#Hunger Pains AU

[lets-try-some-writing]

Hunger Pains AU

Canonically energon is produced by Cybertron itself. And because Cybertron is essentially dead before its restoration it must have not been producing any or very little energon. As such getting ahold of energon is shown to not exactly be an easy affair and in the long run the lack of it would have certainly led any surviving Cybertronians to die of starvation once all deposits were depleted (that is if synthetic energon failed to become a viable option). In the show the problem of energon is already a big issue, after all there is only so much energon on earth (discounting dark energon). And so my sick mind decided that it would be interesting if the problem was made 1000% worse.

Behavioral Changes

The Decepticons, while having access to more resources, would be far more calculating and conservative with their energon use. Their strike forces would be smaller and any actions taken would always be with an express purpose. No bot would leave the nemesis unless they had a specific task to accomplish, and when not working the Vehicons would be put into stasis so as to not waste energon on meaningless things.

As for high command, they would all be incredibly aware at all times, and due to running on near empty tanks constantly, their interactions with one another would be far more aggressive. Suddenly Starscream's attempted takeovers are far more serious, his waste of energon being more frowned upon than the attempt itself. Injuries are met with extreme anger from high command and any Vehicons unlucky enough to sustain any serious damage would be deactivated and drained of their energon to save resources.

Megatron is even more aggressive than in the show, his actions more calculated but infinitely more desperate. He would remain on the nemesis as often as possible, planning and scheming instead of fighting. His use of dark energon would be even more carefree than in the show (if that is even possible) and he would likely subsist off the stuff once he built up a good enough resistance. This in turn would drive his insanity up a few notches.

Starscream is far more cunning and hardly ever takes to the air because of fuel usage. His wings being little more than deadweight due to this, leading him to get a stockier frame and a ground based fighting style to make up for his lessened ability to fly. The only arguably good thing to come from his constant state of near starvation would be that he would not be nearly as cowardly. A mech who has next to nothing to loose and lives with death looming around his helm every single day would eventually grow apathetic.

Soundwave remains in recharge as long as possible when not working in order to keep his precious cassettes as healthy as they can be. His ability to monitor the nemesis and be deployed on missions subsequently being a lot less effective due to his near starved state. He also is a lot less caring about the orderliness of the ship as he cannot afford to intervene unless it benefits Megatron.

Shockwave's experiments are a lot more controlled, often he is unwilling to do anything that has a chance of failure above 20%. Due to the 50/50 nature of his work he walks a very fine line in Megatron's good books. He has nearly been deactivated more times than he can count because of a failed experiment wasting energon.

Knockout doesn't bother with his paint nearly as much and instead hyper fixates on keeping healthy as he has had one too many experiences with starvation. He is a lot less flamboyant, and while he still retains his vanity, he is a less vocal about it as he doesn't want to face the ire of the starved crew. He also is incredibly close to straight up deserting nearly all the time despite knowing the Autobots don't have it any better. He would just prefer to not live in constant fear of Megatron all the time.

Breakdown tends to follow Soundwave's example and remains idle if not in recharge when possible due to how much energon his frame requires. He is not nearly as cheerful as in the show and while still happy and optimistic, tends to be more of a realist. He hangs around in the medical bay most of the time because occasionally Knockout will slip him an extra ration.

Arachnid spends most of her time off the nemesis, taking her chances out in the wilds instead of risking her helm. She is far more cunning and willing to take risks if it means a meal. She hunts Vehicons when energon is scarce and is not afraid to grovel at Megatron's pedes when necessary.

Predaking remains in stasis most of the time due to his high energon consumption rate. Much like Optimus and Megatron he only makes a move when there is an immediate benefit. His pride, while still present would also be subdued as he is willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive, even if it means acting like a beast for longer than in the show.

Life is grim on the nemesis... not that the Autobots have it much better.

The Autobots would operate with similar restrictions, their scouting being rarer and only ever done when Decepticon activity is confirmed via satellite or government given data. Even then, only Arcee, Bumblebee, or Smokescreen would ever be deployed to scout in order to conserve energon. Bigger bots like Bulkhead, and later Ultra Magnus, would only be sent out when a named Decepticon is confirmed to be present. This in turn would mean that the individual Autobots would become far more effective at single combat and a lot more underhanded in combat to make up for lack of firepower.

The mood around base would be somber near constantly, the arrival of the children being met with far more hatred than in the show due to the extra trouble they bring (they eventually warm up to them though). The Autobots cannot afford to take any action without purpose, and as such they would not participate in any activity for the sake of the children without good reason. This means that the human children would likely share one guardian if they were assigned one at all. And when at base they would mostly only receive interaction in the form of conversation as unnecessary movement is simply a waste of energon. This would likely cause some degree of strain in the relationship between the Autobots and the children. But as they spend more time together they would bond over the grim situation as the children do their best to help.

Due to situation, Optimus almost never leaves base, his frame far too large and high maintenance to be moved around carelessly. This would mean he would spend enormous amounts of time in recharge to conserve energy or fulfilling a role similar to Soundwave's when he is not issuing orders. He is only sent out when Megatron is confirmed to be present or when artifacts are involved. The lack of energon would also make him far more stoic and ruthless, his compassion while still present, would be more subdued in order to keep his team alive. His morals would also decay slightly, making him more willing to do underhanded or otherwise taboo things if it means his family will live one more day.

Ultra Magnus is in the same boat, confined to base unless firepower is specifically requested and acknowledged to be necessary by Optimus AND Ratchet. He follows Optimus's lead and spends more time idle than not, often maintaining the weaponry around base or standing guard near the relic/energon storage room just in case. He is just as strict as in the show and far quicker to anger when met with a failed mission or rebellious behavior. He refuses to allow Optimus to take upon himself the weight of any more unnecessary burdens.

Wheeljack purposefully leaves as soon as a mission is done and refuses to stay a moment longer despite Miko's pleading for one very specific reason. The team, while liking him as an individual, hate his presence because of the strain it puts on resources. Even Optimus not so subtly suggests that he leave the Autobot base as soon as possible after he does whatever he came to do. Wheeljack understands completely and so only comes to earth if he has an offering of energon or has been summoned by Optimus.

Bulkhead while stuck confined to base, is the assigned babysitter to the children and keeps them entertained as best he can while limiting his movement. He often tells the children stories to keep them out of trouble and lets them climb around on his frame. He might also be willing to help them reach or carry things but he would not do much else. He still would get along great with Miko though as she would still respect and adore his wrecker fighting style the few times he engages in combat. His disposition would mostly stay the same, although he would be far more tired and less emotive.

Arcee is by far the most active member of the team as her small size ensures that she is the easiest to keep up and running. She is one of the few members of the team who get full rations, something she never fails to feel guilty about. Arcee ends up doing a majority of the tasks that require significant effort and does almost all the scouting for the Autobots. She is run ragged constantly working, but she is the only bot who can fulfill the tasks without the energon cost outweighing the benefit. Due to the stress she would lose most of her snark and instead act like more of an overworked single mom than anything else.

Bumblebee is even more mature than in the show, even before getting his voice back. He would not have had much of an opportunity to have a sparklinghood and would have grown up feeling like a burden. Optimus would have made a great many sacrifices to ensure the Bumblebee did not grow up malnourished, something Bee always feels guilty about alongside gratitude. With the situation so dire he is always busy trying to make things easier for the team. When not on duty he does what he can to make the others smile, so that if only for a moment they can forget the slow march to extinction looming over them.

Smokescreen would be greeted with hatred because of resource strain, but also joy due to the implications of his arrival. The fact that he is alive and made it to earth proves that there are others out there and that there is some hope for the future with the omega keys. However he would likely make quite a few insensitive comments regarding rations before quickly learning just how bad the situation is. Afterwards he would work hard like Bumblebee to keep the team in reasonable spirits while taking up the burden of responsibility.

Lastly Ratchet is infinitely more pessimistic than in the show, his hope all but gone and what little remains residing in the wisdom of Optimus's leadership. He is more cold and gruff and a lot more picky when it comes to which injuries he decides to repair. He is forced to give the team values based on the benefits they bring, something that always brings him great shame. He would love to help everyone but the resources available don't allow it, often leading members of the team to go weeks if not months without repair for their smaller injuries. He hates the human children with a passion and only begins to tolerate them after they start helping in meaningful ways like collecting valuable information or assisting in stopping Decepticon plans. He is constantly tired and focuses most of his energy when off duty on keeping Optimus from starving himself to death.

The human government and children do what they can to help, but life is grim in the Autobot base.

Physical Changes

This would apply to all bots regardless of faction, but in essence they would all be painfully thin.

The younglings among the Autobots would be a little better off, having been fed enough during their sparkling years to reach their proper size but otherwise still appearing a little underfed and slightly discolored. However the older bots on both sides would end up looking progressively more sickly depending on size. The smaller bots like Arcee would only suffer from mild energon deficiency, armor weakening, and discoloration. Medium sized bots like Knockout and Starscream would have even thinner armor, washed out tones, weakened cables, lessened strength, and general tiredness.

But the most noticeable effects of extended starvation only really show on the largest of the bots, namely bots like Optimus and Megatron.

Since Megatron is a bit of an outlier in that he consumes dark energon instead of normal energon he deserves his own little section. Despite his dark energon snorting he still suffers from several symptoms of extended starvation, albeit with effects of his dietary choices tossed on top. His frame is more deadly, but it looks almost decayed, no longer a vibrant silver and purple but instead appearing to be somewhat rusty and emaciated. Every movement would cause an ear rattling shriek, and his limbs would appear almost elongated and unnatural due to lack of armor. Essentially he is a monster from the deep.

As for Optimus, he is the living embodiment of trial and sacrifice. His everything is gaunt and painfully thin, so much so that his inner systems can be seen without much effort. His plating his nearly grey from lack of nutrients and frail enough to crack and break off from any significant damage. His limbs, optics, and helm appear disproportionate due to the metal covering them receding and thinning. He can't even be bothered to get an earth alt-form as it uses too much energy to maintain, much less transform into. And to top it all off his logical processors are only maintained by the Matrix, and on occasion he slips and becomes near feral until he gets energon. Where the energon comes from is not something he ever intends to tell his team. A Prime falling to maddened cannibalism in hunger induced desperation is not something he can ever allow to be known.

#Hunger Pains AU #transformers prime #team prime #autobots #decepticons #tfp au #why did I come up with this? #why did I spend so much time writing this? #i must really like hurting my fav characters #well... #enjoy I guess?

[mockingjaysnakes]

i need more videos of Tom Blyth eating croissants.

#tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #thg #the hunger games #tom blyth #croissant #national croissant day #eating #coriolanus snow #pain au chocolat

[definitelynotshouting]

i literally can't stop rotating hunger au worldbuilding and lore in my head. forgive me if you've ever touched on this in an ask before, but... re: the existential horror of being a parasite that has the sense of self of the host it ate. if one of grian's friends ever did get taken and used as a watcher larva host. how do you think he would feel about the watcher that came out the other side? would he want to see them as still the same person as his friend, or...?

Ive been staring at this ask since i got it with like. I need you to picture the most comically heartbroken expression right now okay. like this is me reading that and thinking about it in great and terrible detail:

Gods he would be devastated if this ever happened. He knows what thats like. He knows just how much it hurts-- and that its not a hurt that can be quantified, because its just that intense, that scalding, that encompassing of an experience to go through. I think, genuinely, Grian would be so utterly horrified and grief-stricken for whichever friend went through the Watcherification process that it would trump every other potential feeling on the list

But i think, ultimately, he would still view them as his friend, and treat them in the same way. There's a little bit of hypocrisy in Grian's character that i enjoy engaging with while writing him, and a good part of that in hunger au is centered around how he's firmly designated himself as the monster, and everybody else is the victim, and theres no room for nuance because he sucks and theyre the only people who are valid. When in reality, yes he hurt them, yes he did terrible and invasive things, but he did them out of pure survival rather than maliciousness, and that does make a subtle difference. And... hes not the only one who has fucked up, either!! The entire point of hunger au is how everyone has fumbled the bag in various ways and now they're all trying to clean it up together. Its just, yknow, Grian is so wrapped up in his own pain that he cant see those grey areas yet

And the thing is, if one of his friends got Watchered™, so to speak, and was standing in front of him, i think he would treat them with SO much compassion. Theyve been through possibly the worst thing anyone can experience and come out the other side-- at his core, Grian is i think a character who wants to do good, and do good by other people, and in this hypothetical that would translate into a lot of kindness he doesnt usually afford for himself. Honestly i think he'd spend the time trying to show them the ropes, get them set up in a better position than he found himself in, and provide his own fumbling emotional support as best he could, just out of sheer solidarity. Like, he gets it. He's been there. He may as well help out.

And i think he wouldnt even realize how hypocritical he's being until someone else pointed it out to him, about how he treats this friend with so much care but is simultaneously cruel to himself. I dont think he'd know how to handle that-- he's sort of dug himself a rut in the road with the way he thinks about and treats himself, and the cognitive dissonance would be really uncomfortable for him. Ultimately a good thing!!! Growth is often very uncomfortable. But imo Grian has a tendency to run from things like feelings of discomfort, so i think it'd take him a while to reconcile his previous ways of thinking with whats being presented in front of him essentially in the form of a mirror.

So uh. tl;dr: he'd be a little hypocrite about it and would feel a lot more compassionately inclined towards the friend than he does himself, and would try to help them out as best he could. Thank you for the incredible question that has given me the opportunity to rotate this worm at even higher speeds than usual inside my brainpan DKNFEKNDSKDJKDKD

#shouting speaks #asks #hunger au #compliments #theres also like. the factor that a lot of grian's self-hate stems from the games #he was always a bit unstable about his self-perception after he became a Watcher #but he wasnt as actively loathing himself until after the life games started #like he took GREAT pains to ''eat ethically'' and try to manufactor joy more than fear #which is why he starved. its harder to wrangle those emotions out of people than it is to shove them in a box; scare them; & eat the buffet #idk i have so many feelings about him as a character. oh hunger!grian my blorbo of blorbos. we're really in it now #txt

[mothdruid]

Jake Seresin, District one, victor, Capitol Darling, cocky son of a bitch.

"They're kids, Jake."

"We were kids too, Bradley!"

- The Hunger Games hangster au @siempre-bucky and I will never write

hangster | bradley | bob | natasha | javy | mickey | reuben

#we might write one scene #but its too painful to actually write #jake seresin #jake hangman seresin #hangster #sereshaw #hunger games au #top gun au #top gun #bradley bradshaw x jake seresin

[valiantstarlights]

[Dreamling Week Day 7: AUs or Crossovers] Of Surviving

This is a Dreamling Hunger Games AU oneshot. I finished writing it on May 27, but then I saw @mr-sadman 's prompt list for dreamling week 2023 and thought, 'Oooh 🖤 This is going to be perfect for Day 7!'

And here we are 2 weeks later. I hope you guys like it! 😊

CW: I mean...it's The Hunger Games. That's a warning all by itself.

"And why should we bet that you would win?" The host asks, fake teeth gleaming under the harsh stage lights. The same question, the same maddening smile directed at all the tributes.

"Because," Dream says, feeling bile rise up his throat, "I am better than the two who came before me."

The crowd gasps, but he could see a couple of audience members, the rough-looking shark-like types, nodding in consideration.

He hopes his siblings aren't watching.

--

"And why should we bet that you would win?"

"You shouldn't," the smiling boy from District 9 says. "But do it anyway for spite. Who knows, in the unlikely event that I win, you'll have me to thank for getting you at least a dozen new mansions."

The crowd laughs. Dream watches from backstage and immediately dismisses the boy as someone who would die an hour into the games.

--

The next time Dream sees the boy from District 9 is when he was aiming a javelin right at Dream. The first words the boy ever says to him is, "Duck!"

Dream ducks, and watches as the boy's javelin strikes true, right in the chest of District 2's career tribute.

--

"I thank you for saving my life, but I hope you are not expecting me to save you back."

The boy looks at him like he's a weird seven-legged fish. "Sure. You're welcome, District 4."

They part ways.

--

"Thought you said you wouldn't be saving my life," the boy from District 9 says, hand still holding Dream's as the two of them run away from the trap Dream has sprung, which caught a couple of other tributes who had been chasing him. Them both.

It was a coincidence that they were even in the same place at the same time.

Dream should really shake the boy's hand off.

"I am saving mine in the process of saving yours," he says. "Having an ally means surviving longer."

"An ally, huh? Well in that case, the name's Hob. Well, Robert Gadling, actually. I'm from District 9."

'I know,' Dream doesn't say. 'I thought you would be one of the first ones to die.'

--

"My name is Dream."

Dream wouldn't have volunteered this information, or really, anything about himself, but Hob has earned his trust by being an incredibly resourceful partner. He hasn't killed anyone else aside from that one career tribute, but he makes up for his lack of kill count by helping Dream (who grew up near the sea) survive in the arena the gamemakers have fashioned for them, which was part dense forest and part prairie.

"It suits you," Hob says, eyes on Dream's when he says it, his smile soft.

Dream looks away.

--

The faces of the day's dead have just finished being shown in the sky. Five more dead tributes. He imagines how their family back home would react to the news of their death. Would they be angry? Would they be disappointed?

Would they be relieved that there will be less mouths to feed from now on?

Dream wants to scream. He wants to think about anything else, so he turns to Hob, sitting beside him, face still turned upwards, contemplative. Dream wonders if they're thinking the same thing.

"Tell me about your family," Dream says.

Hob shrugs. "Not much to tell, really. We're poor like the rest, work hard like the rest, and try our best to live a life like the rest."

Dream sees his hands balled up into fists by his sides, knuckles white.

--

"What did Johanna mean, when she said you'll share the same fate as your siblings if you cross her path?"

It was early the next day. Hob is talking about a conversation between Dream and Johanna that took place in the morning of the previous day.

"I had six siblings," Dream says. They were gathering firewood now, for another trap that Dream is planning to spring. "Two of them were both reaped last year."

Hob stops in his tracks. "Oh," he says, sadness coloring his tone and setting Dream's teeth on edge. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Dream says simply. He clutches his bundle tighter in his arms so Hob wouldn't see how his hands have began to shake. "You did not pick their names at random."

--

"Their names were Destruction and Delirium," Dream tells him later that night in their little camp, hidden deep within the forest. "Sometimes I wish I had volunteered in my brother's place and managed to save my sister."

"Oh, love."

--

"Why did you call me 'love' yesterday?" Dream does not look at Hob when he asks this.

"Why do you think?"

He wonders if Hob is looking at him when he answered.

--

"You should eat more."

Dream ignores him and curls up more in his tattered sleeping bag. The trap succeeded, but the gamemakers fucked around with the weather and Dream had been soaked to the bone. And now it seems that he has caught a fever.

"Please," Hob begs, warm hand on Dream's freezing arm. He has cooked a meager amount of watery vegetable soup from the plants they had foraged. "For me."

"You will be better off without me," Dream says, because it's true. "There are only a few tributes left."

Hob sighs. "Look, if you don't eat by yourself, then I'm going to feed you like a baby bird, and then we'll both feel awkward."

Dream imagines Hob sipping the soup and keeping it in his mouth, then pressing his lips against Dream's and feeding him in this manner, just to make sure that Dream has something warm and healing in his stomach. He reddens even more despite his raging fever.

He still has some good sense remaining, however, so he sits up and shakily accepts the small bowl from Hob's hands, unable to look directly at him.

--

Dream tilts his face away. "We shouldn't."

"Why not?" Hob has not moved, body still close and face a breath away from Dream's. "What are you so afraid of?"

Dream pushes him away with both hands, but he does so gently and with a lingering touch to Hob's clothed chest that his hands were immediately engulfed by Hob's larger ones.

Dream is becoming a hedonist under the boy's influence. It is apparent when their fingers tangled together almost automatically.

"Because if we share a kiss," Dream says, "then we would cease to be vigilant for a few precious seconds, and that could mean the difference between life and death."

Hob says nothing for a moment, before he inhales deeply and nods. "You're right."

"I almost always am."

Hob rolls his eyes at him. "I mean that you're right in that we should always be vigilant. Not that when I kiss you, I would only want it to last for a few seconds."

'When,' Hob says. Not 'if.'

Dream tries not to obsess about his wording.

He fails.

--

"I apologize. You should not have seen that."

"What, you killing Johanna by drowning her in quicksand?"

"I did not mean to! It was just the easiest way to do it." Dream looks down at Hob coldly, willing his anger to overtake the fear that this would be the thing that would make Hob betray him.

--

"You're afraid of me now."

Hob shakes his head. He still has not looked at Dream in the eye again, but his tone is as kind as always. Dream wants to hold his hand and ask for reassurance that Hob does not hate him. He doesn't, because he has always been a coward.

"I'm afraid of dying," Hob says. "Totally not the same thing."

--

"Dream?"

Dream is pretending to be asleep. He has to. He dares not show Hob his tear-streaked cheeks.

Hob sighs.

--

"Okay, here's the plan." Hob's eyes are looking furtively behind them, body tense. They are almost at the end. There are only a couple more tributes left other than the two of them. "You run right, I run left, then we lead whoever is following us to your traps."

Dream looks at Hob's handsome, dirt-streaked face and wants more than anything to survive with him. But there can only be one victor, and he has already failed two of the people he loves.

He leans forward and kisses Hob for the first and probably the last time. Then, he stands up and runs as fast as his feet can carry him towards the traps, ignoring Hob's panicked shout behind him.

--

"I don't want to survive if you don't survive with me," Hob tells the stars when Dream is pretending to be asleep. "I can't. I wouldn't be able to."

--

"Who says you're dying?" Dream replies just after dawn, when Hob is sound asleep beside him, snoring softly. "You are not allowed to die under my watch, Hob Gadling."

--

"No! Dream!"

"I'm...I'm sorry," Dream says, voice soft and weak. There was way too much red surrounding him. Hob is losing his mind. "I love you. I'm sorry."

"You cheated." Hob's hands are shaking as he takes his jacket off and bunches it up, pressing it hard against the wound on the other boy's stomach. "You're supposed to be the one that survives!"

"I don't want to go back," Dream tells him, eyes turning glassy with unshed tears. "Not without you."

"Shit, you're losing too much blood."

"I would have liked to show you the place where I like to read in secret..."

"Gods, shut up, shut up, shut up--" Hob looks around frantically, trying to find something, anything, that could save Dream.

He is handed a knife by a bloodied, trembling hand, so pale it was almost white. "Here," Dream says. He points to an area under his own jaw. "Put the knife... Slash deep here. A little diagonally. Most effective..." His eyes were already blinking slower, movements growing sluggish.

"No," Hob says fiercely. The knife's handle is digging into his palm from how tight he's gripping it. "No, I'm not killing you. Fuck you for even--"

"Love you..." Dream's lips mouth at him, his striking blue eyes still looking at Hob's, as if he wants Hob's face to be the last thing he sees.

"No," Hob spits in denial. "Fuck this--"

Hob has always been a quick learner. His mother had always told him so. When his older brother was reaped six years ago and died within the hour of the games starting, Hob marched out of their house and immediately learned how to handle all the farming equipment from the older men, so his family could continue to eat.

He now places the knife Dream gave him against his own neck--

--

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

--

Dream gasps awake and clutches at the shape beside him desperately. Hob startles awake at the frantic touch, then pulls Dream towards him, holding him tight and steady, a fortress against a howling storm.

He murmurs soft words next to Dream's ear, one hand rubbing his back gently, while the other partially covers the large jagged scar on Dream's side. Dream presses his face closer to Hob's neck, his nose right where Hob's own scar is. It's small and looks insignificant compared to the one on Dream's body, but it proved more effective in getting the gamemakers to panic. They needed to have a victor, after all.

That year, they had two.

That had been ten years ago.

"We made it, my love," Hob says against his hair. It smells like the very sea that is only a short walk away from their home. Hob can hear the waves lapping peacefully at the shore. "We made it. It's all over now. We made it."

#dreamling hunger games AU #idk why clips from the hunger games movies keep popping up on my youtube feed #but we're taking it as a sign and rolling with it #hello my loves I come bearing pain 😊 #dreamling #DreamlingWeek #DreamlingWeek2023 #the sandman #my writing #good job my thumbs #wahoo i managed to complete an entire week's worth of stories! 😭🙏 🎉🎉🎉

[reds-skull]

BLOOD||HUNGER

[PREV PART] [AO3]

Y'know how I said I'm not gonna post every day... Okay look I'm just enjoying myself and I'm on break so I got time to write. Sue me.

This chapter is called "The Ruin". Enjoy!

Page 5 of the “Blooede Starvatfōre-dēde”, parable 2:

A blind man finds upon his path, a thing of uncertain birth, He whispers words of guilt, gait unsure around the being, A story of war falls from his lips, a tale well known, The beastly soul bows in assent, warmed only by gore, The man asks of the Beast, will you let me pass, The path clears, but a voice requests, Will you, O fallen knight, Will you let a monster trail?

The last time Soap was under a CO, the man spat in his face that he’s never going to amount to anything, not with his “attitude”. The one before it made him clean the latrines for three months, not that he stayed long enough to finish that sentence.

Ghost was… surprisingly different. His orders were clean cut, but Soap found them completely logical. And when he didn’t…

“We can’t go that way, the roundabout is full of equipment. Soldiers are constantly circling it.” Soap muttered next to Ghost. The SAS operator looked back at him. The skull mask adorning his face was cracked from untold battles long past, the sharp edges catching the low neon light from a nearby street sign.

Soap is sure if he saw that jumping at him from the shadows, he would scream like a wee girl. As it stands, the mask only makes him think of shirts edgy teenage boys would find on a sale at TK Maxx.

“How do you know?” the masked man questions.

Soap pulls a small bag from the rucksack he nabbed two days earlier, “managed to swipe some black powder from there when they weren’t lookin’.”

Ghost hums, “know how to use it?”

“Was a demolition expert, before…” Soap trails off, shoving the bag back into the side pocket, “we can go through the southern side, near the church. Think they’ve already combed that area.”

“Copy, lead the way Sergeant.”

Soap takes them through the winding alleys, hearing nothing behind, but knowing Ghost follows. For a man his size, he’s unnervingly dead silent.

“Where was yer exfil point set?” he starts. They would need to double time it, if it was back north…

Ghost is cryptid with his answers, as always, “we’ll have to set a new one.”

Soap frowns. “So our goal is just to put distance between us an’ the hostiles?”

“Affirmative. You got intel on their location?”

They enter an abandoned grocery store (as all stores in this area are), and Soap makes a detour at the cleaning aisle, looking for bleach and other solutions he could use for crafting. “I was ‘ere two days ago, dinnea where they are now…” he grins brightly when he finds a nice big bottle of bleach. With the vinegar he already has, he could create a good amount of chlorine gas. Pour it into a bottle and chuck it at hostiles, and they got a distraction should they need it.

“Stay focused, then.” Ghost murmurs, snapping Soap out of thought. He’s not used to having someone next to him, even before everything went to shit…

The church comes into view when they exit the store. Ghost stops to stare at it, and Soap takes the moment to inspect the Lieutenant further. Black gear over black clothes, no markings of country, unit, even blood type. Soap feels like there’s a lot more about this botched mission that Ghost isn’t telling him.

Not that the spooky bastard tells him much of anything.

“Could use the tower to scope the area. I see a line up there we can zip line down from.” Ghost eventually rumbles. 

“Sounds good, LT.” Soap responds, catching his slip belatedly. Internally, he muses, ‘ye can take the man out of the military…’

Ghost’s head snaps around to glare at him, and Soap can see his mouth open under the balaclava, before he turns around to stomp to the church tower, leaving Soap to jog to catch up.

The church looks ransacked, in a way that makes Soap’s gut churn. He’s not religious, not since he enlisted, but the way the soldiers destroyed everything without disregard…

It’s a view that haunts him throughout the city. How they don’t care that anyone lived here before.

Children laughed, babes were born, old men reminisced over long gone memories, girls played together. People lived and died here, this was their world.

And the Hunter’s soldiers crushed it all under their boot, spat on the graves of their ancestors and severed the ties.

Soap feels the anger building within him once more. His fuel for the firepower he throws at the hostiles. At first, he wanted to know why more than anything. But it doesn’t matter anymore.

Nothing can justify this.

He stares at Ghost’s wide back as they climb up the stairs to the tower, wondering what the operator thinks of all this. If he too feels his heart clench at the thoughts of senseless violence. Or if he doesn’t care, if the mission is the one and only important thing on his mind.

Soap wonders if there’s anything under that mask at all.

He asks himself, if there’s anything left behind his.

They reach the top, the city sprawling beneath them. The little lights blend together, shining between the dark buildings. Would’ve been a nice view.

Would have, if they didn’t spot the trucks rolling to a stop in front of the church.

Ghost and Soap share a brief look, and instantly he moves to climb out of the window to jump to the zip line, only to be stopped by the Brit.

“What are ye waitin’ for?! We need to go!” he almost yells.

Ghost yanks him back in, the sheer power knocking Soap into the wall. Fuckin’ hell, he hits like a beast.

“If we zip line now, they’ll shoot us down. We need to get through the ground floor.” he growls, turning away and starting to run down the stairs. Soap rolls his shoulders and runs after him, muttering a few curses under his breath.

Soap catches up to him, yelling, “there must be a back exit we can use-!”

Ghost stills on one of the last steps, shushing him. They both strain their ears, hearing far-off steps growing closer, and closer, and closer-

Soap shucks his rucksack off, taking out the bleach and vinegar, quickly pouring them into an empty beer bottle, “the fuck are you doing?” Ghost yells above him, crouching to hide behind the banister when the front doors are kicked open.

Soap ignores him, driving a piece of cloth down to stop the gas from leaking, and shoves it into Ghost’s hand as he makes another one, “throw this right before we go, they won’t be able to breathe right for days.”

Soldiers start spreading through the ruined church, Ghost testing the weight in his hand, “on my count.”

Soap nods, finishing up his bottle.

“One, two…”

One of the soldiers spots them, and Soap stops breathing.

“Three!”

They throw the bottles, the liquid within them splashing as they arc across the church. His bottle hits the soldier that saw them square in the face, and he instantly starts coughing and clawing at his eyes.

The gas isn’t visible to the naked eye, but Soap can track its spread by the way all soldiers start coughing. He and Ghost push off to run up the stairs, but as Soap casts a glance back, he sees some of them equipping a gas mask.

Why the fuck were they prepared for chemical weapons in a civilian city?!

“Ghost!” he shouts, slinging his rifle off his shoulder, “they have gas masks!”

He hears the man curse, “keep running!”

Not sooner after, bullets begin to ricochet around the spiral staircase. Soap swings around to shoot a couple of them, and as Ghost does the same, he notices his shots don’t land as they should.

He glances back at the Lieutenant, watching him rub roughly at his left arm. Right… Ghost did say he was broken. Soap didn’t realize how bad it was. 

A few seconds later, he realizes Ghost threw the bottle with his left hand, landing it perfectly between the soldiers.

With no time to maul it over, he pushes onwards.

Ghost is still grasping at his arm when they reach the window, and Soap can’t help but ask, “are ye gonna be able to zip dow-”

Ghost’s tone lowers dangerously, nailing him with a death glare, “I am not weak, Sergeant.”

He’s not sure who’s cornering who here. Ghost takes his eyes off him a second later, tugging on the line before asking, “got anything we can use?”

Soap continues shooting down the enemies pushing up the stairs, “check my pack!”

He feels Ghost rummaging through his rucksack, and it almost distracts him from the hails of bullets around them.

It’s… odd. How he doesn’t even know the man’s face, but he can trust him with his back.

Ghost zips the pack back up. From the corner of his eye, Soap can see two metal clothing hangers he picked up in one of his searches for a thicker jacket. In his other hand is his little project he used most of the black powder on.

He lifts it questioningly, and Soap answers while shooting, “a wee gift I made. It’ll trigger when someone steps on it.”

“How big’s the explosion?”

Soap smirks, “big enough.”

He can almost feel Ghost’s eye roll from his silence, and he would’ve chuckled if soldiers didn’t start coming closer.

“Ye ready to jump?” he yells.

Ghost hands him a hanger, dropping the charges on the last stair step. Soap watched him flex his left arm one last time, before swinging the hanger over the line, and jumping off.

Soap’s heart drops for a moment when the operator sways wildly, part afraid for him, but mostly for himself.

The hostiles at his feet don’t care either way, so Soap braces himself and jumps off as well. The way down is bumpy, rattling, and fuckin’ fast. Soap lets go of the hanger right before the end, rolling off on the rooftop, and stopping.

He hears his “gift” go off, and the sound is so beautifully familiar, it sends a pang of nostalgia through him.

Ghost is already making his way down, seeking to hide between concrete buildings. Soap hastily catches up.

“That was a wild one, wasn’t it, LT?” he says, a little out of breath.

That breath gets completely knocked out of him when Ghost slams him to the nearest wall. His eyes are obscured by shadows, leaving only two black holes when he leans down to growl in his ear.

“Don’t fuckin’ call me that. I am not your LT, not your CO, we are strangers. We get outta here, and you can go back to your civvy little life. Understood?”

Soap breathes out harshly, grinding his teeth. “Like I have a fuckin’ life-”

Ghost pulls back just to slam him harder, “do you fucking understand, Sergeant?”

He stares at the black voids, voice clear and flat, “yes sir.”

The Lieutenant finally pushes off, and Soap lingers for a moment. He wants to be angry, he wants to snarl and bite and talk back, like he used to when his past COs were yelling at him.

But Ghost is right. After this little “adventure”, Soap will have to go back to his life. To an empty apartment, which he has probably already been evicted from. To searching a job, only to find nothing truly worthwhile. To an airsoft field, a fuckin’ mockery of what he lost.

To a monotonous, repetitive, grey cycle, where John loses his mind just a little more every day.

Ghost is just telling him the truth.

Soap trails back behind Ghost, the man not reacting to his presence. He looks so much larger than him like this, blocking what little light is around them, casting a long shadow over Soap. 

He tried not to think of “what could have been” in the past year. But it’s so hard, when it’s literally within reach.

Could he have been like Ghost? This imposing, unrelenting soldier, stronger than anyone he’s ever fought. So powerful, he escaped a whole military worth of hostile soldiers?

There may be nothing behind Ghost’s mask, but there’s someone behind Soap’s. Someone weak, lost, and repulsive.

And Soap isn’t sure what’s worse.

They’ve walked in silence for the last hour or so, Soap lost in the tar pit of his own mind. Some part of him, hysteric and deranged as it is, doesn’t want this to be over. It disgusts him.

Ghost’s arm has been twitching minutely for a few minutes now. It distracted Soap from spiraling for a bit, wondering what exactly is wrong with him. He doesn’t see any rips in the fabric around the area, so it’s not a stab or gunshot wound. He thought about blunt force trauma, but that wouldn’t act up every once in a while like this. An old injury would, but if it’s bad enough Ghost can’t even shoot straight, no one in their right mind would send him on the field.

Soap exhales, his stomach knotting in warning. They didn’t stop moving since they encountered each other, so they didn’t really eat. Which Soap just remembered, and now can’t ignore.

He considers it for a moment before piping up, “ye hungry?”

Ghost pauses in front of him, slowly turning to stare at him. “You got food?”

Soap nods, pulling a few oranges from his bag. He almost hands one to Ghost before remembering his arm, and sets about to peel them both. Ghost watches him silently, as a sweet aroma fills the small back way. 

Soap gives him the first peeled orange, busying himself with the other while Ghost turns around to eat it. When Soap takes the first bite, a sour taste bursts on his palate. Yet as he chews, it turns sweet, and he closes his eyes for a moment, savoring it.

Ghost has turned back to face him when he opens his eyes again, a look Soap can’t place in his eyes. It makes him hurry and gulp down the rest of the fruit, and he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

He starts walking, but this time Ghost walks beside him, his eyes still not straying from Soap.

Ghost’s eyes are a nice, rich brown, he notices for the first time.

#call of duty modern warfare 2 #cod mw2 #cod ghost #cod soap #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #BLOOD||HUNGER #call of duty fic #call of duty fanfic #call of duty modern warfare #cod fic #cod fanfic #the last scene was completely unplanned but i fuckin love it now #also oof angst #you thought revenant au was painful? oooh boy

[pain-is-too-tired]

Memes based off my Godly Games au/fic that I will like to bless y'all with. Some of this makes sense some of this has no context hdhdg

#mine #pain rambles #pjo au #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson and the hunger games #pjo hunger games au #The Godly Games au #Godly Games au #jake mason #michael yew #nyssa barrera #leo valdez #harley pjo #charles beckendorf #orignal character #percy jackon and the olympians #the hunger games #hunger games au #my au #meme #pjo memes #my memes #pjo #jake mason x michael yew #im having fun with this fic #really am

[mihrsuri]

My most completely out there Hunger Games headcanon is that actually, the founders of Panem just sealed Panem off from the rest of the world so no one can get in without killing everyone but it just got forgotten about and the rest of the world is actually doing great and welcoming the people of Panem who get out (like Lucy Grey).

#lil and her ridiculous aus #book: hunger games #i am actually a huge fan of this as a story idea #like there’s something both hopeful and painful about it #fic

[siempre-bucky]

"they won't find out." "they find out everything."

Jake and Bradley, winners of their respective Hunger Games, forged a love after their games. And after the revolution, they learn to heal and love in a world that won't exploit them.

- The Hunger Games hangster au @mothdruid and I will never write

#top gun maverick #top gun #hangster #the hunger games #hunger games au #top gun au #bradley bradshaw #jake seresin #sershaw #oof the pain #they survive and fall deeply in love and live happily ever after dont worry #abby and i have a whole ass plot but its too painful to write lol

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

Different anon but Noccorro hunger games love triangle type where for the sake of it neteyam is katniss, aonung is gale and Spider is peeta. It would work so well because the idea that neteyam and aonung are friends thought their parents, everyone expects them to get together etc etc. The idea that maybe spider is the son of like a dead peace keeper from district one or something? Keeping in line wit the whole son of the enemy, and 5hat the privilege he might havee once had doesn't work the same in the context of the district. Idea of them doing the whole fake romance for the camera and actually falling in love. This whole thing was sparked by the idea that aonung would 100% be like Gale hating the fact that katniss wanted peeta to run away with them, the whole them and us thing UGH gorgeous

THIS IS VERY FUN AND TRAGIC. Ugh, I love love love the parallels in Peeta and Spider both enduring mental torture? Neteyam would be utterly devoted to trying to get Spider back, to help him retain some part of him. At the same time, although there are striking Neteyam and Katniss older sibling struggling under the weight of family trauma and duty parallels, their family lives are so different. I don't wanna kill of Jake, so we are left with a family that would be wary of Spider because of his dead peacekeeper father. But yet, they would see him fight to the death to defend Neteyam for almost no reason in the area, they would be able to watch them fall in love. You can convince me that wouldn't make Neytiri all marshmellow soft, especially if we keep the jeytiri headcanons from the locorro ask. It's spicy, let me tell you.

My interest in these au's doesn't even lie in the games for the most part; it lives in those quiet moments after, where our boys would cling to each other as they struggle to figure out how they fit back into their lives. They are the only ones not treating each other as fragile and breakable, and yet the only ones that know just how broken they already are. Does Spider, who has never had family, fit in Neteyam's big loving family or is he just a painful reminder, a big smudge on an otherwise perfect picture? Is he taking up space that Ao'nung can fill just fine? For Neteyam, does he even know how to fit in with his family anymore? Is he dragging Spider along on a pointless endeavor of trying to be normal? I bet they go weeks trying to be separate and live their old, normal lives, but unfortunately they can't sleep without each other so they always find themselves in the same bed.

#listen i am not into the hurt part of hurt/comfort #i am OBSESSED with the comfort part #obsessed with the long arduous process of healing #the two steps forward one step back of it all #the nothing will be the same but things can get better than they are right now #i lIVE for that #anyways good thoughts anon #please guys I know i've been slower lately in the painful unpacking and work process but I am oBSESSED with your thoughts and what they do #to me #send more #miles spider socorro #spider socorro #neteyam sully #ao'nung #jake sully #neytiri sully #jeytiri #nocorro #the hunger games au #avatar the way of water #avatar #james cameron avatar #melissa's asks #melissa on avatar (cameron) #we are mindmelding get in

[strxwberrychocolate]

I have finally finished writing the Tsukasa and Fujio hunger games au

#high&low the worst #hunger games au #this took too long #very very painful #lol

[tennessoui]

There are so many lines in the Hunger Games AU I love but also THIS TAG: he has to write the girl's name on his hand so he doesnt forget it If you ever expand this I will be sooooo excited. The tone and dark Anakin is just A+++

hunger games au anakin is like the most tunnel vision anakin ever he is like “you are not integral to my love story I don’t even know who you are” he kills like 10 people the first day he’s known as the Betrayer because he makes a bunch of Allies before going into the arena and kills them all

Some guy from district 1 captures the girl from anakin’s district and tries to use her as leverage like “if you take a step closer I’ll slit her throat you wouldn’t risk that would you? Not your love!”

and anakin probably like covered with the blood of other tributes is like (deadpan) “you kill her, you die” (telling a fact not dependent on the implied if but just a statement of events)

and the girl is like no don’t do it he won’t care (telling the truth)

But obviously the other guy has heard so much about their romance that he really thinks he has the upper hand and then anakin takes a step forward, and the guy solves a lot of anakins problems right then and there 😌

Especially when he dies and there’s only a few other players left in the game (you know, 2 days in)

#asks #hunger games au #also the scene where anakin asks obi-wan not to watch his games #and obi-wan is like I’m your mentor I have to watch #and anakin is like just remember everything I do I do for you #andobi-wan thinks the guilt may kill him when he’s watching #but he can’t help but feel happy that anakin is going to come back #because obiwan suffered ok anakin was supposed to be his nice thing #also lol imagine tue district 1 guy like just slightly cuts her throat #and anakin is like oh no my beloved don’t worry #i can’t see you in pain. mercy kill. #and the girl is like I’m fine! barely bleeding #and anakin is like 😌mercy 😌kill #obikin

[definitelynotshouting]

Can I ask, since you mentioned agreeing 'even if under duress' - how did the Watchers convince Player Grian to join them in hunger au?

So take this with the specific grain of salt that ive never watched Evo directly (but have friends who have ((thank you wren)), so i know tidbits via osmosis from them), but my thought has always been that the riddles the Watchers gave the Evo Players were all tests used to measure cleverness and intelligence-- the whole point of them attempting to copy the mind of a Player into a Watcher larva in the first place was to try and avoid the insanely high infant mortality rate their typical juveniles go through, bc they dont understand their own limits enough to even know they have them yet. So they needed a Player they knew they could instruct and who would listen to them, and, well. Grian, for all he was rebellious and outright defiant of the Watchers, still solved their puzzles and only had to be punished once before he stopped trying to mess with them

What ive always pictured is after the dragon fight the two main elders of the Watcher colony finally revealed themselves to Grian properly-- i have this crystal clear image of the two of them hovering above and next to the central end island, looming over Grian, and like, these guys are big. HUGE. A good 5x bigger than the ender dragon itself, at LEAST. It would be hard not to feel insanely intimidated by that, honestly, especially when there are two of them side by side, blocking your entire view of the End from that direction.

Anyway picture that with the context of these two giant floating winged worms youve never seen before, who have demonstrated their powerful ability to manipulate code in a way you cant.... telling you that they have chosen you to become one of them. Thats an immense amount of pressure, both from flattery and fear, especially considering theyve punished you before for defying them. I like to think even then, Grian balked a bit, and while i dont have exact dialogue beats here, i know the Watchers continued putting that pressure on him (likely while leveraging his friendships too-- like ive always said, if Grian hadnt been chosen, BigB wouldve been, and i can absolutely see the Watchers offering to take him in Grian's stead) until he finally caved and accepted their "offer" of joining them.

Unfortunately, he didnt find out exactly what that entailed until it was far too late.

#shouting speaks #asks #hunger au #evo watchers #watcher!grian #grian #evo smp #tldr they pressured tf out of him to do it #through both flattery and also leveraging his own fear against him #he was a Player after all. they were likely bumping his mood post-dragon fight to make him more suggestible #the most painful thing abt this to me is that the Watchers still werent being deliberately malicious here like #with the way they viewed Players this was NORMAL to them #they just. didnt rlly consider them as much more than food/hosts for their young. in their eyes the Watcher that emerged was different #than the Player it had hatched from #even though it had Grian's mind memories personality and stats #every day i feel shrimp emotions abt this #the horror he went through..... and they never once thought of it as torture #they never once regarded Player!Grian as something that needed to know what was going to happen to him #bc it was normalized to them. yeah sure Watcher juveniles hatch from Player hosts thats NORMAL thats part of their life cycle!!! #the only new thing is this one would still retain the Player's mind #it was a fucked up science experiment basically and grian wasnt told ANYTHING before it actually happened to him #sobs and cries ohhh grian i fucked you up SO BAD huh #also huge shoutout to my friend wren for giving me a little context while i wrote this and confirming my ideas slotted in #rlly well with existing canon. character understander status continues to stay intact im winning #txt

[kiraman]

In case anyone's wondering what's next for Mizu in her modern times john wick adventures, this is one of the songs of the playlist I listen to while I work on it for inspiration. I mean... Make an Educated Guess based on it's vibes...

#Ok there won't be Much Spice. But there's one obscene moment that'll somehow...make sense in the moment it happens. #also I'm begging y'all to tell me which one to work on faster and post first OMFG. John wick au part 3 or canon fic part 2 uaajjaahughhhhh. #ughhh the way intense violent grief and pain can make you feel obscenely out of control and hungered to fill that void with someone #something anything that could take it away is always insanely fascinating to me and thus i must Write about it. In this essay I will .... #Anyway. :)))) #suggestive cw // #writing misadventures galore.

[sasorikigai]

I already talked enough about Hanzo/Scorpion immensely struggling with sleep (mostly in this HC post), but with eating, Modern Hanzo has a problem where he either can't eat (from the demands of his profession - tactical force that focuses on infiltration and extraction - requires him to be extra vigilant and ready to go 24/7), or won't eat (due to high stress), so he's almost forced into either unwantedly partaking in intermittent fasting, or live off by foods he can eat on the go (mostly shawarma, sliced pizza, or burgers, aka junk foods).

Canon Hanzo (excluding Scorpion in verse II - where he is a hellspawn specter), especially during MKX where he just became a human from being a wraith hugely struggles with regular human functions, such as sleeping and eating. He will neglect to get proper sleep or forego multiple meals, even days at a time until he realizes he's about to either pass out from sheer exhaustion or his stomach growl incessantly due to immense hunger.

It would not surprise me if Hanzo DID pass out somewhere due to either of those things.

#✗ obsessive cathartic (headcanon) #✗ the ineffable testimony of spawned hellfire (scorpion) #✗ seeking reconciliation with his own humanity (iii) #✗ ugly syllables of conjured vindictive crimson (modern au) #(he's a masochist so he has no problem handling pain and agony) #(he has high threshold to pain) #(but exhaustion and hunger just hit different)

[imprvdente]

Fish Monet & living in the Capitol

#my edits #i wanted to express the inner conflicts she feels daily #the pain of being used and the trauma from the games making her miserable #but also the exhilaration of being famous #the feeling that she is owed this fame and money as retribution for all her pain #Fish (Monet) #Hunger Games AU #(musing)