#Nova is immune to the sun's heat

[lawain-dimensional-heroes]

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind. Seriously, I agree that tuna is a bad nickname-- it's just as bad as Macaroni." God how many times has he been called Macaroni by Hanaka back when they weren't separated.

Hearing Kiana that she was immune and heat resistant Maroon nodded at that. "Heat resistant, huh? I never had that issue in this form. Then again, when you're a sun god, everything that is also present in stars makes me extra resistant to it, especially fire and lightning-- or plasma as it's more accurately called. As Sol Nova I have a immunity to both Fire and Lightning."

As the he felt the strong wind, he got indeed pushed back. A new move? He got curious.

"...Well then, unleash it--"

But the moment she was cupping her hands and creating that ball of energy, he had a guess of what it was. A Kamehameha wave, but he also sensed something odd about that move. And the words she just spoke up was proof what it was.

"Wait-- You can do that!?" What's with everyone and their mother being able to do that move nowadays? At this point Maroon has to do something similar to a Kamehameha... Well if she learned or got inspired by Goku, he can do it too. Before the beam hit him, he quickly focused, before with a blink of an eye, he instant transmissions himself behind her to kick her back while using lightning manipulation to give his kick some extra shock.

"Sorry, but I'm not Goku or nor am I any of his friends that enjoy beam struggles." He's glad he learned that technique from his fight with Goku in the last tournament. Having a beam struggle so soon would be a waste of energy he thought to himself.

"Call me a Tuna and I'll hit you extra hard." Kiana deadpanned, his kick did connect and she had all three fireballs miss from being slightly moved off-course. "I see no concern from the fire, so that means you can either absorb the flames or are immune altogether."

"I won't bother with theatrics for later, but being the Herrscher of Flamescion makes me immune to flames too and very heat resistant altogether." She saw no point in hiding it either. A fight was a fight. Regardless, she put out a hand again, this time sending out a strong shockwave of wind to get some distance from Maroon by propelling herself backwards.

"I always wanted to try this move, so try and tank it." Hence her cupping her hands together, gathering both ki and honkai energy into one and creating a purple sphere, before pointnig it towards Maroon, where it unleashed a beam. "Honkaimehameha!" Yes, Kiana definitely had fun with combining the names.

[mortallyclearwonderland]

Star Wars Alien Species - Dashade

Urkupp was a planet located within the Urkupp system of the Outer Rim Territories. The homeworld of the Dashade race.

The Dashade homeworld, Urkupp, was destroyed in 3996 BBY when the Cron Drift supernova exploded during the Great Sith War, wiping out the vast majority of the Dashade. Though they were rendered nearly extinct, remnant populations were seen sporadically for millennia.

One survivor of the destruction of Urkupp was Snar Extruct, a warrior who befriended the Jedi Master Skarch Vaunk. Extruct moved to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, becoming the sparring partner of Vaunk. Thirty-eight Dashade Shadow Killers, retainers of a Falleen royal house, were among the off-world survivors. In order to preserve these elite warriors, they were placed in cryogenic suspension, to be revived one at a time when needed for special assignments. The Dashade Khem Val, a former servant of the ancient Dark Lord of the Sith Tulak Hord survived on Korriban during the Cold War. By the time of the Galactic Civil War, only one known Dashade remained, Ket Maliss. Prince Xizor, a descendant of the royals who had passed the Dashade down over the generations, inherited this warrior and made him an assassin for Black Sun.

Around 3631 BBY, a Dashade known as Ak'ghal Usar was released on Yavin 4 by the Outlander. After being subdued, Usar revealed that he had come to the moon in hopes of destroying Exar Kun, who was believed to have destroyed Urkupp and its Dashade population. However, Usar's mission was prevented when he was captured by a being known as the "black-eyed Sith," whose real identity was that of Valkorion. After learning that neither Valkorion nor Kun possessed a physical body to attack, Usar offered his services to the Outlander, which were either accepted or rejected.

There was also evidence that Dashade mercenaries participated in the Great Jedi Purge.

Some believed that the Dashade may have founded colonies before Urkupp's destruction. New Republic Security became concerned that these lost colonies may have started working for the Imperial Remnant and in the criminal underworld. To assuage their fears, they dispatched a number of spacers to scout uninhabited star systems close to novas, supernovas, highly charged gas clouds, and even tide-locked worlds from binary star systems. They supplied ships and a mobile HoloNet transceiver to aid them. It is unclear what discoveries were made from these endeavors.

Thanks to their Force immunity, Dashade warriors easily found employment as combat instructors for the Jedi and assassins for the Sith. They also used their natural abilities to their advantage as elite assassins, mercenaries, and among similar professions.

Dashade were large reptilians with dark skin, lamprey-like mouths and powerful claws. In addition to their partial Force resistance, they were resistant to radiation. They also had an ability to dissipate heat, which made them hard to detect using standard life-form sensors.

A typical Dashade stands at 1.85 meters or 6.1 feet tall and weighs 90 kilograms or 198 pounds.

Dashade age at the following stages:

1 - 10 Child

11 - 15 Young Adult

16 - 44 Adult

45 - 69 Middle Age

70 - 84 Old

Examples of Names: Alaris Koth, Nos Kellex, Tel Sorath, and Tessun Kel.

Languages: Dashadi was the official language of Urkupp. It was used by the planet's native species, the Dashades.

Since the destruction of Urkupp in 3996 BBY, apparently there had been only one or a small number of active Dashades at a single time. As Dashadi had never been a widely-used language beyond Urkupp, its speakers had increasingly seen the advantages of using Basic to communicate with other species.

[katsukikitten]

Weighted

A/N @zbops for you bb as per your request. I hope that this lives up to at least half of your expectations. Thank you so much for supporting me and for encouraging me. Enjoy it and may it help you just a bit more. I send my love XOXO Kitten 💋

It was not unlike you to occasionally stay up late into the night. Late enough to see the moon rise high in the inky black sky watching the constellations move by at a lazy pace.

But to lie awake long enough to greet the sun was abnormal.

At least it was supposed to be abnormal now. Before it was your normal to lose sleep as fat droplets slid from unblinking eyes. Thoughts consuming you with nothing and everything at once.

You thought yourself better.

Not cured, not immune, but well.

Fine and level headed for once.

Yet here you lie again unable to will your exhausted body to sleep as you replay failures from pasted years.

Like an old film one must study to improve but every time it is rewatched another haunting flaw jumps out.

And there is nothing you can do to right your wrong.

Frustrated tears well in your eyes now as you watch the clock for the second week in a row burn an obnoxious 3 am into your retina.

Furious as you thought you had put this problem in its place. That you had long ago learned how to make your demon small and to lock it away.

As with everything in life it adapted, slipping through the bars of its cage only to find itself looming over you once more. Delighting in your anguish as it exploits the coping mechanism you developed.

Turning it on its head to haunt you, to hurt you. To put you in your place as you thought you did it.

Although it knows this will be enough to pain you, it wants to do more.

Truly a petty being as it steals your voice, worming into your head just to whisper.

"Did you really think a few extra hours of training a day would make a difference? That you would suddenly be  sought after as a pro hero? You could barely get an apprenticeship and look at how you're failing at that!"*

This dredges up your failure from last week, your first offical mission as apprentice.

What was supposed to be a normal patrol quickly unraveled into a full on street brawl.

You aided your hero holding down the perpetrators bodies with your quirk, straining to keep them in place.

There were tenty or so overpowered drug enhanced strength quirks fighting the pull you placed on them. 

Your arm pangs now, reminding you of how it threatened to snap beneath the own weight of your quirk.

"Useless." Its laugh echoes in your ear.

Your temper flares, fist smashing the small black box that mocks you with the time before you rise. Dressing into your training clothes, sliding on your weighted vest as your bruises groan against it. You push your already consistent 1.5 times Earth's gravity pull to a consistent 2.5 for now.

Hands grab for your phone and headphones before fumbling to find your key in your amassed returning symptoms. Throwing piles of clothes, books, and homework onto other piles of  long neglected items.

Irritation mixed with a twinge of panic sets in as you look for your FOB that accesses not only the gym you are so desperate to use but also it accesses your dorm building as your dorm room key rests on a chain around your neck. Your memory works overtime as you wonder where it could have been placed.

Was it it Kirishima's room?

Or Bakugou's?

Who's room did the three of you spend the night in last?

You cannot remember, time all runs together much like a watercolor painting caught in the rain.

Colors bleed and the world dips into sun bleached greys as you think of the two of them.

Had you even texted either of them good night?

When was the last time you told them you loved them?

You pick up your phone, bloomed bruised hand winking back at you before the phone obliterates into metal and glass confetti at your feet.

"Fuck." You hiss having forgotten that you had the gravitational pull around your hands as well. Damning yourself for being so careless although you are still careless enough to walk over the shrapnel with bare feet.

It is then you find your key FOB lying in the middle of the chaotic room which you snatch greedily before locking your post nuclear bomb room away.

And with that the thoughts of ash blonde and ruby red hair.

You slink on guilty feet in the shadows of the hall, the moon your only witness as you make your way outside.

The air is cool agaisnt your heated skin, hinting that fall is almost over. That winter will be sure to rear its ugly head and harshly at that.

As if to prove a point an icy wind cuts through your skin deep into your bones, you sigh out upping the force on your body.

The gym is a short walk from the dorm, the night caressing you with soft fingers as it guides you to the thick metal door.

A worried gulp echoes back at you as your hand hovers just before the panel. FOB just out of range to be scanned.

Last time a student was on rest probation their key could only work if Sensei scanned theirs as well.

With gritted teeth you bring the key to kiss smooth plastic. For a moment you're sure it will flash red but when it beeps with a flash of glorious green you cannot help the small smile that spreads across your lips.

They must have forgotten to add those restrictions to yours, that or they didn't think you would disobey your physical therapist and other Sensei.

It doesn't take long before you're sweating.

And the more you swing the harder you make the gravitational pull on your body. The floor groans from the pressure as you push the pull towards you beyond limits for a recovering body, 3.5 times Earth's normal pull.  Sweat slides down a bruised nape and drips into now stinging eyes.

You do little to alleviate the pain or sweat that is trying so hard to blind you.

Another swing of your weighted fists has your bones creaking, muscles burning while you have half a mind to add more sand to your wrist and ankle bands.

Hell maybe even more to your vest although it presses against your sternum harshly with each step, threatening to snap a rib. You begin to lose the concentration on the areas you want to afflict as the incresed gravitational begins to spread out. The floor groans harder depsite being designed to withstand many powerful quirks.

A hairline fraction fissures through the smooth wood, attempting to snake up the cinderblock wall.

"None of this is going to change anything. You will still be..."

A heated punch hits the dummy hard, causing it to skid but you advance without letting up, snarling.

"Don't fucking say it."

Another hit to the dummy and you've got it cornered agaisnt the wall but still the voice goes on, a smile dancing along its tone as it purrs.

*"Worthless"*

You begin to jab agaisnt the dummy with enough momentum and force that the padding begins to fall away from its "face" revealing unforgiving metal beneath.

Metal that you pound into anyway.

Metal that warps for a moment from being too close to your pull, still your barrage of fists and feet cease to let up.

You follow up a punch with a round house kick increasing the force on your body subconsciously. As you rotate your vest slams heavily into your ribs and an audible crack echoes around the room. 

"Fuck!" You huff slamming your foot against the cool surface, the dummy implodes as you land on your feet.

In that moment the room pops from the pressure as you let up the force. The floor creaks, almost breathing as it returns to normal although now heavily warped. Suddenly you feel as light as a feather. As if at any moment you could float up to the ceiling like a lazy balloon only to get tangled in the harsh overhead lights.

Crimson splatters the floor from your knuckles and spit, hand feathering over your ribs. Sliding beneath dampened fabric, smoothing over already bruised skin. You're sure it will only worsen now that you count, one, two.

Three fucking cracked ribs. Your breaths come out in heavy puffs all echoing back to you as you right your self, eyes seeking out another dummy, ignoring the pain begging you to stop.

But feeling pain was better than feeling that weighted void in your chest.

As if you were a super nova that imploded, pulling everything around you into the darkened abyss.

Turning it all into hollowed nothingness.

The first sparring dummy you spy seems to look at you funny, you rear your fist but before it can make contact a growl cuts out.

"You've done enough little one."

His voice dips low, borderline pissed. It is a warning and one you must obey as the air permeates with salted caramel.

But you're in no mood to deal with Katsuki, no mood to be submissive, obedient or anything relative to feeling at all.

Regardless if it's clearly for your own good. 

All you wanted, needed, was for everything to fade.

And maybe to black.

But it doesn't instead he advances hand finding your wrist with a sharp grip, that softens only to assess. Turning your wrist this way and that with heated calculating eyes, before he rips off your weighted vest with a growl. Lifting your shirt to reveal blush black painted beneath your smooth skin.  His finger prods your ribs and when he counts them in his head he snarls. You watch his muscles twitch as he holds himself. Muscles that had grown twice their size since first year and yet you were left unchanging.

"Training is futile, you'll always be puny."

You rip your wrist free, teeth bared at an already snarling Bakugou.

"Not. Now." You misread his actions beneath the initial rage. He is concerned but all you see is punishment in his eyes 

Disappointment.

You look over Katsuki's sculpted shoulder to see Kirishima waiting at the door with glistening ruby eyes that seem to be torn.

Who does he support? How can he defuse this? 

"You're fucking hurt." The blonde bites out venom.

"I'm fucking fine. Drop it!" You shove past him slamming your shoulder into his. He wants so badly to reach for you. To yank you back to him so you can look him in his angry scarlet eyes.

"Oh so the blood on the floor means you're fine? Your cracked ribs and bruised to fuck all body means you're fine?!" His temper shows with deadly pops that dance along his skin.

You weight him and Kirishima down gently as you leave, hoping it slows them down long enough for you to return to the safety of your dorm room.

Katuski snarls as he walks with leaded feet, as if walking through mud under the influence of a muscle relaxer.  But he and Kirishima have trained with you plenty of times, not to mention they are exposed to your increased pull.

"Maybe we should give them sometime? They are upset, babe." Kirishima offers only to be met with a glowering glare. 

"I've tried listening to you, I've tried it your way and look what has happened." A snarl so low that Kirishima feels his gut twist.

"But..."

"But what?" He turns on his lover quickly, "We gave them two weeks of no contact. This is clearly a symptom we need to bisect before they kill themselves over some stupid fucking training."

Kirishima can do nothing but follow as Bakugou stalks you up the steps that you stomp.

You're seething, steam rising from your skin with each heavy breath as your vision blurs between rational thought and white hot rage.

Rage that is always so easy to give into. Especially when your only other option is immobilzing sadness. Before you know it Bakugou is barking at you from the jamb of the door while your ruby haired boyfriend presses gently against his back.

Trying to remind him that his own irate reaction could further the situation, Bakugou feels it but it is lost as you strip to change. You rip the velcro from your wrists, dropping the fifty pounds weights with a harsh thud. The floor rattles the items on your desk and even the window before you move onto the hundred pound weights on your ankles.

Grumbling as you think of your two hundred and fifty pound vest abandoned in the gym. How hard had Bakugou torn it from your strong yet sleek frame?

Would you have to take it to the support class?

You strip your shirt and then your pants as two sets of red eyes gauge different reactions. 

Rubies widen, shining with the threat of tears. While blood scarlet narrow with burning, hot, wrath.

Katsuki knew you were bruised, he knew you had those broken ribs and he knew you were set out of rehabilitation probation due to injuries but he did not know the extent of them.

And how the fuck could he? What with you locking yourself away in your room, refusing to text them, refusing to eat the meals cooked and left for you.

Refusing help as you promised you would not do.

Katsuki's warning signs of blowing do not go unnoticed, a strong hand wraps around his hip. Squeezing, hoping to convey the softness the ash blonde so desperately needs.

It works, at least as far as his quirk goes. Bakugou Katsuki  could erupt in more than one way.

"What. The. FUCK?!" He goes to take a step in but Kirishima keeps his grip tight. But that does not stop the tongue lashing you get. Bakugou takes a large slow breath, as you once taught him and snorts it out like a dragon.

"You promised you would stop doing this..." His voice, once soothing now grating your last nerve, "You fucking promised, damn it."

Kirishima gives another small squeeze before piping up.

"We are just worried about you, love. Very worried." His voice cracks at the end, causing Katsuki to look over his shoulder.

The tears well faster over dancing garnets.

From the weight of the guilt something in you finally snaps. The room blurs as you subconsciously pull the force to you, items slowly crushing beneath the weight as you lunge for the first thing you can wrap burning hands on.

Your desk chair to which your hurl while screaming

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Your hot headed boyfriend catches the chair with ease, exploding it on impact.

With an angry enough blast that the paint on the ceiling and walls peel.

Oh if Bakugou wasn't pissed at you before he was now.

And not angry over the fact that you've thrown something at him.

But over the simple fact that you were hurting in deadly silence. So badly suffering that you cannot even rationally express yourself anymore.

And more over he is pissed he has let it get this far.

The glass of your window shatters behind you, both from your exertion and his explosion pulling you into the here and now.

The room spirals as quickly as you do, suddenly forgetting how to breath. Gasping as a fish does out of water before you fall to your knees. The two men rush to you, fearing you'll lose yourself in your panic. Two sets of strong arms wrap around you both crushing you between them.

"You're okay." Kirishima soothes, "You're okay. Just breathe."

Nails bite into toned flesh though you are unsure which unfortunate mail is receiving the half blood moons as tears prick your eyes. Falling towards the Earth as much as you wish they wouldn't. Your stomach lurches, your side screams but it does not stop the racks of sobs that tremor through your body.

You come undone in the worst way before the very two men you wanted, needed to be strong in front of. There was already a detrimental gap between your development and theirs.  In every fucking aspect you could think of.

Muscle mass.

Durability.

Capability.

The list could go on.

After some time Bakugou coos to you.

"Now tell me what's wrong."

Kirishima places his head between your shoulder blades, reaching out for Bakugou's hand.

"I...I'm behind. I... I cannot even train right." Tears slip over ruddy cheeks that Katuski gently wipes away.

"Behind how?" Kirishima prompts, letting lazy circles trace your stomach.

"On my first mission I get put on recovery suspension, I worked so so so *hard* to even get that hero to agree to take me on and yet I fucked it all up!" Another frustrated sob that has you hiccuping for a moment. You watch Bakugou's face turn to stone as he tries to calm himself.

"I almost died on one of my first big missions. I sat out for a long time, this was a little bit before you transferred." Kirishima admits, "Resting and PT made me stronger."

"Hell I was behind at one point too. I couldn't even fucking pass the provisional!" Katsuki growls at the thought.

"Neither could Todoroki-kun." Kirishima adds.

"But you three...you three are strong. I'm so....weak." With that Bakugou snaps.

"You think I can run with a two hundred fifty pound weight on my chest and keep pace with Iida's jog? Do you think Kirishima could hold down twenty fucking tweaked out villians at once?" His voice is gruff but his hands are soft as he lifts your chin, purposefully making you hold his gaze as he speaks, "Answer me, little one."

"N...no." You sob, Kirishima's strong arm squeezes tigher around your middle, careful to avoid your ribs, as he peppers kisses over your blackened shoulders.

"Just because your body does not reflect mine or Eijiro's does not mean you are weak. You are strong Y/N. Real fucking strong." He kisses you softly, capturing your lips tenderly as Kirishima kisses along your throat.

"Share this weight with us." Bakugou breathes out after pulling away.

"Its not weak to cry or ask for help baby." Kirishima whispers in your ear, your eyes look over your sturdy shoulder before they fall to their hands intertwined. You notice Bakugou's knuckles turning white. Had you really made them worry this much?

"Isn't that right Suki?" Eji asks, resting his chin in your shoulder. Katsuki looks at him for a long time, this man and you have helped him more than he would ever like to admit. But if this is what brought that natural magnetism about you that attracted him in the first place he'd say it 

Fuck, if it brought that blinding smile of yours back to your kissable lips he'd scream if from the fucking roof.

"Yes." He lets out a shaky sigh, "Now please, please let us help you little one."

Searching his eyes you wonder if there will ever be a time when you will stop feeling this way.

When you will stop feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders over little to nothing at all.

When you will stop feeling that black hole that crawled into your chest weighing you down and making you weightless all at once.

When you will stop the haunting feeling of sadness that lingers on the fringes of your every thought, tainting every memory and moment with its shimmering darkness.

You wonder if this cancer, if this demon that has since crawled into your chest and devoured your heart whole will ever die.

Scarlet eyes soften as they rove over your lovely features, strong arms support you from behind and you know what the answer is.

The answer is no.

It will never die, never cease to exist, never leave you alone. It will stay with you until you lie motionless forever and even then it will crawl into your casket cradling your cooling skin.

But you will not stop fighting.

Cannot stop fighting because of the small sliver of a feeling you have now.

The love that resiliently blooms despite the pressure, despite the darkness, despite it being trampled over and fucking over.

You know that these two men are not your worth nor or they your reason for being and even if, Kamisama forbid, you three broke up, you would fight on.

Tooth and nail keeping this demon under the ball of your steel toed boot.

Because in the end, after it is all said in done you will do anything to feel this.

This hope and love that radiates from within. You sigh out a shaky sigh, releasing the tension of your shoulders and the constant pressure you've kept on yourself since that mission, your shoulders sag from relief.

"Thank you, thank you for baring this with me." You squeeze their arms respectively as you speak to them both at once, "I love you."

They speak in unison their two tones melding together and soothing over your skin like an ointment.

"I love you too." 

[ares-trilling]

The shop was warm. The sun had been beating through the front windows most of the day. You’d think being a demon he would be immune to heat but as he worked through checking the books he had worked up quite a sweat. It was a routine he went through once a month. Check the inventory. Check for theft. Check for damage. It took a couple of days usually which is why he tended to start at the end of one working day, stay closed for a day, then open late the day after. For as long as he had done it he had been alone. So he was use to sweating through his t-shirt as the warmer months came around. 

He heard Nova’s excited yips somewhere off in the distance and he moved through the store to greet Del just as she was walking in through the side door. “Hey.” Marcus smiled and promptly walked into one of the book carts causing him to stumble a little. “I... clearly need to be more aware of what’s around me. Do you want tea? I figured since it’s so warm i’d make it ice tea if that’s okay with you.” He moved towards her. “You’ll have to forgive how sweaty I am. I’ve been a this five hours already.” @persephone-moreau​

[emybain]

I loved your after the second battle for gatlon fic, could you write something about what happened during the battle?

*smiles evilly, although im not sure how much i like how this turned out*

what happens after these events here

    Gatlon was burning.

    The city had been evacuated hours ago, in the early morning. An unknown source had notified the Renegades that the Anarchists were planning to attack. The Anarchists, who had successfully kidnapped Ace Anarchy just weeks prior, had disappeared. Nova McLain had disappeared around the same time as well, and the Renegades had searched and searched for her, returning empty handed every time. It was until a week after she disappeared that Danna showed up, a complete mess and very thin.

    That was when they all learned the truth. That was when Adrian learned that Nova McLain was never a real person, that she was just a character created by the Anarchists and played out by his greatest enemy, Nightmare.

    He felt betrayed. Lost. Angry.

    She had stood with them when they had entered the city, stood by Ace Anarchy himself, head held high with pride. It was painful to look at. Because she still looked like her, but at the same time she didn’t.

    Adrian had fought her, too, in headquarters when she had placed bombs around the building. She made the mistake in only defending herself instead of truly fighting him. Adrian was able to beat her within minutes and disable her bombs. He shuddered at the memory, at the way she had stared up at him with hatred and conflict, although the latter was most likely created by Adrian’s own hopes that it all wasn’t a lie, that at least it held some truth. When he had defeated her, he had contemplated, for a split second, killing her. Ridding the world of the cause of his miseries. But then something had crossed her face, naked of her mask, which had been thrown off by Adrian in their fight. Nova McLain, the girl he had thought he had fallen for, had returned. Her eyes had become soft, her hand had daringly reached up to wipe away blood from his cheek. But then Adrian had pulled back, very aware of what her bare hands could do, and Nova McLain was gone again.

    “Kill me,” she had whispered, jaw set. “Get your revenge, Adrian.”

    Adrian had started to correct her, that it was vengeance he sought and not revenge, but had thought better of it. He had thrown her gun down next to her face. “Killing you would be mercy.”

    And then he had walked away, leaving behind the only girl he had developed true feelings for.

    Adrian brought his mind back to the battlefield, his home. All around him, the city was in destruction. If it hadn’t been for the mystery message that morning, more people would’ve died. When the Anarchists had showed up, they had brought more allies than the Renegades had ever imagined them having. It didn’t help that there were multiple citizens who wanted to prove themselves worthy, prodigy or not, and remained in the city to support either the Renegades or Anarchists.

    A scream made him whip his head around. Danna was thrown across the street by an Anarchist. Ruby and Oscar began fighting one of their buddies, although they were no match, despite it being two against one. Another one of the cronies, a woman with metal growing from her skin, approached Adrian with a nasty smile.

    “Well, well, well,” she purred. A metal pike flew at Adrian, but he ducked just in time. “We’ve got ourselves quite the little prize here, don’t we? Ace Anarchy would love to see the son of his enemies dead, and he would reward me greatly for it.” She spoke with an accent, although Adrian couldn’t figure out from where, and frankly, he was more concerned with staying alive.

    The woman reached her hand out. One of the crumbling buildings screeched, then the next second, a new weapon was in her hands. Adrian reached for his gun, although it wouldn’t be much help, not with his aim. There was his marker, but it wasn’t like the woman was going to wait patiently while he drew up a more useful weapon.

    From behind him, Ruby cried out, and Oscar screamed her name.

    “Any last words, Renegade?”

    Adrian swallowed, deciding that the gun and his other powers would be enough. He could shoot fire from his hand. Surely he could beat the Anarchist with that!

    “Justice will be served.”

    The woman started for Adrian. His grip on the gun tightened, his hand started to heat up--

    And the woman fell to the ground, knocked out. The fighting from behind him had ceased as well. Turning, he saw Danna’s attacker and the other Anarchists unconscious as well. He looked at his teammates, confused, but they were looking at something behind him, all frozen.

    Adrian’s blood froze when he turned back around.

    Standing on a pile of rubble, enraged and bloody, stood Nightmare. Nova Artino.

    Her mask was still gone, so her hood hung behind her shoulders. Her hands were clenched at her sides, gun in one of them, as she stalked down toward them, avoiding eye contact. When she passed Adrian, who was still frozen, he caught a whiff of her. Sweat, blood, dirt, and underneath it all, funny enough, was perfume.

    “The heart of the battle is headed this way,” she said, breaking Adrian and the rest of his team from their shock. She bent down beside the woman who had threatened Adrian, reaching out to check her pulse. “You all need to get out of here. Find somewhere safe.”

    “What does it matter to you?” Ruby held a hand over her forearm, wincing every few seconds.

    “Yeah,” Danna joined in, limping over to their group. Her posture was tired, clearly overexerted. “Come to gloat? Trap us all in jars?”

    Nova stood back up, shoulders tense. Adrian then noticed how the sun gleamed off of her forehead. Was that...was that a circlet?

    “I will if you don’t do as I say,” she replied coldly, but firm.

    “And what if we don’t, huh? Nightmare?” Oscar leaned on his cane.

    Nova fixed her gaze on him. “Then you will die. You don’t know the power of my uncle.”

    “You don’t know the power of us,” Ruby snapped. Adrian had seen Ruby mad before, but this was the worst he had seen her, seeing as she was usually the perkiest person he knew.

    From another street, yelling and gunshots and the sounds of fighting grew louder.  

    Nova closed her eyes, sighed. Opened them.

    “I’m trying to help you.”

    The battle was yet to be won.

    The Renegades had closed in on the Anarchists finally, and as result, Ace Anarchy let loose his last line of defense: bombs. If he couldn’t win, then he would destroy Gatlon with him and any of his enemies.

    The younger heroes were forced to leave the battle zone when the first bombs were set off, Adrian’s team included. But as more started going on off, the Council ordered all Renegades to take shelter.

    That was when Nova disappeared.

    When she had learned that her uncle was the one initiating the bombs, she had fled before Adrian could argue with her. Said something about being able to save him. Reason with him. Ruby tried to stop her, but she was shoved off. Higher up officials attempted to grab at her, but they all passed out if they were five feet away from her, as a result of the circlet on her head. No one else reached for her, either from fear of receiving the same fate as the officials, or because she was a traitor. They had learned that the circlet was the work of her father, David Artino, who had crafted the jewelry to enhance the wearer’s powers. When Adrian had inquired further about it, however, he was met with a scowl.

After the last of the bombs went off, the Council, healer prodigies, and anyone who was immune or could withstand the air and destruction went into the wreckage to search for survivors. Four buildings had collapsed in the process. The possibility of any survivors coming out was slim. One by one, Renegades returned. Most carried stretchers, sheets covering bodies. Only a handful came back with people who weren’t dead.

“What if she doesn’t come back,” Ruby murmured from beside Adrian. She was clutching Oscar’s arm. The four of them, Adrian, Ruby, Oscar, Danna, stood with the rest of the Renegades and Anarchists alike who had survived the battle. No one had expected Ace Anarchy to attempt such a feat, to kill even his own followers to prevent the Renegades from winning. But they did win, at a price. The remaining Anarchists surrendered, but Gatlon was in flames. “What if she’s...you know.”

Adrian’s jaw clenched. “Don’t say that.”

“Adrian, be realistic-” Danna started, but one look from Adrian quieted her. His eyes returned to the scene before him, hoping to catch even a glimpse of her. Despite everything she had done, despite his anger and hurt, he wanted her to walk out alive. He wasn’t sure if he could ever forgive her, but she still deserved to live.

One by one, the Council returned emptied handed. Ace Anarchy and his main supporters were pronounced dead, as no bodies were found. But Captain Chromium had stayed behind to prove it, to find bodies. The last time they hadn’t checked to make sure their enemies were really dead, things hadn’t ended well. The same mistake wouldn’t be made again.

Simon approached their group, displaying obvious physical and emotional exhaustion, his suit caked in the earth and dust from the building collapses. Without saying anything, he pulled Adrian into a tight hug. Adrian clung to his dad. It had been years since either of his dads had embraced him like this, not since he was a child who had frequent nightmares. Adrian was much taller than he was before, towering over Simon. He let a tear fall as Simon pulled back.

His dad hugged the rest of their team, asking where and how they were injured. Ruby had been stabbed in the arm, Oscar had scratches and bruises, Danna had a few broken fingers and skinned knees from when she was thrown. Their team was luckier than most.

Adrian tensed as he finally saw Hugh, the last to return. Everyone held their breath watching him. There was something, no, someone, in his arms.

“Great skies,” Danna breathed, jaw dropping.

Adrian momentarily forgot how to function. He lost eyesight for a second. His heart stopped.

Captain Chromium pushed his way through the debris, calling out for a healer and a stretcher. His eyes passed over Adrian and his team, and he grimaced. In his arms was Nova Artino, Anarchist, Renegade, Traitor. From afar, it looked as though she were dead, hanging limp in Hugh’s tight grip. His arms were covered in blood, no doubt hers. Her normally tan skin was a sickly white-green, illuminated only by the rosey circlet that glowed on her forehead. There were cuts along her cheeks, red welts peppered her neck, which hung back. But surely, surely since he had called for a healer, she was still alive. Just unconscious. She was laid on a stretcher that was brought to Hugh. Adrian dared to take a step closer, if only to get a better view of her. The healer cut open her shirt, revealing so, so much red. Adrian paled. Another healer was called to help, and she was wheeled off to where they were keeping the rest of the heavily injured. She was gone.

Behind him, a sob tore through Ruby. Adrian heard Oscar make small shushing sounds. Her cries became muffled. He could imagine them, Oscar rubbing circles on her back as she buried her face in his shoulder.

Danna stepped up beside Adrian. If she was distressed or in pain, she hid it well. Adrian wasn’t as good. She pursed her lips, surveying his broken face, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Eventually, they learned that Ace Anarchy and the main Anarchists were in fact dead, killed by the explosions set off by Ace. The Renegades had won, finally. But as Adrian looked around at Gatlon, his home, at his friends, at the temporary tent set up for the injured where Nova was being held, hopefully being saved, he wondered just how much they had sacrificed. And how much their victory meant that things would go back to normal, back to the Renegades dominating the city and the world, back to a world controlled by the Council.

Adrian wondered just how successful their victory was.

Bonus scene that i wanted to add in but it just didn't fit anywhere so here:

Their team ducked behind a turned over car, kneeling on the ground. A group of confident Anarchists had ran into them, and upon seeing Nova, were determined to kill her and, according to their taunting, planned to do enough damage to her body after she was dead that she would be unrecognizable. And Adrian was putting it in kind words.

“So, Nova,” Oscar peered at her. She flicked her eyes at him, but returned her gaze to their situation immediately, not answering. “What’s with the whole,” he waved a hand around his head, “viking princess thing? Did you rob a cosplaying shop before this?”

Nova peeked out from behind their barrier, only to immediately jolt her head back behind the car as a gunshot rang out. She let out a line of expletives that Adrian would rather not repeat. “My father made it,” she grunted, whipping her gun out from behind the car and shooting.

“Cool, cool.” Oscar nodded. “Does it do anything? Or do you just like to wear it? Because don’t get me wrong, you look like some badass chick from a group of warrior women, but I don’t really know if this is the right time or place to be displaying how cool your dad was.”

“They’re gaining on us,” Danna warned. She had a broken mirror from the car in her hands, using it to watch the Anarchists behind them.

“Well aware.” Nova cried out and clutched her arm. Her hand came away red. She wiped it on her pants. Grazed by a bullet. “Any ideas on how we can get out of here?”

“I can use my powers,” Adrian said, although he already knew how they would react. Immediately, as expected, they started protesting. His identity as the Sentinel could not be revealed to the Anarchists or the Renegades. Even in battle, it was too risky.

“You never answered my question from earlier, Nova.” Oscar clicked his tongue.

Nova rolled her eyes. “Shut the hell up and mind your own damn business, Silva.”

“But-”

Nova gave him the finger, not even looking in his direction.

Despite their situation, Adrian’s mouth twitched.

[crystalbluesoul]

Alright, I wrote a whole damn frigging lot of the Naglfar Lore to one bud on Discord and will share this here. Look at this, @CApexHunter on Twitter and be amazed! Major spoilers for a thing you’d never hear about otherwise unless I’d actually get my ass up and start making it a novel, game, VN or whatever goes.

A few select people I know might be crazy enough to actually read all this nonsense, so this is for you too:

@aftertheend-gamedev @johnny-writes​ @soulwitch​

Also you @yukianesawarachia​ get your lore straight.

It’s a pretty rough summary about the most important parts up to the start of the main story, so don’t get your hopes up if you want to read about elf hierarchy (can be sorta found here), a summary of internal politics between more influental royal families, happenings that were deemed too insignificant to be relevant or the history between state and church, principles of magic and catalysts and basically everything not named until now you’ll be severely disappointed.

Alright, we're talking the world called Naglfar. It's a planet, however follows the hollow earth principle which is important, but also a massive spoiler. A planet with its own immune system, regulated through both atmospheres, outer and inner one so to say.

 [Idiot’s note: Not a reliable map but correct for visualisation.]

Scattered throughout the Overworld are the World Trees, which share information and help keep the planet's condition stable, being interconnected but also regulating said atmospheres to keep a balance. Their roots make up quite a bit of the inner landmass too.

[Terranigma, which used a similar principle with the hollow earth.]

Millions of years ago a meteorite struck and penetrated the outer husk, latching itself onto the world’s core and gradually darkened it, the underworld's sun. With it came a being carrying a virus, taking the antibodies of the planet and corrupting them which lead to the creation of even more of antibodies. Feel free to call me out for Chrono Trigger btw. Congratulations tho, we now have what I lovingly call "AIDS-earth". Lots of World Trees naturally fought for balance, but soon their roots were taken by the corrupting nature of the invader. Only a few managed to cut off their roots themselves to stop their own corruption, but most started to die from within, sapping the land surrounding them of Mana and nutrients, that's how they collapsed and crumbled further towards the core and with time the darkened atmosphere of the underworld came through.

[Ash Lake from Dark Souls, which ignited my World Tree ideas.]

That's what the situation today is like, there's only a handful continents with World Trees at their centre today, surrounded by a massive cliff with a black fog at its visible bottom. There's various human factions deciding over the future, given the chance the crumbling will continue unlike the past few 100 years. Should they just stay like this? Should they look for mechanical flight machines? Should they look for a magical engine? Or... should they research the fog and prepare for a life within that bottom?

[Fanart of the Zeal Island from Chrono Trigger. There’s a chance kingdoms like this already exist but keep to themselves. Damn, this image goes from pinterest to photobucket to shutterstock, so I’ll insert a source if someone can tell me.]

There's various local groups of descendants from other lands which were affine  to some options, skilled technicians or mages, but that's that for the current group. Here the rules are different too, aside from natural things we are used to, there's also a portion of mana in soil, air, water, heat, you get the gist. Elements. These elements have largely influenced the life of people, if you live in caves for generations you become smaller and sturdier, magma caves bring fire in, which reverses that for bigger and stronger. Places filled with water, perpetually recycled from the tree, and fresh air from forests attune the people and animals to make them more receptive (and basically elves). Animals in time could become monsters, sometimes humans had relationships with whatever they could find and so various subbreeds and variations came into existence. Humans fuck. Animals fuck. Things do weird things. Some genes are more compatible than others, so sometimes results are rather random even after generations. Yuki has an OC biologist who's researching this,  makes it quite fun. Aside from the biological view, there's also the theological view. Angels and Heaven, as well as demons. Though there's.... not yet really a hell. Heaven is purely ethereal and lower angels are sent for their mission on earth sometimes.

[Humans fuck.]

Heaven came to exist from faith and prayers of humans, praying for certain things with certain images in mind became lower deities, sub-'specialities' so-to-speak created a hierarchy with an "all-powerful" god at its top, but no one really knows about that. Likewise demons came into existence from the fear of mankind. Stories of men and women sucking blood or directly your soul and whatever else the human mind can produce. At least that's the true demons who became concepts similar to the deities. There's offspring here too (because everything fucks), but they're not true demons anymore so w/e. Our main-story follows a trio of knights in what I call different things, but most commonly... let's say the "reset"-timeline. But before that, let's go through royal hierarchy! ...or at least the most basic thing.

Aside from sending angels, the heavens chose certain bloodlines to hold their power and bring peace. If you've played the new Fire Emblem: Three Houses you've heard of crests, it's basically that funnily enough. I had the idea first, pah!! Well, it's not much of an idea, but let's continue. There are four major crests, or as they're called here "gifts", with their given nicknames: The Beast - Inconceivable power The Dragon - Unwavering heart The False Prophet - Unending magic The Wish - The power of the royal bloodline For the wish, this story is a bit more intricate too, as some people are granted their wishes for their piety or pure prayer. It plays a major role in the story too, so you better remember that.

[Indeed inspired by biblical tales! But don’t question me on them please. It has ties to what happened between religion and state, hence the names.]

In the original timeline, the three knights. Daryll, the one carrying the Gift of the False Prophet Siegmund... turning out to carry the Gift of the Dragon Nyr, turning out to carry the Gift of the Beast Are currently completing a final test for knight school and are soon to be deployed to a remote village they've been to alot for missions. Protecting citizens, routing monsters and undead in the area, pretty basic stuff. But in a larger skirmish Daryll goes missing, Nyr and Sieg turn back to report. In the meantime Daryll has joined up with the undead boss, a scientist who wants to prepare humans for life below the dark fog. They carry out a number of stuffs, promising Daryll the fulfilment of his innermost wish... This also included killing some people but Daryll is determined.  His desire burns bright and won't stop at anything, even when Nyr and Siegmund ended up opposing him. Siegmund died preventing their battle and Daryll ended up slaying Nyr in battle... but went mad, realising that this will only distance himself from the fulfilment of his wish. Upon confronting the undead Boss, Albert, he was discarded and roamed the lands alone with his thoughts.

[Best boy.]

It took Daryll a few years to come clear with his conscience, which is when he picked up Kai, a girl from the orphanage in the village he was first stationed in. Along with other people, a resistance of people not fine with basically everything, they fought Albert and the army of turned people which was established in the past few years. However soon they'd find out that Albert had taken energy from the World Tree to reach his goals, which weakened its influence and allowed beasts from within the Abyss to reach their lands, as well as continue the rate at which the continent broke off. In a last effort Kai and a few people went to steal what could still be salvaged while Daryll and the rest of their resistance keep Albert from further destroying the continent and becoming the, maybe, first man in the Abyss.

...however the Resistance is pushed back and Kai returns alone, deadly wounded and with... the Seed of the World Tree in her hands. Dying in Daryll's arms, he takes the Seed from her and confronts Albert, activating one of the ultimate spells by accident, the Divine Nova, which... is where the original timeline ends. I wanted to leave the ending open, but best case they manage to grow a new tree, but even then there's hardly anything to build up from... but mankind will push on.

[Yes, Divine Nova is basically a small Supernova. It’s also called “Heaven’s Gate”, since it’s light alone can probably burn something. Also looky here.]

In truth this Divine Nova brought the last bit of energy the heavens needed to perform a 'reset'. You could say a time-altering spell which brought us back to the point of before the test/trial the three knights underwent. Only this time, a few people were made to angels and sent back, to alter the outcome for the better. Niamh and Caireall, who are both reincarnated from Kai, who internally wished for a protector, a big brother to care for her, similar to how she came to love Daryll in her lifetime. And Shou... a girl with false memories, implanted by the heavens to keep her psyche from collapsing. Daryll, who in his final moments wished for all to start over, overcoming his original wish which lead him down his path of madness... which was funnily enough granted on a whim. Instead of going report, Shou, at this point calling herself Susan meets up with Nyr and Siegmund and convinces them to go after Daryll instead, this is where the story begins I could go into detail for some family trees here, but I'm beat up... If you'll excuse me, I'll post this here to my tumblr for now in hope of receiving internet points.

[Me walking into freedom.]

[electrically]

the dust has settled, thanos is gone. but look, in the distance, isn’t that THE HUMAN TORCH? otherwise known as JOHNNY STORM. they are TWENTY-TWO years old, and go by HE / HIM. you will know them by BLONDE HAIR ON FIRE + SUN TANNING ON TOP OF THE BAXTER BUILDING. 

could they have been saved?

THE BASICS — 

NAME/NICKNAMES: Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm / Johnny

ALIAS: Human Torch

AGE: 22

PREFERRED PRONOUNS: He / Him

TEAM/GROUP: Fantastic Four

FACECLAIM: Diego Tinoco

THE DETAILS — 

FAMILY: Susan Storm (older sister), Reed Richards (brother-in-law), Ben Grimm, Mary Storm (mother, deceased), Franklin Storm (father, deceased), Bones (cousin), Mary Dinkins (aunt), Peter Parker.

THREE FAVORITE THINGS: Building a car from scratch, french toast in the morning, and his family!

EDUCATION: Johnny graduated from high school. He enrolled in Metro College, but he eventually dropped out. 

SKILLS: Expert mechanic, and a professional race car driver.

WEAPONS: None outside of his abilities. 

ABILITIES: Pyrogenesis, pyrokinesis, nova flame, flight, immune to heat & fire, superhuman durability.

THE QUESTIONNAIRE — 

IN THE LAST YEAR SINCE THANOS WAS DEFEATED, WHAT HAS YOUR CHARACTER BEEN DOING?

johnny has mainly been spending time with his family now that they’re all together again. he doesn’t like when they’re separated for too long. he also ventures off to work on putting together new vehicles just for the fun of it, and takes them for a spin around the city. johnny takes part in a few nascar races — but mostly keeps to doing fantastic four work or being home at the baxter building. he’s young, and can also be seen at the local bars on occasion as well.  he missed susan and ben when they disappeared so he did all he could to help reed.

WHAT HAS YOUR CHARACTER LEARNED IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE DECIMATION AND THE DEFEAT OF THANOS?

johnny realizes that there can always be hope for a better outcome no matter how much the universe keeps throwing at you. he learned you have to persevere. 

A NEW THREAT ON THE WORLD LOOMS NEAR, SO TELL US – WHAT DOES YOUR CHARACTER FIGHT FOR?

his family, his friends, and all living creatures. no one deserves to suffer such an awful, unthinkable fate. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

OTHER BASICS —

RESIDENCE: Baxter Building, New York City

HEIGHT: 5′7″

SEXUALITY: Pansexual

MARITAL STATUS: Single

HAIR COLOR: Blonde

EYE COLOR: Blue

SUPERHERO IDENTITY STATUS: Public

SOME HISTORY — 

jonathan lowell spencer “johnny” storm was the second child born to franklin and mary storm. he has one sibling, an older sister named susan. their mother died in a car accident, and due to the loss their father who was a doctor couldn’t save her so he spiraled into gambling and booze.

franklin borrowed money from an underworld shark, and when he couldn’t repay them  susan and johnny were threatened so he got into a fight with the criminal. the man shot himself, but their father got charged with manslaughter and sent to a penitentiary for his crimes. he didn’t defend himself due to still mourning mary.

johnny loves automobiles! he loves working on them, and from a young age he was fascinated so he learned how to be a mechanic. he can build any vehicle from scratch if he as the appropriate resources.

saved two of his friends from a burning building when he was a teenager ???

johnny followed his sister to join scientist reed richards and pilot ben grimm on a space flight when he was just a kid. however, there was some cosmic radiation which was what transformed him into the human torch, and the four of them would end up forming the fantastic four !! His identity is public, but that has never bothered Johnny.

his older sister is his favorite person tbh

their headquarters is at the baxter building, which is where they call home, and it’s where johnny lives with everyone. he loves living there, and it’s where he feels the most comfortable.

in addition to being a mechanic, johnny is also a professional race car driver. he’s one of the youngest drivers in the sport.  he loves the attention that he gets between that and his superhero work. 

johnny is pansexual and proud of it

he’s also really confident it’s disgusting, but as a side note he really loves jokes and pranks as well !! ben is usually the target.

while being charismatic and confident he does have moments where he’s insecure and starts hating himself. no one sees the break downs aside from his family in those moments.

he’s done some modeling, and did acting in a few western films. it’s fair to assume he’s a celebrity. 

POWERS, SKILLS, & EQUIPMENT — 

johnny has a universal translator which can interpret languages both aliens and terrestrial into english for him. which comes in handy for all of the adventures they go on, or what they encounter.

his suit, and a lot of his clothes are constructed of unstable molecules, which are attuned to his powers, allowing it to become burst into flame when he does. the suit is like a wearable computer that keeps track of everyone’s stats, touch-pad controls on he gauntlets, able to locate everyone on the team’s location, and several other neat features that reed has programmed into it. 

johnny can stay aflame for 16.8 hours.

PYROGENESIS: the mental ability to control ambient heat energy, and the ability to physically transform his entire body, or just portions of it into a fiery, plasma-like state.  this doesn’t hurt him. normally when aflame it’s of low-intensity which is about 780 degrees fahrenheit. he’s capable of going higher if the situation calls for it.

PYROKINESIS: can generate shapes made out of fire, usually done with his hands to sculpt the flames. they only maintain the shape long as he is concentrating on them. example, he can form a lasso around his enemies.  

NOVA FLAME: the highest, hottest level johnny can create. he can release all of his body’s stored energy in one intense, omni-directional “nova-burst”, which can reach about 1,000,000 F.

FLIGHT: he can fly !! johnny can go 140 miles an hour.

johnny is IMMUNE TO HEAT & FIRE, possess SUPERHUMAN DURABILITY, and control the heat in his surrounding environment.

[fardell24b]

Rise of Weirdness - Part 65

April 23, 2434:

Arab League forces launch peacekeeping forces into Belgrade and Sarajevo, to halt anti-Muslim violence,...

May 28, 2434:

Transformed activist Caecilius Claudius is exiled by the authorities of the Imperium of Nova Roma led by Emperor Hadrian II, earning interstellar condemnation,...

June 15, 2434:

Syrian Zombie Disaster; djinns, ghosts, and zombies form an violent congress of events, causing a massive zombie uprising in Aleppo, sparking civil unrest and panic in the region,....

October 24, 2434:

Iranian leaders announce major territorial concessions from Russia, fueling political tensions in the region,...

June 11, 2435:

In one of the largest hijackings "Lahad Datu" and "Badaadinta Badah" pirates seize control of the luxury vessel Kuala Lumpur in the Antila Pass, near Beta Rigel, fueling civil unrest and panic in the region,.

March 6, 2436:

In an embarrassment to the American government; Mexico conducts "police actions" against criminal syndicates in San Antonio, Texas,....

April 7, 2436:

In a major blow to Texan pride, Mexican forces seize control of Austin, with little to any resistance from local forces,.... Mermaids launch their first attacks against the flooded city of Copenhagen, Denmark, fueling international attention and concern,....

May 17, 2438:

James Jung of Singapore helps to promote the Earthly martial arts to the Offworlder states of Greater Cetus and New Mars,....

May 25, 2438:

Djinn swarm throughout the Bosporous Straits, causing violent mass possessions, civil unrest and riots, sparking tensions across the region, …

June 27, 2439:

Christ for Everyone religious order loses power across Luna in political elections, shaping the religious direction of Luna and the rest of the solar system,...

February 6, 2438:

Golem/droid leader Helen Eight after discovering that human settlers led by Gary Bowen intended to steal land under questionable means to the Earth government,....

August 29, 2442:

Cannabis from Earth, is considered a highly addictive substance, that is highly sought after by many races including the Trealiz, fueling tensions between Earth and Offworlder states,...

July 17, 2445:

Werewolves launch an armed insurrection against the Earth government at Devil's River, Texas,

June 15, 2447:

Golem/droid Droid-Force janissary force led by General One is disbanded by the Earth government in San Francisco,...

December 31, 2437:

Earth government officials bans gambling in (insert place here), angering Offworlder leaders,...

August 14, 2448:

Transport vessel Polaris Bound reports nearly being destroyed after encountering a creature dubbed Space-Kraken in the vacuum of space in the Ort Cloud of Aldebaran, shocking local residents,.....

February 9, 2449:

After years without elections, Dioclitian Augustus proclaims a Imperium of Nova Roma as a republic,...

May 29, 2455:

Riots erupt in Lauranne, State of Aphrodite, triggered by growing food and energy shortages, Archoness Petrina Jameson blames Earth government corruption,.

July 5, 2453:

Larry Neverton discovers deposits of "Orichalcum" crystal in the asteroid belt of Pi-3 Orionis System, fueling concerns by Golem/droid leaders led by Helen Eight that human settlers will attempt to overthrow their government,....

June 28, 2454:

Johannes Volta of New Florence devises the basic laws of magic, as one of the greatest scholars since Stephen Hawking,...

February 20, 2456:

Tralitz alien species announces the abolition of slavery and organ trade of human beings, although racism and violence continues to persist against the human species,...

July 1, 2458:

Singularity Movement (a.k.a. "Darwinist Underground" is formed in Cambridge, England with the call to "express technological singularity" as a "macro-biological movement”

March 26, 2459:

Earth and Commonwealth of Interstellar States government and military officials report seeing a "rogue planet" near Mercury, fueling civil unrest across the solar system,

November 6, 2460:

Trealitz alien race threatens the destruction of the Centauri homeworld in an effort to create an interstellar gate to Large Magellanic Cloud,...

March 17, 2461:

Vespasian Aurelius is proclaimed emperor of the Imperium of Nova Roma, sparking international attention,

December 14, 2463:

Werewolf Manuel Blanco of Ceuta, Spain launches an armed insurrection, claiming solidarity with the State of Aphrodite,....

March 21, 2464:

Followers of Islamic fundamentalist cleric Bilal al-Badie disappear after preaching of a "Great Rapture" event in Georgetown, Guyana,...

October 14, 2467:

Japanese officials proclaim the end of the Imperial Court in Tokyo, sparking political and sectarian instability in the region,...

December 9, 2467:

"Collapse" of the "Restoration" Shinto government in Tokyo, sparking international attention across the Pacific Rim,

April 13, 2468:

British Prime Minister Edward Simmons commits suicide upon hearing of Ethiopian peacekeeping forces being deployed into London, sparking international attention,....

July 1, 2468

A majority of Humanity, whether Bland or Transformed, lives more than 9000 light years from Sol/Arbol.

December 4, 2469:

Parliament of Religions is established in Mumbai, India, led by faith leaders including Pope Francis III, the 30th Dalai Lama and Emperor Mishu, in an effort to reduce the threat of sectarian violence across human-inhabited space,....

December 8, 2469:

Council of Lucinda; Aphrodite leaders led by Madison Allen gathers leaders of all pagan denominations at Lucinda...

June 12, 2470:

Earth's government reports that due to war, depression, et. Al, the economy accounts for 9.2% of Human-occupied space,...

July 18, 2470:

Religious leader Charis Rose Ballingal of Duaspiritism proclaims infallibility at Alderamin City, Alderamin VI, further fueling political and sectarian divisions across human-inhabited space,.

Aphrodite leaders including Susan Albertson proclaim the "maternal infallibility" of its leaders at Harriet, Aphrodite,...

October 16, 2470:

Mermaids demand autonomy and represenation in the Earth government, appearing in Vancouver to Victoria, fueling Human-Transformed tensions,...

July 8, 2476:

Secret Treaty of Salvatore; The planet Salvatore and its people are divided between the Offworlder states of New Aphrodite, Republic of Vulpes and the Dwarven Republic of Novogrod, based on the possible outcome of several revolutions, sparking international attention and concern

January 11, 2479:

Human settlers led by Lana Neverton launch an armed offensive against the Golem/droid government of Helen Eight, calling for Earth government support; the offer of military aid is quickly rejected,....

July 14, 2480:

Prometheus Disaster; The collision of two artificial suns colliding in the Oort Cloud disrupts mystical energies across the outer solar system, triggering a humanitarian crisis,..

June 8, 2481:

Mermaids seize control of the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania, fueling Human-Transformed tensions across the Continent,.

April 13 2486:

"Reggie-13" leads an armed insurrection against Earth government stationed at Mount Doom, under the command of General Satya Pal,...

April 30, 2485:

Scientists in Damascus, Syria demonstrate that cannabis-infused potions serve as an immunity to djinn, sparking international attention,

October 24, 2485:

A Promise of a Rainbow alien VR experience by Vel'cha M'rton, helps to publicize and promote the plight of human beings across inhabited spaceespecially Star Gypsies, granting them a more positive light,

December 14, 2488:

Violet Ball establishes the Commonwealth Martial Arts Academy, considered one of the most important schools in inhabited space,....

April 26, 2490:

Local officials report dragons in Tombstone, Arizona, fueling tensions across North America,

October 24, 2491:

Treatise of Damascus; Islamic clerics led by Abdul Kalam Azad calls for greater acceptance of Transformed, while attempting to reject Offworlder philosophies,.

October 31, 2494:

Ford Affair; Defense Minister Jonathan B. Ford of Saint Thomas, Missouri is exposed as a Golem/droid, fueling accusations of being a spy for Aphrodite or Crichton,

April 8, 2495:

"Aragon-29" bombs the Legislature at Gryffindor, demanding an end to "Human Occupation" fueling anti-Earth sentiment in the region,...

September 17, 2495:

Ethiopian troops are deployed as peacekeeping forces into Italy, fueling ethnic and sectarian concerns across Western Europe,....

October 2, 2497:

Canudos Zombie Uprising; Zombies launch a violent uprising in Canudos, Brazil; the zombies are slowed down by decay and by the problem of tropical heat, sparking international attention,....

March 23, 2498:

"Willow-57" and "Harry-96" are implicated in acts of terrorism against human settlements, and are subsequently executed at Sitchin Rock.

March 25, 2498

A group of Golems and Droids flee Crighton, heading out of known space.

March 28, 2498

The General Assembly declares that the Ort Cloud had recovered from the Prometheus Disaster.

April 1, 2498

More Golems leave Chrighton, heading in a different direction to the other group.

April 24, 2498:

Arab League and Iranian forces clash with the Russian government, fueling fears of an escalating military and political crisis,.

Samoa Scandal; Samoa is bankrupted after a series of loans by the Earth government in San Francisco,...

June 15, 2500:

Earth's government reports that the economy has plunged to c. 2.0% of the overall Human-occupied space,...

July 1, 2500

A third group of Golem and/or droids flee from the Pi 3 Orionis System (in a third direction.)

[mikemortgage]

TD Bank to acquire Greystone Managed Investments for $792 million

Toronto-Dominion Bank will buy Saskatchewan-based Greystone Managed Investments Inc. for roughly $792-million in stock and cash, a transaction which the bank says makes its asset management division the biggest money manager in Canada.

Acquiring the institutional money manager will add another $36 billion in Canadian assets under management and expertise in real estate, mortgages and infrastructure investments as competition in the industry heats up, said Leo Salom, TD’s group head of wealth management and TD Insurance.

“They’ll be a great shot in the arm,” he said in an interview.

The asset management sector in Canada is in a consolidation phase with privately held firms being snapped up amid heightened competition.

In March, the Bank of Nova Scotia announced a $950-million deal to buy Montreal’s Jarislowsky Fraser investment firm to create the third-largest active money manager in Canada. In January, Sun Life Global Investments completed its acquisition of Excel Funds Management Inc. and Excel Investment Counsel Inc., which specializes in emerging markets funds.

The proposed transaction between TD and the Regina-based money manager’s parent company Greystone Capital Management Inc. will bring total assets under management at the bank to $393 billion, making it the largest player based on assets based in the country, TD said.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2018, subject to approvals and customary closing conditions.

Under the deal, shareholders of Greystone Capital will receive 30 per cent of the purchase price in TD common shares, with the remainder payable in cash.

Greystone shareholders will have the ability to elect to increase share portion of the payment up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the total payment.

Greystone, which has nearly 200 employees, will be rebranded as TD Greystone and will continue to operate from Regina.

“Joining forces with TD will add tremendous value to Greystone clients interested in expanding and diversifying their investment portfolios,” said Greystone’s chief executive and chief investment officer Robert Vanderhooft in a statement.

The acquisition comes at a time when the wealth and asset management space is not only facing fierce competition from other players, but also from increased interest in self-directed investing, robo-advisers and other products with lower fees such as exchange-traded funds.

TD is aiming to launch a “robo-guidance” product, which won’t make recommendations, but can be used to create sophisticated portfolios, by the end of this year, Salom said. A follow to that launch will be a robo-advisor platform where clients provide information about risk tolerance and timeline and receive recommendations, he added. The bank is partnering with U.S. firm Hydrogen on these products, Salom added.

TD’s direct investing online platform WebBroker is seeing a surge in demand from self-directed retail investors. The bank recently completed a $100-million revamp of its WebBroker and mobile trading assets over the past 18 months, said Salom.

Yet, at the end of 2017 and early 2018 the platform was plagued with outages amid a spike in trading activity.

A flurry of interest in the pot sector helped to drive trade volumes up by more than two times during that period, said Salom.

“Interest in cannabis by mainstream investors, but also particularly a new generation of investors that wanted to participate in the growth of the industry… created some capacity challenges for the entire industry, and we were not immune to it,” he said.

Interest from investors continues to rise as Canada prepares to legalize cannabis for recreational use on Oct. 17.

TD last month expanded its approved list of cannabis stocks its staff are allowed to recommend from three to 19. The “eligible for solicitation” list originally included licensed producers Canopy Growth Corp., Emerald Health Therapeutics and Emblem Corp. It has been expanded to include MedReleaf Corp. and the Hydropothecary Corp., and others, but not Aurora Cannabis or Aphria Inc., two of the largest licensed producers in Canada.

TD does not restrict clients from investing in certain marijuana stocks, but does not want its advisers to offer certain stocks without a certain level of due diligence first, Salom said. The bank is concerned about cannabis firms’ operations in the U.S., he said, where pot has been legalized in several states but remains illegal at the federal level.

“We are a North American bank and we have certain obligations to our regulators on both sides of the border,” said Salom.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TD)

from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2zrztXf via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

[chaosmagetwin]

Random RWBY OC: Tesla

References http://hdwallpaperdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/purple-lightning-wallpaper-hd-1920x1080.jpg Colors for the character. White, purple, pinkish, and black. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/bd/68/13/bd68131a552266f78b3ff477b74cdcf2.jpg mixed with a broadblade longsword. http://i.imgur.com/8gi3CHJ.png

Tesla Ampulla

She's 5'8", delicate nose, medium strength jaw, green eyes, Electric blue hair (Starts blue, ends white) that is pulled back into a perky high ponytail with short bangs and 'hair loopes' (ATLA Katara hair loopies), well toned body, small breasts. She looks taller than she is because she's thin and fit and stands straight. Her skin is well tanned from time in the sun, but not leathery.

Archon Armor: Being attacked creates an electrical charge. It can be released at any time, but it releases automatically into a Nova. Can be discharged with lightning bolts. No immunity to lightning, but it does absorb it to a certain point. After which, the nova immediately goes off, and any extra lightning damage she is taking in that moment hurts her. Nova - 360 degree burst around her for significant electrical damage. Bolt - High strength lightning bolt from pointed finger. Static Armor - Shimmering armor appears over clothes, appears made of lightning, makes retalitory attacks with lightning bolts, takes near full charge. Electric Grip - Charges weapon to be used at range, or can be used to increase grip on weapon so it is impossible to disarm.

Outfit - https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/47/08/88/470888709c3eaed327caae9802b21bfd.jpg

Tesla Ampulla was born in the sands of Vacuo in the crime ridden streets of its titular capital to a man named Cyan Ampulla, a glass blower, and a woman named Sandy Treia, an instrument maker. Tesla grew up learning the values of strength and freedom, as well as independence, but she also learned how to pickpocket, fight both humans and Faunus, and about crime in general. Her parents, who weren't very active in her life, supported her decision to become a huntress, feeling as though it would at least get her out of crime. Tesla did well in huntress school, and she was quickly grouped with three team mates who also did well, Wisteria Rage, Navy Frozt, and Yolk Hun. They weren't the best team in the school, but they certainly weren't the worst. They finished school with a 100% win rate on their missions, though some of their teachers were less than happy with a few of their results. Tesla didn't know it, but at some point during their third year, Wisteria and Navy began dating, and this affected their grades and how they fought. Yolk, though talented, was lazy, and often unwilling to do work, which Tesla did know about and did her best to deal with. Despite their failings in school, on the battlefield, they were a well oiled machine. Tesla did well in both fields, finding that she enjoyed the work and helping people. When the group graduated, Wisteria and Navy split from the group to go to Mystral and adventure together, without Yolk and Tesla. Tesla did not take this well, but she did her best to cope. Yolk's lazy tendencies, however, quickly caused the two of them to get into a very heated arguement over what sort of jobs to take, and how much risk they were willing to take. The two did not part on good terms, with Tesla leaving to go to a village in Mystral that desperately needed SOMEONE's help, even if it was just a lone huntsman.

This character was fun to make, though I’m not a fan of making characters in other peoples universes. Still, RWBY is awesome. Now that I think about it, it’s sort of like a magical girl anime, but WAY LESS WHINY. Obviously the hardest thing to make of this character WAS THE NAME. RWBY naming conventions are ridiculously difficult, but I think I struck a winner with TESLA AMPULA. Lightning in a bottle! I felt like a genius after making that. Obviously, her teams names were just as difficult. I think the team name wound up being TWNY, or Tawny. Not that it mattered, because I DITCHED those losers HAHAA! Tesla was amazing to make. 

[lawain-dimensional-heroes]

When it comes to warm weather, Sol Nova’s basically born/made/whateveryacallit for the heat. He is even immune to the heat of stars!

Would be kind of awkward if he wasn’t considering he’s a sun god as well

[alwaysthinkingaboutthem]

Nova was born and raised for majority of her childhood in Phoenix, Arizona and most of her relatives still live there. She visits from time to time during summers and sometimes she brings a friend along.

Weather between Arizona and Washington constrast greatly, and at one point Mal cried, "IT'S LIKE STANDING ON THE SURFACE OF THE SUN" because it's so hot.