#is more likely to be beaten there by people who come later with better technology | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bartletforamerica · 3 years

Conversation

How the Bartlet Administration Reacts to COVID-19

Abbey: is not taking any chances. After losing the fight to get the President to retreat to the farm or Camp David, she gets him to agree to limit himself to the oval office and the residence, with as few in person meetings as possible. Even before they’ve pulled together a White House task force, she’s made sure that everything is being disinfected and that her entire schedule is either canceled or made virtual. Her staff is the first to be working from home (and oh boy does she scold if she finds out any of them did something she thinks is foolish), with most of the rest of the White House staff following shortly after. She makes it her mission to do PSAs on what people should be doing and even does a virtual Sesame Street collaboration to teach kids how to wash their hands.

Zoey: Is not super pleased to be stuck in the Residence 24/7. She’s doing classes from her bedroom, so yay to not having to get out of bed early, but she can tell people are super disappointed that her camera is set up so that she has only a blank wall behind her [it turns out the secret service is very touchy about where you take video calls]. She also gets officially hired and given a security clearance for the sole fact that she’s one of the only people allowed to be near her dad who is tech-literate. She ends up doing some of her reading on the couch in his office so that she's on hand for when he's supposed to be skyping with the senior staff and can't figure out what link to click. She spends a lot of time worrying about Ellie, who helping do research about the virus, and texting her friends.

The President: is not happy to be closed up away from people. He also thinks that Abbey is overreacting where he's concerned. He misses actually getting to be around the younger staff. He and Zoey do a cooking from home video at C.J.'s suggestion, so that the country can see he's alive and to encourage people to not go out. They make chili and fight over whether it needs more cumin or oregano while Abbey records it and pipes in from behind the camera. The country is treated to a history of chili and a diplomatic incident nearly happens because apparently Mexicans deny having any association with it, even though most food historians say it has Mexican roots. The flaming debate doesn't stop a second episode at Thanksgiving where the country is treated to the history of the yam and all the secret spices that go into the President's stuffing. A large portion of the country gives him flack for putting Oysters in his stuffing. [In a small bedroom in an Illinois apartment a woman finally figures out why Joe Bethersonsen sounded so familiar.]

Leo: moved into the Residence because there was no way he was going to talk the President off ledges via skype for however long this lasted. He can only do so much. Zoey helps him learn to use Skype and he finds himself missing Margaret desperately even when he spends most of the day with a computer dedicated to having her on Skype so he can turn to it and ask her questions. She insists he get exercise and eat healthy (something he thinks she’s collaborating with the first lady on behind his back—they say very similar things much of the time). He skypes with Mallory on Sunday mornings over breakfast in his room and they pretend they’re at a hotel having a fancy brunch.

Charlie: is not particularly happy. He got sent home with everyone else because he’s not particularly necessary to have on hand if the president isn’t going anywhere. He’s still getting paid and he does do some work (the most important bit being hanging out on the phone with the president so he can ramble about history so Zoey can get her own reading done, Leo can browbeat the staff, and the first lady can do her own job) but he’s been ordered by the president and first lady to focus on getting extra school done while he can.

Donna: started freaking out the first day there was a rumor of a new disease in China. Then the White House shut down and even senior staff got sent home unless they absolutely needed to be in the building (basically just C.J. and some of her staff). And her roommate (not the one she'd really liked, who had a cat, but one she hopes is only temporary) works for a GOP congressman who thinks the whole thing is a hoax and bans masks in his office, so Donna is not at all happy and spends time she should be working cleaning things her roommate touches and that's sixty percent of how she ends up living with Josh.

Josh: is struggling with not being allowed to leave the house on pain of the first lady taking him to task (something about his lungs and the bullet). Even when he was putting his nose to the grindstone to make it through college and law school, he liked being around people while he studied, so he was usually in the library or a cafe rather than his room. He works best when he can bounce ideas off people and take in new ideas. When he was grounded after surgery it absolutely sucked and that was why he drove everyone crazy calling them all the time. Yeah he was bored, but he was also lonely. Plus he's not the best with technology. He very nearly went on national tv with his boxers showing, if not for Donna skyping him beforehand and making sure he fixed the camera. Between needing not to be alone and needing his assistant to be able to actually help him, the invite for Donna to stay with him slips out when she's complaining about her roommate. She shows up two hours later with two suitcases of clothes and two suitcases with pasta, toilet paper, and flour.

Donna and Josh: are handling the pandemic much better now that they're together. Josh can bounce ideas off Donna without it tying up his phone line. And she can listen in on his calls to the various members of congress about the stimulus package that they're working on. It's an even better look at Josh's job than she had before, and while it makes some of her work harder to focus on, she feels like she understands some things better than she ever has before. Josh even starts listening to her about how to sway certain congressmembers to their side. When they're not working, Donna forces Josh to cook with her so they're not entirely subsisting on delivery. They tried making bread and managed to spill half a bag of flour on the floor in the process but they ate all of it, even though it tasted pretty bland. Josh finally got Donna into baseball when it came back. Toby spit out his beer when he was on speakerphone with them and he heard Donna accurately yelling at the Mets for screwing up. Donna wears Josh's clothes more than her own, since she doesn't have to be on camera most of the time. They're platonically sharing a bed because they haven't found a convertible sofa for his living room that they like, they say, and it doesn't make sense for one of them to sleep on the couch, which they say has a spring that makes it uncomfortable to sleep on, even though Donna lounges on it all day with no problem. They are absolutely not dating and so they tell all their friends.

C.J.: spends five minutes laughing every time she gets off the phone with Josh or Donna. She loves her friends but god they're so completely in denial. It does, however, give her a much needed break. Her job has always involved a lot of people and knowing what venue to meet them in to ensure that she gets or passes on the information she needs. COVID protocols mean no more one-on-one meetings with journalists in her office, no more gaggles following her through the halls. The press corps were not happy when they moved all briefings outside and insisted on face masks and shields in addition to everyone sitting six feet apart. She gets asked about the president's health at least once a day and they start doing weekly waving from the balconies just so the press corps can get footage of him, healthy and shouting down to Danny and some of the others. Someone makes a cartoon of the president in the tower, with Abbey as his dragon keeper and though no one is willing to justify a cartoon with a comment, privately C.J. thinks it's accurate. She's always admired Abbey's fierce protectiveness of her family, even when she doesn't agree with every way it expresses itself or when it interferes with C.J.'s job. She has to come up with new ways to push the White House agenda (keep the economy afloat, stay home, no, don't listen to the GOP governors or those running for the primary, those ideas are not good, go the fuck home and stop having parties) and while some work, others bomb. It would help if everyone would stay on message and not screw up.

Sam: would like to make it clear that he did not know how many people would be at that gathering. He thought he was going for an outdoor meal with just a few old friends who could help raise money for the democratic party, not a fifty-person birthday party. The media fallout nearly gets him fired. Instead he gets yelled at by C.J., then by the First Lady. Mallory even sends him a card about how stupid he was. He's pretty sure that having Donna around is the only reason that Josh hasn't made the same mistake by now. It had to have been a toss up as to which of the two of them would screw up. Sam just isn't lucky enough to have a Donna (Sam is very happy that Josh has a Donna, Sam just wants Josh to realize that he talks about Donna the same way most men talk about their wives, because it's really hard not to respond to "why do I put up with finding her hair clogging the shower drain" with "because you love her and can't live without her, stupid"). He instead has adopted a cat for company. It tries to scratch him every time he tries to pet it. Sam spends his days trying to find a way to say "fuck the economy until we've beaten the virus" in a way that is palatable to the American people while trying to remind Toby that they can't actually say that outright. This is not an easy task.

Toby: would like to tell most of the American public to shut up, stay indoors for two months, pretty much nobody excepted, and if you don't, then you get tossed out to sea. He's come within an inch of telling anti-mask people they deserve to get sick on the record and is strongly advocating that the federal government figure out a way to mandate that every person in the country, minus those with legitimate medical exceptions, get the vaccine as soon as possible. He is also about to get evicted because it turns out his neighbors do not appreciate having rubber balls bounced against the walls for hours on end. Apparently, the thud is rather annoying. He worries about everyone, though this is delivered brusquely. Out of everyone he's taking the new work from home situation the best. No one can pop in to distract him, or comment on his eating habits. And if he doesn't want to talk to someone, he can always turn his phone to silent and pretend not to have seen they called. He's not pleased the Yankees lost to the Rays (necessitating rooting for either the Dodgers or the Rays, one of which beat his team and the other which betrayed New York), but he can at least take solace in the fact that the Mets didn't even make the playoffs.

#the west wing #pandemic #covid #jed bartlet #president bartlet #abbey bartlet #zoey bartlet #josh lyman #donna moss #josh x donna #sam seaborn #cj cregg #toby ziegler #leo mcgarry #basically there are still dumb people even with a good administration #but they try #and abbey will make sure they stay safe or else #i think this theoretically slots in somewhere in season... three?

294 notes · View notes

buckybarnesbabydoll · 3 years

Text

Lost and Found

Pairing: The Mandalorian x Force Sensitive! Reader

Warning(s): Brief mentions of blood and death, someone is impaled :(

Word count: 1,800+

Summary: You spent all of your life on the lonely desert planet, but as your interest in the expanding galaxy is piqued, a certain bounty hunter happens to show up in your life one day. Will you stay on the planet you've grown to know, or will you chase the change you've begun to crave?

Chapters: Chapter 1 (right here!), Chapter 2

Note(s): i feel that reader has an outfit thats kind of similar to Rey’s, but with more covering such as longer sleeves and a hood since yano, you live in a d e s e r t. This is also up on my Ao3!

You walked out to the blurrgs, lugging along a bucket of feed inside for the creatures. The morning was cool but starting to slowly warm up as the day went on.

You lived on the planet Arvala-7 with Kuiil. It was peaceful, Kuiil taught you many things about fixing technology, as well as how to make your own technology from scratch. On occasion, you ran into the Jawas as you sometimes aimlessly rode around the desert, either trying to clear your mind or find something to do. There wasn’t a whole lot available on the desert planet after all. One of your favorite things to do was stargaze, looking up into the sky full of twinkling white dots holding different life forms. Sometimes you wondered what it would be like to leave the warm planet you lived on, imagining the vast environments that existed outside of your little corner in the galaxy. Not after the raiders took over the area you used to go to with your peculiar guardian.

The way you ended up on this planet was when your family had crash-landed in their ship. You couldn’t recall much since you were so small that day, the only thing that came to mind was screaming. So much screaming.

Kuiil had told you how he found you and your mother, or really, how you found him. He remembered that day very clearly. He was fixing something when he heard this droning sound of something coming closer and closer. Kuiil ran outside as fast as he could, then he saw the ship flying out of the sky like a falling star. Fire wildly flickering and wrapping around it as it flew closer to the planet's surface. The ship had crash-landed a little ways away from where he lived, he mounted one of his blurrgs and rode as quickly as he could to the crashed ship. He was sure the ship was completely destroyed, leaving nothing left over but ash and burnt metal.

Some nearby Jawas had also caught wind of the crash and were already huddled around the ship. But it was strange, what were they all crowding around for? As Kuiil approached the ship he realized there were still people alive in it, more specifically, a woman holding her baby. The Jawas looked at her sympathetically, chittering amongst themselves about what they should do. It was clear she didn’t have long left to live, she knew that. Blood was running down her side from what appeared to be a large shard of metal stuck in there. The baby was wailing as she tried to gently rock it back to sleep, singing to it her final lullaby.

Singing to you.

Kuiil dismounted his blurrg and started parting his way through the Jawas, looking down at your mother. She slowly lifted her head to look up at him with weak, but desperate eyes filled with tears. They both knew she wasn’t going to make it. There was a silent understanding as she held you up to him, and he reached out to gently take you from her bloodied hands. The few words she could get out to him were your name and her eternal gratitude. He stayed beside her until she closed her eyes for the last time, resting in the warm sand of the desert.

He had shown you her grave when you were old enough when you were ready to hear the truth about why you lived on the desert planet. What happened to your real family. Unfortunately, he didn’t know the whole story. What your mother was running from, or what was chasing you. It remained a mystery.

A mystery you weren’t sure if you wanted to find out.

However, you felt it had something to do with your abilities.

The way you found out about your… powers, was in an act of desperation. You recall being around 14, you and Kuiil were on an outcropping on your blurrgs, however, you don't fully remember why you were out there in the first place. The sun was setting later in the day and you were about to turn back until you saw a mudhorn had approached you two. Somehow neither of you noticed the mudhorn cave nearby until you had passed by. The chattering must have woken it up. You reached for your vibroblade, ready to strike. As you were feeling around for it, you remembered.

You forgot it at home.

Panicked, you fumbled for your blaster as Kuiil shouted at you to get out of the way. The mudhorn charged at Kuiil and knocked him and his blurrg off of the outcropping, you whipped your head around and reached out, your mind begging for some otherworldly power to save him. Just when you expected the worst, both he and the blurrg had abruptly stopped in midair. You let go and they plopped on the ground safely, before turning your attention to the mudhorn, who was raring to go. Your head was already throbbing from...whatever you just did, but you knew you had to do it again before it was too late. You forced yourself to focus on lifting the mudhorn, which seemed to work again. But you had to move quickly, or you’re sure you were going to pass out. While it was still in midair, you shot back the mudhorn at high speeds, back into its cave. The force made the cave shake, making some rocks fall down in the front of it and trapping it inside. Both you and Kuiil made it back without any more issues, the only thing on either of your minds was the events that just took place.

Kuiil couldn’t believe what had happened, he’d only heard the stories of people who could move objects with their minds. He never would think that a person of that kind would end up in his care.

It’s been seven years since then.

You got used to using your powers, however, Kuiil warned you to be careful and to only use it when you’re absolutely sure. He suspected those powers were what brought chaos to your family. Since there weren't many people on the planet, to begin with, it was simple enough to avoid. You used them sometimes when you were alone, wanting to get better at… whatever this was But you noticed one day, a gentleman came to your home. He stood at the entrance, holding a two-pronged object in his hand that beeped. Kuiil approached him, and the man informed you he was looking for a bounty. To your luck, it had nothing to do with you.

Time passed, more bounty hunters came and went. But you never saw them come back. You had a feeling the raiders were dangerous, but it seems like they were worse than you thought. You wished the hunters would just get what they came for, so they can take out the raiders and the bounty with them. It was a win-win if only someone would actually succeed.

Just as you started losing hope of those raiders ever getting wiped out, a man in a shiny silver helmet and tattered, mismatched armor appeared. You were lying on your side on the sofa reading a book when he arrived, following behind your vertically challenged “father.” You didn’t even need to look at him to know what he was here for.

“Bounty hunter?” you said, looking at your book. Kuiil nodded, but the man in armor looked at you curiously. Well, as inquisitively as he could in that helmet. How could you have known what he was here for?

“But not just any bounty hunter, this is a Mandalorian,” Kuiil said, gesturing to the man and you nodded, you understood they were great fighters. Perhaps there would finally be some peace after this one tried to get whatever bounty was. Kuiil glanced back at him, “Even though he was getting beaten up by the blurrgs,” he chuckled, making the Mandalorian shake his head.

“It sounds like you get a lot of bounty hunters through here,” the armored man said, his voice was modulated, but still pleasant. He was still looking at you, the client mentioned in passing that there was another asset that could be inhabiting the planet. But he wasn’t completely sure since every time they sent someone to collect them, their tracking fob would immediately stop working once they were in the range of the planet.

He couldn’t really see it being you though, you just seemed like a normal person. Someone who lived on Arvala-7 with their… father? Uncle? He could guess you probably had a familial bond with Kuiil. He did think it was sort of peculiar that a human was living on this planet, but it wasn’t his place to inquire about that. Mando reminded himself he was here for only one thing, and to just get in and out like with his other jobs.

Yeah, it’s just another job.

“We do,” you said, sitting up from the couch. You dog-eared the page you were on and looked up at him, “They all came for the same thing.” Kuiil offered the man a seat, which he politely accepted. The sun was setting, casting in strips of pinks and oranges, making the inside of the tent look warm and cozy.

“Did you help them?”

“We did,” you nodded, “but they never came back.”

“Then I’m not sure if I want your help,” his helmet tilted, looking between you and Kuiil. The latter came hobbling over, interjecting in the conversation.

“You will need it,” he sat down next to you, holding a container with water in it. “They can show you to the encampment,” he said, gesturing to you. Now that you were old enough to defend yourself, you didn’t mind showing the bounty hunters where they were supposed to go. None of them have ever come for you, so why would it happen now?

“Fine, what’s your cut?”

“Half.”

“Of the bounty to guide? That’s a bit steep,” the Mandalorian rested his gloved hands on his knees. As if he’d give up that much pay just to be pointed in the right direction.

“No, half of the blurrg you help capture.”

“The blurrgs? Keep both of them.”

“You’ll need one to ride,” you added, still looking at him. “It’s impossible to make it on this terrain without one.”

The Mandalorian shook his head a little bit, “I don’t know how to ride a blurrg.”

“Well then, you can either stick around for a lesson or leave without your bounty,” you stretched your arms up, about to turn in for the night. The Mandalorian sighed, not seeming too thrilled about his prospects concerning the blurrg. This wasn’t the most ideal situation for him, but if it meant he was able to get that expensive bounty, he might as well learn how to ride a blurrg.

#the mandalorian #din djarin #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djaren #din djarin fanfiction #mandalorian #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal #reader insert #the mandalorian x force sensitive reader #force sensitive reader

65 notes · View notes

silverlightqueen · 4 years

Text

SKZ Scarefest

District 9, everybody knows, is the most progressive district around. Technologically, politically, economically, legislatively, District 9 has developed at a much quicker speed than those districts that border it. But nobody thinks of District 9 in those terms - of course not. It’s known for its people. Or, perhaps a more fitting term would be, its inhabitants. For it’s very likely that those you may pass on the streets of District 9 are not like you and I. Not quite people at all.

ot8!skz x reader ft. itzy and various other idols, check individual fics for themes and warnings.

a/n: hey guys! I’m sorry that I’ve been completely silent recently, I’ve just been so busy with work and university etc but I’m back with a spooky little treat! I’ve recently gotten into Stray Kids and they’ve taken a special place in my heart, so I thought I’d celebrate it with this cute little series. I really hope you guys enjoy reading these fics as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. thank you to @silverlightprincess for proofreading all my work for me, I love you! x

silverlightqueen navigation

Moonlight

y/n likes the night shifts at the diner. She rarely gets any customers coming in, so it’s peaceful, and she can even sneak in a nap from time to time. But not tonight. No, probably not best to nap when, in the early hours of the morning, a pack of wolves walk in looking like hell.

werewolf!Chan x human!reader - comedy, fluff, very mild mentions of violence and gore, alpha Chan being soft

Prince of Hell

‘It’s just a bit of fun, to get us in the mood for Halloween! Nothing’s gonna come from it!’ Ryujin had said. And now there’s a Prince of Hell raiding y/n’s fridge.

demonprince!Minho x human!reader - comedy, sexual conversation, mild threat, slight corruption kink lmao

My Love is Come to Me

y/n’s a troublemaker. Everyone who’s ever met her knows that well. However... y/n’s definition of trouble isn’t quite what you’d expect. But what’s the harm in messing with humans? Hurting them a little? Or hurting them a lot? It’s only a bit of fun, right? Changbin doesn’t seem to think so.

demonhunter!Changbin x demonprincess!reader - comedy, angst, gore and violence, reader is a total bad bitch and Changbin is just tired™️

Blood Lust

Having a part time job whilst at university is standard, right? Babysitting, bartending, retail, hospitality? Well, y/n’s job is a little... different. Or maybe a lot different. Depends on whether you find being a hot vampire’s personal blood bag weird or not.

vampire!hyunjin x human!reader - smutty smut smut lmao, fluff, a little bit of angst ig, fwb type vibe except the benefits include Hyunjin feeding on y/n lol

Satiate

y/n needs to lose her virginity before her date with Sex God Seonghwa, and what better way than to enlist the help of a soft dom sex demon? Except the soft dom was fully booked, so she got a hard dom sex demon instead. But it’ll be totally fine. Right?

incubus!Jisung x human!reader - smut again, a little bit of comedy and fluff, jisung tries his hardest to be soft but it’s a struggle bc he wants to corrupt y/n lol I’m a slut for corruption kink

Fallen

Felix is an angel. Literally. Like, from Heaven. And he’s the best at being one. Never has he let temptation lead him astray. Never has he stopped before doing what is right. Never has he abandoned his assigned humans, even those that provide the most challenge. He’s never stepped a toe out of line, always kept his crush on a particularly annoying demon a secret. That is, until, he wakes up in the bed of said annoying demon with lipstick stains on his skin and his halo a little crooked.

angel!felix x demon!reader - discussion of sex but no actual smut, comedy, fluff, felix is more worried about losing his job as an angel than anything else lmao

Cursed

Seungmin is the best wizard in town. Poisoned by a pixie? Battered by a troll? Bitten by a were? Whatever the magical injury, Seungmin can fix it in the bat of an eyelid. So when y/n is cursed by a witch and needs his help, she expects to leave his lair curseless only a few minutes later. But her plan... doesn’t quite go to plan.

wizard!Seungmin x human!reader - comedy, y/n’s a bit of a spoilt brat and Seungmin is not down for it lol

Writing’s on the Wall

y/n’s job as a real estate agent has always been easy. Selling houses in District 9 has never been particularly difficult - people line up to live in the famed ‘Spooky City’ - and y/n just has the gift of the gab, meaning she’s got the highest number of sales in the company. But one house, she just can’t seem to shift. It could be the tiny box room on the third floor, or the slightly beaten down garden fence, or the ghost that scares away every family that comes to view the house. Yeah, it’s probably the ghost.

ghost!Jeongin x human!reader - comedy, angst, Jeongin will stop at nothing to make sure no one moves into his house and y/n is tired of it

Monsters

Jackson’s (in)famous Halloween party is finally here, after months of being hyped up, anticipated, and labelled ‘the Party of the Year’. He’s invited everyone who’s anyone - the guestlist is exclusive to say the least. Werewolves and vampires, wizards and witches, angels and demons (and demon hunters), living creatures and dead; magical folk of all kind are on their way to Jackson’s party on All Hallows Eve. Oh, and a few humans too.

ot8magicalcreature!skz x readers from all 8 fics - comedy, fluff, angst, basically just tying up the loose ends from all the fics with the setting of Jackson’s famed party lol

346 notes · View notes

nuttyrabbit · 3 years

Text

Giovanni Conti Bio

“Nutty, are you only going to show up to post about Archie Sonic and your OCs?” Yes, yes I am

Anyways, I decided to throw together a quick bio for Gambit’s dad because hey I figured his stuff out and I’m doing shit with him now.

Shoutouts to @pidgeonspen for doing his design for me.

Anyways, as always, everything’s under the readmore

Name: Giovanni Conti (Real name Brando Romilla)

Age: Approximately 50 years old

Height: 3'4"

Occupation: Auto mechanic/Conman

Location: Unknown, last confirmed sighting in Westopolis. Originally born in Lugaio, Spagonia.

Sexuality: Bisexual, though greatly prefers women to the point of denying any male attraction

Personality: Giovanni's personality is what one would expect from a seasoned conman: charismatic, self-serving, and conniving, the weasel finds success in his trade thanks to his natural talent in dealing with others. To his victims, Giovanni appears to be a charming, compassionate, smooth-talking individual who seems to go out of his way to help others in their time of need. But of course it's all a farce, a way to con unsuspecting victims out of their hard-earned cash. In reality, the man formerly known as Brando Romilla is the exact opposite. A selfish, grumpy, and temperamental weasel "behind the scenes", Giovanni finds himself unwilling to engage with the world around him outside of whatever con he's cooked up or to get out of whatever mess he's gotten himself into this time.

Giovanni's most defining personality trait however, isn't his sardonic attitude or his smoothtalking ways, but instead his paranoia. Giovanni has spent the majority of his life on the run and it shows. He often finds himself looking over his shoulder both figuratively and quite literally, hoping that his latest victim hasn't found out about him or that the law or the mafia or whoever he's crossed hasn't tracked him down to enact their revenge. As such, Giovanni is extremely hesitant to give out his name unless absolutely necessary for the con, even going so far as to make up fake names in emergency situations, though the truth eventually comes out. In addition, he trusts absolutely nobody and almost always looks for a way to backstab/escape any sort of partnership he's found himself on the receiving end of, willing or otherwise.

All of this being said, it isn't *all* bad for Giovanni personality-wise, for when the weasel finds something he actually likes, one can see a softer, more eager side of him come out. Despite his professed hatred of his previous job, Giovanni has a rather deep appreciation for the intricacies of vehicles and vehicle repairs, even going so far as to sneak into antique car shows to gawk at the new vehicles and reminisce about the "good old days" before it "got so complicated" in terms of technology. Oddly enough, he also loves vinyl.

Skills: Giovanni is of course, an incredibly skilled con-man, imploying a variety of cons and scams to trick people out of their money, ranging from simple "tourist trap" tricks such as "no change", "toll booth", and "free gift", to more complicated ones such as "flat tire" schemes and even reselling stolen/counterfeit items at a significantly marked up price. His variety in terms of cons is helped by his ability to sell them thanks to his smooth-talking charismatic persona that he puts on during them. As a result of his occupation he's also extremely adept at pointing out other cons/knowing when he's being duped. Not only that, but he's even picked up some basic lockpicking/hotwiring and ID forging skills, though they aren't quite as honed as his other talents in the area.

Surprisingly enough, again despite his professed dislike of his childhood job, Giovanni is an incredibly skilled mechanic, being able to assess the issues with (mostly older) vehicles just from a few minutes of observation and testing alone and fixing it in record times. OF course he'll complain about how he's "too fuckin' old" for it, but he'll do a damn good job...and even enjoy himself somewhat. He claims he would be unable to work on "new-fangled" vehicles such as Extreme Gear but if he were to get the chance, would find that he'd be a natural at it.

Likes: Antique vehicles, wine, the feeling when he pulls of a con, vinyl records, fresh pressed suits, rare steak, expensive cigars, older women, working on antique vehicles.

Dislikes: The law, organized crime outfits, his ex-wife, his kid, getting caught, prison, cheap beer, "new" technology, people who talk too much, his grandfather, working on vehicles (his relationship with auto repair is..complicated), staying in one place for too long.

Backstory: Brando Rombilla was born into anything but normalcy: born to a pair of younger Spagonian lovers, the result of a tryst gone wrong, he was abandoned on the steps of his paternal grandfather, the widowed mechanic Angelo Rombilla, who would raise the weasel as his own.

Angelo was an old, stubborn, hardworking man who had spent his entire life toiling away as a mechanic, even coming to own his own shop...yet despite it all, he never quite had a lot to show for it, and Brando grew up in not quite poverty, but in...less than modest means

Despite this...unusual situation, Brando would, at least for a time, grow up as any other child would, going to school, making friends, and living as a normal Spagonian child would--at least until he hit the age of 12-13, where his father suddenly and inexplicably ground his childhood to a halt, pulling him out of school and telling him that he was going to be a "working man" from now on, that he'd have to help out at the shop and help put food at the table--and that is indeed what happened.

From then on, Brando found himself working at the modest repair shop, working the front desk, doing oil changes, and learning the ins and outs of auto repair--and he fucking hated it.

Not just because he'd been robbed of the experiences his peers were getting, but it served as a constant reminder of the (at least to him) pathetic conditions in which they lived and worked. In addition, it only served to exacerbate his sheer irritation at his father's stubbornness and near-perfectionist standards.

But over time, as he aged and saw his peers move on to bigger and better things, he realized something else: all this work, all this "good, honest, hard" work he'd been doing, that his grandfather had been doing, that he wanted him to inherit, it was getting them nowhere

The both of them spent years and years doing the same shit over and over, and they were no better off than when they'd started. They still lived like shit, ate like shit, and worked like dogs, and the idea of doing this his entire life revolted him. Yet when he'd bring this up, he'd just get shouted down, beaten down, and told to get back to work. He loathed it all.

Then one day, around the time Giovanni hit 19--it all changed. In a moment of what his grandfather would call laziness and what Brando would later call ingenuity, he accidentally charged a customer for something they hadn't done--and with it, more money than he should've had. It suddenly hit him, his way out, his way to actually do something about all of this. It started off slow, an overcharge here, a useless job done there, a job not done this way or that, even some front product sold off of lies. Before Brando knew it, the shop was actually making money for once, and more than that, he was making money. And the best part was, that for once, Angelo seemed like he didn't have a stick up his ass. He seemed...happy, over the moon really that things had begun to look up. Things seemed to finally be getting better!

....until Angelo caught Brando in the act, after which the mother of all shouting matches ensued, of the grandson and grandfather screaming at each other about this and that, about everything--and saw Brando being thrown out of the shop, out of his grandfather's home--and out of his life

Out on his ass with only the money he'd pocketed and the clothes on his back to his name, Brando by all rights should have been terrified about his future, livid about what had happened, but instead he found himself excited. Now that his grandpappy or his stupid shop wasn't a problem anymore, he could finally do something with himself, and he knew exactly what that'd be--putting to use the same bullshittery that'd gotten him here to begin with.

And so the young weasel found himself hopping all over Spagonia, honing his craft. Whether it be through pinching wares from stores and selling them nearby at an outrageously hiked price, snatching and selling bootleg items, or even using his mechanic skills to craft "wonder items" that were quite literally just old scrapyard junk, Brando soon became quite adept at the art of the con. However, with that adeptness came attention, and with that attention came the watchful eye of the law, which attempted to crack down on the weasel multiple times as he traveled about Spagonia.

Soon enough, his face and name were plastered on wanted signs, in local papers, and in time, he couldn't run any longer, finally being booked on fraud charges and placed in prison for ~ 3 years at the age of 22. Upon getting out, Brando realized that he couldn't exactly do his work here anymore, lest he get thrown back in for good.

But Soleanna wasn't exactly appealing either, especially since the SPD were notorious for cracking down on fraudsters. He was at a loss at what to do, until he managed to catch a TV broadcast talking about Empire City and it hit him- EC would be the perfect place to disappear and get a fresh start. It was big, it was far away, and it was full of suckers just waiting to be parted with their money Forging himself a new identity (quite literally) as "Giovanni Conti" , he smuggled himself on board a ship and soon found himself in Empire City, where he almost immediately got to work--and found the results to be not what he expected

While the toursts were complete suckers as expected, the residents were anything but, and he found himself on the run from the law once more--and in addition, the various criminal orgs that made their homes there and had no tolerance for being scammed. Needless to say, the whole thing frustrated him, and with no other way to vent his frustrations, he turned to drinking, and with it, found himself at a small bar in downtown EC, drinking away his frustrations...and chatting up an equally frustrated, and rather attractive young woman. He didn't catch her last name, but certainly caught her first- Artemis

What should have just been a simple one night tryst suddenly got a lot more complicated once the young woman had tracked him down almost a week later with some soul-crushing news: She was pregnant, and it was almost certainly by him. To make matters worse, Artemis was an up and coming politician, someone in the running for the EC City Council, and she would be DAMNED if it came out that she got knocked up in a one night stand, that would ruin her career! Despite Giovanni's attempts at arguing otherwise, she also insisted on keeping the child, claiming that if word got out she got rid of it, it would ruin her career. Threatening to hand him over to authorities, she blackmailed him into sticking by her side for the following 9 months, appearing in front of the cameras as a pictureesque pair of parents-to-be, Artemis embracing the newfound attention and Giovanni absolutely loathing all the eyes on him, and not only that, but also moving in together to her (admittedly) lavish apartment.

This continued up on through the end of the pregnancy and into the birth of their son, who Artemis named "Tai", a (perhaps ironic) homage to an old Apotosian patron of Luck. From then, things continued normally, well as least as normal as could be for the unwitting parents-to-be, up until the child was around a year old, when Artemis went on a sudden vacation. Left alone with the child and feeling helplessly trapped, Giovanni contemplated making a break for it, perhaps faking his own death and figuring out the details later, when a hooded figure burst into the home and attempted to shoot both him and the child dead. Through a near-miraculous stroke of luck though, the intruder's gun jammed, giving Giovanni the chance to brandish a knife and stab them in the jugular. His heart pounding, his mind racing, Giovanni quickly put two and two together: someway, somehow, Artemis had tried to get the two of them whacked. Quickly disposing of the body and without really thinking about it, Giovanni grabbed the child and made a break for it, bolting from the apartment and leaving Empire City under cover of darkness, trying to make sure he left no trace that he had left--or was even still alive.

Soon arriving in Westopolis, Giovanni and Tai found a small apartment to squat in for the time being. Quickly settling in, Giovanni quickly fell back into his old ways, and found the people of Westopolis far more vulnerable to his schemes than in EC. Still, the weasel wasn't happy. His "new start" that he'd hoped for had fallen apart before it'd even gotten the chance to get off the ground because of *her*, Artemis. Giovanni's frustration gnawed away at him--not helped by the tiny weasel at home, his little boy--the *mistake* that'd gotten him into this mess. He often found himself verbally and physically taking out his frustrations on young Tai, even more so when it turned out the little brat wasn't even good enough to help him on cons. He wished he could get rid of the little bastard once and for all, but for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to kill him despite his best efforts.

Years went by, but nothing truly changed for the pair, until young Tai was 8 years old and Giovanni found himself on the bad end of a con gone wrong, having inadvertently found himself attempting to swindle an undercover cop. Rushing back to the apartment he and Tai shared, he quickly grabbed whatever tools he could and attempted to disappear, leaving the young Tai behind for good.

Throwing himself out of the frying pan and into the proverbial fire, Giovanni had managed to disappear and evade the cops---and run right into one of his "victims": "Downtown" Ebony Hare--a "made man" in the Carnades, one of the major local outfits--and someone who he'd given a shoddy brake job. Ebony recognized the weasel almost immediately and motioned to off him for messing up his car, but after Giovanni pleaded for his life, Ebony spared him-- on the condition that he work off his "debts" to him and the Carnades.

Faced with either paying his dues or paying with his life, Giovanni made the obvious choice and ended up doing quite a few small jobs for Ebony over the course of the next decade and change (approx 13 years) not only fixing his car but also fixing the other vehicles in the outfit--and giving a disgustingly large portio nof the proceeds from his other "work" directly to Ebony. Once again, Giovanni was trapped doing the very thing he'd been stuck doing since childhood and not only that, but also indebted to a mobster who had no intention of letting him go. He desperately tried to find a way out, but it was to no avail--until a near miraculous stroke of "luck".

The Black Arms invasion decimated a significant portion of Mobius, especially Northamer, and no place found itself worse off than Westopolis. For most living there, it seemed like the end times as the city burned around them. But for Giovanni, it was an opportunity to finally disappear--and never come back.

The invasion soon ended, the repairs soon begun, and the Carnades began to operate once more--but Giovanni was nowhere to be found. Despite a thorough search of the city, the weasel had just...vanished, presumably killed by the aliens or escaping to parts unknown after.

Giovanni's current location is unknown and those who know of him believe him to be dead, but there have been some apparent sightings of the aged con-man. Some say they've seen him on the outskirts of Sand Blast City, others say they've seen him working his trade with another individual down in the Southern Baronies, and some even say that he's still in Westopolis, working his craft, and sticking close to the headquarters of the East Side Pack, a noted rival of the Carnades.

#OC Refs and Bios #Sonic OC #OC Stuff #Sonic FC #Archie Sonic #Sonic #Sonic the Hedgehog #Giovanni Conti the Weasel #Gambit the Weasel

45 notes · View notes

psychosistr · 3 years

Note

I know this isn’t your usual thing- but do uou have any negaverse headcanons or ideas for dt17???

Hmm...not really a lot for the good guys........but, as always, I have ideas for the bad guys in FOWL having negaverse versions xD

Bradford: Used to work for SHUSH, but was sickened by how corrupt and amoral he saw the organization becoming- especially after Ludwig Von Drake started calling the shots and making everything worse- he wanted to grant people freedom to live their lives happily, not under the secret control of those who just wanted to steal from them. Teamed up with Black Heron after freeing her from SHUSH’s prison and created FOWL as a way to secretly fight world tyranny and help those in need. Eventually ended up in Scrooge McDuck’s board of directors as a way to keep an eye on him while also secretly embezzling money from him to help fund FOWL’s bases, food banks, and hospitals in secret- working for him is sickening, but necessary for the greater good. Bradford wants to believe he’s doing the right thing in the long run, but has a horrible guilty-conscience leftover from his days in SHUSH and worries that he’s secretly a villain for his more underhanded and sneaky actions.

Black Heron: Used to work as a solo-hero to fight against evil organizations like SHUSH, but was too headstrong and kept getting captured or injured in the process. Was freed by Bradford and went on to create FOWL, recruiting more likeminded individuals so they’d have a better chance fighting against evil. Continued going on missions for FOWL until the fight against Agent 22 and Scrooge McDuck cost her her arm, leaving her with lasting trauma and anxiety that made it hard for her to do fieldwork for many years. Later recruited Steelbeak and has a caring teacher-mentor relationship with him, often leading to her fretting over him every time he gets injured for rushing into danger without thinking to save someone- he reminds her a lot of herself when she was younger and she worries about him going through what she did. Has a bad habit of delivering heroic speeches in an attempt to convert others to the side of good, often coming off as the “preachy hero” type that makes her adversaries cringe from her genuine sappiness and good-natured attempts to “help them find their way”. (Bradford and most of FOWL also find her speeches cringe-inducing, except for Steelbeak who admires her heroic personality and wants to be a hero like her one day)

Steelbeak: Joined FOWL after being arrested for illegal cockfighting- he wasn’t actually a participant, though, he just worked as a sparring/warm-up partner for the real competitors and cleaned up the building for money and a place to stay at night since he was destitute. Had a bad habit of getting emotionally attached to the fighters and would often put himself in harm’s way to protect them from opponents who took things too far, often getting beaten himself in the process. Got arrested during a police raid of the building and had his beak broken by the cops when he tried to run away. Black Heron heard rumors about him through her contacts in the system (they said he kept trying to be a peacekeeper during inmate brawls and getting hurt for it) and felt bad for him, so she paid his bail and recruited him for FOWL. He’s still not very smart, but he’s earnest and sincere in his desire to help others, which often leads to him running head-first into danger and getting injured, despite his team’s protests. Has a good heart, though, and will never hesitate to do the right thing, even if it costs him his life.

Rockerduck and Jeeves: Faced off against Scrooge and Goldie years ago after they tried to steal the gold that Rockerduck rightfully earned through hard work. He’d planned to use the money he would’ve gotten from selling the gold to help the town and others like it prosper, but that plan was ruined and he nearly fell into bankruptcy trying to keep his promises for improving the various towns. Still, he held onto just enough money and made some good investments that helped him regain some of his former wealth. He soon realized that someone like Scrooge was going to be a problem years down the road if he kept amassing wealth, so he invested in cryogenic research and froze himself at multiple points over the years to prolong his lifespan- trusting his loyal butler, Jeeves, to look after his body and find trustworthy allies in their fight against McDuck. Jeeves eventually found these allies in FOWL, but had to wait several years to wake Rockerduck up again and introduce them safely, leading to him volunteering for some of FOWL’s riskier experiments to prolong his own life and continue serving his boss for as long as possible- despite the warnings that it could negatively impact his mind and leave him with limited intelligence as a result. Rockerduck was both touched and heartbroken to find out what his butler went through for him.

Phantom Blot: After seeing his home and family destroyed during a magical battle that involved Magica De Spell (who was the protector of his homeland) and an unnamed enemy, the man who would go on to become the Phantom Blot was horrified to see the damage that unrestrained magic could cause and vowed to find a way to contain it so no one else would suffer such loss. Spent years studying, analyzing, and experimenting with ways to contain or take magic away from those who abused it, often consulting with Magica whenever he ran into her to ask for more information and ways to improve the weaponry he relied on in his battles against violent or evil magic users. His work eventually earned him the attention of FOWL, who appreciated his tireless dedication to protecting others and offered him help and funding to continue advancing his research. He’s still a bit hesitant about opening up and trusting others again after losing his family, but he’ll still do what he can to help his companions in need.

Gandra Dee: Always had a knack for building dangerous machines that no one else understood or appreciated, giving her a pretty cynical view of people in general and ultimately leading to her experimenting on herself to avoid drawing attention to her actions while giving her a way to always be prepared when people turned on her when her inventions angered them. Originally joined FOWL at Bradford’s request to help provide them with technology in exchange for keeping her out of jail and allowing her to work on her own projects on the side- so long as she didn’t cause too much trouble. For a while, she was more of a neutral party at best, but that changed after she started associating with Fenton/Gizmoduck and realized how much more fun she could have as an evil mad scientist. Ended up quitting FOWL and joining Fenton and Gyro as part of Scrooge McDuck’s evil science coalition. Now, she’s free to create the most dangerous and twisted things she can think of with no restraints or morals getting in her way.

#ducktales #dt17 #fowl #bradford buzzard #black heron #steelbeak #john d rockerduck #jeeves #phantom blot #gandra dee #negaverse

53 notes · View notes

shirtlesssammy · 3 years

Text

3x14: Long-Distance Call

Guys! We have a special surprise next week!! (Hint: We finally get to recap the gay angel episodes again!) Until then, enjoy our last episode for season 3...

Then:

Sam’s saving his brother no matter what

Now:

On a stormy night, a man drinks alone, contemplating life. His phone rings. It’s Linda. Ben tells her he can’t. “My wife.” He hangs up the phone. It rings again. Linda pleads with him. She loves him. He hangs up again. The phone rings AGAIN. He slams it down repeatedly and tears it from the wall. IT RINGS AGAIN! Damn, Linda, you are persistent. To stop the ringing, Ben pulls out a gun and shoots himself.

Dean tells Sam they have a case. Sam tells Dean that they’re on a case --his. Dean balks at that because they’ve got nothing. Bela’s gone, the Colt’s gone, and Dean would rather work a case they can solve than wallow in his imminent death.

They head to Milan, Ohio. They head right to the dead guy’s house and interview his widow. She’s a little belligerent but tells them that there was blood everywhere (Oh, that’s why she’s belligerent), favorite scotch was out, and the phone was ripped from the wall.

Sam asks to look at the crime scene. He goes through the caller ID. Dean asks about strange phone calls. She admits that a couple weeks prior she picked up on a call that Ben was on. It was static. No one was there.

Research time!

Dean finds out that “Linda” was Ben’s high school sweetheart --and she died in a car accident. On top of that, she was cremated. On top on top of that, Sam discovered that the caller ID on the phone traces back to a phone number used a century ago! (I presume Sam did all that research while he stared out the window.)

They head to the bowels of the phone company to find fly infested, porn addicted Stewie. I’m going to skip over all this but will laugh at the ad that said “Order now & receive a bone-us gift!” Sam asks Stewie to trace the old-time number. (Natasha: flames on the side of my face at this damn offensive porn franchise.)

Dean pulls out the threat level 5 on the guy and the guy finds some results. There’s different houses that all received a call from that number.

Sam heads to investigate one house. He poses as a phone company employee. He asks about strange phone activity. The man that answers the phone says that they haven’t had any issues. Sam notices the daughter looking concerned in the background.

She pops outside to call his bluff. She wants to know why he was asking about the phones. He gives her a little give and she admits that she’s been talking on the phone with her mom --who’s dead.

Dean checks in with similar stories. Then he gets a call. It’s the static-y voice of John Winchester.

Later at the motel, Sam wants to know more about Dean’s call. Dean gets all nervous boy about it possibly really being their dad, and what they should do about it. What should Dean say? Sam, ever the pragmatist, suggests, “hello.” It’s funny, but I guess not really because Dean walks out on his brother.

Dean comes back with a reason why things are happening here. It’s the birthplace of Thomas Edison, and there’s a museum with Edison’s spirit phone.

They take a tour but the phone doesn’t have any EMF. They’re stumped as to what’s happening.

Later that night, while Sam slumbers, Dean stays awake to answer his phone. John calls again. He asks Dean how he could sell his soul. “I was looking after Sammy like you told me to.” (Boris screams into the void) John tells Dean that the demon that holds Dean’s contract is in Ohio.

Meanwhile, the daughter from earlier is IMing a friend when she gets a message from her dead mom. The mom says she wants to see her. The girl is scared but her mom reassures her that she’s with her. Then the girl’s computer flickers out and in the reflection of the monitor, we see the girl and her mom.

The next morning, Sam returns from interviewing Lanie, the haunted daughter, to find Dean obsessing over demon omens. He shares his intel with Sam.

Dean’s pretty sure the demon who owns his contract is following him. I pull a Dean voice to say, “Why are you so obsessed with me?” only Dean’s actual line in the show is “My ass is too sweet to let out of sight.” God. This show. Sam tries to tell him that the demon-killing exorcism that John gave Dean over the phone might not be as advertised. Dean’s a believer, though. He’s got faith in John! (Just gonna take a li’l writing break to tear at my hair.)

Sam heads back to watch over Lanie, but before he goes the Winchesters hold an emotional shouting match. Dean’s ready to stop the demon from coming after him once and for all and thinks that Sam’s reticence is just more head-butting with their (now dead) dad. Sam accuses Dean of having “blind faith” towards his father and I weep. Sam leaves with one request: that Dean stay put until he returns from seeing Lanie. So. That’s going to go well.

Lanie explains to Sam what’s been going on - that her mom’s requests have extended beyond the normal grieving cemetery visit. We cut to a young kid playing in his room. His toy phone rings. “Hi, mommy!” he chirps.

Cut to Dean “Single Man Tear” Winchester sitting dramatically by his phone. It rings.

Lanie reveals to Sam that her mother’s ghost told her to kill herself. When Sam hears the ghost’s catchphrase, “come to me,” he realizes that they’re dealing with something else entirely.

While Sam experiences revelation, Dean heads off alone following his dad’s orders. f r o w n y f a c e. He ends up in a quiet, suburban home.

Meanwhile, Lanie’s brother Simon (of the toy phone fame) has gone missing. Sam saves him just in time from getting pancaked by a truck. As soon as the kids are buttoned up back home, Sam calls Dean. He tells him that a crocatta is after the people of the town. It’s a scavenger that lures grieving people and eats their souls. It tends to dwell in filth. Dean recalls the flies at the phone company, so Sam heads out on a hunt. (Meanwhile, YES, Dean’s off having his own questionable adventures, setting demon traps in a nearby house.)

Sam calls Dean for backup before assaulting Stewie, the phone guy. “I know what you are and I know how to kill you,” Sam says to the terrified guy. Someone looms behind Sam with a baseball bat. It’s Clark, the manager! He takes out poor soft-headed Sammy. Unfortunately, Clark takes out Stewie too.

They both wake up tied to chairs inside the building. Clark kills Stewie and then fangs out. He unhinges his jaw and sucks out Stewie’s soul. Yummy? Clark then lays his hands on the phone console...because it’s time to kill Dean!

Elsewhere, in a police locker room, a man’s phone rings. It’s his daughter. “I know who killed me, daddy,” she says. The girl’s voice tells him that her killer is at their house right now.

Clark explains to Sam that spoofing John Winchester was incredibly easy. All he had to do was find their phone numbers, then John’s old numbers. That let him listen to voicemails, read emails, and easily find the weak links that led him to target Dean. Oof. (Side note: a crocatta would make a seriously amazing private detective in an alternate Supernatural where monsters have better meal restraint.)

Dean stands ready at the suburban house - ready to kill a demon. The grieving officer heads home, ready to kill his daughter’s murderer.

Dean’s jug of holy water is met with an angry father with a shotgun, so things start out really well. They quickly devolve into a dirty fist fight.

Meanwhile, the crocatta continues to villain-monologue at Sam.

Technology, Clark says, makes it so much easier to target people. They’re connected - yet isolated and easier to pick off. (I scoff at this overdone oversimplification of the role of “technology” in society. I hate when people try to pretend the past was trouble-free.) Sam finds his argument weak as well, and punctuates that by breaking free of his bonds and attacking Clark.

At the house, Dean disarms the grieving cop and reveals the demon trap below the carpet. He starts reading out the exorcism. To his horror, the guy walks right out of the demon trap. When the guy accuses him of killing his daughter, the pieces click for Dean.

Sam kills Clark by jabbing his head into a retail hook suspended off the wall. OH I SEE, this show has always been obsessed with death by hook. >:|

Dean and the officer avoid killing each other. Instead, they despair in beaten silence together, before we cut to Dean holding a compress to his forehead back at the motel.

Sam and Dean go over the case back in the motel, but talk quickly switches to EMOTIONS. Sam apologizes to Dean. Dean admits he was wrong. “I wanted to believe so badly,” he says. STORY OF HIS LIFE DAMN IT. He admits that he’s terrified of dying. Terrified of Hell.

Sam gives him sad puppy eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with having hope.”

“Hope doesn’t get you jack squat,” Dean tells him.

For Sad Boys with Poor Coping Mechanisms Science:

Call Me By Your Quote:

I just talked to an 84 year old grandmother who's having phone sex with her husband, who died in Korea! It redefined my understanding of the word 'Necrophilia'

That’s what happens when you mess with the phone company, dillweed

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

#spn recap #dean winchester #sam winchester #spn 3x14 #long distance call #supernatural season 3

29 notes · View notes

awesomerextyphoon · 3 years

Text

A Warrior’s Heart | Phase 1: Welcome – 3

A Hero’s Welcome?

Summary: When someone with a connection to Steve’s past dies, he’s reminded of the promise he made to Dr. Erskine and whether or not he’s failed. Can Ife help him see that he hasn’t?

Characters: Steve Rogers, Ifekerenma ‘Ife’, Abraham Erskine (mentioned), Marlene Erskine (mentioned), Nick Fury, Eliza Maza, Azeneth Ramirez

Main Pairing: Stucky x Black!OFC (Ifekerenma ‘Ife’)

Rating: 18+/Explicit

Word Count: 5,801

Warnings: Depression, Talk of Death, Slightly Cynical Steve, Politics, Smutty Thoughts

A/N: I’m sorry that this so long. I really wanted to try something different with Erskine and the time around CA:TFA. Also, I wanted to explore how Steve would be feeling right after AoU (little bit of a downer, but it will get better). Furthermore, this story will diverge a bit from MCU in terms of Steve’s and Bucky’s abilities. Feedback is welcomed and greatly appreciated. Dividers were by the lovely @firefly-graphics. Thanks to @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog for the beta!

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

<<Previous

Early June 2015

“What do you have to report, Ifekerenma?”

Ife pursed her lips together,”Wanda is doing well with her training. Djamila and Nazaret had some sung her praises during their first session.”

It took a few days to convince the team and Fury to let her friends train Wanda. Luckily Nat had her back and Wanda was able to show the compound how much she improved from what Ife was able to teach her. Unfortunately, Azeneth was unable to make it due to being tied up with a BNA mission and relocating to the NYC division.

“That’s good to hear. Have you made made any progress with the others?”

Ife’s eyes casted down in thought. Vision was a no-go for now. Pietro was warming up to her, but he thought she was still suspicious (wasn’t wrong). She didn’t want to try Rhodey yet (too close to Tony). Nat was..difficult; she’ll try again later.

“I’m going to try Steve next. He seems like a safe bet, even with the serum. Hopefully, he won’t catch before it’s time. I will need Erskine’s folder though.”

Eliza’s lips turned upward in a small smile, “Agreed. I’ll have it sent to you within the hour. Best of luck, Ife.”

And with that, Ife got dressed and headed towards the common room.

Steve leaned back and clasped his hands together behind his head in thought and vexation.

The 21st century must be fucking with him.

Right after Operation ‘Captain Briar Rose’, Steve went to Brooklyn. He could barely find any trace of his old neighborhood. The apartment complex where he and his mother lived was now a ritzy condominium with a Starbucks on the ground level.

All of the places he’d go with Bucky were now soulless veneers filled with empty promises of ‘happiness’ or ‘self-esteem’.

He remembered the time Bucky bailed him out of yet another beating by Arnie and his gang back in 1928. His mother berated him for getting in yet another fight while Bucky’s mom laughed and treated them to ice cream from the local sweets parlor. Bucky’s sisters – Rebecca, Rose, and Annabelle – were making a fuss and bursted out in giggles when Annabelle got ice cream in Bucky’s hair. It was one of the best days that year.

A T-Mobile now stands in its place.

All of his friends and comrades save Bucky and Peggy are dead; he nearly bawled in the middle of briefing when found out that Timothy ‘Dum Dum’ Dugan died and had a cry alone in his quarters afterwards.

Felt shitty about the current state of the country. It seemed as though everything has gotten worse. He found out about the Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Wars. How income and wealth inequality has somehow gotten as bad as, if not worse, than the Gilded Age. Corruption has turned DC and NYC into dog and pony show.

He was furious at all of the politicians and corporations that wanted him to endorse them or their actions. They wanted Captain America’s helmet and shield to mask their heinous acts. They were the same if not worse than Senator Brandt.

Some days Steve wished SHIELD let him stay in the ice. Even worse, there were days he felt that Captain America was for an America that never was.

Nowadays, he felt even more like an anomaly.

It started when he got out of the ice. He felt a lot stronger and faster; only Thor knew the extent of it and he has to hold back a lot when fighting for fear of government asking for more of his blood. Though he suspected Ife and Natasha might be onto him.

He was a lot hungrier than before he went on ice as well. Often time, he would have late night ‘dinners’ (now it's every night), To be honest, he was a bit embarrassed at how much he ate, though the thought of pinning the blame on Ife did cross his mind. It wouldn’t work due to Ife almost never eating with the team and Sam said that he would know if Ife was the culprit. Steve suspected that Ife has been using her connections to restock the food between when he retired to his quarters and before the rest of the team came for breakfast. Also, she kept leaving him fun pop culture facts and media recommendations for the night.

Steve didn’t feel he could go to Dr. Cho since he doubted she had anything to go on in his case.

He did wonder if Ife could help him. She seemed to like helping the team and she was knowledgable about Non-Humans. Wanda’s rapid improvement in her powers and control bolstered his decision.

Sighing, Steve sat up straight in his chair and picked up the letter he received that morning. Marlene Philomena Erskine had passed away and he was invited to her funeral.

It was sad to have yet another link to his past slip from his grasp.

Steve was finishing up another book to fight off his jitters. It was the night before the operation and he needed to have a few moments of respite from the war.

He was so engrossed in what he was reading that he failed to notice Dr. Erskine entering.

Erskine, for his part, was eyeing several books in Rogers’ makeshift bookshelf: They Odyssey, Of Mice and Men, Murder on the Orient Express, Tender is the Night, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Homage to Catalonia, and To Have and have Not.

“What do you think of the book?” Erskine asked as he sat across the startled recruit.

“Just finished. Y’think it wise to get buzzed before a major operation, sir?” Steve noted when he saw the bottle and two shot glasses on the bed.

Erskine chucked, “Calms my nerves a bit. What did you think of the book?”

Steve pressed his lips together for a moment, “It was a good read. The book had a lot of good points for something written eleven years ago.”

“What truths?”

“Well, for one thing, how technology is used to make the populace happy, but not better. The World Government found a way to get people to willingly trade self-expression, self-awareness, and their happiness for cheap happiness and comfort. Makes you wonder if the US was next, you know?”

Erskine was taken aback by his answer. It was much deeper than most of commanding officers gave if they even read the book.

Though that last sentence was interesting.

“What do you mean next?”

“Isn’t that what happened in Germany?”

Erskine sighed, “Yes and no. Most people here think Hitler came out of nowhere, but he didn’t. Not everyone in Germany was for WWI. There was a 100,000 person march in Berlin, but it didn’t matter since the Social Democratic Party failed to rise to the occasion and went along with war effort. Many were scapegoated for Germany failure, Matthias Erzberger for instance.”

“What about the Weimar Republic?”

Once again, Erskine was taken aback by Steve’s knowledge, “Weimar Germany was a great place to be creative, curious, and make new discoveries. I met my wife, Greta, in Berlin during that time. I made a lot of friends, friends I had to leave behind.”

Erskine frowned as his face darkened,”The terrible thing, my friend, was not that Hitler was dangerous, it was that either people didn’t take him as the threat he was or they wanted to use him for their own ends. The cops and judges sympathized with the Nazi Party to get one over the Socialists and Communists. Industrialists wanted to make money off of the Nazis getting into power. Even the German and International newspapers didn’t cover him with the urgency required.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Ja, and it almost happened here, didn’t it?”

Steve nodded in reference to the America First movement and the German American Bund. He still remembers getting the crap beaten out of him by the Silver Shirts when he spoke out against them a few years ago.

“So why did you choose me?”

“I suppose that is the best question.” Erskine admitted while glancing at Steve’s bookshelf, “What do you think of the Odyssey?”

Steve shrugged, “The adventures were fun, but they were just fantasy.”

“They may not be, Mein Freund. How old do you think I am?”

“Uh, mid sixties?”

Erskine laughed, “You’re too kind. I will be 94 this September,” he smiled noting Steve’s shock, “Things are not always as they seem. I come from a long line of ‘healers’ dating back to before Rome. One of them was able to ‘make a man more’. They inspired me to go into this profession.”

“Making super soldiers?”

“Medicine and bio-chemical engineering.”

“Oh”

“Did you know that you will not be first to undergo this?”

“Who was?”

“His name was Konrad Jager. He was a lot like you: small, frail, but had a great deal of courage and compassion. He was willing to fight Nazis in the streets knowing he’d lose. One day in 1930, his parents begged me to save him as the doctors had given up all hope.

I was woking on a serum that would make the body impervious to all diseases rather than wait for the next outbreak to occur. I thought it would propel the medical field.

The trial worked and he was healed. He became much taller and broader in size as a result.”

Erskine pulled out a picture of himself next to a tall, well-built young man.

“That’s Konrad isn’t it?”

“Yes. I was able to help eight more people through the earlier version of the serum. All but one turned out well.”

“What happened to the one?”

“Ah yes, Eren Kant. He was a shy young man before the serum, but then became more like Hodge: a philander, arrogant, and bit of a bully with a temper. He ‘grew too big for his britches’ as one would say and was arrested by the Munich police. He let his arrogance blind him and he escaped in a way that intrigued Der Fuhrer and was taken to Berlin soon after. By this time, rumors had spread of my work and the Nazis were anxious to be the ‘best of the Aryans’. They were able to get my whereabouts from Eren and sent Schmitt to fetch me, but I was already on my way to Switzerland when he reached my home.”

“How did he get you?”

Erskine slightly jerked his head to the side and back, “A year prior to my attempted escape, I met a man in Geneva who warned of the dangers that lied in Berlin. He gave me his card if I needed to escape. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have waited so long before I made the phone call. I was tipped off by an old colleague of Eren entering Nazi custody.

Everything was set. My family and I were to enter Switzerland by crossing Lake Constance. We made it to Meerburg and the lake was in sight when Schmitt and his agents cut us off.

Schmitt believed that there was a power left behind by the gods. He believed himself to be a leader of a new race of men. He wanted me to ‘perfect the serum’, make him stronger than Eren. He had my children, Klaus and Marlene, taken to the outskirts of town as insurance implying that they would be sent to Dachau if I should fail.

I stalled for as long as I could hoping Schmitt would forget about me, but it was not meant to be. A few years after I was taken hostage, Schmitt stormed into my lab and pointed a gun to Greta demanding I give him the serum.”

“Did it make him stronger than Eren?”

“It did, but it had...side effects. The serum was not ready. Schmitt’s skin turned red and his face became so disfigured that Hitler called him the Red Skull. He killed Greta with his bare hands,” Erskine wiped away a few tears, “and ordered Marlene and Klaus to be sent to Dachau while I was banished to the dungeons.

Fortunately, Agent Carter and the SOE were able to save Marlene and myself. Though Klaus sacrificed himself when the agents could only save one of them.”

“Your son is a hero.”

“I only wish I could’ve told him that myself. But, back to your original question. I chose you because, like Konrad, you are a weak man. You see, the serum amplifies everything; good becomes great and awe-inspiring, bad becomes worse and a nightmare. Men who are strong their entire lives often do not value strength and abuses it. However, a weak man who is compassionate and brave will use it to help others. You were chosen because you had the aforementioned virtues and because you use your mind.

The world does not need perfect soldiers, look where that has gotten us. No, what we need right now are good men.”

Erskine poured out two shots and gave a glass to Steve.

Steve raised his glass, “To the little guys.”

The liquor was just about to touch his lips when Erskine snatched the glass from him, “What are you doing? You have an operation tomorrow. No fluids.”

Steve chuckled as Erskine bid him farewell and good luck tomorrow.

Ife found Steve in the Common Room hunched over a chair with a letter in his hands. Emotional echoes of gloom came off in waves as she approached him.

“Whatcha looking at, Steve?”

When Steve didn’t respond, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder, “What’s wrong?”

Steve finally turned to Ife, “I received an invite to a funeral. It’s for Marlene Philomena Erskine, Dr. Abraham Erskine’s daughter.”

Ife nodded in understanding; he feels that he failed Marlene by not protecting Dr. Abraham Erskine.

But in fact, he didn’t fail her.

She lived quite the life for a human.

Not long after her father’s assassination, Marlene became a badass mechanical engineer and physicist. Her designs and schematics for transportation vehicles and energy storage/distribution gave the colonizer nations a fighting chance during the Wars Against Colonialism.

Though part of it was because the UA was a little cocky at that point. Marlene sure lit a fire under their ass! Ife can still hear her Aunt Eziamaka pouting at the news of one of UA bases nearly falling into their control.

Marlene’s assistance with the war effort didn’t last long as her gratitude towards the people who saved both her and her father wasn’t enough to overlook the Military’s treatment of some her colleagues.

Her life from there was pretty standard. She became a professor at MIT, got married and had a few kids.

BNA took her off the ‘humans of special interest’ list in 1971.

Thinking back on it, Marlene may have had a better life by her father not making it past WWII.

Though Ife thought it would be wise not to mention this to Steve.

“When is the funeral?”

Steve didn’t raise his head, “It’s in a week.”

“In that case, might I accompany you?”

“Yes...and thank you.”

“No Problem! See you later.” Ife wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug and went on her way leaving Steve slightly bewildered.

Steve didn’t know what to make of Ifekerenma.

She was always asked the team how they were feeling at what seemed to be the right moment. Shoot, she even talked to custodial staff that few of ever acknowledge. Compassionate to nearly everyone, especially the child hostages during the last mission.

She’s nerdy to the point of Sam jokingly calling her a weeb (anime lover?) when she walked around in an oversized Cowboy Bebop t-shirt once. Wanda mentioned a ‘digital friend’ in her room and caught her mentioning how slow Stark’s tech was much to the amusement of team at Tony’s expense.

Steve’s certain Nat sent Clint a video of the whole thing.

Also, she was what Sam called a ‘Supreme Chef’. He contently patted his midsection remembering the feast she prepared for the team last night. Her cooking would’ve put some of Stark’s gourmet chefs to shame. She asked the team what they liked and she ended up having to create a dinner rotation. Steve was especially touched when she went to an antique bookstore for a recipe that was close to what his mother would’ve made for him.

Furthermore, she would leave out little homemade treats/ snacks at night. Pietro and Sam would sneak some when they thought no one was looking. She even giggled when he accidentally let out a huge belch after an amazing dinner a couple nights ago saying it’s a sign of thanks on her home planet, Avlenia.

Ife always called him Steve; not ‘Captain’ or ‘Cap’ or even ‘Good ol’Century Virgin’ (damn it, Tony!). She never made light of him ‘taking an ice nap’ or asking him about the 1940s in a demeaning way like some reporters and ‘little upstarts on social media’. Somehow, Ife found out about his love of drawing and got him art supplies with a list of recommended artists

She made him feel more like a person and not a symbol or a far off figure who’s emotionless.

Steve felt warm whenever he was around her in a way not unlike Bucky or Peggy though much more like Bucky. She seemed to sense that he was desperate to truly be seen in way that only Sam and sometimes Nat has.

It also didn’t hurt that she was a total knockout. He had the, ahem, pleasure of seeing her out of her uniform and training outfits a few times. She usually wore clothes that were more on the modest side...except for that one time when she wore a Sailor Moon crop top and high-waisted shorts as a dare from Nat. Half of the compound was staring and Steve spent most of the day in his quarters nursing a hard on he was so aroused.

And yet, Ife was one of the toughest women he knew; even Nat was a little scared of her (at least, he thinks). She might be the strongest person physically and she doesn’t take shit from people who badmouth her or the team; Agent Roussel learned that the hard way.

All in all, Ife was...something else, someone he wanted to get close to.

The day of Marlene’s funeral started out well enough.

Ife spent the early morning making Sam’s request of cinnamon rolls, sausage, omelettes, waffles, and hash browns since he won the raffle of Vision’s turn as he doesn’t eat.

She was handing out everyone’s first servings (didn’t care what happened afterwards) when she felt Steve’s emotional echoes of depression, melancholy, and despair noting how his eyebrows furrowed and how tense his body language was.

She just hoped she could get to him.

Steve was walking to garage hoping his outfit wasn’t too much.

Nat somehow convinced him into wearing a Highbridge Black Custom Suit with an Eastley Dobbey Blue Shirt, a Black Solid Tie, a Navy Blue Pocket Square, and Ink Black Dress Shoes.

He ‘upped the swoon dial’ as Nat put it. Could’ve sworn he heard Sam snickering.

Steve reached the entrance hoping not to keep Ife waiting when he heard clicking of heels behind him.

He turned around to find Ife looking almost unearthly.

She was wearing a black Ankara (?) dress with a cape that was black on the outside and golden on the inside with various blue, silver, and khaki rectangle clusters. Her hair was mostly contained in a wrap with a few strands framing her lovely face. Her full, plump lips were coated in a Light Plum (?) Matte Lipstick and she wore minimal gold eye shadow.

Her outfit did a splendid job of hinting at her voluptuous curves without needlessly flaunting them like the women who throw themselves at him at press tours.

Ife smiled at him and asked which car were they taking.

Steve motioned to one of the Black SUVs and the two of them strapped in for the three hour car ride.

Ife sighed and gazed out the window at the scenery. Neither one of them had said anything in the past twenty minutes. Steve wasn’t a fan of most of the music that’s on the radio despite Sam’s best efforts. Ife had to break out her puppy dog eyes to get him to let them listen to some instrumental music from her favorite movies.

It seemed that they weren’t going to say anything until Steve cleared his throat.

Ife, not wanting to suffer in silence, decided break it, “How did you know Marlene?”

Steve raided his eyebrows for a split second, “I didn’t. I just feel like I should pay my respects, you know? I mean, I should attend the daughter of the man I failed’s funeral.”

The last sentence struck a chord with Ife. Emotional echoes of despair hit her like a tsunami.

Tentatively, Ife continued, “How did you fail Erskine?”

“I-I don’t think I’ve fulfilled my promise to him. The country has changed so much since I was on ice. It’s funny; I thought that Brave New World would only have a one of two aspects come to life, but I didn’t see nearly the whole book being right.”

Ife didn’t argue with the last two points. The US was nothing but a never-ending commercial sometimes. People were too busy being ‘happy’ or trying to get the newest thrill to realize that they were living in a sham of a republic.

Though she was concerned about the first sentence.

“What was the promise you made to Erskine? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Steve turned slightly, “To be true to who I am; a good man, not a perfect soldier. To be more like Konrad.”

Ife nodded musing on his answer. Erskine would want everyone he helped to be a good person considering the dangers of such power.

Though she wondered if she knew Dr Abraham’s full history.

Abraham Erskine came from a long line of Homo Magis who specialized in Alchemy . He turned to science when it was clear that his magical powers would never manifest (being only 1/16 Homo Magi). Erskine started working on what would become the Super Soldier Serum in 1920 after the witnessing the horrors of WWI firsthand as a medic.

He made a breakthrough in 1927 when he found what looked to be an old power cell in the attic of his childhood home. Turns out it was a modified Atlantean battery dating back to the 1600s, but whatever.

Konrad Jager was the first of nine volunteers; most of whom went on to fight in the Spanish Civil War with the International Brigades and be part of the German Resistance’s Special Forces during WWII.

Needless to say, they were recruited into BNA’s European Division.

Only Eren Kant was deemed a failure in the end.

Ife shook her head at the info in Erskine’s folder.

Eren was pompous dumbass who broke himself out jail by bending/breaking the bars of his cell after getting arrested for being a player and bully by the Munich Police in August of 1935. His show of superhuman strength got Erskine’s work onto the Hitler’s radar. BNA had to send a cleaner to ‘handle’ Eren before he could get everyone in even more trouble.

She wondered if Konrad and the others would make an appearance.

“What do mean by not staying true to yourself?”

Steve sighed, “It seemed a lot easier to do so in my time.”

Ife wanted to go further, but she couldn’t. Steve was punishing himself up for something he couldn't control and it was tragic.

She hoped that she could actually help him, not for the mission, but for himself.

They arrived at the venue twenty minutes early. Steve was trying (failing) to fix his tie while Ife was looking as glamorous and poised as can be.

Sensing Steve’s unease, she gave his hand a comforting squeeze, “You’ll do fine,” she whispered as she fixed his tie while not trying inhale his delicious natural scent like a creep (again).

“Let’s go inside.”

Everyone seemed to stop what they were doing when they entered the venue. Though Ife had to hand it to the guests; no one asked Steve for an autograph or a selfie. She noted several BNA officials and a couple of Earth-based Non-Human big wigs in attendance.

Guess Marlene was popular.

“Ife!” Azeneth shouted as she strode over to from a corner and enveloped her in a hug.

“Azeneth, how are you? I didn’t think you would be back from Mexico City so soon.”

“Well, the mission was short and they wanted me in New York to accompany Eliza here. Now, who is this fine gentleman, Ife?” Azeneth queried while Steve started shifting uncomfortably.

“This is Steve Rogers, one of my new teammates and Ca-”

“Captain America. I know, Ife. I was jesting.”

Ife sighed dramatically while rolling her eyes, “Steve, this is Azeneth. She’s one of my best Earth-based friends.”

“Kickass friend.” Azeneth corrected, “How are you liking Ife? She’s not too much trouble.”

“Stop it, ‘Aze!” Ife playfully hit Azeneth’s shoulder, “Feel free to ignore her, Steve.”

“Hmm, no. I don’t think I will, especially after the stunt you pulled on the first day at the compound.”

Azeneth burst out laughing at Ife’s shocked expression and Steve’s sly grin. She probably would’ve kept goin if not for Eliza cutting into their conversation.

“Excuse us, Mr. Rogers. I’ll have to speak with Ife for a moment. My name’s Eliza Maza, by the way.”

Once they were out of Steve’s line of sight (Azeneth was keeping him busy), Eliza activated a noise canceller.

“So did anyone die in the attack on the Magic Council?” Ife asked as she made sure Steve wasn’t looking at them.

“No one was harmed, but several books are missing from the library.”

“Shit! Okay. Well, would Dr. Strange be available to assist Wanda with her training? Wong and Nazaret are at the Sanctum and he said that he knew of some spells that could help.”

“I’ll look into it. I should have an answer in a week”

“Okay.”

“Ife, please give me a call when you get back to the compound.”

Ife eyed Konrad Jager, Gregor Eisenberg, Sonje Decker, and Lukas Denhart making their way to Steve. She hoped they weren’t going to drop an info bomb on him today.

“I will.”

The service was short and sweet as Marlene didn’t want everyone to be bored to tears on her behalf. The crowd got a laugh out that joke.

Afterwards, Marlene granddaughter, Zahara, requested if Steve could stay for a bit. She gave him a beautifully wrapped package.

“My grandmother wanted you to have this. She saw you fighting in the Battle of New York and knew you would know what to do with it.”

“It would be an honor, Miss.”

Ife thought about her earlier conversation with Steve on the say back. She realized what’s happened to Steve was heartbreaking.

Here was a man who gave up everything for a country that only wants him as a cudgel for their heinous deeds. Someone who, if he hadn’t fallen into the ice, would’ve probably been ruined by the same country he swore to protect. They would’ve labeled him as a communist and destroyed his good name for not immediately getting on board with the next war.

To be honest, Ife didn’t think much of Steve before joining the team. She thought he was just the banner boy for colonizers to feel good; he was the reminder of that brief moment when the US was totally the bad guys (totally being the operative word).

But now?

She saw the toll the helmet and shield had on him. Ife doubted he knew that he was going to be alive for awhile judging how neither Konrad or the others aged a day since they received Serum 1.0 and Steve supposedly got one that was at least 3x as powerful.

She wanted to comfort him somehow, but she was lost on what to do.

When she got back to the compound, she gave Steve a hug and went straight to her quarters to call Eliza.

“Eliza. I can’t do this by myself, and if we’re going to pull this off, I’m going to need some serious backup because the Avengers need some serious help.”

Fury was going through some mission reports when he heard a knock on his door.

“Come in.”

Oddly enough, Ife was the one to enter the room and not Maria Hill.

“Good Evening, Fury. I have someone who would like speak with you.”

“Well, give me a name and contact info and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Actually,” Ife reached in her pocket for a disc, “I can do you one better.”

Ife tossed the disc into the air and a moon-door portal formed from it. Out came Eliza, Azeneth, and Angela in her gargoyle form.

Eliza gave Ife a quick nod and turned to Fury, “Good Evening, Nicolas Fury. My name is Eliza Maza and we’re from the Bureau of Non-Human Affairs or BNA. I would advice that you lower your weapon. It won’t do you a lick of good,” Fury lowered his gun,” Good. Put Maria Rambeau on speaker, we need to talk.”

-Somewhere in France-

Maeve was enjoying her brunch while watching the footage of Eliza officially making contact with new SHIELD and SWORD.

“Well, it looks like it’s time to ‘get the band back together’ as the kids would say.” She chirped to the woman across the table.

“That expression pretty much died in the 90s. No ‘kid’ uses that phrase anymore.” Koronis deadpanned.

Maeve scoffed, “Anyone born after 1800 is a ‘child’ to me. This is what I get for trying not to sound like ‘an old hag’ as you put it.”

“Well, is everything on track?”

Koronis, or Carol, closed her eyes for few seconds, “I see nothing standing in our organization’s way. However, we should have the meeting sooner rather than later.”

“Duly noted. Anything else?”

“The new variable, Ifekerenma, will be more useful to our plans than I originally anticipated.”

“Oh, I do love surprises! I mean, I know how it will end, but I still like to be at least a little surprised. I knew it was a good idea to let Klaue be discovered by Ultron in Istanbul!”

Another woman walked up to the pair,”You wanted to see me, Mistress?”

“Yes. Svetlana, call the others. It’s time to put our plan into high gear. Hell’s Moon is upon us.”

Steve was having a shitty birthday.

The press was pestering him about the presidential election. Several outlets have called him a sellout and a coward for not endorsing anyone.

He was figuring out the best way to take a shower and hit the hay in less than 30 minutes when he found a beautifully written note taped to his door.

It said to come to Ife room wearing his best dancing clothes.

Ten minutes later, Steve knocked on her door and it instantly opened to reveal a modest dancing hall not unlike the ones he went to with Bucky before the war.

He was so lost in thoughts admiring the place that he failed to notice Ife hovering a few feet from him.

“Happy Birthday, Steve! How do you like it?”

Steve turned to see Ife in a knee-length golden yellow African Wax Print Ankara dress with cold shoulders, ruffled sleeves, and a v-neckline. He didn’t miss the modest view of her cleavage or how her legs looked oh, so smooth in the dress.

Ife, for her part, was super nervous about this. Nat said that people went to dance halls all the time in the late 1930s and 1940s and it took her five days to get the architecture, the music, and the lighting just right.

She hoped that Steve wouldn’t be angry with her.

Steve looked incredibly handsome in his simple dress shirt and slacks. His powerful shoulders, thick biceps, trim waist, and beefy thighs were accentuated by the lighting which made him look like he was glowing.

Ife would’ve drooled if she knew that he didn’t like it when most women would throw themselves at him.

“It’s amazing. Thank you.”

“I’m sorry about the dress. I couldn-”

Steve raised a hand to stop her from going off on a tangent,”You look beautiful.”

Ife felt a flurry of warmth in her core at the compliment.

“So, what would like to do?”

Before Steve could answer, Duke Ellington’s Don’t Mean a Thing starting playing.

Steve stretched out his hand, “Would you like to dance?”

Ife took his had and they glided onto the dance floor.

“Where did you learn to dance?”

“Bucky’s mom made us learn when Bucky started getting attention from the girls at school. She thought it best that we knew how to treat them to a good time.”

“I see,” Ife giggled, “Then she was wise to make take the lessons. Though I’m more familiar with the jitterbug.”

Steve chuckled as they resumed swinging. He hummed a bit as they danced to Ella Fitzgerald, Caro Emerald, Jo Stafford, Billie Holiday, and Gene Krupa.

Ife was impressed with Steve’s dancing skills. What were those women thinking passing him up like that?!

After a couple more rounds of dancing, the music shifted to something more modern but not (it was Howl’s Moving Castle’s Main Theme) , the colors on the walls and ceiling brightened, and several chandeliers formed on the ceiling.

Steve gave Ife a slightly confused look and asked her if she would like to try a waltz this time.

The song lasted a little more than five minutes. Steve was somehow able to lead their movements in sync with the song.

Ife felt her body was aflame with gentle yet commanding touches Steve was giving her. He even lifted her a few times making her feel as though she was flying with how gently he held her.

They were absorbed in their own world they either failed to notice or ignored Nat and Wanda entering Ife room to see if they could have another spa day. Nat even got a few pictures of the two dancing.

Steve gave Ife one last life during the climax and pulled her in when the music came to a close. They were about to come in for a kiss when Ife pressed her lips together and back away.

“We should probably retire for evening. Goodnight, Steve.”

Steve’s shoulders slumped in defeat, but left Ife’s room with a simple goodnight with Nat and Wanda in tow.

Ife frowned. She knew Steve wasn’t in the best place for a relationship and her conscience wouldn’t let her take advantage of that.

51 notes · View notes

padme-amitabha · 4 years

Text

Is Anakin a Mary Sue?

youtube

Now it may shock you to learn this but it turns out that Disney Star Wars is kind of a contentious topic. The fandom's been more or less divided between those who like the sequel trilogy and those who like good movies but both groups spend a great deal of time slinging [ __ ] at each other over every form of social media known to man and truly no battleground is more fiercely contested than the protagonist of each trilogy. People who hate the Disney trilogy tend to criticize Rey for being an overpowered, flawless, perfect, invincible and unrelatable character for whom everything just kind of happens with no real struggle or difficulty a Mary Sue if you will.

Meanwhile supporters of the sequel trilogy are quick to leap to her defense usually with one of two potential counter arguments: 1. You just hate strong women 2. So what if she's op as [ __ ] Anakin Skywalker from the prequels was a Mary Sue too and you don't criticize him. You just hate strong women. This argument was brought into sharp focus for me the other day when I was perusing twitter in search of calm, logical, rational discussion about the merits of the sequel trilogy and I chanced upon this little gem of a comment. Ah yes that famously perfect protagonist who wins everything, always makes the right decisions, has a selfless and compassionate personality, and is universally loved and respected by everyone. Well random twitter [ __ ] as it turns out, I am ready to have that conversation right now. So saddle up y'all because the drinker's here to round up this [ __ ] and put an end to this argument once and for all. Let us journey deep into the world of the Star Wars prequels and see if we can figure out whether Anakin Skywalker really is a Mary Sue.

Now in order to do this, we have to nail down what exactly a Mary Sue is. Well according to the dictionary definition it's a term used to describe a fictional character, usually female, who is seen as too perfect and almost boring for lack of flaws originally written as an idealized version of an author in fanfiction. Now the finer points of what makes a Mary Sue can vary depending on who you talk to but after consulting multiple sources and drawing upon my own experiences as a writer, there's a few common traits that I think most people would generally agree on:

1. Mary Sues usually possess skills and abilities that are not consistent with their situation and personal history. They can do stuff they shouldn't realistically be able to and they can do it better than anyone else.

2. They usually possess flawless idealized personalities that no real person could measure up to they never give in to negative emotions like anger, greed, jealousy, selfishness or arrogance.

3. They're universally loved respected and embraced by every good character they encounter even when there's no logical reason for this to happen.

4. They never get seriously challenged, fail at anything or get beaten by anyone, success and victory come easily to them.

5. They always make good decisions and strive to do what's right in any situation so why is this actually a problem.

Well I think the answer should be obvious, Mary Sues are boring as [ __ ]. If a character has got no flaws or weaknesses and never really gets challenged or tested by anything then what is there to get invested in?

It's the flaws and failings of a character that make them interesting in the first place and their struggle to rise above and overcome these flaws that make them so compelling. If these things are missing from a character, then there's nothing for the audience to latch onto or care about. There's nothing to like or root for. That's the essence of a Mary Sue and that's what we're going to be looking at here. So, with that in mind let's see how Anakin stacks up against this list shall we?

Point number one: Being overpowered and having abilities that he shouldn't. Now this more than anything else is what people tend to latch onto when they criticize Anakin and who can blame them really? On the surface it seems pretty ridiculous to see a nine-year-old boy doing stuff like this autopilot but let's put it into a wider context, shall we? When we first meet Anakin in The Phantom Menace, he's a slave living with his mother on Tatooine. He's spent most of his life salvaging junk and using it to make new stuff that can marginally improve their quality of life. As a result, he's become pretty good with technology. Well that makes sense, I guess. He's even applied these technical skills to pod racing where he's been fairly successful despite suffering at least one major crash that we know about. Again, this kind of makes sense when you consider he's strong with the force which would likely give him heightened perception reactions and understanding of the world around him, you know qualities that are important to high performance racing drivers. Anyway, his racing abilities allow the main characters to win an engine part that they need to repair their ship as well as enough money to buy his freedom. Sensing his importance Qui-Gon Jinn takes him under his wing and begins to teach him about the force. Remember when older mentor characters were allowed to teach the protagonist things? I miss that. He also takes part in a space battle that destroys an enemy mothership at the climax of the movie. Now as goofy as this scene is in its execution, it's not actually inconsistent with Anakin’s abilities and experiences. If you've worked around technology vehicles and ships your entire life and you can pilot a racing pod to a high standard then it stands to reason that you could probably operate other types of spacecraft as well, particularly if you have a droid on board to manage most of the ship's systems for you. However, for the sake of argument let's concede the Anakin in The Phantom Menace is indeed more skilled competent and capable than your average person.

So, what kind of effect would this have on a young man from an impoverished background suddenly thrust into a much larger world of power, politics and opportunity? Well that brings me neatly along to point number two: Mary Sues are supposed to have flawless personalities never giving in to anger, jealousy, resentment, vengeance or ambition. All throughout the second and third movies in the prequel trilogy, Anakin displays an increasingly severe set of personality flaws that begin to undermine his position in the world and his relationship with other characters. He's impetuous and hot-headed, frequently rushing into dangerous situations without waiting for backup or considering the risk to himself particularly when someone he cares about is in danger. Keep that one in mind because it'll be important later. He's ambitious but also impatient, feeling like he's been unfairly held back by other characters, particularly Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this resentment causes a growing rift between the two men that eventually spills out into open conflicts. Rather than taking the longer and harder path to wisdom and understanding, Anakin wants everything right away. He also cares deeply about people close to him and this attachment often manifests in explosive bites of anger and jealousy when he feels that they're being threatened like when his mother gets kidnapped and killed by Tusken Raiders, causing Anakin to go on a violent rampage that escalates into wholesale slaughter. Afterwards even he's shocked by what he did or when he believes that Padme has turned against him by Obi-Wan Kenobi, causing him to lash out violently against both of them. By this point he's been totally consumed by uncontrolled jealousy anger resentment and betrayal. All of the emotions that lead to the dark side of the force. The point here is clear: if you [ __ ] with someone he cares about then mercy and compassion go right out the window.

All of his skills, abilities and potential which seemed so overpowered and unnecessary in the first movie in fact serve a very important purpose for his character development. They've generated a sense of superiority, arrogance and overconfidence, and a reluctance to listen to criticism or advice no matter how well intentioned they might be. These are dangerous flaws in his personality all by themselves but combined with his overwhelming emotional attachment to people he cares about it creates a potent cocktail of reckless ambition and deep-seated insecurity that makes him uniquely vulnerable to manipulation something which will later prove disastrous because while Mary Sues are universally loved respected and trusted by everyone, Anakin certainly isn't in the first movie. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu and Yoda are all against training Anakin to become a Jedi despite his obvious potential because they know he's already too old to be inducted. This lack of early discipline in his life would leave a dangerous gap in his personality, making him unpredictable and less able to control his emotions, two factors which are extremely dangerous for Jedi. These misgivings would carry over to the next two movies where Anakin is elevated to the Jedi high council on Palpatine’s orders but the council itself refuses to grant him the rank of master because they feel he hasn't earned it yet. Now a different man would see this as an opportunity to prove himself by working hard and earning their trust eventually winning them over and gaining the recognition he deserves but Anakin takes this as a personal insult from the council which drives a deeper wedge between him and a Jedi order which he believes will never truly respect or accept him. Wow it's almost like Palpatine knew this was going to happen and engineered the whole thing to pull Anakin closer to him portraying himself as the only one who can help Anakin realize his full potential. It's a surprisingly smart piece of characterization that's completely consistent with everything we know about both men. The higher Anakin rises the more it stokes the fire of his ambition and superiority and the more he comes to see anyone who doubts or cautions him as a threat to his success. This arrogance and overconfidence also causes him to test himself against powerful opponents before he's actually ready for them and unlike Mary sues who easily win every battle they have to fight, Anakin’s recklessness causes an escalating series of losses like here where he tries to take on count Dooku all by himself and it ends with Anakin getting his [ __ ] arm sliced off. But his desire for revenge against the man who defeated him ultimately causes a more powerful and better prepared Anakin to execute him in the following movie, again proving his willingness to give into vengeance and anger even against helpless opponents or here in his climactic confrontation with Obi-Wan where his enemy has the advantage but Anakin presses the attack anyway and well I think we know how that turns out. Just as a side note I love how this carries over to Return of the Jedi. See Luke’s taking the high ground here just like Obi-Wan did.

What we have here is a clear pattern of behavior from a man whose ambitions consistently outstrip his abilities. Rather than demonstrating patience and restraint and taking the slower and harder path to lasting wisdom and fulfillment, Anakin’s inherent character flaws cause him to push himself beyond breaking point with increasingly disastrous consequences which brings me neatly along to the final points: whereas Mary Sues consistently make good righteous decisions and always strive to do the correct thing, Anakin on the other hand demonstrates a consistent pattern of mistakes and misjudgments that ultimately cost him everything. As I've already shown you the flaws in his personality are exacerbated by his powers and abilities making him easy prey for a ruthlessly ambitious man that knows exactly how to flatter his ambitions and prey on his weaknesses this eventually causes him to commit terrible crimes like murdering an entire tribe including unarmed civilians murdering children, executing a helpless opponent, helping to kill a jedi master, trying to murder his own wife, trying to kill his mentor and best friend, joining forces with an evil dictator to overthrow the republic, delivering this scene…

What I’m trying to say with all this is that Anakin Skywalker is the very furthest thing from a Mary Sue that you can get. Trying to label him as a Mary Sue for no other reason than because he's good at lots of stuff demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of what a Mary Sue is and also of who Anakin is. The reality is that he's a powerful but deeply flawed man whose unique combination of circumstances and abilities have created a dangerous personality that's vulnerable to manipulation and corruption his greatest strengths ultimately proved to be his most terrible weaknesses with consequences that echo across the entire galaxy. Now I have my own thoughts on the prequel trilogy as a whole and I’d be lying if I said they were great movies but fundamentally I think the story they tell is actually pretty [ __ ] good and I’m just gonna say it: Anakin’s rise to power and fall to the dark side is a damn good piece of character work that Disney would have done well to pay more attention to. Anyway, that's all I’ve got for today. Go away now.

I would argue the prequels are great movies but he makes some very good points. I have seen so many Disney fans claim Anakin is a Mary Sue, when he’s anything but a Mary Sue.

55 notes · View notes

thirium-fiction · 4 years

Text

Be Back Soon (Markus x Reader)

Word Count: 3k+

Request: Maybe a Markus fic where reader works at CyberLife but secretly helps repair deviants?

A/N: AhHhh this request was so interesting! I chose to use the violent revolution route for Markus because it worked better. I had some fun with this one and I’m pretty proud of it despite getting a little carried away with the background. I’m sorry I just love giving huge amounts of content for a story!

Warnings: Slight swearing and angst

You had worked for CyberLife for awhile now, having been close friends with Elijah Kamski when he was younger and was just getting started with studying androids and his business. The two of you first met in college and you heard all about the 12-year-old who got into the University of Colbridge. It was practically unbelievable when you first heard about it. You worked your ass off to get to where you were at 18 and when you found out a pre-teen did the same? It’d be a lie to say that it didn’t cause a little bit of jealousy. But, he turned out to be a pretty kind kid. Sure, he had a bit of an ego to him considering he was among some of the top students in the United States and they were all older than him. Yet he still knew when to draw the line if he wanted to make connections for his future company.

And that’s how Elijah began to connect with you.

Both of you were studying AI when he noticed your inability of accepting the possibility that any form of artificial intelligence could be nothing more than what their creators designed them to be. It was an extremely dangerous mindset that you had considering how advanced technology was becoming. The idea that androids were just machines was safe. Didn’t you want to be safe? Considering how many verbal debates you’ve gotten into over the subject, apparently not.

As a matter of fact, your stubbornness on the subject granted you the ability to help with Elijah’s Turing test for Chloe. You did it once through a computer, asking a series of questions for both Chloe, who was pretending to be human, and the actual human who had to convince you they were the actual person and not an android. Chloe passed with flying colors and you were shocked to realize that you assumed the human was an android.

You did another form of the same test but in person this time to see how she’d look in public situations around others. You had never met Chloe so you had no idea what she looked like. Another female was in the room and had to convince you once again that she was the human while Chloe did the same. Chloe’s expressions and responses were just - so - natural. It really solidified your idea that machines can be so much more. But, people can just refute you by saying that Elijah designed her to make you believe that.

Nevertheless, she fooled you again and was the first android to pass the Turing test in 2022.

CyberLife began pumping out androids to the public like never before. People were willing to spend thousands of dollars just so they didn’t have to do “extras” like chores, caring for family, transportation, and other forms of work. And once humans got their hands on them, they practically became children and destroyed what was meant for them to enjoy. It was sickening what you’ve seen them do and how openly they’d talk about such abuse. You tried going to Elijah multiple times about the problem you’ve seen.

“There’s nothing I can do.” He would say to you like always. “I can’t control what people decide to do with their product.”

“They’re not products!” You’d shout at him, infuriated by how he was handling the situation yet again.

Then he’d leave the room without saying anything else.

Elijah became increasingly more distant once he heard about Amanda’s death during February of 2027. You knew they had been extremely close with her being his mentor along with being his professor as well. She was your professor too but they had a bond that you were never able to form with her. And, not more than a year later, the CEO of CyberLife resigned from his position and left out of the blue. He never told you of his plans or where he was going. He left a simple sticky note on his desk addressed to you that read:

I’ll be back soon.

It’s been ten years and there was still no word from him.

So, you continued life how you usually would. You went to work for CyberLife as a normal manufacturing employee under a new boss (who was a complete jackass). But, as time went by, more and more “deviants” started to make the news. They were always badly damaged after escaping the their owners after injuring/and or killing them so they would stand out from a crowd. You knew the media was purposefully blocking out the part where they were doing it out of self-defense. Humans couldn’t possibly be held accountable at all.

You had enough of the bullshit.

Every once in awhile, these deviants would find their way back to the CyberLife warehouses. You occasionally had some manufacturing work to be done there so you spent some of your shifts around those branches. Those androids who were luckily enough to make it that far were usually in dire need of biocomponents to keep themselves going. You’d catch them trying to steal whatever they could get their hands on but instead of reporting them like you should, you decided you could help them instead. They were always frightened at first, afraid you’d turn on them or take them apart right then and there. You always made sure to make them feel at ease through the process of repairment. If there wounds were too great, you offered them the option to continue or to stop. Some would carry on despite knowing they had little time left while others gave up on the table right in front of you.

It wasn’t long until more and more heard of your name and looked for you as a source of safety. Eventually, it reached a point where hiding them became increasingly difficult. It was hard to take care of multiple beaten up androids in one night while also having to get your work done. There have been a couple close calls where you had to convince your coworkers you were just fixing up regular androids for clients. You could only use the same excuse for so long if the only robots you were repairing were horribly beaten.

It was saddening how many came your way looking for some type of assistance. If they were comfortable enough, they’d tell you why they ran away in the first place. After that, some would let you know that their plan was to find Jericho and meet Markus himself.

Ah, Markus.

You had heard of the android hero before. He was practically a wanted criminal across the United States because of his revolution. His face was all over the news after his speech and fires and violent riots followed not long after. He was an intimidating and scary figure to most humans but you couldn’t help but understand where he was coming from. For years, androids have been beaten down and oppressed by society because they were seen as less than to humans. It wasn’t surprising that he was angered by it.

You never would’ve guessed you’d come face-to-face with such a legend, however.

You were walking around the warehouse lot, enjoying a bit of fresh air after having been inside forever from loads of paperwork. It was dark out and luckily the area had some pretty substantial lighting or else you would’ve been left completely blind to your environment. Yet, it wasn’t enough for you to notice the figures running towards you in the distance. You didn’t even realize you weren’t alone until you heard footsteps closer behind you. Expecting some of your regular coworkers, you put a tired smile on your face and turned around but immediately froze once you saw a familiar pair of determined blue and green eyes.

“It’s you.” You whispered in awe, your heart racing in both excitement and slight fear. “Both the hero and the terrorist.”

Markus just barely tensed at your words, not ever having planned to be labeled as a terrorist by anyone. He’s heard it through the media numerous times but someone doesn’t ever really get used to that sort of thing.

The redheaded woman next to him (who you knew was also an android from your experience with them) walked up to him and gently grabbed his arm. “I don’t trust this. They’re human, Markus. They can easily report us to the authorities. We should find help somewhere else.” She muttered, turning her head away so you couldn’t really tell what she was saying.

The RK200 pulled his arm away from her grasp before returning his attention back to you. “You’re (Y/N), correct?”

You nodded, still shocked to be in the presence of such a figure among the potential future of artificial intelligence. “In the actual flesh.” You laughed, trying to ease your own nervousness more than anything. When no laughs were thrown back at your sad excuse of a joke, you cleared your throat and stood tall. “U-Uh, yes. I’m (Y/N).”

Markus glanced between his group of friends and the woman gave him a look of disapproval. He gave her an apologetic look back before hesitantly stepping out of the way to reveal an injured PL600 being carried by a PJ500 model. “We need your help.” He said quickly, looking around to make sure there was no one nearby. When he noticed your lack of response, he gave you a pleading look. “Please.”

You blinked a few times and rubbed your face before slightly shaking your head. “If you were caught here, I couldn’t possibly fathom what would -” Your eyes fell on the blonde android in front of you, blue thirium slowly oozing out between his fingers as he held his wound. You could tell this wasn’t his first rodeo with injuries. Actually, all of them seemed experienced with this type of situation. Taking a deep breath, you finally nodded and ushered them to follow you. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do. But, I can’t guarantee anything.”

You saw Markus’ shoulders relax and he gave you a kind smile with a nod as a thanks. Your heart skipped a beat at such a sight. He was actually quite handsome and whoever had him before he became deviant must’ve been very lucky.

You led them into a discreet room towards the back of the warehouse with a table in the middle of it. Everyone knew that’s where you worked for the most part so not many ever came by to interrupt you. It was surrounded with different materials for your operations with an apron in the corner, perfectly clean as if it wasn’t covered in blue blood many times before.

Thank God for thirium evaporation. You would’ve been given away a long time ago if it wasn’t for that.

“Set him down there, please.” You ordered, pointing to the table as you turned your back to them and put the apron on. Once you tied the knot behind you, you swiveled around and froze at the amount of androids in the room. Four. You rarely ever got to experience more than one at a time when deviants would come to see you. Sighing, you shuffled over to the door and leaned outside, taking one last survey of the area to see if anyone was around before closing it and locking it.

You noticed the PJ500 model and the woman stand by each other in the corner away from you as Markus stood over the injured android. You put on a pair of surgeon gloves and walked over to the table that was already starting to be stained blue. “Can I ask what the rest of your names are?” You ask, breaking the heavy silence in the room.

“Simon…” The PL600 grunted as you slowly removed his hand away from his covered wound to inspect what happened.

The other man in the corner in the room was next to reply. “Josh.”

The girl was last and the most cautious. It was obvious she still didn’t trust you despite having heard a lot about you from the others back at Jericho. You were human after all.

“And that’s North.” Markus said on her behalf, his gaze lingering on her a bit as sort of a ‘knock it off’ before he looks at Simon once more. “We’re not used to this kind of...treatment from a human. We’ve all had out fair share of unpleasant encounters with them. So, going to one for help is certainly new for us.”

You chuckle a bit before grabbing a pair of tweezers nearby and gently moving the skin and parts around inside the wound, trying to find what you were looking for. “It’s alright.” You shrugged, feeling your tool knock into something small and hard. “You guys aren’t the first to be suspicious of my intentions.”

“Hey, Markus.” Josh piped up from his corner. “North and I are gonna stand outside on watch. That alright?”

The leader gave them a small nod. “Just be careful.”

You waited until they left to continue speaking. “I’m surprised careful is still in your vocabulary considering how much trouble you’ve gotten yourselves into.”

A snort came from Simon at your remark which was a little jarring to you. You had to remind yourself they couldn’t feel physical pain like humans can. Once you pulled out the object from his wound, it healed like usual (must’ve been clogging his system) and you handed him a cup of blue liquid for him to drink to replenish what he lost. He took it and thanked you softly before downing it in a blink of an eye. When he was finished, he stood up and swiftly placed the cup back in your hands.

“You truly are a miracle worker like they say.” Simon states, a gracious expression on his face as he give you a little bow. “Thank you.”

You watched as he left the room to meet with the others with only a slight limp. It was obvious he was much more gentler than the people he was around. Almost like a lost child.

“I’d like to thank you once again as well.” Markus said, his tall stature causing him to hover over you. “We would’ve lost many of ours if it wasn’t for you.”

“How could I deny a legend?” You smirk, beginning to put away your tools so it can at least look a little tidier for the next deviant that comes along.

He raised his eyebrows briefly, breaking eyes contact with a smile of his own before he paused, suddenly overwhelmed with confusion. “All humans hate us.” His statement made you stop in the middle of putting an item away and face him. “What’s stopping you from doing the same?”

You pursed your lips in thought, having never considered the possibility of you hating androids like others have. “Have all humans been terrible in your experience?”

The question made Markus’ stare fall to the floor in sadness once he remembered his time with Carl. “No, actually. Quite the opposite.”

“The same goes for humans with androids. People are scared of what they don’t know.”

“We’re scared of what we do know, (Y/N). You’re one of the few who actually sees us for what we are. The rest will never understand.”

“They won’t understand if you don’t give them a chance to.” You whipped out your phone and pulled up an image from online and showed it to him. “They will never give you a chance if they see this.”

Fire. Chaos. Screaming. Crying. Deviants. Humans.

That’s what was on the screen.

You were showing him a result of one of his many riots from a different perspective.

“They will only see you as an enemy, if they haven’t already, if you continue things this way.”

Markus gently pushed the screen away from him and stepped away from you. “I came here for help and I received it. I don’t need a lecture along with it.” He shook his head, hatred making its way across his features. “You spend years researching what I live everyday. Even you will never truly see what it’s like for us. Do not tell me what is right from wrong.”

He began walking towards the door before you stopped him with a hold on his wrist. “What was your life like before all this?”

His back was to you, not even bothering to turn around. “I was Carl Manfred’s android.”

You let out a little gasp and quickly dropped your grasp on him. You’d seen the articles about the famous artist losing his life to a heart attack. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Markus moved his head to the side to look at you, still not turning fully. “He’d still be alive if humans hadn’t gotten in the way.” His shoulders fell, his determined leader facade beginning to crack. “If only I hadn’t listened. If I had pushed back and not endured. He’d still be here.”

That’s when he decided to face you fully, revealing the worn down look on his face. The weight of a whole revolution showing itself in one single expression.

“Now, I’m fixing that mistake.” He hissed, a fiery look in eyes. “I’m pushing back.”

Despite the fact you barely knew him, you wanted to reach out and hold him, letting it know it was gonna be alright. And somehow you suspected that he knew that’s what you were thinking, and he backed away from you once more.

“I don’t need your pity.”

The android made his way to the door, his long coat flowing behind him triumphantly despite him being so tired (or, at least, what tired would be for an android). You resisted the urge to call out to him and ask him to stay. There was so much more about him that you wanted to know. But, you knew deep down that he’d might not ever feel comfortable enough to share what he’s truly been through with someone like you. A human.

He gave you one last purposeful look before leaving you with the last words that Elijah gave you before his disappearance.

“I’ll be back soon.”

[masterlist]

TAGS:

@stars-with-citrus @aproxied @polimollykari @timedthyme

Please join my new narrative taglist [here] to keep yourself updated along with other stories!

#detroit become human #detroit become human x reader #DBH #markus x reader #dbh markus #dbh connor #connor x reader #dbh imagine

284 notes · View notes

nonamenotitles · 4 years

Text

HELLO, IN THIS ESSAY I WILL TALK ABOUT RIDDLER AND DO A COMPARISION WITH A POP CULTURE BRAZILIAN CHARACTER AS WELL.

RIDDLER is a fascinating character. He can be portrayed as silly, or menancing. A gentleman with finesse and complex schemes or a completely mess who doesn’t really know what to do, but hey here’s 10 dolars for solving my riddle! Also Spandex! And Question Marks!

My Favorite Edward is the one from @askarkham. There’s lot of thing I like about him, but the one that resonates with me the most is this:

Ronnie, how dare you give me feels!

Because I’ve been there, my anxiety sometimes fills my head with so many things it’s overwhelming.

I am a lot better know with therapy and stuff.

But before treatment I too, soo many times, cried the same phrase.

That really touched me

Sooo

That’s why I’d like to talk about my fave villain who is very similar of another beloved character here in Brazil, who shaped every childhood here. (And I do get a little pride at showing my people’s comics, they’re great!)

A lot of other characters reminds me of the riddler. Like Wheatley!

@canadian-riddler made an wonderful analysis of the two characters.

I’ll poorly describe them: Polite and condescending, friendly enough until he get’s high advanced technology. Then he wants to put you through puzzles and puzzles and if you keep getting it right he will try to murder you with one of them.

But the character that reminds me of Riddler the most is:

Jimmy Five (English) Cebolinha (little onion) Cebola (onion) from Monica’s Gang/ Turma da Mônica

His main traits is his ingenuity, his five pointed hair and his dysdalia (pronounces R as L)

@drdeath did na wonderful analysis of Riddler and he’s motivations, and both these characters personality and motives matches a lot.

Cebolinha is a kid who gets in lot of trouble. He’s a very smart and clever kid, always bragging about he’s superior intellect, and creating “infallible plans” (who always fail) to defeat Mônica and earn the title of “owner of the street”.

Cebolinha also messes with Mônica to get her attention and for fun, calling her names ( he has a little crush on her, and in Turma da Mônica Jovem they’re dating) and he has almost a compulsive desire to knot the ears of her rabbit plushie.

Mônica’s main way to deal with the boys name calling is hitting them with her blue rabbit plushie (though the also gives them advice and uses other ways) which hurts a lot because she has super strengh!

Even though he has been beated numeours times Ceblinha never gives up. Believing he deserves the title of Owner of the Street, yet a lot of he’s plans fail because he understimates Monica’s own cleverness.

Despite everything the two kid’s consider themselves friends, and don’t hesitate to protect each other. We have a movie about the group of kids helping cebolinha to find his dog, floquinho.

A lhasa apso that for some reason is GREEN.

Turma da Mônica Jovem.

These comics are about the characters as teenagers. Cebola grew to be na expert with comouters, games and technology, he went to a professional and now only speaks L intstead os R when his nervous.

Batman notices it (but it’s another comic for another time)

Now he wants to take over the world to make it a better place.

He’s cleverness and plans saves his friends through the many and dangerous adventures they get themselves in.

Yet he’s been called out on his manipulations.

One of the earlie sagas was about the ID Mosters, the physical manifestations of the group worst traits and impulses.

They manifested because it’s in the teenager years that kids start to get more emotional changes, and start to be aware of their impuses and control them better than when as kids by developing their emotional intelligence.

Cebola’s mosters is a Liar and master manipulator who uses his charms and skills to get whatever he wants. And the kid had to deal with his shame and realise he is and can be a better person than in he was in the past.

Maybe Arkham should try the “fight the physical manifestation of your Id” it seems to work.

Important scene in the Saga.

Here Red Monica is Monica’s ID monster disguised. Humilliating Cebola. Later the Real Monica confronts him, thinking he’s sending fake messages to make her look bad. So he feels he’s being gaslighted.

THEN HE BEGS HER TO BEAT HIM.

C: Mônica...No... I will do anything...I

Cellphone*Sending to all contacts*

RM: Tomorrow you will make another sign, and will do my homework too! Or else... I will send your other love notes so everyone will laugh at you.

C: I thought that we...

I thought that...

I thought that you liked me!

RM: And I Like! I like when you do what I SAY!

M: CEBOLA!

Speak now! What nonsense is this!

Why are you saying such things about me. Did you decide to go back to the old plans?

Why are you lying,Cebola?

C: BEAT ME UP!

Go on, Mônica! Beat me up already! It was better when you beat me up!

C: Because being beated up by you doesn’t hurt s much...

As what you’ve being doing...

NOW! Of course emotional manipulation hurts more than being punched.

And what was the blackmail: Humilliation

Tying it with the Riddler: Edward surely feels that being beaten up by Batman hurts much less than the humiliation of being defeated. That’s also why he goes on and on with puzzles and plans even though if he fails he will physically hurt.

Because he’s already hurt! He already feels humilliated! And that’s the worst pain he’s ever endured and is still going on.

Back To the comics.

Later in the comics, He and Mônica confessed his feeling to each other, but Cebola explained he can only date her after defeating her.

He does get called out on it in later editions.

C: Mônica...I...

M: Why illusions of grandeur, Cebola? Why do you believe you need to be superior than me?

C: Superior? I don’t want to be above you, Mônica!

I want to be equal! Sice childhood you’ve been strong... confident...the leader...

While I always was the changing-letters kid who got beaten up at the end.

Okay, Edward Nigma wants to be above Batman. But most of the feelings is the same.

Eddy sees Batman as strong, and confident and a leader. While he’s the one who’s humiliated and beaten up.

C: You don’t realize it, right? You have no idea how hard it is to stand at your side...

Without feeling small.

I think I’m giving a little fuel to batriddle shippers... oh well.

As you can see, like Riddler, Cebola feels that he needs to prove himself, needs to prove he’s worth, to the point of delaying everything else in his life until heachieves it.

So my analysis is complete. BEHOLD!

HEADCANONS

I found a fic that I still wanna read called “Dinner at Wayne Mansion”, I get Riddler made the highest bidding in Bruce Wayne at the Bachelor Auction.

It reminded me of that comic where Eddie tried to trick Batman into dining with him.

I think this universe riddler would totally do the auction thing just to talk all night long with Bruce Wayne, and his projects and stuff. All happy and giddy. “Oh Bruce, how are the kids doing?”

Edward lowkeys wants Bruce Wayne to adopt him.

Come on DC! Give us na alternative universe where after his first crime and Batman finding out about he’s abusive household, Bruce decides “Okay I’m gonna raise this young man”.

Stephanie LOVES her Big Brother Eddie! He beat up her abusive dad (Cluemaster) and humilliated him with trivia knowledge and stuff.

I think one thing that should be explores is Riddler as na expert magician, he is a master escapist because he loves houdini, and magic employs cleverness and illusion.

He’s a geek for magic tricks.

He shows them to Harley and Jervis who look bright eyed and “Oooooooh”

Firefly asks if he knows fire tricks

He does and promplity shows off his skill.

Then John has to clean out the entire hideout because Edward fell for it and now Garfield knows there are flammable chemicals here.

Final Thought.

Well, there’s ANOTHER brazilian character that he reminds me of.

Visconde de Sabugosa (Viscount of Corncob) from The Yellow Woodpecker Farm

Ginger like lots of adaptations

Soul patch

Green tux

He’s main trait is his intelligence

differences

HE IS A LIVING DOLL MADE OF CORNCOB!

@jonathan-cranes-mistress-of-fear

@weyoun

@askarkham

@drdeath

@frommylack

@praprikat

#riddler #batman #turma da monica #monica's gang #turma da mônica jovem #tmj #cebolinha #brazil #brazilian comics #the yellow woodpecker farm #visconde de sabugosa #edward nigma #edward nygma

70 notes · View notes

rfschatten · 3 years

Text

It still the damn Mask, Stupid

“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” ~~~ Wayne Dyer

“May you live in interesting times”? Oh yes! We, the people have certainly been really cursed!

It may sound kind of stupid, but how many people have been vaccinated at one time or another in their life? Chances are …if you ever went to school …yes! Whether you liked it or not, you were vaccinated! And it wasn’t by choice, your parents knew what was best for you and so did medical authorities …they understood the seriousness of infecting others, which could lead to a serious epidemic.

It’s always been the norm, always! …until now, when politics decided for their own ugly sordid purpose, to stick their ugly head into all of this! If you want your kids to go to school, you get them vaccinated …and that has really never changed. The first mandatory school vaccinations occurred in the 1850s to protect children from Smallpox …and it’s been a requirement in all 50 States for both, childcare and kids entering school for the first time, ever since!

The primary vaccines administered usually starts around the ages of 6 years old: the DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, & Pertussis) Vaccine, the Polio Vaccine, Varicella Vaccine, MMR (Mumps, Measles, & Rubella) Vaccine, Hib (Haemophilus Influenzae type B) Vaccine, & Influenza (Flu) Vaccine. These are just a few …there’re between 8–16 different vaccines someone may end up taking during their lifetime, and that doesn’t include any of the newer ones …including Covid-19.

This is not just a school problem, the overwhelming majority of infections and deaths are from adults, and they’re acquiring all these new variants, too. The real problem is the moral issue …how much do you really care about your own child or another child’s health and welfare? How much do you really care about the health and welfare of your own community?

Every single human being growing up has been told; listen to your doctor! Every parent in the world has taken their children and/or themselves to a doctor at one time or another …if there’s access to one. So, what’s the big problem? The biggest problem is …we’re now living in a society dominated by sheer unadulterated ignorance!

Why do these parents don’t give a damn whether their children get sick? …or whether their children die? As long as they don’t have to wear a mask, everything is fine inside their own little bubble of reality …the sheer ignorance that has been politized by people who really don’t give a damn except gaining their supporter’s votes and especially their money …that’s all they really care about! Look how many kids are getting infected or dying in Ron DeSantis’ Florida death march and Glenn Abbot’s Texas genocide?

What does it take to convince some people that nothing is going to ever change back to any type of normal until those people start listening to Medical Authorities much more seriously than to Politicos?

What does it take to examine this pandemic and take a look at the numbers? More than 37 million people are already infected, with 600,00+ deaths …and predicting now to reach 660,000 by September …that’s more American deaths than WWI, WWII, Korea, & Vietnam combined! It’s more than the entire 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic that killed 650,000! …though some say it may have been up to 750,000!

In those days you didn’t have the lines of communication around the world between the medical communities, as you have today …it was just as new to many doctors, especially country doctors. Advance medical technology and general medical knowledge was not around as much, yet still they prevailed.

There’s no excuse whatsoever that 21 years into the 21st Century, more than 600,000 people have had to die! …and with all these new variants, it’s just getting worse as the numbers are spiking all over, again. How can people see all this and wonder why we don’t get back to normal? As I said in Nov. 2020, in my article; “It’s the Mask, Stupid!” …nothing will ever get back to normal until this pandemic gets completely under control! And it’ll never, ever get under control till people stop listening to politicos and demagogues …and start listening to medical professionals, period!

We’re going through a severe public health emergency! It’s going to get worse! It’s going to get a lot worse than the first giant surge …95% of all new cases with all these new variants are from unvaccinated people. And this time, the surge is also affecting children of all ages … children's hospitals are filling to capacity, pediatric ICUs are near capacity …children under 2 are becoming the latest victims!

While Covid-19 keeps spreading among the population, worse than ever …a vicious and methodical anti-vaxxer & anti-CDC insanity is being pushed by GOP politicos & social conservatives, all against the use of masks and vaccinations around the country …and it’s hindering the effort to keep this nation healthy and safe.

The undermining of the public’s health in name of political gains …by willfully endangering human lives with the use of systematic political projections, mass misinformation, continued lies 24/7, disingenuous rhetoric, cultivating ignorance, and deliberately creating massive obfuscation.

The schadenfreude of the entire GOP around the country …especially the extreme cruelty perpetrated against children by Ron DeSantis in Florida (better known these days as #DeathSantis), forcing children not to wear masks, while the “Sunshine State” has the highest rate of children hospitalized in the nation, and 25% of all cases in the United States! Texas’ Greg Abbott is literally competing for the same honor …all of Texas’ hospitals & ICUs …like in Florida …are currently running at full & overcapacity, with field hospitals in the parking lots & underground garages!

Meanwhile, the massive campaign to spread deliberate misinformation hasn’t worked too well for their own constituency of conservative Anti-Vaxxers. Ex-Newsmax & Fl. right-wing radio talk host Dick Farrell, who 10 days earlier, called Anthony Fauci a “power-tripping lying freak” and mocked the pandemic as a “scamdemic” …died of Covid! Then, not to be outdone …Texas GOP official H. Scott Apley, an anti-mask and anti-vaxxer who wrote an invitation to a “mask burning” and mocked Covid …died 5 days later, from Covid!

The unvaccinated, anti-vaxxers, and Covid deniers all over the country are now sick & dying right and left from Covid-19 …while totally incompetent super-spreading idiots like Rand Paul keep pushing his supporters to become bigger idiots than they already are, calling for “civil disobedience” and saying; “No one should follow the CDC mandate” “it’s time to ‘resist’ common sense health problems”!

And this, from the same man who for 16 months did not reveal an inside trade, accounting for a slew of stock he bought in a Covid treatment center …so, for Mr. Paul? the more people resist, the more people will get sick, and the more money Mr. Paul makes!

Resist “common sense”?!?! …if it comes down to believing that BS? Maybe it takes getting infected, intubated, and placed on a mechanical ventilator to change their tune …unfortunately, you still have those just too ignorant, who do get infected and still refuse to get vaccinated. Resist common sense? Something might be lost in translation, but if it comes down to that …they’ll deserve what they get!

If things are not bad enough? …now, we have the GOP promoting the excuse of “freedom of speech” rhetoric to allow their supporters to use threats of bodily harm …primarily, by the Proud Boys …shouting and threatening doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in front of their own homes, telling them; “we know who you are, we’re going get you!”, as a way for them to stop treating the sick! Give them a break! …all they’re trying to do is save lives, probably, your own rotten life too.

An elementary school teacher was attacked by an angry parent for having the audacity of protecting his little daughter! More Proud Boys carrying MAGA Trump flags stabbed a pro-mask supporter at an Anti-Vaxxer rally, and beat up 2 news reporters …Frank Stoltze of NPR was repeatedly kicked and beaten up & Tina Desiree Berg was attacked, beaten, and had her mask torn off by her attacker, Tony Moon …another Jan. 6th Capital rioter, all caught on camera.

There’s really no excuse! …all this is not about your “Freedom”, free not to get vaccinated or not wear a mask, it’s not about mandates or requirements, it’s totally a sham perpetrated by Republicans using the pandemic to raise money for their own selfish non-medical gains …professional propagandist Tucker Carlson said the “US Government wants to ‘force’ us to get vaccinated, force us to take medicine, even force us to get ‘sterilized’ like in WWII Germany” …” no one owns my body”!

This is a man who says he’s against Anti-Fascism (Antifa) …which makes him a Pro Fascist! The same Fascists that believe in “forced sterilization”, and the belief in the use of Eugenics. “No one owns my body?” …except if that someone is a woman who wants an abortion, then, he believes in owning ‘her’ body for life!

Fact: there are no US Government mandates or requirements ordering anyone to get vaccinated or wear a mask, whatsoever! No one is forcing anyone to take any type of medicine! Yes, you do have the constitutional right to reject all medicines and vaccines …and yes, you also have the freedom and the right to die for not taking care of yourself or not listening to medical advice!

When will people understand just to follow some common sense! listen to medical professionals! listen to all those people tirelessly working their asses off in hospitals 24/7 for more than a year, risking their own lives while trying to save even just one life?…the life that might very well be you, someday! No one is more bipartisan than doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and others who are not looking at, and don’t give a damn what political party you belong to, what ideology you have, what color is your skin, or where you came from!

When will people understand the severity of this virus? 93% of all the Covid variants in the United States are Delta! …which is a highly transmissible variant. The newest Lambda variant is now coming out from South America, and it already arrived in California. All you have to do is listen! …the more people let these variants go rampant, the more these viruses are going to mutate, thus creating much worse and more dangerous strains!

All these unvaccinated anti-mask & anti-vaxxers, Covid deniers, all these enraged parents who keep having violent meltdowns because they and/or their children are being forced to wear a mask, they all need to understand It’s not just to protect yourself and your child …it’s to protect others. If you’re sick, or maybe even dying …why would you want to go to a hospital if you can’t trust those doctors for medical advice? You can’t have it both ways!

No one has said it any better than Arnold Schwarzenegger; “Screw your freedom! …with Freedom comes Obligation & Responsibility”!

Is it the right of a parent…in the name of “Freedom”…to endanger the life of his or her child? In any other time, that would be considered child abuse, and Child Enforcement would be knocking at your door quicker than you can say Dept. of Children & Families! And what about viewing it from the child’s mind? How much has their childhood social cognition, developed? Does he or she understand what this commotion is all about? and how do they feel about it? …or, if all they know and feel is; what the hell is going on?

As a parent, it’s your moral & legal obligation to take care of your kids …it’s your personal responsibility as a parent not to be a piece of shit, so your kids wouldn’t have to inherit that legacy.

As far as the grown-ups of all persuasions, all races, all colors, or creeds…grow up! As a citizen of this country, it’s your moral & legal obligation to work with your community to keep it safe for everyone! It’s your moral responsibility to protect your kids & your family, protect your neighbors’ kids and their families, and protect your community from a deadly disease …so get vaccinated! …and wear a damn mask!

Freedom? Sorry! You’re not going to be free in any way till this pandemic is completely under control …so live with it!

Will Rogers said; “You can’t legislate intelligence and common sense into people”

In the end, if you can’t convince ignorance …you just have to let them sink or swim on their own miseries and mistakes. You can be as compassionate & sympathetic as you can, but sooner or later …people are not going to give a damn about your freedom …or whether you live or die, anymore!

Meanwhile, screw others’ “freedom” and be smart …stay vaccinated and just keep wearing your mask!

#Mask #COVID-19 #Vaccines #covid deaths #ron deathsantis #florida #texas #school mandates #covid mandates

4 notes · View notes

fishfingersandjellybabies · 4 years

Text

They All Fall Down - fic

Characters: Damian Wayne, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Bruce Wayne, Jon Kent, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake Summary: Bruce didn’t destroy Dick and Tim after they infected him with the Anti-Life Equation. Now Damian might be the one who pays the price for the oversight. A/N: A DCEASED what-if because I like to hurt myself. Clark and Jon heard Damian’s heartbeat speed up and knew something was wrong. They’d all been silently checking on him during his mourning so they knew where he was. It continues into the normal story from there I imagine. Sorry the end is a little iffy, not sorry for the emotions~ Reminder if you like my stuff, please check out and consider my Patreon and/or Ko-Fi for more!

Damian couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. Just held the communicator as tight as possible.

His father had contacted them, told them he was dying. He’d been infected by the Anti-Life Equation, but slowed the spread long enough to call. To say he loved him, he was sorry, and that Alfred was coming.

“But…Bruce, I don’t understand.” Clark was saying, but Damian wasn’t paying attention. He was still trying to comprehend. “I mean…I know you have a lot of technology, but surely there’s failsafes…”

“There…are.” Bruce’s breath was labored. “I was attacked.”

“By who?” Clark demanded. “You said Alfred is fine…”

“Dick. Tim.” Bruce wheezed. “And that’s…that’s something else.”

Damian closed his eyes instantly. Grayson was already gone. Drake. And the apocalypse had barely even started.

What about everyone else? Todd? Cain? Commissioner Gordon? Did they get calls from Father too? Did they know what was happening? Or were they gone too?

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Opened his eyes to see Lois Lane standing next to him, ready to comfort. Jon was behind her, tears in his eyes as he bit his lip.

“…I didn’t kill them.” Bruce whispered. “I…It all happened so fast, and I was too weak. They escaped the manor before Alfred got his shotgun. Before I could go after them.”

Jon gasped, clamped his hand over his mouth. Clark paused, glanced at Damian himself. “…How long ago?”

“Hours.” Bruce admitted. “…Clark, they were heading in the direction of Metropolis.”

“But why?” Lois called. “Why wouldn’t they go into Gotham?”

“Higher population in Metropolis. More people to infect there than Gotham, I imagine. Especially with you all there saving people. Here…” Bruce hesitated. “It’s a bloodbath here already.”

“Father…!” Damian called. Lois’s hand squeezed his shoulder.

“Alfred will be there soon, Damian. Don’t worry.” Bruce promised. “I’m…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t.” Damian cried, ignoring the tears already on his face. “Father, please don’t. You always win. You always find a way-”

“Not this time, son. I’m sorry.” And Bruce sounded genuinely apologetic. Like he’d failed at something. “Stay with Clark and Lois, alright? They’ll keep you safe. And they’ll keep Alfred safe when he gets there too.”

Damian sniffed, wiped at his eyes. “…Yes, sir.”

“I love you, Damian. I always have.” Bruce’s breath hitched. “And I’m so proud of you.”

“I love you, too.” Damian whispered. “I love you, too, Father. Thank you for everything. Thank you for loving me too.”

Bruce grunted, and let out a thin wheeze. “Clark. I don’t want him to…the communicator…”

“I’ve got you, Bruce.” Clark murmured. As if Damian would break at the gentlest touch, Clark carefully took the communicator from his hand, and moved to the other side of the rooftop with the other Justice League members who were gathered.

But even with the attempt to get out of his earshot, Damian heard the low rumble of his father screaming in pain. Lois instantly spun him around, embracing him as tight as possible. She held the back of Damian’s head, practically curling around him.

“Don’t listen, sweetheart.” Lois whispered, even as Jon tackled them both from the side. Damian could feel Lois’s own tears dripping into his hair as he clung to her himself. “Just…block it out, okay? Think about…about Alfred. He’ll be here soon. He’ll be here with us soon, and…and…”

Lois rambled for a few minutes, trying anything she could to overpower the sounds that may have carried from the communicator. It didn’t help much, didn’t wipe out the fact of what was happening, even though her voice was louder than the dying of his father, but he appreciated her effort.

About ten minutes later, still cocooned in Lois’s arms, he heard Clark return.

“Alfred will be here by nightfall.” Clark said solemnly. Damian tightened his own grip on Lois.

It was done. His father was dead.

Batman was dead.

Lois held him for a little while longer, and Jon bounced between checking on them and checking on his own father. Eventually, Damian backed out of her arms, quietly requesting a few moments to himself. She nodded, and gave him a sad smile.

He went to one of the lower roofs of the Daily Planet building. Away from the group, the chatter, the strategizing.

Just a few minutes. That’s all he’d need. A few minutes to cry, to mourn, to grieve. Then he’d be back in the mission. Then he’d go back to saving humanity, like his father and brothers always taught him to.

He thought briefly of his mother. She was in Gotham as well. Did she survive? Did she…need help?

She wasn’t a good person, but if he mentioned it to Clark, maybe Superman would help him go find her.

Would she mourn Bruce? Would she give her condolences for Grayson and Drake? Would she care at all?

He heard a bang as he sat there, the creaking of a ladder, bringing him out of his reverie, back to reality. Figured it was Jon coming to check on him already. How long had he been sitting there? He checked the clock in his mask interface.

Oh. It’d already been an hour.

“…I don’t want to talk about it, Jon.” He called, sitting up a little straighter, rubbing the tears from his eyes. “We have more important things to worry about than-”

There was another stomp, and Damian hesitated. It wasn’t coming from the ladder above him, where Jon would have come from.

It was coming from the fire escape over the ledge in front of him. The one that led to the ground.

“Fuck.” He whispered, scrambling to his feet. He sidestepped towards the ladder that went back to the Justice League, keeping his eye on the roof ledge. He couldn’t take that chance, couldn’t take his eyes off the threat.

Another thump, and then a hand appeared over the side. A gloved hand.

A blue-striped, black gloved hand.

“No…” Damian breathed before he could stop himself. His heart sunk, as a second, bloodier black-and-blue hand joined it. “Oh, please no…”

Dick’s head popped over the ledge, and he snarled like a wild animal, blood flicking away from his face. If you could even call it his face anymore. Skin flapped loosely away from his skull, blood poured like a waterfall from an exposed eye socket. Part of his mouth was missing, and it looked like he was grinning.

And Damian was trained since birth. Under the world’s greatest assassins, under Batman. Under the worst and the best. He trained for moments like this. For scenarios like this. He’d jumped to action in life or death situations before, made decisions at the drop of a hat a million times.

But here, he froze.

“Grayson…” He whispered. Dick’s hands just scrambled on the ledge, like he didn’t know how to climb up. “Grayson…i-it’s me.”

Dick just growled, dragging himself forward, pulling himself onto the roof with his sheer strength.

“Focus!” Damian shouted. “You’ve beaten odds like this before!”

Spit mixed with the blood as it dripped down Dick’s throat. He continued forward, his knee just reaching the ledge. As he did, another hand appeared behind it, slapping to find purchase. A mop of black hair bobbed behind it.

Drake.

Damian’s heart was pounding. What were they doing here? Yes, Batman said they were coming to Metropolis but…to this exact spot? To exactly where he was?

Did they…remember him? Did they come here to find him?

He stepped away from the ladder, towards his brothers.

“Grayson?” He breathed. “Drake?”

Tim gave a shriek, all but flipping himself onto the roof. He stumbled to his knees, but kept his forward momentum. Kept crawling at Damian. Dick shuffled forward, eyes shifting to the roof above them.

Oh, right. The Justice League was up there. A Kryptonian, a Green Lantern, and a bunch of other powerful beings.

Full of life.

They weren’t here for him. They didn’t follow him. They followed the meat. Followed the power.

He was just in the way.

He swallowed back his tears and risked turning away, looking for his way up. The ladder was a few feet down the wall, further than he originally thought. He’d have to make a break for it.

So he did.

But he was still small, still young. And his brothers always had that height on him. That long stride.

That speed.

He took two steps, but Tim was already reaching the ladder with a guttural laugh. Damian tried to back away, but in his periphery, he saw Dick running at him, inhaling into those now-forever empty lungs to roar.

Damian ducked his reaching hands, spun away and tried to put distance between them. He slowed at the ledge they’d climbed, and glanced over. A sea of the Anti-Life zombies were below them, all clamoring for that same fire escape.

He was fucked.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Tim was already rushing back at him, clawed hands aimed at his throat. Dick was right behind him, teeth bared.

Damian dodged to the side.

Those tears he tried to swallow came back full force as he ran to the opposite corner. This was life or death. This was the apocalypse. This was the end, if he wasn’t careful.

But.

He wouldn’t lay a hand on his brothers.

And maybe if he were in a better state of mind, maybe if he hadn’t just listened to his father succumb to this very virus, he would have attempted to take on Drake. Would have tried to fight him, if only out of some semblance of mercy.

But Grayson – never.

Damian could never go against Grayson. Not in the way he needed to save his own life, anyway.

So he ran. He took the cowardly way out, and he ran.

But even the Flash stumbled sometimes.

He was trying to distract them. Play tag until he could get them away from the ladder he needed, then scramble up it and make his escape.

He’d just sidestepped Tim again, swerved around those outstretched hands, and was taking off towards the other side of the roof. Just a few more passes, a few more laps, and he should have them far enough-

His boot hit a loose piece of tarpaper. His foot slid out to the side, twisting his knee in an awkward angle and throwing him down onto the roof.

And it was over.

He rolled to his back just as Dick’s hand closed around his throat. As Tim dropped onto his legs.

Damian closed his eyes. It’s okay. It’s okay. He told himself. It’ll be over quick. And then I’ll be with them. Then I’ll be with my family anyway-

“No!”

Damian opened his eyes just in time to see Jon dropping out of the sky, ramming into Tim with such speed that it launched him from the building, and into the wall of the next one, splattering him into nothing more than blood and guts, like he was a fly on a windshield.

Damian blinked, and Clark was there too. His face was cold, angry, terrified as he grabbed Dick by his own throat and yanked him away.

Damian coughed as he tried to sit up, Jon instantly at his side, holding his shoulders.

“S-Superman-”

“I’m sorry.” Clark said as he held Dick up in the air. Dick struggled in his hold, hands reaching up to try and loosen his grip. He was still growling, still shrieking. “I’m so sorry, Dick.”

Without preamble, Clark shoved his fist through Dick’s chest, pulling as many bones and organs out the other side as he could. Then he dragged his arm until it exploded out Dick’s side.

Dick went limp. Damian gasped, and, for the second time that afternoon, forgot how to breathe.

Carefully, Clark laid Dick’s remains on the roof. “I’m so sorry.” He whispered again, as he used his heat vision to cremate what was left.

As soon as the last of him was ash, Clark turned back to Damian, whose eyes were practically bulging out if his mask. He was trembling in Jon’s hands, jaw dropped in shock.

“No…” He whispered, even as Clark walked towards them. Tears fell instantly as Clark collapsed to his knees in front of him, pulling him fiercely into his arms. “No…!”

No one mentioned the blood on Clark’s hands. No one mentioned Dick’s blood on Clark’s hands.

“I’m so sorry.” Clark repeated shakily as Damian sobbed into his chest. “I’m so sorry.”

Damian just shook his head, his trembles increasing by the second. Clark just squeezed his eyes shut and held the boy tighter.

After a moment, Clark blindly reached out, reeling Jon into his arms as well. Held him just as hard.

(Covered him in Dick’s blood too.)

I will not let this virus touch them. Clark told himself. Silently promised to the children in his arms. No matter what it takes.

After a few minutes, Clark silently took to the air, returning the boys to the rooftop, and the care of the Leaguers standing there, and Lois. Lois began pulling the boys from his arms before he even landed.

He glanced at Dinah and Oliver, who nodded. He gave them a grim smile and nodded back, floating back over to take care of the hoard at the bottom of the fire escape, and the fire escape itself.

He glanced towards the other building, to see if there was anything left of Tim Drake. There wasn’t.

When he decided the hoard of zombies was sufficiently culled, he went back to the rooftop. Dinah had built the green mockery of an igloo around Lois and the boys, giving them a sense of peace in this new chaos, a moment alone. She opened a sliver of it as he walked towards them, and closed it after.

The world could wait a little bit.

Jon was sitting on Lois’s lap, Damian next to her. She was holding his hand, and he wasn’t shaking anymore.

Dick’s blood had dried, leaving brown splashes all across his skin and uniform.

His eyes looked dead.

Clark sat next to him and tugged him into his side. Damian came willingly.

“Mind if I stay with you?” Clark whispered. “Just until Alfred gets here.”

“…Until Alfred gets here.” Damian repeated with a dry voice. “Okay.”

Clark carefully leaned down, pressing a kiss to Damian’s hair. “I’m so sorry, Damian.”

“I know.” Damian returned softly. “I know, Superman.”

Clark glanced up at Lois, at his own son. Jon’s eyes were half-lidded, he was already so exhausted. There were still tear tracks on Lois’s face, too. He gave them a grim smile.

This was going to be a long apocalypse.

#Damian Wayne #clark kent #Lois Lane #jon kent #bruce wayne #dick grayson #Tim Drake

45 notes · View notes