#Survivability & Protection

[marlair]

hi !! m not sure if u take rqs but if u do ,, do u mind writing the first years x a rllyyy short reader? any gender is fine !! <3

i didn’t expect you to be so tiny

synopsis: the first years with a.. really short prefect.

gn!yuu

ACE TRAPPOLA

this guy is average (i suppose) height, so he’d probably laugh right in your face about your height.

“HAHA bro how are you that tiny😂😂” coded

you, as a member of the short community, want to do nothing more than yank his hair.

smh.

if you needed to grab something from a shelf taller than you (most shelves in NRC), he’d probably watch you struggle for a hot minute and then laugh at you — only after that routine is he willing to help you out.

“loud sigh, fineeee, since you need my help so bad, i GUESS i’ll help you out”, he says.

though with his reaction, you think you’d much rather have just climbed onto a chair and done it yourself.

you are sick and TIRED.

DEUCE SPADE

he’s not as.. assholey about it as ace, but you can definitely tell he’s aware of your shortness.

the moment you stand in front of a shelf that is, in fact, taller than you — he’s already behind you and has the item you needed in his hands, smiling warmly.

you died.

he carries stuff for you because apparently, ‘you might not be able to carry it! because you’re, well..’

you appreciate it, of course, but —

— you can carry a single grocery bag, okay?

he underestimates you quite a bit because of your height, which is most of the time annoying, but it’s funny sometimes.

JACK HOWL

he’s like 6’3” what the fuck. and considering you’re.. cough cough really short, it’d probably be funny seeing you two standing next to eachother.

the contrast would probably bewilder some people, add-in the fact he’s really muscular and then it’d even be creepy to some.

like deuce, he’d probably underestimate you to some extent because of your.. rather diminutive height.

he’d have to look straight down to see you, and you’d have to crane your neck up to see him, which is honestly sad.

he doesn’t seem like he’d be hard to deal with, though.

he’d just sort of, not really mention the difference.

EPEL FELMIER

short people solidarity WOO!!!

he’d be shaking, crying, shitting, literally all the bodily functions, when he first meets you.

there’s someone in the school who is shorter than him!!

he’d be helping you grab things from shelves, resting his arm on your shoulder or head, and other things.

literally anything to validate himself in the fact he is taller than someone his age.

he’d tease you for being short, but if anyone full-on bullied you about it, he’d beat them up.

lmao.

the day you wear heels that make you taller than him is the day of his downfall.

SEBEK ZIGVOLT

okay, we have to remember what he grew up being taught, alright?

this man is a KNIGHT. bro is CHIVALROUS.

regardless of your height, he’d be helping you carry and grab stuff.

but when you’re short— and much shorter than him—, his, uh, coddling is amped up a bit.

“as a knight, i must protect you! especially because you are so harmless!”

you, who literally survived through multiple overblots: 🧍.

it’s sweet, though.

the effort is definitely there! 

[vesperane]

understanding the kennedy

✎ sadly, leon isn’t the most optimal guy to enjoy the time with cause he is the bluntest man out there, but your time spent together and your adventures in the process of survival prove just how cuddly and sweet he can be… in an elevator, preferably with his hands on your body.

cw: fingering, leon being an ass, tit play, dirty talk bc auugh i love his voice, mentions of gore? kinda, fem! reader, idk if i should add anything else bc my mind is not minding, MDNI

You’re about to throw up, no kidding. Your dubious gaze flies between Leon and Ashley, bouncing between two blonde heads. Okay, so how did you end up in this situation? Let’s recap. First things first, you’re an agent with an orderly and strict life under the rules of the government. Being good at your job is what pockets so much trouble plus fresh green dough, which you deserve to earn to the bitter end.

Let’s proceed to the second reason.

When the President’s daughter suddenly disappears and an anonymous tip comes in that she’s been sighted in a village in Spain you’ve never heard of, the President himself appeals to two names he can rely on with his very life.

You and Leon Scott Kennedy.

As crystal clear as it is that you’ve heard his name before, pretty much every ear in this business you’re in has heard of this man at least at one point in time. The funny thing is that this may be exactly where things get tricky. People only know a name, Leon, but nothing about the personality or the story behind his name.

You’re very much aligned with this category of people.

Yes, and in the middle of the mission, not to mention how crucial it is, you don’t exactly expect to playhouse with Leon Kennedy, granted. Still, it’s not entirely flattering that the man projects himself to you with nothing more than a short nod.

He certainly doesn’t like to talk, albeit occasionally overhearing him talking to himself or cracking one liner to infected villagers that makes the skin chapped and dry in winter, paints a much different picture of Leon in your mind.

He schemes on his own and rarely consults your point of view when he takes the matter elsewhere, which naturally leaves you feeling inferior. The sour grimace on your face is always preceded by a wise crack, conveying the image of a self-righteous and, conversely, insecure man.

Is this what the infamous Kennedy is like?

“Psst, amp up your game, agent.” A laconic tone, a haughty flow to his voice, as if to say, ‘I know best around here, and you don’t.’

In a riot you never expected to stumble upon, the villagers clogged with armaments composed of pitchforks, axes, and hacksaws, your life is miraculously salvaged by an anonymous clarion call of a bell.

Now you are looting a random house in the village for Leon’s ridiculous reasons, or rather, he’s the only one doing the looting because there is no way you would ever touch anything of these ailing locals.

“Hunnigan warned that the sooner the better, herring brain.”

“Herring brain?”

His back is turned to you, so you can’t quite see what sort of emoticon is hanging on his face. But the inflection is the same. Sarcastic as hell.

He jams his elbow into the glass of the vitrine, and it’s not hard to discern whether he’s pivoting to protect his prissy face or to prove to you how pinched his frown is. Definitely the former one, even though his face is too pretty to harm.

Putting a grenade in his gear as though it will be enough to slaughter the entire village because it certainly won’t be enough, he tosses another curt retort back at you—not that you weren’t born yesterday.

“Oh, nice.” He’s woven with acrimony and malcontent. Seriously, where does his assertiveness stem from?

“We need to get to the mill straight away.” You try again. Nothing that can’t be solved with a little more civility, right? It’s worth a try.

The soles of his boots crunch on the chunks of broken glass as he trudges forward in front of you. Okay, Mr. Vanity.

All humor aside, his gaze is unnerving, as if there are vines tied around your ankles holding you in place, so much so that you can do nothing but loiter in his presence, bunglingly.

It’s as though for a moment you forgot about his previous ’joke’, mainly about playing bingo (?) and his usual goofy mentality—how dare you be demeaned in front of him?

Seriously, this guy is a nonentity for his sheer size; he has a giant head full of cheesy jokes and an enormous high forehead that he tries to cover with a fringe of his... perfectly bleached and conditioned hair.

Ugh, lame alert.

But… He’s still handsome, let’s face it. Could be the work of charm that these dronemen so rarely acquire.

Still, don’t give him the time of day on this one after seeing how obnoxious he’s proven to be.

You roll your eyes, undeterred, your steps already dragging you forward, and you make your way down the stairs to exit this ramshackle excuse for a house that smells of dung and blood in equal measure.

If only you could get out of the seconds you’re in now as you got out of that specific moment. It’s not that simplistic; it transpires.

“Hey Leon, there’s some armor. Bet you could use it like a bulletproof vest.”

Well, Ashley is a cute girl, and denial can be deemed as a blind existence, or deafness, whatever. But when she starts to fill up your patience drop by drop, as it has been the case ever since you reached the Salazar Castle, she gradually grows more and more friendly with... Leon, not with you.

The president’s daughter’s words are clear and concise, one hundred percent flirtation.

It’s fine; you don’t care. But usually speaking to you as if you are not the part of this mission, or sometimes outwardly ignoring you, is an aspect you don’t understand.

“Little old-fashioned for my taste,” Leon quips in the world’s blandest tone. Damn.

It’s a wonder what happened to the girlhood chumminess. Maybe Leon and Ashley are more apt to form a closer friendship, or perhaps you’re the low-key of the group, or else Leon alone spotting Ashley in the church fostered a stronger bond of trust between the two of them when you went your separate ways and found out that Leon had gutted a lake monster or something.

Absurd as fuck.

To your credit, you weren’t a fat lot of good; a few diary fragments of your findings were the remains of a scientist who had scribbled on a piece of paper about a brand new parasite: the plagas.

Anyway, back to the shit you’re in.

It’s pretty obvious that there’s nothing too serious damage to emotions here; in fact, Leon is so thick that he turns Ashley down time and time again, not in a rude way—never in a crude way—but just with his inane and arid jokes.

“Too bad. I think you’d look pretty dashing." Ashley’s chirping, but it’s no good. She gets no reaction from the guy.

You take it’s the signal for the end of their conversation, and just follow the two of them into the moonlit room, keeping silent. I mean, why join in, since watching this awkward thing going on between the two of them is frankly like a cutscene in a sit-com.

You know Leon sucks at the whole flirting thing; you figure it out, so all that bravado, all that stoicism—it’s all a veneer. Insecure, yet cute.

The romp with Luis is a very specific narrative. It’s short and abrupt, so sudden that it’s unreasonably all tied to him. The only thing you know is that Luis has the 'medicine’ to treat the poisoning of Leon and Ashley by the parasite that is probably written on the pieces of scrap paper you found and... that’s it. It’s obvious that you’re Luis’ ticket out of here, and that he’s telling you how he no longer works for Los Illuminados as a way out of this clusterfuck while ogling your boobs is extra hassle.

He‘s a completely alternative man to the intangible and abstract man Leon is. Flirting is Luis’ breakfast, lunch, appetizer, and, of course, his dinner. Like the water, he has to drink so he can exist. Like his cigarettes, you can say.

One small maneuver could stop him; you could even tell Leon that you won’t go along with his scheme to trust this guy (he, too, somehow doesn’t like the attitude Luis gives), put a bullet in his head, and take his life on the spot.

But it’s the inner attention whore fairy in you that permits Luis to flirt like there’s no tomorrow. You like the limelight. That and he’s pretty cute; his hair looks great. You can work with that.

Basically, it’s a peculiar combo. There’s nothing stopping Luis. Even when you’re underground, literally underground, and you’re trying to get back up, there’s not a single thing stopping him from alternating between you and Leon, sometimes putting a few bullets in the infected villagers in between, and watching you and Leon do most of the work.

Two hot agents wrestling their way out of the mess—what can he say?

It’s hot.

If Leon asks him to participate and assist, he just shrugs and says, “Hey, I’m the brains. You’re the brawn, and the señorita is the vision.”

A walking paragon of bisexualism.

But what impression did this little oversight strike in Leon’s eyes?

Just one word: bleakness. The others are sourness, everything about unpleasantness.

Trusting someone, especially someone he didn’t necessarily know, to get things fixed was beginning to become a habit of Leon’s. Yes, he wants to help everyone whenever he can, and that’s where all the shit hits the fan for him. He is, notably, reluctant to put his trust in someone (formerly!) working for a corporation that has razed a young rookie full of dreams and wrecked several lives in one simple night.

Call it a survival instinct or whatnot.

Besides, it’s quite asinine for Luis to act so laid back or to think he has that luxury in the midst of so much grime and squalor.

The flirting game doesn’t cease, and Leon’s pestering you as well. Blatantly flaunting around with a flamboyant of a flirt would suggest that you’re neglecting your expertise and don’t give a damn about the mission.

That’s exactly what bothers him, never for any other reason. Yeah, right.

Uh, or... How an agent of your reserve falling for Luis’ tricks and snubbing Leon might (it is a certainty, but he’ll never admit this) be playing a small part in his aggravation.

“Really? I didn’t take you had such a low standard,” he says so casually in the elevator that’s now hauling you upstairs, in a rare moment when you can have some privacy, and you wonder if he’s never spoken or at least ever bothered to talk to you.

“What is that supposed to mean?” You quirk an eyebrow and watch as he cocks his gun, giving it a quick once-over—an idle thing he almost always does, but one that makes your skin prickle with welcoming tingles.

What the fuck is going on? Intensifying gun kink moment, perhaps.

“WhAt is thAt suPpoSed to mEan?” He emulates your intonation effortlessly.

Hey, come on, your voice isn’t that squeaky.

It would be a challenge for him not to miss the wintry glower on your face; he’s observant, and to tell the truth, watching your face makes him feel good at times.

At times, it's the key ingredient. For after all, he had made that mistake once before of falling into the maw of the sweet trap of the woman he had known overnight in Raccoon City and in whom he had tormented his heart.

Except things are; otherwise, he’s not a rookie anymore, and he even finds these traps interesting. Or rather, he likes you. And your traps.

“You need to watch your mouth, asshole.” Your voice lectures him with a sharp vibrato.

“Huh?” Quite the sport that he is.

What, was he guarding his stone-like reticence in order to torture you for hours on end? Or has he gotten over the familiarization period and is suddenly expecting you to click like best pals?

Reading men is the toughest exercise in the world; everyone knows for a fact that they don’t use their brains, but reading Leon is much more demanding. It’s a lot of strain, and it’s the kind of maltreatment that can cripple a person both physically and cognitively.

It takes a lot to tune in to the energy of the likes of Luis, a verse of assertive words for a few more ambitious words, and, well, he’s a good warm-blooded friend now.

Then Leon?

It is very very shaky to figure out what to do to stay on his good side.

“Whatever.” Your voice echoes with finality, and your follow-up answer is disrupted by the juddering of the elevator accompanied by a broken, beeping sound. Lights flicker and breaths are held in short gasps, as these things often don’t augur well. Then darkness blankets the space like the teasing gloom of a sky before the copious rain patters fall on the soil.

“Hey, I’m talking to you. Better tune your ears.”

“Wh-What?” You really do stammer.

“Come on, are you daydreaming in the middle of a mission? Man, it looks like you’re not as polished as the president thought you were.”

“Stop it,” you hiss in rebuke, to which he reciprocates with a ragged snort. There is something staggering about the fact that the man who didn’t say a word to you last night is surprisingly toying with you like a schoolboy. So much so that there can be no other conceivable answer to the vermouth tint of your cheeks.

The grin on his face provides a unique glimpse of his crooked teeth. Or his soft jawline. Up close, he’s full of his flaws, but he looks cute. You can’t lie. And you can’t just imagine being dissuaded by someone so full of little foibles. Especially on duty, in a malfunctioning elevator.

“Shy, or am I living things in my head?”

“The latter and for the first, dream on, buddy.”

“Oh, well. I shouldn’t be dreaming much then.”

None of these rejoinders are smooth; they’re frankly lame, painfully corny. Except that you have an infinite penchant for pretty-faced men and their languishing eyes, namely for Leon.

Which is why in the darkness you can’t visualize how his hand is tucked into your pants. It happens.

The sound of his fingers curling inside you is the root catalyst for the darling mantle on your cheeks, and the pilgrimage is the secondary motivator. Alongside his drenched and glove-clad hand, his other hand is under your shirt, cupping your right tit, which is sticking out of your bra with gusto.

“Tsk tsk, how long have we been on post, hm? For how many hours?”

He bombards you with queries as if you have the breath to center on his inquiry. How blunt.

Leon jeers when he sees your eyes blinking disproportionately at his. You’re a dumb blur, wet, and yes, only for him. Not for Luis, not for anyone else. It’s just a finger dipping in and out of you, and the second he sticks a second one in, you adopt a piquant pout, your lips pursed, eyes glazing over. Too pretty a spectrum for Leon.

“Let me answer that for you, sweetheart, it’s been about 7 hours and you’re getting fingered by someone you barely know.” His scratchy drawl tickles your ears like a freshly scabbed wound scratching vigorously, like he’s the only thing that will soothe the pain inside you.

“That’s what all your bitterness was for? To get me and keep me for yourself?” His questions almost never conclude, fingers pumping and scissoring the daylight out of you.

“Ashley walks out because you only want me for yourself. To be all yours?” In return, a protracted, keening whine rolls out of your mouth, your lips bruised from his previous kisses, his teeth. Ouch, so utterly ignominious.

When this is over, you will definitely remember this moment and break your sleep.

His swelling hubris, just like the twitching dick inside his pants, gives Leon a feeling of entitlement and conceit. At least he looks more appealing in that way.

“Wish I could understand your blabbering, beautiful,” he jests, his thumb darting over your puffy clit, rushed but attentive as he knows you’re inching close. The face buried in your bosom, his lashes and hair delicately brushing over your skin, shrinks the knot in your belly; warmth flutters.

Leon’s urge is stirred by the tight grip of your lovely cunt squeezing the fingers inside of you that are ebbing and flowing incessantly. A harsh and crass mark, a tiny imprint his teeth leaves on your neck, faint, purple, the kind you will carry with you tonight, on this mission and for a time being as it appears.

A seal that is almost bruising, hard enough to draw blood, and so irascible because it can’t draw blood; a brand that quickly grows purple; a sting that is the right match for the pinch it leaves on your nipple.

A brand that says you are Leon’s, for a fleeting while.

It’s absurd that it’s been so long since the last time someone fingered you that you can’t remember cumming. Guys, just suck at this shit. And you never dreamed that you would just melt and cum in the fingers of a trite man like Leon.

The sight of you paralyzed in rapture is so captivating that his craving to lick and devour you is eclipsed by the sudden illumination of the elevator lights. Pulling out his two fingers, he finally succumbs to his instinct to taste you and allots them close to your lips.

In a very non-sanitary, even grossly insensitive method, his fingers are swabbed thoroughly, as if your tongue were a gauze pad when he pushes them inside your parted lips.

He’s spectating you in a blissful trance, and if he were to claim that he didn’t put his fingers in place of his cock gliding between your lips, he’d be the world’s biggest fibbing bastard, and he’s not the world’s biggest fibbing bastard—mind you.

Only at the last second does he catch your hand sliding down his hip, grabbing it by your wrist.

“Ah, ah, not so fast.” He winces in pain, and the longing to impale himself inside you eats him up, but he has some principles, and he doesn’t want to break them. So, he wipes his fingers on your shirt once they’re out of your mouth, knowing it’ll leave a big ass stain. For real? Well, ew.

“H-hey, why the hell?” Your outburst is both about the dick he’s detraining from you and his juvenile antics.

He just shrugs his shoulders and hitches up your jeans, notwithstanding that your panties are still damp and caked in juices.

“Sorry, but I’m keeping myself back for the right time. Maybe we can finish it in a hotel after the OP, yeah? That’s if we survive.”

Oh, but really? Did he really cockblock you?

“Don’t tell me you're a virgin or something." You just can’t let him go easily; you’re grinning impishly.

“Don't tell me you are a loser cumming on a virgin’s fingers.” Message received. He's so blunt. Salty.

He reaches down under your shirt and grabs your utility belt lying pointlessly on the floor and your holster. On his knees, like a man designed to minister to you. What can you say? He knows he’s a fucking pain in the ass and he looks hot, that’s for sure.

He fastens the belt around your hips—not too tight and certainly not too loose—snaps the holster back to its original place on your thigh and adjusts the straps with a fair dollop of precision.

“There you go, agent. Ready for action and about to kick some serious cultist ass.” He pushes himself to his feet and strolls out of the elevator, as if his fingers, which minutes ago had been rearranging your pussy walls, had never been inside you.

When elevator doors open, the gray eyes that await you greet you with a look as if they know everything, as the man waves the inoculum tube in his hand.

“Finally, eh? You should have paged me, Leon.” Luis says flippantly, while Leon looks at him with a dismissive dazzle, and your insistence on biting your fingernails out of abject embarrassment is the solitary subject on your mind. Never ever again. (Lies!) It’s not like you’re here to shoot a porn video, right?

[chapinii]

Q!Fit is used to loss. He's used to meeting people he knows won't be sticking around, used to putting on a brave face when they inevitably disappear or are killed beyond the point of respawn. It's collateral damage, part of the day job. Nothing new in the toxic landscape of 2B2T. There's no time to explore any kind of feelings towards anybody else, he's learnt over time that attachments are more often than not futile. Care about something, someone, and it may well be used against you.

His time on Quesadilla island has been different, however. This time he doesn't have that threat, he shouldn't have that threat. This was supposed to be just another mission, a vacation even. Gathering player data is an easy job. The players in question, however, he never imagined himself getting so close to.

Fit never saw himself as a father, in fact, he was lucky to have made it to the age he was now. He was so sure he'd die by the sword. A mercenary, stalking in the shadows of a lava-cast wasteland, both hunter and prey, wearing a bandana around his face to shield himself from the TNT dust which never seemed to settle around him. And now he ties that same bandana around the neck of a boy, his son, an egg so fragile and yet so much like himself. Though a lump still held in his throat when he looked for too long at the boy who played so innocently in the open air, he found solace in knowing that Ramon, unlike him, would grow up surrounded by trust. Against all expectation he'd found himself in a place where (however fucked up behind the scenes it may be) community is everything, and where within it, people are allowed to just Be. He could allow this distraction, his son wouldn't affect the mission too much. His guard was finally, slowly, being let down.

And then along came this strange, slightly unhinged and wonderful man, whose wide excited eyes looked at him with so much admiration and unwavering loyalty. He wasn't used to being seen as human. He hated how easy it felt to push down the guilt of being perceived as such. This vulnerability was new to him, but after keeping so much internalised over the years, he welcomed it. The notion of love was an alien concept back there, where the desires for chaos and destruction were almost carnal in nature. This feeling towards Pac was unlike any other he'd ever felt, a soft and tender mutual understanding of one another. He knew as much about Pac as Pac did about him, and they enjoyed keeping it that way. Even as they were forced to fight against each-other, Fit had taken pride in his roommate's skill and precision in combat, and, even as that competition amped up, he knew all too well the measures that must be taken to survive, and vowed to protect him all the same. Now they were back on the island he enjoyed being the one to stand back for once, he'd admire as Pac would run on ahead with all sorts of plans for the two of them, and bask in the fofoca he would return with for their morning crew.

Of course, the bated breath that still held in his throat was yet to disperse. He'd been the one to help break Pac and Mike out of prison. He sat with Mike and reassured him when Pac was kidnapped. Through Tazercraft he'd come to understand the concept of soulmates, someone you share a bond with throughout your life, platonic or not. He'd also come to know the true meaning of 'saudades', the deep feeling of longing and melancholy that comes with missing something or someone. He didn't want to admit it was something he'd felt all throughout his life. Living on the island had prepared him and Pac for those types of situations, and God knows 2B2T had whacked the mindset into him tenfold. But it didn't make this time hurt any less. Fit had finally set a date with Pac for Friday, albeit a somewhat rearranged one. They were so caught up in everything, in each-other. Things finally seemed to have been looking up for them, and then everything was ripped apart once more. Fit resented not having kept his guard up, for letting himself slip, and not being able to protect Pac before it was too late. He was gone.

That was why taking things slow was so important, he had told Ramon. You can't rush into these things, lest you lose everything for good.

Fit is used to loss. It's all part of the day job.

[fallingskiesandrisingseas]

I have another ATLA theory.

Almost all genocides in history, some people survive. Eradicting a people completely is insanely hard to do, partially because when the oldest understand they will die they will move heaven and earth to protect their youngest.

In ATLA lore, some Air Nomads survived the initial carnage, but they were hunted down and killed afterwards. A child / adult with strange tattoos in airbending clothes will be easy to spot and betray, after all, and airbending wasn't suited for killing others, at the time. They believed in spirituality, in self defense. How hard would taking on an Airbending child or a single adult have been when you outnumber them 5 to 1 and they can't run?

At the same time, ATLA's fire benders are portrayed very much as humans. Killing Air bending masters? Sure. But killing children? Something more than Sozin's orders must have motivated those soldiers killing the remaining Air Nomads. Something dark.

No one has ever attacked the Air Nomads before. Even in periods of intense international conflict, they were allowed free entry to holy places and other Nations. They were considered good omens, both because they numbered so few and had such a good relationship with the spirits.

I think when the Airbenders were attacked without the Avatar at their sides, they fought like lions. No one had ever seen Airbenders fight for their lives, and we can see in Tenzin and Zaheer what an Airbender willing to do damage is truly capable of.

What if it took the Fire Nation so long to take over the Water Nation and the Earth Kingdom because they were recovering from the losses after attacking the Air Nomads for the first 20 years?

A hundred years is a long time, and they were still struggling to take over the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom by the time Aang woke up again.

What if, full of confidence, amped up by the comet, they approached the Temples, ready to kill the Air Nomads, only met with airbending techniques that scared the living daylights out of them?

Suffocation, tornadoes, vacuums, internal bleeding, fata morganas, pressure blasts, characters moving at super speed, flying, 8 ton bisons protecting their own.

An Airbender literally coming for your throat can do insane damage. Absolutely terrifying.

I believe that the Fire Nation suffered unimaginable losses. After the Air Nomads realize it's going to end in either them or the others dead, they put up a fight so fierce Sozin ordered to execute all Airbenders after because he was terrified, because his losses were innumerable. Remember, among the Air Nomads, EVERYONE could bend.

I think that Sozin came for the Airbenders not just because of the Avatar, but also to remove the most powerful pieces off the board.

We all saw Gyatso sitting on a pile of bodies. How powerful an Airbender must he have been to kill that many people? Imagine 20-300 of those Airbenders, after watching their children die, having nothing left to lose. Abandoning their pacifist principles when faced with annihilation. Even worse, imagine them when they are still fighting to give their children a chance to escape.

I think that Airbending masters are just outnumbered too badly, that the children are easy prey afterwards, unwilling to kill, that they start fighting for their lives too late, unable to make their bending offensive on the fly against the most powerful firebending forms and having nowhere to run.

I think they killed all the Airbenders because the Fire Nation soldiers still around by the time the Air Nomad massacre is over are so scarred from watching formation after formation of friends and brothers die, they don't believe the Air Nomads or their children are normal anymore. So they kill them. They never tell their own children about the destructive power of Airbenders. The true tales become secrets, whispers, rumours, legend, myth.

And so when Aang comes into his own as an Avatar, he is not just respected because he brought peace; he is respected because, despite his commitment to non-violence, the world remembers what happens when you threaten an Airbender.

Remembers how quick, how evasive, how superhuman, how downright deadly they can become.

And when Red Lotus comes for Tenzin, they experience it firsthand. The myths become rumours, whispers, truth again.

Airbenders are never again messed with. Tenzin develops a more militant form, trains his kids and his disciples. Teaches them both spirituality and self-defense. Teaches them to kill.

Soon, Airbending develops sub-forms. What does not contain air? Everyone remembers that Airbenders are not dangerous to them because they choose not to be. Not because they aren't.

[misty1111]

Content warning: Rape, sexual assault, discrimination, homophobia, hate crimes, HIV, STDs.

I’m making this post to raise awareness of the violence and discrimination that has been happening and continues to happen to queer people in the Kakuma camp in northwestern Kenya. Tumblr user transsmith2023 knows the situation well and told me the following,

“The queers are living in a very terrible situation comprised of persecution, torture and discrimination of all sorts that has costed many lives and severe injuries to those who still living.

You can help us through advocating for our equal rights and freedom with the help of both social media platforms, main streams if you have access to them.

You can link us to the queer organisations, personnels so that we can helped.

Private sponsorship program is open, let the queers that side know about our existence. They may be in position to privately sponsor us. Forexample America right know has welcome corps.”

He goes on to say, “Because of our orientation, we are refused jobs, limiting our access to necessary resources. Many of us are homeless and sleep outside, leaving us increasingly vulnerable to violence. We cannot afford food and water, living in poverty even more extreme than the camp’s general population . Many victims of rape and sexual violence contract HIV and other STDs, but cannot afford the medicine which could save their lives.

Our story has been platformed by major NGOs, including Amnesty- https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/05/kenyas-kakuma-refugee-camp-not-yet-safe-for-lgbti-asylum-seekers/ ,

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/07/kakuma-refugee-camp-trans-lgbtq-amnesty/ , https://theconversation.com/amp/lgbti-refugees-seeking-protection-in-kenya-struggle-to-survive-in-a-hostile-environment-182810.

Despite this attention, we face no material aid and no protection from the violence which haunts us daily.”

As a queer person I side with all the queer people who are in Kakuma and I hope this post does something to help.

[inconspicious-random-thoughts]

Do you think Valentino will be killed off at some point in the series? Viv has made him out to be the most morally repugnant of the Vees and the most personally dangerous to the heroes (mainly to Angel Dust but I imagine he's capable of causing harm to a lot more demons than we've seen). In the event that Angel manages to get out of his contract, Val might lose what little bit of restraint he has and go on the warpath against the Hotel, which may lead to him having to be killed depending on how much of a threat he ends up being on his own.

I know you've theorized before about the Vees making some measure of peace with the Hotel, but I just don't see Valentino making any compromises given his personal vendetta against the establishment and Charlie in particular for giving his favorite victim a small escape from his control. Vox and Vel may get off with some form of humiliation, but Valentino isn't a villain I see living to the end of the story.

As much as I enjoy the Vees dynamic, I actually didn't put any real thought how they will be played out. Which is silly as their role will be amped up next season. So what I'm going to ramble off isn't something I dwelled on and may have a lot of holes as I'm thinking on the spot.

Valentino is dangerous because he acts out violently before thinking. He lacks foresight and thought. He metaphoric as well literally blind. I mean, he was ready to go down to the hotel to shoot everyone with the simple fact Angel moved there. He also threatened to shoot Alastor shadowed minion and its whole family when Angel flirted with it. But I don't think he will be killed off. I think if character would be killed off it be a character that would be a emotional gut punch for the audience be impacted by.

If there be an overlord death, it would be Carmilla or Zestial. "Out for love." Leaning more to Zestial, the oldest overlord finally ending his reign. His death would be caused by protecting Odette and Clara. An attack heading their way and Carmilla pinned or unable to reach them in time and force to witness their demised, only for Zestial stepping in to taking the the death blow himself. Carmilla with with renewed strength and energy from the destroyed what/who was the obstacle from stopping her from getting there in time the first time, to rush to his side and he part with dying words for her. Probably words of parting something from a shakespearean play that held deeper meaning for the both of them.

I already lowkey headcanon the reason why Carmilla is already so protective and trusting to Zestial is because he had protected her daughters from danger before...perhaps from the radio demon himself. But if Alastor did already threaten them, I think Carmilla would hold that grudge and be undercurrent of hostile ahile acting professional to him. Perhaps its not so dire. Maybe, Alastor was in the area ready to fight Zestial, with the daughters nearby. Seeing the overlord killer, Zestial moved to protect the girls (who wasn't targeted just in the area) and Alastor saw Zestial true character decided to let them be. Since Alastor has his own moral code of selecting victims and Zestial wasn't deplorable in Alastor standards to meet the criteria to be a victim. Which worked out for Alastor, because I think Alastor realized later Zestial one of the few sinners that can overpower him.

But if not Zestial be the overlord to die, it be Carmilla protecting Zestial. (Again, with Zestial protected her daughters int he past in mind) and her parting words be asking him to promise or make a deal to always protect and watch over her daughters.

Zeezi and unnamed overlord might be thrown in for deaths jsut to add to a body count for the gravity of casualty and loss if there is a huge battle for survival.

If one of the Vees were to die, I say it be Vox. Surprisingly, it be a heroic sacrificial death. Or he stupidly ran in to protect Alastor and took the hit instead. Shocking both of them. Alastor probably saying "Farewell, old pal." in his unfiltered voice and meaning the words ol pal and Vox took his last breath in Alstor arms and his lips quirked into a small almost content smile at Alastor words.

Valentino, I think is safe from the execution blade despite a lot of fans would find satisfaction of his head rolling off.

In regards of Angel Dust contract, I think Husk will play the large role in it, possible small part Alastor. The other two who are contracted.

I know there's a lot of fics of Husk saving Angel but I never read any of it, but I am positive someone already wrote a really thorough brilliant plan. But Husk gambling to win Angel Dust soul seem fitting. Husk may have betted his own soul that he just acquired back from Alastor. The act really affecting Angel Dust as he stood witness. Valentino couldn't pass that a chance to own a former overlord who has intimate information of the radio demon and another way to put Angel in his place, knowing Angel cared deeping about the wind cat demon.

The point you made about Valentino retaliation is very valid. It's very in character for Valentino. All I can think of is, its part of the deal when he lost Angel. It one of the clauses. Husk bets his soul, Valentino can do whatever he wanted to Husk without any clauses and restrictions and has full access to Husk intel if Valentino bets Angel Dust soul, to never bother Angel again or any of the Hotel residence and love ones.

I think if the show went with this angle, Husk would acting out soling on his own to save Angel. But Alastor may be present. Either reinforce/ threaten that the hotel and the residents are his territory. As well Lucifer and Charlie's presence and power.

Or Alastor had them Husk play another round for Valentino to get a chance to win Angel back in in exchange for Valentino to bet the additional clauses and restrictions. Because Alastor nit picky and not going to leave deal the deal to be open if Alastor not going to benefit from it being vague. He may even included that they have to stop merchandising and advertising Angel likeness which would really hit his company pockets. Or Angel get a large royaltees from them. Giving a chance to drop the act when he out in public and slowly become more he wanted to be or act more himself.

There might be something that addressed the contracts themselves. Like all contracts became voided. Which would have any overlord scrambling but I think it hit Valentino harder then the others. So he be too busy trying to stop an uprising to worry about his own safety then think about Angel at the moment.

But in all honestly I have no idea how Valentino meet his end or how his rampage of retaliation be curbed. We see Angel having some final words for some closure and might get a satisfying Angel kneeing him in the balls. He may even lose one of his wings or his weaponized tongue cut off briefly if there was a brawl not by Angel). But I don't think death is in the cards for him. I think Valentino is just has to force to seethe (and losing a lot of capital of his number one money maker)and witness Angel living a happy life afar and perhaps Angel redemption. That everything is so much better for Angel now he out of Valentino grasp.

[possiblylando]

Chainsaw Man Chapter 148 not so early analysis

Bit later than usual cause college and I wanted to look into something from part 1.

Fumiko has been continuing the trend of being absolutely useless in every situation shes ever been put in to the point I feel confident in saying she CANT fight. This clearly isn't a kobeni situation where she can fight if necessary because she hasn't even really been trying to fight or protect anyone. It's the point I've actually started to believe the theory that Fumiko is actually Aldo in disguise.

For a refresher Aldo was one of the american assassin brothers who got picked off at the beginning of the arc by Power and Yoshida respectively. However Aldo survived the entire arc and has been awol ever since. He's also surprisingly durable since he survived both of these attacks with minimal injury.

He may or may not have been hit by halloween, Given his facial expression I it seems like he's faking it especially since Halloween was used on the doll devil and so should logically only effect her dolls which Aldo is not.

I went back through these chapters expecting to find a smoking gun that could prove this to be true. Specifically I was looking for a scene where he or one of the brothers was holding an ID card which could be matched against the way Fumiko holds it, But I did not find that.

This is the best I found but it's also standard practice so it isn't good evidence. Back to the chapter itself, It's clear now Quanxi is just going through the motions

She's clearly been lacking when it comes to combat and athletics in these previous few chapters in comparison to her original appearance. She's been sort of stumbling through these chapters with the help of her regeneration. Which is a bit strange until you keep in mind; Quanxi is more than likely SUPER depressed. The last time we saw her before this was when she fought Denji and the previous time before that was when everyone she cared about got murdered by Makima. It's probable that she blames herself for it because she took the job to kill Denji and thus got her and the girls into the situation that killed them in the first place.

Fuck you looking at bitch do something

The transition between these two pages is so good I had to do a double take because my immediate though was that Quanxi was the one who got her arm cut off. But then obviously it's Asa's. You can feel the inspiration from good movie transitions here.

This whole scene is very cool and also very interesting because Asa is able to block Yoshida's sword with her barehand. She got such an amp from the chainsaw fire attacks that she can do this. It also means she has basically the same base stats as yoru. Which is to be expected but I think is interesting.

It seems like this page was drawn before the rest of the one in this sequence because Yoshida is busting through a wall here despite the fact Room 606 was just destroyed; Thus there should be no wall to bust through to escape onto the street. Interestingly the other personality is absent in this scene entirely. We never see Yoru and Asa in the same panel which is an interesting choice. Its probably a creative choice to only have one of them around in major action scenes. Feels like a good time to mention a theory I saw on twitter. I've been trying to find it but I've had no luck. If I can find it it'll probably be apart of next week's post. To summarize the theory; Asa and Yoru are the same entity. Not two separate beings in one body. Asa the human we met at the beginning of part 2 has been dead since the justice (fire) contract user killed her. The Asa we see now is a split personality reconstructed using the intact memories in the body's brain at the time she became a fiend. If true it means Asa is an alternate persona created by Yoru in order to cause more conflict within herself (constant internal warfare) and as a coping mechanism due to the chainsaw devil massacre in hell. Its an interesting theory I want to put on the board incase something happens with it especially since Yoru is growing in strength rapidly. Probably how Black Pochita was schooling them during it.

[shinobirain24]

Sunsprite Arc

Full name: Sunsprite Summer Rose Arc

Nicknames: Lady Arc, Lieutenant Arc, Sunny (by her parents)

Hair color: Blonde

Eye color: Silver

Occupation: Leader of the Knights of Arc, Second-in-command pf Vale's military, Member of the Resistance, huntress

Affiliation: Clan Arc, Knights of Arc, The Resistance, Vale's military

Semblance: Aura Amp, Rose Manifest

Weapon: Crocea Mors (upgraded into a scythe)

Family: Ruby Rose (mother), Jaune Arc (father), Yang Xiao Long (maternal aunt), Taiyang Xiao Long (maternal grandfather), Summer Rose (maternal grandmother, deceased), Qrow Branwen (honorary great-uncle), Jaden Arc (Paternal grandfather, deceased), unnamed paternal grandmother, Saphron Arc (Paternal Aunt), Terra Cotta-Arc (Paternal aunt), Adrian Arc (paternal cousin), Unnamed 6 paternal aunts, Unnamed paternal great-grandfather, Unnamed great-great grandfather, Mirak Arc (great-great-great grandfather, deceased)

Biography:

Sunsprite was born to Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. Named after a yellow rose that represents to feel positive and hope, and the promise of a new beginning. Like her mother, Ruby, Sunsprite is born with silver eyes.

She was born during the time of the 2nd Great War in Vale. As an infant, it was the only time Sunsprite sees her mother, but Ruby feared Salem will come after Sunsprite (due to the fact that she has silver eyes). To lure Salem away from her daughter, Ruby resolves to leave. But not before telling Jaune, and asked him to give Sunsprite a letter when she turns 17.

After Ruby left, Jaune was left to raise his daughter on his own, with the help of his older sister, Saphron, and Ruby's older sister, Yang. This way, Sunsprite will still be surrounded by love and family, even during the hard times in the 2nd Great War.

As Sunsrpite grew up, her aunt Yang would not only spoil her and spend some time with her, but also taught her niece hand-to-hand combat. Then Jaune would teach her swordsmanship, but she prefers to fight without a shield in order to excel in her speed.

Later, she would meet her honorary great-uncle, Qrow Branwen, one of the surviving huntsmen that has been watching over Sunsprite from a distance until now. And the one who taught Sunsprite's mother the ways of the scythe. Qrow then taught her on her to use a scythe.

When Sunsprite is ready, Jaunes passed her his own weapon, Crocea Mors, which has been in the family for generations. With this, Sunsprite would readjust the family sword so that it can also turn into a scythe. Jaune doesn't mind this, since he acknowledged her creativity and strategy.

After she turns 17, Jaune finally gives Sunsprite the letter. On the letter, Ruby explains her reason for leaving for the fear of her safety. But encourages her to fight for what she believes in. It also includes a journal that tells her stories about her friends, her time in Beacon Academy, and her journey for the four relics.

During one of her missions, she is helping evacuating the civilians in the town of Sunset Island, when the Grimm got too closer to the crowd, Sunsprite wasted no time to fend off the protect the citizens. It also unlocks the semblance of Rose Manifest (which turns her into Rose pedals to switch from one to to another).

Personality:

Since then, Sunsprite has become the leader of the Knights of Arc. A group of hunters that serve as protectors of the weak and aiding the Resisatnce. Because of this, Sunsprite unlocked her father's semblance, Aura Amp. Which is surprising, cause never before a huntsman and/or huntress can unlock two semblance, and she is the first to do so.

And because of her dedication for the rebellion, Sunsprite became known as "the Silver-eyed Knight of Remnant."

Sunsprite is similar to her mother, Ruby, intelligent of strategy, and filled with dreams despite being involved in the 2nd Great War. And filled with nostalgia when hearing fairy tales as a child. She tried her best to remain positive throughout her battles. Like Ruby, she also has a sweet-tooth for sweets such as cookies, or other baked goods. And would make them from her grandmother's recipe.

She would refer to her father, Jaune as a "Super Dad," who told her fairy tales in Ruby's absence and spending time with her when not fighting in war. For that, she is close to her father, even if he is absent for busy reasons. Which Sunsprite doesn't mind.

Sunsprite dreams of writing her stories, and would write down her journal previous events, so that if the war is won, she can convert them into a book. Writing down her journal, Sunsprite longed to meet her mother since she left. And was curious about what caused her to leave.

[usoppinggg]

oh i've wanted to ask this for a bit but i keep forgetting kfbhkdfjg

how'd you come up with the haki training scene in "Follow the Unknown With Something More Familiar"? like zoro's explanation for haki and how usopp perceived it differently? & are there other hcs/interpretations you have for haki that you didn't include there? chomping at the bit to learn about this bc i adore that scene so much

also in general i love usopp and observation haki stuff, god its so good. i have like 3 wips for haki related stuff that i need to get back to kjfhgdfg

Thanks so much for asking, Berry!!! That fic is one of my favourites that I’ve ever written, and I especially adore that haki scene so I’m super amped to talk about it.

OKAY SO! That fic was written for an OP fanwork exchange, where the prompt was that post-time skip Usopp had a crush on Zoro that turned out to be reciprocated. For some reason or another, I had a very vivid image of Usopp and Zoro sitting in a grass field working on their haki together, and the entire fic was written around that scene.

Fun fact: even though that scene was the one I had in mind when starting, I initially only wrote a rough draft of it before starting at the beginning and writing linearly, so when I came back to it I was able to churn it out really quickly. This entire fic was churned out incredibly quickly. I was like a woman possessed.

ZoSopp spent a lot of time together post-ts, so I wanted to explore how their relationship grew during that time, hence the overall plot of the fic. Given the timeline, plot, and physical environment of the post-ts settings, Zou was the best place for the haki scene I had in mind.

Haki is pretty abstract in the series so far, especially observation haki, which hasn’t been explained very much. And that gives us writers quite a bit of freedom in how it works! I don’t want to go into too much detail about my haki hcs because I have an Usopp-centric fic in the works that explains my vision of haki more deeply. But I will say that in my mind, because haki is a manifestation of someone’s spirit and willpower, it’s a phenomenon that is very individualized to each person, so it manifests differently in everyone. For someone like Zoro, who aims to be stronger so he can protect his loved ones, his haki manifests when he’s driven by that protective and survival instinct. For Usopp, who feels emotions very strongly and is motivated by his friends, his haki is linked tightly to his feelings and determination to not let others down.

We know that haki takes a long time to master, but in this fic, I wanted to capitalize on 1.) Usopp’s ability to quickly pick up skills and acquire knowledge, 2.) his existing skills and sight as a sniper, and 3.) his emotional connection to his crew. Also, I really like when Usopp subverts all expectations of himself and accomplishes amazing feats that no one else can.

I wanted that whole scene to be Usopp in a trance-like state, with him enraptured by how much more he is able to see.

As a pirate, and as someone who spent his childhood looking out at the horizon where the sky meets the sea, waiting for someone to return, Usopp has a deep love and respect for the ocean. I thought that the imagery of him on top of a giant, ancient elephant, able to see the surrounding sea using his newly acquired skill was super powerful, so I had to include the line, “I can see the sea.” I hope it hits as hard as it did in my head because I really, really love it.

Aaaah, I’ve never put my thoughts/plans of fic into writing before! This was so fun, thank you very much for asking!!! I also love Usopp Haki content since Oda is starving us (in preparation of Elbaf I’m hoping!). I need to work on that aforementioned WIP but it’s kinda kicking my ass rn lmao. Very excited to see what you’re cooking up as well 👀

[sylwanin-was-right]

Tbh it bothers me how much Avatar media claims that the Na'vi are not technologically advanced. In the Survival Guide, its explicitly stated the Na'vi have "no technology" in the introduction, which is just completely false.

Bows and arrows may not be as complex as machine guns and AMP suits regarding parts, assembly, and operation, but they are certainly feats of technological innovation that take skill to craft, use, and maintain properly, not to mention intelligence to create. Not only do the Na'vi have weapons for hunting and sparing, they have other technology, too, that suits their neolithic, tho complex and diverse civilizations, including but not limited to: hammoks, looms, musical instruments, storage containers and structures, torches (and other lighting tech, like "bladder lanterns"), saddles and carriers.

Im not sure how much clothing counts as technology, but there are elements to their attitre that required fabric and design technology to create, and also incorperate multi use elements that are characteristuc of technology's aim to be tools of aid, like Mo'at's head band functioning as a dagger carrier and Neytiri's insect wing glasses functioning as a decorative headband, a visor, and protective goggles.

I personally feel iffy about using "primitive" to describe Na'vi technology, because while its technically accurate, the Indigenous-coded design and role thr Na'vi play in the film makes that term easy to misconstrue and exploit. And I think theres precedent of that in the idea that the Na'vi have "no technology" just because its not modern, electric, plastic, motor, and metal based technology human beings now rely on (and just because it made for an easier foil in the story's technology critical themes). Technology requires immense cognitive intelligence and capability to innovate, operate, maintain, an replicate tools to facilitate a task it can be used for, so for Avatar media to claim the Na'vi have no technology makes troubling implication about the intelligence of the Na'vi as "people", and whether or not they spontaniously or naturally crafted the tools they use with genuine intention and intelligence.

The Noble Savage trope is just too embedded in the franchise at this point. And I worry that all the spiritual elements biologically incorperated into the lore (like queue communication) are excuses to justify the idea that the Na'vi are "simple" creatures that only know of harmony because theyre not human beings (iykwim 😬).

[whumpbug]

hi bug i am here to trade questions!! i have a burning one about your boy archie:

what exactly are his powers? what sort of things can he do? what are the drawbacks to them, how do they hurt him back?

thank you :>

-@whump-kia

thank you SO much for asking this because i've been wanting an excuse to talk about this boy ( ๑˘ω˘ ) like yours, i also wrote a LOT so i apologize in advance

okay so. i think i've said before that his enhancements are like if daredevil and captain's americas abilities combined but ill explain it in more detail for people who aren't totally sure about the specifics of that

the tl;dr is basically this: archie has enhanced strength and heightened senses. he's about 4 times as strong as the average male his age, and similarly as resilient. because of his enhanced strength, he can also run faster and jump higher (the boy has quads of steel). he can also see and hear much clearer and farther than your average human and can even hear heartbeats from a decent distance away!

under the cut is a lottt more detail and context for those who are interested!

so basically, i'm gonna start with some backstory.

archie's villain (hero) origin story:

archie grew up in the city and was never very. affluent.

he grew up with his mother because his father left when he was really young. he doesn't remember him well, but what he does remember is the effect his absence had on his mom. to put it briefly, he grew up around a lot of things that a child shouldn't have had to grow up around.

still, his mother did her absolute best to give him a good, safe childhood. unfortunately, there are things you just cant protect your child from.

when he was about 7, he was walking home from school and goofing around like a kid does, and he somehow got roped into a drug deal that was being made just a block from his apartment.

long story short, the guys were roughing him up (they were assholes.) and one of them was messing around and pretending to stick him with one of the syringes.

and then he actually did.

and it was agony.

poor, tiny archie was immediately overcome with the worst pain he'd ever experienced in his life to this day.

to avoid this section becoming a straight up 100k fic, ill just say that the recovery from the initial contact with the serum took archie weeks to recover from, and it many ways, he hasn't.

the boy is terrified of needles.

about the drug itself:

so you're gonna have to bear with me her because i am not a biochemist, and this might not make any sense.

so the drug, which i've dubbed VSD (Very Scary Drug) was originally made by a very shady crime syndicate, for underground fighting rings, kind of like a steroid but more permanent. the drug has 2 parts.

the first part of it works by acting on a specific DNA sequence, and spurring HGH (Human Growth Hormone) to amp up its production in the skeletal muscle cells, bone cells, and neuromuscular junctions (for better and faster reflexes)

the other part alters the somatosensory cortex, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe, and esentially causes them to be extremely active, to a point beyond human ability, but because of the first part of the drug, it's able to heal itself and create new cells

because VSD was designed to be permanent, it is very dangerous and not for everyone. the thing about it is that you have to be genetically compatible with it, or the entire thing could backfire or malfunction. only about 1 in every 100k people are even able to reap the effects of the drug. about 1 in every 100 even survive taking it at the dose archie recieved it.

if someone incompatible takes the drug, the effects are. dire. they can range from blindness, deafness, loss of sensation throughout the entire body, tumors, complete paralysis, and even the body just. not producing more cells. and then the vicitim would just deteriorate.

so yeah! not a fun time! and archie was incredibly lucky. the drug was obviously discontinued, and archie hasn't heard of anyone else who recieved the same effects that he did. there are only drugs that can do similar things now, but none are permant like archie's, and the abilities dont even begin to compare.

now what the hell can archie actually do?

well, let's first start with what he can't do.

the drug has no cognitive or behavioral effects, so archie is still the same old archie, only his body has changed.

the drug also has no effect on the immune system, both innate and adaptive. archie can get sick the same as any person, and has the same recovery time too!

now lets move on to the fun stuff!

like i said before, archie has about 4 times the strength as your average male his age. because of his muscle mass and bone density, he is also relatively resilient to injuries from "normal" people, but he's not like. invincible. if you smack that boy with a brick, its gonna hurt. he is sometimes unaware of his own strength and limits though, and throws himself to situations with the mindset of "this isnt even gonna scatch me" and is proven very wrong.

as for his senses, we'll start with vision

he can see about twice as far as your average person, and with clarity beyond even 20/20. he is also very privy to noticing small movements, even if theyre in his peripheral.

now hearing! he can hear much much quieter things than your average human. im not totally sure how to quantify this one, but basically he is hearing like.. everything. all the time. which we'll get into later. the way i gauge it is the fact than he can hear heartbeats, even when he'd just standing next to the person.

and lastly (and probably least interestingly) touch! he can feel sensations a lot more clearly than most. the sensation you would have on your fingertips is kind of what he feels all over, and it makes him have pretty bad sensory issues with certain things (me too archie, me too.)

how can we whump this boy?!

okay, now onto the drawbacks of these abilities!

you're probably thinking "bug. how are there even any drawbacks? these abilities seem sick asf! how do i get my hands on VSD?!"

and i'm here to tell you. NO no you do not want this. archie still suffers every day.

the first and most obvious one is the unimaginable sensory overload this boy feels every day. he hardly ever gets a quiet moment, and even when he does, he still can't tune out the sound of his own heartbeat thundering in his ears. it's hell. luckily, hes had 17 years to learn to cope, but he still has days where he curls into a ball in a dark room and sobs because everything is too bright and so so loud

also, the drug isn't painless. since the muscle mass isn't natural, prolonged use of his body (like in fights) cause horrific aches the days after. it feels like his body is trying to tear itself apart, which, it kind of is.

also, the headaches. god, the headaches. the human brain does not take kindly to being toyed with and doesn't archie know it. archie is sort just. in a perpetual headache. and he only really notices when that headache becomes a migraine. get this boy some ibuprofen, please.

another thing is increased appetite. because cells can't just synthesize out of nowhere, archie has to keep up with the rapid production. this boy can EAT. he is always hungry. always snacking.

lastly, the psychological aspect of the whole thing. growing up as a superhuman, where even playing thumb war could break your classmate's thumb, was hard. archie lived most of his childhood keeping to himself in fear of his own strength. as he got older, he learned to manage it a bit better, but he's still very anxious about it. he won't let himself near babies, cats, or small dogs.

and then, of course, there's the trauma. this manifests as a SEVERE needle phobia, as well as just a fear of doctors in general. its the reason why he and Simon's relationship just works. he doesn't see him as a doctor, he sees him as a friend who is always willing to take care of him when he needs it, and for that, he is forever grateful

end!

and that's pretty much it! please excuse my probably horrid typos and grammar errors, i kind of rushed this because i was excited, so i hope you like it kia! thank you so so much for the ask! ヾ(^ ^ゞ

[marsduality]

From The Power of Attachment by Diane Poole Heller

[Text ID:

AN INTRODUCTION TO ATTACHMENT STYLES

The human attachment system is an inherent, biological, and natural process that relates to everything we do in life, especially when it comes to our relationships with others. Although secure attachment is what we're after here, it's important to note that whatever attachment style we live with evolved to keep us safe. Even insecure attachment patterns are designed to help us survive dangerous situations, and none of these styles are set in stone. The next four chapters look at each of these four adaptations in depth and provide ways to work with them. Here's a quick overview to get us going:

Secure Attachment. This is the type of attachment in the ideal situation described earlier. Securely attached people typically grew up with plenty of love and support from consistently responsive caregivers, and as adults they are interdependent, connecting with others in healthy, mutually beneficial ways. 'They are okay both in connection and on their own; they can think with fexibility, can perceive a range of possibilities, are comfortable with differences, and resolve conficts without much drama. They can internalize the love they feel from others and forgive easily.

Avoidant Attachment. People with this attachment style have a tendency to keep intimacy at arm's length or to diminish the importance of relationships. They often were neglected: left alone too much as children, rejected by their caregivers, or their parents weren't present enough (or only present when teaching them some type of task). Avoidants have disconnected- put the brakes on-their attachment System, so reconnecting to others in safe and healthy ways is extremely important

Ambivalent Attachment. People with the ambivalence adaptation deal with a lot of anxiety about having their needs met or feeling secure in being loved or lovable. Their parents might have shown them love, but as children they never knew when their parents might get distracted and utterly pull the rug out from underneath them. Their care was unpredictable of notably intermittent. They be hypervigilant about relational slights or any hint of abandonment, which amps up their attachment system into overdrive. Anticipating the impending inevitability of abandonment that they are convinced is coming, they often feel sad, disappointed, or angry before anything actually happens in their adult relationships. For ambivalents, consistency and reassurance are paramount.

Disorganized Attachment. This attachment style is characterized by an excess of fear, and the attachment system is at cross purposes with the instinct to survive threat. When stressed, sick, or frightened, a child naturally wants to seek comfort and protection from a loving parent, but what do they do when the same Parent is the source of fear or distress? People with this style can get stuck in a threat response and/or swing between avoidance and ambivalence without much of an identifiable pattern. They often suffer from psychological and physical confusion. Disorganized parents may fear their own children. As children, they saw their parents as threatening, or their parents simply emanated an atmosphere of fear or dread due to their own unresolved trauma. Disorganized folks are often emotionally dysregulated, dealing with sudden shifts in arousal, or dissociated and checked out. Since they are prone to the most disturbance, reestablishing a fundamental sense of regulation and relative safety are the most important things for people with this attachment style.

End id]

[bohemian-nights]

What are your predictions for HOTD season 2?

Erm disappointment 🙃 🤣🤣🤣

Okay um, I’m hoping that after Blood & Cheese plays out(which should happen by episode 2) we see more of the Alicent from episodes 6 and 7 I’ll do whatever to protect my children and myself Alicent rather than I don’t know what the hell is going on Alicent from episode 8 and 9. I need to see politically competent Alicent.

House Hightower will be great(I just really want to see the inside of Hightower. That’s all I ask for).

The Lannisters get to show off again that they are rich b*tches💰(Jason will show how much of a lovable idiotic flop he is).

Daeron will be the new it boy(still won’t overtake Aemond or Daemon, but he’ll give them a run for their money).

Dumbnyra will be away from each other for most of the season from what I’ve heard(and as their #1 hater outside of Ryan Condal that is music to my ears🎼).

Daemon will be trying to prove himself because finding out his brother dearest didn’t trust him/never saw him as his heir is a crushing blow for him, but he’ll be better than ever once he meets his Netty 😏 He’ll acknowledge that Rhaena exists and they’ll have a heart to heart 🙏🏽(Ryan have him talk to his only daughters 🙃).

Rhaena will get a dragon egg and realize that she was a cool girl all along😎

(Or she’ll pull a Mulan, dye her hair, and become a nurse for the Green camp. At the end of season 2, she meets Gwayne/Garmund/Daeron in disguise who is injured the two fall in love. She nurses him back to health as the world around them falls apart. Eventually, they marry in secret, comfort each other as their family members die by one, and survive the war together. They are each other's glue, they have lots of babies, and recently hatched Morning approves🐉. This isn’t fanfiction guys. Ryan Condal leaked this to me himself😎).

Aegon will become a sad hoe(literally).

Helaena will just speak in prophecies(I mean she already does this, but she'll really amp up predicting stuff, including everyone's death).

Criston finds out about the situation(🤢) and beats and/or threatens Larys creepy a** for Alicent(that nasty foot hoe deserves it 🤷🏽‍♀️).

Aemond feels the burden of his responsibilities when Aegon is injured and he becomes regent(setting the stage for him finding comfort in Alys for season 3).

Rhaenyra will be a more active participant since they want to make her into a #girl-boss feminist(Seeing Nettles claiming Sheepstealer will shake her up a bit).

Mysaria will say her involvement with Blood & Cheese was revenge for the children in the fighting pits(still doesn’t make sense but they made her into a “child activist”).

Baela will want to go with Rhaenys to Rooks Rest, but she’s held back because of the danger. She breaks down when Granny dies 😔

Corlys will continue to be an idiot until wifey dies then he finally gets it.

Addam and Alyn are Ser Vaemond’s sons 🤞🏽(Let him get the last laugh).

Lots of Dragonseed deaths during episodes 5-6(I’ll probably laugh at half of them especially when Alyn is almost ended by my baby’s baby).

From the looks of things, Addam Velaryon claiming Seasmoke will be a pretty big deal. There’s a leak that Laenor is dead and Rhaenyra finds this out by Addam claiming Seasmoke.

A little flirtation between Alyn and Baela (Again Ryan Condal personally told me Alyn will be good, kind, and loving to Baela. He’ll sweep her off her feet. Jace who? Jace what? He’s like the perfect future husband guys trust me. He's not a hoe. That's just Green propaganda 🥲).

Sara Snow will be there. Come on it’s too messy to scrape and Jace is less interesting than watching paint dry. He needs this and Baela needs an real man🤐

Something something pack of ice and fire convo between Cregan and Jace something.

I know some people have reservations about Gayle now, but I wholeheartedly believe that people are going to fall in love with her portrayal of Alys(and Alysmond will rightfully overtake Pukemond as Aemond’s #1 ship). Hopefully, Alys roasts Daemon like how she did in that leaked audition tape 🤐

Judging by how much they are keeping Nettles under wraps, her claiming Sheepstealer will be absolutely epic. This is my most anticipated moment for season two. I want all the stops pulled out. I want Nettles to make the connection that dragons will accept food for rides on her own or hear something in passing on how the first Valyrians claimed/tamed their dragons and then figure it out from there.

(Daemon will be upset to hear about Nettles at first/view her as a threat because she shouldn’t exist in his Valyrian supremacist mind, but then he sees her and is like 😍).

There was a “leak” that allegedly stated Netty and Daemon meet sometime during the latter half of the season. They take a liking to each other and at some point, they go off together but come back to help in the Battle of the Gullet(BOTG). I’m not too crazy about this leak since I want Netty to be very wary of him at first instead of just jumping to be with him. He needs to really work for her affection.

The season will probably end on news that the Triarchy is attacking the Gullet(ending the season with them preparing for the BOTG). However, one of the “leaks” did say that allegedly the Blacks will take Kings Landing before the BOTG so they may plan their attack from there(hence Daemon and Nettles coming back to help them).

Not really a prediction, but I hope we see Johanna Lannister(seriously if HBO cuts her I’m considering it a crime). She’s like my favorite minor character during the Dance(and what happens to the Westerland women shows once again how Queenie doesn’t care about women except for herself). Now she’s what I’d call a bada** woman 🙌🏽

Anyway, I hope these fairytales are sufficient ☺️

[fe-sibling-duo-tournament]

Fire Emblem Sibling Duo Tournament: Winners Round 3 - Match 1

Propaganda under cut:

Mercedes & Emile:

Their story is so sad. They survived a horrid man together, but were separated. Mercedes lives with guilt and a desire to have her brother return(I'd even argue that the reason Mercie acts as such a doting big sister figure for most people is because she misses Emile so much and wants to recreate that bond with someone!), but Emile is swamped with demons. On so many paths, they long to have their sibling bond restored, but Emile fears the Death Knight too much to reciprocate and often dies as a result, leaving Mercie to mourn him. On Crimson Flower, Mercedes can wind up betraying her Faerghus friends, but at least they reunite, and yet… even here, Emile has built up walls. Even if they're paired together, Emile leaves for years and only returns once his penance is paid. They have to spend so much of their lives apart.

It might be a bit cliche, but the yin yang dynamic is everything to me here. Mercedes representing healing and warmth, growing from your pains into someone kind, vs. Emile who embodies mental anguish, stagnation, violence and pain while still having the potential to grow is still interesting and cool. You also have the sacrifices Emile made, Mercedes remembering his favourite sweets even a decade after they parted, etc. Their supports are bittersweet but end on a promising note. I care too much about 3d pixel people.

Ike & Mist:

Classic sibling duo! Big bro who will do anything to protect little sis, except little sis wants to prove she can protect big bro too! But it goes deeper than just that. I really love the insight into their dynamic after Greil's death. The basic traits of their dynamic are amped up because they're afraid, afraid of losing each other after they're the only thing the other has left. Ike has to get stronger, stronger than Greil, stronger than the Black Knight - because he can't die and leave Mist. He can't be that cruel. And Mist needs to find any excuse to still stand next to him. She'll never be as strong as Ike, that she knows, but if she can heal him when he's injured, if she can make him safe with her own two hands, that is enough. She cannot sit in wait, cannot live in fear that he will be there one day and gone the next, just like Greil. And these reactions to grief are basically the same thing - a desire for power so tragedy doesn't need to repeat itself. How they come about power is different, but they're the same at their core. Sibwings.

[ahc-au]

Sometimes I wonder if ShO'kanabo have bundled up the ninja turtle's tissue samples since all of them got different but similar personalities, and the DNA got mixed up . Like Blue sometimes act like Raph , I guess .

I think you've just stumbled into what is possibly my favorite piece of information about Blue.

Consider, yes: the Dark Turtles were made to be, in short, superior versions of the Splintersons. The most obvious detail is that they're bigger and probably physically stronger, and built to generally be more dangerous.

But Sh'Okanabo says they match the Splintersons both physically and psychically. That means that both their physical and their mental traits got amped up, and because of how they were "raised," their most easily visible traits tend to be the negative ones that the Splintersons have been seen fighting in the show. Yellow is very hyperactive, chaotic and gullible, Purple is smug about his intelligence, making it his sole purpose and failing to see his weaknesses because of it, Red is blunt and violent and doesn't think ahead at all, and Blue, well...

We've seen what Leo at his worst looks like, before.

They'd made the joke about Leo sounding like Raph, then, too.

So I don't think it's a mistake with genetics, I think Leo and Raph just have a lot of similar issues (all of them do, frankly), and they deal with it differently. Where Raph needs to have a physical outlet in the form of beating something or someone up (whether it's friend or foe or a sandbag), Leo can usually get by with ninja training, with practising mindfulness - but we've seen him after his breaking point, we've seen that he is prone to violence if left with no other outlet, we've seen that he refuses to communicate his struggles.

Compare that to Blue, both in the show and in Taking Pawns - refusing to communicate, insulting his brothers at every turn, snapping at Raph when taunted one too many times, doing all this because it's the only way to survive that he's aware of. It's not a dichotomy of Blue and Raph. Leo stands there in the middle, and is a little bit of both. Protective to a fault.

That's why the bonsai Leo gives Blue is so, so fucking important. Because Leo has moved past this, and is trying his best to pass that knowledge down to Blue.

There is also something to be said about Raph's "once a monster, always a monster" rhetoric from that episode, but I'll get around to that soon on my own blog hopefully ;)

-- Trauma

[helen0086]

Progress in the Study of the Protective Effect and Mechanism of C-phycocyanin on Liver Injury

Abstract: C-phycocyanin (C-phycocyanin) is a pigment-containing protein from marine algae that has shown promising results in the treatment of many inflammatory diseases and tumors. C-alpha-cyanobilin is a pigment-containing protein from marine algae that has been shown to be effective in the treatment of various inflammatory diseases and tumors. C-alpha-cyanobilin has a protective effect on various liver diseases, such as drug-induced or toxic substance-induced liver damage, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hepatic fibrosis, and hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury. The protective effect of C-alginin on liver injury is mainly realized through the regulation of signaling pathways such as nuclear factor (NF)-κB, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) and AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK), and the inhibition of oxidative stress, etc., and is not toxic to normal cells. Therefore, C-alginin has a broad application prospect as a potential natural hepatoprotective marine active substance. In recent years, the research progress of the protective effect of C-alginin on liver injury and its mechanism is summarized.

 C-phycocyanin (C-phycocyanin) is a complex protein of cyanobacteria and a natural food protein pigment with pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects, as well as fast-acting and low-toxicity, it can be used as a functional food [1-2]. C-Alginin can also enhance immunity and is safe, without causing acute and subacute toxic reactions [3]. Selenium-enriched PC has been shown to have stronger pharmacological effects [4]. Therefore, C-alginate has important research value both as a drug and a functional food, and has become a hot spot in the field of pharmaceutical research [5]. In this paper, we summarize the progress of research on the application and mechanism of C-alginin in liver diseases.

1 Ameliorative effect of C-phycocyanin on liver injury caused by drugs and toxic substances

The liver is the metabolic center of drugs and exogenous toxic substances, and metabolites are prone to liver injury. C-PC can inhibit the synthesis and release of inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interferon-γ, and increase the activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD), which can inhibit hepatic inflammation and alleviate hepatic injury [3]. It has been found that C-PC can significantly prevent thioacetamide-induced liver injury, significantly reduce the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aliquot aminotransferase (AST), shorten the prothrombin time and reduce the hepatic histopathological damage, and improve the survival rate of rats with fulminant hepatic failure [6]. C-alginin also has a good effect on thioacetamide-induced hepatic encephalopathy, which can be seen in the reduction of tryptophan and lipid peroxidation indexes in different regions of the brain, and the enhancement of catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities in rats with fulminant hepatic failure [6].

Another study found that C-alginin not only attenuates the oxidative stress induced by 2-acetylaminofluorene and reduces the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) radicals, but also inhibits the phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt) and the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB induced by 2-acetylaminofluorene, thus inhibiting the expression of multidrug resistance genes [7]. Osman et al. [8] also showed that C-alginin could normalize the levels of ALT, AST, catalase, urea, creatinine, SOD and glutathione-s-transferase in the livers of rats poisoned with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). This result was also verified in human liver cell line (L02) [9]. C-phycocyanin can effectively scavenge ROS and inhibit CCl4-induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver [10], and C-PC can improve the antioxidant defense system and restore the structure of hepatocytes and hepatic enzymes in the liver of gibberellic acid-poisoned albino rats [11]. As a PC chromophore, phycocyanin can also significantly inhibit ROS generation and improve liver injury induced by a variety of drugs and toxic substances [10]. Liu et al. [12] found that phycocyanin showed strong anti-inflammatory effects in a CCl4-induced hepatic injury model in mice, which could significantly reduce the levels of ALT, AST, the expression of TNF-α and cytochrome C, increase the levels of albumin and SOD, and proliferate cytosolic nuclei. It can significantly reduce ALT and AST levels and the expression of TNF-α and cytochrome C, increase albumin levels and the expression of SOD and proliferating cell nuclear antigen, promote hepatocyte regeneration and improve the survival rate of mice with acute liver failure.

Gammoudi et al [13] used response surface method to optimize the extraction process of C-phycocyanin, and obtained high extraction recovery. C-phycocyanin extracted by the optimized method has the ability of scavenging hydroxyl, superoxide anion and nitric oxide radicals as well as the ability of metal chelating, and it has stronger antioxidant effect; C-PC significantly increased the activity of SOD and inhibited the increase of ALT, AST, and bilirubin in cadmium-poisoned rats. C-PC significantly increased the activity of SOD and inhibited the increase of ALT, AST and bilirubin in rats with cadmium poisoning. The above studies show that C-phycocyanin can effectively protect liver injury caused by drugs and toxic substances, and has the efficacy as the basis for drug development.

2 Preventive effect of C-alginin on hepatic fibrosis

Liver fibrosis is an inevitable process in the development of various chronic liver diseases and may be reversed with early and timely treatment. The key to liver fibrosis is the activation of hepatic stellate cells. Previous studies have found that low-dose C-alginin combined with soy isoflavones can inhibit hepatic stellate cell activation by inhibiting the activity of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase［14］, but it is not clear whether C-alginin alone can inhibit the activity of NADPH oxidase. Therefore, the combination of C-algin and soy isoflavones at appropriate doses may have a preventive effect on liver fibrosis in high-risk groups. C-alginin may inhibit the progression of NADPH by suppressing oxidative damage, thereby inhibiting the development of hepatic fibrosis [15].

Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is one of the key mechanisms contributing to the development of fibrotic diseases. C-alginin inhibits transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1)-induced human EMT [16]. Although the effect of C-alginin on EMT in hepatic fibrosis has not been reported, it has been found that C-alginin can reduce pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting epithelial mesenchymal transition [17]. Another study found that C-alginin could reduce the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) mRNA in human dermal fibroblasts and alleviate fibrous contracture [18]. The results of these studies also have significance for the inhibition of hepatic fibrosis, and provide a theoretical basis for the further study of C-PC as a potential antifibrotic drug.

3 Protective effect of C-alginin on hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury

Liver ischemia/reperfusion injury is an important clinicopathophysiological phenomenon. It was found that the addition of two different doses (0.1 g/L and 0.2 g/L) of C-alginin to the Krebs Henseleit preservation solution significantly decreased hepatic ALT, AST and alkaline phosphatase activities, and reduced the rate of lipid peroxidation and malondialdehyde content in an isolated perfused rat liver model, and increased the activities of hepatic glutathione-s-transferase and glutathione peroxidase, as well as sulfhydryl groups in hepatic tissue. On the other hand, it can increase the activities of hepatic glutathione-s-transferase and glutathione peroxidase and the content of sulfhydryl groups in liver tissues, therefore, C-alginin can significantly reduce hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury as an antioxidant [19]. In isolated perfused mouse livers, it was found that C-alginin significantly reduced the phagocytosis and respiratory burst activity of hepatic macrophages (Kupffer cells), attenuated cytotoxicity and inflammation induced by highly active Kupffer cells, and dose-dependently inhibited carbon phagocytosis and carbon-induced oxygen uptake by perfused livers, and then inhibited the increase of hepatic nitric oxide synthase activity induced by gonadotropins [20]. and thus inhibit the thyroid hormone-induced elevation of hepatic nitric oxide synthase activity [20].

However, C-alginin has a very short half-life in vivo, which limits its application in vivo. It was found that the use of polyethylene glycol-b-(polyglutamic acid-g-polyethyleneimine), a macromolecular material with good drug-carrying capacity and slow-release properties, as a nanocarrier of C-alginin could solve this problem, and the release of C-alginin could be delayed by subcutaneous injection into the abdominal region of rats, which could attenuate islet damage caused by hepatic ischemia/reperfusion and enhance the function of the islets [21]. This study broadens the scope of application of C-alginin in vivo and improves the therapeutic effect of C-alginin.

4 Inhibitory effect of C-alginin on hepatocellular carcinoma

It was found that C-alginin significantly reduced the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 and the expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP2) mRNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2 cells) [22]. C-alginin is a natural photosensitizer, and photodynamic therapy (PDT) mediated by alginin microcystin induced a large accumulation of ROS in HepG2 cells, which promoted mitochondrial damage and cytochrome C release, and led to apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells [23].

Liu et al. [24] used nanoscale C-alginate particles prepared by lactobionic acid grafting and adriamycin loading to enhance the growth inhibition of HepG2 cells when combined with chemo-PDT, and the C-alginate particles could effectively accumulate and diffuse in tumor multicellular spheres. In vitro and in vivo studies on the effects of selenium-enriched PCs on PDT in hepatocellular carcinoma showed that selenium-enriched PCs could migrate from lysosomes to mitochondria in a time-dependent manner, and that selenium-enriched PCs could induce the death of tumor cells through the generation of free radicals in vivo, increase the activities of antioxidant enzymes in vivo, induce mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, and inhibit autophagy, thus offering a relatively safe pathway to tumor treatment and showing new development perspectives [4]. It can provide a relatively safe way to treat tumors and shows a new development prospect [4].

Lin et al. [25] combined C-phycocyanin with single-walled carbon nanohorns and prepared phycocyanin-functionalized single-walled carbon nanohorn hybrids, which enhanced the photostability of C-phycocyanin and protected the single-walled carbon nanohorns from adsorption of plasma proteins, and synergistically used with PDT and photothermal therapy (PTT) to treat tumors. C-phycocyanin covalently coupled with biosilica and PDT or non-covalently coupled with indocyanine green and PTT on tumor-associated macrophages can also increase the apoptosis rate of tumor cells [26-27]. The development of PDT and PTT synergistic methods for the treatment of cancer has broadened the application of C-PC and enhanced its value in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

In addition, C-phycocyanin can inhibit the expression of multidrug-resistant genes in HepG2 cells through NF-κB and activated protein-1 (AP-1)-mediated pathways, and C-phycocyanin increases the accumulation of adriamycin in HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner, which results in a 5-fold increase in the susceptibility of cells to adriamycin [28]. Even in adriamycin-resistant HepG2 cells, C-PC induced the activation of apoptotic pathways such as cytochrome C and caspase-3 [29], and the results of Prabakaran et al. [30] also confirmed the inhibitory effect of C-PC on the proliferation of HepG2 cells, mediated by the inactivation of BCR-ABL signaling and the downstream PI3K/Akt pathway. mediated by BCR-ABL signaling and inactivation of downstream PI3K/Akt pathway. In addition, C-phycocyanin modifies the mitochondrial membrane potential and promotes apoptosis in cancer cells [30]. Currently, C-phycocyanin is a synergistic molecule with other drugs that have been widely used in the treatment of cancer [31]. The above studies demonstrate that C-phycocyanin has good therapeutic potential in the field of hepatocellular carcinoma.

5 Amelioration of metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by C-phycocyanin

It has been found that C-alginin can reduce ALT and AST levels, decrease ROS production and NF-κB activation, and attenuate hepatic fibrosis in rats induced by high-fat choline-deficient diets, and thus C-alginin has a protective effect on NAFLD rats through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant mechanisms [15].

Another study on the effects of aqueous extract of Spirulina (mainly C-alginin) on NAFLD induced by a high-calorie/high-fat Western diet in C57Bl/6J mice showed that aqueous extract of Spirulina significantly improved glucose tolerance, lowered plasma cholesterol, and increased ursodeoxycholic acid in bile in mice [32]. Kaspi-Chadli et al. Kasbi-Chadli et al. [33] showed that aqueous extract of Spirulina could reduce cholesterol and sphingolipid levels in the liver and aortic cholesterol levels in hamsters fed a high-fat diet by significantly decreasing the expression of hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG CoA) gene, a limiting enzyme for cholesterol synthesis, and TGF-β1 gene, and that ursodeoxycholic acid levels in the feces of hamsters fed high-fat diets were increased in the high Spirulina aqueous extract treatment group.

A daily dose of C-alginin-enriched Spirulina can reduce the harmful effects of oxidative stress induced by a diet rich in lipid peroxides [34]. Ma et al. [35] found that C-alginin promoted the phosphorylation of hepatocyte AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK) in vivo and ex vivo, and increased the phosphorylation of acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase. In the treatment of NAFLD in mice, C-alginin can improve liver inflammation by up-regulating the expression of phosphorylated AMPK and AMPK-regulated transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPAR-α) and its target gene, CPT1, and by down-regulating the expression of pro-inflammatory factors such as TNF-α and CD36 [35]. This suggests that C-phycocyanin can also improve lipid deposition in the liver through the AMPK pathway.

Endothelial dysfunction is associated with hypertension, atherosclerosis and metabolic syndrome. Studies in animal models of spontaneous hypertension have shown that long-term administration of C-alginin may improve systemic blood pressure in rats by increasing aortic endothelial nitric oxide synthase levels, with a dose-dependent decrease in blood pressure, and thus C-alginin may be useful in preventing endothelial dysfunction-related diseases in the metabolic syndrome [36]. In the offspring of ApoE-deficient mice fed C-alginate during gestation and lactation, male littermates had an elevated hepatic reduced/oxidized glutathione ratio and significantly lower hepatic SOD and glutathione peroxidase gene expression.

C-PC is effective in preventing atherosclerosis in adult hereditary hypercholesterolemic mice [37]. In vitro, C-phycocyanin also improved glucose production and expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) in high-glucose-induced insulin-resistant HepG2 cells [38]. C-alginin also increases glucose uptake in high glucose-induced insulin-resistant HepG2 cells through the insulin receptor substrate (IRS)/PI3K/Akt and Sirtuin-1 (SIRT1)/liver kinase B1 (LKB1)/AMPK signaling pathways, activates glycogen synthase, and increases the amount of glycogen [38]. C-phycocyanin can improve blood glucose and fasting serum insulin levels in tetracycline-induced diabetic mice [39]. Therefore, C-phycocyanin can maintain cellular glucose homeostasis by improving insulin resistance in hepatocytes.

6 Hepatoprotective role of C-phycocyanin in other liver diseases

Studies have shown that C-alginin can inhibit total serum cholesterol, triacylglycerol, LDL, ALT, AST, and malondialdehyde levels in mice modeled with alcoholic liver injury, significantly increase SOD levels in the liver, and promote the activation and proliferation of CD4+ T cells, which can have an ameliorative effect on alcoholic liver injury [40]. In addition, C-phycocyanin may enhance the intestinal barrier function, regulate the intestinal flora, reduce the translocation of bacteria and metabolites to the liver, and inhibit the activity of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/NF-κB pathway, which may reduce the inflammation of the liver and prevent the occurrence of hepatic fibrosis in mice [41]. In mice with X-ray radiation-induced liver injury, C-phycocyanin can reduce radiation-induced DNA damage and oxidative stress injury by up-regulating the expression of nuclear factor (NF)-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and downstream genes, such as HO-1, and play a hepatoprotective role by enhancing the activities of SOD and glutathione peroxidase [42].

7 Outlook

Liver fibrosis is the common final process of chronic liver diseases, and there is no effective therapeutic drug at present. Although some research progress has been made in the field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on the reversal of liver fibrosis [43], its toxicological effects have not yet been clarified. Although the incidence of viral hepatitis has gradually decreased with the development and popularization of vaccines and antiviral drugs, the incidence of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) and liver diseases such as NAFLD has been increasing year by year with the improvement of people's living conditions [44]. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find drugs or nutrients that can help maintain normal hepatocyte function and effectively inhibit liver inflammation and fibrosis. C-alginin, with its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor effects, as well as good food coloring, has a wide range of applications in both the pharmaceutical and food industries.

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