#‘just dodge them’ dodge this eliter shot then

[evanatsuhi]

me when i exclusively play turf war and c rank splat zones and have no idea what i’m talking about

[silhouetteonpaper]

Worth It

Summary: As you find yourself at yet another one of Tony’s parties, dread fills you at the idea of having to socialize. But what happens if you decide to cause some mischief and bend the rules a little? Natasha Romanoff x Reader WC: 1,928 Warnings: Underage drinking, gross men, getting drunk A/N: Sorry for the long pause in my usual uploads! I just got home from a trip and have lots of new stuff saved up ;)

Worth It

Another one of Tony’s world-famous parties waits for you just one floor up. Dreading each and every one of them, you pull yourself from lounging around to get ready for a night of torture. It’s not anything against Tony, you’re just not a fan of big crowds or small talk, especially when it’s with a bunch of snobby elites.

After dragging yourself to your closet, you eventually decide on an outfit. You pick something classy to match Tony’s elegant dress code, yet not too uncomfortable as you know it’ll be a long night. The echoing sound of music from upstairs already streams into your room, making you sigh as you finish getting ready.

Finally, it’s time to face the crowd. Riding the elevator up one floor, you feel your confidence grow underneath the outfit you picked for tonight. Most of the people Tony invites to these parties can’t get enough of the youngest addition to the Avengers, especially when they’re tipsy from whatever drink Tony’s concocting. You walk with stature onto the open floor, smiling as eyes turn to you.

In an attempt to dodge all the turned heads accompanied by uninvited conversation, you walk straight towards Natasha. She stands in the center of the room, greeting you with a grin while clutching her half-empty drink. “No time for small talk, huh?” she questions while leaning in for a hug. You smirk, shaking your head.

“Not with these people,” you respond, eyeing the large crowd that’s finally returned their attention to whatever captivated it before you walked in. You already feel claustrophobic in these circumstances, but choose to take a deep breath and face Natasha in hopes her warmth can calm any discomfort.

“You want a drink? Tony’s at the bar,” Natasha gestures to an inebriated Tony pouring shots. “He’s probably sober enough to make you a mock-tail…” she tilts her head in contemplation. Knowing you’re not of age to drink, Nat of course is on top of keeping you away from any adult beverage, especially at these chaotic parties. The last thing she wants is for the youngest Avenger to get into any trouble.

“I’ll go try my luck.” You joke, leaving the redhead’s side to approach the bar surrounded by strangers. Squeezing your way past the drunk herd, you lean against the counter facing a very not sober Tony.

“Ah, my favorite underage party goer. What can I get’ya?” He asks, downing yet another shot. You wince for him, his own lack of a reaction surprising you.

“Something Natasha wouldn’t approve of.” You respond, stealing a glance back at the unassuming Widow now chatting with Steve. What Natasha doesn’t know won’t hurt her, as long as you keep it on the down low. A little alcohol has ever affected you much, from the few times that the team has let you sip from their drinks or when you’ve snuck out to a friend’s party.

“I knew I liked you,” Tony voices as he pours up a cocktail. Fizzy soda fills the glass; red syrup flooding to the bottom through rising bubbles. The last touch is added, a shot of the same mysterious liquid Tony drank just a moment ago. “Here you go, cheers!” He exclaimed while pushing your glass across the counter.

You nod back in thanks, taking a sip. It’s not a mock-tail, that’s for sure. But on the outside, nothing about it screams ‘kid holding a cocktail’. Walking back over to Nat, Steve shoots you a smile.

“What’cha got there?” He eyes the drink. You quickly come up with a believable lie, not wanting Natasha to find out. It’s not that she cares if you break the law, it’s about protecting your innocence. You understand why she does it, having lost her own so young, but sometimes rebelling like this is healthy for a normal young adult.

“Shirley temple,” you tell him, taking a long sip to prove it’s in fact real. You easily keep a stone-face expression, unaffected by the drink's true nature. He nods, taking a swig of his own drink. The two adults resume their conversation, mentioning something about an extra special guest tonight.

“If I can get a word in with the director, I don’t think we’ll have any issue initiating Project Red and Gold.” Natasha tells Steve, leaving you to awkwardly stand there in silence. You have no clue what she’s referring to, but assume it’s higher level information you don’t need to be aware of.

Suddenly, an older man surrounded by a cohort of other rich snobs strides down the glass stairs, causing Nat to nearly jump. “He’s here! My mouth is dry, damn it-“ she grabs your drink, taking a long chug in preparation to talk with the powerful man. What takes her by surprise is the liquid that burns her throat as she swallows, causing her to shove the glass back in your hands with anger.

“Seriously, alcohol?” She looks back and forth between you and the director, hesitating in walking over to him. “We’ll talk about this later.” Leaving the scolding for another time, she finally jumps into action, pushing her way to the front of the crowd to talk with her target.

Steve raises his eyebrows at you, not in an angry way, but rather letting you know he’s impressed. “She’ll forget about it,” you tell him, stirring your drink awkwardly before taking a sip. He gives you a knowing look, causing you to re-think your words. “No she won’t…”

A few hours and a few drinks later, you find yourself sprawled across the red velvet couch. The party seems to be dying down, a majority of the crowd having left and only close friends and team members still continuing to mingle.

You’re definitely past tipsy territory now, the handful of drinks you indulged in throughout the night are finally getting to you. Maybe it was a bad decision, but after getting busted for one drink, you chose to not look back and have a fun night in case Nat decided to actually kill you.

Now too unbalanced to sit up straight, you lean against the side of the couch as an unfamiliar man with gray hair sits next to you. At first you don’t pay any attention to him, too lost in your own drunken state to care. But eventually you notice him eyeing you up and down, his gaze scanning your entirety.

“What?” You question him out of concern, hoping you didn’t spill something on yourself without realizing. The man laughs, leaning in toward you.

“I’m just admiring the view,” he states with a suggestive smirk. You raise an eyebrow at him, looking to the large glass window behind him.

“You’re facing the wrong way for that.” You explain, unaware of his actual intentions. You find it funny he doesn’t even realize where the window is, but in reality you’re the one getting confused. He laughs again, his hand creeping up to find your leg.

“How about we go find a better place to see it, then?” He asks, settling in closer. You tilt your head, brows raising as you finally realize his offer. In your current state, no red flags were waving; the confidence the alcohol gave you causing you to nod and stand. What more could you lose? But as you stumble towards the hallway alongside the strange man, someone abruptly stands in your way.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Natasha intervenes, grabbing your wrist and pulling you from the older man’s arm. You look back and forth between the two, shrugging as you’re already certain she knows the answer. “Get the hell out of here.” She tells him through gritted teeth.

You laugh as he walks toward the elevators with haste, clearly terrified of your red-headed friend. “You’re drunk, aren’t you?” Nat’s attention is now on you, quickly realizing just how many drinks you’ve had as you use her for balance. With an exasperated sigh, she guides you to a couch, putting you between Steve and Wanda. “I have to go walk the director to his car. Don’t let her do anything stupid.”

As she walks towards the straggling group of party-goers, you giggle. “Oh, she’s mad.” You voice while watching her head out with the director from earlier. Wanda and Steve exchange a knowing glance.

“I hope you’ve enjoyed your last day alive.” Steve teases, seeing just how much you messed this one up. He’s always been okay with you doing normal teenage things, but a part of him definitely sees eye to eye with Nat on this situation.

“Was it worth it?” Wanda asks. She picks up a glass of water from the coffee table and hands it to you. Slowly sipping at the icy cold liquid, you nod.

“I should do this more often.” You reply, a smile creeping up your lips. Regardless of Nat’s demeanor, this party has been your favorite one yet. The abundance of confidence made it easier to socialize and weave within the crowd, something you usually don’t find enjoyable.

“Maybe… we should stick to mock-tails,” Natasha joins in, suddenly emerging from the elevator. “C’mon, it’s bedtime.” She holds out her hand, motioning for you to get up from the couch. You pout, placing the water down to cross your arms.

“I’m not a kid, let me have my fun!” You remark in hopes you can have a little more time out with your friends. The night was far from over, and just because you’re inebriated doesn’t mean it has to end so soon.

Natasha holds her gaze though, her eyes piercing into you with a ‘don’t test me’ look. You know at this rate she’ll work you extra hard in training tomorrow, no matter how hungover you are. So, after considering what’s in store, you stand in a huff and brush past her to your room.

After changing into comfier clothes, you hear a soft knock on your door. “Are you decent?” you hear Natasha’s voice from the hall.

You laugh and crash onto your bed, not bothered enough to crawl under the covers. “Yes, Nat.” She opens the door after your confirmation, holding a glass of water in one hand and some pain medicine in the other.

Placing both down on your nightstand, she then gazes at your current state with a sigh. “C’mon, get under the blankets. You’re going to get cold in the middle of the night,” Nat grabs at your comforter, forcing you to scoot backwards as she pulls the blankets over you.

“Okay, mom.” You roll your eyes and flop back down onto the pillows, eyelids already feeling heavy. She sits on your bed for a moment, smirking as she watches you struggle to stay awake. “What? Are you going to scold me more?” You ask.

She chuckles, patting your arm softly. “I’ll save that for tomorrow, right before we train. Drink plenty of water, you’re going to need it,” she tells you, standing and turning out the small lamp on your bedside table. “Goodnight.”

“Night.” You reply, watching her walk to the door but falling asleep too quickly to even see her leave. You’re too tired to even worry about what’s in store for tomorrow, or how much trouble you're actually in. 

All you care about is that you have someone who actually cares about you, who lets you make these mistakes. Even if it means you have to do extra training, you’re glad you have someone to count on. Someone who understands what it’s like to want to be a normal, troublemaking teenager.

[serena-babes]

So i have this idea about the knights of hell. There can’t be a king and princess without some royal protection. So how do you think the others will react to a Hell Knight Reader? Like reader is like a commander of a group of elite knights. And they came to check up on Charlie and Lucifer! To see if the king and princess are okay after the attack on the hotel.

Brownie points if reader doesn’t smile and are serious all the time! Reader is very dangerous they can and will kill to protect their king and future queen! No romance of course, just platonic relationships. Like Charlie can see reader as an older sibling.

Royal Knight Reader x Lucifer Morningstar + Charlie Morningstar

platonic!˙ᵕ˙✰

Gender neutral!

1.5k

omg! this is too cute! i really love the whole knight idea! ⋆｡°✩ i did some research on the whole knight system and its SUPER interesting!

might make another one shot of a knight reader with my own little twist･°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°.

✧₊⁺⋆.˚꩜⊹ ࣪ ˖˚☽˚.⋆✧₊⁺⋆.˚꩜⊹ ࣪ ˖˚☽˚.⋆✧₊⁺⋆.˚꩜⊹ ࣪ ˖˚☽˚.⋆✧₊⁺⋆.˚꩜⊹ ࣪ ˖˚☽˚.⋆✧₊⁺✧₊⁺

Ever Since Lucifer and Lilith's fall from grace, protection has always been a necessary resource. Y/ns has been there since the beginning pledging allegiance to both the king, queen, and the then young princess serving them for centuries. Y/n and the rest of the knightage fought to make sure to keep hell orderly, or as orderly as hell can get. 

Y/n was much more serious compared to their fellow knights being a Grand Cross comes with its different sets of responsibilities that in their mind “allow for no error.” due to their seemingly frigid exterior outsiders would think Y/n was only following the chivalry code nothing more. But, on the contrary, Y/n did truly care for Morningstars.

This is why Y/n's heart dropped hearing about the extermination coming earlier than expected, it was always busier during this time of year. The number of casualties just from the royal guard was always a hard gap to fill after the massacre was over. But at least, the Morning Stars were spared. This time, however? Y/n wasn't sure everyone was going to come back alive, a direct attack from heaven? Some of their most skilled knights have fallen to the hands of exorcists. How in hell would Charlie ever come out alive? 

But, Y/n takes orders, and Lucifer stops her from interfering. 

“I don't understand why you won't let me do this,” Y/n exclaimed curtly, brows pulled tightly together. The confusion was evident in their tone, their body rigid like a sword. A still silence blankets the room after no response. Y/n, Moving forward through Lucifer's study smoothly dodging various piles of ducks. Continued.

“I am loyal to this family, eternally. And the one chance I am needed…you, tell me to stay?.. Why? She is your daughter. Do you want her blood to spill across the pavement? Because that is what will happen if you let this continue.” Anger started to bubble to the surface as they pointed an accusatory finger at Lucifer.

The silenced followed them 

“You must let me go I have-” Y/n pleading began

“Stop, I order you to stop,” Lucifer said weakly, looking away unsure. It was obvious he was going through his own anxiety and turmoil due to the extermination and the safety of his daughter.

“She has to do this, you.” he looked to Y/n glassy-eyed

“Cannot face heaven” he continued “I don't think anyone here really can… Charlie can hold her own. I mean if anything this could I don't know, um.. steer her away from heaven!” he said, his charismatic exterior seemingly returning to his body.

“Yes…but what do we do if she cannot handle it.” y/n said quietly, mouth pulled into a deep frown.

“Well, who better than me? King of hell! Eh! Eh!” lucifer exclaimed loudly elbowing y/n's rib cage

“This is not a time for humor,” she responded coldly. Lucifer rolled his eyes playfully.

“ Y/n I'm worried about her too, but this is something she needs to do. If I need to I will step in. You have enough to worry about with everybody else looking to you for guidance, have faith in her. So! I order you to stay here!…. Please.” Lucifer exclaimed albeit a little awkwardly since he was not used to giving many orders directly to Y/n's face

Y/n Sighed bending down to kneel “As you wish my king.” 

“Okay okay, you don't have to do all of that! I mean, come on! You're practically family.” Lucifer exclaimed in surprise. 

And so, Y/n trusting Lucifer they went back to their duties. Making preparations for extermination day preoccupied their mind most days. but silently anxiety seeped in. Truthfully, Y/n is terrified of losing Charlie and Lucifer they're the only family they've ever had. Even in life, Y/n wasn't close to anyone as much as they were with the MorningStars, which is why relief flooded Y/n's whole body hearing that both Charlie and Lucifer were safe in the end. After the hotel was rebuilt, they planned a visit to double-check. 

It was your average day at the hotel, Husk was busy cleaning the bar counter with a tattered rag as Angel Dust as well as Vaggie lounged on the couch. Angel, scrolled mindlessly through their phone while Vaggie worked on sharpening her spear. Charlie, of course, was planning new lesson plans with her father. Everything was calm. That was until three loud pounding knocks rumbled through the room.

Vaggie immediately jumped up in defense while everyone slowly turned towards the door, a menacing shadow shown through the glass. The only person who seemed excited was Charlie.

“Wait! Wait! This could be a new guest!” Charlie said excitedly jumping at the opportunity to greet the mysterious person at the door

“Okay everyone, let's remember to smile and introduce ourselves!” she smiled to everyone in the lobby, Alastor now entering the picture to observe.

Charlie swung the door wide open “Welcome to the hazbin hotel!- Y/n!!” 

Charlie embraced Y/n in a bone-crushing hug squealing and spinning both her and the reader around “I'm so excited to see you! It's been so long! Oh! Come and meet everyone!”

But just as Charlie was leading you over to the rest you spot a certain um. Eccentric! red demon

“Oh! What in the unholy hell is that..” y/n exclaimed obviously unsettled by the red demon 

Grimacing at the sight and leaning down Charlie 

“Charlie, I trust your judgment but what… what the HELL is that.” but just as y/n leaned up there he was.

“Alastor, Pleasure to be meeting you dear. Quite a pleasure indeed!” Alastor said enthusiastically jostling you around like a rag doll with his over-excited handshake.

“And who are you? The servant to the morning stars him?” he continued. Lucifer and y/n both make eye contact across the room silently agreeing about their mutual opinion of this “Radio Demon” as he likes to be called.

“More like, protector. What are you hm? The janitor? With that tattered suit, one might think you would be a stray animal who wandered in.” Y/n shot back with a frown and an unimpressed brow

“Alright! y/n! Let um let's meet everybody else! please..” Charlie said steering you away from Alastor you both looked as if you were about to be at each other throats if she didn't intervene 

“Everyone! This is y/n! They are a part of the…” she whispered over to Y/n “Is it the knightage..?”

“Yes, it's the knightage you're right.” y/n had responded quietly they were used to Charlie's struggle with certain words many nights they had to help Charlie with their spelling when she was younger.

“The Knightage! They work for me and Dad.” Everyone had gone silent at this news no one ever thought that they would be meeting the top of the food chain. Royal knights have been seen around hell usually around the time of the extermination, and almost everybody knew not to mess with them. Especially Y/n, just looking at them everyone would think they could snap someone in half without a second thought. Almost everybody there straightened their posture as Y/N's cold gaze flicked over everybody even Alastor tensed up slightly. 

“It's nice to meet everybody, Charlie is very enthusiastic about this hotel of hers, I'm glad it's made its reach to people,” Y/n responded professionally, Charlie looked over the cast of people in the room noting the uncomfortableness of everybody, She knew y/n was…Cold-looking, but she's never seen anyone react to just their presence in such a way. 

The silence lasted for what seemed like an eternity no one daring to speak up 

“So, are both your swords accurate about hitting certain deep spots, or just the one?” Angel spoke up flirtatiously everyone's heads snapping in the direction of the outburst

“What?! Just asking, geese.” replied angel

“My sword is made of iron it's manufactured to hit “deep spots” A knight does not possess two iron swords that would be .. redundant,” Y/n said calmly. Angel had side-eyed Husk when this was said triggering Husk to roll his eyes to mimic annoyance. 

“Speaking of weapons, Vaggie your spear needs to be sharpened. I suggest you sharpen it daily it'll really glide through people like butter if you do.” Y/n continued, they had met Vaggie prior to the hotel but only briefly as Charlie didn't come to the castle much anymore after Lilith left. 

“Oh! Um, thanks!” Vaggie replayed hurriedly intimidated by the tall stance Y/n possessed the heavy armor from neck to toe didn't help them look less menacing either

“By the way, thank you for protecting Charlie and everyone at the hotel.” y/n said slowly moving down to kneel “ I wasn't there myself due to my orders but I am glad to know Charlie is in good hands it brings peace of mind.” Y/n continues now fully kneeling 

Vaggie visibly flustered responded quickly “Oh! It was oh it was nothing really.” 

“Y/n?” Charlie interjected 

Y/n slowly rising to their feet, “Yes, Charlie?”

“How about you stay for dinner really.. Catch up!” Charlie said excitedly. Y/n glanced over to Lucifer who had two thumbs up. 

“Ah hell, why not.”

[autisticsupervillain]

It's Fictional Throwdown Friday!

This Week's Fighters...

Tom Hansen vs Robert Cross!

Conditions:

No restrictions.

Scenario:

After the events of Cold Fear, Tom gets reassigned to Blackwatch for his proven proficiency in combating bioweapons. Robert Cross challenges him to a sparing match to see how advanced his skills are.

Analysis: Hansen

The ocean depths are a mysterious and dangerous place. At the lowest survivable levels of Earth's surface, strange creatures straight out of Lovecraft's nightmares evolved to survive the dark, cold, crushing depths of the ocean floor. And humanity was about to unearth some of its most dangerous creatures.

In the coldest parts of the Atlantic Ocean, Russian oil diggers discovered a new form of life within the ice they were mining. Exocels. Parasitic creatures that were completely uncategorized by existing scientific theories. Capable of overtaking the higher brain functions of their host and mutating them in response to dangerous external stimuli. Naturally, the crew of the Star of Sakhalin begain trying to weaponize these new creatures to sell for a profit. Predictably, it didn't work out. The ship was quickly overrun by mutant zombies and a distress call was sent out.

The call was answered by Tom Hansen, an officer of the United States Coast Guard who really wants to be Leon Kennedy. He and his crew were sent to rescue everyone on board, only to find everyone already dead or zombified. Narrowly surviving the massacre of his crew, Tom was left alone on the ship as the only thing stopping the Exocels from falling into the shadowy hands of the CIA.

Luckily, Hansen comes equipped with every weapon a survival horror protagonist could ever need. He comes decked out with the usual affair of pistols, shotguns, and automatic weapons, each laser scoped to ensure perfect accuracy. Even his standard M1911A1 can completely pop a human’s skull like it was made from confetti, to say nothing of his MP5, AK47, and Benelli M4. But all of that pales in comparison to his sawed off M79 Grenade Launcher to blow apart any Exomutant that gets hit by it, even shredding through Exo zombies that evolved specifically to withstand bullets and fire arms.

Tom would quickly adapt against the rapidly evolving Exocels, using a modified harpoon gun whose harpoons emitted a protein gas, allowing his shots to distract Exocels with delicious smelling harpoons. Perfect for luring them into a trap or grouping them together for a grenade. Hansen has fought through squadrons of Russian mercenaries, defeated invisible Exocel zombies, dodged a steel door that was blasted at him by an explosion, and survived getting infected by an Exocel that tried to eat him alive from the inside out twice.

With nothing but raw wit, determination, and witty one liners, Tom rigged the entire ship to blow with C4 and faced down the man behind the entire disaster. Kamsky, the mad scientist turned sentient Exomutant out to replace humanity with his zombified master race. Kamsky is strong enough to completely demolish a metal bridge just by jumping right through it, generating an energy equivalent to 397,700 kilojoules.

Source:

Ultimately, Hansen defeated Kamsky, blowing the Star of Sakhalin to pieces and exterminating the Exocel threat once and for all.

Analysis: Cross

Captain Robert Cross. The Specialist. The elite of the elite and Blackwatch's greatest operative. When everything's gone to hell and the zombie apocalypse is knocking on the door, he's the man the US government calls in. He's insurance. Cross contained the viral outbreak in the underground city of Springfield. He's chased down powerful infected by himself and killed them with his bare hand, and he's the only mortal man to fist fight Alex Mercer one on one and live to tell the tale.

So when the Blacklight Virus contaminated New York and turned Manhattan into a post apocalyptic warzone, Cross was called in. His mission: Kill Alex Mercer.

Cross would prove to be the most tenacious and devastating human opponent Alex would ever face. Cross had done his homework. He'd use a shock baton to keep Mercer at a distance, fire homing rockets to harass him from afar, and control the battlefield with tactical use of land mines and fire grenades.

Now, Cross is one of the earliest bosses in the game, so he doesn't actually scale to the endgame feats Alex demonstrated. No earthquake scaling or relativistic reactions for him. Mercer at this point in the story was still getting ragdolled by Elizabeth Greene.

That said, he's still clearly superhuman. Mercer in the early game could still dodge tank shells, catch helicopters, and tear down buildings by himself. Alex could even burst clean through a two foot thick metal door, a feat that would require roughly 235,600 kilojoules to perform.

Source:

How did Cross compete with this? He's Robert Cross, don't ask questions.

Even laying defeated, Cross still had one last trick up his sleeve. Realizing that Alex hadn't yet regained all his human memories yet, Cross would refer back to Alex's death at Penn Station, triggering a painful flashback that distracted Mercer long enough to be injected with a parasite. This virus would hamper Mercer's powers and nearly kill him, with Alex only escaping being brought in right there by sheer luck.

Unfortunately, this would be Cross's undoing. After Mercer expunged the parasite from his body, it would become its own entity, becoming the Supreme Hunter. It would then track Cross down, assimilate him, then use his memories to attempt to manipulate Mercer into helping it consume all life on the planet. Alex would only narrowly defeat it by the skin of his teeth.

In a way, even in death, Robert Cross was the biggest human threat that Alex Mercer would ever face.

Throwdown Breakdown:

This is a fairly simple fight, honestly.

Hansen should be pretty even with Cross in terms of stats. Cross scales to Mercer catching helicopters, while Hansen can dodge explosions, both being roughly in the hypersonic ranges of speed. If anything, Hansen should even be slightly stronger, 397,700 kilojoules vs Cross's 235,600. Buuuut, that's where it all swings the other way.

Cross is better equipped. His electric baton is a better melee weapon, his homing rockets allow him to destroy or get around Hansen's cover, while his incendiary grenades and mines give him better battlefield control over Hansen's mostly stock arsenal. Everything short of Hansen's grenade launcher is just completely outpunched by Cross's destructive weaponry.

And skill is something that Hansen can't even compete with. Hansen is a regular Coast Guard officer in out of his depth against the zombie outbreak he's faced with, while Cross was hand picked to be a part of Blackwatch, an organization designed specifically to combat such bioweapons. Cross's status as a legend by Blackwatch standards, as well as his ability to fisticuffs Alex goddamn Mercer, puts him on a different level of skill entirely.

Hansen would compete evenly initially, maybe even getting an early advantage with his greater strength and superior reflexes, but once Cross had his number, he'd be swiftly outmatched and beat down.

Then, Cross would offer him his hand, compliment his right hook, and welcome him to Blackwatch.

This Throwdown's Winner is....

Robert Cross!

[elfmoon3]

A Siren's Melody (Transformers Animated story)

Pairing: LockDown x Oc (thought I do something interesting)

Summary: While still on the hunt for DeathRow, LockDown bumps into a fellow Cybertronian bounty hunter.

Location: Cybertron

LockDown was in hot pursuit of DeathRow, who eventually was found hiding in an abandoned decepticon base. The escaped fugitive was then cornered as he hit a dead end. "You might as well give it up, DeathRow." LockDown said as he transformed into his robot mode, DeathRow did the same. He was a dark red and purple bot that resembled an outlaw of the old west back on earth. "Still the same old LockDown." He said in a southern accent, "But remember, last time you were able to catch me was when you were still part of the Cyber-ninja Corps. So let's see if you can still dodge my shots like last time?" DeathRow said as he shot at LockDown, who dodged it in time, but that gave DeathRow a way to escape as he transformed into his vehicle mode and sped off. "You're really not making my job easy." LockDown said as he transformed into his vehicle mode and drove off after the fugitive. However, as he got outside of the base, DeathRow was gone. "Frag!" He cursed, but he heard something in the distance, singing. He recognized it as he got closer and saw a blue femme bot who he wished he didn't hear. "SirenSong." He spoke out, as the femme bot turned. "Oh, it's you." She said as she wasn't happy about seeing him either. "What are you doing here?" LockDown asked, "Well, I was called to help a fellow bounty hunter. At first, I thought it was gonna be Buckshot, but I guess you'll do." SirenSong said. "I work alone, you know." LockDown said as he transformed into his robot mode. "Oh, don't play dumb. Everyone knows you took on an apprentice. And he's still on earth, is he?" She asked with a smug. LockDown groaned as this was going to be a pain in the neck.

Later at LockDown's ship

LockDown was contacting The Elite Guard. Ultra Magnus answered. "LockDown, is something wrong?" He asked. "Yeah, why are you teaming me up with SirenSong of all bounty hunters?" He asked. "We figured that you might have a difficult time catching DeathRow, so we asked SirenSong to give you some assistance." Magnus answered. "We understand that you two had a rivalry. But it's for the best." He added, LockDown sighed, "Alright, I guess she can help out." He said in disappointment. "Then I wish you both the best of luck. DeathRow has become more dangerous than ever since his escape." Ultra Magnus said as he hung up. LockDown doesn't have a choice but to team up with the femme bot bounty hunter. The reason why she's called SirenSong was her alluring singing ability. Any bot with half a processor would fall for it. Except LockDown, he's not falling for her charms. Though he probably knows the reason why she joined in, her sister, FuryWing, was put offline by DeathRow. SirenSong was sharpening her claws as she stared at him. "So, what's the strategy, partner?" SirenSong asked in a sigh as she's still not happy teaming up with him. "First off, don't call me partner, just LockDown. Secondly, it's best that we try to think of a way to trap him and remove his modifications so he won't use them on us." LockDown said as he knew that she wanted to put the psycho bot offline personally. "I know what he did to your sister was traumatizing, but revenge is not how we bounty hunters roll." He said as he was then pushed to the wall by her. "DO YOU THINK I CARE!? FURYWING DIDN'T DESERVE TO BE PUT OFFLINE BY DEATHROW!!" SirenSong yelled in anger, for a delicate looking femme bot, she's really strong. She then realized that she was doing something wrong and let him go. She looked down on the floor of the ship with lubricant tears on her face plate. "It's just not fair to me that she was put offline. We were a team. Sisters. What DeathRow did was unforgivable." She said as she cried. LockDown sighed. He's not a softy around her like most bots are. But he knows that he needs DeathRow to be put in custody online. But he, despite not being a soft spark, has to get her to calm down before they start going back on the hunt. "SirenSong, I think I might know a better idea for you to get revenge on DeathRow without putting him offline." He said as SirenSong turned around with lubricant tears still going down her face. "Oh yeah, what do you suggest?" She asked as he put up DeathRow's profile. "He as a modification that can make him mimic voices, I figured you'd like to use that once we get him in custody." LockDown suggested, SirenSong remembered the last thing her sister told her before she went offline, is that DeathRow mimicked SirenSong's voice to lure her to him. Taking away the one modification from DeathRow is the best form of revenge than putting him offline. She likes the idea and smiles at him. " Alright, LockDown, we'll go with your idea." She said as one of LockDown's sensors went off. It was the one he put in at The Elite Guard headquarters. "We should hurry." He said as he got out of the ship and transformed into his vehicle mode, SirenSong followed him and transformed into her flight mode as the two bounty hunters left the ship towards the Elite Guard headquarters.

At the Elite Guard headquarters

Many Autobot guards fought off DeathRow as he pushed them back with his servos. He's after something or someone. Whatever his goal is, he's not letting anyone get in his way. As he made it to Ultra Magnus' office, he suddenly heard what sounded like singing inside the office. He entered the room to see that Ultra Magnus was not in there, but he could still hear the singing in another direction and followed it as he passed the knocked down Autobot guards. He followed it outside and was hit by Sentinel Prime's shield, knocking him out. LockDown and SirenSong walked towards him as they put stasis cuffs on DeathRow without waking him. LockDown grabbed the shield and returned it to Sentinel, "Thanks for letting me borrow it for the plan." He said as he went to take the voice mimicry modification off the now former fugitive. He gave the modification to SirenSong. "You kept your promise?" She asked. "Well, I figured you'd get mad at me if I kept it." LockDown jokingly said. She rolled her optics and took the modification. "You two sure make a good team. And thanks for the heads up on DeathRow's arrival." Jazz said as he gave LockDown his payment. It was a round saw blade. "So, would you be heading back towards earth?" Sentinel Prime asked. "I might go ahead and return to Detroit if my new partner would like to join?" He asked as SirenSong turned around to look at him with confusion. "I thought you hated me." She said, "Yeah, but if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be able to put DeathRow back in custody. And I figured you'd like to meet the kid." LockDown said as he put his servo out for a servo shake. "Sure thing, LockDown." She said, shaking his servo with hers. This is gonna be the start of a beautiful partnership.

The End.

(I might explain more about SirenSong in a future post)

[melishade]

Hello.

I feel bad for Megatron in the timeline with Elite One. Megs must be currently consumed by guilt

Previous Episode of the Beloved Timeline

That and he's 100% sure she is going to fucking kill him.

There is a reason she is a high ranking Autobot in the first place. Sure, Elita was a social butterfly, but she is extremely clever and a down right menace. According to the Covenant of Primus, she helped conspire to overthrow the Quintessons and helped with colonial expansion of Cybertron. I also like other iterations of her being a badass fighter. I like to picture that she took down 50 Decepticons by herself as she tried to escape before Megatron had to intervene and subdue her himself. And the reason why she was in her situation in the first place was because of Megatron, so the minute Elita sees Megatron again, those Kill Bill sirens are going off. Megatron is doing everything he possibly can to avoid her.

But we'll deal with that later.

For now, after Optimus has to answer those questions from the Survey Corps, dodging as many inappropriate ones as he can. Historia and Ymir decide to make their demands while everyone else is here and announce that surprise moment of Historia wanting to marry Ymir. Ymir agrees and they do the wedding in secret. Hanji adds to Optimus that he can invite Elita as his plus one. Optimus is a little irritated at the notion, because he knows for a fact some of the Survey Corps are going to be treating him differently for a little while. But the thought of spending time with Elita again does make him feel happy.

He does return to her and being to explain what is happening with Historia and Ymir, which Elita is confused by because being sparkbonded is a private matter. But Optimus has to explain that there are differences in human culture and Cybertron. Optimus explains the logistics of it and Elita respectfully declines. Elita explains that she would probably just hog all the attention. She does remember when she was last here and the commotion she caused. Also, she hasn't exactly talked to anyone in 20 years, so her social skills are practically shot. And the humans look dangerously similar to the titans and it's not something she's comfortable with. She only feels easy around Optimus because of familiarity.

Optimus is slightly disappointed, but respects her decision none the less. He's just happy that she's back, and tells her to take the time that she needs. Elita does ask about the difference between the humans and titans and ultimately what has been going on with him and Megatron since being on this world. Optimus decides to explain it piece by piece as to not overwhelm her in one go, because learning this shit himself has definitely taken its toll.

"How is it that bad that you're fazed by it?" Elita questioned.

So, day by day, in preparation for the wedding, Optimus helps out there and later explains what's been going on. And the more information she receives, the more mortified that she is. Like this is some messed up shit!!!! But it's fine. It's fine! Totally fine!

"Elita, you do not have to-!"

"It's completely fine, Optimus!" Elita forced a smile, "Not only is my beloved forced to fight again, this world is more backwards than I thought!"

The Survey Corps are disappointed that Elita won't be attending the wedding, and they try to capture sneak peeks at her, because some of them didn't get a good look at her. Eren was really the only one. Hanji is very persistent, and Elita swears she can feel eyes burning into her back. But they do notice that since Elita has been around, Optimus' mood has significantly improved. Like he is definitely more sociable and talkative, and she's not even around!

Day of the wedding, Optimus bids her farewell, and Elita...decides to take a look around this place. This is the most relaxed that she's been in ages. She still hasn't seen Megatron yet. She wants to kick his ass. As she's walking around, she does mind her step and avoid the humans, but they do notice her and can't help but stare. They are aware that people like Optimus don't eat humans, but to see a titan in the walls walking around without a single alarm going off and a shot being fired is odd.

Elita is curious about the top of the walls. She's always wanted to know what was up there. Elita took few steps back, got into a starting position and bolted towards the wall. She managed to jump up and get some good distance before climbing it with ease and little damage. When she reached the top, she could hear cheering and clapping and looked down to see the humans that had been following her just praising her. Elita can only wave sheepishly before walking along the top of the wall and taking in the view from so high up. And it was breathtaking.

As she's walking along the walls, she comes across military men in uniforms with roses on them. They are a little tense when they see her, and Elita is just as tense, but Commander Pixis greets her to ease the tension (with Anka and Gustav keeping a very close eye on him). The two talk and Elita does learn more about the humans in the wall through the Commander. With what Elita knows; however, there is one burning question she has in her spark:

"Do you intend to continue the ways of your ancestors?" Elita demanded.

Pixis paused and looked up at her.

"I understand that your memories have been wiped of this knowledge, and you have only now just learned about it. I also understand that the sins of your ancestors should not reflect the innocent here and now," Elita explained, "But knowledge is power, and power can corrupt. Optimus has the habit of seeing the good and potential in everything, willing to grant opportunities for change."

Elita raised a servo to her spark. "Despite how I feel about Optimus, it is not a principle I can always agree with in such strenuous times. I need to know if Optimus' faith in you is well placed and you will not default to the carnage of your ancestors."

Pixis noticed the rather emotional look in Elita's optics at the name of Optimus, and how fond it looked. And suddenly, everything clicked. Why Optimus was in such a better mood, why the Survey Corps have been acting rather mischievous, why Megatron wasn't even here right now and avoid this place like the plague.

"I see," Pixis smiled before looking on ahead, "I wish I could speak on behalf of all who live within these walls, but we humans are fickle beings. Self preservation and greed is in our nature. When pushed to the brink of annihilations, there are those who would tear each other apart to survive, and those who choose to fight for those who cannot. Personally, I would like to continue fighting for a better and peaceful and free world. Only for the sole reason that my comrades who fought for that same dream, did not die in vain."

Elita is quite moved by the answer and laughs. "Well, at the very least, your answer is an honest one."

Elita thanks Pixis before jumping off the wall and landing on her feet with grace before returning to her temporary home. Pixis can only say 'well done Optimus' to himself.

The next day, Elita decides to introduce herself to the Survey Corps, thinking it would be best way to go considering she's decided to stay and help. And the Survey Corps couldn't help but notice the way Optimus beamed at the sight of Elita.

Side note: Anka threatened Pixis when Optimus informed them about Elita and she immediately pulled him aside.

"If you so much as look at her wrong I will castrate you and throw you over the walls, you drunken bastard," Anka seethed.

"Eh, not the worst way I've imagined going out," Pixis shrugged.

(Interactions between Elita and the Survey Corps will definitely be for the next ask)

[crinkled-emotions]

Day 29: Daggers adopting baby aviators

I forgot that I'd already put this on my AO3! (I cbf tagging, that'll be fixed now)

This is only the first chapter of... four I think? I have three finished so far. I'll publish the remainder once I finish days 30 and 31

How crazy is it that it's February- I still don't want to talk about it 😂

I finally did my make up exam this morning and I'm tired as hell considering I didn't get home from work until 11:45 last night but it's done and I feel surprisingly okay about it? I refuse to jinx it though.

-

“Do you think she’s scary?”

“Who?”

“Captain Trace. Phoenix.”

Juliette “Cowgirl” Ryder snorted, doing up the zip on her flight suit before turning to Zoe “Pigtails” Harries.

“She’s not scary; she’s terrifying.”

Pigtails’ eyebrows shot up under her bangs and Cowgirl laughed.

“I heard there’s never a dull moment in hers and Captain Floyd’s class. C’mon, let’s go, I don’t want to be late to Admiral Mitchell’s debrief.”

Cowgirl and Pigtails left the women’s change rooms, bumping into the other members of their TOPGUN class on the way. Benjamin “Shades” Kerner was waiting on the opposite wall to the door; Hudson “Posh” Miller, Cooper “Curse” James, Wesley “Titanium” Torres and Aaron “Soggy” Scott weren’t far behind him.

“Remember; show no fear,” Soggy hissed to the rest of his team as they all grabbed their notebooks and manuals to head into the hangar. Their eyebrows raised when they realised the Daggers were already standing up the front of the classroom, looking as much the elite squad they were.

“I think I just peed a little,” Titanium confessed as he slipped past Cowgirl with a hand on her arm. The moment they were all seated they heard footsteps and faced forward, already nervously sweating. It was TOPGUN; everyone was sweating.

“Good morning, aviators.”

The man, the myth.

The legend.

Admiral Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

-

“Phoenix, you do realise there are separate changing rooms for a reason right?”

“Nothing I haven’t seen before. Seresin!”

Phoenix dodged Rooster’s arm, catching Hangman by the arm and pinning him to the lockers. For a woman standing at 5’7, she was surprisingly strong. Well, not surprising, considering her career.

“Repeat after me; I know I just came off paternity leave and I’m missing my baby but I will not be an asshole to these kids.”

“I- what? Slow down, I’m sleep deprived.”

Phoenix sent him a look and he groaned.

“Okay, fine. I know I just came off paternity leave and I’m missing my baby and wife but I will not be an asshole. Happy?”

“It’ll do. Now show me the photos!”

The Daggers all gathered around to see the photos of Hangman’s daughter- his first but by far not the first of the Dagger group. It had been eight years since the Dagger mission and it felt like they’d gone through major life changes one after another.

First, they’d all been promoted within three weeks of one another. Then again. And again, until they were all Captains. Next, the baby boom.

Payback and Coyote were already in long term relationships prior to the uranium mission but they’d married and had three kids between them (Payback’s wife had twins) within a year; Coyote and his wife had a beautiful baby boy and Payback had shown off their twin boy and girl with pride. Bob had snuck off to Florida to marry his boyfriend of three years, apparently waiting for him to come home from the mission, and they’d happily adopted a little girl after their 1 year anniversary. They were now talking about surrogacy. Fanboy had met a beautiful woman one night at the Hard Deck and they’d stayed together long enough to have their son, but it hadn’t worked out for a multitude of reasons. They were now great friends and had the poster for good co-parenting. Rooster, to everyone’s surprise, had a long term girlfriend back in Virginia Beach and she’d flown out to be with him in San Diego. They tried to start a family for almost two years without any luck, going through a couple of miscarriages, before they finally had their eldest son. He’d taken it hard but respected it when they started talking about not having another baby, only to find out his wife was pregnant when their baby wasn’t even three months old. Their daughter was born the month before their son turned 1 and the Daggers never let him forget it. Hangman was probably still laughing about it somewhere.

Even Phoenix took a breath and let herself find happiness. She cried for three days straight when she found out she was pregnant but Maverick had been quick to reassure her that her job would be waiting for her when she was ready to come back to work. She had her second baby- another boy to Rooster’s amusement- the previous summer.

Hangman had taken the six weeks paternity leave then a little extra when he saw the way his wife was struggling with recovering and caring for their new baby. It wasn’t her fault at all, it had been revealed she was suffering from severe anxiety prior to the birth and it had only worsened afterward. The last thing he wanted to do was stress her out more and he didn’t even have to beg Maverick who signed the paperwork for more time off without question.

“Daggers, let’s get a move on!” Maverick called into the change room and they all exchanged a look, scrambling to grab their helmets and go.

“Hey, Tasha, before I forget... thanks for coming by and helpin’ out, we both really appreciated it.”

Phoenix bumped Hangman’s waist.

“Yeah. You got it.”

-

The younger aviators were already seated when the Daggers walked up to the podium between the seats. They stood to either side of the lectern, leaving Maverick to do the introductions. Nervous energy was electric in the air, and Bob leaned over to whisper to Phoenix.

“Wonder if Mav’s gonna toss the manual again.”

“God I hope not, they’re expensive as fuck,” Phoenix replied. They shared a smile then returned to standing to attention when they heard those familiar footsteps. The younger team members stood as well, backs straight and hands by their sides. Maverick appeared, walking up the aisle himself to settle in front of the lectern.

“Good morning, aviators. My name is Admiral Pete Mitchell, callsign Maverick.”

“Mav,” Rooster prompted between his teeth.

“Thank you, Rooster. I’m also the Air Boss for this Naval Base, so everyone here reports to myself and your designated Captains. From left to right we have Captain Trace, callsign Phoenix. Captain Floyd, callsign Bob. Captain Fitch, callsign Payback and Captain Garcia, callsign Fanboy. Captain Machado, callsign Coyote, and Captain Seresin, callsign Hangman. Lastly Captain Bradshaw, callsign Rooster. Welcome to TOPGUN.”

The Daggers watched the reactions in the room and internally smirked to themselves. They’d worked hard to be here, they deserved to be a little cocky.

“First thing’s first; I assume you’re all familiar with the jet manual?”

“Yes sir,” echoed around the room and Maverick hummed, holding up the manual. Phoenix internally grimaced.

The manual went into the bin.

“Forget it. My version of TOPGUN means we’re going to use our brains and we’re going to test the limits of our aircraft; but we’re going to make sure we’re doing it in a way that means we’re not risking ourselves in the process.”

It may have been thirty-six years since his dad died but Rooster still dropped his gaze to his boots for a split second. Hangman bumped his shoulder and Rooster nodded at him, attention back on Maverick’s speech. The others would probably check on him later.

“Alright, team; gear up and get out there. You’ll be doing a hop with two Captains; three if it’s a two-seater. Keep your eyes open and don’t look down. Dismissed.”

The TOPGUN students scrambled out the door and Maverick glanced around the Daggers.

“Scared ‘em, right?”

“Ah c’mon, Mav,” Rooster said, “be nice. Ground crew hates cleaning out puke, you do know that right?”

“Thanks, Bradley,” Maverick deadpanned. The team all fell in behind him as he made an exit out of the classroom.

-

A few days passed and the Daggers had taken every opportunity to wipe the floor with the new kids; there had been plenty of panicked sounds and pushups. So many pushups.

“Hey, Shades, wait up!”

Shades whipped around, finding Rooster jogging up to him. He paused mid-step, waiting for the older man to catch up.

“I wanted to ask; have we met?”

“I’m not sure, sir. Have you served in Oceania or Milwaukee?”

Rooster’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Well, no, but I was actually referring to- uh.”

“Uh?”

“Ron Kerner... any relation?”

Shades’ face softened and he lifted his sunglasses from his eyes to prop them on top of his head.

“My grandfather on my mom’s side; kinda saved her ass and then mine too. Why?”

“Huh. Uh, your grandfather was one of my dad’s best friends. Crazy- hey, your mom’s Maya right? How’s she doing?”

Benjamin shrugged.

“Fine, I think. We don’t talk all that often, I don’t think she loves the idea of me being here.”

“My mom didn’t either.”

It just fell out of Rooster’s mouth, the fact he’d wrangled out of Maverick after the mission under the premise of tears and begging to know the truth. Benjamin frowned.

“Oh, no, we’re just... it’s personal.”

“I get that.”

A pregnant pause. Finally, Rooster cleared his throat.

“Thanks for clearing that up. You’re dismissed.”

“Yes sir.”

Shades returned to walking down the hallway whilst Rooster reached for his phone and flicked through his contacts.

“Hey Mav. No, I’m fine- can you meet me in your office? I need to have a look at Shades’ file. No- yeah, Benjamin. Kerner? Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

-

“Captain Trace?”

Phoenix glanced up at the call of her name, smiling at the younger women standing by the door.

“Hey guys; how’s it going? Please, Phoenix is fine.”

Cowgirl and Pigtails hesitantly stepped into the room and Phoenix finished fixing her boot, standing in front of them.

“Everything okay?”

“How do you do it?” Pigtails blurted, “be a kickass naval aviator, keep up with the boys’ club and be a mom?”

Phoenix blinked. Snorted.

“Well, uh, I don’t always. I have a great husband and we talk openly, and the guys here aren’t so bad. Don’t worry about Captain Seresin, he’s gone soft in his old age.”

“Isn’t he only 38?”

“Good answer, we’re the same age. What can I do for you two?”

“Nothing, we just- uh. You’re kind of a legend at the academy, Phoenix... it’s surreal to be learning from someone like you and we’re really grateful for this opportunity.”

Phoenix smiled.

“Thank you, that’s really sweet of you to say.”

As she headed for the exit Pigtails and Cowgirl followed like lost puppies, finally taking the opportunity to confirm some gossip.

“Phoenix, we were wondering if you knew how Captain Bradshaw got his callsign?”

Phoenix snorted.

“I gave it to him.”

They stared. Gobsmacked. Phoenix sighed.

“Okay no, it’s nothing like that... did you guys ever hear about the can opener on Suits?”

Cowgirl and Pigtails exchanged a look, and Phoenix grinned.

“Exactly; no one knows except me and Harvey Specter.”

-

“They’ve been staring for, like, five minutes, man.”

“Were we ever like that?”

“You were worse. For the record.”

Hangman and Coyote jolted apart when Maverick interrupted their gossip session, glaring at the Admiral.

“Maverick, why the sneak attack?” Hangman complained. Maverick grinned, gesturing toward Posh and Curse who were standing off to the side in the dining hall, pretending they weren’t staring at Hangman and Coyote from a distance.

“You could ask them if they wanted to eat with you,” Maverick suggested. Hangman scoffed and Coyote grimaced, which earned a snort.

“Okay, c’mon you two, I’ve read your files and you two weren’t angels at TOPGUN either. The least you could do is make sure they’re adjusting to this okay. It’s elite training, they’re probably scared as hell.”

“I wasn’t, I got in there and I kicked ass,” Hangman rebutted, but the hand on his shoulder stopped him from walking away.

“Those two are from the same town, they spend all their free time together and Posh is Curse’s wizzo. Ringing any bells?”

“I’m not his wizzo,” Hangman complained at the same time as Coyote sighed.

“Yes, sir. We’ll go make sure they’re handling it alright.”

“That’s what I want to hear. Report back if there’s any issues.”

“Thanks Mav.”

Maverick went to merge back into the crowd of aviators but Hangman called out at the last second.

“Hey, you seen Bradshaw anywhere?”

Maverick hummed.

“Something about Shades, he’s reading his file back in my office. I left him to it.”

Hangman and Coyote exchanged a look, a silent agreement. Hangman got up to go and check on Rooster whilst Coyote rounded to the table with Posh and Curse, greeting them with a relaxed smile and a joke.

-

“Captain Garcia?”

“Lieutenant Torres, is everything alright?”

“Sir, I think I need to... request a new pilot.”

Fanboy sat up at his desk, gesturing for Titanium to take a seat in front of him. The WSO did as told, wringing his hands together.

“It’s okay; just start from the start.”

“I- uh, well...”

Fanboy put down his pen and locked his computer’s screen.

“You wanna go hang shit on Payback and talk about what’s going on?”

Titanium blinked.

“Sir...”

“C’mon; it’s that or we find Captain Bradshaw and he puppy-eyes you into telling him all of your life’s secrets. He might be scary as fuck but he’s also scary good at it. Trust me.”

Fanboy stood, gesturing toward the door. Titanium hesitantly followed him into the office adjacent where Payback glanced up.

“What are you... uh, Lieutenant Torres, is everything okay?”

“He said something about a new pilot and I thought you and I could weasel the story out of him, no Bradshaw eyes needed.”

Payback leaned back in his seat, a knowing look crossing his face.

“That’s probably a good idea. Alright, Torres, what’s going on?”

“I- uh... Cowgirl- I mean Lieutenant Ryder- and I... we have known each other for a really long time... before we even flew together.”

Fanboy leaned back in his seat, smirking. Payback’s eyebrow raised.

“Okay...? I would have thought it would make you a good pair-“

“-Payback, man, they’ve been-“

“-and that’s why I think we should be separated. I know it complicates things, especially because we made it all the way to TOPGUN, but... yeah.”

Fanboy and Payback exchanged a look, then Payback nodded.

“I’ll talk to Maverick about it; have you mentioned this to Ryder?”

“She... doesn’t get it.”

“Hm,” Payback and Fanboy mused at the same time.

“Do we have to mention it to Admiral Mitchell, sir? I don’t think he’d appreciate knowing that I slept with my pilot.”

“Maybe; maybe not. It’s not professional conduct from either of you, but Maverick’s a wild card. He’s been in the Navy a really long time and it’s probably not the first time he’s heard of this happening.”

“It’s so rare than women and men aviators are paired together for this exact reason, Captain Fitch.”

“Yeah, maybe so, but you’d be surprised. You leave Maverick to us.”

“Us?” Fanboy hissed. Payback waved him off.

-

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, honey.”

Rooster glanced over his shoulder at his wife, sending her a soft smile when she put a hand on his back then stood beside him at the dining table. He had Shades’ file out in front of him, clearing his throat.

“Uh, well. I think I might have. Kids already down?”

“For now. Did something happen at work?”

Rooster hummed, leaning back in his seat.

“You might want to sit down for this one... or help me do the math.”

“Okay...?”

She took a seat, reaching over to take his hand.

“No more secrets, Bradley, remember what the marriage counsellor said?”

“I know. Uh, so, the Kerners- you remember Ron Kerner and his wife Sophie? They had a daughter and she was a couple years older than me, Maya. We... were a thing.”

“Oh no, is this one of those things about your first love? I don’t need to know about the first time you got laid-“

“-we were together for over a year, I barely turned 16 and she was almost 18 when her dad decided to leave California after Iceman- Tom Kazansky- was promoted to Admiral and he wasn’t going to be flying anymore. Ron and Sophie took Maya with them and that was the last I heard from them because soon after I had my fight with Mav and got the fuck outta town.”

“I’m following so far. What does this have to do with work?”

Rooster gestured to the file in front of him, Shades’ headshot and a brief typed description of his accomplishments. Neatly typed into the box lay his date of birth, and Rooster’s wife sucked in a breath.

“You’ve got another kid? He’s an adult?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t say anything, but I don’t know if he knows. Do I ask him? Do I see if I still have Maya’s number? Shit, this is complicated. The dates kind of match up I think but Maya would have said something. I thought she would have called...”

Mrs Bradshaw stood, dropping a kiss to his temple before leaving to get one of the kids yelling for her. In the meantime, Rooster reached for his phone.

Rooster: we need to meet before work tomorrow morning

Maverick: that’s so early

Maverick: I’m an old man now

Rooster: it’s important and I’ll bring coffee

Maverick: See you at 6:30

Maverick: everything okay?

Rooster: kind of

Maverick: that’s mildly daunting

Rooster: see you at 6:30

-

[veiledfox]

} one of the things that kinda lead to my mood souring earlier was that while a friend and I were running operations in Space Marine 2 I learned that a perk for the Multi-Melta is just entirely useless for even just attempting to slow the drain of ammo for it because it doesn't work how the wording would imply it would.

In Space Marine 2 there's perks you can get for your class or weapon that specifies how you need to kill something to gain the benefits "with this weapon"/"with ranged damage"/"with a melee weapon"/"with melee damage"/"with a gun-strike"/"with a finisher"/"with and execution", and there's the generic "get a kill" as it's own separate thing

Get a Kill, normally, is just as generic as it sounds

Kill something, profit, plain and simple

On the Multi-Melta (think a big-ass flame shotgun) there's a perk called Elite Restoration, which reads: "Killing a Majoris-level or higher enemy will restore 10% maximum ammo reserves. Effect can occur once every 30 seconds." So it doesn't use any specifying terminology at all, so logically it should count any kill, right?

But I was playing as my Heavy, with the Multi-Melta, with that perk, and just never got ammo. So I started getting confused, cause nothing I was doing procced it. Executing, killing via Gun-Strike, melee, nothing. Turns out, the perk DOES demand that the kill be done with the weapon itself. Which takes 5-7+ shots, out of a 30 round maximum ammo capacity, and only gives 3 back.

Meanwhile, on the Heavy's skill tree there's a skill that reads "Killing 5 or more enemies with 1 shot from the Multi-Melta gives 1 ammo." Literally being a self-refunding perk, only useful for one weapon out of the three the Heavy can choose from in their primary slot.

These two should be swapped so that Elite Restoration is on the Heavy themselves while the 5-kill ammo refund should be on the Multi-Melta, and it makes zero fucking sense why it's the way it is.

And I did some searching for anything about it online earlier, and there's absolutely nothing beyond two posts (one on steam the other on reddit) where people were thinking Elite Restoration is bugged because it, like I said, specifies NOTHING about how the kill needs to be done for it to proc, but only works if you kill with the weapon itself.

Which if you don't know how Space Marine 2 plays, you might be thinking "just shoot them then?" but that's actually one of the worst things you could do. In Space Marine 2's campaign and operations (co-op missions with slight variables for replayability at different difficulties) have HP and Armor bars. Health needs to be recovered with health items, but Armor either refills after some time out of combat or after you execute or gun-strike an enemy.

ALL enemies in Space Marine 2 will enter a Vulnerable state after enough damage is dealt, and will be open for an execution. Executing an enemy refills 1 armor slot. If you parry or dodge enemy attacks with the right timing, a reticle will appear over them and open them for a gun-strike, which is a quick shot using your side-arm that DOESN'T use your ammo, if the gun-strike kills, it refils 1 armor. Armor will take damage before your Health is ever touched, and recovering/retaining armor is EXTREMELY vital to surviving in higher difficulties.

Killing an enemy that's vulnerable by just shooting them normally, or meleeing them, does nothing to refill your armor at all, and wastes more of your limited ammo. Thus making Elite Restoration completely and utterly useless in it's current form.

[rewriting-thearrowverse]

This one was posted August 27, 2023. And there are 3 more that have already been written to post. After that, I have no more backlog in drafts.

𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝟏 𝑬𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒅𝒆 𝟒: 𝑨𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑴𝒂𝒏 (𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝟏)

*Oliver's Voiceover*

My name is Oliver Queen. I was stranded on an island, with one goal. To survive.

*Flashback*

Oliver Queen is alive.

Now I will fulfill my father's dying wish.

*flashback*

"Survive" says Robert before shooting himself in the head.

To use the list of names he gave me to bring down those poisoning our city. But to do this, I must become someone else, I must be something else.

Diggle wakes up in Oliver's lair, to see the vigilante without his hood.

➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳

"You're that vigilante." Dig gets off the table

"Easy Dig, you were poisoned."

"Son of a bitch." Diggle says as he swings at Oliver

Oliver dodges it "come on.. I could've taken you anywhere, but I brought you here."

"You really did lose your mind on that island." Diggle says

"Found some things along the way."

"What? Archery classes?" Diggle says with snark

"Clarity. Starling City is dying, being poisoned by a criminal elite who don't care who they hurt. As long as they remain at the top..

"What are you gonna do, take them out by yourself?" John asks

"I want your help, special forces out of Kandahar. You're a fellow soldier."

"You're not a soldier. You're a criminal."

"And a murderer."

Oliver walks through the door of the mansion and sees Laurel "Where were you? "

➴◈◉◈➶◈◉◈➴◈◉◈➶◈◉◈➴◈◉◈➶◈◉◈➴◈◉◈➶

"What are you doing here?" He asks

"There was a shooting at your stepfather's auction, so naturally as a friend, I came by to make sure you didn't get shot."

"And what I found was a family worried with the same concerns."

"Oh."

"You need to start remembering something Oliver." She said

He listened.

"You're not on an island anymore. There are people here that care about you now, whether you like it or not. You need to show them the basic decency of letting them know you're okay in situations like this. You didn't even text them."

"I can handle that.. But your family doesn't deserve to be treated like that."

"Laurel, thank you for coming."

"Please.. Just do better." She says with a sigh as she leaves.

Oliver sighs with his head back and Thea walks up behind him "That was harsh."

"Are you okay?" She asks as she gives him a hug.

"Just.. It's the second time tonight a friend has taken me to the woodshed, it tires you out.."

"Goodnight."

*Flashback*

Yao Fei comes into the cage carrying a woven cage with a bird in it.

"Shengcún." He says

"What am I supposed to do with that?"

"Shengcún!" he repeats as he walks.

"I don't speak Chinese!"

Oliver looks at his little picture of Laurel. "I'm so sorry Laurel.. So sorry."

➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴Oliver wakes up with a start, and walks down stairs where Thea is watching TV.

"There were no signs of forced entry, but later the police found the bloodstained kitchen knife in the trunk."

"Couldn't sleep either?" Thea asks as she notices Oliver.

"No" he says taking a seat next to her on the couch

"Forensic Analysis confirmed.. "

"What are you watching?" Oliver asks

"It's about Peter Declan, a man who murdered his wife in front of their baby."

"Despite the growing list of evidence, Declan remains in denial."

"Camille was everything to me, I couldn't kill her anymore than I could myself."

"Psycho.." Thea says before turning her attention to Oliver.

"So, why can't you sleep?"

"Just Bad dreams." He says

"About?"

"Laurel.."

"So why don't you make a play? I mean she did come to make sure you didn't get shot."

"I have reasons.." He says

"What are they, other than you sleeping with her sister, who also died. Her father hating you, and you being a jerk to everyone since you came back?"

"Those.. Are the main ones."

He sighs "I know it may not always seem like it... But I'm not the person I was anymore."

"Then show her.. Show her your new self."

➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳In the morning Oliver walks downstairs and sees his mother sitting on the couch and a man standing in the corner of the room.

"How did you sleep?" Moira asks

"Just fine." He says as he walks by her.

"We have a visitor." He says

"Mr Diggle's replacement"

"Replacement?"

"He resigned on account of you constantly ditching him."

Oliver walks over to the other man "Hi."

Mr Queen, Rob Scott." He says as he shakes his hand

"That's a firm grip you have Rob." Oliver says

"That's 5 years SWAT with Monument Point MCU."

"I feel safer already."

"Thank god we don't have to hear about this awful man anymore." Moira says as she looks at the TV.

Oliver unmutes it.

"The execution of Peter Declan is slated for midnight 2 days from now."

Camille's former employer, Jason Brodeur had this to say "I hope this gives Camille the peace she deserves."

A look of realization covers Oliver's face for a brief moment and "Jason Brodeur" slips out of his mouth

"What?" Moira asks

"The dead wife worked for Jason Brodeur." He says

"Apparently.. Why?"

"No reason."

Oliver speaks up "Rob, I'd like to go into town. May you grab the car for me?"

"No Offense Mr Queen, but I know you're a flight risk. If it's all the same, I'd prefer to keep you in my sights at all times." Rob says

"We're 20 miles from the city, how are we supposed to get there if you don't take me?" Oliver says

Rob looks at him and then walks outside.

"I like him!" Oliver says enthusiastically

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Outside Rob is waiting by the car when Oliver races past him on a motorcycle as he waves.

Rob waves back until the realization hits him "Hey!"

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*Oliver's Voiceover*

They say Peter Declan killed his wife in cold blood. He had no allibi.. And all evidence pointed to him.

In a warehouse, Jason Brodeur stands next to another man.

This would be an open shut case, except Camille worked for Jason Brodeur... And he's on the list.

"Mr. Brodeur. "

"Admiring your handiwork?" Asks Brodeur

"You should've just let me kill both of them." The man says

"Declan is worth more alive."

Jason speaks again "Husband kills wife is a much better headline than whistle blower uncovers toxic dumping, don't ya think?"

"Besides, in 48 hours all of this will be over."

➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳

*Oliver's Voiceover*

The odds are good that Brodeur is involved with Camille's murder. Which means an Innocent man is facing execution.

He'll need a good attorney.

➴◈◉◈➶◈◉◈➴◈◉◈➶◈◉◈➴◈◉◈➶◈◉◈➴◈◉◈➶

Back at CNRI, Laurel is packing up for the night when Johanna speaks up.

"So I take it there's no point in asking you if you want to get a drink?"

"That would be accurate. I still have to go over the transcripts in the Fernands case."

"You know, your chances of meeting someone are way better, if you go somewhere that isn't work or home."

"Mm. Could still get mugged on the way home." She says with a slight smirk

"Well, then I hope he's cute and single." She retorts

"Good night, Jo." Laurel said walking out the door.

The scene changed as Laurel walked into her house. It was dark and the lights wouldn't turn on.

Her senses kicked in, she was very aware that someone was there. She readied herself to grab a knife.

She remembered this could be a simple threat, and didn't want to show everything she knew, so instead she reached for a pistol in a drawer, speaking up.

"If you're trying to be discreet, you're terrible at it. I've known you were here since I walked in."

She looked back and saw the hooded man looking back at her, and he said "Hello Laurel."

"You better stay where you are, Robin Hood." She warned.

Sure, she wasn't gonna outright attack the vigilante, but if he tried anything, he'd get a piece of her combat training.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." Said the deep voice

"You move, I shoot. And something tells me I can pull this trigger faster than you can shoot those arrows."

"I'm not the person you think I am. I need your help."

"Peter Declan is gonna be executed in 48 hours. I think he is innocent."

"His wife was going to report Jason Brodeur for Toxic dumping. Brodeur had her killed."

"And out of the thousands of Lawyers in Starling City, you choose me. Why is that?" She asked

"We're both trying to help."

"And what makes you so sure I'd help you?" She asked

He walked around her saying "Because I know you would do anything to save the life of an innocent man."

As she looked up her gun was lowered and he was gone.

Laurel is sitting at a table in Iron Heights across from Peter Declan as he looks at a picture of his daughter.

➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴

"A jury has found you guilty Mr. Declan." She started

"The evidence was stacked against me, but I didn't kill my wife. My daughter's mother."

"The murder weapon was a knife from your kitchen with your with your prints on it and your wife's blood."

"It was found in the trunk of your car."

"And your neighbors said they heard an argument that night."

He sighed "it was about Jason Brodeur. They were dumping toxic waste.. And Camille told me she went to a supervisor about it."

"I was afraid for my family's safety, so yes, we argued. Very loudly."

"Izzy started crying so Camille stayed with her over night. I came in during the morning to apologize, and that's when I found her.."

"....I just took Izzy, and I ran outside... And I called the cops."

"I'm innocent Ms. Lance."

Back in his office at Queen consolidated, Walter is checking the records on his desktop as Moira walked in.

"Well, it looks like somebody forgot a lunch date with his wife." She said

"What do you mean? Lunch isn't for another.... Oh. 45 minutes ago."

"I'm sorry." Walter apologized.

"It's alright, the restaurant is still holding our table." She says, her smile faltering as she noticed a distressed expression on his face.

"Is everything okay?"

"It's.. Well Compliance department has tagged something.. A $2.6 million withdrawal from one of our subsidiaries in Vancouver."

"W-what? Are you saying someone embezzled $2.6 million from the company?" She asked

"Well, it's more likely a bookkeeping error, Compliance is understandably worried about an IRS Audit."

He saw her concerned expression and spoke again "But don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing."

"Come on, we'll be late. well, Later. " He said as he turned to leave.

At the Police station, Laurel met with her father to ask about the old Declan case.

"I wasn't the lead on that investigation, but as I recall, we had prints, blood and there was motive."

"Brodeur seems like the kind of guy to have the right resources for a proper frame up." Laurel said as she looked through the file.

"In 24 hours Peter Declan is getting the needle in his arm. And he isn't getting back up."

"Don't you think if I thought for a second we had the wrong man, I'd be doing everything I could to get to what really happened?" Quentin asks

"Declan said his wife went to a supervisor on Toxic waste dumping allegations." Laurel says

"Yeah, but he said that never happened." He says as he looks through the file

"What was his name?"

"Istook.. Matt Istook."

"He said he didn't even see Camille that day. Happy now?" He said looking up at her

"Yes." She said with a smile as she stood up.

"You know, I thought it would be a cold day in hell before you started defending criminals."

"Not so sure he is one.. But like you said, he's on a clock. I can't leave any stone unturned." She says as she walks off

"Oh yeah."

John was sitting at a Table at Big Belly Burger, as Carly walked over with his food.

"So when are you gonna tell me what happened to your arm?"

"Oh, this? It's my shoulder. It's fine..." He said

"I had a feeling that Queen guy was trouble."

"Hey, I never said this happened protecting Queen." He responded

She looked past John as she spoke "Oh yea then why is he here?"

Oliver and Rob walked through the door.

"Are is secure, sir."

"Thank you very much Rob." He said, heading towards Dig.

"Hello Diggle's sister-in-law Carly. I'm Oliver Queen."

"I know who you are." She responded.

"No, you really don't." John said with a hint of snark in his tone.

Carly walked away as Oliver took a seat.

"I couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of police cars when I got home. I knew you wouldn't drop a dime on me." Oliver said

"So have you considered my offer?"

"Offer? That's one hell of a way to put it."

"It is an offer."

"It's a chance to do the kind of good, you joined the military to do." Oliver continued.

"Please. You were born with a platinum spoon in your mouth Queen. What, 5 years without room service and you find religion?" John said with a scoff

Oliver takes the tiny book out of his pockets and places it on the table saying, "This was my father's. I found it when I buried him."

Diggle's eyes widened slightly. "I thought you said he went down with the boat."

"We both made it to a life raft. But there wasn't enough food and water for both of us, so he shot himself in the head." Oliver began.

"And as much as he did it to help me survive.. I also believe it was his way of atoning for his sins."

"I need to right the wrongs done by my family... And I'm giving you the chance to right the wrongs done to yours."

"What are you talking about man?"

"The police never identified your brother's killer."

"Leave Andy out of this-"

"The bullets were laced with curare, the M.O. of deadshot, The sniper I stopped." Oliver said as he looked at John

"You're telling me you took down Andy's killer?"

'I'm giving you.. A chance to help other people's families. Do you remember when people in this city helped each other?"

"They can't anymore... Because the group of people like my father see nothing wrong with stepping on people's throats to raise themselves up higher."

"It needs to stop. And if not by the cops and the law, then it's gonna be me. And I hope you." Oliver finished as he stood up.

He walked by Rob saying, "I'm gonna go to the washroom real quick."

Rob nodded his head as Oliver walked off. After Diggle's and Rob stood in silence for a little bit, Dig spoke up as he looked at Rob.

"That boy's long gone."

Rob looked at him very concerned.

"Phew." He said imitating a speeding bullet taking off.

Moira walked into the Living Room where she saw Walter looking around with his glasses on.

➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴◉◉➴

She walked to the table nearby and said "Still following the money trail?"

"Mhm."

She stepped towards a little table as she spoke again. "Don't we have accountants for this sort of thing?"

Not looking up, Walter said "Well, they're being singularly ineffective in this instance."

Moira poured herself a glass of wine as she spoke again, "I suppose it's fortunate I've solved the mystery."

She walked towards Walter.

"I believe I am the culprit... 2.6 million, it's a rather specific figure."

"It's the exact amount the company invested in the start up venture of a friend a few years ago."

He still wasn't convinced.

"I'll call accounting to clear it up."

"There's nothing to worry about." She said as she turned to leave the room.

"You're putting a lot of hours into this Declan thing... You actually think he's innocent?" Johanna asked Laurel back at the office.

➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳

"Somebody does." She responds as she looks through the file again.

"You haven't said who yet."

"Well..." She walks Johanna away and whispered "The Guardian Angel."

"The guy in the hood?!" She whisper tells

"You're joking, right?"

"He found me and asked if I'd look into this case."

"But you've met him."

"Look I know. He's a vigilante. He's killed people, and whatever else.." Laurel looked up from the file.

"And how do you know he isn't gonna do the same to you?" Johanna asks

"He won't. I can tell."

"When I said you should meet someone, this is not what I meant." Johanna sighed, exasperated.

Laurel meets with the Hood on a roof.

✧𖣠♫✧𖣠♫✧𖣠♫✧𖣠♫✧𖣠♫✧𖣠♫✧𖣠♫✧𖣠♫✧𖣠♫✧𖣠

"I got your message, but did it have to be like this?"

"You've met with Peter Declan."

"I think you're right, he might be innocent."

"He said his wife told on Brodeur to the supervisor the day she was killed." Laurel says

"We'll need to get him to testify."

"Matt Istook. He did, said she didn't say anything to him."

"He could be lying."

"If he did, then he's very convincing. Enough to fool the police and courts." She said

"He hasn't been questioned by me."

"Look.. I didn't become a lawyer to hurt anyone."

"I do what I need to for people like Peter Declan." The Hood spoke.

Laurel looked at him.

"If what you're doing isn't wrong... Why hide your face?"

She had more than one reason to ask him..

"I need to protect the people I care about."

"It sounds lonely..."

"It can be.." He said as he walked towards the edge of the roof.

"But not today!"

He grappled off into the distance, off the building.

[heartsoulrocknroll]

AEW Dynamite 11/16/22

Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara -- Claudio does lunges while holding Guevara in a suplex position before dropping him!!! Guevara continues to target the eye of Danielson that was injured in the 2 out of 3 falls match. Danielson with some aggressive running dropkicks into the corner!!! Guevara with a drop toe hold, driving Danielson's face into the bottom turnbuckle. Jericho hits Danielson in the head with the bat!! Claudio gets the hot tag!! He absolutely throws Guevara around like a rag doll and pummels Jericho in the corner with vicious uppercuts!! Danielson and Guevara back in. Beautiful rolling elbow from Danielson to Guevara!!! Series of kicks by Danielson!! Guevara goes back to Danielson's injured eye. Jumping knee by Guevara!!!! Danielson reverses a GTH attempt and grabs the LeBell lock!!!!!!! Guevara gets to the ropes. Top rope cutter by Guevara!!!! Jericho tags in and hits a Lionsault on Danielson, but Claudio breaks up the pin! Claudio absolutely hurls Guevara so high in the air and hits a huge uppercut!!!! Claudio tags in! Jericho goes for a shot with the bat, but Claudio catches him in the Giant Swing!!! When Claudio releases him, Jericho grabs the bat again. Claudio snatches the bat away and locks in the Sharpshooter!! Jericho taps!!! Claudio now has two falls on Jericho since losing the ROH World Championship to him!!! This match rocked!!!! Excited for the four way at Full Gear!!!!

The Acclaimed debut their music video, in which Caster raps about Swerve. It's pretty funny. Not gonna lie. Lol.

Death Triangle (c) vs. Top Flight and AR Fox for the AEW World Trios Championship -- Good to see Darius back and to see AR Fox in AEW! Darius and Dante throw Pac into a cutter by AR Fox!!! Standing moonsault from Pac and double team cazadora bomb from Penta and Fénix at the same time on Fox! Later on, 450 off the top rope by Fox on Fénix, but Fénix kicks out!! Fear Factor by Penta and Fénix followed by Black Arrow by Pac gets the three count on Fox!! Death Triangle retains again!!!

After the match, Pac calls out The Elite. "If they think they can just mozy in and best the Death Triangle, that's ridiculous. Death Triangle runs from nobody!! You may think you're coming for us, but we've been waiting for you." Go off, Pac!!!!! I am so hyped for this match!!!!!!!! But if The Elite win, I will jump out a window. I need Death Triangle to have the reign they deserve.

Bandido vs. Ethan Page (AEW World Championship number one contender tournament) -- This was fine. Page wins with Ego's Edge. Yawn.

Here comes Moxley to the ring with Regal. Moxley says his liking to fight isn't a good thing. He says he is sick in the head. He's addicted to the adrenaline rush, to hurting himself and his opponent. He said you can't hurt him, because he literally doesn't care. That's who Jon Moxley is. He says he has been trying to figure out who MJF is. He says the world sees what MJF wants them to see, prepared speeches and hand-picked opponents. But what Moxley sees is a kid playing wrestler, who is afraid he won't live up to the hype. Moxley says MJF isn't challenging him, Moxley is challenging MJF to show him something, to show him why people think MJF is going to be the future of this industry.

The Firm attacks and beats Moxley down!!!!!!! MJF runs out on a mission!!!! He takes out the Gunns and Moriarty on the ramp!!! He jumps into the ring and gives Morrissey a swift low blow!!! Ethan Page tries for a kick on MJF, but MJF dodges him and sends him into Morrissey instead. Then MJF puts his thumb in Page's eye and lands a low blow and a big left hand strike!!! I AM FREAKING OUT!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!! MJF USING HEEL TACTICS LIKE THE LOW BLOWS AND THE THUMB TO THE EYE BUT STILL LOOKING LIKE THE BABYFACE OPPOSITE THE FIRM IS MAKING ME INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MJF tells Stokely and The Firm, "If I were you, I'd get the hell out of Connecticut before I firmly take my boot and shove it up your ass." He then turns to Moxley, who is still down and out. "I did not save your ass because I like you, Jon. I saved you because I don't want any of your pissant, mark fan club making any excuses for you when I knock your lights clean out. No Dynamite Diamond Ring necessary. Ain't that right, Will? When I got into this business, my ultimate goal was to become the best wrestler in the world. And I'm not an idiot, Jon. I know this Saturday, I'm in for the fight of my life. You're one double tough, bad son of a bitch. But know this, I ain't the same kid I was the first time we fought for that piece of gold. You see, this time, you can dump me on my head as many times as you want, you can make me bleed buckets, you can snap, crackle, and pop every single ligament, joint, and bone in my body, but I will not stop. Because I need that belt more than I need water, more than I need food, and more than I need oxygen. Because when you're the man that holds the AEW World title, that makes you the best wrestler on God's green earth, and goddamn it, it's my time!!! Now I heard you last week when you said I'm not the devil. That's classic. Maybe you haven't been listening very well, so allow me to tell you. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist. And this Saturday at Full Gear, you are going to find out that I am the devil himself." MJF starts with his catchphrase, but Moxley takes the mic out of his hand before he can finish. Moxley says he never really saw the big deal with MJF, but at Full Gear, they are going to find out. Moxley says if MJF can't find it inside of himself, Moxley is gonna reach in and pull it out of him. He says at Full Gear, the training wheels come off.

LET'S GOOOOOOOOO. I AM SO EXCITED. I CAN'T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME I WAS THIS EXCITED FOR ANYTHING IN AMERICAN WRESTLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gertlushgaming]

Tiny Troopers Global Ops Review (PlayStation 5)

 For our Tiny Troopers Global Ops Review we play a fast-paced arcade twin-stick shooter in which we attempt to lead an elite squad of Tiny Troopers on action-packed missions to take down hordes of unscrupulous enemies from all corners of the world!

Tiny Troopers Global Ops Review Pros:

- Decent Chunky cartoon-like graphics. - 19. 09 GB Download size. - Platinum trophy. - Optional opening tutorial. (repayable) - Headquarters is your base where you can choose all the options such as - Armoury, local co-op, mission selection, online, and barracks. - Twin stick shooter gameplay. - Feedback on the triggers when you shoot. - Fully Voiced characters. - Arcade experience. - Earn EXP and level up to unlock new upgrades for your character. - Can revive your partner and they can revive you. - Armory is where you spend and use upgrade points to bolster health add slots and increase your squad size. - Barracks are where you can customize your character. - Five difficulties to choose from before each mission. - In-game cutscenes. - Super Turkey punch mini-game in the HQ where it spawns a load of turkeys and you have to kill them as fast as possible. - Can skip and fast-forward cutscenes. - Humor throughout. - The level select screen allows you to replay levels. - In single-player, you have some Ai partners that will mimic your actions and you can have more as you level up. - Actions - shoot, dodge, and pick up power-ups like grenades and rocket launchers. - Any interactive spots have a handy shiny icon. - In-screen button prompts. - Gets a bit like bullet hell later on. - Collect dog tags, medals, and the like for bonus score rewards. - Tight responsive controls. - Health pickups that heal you and your partners. - Good arcade shooter. - Bite-sized levels. - Mission markers. - More fun with friends. - The locations are big enough to have some exploration within them. - You can just keep going from level to level without returning to HQ. - Once you get a load of unlocks and the movement speed up the game does have a good feel but it's a while away. - Can get addictive. - Interactive vehicle set pieces. - Each team member can be upgraded separately. - Maxing out an upgrade can unlock even more.

Tiny Troopers Global Ops Review Cons: - Cannot see the controls for the controller. - You cannot rebind controls. - It is a very slow-paced game. - The game will hang as a trophy pop-up happens. - No accessibility options. - Levels tend to repeat the objectives a lot. - Enemies can and will shoot you from offscreen. - Few issues with the game recognizing inputs. - The hardest difficulty is locked. - To make levels feel longer they will have you re-tread large parts of the level. - No camera control makes grenade usage a pain and enemies can be well hidden. - Predictable enemy encounters. - You only get one life so death means a mission restart. - Your Ai team despite mimicking you, will nearly always run into death. - Your partners will repeat lines over and over. - The vehicle parts are very underwhelming. - Doesn't give a notification of leveling up. - The skip cutscenes button doesn't always work. - Getting shot from off-screen is tiresome. Related Post: WitchCrafty Review (Xbox Series S)

Tiny Troopers Global Ops: Official website. Developer: Epiphany Games Publisher: Wired Productions Store Links -  PlayStation Read the full article

[mister-leonn]

With my easy-to-cry-and-fly Treecko in my pocket, the start of my Hoenn journeys was... slow. I tried to make him fight wild Pokémons for hours in vain, he would always run away, cry or cry while running away, that's how I came to meet Wurmple, a single brain celled but Jolly organism who happened to just stand there, chewing leaves, minding her own business, I thought it was the perfect target for Treecko, a defenseless, completely unaware of danger little bug, and he actually gathered his strength and tried to confidently walk toward her and hit her in the back, if only she didn't turn to him and used String Shot on his face, a traumatic event indeed as he ran away screaming and crying. I could only sigh at this desesperating scene, I just sat there, pouting, watching a bush shivering like a Maschiff shaking off water of its fur as Treecko was hiding in it, while thinking about how to make him gather some courage, little Wurmple crawled up to me and laid between my legs for a nap, which I didn't notice for a moment. When i realized Wurmple felt completely unbothered by her surrounding the idea came to my mind, if Treecko could befriend a wild Pokémon perhaps he would be more eager to fight it, knowing what to expect, but perhaps, "wild" was too scary for him, I decided to catch Wurmple then, after all Treecko wasn't so bothered by Beldum. I walked up to him and sat him next to Wurmple, he jumped out of scare and just stayed completely paralyzed with fear, but Wurmple just crawled and fell asleep next to him, I thought Treecko would never ease down but he actually did a bit, until he felt completely calmed next to her, he even went for a hello when she woke up, the first time I actually saw him get the courage to meet another Pokémon on his own. After a time he even agreed to a battle with Wurmple, I could tell Treecko was scared to his bones but to my great relief he actually went for a Pound of his tail, which crash landed on the ground as Wurmple dodged it, he came back crying his eyes out but I couldn't be happier, to his surprise, I told he finally went to use a move, even if it failed, even if it wasn't great, he found the strength to do it, all thanks to Wurmple, so I decided to keep her. She quickly evolved, as many bug types, into a Silcoon and then a Beautifly, I couldn't be happier to see her turn into such magnificent Pokémon, not only that but also strong, thanks to Sceptile, I tend to believe they help each other finding strength within themselves, Sceptile helped her become a strong Pokémon and always look at her to find his own strength, as a call back of how much he used to cry, and she was his first victory on life. It's a relationship that goes beyond the simple friendship I believe, an emotional bond to help them grow and find the strength in each other to keep going. As a result of his training and an expertise of Mr Aaron, a member of Sinnoh's Elite 4, she learned Psychic, Shadow Ball, Quiver Dance and Bug Buzz and Swarm ability, resembling the Overgrow ability used by Sceptile.

[aleburton]

Alex arched a brow, her naturally soft, doe-like eyes narrowing into slits at his poorly disguised remark. “Hm,” she replied in her honeyed tone, keeping her expression carefully neutral. He laughed it off, brushing aside the remark’s impropriety despite his half-hearted attempt to temper it. His behavior puzzled her. He’d always been bold, unafraid to go after whatever he wanted, and she had once fallen victim to his persistence — drawn in as a young,headstrong girl. Though she’d been fully aware of his charms and made it clear she refused to be another notch on his bedpost, she hadn’t been prepared for the inevitable fallout between them. Back then, their flirtation had felt harmless enough; neither of them had anyone to answer to. But now? He was in his longest, most stable relationship to date. Was he baiting her into a secret affair? Did Kylie truly mean so little to him? Or was this just a test? An attempt to gauge if he still held any power over her? You can love Andrew, his gaze seemed to imply, but do you still love me more?

She drank him in like another glass of strawberry champagne, her eyes tracing each subtle shift in his expression, every quirk of his smile, the way his eyes creased just slightly when he laughed. But as he stepped closer, her body instinctively angled away. A small, almost imperceptible movement, but one that felt like a barrier between them. She didn’t trust him, or herself. Not after that night in the elevator. This time, they weren’t alone. They were surrounded by Hollywood’s elite, and she knew there were surely prying eyes and eager informants, hoping to twist even the most innocent exchange into a headline. She and Zach had spent years dodging the press, and a small fortune had gone into legal fees and hush money to prevent leaked images from tarnishing his carefully crafted pop-star image. If they were caught together again, it would make for a sensational story, especially if anyone took the time to dig beneath the surface. Yet tonight, he seemed unexpectedly willing to keep his distance. Perhaps he had no other choice.

He taunted her again, alluding to her lack of effort to connect with him at recent events. Alex rolled her eyes, as sharp and cutting as the flawless black wings that lined her lids. “And what’s that supposed to mean?” she shot back, her tone edged with a hint irritation. She’d been keeping her distance as a favor to them both, or so she thought. “Somehow, I think you being around me brings out the worst behavior. Don’t you agree? Especially in small, dark spaces.” Her tongue traced over her front teeth, her gaze drifting unapologetically down his body. If he wanted her to be direct, she could meet him head-on. She rarely backed down from a challenge, even one that might put everything at risk. But even as she played along, her thoughts were elsewhere. A part of her mind was fixated on tracking Luke’s whereabouts, wondering what might happen if he and Zach crossed paths tonight. She found herself continuing to unconsciously flicking at the gold band on her ring finger, the dark cherry polish glinting under the light. Months of therapy hadn’t rid her of the nervous habit. To pick, dig, or scratch whenever she was on edge.

Zach leaned in, hinting at a quiet truth shared only between them. Alex froze, straightening and balancing flawlessly on her platform heels, snapping effortlessly back into her composed demeanor. She listened to his words, then smirked, letting out a soft chuckle. “I guess some things never change. But wrecking your work relationships and downing vodka are off the table tonight. You’ll have to find a new vice. What works for you these days?” She was genuinely curious, especially with his return to the public eye. Events like this would soon become routine, and he no longer had the luxury of losing control; his career and his equally famous girlfriend’s depended on him keeping it together. “You could always do what I do,” she offered lightly. “A healthy dose of dissociation. And if that fails, food. I never say no to dessert.” He responded with a sly joke, and her lips parted as she processed it, caught off guard. “Only marginally? You know, I could unleash the crowd on you if I wanted. Reveal your secret hiding spot. What then?” She extended a hand, playfully pushing his shoulder with a grin.

For a moment, Alex wandered somewhere far away, her attention floaty and indiscernible in the low light. Her eyes, glassy, rolled over him in a manner that straightened his spine. Hm? she answered, dreamy, and his affected confidence gave way to a genuine, muted laugh, her daze charming to him. He wondered what had her so distracted, then swallowed the bloom of hope tickling his ribs that it might be him. He hadn’t forgotten how expertly she’d avoided him lately – something else was on her mind, keeping her here, instead of turning heed and running. Zach’s eyes widened, indulging her question with a drop of sarcasm. “I’m cursed with this paralyzing, supernatural ability to find you anywhere,” he muttered, vaguely amused and strangely truthful. “But you made it easy this time. The air literally tast – smells, just like you.”

He swallowed a hiccup of a laugh, vague alarm rising at his verbal misstep. He, of course, meant what he’d almost said. The taste of her furred on his tongue, coagulated in the back of his throat like a never-healing wound, but he hadn’t meant to say it exactly that way. Zach realized he’d expected her to prise herself from the conversation more immediately only when she stayed. She seemed to latch onto his mild attempt at goading. The corner of his lip flickered, mirroring hers. “Mm. But the chaos was what made it all bearable.” He took a step closer, vaguely aware in the back of his mind how they might look. Partitioned off from the crowd in a quiet, private corner, muttering mutedly. To most, the topic of their conversation would be a mystery – what would Zach Winthrop have to say to his boss’ fiancé?

But Alex was right, and Zach had been honest – his former behavior had been what had made these events tolerable to him, even if he’d had the opposite effect on other guests. The drinking, the coke, the drawing attention and acting out – it all made the irritating side of the business a little less grating. A little quieter, significantly less foreboding. It was nice that they could laugh about it now. Zach chewed on the inside of his cheek, poorly fending off a grin. “Yes, ma’am,” he submitted jovially, closing his eyes and bowing his head in a show of obedience. “I’ll be good if it means you’ll actually have a conversation with me.” He had held his tongue for the most part, but his nature ultimately betrayed him – he had to at least allude to her obvious avoidance lately.

Alex, for a split second, floated away again, seemingly grounding herself by spinning the engagement ring on her finger. A flash of remembering; blood red light, her hazy silhouette, how she felt both threateningly alive and surreally dreamlike under his daring palm, Alex’s voice humming what are we doing? This feels dangerous. Zach tried not to let his face slip up, and rooted himself in the present. Her fidgeting confirmed that his suspicions had been correct – something was bothering her. Instead of striking out with a direct hit, he undercut, offering something of himself first. “That’s why I wandered off,” he admitted, lowering his voice a little so as to keep the truth private. “I can only entertain all the networking bullshit for short bursts before I start involuntarily fantasizing about destroying a working relationship or guzzling a fifth of vodka.” He flashed an over-compensating smile, to demonstrate his keen restraint. His gaze rolled over her, his stomach stirring; the free fall of her neck into her shoulder, the curve of her chest from the sweetheart neckline of her dress, the softly fluttering nip of her waist. His tongue jabbed his inner cheek, and he bit down on it. “This, I admit, is marginally more sufferable.”

[rain-candles-jazz]

whumpcember day 5: "i hate you"

tw: medical, restraint, sharp instruments

Sariel opened her eyes instantly upon regaining consciousness. She proceeded to try to jump to her feet, but found that her arms and legs were tightly bound... again. Even if it had never worked before, she struggled with all her strength to attempt to escape them.

With this effort, and her adrenaline beginning to die down a bit, she noticed a pain in her left abdomen that flared up with each additional attempt at movement. Sari stopped and stared at the ceiling... the now familiar ceiling with the stain that reminded her of a tea cup and saucer, the ceiling she had counted the pockmarks of many times. She was tired and angry, and she just wanted all this to be over.

"ITCHY!" she yelled, her side aching with the effort. "ITCHY GET THE HELL-"

"WHAT?!" came Itchy's reply from across the room, probably from his curtained prep closet. Footsteps approached the table she was strapped too, and she heard the distinct sound of metal instruments clacking against a metal tray. "I swear you are so impatient," Itchy tutted.

Sari could only see glimpses of him, swaying back and forth, instruments clacking as he sorted them.

"Itchy," Sari growled. "What happened?" A question, voiced as a command.

Itchy was unfazed by her tone. "Don't you remember? God, you have a terrible memory." He stood tall, hovering over her so that she could see him, that look of superiority that she hated so much plastered on his face. Her side ached anew, and she winced, attempting to show no more signs of weakness. "You failed to grasp the entire scope of the battlefield! What kind of elite soldier drone thing can't even dodge some friendly fire?"

Sari blinked at him before realizing what he'd said. "You... you SHOT me?!"

Itchy shrugged. "It was a perfectly good line of fire. Can't help it if you stepped in front of it. Amateur mistake on your part, really."

Sari was furious. Itchy had shot her in the back and blamed her for it. Before she could say anything else about it, the ache in her side turned into a sharp stabbing pain.

"Aahhh!! What- what the hell are you doing?!" she shouted, attempting with little progress to flinch away from the feeling.

"I'm trying to get some of my shot back," he said as though it were the most obvious think in the world. "I'd much rather dig out what I can. Do you have any idea how much of a pain it is to make buckshot?"

Sari recognized the feeling of a scalpel slicing afresh at her side. "AAugh!! S-stop! Itchy, please!" He cut deeper, and she felt like the blade was slicing straight through her brain, instantly erasing all clear thoughts.

"Ugh," Itchy replied in annoyance. "If I had any anesthetic, you know I'd give it to you. If for no other reason to shut you up." He knew well from trial and error that the restraints he used would hold Sari still enough to do what he had to. He grabbed a laryngoscope to poke around through the shredded muscles of Sari's abdomen. They tensed as he touched them, and he impatiently pushed them away so he could look further into the tissue.

Sari clenched her teeth and closed her eyes as she felt the cold metal pressing through her flesh. "Ah-ah! Itchy-" The scalpel was sliding in now, and she felt a deep cut further up towards her ribs. "Itchy stop!! God why?!"

Itchy ignored her completely, dropping the scalpel and grabbing a small pair of needle-nose pliers. He maneuvered them in, gripping a small jagged metal slag that was imbedded in tissue. He pulled it towards him, ripping the tissue it was lodged in.

Sari tensed all over. She opened her eyes wide but saw only white stars. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.

Itchy dropped the metal piece on his tray with a clang. He smiled. He knew there was stuff to salvage from this incident! He grabbed the scalpel again and began to poke around.

After a few moments, Sari seemed to regain herself a little, and she began to make noises that gradually progressed into words. "Ah... I... I... h... ha... haah!" Another pinch from inside her muscles made her wince. Another deep cut made her scream, and her voice and mind integrated enough to make her feelings known. "AAaah- I HATE YOU!" She yelled at full volume, straight into the ceiling. "I HATE YOU I HATE YOU UUNH-" Yet another stab. "I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU!!"

Itchy winced at the sheer intensity of her voice but continued working through her mindless tirade. "Yeah well," he said softly, more to himself than anything. "Its not exactly my goal to be loved."

[wingsfromwhere]

reach would be a good game if the devs didnt go insane on the elite’s AI, literal garbage AI. on legendary the ai will sprint everywhere whilst blast you full force and if you try to close the distance they just run away so your only option for dealing with them is using instant hit weapons wich is nearly no plasma weapon (plasma weapons wich are the only efficient way to deplete their shields) and theres nothing you can do if you have to kill two at once, they will dodge everything you have to throw at them or soak up the rest with shields all while landing every singles plasma shot on you from 20 yards away  

[female-buckets]

ESPN: *posts anything about women's hoops*

10,000 male comments: "Kitchen. Make me a sandwich. Me and 4 other casual male players could beat this WNBA team by 100 points."

Casual male players: *Get beaten by casual female players*

Casual male players:

Andrea Womack is mourning the loss of her 21-year-old daughter, Asia Womack. She was killed Monday evening after playing basketball at T.G. Terry Park just up the street from her home.

"This was supposed to be a friend of Asia's. She's eaten with the man," Andrea said. "She's fed him, and he turned on her and killed her in a vicious way." 

Asia was a whiz at basketball, playing her high school days at Madison High School.

Her family says she was in a pickup game at the park playing against the guy who is said to have shot her, and she won. The family also says there was trash talk, too.

According to the family, the shooter took his kids and brother home and came back to the park, shooting Asia five times.

Cameron Hogg, 31, murdered Asia Womack, a woman 10 years younger than him, after she beat him at basketball. He's on the run in Dallas Texas and has not been apprehended.

All across the US, a million girls and women play basketball at public parks exactly like this one. No female player is ever completely safe at a pick-up hoop around men. Not even around men they consider friends. And men are always around because they are extremely territorial about this sport in particular. They believe basketball, especially casual basketball, is male territory.

Where I live, every single public pick-up court is dominated by men. Any woman who tries to dribble on these courts faces severe harassment. But some women like Asia Womack are so in love with this sport, they are fearless and powerful with a ball in their hands. Harassment and intimidation and trash talk can't keep them away from public hoops. Men who believe casual basketball is male territory feel threatened by women like that.

Women's basketball shouldn't just be about the top 0.1% elite women who get paid to play. Basketball should be accessible for every woman. Women should not have to dodge threats, sexual assault, and bullets just to play basketball. If men can't share the court, they don't deserve to play.