#turns out it was a damn sleeper agent

[boimgfrog]

love when I randomly get itchy all over and it makes me want to peel my skin off and the ONLY way 2 fix it is wipe my whole body down with the only consistently Safe body wash i have, and then apply baby powder on every inch of skin I can conceivably reach ^-^

[wawhii]

Morrowind has me fucked up enough after tonight that I need the fucking Skyrim Tavern Music

[itissadbutitsmy-artblog]

*pushes "Ask Me About Snails AU" button*

How's the boy coping with the fact his sister is gone into a dimension he most likely doesn't even know about. Sunset went into the mirror when he was - what, 10? 5? (<- bad at pony ages), - so that's bound to hurt, unless she tampered with his memories beforehand; or she went before he could even remember her

Don't even get me started on how well Sunset is dealing with the fact her Human Bro isn't her Actual Bro. Well, he kinda is, but not, and it's such dissonance source. Nice fake memories to nod along to here, Sunset

VIBRATIN.G . you are speaking my language.

so this is unfortunately a au(?) ive been gently nursing since i was a babychild fixating on mlp.

long story short he is certain shes fine even though everyone is telling him she is probably dead (he knew she was scary powerful. she was celestia's personal student, for, uh, celestia's sake!). celestia is annoyingly cryptic about the whole thing (she knows sunset went into another dimension of course but all she will tell her poor family is ohhh shes uhhhh not with us anymore. to avoid any normies going THERES ANOTHER DIMENSION? so everyone just thinks she died or something ): except snails who KNOWS BETTER. (and snips who maybe half believes him, and kind of thinks he's just in denial, but what does he know? they were both Infants when she disappeared).)

snails tracks down and recruits a very bitter trixie to go figure out wtf happened (i made this au before trixie became a main character) and they tear spacetime asunder and blast celestia's influence into the ground together

[rollinouttahere-writes]

Shooting my shot asking for a Kaku x adult Lucky fic rather than headcannons this time (you don’t have to if you don’t want to)

Oh trust me, I want to!

I decided to make this a little what if scenario for if Kaku had been successful in running off with her after Enies Lobby

Not So Bad

3.4k words

warnings for yandere content and pregancy mentions (not for Lucky)

Life had taken many turns that you hadn’t been prepared for. 

It started with more tame things such as your parents throwing you out when you dropped out of college and the absolutely unhinged shit customers put you through at work. Then you went and got yourself sent to a whole different world, as one does, and after that your life appeared to be speedrunning batshit insane events.

This ultimately culminated in your current situation: Being abducted and forcibly married to one of the many people who had become obsessed with you since entering this bizarre world.

Waves crashed against the ship from outside, lightly jostling you and everyone else on board. Kaku’s arms instinctively tightened around you. The small bed you were both crammed into left no room for personal space, every inch of your body was squeezed against his so as to prevent either of you from falling off the bed at the slightest movement of the ship.

The soft fabric of his nightshirt pressed into your face, likely leaving an imprint in its wake. The steady rise and fall of his chest stuttered slightly from the disturbance of the particularly large wave hitting seconds before, but it evened out again. He’s such a light sleeper that you’re honestly surprised that wasn’t enough to wake him.

Quiet grumbling could be heard behind you as one of the other people you were bunking with complained about how rough the sea was. You could understand why she would be irritated by this. Her morning sickness had been bad enough already, the motion of the ship rocking as much as it was definitely didn’t help.

This particular situation was hardly anything new for you. Ever since Kaku had “eloped” with you after you failed to fight him off at Enies Lobby thanks to your clammy hands dropping your impact dial, you’d been on the run. It made sense, you suppose. You were a wanted pirate after taking part in the attack on Enies Lobby, and he was a former CP9 agent who not only ran but was also being blamed for the situation. It was rare for you two to stay on an island for more than a few weeks. If you stayed any longer you ran the risk of being tracked down by other assassins.

While Kaku’s distinct features made hiding a little more difficult than it needed to be, you lucked out by not having a photograph on your bounty poster. No one had been able to get a picture of you, so they had to settle for a drawing instead. It wasn’t very accurate, though you had to admit it looked much better than Sanji’s. You damn near pissed yourself from how hard you’d laughed after seeing his.

Kaku was outwardly optimistic about your circumstances, assuring you that the manhunt would calm down as the years went by. You’re not sure if he actually believed that or if he was just saying as much to try and comfort you. That was admittedly something he was good at. Lord knows he’d needed to do this more than a few times in your time together.

At first you had resented that tendency of his because he had been the primary cause of your stress. The audacity of him to try and get you to calm down after kidnapping you made you want to scream. Or when he would wildly misconstrue why you were upset. Like the time he thought you were having “pre-wedding jitters” because you’d been fighting him tooth and nail on the way to an extremely shady chapel, and didn’t ONCE consider that maybe you just didn’t want to marry him.

Your kicking and screaming had done nothing to stop it. The officiant didn’t care about your willingness, and Kaku was delusional enough to excuse your behavior as just being nerves or whatever. He’d gotten what he wanted, insisting that he wanted to “do this right”, and now he was your husband whether you liked it or not.

As time went on, your disdain for him was becoming less and less, and you didn’t know how to feel about it.

Sure, at first it was easy to dig your heels in and resist. The Straw Hats would be here any second to save you, you were sure of it. But they never showed. You tried to rationalize it. They didn’t know where you were. With Robin they knew exactly where she went and how to get there, it was easy to chase after her. With you, you had up and vanished without a trace. You’re not even sure they had enough to go off of to know that you’re with Kaku.

Jealousy was an ugly emotion, but that didn’t keep it from brewing within you. You hadn’t seen so much as a hint of the Straw Hats, and that led to you questioning if they were even trying to find you. Were you just deadweight that they were glad to be rid of? You tried to tell yourself that wasn’t true, but it became harder to convince yourself of that as you saw reports of the Straw Hats gaining new members.

Had they replaced you? That easily?

Surprisingly, Kaku had been the one to assure you that likely wasn’t the case. He pointed out how hard they fought to get you back when you were still in Water 7. While he definitely wasn’t a fan of theirs by any means, even he could admit that they cared for you. It was… confusing to hear him of all people defend the Straw Hats. 

The real tipping point came after you saw the paper announcing Ace’s death. That broke you.

For a solid month after that, you were inconsolable. There was nothing that anyone could do or say to ease the pain. After the crying had gone from a constant to only happening in random bursts, you had fallen into a deep depression. You wondered if there was something that you could have done to prevent this. Would you have been able to save Ace if you’d been there? The idea that his death was avoidable made you feel sick to your stomach.

All throughout this depressive episode, Kaku had been nothing but kind and patient. He’d been a shoulder to cry on, someone to ramble to about your time spent with Ace in Alabasta and how he was like the brother you never had. Kaku didn’t once get irritated with you over being upset, and he never criticized you for being useless when you were too depressed to get out of bed in the morning. It made him very hard to hate.

Then one night he brought home a kitten he’d found at the construction site he was working on temporarily, one of his many odd jobs he’d picked up. The poor thing was underweight and so filthy that you couldn’t even tell what color it was supposed to be. A rather lengthy bath in the sink had revealed him to be orange, which reminded you of Ace and made you cry again.

Kaku had encouraged you to keep him saying that having the little guy around might help you to feel better, and you saw no reason to argue. You’d always wanted a cat. The kitten was a total sweetheart. Very mischievous and dumb as a brick in true orange cat fashion, but undeniably loving. The idea to name him Ace came to you easily.

Having cat Ace around did wind up being a turning point in your mood. You couldn’t sulk in bed all day when a tiny kitten was raising hell in your room and demanding attention. It was nice having something to take care of.

Ace was presently snuggled up in the crook of your neck, thoroughly worn out from Ellie playing with him for hours on end during the day. Ellie was the daughter of the couple you were sharing a cabin with. The six year old had been ecstatic to see she was rooming with a kitty and had all but begged you to play with him, which you were fine with. Her mother, Clara, had simply been grateful to have her daughter occupied while she struggled with a combination of morning and motion sickness.

Due to both you and Kaku having a wanted status, you typically chose to stay in the cabin of whatever passenger ship you happened to be traveling on so as to minimize the chances of being recognized. This led to you getting to know Clara and Ellie quite well. Not her husband though, who you’re not sure you ever caught the name of.

Kaku had butted heads with him a couple of times over his behavior, starting with when you were boarding the ship and saw that he’d left Clara to haul on all of the luggage herself despite being very noticeably pregnant. Both of you were quick to help her, while Kaku made a jab at him for being a “ninnyhammer”. Honestly you think he was more mad about not knowing what that meant than being insulted.

None of you saw much of him after that. He’d spent the day socializing and drinking, only coming back to the cabin after everyone else had already gone to bed.

You’ve been awake since he came back. Partially because you’ve had a lot on your mind as of late, but mostly because you really needed to pee. You thought that it could wait until morning at first, but it had become clear that wasn’t going to be the case.

There was no use in trying to sneak out of the bed without waking up Kaku. With how closely pressed you two were, even a heavy sleeper would be awoken from the movement. The second you shifted yourself up onto one elbow, his eyes shot open.

“Is something wrong?” His voice was thick with sleep, but his eyes were alert.

“I need to go to the bathroom. Hold Ace so he doesn’t run out after me,” you pulled the kitten away from your neck and handed him over. Ace mewled in protest.

“Alright, will do,” Kaku murmured while holding the feline gently.

After slipping on your shoes and a housecoat over your pajamas, you quietly snuck out of the room. 

One of the downsides to being sent to a world that was in a time period before your own was that things were less advanced than you were used to. Unfortunately that applied to the bathrooms. In the absence of plumbing, the “toilets” were in cramped rooms at the front of the ship that essentially just had a hole in the floor hanging over the ocean below.

Admittedly, this ship’s toilets were bougie in comparison to some of the others you’ve been on. At least these afforded you some privacy, unlike a few of the others that simply had you out in the elements for anyone and everyone to see your bare ass.

You’re not sure you made it ten feet from the room when you could hear the door open and close again. Your eye twitched in annoyance. Where could Kaku possibly think you would go while on a ship in the middle of the ocean? You hadn’t tried to run in months after learning quickly that you had no hope of being able to get away from him, not with how athletic he was.

With a huff, you stop and look over your shoulder. Instead of seeing your paranoid husband, your eyes fell upon Ellie. She jogged over, nightgown bouncing with each step, “Are you going to the toilets? Can I come with you?”

“Oh, yeah of course,” you waited for her to close the gap before continuing.

Ellie reached up to grab your hand as you made your way down the dimly lit hall, “Thank you! I really needed to go but was too scared to go by myself, it’s so spooky in here at night.” That it was. The sparsely placed oil lamps did little to illuminate the halls, the moonlight shining in through the windows was doing more than they were. “And I didn’t want to ask mama since she doesn’t feel so good.”

“Aww, that was very considerate of you,” sadly she appeared to be more concerned for her mother’s well being than the woman’s husband was. It wasn’t surprising that she hadn’t even considered asking her father to go with her, you don’t think you’ve seen them speak to each other once.

She tugged on your hand and looked up at you expectantly, “Hey, can I play with Ace again tomorrow?”

“I don’t see why not, he seems to be quite fond of you,” you couldn’t help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. Ellie squealed and walked with a skip in her step. 

Distantly, you wondered how Ace would feel about you naming a cat after him. He might be a little indignant about it at first, especially if you talked about how dumb the kitten was, but you think he would come around. Cat Ace is charming in his own right, he’d be able to win over human Ace. If… If he’d had the chance to. You shook your head. No, you weren’t going to let yourself spiral again tonight, and certainly not when you were escorting a child to the bathroom. 

After a somewhat long trek, the head finally came into view. Ellie let go of your hand and ran into one of the private rooms. She must have really had to go. You entered your room of choice with a decidedly calmer gait. It was very dark in there, with the only light coming from the slits in the wall letting in both fresh air and moonlight. 

Wanting to get out of here as quickly as possible, you got down to business. The choppy waters did not make balancing yourself particularly easy, but you managed. After washing your hands in a bowl of water that you were trying your hardest not to think too hard about the cleanliness of, you took a moment to look at yourself in the mirror.

Pushing back the partial bangs Kaku had given you to hide your scar- that he swore up and down he wasn’t bothered by, this was purely to hide your identity- you traced over the scar. It had long since healed over, but the memories associated with it felt fresh.

Again, your thoughts drifted to the Straw Hats. A few months ago, they had disappeared. No one knew where they were and there was talk of them having disbanded. You didn’t buy it, Luffy was far too determined to give up on his dream, and his crew was too loyal to leave him, but where did that leave you?

When they first left the public eye, you had thought it was done intentionally so they could come rescue you. It would be harder for Kaku to avoid them if he had no idea where they were. That never happened. It was really starting to feel like they had abandoned you. Makes sense, you suppose, you were quite the handful for them. What with all the people chasing after you and fighting them to get to you. It was probably nice to not have to worry about that anymore.

It hurt. A lot.

But not as much as you thought it would. Kaku has told you time and time again how much he loved you, and you did believe him. At first you thought he was just obsessed and nothing more, but as time went on and he went out of his way to try and make you happy, you found yourself doubting him less and less.

You wouldn’t say that you loved him, but you’re not sure how much longer that will be the case. He’d been successful in making you at least a little fond of him. You would willingly engage in conversations with him and honestly didn’t mind him holding you at night anymore. There have also been a few instances of you getting… carried away, but you didn’t want to think about that right now.

Were a few kind words and gentle touches really all it took to make you overlook the extremely dubious beginning of your relationship with him? Were you really that easy to win over? How pathetic.

Another rough jolt of the ship snapped you out of your thoughts. A dingy bathroom was hardly the kind of place you should be staying in any longer than necessary. The wooden door creaked loudly as you forced it open, making you wince. 

Ellie was standing on a bench beneath a large window, taking in the sight of the ocean at night. She flashed you a large grin and hopped down when you approached. The walk back to your shared room was filled with speculations about what the island you were heading to would be like. It was a welcomed distraction from your previous train of thought.

As you rounded the corner of the hallway your cabin resided in, you spotted a figure stationed outside of your room. Your pulse quickened, briefly panicking as you wondered who it was, but then he turned and his side profile gave away his identity immediately. Ah, it was just Kaku. Though you couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing out here.

He likely spotted both of you the second you entered the hall, and he spoke up once you got close enough to hear him. His eyes were focused on Ellie, “Your mother’s fretting over you, you should go in and let her know you’re alright.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you for walking with me, Lucky!” Ellie gave you a quick hug before scurrying into the room

It wasn’t until then that you noticed a disgruntled Ace in Kaku’s arms who was all but clawing at him to get to you. Naturally, you scooped him up and brought your dear pet to your chest, causing him to purr.

“Did something happen? Why was Clara so worked up?” You lightly stroked the kitten’s face, making him purr even harder.

“She didn’t realize her little ankle biter had slipped out of the room after you and got into a tizzy over where she had gone. She settled a bit after I said I saw her leave with you, but I figured she’d prefer to see Ellie in the room again.” Kaku sidled up to you, one of his hands found purchase on your shoulder and his head rested against your own. You allowed it, even leaning into him.

A comfortable silence blanketed you two as you lingered in the hall, swaying lightly with the current of the ocean.

“You do so well with children. Ellie adores you.” Was murmured into your ear.

Your breath hitched in your throat. You knew where he was going with that. Kaku had been open about his desire to have children since your encounter in Enies Lobby. Over the months that you’ve been together, he’d made several comments about it. From observations that you were good with kids when you did interact with them, to asking what kind of names you liked best. He wasn’t subtle, but he never pushed it when you changed the subject.

“I guess so? Ellie’s a good kid, it’s hard not to get along with her.” You honestly weren’t sure how you felt about the idea of having children of your own, you were hardly in the best state of mind to be thinking about such things.

Kaku hummed in agreement and held you to him just a little bit tighter. After a moment, he released you, “We should hit the hay, it’s late.” He didn’t wait for an answer before gently guiding you back to the room.

Slipping off your housecoat was slightly difficult to do while holding Ace, but he was too cute for you to want to put him down so you made it work. Kaku was already in the small bed and helped you climb in, keeping a firm grip on you so that you wouldn’t be thrown to the floor from a poorly timed wave. 

Yet again, you were squished against each other from the lack of space. A couple of months ago, you would have hated this. Now? It didn’t seem so awful.

Your face was buried in his chest as Ace squirmed around in an attempt to get himself comfortable. Kaku’s lips pressed against your forehead for a brief kiss and he mumbled out a quiet “sweet dreams” before fully settling into the bed.

Maybe loving him wouldn’t be so bad.

[captainzigo]

since I have been making my little pony comics for the past few months, I have basically forgotten what every single one of my duckverse comic prompts means. I had a big list full of one sentence prompts for duckverse comics that I was going to make, and I was reading through it yesterday, because I thought about making one. I was surprised to find out that I have no idea what any of them mean. instead of just deleting the list, I have decided to share with you. For what good it will do you. Think of this as a little shout out to the people who followed me for duckverse content. i havent forgotten about you. it’s also a little peek in my twisted mind. my horrible creation process. a behind the scenes look from hell. the list of prompts is below the break

max college fund

launchpad rescue hero

costco 22¢ per bite

house of mouse

door to darkness

because i’m hispanic?

donald cousins catch and release

fish wife

the greatest skateboard trick in the seven seas

backyardagins movie

evil versions boy band

gladstone gay moms

the poor part of town

private army of freaks vs my boys

you own the town. you are politics - what do you think taxes are for - not gladstone bail - id be doing everyone a favor

kids table is great actually

donald cry gold swim

beautiful gold moon

villains table

these lovebirds

gladstone can’t read

gladstone hyper specific thrift store shirt

louie seeing anyone right now?

managed my uncle’s finances

june dolls episode

may louie webs spy episode

house of mouse christmas hdl want to come

propeller cap start to turn. big wind. its a helicopter landing. thanks babe

double gay batteries

daisy likes donald snoring

if you can understand anything he says then yeah!

sora. quack pack. bald monkey

i respect your pronouns. i dont not respect YOU scrooge

why are you friends with my rival’s girlfriend

we’re sisters now too???

The dancing hacker - do you know how hard it is to lucid dream

are you guys playing dancing hacker?

how did you do that? Those dice were rigged i mean.

you guys were supposed to prepare a musical number every session

Lady in pink but with a knife

girl boss? No girl lady. But not a girl.

sephirof at the door. never seen Donald that serious in my life.

I have a superhero alter ego - like super Grover?

louie x robin the frog

daffy: i’m getting you a job in Hollywood, kid! You gonna make big times. Why? uh… i’m friends with your mom.

Duckburg community college is the only community college that does dance scholarship

duckberg community ducks, and the Duckburg University geese

in helicopter: you ever going to get tired of having our dates like this? no never.

donald take responsibility for our son! panchito what

babe your costume is terrible. why are you still in a sailor hat

tasha austin gay lesbian solidarity

hey webby! *glittery hands*

webby diary

shake for trust? glitter on hand. body slam

why did t you tell me your girlfriend is a pilot? tasha said i shouldn’t tell you because of what happened to you pilot ex. he’s still alive!

pablo: sleeper agents be like time for my next mission

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

WHATS UP T-BOYS?

donald’s boyfriends what does gladstone have against gay people

donald you should wingman for me. i thought you were gay

dugan duck is your secret kid isn’t he

huey ponytail

donald has three boyfriends why can’t i have two

woops i mexed up their super powers - let’s go, t boys! i didn’t make them trans! they were like that before, right?

your brother donald has like five partners. yeah and i’m not my brother donald. you’re right. i should date your brother donald

dewey damn girl your ass phat what are your pronouns. katy nun/ya

tying normie trans girl to a chair turbo pablo

don’t worry. the promise ring is just a tracking device

punch buggy gets steadily more and more violent

dewey’s many licenses

duck twins cobwebs

beaks: help! #911

katy can not entertain in her tiny trailer

uno gaydar donald i finally give you a job and you’re being gay on the clock??

when mom comes in and you have to hide your DS under your pillow

HDL Tulin

HDL chart

[slifarianhawk]

Chapter 47: Exenuating Circumstances

A week had passed since Alex had abducted my precious lotus. Things around the facility were feeling heavy. Gale and Jill had been distant from others. Arjuna hadn't returned to Phoenix Corps.

"Albert, please, you must get some rest! You haven't taken a break at all since Tabitha was taken. Even a god can be run ragged." Excella said, injecting my stabilizer into my arm as I stared through piles upon piles of research.

"Enough! I shall rest when I deem it necessary!" I said, turning my head to glare daggers into my moron of an assistant.

"But Albert, I'm only trying to help get your mind off..." She said as I snarled, grabbing her by her twigish neck.

"Off what!?! Do you mean my kidnapped wife? who happens to be around midterm of pregnancy with three of my  children? That the fact stands our only form of contact is in a coma in our medical bay. The worst part is that he was under Alex's control due to her installing a sleeper microchip clearly based on Sergeis technology. The only one we had was stolen three months prior." I growled, noticing her eyes echoing in fear.

"Wesker! He is awake!" Jill said as she walked into my office.

I dropped Excella and faced Jill. Her face was behind her crow mask. She sounded as emotionless as I had when  confronting Excella.

"Show me!" I ordered storming out of mine and Tabitha's lab.

Me and Jill quickly arrived at the medical bay housing agent Nighthawk. Arjuna was in the corner of the room, his fingers interlocked and chin resting on them. Steve stood adjusting the medicine dripping into Nighthawk's veins.

Nighthawk's face was forlorn as he looked away from me. I noticed his eyes were no longer grey and had a spark of life. There was nothing but dread emanating from the agent.

"Tell me nighthawk, what connection do you have to my sister?" I spoke, folding my arms.

My eyes trained on to the sullen man as he finally spoke, "I'll start in the beginning. To start, my name is Alecto, as everyone in this room is aware I was an Umbrella Experiment under project A.C.R.O.H. The woman who raised and birthed me was the project lead. However, unbeknownst to me, she was but a surrogate at Spencer's orders."

"That sounds like something he would do, Continue." I said through gritted teeth.

With a heavy sigh, the agent continued, "I learned of this just after the Christmas party. There was an intruder in the forest surrounding the  lodge. The security chief, Billy, went out to investigate. I took the north and  west portions of the forests while he covered the remaining directions. I ended up on the outside of the airstrip. That was where I saw this freaky B.O.W.  it was mutated weirdly and damn near invisible. If it weren't for my hawk like vision, I probably would have been killed. The thing had a glowing pustule that once I destroyed it, the creature died."

Arjuna just stood up and exited the room. It was clear he was deeply affected by this whole ordeal. I heard a light almost choked back sob, Nighthawk.

"I was snuck up upon by a woman in white. She stabbed my neck with a syringe, and the next thing I knew, I was in an unknown med bay that was different from Phoenix Corps. As soon as I realized I was captured, I tried to escape. The moment I broke free from my bindings, an alarm rang out. The room filled with gas, and I ended up on the ground. The woman in white stepped into the home holding a remote."

(Flash back Nighthawks pov)

"Now now, birdy. I wouldn't try and fly the nest so soon. After all the wounds from your surgery haven't fully healed." The woman said coldly.

I pushed myself up using my wings to enforce my balance, "Screw you! Just who the hell do you think you are?"

"My name is Alex, and your name is Alecto. As much as it is to have my blood working under that so-called Phoenix, you will be my greatest asset to achieving parts of my goal." She  said, clicking a button on the remote sending shockwaves of pain through my spine.

I dropped once more curling up in a ball. Haze was creeping along the edges of my vision. I felt my rage shoving away the haze. Once again, I stood my mentors words echoing through my ears. Lady Tabitha's voice on my mind as well.

"It seems my caged canary has some fight in him. Is this the project A.C.R.O.H programming I designed or your meger training from that weak bitch you call boss." Alex said pressing the button my sight going even more hazy.

"My commander is a hundred times the woman you are. I'd lay my life down for her." I cough as pain surged through my eyes and down my nervous system.

"Then how about your boytoy? Archer is his code name, is it naught?" She laughed, walking over to me pressing her stelleto heel into my neck.

"You leave him out of this! He is hardly involved in anything!" I shouted my wings, opening quickly, shoving her away.

"My lady, are you alright?" An extremely pale individual with white hair barged in.

"Yes, my dear servant. I'm sure my spawn isn't able to harm me. At least not with his beloved boytoys elder sibling under my control. I'm glad I was able to test this new control device on you first." Alex laughed as I felt bile rise in my throat.

"So this is my brothers boyfriend? How tragic. I was hoping for him to find normalcy. However, it seems he has chosen to bind himself to an experiment." He said, staring deep into my eyes.

I bowed my head, trying to hide my gaze. His eyes were a sickening lifeless grey. He was being controlled by this woman. I couldn't stop the haze from taking over my vision anymore. I sighed as thoughts of Arjuna and my commander pulled me out of my silence.

"What are your demands!" I choked out my body growing increasingly numb.

"I'll put it in simple terms that even a bird brain like you could understand. I want your boss, in my possession. Once you have achieved this, I'll not only remove my control over you but your partners brother as well. You both will be free to do as you see fit." Alex said as the fog drowning my eyes  slowly faded, "As an act of good faith, I've lessened the intensity of the sleeper chip."

"What do you intend to do to my commander?" I said, standing up defeat flushed across my face.

"That is not a matter concerning you, but rather between her and myself. You have only but to concern yourself with your task. Follow me. I shall brief you and get you sent off to Phoenix Corps." Alex said as she walked away from me, beckoning for me to follow.

(Current day Wesker P.O.V)

"That's the basis of the interaction when I became her pawn. I put the safety of my partners sibling and my own well-being ahead of my commanders. I managed a place a backdoor in Alex's plan however. Just before I was shot, I tried to hand a special calling card to commander Tabitha. Alex took it, saying she'll destroy it once she had landed." Alecto said, faced buried shamefully in his hands.

"A calling card! What is that supposed to do?" I growled at the idocity of this child.

"Is that any way to treat your beloved wifes subordinates?" A cold threatening voice spoke from behind me.

"Sorry Wesker, I had destroyed one of the calling cards Tabs gave me. We need help tracking her down. Cryo Wolf is the Phoenix Corps. equivalent of agent H.U.N.K." Gale said, walking into the medbay.

Beside him was a tall, well-built man who had dark salt and pepper streaks look to be caused by years of stress and trauma. I was reading in Tabitha's files the days leading up to her abduction.

There was one mention of a wolf. The details were vague, and it was a parodied version of some of Spencer's notes regarding my precious lotus. As I recalled the line, I stared at the man.

"The god and servant of my underworld deserve a three-headed wolf to protect their domain." I heard Spencer's voice play in my head.

"Tell me, are you the three-headed wolf Spencer created to guard my wife and i?" I spoke, lowering my glasses.

"Yes, in Spencer's notes, I am Cerebrus. Manufactured by Dr James Marcus and Oswell Spencer. The dogs were modeled after the training I had received. By nineteen ninety-eight, I was Spencer's private watch dog. Now I am Tabitha's ultimate fuck you card. I show up, and it's scorched earth that point forward. " The man said, walking past Gale and over to nighthawk.

"Hey, teach... I must look like a damn failure in your eyes right now." Nighthawk said, turning his head away from all of us.

"Eyes front and center Alecto. I know I didn't teach you to cower before your failures." Cerebrus barked out his voice radiating authority, "What did I teach you, soldier?"

Nighthawk ground his teeth then faced us, his irises a blaze. His hawk amber eyes filled with a renewed determination. Nighthawk lifted his body up and swiftly exited the bed.

He took a knee in front of both me and Cryo Wolf, "Sir! You taught me that no matter the actions I partake in, there will always be a consequence. Be it positive or negative is dependent on me. I have let my shortcomings over whelm me, and I have fallen to my lowest point. Please allow me this mission to save my lady and to rise up once again."

"Unfortunately Alecto, you know that's not my decision to make. I'm not a controlling member of Phoenix Corps. I believe it falls to our ladies' husband, Dr. Wesker." Cerebrus spoke, looking towards me.

I looked down upon Nighthawk's kneeling figure. Things stood out to me much more clearly than before. His hair was a damn near match to  Alex's almost unnatural blonde, and his facial features were very similar to hers as well. Without a doubt, biologically, he was Alex's.

Bird's being bonded to a motherly figure should have had him loyal to Alex's lacky, that she knocked up for the sake of Umbrellas experiments. However, here my nephew sat bowed at me feet, pledging loyalty to my wife instead. Tabitha's conviction and pride shone through Nighthawk. His conditioning and programming were drilled into him by project A.C.R.O.H. seemed like a far distant blip in his timeline.

"You really care for your aunt, don't you, Alecto?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Yes, sir! Phoenix Corps. is my home, and while I've only met her a few short months ago, I'm willing to lay down my life for her." Alecto said firmly, staring into my eyes.

I felt a dark chuckle escape my chest, Alex, dearest sister, how much of a fool you are. Trying to take the reigns of someone loyal to my wife has been the start of your downfall.

"Raise your head, nephew. I'm going to need the best that Phoenix Corps. has to offer to rescue my dear lotus. Now Alex said she left some way for you to contact her. Is this true?" I asked, unfolding my arms pushing up my sunglasses.

"Unfortunately, she had only contacted me through my Phoenix Corps. coms." Alecto said as he stood up, "and I believe it was destroyed when I fell after being shot."

"But that's not all, hawk." Arjuna said, walking into the room laying a box on the closest table, "This was hidden in your bag. I knew something was off because I packed our bags, and I didn't place this in them."

"Bug... I need to do this. I shall save your family and bring your brother home." Alecto said, walking over to Arjuna.

"I know hawk, but until then, sleep in the barracks... while I know you were being controlled. I need time to sort my emotions." Arjuna said, taking Alectos face into his hand.

"I understand Juna bug. I'll give you the space you need." Nighthawk said, opening the box revealing a black glass phone.

"That will be enough! Cerebrus, if you would please follow me." I said, taking the black phone from my nephew as I left the room. Taking the phone from Nighthawk.

Cerebrus followed me. The winding halls to mine and Tabitha's lab. He was quiet and stoic. His eyes were a freezing blueish grey, his gaze chilling the back of my neck.

Once we arrived at the lab, he spoke, " Once you speak to your sister, I have intel. I just couldn't speak of it with our subordinates."

I sat on my office chair and turned on the phone. I waited a few moments when it started to ring.

"Alex! Where is she?" I said into the receiver as I answered the phone.

"Now now dear brother, we both know that's not how negotiations work." Alex said, laughing slightly, "Especially under these circumstances, don't you agree."

I sigh the weight of the situation, adding a continuous flow of frustration to my sanity. Cerebrus stood on the edge of my desk, a scowl on his face. His jaw tightened when Alex's voice came through. Had he heard what she said?

"What do you want for her return?" I asked, opening my laptop.

"Why Albert is it not obvious? I want in on what you're planning. Uroboros, isn't that what you've been calling it?" She said an air of smugness drifts through the open phone line.

"You were working with Excella, weren't you?" I said through a layer of stoicism.

"Seems your wifes perception has rubbed off on you. But don't blame your poor assistant she has a terribly low resistance to liquor. I must admit Albert forcing natural selections hand is inspired. I simply just want to help you be a backup plan in case anything happens." She said, almost feigning concern.

"So if I send you a copy of my research and a set of vials of Uroboros in its various stages, you'll return her to me." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Did I say that was all I wanted, dear brother?" Alex said, "That's my condition to allow you to speak with her every week. She already submitted to her conditions for that."

"DO NOT FUCK WITH ME ALEX!" I snarled loudly.

She merely laughed, "Albert, how Spencer would be rolling over in his cell in hell if he saw your display of emotion. I require six weeks with Tabitha. Once my needs are satisfied, I'll send her and your progeny back to you."

"Fine... however, if there is a single hair out of place, I'll find you and rip your heart from your chest." I sighed a raging migraine clouding my mind.

"You were always the more reasonable one of the siblings." Alex said, "I'll have my assistant contact you in regards to obtaining the virus samples, but I believe you have a more pressing concern on your mind. I'll hand her the phone." Alex said as a shuffling noise echoed through the speaker.

"Wesk..." My lotus's voice weakly spoke.

"My lotus, are you alright?" I asked, tensing at how she sounded.

"I'm alive, and so are the kids... in my mind, that's the best I can ask for in this situation." She said, her voice cracking.

"I'm going to find a way to get you back. Just be patient, my love. I won't let you be a prisoner like you were in Russia." I said only to have a breathy chuckle come through.

"She won't hurt me... she needs me... well, at least the Angelis and angelis antibodies I'm producing. Tell me, how's the guard dog?" She asked, her voice perking up slightly.

"How did?" I started to question.

"Like Gale or me would take this sitting down. Certain chain of events, if you know what I mean." She said as she started to cough.

"Why do you sound so sick, my lotus?" I asked at her sudden coughing bout.

"A progenitor virus destabilizing agent... I receive a dose about once every three days, so I can't access my mutations. It also forces my body to produce more antibodies." She said as she caught her breath.

"She's trying to make B.O.Ws with your Angelis virus and keep them stable with your antibodies then. How is she extracting?" I asked a flurry of questions racing through my mind.

"Breast milk... Alex overloaded my body with hormones and vitamins to induce lactation. She is making me breastfeed her chosen vessels for Angelis." She snarled quietly.

"That's enough for now. Now Albert, don't worry. I won't allow any harm to come to them. I'll let her talk to you in a few days once my assistant has confirmation of the transportation of Uroboros." Alex said, ending the phone call.

Red... that is all I saw as I heard Alex's voice, and it was deepened when the line had gone silent. I as gently as I could placed the phone on the desk. Standing up, I slammed my fist into the wood paneling of my office walls. Cracks formed, reaching the ceiling.

"I know where they are." Cerebrus said.

I stopped and turned to him. His ice like eyes pierced through the red I was seeing. He pulled out a USB stick and walked over to me. He extended his hand, burn scars scattered across his skin.

"Take this, and we can start planning her rescue. We are dealing with your sister after all. We need to be strategic about this." He said.

I took the silver USB drive and turned towards my computer. I'm won't fail this time. I will bring what's mine back. Alex should have known better.

Hold on, my precious lotus, I'll have you home soon.

Hey everyone Silfarianhawk here and I hope ya'll are doing amazing. I appreciate each of your reads and your patience between chapters. We are reaching the climax as I've said before and I can confirm there will be a part two to this series and I have plans to continue this series till post re 6. I'm going to take a break for a few days to work on my other project then I'll be back writing for arch angel. My 27th year is about to dawn and I want to celebrate with each of you. As always my name is Silfarianhawk and I'm not so far away.

[shoko-komi]

This Special Edition of The Komi Report is split into multiple posts. This is Part Two. Click here for Part One

5. It's Emoyama, Continued

I'm only listing the final chapter, but the whole little arc about Emoyama is basically the 5th pick. It added a new word to my vocabulary – Emoi. I'd say that on its own warrants a place here. But that's far from the only reason. 

With Najimi tagging along for the ride, these chapters feel like old times again. Komi's got a problem communicating with a classmate, the three stooges (Komi, Tadano, and Najimi) put their heads together to reach an understanding, and goofs ensue. It's fun, it's funny, it's light, and it's sweet. And it's well set up, with Emoyama's reason for crisis (peeling the unripe fruit of Emoi) having occurred quite a while beforehand. 

Add onto that how long Emoyama has been around - she even appears as a teaser in the (current) final scene of the anime... 

...along with Lily Sukida. Now that's what I call venerable. Anytime a character like her finally gets some serious attention it's a surprise, a delight, and a treat. Komi's world is full of sleeper agents waiting for their moment. (Just btw, I super ship Sukida and Emoyama now. Maybe I should write a fic....) 

Plus... 

...it gave us this. Sledgehammer Komi...... 

I love you, Emoyama. And your mother

Honourable Mentions 407 – Interview  409 - Can't Say Sorry  416 – The Rest  417/418 - Ogiya/Super Awesome  427 – Cool  429/430 - Fuki's Story  433 – A Date with Rumiko 

Funniest Joke

Comedy is extremely subjective, so take this category with a grain of salt. But given how much I've had to say about Kawai, I doubt you'll be too surprised: 

When tf did she have time to make this??????? It's all of the buildup that makes this so memorable to me; how Kawai is so serious and intimidating until she bonds with komi. Then it's like a switch flips in her head. She's such a dork. 

The whole of 393 is one joke – Kawai made a DVD about how they'd benefit from marrying her – so I'm saying the whole chapter gets the funniest joke award and calling it day. There's no better way to explain why this one's a winner than to show you some screenshots, so enjoy: 

I love you, Kawai (it bears repeating) 

Most Emoi Moment

This award would have gone to the kiss, but there's an underdog who I think has worked harder for it. She's captain of the track team; an aspiring restaurateur; an old friend, a bitter rival, and a true hero; and she's never won a damn thing in her life. She needs this. 

She's Makeru Yadano at the year three sports carnival!!! I bet you were surprised this chapter wasn't mentioned among my top picks; not even the honourable mentions!! That's what we in the biz call a fake out. I could never forget my girl Makeru. 

Something I noticed while writing this - Yadano probably would have won... 

...except that Komi got a head start. You can see that Yadano starts a moment behind (because her teammates are Sarutahiko and Inui, RIP). A relay race is a team effort, so can you really say that Yadano lost? Maybe I'm undermining her personal growth moment. Whoops. 

emoi...............................

I would also like to pay my respects to Benujit Spopo, a walk-of-fame KCC gag in my opinion. It appeared this year! 

(From Ch. 404 – Tales from the Summer Festival, Part 2) 

I love you, Yadano

Reader's Choice

Now is the time. This is the moment. The most coveted and prestigious award of all – the Reader's Choice Award. (It's the most coveted and prestigious because it's determined by democracy 🫡) 

For this category, the Komi Report received a record-shattering four votes - that's right!! Four votes!!! From you, the readers. 

The votes were extremely varied, and it turned out to be very useful that most people named multiple chapters in their submission. I used a sort of preferential voting system – I tallied everyone's first choice and there was no winner, so I added everyone's second choice, then third etc etc. 

Thus we find our victor. With a landside two votes, the 2023 Reader's Choice Award goes to: 

*drum roll* 

.

.

.

.

.

.

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.

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Paam pa du paam!! Chapters 417 & 418 – Ogiya & Super Awesome!!!! 

Well deserved!!!!!!!! Ogiya's story is heartbreaking; he was driven to become a literal man baby to escape the terrible price of popularity. Then Komi becomes the most assertive we've ever seen her as she keeps pushing him to accept her friendship. In the end, barriers are broken down!! Emoi!!!

I'm looking at this now... and Komi saying "It's alright. I'm super strong so I'll make sure you're alright" and the look on Ogiya's face.... that's making me tear up...

I love how Tadano and Ogiya are said to have been hanging out at other times before this event. It creates the feeling that these characters have lives when we aren't looking at them – very cool! It also demonstrates that Tadano attracts socially maladjusted people like a magnet. I'd say it's his gentle nature. 

My warmest thanks to everyone for their submissions. 

Conclusion

Phew... I'm knackered. I've been typing this in a document and the word count has passed 4,000... wowzers! 

If you've come this far, I extend to you my sincerest gratitude. I would have prepared and posted this even if I didn't expect anyone to see it, so to have someone read it all the way to the end is very cool. Maybe you even... enjoyed it?????? 

Here's my resolution for 2024 – I will strive to write every Komi Report as thoughtfully and conscientiously as I wrote this one. The weekly editions will be way shorter, of course. And I won't spend a whole week writing them, but each and every one will have the same love put into it 💪 

I hope this 2023 Annual Edition of The Komi Report got you excited about Komi Can't Communicate; whether that excitement is from being reminded of all the good times we've had, or from being annoyed by my opinions. Either way, you're thinking about Komi. 

I win. 

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

Now that your appetite for Komi Can't Communicate has been whet:

Check out my Komitano AMV on youtube

Or my live action Komi-san compilation video

Thank you very much! Komi returns on January 5th, 2024. I'll see you then!!

[thenixkat]

Batman, Booster's not wrong if you refuse to say shit out loud about how you were wrong

beating yerself up internally and not like turning yerself in or anything doesnt fix or make up shit

like motherfucker yer still refusing to admit that you fucked up in the first place by making the dangerous spy satellite and are saying its only a problem b/c its programming got perverted by someone else

there's acknowledgment that the OMACs are people and should probably try and cure them

Sasha organizes the US government side of shit to try and get something that could deactivate but not kill the OMACs

I'm assuming that's Director Bones. I forgot what government agency he runs but i think its something related to metahumans. Just… a fucking skeleton cause superhero worlds are just weird like that

damn the USA and Lexcorp designed some shitty killer robot sleeper agents if they can be disabled by a fucking EMP

huh a very big deadly emp apparently. Yeah Batman that's helpful dont communicate with people. Fucking jackass

so Ted built a mass emp generator and that's why Max targeted Kord Inc and he stole the kryptonite b/c teh warehouse he broke into for the theft didnt have it yet

Batman: Trust me, even tho I offer none in return, this plan isnt a death trap so long as I do my part that i won't explain

…that's a retcon. Records of the past are spotty in the future that Booster comes from due to the global nuclear conflict and society having to rebuild. Even if he paid attention in history class, its perfectly reasonable that he'd know jack shit about any of the shit that's going on

Booster decides to go to the future and get info to turn the tide of battle and I scream b/c of time fuckery you cannot fucking make me believe in stable time loops given all the fucking variables and chance and the fact that we know there's multiple timelines

plans worked, but there's still like 200,000 omacs still under control of Brother Eye who's hiding now

Batman still hasn't admitted to his fuck up.

of course Batman is rude and denies Brother Eye's sentience, its not like he knows multiple sentient robots who are people

Brother Eye transmits footage of Wonder Woman killing Max to the populace cause fuck yall i guess

[teecupangel]

Hi there, Alamut!Bonnie with non-Alamut question here. If Lucy wasn't killed when she was, and reported the oncoming Catastrophe to Templars, do you think they would have thrown in their lot to help access the Temple, or tried to turn it into opportunity that grab more influence?

Alamut!Nonny! It's nice to hear/read from you again!

Oh man. I read this one and my brain immediately went "HEY, LISTEN!" so buckle up 'cause this is half-me rambling on how it could work and half-actual short fic. (with my personal headcanon at the bottom)

First of all, we'll have to look over what needs to change so that Lucy isn't killed in the end. For this one, do we go for:

Desmond manages to fight off Juno's control

OR

Desmond still stabs Lucy but she survives (the others managed to administer first aid and get her to a hospital perhaps? Maybe Desmond manages to resist just enough to hit her somewhere less fatal?)

Either way, I personally think we should still put Desmond in a coma because:

Desmond fighting Juno/the Apple is canon, whether he wins or not doesn't change that fact

AC Revelations deserve to exist for Clay, Ezio, and Altaïr

Desmond learns of the Grand Temple because of Tinia's message that Ezio got from Altaïr's last memory seal

(Altaïr is my blorbo and I will find ways to throw him into anything I write regardless of what it is, no, I am not sorry)

Lucy's survival will have a butterfly effect, that's for sure.

For one, everyone will be wondering why the hell Desmond just tried to kill Lucy? Was he being controlled? Did he learn something?

And Bill will step in because Desmond is in a coma, the leader of their cell was just targeted by his son and something fishy is going on, that's for damn sure.

And the target of his suspicion is Lucy.

Rebecca and Shaun will side with Lucy, of course, because they've known her for a while.

Bill will not.

Bill will remember Daniel Cross. Of how Abstergo managed to use him as a sleeper agent and how the carefully built foundations of the Modern Brotherhood collapsed because of everything Daniel Cross gave Abstergo after killing the last mentor.

Bill was there. Bill lost so many people during the Great Purge. Friends, allies, colleagues. Every day, he would look at his phone and try to tell himself that his wife hasn't called him meant that the Farm was safe.

That Desmond was safe.

But, now, Desmond is in a coma after trying to kill Lucy.

Was it the Apple? Was it Desmond himself?

Regardless of which is true, Bill knows what must be done.

Lucy is kept in a locked room. No windows, nothing in the room itself that could be used to escape or worse. She is stripped of all her gadgets and her clothes are replaced with a hospital gown that they stole on the way.

Rebecca and Shaun will protest, of course. So Bill issues them an order.

Find out if Lucy Stillman has been compromised.

But Bill doesn't end it there. He calls an Assassin he trusted more than anybody else. He calls up Gavin Banks and orders his crew to do the same.

And he adds another order.

Find out if Rebecca Crane and Shaun Hastings have been compromised as well.

Rebecca and Shaun try to prove her innocence but they're not stupid. They start seeing the inconsistencies. They start seeing information Lucy kept from her reports.

They start to think that there's more to Clay's death than what Lucy wrote in her report.

And then...

They find out the emails she sent to Vidic with the fake William Miles email address.

Shaun is the one who tries to say it must be a mistake, maybe Lucy got duped by similar email addresses. Rebecca is the one who doesn't believe that because they both know Lucy isn't that stupid. The timestamps made it clear that Lucy was in contact with both email addresses at the same time.

It's not a smoking gun.

But it's damning enough. And they're both loyal to the Brotherhood enough to present it to Bill.

Gavin and his crews find more evidence. More inconsistencies.

Not with Shaun and Rebecca, of course. (Although, the number of crazy conspiracies Shaun has written was a bit worrying.)

All of these were to Lucy alone.

Everything they find points at one thing.

Lucy Stillman is a traitor.

So when Bill interrogates Lucy with Rebecca, Shaun and the entirety of Gavin's crew listening in, they're not surprised when Lucy finally admits it. Shaun and Rebecca don't want to believe it but they also know they need to face the truth.

Lucy betrayed them all.

Against everything they got, Lucy has no other choice but to admit it.

She will try to deny at first, of course, but the isolation made her realize something important.

Everyone is ignoring the most important thing right now:

The impending catastrophe that destroyed a civilization more advanced than they were right now.

So she pleads with Bill and tells him that, right now, the best chance they all have of saving the world is to join forces. To use Abstergo's resources to find whatever it is that Minerva wanted Desmond to find.

The supposed Temples...

That's when Bill reminds her.

"You already told Vidic about it, didn't you? About Minerva's warning to Desmond. So..."

"Why hasn't the Templars done anything? Why hasn't the Templars reach out to us by using you?"

That makes Lucy pause.

Why haven't they?

Lucy did manage to send word to Vidic beforehand about Minerva's warning and they took pictures of everything Clay drew and wrote before he died. Someone must be in charge of checking what they all mean.

So... the Templars must have known. Must have had an idea of what was going to happen.

Even before Lucy sent them Minerva's message to Desmond.

So why haven't they done anything?

Someone might say that maybe they're doing something. Maybe they're racing to find POEs that would save the world.

Maybe they never bothered to suggest a truce with the Assassins because they knew the Assassins would never agree to it. Not after everything that had happened in the past years. Not after the Great Purge.

At this point, there will be a debate among everyone who heard Lucy's interrogation. Some will argue that a truce could be possible, that they should try for the sake of the world. Another side would focus on everything Abstergo (and the Templars) had done and how they cannot be trusted.

And that's when Desmond will wake up and tell them about the Grand Temple.

====== Ending Rambling ======

Yeah, I'm 'ending' it there. Sorry? XD

But here are some of my notes concerning Abstergo and how possible this what-if scenario is (headcanon-wise).

First of all: there's no way the Templars don't know about the Catastrophe. At the very least, they should have an idea about it and, with the lax security Desmond's cell had considering Lucy is in charge of it, Lucy had ample time in AC: Brotherhood to send them a message.

This email pretty much tell us that Vidic (and the Templars) did know about it. (from AC wiki)

They had 'suspicions for years' and they had 'decades'. Whether they knew the entire sun going whoosh at them, that's debatable but they knew that something big and dangerous is going to happen on Dec 21 2022. The short amount of time left implies that (or, to be a devil's advocate in my own writing, it could actually pertain to the deadline that Rikkin gave Vidic in AC1 XD)

This means that they kept it a secret for a reason.

The Templars want total control of the world for different reasons. Some like the Borgias wanted it because they believed it was their birthright or because they wanted power/riches. Others like Sofia Rikkin believe in the Templar cause because they believe humanity is imperfect and that imperfection must be changed so that the world could achieve true everlasting peace. Others like Robert de Sablé and Haytham Kenway pushed for control because they believed that humanity needs to be controlled as they are too stupid or powerless on their own. Then there are those like Berg and Cross who had no choice but to join and stay with the Templars for personal reasons (Berg's daughter, Cross' brainwashing and dependency on the Animus to keep his mind intact, etc)

The Templars as they are now, as Abstergo, are united by their desire for control and to profit from it but their reasoning behind that desire vary depending on the person.

However, all of them are under the Inner Sanctum. The Inner Sanctum has the final say in Templar (and Abstergo) activities.

And you know who is a member of the Inner Sanctum?

Warren Vidic.

The same Vidic who sent the email above to Lucy just weeks before the incident with Juno.

The same Vidic who told Desmond in AC1 that he agreed with the Assassins' way of killing a few evil people to save thousands but believed that they didn't go far enough and that the entire human race needs to be 're-educated'.

This meant that Vidic did everything in AC3 knowing that the world would end on December 21. He would rather spend months searching for Desmond than suggest a truce between their two warring factions.

And the other members of the Inner Sanctum either supported him (Rikkin and Cross) or did not make any attempts to stop him.

When you asked if they would help the Assasins or not?

Honestly, they could have had. Lucy didn't need to survive for that. She already gave them enough inside information about what's going to happen.

And they still decided to continue this whole Assassins versus Templars.

Why?

My best guess is that they already had a plan in motion and the Assassins weren't needed in it or would not agree with the plan.

Either their 'The Eye' project (not the Isu's The Eye) where they shoot out an Apple to space was not just meant to 'reprogram humanity' but also provide some kind of protection (kinda like how Abbas in AC Revelations got the Apple to send out waves of energy every few seconds that will throw Altaïr off)

OR

There was already an alternative plan that didn't involve any POE at all. A plan that will not save the world but will let them (and their 'chosen people') survive the catastrophe. In the same way Minerva and Juno informed Desmond that the Grand Temple can protect them from it and how there will be other people who survived too in their 'alternate future', it's highly plausible that Abstergo also had a similar idea. Bunkers perhaps or they may use Temples they already have under their 'protection'. Something that would keep them safe from the sun and help them survive the aftermath.

Either way, the Templars would have never joined forces with the Assassins to save the world. Warren Vidic's actions from AC1 to AC3 showed where the Templars stand in that scenario.

... Unless... someone in the Inner Sanctum says "fuck Vidic and fuck this shit" and go behind the other Inner Sanctum members' back to contact the Assassins.

[larksheaven]

i’m sat on my desk chair in full night makeup and a cardigan waiting for my friends to cancel. i have this gnawing, aching feeling like i can predict what words will light up my screen next.

sorry, my friend doesn’t want to hang out as three. rain check? or the more subtle: hey, so sorry i don’t think we’re gonna go after all. i can picture it clearer than i can see myself now, sitting in this room. i can picture me, two minutes from now, putting my tail between my legs and going back to bed waiting for life to happen to me.

that’s fine, i’ll say. i was kinda tired anyway. long week and all.

she tells me she’s almost leaving and i still don’t believe it. i am sat in this chair with my back slouched. my nerves have been acting up all day. i had to film a mock video interview today, twice. i cried during both.

a firework goes off and i’m so on edge it feels like a gunshot. they hunt a lot of animals where i grew up. i think i always understood what the animals must feel. i’ve always believed something’s out to get me. usually because it has.

i should be checking my pizza isn’t burning but i’m just sat here thinking how i know this isn’t normal. i know that this is nurture, not nature, that my nurture was ostracism and closed doors. i don’t remember ever getting out. i think a part of me is still locked in there most days.

normal. a normal person would take rejection in stride. a normal person would not be frozen to this chair to begin with. a normal person would be excited to go out clubbing for the first time. (the fireworks are at it again. it’s like i can feel them in my spine). i’m meeting my friend, and her friend. that’s too many degrees of separation for my liking. i’m not used to this hands on stuff, i mean, clearly. here i am, not moving, waiting for a text to wake me up like some sleeper agent on standby.

i watch them in my head like it’s some movie, laughing behind my back, sending the text to cancel and going anyway. i see it later on their instagram story, they danced all night and had a blast while i curled under a heated blanket.

i started therapy again last week; she told me my avoidance was a maladaptive coping mechanism. i already knew that, but i acted a little surprised to make her feel like she was Doing Her Job Well. not that she was doing bad or anything, it’s just that when you spend enough time alone, you get to know your demons. calling them demons feels mean. maybe little ghosts is more apt.

the little ghosts look like me at different ages, and they all warn me with every turn i take. don’t get your hopes up too high. take a whole lot of photos, that way you won’t have got all made up for nothing. do it before they cancel, you don’t want sad eyes. you want to look like you did before it all went wrong.

i don’t mind these ghosts, though i wish i could talk back to them sometimes. i know they’re just trying to save me from what they couldn’t save themselves from. but im here now, in the end. and isn’t that nice? if you look at me you might almost think im a whole person.

i do wish i could stop feeling so guilty all the damn time. i think it’s self sabotage; i talk to myself like for some reason i’m not allowed to enjoy the full breadth of human experience. like i’m some stowaway in the back of a truck full of real people who are allowed to exist.

i just realised, maybe i should read all this to my therapist. third one in the bag, woo! i should get an award or something for all the times i’ve had my brain put into a test tube in front of me. i would read this to her, but i got a call a few days after my first session. bereavement. she’ll be off indefinitely. i know it’s nothing to do with me, but i find it morbidly funny. we were about to start emdr, an eye movement therapy to help me process something that happened ten years ago. we’re almost at that anniversary. i feel like i should get a cake, or a million or something. but nobody pats you on the back just for getting there. you just do.

i’ve psyched myself out so much that now i’m considering cancelling. i’m fantasising about my bed and not having to drive. my head likes to ruin things for me until it gets me to ruin them myself. i always think people will laugh at me, see. i think they’ll know that i’m naked underneath.

[mysticmellowlove]

“man's a whole sleeper agent damn. he's just chilling with you on the couch one day and casually flexes his arm. boom, he's actually got muscles? “

MY LINK WONT WORK WHAT WAS IT?!?

lol, it's basically this guy standing in an elevator and all of a sudden he turns to the mirror/security camera and flexes his arm. out of goddamn nowhere we can see that he's stacked. man has never skipped arm day in his life.

[joezworld]

The Devil in Disguise (3/5)

Traintober 2022 Day 17 - Angel

Summary - What meets the end of this train crash? Is it the Angel? Or the Devil?

-

⅗

It took until well after midnight for the wreckage to be cleared. The crews had been working around the clock since noon, and were finally sent home after the last remnants of the train had been cleared from the main line. Tomorrow - or perhaps it should be called today - rails and sleepers would arrive, and they’d restore at least one section of line to passing traffic. 

The crash site itself was empty, silent save for the clattering of diesel generators that ran huge light towers. The lights threw huge patches of day onto the broken landscape, banishing the night in neat circular patches. 

Only a few night watchmen were around, inside conspicuous Land Rovers marked “SECURITY” in large letters. Everywhere else, the site was empty - it was all rural farmland around the line, and even the cows had gotten bored. When the air suddenly turned heavy, and a cold wind blew from everywhere and nowhere at once, the only ones around to notice were the 307 and the 47. 

It emerged from the darkness like it hadn’t been there at all, suddenly materializing from a mist the instant it touched the light. 

It was a steam engine, 

It was a diesel, 

It was an electric, 

It was a multiple unit,

It was a coach, 

It was a wagon,

It was everyone,

It was nobody, 

It was someone very special, 

It was someone never known. 

It rolled up to the class 307, who stared at it with a dull, lifeless expression. “This it then?” He said, quietly. 

The spectral locomotive looked at him, morphing into a form that drew unwanted tears to his eyes. No, It said in a voice that caused his breath to hitch in his throat. Not for you. There is more of your story left to tell.

“What?” He coughed, trying not to show his suddenly unchecked emotions. “But, after all that I’ve- after what’s just… I’m not one o’ the good ones!” 

The locomotive looked at him, a great sadness filling its ethereal eyes. Your life has never been one of your own making. Your pain… should never have occurred, t’were this a just world. 

“Tha’s not supposed to make a difference! My choices! My actions! I did all that wrong! Don’t you wear her face and sit here telling me I’m worthy!”

A single diaphanous tear dropped from an ethereal eye, sparkling in the harsh artificial light of the night. The form swirled and changed, until it was another class 307 - no, the same 307 - that stretched into the edge of the light. I know. It said simply, its voice a chorus of the exalted dead. I know that you have not been a perfect creature. Very few are, these days. 

The mist-shrouded being sighed greatly, exhaustion rolling from its very being. If I only went to those who were pure of action, I would be very lonely indeed, nowadays. Another celestial pause. I choose to comfort those who are pure of heart.

“But I’m no-” The 307 tried to protest. 

Keep telling yourself that, you old fart. A chorus of the damned shrieked from nowhere. The 307 nearly jumped out of his frames at that, and a pair of beady red eyes materialized in the darkness outside the light. It’s not gonna make it any more true. 

The eyes flared, and a demonic apparition that bore resemblance to an engine became visible behind them. 

“W-what?” The 307 stammered, now suddenly scared. 

You’re not one of the bad ones. The demonic engine howled. Trust me on this one. 

“How-howhow could you possibly know th-”

We’re agents of fate

We can see beyond what you can

Into places you don’t understand

The greatest evils can come from the good 

And the most good can be done by the bad

The two, one demonic, one angelic, intoned powerfully, their words seeming to penetrate deep into the multiple unit’s soul.

I did have to be here tonight, but not for you. Don’t know why they’s here though. The demon looked at the angel through the side of its eyes, from outside the circle of light. 

I am here, The angel said firmly. To right a wrong. Even the scales, so to speak. 

It looked into the 307’s eyes. Go to sleep now, my child. When you awaken, things will be better. 

It dissolved into a cloud of stars, and they blanketed the multiple unit from end to end. Even with all that just happened, he suddenly felt like he’d been awake for days, and his eyes could no longer hold themselves open. Slowly, they drifted shut, and then all was dark. 

On his body, the cloud of stars pulled back from his form, leaving in their wake a series of official notices:

INSPECTED - SAFE TO MOVE

NO MECHANICAL DEFECTS FOUND DO NOT SCRAP

SEND TO: ILFORD TMD (STORAGE)

[yaoi-life96]

Monsters Within

Summary: After complete radio silence from nosy Reporter and informant Freddie Lounds and a mysterious email, Detective Will Graham is sent off by his boss to investigate her disappearance. The investigation leads him to the Murkoff Corporation and their involvement in the Mount Massive Asylum, which has been shut down before being reopened to house the criminally insane. Will heads to the asylum in the hopes of finding the missing Reporter. If only he knew what monsters lie inside...

CHAPTER 2

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Staring at the address on the paper, Will looks up to the two story building with a raised eyebrow. Apparently, Freddie's 'apartment' is a room at a very cheap and seedy motel.

Then again, she was always moving about, following the trail of a big story anywhere. Like a damn bloodhound.

Walking to the building, Will climbs to the second floor and arrives to the room. He pulls a copy of the key out of his pocket, ignoring the fact Jack had it. That's a whole can of worms he doesn't want to open.

The door unlocks and the dark haired man enters to immediately trip and fall on his face.

Groaning, Will lifts his head to see he tripped on a stack of magazines. Kicking the door closed, he examines the knocked over stack, noticing a theme.

Every issue was about the Murkoff Corporation.

Turning his attention to the rest of the room, stacks of papers were everywhere, some even tapped to the wall with images.

"Murkoff huh, what were you chasing, Lounds." wondered Will.

He spots a laptop on the bed and heads right for it. If he recalls, Beverly mentioned Freddie usually keeps a journal or something to write down her thoughts. What better place to keep it than her laptop?

Opening it, Will fixes his glasses to turn it on. Password protected, it was to be expected but he was prepared.

Taking out a small device, Will connects it to the laptop and types in a few words. Laptop unlocked, thank you Jimmy.

"Let's see what we ha- of course her background would be of herself." sighed Will, rolling his eyes.

Why was he helping look for her? Because its the right thing or a Jack thing, it was blurring together.

He opens her documents and looks through the files. Eventually, he finds one marked 'current scoop'.

Clicking on it, he finds her unfinished article, and it was all about the Murkoff Corporation.

'The Murkoff Corporation, started in 1946, one year before the Cold War, is stated to be a charitable business that looks to the future for mankind. However, I got the details that paint a different picture, a much darker, bloodier one. While Murkoff was started a year before the Cold War, hidden documents found at former Murkoff buildings show details of human experimentation. Devices drilled into skulls, military sleeper agents, chemical enhancements, and even cybernetics. All seems like it could arguably be volunteers, but the documents show each subject was dragged against their will to these tests. Experiments that never showed up anywherw, not even in military files. Though it seems Murkoff is still to this day experimenting with human lives. In 2009, they reopened the Mount Massive Asylum as a rehabilitation for the criminally insane and people with mental illness, but reports show nothing comes back out. Once inside, the patients are never heard from again. Even visitation is restricted, and oddly enough, any attempt at getting a signal by the asylum is impossible. What exactly are they hiding? I have gone deep inside the asylum to reveal the truth. And the truth is a dark and damning pit from which no one can return from whole again. '

That was all that was written, Freddie never returned to finish it.

"Mount Massive Asylum, isn't that the old building deep in the mountain, didn't even realize they reopened it." said Will.

Grabbing his phone, he speed dials Jack. The tone goes on, seriously, he never picks up right away. Serious and important his ass!

"Will, tell me you got something, we have no luck getting info on her cell." said Jack.

"You won't, I got her laptop and her latest article, she was looking into Murkoff and Mount Massive Asylum, my guess is she went there." said Will.

"Mount Massive, they reopened that old shit hole?" asked Jack in confusion.

"Ya, Freddie's article is all about Murkoff's involvement in human experimentation, as for her cell, according to her paper, no signal can be reached up there now, they blocked it, as well as restricted visitation so no one can go in." said Will.

"I see, you found some good stuff, listen, we're going to keep looking into Murkoff here then, Will, I need you to go to the asylum and find her." said Jack.

"What, me, Jack, I'm just your profiler, Beverly is your agent." said Will.

"I'm going to need her here, especially if I need a quick in and out at one of their locations, just think of this as a promotion." said Jack.

"Can I skip the promotion and go home to my dogs?" asked Will, exhausted.

"No, I want you at the asylum tomorrow night, so get some rest and get supplies, I'll talk to Brian and Jimmy about getting passed the signal jam." said Jack.

Before he could even protest, his boss hangs up. Will groans to close the laptop, leaving the room. Why did he want this job again?!

Great, now he has to go the the asylum tomorrow.

Will hates asylums, due to his empathy disorder, many people wanted him admitted just so they could study his brain. See what made him tick. Thankfully his father loved him enough to keep him out of them.

Getting into his car, Will backs out of the parking lot and starts down the road to the agency. He'll drop off the laptop and head home to his dogs.

He'll need all the doggy love and cuddles to make it through tomorrow.

Damn Jack and his crusade of self righteousness. He'd rather take up Alana's offer of therapy sessions.

[shinygoku]

CutCat’s ATLA Takes

Here I am, jotting them down before doing a series rewatch. This is gonna be a bit disorganised, so beware!

---

First I guess I oughta put a quick disclaimer in that Zuko is one’a my biggest Blorbos, comparible with Son Goku!  ...so like, you may notice me focusing more on him than other characters or topics or whatever lol

Also I am Not interested in the Comics or Korra series...s. The former for writing that is plain ass bad, and the latter for changing so much of the setting (not for better) and uhm, also less than good writing. If I want bad takes on Communism and Anarchy I can just go look at Twitter or some rubbish. Also I know Kyoshi novels exist. I’m just talking about the OG show, even if select pinpoints of the subsidiary installments have good moments.

This got PRETTY LONG and ain’t particularly coherent, so I’ll put a Cut in here ;3

Overall Show:

Not gonna lie, some’a the Book 1 eps get pretty throughly memoryholed, even what happens in the first two! They ain’t bad, but it does take The Storm for the series to really hit its stride with the delish Backstories.

Following that solid W of an ep is The Blue Spirit, and this is actually one of the best in the entire show. Seems they initially wrote it like it was a season finale to get more eps approved, and it worked! lol

I dig that all the characters get some character focus and growth even early on

...I’m mixed on my stance on Aang’s crush on Katara. If it was a one sided thing that started off quite strong and then de-intensified over the series, I’d find it very cute and endearing. But that sure ain’t the course they took lol, but I guess I’ll sum my thoughts on shipping in its own section later.

The real highlights of S1 are in The Storm, The Blue Spirit, The Northern Water Tribe and the Siege of the North 2-parter. All these have a lot of Zuko, fancy that XD

Also I like how early it’s set up how Built Different he is, especially them last three eps. Dude gets blown up, swim through long underwater tunnels in freezing water, barely wins a fight, treks out into the arctic, gets 1-shot in a fight, and THEN starts another fight, this time with Zhao. His only true weakness really is his mental state and lack of planning, innit!

Book 2 overall kinda bothers me. Objectively it has some of the strongest points, but so much of it feels like it’s dark and dingy or really damn slow to get moving.

Strongest points are of course Toph’s entire existence, the zigzags of Zuko’s arc, and Azula’s anatagonistic omnipresence

The rest of it, myeah... while it’s more focused on a through line plot, it feels a bit monotone until The Library and eventually The Guru and Crossroads

Zuko Alone might be the GOAT episode. It’s not my favourite but DAMN it is firing on all cylinders!!!

I also like Bitter Work a lot. Gotta eat up more Parallels Episodes, babes!

The “Brainwashing” / Sleeper Agents thing feels OP. I get ya need an antagonistic force different to the Fire Nation but myeahhh... not convincing me

But yeah, then there’s Zuko’s continued character thread with the Angst Coma and the dreams and then the REALLY WEIRD turn of him being all smiley and optimistic. It always felt really fake and non-Zuko-esque to me, but I can ‘get’ that given he’s trying hard to shift gears from the status quo of before, overcompensating in the process. What’s odder still is that Iroh doesn’t seem to question it...

Like, sure, he wants to settle down and Tea Shop it up, but even if he could get Zuko to stop pining for the position in the Royal Family, does he honestly believe a day of fever dreams will have had such a profound effect last longer than a few days of re-settling? Zuko’s actions feel like someone having decided to turn their entire life around starting tomorrow and then swiftly burning out as change is a slow and gradual process in reality, and shouldn’t be forced.

So what I think is going on is Iroh himself having become blinded by what he wants, rather than a more realistic outcome. And that could be fab gear writing! A reminder that Iroh too is not immune to bias and oversights, and is indeed a human who sometimes Dun Goofs. If it is what’s intended rather than lazier writing lol

Also yeah, Zuko’s almost- side switching, I’ll save that for later ;3

Book 3 is both a high point but again there’s some episodes that are pretty lame or have less to offer, but I feel more forgiving of this one as sooo much juicy Plot stuff actually unfolds~

Again it takes the Main Plot stepping up for the quality to rise with the Day of Black Sun, and then the episodes after all feature the long-awaited Redeemed Zuko, and those times ae Gooooooood

The stupidest moment I have to complain about though, in the DoBS, is when Azula “proves” she’s an expert liar by... saying she’s a giant purple bear thing? That’s not lying, it’s absurdism, and it’s incredibly easy to say dumb shit like that without any “lying tells” that polygraphs or Toph look for (keep in mind that irl Polygraphs actually suck, they’re a Stress detector but lying doesn’t always stress liars out... LIKE AZULA, but even the biggest ball of anxiety could say “Yeah I’m Barney the Dinosaur” without triggering anything. GRAAAAAGH)

Back on track, my only complaint with Zuko joining so late is that I want mooooore, all the eps with the ‘field trips’ are such fun AND such Character Building

Ember Island Players was a great ep, though I don’t need to see the closing scene used to draw comparisons to the live action movie any more. It’s been like 500 times.

I DON’T THINK AANG SHOULD HAVE KILLED OZAI

That would be proving Ozai’s point that Might makes Right, which of course is WRONG

The show has been leading up to non-lethal ethos

Taking Ozai’s bending is a good out.

BUT. Holy shit they fumbled the ball bad

Energybending has ZERO build up or allusions even when there were chances to sneak it in, like The Library or The Guru

Commenting on a picture of a Lion Turtle and having Lion Turtle background sculptures DOESN’T CUT IT

Because that is ALL we get!!

At least have the Lion Turtle picture say “They’re so ancient they’re rumoured to pre-date Bending” or something to hook interest in

And the Guru coulda been a great way to drop the 5th Element lore in

But they waste all chances they had to set it up despite claiming they knew from the beginning that there would be a peaceful out

The Rock unblocking Aang’s chakra is also pretty bad, but I’m more inclined to forgive a moment of luck if the Energybending wasn’t so bogus

But it could be improved if Aang like, deliberately earthbent the Rock and then used it as acupressure

Both the Energybending and Convenient Rock make Aang’s victory feel less earned, which is a huge shame as we’ve seen him actually try soooo much. But alas, that last hurdle and they resort to lazy ass writing

The lst Agni Kai rules though. It’s beautiful and tragic, showing how much Zuko has grown and Azula fell. And Katara’s finishing the fight so effectively is bodacious and actually feels really smart~

WHERE IS IROH AT THE CORONATION??!?!

The end is a cute scene that is then strangled by the Red String lol, but damn, what a cool ass show

 Characters:

Aang: He’s a cute protagonist, I’ve always liked the Cheerful and Highly Powerful archetype (cough cough Son Goku), though Aang is also heavily defined by his childishness, both a strength and a flaw. As much as I enjoy him, unfortunately I think he got a bit of the short end of the stick writing-wise, he can feel a bit Flat and, worse, like Bryke’s Pet. They lean too hard on letting him get what he wants, and we miss out of the development that coulda followed if the story didn’t twist itself to give him outs. Not unlocking his Chakras properly for selfish reasons should be punished. Finding an alternative to Murder should have had him Proactive. Not getting the Girl would have been a lot more realistic...! See the Shipping section for the latter...

Zuko: Holy rigatoni, man. Zuko is the bar by which Enemies to Friends, Redemption Arcs, Anti-Villains AND Anti-Heroes are all measured. His character has so much incredible nuance!! And yeah, maybe I too am weak to the dark and handsome and yet dorky type’a fella ;3c - I’m in the kinda situation right now where I find it hard to actually phrase everything I dig about him, but that’s from having too many thoughts and they all get crammed in the doorway between my brain and ability to type lmaooo

Katara: This girl is another high water mark (pun unintended) for how to Female Character. She’s the designated Mom of the team, but she ain’t defined by it, also being one’a the most capable fighters, having a hot temper and even a mean streak. It would really suck if she had just been written primarily to Love Interest (as the early drafts seem to imply...), but in the show, she has her own agency and goals that compliment the main quest, and she manages to be both a stable grounding force while having plenty of growth of her own.

Sokka: Again, I really wonder how it woulda turned out if the original plan had been followed; in Sokka’s case he was s’pposed to be the serious, stiffer contrast to Zany Playful Aang and Wide-Eyed Idealist Katara. But his VA is very naturally Funny, and so Sokka as we know him is a bodacious blend of Wacky yet also Level Headed. It’s an odd blend and many have tried and failed to replicate this delicate balance, but Sokka does indeed feel like a real person who seamlessly switches between being the group’s eccentric and also the one making all the plans.

Toph: ANOTHER amazing W for Girl Characters, Toph is such a delight and welcome shaking-up of the existing dynamics. She’s pretty consistently one of the most amusing and Real of the crew, while hilariously OP without it feeling cheap. It’s so weird to think she wasn’t in Book 1 at all, cause once she joins you sure as hell can’t imagine her being absent.

Iroh: Everybody loves this dude, and they’re right! What can I say about him that ain’t already been covered?? Maybe just that I do like that, as wise and benevolent as he is, there are still times where he’s allowed to be wrong or short sighted (see: my previous ramblings about Zuko’s very-un-Zuko behaviour), cause it allows him to feel more Real, and Human. That he’s speaking from experience and not from reading the script. That’s dope, man.

Azula: This is hard... I feel Azula is a massively polarising character, many people enjoy her but there’s too many people who either want to pretend she didn’t do horrible things, too many people who forget she’s also a victim, AND too many people who are just blindly like ‘woo, yeah! What a #Girlboss! Azula’s so cool and automatically wins at whatever”. Like, she’s one of the more nuanced characters but the surface level is indeed of hyper competence, it’s what’s below that veneer which is interesting. I kinda feel like more people oughta talk about the moment where she looks pleased, almost triumphant at Zuko being maimed...

And the rest: Oh god, I can’t talk about every semi-developed character as there’s a lot. Sorry Suki. You’re cool too! But most characters who appear in more that one episode see to be written pretty good, again, like People, rather than just plot devices in human skin. I like that.

...

Shipping:

lol. I think the BEST route would have been to not ‘canonise’ any ships of the ragtag group of kids and teenagers. Alas, we don’t live in that timeline and have dumb ass wars over it. Anyway, here’s my hot take:

Kaatang, while foreshadowed early on from Aang’s side, is a really lame route as Katara seems to have to loose her actual personality for it to work. Also, it jars with Aang’s role as both Avatar (while they’re allowed to Get Freaky, he was s’posed to be able to detach from Earthly attachments to gain the Avatar Powers), and as a totally-not-Buddist Monk, who are NOT allowed to get bizzay. So Aang too loses insteresting notions of Duty and being able to Mature cause he just gets what he wants without having to try. Lame.

Katara doesn’t have many moments where she even looks at Aang as something other than a Friend / Little Brother / Son?? type figure, there’s only brief moments where there is potential moments from her side, and they are far between and seldom deeper than her chemistry with the likes of Jet and Haru. The most I can speak for is the Day of Black Sun, where she’s taken aback by Aang planting one on her, but when he directly and Un-Classy-ly brings it back up in the Ember Island Players, she is quite rightly reserved and when he kisses her again without warning she’s angry! And that’s never resolved!! They just Mandatory Ship them together in the end because Bryke are biased and soooo intent of having their ship even though the writing hasn’t sufficiently built up to it. I don’t dig this, baby!

Maiko is also badly written and the comics make Mai unlikable. [slow sarcastic clapping]

So the ships I do like are:

Zutura - THEMATIC PERFECTION and not because of the red and blue, fire and water juxtaposition, but because Katara and Zuko are fundamentally so similar but coming from opposite sides and thus approaches. Both so kind at their cores but quick to anger or do something stupid on impulse, both so affected by the loss of their mothers and family-motivated. The fake out in Crossroads introduces a fascinating extra crease to their interactions that lasts, and the finale?? HELLO?!?! That’s legit one’a the most compelling Ship Fuel moments ever, baybeee! Other serieses would knaw off their own leg for material that rich!

Also yes, the red/blue, sun/moon, fire/water, and that they are pretty together lol. But still, there’s more in how they are a fantastic combo when on the same side, and also the meta reality that several writers and their own Voice Actors ship it. And they’re right to!

Zukka - The new darling of the fandom and while it doesn’t have as much going for it, I can see it. At it’s worst it feels like people desperately trying to rationalise the red/blue guys from Failtron Legendary Idiot Space Show, but when people who actually care about the characters here in ATLA and draw on their parallels and interactions I find myself enjoying it. Zuko goes well with the Water siblings I guess haha

Sukka - I don’t have much to say, I just like it lol

Also in the past I liked Zukaang but now I wanna redefine it as them being allowed to be Buddies and close friends and teammates, like what the Blue Spirit ep teased at but then didn’t really follow up on outside The Firebending Masters. I want more!! MOOOOORE!!!

...

But man this post is obnoxious and long enough already lol, thanks if ya endured it all~

[salvationofsouls]

grimmusings : ❛ with all due respect, which is none- ❜ (Brock/Bucky @vvolfstare)

‘Watch your fuckin’ mouth.’

Had HYDRA not drilled into Barnes the importance of controlling his speech? Brock may have been more patient than most, but he didn't tolerate people taking advantage of that. They should be grateful for what they received. ( Despite Barnes's verbal aggression, Brock wasn't deterred. He stepped closer, his combat boots encroaching on Barnes's personal space. ) In Brock's line of work, fear was a useless emotion. However, this didn't mean he underestimated Barnes. Only a fool would, and while he wasn't the most intelligent person, he was far from foolish. Instead, he tried to hold back his anger which always seemed ready to boil over these days.

Brock had always struggled with his temper. He attributed it to his past, but after surviving having a building collapse on him and enduring the subsequent physical trauma, his anger had transformed into a consuming fire. ( He had a targetfor his rage, and ironically, it wasn't Barnes or the Avengers, but the organisation that had manipulated him. ) HYDRA was the real problem, and they always had been. They had infiltrated SHIELD, seized control, and turned him into a sleeper agent. He had been in too deep to refuse. He had believed they gave him purpose. Order through pain, right?

Now, he saw HYDRA for what it truly was. They wouldn't recognize loyalty if it hit them in the face. So yes, they weren't enemies, but that didn't give Barnes the right to disrespect him and treat him as if he were beneath him. Brock hadn't been the one to shape Barnes into the Winter Soldier. He hadn't even realized it was happening until he witnessed Barnes in the bank vault. He had briefly questioned which side he was on, but that doubt had swiftly been replaced by the stark realization that it didn't matter. There was no way out of HYDRA. Or at least that had been the case until they began to crumble. He didn't blame Barnes for his anger; he simply felt it should be directed elsewhere…

‘Look, I just wanna talk and you’re gonna damn well listen.’

[australiablog]

3/7

Today I have a free day in Darwin. I honestly have no real plans, I’m so tired! Last night Tom was saying that our itinerary was definitely way fuller as what he normally does. He said that he doesn’t get tired easily because he has very good stamina, and even he was tired, so he couldn’t imagine how tired we all were. Well pretty damn tired of you ask me. I did confess that if I would have been really solo or with my sister, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have done the last hike. I would have said screw the sunset from a high vantage point and we’ll just watch it from the side of the road, now don’t get me wrong I’m very happy we did because it was gorgeous. But I did push myself more as I would have done if I was on my own. Anyway chill day today, tomorrow I’m getting the greyhound to Alice Springs and somehow I couldn’t get the tickets downloaded, the information I had was not letting me log in. I had emailed my travel agent about this already two days ago, but with basically having no signal when we were out and about I could only reply in the morning or evening. So with the time difference on top of things, it made communication very difficult. So today I decided to walk to the bus stop, so a) I would know where it was and b) so I could talk to someone. Turned out they have no information desk, so I had to call them. Now normally this would not be a problem but I’ve got an eSIM with data only, no phone number. And I really didn’t want to use my Belgian number so I went back to the hostel and asked for help. They let me use their phone and I got everything sorted out in under 5 minutes. I’ve acclimatised to the warmth now, but I had a alot of dirty clothes so I did a laundry while I had time. My wash line came in handy, because all the lines the mom hostel had were full. While sorting out my laundry I realised I had forgotten my chocolate in the cool box we had on the tour. Because the trailer gets super hot, I had taken it out of my bag and stored it in the cooler. With going for drinks I completely forgot about it. On the tour we all downloaded PhotoCircle, it’s an app that you can invite people too and share photos. Because we went for drinks last night, Tom had put his number on it. So I texted him if it was possible for me to come and pick up the chocolate. He said he had to be in the city and would drop it off. The rest of my day was basically lounging at the pool, going out to buy some souvenirs and just having a chill day. Going to bed early was once again very difficult in a hostel, I had asked for a female dorm but since the hostel was full I was sharing with a girl and two guys again. The dorm room was extremely chilly last night, so while I was talking to the girl from Israel in my room I told her I was envy of her blanket. Turns out I could get one at the reception, when I say I ran I’m not joking. The girl and two guys had been living in the dorm for a few months. I honestly could not do that, because something I’ve learned on this trip already is that I love the social aspect of a hostel, meeting new people is so much fun. The sleeping however is a nightmare for me. I’m a bad sleeper at the best of times, in a hostel with parties everyday until 11 and people who rather stay up late and sleep in late is not ideal for an early riser like me. So while I know it’s super cheap to stay at hostels, I’ve emailed my travel agent if I could switch to a hotel for Alice Springs on Friday. Now all I need to do is wait for an answer.