#instead of figuring out where to evacuate to

[kizzer55555]

DPxDC: Jarro Adopts an Alien

Ok, so Danny has a space obsession and a protection obsession (I headcanon that as a halfa, Danny has two obsessions like all Halfas do which makes them unique to other ghosts.) and so while he can get his fill protecting people in Amity, he struggles with his space obsession. Sure, he can look up everything he can about space and the stars on the internet. He can stay up until 2 am looking at the stars (who needs sleep? He’s a ghost, he can go days, or even weeks without sleep if he wants, same with a lack of air or food.) but it’s just not enough. He craves to learn more, see more. Just as Dani gets that itch to travel, Danny wonders. What would it be like to see the stars up close? Are they really as hot as a dragons fire breath? Hotter!? Or maybe they are so hot they are cold. What does it look like to see plasma dancing across the surface, or touch the gasses of Jupiter? Does Pluto have ice caves like the far frozen? How many planets are actually out there? What about Mars. There’s a whole species living there with a language and culture Danny can’t even fathom! Oh what he wouldn’t give to talk with martian manhunter or Superman. 

And what’s stopping him from exploring this? He can fly. He doesn’t need air. He can go intangible if it gets too hot and he’s practically immune to the cold. He wants to touch a space rock! See if they are smooth because there is no wind or earth to rub against them and erode the surface. He wants to see what planets they come from. What minerals they might have. He wants to know if there are currents in space. All of these things are right there just above the atmosphere. Surely it couldn’t hurt to take a quick peek. So he does. During a particularly bad day Danny flies as fast as he can until the earth’s gravity looses its effects. Until his hair is floating as of it’s in water even more than normal. Until he can feel when breathing no longer became a choice (still not necessary though). And it…was beautiful. To be surrounded by space. To see the earth like this. Pictures just didn’t do it Justice. He flew across the solar system and as he passed planets, he longed to fly through them. To search every crevice and learn their secrets. But he had a bigger prize in mind at the moment. The crown jewel of their universe. The closest star he could find. The sun. 

Danny was mesmerized. The plasma really did dance across the surface. Like a never ending performance of science and beauty. There were sparks that few in arcs. Danny flew down and played in them, making a game to see how many he could fly under. His ghost core purred in delight. His obsession had never been more satisfied. He spent hours out there. Just exploring what his solar system had to offer. So when he returned? He couldn’t just forget. Pictures and online science theories had nothing on the real thing. He wanted to explore some more. So he did. Every night he would go out and explore the cosmos. Flying from planet to planet. (Either the Martians were still around and Danny made friends with them, even learning their language, or he just looks at their ruins to learn as much as he can). And with both obsessions now being filled, Danny is more settled. More confident. And he can focus better. Everyone notices the change, even his teachers. They just think that he’s paying more attention to his education now. He’s even better during his ghost fights. 

But Danny can fly awfully fast. And he soaks up information even faster. Soon his trips take longer and longer as he flies further out. Sometimes he can barely make it back in time for school. And he can't go every night. Sometimes the ghosts won’t wait for daytime so he has to make sure the town will be safe in his absence. Although he’s been able to take more trips ever since Valerie joined the vigilante ranks. But still, he’s getting farther and farther from earth each night. Until one day he’s visited every planet, every star, every comet or debris in their solar system. Which would be fine. He could deal with that if that was all there was. But it wasn’t. Danny saw the stars just out of reach. He saw places the Milky Way was leaning towards. He saw just the barest hints of new solar systems with new planets and stars. And he knew of legends from lanterns that they had posted online. Heard tales from some scientists that have made better telescopes. And his core itches. It aches to know more. See more. Yet he can't go further. And this puts him in a sort of depression. Suddenly he’s back to his old self. Lagging behind. Distracted. Zoning out. Crashing into a few more buildings during ghost attacks. Yet he tries so hard to be satisfied with what he has. He can still fulfill his obsession…it’s just more like chewing on a granola bar rather than eating a decent meal. He’s almost becoming lethargic. 

So one day he goes to Frostbite to see if there’s anything he can do to lessen the effects. But the yeti just takes one look at him and gives him the infimap. And suddenly Danny is in a whole new universe in seconds. The planets are purple. The stars are blue. He’s pretty sure there are furry blob-like creatures living on one of those planets. And suddenly he gets that itch, but holding the infimap, he knows he had time, so he lets himself go. 

And for a while it’s good. great even. Since he can’t keep asking the yetis for the infimap, he goes over to Wulf to see if he’s up for an adventure. Most of the time he is and they go exploring the galaxies together. And then Wulf had the genius idea of teaching Danny how to make portals. It took a long time but soon, he could concentrate the surrounding ectoplasm enough to weaken it and pull. It took a while since Danny didn’t have ecto claws and would have to use his pure will. But this would allow him to follow his obsession anytime, anywhere. So it was only a matter of time. And once he figured it out? It was like something was unlocked. Danny had never before understood how Ellie could travel so much. But now he did. That feeling when you discover something new. When you add to your reservoir of knowledge. When the patterns in the universe just click. There is nothing Danny could compare it to. And to explore that whenever he wanted? It was so freeing. While Wulf sometimes still joined Danny’s adventures, Danny did most of his explorations by himself. 

He meets various planets and aliens. So many different cultures. He learns thousands of languages. Tries all kinds of foods (and it’s a good thing his ghost self has an iron stomach and he’s basically poison resistant.) even found a whole comet where blood blossoms grew. (Which he most definitely avoided). And wasn’t that fascinating? To find out they were from space. 

And then during his travels one day he met a space alien starfish. 

It was actually a funny story. A meteor shower was about to attack a planet of talking blue monkey creatures with 4 arms. Danny immediately started diverting them and was soon joined by some lantern corps (which his inner fanboy wanted to talk to so bad.). And a tiny starfish in a…Robin uniform? Oh and the starfish could apparently do martial arts which was interesting to watch him karate chop a meteor. He could also talk directly into Danny’s head which the halfa found more interesting. So they got to talking and apparently his name was Jarro. He seemed to be helping the lantern corps as a ‘proxy from earth’ to make better use of his skills. 

Danny would run into Jarro a few more times. Sometimes he was with Lanterns and sometimes he would just be exploring the galaxies. They started forming a pretty strong friendship and Danny would start seeking out the starfish alien to travel with him. He knew all kinds of space facts. Apparently he had an eidetic memory. When they explored, sometimes Jarro would just stick to part of Danny. Wrapped around his arm, his waist, sometimes just sticking to his back like a strange backpack. But they always had fun.

So Danny was happy. He could fulfill both obsessions and got a space pal. Everything was great!

Until the GIW caught him. 

It would probably be the worst day of his life.  There was an explosion in the lab. Something set up by them after they realized Danny frequented that place often. So they set a trap and blew it up. Thankfully, Jazz was at college during this but both his parents were home. When the explosion went off, Danny had tried putting a Barrier around them all. It took everything he had to maintain it. That’s how they found out he was phantom. Danny had a few moments where his parents said they accepted him but he couldn’t hold the barrier for long. His parents said that they loved him and then everything went green. He woke up in a lab, tired and injured. His only saving grace being that he remained in phantom form. And he was determined to remain so. 

Danny’s time at the GIW was a haze but eventually, he managed to escape. Bleeding, and tired, and still recovering from the burns in the explosion, Danny made a portal straight to Amity. Only when he got there, it was a ghost town. Streets were empty, buildings were boarded up. Even the Nasty Burger was deserted. As for his house, there was nothing but a crater left and some scattered debris. Danny looked everywhere but there was no one. No Jazz. No Sam. No Tucker. No one. and he was tired. And everything hurt, and he needed a friend. Someone he could trust. So in a daze he made a portal and tried to just project safe. Safe safe safe. Somewhere he knew he would be protected. And so Jarro got a surprise when his space buddy suddenly popped out of a green portal, bleeding green and clearly passed out. He didn't know what to do. He didn’t know how to help him. But Jarro knew someone who would. 

So with a speed never before seen from a tiny starfish, he flew to earth. Bringing his friend straight to his father. Because surely batman could help!

And with his appearance, the green blood, the knowledge of space facts. The lack of wanting to talk about where he came from (and the nightmares crying out for his parents). This is how the bats became convinced that Jarro brought them an injured alien. 

#Dpxdc #dcxdp #Kizzer’s ideas #Danny has space and protection obsession. #Danny can make portals. #Good parents Fenton. But they die. (Sorry.) #Danny and Jarro are space brothers #The bats think Danny is an alien. Danny is unaware of this. Actually Danny is unconscious. He’s not aware of anything. #Danny is very confused why he wakes up in a mansion with a billionaire. #Amity Parkers have slowly been moving away because of ghost attacks. But at the time it was manageable. #When the Fentons house exploded and caused the first casualties everyone evacuated. Making Amity basically get shut down. #Amity becomes a literal ghost town. #Jazz Sam and Tucker think Danny died in the explosion. #Jazz was actually there. She got caught in the edge of the portal explosion which wasn’t as powerful as the core of the blast. #Instead of killing her it changed her into a halfa. So now she has to figure out new ghost powers while processing the death of her family. #(She is put into foster care where she meets a certain speedster that also has red hair.) #Ellie learns of Amity but keeps traveling. She hates staying in one place and focusing on her obsession helps her grieve. #(Her other obsession is family.) #Jazz has never met Ellie.

[earthtooz]

fluff with a lot of angst, reader is injured and in hospital for one scene but it's not graphic, lovesick!bakugou

during the many years you’ve loved bakugou katsuki, you have only seen him cry three times.

the first time, you were alarmed. where you fell asleep on the couch awaiting your boyfriend’s return, you did not expect to wake up to the sound of sniffles and the sight of drying tears.

“katsuki? what’s the matter?” you asked cautiously, immediately sitting up to wipe his tears away.

your touch, like a healing balm to the blond, lets you treat him like glass when both of you know he is nothing akin to fragile.

“‘s nothin’,” he gruffly huffs, voice cracking a little.

“if you say so,” you murmur skeptically, knowing better than to prod when it’s bakugou involved.

“were ya waitin’ for me?”

you nod. “i thought we could eat together but- what time is it?”

“almost nine.”

“oh. i thought we could eat dinner together but your patrol must have ended a lot later.”

his heart aches pitifully, worsening when he watches you rub the sleep out of your eyes. “‘m sorry, i didn’t mean to come home so late.”

“it’s okay, i get it.”

“we can still eat together, if that’s okay,” he grumbles, looking away bashfully and missing the way your face brightens.

“that sounds lovely, i’ll go heat up dinner-“

“-no, i’ll do it. it’s my fault for coming home later, i’ll call you when it's done.”

bakugou is out of your sight before you can argue any further. as you watch your boyfriend disappear, you’re left pondering on the couch as to why he was acting so uncharacteristically. did he have a bad day? did something happen at work? was he unable to save someone? that’s can't be the reason, he always-

“dinner’s done!” your boyfriend calls from the kitchen, disrupting your thoughts.

when you asked, it didn't sound like he had a terrible day, in fact it sounds like he had a successful patrol, but you cannot fathom any other reason for his melancholy, but if he’s forgotten about it, then you will too.

but... bakugou doesn’t forget. he still remembers when midoriya first alluded to the inheritance of his quirk from all might, he remembers the night vision goggles kirishima broke when trying to save him that one time, he remembers your favourite things and what makes you happy; he remembers everything.

and he’ll never forget that the tears he shed tonight were over the fact that bakugou will never get to show you how much he loves you.

bakugou katsuki, for the first time, realised just how painfully human he is.

he has a heart that beats for you, limbs that longingly ache to be near you whenever he’s not, a mind devoted to you and a cursed mouth so incapable of expressing it all.

if he could, he would wrestle the night sky to give its stars to you instead because you love stars. you love the stupid things in life that bakugou can't give. he can’t give you everything you could ever want and with that realisation, bakugou discovered just how beatable he was.

you may never know the multitude of bakugou’s love for you, and that fact alone brings him to tears as he gazed upon your sleeping figure on the couch, resting peacefully until his arrival.

the second time, you wake up confused.

the lights in the room are dim, there's a machine beeping intermittently and you think it's a heartbeat monitor but you don't really think too hard about it because your body hurts.

you have to blink a few times to get the blurriness out of your eyes, but you eventually comprehend the sterile walls of a hospital room. then the memories come back one by one, a patrol gone awry, evacuating citizens and... ah, being slammed into a wall back-first by the villain. explains the pain.

then you register the looming figure beside your bed, a pair of widened vermillion eyes gazing into your own with untameable blond hair to match, you can't help the smile from spreading on your face when you see your lover.

"hey," you cough weakly, throat dry and scratchy from lack of use.

next thing you know, bakugou's bulky figure is draped over yours, forehead resting on your chest as his arms gently snake around your torso, bringing you into his chest and pressing himself firmly against you.

you feel him; his relief, his sorrow, his devotion, his painful sobs as he shakes against you and it kills you that the only thing you have the strength to do is run a hand through his hair. you want to kiss him, to tell him that it's okay and that there's nothing to cry about, that you're here and nothing will change that, but you're so very sore and barely in tact.

"don't do this shit again," he threatens weakly and you feel his tears seep through your hospital gown. "you had me so fuckin' worried, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, i can't believe you'd do this to me, do you know how much it sucked to be without you?"

"sorry, katsuki," you whisper and he looks up at you, glossy eyes and quivering lip.

"promise me you'll never do this again."

cupping his cheeks with your hands, there's a rush of deja vu as your thumbs catch his tears. "i don't know how realistic that promise is given that this is my job-"

"-your job is to save lives, not go crashin' into buildings, idiot."

you laugh gently, a stabbing pain making itself known in your gut when you do. your wince doesn't go unnoticed by bakugou, who knows you better than the back of his hand and his heart lurches at the slightest evidence that you're in pain. "still, i won't make promises i can't keep, you know how our jobs are, katsuki."

he frowns, furrowing his brows. "then i'll promise to always be there for you. don't go where i can't."

"that's not realistic."

"watch me."

"okay then, deal."

there are questions you still want answers to, but for now, you'll let the blond continue crying with his ear pressed against your chest.

(you won't ever know about the few days bakugou has spent in your hospital ward, absolutely miserable as he looks upon your gaze with anticipation. he hates how helpless he is, that he can't do anything to rid of this horrible feeling in his chest but wait for you to wake up. he hates that he can't any semblance of peace, he hates the man that love has made him, but most importantly, he hates being without you.

you won't ever know the struggle it was to get bakugou out of your room for even just an hour. midoriya and kirishima had to wrestle him in hopes of getting some proper food together, and yaomomo and todoroki had to literally block the door with various items to prevent his entrance.

you won't ever know how alienated bakugou felt, unable to face your shared home without you in it. without your music playing, without your shoes messily thrown at the genkan, without your comforting presence to return to when all is said and done, there isn't much of a home for bakugou.

you won't ever know how desperately bakugou clung to your hand, fiddling with it whenever he needed a safe haven.

you won't ever know the amount of tears the blond had shed by your side, hunched over your bed, with nothing and no one to comfort him but the sound of the heartbeat monitor.)

the third time, you cry too.

it's your wedding day.

when the news first came out, japan practically roared with excitement and anticipation for the special day that their two favourite heroes would wed. the enthusiasm has not dimmed down even months later, and now, as you're one door away from your lover, you feel it buzzing in your bones.

it all goes by in a blur. one second you're about to trip over yourself in nervousness and the next, you're walking down the aisle with a stunned bakugou failing to keep his composure at the altar. despite the amount of close friends and family around you, all you can see is the love of your life who looks at you with unmatched adoration and affection in those ruby irises of his.

up close, however, all you can see are the tears forming in his eyes, and his first sniffle takes everyone in the room by surprise. no doubt, this is their first and last time seeing their beloved hero cry.

more tears are shed and then, it's just waterworks from practically everyone in the room as bakugou breaks down even more.

thank goodness for a private wedding because you know he is never going to live it down if the press got their hands on this image.

a close friend of yours hands you a handkerchief and you wipe away bakugou's tears with a teasing smile, unable to keep your wobbly laughter at bay as your lover- japan's symbol of victory and heroism, turns to nothing but putty in your hands. he lets you treat him so delicately because you've seen him at his lowest, most shaken, and most unlovable, yet still decided to stay.

"sorry," he apologises as you dab at his tears, words reserved for you and you alone. "you're just so... divine. i can't believe i'm marryin' you."

you feel your first tear roll down your cheek and bakugou catches it before it can go too far, wiping it away.

"such an embarrassin' way to start our wedding," he grumbles.

"embarrassing for the both of us, but memorable no doubt," you try to reason.

"everything is memorable as long as i'm with you."

"such a sap," you whack his shoulder lightly. "have you been saving that line for today specifically?"

"you should wait til the vows. bet mine are better than yours."

"i didn't know you could be a poet."

"only for you."

"well then, i can't wait to find out what else you are, katsuki."

"i'll always be yours."

you laugh, "i'm glad to hear that 'cause i love you."

"i love you even more, i'm crying just to prove it."

"your tears are dangerous."

"yeah well, you're marryin' these tears so."

"like i said, i can't wait."

© EARTHTOOZ 2023, do not steal, translate, repost my fics and do not recommend my fics onto any other site.

#don't talk to me abt this. this was so bad #lmk if there are warnings i missed #i'm pretty sure this is gn!reader i mean i'm gender neutral so hey if the shoe fits #bakugo x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #bakugo katuski x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #bnha fluff #bakugou fluff #bakugo fluff #bakugo katsuki #my hero academia x reader #boku no hero academia x reader

[luxaofhesperides]

Soulmate AU: First Words + End of the World ; requested by @justwannabecat!

Duke has long since accepted that he doesn’t have great luck. Most things in his life tend to go wrong very quickly, or complicate situations he was already struggling in (see: being a meta and getting his powers in the middle of a fight). Having an incomprehensible soulmark is an unpleasant discovery on the morning of his nineteenth birthday, but not entirely unexpected.

He had been hoping for something simple, a common one like hi it’s nice to meet you or sorry, didn’t mean to bump into you.

What Duke gets instead isn’t even words. 

Scrawled across his left hipbone is a string of symbols glowing a faint green. They’re not in a language he recognizes, and the symbols seem to move, shifting ever so slightly so they look different every time he blinks.

“Well,” he says after a solid five minutes of staring into the mirror, unable to rip his eyes off his soulmate’s words, “I hope theirs looks nicer than mine.”

He spends his birthday in a bit of a daze, enjoying time spent with the Waynes and his friends. It’s hard to be fully present when he’s all too aware of the soreness on his hipbone flaring up each time he moves. It’s hard to keep his mind off of it, wanting nothing more than to search for answers, unravel the mystery of his soulmate’s first words.

“Something on your mind?” Jason asks, as the attention shifts off of him for a brief moment as Harper and Cullen get ready to leave and everyone rushes to give their goodbyes,

Duke shrugs, carefully keeping his hands still so they don’t drift to where his soulmark is hidden beneath his clothes. “Yeah. Nothing you need to worry about, though.”

Jason looks him over critically, then nods. 

Duke resigns himself to being investigated by the rest of the Bats. If he’s off enough that Jason had to comment on it, then that means everyone’s noticed and are trying to figure out what’s happened. They’re not going to ask him, because they think he needs space to work through whatever’s got him so distracted, but they’re also not going to just do nothing. 

This won’t be the first time they’ve done this. Duke expects it. Frankly, it would be stranger and much more concerning if they didn’t try to dig up all his secrets the moment they caught wind of him hiding something.

He’ll tell them about getting his soulmark soon. Soulmarks can appear on any birthday between the ages of thirteen to twenty five; they might suspect he got his, but they won’t be able to confirm.

For now, Duke can keep his soulmate’s first words (whatever that gibberish means) to himself.

He makes the decision then and there, as his birthday party winds down, to tell them in a week.

And because his luck is abysmal, a world ending threat hits five days later and suddenly there is no time for soulmarks and first words.

Duke is the last to arrive at the Fortress of Solitude, hitching a ride from Superboy to get there. The biting cold and the harsh winds keep the place far from the reaches of the rest of humanity, surrounded by nothing but deadly white. 

Desolate as the landscape is, it’s still in better shape than the rest of the world.

Things would be better if it was alien invaders. It would be more bearable if some sort of cosmic colossus tried to eat their solar system. At least then there would be something physical that they could fight.

Instead, the world is breaking apart, the sky and earth both fracturing to reveal glowing green faultlines. Timelines are getting mixed up and muddled; just yesterday, Duke had to evacuate a building that had been demolished forty years ago, then stop a gang leader who wouldn’t be born for another eight years from taking over a neighborhood block and holding the residents hostage. Strange creatures are appearing out of nowhere, crawling out of shadows and tide pools and from beneath the roots of trees, all horrible, monstrous things that go after people with teeth and claws. 

The Flashes and the rest of the speedsters are nowhere to be found. The last time anyone get communication from them, it had been Impulse sending Red Robin a glitchy, barely audible video chat saying something along the lines of “trying to fix—unstable—keep us here—never been alive before.” All things that are very concerning to hear, made worse by the fact that no one had been able to contact them at all. 

The quiet loneliness of the Fortress of Solitude is a welcome change from the constant screaming, death, and destruction that’s taken over Gotham as well as the rest of the world. Last he heard, even Justice League China was at the end of their rope. 

“In here,” Superboy instructs, guiding Duke through the halls. There’s no time to look around at Superman’s secret base. All his focus is stuck on staying conscious for another few hours to see if this gathering of heroes is able to find a solution to the world breaking apart.

Batman stands besides Superman. Both nod at Duke when he enters the room. Wonder Woman is watching over John Constantine as he writes something on the floor, muttering under his breath. The rest of the Justice League lean against each other, visibly exhausted as they wait for Constantine to finish up what he’s doing. A few other heroes are here too, and Duke goes to join them where they lean against a wall, fighting to keep their eyes open.

“Hey,” he greets, voice low. “Hanging in there?”

Wonder Girl sighs. “Somehow. I don’t know how much longer we can do this. There’s just too much…”

“We’ll get through this. I mean, even without us out there, plenty of civilians have formed rescue and relief groups to help with keeping things under control,” Speedy says, gently knocking her arm against Wonder Girl’s. “We just gotta keep going. No giving up.”

“What’s this plan, anyways? I just heard that they needed me here to some attempt to fix things.”

“Well, without the speedsters, you’re kind of the only one who can help with time and power related stuff,” Speedy says.

“That’s definitely a stretch. My powers don’t really have anything to do with time. It’s all just light and shadow.”

Speedy shrugs. “Well, you’re here, aren’t you? Too late to complain about it now.”

Duke doesn’t get a chance to say anything else when a loud clap catches his attention. The entire room goes still and silent as Constantine stands up and surveys the circle and symbols he’s written, taking up an entire corner of the large room. 

“Alright,” he says. “Time to get started. Remember, let me do the talking. If you have to speak, it’s only to back me up or when a question is directed to you.”

Batman nods to the other Justice Leaguers, and suddenly everyone is falling into formation behind Constantine. Duke hurries to join them with Wonder Girl and Speedy, taking a place on the edge of the group where he’s a little closer to the circle than the others. 

Constantine begins chanting. His voice is steady though none of the sounds make any sense, refusing to form themselves into recognizable words, and the air the in the room feels heavier. The chalk circle glows a blinding white and Duke can see magic swirling through the air, his power kicking in the let him watch as reality tears and a glowing star in the shape of a boy comes out of it.

Duke blinks, forcing his power down. The hypnotic swirls of magic fade from sight, but the boy still glows, bright and terrible as he floats above the circle and surveys them all. A crown engulfed in blue flame hovers above his head and the fabric of the cosmos is draped over his shoulders as a cape. 

Just from presence alone, Duke can tell that this figure is now the strongest existence in this universe. He hopes this boy king is kind; no one, not even Superman, would be able to beat him in a fight.

The boy king opens his mouth and speaks, but it’s not words than comes out. A strange static like sound emerges, but light and almost melodic. 

His left hipbone burns.

Duke gasps, hand flying down to it, and the boy king’s gaze snaps to meet his.

The world stands still. No one moves. No one dares to breathe.

And then the boy king drops to the floor and walks out of the circle.

“I thought you said that would hold him!” Batman hisses at Constantine, who is looking more and more distressed.

“It was supposed to! I wrote it specifically to hold the King of the Infinite Realms!”

The boy king glances at Constantine. This time, when he speaks, it’s in smooth English. “Did you name the king in your circle?”

“Yeah, I named Pariah Dark… Bloody hell, you ain’t him, are ya?”

“No,” the boy king smiles, “I’m Phantom.”

The cape and crown fade away, and suddenly it’s not an all powerful, terrifying king standing before them, but a young man with white hair and green eyes who looks Duke’s age. Like he could be any other new generation hero in the room. 

“Phantom,” Duke repeats lightly, just under his breath, but it makes Phantom look at him again.

He walks forward, ignoring the other heroes’ aborted attempts to stop him, coupled with Constantine’s frantic back off motion happening behind him. Phantom leaves the circle and the Justice Leaguers behind to stand before Duke, a soft smile on his face.

“Hi,” he says softly, “I dreamed of you.”

“You—what?”

“I dreamed of you. I have for years now. To think that being summoned was what made us meet—” Phantom breaks off into a breathless laugh.

Duke swallows, then drops his had from where it had been pressed against his hip. “So we’re really—? You have my first words too?”

In the corner of his eye, he sees Batman stiffen up. Maybe he should have just told them the day after his birthday, but in Duke’s defense, this is the definition of extenuation circumstances. 

“First words?” Phantom repeats, “Is that… Do we have different soulmate connections?”

“I think so. Here, everyone gets the first words their soulmates say to them appearing somewhere on their body.”

Phantom’s gaze darts down to Duke’s hip, then back up. “Oh. I get dreams. Where I’m from, we dream of our soulmates, and the closer we get to meeting them, the more we remember the dreams.”

“And you dreamed of me.”

“I did.”

“As touching as this is,” Constantine interrupts, and Duke gets to watch as Phantom rolls his eyes, “We summoned you here for a reason. Our world is falling apart at the seams and we need someone powerful, from the Realms, to help us fix it.”

“Okay.”

“...What do you mean ‘okay’?”

“I’ll help,” Phantom says.

“Just like that? No deal to be made, no price to be paid?”

“Just like that. I’m not one for deals anyways. If I can help, then I will. But I do want to see what the problem is with my soulmate by my side, if you don’t mind.”

Batman steps in, fixing Duke with a steady gaze, a barely noticeable tilt of his head. “Signal?”

“Yeah I’ll go with him. Of course I will. The sooner the better, in fact, because everything’s gone to shit.” Duke turns to Phantom, taking hold of one of his hands. “It is really bad out there,” he warns, “If you need help—”

“I’ll ask for help from others in the Realms,” Phantom says. “No offense or anything, but if it’s really that bad, I doubt living mortals will be able to do much to fix things. It’s why I was summoned, right?”

“Right. Let’s get to it, then.”

There’s a flash of mischief in Phantom’s eyes, and cheeky grin stealing across his face for a moment, before he says, “Aye aye, captain!” and picks Duke up like he weighs nothing and flies up through the ceiling.

Duke is able to hear everyone’s surprised, panicked shouts before they’re outside the Fortress of Solitude and Phantom is flying them away. He only needs a few directions from Duke before he finds the first of the large fractures in the sky.

“Yikes,” is all he says, which is not a great thing to hear. “I think I know how to fix it, though. We’ll need to do a little investigating as to who, exactly, started messing around with reality, but once we find the source, it’ll be an easy fix.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all week.”

“Even better than meeting your soulmate?”

“I haven’t slept for more than four hours all week. Knowing there’s an end in sight beats everything else.”

Phantom laughs, throwing his head back and Duke can’t help but drink in the sight of him, so ethereal and bright and full of life. “Fair enough! Got any ideas as to where we should start?”

“I’ve got an entire crew of detective vigilantes,” Duke replies. He’s not taking any more chances. No more waiting to talk about important things; he messed up by keeping his soulmark to himself, so he needs to make sure everyone meets his soulmate before shit goes south again. 

“Let’s go find them, then!”

They take off again, soaring through the skies that are barely holding themselves together. 

The world is still ending, and every hero is being stretched thin, but held carefully in Phantom’s arms, racing head first into a solution, Duke can’t help but feel that everything’s going to be alright now. 

He’s had enough bad luck. Now, his soulmate with him, bearing the title of King with grace, things are finally starting to look up.

#ghostlights #dc x dp #dp x dc #dpxdc #dcxdp #dc x dp fic #prompt fill #my writing #when its the end of the world but youre soulmate is here and ready to help fix it #meanwhile constantine had gone ON and ON about how dangerous summoning realms beings are #and all the precautions they have to take and how to be specific when making deals etc etc #it was supposed to be only the justice league but with the world ending they wanted their proteges and allies with them in case things #went wrong w the summoning. and with the rest of the bats helping out in gotham and around the east coast #signal gets to join batman. plus hes got his meta powers that could help in the worst case scenario #NO ONE predicated signal and the GHOST KING being SOULMATES #batman leaves for gotham immediately. updates the rest of the team w 'ghost king successfully summoned. he's signal's soulmate.' #and does not respond to ANYONE after dropping that bomb on them lol #they do all get to meet phantom when they join forces to find whatever doomsday cult caused all this #and the world gets saved!! #also. semi related to all this. the speedesters are gone bc time went wacky and they tried to fix things. but then the speedforce kinda #came to life and trapped them. so they have been lowkey eaten by the speedforce bc the speedforce is the true eldritch monstrosity here #anyways. thanks for the prompt!! #working on ur other two prompts now :)

[door430]

AvA 6 Theories/Thoughts

It's been a hot minute since part 2 of AvA 6 came out, but the physics video prompted a cascade of thoughts and theories that I could not get out of my head, so here we go. This is gonna be a long one.

Theory 1: The mercenaries are victims of TCO and TDL

This theory has been circulating for a bit, but there are a couple points of evidence that I want to bring up.

1 - The mercenaries look very different from any sticks we've met before, and very different from each other, so it's likely they come from different places very far away from each other. This would line up with this theory if they were forced to evacuate. Their fighting skills also explain how they were able to survive Dark and Chosen's attacks.

2 - All the mercenaries, but Agent Smith especially, seem almost like they're toying with Chosen while chasing them down. It's even brought up by DJ in the AvG Reacts video that Smith could've paused TCO at pretty much any time, as if he was just messing around. Even if the pause button only works at short range, Smith seems competent enough to be able to use it if he wanted to. He chooses to use regular attacks instead of just using pause, or even the lasso or select tools, and that seems to point towards some sort of grudge.

Theory 2: TSC and victim parallel each other

In the physics video, I'm sure everyone saw the yoyo and thought of victim with the lasso. But I'm taking it a step further and saying that they're going to be parallels of each other in AvA 6.

1 - Victim very clearly parallels the Alan we see in the first AvA. He uses the same animator tools, particularly the lasso, and he uses the same tactic of keeping his victim trapped so they can't escape. Additionally, the way he easily creates clones and lets them die seems very similar to Alan's original thoughts about stick figures - not seeing them as living things.

2 - Second also parallels Alan from AvA 1, though he seems kinder than Alan was to victim. He uses the pencil to create life just as we see Alan do with the sticks, and like Alan originally was, he seems unaware/in denial that his creations are alive. However, we see that after the workers erase the eel he created, he looks at the pencil as if contemplating the morality of creating life just to kill it.

3 - Victim and Second are often used as foils to each other in fandom works, and for good reason! Second is everything that victim couldn't have, and victim is everything Second doesn't want to be. Victim was deprived of a good life, friends, family, and powers, all of which are things Second has in spades. Of course victim would despise Second for that! On the other hand, Second is shown to be very heroic, striving to do the right thing, and in part 2, he reflects upon his actions, not just with the eel, but with his powers, too, when he discovers he has them. Victim is not heroic, kind, or self-reflective at all, setting them up as obvious foils.

Theory 3: Victim won't be redeemed

This is more of a hypothesis than a theory, but hear me out.

1 - Second is very clearly set up to be the protagonist and hero of AvA 6. If he goes through an arc of realizing the thing's he's done wrong, just like Alan did, I doubt victim's story will end the same way. Victim actively chooses to be oblivious to the consequences of his actions, and he very clearly does not want to become a better person.

2 - Victim's name is more than just a name; he sees himself as the victim in his story. In victim's eyes, Alan hurt him, therefore he has the right to hurt Alan back. He chooses not to see the horrible things he's doing because that would ruin his picture-perfect narrative where he's just a victim of his own circumstances who isn't responsible for any of the hurt he causes because Alan hurt him first. He believes every lie he tells himself.

#430 rambles #ava theory #ava the box #animator vs animation #alan becker #ava victim #ava the second coming #ava the chosen one #ava alan becker #ava tsc #ava orange #ava mercenaries #ava agent smith #ava shady #ava primal #ava hunter #ava sign #ava hazard #ava ballista #ava pixel

[hogwartslegacyreactions2]

Hello it's me again can I request the hlc students, professor and villians meeting THE VILLAIN AU of MC, (Mc is a dark entity who was stored under wookrook castle after the first ancient magic stop was open they let out !villain! Mc who's a 11ft entity who is sassy, manipulative, playfull/ Mc in this au plays a game with her victims if they lose they lose a limb if they win they get some power (btw this is a discarded au of mine Lol)

A/N: If I'm following your idea correctly, MC is not human but a dark entity that manifested inside the repository under Rookwood Castle? I can roll with that.

HLC REACT TO VILLIAN!MC

WARNING: angst,death, destruction, mayhem, evil!MC

RANROK: Finally. The Rookwood repository was unearthed. This one was the largest by far, he could practically smell the magic buzzing within its cage. In his haste, the magic beam from his hand killed a loyalist that didn't get out of the way fast enough. The repository shattered, releasing the large black and red mass of magic.

Something was different. The magic didn't automatically come to him. It didn't attach itself to his armor or go inside his body. Instead it writhed formless on the ground. He angrily shot another beam of magic, but it had no effect.

The magic did not come to him. Instead it started to rise. Higher and higher until the mass was near the height of the surrounding trolls. The magic swirled in place, gradually forming the silhouette of a human. Two exceptionally bright red lights glow where eyes would be.

The goblins behind him started to back up, looking to him for orders. He stared up at the unknown entity, unsure of the correct action. His magic had done nothing.

His hesitation was his downfall. The creature of undiluted dark magic simply pointed a finger at him and he felt as though his own soul was being ripped from his body. All the magic he had collected from previous repositories flew from him to the entity.

He fell dead while the entity seemed to grow stronger. Its form was more defined, more humanoid. The faceless head split across the front into a gnarled, chaotic smile.

VICTOR ROOKWOOD: He was outside Hogsmeade negotiating his next step with Harlow when the sky above went red. He pulls out his wand, thinking he's ready for what's about to come out of the sky when he sees it.

A large winged creature, not unlike a dragon, swooped down from above. A blast of dark and red energy came from the entity's hands and vaporized entire rows of houses. The protective barrier around Hogsmeade is entirely ineffective in stopping it.

He and Harlow try to flee, but the entity lands within feet of them. The weight of the creature shakes the earth and knocks them to the ground. He rolls onto his back and starts firing every destructive spell he knows, including the killing curse. His magic is merely absorbed.

A low shrill laugh pierces the air, he looks up in terror to see the sound coming from the entity standing over him. An impossibly tall humanoid figure with undefined features was staring down at him. They seem to be made of liquid chaos and fire, their skin constantly shifting and morphing. From the back came four large wings, like those of giant bats. They too seem to be constantly changing shape and definition.

The last thing he heard were his own screams as darkness descended upon him.

~~~

SEBASTIAN SALLOW: The school was in chaos. The alarm bells rang out as professors rushed to collect the students for emergency evacuation. He fought against the crowd to get to the nearest floo powder stantion. He needed to get to Feldcroft.

He nearly reaches one when the wall next to him blasts apart. He's thrown off his feet and half buried in rubble. His ears ring. The screaming of the students around him feel distant when he sees a horrific being approach him. It glares down at him curiously.

He couldn't reach for his wand, his arm was broken. The creature reached down towards him and he tries to shuffle away when he feels a slight tugging inside of his chest, like his own heart was trying to leave through his ribs. An oily black substance oozes from his skin, shining red like blood and he believes he's dying. But then...he feels nothing. Not fear, not anger, not pain. He doesn't need to go to Feldcroft. He doesn't need to do anything...he doesn't want anything.

He's left there in the rubble. The creature absorbed what they took from him and moved on through the school, heading downward.

OMINIS GAUNT: He's lost in the crowd and couldn't find Sebastian, no matter how many times he called. He's forcefully shoved through the hall and to an evacuation point. No matter how much he protested, he was floo-ed away without explanation of what was happening. The best he could tell was at the school was attacked by something. It had to be huge by the sounds of crashing and all the screaming. Whatever it was was horrible and he was slightly grateful he didn't have to lay eyes on it.

It's later he overhears people saying it's the end of the world. An unstoppable monster immune to magic was destroying the wizarding world as they knew it. He never heard from either of the Sallows. He doesn't know what to do or where to go. He's never felt so lost and alone in his life.

ANNE SALLOW: Her uncle rushed her away from Feldcroft without explanation. Only that it was urgent and they needed to leave the valley immediately. She asks repeatedly about Sebastian and Ominis but her uncle insists that the boys will be kept safe by the professors and likely taken to the ministry to be reunited with families.

She never sees her brother or her best friend ever again. No matter how much it hurts her, she screams and spits at her uncle for leaving Sebastian behind. Even if there was no time, he could have at least tried.

IMELDA REYES: She gets escorted away with other students and eventually gets back to her family. With them being well off, they could afford to flee the country. Not that it may matter in the long run. Any bit of news she could get her hands on, wizarding or muggle, talk of the end of days.

NATSAI ONAI: Brave soul that she is, she fights against the flow of panicked students to try and find her mother. She instead finds the monster cornering a group of second years. She casts at it, shouting for the young students to run, and gets the attention of the entity.

It stands to its full height, unfazed by her attempts to attack it. She stares back, showing no fear. The entity shows its horrible grin and echoed words, that sounded like screams of the damned, came from it. "You... look... fun..."

GARRETH WEASLEY: His aunt finds him before he knows what's happening. She shoves an old rag in his hands and he gets pulled away by it. The rag was a portkey back to his home. He sits on the floor, dumbfounded and confused. He doesn't get word until later at Hogwarts had been destroyed. Unknown casualties. He never saw his aunt again.

LEANDER PREWETT: He runs past the hall the monster is down. He only catches a glimpse of Natty in the monster's grasp, black magic being pulled straight out of her throat. He's in a blind panic for the nearest floo. Once he's on the other side of it, far from Hogwarts, he vomits on his own shoes.

AMIT THAKKAR, EVERETT CLOPTON: Both of them make it out together with many other students. The ministry had been alerted to the emergency and sending every auror they had to Hogwarts. The students being rushed in were collected in the main area around the fountain. They stayed together, trying to find comfort in their familiarity amongst the chaos.

POPPY SWEETING: Her only thought was to get home. Get back to her gran. They needed to- CRASH! The wall in front of her caved in as the entity came through it with another person. She didn't have to worry about her gran anymore. Or anything ever again.

~~~

ELEAZAR FIG: He sees the Onais with the monster. NATSAI was on the ground, Professor Onai standing numbly. He fires at the entity and distracts it. His magic doesn't seem to harm it, It just grins and rushes him. He gets shoved through the stone wall behind him. So many of his bones are broken, he can barely breathe. His suffering doesn't last long as the entity inhales and sucks the pain out of him, along with any energy he had left.

MATILDA WEASLEY: She is the one that raises the alarm. She witnesses the attack on Hogsmeade and rushes to get the emergency portkey for her nephew. If she could at least get one person out safely, it would be him. Seconds after he's gone, the ceiling above her collapses. The entity falls through the floor as it continues its destructive path to get to the repository it's senses beneath the school.

CHIYO KOGAWA: She's The first teacher to be evacuated out to the ministry to help guide the students and keep them together. Her voice is still calm and commanding as she tries to maintain order, but she feels the same dread and panic as the scared children around her.

AESOP SHARP: He actively pursues the entity. No matter how many times he fires at it, it doesn't seem to pay attention to him as he chases it through the halls. He and many aurors from the Ministry are the last ones on the grounds when the entity finally decides it's done playing and heads down to the caverns.

He sees it happen. The final transformation. When that thing absorbs every last drop of whatever magic was in the cage. Had no idea what it was or what was happening but it was bad. No matter what he threw at it, it just smiled. It looked at him and the others like they were curious insects.

To his surprise, the thing spoke to him, and it's awful voice. "Such suffering... I can taste it..." It raises one of its arms and he and all the aurors come off the ground. He struggles against the invisible force holding him, but to no avail.

Then he feels the tug in his chest. Black and red magic comes from his body, and the others, and is absorbed by the entity. When it was over, he did not care that he was falling head first to the ground. He didn't feel anything at all. Not even when his neck broke.

ABRAHAM RONEN: His class was one of the first destroyed in the attack. He and the students had no chance to defend themselves, not that there really was any way to defend themselves. For him, it was quick. Shards of glass and stone made for an unceremonious end.

MIRABEL GARLICK: She's at one of the evacuation points, getting students out. She sees the horrible thing come down the grand staircase and she stands between it and the students. The last thing she hears is it's terrible laugh as she and any students remaining have their pain removed.

MUDIWA ONAI: She finds the monster holding her daughter off the ground by her throat. She doesn't hear her own cries as her daughter falls limp to the floor with a sickening thud. She's too stunned to move. She doesn't even hear the entity's laugh as it rejoices in her pain.

BAI HOWIN: She goes through the floo after Kogawa to maintain order with the students they manage to get through to the Ministry. She is not, however, a steel willed as Kogawa so she's on the floor with her head in her hands.

DINAH HECAT: She manages to evacuate most of the defense against the dark arts tower before the monster comes stomping through. She tried to defend the floor the students were using to run, but it fired a black beam of magic and destroyed it. Her analytical eyes scanned the beast as she tried to figure out what it could possibly be. From her time as an unspeakable, perhaps this is an ancient beast that none have seen in centuries. She never figures it out, unfortunately. The monster feasts upon her pain.

CUTHBERT BINNS: He and the other ghosts are trying to Shepherd students to evacuation points. There's nothing he can do for them when the monster comes. Just watch as they become empty husks.

SATYAVATI SHAH: She makes it through a floo with her students. Only seeing two other professors and less than half the student body, the gravity of their situation hits her hard. One being, whatever it was, destroyed Hogwarts and most everyone in it in a matter of minutes. Not days, not even hours, but minutes. This was the end.

PHINEAS NIGELLUS BLACK: The coward fled when the school was attacked. Abandoning his post and ruining his reputation in the process, but he did not care. Nowhere in the job description was he ever supposed to fight off demons from the darkest pit of hell.

~~~

MC: Oh, what fun they've had! The screaming, the crying, the pleading, the begging! The insurmountable amount of pain they got to experience! They never felt so alive! Now the largest repository of dark magic was theirs! All theirs! They pry the repository apart with their bare hands.

When they consume the magic, they undergo their largest and most drastic transformation. They more than double in size, being about the size of a giant. They grow another set of wings, more demonic seraphim in appearance, and grow another set of arms. Horns burst forth from their skull and another set of glowing red eyes blinks open.

They're horrible cackling laugh echoes from the depths of the crater that was Hogwarts. Everything the ministry tried to throw at them, were now dead and gone. The world was theirs.

#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy reactions #hogwarts legacy professors #hogwarts legacy villians #sebastian sallow #ominis gaunt #amit thakkar #garreth weasley #anne sallow #everett clopton #imelda reyes #leander prewett #poppy sweeting #natsai onai #villian!mc #angst #tw death

[just-moondust]

Honey & Herbal Tea

Aaron Hotchner x Fem OC

Summary: During an investigation, Hotch ends up being dragged out of a burning building by a fire captain. One he now kinda has feelings for.

A/N: Hotch kinda acts more like Thomas in this, with the giggles and all.

I know I'm a shitty writer, but hey, gotta write my own stuff sometime. This will have more parts eventually, just kinda testing the waters with this...

‐‐-----‐------‐-------------------------------------------------------------

Aaron Hotchner wasn't one to be speechless, but today had been one of those days.

Paramedics were scattered around the scene treating burns and comforting distraught victims. One in particular had been adamant that he stay put till he could get checked out for injuries, but the medical teams were stretched thin as is.

He watched, still a little dazed as the firefighters combed through the smouldering ruins of what was once an office building. One that he had barely made it out of alive. They were too late figuring out that this place was latest on the unsub's list of places to burn. As a result, more than a few people had been hurt. Thankfully no one had been killed. Whether that was down to his own stupidity for choosing to stay in a burning building to help evacuations or just plain luck, he wasn't sure. Either way, being slung over the shoulder of a freakishly strong female fire captain and rescued wasn't in his expectations.

The very same fire captain that was stalking towards him with a furious look on her face.

“Are you stupid?!”

She yells, though he's so taken aback at her aggression he doesn't answer, just blankly staring at her covered in soot. Freckles peak through the dirt on the tip of her nose and where she's away wiped sweat from her forehead.

When he stays quiet, her face turns to concern and she looks him up and down.

“Agent?”

She pulls off a glove and rummages around in the medical kit beside him for an examination pen light, shining in his eyes. It forces him to blink and snap out of whatever trace he was in.

“I-I'm fine” He tries to sound convincing, but all the smoke he'd breathed in had just made his voice crack and the captain shakes her head.

“No, you were in a fire without proper breathing apparatus. So you need to go to the hospital.”

Her voice is stern, almost matching his own when he's ordering his own team. He's not used to being ordered around, and he wasn't about to waste a time on a trip to the emergency room.

“No I don't have time for that-”

Aaron pulls off the oxygen mask and starts to get up, but she pushes him back down on the step of the ambulance, a frown of annoyance now on her face.

“Listen to me very carefully, Agent. You have symptoms of smoke inhalation and you may feel fine now, but if you go home without treatment, it will get worse and you'll die.”

Aaron could see this was an argument he wasn't going to win, this woman was pretty adamant.

The thought of Jack alone crossed his mind and he nods reluctantly, the captain's face softens .

“Good. Make sure you get some rest.”

She pats his shoulder, turning to Morgan and Emily who have appeared at the side of the ambulance, having apparently watched this whole exchange.

“Make sure he goes to the emergency room. Order him if you have to.”

She says, heading back to the singed ruin.

“You heard the lady” Morgan smirks, helping him to his feet. “Let's get you to the hospital”

If Aaron could speak without coughing his lungs up, he'd probably have told Morgan to shove it. He instead shoots him a look of disapproval as he slumps in the back of the suv with several bottles of water.

***

A few days later and he still can't get the dryness out of his throat. He's standing in the BAU kitchen stirring powdered flu medication into his morning coffee, clearing his throat.

“I find herbal tea and honey the best relief.”

He jumps slightly and spins around to the familiar voice.

A light copper haired, freckled faced woman leans against the opposite counter, her dark eyes watch him with amusement as he recognises the now clean and composed fire captain.

“Captain Kneath?”

She nods at the acknowledgement, unfolding her toned arms to reveal a folder tucked underneath that she waves in Aaron's direction.

“I have the latest arson report. I was told to deliver it to the agent in charge.”

He raises an eyebrow, realising she doesn't know she's talking to him.

“Sure, I'll take you to his office.”

She follows as he walks across the empty bullpen and up to his office. She lingers in the doorway as she watches him sit down at his desk and stare at her blankly. She returns the blank look, a thin smile forms on her lips.

“Very funny,” she pulls the door to, reading his name off it, “Agent…Hotchner.”

Aaron shrugs nonchalantly, though inside, he's very proud of his little joke.

She slides the report across his desk and sits in one of the chairs in front of it, smoothing her crisp shirt down as she crosses her legs, waiting for him to read it. In the silence, she glances around his office, taking in the sight of the trinkets and photographs. One in particular catching her eye, Agent Hotchner and a younger boy she could only assume was his son. Cute kid she thinks, not realising the Agent had finished skimming through the report and was observing her.

“So the source of ignition was thermite?” He asks, drawing her attention back to him.

“Yeah, it's pretty common for arsonists. And you can buy it legally.” She sighs, “sorry it doesn't exactly narrow down your suspect list.”

Aaron raises his palms to disagree, “you'd be surprised what tiny details can help. Thank you, Captain.”

He offers his hand, which she accepts with a firm grip.

“And uh, thanks for the rescue.’

That lightens her mood. Even if it does cost him a little dignity. The smile lines and creases by her eyes become more defined as a quiet chuckle escapes her.

“You're Welcome. Just don't do it again, Agent Hotchner.”

She backs out of his office with a smirk, leaving Aaron with an uncomfortably hot blush on his face. One he can't cover before Rossi enters the room, double taking at the departing Captain. The look on his face tells all before he's even opened his mouth.

“Dave, don't.”

Rossi pleads ignorance, “what? I never said anything.” He makes himself comfortable in the previously occupied seat, nosing through the arson report.

“I'm just saying, she's pretty smokin’. Pun intended.”

“Please, stop…”

“Oh look, she left her number on the report. For official queries though.”

Hotch sighs loudly, airing that his patience was wearing thin. He knew Dave was only teasing, but it was the last thing he needed.

After a long, gruelling brainstorming session, the team came to the unwanted conclusion that it could only be a firefighter setting such the blazes. That meant questioning the responders.

Before Aaron can even begin to dish out assignments, Rossi volunteers himself and Aaron to go to the downtown station.

They bring Reid along, mainly because Aaron knows he'll stay focused on the work.

As the three of them enter the open bay, they're greeted by a group of firefighters who look up from the kit they're inspecting, faces dropping to looks of aversion when federal badges are shown.

One reluctantly shows Aaron up to their captain's office, knocking on the open door.

“Cap, feds are here.”

She briefly glances up from what she's typing, spotting Aaron behind the shorter woman in the doorframe, an eyebrow raised in interest.

“Thanks, Em. Tell the others to play nicely please?”

She nods, letting Aaron into the office, not before passing him with a glare as she heads back downstairs.

“They know why you're here, that's why they're being so hostile…”

Kneath says, continuing to type away. She makes a gesture for him to sit and he obliges. The similarity of the scene from this morning in his head as he inspects the shelves behind her. Books, old helmets and a singular photograph. Looked so be the entire crew with a few extra family members gathered round a loaded up Christmas dinner table. Happy smiles on everyone.

The sound of the captain's laptop shutting brings Aaron's attention back. Her face appearing more stern than disapproving, her hands rest atop of the closed laptop together. Why did he feel like he was about to get told off?

“Agent Hotchner, it may not be a surprise to know that I'm quite familiar with the profiles of arsonists.” She begins to explain, he doesn't interrupt, opting to hear what she has to say.

“I know that you're here because there is a theory that firefighters are often responsible for these specific types of fires. That they're often male, white, young and have a history of trouble.” Her eyes narrow and she leans forward, “That's just under half my team. And while I appreciate you have a job to do, what I don't like is the fact you didn't think to consult me first before interrogating my guys.”

Aaron takes a moment, he feels like he's 16 year old again, being lectured by the young teacher in high school he'd had a crush on for getting into too many fights. He didn't really think straight then either.

“Captain, you're right and I apologise,”

He swallows, fighting the urge to look away from her face and down to his lap.

“But we still need to question everyone. Any details, no matter how small, are important.”

She sighs, rubbing her temples as she thinks it over.

“Fine. You can ask questions. But I will be present as well as a union rep, if they choose to have one there.”

Aaron sees this as good as it's going to get, nodding in agreement.

“Come back tomorrow, I'll have everything ready.”

They both stand, walking down to the bay to Rossi and Reid in some kind of territorial standoff with two of the men.

“Griff, Phil, that's enough.”

She calls, and the two back off. Aaron can't help the nerves from somewhere in his stomach emerging at her authority over them, her composure, her voice sounding so stern. Did he even find it.. attractive?

Rossi certainly knew he did by the smug look on his face when he spots Aaron's split second look of distress from his internal debate.

He waits till they're back in the car to start digging for details.

“So we like a woman in charge now, hmm?”

Hotch tightens his grip on the wheel, refusing to play along with the tease. Reid however, hasn't had the memo.

“What'd you mean?” He asks, popping his head between the front seats, looking at Rossi, who's in turn still smirking at Aaron.

“Hotch has the hots for the lady fire captain…”

“What? No way” Reid frowns, looking between the two of them, “right?”

“I can fire both of you.”

“Hmm interesting choice of words-”

“Shut up, Dave.”

***

“Thank you Emma, you can go. Send in Callum next.”

Captain Kneath says as the fifth interview is concluded. She sighs heavily, her fingers pinch the bridge of her nose as she paces behind Reid and Hotch at a table.

This wasn't looking good for a few of her crew, the feeling of unease that someone in her crew was responsible. The loyalty they all had to one another was becoming a problem, though she felt she was the one betraying that trust by letting this whole thing happen.

“We can take a break, Captain?”

The older agent suggests from his spot in the corner of the room, but she dismisses the idea.

“No, it's alright. I want this over as soon as possible..”

The next interviewee appears in the doorway, she looks up at the newest addition to her team with an eased smile.

“Callum, please have a seat. This is the station's union rep, Graeme. Are you happy for him to sit in?”

“Uh, yeah…Sure Cap.”

The two shake hands briefly as Callum sits with him opposite the two federal agents as they introduce themselves.

“Can you tell us your whereabouts on Tuesday from 5:45 am to 6:30 am?”

“I was here, on shift. Cap was here too, she saw me.”

She nods when Aaron glances over his shoulder at her for verification. He scribbles down a note before asking the next few questions. Callum seems to be the most cooperative yet, maybe due to his status as the newbie. He wasn't quite all in on the family bond the rest of them shared.

“And did you notice anything unusual about your colleagues' behaviour before you were dispatched to the fire?”

He shakes his head.

“Everyone was cranky. We were about to clock off and then we had another 4 hours of work”

“What about during the response?”

He lets out a frustrated sigh as he thinks back, shifting in his seat as he looks up at his Captain for a second. She catches on, her face softening as she notices.

“Cal if you think somethings wrong, say it” she encourages gently, the young man nods, looking back at Reid and Hotch.

“When we were looking for signs of a reflash…I was with Griff in the sublevel, he told me to split off. And I know you say that's the number one no go Cap, but we were all tired and wanted to get the job done faster…”

Kneath audibly exhales through her nose, her face resting in her hand to keep her disappointment hidden from him.

“...when I'd cleared my half, I went back to find Griff, he was picking up something and he put it in the pocket of his tunic…”

“Did you see what it was?”

“No, I was too far away” Callum shakes his head again, looking back up at his captain with an apologetic look.

“Cap, I'm real sorry-” He starts, but she raises a hand to cut him off.

“We'll talk about this later Cal. Is that everything agents?”

Hotch agrees and Cal is dismissed. Captain Kneath begins her pacing again, but the calmness she had before is now some kind of amused annoyance as the agents all look at one another.

“I can't believe this” she laughs, “they all know there are procedures for a reason. Griff, most of all.”

“How so?” Reid asks, sensing there's a tension between them. She shakes her head, beginning to unfold the story.

“Griff and I were both in line for the captain job. But he's reckless and cuts corners for efficiency and it got one of our own killed.”

The bitterness in her tone says all, a frustration that a few others in the crew no doubt harbour.

“Do you want him back in here?” She asks, the agents nod.

“We need his permission to search his belongings. If he still has whatever he took from the scene, it may be here.”

She calmly requests the rep to fetch her disgruntled lieutenant.

“He won't give you permission. Even if he had nothing to hide, he wouldn't.”

Hotch and Rossi exchange a look before Aaron stands up, “Captain, perhaps it would be better if we spoke to Lieutenant Griffiths without you present, given the strained relationship between you.”

The suggestion is accepted, and she follows Aaron back to her office, leaving Rossi and Reid to the questioning.

He shuts the door behind them and she slumps down in her desk chair, shutting her eyes and taking several deep breaths.

He takes a seat on the other side, observing her stress.

“Captain I understand you're frustrated-”

“Seren.” She corrects him, “ I don't think I can really say what I want to say as a captain.”

He nods, crossing his legs and sitting back in the chair. He's had members of his team under suspicion before, but never a betrayal that it looked like this was heading for. He can't blame her for wanting to kick and scream. He felt that way too sometimes. It was after all, as they say, lonely at the top.

“He is one stubborn son of a bitch. He hates that I got the job over him. Even after he got Jason killed….” She trails off, shaking her head in hurt.

“He's misogynistic and he's disobedient! Thinks because I'm a woman, I'm too soft on everyone. And don't get me started on the rumours he started…”

She sighs heavily, seemingly to have got the worst of her grievances out.

Aaron's eyebrows raise at the mention of gossip, but he doesn't press it. He can guess what it is, so instead he considers the position it puts her in, something that he'd never have to experience. Is this how JJ and Emily feel? He can't say he understands her.

“From what I've seen of this station and its crew, I think it's clear you were the correct choice.”

He says with a small smile involuntarily curling at the edges of his mouth.

She seems to accept the compliment reluctantly, a thin smile on her lips.

“Thanks, Agent Hotchner.”

“Aaron. Please.”

“Thank you then, Aaron.” She says, the tension of the situation beginning to ease a little. They wait in silence a few minutes more, then there's a commotion outside. When they both get downstairs, Rossi has Griff in cuffs on the ground and he's yelling at Callum for snitching. The rest of the crew are gathered round in stunned silence, one that Seren joins.

“What happened?” Hotch asks Reid, who's holding a makeshift evidence bag.

“We found what was left of the thermite container in his locker and he tried to run…”

“...and you both took down a 178 lbs guy?”

He asks in disbelief. Rossi perks up as he hauls Griff to his feet, who's now uttering insults towards Seren under his breath.

“Actually, we had help” He grins, gesturing to the crew around them.

“Well no one's gonna bad mouth our captain and get away with it,” one says.

Seren feels her heart swell with a little pride at her team as she realises they really didn't think less of her for going along with the intrusive investigation.

“It seems like Lieutenant Griffiths here, had quite the vendetta against you Captain.”

Rossi explains, returning from putting Griff in the car. Though that still doesn't answer the million questions she has.

“I don't get it though, why target those buildings? If he wanted to get rid of me, he could've done it in easier ways…”

She frowns, crossing her arms, looking between the agent for answers.

“We'll know more when we question him.” Aaron says, “for now, just try to put it to the back of your head.”

She nods, “please keep us updated” she asks as they head towards the car. “And thank you!” She calls after them, and heads back inside.

***

“Sorry I'm late” Seren apologises, taking the opposite seat to Aaron. He glances at his watch and grins, seeing she's only over by a few minutes.

“Busy day?” He wonders, she gives a wide eyed nod.

“Like you wouldn't believe. Though things are running alot smoother now I have a Lieutenant that actually works with me.”

Aaron nods along, pleased things had turned out okay.

Things had gotten a little messy during the court case, but Seren had kept her composure unlike her opposition. His legal counsel had reverted to trying to discredit her, that's when Aaron had heard the rumour she'd mentioned.

There was of course, no truth behind it. But she'd sat through the questions and the slut shaming till the jury was satisfied. Aaron felt angry for her. Emily saw it, the silent look of judgement Hotch so often wore in interrogations when people are undoubtedly guilty and still denying it.

She'd told him that it was an unfortunate truth about women in power, even having experienced it herself.

Aaron was aware of it, even realising he'd been quicker to jump to conclusions about how capable his female colleagues were. But seeing it so blatantly used was infuriating.

He'd met up with her several times after the court case had ended, much to Rossi's delight. Though he told himself it was more out of a sense of obligation.

They talked, got on more of a first name basis. She'd laughed at his little efforts at jokes and listened when he had shared frustrations.

Aaron was alot more involved than he knew he should have been. The stickler for procedure, the drill sergeant, as Morgan had once put it. Despite that and the persistent comments from Rossi, he'd worked up the nerve to ask for a date.

And now she was sitting across from him, cradling the cup of chamomile tea with honey in her hands. Wisps of stray hairs fall down the side of her face, having escaped the tight bun the rest of hair was still pulled back into. Her soft smile changes as she recalls a particularly funny rescue that has Aaron blurting out a giggle. He couldn't help it, but she noticed. Her eyes widen in surprise and her smile follows suit. His cheeks go red when she says it's cute.

God he was a mess in front of this woman.

Soon it's late, and the baristas behind the counter are shooting them looks till they take the hint to leave. They walk slowly and closely, fingers occasionally brushing as they exchange glances and words in the evening breeze till they're at her doorstep. They stand in silence a moment, wondering which of them would be the braver one. It's her of course, Aaron watches in mild amusement as she climbs two steps and pulls him by his tie into a kiss that he gladly accepts.

The sweet taste of honey and herbal tea lingers on his lips when she pulls away and says goodnight, leaving him in some kind of weak-legged, giddy state to wander home in.

#aaron hotchner #ssa aaron hotchner #hotch #hotch x oc #aaron hotchner x oc #criminal minds #criminal minds fic #thomas gibson #aaron hotchner fic

[bones-of-a-rabbit]

(pls forgive how cronched this is) a lil doodle of the Space AI Trio i did in a recent magma! where i played a lil bit w one of the themes of the Space AI Trio's dynamics/motifs (abandonment/being replaced)

(what i mean by that under the cut:)

Eclipse was the rough, morally sketchier prototype of what Sun and Moon came to be a few generations later. When Eclipse's project went awry, his ship (Starcluster Seeking Discovery Cruiser, often shortened to SSDC, iteration 404) was evacuated and all evidence of it purged, leaving it to be lost to drift through the vast nothingness of the unfound spaces, waiting for a relief crew that was never coming and no one to remember it even existed to begin with. Sun and Moon's ship started development years later, Eclipse's existence far from anyone's minds: easily replaced when no one recalls that you once filled that void.

When Sun and Moon have their Big Drama Moment with Pilot-Reader, Reader is quick to bond with Eclipse and goof off , joke around, and simply spend time with said android, instead of spending as much time with Sun and Moon as they had BEFORE the Big Drama happened. Sun and Moon are, of course, quite upset that Reader was using this older-brother-they-never-knew-they-had as a rebound someone to confide in, almost as though they've been,, replaced. (Play stupid games win stupid prizes, boys, ya played urselves)

(basically Sun and Moon replaced Eclipse's ship/purpose, and later Eclipse 'replaces' Sun and Moon in their relationship with Reader lol)

Reader and Eclipse: bonding, figuring out how to communicate, dancing, perhaps kissing on one or two occasions, just bestie things Sun and Moon:

#bones of a rabbit #bones of a rabbit au #fnaf au #fnaf sun x y/n #fnaf moon x y/n #fnaf sun x reader #fnaf moon x reader #space au #space ai au #space ai sun #space ai moon #space ai eclipse #yes the name for their ship (starcluster seeking discovery cruiser) is a reference to Super Star Day Care #bc yknow. they both abbreviate to S S D C #im trying to b clever okay #magma #doodles #sketches #tw abandonment #tw jealousy #who replaced who

[mcflymemes]

SPY / ESPIONAGE PROMPTS *  assorted lines from popular spy & action films

how many times has the government betrayed you?

what the hell are you doing?

you were shot.

you're going to ruin this mission.

where'd you get a suit?

you're my bodyguard, not my business partner. just focus on guarding my body.

thanks for the ride.

tell me where the bomb is.

you're the person who caught him, aren't you?

please don't make me go through you.

the blood is on your hands.

if you were in your office right now, we'd be having this conversation face to face.

i don't trust anybody outside of this room.

hold on! how did you get in the helicopter?

i'm gonna get the detonator!

if you ever feel like you've been poisoned, chew one of these.

jesus, you're intense.

they'll kill you for giving me this.

people do all kinds of weird and amazing stuff when they are scared.

what's your source?

who paid you off?

everything you need is in there.

we prefer to keep a low profile.

did you ever choose not to?

how close are we?

my argument is not with you.

you're really good at staying alive.

stay put and secure the premises.

i told you to send me in there instead.

this is a bad idea.

why don't you come with me?

so now you're going to kill me.

how long do i have?

that is how you survive.

by the way, i can see your gun.

i pulled up my file.

i need you to untie me now.

you have no idea what you're into here.

i don't want to do this anymore.

this is where it started for me. this is where it ends.

do you know what? you play it too safe.

they found a body.

you really think you're ready for the field?

it's just a job. no hard feelings.

ten seconds or you're dead.

i think one day you will understand.

how do you like my english accent?

why won't you just die?

i'll figure it out.

he drove off the roof.

he killed our man.

we're in the middle of an operation.

i sent you to be invisible.

these people will kill you if they have to.

i'm a motherfucking spy.

thanks for your weapon.

look at this. look at what they make you give.

so what's the plan? who are we meeting?

we have to stop the sale of a nuclear bomb.

sorry, the other wire.

i told you to come alone.

you haven't slept for a long time now.

there's a body in the streets.

i'm working on it!

all of the systems are state of the art.

this whole operation was a mole hunt.

nobody does the right thing.

oh, stop screaming. you loved it.

i'm jumping out a window!

you do not have the authority.

we have to find the other bomb.

why are you helping me?

everything i found out, i want to forget.

how could i forget about you?

kill everyone? that's your plan?

you start down this path, where does it end?

how long was i out?

the only person allowed in that room has to pass through a series of security checks.

i got enough trouble, okay?

put the gun down.

i knew it was going to end this way.

they knew we were coming.

if i ever feel somebody behind me, there is no measure to how fast and how hard i will bring this fight to your doorstep.

what's going on at the CIA?

i think we lost enough agents for one night.

you're a total goddamn catastrophe.

someone started this, and i'm going to find them.

you're only alive today because he didn't have the guts to kill you.

you don't understand what you're involved in.

every now and then, send up a signal. let me know you're safe.

the greater the suffering, the greater the peace.

we have to evacuate these people!

you move, you die.

i saved your ass again.

my team! my team is dead!

i tried to protect you.

perhaps we can arrange a meet.

he went out the window. why would someone do that?

i work alone, like you.

i don't think that's a decision you can make.

accept it. you've lost this one.

i heard you talking.

why do you have to make things so fucking complicated?

#rp starters #rp memes #rp prompt #rp meme #rp musings #roleplay memes #roleplay prompt #roleplay meme #writing prompt #ask memes #rp asks #ask meme #inbox prompt #rp inbox meme #sentence starter #sentence starters #sentence starter prompt #spy #espionage #rp prompts #mcflymemes #spy prompts #dramatic prompts

[itsclydebitches]

So any thoughts on the news from Rooster Teeth regarding The stuff they're putting on the rooster teeth site?

I've only heard about this all second-hand, but the anthology series in particular has me going "Meh" at best and "Not again" at worst. The latter because (as we're all well aware) RWBY has a long history of dividing up information across its (flexible) canon, rather than consolidating it within the story proper, which makes that story... a mess. So I can perfectly picture a version of Volume 10 where important questions/revelations/world building are glossed over—or outright ignored—and when fans rightly want to know why the main characters aren't getting info about what occurred while they were gone, the answer is, "Oh we heard about that in passing in the side show developed during the hiatus." Emphasis on "we"—the viewers. RWBY tends to assume that if the viewer has certain information then they don't need to repeat that for the characters, despite this being a series where secrets and half-truths abound. And while that's a logistical issue all on its own, it also robs us of the chance to see the characters reacting. I don't want to watch a side installment to figure out what was happening in Remnant during Volume 9, then watch a Volume 10 where I have to assume via twitter announcements that the girls maybe learned about an undetermined amount of that stuff off screen. I want to SEE them learning with us in real time and once we have that framework, yeah, then you can flesh it out with an anthology series. It's far more satisfying to learn alongside Ruby that—as a random example—Sun and Neptune had all these cool adventures as a way of forwarding their friendship, then see those adventures animated down the line. As opposed to seeing it and then going, "I guess Ruby heard about that too? Maybe?? They haven't actually interacted on screen yet though, so...."

Of course, this is likely being done not only to fill the RWBY void, but to get our some of that Volume 10 info (epilogue included) in case the real deal is never green-lit. But again, I'd rather have confirmation. If Volume 10 is never going to arrive then fine, I get it, you publish what you can. But if there is still a chance of it happening then RT is shooting itself in the narrative foot by rushing and telling bits of the story too early. The hook of Volume 9's ending is the shock of seeing everyone semi-united in Vacuo, but still dealing with a myriad of problems. What happened immediately after evacuation? How did people rebuild? When (and why tf) did Ruby become this god-like martyr? Have they already spoken to Theodore? What new plans have been made to combat Salem? There are a lot of questions that arise from a time skip, questions the characters share, but if the audience gets many of those answers before they do AND the show doesn't lean into repeating that information for us to indulge in the characters' emotional reactions to it instead... what little that's currently interesting about Volume 10 goes down the drain.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[sugolara]

𝘼 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙙𝙖𝙮

ft. Shota Aizawa x daughter! reader

series m.list || next

The day the outbreak started

"Bottom floors are flooded with the dead! We managed to block the door to prevent them from coming in but the door won't hold in any longer!" Hizashi told Shota after he and Toshinori came back.

"We don't have much time. It won't take long before they come in and come after everyone in those rooms." Toshinori said as he worried about the students locked in the classrooms. "We should've taken them outside so that they have a chance of running."

"No." Shota said and stared at the end of the hallway where pounding was coming, "The streets are filled with those things. I barely made it."

"Shota...we can't take them with us." Hizashi said as he stared at his friend, already knowing what he was thinking. "The military aircraft won't allow it. With how small it is, barely half of us will even fit!

"That's bullshit." Shota scowled, "They can’t just leave these kids here, they’re humans, not a life you can just toss away! There has to be another damn aircraft!"

"They did say another aircraft would wait in Hosu." Toshinori tried to reassure Shota but he knew it wasn't working. Instead, the pounding of the door caught all their attention, "We should go, now."

"C'mon." Hizashi tried to move Shota, "We did all we could. The dead would have a hard time getting into the classrooms. It would give some time for the students inside to escape through the windows."

"...This is messed up." Shota whispered, "We shouldn't leave them here."

"I'm sure the aircraft would come back and rescue them when we tell them there's people here." Hizashi once again tried to move his friend forward but he was beginning to get frustrated, "Shota, move it."

"No." Shota yanked his arm from his friend's grip and began to move into a different hallway, "You two get out of here. I still need to do something."

"Wait!" Hizashi and Toshinori tried to grab the black-haired male's attention, "Where are you going!?"

"My daughters are still out there! I'm not leaving them behind!" Shota then turned to face them, "I'll see you guys! Stay safe."

The two blondes watched as their friend ran off. They watched as his figure got further away and turned through a corner, his figure out of sight. They mentally wished him good luck and moved to the roof of the building where a military aircraft would arrive.

Running down the hall, his mind raced as he thought about his daughters. Were they safe? Did their school evacuate already or were they trapped in a room? Or maybe...something else happened?

He had to push his thoughts back as he tried to get to his daughter's school. When he arrived at the hall door, he quietly listened in case anyone was behind the door. When he heard nothing, he hesitantly pushed it and peered inside. The hall was dark from the power going out.

He calmed his nerves before slowly entering and closing the door behind him. He watched his steps as he tried not to step onto the fallen corpses of the school's students. He avoided looking at their body as he felt like he failed to save them. He wondered if his students were doing okay in the dorm.

Walking further, he stumbled a bit as he tripped over a body. He grunted as he caught his fall, but his body shook as he heard a growl and a hand grabbing onto his ankle. He twisted himself and with wide eyes he watched as the student tried to maul his ankle.

His survival instincts kicked in and tried to shove the dead off of him. He kicked the girl's student face and mentally apologized as the girl was shoved off and tried to grab onto him once again.

Shota didn't get the chance to run as other deads nearby turned to his direction and began to move towards him. He cursed as he realized he was surrounded. Acting fast, he moved into a classroom behind him and loudly shut the door but with his back unguarded, he failed to see another dead student pounding onto him.

He grunted as the dead grabbed onto his shirt. He tried prying him off as well as not letting go of the door but it was difficult and if he wanted to leave, he had to let go. With a deep breath, he moved away from the door and slammed himself onto a desk until the dead removed himself.

He then looked around and picked up a nearby scissor. When the dead neared him, he sunk the scissor into its head and repeated the action with him and the dead toppling onto the floor. Blood sprayed everywhere and a pool of blood began to form underneath them.

The male then let out a heavy sigh as he dropped the scissor and moved away from the body. He peered at the body and then back at the door where the dead were pounding.

How the hell did this even happen? It was all Shota could think as he moved his way to a window and looked down. He opened it and climbed out, his feet kept him steady as he kept an eye on a shed that was placed beneath. He was thankful he was on the third floor and a drainage pipe was next to him to help him climb down.

He worried as he climbed down the pipe as it would wobble from his weight. When his feet were able to reach the shed, he jumped onto it and then safely jumped onto the floor. He crouched as he moved around the school building and avoided anything that could trigger the dead nearby.

It seemed like most of the students were inside the school or in their dorms as civilians were mostly outside. When he reached the front of the gate, he anxiously looked around for a clearing where a dead wasn't lingering but it was impossible as the road was completely filled.

He instantly made up his mind and decided to make a run for the forest that surrounded the school. He dodged every mangled hand that tried to clutch onto him. He kept low once he no longer spotted any dead and quietly continued forward.

He figured he would try the nearest school which would be Eri's and then head for F/n's. He first had to look for some sort of weapon. He cursed himself for leaving the scissors behind.

Exiting the forest, he stayed near a bush and watched as a few dead walked around and cars left unattended. He looked inside the car from the bushes as the doors were left open. From what he could see, a bunch of suitcases were left so he moved to a different direction where he spotted a lonely dead man stuck under a car.

Shota closed his eyes as the man was most likely run over and died from his injuries. He then spotted a pistol near his waistband. He hummed as he looked around for any dead and then moved forward to the man.

Getting on the floor, Shota hurriedly reached his hand out to the gun as he was worried the growls would alert any dead nearby. He let out an annoyed sigh as his hand couldn't reach it. He moved half of his body under the car and when his hand touched the gun's handle he quickly grabbed it.

His eyes peered at the gun. He's never used one but he did know the basics so maybe it shouldn't be hard to figure it out. With a weapon on hand, he steadily walked to Eri's elementary school.

However, his heart dropped when the school came into view. All the windows were broken and the front door was broken down. The school playground was coated in blood and Shota feared the worst as he thought of Eri. He hurryingly rushed inside only to be met with silence.

"Eri!" Shota yelled out as he frantically moved room to room. "Eri! Where are you!?"

When he moved into a room, he saw Eri's shoe coated in blood. His heart shattered as crumbled onto the floor, tears soon beginning to brim his eyes. Through his blurry vision, he spotted a bloody paper a few inches away from her shoe. He sniffled and picked it up. His eyes widened and his heart was put at ease.

"They said we would be heading to Sorston. I'm okay, dad. Eri." Shota blinked tears away and looked up, a relief washed over his face as the wall ahead was marked in red paint. It read, "Place secured".

He gathered himself and placed the note in his pocket and left the elementary school. He wondered if F/n was also with Eri or was still in her high school. He then decided to head for his oldest daughter but the sun was beginning to set down. He needed to be quick but it was difficult with the dead trying to eat him.

He stayed near cars as he traveled to the high school. He knew he should've sent her to U.A. It would've been much easier to keep an eye on her, but her persistence and wanting to be with her friends had him cave in. 

He regrets coddling her so much.

"Fuck." Shota angrily whispered as the road was blocked by a horde of dead. There was no way to continue unless he wished to die. He stared at his gun and shook his head. Noise would only draw them to him. He then peered at the sky, at least a couple more hours before the sun was gone.

Letting out a low sigh, he figured he would come by tomorrow early. It'll give him some time to pack a few things and get going to Sorston and find Eri. Steadily making his way home, he checked his neighborhood and was surprised it was empty.

"Seems like they managed to get away." Shota figured and headed to the front of his house. Once there, he opened and closed it behind him as he continued further into the house, but a sound crashing alerted him. He moved to where the sound was heard.

Nearing his daughter's room, his hands shook as it held the doorknob. Holding a deep breath in, he quickly opened it and aimed his gun, but let out a sigh of relief and tightly hugged his daughter, "F/n! H–How did you get here?"

F/n sniffled and showed him a bloody bat she was holding, "The teachers took us all outside and told us someone was coming, but when we turned around they locked the doors and we were left alone. Some guy came in and began to order us to run into a nearby truck, but a classmate shoved me back and the guy rescued me as we got left behind. He gave me his bat and he had a gun and tried to get me to a nearby house, but...I heard a crash and a car was on top of him!”

Shota eyed his gun and wondered if it were the same person, but shook his head and rubbed his daughters hair, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Dad...where's Eri...?" F/n whispered asked, afraid to hear the worst but her father reassured her.

"She's fine." Shota began to move around and grab a duffel bag made for traveling, "We need to get out of here and go get her. Then, hopefully, find an evacuation site."

"Where would we go?" F/n questioned as she watched her father pace around grabbing useful things.

"For now Sorston. It's where Eri is and we need to get her before we do anything else." Shota then handed F/n an extra backpack she used for middle school, "I need you to pack your stuff. Don't pack a lot, just things that might be useful."

F/n eyed her bag, a solemn look on her face, "Dad...how are you so sure that Eri might even be there? If someone did manage to get her, what makes you think they didn't find any trouble on the way there? Sorston...is far. Very, very far."

Shota stopped packing and instead stared at the duffel. Although it was painful, his daughter was right. He even saw what those things could do but he'd rather not even think about it, "F/n, pack your stuff."

The h/c haired girl stared at his back for a few seconds before heading to her room and packing a few clothes and a photo of a smiling F/n, Eri and Shota. She then headed to Eri's room and grabbed her small apple plush that the little girl loved. When she was done she stood by her fathers side as he boarded the front door with the living room couch and closed every curtain.

For now, they would rest and tomorrow morning their travel would begin. 

#zombie apocalypse #shota aizawa x reader #aizawa x reader #eri bnha #aizawa x you #aizawa x y/n #mha aizawa #aizawa fanfiction #aizawa shouta

[reikunrei]

Who's Mummy, Anyway?

It's more Doctor Who inspiration time!! I wanted to explore another set of episodes, this time from season 1:

Episode 9: The Empty Child and Episode 10: The Doctor Dances

These episodes revolve around strange happenings during the London Blitz on January 20th, 1941. The Doctor and his companion, Rose, follow an object through spacetime, where it crashes on Earth. Meanwhile, a young boy is wandering looking for his mother, though he's been changed by this fallen object and its yet-unknown properties. And he's infecting others, making them "like him." Ultimately, the solution to their predicament revolves around figuring out the true identity of this boy's mother, finally bringing an end to his search.

Prior to watching these episodes again, all I remembered was that there was a hivemind-type element involved, among some other details. What I didn't remember, however, was the everything else surrounding this boy.

In the following scene, the Doctor is reacting to the phone ringing in the front panel of his Tardis (which takes the shape of a police call box). However, it's not a real phone, it's just part of the Tardis's disguise, and therefore shouldn't actually work. Just when he's about to answer it, a young woman shows up and tells him not to. However, he doesn't heed her warning and when she disappears, he answers it anyway.

They don't give it subtitles in the DW episode, but before the child actually starts speaking, there's a muffled, garbled sort of static-like breathing, very similar to Will on the phone with Joyce.

He follows this girl to a house, where she and a group of homeless kids she watches after are eating from a meal left on the table. At the present moment, there's an air raid occurring, and this girl takes advantage of that to feed the kids when the homeowners are stuck in their bomb shelters. And when the Doctor calls her out on it (though he admits he thinks it's brilliant) he says:

Which... just... well, I wasn't expecting a TFS reference like that. But anyway, jokes aside...

The Doctor asks these kids why they haven't been evacuated yet, as they should be in the countryside by now. However, several of them admit that they had been evacuated, but they came back for one reason or another. For at least two of them, it was because they had to deal with "a man" at whatever home they were evacuated to, and they decided that being out here, taken care of by this young woman, was a far better bargain.

This stuff never comes up again, but boy, a group of kids who have to deal with an unsavory man? Okay, throwaway-line Martin Brenner!

This is where the Doctor also learns that this girl's name is Nancy... word.

He asks her again how his phone could have been ringing, since she seemed to know why, but she won't reveal anymore information to him. Instead, he cracks a very Brenner-vibes joke when asking if any of them have seen Rose, who he got separated from at the start of the episode:

We all know that Brenner needed one specific blonde boy in order for his "research" to work...

Nancy's about to kick the Doctor out so the rest of them can finish their meal in peace when the boy searching for his mummy shows up outside the window. The boy is young - 5-6 years old - and wearing a gas mask. Nancy gets all the other kids to escape out the back of the house while the boy waits at the front door for "mummy" to let him inside. Nancy gives the Doctor a little more cryptic information and the phone in the foyer starts ringing, but when Nancy doesn't let the Doctor answer it, the boy's voice then comes through a nearby radio, and even through a motorized toy, which I think speaks for itself in terms of similarities to voices coming through radios/speakers and them otherwise acting on the fritz in ST...

"It's not exactly a child" had my ears perking up too irt @aemiron-main's posts about doppelgangers.

Nancy flees out the back, leaving only the Doctor with this boy on the other side of the bolted front door. The boy reaches through the mail slot, where we then see he has a scar on the back of his right hand.

Photos taken from this post by @henrysglock.

Now obviously the scars don't look the same. The one on this boy is just superficial (unlike Henry's, which seems to hold some form of importance we have yet to fully uncover), and they're not even on the same hand. However, it's still an important detail that's imperative to the Doctor's understanding of what's going on here, and comes up again later.

The Doctor tries speaking to the boy, but he simply continues asking for his mummy and begging to be let in because the bombs are scaring him. However, when the Doctor opens the front door, the boy vanishes.

With the "threat" gone, the Doctor chases after Nancy, finding her in an old railroad yard. She's still his best bet for finding out what's going on, so he asks her again about the boy. He's deduced that this boy has something to do with the object he and Rose had been chasing.

I didn't mention it earlier, but when they're chasing this object through spacetime, they struggle to keep up with it because it's "jumping time-tracks," so when they land on Earth, it's only a general estimate, both in location and time. They're roughly a month out from when it landed, and thus have to ask around to figure out where it is... we only had a month of peace in that house... anyway...

Also... a bomb that wasn't a bomb vs the huge amounts of energy needed to open a gate to the UD, El being called a "fancy bomb"...

Nancy takes him to where the object crashed and instructs him to go to the nearby hospital to talk to "the Doctor" there. Before he leaves, however, he asks her who she "lost."

We all know what the "lost" reminded me of... even the "he's empty" from earlier as compared to Max's mind being empty/just being the void or the "darkness," if we want to speculate on what that means.

So, we learn that the boy who's been following Nancy around is her little brother, Jamie, who was killed during an air raid around the time that this object crashed to Earth.

The Doctor goes to the hospital to see... the Doctor... who we learn is actually named Dr. Constantine (though I do have to really point at the weird emphasis they had on her simply calling him "the Doctor," which even confuses the actual Doctor, because Dr. Constantine is just a human, not a Time Lord, so what gives with the weird false curveball? Anyway, just something that really stuck out to me, especially irt all the weird name and identity stuff in ST). There, the Doctor sees that every bed is filled with patients who are all wearing gas masks, just like Jamie. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to gather readings on all of the patients while Dr. Constantine warns him, "don't touch the flesh." (Which, this feels a little reachy, but it reminded me of an early interview for TFS where Bob's actor uses the phrase "in the flesh," which James talked about in this post). The Doctor learns that every patient has the exact same injuries:

Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side (okay Vecna), partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right, scarring on the back of the hand, and the gas masks are fused to the flesh despite a lack of burns.

We also see here that Dr. Constantine, who appears weak and is experiencing fits of coughing, is developing that same scar on the back of his own hand. Dr. Constantine explains how the first victim, Jamie, was brought in with "truly dreadful" injuries. By the following morning, all doctors and nurses who had treated him had the same injuries, and within the week, it had overrun the entire hospital.

When the Doctor asks what the cause of death was, Dr. Constantine says, "There wasn't one. They're not dead."

There is absolutely no sign of life in any of the victims, and yet they're "alive." They don't get out of their beds, they only respond to sudden noises that startle them (notably, they all respond in a group, like a hivemind. If one reacts to something, they all do), and Dr. Constantine even calls them "harmless."

The fact that they're dead-but-not-really obviously feels akin to the whole "Henry's dead but not really" deal going on in Stranger Things, both in the sense that his death in the outside world was faked so he could go to the lab unnoticed, but also reminded me of TFS and his ability to fend off the Shadow when Will had nearly fully succumbed to it in less than a week. Dr. Constantine even says that "[the patients] just don't die," which is very much like Vecna and his regenerative abilities/getting up and walking away after being flambée'd, as well as Brenner's seeming inability to stay dead.

While the Doctor continues talking to Dr. Constantine, Dr. Constantine proceeds to have a choking fit and his face morphs into a gas mask, his "infection" fully taking over.

At this point, Rose shows up at the hospital, having finally caught up to the Doctor with a new friend in tow: Jack Harkness.

I need to get into Jack Harkness in another post sometime once I do some more reading up on him again because he has a lot of interesting stuff that ties in with the Creels/I wouldn't be surprised if, in some way, shape, or form, he was some influence for Henward, but for now, we'll just stick to what's presented in these episodes.

When Rose initially got separated from the Doctor, it was because she saw Jamie on a rooftop and, concerned for this little boy out alone in wartime London, she went to meet him. However, she accidentally got swept off by a barrage balloon, having undone the rope tethering it in place as a way to climb the side of a building to reach Jamie. Jack spots her, and though he's presenting himself as a volunteer for the British army, he's actually from the 51st century. Using his spaceship, he rescues Rose when she nearly falls from her barrage balloon, catching her in a tractor beam and bringing her aboard.

We have a fun Victor Creel and Henry moment all wrapped up into one when Rose, a bit smitten by Jack, says hello twice.

Screenshot from this post made by Em regarding the weirdness about Victor and the Creel murders aftermath. Also thank you to Em for the screencaps of TFS!

As Rose and Jack flirt talk, he reveals that he believes Rose to be a Time Agent, since she's carrying a cell phone, has on a liquid crystal watch, and is wearing fabrics that won't be around for 20 years.

Even the stop acting now... a silly terrible play... anyway... Rose even keeps up the act of being a "Time Agent" and neither she nor the Doctor ever tell him they're not, he just figures it out.

When we meet Jack, we're also introduced to the concept of Nanogenes. Jack uses them to heal the rope burns on Rose's hand from when she fell off her barrage balloon. And I don't think I have to explain too much what this reminds me of, at least visually...

Another fun little detail I'll just shove in here is that Jack has parked his spaceship right beside Big Ben, that way it's easy to remember where he parked. The time on the clock reads 9:30 ("lessons start promptly at 10:00!") and Jack says they have just about 2 hours to close their deal before all bets are off (read: the bomb destroys it), which would be at almost midnight... and we sure love our midnight in ST, don't we? Not to mention that Jack is a captain... anyway...

We also learn that Jack was the reason this strange object crashed on Earth. He explains to them that he was trying to con them, deliberately sending a piece of space junk (it's an ambulance, of sorts, which Jack made sure was empty) through spacetime and would present it to them as something extremely valuable, but by the time the money would be exchanged, a German bomb was due to land exactly where the object had landed, thus destroying it before the Time Agents would be able to see what they paid for.

With that truth sorted out, the Doctor focuses back on the patients in the hospital, noting that it appears that their DNA is being rewritten.

I promise those Billy screenshots are gonna pay off later too...

It also made me think about the way Henry's blood changed after he was infected with the Shadow and the blood transfusions that happen in TFS, giving Henry's blood to the other lab kids to... do whatever it is that they haven't confirmed just quite yet, but likely has something to do with making them resilient to the Shadow or to Dimension X. James has spoken about that more in depth here, which I think is an interesting read.

Meanwhile, Nancy is back at the house they'd been eating at prior, packing up the rest of the food that was left. While there, Jamie speaks to her over the radio and then comes into the house. When she tries to flee out the door, he points at it and it slams shut in front of her and locks her inside with him.

At this same moment, all of the patients in the hospital get up out of their beds and begin asking for "mummy" while stalking toward the Doctor, Rose, and Jack, cornering them. Again, we're seeing this "hivemind" in action, the rest of them following what Jamie, the first victim, is doing.

Yes, the Doctor stops them by telling them to go to their room, which Jamie reacts to as well, thus saving Nancy. Yes, he's pleasantly surprised that it worked, too.

Also, just a fun little moment that I want to touch on that occurs here, when Nancy goes to leave the house, she runs into a little boy wearing a gas mask. She startles, thinking that it's Jamie again, but the boy removes his mask and it turns out to be the son of the family who lives in the house she was stealing from. Gotta love more fun times with lots of blonde-haired blue-eyed children getting mistaken for each other! We love confusing identities in this house!

Meanwhile, the Doctor, Rose, and Jack are going to the top floor of the hospital, which Dr. Constantine told the Doctor he should go to find more information before he succumbed to his "infection." There, they find a room with a busted out glass window and a tape recording setup.

*extremely loud cartoon blinking noises* are we seeing this shit??

I was especially raising my eyebrows about the "angry" bit, what with Brenner's whole deal in TFS getting Henry to become angry in order to trip him into using his powers. Not to mention the countless drawings, which are giving ST2 Will with his drawings of the tunnels, but then the absurd strength this child seemingly presented despite being, well, a child, vs Jim's jab at Henry in TFS about not having the "upper body strength" to cause the harm toward the local pets. They might not normally be physically capable, but they were infected with something that made them strong enough.

The Doctor starts playing the tapes in the room, and they hear recordings of Dr. Constantine talking to Jamie, trying to ask him questions, trying to discern if he's "present" or not, and only getting back, "Are you my mummy?" and "I want my mummy!" and other such iterations. Jamie at that point had been totally lost to whatever had infected him.

The Doctor starts thinking, saying that he can "feel/sense it" coming out of the walls of the room. He doesn't elaborate on what, it's just a feeling he picks up that neither Jack or Rose can sense (he blames this on them being inferior as humans lol).

Okay, so, fucking... again, raising my eyebrows about it being afraid, much like how the Shadow on TFS feeds off of fear and that's what makes it stronger. Not to mention the "power of a god" vs all of Vecna's God coding. Very happy these episodes gave me a reason to look again at one of my favorite James posts ever about this very topic. Which, like, sure, the Shadow/Mind Flayer and Vecna aren't one and the same, but, y'know, I'm connecting dots and having fun leave me alone.

Anyway, since the Doctor sent it to its room... and this is its room... well, yeah, Jamie shows up, and so using a fancy blaster that Jack has, they bust a hole in the wall to get out and then patch it back up, trapping Jamie in the room. However, he starts busting down the wall, ST1 Demogorgon-style, in order to get to them. The other patients begin coming for them as well, since Jamie's after them.

Meanwhile, Nancy is talking to some of the homeless kids, telling them that Jamie doesn't come after all of them, he only comes after her, so if they want to be safe, they can't be around her.

In that same scene, one of the kids is writing on a typewriter, which continues typing even after he gets off of it. When this is pointed out, and when they read what was written, it's just "Are you my mummy?" over and over again. Nancy tells them again that as long as they stay with her, Jamie will always be coming for them, and she leaves, intent on breaking into the crash site on her own to figure out what happened to Jamie.

Now, the Doctor, Rose, and Jack are stuck inside the hospital, trapped in a room with only one exit with dozens of infected patients on the other side intent on getting to them. Jack is able to teleport out to his ship and finds a way to speak to the Doctor and Rose via an "Om-Com," which means he can call anything with a speaker grill, which the Doctor realizes is what Jamie is doing as well. And, speak of the devil, Jamie pops up talking through the same radio that Jack is.

Jack manages to block out Jamie by playing "Moonlight Serenade" through the radio instead. Using music to protect them from the weird omnipresent dead-not-dead child? Okay! I guess! I'm going crazy.

Jack manages to then teleport Rose and the Doctor onto his ship after doing some meddling with his hardware, and now back together again, they ask him more about his conman status.

What if I just started eating glass and barbed wire for fun, huh? It really had to be two years, didn't it? Just like the discrepancies between Henry and Edward? Okay, yeah, sure, whatever, I guess !! For more information about that, check out this post by Em, there's a whole section detailing the year discrepancies shown to us in the ST newspapers that present this 2 year time difference (and take a gander at everything else he has there, it's well worth the read).

Meanwhile, Nancy has attempted to break into the crash site, but was detained by the guards who are protecting it. She gets handcuffed to a table beside a soldier who's clearly been infected, but nobody listens when she pleads to be kept away from him. She begins talking to him, saying she understands what's happening to him.

The Doctor, Rose, and Jack arrive at the crash site, where they learn that now the contaminant is airborne, and soon absolutely no one will be safe and the whole world will become infected, wiping out the human race. As the Doctor is explaining this, he interrupts himself by asking if anyone else can hear singing, and we then hear Nancy singing "Rock-a-bye Baby," which has put the infected soldier to sleep beside her. Love some more "music saves" (though this is merely because the lullaby put "Jamie" to sleep). The Doctor rescues her, and they all flee outside to examine the crashed object.

Here, the Doctor explains that this object actually wasn't empty like Jack said it was. Instead, it was filled with the same Nanogenes that were in Jack's spaceship that healed Rose, only because this is an ambulance, there were far more than they could imagine - specifically, enough to "rebuild a species." When the ship crashed, they all escaped. The first "living" thing they came across was a dead child - Jamie. Having never seen a human being before, these Nanogenes took Jamie as the blueprint for humankind. With him as the blueprint, every other human seems "wrong" to the Nanogenes.

While they're trying to sort out their next moves, the infected begin approaching the crash site due to an alarm on the ambulance being activated when they tried to open it. The Doctor explains that, because this is a battlefield ambulance, not only are the Nanogenes programmed to help heal wounds, but they're designed to make every living thing into a perfect soldier.

Also realizing I haven't mentioned this yet, but Chula is just an alien race or something. This ambulance is a Chula ship, as is the spaceship that Jack has in the episode.

Anyway, I told you that ST3 Billy screenshot would pay off. Now, they're sort of trapped here. They don't really know what to do, because this little boy is going to tear the world apart in order to find his mummy. Nancy pipes up then, saying that it's her fault this is happening.

Holy Mothergate. Do you ever just scream and cry and throw up? This was one of the other details I remembered about the episode, and it automatically had me thinking of the Alice/Virginia sister/mother swap that Em has talked about in posts like this one.

Nancy approaches Jamie, telling him that yes, she is his mummy, but he doesn't understand because "there's not enough of him left." However, Nancy apologizes to Jamie, saying she is and always will be his mummy, and hugs him. This causes the Nanogenes around them to activate, and while Rose thinks they're going to "change" Nancy, the Doctor stops her from interfering and instead begs the Nanogenes to figure it out. They should be able to read that Nancy and Jamie are related, and that her as the mother should be more than enough for them to get it right.

There is just so much happening here. Henry being the "parent" to the other lab kids, whether by actual blood relation or simply because his blood was used in transfusions to give the kids his same mutated blood, and that being a "superior" DNA type, which is also a word One uses during his monologue toward El.

And the constant use of the word "change" throughout the episode (this isn't the only instance it's used) as compared to Brenner Sr. and Henry said to have "changed" after their run-ins with Dimension X in TFS.

"Mother knows best" isn't something that comes up verbatim in TFS, but the actress who plays Virginia made a post on instagram with "a mother always knows" in the caption. Plus, matched with Virginia's whole thing about seemingly "knowing" what was going on with Henward, as per One's monologue in ST4, and being in cahoots with Brenner about getting him back into the lab in TFS... well, at least in these Doctor Who episodes, it's "mother knows best," but for good.

Anyway, the second episode wraps up with the Doctor sending out the Nanogenes to "fix" all of the people they infected the first time, thus bringing all of these "dead" people back to life. Again, they take the form of these light particles much like the light particles in the UD, which we still don't know the origins or purpose of, other than a means of communication across universes/timelines! Shrimpy!

One thing I really noticed, which is something that also came up in the last DW/ST comparison post I made, is this emphasis on identity. I just find it super interesting that in these episodes, which have lots of other parallels (especially stuff regarding the Shadow/MF), there's this emphasis on knowing who someone really is. In ST, this is something that's becoming more and more important, all the way from ST1 with stuff such as Will's body being a fake, up until ST4 with the uncertainty in the true identity of Vecna and One, and even Brenner.

Basically, I just think that all of these other parallels to the Shadow and the language used around it lend credence to the idea that this idea of mistaken identity and not knowing the full truth until the very end is something that is obviously going to come into play in a very overt way in ST5. Also time travel and alternate universes definitely exist in ST simply because of these connections to DW, and this isn't even getting into any DW episodes that are about alternate universes and changing timelines! Which I will hopefully be discussing sooner than later :]

#st dw #stranger things #i say things #im So tired but i DID IT.... it's DONE

[queenariesofnarnia]

island refuge

island refuge

bad batch x fem!reader (polyam, but focused on Tech)

When Phee takes the batch to Pabu they come across the one person they’ve searched for since order 66. 

Warnings: i don’t think so? i also think its kind of trash butttt its okay

wc: 943

Takes place after the end of s2e13 so if you haven’t watched i guess some spoilers?

            You helped evacuate the lower levels of the island when you felt the first tremor, knowing that something more was going to happen. After the surge hit you made sure to check on everyone you could since you’ve become the islands healer. A familiar voice reached your ears when you were handing out blankets, but you shook it off. You didn’t want to get your hopes up. You accidentally ran into someone while looking down instead of where you were going muttering a soft apology. The person gently grabbed your wrist before you could walk away. You turned around eyes meeting the familiar skull tattoo before looking in his eyes. 

            “Cyare” his voice barely above a whisper, pulling you into his chest holding you tight. “How long have you been here?” he asked pulling away but not letting go of you. 

            “After I got the padawan to safety that day. It would have been too dangerous for us to stay together. The force led me here and I’ve become their healer since then.” You answered. He took your hand and pulled you with him as he began walking in the opposite direction of where you were originally heading. “Where are you taking me?” you ask trying to keep up with him. 

“To see Tech and Wrecker” he answered. 

“Where are Cross and Echo?” you question worried about why the other two members of the batch aren’t here.

“I’ll explain everything later.” He answers you coming to a halt, keeping you behind him. “I found someone” he said to his brothers, they looked at him confused. 

“Hunter we’ve been here less than a day. What do you mean you’ve found someone?” Tech asked. He stood to the side revealing you. Wrecker didn’t waste any time to pull you into a hug. 

“I’ve missed you tiny” the gentle giant told you before putting you on the ground. 

“I’ve missed you more big guy” you squeeze his hand gently. You looked over at Tech, giving him a small smile. You didn’t pull him into a hug because you could sense the conflict in him due to your return. Phee approached you all calling out your name.

`           “Hey Phee, what can I do for you?” you asked the pirate smiling. 

“I see you met brown eyes and his brothers. But, I came to get some blankets.” She told you. Indicating Tech is brown eyes. 

“Actually, I’m reuniting with them. I was their general during the war.” You said handing her the blankets. Tech’s eyes widened in slight panic, something you would have missed if you didn’t glance at him. Phee nodded leaving you be to reunite with the batch. “So, Phee, huh?” you asked Tech without looking at him. You refused to let them see you cry, so you wiped the tears that were forming quickly. Before he could say anything, you excused yourself. 

“Nice one Tech” Wrecker said shoving his brother before following you. 

“I never thought we’d see her again” Tech admitted more to himself but to Hunter as well.

“You can figure out if you still care about her or not on your own. I’m going to introduce her to Omega.” Hunter tells him before walking away leaving Tech to think. After some time had passed you ended up spending a lot of the afternoon with Omega getting to know her and telling her stories of her brothers during the war. She ended up falling asleep in your lap after all the stories. Tech kept himself occupied helping others while Wrecker and Hunter weren’t speaking to him. Now he was staring at you stroking Omega’s blonde curls as she slept in your lap.

“Brown eyes” Phee’s voice broke Tech’s train of thought. He looked over at her giving a slight head nod of acknowledgement. “Does she mean something to you?” she asked gesturing to you. 

“Everything. I believed her to dead since we last saw her escaping for her life.” He tells Phee glancing over at her once but eyes trained on you. Wrecker approached gently taking Omega from you so you can go help some people.

“Talk to her. I know she’s worth it. One of the kindest people I’ve ever met. I’m still shocked she fought in the war.” Phee says nudging him in your direction. “And if you make her cry again, I’ll push you down the stairs.” She jokes getting up. Tech followed in the direction you went approaching you calling your name. 

“May I speak with you?” he asked when you acknowledged him. You nod, not wanting your words to betray you. The two of you walked off to a more secluded area but still in sight. 

“What do you need Tech?” you asked. You were playing with your hands, and you only do that when you’re anxious.

“I wanted to apologize for earlier” he answers reaching for your hands instinctively but pulling back realizing you may not want him to touch you. “I believed you to be dead and that was difficult for me to process. I didn’t know how to process seeing you again.” He explained. 

“Tech it’s okay, I understand.” You tell him placing your hand on his forearm.

“I may have been experiencing some sort of emotions towards Phee. However, I know what I feel about you surpasses those emotions towards her.” That made your heart flutter and you smiled at Tech. He pulled you in for a long overdue hug. You felt safe here on Pabu, but it would never beat the safety that you feel in your boys’ arms. 

“I love you too.” You told him voice muffled against his chest plate. 

@crosshairsbabygurl

#tech x reader #tbb tech #tbb hunter x reader #tbb x reader #tbb wrecker #wrecker x reader #the bad batch x reader #bad batch x reader #tbb hunter

[brujahinaskirt]

no, i'm mad. bioware wrote a character whose nickname is derived from how seriously he takes himself in order to compensate for his severe physical disability, who has effectively dissociated from his body and come to view it as a faulty machine of a prison that must be constantly maintained and apologized for, who has lived without allowing himself a single shred of joy or respite in his attempt to prove himself worthy of being alive through his superhuman labor (being arguably one of the best pilots in his species). they put this character in a position where he views himself as completely eclipsed by the Normandy, who sees himself as merely the nervous system of this piece of remarkable technology, existing only to make this new and powerful machine (not his breakable body!!! this is a new body!!!) work at its highest capacity.

[ME trilogy spoilers under the cut]

they write this character who then, precisely BECAUSE of his overexertion -- i.e., his complete disregard for his own disabled body and his fixation on being worthy of life because he "is" the Normandy -- gets commander shepard killed.

shepard, the super soldier, whose flesh and bone body has placed shepard at the top of humanity because of its innate physiological ability (to interface with reaper tech AND because of its raw physical prowess / size / heroism). shepard, who valued joker's life above and separate from the Normandy, and died because of it -- because shepard went back to pry joker, who stubbornly refused to evacuate, off the controls. shepard died because jeff refused to let go of the ship that (to him) became his body, the one reason that justified his existence. his hardheaded dehumanization of himself due to his disability directly resulted in shepard's death.

they wrote a character who goes from being the brain of the Normandy, thanks to his complete disregard for his own humanity -- to the guy who got shepard killed for the same reason. because shepard valued jeff's humanity when jeff did not.

they wrote a character who went through two years of what must have been eviscerating survivor's guilt, who lost both the Normandy (his new flawless body!! the one that was worthy of existing!!!) and shepard (who was, without hesitation, willing to lose that new flawless body to save jeff's actual human life).

and then they gave him shepard back. a chance to make up for it -- by learning to stop making up for it. a chance to figure out a new way to live.

and then fucking bioware waved a magic wand and undid the very thing that made joker who he is. they "fixed" his disability, thereby denying him the chance to accept that his disability does not limit his humanity and never did, a chance to rehumanize himself, to learn from what happened to him. instead, they shoved him to the far corner of the plot in the final act of the trilogy, turned him into a dudebro punchline, and dropped a fan-service sexualized robo-girlfriend on him instead of giving him a real purpose and resolution in the story.

fucking bioware, man. fucking bioware.

#mass effect #jeff joker moreau #redmeta

[reticent-writer]

So I really loved your fics with the sibling/ father figure. But may I request the hashira's father figure (also a demon slayer) coming to their rescue? Like jumping in the middle of a difficult fight, screaming "Not my kid you". Thank you 💓

No, thank you for the request and for liking the other ones.

*Manga Spoilers*

Giyuu

During the final battle you took almost every hit for giyuu much to his dismay.

"Your hurt enough as it giyuu. I'm not losing my son."

He stood in place for a second letting your words sink in.

"From the way you look your gonna die before me, old man." He said running past you and towards muzan.

Mitsuri

You and kanjiro were fight all night. The village that you were in was plagued with demons.

Coming to the 6th hour of fighting Mitsuri stopped, sensing no demons around her, so her could take a breath.

A weak demon saw this opportunity to sneak up on her, luckily for her you saved her.

Swiftly cutting off it's head. "Your not touching her... Not my daughter" You said with malice sending shivers down the withering demon spine.

"Stay alive Konroji. I know your tired but the sun will come up soon."

Sanemi

Upper moon was a tough guy.

"GENYA!" You screamed running into the room as genya was sliced in half.

"I'll be fine. I promise." He tried but failed to calm your nerves. Sanemi stood over the both of you defensively.

Grabbing the bottom of his haroi making him look back at you.

"Please don't." You pleaded. As if you prayers were answered gyomei showed up (gyomei ex machina).

You couldn't bare to watch as Genya disenegrated

Rengoku

You trailed Kyojuro on the Mugen train not just because trains were a new idea and you didn't entirely trust it but because you didn't feel right when you watched him leave.

You were right to be skeptical when you watched fight Akaza. You wanted to see him fight before butting in but when you saw Kyo slowing down.

Akaza was going for the killing blow when you blocked him with your sword.

"NOT MY SON!" You yelled getting in between them and cutting Akaza's arm. Akaza jumped back seeing that the sun was coming up. You watched as he ran while Rengoku kept his eyes on you.

He had never seen you yell and the fact that you called him a son he felt honored.

Shinobu

When Kanae died you were there. As she was saying her dying words you were fighting doma trying to keep him away from the children.

"You took one away from me. I'm not letting you take another." You chocked on your tears when you spoke but doma just laughed.

"Your a strong one, I'll grant you mercy this once. I can't stand to see a grown man cry." He said laughing. You blinked and he was gone.

You couldn't bring your self to go back to shinobu and Kanae, and instead you kneeled to the ground crying at the lost.

Muichirou

He forgets that you even there until he sees you take a hit for him.

"I know what you told me but I can't stand by and watch you get hurt, son."

"What did I say" Tokito asked. His memory was almost laughable.

"Uh... Nothing just focus on the fight for now."

Tengen

You accompanied Tengen to the red light district. When Daki was found out you were helping people evacuate before you even knew there was a second demon. Soon everything turned into Caos. When you got you where the main fight was happening you saw Hinasturu on a roof.

"Mr. Y/n its lord Tengen." She worriedly pointed to a seemingly dead and missing and arm Tengen.

"UZUI!" You jumped off the roof and ran down to him dodging all the attacks that came.

You first looked at his arm, the bleeding has stopped. Then you looked at his chest, he was still breathing.

"Go away." He muttered. Then you caught on, he was pretending.

Gyotaro was talking to tanjiro when you came up behind him.

"What did you do to my son." You asked with no particular tone.

When gyotaro turned to look at you tanjiro took the time to strike and so did you.

Obanai

Obanai doesn't give you a chance to help. Once you do (if you get past him) he pushes you to the side and scolds you like your the child.

#male reader #kny x reader #demon slayer x reader #giyuu x reader #mitsuri x reader #rengoku x reader #tengen x reader #obanai x reader #muichirou x reader #shinobu x reader #sanemi x reader #reticent writes #reticent-writes

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super Movie 2: Super Hero (5/5)

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAA EXISTENCE IS TORMENT RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Okay, so we're now at the last leg of this movie, where everybody teams up to defeat Cell Max. Once Piccolo turned orange and convinced the Gammas that Magenta was evil, the Red Ribbon Army collapsed on the spot. Magenta went to activate Cell Max as a desperate counterattack, but he was killed by Dr. Hedo. However, Magenta still managed to get Cell Max started up before he died, and the first thing Cell Max does is smash up whatever's left of the Red Ribbon base.

It's not clear to me what happened to the rest of the bad guys in this movie. A lot of them probably fled when the battle turned against them, but it's a pretty big facility, and I doubt they all could have evacuated in time. Like, Carmine was knocked unconscious a few minutes ago, and I doubt anyone went to the trouble of getting him to safety before Cell Max showed up. I suppose he could have survived this, but it seems pretty unlikely.

So let's talk about Cell Max. Apparently when Dr. Gero came up with the idea of Cell, he forwarded all of his notes and design specifications to Magenta at Red Pharmaceutical Company. RPC tried to make use of the data after Gero's death, but they couldn't figure it out, probably because the real breakthroughs in Cell's creation were accomplished by Gero's computer in an alternate future. But Magenta knew the Original Cell could get the job done, so he wanted one of his own, and when he learned of Dr. Hedo he thought he finally had the man to make Cell Max a reality.

And Hedo delivered... mostly. Cell Max's body was completed first, but it was going to take a lot longer to develop his brain, and Hedo wasn't particularly eager to work on Cell Max because he liked the superheroic Gammas better. He warned Magenta not to use Cell Max, because he would just run wild and destroy the world Magenta wanted to conquer.

And you know, it's poetic that Magenta's last act was to release this mindless engine of destruction, because that's really all the Red Ribbon Army ever was. Magenta mocked Dr. Hedo's fixation on super heroes, but Magenta's fixation was on the Red Ribbon Army, a failed mercenary group brought down by its idiotic leader.

Red's story ended with his army destroyed, and then Black went on a lunatic rampage on what was left of the Red Ribbon base. Dr. Gero's story ended with his own androids turning on him, and then Cell activates and nearly destroys the world with little concern for Gero's agenda. And now Magenta lies dead in his own stronghold, while Cell Max goes on a rampage.

It always turns out the same way, but with Magenta, we shouldn't be too surprised, because he admired Red and Gero so much. He saw their spectacular failures and convinced himself that they almost won, and if he just gave it one more try, he could get it right this time. But instead, Magenta just wound up sharing their fate, because this is the only way it could ever end. The Red Ribbon Army isn't some noble cause. It's just a bunch of goons who push around innocent people. And the problem with the whole 'might-makes-right' philosophy is that sooner or later you run into someone mightier who pushes back. Commander Red ran into Goku. Dr. Gero ran into Vegeta and his own creations. Cell ran into Gohan.

And I guess Magenta's failure to understand that is what led him to idolize the original Cell so much. I mean, it's kind of ridiculous that he would have asked Dr. Hedo to make a new one. Hedo was a kid when Cell threatened to destroy the Earth, but Magenta ought to have remembered that broadcast. He must have understood that Cell wasn't loyal to the Red Ribbon cause. When he announced the Cell Games, he didn't say anything about sparing the RPC. But I think Magenta never considered any of this. He just knew that Cell was powerful and he wanted one. For men like Magenta, the power is the point. Whether or not you can control the power is a minor detail. It was probably more important to Magenta that he was the one who got to push the button, regardless of the consequences.

Okay, so I kind of got off-track. What is Cell Max, exactly? Well, Hedo's a much better scientist than Gero was, so he managed to take Gero's incomplete "recipe" and make a bigger, even more powerful version of Cell. The downside is that this version is dumb as a bag of hammers. He just stomps around and screams a lot. He seems to have a canny fighting skill behind all that bestial rage, but that's it. You won't find any of the smarmy taunting or mindgames that we used to see from the original Cell. This version might be more powerful, but it's not perfect.

To put it another way, Cell Max absolutely sucks, and I mean that as a compliment. This movie kind of needed a final boss to offset the morally conflicted Hedo and Gammas, and Cell Max makes a good choice for that role. We don't need a cunning, invincible super villain for the last 20 minutes of this movie. There just isn't time for that. What we need is a doomsday weapon unleashed by Magenta in a final act of spite. Magenta probably thought he was getting revenge with this last strike, but this is the good guys' chance to do the classic superhero bit where they have a misunderstanding, fight, and then team up to tackle the real threat.

Also, as a fan of Cell, I just like this novel way of bringing him back in the Dragon Ball Super era. We've already seen Frieza revived and Broly revamped for the canon. Bringing back Cell seemed like a very obvious play, except it's a really dumb idea. Cell was a failure. He took on the whole world and lost, dying alone in a barren waste. Most of the world had no idea who he was or where he came from, and he didn't have flunkies who would wish him back to life the way Sorbet brought back Frieza. It makes much, much more sense that a character like Magenta would rather build a new Cell than bother with the original. And this only emphasizes Cell's inhumanity. He's not a villain, he's a weapon, to be discarded and replaced when he becomes obsolete. Is the new model better? That all depends on how many targets it can hit.

Broadly speaking, Cell Max loos like Semiperfect Cell from DBZ. The same bulky proportions, the same fish lips, etc. The difference is that Cell Max still has wings, which were curiously absent from Semiperfect Cell. Also, Cell Max is unique for his naughty red color, and his tail comes out of his butt like Frieza's, instead of sticking out from between his shoulder blades. Oh, and his feet look like hiking boots.

Also, the end of his tail isn't a stinger. It's like this club-looking thing that can shoot hot pink lasers. I've seen fans draw Cell Max in a "perfect form", which mostly looks like the Original Cell with Cell Max's red and green colorations, and it's interesting to look at, but it kind of misses the point. Cell Max isn't designed to absorb something else and achieve a completed form. This is as good as it gets for Cell Max. I mean, Dr. Hedo seemed to think he would be smarter and easier to control with time, but we really have no way to be sure of that, do we?

All right, let me try to get on with the plot here. The Gammas immediately attack Cell Max, not only because of their heroic natures, but because they know how dangerous Cell Max is. Piccolo leads the Z-Fighters to help out, and the Gammas explain that they need to aim for Max's head, because Dr. Hedo added a weak spot there. If you blast through his cranium, it'll trigger an explosion powerful enough to destroy Max's cells, but even the "weak spot" is still pretty damn strong. Also Cell Max is quite the artful dodger, so it takes a while for anyone to land a blow. Piccolo manages to pull it off, but the attack isn't powerful enough to be effective.

"RAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH EVERYTHING HURTS SO MUCH! WHAT AM I? WHY AM I? AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

As Cell Max destroys more of the base, the ground starts to give way under Pan's feet, and she can't make it to the safety of Bulma's airship. Krillin tells her to fly, but we know she can't do that yet. But she tries really hard and finally learns to fly! I guess she just needed the right motivation. Piccolo reminded her of her Saiyan blood at the start of the movie, and he was trying to reassure her, but Saiyan power isn't just a blessing, it's something you earn through turmoil and hardship. Maybe Pan had to be in deadly peril for her to make this next leap forward. It's like how Gohan was when he clobbered Raditz.

Back at the fight, everyone realizes they need to attack with greater intensity to stop Cell Max, so Goten and Trunks do a Fusion. But they fuck it up and turn into Fat Gotenks. He can't even turn Super Saiyan, but Gotenks is no quitter, so he charges in anyway, and manages to headbutt Cell hard enough to crack his exoskeleton. I guess they're doing chip damage to his head? Like Piccolo hit him pretty damn hard earlier, and now this, so they must be making some progress, right? Anyway, Piccolo praises this moment as the first time a failed Fusion actually does something useful.

Speaking of this, remember how Goten and Trunks had two different opportunities to use Fusion in GT, and they just... didn't do it for no good reason, even though it would have been awesome and cool? Remember how GT had no idea what to do with Piccolo, so they just killed him off and made him live in Hell? Remember how GT fucking sucked, and this movie does the opposite of those things and it's hella rad? I don't know, I just thought I should point that out.

At this point, Gamma 2 decides to go for broke, and he asks everyone else to keep Cell busy while he readies a strike onto his noggin, basically what Gotenks did, only with more power behind it. Gamma 1 is upset about this, but 2 tells him he needs to protect Dr. Hedo, who's still alive in the rubble. "Now who's being sloppy?" 2 asks 1. Because he didn't check his sensors to make sure Hedo was okay, you see.

So they all fight, but then 18 almost gets hit, when...

Kienzan, motherfucker! First rule of being a Cell, dipshit, you're gonna have to go through Krillin.

Solar Flare! Oh! Ohhhhhhhh! Krillin is the MVP once again!

So this sets up Cell Max perfectly for Gamma 2's attack, and he comes straight down... into Max's left forearm, because he managed to block it just in time. But to 2's credit, he keeps pushing, and seems to smash through anyway...

But it's no good. Cell Max's left arm falls off, and it looks like much of his body has been turned to ash, but he's still alive. Enraged, he tries to stomp on Gamma 2, but Piccolo won't have it and he ORANGES UP. As he pushes back on Max's foot, Krillin shows up to help, and tells Piccolo to grow his body, just like he did when he fought Goku at the 23rd World Tournament. I love how Krillin doesn't just tell him this, he helps push back on Max's foot while he talks. Krillin's the real superhero here.

Piccolo's like "Oh yeah, I forgot I can do that," which annoyed some fans. I get it, it's kind of silly that he would forget a thing like this, but it was a long time ago, and it didn't work on Goku at all, so I can understand how he might have forgotten about this ability. Also, it's pretty sweet how Piccolo has so many cool powers that even he has trouble keeping them straight. He's forgotten more about being awesome than we'll ever know.

And while this does give him some much-needed leverage against Cell Max, getting big like this doesn't make him stronger, so they're not much better off than they were before. Piccolo still has plan though. he gives Gohan the senzu bean he brought with him and tells Gohan to eat it. He means to keep Cell Max busy and hopefully Gohan will get enough power built up to deliver a killing blow.

So for a while, they have a good old fashion Big Boy Wrassle, but the tide quickly shifts in favor of Cell Max. Gohan still isn't ready, so Krillin leads a desperate charge to distract Max and give Piccolo a chance. But they all get taken out, and it ends up being all in Piccolo's hands again. He refuses to quit, and does everything he can to hold Max down.

And when it looks like Piccolo is finally beaten, something snaps in Gohan, and we get....

Gohan Beast! Well, they don't call it that in this movie, but that's the name for it, apparently. I remember when the movie premiered in Japan, and I kept seeing trending tags on Twitter for "Orange Piccolo", "Cell Max" and "Gohan Blanco", and thinking "What the hell happens in this movie?"

So... Gohan Beast. Basically it's like the moment where he went SSJ2 for the first time, stacked on top of Mystic Gohan. At least, that's how I see it. Remember, Goku's plan at the Cell Games was to get Gohan as powerful as he could possibly get as a Super Saiyan, so that whenever Gohan tapped into his "hidden power", it would push him into some higher form. Back then, it was SSJ2, but now, he's at his current maximum level, then he sees a good friend in dire straights, and it's pushed him into some new level. And it looks a lot like his SSJ2 form from when he was a kid, but with white or silver hair this time, and red lightning, I guess. Anyway, some people hate this form, but I don't mind it one bit. If Gohan's snapping and kicking ass, I don't care what he looks like. If he turned into a rodeo clown in this scene, I'd still be marking out.

Cell Max punches Gohan and he's like "Naw. Naw." Then he kicks the shit out of Max and starts preparing his attack. Max does his own big energy move, but Gohan doesn't give a fuck because he's in his edgy mode now. Blast that Linkin Park music, because we're doin' it.

Of course, Gohan still needs to get a clear shot, but Piccolo's not out of this yet. He just remembered another cool power he has: Stretchy Arms! Get fucked, Cell Max!

And how will Gohan capitalize on this moment? Three words: Special Beam Cannon! Hell yeah! No wonder Gohan transformed. He had to build up a lot of power just to set up this technique, so seeing Piccolo get wrecked during the charge-up must have really put him over the edge.

And that's it. Cell Max explodes, everyone gets clear of the blast, and the good guys win. Piccolo asks Gohan how he learned to do the Special Beam Cannon, and Gohan explains that he trained on it in secret. A ha! You see, Piccolo? You thought Gohan was slacking off in his training, but he was actually working on things you didn't even know about!

And this sums up the Piccolo's character arc in this movie. Piccolo tries so hard to get someone else to take the lead in this film. When he can't raise Goku or Vegeta, he starts scheming to traumatize Gohan and make him fired up enough to become the big hero. And yet, in the end, Piccolo was the big hero of this movie. He was so busy trying to get someone else to handle things that he couldn't see it. But he was the one who infiltrated the enemy base, he was the one who got the cool new power up, he was the one who flipped the Gammas, and he came up with the plan to beat Cell Max. Sure, his plan was to get Gohan to fire the kill shot, but what was that kill shot? Piccolo's signature techique, which Gohan learned on his own, simply because Piccolo was such a great role model and mentor to him over all these years.

Unfortunately, Gamma 2 died in his attack on Cell Max. He used up all his energy in that move, which apparently causes his entire body to disintegrate. Piccolo consoles Hedo by observing that 2's stunt significantly weakened Cell Max's attacks, making it possible for the rest of them to finish what Gamma 2 started. "He was a real superhero", Piccolo says, which is probably as great an honor as Gamma 2 could have hoped for.

Hedo admits that he basically knew what Magenta was all about, but he played along anyway in order to get the money for his research. But with Gamma 2's death, he now realizes the error of his ways. Gamma 2 didn't do anything wrong, but he was the one who paid for Hedo's reckless alliance with the Red Ribbon. He offers to turn himself in to the authorities, but Krillin objects to this, saying the authorities can't handle someone like Hedo. Remember, this movie opened with him getting out of prison, and everyone was relieved to see him go.

Instead, Piccolo suggests they all overlook this incident, and Hedo asks Bulma if he can work for her now. She's impressed with his bulletproof skin treatment, and thinks she can find a place for him in their cosmetics business. And Gamma 1 can be some sort of security guard. Fair enough.

So that about wraps things up, except for one last bit of business. Pan pulls Piccolo aside to show off how she learned to fly during the battle. She swoops around and everything, and Piccolo proudly tells her that she'll begin the next phase of her training tomorrow. Hooray!

Then we get a post-credits scene where it turns out Goku and Vegeta have been fighting this entire time, and they're finally at the end of their evenly-matched bout. They're so exhausted that they can barely move, but Vegeta manages to kind of gently shove Goku with his fist, knocking him over and earning the victory. Then he falls over as he celebrates. Goku's fine with it because he's a class act, naturally.

As for the spectators, Beerus fell asleep during the fight, and Whis almost forgot he was supposed to be officiating. Cheelai sat through the whole thing, but she was bored the whole time. She looks to Broly for solidarity, but he and Lemo were moved to manly tears at this epic combat spectacle. "Men!" Cheelai says. Look, if you and Broly are gonna be a thing, Cheelai, you have to respect his interests. I'm just glad Broly has something like this to get passionate about. In the last movie he was so repressed and timid. It's great that Whis put on this no-transforming no-ki-blast fight specifically for Broly's benefit, and he seems to have gotten a lot out of it. And it's kind of cute how Cheelai couldn't care less, but she's way off the mark. This was great.

And that's it for Super Hero. I was worried I'd run out of image space for this post, but somehow I managed to get it all in under 30 images. Let me see how many I have left...

Yeah, this was a cool shot of Gohan Beast, or Beast Gohan, or whatever you want to call it.

Nice simultaneous punch with Cell Max and Piccolo. The eternal struggle between red and orange.

Yeah, I forgot to talk about 18's yoga pants and shorter haircut. Some people hate this look, but this is peak 18 in my book. Krillin's a lucky man, I tell you what.

D'awwwww...

"RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH SOMEONE PLEASE LET ME DIE RAAAAAAAHHHHHHH--Oh! Oh, that's much better. Thank you. Well, I'd better start exploding then. Raaah."

Wow I had a lot of image space left, didn't I? I thought this was going to be a lot tougher than it was.

Well, anyway, this was a fantastic movie. It was so great that I was kind of stressing out about how to cover it properly, but now that it's over I feel pretty good about the whole thing. I don't know if they'll make another Dragon Ball movie. It makes sense, considering how much money this one made, but you never can tell. All I know is that I'm pretty excited for whatever they do next.

And yeah, that's all I've got for this movie, but we're not done with Super Hero just yet. No, now I need to cover the manga adaptation of this movie, and if my calculations are correct, that should be wrapping up next week, so that's some excellent timing there. I will see you then!

#dragon ball #2023dbapocryphaliveblog #dragon ball super #dragon ball super super hero #piccolo #gohan #pan #son pan #goten #trunks #gotenks #bulma #dr hedo #gamma 2 #gamma 1 #krillin #android 18 #cell max #goku #vegeta #broly #lemo #cheelai #whis #beerus

[jeanniebug623]

🕸️🕷️ Weaving the Web 🕷️🕸️

Chapter 2: Something's Missing…

The evac was taking too damn long according to Quaritch. When he was head of security, and still human, emergency air evacuation would have been completed in less than 45 minutes given their close proximity to Bridgehead. He was pacing angrily, his tail flipping wildly with every turn. The squad had the camp repacked in less than 10 minutes. At least he could rely on someone.

“Don’t worry, boss, won’t be long now.” Wainfleet said, checking his watch and glancing at Zdinarsk, who nodded to confirm the Samson was close while staring at her radar. Even Z-Dog had abstained from snapping her bright pink gum bubbles so as not to annoy the colonel.

Quaritch wanted to go off on a tirade about how they’d be halfway to base if he were still in charge, but his squad didn’t deserve that. He had loyal soldiers in his unit. Ja had immediately dropped the marine mode and worked on Spider. With the boy unconscious, the good doctor couldn’t remove his mask to even clean the bloody nose. He’d checked his heart rate, breathing, and done a quick brain scan with the rudimentary equipment he could carry in the field.

“He’ll need an MRI, CT, and neuroimaging.” Ja said, the only time Quaritch stopped leaving a path in the underbrush, “To start. And if you could get me the monitor reports from his…” He paused and his ears went back. “Questioning, it would-…”

“Consider it done.” Quaritch interrupted with a gruff tone. Anything to help Ja and the medical staff at Bridgehead figure out what brought on Spider’s sudden outburst. Outburst was a kind term for what they just witnessed.

Quaritch remembered a technician calling Spider ‘completely feral’ when he was first captured by the RDA. He screamed and cursed in English and Na’vi, tried to break the one-way mirror with the chair he’d been graciously offered then had taken away right after, and attempted to force open a security door that not even a dozen Na’vi could do. Quaritch saw that anger, but that was child’s play compared to the manic look in the boy’s eyes during the verbal assault.

“About goddamn time…” Quaritch growled when they heard the Samson coming inbound. They’d carefully moved Spider to a clearing so the aircraft could land instead of slinging him over his shoulder like the last time he transported the kid against his will.

“Someone grab the backboard.” Ja said to anyone close as he tucked the handheld brain scanner into a cargo pants pocket. But he was shouldered aside before anyone reached the aircraft to retrieve the stretcher.

“No time. Move out!” Quaritch said as he slid an arm under Spider’s back and knees, scooping him up easily and jogging over to the open side doors. He ducked as he shuffled towards the back of the Samson where there was more space to kneel on one knee and still hold the boy in his arms. He didn’t have many memories of holding the kid when he was an infant. Never thought he would get another chance...

The rest of the squad jumped on board and they were off. Back to the place Quaritch promised he’d keep Spider away from…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As much as Quaritch didn’t want to give him up, Wainfleet and Ja convinced their commanding officer to allow the hospital staff to take over Spider’s care when they reached the med bay. He didn’t want the boy out of his sight but what could he do at that moment?

Well, there was one thing.

“Lyle, with me.” Quaritch said as he started walking away. He kept going as he turned to point back at Ja. “Stay here and report as SOON as you get somethin’ from the kid or the doctors.”

Ja saluted and stood at attention in the entrance that doubled as a classic hospital waiting room, complete with terribly boring artwork on the wall.

Quaritch and Wainfleet marched right to the heart of Bridgehead City: the Sec-Ops command center. Until it had more civilian citizens, Bridgehead was just another military base. Even if he didn’t have security clearance, Quaritch wouldn’t be stopped as he walked straight into a conference room Ardmore was heading with other high ranking officers, RDA superiors, and holographic displayed representatives still back on Earth.

“Colonel Quaritch.” Ardmore said with a hint of feigned surprise. When it came to the city and the RDA, nothing happened on Pandora that the general didn’t know about. “Tired of the kid already?”

Whether it was coincidence or not that Ardmore asked about Spider, Quaritch steeled himself and kept a calm composure as he dutifully saluted his superior officer.

“Not exactly the issue, General Ardmore.” Quaritch said with such a cool tone that even Wainfleet was surprised considering how fired up he was from the forest until they crossed the threshold into the conference room. “The boy suffered a severe nosebleed and collapsed unconscious. An emergency evacuation seemed necessary for an asset in custody of the RDA, ma’am.”

Ardmore narrowed his eyes slightly. Well spoken and well played. She looked to her mix of real and holographic audience, “If you will excuse me, I apologize for this interruption. Colonel.”

She nodded as she turned towards her office door and led Quaritch in. Wainfleet stayed back, crossing his arms and scanning the rooms. He wasn’t sure he'd seen more stuffed shirts in one room before.

“You say the boy collapsed?” Ardmore asked as she casually rounded her desk to sit down and look at the colonel, “That’s unfortunate to hear. I suggest you consider leaving Mr. Socorro in the capable hands of our medical staff while you continue your field missions.”

“With all due respect, General, I took responsibility for him for a reason. I’m not about to abandon my responsibilities due to a little mishap. I’m still at your disposal, ma’am, but one mission at a time.” Quaritch said coolly though he was boiling inside. He didn’t expect the general to give a damn about some wild child raised by the enemy who beat even her toughest interrogation methods. Yet, he was still angered by her lack of concern. Or dare you think it…compassion?

Ardmore didn’t respond just yet. Loyalty, responsibility, mission. Quaritch was playing all the right cards, and he wasn’t in a place where she could question it.

“Is the boy’s condition stable?” Ardmore asked with very little interest.

“To be determined, ma’am.” Quaritch started, trying not to bite off his tongue with his sharp teeth every time he showed her extra respect, “That’s why I so rudely interrupted your meeting. My apologies.”

“You saved me really.” Ardmore said, sounding bored, “I’m sure you remember how tedious it can be explaining living on Pandora to those who’ve never set foot here. So how can I help with the asset, Miles?”

Hearing his own name shouldn’t make Quaritch feel an anxious twinge in his chest. He’d lived with it his whole life. But now…having heard the way Spider said it…this alter ego or whatever the hell Quaritch was dealing with. He had never heard his name spoken with such malice.

“My medic did a check on the boy out in the field but it’s hard to determine the correct treatment without knowing all possible triggers. I would like to have a full report of the boy’s medical reports from his interrogations.” Quaritch explained. He made the request without actually asking. Making it clear he wasn’t ASKING for anything.

The general went quiet and appraised the ten-foot-tall reincarnation of one of Pandora’s most reputable and ruthless past inhabitants. Of course she knew the human Miles Quaritch had a son. She had taps on every human that stayed behind on the moon, including the ones born there.

Miles ‘Spider’ Socorro was practically the poster child for humanity’s successful transition to life off planet Earth. The first human born on Pandora; an intergalactic celebrity. But Ardmore didn’t have time for “celebrities”, the RDA could deal with the PR concerns. She needed her soldiers in line to keep the hostiles in line. If the head of her greatest tactical unit was distracted, it could cause a ripple effect through the ranks.

“Consider it done, Colonel.” Ardmore said, surprisingly agreeable considering Quaritch would likely respond negatively to what he learned, “So long as I can continue to count on your assistance with the hostiles. You’re not here to babysit, Miles, you’re here to finish what you started.”

“Understood, General Ardmore.” Quaritch said with another salute. Until the RDA found some hostiles to pacify, he would focus on Spider.

Ardmore kept her word when she said Ja would have the full medical report by the time Quaritch and Wainfleet returned to the medical wing. Sure enough, they entered the waiting area to see Ja crouched down against the wall and staring intently at a tablet. The colonel noticed how his medic, who was the calmest under pressure of the whole squad, looked unsettled.

“Ja, everything good?” Quaritch asked as he and Wainfleet approached. The medic looked up, his ears perking straight up from pinned back against his head.

“Sir, can we speak privately?” Ja said in a quiet, rushed voice.

Quaritch felt that twinge of anxiety come back and it was spreading through his chest. The three recoms ducked uncomfortably into an empty triage room and waited until their sensitive ears heard no one nearby. Quaritch looked back to Ja, he was crouched down and staring at the tablet again.

“Don’t leave me hangin’, doc.” Quaritch said with narrow eyes. He exchanged a look with Wainfleet, who just shrugged at Ja’s continued silence, before looking back to Ja. “Corporal. Speak up.”

“Sir, may I speak freely?” Ja said as he looked up to Quaritch. He received a prompt nod from his commanding officer and let out a sigh before asking, “What the fuck?”

“You’re gonna have to elaborate.” Quaritch growled, ears going back and tail flipping. Just what the hell did that report say to make one of his men speak so bluntly?

“Sir, how many of Spider’s interrogations did you witness?” Ja asked as he was swiping around on the tablet’s holographic screen.

“Two.” Quaritch said, eyes roving over Ja’s quick moving hands, “First interrogation lasted all of three minutes before he passed out. Second one lasted almost an hour and they didn’t get jack from the neuroscanner.”

“I’m not surprised…” Ja said as he turned the tablet around for the other recoms to look at. There were four separate images of top view brain scans. From left to right and top to bottom, the amount of bright oranges and red increased in the frontal lobe. Ja went on to explain, “Sir, each of these scans are a follow-up from a different session in the neuroscanner. They threw him in there four times, I’m guessing two more times between the first session when he passed out and the last one before you took custody. That’s twice the legal limit for this type of intensive interrogation per the UN’s Humane Treatment of POW Act.”

Quaritch stared at the scans, listening to Ja’s words. Spider had been interrogated while hooked up to the neuroscanner four times. FOUR times. And he only knew about two of them! He insisted on being present for the interrogations to make sure they went smoothly.

He felt himself feeling sick by how quickly anger was bubbling up inside him. Ja was continuing to explain the risks while Wainfleet stared at Quaritch, who was completely detached from the conversation. Eventually, the second in command told the medic to hold off on the explanation.

“Boss?” Wainfleet asked cautiously. He cleared his throat and spoke louder, “Colonel.”

“How’d this get past medical approval?” Quaritch asked quietly. He didn’t doubt for a second what the RDA was willing to do to get results. Hell, he’d invented most of the carrot and stick techniques used on Pandora!

“All these records have ‘Restrictions Omitted’.” Ja answered.

“How does that happen?” Quaritch felt the anger in his gut prompting his heart rate to pick up.

“I don’t know for sure, sir, but to bypass medical restrictions for something like this?” Ja theorized, though the politics of the situation weren’t his specialty, “You’d have to…not be protected by them.”

#atwow #avatar the way of water #miles spider socorro #atwow spider #spider quaritch #recom quaritch #atwow fanfiction #ao3 writer