#even umbrella corps

[chrisitsraining]

ranking resi titles purely by how fun i think they are to play :)

[spidermilkshake]

Deployment

More RE fanfics--more mutants, more corporate shenanigans. Finally, we have arrived on the day of RE2's events.

Rating: Teen (TW for suggestive language, human experimentation, dehumanization, medical/lab settings and stuff, plus also human adults cuss like human adults)

Mr. X would rather like to get off Umbrella Corp.'s wild ride. It's a rather short one while I'm working on finishing up the next--which will FINALLY feature a certain newbie RPD guy about to be pursued by a Big Big Fella.

7: Deployment

            The agent commanded Mr. X to enter the panel moving truck, but by the limited space within and the chill that pervaded the blank interior the unmarked vehicle was clearly a refrigerated compartment. T-00 set itself down against the far wall in a cross-legged posture, tucking itself down to resist the slight cold and letting itself doze off for much of the rumbling journey. It must have taken several days, which mattered little to it. It did not wish to be all that aware after being torn away. Its metabolism had been slowed enough by the confines that only once an armed guard yanked open the door and blasted the dormant Tyrant with morning sunrays did it notice any sort of thirst or hunger. Its joints cracked stiffly as it stood, tromping down the truck’s ramp and into a familiar yet unfamiliar industrial warehouse setting.

            There were five other Tyrants already waiting in a semi-circle, immobile while Umbrella staff and guards buzzed around them like frantic bees. It recognized one of them—not by designation, but by its drowsy habits during downtime. T-00 came to a stop right beside the other Tyrant and eager to be near someone familiar, who greeted the younger with a bleary blink, grunt, and a slight bob of its head. Mr. X rumbled in its throat in response, but the nonverbal reunion was interrupted by a labcoat-wearing older man approaching the group of huge creatures:

            “T-103 Tyrants—stand by for your new orders.” The man rasped, untucking a sheaf of documents and photographs from under his spindly arm, “T-048, T-049. You two are to maintain a perimeter around the Disposal Plant. No unidentified creatures or persons are to exit this perimeter. Destroy all irregular mutants; kill all armed persons you find.” These two accepted between them a copy of a large photograph which showed the exterior of a large disposal complex, one hand of each holding opposite corners as the B.O.W.s nearly hit their skulls together in their close study. They were much more similar in looks than many T-103s—likely from a split embryonic batch and accustomed to assignments together.

            The older man also handed a copy of this photo and an internal map schematic to the three others.

            “T-029, T-033, and T-035. T-035. Hey, Sleeper. Wake up.” He snapped, and Mr. X’s former holding room neighbor flinched and snapped to attention, “You three will infiltrate the facility. Clear out irregular mutants you find inside and put all organic materials from them into the disposal chamber. There will be a trained armed squad of outsiders within. Kill them all.”

            These Tyrants grumbled roughly in a sort of response, weight shifting from pillar-like leg to pillar-like leg—anxious, building with adrenaline at the thought of the more violent-natured assignment. This left T-00 standing alone, eying the old staff member as he turned towards it and appeared to ogle its trilby for a long moment.

            “As for you—you have a very special mission.” A small stack of papers was offered towards it, and with a curious head tilt it took them in one vast hand and began shuffling through them. “You are to obtain a sample of Dr. William Birkin’s G-virus. You are holding a schematic of the N.E.S.T. layout below the city where all samples should be located. However, intelligence suggests that before a team was sent to dispatch him Dr. Birkin had locked the sample cache down with a number of fail-safes that will detonate unless it is unlocked with a specific keycode. Next you should see a photograph of Dr. Annette and William Birkin’s daughter, Sherry.”

            Mr. X examined this photo. Sherry was very much what its experience had it expect of juvenile humans, though as pale as the Birkins’ where Mariposa had been as dark as Ramirez. She shared the tired lower eyelids of Julian’s daughter in this frozen moment she was in—baring her teeth in a broad smile between her two distracted-looking parents.

            “Based on the bugging of their house, it is very likely that one or both of the Birkins has given Sherry an object which conceals this keycode, if not a dormant sample of the G itself. If you encounter her, get that object. It could be jewelry, a pager, a flash drive—anything roughly that size.

            “You have a secondary task—find the Raccoon City Police Department and clear it. A photo of the building is in your materials.” There was in fact a photo of a large, distinctive building with a sturdy gate around its front exterior, and a… tower? Tower, yes. It would be very hard to miss even from a distance.

            “You are to track down all surviving members of the R.P.D. and kill them all. You have photos of every confirmed member of this force. If you encounter any of these targets, kill them immediately. Understood?”

            T-00 gave a heavy nod, flipping through the smaller five by sevens which appeared to be officially-taken headshots. There were more than a dozen to memorize, so Mr. X took an additional minute to do so, its leathery brows just barely mobilizing in concentration.

            A heavy blast of air from the propped-open warehouse door had the Tyrant’s free hand shooting up to catch onto the brim of its hat. A powerful whirring of double-rotors slowing filled the space and drowned out the shouts and commands of the Umbrella personnel as the cargo helicopter touched down just outside. A woman in a labcoat leaned down over the high catwalk above the bioweapon conference and bellowed in a voice of authority:

            “Alright boys—get those living tanks loaded up! Move—we don’t have all goddamn day!”

            Aware they were about to be on the move, the Tyrants all pocketed their various background materials and fidgeted in place, their tremendous weight giving the small movements extra energy, extra menace for any observer who knew what was good for them; T-00 straightened up its hat atop its scalp and watched as two armed guards gestured at the group of Tyrants to follow over towards a cluster of heavy, metallic cylinder-shaped pods that sat strapped and ready to be hooked up and airlifted. These drop-pods were arranged two by three—ten feet tall and more than six feet wide, the devices armored and painted minimally with a dull red and white block letters naming the designations of each Tyrant they were meant for. Mr. X’s sleepy-natured neighbor was loaded into the cylinder just ahead of it, and the creature startled sharply at the noise of the curved doorway hissing as it was hermetically sealed and its support systems came online. With a swift glance, it confirmed for itself that none of the handlers had noticed the sudden jolt of fear, and under another goading from the nearest guard it cautiously wedged itself into the extremely tight confines of its pod.

            The gas valves sizzled painfully in its ears as the door shut it in. A small LCD screen lit up mere inches from its eyes, showing a diagram of a vague bipedal form along with a short instruction: LINE UP WRISTS AND ANKLES IN THE SHOWN POSITION. T-00 felt its jaw clench tighter with the stress, but it focused on where its arms and legs were backed up into the grooves built into the sleek white inner surface. A green light half-stunned it from the screen, and firm Kevlar belts engaged from the grooves to restrain it in place. The Tyrant let out a panicked croak. This was… not a part of training, or something it was intuitively inclined to accept or understand. It tried to concentrate on anything else but the clinical, plastic-y smell choking the stuffy space or the complete loss of mobility: The G-forces on its huge frame increased, telling it the pods were finally being lifted.

            The muffled double WHUMM-WHUMM-WHUMM from above was the only thing now that could distract it from the tightness and the nauseating proprioception as the Tyrant pods lurched along behind the tow line. The bioweapon hoped the distance until the airdrop point was not far; not that it had anything to vomit up, but it did not want to think about how the pod’s systems would react in that case…

            It was a torturous half-hour of top-speed flight until the pods gave a second, even more violent lurch—now dangling straight down over a selected spot as the helicopter hovered over. It had felt so many times longer. T-00 gave a reflexive jerk against its bonds as a pneumatic whoosh sounded from a neighboring pod; then another—and another. Five Tyrant pods had been dropped in succession; Mr. X was alone now. It strained with greater force against the straps holding it down as it felt the chopper’s tow line drag along again, swinging the Tyrant in a perpendicular direction. The inch-thick Kevlar started to give off little ping!s as its fibers gave way, one at a time.

            Mr. X really, really wanted off of Umbrella Incorporated’s wild ride. Before it had the chance to put its enhanced muscles to the test doing that, there was a sudden k-CHUNK! from overhead. The straps holding the deployment pod ripped free with a controlled hiss. For a few seconds, T-00’s eyes widened until they watered in the artificially-dry air, sensing itself floating up from the floor—slowly putting together what this lapse in gravity meant, especially given its great mass.

            This box had better be strong enough to—

            CRASH!

[whorrorbvby]

My tired ass sent it on your bbymorte back up and not your main 💀

But it was basically saying how gorgeous you are, I have a huge crush on you and it'd be an absolute dream to build a blanket fort, have snacks and play the co-op RE games with you. Besides Revelations 2 though, because fuck Moira.

OH. i remember this now you literally described my perfect date night 😂😂😂 except yes absolutely fuck moira 😂

[bioswear]

do not reblog

Edit: for context, I woke up to the stupidest fucking anon that I deleted but felt spiteful enough to respond to anyway (it was along the lines of, “if Disney didn’t make it why does Disney sell the merchandise… there’s no fucking commercial Pixar Stores…)

but are some of y’all fucking stupid or something? Do you all know what company subsidiaries are????

you can Say “Disney’s Pixar” or “Disney and Pixar” BUT DISNEY IS NOT THE SAME FUCKING COMPANY AS PIXAR

Produced IN PARTNERSHIP with Disney, and OWNED BY DISNEY AS A SUBSIDIARY COMPANY.

Pixar didn’t dissolve and become Disney. It just exists under the Disney Umbrella

This is like Platinum Games under Square Enix, Blizzard under Activision, XBox under Microsoft, etc.

[recruitersdni]

???

Iero is literally quoted in an interview saying as a teen he beat up a bunch of Nazi MCD fans

I mean it in the most petty 'i told you so' way but it's so funny that ppl are surprised at mcr bring antisemitic. Like no shit they're bad people, frank iero is being an anti semite on Instagram and gerard way is married to a woman who defended a rapist racist and she even race faked as indian herself. Gerard Way also wrote incest into the umbrella academy as well as putting 'lizards that control the world' in there. Like I'm really not surprised. I think you ppl need to idolise white ppl less.

[cenorii]

Generalized theory about re9

I'm looking forward to re9 as much as you are, and I have a lot of logical conclusions about what kind of story we'll be greeted with in it. But Capcom is good at surprising people, so my thoughts on this installment may just be a grain of sand in the sea or a half-truth.

In this theory I will give my view on the plot of re9 and give my arguments, so sit back, there will be lots of facts and pictures!

Let's start with the fact that back in 2016 Capcom threw in an interesting plot detail for us called Umbrella Corps. I can't call it a real game, it's more of a story DLC for all games.

The plot: the main character is an unnamed mercenary nicknamed 3A-7. He is part of the Umbrella Corps, a secret corps that belongs to Blue Umbrella, an organization that "reformed and got on the right path". Didn't it seem like a lie back in re7, right? The purpose of this corps is to search for bioweapon samples in quarantined areas that the BSAA has failed to sterilize well. The main character is involved in an operation called "The Experiment" but survives every step of the way due to his combat experience. The plot glimpses an unknown Corps Leader (Executive) who even his subordinates know nothing about. One man who sent 3A-7 on missions once wondered why this Executive was so feared, why he was so intimidating, and why he knew so much about the events in re4, as if he had been to that island himself. But only two men survived the events in re4 - Leon and Wesker. A male subordinate attempted to get the Executive's DNA, but disappeared in the process. He was killed for wanting to know the truth and was replaced by a woman who also knew nothing about her boss. At the end of the story, the main character survives even after the most difficult challenge and is contacted by this mysterious Executive and told that he has plans for 3A-7. The main character is voiced by D.C. Douglas, just like the Executive, whose voice can be heard in co-op mode at the end of the missions.

His phrases: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe7LEaA7em8

Albert Wesker is also voiced by Douglas. So why would Capcom take on such a recognizable voice? Why voice two characters at once with that voice? It can only make sense if the Executive turns out to be a suddenly alive Wesker. If you listen to his intonation, it's safe to say it's him, or his clone or twin brother.

We now know that Blue Umbrella are no longer the honest people they try to make themselves out to be in re7. In the "Not a Hero" DLC, Chris says he doesn't trust them. He has good intuition. It is in re7 that it is revealed that the Blue Umbrella are using Wesker's designs to create weapons effective against biological threats. Various firearms signed as "Albert W." are now being used by BSAA soldiers. Isn't that strange? No matter how good these weapons are, naming them after a bioterrorist and enemy of humanity is a strange move, isn't it? Someone secretly respects him.

Chris's trust in the BSAA dwindles to the point where he creates his own small unit, the "Hound Wolf Squad". Once again, his intuition doesn't let him down. At the end of the re8 storyline, Chris discovers an unpleasant truth... The soldiers the BSAA sent into "village" to contain the Mold have turned out to be biological weapons. They are creatures completely indistinguishable from humans, and look just like Chris. They have his face.

But why? Why Chris?

To answer that question, we need to go back to the Umbrella Corps storyline.

The mercenaries in the Corps have been collecting bioweapons samples for the mysterious Executive with Wesker's voice. The Corps is owned by Blue Umbrella, who cooperate with the BSAA and supply them with their weapons and medical supplies. It's safe to say that the Corps is also cooperating with the BSAA. These three organizations have created a new bioweapon indistinguishable from a normal human being using Chris' DNA. Hero DNA.

Why would the Executive want a bioweapon with Chris's appearance? Chris to Wesker has always been someone he considered his equal. Chris is "one of his best men." Who else but him would have thought of that? Who else besides him will speak in the voice of Douglas and hide from people? All of these details blatantly hint that Wesker is alive and involved.

Another interesting detail that also hints that Wesker is alive. Yes, it's my old theory. In re8 on the Heisenberg board this photo can be found. I originally thought it was his own photo, however why would he want his own photo on his own information board? The person in the photo is clearly older and has different facial features.

The red line from this photo leads to Chris. Heisenberg sees a connection between the two men, but who is this mysterious old man?

It's Wesker.

I'm 98% sure of it. Look closely at the points of interest: facial features, the shape of the nose, the distance from the nose to the mouth, the shape of the face, and the shape of the chin. Heisenberg knows from somewhere that Wesker is alive. But judging by the insignificance of this photo on the board, he doesn't think it's true or anything important.

Putting all this information together, we get a picture of a possible re9 plot:

Wesker is again the antagonist\anti-villain, but perhaps not the main one. He operates from the shadows, running Umbrella Corps. He's obsessed with Chris and hides his existence from everyone, killing those who try to figure out his identity. Perhaps in the plot, Chris will meet an unnamed 3A-7 who is connected to the conspiracy between Blue Umbrella and BSAA. A major upheaval of all these organizations is coming and unexpected secrets will be revealed. Perhaps Ada Wong will be involved, as her concept is in re8 and the idea could still be realized. Wesker must have become very weak after the events of re5, or something happened to his body, which is why he can no longer maintain his standard image and his hair grows a lot. The plot will not be tied to defeating him, because he is not the main evil in this story.

If BSAA has a big conflict brewing, then Jill will be affected. She could team up with Chris again, or she could get her own unique storyline (or DLC). Also, I think Claire might help her brother in some way by using TerraSave's resources, because that organization fights for human rights and in this case, Chris' rights were violated when his DNA was stolen. Looking back at this picture of the story, I'm starting to believe the rumors that the game will get very large scale and maybe even get an open world.

However, all of this can be forgotten and discarded at Capcom's will. As logical as my re9 story picture looks, the writers may do something completely different that will surprise us all. Would I be upset if they scrapped such a logical and cool plot? A little bit. I'll be interested in playing and seeing what OTHER plot they come up with. I'll still be interested in what Capcom will try to surprise us with. Re9 is definitely a very important game for the whole story, because a lot of things will be dotted here. And even if they end up scrapping the idea of a living Wesker, it won't make re9 a bad game in my eyes. I will love these theories and the various AU's with alive Wesker even after the release of this game.

If you're wondering how Wesker survived in volcano, then I suggest you read my theory, in which I delved into this issue so much that I figured out the melting point of his clothes. It's here. Also in this theory there is a detailed analysis of the bioweapon-Chris, possible ways to understand the plot of Umbrella Corps and etc.

Thanks for reading!

[3liza]

something the Mullenweg lawsuits allege that is caught my eye is that the company he used as a...I'm not sure what the business term is but Audrey LLC is his company that the lawsuit plaintiffs report were employing them as home healthcare workers. however, Audrey LLC is Matt mullenweg's angel investment firm.

there's no non-suspicious reason i can think of for Matt to be using his investment firm corporation to be employing his mother's home healthcare workers. i assume this has something to do with how a certain amount of shell corporations, borderline fraud, and umbrella corping is actually legal and normal to do in corporate ownership and C-suite activity, and everyone does it and no one considers it criminal unless they are really caught and pinned down about it (such as in a lawsuit but often not even then). the lawsuits allege not just basic abusive workplace conditions (which, to be clear, is normal for many segments of the elder care field: dementia removes the impulse control from old white people who have struggled to contain their horrific personalities and virulent racism and sexual assault urges for 80 years. Kathleen Mullenweg sounds exactly like my awful grandmother) and human trafficking but also that Audrey LLC is a fraudulent organization. i suspect that if anything comes from the lawsuits and their discovery process that actually sticks (besides the wage theft and misrepresentation, those seem pretty solid), it's going to be that Audrey LLC is shady. one of the Reddit mods on the WordPress sub is employed by Audrey, for example

[zzprompto]

☆ photographs

re4 ! leon kennedy x gn reader [they / them]

sypnosis: leon finds a box tucked away in his closet filled with polaroids of him and his first partner, [name]. (meant to be viewed as romantic / ex-lovers)

the lowercase is intentional !

- warnings: character death, zombies & other, typical resident evil stuff.

packing up for spain, leon happened to find a box in his closet. it was old, pushed away to the corner and pretty dusty. leon couldn't even guess what was inside of there. it just seemed so.. old and out of place.

curious, leon pulled the box out of the closet and he decided to open it. surely, nothing bad could be inside it. he's seen zombies and infected, and there was no way one of those things could fit in such a small box.

leon wiped off the top of the box to get some of the dust off of it. "memories of 1996-1998" leon murmured as he read what was written on the box in sharpie.

leon was confused, to say the least. he never remembered having such a box. but then again that was probably because it was tucked away, never to be seen again after he went away for government training.

of course, leon was curious. he thought that the box could do no harm, after all it did say it was just about memories. perhaps it was just random trinkets from those 6, 8 years ago. surely it was no harm.

the man cautiously opened the box, putting the lid of it to the side. immediately, he saw some polaroids and even a polaroid camera. there also seemed to be some sort of dog plush tucked away in the corner of the box.

leon couldn't remember any of the contents of the box. maybe it was due to all the trauma he faced in racoon city that made him forget? or was it the intense training he recieved that made him forget silly things like those inside the box?

soon enough, the contents of the box were emptied and littered across leon's bedroom floor. there were piles of polaroids now laying there, each telling a different story. leon had to take a closer look. he had to find out why this box was in his possession in the first place.

leon's eyes trace over each photo. they seemed to be either of himself, another person or himself and this mysterious person. some of the photos had captions and writings at the bottom, yet some others didn't.

leon's hand lingers over one specific photo. with a little bit of hesitation, he picks it up and scans its contents. he hopes to get some sort of recognition about what's going on inside the polaroid.

"first date. 17/09/1996." is what the caption on the photo reads. there's no significance to leon about the date yet, but there's some sort of familiarity about it lingering in the back of his mind.

two people are smiling in the photo, standing infront of what seemed like a movie theatre. leon was holding some popcorn in his hands, whilst the other person was holding some drinks. the polaroid was blurry, but there was a blush on leon's cheeks at the time the photo was taken.

leon smiled at himself. the photo was quite heartwarming and it helped him take his mind off the mission he was going to face soon.

yet, leon still couldn't remember the person in these photos. he hoped looking at a few more would jog his memory.

leon's fingers grazed over another photo. it happened to be photo taken from leon's birthday in 1997. the anxiety leon felt was rising, but he didn't know why. he still couldn't recognise the other person in the photo, but his stomach still churned as he looked at them.

leon is sat at a table in the picture. it's his 20th birthday and there's a cake infront of him with a candle reading his age. the person was leaning over to leon, giving the birthday boy a kiss on the cheek.

a sigh escaped from leon's lips as he smiled at the picture. he shook his head as he thought about the times before everything. the times before umbrella corp, the times before the zombies and the t-virus and the times before he became a cop.

leon still couldn't remember who his other person was. they were becoming more and more familiar but he couldn't put a name on them.

it was clear they were an important part of leon's life. or, well, leon's past life. when he was somewhat happier than he is now.

the way leon smiled in the photos, blushed, shared kisses or laughs with the other person.. leon started to miss it. he definitely had a blast those 6, 8 years ago, when his mind was still innocent and not tainted by the horrors that he saw.

leon decided to pick up another polaroid. this time, it was one just of the person. it happened to be that leon took this one of the person.

they were smiling at the camera, posing slightly and overall having a good time. leon couldn't help but smile back, imagining that he was also in the picture with them.

then, leon read the caption. it wasn't anything much, but it was a short and sweet caption.

"i love you, [name]." leon read from the polaroid. "17/09/1997". it seemed to be that the photo was from leon and [name]'s 1st year anniversary.

[name].. the name rung a bell in leon's mind. well, of course it did. it had to. the two dated for 2 years and leon is now pretty certain that [name] was his first partner.

but suddenly.. leon's face drops. he finally realises who [name] is, or really, what happened to them. he knew who [name] was anyway, but it seemed as if his mind was blocking off everything that happened to them because of the trauma leon had faced. but he remembered.

leon remembered the screams of agony, the pain, the copius amounts of blood he saw pouring out from them.

leon killed [name].

it wasn't his choice, really. it was more of a last wish from [name]. their last words.

"kill me, leon. save me from this torture. i don't want to turn you too." were the sobs that fell from [name]'s mouth as they pleaded for leon to shoot them.

how did leon forget about such a pivotal moment in his life? he had forgotten about his first love, his best friend, his everything.

"oh god.." leon mumbled to himself as he remembered everything. he scowered to clean everything up.

he realised why he didn't know this box existed in the first place. his mind purposely blocked everything out so it could save him from the memories and the pain.

[name] was infected, and leon was the only one around. leon had to shoot them to save himself, and he did.

leon knows he did the right thing, but it still hurts. he carries guilt and weight that was buried until now, having resurfaced due to some polaroids.

frantically, leon put all the photos back into the box before he put the box back into his closet. he wiped his face, not realising that a few tears had fallen during his trip down memory lane.

leon sighs and he closes his closet, turning away from it. he continues to put everything into his suitcase, ready to go to spain.

he hopes nothing bad will happen, but his hopes are too high. there was no way that rescuing the president's daughter in an area of spain where people have been going missing will go well...

at least leon has the memories of [name], even if he was trying to forget them and had successfully done so for years. but now he could think of the photos, and try not to think of the zombies and the guilt he had.

leon sighed, yet again. he got up and left his home. it was time for a new mission...

☆ author's note: hope you guys like this! i'm actually quite proud of this. decided to make it gn reader as the reader's pronouns and stuff aren't really mentioned so i thought why not let everyone read. please keep requests coming !

☆ masterlist ▪︎ request

[sunny-mercya]

Grievance

Shikamaru Nara x Male Reader

Fandom -> Naruto

Masterlist

With all these dark clouds—so full, like soaked sponges or washed sheets, with gallons of water stored in them, already dripping with leaks and ready to be drained empty—clustering up the once clear blue sky with its formable bricks, Shikamaru wonders—more like a bet with himself—if it was either you or mother nature, which had released such heavy downpour of thundering rain.

Perhaps—Shikamaru thinks, going over his self placed bet and coming to a truce—it was the both of you, who caused such weeping havoc upon the realm above and brought it down onto the earth—sending the riverbanks into a flooding and causing more corp losses than necessary.

Puffing out another cloud of smoke—tobacco still tasting bitter and unpleasant, even after it being the third cigarette already—Shikamaru looks at its form, trying to make out a deeper meaning of it—a sense to life and the supposed way of Ninja, if there even is one.

Another loud rumble of thunder, followed by a unusual lightning and Shikamaru knew it's solely you who causes such chaos filled weather.

You still were grieving and Shikamaru could understand your pain as he too grieves the loss of Sensei Asuma—whose death Shikamaru (with Ino and Choji) had witnessed firsthand and heard his last few words of dying breath—but it had hit you the hardest.

After all, Sensei Asuma was your Uncle and the closest—besides the Oni Demons, Sensei Isamu and former (rest in peace) Hogake 3rd—of being family, a parental figure, than your actual family, to you—so with Asuma being gone now too, the last few remaining chains of stability—to hold your sanity together—were starting to break into crumblings and if these chains ever happen to snap, a monstrosity of destruction would come free.

Shikamaru doesn't know what to do—neither how to comfort you either—he doesn't feel sad anymore, not like before when he cried with the rain—because he doesn't want his friends to see such weakness—only a slight grievance with philosophical thoughts remains and yes, perhaps a slight twinge of sadness was indeed still bedded in his heart.

He know grief is important to feel and death belongs to the life of a Ninja, but Shikamaru—if being honest—doesn't want to, because if he really starts the process of grief properly—like you're doing right now, although you're definitely a bit way too emotional and Lady Tsunade might send you under heavy medical supervision if you keep going like this—because if he does, he would feel a sort of pain, way worse than a stab or chopped off limp, he never wants to experience.

Another released puff of cigarette smoke, the first drops of new upcoming rain—like baby teardrops—tapping gently on his face and one of Asumas last lines echoed in his thoughts—nagging at him like Ino had done an hour or so ago.

„You and [Name] are like two shogi pieces, meant to be together. I give you my blessing.“

Shikamaru sighed loudly, such a bothersome hassle—this whole human complex concept of emotions—he thinks—but extinguished his cigarette anyway, getting up from the roof he's laying on.

Time to crease the storm into a pitter patter.

~~~

Walking through the graveyard, you were easily to find—as you still haven't left the spot, even when the funeral ended hours ago, kneeling down in front of Asumas grave and weeping your soul out, the darkest clouds of rainy thunderstorms hung directly above you like a unlucky thread.

Shikamaru, when stopping behind you, looks up to Raikou—who stood with crossed arms, like a bodyguard, next to you—barely giving a glance of acknowledgment back, only nodding curtly at Shikamaru and ascending back into you.

»I think it has rained enough.« Shikamaru holds his umbrella above you as well, but you only shook your head as if to tell him otherwise.

»There can't be enough rain for Uncle Asuma. Heaven should weep as much as I do.«

»You're right. It never is enough, but for today it is.«

It had been a saying, which Shikamaru had heard Asuma often say to you—whenever you caused too much weather troubles or going stubbornly overboard with the training—and it seemed to work once more.

You turned your head, looking up to your boyfriend—the umbrella he holds, it's black colour, reminds you of the of vague face of death itself—and Shikamaru, upon seeing your tear soaked face with the aching hurt expression written on it, had to bite onto his lower lip—feeling a upcoming choking sob tingling in his throat—as it pains his heart as well (just like Asuma's death had and still does) to see you, his boyfriend and fiance—so broken, so emotional vulnerable and sadness filled—like this.

»Come on,« Shikamaru begins, bending down—discarding the umbrella—wrapping his arms around your midsection and pulling you up, holding you in his arms,

»let's go home. It had been a long day.«

~~~

Within the comfort of the bed and under the warmth blankets, Shikamaru's and your limps a tangled with one another—creating a proximity only lovers are able to do so.

While you two laid in bed, reminiscing in memories of Asuma—Shikamaru couldn't hold it off any longer, his own aching heart sank itself finally into the grievance and the first sobs escaped over his lips, followed by more till he too cried himself free of the painful sorrow.

And Shikamaru came upon the realisation of why grievances were so important to experience.

[suityy]

constructed using the top winners of the original poll and the recommendations from:

@thriftstorebabayaga

@diapurple

@talgra

PROPAGANDA:

[Submitted by @jabbasyogainstructor on the original post] Weyland-Yutani: Gotta give it to Weyland-Yutani, repeatedly saying “fuck these guys, and fuck Ellen Ripley in particular. We wanna get our hands on some sexy alien acid blood”

[Submitted by @talgra] Aperture Science: Aperture both developed Al that could trap a human consciousness within it (willing or unwilling) as well as had hundreds if not thousands of people in cold storage to be used to test on thousands and thousands of "testing tracks" that arguably served to satiate their omnipresent Al that eventually gets so out of control that she floods the multiple 10-mile deep salt mines they used as their headquarters with neurotoxin, effectively killing their entire staff (minus the other Al present) oh and their entire test tracks could be often found with lethal amounts of asbestos within the testing environment, the company had an awful risk mitigation effort, etc etc

[Submitted by mwolf0epsilon] Vault-Tec: I'd say Vault-Tec is arguably the worst because they prey on those who seek security/safety by basically signing them off to be lab rats and they're never punished for it

Umbrella Corp: Submitted by @zanzihampster in reblogs (can’t put here for character limit)

Goddard Futuristics: Goddard Futuristics sent probably close to a dozen crewed missions on deep space stations and effectively either had them killed, encouraged situations/environments that would end up with people killed, or specifically instructed other crew members to kill each other

[Submitted by me, even though my personal choice is weyland] Vought: literally fuckin experiment with superhero goo on babies and are actively shown to cover for awful people. and homelander, don’t forget him. shitty people who cover for shittier people.

[Submitted by me because i love cruelty squad] Cruelty Squad: put out hits on important people trying to better the world and lower taxes because if those taxes were lowered it would damage profit. super blatantly evil. also destroy the world.

SHIELD: None Submitted (Yet?)

HYDRA: None Submitted (Yet?)

PLEASE SEND MORE PROPAGANDA

[ambassadorarlert]

warnings: self ship coded (kelsmin canon), hurt/comfort, mentions of children + their given names, post-rumbling setting, implied ptsd/survivors guilt

a/n: this is our beach episode 🤙🏻🐚 enjoy!

word count: 855

minors + imbeciles dni

“Do I deserve any of this?” — Armin asked quietly.

He kept his gaze straight outward to the sea. Way back when it mattered, the idea of seeing the ocean was just a distant dream, and so was life in between everything else up until this moment.

The Rumbling had ended a little over a decade ago. The dust from that period of everyone’s lives had settled. The world was wider now, which left an infinite amount of room for change and growth and opportunity. Even though, Armin’s life was accustomed to tragedy, he had a fair share of important milestones since then.

His greatest accomplishment wasn’t stopping the Rumbling, or becoming an ambassador of his home country. The crown jewels of his life were his four children. They were all close in age and similar in appearance, each of them taking a couple of slices from their father and mother respectively.

Armin had accepted that he had done about a million and one things wrong in his life, and he accepted that he’d pay the price for it once he was dead and gone. He couldn’t get rid of the underlying feeling that he did not deserve the slightest thing he had acquired in his present life. How could he possibly be able to heal, when his actions are the reason why some never got closure? In what way did he have any right to go on and create lives when he had taken so many away? How was someone like him worthy of being a father and a husband?

“Armin,” A touch of his hand brought him out of his thoughts. He looked down at the beautifully manicured hand that sent sparks to his skin. The kindest woman in the world had the misfortune of being Armin’s wife.

There was a long pause, silence falling all across the beach apart from the sound of sloshing waves and kids laughing. Armin noticed she had worn her wedding ring to the beach. The oval Amethyst center and silver band suited her, just like Armin thought it would.

“Look at your children” She said, darting her eyes in their direction.

Together they made three girls and only one boy between the ages of five and eleven. Armin could remember where and what he was doing at their ages. When he was five, Armin remembered spending quality time with his grandfather and listening to his stories. A cycle he repeated with all of his children, but Clementine enjoyed his stories the most as she was still quite little.

When Armin was seven, like Thea, he could remember laying in the grass and rolling downhill with Eren to see who could roll the fastest. Owen was nine, the same age Armin was when Bertholdt and Reiner compromised the walls of Shiganshina. Dahlia was 11, only a year younger than Armin was when he joined the cadet corp.

“What do you see?” She tested him.

Armin blinked. They both sat back and watched them play without conflict or tears. The day was perfect. The sun provided the perfect amount of warmth and light, while the shade from the umbrella gave comforting and cool relief. The misty beach breeze salted Armin’s hair.

Armin sharpened his eyes on his children as they went about their fun, playing near the water. They were old enough to know better than to go too far, but still young enough to be kept under their parents protection. Dahlia, Thea, and Clementine gathered around Owen as he lay in the sand. They took turns filling their individual pales with sand and dumping it on top of him. Only Owen’s blonde head, that matched his father and sister, was all that showed from the mountain he was under.

“They are free!” She hushed.

The realization always had an impact on his spirit. Armin’s children never had to worry about if this day would be their last or where their next meal would come from and how they could make it last for the rest of the week. They had new clothes and shoes whenever their old ones became too small, toys and books. Above everything else, they never had to live in a world where titans where a threat.

Armin’s throat was tight with emotion, if he said anything at all then he might just crack. All he could manage was a flustered nod of his head. His heart swelled. It almost couldn’t take how despite everything he had done and the immeasurable amount of guilt he felt every day, nothing could wash away his pride for his family. He inhaled a deep breath of salty sea air to settle his nerves, and gently interlocked his fingers in with hers.

Her smile that stretched across her lips, that brought her cheeks high, never wavered at the sight of him. It put the sun and all the stars to shame. They smiled at each other, the atmosphere between them thick with unconditional love and the mutual fulfillment of breaking cycles and having their children be part of the first generation where titans were just a horrible memory to humanity.

happy father’s day, armin <3

( @ambassadorarlert 2024 )

[androxys]

Task Force What? An Incomplete (Yet Still Very Long) Guide to Some of the DCU’s Government Groups [Part 1]

So, you’re reading DC comics and a government agency pops up that you’re reasonably sure doesn’t exist in the real world. Who are they? What’s their deal? Here’s a quick primer on some of the groups that you may encounter.

A few notes and disclaimers: This writeup is primarily based on post-Crisis, pre-Flashpoint/New 52 comic canon. I’ve tried to note every exception to that general rule. Also, several of these groups and comics use historical markers tied to the real world, which makes less and less sense as we-as-readers get farther away in time from when these comics were originally published. DC eventually stopped using real people and events so frequently in comics to help with their timelessness, but I’m going to include the historical figures and times as depicted in the source material, even if that means the same Batman is supposed to have been active in the 70s and also in 2011. Just don’t worry about it.

This writeup is split into three parts, described below. This section is the most dense, dealing with the history of 13 agencies, some of their key players, and the organizations' general missions. Special thanks to my editors and beta readers for helping me shape this up.

Part 1: Organization Descriptions and Histories

Task Force X

Argent

The Suicide Squad

Checkmate

Central Bureau of Investigation

The Agency

Project: Peacemaker

Department of Extranormal Operations

All Purpose Enforcement Squad

Project Cadmus / The DNA Project

Human Defense Corps

A.R.G.U.S.

Spyral

Part 2: Timeline

Part 3: Reading Suggestions

Task Force X

One of the most famous of DC’s government groups, Task Force X is sometimes used interchangeably with “The Suicide Squad.” However, that’s (at least originally) not quite accurate! Task Force X was a government program that housed two clandestine programs: Argent and The Suicide Squad. Task Force X was originally started in the 50s by President Truman to make up for the disappearance of the Justice Society of America after Senator McCarthy summoned them before his House of Un-American Activities Committee and tried to force them to unmask. Task Force X was designed to deal with the “extraordinary” (read: metahuman and alien) threats that might face the U.S. government. Argent was the domestic program, while the Suicide Squad was international. The leader of Argent took his team and disappeared in the 60s, while the Suicide Squad disbanded soon after due to budget cuts.

Task Force X would be revived in the 80s when then-congressional aide Amanda Waller would present to President Reagan a plan to revitalize The Suicide Squad, this time utilizing supervillains for high risk, clandestine missions in exchange for reduced prison time. Waller also envisioned the reorganization of intelligence group The Agency, which would become the intelligence-focused division of Task Force X. The Agency would be led by former Doom Patrol member Valentina Vostok until its reorganization into Checkmate, at which point Harry Stein was named Checkmate’s King. Although Central Bureau of Intelligence leader Sarge Steel had significant reservations about Task Force X, the President ultimately approved the project. 

After an inter-departmental war known as the Janus Directive, Task Force X was dissolved as an umbrella organization. The Suicide Squad and Checkmate were made fully independent of one another, with Sarge Steele assuming direct control of Checkmate from Waller, who stayed on as the director of the Suicide Squad.

Argent

Argent was the U.S. based division of the original, 50’s Task Force X that dealt with domestic and civilian “extraordinary” encounters. Originally led by a man named only as “Control,” Argent went underground after Control killed a man connected with the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. Control’s vision for this new, even more secretive Argent was an internationally focused spy agency for justice, though little is known about how effective he was. Presumed defunct, Argent was not revived when Amanda Waller proposed her new Suicide Squad. Eventually, the new Suicide Squad made contact with the remenants of Argent, and were witness to the ultimate end of the program.

The Suicide Squad

Originally, the Suicide Squad was the self-given name of WWII platoon with a depressingly high fatality rate. Over the course of the war, the squadron found themselves on Dinosaur Island, which certainly didn’t help those numbers. Richard Montgomery Flag Sr. was brought in to help lead the group, turning the squadron around into a highly decorated division of the Army.

In 1951, after the Justice Society was driven underground, President Truman created Task Force X to be able to combat “extraordinary” threats now that there were no costumed heroes to rely on. Truman requested that Flag Sr. lead The Suicide Squad, which focused on international threats. This group was largely composed of veterans of the WWII Squadron S. This version of the Suicde Squad was disbanded after the death of Flag Sr.

A third version of the Squad was created by General Stuart, tapping Rick Flag Jr. to be its leader. This team continued to deal with extranormal threats, but disbanded after a mission in Cambodia that saw the loss of half the squad. It was also revealed that regardless of the fatalities, budget cuts demanded the end of the program.

The most famous version of the Suicide Squad was proposed by congressional aide Amanda Waller to President Reagan in the 1980s, following the Legends event. Waller envisioned a revival of Task Force X as an umbrella program, with the new Suicide Squad being staffed by incarcerated supervillains. These villains would undertake high-risk, clandestine operations in return for reduced prison sentences. Part of the appeal of this model was the deniability: in the event that an operation went poorly, the government could simply blame it on the supervillain. President Reagan approved the program–Waller was the leader of Task Force X, which included both the Suicide Squad and The Agency, which was soon remade into Checkmate.

This Suicide Squad operated out of Belle Reve penitentiary, which was a maximum security prison specializing in holding supervillains. The initial administration of the Suicide Squad consisted of Amanda Waller as its director, Belle Reve’s warden John Economos, psychologist Simon LaGrieve, bureaucratic assistant Flo Crawley, and pilot Briscoe. Waller brought in Rick Flag Jr. to serve as her field leader and Ben Turner, the Bronze Tiger, as second in command. While the Squad certainly lived up to its name and reputed high mortality rate, notable team members include Eve Eden, Nightshade; Floyd Lawton, Deadshot; June Moone, Enchantress; and George Harkness, Captain Boomerang. I’m not going to spoil the whole Oracle plot for you, but know that Barbara Gordon actually debuted as Oracle in the pages of Suicide Squad, so consider this your sign to go read Suicide Squad (1987).

After the events of The Janus Directive, Task Force X was dissolved as an umbrella organization. While Waller was left as the director of the Suicide Squad, she no longer had any leadership in Checkmate, which had passed into the control of Sarge Steel, director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

After a number of missions, Waller eventually disbanded the Suicide Squad, finding herself disillusioned with the Squad’s goals. However, because this is comics, the Suicide Squad would not stay dead for long. Waller would periodically create new incarnations of the Squad to address spontaneous issues that would arise, often crossing over with other superheroes' adventures. During Lex Luthor’s presidency, Waller would be appointed Secretary of Metahuman Affairs, taking Sarge Steel’s place.

After Checkmate was rechartered as an United Nations organization, Amanda Waller took a position as the White Queen. To limit conflicts of interest, this effectively meant that the Suicide Squad was permanently disbanded, as Waller was prohibited from operations and could not be involved in the leadership of both organizations. This didn’t stop her, however, and Waller formed a new incarnation of the Suicide Squad that began Operation: Salvation Run. This project involved rounding up all supervillains and deporting them to a prison planet via Boom Tube (yes, really) where they were supposed to stay indefinitely. Waller was eventually ousted from Checkmate, but not before she and her Squad managed to deport the majority of Earth’s villains. The Suicide Squad would have to confront its ghosts during the Blackest Night event, when zombified fallen members of the Squad came after living members, but further adventures were cut off by Flashpoint.

Checkmate

Checkmate started from The Agency, a quasi-independent intelligence focused division of Task Force X led by former Doom Patrol member Valentina Vostok. Vostok brought in former NYPD lieutenant Harry Stein, who soon reorganized the group into Checkmate. Borrowing from chess’ hierarchy, Stein was King, working with his Queen counterpart to coordinate various agents. Bishops oversaw Rooks, who planned missions for support agents–Pawns–and special agents–Knights. Checkmate operated out of Konig Industries in Shelby, Virginia until the events of the Janus Directive. During that event, Checkmate lost roughly 40 Knights and its Konig cover was blown. With only a third of its agents, Checkmate was subsequently forced to relocate to a NORAD base in Colorado.

Harry Stein resigned as head of Checkmate after his son was shot, leading Sarge Steel to promote Phil Kramer to King and Kalia Cambell to Queen. They would lead Checkmate against Jade Nguyen, the assassin known as Chesire, during the time she took control of several nuclear warheads and bombed the nation of Qurac. At some point Checkmate would establish their division between black side, which ran operations, and white side, which was primarily intelligence.

Bishop Jessica Midnight recruited Sasha Bordeaux, Bruce Wayne’s former bodyguard, into Checkmate. Bordeaux had been imprisoned due to suspicion that she was an accomplice to Bruce Wayne's alleged killing of Vesper Fairchild. Checkmate faked Bordeaux’s death in prison and provided her with plastic surgery to assume a completely new life as a Checkmate operative.

After Kramer, former Knight David Said would become the new King of Checkmate. He would lead Checkmate against Batman in Gotham City, a campaign that saw them abduct Helena Bertinelli, the Huntress, and install her as Queen in an attempt to have her share secrets from Batman. This arrangement was actually a plan between Batman and Huntress, however, and Bertinelli ended up serving as a mole for Batman on Checkmate. 

For this next section, I choose to believe that Checkmate was a victim of Superboy-Prime’s altering of reality in the leadup to Infinite Crisis. Checkmate is suddenly headed by Maxwell Lord, Said and Bertinelli are nowhere to be seen, and Lord’s motivations are massively different from any of his previous appearances. Regardless, under Lord, Checkmate amassed information on every metahuman on Earth with plans to eliminate them. To do this, Lord was given access to the Brother Eye satellite, and together they controlled over one million OMACs–civilians that had been injected with nanotechnology to make them unwitting cyborg sleeper agents. When Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle, discovered what Lord had been up to, Lord killed him and instructed Bordeaux to dispose of the body.

Sasha sent Blue Beetle’s goggles to Batman, alerting him of Kord’s death. Once Lord knew that Batman was on his tail, he accelerated his plans, using his mental manipulation powers to take control of Superman and send him on a rampage to keep other heroes occupied. When Wonder Woman caught up with Lord, she bound him in her Lasso of Truth and commanded him to tell her how to set Superman free. The only option he gave her was for him to die, so Wonder Woman snapped his neck. Upon Lord’s death, Brother Eye immediately activated all OMACs and began the King_Is_Dead protocol, which involved killing every current Checkmate agent. Bordeaux, who had been imprisoned by Lord after he discovered her subterfuge, escaped, though not before her own unique OMAC programming activated. Lord had intended for her, as his Knight, to be a special type of OMAC, leaving her somewhere between human and machine. Later, Bordeaux would team up with Batman and other heroes to take down Brother Eye.

After Infinite Crisis, Checkmate was recharted by the United Nations to be an international group with a stronger system of checks and balances. Checkmate operated under a system of twos: two Kings and two Queens, with a Knight and Bishop for all four royals. Most specifically, the U.N. charter set out a Rule of Two: each position had to be balanced with meta and non-metahumans. As before, Black side was operations while White was intelligence. Bishops advised their royals, while Knights were special agents. Rooks were an elite Black Ops unit, while numerous Pawns were standard agents.

At the time of its chartering, the new Checkmate had the OMAC enhanced Bordeaux as its Black Queen, Taleb Beni Khalid as its unpowered Black King, JSA Green Lantern Alan Scott as White King, and Amanda Waller as White Queen. After Scott resigned as White King his Bishop, fellow JSA member Michael Holt–Mister Terrific, took his place.

This Checkmate frequently clashed with Kobra, the international cult intent on bringing a new age of chaos to the world. However, they also had a non-insignificant amount of infighting. Significantly, Waller was forced out as White Queen after she tried to preemptively remove Bordeaux and Holt, knowing that they were getting close to uncovering her illicit Suicide Squad and their Operation: Salvation Run.

After the events of Brightest Day, Maxwell Lord returns from the dead and uses his power to make nearly everyone on Earth forget about him. He immediately begins to try to regain control of Checkmate, beginning a misinformation and discrediting campaign against Checkmate’s leadership.

Central Bureau of Intelligence (C.B.I.)

The Central Bureau of Intelligence is a sort of corollary to the Federal Bureau of Investigation within the DC Universe. The organization primarily focuses on information gathering from domestic and international sources, then utilizing that information for operations. However, while other groups are focused on “extranormal” threats, the CBI is primarily concerned with “normal” missions. When special assignments do come up, special agents are dispatched.

The CBI was known to be active when Task Force X was being revived by Amanda Waller. While Sarge Steel was both known to be involved in the CBI and important enough to sit in on Waller’s meeting with the President of the United States, it is not clearly stated that he was the director of the CBI at that time. However, Sarge Steel would officially be the director of the CBI by the time of the Janus Initiative. Despite the massive reorganization at the time, the CBI was left largely alone. Steel would be promoted to the Director of Metahuman Affairs, a Cabinet level position wherein he would oversee all metahuman related operations for the federal government.

Among the most notable CBI agents are the aforementioned Sarge Steel, King Faraday, and former Teen Titan Roy Harper. After leaving the Titans, Harper would work for the CBI as a special agent–it was during this period he met Jade Nguyen, the assassin known as Chesire, and conceived their daughter Lian.

Eventually, the CBI would be incorporated into the Department of Extranormal Operations.

The Agency

The Agency was a group led by former Doom Patrol member Valentina Vostok that aimed to monitor superheroes. When Amanda Waller presented her plan to reform Task Force X, the Agency was reorganized into Checkmate. Among its divisions was Project: Peacemaker.

Project: Peacemaker

Project Peacemaker was the program that created and maintained Christopher Smith’s activities as Peacemaker. Originally, Project Peacemaker was a division of the Agency. When Task Force X was revived under Amanda Waller’s proposal, the Agency was reorganized into Checkmate, and Project Peacemaker is implied to have been made its own entity. However, when Task Force X was dissolved after The Janus Directive, Project Peacemaker became folded into Checkmate under the supervision of Sarge Steel.

The Department of Extranormal Affairs (D.E.O.)

In terms of real-world publication, the DEO began in 1998 as DC’s effort to begin consolidating all of the various federal metahuman organizations under one umbrella. In this author’s opinion, this was for the better.

The Department of Extranormal Operations is the U.S. government’s most modern and comprehensive agency to assess and combat metahuman threats through intelligence gathering, field operatives, and their own research.

The DEO conducts extensive research on metahumans and extranormal entities, with various degrees of transparency or consent. The DEO has been depicted to hold individuals against their will in order to study them, to the point of sending either their own agents or other affiliated groups to hunt down subjects that escape. This research seemed to be, in its early depictions, its primary focus. However, the DEO would take broader forays into intelligence, using that information for good… and sometimes to blackmail heroes into working for them.

In most depictions, the DEO is led by Director Bones, a former member of Infinity Inc, who reports to the federal Director of Metahuman Affairs. Bones is the direct supervisor of operative Cameron Chase, who has proved herself an exceptional agent. Through Chase, Kate Spencer–the Manhunter–was brought in to work for the DEO for some time.

The DEO is expansive enough to have several subdivisions within it. One such group was the Department of Metahuman Affairs, where Wonder Woman would work after Infinite Crisis. This subdivision would focus specifically on gathering and preparing intelligence on active metahumans, should the government need it. This subdivision would be led by Sarge Steel, who had left the White House upon the election of Lex Luthor and Luthor’s subsequent appointment of Amanda Waller to Secretary for Metahuman Affairs.

Another group known to be active during Luthor’s presidency was Knightwatch, a more militaristic division that responded to possible metahuman attacks on federal personnel and buildings.

The DEO’s research facilities are detailed in various comics across the 90s. It is gradually revealed that the DEO either maintains or sponsors a variety of training camps and research facilities, sometimes called “orphanages,” that hold metahumans under various states of duress. One example is Secret, the Young Justice member who is shown escaping from a DEO orphanage, and later gets Young Justice’s help shutting down similar experimentation programs. A group of metahumans who escape from the DEO collectively get taken in by the Titans. Conversely, some of the individuals who go on to be the Relative Heroes are depicted to be in a more traditional fostering environment, though it is still connected to the DEO. 

Within the continuity of the Supergirl TV show, as part of the Arrowverse, the DEO is a governmental organization that specifically deals with extraterrestrial threats and encounters.

All Purpose Enforcement Squad (A.P.E.S.)

The All Purpose Enforcement Squad is an international, interdepartmental group of highly trained special agents. APES features most prominently in the Young Justice series, represented by Donald Fite and Ishido Maad. 

While APES has connections to international organizations such as Interpol and Scotland Yard, they seem primarily U.S. based, as APES was the primary group trying to recover Secret, a metahuman who escaped from a DEO research facility.

Project Cadmus

Project Cadmus, sometimes also known as the DNA Project, is a government supported genetic research lab. Cadmus is involved with cloning and gene sequencing for the purpose of creating new life, with their most famous creation being Superboy.

Originally led by Director Paul Westfield, Cadmus employed various scientists engaged with genetic manipulation. The most notorious of these scientists was Dabney Donovan, who created “DNAliens” with inhuman powers. These DNAliens include Dubbilex, the grey skinned, horned telepath who would serve as a mentor to Superboy. Cadmus also employed the adult members of the original Newsboy Legion. These adults cloned themselves to create a new Newsboy Legion, and additionally cloned former NYPD officer Jim Harper–the original Guardian. This new cloned Guardian would serve as head of security of Cadmus.

Donovan was eventually fired from Cadmus due to the extremity of his experiments. Donovan would go on to align himself with The Agenda, another genetic lab responsible for their own Superboy clone: Match. Cadmus would also have an enemy in the form of the Evil Factory, led by Mokkari and Simyan, servants of Darkseid.

After a virus affecting clones and DNAliens breaks out, Cadmus began to receive intense scrutiny. A purification by fire was attempted, with missiles aimed to destroy sections of Metropolis and stop the virus. After the missiles were stopped, Donovan revealed himself to be the mastermind of the virus and killed Westfield, leading Mickey Cannon to be named the new administrative director of Cadmus. This scrutiny forced Cadmus to withdraw from the public eye, going deeper underground.

Under Cannon, Dabney would be kept imprisoned in Cadmus to serve as a scientific advisor under armed guard. Cannon also brought in Serling Roquette to be the new head of genetics–Roquette would eventually be responsible for curing Superboy of the genetic quirk that kept him from aging. Cadmus would continue to withdraw from attention, especially under the presidency of Lex Luthor.

Human Defense Corps

The Human Defense Corps was a group started under President Luthor’s administration with the goal of having an entirely non-metahuman taskforce that could respond to meta-level threats. This was in line with Luthor’s goal of reducing dependency on superheroes, and as such only recruited from decorated military veterans.

A specific subgroup within the Human Defense Corps was Squad K, a division specifically armed and trained to take on Kryptonian targets.

A.R.G.U.S.

You may have noticed that I didn’t put what A.R.G.U.S. stands for up above. That’s because sources disagree. According to the wiki, A.R.G.U.S. stands for Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-humans. A.R.G.U.S. was created post-Flashpoint to be a governmental organization associated with the Department of Homeland Security. Specifically, A.R.G.U.S. aims to support super- and meta-human endeavors, rather than having an antagonistic relationship with the superhuman community.

A.R.G.U.S. took on a life of its own within the TV Arrowverse shows, where it’s called the Advanced Research Group United Support. There, A.R.G.U.S. is the de facto government agency for dealing with metahuman threats. It was formerly led by Amanda Waller before leadership passed to Lyla Michaels. 

Spyral

Before I start to give the details on Spyral, I have to disclaim a few things about it. Spyral was first mentioned in the New Earth timeline, during Grant Morrison’s time with Batman Incorporated (2011). This was immediately before Flashpoint and the New 52 reboot. However, this run of Batman Incorporated kept going within the New Earth continuity past when Flashpoint happened, meaning that the comics had to disclaim that they were still the old continuity, even though the reboot happened. But then! Batman Incorporated (2012) was a direct sequel to the New Earth run, even though this Volume 2 explicitly happens in the post-reboot continuity.

All of this to say, Spyral is an organization that has roots in the New Earth continuity, but was largely fleshed out in the post-Flashpoint universe. Because of the relative lack of information in the pre-Flashpoint continuity, however, we can assume a lot of the later established details can be retroactively applied.

Technically, Spyral is not a U.S. agency. Originally, Spyral was founded during the Cold War to be a United Nations affiliated spy group. The U.N. made former Nazi spy Otto Netz, under the pseudonym Agent Zero, the head of the organization. He was subsequently tasked with recruiting Spyral’s agents and building the organization for the U.N.

Spyral continued into the 80s, at which point Netz was revealed to be a double agent and imprisoned in a lighthouse. Though the organization seemingly collapsed at that point, Spyral’s operations continued. At some point before his imprisonment, Netz recruited Gotham City socialite Kathy Webb Kane into Spyral and tasked her with discovering the identity of the Batman. Kathy developed the Batwoman persona to get close to Batman, though the revelation that Netz was her father caused her to break off contact with both Batman and retreat from Spyral. Kathy Webb Kane was believed to have been killed by Ben Turner, the Bronze Tiger, during his period of being controlled by the League of Assassins.

Netz would be broken out of his imprisonment by the Leviathan Organization, which is a militaristic group led by Talia al Ghul, after her estrangement from her father Ra’s al Ghul. Leviathan seeks to undo much of modern society in order to rebuild the world in a “better” way. Talia set Netz up as Doctor Dedalus to combat Batman and his Batman Incorporated initiative, designing elaborate traps across the globe to keep Bruce Wayne and his operatives occupied. Netz was eventually killed within one of his traps by Damian Wayne, who was attempting to save his father.

It was revealed after Netz’s death that Kathy Webb Kane was still alive, and had faked her own demise in order to become the secret headmistress of Spyral. After Netz’s death, the U.N. officially reactivated Spyral in order to combat Leviathan’s continued growth.

Spyral operates out of St. Hadrian’s Finishing School for Girls. Initially in the New Earth continuity, the school had been a Leviathan facility, training young women as infiltrators and assassins. It was the site of Stephanie Brown’s mission as Batgirl on behalf of Batman Incorporated, and she and Batman managed to stop the Leviathan plot. In the post-Flashpoint continuity, St. Hadrian’s is Spyral’s base, where elite students are trained as spies. It’s assumed that Spyral just took control after ousting Leviathan.

After Dick Grayson was publically unmasked as Nightwing, he joined Spyral to investigate the organization. During this period, he worked with Helena Bertinelli, who was working as the Matron of Spyral. Grayson would continue as Agent 37 of Spyral for some time, until his identity was restored. At that point, he and Bertinelli both returned to Gotham to take up the mantles of Nightwing and Huntress, respectively. With Bertinelli’s departure, directorship of Spyral and the title of Patron passed to Agent-1, the operative known as Tiger.

[beetlevvings]

I LOVE YOUR MATTMELLO DESIGNS!!!! (Hiiii fellow taller Matt truther!) Do you have any headcanons for them :3

Omg thank you so so much!!! Love to hear it!

I have SO many headcanons for them (including lanky ass, bow-legged Matt), so if you want to know anything specific feel free to send more asks. I’ll just toss out whatever comes to mind first :3 (Pretty Matt-centric)

• Matt and Mello have been impulsively visiting the tattoo parlor in our RP.

- Mello currently has: A gothic cross tattoo between his shoulder blades + pierced nipples, pierced ears and pierced tongue.

- Matt currently has: A tribal half-sleeve, a tribal tramp stamp, the Triforce symbol, the Umbrella Corp. symbol + 1/2” gauges, pierced ears, pierced nipples, lip piercing and a belly button piercing.

• Matt has GREAT memory. Dates/numbers/sequences in video games/lines of code, he rarely forgets things (even if he occasionally overlooks things out of carelessness).

• Matt has sensory issues, but they fluctuate. Sometimes he can be out all day without his gloves, sometimes he wears them to bed.

• When Matt’s not wearing goggles, he’s usually wearing sunglasses. His eyes are sensitive, but also he just doesn’t like eye contact.

• Matt got the eye contact avoidant autism, Mello got the eye contact seeking autism.

• Matt came to Wammy’s around age 8 (he’d already been in the system for most of his life). His second day there, Mello approached him, mad that they both had names starting with ‘M’.

• It took them a while to get along. Mello was really annoying and had no concept of personal space, but Matt admired how honest and expressive he was.

• Mello had some mangled form of cuteness/friendship aggression back then. One time he put a rock in a snowball and nailed Matt in the head with it. They remember this fondly.

• Matt left the House not long before his 17th birthday. Wammy’s helped him get established and found him an apartment in New York.

• When Mello and Matt reunited, they met up at a Waffle House in the middle of the night.

• Matt does freelance tech-work, ranging from website design to cyber security. Under the table, he also steals + sells identities/sensitive information and offers his services for hacking, etc.

• Over text, Matt is very crude and obnoxious. In person, he’s pretty quiet, easy-going, soft-spoken and patient. He recognizes the contrast, but thinks it’s funny.

• Mello likes to journal in his free time. It helps him sort his thoughts.

• Also, he has a growing plush collection. Matt goes crazy on claw machine games, and he thinks the fact that Mello keeps the prizes is cute, so then he wins even more. Vicious cycle.

• Mello is partially-deaf and has tinnitus. He could definitely use an aid of some kind, but he’s too stubborn to go and get one. It’s self-punishment for his failures. (Matt will have to drag him to a doctor eventually)

• He’s also mostly-blind in one eye and had some nerve damage on the left side of his face. His depth-perception is a little wonky, so he practices shooting regularly.

• Matt has a stutter and a slight speech delay that he’s mostly grown out of, but it flares up when he’s upset or stressed out.

• Matt’s not overly-fond of sweet stuff. He likes savory, spicy, or salty foods. His favorite safe food is pizza. :3

• Matt likes cars and he extra likes fast cars. He dabbles in a bit of street racing for fun.

[lu-is-not-ok]

While we're psychoanalyzing the EGOs, what are your opinions on Dimensional Shredder? Deffo something on freedom there, but I'm having trouble putting it to words myself.

Alright, another shared E.G.O. Cracks knuckles.

You know the drill, under cut we go.

So let's talk about Wayward Passenger as an abnormality first. It's a representation of the horrible things W Corp puts people through on their WARP trains given form. In a way, that makes it similar to abnormalities like Mountain of Smiling Bodies or CENSORED (if you subscribe to the smoke war monster theory).

The dungeon event in which we meet Wayward Passenger is especially telling in what themes it wants to carry. The narration mentions that the corporation responsible for disappearance will simply pretend that this person never existed. The reveal that the Passenger was actually a W Corp employee further adds to this.

(Also, random tangent, but am I the only one that got reminded of Bongcheon-Dong Ghost by this abno's event? Something about having to point a terrifying monster in a direction away from you and hope it doesn't come back just brought back memories. At least the Passenger has enough manners to not jumpscare you.)

When it comes to the abnormality itself, Wayward Passenger carries themes of corporate exploitation and negligence, specifically in the way W Corp might find its employees expendable and doesn't care about inflicting suffering upon its clients as long as they profit from it.

There are also some themes of abandonment and being lost, but also tenacity in spite of it. Despite not being able to escape, Wayward Passanger still searches for a way out and never stops moving forward.

So. With all that being said. How does it all tie back to Hong Lu and Yi Sang, as they are the ones with Dimension Shredder?

Thanks to Canto IV we now know that Yi Sang absolutely fits under the exploited by corporate greed umbrella. It's a major theme of his whole chapter in fact! The themes of being lost are also reflected in Yi Sang's aimlessness after the League collapsed. He was completely lost and effectively abandoned by everyone except Gubo, only to be further exploited by even more corporate greed.

Hell, you could even say his character arc in his Canto represents that tenacity in spite of being lost I mentioned. Though his goal might not be all that clear, he still wants to keep going and keep moving forward, no matter what.

When it comes to Hong Lu, we don't have nearly as much information... But we can speculate! I think in this case the "corporate exploitation" is less literally corporate, but still applicable. I'm talking about Hong Lu's family, of course. Though we don't know much, we do get quite a few hints about his family exploiting him for their own gain, especially now that we're getting a Hong Lu ID that is quite literally based on the idea of paralleling that part of him with Actual Corporate Exploitation!

With how cagey Hong Lu is about the deeper parts of his past, and how hard it is to tell when he's being genuine, it's honestly hard to pinpoint any of the other themes onto him.

However, we could work a little bit backwards here and see how Wayward Passenger might apply to Hong Lu's recurring themes of freedom.

In that way, we could be onto something here. Wayward Passenger is no longer under W Corp's protection, if it ever was. It's lost and abandoned by the thing that was supposed to be protecting it... But on the other hand, it is free now. W Corp can't reach it anymore. It can go wherever it wants and nothing will stop it.

If you want to translate that to how that might apply to Hong Lu, then you could interpret that as a sign that Hong Lu can only attain "true" freedom by severing ties with the thing exploiting him, aka his family... At the cost of losing the comfort and protection they offered him, as little as it may have been.

You could say that idea is reflected in Tingtang Hong Lu. Yes, he is probably the most free when it comes to authority bearing down on him compared to all his other IDs. ...But he's also a gambler living in the Backstreets leading a gang so incompetent he has to threaten them with death to keep them in line. He may be free, but his life is far from comfortable.

...I think it's funny that I already wrote that much and I haven't even touched the actual E.G.Os themselves, whoops! Let's go do that.

First thing to note about Dimension Shredder is that its damage type is Pride, especially since Yi Sang's version doesn't even *require* Pride resources. In fact, Dimension Shredder is the only non-base E.G.O that deals Pride damage.

To go a little bit deeper into that, all of the base E.G.O that deal Pride damage seem to imply taking an action while ignoring the consequences that might follow them. Rodion's What Is Cast is the most obvious example here, representing her murder of the pawnbroker without considering how the Middle would react to one of their family being killed. Likewise, Outis, Meursault, and Faust seem to carry similar ideas. Outis reminding herself of the Odyssey's purpose, as if trying to cope with the unforseen consequences of her actions. Meursault acting out despite noting how doing so only tightens the chains of those judging him. Faust opening herself to knowledge and possibilities regardless of what it may do.

In a way, that is what Pride is at its core. Performing actions purely because of what benefit they bring to oneself, without considering the drawbacks and consequences.

There's a couple of ways we could interpret that with Dimension Shredder.

For one, we could zoom back out to what Wayward Passenger represents. Dimension Shredder being a Pride E.G.O could be signifying the Pride inherent in corporate exploitation. By its very nature, it's an action done purely for the corporation's benefit, without considering the consequences on other people.

The other is a bit more directly applicable to Yi Sang and Hong Lu themselves. It could represent how they, and the abnormality included, continue moving forward regardless of what may stand in their way. Regardless what the consequences may be for doing so.

During the attack animations for both Dimension Shredder Awakenings, we see Yi Sang and Hong Lu enter a dimensional rift they make, with both of them notably hesitating before doing so. Judging by Hong Lu's expression when he exits the rift, it's not exactly a pleasant experience. And yet, they both do it anyway. The benefit of continuing to move outweighs the damage it may inflict on them, so they ignore the consequences. I think it kinda points to my second interpretation above.

When it comes to Sin Resources, both Yi Sang and Hong Lu require Gluttony, but while Hong Lu requires Pride, Yi Sang requires Sloth. Let's dissect it one at a time.

Gluttony in Limbus Company has two meanings, in my opinion. On one hand, there's the Greed-adjacent aspect, where it represents the want for more and more. This neverending need for growth, for consumption, for progress. On the other hand, when it's seen in a more sympathetic light, it can represent the actions one commits for the sake of one's own Survival.

When it comes to Dimension Shredder, I think it's a little bit of both for both Hong Lu and Yi Sang. They both need Gluttony to survive in an environment where they're actively being exploited, but at the same time they need Gluttony to keep moving further and further forward, to keep making progress endlessly.

For the other Resources that each of them uses, I think it specifically represents what part of them is what allows them to be easily exploited by those above them.

Sloth for Yi Sang represents his apathy and passiveness. He gets exploited because he doesn't care enough about himself to fight back against it. Why bother? It doesn't matter, everything and everyone else was exploited, so why stand up to being exploited yourself? While this is something that Yi Sang starts to come out of by the end of Canto IV, I doubt it's a habit that will be easy for him to break just like that.

The fact that Pride is a resource here for Hong Lu paints his passiveness when being exploited under a different light. He doesn't buckle because he's apathetic like Yi Sang, it's because he believes that the benefits of letting himself be exploited outweigh the drawbacks enough to ignore them. If we apply this to his family exploiting him, it paints a pretty vivid picture. Sure, he is being used and hurt by his family, but just accepting that it happens means he still gets to enjoy the comfort and "love" they give him. Because what happens if he stands up to them? He likely gets punished. He loses that comfort he relies on. So he'd rather just bear the pain and pretend everything is okay, because the alternative is far worse.

Now, let's examine the dialogue lines, because I think they are very interesting with all of that analysis behind us.

For starters, I think for both Dimension Shredder users, their Awakening lines are a reflection of their coping mechanism in the face of being exploited being pushed to its absolute limits.

Yi Sang's Awakening line is a reflection of how he tries to throw himself into research and scholarly pursuits as a form of escapism from his reality. Whether it's his activities with the League, or his dependency on the Mirror, we see in Canto IV that he turns to acting the part of a researcher when faced with corporate exploitation.

Likewise, while using Dimension Shredder he makes notes of his surroundings like a researcher traversing the space. Noting the enchanting colors and how he can't memorize the path he's on. However, his tone of voice is a lot more... manic? It's emotional, seemingly entranced by what he's seeing. I think it signifies how, when pushed to his limits, Yi Sang would completely throw himself into his research, to a perhaps almost obsessive degree.

Hong Lu's Awakening line on the other hand reflects how he tries to keep a happy tone regardless of the circumstances. His defense mechanism is hiding what he's truly feeling behind a mask of smiles and jokes.

Tingtang and Kurokumo Hong Lu are probably the best examples of this. While having a constant jovial tone, Tingtang Hong Lu is an utter piece of shit only using kindness as a thin veil to hide his actual intentions. Kurokumo Hong Lu on the other hand uses a somewhat polite tone despite the fact he clearly does not respect anyone. It's even more obvious with the latter when you examine his post-uptie illustration more closely. While he wears a smile on his face, the veins shown on the hand clutching his sword say that he's not as calm as he seems.

While using Dimension Shredder, Hong Lu tries to keep up his smiling facade... Except this time, he fails. At his very limit, he's too worn down and tired of the abuse to pretend he's fine. The words do come out, but he can't make them sound the way he wants to anymore. The mask finally cracks under the pressure.

Matching with how the Awakening lines share a specific theme, the Corrosion lines do as well. Dimension Shredder Corroded dialogue lines all seem to express some form of realization that they are finally free.

Yi Sang's Corrosion line describes how the alley he's going down does in fact have an exit. It's an open one. Not only is it a reference to Poem No. 1 from Crow's Eye View, but the way Yi Sang speaks it is very interesting here. His tone is fully confident, and even seems to lack the usual tired breathiness that Yi Sang usually has.

Good thing I'm writing this after Canto IV has come out, because... All of that is reflected in Yi Sang's character arc. He does realize that the alley is open. He does realize he can keep moving forward. And, most importantly, he does gain the confidence to not let himself be stopped.

With all of that context, let's look at Hong Lu's Corrosion line. His dialogue line expresses how nobody (or nothing) is forcing him to "be located there", causing him to fall into a fit of gasping laughter. There is something. Incredibly disturbing about this line to me. It's this dichotomy between Hong Lu hesitantly realizing that he's no longer stuck, that nobody is ordering him around anymore, and his downright histerical sounding delivery.

Since we don't have Hong Lu's Canto just yet, I can't do the same comparison as I did with Yi Sang... But I could try to predict what Hong Lu's Canto could end on if we assume this line is foreshadowing it the same way Yi Sang's was.

I think Canto 8 will show us Hong Lu finally break. There will be no more mask to hide behind, just a flood of emotions that had been held back for all of his life. Most importantly though, it won't be pretty. If there's any Sinner who will be in need of emotional catharsis through a mental breakdown boss battle, Hong Lu seems like the perfect candidate for that. Either that or Hong Lu just straight up fucking murders someone on screen. Ideally both.

There's probably more I can analyze based on the visual designs of the E.G.O... But honestly this already got way fucking longer than the Roseate Desire analysis so I'll just leave you with the mental image of me chanting Hong Lu Commit Fratricide.

[cenorii]

In 2021, dirty secrets about the use of bioweapons are revealed inside BSAA + there are direct hints in Umbrella Corps that Wesker is alive. I just combine the two puzzle pieces together in my head. So let's look at another interesting post-2009 scenario.

AU - ELEGY OF FREE RADICALS

Chris was once careless about eliminating Wesker. Knowing his nature, he still didn't check Wesker's presumed place of death properly. Relying on his own luck, Chris left the place of battle and never returned there. But he had to go back. It has become his mistake.

Chris reported the scene of the victory to the BSAA. Rotten BSAA could have used that data in any way they wanted. Like going back there and checking out the volcano. They could have indicated on the documents that they were headed to clear the area of the remnants of Uroboros, but in fact to search for Wesker's remains to get rich off the sale and study of his unique biomaterial. But what they didn't expect was to find him alive. Badly injured, helpless, but somehow alive.

Taking advantage of the weakness of the still living organism, he was taken to the secret laboratory of the headquarters. Now Wesker could be under the supervision of BSAA scientists for a very long time. He's much more useful alive than dead. His knowledge, skills, all of it could be utilized. And it was also possible to conduct endless experiments on his unusual body... Testing the limits of his abilities, testing various poisons, looking at the lethality of their new weapons, and etc. He was once again a puppet, as he had once been in Spencer's hands, from which he had miraculously escaped.

The BSAA kept Wesker's abilities under strict control, he was trivially stripped of any PG67A/W injections, replaced with an alternative that was only necessary for his body to regenerate damage after the battle in the volcano, but didn't provide any additional benefits. So he would remain weak but healthy.

Another remedy was also applied to him, eliminating the consequences of merging with the Uroboros, which modified his body in a volcano. It was discovered in 2011, after the events of Revelations 2. It was rude to call it just a serum, it was something more, because it did not remove the virus itself from the body, but brought it into a more stable form, allowing Wesker to take his ordinary appearance. With him, in this form, it became easier for employees to work.

The BSAA restored Wesker, stripped of his strength, any dignity, as well as his freedom. He was bedridden for several years and various weapons were tested on him, then recorded how his body reacted and at what rate it recovered. An immobilized lab rat, a deserved punishment for someone like him? Perhaps. It was thanks to his "sacrifice" that the anti-regeneration weapon was invented, which had once come in handy for Chris in the battle against Mold.

Just think… how many things could the BSAA have invented using the infinite resources of Wesker's body? He was terrified of these thoughts. Terror at the realization that he had no chance of escape, that he was trapped here forever, that he would continue to have his organs taken out of him and be forced into endless pain. He reflected that he hadn't actually managed to do so many contradictory things to deserve eternal torment. And it's better to let him die than to endure this hell. But his own body played a cruel joke without dying. It was an expert on regeneration. His pride was trampled when he begged for death.

BSAA absolutely did not spend any painkillers and sleeping pills on Wesker, absolutely all experiments were carried out when he was conscious. They had already spent a lot of money on him during his recovery, it was a waste to spend even more on someone who could repair any of his damage.

Pain and terror haunted him for six years. He cursed what he used to idolize in himself.

And then he was forced to work for them. In 6 years he had grown accustomed to the constant pain and had already learned to see himself as nothing, sending his consciousness into free floating. Deep in his thoughts, he created a place where he learned to ignore the endless physical torment. But when he was put on his feet and pulled out of this place… Wesker was even more devastated.

It was unusual for him to suddenly return to normal work, all this created a mess in his head, reality seemed to be nonsense. The usual paperwork after hell? Are you kidding me?!

Morally, he was destroyed. His psyche was severely damaged. Wesker from the "torture room" was locked in a cell that looked like a combination of a room and a laboratory. For fear of being put back on the operating table again, he dutifully began to work and develop various things that BSAA would use in the future. But it wasn't life either. Weakened body, lack of abilities... he wanted to die, but he couldn't afford it, because he was practically immortal. Although, even if he used a weapon that stops regeneration on himself... he still wouldn't kill himself.

«Not here»

«Not like this»

At times he thought he was balancing on the fine line between normalcy and insanity. He saw people at best once every two weeks who came to check on his work and were not at all talkative. Wesker had always been convinced he didn't need company, but 12 years without socializing had made him question his beliefs.

Once a month he was provided with food, and then carelessly, because he didn't need food. His body, experiencing hunger, could devour itself and regenerate immediately.

The only reason he was given a room and released from the operating table was because the organization wanted to see what he could offer them. Of course, they didn't stop studying his unusual body and conducting experiments, but Wesker was already in charge of the process himself. Independently amputated his limbs and so on. Only closer to 2019 were these experiments stopped, because they had extracted all possible benefits from his body.

Wesker remotely, horrified, realized that thanks to his body he would live much longer than the average person, if not forever. Which led him to believe that he would be kept in this cage for centuries. BSAA would close, others would take their place, find him, torture him again. And so on in a circle, for all eternity, as long as human society and greed existed. This had to end... but how? A plan was needed, a complex one that could not be unraveled.

His life and existence was a BSAA mystery from 2009-2021. For 12 long years he was not allowed out of the walls of this cell.

Of course he wanted to escape, he had many unrealistic thoughts in his head about it. He was also interested in meeting Chris, aged, changed. To see his reaction, genuine shock rather than the anger he'd reacted to Wesker's earlier 'resurrections'. Is Chris even still alive today? What year is it now?

But this life couldn't go on forever, the BSAA was cracking at the seams. In 2021 it was revealed that they were using B.O.W. soldiers, something Chris couldn't ignore. So he headed over to European headquarters to deal with it - right where his nemesis was located, a complete headache. Chris couldn't accept that his organization, which was fighting biological weapons, would use them. It didn't fit in his head. He had long ago stopped trusting the BSAA, but this was the last straw.

Arriving there, Chris did not expect to meet someone in the basement laboratories whom he had buried a long time ago.

What was he going to do with him? Shoot him in the head without any thought? That would have been logical and in Redfield's character, but over the years he'd stopped being a complete hothead, learned to think first and then act. Gained a little equanimity.

It will turn out that it was Wesker who was involved in the creation of the B.O.W. in BSAA. Especially since these soldiers are improved clones of Chris himself. Who else could have come up with such an idea? Only to a man who thought Chris was "one of his best men".

For the past 6 years, Wesker has been forced to be an advisor to BSAA, sharing all the knowledge and ideas. He might have been able to pull it all off, if only to get back at that organization, turning Chris' anger on it, and turning his attention to himself at the same time. After all, only this "one of his best men" was the only one who could save him. Yes, Wesker was pathetic. He felt he wasn't even worthy of his former name, being so pathetic as to enlist the help of his enemy. But it was the only option. There was no more talk of pride.

However, it didn't matter now, Chris had come here to punish the founders, so their prisoner, their chief counselor, might prove to be the best informant. And an ally.

Natural intuition made Chris believe his former enemy, the biggest manipulator of them all. As if he was definitely not lying now, because he was in such a big asshole that he couldn't let his words sound unconvincing. Earlier, Chris would have easily recognized his lies, but not now. Right now, completely honest and dull eyes were looking at him from beneath translucent glasses. So damn pitiful that Chris automatically assumed the role of the hero rescuing the damsel in distress.

Chris was quickly combine the information together in his head: the situation, the physique, the setting... His opponent had been held hostage by his own ambition, it couldn't help but bring a smile to Redfield's face. But he hid it in his thoughts, because he deemed it inappropriate once he read Wesker's imprisonment papers. Chris had some free time to devote to the situation.

He read about what had been done to Wesker. About all the torture. And Redfield clutched his head, when he got to the description of his ammunition that he'd used against Mold a couple years ago. He was terrified that this weapon had been created in such a gruesome way... through the suffering of his enemy, who, even considering all his guilt, didn't deserve all this. Chris felt that Wesker should have died and rid the world of himself rather than suffer endlessly. Even for him, he thought it was inhumane.

The first thing Wesker said to Chris was: - Now you've taken on the role of captain of the «alpha» too. This jabbed Chris slightly, but he noticed how the hostage said it without malice. Redfield involuntarily remembered 1998, the mansion, the betrayal, the deaths of the Alpha and Bravo group...

The compartment Wesker was in was to him both an office and a laboratory, and a room. A kind of prison, which he could not leave on his own because of his weak physical condition. He was weakened by the daily injections putting his viruses inside his body to sleep.

Releasing him and examining him at arm's length, Chris made sure that in the state Wesker was in now, he posed no danger, just an ordinary disgust. He resembled only a pale copy of his former self.

The BSAA operative dragged him carelessly behind him like some sack of garbage, concerned only with keeping the information in his head intact. But in his mind Chris still held images of what the BSAA bastards were doing here to Wesker. He didn't want to feel sorry for him, but he couldn't control it, Redfield had never been heartless. Initially he had only cared about information, but it wasn't long before he didn't even notice how protective he had become of him. As if a friend, which in truth, he never was. His captive's behavior was different from what Chris remembered. It was different, like a throwback to the past. Perhaps 12 years of imprisonment had had that effect on him.

He was docile, which wasn't surprising, since Wesker had been treated like an object by the organization, and the operating table had been a good teaching moment. Chris couldn't believe that after so many years of hell his former enemy's mind was still intact, that he hadn't lost his mind and was capable of dialog.

Time passed unnoticed during the proceedings with the BSAA about B.O.W., eventually the organization was destroyed and all its equipment, along with Chris's squad, transferred to TerraSave.

Chris during all of this had to sign Wesker into the Hound Wolf Squad as either a prisoner or an advisor. To keep him from getting shut down again, that was the deal. He helps them, they help him. Over time, he was getting back to normal. The food and good company had done their job.

However, Chris didn't know that his new ally hadn't lost all of his strength, and the ones he had were sleeping under the influence of the medicament. But time passed, the medicament slowly stopped working without new doses, and Wesker understood it perfectly well. And felt it. It didn't affect his appearance, so he could play his role for as long as he wanted. But was it a role? Sure he was portraying a courtesy that annoyed Chris to the point of nausea, but it was partially sincere. Having broken with his past at the fault of the BSAA, Wesker could only hope to find a new purpose. After all, as Spencer had raised him, there is no life without purpose.

Therefore, was it so necessary for him to betray Hound Wolf Squad? Would it be beneficial to him? Chris is a strong point. He has no doubt that if he kills Redfield - another will take his place, and will definitely get him into the basement wheel of samsara. So Wesker had no grand plans yet. After all, any of them would be doomed to failure as long as there was anyone in the world capable of resisting.

But Chris risked to give him a goal, which, however, called impossible - to become the best version of himself. To help the Hound Wolf Squad, to work with TerraSave, to use his knowledge for something other than endless failed experiments. Stop being Spencer's failed experiment. The only option Chris would give him a chance at.

Those words stuck in Wesker's head for a long time. Mentioning the old man was like a low blow. Chris knew where it hurt the most.

It had been several years since Wesker had joined Redfield's team. All that time he'd been hiding his abilities so as not to lose the fragile trust in his person. But the truth couldn't help but surface one day....

On one of the missions connected with B.O.W., the blade of an exploding helicopter blew off Wesker's head, and then another piece of debris cut his body in half.

But he didn't die.

Chris was enraged. With resentment, he felt cheated. What else could he have expected?

First, the black mass connected the body, restoring functionality to it, and then this silent carcass picked up the head. It was slow. It looked helpless and creepy. Chris's squad was on edge, but he ordered to wait. The black substance emerged from the base of the neck and attached the head to itself, then the calm expression on the reanimated head changed to horror. Was he in unbearable pain from the newly received oxygen? Or from the fusion of tendons?

When Wesker recovered, he couldn't at first think of a response to Chris' "explain yourself!"

Everyone's fragile trust collapsed, but not Redfield's, for he knew that if his former adversary had wanted to betray him, he would have betrayed him long ago, he wouldn't have let himself be so ridiculously exposed. Especially after all the torture he'd endured. Chris could understand why Wesker was hiding his powers. Redfield had stepped on the same rake of trust again, convincing himself that he had everything under control.

Wesker, ever since the prototype had merged with Uroboros in his body, had acquired a number of flaws, chief among them an unbearable sensitivity to pain. The only time he could not feel pain was when he was BSAA injected with force restraining drugs. But without them, all the disadvantages came out.

Whereas before he could recover from any wound without feeling anything but minor damage, now the pain was so obvious that every regeneration was accompanied by agony. Especially if it was a burn, for heat is a major weakness for Uroboros. The healing places on his body, after that helicopter situation, hurt like hell.

He was closer to human now than he had been before, and Chris seemed to realize that. That was why he hadn't killed him a second time, but had accepted him back into his squad. It was not only a gesture of goodwill, but also a precaution, a way to keep a dangerous object as close to him as possible so he wouldn't do anything.

How long will they have to cut off the heads of hydra in the face of the creators of bioweapons?

- Why do you trust me, Chris?

- I still believe that anyone can become the best version of themselves. We should prioritize fighting for the future to give someone a quiet life that you and I have been robbed of. I know about Project W. Together we can stop new organizations and prevent many tragedies like this from happening again. And you can help us, Wesker. BSAA took away your choice, but I'm giving it to you now.

Wesker at first couldn't find the words to respond, but after a moment he barely audibly whispered: "Thank you."

From a man who never thanked anyone, Chris was shocked to hear that. And he was proud of him. Had he forgiven him? No, his deeds were unforgivable. But Chris wasn't the kind of man who would turn his back on his one chance to make things right, to make things right on Earth, to save someone's life. In this truce, he sees a future that's bright for everyone.

[meztliel]

Day 4: Rain/Umbrella

For: @dbshipsweek

Pair: Truten

Rated: Teen+

***

Goten and Trunks have shared many things throughout their lifelong history.

Toys and weapons, friends and enemies, laughter and anger… even the same body. An umbrella had not been one of them until today.

“Gotta protect your stupidly expensive suit.” 

Goten, looking ridiculous (and adorable) in a hooded, green waterproof poncho, dutifully holds an umbrella up and over Trunks’s head, exceeding his role as a newly-hired executive assistant to an almost annoying degree. 

“I'll just buy another if it gets ruined,” Trunks says, his blasé tone undermining his appreciation of the chivalrous gesture.

They were coming back from their lunch break at their favorite spot when the trickle happened, lasting just long enough for Goten to pull out his rain gear before the rain really started hitting. 

His best friend, now turned employee, had warned Trunks about the likelihood of rain, despite the skies being blue and the clouds mostly white moments before the downpour. 

His friend has always had a stronger sense of intuition when it comes to all things living and natural. A keen insight of people and animals, of monsters, gods, and aliens. Of nature and, of course, the weather. 

Meanwhile Trunks has, much like his grandfather, relied more on strategy rather than instinct; on finding ways to succeed in both a battle and in business through methodical means over “gut feelings.”

Not that either one of the men is devoid of one quality to make room for the other; Goten doesn't jump into a fight without first assessing the risks and advantages he has over an opponent, and Trunks can read energy –or ki – without needing to hone in using his elevated Saiyan senses. 

They work well together because of their innate, complementary qualities, combining forces to make an almost perfectly balanced whole. His Yin to his Yan. His other half. 

Trunks fists a hand above Goten’s grip on the metallic stem of the umbrella, wrapping the other arm to pull Goten into and under the dome along with him, the patter of raindrops drowning the heartbeat– Goten’s heartbeat– drumming in his ears as they walk shoulder-to-shoulder to the Capsule Corp building looming just up the street. 

They've been physically close numerous times. Besides joining bodies to become one single entity, they've fallen asleep on the couch together, have wrestled on the ground, bathed fully naked in hot springs. But the closeness that was once normal and regular between them has somewhat recently transformed into something that feels more…intimate, more personal. A layer of intimacy that isn't quite tangible, defined. Beyond physical. 

“There's no point in us both being under an umbrella if you’re gonna get wet,” Goten says. Despite his words, he doesn't make an effort to separate from Trunks, his wet poncho cold against the blended material of Trunks's designer suit. 

The two men shake off what wetness remains stuck to them and dry off with towels handed to them by an intern, making their way up the polished steps and matching their pace with one another, appearing more as business partners than an employer and employee. In a way, they are, though their professional relation is only one aspect of a deeper, infinitely more meaningful bond. 

Goten runs his fingers along his dark, damp hair one more time, a simple act of grooming that has Trunks staring in, he realizes, appraisal. He stares even longer as he takes in how Goten's business-appropriate hairstyle has resumed to its natural, tousled and spiky state. Trunks prefers this hairstyle on him, however, in a professional setting, it unfortunately won't do.

Without further thought, Trunks whips out a comb and restyles Goten's thick, incongruously silky spikes to something like a business-casual pompadour, setting it with a salon-grade hair pomade he keeps in his briefcase in case of, well, rainy days. 

“Lookin’ sharp,” Trunks declares, “You're welcome.”

With a roll of his eyes, Goten swipes the comb from his hand and does the same for him, tidying up his parted, indigo hair. Trunks suppresses the urge to contently sigh at the sensation of his scalp being scraped by the teeth of the comb, wishing for an unbidden, fleeting moment that it was Goten's fingers running through his hair instead. 

Lately, he's been craving frequent physical contact from another person, and Trunks thought he could satiate that need by getting a girlfriend he hardly likes but is extremely attracted to. Nice, but ultimately unfulfilling. 

What he really wants is not something he's ready to say out loud, to accept fully and openly, outb of fear it may ruin what they do have, what has always been and has always worked. Over and over he has rationalized that what he really wants will imbalance and disrupt their connection, will create an upheaval he's not prepared to fix and resolve the way he fixes and resolves problems that arise in the company, in battle and in lesser personal relationships. 

“Your hair is getting long. You should let it grow,” Goten says, evaluating his work with a ponderous expression. 

He hasn't given too much thought about his hair. Too busy, all the time. If not with work, with other thoughts. 

“So schedule me an appointment with Ferrer.” Ferrer is the only hairstylist he trusts. Ferrer also hits on him on every visit, but Trunks doesn't mind because Ferrer is also super hot, though their flirtatious exchanges have never crossed professional boundaries. As it should be. 

“You got it, boss,” Goten says with a salute, a minimal amount of sarcasm behind his words and gesture. 

Sometimes it feels weird that he's technically his childhood best friend's boss, but as he often is in other aspects in life, Goten isn't bothered by being second rank to anyone. When your father is the savior of the world, of multiple friggin universes even, and your older brother saved the Earth once when he'd been almost a decade old, then you kind of learn to accept you're not the best of the best, but you're still pretty great on your own. Goten is more than great, really. 

Before they separate to go to their individual offices, Trunks pauses.

“And schedule a training sesh with you for later today.”

The smile that tends to be perpetually stamped on Goten's boyish face widens, bright as the sun parting the clouds.

“Where at? The gravity chamber? A  barren, neighboring planet?”

“Have your dad take us somewhere unexpected. Somewhere it's not raining.” 

Though, Trunks thinks, it could be fun sparring in the rain, their clothes wet and clinging to their bodies, the wet sound of flesh hitting flesh, Goten panting and soaking… removing his top to unburden himself from its weight, his bare chest heaving as rain mixes with his sweat, slickening his taut skin…

“He's gonna want to spar with us and end up kicking our asses as per usual.”

“I'll ask Bulla to ask my dad to keep him busy.” Vegeta only ever listens to his little princess, and occasionally but not always, Bulma, his wife and Trunks's mom. 

“It's a date,” Goten says and, upon catching on to how that could be misinterpreted as something unprofessional to the colleagues around them, he quickly adds, “You know what I mean.”

 ‘It's a date’ … Well, it could be, if Trunks stopped being a coward and closed in on the tension that's been brewing between them in the last couple of years since entering adulthood.

“Actually, Goten,” Trunks calls out from behind him, prompting Goten to halfway turn mid-walk. “Let's train at my place.”

In his family's vast sprawling land. In the rain.