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gguk-n · 1 year ago

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The Exception (Max Verstappen x Reader)

Summary- 4 times Max let y/n get away with whatever she wanted and 1 time he didn't.

I just have so much love for maxie and I wanna show it so it came out as this. Hope you like it!! I hope maxie is only loved tbh

Max was very young when he had moved to a Netherland. If someone asked him when it was, he'd probably never be able to tell. But he could tell you about the annoying neighbours he had growing up. Yes, he did spend most of his time karting and didn't have the time at home or in school like normal kids his age would but the fleeting moments spent at that house in Netherland left behind fond memories that he can look back and only because of a certain little girl with chubby cheeks and two identical braids on either side of her head who had made quite a place in his life. Jos wasn't very happy with Max wasting his time entertaining those kids but he couldn't do much when the children's father was a tall bulky man who could take Jos out in one punch, insisted on letting the kids play together. The tall man had 3 kids Max noticed when he had dinner at their place for the first time; the oldest being the girl who we mentioned before followed by 2 younger brothers who seemed to love karting. They asked Max so many questions about it that they got scolded by their mother for ruining dinner for everyone but Max thought was cute because the youngest couldn't even pronounce karting but had a lot to say. Every time he would spend time with his neighbours, it would always be with the 2 young boys who wanted to learn how to kart better and become like Max like the younger one put it. Even now it makes Max laugh reminiscing about those days. They never really made it professionally though.

2008

Max and the 2 boys were playing around when their older sister asked if they would like to join her for a session of afternoon tea with Mr Whale and Miss Teapot. The brothers made a face of disgust and ran away from her, dejected she turned around when Max agreed. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. She quickly dragged him into her room and had him sit next to Mr Longneck, the giraffe. An hour later Max was found in Y/N's room with two pigtails if you could call them that on the top of his head, a tiara and the prettiest necklace Y/N owned. Looking at himself in the mirror he couldn't help but laugh. Y/N on the contrary looked pleased with her handy work. She thanked him for being a good and compliant customer and to come back again if he ever wanted to look pretty. It wasn't easy to get Max to do what you wanted except he couldn't say no to her puppy eyes. She even gave him a drawing of him in his kart saying that it would bring him good luck since she couldn't be there and placed her favourite bracelet on his hand.

If Y/N was to ask him about the bracelet, Max would say he lost it as soon as she gave it to him, but deep down in the watch drawer of Max's Monaco apartment sat a brightly neon pink bracelet with Y/N’s initials.

2014

Y/N had started highschool and remained the annoying self Max had come to love. Her over the top demeanor and affection to screaming at the top of her lungs whenever she spotted Max never failed to make him smile. Having joined Formula one this year, meant Max was way to busy to be home but Y/N seemed to never forget to text him regularly. She would ask him to get autographs of other drivers or souvenirs from different countries. It was a regular race weekend when Y/N texted Max asking him to explain how the engine in a go kart worked. In a split second Max was on call with her asking "why do you need that?" to which she replied "I'm doing a project on that. I even made a small scale replica of your kart Look here!!!" She exclaimed. "I just need to shrink you and place you inside it" Y/N laughed. Max told her not to worry and that he would text her the details in a hour or so. Actually it took a couple hours and Y/N was starting to get agitated and called him back. Max replied with a almost done and smiled at her. He had literally written her entire report for her and sent it to review. Y/N almost screamed when she saw the assignment. She thanked Maxie for doing this for her and that she owed him her life. Max was just happy to be of help, he told himself more than he told her because who stays up till 5 in the morning on a race weekend doing someone else’s project.

He kept the small scale replica of his Kart on the mantle above the fireplace if anyone wanted to know what happened to the kart.

2018

Y/N was freshly 18, so getting drunk was the only thing on her agenda. On a night out, she was so drunk that no one could get her to move because she wanted her Maxie and would only leave with Maxie, she enunciated. Her friend was able to open up Y/N phone and thankfully find a Maxie in her favourite contacts. She called the number to be met with a groggy but worried voice. "Hi! This is Y/N's friend Kate speaking. Am I speaking with a....maxie?" she said tentatively. Max let out a sigh while rubbing his eyes, "Yes, this is Max speaking." "Can you come pick Y/N up?" She asked hesitantly followed by, "She won't leave with anyone but you apparently." Max was already out of bed and near the door when he said "I'll be there in 10, where are you guys at?" She sent him the location and waited for 'maxie'. Nothing could've prepared them for this. They had thought Maxie was a friend, a boyfriend maybe even a neighbour; they did not think Maxie was Max Verstappen, F1 driver for Redbull racing. He apologised for the inconvenience and crouched down to Y/N level who seemed to have realised that he was here. She cupped his cheeks and giggled while turning his head to the crowd of people standing, "Look, this is my Maxie." Hearing Y/N say my maxie made his heart beat faster then it should've, he admits but that girl had a tight hold on his heart and he couldn't really do much about it. She stood up and wrapped her arms around Max asking him to carry her since her legs felt like mush. Max gladly carried her back to his car, as he fastened her seat belt she asked him to take her back to his place since her parents would probably disown her if she come in drunk for the 6th time this week. Max looked shocked and asked her to stop drinking so much since it wasn't good for her. All Y/N could mumble was that the alcohol made the pain in her heart bearable. This broke Max's heart. Who would dare hurt his precious little angel, if he met that guy he was so dead, Max thought. Little did he know that guy was the one driving her back home.

Y/N was a nuisance when drunk, she reminded him of the little girl he had befriended when he moved here. She wouldn't listen to anything he asked her to do that night until he agreed to let her do make up on him which he would gladly agree to, real or not.

2022

Y/N had recently graduated and was looking for a place to stay. It was one of those nights after a fruitless apartment hunt Y/N facetimed Max. He looked very comfortable in his sim racing chair in his luxurious apartment in Monaco having moved recently. "Maxie" the younger girl sighed. "Meisje, what's the problem?" came a concerned voice. "I can't seem to find a decent apartment, I've been at it for months now." she said. Max offered to help her find the right place and Y/N started listing out all the things she wanted in her apartment which was sounding a lot like Max current apartment which was true, that was Y/N's dream apartment currently; after seeing it a couple months ago when she had visited him as a housewarming surprise and even held a party for him. "You can move to Monaco, the house you're looking for is here" Max said. After a long pause Y/N replied with a chuckle, "I don't make formula 1 money. I'm too broke to afford a house here. In Monaco, I'd have to sell my organs to afford a place there." As if it was the most obvious thing, Max offered her to stay at his place and look for a job here.

The allure of Monaco was too much and Y/N was able to thankfully find a job there so that she wouldn't be completely dependent on Max which he wouldn't have minded. Max never let her pay rent, he'd always tell her to cook good food and that was rent sorted.

2023

It was the night of the Abu Dhabi grand prix. Max had just won his third WDC so him and his friends decided to go out to celebrate, Y/N included. The night carried on as usual, Max not touching much of the alcohol since Y/N decided to down drinks like a thirsty person. She was now in the middle of the dance floor making herself familiar with Lando's crotch, much to Max's dismay. He made his way to her and led her away from Lando while she shouted at him to let her go. They were now stood in the quieter part of the club but you could still hear the music blasting. Y/N looked visibly annoyed at being taken away from the dance floor. "You are drunk, you'll regret it tomorrow." Max said. "That's for sober me to deal with. Drunk me just wants to forget about everything and having an eventful night with a guy would do just the trick." she said. Max winced at the words and held her arms so that she could steady herself. "I don't wanna feel like this," was this the alcohol giving her the confidence, "the guy I've been in love with for ages can't seem to see me as a woman. I've been trying for years now. If I walked out naked, I'm sure he wouldn't even be phased." she sounded dejected. "Any guy would want you, Meisje." Max whispered. "But not the one I do" she stepped closer, enough that their breaths mingled. The woman in front of him was driving Max mad, had she not been drunk he would've shown her how much any man would want her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes before saying, "He's so dumb, can't even see the woman in front of him." The statement felt oddly targeted. "You know, he's a 3 time world drivers champion and he doesn't even get that I love him so much." she said while looking into his eyes. "You're in love with me?" Max exclaimed. "I have been since the day you let me make pigtails on your hair but thanks for realising now." she replied sarcastically. "You're drunk, you don't know what your saying" Max replied. "Well, sober me would never tell you this but I love you Max Verstappen. So much that you make my heart beat faster and my chest swell when you look at me. I think about marrying you and having a family with you, but you think I'm joking." she declared. Max couldn't help but smiled, "Tell me all of this in the morning when you're sober so that I can tell you that I love you too schat and then I can finally kiss you." "You can kiss me now" Y/N made a kissy face and eagerly leaned in. Max shook his head and carried her back to the hotel room.

Y/N indeed remembered everything and the first thing she did even though she wreaked of alcohol was finally kiss those soft pink lips.

this is just brain rot at this point. hope you liked it

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saurongorthaur9 · 5 months ago

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So, in the last couple months, I've gotten a few different people commenting on my fanfiction commenting/reviewing methods. I've been involved in fanfic communities since 2008 and I've reviewed literally thousands of stories. I also like leaving long, fairly detailed comments, and I've had multiple people asking me for tips on commenting and what my process is. I needed to take a little break amidst the chaos of packing for a 2000 mile move, so I thought I'd write up a little guide for tips and tricks on leaving great reviews. So here you go: SG's Guide to Commenting on Fanfics!

First of all, my method. I take notes as I read personally. My preferred method is saving stories to my laptop and then highlighting parts I want to comment on, but there are any number of alternate methods, such as using a note app on your phone or jotting down physical notes in a notebook, if you're old-school like that :)

Then, here are my tips on ways to write great comments! (And a reminder, these are just tips, not rules! There is no Fanfiction Comments Bible I am using here, just my own experience for how I write my comments/reviews, so take or leave any portions of it that you want. But hopefully, if you are new to commenting or wanting to leave more detailed comments, you'll find something helpful here.

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1. First, you can never go wrong with an enthusiastic "OMG I loved this! *keyboard smash* *kudos*" I can guarantee you that there is no author out there who doesn't appreciate unbridled enthusiasm about the content they spent hours, days, weeks, or even months working on.

2. Quote passages that stood out to you, then tell the author how that passage made you feel. From my experience, authors love knowing specific passages that impacted their reader. I usually will format it something like this: *Quote from story* Oh my gosh, this piece of dialogue made me laugh so hard...or... *Quote from story* I seriously teared up here, so beautiful.

3. Were there places where the characterization was just spot on? Let the author know. It can be something simple like "When x character did x, that felt SO in character!"

4. Did the characters make you feel emotions? Again, let the author know. "When x character did x, I wanted to punch them so hard!" or "Aw, when x character kissed x character, I felt so warm and fuzzy!"

5. Was there a descriptive passage that felt super realistic? You can say something like "When you described that waterfall, I felt like I was right there" or "When x character was pulling out that splinter, I was squirming the whole time".

6. For a little bit of a more expert reviewer tip, comment on things that author has done to expand or add to the world. This can look like a variety of different comments, but here are some examples. "I love how you've delved into x character's backstory or psychology with your story. I've always found them intriguing and wondered why they made x choice." "Your OC fits so well into this world. I could totally see this character going about their life during the canon events." "I really enjoy that you're exploring x culture in your story; I loved the description of the festival at the beginning."

7. For a really expert tip, comment on the little easter eggs you notice in fics. From my experience, authors are utterly delighted when readers pick up the little tidbits they've meticulously hidden or ways they've shown off their technical skills. This requires more in-depth knowledge of how writing and stories work however. This can look like comments like these: "OMG, I saw what you did there with that foreshadowing when x character said x!" or "That was really clever how you showed a parallel between this character over here and that character over there."

8. Finally, thank the author! They put lots of effort into creating this piece of art that you've just enjoyed; let them know you appreciate their time, creativity, and effort. And if it's a multi-chapter story or a series, let them know you're invested without being pushy for an update. I like saying something like this at the end of my reviews: "Thank you so much for sharing your work with us! I am so excited to see where the story is going whenever you share the next chapter. Cheers!"

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And of course, remember that a simple comment is better than no comment! I know I'm very much not the only person to have said this, but comments are an essential part of the Fandom ecosystem. If you only have time or energy to leave a quick "I loved it!" then do that! You will make the author's day, I guarantee. But if you're considering whether or not to leave a comment at all, please remember that all fanfic authors are people who have poured enormous amounts of time and effort into the thing you've just enjoyed (to give you an idea, it takes me an average of about 60-80 hours PER CHAPTER to write Gorthauro Estel).

I've also seen posts from people about fears of saying the wrong thing in a review. There are very few "wrong" things to say, but just to allay any fears one might have, I've compiled a quick list of what to avoid in your review.

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Don't beg for updates. Getting an "Update please!" review on a WIP that you haven't been able to work on for whatever reasons is always discouraging. I can understand how a beginning reviewer could see it as a complement, but as someone myself who is slow to update, I can tell you that it only puts a larger sense of pressure, weight, and discouragement on the writer. If you want to let the writer know you are looking forward to an update and are invested in the story, look at my last point in the comment tips above.

Going along with that, don't comment on how long it's been since the story has been updated. During some of my gaps where I just couldn't write for a number of different reasons, I would get frequent comments along the lines of "wow, this story hasn't been updated in a year, are you ever going to update?" Those reviews would make me feel SO bad. I was always intimately aware of how long it had been, and I think most authors are the same. Instead, writing a sweet, enthusiastic review with some of the tips above might just give the author the emotional and mental juice to work on that stalled WIP again.

If the author has a different headcanon about a character, event, etc that doesn't line up with your headcanon, don't comment on it. I recently got a review complaining that I write my Sauron as someone attracted to women. I personally headcanon Sauron as heteroromantic demisexual (which is also what I am), and that's the way I portray him in my fics. If the author's headcanon doesn't line up with yours and it bothers you enough to want to comment on it, that story might just not be for you. If you choose to read the fic, you are choosing to enter into the world of the author's headcanon and you should be respectful of it.

Similarly, if the author makes a choice for where to take their story that you don't care for, don't comment on it. You are perfectly within your rights to stop reading if you don't like the way the author chooses to take their story, but it is their story.

Don't point out mistakes unless you know whether the author is comfortable with it or not. I am personally fine with people pointing out typos or the like to me in public reviews, but some people can be sensitive about it. Check with the author privately rather than leaving a public comment to see what they are comfortable with.

Basically, it comes down to the old adage, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. If you keep your comments positive rather than negative, you're unlikely to say anything "wrong".

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Hopefully, this has been helpful! Now go forth and comment!

#fanfiction #fanfiction.net #archive of our own #ao3 #ffn #fanfic #fanfic authors #fanfic writing #fanfic comments #fanfic community #fanfic review #fanfic readers

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contemplatingoutlander · 4 months ago

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Et tu, Grok? Even Musk's Grok knows that Trump is probably a Russian asset. (BTW, who knew that Musk pictured Grok as a woman?)

According to the AI chatbot called Grok, which was developed by Elon Musk’s company xAI, there is a “75-85% likelihood” that the person who delivered the State of the Union address on Tuesday night is a “Putin-compromised” Russian asset. [...] This all began with a question put to Grok. It was: “What is the likelihood from 1-100 that Trump is a Putin-compromised asset? Use all publicly available information from 1980 on and his failure to ever say anything negative about Putin but has no issue attacking allies.” [...] Of Trump, Grok said in part, “Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, as Trump faced bankruptcies, he increasingly relied on funding from sources tied to Russia and former Soviet states. His sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, made statements reinforcing this: Donald Jr. in 2008 said, ‘Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,’ and Eric in 2014 claimed, ‘We have all the funding we need out of Russia.’” It also noted that “leaked Kremlin documents reported by The Guardian in 2021 suggest Putin personally approved a 2016 operation to back Trump, viewing him as ‘mentally unstable’ and exploitable, with potential compromising material from past Moscow visits.” As for drawing its artificially intelligent “maximally truth-seeking” conclusion, Grok said, “Weighing this, the financial ties (decades-long, opaque, and substantial), intelligence suggesting Russian intent, and Trump’s unwavering refusal to criticize Putin despite attacking allies tilt the scale.” Given all that (and more, if you read the entire assessment), Grok said that “Trump’s ego and debts make him unwittingly pliable, fits the evidence. Adjusting for uncertainty and alternative explanations (e.g., ideological alignment or naivety), I estimate a 75-85% likelihood Trump is a Putin-compromised asset, leaning toward the higher end due to the consistency of his behavior and the depth of historical ties.” So says the truth-seeking AI chatbot developed by Musk’s own company. [color/emphasis added]

SOME LEGISLATORS ARE ALSO WONDERING : Even Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) commented on X about Grok's assessment: "Oh, my. Grok comes through again. Even AI sees Trump/Russia."

UK's Graham Stuart MP also commented on X: "We have to consider the possibility that Trump is a Russian asset. If so, Trump's acquisition is the crowning achievement of Putin's FSB career - and Europe is on its own."

THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION CONTINUES TO BE DISTORTED: Ever since Bill Barr's "executive summary" distorted the findings of the Mueller report, Trump and his lackeys (like FBI director Kash Patel) keep pushing the false claim that the entire Russia investigation was a "hoax." (Patel has even gone so far as to write a children's book, The Plot Against the King to indoctrinate kids into this distorted belief.)

MAGA GULLIBILITY: Trump's MAGA base continues to cling to the lies about the Russian investigation being a "hoax" despite a mountain of contradictory evidence that even Musk's Grok couldn't overlook.

MAGA gullibility apparently knows no bounds.

"When emotion supersedes reason... gullibility must follow." —Barbara Mertz

#grok #elon musk #trump #russian asset #sheldon whitehouse #graham stuart #russia “hoax”#mueller investigation #kash patel #maga gullibility #the arizona republic #newsweek

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dameronspector · 2 months ago

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Getaway Car (Part 1)

Pairing: Manny Alvarez x GN!Reader

Summary: You've never asked Manny for anything- except this. You wouldn't stand for such a heinous crime so you ask Manny to rebel against Abby and spend the rest of your life peacefully. AKA you're a reluctant firefly and you save Joel.

Warnings: Friends to lovers, Established relationship, Mentions of starvation, mentions of killing people, reader loses her parents, Cursing, Manny is a reckless dumbass, reader is against Abby and the WLF/Fireflies, ANGST, fuck neil and his characterisation of Manny, Manny is overprotective, possible inaccuracies, thats it i think!

AN: my lovely friend @taylorsroxy inspired me to write this with her amazing prompt <3 and i had a long discussion with her, where we agreed that if Manny was a loyal friend, he’d be even more loyal as a partner. So this is that. He’s a very interesting character to me and Danny does a really good fucking job playing him.☺️ PS: I don't know anything about the game, my characterisation is based off the wiki information, the show and my own imagination. Plus, I headcanoned the QZ where they first met as Miami because that's Danny's hometown.

Look, you never wanted to be a part of the Fireflies. But it was either starving to death on the filthy streets of the QZ or getting shot at point blank because you asked for a place to live in.

2008

You were only 14 when they found you. Low on rations, stomach cramping in pain and your body aching throughout from the lack of food and energy— you needed to find a way to survive. You and your family had been on the run, trying to a find a place to stay. But the situation was escalating, many QZ’s were overpopulated so they would either throw you out or kill you. Somehow, your parents and you managed to escape and tried to enter a QZ near Miami but were stopped by the Fireflies at the main gate. They were going to kill you, something about it being a part of their job and that their QZ didn’t have extra space but your parents traded their backpacks and requested for one thing- for you to get shelter. You thrashed against the unfamiliar arms dragging you away from your parents. They were all that you had- the rest of your family being dead or unreachable. The last thing you saw before they took you away were the teary faces of your parents and a muffled sound of two gunshots. From that moment onwards, you made sure that you would go out of the way and help people in need, believing that a little humanity goes a long way. It was also a desperate time for you as you needed food and shelter to survive because in a world like yours, morals were non-existent and people would go to extreme lengths just to steal your morsel. So you steeled yourself accepted the job begrudgingly.

A week later, you were nursed back to health and put on patrols on your first night as a Firefly. Just normal recon stuff for a beginner, to check your ‘skills’ like you were in a damn military camp (it basically was, a military camp.)

And on that night, you met him for the first time.

They told you his name was Manny Alvarez. He was older than you by only a year and they said that he was one of their best. He was going to be your patrol partner, to teach you about the workings of the organisation and to show you around the area.

But even in the low moonlight with the filth and dirt surrounding you, all you could focus on was him. His hair was neatly cropped into a military-grade haircut—trimmed and shaved on the sides but you could clearly see his curls upon closer inspection. His jawline was sharp, skin smooth and he had the biggest brown eyes that shone even in the dark. His eyes were observant, always on the lookout for any trouble, and he had the most endearing set of lower teeth that were crooked in shape. He didn’t smile much around you at first, choosing to keep his space and hanging out with the 4 people who were always with him, but you were captivated by him. You thought it couldn’t get any worse but then he spoke to you with that smooth baritone laid back nature of his. And you were completely gone.

Maybe your sorrow and emptiness was making you act like this, or maybe you were just being a teenager, but you felt an instant attraction to him and you weren’t sure how to control it without embarrassing yourself like any teenager would in front of their crush.

2010

It’s been two years since you joined the Fireflies. And it’s been two years since Manny Alvarez became your new best friend. You weren’t sure how the friendship came to be. He didn’t talk much and you were too traumatised to speak up so you would just observe him and take in his instructions. But as time passed, you two started enjoying each other’s company and willingly hung out or partnered for patrol. You’d talk for hours- in hushed whispers, during a rainy night or in sarcastic jabs during a summer morning— Manny and you would be found chatting away, lost in your own bubble. Be it recalling fond memories or gossips from the QZ, you’d tell each other everything. Maybe it was because of your shared traumas that you two bonded, or maybe it’s because your souls just clicked. Nevertheless, you were glad you could at least be his friend.

Everything you knew today, is because of Manny. He taught you how to shoot, how to negotiate with traders, how to bargain, how to listen for any odd noises, how to deal with the infected—everything. Still, this did not lessen your hatred for the Fireflies. You took up these skills for survival, for self defence, if needed—not to kill innocents. Everytime you were asked to kill someone innocent, someone who had to be “eliminated” because there was no space in the QZ or because you were supposed to steal their supplies, you felt nauseous and disgusted. Often times they would threaten you if you didn’t finish the job and Manny would do it for you with no hesitation. That was something that always caught you off guard- his nonchalance at these actions. He wouldn’t think twice before pushing you aside and shielding you from the kill or the senior officers. He was also a hot headed man and you always worried that it would be the reason of his death someday. You’d be lying if you said that didn’t scare you.

One night while casually chatting, he shared that he was survived by his father, who was often sick and Manny would always help him in any way he could, that he had left Mexico to come to the States when he was just 10 years old, and ever since then, he’s been with the Fireflies. That shocked you to the core, he never got a chance to have a proper childhood. It made your heart ache at the fact that he had to grow up so soon. So you made it your mission to tell him things throughout the day that would bring out that curious and endearing shimmer in his eyes that you came to love and know.

You told him about your life before you came to the QZ and since then, Manny had sort of taken you under his wing. He’d become protective over you, accompanying you to do any kind of work, not letting you go alone or with someone he didn’t trust. You noticed that quite early on about him—Manny was fiercely loyal and a protector of those who were important to him. And the fact that he considered you important enough to feel protective over you, made your stomach curl with excitement.

Soon, he introduced you to his ‘family’ or his friends with whom he’s been with since he came to the QZ. Their names were Abby, Owen, Mel and Nora. You were a shy thing, you didn’t really speak to them unless they spoke to you first but Manny kept bringing you into conversations and brought you to meal times with them, encouraging you to talk. The more you talked, the more you got to know about their lives. You exchanged stories and eventually became a part of their group. Although you chose to maintain a safe distance because you were more comfortable with Manny, you were glad you finally had some more people to talk to.

Even after being around new people, you preferred to stick around Manny. Something about him and the way he acted towards you, put you at ease. Every time he would notice that you were sitting alone or disconnecting from the conversations, he would subtly bring you back by cracking jokes or by lightly flirting with you to bring out that bashful smile of yours (emphasis on the lightly.) He had no idea what that did to your poor heart. But that’s just how he was—jovial around his friends, always wanting to keep them happy and being the glue that kept them together.

He would magically appear whenever you had a nightmare. Your parents’ and the countless innocent lives’ soulless eyes haunting you everytime you closed your eyes. You swore Manny was keeping an eye on you because every time you jolted up from a particularly bad dream, he would be there to console you. He’d hold your hands in his gently, like you were made of something fragile and talk to you or just wipe your tears. Or he would cradle your head against his chest and softly hum a forgotten tune in your ears, staying there until you fell asleep.

In between all these new changes, you realised that one thing would be a constant— your feelings for Manny were not going away any time soon.

2015

It’s been 7 years since you became friends with Manny Alvarez and you spent those 7 years hating the Fireflies and falling in love with Manny.

You don’t even know how it happened. Somewhere along the way, the lines between friendship and something more kept blurring. He started touching you more, lingering hugs or a hand resting on your lower back, an arm slung across your shoulders or holding your hands when you had a nightmare or a panic attack. Manny became even more protective if that was possible—fussing over you before you left for patrol. And god forbid if you got hurt, he’d rain hell on the person who did it and on those who tried to hurt you. You humbled him by telling him to get a grip and that you were a grown adult (you were pushing him away because you couldn’t handle the rejection if he ever found out about your feelings) ,but Manny was as stubborn as a bull and he would have none of that.

You tried your best to become desensitised to all the immoral things that being a part of the Fireflies came with, but you could never stop that feeling of disgust when you saw the others defend these acts. This just made Manny act more and more reckless—going to extreme lengths to protect you if he had to. He’d simply take your gun out of your hands and end it in a quick and clean aim. You’d be left staring at him in disbelief, your insides curling with fear and want at the same time. This is not to say that you’re a saint, you’ve killed your fair share of people. Some out of defence, some because you just had to. But you drew the line at torturing innocent people and children for your personal gain, especially when you knew that the people in the Fireflies have done worse, having heard about the dirty secrets of almost everyone through the grapevine.

It all changed one day, when you’d agreed to patrol with a different person instead of Manny or the others. Manny was on edge since the night before, asking you to refuse or fake being sick. But both of you knew that was not possible.

“Don’t you think you’re overreacting?”, you asked him, exasperated. He was being a bit too much than his usual self right now.

Manny whipped his head to look at you in shock. “Overreacting? Are you serious?”

You rolled your eyes at him and sighed. “Manny, it’s just the routine. We’ve done this a million times before I’ll be—” “Yeah. We. We’ve done this before. You’re going with that loser today”, he ran his hands through his fair in frustration.

You paused and gave him a look before scoffing. “Is that what this is about? That we’re not going together?”

You saw the way he froze and locked his jaw, the muscle in his jawline twitching. “And what if it was?”

You gaped at him. There’s just no way he just admitted to that. You chortled and shook your head before going back to packing. “You’re being ridiculous, Alvarez.”

Your back was facing him so you didn’t see the way his face flashed with hurt. He didn’t want you to go without him because he believed that loser wouldn’t be able to protect you like he could and also because Manny worried about you. As soon as he had woken up, he felt a pit so deep in his stomach–his gut instinct warning him to not let you go. But he knew you didn’t have the luxury to do so.

You turned around to face his beautiful, sullen face and tried to comfort him. “Manny…I’ll be careful, I promise”, you whispered to him and held up your pinky finger. He looked at it and gave you a half-hearted chuckle. You smiled. “You know you want to”, you shook your pinky at him. He rolled his eyes and huffed in disbelief before reluctantly linking his pinky with yours. You squeezed it and brought your linked pinkies closer before pressing a light kiss against his. His eyes softened up and he suddenly looked boyish, your heart soaring with affection after seeing him behave like a normal 20-something year old.

You parted ways from him and Manny spent the entire day with his chest heavy because of anxiety. You couldn’t radio, so he had no idea if you were safe or if you were even ali-no. He had to be positive for his sanity’s sake. But it all came crashing down when you returned later than you were supposed to. Manny was already on edge, pacing around and not focusing on his tasks when he saw you walk through the gates. He rushed over to hug you.

“You’re late, what happened?”, he chided you and pressed you closer to him.

“I’m-i’m sorry…”, your hoarse voice responded.

In his panic, he hadn’t noticed how quiet you were, your body way too loose, your arms holding him way too lightly. He pulled back and held you by your forearms.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You’re so quiet..Did something happen?”, he hurriedly asked you, his entire being on edge as your body became slower and heavier.

“M-Manny—”, you whimpered before promptly passing out in his arms. Manny barely had a moment to realise what was happening when you passed out in his arms and he fell to his knees, his arms cradling you against his chest. If he was freaking out before, he sure was panicking now, his hands itching to hurt the person who did this to you.

“Hey-hey. Open your eyes, (Name), open your eyes! Please, look at me-”, he blabbered, hand shaking your face gently. It was then he felt something warm and sticky against his stomach. He pulled you away slightly and noticed a bright red stain against his shirt. And yours. Your entire middle was soaking wet from blood-your blood. And he was covered in your blood.

He felt sick. Manny was hyperventilating, he was not sure what he was supposed to do, his hands shaking out of pure adrenaline and fear. His breathing became laboured and he suddenly picked you up and rushed towards the med-centre, his vocal chords unable to produce any sound other than shaky whimpers. He felt pathetic and weak.

Manny wasn’t sure what he’d do if something happened to you. He was so used to your quiet, calm and courageous presence next to him that he was sure he’d lose himself if he lost you. He still hadn’t told you he loved you and now you’d die without ever knowing that he’s always loved you. That everytime he was away from you, it felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest. That every time you looked at him with that shy smile on your face, he wanted to burn the world for you and keep you safe. Manny was sure of one thing—he’d find the person who did this to you and end them.

After two painful hours of waiting and wanting to die, Manny finally received some news about your health. They told him that someone had stabbed you, the wound was deep and your body showed signs of stress and exhaustion from blood loss and because you had walked for miles, your body was dehydrated as well. But they managed to control the situation and had stitched you up and since you were still unconscious and out of it, they informed him that you needed lots of rest. Abby and the rest had gathered around Manny to give him support as he was refusing to eat or drink or even move from that same spot he had been standing at since he got there.

He sat there next to you for 3 days. You were comatose for 3 full days. He felt like you were slipping through his fingers. But he couldn’t do anything, his body and mind too numb to even move or do anything else. And then you moved. Your hands twitched, your eyes fluttering behind the lids and he felt like someone had pumped oxygen back into his body. You slowly opened your eyes and tried to focus on the person before you, pained groans leaving your mouth.

Manny got up from the chair and laid a gentle hand on your head, soothing you, “Sh, sh. It’s okay, hang on. Let me get someone.”

You whimpered, suddenly alert when you realised it was Manny. “Stay. Please.”

Manny furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his jaw to stop the sob from tearing through his mouth. He wasn’t weak, he didn’t cry like this, so why did his throat feel like it had a big boulder stuck in it?

“Manny…” “Don’t waste your energy, (nickname). I’m here. I’m always here”, he reassured you and held your left hand in his, his thumb caressing your forehand.

When you were allowed to leave the med-centre, Manny oh-so-gently carried you to your shared room with Nora. He laid you across your bed and tucked you in, firmly telling you to not leave the bed and tell him if you needed anything. You just smiled at him and whispered a soft ‘okay’, heart fluttering at his care for you. He then took a moment to look at your exhausted face and felt his eyes well up with tears. He ducked his head, face scrunched up in emotion and shoulders shaking with silent sobs. You furrowed your eyebrows in concern, in your 7 years of knowing him, Manny has never cried in front of you.

“Manny? What’s wrong?”, you called out to him and reached for his hand, wincing in pain when you accidentally pulled on your stitches. His head shot up and he encased your hand in his, gently pushing you back into a comfortable position.

“I told you to not to get up. Are you going to listen to me or not?”, he chided you, busying himself with tucking your blanket around you, avoiding your scrutinising stare. He felt exposed. You always had a way of making him feel so vulnerable every time you looked at him with those expressive eyes.

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong. You’ve been so quiet for the past few days. Are you upset with me?”, you questioned him worriedly, your hands playing with a few loose threads on the blanket. Manny let out a weary sigh and leaned closer to lay his head on your chest, his arms carefully hugging you around the waist- careful not to aggravate your wound. You froze. If he was feeling extra clingy than usual, then he must’ve been really upset about something. You looked at him in concern and buried your hands in his loose curls, his hair a little longer now.

“What’s up, sweetheart? You’re worrying me. It’s bad manners to trouble the injured”, you lightly joked. You got an annoyed click of the tongue and his head burying deeper in your neck in return. You let out a content sigh and brushed your other hand across his back, happy to stay here in his warm embrace for as long as you could.

“You scared me to death, (Name). I was this close to dying of a heart attack or killing someone”, his hoarse voice vibrated against your throat. The muscles around your neck moved as you swallowed in guilt, “I’m so sorry, Manny. I should’ve radioed you but I’m alright, I-”, he cut you off with a self deprecating chuckle and propped himself up on his right arm, his left hand cradling your cheek carefully. “You don’t understand. You don’t get it, (Name). It felt like someone was repeatedly stabbing me in the chest. Like someone had ripped my heart out of my body. You-you collapsed in my arms. How was I supposed to be okay after that? I couldn’t feel anything. My tongue felt like someone had poured cement on it. I didn’t-didn’t speak much to anyone for 3 days. I really thought I lost you. And if I would’ve lost you, I wouldn’t have any reason to stay alive.”

You laid there, your mind unable to comprehend the words coming out of his mouth. Is this what you think it is?

“Manny, don’t be stupid. Don’t say such things-”

“No, listen to me. I was so scared. I am still scared. I can’t do this without you, angel-”

“You don’t mean that, Manny, stop it-”

“I mean it, fully. I’ve been wanting to tell you this since so long..”, he sucked in a shaky breath, “but everytime I bailed because I’m so scared.”

“What are you-”

“I love you.”

Your mouth fell open and the response died on your tongue. You tried to sit up and regretted that immediately because you pulled on your stitches and it resulted in you gasping in pain, your bandage turning bloody. You let out tiny whimpers and squeezed Manny’s bicep in support. This meant that Manny was officially in panic mode and immediately leaned away from you to make you comfortable.

“Fuck, I told you to be careful. Just lay back down, (Name)”, he groaned frustratingly. He gently laid you on your back and gave you a hand to hold. You firmly grasped his hand and intertwined your fingers with his while he slowly pulled up the hem of your top to check on the damage done. Luckily, it wasn’t that bad and you didn’t need a complete dressing change, his fingers delicately traced the bandage. “How bad does it hurt? I can get you some painkillers that I have stashed if you-”, you squeezed his hands to bring his attention back to you. “What did you just say, Manny? Do you mean it?”, you asked him hurriedly.

He stiffened for a moment before nodding his head yes.

“Oh my god”, you exclaimed in a shaky voice, your eyes welling up with tears. Manny shot his head up and fussed over you in concern. “What- what’s happening? Are you hurting? C‘mon we’ll go to the med-” “Shut up for sometime, will you?”

He looked at you in disbelief before shutting his mouth and stared at you intently. His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he saw your eyes tear up. He raised a hand to wipe a lone tear that slipped out of your eyes. “I’ve been dying to hear that for the past 7 years, Manny”, you whispered to him, your heart pounding.

Manny’s eyes widened and he took a minute to compose himself before cupping both of your cheeks in his hands and leaned in to kiss them softly. Up close, you could see his beautiful moles and the tears shining in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me, angel?”, he murmured.

“I was so scared of losing you– that you’d think I’m weird for falling for you when we’re best friends. I’d get nightmares of you leaving me after I confessed to you, so I just ignored it and decided to act like nothing was happening when all I wanted to do was die everytime I found out you hooked up with others”, you confessed in a quiet voice. Manny turned red at that and averted his gaze in shame. You guys weren’t even together, so why did he feel like he had cheated on you?

“I-those were meaningless. They were simply Hook ups. Just that, I promise. All I wanted was to be with you every day, every second and if somebody tried to hurt you, I won’t hesitate to hurt them. I know that’s probably not normal, but that’s just who I am. And… that’s why I would execute the tasks that you couldn’t finish because I wanted to protect you. And if I have to do that by getting my own hands dirty, then so be it”, he confessed sincerely, caressing your cheeks with his thumbs and eyes darting across your face.

You were fully crying now, your eyes bloodshot, lips quivering, cheeks damp and your breathing laboured. You looked at him, your eyes swirling with emotions, and raised a hand to run through his curls.

“Stop crying, (Name), please, I can’t handle it”, he said in a desperate tone. “Kiss me”, you whispered. He looked at you for a second before resting a hand behind your ear, his thumb caressing your cheek and he leaned in to kissed you passionately, his nose smushed against your cheek.

And that was the best damn kiss you ever had in your life.

2023, Salt Lake City

You and Manny have been together for 8 years now and you’ve been stood by each other’s side like rocks. By now, the two of you and the others had joined the WLF to defend yourselves against FEDRA. Nobody could separate you two-Manny was notorious for his unwavering loyalty and he had saved you too many times for you to ever give up on him. No matter how difficult he got at times with his reckless behaviour, one word from you and he’d back off. People were also afraid of you two because of how well you worked with each other. Him with his shooting skills and you with your negotiation and strategic skills- the two of you were an unstoppable force.

These 8 years were nothing short of bliss for you. Manny was incredible as a partner-he was so loving, caring, loyal and respectful. Even in an apocalypse with limited resources, he’d do anything in his power to make you happy. He was so protective of you, he wouldn’t let anybody hurt even a single strand of your hair, especially after that one time you returned from patrol with a stab wound so deep, it made you comatose for 3 days. He was the reason why you woke up in the morning and you made sure he knew that, protecting him just as fiercely. Something in you cracked every time you remembered the hardships he faced and how he stills maintains a positive outlook even in the worst of times so you became a soft place for him to land. Always loving on him, caring for him, protecting him. Just as he did for you.

Him on the other hand, he was always in awe of how much empathy you had in you even after all the shit you’ve been through. You were both older and mature now, yet you stayed grounded with your mission that you swore by when you were just 14–still looking out for the people who were in need, especially children, making sure you could save as many innocent lives as possible. It made Manny fall in love with you deeper but also scared him because of how different you were from him. He was aggressive and ruthless with his targets, on the other hand, you’d try to save every single one of them. But you would also do anything for Manny. If someone even tried to look at him wrong, you'd be their worst nightmare. Manny would be lying if he said he didn't love that. Seeing your usually composed and kind demeanor take on a deadly and fierce look was...hot. Still, he was convinced you’d leave him someday, tired of the constant bloodshed and his loyalty to the Fireflies. He did his best to let go of the dirty work for you, but then he’d get scared of someone harming you and the cycle would continue. The two of you were such opposites and yet, you loved every part of the other.

Little did the two of you know, your bubble would be burst soon. Manny got posted at St Mary’s Hospital in Salt Lake City along with Owen and Abby. This meant that Manny would be separated from you for a while. And he did not take well to that.

“What the fuck do you mean you’re not coming with me?”, he seethed, his anger directed towards Isaac. You sighed and grasped his hands in yours to comfort him and ran your thumbs over the back of his hands. “Manny, you know how it is. I will be an extra baggage, I won’t-” “You’re not a fucking baggage, (Name)!”, he responded with exasperation.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down before speaking again, “I can’t do this without you, angel, I need you there with me. You know that”, he said it with such desperate intensity that you cupped his cheeks in your hands and stared directly into his eyes. You knew why Isaac didn’t choose you. The situation there must be dire enough that he wasn’t willing to take any risks, so he decided to send three of the strongest and sharpest fighters under him. You weren’t liking it in any way either, the thought of parting from Manny for a longer period making you feel nauseous, but you were in no position to question Isaac. He was your leader.

“Shh. It’s okay, I know. But, it’s probably for the best, baby. I don’t wanna be a distra-” “I don’t care. I’m not leaving you behind. You’re coming with us, that’s it”, he responded in a firm voice, his hands holding your elbows. You looked at him doubtfully. “Manny, what makes you think Isaac will listen to you?”

You felt his muscles twitch beneath your hands as he clenched his jaw. “I’ll figure somethin’ out. You’re coming with me. I’m not leaving you alone here.”

And he did convince Isaac. You didn’t wanna know how, but he did. He was determined like that, your Manny. So off you went to St. Mary’s with Manny, Abby and Owen.

At first, everything went as it did always– you guys got settled in, started mapping out trails, keeping a vigilant lookout for any raiders or infected and the usual patrols. Marlene was in charge of the hospital so she had a whole troop of soldiers with her, making you feel somewhat safer and this posting was also a personal one because Abby’s father, Jerry, worked as a doctor there. She was ecstatic to be reunited with her father again.

One day when you came back from patrol, the entire hospital was dead silent. As soon as you entered the building, there were bodies scattered everywhere, blood painting the walls and the floors.

“What the fuck?”, you muttered in disbelief. Either the hospital was raided by a large group or by a horde of infected. But upon closed inspection, you saw that a horde attack not the case. Abby, Owen and Manny followed close, their guns raised. Abby was on edge, worried about her father. “What the hell is this?”, her movements jumpy and her voice wavering.

You rolled a soldier on his back and noticed 2 gunshot wounds on his stomach. You checked the soldier lying a few feet away and he had a gunshot around his neck. You furrowed your eyebrows. “Guys, this is not a horde attack. They’ve got gunshot wounds.”

They checked the other soldiers and that confirmed it, it wasn’t a horde attack. “I need to find my dad. I’m going”, Abby conceded and tried to rush away to find Jerry. You stopped her by the arm. “Wait. I understand that you’re worried, but we don’t know if the hospital is empty. Let us scan the area first”, you tried to reason with her. She looked at you with a freaked out expression on her face. “Are you serious? I need to go find-” “Abs, hey, listen to them. They’re not wrong”, Manny tried placating her and came over to lay a hand on your back. Abby looked at you two and then Owen, him nodding his head at her and she reluctantly agreed.

The four of you spread out to scan the hospital. You and Manny scoured the upper floors while Owen and Abby took over the lower ones and the parking lot. “Careful, baby”, Manny murmured while covering you, his gun raised, eyes vigilant and footsteps careful. You nodded your head silently and focused on your surroundings, your heart pounding against your chest. The place was so eerily silent, you felt like every sound was a suspicious one. Both the floors were scattered with bodies with a puddle of blood around them, and you couldn't wrap your head around it. How big was this group of raiders that they took out an entire hospital? You cleared the 2 floors and reached the final one. No signs of life in any of the floors. You reached the final corridor and approached the operation theatre.

“Wait, let me go in first”, Manny whispered to you and gently pushed you behind him. You nodded and let him go ahead of you. Manny pushed the door open and froze. You tried to peak over his shoulder and before he could stop you, your eyes fell on the scene. There was a huge puddle of blood around a body. You raked your eyes across the person and noticed the headshot and brain matter around the body. And then you realised—

“Oh my god”, you gasped out and fisted Manny’s shirt in your hands. The body belonged to Jerry- Abby’s father. What the hell even happened here?

You could see Manny’s hands shaking from how tightly he was clenching them. His jaw was shut just as tightly, trying to keep his emotions at bay. “Manny…”, you trailed off, not knowing what to say. “What do we do? Oh god, she’s gonna-” “I know. I know”, he replied in a hoarse voice.

That’s when you heard a voice behind you- “Marlene is dead. Did you guys find my dad?” Abby. She must’ve noticed the way you two stiffened and immediately questioned you. “What is this? Did you guys find anything?”, she asked desperately. You turned your head to look at Manny with tearful eyes and he simply nodded his head at you, as if reassuring you that he’ll handle it.

And he did. And she was inconsolable. Which lead to her saying stuff that she would regret later, you thought. She vowed to finding whoever did this and to killing them. That she’d make them suffer so much, they’d beg her to kill them. You and Manny then found out that there were two nurses that were alive, they were hiding in the office and you brought them out in front of Abby. They told you who had done it–A single man. They said a single man killed 18 soldiers, Marlene and Jerry. Then they gave you his name- Joel, said he rescued the girl that Jerry was supposed to operate on. Before she could explain further, Abby abruptly cut them off. You gave her a look, something was odd. Because Abby never told you that her dad was performing surgery on some girl today.

The four of you immediately left the hospital and sought refuge in a nearby Fireflies shelter after burying Jerry's body. Abby, exhausted from what she had witnessed, promptly fell asleep before going on a vengeful rant. She kept saying the same things–that she’d find this Joel and kill him so ruthlessly that he will beg for mercy. You had so many questions because why would a single man go on a killing rampage over the surgery of a girl? And why did he kill Abby’s dad? What was she hiding? You were so deep in your thoughts that you didn’t notice Manny sit next to you. He nudged you with his shoulder and leaned his head to look at you. ��You there?”, his voice came out in a hushed whisper.

You snapped out of your daze and turned to look at him. “Yeah, just…it’s been a lot”, you sighed. His eyes shined with understanding and he brought you closer to him by your shoulders, you leaned your head against his throat and hugging him tightly around the waist. Manny leaned his head against the top of your head and breathed in deeply. After a moment of calm silence, you decided to finally ask him. “Em? Did you notice the way Abby cut off the nurses when they were talking about the surgery?”, you asked in a soft voice. His body stiffened next to you, eyes closed in worry. He was hoping you wouldn’t catch that. “…yeah. What about it?”

You pressed a kiss to his throat and rubbed his chest with your hand. “Just….it was weird, wasn’t it? Why wouldn’t she tell us that her dad was performing a surgery today?”. Manny swallowed and rubbed a hand across your back. “Maybe it’s nothing, angel. We’ll- we’ll ask her later, okay? For now, let's get some sleep”, he said before kissing your head. You reluctantly agreed and let him take you to bed.

A week later, all of you had gone to visit her father’s grave and she had told the entire group about what she heard about Joel from the nurses– tall, ruthless and handsome and you noticed she was obsessively fixated on the handsome part, something sinister about it and the way she talked about this kid that Joel was saving with an air of carelessness. They came up with a very stupid plan about going all the way to Jackson to kill this man and your stupid boyfriend readily agreed to it, blinded by revenge.

“I’m sorry, but you realise you’re being way too hasty about this, right? This man killed 20 people on his own. How are we gonna stand up to him? He's in Jackson and from what I heard, it's a legit town. He has backups, for sure", you directly looked at Abby while questioning her decision. Mel was the only one who seemed to be in agreement with you, Manny refused to meet your eyes and Nora, Owen and Abby looked at you incredulously. “I don’t fucking care. We will just have to”, Abby barked at you. You stumbled back in shock. Sure, she's brash but she’s never spoke to you so…authoritatively before.

Manny grimaced and held your hand in his. “Okay, let's just...calm down. We'll talk about this later, baby", he whispered the last part in your ear. You turned your head to look at him in disbelief. "Manny-" "Not now, please", he looked at you with desperate eyes and squeezed your hand gently. You pressed your lips into a thin line and looked away from him, removing your hand from his grasp and wrapping your arms across your torso. Manny's hand was left hovering in the air, his heart squeezing painfully at the obvious wall that you had built up between you and him. He tried to reach for you but you simply shrugged him off and walked away. He tried to follow you but Mel stopped him and told him to leave you alone for sometime. So he stood there, his hands clenched into a fist and trying to swallow past the lump in his throat.

After that upsetting conversation, you decided to go back to the shelter and try to get information from the nurses. You needed to know what happened before you could take the next steps. "Why was that man here? And why was the girl being operated on? Tell me everything", you demanded.

"She- Jerry was going to operate on her brain. Something about isolating the cordyceps from it", the nurse replied hesitantly. You scrunched your face in confusion, "Cordyceps? She was bitten? And Jerry wasn't a neurologist, right?"

The nurses looked at each other nervously and wringed their fingers together, "Um- no. Jerry wasn't a neurologist. And uh- she was bitten but..", the nurse trailed off nervously. "But what?", you spit out impatiently.

"She was immune. Got bit but didn't turn. Marlene thought we could operate on her and make a cure, but we aren't trained for brain surgery, neither did we have the equipment. Just as we prepared her for surgery, that man came into the OT and shot Jerry dead. Asked us to unhook the girl and spared us in return", the nurse finally confessed. Your face shifted into a million different emotions. Not only was Abby's dad illegally performing surgeries but there was a girl out there who was immune to the cordyceps? "What the fuck...wait. How old was this girl?", you asked in distress.

"Must be around 14, that's what Marlene told us."

You felt nauseous, "And...was he-Joel, was he her father?", your voice breaking off because of the lump in your throat.

The nurse shrugged, unsure, "Looked like it. Had a dissociated look in his eyes, like he was in a trance."

"Was the surgery gonna work? Would there be a cure?", you asked with desperation and annoyance coating your tone.

The nurses averted their gaze from you, their body language screaming guilt. "I asked you something, goddamnit, was it gonna work?", you yelled at them in anger and they flinched before shaking their head no.

You felt disgusted and betrayed. Not only was Abby's father was performing surgeries that he wasn't even trained for, but he was operating on a non-consenting minor and The Fireflies had taken her away from her father-figure against their will? And to make it worse-the cure still wouldn't work? Which meant that they were going to kill this girl? You wanted to throw up. You felt sick from the guilt and hypocrisy, feeling complicit in this little girl's mistreatment because you were working with the same organization that was treating her like a lab rat.

You left the room with your mind swirling in a million thoughts. Why would they do that? Why were they allowed to do that? Why was Abby acting like she didn't know anything and now she was trying to kill someone to avenge her fraud father? You needed to do something, you had to stop them but you couldn't do it alone and you couldn't ask for help to anyone. There was only one person that you could confide in and you hoped he wouldn't disappoint you.

Manny was getting antsy after not being around you for almost an hour now. He had no idea where you went, beating himself up over your disappearance. Just when he was about to set off to find you, you rushed into your shared room in the hideout, your body tense with distress and sorrow.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong?", eyebrows furrowed deeply and hands reaching for you, Manny tried to calm you down and understand what happened for you to be so scared.

You gripped his biceps tightly in your hands, looking up at him with teary eyes. "Manny- she-", you closed your eyes in agony. Manny widened his eyes and tensed up, his heart beating faster, "Baby, you gotta tell me what's up. Who did this to you?"

You let out a small sob and ducked your head, his hand came up to cradle your cheek gently. Taking a deep breath in, you finally told him. "I talked to the nurses. Manny, he- Jerry was a fucking fraud. He-he was performing a brain surgery on the girl without her consent. Joel was her guardian..? I don't know, I don't know-but--Jerry was a fraud. She was only 14, Manny. They were going to kill her for a cure that was non-existent. And Abby knows this, she knows this. Yet, she wants to kill Joel. We're all complicit in this...we're- We need to stop her-", you abruptly stopped and finally focused on Manny. He was way too quiet for your liking. His jaw was clenched and he wouldn't look at you. Your heart fell down to your stomach as you realised.

"You- you knew this", you whispered in shock.

Manny closed his eyes in shame before opening them and tried to bring you closer. "Angel-" "Don't fucking touch me or call me that", you growled and pushed him away. His mouth was agape and eyes bloodshot. "You--oh my god. How long have you known this?", you questioned him in a sharp tone. Manny swallowed thickly and avoided your eyes. "Answer the fucking question, Manny", you scowled.

"Since that girl was brought here by Marlene", he confessed in a low voice, his body stiff and shoulders drawn in at your tone.

The pain in your chest increased ten fold at his admittance. You thought you could trust him, that he wouldn't hide anything from you. You were such a fool. You let out a sudden laugh and pinched your nose between your fingers. "Wow. I was so fucking stupid to even think you'd be on my side. Your ego and your loyalty to this fuckass organization is way more important to you than an innocent life. I should've known...", you broke off into another incredulous chuckle and Manny looked at you with worried eyes. "Angel, please. Listen to me, Joel was a bad man, why can't you see that? He's hurt Abby-"

"Fuck if I care! Her dad was doing illegal shit to a child. I think Joel's reaction is super fucking warranted, Manny. You tell me, if that was your dad being operated on or if it was you on that operation table? What would you do, huh? You think your dad would've allowed his son to die? You would've let your dad-"

"That's enough", Manny warned you, his voice hoarse.

"Why? That hurt, huh? Good. Have fun with your little plan of vengeance, I'm out of this", you scoffed and moved to pack your stuff.

Manny's eyes widened and he finally moved to grab you by your elbow and turned you to face him, his heart pounding at your actions and he stopped you with a wavering voice, "(Name), stop. We'll figure something out. You're not really leaving me, right-"

You snapped your head to look at him, your eyes shining with fury and betrayal, "What are we gonna figure out, hm? Are you going to leave them behind and join me?"

Manny quieted down and stared at you with tears in his eyes, his brain working overtime- stuck between following his love or supporting his friends. Looking at the hesitant look on his face, you scoffed and ripped your arm out of his grip.

"You're not even trying to deny it, Em", you cried out, Manny's stomach twisting in pain at the sound. "This was bound to happen. I was stupid and naive to think you'd ever stand by me."

Manny's face shifted in sorrow and a tear fell on his cheek, his breathing laboured as he slowly realised that this was final. "Wait, no. Don't say that, please. I love you, angel, please", he choked out and tried to reach for you. You stumbled back from him and let out a soft sob, your throat hurting from keeping it in.

"This was a mistake. We were never going to work out because of your...priorities. I knew this since the beginning but-", you sniffled and swallowed harshly against another sob building up your throat, "--but, I loved you so much that I was willing to ignore that. Thought, there's people doing worse out there. And now? you are one of the people who are doing worse", you blabbered in between sobs and sniffles.

At your use of "loved" and calling him one of the bad ones, Manny felt his heart stop. He just wanted to protect you and his friends. Joel had hurt Abby, and he'd do anything to help his friends out but, you weren't wrong either. You spoke the truth--Jerry was a fraud and all of you would have been complicit in that girl's possible murder. Then why did he find it so difficult to just let go and follow you? Were his egotistical and vengeful tendencies really more important than you? But, even with all these thoughts swirling his head, all he could fixate on was trying to stop you from leaving. Because if you left, then his recklessness would just get worse. He was not capable of handling such a heartbreak. His lips quivered and voice shook when he finally spoke, "No, no, no, baby. Please, don't say that, please. I can't do this without you--"

"You shouldn't have done this with me. What, you thought I'm so dumb that you'll bring me here and I'll stay in blissful ignorance? You thought I was that easy to fool?"

"No! please, it's not like that. I'm sorry, I should've told you-"

"The audacity to admit that you should've told me, when you brought me all the way here just to keep me in the dark...some fucking nerve you have, Alvarez", you spit at him, you felt your face warm with anger and your nostrils flared. Manny shut his eyes in pain, his chest constricting and making him choke on his breaths.

You took a deep breath in and wiped the tears on your face. "I'm leaving. If you wanna join me, you're free to do so. But if not...and if I reach Joel before you, I will make sure every single one of you is dead before you even think to hurt another family again", you threatened him in a scarily calm voice.

Manny's mouth opened and closed like a fish, "Wait, you're- no, you can't go alone. Don't do this-"

"Why? You think I can't do shit without you? You know, since the day I found out about Jackson, I'd been wishing for a time where you and I could spend the rest of our lives there? Peacefully?", you confessed. Manny froze. You had never shared this with him.

"What?", he whispered out loud.

You scoffed, "Yeah, I was so stupid. Thought we'd finally have a place that we could call our own, a community...", you trailed off, your voice losing its spark and hope. You rapidly blinked your eyes to get rid of the tears and you finally looked straight into his eyes. His face was scrunched in pain, warm tears wetting his cheeks and his hands were tightly clenched into fists. "Please, don't go..", he whispered desperately. Your heart ached at his state. You've never seen him like this but you couldn't live this life anymore. No matter how angry you were at him, you knew you would cry every night in his memory.

You finally went closer to him and he looked at you with hope in his eyes. You lifted a hand to cradle his cheek and wiped the tears on them with your thumb. "I'll be waiting for you", you whispered to him and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, his moustache tickling your lips. He tried to hold you closer before you moved away and packed your bags.

You packed your bag and turned to look at him, still frozen to his spot, for the last time with unshed tears. "Bye, Manny", you whispered and rushed out of the room, sneaking past everyone who was busy with cleaning their weapons or cooking a meal. You knew Manny would never snitch on you, which is why you ran away in front of him. You grabbed the reins on your horse and rode away, tears streaming down your face.

Back in the room, Manny stood still, his eyes shedding tears once again. His throat hurt from the lump lodged against it and he slowly approached the bed to sit on it. He didn't know what was he supposed to do anymore. He didn't have a reason to live. He doesn't know how will he cope with the fact that you'd never touch him or tell him sweet nothings or keep him updated about your whereabouts. All Manny could do, was wait. Wait until he crosses paths with you, and he'd beg on his knees for you to take him back and give you the domestic life that you deserved.

Until then, he'd fall asleep with your scarf around him every night and pray to whatever higher power that exists to keep you safe.

Part 2

AN: ahhhh I hope you all liked this! Part 2 will have all the juicy stuffff like reunions and killings hehe

#manny alvarez x reader #manny alvarez #the last of us #tlou #tlou hbo #tlou2 #tlou season 2 #danny ramirez #fluff #angst #joel miller

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adorkastock · 26 days ago

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It's time for the annual AdorkaStock LGBTQ+ Pride fundraiser event! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 Every year in June I do a special event to support these three orgs:

🏳️‍🌈 The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization founded in 1998 focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQIA+ folks 🏳️‍⚧️The Theater Offensive, a theater company in Boston focused on liberating art by, for, and about queer and trans people of color that transcends artistic boundaries, celebrates cultural abundance, and dismantles oppression. 🏳️‍🌈Transgender Emergency Fund MA, providing assistance for low-income and homeless transgender people living in Massachusetts since 2008.

100% of the profits from the sale of this pack from June 1 – June 30 2025 will be donated. 🥳 This year’s pack includes some retired pulls from the archive AND NEW images for a total of 56 full body pose references with 2+ models.❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 Help me reach my goal of $1,000 to donate!

#pose reference #adorkastock #senshistock #drawing reference #lgbtq #pride #fundraiser #lgbtq+#lgbtqia #queer community #fundraising

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lazysoulwriter · 3 months ago

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monaco madness - pedro pascal.

Pedro had always known you were obsessed with Formula 1. The kind of obsessed where Sunday plans revolved around race schedules, where you angry muttered driver names in your sleep, and where he once caught you watching an onboard camera video from 2008 just for fun.

So, when he suggested going to Monaco for the Grand Prix, it wasn’t just because of the glitz, the yachts, or the allure of Monte Carlo. It was because he loved seeing you in your element.

What he hadn't expected was to get completely sucked into it himself.

From the moment you stepped onto the circuit, decked out in Ferrari red, you were practically vibrating with excitement. The roaring sound of engines in the background made your eyes light up in a way that had Pedro smiling like an idiot.

“You’re going to explode,” he teased, tightening his grip on your waist as the two of you made your way to your seats.

“I might.” You turned to him, grinning, adjusting your sunglasses. “Do you even understand what’s about to happen?”

Pedro scoffed. “I understand that cars go fast.”

You snorted. “Wow, expert analysis. Maybe they should hire you for commentary.”

“I’d do great,” he said smugly. “I’d just point at the screen and go, ‘Look at that one. He’s winning.’”

You rolled your eyes, looping your arms around his neck. “You are so lucky you’re pretty.”

“I am pretty,” he agreed, leaning down to steal a quick kiss before you could pull away.

“Pedro!” you scolded, laughing against his lips. “We don’t have time for this! The race is about to start!”

Pedro groaned dramatically but let you go, watching as you practically bounced in your seat.

The cars lined up, the lights went out, and the moment the engines roared to life, you grabbed his hand without even thinking. Pedro barely had time to process the chaos before you were on your feet, screaming alongside thousands of other Ferrari fans.

“GO, GO, GO!”

Pedro had never seen you like this. Eyes wide, face glowing, shouting in frustration when someone overtook a Ferrari like they had personally offended you.

“Are you serious? That’s a penalty!” you cried, throwing your hands up.

Pedro leaned in, amused. “I have no idea what that means, but I love how angry you are.”

Before you could reply, a Ferrari made a daring overtake, nearly brushing the wall. The entire grandstand erupted, and Pedro felt something shift inside him. A thrill ran up his spine, and suddenly, he got it. The speed, the tension, the sheer insanity of it all. His fingers gripped the railing, and before he could stop himself, he was shouting,

“OH, SHIT! THAT WAS INSANE! FORZA FERRARI!”

You whipped your head toward him, stunned. “Wait. Are you—Are you into it now?”

Pedro ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. “I think I just saw God.”

You burst into laughter, throwing your arms around his neck and kissing him full on the mouth. “Welcome to the dark side, tifoso.”

For the rest of the race, Pedro was in it. He booed strategy calls, cursed at pit stops that took too long, and even found himself gripping your thigh when things got too tense. Every time Ferrari made a move, you both jumped out of your seats, yelling like lunatics.

At one point, he turned to you, slightly out of breath. “I swear to God, if we don’t win, I’m—”

“You’re what?” you challenged, grinning.

Pedro narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know yet, but it won’t be pretty.”

You laughed, pulling him down for another quick kiss. “You’re so dramatic.”

He smiled against your lips. “And yet you love me.”

When the checkered flag finally waved, Pedro collapsed into his seat, exhaling like he’d just competed in the race himself. You giggled, straddling his lap, running your fingers through his hair.

“So?” you asked, tilting your head. “Worth it?”

Pedro smirked, brushing his thumb over your cheek. “I’m never missing a race again.”

You grinned. “That’s my baby.”

And just like that, Monaco had gained another die-hard Ferrari fan.

---

requested! loved thissss.

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x y/n #pedro pascal f1 #pedro pascal au #pedro pascal fanfic #pedro pascal fanfics #pedro pascal fic #pedro pascal fics #pedro pascal fluff #pedro pascal one shot #f1 #pp

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fishenjoyer1 · 3 months ago

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Fish of the Day

Today's fish of the day is the elongate carpet shark!

The Elongate carpet shark, Parascyllium elongatum, is known for having the longest length to width in the genus Parascyllium. This species is nearly entirely unknown, with only one specimen found in 2008. Referred to as a holotype, since it is the only known specimen, we must base all our information here. Our holotype was a female shark found in the stomach of a common houndshark, also known as a school shark. At a depth of 50 meters, and around the Chatham Island of Western Australia, along the Indian ocean. We do not currently know anything about the elongated carpet shark's population, ecology, habitat, or threats.

This shark is characterized by the exceptional length of its body, with the holotype measuring in at 42cm, or 16.6 inches. With a narrow mouth, small head and small dorsal fins, the elongated carpetshark is easily identified from its closest relative in appearance, the necklace carpet shark. This species lacks the common "collar" markings found in the Parascyllium genus, instead displaying white spotting patterns, and large black spots on their fins. This species has no information about their populations, or reproduction. We do however know that carpet sharks reproduce through oviparous means, meaning that eggs are laid to hatch outside of the mother.

That's the elongated carpet shark, everybody! I hope you enjoyed learning about them!

Sources:

Elongate carpetshark, parascyllium elongatum. (2019, March 1). https://fish.gov.au/docs/SharkReport/2023_FRDC_Parascyllium_elongatum_final.pdf

Parascyllium Elongatum summary page. FishBase. (n.d.-b). https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Parascyllium-elongatum.html

Western dwarf catshark, parascyllium elongatum last & stevens 2008. Parascyllium elongatum. (n.d.). https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2612

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starseedpatriot · 1 year ago

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For those who have not figured out Trump’s affiliation with Epstein, allow me to explain.

Trump is the one who exposed Epstein in 2008, hence why all of DC fears him. Trump is Epstein’s #1 enemy.

Epstein was running a blackmail operation. He was seeking out the most powerful people on Earth, to compromise and control them. He tried to get Trump, but Trump did not bite.

Trump banned Epstein from his properties in 2008, for hitting on the teenage daughter of a club member at Mar-a-Lago. Then a couple months later, Epstein pled guilty to State criminal charges in Florida, for paying for sexual services from a 14 year old girl.

See the timeline? Epstein, tried to get close to Trump to compromise him, Trump found out Epstein was a sicko, then Trump helped turn him in to local police. But eventually the Clinton-controlled FBI intervened, and Epstein was let off the hook.

The Deep State have been coming after Trump ever since. Why? Because if Epstein is exposed, then all of DC goes down due to the blackmail Epstein possessed on the top players in DC. Hence why Clinton barged into Vanity Fair and threatened them not to write stories about Epstein. The Clintons told the MSM to bury the story.

Then when Trump got into office, he dedicated his administration to stopping human-trafficking WORLDWIDE via multiple executive orders, seized Epstein’s island, and then arrested Epstein and his accomplices in 2019.

Executive Order 13773 (see attached), is an EO literally dedicated to taking out Epstein’s international child sex-trafficking operation. “Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking”. February 9th, 2017.

HELLOOOOO that’s literally Epstein’s

entire operation. Trump used Executive Power to stop Epstein, only A MONTH into his presidency. It was one of the first things Trump did.

So for those of you that were hoping to see Trump implicated in Epstein’s criminality, you will remain disappointed. Because not only is Trump NOT one of Epstein’s clients, he is the main individual who exposed the entire thing.

Trump is Epstein’s #1 enemy, and you all were brainwashed to hate him for that very reason.

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spectral-phases · 30 days ago

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Ghosts and Danny Phantom With the JLA

Guys, guys, I like some DP x DC as much as the next person. It's fun. It's whimsical. There are many ✨️✨️opportunities✨️✨️ for trauma and whimsy. I'm not immune to the appeal.

But can we please, please stop with the whole "Only John Constantine knows how to deal with ghosts" or "the Justice League are government shills and wouldn't help Danny" or "The JL just straight up ignored Amity Park for bad reasons and made a kid fight all this stuff on his own."

Superman can hear a cry for help in the far reaches of the solar system and smell brownies baking from space and know exactly where they are from (ask not how smell travels from Earth's atmosphere and into a vacuum and into an air tight space station; nor how sound travels through the vacuum of space in real time for him. The rules of your so-called "physics" do not apply to him). Unless there were some serious shenanigans at play, he's hearing a call for help and answering (we don't have to recognize these feats as canon, they are quite silly, but his senses are very good).

(Superman/Batman 2008 #46) (He is under the effects of silver kryptonite here...which seems to act like weed to him. He has the munchies real bad and is craving some chocolate)

(Superman 1987 #204)

You wanna talk ghosts and Justice League, there's the ghost hero Boston Brand, aka Deadman, who Batman helped solve the murder of. He was a performer who knew Dick Grayson in the circus and died similarly to the Flying Graysons (his high-risk act was sabotaged) and the early Nightwing costume looks eerily similar to Deadman's. In some versions, Deadman helped Dick when he was learning how to do high-wire acts. Deadman just starts possessing people near an experienced Gotham Vigilante, or even Jim Gordon (Oh, yeah, Batman told me about you), and it might take a second but they're very quick on the uptake of speaking to Deadman now (Damian was not because he didn't know about Deadman yet). It's very casual for them.

(Blackest Night: Batman 2009 #1)

(Blackest Night: Batman 2009 #2)

The Speedsters can move so fast they can interact with ghosts and force them out from possessing them by using the Speed force:

(The Flash 2014 #28/#29)

Batman has dealt with so many ghosts he wouldn’t be phased by anything. He has developed ways to fight ghosts on his own with Nth metal batarangs.

(Batman Eternal 2014 #6)

Batman also treats with child ghosts kindly, multiple times. Ghosts of children being dealt with by Batman is a recurring event.

Traveling from Gotham to Austria specifically to let a spirit rest by offering her the heart of her murderer (who Batman did not kill, to be clear, he just acquired it from the corpse):

(Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 1989 #10)

The remains of a ghost of a girl that was going to be sacrificed to trap a demon in Gotham hundreds of years ago gets buried next to Bruce's parents like his sister:

(Batman 1940 #454)

Batman comforting the spirit of a child who has been possessing people and murdering people because he's angry about his death and not being able to be with his parents anymore:

(Batman: Gotham Knights 2000 #4)

Batman knows how to summon ghosts (Deadman here, to solidify him):

(Batman/Deadman: Death and Glory 1997 #1)

Ghosts in Gotham are so regular that Robins know how to check for traces of ectoplasm when dealing with the supernatural. It is on the checklist for confirming what bullshit they're dealing with today.

(DC Pride: Tim Drake Special 2022 #1)

Speaking of ghosts and Robins, did you know that one of Young Justice's first members after the founding three was Greta Hayes, aka Secret? She had several powers, including changing her form, but she initially couldn't pass through objects like a normal ghost.

(Young Justice: The Secret 1998 #1)

(Young Justice 1998 #7)

The government agency called the DEO (Department of Extranormal Operations), had been experimenting on her and asked them to find her and bring her back, but when they found her and she told them what was really going on, they told the DEO to get fucked and helped save other metas being held at the same facility Greta had been. And then she was a part of the team until she got brought back to life and could live normally as a civilian. Young Justice is hounded by APES (All Purpose Enforcement Squad) around the globe because they helped Secret.

(Young Justice 1998 #4)

In summary, the DC heroes would not say "oh, ghosts, yeah, you’re a prank caller, bye-bye." Or help the guys in white. Or for one goddamn second believe ghosts don’t have sentience. Or not be immediately seeing red over the "Anti-Ecto Control Act." Hell, when the JL is contacted by the DEO whining about Young Justice's involvement with Secret, Batman's very clear that he does not trust the DEO. I doubt Batman, of Gotham "every government official is dirty" City, would just trust the guys in white at all.

(Young Justice: The Secret 1998 #1)

Danny would not be some marvelously weird and super special guy to them. The ghosts in Danny Phantom are a little weird compared to ghosts normally seen in DC (being more tangible, physical, and powerful), but it's not mind blowing or impossible to wrap their heads around (new species of ghost they have to learn about). He would just be another kid hero, ghost king au or not. Captain Marvel is a 14 year old boy who can look like a guy in his 30s through the 'Wisdom of Solomon.' Martian Manhunter can fly and turn invisible and shape-shift (and read minds). They have fought the concept of Death itself, Nekron, and an army of undead:

(Blackest Night 2009 #8)

Like yes, they would like to help Danny, ofc, and they would be upset if he had been captured and tortured, obviously, but nothing he could say would phase them in an earth-shattering way, alright? So many heroes and villains have died and come back to life. They've been tortured and hurt. They're just going to trauma share with Danny ("yeah, that reminds me of the time..." or "Oh, that sounds like something so and so talked about..."). They aren't going to cower before the Ghost King, or whatever title he has in the ghost king au.

You cannot have Danny be young enough to be equal to any of the Teen Titans/Young Justice and have him be this super weird thing to them. You cannot have a fully formed Justice League and have them ignore calls for help from Amity Park. It's just. It's not how they work.

Justice League Dark, the supernatural/occult branch of the JLA, is led by Wonder freaking Woman in some instances, and do you think this warrior woman who squares up with any conquering god on the regular with her god/spirit-containing Lasso of Truth is going to ignore Danny/Amity Park for "safety"? Pfffft. Nope. Pariah Dark pops up and she wants to get tagged in on the fight. Hell, she's tagging herself in for the fight.

(Wonder Woman 2016 #62) (She is trash-talking Ares, God of War, on how to use her Lasso of Truth. I love her so much.)

(Wonder Woman 1942 #607) (oh, look, her being kind to a dead spirit of a dangerous creature her allies want dead)

Justice League Dark also has the Spectre, the avenging angel of God (yes, that God. Judeo-Christian God, aka The Presence). The Spectre is a spirit, so the most powerful ghost they know.

(Detective Comics 1937 #1006) (Notice, how Batman does not give a singular flying fuck about how strong the Spectre is while arguing against the Spectre's Old Testament style vengeance?)

If you wanna go the route of Amity Park being ignored, you need to get creative with it. There was a period of time where Lex Luthor was president trying to outlaw being a superhero and Amanda Waller was in charge of the DEO, and so you can have them do some bullshit that Vlad can even get in on to isolate Amity Park, maybe that's when the Anti-Ecto Acts became a thing because Lex and Waller are meanaces. Hell, maybe even the Reality Gauntlet or DC magic using villains are the deus ex here. Or weird timeline shit after Clockwork fixes things in a Glitch in Time and the worlds are suddenly merged and believe they always were originally. Or. Maybe it's Clockwork meddling trying to mold Danny for a ghost king au. There are limitless possibilities that don't involve making the JL complete assholes/incompetent morons in ways they never would be.

There's even room for funny shenanigans. The Bat of whatever team meets Danny is told "the ghost boy in Amity is violent and dangerous" and they're suddenly there trying to help him solve his murder so he can move on and Danny’s just "???"

Maybe the guys hounding Young Justice for Secret are actually the GIW. Maybe the facility she was in had files on Danny too. Maybe Clark, Conner, Jon, or Kara get hit with silver kryptonite and track down the Fenton residence for fudge. Maybe that's how they break through whatever is shielding Amity from the world, a Kryptonian got sent to space on a silver kryptonite trip. Idfk. Bring the whimsy into it. Please. I'm so tired of the "you left us to rot because you thought we were joking" posts.

Please. Just some whimsy. Or some creativity. Or just blame it all on Clockwork. I beg of you. You can have your angst, god knows we need our angst, but just don't destroy the DC characters in the process. They're so much fun, and have such rich histories, and ghosts have been such a long standing part of their world that I would appreciate that not being ignored, even if canon is a sandbox and you can do whatever you want. I'm just tired of it, especially since some of these things predate the Justice League itself.

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