anon for good

not my main, sorry lmao

[altades]

Cooking up my SwapAU

Refs! Feel free to use them for your aus (with credit) The gist of this au is Shroud leads SDN. Z-team are a bunch of mediocre heroes who fucked up in one way or another. Roberts gets captured and is offered a deal to become a part of the phoenix program. He's hired as Z-team's dispatcher (totally not as a way to torture him) and given limited freedom.

You're welcome to ask me some questions!

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Ghost town in Pripyat, Chernobyl ☢️

[tsunamiwavesurfing]

[grox]

This picture is so holy and gentle to me

[limecircles]

[trans-girl-nausicaa]

being able to go to work with hickeys and bite marks on your neck is a human right.

[trans-girl-nausicaa]

the bosses are allowed creampie while the workers are punished for a simple little hickey. in this essay i will examine sexual politics through the lens of Marxian analysi-

[a-libra-writes]

Being the Youngest Member of the Boys

Billy Butcher

Almost never calls you by your name. It’s either “kid” or “that fuckin’ kid” if you’ve done something. Sometimes you’re “little shit” if you’re in real trouble.

Whatever qualms he may have had about recruiting you in the beginning, it’s far gone now. You’re in the shit now, no turning back. It’s likely you two meet by sheer accident, like a sibling or relative was the one joined up with him, and after they were killed he came upon you. Or perhaps your parent’s “accidental” murder by a Supe was high profile, and he meant to ask you for information, not expecting you’d be a good candidate to help him with revenge. Well, no matter how it happened, you’re here now.

You’re something of a morality chain for Billy. Even when he’s angry and too damn stubborn and self-destructive, there’s always a ledge you manage to pull him away from, whether you intend to or not.

And if he ever does lose his temper at you, the others are quick to come to your defense. If he’s the reason you joined up, he gets a ton of shit from Frenchie and MM for bringing a kid on board. Sometimes he apologizes for getting pissed at you… sometimes.

You shouldn’t be afraid to call him out or direct him to a different plan. He might listen, he might not. But there’s something about a fresh-faced kid, with eyes getting darker by the day, telling him he’s full of shit.

There are days when he deeply regrets bringing you along. Wondering if there’s family worried about you, knowing if that’s the case and watching you ignore their calls. Or if you’re all alone, and this screwed up band is all you have, what would happen if they all died and left you the next day. He wonders what Mallory would think, hell, what Becca would think. But he pushes those thoughts aside and keeps on.

Even if you’ve been wronged and you’re suffering as much as them, if you’re a Supe, Billy will lash out and see you as “them” when emotions are high. He’ll be fine most days, apart from a sarcastic comment here and there. You might even get a compliment if you save their asses using your powers. But on the bad days, his distrust and dislike is obvious. You’ll call him out on his bullshit, mentioning all the times your powers has helped them, but Billy doesn’t want to hear it. Sometimes he apologizes, sometimes he won’t. The others will come to your defense and see you as one of them, and Billy will experience the regret and self-loathing of bringing a kid on board and taking out his shit on them. The guy’s got issues, and you unintentionally bring out a lot of them.

Hughie Campbell

“It’s Monday. Shouldn’t you, like … be in school or something?”

When you irritably tell Hughie you’ve graduated, he doesn’t believe it. Then he’s wondering how the hell you got roped into this, and if you should be here — nevermind he’s not exactly qualified, either.

Hughie is the one that speaks up for you when Billy is being too harsh, or Frenchie is teasing too much. While MM is more parental, he’s more brotherly. Hughie never had siblings but falling into a “sheepish older brother that just wants the best for you” role comes easy. If you’re more of the shy and quiet type, he finds himself trying to get you to open up and talk about yourself. If you’re more fiery and outgoing, he probably ends up getting dragged around by your whims.

When things get bad, he often suggests you go back home, where it’s safe. If you have a good home life with loving parents, he and MM are ready to send you back. If you’re basically on your own, he’s more sympathetic, but still doesn’t want you getting dragged into their nonsense.

Absolutely terrified and worries even more if you murder someone. Look, he’s done it too, but — seriously, aren’t you too fucking young for this?! What’s Billy thinking?

If the stress and pressure of being in the Boys is getting to you, he understands completely. Hughie will take you aside and try to talk to you, again suggesting that you should step away before it gets worse. Okay, he’s not that much older than you, but it’s starting to mess with him that a kid is getting this involved. You still have a chance at a “normal” future.

If you’re a Supe, Hughie is one of the most sympathetic towards you. He sees you as a kid that should be protected and doesn’t deserve the shit they grew up with. Whenever Annie tells him about her childhood, he finds himself asking you questions the next day, wondering if it was the same. If you’re the sort to use your powers to help them and save others, Hughie absolutely can’t see you as the "bad guy" and defends you regularly.

Frenchie

Totally takes the piss out of Billy for bringing you here. “What are you doing here, huh? You think this is a game? Go back to your maman!”

(He’ll feel awful if you tell him you don’t have anywhere to go back to, especially if a Supe caused it. Or if you’ve always been on your own. Oh no, his protectiveness is kicking in — oh no, he wants to get you some proper food and make sure you have a place to sleep and —)

Frenchie introduces you to his line of work if you’re interested, showing you how to safely handle weapons or how he conducts some of his research. He tries to be sober around you, even if you aren’t technically a child anymore, he can’t help it. He’ll snap any alcohol or drugs out of your hands and tell Hughie to keep an eye on you.

(If you routinely disobey Hughie or give him the slip, Frenchie rolls his eyes and tells MM to do it).

He wants to know about you, learn about your situation. He’ll tell you some of his, if it comforts you. Frenchie is definitely projecting some of his past on you, but he’s also highly empathetic. He can tell when you’re pretending like you’re fine and not overwhelmed by the sheer batshit insanity this group gets up to.

Many times he suggests you should just run away, put this all behind you. Go somewhere safe. He’ll curse Billy for bringing you around, curse you for insisting on staying. Even if you’re damn useful, he worries.

Yeah, you’ll basically end up an adopted younger sibling. You, Frenchie and Kimiko will cook up something for the group while Billy is missing, Hughie is off somewhere and MM is with his family. The three of you will make your own little rituals and routine, and everytime you glance over he has a bright smile on his face.

If you’re a Supe, Frenchie’s opinion of you is the same. You’re still too young to be here, and he’s not so sure Billy will play nice forever. If you’re using your powers to help and protect them, Frenchie will be even more defensive and protective of you. He’ll absolutely give you a proud smile and kiss on the cheek when you save his ass.

Melvin Milk

He suspected you were probably young, but wait a second — there’s no damn way you’re out of high school. It doesn’t matter, he rounds on Billy for bringing you here. MM gets straight to the point, asking you why you think it’s a good idea to be part of his plans. Don’t you have a family? Friends? Anywhere to go? What could have possibly led you here?

MM is great at listening to you without judgment. He listens without comment until you finish, but then he can’t help himself. He has to try to talk you out of it. If you’re truly determined to help the Boys, he’s keeping a close eye on you.

Which is to say, you now have an overprotective dad. Sorry, no take-backsies.

He makes sure you’re eating well, you’re getting sleep, you aren’t on jobs that are too dangerous. Are you interested in college? Please say yes, he’ll help you study. Please tell him you have a job somewhere, he’ll help you get a place. Okay yes you’ve told him you want to stay but can you please reconsider —

A large part of his worry is how he might see his daughter in you, and some of the young men he counseled in the correctional facility. He knows you’re at a turning point in your life, and he’d like for you to choose the right path. It hurts to see you alone in the world. You too young for this shit. Don’t give him any of that “I’m mature for my age” crap. You’re too young.

Still, when you really need advice or just a shoulder to cry on, MM will put aside his worrying and warnings and just let you express your feelings. He’s glad you’re talking to him, and not bottling it up. He wants to be someone you can rely on, and he has the experience to help you through panic attacks and stress.

He will absolutely go feral papa wolf on anyone that tries to hurt you. If Billy’s plan intentionally puts you in danger, MM will flip. He’s not about to let a kid fight their battles, or be their bait.

While he isn’t thrilled about bringing a Supe into the group, he can’t find himself resenting you. MM wouldn’t treat you any differently, and might actually forget about your powers… Until you use them. At first you see the discomfort in his expression, but once it’s obvious you’re using your powers to help people, he goes to bat to defend you. Once the truth of Compound V gets out, his first thought is to check up on you and make sure you’re alright.

Kimiko Miyashiro

Initially, Kimiko was avoiding you and not interacting at all. You expected that, but you still tried to communicate with her, and did your best to make her comfortable. She’d stare while you prepared food or brought her blankets, but not in the intense way she stared down Billy. Sometimes you thought she was trying to remember your face.

Her expression was getting softer around you, and she found herself being more open to communicating with you. Kimiko was watching your interactions with others, trying to figure out young you were. She wondered how the hell you ended up with these men, what would have drove you to help them, and before she knew it, her protectiveness was beginning to grow.

It was a bittersweet sort of feeling. She thought of how she protected her younger brother, and often she found herself protecting you, either by literally shielding you from something dangerous or glaring down someone that insulted you. She kept close to you and Frenchie, since the two of you were the only ones bothering to treat her like a person.

She’d listen with apt attention if you told her about why you were here, and what your life before the Boys was like. If it was a good life, you see a ghost of a smile cross her face. She likes listening to your happier memories. If it wasn’t a good one, there’s an expression of empathy. Of understanding. Someone should have been there for you.

There’s no avoiding her more overprotective tendencies. She’ll use her strength to pull you away from a room, try to keep you from going into a dangerous situation, take a gun from you, and so on. You’ll always seem fragile to her, both because of your age and your lack of powers. Her protectiveness reaches its peak when her brother dies, and she wants you as close as possible, as if you’re a security blanket.

If you’re a Supe with powers similar to her, Kimiko’s protection is less keeping your physical safety and more making sure you’re emotionally safe. She doesn’t trust the others much besides Frenchie, and they don’t hide their distrust of you and her. She might feel like you’re in the same boat. On the same team, so to speak. She might open up earlier to you, and would be grateful at your attempts to help her brother.

[itscolossal]

Radically Unusual Caterpillars Captured by Photographer Igor Siwanowicz

[superarthurl]

[krisiverse]

[video description: a man playing saxophone in front of a large pipe. everything he plays echoes back through the pipe, resulting in a call-and-response type song. the person behind the camera claps along to the beat. end description.]

[akumeoy]

a reasonable society would base their entire economy around this

[nube-1-deactivated20210117]

[northofcorpis]

That fuckin smile at the end

[bettsplendens]

To the worried person in the comments: 

No, a hummingbird’s heart will not stop if it stops moving. You’re possibly thinking of Spoink, which is a Pokemon that supposedly powers its heart by bouncing, and as such can’t stop moving. Hummingbirds don’t sit often because they’re busy looking for food, but they can and do sit. The females sit on eggs in nests, after all, and they do have to sleep. 

[sindri42]

Fun fact: the leg muscles of a hummingbird are so stripped down to save on weight that they cannot walk. They can step sideways along a branch or other perch, but they cannot go forward without taking flight.

However they absolutely do stop moving. In fact, hummingbirds hibernate! Overnight. Instead of sleeping. Because if they tried to sleep like a normal animal their hyperactive metabolism would mean that they starve to death before breakfast.

Unrelated fun fact: the primary Aztec god of war would take on the form of a hummingbird, and the souls of the bravest warriors were said to turn into hummingbirds in order to join him after death, presumably because every hummingbird is approximately four grams of pure concentrated asskicking which fears no man nor beast and will gladly throw down with somebody seventeen thousand times their size if offended.

[ubercharge]

this is a really cool post and i love seeing such a small bird but reading “No, a hummingbird’s heart will not stop if it stops moving. You’re possibly thinking of Spoink” killed me 

[myc-ology-whore]

A angst request. Reagan x reader. The reader is going to be sent to shadow prison for trying to get rid of Rand.

She'll Be Okay

Reagan Ridley x GN!Reader

ooh, i like this one >:) more angst for you guys, this time starring our favourite disgruntled scientist <3 reader is gn btw

another 4k story that i may or may not make a sequel to. the way things are now, however, i feel like i've satisfied the angst that was asked of me.

nsfw: no sexual content, but explicit gore is used.

When Rand took over, everyone was pissed, not just the upper management team. Reagan had just promised everyone so much, and she had intended to make good on all of her promises, but the robot Rand brought into the company had ruined everything, and somehow in the end he was the one to get put in charge? Of course people were angry.

You, however, were by far and away the most angry of all. Reagan was your girlfriend; you knew better than anyone just how abusive Rand was to her growing up, though whenever you'd try to point it out she would just brush it off, saying, "Well, he's still my dad. I can't just kick him to the curb."

And so, you and Rand had simply been at each other's throats at every given opportunity. He said you weren't good enough for Reagan and that you were holding her back from achieving more, and you said that he was an abusive, manipulative parasite who'd never even treated her like a daughter in the first place (only one of you was correct). Reagan tried to ignore it; she understood your anger toward Rand, and she loved you for being hurt and mad in her place, but she couldn't abandon him. She didn't listen to Rand either, thankfully, sticking things out with you and staying at your place more than half of her time in the months leading up to the Bear-O incident. She told herself she could still have you and not betray her father, though of course, that couldn't last forever.

She made the right decision that day after digging through her memories and finding out what Rand did to her, telling him to get lost. You, Reagan, and the rest of the gang had dinner at Reagan's place that night, celebrating the fact that she had finally stood up to Rand. You all helped her to throw his stuff onto the curb, and at the end of the night, after everyone else went home, it was just you and Reagan.

Reagan sighed happily as she locked the front door behind the last of your friends, turning around and leaning back on it as she looked around the now-much-cleaner living room. "It already feels so much better to look at," she said, beaming over at you with tired eyes. "Just knowing that he's gone is... It's so much more of a relief than I thought it'd be."

"I told you so," you laughed, opening your arms to her. "C'mere." She chuckled and obliged you, crossing the room to bury herself in your hold. You both hummed contentedly, enjoying the silence of the house and the warmth of each other, though something scratched painfully at the back of your mind. You kiss the top of her head before quietly addressing her. "Hey, honey?"

"Mhm?"

"What Rand did to you," you start, already feeling her tense up, "you know that it wasn't okay, right?"

She pulled back, looking at you incredulously. "It was utterly fucked up," she corrected, making you smile. She didn't always admit it so easily; this was progress. "Fucking up my memory is a whole new low, even for Rand."

"Good, I'm glad we agree." You touch her cheek softly, and the creases in her brow and forehead fade as she relaxes. "D'you know I would do anything for you?"

Reagan laughs a little, her eyes warm as she reaches up to trace your features in return. "So you say," she answers, leaning in to press a soft kiss to your lips. You close your eyes and kiss back, mouth opening and moving against hers lazily. She broke away to look at you once more, looking so happy and at peace. "I don't know what I'd do without you," she says, her voice wistful and filled with meaning. "You've been so patient throughout all of this, even though I was kind of stubborn in getting rid of Rand."

"Well, we haven't quite gotten rid of him yet," you reply, and Reagan frowns in confusion. "I've gotta drive him up to Canada and bury him in the snow before I'll feel satisfied that he's not coming back."

"As much as I'd like to strangle Rand myself, kidnapping and murder would get us put away for life."

"That's only if we get caught," you reminded. Reagan snorts at that, making a grin spread across your face. "I'd do it if you asked. I'm serious."

She rolls her eyes with a smile, giving you another quick peck before stepping away. "You're ridiculous," she chuckled, grabbing your hand and beginning to tug you toward the stairs. "C'mon, I'm tired of talking about that asshole. Let's go get ready for bed."

"Alright, alright," you say, relishing the warmth of her hand in yours.

That night was spent in blissful ignorance of what was to come the next day. When you woke up, Reagan was already out of bed, showered, and dressed, something completely unheard of. She was in such a good mood, better than you'd seen her in what felt like ages; she'd spent the morning putting together a little mini-model of what Cognito 2.0 would look like, and she'd ordered breakfast for the two of you. (She'd tried to cook at first, but ended up burning everything because she got distracted by her little project.) It felt like the end of an era, and seeing Reagan practically bouncing around the house with excitement for her promotion and her plans for Cognito made you feel happy and at ease. You loved seeing her smile so much.

That was why what happened when you got to work was so much worse. You were hanging out in the conference room with the gang, goofing off with Myc and Andre and going out of your way to annoy your friends, when Reagan came in with tears streaming down her face.

"Reagan, what's wrong, honey?" She'd immediately collapsed into you upon entry, dragging you to the ground and clutching onto you like she was about to fall off the face of the earth. She tried to speak, but couldn't talk over her sobbing. As you tried to calm her down, your friends gathered around you, unsure of what was going on.

"Deep breaths, Reagan," Gigi advised gently, crouching down beside you and resting a manicured hand onto Reagan's shoulder. "You've got to take deep breaths. In... and out... in... and out..."

As Gigi continued her breathing exercises to try to calm the hyperventilating Reagan, you looked up to your friends.

"I've never seen her this upset," Andre remarked, concern creasing his brows and forehead.

"Maybe Rand finally offed himself," Myc mused, earning him slaps from both you and Andre. "What? I thought we didn't care about him anymore."

You rolled your eyes, glaring at the mycelian. "Myc, you idiot, why don't you just read her mind and tell us what's going on?"

"Oh shit, you're right." He quickly went to place a flagella onto Reagan's head, the limb glowing pink as he sorted through her thoughts. Within a few seconds, he'd snatched the limb back as though he'd been burnt. "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me."

"What? What is it?"

"It-- It's Rand," Reagan choked out, coughing as she tried to clear the phlegm from her throat. "He-- He's--"

"Calm down, sweetheart," you said softly, patting her back as she falls into another bout of broken cries. Turning back to Myc, you prompt, "He's what?"

Myc seems to hesitate for a moment. "He... took her position."

"...What?"

The room is silent aside from Reagan's bawling, even Gigi looking up in confusion and disbelief. "He took her position," Myc repeats, his voice small for once as he watches the tears dribble down Reagan's face, the way she's wrinkling your shirt in her fists. "He's the new CEO of Cognito."

No one speaks. For a moment, everything is still, aside from the shuddering gasps and sobs from Reagan. Then, the blood begins to boil in your ears. Your friends start to talk, their faces aghast and outraged, but you can't seem to hear them. All you can hear is a ringing in your head as you process the information that's been given to you.

Rand... He did this to get back at Reagan. He did this to hurt her for thinking she could escape him. You feel Reagan tighten her hold around your ribs, her face squished into your collarbone, and something in you flips like a switch.

I am not okay with this.

Gently, you pry Reagan away from your body. Her eyes are swollen and her nose is runny, cheeks red from the warmth of her tears, but she's still so pretty. You cup her face in both hands, using your thumbs to wipe to wetness from beneath her eyes. She sniffles and coughs again, trying to catch her breath as she looks at you. "What-- What am I supposed to-- to do?"

You smile fondly at her, leaning in the press a kiss to the tip of her nose. "Nothing, sweetheart," you say, running a hand over her head to smooth her ragged hair. "You just stay here, okay?"

"(Y/n)," she blubbers, her lip shaking violently as she tries in vain to regain her composure. "How could he do this to me?"

"I don't know, Reag," you admit, forcing yourself to maintain the smoothness of your features as you look at her, wanting to reassure her. "But hey, you know what?"

"What?"

"I love you so much, honey," you affirm, "and I'm not going to just sit here and do nothing about this."

Gigi nudges you, and you turn to look at her, doing your very best to keep your expression blank. "(Y/n), don't go and do anything crazy, you hear me? We're all just as furious about this as you are, but we have to make a plan before we can go and do something about this."

"For once, I agree," Glenn says from behind her. "As much as I love violence, we've got to make a plan of attack first. If we go in guns ablazin', we're liable to get sent down the tube on sight."

"We've got to get weapons, figure out where he sleeps," Andre surmised, hand on his chin in thought. "Then we can catch him by surprise!"

"Or we could just, y'know, do the easy thing and poison his coffee," Myc suggests.

"You guys, isn't there a way we can figure this out that doesn't include murder? I don't think I'll last very long in prison," Brett chimes in, looking nervous at everyone's plotting. "Why don't we all just calm down and really think about this?"

"Shut up, pretty boy," Myc dismisses, no one else even bothering to acknowledge the idea of not killing Rand. As your friends discuss the situation, you stand up, giving Reagan a pat on the head and straightening your jacket before you begin for the door. Myc notices first, and scuttles after you. "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"Figured you, of all people, could figure that one out," you reply, laughing coldly. Though any one of the gang could probably guess where you were headed, none of them could feel the pure, white-hot rage dripping off of you like Myc could. He's never seen you like this, however, and isn't quite sure how to approach the situation.

"It's a bad idea, and you know it," he hisses, looking around as he follows you out of the conference room. "You're gonna get yourself fucked up, bud."

"Maybe," you confirm, striding with a purpose toward the CEO's office. "Then again, maybe not. Maybe I'll tear his fucking head off before anybody can do anything about it."

"Even if you manage that, you're still gonna get fucked by the Shadow Board once he's dead," Myc reasons, his voice growing more hushed and anxious the closer you get to the elevators. "Look, I'm saying this because you're my friend, (Y/n), our friend. Just hold off for a while, yeah? C'mon, let's go back."

He tries to grab onto your arm to halt you, but despite his surprising strength, you're quick to tear yourself from his grasp. "Don't fucking touch me right now, Myc," you snarled as you whipped around, your whole body feeling as though it was on fire from your anger. Myc takes a step back, startled, and though you feel a sudden sense of guilt, you quickly turn and continue down the hallway. You're on a mission, and no one is going to stop you.

"(Y/n), we'll still be here when you come back," Myc calls after you, allowing you to go on without him. Under his breath, he adds solemnly, "If you come back."

You stop only once on your way upstairs, at one of the hidden weaponry stations. Myc had shown you before how to spot their subtle designs, and you were a bit surprised to find such a stash so high up in the building, since most of the offices and labs were underground. You grab the first handgun you see, not really knowing how to use it since you've never really been in contact with a gun, but you figure it out easily enough through what you've seen in movies and video games. You were honestly a little proud at how quickly you managed to pull out the magazine to check that the weapon was loaded, and after that it was only a matter of cocking it, pointing, and shooting. You shoved the gun into your waistband and closed the weaponry station, making a beeline for the CEO's office.

When you arrived and knocked on the door, there came no answer. You wondered if this was a trap, if Rand was prepared for someone to try to assassinate him, but pushed the thought back in your mind and opened the door as quietly as you could. Luckily, it was unlocked, and you stepped carefully into the office before closing the door behind you, not wanting to leave any signs of entry if at all possible. It seemed as though Rand had left, perhaps to use the bathroom or to grab some food. It was almost too convenient.

Still, you couldn't turn back now. Trap or not, you'd leave this office once one of you had a bullet in your chest. You were so fucking done, absolutely fed up, with the way Rand treated Reagan. He'd put her down so many times, made her feel stupid or selfish for trying new things or doing things that separated her from him. He treated her like a pawn, like nothing more than a tool, a weapon to wield, and it infuriated you. He'd made her cry for the last time, if you had anything to say about it. You sat down in the chair in the corner of the room, one that was slightly hidden from view of the doors by a partition; if things went according to your impromptu plan, then by the time Rand noticed you he would already be on the other side of the room and away from the exit, cornered. You didn't doubt some secret exit or defense mechanism was hidden here in the room somewhere, but you were ready to take your chances. You had to do this now, while you were determined and enraged, or else you'd chicken out.

Close to ten minutes after you'd arrived and gotten into position, the doors to the office opened. You sat still, relaxed, as you heard shoes tapping on the tiles, Rand's voice reaching you as he muttered angrily to himself.

"Shit, I left the fucking door unlocked," Rand grumbles out of sight. You hear the jingle of his keys as he shoves them back into his pocket, and watch his shadow against the floor as he straightens his jacket and starts forward into the room. "Gotta remember to start locking things again, now that I'm back in charge."

He pauses in the middle of the room, looking around the office but not behind him yet. "Back in charge," he laughs to himself, clearly satisfied with what he'd done to get here. "Christ, it's good to be home."

He lifts his foot as though he's about to continue onward to his desk, but stops short and lurches forward slightly. Things seem to move in slow motion as he clutches at his stomach; if you were looking at it from another point of view, it might look like he was just feeling nauseous. You were watching very closely, however, watching how the bullet ripped through him and hit the hard wood of the desk, the clean hole in his torso vomiting a mist of red in the bullet's wake.

All you can hear is that ringing in your ears as Rand doubles over, hunching forward at a right angle before bending at the knee and falling down. He rolls onto his side, and you see his mouth moving as though he's screaming, agony painted across his features, but you can't hear him. You cross the room slowly, the gun still clutched tightly in your hand, your knuckles white. Rand sees you, and though his wound is bleeding profusely, he lets it go to try to scramble away from you.

"Stop moving," you command, your voice not quite sounding like you as you pointed the gun at him again. He yelps at the gesture and raises his hands in surrender, his eyes shut tight.

"Don't, please," he begs, his voice finally reaching your ears. It's raw, as though his vocal chords have been torn, and tears bead at the corners of his eyes. Still, he tries to maintain his cockiness as you loom over him. "Y-You've fucked up big time, kid," he says, chuckling through gritted teeth. "You can still... still fix this, though. If you help me get to that button over there, I'll... I'll make sure you don't die when security comes to get you."

He gestures to a red button on the back wall, but you don't even glance up at it. "You're going to die," you inform him, watching as his strained smile twitches. "I'm going to shoot you in the head, and you're not going to be standing up again, I'm afraid."

Rand's face pales as he realises just how powerless he is in this situation, and you can't help the small smile that begins to twist your lips. He deserves this, you think, not a doubt in your mind.

"C-C'mon, kid, you don't have to do this," Rand said uneasily, his gaze flicking between your face and the gun. He tries to push himself up on one arm, raising the other in a halting motion as he backs up against the CEO's desk. "D'you think Reagan would still wanna be with you if... if you killed her old man? Think of how... broken she would be, knowing the jackass she kept around blew her dad's brains out. She'd hate you."

You snort involuntarily, covering your mouth with your free hand as you try to stifle your laughter. "Hate me? For killing you? My god, man, how out of touch with reality are you?" You adjust the gun in your grip and squat down beside the frail-looking bag of blood and bones wasting away on the floor, being careful to keep your aim trained on his head at all times. "I'm doing the world a favour right now, Rand," you sneered, bouncing slightly on your heels. "You're a fucking waste of space, and I think you know that."

He's shaking, his lips trembling as he tries to find something to say but fails. He grabs at the hole above his hip again, hissing in pain as he attempts to stop the bleeding.

"That's not gonna work, stupid," you scoff, slamming the side of your gun across his face. He groans, eyes squeezing shut again as you stun him. You briefly think of how good it felt to do that, but push the thought of repeating the action away. You weren't a sociopath like him, and you wouldn't be reduced to one out of anger towards him. His hazy gaze meets your own once more, and you realise you shouldn't be drawing this out at all. You stand, straightening yourself out. "I think it's time we cut to the chase. Don't you think so, Rand?"

"Please," he implores, his face scrunching up in discomfort as he knits his fingers together in a begging motion. "I'll... I'll give you whatever you want, just, please, don't--"

He's cut off by another thunderous bang, this one splitting his skull and blowing a hole straight through his frontal lobe and into the desk he sits up against. Bits of brain and blood splatter onto the wood and tile around him, and a sense of pride makes your chest swell.

Now he was gone, and only now was it over.

Heavy footsteps thud against the floor somewhere nearby, and you set the gun down onto the desk. You couldn't take your eyes off of Rand's face; aside from a small, jagged circle in the middle of his forehead, he looks almost exactly as he had a few moments ago. However, you knew by the amount of gore surrounding his head that the exit wound had been much less contained. Silently, you thought to yourself how a shotgun would have been a much more fitting murder weapon for a monster of a man like Randall Ridley.

"Holy shit," said someone from behind you, and you turn wordlessly to see two armed security guards in the doorway. The man who spoke tears his eyes from Rand's body to meet yours, and immediately he aims his gun at you. "P-Put your hands where I can see 'em, kid," he quavered, clearly unprepared to deal with this situation. "Hands up, now!"

He was scared, and fear made people more dangerous, more unpredictable. You'd already accepted the terms and conditions in this contract, however, and so you simply smiled and raised your hands in surrender. "The gun is on the table there," you advised, gesturing to the desk. "Don't worry, I'm unarmed. I'll come quietly."

"R-Right," the security guard replied uncertainly, looking you over as though you might explode if he stepped any closer. He turned to his partner, who remained gawking at the corpse lying haphazardly on the floor. "Brady, come on, man," the guard blurted, startling his partner so badly that he almost dropped his gun. "Go on! Go and, uh, disable 'em, I suppose."

"Yes sir," the second man answered, stepping cautiously toward you. You gave him what you hoped was a reassuring smile, but it was obvious that it only served to disturb him. "Hands behind your back, p-please," he stumbled, walking around you like you were a dangerous animal. You did as instructed, and the guard wrapped a pair of handcuffs around your wrists with shaky hands.

"Right, bring 'em here," the first man said, beckoning the other forward. You felt the second man grip your arm securely, and then you were being led forward, stopping right in front of the more commanding guard. "I suppose I don't have to ask why you did what you did," he reckoned, looking back at Rand. "Guess you had more problems with him than most, eh? That, or you just had less to lose or more to gain than the rest of us."

"It needed to be done," you explain simply. "It was as necessary as putting down a decrepit old dog, I assure you."

The man chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "Can't argue with that logic. Unfortunately, we're going to have to put you in a holding cell, either until we've got a new boss or until the Shadow Board figures out what to do with you. I'm... sorry."

You can't help a laugh at the absurdity of the situation. "Apologising for arresting a murderer? What has this world come to?"

"I suppose you're right," the man replies. Holding one of the glass double doors open, he gestures into the hallway. "Brady, come on."

The second guard jumps and nods quickly, pushing you forward once again. As the door shuts behind you, you find yourself looking back at Rand's unmoving body, and a soft smile etches itself into your face. She'll be okay, now that he's gone.

She'll be okay.

[the-kennsterrrr]

Men wear pants that cover their ass challenge.

[anon3255]

girl literally just dealt with this today. to be completely fair i think the kid might possibly be on the spectrum, but i'm not certain so i don't want to assume. anyways i'm going to get a drink from the water fountain and the kid, who i've seen around a lot but never spoken to, steps right in front of me like he didn't even see me. i look down and stg his pants are halfway down his ass with his underwear. full face of hairy ass crack thrown at me without my consent like sir. this is a place of education. wear a goddamn belt. to make matters worse he was practically drinking from the water fountain like a straw. i just walked off down the hall to the next fountain. no thanks.

[the-kennsterrrr]

I know for a fact that this man had to be physically restrained from voicing Bruno.

[the-kennsterrrr]

HUH?????

HUH???????

HUH???????????????

[anon3255]

i for one think that there was no one else who could better play bruno than sid the sloth

[vesuviusfire-deactivated2023072]

Fallout NV characters as stupid shit my friends have said

Arcade Gannon: Just took a math test turns out I’m a hundred percent that bitch

Veronica Santangelo: It’s about drive, it’s about power, women’s rights are rights for ours

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: Yeah i can carry my voluptuous hokomokuhuhukapanupahakas myself thanks

Craig Boone: Would you still love me if I was bald

Raul Tejada: I was this close to locking lips with your dad but then I thought about the game

Lily Bowen: In awe at the sheer size of your mother

ED-E: My printer said the same thing one time

Rex: My dogs are broke, how can they sponsor us

Vulpes Inculta: I feel like he was raised by wolves and we have to readjust him to society

Yes Man: Now playing Romantic Music for 10 Hours (NO ADS) (SEXY)

Benny Gecko: He looks like sexy colgate toothpaste

Dean Domino: I have a concept for something called a Cheeto Dorito Tostito Frito Burrito

Christine Royce: How did you verbally say a gif

Dog/God: I don’t know what I’m doing and I think I accidentally inhaled weed fumes

Follows-Chalk: A trillion lions could beat the sun

Waking Cloud: I absolutely goddamn despise paint thinner

Joshua Graham: Mom the people of color are bullying me

Ulysses: I may be dark and mysterious but I’m also lost in an apartment building and I’m too tall and I keep hitting my head on things

[toxiccaves]

[gunsandfireandshit]

Me faded as hell at McDonald’s listening to the people in front of me in line

[flyingspicerack]

A lovely asshole

[viergacht]

Wish I knew the context for this.

[dongsanddamns]

I’m going cross country skiing immediately

[myc-ology-whore]

okay so most of us know that there are people who headcanon that Cognito and the SCP Foundation are in the same universe, which i also think is a fun idea to explore. however, may i introduce another expansion: Cognito, the SCP Foundation, and the BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense) all in the same universe.

this has been a lil worm in my brain for the last two weeks or so, ever since i decided to rewatch Hellboy (Guillermo Del Toro's version, obviously) and renewed my childhood crush on Abe Sapien. anywho, i thought this would make the universe even more chaotic and dangerous, which i love. if you haven't watched Hellboy and you like Inside Job, i highly recommend that you go and watch it; idk where else it is, but i watched it on HBO Max i believe, and they've got the second one on there too (which i didn't watch cuz i'm a lil jelly that Abe gets a girl in that one :<)

[ult2099-deactivated20220716]

May I suggest adding the Federal Bureau of Control from Control into this?