#water gun null

[treehouse-void]

The Gengar Incident

This is the Gengar thing mentioned in the parody Karen story. You don't need to read it to understand this one, just know that this is the story being written there. This is also a different take on the Sunglasses Squirtle, which it as well as Pokemon belong to Nintendo. This version of that Pokemon and all of the other OCs belong to Wraith. Please check out their stuff on Wattpad.

Gia was strolling through the forest, listening to the sounds of nature. She was hiding from the nearby towns as she wanted to hide her abilities the best she could. However, this did not mean that she wasn't well known by Pokemon as many have come to her already just for her to calm down sibling fights and similar small things.

"I wish someone would, for once, not want to ask for help due to my powers," she wished as a thought. Almost as if Arceus himself commanded it, a rustle in the bushes was heard that snapped her out of her thoughts. The young Eevee whips around and faces the source, asking who it was.

Out popped a Squirtle with sunglasses on, asking if she was "the Calming Eevee", to which she asked, "Who's asking?"

"Woah, woah," he said with his paws up to show no harm is intended. "I just wanted to get to know you." This caught her attention, and he noticed. He slowly lowered them and asked for her name, which she told him.

"Well I'm Water Gun," he said proudly. She smiled at the name and when she asked why that was his name, as she thought it was a bit funny that a different Pokemon's move was his name, he said it's because "it sounds cool".They continue chatting for a few hours until he said he has to head home. They then say their farewells and part ways for the night. They continue to hang out for almost a week.

One morning, closing in on a full week of being friends, Gia waited for her friend in their usual hangout spot. After a bit of waiting he finally arrived and looked panicked. She asked what was going on and he explained.

"So basically, there's this Gengar causing mischief in a nearby town and I was wondering, since we're friends and all, maybe you would mind calming him down with your powers," he explained. Gia asked how long the Gengar had been doing it and he mumbled "close to a week". This made the Eevee mad.

"So what you're saying is that you only wanted to be my friend because you thought it'd be easier to get me to do that stuff since we're friends?" She asked angrily. Water Gun responds with a "Well yes, but-" before being cut off by Gia, who said that after she takes care of the Gengar they're done. Realizing what he's done, he sadly agrees.

It took less than an hour to get there, but the entire time three main things happened: no one talked, Water Gun walked a noticable distance away from Gia, and Gia clearly wished that they could've just skipped to this part. Once they did arrive, Gia started wishing that even more.

The Gengar had caused much more chaos than she thought. People were taking the smallest steps she'd ever seen, making sure not to hit or bump into anyone or anything. Except for one guy, a red head, who kept walking into rakes and grumbling, only to repeat the process a few seconds later in a different direction. Gia actually found that curse to be a bit funny, although she knew he probably didn't deserve it. She continued looking for the Gengar.

"Boo," someone softly said behind her and someone else screamed exclaiming, "IT'S THE GENGAR!" They were about to say run when someone pointed her out, which replaced the fear with confusion.

She turned around to face them and told them that she just wants to get this done and over with, to which they ask why. They go back and forth for a bit, with her starting to get stressed about everything going on. The Gengar and a nearby trainer both caught a whiff and calmed down.

"Fine, I'll stop," they said in what would've been a grumble if it weren't for the serotonin and snapped their fingers, making everything go back to normal. Just as people started to get upset, the trainer that caught a whiff pointed out her powers and directed their attention to her and started bombarding her with questions and requests for her to use her powers on others.

As if Arceus wasn't happy with how stressful things already were for her, someone called up the local news station and told them about her. An 1110 News van pulled up near her and out came a reporter and cameraman.

"This is Katie live at the scene where some are now calling "the Talking Eevee" "the Calming Eevee". Do you care to explain your powers?" Katie asked as she bent down to her level. Gia asked who she was with and Katie explained that she's a part of 1110 News, "a group of 11 reporters who tell the news at 10, mornings and nights". Gia was still confused but decided to answer the question instead, saying that her body releases an aura of serotonin and she's able to control by sending it towards a target. Katie considered this "interesting". Before anymore questions could be asked, Water Gun helped her escape the interview, which Katie, after noticing she was gone, decided to just end it there and said "Back to you Jim."

Gia, after catching her breath, asks what he was doing. The Squirtle, no longer wearing his trademark glasses but rather holding them, explained that he realized he did wrong and wasn't expecting forgiveness but was hoping they could start over. After some thinking, Gia agreed. They reintroduced themselves and chatted about random things as they walked back into the forest.

Thanks for reading, everyone who did. There's a few references near the end, but I'm only expecting you guys to figure out one of them without having to look anything up. As with Elan, Water Gun will also be playing a bigger role in future stories. There'll be one one more intro story and then one where they all meet up together so stay tuned.

[mendelpalace]

Various Artists - Ambient 4: Isolationism

KK Null & Jim Plotkin - Lost (Held Under)

Jim O'Rourke - Flat Without A Back

Ice - The Dredger

Raoul Björkenheim - Strangers

Zoviet*France - Daisy Gun

Labradford - Air Lubricated Free Axis Trainer

Techno Animal - Self Strangulation

Paul Schütze - Hallucinations (In Memory Of Reinaldo Arenas)

Scorn - Silver Rain Fell (Deep Water Mix)

Disco Inferno - Lost In Fog

Total - Six

Nijiumu - Once Again I Cast Myself Into The Flames Of Atonement

Aphex Twin - Aphex Airlines

AMM - Vandoevre

Seefeel - Lief

'O'Rang - Little Sister

E.A.R. - Hydroponic

Sufi - Desert Flower

David Toop / Max Eastley - Burial Rites (Phosphorescent Mix)

Main - Crater Scar (Adrenochrome)

Final - Hide

Lull - Thoughts

Thomas Köner - Kanon (Part One: Brohuk)

A 1994 studio album of new material by various ambient artists released on the Virgin Records label, part of its Ambient series. Notably, this compilation had a major impact on Matt Morgan's soundtrack for the original Fallout, with several tracks from the game resembling songs featured on Isolationism (along with a few from Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works, Vol.2).

[promptcontainmentzone]

FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS SENTENCE STARTERS. warnings for: guns, violence, death, murder.

What in the goddamn…?

Let's keep this in the groove, hey? Smooth moves, like smooth little babies...

Baby, the odds may look long, but that's just because we ain't done rigging them. I won't toss the dice until we are.

Look, I ain't a harbor for illusions. I ain't expecting to get out of this shin-dig alive.

Can you spell detention? I'll tell you how I spell it: DEATHtention.

You are in the LIBRARY. Be quiet here and filled with SHHHHH.

I am lord of this institution. Where once, long ago, I was a student here. Now, I am its OMNIPOTENT GOD-PRINCIPAL.

______, you're about to have your FAVORITE treat - a VISITOR. Won't that be nice? DON'T eat the visitor, boy. Don't. Please.

What YOU ask is of NULL importance! _____ besieges us, there are more important things to worry about than DATA and FACTS!

ENOUGH! Stop filling my precious brain cell units with irrelevant data!

And… I wonder why it didn't hit me before, until I saw that memory in your hands.

How gracious of you. A mannerly killing.

Can't have brains moving around of their own volition.

In short: Brains, a heart, and courage... spine. I think there was a story once where a band of murderous thugs sought these things.

The ghosts aren't real? That changes everything.

Baby, this little reunion of ours? Chalk me up as a no-show.

I'm familiar with the care and handling of explosives.

How hard can it be? Just light them and throw.

I'd love to debate you on this, but there's no time.

No way. I'm not going to torch myself for your amusement.

It would be pretty funny, wouldn't it? Oh, don't look at me that way. I'm sure you'll be fine.

_____ is dead - what a mess you've made!

There will be no repeat of the trouble we had last time, I trust?

Even now? On the brink of battle?

You'll need a disguise, then. Or overwhelming firepower. Whatever works.

You must be, like… a brain in a jar!

Frontal assaults on casinos? Not good for business.

You have an interest in this even if you're too stupid to know it. If you have an interest in breathing, you have an interest in this.

They have no idea what other cards I'm holding. It's a strong hand, believe me - I dealt it to myself.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It'd be like them to keep paperwork.

I don't have friends here.

We'll kill more with two of us.

You only trust strangers?

Besides. I was on break when it happened.

I want you to find something out for me. I don't know if there's anything to find, but I need someone to try.

Gonna be hard covering you when I can't move my legs.

Goddamn it! Don't sneak up on me like that. What do you want?

Let me aim that for you next time.

You're hiding something. Spit it out. You owe me.

You got no right asking me that. Drop it.

It's just something I'm not ready to discuss. With you or anybody.

That part of my life is over now. So is this discussion.

Must've been one hell of a miscommunication.

Yeah, well. That's how they wrote it up in the report.

Life has a way of punishing you for the mistakes you make. Big enough mistake, punishment can take a while.

You're like a switchblade stuck on flick.

Shhhh… we're hunting shitheads.

All this planning won't matter much when the bullets fly, anyway.

No sense trying to hold the past between your fingers when it's nothing but dirt.

That fucking monument outside?

Started? Took to it like a fish to water... well, if you know what a fish is.

What the hell is a fish?

They're like birds, except they stay underwater.

Anyway, I've seen pictures. One guy even had one above his bar in Redding, except it was made of Pre-War plastic.

Greetings, _____. The disappointment you are about to experience delights me.

Can I order room service?

Am I punching too much? I get carried away.

You mean like this melee weapon right here in my hand at this very second?

Are you talking to me, or a future _____ who is not already doing that?

He always does what he feels is right. Usually that's a great quality.

Sure, I left them. But that didn't mean I'd ever be free of them.

We always make enemies, never allies.

Hold on. I see something I want to punch.

But at least I got the chance to try. At least I know for sure that there was nothing I could do.

Wow, _____ is looking for you, huh? What do you think he wants? Bowling partner?

But… you don't have a "this is good news" expression on your face.

Well, welcome, then. I'm _____. I live in a hole in the ground.

Well that shouldn't be a problem for me. I can't afford anything like that.

I've heard they shoot lasers from their eyes.

I just kind of drift from place to place.

I'll be honest. You're the first person I've run across out here that looks like she can really handle herself.

Aw, you really know how to make a girl feel like a stray cat.

He was dead when I got there.

This better not be about the meaning of life.

Damn, son, you look like ten miles of bad road.

Are you following me?

I saved your life so I kinda feel responsible for you is all.

I'll let that slide seeing how you gotta mind full of vengeance for that no-good polecat and all.

Yup, but this is getting a might embarrassing - people are going to start to talk.

That's a puzzle, all right. I'm sure it's nothing.

What in tarnation was you thinkin'?

I'll thank you not to touch my plunder.

Meaner than a rattlesnake, ain't ya?

To the Bone Orchard you go!

Seems they made like a ghost.

Won't help you none to lay low.

The Boss is pretty clear on this. I can't let you in unless you're by your lonesome.

You did a super job wrapping things up! And I'm not just saying that because I have to!

Here's a print-out with some additional information!

What? Did you expect me to applaud your efforts to support a deranged warlord?

That wig is going to haunt my nightmares. Seriously.

That one… had a little kick to it. The poisonous kind of kick.

Ahh, that feels better. I might not die for a while yet.

Am I dead? Is this Heaven? Oh. Hi _____. Guess not.

Will the medical wonders of the post-apocalyptic world never cease?

Back to the tomb, I suppose. If you need me, et cetera.

Strange how dead bodies appear wherever you go.

As the old saying goes, two's company, but three's a small army. Okay, I'm paraphrasing a bit, but you get the idea.

Wait, wait, wait a second. What's going on? Am I playing Vergil to your Dante?

I've woken up worse places. Not many, though.

That's sounding dangerously close to a plan, _____.

Alrighty then, I'll just head out. Alone. By myself. Into the dangerous wastes.

If I buy it out there, I want twelve mariachi bands playing at my funeral. A medal might be nice, too.

I'm not exactly a mercenary, but taking out scumbags of this magnitude wouldn't cause me to lose any sleep.

Why don't you make like Odysseus and get lost?

For as lack of adornment is said to become some women, so will this place, without your presence, bring delight.

I've run out of witty ways to tell you to leave, so why don't you just go?

[heartfullofleeches]

Totally Obsessed

Babe- put the brick down we're in public~ ♡

A silly little yan blurb. Hope you enjoy. [G.N as always. Mentions of violence]

-

You're definitely obsessed with them.

They could tell from the start. Why else would you be staring at them with such an intensive gaze whenever they snuck a peek in your direction. Undressing them with those pretty eyes. Tearing them apart in your mind. You wanted them just as badly as they needed you. You're just a little shy - but that's okay. Since you're too nervous to approach and they get excited from just the thought of talking to you, your dear spouse found another way to cut corners in your relationship.

"Here we are on our date from yesterday. We haven't gotten to labels yet, but I can tell they can't get enough of me."

Their friends congratulate them on the catch. What luck they had seeing you at that cafe the other day. With a quick purchase and the right angle it looked like you two were meant to be - if one partner was obvious to the other's approach. For months they've managed to successfully convince everyone in their friend group and a few peers you're an item. Not exactly dating, but testing the waters. Though you're already married by their diary's standards, they can't have you getting suspicious of their plan until there's so much buzz you have no choice but to date them.

"Hey, isn't that them?"

All heads turn in the direction of the approaching figure. You're gunning straight for them; that meek persona of yours cast at bay. Your eyes remain forward instead of darting away like in the past; lips tight with unreadable expression. Your pin pricked pupils were enough to tell something was off, but they just didn't seem to care.

"Baby?"

Blood runs to their ears, heart thumping like a drum. Could this finally be the day? The second that word leaves their mouth your slow stride becomes a mixture sprint. Your shoes smack loudly against the pavement as you pick up speed. Your dominant arm hangs awkwardly to the sight from an unseen weight. How had they not noticed you carrying the-

Crack.

That's the sound their head makes as it hits the ground. Their consciousnesses spiral into a state of clarity and borderline comatose; the screams around them doing null for their aching head. Their cheek was split inside and out. One cut from your weapon and the other their own teeth. As their vision stabilizes they look up to see you dropping the bloody brick.

"Stay the hell away from me!"

Their friends are two stunned to stop you as you run away - shy as always. You must be so embarrassed from them flaunting your relationship like that. They help them off the ground and begin to check the severity of their injuries as they watch your fleeting figure disappear around the corner. The full extent of their mental state is realized when they snatch the phone from their friend's hand.

Yup. Totally obsessed.

[three-blogs-in-a-trenchcoat]

Oh wow, I've been tagged in a tag game! Thank you @confusedspaceotter for the tag!

Last song: God Is in the House by Nick Cage & The Bad Seeds (which by the way features the line "lesbian counterattacks")

Currently watching: Elementary (plus very slowly progressing with my Buffy rewatch)

Three ships: Willow/Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Harley/Ivy from DC material, mostly from the Harley Quinn animated show; and uh... I'm not really a shipping person, and I think I have high standards for what I would call a "ship" of mine. The last ship I read a fic for that wasn't Wiffy was Avatrice (Warrior Nun)

Favorite color: I don't really have one; I'd probably say red if someone put a gun to my head

Currently consuming: what am I supposed to say here? @confusedspaceotter said water, which I am drinking right now, and also consume a lot, so I guess water?

First ship: Harlivy was the first couple I shipped when I had the vocabulary. Before that I really liked Amy/Jake from Brooklyn Nine Nine, but I didn't know what shipping was at the time

Relationship status: null

Last movie: Wicked Little Letters

Currently working on: uh... I'm writing a Master's thesis, and co-authoring a paper on an entirely different topic; plus months ago I started writing a fic that I've been meaning to get back to

I'm tagging @starless-ash, @whateverthebeeswant, @ante--meridiem, @dramatic-dolphin, @dontwarnthetadpoles, @moistglutealcleft, @demigirlboss2girlrotboogaloo, @ana-actually, and @annadeedee.

If you wanna participate, fill in your answers, and tag nine (or however many, I'm not your mother) blogs you wanna get to know better!

[cursedseabunny]

AU Time

Oh yeah Angler!Myer is available to attack over on artfight. Just under Myer's character.

anyways new AU time: welcome to: Under the FrostedWater

Angler!Myer facts: Canonically trans, but no top surgery/scars (Only female Angler fish have the lure and well known angler look, so whenever I make a male with the angler design, they instantly get hit with the trans beam, even if they aren't normally trans) instead of a shotgun, he has a harpoon gun (while Myer's new fancy harpoon gun is slow- it's deadly, get hit in the wrong place, you're dead. Live from a shot? the harpoon just brings you to him and he'll kill you himself) same scars, still from a fight with Celsius f a s t

Fritz is an octopus with his new form being heavily based off his Siren form from Pirate!Verse (A Splatoon version of Fritz would be an Octoling because of this, fun fact)

Holly is kinda like a Vaporeon with a neck fin like a Vaporeon, probably gonna give her lilypad elements

Flytrap looks like itself with flippers on it's feet instead of socks until it pops... To which it becomes a mini Leviathan that can swim at high speeds

Discontent is in diving gear with their mask on still, not much different cause they're a masked/mimic lol

Celsius is probably gonna be a narwhal-

Gravity has a shark tail, can swim... somehow... (her design's gonna be fun)

Horace is a catfish- I'm so original chat-

Prince is a mershark now- her lore is different: The planet flooded and her parents escaped but Prince got stuck, her ghost developed into a mershark to be more menacing to intruders. she still has a nutcracker vessel that is still small but now it's shark based, but she doesn't use it as much

Bun has sea bunny elements now (gee who would've guessed lol) with a "tail" to help her swim fast

Matthew has squid elements with water boosters on his shoes to help Domino [tbd] Light has Jellyfish elements, his suit glows faintly as well as a stun feature

Being hit in the back with an oxygen tank instantly kills-

the ship lands on an iceberg

The cold damage employees normally take is nulled due to the water suit upgrades

it's hard to stay completely still so some nutcrackers (cough cough Myer-cough cough) are extra dangerous

-Celsius can only see sudden movement, Myer can see slight movement, if an employee is simply drifting, neither of them can see said employee, but slight hand movements to orientate themselves would get them caught by Myer, not Celsius

[spaceintruderdetector]

Ambient 4: Isolationism (compilation)

KK Null & Jim Plotkin - Lost (Held Under) Jim O'Rourke - Flat Without A Back Ice - The Dredger Raoul Björkenheim - Strangers :Zoviet*France:* - Daisy Gun Labradford - Air Lubricated Free Axis Trainer Techno Animal - Self Strangulation Paul Schütze - Hallucinations (In Memory Of Reinaldo Arenas) Scorn - Silver Rain Fell (Deep Water Mix) Disco Inferno - Lost In Fog Total - Six Nijiumu - Once Again I Cast Myself Into The Flames Of Atonement Aphex Twin - Aphex Airlines AMM - Vandoevre Seefeel - Lief 'O'Rang - Little Sister E.A.R. - Hydroponic Sufi - Desert Flower David Toop / Max Eastley - Burial Rites (Phosphorescent Mix) Main - Crater Scar (Adrenochrome) Final - Hide Lull - Thoughts Thomas Köner - Kanon (Part One: Brohuk)

[profanepurity]

So Lucifer's favorite is Primo. Terzo is Asmodeus' favorite. Do other Demon Lords consider Secondo or Copia their favorite?

Oh, very good question! You guys are going to get more design peaks and small name changes for the Lords with this one! (and a lore dump oops)

Secondo and Beelzebub actually see eye to eye on quite a few things. You would think two very similar, powerful men- stubborn, cold, and bitter powerful men I might add- would clash. However, they actually get along quite well. Secondo always provides exceptional offerings and has proven himself to be a worthy devotee and prophet, so much so that Beelzebub has even invited Secondo out to drink with him on several occasions. (They both made a freind you guys this a big accomplishment for both them.)

Beelzebub even offered to personally oversee Bellamy's education when she is older. To the church he may be a bishop, or a terrifying king of Hell, but in some circles he is known as "Reverend Professor Avarice". Many of the siblings, like Sister Natalie, can attest to how good of a teacher he is.

Copia on the other hand is a bit of a special case, since he gets baby privileges with the fact that many of the demons want to be close to him for one reason or another. But Saltarian and Imperator have Copia so locked down that Satanas even has to "put effort" into reaching out to him. This has deterred a lot of demons from working with our rat boy unfortunately...

except for Belial...

Belial is a wicked and cruel king. There are very few members within the church that are willing to work with him, simply because of how dark his energy is. (Something to note, Belial is very good at spotting witches, keep that in mind for later). His name roughly translates to "Godless", "worthless", "evil" and you feel that when you are in the presence of Lucifer's second. "Father Null" on the other hand is a very sweet young man, but is simply a lowly priest, often over looked and often dismissed. As Copia gets older, that is perhaps what draws him to Father Null and the darkness of Belial. Copia just wants companionship in the shadows from someone who's like him, over looked and dismissible.

If you look back at my post about Copia's "dedication", you can see a very old sketch of Belial in the background. Many of you caught on to how pissed he looked lol. Lilith actually ended up telling the other Lords what the church had done a few years after Copia had been born. Many of the Lords had been "out" for one reason or another, so when they'd returned they had done so excitedly, expecting to come back to two of their partners and a baby. Instead, Lilith looked more pale and ill than the day they had found her in that cave. She could barely describe what had happened without breaking into sobs. Lucifer was like a wounded animal being forced to perform as "Bishop Stell", giving sermon after sermon for the church while Saltarian practically held him at "gun point" to do so. It would not matter how many people spontaneously combusted into fire in the pews, how black the water became, how many swarms of locusts and toads covered the church, Lucifer could do nothing for Copia. He could only drag his bloody claws against Imperator's door at night, whispering all the things he as going to do to her in Hell (Oh I have a comic idea for that later hehe).

So you can imagine just how livid Belial was to come back to this. He only regretted not spending more time comforting Lilith initially. After she told him where Copia was, Belial took Lilith's head in both of his slightly shaking claws and kissed her in silence. He only broke it once her breathing had evened, and he watched her until she looked up at him. Belial was a sadistic fucker that rarely took anything seriously. His humor is a reflection of just how black his heart is.

But he has never looked more concerned and angry than in that moment in quite a long time. He looked at Lilith's face, which Belial adored, even as it was stricken by grief and anxiety. He had pressed his forehead to hers.

"Baby, can I leave you alone for a little bit?"

The Unholy Mother said yes, but she wanted him to come back with Lucifer. She was scared for him, terrified of Lucifer tearing himself apart trying to get them to release Copia.

Of course, Belial promised her everything would be fine.

He killed 36 monks who were under Nihil on his way to the nursery, one for each month Copia had been kept from his mother at that point. He left their bodies piled in the hall of Imperator's office, practically trapping her inside with corpses draped in red, cotton robes and sparkling grucifixes in front of her door.

When "Father Null" entered the nursery, he saw Copia playing on the ground, alone, with a couple rats who he was sharing his food with. In that moment, all the vile, sick intentions of the wicked king dissolved. All he saw when he looked at Copia was two of the loves of his life. He saw Lilith's eyes and Lucifer's smile in little Copia, who barely even noticed the priest had walked in. Null sat with Copia for a little while as a gentle priest, watching Copia play with his tail that he decided to unmask. Copia thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Before Belial returned to Lilith, he came into Bishop Stell's office to do as he promised. He approached Lucifer slowly and knelt before his king at his chair. Belial pulled both his beloved's hands away from his work, and kissed each of his damaged fingers. Lucifer didn't say a word as he looked at his lover, covered in the blood of traitors. Then he saw Belial smile at him. The evil demon, with such pure and warm affection, told Lucifer that their child was beautiful. He promised he would remain in the church for the entirety of Copia's childhood to ensure their child would be looked after in the shadows. Belial was seen as worthless and wicked in heaven and on earth, but Lucifer, the perfect being, has always looked at him with weakness and adoration. For that, Belial would be eternally devoted.

"I know you're angry, but you're scaring her."

Belial had whispered that against his head, and that was all it took for Lucifer to finally break down into sobs- that he'd been suppressing for three years- into Belial's arms.

Lilith felt like she could breath again when she saw Lucifer walk in behind Belial, hardly hearing him apologize to her as she pulled both the fallen angels closer to her and the other kings.

Copia has no idea how loved he is.

[lovelytayforce]

The Amusing Novelty Of Photography - Chapter 2: Rush of Rain

Dot found herself moving before she could think her plan through. She pulled herself up and dashed upwards on what felt similar to the steepest hill she had ever hiked up! Her Ion blaster dangled and swung wildly at her side until she took it into her hand and didn’t hesitate to warm it up. “Megatron,” It was scorching, even the mist below that formed between their firepower seemed to slowly turn into a sauna between two hot-blooded machines. “I need you to trust me and move to the left.” She could almost hear his audible “What?” echo from below in her earpiece. Her brown eyes shimmered in the direct beam of the sun as she watched Starscream’s signature null ray attempt to outshine their own planet’s star above before she took a shot at Soundwave’s head. “Just trust me.” There was no moment of hesitation in those harsh few seconds as the smoke of her overworked blaster was blown to the wayside as Megatron made a feign of attack before backing away. Before the null ray could even flash their way, Soundwave’s optics met her eyes. It was strange being seen by him, noticed to the point of looking between each other’s souls. She could see even with his visor there was nothing there but unbridled rage, hurt, and something so recognizably human, that it almost pained her to keep gazing into them. Wistfulness. Her finger clicked on the trigger and she silently wondered what he witnessed within her eyes. Did he also feel as if they had connected, or was he too blinded by his pain to see who and what she was. ‘Because I saw the living being that you are…’ Dot thought. ‘Dr. Meridian was wrong…’ The shot missed his head by mere seconds, and the null ray caused a huge explosion of water and electronics in the area to spring to life only to stop in a frozen state. Dot stood up, never looking away from the blue mech as Megatron looked back up into the sky, putting the dots together for the eventual assassination attempt. “Which means you can’t use your signature move.” It was a risky but smart plan if Megatron had been alone, nullifying them all on equal terms with a two-on-one. The failure of their plan rained upon them. The sound that was usually comforting was eerie around the anger-induced smoke that spilled from Soundwave’s vents. Despite that, he kept pushing his frame to make noise even if it rattled his frame painfully as he kept staring holes into her person. Megatron for once, did not exist in his peripheral vision. It was just Dot and Soundwave. Her hands shook as she watched him, no one seemed to know what to do. It all depended on how he reacted. Through rain and smoke, Soundwave lifted his right servo, his sharp digits pointed toward her and she could see the shine of Megatron’s bright red optics reflected in the metal of them. They were in the form of a gun. Skywarp teleported in shortly and that was when Megatron moved. The sound of jet engines blasting off in the distance was loud. Soundwave made a gesture of shooting her with that servo of his and before Megatron could properly shoot at them. They disappeared. The rain stopped. And all the soldiers' guns slowly fell to the wayside to cool off for the day. Okay, cool,

And like that

We really mean it this time

I guarantee another era is upon us

~ Link for the full story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52059640/chapters/131659042

[cryptidwriterdotcom]

More fighter izuku scenes in no particular order, and from several in progress pieces I'm working on for the AU.

Typical warnings for fighting, underaged drinking/substance use, classism, systematic discrimination, implied child death

Bonus headshot I did of Izuku

He's still running with the neighborhood. They all learn the same way, brawling in the streets. They tussle like feral cats, hissing and spitting, it is graceless and dirty. But they'll never survive by playing fair in a world where the odds are stacked against them. The neighborhood teens celebrate his return to fighting by setting dumpsters on fire. They all get their favorite snacks and eat in the empty parking lot next to Suzuki's corner store afterwards, and then someone mentions they have fire crackers, and suddenly they're running through the streets outside the neighborhood chucking fire at each other. Izuku finds himself howling in joy, surrounded by the hyena calls of his fellow compatriots and co-conspirators. His boys are right there beside him, grinning and celebrating with just as much joy as him. It ends in a big brawl and a bonfire, and Izuku knows deeper than ever that he wouldn't trade this for the world. Maybe that's selfish of him, but he finds he doesn't care.

---

Let it be on record that Izuku isn't nice, but he cares. His boys will say he's kind. Ms. Tamayo will say he's a hellion of a kid, but he's dependable. Mr. Shin will say Izuku is a protector at heart who rages for the people against discrimination. Izuku belongs to a neighborhood born of ash and dirt and blood, he is stained with the same colors as them. The neighbors will say he is another lost kid they welcomed home with open arms. Grandmama Yumi will say he helped fill her kitchen with children she could pass on her recipes to. Kids will say he tutors them because their teachers failed them, that he taught them to fight so they might survive longer than him. Izuku is going to do whatever it takes so that maybe one day the neighborhood will no longer hang too large shoes that should still be on small feet. Will no longer have to hold candlelight vigils for children the rest of the world forgot. He doesn't want them to turn out like him, broken and burning and raw. He may not have been born here, but he's welcomed home just the same. The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb after all.

---

Izuku gets 1312 tattooed on his collarbone after his second arrest leaves him more pissed off and burning brighter than ever. Eraserhead and Tsukauchi have no right to tell him he's at fault, that he should be a kid, that he can't be on his own. Tell him he shouldn't have fought Katsuki because now his career is potentially at risk. Please, tell him what fucking career outside the pits will welcome anyone who looks like him. Maybe in America, but not in Japan where his appearance generally makes him taboo. That's if they look past the damning “NULL” stamped in big red letters on his ID. The quirkless teenager is not a vessel for their good intent. He's a stray dog on the streets, an aggressive one at that who snaps and snarls at the people who aren't his. A broken bottle boy with a sharp tongue and sharper teeth and even sharper edges. Izuku is the supernova and the storm, lightning blood and fire rage. Dripping with the venom ichor of some angry-bitter thing inhabiting a hollowed out body. Those with quirks seem quick to forget that. They see his display and tell him he needs to apologize for having been made this way by their hands, for not simply laying down and dying. Admonish him for being angry and throwing stones at a regime with guns and ammunition and bombs. Then blame him for ever having existed at all. He and his boys have a party, and it is raw and burning. The angry, dead, and destitute neighborhood teens join them in drinking and smashing glass bottles and brawling under the light of street lamps. Tempers flare and grudges are dealt with on the asphalt. They snarl and fight like the street dogs they are, burned baked raw. They take their anger out on each other and leave the remaining rage behind in the ring. They decorate each other with bruises and blood, roll in the glass shards and grin all the while. (Ken isn't thrilled about sewing them up and pulling glass shards out of them later but the underground doctor understands. They did the same shit after all.)

---

“From what Inko was saying, Izuku has been out on the streets since he was thirteen. He was fighting before that. He's had to fight his entire life brat, it just seems he finally caught fire.” Katsuki thinks back to every sign of smoke he's ever brushed off when it comes to Deku and disagrees. “No. He's always been burning, we all just ignored it.” His mother sighs, far more solemn than he expected she could be. An unusually gentle hand just rests on his head, carding through blond locks softly. It's jarring. “Listen kiddo, you and Izuku come by it honestly. Fire is your birthright, you just manifest it differently. Your grandmother and I are the exact same way as you, the blaze that draws attention. The fire in city limits, “Inko and Izuku are far more dangerous. The fire unnoticed until it's far too late, theirs is a back draft. Calm in appearance until they explode.”

[psystirene]

Scugs in space becauseeee I love No Man's Sky and I love Rain World and I love crossovers :)

This is rough concept art but I wanted to post it, concepts for Rivulet and Spearmaster's space suits. Infodump under the cut 😏

So in this setting, the slugcats (anthro) would be travelers. For the non-NMS knowers in the world, my understanding of travelers is that they are non-standard sapient creatures from alternative universes or timelines, who's main goal is to travel and explore the world. Most travelers you meet are either players or just holograms. In this case, the slugcats would all come from the same original universe, though maybe different timelines.

The iterators also exist, but they live inside of the ships the slugcats arrived in, which for consistency, would be freighters (read: huge carrier ships). The freighters would essentially act as the iterators' cans, and the iterators would manage fleet jobs, the freighter's travels, as well as basically everything in the freighter's ecosystem. They can also be contacted when off-ship using holographic comms (Riv often talks to Moon at the slightest occasion smirks)

For Riv and Spearmaster specifically, they are part of different crews. For simplicity's sake, the canon scugs are split up into the Looks to the Moon freighter crew, and the Five Pebbles crew.

LttM has Rivulet, Hunter, Monk, Survivor Five Pebbles has Gourmand, Spearmaster, Artificer, Nightcat

Saint works alone, in a more traditional traveler sense. Enot is a "hologram" of a traveler, who routinely harasses Saint's comms and pesters him to meet up with them. Kind of like Artemis, Apollo and -null- in NMS if you're familiar :)

Rivulet's suit still needs to be adequate for space travel, but is considerably lighter and thinner than average. Riv's suit is made to allow for agility in both land and water, as to them their best defense is their ability to dodge oncoming attacks. They also just don't like feeling slogged down by thicker and heavier suits. Suit comes with retractable flippers btw :)

Spearmaster has a more standard armored suit, pretty old-school, still agile but less-so than Rivulet. They have two life support tubes connected to their tail, and a personal shield over most of it, to still allow for use of their spears. While Spearmaster has a standard multi-tool (which is basically a turbo gun), they still have a preference for using their spears.

Sorry for the poorly organized infodump uhmm i'm silly. More to come hopefully <3

[butch-lesbian-marshadow]

Jaya in the Sea of Stars

Jaya had never really gotten what it would be like, up here, in the stars. She followed the instructions from Star-Camp to slow her rotation and stop her from passing out or throwing up, but her suit's fuel was low: only enough for a slight, gentle push.

"You're so beautiful, my king," It was a fleeting thought, said only to the glorious Mondiary Dwarf star and the wavy locks of auroras that danced at the poles of her homeworld, just above her polar homeland.

Her shattered shuttle was difficult to see now. The bodies of her comrades were, too. It's not like the boat races back home: no one can turn around for you now, Jaya. She did better than her shuttlemates had with their Null-Hysteria, but she could still feel it already settle in: the loneliness and the sudden absence of connection, made worse by the bodies of her old schoolmates all cast away from their boarding shuttle.

Focus, Jaya. Focus, Jaya. Focus, Jaya. Focus, Jaya. Focus, Jaya. Focus, Jaya. Focus, Jaya. Seven Mantras mouthed in the dwindling oxygen of her suit, like the Star-Camp Chaplain had taught her. Jaya turned her limited gaze towards the streaks of light launching from her Bare Witch Mountain Carrier. Streaks of light by the hundreds, or thousands. She watched the trails of drive engines spill out from her homeworld by the thousands. So many thousands of her planet's children. So many just like her, leaving their home-soil for the first time in their lives, and for most, the first of their families’ to step to the heavens.Jaya's eyes followed the streaks towards their shared destination: a pair of distant Dreadnaughts, fearsome kaiju of the stars, known only by alien names: Evian, Freya. They were Leviathan beasts of ships, that bore guns that could shatter the sky, rifles as long as as the mountains are tall, bullets who could pierce the crust-skin of the beautiful homeworld and spill her mantle-blood across the land: her apocalyptic molten mantle-blood, all across the plains. It was why they all had to take to the shuttle and corvette and fighter and more. To do something, anything, against the conquering titans.

You shouldn't cry up here, too much. The water will stick to your eyes, make it hard to see, Jaya. The stranded cosmina blasted a quick jet of air to blow clean her eyes as she blinked furiously to wick away the water.

Cosmina-379184-Jaya: Estimated Stasis Deadline has approached, and you have not yet executed a recovery operation. Are you planning a special maneuver, or should I notify the Fleetmistress? The Cosmina suit-computer felt oddly comforting, if only because it used her voice.

Jaya knew she wouldn't make it back in time. She knew she had precious little lucid, rational thought left. She just didn't want to be alone. "Call her. I-I am ready to swim, please."

It took only a blink to feel the presence of the Fleetmistress whispering in her mind like a lover coyly murmuring in her ear after waking in bed. "Jaya, your shuttle is gone; I'm sorry." "I won't make it back, I, I don't think I can take it, I don't think I can take it, I don't-" Jaya's feedback is filled with the Fleetmistress's warm and subtle humming. A gentle touch, a reminder. Jaya remembered the old teachings with the last remnants of her mortal lucidity. "Fleetmistress Tiamat, is my unit still alive?" "Those who survived the initial impact have come back to the waters, Jaya." "Return me to the waters, Fleetmistress. I wish to swim, too." " Then nest your mind in my waters, and sink in me, my love."

[estellardreams]

Project Starborn

Probably my one lore piece that I keep in mind constantly. So... Let's get that explanation going, shall we?

Project Starborn is a project derived from Project Shadow, coming a few years after Shadow was captured and put in stasis. During this time, many scientists were assigned to study the ultimate Lifeform and, although not understanding the alien genes (they were never recorded), discovered a strange form of power derived from said genes: Dark Magic.

Scientists began to look into it and the government initiated their secret project: Project Starborn, which was formed to study Mobian magic types at the time. They eventually discovered there were Ten variations; Chaos, Harmony, Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Light, Dark, Corruption, and Psychic.

They documented their research and first put it on the side, knowing that magic did in fact exist and could be regulated. However, one scientist proposed a theory because they came to notice that Chaos Energy was the most common, but what if they could create new prototypes like Shadow?

What if they could weaponize them?

Phase 2 of Project Starborn was brought about, as the government allowed them to go through with genetically engineering mobians with specific magic types to see if they could create a Mobian with one magic type.

At first, their prototypes weren't working. Not because they were dying off, but because chaos energy kept manifesting and making their research null. They had to keep putting to sleep the failed mobians as they kept trying to create the proper prototypes they wanted.

Eventually, they managed a working model by eliminating the ability to generate natural chaos energy completely, and the full creation process began in waves. But chaos energy to Mobians were like energy stabilizers, so without it... They were at a higher risk of dying off from unstable energy inside of them.

And this happened constantly.

There were only three ways they would die: Melting, Devolving, or going Insane.

Melting involved at first their skin dripping off, then shifting to their insides burning up and crumbling inside, causing immediate pain. Bones crumbled and nerves fell out as blood vessels burst, and the brain itself would completely fall to pieces before all that was left was a puddle of bones, flesh, and nerves.

Devolving is caused by the brain caving in on itself, causing the person's body to destabilize and practically turn to dust. And yes, it's literal melting once again as their body begins to cave in on itself, leading to it falling apart as it's own dna breaks apart and only resulting in them becoming dust. But what sometimes happens is that they can explode as their body can't contain the energy anymore, letting dust spill everywhere in their place.

Then Death by Insanity. This one is probably the darkest one as the mobian loses their own mind since they can't control their powers, like they've taken over their body. Many soldiers would drag them out of the lab and into a room as they were screaming and crying, get a gun pressed to their skull, and as the mobian finally had clarity and begged to stay alive... They were shot point blank.

And this project happened over the course of so many years, generating waves of 20 or more mobians each time. They had gone through 1006 prototypes, all varied in magical capabilities, until only three were left... However, only one was truly successful.

The prototypes were V18, S36, and S23. They didn't have names, just letters and numbers assigned to them depending on which wave they came from.

Wave One was A, Wave Two was C, Wave Three was K, Wave Four was P, Wave Five was Q, Wave Six was V, Wave Seven was X, Wave Eight was O, Wave Nine was S, and Wave Ten was T. Those are the only waves that were recorded, but there could be more before or after this.

Now for the trio of experiments that managed to survive; V18 is our first prototype.

Now going by Valenta, V18 was the 37th attempt at a Dark Magic Prototype. They managed to escape the lab one day and had hidden out in the forest. Not much is known about them after that, except they were highly powerful and rather skilled from the training course they made all of the experiments go through.

Next is Sylvia, or originally known as S36, was the 47th attempt at a Light Magic Prototype and the only Successful Version. They were a young kitsune, who showed great promise with their powers and abilities. However, they were such a kind and loving soul that they couldn't be shaped into a warrior no matter how hard they tried. S36 always wanted to heal others, oftentimes sneaking out of the lab to get to the medical room to heal wounded soldiers. Despite always being stopped, they were quite determined to help others and protect them.

But because they couldn't make any progress on a functional bio-weapon, they decided to just let them go as they marked them as the only successful version.

Now the last one, Star, originally S23, was the 25th and final attempt at a Corruption Magic Prototype. Leading up to this, they had continuously tried to make a version of a mobian who could handle such powers. But every single time they had to get killed to keep their soldiers alive, because their own inhibitors kept breaking off as their instability forced them to lash out. Basically, shot dead.

So, S23 was their last attempt at Corruption... And they needed some success. So they chose to keep the tightest leash on them as possible, even if it horrifically traumatized them. They'd often used electrocution for the tiniest of things, and sharing a shred of negative emotion made them resort to white room torture, or sensory deprivation in other words. They were kept in there for hours until they calmed down and stopped freaking out.

Then they went into training and genetic experimentation, where S23 was run through course after course until their skills sharpened so much that they could easily take out advanced weaponry. Their corruption themselves was also heavily altered to become stronger and more advanced, making them able to control it to it's fullest capabilities and able to resist the majority of energy constricting restraints... But with that, the scientists had to keep replacing their inhibitors because they'd constantly break with every change they made to their powers.

This led to their powers being studied to their fullest capacity since they've miraculously managed to remain sane, revealing just how traumatizing they could be when someone was forced underneath their wrath. And it did happen, but the scientists fought so desperately for the soldiers to spare S23 just this once as they promised to force stricter regulations to make them the perfect bio-weapon. And they did, but did study the soldier who was accidentally forced under their power and now suffered severe PTSD because of it.

They did manage to make S23 a success, which was great! So they began to teach her how to work on a battlefield so they'd be as efficient as possible. But every attempt to get them on the field itself rather than coordinate and strategize attacks resulted in mental breakdowns.

This deemed S23 as a failure, and they were about to execute them as well. However, many scientists reasoned they were "safe enough" and with all of their teachings the experiment could live on their own like a normal citizen as long as they were monitored.

After a long debate, the government agreed to let them go... But they did contact Project Shadow to come help S23 adjust to the outside world. Shadow himself was returning from a mission on retrieving a chaos emerald with Rouge and Omega, then was brought over to a lab and met an awfully cheery S23 before leading them out and explaining how the world worked.

And that's how Shadow and Star met for the first time.

Keep in mind: All three Project Starborn experiments never knew what the world appeared like outside. They've been in a cold, metal lab their entire lives with Valenta being the only exception as they had escaped rather early on.

So was Project Starborn a success? Sort of? But what many do know is nothing at all is that this entire atrocity was swept under the rug. Similar to Project Shadow at first, Project Starborn remained unknown until the creations of such an experiment came into the limelight, forcing the government to release some information on the experiments themselves.

And that's it.

[renaissanceclassics]

Pilgrim's Progress: Part 1

Listen to: The Author’s Apology For His Book, at Renaissance Classics Podcast.

WHEN at the first I took my pen in hand

Thus for to write, I did not understand

That I at all should make a little book

In such a mode: nay, I had undertook

To make another; which, when almost done,

Before I was aware I this begun.

And thus it was: I, writing of the way

And race of saints in this our gospel-day,

Fell suddenly into an allegory

About their journey, and the way to glory,

In more than twenty things which I set down

This done, I twenty more had in my crown,

And they again began to multiply,

Like sparks that from the coals of fire do fly.

Nay, then, thought I, if that you breed so fast,

I’ll put you by yourselves, lest you at last

Should prove ad infinitum,

The book that I already am about.

Well, so I did; but yet I did not think

To show to all the world my pen and ink

In such a mode; I only thought to make

I knew not what: nor did I undertake

Thereby to please my neighbor; no, not I;

I did it my own self to gratify.

Neither did I but vacant seasons spend

In this my scribble; nor did I intend

But to divert myself, in doing this,

From worser thoughts, which make me do amiss.

Thus I set pen to paper with delight,

And quickly had my thoughts in black and white;

For having now my method by the end,

Still as I pull’d, it came; and so I penned

It down; until it came at last to be,

For length and breadth, the bigness which you see.

Well, when I had thus put mine ends together

I show’d them others, that I might see whether

They would condemn them, or them justify:

And some said, let them live; some, let them die:

Some said, John, print it; others said, Not so:

Some said, It might do good; others said, No.

Now was I in a strait, and did not see

Which was the best thing to be done by me:

At last I thought, Since ye are thus divided,

I print it will; and so the case decided.

For, thought I, some I see would have it done,

Though others in that channel do not run:

To prove, then, who advised for the best,

Thus I thought fit to put it to the test.

I further thought, if now I did deny

Those that would have it, thus to gratify;

I did not know, but hinder them I might

Of that which would to them be great delight.

For those which were not for its coming forth,

I said to them, Offend you, I am loath;

Yet since your brethren pleased with it be,

Forbear to judge, till you do further see.

If that thou wilt not read, let it alone;

Some love the meat, some love to pick the bone.

Yea, that I might them better palliate,

I did too with them thus expostulate:

May I not write in such a style as this?

In such a method too, and yet not miss

My end-thy good? Why may it not be done?

Dark clouds bring waters, when the bright bring none.

Yea, dark or bright, if they their silver drops

Cause to descend, the earth, by yielding crops,

Gives praise to both, and carpeth not at either,

But treasures up the fruit they yield together;

Yea, so commixes both, that in their fruit

None can distinguish this from that; they suit

Her well when hungry; but if she be full,

She spews out both, and makes their blessing null.

You see the ways the fisherman doth take

To catch the fish; what engines doth he make!

Behold how he engageth all his wits;

Also his snares, lines, angles, hooks, and nets:

Yet fish there be, that neither hook nor line,

Nor snare, nor net, nor engine can make thine:

They must be groped for, and be tickled too,

Or they will not be catch’d, whate’er you do.

How does the fowler seek to catch his game

By divers means! all which one cannot name.

His guns, his nets, his lime-twigs, light and bell:

He creeps, he goes, he stands; yea, who can tell

Of all his postures? yet there’s none of these

Will make him master of what fowls he please.

Yea, he must pipe and whistle, to catch this;

Yet if he does so, that bird he will miss.

If that a pearl may in toad’s head dwell,

And may be found too in an oyster-shell;

If things that promise nothing, do contain

What better is than gold; who will disdain,

That have an inkling2

 of it, there to look,

That they may find it. Now my little book,

(Though void of all these paintings that may make

It with this or the other man to take,)

Is not without those things that do excel

What do in brave but empty notions dwell.

“Well, yet I am not fully satisfied

That this your book will stand, when soundly tried.”

Why, what’s the matter? “It is dark.” What though?

“But it is feigned.” What of that? I trow

Some men by feigned words, as dark as mine,

Make truth to spangle, and its rays to shine.

“But they want solidness.” Speak, man, thy mind.

“They drown the weak; metaphors make us blind.”

Solidity, indeed, becomes the pen

Of him that writeth things divine to men:

But must I needs want solidness, because

By metaphors I speak? Were not God’s laws,

His gospel laws, in olden time held forth

By types, shadows, and metaphors? Yet loth

Will any sober man be to find fault

With them, lest he be found for to assault

The highest wisdom! No, he rather stoops,

And seeks to find out what, by pins and loops,

By calves and sheep, by heifers, and by rams,

By birds and herbs, and by the blood of lambs,

God speaketh to him; and happy is he

That finds the light and grace that in them be.

But not too forward, therefore, to conclude

That I want solidness—that I am rude;

All things solid in show, not solid be;

All things in parable despise not we,

Lest things most hurtful lightly we receive,

And things that good are, of our souls bereave.

My dark and cloudy words they do but hold

The truth, as cabinets inclose the gold.

The prophets used much by metaphors

To set forth truth: yea, who so considers

Christ, his apostles too, shall plainly see,

That truths to this day in such mantles be.

Am I afraid to say, that holy writ,

Which for its style and phrase puts down all wit,

Is everywhere so full of all these things,

Dark figures, allegories? Yet there springs

From that same book, that lustre, and those rays

Of light, that turn our darkest nights to days.

Come, let my carper to his life now look,

And find there darker lines than in my book

He findeth any; yea, and let him know,

That in his best things there are worse lines too.

May we but stand before impartial men,

To his poor one I durst adventure ten,

That they will take my meaning in these lines

Far better than his lies in silver shrines.

Come, truth, although in swaddling-clothes, I find

Informs the judgment, rectifies the mind;

Pleases the understanding, makes the will

Submit, the memory too it doth fill

With what doth our imagination please;

Likewise it tends our troubles to appease.

Sound words, I know, Timothy is to use,

And old wives’ fables he is to refuse;

But yet grave Paul him nowhere doth forbid

The use of parables, in which lay hid

That gold, those pearls, and precious stones that were

Worth digging for, and that with greatest care.

Let me add one word more. O man of God,

Art thou offended? Dost thou wish I had

Put forth my matter in another dress?

Or that I had in things been more express?

Three things let me propound; then I submit

To those that are my betters, as is fit.

1. I find not that I am denied the use

Of this my method, so I no abuse

Put on the words, things, readers, or be rude

In handling figure or similitude,

In application; but all that I may

Seek the advance of truth this or that way.

Denied, did I say? Nay, I have leave,

(Example too, and that from them that have

God better pleased, by their words or ways,

Than any man that breatheth now-a-days,)

Thus to express my mind, thus to declare

Things unto thee that excellentest are.

2. I find that men as high as trees will write

Dialogue-wise; yet no man doth them slight

For writing so. Indeed, if they abuse

Truth, cursed be they, and the craft they use

To that intent; but yet let truth be free

To make her sallies upon thee and me,

Which way it pleases God: for who knows how,

Better than he that taught us first to plough,

To guide our minds and pens for his designs?

And he makes base things usher in divine.

3. I find that holy writ, in many places,

Hath semblance with this method, where the cases

Do call for one thing to set forth another:

Use it I may then, and yet nothing smother

Truth’s golden beams: nay, by this method may

Make it cast forth its rays as light as day.

And now, before I do put up my pen,

I’ll show the profit of my book; and then

Commit both thee and it unto that hand

That pulls the strong down, and makes weak ones stand.

This book it chalketh out before thine eyes

The man that seeks the everlasting prize:

It shows you whence he comes, whither he goes,

What he leaves undone; also what he does:

It also shows you how he runs, and runs,

Till he unto the gate of glory comes.

It shows, too, who set out for life amain,

As if the lasting crown they would obtain;

Here also you may see the reason why

They lose their labor, and like fools do die.

This book will make a traveler of thee,

If by its counsel thou wilt ruled be;

It will direct thee to the Holy Land,

If thou wilt its directions understand

Yea, it will make the slothful active be;

The blind also delightful things to see.

Art thou for something rare and profitable?

Or would’st thou see a truth within a fable?

Art thou forgetful? Wouldest thou remember

From New-Year’s day to the last of December?

Then read my fancies; they will stick like burs,

And may be, to the helpless, comforters.

This book is writ in such a dialect

As may the minds of listless men affect:

It seems a novelty, and yet contains

Nothing but sound and honest gospel strains.

Would’st thou divert thyself from melancholy?

Would’st thou be pleasant, yet be far from folly?

Would’st thou read riddles, and their explanation?

Or else be drowned in thy contemplation?

Dost thou love picking meat? Or would’st thou see

A man i’ the clouds, and hear him speak to thee?

Would’st thou be in a dream, and yet not sleep?

Or would’st thou in a moment laugh and weep?

Would’st thou lose thyself and catch no harm,

And find thyself again without a charm?

Would’st read thyself, and read thou know’st not what,

And yet know whether thou art blest or not,

By reading the same lines? O then come hither,

And lay my book, thy head, and heart together.

JOHN BUNYAN.

[officialleehadan]

Trap Sprung

Secondhand Souls

+++

There was no telling where Breton found the monsters.

They didn’t feel like demons, exactly. Cora was familiar with the sense of Rao when his demon side was close to the surface. He felt decidedly strange as a magic-user went, but his unique edge of too-hot flame was instantly recognizable. The new monsters were almost his opposite. Toweringly huge, Cora could sense them coming form the cool, oily feeling of their magic.

It would help if she had the first clue what they were.

“Here they come!” she yelled and jammed her empty gun back into her holster. Lisette scooped one of the guns off the floor, courtesy of the dead minions Breton had been throwing at them even as Callen tried in vain to get in through his shields. So far, it hadn’t been any good. Whatever magic he was using had managed to resist all of Callen’s efforts, and Cora hadn’t managed to get close enough to Null it out. “Rao!?”

“Here!” Rao bellowed, close to eleven feet tall and gold-skinned. His horns curled up through his short hair, and fire wreathed him. “Let’s go, beastie!”

Trap Sprung

+++

Secondhand Souls:

(un)Confident Invisibility

+

Partnership of Flames

Barroom Brawl

Lox of Trouble

Attack on Blue

Busted Engine

Dragon Curry

Territory Negotiations

Word Salad (Subscriber Only)

Rumble and Roll 

Prophesy Burning

Fly Out (Subscriber Only!)

Waver in the Air

Over Troubled Water

Three Sparks and a Book

Drop Downstairs (Subscriber Only!)

Special Delivery (Subscriber Only!)

Shattered Ward (Subscriber Only!)

Monster in the Next Room

Trap Sprung (Subscriber Only!) (New!)

+++

MASTERLIST

[ofstarsandskies]

🌟🌟 obligatory one for lulu and purple elle too? also feel better soon n_n

🌟 Drop one of my characters’ names in my inbox and I’ll tell you 10 facts about them 🌟 || @mathcs (Thx btw, least hearing's coming back a bit--)

Unlike most, Elle only takes lukewarm baths or showers as to not dry out her skin. There's also probably not a single skincare routine she hasn't tried and/or is currently using.

Throwing knives as her weapon of choice was mainly due to Victor refusing to let her engage in close range, but also not wanting her to face gun recoil. Engraving the cats was her personal touch.

Elle owes at least half her weapon proficiency to Rideaux, her teacher. His comments hurt at times, but she'll say it also toughened her up. And it taught her how to lie to Victor so there wasn't a murder that night.

Elle began eating tomatoes at around the time she turned 13 after she read tomatoes help reduce sunburn risks. She's no enthusiast, but she won't turn down a good pasta margherita anymore.

Sometimes Elle has Victor braid her ponytails for her to relive old times. She notes Victor takes way longer to do it than her Dad, though.

She's considered the nicknames "Elly", "Noelle", "Ella", and "Elliana" to try and combat the Elle Conundrum when hanging out in Star's dimension. Her younger self just calls her "Big Me"/"Big Elle", which works too (for now).

Despite living in such a secluded spot, Elle does have a small social circle she met online. She's had a couple girls nights over at their homes (though she has to keep her phone glued to her every hour in case Victor goes full helicopter parent).

Elle did actually manage to secure the newer Bunnykins doll after the original got busted for its use of poached monsters. She also has other Bunnykins merch like her favorite Bunnykins Pink pen. Jude's seen what evils she's done with that.

Sometimes she'll summon the Spyrite Origin to help practice how to be an older sister to the little Elle. She also asks questions that Victor wouldn't answer under constant torture (like what Direct Tethering is).

Her usual online screen name is "Pinky Promise🌠" as a loving memory to how she promised Victor they'd go to Canaan together. Though they never made it, she considers the promise met since they're still around post-Trial.

I'mma do 50/50 for SMT IV AU and Canon cause you know why lol

For some reason, Lulu has an odd affinity for trying to play with others' GHS screens. Almost makes you think he's used to it...

Getting fat was all Julius' doing. He thought Lulu needed more food since he was underweight as a kitten, and suffice to say it worked out great--

If you asked him where his favorite spot to be pet, he would say his stomach. At his weight, it's hard to reach and lick without some real kitty extortionist magic.

The bell on his collar was added to make sure if he ever sneaks into the food cabinet, of you'll hear him alright. Still manages occasionally, though.

Due to a mixup, Lulu has drank a Life Bottle before. Luckily all it did to him was give him a drug high only the strongest catnip could ever hope to replicate.

Despite hating water like most cats, Lulu is actually a really good swimmer. He's had to learn due to Issachar sometimes tipping their rowboats on accident.

Though Burroughs does embellish this speech, Lulu actually 'talks' pretty sophisticated in cat language. Other cats from Tokyo can't understand his meows very well because of it.

After many an accident zapping himself straight to the River Styx, Lulu has refined his Thunder Reigns to pierce through Null/Reflect. He's also used this to power can openers he finds to open his cat food cans when humans say 'no more'.

Lulu's favorite songs are hardcore metal. If Jude ever played one in the car, he would yowl along with the vocals cause he finds it fun. Not even Burroughs can tell you why he's like this.

Lulu has tried using the Soulstone from Amaterasu to try and make Jude's car a flying racecar. Alas, since tires don't work in the air, they usually stay grounded so they're not locked to a certain speed.