#our guardian

[rotfics]

our guardian (1) ROUGH DNR

warning: violence/gore, death, zombie apocalypse, children in zombie apocalypse settings, a LOT of angst.

story desc: a zombie apocalypse. dredge, a sentient zombie, who wanders the streets safely due to being a zombie himself, helps survivors, in said story, he guides a group of human children to a secure place, and does anything he needs to in order to keep them safe and sane.

(still rough but approved by and impressed a poet i know with multiple books published in bookstores)

Dredge sighed to himself and looked up, towards the sky. He shook his body and looked down to his claws, what was once glowing purple was now stained with bloodied, red gore. His demeanor did not falter. He knew that it should have incited a certain emotion in him, but all that he felt was...numb. His shoulders sagged.

He fell to his knees against a pillar, shutting his eyes. He wanted to stop. He wanted to give up. But..

If he did, what would become of the people that needed him..? Dredge let out a weak, weary groan, eyes shutting.

He had scrabbled messages all over. Walls, streets.

“Look for the man with purple claws I will help you”

He winced…and drew a tiny heart. For himself. Kind of. He went on to wander.

Misery weighed him down. He stopped writing another message before collapsing. He HAD to be making a difference. He had to. And he knew he did…and it hurt. It hurt worse than any wounds he endured. It was okay. He sat against a wall and shut off.

Did it matter? Did it matter what he did? He knew, deep down, it mattered, sure. But he felt beaten. He had no capability of becoming sick, but he felt...ill. He made a noise of disapproval at himself and yanked himself out of his pity party. "Grow up," he yelled at himself mentally. He sighed and wandered off to the hardware district.

He knocked the door in with his shoulder and looked around. Squinted. Then sniffed. He smelled..living.

Dredge grunted and stood up firm. "HEY. HELLO?" He coughed a bit. Dust.

"HEY." Dredge hacked again. "Shi- ..Shoot. SORRY." He cleared his throat.

"ANY SURVIVORS IN HERE? I GOT.." Dredge looked to his coat contents.

"I GOT SEVEN THING- idiot- BOTTLES o' WATER, I don't need,"

He mumbled out loud.

"Few cans of Spam, too." He sighed. "I ain't gonna hurt nobody,"

After what felt like years, a hand nudged his arm. He jolted upright and scooted back, ready to defend himself.

It was a kid..a group of kids. He blinked.

"U-um..you...you said you can help us?"

"A-are you sure he's not a monster...?"

Dredge shook his head a bit and wiped his tears away with a claw.

"Y...yes, YES, I can help you," cheerful response. Dredge hacked a bit.

"Oh! He can talk!"

"I told you, I saw him before, he can help us."

Dredge hoisted himself up, smiling behind his mask.

"H-h-he's a zombie, though-"

"He won't eat us."

Dredge tilted his head before tugging his mask down a bit with a claw to expose his..smile. He had no nose, and had fangs that stuck out. They gawked... naturally.

"I..I'm not one of them. I won't hurt you." Tears pricked his eyes. "I-"

Two of the kids rushed him and grabbed onto him, sobbing. Dredge jumped a bit.

"WE'RE SO LOST! We're so lost, we can't- The monsters are- The monsters-"

Dredge winced and knelt down, hugging them. He was crying a bit, still. He swallowed the lump in his throat, coughing. Children should never endure this... This awful place. This awful life. He took a breath.

"I'll keep you safe. I'll get you to the checkpoint." He sniffled a bit and wiped his eyes. He looked down at them with a shaky smile. "I promise. What are your names?"

"Lisa!" "Mary!" "Cory!" "Sebastian!"

"...I'm Dredge. Are.. You're all pretty hungry, probably."

Dredge pulled his collected rations to the kids and shared it all evenly, saving some for later.

"When was the last time you kids ate??"

Sebastian looked up. "Four weeks."

Dredge felt his heart sink. His jaw grit.

"Stay here." He stood up.

"Where are you going..??"

"Just stay here. I promise I will be back in five minutes. Don't move."

"B-but-"

"Shhh.."

Dredge climbed out the top of the building. No noise happened. No moans. No nothing. The kids huddled together. Mary sniffled.

"Stop, stop, he.. he'll be back."

Mary couldn't speak. She was in tears.

"H...he's coming back. He's coming b-" Sebastian got cut short by a scream seeing a feral break in, only to see a familiar form tackle it and take it out, screeching ringing out.

"DREDGE PLEASE SAY THAT'S YOU."

Dredge shook the body off and looked up at them. "Why wouldn't it be me- WHAT HAPPENED?"

Seb cried a bit and hugged his undead guardian. "I don't want to die, I don't want to die."

"...You won't die. Okay? You won't die."

Dredge calmed him down and opened his coat, bringing out a giant (but cold) entire McDonalds feast for the whole lot of them. He laughed a bit and made jokes, handing them little things of ketchup. It was the most food they had in weeks.

The McDonalds he raided was a safe place to be... Secure. Remote. And they had him as a guard dog. He ripped up the sitting areas for soft materials for them to use. Makeshift pillows were easy to make.

Lisa needed a story before bed...luckily, Dredge remembered "Where The Wild Things Are". He covered them with his huge duster after telling them their story. Cory woke up a few times but saw Dredge was still there, so fell back aleep...slowly. Dredge refused to sleep. He did not have to, physically, and refused rest around these kids.

He made them a crude breakfast: Granola bar, raisins, dry cereal and apple juice. He looked ashamed, but the kids all assured him he was okay, they all knew he was trying his best to keep them okay. Dredge wiped his eyes and smiled. In a short time, they all came around to love the zombie man who loved them in return. (edit)

After a bit, they began their journey to the checkpoint for humans. There had been threats, dangers, yes, but Dredge was vigilant and kept all of the children following him safe. He set up a camp at one point, and let them sleep. He didn't need sleep. He cooked them dinner and tucked them into sleeping bags. His throat ached.

It hurt his heart seeing children in such a horrid world.

He shook it off when they woke up, but they could tell he had been crying. He knew they did, too.

"Dredge? Dredge!"

He snapped out of his thoughts, and turned around. "What is it? Are you okay?!"

Lisa, a kid he had been leading, sniffled a bit and held her hand up.

"I-I...I got a spli-splinter,"

Dredge knelt to her height and took her hand. He smiled.

"I'll get it. Don't worry." He huffed a bit and squinted, his claws easily tugging it out. "See? You're okay."

Lisa sniffed. "Y-yeah..."

"DREDGE!"

Dredge whipped around to see a feral undead approaching Cory.. it had foamed blood around its mouth. Dredge was furious- He slammed the thing down with his shoulder immediately, pinning it down. He glanced back.

"Don't look, kids. Please." He gripped harder when he saw them look away, eventually snapping the ferals neck...and removing the head. He steeled himself. He had to be strong. For the kids.

With a huff he got back up and went over to the children.

"You...didn't see that, right? You're okay?"

They all responded positively, kinda tackle-hugging their new guardian a bit. He OOFED a little but shook it off, shaking but smiling as he hugged them all close.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, again.

"We're almost to the checkpoint. Do you need to rest? Are you hungry?"

A collective agreement.

Dredge smiled a little. He grunted as he looked around, huffing as he found a safe, dry place inside a bus stop. He gently led the kids in and set up some soft places for them to sleep. He wiped a tear away while they looked away. He reached into his duster, pulling out some fruit cups and little bottles of water, handing them to the children.

The sounds of delight were enough to warm his heart as he watched them eat and drink. "Y'all tired now?"

They all gave a mumbled answer. That meant yes.

"G-" He swallowed. "Go ahead and sleep here, I made beds for you." He gestured to the makeshift bedrolls he made a while ago from miscellaneous pillows.

The kids gathered into the pile of cushions, making Dredge well up again...Kids here always make him cry. A tiny voice piped up.

"Don't...don't you need sleep?"

Dredge looked over and smiled. "No, no..I don't need sleep. Even if I did, I wouldn't sleep now." He smiled a sad smile and kissed the kids foreheads, sighing to keep watch.

"Dredge..."

"Hmm?"

"..Will you stay with us?"

Dredge grit his jaw, fighting off tears. He knew when he took them to the checkpoint, he would have to say goodbye. He shook it off.

"I will stay with you."

"Promise?"

Dredges eyes welled up. This has happened before. Every single time he let himself get attached. Every single time it hurt. But it was worth it to see them get to safety.

There was heartbreak for him, and the ones he saved. They understood, though. He had to save others, too. Just like them. The last thing he could give them was a tight, warm hug; Reluctantly but happily letting them go. His heart might as well have been in pieces, how long he's been doing this.

"I will." it was hard for him to speak, his throat aching from trying not to cry. A small pair of hands gripped one of his claws and nuzzled against it. That tiny little action broke him, silently.

He smiled, but tears ran down his face, his teeth grit tight. He took a breath, mumbling.

"...You're saving them. You're saving them. Y-you're saving them."

His lip trembled. It never got easier. He prayed that he would not have to deal with one of them getting bitten. He screamed that hope in his head. Please. Please. Please just let me get them safely.

Please.

...Please.

[ourguardianfic]

warning: violence/gore, death. po st apocalyptic. desc: zombie apocalypse. dredge, a sentient zombie, guides a group of human children to a secure place, and does what he needs to in order to keep them safe.

(still rough but approved by and impressed a poet i know with multiple books published in bookstores)

Dredge sighed to himself and looked up, towards the sky. He shook his body and looked down to his claws, what was once glowing purple was now stained with bloodied, red gore. His demeanor did not falter. He knew that it should have incited a certain emotion in him, but all that he felt was...numb. His shoulders sagged.

He fell to his knees against a pillar, shutting his eyes. He wanted to stop. He wanted to give up. But..

If he did, what would become of the people that needed him..? Dredge let out a weak, weary groan, eyes shutting.

He had scrabbled messages all over. Walls, streets.

“Look for the man with purple claws I will help you”

He winced…and drew a tiny heart. For himself.

Misery weighed him down. He stopped writing another message before collapsing. He HAD to be making a difference. He had to. And he knew he did…and it hurt. It hurt worse than any wounds he endured. It was okay.

After what felt like years, a hand nudged his arm. He jolted upright and scooted back, ready to defend himself.

It was a kid..a group of kids. He blinked.

"U-um..you...you said you can help us?"

"A-are you sure he's not a monster...?"

Dredge shook his head a bit and wiped his tears away with a claw.

"Y...yes, YES, I can help you," cheerful response.

"Oh! He can talk!"

"I told you, I saw him before, he can help us."

Dredge hoisted himself up, smiling behind his mask.

"H-h-he's a zombie, though-"

"He won't eat us."

Dredge tilted his head before tugging his mask down a bit with a claw to expose his..smile. He had no nose, and had fangs that stuck out.

"I..I'm not one of them. I won't hurt you." Tears pricked his eyes.

Two of the kids rushed him and grabbed onto him, sobbing. Dredge jumped a bit.

"WE'RE SO LOST! We're so lost, we can't- The monsters are- The monsters-"

Dredge winced and knelt down, hugging them. He was crying a bit, still. He swallowed the lump in his throat, coughing. Children should never endure this... This awful place. This awful life. He took a breath.

"I'll keep you safe. I'll get you to the checkpoint." He sniffled a bit and wiped his eyes. He looked down at them with a shaky smile. "I promise. What are your names?"

"Lisa!" "Mary!" "Cory!" "Sebastian!"

"...I'm Dredge. I will...I promise to keep you safe, okay? Keep close to me."

After a bit, they began their journey to the checkpoint for humans. There had been threats, dangers, yes, but Dredge was vigilant and kept all of the children following him safe. He set up a camp at one point, and let them sleep. He didn't need sleep. It hurt his heart seeing children in such a horrid world.

He shook it off when they woke up, but they could tell he had been crying. He knew they did, too.

"Dredge? Dredge!"

He snapped out of his thoughts, and turned around. "What is it? Are you okay?!"

Lisa, a kid he had been leading, sniffled a bit and held her hand up.

"I-I...I got a spli-splinter,"

Dredge knelt to her height and took her hand. He smiled.

"I'll get it. Don't worry." He huffed a bit and squinted, his claws easily tugging it out. "See? You're okay."

Lisa sniffed. "Y-yeah..."

"DREDGE!"

Dredge whipped around to see a feral undead approaching Cory. He slammed the thing down with his shoulder immediately, pinning it down. He glanced back.

"Don't look, kids. Please." He gripped harder when he saw them look away, eventually snapping the ferals neck...and removing the head. He steeled himself. He had to be strong. For the kids.

With a huff he got back up and went over to the children.

"You...didn't see that, right? You're okay?"

They all responded positively, kinda tackle-hugging their new guardian a bit. He OOFED a little but shook it off, shaking but smiling as he hugged them all close.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, again.

"We're almost to the checkpoint. Do you need to rest? Are you hungry?"

A collective agreement.

Dredge smiled a little. He grunted as he looked around, huffing as he found a safe, dry place inside a bus stop. He gently led the kids in and set up some soft places for them to sleep. He wiped a tear away while they looked away. He reached into his duster, pulling out some fruit cups and little bottles of water, handing them to the children.

The sounds of delight were enough to warm his heart as he watched them eat and drink. "Y'all tired now?"

They all gave a mumbled answer. That meant yes.

"G-" He swallowed. "Go ahead and sleep here, I made beds for you." He gestured to the makeshift bedrolls he made a while ago from miscellaneous pillows.

The kids gathered into the pile of cushions, making Dredge well up again...Kids here always make him cry. A tiny voice piped up.

"Don't...don't you need sleep?"

Dredge looked over and smiled. "No, no..I don't need sleep. Even if I did, I wouldn't sleep now." He smiled a sad smile and kissed the kids foreheads, sighing to keep watch.

"Dredge..."

"Hmm?"

"..Will you stay with us?"

Dredge grit his jaw, fighting off tears. He knew when he took them to the checkpoint, he would have to say goodbye. He shook it off.

"I will stay with you."

"Promise?"

Dredges eyes welled up. This has happened before. Every single time he let himself get attached. Every single time it hurt. But it was worth it to see them get to safety.

There was heartbreak for him, and the ones he saved. They understood, though. He had to save others, too. Just like them. The last thing he could give them was a tight, warm hug; Reluctantly but happily letting them go. His heart might as well have been in pieces, how long he's been doing this.

"I will." it was hard for him to speak, his throat aching from trying not to cry. A small pair of hands gripped one of his claws and nuzzled against it. That tiny little action broke him, silently.

He smiled, but tears ran down his face, his teeth grit tight. He took a breath, mumbling.

"...You're saving them. You're saving them. Y-you're saving them."

His lip trembled. It never got easier. He prayed that he would not have to deal with one of them getting bitten. He screamed that hope in his head. Please. Please. Please just let me get them safely.

Please.

...Please.

[mahoganyrust]

I was watching Wall-E when it hit me. Very very Hijack coded. Anyways aaaaaaaaaaa. They’re so in loveeee. Just two robotssssss. (And a cat) AU fic coming soon.

[viceandmature]

Overkill breaks the damage limit in Final Fantasy X and King of Fighters AllStar

[usaigi]

Gamora not ending up with Peter subvert our “soul-mate” expectations. In another life, Peter and Gamora were soulmates. They grew and made each other better and their love was sincere. But that Gamora is gone.

2014!Gamora isn’t Peter’s Gamora. Just because she could find happiness with him doesn’t mean she should. She found love and happiness with other people and we can’t hold it against her.

[that1notetaker]

Hey!! I hope you dont mind, but your reverse time travel au inspired me to draw these :)

If i end up making more (which is very likely) i'll be sure to send them too! Hope you have a wonderful timezone and take care! <3<3<3<3

@itsybitsybatsyspider THIS IS EVERYTHING. THE SHIRTS. THE EVERYTHING. HAHAH. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ART??? IT MADE MY DAY. And the next two that followed. You gave me so many ideas in so little time. I wanted to draw something in response-

Hiccup, in the future, away from everything he's ever known, managing an absurd amount of new information everywhere all at once and tinkering around to help himself process: Jack: ...I can work with that. Jack, with no money because technically he doesn't exist: Okay that's going to complicate things.

[molosseraptor]

I need to brag on this guy because I'm just so incredibly proud of how far he's come.

In a little over a year of regular work, this dog went from unable to be inside a building that wasn't his house, unable to be in sight of a strange human (and definitely not touched), and was on the verge of being returned due to all his health and behavior issues to this guy. This guy who had his first Conformation show today. A show where he let strangers touch him inside a building surrounded by other strangers on a scary slippery floor and even made actual human friends. He wagged his tail at the judges! I don't even recognize this guy.

He had some scary health issues as a puppy that involved a lot of medical care and non-consensual touching both by vet staff and his family out of necessity. As a dog who is also dealing with some genetic temperament issues, this was probably the worst possible start to life for him. He was immunocompromised and unable to go out in the world at all during this critical time of development. He only went to the vet, where it hurt and was scary, and only saw his family and the vet staff, who would always be doing scary things to him, so he had no trust in people or places or anything at all.

His person is a long time dog sports handler and, prior to us working together, used to be a very "traditional" trainer. Her typical methods weren't working for him and there were some scary incidents before she reached out to me last July. Us meeting was a last resort before she officially made the decision to return him to his breeder. There was a lot of work that needed to happen to repair their relationship and it's still a work in progress, but between scentwork and the lessons we've done it's really come around.

In the time we've been working together, he's now been able to successfully trial and title in a few scentwork venues, go to the vet and get vaccines/microchipped without sedation or medication, attend a few large dog shows and events and now compete himself, make a group of human friends, and basically do anything we've asked of him so far. A huge amount of training and even more management and environmental curation has created this success, but the biggest win is that he's learned to trust us to handle things and keep him safe.

Even when he's being asked to do things that are hard for him, like moving his feet or touching his head, the judge examining him, or just simply walking through narrow spaces, he is checking in with me, allowing me to handle it, and able to actually relax out in public in and out of his crate because he doesn't feel like he needs to constantly be watching his back for triggers. I'll handle all that. He just needs to eat cheese and have fun.

That wagging tail at the judge after nailing a perfect free stack on his down and back is everything to me.

[arkiwii]

Isn't Saria beautiful?

[animationsource]

If Man in Moon chose you to be a Guardian, you must have something very special inside. RISE OF THE GUARDIANS (2012) dir. Peter Ramsey

[readerconfused]

I saw people on Twitter complaining about the way Hades talked calmly with Percy. Guys, Ares is the one who hates children, and even he tried to be nice to them. They are twelve year old kids, the gods know how to talk to them to get what they want

Don't get carried away by sympathy, Hades is not innocent, he knew exactly what he was doing there. The pomegranate juice was a joke, but a reminder that he's smart. He was being nice for a purpose.

[rotfics]

“our guardian” might be the one story i care abt the most and it will have multiple chapters

autocorrect said “multiple characters” which will happen too; not just kids, but adult jerks ofc

sheesh is dredge like an opossum parent? covered in kids piggybacking on him???

…yeah kind of. i mean they’re kids they need to sleep and he’s slightly radioactive so he is warm, and doesn’t need to sleep.

dredge is an opossum parent in the form of a weird mutant zombie covered in children. amazing.

edit: they’re kids, REALLY dislike it when he swears; since it’s “bad words”. which is incredibly difficult and frustrating for him but he begrudgingly tries not to. they do recognize this and praise him for it which kinda helps but it’s still kind of annoying; and he does swear sometimes, but they say smn abt it and he’s just “ugh ok sorry” sorta. he has a mask on at all times so they cant see him fight a smile when they tell him “good job” or something for cutting off a swear, or using safe language around them

his mask hides his smiles a lot. and will hide other expressions. (however, they can sometimes tell because of his eyes.)

[valtsv]

one of these days someone is going to ask me to name a woman who inspires me and i'll be just not mentally engaged enough to say james fitzjames and only realise what i've done when they pull out their phone, look something up, and then look back at me with a baffled expression and say "the 19th century naval officer?"

[mahoganyrust]

Some Hiccup studies. Decided to throw in some lil Jackos for shits n gigs. Frosty down bad what can I say.

Chap 27 of FIMT is cookin btw

[dontforgetukraine]

"Our army, our guardians" (1978) by Maria Prymachenko

[dual-domination]

I present you Shen Wei X Tech things, Guardian Vol 3 Edition :v

A true disaster.

[courtana]

DESTINY 2: REVENANT – ACT I (2024) dev. Bungie