#she's also the one that gave him peacekeeper — which was his father's gun — after the night of the incident.

[quick-drawn]

so BARS is a pretty interesting character — in my head at least.

canon wise, we know very little about her, other than she's an omnic sniper within the deadlock gang, as seen in the reunion short. knowing this and hearing a voiceline or two referencing her over the years, i created a base for her and ran with it. consider anything else you read here to be headcanons and only pertain to my portrayal of cassidy / bars. these ideas will also tie heavily into this headcanon post. these ideas will also be a little sporadic and may not make any sense at all, i never promised a good hc post.

an omnic of few words — a founding member and right hand to colton's gang leader father, she was an ever present body at the ranch. she was respected by all and maintained high ranking throughout her entire time with the gang. intuition as sharp as her aim, she'd protect his father and the others as if they were family — seeing as she didn't have anyone else, maybe they were. nobody really knew the full story of bars, her true purpose or where she came from, but everyone knew better than to ask.

she remembers the day colton was born. and she remembers it so vividly because it was the day the boy's mother had her promise to protect him. over all else. his father included. she agreed and became a constant in colton's life from that point forward. she'd teach him firearm safety and how to shoot at an extremely young age — FIVE, "and-a-half" she'd remind his mother after giving her a near heart attack the day she found out, but bars would insist that she had everything under control, and later pointing out that he won't always have others to look after him. that even an omnic won't be around forever. that this is something good, something he should be prepared for.

they'd continue their lessons over the course of several years, colton forming a close brother / sister-like bond with the omnic. they grew attached at the hip ( maybe a bit reluctantly on bars' part ), colton always following her around during farm duties, hunting her down when he found a new game to play, or the second he'd run into any sort of problem, she was the first to know — including the night his father was killed.

bars was the only member notified — the one entrusted with getting rid of the body and scrubbing the house of all evidence. she kept the rest of the gang off his back for as long as she could, and sent him and his mother away to texas once the allegations began.

it didn't take long for the leaderless group to disperse, bars choosing to keep her distance to ensure safe keeping of the two. until receiving a phone call from colton's mother — about the trouble her son's been walking himself into as of late. how she's not sure exactly what he's up to, but she's sure it's no good.

upon her arrival to texas and swift interrogation with the teen, she finds the beginning foundation of the deadlock rebels — to no one's surprise. serving her promise to keep him safe, but at the same time knowing she can't make decisions for him, she joins the ranks of the reconstructed group.

during the overwatch raid, bars had the opportunity to keep colton from being captured, or at least aid in his escape. but she chose not to. to continue to uphold her promise to his late mother.

while his fate in the hands of overwatch were unknown, she did know his fate should he continue down the deadlock road. she's seen it before, with the ranch, with his father —

she'd watch him go, but stayed with the rebels under ashe's command, keeping a close eye on her as emotions flared once the assumption was made that he willingly joined overwatch over rejoining the gang. the two kept in touch over the years, bars updating colton on the gang's whereabouts and up-to's in an attempt to avoid potentially deadly conflict. so, needless to say, she was very surprised to see him show up to the train raid on route 66 —

anyway, neat little fact: in my modern verse, when jesse's ran out of the gang, bars goes with him. she runs the kitchen at the bar and can cook up a pretty mean burger.

she also reminds him on a daily bases that she does not care for the name he chose for the bar — :))

[thegreenthepeacetheorange]

Everlark (Catching Fire, Ch. 11)

probably one of my fave everlark-heavy chapters and one i believe is so important and so huge for their relationship development. it's long but please bear with me because it's such a great chapter and there's so much to say and it'll be worth it!!! this is my best one

i love how haymitch and peeta have just become a part of katniss's family. like they don't seem out of place just sitting playing chess in her house.

peeta instantly picking up on her being hurt when she makes that noise and holding her steadily once he does

peeta carrying katniss up the stairs and tucking her into bed

katniss catching and holding his hand to keep him there and trying to fight off her lowered inhibitions due to the sleep syrup. that whole 'drunk words are sober thoughts' thing. she's fighting hard to 'control her tongue' but man, i wish she would've let go. there she goes keeping secrets from us again as the unreliable narrator

her holding his hand against her face, him warming her hand in his own. ugh. HANDS.

"stay with me" - the fact that she doesn't tell us what peeta says here but we know from mockingjay that he says 'always.' more evidence that peeta was endgame, carefully constructed by suzanne collins herself, from chapter one of book one

peeta being a husband and making sure katniss gets her daily cheese buns. for so much of the trilogy so far, we have seen gale be synonymous with providing for katniss and her family through hunting but peeta was that figure when he gave her the burnt bread and he's also that figure now, constantly providing her family with bread, keeping them fed and warm.

it is so IMPORTANT that katniss includes peeta in her family plant book project. it is her family book, passed on through generations. her mother and father worked on it together. it is so deeply hers and she lets him in. she lets him become a part of her family book by asking him to draw the pictures and including him in the process. i actually can't overstate the importance of this. this is something they do together that also later, after the war, becomes a crucial part of their healing process (and haymitch also ends up contributing - family!). at this point in the trilogy, he is her family.

i'm just going to include most of this passage and do a full on analysis of it because it is IMPORTANT:

I like to watch his hands as he works, making a blank page bloom with strokes of ink, adding touches of colour to our previously black and yellowish book. His face takes on a special look when he concentrates. His usual easy expression is replaced by something more intense and removed that suggests an entire world locked away inside him. I've seen flashes of this before: in the arena, or when he speaks to a crowd, or that time he shoved the Peacekeepers' guns away from me in District 11. I don't know quite what to make of it. I also become a little fixated on his eyelashes, which ordinarily you don't notice much because they're so blond. But up close, in the sunlight slanting in from the window, they're a light golden colour and so long I don't see how they keep from getting all tangled up when he blinks. One afternoon, Peeta stops shading a blossom and looks up so suddenly that I start, as though I were caught spying on him, which in a strange way maybe I was. But he only says, "You know, I think this is the first time we've ever done anything normal together." "Yeah," I agree. Our whole relationship has been tainted by the Games. Normal was never a part of it. "Nice for a change."

her fully checking him out as he works, his hands, his eyelashes. katniss describes him so poetically, like the sunshine slanting in from the window. what a romantic setting. she is constantly talking about him in sunlight (this is just one example) and it's like, in her eyes, there's always this glow around him, this light radiating from him. and then she gets caught checking him out.

peeta can make a blank page bloom with colour. and there we go with the language of growth again. this boy who radiates hope, possibility for katniss. this boy that she associates with life and with the growth of dandelions. he breathes life into things - in this case, her family book.

katniss is so intrigued by and deeply, carnally into his intensity. like she is down bad for him here. all her examples are examples of him protecting her: in the arena, in interviews, from the peacekeepers. she is so into this charming, dominant, protective, passionate side of him that i don't know how people can say she isn't romantically/sexually into him. like the proof is there. she doesn't know what to make of it because this side of him scratches an itch that she hasn't allowed herself to confront until now (and not even now, because she's unsure here but it's there. and we know she'll confront it after the war when she mentally can)

so far, katniss has been thinking that her relationship with peeta is the capitol's design. it is overwhelmed the the games, by the capitol, by snow, by the cameras, the flashing lights, the crowds, the having to 'act up' element of it, that katniss is constantly trying to tell herself that her connection to peeta is inauthentic in so many ways. but here, we see them in a 'normal' moment. a quiet intimate moment. a moment just for them. and it seems like bliss. removed from all the other capitol-forced elements, they choose to sit together and work on her family book and it is such a truly lovely moment for them. and it's not singular. while katniss is injured, they do it for a lengthy time. and i think that this particular chapter, this particular era of their relationship, post-victory tour and pre-quarter quell announcement, is when their relationship really develops to the point of katniss fully being in love with him. i think she was falling for him long before, and the victory tour also solidified them more but here, removed from the games and the capitol, given a sense of normalcy, i think katniss really got a taste of what life with peeta would be like, in all his shades. his kindness, his goodness, his intensity. she was thinking about all of it. him carrying her up and down stairs, bringing her bread, showing his passion/artistic talents, him just being there for her and her family, him looking after and protecting her despite her 'choosing' gale, how he looks, how he works, how he smiles and laughs, how he touches her. because of these days, she gets to the point where she's willing to die and leave prim and her mother behind to ensure peeta lives.

[ragingbookdragon]

The Secrets Best Left In The Dark

Batsis x Batfamily One-Shot

Word Count: 4K Warnings: Angst, Mentions of Death

Author's Note: I thrive on angst, so I have no apologies for y'all. Enjoy! -Thorne

They’d never claim their eldest sibling was cowardly. Far from it, she put her life on the line every day, in and out of the suit, defending those she cared for with a strength that they’d never seen in anyone. But while everyone in their family was typically hot-tempered and ready for a beatdown, she was calm and quiet. Always kind, and never letting anger, or any type of other emotion show besides pleasantness. For a while, they merely assumed she was the doormat type, simply on the basis that she never argued with their dad over anything—the whole “It’s my way or the highway” and his way was what she always went with—and that made her seem like an alien surrounded by humans because everyone argued with Bruce. That, and the fact that whenever she got into the rare fight during patrol, she’d never hit anybody. She was trained to take down multiple combatants and not once did she ever punch, hit, or kick a single person.

It was practically abnormal to be in the Batfamily and never lay a hand on a criminal, and yet that was what their sister did. Hardly ever did she use force to get what she wanted, always relying on stealth. Even on the minute cases when she got caught in an infiltration and had to fight her way out, she used electrified gauntlets to subdue them, rarely coming to blows. So, in a sense while everyone in her family was an aggressive fighter, she was a defensive—or perhaps a passive one—and that’s how she acted in life too. Always passive by nature, but always playing the peacekeeper between brothers and between fathers and sons.

They never knew why she was such a way, from the stories that Diana and Clark used to tell, back when it was just their sister and Bruce, she was a whirlwind that got into fights with anything that dared breathe in her direction—apparently, she made her angriest siblings look like mice. But no matter how many times they pried or even asked Bruce (apparently, he didn’t know what changed either—and this was coming from the World’s Greatest Detective), she never talked about it, simply saying that she grew out of always being angry and wanted to be calmer.

They suspected she held a dark secret—but no one could’ve prepared for just how dark and damaging it had been to her all these years.

***

In hindsight, taking a trip into Scarecrow’s lab was a bad idea, but when the offer had come up in the cave from her father, (Y/N) was happy to lend a hand, knowing that with his recent injury, he wouldn’t’ve been able to get out there during the night. It was also amazing, in the twenty-seven years she’d been alive, and in the past nineteen years that she’d been a vigilante, she’d never seen her father take a break—she could count on one hand how many times he had, and even then, he was still working in the cave, so technically it wasn’t a break.

But after tangling with Bane and Croc, he’d broken a few ribs and after repeated complaints and worries from her, his sons, and Alfred, Bruce finally agreed to let his children handle patrol. Which is why when the quadrants of the city were split up between Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian, it left (Y/N) to pick up specific places that Bruce wanted checked out—she warmly agreed to do so. And while she was confident in her abilities to do everything, he asked of her, she should’ve called for backup when it came to infiltrating Scarecrow’s hideout.

***

Another vent went off above her and she ducked, eyes narrowing as she watched the orange fog, appearing blue through her detective mode, drift out. She would’ve sprayed it, but she’d used up all of her explosive gel covering the others. Now she simply had to avoid them and hope that her gas mask filtered properly—so far, it was. A shrill laugh echoed through the speakers above her, and shivers went down her spine.

Anytime now, Batgirl. You will fall too.

She frowned. “I’m not afraid of you, Doctor Crane.” Ducking under another pipe, she added, “I can help you if you’ll let me.”

Help me? Help…ME? You can’t even help YOURSELF!

Scarecrow had always been a talker, much like the majority of the villains they faced, and he was looking for a rise. She came to the end of the corridor where the pipes met a brick wall and she sighed, searching for a way through. A vent covered the top right corner and she pulled out the grapple gun, pointing it at the grate. She pressed the trigger and it latched onto the metal bars; grasping the cord, she yanked as hard as she could, stepping backwards when it fell, hitting the ground with a clang.

(Y/N) heaved herself up into the vent and crawled on her hands and knees, as quietly as she could, twisting and turning through the maze of confined metal. When she came to the end, another grate covered the exit and she pressed her foot against it, pushing until the bolts popped loose and she could slip out.

From the looks of it, if the advanced chemistry equipment were any help, she’d ended up in Scarecrow’s lab. He wasn’t in sight, but that gave her time to look around and see if he’d changed any formulas recently. She raised her wrist and tapped at the blue screen, taking a moment to run a program. When it beeped, (Y/N) sighed in relief and reached up, pulling the gas mask off—the air was clean.

She set the mask down on the counter and put a finger to her ear. “Batman, do you read me?” His voice came through a moment later.

“I read you Batgirl. Loud and clear.”

“I’m in Doctor Crane’s lab,” she said, poking around at the notes he’d scrawled out. “I don’t see anything new. The formulas all look the same.”

“Compounds?”

She frowned and read. “Honestly, it’s a bit hard to decipher. His handwriting is a lot like Red’s when he’s had one too many energy drinks.” A quiet huff came from over the line, telling her that he was amused. “I’ll send you pictures of it and see if you can.” (Y/N) snapped a few photos. “Get ‘em?”

“Just now,” he replied, and she walked over to one of the lit Bunsen burners.

“Looks like he’s got something brewing right now though,” (Y/N) leaned over and peered into it, careful to avoid any steam that was rising.

“Recognize it?”

She paused. “It’s not the usual stuff he’s got. It looks almost golden and—”

All at once the dish exploded and she had just enough time to cover her face from the shattering glass, letting out a gasp as she recoiled.

“Batgirl, what happened?”

(Y/N) coughed and waved a hand, and when her hand appeared double, she breathed out in shock. “Oh no,” she whispered.

“Batgirl, report.” She hurried to the exit of the lab as Scarecrow’s cackle sounded overhead.

“I’ve been hit with a blast of toxin.” Pulling open the door, she fumbled with her utility belt then let out a sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

(Y/N) shook her head and weaved down the corridors, the faster she got to her bike, the faster she could get back to the cave.

“I don’t have any anti-toxin on me.” She pushed against the doors and stumbled out into the cold and rainy night. Her mind was already beginning to fog over as she climbed onto her bike, and she barely had enough focus to keep it steady while she programmed it to auto-drive.

“I’m sending one of the boys to you.”

She grunted and lifted her foot as the bike revved and shot forward. “Don’t. I’ve already programmed the bike to the cave’s coordinates. I’ll be back in less than fifteen minutes.”

“You won’t make it that long.”

(Y/N) groaned as the lights began to flash around her and she saw faces and images passing her. “I just have to…focus.”

Horns blared around her as the bike weaved in and out of cars and she held onto the frame with all the strength she had. His voice started echoing in her ears and she shut her eyes, trying to block it out.

You could’ve saved me.

Another groan escaped her, and she heard, “(Y/N), talk to me.”

She shook her head. “I can’t—I have to—focus now.” But with every passing second, his voice got louder and more insistent.

You let me die. You watched me die.

(Y/N)’s eyes filled with tears and they dripped down her cheeks. I tried to save you. she thought, hoping it would suffice, but she knew it wouldn’t. I tried so hard to. The last thing she remembered was turning onto the street that led to the cave.

***

Bruce was already pushing away from the Batcomputer when the boys arrived back at the cave, Dick and Damian from the Batmobile, and Tim and Jason from their own rides. Knowing that their father wasn’t one to sit around, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to be moving, but with how quick and worried his movements seemed, they knew something was wrong.

Dick pulled the cowl away from his face and asked, “B? What’s wrong?”

Bruce didn’t respond at first, hurrying towards the medical station they had. “Your sister was dosed with fear toxin and she doesn’t have anti-toxin to counteract it.”

Jason, who’d already taken his hood off, was already in the process of putting it back on. “Let one of us take it to her.”

Their father shook his head, rummaging for an antidote. “She’s coming back here.”

“Here?” Tim repeated, striding over. “Fear toxin works within seconds on normal people, minutes for us.” He looked at his brothers. “She won’t have enough time to get back here and not be under the effects.”

Bruce nodded, focusing as he poured a vial of glowing green liquid into the needle gun. “I know.” He looked at Tim. “That’s why I’m getting it ready for her.”

“Father, can we do anything?” Damian questioned, pulling away the domino mask from his eyes.

“Get ready to be on the defensive if she’s offensive,” he replied. “I don’t think she’ll hit anybody, but you never know.”

“She can’t hit that hard. (Y/N) only weighs—” Jason cut off as the rev of an engine cut though the air and they turned to see their eldest sister coming in on a sleek black motorcycle, that was shaking badly.

“(Y/N)!” Dick yelled and the bike suddenly shifted and toppled sideways, throwing her from it. It slid across the cave floor in a hail of sparks, metal, and plastic flying in every direction as (Y/N) rolled too.

They started running towards her, hoping to stop her when her back collided with one of the glass cases that held their suits, and she went limp.

Bruce reached her first, and knelt down, setting the antidote aside to check her first. The way she hit the case and with how hard, it was possible that she could be seriously injured—or worse.

“(Y/N)!” he called, hands coming to pull her away from the case. She whimpered and he let out a sigh—she was still alive. “(Y/N), can you hear me?” he inquired, reaching up to pull the cowl from her face.

Her brothers crowded behind him and they all stared in horror as tears streamed down her cheeks, and blood out of her nose.

“I’m sorry,” she bawled. “I tried to save you.” Bruce looked at her then grabbed the needle gun, bringing it up to her neck.

“Hang on, (Y/N). You’re gonna be okay.”

She grabbed his hand and cried, “I held on as long as I could, but my grip was slipping. I’m sorry I couldn’t hold onto you. I’m sorry I let you go. I let you die. I’m sor—” her sobs cut her off as she curled in on herself, and as if finally snapping out of a trance, Bruce pulled his hand from her grip and pulled the trigger of the gun.

(Y/N) jerked as the needle entered her skin and they watched the neon green liquid in the vial emptied. She fell into whimpers and mumbles of “I’m sorry” before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed in Bruce’s arms.

He stared at her for a second, feeling numb at his daughter’s admissions. Whatever her fear had been, it’d been there a long time, and he had no idea what it was about. Sighing heavily, he drew his eyes to his sons, to Jason.

“Will you take (Y/N) to her bedroom while I get an IV ready?”

Jason nodded and bent down, picking up his unconscious sister. He tucked her head in the crook of his neck and looked at Dick. “Get the doors, yeah?” Dick nodded and hurried ahead of him, while Tim and Damian followed in suit.

Bruce was left alone in a matter of moments, and all he could do was rise to his feet and ready the medical supplies, all the while, thinking back on every night that (Y/N) had gone on patrol in the last nineteen years—and the last time someone died in front of her.

***

Her head felt like an overripe melon ready to burst, and that first moment of cracking her eyes open was the biggest mistake since she told her dad what ‘Thot’ meant. The second she opened them, she shut them once more, inhaling deeply through her nose as the fog started to clear from her mind.

“Queenie, hey, you’re awake,” Jason murmured, and she nodded, blinking a few times before his face came into focus, Dick appearing Tim appearing behind him.

“Go get dad,” Dick said to someone, and she figured it was Damian since neither Jason nor Tim moved.

(Y/N) started shifting, trying to sit up when Dick put his hand on her shoulder, gentle, but firm as he said, “Don’t try to move, Barbie.”

“Where’s dad?” she asked, craning her neck to see.

“Damian’s going to get him sis,” Tim answered, smoothing out the blanket covering her. “Just relax. You took a beating when you came into the cave.”

“I did?” she questioned, eyes widening in shock when they nodded, faces pinched with worry.

The ceiling light turned on just bright enough to give sight and they looked at Bruce who was coming in, Damian following.

“(Y/N),” Dick moved, letting Bruce take his spot, and he took her hand in his, running his thumb over the back of her hand. “You had us all worried.”

She frowned and exhaled heavily. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” She gazed between them, and something in their eyes made an emotion she couldn’t describe rise in her chest.

“Why are you all looking at me like that?” (Y/N) met Bruce’s eyes. “What happened?” Before he could answer, she gasped and looked at her brothers. “I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?”

A chorus of hurried, “No’s!” rang out and she sighed in relief, reclining back on the pillows.

“Oh, thank goodness.” She went silent, then started, “But…something did happen, didn’t it?”

Her brothers glanced between themselves then they looked at Bruce who sighed and squeezed her hand, drawing her attention to him.

“What?” she asked and when he said nothing, she repeated, “Dad, what?”

His steel blue eyes met hers and he murmured, “You were apologizing for…letting someone die.”

Whatever had flashed in her eyes that told them she knew exactly what they were talking about was shocking enough because Jason said, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t wanna, Queenie.”

(Y/N) fell silent for a full minute and when she spoke again, her voice was quiet and the look in her eyes was far away. “Before Dick came to the manor it was just you and I patrolling Gotham. At eight, I wasn’t really let out of your sight, but one night I had wandered off while you were dealing with Two-Face.” She looked at Bruce. “I found an injured GCPD officer on a bridge. He had been tailing Killer Croc.”

She glanced at Tim. “His name was Grady Richards.”

Tim’s eyes fell to the tablet in his hands, and he tapped at the screen for a few moments, then read, “Hero cop Grady Richards honored after dying in line of duty. He fell off a broken bridge on Miagani Island.”

Bruce’s eyes found hers again. “He didn’t fall, did he?”

(Y/N) felt tears grow in her vision and she shook her head. “No…no he didn’t.” Inhaling deeply, she recounted, “Croc came back and there was no way either of us could’ve taken him, so we ran. And Croc chased us.” She shut her eyes, remembering the night.

***

Fear pulsed through her veins as she sprinted as far away from the overgrown crocodile as she could. The GCPD officer was ahead of her, but he stopped and spun around to see her.

“Hurry!” he yelled, pointing back to the car. “Get to the cruiser!”

She spared a glance over her shoulder, eyes going wide when she saw Killer Croc picking up one of the concrete guards.

“Duck!” was all she heard, and she hit the ground, watching as if in slow motion as it flew overhead, then smashed into the top of the cop’s car, glass and metal shattering under the pressure.

Someone grabbed her by the back of her suit and hauled her up, slinging her behind them, and the back of the GCPD officer’s uniform came into view.

“Start running, Batgirl! And don’t stop!” he yelled, and when he has his sidearm drawn, he looked down at her. “You’ve got as much time as I have bullets.” He turned, opening fire, and she took a moment to stare before scrambling to her feet to start running.

A cry of pain sounded behind her, and against her better judgement, she turned and looked, gaping as Croc’s arm sent the officer flying. He hit the guardrail and collapsed against it and her feet were moving before she could stop them.

The first punch went to the back of Croc’s knee and she knew it had to have hurt her more than it did him because he didn’t even flinch. But when those glowing yellow eyes peered down at her, she knew she was in trouble.

“Looks like I’ve got an appetizer for the night!” he laughed and reached for her, but she ducked and rolled out of his way, standing in front of the wounded GCPD officer, who weakly looked up at her.

“What are you—doing? I told you…to run.”

She couldn’t beat Killer Croc, and she knew it, but she shook her head and stared down the villain before her.

Croc’s attacks were wide and though she was small, she was pushed to her limit rolling and dodging every one. After a few moments, she was practically dead on her feet, huffing as her lungs begged for air. She kept wiping away the rain that splattered against her mask and on a particularly unlucky step, she found herself slipping.

And it was all the opening that Croc needed because he swiped at her and she flew backwards into the officer who’d managed to stand, just barely. Colliding with him tipped his balance and they went over the guardrail, barreling towards the ground.

She reached out as fast as she could and grabbed hold of the metal beam that ran the length of the under bridge, crying out in pain as it pulled the joints and bones. Her other hand gripped the officer’s and she held on tight. Croc leaned over the bridge, apparently not seeing them because his footsteps went off in the opposite direction, leaving them in silence.

Time passed and she wasn’t sure how long, but both her arms were getting tired, and she looked down at the officer.

“Sir?” she called, and he looked up at her. “You have to climb. I’m starting to lose grip.”

He tried to reach up but let out a cry and grabbed his side with his free hand. Pulling his hand away, she saw the crimson dilute with rainwater.

The hand that held the ledge began to cramp and she started hyperventilating. “Please, you need to hurry! I can’t hold on much longer!” Again, he tried, and she looked down at him as her fingers began to shake.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered and let go of his hand, and the last thing she saw until he hit the ground was the sight of his eyes, wide with fear and pleading.

***

“I watched his head explode when he hit the ground,” she said, tears pouring down her cheeks as she stared out the window, watching the rain hit against the glass. “I had to make a choice. Either both of us died or one of us lived.” (Y/N) looked at Bruce. “And I chose my life over his.”

No one could believe their ears at the story she’d told, but suddenly, the self-sacrificing attitude their sister had, the way she’d bend over backwards for anyone, made perfect sense—she did it out of atonement, for a wrong she carried since she was eight years old.

“I pulled myself back up onto the bridge and I ran as far as I could and didn’t look back,” she said. “I kept my mouth shut when the paper ran his story and never told anyone about it.”

(Y/N)’s breath shuddered. “I just pushed it down as far inside me as I could and tried to forget about it.” Her eyes met Bruce and she tearfully stated, “But every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face.”

He leaned forward and took her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked softly, dark brows furrowed in hurt.

She swallowed thickly and shook her head as she replied, “I killed someone that night. I was terrified about what you would’ve said. About what you would’ve done.” He gazed at her and (Y/N) whispered, “I’m sorry, dad.”

Bruce dropped her gaze and took a deep breath before murmuring, “It was just an accident, (Y/N).”

“I let go of—”

“I would’ve been more upset having to bury my daughter,” he interrupted, and she fell silent, gaping at him. He searched her face and reached up, placing a hand on her cheek. “I understand why you kept this secret, but you should’ve come to me, (Y/N).” Shaking his head, he added, “You didn’t deserve to be buried under this for nineteen years.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, lowering her head and Bruce shook his head in response.

“No, I’m sorry.” When she met his eye, he continued, “I’m sorry I didn’t know you were carrying this. Then and now.”

(Y/N) swallowed and rested back against the bed. “I send his widow money on the anniversary of his death. I slip it into the pension she’s given.” She let out a sigh. “It’s the only way I’ve found that I could sleep at night.”

Her eyes drifted to the window and Bruce placed a kiss to her forehead. “Get some sleep, sweetheart.” She nodded and before he left, he said, “And when you feel up for it, we’ll see about setting up a fund in his name.”

She wished it didn’t make her as emotional as it did, but silent tears dripped down her cheeks as the door closed, leaving her and her brothers alone. They gathered on her bed, leaning close to offer their support, and she was thankful for them doing so. And for the first time in nineteen years, when (Y/N) closed her eyes, she didn’t see Grady Richards’ face.

[youngbugandtonystank]

what's the difference between what wanda did to those people in wandavision and what tony did with ultron?

I have so many asks about this. Hate asks, and people wondering what’s going on. This is the only one I’m answering.

Both of them are responsible for their actions. I’ve seen people try and take away either Tony’s responsibility for that or Wanda’s engagement and accountability. 

In Tony’s case, the Ultron program was supposed to be a global peacekeeping program to protect the people, acting as a suit around the world to prevent events like the Battle of New York. He was doing it in the name of peace and safety. Tony was rightfully scared because he was the only one who knew what was coming. Wanda intentionally enhanced that fear in him and this drove him to create Ultron with Bruce. He has responsibility for it. Same as Bruce. He owns up to this, he took full responsibility and agreed that they needed to be regulated. 

Tony Stark: A few years ago, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits. Then, we had to mop up HYDRA... and then Ultron. My fault.

--

Tony Stark: There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys.

--

Tony Stark: That's good. That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stop manufacturing.

--

If people think he needs to be in jail for it, then I’m guessing the rest of the Avengers too since all of them have made mistakes and killed people too. As a matter of fact, after the events of Wandavision, I’m sure that Wanda should be in the Raft, but because she’s ‘a poor baby’ yall won’t think she deserves that. 

SPOILERS

It’s a big possibility that we don’t have all the info about what happened in Wandavision but we’re going to go with what we know so far. 

In Wanda’s case, she did it to appease her grief and pain, and I can understand why she would get to that point, she’s been through a lot and maybe she was about to lose her mind. Instead of recruiting Wanda after the Sokovia incident, they should’ve given this girl treatment for her mental health problems. She just lost her brother and passed through a very traumatic war zone, of course she needs assistance. Cap and Natasha were the ones responsible for her because they were training the ‘new’ avengers. Sam was with them and he used to be a counselor to veterans with PTSD. He could’ve helped Wanda with some of her traumas. As shown in the series, Wanda did the whole hex business before meeting Agatha, which means creating that little reality was all Wanda’s responsibility. Hayward and Agatha did exactly what Wanda did to Tony (and the avengers/other people) in AOU. They manipulated her and played with her emotional traumas. Hayward showed her Vision’s body parts and Agatha started to pull strings to know how Wanda did what she did and her real powers while orchestrating against her. 

Both of them have made mistakes. No one is better than the other. I don’t understand why some fans want to make someone responsible more than the other or blame one character for the other. While Wanda gave Tony that vision and pushed his self-destructive side to obsess over saving the world, he did create Ultron, what Tony didn’t predict was that the robot was going to corrupt itself. Same with Wanda, while Agatha and Hayward contributed to her trauma, she held hostage and isolated 3,892 people to create her perfect reality, ripping these people away from their identities and free will to fit her own fantasy. Don’t turn this into ‘omg poor her, it’s Tony fault that she’s this way'. I can’t believe I have to repeat this but you don’t see Peter Parker obsessively looking for the person who manufactured the gun instead of the criminal who actually killed Uncle Ben. Ridiculous that I have to repeat this example. 

Oh and about Vision’s body (damn yall have a gift to turn everything into Tony’s fault for some reason). I can’t believe some of you think Tony (while grieving for 5 years) would give Vision to Hayward. You’re either pulling stuff out of your asses or you didn’t pay attention to the show. Maria Rambeau founded and was the Director of S.W.O.R.D. In 2018 (when IW happened), this is where she came up with a new policy within S.W.O.R.D. to ground snapped agents in case they ever returned. Maria was diagnosed with cancer, then two years later (2020), she passed away. Then, Hayward was promoted to Director of S.W.O.R.D., in his first years (2020-2022) he refocused the organization’s work from extraterrestrial operations to robotics, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence, etc. There, that was the 5 years. Then in 2023 it’s when he started project Cataract, which revolved around rebuilding Vision as a sentient weapon. Tony was dead when this happened. How come yall don’t get this part? I don’t understand, do you really think his dead corpse signed some papers to give Vision to those people? LMAO

Instead of thinking Tony would give up Vision just like that, think (possibilities):

Maria was the head of S.W.O.R.D., she might have just been keeping his body safe without doing anything with him. Maybe she trusted Hayward and he, obviously, betrayed her because he’s turning her organization into something else after her death. 

One of the Sokovia Accords regulations states that the use of technology to bestow individuals (the term ‘enhanced individual’ in this book is defined as any person, human or otherwise, with superhuman capabilities) with innate capabilities is strictly regulated by the government, as is the use and distribution of highly advanced technology. Vision signed those accords ('I'm saying there may be a casualty. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight...oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand’) The Avengers were no longer be a private organization and they operate under the supervision of the United Nations. This means they (UN) were the ones that referred Vision’s body to S.W.O.R.D., to a trustworthy leader, Maria. 

Vision died in Wakanda, not in New York. Tony was missing for 22 days after the snap, the rest of the avengers should’ve taken responsibility for his body.  

Why is it always Tony’s fault but never consider that other parties are also involved in this? 

I want to address some other asks with this one. I know some of you are angry because people are starting to blame Tony all over again, so a few things to remember:

Tony did not create the Accords. The Accords were the result of all the collective actions the Avengers have done in their superhero careers. All of them have made mistakes and the collateral damage of that was taken into consideration by the government and 117 countries around the world. He signed the accords because he knew that he could amend them with the support of the rest of the avengers and he knew about Thanos (something big was coming). 

Obadiah Stane (it’s so bizarre for me seeing that some people don’t know who this guy is, I’m guessing that the people who are watching Wandavision are too young to remember or didn’t watch the Iron Man movies at all which is highly probable) was the one selling weapons to the wrong people, not Tony. Obadiah was the CEO of Stark industries and became second-in-command for two decades. He grew jealous of Tony and began cooperating with the Ten Rings in Afghanistan, selling them Stark Industries weapons illegally. Imagine blaming all of it on Tony when Obadiah basically murdered thousands only because he felt a little green. If someone who you trust (he had no reasons to doubt Obadiah since he was like a second father-figure for him) does something behind your back (take into consideration that people like Pepper; who was Tony’s assistant and had knowledge of all of Tony’s activities and responsibilities, Rhodey; who was the liaison between the military in the department of acquisitions and Stark Industries, and Happy Hogan; who was his personal bodyguard and Head of Security of Stark Industries, didn’t know what Stane was doing either), how are you going to know about it? Tony trusted him. And when he realized what was going on he immediately stopped all of it. He worked hard to be better and people overlook that because they want other characters to look better. 

Don’t act like Tony was the only one assisting the military. All of the avengers assisted in one way or another. Natasha (who used to be an assassin) was in the Red Room, trained in the Black Widow Program in association with Leviathan and the Soviet Armed Forces, served for KGB, etc. Bruce Banner used to work for the United States government and was commissioned to create a super serum for them. Same goes with the rest, Sam, Clint, etc. Steve Rogers was a soldier lmaoooooooooooooo like, what happened to Tony with Obadiah happened to Steve with SHIELD/HYDRA in TWS. He trusted the people working in there (SHIELD), served for them, did missions for them and as soon as he found out what they were doing behind his back he turned against them. 

Knowing all of this, how is Tony always the villain for yall? I’m guessing because Tony’s popularity in the MCU, but still, aren’t yall tired of not understanding the plot and having people repeat it to you constantly? Watch the movies if you want to understand the franchise, people. Stop following the crowd. 

Also, Wanda is not a kid, she’s a 35 year old woman in Wandavision, she was 26 in AOU and 27 in CW. Hardly a child. Tony had almost her same age (38) when he realized Obadiah was selling illegal weaponry behind his back. The only reason people don’t fully forgive Tony is because 1. he’s a man and 2. he’s a billionaire. Even if Wanda was poor she still killed and hurt many people over the course of her life. Stop trying to make Tony the villain only to downplay Wanda’s actions. 

Both have killed people, both have made mistakes. They’re both responsible for them. 

[sandalaris]

Saturday Sleepover! Any headcanons about Scott Fuller post season 3 and/or the Peacekeepers in FDTD?

I have a few! Not sure they’re all that interesting, but here it goes:

Peacekeepers are a little faster, little stronger, heal a little quicker that traditional humans, and are immune to culebra venom. There's a drive too, an instinct that pushes them to sniff out and hunt down trouble. Its why Freddie joined the Rangers, that itch under his skin he couldn't shake needing an outlet, and why he couldn't leave the culebra world behind when he learned of it. Its very much an unshakable calling.

The nearly-prophetic dreams (because Freddie’s dreams weren’t so much as showing the future as they were showing the present) and memory sharing are not universal though. Different bloodlines have different strengths, and individual Peacekeepers have their own proficiency with said strengths. Some can see through culebra glamour, others can walk into a room and get a feel for what happened, and even others still always know exactly who is a culebra and who isn’t on an instinctual level.

The fact that Freddie managed to find his way into Malvado's territory and then into the Twister was a surprise and gained him a certain level of fame amongst the Lords. There used to be a lot more bloodlines, but its a dangerous sort of calling and Malvado and Oculto both attempted a culling of them a couple centuries back. They didn’t like someone who doesn’t answer to them having any sort of power over their people. Most of the other Lords weren’t happy about it, there’s a basic hands-off rule when it comes to Peacekeepers as they consider them to be one of nature’s way of keeping balance, but they have no say what another Lord does in their own territory and couldn't do anything about it except allow the Peacekeepers safe travels through their own territories. The surviving families went south, which is one of the reasons all the shit keeps going down within the same basic area in the show. It’s also why Freddie went unnoticed for so long, his ancestors lost track of that branch of the family during the culling and assumed they died out.

The fact that its a gene means that Peacekeepers usually come in families over the Lone Ranger thing Freddie’s got going on. Safer to work as a group and it helps cut down on dangerous rogues. (They’re called Peacekeepers, but sometimes one of their own forget that and decide that they’re closer to hunters than protectors.) The gene itself only shows up a little less than half the time, but there’s plenty of work to go around for those who don’t have it and they always have those that decide the life isn’t for them.

Billie has the Peacekeeper gene and will be following in her papa’s footsteps.

Scott Fuller:

I don’t think Scott was ever actually planning on hurting his lacrosse team in season one. I think he fantasized about it, taking his pain and anger over his mother’s death, his father’s drinking, Kate’s distance, and being bullied and channeled it into a revenge fantasy that helped him feel better. It was an outlet, probably an unhealthy one (idk, I’m not a psychologist, and sometimes fantasies are healthy outlets), but when it came right down to it, Scott wanted to be accepted by his teammates more than he wanted to hurt them.

He brought his dad’s gun (because it’s Texas and every adult has at least one) with him on vacation because he felt his dad was slipping and that he was going to have to protect the family in case anything bad happened. (I know the show implied he had it because of his lacrosse team, but really? I’m supposed to buy that Scott brought a gun with him on vacation because he wanted to use it on his teammates who are all still back home?) By the time he sees them again in season two, he’s suffered in slavery for three months, was rejected by his family, and has his thoughts poisoned by Carlos. He no longer cared as much (because he still cared a little) about his teammates thinking he’s cool, which lead him to actually killing them.

I’m convinced Scott let Jessica see him on purpose, knowing she’d message Kate and hoping it’d bring her back home. His motivation is complicated, hurt, anger, love, worry, loneliness, all playing their role in why he went seeking Kate out. I also don’t buy Kate’s theory that it was kind of initiation for him to kill Jessica, for starters only Carlos knows what he’s up to and its not going to win him any brownie points with that guy, and Scott straight up said she was just practice. He was hungry, starved by the looks of him in the show, and Jessica was there, a perfect way for him to slate his hunger and for him to learn how to control a feeding so he can turn Kate. (I also think Carlos’ motivations for sending Scott home are tied more to his promise to free Brasa and Amaru. He’s been inside Scott’s head, knows how much he loves his sister, and he needs Kate, or someone like her, as a vessel for Amaru. He assumed Scott would bring Kate back with him and then he didn’t and refused to give more than “I don’t like the ocean.” But all that is more Carlos-Scott-Kate-Amaru headcanons)

After season three, Scott goes back on the road. He finds another band and starts up playing again. He’s always loved music, and while he knows they’ll never be able to go national, he can handle the local fame. Kate shows up to his shows, dragging a reluctant Seth and Richie behind her sometimes, and its not their kind of music, any of them, they keep showing up and he’s just as happy to see them each time.

It was Richie’s idea to have Kate declared dead after season two. It wasn’t easy, you need a body for starters but Richie knows how to do such things. But Scott gave the green light after realizing its the best way to handle all the loose ends in Bethel. A simple accident in Mexico the wiped out the whole Fuller family in one swoop. They use Freddie to smooth over the paperwork and channel the money and sentimental items Scott wanted to keep back to him. He hates that they lost the necklace though, he would have liked to have kept that. (Because the necklace Kate wears at the end of season three is different than the one she has on in seasons 1 and 2 and I don’t see her replacing it unless it was well and truly gone.)

I also think Scott has some natural leadership abilities. He leads his band for six months and manages to set up a sustainable lifestyle (not a bad feat for a kid who’s maybe sixteen by then and has no outside guidance or support), and while he can follow someone else’s orders, he’s more likely to cut from the plan if it means protecting him and his. Its one of the reasons he’s a little more willing to side with Seth and Richie than Burt on the plan to stop Amaru. His priority is Kate and the Geckos are the only other ones he sees as being on the same wavelength as him in that.

He’s got a bit of fame for being one of the ones to survive both the Twister and Amaru, and whatever event follows after. Especially since he doesn’t have a prophesy or a divine reputation or some kind of strong soul to bring him into the center of these things. He’s just a culebra, and a young one at that, and yet he’s in the thick of these moments and he walks away each time. It’s a different sort of notoriety than the others have, and he doesn’t realize he has it for a long time, but its there.

Its hard, the first time Scott has to tell people Kate’s his aunt instead of his sister. (He can’t say she’s his mom, feels too disrespectful of the woman they both still love and miss.) But they refuse to break the ties of family. Her kids still call him Uncle Scott though, and the kids after that the same. It eventually catches on, becoming like Uncle Eddie’s name, where people in-the-know just call him that.

[millieswickedbooks]

chapter one: the nightmare and the breakdown

Girl on Fire (Teen Wolf x Hunger Games) [Stilinski]

previous chapter || masterlist || next chapter >>

word count: 5,846

warnings: death (somewhat explicit), murder and attempted murder, violence, assault, mention of hunting, implied signs of depression/mental illness, brief mention of panic attacks, mention of pregnancy, mentions of child death, brief mention of alcoholism, nightmares, mental break down, brief mention of needles and medical procedures and implied signs of trauma and PTSD

What woke me up was the cold. When I opened my eyes the first thing I saw was white. It was the sky. Since when is the sky that color white and so... plain? I shivered as a breeze swept by, blowing ice-cold kisses on my skin, most likely leaving goosebumps in their wake. I felt was dirt and the unforgiving ground beneath my body. I was so confused—where am I? Why am I on the ground? And outside?

I stood up, groaning as my body felt like it was being used for the first time in eight-hundred, thousand years. I looked around and quickly realized I was standing in downtown, specifically the Square. But it was different; everything was foggy and empty. It looked like a literal ghost town. Where the hell is everyone? And lastly... how the hell did I get here? I was left with unanswered questions as I saw a familiar figure walk up to me, emerging from the fog—it's my younger sister?

"Alise?" I called out. She ran up to me, her usually untamable, curly hair was styled into two neat, french braids and gave me a hug, a big smile on her face. The face that brought joy to my heart.

"We mustn't be late!" She told me and she grabbed my hand pulled me through the fog.

"Late for what? Alise, what's happening? Where are you taking me? Do you know where everyone is? Alise?" Alise ignored all of my questions and kept pulling me until we arrived at our destination—the Reaping stage? What the hell is actually happening?

I heard shuffling, turned around and saw that the townspeople had suddenly appeared, surrounding the entire field the Reaping stage was at but not actually inside the field. They acted almost like a fence, forming a large circle around Alise and I. I turned to look at Alise and I saw her looking forward—at the stage.

I look up at the stage and saw a single peacekeeper, in his usual all-white uniform and gear. But this time something is different—is he holding a gun? They don't just hold those, especially in broad daylight like that. What was next to him caught my attention too. It was a familiar looking fancy stool. Wait, this is all very familiar to me—this is the Reaping. But everything is wrong, why is it only Alise and I in here? And peacekeepers don't announce the tributes. Ever. And the fancy stool next to him is the ballot. But this ballot only has one tiny little piece of folded paper, which was closed with a small section of black tape, at the very bottom of the massive see-through bowl. There should be literally hundreds of pieces in there. That's the sole reason why that bowl is so freaking huge.

I felt a sense of dread wash over me as I looked at the peacekeeper and for some reason, it felt like he was staring right back at me. And I know he has a mask on so I can't see his face at all, let alone his eyes but I just know he's staring right into my eyes. He reaches into the clear bowl and grabbed the only piece and held it up to his face and read the poor person's name. He looked back at me and leaned towards the microphone.

"May..." I shivered as his voice boomed from the large speakers. His voice... sounded like someone was playing a demonic tape in reverse. "...the odds be... ever... in your favor... Alise Galloway."

I felt my heart drop as I heard her name. This can't be happening. I looked to my left, where Alise should be and saw that she wasn't. She was just here, where could she have gone within a couple of seconds? I looked around frantically, my heart pounding in my chest and fear rose from the pit of my stomach up to my throat. They were not taking my sister away from me, they'd have to kill me first. As I looked around I saw that the crowd of people was staring right at me, judgmental looks on all of their faces. And in the midst of the crowd, I saw a boy and he had his right arm up, pointing at something behind me. I quickly realized he was pointing at the stage.

I whipped around, hoping Alise would be right behind me, and saw that Alise was on the stage, standing next to the peacekeeper. And he was aiming his gun at her head. I gasped.

"Why didn't you save me, Aurora? Why didn't you do something, Aurora?" Alise whimpered out, her voice becoming distorted and demonic, just like the peacekeeper. I began to sprint towards the stage but it was impossible to get there in time. I knew it, but I had to at least try. I felt like as if the stage was just getting farther and farther away. I then felt multiple hands grab me from behind. It was the townspeople. They were keeping me from saving Alise. I was struggling against them, trying to escape from their unshakable grasps but it was quickly becoming too much. I had tears running down my face as I screamed, frustrated and scared. I sobbed as I felt like I was going crazy. My sister's going to die. And I can't do anything about it. Soon the crowd swallowed me up, pushing me down as I felt myself fall into a large, dark hole I didn't know was in the ground. Everything quickly became dark as I descended deeper into the hole and then POW!—a gunshot rang, the sound ricocheting loudly in the large hole, my ears ringing almost immediately afterward.

"ALIISSE!"

And my eyes sprung wide open and I gasped for air, feeling as if I hadn't been breathing for the past five minutes, as I sat up quickly in my bed. At first, I was confused as to where I was, breathing heavy, letting my oxygen-deprived lungs fill once again, and still riled up from the... was it a nightmare? I quickly looked around at my surroundings and quickly recognized I was in my room, the one I shared with Alise.

I quickly got out of bed, nearly falling on my ass as I scrambled to see if Alise was okay. I  knew it was a nightmare but something deep, deep down is telling me otherwise. But I just needed to make sure she was fine. I nearly stepped on Beau, our six-year-old Ragdoll cat, on the way towards her side of the room, which I think I scared half-to-death when I shot out of bed and proceeded to hop out of bed all in under five seconds but I was too busy to feel bad for her. I'll apologize once I know Alise is all good.

I went up to her side of the room and I saw her lamp light on but her bed was empty. God, nopleasenono—and I quickly descended into panic. And at the moment, after fearing the worst for about five seconds—which felt like a literal millennium in my mind—I heard our door's familiar annoying creak; signaling that someone was coming in. I whipped around and I saw Alise's tired figure at the door.

"Aurora? What are you doing at my bed?" Alise whispered drowsily, rubbing her eyes as she yawned. I smiled as I realized that even in her sleepy daze she still remembered to stay quiet so she wouldn't wake our father. I checked her over just to make sure she was actually okay before I answered her. Her nightgown, which was mine before I grew out of it, is an off-white color. It also wasn't what she was wearing in my dream so that made me relax a bit. But her braids were styled the same way, which sent a chill down my spine. But I quickly noticed that the difference; they weren't as slick and neat as they were in the dream. And with that I sighed, feeling relief flood back into my body. "...Aurora? Did something happen?"

"It's nothing Alise. I just had a weird dream, that's all..." I admitted, not telling her the whole truth. She walked into the room, shutting the door behind her and sat down on the edge of her bed, facing me. Beau climbed up on her bed, like she did every night, settling beside her.

"You wanna talk about it?" She offered, looking at me with a look of concern on her face. I shook my head at her.

"There's nothing to talk about, Alise, I can barely remember it now, anyway. And we have the Reaping tomorrow, too. We have to be up early for that, you already know the drill. Now, let's go, back to sleep, I will too," I told her, motioning for her to get all cuddled up in bed. She groaned, rolling her eyes at me, but did what I told her to do. I did the same, but in my own bed, of course.

"By the way Aurora," Alise began, staring at me as she laid on her side, facing me on her bed, "it's already past 12 a.m."

"Yes? And...?" I asked, trying to sound as nice as possible because I honestly had no idea where this was going.

"Happy Birthday. Goodnight." And just like that, she flipped around, shut off the lamplight and cuddled even more into her bed. Beau stared at me with her big blue eyes for a little, probably trying to make me feel bad for scaring her a few minutes ago, which I was starting to.

"Sorry, Beau," I whispered at her and at that moment she laid down, probably deciding to call it a night.

I laid there conflicted; on one hand, I was appreciating her remembering but on the other, I was at the mad at the fact that the dreaded day was finally here.

You see, I've hated my birthday with a burning passion, ever since I was twelve. When I was eleven, turning twelve in about nine months or so, I had a tiny, little... feeling about a boy named Nino. Nino was this Spanish boy, with light brown, curly hair and eyes that were probably one of the prettiest shade of green I've ever laid eyes on. He was my age too, just a few months older than me, in my grade and we had multiple classes together. And bonus, we took the same route back home from school every day, so I got to look at him while walking home as much as I wanted. And my God did Scott tease me about this tiny crush. Literally every day. Anyways, one day, he saw me trip, while walking home and he helped me up and ever since then we just really hit it off. We became really close over those nine months. But then, just as my crush was rapidly becoming bigger and bigger and bigger—my birthday came up. My father explained the Games to me. I had only put in my name once, but that was more than enough for my father. I didn't know how to feel but I felt confused mostly. And I had the heavy feeling in my chest that made my hands ache and my knees tremble slightly. But I convinced myself I was fine. Nino and I had plans for my birthday and we were meet up right after the Reaping and it would be all good. I would finally introduce him to Stiles and Scott and they would love him because he's funny too. It would be great.

But that was until, at the Reaping, I heard 'Nino Lockway' echo through the Square. I felt my mouth dry and I also felt the grip my older sister, Amara, who was standing behind me, had on me loosing up as I heard her sigh in relief. But I hadn't felt that same relief. I was stunned to complete silence. I was so shocked, I couldn't even move or even breathe as I watched Peacekeepers grab the hysterical boy and drag him away as his mother screamed, running towards Nino and then a Peacekeeper taking her to the ground. I felt Amara pull me close, shielding me away from the horrid view but it wasn't enough. Nino's mother's screams were something that soon would because of many of my nightmares, for weeks afterward. At the age of twelve, I had just barely developed a crush and it was ripped away from my grasp before I could even hold it. It was heartbreaking. Sadly and unsurprisingly, he didn't even last a day in the Games. He was slaughtered in the Cornucopia within the first couple of minutes. I cried myself to sleep for a week afterward.

Ever since, I would spend all my morning stressing over the Reaping, begging whoever was up there to not let any of my friends be picked. Ever again. And my anxiety only got worse after Alise turned twelve but it's been two years since then and she hasn't been Reaped yet, but it doesn't make it any easier. Especially since District Twelve hasn't won in years... my birthday is basically a death sentence for two innocent youths. It's weird to sing 'Happy Birthday!' to someone when you can hear a mother already mourning for her still-alive child all the way from down the street.

Well, I sighed, knowing if I continued this, I wouldn't get a wink of sleep, so I got comfortable in my bed and closed my eyes, beginning, for the second time that night—thank you, nightmare, really appreciate it—my pre-Reaping routine; pray over and over again for Alise and my friends until I fell asleep.

 ➳

 The day of the Reaping dawned early—like it did every year, sadly. This year I had put in my name in the Ballot forty-five times, an extra five more times than last year and an extra ten more than what my father thinks I put in. Ever since Amara, my older sister, had turned nineteen and moved in with Derek Hale, her husband, last year, my father, Hudson Galloway—but I call him Bubba—told me that I didn't need to put in my name as many times anymore.

"I'd rather starve to death than to hear my girls' names over that damned speaker, fighting to the death over some Goddamned food," he had grumbly explained his reason to me one day. And I understood where he came from but I do it anyway. He might not want to admit it—or might not want me to know, whichever it is—but I know we need the extra help. Ever since Mama died, we've always kind of been struggling. A Healer doesn't pay much, not surprisingly though. But Bubba does a good job at covering it up though, I'll give him props for that, if I wasn't so observant and curious I wouldn't have noticed, that's for sure.

I sighed loudly, frowning as I realized that the heavy feeling in my chest that I woke up with still hasn't left. I tried everything all morning to try to distract myself from it but when I wasn't doing anything, my mind would go back to it. I woke up this morning feeling like I almost couldn't breathe properly because of it. I thought at first it was because of the Reaping later on today because everyone and their mother knows I get like this today but this... this was different. It felt like something really bad was going to happen. The last time I ever felt like this was when... I was told Mama had passed. To this day, remembering her still hurt, like as if it happened just yesterday.

I shook the thought away and began playing with the tips of my bushy, thick curls, hoping my low ponytail wasn't messed up from the low branches. I continued to play with my hair, trying to pass the time as I waited in the forest beyond the district fence for Scott and Stiles, my two best friends. We agreed to meet up here before heading back to my house and then to the Square, for the Reaping.

Scott McCall, Stiles Stilinski and I, Aurora Galloway, have been friends since we were in nappies. To this day, I still strongly believe our mothers set it up; 'it'is our friendship, if it wasn't clear already. District Twelve was the smallest of all the Districts so everyone kind of knew everyone. All of our mothers were Healers and best friends too. And after my Mama, Rose Galloway, got pregnant with Amara, Bubba began to work two jobs, Mama's, and his own; a coal miner. Scott's soon-to-be mother, Melissa McCall, and Stiles' soon-to-be mother, Claudia Stilinski, befriended Bubba, quickly teaching him the ropes. My father was soon introduced to Stiles' and Scott's soon-to-be fathers, Rafael McCall and Noah Stilinski. Needless to say, they all just hit it off. We were all born in the same year, just a couple months apart, Stiles being the oldest of us and me, annoyingly, the youngest. And to this day, my father swears that Mrs. McCall, Mrs. Stilinski and Mama planned it. I do too because you just expect me to believe that all of them women just got pregnant all at the same time, by coincidence? Don't think so. But their 'totally-not-planned' plan did work, we did hit it off and we have been best friends for the past sixteen years basically. We just... bounced off each other's personalities, never getting bored of each other throughout the years. And everything was good... up until everything went to literal shit—well, everything had already gone to shit, with our economy and the government and all that terrible shit but this was when everything went to shit for us, specifically.

We all were about seven years old when it happened. One day everything was fine but then there was a huge BOOM! The coal mine exploded, instantly killing Mr. McCall. Scott and Mrs. McCall were devastated. Stiles and I were devastated. I saw that near man every day, and now he's just suddenly gone? I actually couldn't believe it. The cries of Mrs. McCall were worse than anything I've ever heard. But now that I look back at it, I'm kind of grateful we had time to grieve for him. Whoever is up there gave us three years to grieve Mr. McCall.

When we were ten years old, Mrs. Stilinski fell terribly ill, while pregnant with her second child. A baby girl—which we, later on, found out. But weeks later, sadly, Mrs. Stilinski, along with the baby girl, named Summer, had passed away. That one truly shocked me down to the core. I remember how ruined I was when Bubba told me, tears building up in his eyes as he delivered the news. Scott, Stiles and I were basically bouncing off the walls as Mr. and Mrs. Stilinski told us the great news. Mrs. Stilinski and I even chose her name while Stiles and Mr. Stilinski chose a boy's name. It took me a while to realize this but it was then that I lost all hope—of being happy, of growing old, of there being a better future for me, or for my kids—I lost all hope. Seeing Stiles and Mr. Stilinski get their happiness ripped away from in one single moment and then, afterward, seeing them struggle to cope with this massive loss was... heart-rending. Stiles started having really bad anxiety and panic attacks, which he still deals with to this day, while Mr. Stilinski turned to alcohol to drown his sorrows. Stiles, Scott and I miraculously got him to stop drinking so much and the whole situation brought Mr. Stilinski and Stiles closer to each other.

And then at the age of eleven, my world came crumbling down upon me. Mama was a healer and I always wanted to follow in her footsteps so I begged her to let me help her as much as I could. She warned me, telling me that some of the patients she took were dangerous at times. But I insisted. And everything was alright, I would help her, with at least one of her patients, after I finished my homework and I had a lil' routine going. It was nice. But one day, while Scott, Stiles and I were hanging out in the forest we found an unconscious Peacekeeper just laying on the ground. Scott instantly began to freak out while Stiles offered to leave the body there. I calmed them down and told them to take him to my house, Mama would fix him. My first mistake. And I barely remember sneaking him through town to my house but I do remember my mother's panicked look when she saw us three holding an unconscious man. And after that, it all happened so fast. I remember bits and pieces of what happened and I'm thankful because I really don't want to know... all the details of what went down that afternoon. I remember that we threw him on our kitchen table and Mama kicked Stiles and Scott out. Mama was yelling out instructions and I was trying my hardest to keep up with what she was telling me to do. She then shoved a needle in his chest and... that was it. He opened his eyes right then and there and jumped up from the table. He looked scared. And angry, very, very angry. He grabbed a roller pin from the counter and then that's it. Nothing else.

I woke up the next morning, laying on my bed, all bruised and sore, no memory of what happened and Stiles, Scott, Amara were all at my bedside. Amara was sobbing while Scott and Stiles comforted the best they could. I could tell they were crying too. I remember being confused as to my everyone was so sad and I asked them what happened. Scott went to grab me some water while Amara explained that the peacekeeper was attacked by someone in town and that's probably why we found him in the forest—a secret she somehow found out, probably through Scott, he used to have a fat crush on her when we were kids—but most importantly, a secret she promised to keep... only if I brought her back cool stuff I found. He said that when he woke up, not knowing who we were, where he was, what was happening, or what happened to him, he felt 'threatened' and thought we were attempting to kill him. So, he beat us within an inch of our lives... or more, my life. He fatally struck Mama on the back of her head with the roller pin causing her to die instantly from the impact. He killed Mama. And I survived. And God, the aftermath was something I really don't want to think about. It's still too painful. I just remember blaming myself for ruining my family's lives. It is my fault. It still is.

But after that, all the pain, all the shock, ups and downs, mourning, loss we experienced, it really brought us all together. And closer than ever. We know each other more than we'd like to admit it. I can read right through them sometimes. Scott was like our leader, even though sometimes he was pretty slow, but it was okay. He was an optimist, he made Stiles and I chose the right decisions in many, many situations, where without his advice, the issue would've honestly gotten worse. He has a big heart and is like the older brother I never had, but secretly always wanted. I was their little sister, the one they felt the need to protect. And, not to toot my own horn but I was the sane one. I was the peacekeeper, I ended the drama between my boys. I helped them with girl problems, I helped them with school work and I felt like their mother at times. Stiles was the comedic relief and... my crush. I've liked him before and after Nino, so basically for as long as I could remember. He was just so... pretty, with his lil' moles and whiskey-colored eyes, and his personality, his humor. Everything was great. But he loved Lydia, for years and years, and then he got over it, and I thought I had an actual chance but then he loved Malia. And now he's back to loving Lydia. So I decided not to tell him, because first of all, all of what I stated before and secondly because the rejection would probably obliterate my pathetically fragile heart. And honestly, I highly doubt he would ever like me that way either.

"Aurora!" A familiar masculine voice called my name, startling me slightly, as it came out of nowhere, and derailed my thought process completely. I whipped around, seeing Stiles and Scott coming up to me, causing me to stand up and flatten out the skirt of my dark green button-up dress.

"Hey, guys..." I greeted, not really bothering cover up my feelings that were clearly showing on my face and in my voice. They looked nice: Scott was wearing a thin, dark gray hoodie, almost like a thermal, with some khakis, with him dark boots to top it off. Meanwhile Stiles... oh God, Stiles is so fucking beautiful, goddamnit. He was wearing a baby blue Henley and some gray pants, paired with some dark boots too. Ohmygod, I'm never getting over this stupid fucking crush.

"Hope we didn't make the Birthday Girl wait too long!" Stiles exclaimed, a big smile on his face as he made his way towards to hug me. Which he did, tightly, wrapping his arms around my midsection, which I gladly accepted, covering up my wince at the mention of 'birthday' by draping my arms over his shoulders and around his neck. I hugged him back just as tight and buried my head into the crook of his neck but right before I did, I made eye contact with Scott. He wiggled his eyebrows at us and I rolled my eyes at him. I inhaled his scent and my nerves were calmed down slightly. He smelled of peppermint and cinnamon. And I wanted to stay in his arms for the rest of my life. He whispered "Happy Birthday, Rory," in my ear and I tried not a shudder at the feeling of his warm breath on my ear. But it wasn't that hard since he said Rory and the terrible name snapped me out of the trance he had put me in.

I groaned loudly at the mention of the cursed 'R' nickname and unwrapped my arms from around Stiles' neck, pushing him away from me. He laughed as he grabbed both of my arms and pulled me close to him and began to tickle me. I struggled to not scream as I tried to get away from this torture.

"Mieczyslaw Stilinski! St-stop it r-right!" I choked out between the laughter and at the mention of his real name, Stiles let me go and I punched his arm.

"Um... ow," Stiles said, making a face, pretending to be in pain as he pouted at me and rubbed the spot I punched.

"Oh shut up, you deserve it," I defended myself as I stuck my tongue at him. He raised his eyebrows at, pretending to be offended at my actions and I heard Scott chuckling beside me. Of course, he would be enjoying this. Sadist. "I don't like being tickled, you of all people know that I can't control my limbs. I straight up kicked Scott on the chest the last time!" I reminded them.

"Yeah, I remember that it was absolutely hilarious," Stiles commented, snorting as the memory most likely replayed in his mind.

"No, it wasn't, he immediately had an Asthma attack afterward. I thought he was gonna die, I thought I killed him!" I yelled at him, my eyes squinting at him as I wondered if we were thinking about the same situation because let me tell you. it was nearly terrorizing to me. Being the cause of his Asthma attack.

"Yeah, it wasn't funny at all, but I kind of deserved it. You did tell me not to tickle you," Scott said, looking a little guilty.

"Scott, are you kidd-" I started but Stiles cut me off.

"Maybe I wanna get kicked in the chest, ever thought about that?" Stiles jokingly commented and I turned to look at him again.

"I will not hesitate to punch you in the arm again," I fake threatened. Stiles' eyes widened and he backed up a little bit and his arms went up in the air, signaling his surrender. I laughed at his reaction and winked at him. He then dropped his arms and sheepishly looked at me, his cheeks becoming a dusty pink. I smiled at him and turned to Scott, remembering he had properly greeted me yet, going over to hug him. Scott smiled as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my right temple.

"Happy Birthday, Aurora," he spoke, and I laughed as I could feel his deep voice rumbling in his chest as he spoke. He pulled away, the same smile still on his face. I looked at the both of them and sighed again, as I felt the warm happy feeling begin to dissipate and the cold, heavy feeling of dread from this morning settling in once again, deep in my chest.

"What's wrong, Aurora?" Stiles asked, immediately sensing my change in mood and taking multiple steps closer to me. He had concern lacing his voice as his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion and worry. I felt bad as I realized I totally ruined the moment we were having and most likely brought their happy moods down with me.

"What isn't wrong, Stiles?" I retorted, and I instantly felt bad. I didn't mean for it to come out so rude.

"Aurora-" Scott began because he knew where I was taking this but I interrupted him.

"No, Scott, don't 'Aurora!' me!" I exclaimed, mimicking his voice, pointing at him. He rose his hands up, signaling defeat and that he didn't want to fight with me. I squinted my eyes at him and felt weirdly proud of myself. I scare him? Hahahahaha. Good.

"Come on, Rory..." Stiles began, trying to reassure me and I interrupted him too. I honestly didn't want to hear what he had to say, and I know that's really rude of me but I don't care at the moment.

"No, Stiles! How many times did you put your name in that God-forsaken bowl?" I questioned him, trying desperately to get them to understand my side.

Stiles sighed and mumbled out, "forty times."

"And you, Scott?" I asked Scott, looking towards him for his answer.

"Same as him, forty," Scott stated, further proving my point.

"And I did it forty-five times, Stiles! Forty-fucking-five times! Lydia did twenty-eight, Allison did thirty-five, Kira did thirty-one, Erica did forty-one, Cora did twenty-eight, Isaac did thirty-six, Boyd did forty-two and Alise did fifteen! And just once is enough, Stiles! I know you remember Cole from last year, he only did it once and they picked him, Stiles!" I explained to him, listing the facts.

"Aurora, we do the same numbers every year and we still haven't been picked. What makes you think we'll get picked this year?" Stiles really sucks at trying to comfort people sometimes. Like... really sucks And he sucks at arguing with me.

"Just because we haven't been Reaped yet that doesn't lower the chances, Stiles," I told him, not even knowing why he even mentioned that and I wondered if they even cared, or if they even realized the kind of danger we were in every time my birthday came around. "Anything could happen," I finished.

"Aurora, what is this really about? You don't normally freak out like this..." Scott pondered aloud, and he was sporting the same worried look as Stiles. I sighed and I knew he was right, I don't act like this and I wondered if I should tell them about my dream. After thinking it through, I decided to go for it.

"It's just that- I just..." I didn't know how to word it. 'Yeah, I had a nightmare last night where Alise got Reaped and now I'm paranoid outta my damn mind because this is literally my number one fear'? I closed my eyes, my fingers pinching the bridge of my nose as I continued, "I woke up today with a... heavy feeling in my chest. Like as if something was gonna go wrong... I know something bad is gonna happen today. I feel it, guys," I rambled, looking at them.

Scott and Stiles turned to each other and then to me. Unable to contain my anxiety-filled word vomit, that I hadn't realized I was holding in until now, I continued my panic rant; "One of us is going to be Reaped. It could be you, or you, or Lydia, or Allison, or me, or even Alise! I even had a nightmare last night that it happened to Alise and I thought I was losing my mind. Oh my God, ohmygo-" Stiles wrapped his arms around me and I instantly shut up. God, I have it bad.

"Aurora, we are gonna be fine. I promise, we just have another two more years of this shit and then, we're free," Stiles whispered, rubbing my back and I took a deep breath, breathing his scent once again and beginning to finally calm down. Scott came over and hugged Stiles and me, turning this into a group hug.

"Yucky, group hug," I commented jokingly, trying to lighten the mood I single-handedly destroyed. Stiles laughed and poked my side and I yelped, and I punched his arm again. I warned him not to tickle me. He is just asking for it this point.

"Ow! Now that one hurt!" He yelled, frantically rubbing at the spot. Scott laughed at his reaction.

"Must fucking suck," I retaliated, wrapping my arms around my midsection protectively. He draped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me towards him, which caused me to feel hundreds of butterflies in my stomach. God, the effect this boy has on me. Scott turned to me and looked at me expectantly.

"I can't promise anything but don't worry, we'll be fine Aurora," Scott reassured. "We always are."

I sighed, looking at the both of them, and spoke, "let's hope that that's the case for this year. Come on, it's almost time and we gotta go before our families get worried about us. And I hope y'all are right and that I'm just overthinking things or I'll 'I told you so' y'all to death. Trust and believe that."

And with that, Scott, Stiles and I made our way out of the forest. And Lord, were they wrong.

➳

there's chap one !!! woop woop !! lemme know what y’all think ♡

[zanpyreanor]

[Story] Inquisitor Island

Lyral stood tall for his age, a young Quel'dorei boy with an olive complexion, glowing blue eyes, and shoulder length silken black hair with a sheen almost iridescent. He frequently wore his brows in a furrow, his shoulders tense, and carried his little fists balled at his sides. He tried to be happy like his peers but it was difficult with trouble at home.

His mother had a temper problem. She got angry with his father and at Lyral; she yelled at him, "You were a mistake!" He cried. Lyral was an accidental pregnancy and his mother planned to give him away, but his father would not have it. Lyral's father wanted him, not his mother, and his father was kind where his mother was cold and showed the boy a distinct lack of love.

One day, Lyral's father had enough of Lyral's mother and left. Lyral's mother told him that his dad was away on business for a few days. Days turned into months and Lyral sobbed and became a hermit in his room. Lyral's father did return to collect Lyral, but the boy's mother turned him away. They fought a legal battle and his mother won. Lyral never knew.

To Lyral, his mother lied, said he'd return and he never did. The boy's life was full of lies and devoid of nurture and kindness that a healthy child experiences, he was very much alone inside even if he was not physically alone. Still, he had shelter, and food, and the things that children have outside of parental warmth. He was broken.

Soon, Lyral's mother found a new man and this man became Lyral's stepfather. Life went from bad to worse as Lyral's stepfather was an alcoholic, he enjoyed drugs, both thistle and harder substances. His mother indulged as well, and sometimes they would fight even more often than she had fought with his real dad. Their finances dwindled and they suffered hardships. Lyral's family stopped paying for his schooling, there was not always enough food to eat, or enough fuel for the fire. Lyral spent many a night hungry and cold.

Years passed, a tall and lithe teenaged Lyral, with little education and no hope of gainful employment ran away from home and did the only thing he could—he joined the clergy. The teenager was envious of his peers, who continued with their education when he could not, he was angry with his parents; he had met enough other people in his life to know that what happened to him was not normal or healthy. The young man cast off his surname and replaced it with the surname Sunfall.

The teenager transmuted his rage, his sadness, and his jealousy into ambition. He thrived among the clergy; he became a voracious reader with a broad range of interests, which he researched on his own outside of his education. The books were his friends, they would never yell at him, leave him, or lie to him. He took comfort in their leather-bound pages. He really only had one possession—his mind.

As he entered full adulthood, Lyral was an attractive young man; his raven-like black hair reached the small of his back. He'd gained reputation of a good honest hard working man, an intelligent man free of vices and a gifted empath. He was an eligible bachelor, someone who would go places in life, thus people attempted to court the priest. While he knew they were trying, he felt no attraction to any of them. He let them down gently, buried himself in his studies, and became a trainee among the Inquisition—mind priests that deal with criminals and bring justice.

One day, years later he used his Inquisition clearances to access citizen records and looked up what became of his father, the only one who had shown him love during his childhood, the one who abandoned him and left a gaping wound in his heart. Maybe his dad missed him too. Maybe it was a misunderstanding. Lyral discovered the records center in the spire and from that, that his father lived in the city.

Lyral went to observe his dad from afar. He learned his father remarried a lovely blonde woman and had three happy adult children and two younger children that all lived in a large house with a courtyard in the city. Lyral watched his dad show them a warmth that Lyral only saw a fraction of in his youth, he watched them have a relationship with his father that he himself only ever had a fraction of. Lyral felt a burning jealous disdain for the children because he could see they had something that he did not, something he only had in his dreams, their parents, this woman and his father, actually loved them whole-heartedly. His empathic abilities made it so he could feel how happy they were and amplified it a hundred fold and it made himself awful. His own emotions threatened to tear him apart so Lyral focused at numbing the pain; he gave up on ever talking to his father and on having a relationship with him again. He returned to his studies.

When the Scourge came, Lyral did the right thing and went to his father’s house to try to save them. Even if his father replaced him, even if his father did not want him, the man was still his father, and those other children were his half-siblings. Lyral found one living survivor, a fifth child, a blonde talkative teenage girl who he took to safety. Lyral detested this girl and wanted to leave her with other survivors of the zombie apocalypse, but the girl saw how much Lyral resembled her father. She knew, so she refused to let him leave without her; she called him brother, and every time she did, it stung the Inquisitor's heart. He gave in and let her travel with him.

He traveled on foot to his mother's estate and, much to his dismay, the wrought iron fencing around the dilapidated building still stood strong against the ravaging undead. Lyral found that his mother was still alive, she and his stepfather stood just beyond the gate. They'd had dispatched the few Scourge that made it to the gate of the remote estate, which lie well off the beaten path. The argument raged at the open gates as Lyral and the girl approached. A loud bang rang from the gates.

Lyral burst broke into a run and found his stepfather over his mom’s body with a rifle. His stepfather aimed the weapon at Lyral but the priest threw up a shield. Protected, he entered his stepfather's mind, with utmost brutality, ripped his stepfather's mind apart. In a matter of seconds, Lyral reduced the man to a pathetic gibbering ball of elf on the ground.

Lyral's half-sister ran up just in time to see Lyral take the gun from his stepfather and shoot it repeatedly into his stepfather's head at point-blank range, in cold blood. She looked upon Lyral with absolute horror as he left the scene. She hesitated but followed him and remained at his side even after what she had seen because he was the only thing she had left, but she was terrified of him and he knew it.

Lyral knew that loose lips sink ships, and that his half-sister could tell someone about him murdering his stepfather. Lyral also knew that he could never truly love or care for his little half-sister of his. He decided it would be best if she did not remember any of it, so while she slept, Lyral entered her mind and destroyed her memories of that night and of him. Remorseful, he picked her up and delivered her to other survivors capable of caring for her.

As Quel'thalas recovered and life returned to some vague semblance of normal, Lyral became his half-sister's mysterious anonymous benefactor. Lyral assured she had food, shelter, and education while he kept his distance, he could not love her, but, she was now alone like he was, and he could give her better than what he had.

One day his half-sister disappeared without a trace. Peacekeepers found her body several years later in the apartment of a dead elderly magister, frozen by a stasis spell after having undergone a transformation into a creature not quite elven anymore—with blue skin, horns, and golden plumed wings. She had been brutalized, bruised, beaten, and broken, then frozen in stasis in lieu of receiving much needed medical attention. When released from the spell, her body died. Those that discovered her did not try a resurrection spell. Who would want to revive a monster? In reality, no amount of resuscitation could have brought her back, her soul left her body a long ago, and her suffering had ended.

In the end, Lyral gave her everything but the one thing she needed, the protection of another person in her life. He blamed himself. Completely numb, he buried his memories of the scene, of her, and his own emotions deep within himself, feeling only the emotions of others, which he used to read people as an Inquisitor.

As the years went by, he gained many promotions and clearances, a levelheaded pragmatist with no emotions, no attractions, no love, and no vices he became a high-ranking Inquisitor. He is a man with a deep sense of justice, a need to do the right thing always, with a desire to protect the innocents or avenge them if nothing else.

Lyral became an island.

[comic-movieheroesranked]

Cinematic Comic Characters Ranked! (Year 2009) Part Three

It’s rough coming right after a fantastic year of movies (2008) but 2009 did pretty well for itself. Terminator Salvation is our only sequel and we also get an X-Men spinoff with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Kids favorite shows come out with Astro Boy, Dragonball: Evolution, and G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, and we got a couple of thrillers with Whiteout and Surrogates. We also get the debut of the controversial Watchmen! Let’s get started with numbers #40-21!

*SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ALL HIGHLIGHTED MOVIES ABOVE*

40. President Stone/Peacekeeper (Astro Boy)

"Declare war! This is gonna get me re-elected."

How did this guy even get elected in the first place? He's an idiot who thought the only way to stay in power was through violent technology. It's his arrogance that gets Toby killed and it's his arrogance that puts the whole city in danger when he still decides to use the red core energy. He ends up getting absorbed by the Peacekeeper and starts a city-wide battle with Astro that only ends when Astro sacrifices himself and connects the two cores. Stone is then arrested by his own men and taken away.

39. Delfy (Whiteout)

"They don't make them like that anymore."

Delfy was just a regular pilot who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. He's the one who first discovers Weiss's body out on the ice and contacts Carrie. Afterwards, she makes him her personal pilot as she sets up an investigation. This new job ends up nearly killing him twice: Once when he gets buried under fifty feet of snow with the others inside the Russian plane, and another when Haden breaks out and stabs him. He recovers and ends up bonding with Pryce and Carrie for six months until the winter is over.

38. Abel Shaz/Breaker (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra)

"Is that Double Bubble?"

Although he isn't the only brains on the team, if anyone needs advice on technology, Breaker is your guy. I will always enjoy the member of the squad who understand gadgets like no one else can yet doesn't truly understand most jokes that said. With the nanobite warheads being the most dangerous pieces of technology known to man, Breaker comes in handy in helping the team stop Cobra from bringing whole cities down.

37. Agent Zero (X-Men Origins: The Wolverine)

"It's funny how innocent people tend to die around you!"

For some reason Wolverine and Agent Zero DID NOT get along with each other. Everyone would be joking along with everyone else then all of a sudden they're both threatening to kill each other. The years after Logan leaves Stryker's team doesn't cool off the tension because those two are ready to pop off again when they reunite. It's a pointless rivalry though because we all knew Logan would come out on top, and it's not because he's the main character either. I mean, yeah, Zero is really good when it comes to shooting bullets and jumping over high fences but bullets don't do anything to Wolverine especially once he gets the adamantium in his skeleton. So when the two clash, Agent Zero ends up exploding in a helicopter and Logan...remains unharmed.

36. Sally Jupiter/Silk Spectre (Watchmen)

"I don't hate him because he gave me you."

The original Silk Spectre and one of the few remaining heroes alive from the Minutemen. Sally Jupiter is retired now and totally missing the game, so much that she trains her daughter to be the next Silk Spectre. She reminds me so much of those pageant moms that now live through their daughter's lives to fill young again. Although I'd really like to know why, it's never really explained, only assumed, why Sally goes back to sleep with The Comedian, who tried to rape her previously. The result of their one night stand is Laurie, who ends up coming to terms with it by the time she finds out and confronts Sally about it.

35. Chi-Chi (Dragonball: Evolution)

"Just because my name is Chi-Chi doesn't mean I'm an idiot."

I liked Chi-Chi and I'm pretty sure the only reason why they didn't have her in the movie more was because they knew I'd rank her higher than Goku if they did. I mean if I were in the group hunting Dragon Balls I would have totally added her in once I saw her fighting skills but it never happens. Instead we just see her every time we need someone to flirt with Goku.

34. Maggie Greer (Surrogates)

"It's better this way."

Maggie is Greer's wife and together they lost a son before surrogates became globally used. This causes her to mourn in a unique way where she locks herself in her own room and just lives her life through her surrogate. Even though she cares for Greer, she ignores the distance between them instead for the new fun life she has as a surrogate. When the surrogates are destroyed, she almost kills herself but ends up connecting with her husband again in their child's old room.

33. Dr. Bill Tenma (Astro Boy)

"You're still my son."

It took me a very long time to like Tenma, and I was starting to believe that he was a lost caused until he pulled through in the end. First he completely ignores Toby when he was alive, treating him like a unbothered teacher would a student instead of a father, then goes into a huge depression after he dies. Because of this, he creates Astro, a robot version of Toby but then completely abandons him shortly after and then aids President Stone in capturing him and shutting him down. It isn't until after he removes the core from Astro that he finally accepts him as his son, returning the core and bringing him back to life.

32. Goku (Dragonball: Evolution) 

"Kamehameha!"

With Dragon Ball being a Japanese anime I was glad that there was a lot of Japanese influence in the movie. The setting, the background actors, even some of the core cast but you know who wasn't? GOKU! Like I don't understand the reasoning as to why they thought casting a white guy as Goku would be a great idea when Grandpa Gohan was clearly Asian! But besides that, Goku was lame! He wasn't exciting to watch, which is a huge shame because I loved the watching the show with my older brother when I was little.

31. Bulma (Dragonball: Evolution)

"Everybody has a price."

Bulma was my favorite in the movie. I loved the guns, loved how she handled herself with the boys, and loved all her cool technology that basically was the reason they got around (her compact motorcycle) and found the Dragon Balls (Her D.P.E.). Her interest with Yamcha was fun and flirty and when it came down to business she was ready to help any way she can. She definitely should have been Asian, but at least her character wasn't as bad as Goku's.

30. William Stryker (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

"Welcome to the war."

Our mutant-hating government official is back and now we get to see how his connection with Logan came to be. On a mission to create the strongest mutant weapon for the government, Stryker creates a team of mutants, including Logan and Victor, to hunt down adamantium. When this costs the lives of innocents, Logan's out, which is bad business for Stryker since Logan's he key to his secret weapon. He creates an elaborate plan, staging the death of Logan's girlfriend, Kayla, and pinning him against Victor to bring him back so he can put the adamantium inside him and successfully create, Weapon X. Of course, everyone that's a mutant figures out he's playing them all and his plans go down the drain with the death of Weapon XI. His adamantium bullets are what cause Logan to lose his memories and they're eventually what kill Kayla, but not before she can control his mind and send him away for good...at least until he turns up again.

29. Cora (Astro Boy)

"Didn't your nanny-bots teach you not to sneak up on people?"

Cora accidentally ran away from Metro City to the surface world where she becomes a sort of leader to the orphan kids Hamegg takes care of. She's the first one to discover Astro and quickly befriends him and he proves he's a kind person. She's the only one who feels betrayed when it's revealed he's actually a robot, but she quickly gets over it and helps him save Metro City from President Stone. After everything is done, she's even able to reunite with her parents.

28. Edward Blake/The Comedian (Watchmen)

"This is a joke. This is all a joke."

The biggest asshole in this movie BY FAR. Like even though everyone had their faults and definitely weren't saints, The Comedian was straight up a bully working for the government. In his worst moments, he beats the shit out of citizens protesting, attempts to rape the original Silk Spectre, and ends up murdering a Vietnamese woman carrying his child! For some reason he suddenly cares about being a father when he wants to get to know his other daughter, Laurie, but ends up just drinking his life away until Adrian shows up to murder him. Even though he dies in the beginning of the movie, his bad punchline of a life haunts everyone throughout the film.

27. Wade Wilson/Deadpool/Weapon XI (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

"You whip out a couple of swords at your ex-girlfriend's wedding, they will never, ever forget it."

Wade Wilson is very conflicting because even though he's missing his signature costume, he was absolutely spot on when he worked on Stryker's team. He's deadly with the sword, has the same healing abilities as Logan, and will never shut his mouth. Then things got weird. Somehow Stryker is able to gain control over Deadpool and turn him into everything he's not by giving him powers of previous mutants Victor has either killed or kidnapped. Mouth sewn shut, Deadpool becomes Weapon XI and is such a threat it takes both Wolverine and Sabretooth to take him down.

26. Kate Connor (Terminator Salvation)

"I'm a doctor, not an engineer."

I don't know why, but I kind of expected Kate to have a bigger role? Not that being one of the only doctors in the resistance isn't important, because it is, but I always thought she would be like what Barnes was, a second in command. Still, she was fiercely loyal to her husband and was his support when he needed her. He especially needed her towards the end of the film, as it was her hands that operated on him to save his life.

25. Dr. Lionel Carter (Surrogates)

"My son's death will not have been in vain. Not if it heals mankind."

Lionel Carter created surrogates because he wanted people with disabilities, like himself, to live a better life then his partners and company took it to a global scale and by 2017, ninety-eight percent of the world population used a surrogate for basic every day activities. After his son dies for being mistaken for him, Lionle decides enough is enough. Using all his resources he gets a hold of the weapon that killed his son to return the favor to the man responsible. He also creates the ultimate virus that will destroy all the surrogates and kill everyone attached to them. Thinking his plan will never fail, Lionel takes a cyanide pill before seeing his plan come to life.

24. Dr. John Fury (Whiteout)

"I never meant for anyone to get hurt, but Haden got greedy."

I'm not gonna lie, I felt some type of way when it was revealed Doc was working with Haden to smuggle the diamonds. He probably had the closest relationship with Carrie and their personal conversations were some of my favorite scenes in the movie so when it turns out he was working with Haden, the guy who cause Carrie to lose two of her fingers, I was shocked. I guess the silver lining is that once he was caught he didn't fight it. He explained why he did it then walked outside to the deadly snow storm, killing himself.

23. Ana Lewis/The Baroness (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra)

"Do it. You already killed me once."

I'm so glad it was revealed that Ana was being brainwashed to act as The Baroness the whole time because I just could not accept her willingly participating in the death of millions all because Duke disappeared after her brother's death. No one is that dramatic. Still, as The Baroness she was a force to be reckoned with. She killed all of the men in Duke and Ripcord's old unit, gave Scarlett her first fight, and she helped nearly destroy Paris. Good thing for the Joe's that Duke's gorgeous puppy-dog face broke her out of her mind control and she was able to free him and help stop her evil brother once and for all.

22. Dr. Elefun (Astro Boy)

"Everybody has their destiny, Toby."

Out of all the older males in the film, I truly believe that Dr. Elefun cared the most about Astro. He never saw him as just a robot that can be used for his own personal gain (President Stone, Hamegg) and he definitely didn't think he was a mistake that needed to be destroyed (Dr. Tenma). He really took his time to get to know and bond with Astro, who was still trying to come to terms with himself. I think in the future Elefun will morph into a huge father figure to Astro.

21. Remy Lebeau/Gambit (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

"You miss me?"

Gambit has been the mutant everyone wanted to see on the big screen ever since the first X-Men came out. He's always nearly made it in the previous films but was cut out at the last minute. Well now he's here and he was a little bit of a let down. He wasn't horrible but he had such a minor role. He's a mutant that escapes Stryker's island before going back to his thief lifestyle in New Orleans. His fight with Logan was cool because we saw his signature staff and kinetically charged deck of cards, but after that he just remains in the background. He takes Logan to the island then is the first one to talk to him after he loses his memory, going his own way shortly after.

[overwatch-imxgine]

McCree;

The western male always knew that you and your family didn’t get along that well but he didn’t think it would be this bad. Your parents had invited you both to come over for dinner since they wanted to “meet the boy that stole their child’s heart”.

Jesse, being the soft-hearted person he was, wanted to agree to go but hesitated when he sensed your uneasiness. “Y’all okay?” He asked while he watched you fiddle with your fingers. You nodded your head in response and looked away from him, “Yeah. Don’t worry about it, alright?” You said, but it was mostly you trying to reassure yourself.

You didn’t give him much time to respond before you started rummaging your closet for something proper to wear. Jesse wanted to try and pry an answer from you but decided against it before he went through his own stuff to look for.

It wasn’t long until you were both standing in front of your parents’ door and fixing the creases in your clothes. You two didn’t look fancy but you didn’t look bad either, so your parents should go easy on you in that subject.

When the door opened you locked eyes with your mother, her own face being neutral while your head worry. “Hello, mom.” You spoke softly as her gaze went over to the male next to you. She stare down at him for a moment before opening the door fully and stepping aside, “Come in, you two. Your father would like to meet this boy.” Her soft tone held venom to it as you both walked in and Jesse quickly took notice to it.

With that simple exchange he understood why you seemed nervous when you received the invitation.

Now, Jesse wasn’t sure how this day would end but he sure as hell knew that if they tried to belittle or hurt you in anyway then someone’s going to end up in a bloody mess. Well, not bloody but hurt.

When you all settled at the dinner table Jesse found it sutable to introduce himself. “Howdy, Mr. and Mrs. _____. I’m Jesse, Jesse McCree.” He sent them a smile as he finished his sentence. He was swift to notice the tense atmosphere and reached out to grab your hand from underneath the table, reassuring you that you weren’t alone in this.

It was only a few minutes into eating when your dad spoke up, his tone directed at Jesse, “So a cowboy, huh? How childish are you?”

It was a simple question but McCree kept on eating, ignoring your dads rude comment, “This food is delicious. My compliments to the cook.”

Your dad seemed to grow annoyed at the cowboy but was quick to turn his gaze over to you, causing you to tense up, “And what about you? How childish are you to go for someone like this?” His tone, more harsh than when he spoke to McCree, made you suck up some air and stumble upon your words.

Jesse put his hand in your shoulder, successfully breaking you from your sputter, and sent your dad a dark gaze, “Now, don’t be blamin’ them for somethin’ I chose.” Your dad saw this as a challenge and stood up from his seat, snarling at your boyfriend, “Yeah? And who are you to tell me what to do, cowboy?”

McCree was quick to react and pulled out his peacekeeper, pointing it between the other males’ eyes, “You’re bein’ very disrespectful, sir, and to your child no less. I reckon if you keep this up I’ll have to teach ya’ a lesson or two with this ‘ere beauty of mine.” When the western male said ‘beauty’ softly bumped the head of his gun to touch your dad in the spot he was aiming.

Your mother stood up from her spot, slamming her hands on the table while she glared at both Jesse and you. Her jaw clenched as she pointed to the front door, “Get out, both of you. You’ve ruined our family dinner.”

You two were quick to leave and make it back to your shared apartment. When you entered the safety of your home McCree brought you into a hug and gave you a kiss on your head, “I’m sorry ya’ had to see them again.” He whispered, feeling guilty for making you go, “At least they’ll never invite us back.”

Soldier: 76;

The old soldier knew that meeting your dad might be a little…hectic. You were far younger than him and he knows that if he was in your dad’s shoes he’d rip your boyfriend a new one.

Of course, he’d still be on his best behavior for you and try to win over your father. If he recalled correctly; you said your mother left to join the rebellion with the omnics when you were younger. That’s probably where you got your soft attitude towards the robots, he thought. You also said that, after that, it was just you and your father. Your grandmother would’ve been there too if the bell hadn’t rang in her name.

Jack’s thoughts disappeared when he felt you grab his hands, squeezing them delicately, “Are you ready?” You asked. He noticed the longing look in your eyes and knew what it meant in an instant. He brought his lips down to yours and gave you a kiss of comfort. He knows you missed your mother greatly, you always talked wonders about her, and tried to help with this small affection.

It wasn’t long before you two were dressed in proper clothes and on your way to your fathers. You anxiously messed with the sleeve of your shirt as Jack drove the car, who took notice to the behavior. “Hey, you alright?” He asked, his gaze shifting from the road to glance at you.

You sighed through your nose while you turned to your right and looked out the window of the car. You contemplated whether you should tell him what was bothering you or not but stayed quiet nonetheless.

Jack took his right hand off the steering wheel and reached out to grab one of your hands, which were on your lap, and intertwined your fingers together.

You looked down at your hands and felt yourself choke on the clear air the wind provided as your mind began to race with thoughts. Your dad was strict ever since mom left and you feared what he might say if he realized you weren’t living the perfect life he wanted you to.

You turned over to look at Jack with worried eyes, not sure how to tell him. You let out a quiet sigh before speaking, “My dad he’s…strict. He wanted me to live a life where I’d be happy with a young man/women who’d provide money to the table.” Your eyes casted downwards, “I’m scared of what he’ll think when he sees that, that’s not the case…”

Jack let out a soft chuckle, catching you off guard, as he replied, “That’s what you’re worried about? Honey, if he doesn’t like what he sees then he needs to learn that you love me, that I love you, and that we’re happy together.” He brought your hand to his and left a small kiss on it before letting it fall back to your lap. “And if he tries to start something the next we’ll be the better people and leave.”

The ride over to your dads house was lighter now that you spoke about your worry and you both found yourself laughing and singing along to the songs that played on the radio.

Jack had nice vocal cords but would occasionally hit off key and, whether it was on purpose or not, you enjoyed every second of it.

Sadly, the happiness numbed down when you found yourself staring at the front door of your parents house.

Jack looked at you from the corner of his and before he could say anything you knocked on the door. He noticed how your posture straightened itself and how you nibbled lightly on your bottom lip when footsteps could be heard coming to the door.

When your dad opened the front door his eyes immediately scaled Jack down to up until their eyes met. Your fathers calculating gaze scanned the face of your boyfriend, noticing the scars, scruff, bags under his eyes, everything. On the other hand, Jack did the same to your parental figure. He noticed the soft wrinkles on the males face, how Jack was only an inch or three taller than him, and how the others eyes held no emotion. To say that Jack had a bad feeling would be a understatement and, by the look of it, he seemed to want to tell your father this feeling.

Seeing the two stare each other down caused a sense of anxiety to hit you so you quickly tried to defuse the situation, “H-Hey, dad!” You started, moving Jack out of the way, “Thank you for inviting us over. This man is Jack, my boyfriend.”

Your dad grunted and turned the other way before walking into his home. He kept the door open as a sign of letting you two in, to which you both did.

Now, you knew that eating would be awkward but the silence was suffocating. Jack stayed quiet to keep you pleased and your dad was silently judging both of you. You longingly wished your mother was here since she could always bring a smile to everyone’s face. Maybe then your dad would be okay with this.

It wasn’t much after these thoughts appeared did a small argument break out between the two males. All Jack said was a simple, “Love, can you pass me a napkin, please?” to which your dad replied, “Get it yourself, or are your bones failing you already?”

As we all know Jack wasn’t one to back down and you knew that this dinner wouldn’t end well.

“At least these old bones can work properly, unlike yours. You’re, what, younger than me?” Jack laughed as he took a bite of his food, swallowing it, then continuing, “I promised my partner here-” He gestured to you, “-that I wouldn’t start anything but I won’t back down from a fight.”

Your dad stood up, a glare on his face as he reached over the table and grabbed Jack by the collar of his shirt, “Do you really want to see what these bones can do, old man?” His jaw glenched in anger as he stared holes into Jack’s skull. Jack, who grabbed onto the wrists of your dad and was ready to duel it out, smirked at the other, his tone confident as he spoke, “I could break you like a twig.”

Before the two could actually harm each other you got up and pulled Jack away from the raging man. “Jack, please, you’re the better person, you two don’t need to fight.” With your arms around his waist Jack let go of your father, who let go of him as well, as let out the breath of air he was holding in.

He turned to face you and sighed at himself for giving in to the silent anger he held. “Look, dear, I’m sorry. I’ll- I’ll make it up to you later, okay?” He said as he offered you a kiss on your forehead.

Your dad, who scoffed at the scene, rolled his eyes at the softness Jack was displaying, “You can make it up by leaving. Both of you.” He growled as you looked away from you, mumbling things under his breath.

You grabbed onto your boyfriends arm and tugged him to the front door, deeming this situation not worth it anymore, but stopped for a moment to say something. “You know…if mom was here, she would’ve loved to meet him.” And with that you both left the house, not even hearing what comeback your dad had to offer.

The ride home was quiet. The radio was silently playing soft tunes and Jack wasn’t sure what to say. He wanted to try and humor you but he didn’t know if you’d give him a negative reaction for it. After mulling over his thoughts he found something he could say.

Once again, he grabbed your hand and gave it a kiss. “If we ever have kids, I promise that I won’t be like your father.”

Suddenly the ride home felt a lot lighter as you turned the radio up and sang along to the songs that played.

[newstfionline]

The Central African Republic could be on the brink of a bloodbath

By Cassandra Vinograd, Washington Post, October 10, 2017

BRIA, Central African Republic--Inside a sprawling tent camp protected by a U.N. tank and a line of barbed wire, Jerry Zoumatchi cradled an ancient rifle.

He said he’d never touched a weapon until four months ago. But then rebels shot dead his father and his 17-year-old brother, sending him fleeing to this displaced-persons site in search of refuge, and revenge.

“I took up my gun to kill the [rebels] who killed my father and brother,” the 29-year-old said, fiddling with three bullets in his free hand. “I need to avenge the deaths.”

Zoumatchi’s thirst for vengeance led him to join a local “self-defense” militia, which gave him a firearm and a role in the newest chapter of a conflict that has left thousands dead in this former French colony. The violence has persisted for four years despite efforts by the United Nations, humanitarian groups and even Pope Francis to end the fighting.

Successful democratic elections early last year spurred hopes that the conflict might finally end. But clashes erupted again in November. Since then, hundreds have died and tens of thousands have been forced from their homes amid escalating violence between the dozen or so armed groups controlling some 80 percent of the Central African Republic. Attacks are taking on increasingly sectarian overtones.

U.N. officials have raised alarms about “early warning signs of genocide.” Diplomats and relief workers say this impoverished country of about 4.6 million runs the risk of an all-out civil war, which would compound the humanitarian crisis and create new security problems in a region already grappling with extremist groups such as Boko Haram.

The violence began when a predominantly Muslim coalition of rebels called the Seleka swept to power in 2013, after killing and burning their way through this majority Christian country. Mostly Christian groups known as the anti-balaka formed to fight back. Many of the armed groups subsequently splintered. The Seleka rulers were eventually replaced by an interim government, and a former prime minister, Faustin-Archange Touadera, became president last year in what many saw as a sign of progress.

Analysts say the latest violence is due in part to the new government’s failure to satisfy the armed groups’ demands for political representation and amnesty.

“To get what they want they need to increase the power of negotiation. And in order to increase the power of negotiations they need to represent a threat,” explained Nathalia Dukhan, an analyst at the Enough Project, a Washington-based research group focused on African conflicts. “They increased their capacity to harm.”

That hasn’t been hard to do in a country where the central government wields little power outside the capital, the army is ineffective and ill-equipped, and infrastructure such as roads is limited.

Ex-Seleka factions are now fighting one another--in some cases teaming up with their former opponents. Anti-balaka, frequently referred to as “self-defense” groups, have expanded.

The capital city of Bangui, guarded by U.N. peacekeepers, remains calm, but taxicab radios blare the growing list of hot spots across the country: Zemio, Batangafo, Obo. In addition to the internally displaced--who now number 600,000--about 500,000 people have fled to neighboring countries since 2013, according to the United Nations.

Areas previously spared high levels of violence now have become flash points, with the country’s southeast of particular concern. Some experts say the withdrawal this past spring of U.S. and Ugandan forces positioned in the area to search for Joseph Kony, the rebel leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, created a power vacuum--one armed groups are looking to fill.

“Armed groups have taken over the whole of the country,” said Joseph Inganji, the U.N. humanitarian agency’s chief of office for the Central African Republic.

There have been numerous failed attempts to broker peace, including a deal struck in June in Rome by representatives of the armed groups. Less than 24 hours later, new clashes killed dozens.

The mandate for the 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force in the country expires in November, and Touadera is among those calling for a renewal and a troop increase. But peacekeepers are also in the crosshairs--10 have been killed this year. Civilian animosity toward peacekeepers has grown, exacerbated by a sexual-abuse scandal and allegations of inaction in the face of attacks.

More than half the population is in need of humanitarian assistance. But amid the surge in violence, access to aid has sharply deteriorated. Eleven aid workers have been killed since the start of the year--making it one of the most dangerous places in the world for humanitarian work. Aid compounds have been looted and attacked, prompting many organizations to pull back or limit their activities.

In some parts of the country, villagers are holed up in churches and hospitals, unable to venture out for fear of being killed. Food supplies in some places are running low.

Stephen O’Brien, who until recently served as the U.N. humanitarian chief, said after a visit in July to the Central African Republic that “the early warning signs of genocide are there,” with growing ethnically and religiously targeted attacks.

The sectarian tension is evident in Bria.

Just four months ago, fighting forced 40,000 civilians to flee their homes and set up makeshift shelters on the edge of a U.N. base.

“We Christians don’t want to have problems,” local anti-balaka leader Jethro Soukou said on a recent morning. “It’s the Muslims that make the problems.”

“They treat us like animals,” he said, voice nearing a shout. “When they’re out on their patrols and see one of us, they kill him in the street.”

Months ago, a rare machete tucked into a waistband was the only sign of weaponry in the camp. Today, men with guns slung over their backs roam the maze of tents.

Francoise Reneheta had only recently arrived from a small village near Bria. Voice scratchy from exhaustion, Reneheta said loud booms had shattered her morning 10 days earlier.

“I started to hear shots, weapons firing,” said the 25-year-old. She said she dropped the manioc she’d been preparing for breakfast, grabbed her children and ran.

Reneheta held no hopes of returning to her village; she had heard their house was torched along with others.

Not far down the red-dirt road there’s a main drag of shops where armed men--“the enemy”--stroll or laze under trees with AK-47s between their knees.

On a recent afternoon, Abdraman Djiabaladin, who guessed he was in his 80s, stacked broken branches in front of his house near the town’s center.

Three weeks earlier, he said, anti-balaka members had surrounded this neighborhood and opened fire.

“There were so many bullets that they broke the branches of the mango tree,” he said, adding that he survived by firing back.

He said he would not be driven from his home.

“We don’t have any enemies other than the anti-balaka,” he said. “I need to stay and fight.”