#threat vectors

[dynamoe]

Happy Mother's Day, any #vbros fans who stumble over here.

A drawing Billy Quizboy's dumb mom. Blecch.

On a show with a 90% male cast with "daddy issues" written all over it, Billy is the only character with a canon character mom* (and oodles of "mommy issues").

I had a long post but tumblr ate it. just crashed and took the whole mess of writing with it.

↑ Unfinished trace of Triple Threat. I trace first to get the character "on model," so sue me.

Based on the hair, this flashback is mid-1960s.

→ Failures of Science index

___

*Except for Triana, I guess. She has a mom who has appeared in the show but isn't really a character.

[fellhellion]

Eye Spy some of the most interesting textual exploration of a specific niche in 2099’s worldbuilding read it right fucking now 🫵

[scherschers]

choose your fighter (๑•̀ᗝ•́)૭🔪

[miraclemaya]

oooooh i came up with such a good idea for this scenario i know what it is now

[raeathnos]

Mangy little guy :c

[sircocas]

on the one hand, i really like *some* of Taylor Swift's work

on the other, her fans are super annoying (cough cough the conspiracy theorists cough cough)

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - 29 April 2024

1. Net neutrality rules restored by US agency

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 on Thursday to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules and reassume regulatory oversight of broadband internet rescinded under former President Donald Trump.

2. Airlines required to refund passengers for canceled, delayed flights

DOT will also require airlines to give cash refunds if your bags are lost and not delivered within 12 hours.

The refunds must be issued within seven days, according to the new DOT rules, and must be in cash unless the passenger chooses another form of compensation. Airlines can no longer issue refunds in forms of vouchers or credits when consumers are entitled to receive cash.

3. How new mosquito nets averted 13 million malaria cases

Compared to standard nets, the introduction of 56 million state-of-the-art mosquito nets in 17 countries across sub-Saharan Africa averted an estimated 13 million malaria cases and 24,600 deaths. The New Nets Project, an initiative funded by Unitaid and the Global Fund and led by the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC), piloted the use of dual-insecticide nets in malaria-endemic countries between 2019 and 2022 to address the growing threat of insecticide resistance.

4. Germany has installed over 400,000 ‘solar balconies’

This new wave of solar producers aren’t just getting cheap electricity, they’re also participating in the energy transition.

More than 400,000 plug-in solar systems have been installed in Germany, most of them taking up a seamless spot on people’s balconies.

5. Voyager-1 sends readable data again from deep space

The US space agency says its Voyager-1 probe is once again sending usable information back to Earth after months of spouting gibberish.

The 46-year-old Nasa spacecraft is humanity's most distant object.

6. Missing cat found after 5 years makes 2,000-km journey home

Five years after it ran out the door, a lost cat was returned to a couple in Nevada after it was found thousands of kilometres away. The couple are praising the cat’s microchip for helping reunite them.

7. Restoring sight is possible now with optogenetics

Max Hodak's startup, Science, is developing gene therapy solutions to restore vision for individuals with macular degeneration and similar conditions. The Science Eye utilizes optogenetics, injecting opsins into the eye to enhance light sensitivity in retinal cells.

Clinical trials and advancements in optogenetics are showing promising results, with the potential to significantly improve vision for those affected by retinal diseases.

---

That's it for this week :)

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[wilwheaton]

Chaya Raichik (Libs of TikTok) is a stochastic terrorist

(Copied from this outstanding post)

Libs of TikTok, the nom de plume of the extreme-right social media personality Chaya Raichik is a stochastic terrorist.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-stochastic-terrorism-uses-disgust-to-incite-violence/

Her hatespeech and relentless attacks on vulnerable minorities are directly responsible for such crimes as bomb threats on children's hospitals, because they provide medically and psychiatrically appropriate, recognised and helpful aid to transgender children.

Because the stochastic terrorist Chaya Raichik openly shares the names and addresses of for example teachers who display a pride flag, perpetuating and boosting the hateful and revolting lie that LGBTQ+ people visibly existing and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people is "grooming", she is actively contributing to hate, threats and attacks against people.

With that the extreme-right and the stochastic terrorist Chaya Raichik are enflaming a moral panic

against a minority by normalising the counterfactual narrative that the simple existence of this minority means children are under attack and are being sexually abused.

The extreme-right claims that the stochastic terrorist Chaya Raichik is just "repeating information already publically shared". This is a lie. Instead she heavily editorialises the content she posts and she is a major vector of hatespeech, propaganda, dehumanisation and efforts to illegalise the public existence of LGBTQ+ people.

The stochastic terrorist Chaya Raichik and others of her kind such as but not limited to Matt Walsh and Tucker Carlson are directly responsible for the cowardly attack in Colorado Springs and other (attempted) attacks of a similar nature.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

It might come as quite a shock to those who think that having a woman on the throne would mean anything for women's liberation in Westeros, but trickle down feminism is not a thing. Liberation cannot start at the top, it is a movement that must start from the bottom up, otherwise the privileged class simply creates more vectors for oppression. Power and privilege are inherently self-protecting, and a those in power, yes, including women, will tear down the less privileged before sacrificing even a tiny scrap of their own privilege or power. This is one of the main themes of ASOIAF and yet this fandom has bought into the myth of the liberating queen so wholeheartedly that people actually believe that allowing a tyrant to take the throne, so long as she's a woman tyrant, is praxis. Rhaenyra is not a liberator of women or anyone else, in fact she damages the cause of liberation much more than she helps it. Control over the dragons was bought and paid for with the blood of countless slaves, and Rhaenyra wields the tools of the oppressor expertly, threatening all who challenge her with fire and blood, a threat she delivers on before she ever crowns herself queen. Her very claim comes from the belief that the one person in charge should wield absolute power and ruthlessly defend that power with the might of dragons.

Remember who kills more of the living dragons in Fire and Blood than any one Targaryen. Set aside the silly logistics of the storming of the Dragonpit, and think about the bravery it would take to face down a dragon armed with only a pitchfork and conviction. That is where liberation begins, from the people standing in front of the dragons, not those sitting atop them.

[lavleyart]

Happy April Boops! Kitty Vaati is coming for your noses! This is a threat! Meow!

(Also I did this as part of the Evil Art style challenge)

These were the things I had to avoid:

Yall really thought saying "loose lines" makes me do neat lines. Naahhhh. No lines it is! Vector style, darling! Tho I believe i failed avoiding purple. Sorry!

ANYWAYS im sure yall are dying to see my April Fools Boop count as of right now:

1000 given, 2000 received. The day is only half over tho so lets see how far we can come meheheheheh

Edit: Thats my final count. 2000 given, 4000 received. Man that event was fun :D we didn't break he global count thooo I am disappointed lmao.

best part was when evil boops were unlocked eheheheheh <3

[howtofightwrite]

First of all, I was very happy to see you share your opinions on assassin tropes and fight scenes. You brought up a lot of good points that I hadn't even considered in my early drafts! That being said, I'm trying to craft a game where the player starts out as a rookie. This means that I'll need a plausible way for someone to join a criminal organization without having grown up in that kind of scene. My original draft had the player join under the threat of exposure to the police, but I'm not sure if that's the best way to go. If you don't mind, then what are your thoughts? What other ways could get someone involved?

So, I'm pretty sure googling, “how to join a criminal organization,” will put you on some kind of list. Or, at least do some really goofy things to your search algorithms. So, with that in mind, this is going to be a little spotty, and there are different kinds of criminal organizations, which utilize different recruitment techniques.

Sometimes, the neighborhood background is mandatory. If your character didn't grow up around the organization, they're not trusted, and would not be able to join at all. This can apply to both gangs and organized crime. In other cases, not having that background would only be a serious impediment or create a glass ceiling.

Another common recruitment point is in prison. If an individual is so inclined, prison can function as an institute of higher education in criminality. It gives the convict access to criminals in an environment where their own status as a criminal is unlikely to be questioned. It gives them the opportunity to network with other criminals, and that can lead to options for (illegal) work once they've finished serving their sentence. I haven't followed up on it in a few years, but there's a YouTube channel by Larry Lawton, who used to be a professional armed robber, who discusses a lot of this in more detail, so his videos may be worth checking out for more context on how prison serves as higher education for aspiring criminals.

In some cases, criminal organizations might directly recruit individuals. The problem here is, most of the time it's children. So it becomes part of that, “growing up in the neighborhood,” background you're trying to avoid. Sometimes this is to use the kids as intentional cutouts, lookouts, or decoys, though not always, and how that shakes out depends on who recruited them.

In very rare cases, a criminal organization might seek to directly recruit an adult. Before you get excited about this, the only cases of this I'm aware of are former military, expats who have been approached by cartels, and this was certainly more of, “an offer you can't refuse,” style of recruitment. Now, to be clear, a criminal organization coercing someone into doing their bidding isn't particularly strange, but it's not usually a form of recruitment.

Another recruitment vector that's been a problem in recent years has been in the US military itself. This was an inevitable outgrowth of the policy of sending convicts to serve in the armed forces. Instead of reforming, they simply bring their criminal experience with them, and start looking around at prospective talent. It's enough of a problem that the military (usually) won't accept someone who's signing up in exchange for a deferred sentence, but some individuals do get through. While I haven't heard anything about it in the last few years, it did lead to a fairly significant gang problem that the armed forces were dealing with.

So, the options aren't extremely extensive. Doing a stint is probably the easiest route in for a character who already tried to get into a life of crime, but doesn't have the connections to make a go of it. If your character just randomly showed up at a criminal hangout, it wouldn't get them any access to the local criminal underworld.

-Starke

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[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA For ruining a coworker's "business opportunity?"

For a bit of context this happened in the Summer of 2020. Also I'll be using the term MLM frequently and in this case it means "multi-level marketing" so comapanies like Avon, Tupperware, Monat, Vector-Cutco, LuLaRoe, etc. A

So I have this coworker let's call her T and in July of 2020 I got a FB message from her that said "Hey girl, so I recently started my own business and I thought you would be the perfect candidate to join my team! We'll be selling cooking and bakeware which should be right up your alley given how much you love to bake! So what do you say are you ready to join my team and leave [place of employment] behind?" I was immediately suspicious about the uncharacteristic tone of her message and asked her "What is the company name?" And she responded with "Pampered Chef." (an MLM). For the record, I am extremely anti-MLM, and know from following several anti-MLM YouTubers that hardly anyone makes any kind of money in those comapanies. So I politely declined her offer. And she immediately said "But you would be perfect! It would be just like when you sold Girl Scout cookies when you were a kid! I need you to join my team!" And I told her "I'm not interested in selling bakeware for an MLM. So my answer is still no." (Also bold of her to assume I did any of the cookie selling when I was in Girl Scouts, I gave thr forms to my parents and they did the bulk of the work).

I thought that was the end of it until I got an invite to an IN-PERSON (remember this was July 2020) Pampered Chef party at her house that at that point 40 people had RSVP'd to. I declined again snd blocked the group and a few days later I got another invite which I again declined. And the process repeated several more times. One day I got one at work within earshot of the manager's office and loudly said "Oh my GOD T I'm not going to your Pampered Chef house party in the middle of a pandemic!" Which got the manager's attention (we had already had one incident where an associate's wedding turned into a super-spreader event where 20 other associates ended up missing work due to Covid) and he asked me what was going on. And me being fed up with the near constant harassment, she messaged me several times a week and even went to my dad about it (he worked at the same store we did), I told him everything. And the following day T announced on Facebook "Unfortunately due to the current state of things, I regretfully have to cancel the in-house Pampered Chef party." She had also messaged me "thanks to you I can't hold my party or recruit people from work. Why did you tell management about it?" And I told her I was fed up with the constant harassment and didn’t see any other way of making it stop. I ended up blocking T after that. And thought it was the end of it.

Until her husband messaged me on FB several weeks later "Hi, I'm [so-so] T's husband, she asked me to reach out to you on her behalf to ask you if you would be interested in joining her team at Scentsy (another MLM that sells scented wax melts) she can't seem to message you for some reason." And I responded "Sir, with all due respect I've already had to threaten to file a harassment grievance against T if she continues to try and recruit me for her "businesses." My answer is still no and I will ask you to never contact me about this again otherwise I will go through with my threat." He apologized and I never heard from him again. T on the other hand makes snide remarks about how I ruined her businesses every time we happen to be on the same shift. And how I didn't have to be a narc and go to management about it and I should have just let it be. So AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[thespectrehauntingfodlan]

Scrolling this website is giving me a lot more evidence for a social theory I have about propaganda and the common sense imposed by the ruling class and how it's more complex and more layered than is portrayed or commonly thought, how it's a series of contradictory concepts and ideas that seem like they should be opposed to each other but in reality seem to mutually reinforce? Originally I saw these as distinct layers, a base enforcement of propaganda that when a person begins to question there's an additional layer of propaganda there and social enforcement to recapture them and play to their biases and questions in a way that ultimately redirects them towards continuing to uphold the present mode of control. Now I'm starting to see that these layers are more diffuse and not quite discrete, ultimately functioning in a similar manner but playing towards the human desire for thought terminating heuristics. Re-evaluating your assumptions and biases and realizing you were lied to is too readily available, so that re-evaluation has to be answered by additional levels of propaganda which admit the earlier beliefs and worldview enforced were lies and incorrect, but do not provide liberation from propaganda, they redirect this energy into a safe form of questioning the system and playing enough towards the ego to dial back this moment of class (or any other vector of oppression really) consciousness into something that's not a threat.

Which is fun from the point of view of an aspiring social theorist but very depressing from the perspective of a woman who would like to see material conditions changed in her lifetime lol

[number-one-shadisper-shipper]

(The Chaotix are in the middle of an interrogation)

Suspect: What do you want?

Charmy: *yanks out cattle prod* We'll ask the questions, scumbag!

Vector: Charmy!!

Charmy: Just give me an excuse, punk!

Vector: Charmy, c'mon!

*Vector and Espio drag Charmy away. Charmy is still yelling threats*

Vector: Charmy, what the heck was that?!?

Charmy: Oh, I thought we were doing "Good Cop, Bad Cop"

Espio: Who were you, "Dangerously Unstable Cop"?!? And why do you have a cattle prod?

[sgiandubh]

Hello how are you? I follow several shippers' blogs and I noticed that every now and then some bloggers publish hateful messages they received. My question is about mental health: how do you deal with it? I understand that your presence here is relatively recent, but have you ever regretted something?

Dear Mental Health Anon,

This is the kind of submissions I welcome with all my heart, because they are benevolent and witty. Forgive me already for what I suspect will be a long answer. It is not the pleasure of hearing me talk that prompts them, but the sincere intention to answer deserving asks as clearly, fully and honestly as I can.

The short answer is : I am fine, Fall is slowly coming and nights are starting to be really chilly. There's some light rain tapping on the roof of my flat and I will spend my week-end wandering around some of my favorite places on Earth. And now, onwards to the consistent and interesting ask of yours...

The worst trolling message I have ever seen in this fandom is the one I am immediately going to post below, because I think it should serve us all as warning and reminder. It was posted on a blog I have been reading from the beginning of my long lurking days on Tumblr: @cb4tb is one of the most balanced and articulate people in this corner of the Internet. I remember being shocked by its cold and very coherent violence. The feat of a casebook sociopath, who thinks her asks in Spanish (I am 200% certain about it) and who has an appalling command of English grammar. Written on Christmas' Eve and on purpose:

Compared to the alarming slander @cb4tb got (whatever for is a mystery, she is non conflictual and posts very witty business insights) on a day that should be completely taboo for every civilized human being (you don't need to believe in God to respect one of Christianity's most important celebrations), whatever hate I could get in here is definitely subpar. Most of it did not make it on my page and went straight to the bin. But it's not always easy: I am as human as you, Anon, and sometimes I feel personally insulted and revolted by the smugness and pettiness of it all. However, I must immediately add their hate never made me give up an inch of my convictions. They are the result of a long interval of watching and pondering, coupled with my own observations I gladly share with like-minded women all around the world. That often hits a nerve or bruises overinflated egos on the Other Side. So be it: I am not here to be meek and obedient, if I never was meek and obedient in real life. I am here to bring clarity and build trust, which incidentally resonates very closely to what I do for a living. That probably rates me as a moderate on the shipper spectrum, in the sense that by complete design I put aside some divisive topics I firmly chose not to discuss. I am not interested to bring attention on me, in here, and the least thing I'd like is to be a vector of discord. So that would also rate me as a peacemaker of sorts - and yes, that sounds perhaps pretentious, but I believe it is needed, especially now.

I only felt a clear intention to threaten me twice, both in DM. The first time it curiously came from one extreme fringe of the shipper community and I brushed it off, because it was an empty, almost ridiculous threat. I politely denied and that was it - two persons blocked me and there were no other consequences to it. The second time, an anti came to confront me on an irrelevant point, with a very aggressive undertone. I blocked and almost forgot about it. If you have it clear enough in your mind that such things cannot be avoided and, at the same time, you know that your own moral compass is not compromised, these details will not affect you. At all. I confidently promise you that. Last but not least: if you are not great with compartmentalizing, don't step in the arena. It can seriously ruffle your self-esteem and it's not worth it.

So this is how I deal with it: I focus on what I have to say (does it bring something new? interesting? positive? thought-provoking?), on the way of saying it (above all, be kind and gracious to every other shipper) and on the right moment to say it (only when I am honestly sure I can do it with no unwanted consequences). But I will stand in solidarity with any shipper (any single one of them) who is humiliated, belittled or disparaged, with not a single shred of fear in the world. And I would also fend for myself if necessary, if I am getting over-the-top slander: all the other yapping, I ignore. Sometimes (often, even) it's more interesting to watch.

And if anything else fails, I go for a long drive and have a coffee at the seaside or simply open a book or listen to some Bach or call Someone. Or take this little big guy out for a lazy walk in the park:

You ask me if I regret anything. Absolutely not. I have received more than I could ever give, in here. I have met spectacular women and men, I have grown very fond of and feel very close to. I have had the immense satisfaction of sharing their secrets, their worries, their plans and this means trust, in my book, for which I will never tire saying how grateful I am. I also strived to respond in kind and I mean to honor this unwritten contract. Last but not least, I have watched this community slowly dusting off months of sadness and perhaps starting to open up again.

And all of this makes me damn proud of who we are, Anon. Thank you for dropping by! You are always welcome on my page.

[0ne-shot]

its gonna be okay.

team chaotix fic that KIND of counts as angst? idk but some shit happens. tw for major child injury.

-------------

``Fine, you barbarians want to ignore my warnings and keep wrecking my newly-built lair? I’ll teach you the lesson the hard way.`` Eggman’s static voice rang out from the now deactivated badnik’s screen as it flashed back to black, leaving the three to soak up what he had just threatened.

Vector fixed his eyes over to Charmy and Espio beside him. The chameleon seemed to digest the information well enough to put on a brave face in response to the threat. But Charmy.. The kid tried to be brave, too, but his body language said otherwise: his own arms were grasping onto each other for comfort as he stared at the black screen with a glint of fear in his orange eyes. A small, worried smile grew on the crocodile’s long, sharp muzzle as he knelt down to the bee’s height.

``What’s worryin’ ya so bad?`` Vector’s rough voice had a hint of sympathy.

``I- `` Charmy put his head down, considering how he should really phrase this to Vector.. ``I know Eggman’s enough of a doof-y coward to not really act on what he just said.. But it’s just this gut feeling that this whole case is gonna loop us into Eggman’s blacklist for good.``

Vector tilted his head in thought, before putting his large hand on the bee’s shoulder and giving him a reassuring smile.

``So what? We’ve probably gotten into Eggman’s bad side loooong ago, and what’s he done? Throw a couple o’ badniks in front of us? It’s really nothing to break a sweat over, kid. It’s all gonna be okay in the end.``

``And besides, if Eggman does try anything, I won't be far behind you and Espio. If we detectives kicked his butt once, we can kick his butt again.`` Charmy giggled a little at Vector’s last line.

Espio exhaled, the smallest of smiles creeping up on his face. He knew all three of them were too strong to falter at Eggman’s schemes, no matter how difficult it was to undergo. Almost all recent crime cases have started to revolve around Eggman, so if they can confront him face-to-face one time, they can do plenty more.

Yeah. It was all gonna be okay in the end.

It was all gonna be okay…

…

————

``....A-Agh..`` Charmy grunted as he slowly opened his eyes, nothing but darkness surrounding him.

…Not much was okay.

He couldn’t remember much happening, really. The rapidness of it all, the screams, the panic, it was too much for him to process in that short of time when they were all in battle with Eggman. All that was left for him to remember in the midst of the haze that was his memory was Vector and Espio yelling.. Well, it had to be something. Something important. A warning that didn't get to Charmy in time before it all went white for him.

Even if it wasn't, Charmy couldn't help but feel like it was his fault. His fault for not being able to listen to the two while he was facing Eggman full head-on.

Vector was gonna be so mad…

Well, if he could already imagine the trouble he’d get in, he’d better get started getting himself out of this enclosed area. But that was basically near impossible when all of his lower body was throbbing with pain, especially at his abdomen... His right wing hurt so much, too—immobilising any sort of flight the bee could’ve used instead. Probably just from the adrenaline of the fight.

The pain in his abdomen felt like there was a chunk of metal lodged into his body, some tears falling down his muzzle in sheer agony from it.

The rest of his small body felt numb and cold. That’s fine: it beats pain..

The little bee attempted to just walk it off and attempt to lift his body off the ground anyway, but that only ended with a yelp of agony as his body staggered quickly back to the floor.

Ow. Okay. Definitely not trying any funny stuff, then.

Charmy gazed around the tight space keeping him pinned down to wherever he was. Thick metal sheets, rubble and ruined debris of what used to be badniks piled up and enclosed the space of where the bee was — some remains were even on his body and crushing some parts — only having small creaks of openings that let air in and allowed Charmy to peer outside of where he was trapped. Whatever he could actually see outside didn't make one difference when his blurry vision clogged up any possible insight he could've gotten on how to get out or at least alert Vector or Espio.

His fuzzy antenna twitched with a constant ringing sound pulsating in his ears, deafening any familiar voices he could’ve heard from outside.

The world really was itching to kick his butt today with completely closing off all his senses when he needed them most, huh?

The bee didn't really know if the cause of his weird sense of sleepiness was from staying up all night yesterday, or from barely getting any oxygen intake and only breathing in dust and oil fumes from broken machinery mending itself one with the debris.

In either case, he felt the urge to just listen to the sensation and go back to sleep, but he needed to at least try and escape first.

…

He suddenly heard a soft static noise in his left antenna, buzzing (pun intended) in his ear quietly. Charmy weakly lifted a hand up, grazing the coarse floors with his elbow, and touched it to try and see what was causing it..

…

Right. The communicator. It was an earpiece Vector had been working extra hours and saving up for, just so the crocodile could get three for each of them — and to say that it has improved their missions in terms of coordination would be an understatement. Still, it was pretty new to Charmy, and the little bee had to fumble with it a few times until he heard—

Chrrrk!-

``Charmy?! Charmy, are you there?``

A familiar voice rang in his antenna, the bee recognizing it upon the first syllable it enunciated. A weak, small bittersweet smile emerged on his face upon it.

It— It was Vector!

``...Mmph- `` The little bee tried to reply to the voice, but it only really came out as a muffled noise of struggle. `` ..I- ..Mhm.. ``

Charmy couldn't see right now, but he could definitely sense the relief yet fear that came on Vector’s face when he heard just how weak the bee’s voice was. Practically inaudible if they didn't have earpieces heighting up eachother’s volumes.

`` Oh thank Gaia... You gave me a scare there, kid. `` Vector then seemed to yell something from afar, something not directed to Charmy. He then heard the second voice he had wanted to hear…

``Charmy? Where are you now?`` The ninja’s usually sage voice seemed to come off with a small hint of worry right now.. But still, Charmy was more than glad to hear the voices of the two people he held close in a situation like this, calming down the little kid’s internal stress.

Charmy wondered why his right wing still hurt so bad when the adrenaline he had had before was now calmed down by Vector and Espio..

`` D-.. debris.. ``

``’Debris’?`` The older reiterated as he turned back to Espio ``The kid’s under some sort of pile of remains, keep that in mind.. ``

His body seemed to not take that sudden usage of energy from just speaking well, every part of him growing more numb by the second as he felt the urge to just let go of consciousness for a while; eyes growing dull and heavy.

`` Charmy? `` The crocodile got back to the bee.

`` … ``

`` C’mon, don’t leave me hanging, little guy. ``

The kid only mustered up a feeble groan of pain instead of words, really.

``How bad are you hurting? What are the injuries?`` The slight anxiety in Espio’s voice was really starting to peek out now. It wasn't the chameleon’s fault—it’s not the end of the world if you drop your cold demeanour for a near-dead kid.

…Shoot. Charmy really didn’t want to worry the two in this case: stressing the older ones out more than he already was, was going to get them nowhere… He just wanted them to come here, not to waste time while his body was hurting most.

But he just needed to tell them, or Espio would keep insisting on knowing.

``..It- …It hurts.. A lot…``

Vector’s concerned grunt only indicated to Charmy that he was starting to get more and more worried about the bee’s general health and safety.

``Just stay with us on the line, okay? Keep breathing as deeply as you can, and we’ll be here in a blink. It’s gonna be okay, kid.`` Vector must’ve noticed how shallowly the bee was breathing.

Charmy doesn’t know if he could even really trust Vector anymore with that phrase when the croc’s already promised it once and it ended in this ruined predicament.

But he couldn’t blame Vector.

He couldn’t blame Espio.

He couldn’t blame anyone.

All he saw on who’s at fault for this was himself.

 For getting himself this hurt and putting that burden onto their shoulders because he was reckless. Because he couldn’t listen.

Tears started to leak out again from his orange eyes, but now it was paired with a lifeless expression. An empty, tired expression. All his energy was being slowly sucked out of him each second Espio and Vector weren't here, and the little bee couldn't do a thing about it. Nothing but lay here and wait for exhaustion to finally pull him under.

Charmy could feel the weight of his body start to grow on him as his attempts in moving became more sluggish.

The world started to spin.

Eyelids were heavier than ever.

He finally stopped trying to hold on and let his small body rest.

`` …M’s-sorry, ‘ector… and Esp..io… ``

————

``Damnit! The communicator just went off with no signal!`` 

Vector struggled as he ripped the earpiece off and tried everything he could to connect back to Charmy and communicate with him, tinkering with it with shaky hands. But no — too much to ask for, it seems. To have basic communication with a dying kid you hold dear.

Espio nudged the crocodile’s shoulders to get him to focus on what’s at hand, the final door in front of them. Charmy must’ve been in here.

``I’ll need help getting these doors down. I’ll skewer the hinges, you pull each door apart.`` Vector only replied with a quick nod as Espio already made his way up the wall and against the rim of the metal doors, taking out a kunai and preparing himself to aim at the ends. The elder put his two large hands on the crack of the door, left on left, right on right.

…

``Pull!``

The crocodile exerted himself with a low grunt as he gripped and pulled apart the two openings so hard his knuckles were turning white, while the ninja kept swiftly screwing the kunai’s sharp end into the hinges until they were loosened and now susceptible to the force of Vector’s push as the two doors ripped right off.

The two immediately dashed into the final room, debris being the only thing that filled the space as toxic fumes and dust emanated from destructed badniks and other machinery.

``Charmy? We’re here! `` Espio called out from the ceiling he was clinging onto to get a better view of the room, swirled tail latched on a hanging, turned-off light

Vector checked every pile of debris with a keen eye, making sure to not miss any signs of Charmy possibly being in one of them.

``C’mon, kid.. You’ve gotta be okay. You’ve gotta be here somewhere.``

It didn’t take long before he spotted something standing out from the rest of the clumped up remains of metal and rock, near one of the piles of debris.

Something colourful that stuck out from the dull shades of everything around it.

A torn piece from Charmy’s vest.

``Espio! C’mere!`` He called out to the chameleon as Vector started to frantically lift off and throw away each piece of remains from what looked to be the bee’s body, and no sooner had Vector started to dig away into the pile that Espio had deftly sprinted next to the larger to help him out, lifting off the smaller parts more faster as Vector lifted off the bigger parts more carefully.

He made sure not to jostle anything around: he didn't want to hurt Charmy more than he already was.

Espio was able to uncover some of the smaller bee’s lower body, an icy sweat running down Vector’s forehead when he saw a large, thick sheet of metal jabbed into his abdomen with red bloomed over it. How long had the poor kid had that metal part stabbed into him like that?

Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t look at the blood for too long. You’re gonna make it worse if you panic.

Vector finally lifted and got off the biggest clump of debris enclosing Charmy, the little bee’s body now in full view. He was laying on the ground flat, bloodied face slack, eyes shut and head lolled over with antennae drooped limply to the side as blood was pooling underneath him. His right wing had half of it torn off, too.

Vector wanted to punch himself when he saw the tear-jerking sight.

How could he have not gotten Charmy out of this sooner?

The pain the bee must’ve felt…

…But, he couldn’t dwell on that now. 

``We’ve got you, we’ve got you.. `` He knelt down, carefully scooped up Charmy’s limp body and propped his head with his large hands, getting up again. Espio looked to be just as horrified, shuffling next to Vector as he gazed at the unconscious bee in his arms.

``That’s…- …That’s fatal. We need to rush.`` All attentive eyes, the chameleon could tell about the bee’s condition from just one look. ``..He can pull through, th-though. Correct? ``

Vector frowned at the slight wobble in the ninja’s voice. `` The little guy’s resilient; he won't give up to Eggman that easily.. Don’t worry. And you don’t have to tell me twice about getting outta here, big guy. C’mon, let’s get outside and get some medical help for Charmy.``

Vector securely kept Charmy’s small body cradled in his arms, not minding the blood and dust now covering himself as they made their way back from the doors they entered, now with their missing member with them.

As Vector took deep breaths as he walked past, today might’ve just had the most fear he’s ever felt in forever.

But they made it through.

It was all gonna be okay.

---------------

note: charmy i am so sorry for your hurting its for the audience i swear

also its like. my first time writing a proper fic thats not a draft. can you tell