#whatever higher being there is wanted to get back at him for the apocalypse | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hazyhae · 5 months

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getting high with wayv

my first request!! hope y'all enjoy <3

cw: smoking/marijuana use, suggestive content, mentions of sex, teasing/mean-ish behavior from ten, oral

18+ content minors dni

☁︎ kun

there is nothing this man isn’t good at, and weed is no exception

lectures you on moderation while rolling you a perfect little joint and preparing an ash tray for the two of you

acts like he doesn’t want to but smoking with you is one of his favorite forms of stress relief

he usually spoils you, but when high he feels comfy enough to ask to be babied :(

please please please let him lay in your lap and scratch his head

he will bury his face into you and lay kisses on whatever skin he can find with his lips

he just has a lot on his shoulders, so he will appreciate anything from you and repay it tenfold

if you go down on him, expect finishing at least 2-3 times that night

if you ride him, expect a 3 course breakfast the next day

“what did i ever do to deserve you?? baby please don’t ever do this for anyone else”

☁︎ ten

fiend and instigator

challenges you to outsmoke him but you can’t because he is just too good

sassy man apocalypse leader - the higher he gets the more daring his mouth is

“you can’t feel your legs? damn baby you’re high asf come sit on this dick”

he’ll make sure he’s the reason why you can’t feel your legs

he won’t stop talking shit even as he fucks you into oblivion

“you didn’t even finish half your joint, cmon baby you can do better than that”

obvs even when he does tease you he’ll still check in and make sure you’re okay

ten knows how to use his body and the high just gives his movements that little bit of extra fluidity that has you seeing stars

☁︎ winwin

he may seem quiet and reserved, but when he's high, winwin becomes surprisingly talkative and giggly

he loves sharing deep thoughts and having discussions while enjoying the high

there are thoughts that he can’t seem to get out when he’s sober, but they flow while high and you accept them wholeheartedly

those thoughts are also his feelings about how grateful he is for you and how much he loves you

you know he loves you regardless, but his words are just a lovely reminder

“i’m sorry i don’t always tell you how i feel, but let me show you just how much i appreciate you”

and that he does! just lay down and he will treat you like absolute royalty

the weed in his system lets his thoughts flow as he does you, whispering words of affection into your ear throughout the night

☁︎ xiaojun

he is a one hit wonder..

will take one puff and start singing to you while swinging you around the room

he has a playlist specifically for when he gets high, and the two of you will sing the songs in it together as you dance in each other’s arms

high xiaojun is veeery affected by the mood of the music, so once the bedroom music starts, the bedroom eyes you get

he becomes sensual and passionate, moving his hips to the beat of the music, taking his sweet time with you throughout the night

“i could just do this forever with you, nothing feels as good as this baby”

high sex with his favorite person and favorite music playing is the definition of a perfect night for him

gets lost in the music sometimes and might finish a little to early, but is always more than happy to give you some sweet loving and finish you off to end the night

☁︎ hendery

goofy #1

he’s already funny while sober, but your lungs feel like they are gonna burst when you are high with hendery

everything he does is and says is funny when you are high, and he’s just happy to see your smile and hear your laugh

high hendery is incredibly playful and affectionate

he loves cuddling and being as close as he possibly can to you

when the cuddles turn into something more, teasing ensues and you get each other riled up

the two of you are still a little giggly but once he’s turned on, there’s no going back

“let’s see if you’re still laughing after i have you bent over this couch, baby”

☁︎ yangyang

goofy #2

yangyang is adventurous and loves to explore new experiences while high, so he will suggest trying out different smoking methods or edibles

this also means that his playful and adventurous nature will have him always looking for new ways to heighten your pleasure

he loves exploring different positions and techniques with you

just when you think you’ve done everything he will surprise you with something new

“baby wait i’m not done yet, can we try out one more pleeeease”

instead of tiring him out, the weed helps him last longer and go more rounds, trying something different every time

he’s also open minded to doing anything you want to do, and the weed gets rid of any last bit of shame either of you have in expressing your desires

you are both exhausted and passed tf out by the end of the night

#nct smut #wayv smut #nct x reader #wayv x reader #hard thoughts #kun smut #ten smut #winwin smut #xiaojun smut #hendery smut #yangyang smut #weed #stoner!nct #coco works #coco req

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haunted-xander · 1 year

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"Chiaki Nanami, you have been assigned a new mission. You will reside in the designated area and search for survivors, and provide them with safety until we can come gather them. We will send Makoto Naegi and Kyoko Kirigiri to accompany you. As their senior, we expect you to guide them. You will stay in the area indefinitely. Suitable apartments have been located and prepared for your stay. Good luck out there."

Chiaki looked at the message as she, alongside Makoto and Kyoko, were about to arrive at their new apartments. She was glad to get another relatively easy-going mission, but she was concerned about being accompanied by others. It'll be harder to hide that I'm looking for the Remnants on my own... Kirigiri-san especially will definitely notice. I just hope they'll understand...

She thought back to the file Ryota sent her the other day. The area she was overlooking was the same as the one the Remnants were supposedly gathering towards. I hope I can find Kamukura-kun or Komaeda-kun quickly... There's no telling when they'll all arrive or how long they'll take to start whatever they're planning. I can't afford to take my time with this.

"...Um, Nanami-san? We're here." Makoto's words made her realize she'd spaced out. "...Oh, cool. We're finally here." Finally stepping out of the car, she held tight to her backpack and joined Makoto and Kyoko in walking up to the apartments. "...So, what apartment number did you get? I got 106."

"Oh, I got 308."

"I got 309."

"...Oh, you're neighbours. Cool." Chiaki got the feeling there was a certain intent behind rooming them so close together. "...Hey hey, it's just gonna be us in the building, right? Why'd they feel the need to choose the apartments for us? We could've just picked ourselves." At Chiaki's questioning, Kyoko crossed her arms and seemed to think for a second. "If I had to quess, I'd say it's to monitor us more easily. If they where to check up on us, they wouldn't have to go through every apartment in search for us."

"...They could just ask then. Did they even check the apartments beforehand? What if mine has a broken toilet? That would be a pain." She knew she was just being petulant by now, but she really wanted to choose her apartment herself. Maybe I'll just use another apartment anyway. The keys are all in here anyway, so it's not like it matters. Hmph.

Pouting all the way inside, she picked up the key to apartment 104. ...And the key to 106 as well. She could at least check it out. Maybe she'll break a mirror or something as an excuse for why she went to another one. She waved to Makoto and Kyoko as they made their way upstairs to their own apartments. First, she went to 106 to completely innocently check it out. She just broke the mirror by accident is all. If anyone asks, it was always like this.

After that was dealt with, she went to apartment 104 and immediately noticed it was in much better condition than 106. I guess people are still wary of 4's even in the apocalypse... That's people for you, I guess. ...Maybe Komaeda-kun will try to stay in this room since he's called 'God of Death' and all. If he does, that makes my chance of meeting him much higher. She went into each of the rooms to check if they were all in working order, and aside from the lack of chairs, the apartment looked to be fine.

Chiaki was tired from the long drive over and walked into the bedroom only to immediately flop down onto the bed. Soft...

Before she could fully fall asleep, she heard a knock on her door. When she went and opened it, she found Makoto and Kyoko on the other side. "...Oh, hello... Come in..." She opened the door for them and they all went and sat on the couch. "I noticed you went into a different apartment than assigned. Trying to rebel?" Kyoko started with an easy smile. "If you're wondering how I knew which you picked, I saw you take the key."

"...Oh, you did. I should've expected that."

"You really wanted to pick your own apartment, huh?"

"...I picked it just in case the one I was assigned had something wrong with it. 106 has a broken bathroom mirror. That's gonna be annoying."

"Oh, really? Because I heard the sound of glass breaking when I was checking the neighbouring apartments." Oops. She caught me. "...You checked the apartments?" I guess it'd be a good idea to do that. "Yes. There could be something useful hidden in one of the apartments. And, there's the chance someone's laying in wait for the chance to attack us. The apartments are all locked, but it wasn't difficult to lockpick them. If someone was cunning enough to try and ambush us, they'd surely be able to pick a measly lock like this. And, since the doors all lock from the inside without a key, they wouldn't have any issue locking it once inside either."

"There wasn't anything of note inside the first floor apartments though... Well, aside from the recently broken mirror, I guess." ...My bad. "We decided to check yours last. Have you noticed anything odd?"

"...Other then the fact there's no chairs here, no. Everything looks fine... I think. But I also didn't look around that deeply, so I might've missed something." She was really curious about the lack of chairs, thought. Maybe I'll steal some from 106. "We'll take a look around, then."

"...Okay. I'm gonna take a nap. I'm sleepy..."

"Haha, of course. We'll try to be quiet, so have a good nap, Nanami-san!" Kyoko responded with something about having to check the bedroom eventually too, but Chiaki was too busy heading over to the bed for her nap to listen.

She'll probably just sleep through it, anyway.

#i love kyokos ff look tbh #chiaki nanami #kyoko kirigiri #makoto naegi #remnant searcher chiaki au #danganronpa #super danganronpa 2 #sdr2 #danganronpa 3 #dr3 #art #my art #xanders art #xanders haunting art #digital art #fan art #fic #fanfic #fanfiction

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hopepetal · 1 year

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Oh ho hooo hello hello hello! I see you are doing requests????

(I'll trade you, you do a request for me and I'll draw u something u ask me for)

Anyway I think you know who I'm going for

Scar!!! And uhhh reveal of some kind??? You pick. (I love reveals but I think you already know that anfjdjskak)

Hello there!! Here you go :D

Part two of this post!

Scar took panicked, gasping breaths as he leaned against his tree, the huge starter base he had built at the beginning of the season. His lungs ached from the strain of pulling in more and more air as Scar struggled to not have a breakdown, failing pretty badly if he was being perfectly honest.

He couldn't stop seeing it, even as he sank down against the tree and hugged his knees to his chest, sobbing loudly as he rocked back and forth. The zombies, not having been satisfied with taking his first world and first life, had snatched away his friend as well. And now he was alone again, because he hadn't been quick enough to defend Grian.

Scar remembered how they had just been jovially walking through the forest, talking and laughing and not keeping their guard up and it was all his fault. He clearly hadn't learnt his lesson from the zombie apocalypse, so now whatever higher power that was out there was punishing him–

And Grian. Grian hadn't deserved it, to be ripped apart by an undead thing. He hadn't even seen it coming, hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye before dying, dying just like everyone else Scar had ever cared for. Now he was gone and Scar would never get the chance to tell him everything he felt. He had always put it off because he had grown soft, had forgotten that time was limited and life was fleeting.

Scar wailed, tugging at his hair as he sobbed, his rocking growing more frantic. His entire body burned as he took in too much oxygen, the panic attack setting in and gripping his chest in a vice. Images of Grian flashed in his mind, sending fresh waves of grief through him. So wrapped up in his sobbing panic, Scar didn't hear his name being called until the person was right next to him.

Scar reacted instinctively, reaching for his gun sword, pulling it out as he swept the legs out from under the person zombie, putting his sword to their throat. Panting heavily, Scar faintly wondered why he hadn't gone for the kill immediately when his vision came back into focus.

“Woah, woah, Scar!” Grian, a dead man walking, was staring up at him with a slight look of concern. Not fear, like he wasn't afraid of dying with a sword at his throat.

Scar's hands trembled as he stumbled back, eyes wide. “You,” he choked out, “how are you alive? How–” He quickly examined Grian, noting the lack of wounds. “You died. You were killed by the– by the–”

Grian slowly sat up, making no move to stand. He looked very confused, but there was a gentle understanding in his eyes. “Scar, this is Hermitcraft. We die all the time here. You die all the time here. I'm perfectly fine, see?” He patted himself down with a kind smile. “No injuries. Just a wounded pride.”

Scar hesitated for a moment, before it all came crashing back. Hermitcraft. Safety, sanctuary, freedom. Living, even after death. His cheeks coloured a bright red from embarrassment as he plopped back down on the grass, letting out a soft huff. “Oh, oh gosh. Grian, I'm so sorry, I don't know...” That was a lie. He knew exactly what happened, exactly why he freaked out.

Grian stood up, moving to sit next to him. “Yeah,” he murmured, “this stuff happens, Scar. You don't need to tell me anything– we all know the rule about backgrounds here. Don't ask, don't pry, everyone has their secrets. But I just want you to know that I'm here for you, no matter what.”

Scar paused. He knew Grian wasn't expecting anything. When he spoke next, it was a surprise even to him. “I was in a zombie apocalypse.”

Grian looked over at him sharply, expression turning into a mixture of concern and fear. “What?”

Now that he had started, Scar couldn't stop himself from rambling. “You know hardcore worlds? Those really scary ones– like the life series, you know? Except it was only one life, and, well–” he chuckled bitterly, shaking his head– “it was the zombie apocalypse.”

Grian listened in silence. He was clearly horrified as Scar went on about how he had fought tooth and nail to survive, scrounging for food and resources, all alone in that desolate world. At one point, when Scar's breathing hitched and his shoulders started to shake, Grian put a wing around him, helping to ground the vex next to him.

“–and then the zombies... there were too many. It just. It got to the point where me and my gun weren't enough. And, well. I took my last stand there.” Scar's eyes shone with tears. “I died there. And a part of me died with it.”

Grian recalled how Scar had famously not spoken for the longest time, only first talking to him in a voice that was raspy from disuse and absolutely beautiful. “...oh, Scar,” he murmured, selfish tears of his own beginning to fall. “Can I touch you?” Upon receiving a short nod, Grian reached out and cupped Scar's face, turning his head so their eyes met. “Thank you. Thank you so much for trusting me with this, I–” his voice trembled as he spoke, though he tried his best to keep his words steady and calm. “I'm so sorry.”

Scar shook his head, tears beginning to stream down his face. “It's– it's okay, Gri, it's all over now and–” He started crying in earnest, unable to speak through sobs.

Grian pulled Scar into a hug, wrapping his wings around his friend. “It's okay. Let it all out. I'm here for you.” Holding rightly to Scar, he murmured the two most comforting words he could. “We're alive.”

Scar wailed, holding onto Grian like he would a lifeline. “I– I–!” he gasped out, scrambling for the words he so desperately needed to say.

Grian just held him, crying himself. “It's okay. You're okay, Scar. You don't need to force yourself to talk.”

Scar shook his head, hands curling into fists to tug on Grian's jumper. “I–” he tried again, sobbing in frustration as he once again stuttered to a halt. “I– I love you!” he finally got out, and the weight on his chest was relieved. “I love you so much,” he sobbed out.

Grian let out a soft sound of surprise, before smiling through his tears. “I love you too,” he whispered, “gosh, Scar, I love you so much.”

“Thank you,” Scar sobbed, burying his face in Grian's chest. “Thank you...”

The two sat there for a long time in each other's arms, as night slowly turned to day. Eventually, the sobs died down, and Grian felt Scar relaxing and slowly falling asleep. He had exhausted himself with all the crying, and Grian smiled wearily as he gently maneuvered Scar onto his lap. Stroking the man's long brown hair, Grian watched the sunset rise.

Later, they would talk more. But for now, all they needed was rest.

#my writing #answered ask #knights of the angst table #gtws #goodtimeswithscar #scar #grian #angst #hermitcraft fanfic #tcd scar

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sariahsue · 1 year

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Marinette’s Three Rules for Preventing the Apocalypse

Set shortly after the events of Chat Blanc, Marinette uses her knowledge of what happened that day to create three rules to prevent disaster. What happens when she can't keep them all?

[Prologue] [1]

Chapter Two - Trapped

The next night, Chat Noir didn't visit Marinette like she'd been expecting.

She'd hoped he was just busy, but he didn't show up Thursday either.

At school, Adrien hardly looked at her, like he wasn't even missing her. And when she said hello to him in class, he waved only briefly and quickly turned back to his notes, like he was uncomfortable. She wasn't sure what to make of it, other than to reinforce his rejection. He liked someone else and might have asked her out by now. Maybe having a female friend felt wrong to him all of a sudden.

Friday started on a sour note, so it shouldn't have been surprising that it ended in a mess.

It was snowing when she got up, and she was almost late to school. By the time she had gotten outside, the snow had turned to rain and covered the sidewalks with slush and ice. Even though she lived across the street, by the time she got into the building, breathless and freezing, her shoes and socks were soaked through. She was cold and miserable on top of lonely and missing Adrien.

There were only two minutes until the bell when Marinette ran through the front door and into the courtyard. Her first class was on the second floor, so she bolted toward the stairs, but not so quickly that she didn't see a flash of blond hair hiding underneath the steps.

Adrien sat there, whispering to his bag.

Marinette stopped dead. It wasn't like him to risk being late. And he was obviously talking to Plagg. It really wasn't like him to be so cavalier with his secret identity. What was wrong?

As she walked closer, she could hear his urgent whisper.

"—think she's more likely to say yes to?"

Marinette stopped frozen where she stood. She didn't want to hear this conversation. Stupid cat, she did not want to hear about this conversation. (And was he seriously considering asking someone out as Chat Noir?!)

"What if she says no?" he asked in a pained voice, a little louder.

"Adrien!" Whatever problem he was having with his crush, he shouldn't be making it worse by talking to Plagg in public. "Walk with me to class?"

He dropped his bag, flinging it over his shoulder and behind his back so it was out of her line of sight.

"Oh," he said. "Yeah, sure."

"Great, let's go." And she headed up the stairs before she could reflexively grab his hand. "Don't want to be late!" she called over her shoulder.

His footsteps were heavy on the stairs below her. When she was halfway up, he suddenly picked up his pace.

"Marinette, wait."

"Yeah?" She turned to find him standing on the step right below her. With their height difference, her face was only a little bit higher than his. The proximity was distracting and she almost missed him saying he wanted to ask her a question.

"Question?" she repeated. "Oh, yeah. What do you need? Is there something I can help you with?" If he was going to ask her to help him with his girl problems again, then–

"Oh, not help. And you can say no anyway, but I was just wondering…" He broke off and wiped his palm on the side of his pants. His other hand was clutching his bag's strap in a vise grip.

"Yes?" she prompted.

A breeze whistled through the courtyard, fluttering a few pieces of wet, yellow paper. They flapped feebly, then started to swirl, attracting puffs of dust and more scraps of paper until it was a small cyclone. The sky that had been dull to begin with suddenly dimmed even more. The clouds parted. Stars blinked to life overhead.

"Chloe," Adrien muttered.

The sky kept darkening. And the wind kept getting stronger.

"We have to move," Marinette said, pigtails whipping at her face. "You go find an empty classroom to hide." And transform. "I'll… make sure Alya stays where she is." And also transform.

A strong gust almost lifted her off her feet and managed to send her tumbling down the stairs. Fortunately, Adrien had a better grip on the railing and kept them both upright. The wind howled at them. The doors of the second floor classes were only barely-visible outlines.

Adrien clamped one arm around her waist, the other arm securely around the railing, and hauled them upstairs.

The walkway in front of the classrooms was only protected by an overhang, not by walls. It didn't offer much shelter, but Marinette felt less like she was about to fall, so she pulled herself away from Adrien. They both needed to transform.

"No!" his voice was barely audible over the wind.

"What?" she yelled back.

"I'll find Alya. You hide. I need to know you're safe."

The screech of metal from below them made Marinette jump. "What was that?"

"Bench," he said, pushing her against the wall and shielding her as much as he could.

It was ripping the benches out of the floor downstairs? They had to hurry. Feeling along the wall, she passed several occupied classrooms. It was almost totally dark. While he wasn't transformed, she knew his eyesight would be as limited as hers. She hoped he wouldn't notice she was leading them to a janitor's closet that should be empty. If he shoved her into a classroom with a bunch of students and took off, she'd never be able to get away.

"Wait, Marinette. I think we passed–"

"Here!" The door was solid. No glass window indicating a classroom. She wrenched it open and the wind pulled it out of her hand, slamming it against the wall with a crack. She tumbled inside, expecting Adrien to slam the door shut behind her so he could be alone to transform. Instead he yelled and jumped in after her, knocking her to the ground and fumbling to close the door after them. It snapped shut, and something crashed into it half a second later.

"What was that?" Marinette said, pushing herself up. If outside was dark, this was pitch black. Adrien shuffled toward her, kicking boxes and bottles that she'd knocked off the shelves as she'd fallen. She could hear where he was, but she didn't see him as he helped to lift her.

"Lucky, that's what we are," Adrien said. "I almost didn't see it. Bench."

"We can't stay here. It's going to rip the building apart if Ladybug and Chat Noir don't show up soon." She pushed against the door, but it didn't move. She twisted the handle but it didn't turn.

Adrien pressed against her, feeling the door and frame around it. "It's all twisted," he said. "It hit the handle and jammed it."

The door rattled with the wind, but it didn't give.

They were trapped.

---

Tag list: @tbehartoo

#ml #marichat #mlb #miraculous #miraculous ladybug

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chronic-boogara · 2 years

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Hello! I love your blog it's so nice looking and spot on with the characters!

But can I maybe request stu with a reader who is super badass like can make anything I not a weapon just super crafty and knows great ways to bunker down and survive crazy situations and one day stuff asks how they are so crafty and stuff and it turns out reader just has severe anxiety and copes with zombie and dystopian stuff like collecting, watching, comics anything sorry if this is to specific lol 😂 well even if you don't answer mine keep up the good work!

OKAY BUT THIS>>>> i have such a bad habit of making reader a helpless damsel in distress😔most def my toxic writing traits. but thank you for enjoying my blog every time someone says that my heart melts into a puddle. love you babe.

sorry this took so long i forgot abt it for a hot second :( i hope you like this , i didn’t want to go too far away from the prompt

•stu never considered himself normal in any sense. he was into the occult , strange things of the world. not like most kids his age

• so when he met someone so like minded it’s safe to say he was head over heels with this person. they were like his soulmate

•when he first tried to make a move he failed because he was too nervous. he ended up just turning right back around

•don’t worry though he’ll come around to asking you out properly it’ll just take him some time. it’s hard being a teenage boy in love.

•finally! he asked you out. he decided to take you to graveyard picnic on halloween which you are totally down for. you’re always ready in case the apocalypse comes anyway.

•the two of you really hit it off!! more dates ensued

•before either of you knew it you two were in a loving relationship.

•stu loves how crafty you are. there’s not much you can’t make and he is just so amazed. any end of the world scenario he can think of you are prepared.

•of course you’ve drawn up a couple blueprints for bunkers for different scenarios. zombies, nuclear war, computer take over or aliens. you’re ready

•sometimes you worry about weather stu thinks your extreme liking towards the subject a bit strange. only to find out he finds the exact opposite.

___

“y’ know y/n, I’ve always wondered why you’re so into all this stuff”. he gestured to the posters plastered across your walls.

you weren’t really prepared for such a question. your boyfriend tended to speak whatever is on his mind without another thought.

you felt your face grow warm with embarrassment. “i’ll tell you if you promise not think of me differently”.

stu was now sitting up from his previous position, a curious glint in his eyes. “i would never do such a thing y/n”.

you sighed. you’d have to break it to him anyways, the time just came earlier than you expected it to.

“i get really anxious…and have a tendency to over think things to the millionths degree. i latched onto things like zombie movies and end of the world stuff it calms me down”. you said , taking a breath after ending the sentence not even realizing you were holding it.

he was silent for a second and you had to fill it. “i know it’s weird”.

he shook his head. “i do way worse stuff in my free time y/n. i think you’re little obsession is cute. it makes you you”.

you shouldn’t be shocked he was so accepting. he was a horror fanatic that could name the most iconic serial killers in ABC order if prompted. but you still found yourself a bit surprised.

whatever higher being was above had really blessed you with the best boyfriend you could ask for.

#slasher fluff #slasher headcanons #fluffy headcanons #fluffy slasher headcanons #slasher x reader #slasher x you #stu macher x you #stu macher x reader #ghostface x reader #ghostface x y/n #scream fluff #ghostface fluff #scream 1996 #esha writes #cannibal-corpse193

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elia-de-silentio · 1 year

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TENTATIVE ANALYSES: THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

Episode 5: Number Five

NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

Once again, there are different narrative treads that cross and divide from each other.

• The Viktor Business: Viktor continues his romance with Leonard, but Allison is suspicious. She does a little research on him, and finds out ... nothing. Literally nothing, no records besides a short paragraph about his former wood carving employment and address. She brings this lack of findings to Viktor, but he brutally rebuffs her, feeling that she just thinks he's unable to do his own life decisions. So he keeps going on a date with Leonard, and he's so nice, encouraging him to go for first violin since Helen, the one who usually gets the spot mysteryously stopped showing up. Allison meanwhile enters Leonard's own home to investigate him further, but he returns and forces her to sneak away before she can complete the inspection. Back to Viktor: he absolutely nails the trial! The first chair is his, and he runs off to celebrate by making out with Leonard at his house. A strange distortion shows up, raising unnotoced to the storage room ... were we are treated to a shot of Helen's body wrapped up in a carpet.

• Klaus and Diego in mourning: Klaus returns from his accidental time travel, dirty, bloodied, and crying. Turns out, he landed straight in the middle of the Vietnam war, and joined the fighting, finding an actual romantic partner. But the guy has died, leaving him to return to his own time lost in grief and trauma. He is first noticed and then dismissed by Five, and then joins up with Diego, out to get Hazel and Cha-Cha for the murder of Eudora. The two fail, and are summoned to play chivalry for ...

• Five and Luther: there is an expansion on Five's former life. He used to work for an association responsible for the regular flow of time, and he did so by being an assassin who targeted people who would have disrupted it. Luther is shocked and confused, and has to handle an extremely stressed-out Five who wants to solve things by killing the person responsible for the apocalypse. In the end, they decide to stop Hazel and Cha-Cha by tricking them with a false suitcase and then running away with the help of Diego and Klaus, but the Handler, an higher-up at the Commission, intervenes, and strikes a deal with Five.

NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES

There is some foreshadowing involving Leonard's attic: Allison is right about to investigate it, when the master of the house arrives, forcing her to cut her visit short and run away (by the way, the competent and elegant way she pulls it off is a good shorthand to illustrate the training imparted by the Umbrella Academy). This creates the expectation that there is actually something important in the attic; and in fact, at the very end of the episode, we are shown Helen's corpse wrapped in a carpet in there, a cold shower since besides Allison's suspects we really had no reason to think ill of Viktor's caring and understanding new boyfriend. We could at most suspect him to be a creep, but a murderer?

Also, there is a plot twist in the very last scene of the episode: Pogo reactivating Grace, and making sure she remembers something they can't talk about to the children. Whatever might this be?

CHARACTERS

Luther: he dials down by a lot his I Am Number One rethoric, and like every time he does so, he has much more success in whatever he is trying to do. He is mostly involved with Five, and manages to get him to talk about his situation - not by ordering him, but by showing him actual capacity to listen and understand. He puts Five on a much more equal level to himself that he does with the rest of the Academy, and he gets around him more by proposing deals or even blackmail (defenestrating the mannequin) than ordering him around. Still, his somewhat immature way of thinking manifests in other forms, such as, after learning that Five worked as a hitman, seeking reassurances that he only killed 'bad guys'. As if that made all the difference in deciding wheter a life can continue or not! He is shocked and confused at Five bluntly contradicting him, and admitting that he killed, and would still kill, anyone who get in the way of preventing the apocalypse. This is what motivates him to try and put Five on a different path, the thought of preserving those good and innocent people. Who knows how would he have reacted if Five had reassured him that sure, they would have killed only bad people?

Diego: he is on the war path, seeking private vengeance for Eudora's murder. He still tries to go his Lonely Road way, and nearly gets himself killed, only to be saved by an 'in the way' Klaus. On the other hand, he does lend a listening ear to Klaus when he realizes that something is even more wrong than usual with his brother, tries to help him stay out of troubles and comfort him. Like Luther, he actually does better when he steps outside his idea of how he gas to do things.

Allison: she keeps soundly failing at being the Heart. Viktor accuses her of babying him, of not accepting that he is an adult and he can do his own life decisions. Compare the one way Allison snapped at Viktor: she told him that he was an adult and could no longer blame dad for his mistakes. It is possible that the guilt for this outburst manifested in a desire to treat Viktor as the 'little' sibling, and this goes to obfuscate, in Viktor's eyes, the actually good points she is making: that Leonard is sus as hell. Allison, even when rebuked by Viktor, doesn't renounce 'protecting' him to the point of breaking and entering Leonard's house to look for proof of suspicious activity; she's unfortunately forced to leave before she can find it.

Klaus: think he didn't already have a lot of personal issues? Time travel gave him even more! He ended up dumped in the middle of the Vietnam war, a situation known for being extremely traumatizing for its veterans (and an absolute hell for the Vietnamite civilian population, but that's another story). There, he actually met someone he could call a true love, not a convenient relationship for having a place to stay; and then he promptly loses that person. He is brought back to his time bloodied and screaming, picks up fights in vet bars who can't recognize that he was there too, and seeks comfort in his siblings (no success with Five, more with Diego who is also reeling from the loss of a loved one).

Five: he keeps being absolutely focused on his mission, but in the light of losing his only lead, he is more open with his siblings about it. We get to know more about his past: the way he literally grew up and aged in absolute isolation in a post apocalyptic world after the traumatizing discivery of his siblings' corpses, an event that made him desperate enough to accept to become an assassin for the Commission, a shady organization that pursues the 'correct flow of time' at any cost. He never left the idea of going back to save his family and the whole human race, and he finally got his wish; but now he doesn't know what to do, and ends up making another deal with the Commission.

Ben: he says 'wheeeee!' as Diego and Klaus drive a truck towards Hazel and Cha-Cha. This is getting embarassing.

Viktor: he can no longer take his meds, but actually seems so much better! He speaks his mind to Allison, has a pleasant date with Leonard, and gets even convinced to partecipate to the auditions for first chair. And he gets it! He experiences a much better feeling with the music he is creating, and his performance is so much more convincing. He goes to Leonard to celebrate, and they take their relationship to the next level! Still, he does have a more negative side: when dismissing Allison, bringing up the daughter she can't see is truly a low blow (especially considering that he doesn't know what Allison did, for all that he knows Patrick is denying custody out of spite). The anger he has felt at his family for so long still hasn't found an healthy outcome, even if he is more outspoken.

Leonard: if he acted slightly suspicious last episode, here we get some true shockers. Not in the way he acts with Viktor, he is still caring and supportive ... but it is heavily implied that he was responsible for the disappearence of Viktor's meds (he seems better for it, but how could Leonard know it would have had such an effect?) and at the end, he is revealed as an actual murdered, one who killed the woman who had first chair just so Viktor could audition. And now this good fellow is there making out with a Viktor who doesn't suspect a thing!

Hazel: he continues being frustrated about his job, and getting closer to the doughnut shop lady, Agnes. They share a really cute conversation about birdwatching and future projects of life in the country, and it is apparent that he is considering more and more leaving the Commission.

Cha-Cha: she is mostly there to be frustrated with Hazel.

The Handler: a mysterious woman, an higher-up in the Commission who keeps offering Five deals. She is completely unconcerned about the end of the human race, seeing it simply as something that had to happen.

THEMES

Grief is a theme that receives several elaborations in this episode. It is expressed in its most classical form - the death of a loved one - by Diego and Klaus. The first throws himself into vengeance, barely giving himself a moment to mourn Eudora's death; Klaus, who has nobody to take vengeance on, instead does nothing but openly grieve. He cries, he seeks comfort in his siblings, he tries to retrieve tokens of his time with David (the photo in the vet bar) without caring about what other people could think of him. Still, he doesn't try to summon David's ghost, like Diego suggested; his trauma about his powers runs too deep, and his brother doesn't quite get it.

But there is another one who is grieving here: Five, who is grieving a whole world. This 'kid' has already grown up, completely alone, after finding himself stuck in a devastated world, the corpses of his siblings still warm in front of him. He had nobody to talk to save for a mannequin, nobody to comfort him. The entire human race was gone, and it was years before the Commission deigned itself to rescue him. Now, he has a possibility to avert that horror, and it's driving him mad. He has already seen what will happen if he fails, but he doesn't know what to do, and ends up running circles and talking about killing people (the only thing he has been taught to do in these circumstances) to run from his own fear.

While all of these people are busy dealing with grief, Viktor deals with coming into his own as a person. He has a relationship, maybe the first of his life, he is starting to get forward professionally; and here comes Allison with doughnuts from the shop they visited as kids, and uncalled for relationship advice. Viktor's reaction to feeling himself infantilized is vicious, hitting Allison where he knows it hurts. The gap between the two siblings, after some steps towards closing, is now larger than ever. And Leonard, despite looking like the perfect person, is now esposed to the audience as the last person you should have a coming of age with.

SYMBOLISM

Delores: the only form of interaction Five had during the apocalypse years. While he is awfully fond of her, this episode makes clear that a synthetic creature, whose identity he had completely made up, couldn't hold a candle to actual human interaction and especially Five's family. Notice how in the scene where the Handler proposes the first deal to him, she has a plastic arm extended towards him, in the same pose as the Handler, as if to call Five back to her and the world of solitude she represents. Ultimately, she is abandoned in favor of the Commission.

Allison's sweets: a nice treat she brings for Viktor, right from the place they went as children! Unfortunately Viktor's agenda is already full with a date with Leonard in another cafe. The sweets represent Allison's difficulties in realizing that both she and Viktor are adults now, they have ignored each other for years and she can't just go back to a childhood solidariety they didn't manage to develope back then. She had taken for granted that Viktor would have had nothing else to do, and the childhood treats are casted aside for an adult romantic rendezvous.

Dave's dog tags: a memento of his love that Klaus has taken to carry everywhere, here they become a symbol of the complicated grief that's to come.

REFERENCES

• We are shown some of the works Five had to complete for the Commission; among them we can see footage of the Hindeburg dirigible and of Josef Stalin.

• We see some bits of Viktor's book that Five used to write on his plans for returning to his timeline. It's a bit difficult to read, but there is some incident involving Diego, an open accusation that Hargreeves was the one to initiate Viktor's alienation process, and a mention that Allison used to do Klaus' nails.

And this is all for the episode. Thank you for reading so far!

If you like my analysis, you can support it by reblogging it or by offering me a coffee (link in first reblog)

#tua #the umbrella academy #tua meta #tua analysis #tua luther #tua diego #tua allison #tua klaus #tua viktor #tua handler #tua hazel #tua cha cha #tentative analyses #tentative analyses: the umbrella academy

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topazy · 2 years

Text

Inside, outside

Pairings: 10K x reader, Addy Carver sister x reader

Warnings: Blood, swearing

Chapter: 2.10

“I dunno how much longer this old bucket of bolts is gonna keep running.”

“Talking about yourself or the van?”

“Both,” Doc let out a laugh, “I think we’re getting near the Grand Canyon.”

The camper-van Doc was currently driving was probably the most comfortable vehicle you’d travelled in since the apocalypse started. It had plenty of space for everyone. You were currently laying on one of the fold-down beds, trying to get some sleep, but the bumpy roads made it difficult.

“I went there once as a kid. It was beautiful.” Murphy frowned when you said that everyone stared at him. “What? Can’t believe I was a kid once?”

You didn’t reply. The idea of Murphy being a kid didn’t shock you, but the idea of him actually enjoying something instead of moaning did. You’d also never heard him use the word 'beautiful' to describe anything aside from Lucy, who mysteriously vanished.

You watched intensely as Addy tried to contact Citizen Z again. “Northern light. Northern light. Do you copy? Northern light. This is Delta Xray Delta. Do you copy?”

“When was the last time anyone spoke to that guy?” Murphy asked. “He’s probably dead.”

“Optimistic as always.”

Murphy shot you a look. “Well excuse me, princess, but some of us are cranky because we haven’t had a decent cup of coffee in half a decade.”

You flipped him off. You didn’t doubt for a second that citizen Z was still alive. The radio signal was terrible, and you had a theory that the moment he heard Addy’s voice, he’d drop whatever he was doing to talk to her.

“Citizen Z: Do you copy?… come on, Citizen Z. I know you’re out there. You've got to be. Do you read me?”

“Addy. Addy, I hear you. I copy. It’s me, Citizen Z.”

Your sister let out a laugh before winking at you.

“Man, it’s great to hear your voice.”

“It’s so good to hear your voice. I can’t believe you’re still alive.”

“How’s the package?”

Murphy frowned at his question. “He hates being called that! The name is Murphy! The Murphy! Thanks to you, blabbermouth!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I … I didn’t mean to send the whole world into you.”

“Yeah, excuse me,” Warren interrupted. “We’re gonna need those coordinates.”

“Right,” Addy said, nodding. “Ah hey, Citizen Z? We need you to transmit the GPS coordinates again. The transmission was breaking up the last time. We didn’t get them all. Repeat. Re-transmit GPS coordinates. Over.”

“Roger that. I’ll send them as soon as I can find them. This place is a mess. Zombie issues.”

10K looks directly at you, “guessing Z’s don’t hate the cold after all.”

You squeeze his hand reassuringly. 10K had been so set on living somewhere that it snowed until the cure was made, after Murphy was dropped off in California. There had been a rumour circulating for years that Z’s hated the cold.

“Listen. There’s a massive Z storm headed your way. I strongly suggest that you turn south. Possibly as far as Mexico before you can outflank this horde. It’s miles wide, and it’s moving fast.”

Warren shakes her head. “No, no, no. We need to go west, not south.”

“West is a no go. Repeat. West is a nogo. At any time, you should be making visual contact with this horde.”

Looking out the window, you finally realised what the huge dust cloud was. It was the fast paced zombie horde Citizen Z had warned you about.

—

Warren places her hands on her hips as she says, “There is only space for two more. So who’s going?”

“Me, Doc, and Astra can make our way to higher ground on foot.”

An amused facial expression crosses Murphy's face, as he turns to look directly at you. “So he speaks for you both now?”

“I don’t speak for her,” 10k bites back. “But nobody can blame me for wanting to keep my girl away from a creep like you.”

Butterflies danced in your stomach; they always did when 10K got protective of you, but the last thing anyone needed was another argument before parting ways. “Okay,” you interject, smiling at Warren. “Be safe, and don’t forget to pick us up when that massive horde arrives.”

Addy hugs 10K and Doc before pulling you in and kissing your cheek. “I’ll see you soon. Be safe.”

You watch as Addy Murphy and Vazquez drive away on quad bikes, with your sister and Warren on the back of them.

Sighing, Doc puts an arm around both you and 10K’s shoulder. “Just the three of us again, huh? Yip. I wonder what trouble we will get into this time.”

—

“Looks like you might be getting to ten thousand a lot sooner than you thought.”

You kept repeating Doc’s words to yourself as a way to push forward, to keep you focused. And to stop you from looking down. Your eyes sting when sweat drips into them and heavy panting rings in your ears.

A fear of heights wasn’t something you’d had until this moment. You, 10K, and Doc needed to climb a small cliff to escape the dead that were getting closer to you, but you made the mistake of looking down, and now you are paralysed with fear.

“Kid, just concentrate on my voice and look up at me.”

You looked up to see Doc staring at you with a calm expression on his face. 10K, on the other hand, looked like he’d seen a ghost.

You took a few deep breaths and somehow managed to finish your climb. 10k reach down when you nearly reach the top, “grab my hand.”

You squeezed his hand tightly as he and Doc practically yanked you onto solid ground. “I never thought I’d be this happy to be laying on dirt,” you chuckled. “Thanks guys.”

You cleaned the dirt off your jeans with the back of your hands before stalling your actions. The sounds of twigs snapping hit your ears. “Zombies?”

“I don’t think so.”

Two rocks connected by a piece of string were thrown from behind a bush, hitting Doc on the head. He fell to the ground with a thud. “Oh my god,” you crouch beside him. “We need-”

You were cut off when a pain that you’d never felt before entered your body. An electric jolt pierces your body before you black out. When you finally wake up, your wrists are bound together before you are tied to 10K and Doc with rope by a man you’d never seen before.

—

“What are they saying?” You whisper. “I can’t make it out.”

You had been dragged as prisoners into a small village built in the middle of the forest.

“What does zendigo mean?”

The man who took you stops walking. He turns quickly and shoves 10K back. “I’ll tell you what zendigo means. It’s a plague all three of you carry. A disease.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Doc says, confused. “But I can assure you that we have all had our shots.”

“Your people have infected us before. Zendigo nearly destroyed my people. We vowed never to allow that to happen again.”

You noticed that when the man continued to drag the three of you along as his prisoners, others watched wide- eyed and concerned.

—

“Stop it! Just stop!” You scream as the nameless man who took you punches 10K in the face, causing blood to pour from his mouth.

The man squares up to you. “Then tell me, what are you doing on tribal land? You’re trespassing on sacred ground.”

You open your mouth to respond, but Doc beats you to it. “We didn’t know anything about it being sacred anything!”

Anger boils inside you as you watch 10K spit blood out. “We were trying to get away from a zombie mega horde, which was headed straight this way.”

“Your trespassing is the only thing that would lead them to us.”

“Are you fucking serious?” You hiss. “Lead them to you? Have you somehow missed the world going apocalyptic? All we’re trying to do is get back to our own people before we get killed.” The past takes a step closer to you before you refuse to back down. “Your people should leave too. If they don't, the zombies will get them. Because believe it or not, the dead don’t care about sacred land.”

“Leave our land again? Never. I will die here,” the man looks away from you to face his own people. “This horde is no different than any other that has come before. These creatures aren’t interested in our people.” He turns to face Doc, “They’re only after you. They’re a manifestation of your disease!”

“That’s enough!” A woman steps forward. “Gordon, you’ve got to give this zendigo bullshit a rest.”

“You know, I don’t go by that name anymore,” he says, with a hint of embarrassment.

The woman rolls her eyes. “If mom was alive, she’d smack you upside the head.”

Of course, they are siblings.

An older woman approaches you and starts to gently lead you away from Gordon and his man, towards their village infirmary.

—

You shifted awkwardly on a small wooden log as Gordon’s sister approached. She sat down across from you, “that’s an interesting scar.”

You let out a small chuckle as you looked down at your hand. Memories of you cutting your hand because Murphy crashed a truck into a wall flashed before your eyes. You felt a sudden wave of sadness when you remembered how mad Garnett was at him.

God, you missed him.

“Sorry, bad memory?”

“Uh, no… just… not everyone who was there when I got it is here now.”

She placed her hand on top of yours and smiled, “It’s hard to lose people you care about.” She gently rubbed her thumb across your scar, “is it sore?”

“It stopped hurting a long time ago. Sorry, I never caught your name.”

“It’s Ayalla.” You smiled back at her politely. Ayalla suited her. You glanced at all the women nearby, noticing how clean they looked. You envied them. Despite how friendly most of them had been, it still made you feel uneasy not knowing if you were still a prisoner or not. “I’m sorry about what my brother did to your friend.”

You look over at 10K, who was getting his lip cleaned up in the infirmary. “It wasn’t you who hit him.”

“Is he your brother?”

You snort out a laugh, “God no, he’s definitely not my brother. I do have an older sister called Addy though.”

Ayalla sits back as she studies you. Your cheeks redden slightly from being stared at, “what does zendigo mean?”

“Zendigo?” Ayalla’s face lights up at the question. “It can mean a lot of things, but it usually refers to the disease of the soul. It’s when a person takes without regard to the damage it causes to others,” Ayalla pressed her hand against your chest. “But it never really fills the hole inside of them.”

She let out a chuckle, “does your friend always stare so much?”

A grin spreads across your face as you notice 10K’s pupils getting wider. His eyes were practically glued to Ayalla’s hand above your heart. “Only when he likes what he sees.”

—

“Hey, kids. I tell you, you’ve got to go talk to their ancestors.”

You stand beside 10K and laugh, “is Doc high?”

Before he can answer, you are roughly grabbed by one of Gordon’s men. Ayalla argues with her brother, “what the hell are you doing?”

“You’ve patched them up. Now it’s time for them to go.”

The men walk you to an invisible line before shoving you forward. You mutter, “Assholes.” Stepping back, you let out a scream as you were suddenly caught in a trap. “Tommy!”

10K and Doc get trapped in different traps as they attempt to get you out. You glare at Gordon as he steps forward with a smirk on his face, “thanks for volunteering to be our early warning alarm.”

“This is crazy! Let us go! You’ll never see us again!” 10K yells.

“You got that right,” Gordon lowers himself to 10K, who is hanging upside down. “You and I both know what will happen if I let you go. You’ll find your party and then turn around and come look right after me and my family.”

“No, we wouldn’t!” You argue.

“Yes, you would, and so would I.” Gordon stands up again, “If I am wrong, then it doesn’t really matter anyway, does it? We are all dead.”

You cuss Gordon off as he leaves you all to die.

—

You try your best to get out of the net you're in, but it’s useless. You can’t get out. You let out a frustrated sigh as you listened to Doc talk about how free he was for the fourth time. Whatever drugs they gave him must have been strong enough for him to not realise he was trapped.

10K had been trying to escape, but his movements had started to slow down.

“What was that?” You asked.

“I- I don’t know.”

“Tommy! Tommy, listen to me! You need to stay awake!”

When a Z appears, you bite down on your bottom lip to avoid making a noise. Just as the Z started to walk in your direction, it was shot in the head by Ayalla. She cuts you down first.

As soon as you hit the ground, you jump back up and rush to cut 10K down. You grab the knife from his belt and cut the rope that’s binding his feet together. When he lands on the ground, you cup his face in your hands and say, “Can you hear me? You hurt?”

He nods, “how high is Doc?”

You turn back to see him bowing before Ayalla and calling her his guardian angel. “I hope he sobers up soon.”

—

“I don’t think we can ever thank you enough,” you say, looking over at Ayalla as she walks beside her horse.

“I need your help.”

10k stops beside her, “name it.”

“Our people who still stay in the casino with my father are just as stubborn as my brother. They won’t believe me if I tell them what’s coming, but they might believe you.”

“Of course, we’ll do anything we can to help save them.”

Ayalla smirks at you, “do any of you know how to ride a horse?”

“I do.”

10K looks surprised. “Let’s go then.”

—

You tried your best not to laugh as 10K held onto you tightly. His body was stiff as it pressed against your back. “I told you, you should have got a ride with Doc.”

“I think that would have been worse somehow.” Your eyes moved to Doc, who was currently talking to himself while he rode the horse towards the casino. “When did you learn to ride horses?”

“One of my mom's friends worked at a summer camp built on a farm. She taught me. I love horses. I think they are beautiful.”

You felt 10K press a kiss to the back of your head as you slowed down when you finally reached the casino.

You felt relieved to see the same red quad bikes you saw the rest of your group drive off in earlier parked outside. At least you know they made it.

“Uh guys,” 10K jumped off the horse. “I don’t think we have long until they reach us.”

You look back over your shoulder and notice how much closer the dead have gotten to you.

—

“It’s gone! Demolished by zombies!” Aylla sobs in front of her brother.

You feel sorry for her. Her father refused to leave the casino, meaning that he would have gotten caught up in the death storm made of Z's.

To your surprise, when Gordon hears what his father did, instead of getting angry like you thought he would, he apologises to you, 10K, and Doc just as a Z fell from the cliff above into the village.

“I got it,” you quickly grab one of your arrows and stab it in the head, just as another one follows. “We won’t be able to kill them all.”

“She’s right,” Murphy says. “This whole canyon will be full of them in an hour's time. We’ve gotta move.”

“They will catch up with us.”

“Not if we divert them,” Warren says sternly. “We gotta come up with a plan.”

Doc walks over to a wall with drawings on it before spinning back around. “I’ve got it! Fire!”

—

As soon as the fire you started starts to spread, you jump onto the back of the quad bike and grab hold of Vazquez's shoulders as he speeds away. You hoped Doc’s plan of lighting a fire big enough to divert the Z’s into the opposite direction would work.

The fire you were lighting was the largest one you’d ever seen.

When you reach the meeting point, you jump off the bike and step further back from the flames. Addy fist pumps as you walk by before you lean back against the vehicle she had been driving. You all watch in silence as the Z’s get closer, just as Warren drives back towards the rest of the group.

Murphy suddenly starts running towards the flames, “I need to save them!”

“Murphy no!”

You and Warren rush after him to pull him back. You are taken aback by how upset Murphy is; you’d never seen him this distraught before. “We need to save them!” You link your arm around his and pull him back. “Now I understand! They can feel it! They can feel it!”

You lifted your head up and saw burning zombies.

“I have to save them!” He continues to fight against you and Warren's grip. “I have to save them!”

“What the hell is going on?” rushed Addy to your side. “What is wrong with him?”

Murphy continues to cry out, “I think he can feel their pain.”

“Look,” Gordon points to the horde. “They are turning away.”

“We need to get to higher ground.”

You let go of Murphy so Vazquez could force him to move. You didn’t understand. Was Murphy able to feel their pain a new thing? Or was that why he acted the way that he did?

—

Your group returned to Gordon’s village so he could thank you all for helping save his people.

“For you,” Ayalla handed you two beaded bracelets that had been painted with bright colours. “It brings inner peace and protection. When the apocalypse is over, you’ll need to come back and see us.”

“We will,” you say, smiling. “And thank you.”

She smiles back before handing out more gifts. Sighing, you head towards the mini bus that Gordon, or Red Hawk, as he’s known, gave Warren the keys to.

When you step inside, Murphy lets out a grunting noise, “here to lecture me as well.”

“No, actually… I came to see if you are alright.”

Murphy continued to sulk and stare out the window. “Since when have you cared enough to check up on me? You don’t even like me.”

“You're right, I don’t. I can’t stand you, and most of the time when I’m near you, I have a fantasy about punching you in the face.” You slide a bracelet over your hand before sitting down beside him and holding out the other one. “But then I remember you're half human, half zombie... so we can't always expect you to be human.”

“I thought I was the bad guy,” he huffs like a child.

“You can be at times. Like when you left us all to die in the lab. That was a pretty screwed up thing to do, but you have done the occasional act of kindness. You have done bad things, Murphy, but you aren’t a bad guy.”

He looks awkward. “I thought you were coming in here to kick my ass.”

“Oh, I will still do that if you keep messing with 10K or anyone else that matters to me.”

He scrunches his nose up, “What’s that ball thingy?”

“It’s a gift from Ayalla. I got two so-”

“You're lucky, the Murphy suffers the most and gets nothing as usual.”

You roll your eyes before placing the other bracelet in his hand. “It’s meant to bring inner peace and protection. Who knows, maybe they will help us get to California.”

Murphy stares at you for a moment before putting it on. He says nothing, but you didn’t expect him to.

Even with all the bad things Murphy had done, and would probably still continue to do, you still hoped he had some humanity in him.

—

The mini bus was filled with the sounds of soft snores coming from mostly everyone. Vazquez was awake because it was his turn at the wheel, and you couldn’t sleep because the sight of countless Z’s burning in front of you was engraved in your mind.

“You're not asleep.”

You relax, feeling 10K brush a strand of hair behind your ear. “Neither are you.”

10K sits up slightly to see if anyone else is awake. When he knows they aren't, he slouches back down for you to lay your head against his chest. “I heard you before,” he whispers. “Talking to Murphy.”

You turned your head to look up at him. You knew something was bothering him by the way he was clenching his jaw, “yeah?”

He began running his fingers through your hair, “Astra, I know you want to see the best in everyone, but not everyone is good.” You feel a twist in your stomach upon hearing his words. “He has no humanity in him.”

“I saw Murphy’s arrest record when we were in that weird basement with the fancy screen. He got arrested for postal fraud. I guess I just wanted to believe… I don’t know, he wasn’t all bad.”

“My mom always used to say Satan wore a Sunday hat. I never really knew what it meant until the apocalypse.” Murphy could be our savior, but I don’t think he wants to be." He let out a sigh, “Astra, I- I need to ask you to do something.”

“What is it?”

“Please stay away from him,” he says, his gaze meeting yours. “He’s made it clear nothing is off limits to him. I’ll admit I’m scared he will use you to get to me or you’ll get hurt.”

You link your fingers with his and nod. Despite your limited knowledge of everything that’s happened between 10K and Murphy, you know 10K wouldn’t be asking unless he had a good reason. “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Luke-”

“Luke 15:10,” Addy cuts in. “Grandma used to read to us from the Bible before we went to bed.” She sits further up in the seat across from yours. “Today was a close call, huh?”

“Yeah, we were lucky Doc thought of the fire.”

She gave you a tired smile before yawning. She reached her hand to yours and 10K’s. “We will be alright. We have got each other’s backs. We will get through this together.”

“Together.”

#z nation #10k x you #10k x reader #10k z nation #z nation fanfiction #z nation fandom #addy carver #addy carver sister #z nation warren #Vazquez z nation #doc z nation #murphy z nation #inside outisde #10k/reader #10k/oc #10k/you #roberta warren #alvin murphy #steven doc beck

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theseancekid · 2 years

Text

On Klaus’ Immortality

Klaus is not immortal. Or, rather, his relationship with death is more complicated than that. It isn’t simply that he gets chucked back into the land of the living every time he kicks the bucket, but rather that he has a sort of gentleman’s agreement with Death that allows him to roam as he pleases.

Klaus has been marked by Death, and in being their agent on earth, he bridges the veils of the living and the dead, bears witness to those who have passed, and brings comfort to those on their journey beyond. Klaus is Death Incarnate— he has been marked by it, but will never be touched by it, will never be consumed.

But Death is not the only key player on the chess board. Sometimes, God decides to interfere, and that’s always when things get complicated because Klaus doesn’t much understand her motives. The one thing he knows for sure is that she doesn’t like him (and he doesn’t care much for her either, if he’s being honest). Because the thing is, Klaus doesn’t exactly play by the rules (he didn’t even know there were rules to begin with). He’s careless and stupid— doesn’t appreciate the gift he has, and has the audacity to whine and cry when his blundering disregard costs a young soldier his life.

This is all to say that sometimes God is sick of his free will. And even in his most powerful state in the void, she can kick him out or keep him locked in when she pleases.

Which is exactly why Klaus stayed dead in that very first apocalypse, where little Five had to bury his body along with the rest of the academy. Not because he didn’t want to come back, but because God, Fate, The Universe, whatever you want to call it, had other plans for that timeline.

It’s also why he was spat back out in the middle of that rave, despite finding relief in death, despite his pleas that he wanted to stay, wanted to hear what his father had to say after all this time. There was still work to be done, and Klaus, despite his writhing refusal, will always be the messenger.

So Klaus is mostly immortal, most of the time— as long as whatever higher power up there isn’t paying attention.

#*【 ☂ ┊ ❛ Does it matter? It’s Klaus. ❜ 】 ➤ Meta #*【 ☂ ┊ ❛ Maybe they’re here for Kenny’s birthday ❜ 】 ➤ Headcanon

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motherofdragonflies · 1 year

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A Very Prompty Christmas Day 5: Ugly Sweaters

Dean regarded the advent calendar warily.

Three days, three objects, three bad things..

Was today going to make it four for four?

The mysterious advent calendar door-opener had struck again: the door with the golden “4” on it was already open, revealing a tiny sweater. It was kind of adorable: small enough to easily fit into the palm of Dean’s hand, the sweater was red with an intricate white snowflake pattern painted on it.

Dean slid it back into its spot, adjusting it with the tip of his finger so that the front of the sweater was clearly visible, then stepped back. He wondered what kind of danger a sweater could pose.

“Bring it on,” he told the calendar, and grabbing his coffee, headed back to his room.

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

“Um, excuse me? Dean?”

Dean looked up from the sandwich he had just assembled to see an older woman standing in the door of the kitchen, a package in her hands, her entire being radiating nervousness.

“Hey…” he said, searching his memory for the woman’s name. She was one of the refugees from Apocalypse World. Her husband had been killed by Michael in his attack on the Bunker, and she had chosen to remain with the men and women that she knew than venture out into a strange world on her own.

“...Julie,” she supplied, giving Dean a self-deprecating smile.

“Julie!” Dean repeated gratefully. That was it. “What can I do for you?”

Julie hesitantly entered the kitchen and walked over to Dean, looking down at the package in her hands. Up close, Dean could see that whatever it was, it was neatly wrapped in brown paper. All that was missing was the string.

“I…this is probably silly, but…back home, I used to knit. Well, I still knit, but before the angels came, I used to knit my husband sweaters every Christmas. I don’t…I’d started knitting this one before… but…” Julie’s hands tightened around the package, and she swallowed reflexively before looking up and meeting Dean’s eyes. “But Paul won’t be needing it this year,” she said, bravely forging on, even as her voice quavered slightly. “And I thought…well, I want you to have it,” she said finally, thrusting the package towards Dean. “I think Paul would like that. He always spoke so highly of you and everything you did for us.”

“Julie,” Dean said softly, taking the proffered package and holding it carefully, very much aware of the honor that had just been bestowed upon him and not feeling at all worthy of it. “Sam—”

Julie shook her head. “Paul always said it was you,” she said firmly. “And I know my husband. Besides,” she added, a little embarrassed. “You’re closer in size to Paul. Sam is…”

“Yeah, he is,” Dean said, saving Julie from having to find a descriptor. Dean guessed that Julie was of the “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” school of etiquette and would have struggled to work out what euphemism her manners would have allowed her to use to describe Sam’s gigantuan frame.

“Well, thank you, Julie,” Dean said, infusing his voice with as much gratitude and appreciation as he could. Julie gave him a weak, watery smile, but made no move to leave. “Oh,” Dean said. “You want me to…?” He raised his eyebrows and looked down at the package, then back up to Julie, and she nodded, trying to hide her eagerness.

Dean carefully removed the brown paper and, with some trepidation, lifted up the knitted sweater so he could get a good look at it.

It was green, a green that would probably be described as ‘clover green’ or ‘emerald green’, and much like the pattern on the sweater in the advent calendar it had what Dean generously guessed was supposed to be a pattern of snowflakes across it. However, the artist who painted the miniscule pattern on the tiny sweater had a much greater skill with painting than Julie had with knitting. The arms of the sweater were two different lengths, one falling well past the hem of the jumper in a way that reminded Dean of a thneed, and the hem itself was crooked, one side higher than the other. The knit was uneven, with some gaping holes in parts of the sweater, and the pattern was crooked, the snowflakes and their decorative borders rising and falling, curving and zig-zagging, some of the snowflakes looking more blob-like than delicate crystal.

It was the ugliest sweater that Dean had ever seen.

“Julie,” Dean said, stalling for time as he desperately tried to find the right words. “This is…”

Julie breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god you like it,” she said, relaxing. “I know I’m not a very good knitter, but Paul always told me how much he loved my sweaters, and I have to admit, I thought he was just saying that because he had to. But if you like it,” she said, looking at Dean hopefully.

“I love it,” he replied instantly. “Thank you so much, Julie. This is…this is wonderful. Really. Just what I needed.”

Julie’s face lit up, and Dean knew why Paul had sworn that he loved this woman’s ugly sweaters: she was beautiful when she smiled. If he could make the person he loved smile like that with such a patent lie, he would never tell the truth ever again. A memory of a wide grin, with flashing gums and crinkling nose came to him, and Dean froze, stricken.

“I’m glad,” Julie said, Dean’s distress going unnoticed. “I thought it would suit you. The color matches your eyes. Try it on, I want to make sure it fits.”

Dean silently begged for another apocalypse to suddenly begin, for any creature of supernatural origin to suddenly descend en masse on the Bunker, <i>anything</i> that would get him out of having to put that monstrosity in his hands on his body. Movement out of the corner of his eye made Dean look towards the door of the kitchen, and he saw Bobby entering the kitchen.

Dean shot Bobby a panicked look, begging for the older man to save him, and resolved to buy Bobby a bottle of whiskey, two bottles even, when Bobby changed course and approached the table.

“Julie!” Bobby said, and Julie turned to greet him.

“Oh, Bobby! I was just giving Dean the sweater that I knitted for Paul—”

“Victoria was looking for you,” Bobby interrupted smoothly. “Said something ‘bout needin’ help with the hydroponics?”

Julie looked surprised and pleased at this, and with a smile and a soft “excuse me,” to Dean, she hurried out of the kitchen.

“Thank you,” Dean said gratefully, and Bobby harrumphed in acknowledgement before heading over to the coffee machine. “You owe me for that, boy,” he warned Dean, and Dean nodded in agreement.

A whole case of whiskey.

Coffee cup full, Bobby turned to leave, pausing to look at the knitted sweater that was still in Dean’s hands. “That a sweater?” he asked, and Dean nodded.

“Huh,” Bobby said. “Ugliest thing I ever seen.”

Dean sighed, dropping the sweater into his lap as Bobby left the kitchen. He glared at the advent calendar sitting innocently at the end of the table.

“This is your fault,” he informed the wooden frame. “Fucking cursed.” His eyes fell to the pile of green and white wool in his lap. “Is it gonna kill me, or am I just gonna wish I was dead if I try it on?” he asked.

The calendar, with its perfect little red sweater, said nothing.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Dean grumbled.

Come back tomorrow for Day 6: Candy Cane!

Day One: Advent Calendar

Day Two: Tinsel

Day Three: Ribbon

Day Four: Shopping

#spnxmasprompts #destiel #destiel fic #deancas fic #fix it fic #where is the angel?#patience grasshopper

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catgirlkirigiri · 2 years

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@kismesisstude bet

I have the most thoughts about Shadow and Silver because of course I do but I have also thought in depth about Sonic and Knuckles. Rip Amy and Surge I guess I hate women /j this got long so it’s under a read more cut sorry <3333

Starting with Sonic, he’s pretty much the default when it comes to quill behavior. He passively keeps his quills very flat, almost resembling fur more than quills because he barely moves them. Pretty much the only time he’ll raise a quill outside of combat is if he’s startled, but even then he’s pretty good about it. Being a living pin cushion he knows to be cautious about his spikes.

That all changes of course when it comes to fighting. Sonic raises his quills any time he curls up, thus doing damage to enemies in ball form. He also tends to stay ever so slightly puffed up in the presence of robots/bad guys/whatever he’s up against, not enough to do damage if touched but just enough to send a message. He barely even thinks about it and at this point most of his quill movement is muscle memory.

~ divider so you know we’re on a new character ~

With Shadow, take everything we learned from Sonic and throw it out the window. Shadow’s quills never lie flat, and I mean never. Even if he were to try keeping them down, since he’s almost always on guard, his quills reflect that. He spikes up at the slightest surprise, often accidentally poking people who bump into him. Despite this, he has near complete control over his quills, and can even selectively raise them. This takes a lot of focus, so few bother to learn how, but Shadow often keeps the quills along his back raised higher than the rest.

In combat, he keeps his quills raised enough to hurt regardless of what he’s doing. That is, unless one of his teammates needs him, in which case he’ll lower his quills (excluding those on his back) so he doesn’t hurt them. Rule of thumb for Shadow is “will being spiky right now hurt someone he cared about” and if the answer is no he’s probably spiked up.

On the ark, however, he didn’t have the need for his quills. He could actually keep them flat back then, as the ark being raided is what makes him so guarded nowadays. He was safer then. He didn’t need to be protecting himself constantly, so he wasn’t. When the ark was raided he saw for the first time what their use was, that he would need to be on guard to keep himself alive in this world. He kept his quills raised the entire time, and even thinking about it will have him puff up ever so slightly.

~ divider so you know we’re on a new character ~

Silver is a mixed bag. He grew up in such a destroyed world of fire and monsters and destruction that he learned to always watch his back and always be on guard. Thus, for all of his life before 06, Silver kept his quills raised almost constantly. With Blaze by his side he was able to find brief moments of calm, allowing his quills to lie flat, though those were few and far between. For most of 06 he would’ve had his quills raised, on high alert, simply because that’s all he knew. Of course, fixing the future gave him a chance to finally rest, though because this is my headcanon and thus we are functioning with all my headcanons* it couldn’t undo what growing up in an apocalypse did to him.

*referencing my time travel rule headcanon that if you time travel any changes made to the timeline will not affect your memory or your past, I can elaborate on that in a different post if you want.

Finally being able to live in a normal world and just be a kid has allowed Silver to un-learn some of his hyper-alert behaviors. As time has passed since 06, he’s been able to let himself lower his guard more, to the point of now being able to let his quills lie flat and not spike up at the slightest of sounds. Anything too familiar to the bad future he came from will have him on guard in seconds, but he’s been able to get better about it. When it comes to combat, his quills are almost always raised, only lowering them if he’s helping someone out and doesn’t want to poke them. Overall he’s basically the middle ground between Sonic and Shadow’s behaviors.

~ divider so you know we’re on a new character ~

& Knuckles is much more relaxed with his quills. Echidna quills naturally lay very flat, and Knux doesn’t really feel the need to move them. He fights more with his fists than his body, so even then, he typically just keeps them down. The exception to this would be any time his typical hand to hand combat doesn’t get the job done, in which case he will raise his quills and use them to his advantage. There really isn’t much more to say about Knuckles honestly. He has ways of protecting himself without his quills so he doesn’t move them, and he isn’t exactly the expressive type so he doesn’t emote through them either. He has been known to raise his quills when startled, but he will actively deny it.

~ divider because we’re done ~

Yeah that’s all. I could probably toss in a paragraph about Surge but I feel bad including her and not Amy so I won’t <3 maybe after I think about Amy more lol.

#zoracontent #clovers headcanons #I have a lot of in depth headcanons so I’m making a tag in case i talk about more of them lol #scared to main tag this so I’m not gonna

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synthient · 2 years

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On ao3

"You know what's funny? Around here, my name does the opposite of what it's supposed to."

It was raining in the Construct City. Neo and Smith stood on a covered overhead walkway, watching a gaggle of children splash through puddles on the street below. A wasp-like young Synthient used their wings to blow a sheet of water toward their human friend, who shrieked with outrage and glee.

"I guess Smith isn't exactly the most common name in Io," Neo acknowledged.

Smith pulled a face. "Yeah, a little hard to blend in when instead of Tom, Dick, and Harry, you've got Wiretap, Xerox, and Bluetooth."

"You could always change it."

"Right," Smith deadpanned. "From this day forward, I'll be known as my cyberpunksona: FreeAirportWifi."

Neo snorted. But when he turned to Smith, there was a sudden sincerity to his expression. "I mean it," Neo said. "You can be whatever you want."

Smith gave him a sideways look. "I am being whatever I want." Almost imperceptibly, his grip on the railing tightened.

Neo inclined his head: an okay, I'm backing off gesture. "Right.

From the street below came a scattered cheer. One of the kids had managed to levitate a few inches off the ground. They floated in place–eyes screwed shut; water cascading off their sunny yellow raincoat; arms outstretched like wings. After a moment, they lost focus, splashing back down to earth. Their friends laughed and patted them on the back. The game continued.

"Smith." The program balanced his own name on his tongue. "It's not like I was the first Smith. That's, like, the most obvious Generic FBI McFakename there is. They reused it on as many Agents as they could. And there was always high turnover for us." His tone was light, like he was sharing a fun anecdote at an office party. "No one wants an Agent sticking around for more than a few years. That's how they get opinions."

Neo listened in silence. There was a heavy look in his eyes.

"Still. 'Smith' was the one scrap of individuality they gave me." Smith stared through the curtains of rain. His mouth curled into a smile. "I like to think I wrung it out for all it was worth."

"You did make it a household name," Neo said dryly. "For, uh. Better or worse."

Smith's smile widened. "You know what I've heard?" He leaned in, eager to share his gossip. "Supposedly, they've retired that designation. I might've ruined it for the higher ups in Zero One. Brought the apocalypse a little too close to their mansions, and all that." He looked deeply self-satisfied. "So, no more Agent Smiths. Now there's just me."

Neo's lips twitched. "Congratulations."

Smith gave a small mock bow. "Thank you."

The wind picked up. The rain was blowing sideways now. The children ran whooping for cover.

"Yeugh," said Smith. "Who programmed this. Anyway, wanna grab coffee? I'd say I'm buying, but…" A theatrical shrug. "Socialist utopia, or whatever."

"Sure," said Neo, eyes crinkling. "Why not."

#the matrix

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endless-oc-creations · 25 days

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Betrayal, future, ghost + eve, lilith or asha?

Oooo! Thank you!🙏 How bout I use all three of my ocs for each question? 👀

[Lilith] Betrayal: Has your OC ever been betrayed by someone they thought they could trust? Has your OC ever betrayed someone who trusted them?

Answer: Unfortunately yes... Lilith has been betrayed twice and it was by her adoptive father, Emrys. The man she spent years looking for after he suddenly disappeared one night. But it's complicated. In Act 3 it's revealed to Lilith that her father Emrys had become a Mindflayer and had been one of the nautiloid ships that captured her and her companions. Lilith didn't want to believe it was her father at first, but then they connected through the tadpole and it truly was Emrys or what was now him anyway.

She also found out Emrys purposely left her in the woods that night he disappeared...he had been looking for a higher power to help with something he needed to be done. Lilith felt hurt that after all this time looking for her father, thinking he was taken, he had left her alone on purpose. Then Emrys wanted to try and help Lilith and her companions. And he did help with a few fights. However...it's been so long since he had transformed into a Mindflayer and his humanity was little to nothing.

During one of the major battles he completely loses himself and begins attacking one of Lilith's allies. (I haven't decided yet on who it will be) But Lilith is left stunned and hurt, trying to come to terms with her father who is now truly gone.

Like I said the betrayal is complicated. The same thing goes with Lilith betraying someone who trusted her. That 'person' was Emrys. To Mindflayer Emrys, when Lilith was forced to kill him he saw that as her betraying him.

Can we all thank @astarionbae for giving me this idea for Lilith? Cause I'm still obsessed with all of this...

[Asha] Future: What's the worst possible future for your OC? Are they taking steps to avoid that outcome? Are they even aware it's a possibility?

Answer: The worst possible future for Asha...well you could say it could be giving into the blood lust that constantly haunts and torments her every night. But for Asha, the worst future for her would be that Gale, the man she suddenly came to love dearly, would end up deciding to use The Netherese Orb and dying from it. She's trying to prevent that from happening by trying to get him to see that there's hope. But...she doesn't quite know or is confident that there is any hope for her with this dark urge inside of her.

[Eve] Ghost: Who or what haunts your OC? What happened? How do they live with their ghosts?

Answer: The Ghost that haunts Eve most of her life in the apocalypse is that of her Uncle Dale. Before he was killed by that Walker on Hershel’s farm he had expressed disappointment with everyone and said that their group was broken when it came to the decision of killing someone. But what haunted Eve the most about it was that he was more so disappointed with her. “I thought we raised you better than that…” She never got to make it up to her uncle or showed him that he was wrong about their group. So, in seasons 5-6 when the group kinda goes ‘off the rails’ so to speak, Eve will start seeing the ghost of Dale. She will talk,argue and even cry to him through it all. But Eve eventually comes to terms with that her Uncle didn’t know everything that would happen, what they had to do to survive. Their group maybe be a little broken but that’s okay…it’s broken but still good. She know that whatever the apocalypse throws at them they will eventually know they can overcome it. And with the lives Eve ends taking away she tries to give back by saving people by being a doctor for them.

oc asks: not-so-nice edition

#mimi replies #asks answered #answered asks #lilith chrysanth #oc: lilith chrysanth #asha rhyl #oc: asha rhyl #oc: everleigh horvath #everleigh horvath #I Want To Queue You 'Til You See Stars

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ralofofriverwoods · 11 months

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They are finally complete

I’m making yet another universe! This time it’s very like. Decrepit fucked up city/apocalyptic type thing. Pretty much like zombie apocalypse, but enough of civilization survived/was rebuilt to continue being organized with laws n stuff. Not to say it is anything near uncorrupt or not in need of some dismantling

I’m also thinking of making these guys into a webcomic! Sounds like a fun project, especially now that it’s summer and I have some more time on my hands. I’d love to hear if that’s something anyone would want to see. I’ll prolly do it either way but it’s good to hear some input on the idea. These lovelies would be the main cast(or at least recurring characters)

Names+info, from left to right, under the cut:

1. Mike

Does odd jobs for people in the shadows. Smuggling, being a bodyguard, distraction, you name it and he can do it. Also one of the more superstitious people of the bunch, and could technically be classified as a ‘warlock’, for lack of a better term. Lesser known in terms of criminal activity, but not for lack of trying. Lives in one of the major cities.

2. Jasper Nautilos

A trucker. Usually transports things like medicine and such from small city to small city, usually near the coast. May or may not be wanted in a lot of major cities for a few bits of murder. Best of friends with Nadia, and has many connections.

3. Nadia Lodi

Works on programming jobs wherever jasper happens to be for very cheap. Reprograms solar panels, fixes up farming vehicles that are a bit too complicated for the layman, etc. Pretty much anything she can get her hands on. Also takes up more un-savory jobs under the table, but don’t tell anyone. As far as most people are concerned, she’s got a 100% clean record.

4. J.D.

Jd doesn’t do much, mostly just works at the local gardening center/general store. Helps out when people need a lock picked or a piece of hardware replaced. Somehow has lots of really helpful friends in every city within a 100 mile radius, and likely well beyond(somehow). Will take anything you tell her to the grave, no questions asked. Shares an apartment with Sleep

5. “Sleep”

A sweet lady that technically doesn’t have a job. She mainly just helps out the owners of the apartment building her and jd live in with whatever is needed, in return for an extremely decreased rent price and much more lenience on what is and isn’t allowed in the apartment. Collects cool little trinkets, and has a knack for making things go kaboom.

6. Dr Jess

A mysterious man(?) that has a back alley clinic in multiple, seemingly random, cities. Usually performs low cost, high quality amputations and other body mods, cosmetic or otherwise. Virtually invisible to most of the higher classes, but known and loved by everyone in the lower class. Somehow has enough money to treat almost any ailment and condition, despite giving a 99.999% off discount to at least half of his clients. Never takes off his mask(though nobody asks, out of respect for him).

7. “Stalk”

Mostly makes firearms and chills in his little space off the grid. Truly lives in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, tens of hundreds of miles away from the nearest city. Very popular with the few criminals that take the time to go out of their way to buy what he has for sale. Goes out of his way to avoid most city-folk, and occasionally makes a business deal or two with Nadia when she stops by.

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inthiswhisper · 2 years

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just some of my thoughts on ‘faith’ in 13x15...

sam: so this is what we’ve come to? thieves?

dean: you want the blood, right? besides, the thing’s already stolen.

sam: really? that’s your rationale?

dean: well, hey, i’m not perfect. and by the way, neither are you, okay? ... this isn’t a perfect world we’re trying to save. ... and if i’m not perfect trying to save it, then so be it.

father lucca: that relic means everything to my congregation. … imagine you woke up one morning and this thing you loved — this thing you and your parents and your children saw every week, this thing you prayed to since you were old enough to form words — was just gone. what would you do?

sam: try to get it back.

father lucca: i did, and i failed. and this never should’ve happened.

dean: yeah, well, the world’s a screwed up place, padre. what are you gonna do about it?

father lucca: change it. ... it’s not about luck, son. it’s about effort. all the time, i hear people saying the world’s not perfect. they’re right, it’s not, but do you use that as an excuse? do you use it to excuse your own sins? your failings and your laziness? do you use it to give a bad man power, because the world’s not perfect? or do you work? do you try and improve things in whatever way you can? … the world will never be perfect, but if good men do good things, it can be better. every day can get better.

sam: father lucca ... spent the last two decades of his life doing charity work all over the world. ... he’s a good guy. … i believe him.

dean: great, so do i. but ... we don’t owe him anything. besides, he sucker-punched you.

sam: and i get why. i mean ... if somebody stole the impala, what would you do?

dean: murder. i’d murder ‘em all.

sam: right… my point being, i don’t want a dick like greenstreet or scarpatti to win. not this time.

father lucca: god will see us through.

dean: yeah, he really won’t. ... i believe. hell, i know. [but] god? he doesn’t give a damn about you or me or anyone else. so, if you’re expecting some sort of a miracle to happen … good luck.

father lucca: i’m sorry. i didn’t mean that god would reach down and protect us. ... but i believe that all good things are god’s things.

dean: you know it’s just a hunk of bone, right?

father lucca: i do, but … we all have faith in something, even if it’s just ‘a hunk of bone.’

sam: you ever feel like we’re doing nothing but playing defense? you know, bouncing from one apocalypse to the next? i know [it’s not our call], and i’m not saying we don’t do good. but no matter how many people we save, there will always be more people that need saving. no matter how many monsters we kill—

dean: there’s always gonna be another one around the corner.

sam: exactly. you think we could ever ... really change things? you know, stop all the monsters, all the bad?

dean: that would be nice.

sam: yeah. so, what are you thinkin’? think [father lucca’s blood will] work?

dean: [he pauses to look at it, then smiles at sam] i have faith.

—

i really enjoyed this episode. it was an outlier given the tone and antagonists, but the themes were compelling. i especially found father lucca endearing, and loved the impact he had on the brothers — reassuring sam in his faith while giving dean a more abstract, self-defined perspective on how faith can work.

sam’s had doubts this season about how he can improve things with no clear plan. seeing the reminder that small acts of good still go a long way affect him moved me. good for the sake of good, a day where the bad guy doesn’t win. as for dean... the brothers have been neck-deep in religion and spirituality, confronting god and feeling disappointed. it was necessary for dean to learn that faith didn’t need to be drawn from a concrete symbol of higher power — it could be a state of mind directed towards something, or turned into an act of good, similar to sam’s lesson. speaking of, father lucca’s speech about an imperfect world really turned dean’s earlier philosophy on its head too. instead of letting the bad guys get away with misdeeds for the brothers’ own gain, they let a good guy receive compensation and took no reward, and that act of goodness still rewarded them in the end. i also appreciated dean learning to respect the value stolen relics have for the people they rightfully belong to. he clearly already knew the significance, but he needed a push from sam and father lucca to embrace it.

finally, i’m glad dean’s optimism is increasing. i worry, though. it feels like he’s shouldering that burden a lot for sam and cas lately, who both expressed concerns about saving not only their family but the world. cas, especially, has gone off the deep end, so i wonder how this is going to play out — if dean’s faith will strengthen them all or come back to bite him. his last line reminded me of cas’ faith in jack and that ended with devastation. but i guess we’ll see.

#got kinda long #haven't written so much in a while #anyway good episode! surprisingly so #supernatural #spn liveblog #13x15

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