more than an axe."

She gulped looking at the gun that noise was still echoing through her head. "You'll need it more."

"Are you sure?"

"Be careful," Charlie whispered and hugged Carol tightly. Charlie's arms wrapped tightly around Carol, a silent gesture of solidarity and support as Carol prepared to embark on her mission to rescue their friends. Charlie watched as Carol disappeared into the night, her resolve unshakable, her determination unwavering. It was never too certain that she would be back.

Charlie stood watch, the weight of the world heavy on her shoulders as she scanned the horizon for any sign of danger. With each passing moment, the tension in the air grew thicker, a palpable sense of unease settling over her. They saw the herd already and miraculously escaped them, but now there was no place to escape. She moved her eyes from watching mysterious and unknown forest, to the shed, not being sure that it would last.

Quickly she came back to her focus stare, and then, in the distance, she saw them – a shambling mass of walkers, their groans echoing through the stillness. She immediately drew back the string with a fluid motion and squeezed her fingers on the arrow, but she knew it would be pointless. With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Charlie knew that they had to act fast. They were outnumbered, outmatched, and there was no time to waste.

With a silent prayer on her lips, she quietly and quickly opened the door to the shed. "They're coming," Charlie gasped entering the house. "Hey!"

"Back off!" the stranger yelled holding a gun and pointing it right at her. "Put your weapon on the ground. The bow, too! Kick them over right now. Right now!"

Fear gripped her heart as she realized their hostage broke free from her restraints. In that harrowing moment, she found herself staring down the barrel of the gun held in his trembling hands. Charlie's gaze immediately fell on the baby.

"Please," Tyreese sobbed with his arms raised. "Please don't hurt her. Please don't hurt them."

"You," the young man pointed at Tyreese this time. Charlie gasped and wanted to do something, but the stranger came closer to the box that Judith was laying in. She stopped immediately. "Go outside. Go outside! Just one twist, man!"

"Don't!" Tyreese yelled as he saw the man next to the baby.

"He won't survive!" Charlie called out. "There's a herd..."

"Don't make me!" he interrupted her firmly and looked back at Tyreese. "You. Go outside."

Tyreese emerged from the shadowy confines of the shed, his steps heavy with the weight of the impossible choice that had been thrust upon him. With a heavy heart, he cast one last glance back at Charlie and the baby, his eyes filled with a mixture of anguish and determination. With fear in her eyes she shook her head, but her friend just turned away, ready to leave. It was a certain death, leaving now, as the herd of always hungry Walkers just waited for an opportunity like this one. As she turned her head to the man, he had a smile on his face, knowing that Charlie and Judith were on his mercy right now. Charlie felt disgusted by him.

"Well, well, well..."

Then something moved outside.

As Charlie and the man who threatened her stood in tense silence within the confines of the shed, the air thick with fear and uncertainty, the distant sounds of a struggle erupted outside. The unmistakable clash of something against decaying flesh and the guttural moans of walkers echoed through the air, sending a shiver down Charlie's spine.

With each passing moment, the tension in the shed mounted, a palpable sense of dread hanging heavy in the air. And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it ended. However, not the man or even Charlie dared to move even an inch. What's more, they weren't sure if they should breathe.

Moments later, the door to the shed burst open, and Tyreese stormed in, his face contorted with fury and determination. Without a word, he approached the man who had threatened them, his fists clenched in anger. With a primal roar, Tyreese unleashed a series of blows upon the man, his fury fueling each punishing strike. Charlie used her chance and leaned to pick up the baby, and then ahead watched in stunned silence what was going on, hugging the baby close to her chest. Her heart pounding in her chest as she bore witness to the violent catharsis unfolding before her.

As the man crumpled to the ground, bloodied and broken, Tyreese stood over him, his breath coming in ragged gasps. In that moment, the weight of their ordeal seemed to lift from Charlie's shoulders, replaced by a sense of grim satisfaction and hard-won victory. Their eyes met, Charlie was slightly terrified, but surely not of Tyreese. Yet, he didn't know that, so his own eyes filled with fear. "I..."

"It's okay," she whispered nodding. "Sometimes..." but words didn't want to leave her mouth, so she just placed a hand on his arm and patted it. She left the house and waited for him to do the same.

Charlie stood amidst the aftermath surrounded by the dead who were really dead or just parted on the ground by her friend, her mind a whirlwind of confusion and fear. With Tyreese and the baby by her side, she felt the weight of responsibility pressing down on her shoulders, unsure of what path to take in the face of such uncertainty. Every instinct screamed at her to flee, to seek safety in the unknown depths of the wilderness, as there was nothing left for them here. But a part of her clung to the hope that Carol was alive. Her and their friends who were still out there, fighting against the odds, ready to reunite with them once more.

Torn between the desire for safety and the longing for companionship, Charlie struggled to make sense of the chaos that surrounded them. With each passing moment, the shadows of doubt grew darker, threatening to consume her with their suffocating embrace. In the end, she knew that there was no easy answer, no clear path forward in a world defined by chaos and uncertainty. At the same time, she was not a leader. She was just a terrified girl with a baby that wasn't hers and a man who was just a big baby, a baby with muscles. On top of that they were in the middle of nowhere, in the woods, with close to no ammunition and herds of Walkers. All she could do was trust in her own instincts. And here instincts said: "We need to leave. It's not safe here."

"You think Carol won't come back?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said and gave him the baby. "I'm afraid it's going to be just us now."

Charlie stood in silence, her mind swirling with conflicting thoughts. Now that they were alone, she should probably be honest with the man, so the past would finally leave her alone. On the other hand, she feared the consequences of revealing her secrets to Tyreese, unsure if he would still accept her once he knew the truth.

"Tyreese, there's something I need to tell you," she took a deep breath."I have a past that I'm not proud of."

"We've all got skeletons in our closets, Charlie. What matters is who we are now."

"But you don't understand... I hurt people. Many died because of me."

"It doesn't define who you are," he placed a hand on her shoulder. "None of us are saints in this world."

Charlie nodded, grateful for his non-judgmental demeanor. "It's just... sometimes I feel like I'm still that person, that I can't escape my past no matter how hard I try."

"From what I've seen, you're a good person trying to make a better living for many people," he said. "We're a family now, and family sticks together through the good and the bad."

"Thank you, Tyreese," she answered. "That means..."

"CHARLIE!"

She furrowed her eyebrows and turned to scan the horizon. The sun was high on the sky, so she had to squint her eyes and it was still hard to make out who was calling her from the distance. Suddenly, Charlie's heart leaped as she spotted a familiar silhouette running towards her. With tears in her eyes, she rushed to meet him, their embrace a silent affirmation of their enduring bond.

————————

END OF PART 1

masterlist

[ardentpoop]

girl which one is unity 😭 the whole season is melted together to me

lmfao. I get it but also you should rewatch that one bc there’s so much you can do with it I unironically love it

the one where jack is like turning into a bomb bc dean wants to throw him at chuck lmao. cas telling sam “you’re not crazy, your instincts are right” - something he always wants to hear but is never told bc opposing dean IS crazy in this universe. dean pulling a gun on sam when he tries to protect jack. dean being like “ok quickly you guys keep it moving” to cas and jack while sam is on the ground but cas looking around dean to ask sam “why should we stop? is there another way out of this” - direct disobedience of dean from Castiel Angel Of The Lord. bc sam was telling them to stop and it’s their son’s life on the line. dean having such a violently negative reaction to finding out that he’s expected to be puppeteered by someone else (chuck) for the rest of his life bc he Cannot lose control like that, whereas sam’s been painfully aware of his own lack of control for most of the past 15 years so he’s like it’ll be okay dean we’ve dealt with worse we’ll get through it together. deans “I would sacrifice everyone in the world to be able to kill chuck right now I don’t care!!!!” and sam knowing perfectly well what he’s doing when he asks him “even me? you’d sacrifice me?” chuck bursting in when sam gets dean to put the gun down (bc dean’s destructive tendencies are always aimed at Other People - most often sam - and they are always framed as self-destructive/suicidal, which is Fascinating and horrible) fed up with these stupid defective brothers for never giving him the poetic fratricide ending he wants - they’re not like the other pairs of protagonists he built, they’re “too sad, too broken,” too willing to give up pieces of themselves and everything else to be able to stay together. he’s been watching them do this infuriating dance for years and he’s sick of them. to say nothing of chuck and amara at the beginning and how their ending contrasts with samndean’s. the title of the episode is unity and in it dean points a gun at sam and knocks him to the ground bc he’s trying to stop him from sending their kid off to violently die . in the halls of the family home which is a bunker isolated from the rest of the world bristling with metaphorical ghosts .

lowkey this is the true finale to me every episode post 15.17 is mostly meaningless fluff in my mind

[hiraethblack22]

Fire and Ice

(Bucky x ofc) series.

MASTERLIST OF THE SERIES: here.

SUMMARY: Thirteen is a HYDRA pawn, a soldier, a spy and an assassin. A wraith. Chosen because of her powers and transformed into the perfect weapon. (enchanted!reader) What happens when her mission becomes locating and eliminating The Winter Soldier?

IMPORTANT: I won't use Y\n but the lead character will be given a name and will be a fully formed character. Set in a time where everyone is still alive and Bucky is free of the hydra. Warnings: violence, blood, torture, and manipulation. Vulgar language. The story will contain adult content. Probably a whole lot of Smut.

CHAPTER TWO: US AND THEM.

Peace is an abstract concept made by powerful people to install faith in the institutions of the world that claim to keep crime and danger at bay. In all the years I’d been living, I quickly realised that it was indeed a false concept, a lie, considering that the same people who claimed to protect the world were installing the danger in it. The idea of peace is nothing but a facade that is used to manipulate the masses.

Hydra was claiming to cleanse the world from evil, but how could they pretend to act for world peace when they were responsible of the death of millions? Couldn’t they see the blood tinting their white vest of morality? How could they profess goodness when they were keeping dozens of slaves under their polished boots?

The Avengers were painted as heroes. Flying around to beat up the evil—that, yes, when they weren’t busy fighting among themselves.

There had been a time when I had hoped for them to come and rescue us, me, from Hydra. But, it soon faded; hope was dangerous, it only led to disappointment and despair. Instead, I focused on survival. I had waited, spending days laying facedown on the filthy floor of the cells and weeks silently witnessing the deaths of my cellmates one after the other. The years I had passed, fed with injections of syringes, and pumped up with synthetic drugs to accomplish assignments that were impossible for anybody else, had helped me to give up all hope, not just in the Avengers but also in the rest of the world.

I ingenuously thought they weren't saving us because they were fighting each moment to defend their values, as we fought every day for a cup of water or a bit of sleep, but no; here they were, drinking champagne in fancy dresses, dancing, as the world outside cried their names.

The fair of peace for the future was another clown show created by the government to show the citizens that the future was safe. The secretary of state had delivered a very long sermon on heroes and peace, licking the avengers' arses every two sentences, and delivering sexist remarks about the heroines of the team—that made my fingers tickle the trigger of my rifle more eagerly than I should have—but in between inaugurations and philosophical peace speeches, the secretary of state made sure he got an exclusive on the prostitution trade every single month, and on the remaining days he accepted bribes from Hydra. So, he would end up murdered, one way or another, but killing him wasn't allowed in my future.

I guessed I couldn’t even proclaim myself as a white knight of peace, not when I was currently waiting to bomb the shit out of it.

“I have eyes on the target.” I murmured into the radio, lowering the binoculars to eye the building where the fair was taking place.

My body moved without me telling it what to do. It checked the ammo, fastened a couple of guns to my legs, secured the daggers around the belt, and lowered the rifle behind my back.

"I hope you mean this horrible building," Marya's voice said in reply. The radio cracked with her voice.

The building was indeed quite horrible—a white oval with an awful lot of windows. It was not a safe place, not even with the dozens of security guards standing outside the building. The others had by now removed the guards and placed the explosives.

The orders had been made clear that it had to be set to trap everyone inside, and us inside with them. The roof was the way out. A soldier had infiltrated the rooftop guards to take control of the chopper when the time was right.

I lowered my hand, and as I willed it, a light flared beneath the skin, producing a flame on the palm of my hand. It swirled on itself, hissing like a wild animal. I allowed it to dance around my fingers with a smile. “It will burn down with the lot of them.”

Marya had been with us for what I imagined was a couple of weeks; sharing a wall of bars had quite made us close. It wasn’t friendship; I didn’t even remember what friendship was supposed to feel like, but we were accompanying each other on long missions and on the dark, cold nights at the headquarters—holding my hand in hers like a loving mother and whispering funny stories of her childhood, telling me how her family had always been loving and caring for her and the rest of her siblings. She often cried, remembering them, thinking about what they thought when they remembered her—I cried with her most of the time, thinking about my brother and the life we had lost.

I knotted the rope to my body, crawling down the side of the building in the silent shadows of the night.

As the other soldiers would trap them all inside, and I would be focused on The Winter Soldier.

The programme they implanted in his head was nearly perfect, certainly better than the one in my head; ours was injected with syringes and would fade away after some weeks, leaving us begging for more. I didn't know why these people wanted the soldier, but I was in charge of bringing his body back with me to the base. I wasn't in a position to care about the reason; the only thing I needed was for my brother to be safe.

I nodded to the other soldiers when I crossed the doors. As soon as I was inside, they all disappeared.

The people were all gathered in the big hall on the second floor, watching the performance. And I was going to give them the most beautiful spectacle—the one they were going to pay with their lives to watch. I distantly heard the noise of the bombs going off behind me.

I smirked.

The game was finally on.

The door of the big hall flew open. The people inside began rushing out, scarfs and clothes over their mouths, to block the smoke from entering their lungs.

I rolled my eyes—people really didn’t know how to save themselves. Running straight into the arms of danger.

I grabbed my rifle and fired shots against the walls. They all dropped in an instant, moving out of the way, and clearing the way for us.

He was in the back of the room. Beautifully swinging punches and kicks at the soldiers surrounding him, ducking out of the flashes of knives. I walked to him, taking my sweet time to extract my favourite dagger from the belt.

The soldiers didn’t waste any time, shooting and punching their way to the Avengers. I recognised a couple of them—I saw the widow jump straight for one of us, leaving him at her feet an instant later. The Captain was, as usual, throwing his shield at the enemies and shouting orders. An arrow flashed past me, grazing my cheek, but I paid no mind; somebody else would take care of that. I saw out of the corner of my eye the soldiers shooting in the direction of the Hawke without breaking the protective circle they had me in—if I didn’t grab a hold of the Winter Soldier, none of us would go unpunished. And then, finally, I saw him

One of the soldiers, S-32 was his number, was attacking too roughly, advancing too closely. He swung a powerful punch at the Winter Soldier, making his head shoot sideways. I saw his blood spraying the floor. Another soldier came, locking his arms behind him. S-32 raised a knife, arching down straight for the Winter Soldier’s throat. The knife flashed closer and closer and brushed the skin of his neck before it stopped.

S-32 stared at me in shock, his eyes wide. His mouth opened, but only a pained groan escaped his trembling lips. He shot his eyes where my hand was closed around his wrist, my skin glowing and his flesh fuming away through my fingers.

“He is mine.”

I kicked him in the chest, watching his body tumble to the ground amid the fight.

I nodded to the other to release him, and his hands couldn’t have dropped faster.

I stared at the Winter Soldier, bending my head to the side to study him better. He was panting in pain, but I couldn't feel any remorse. The power coursing through my veins was too intoxicating to resist. The first thing I noticed were his blue and intense eyes. They reminded me of the ocean, but with a dangerous edge that made me shiver.

I threw another knife from my holster, imbedding it on the floor between the Winter Soldier's feet. He stared at it, then at me.

I winked. "I'd hate for this to be boring."

The Winter Soldier's eyes narrowed, sizing me up and trying to figure out if it was a scam or not. I took a step forward, keeping my eyes locked on his.

"You know," I said, "I've heard a lot about you. The things you've done... they're pretty impressive." He didn't react, remaining frozen in the little bubble that had formed around us. I saw a flicker of something in his eyes. Recognition? Regret? It was hard to tell.

"I don't do that anymore."

"It's cute you think you can escape this," I mocked him.

I quickly turned around to face him, my heart racing as I braced myself for his next move. He lunged at me with the knife. I bent sideways, avoiding that flash of silver.

I didn't wait any longer and lashed out in attack. As I lunged forward, I felt a rush of adrenaline. My foot collided with his stomach, making him stumble backward. He doubled over, escaping from my attack like intangible smoke. He rolled out of the way, rising on his feet behind me, knife in hand and ready.

"Let's dance, doll."

In a flash, the Winter Soldier was on his feet, behind my back, immobilising my arms against my torso with his metal arm. He pressed me against his hard chest. The knife angled beneath my chin, and his breath caressed my ear as he bent down and whispered, "It's cute you think you can beat me."

I took a step back, my eyes locked on his, searching for any sign of weakness. He was quick and agile. Hydra had definitely wasted their time training this man, but they had done it with me too. With a sudden burst of energy, he charged at me again, his knife glinting in the light. I sidestepped his attack and landed a swift kick to his side. He stumbled backward.

The Winter soldier grabbed his side, slightly hunched on his side. I dove forward, sending my knife to slice the air towards his forehead. But the bastard grabbed my wrist, like I had done with S-32 minutes prior. His metal hand crushed it so hard that I felt my bones' wishes to snap. He twisted my wrist until my fingers spasmed open, and the blade clattered awkwardly to the floor. If any of my trainers had been watching, they would have whipped me into unconsciousness.

There was something in his voice that made my blood roar violently in my veins. I involuntarily licked my lips.

"If you're done flirting with me, soldat,” I hardly recognised my own voice, and that mocking smile that could be heard in it. “I'd like to kill you now."

I concentrated on my back, making the skin flare up with fire. He hissed. At first, he tried to hold on to me, but he stumbled back, surrendering to the pain. The knife fell, and I kicked it to let it disappear in the crowd.

As soon as there was space between us, I elbowed him in the groin. I laughed as he groaned in pain, finally rolling away, free from his hold.

With a quick movement, he lunged at me again, his metal arm glinting in the dim light. I dodged his attack and countered with a swift kick to his side. He grunted in pain but didn't back down.

We continued to exchange blows, each one more powerful than the last. As the fight dragged on, I could feel my energy waning, but I refused to give up.

The winter soldier's punch came straight for my mouth. The hit almost knocked me to the ground, but I managed to stay on my feet. I could feel the blood trickling down from my lip. The winter soldier smirked at me, his intense eyes now filled with a hint of amusement.

I knew that this fight was far from over.

I wiped the blood off with the back of my hand. My lips curled in a small smirk of their own.

"I hoped I didn't have to use this," I told him, showing him my hand, the fire rolling on my fingers, "Hydra won't be happy if I burn you to fucking ashes, but hey!" I shot a wave of fire, making it more solid than hot, sending him backward. I shrugged. "Accidents do happen."

I knocked him down twice, sending him further and further into the back of the room, right where I saw Marya keeping the door open for me. She was leaning against the door, using a small knife to clean the underside of her nails, unbothered by the chaos and destruction that was going on around us.

The Winter Soldier stumbled on his feet again, and finally, sending a last blast of power against his chest, he stumbled out of the room.

I nodded to Marya, and she moved to grab her two guns, diving into the room and locking the door behind her.

I took my rifle from my back, and pointed it straight for his heart. “It’s just you and me now, soldat.”

“You don’t have to do this,” he spoke, holding up his hands to show submission.

“Don’t I?” I asked, my voice rougher than I intended. “Are you going to appeal to my sense of pity? Because I have none.”

None I could feel; not at the moment. Not when whatever they shot in my veins was making my heart hammer so loud in my ears that my head felt like it was about to explode; not when I knew what would happen to me and the others if I failed.

“I can help you.”

His eyes were kind, almost sweet, but it was pointless. I didn't know how long I could resist the urge to give in to the voice screaming at me to complete my mission.

“Help me?” I laughed bitterly. “It is a bit late for that.”

I pressed my finger on the trigger. I didn’t know why I was entertaining his idiotic desire to speak with me. I didn’t know why I yet had to shoot a bullet in his heart—heart, not head—because, for whatever reason, my orders prevented me from performing my regular schedule.

“I know they control your mind. I can help you get out of their control. Let me help you. I have connections," he said, "people who can protect you and your loved ones.”

I shook my head.

I opened my mouth to speak again, to scream at him to shut up, to stop messing with my time.

“Nobody can save us,” I said. I heard the sound of the chopper igniting and taking off and the noise of screaming in the distance. The sinister whispers of the serum in my ears and the roaring of the fire.

“The building is on fire. You will die one way," I raised my rifle to aim at his heart, "or the other. Goodbye, soldat. Hydra sends its regards.”

Then everything exploded.

I felt my body flying, smashing against the wall. Then everything turned black.

“Thirt-” a voice broke the surface of the fog clouding my mind. “Thirteen…are you—”

My throat felt like sandpaper, it was aching, and it burned. I brought a hand to my head, as if to find out if I could feel something other than the loud ringing in my ears.

The hand came away stained with blood. I coughed, groaning in pain.

I couldn't understand where I was, couldn't understand why I was in pain. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, making the tears that had been stuck in my eyes fall, and tried to bring my surroundings into focus.

Everything was tinted in red, smoke was filling the room. The flames were slowly consuming the area around me, but my powers had squeezed me into the familiar protective shield, allowing me to breathe. The fire would not burn me, would not kill me—the scientists had tested it in any way they could think; they burned every part of my body, shoved burning iron on my body, in my eyes, in my throat, but nothing; the smoke would kill me, with time, and those damn powers didn't even give me the joy of an unexpected death.

My throat felt like sandpaper; it was aching, and it burned.

I lifted myself onto my knees, bracing myself with my hands when the world wobbled violently.

The screams in the distance were now drowned out by the crackling of the fire. I knew I had to get out of there, but my mind was still reeling from what had just happened. The sinister whispers of the serum echoed in my head, getting quieter and quieter. And for the first time since I had woken up, my head wasn’t heavy and my mind wasn’t blank.

"What the fuck is going on?"

For the first time in years, I was out of the base, and I didn't feel the black mask of the drug pushing me down. There was no constant pain that clutched my heart and mind, no voice in my head making me do things I hated. The world around me seemed brighter and more vibrant than ever, as if I were seeing it for the first time.

Tears rolled out of my eyes. I stared at the door, and I gathered myself to run out of it. Maybe I'd reach those mountains I had seen on the mission to Norway a few years back. I could finally escape and hide. I would be free. Free.

But then I saw him—the sergeant, the soldat, the Winter Soldier slumped on the ground, eyes closed and still as a corpse.

And I remembered the mission. The headquarters. The other soldiers. The fucking microchip they had implanted in my body, prevented me, even in my clearest moments, from escaping.

The rifle was lying somewhere in the room, but retrieving it was the least of my thoughts. I remembered all those words the scientists had shouted in my face, as they beat, whipped, and carved my body according to their pleasure. Michael. Michael would die if I disappeared like that.

I sobbed, mourning for the life I didn't get to live, for the things I wasn't allowed to feel. I took a deep breath and wiped away my tears. I couldn't let my emotions consume me, not now. Michael would be safe, and I would need to sacrifice my life for him. It was a small price to pay for the life of my only family. I had to get up and go back, no matter how hard it was.

But I had a choice to change things. To make them better.

I crawled to the soldier as blood began to trickle from my nose. I groaned with pain as I rolled him onto his back, placing my fingers on his neck. He was alive.

His words echoed in my head.

I can help you. I can help you.

I eyed the exit; it was engulfed in fire, and an escape through the windows was unlikely. "Soldat." I shook him from his shoulders roughly, but nothing. "Soldat. Wake up! Come on."

His eyes stayed closed. Shit.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. I had to think fast.

"Thirteen! Thirteen! Report now." I nearly ripped my belt off in my haste to grab the radio. Marya's voice came through, screaming at me to inform her whether the mission had been successful. "Is the target dead?" I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.

And I could make no other decision.

My heart was pounding as I took a deep breath and replied, "Affirmative, target eliminated."

"Meet us at the rendezvous point in ten minutes.”

I knew what her words actually meant, if I was not there in time, a squad would track down my microchip—whatever that thing was—and execute me for desertion. Mission accomplished or not. I had to move fast.

"Copy that."

I took another moment to stare at the man before me, looking so peaceful despite everything. He was strong enough to have survived that long in the smoke, in that moment, I had to be strong and pull us both out of this hell. "I hope you're worth it."

I wrapped my arms around the soldier and began to pull, nearly screaming from the pain in my muscles, but I had no time to find an alternative. I couldn't do anything else.

"Damn it, you're heavy." I yanked him with me, stretching the shield around both of us. “If we both die because you want to pull a Sleeping Beauty on me, my ghost will torture yours for eternity.”

The crossing was excruciating.

I dragged him through the big chamber, and then, kicking open the doors, I hauled him up the fire escape to the roof.

I collapsed on the floor beside him, desperately gasping for air. The soldier was still unconscious and unmoving, but he was breathing, and his pulse was steady. And that was enough. Enough to hope.

I lifted the sleeve of his jacket, exposing his arm. And being the only thing at my disposal, I began to write on his arm with my blood.

"You said you could help us." I gave him one last look. "Please do it."

I jumped down the stairs again, submerging into the fire and disappearing.

For the first time in years, the familiar bite of hope came back to haunt me, I only hoped not to be absolutely devastated by the consequences of my actions.

Please, Let me know what you think and if you would like to be tagged in later parts!

Disclaimer: all of my chapters will have a title with the name of a song. This chapter has the title 'Us and them', a song by Pink Floyd. It has no correlation with the story, but I thought it was nice to let you all know.

@mori1b2bpad @lady-bellyn  @thefandomplace @bonkyandsteebluver @billihill - let me know if you still wish to be tagged to the next parts or deleted from the tag list.

[rangerangel]

RA Characters as teams I've seen in the escape room I work at (inspired by @redrose-arrow 's restaurant post):

Will, Horace, Gilan

They struggle to understand that the room is a collaborative effort and want everything to be a competition. This is their first escape room, and they have booked our hardest one. They agree that they will not ask for any hints--they end up asking for 15 hints. Horace accidentally breaks a prop and is overly apologetic. We give them free drinks because they're so nice. They manage to get out with 5 minutes left and are incredibly excited about it. They huddle up in our lobby and do a chant before AND after the room. We're impressed they managed to turn an escape room into a sporting event.

Alyss, Cassandra, Jenny

They have a team name picked out and are ready to set the store record. They have dressed up in theme with the room, and have brought their own props to make the experience immersive. Halfway through the room, they get distracted and start dancing with each other to music from their phones . They cheer SO loudly every time they solve a puzzle. We know from the second they walk in the door that it's going to take them the full hour to solve the room. When they radio in, they trade bad jokes for hints. We're pretty sure they might be a little drunk, but they're a good time.

Halt and Pauline

They book our cowboy room, and are extremely quiet with the staff. We're all afraid that they are going to hate the room because they aren't interacting with our introduction at all. To our surprise, they put on cowboy hats as soon as they get in and pretend to shoot each other with the prop guns. They only ask for a few hints, but every time they get the answer to a puzzle we see Pauline throw her arms up on camera because she's been telling Halt how to solve it correctly for 15 minutes. They manage to translate the braille puzzle entirely without using the translation sheet, but get stuck on how to input three numbers into a cash register. Every time they radio in, Halt ends his sentence with "over." They tip $20 on the way out.

Duncan, David, Arald, Maddie

They come in for Maddie's birthday, and she's the only one who's done an escape room before. They choose one of our horror rooms, and we're pretty sure they have no idea what they're getting themselves into. Despite showing Duncan how to use a walkie talkie, we absolutely cannot get them to hold onto the button long enough to understand what they're saying. David and Arald are having the most fun in trying to scare Maddie, but they're really just scaring each other. Duncan ends up sitting on the couch for most of the game watching everyone else and shouting encouragement. When we drop the final jumpscare, David and Arald scream so loudly we can hear them in the lobby. Maddie solves 90% of the puzzles, but they all have a great time. They decide to book another room on the way out, and Duncan pays in full. We adore them and talk about how sweet they were all day.

Morgarath

He books our paint splatter/escape room hybrid. He comes alone, and argues about signing our waiver (he doesn't want to put his name down). When he is led to the room, he is shocked that there is paint everywhere. We explain the concept of the room again and show him the ponchos to protect his clothes. He solves the puzzles quickly and gets to the paint. He radios in and asks what he's supposed to do with it. We explain the idea of a splatter room for the 4th time. He leaves without touching the paint. A day later, he leaves a one-star Google review complaining that he didn't know there would be paint. In order to buy the tickets he had to navigate a page full of pictures of people covered in paint. We pray he doesn't come back.

[dove00]

Running (Only Gets You So Far)

(Hi! Been a while but here’s another Bad Things Happen Bingo from @badthingshappenbingo ! This finishes Hostage Video

Warnings: hostage video, kidnapping, near death experience

Stay safe and enjoy!

Summary: The five Teen Titans are taken and put in a containment cell. Their mentors and the rest of the Justice League save them, but one of the Titans takes it the hardest.

All of his friends around him are starting to breathe slower. Wally is used to doing everything faster but he never wanted to be faster than them at breathing.

He nudged Roy, who was closest to him. “Hey, man. You have to stay awake.”

Roy barely moved but said softly, “I’m sorry.”

“Shut up.” Wally said with no heat. “Apologize when we’re not in some trap used to get the League here.”

“Never say I didn’t try.” Roy joked because truly only Roy Harper could try and make someone smile as he slowly—

“Shut up.” Wally said again.

Roy tried to sit up a little. “Where’s Dick?”

Dick sounded out of breath. “Here.” Donna moves them closer to Wally, Roy, and Garth.

“We tried everything.” Garth said.

“The League will come.” Dick said. “I heard the guy make a call. Wally, I never heard Barry swear so much.”

Wally snorted but it turned into a cough. “He’s protective.”

“Yeah…” Donna trailed. “Do you guys know I love you?”

“Love you, too.” Dick said, like it was as easy as breathing. “But sorry to break it to you. We won’t be dying here.”

Wally sometimes hates his powers. His body is dying and healing at the same time but he knows even he will have to lose this battle. He just doesn’t know why his friends have to die, too.

They sit in silence for another 30 minutes. Then, Dick sighed. “Do you think people will miss us?”

Wally wants to say: Totally. All the ladies will be in mourning.

What he does say is: “I’ll miss you all.”

“Yeah.” Roy agreed. “Plus, I’ll haunt Bruce if he tries to say he doesn’t miss you.”

Dick chuckled and then fell silent.

Aunt Iris, Wally thinks as his mind starts to fade, I love you and I’m sorry.

_________

After the call, Bruce has the video on repeat and Barry is wondering how he can stomach it.

“I want my brother freed from prison or the Teen Titans are dead.”

This is gonna haunt Barry but he powered through for Wally and the others. He’s a CSI. He knows how to look for evidence. Speed helps, too.

“I wonder how long your beloved sidekicks will last.”

Except when he can’t find the guy. The guy is smirking and then a quiet boom that Bruce has decided is not a gun but can’t think of anything else it could be. Maybe…

Barry paused the video. Before Bruce could open his mouth to say who knows what, Barry points at the abandoned warehouse roof. There’s a hole in it and the tiniest hints of a firework could be seen.

“It’s a firework.” There’s no holiday that has fireworks right now.

“Gotham has a parade.” Bruce said and Barry looked back at the screen. “It’s still going on.” He tells the parade route and Barry runs as Bruce goes to inform the others.

Please, he begs…to who knows. He just begs. Let him be on time.

Wally won’t wake up. They got everyone out and breathing. Wally should be waking up. His speed healing should’ve made him the first to wake up.

The others had to be stopped from hurting themselves to go check on Wally.

Jay comes into the room and Iris gives him a hug.

“I think it may be the fact that his powers were in use the whole time.”

“You should get some sleep.” Barry told Iris.

“So should you, but we both know you won’t.”

Wally started to groan and then sat up quickly. “Guys!”

Barry and Iris were on either side of him.

Iris told him, “All safe and all worried about you.”

“Oh.” Wally said and then smiled at them.

Barry and Iris felt a weight lift off them as he hugged them. Jay smiled at them.

Family.

[amelikos]

Some character notes and episode notes for HZ045, writing them down for future reference.

Towards the beginning, we see the Explorers going back to Spinel who asked them to withdraw since they got to see Rayquaza's power for themselves. They all follow his lead. Spinel probably knew that Rayquaza was too overwhelming, so this plan might have simply been a way to gather data or see Rayquaza's reactions etc. Spinel likes observing and act on concrete information so he can plan better in the future, so. At least, he got confirmation that Rayquaza does react to the resonance generator, has an idea of his moveset, the way he reacts and potential weaknesses.

Liko and the others proceed to challenge Rayquaza. Really shows how far they came too, since Liko introduced herself and her goal of taking Terapagos to Rakua, Roy talked about how grateful he was to Rayquaza since he got to go an adventure thanks to him.. Rayquaza actually listened to them and agreed to battle them. I liked how formal the whole thing felt and the way they communicate with Rayquaza and how Rayquaza's feelings are taken into account too. He could just refuse to battle them at all if he didn't acknowledge them but the fact he accepted means that he is willing to test them. Rayquaza being Lucius's greatest partner really shines through.

Liko and the others start battling Rayquaza. I liked how nervous Liko felt at the beginning because she was reminiscing how she couldn't do anything last time so she wanted to make a difference this time, but was unsure on how to approach Rayquaza since he is in the sky and she is on the ground. It seems like having a Flying type will potentially be important to face Rayquaza again in the future. Amethio has an Armorga, who can fly. So, maybe something will be done with it in the future.

Anyway, the group split into two teams during the battle. Roy went with Friede on Lizardon, and Dot teamed up with Liko as Cap assisted them to help their Pokemon fly. At some point, Hogator and Lizardon launched a Flamethrower at the same time. I liked it, because in HZ002, I remember Hogator trying to mimic Lizardon when he was using this move but he couldn't use it back then. And now, Hogator can battle alongside his idol, which is really cute. Something else I found significant is when Dot came up with a plan to help Nyahoja jump even higher to reach Rayquaza, which was to have Nyahoja get on Kuwassu and then having Kuwassu fire a Water Gun towards the ground and give more momentum by using Low Kick. I'm pretty sure this is a reference to HZ017, when Roy asked Dot for advice when he trained Hogator and Kaiden and he eventually came up with the plan to have Hogator use Ember towards the ground to propel himself and Kaiden upwards, etc. I like that Dot was resourceful and quickly remembered this, and it really feels like all these moments from the first year are now paying off against Rayquaza. Dot and Liko work well together, so do Roy and Friede so I wonder if we'll see them battle together more in the future. Maybe with some changes every now and then? (maybe Liko and Friede teaming up, and Roy and Dot together etc, idk)

Rayquaza started taking everyone pretty seriously after all their attacks so he used Draco Meteor (that one move that hits pretty much everything around). It quickly overwhelmed everyone, and the move almost hit Terapagos so Liko and Nyahoja quickly went to Terapagos to protect him... and that's when Amethio's Soublades showed up to repel that move and protect them. (The BGM used during that specific scene was good too, it felt kinda knight-like to me, Soublades being a knight who protects others like Liko and Amethio...) I find it quite interesting that we don't know how Amethio phrased his sentence to have Soublades protect them... I wonder what he said exactly. Either way, Amethio protected Nyahoja back in HZ002 when she was about to fall off from the ship and now, he protects Liko and her Pokemon again. I really like that and that this is how he shows up again. He also muttered and went on about Spinel (so he used his name around Liko so maybe she heard him and knows his name now ww) and how he knew he was scheming something... Spinel keeps an eye on Amethio and seems to pay attention to what he does (as seen in HZ034), and despite not acting with the others and sometimes even being "excluded" from their plan, Amethio also pays attention to what Spinel does.

Either way, Amethio used Terastal so he mastered it in the time between HZ034 and now. I talked about his Terastal pose being the same as Friede, which I like because he probably was really impacted by their battle at the castle in HZ025, so he remembers it. His "follow your own path" is also significant (for obvious reasons). Amethio seemed much more in control this time, the way he battled and used Ghost Dive seemed much more controlled. Friede joins Amethio and uses Terastal too, and he seemed really fired up. He suggested a teamup when he asked Amethio to have Soublades ride on Lizardon, and I found Amethio's reaction kind of funny because there was a silence during like, two seconds, like Amethio was considering whether he was going to follow his lead or not ww Amethio eventually does though, and their teamwork was fantastic. I have a lot to say about it, but the inherent trust between the two of them, the way they were able to work together so seamlessly, no hesitation, no miscommunication, it really shows how much they know and respect each other. I feel like their battles during chapter 1 were also important for them to have a good grasp of each other's battle styles, which is also why they can work together so efficiently now. They were both overwhelmed by Rayquaza, but it's good they could team up and I'm hoping they team up again in the future. I feel like Zir watching Gurumin's video in HZ027 about multi battles and how battling alongside friends is reassuring was leading up to this episode and Amethio battling together with Friede.

Liko and Roy end up battling again now that Friede and Amethio can't anymore. Liko and Nyahoja seemed a bit unsure, but Hogator was motivated and learned a new move (Nitro Charge). Liko reaffirms her desire to take Terapagos to Rakua and how she wants to go farther with Nyahoja and be more helpful to everyone (I really like the way she phrases her desire to get stronger), and Nyahoja responds to her feelings by evolving into Nyarote. The growths of characters and Pokemon are intertwined in Horizons, so I knew that Nyahoja would eventually evolve (it was more of a matter of "when" and I already suspected Amethio would be around too), HZ040 cemented the fact that her evolution would be soon too (because it felt logical that the next step after Nyahoja overcame her past and feelings of doubt about where she belongs would be evolution to show her growth even further, and they did just that, which I'm happy about). Nyahoja was cute as she was and I liked all her moments so I'll miss her a bit like that (especially Liko carrying her!), but I'm looking forward to her moments as Nyarote. I hope she has more opportunities to be protective of Liko, Mibrim and Terapagos since she has grown now. Maybe she'll be able to carry the Pokemon too.

Anyway, Liko and Roy managed to land some moves on Rayquaza and made him wince a bit. Nyarote caught Hogator with her yoyo (or vines?) and protected him, which was cute. Terapagos called out to Rayquaza and they talked a bit, but he eventually went away. Rayquaza looked intently at Liko though. I felt there was lots of focus on Rayquaza's eyes this episode (it shows his resolve, feelings, etc). It's still too soon for Rayquaza to join them, but this was a step in the right direction because he is testing them and properly battling them.

Amethio was about to leave with Zir and Conia (who joined him, and they were glad he was okay), but Liko caught up to him to thank him for saving her earlier. He brushes it off and tells her not to misunderstand because Rayquaza is his prey and that's all there is to it as he leaves. Boy, your excuse doesn't make sense (what does Rayquaza have to do with you going out of your way to help Liko ww), but it's okay. There was definitely a shift in Amethio's dynamics with the group (especially Liko and Friede, with him helping Liko and him teaming up with Friede), and it'll be interesting to see how it'll change in the future. The Explorers teamed up together against Rayquaza, and Amethio was not shown with them but with the main group. Also, this episode was Dot's first time meeting Amethio (she was always in the ship when he showed up).

Liko and the others go back to the ship. Everyone is okay, but Liko and Roy are sad about losing, not catching Rayquaza, and seeing the ship destroyed. Friede gives them a solemn speech about how giving up means that their adventure will end. He reminds them of everything they gained through their adventures, and reassures them that they haven't lost as long as they don't give up. Reaching Rayquaza, who once seemed so far away, is incredible by itself. (Friede was really cool in this scene, I love when he shares his wisdom like that and it feels really effective because we know everything he's been through)

Liko and Roy decide not to give up and reaffirm their goals. Dot also joins in and says that she doesn't want to sit in the sidelines, and she wants to chase the mysteries together with Liko and Roy. (Also really loved this scene because Dot has decided she wants to be together with her friends more and it works well after HZ's first year of her trying new things at her own pace and getting used to having friends and going outside) Liko and Roy want to learn Terastal (Roy mentions how amazing Lizardon was, and Liko mentions Soublades) and ask Friede for advice, so he tells them to leave everything to him because he has something in mind (which we know is a transition to the next chapter, as Liko, Roy and Dot will be going to school to learn Terastal). Liko looked at the Brave Asagi and thanked it for taking them this far (good scene, I love that Liko thanks the ship too).

The last scene of the episode is at the Explorers' base. Agate apologizes to Gibeon for not being able to handle Rayquaza. He tells them to allow the RVT to gather the Six Heroes. Sango and Onyx seemed surprised by this decision and Onyx wanted another chance. It seems like both Onyx and Sango are devoted to Gibeon. I wonder why. Spinel deduces Gibeon's plan to have the RVT work for them. Spinel is buttering his boss up ww Gibeon tells the Explorers to monitor Terapagos and Liko (he used her name), and they agree and bow to him.

Two things to note: they specifically didn't show Amethio in the scene when the others are bowing to Gibeon, probably because Amethio doesn't bow to Gibeon? Which would indicate something about their relationship. Amethio also seemed to be at the base physically, alongside Hamber. The others were there as holograms.

Spinel also seems to have his own agenda, since he was shown smiling. He probably doesn't have any loyalty to the Explorers (even though he butters up Gibeon by calling him with honorifics and everything), so something else probably drives him. I wonder what. (I will support Spinel in everything he does. I just hope we get to know why it seems like he is detached from everyone, and that his heart seems closed off to anyone who isn't Blacky. What are his motivations? He specifically referred to the Explorers as a job back in HZ016.)

We get a glimpse of Gibeon at the end. He seems bedridden? His hair looks like Amethio's (he is probably a relative?). He talks about returning to Rakua and getting the "Rakurium" and that his adventure isn't over. He also mentions Lucius. Potential old man yaoi?? Is Gibeon still pining for Lucius after a century? Were they friends? Was Gibeon part of the original Explorers? (since Diana mentioned in HZ025 that the Explorers were Lucius's friends, but I don't know if the "friends" part referred to human friends, or Pokemon friends) Did something happen that caused a rift between them? Maybe Gibeon just wants to see Lucius again to apologize to him? (I really hope Gibeon has human motivations. So far, he has the same wish as Terapagos, which is going to Rakua.)

This episode was written by Kureha Matsuzawa btw, so he is the one who handled the climax for a chapter this time (climax of chapter 1 was by Dai Sato). Both chapters ended with a scene of Gibeon talking (last scene of HZ025 was with Gibeon as well).

[marta-bee]

Thinking a bit more about my relationship to the military and military service.

I mentioned recently how offended I was by the whole thing with Trump at Arlington Cemetery, and also that several of my cousins had served in the US armed services (mostly the Marines). I've also said I'm a pacifist. That last one needs a little more qualification.

I'm what I'd describe as a practical pacifist: I acknowledge there are some emergencies that need a violent solution, but I also think being mentally prepared to inflict violence on someone is the bigger danger to my well-being. I'd rather run the small risk of being attacked and not being ready to defend myself than walk around being ready to attack someone else. Other peoples' calculus differs, and reasonably so. I'm single and don't have children to protect. I have the privilege (and have made the sacrifices) to live in reasonably safe areas. And while I think the military and civilian police are far too quick to create situations that encourage conflict, in principle I don't see a conflict between saying "not everyone should be prepared to use violence to protect themselves" and "we're all better off when some people, in very rare situations, are prepared to do just that."

So I 100% recognize that the military can be a tool of empire and racism and ideology all too often. I think when you take a twenty-year-old, give them body armor and a big gun, and point them in the direction of someone you name the enemy, "self defense" will come much too easily. And at class level, it bothers the hell out of me that the people we send to fight our wars are so very different from the people who decide to get us involved in them. But all that being said, I know what motivated my cousins and high school classmates to enlist. I think the intent was honorable. Or at least rational. (So many enlisted as a way to afford college and buy into the middle class.) And I've acquired just enough wisdom to know people coming out of that kind of service may be dealing with a lot of emotional trauma, a lot of moral injury, and may not need my judgment on top of all that. In the political arena I'll absolutely advocate for my beliefs. But I've also learned there are real people involved, and sometimes the better part of being family and neighbors is to keep my thoughts to myself.

I also recognize countries have a legitimate right to defend themselves, though of course they still need to do that the right way. So I'm not against sending weapons (say) to Ukraine. I'm also not convinced US involvement in Afghanistan was wrong, at least I think from what I've seen the people of Afghanistan were genuinely better off when the Taliban was being held at bay. That's the great challenge of making war (and yes, I've got the last council-meeting in Lord of the Rings in mind here, before the armies set out for the Black Gate). You're almost never going to beat Mordor in a wrestling-match, but in rare circumstances you'll need a battle to make space for a lasting peace.

So. Tl;dr version. I don't agree with most of the military decisions my country's leaders make, and I wish we were a lot less involved in wars around the globe. But that doesn't mean I don't respect the hell out of the intent behind military service. And I'm not 100% closed to the possibility there's some rare circumstances where it's the right thing to do in fact. You can even fight wars in a way that keeps the amount of war being fought to a minimum. Like most things worth thinking about, the reality is much messier than my ideals.

I'm thinking about this because of a recent discussion between Colbert and Sen. Mark Kelly, about how Trump saw the world in terms of conmen vs. people being conned and truly didn't understand the concept of service. And I was so thankful when he talked about how the person who did understand that was Harris. The one thing more than anything else I truly hate about the way we Americans talk about the military, is how we equate public service with military service and not with (say) community organizing, public-service jobs like firemen and sanitation workers, teaching at-risk kids or staffing medical clinics where health care is in short supply. (Urban and rural areas both have so many needs in that area....) Kamala's not a veteran. Walz is, but Kamala's service is of the distinctly civilian variety. It doesn't make it less valid.

When I think of my cousins who enlisted, I think of how they wanted to do something difficult and be part of something bigger than themselves. It's a damned shame the military was the only real way they saw that they could do that. I think they were mistaken, but they were also just out of high school. Eighteen year olds can be truly idiotic specimens sometimes, and it's not like the community I grew up in gave them many better options.

I don't know. I can respect the intent and the sacrifice even if I think it was all a waste their service had to take this form. They deserve better, and we need to find more constructive ways to work together and solve our joint problems. Probably that's why Kelly's comment resonated with me: he seems to be recognizing how our service can take different forms.

But at the end of the day, even if I disagree in big ways with the morality of the military's choices, I can still respect what enlisted people were trying to do. That's life being messy for you.

[gorogues]

Fictober 2023

Prompt number #8 Fanfiction Fandom: Flash Rogues Rating: T – Teen and up Warnings: Profanity.

Day Eight: “Give me that, before anything happens.”

The Rogues weren’t scavengers by nature, but they never missed an opportunity which presented itself.  And so they found themselves searching the wreckage of a huge battlefield, the aftermath of yet another ‘Crisis’, seeking anything of interest.

“I found some weird bracelet,” Mark announced, holding up a Thanagarian war gauntlet.  “Nice solid metal for scrap.”  It echoed strangely when he tapped it.

“Not as good as I was hopin’ for, but it’s something,” Len shrugged.  They were finding the pickings disappointingly slim, and Mick was privately wondering if the heroes had already combed the battlefield for useful weapons.  Still, the Rogues didn’t have much else to do as the city was rebuilt.

“Guys, look what I found!” Axel shouted about ten minutes later, running on air with something in his hand.  “It’s a freakin’ Green Lantern ring!”

“Are ye certain?” Evan said skeptically as he snatched it away for examination, ignoring the obvious frustration of the kid.  “It isnae doing a’thing.”

“Maybe it got damaged in the fight,” Mick suggested, though Mark looked contemptuous, annoyed at having his find overshadowed by something that was much cooler.

“It’s fake.  Throw it out.”

Len frowned with concern.  “We can’t take that chance.  Give it to me before something happens,” and Evan reluctantly handed it over to the boss.

The ring began to glow as soon as Len touched it, bathing them all in a bright green light.

“Leonard Snart of Earth, you have demonstrated great will.  Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps,” the ring declared in a sonorous voice unlike anything they’d ever heard before, its words audible to all.  In an instant, Len was wearing a sleek green coat with the symbol of the Lantern Corps on its front.

“Holy…” Mark exclaimed breathlessly, eyes wide, though not everyone looked impressed.

“Now he’s gonna be more insufferable than ever,” Mick muttered quietly, and Axel was even more frustrated than before.

“That’s my ring!  I found it!” the boy insisted, jumping up and down and dancing around the others in his exasperation.

Len looked regretful.  “Sorry, kid, I didn’t know that was gonna happen.  But this is pretty fuckin’ cool, honestly.  Just imagine what we’ll be able to do with this thing!”

“We c’n rob every bank on the planet,” Evan suggested with great enthusiasm.

“I don’t know if the ring works that way…” Mick pondered aloud, but Len wasn’t bothered by any nay-saying skepticism.

“Don’t matter, we’ll find out as we go,” Len said confidently, but somebody cleared his throat behind them.

“Great plan, guys, but I’m afraid I’ll have to put a damper on it.  Hand over the ring,” Hal Jordan told them with a grin.  He hovered a few feet above them and looked very amused by the entire situation.

“No way.  The ring picked me,” Len declared, and the other Rogues nodded in firm agreement.

“Oh geez, I guess that means it’s yours under intergalactic law,” Hal said with a serious look on his face, though he couldn’t hold it for long.  “No, actually, I have full authority from Oa to take it back ASAP.  Sorry.”

Hal’s own ring began to glow, and the one on Len’s hand responded in kind.  In moments, the ring floated off Len’s finger and flew to the waiting hand of the Green Lantern, and Cold’s new costume immediately reverted back to his usual blue parka.

“You asshole!” Len snarled, though firing his cold gun at Hal did nothing because of the ring’s protective shield.  The other Rogues found the same when they also turned their weapons against their new foe in sympathetic anger.

“Thanks for the laugh, guys, and for finding the ring.  We couldn’t detect it until you activated it just now, so we really do owe you a debt.  See you around!” Hal called as he turned and flew into the stratosphere.  In seconds, he was gone.

“Well that really sucked,” Axel said sullenly, and none of the others could disagree.  Len put a friendly hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah.  But you did good finding it and letting us know about it.  So thanks.”

Axel brightened at what was high praise indeed.  “Of course!  I just wish we coulda gotten rich off it.”

“I’m gonna get a few bucks for my bracelet,” Mark said with probably unwarranted pride, though Len snorted at him.

“I guess we should keep looking.”

[wr0wn]

HIHI I HOPE YOU DONT MIND ME SENDING IN AN ASK but could I/we pretty please know more about your RE oc??? :000

OMG, THANK YOU FOR ASKING!! :D

It's pretty much some random civilian who somehow survived the whole ordeal of town getting infected and all that.

In my head, the "funniest" part of my character dynamics with everyone else is that everyone is a professional of some kind. Everyone around knows how to use a gun (successfully).

They still are able to protect themselves despite their average stature they are pretty brutal.

In a game, my character would probably function like Ashley from re4 remake.

After each section of the level, they will give you some useful stuff (nothing that will be needed to progress in the game)

There will be some parts of the game when you can play as them to crawl somewhere or to help reach something.

Nothing lore heavy. After all, they're just a civilian.

(If you want to ask me any more questions about my re oc or anything else, please do!!)

[andromedasummer]

OKAY The Whispering Skull 3/3 liveblog LET'S GO

- oh wow they dont even plan the library heist. they just do it. its barely even a heist they walk in and the thing isnt locked. fittes agency aint the brightest huh

- quill kipps doing the most conspicuous trailing of the team. brother you are so pathetic. ily. you have no sense for subterfuge.

- NIGHT CAB DRIVER NEW FAV CHARACTER lockwood rly went "50 pounds to misdirect the cab behind" and after making sure they arent criminals the driver is like "i can brake check him. i can double back and crash into him. if you want. for that kind of money" quill kipps you were so close to a life changing traffic accident on account of cabbies being underpaid

- Lockwood STOP yelling at George it make me sad :( Lucy is right he is feeling left out

- The amount of times these children use bombs to solve problems. Mirror heist? Bomb flare distraction. People pointing guns at you? Bomb flare free ghost distraction. We get told these things cost a fortune and yet they use them so often.

- The Dril tweet about budgeting and candles. That but its Lockwood and mag flares

- Sir Rupert is very well written and very cool. I also hate him with my life. Nasty, nasty man.

- Oh Lucy and Lockwood just. They just throw themselves off a! eight story building into the Thames. They're going to get so unwell from this. There's no way they didn't swallow a little bit of water when they broke the surface. Jesus Christ that's how you get cholera

- Oh George isnt home yet. Oh hes absolutely going to go find Joplin. Oh god.

- OH NO HE HAS

- Bringing the skull to Kensel Green. Good. More of the skull on adventures it always rules

- YEAHHH KIPPS TEAM. KAT, NED AND BOBBY WORKING WITH LOCKWOOD. FUCK YES.

- The Skull calling out to Bickerstaff and getting no response is kinda sad but also. Something very vindicating that this servant boy who was manipulated into doing awful things becoming a powerful ghost after his death, and the man obsessed with death who killed so many and manipulated the boy into doing terrible things becoming a shadow of himself in death, his worst qualities and obsessions compacted into this terrifying but also kind of... pathetic thing.

- Kipps stepping in and trying to protect George from Joplin. Sarcastic banter with Lucy. Shouting at Joplin to leave George and her alone. You ARE capable of being a good human being I'm so proud

- God, Lucy thinking George was dead those few minutes is heartbreaking. These kids need therapy for the shit they go through.

- Lucy admitting she can talk to type threes and she has one and Joplin not believing her. I wonder if Kipps remembers her saying this later on or thinks it was just a desperate last attempt at stopping Joplin from killing them.

- George standing up suddenly when they thought he was dead and everyone freaking the FUCK out only for him to tackle Joplin and attack. KING. BEST CHARACTER.

- Lucy driving back the ghost with a iron chain and nothing else shes so fucking cool. Ignore that she accidentally took out a chunk of Kipps' hair. It was kind of funny.

- BLATANTLY TALKING TO SKULL IN FRONT OF JOPLIN AND KIPPS. KIPPS IF YOU DONT REMEMBER THIS OR BRING THIS UP IM GONNA LOSE IT.

- Skull reverse psychology-ing Lucy into smashing the mirror. You DO like her.

- Lockwood rolling the dice with whether or not Joplin's gun works. Therapy. NOW.

- Quill telling Lucy about what its like losing your talents and giving into fear... God. I want to hug him.

- Lockwood asking to split the job commission 30/70 because of Quills teams' help and letting go of the bet because of his respect for the team after what they went through.... Hes A Good Lad. I want them all to be friends

- George, Lockwood and Lucy apologizing to one another and talking about their conflict. I'm so proud. Communication win.

- YES THE REVEAL OF GEORGES GLASSES HAVING NO LENSES WHEN HE LOOKED IN THE MIRROR one of my fav moments in the series so clever and so funny

- I'm glad Lockwood leaves the decision about keeping the Skull to Lucy. Hes right, she is the one most affected by it, and I'm glad his enthusiasm for the skull making them fame and fortune that he had at the start of this book has been curbed by his concern and care for her

- YES THEYRE TALKING ABOUT THE LYRE SYMBOL ON THE BOX AND THE GOGGLES. THE ORPHEUS SOCIETY

- OOOOOH LOCKWOODS SHOWING THEM THE ROOM LOCKWOODS SHOWING THEM JESSICA'S ROOM

- CLIFFHANGER ENDING I REMEMBER THIS

-----

okay so i have a newfound appreciation for this book. I don't know what it is, or why, but I enjoyed going back through it a lot this time and I'm really glad i decided to give it another chance. I really enjoyed all of the character development and all the stuff with Quills team and I am SO excited to start the next book.

Because!!! Next up is The Hollow Boy!!!! My favourite book!!!!, Holly's debut!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!