#that is also creating 'weapons' (aka perfect soldiers) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sj-thefan · 5 years ago

Text

Under the Moonlight P.3 (Ahkmenrah x reader)

Hey there! So It’s been a while since I updated this series, aka over a year, so please forgive me. Thank you for reading, if you do! I really enjoy this story. I’m thinking there may be one or two parts after this.

The events of the 2nd movie (Battle of the Smithsonian) have been changed, i.e. Abraham Lincoln does not crash through the window at the end. Also, it’s never mentioned how Kahmunrah knows how to speak multiple languages, which bothers me, but I didn’t care enough to create a backstory.

Also, as a reminder, bolded text is spoken in Arabic.

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

Taglist:

@megalony

@beautiful-tragic-fallout

@zoemonster200

@a--1--1--3

@mp0625

Larry would never freely give the combination to Kahmunrah. The self-proclaimed “Pharaoh” had trapped his friends, sent some of history’s worst bad guys after him, and was an all-around evil bastard. Larry knew he would have to make a deal with the Pharaoh to save his friends, but he wouldn’t give him anything until he knew his friends were safe.

They stood in the centre of the room, arguing over who should hand over their half of the deal first.

Kahmunrah gave Larry an ultimatum, “How about I don't kill you right now, like I really, really want to, and I give you precisely five seconds to give me that tablet and tell me the combination?”

Kahmunrah’s newfound army entered the room at that moment, interrupting the two arguing men. In Al Capone’s hand was a little Einstein bobblehead.

“We already got the combination,” Al Capone exclaimed. “It's pi. –3.14159265.” He flicked the little Einstein, shushing him. “See, Crazy Hair here, he sang. Ho-ho-ho, did he sing! Like a canary.” He held the bobblehead up to Larry like he was showing off a prize.

“I’m sorry, Larry,” the Einstein frowned.

Sensing Larry’s distraction, Kahmunrah jerked the tablet from his arms. He threw the hourglass containing Jed, over his shoulder. “Must be a real bummer for you, Larry, knowing that all of your valiant efforts were, in the end, for naught.” He placed the tablet into his gate, beginning to press in the combination. “What a terrible disappointment you must be to yourself.”

The tablet began to glow, catching the attention of everyone in the room. Kahmunrah smirked as a quiet humming, filled the room.

“Do you hear that humming sound? Do you know what that sound is?” Ivan the Great raised his hand. “It's rhetorical.” He slowly put his hand back down as his fellow soldiers leered at him. “That is the sound of the End.” Kahmunrah began chanting in Egyptian.

As he continued chanting, the gate began to open. It started with the carved sarcophagus coming out of the stone. Then the door turned, revealing the gateway to the underworld. It was bright, and many of the people in the room found themselves shielding their eyes. The Egyptian chanting grew louder as it echoed from the open door.

“Welcome to the new, extended reign of Kahmunrah, Fifth King of Egypt and now the world! Horus, Ra, my warriors, come forth!” Egyptian warriors with bird heads emerged from the gate. “Send Larry Daley and his friends to their doom!” They surrounded Larry, attacking him as commanded.

“Halt,” a voice rang through the room, catching everyone’s attention. “The mighty Octavius has returned! I ride on the back of nature's most fearsome creature! I ride the squirrel! Forward now, my mighty steed!” He urged the squirrel forward, rushing through the feet of the soldier until he stood in front of Kahmunrah. He lifted his sword. “Do you wish to surrender honourably? Or must this end with the spilling of your blood?”

Kahmunrah turned his attention back to Larry. “This… This is your big rescue?”

Another voice rang out, catching everyone’s attention again. “Kahmunrah!”

His face fell when he saw who had interrupted him. He clenched his jaw. “You,” he pointed to a group of his underworld soldiers before gesturing to the people who had just entered, “change of plans. Kill her.”

Y/n stood at the entrance of the room, surrounded by some Egyptian soldiers and the group of New York Exhibits. Amelia Earhart had also arrived with several of the Smithsonian exhibits she and Larry had encountered that day.

Kahmunrah’s underworld soldiers approached the group, their spears aimed at Y/n.

“Stop,” she shouted, and the bird soldiers paused in shock. “I am Y/n, wife of Ahkmenrah, and Kahmunrah is no rightful king.” The birds turned to look at Kahmunrah, and everyone else, although they didn’t understand what was being said, followed their eye line. “He’s a cheat. He killed his brother, the chosen heir to the throne, just before he was to become Pharaoh. My husband, the rightful king, and my child, the future heir, are dead because of him. He is a traitor to Egypt. I ask you now, will you follow me—the once future queen of Egypt—or will you follow the traitor.”

The soldiers looked between the two Egyptian rulers. What she said had truth to it. Kahmunrah, although claiming to be the king of Egypt, had no Egyptian soldiers following him. Y/n had several Egyptian followers. After a minute of deliberation, they all came to the same conclusion. They turned their weapons to Kahmunrah.

Y/n smirked as Kahmunrah’s face morphed into fear. Larry slowly exited the circle that surrounded him and joined his friends.

Y/n stepped forward until she was face to face with Kahmunrah. “You should have known we’d never leave the tablet alone.”

“I was foolishly optimistic.”

Y/n turned to the underworld soldiers. “Your rest should never have been interrupted. Thank you for your service to the crown. You may return to the afterworld, but take this traitor with you.”

“You can’t do this, Y/n,” Kahmunrah snarled as he felt the soldiers grip his arm and pull him towards the gate. “I am a king.”

“You are a traitor, and you’ll find that although Egypt’s soldiers will never harm royalty, traitors are free game.” Y/n watched as the soldiers began dragging him to the gate and disappearing into the underworld. “They’ll do as they’re told.”

When the gate door finally closed, she grabbed the tablet and tucked it under her arm. She turned to the men that had been following Kahmunrah. In perfect English, she said, “Kahmunrah was a traitor to his own people. I suggest next time you chose a leader with more wisdom.” She smiled. “Now, I hope you will all return to whence you came in an orderly manner. I would hate to disturb the underworld a second time; they might be angry.”

The men looked at each other before quickly leaving the room.

The room was silent. Y/n looked around the room, accessing the damage her brother-by-marriage had done to the beautiful space.

Larry was in shock. He was glad she had shown up, but he had no idea who she was or what she wanted. For all he knew, she could be worse than Kahmunrah. He had heard Ahkmenrah’s name come up in the conversation between the Egyptians, but he had no idea what the context was.

The Egyptian soldiers that stood in front of the New York group went to the woman as she called them. Larry took the opportunity to talk with his friends without possibly causing them more harm by disrespecting any of the Egyptians.

“What just happened?” His eyes stayed focused on the group across the way as the woman gave them instructions, pointing to different places in the room.

“That there is Queen Y/n,” Amelia stated. “Quite the powerful lady, I’m not sure we’d have won this without her.”

“Why’d she help us?” Jedediah asked as he climbed out of the hourglass.

Y/n finished instructing her soldiers and made her way towards the group.

“She’s Ahkmenrah’s wife,” Sacagewea whispered.

Several of the exhibits bowed their head when Y/n came to stand in front of them.

“There’s no need for that,” Y/n dismissed. She smiled as she turned her attention to Larry. “Thank you for trying to keep this safe.” She gestures to the tablet in her arms.

“It was no problem, your highness.”

“Please, my name is Y/n.” Larry smiled an apology. “I must ask, though, it seems as if you have experience with the tablet. How have you come to possess it?”

Larry shrugged. “I’ve never really possessed it. It belongs to Ahkmenrah; I’ve just been trying to help protect it.”

Y/n’s eyes widened. “Ahkmenrah?” She quickly scanned the crowd. “Is he here?”

“He’s in New York,” Jedediah said.

“I see,” Y/n said, her face falling slightly. “Then we must go there immediately.”

Larry frowned. It would be costly enough to pay for all the exhibits to return to New York. He didn’t know how much it would cost to add a mummy onto it. He thought back to his journey through the museum. He hadn’t spotted her all night. In fact, all the Egyptian exhibits that he had encountered were in the basement. Perhaps, the Smithsonian wouldn’t notice if a single mummy went missing.

They’d have to move quickly; the sun would be coming up in just a few hours. In less than ten minutes, Larry had guided all the exhibits into a plane, and they were headed back to New York.

Previous Part |

#sj writes #under the moonlight #Ahkmenrah #ahkmenrah x reader #Night at the Museum #Night at the Museum: the Battle of the Smithsonian #Rami Malek #x reader #Disney #part 3

246 notes · View notes

mansions-maiden · 4 years ago

Text

ikemen vampire as spy agents

Just imagined this scenario! I don’t know why, but I think it looks cool seeing our suitors with all the high tech gadgets of spies and in action. So, here I am, writing another crazy thing that sat in my mind for almost 2 days :D

COMTE:

He would be Case officer aka the head of the spy agency.

The entire spy agency’s agents and operations would be under his control.

cryptonym: gold eagle

Sebastian:

he would be the loyal right hand man of comte and would have entire information about each and every agent and the operations going on in the agency.

He would be the agent of influence- using his position to cover up the works of spy agency by managing other sorts of business as a façade.

Arthur:

With his wicked detective intellect, he would be a great asset to the spy organization.

He would be working as a dangle- an agent who pretends to forsake his own agency and get recruited in other(usually enemy) agency.

But he would provide the information about the enemy agency to his original agency and thus act as double agent.

And with his sharp detective skills, it would be a piece of cake for him to sniff out the classified information from the enemies and send it to his HQ.

Shakespeare

He would be a cobbler-a specialist who creates false passports, visa, diplomas and other documents.

Whatever the mission maybe, international or national. If you require a fake identity document, it’s immediately ready with Shakespeare present in spy agency

Napoleon and Jean:

Where’s the fun in spy missions without some fights? ;).

Napoleon and Jean, being actual emperor and a soldier, would make a perfect duo of combat trainers.

From self defense to some most complicated kicks and punches, They are ready to train their sub ordinates and help in achievement and running the operations smoothly.

Mozart:

mozart would be a musician- a clandestine radio operator.

The communications between the agents and other members of the spy agency are all available to him.

As he likes to be left alone for most of the time, this job would be perfect for him. And being an actual musician, his listening skills would be a great use to this job.

Dazai:

Dazai would act as a decoy- who would distract the enemy’s attention

Whenever a secret undercover operation is going on, he would act as a bait and make the enemies shift their focus from the mission.

he would also crack jokes sometimes so that the enemies get distracted and have a heartful laugh. haha

Isaac:

Isaac would be part of Techint (technical Intelligence).

His amazing ability in understanding physics and it’s laws would make him famous and earn him reputation within agency.

He would invent hi-tech gadgets and weapons that would be useful to the agency and it’s missions

Leonardo:

this man is a polymath. So learning cipher is just another fun thing to him.

He would be a cryptologist and a hacker- he would decipher the cryptic messages the agency receives and also hack into the computers, no matter how tough it’s security algorithm is.

and he can also sleep while there’s no work without any worries :P.

Vincent:

Who would believe that such a pure human(or vampire) would be working for a spy agency?

Well, surprise! The innocent face would be of great use to him.

He would be a raven- he would lure the targets right into his trap and coax them into spilling the dirtiest and darkest secrets of them, without harming a soul.

And there would not be even an ounce of suspicion that he is from a spy agency.

Theo:

He would be either be a sniper or a gunman.

I know.. but I really like the idea of Theodorus holding a gun and ready to shoot. He would look really cool in a sniper’s dress code.

If the enemy targets the agents of comte’s agency, they’d better be prepared to come in direct contact with his shooting.

He would hunt down the target spot on from miles away.

#ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikevamp comte #ikevamp vincent #ikevamp theo #ikevampdazai #ikemenarthur #ikemen vampire arthur #ikemen vampire sebastian #ikemen vampire leo #ikemen vampire hc #ikemen vampire napoleon #ikemen sebastian #ikemen #ikemen vampire mozart #ikemen vampire isaac #ikemen vampire shakespeare

104 notes · View notes

crumblestew · 4 years ago

Text

Okay IDV tumblr let’s discuss...

HELEMARTHA

aka: Helena Adams x Martha Behamfil

This is singlehandedly my favourite idv ship, and the only one I actively think about at any point in time. And I have a few reasons for this!

First of all, I need to put it out there that I have my own very personal interpretation of Helena (I imagine her almost like Crowley from Good Omens in the way she speaks but not quite) regarding her deductions, which I will do a rundown of now to make things more clear.

“Uncontrollable: To become an unprecedented hero, you have to take on many roles which you will only perform once. Father's diary 3: Helena has good ears. I don't know why she would say that.”

“Seize the Moment: Weakness can also be turned into a weapon. I will turn you into a miracle, Helena. A miracle that will never again be replicated.”

1. This has often been interpreted as Helena’s tutor making Helena out to be deaf as well as blind, to create a spectacle of the blind deaf girl who can still navigate using her cane. This would also make sense given her real life inspiration, Helen Keller, was both deaf and blind. I agree with this analysis of it, including her father’s confusion evidenced by the deduction, and this ties directly into the next segment.

2. Helena was intended to be a ‘miracle’, and this deduction always sends a shiver down my spine just thinking about it. My headcanon from this, is that Sullivan became obsessed with the idea of this ‘miracle child’ she was tutoring, and quickly began to sell her to her own father as that. So enamoured by what she’d been made into, he stopped seeing her as her own person, and rather as a miracle. As the deduction states, one that can never again be replicated. This became a constantly draining pressure on Helena to be utterly perfect for the public, one she could not stand as she desperately worked towards a college education. This rightfully created a resentment towards her father and Sullivan, and I headcanon that she left for the manor without telling either of them personally, rather just leaving a note.

This leads us to...

Helena’s arrival at the manor!

When Helena arrives at the manor, the first person she meets is Freddy and they both instantly get off on the wrong foot. Every resident expects her to be soft spoken and quiet, but she is loud, angry, and incredibly assertive. Especially for the time period. This is something I have both deduced from her implied anger issues in another of her deductions (her father mentions her getting irritable and breaking toys), and from her belittling in my own backstory I explained further up. She despises Freddy because she thinks he is incredibly up himself just because he was the first decoder to arrive, and that that’s stupid of him. He in turn, disrespects her over her age, gender and disability, which is all heavily unappreciated by Helena for good reason. However, I am going off on a tangent and should probably get back to my point. If this does well I may do a full Helena headcanons explained one day.

Getting to the goddamn point: Martha

Helena dislikes a majority of her fellow residents of the manor at first, particularly Martha. Martha, the straight laced military girl who expects orders and rules to be followed drives Helena absolutely batshit! Their first match together, Helena gets to infuriated by constant instruction, not liking how Martha has just assigned herself team leader, and angrily turns off her headset so she doesn’t have to listen. Unfortunately, all this means is she can’t communicate with the team and she throws the match. She quickly becomes dreaded by the survivors, nobody wants the grump who hates teamwork and will throw a match based on who’s on her team. In her head, Helena has created a one sided rivalry between herself and Martha, which she holds up in every action of every day. Soon Martha begins to start playing along unintentionally and they have this constant back and forth rivalry between “furious ball of trauma repressed by anger” and “military captain who doesn’t want anyones bs”, much to the amusement and ire of the rest of the survivors. Helena is continuously determined to prove she is as good, if not better at Martha’s job, whilst Martha is tired out by what she simply sees as stupidity.

Here’s where the problems start

Helena just keeps getting more and more reckless, detention rescues, basement at 5 ciphers, actively taunting the Hunter, and eventually it all culminates in one match where everything goes wrong. Helena had, as usual, been giving it way more than she needs to, and Mary was well and truly sick of her cheek. She grabbed her cane and whacked her as hard as she could, sending her flying into a wall and knocking her out entirely. Martha has to carry her out of the gate and she is immediately admitted into the medical ward. After this, a form of mutual respect is established between the two that eases the tension whilst still keeping their dynamic.

Eventually

They begin to actually get closer and one night Helena “borrows” a bottle of Dovlin and Martha decides to join her, after all it sounds fun and she doesn’t have to be totally uptight all the time! Helena begins on a drunken rant about how annoying Martha is as it slowly develops more and more into complimenting her (think along the lines of “you’re annoyingly good at ____”) and it eventually develops into a confession Helena didn’t even know was coming. They wake up the next day curled up into each other on top of Helena’s bed and come to terms with how they feel about the other. Everyone is utterly relieved when they finally get together, Tracy, Naib and Luca in particular saw it coming.

Dynamic!

My main love for this ship comes from the dynamic. I hate how babied Helena is by the fandom, and I believe Martha would come to respect her in her own right as a worthy soldier. She would treat Helena as a normal human, which would at first annoy Helena but would also totally relieve her. She doesn’t have to be a miracle anymore, she just has to be herself for Martha. Because herself is enough.

Wow this was long. Helemartha fans pls interact!

#helena adams #martha behamfil #Helena x martha #helemartha #helenamartha #Martha x helena #identity v #idv #idv minds eye #idv coordinator #character essay #I have a lot of thoughts okay #and now you all get to deal with them #Christ this post is stupidly long but I get passionate about things I like

28 notes · View notes

raccoonskoodilypoopdungeon · 5 years ago

Text

hypothesis: the reason why so many cities in yugioh are privately owned is cuz kaiba bought domino city and every other company was like "we can do that"

kaiba corp owns domino and neo domino city, heartland inc owns heartland city, leo corp owns maiami city, sol tech owns den city, and goha corp owns goha city

while basic necessities are met in these cities, they're monopolised by one company. and this late capitalist city model is ultimately what leads to the main conflict in every series after gx

5ds: the class divide is a natural result of ranking students based on dueling ability and having their housing reflect on that. with the "osiris" class living the satellite and doing waste management and energy production. they don't even have access to cards aside from the ones people throw away, deliberatly showing how much class is based on dueling.

zexal: the highly sanitised nature of heartland city is then the natural progression from that. when yusei ultimately "destroyed" this class divide, cities needed a new way to generate energy and deal with waste. this led them to exploit aliens (yes real aliens not foreigners, yugioh is weird) by opening dimensional gates and forcing them to deal with that problem. this technology was, of course, invented by kaiba in a deranged attempt to duel aliens.

arc v: aka the civil war behind a denny's. the civil war that results from the different summoning methods is also a result of kaiba being an unhinged billionaire. with his hologram technology being perfect to the point where they can damage the real world known as solid light. seeing how wars in yugioh went from actual weapons to card games because kaiba corp has a literal monopoly on weapons apparently, it's only natural that someone would figure this thing out. we even see the results of it with characters coming from war torn areas rampaged about by vehicroids and ancient gear soldiers.

vrains: with the kaiba inventing virtual dueling, someone had managed to perfect it by creating the vrains, a virtual reality that is exactly like the real world except the buildings and stuff can be destroyed. the fact that the vr is so real that speed dueling is dangerous to the brain is a massive step from kaiba's initial vr tech that was improved by zexal's time. and kaiba made this one feature of vr dueling: the system tracks your cards used and how you duel. and this exactly the dystopian nightmare the characters in vrains face. all because kaiba wanted to duel some egyptian twink.

sevens: not much is shown in sevens so far but from what i can see, it's basically a big brother is watching situation but with card games. this is an explicit violation of human rights except kaiba basically got to do whatever he wanted, so i think at this point goha corp was like... fuck it.

tldr; paradox should've tried to kill kaiba, not pegasus

#yugioh #the ramblings of the sleep deprived #gx #5ds #zexal #arc v #vrains #sevens #kaiba

56 notes · View notes

aspoonofsugar · 6 years ago

Text

Yosano: The Decay of the Angel of Death

Yosano is introduced as a funny twist of the classical healer character:

Her power lets her cure others, but in order for it to work she needs to almost kill her patients and she exhibits sadistic tendencies (played for fun) while doing so.

However, once her past is revealed it becomes obvious that she is really a deconstruction of such a character and her story is extremely interesting because of that and because of the themes it explores.

This meta will try to analyze these things and will explore two major themes linked to the doctor of the Detective Agency.

THE ANGEL OF DEATH: THE STRONG LINK BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH

“After all to die isn’t the opposite of living. It’s merely a component of the process of life.”

In a sense Yosano is a character created to explore exactly what Dazai says here aka the link between life and death.

This is made clear since her battle against Kaji:

Kaji is a researcher who wants to investigate the world and to find answers to his questions. To be more specific he is interested in concepts like death, faith and God. In short, he is interested in things which are usually considered out of the scientific domain. Here, however, he makes a mistake in the way he approaches his subject of interest. As a matter of fact he wants to know what “death” is, but one can’t understand death without considering life. Kaji fails to discover the truth and sees death as mysterious and complicated simply because he refuses to aknowledge the importance of life. If one does, one can easily see that death is connected to life.

However, the definition proposed by Yosano is different from the one given by Dazai because it is one which gives much more importance to life rather than death. After all, according to her, death is not something which exists by itself, but simply the lack of something else.

This is because Yosano is a person who strongly loves life:

The reason why she followed Mori and became a war medic was not because she wanted her country to win the war, but because she wanted to save lives.

This is shown also by her ability which is said many times to be extremely rare among ability users. Why is that so?

The story has made clear that abilities are linked to people’s interiority. They are often representative of violent tendencies or complexes. Alternatively they are weapons who can be used against others. In short, they are indicative of one’s coping mechanisms. However, Yosano’s ability is different because it simply expresses a strong love for the act of living which is not very common among ability users.

This can be used to compare her to Mori in two ways.

1) First of all, Mori is a doctor like Yosano, but the way his ability reflects this is completely different from hers:

It has been shown that Elise can act as a nurse and an assistant to Mori, but she hasn’t any healing powers.

In other words, when it comes to healing, Elise is nothing special despite Mori being a doctor himself. This is interesting when one considers that Mori created Elise’s current personality, so that it resembles Yosano’s. This can be easily seen as Mori wishing that his powers were like Yosano’s.

However, it is obvious why they are not:

Mori doesn’t value individual lives, but thinks about “life” in an abstract way and talks about a regiment of “immortal beings” rather than patients he can help. This is why his ability could never become like Yosano’s. It is because deep down Mori doesn’t like life:

Dazai: “Who is this person I remind you of?”

Mori: “Me. Dazai-kun, why do you wish to die?”

Dazai: “Let me ask you, then. Do you really think there is any value in the act of living?”

2) Secondly, it is worth considering that, despite not having healing powers, Elise shows superhuman abilities when fighting. What is more, her preferred weapons are medical tools:

In short, her nurse motif is something that comes up while she fights and so while she hurts others.

This is something which is true for Mori as well:

Fukuzawa has commented about the immorality of a doctor who uses a scalpel to kill a person. This becomes even more evident if we remember that a scalpel is what Mori used to kill the former mafia boss who was his patient at the time.

So, Mori is a character who chose a profession which should save people’s lives, but he is strongly linked to death instead:

The same is true for Yosano as well:

However, she is so in a completely different way than Mori is.

As a matter of fact Mori uses medical tools to kill, while Yosano uses weapons to cure:

In both cases there seems to be a contradiction between their roles as doctors and the violence they use. However, Mori’s violence is born by his indifference towards life, while Yosano’s by her love for it. This is symbolized by Mori using things which should save people’s lives to kill them and by Yosano using things which should kill people to cure them.

This will be elaborated later on, but for now it is important to highlight that Yosano’s experiences in the war made her realize something important aka what she herself told Kaji about life and death being connected. This means not only that one can’t really understand death without considering life, but also that one can’t really understand life without considering death.

If Kaji doesn’t care enough about life when he meets Yosano and this is why he can’t understand what death is, then Yosano’s mistake as a child is the exact opposite. She only thought about life in simple terms without worrying about its link to death. However, as the war progresses she starts thinking more and more about this:

Until she realizes how much the two concepts are connected:

She is initially said to be an angel because of her being able to save lives, but later it becomes clear that her powers are simply making the deaths of the soldiers longer and more painful other than impossible to avoid.

THE DECAY OF AN ANGEL: “YOU ARE TOO CORRECT”

Another important realization Yosano has is this:

Because of her ability, the army she was a part of lost its right to “lose”.

As Yosano states, the right to lose is something humans have, so taking it away from the soldiers is something which dehumanizes them. Yosano blames herself for it, but she is actually the greatest victim of this dehumanization.

As a matter of fact Yosano is a character who is reduced by others to her ability.

This is not something new for ability users since we have seen this happening over and over. However, Yosano’s case is interesting because her objectification is something which is subtle and is not initially presented as negative:

Both Tachihara’s brother and the other soldiers praise Yosano for her ability and call it a very useful and positive power. After all, as stated above, the power of healing wounds is very different from other kinds of powers which are dangerous and could hurt others. Yosano’s ability is useful and it is perfect to help people. What is more, she herself has a strong wish to share it with others.

In other words Yosano’s situation seems ideal. She is a talented child with a powerful and wonderful gift and has the talent and willingness to use it for the greater good.

However, when things go wrong she is the one blamed for it:

It doesn’t matter that Yosano was motivated by the best intentions when she joined the army or that she is suffering just like everyone else. What matters to the other soldiers is that she is the reason why they are forced to keep fighting and she is also considered special enough not to be forced to fight. Her ability is so great that it can control the battlefield and so Yosano’s life is considered more important than theirs. Because of this, they stop seeing her as a person and simply see her ability.

In other words, the soldiers might have lost their right to lose, but Yosano has lost her right to be human and has become nothing more than an angel.

An angel is considered an existence above humans, but this also means that they can’t have human weaknesses. Yosano is not seen as a human by the soldiers and so her sorrow is neither considered nor accepted.

This idea is well expressed by Tachihara’s brother:

He initially states that Yosano is “correct” and adds that her ability is so that it increases the correctness of the world. However, as time passes the soldier’s mental health deteriorates and his final message is that Yosano is “too correct”. He writes this before killing himself and so making clear that he prefers death over the life Yosano stubbornly keeps saving.

The choice of the word “correct” is interesting and it can be applied both to Yosano as a person and to her ability.

As a person Yosano can barely be blamed for what happened. After all, she did her best to save lives and had no ulterior motives. If anything, she was a vitcim of Mori’s actions just like all the other soldiers.

However, as stated above, people are not interested in her personhood, but only in her ability.

She is either correct or wrong not because of who she is, but only because her ability is considered a blessing or a curse. When the war starts she is said to be indispensable to win, but once this is proven wrong her death is said to be for the sake of the world, as Jouno puts it.

In short, this part of Yosano’s character is linked to two concepts.

1) People should not be reduced to their abilities.

2) Expectations society has about individuals and why they are cruel.

Both ideas are also linked to Tachihara:

This detail is interesting and it can be read in different ways.

First of all, it is obviously something Tachihara does to unnerve Yosano and to make her understand that he is motivated by revenge. However, it is also related to Tachihara’s personal inferiority complex:

The soldier died lamenting that Yosano was “too correct”, but ironically it seems that Tachihara has very similar feelings when it comes to him. The man is implied to have been outstanding and Tachihara has even been told that it would have been better if he had died instead of his brother.

So, one wonders if the words “you are too correct” are really meant for Yosano in that scene or if they are words Tachihara secretely wishes to tell his brother, but can’t because of his death and his complicated feelings about it.

Finally, it is ironic that a Hunting Dog would say these words to a wanted criminal like Yosano and I think it is symbolic of the whole group’s hypocrisy.

The Hunting Dogs are so obsessed by the idea of justice that they forget to balance it with empathy. All in all, if there are characters in the series who are “too correct” that would be them and not Yosano. They have failed to realized it so far, but it is possible they will have to rethink their ways.

After all, as I briefly mentioned here, they are fighting against a group called the Decay of Angels. It has been said that this group wants to destroy the same society the Hunting Dogs want to protect and they are clearly using people’s ideals and biased concepts of right and wrong to manipulate them and turn them into accomplices of their scheme. All in all, they are the perfect enemies for the Hunting Dogs and the arc is clearly hinting at the fact that the Dogs will have to face their shortcomings (after all the current chapters are called Skyfall).

Yosano’s story perfectly fits this narrative thematically. After all, her past is basically the story of the decay of an angel whose blessings (a healing ability and a good heart) were used against her.

BUTTERFLY WINGS VS ANGEL WINGS

As we saw above, Yosano’s character is linked to two major themes.

1) The link between life and death.

2) The objectification of people which happens in society.

The symbolism of the butterfly can be used to represent both ideas.

On one hand the butterfly is a symbol of both death and resurrection which perfectly fits her ability to the point that You Shall not Die is represented by butterflies.

On the other hand the butterfly is also a symbol linked to Yosano’s status as an angel since she receives her butterfly pin when she is called an angel for the first time and she loses it when she loses her status as one and becomes an angel of death instead. Moreover, the chapters which talk about her past are called Dreaming of Buterflies, while the ones where she meets Tachihara are called The Sorrow of Those without Wings. So the story makes clear that the butterflies symbolize both an ideal and perfect reality which got lost when Yosano lost her innocence and her status as an existence above others.

I will now try to offer a conclusion to both these topics which have been explored in the two previous sections.

1) I have written previously that Dazai and Yosano’s definitions of life and death are different, but I think I should slightly correct this stance.

I think it is better to say that both arrive to the same conclusion, but they do so through almost opposite journeys because their starting points are completely different.

On one hand Dazai is a person who can’t find any value in the act of living. This is why he wants to die painlessly. However, throughout the events of Fifteen, he comes up with the idea that by experiencing death closely he might be able to understand life better and to find some kind of meaning. Even later on, when he chooses to protect the weak, he is inspired to do so because of the death of a close friend. In short, Dazai’s journey to give meaning to his own life seems to be paradoxically linked to death:

“People live to save themselves. You will understand that at the moment of your own death”.

On the other hand Yosano is a person in love with life, but she has to accept even its more painful parts. She has to accept that things are not black and white and that death can’t be avoided. Let’s also highlight that Yosano too loses a person dear to her because of Mori and that she is utterly crushed by it.

The result of Yosano’s journey sheds some light on the true nature of her ability:

Let’s underline that her backstory doesn’t put much emphasis on the fact that her patients need to be half-dead to be cured by her. This could simply be because it is something which is implied, but I would not be surprised if it were a condition which developed as a result of Yosano’s trauma:

If Yosano sees her ability as something which cheapens life, then it makes sense for her to use it only when a person is almost dead because it would mean that there is really no other chance to save them.

Ranpo even suggested her to stop using her ability altogether:

And let’s not forget that Fukuzawa’s ability lets the members of the agency gain more control over their powers. Moreover, this control is not something they develop consciously, but it is the result of Fukuzawa giving them what they need. In short, It is some kind of unconscious security net. We have seen that Kyouka was given independency and Atsushi more control. It would be interesting if Yosano were given a condition which would limit the use of her powers to when the situation is desperate.

This is just a headcanon, but even if her powers have always been the way they are now, there is no doubt that her sadistic behaviour is an aspect which has been highlighted much more in the series compared to when she was a child.

This could very well be Yosano’s attempt to make her comrades care for their life:

The risk of having an ability which lets you come back from death’s door is to become reckless and to stop treasuring your own life. This might be especially true for the members of the agency many of whom have self-sacrificial tendencies. However, the fear of being healed by Yosano makes so that they have to try their best to preserve themselves.

2) Yosano has been given her butterfly pin twice:

The first time, Tachihara’s brother calls her an angel and tells her her ability is much better than his despite how much enchanted she is by the butterfly flying elegantly:

The second time, Ranpo tells her that her ability is nothing special when compared to his and adds this:

In other words, Ranpo treats her like a person. He doesn’t care about Yosano’s ability, but about Yosano herself.

Once Ranpo gives her the pin she stops being an angel and becomes a person and the pin becomes the symbol of her humanity and of her grief which, like Ranpo said, has value.

All in all, abilities don’t matter.

-Yosano was just as amazed by the soldier’s ability to make beautiful things out of metal as he was by her healing powers.

-Tachihara’s control of metal is said to be stronger than his brother’s, but he still feels inferior to him and misses him.

-Finally Ranpo can be amazing even without an ability.

These are the messages conveyed by Yosano’s character so far and I can’t wait to see how her story will end. She was able to find a safe place with the agency, but she has now been asked to face her past and some unresolved issues have come back.

For example, despite how much she cares about life, it is obvious that she considers her own expendable to an extent:

And she still hates others sacrificing for her sake because she dislikes being considered special:

We will see how these issues will be solved.

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd meta #bungou stray dogs meta #yosano akiko #akiko yosano #yosano bsd

313 notes · View notes

hitandrunduorp-a · 5 years ago

Text

Voltron AU AKA Damn u Kota and Cazza AU xPPP

(note theses are personal thoughts on how things might change a touch if they were placed into the storyline)

Matt;

Matt is a galra, specifically a member of the Blades of Marmora. He wasn’t always though; He was an orphan on a slightly remote planet, been adopted by a couple of non Galra’s. When the main force came though and found him, they immediately killed his parents and dragged him off to be a soldier, but he would end up killing a dozen guards before he was captured. Rather than being killed though, he was placed into the gladiator’s arena.

It was there did he first see Shiro, someone who’s fighting strength earned his respect... but it wasn’t just that. He could tell the other was a survivor, and though the moments were few and far between, the galra did what he could to show some sort of kindness to the interesting being, and even helped when Ulaz broke Shiro out, and is also how he ended up joining the Blades of Marmora.

Mattie;

He’s a small Altean boy who was placed by Allura’s side a bit before the war began. Small and meek, it seems he’s nothing more than her servant...of course, that’s what makes him the perfect guard. Skilled in knives specifically, he is a skilled fighter; fast, agile, and when needed, ruthless. Despite being a guard, he’s long since become good friends with the Princess, and is generally a sweetheart to anyone he meets. Just...don’t get on his bad side. While Allura has never seen it, he’s earned a reputation long ago for his anger, especially seeing as he’s not one to get to that point very often. In the end though, he is far kinder and more compassionate than most...and for some reason, this causes small fights with the princess, though no one knows why...not even Coran.

His weapon is...interesting. A mix of Altean, Olkarion, and other species technology, he wears what look to be beautiful, ornamental bracers with gems carefully placed within. This, is his weapon. Using a mix of his powers, much like Allura does for the castle, he can summon various small things, from shields, small daggers, throwing knives, and what amounts to essentially a wrist mounted crossbow. Of course, this takes a toll on Mattie, and if he gets too tired he won’t be able to create the weapons, and even the range of his shots are limited as well.

#off the clock #ooc #v; voltron #OTZ #damn u kota and cazza #how dare u do this to meh #xD #jkjk ily both

3 notes · View notes

marvels-agents100 · 5 years ago

Text

waltz (part 3)

pairing: bucky x fem ! reader

word count: 5709

trigger warnings: none

author’s note: so, it’s obvious the plot isn’t my own, and this part is very movie heavy (aka not much insert of the reader), but i promise it’ll get better as i’m able to add extra scenes! thank you for reading anyways!

It wasn't a shock to you when a full police escort guided the armored vehicles to Berlin. The Joint Counter Terrorist Centre didn't take any chances with security, not only securing everyone within protected vehicles, but having a long trail of police cars on each end of the transport. You knew it was completely overdramatic, but you knew who Bucky was now. Of course, most only saw him for what he was for the past seventy years, not who he had become since the fall of HYDRA.

You sat next to Sam, Steve on his other side and the man who you now knew as T'Challa in front of you. You kept your gaze out the window, trying to ignore the pain in your side while actively avoiding any confrontation with Steve. At that point, you weren't sure how he would ever forgive you for hiding Bucky, and you were even more unsure of wether you deserved his forgiveness. If the worry you felt in that moment for Bucky was only a fraction of what he felt all those years searching, then you couldn't even imagine the pain he had been going through. You knew that if you were in his position, you wouldn't forgive yourself.

"So you like cats?" Sam broke the silence.

"Sam." Steve scolded.

"What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat, you don't wanna know more?" There was a slight bitterness to his words- he was clearly holding a grudge.

There was a pause before Steve spoke.

"Your suit, it's vibranium?

"The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations," T'Challa spoke, "A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior. And now, because your friend murdered my father," your eyes snapped to him at his words, "I also wear the mantle of king. So I ask you, as both warrior and king, how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?"

His voice held a venom that made your blood boil. You were half tempted to scream at him, shouting that Bucky was with you, in Bucharest, the entire time. You wanted to take T'Challa by the shoulders and prove to him how wrong he was, a complete disregard of his feelings in your actions.

But, you didn't. And you wouldn't. Because at the end of the day, T'Challa acted in a way you could imagine yourself reacting to the situation as he saw it. This man had lost his father, watched him die when it was not yet his time. Not only did he have the weight of a new loss on his shoulders, but he also had to walk into a role where he protected a whole group of people, how large you weren't sure, but you assumed that responsibility didn't come without stress.

Your heart broke for T'Challa, not being able to imagine the pain he had suffered in such a short period of time. In fact, all of the people that surrounded you- Avenger or not- suffered from pain in their own way, and while it is so much easier to act upon pain, you have to be able to step back and provide understanding for rash decisions and impulsive action.

Trauma is one hell of a drug.

Maybe that's why you hid Bucky away without second thought. You had to give him room to feel his pain, so he didn't act out as a result of unprocessed trauma. You only hoped that Steve could see that as well, eventually.

The Joint Counter Terrorist Centre was a modern yet industrial building. In closest comparison, you would say it looked like a Stark-made building, but everyone had been following in Tony's design standards for years, so that wasn't anything new. You exited the van you were transported in behind Steve, your eyes immediately catching the glass cage Bucky was being moved in. It looked like a tank, like he was a caged animal, a spectacle to see. It made you cringe visibly, your lips pulling into a grimace. Steve followed your line of sight, his eyes softening for the first time since he hopped into the passenger side of the car you stole on that Romanian highway, his Captain exterior crumbling instantly when he saw his oldest friend.

Bucky seemed calm. Pissed, hurt, and overall unhappy, but calm. He kept his eyes on the ground in front of him, trying to avoid any eye contact with either you or Steve. He had learned how to keep his emotions in check through training as a soldier, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to keep it together if he saw either of you. The game completely changed when it came to the people he cared for.

You- in some way that even he couldn't explain- had been able to break down Bucky's walls and see the person he hid underneath. He had allowed himself to be fully expressed around you, wether it was a full, beaming smile while he laughed, or the way he let himself feel refreshed as the voice of Billy Eckstine filled your apartment, or when he would try to apologize to you a thousand times in a single glance while also fighting off GSG 9 units. It was the small things, the micro expressions and whispered confessions that his former self, his darker self, would've forbidden. Somehow, someway, he had no problem exposing those hidden parts of himself to you. So, he kept his eyes forward, refusing to give his captors any inkling of what was going on inside his head. He was so tired of people picking his brain; he'd had enough of that for a lifetime.

You ripped your gaze away from Bucky, following Steve as he approached the five people waiting for the five of you to arrive. You recognized the three men standing in the background as soldiers, there for protection. To the left was a small-framed blonde woman you knew as Sharron Carter- someone you had grown to know when SHEILD initially collapsed. Apparently, she had been reassigned here with her job in the CIA while you were hunting for a former assassin. The man standing next to her, although short in stature, held a confidence and slightly threatening nature to him, and you immediately knew that he was in charge in this facility.

"What's going to happen to him?" Steve asked flatly as you reached them.

"Same thing that ought to happen to you. Psychological evaluation and extradition." The man spoke, no fear or wavering in his voice.

"This is Everett Ross, Deputy Task Force Commander." Sharron introduced. Your eyebrow raised at him, a sneaking feeling in your gut making you believe that you shouldn't trust him. It wasn't something you could explain, but the way your stomach dropped when he began talking was a clear indication from your intuition that he wasn't on your side.

"What about a lawyer?" Steve asked, to which you had to hold back your scoff. It was a bold question, seeing as to how many laws were broken within the past day. Lawyers were completely out of the question at that point.

"Lawyer. That's funny." Everett spoke with a sarcastic grin. "See to it their weapons are placed in lockup." He spoke to Sharron without looking at her. "We'll write you a receipt."

"I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that." Sam threatened.

"Yeah, handle carefully, mine's borrowed property." You chimed in, "Also, you might not know me, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), former SHEILD agent," Everett looked straight at you as you introduced yourself, a sarcastic and slightly venomous air to your words, "if it wouldn't, you know, be too much of a bother, I am in a significant amount of pain, having fought alongside what was mostly super soldiers only hours ago, and would like to see any kind of medical professional before I bleed out internally, thanks." You smile sweetly, almost enjoying the way Everett's eyes narrowed at you. Sharron fought a smirk, finding herself missing the way you always fought for the best treatment of you and everybody else, no matter what the consequence was. It was a trait you shared with Steve, and it definitely made the bond between the Captain and yourself stronger.

"Can we get someone upstairs, to look her over while they meet." Everett spoke to one of the soldiers, who relayed the message into their walkie-talkies. He looked back to you with a slightly annoyed look, then turned and began walking towards the elevator, you, Steve, Sam, and T'Challa in tow. Steve glanced over his shoulder at Bucky, and you followed his line of sight to see Bucky was looking back, his eyes flickering to you. It was only a second, but his once emotionless face looked so helpless, his eyes turning sad and his lips curving downwards. It made you take in a deep breath, giving him a small nod and the best reassuring smile you could manage. He returned the gesture before leaning his head back, a large, steel door closing in front of him.

It was always those small, unspoken looks that made you see Bucky as he truly was. He wasn't incredibly flashy in his personality, not in the way Steve said he was back in Brooklyn. He was reserved and quiet, but opened up as you grew to know him. Most of his communication was done through small smiles, emotion filled glances, or the occasional soft touch. It took someone with perception to see into the mind of Bucky Barnes, and you were the perfect person to do the job. There was so much pressure on him to be better, to be a normal person, that it was almost suffocating. He felt only a fraction of normalcy in Romania, something he didn't know if he'd ever get back. But you, your way of knowing what he felt before he even knew what he was feeling- it was something that shocked him every day. When he was with you, there was no pressure to be the person someone had assumed he would be. People always thought they knew who he was before meeting him- wether they expect someone cold and murderous, or even if they expect their long-lost best friend, full of wit and charm.

It was a fact that ate at his heart, especially now that he sat within the mess that he had created. His existence had driven Steve Rogers, someone who held high regard in the world he was thrown into, to break numerous laws and risk his life to save Bucky Barnes. And at the end of it all, the person he sought out to save didn't exist anymore. Bucky Barnes now was not the same Bucky Barnes that existed in 1943. He wasn't charming and funny anymore, he could barely remember any inside jokes he shared with his life long friend, and he didn't hold the same confidence. Steve risked everything to save a ghost, and he was terrified of what would happen when the Captain finally realized that.

***

"You 'll be provided with an office instead of a cell." Everett explained while leading your small group down a stark white hallway, "Now, do me a favor, stay in it?"

"I don't intend on going anywhere." T'Challa spoke.

Natasha walked up the opposite end of the hall to meet Steve, a serious look in her eyes.

"For the record, this is what making things worse looks like." She spoke. What exactly had you missed during your time in Bucharest?

"He's alive." Steve ignored her taunting. "That's all I've been searching for." His eyes flickered to you, his voice hard. It sent a wave of guilt over your body, your muscles visibly tensing at his subtle jab. Natahsa looked you up and down with observant eyes, picking up on the tension between you and Steve.

You entered a conference room, screens with security and news footage lining the walls. You had to hold in your happiness when you saw Tony there, resisting the urge to run up and hug one of your closest friends.

"No, Romania was not Accords-sanctioned." He spoke on the phone. Accords? What Accords? "Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup." That made you cringe internally, thinking of the crumbled overpass that Bucky had exploded. You were shuffled to the side of the room by Nat, her seating you in a chair as what looked to be a doctor walked towards you.

"Try not to break anything while we fix this." She told Sam and Steve, not even looking over her shoulder to address them.

Tony turned and glared at Steve, his phone still at his ear. "Consequences, of course there will be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that, because I just said it. Anything else? Thank you sir." And he hung up, stepping towards Sam and Steve. The doctor pressed antiseptic to your shoulder while you looked up at the three men, seated just to Sam's right.

"Consequences?" Steve asked.

"Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted." Tony explained, "Had to give him something."

"Prosecuted? Secretary Ross? I'm sorry, what in the actual hell is going on?" You asked, unable to hold your words any longer. You tried to keep yourself out of the arguments the best you could, but if there was any hope on getting Bucky released, you had to understand why Captain America was now an accomplice to crime as well.

"Well, kid," Tony began, hands finding his pockets as he took another step towards you, "while you were having your vacation in Romania with Private Ryan on Ice, the rest of us had some messes to own up to." His gaze flickered to Steve before he continued, "The Sokovia Accords. After our run-in with Ultron, which I'm sure you know all about, the government realized how we need to be put in check."

"They tried to make us sign a paper so they could dictate wether or not we had a chance to fight." Steve interjected, his arms crossing over his chest. "They get to decide where we go, when we go. Anything out of their permission makes us criminals." His eyes met yours. "What was the word they used? Oh, yeah. Vigilantes." His gaze moved to Tony, an obvious annoyance in his features.

"The amount of innocent lives lost due to our 'Avenging' is what they're trying to control. We were trying to keep our list to New York, Sokovia, DC, and Lagos. I guess now we can add Bucharest, huh?" Tony argued, breaking the staring contest with Steve to look at you. "We were given free reign, and we failed. Now's the time for us to recognize that." Tony didn't give you or Steve any time to comment, turning around and falling in stride with Natahsa.

You looked at the floor, a furrow in your brows. It was a lot to take in, from the Accords to the obvious tear it was creating amongst the Earth's Mightiest Heroes. It made sense, the Accords, but only in a perfect world. Trusting the government with full control over people as powerful as the Avengers was a scenario you couldn't see ending well. Politicians weren't people you put full trust into, no matter who they were. Also, you had a hard time siding with the same government and intelligence agencies who decided that sending a nuclear missile to Manhattan in 2012 was the way to end the fight with the Chitauri. Plus, the infiltration of HYDRA within SHIELD made it hard to trust anyone in positions of power. You understood why Tony signed, and you didn't think it was the wrong decision, but you didn't think it was the right decision either. If it were you with the pen in your hand, you wouldn't sign. And you knew exactly why Steve didn't sign.

Telling that man to walk away from a fight was about as useful as telling a pig to fly.

You thanked the doctor as he finished bandaging your shoulder, taking the painkillers he handed to you for your- thankfully- only bruised ribs. You stood as he walked away, finding your place next to Sam.

"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?" Steve asked.

"Technically, it's the government's property." Nat answered.

"As before mentioned, gun was borrowed and I assume it was treasured, so I'm gonna need you to tell the government to shove it." You told Nat, causing a smirk to inch its way onto her face.

"Sorry, pistol's locked away." Her eyes moved to Sam, "Wings, too."

"That's cold." Sam muttered.

"Warmer than jail." Tony piped in over his shoulder.

***

You sat at a large table in the middle of the room, glass panes surrounding it to form a small conference room. Your hands flipped a pen you had found between them, your knee bouncing as you thoughts mulled over everything you had learned in the past hour. Steve stood looking out the window, his hands in his pockets and eyes fixed to the screen that displayed where Bucky was being kept. You were actively trying to avoid looking at that particular monitor.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Steve." You broke the silence. He kept his back toward you, but his head fell, indicating that he heard you.

"Are you?"

His words felt like a dagger to your heart. He felt beyond betrayed, first with Tony and Nat siding with the government over him, then to find out one of the only people he saw as a true friend, (besides Sam), had been lying to him for months. Not just a small lie, but a lie about the one thing, the one person, that has occupied his mind for years.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way." You said truthfully, "I did what I thought was best for him, and I hope you can see that. If not now, then eventually." He let out a sigh, shoulders slumping. In a way, he knew why you did what you did. But, he couldn't fight his anger and disappointment either. It was truly a problem, it seemed, that only time would heal.

He opened his mouth to say something more, when Tony entered the room, gaining Steve's attention.

"Hey, you wanna see something cool?" Tony asked. "I pulled something from Dad's archives." A thin, rectangular box was held in his hand, black velvet surrounding the outside of it. Steve sat in one on the chairs as Tony strolled closer, "Felt timely." He added.

Tony paused a moment, giving Steve a look with a small sadness in his eyes. "FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941." He placed the box, now open, in front of Steve, two black fountain pens with shiny, gold tips placed delicately inside. "Provided support to the Allies when they needed it most," Tony continued.

"Some would say it brought our country closer to war." Steve replied, his voice taking a certain melancholy tone at the mention of the Second World War. It felt like moments ago, he was battling Nazis in France, but in all reality, his life as a World War 2 soldier ended decades ago.

"See? If not for these, you wouldn't be here." Tony said matter-of-factly, the light insult making you cringe slightly from the other end of the table. "I'm trying to... what do you call it?" Tony sat beside Steve, "That's an olive branch. Is that what you call it?" His hand came up to rest on his chin, his elbow leaning against the table.

"Is Pepper here? I didn't see her." Steve asked, turning away while changing the subject.

"We're kinda.." Tony hesitated, "Well, not kinda-"

"Pregnant?" There was an unmistakable hopefulness to Steve.

"No, definitely not." Tony scoffed, "We're taking a break. It's nobody's fault."

Steve's gaze fell, focusing on the ground. "I'm so sorry, Tony. I didn't know."

"A few years ago, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits." Tony began, "Then, we had to mop up HYDRA, and then Ultron. My fault." He pointed to his chest, "And then, and then, and then, I never stopped. Because, the truth is, I don't wanna stop. I don't wanna lose her. I thought maybe the Accords could split the difference."

Tony leaned back in his chair, a moment's silence falling over the room.

"In her defense, I'm a handful." He added as he stood, hands settling in his pockets. "Yet, Dad was a pain in the ass, but he and mom always made it work."

"You know, I'm glad Howard got married." Steve piped up. "I only knew him when he was young and single."

"Oh really? You two knew each other?" Tony drawled out sarcastically, "He never mentioned that. Maybe only a thousand times. God, I hated you."

You closed your eyes, feeling like you shouldn't be hearing this conversation. The tension was so thick in the air, it felt almost hard to breathe.

Steve looked up at Tony, voice a bit softer, "I don't mean to make things difficult."

"I know, cause you're a very polite person." Tony mused, slipping his suit jacket on.

"If I see a situation pointed South," Steve reasoned, "I can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could."

"No, you don't."

Steve let out a sad chuckle, looking down again, "No, I don't," and his eyes were back to Tony, the faintest grin on his face. "Sometimes-"

"Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth."

Your gaze popped up at Tony's remark, muscles ceasing all movement as you watched them carefully. You were now in defense mode, ready to jump up and break up a fight if needed.

"But I don't wanna see you gone." Tony sighed, "We need you, Cap."

Another silence.

"So far, nothing's happened that can't be undone, if you sign." He gestured to the pens in the velvet box, and edge of desperation in his words. "We can make the last twenty four hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych-center instead of a Wakandan prison."

Your fist clenched around the pen in your hand, nearly snapping it in half. If Tony trying to persuade Steve to sign the Accords didn't get on your nerves already, he spoke about Bucky like was an object to be passed around, not someone who had lived peacefully among other human beings for months in Romania. No one seemed to want to acknowledge that.

Steve picked up one of the pens from the box, standing and walking towards the glass pane opposite Tony, turning the pen over in his hands. He turned to look at Tony, then dropping his gaze.

"I'm not saying it's impossible," Steve began, "but there would have to be safeguards."

"Sure." Tony replied immediately, "Once we put out the PR fire, those documents can be amended. I'd file a motion to have you and Wanda reinstated-"

"Wanda? What about Wanda?" Steve interrupted.

"She's fine. She's confined to the compound, currently. Vision's keeping her company."

Steve's disgust was evident. "Oh, God. Tony." He walked a few paces away, "Everyt- Every time I think you see things the right way-"

"It's 100 acres with a lap pool, it's got a screening room, there's worse ways to protect people."

"Protection?" Steve challenged, one hand finding his hip and the other resting on the back of a chair. "Is that how you see this? This is protection? Its internment, Tony."

"She's not a US citizen." His voice raised.

"Oh, come on, Tony."

"And they don't grant visas to weapons of mass destruction."

"She's a kid!"

"Give me a break!" Tony yelled. "I'm doing what has to be done. To stave off something worse."

Steve nodded, just a small motion that you could've missed if you weren't paying attention.

"You keep telling yourself that."

Steve dropped the fountain pen on the table, "Hate to break up the set." And he left the room.

Tony put on his aviators, his eyes downcast.

"Neither of you are wrong." You said softly, understanding eyes looking to Tony across the table.

"I know, I know." He said dismissively, "That's the worst part."

"When all of this is done, no matter what happens," you stood and walked towards him, "you have to remember why you were all put together in the first place."

Tony stayed silent, his gaze following you. You reached for the pens, delicately putting the one Steve held back in it's place within the velvet box.

"It is so hard to find people to trust in this world," you began, "don't let them go so easily."

He gave you a small nod of acknowledgement, to which you gave a soft smile.

"How'd you get tangled in all of this, kid?" He asked, more to himself than you, "This all isn't going to end without a fight."

Your eyes found the monitor with Bucky on it, your heart swelling at the memory of your times in Bucharest. "You know all of the deep, dark thoughts I told you about?"

"Every one."

"Well," you sighed, tearing your gaze away from Bucky, "I didn't think it was possible, but I found happiness."

Tony's eyes moved to Bucky, a disappointed frown pulling at his lips.

"I hope it isn't temporary." He says sincerely.

Lowering your eyes, you gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before leaving the room, following Steve.

Your sole purpose in this fight wasn't within the Accords, or even in the wellbeing of the Avengers. It was in a single man- James Buchanan Barnes. If agreeing with Steve on the issue of the Accords would help bring Bucky to safety once more, then to hell with the government.

***

You sat by Sam in the conference room once again, Steve taking his place by the glass wall to watch Bucky, Sharron placing a paper in Sam's hand.

"The receipt for your gear." She explained.

"'Bird costume'? Come on," Sam complained.

"I didn't write it." She defended. She looked around, earning a suspicious look from you, before reaching towards a button pad in the middle of the table, clicking the center. The surveillance footage on Bucky came upon the screen within the conference room, the voice of the therapist hired by the centre seeping through the speakers.

"I'm not here to judge you." He spoke with a strong Russian accent.

Steve looked back at Sharron, a small nod being sent his direction. You immediately sat straighter, your blood running cold when you saw Bucky, still confined in the glass tank. You wanted nothing more than to hold his hand and tell him that you would figure everything out, that the normal and happy life he had created wasn't out of reach. You wished you could hold him close while he hummed a song that danced on the edges of his memory, his hand planted firmly on your back and his cheek pressed against yours. All he deserved was warm, soft moments for the rest of his life, and yet he was sitting in a cold, hard cell.

"I just want to ask you a few questions." The therapist continued. "Do you know where you are, James? I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James."

"My name is Bucky."

His voice was so soft, so hurt. You felt everything inside you shatter, a sad sigh leaving your lips. A day ago, he had everything. He was adjusting to life in Bucharest, living day to day with the added bonus of a beautiful girl to share it with. In all honesty, he didn't know what his life in Romania could've looked like with you, but the daydreams he imagined always were heavenly. He would dream about the domestic moments, the moments that are so overlooked in the name of routine, the moments no one ever cherishes because they were never ripped from their grasp. Moments like seeing you smile as he approached the table at the bakery. Watching you rummage through the refrigerator for a quick snack. Watching you work on your laptop, your bottom lip curling between your teeth if you concentrated enough. It was the little moments he would dream about, and they always included you.

Apparently, even that was too much to ask for.

Steve looked to the pictures taken of his friend in Vienna again before setting them back down on the table.

"Why would the Task Force release this photo to begin with?" He asked.

"Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?" Sharron answered.

"Right. It's a good way to flush a guy out of hiding." You didn't miss the way his gaze flickered to you momentarily. "Set off a bomb, get your picture taken. Get seven billion people looking for the Winter Soldier."

"You're saying someone framed him to find him?" Sharron questioned.

"He never left Bucharest." You chimed in. All eyes turned to you, Sharron looking the most surprised.

"What?" She asked.

"I've been with Bucky for a little over two months, in Romania. He hasn't left since he arrived there." You leaned back in your seat, letting out a breath, "I know any court of law won't just take my word for it, but I can promise you that Steve is right. Someone wanted to get him out of hiding, and made sure they did something big enough to get the whole world looking."

"Okay," She began, processing your words, "But, that doesn't guarantee that whoever framed him would get him. It guarantees that we would."

There was a moment, just a moment, where her words hung in the air. Then the realization began to sink in, your stomach dropping as soon as it clicked together in your brain.

"Yeah." Steve agreed, his stare on the therapist in the same room as Bucky.

"Tell me Bucky, you've seen great deal, haven't you?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"You fear that if you open your mouth, the horrors might never stop. Don't worry. We only have to talk about one."

Suddenly, all of the lights in the building turned dark, the small emergency lights barely illuminating the room. You stood quickly, panic filling your veins. Steve turned towards Sharron.

"Sub-level five, East Wing." She said, her voice lightly shaking. You, Sam, and Steve began running, hoping to reach Bucky before it was too late.

***

You turned the corner behind the two boys, noticing the security guard laying unconscious on the floor. The three of you carefully tread forward, the next room reveling several more bodies.

"Help me." A raspy voice called. Steve stood and ran towards it while you knelt by one of the guards, checking for a pulse.

Steve walked towards the 'therapist'. "Get up." He ordered. He yanked the imposter off the ground, slamming him against one of the concrete walls. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"To see an empire fall."

Sam entered the room, you only a couple steps behind him. He immediately dodged down, a metal fist swinging for his head. You jumped back, stumbling over one on the unconscious guards' legs. In an instant, Sam was being thrown across the room, hitting the glass cage and the ground with two loud thuds. You pulled yourself behind a desk, knowing you wouldn’t beat Bucky in a fight on your best day, and watched with horror as Bucky fought Steve, each punch moving him backwards further and further. They reached the elevator, Bucky punching Steve with so much force that it ripped the metal doors away and sent him tumbling down the elevator shaft.

Although you had no chance against the super soldier and highly skilled assassin Bucky was, you ran from your hiding spot, following Bucky as he walked away from the elevator.

"Hey!" You shouted, stopping him in his tracks. He turned slowly, his eyes void of emotion as they looked at you. "Where do you think you're going?" You taunted.

He ran at a full sprint towards you, a yell leaving his throat. You stood your ground, nostrils flaring as you prepared yourself to fight.

He swung with a left hook, making you dodge the metallic fist. Your right foot kicked at the middle of his chest, making him stumble backwards. You took the opportunity to swing your right fist at him, but he was too quick, catching your swing mid air. Eyes widening in fear, you met his gaze. His left hand shot out and wrapped around your throat, backing you against a wall as you clawed at the metal fingers with your own.

"Buc-Bucky." You choked out, his face staying monotone. "Please."

You could feel your lungs begin to burn, your head grow heavy with pressure.

"My.. destiny." Your voice was strained, but you sang the words the best you could. "Is to be... in love... with you."

He blinked, a softness in the blues of his eyes for a fraction of a second before disappearing again.

"Makes.. no difference... what you say, or do."

His hand loosened the slightest bit, your voice coming out stronger as you sang softly to him.

"I must stay... in love... with you."

He began seeing flashes- an apartment with a laptop propped in the corner, playing a song that made him feel warm, content.

"That's my.. destiny."

His head shook, images of the soft sunlight peaking through the curtains flashing in his mind. He could feel your eyelashes on his cheek, he could hear your heart racing.

"It's a thing.. you can't control..."

He let out a pained grunt, dropping you to the floor in a crumpled heap. You coughed, sucking in lungfuls of air. His head twitched side to side, trying to ignore the memories fighting to get through to the forefront of his mind. You looked up at him, standing hesitantly with your hands in front of you.

"I belong to you, both heart and soul," your voice was raspy, but it kept the sweetness that Bucky adored. His eyes trained on you, his breathing heavy. You stepped towards him cautiously.

"With a love beyond control," You kept taking small steps towards him, his eyes never leaving you.

"They say nothing is sure," your hand slowly met his cheek, him flinching slightly at your touch, "even the sea runs dry." Your other hand met his other cheek, encasing his face in your hands.

"They're wrong, one thing is sure," you looked up at him, now less than a foot away from his body, "love like mine can never die."

He blinked, his breathing slowing to a normal pace. His eyes were glued to the wall to the right of your head, nostrils flaring slightly with every inhale.

"Bucky?" You asked softly. His eyes snapped to yours, the icy blue becoming soft, but freezing over just as quick.

His fists clenched at his side, and in a moment he had flung you off of him, your body hitting the wall as he continued on his rampage. The impact sent you to the floor, your side with already bruised ribs throbbing. You tried to breathe through the pain, but between the shock of it all and your hyperventilating, you eventually passed out, the world going black.

TO BE CONTINUED

TAGLIST:

@thewolfgirluniverse

#bucky #bucky x reader #bucky barnes #marvel #civil war #captain america

15 notes · View notes

ghostly-selfships · 5 years ago

Text

The Tracker (Self Insert)

I finally (somewhat) finished the document for my SPOP self-insert, aka the dork I ship with Scorpia!

ABOUT – Elijah, also known as “The Tracker”, is an unknown anthro-canine species from an unknown fallen Etherian kingdom who is currently fighting “for” and against the Horde, due to the discovery of [REDACTED - BACKSTORY TO COME]

APPEARANCE – In his normal state, Elijah stands at 5′8″, sporting chocolate-brown skin, short black hair, brown eyes, along with canine-like features like brown ears atop his head and a tail on his backside to match. In his “transformation” state, he shifts into his anthro-canine form with brown and dark fur covering his body, brown eyes, a black nose with his ears and tail remaining in the same place, standing at 6′2″ . In regards to apparel, Elijah’s clothing consists of a torn long sleeve tee hugging his body that exposes part of his tee that expands when changing into his second state. Paired with black joggers, his outfit is perfect for combat, whether in battle or rushing in or away from a fight.

ABILITIES/SKILLS/HOBBIES

Tracking – As previously mentioned, Elijah’s species are/were known for their incredible sense of hearing and smelling, making them perfect for hunting their enemies. (Elijah has previously snuck out of the Fright Zone to visit the princess of Dryl, Entrapta, after hearing of her contraptions and machines, in hopes of creating a device to help improve his sense of smell, hearing, even sight, on a technological level. One day, this technology collaboration between the two will be revealed.)

Speed – In his transformation state, Elijah is able to reach incredible speed on all fours, giving him opportunities to cross large gaps with no need for a bridge. With this, Elijah can escape soldiers (of either side) with ease. He can even run on walls for a brief amount of time to avoid being caught or to avoid running into a larger group blocking his way.

Singing – Only known to one Horde soldier (who happens to be his love interest, wink wink), Elijah spends his free time singing, whether it’s in the shower or simply walking through the corridors of the Horde base. During combat, he will begin singing to relax and soothe himself, as well as distract his enemies or partners.

Weapons – Elijah isn’t one for melee or blade weapons. Instead, he resorts to what he was gifted with, his claws and in rare occasions, his fangs. He has yet to use them as weapons as he avoids conflicts as much as possible, dodging attacks and being agile.

PERSONALITY – Born with a heart of gold that was shifted by the Horde, only to return to its natural state after learning of the Horde’s doing, Elijah is confident and determined when it comes to starting and finishing his tasks. He’s a jokester, fond of telling jokes or comments to lighten a dire situation. Outside of the Fright Zone, Elijah is more calm and caring, especially when it comes to wildlife, but will not hesitate when there’s a threat nearby. He’s friendly as well, being a good sport towards his Horde combatants. In short, Elijah is a kind spirit ready for anything that comes with way and loves keeping a smile streaked across his face, even when he shouldn’t.

And that’s pretty much it! It’s probably too short, but if you have any questions about him and are curious on his backstory or his interaction/relationship with Scorpia, don’t hesitate to drop an ask!!

#she ra #self insert #the tracker #THIS TOOK LONGER THAN IT SHOULD HAVE #HOLY CRAP

5 notes · View notes

foggynelsonsupportsquad · 6 years ago

Text

Okay, what about an AU where HYDRA wants to make another kick ass super solider so they take the DNA of one Winter Soldier who they already have under their control and combine it with a promising new suspect in the red room who looks like she’ll become and amazing assassin. So they get the DNA, combine it, and start growing it in a lab. Bada bing, bada boom, they have the beginnings of a new super soldier.

It takes years and years to perfect the formula and to create a human being, especially one so powerful in a hidden lab, but they complete their task and plan to have a brand new baby born on December 8, 2001.

Now, secret agents are everywhere. Hydra infiltrated SHEILD right after Peggy Carter left and I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch that there were some SHEILD agents hidden within HYDRA. They take note of the child being created and come up with a plan with their superiors. They’ll kidnap the child and take it over to SHEILD, making it seem like an overload or miscalculation occurred in the lab. HYDRA cannot have this child to turn into a weapon, especially as powerful as it may become under the wrong influence.

SHEILD takes the child from HYDRA, stages the accident, and gets the hell out of there as the place crumbles. HYDRA accepts this as a loss but a few quiet workers keeps looking for clues and keeps on searching for the missing experiment...

SHEILD decides the best they can do is place the child in a normal family with the nicest people they can find and think that the child is their own and go in search of a hospital in New York. Cue Cory and Topanga Matthews walking into the hospital ready to give birth to their first child. Complications have arisen and Topanga is forced away from her husband and into surgery. As time goes on she is knocked out by the drugs given to her during labor and a stillborn daughter is born. Before the nurses and doctors plan to tell the new parents what happens, SHEILD steps in.

SHEILD had been doing background checks on any prospective parents that came into the hospitals. Cory Matthews is a normal middle school history teacher while Topanga Matthews is a great lawyer who works for great cases. They are both exceedingly normal, good people. They are also the only people to arrive and give birth with neither parent in the room awake. With this in mind, SHEILD gives them the baby super soldier, still young and full of possibilities, and gives them to the Matthews. Later that night they name their firstborn daughter Riley and love her the moment they lie eyes on her.

Now, Nick Fury is a smart man. He doesn’t forget about the child but he certainly doesn’t expose her whereabouts to everyone at SHEILD. Te agent who brought her in as a baby was mortally wounded that night and later passed away, leaving only a select few to know of her existence. Fury keeps surveillance on her and her friends, making sure she stays out of trouble and harms way. He gets a little worried when she makes friends with the son of Stuart Minkus, a known billionaire whose done business before with Tony Stark, but finds his worries eased as more time passes on. Everything seems to be going right for little Riley who just so happens to have luckily skipped her father´s hair gene. Until she reaches 8th grade.

In 2016, Riley Matthews is 14 years old when the Avengers split up. Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow have all become threats, as well as numerous others. The Avengers have split apart due to Cap siding with his best friend Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier, and everything is falling apart. Fury knows how serious this could be. The fight in Siberia proved that when hidden information was shown and people already knew about it hurt others bad things happen. So he has a choice to make. The Black Widow and Winter Soldier are fugitives. The Black Widow and Winter Soldier have a child. This child could change everything in the world right now.

Riley Matthews in 14 years old when the director of SHEILD knocks on her door and tells her that her whole life is a lie.

18 notes · View notes

tocxmply · 5 years ago

Text

BRAINWASHING & ACTIVATION WORDS [sources: click, click, click, click, click, click]

so --- the process that underlies HYDRA’s creation of the Winter Soldier. first of all, this can be described as a process of brainwashing/ mind control/ mind manipulation to the point of breaking down one’s identity and reforge it at another’s will. what we know about brainwashing from scientific evidence is that this process is still debatable — whether it is real or a different psychological phenomenon, what it takes to happen, consequences, etc. obviously, it is impossible to conduct research to test hypotheses in such a field — for this reason, i have researched accordingly (shoutout to @timeripe for coming along for the ride) and i have tried to build up this background as realistically and plausibly as possible.

1. ELECTROCONVULSIVE/ ELECTROSHOCK STIMULATION (ECS)

starting at 1945 --- right after Bucky’s fall and when he was captured. ECS was growing quite popular in the psychiatry field in the 1940s, after observations that, for example, it was useful to put a person in an anesthetized state. it was also already demonstrated that the electroshock provoked retrograde amnesia, in that patients could not remember the treatment and therefore had no ill feelings toward it. knowing this, as well as the effect of a general sense of confusion left after treatment, it’s small wonder that HYDRA saw the potential this could have in producing compliant soldiers for their cause. nowadays. it is also known that memory loss and confusion are more pronounced for patients who receive a steady flow of electrical impulses and who undergo bilateral electrode placement, both of which are the Soldier’s case (re: the latter, it’s not actual electrodes used on him because the machines we see in the movies are quite rudimentar tbh, but it is a protocol of bilateral stimulation). we also know that some patients have persistent memory losses, especially with bilateral ECS. therefore, it is also not difficult to envision that, with frequent and non-optimized shock sessions (if not downright done on purpose to force all these side effects), in the course of 70 years of captivity, the Soldier’s memory was frequently wiped clean for the most part and that some portions of it may never be entirely recovered, even if he’s to be removed from this hazardous context (i will venture deeper into his memory + amnesia in a different meta). additionally, whereas nowadays there is no solid evidence that ECS causes brain damage, there are reports that it might result in a lack of blood flow and oxygen to the heart, heart arrhythmia, and persistent asystole.

tl;dr --- this is a procedure that, when done without regard for the patient’s integrity (which, disclaimer, is NOT what happens nowadays during perfectly safe and optimized ECS therapy sessions), is terrifying af and does not immediately produce immense trauma only because the procedure in itself, ironically, causes the person to be unable to remember it. again, a perfect mechanism to be used by HYDRA standards.

2. CLASSICAL/ PAVLOVIAN CONDITIONING

this is depicted in “Captain America: Civil War”, by the use of the infamous activation words and how they promptly revert Bucky back to the Winter Soldier mindset and, basically, turn him back to HYDRA’s puppet with zero autonomy/ agency. classical conditioning is “a learning procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a bell). it also refers to the learning process that results from this pairing, through which the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response (e.g. salivation) that is usually similar to the one elicited by the potent stimulus“. so, how does this apply to the activation words?

from what we can see at the start of CA:CW, during the flashback in 1991, the biologically potent stimulus is the ECS, as discussed in topic 1, which provokes a state where, right after the session, the Soldier is 1) in a state of confusion, 2) in an anesthetized state of sorts, 3) having no recollection of what just happened, and 4) with his memory in general converted to a clean slate. all of these are ideal, in turn, to induce a state of hypnosis. in this case: “hypnosis is a state of human consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion. during hypnosis, a person is said to have heightened focus and concentration. the person can concentrate intensely on a specific thought or memory, while blocking out sources of distraction. hypnotized subjects are said to show an increased response to suggestions”. again, it’s not hard to see how convenient this is when you’re trying to create the perfect soldier/weapon, who’s 100% focused on your objectives and doing your bidding only. this is the default mode of functioning of the Winter Soldier, and what is achieved via the activation words.

so, the way i see it... what happens is that, after every ECS session, a hypnosis session immediately follows. during hypnosis sessions, the Soldier undergoes indoctrination on the whole HYDRA is here to save the world, we fight for freedom, everyone who opposes us needs to be removed, we’re the good guys, etc --- a message we see being clearly used in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, by Alexander Pierce, when Winter questions the man on the bridge --- he’s immediately reminded of how he himself changed the century, how he’s doing the right thing and this man doesn’t matter, yada yada. whenever this message does not work by itself, then a new ECS session is needed to restart the cycle; aka wipe him and start over.

during hypnosis sessions, that is also when the activation words are recited, again when the Soldier’s mind is solely focused on them and nothing else. and this is how the conditioning, therefore, works: an initially neutral stimulus (activation words) is associated with other stimuli (shock sessions + hypnosis sessions) which is able to produce a desirable response (absolute compliance, zero resistance, zero questioning of orders, zero agency), so that, by itself, the neutral stimulus becomes able to elicit this same response.

let me add here that the state of cryostasis the Winter Soldier is kept in, whenever he’s not needed, is also essential for this process --- as, despite the popular “cold sleep” name, this isn’t true sleep at all. this does not allow for REM sleep to occur, which in turn does not allow for short-term learning to be properly converted into long-term memories. which, again in turn, explains the Soldier’s amnesia and, as well, why the conditioning must be reinforced every time he’s awoken (i.e., the reason why he’s awoken, dragged out of the cryo chamber, shoved down for ECS + conditioning --- as we see depicted at the start of CA:CW).

3. CONSEQUENCES

first and foremost, i love the general idea depicted at the end of “Black Panther” that recovery IS possible, even for someone who’s quite literally gone through hell and back. however, i don’t agree with the idea that the activation words can be entirely removed, so to speak --- for example, it is well demonstrated that operant conditioning responses can take as much as 10,000 attempts without any sort of reinforcement, before eventually becoming extinct (thank u B.F. Skinner). ofc there is always the excuse that this is fiction and we can make technology as badass as we want, but i’m not a fan of that --- so i go for a compromise as realistic as i can do.

we know that Shuri was able to “deprogram” Bucky quite substantially, but we aren’t explicitly told how --- only that it was achieved by the time of “Avengers: Infinity War”. we also have Bucky himself stating that he is now “a semi-stable 100-year-old man “ --- semi-stable obviously implying that he still has to deal with some sort of sequels, despite his huge and beautiful progress. back to Shuri’s strategy, i would say this was heavily based on a protocol of counterconditioning/ stimulus substitution and systematic desensitization. to make a long story short, the rationale was to break the association between activation words + Winter’s mindset, to make it so that the power of the activation words over Bucky is as reduced as possible, and to instead associate these activation words with desirable outcomes --- for example, a positive stimulus, such as affectionate human contact, that is offered at the same time the words are recited --- so that the words are gradually able to elicit a positive emotion, rather than complete submission.

from what we currently know, this sort of intervention has great success and, for example, was one of the earliest behavioral treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder. however, we also know that it is not a perfect technique (like none is) --- which, all things given, leads me to believe that the words have not lost their power entirely. so... whereas, for the most part, by the time of IW they have become obsolete as far as triggering the Winter Soldier mindset goes (provided Bucky is in a positive context), they can still provoke anxiety and they can still bring back a great deal of noxious memories associated with those days. so, for example, reciting these words at this point in time will not succeed in brainwashing, but it will provoke a negative/vulnerable mindset and, under certain circumstances and in certain contexts, may provoke an actual panic attack.

to conclude: in my portrayal, the events that are post-CA:CW will bring about the start of Bucky’s recovery --- which will be progressive, extended (tbh it will likely be a lifetime process), and certainly not able to revert him back to the man he was in 1945 but that will, no doubt, make a huge difference for his mental health, integrity, and stability. depending on the timeline i’m writing him on, obviously, his progress will greatly vary --- right at the end of CA:TWS, he’s dysfunctional for the most part and greatly vulnerable, whereas, by the time of IW and beyond, he still suffers from severe PTSD symptoms but has learned how to better cope with them and how to preserve his well-being.

#long post #「ᵐᵉᵗᵃ」ʷᶤᵖᵉ ʰᶤᵐ ᵃᶰᵈ ˢᵗᵃʳᵗ ᵒᵛᵉʳ #so basically Portugal's emergency state + my quarantine will be me reposting all my pain

7 notes · View notes

sauveur-de-lenfer · 6 years ago

Text

I’m so glad you’re back - Epilogue

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8 chapter 9 chapter 10 chapter 11 chapter 12 chapter 13 chapter 14 chapter 15

So! here we are, at the end of this fanfic. its been a pleasure to finally write this fanfic and write out my ideas for an alternate timeline to infinity war and endgame. But this isn't the end of this universe!! I'm going to be creating a brand new story, including one-shots and drabbles, thats set around the 5 years in between the snaps and also after they bring everyone back! so you'll still be getting more of Natasha James and steve. I look forward to writing a few one-shots and posting them soon, so keep a lookout for when its posted. I'm also very grateful to everyone who had read my story and gave it a kudos and also commented!! it was lovely to hear about your thoughts and advice. love you guys! ❤❤❤❤❤

Its been a year since the Avengers brought back half of the universe. And what a year its been. Celebrations had started almost instantly around the world on the same day, states across America and countries across the world were setting off fireworks and throwing parties in their town squares and they were still going on a year later, and they probably will until the end of time. The time people had lost with their loved ones will never be fixed but everyone was back, and that's all that mattered. Not to mention the Avengers were practically legends now, they were even knighted by the Queen of England after she came back. Tony had loved that way too much.

And yes, Everyone was fine, they had rebuilt the compound in New York and restored it to be better and bigger, Bruce had actually rejoined the new avengers team and was now working as part of the team and the science division, Thor left New Asgard in the hands of his trusted friend Valkyrie whilst he travelled with the guardians. Getting everyone back had made him immensely better and his depression wasn't as crushing anymore, the guilt no longer weighing him down. Valkyrie had been more than supportive and told him she would look after their people whilst he got back to his old self. And if that meant getting back to his old ways of doing missions and helping people out in the universe then so be it. Doctor strange was also a bigger part of the team too, he and wanda worked together great, their powers were incredible when put together.

Carol had gone back off to help people around the universe too, she even clocked in with the guardians sometimes to help them out and carol also checked back in with her earth team often, not forgetting to visit for important occasions either.

Tony had been recovering and getting used to his new arm, which he has to admit, it better than his all flesh one, no wonder Bucky liked his so much. Speaking of which, tony and bucky had become civil with each other and are still trying to move on and become somewhat acquaintances. He retired from the avengers for good too, just spending his days now with pepper and their daughter Morgan. Morgan was a big fan of his arm too and often stuck magnets to his metal replacements when he was asleep or without him realising. Don't tell pepper but he still sneakily made suits for the guys at HQ and upgraded them with new weapons or new tech. He did say he wouldn't but he couldn't resist and besides Shuri, who else was gonna make their suits even better.

Scott and Hope had returned back home with her parents and were just living each day as it came, Scott had been saddened by missing out on another 5 years of his daughter's life and just wanted to make up for that time, whilst also spending as much time with hope as he could too. The 5 of them also came up too when there was an occasion, always keeping in touch, or even teaming back up with the Avengers when they needed help.

Clint and Laura were great too, they had gone back to their home after reuniting and fixed up the house in the areas they needed too, it was a bit run down considering no one lived in it for 5 years. But they managed to get back to life as normal, Clint still couldn't believe it sometimes but he never took another day for granted, he spent every day treating Laura like he did when they first met, like a queen basically, he was like a lovesick teenager all over again. Clint also tried to make sure he spent all his time with his kids too, not wanting to miss another moment.

Natasha and steve moved into their own home. Since they couldn't return to the compound as it was destroyed, they stayed at Tony and Peppers for a few days until pepper could find them a house. It was quite perfect actually, Natasha had never taken herself for a white picket fence kind of girl, but the house pepper had found was perfect. It was on its own with a huge garden, like tony and peppers, a good 30 minutes drive from anyone or the city, but it was still close buy that they could get James to school and could visit Tony, Pepper and Morgan as much as they wanted.

During the year, they made sure to visit most of their friends, of course, they couldn't exactly see the guardians or carol since they were away in the universe somewhere but their space friends always came back whenever they wanted too or when it was a birthday or a special time. The family of three visited clint and laura a lot too, to be honest, clint and laura were like a couple of teenagers again, sometimes Natasha would catch clint looking at laura and he would just be smiling whilst staring at his wife, like the rest of the world didn't exist but her, it was sickeningly cute. Lila had been practising her archery even more, she told steve she wanted to be just like her dad. A hero, whereas cooper was going back to school to finish his last few years before leaving for college. If Natasha remembered correctly, he had said he wanted to get into social work and help kids that were displaced by 'The Blip' and Nate was just happy like always, not a care in the world. All he wanted to do was play with his brother and sister and run around 24/7.

Natasha and steve had officially retired too, thankfully their home was close enough to the compound that they could still help out the team, paperwork mostly and they trained some new recruits sometimes when they were craving a bit of action or when the new Avenger's team desperately needed their expertise. They did have their own gym room in the house so they could keep on top of their health and fitness but they didn't do any missions, that was the only condition. No missions for either of them. Neither wanted to risk themselves or each other and definitely didn't want to risk their lives and leave James without a parent or two. And too Natasha's happiness, Steve had kept the beard and longer hair after hearing that both James and his mother liked it better, and even Natasha had kept the blonde at the end of her hair. Almost a reminder of the last 8 years. She knew one day her hair would get too long she would have to cut it off but for now, the blonde was a part of her and she wasn't getting rid of it. Besides, she liked her hair longer anyway.

Its a Saturday on the anniversary of ‘The Blip’ aka when everyone came back, and Tony and Pepper had offered to have James over for a sleepover again, leaving the evening free for Natasha and steve to spend together, it was after all a special anniversary, not only because of their victory for bringing everyone back but because its the day Steve came back and also met his son.

So the two retired Avengers decided to spend the night at home. Just the two of them.

Right now, the soldier and the spy were swaying in the front room of their house, Natasha's head was lay on its side against his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his neck. Steve had rested his chin on the top of her head and had his hands placed on her waist, slowly caressing them up and down her back. They'd been dancing to some old music that steve has put on for about 20 minutes. The lights were dimmed down, the windows letting in a soft breeze and James' toys, crayons and drawings were only slightly littering the floor.

Shifting her head, Natasha moved to place her ear over Steves' heart, listening to the soft thud of his heartbeat. Just revelling in the warmth he was radiating. Could you blame a girl? She had spent 5 years without him, Natasha was gonna spend the rest of her life soaking up as much of him as she could. But after a few minutes, she pulled her head back and looked into the blue eyes above her. The same blue eyes that lovingly stared back. Natasha pushed on her feet bringing her to her tiptoes, giving her just enough heigh to reach his lips and bring him down into a kiss. One that he gladly return with just as much enthusiasm.

After pulling away Natasha kept their foreheads together and stopped on her feet, halting their dancing and she held onto him. Then take a deep breath, Natasha opened her mouth to speak.

“You know, 6 years ago, after you were gone, it was the worst time of my life, I couldn't do anything, I couldn't sleep or eat, it sounds pathetic but I just couldn't believe you weren't in my life anymore. And then I found out about James. And it was like I was given this gift as if the universe was trying to apologise to me for taking you. And I was so scared at the thought of having this child by myself without you there. I always knew you wanted a child so much, anyone could tell you did even if you denied it or never talked about it. So when I remembered that, I wasn't so scared, because I knew you were always with me and if you could want this life and this child, I knew I could do it too.” Steve almost grimaced, he hated that he wasn't there for her, that he wasn't there for James for those 5 years. But all that mattered was that he was here now.

“I'm sorry I left you alone Tasha. I never wanted to do that.” He was too sweet, he was trying to apologise for something that was beyond his control. Natasha just smiled up at him as his eyebrows furrowed in regret.

“I know you didn't but you don't have to apologise.” Then his eyes lit up.

“You did such an amazing job raising James, he's amazing. The best kid I ever met and I'm not being unfair I promise.” She laughs at that. In the past year, James had become smitten with his dad, both spending all their time with each other trying to make up for lost time. It was cute to see steve experience so many firsts. And for the two of them to experience some together. after their emotional meeting, the two mostly bonded over drawing, James had insisted on making a picture for his dad and steve had joined him and they hit it off from there.

“Seriously though, you and James are the best part of my life, I'm so proud of everything we've built this last year, the HQ, becoming trainers for the new recruits and making this house our home. I'm so glad I have you and that your both okay. You're my family, I love you so much.” Hearing his confession made her heart warm in her chest, she still hadn't got used to it, to be fair, they had only said ‘i love you’ for a short while when they had been on the run but in the past year he had said it too her every day. It was still foreign almost but every time he muttered those words, it sent shivers down her spine and he never let her forget it.

“That's good because I was thinking about what you would say about expanding” Steve's brows knitted together at her question, not really understanding it, but as she stared at his confused face the redhead just grinned.

“Expanding? what? the house? Isn't it big enough?” Finishing his sentence steve let out a huff of a laugh. He really did think she meant the house. For a super-smart super-soldier, he could be quite clueless sometimes.

Natasha just rolled her eyes with her grin still on her face. He really had no idea.

“No, you dork. I meant our family.” That's when the soldier's eyes light up, but not for the reason she was trying to explain.

“What do you mean, like a dog? Because I think James would love that, and me but mostly James, yeah Jamie would definitely love a dog.” Sometimes he was painfully too obvious and oblivious, Natasha just smiled and quirked an eyebrow, knowing full well that it was steve who wanted a dog more, but he was trying to play it off as if it was James that wanted it.

“No, I didn’t mean a dog.”

“Then what do-” His breath nearly caught in his throat, he pauses and it finally clicks.

“You want another kid?” His blue eyes start to sparkle as he speaks. She could practically feel his excitement and nervousness when his hands tightened their grip on her waist.

tilting her head to the side, Natasha smirked at him. He'd finally figured it out, but she still had one more surprise.

“What if I told you I’m already about a month of that plan in front of you.“

Once again, the soldier's eyes are confused as he looks at his love. A few strands of his long hair falling into his eyes. But then his face falls, finally realising what she means. Natasha just waits, watching the different thoughts colour his face. Then she sees it. That look of realisation in his eyes.

“You’re pregnant? You're really pregnant?”

Biting her lip, Natasha nods in confirmation.

Steve breathes out a laugh, practically in shock he picks her up at her sides and swings her around in a circle, hugging her close. The redhead laughs at the sudden movement and when he finally puts her down, he kneels on both knees and pulls her closer at her hips, instantly reaching for her shirt to pull it up slightly so he can see her bare stomach. There wasn't anything there and he knew there wouldn't be a bump for a couple more months but just knowing that right now, a baby was growing inside there made him almost pass out.

As he holds her in his hands, steve leans in to kiss her bare skin, just below her belly button. He can feel her fingers start to run through his hair as he does. Once he pulls back he tilts his head back to look up the love of his life. His partner, his spy, the woman who one day would be his wife and all he could do was marvel at her.

Steve was literally consumed in awe at the woman before him, he always had been. Ever since the moment he had boosted her of his shield to catch a ride on one of the chitauri's ships all those years ago.

She was amazing. And had given him everything he thought he never even wanted or could even have.

Looking back at her stomach he gave it another quick kiss before he whispered into her skin.

"I love you so much already.”

Before Natasha can react, her soldier is already back on his feet and grabbing her by the arms to pull her closer to him so he can wrap his arms around her and leave no space between them.

Seeing him up close she can see the slight traces of tears that had run down his face from the pure emotion he had been feeling.

“Natasha Romanoff, you are the love of my life and I love you so much. You have given me everything I never thought I could have or even wanted. You are my world, you, James and this baby. You are my everything and I feel like I'm falling in love with you all over again every single day.”

The redhead sniffles a little at his small speech, she knew he would be over the moon, and she was so happy she was able to finally tell him this time. This is what it should have been like for James. But even though those 5 years without him were tough, she finally had him back now and they were moving forward with their lives. With James and the baby for them to raise.

Pulling him down by his shirt Natasha embraces his lips with hers again. Their lips moulding together perfectly. God, she would never get enough of this man. She thought didn't deserve him at all, but after everything they have been through, she couldn't care less if she deserved him or not. She loved him and he more than loved her. They had James and they were going to have another baby. And that's all that mattered.

Pulling away breathlessly the two stay close with their noses touching, Steve's has a sudden wash of confusion and worry over his face.

“Does James know?”

Natasha lets out a sigh, looking down as she plays with her fingers. Her worry also covered her face as she really thought about James's reaction

“No, not yet, I didn't want to tell him yet just in case he gets a little upset, it's been a crazy year and we've only just got you back too. So much has changed. I don't want him to think that now you're here and there's a baby that he's being left out.”

“Hey don't worry, everything will be fine, James will never be left out and he is gonna be a great big brother." Steve reached down to capture her hands in his to stop her from picking at her fingernails and then used his other hand to touch her chin, making her head tilt upwards to look at him once again. Suddenly her worry clears away, he was right. She was worrying over nothing.

Then a cheeky smile makes its way onto steves face.

“So, what do you think? A boy or girl.” Natasha instantly rolls her eyes playfully at him and pulls away to go turn the music off.

“Oh god, your gonna start this now? I’m not fighting with you over who’s guessing right.”

“Hey, come on, just because you know I’ll be right isn’t it? “ he followed her after she turned the music off, both making their way towards the stairs to head to their bedroom, but it didn't stop him from joking with her.

“Oh you really wanna go there” She challenged back.

“Oh yeah, you know I do. And by the way, since we brought it up, I think we should definitely get a dog.” If Natasha eyes could have rolled any further back, she would have. Steve knew she only meant it playfully but he was not gonna stop trying.

“We are not getting a dog.”

“Please? You know James would love it, and me, and the baby. “

“Steve please“

“Pleeease, just 1, like a labrador or golden retriever.”

“You're obsessed.”

And that's how they spent the rest of night, spending it together in their home, talking about the baby and James and even the possibility of getting a dog.

Years ago Natasha could never have dreamed this would have been her life, she was raised to be a killer, to not embrace her emotions and believe love was for children. Back then she didn't even think she could have children. but now she had everything she dreamed about. She deserved this. Natasha wouldn't have changed it for the world.

And Steve was the same. If you would have told him back when he was still a skinny kid in the 40s that he would have been a hero and finally have his own family in the 21st century with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and had a child with one on the way, he probably would have died from a coughing fit and asthma attack after laughing too hard.

Fate had brought them together and also tore them apart, but nothing could stop them from finding each other again.

And neither could imagine their life any different.

41 notes · View notes

psychosistr · 6 years ago

Note

i wonder if err, you could do info of gandra or steelbeak? or uhh the diamonds? just trying to give ideas

Sorry it took a while to write all of this out, but this is actually something I’ve been thinking over for a while now, and I’ll probably end up reblogging and/or adding to this post down the road if I come up with more characters in this AU. So, for now, here are the diamonds and their main servants under the cut :)

Blue Diamond, AKA- Morgana Macawber

Once serving as the voice of emotional wisdom among the diamonds, she has become very depressed since the shattering of Pink Diamond and is the only one of the three diamonds shown to openly grieve her loss- unfortunately, it is to grand extremes, and the other diamonds (mostly yellow) actually have to force her to get her work done or she’ll just allow her closest servants to do the work for her while she mourns. Millennia ago, she was known for wearing her iconic red dress like in the show, but, with the death of Pink Diamond, her wardrobe changed into much more somber black gowns with hoods she uses to hide her face. Her role within the diamond hierarchy is to understand the unknown- things such as energy manipulation and magic- and harness it for both battle and the advancement of homeworld.

Blue Diamond’s Servants- Morgana’s servants are selected for emotional reasons- meaning that anyone within her court can be considered important if they can do something to make her even remotely happy for a moment or if they’re able to motivate her to do something. Her closest servants, coincidentally, usually have odd mutations or abilities that make them one-of-a-kind.

Neptunia: A dark blue tourmaline who serves as the personal body guard of Blue Diamond. Fierce, opinionated, and not afraid to speak her mind, Neptunia is one of the few gems besides the diamonds that can get away with speaking in a less-than-formal manner to the diamond since she’s known Morgana for the longest out of all of her closer servants. She’ll listen when Morgana wants to cry about her troubles, but she’ll also be one of the first ones to tell her to get up and do her job when Yellow Diamond’s not around to say the same. Her weapon is a trident and she can control any body of water that she stands on to fight, whether it’s an entire ocean on a planet that’s being conquered, or a puddle of her diamond’s own tears.

Camille Chameleon: A rare zultanite- a gemstone that can change it colors and gives Camille the ability to easily change her form and hold it indefinitely without feeling strained as other gems would after prolonged use of such an ability. While her ability is useful, it’s not exactly good for one-on-one battles, so she spends most of her time as Blue Diamond’s personal attendant (kind of like Blue Pearl). She can fight if she needs to and uses her shape shifting as a weapon, and has even been called on for long-term infiltration missions to break down organic governments from within, but, at the end of the day, she prefers living the easy life granted to her by acting as Morgana’s attendant.

Rhoda Dendron: An aquamarine serving as Blue Diamond’s lead expert on short and long-range warp technology. Rhoda was a gift from Yellow Diamond- a scientist to help keep Morgana on track when she needs a logical voice amongst all of the emotional ones around her. Rhoda is very kind and certainly not meant for battle, preferring instead to work on her warp points and summoning wings made of water if fighting occurs so she can retreat. Her life was fairly normal until she was assigned to accompany Liquidator, Bushroot, Megavolt, and Quackerjack down to Earth with the seemingly simple task of repairing the planet’s long-damaged galaxy warp. However, her life quickly becomes a mess of chaos when she’s stuck in the middle of battles that she wanted nothing to do with and ends up getting poofed and bubbled by the Crystal Ducks for an exceptionally long amount of time, only to later awaken to her original four traveling companions deciding they want to stay on such a horrible back-water planet rather than return to homeworld, meaning that she’s stuck there too if she can’t fix the galaxy warp on her own..

Liquidator: Similar to Neptunia, Liquidator has known Morgana for an exceptionally long amount of time and is considered one of the highest ranking elite gems in her court, both because of his age and years of service as well as his exceptionally royal blue lapis lazuli gemstone. Originally serving as one of Morgana’s more destructive agents sent in to turn the tide of battles (literally) in homeworld’s favor, Liquidator decided to change his purpose in her court during era two to a terra-former after meeting Bushroot so the two could work together. While he does care about his diamond and is extremely loyal to her, his many years as an elite gem have worn him down over the millennia and he often finds himself wondering what he would do with his life he could actually just be himself rather than the perfect gem everyone expects him to be- a freedom he is granted on Earth and comes to greatly enjoy, even if it means no longer serving under his diamond again.

Bushroot: A sapphire created on Earth that was originally meant to serve Pink Diamond, Blue Diamond took Bushroot into her court at Liquidator’s behest since he was without a place on homeworld. While his visions are spotty and not always clear in their purpose, the fact that he is technically never wrong makes him very useful as a sapphire. For many years after the war, he works with Liquidator as a terra-former for new planets that Blue Diamond conquers, though he doesn’t partake of the same elite status that Liquidator does. After being assigned to return to Earth alongside Liquidator, Megavolt, and Quackerjack, Bushroot begins to unlock new powers and abilities he didn’t know he had, including summoning his own weapon and communicating with plants. Learning more about the world he came from, as well as the diamond he was originally meant for, leaves Bushroot with a lot of questions and doubts about how he feels in regards to Morgana and the rest of the diamonds.

Yellow Diamond, AKA- Sara Bellum

While Morgana serves as the diamonds’ voice of emotional wisdom, Bellum serves as their intellectual wisdom. Where Morgana is prone to fits of sorrow and/or anger, Bellum is cool, calm, and collected under pressure, approaching everything through the eyes of a scientist and analyzing situations rationally. As Yellow Diamond, Bellum leads homeworld’s more scientific pursuits, creating many of their societies greatest technological advancements such as warp drives and long-distance space ships that allowed their people to travel and begin colonizing other planets in the first place. However, while Bellum is the more intellectually driven of the diamonds, she is not without the occasional emotional outburst or silly mistake that she will attempt to ignore- often overreacting and poofing someone out of sheer surprise when they catch her in one of her more emotional moments.

Yellow Diamond’s Servants- Bellum leads homeworld’s scientific studies and colonization division, S.H.U.S.H., and has a slew of scientists and soldiers under her command. While she is not one to play favorites as each scientists under her serves a different but equally important purpose, there are a few servants that are allowed to interact with her more closely than others.

J.Gander Hooter: An imperial yellow topaz and commander of S.H.U.S.H., J.Gander reports directly to Yellow Diamond. Though he’s just supposed to be considered an underling, whenever she’s off conquering planets or busy with other scientific pursuits, he’s essentially the one that Yellow Diamond’s court goes to for orders. Many of Bellum’s less loyal followers spread rumors about Hooter secretly trying to usurp his diamond- a statement that could not be further from the truth. Yellow Diamond’s trust in J.Gander is well-founded as he has served her, and homeworld, loyally for thousands of years. She knows that he wouldn’t turn his back on his sense of duty to her or his people, so she trusts the decisions he makes when she’s not around.

Grizzlikof: A firey yellow sphene that serves as second in command of S.H.U.S.H., tactical commander of Yellow Diamond’s conquering armies, and personal body guard, Grizzlikof oversees many responsibilities within Bellum’s court, but would not prefer it any other way. As second in command of S.H.U.S.H., he makes sure that everything is running smoothly and that all reports are filed accordingly to maintain order (they oversee A LOT of gems and A LOT of worlds, someone’s gotta keep everything in order). As Yellow Diamond’s tactical commander, he helps formulate battle strategies and lead armies in the field that have brought countless victories to homeworld. And, as Bellum’s body guard, he always prioritizes her safety above that of anyone else around him- including himself- because he knows how much her role as a diamond is needed for homeworld’s continued health and prosperity. He has also made it his unofficial responsibility to personally test anyone who wants to serve as a bodyguard for any of the diamonds, giving them the test of defeating him in combat to prove they deserve their position- Neptunia passed with flying colors, Taurus Bulba took two tries but he won the second round easily (the first time seems to have just been to gather information on how his opponent fought), Pink Diamond’s amethyst guard defeated him through a series of tricky maneuvers and he still hates the gem to this day, and Quackerjack......well, he never talks about the fight with Quackerjack, but he got to serve as Pink Diamond’s bodyguard, so it’s safe to assume he won somehow.

Beatrice Bruté: A yellow orthoclase gemstone, Dr.Bruté is homeworld’s leading expert on organic life. Created around the time of the great gem war, Yellow Diamond tasked the doctor with finding out what value, if any, organic creatures had in an attempt to understand why so many gems would lay down their lives and abandon their duties to homeworld for the sake of such feeble creatures. Centuries of study led Dr.Bruté to understand more about organic life, how it is created, and how to care for it better than any gem in homeworld’s recorded history. When Pink Diamond tried pleading for the safety of the organic creatures of Earth, saying that she didn’t want all of them to be wiped out, Dr.Bruté was the head scientist in charge of setting up the human zoo for the conservation of the apparently sentient species. After the war ended, Dr.Bruté happily accepted the task of watching over the zoo so that she could continue her study of the strange multi-generational life forms for an extended period of time. Sometimes she does get called away to other planets when the diamonds encounter an organic species they want examined, so she’s forced to leave the zoo in the care of the various quartz soldiers from Earth, but she’s always quick to return to her studies.

Splatter Phoenix: A greenish yellow demantoid garnet- a unique cut of gem that was given to Yellow Diamond as a gift from Blue Diamond. While Bellum gave Morgana a scientist (Rhoda) to keep her on track, Morgana in turn gave Bellum an artist to remind her that sometimes you have to step back and look at things from a different perspective. Her official position in the court is Yellow Diamond’s assistant, something she constantly complains to Camille about anytime their diamonds get together for meetings, saying that her “talents” are squandered in such a meager role. The only way to stop her complaining is to let her design new (and often abstract, surreal-looking) buildings and monuments that will go on recently conquered or in-the-process-of-being-conquered planets, the one aspect of her job that she actually enjoys. Her gem-weapon is a paintbrush that can bring anything she paints to life, meaning that if she’s surrounded by enemies or in the middle of a battle where her own side’s forces need a break, she can just use her brush to create temporary soldiers- a very useful skill, but one she doesn’t use often as she prefers creating things that will last longer than a single battle.

Mark Beaks: An era two peridot that acts as S.H.U.S.H.’s robotics expert. When the resource shortage on homeworld began, second era gems found that they had far fewer powers and abilities compared to previous generations, and were forced to work harder to meet homeworld’s standards of labor. Mark HATES hard work, so he started tinkering around with robotics and came up with both the design for limb enhancers, earning him a high-ranking position within S.H.U.S.H.. Unfortunately, this meant more paperwork, more reports, a longer work schedule, and more WORK than Mark really cared for, so he just got lower-ranking gems to do the harder work for him while raking in the praise his limb enhancer designs earned him. His ego got a bit too big, though, and he mouthed off to Grizzlikof one too many times about his reports being filed by other gems. As punishment, Mark’s been sent on his own to Earth to check on Yellow Diamond’s personal project- the cluster.

Megavolt: A one of a kind era one peridot and one of Yellow Diamond’s top special agents. Megavolt was the only gem from his kindergarten to survive a freakishly powerful electrical storm that wiped out all of the other gem seeds on the planet. Surviving the tragedy made him a legend among the kindergartners and even gave him the bonus ability of electricity control in addition to the standard peridot magnetic-abilities. Technically an off-color due to his unusual powers and short-term memory problems, Yellow Diamond saw value in both his abilities in battle and his creativity in engineering and decided to keep him as part of her court. For centuries Megavolt has served his diamond loyally, going into battle at the drop of a hat anytime she called upon him and even fighting in the gem war because she requested his help personally. After returning to Earth with Liquidator and Bushroot, meeting Quackerjack, and learning more about how the diamonds really view those that work for them, though, Megavolt’s loyalty has begun to waiver.

White Diamond, AKA- Magica de Spell

The controlling mind behind the diamonds, Magica rules with an iron fist and expects nothing but perfection from those who work under her- including her fellow diamonds. Her design is based more off of her of her original Ducktales/Darkwing Duck/Comics appearance, but with white trim on her sleeves, black eyeshadow, and a slightly longer black dress that trails behind her the few times she moves. Magica views herself as the perfect standard to which all other gems are held to and is not afraid to make an example of others to prove her position of power within the gem hierarchy. While she never leaves her ship anymore, she is still a feared presence across the galaxy thanks to her elite servants that carry out her bidding.

White Diamond’s Servants- White Diamond holds her troops to an even higher standard of perfection than any other diamond- a standard that few can ever hope to reach. Everyone in her court knows that if you do not live up to her standards, or if you fail to uphold or question her orders, you’ll be nothing more than a puppet within seconds. If you want to work for her and still be yourself, you’d better be the best at what you do or be completely invisible to the tyrannical queen.

Paddywhack (Controlled): A bloodstone that once belonged to Pink Diamond and served as her first jester.In mourning for the loss of his diamond as well as his other friends that went to Earth with her and never returned, Paddywhack loudly spoke out against White Diamond during the public announcement of Pink Diamond’s shattering. He was punished via a savage beating by White Diamond’s servants before being forcefully stripped of his colors and turned into her emotionless puppet-like servant. He currently spends his days in this state, unaware of what’s going on or the time that passes around him while his body is used as a warning against anyone else who would dare to speak out against White Diamond.

Taurus Bulba: A roughly cut goshenite, Taurus Bulba was the first gem to ever survive a head-on attack from White Diamond. No one knows for sure why she attacked him- he could have said something she didn’t approve of, she could have just been in a bad mood that day- all they know is that after the attack he miraculously survived, albeit with extreme cracking across over fifty percent of his body. Deciding she rather enjoyed his tough stature and intellect, Magica decided to keep him in her court and even let him retain his free will. After receiving several physical augmentations from Yellow Diamond’s science division, Taurus has, ironically, been re-purposed as Magica’s bodyguard, making sure that no one that somehow breaches the ship ever gets close to his diamond. While many would take this as a showing of trust on White Diamond’s part, Taurus knows better: Magica is merely keeping her allies close, and her enemies closer..where she can always keep an eye on him...

Gandra Dee: A black and white star sapphire with the ability to see the future and playback her predictions for others to see as well, Gandra serves as one of White Diamond’s top field agents and spies, her powers allowing her to predict any uprisings before they can reach fruition. In addition to her future-sight, Gandra is also a very useful field operative, utilizing her abilities in combat to predict her opponents’ moves and countering with the experimental white destabilizing nano-machines implanted into her own body. Her design is based off her DT17 version, but with a drastically different outfit consisting of a white lab coat over a black button-up vest, black fingerless gloves, black slacks, and black short-heeled boots (she hates the black and white color scheme and how stuffy the outfit is, but would never say it out loud for fear of incurring her diamond’s wrath). Gandra doesn’t mind the fighting she has to do for her diamond’s missions, but seeing everything before it happens does grant her some...unpleasant visions, and she often wonders if the future they’re heading towards is the right one or if there’s even a way to change it at all.

Darkwarrior Duck: The black amethyst bounty hunter that only answers to White Diamond, Darkwarrior serves Magica by being her hand of “justice” against all who oppose her. His appearance is very similar to how it looked in the show, but with a more black and white color scheme and, instead of metal spikes on his shoulders, he has sharpened white crystals on his armor. Originally meant to serve as a standard soldier for White Diamond’s armies, Darkwarrior made a name for himself by being both the most brutal against his diamond’s enemies in battle, and being the first to turn on any former comrades who spoke ill of the all-powerful diamond. Magica approved of both his loyalty and his brutality and soon enlisted him as her own personal bounty hunter tasked with bringing any rebellious malcontents to “justice” by any means necessary.

Steelbeak: The most perfect black melanite in existence, Steelbeak is White Diamond’s top field agent and spy. Capable of infiltrating any organization, be it organic or gem, Steelbeak can quickly earn the trust of at least half of a group’s members, steal their secrets, and lead White Diamond’s forces to wipe them out before anyone’s even aware of what’s happening. Merciless, sadistic, and the best at what he does, Steelbeak is the oldest of Magica’s servants and has worked under her for thousands of years, aiding her in the conquering of countless planets and earning him the title of her best field agent. In addition to his skills in espionage, Steelbeak is also a major asset in battle with the ability to wipe out entire armies with nothing but his wits and his arsenal of gem-contruct weapons that he can summon at a moment’s notice. While he is good at what he does, that does not mean he’s to be trusted, even by the rest of White Diamond’s court- he has his own goals in mind and will lie, manipulate, and/or shatter anyone that gets in his way.

Pink Diamond, AKA- ???

While it’s probably obvious by now from my other posts who Pink Diamond was, I’ll still avoid saying it out loud in the descriptions. Pink Diamond was known for being the moral compass of the diamonds- their heart, so to speak. While the other three focused on running homeworld and their colonies with wisdom and intelligence, Pink focused on trying to make everyone happy rather than letting them fester in the misery such a rigid system brought on the gems from every court. She was a kind-hearted person, but was known for having the occasional childish streak, as she was the youngest of the diamonds at the time.

Pink Diamond’s Servants- Pink Diamond’s servants were chosen entirely based on who she liked. That was it, really. If you could make her smile or laugh or if she felt like you were a good person to be around, then you could easily earn a higher place in her court. Her closest servants were also considered her best friends and she treated them as such, much to the irritation of the other diamonds who constantly encouraged her to be more commanding with her underlings.

Paddywhack (Free): A red blood stone originally adorned in bright pink clothes, Paddywhack served as Pink Diamond’s first jester and close friend. He would spend hours making her laugh by hiding inside of various toys, making them talk and dance, or even putting on entire shows for her with his shape shifting and toy-possession abilities. When Quackerjack came along, he was able to fill the roles of both jester and bodyguard, meaning that he was the one who got to go out with Pink Diamond more often outside of her palace while Paddywhack had to stay behind. Rather than resent Quackerjack for taking his place in public, however, Paddywhack appreciated the other clown’s presence and the two of them became best friends through their loyal service to Pink Diamond. When Pink Diamond was finally granted her own colony, Paddywhack was forced to stay behind on homeworld by the other diamonds who claimed “he did not belong on a battlefield”. Quackerjack promised he’d keep Pink Diamond safe and that they’d be back someday...but they never returned..

An Amethyst: Not much is known about the purple amethyst that kept Pink Diamond company as a back-up bodyguard, but it was rumored that he would often be spotted around homeworld when off-duty helping those in need. When Pink Diamond went to Earth, he was one of the few gems from her court she was allowed to bring with her, as an extra bodyguard seemed like a logical choice. No one knows what happened to him during or after the war.

Nega-Gosalyn: An adorable pink sweetheart morganite, Nega-Gosalyn, or Lyn for short, was one of Pink Diamond’s closest friends. She tended to Pink Diamond’s secret garden of flowers where the two of them (three if Quackerjack came along) would play for hours and hours, away from the judgmental eyes of the diamonds. When Pink Diamond was given her own colony, though, Lyn was left behind in the garden under the guise of a game where she was told to stay very still and wait for Pink Diamond to return. Thousands of years later, she’s still waiting...

Quackerjack: A one of a kind pink malaia garnet with orange flecks in the gemstone, Quackerjack was a special gift just for Pink Diamond so she could have both a jester and a bodyguard in one convenient person. Quackerjack was given the task of keeping Pink Diamond safe, as well as happy and entertained- a job that seemed easy in theory, but harder in practice. While he knew several games and jokes and could even make toys for her, Pink Diamond always seemed put off by Quackerjack’s attitude during the earlier years of his service to her. Paddywhack was the one to finally show him the crucial element he was missing to make Pink Diamond happy: FUN. And not just things that she would find fun, but things that QUACKERJACK would enjoy, too. The concept of enjoying something for himself was new to Quackerjack but, once he figured it out, he found that he really did like being happy and having fun and he grew closer to Pink and her other servants when he was genuinely happy. When Pink Diamond went to Earth, Quackerjack went with her and vowed to never leave her side. This was a promise he seemed to keep, right up until her shattering. No one knew where he was when it occurred and, thousands of years after the war, he was found by Megavolt, Liquidator, and Bushroot, trapped in a mirror with a cracked gemstone. Quackerjack has trouble accepting that his diamond is gone, at first insisting that there’s no way she was really shattered, but later comes to accept the truth that she’s no longer around- a heartbreaking realization for him that takes a lot of time to get over. Even though she’s not around anymore, Quackerjack still considers himself a part of her court rather than one of the others led by the other diamonds and operates as a free agent. He agrees to go back to Earth alongside his new friends since homeworld no longer has anything there that he wants to stick around for, and because he, for some reason, seems to like Earth more than homeworld, despite it being the place his diamond was supposedly shattered. Despite his happy-go-lucky demeanor, Quackerjack seems to know a lot more about the war, Pink Diamond, and the Crystal Ducks than he lets on- occasionally dropping random facts or pieces of information about his diamond and the planet before physically silencing himself so as not to reveal the full-extent of what he knows.

14 notes · View notes

tocxmply-archive · 6 years ago

Photo

BRAINWASHING & ACTIVATION WORDS

so --- the process that underlies HYDRA’s creation of the Winter Soldier. first of all, this can be described as a process of brainwashing/ mind control/ mind manipulation to the point of breaking down one’s identity and reforge it at another’s will. what we know from scientific evidence is that this process is still debatable — whether it is real or a different psychological phenomenon, what it takes to happen, consequences, etc. obviously, it is impossible to conduct research to test hypotheses in such a field — for this reason, i have researched accordingly (shoutout to @timeripe for coming along for the ride) and i have tried to build up this background as realistically and plausibly as possible.

[sources: click, click, click, click, click, click]

1. ELECTROCONVULSIVE/ ELECTROSHOCK STIMULATION (ECS)

starting at 1944 --- right after Bucky’s fall and when he was captured. ECS was growing quite popular in the psychiatry field in the 1940s, after observations that, for example, it was useful to put a person in an anesthetized state. it was also already demonstrated that the electroshock provoked retrograde amnesia, in that patients could not remember the treatments and therefore had no ill feelings toward it. knowing this, as well as the effect of a general sense of confusion left after treatment, it’s small wonder that HYDRA saw the potential this could have in producing compliant soldiers for their cause. nowadays. it is also known that memory loss and confusion are more pronounced for patients who receive a steady flow of electrical impulses and who undergo bilateral electrode placement, both of which are the Winter Soldier’s case (re: the latter, it’s not actual electrodes used on him because the machines we see in the movies are quite rudimentar tbh, but it is a protocol of bilateral stimulation). we also know that some patients have persistent memory losses, especially with bilateral ECS. therefore, it is also not difficult to envision that, with frequent and non-optimized shock sessions (if not downright done on purpose to force all these side effects), in the course of 70 years of captivity, the Winter Soldier’s memory was frequently wiped clean for the most part and that some portions of it may never be entirely recovered, even if he’s to be removed from this hazardous context (i will venture deeper into his memory + amnesia in a different meta). additionally, whereas nowadays there is no solid evidence that ECS causes brain damage, there are reports that it might result in a lack of blood flow and oxygen to the heart, heart arrhythmia, and persistent asystole.

2. CLASSICAL/ PAVLOVIAN CONDITIONING

from what we can see at the start of CA:CW, during the flashback in 1991, the biologically potent stimulus is the ECS, as discussed in topic 1, which provokes a state where, right after the session, the Winter Soldier is 1) in a state of confusion, 2) in an anesthetized state of sorts, 3) having no recollection of what just happened, and 4) with his memory in general converted to a clean slate. all of these are ideal, in turn, to induce a state of hypnosis. in this case: “hypnosis is a state of human consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion. during hypnosis, a person is said to have heightened focus and concentration. the person can concentrate intensely on a specific thought or memory, while blocking out sources of distraction. hypnotized subjects are said to show an increased response to suggestions”. again, it’s not hard to see how convenient this is when you’re trying to create the perfect soldier/weapon, who’s 100% focused on your objectives and doing your bidding only. this is the default mode of functioning of the Winter Soldier, and what is achieved via the activation words.

so, the way i see it... what happens is that, after every ECS session, a hypnosis session immediately follows. during hypnosis sessions, the Winter Soldier undergoes indoctrination on the whole HYDRA is here to save the world, we fight for freedom, everyone who opposes us needs to be removed, we’re the good guys, etc --- a message we see being clearly used in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, by Alexander Pierce, when Winter questions the man on the bridge --- he’s immediately reminded of how he himself changed the century, how he’s doing the right thing and this man doesn’t matter, yada yada. whenever this message does not work by itself, then a new ECS session is needed to restart the cycle; aka wipe him and start over.

during hypnosis sessions, that is also when the activation words are recited, again when the Winter Soldier’s mind is solely focused on them and nothing else. and this is how the conditioning, therefore, works: an initially neutral stimulus (activation words) is associated with other stimuli (shock sessions + hypnosis sessions) which is able to produce a desirable response (absolute compliance, zero resistance, zero questioning of orders, zero agency), so that, by itself, the neutral stimulus becomes able to elicit this same response.

let me add here that the state of cryostasis the Winter Soldier is kept in, whenever he’s not needed, is also essential for this process --- as, despite the popular “cold sleep” name, this isn’t true sleep at all. this does not allow for REM sleep to occur, which in turn does not allow for short-term learning to be properly converted into long-term memories. which, again in turn, explains the Winter Soldier’s amnesia and, as well, why the conditioning must be reinforced every time he’s awoken (i.e., the reason why he’s awoken, dragged out of the cryo chamber, shoved down for ECS + conditioning --- as we see depicted at the start of CA:CW).

a final thought: i personally don’t believe the activation words would ever be as powerful as to immediately and inexorably turn Bucky into a complete robot, after simply reciting them once, as we see done by Zemo. alternatively, what i headcanon is that, while the end result is the same, it requires longer and more effort to get there --- so that Bucky will try to resist the effect that the words are trying to provoke, and it will take a couple more times of reciting them (while he is somehow unable to block them out, for example by being physically constricted) for the brainwashing to be completely successful.

3. CONSEQUENCES

first and foremost, i love the general idea depicted at the end of “Black Panther” that recovery IS possible, even for someone who’s quite literally gone through hell and back. however, i don’t agree with the idea that the activation words can be entirely removed, so to speak --- for example, it is well demonstrated that operant conditioning responses can take as much as 10,000 attempts without any sort of reinforcement, before eventually becoming extinct (thank you B.F. Skinner). ofc there is always the excuse that this is fiction and we can make technology as badass as we want, but i’m not a fan of that --- so i go for a compromise as realistic as i can do.

we know that Shuri was able to “deprogram” Bucky quite substantially, but we aren’t explicitly told how --- only that it was achieved by the time of “Avengers: Infinity War”. we also have Bucky himself stating that he is now “a semi-stable 100-year-old man “ --- semi-stable obviously implying that he still has to deal with some sort of sequels, despite his huge and beautiful progress. and this is absolutely all right. persons who endure trauma and/or mental disorders do not magically revert back to a state where they are totally fine, no matter how excellent the therapy is, and i am very glad this much respect was given to this topic. back to Shuri’s strategy, i would say this was heavily based on a protocol of counterconditioning/ stimulus substitution and systematic desensitization. to make a long story short, the rationale was to break the association between activation words + Winter’s mindset, to make it so that the power of the activation words over Bucky is as reduced as possible, and to instead associate these activation words with desirable outcomes --- for example, a positive stimulus, such as affectionate human contact, that is offered at the same time the words are recited --- so that the words are gradually able to elicit a positive emotion, rather than complete submission.

to conclude: in my portrayal, the events that are post-CA:CW will bring about the start of Bucky’s recovery --- which will be progressive, extended (tbh it will likely be a lifetime process), and not entirely able to revert him back to the man he was in 1944 but that will, no doubt, make a huge difference for his mental health, integrity, and stability. depending on the timeline i’m writing him on, obviously, his progress will greatly vary --- right at the end of CA:TWS, he’s dysfunctional for the most part and greatly vulnerable, whereas, by the time of IW and beyond, he still suffers from severe PTSD symptoms but has learned how to better cope with them and how to preserve his well-being.

#long post #「ᵐᵉᵗᵃ」ʷᶤᵖᵉ ʰᶤᵐ ᵃᶰᵈ ˢᵗᵃʳᵗ ᵒᵛᵉʳ #@everyone who doesn't know me from Jon's blog and doesn't know that i never shut up about my sons: i am so sorry

18 notes · View notes