#landmine blasts

[cacaocheri]

some of my favorite doodles in a magma with @karoochui ‼️‼️‼️ we are so so normal about the dca you guys please trust

[znarikia]

Oh hey, Signalis takes place on Ariane's birthday.

[harunayuuka2060]

Ace: Do you think Prefect is alright?

Deuce: Why won't they be? It's their vacation.

Ace: Yeah. I guess you're right. *received a notification*

MC: *took a photo of themselves*

MC: Guess who's standing on a landmine~

MC: Feeling cute before the blast (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

Ace and Deuce: *lets out a horrified scream* PREFECT!!!

[howtofightwrite]

How well would a claymore mine field fare against troopers of a late medieval army (say, Swiss halberdiers in half armor)? How far away do the troopers need to be in order to have a good chance at survival? And how would a medieval army like that react to their leader hitting a landmine and getting blown up? Would they turn back and flee? Disperse away from the road? Or would they freeze up and lose unit cohesion?

In the words of the esteemed Dr. Farnsworth, “to shreds you say?”

So, for those unfamiliar, claymore mines use a shape charge to propel the shrapnel in a fixed cone (most the shrapnel is propelled in a roughly 45 degree arc, with almost all of it landing within a 90 degree arc of where it's pointed.) These can be rigged up with tripwires, or remote detonators. This is achieved by placing a fairly heavy plate behind the explosive, while the primary payload of eventual shrapnel is placed in front of it.

You don't technically hit a claymore mine. Again, these are shape charges, and designed to propel the destructive force (mostly) horizontally, so, you'd hit the tripwire, or a sentry with a detonator would activate it, possibly without even being detected by the people in the mine's kill zone.

Claymores have an optimal range of about 50 meters, with a maximum range of ~250 meters. So, “exactly how good do you consider your odds?” Because at 50m, the chances of being hit by fatal amounts of shrapnel is estimated to be about ~30%. (Obviously, in other circumstances, such as if you've got claymores set up in a confined concrete bunker, they're going to get a lot more dangerous.)

Also, we don't generally keep tight marching formations the way that early modern troops used, because modern weapons are horrifically effective against them. That Futurama quote is on the nose, because against a densely packed group of soldiers in early modern armor, the blast will likely hit almost all of them, and will, quite literally, blow many, if not most, of them apart. To put this more simply, using early modern military doctrine, they'd all be in the mine's kill zone when it went off, and their armor would do absolutely nothing to help them. In fact, this might be a case where their armor would further contribute to the shrapnel.

As for how they would react? I suspect most of them would take the ignoble option of dying almost instantly in the initial blast or shortly after from blood loss and extreme trauma. Would the survivors who could break and flee? Quite possibly. They also, quite likely, wouldn't even really understand what happened, simply because they'd never seen destructive force on that kind of scale before. “Would they lose cohesion?” My brother in Alfred Nobel's exploding cocktail lounge; they'd be losing biological cohesion with themselves. There wouldn't be a surviving unit.

There was a paradigm shift in the first World War. The stage had been set in the late 19th century, but most European armies didn't realize what had happened (and in fact, military leadership of the time stayed willfully ignorant) until after it came home.

Before this point, there was a concept of being able to “trade hits.” The halberdiers were expected to march into melee combat against other melee forces. This even survived the introduction of gunpowder units, and was still dominant military doctrine through the 19th century, where soldiers were expected to march in rank and file out onto the battlefield before shooting at each other in tightly packed formations.

What happened in the late 19th century was the development of weapons that were able to deal death with such speed and efficiency that getting into melee combat was no longer possible. The old, tightly packed, formations went from being an effective way to get troops into combat, to an effective way to see your troops completely eliminated by a single conscript's heavy machinegun fire.

The effective paradigm of infantry combat is now that your foes have the ability to end your existence, so you need to avoid their weapons (and preferably their detection) completely, until you can end them. (Yes, armor still exists, yes, it does work, but it's contingency you hope you don't need, rather than protection you expect to use.) Combat today is about controlling line of sight. Marching a squad of troops out onto the battlefield in tight formation wouldn't work, because a couple snipers with mediocre positioning could decimate them.

The claymore is part of this new paradigm. If you're in the kill range, unless you're in some radically more advanced armor than it was designed to deal with, you're going to have a bad day when it goes off.

We don't wear the same kinds of armor that those halberdiers used, because modern handgun rounds will perforate those. Modern armor does, sometimes, use steel plates (or, Kevlar, ceramic, or some polymers), as inserts but, the kind of steel used is significantly more resistant to modern bullets than what those early modern soldiers wore.

So, blown to shreds.

-Starke

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[transmechanicus]

It's my Machine God given right to have a little arsenal of explosives and bullets that I have done wicked little upgrades to. This landmine teleports everything in the blast radius 10ft straight up. This .22 is superheated prior to firing. I filled my shotgun shells with radioactive waste. I've got a 40mm grenade that unleashes a starving extradimensional octopus when it detonates. This flintlock pistol shoots a hypermagnetized round that will accelerate metal debris into you until you're impaled or crushed by the accumulating mass. I need access to chemicals and industrial machinery so bad.

[shygirl4991]

Valentines Test

A gift for @alianarepasa Happy Early Valentines Day! Summary:  SMG3 and Fours fighting has gotten worse over the past week, being done with the fighting SMG1 and two slap a bracelet on the pair forcing them to swap bodies. Now the boys must go on several outings to find the spark to swap them back.  

Tag: Fluff, bodyswap, confessions, first kiss

They have had it with all the fighting at the castle, SMG1 told the pair that they needed to start getting along or else their meme powers won't work. Since then everything they have attempted to make them grow closer just made them fight,  annoyed at how at the results of the training One and Two created a special bracelet for them. At the next training event they slap the bracelet on them “These bracelets are to measure your meme energy, if the numbers are high then nothing should happen but if they hit low numbers well you two will be in for a surprise!” 

The pair exchange a look before SMG3 scoffs “Please the only reason we end up fighting is because this idiot doesn't know how to follow instructions.” hearing this SMG4 glares at Three “WHAT?! I follow instructions!” SMG1 sighs seeing that an agreement was about to happen, worried SMG2 chimes in “Hey you two why don't we do some basic practice!” It was too late as the boys had already started to argue about who pays attention more in their training and who was the better guardian. The bracelet started to beep loudly, Hearing the beeping SMG1 and Two nod at each other and run out of the room, Three looked at his wrist confused before a blast of light hit the guardians. Both men were on the floor groaning as SMG1 walked back in, sighing “Now your real lesson has begun. You two have been fighting way too much for this to be normal, so your lesson is to fix the curse me and Two put on you.”

SMG3 gets up from the floor confused “Curse?” he covers his mouth confused as to why he heard his ex rivals voice. He turned his head to see his body getting up looking around confused, they made eye contact and realized what the curse is they pointed at each “WE SWAPPED BODIES!?” One nods pointing to the bracelet “Once you two have settled whatever is going on the bracelet will be able to track your link, the moment the link is stabled you get your bodies back.” Two nods handing them a packet with locations for the pair to go to. Three glares at the man in his body, then starts reading the pages “ I HAVE TO ACT LIKE FOUR!?” The day couldn't get worse. Two claps his hand opening a portal and throwing the pair to their first location, a park with a valentines event going on.  They blink, exchanging looks, in the whole mess of training and doing their jobs the men forgot that today was the day of love. Shroomy sees them and waves at them as he hands the pair heart necklaces, amusingly enough Three got a purple heart and Four got the blue one. 

“Hiya fellas! Happy you can come, partner up we have fun games for you two to be a part of!” The mushroom man walks away as the two men stand there looking around the park in shock, Three sighs “We have to partner with each other, it's the only way to get our bodies back.” He puts the purple necklace on the faces Four waiting for an answer. Nervously he puts on the blue necklace “We have known each other for years, but I have no idea how I can act as you for this whole thing! I mean you cheat your way to victory, I can't do that!” Three scoffs “I can cheat for us, being you will make it easy after all you have the perfect eyes,” Four blushes at the comment. With them coming to an agreement they sign up as the ship name that Boopkins told them a few months back, they then line up with the other couples. The first game was a race across a landmine field, Four looked nervous at the floor while Three rolled his eyes “Don't make me look like a bitch come on!” Something felt weird as Three ran; it was as if was lighter on his feet. On instinct he did a front flip avoiding the explosion as he lands on his feet he turns in shock “You could just fucking do that?!” Four rolled his eyes walking up the Three “Nice cover on acting as me dumbass, but yes im very um flippy.” 

Three started to look at Four’s body in awe causing the other man's face to go red, he grabs Three and starts to drag him “Please stop checking me out!” hearing that Three blushes “Oi! I wasn't checking you out that be gay!” an explosion happens causing Four to jump grabbing onto Three. They both noticed the strange looks they were getting, slowly they pulled their hats down to hide their faces. Round one was done and both men were already done, Four fell to his knees “Ugh i hated all that, how is avoiding landmines a way to show love with your partner!?” Three shrugs “Cause you didn't use them as bait? The hell do i know what goes through shroomys head.”

A loud bell rings letting them know round two was starting, this one was an obstacle course, Three blue eyes twitch as he looks around “We could try to cheat around some of the paths…”  he walks up to Four and switches their hats “Mind if i wear my hat for this, dont care doing it anyways!” Four would be annoyed by the man's tone but he was too happy to have his own hat back. They walk to the starting line waiting for the sign to start the track. As the gun fires the couples start to run, Three takes Four’s hand and pulls him. Running hand in hand they would pull each other out of danger, with a smirk from Three he slips his hand under his hat taking out a bomb. Four lets go of Three’s hand in surprise “Why do we need bombs?!” He watches his partner turn, lighting the bomb and throwing it at the group behind him. The other couples scream running away as the explosion causes rocks to fall covering the path, Three being distracted didn't notice a medium size rock was coming at him. Seeing this Four picks up Three pushing on out of the way, Three opens his eyes to go red in the face when he sees Four on top of him. 

Three wasn't sure what could be doing this, maybe it's their cosmic link or maybe it's because he knows the soul in the body. The point was Three did not see himself in that moment, he saw SMG4 in his clothing looking down at him with concern filling his eyes. “You okay Three?” Four gently caressed Three’s face, they both got lost looking into each other's eyes as if something was pulling them closer. Hearing someone smacking into the rocks Three knocked down they both quickly get up “I’m fine let's hurry to the finish line!” as they run they don't notice the light flicker in their bracelets. They make it to the top and smile at each other, Meggy smirks seeing the pair “SMG3 and four? You two together for a couples challenge?” Both men get flustered taking a step away from each other “Listen squ- er Meggy nothing weird is happening with us two, we uh did it for the prize!” She points to the poster showing that the prize was a romantic trip to a ski lodge. Four blushes and steps in front of Three “What he means is…i wanted a vacation so uh,” he looks around before snapping his fingers “To advertise my cafe!” 

Meggy sighs giving them a small smile “You don't have to hide your relationship with your friends, we will accept you both!”  Three’s face goes deep red “WHAT?! FUCK THAT I WOULD NEVER DATE THIS IDIOT!”  Meggy stares at him wide eyed “whoa sorry Four didn't think.. You get that upset, “ Four sighs smacking Three “Ignoring him, thanks Meggy for being understanding but nothing is going on.” she stares at the pair confused. She gave them a look and was about to ask another question before Boopkin came in. “Hey guys, surprise you two are here!” 

Three  gives an awkward wave “Oh you're here too, are you guys helping host this?” Boopkins nods “Yeah! I didn't think you two would join this together. I'm so happy for you two!’ He walks to hug Three thinking he is Four.  Seeing this Three steps away from the fish only for the child to keep trying, Meggy and Four stand there watching Three scream as he runs from Boopkins attention.  Meggy looking at the pair steps in front of Three “ you love hugging Boopkins Four is everything okay?”  hearing this the man stood still as Boopkin hugged him. Four holds back laughing as he sees the amusement on Three's face, noticing Four finding the situation funny he walks over to the man.

“Find it funny huh?” Four gets nervous seeing the murderous look coming from him, Meggy watches as Tari walks up to her “Meggy everyone is here wondering what the hold up is.” She points to the pair in a fight while Boopkins attempts to get them to stop.  Tari frowns walking up to them showing them a rubber duck  “Come on guys we are friends here, let's get along, don't want to make archibald upset!”  They both glare at her and cause her to run hiding behind Meggy.

Meggy sighs blowing a whistle to get their attention “FINAL CHALLENGE GO!” she turns to comfort Tari, making Four feel guilty. As they walk to face the final challenge, four starts to think to himself why have they been fighting so much? He watches Three smirking seeing as the challenge was about climbing, he was all for doing the challenge given Four’s body was flexible and easier to move. While Three’s body was more built for strength. Four thinks back at what started their constant flights only to get interrupted by Three walking up to him “Hey idiot, you think we fooled your friends back there?” 

Four sighs looking back at his friends and smiles seeing Tari feeling better “Hopefully we did, but we have a bigger issue than that. Three i wanted to as-” the bell rings letting them know it was time. Four looks at the packet that was given to them as Three gets ready to climb up the tower to get the flag, he looks at the other locations and sighs. He wanted to get this body swap problem out of the way before he had to talk to more of his friends, he watches Three climb and jumps when someone touches his shoulder. Melony smiles at him “Sorry! I heard from Meggy that you were acting weird. Is this about Four?”

Hearing this caught his attention, taking a deep breath he played along. “Yeah..we have been fighting more, feels no matter what we do we just fight,” Melony nods rubbing her chin thinking. She then smiles and shows her notepad “Oh yeah! Why not draw what you want from him,” she shows him a drawing making him blush “like you did when we talked last time!” Taking the drawing he smiles softly, now he understands why they have been fighting so much, how could he be so blind. “You dumb tsundere,” thanking Melony he runs to the goal waiting for Three. His heart was starting to beat fast as he saw Three sliding down with the flag, the man smirking at him showing off the flag. All Four can think about was making Three’s drawing come true, the moment Three crosses the line he jumps up “Hell yeah! Finally we are done with this shit!”

Four walks up to the excited Three and surprises him by lifting him up and spinning him around, they both start to laugh from the excitement of winning. Melony gives a thumbs up to Four hoping to encourage him to make the move. He finishes spinning Three pulls him in without a second thought and kisses the man, the other contestants gasp while Meggy chuckles “Nothing happening huh?” Three getting over his shock kisses four back, the bracelet starts to beep loudly as a bright light covers the pair. They pull away surprised to see each other, the bracelets then unlock falling to the floor. They both laugh hugging “Thank god i'm back to being my sexy self again!” Four chuckles pulling away from the hug looking at him “Right you're the sexy one…oh uh..” they turn to see the group of people recording them while their friends were cheering them on.

Their face go red realizing they just kissed in front of everyone “Oh fuck…UGH WHY DID YOU DO THAT IDIOT!?” Four flashes the drawing Three did of them kissing “Cause you're such an idiot you couldn't tell me you had feelings for me!” Three takes the drawing then looks at the crowd before whispering “With our past i didn't think anything could happen…”

Four gives him a loving smile “Well it's happening and all it took was a body swap heh,” Three let out an awkward laugh taking Fours hand and running from the phones, he knew tomorrow SMG1 and two will learn about how their test went. Three wanted to dig a hole and die in it when that thought came to him, he turned to see Four holding his hand smiling “So..what does this mean for us?”

Four hums looking around to see if they were alone “I wouldn't mind trying out being a couple! Three blushes and nods “I would like that as long as you don't get us body swap again!”  Four laughs looking at the packet “Hey if we run out of date ideas maybe one in the future can spice things up!” Three groans as Four teases him on the way home.

[wifeofwandamaximoff]

Apricity

A/N: Not my best work but these were in my drafts, I also apologize for not posting a lot. I have another work that might be out soon.

Warnings: Angst, death?

Y/n pov:

"JARVIS search the area to see if its clear." Tony said. We were on a mission to gather some information about a nuclear weapon hydra apparently had.

I was with my mother and my girlfriend Wanda, slowly advancing towards the hydra base when I heard a click. I then stayed deathly still. Fearing if I move an inch the mine underneath my foot would blow up and everyone would die. The other two were ahead of me so they didn't see that I wasn't moving. I then press my ear piece to communicate with Tony.

"T-Tony."

"Yes mini Romanoff? he questioned me

"Dont freak out but I've stepped on a land mine. Get everyone out of here!" I demanded him.

"Kid we can't just leave you here your mother and girlfriend would kill us!"

"They'll understand Tony. Just say that im already on the quinjet."

The comms went silent when all of a sudden I heard footsteps coming closer to me. I looked up and saw my two favorite people.

My girlfriend and my mother. They both stopped when they came at least 1 feet away from me.

"Y/n why are you standing still Tony said to retreat?" questioned my mother. Then Tony and Steve started advancing towards us with some tools. And I knew Tony would try to use these tools to help me.

"Anthony Edward Stark! I said retreat not help!" I screeched at him. But again he didn't listen and Steve looks at me hesitatingly.

"Bubby what going on?" questioned my lovely girlfriend. I look slowly turned my head towards her. My lips trembling and my eyes welling up with tears. Wanda then started rushing towards me but I used my water to bring the ground water to the surface. Wanda stepped into my shield before I could fully close it.

"mamas you have to step out" I softly said. She looked at me confused why I even made a bubble. I then heard Tony yelling at me to take down the barrier so he could help me.

"Wanda im on a landmine." I told her which was the worst idea. She just stood their frozen still.

"Your joking right? Please tell me your kidding and its a sick prank that your playing. Because if it is you got me good bubby now please come here and hug me.

"Mamas im being serious no pranks no jokes."

"This can't be true!" Wanda sobbed out. I wanted so badly to wrap her in my arms where she felt safe in. I decided to let my mother know what happening since Tony is probably making Steve find out a way to break the barrier, even when Tony is one of the smartest person I know.

Wanda just stood there. Knowing if she came over and hugged me and kissed me the landmine would trigger and I would die. But she knew before I would die I would shield her with my elemental powers to keep her alive and safe.

I took down the barrier and saw my mother just sitting on the cold snowy ground waiting for me. While Tony was in the air holding his arm out ready to blast me but then realized I took the barrier down. Then Steve fell flat on his face which made me chuckle.

"Y/n River Romanoff you better fucking explain to me why Wanda is crying and why is Tony and Steve freaking out!?" shouted my mother.

I then said in a quiet voice, "I stepped on a landmine. Tony is trying ti figure out how to help me." 

"What!? Y/n you better be joking." I then shook my head to signal to my mother that I was telling the truth. My mother shook her head in denial that I was going to die.

"I-Its okay." I said to Tony.

I then made a barrier with my earth powers surrounding Tony and I with branches and vines.

"Tony take Wanda and let Steve take my mother. Leave me behind I assure you that they both will understand"

"Kid there has to be a way to help you! Im a genius I can figure it out just give me time!"

"Tony leave willingly or I'll make you leave" I said while giving him a cold hard stare.

Wanda's pov:

I started trying to pry the branches and vines out of the way. I then heard some cracking to my left and saw that Nat was using all her tools to break down the barrier.

"Girls stop" said a voice behind us. I whirled around and saw Steve.

"Are you fucking kidding me Rogers my daughter is in there! My fucking miracle is gonna die and I haven't even said I love you to her yet! So dont tell me to fucking stop Rogers!" screamed Natasha.

I just ignored them both and kept trying to break through when the barrier broke down. Making us all look at Y/n and Tony.

Tony looked at Steve and nodded then started to fly towards me. He then lifted me off the ground which I was shocked for a second but then it was instantly replaced with anger, panic, fear, and sadness.

"Anthony Stark let me down to see my girlfriend!" I yelled but it seemed to go deaf to his ears. I then started pounding my fists on his suit which hurt but that didn't matter to me. We both then arrived at the quinjet and was waiting for Steve and Nat to come back. I then realized I never go to tell her I loved her. 

We've only been dating for 8 months but im falling in love with her quickly its starting to scare me how fast I could fall in love with her then her being just someone in my memories and cameras. But cameras weren't enough to catch her beauty.

Tony then tied me up afraid that I would take off and go find Y/n. He wasn't wrong because I would've done it if he hadn't put the magic restricting handcuffs on me.

Nat and Steve then arrived. Nat was a sobbing mess. Begging Steve to go back and get her daughter. Steve just shook his head and went to the cockpit to leave. Tony also put handcuffs on Nat.

I then scooted over towards the window where I could see a small figure. I immediately knew it was my girlfriend. She then looked up at me and smiled. Almost knowing I would that I would do that.

The quinjet started to take off and I pounded my fists on the window. I then saw Y/n stepping off of the land mine once the quinjet was far away enough. I then screamed at Steve to go back to get Y/n.

I then heard loud sobs. I turned my head and saw Nat right next to me. She just scooted over and hugged me letting the tears fall freely. We both cried. Thats all we did was cry. 

Even after a week later the tears couldn't stop falling. My heart was shattered and no one could fix it. I know Y/n would want me to move on but I knew I could never love someone as much as I did with her. She was my apricity. She was the warmth and light in my life. without her I didn't know hot to feel. What to do with my life now.

[zevzevarainai]

i know i posted this screenshot earlier but I'm having Big Feelings about Joongi/Yeonsu. He grew up with everyone in his life telling him his purpose in life was to be replaceable. He was basically forced by his parents to get facial reconstruction surgery at a very young age to look identical to a man and told his purpose was to die in his place. Then that man got killed and he wasn't there to get murdered for him. Now he looks like a famous dead guy and has to learn how to live life. He devotes his life to Seonhee because she gives him a new purpose. He meets Ichiban and later refers to him as an acquired taste bc in reality, the ichigang taught him to just Be. He is fiercely loyal to both Seonhee and his new friends. He will learn completely new skills just to be useful. In y8, he gets upset when his friends all go help Kiryu and don't ask him to come along. He goes to Hawaii without telling his boss because he's worried about Ichiban and feels he can be useful to him. He's so excited to help Ichiban that he doesn't think to change out of his layered clothes for two days. He apologizes for getting hurt when he pushes Ichiban out of the blast radius of a landmine. He openly tells Ichiban how important he and their friends are to him. The screenshot is just from going up and talking to him. He wants so bad for his friends to know how special they are and the word "irreplaceable" specifically is So Much when you remember before y7 his purpose was to replace Joongi Han if/when he was targeted for assassination!! I need someone to tell Yeonsu that he is irreplaceable too!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!

[itsclydebitches]

Have you seen the posts going around saying shit like "If a mutual likes Hazbin Hotel I will block them"?? It's genuinely upsetting me tbh, not just the idea that people don't like the show, but that they despise it so much they can't even stand the thought of someone they know liking the show. It reminds me of the Steven Universe hate train only worse. They also say shit like "the show is just someone saying swear words and expecting you to laugh", and if for a second we put aside the fact that that is blatantly not true, what's wrong with that? I'm allowed to like something that's a bit trash, right? I've already seen two different people I follow reblog posts to that effect (and worse, someone saying all a character boils down to is "i love being sexually abused <3" and i don't know how they ever came to that conclusion) and it's driving me mad. And somehow I just know that they don't actually give a shit about any "controversies" surrounding vivziepop, that's just a convenient excuse for most of them. I don't even care if Vivzie is a bad person, that's none of my business. just live and let live, you know?

Sorry for ranting, you're literally the only blog i follow who posts Hazbin fan content

Rant away, friend! Luckily for me I haven't come across any of those posts yet. Plenty of discourse surrounding whether fans are allowed to make romantic and/or sexual content for Alastor, the expected shipping wars, and - as you say - vague references to Vivzie controversies (which I'm too new a fan to even be aware of yet)... but nothing that's a complete rejection of the show itself. That's probably because I've only engaged with blogs posting a lot of Hazbin content though.

I'm a big fan of old school Internet rules which includes an emphasis on cultivating your own online space. You know, the thing tumblr is explicitly designed for. So in theory I applaud anyone blocking users/tags for a show they're not a fan of. Performatively posting about it more as a way to guilt others for liking Hazbin at all... not so much. If you want to block something just block it. If you're mutuals with someone you both presumably like each others' content. Not all of it necessarily, but enough to have followed in the first place, and often being mutuals for long enough leads to friendship because you're both getting interacting with one another a lot. All of which isn't to say that people don't unfollow mutuals, or that you can't drop a mutual because they've started posting something you dislike. Obviously both situations do happen, but it feels like an extreme enough response that these posters probably aren't actually doing this very often. Most people will wait the mutual out until their interest gets hooked on something new, or block the Hazbin tag and keep the friend, or just block without making a big announcement about it. So posts like that feel more like a way to show off how much you dislike the show and guilt others for their enjoyment which yeah, can be upsetting to see. Especially when, as you say, it costs nothing to just let people like things.

Which might sound hypocritical on my part given my RWBY interests, but I think there's a big difference between critically examining a show while supporting others who genuinely love it, and simplistically blasting it. I COMPLETELY get why Hazbin wouldn't be to everyone's tastes and, like with the SU example, anything that gets popular enough is going to develop its haters (especially cartoons trying to tackle non-childish subjects. That's always going to be a fandom landmine). But if you're going to make claims about a show, at least watch it to ensure you can back up your stance? And if your takeaway is still, "This is the worst fucking thing I've ever watched"... cool. Go forth and write about that on your own, personal blog. But no one should be surprised when they're also blocked for bragging about how many Hazbin fans they've blocked.

[jtl-fics]

it's wip wednesday! i'm quite interested in surely?

1-10-24 WIP Wednesday (Closed) | Surely

Andrew doesn't want to have this conversation where Roland could overhear it. He probably doesn't actually want to have this conversation, but there are some emotional landmines that Neil seems determined to step on.

His mother always seemed to be one of them.

Andrew doesn't understand Neil's attachment to her, though Andrew has a hard time understanding anyone's attachment to a mother.

So he waits and watches Neil as Neil watches Roland and tries to figure out how to mitigate the blast damage of this particular landmine.

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[2nd-drop-me-safely-in-this-hell]

ladytrish pre-dmc 1 meeting au?

"A Premature Meeting"

Characters

Lady (Devil May Cry)

Trish (Devil May Cry)

Relationships

Lady x Trish

Premise

A sinister plot unfolds to lure the son of Sparda to his doom... But you know that story. This time around, however, a key player visits an old ally of Dante's just before events go into motion.

Content Warnings:

Firearms (Magically Resisted)

Explosives

Dismemberment (Magically Healed)

Canon Divergence

Author's Note:

This is actually a really good idea, thank you anon. I may actually write a follow-up to this, no promises though.

Lady flopped onto her couch, clutching Kalina Ann in her arms. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her riding suit, but all discomfort and soreness was outweighed by sheer exhaustion.

Her respite was cut short by a loud crash from the far wall. At once, Lady jumped behind the couch and took cover, peeking over to see her own motorcycle lying in the middle of her apartment, leaving a trail of glass and other rubble in its wake.

"What the hell?!" Lady roared.

As if to answer her question, the culprit made herself known. Landing behind the motorcycle was a tall, blonde woman, dressed in black leather boots, with skin-tight pants and a corset to match. Her hair was done up in a pony tail, and her eyes were hidden by a pair of sunglasses.

The woman looked fit, but there was no human explanation for throwing a motor vehicle into a second story window, then leaping in after it. Lady slung Kalina Ann onto her back, and placed a hand on her pistol - the human-sized demons tended to be too fast for Kalina Ann.

The mysterious woman turned, and met Lady's eyes. "Hm... One red eye, one green... Scar across the bridge of her nose... You're the one, alright."

"Tell me why you're here. Now." Lady drew her pistol. "Or else."

The intruder smiled. "Well well... You are a ferocious one, aren't y-"

Lady fired her pistol, hitting her right between the eyes. Even as the bullet crumpled and bounced off, leaving only a bruise, Lady's target grunted. "...That was rude." She hissed through gritted teeth.

Lady scoffed. "I don't know what's considered polite in the Underworld, but up here? Throwing motorcycles into people's windows doesn't exactly say 'I come in peace'."

The stranger chuckled. "I'll remember that next time."

"I won't ask you again." Lady cocked her pistol.

The woman smiled "I just need to know where I can find your friend, Dante."

Dante? Lady thought to herself. This woman knows him... Could she be another family member? Her hair isn't white, but she has his tan, and maybe his nose too...

"Who's asking?" Lady barked.

The demon glared. "No one's 'asking'. You're going to tell me. What's up to you is how much I'm going to hurt you first."

"Wrong answer." Lady fired her pistol again.

This time, the stranger dodged, and in an instant, she tossed the couch aside. "Right back at you." She then seized Lady by the throat, and lifted her off of her feet. "Surely you know by now that your only choice is to cooperate?"

"Think again." Lady retorted. "Look down."

The demon looked down to find that her right foot was planted on top of some sort of metal disk. "What's this?" She inquired.

"That's a landmine. Calibrated to fuck up demons like you." Lady answered.

The demon grinned smugly. "You've never faced a demon like me. I like my chances."

"But do you like mine? If you step off now, we'll both be caught in the blast. And I can't tell you anything if I'm dead." It was Lady's turn to look smug.

The woman's eyebrows raised, and her head cocked to the side. "Well played." At once, she tossed Lady over her shoulder.

She landed right beside her motorcycle, her leathers thankfully shielding her from the broken glass. Lady quickly got to her feet, and pushed the motorcycle upright.

"Oh, no you d-" The demon was cut off by a loud gang, and covered by a puff of smoke.

If this were a regular job, Lady would have stopped to make sure the demon was finished. Instead she climbed onto her motorcycle, and rode out of what used to be her window, landing in the street below and tearing away.

Who the hell was that?! Lady thought to herself. I better get myself to Dante's office. To warn him, and to get some answers.

* * *

"Agh, fuck me..." Trish came to, and looked down at herself to assess the damage. Her right leg was reduced to crystalized ichor. Nothing that wouldn't regenerate, and not nearly as painful as anything Mundus would bestow if he had witnessed this failure, but it was still a surprise.

As the stump began to extend into a complete leg again, she laid back down, and laughed to herself. Looks like I underestimated you, hunter. I hope this isn't the last we see of each other.

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Open When...

FEBRUARY FICLETS #1

A/N: Happy February, everyone! (Yes, it' true, January is finally over!) For me, has historically been a month of writing slumps and creative blocks. In an effort to try to fight that this year, I am choosing a few prompts from this list and writing something short for them. I have no idea how many I’ll get to, but for now here’s a little Ezra to get things started. This is part of the Angelfish universe.

Prompt: love letter

Warnings: brief mention of accident and injury

Word Count: 1.6k

Summary: Long distance relationships are always tough, especially when the distance spans different planetary systems. But you still find a way to be there for Ezra without ever leaving your post on Lau.

The relentless hum and buzz of life at Bahkroma base was silenced as Ezra reached his bunk and slid the door shut.

What a day. He sighed, bringing his right hand up to the back of his neck. The smallest tilt of his head released an audible pop of tension that he felt beneath his fingers. What a Kevva-fucked day.

Though the potential for danger on the Green Moon was always high, most dig shifts went smoothly. Trek out to the site, fill the day’s aurelac quota, secure the gems and trek back to base. The terrain was rough, the chemicals used to coax the gems from the fleshy roots was caustic, and without a filter the air would kill a person in just a handful of cycles. But when protocol was followed and equipment maintained - as it always was when Ezra was leading an expedition - the job could be done with relative safety.

Of course, there were still plenty of ways that a dig could go awry.

That day, it happened to be an expired vial of chem left behind by some drifter whose body had long since been consumed by the mossy forest floor. Flesh decays, and the Green is always hungry for carrion. But inorganic material remains for far longer - roto scalpels and extraction forceps left to rust, containers of phaser becoming covered by growth, laying in wait like landmines to be struck open by a drill head or pickaxe. Unlike some of the substances used in filtration and cleaning that lost potency over time, phaser solution only became more volatile. More dangerous.

Which was why Frontier Mining Company had invested in top of the line scanning equipment that checked the ground for evidence of abandoned dig sites before crews were cleared to begin.

The scans came up clean, though. Ezra stepped away from the door and crossed the small space that somehow felt smaller since you’d left for your posting on Big Blue. Choosing what had always been your side, he sat on the edge of the bed and gripped the mattress. They were clean. We were cleared, and then-

He screwed his eyes shut against the memory of what happened next - the distinct sound of metal finding glass, the hiss and bubble of the leaked fluid reacting to the water in the plantlife it spilled onto, the stillness in the half second before the explosion, and the anguished screams that came through the comms in his helmet.

In the end, it could have been worse. No one was killed. Everyone had been knocked to the ground, a few people had been banged up a bit. But Danelo, one of the crewmen Ezra had known for as long as he’d known you, had been the unlucky bastard whose ax had hit the vial. He lost a hand to the blast. Ezra had responded quickly, grabbing a field kit and loading the foam gun to cream up the wound as best as he could until the team was able to get the injured man back to base for proper medical treatment, and that had likely saved him from the worst of the infection.

It was still a grizzly sight. He opened his eyes and they landed on the photo he kept tacked up on the wall - one of you in his arms on the covered porch of your floating apartment out on the Skiffs, the shockingly blue water shimmering in the sunlight and your smile directed at him and not the camera. The picture instantly helped to put him at ease if only just a little. I’m glad you weren’t here for that, Angelfish.

He was glad, even though his missing you ran deeper than the ocean you were stationed beneath, that you were no longer at risk of falling prey to any of the Green Moon’s hidden perils. Glad that what happened to Danelo would never happen to you. Glad that your day to day operations on The Dive were far more stable than the wild nature of Aurelac mining. Even though he ached to hold you, especially on days when just a tiny shift in circumstance could have made it impossible for him to hold you ever again, Ezra was beyond relieved that your days on the Green were through. And that my own up here are numbered.

But days like that - and several others - were exactly what you had prepared for the last time you were both on leave together. Because you think of everything, don’t you?

Reaching up to the shelf that was built into the wall above the bed, Ezra pulled down a string-wrapped bundle of letters. There were fifteen in total, each of them meant for different occasions. You’d sealed each letter with a drop of wax and labeled them with their intended purposes. Open when you score a big pull. Open when your stand is halfway through. Open when it’s your birthday. Some of them were still sealed, awaiting the right time as per your instructions. Others were already opened, their pages folded and refolded along creases made by your hands so he could read and reread them as needed. Open when you can’t sleep. Open when you need a laugh. He thumbed through the semi-wrinkled paper, fingers finding the one he was looking for and pulling it from the stack.

Open when it’s been a hard day.

That one was still crisp and unopened. Slipping the shoes from his feet, Ezra swung his legs up onto the bed and leaned back against the wall, and then he slipped his finger between the edges and tore them apart. So far, every single one of your letters had perfectly matched whatever reason he’d had for opening them. Each one was a reminder of exactly what he needed to hear, as though you were right there. And each one only proved what he’d known for years - that you loved him just as much as he loved you. Let’s see what you’ve got to say this time.

Like always, as he read he could hear the words in your voice, as close and clear as though you were there tucked against his chest.

Oh, my Ezra,

A hard day, prospector? I’m sorry, love. These are the days that I wish I was with you the most. Even if just to put my arms around you to give you a few minutes of relief. You make all my worst days more bearable and the fact that I'm so far away on one of yours is something that I would change in a heartbeat if I could. But since I can’t, this will have to do.

Do you remember that day on H4, back at the training facility, when you asked me to partner up with you for the Vezna excursion? I’m sure you do. It was our first experience on a fire planet and we were both nervous about it. What I never told you, though, was that earlier that day I was very seriously considering leaving the Frontier program altogether. I’d blown my Sector Six practice exam that morning and even though the field assessment was still a week away, I could already hear the gossip. I knew most of the other trainees didn’t want me there, didn’t think I could hack it. None of them were eager to be put on a crew with me, and I was really starting to doubt myself. Doubt my dreams. It was my hardest day of the 582 that we spent there.

But then you came along and you had that smile on your face and you said “Angelfish, there’s no one I’d rather walk through the flames with.” And even though you didn’t know it, that was exactly what I needed to hear. That you saw me as someone who was strong enough to do hard things, even things that made you nervous, too. You saw me as someone to depend on, even when I couldn’t see it for myself.

Ezra, I don’t know what happened today to make you open this letter in particular. But I do know that what you said to me that day? I feel the same. There is no one in this or any universe that I would rather walk through flames with, because I know that you can. I know that whatever struggles the day brought you won’t keep you down, because you’re stronger than anything that might try to stop you.

And do you remember what happened after the Vezna excursion? After we got back to H4 and passed Sector Six? Those ten days we spent in The Ephrate during semester break? I do. And I know you do, too.

I love you, Ezra. You’ll get through this hard time, and we’ll be together again soon. So soon.

He read your letter three times that night, running his fingers over the indentations made by your pen, tracing the lines and curves of the letters where you signed your name. You always ended each letter the same way - Your Angelfish - and each time he read those two words they filled him with a warmth he’d only ever felt when you were there beside him. You were his, and he was more yours than his own.

Flattening the letter over the center of his chest, Ezra turned his head to glance at the photo again. “You always know what to say, Angelfish.”

The reassurance that you believed in him - believed that he was capable of doing what was necessary to get through the hard days, whatever they bring - was the reason he was able to fall asleep that night.

But your mention of that long ago trip to The Ephrate? That was the reason for the things he dreamed about. And he couldn’t wait to be back on the Skiffs with you to tell you and show you that yes, he absolutely remembered those ten days.

.

.

.

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[blazehedgehog]

You said that you didn't like watching Scorpy for "reasons"... are you able to elaborate on that? I get it if not.

He just went through a phase of being weirdly aggressive about wanting to make loud noises. Like yelling into the mic so loud it creates static, that kind of stuff. Which I've heard from other RTVS people "that's just how Scorpy is" and that's fine, I guess. Let him live his truth. I'm not here to control anyone.

There's a whole generation of people 10 years younger than me that are like him and think "loud noise = funny" and I've never vibed with that. Never ever.

For one, when people do that stuff, it actually causes me pain. For two, if it stops hurting, then that's permanent hearing damage. My mother had hearing damage that as she got older rapidly went from "mild" to "severe" over the course of about ten years, and being with her for that was incredibly difficult for both of us.

She'd put the TV up to 70% because it was the only way she could hear anything, and one time I asked her to turn it down and she practically burst into tears because she knew it was a burden, she worried about it constantly, and she was even afraid the neighbors were going to start complaining. But there was nothing she could do.

In her own words, "What am I supposed to do? Just sit here in silence until I keel over dead?"

That kind of hearing damage compounds on itself. That's why it got so much worse, so fast. You damage your hearing once and now you're creeping up the volume dial just to hear normally, damaging your hearing more, and more, and more, like a multiplier.

Living with her, I bought construction site grade earplugs and wore them to bed every night. And I could still hear the TV from all the way across the apartment.

For three, I've actually had people who had to buy new phones because some kid blasted them with an extremely loud sound in a "funny" Youtube video and it actually blew out their speaker and ruined the phone.

So you're costing me money, you're costing me my health, and you're costing me my well-being.

Y'all are gonna need hearing aids before you're 50. And, for four: hearing aids are not a good fix for hearing damage. My mom actually tried multiple different types of hearing aids in the hopes they would help and she did not like a single one of them. And she's not the only one; I've read posts from at least one other person (with a listening disability, not just hearing damage) who said they went through years, decades even, of trying many many many different hearing aids, and all it did was make them tired of having to deal with it. Ultimately they decided they would rather embrace deafness than having to try yet another hearing aid, because none of them were a comfortable substitute for what normal hearing is like.

So if Scorpy is going to buy another awful Rock Band microphone, and use it to get weird and indignant and "ON THIS STREAM WE JUST MAKE LOUD SOUNDS!!! THAT'S JUST WHO I AM!!!! DEAL WITH IT OR LEAVE GRANDPA!!!!" then, yeah, I don't have to watch. So I haven't. I've cut back on just about all of my RTVS viewing as a similar result, too.

And I can all but guarantee that I will have better hearing at age 75 than Scorpy will have at age 45

Which is a bummer. I like Scorpy. He's a good entertainer. We're on very similar wavelengths sometimes. And I like RTVS as a whole. But there's always this worry I could be stepping on a landmine where somebody tries to eat their mic and the rest of the chat goes "yes they jingled the keys for me, do it again."

You only get five senses, folks. Don't willingly cripple any one of them, because once they're gone, they aren't coming back. Don't live to regret something you can't reverse.

Sorry to be the bummer, but I gotta look out for my own health.

[scarrletmoon]

.

seeing supposed leftist youtubers being intersexist and fatphobic on top of making content that’s just. solely about dunking on the right with zero substance. i’m feeling so disenchanted by it. i can count on one hand how many youtubers i trust that don’t have that smug refusal to accept legit criticism. it’s all “im right and i know im right bc here are my sources linked in the description you fucking loser” and i’m so tired

where’s the fucking compassion gone

like i know some of these people only turned left when the edgelord shit stopped earning them views, but now i feel like every new video is a potential landmine

people are leaving trans creators in the dust now that it’s not “cool” to support them anymore. everyone’s decided fatphobia isn’t real and “body positivity” was just a fad that’s gone out of style. everyone’s so busy tearing each others eyes out to be as disgustingly antisemitic as possible. i see more antisemitism than information or support for palestine/every post about palestine has some weird antisemitism thrown in just for fun apparently

like. is it that good creators are burning out bc making good content is so fucking hard? bc eventually you gain a platform where people shield you from your own shitty behavior? bc you just stop examining your own biases bc it’s way more fun to just be cruel? and anyone who criticizes you can be put on blast to everyone to dunk on for your entertainment?

i’m just tired, man. it feels like the small minority of obnoxious smug “leftists” are getting louder and it’s harder and harder to focus on care and compassion and kindness bc people will CRUSH you for daring to be kind. what’s the point of trying to be nice when the algorithm is going to chew you up and spit you out. what’s the point when the internet will turn on you for a second if you don’t tap dance hard enough for your audience

i guess i understand more and more why people i’ve looked up to eventually abandon the social internet bc it will make you into a crueler, nastier version of yourself and then tell you you’re happier that way

idk i’m just rambling, thinking about stuff, wallowing. i’m off my meds which means im even sadder and less optimistic than usual and im trying to figure out what’s best for me

in the meantime. my whole community is online but maybe i’m just not built for it. maybe i need to suck it up and just leave for good. at this point it seems to be causing me more pain than joy lately. i’m afraid if i stick around, i’ll turn into someone that horrifies me

and maybe i’ll feel better in the morning and everything won’t feel so bleak. who knows

[quirkwizard]

Landmine and Stress QM?

New Quirk Name: Outbreak

This Emitter type Quirk allows the user to build up bubbling, black masses around their body. The user can cause this black mass to release small bursts of the energy up contact with matter. The bursts are small, but decently strong, able to break through wood with their attacks. The user can spread this energy off this body up to short ranges around themselves, able to apply it to objects and people they make contact with. These can let the user liter whatever they want with their black mass, releasing the same blasts whenever the user comes into contact with them or the user themselves releases the blasts. This gives the user an amazing mix of combat options, able to liter the battlefield with various blasts. They can blast back against attackers, spread out the mass to trap the area, spread them around a person to deal damage to them, use the blasts to move themselves around, or simply use it to unleash all their pent up anger. Though the user will need to build up negative emotions to make their attacks. Using the Quirk can cause the user to blow off steam and release whatever energy they may have built up. The blasts themselves are not that strong, relying more on their consistency and variety rather than their power.

[beardedmrbean]

SEOUL, July 19 (UPI) -- South Korea blasted loudspeakers near border areas with North Korea in response to Pyongyang's latest launch of trash-carrying balloons, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday.

"As our military has issued several stern warnings against North Korea's continued distribution of waste balloons, we have conducted loudspeaker broadcasts against North Korea in areas where waste balloons have been released," the JCS said in a statement sent to reporters. The anti-Pyongyang broadcasts took place over several hours from Thursday evening into early Friday.

The South Korean military detected around 200 balloons sent by the North overnight Thursday, with some 40 balloons landing in northern Gyeonggi Province. Most were carrying paper and contained no safety hazards, the JCS said.

"Our military's future response will depend entirely on North Korea's actions," the JCS added.

The contents of the latest broadcasts were undisclosed, but previous sessions have included K-pop music and South Korean news reports.

Over the past several weeks, Pyongyang has sent more than 2,000 balloons carrying trash, manure and discarded clothes into the South. South Korean officials said that parasites such as roundworms and threadworms, believed to have originated in human excrement, were detected in the balloons' payloads.

Seoul briefly resumed propaganda broadcasts at the DMZ last month in response to the launches, as back-and-forth provocations have raised tensions across the inter-Korean border.

The North claims it is responding in kind to the longstanding practice of defector groups floating balloons with anti-Pyongyang leaflets and USB drives containing South Korean media over the border.

North Korea has reacted with fury in the past to the balloons. In June 2020, Pyongyang severed all communications with Seoul and blew up an inter-Korean liaison office over what it called South Korea's failure to rein in the defectors.

Earlier this week, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, threatened "gruesome" consequences if the launches did not end.

Seoul's military on Wednesday said that North Korea has been ramping up activity in frontline areas of the DMZ in recent months, with soldiers clearing land, erecting barriers and planting tens of thousands of landmines. Defense officials warned of the possibility of mines being swept into the South due to heavy rainfalls or dam releases by the North.