#apocalyptic scenario

[xephsuggestions]

THE FOLLOWING IS AN OFFICIAL BROADCAST OF YOGLABS CORP. PRODUCTIONS.

Parasitic infestation.

FAN CONTENT / IN-RP LORE.

Inspired by Forge Lab’s Parasites modpack. (video inspiration x)

Showcasing: Scape and Run: Parasites.

(Tws: Violence, guns and weapons, gore, major character death, general discussion of apocalyptic scenarios, infestations, parasites, and alien/insect-like creatures, as well as unreality. Links to mobs will contain body horror and gore imagery. Other links are references to past characters, quotes, music and other fun bits. Please send a direct message or an anon through the inbox if you need additional tags!)

Playing (Gay_Activity_Richardson.mp3) … (30s).

XEPHOS: Lets see if I can get this thing working.

Xephos is leading a pig to the treadmill of a shell constructor. After some difficulty, it climbs onto the treadmill and begins to run. 

XEPHOS: Dammit- there. There. There you are.

Slowly, Honeydew forms from the white mesh generated by the pig’s movement. The chamber opens. The sounds of steam and machinery shifting fill the break room as Honeydew climbs out. 

XEPHOS: It’s been a while, hasn’t it. We haven’t made one of you for ages. (muttering) Hopefully you aren’t a defect. Ah…?

HONEYDEW: Hello!

XEPHOS: Hello, Honeydew, and welcome… to Yoglabs. How are you doing, then? You feel alright? You feel… ah, stable? Not like your molecules could, you know, rip apart at any second? 

HONEYDEW: I’m good! I'm good, yeah.

Xephos claps his hands together.

XEPHOS: Perfect! Well, I don’t mean to alarm you, Honeydew, but… ah, what are you doing?

HONEYDEW: Is the coffee machine working yet? Has it got any snacks in, as well, or?

XEPHOS: Um- well- Careful, The coffee machine is- (sputtering)- Honeydew, I wouldn’t- Honeydew approaches the coffee machine and presses the ‘dispense’ button on the hopper.

[Spawning (srparasites:rupter)(srparasites:rupter)(srparasites:rupter)]

HONEYDEW: What the fuck! 

XEPHOS: Oh shh-sugar… Hang on! Hang on.

Xephos equips a flamethrower from his inventory and aims it at the Rupters.

HONEYDEW: Oh my god! Oh my god! They’re like, spiders or- what are those things-?! Jesus-!

XEPHOS: Honeydew, get out of the way! 

Xephos shoots his flamethrower at the swarm, incinerating them. 

Xephos unequips the flamethrower.

XEPHOS: Ugh. This is a mess. When has that coffee machine ever worked? 

HONEYDEW: (laughing nervously) I figured it wouldn’t, but I wasn’t expecting Satan’s headlice to come out of it!

XEPHOS: We have a bit of an… infestation. It’s localized to the coffee machine, at the moment. 

HONEYDEW: Well, that’s good, then. It’s fine, as long as nobody actually uses the coffee machine. 

XEPHOS: Right. Except… (sucks in air through teeth) well, there is the rest of the world, that is, infected, as well.

HONEYDEW: Oh. 

The HEROES are silent for 20 seconds.

HONEYDEW: Well, it could be worse. 

XEPHOS: Ahm…

HONEYDEW: No, it really couldn’t, could it? (laughs) Fuck! That’s really bad, actually. That’s quite bad.

XEPHOS: Ah, well- Hold on.

Xephos equips a diamond sword from his inventory and slays the pig that had been running on the treadmill. Grey spirals swirl in the air around it.

HONEYDEW: Jesus. 

XEPHOS: It was infected. 

Xephos turns to Honeydew. He motions for Honeydew to follow him, and walks out into the main corridor. 

XEPHOS: We have it under control at Yoglabs. But it is actually quite the problem, so, we’re… helping!

HONEYDEW: Aren't we the bad guys, though? 

XEPHOS: Uhm… 

HONEYDEW: Isn’t that what you said, before? That Yoglabs was an evil corporation or- something?

XEPHOS: I mean… we are a… little bit evil. But we’ve, ah… 

HONEYDEW: We’ve turned a new leaf, haven’t we? 

XEPHOS: Right, we have!

HONEYDEW: Do we have lawyers at Yoglabs? They must make a bloody fortune. 

XEPHOS: Ha! They would, wouldn’t they? But no, we don’t really need them. We, uhm. We’re- we’re definitely not using any of Yoglabs tech to take Yoglabs off of the map and erase the memories from any government agents looking for us. Uhm. 

HONEYDEW: Uhm. Right. Ah… 

Xephos laughs.

XEPHOS: Anyways, we’re going to be taking a look at more of those parasites today. We might even be able to take the front lines, and-

HONEYDEW: You mean outside?

XEPHOS: I do! Isn’t that exciting? 

HONEYDEW: Oh, please, can we go? I hear that outside air these days is just delicious. 

XEPHOS: Well, it’s not… exactly, great out there. It’s like I said before, it was ravaged by war, and uh, monsters. And now, it’s been taken over by parasites. So, not great. 

HONEYDEW: Oh. 

XEPHOS: There are a lot of new weapons that you’ll get to try today, though. 

HONEYDEW: Alright, I’m in. 

Xephos approaches an empty testing chamber.

XEPHOS: For the love of god, do not touch anything, Honeydew. Not without my authoritization. If any of these got out, and we were unprepared...

HONEYDEW: Oh my god!

The room is full of glass chambers. Each one holds an increasingly large and horrifying creature. Dozens of eyes flicker towards the HEROES, and the room fills with the sounds of hissing and squelching.

XEPHOS: …It would be a bloody disaster. Worse than the teletubbies, even. 

HONEYDEW: I think I’m gonna be sick. 

XEPHOS: Just, take a moment and calm down. If you can’t handle these things now, then you can’t come outside with me. 

Honeydew straightens his back.

HONEYDEW: I’m fine! I’m fine. Just a little… (gag), I had one too many Jaffa Cakes at tea time, that’s all. 

XEPHOS: This is just a very small portion of all of the different creatures we’ve discovered. Unfortunately, we’re not able to contain all of them safely, at the moment. (Sigh) Some of them are just too big, or would be too dangerous to bring in. That’s one of the reasons we’re going to pop outside and take a look ourselves, later. 

So, the infestation works in stages. 

Xephos equips a book from his inventory and hands it to Honeydew. Upon opening it, Honeydew grimaces. The book is dozens of pages long, and each page is full of numbers and statistics relating to the Phases system included in Scape and Run: Parasites. 

Xephos retrieves his own copy and flips through it.

XEPHOS: Different things can happen in each stage, but, basically, depending on how many ‘points’ the parasites in the world can get, the more they’ll sort of, change, upgrade, and multiply, until the world is completely overrun with them. 

As Xephos continues to talk, Honeydew spies a hole in the wall labeled “INCINERATOR: PLEASE DISPOSE OF PARASITICAL ENTITIES AND THEIR WASTE PRODUCTS ONLY.” XEPHOS: In the first stage, the only parasites in the world are these, grub-looking things. 

Honeydew throws the book into the incinerator, then returns to Xephos’ side.

HONEYDEW: Aw, it’s a little babby! Wait- no, this thing is…

XEPHOS: It’s kind of a babby, yeah. It's the first stage. They don’t attack or anything. Really, they just sort of, run away. Here. I’ll let it out. 

Xephos breaks the glass, and the newly spawned Buglin runs into the corner of the room. Xephos equips a crossbow and kills it in a single hit.

XEPHOS: The thing is, you have to kill these things rather quickly? Because they can evolve, you see. And after a while, they’ll turn into-

Xephos walks over to a container with even bigger monsters, all crawling against the glass in a futile attempt to escape.

HONEYDEW: Oh, these are the things that were in the coffee machine!

XEPHOS: Exactly. See, they didn’t start as these buggers. It started as those little grubs, and they got left unchecked, and they started to evolve, like this. These things attack in groups. By the way, did you notice that we’ve both been inflicted with the Call of the Hive effect? 

HONEYDEW: We have? I don’t feel any different. 

XEPHOS: You shouldn’t. You see, when these parasites make contact with any living creature, it gives them this effect. For us, it’s not really a problem, unless we become seriously infected, or die. As for everything else, they’ll end up becoming, sort of, assimilated into the parasitic hivemind. 

HONEYDEW: It’s like that movie with Kurt Russell in… The Thing. 

XEPHOS: Yes, it’s a lot like that, actually.

HONEYDEW: "If It Takes Us Over, Then It Has No More Enemies, Nobody Left To Kill It. And Then It's Won."

XEPHOS: Right. But we won’t let that happen. 

HONEYDEW: Yeah!

XEPHOS: Anyhow, after the Rupter- that thing in the cage- gets about 40 kills, it will continue to evolve. The Manglers are one of many parasites that can actually adapt to sources of damage. 

HONEYDEW: Manglers, is that what they’re called. Not exactly…

XEPHOS: It’s not a nice name, is it?

HONEYDEW: It’s fitting though, jesus. 

The Mangler shrieks. 

Honeydew shudders.

XEPHOS: So, you understand the evolution system and the adaptation system, correct?

HONEYDEW: Yeah, I think so. 

XEPHOS: And you read that book, so, you understand how the phases work? 

HONEYDEW: Um… yeah, I did. But uhm… just to be safe, why don’t you explain it to me again anyways?

XEPHOS: (sigh) Well, it’s quite… complicated. Basically, the more points that the parasites get, they evolve, and the world progresses in Phases. We start at Phase 0, yeah? And it exponentially escalates all the way to Phase 7. By then, the Reinforcement system comes in, and Parasites are able to create their own habitats and biomes using beckons. They just get nastier and stronger and can have special abilities, as well. 

HONEYDEW: And what phase is the world in, currently? 

XEPHOS: Uhm… well, actually, we can use the Bloody Clock to track it. Here, take a look. 

Xephos tosses the bloody clock at Honeydew, and misses. Honeydew scrambles to pick it up.

XEPHOS: Oh, fuck. 

HONEYDEW: It’s fine! It’s fine. Uhm… right, so, it says ‘Phase 0’, that’s good, right?

XEPHOS: That’s very good. 

HONEYDEW: But I thought you said the world was… completely taken over. Shouldn't it at least be a little bit higher?

XEPHOS: Uhm… (nervous laughter) Well, you must’ve broken it, then It must be broken. Because really, we should be at Phase 7 about now. The entire world has just become this, awful, just- awful, parasitic biome. 

HONEYDEW: Oi! You’re the one that dropped it!

XEPHOS: Oh, right. Well… it’s fine. I already knew what phase we were at anyways, so, it’s no big. There’s another thing I wanted to show you, before we get into, you know, the armor and everything. Come with me. 

The HEROES leave the testing room. An armed testificate passes them and walks into the chamber. Squelching and gunshots can be heard. 

HONEYDEW: Is he alright in there?

XEPHOS: Oh, definitely. Don’t worry about it. Anyways, I wanted to show this to you as a sort of… cautionary tale. You see, COTH can spread quite quickly, so you have to be careful, alright? In here. 

The HEROES walk for a long time, passing the Med-bay and entering the cloning bay. 

HONEYDEW: So, how long did it take for the parasites to take over the world? 

XEPHOS: Oh, just a few weeks, really. 

HONEYDEW: A few weeks!? How did I not notice?

XEPHOS: Well you’ve, uhm, been on holiday, remember?

HONEYDEW: Oh, right. 

XEPHOS: Was it nice, there? At the sort of… beach, you were at? 

HONEYDEW: It was, actually. It was quite nice. I had… lots of piña coladas, did some skinny dipping in the ocean…

XEPHOS: Oh. Uhm. 

HONEYDEW: It was quite nice!

XEPHOS: Yeah, those holosuites… quite easy to, get stuck in. 

HONEYDEW: Once you go in, you never want to leave!

XEPHOS: You can live in whatever reality you want. 

HONEYDEW: Yeah!

XEPHOS: Where all of your friends are alive and they like you and you aren’t the head of an evil megacorporation at war with the government. 

HONEYDEW: Uhm… yeah… right. 

XEPHOS: And infinite jaffas. 

HONEYDEW: Okay, I'm back on, infinite jaffas! And lots of holes. 

XEPHOS: Oh, yes, hole-topia. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?

HONEYDEW: Ooh, saucy! 

XEPHOS: Al..right, we’re here. 

The HEROES stand above a Secure Containment Cell.

HONEYDEW: Oh my God, is that Lalnable Hector?

XEPHOS: Uhm- well-

HONEYDEW: He’s looking quite worse for wear, nowadays, isn’t he?

XEPHOS: If you would listen to me, you’d know that this isn’t Lalnable Hector. 

HONEYDEW: Oh, really?

XEPHOS: Yeah. Lalnable escaped ages ago. 

HONEYDEW: What!?

XEPHOS: Right. It’s totally under control.

HONEYDEW: Who is it then? Is it Lalna?

XEPHOS: It’s a… clone of him, alright. 

LALNA: Honeydew, you have to get me the hell out of here! 

HONEYDEW: Oh, dear. What happened to him?

LALNA: I don’t know what he told you, but you can’t listen to him, Honeydew! Xephos is- he’s evil, Honeydew! He’s a bloody terrorist! He wants to take over the world!

XEPHOS: He was… unfortunately, infected. Little does he know, he’s more parasite than human, now. 

HONEYDEW: No! Oh my god, Lalna!

XEPHOS: He may try to manipulate you, in order to spread more of the infection. Just stay close to me, would you?

Lalna bangs on the glass.

LALNA: He’s lying, god damn it! Let me out! Let me out!

HONEYDEW: What do we do? 

XEPHOS: Well, luckily, the COTH hasn’t spread to his other clones. So all we need to do is kill him, and then, well, he won’t even remember ever being infected at all. 

LALNA: WHAT!?

XEPHOS: That’s right! We’re going to fix you, Lalna, and take all of those little parasites and traitorous thoughts right out of your brain!

LALNA: But you don’t understand- I’m not infected with anything! I was working at Hole Diggers Inc, and the place got swarmed!

XEPHOS: Right, with parasites-

LALNA: With your army, Xephos! And they took me here and- put me in this box and gave me this awful coffee and-! Honeydew, you have to believe me! 

HONEYDEW: God, this is horrible. Horrible! This is an absolute nightmare!

XEPHOS: I know. I’m sorry you have to see this, Honeydew. It’s quite sad. You know, on the bright side, this should take care of your flux infection too, Lalna! Since we have to replace you with one of the Honeydew Inc. clones. You’re welcome!

HONEYDEW: Can we just get it over with and move on?

XEPHOS: Yep. 

Xephos nods at a nearby guard, who’s armed with a M249 light machine gun.

LALNA: Xephos, I swear, I won’t tell anybody else if you just-

XEPHOS: Too late. Alright, say ‘bye Lalna!’

LALNA: Xephos please!

HONEYDEW: Bye Lal-

Gunshots.

[LividCoffee succumed to the infection]

[spawning (srparasites:sim_adventurer)].

Squelching. More gunshots. Alien shrieking. 

XEPHOS: I told you he was infected. 

HONEYDEW: Oh my God! That was horrible!

XEPHOS: It’s alright, Honeydew. Now that that problem is sorted, let’s go to the armory and suit up. 

(Part ½)

[avayarising]

Batfam time travel fic idea: Dick is sent back in time to his younger body, around his early Nightwing era. But the younger body he’s sent back into at that particular moment happens to be concussed or sick or poisoned or something, so Dick (who wasn’t expecting the time travel in any case) is completely disoriented. Ten-year-old Stalker Tim sees him shivering/throwing up and goes to help out – and Dick just sees his little brother.

Tim has to deal with a confused, rambling Nightwing who is calling him by name and trusting him to help him and saying all sorts of concerning things.

(Maybe this is in New York, and Tim manages to call the rest of the New Teen Titans, who turn up and have to deal with this kid Nightwing has latched on to and won’t let go of, who apparently knows their identities. At least he seems as confused as they are about why this is happening.)

[violent138]

Got a fic idea for when this branch of sentient alien parasites take over the big guns of the Watchtower and basically just anybody with powers but leave the baseline humans alone as they're beneath notice.

Oliver and Bruce end up together, sneaking around and taking stock of the mess.

Oliver: "Have you learnt anything from this? Like maybe how important it is to make contingencies plans for everyone? Because anybody could be--"

Bruce: "The only thing I've learned is that our decontamination protocols need improvement. Perhaps we shouldn't bring the space suits in past the airlock at all."

Oliver:

Oliver: "You want to make this a nudist satellite, that's what you're getting from this?"

Bruce:

Oliver: "My kids glare better than that, now what's our play? I'm thinking we try out some gadgets, figure out weaknesses?"

Bruce: "And if it notices us?"

Oliver: "Loser has to propose the nudist satellite idea to the rest of the League when we're operational again. What do you say?"

Bruce: "That wasn't what-- ugh, deal."

[silenceaartist]

I hope all of you who called Nuzi a “generic m/f shipp” are happy now because this shit is gon' hit hard 😭😭😭😭

The chance of this being a flashback to Nori's death makes me AAAAAAAA, bro I'm going to lose my mind. I was very against this theory but looking at the current scenario (they are practically at the end of the world) of things it won't be incompressible if Uzi is disturbed when he finds out about this, anyway, I hope that in the end they work it out and make out 👍🏾

[tired-demonspawn]

okay so on a whim decided to watch the hbo his dark materials thingy and all i really feel the need to say is that everyone out here fightin for their lives, killin god and shit, while god ol doctor mary just went on a nice hike throughout the multiverse, then chilled with roller-scating elephants for a few months, played the role of the biblical snake by talking about her gay crush which helped restore the aformentioned multiverse and came home with a nice pet bird

[ronanceautistic]

shoutout to the anti way back who said they sacrificed nancys femininity to make her badass because if this girl is gonna do anything it’s save the world in a pretty pink outfit and heart earrings

[lamarseillasie]

Joyeux anniversaire, Ami du Peuple!

I know it's been a long time since I've been here. I'm doing my best to come back, but in the meantime I'll leave you with a video I've prepared especially for this occasion - Marat's birthday. This is a short compilation of clips showing some of Jean-Paul's portrayals in media. And yes, I chose this song! All the clips that appear in the video can be seen in full here.

Vive MARAT !

[sharoscylla]

MUTANT NINJA FLORIDA TURTLES

AKA, the tmnt iteration I came up with :3

They still have to live in NYC as they are hiding out from the forces of evil but they’re all Florida native turtle species and were mutated in Florida.

More art under the readmore:

Leo, a good boy with a poet’s heart:

Raph, a good boy who just wants to be a real person:

Donnie, a good boy and Daddy’s Little Toymaker:

Mikey, a good boy who Experiences The Horrors whether they’re happening or not:

Together they fight evil and are best friends and love their family so much!!!!

Splinter is trying his best but uh! He’s not really equipped for this!

[loserlvrss]

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒

the world crumbled a long time ago. humanity could've died off — and, some would say it had �� but, in reality, all it did was prosper under new circumstances. broken shreds of what remained, nature reclaimed, intertwining with the wires of the programming. Some would die just to be in the network of higher-ups, and some would rather watch the world burn a hundred times over. the question wasn't, which are you? it's who are you? In a place where somebody is really nobody.

a place where technology hadn't died: the sector one. the place where nobody who was ever somebody lived. a distant place to almost everyone else. only handing itself out on a silver platter to the, self-proclaimed, elite of the elite — old money, nepotism and pure coincidence — people lied, stole, betrayed, killed and died just for a place amongst the best of the worst. no one deserved the title this place disguised them with, wasting and polluting an already hellish world.

but, there was a whisper against the wind. the monarch's reign would soon come to fall — the reapers alongside. sector one would no longer prosper off the graves of its people. the walls would crumble as the old habits died. all it would take was eight pirates and one so-called princess to overthrow reality and start a revolution where everyone could be anyone.

there weren't mercenaries anymore, just a new world. and, all you had to do was step into it.

all rights reserved copyright © loserlvrss 2024

genre // romance, dystopian, cyberpunk, cybercore, drama, alternate universe, action, enemies to lovers, suggestive, smut, love triangle, multi x reader, series, comedy, post-apocalyptic universe, chapters

estimated word count // ≈ 32-50k

theme warnings // language, descriptive death & fights, blood, gore, sexual & suggestive content, substance abuse (drugs & alcohol)

status // ongoing, will post when i have time <3

playlist // wake up ateez, poison love dreamcatcher, wet dream snow wife, predator lee gi kwang, xs rina sawayama, do or die dpr artic dpr ian, i’m not a woman i’m a god halsey, coma dvii, silver light ateez, supernova aespa, ganma lexie liu, cyberpunk ateez, addicted pixy, another life key, gottasadae bewhy, daisy ashnikko, this world ateez, bad alive wayv, django ateez, claws kim petras, nightmare trendz, bound key, break it off — bonus track pinkpantheress, new world ateez, spoiled bitch tiffany day, eenie meenie chungha hongjoong of ateez, gods league of legends new jeans, dune ateez, the bat nct u, what do you want from me? bad omens, side by side bewhy, misa misa! corpse scarlxd cordhell, set it off league of legends dpr live jimmycline, halazia ateez, rpm sf9, iris pastel ghost

author’s note // tag list open !!

chapter one chapter two chapter three chapter four chapter five chapter six chapter seven chapter eight ++ more to be added !!

[imm0rtal-idi0t]

The Adventures of Merlin | s1e5 'A Remedy to Cure All Ills'

I'm a book binder, and currently working on the momentous task of binding the entire Merlin BBC script (transcripts). I'm using the transcripts from the Merlin fandom website, and going through each scene, writing out all the stage directions, as well as correcting spells and translating them in the footnotes.

It's taking ages and I'm only up to episode 6, but it'll be so worth it. It'll be bound in 5 volumes, one season per book.

[seaofreverie]

A (very random) observation

[mayordea]

funny comfort character trend

[redd956]

Apocalyptic Whump

(Totally not pulled from my personal “A Series” ;) )

Falling from a high place while trying to run away from threat

Character(s) cradling a sickly dying character knowing that no matter how hard they look medicine has already been scavenged weeks ago

Character getting really happy to find a dog, only to drop the eagerness when it begins to snarl at them

Character getting pulled through a boarded up window

Characters whispering amongst each other, trying to decide whether or not to let an injured person continue to tag alongside them

Begging another character to end their life after receiving an apocalyptic infection

Characters rejoicing at getting something as simple as a TV, radio, or telephone to work. They’re pushing each other, jumping up and down, and completely forgetting how quiet they’re supposed to be.

Character(s) dragging around an infected individual trying to convince each other that maybe there is hope, while the infected character slowly and painfully turns. Maybe they do turn, and the group still drags around the husk that is them, if it is even truly a husk.

Fighting over the little things, fuel, food, etc.

A rescue helicopter pulling in character(s), they’re so in shock that they say nothing and barely even more for their rescuers

A character having to walk and continue with an outrageous injury, because they have no other choice

Not being able to wash the blood off of them unless they search for a water source large enough

Characters refusing to travel together out of the fear that they’ll likely lose each other anyway

A large group deciding that they need to kick someone out because they can’t scavenge enough resources

Finally meeting the first soul they’ve seen in forever, only for them not to speak the same language, jumping up and down and waving happily anyway. Body language will do.

[mj-iza-writer]

This is experimental, and anonymous gave me the idea for doomy and gloomy, and I've been rolling it in my brain for the day. I can't help but brighten the end though. -MJ

Sorry it's long, I put in 'read more' to shorten it. I hope you enjoy.

Post Apocalyptic Whump.

"We'll stop here for tonight", Leader nearly collapsed with the weight of Whumpee on their back, "how are you doing Whumpee?"

"Hmmm", Whumpee moaned.

"That's what I was afraid of", Leader sighed as the team helped get Whumpee down from their back.

"Please just kill me", Whumpee whispered as the team unwrapped their bandaged arm, "I'm slowing you down."

"I'm not doing that", Leader looked over the arm, "we are going to get you medical help, and you will be okay. I promise you. You are just as essential to our team as the rest of us."

Whumpee fell quiet as they looked over the arm.

"I'm not going to sugar coat it. Your flesh seems to be rotting away from your body", the medic carefully moved the arm, "this infection has spread really fast."

"There must have been something more in that rust you got cut on", Leader frowned.

"It hurts", Whumpee looked at Leader and Medic.

Medic pulled out their stash of painkillers and eyed Leader, "we need to get them to that Doctor before I run out of these."

"I'll be okay", Whumpee quickly stated, "I don't need any right now, see if anyone else needs them."

"Whumpee?", Leader sadly scratched Whumpee's head.

"I'll be okay, I know others in our group are hiding their pain. They need it too", Whumpee frowned, "can we wrap that up so I can go to sleep."

The night was long for Whumpee they kept as quietly as possible as the others slept. They thought about the doctor, hoping they would actually help.

'Medical help is scarce nowadays', Whumpee reminded themself, 'I may be too far gone when we get their. They won't want to waste it on me.'

They heard Leader wake up, they faked sleeping.

"I know you're awake", Leader leaned over to them, "you need to get some sleep."

"What if.... what if they won't help us?", Whumpee whispered, "what if I'm too far gone?"

"We can't dwell on that. We can only go there and see. If that happens, then we will think about our next steps", Leader patted their head, "please keep your hopes alive. In our current world, we need to hold onto hope."

Leader wrapped Whumpee in a hug and they both managed to fall asleep.

The next day, they made it to the City of Sanctuary, these were places where many top doctors, scientists, and many others were kept protected. People could come in for a few days at a time for rest and to see the doctors.

"Sanctuary please", Leader almost pleaded as they knocked at the gate.

A screen opened and a face peaked out.

"What do you seek?", the person asked.

"We are five survivors from City D, we seek medical. Four of us need to be checked, but our fifth member has a bad infection on their arm", Leader stated, "we beg of you."

"You said City D, that's a long walk", the person looked at them all, they glanced at Whumpee on Leader's back, "is that the one with the infection?"

"Yes sir", Leader sighed, "you were our closest City of Sanctuary, our closest hope."

"Okay come in", the person closed the screen, then opened the gate to let them in.

As they walked through the settlement, many others sanctuary seekers watched them with saddened faces.

They were led into a private room to rest.

"Let me see the infection and see how bad it is", the person came around to a table and patted it.

Leader carefully set Whumpee down on the table and watched the person unwrap the arm.

Whumpee winced as the bandage pulled rotten skin off. They all watched as the skin dropped to the person's shoes.

"That's not good", the person sighed as they looked over the arm, "I have two people in mind, can you other four wait for us to take care of the arm, or should I bring some doctors to do your checkups as well?"

Leader looked at all the team members. They all agreed that Whumpee would need to be the main priority for right now.

"Whumpee needs to be treated as soon as possible", Leader looked at Whumpee, "we can wait."

Two doctors came in. One instantly looked at Whumpee and left shaking their head.

"That's not good", Whumpee looked at Leader.

"Don't mind them", the second doctor stepped up to the table, "let's see what's going on, my name is Caretaker."

Leader introduced everyone in the group.

"We can't lose Whumpee sir", Leader frowned, "they are important to our group."

"I'll see what I can do", the doctor looked over the arm, "what exactly happened?"

"Our home in City D was attacked by another group, it was burnt down in the end", Medic sighed, "on our way out a few of us got some minor burns. I was able to take care of these. Whumpee got their arm sliced open by some rusty metal. It looked fine at first, and I was treating it as normal. I think there was something in the rust though."

"Are you a doctor?", Caretaker looked up shocked.

"Not quite, I'm a nurse practitioner though", Medic sighed.

"Got you", Caretaker smiled, "I'd hate say it, but I can't save the arm."

Whumpee looked at Leader then looked down.

"Now, now don't look so sad. We have two options. I can amputate this arm to the shoulder and give medicine to fight any infection coursing through your blood. You'll be here for a few weeks while you recover, I'll need to monitor your healing. You'll all receive sanctuary for that long as well.

"What's the second option?", Leader looked at them.

"We offer medicine to Whumpee to make them comfortable until they die. They won't survive much longer like this", Caretaker watched their reactions, "again you will all receive sanctuary until they pass."

"What's the survival rate if you amputate the arm", Leader looked at Whumpee.

"If it's successful and heals well, they have a good chance", Caretaker sat down beside Whumpee, "I can have that arm removed in 60 minutes give or take. A colleague and I will do it together along with a few nurses. We've done this before."

Leader kept staring at Whumpee.

"Whumpee I suggest you let them do the amputation", Medic spoke up.

"It's Whumpee's choice", Leader sighed, "although I agree and don't want to lose Whumpee, they have to be the one losing the arm."

Everyone, including Caretaker, turned to Whumpee, but before an answer could be given the door was slammed open.

"Caretaker, we can't use our services to save a dying person", the doctor that had walked away earlier came in quickly. Clearly, he was eavesdropping.

"What?", Leader looked at then angrily, "is this not a City of Sanctuary. We seaked you out, walked all the way here, and you deny us."

"You four can receive care...."

"Stop", Caretaker cut in, "I will not allow you to stop me from treating this team. I can save them, and I am going to do it. Whether you like it or not."

The person scoffed.

"Go get Benjamin we have a person to save", Caretaker turned to Whumpee, "let's try to amputate, I promise you I think it will work."

The person stormed away as Whumpee nodded.

The team sat outside as the procedure was done. Several teams had come by to talk about their travels, and what was next for this world they were trapped in.

Caretaker and Benjamin came out a while later both grinning.

"It was successful", Caretaker announced, "Whumpee will be out for a while, so we have time to take care of you four."

"Let them be seen first, I'll wait", Leader looked at them, "I want my team to be taken care of."

After the other three were taken care of, Caretaker came out for Leader, who was leaned up against the wall.

Medic came out with a big smile and a fully stocked medical bag.

"Great", Leader grinned.

"You got some goodies", Leader grinned.

Medic nodded enthusiastically.

"I'll see you next", Caretaker opened the door.

Caretaker waited while Leader undressed and got ready for the exam.

"You know you're one of the better leaders that have come through here", Caretaker started to turn to Leader, "you take good care of your te.... what the heck is that?"

Leader smiled weakly, "the day before the world went to hell, I had open heart surgery. I wasn't able to return to have the stitches removed. No one on my team knows about this, and it needs to stay that way."

"May I", Caretaker started to walk over to them.

"Yep that's fine", Leader sighed.

"Your skin has grown around the stitches now, it will hurt a lot to take these out", Caretaker ran their fingers down the stitches.

"Yes I know. I'm fine with them staying their, they don't bother me anymore", Leader sighed, "it's part of me I guess. Please don't tell my team though, I don't need them to worry."

Caretaker studied Leader, "I'm going to say it again, I've seen pretty good leaders come through here, you are a great leader though", Caretaker marveled, "I wish I could help you with that.... do you want me to try."

"No, no. I don't need any open wounds to deal with", Leader frowned, "like I said it doesn't bother me anymore, and I don't have to worry about infections with them left in."

Caretaker shook their head, "okay, um, I guess let's get you taken care of."

Leader stepped out of the room after all was done. The team was waiting outside.

Caretaker came out a few minutes after.

"Whumpee is awake, but a little loopy from the drugs and the infection. I believe they will make a full recovery though", Caretaker looked at Leader, "you made it just in time, any longer would have probably been different.

"Thankyou... for everything", Leader smiled.

Everyone also thanked Caretaker.

"I'll be in to check on you in a while", Caretaker walked away, "I'll bring dinner."

Everyone went into see Whumpee. It would take a while to get use to, they knew that. They were happy to have Whumpee, that's all that mattered.

Later, Caretaker came in with someone else, both carried food.

"This is one of the leaders in this Sanctuary City", Caretaker introduced as they handed the food out.

Leader helped Whumpee, who was struggling to figure out their one arm.

"I need to ask", the cities leader handed one last food item, "I heard one of your team members is a nurse practioner."

"You've kept your team healthy this whole time, that just shows how good you are at your job", the leader continued, "would you be interested in staying in our city."

"Yes", Medic raised their hand as they hurried to eat.

"I-I would, but I can't leave my team they need me", Medic looked at the members.

"You wouldn't have to", the leader continued, "your team can stay here, I understand your hideout was burnt down. You could all stay in our City of Sanctuary. Caretaker can keep an eye on the injured members of the team as well. We need a nurse practitioner here."

"Injured?", Medic looked around, "you mean just Whumpee, right?"

Leader shot a glare at Caretaker.

"Yes Whumpee of course", Caretaker jumped in.

"Can we talk about this and give an answer tomorrow?", Medic replied.

When the five were alone they eyed Leader.

"What do we think", Leader sighed and looked at everyone.

"Where else do we have to go, City D doesn't feel like home anymore", someone replied.

"We traveled all the way here. I was getting sick of being nomadic, honestly", another stated, "we will be close to medicine and have shelter."

"It would be nice to be in a protected area, maybe even get updated quickly on the world's progress", Leader watched Whumpee struggle to open their water canteen, "plus Whumpee may have a better chance in case the infection did spread", Leader reached for the canteen.

Whumpee looked at them all in defeat.

"I think most of us are in agreement, but it is up to Medic. The city seems to be most interested in them", Leader looked at Medic, who was in deep thought, "Medic would be working hard for us to stay here. I will agree with whatever Medic wants to do, and follow their lead."

Whumpee sighed, "I miss my arm", they smiled a little, "I agree with Leader, though. I'll follow what Medic wants to do."

"I have to agree", Medic finally answered, "their isn't much else out their for us. City D was getting to be dangerous, and the nomadic lifestyle isn't safe. We could be in areas where we won't get news and updates", Medic paused.

"I know I will be busy, but that's what I signed up for isn't it? I wanted to help people. This may be my chance to use my skills", Medic looked at Leader, "I think we should stay here, at least as long as we can."

They all sat together quietly, enjoying the peace they felt.

"I have to be honest", Leader finally stated, "it's been something I've kept secret for this long, and I think Caretaker is pulling a few more strings than what we think."

"What do you mean?", Medic looked at them along with everyone else.

"Before all of this, I had open heart surgery. Quite literally the day before", Leader pulled up their shirt to reveal the old stitches, "I was never able to get them taken out after, and I couldn't risk having an open wound."

They all gasped.

"Your skin has grown over it now, that's going to be hard to remove", Medic looked closer, "why didn't you tell us?"

"They never bothered me. It's fully healed, so I let them go", Leader smiled sheepishly, "Caretaker saw them when I had my check up, I'm sure they are going to try to remove them sometime. I might allow it even."

"You're getting these removed", Medic scolded, "you're crazy for letting that go this long."

"It was safer for one thing, instead of going around with opened wounds. It was long healed by the time you joined our group so you wouldn't have been able to do it either. Plus where wasni supposed to go?", Leader argued, "I'll let them take it out when they are ready."

After a while, they all started to relax again. They huddled close together, and within a few minutes, all of them were fast asleep.

Taglist. As always please let me know if you want to be added or taken off of the list. It's not a problem at all. @villainsandheroes @the-beasts-have-arrived @sacredwrath @porschethemermaid @monarchthefirst @generic-whumperz @bloodyandfrightened @freefallingup13 @notpeppermint @weirdthingweee

[capt-zjaybird]

Trudging through the rubble of a fallen civilization, with nature reclaiming what man has built, the streets of asphalt covered in dirt and sand, with animals roaming the streets.

Shop signs and posters are faded and dusty, events of a long time past. A lot can change in 10 years time.

So why not put on the earphones while wandering, scavenger? Beats from 50-90's while venturing for survival, looking upon what this place was before, in a time of its own, in its prime.

All while music accompanies the stroll.

[kiaxet]

Once again, the latest update from @somerandomdudelmao has left me fully in my feelings, and so I come to you with ~900 words of emotion.

(This one is a rough one: content warnings for death, sibling death, self-sacrifice, and just general despair. Y'all have read the update. You know what we're doing here.)

~~~~~~~

It's supposed to be over.

Master Michelangelo-

(No, no, he's never thought of himself that way. No matter how many times he's been called Master Michelangelo, in his own head he's still just Mikey.)

-Mikey has given everything. He'd opened the portal, watched his own mystic energy - grown larger and stronger with each battle even as it consumed his youth and his very life as its fuel - tear through his arms, cracks traveling up his body until the force of it shattered his form, consuming everything that kept him bound to the physical plane in order to form one last-ditch attempt at setting things right.

He'd managed a wink and a smile, and then he'd died.

And yet he's still here. Why-

The promise. The caveat to the plan. Leo.

Leo had refused to leave him alone at the end, and Mikey will be damned before he refuses to return the favor.

Not that there'll be anything left to damn. The family's Ninpo is what connected them to the Hamato afterlife, and Mikey's is shattered, expended to give Casey a better chance at life. At this point, he's held together with the metaphysical equivalent of duct tape and spite - Donnie's favorite building materials when supplies ran short.

(Donnie's gone. Mikey failed him - failed to catch the infection, failed to cure it, failed to find his spirit amongst the Hamato ancestors. The Krang had obliterated him, and Mikey had failed to help until it was too late.)

(He can't find Raph among the ancestors, either. One more big brother failed.)

(He knows there won't be much left of Leo - not after Leo spent so long being Mikey's living shield, letting the Krang tear into his Ninpo time and time again in order to keep Mikey's intact - but he won't fail Leo. He can't. He can't.)

He's still here, for now, and that has to be good enough. He levitates, surveying a battlefield gone cold in the wake of an overwhelming Krang victory, and goes in search of his last remaining brother.

Leo's corpse isn't far - Mikey spots it near where the portal had been, face down in rock that had been blasted smooth and clean. Krang laser. There's no surviving those.

His gaze flickers upwards across the horizon, and he sees something glow near the corpse, a white outline coming into being before the color follows after, taking a familiar shape. It's-

It's Casey-

It's Casey, but he looks different. Better. His clothes are intact and clean - brand new, from the looks of it. His hair is washed and fluffy. His face and arms have filled out and his shoulders broadened, like he'd been getting good food and enough of it. He doesn't look like the Casey Mikey had made a portal for minutes ago; he looks like how they'd all wanted Casey to look, like he's finally getting what they would have killed to have been able to provide for him. He looks like a dream.

And that's how Mikey knows it's a lie.

It's the Krang. The Krang have done something, made one final twist of the knife that's been stuck in Leo's heart since the night they lost the Key - for all Mikey knows, they're going to use it to desecrate his brother's body, and he is not letting that happen. He zooms closer to Leo's corpse-

"We did it, Mikey, we got him out-"

-and feels the world tilt.

That's not Leo's corpse, because Leo's not dead. He's clinging to life, muttering nonstop in a voice barely above a whisper - he's not long for this world, but he's still here-

The lie cries out in Casey's voice and makes for his brother-

And Mikey lashes out, magic coming to his hands as easily as it ever did. It's not enough to incinerate the lie - the thing is too smart, too quick, and pulls back with only an injury to its arm. That's enough of an opening for Mikey to land in front of Leo, snarling at the lie wearing his nephew's face. "Don't. Touch. Him!" That's his brother. That's his brother. That's the only brother he has left, and he won't have him for long, but that doesn't mean the Krang can take him! "Whatever Krang trick you are-"

Spite, while fun, is no substitute for engineering. Donnie had told him that once.

The spite - and whatever else is holding him together at this point - gives out, the collapse manifesting as pain, and Mikey folds in on himself with a groan. He can fight - he will fight - but if the lie forces combat, then fighting will be the last thing he'll ever do, and Leo will die alone.

He can't. He just…he can't.

He drops to his knees, laying a spectral hand on Leo's head. Leo doesn't react - his Ninpo is shattered to begin with, and Mikey wouldn't be surprised if death's door has robbed Leo of his senses as it is - and just keeps talking.

"We got Casey through the portal, he'll be okay, he'll get to grow up without all of this, we did it, we- we- we did it, Mikey-"

Mikey kneels there, one hand on his inert brother's head as Leo's life slowly sputters out. Eventually he'll die, and what fragments are left of his spirit will disintegrate, too shattered by years of warfare to persist after death, and Mikey will let himself fade along with them. Together until the rapidly approaching end, like they'd promised.

He kneels, and waits for oblivion to come.