#gaige went to do shit

[rando-lesbo210]

for my previous reblog because I think as I always do, I forgot to add what doodles I made so <3

[toasted-valentine]

TAOPP Things That Make Me Insane

• Rowan reaches out to Maya during Love and Everything during the line “I wish I’d learned that lesson sooner”, he spent his entire life refusing to listen to anything Maya had to say, and in the end he wishes he’d went with her. That breaks my heart.

• Rowan examines Jason’s crown in Love and Everything during line “Maybe no one’s shown you mercy”, he’s addressing Maddox during this, and he’s thinking about how King Astor harmed both of them.

• Rowan telling Louis to let him go and let his scars heal during Love and Everything, Rowan tilts up Louis’ chin, but doesn’t kiss him. It’s the two finding peace and a call back to Crown of Bones and Lead.

• This is a super nerdy theater thing, but TAOPP does this a lot due to the limited cast, and I want to point it out. Maya and King Astor are both played by Miel Escamilla, they just are him in shadow during act two. You can tell it is them because Miel is the only person in the cast who has short curly hair and it’s really distinct. Having them played by the same person adds the implication that Maya looks just like King Astor, and that’s part of the reason Rowan hated her so much.

• Back to them using the small cast to the full advantage, during Your Day in Court you can see the different actors reading out lines related to their characters while playing The Courtiers. Maya actually dances with Maddox’s actor and Jason dances with Louis at one point, but they’re shoved away from their respective dance partners back into each other’s arms to show that’s they’re being shoved into a heteronormative relationship.

• During Your Day In Court, Rowan’s actor and Louis’ actors start the song handing each other, foreshadowing.

• The line “Leave the metal tight around your finger till it aches” within Talk About It With You is referencing how trapped Jason feels by his relationship with Maya, the engagement ring being physically painful to wear.

• Miel can’t wear the fucking courtier mask cause of their glasses, which makes me laugh.

• There are two different versions of Your Day In Court on stage, one of them has Louis wearing a courtier mask, the other he is not. I think they removed it for the sake of making it clear that it’s just Louis being a courtier in that moment, not just some rando. Louis participating in The Courtier’s song implies he’s just as much of a gossip and threat as the rest of them, which I appreciate.

• Louis’ costuming has him wearing a single earring, which is a common flag to signal a man is gay. Love that for him. Funny part is the fact he has it in the wrong ear lol, it’s in his left, should be on the right.

• Louis’ costuming has him wearing a fuck ton of rings in the beginning, visually calling back to Talk About It With You. Rowan also has rings on, indicating he is a whore.

• Maya is shit talking with Jason in the background during When You’re Small, and the two of them are the one’s who send the plate over to Louis to get under his skin. You can see Maya and Jason laughing about it in the background.

• Rowan’s party has BDSM gear hanging in the background, which is hilarious. This implies someone had to either go buy all of it or pull it out of their closet for the show, which is really funny to me. Imagining some college kid going to a sex shop for props has got me chuckling.

• The strap on harness in the background implies that it is canon Rowan gets pegged.

• The Bohemian played by Miel steals the glass away from the Bohemian played by Andrew Matos, and when Louis walks away the two start bitching to each other.

• Rowan is conducting The Bohemian’s singing, he later mentions they’d do anything he asks, fun visual storytelling.

• The captions of Louis telling The Bohemians that “Some activities are best confined to one’s bed chambers” has their little “aww” reaction end with a :(

• Maddox being willing to kill a rat is what we call foreshadowing.

• Lana Gaige and Miel Escamilla both have the funniest visual gags in the show, their character acting just makes me laugh, especially when Maya and Rowan get to banter and bounce off each other. The eye shadow that Lana is wearing makes them a lot more expressive, and it helps emphasize their facial acting.

• “That’s treason” is the funniest line in the entire show.

• Rowan and Maya both have the bad habit of being very rash and pushy, the difference is that Rowan acts outside the system while Maya tends to act within it. The two are foils to each other in many ways, and in the context of Maya being the older sibling, you can see their difference in maturity levels.

• Maya and Maddox being separated by bars helps them have an emotional connection, it helps her break generational curses that her brother fell into, since Astors apparently are just massive slutty mcsluttersons that managed to give fantasy birth control a reason to exist. Rowan is repeating his father’s tendency to sleep with many others, this being shown via Maya being an affair baby.

• Jason steals Louis’ earring, and I think DeLaney Rose actually missed the throw of it, cause you can see them try and catch it and hear it hit the floor.

• The implication that Jason wanted to join Louis and Rowan, but the first reason he could come up with as to why not to is being engaged makes me laugh.

• “Might as well give it a stab” is a hilarious line and I love it.

• “Even in this cut throat— place.” Love that too.

• Rowan tilts Louis’ chin up right before Blood Moon, this gets brought back up later in Crown of Bones and Lead.

• It is mentioned someone tried to poison Rowan during Your Day In Court, which failed, and the fact he saw his mother get poisoned has the implication he knew how to spot poison and that’s why it failed.

• Rowan engages in double talk, the act of saying something that can have two different meanings and be confusing, during Blood Moon with the bastard lines. Foreshadowing.

• The choreography of Blood Moon has Rowan physically manipulating Louis and touching him in vaguely homoerotic ways, good show that Rowan is being manipulative and pushing his own worst traits onto Louis.

• Rowan makes note of Louis’ hands within Blood Moon, which is a show of his tendency to only remember his lover’s hands.

• Rowan cuts his own hand during Blood Moon, cut’s Louis’, and later on Maya pricks her finger on the same knife. Rowan is willing to get blood on his hands, Louis’ is manipulated into it, and Maya is willing to do it once for Maddox. Their different levels of willingness to have blood on their hands is such a nice detail.

• Maya fucking forgets she bought Jason his dagger, home girl is completely checked out of that relationship. Louis corrects her multiple times on Jason facts actually, she’s so uninterested in him that she doesn’t know these things in spite of knowing him for multiple years, but Louis is in love with Jason so knows about it all.

• Maya uses honeybees as a sign of freedom, mentions them multiple times, and says “Where the only queens are bees!” as the ending line to Dead Princesses go to Heaven.

• You can see Jason standing outside of Rowan’s room when Louis and Rowan are having pillow talk, dude is just standing there in the back.

• Miel motherfucking Escamilla actually cuts their hair off on stage in front of everyone, you can see people reacting in the background to it, and I have so much respect for that acting choice.

• Maya taking interest in Louis’ waistcoat is a nice little sign that they’re some flavor of genderqueer and prefer to be masc presenting, this implies that she regularly looks into men’s clothing, and that’s why she takes interest in it.

• Maya finding out Louis’ gay could potentially be a reason she’s willing to tell him about Maddox during Dead Princesses go to Heaven.

• Maya corrects Louis into calling Rowan her half-brother right before Dead Princesses go to Heaven, but right after Rush of Blood to the Head she calls him her brother, showing that she’s grown attached to him.

• Maya has her engagement ring on the wrong hand (for western audiences anyways), visual touch that she doesn’t love him.

• Miel has to tiptoe to hug DeLaney at the end of Dead Princesses, which makes sense story wise since Maya is supposed to be bigger than Louis, but the actors are similar heights. Fucks up the when you’re small bit if Louis is above Maya.

• Maya swearing like a sailor as soon as she talks to Rowan is so funny to me, cause that’s how siblings actually talk.

• You can tell Rowan and Maya are related as soon as they start plotting to get Jason killed by the king lol

• Rowan grabbing Lous’ hair comes back later on, but Jason protects him, and it’s a nice show of what it really means to love someone. Hair pulling is something common within sexual relationships, Rowan goes for Louis’ hair first, while Jason goes to protect Louis at every turn.

• Maddox’s tendency to be overly careful is such a funky detail, it escalates over time, and is implied to be a trauma response to being imprisoned. Later on they are pushed by ghost Rowan to act, and it helps them be a better lover to Maya. The two of them balance each other out, Maya having classic Astor bullheadedness, while Maddox is more calculating and careful than she is.

• “Or I could blow your head off” Maddox will later kill Rowan via third degree burns.

• Maya keeps looking in her bag and kicks the dress away right before It All Just Makes Sense because she’s packing her bags, but doesn’t want Jason to be a snitch.

• Maya makes fire metaphors during It All Just Makes Sense, which later shows that she’s not afraid of getting burned by Maddox and is willing to still love them after they kill Rowan.

• Maya and Maddox do kill and die for each other, Maya fakes her own death and Maddox kills Rowan for Maya.

• Jason is referred to with Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the idea that someone who spends their entire life in a cave staring at a wall wouldn’t know what life is actually like due to not seeing the light.

• Jason has autism, which is really nice tbh. Only Louis really gets that Jason isn’t a prick, just sees things differently, and that Jason is lovable.

• Rowan’s drinking problem is visually seen right before Old Friend, he’s drinking and tries getting Maddox to with him, but Maddox declines. It’s a completely visual thing, but good visual storytelling that Rowan has a problem.

• Rowan calls Maddox a firebrand, which has two meanings in this context. There’s Maddox being a mage that uses fire, but also the literal meaning of firebrand, which is someone who is exceptionally dedicated to their cause. It has a double meaning to the character.

• Maddox’s cause switches from legalizing magic to saving Maya, they’re still a firebrand, but have a new cause to dedicate themself to.

• Louis leaves the room right before Rush of Blood to the Head because he said he wouldn’t help Rowan kill Maya, not just because of the alibi.

• Jason’s excited expression right after Talk About It With You hurts my feelings, heelllpppp.

• You can tell that Maya is an Astor based on the fact her first instinct after seeing Maddox for the first time outside a cell is to try and jump their bones.

• The script getting completely ditched when Maya and Maddox reunite is funny to me, they just completely yeet the thing lol

•I like that Maddox and Maya are able to have an emotional bond before a physical one, again as a foil to Rowan and Louis, showing that they love each other first the foremost.

• “Charmed, I’m Maddox.” Again, love that line.

• Rowan does in fact haunt Maddox after his death, like he said he would within the opening line of Rush of Blood to the Head, but it’s to help them.

• I like that Maya is packing her bags during Rush of Blood, and Rowan spends Maddox’s part staring at the dagger and conflicted emotionally. Rowan is also completely wrecking the room, the actor pantomiming knocking stuff over like Rowan said he would.

• Remember, in a Melliot production, always listen to the lesbian. The lesbian gives the best advice, the bisexuals give bad advice, but the lesbians are frequently right.

• Maya not finding a point in waiting relates back to her earlier sentiments, nice touch of how two characters can both be brash and quick to act, but their motivations for it can completely change the outcome.

• It’s Allies with Benefits instead of friends because the two aren’t even friends, Louis just sees them as allies, and Rowan doesn’t really have friends.

• The Courtiers speak of Maya’s death in past tense, while they speak of Rowan’s affair with Louis in present. They skipped over Maya’s death as basic palace gossip fast.

• Rowan focuses completely on Louis’ body instead of anything about his personality, even when he’s complementing Louis, he’s talking about Louis’ eyes. Louis offers Rowan the chance for an actual emotional connection, but Rowan just focused on his body.

•Rowan’s voice is higher pitched when singing about something he actually wants, but lower when faking it. He’s faking masculinity for the king, and actually does this when asking for Jason’s life to be spared.

• King Astor puts a bunch of stuff in Maya’s casket, but none of it is stuff Maya actually gives a shit about, showing how he fundamentally doesn’t understand his daughter. He doesn’t love Maya, he loves the idea of a perfect daughter, and pushed her to be that.

• I like the implication that Maya’s hair was supposed to be long during act one, but she cuts it all off in act two. It’s nice she gets to be a masc and happy about it.

•Maya takes her makeup off for act two, having white eye liner on during act one, but it’s gone during act two. It’s a really sweet thing.

• Maddox says that worst case scenario is a warlock blows Rowan to bits and that start all over again, and Maddox later kills Rowan, and the new kings are Jason and Louis.

• Maddox literally hiding in a closet to avoid Rowan and Louis fucking is so funny.

• Rowan is projecting so hard within Allies with Benefits (reprise), calling Jason manipulative and telling Louis that he should only love Jason’s body. He’s trying to take the Jason role, but failing since he’s an abusive prick.

• Louis wears pink on his coronation day, being allows to just be himself instead of what someone else wants.

• Rowan is constantly trying to get Louis to “fix” him, thinking Louis could make all of it go away, but no one needs that much help. Louis can’t make things go away, and Rowan’s expectations are unrealistic. I love the message that it’s okay to help your partner, to be there to support them and make things better, but there is a line that no one should cross. Rowan crosses that line, it isn’t love, it’s infatuation and lust.

• Louis is so worried about killing Rowan, he’s begun to wish that Rowan is dead, and he chooses to do the right thing instead of continuing the cycle of death and abuse.

• The crown that King Astor has on when he slaps Rowan is the same one that Louis lifts off Rowan’s head during When You’re Small, and it’s a flag that Rowan and the king will both die. Maya doesn’t ever wear it, and she gets to live.

• There was only one bed

• Jason considers what Louis’ wants and respects Louis’ consent, it breaks the cycle Louis is stuck in, and helps the two have a healthy relationship.

• Maddox warns of guards walking in on Rowan stabbing his father, and that’s exactly what happens. The way they mess with each other foreshadows Maddox killing Rowan, the plan getting interrupted and Maddox blowing Rowan to bits.

• Rowan is right in his assessment that him and Maya are similar, but loses the fact that Maya is completely dedicated to Maddox, which differs from what he says to Maddox.

• I do think Rowan has grown to care for Maya on some level, which is why he still is secure in wanting magic legalized, at least when he’s talking to Maddox about Louis.

• Rowan’s character arc is continuing the cycle of abuse, he becomes just his father by being an abusive drunk, and becomes just like the people who only sexualized him instead of being a good lover. Heart’s Blood shows that Rowan has a similar issue to Louis in the fact he is constantly being used for sex, but he doesn’t see the fact that he is doing it to Louis now. Even the song’s name is a show that Rowan doesn’t understand Louis and the fact Louis doesn’t what a blood revolution, Louis can’t stand blood or violence, while blood is Rowan’s entire thing. He’s using Louis, and Rowan’s big love song is him wanting ownership over Louis’ body and dousing that white in red.

• Heart’s Blood also uses double talk within it’s lyrics with describing Louis both feeling “burning, clawed, and drowning.” Rowan would feel it as a positive thing, a thing of love, while it would be a complete trap for Louis. He is misinterpreting what Maya believes, turning it twisted, and harming Louis in the process. He reflects on this later as a ghost, seeing how wrong he was.

• Rowan’s confession speech to Louis is possessive and has a desire of ownership of Louis, and it’s Rowan being selfish. He sexualizes Louis, is only willing to give up drinking for Louis instead of being sober for himself, and he doesn’t even both knocking. The refusal to knock is Rowan once again missing the fucking point.

• “You whore!!”

• “It’s not :(“

• “I thought you were STRAIGHT Jason!!”

• Jason puts his hand on Louis’ shoulder instead of tilting his chin up, nice physical acting.

• I like that If I Knew You Then doesn’t involve Jason or Louis’ physicality, they’re allowed to be interested on one another on a deep level.

• Rowan calls the King dad to be petty, but he’s also desperate for some level of his approval, for anything. It’s why he begs King Astor to say anything, he’s still a kid that wants some level of approval from a parent. If memory serves, Rowan is the youngest person in the roster, and he never got the chance to emotionally mature like everyone else.

• Louis is willing to fight for Jason in the same way Maya and Maddox are willing to fight for one another, something Rowan would never do for Louis. Louis’ fear of death disappears the moments he knows Jason needs him, he is willing to make a sacrifice for his love.

• Rowan is wearing white in the end, a new start.

• This next section is just me praising the actors lol

• Alex Conboy’s performance as Maddox during Can’t Hold Back The Tide amazing, the amount of emotion in their voice is such a skill, and they deserve so much praise for it.

• The level of breath control Lana Gaige must have to sing the little death song as Rowan dies is impressive. They already are an impressive performer, absolute power house on stage, and all the numbers they’re in always strike just the right chords. Sing whispering, on the ground, softly, and having to sound like they’re crying without actually crying is a testament to their skill. Trying to combine all those things is such a difficult thing to do, but they did it because they’re Lana Gaige and they’re an absolute demon on stage.

• DeLaney Rose broke my goddamn heart as Louis, just went right and stomped on it, and just right in my feelings. Crown of Bones and Lead is their best performance in the show, and it makes me cry.

• Andrew Matos as Jason does straight guy prick and autism gay man really well, you can see the natural progression of Jason’s character and how he changes through the show. Absolutely adore it.

• Miel Escamilla committed to the bit with the hair cutting, and I have so much respect for them for that. Some of the notes they hit during the show are amazing, and being able to do priss and prim mixed with “I’m five seconds away from backhanding you” is really nice, and I love their performance as Maya.

[gaymars97]

Krieg: [lying unconscious on the ground]

Gaige: MAYA! WHY IS KRIEG BEING USELESS?

Maya: He went into a rage after transforming and knocked himself out. We can’t get him to wake up or respond.

Gaige:

Gaige: REALLY?

Maya: Gaige!

Gaige: I MEAN SERIOUSLY?

Maya: Yeah Gaige-

Gaige: I COULDN’T DO THAT IF I TRIED! HE HAD ONE F***ING JOB TO DO AND HE KNOCKED HIMSELF OUT?

Maya: Gaige, I literally do not have the time! Now use your books to unfuck the situation!

Gaige: GAHHHH ALRIGHT!

Maya:

Maya: Do you have any ideas?

Gaige: I’ve got one

Gaige: After all… pain is the greatest motivator [takes her gun]

Maya: Gaige what are you doing?

Gaige: SHUT THE F*** UP AND LET ME DO MY SHIT!

[angeltannis]

There’s nothing more fun in writing than when two characters inexplicably get along way better then you expected them to. It’s like mixing two random condiments in a sandwich and discovering they go amazing together

[tannithvibes]

first thoughts on glat so far is: i still love gaige so much my little baby heart hurts

[cripple-cat]

Axton Headcanons Because I Feel Like It

he tried to be a good husband for sarah he really did, but they probably werent really compatible no matter how hard he tried

hes a rule breaker with creative solutions and a crippling inability to do nothing even when its necessary

now given that he cant just sit by and do nothing pandora is PERFECT for him

always something to do, always people to save, always corporations to fight

and with the space he gets with the crimson raiders that he could never get in the dahl military he can finally process all the shit hes been through and done

he has the space to grow and he knows he should, so he CHOOSES to, he CHOOSES to better himself

and not in the way of following more rules, but maybe he learns to paint, maybe he learns different forms of mathematics, maybe he asks maya or zer0 or gaige what their lives were like on other worlds so he can have more compassion for people he meets

he is almost definitely in love with his turret thats not a question

he talks to her when hes cleaning her or fixing her

he talks about what they did together that day and what theyll do the next

its very domestic and kind of sweet but its also deeply uncomfortable to the other vault hunters because they cant tell how deep that runs

zer0 and lilith have money on him fucking his turret

everyone else put in money against that because its a disturbing thought to most, even on pandora

zer0 walked in on him crying over her once, it wasnt even really about anything, he was just struck with grief

they sat next to him with his head in his hands and gave him an awkwardly positioned side hug

they got much closer to each other after that

eventually he opened up to them enough that when they inevitably asked questions about his scars he answered honestly

he talked about his history of finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, of his habit of getting himself caught in tight spaces, the way he takes bullets for other people when he can, his occasional relapses of self harm

sometimes he visits tina when he doesnt trust himself because he knows he would never do anything that could hurt her and she cares about him enough that his death would cut her deep

he visits more after roland dies than he did before, because he doesnt want her to be alone and feel alone

sometimes hell bring zer0 and gaige and a board game and theyll play for hours

he catches himself staring at zer0 a lot, he finds he hardly ever flirts with them anymore, he thinks about all the gifts hes given them at random, and realizes he might be in love again

he never says anything, he doesnt want to ruin it, and hes not sure hes ready

zer0 notices and doesnt say anything about it, but they grab his hand one day, out of the blue, flash a heart across their visor, and hand him the smoothest rock theyve ever seen on pandora

he doesnt know what it really means but he knows enough about zer0 to know it means SOMETHING

they unofficially court for a good long time before anyone else really even notices somethings changed

the first one to notice is gaige since she and axton are ✨besties✨ and she fakes offense at not being told and then just teases him endlessly about how disgustingly cute it is

he tells her to shut up but he smiles the whole time

sometimes hell come up behind her and put his chin on the top of her head, particularly in a situation where it would embarrass her

he sort of sees her as a very close friend and sort of sees her as a little sister and hes very soft about it

when he realized krieg was always nervous around her he started watching real close

he had never seen such dad like behavior from any pandoran before but he immediately recognized it for what it was

he saw it with tina too, and anyone young they came across

he came to the conclusion on his own that whoever krieg was before was a very good and kind and loving dad, and one day he took that conclusion and went to give his psycho friend a hug

it wasnt well received because he forgot to make himself known and forgot to ask if he could and he earned himself a broken arm but he wasnt mad about it

he definitely learned his lesson though and only ever approached from the side krieg could see on

he never really had to forge a connection with salvador like he did with the others, salvador just liked him immediately

their jokes bounced off each other and their serious moments worked in harmony

they werent really best friends but they were close, and then they started working closer together and talking to each other more and sharing experiences and practically became brothers

he writes intentionally shitty poetry on his downtime

sometimes zer0 joins him on the rooftops of sanctuary and they make bad poems together

he likes to study zer0s hands, hes always been a "hands-on" guy, haha

he likes the way their fingers flex and how thick they are and how long their hands are and the way their wrist bends

it was at first very alarming to them that he wanted to look so closely but he never pressured them into removing their suit just so he could see their hands

he always asked if he could play around with their hands before doing it, too

they like watching the sunset together, and sometimes the sunrise, and its the quiet moments like those that help him remember what hes got and how much he loves what he has

hes finally got friends and family that love him and like him and work with him willingly and spend their time off with him by choice

he learns, here on pandora, in the dingy flying city of sanctuary, what it really means to be loved

hes never been happier

[much-obliged-timothy]

Whumptober #29

Borderlands - #29 - “Better me than you”

*

“Woohoo!” Gaige cheered as she took out another loader bot. “That puts me in the lead.”

Axton scowled over at her. “Hey, we ain’t done yet.”

“Pshhh,” she said. “You get all hyped dude-bro whenever you take the lead.”

“I do not!” he said defensively, tossing down his turret. “Nah, my girlfriend is gonna help me catch back up.”

“Hear that, DT? The mean, dumb man thinks you’re not as good as his turret,” Gaige said. 

DT faced Axton and let out a sad trill. Axton rolled his eyes.

“Yea, yea, sorry,” he said. 

He focused on shooting, determined to catch back up to Gaige. They’d offered to clear out a Hyperion facility that was giving a local camp of Crimson Raiders problems. Turning it into a bet made it more exciting, and also meant the potential for one of them to win free drinks when they got back to Sanctuary. 

“Hey, hey, do you think Tina will let us play Bunkers and Badasses with her this time?” Gaige said.

“You’re just tryin’ to distract me,” he said. “And no, she never invites me anymore. I pissed her off that one time and that kid holds a damn grudge.”

“I keep waiting for her to put explosives in your bed,” she said. 

“Wouldn’t put it past her.” Axton took down another loader, opened his mouth to brag, and reluctantly shut it when Gaige and DT took down another. 

An alarm suddenly started blaring overhead, making Axton wince and miss his next shot. He and Gaige shared a look.

“Guess they finally realized we’re here?” he said.

“I think they knew. We probably missed someone and they got away and sounded the alarm.” She grinned and raised her gun. “Bonus round. You’re going down, Ax.” 

“Like hell!” Axton threw himself over the cover he’d been behind and charged forward as a wave of reinforcements swarmed into the room.

Gaige cursed at him but followed. The two whirled around the room, a deadly combination of firepower, yelling out their scores as they took down loader bot after loader bot. 

It was nice to be able to just let loose. Axton only had to bother keeping track of Gaige instead of all the others, making it much easier to just fire wildly and deploy his turret as he pleased. They’d been so busy lately trying to stop Jack that they hadn’t had much downtime, and it was starting to drag their motivation down. 

But he could hear Gaige’s laughter as she got to let loose as well, and it made him grin to himself. They needed this. Mindless violence with no stakes, a competition to keep them going, a promise of drinks tonight. 

And things were going well, right up until they weren’t.

The EXP loaders rushed out at them, having been hidden in the back of the swarm. They went off before Gaige or Axton could react fast enough, blowing their shields and sending both of them flying across the room with the force of the explosions.

Axton landed hard, wincing. He tried to get up, his arm aching and burned. He fumbled for a health kit, looking over at Gaige. She was rubbing her ankle, expression scrunched up in pain. Shit, she must’ve landed wrong. 

Axton hadn’t even had a chance to inject the health kit he’d found when he realized there was another EXP loader stuck in a corner. It broke free just as Axton spotted it, charging at Gaige. 

Axton got to his feet, running for her, his heart slamming as the EXP loader got closer and closer. He had to make it to her. She wouldn’t be able to run on her own, and her shield was still out.

He dove to cover her just as the EXP loader reached them, dropping his turret in the hopes its shield might absorb some of the blow. The explosion tore through the area, sending a wave of agony through Axton as he was caught in it, his turret only shielding him from a bit of the blow. 

Gaige sucked in a breath when the room quieted down. She pushed Axton off herself, wincing at the movement.

“You idiot. Are you- Axton!” Her eyes widened in horror.

Oh, no, no. He was bad. He was so bad.

He was covered in burns, skin shredded away on the right side of his body where the explosion had caught him the worst. His breathing was strained and harsh, his whole body trembling with pain.

“Axton,” she said helplessly, yanking her bag off to dig through it for health kits, unsure if it would be enough given his current condition. “Axton, why? You…you…Fuck, Ax, I thought your shield was okay when you jumped on top of me! Why?!”

“Better me than you,” he wheezed out, giving a weak grin. “Knew you’d…bitch about…losing your w-winning streak.”

“Shhh.” She pulled him so he was lying across her lap, injecting the first of the health kits into him. “Just hang in there. Hang in there, Axton. I’m calling the others for help. We’ll get you to Zed and you’ll be fine.”

He had already fallen unconscious, expression pained even when he was out. Gaige grabbed her ECHO.

“Hey, get to me, now,” she practically begged. “Please, Axton is bad and I don’t…He needs help!”

“On our way,” Maya replied back. “ETA eight minutes. Keep him safe until we get there.”

Eight minutes? Gaige frantically looked at Axton’s damaged body. She didn’t know if he could wait that long for help.

But there was nothing else she could do. He was too injured to risk trying to move him on her own. She would just have to give him the health kits she had and protect him from any loaders that came in the room.

“You better hang in there,” she whispered, gripping at a part of his arm that miraculously hadn’t been torn to bits in the explosion. “You owe me a drink, you bastard.” 

She gave him another health kit, checked the time, and grabbed her gun as she heard the sound of more loaders approaching. She looked down at Axton, fought off her panic, and stood. She would protect him for the next few minutes while help came. She just had to hope he could stay alive that long.

[snappedsky]

Borderlands: Skies the Bodyguard 4

Skies and Timothy spend the day at Sanctuary.

*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*

--

Chapter 3

           It’s a long drive from Old Haven to Sanctuary, but it’s a good one. Skies sticks her head out of the technical, letting the wind blow through her long, messy brown hair as they drive through the Arid Nexus. When they reach the highway connecting to the Eridium Blight, Timothy makes her sit back down.

           Things have quieted down recently in these parts. Since Jack’s death and the fall of Helios, most Hyperion facilities in Pandora have shut down because nobody cares enough to keep them up anymore. So with no turrets, the only threats in the Eridium Blight are swooping rakks and the slag ash in the air- really not much different from anywhere else on Pandora.

           Skies is in a far better mood by the time they reach the Dust, as she and Timothy dance to the music playing over the radio. The desert sun beats down on them as they tear through the sand, not a care in the world.

           They reach the Highlands within a couple hours and soon Overlook, the only connection to the flying city of Sanctuary. Timothy parks the car and they head through the quiet town to the fast travel station. One by one, they teleport to the city.

           Timothy and Skies exit Pierce Station, chatting happily, but they’re quickly cut off when they bump into the Vault Hunters: Maya, Axton, Salvador, Zer0, Krieg, and Gaige.

           “Ugh, great,” Axton says with visible disgust.

           “Hi, Zer0,” Skies waves happily then adds with disdain, “and not Zer0s.”

           “Hi, Skies,” Zer0 chimes.

           “What are you guys doing here?” Gaige asks accusingly.

           “Just here to chill at Moxxxi’s,” she replies, “play some slots, maybe eat some pizza- or at least what Moxxi calls pizza. I’m pretty sure the crust is cardboard. But hey, it’s edible.”

           “Alright,” Maya grunts suspiciously, “just stay out of trouble; and away from the Vault Key.”

           “Like we care about your damn Vaults,” Skies snorts.

           “Yeah, get over yourselves,” Timothy scoffs, rolling his eyes. Skies laughs as the two of them slip past the group and head to Moxxxi’s.

           “Heya, Moxx,” Skies chimes as they sit at the bar and sticks a wad of cash into her tip jar. “Tell me something good.”

           Moxxi smirks with amusement. “You’re both a lot cuter now that you have a bunch of cash to flash around.”

           Timothy chokes on his spit, turning away as he coughs into his fist. Skies grins at him then faces Moxxi. “Two drinks and pizza please.”

           “Coming up,” she replies.

           Skies and Timothy spend the afternoon lazing about at the bar, nursing their drinks and munching on the pizza. The lounge is about as busy as usual, with Sanctuary citizens relaxing in the booths, playing the slot machines, or dancing to the music.

           Skies gazes at Timothy for a while, almost mesmerised. He notices and grins, “what?”

           “Your hair is fascinating,” she comments.

           “Oh, yeah, I know,” he nods as he smooths back his messy Handsome Jack coif. “It always stays in this like general shape. It doesn’t seem to grow and I can’t cut it.”

           “Really?”

           “Yeah. Did you know he had a soul patch?”

           “Yeah, I’ve seen old pictures.”

             “Well, it took me forever to get rid of it,” Timothy explains as he rubs his chin. “Lots of struggling with a knife. Almost took my lip off.”

           “I could try cutting your hair for you,” Skies suggests as she draws her large machete.

           “Ah, no thanks,” he replies nervously. “I don’t wanna risk getting scalped.”

           They both laugh, but they’re cut off by a loud, slurred voice. “I tol’ you- I’m tha king of darts!”

           Skies scoffs with disgust as she glares at the drunk man by the darts board. He’s been bragging about his skill and forcing people into dart games for the last hour.            “This asshole won’t shut up.”      

           “He’s got some skill,” Timothy comments, “but I bet if he went up against someone who’s a trained shot, he wouldn’t be so cocky.”

           “Yeah,” she grins and stands up. “I’ma knock him down a peg.”

           “Hey, douche canoe,” she says as she walks up to him. “I’ll face you in darts. But if I win, you gotta leave.”

           The man snorts, “no way. Wouldn’t be fair. You’re like part robot.”

           “Okay, alright, fair enough,” Skies nods agreeably and looks around. She spots someone passed out in a nearby booth, wearing a scarf. After swiping it and ripping it in half, she uses one piece to cover her robotic eye and gestures to Timothy with the other. “Tim, tie my arm behind my back, would ya?”

           Timothy obliges, smiling with amusement as he ties back her robot arm. Then Skies faces the darts man. “Enough of a handicap?”

           The man nods, grinning. “Alright. Le’s play.”

           “Okay, you go first.”

           He picks up his three darts and carefully throws them. Despite being wasted, each one gets fairly close to the bullseye.

           “Beat that, lil’ lady,” he purrs.

           Skies picks up all three of her darts with her left hand. Moving them dextrously between her fingers, she throws them one at a time. The first one hits dead center; the second one lodges in right next to it.

           Skies pauses for a second with the third, taking a deep breath, then whips it. It rockets through the air, cracking the board as it hits the bullseye and knocking all of the other darts to the floor.

           “Yeah!” Timothy cheers while the rest of the onlookers are speechless.

           “Whoa,” the man croaks.

           Skies grins at him, fist resting on her hip. “Beat ya. Now you gotta leave.”

           He stares at her, stunned for a second, then scoffs. “Fine, whatever. Who needs this stupid bar anyway.”

           “Hey, don’t take it out on Moxxxi’s,” Skies scolds as he stumbles by. “It’s a lovely bar…kind of.”

           After untying her arm and eye, Skies and Timothy sit back down at the bar, where Moxxi gives them two more drinks.

           “On the house,” she says, “for that display.”

           “Aw, you’re a treasure, Moxx,” Skies comments. She and Timothy cheers and continue drinking.

           With all of Skies’ troubles washed away by drink, pizza, and chill times, the day seems to be wrapping up into a good one. Then a sudden shudder runs through the ground, making everyone stumble.

           “What was that?” Timothy asks worriedly.

           “Ah, don’t worry about it,” Moxxi replies, “probably just the city’s engines. This place ain’t exactly the safest flying city.”

           Everyone starts to settle back down when screaming erupts outside.

           “There are ships!” somebody shouts as civilians are seen scattering around.

           “Ships?” Skies questions and she and Timothy quickly stand up and look outside. They catch a glimpse of two large ships lowering past the buildings into the town square.

           Before they are able to check it out, they hear a mass of rapid footsteps and turn to see a group of armed soldiers coming into the bar’s front entrance. Civilians start screaming as they point their guns around.

           “What the hell is this?” Moxxi barks.

           None of the soldiers respond, but she’s answered by Lilith’s voice playing over an intercom speaker.

           “This is Lilith. Sanctuary is under attack. All civilians, evacuate the city immediately. Crimson Raiders, to me!”

           “Shit,” Skies sighs and draws her pistol.

[norathecobbler]

Of Sirens and Mechromancers - Fathers

“Avast me minions! Scrub the poop deck! Hoist those sails! Shiver those timbers!”

           As Claptrap spouts out orders, the Vault Hunters do what little they can to sail. The anchor is up, the wheel has been spun, and the boat floats along to its destination.

           Gaige sits on the side of the boat, pointing her ECHO’s camera at her face, “And while Flynt was wrestling with Deathtrap, Krieg over here snuck up behind him and just buried his buzz-axe into the fuel tank. Flynt went fwooosh and exploded! It was totally badass. And now, we’re on our way to Sanctuary. Thanks for the watch, my… 25,000 followers. Just, wow. And Dad, if you’re listening, I love you. I know Vault hunting isn’t totally safe, but I’ve got great people helping me out. See ya guys next time!”

           Gaige turns off the ECHO and stares out into the icy sea. Other boats sit in the distance. Angel’s face crackles into view.

           “That was a very good ECHOcast, in my opinion.”

           “Oh, you were watching?”

           “I also began watching through your previous casts last night. It was interesting watching your process of building Deathtrap. Quite an ingenious piece of work.”

           “Damn, thanks. That really means a lot coming from an AI.” Gaige bounces her legs off the side of the boat. “Do you spend a lot of time watching ECHOcasts?”

           “No, but Deathtrap made me interested in yours. And then I enjoyed watching you.”

           Gaige blushes, “Aww, that’s sweet of you to say.”

           “Also, I noticed you have a very close relationship with your father.”

           “Yeah, he’s the best. He’s always been there for me. Even when I chopped off my arm to replace it with a mechanical one. Do you have a dad? I mean, I guess you would, being an AI.”

           Angel seems to frown, “My father is dead. Pursuing the Vaults killed him. So, I do what he told me to, help Vault Hunters.”

           “Wow, I’m sorry about that.”

           “It’s fine.”

           Axton puts his hand on Gaige’s shoulder, and she jumps. She falls off the boat. She barely catches the side with her metal arm.

           “Shit!” Axton starts scrambling to lift Gaige back onto the boat. “Sorry. We’re almost to shore.”

           “Ouch. Thanks for catching me, though. Next time, please just yell at me.”

           “Got it.”

           Angel’s face appears in the view of the other Vault Hunters,

“Now that you’re near shore, the best way to get to Sanctuary will probably be the local Catch-A-Ride…”

[starttheanarchy]

@thehandsomeasshole 

The Eden-5 Youth Science Fair, an event that can catch the attention of the masses of the universe, but more importantly the attention of the corporations. It is the stepping stone for the younger generations to show their capabilities, knowledge, and power. The crowds were already fairly large due to the announcement of the new Crime Buster Bots that one Marcie Halloway sold the blueprints to the police force, and how those said bots were going to be used as her entry in the competition. It was a focal point that was advertised across the system to being in the masses.

It was a day filled with expectations. And none of them went the way anyone would have thought of them to go.

It started with the realization that there was another entry in fair that was startling similar in function to the crime buster bots. It was called The Mechanized Anti-Bully Deterrent Test and was entered by some girl named Gaige. Looking over the two robots it was clear to anyone that one was a copy of the other, yet as the day went on and the robots were tested, it became unclear to the masses which one was the original. Those with knowledge in the field could tell, the performance of the laser test that happened first made the facts clear.

One robot was able to fire enough consecutive stun laser shots to overheat the target to the point of making the steel plate begin to melt. The others head exploded after the second shot.

And D374-TP was not the only thing its creator was proudly showing off at the fair. The red headed genius was also showing off her custom made cybernetic arm and how instead of needing a digistruct terminal or even a large spawning rod, the digistruct code was stored in her arm allowing a new level portability that wasn't thought of before.

And at the end of the day, when the awards were being handed out, every expectation was thrown out the window. The judges were only human, and the Halloways had enough money to buy the whole planet five times over. There was no price Marcie's father would stop at to get his daughter her way. First place went to the robot that under performed compared to the competition. And as if to rub salt in the wound, the red head who had created not only a fully functioning cybernetic limb but as well as an impressive robot was given third place.

And it drove Gaige insane, but she couldn't do anything in front of all these people.

And then Marcie had to open her stupid mouth.

"I told you that useless piece of junk wouldn’t win you anything. Perfect for you honestly." That had gotten Gaige to glare at the heiress, her jaw clenched to hold back her screams on how unfair this all was. How rigged everything was. Her held silence only brought laughter from the rich girl before it pittered off into a sigh.

"How boring, come on show me a better face then that you ginger idiot." A spoiled tone that had clear tones of being pissed off. The final words of Marcie Halloway before she had shove Gaige down, and activated the threat detection sensors of one still active D374-TP.

Everything functioned just as intended, the robot floating up behind the standing threat. One arm swinging up, digistruct claws forming on the hand. And yet Gaige had a small pit in her stomach, a feeling that something wasn't right. And she was proven correct as the claws made contact with Marcie. Instead of incapacitating the target in one fell swoop that would only hurt for a few hours, the planned method on how the claws should have worked.

No instead Marcie Halloway had exploded into a bloody mess that caused a splash zone of several meters that had even reached the ceiling.

And poor Gaige had a front row seat to her most magnificent mistake to date.

She flicked her wrist out, D374-TP fading away into blue code, and she could only focus on how red her robotic limb looked. The rest of the world seemed to fade away as she focused on just how much blood was everywhere, and how there was no more Marcie. Shaking hands pushed her body off the floor, before trembling legs led her away. Into back hallways where almost no one was, seeking somewhere to try and understand what happened. Stumbling against a wall, she slid down before covering her face with her hands. The ringing in her ears finally fading to hear the hum of the vents overhead, and her own loud panicked breathing that was borderline hyperventilating.

"F-f-fuck. Shit. Crap. Fuck fuck FUCK. What the actual fuck? How the fuck? That shouldn't have happened. She should have just fallen to the ground. Not THAT. OH GOD. I killed her."

[thehandsomeasshole]

@starttheanarchy from X

"Then why use them for a job they are not meant for, just keep them to their original purpose and make something new that works for what you need. And because quality work will save in the long term with less repairs, replacements, and malfunctions over all. And your welcome." The wide grin could be heard in her last three words. She was raised to have some manners after all. "And DT could probably do it as long as the load weight isn't over hmmm..." She drifts off as fingers tap together, mental math being calculated. "Eight tonne? Maybe less. I'm not exactly sure on that front since I actually haven't tested his limits on that front. Hmm something to test another day." Her eyes drifted over the floating form of her robot as it stayed ever vigilant of her surroundings. She knew it could do some heavy lifting since she had used previous versions to move things in the junk yard.

Eyes roll at yet another reason on why to avoid corporations, and another as he seems to enjoy being a pest.

"Actually last thing I did was fix up several things that were in disrepair in Overlook, since too much of the population of that poor town have the skull-shivers and had no access to the medicine. Something about repair tickets being ignored or something like that. And I didn't come here for the shallow reason of becoming rich, I'm opening the vault to try and prevent a very clearly corrupt corporation from monopolization on something that might be a blessing or a curse." If she had it her way, she would keep it locked forever since no one has a full understanding of the capabilities and issues of Eridium that began to spawn after the first one opened. To many variables and yet everyone wanting to just add more into the chaos.

"Yes, yes. The definition fits, but you seem to think I am on the same level of depravity like the Fleshrippers or the Bloodshots. To which all I can say is, rude and incorrect. And princess? Really?" That got her to shoot a glare back at the space station.

"Not everyone. Yes there are people who still deserve a chance to be treated like a decent human because they are. But you seem to be hard at work for making it so those people are just as dead as the rest. And you are right, no one has used an army of robots to lay siege on a planet in the name of their own ideals. They used armies of people, and all of them were considered like a plague upon humanity in the context of history. Dictators, tyrants, oppressors, authoritarians, monsters. Wonder how will you be written down."

At the laughter, and how it grew as she talked about what started this whole hot mess off for her on planet side, it made her skin itch with irritation. Out of everything on this fucking disaster hellscape, it was Hyperion that tried to kill her first. Sure others might have had to deal with bandits at other stops, but she went from off the inter-space shuttle to the train with no issues.

It was fair to say Jack was the first person to try to actually kill her. Even when escaping Eden-5 they were aiming for capture to make her life a living hell instead of a death sentience. It was one of the reasons she was trying so damn hard to keep surviving at this point, out of spite for the asshole who tried to kill them after using some shitty signs to inform them of their supposed doom.

Hands were clenched into fists and she could feel a chill roll through her body. It was like the ice never left at times.

A deep breath as she turns her face to the sun that burns the landscape, she is fine and alive. And she isn't going to follow his script and get pissed. She isn't going to scream like everyone else on this planet. The Mechromancer is going to do what she always does, go against what is expected.

"How about you tell me something else instead. You worked with the Crimson Raiders? What happened? What is the full story, from beginning to end?" Her voice is calm and even, one that seems to hold no judgment and wanting to listen. And she does, after all there isn't much information on the group. Gaige had no plans to jump ship, but she honestly had as much trust for them as she did for most anyone on this planet that wasn't shooting at her. Eden-5 taught her that the only person she could ever trust was her father and the friends she created with her own two hands.

"No bullshit, no propaganda. Just your side of the story. I have time."

Jack did smile at the little sass she threw his way, despite himself. "Well, empty, those things weigh nearly five tonnes. So, nice try. I guess." He chose to ignore her initial comment about using the loaders for their designed purpose. There was not enough patience in Jack's body to unpack all of that right now.

"Oh, the vaults are definitely a curse. But, once you get the ball rolling around here, there's not really anything anyone can do to stop it." Jack shrugged lightly, scanning through the first four pages while he spoke, "You just… gotta do what you can before another idiot comes along and screws everything up even worse than you did."

"Nah, you're right. Princess made me feel a little icky. How about… I- I'll get back to you, I'll think of something real good." he laughed lightly, beginning to scribble down some notes on the papers before he continued. 

"You sure as hell act like 'em, you and your bandit buddies. Just exactly how many things or people have you killed since you got to Pandora? Hey, look, I'll even give wildlife a pass cause- Well, you could kill a hundred skags one day and the next day there'd be two hundred more. Let's just focus on people. Maybe you're not running around screaming about meat bicycles, and maybe it is a little rude of me, but it's also correct. You just don't wanna admit it."

"The people who are still decent in this universe are few and far, kid. In my entire life, I've only met two people who were truly selfless." One's dead and the other’s… worse. "But, you do realise that if it wasn't me up here, it'd just be someone else? Hell, Dahl and Atlas would still be plowing through planets like they're big balls of paper and slaughtering everyone in their way while going off about fighting for those planets' freedoms and peace."

"Ooh, I love tyrant! Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Always considered myself more notorious, than anything else." The sharp, almost humorous-sounding edge to his voice gave the impression he was teasing her, "Kid, it's nothin' I haven't heard before. You really think I'm gonna be kicking it anytime soon, anyway? Nah. Nope, not happening! I got way too much to do."

Jack's brows knitted together and slowly raised in a mixture of surprise and confusion. Sure, maybe she didn't care, he'd just never had a person who hated him ask for his side of the story before.

He decided not to express his shock.

"So, I'd been working on Helios since it launched, I was, uh-... A- a programming and engineering specialist for Hyperion for ten, fifteen years, maybe. I was in charge of most of the construction, getting together schematic proposals to give to my bosses, all that kinda shit."

"The first time I met Lilith and Roland was when Dahl decided they wanted to massacre all the workers on Helios and take it over. They… They didn't discriminate. If you worked for Hyperion, they'd gun you down without even batting an eye. They killed so many of the workers up here, I knew them all personally. We- we didn't even have a real military then, for God's sake! They shot workers out of the sky when they were trying to evacuate. That was the level of murderous psychopaths we were trying to deal with. We defended as best as we could, but even the freaking loaders weren't weaponised yet, I had like… Six hours to get them into a position to defend themselves, and you bet your ass I did it. I guess that actually answers your earlier question, too. I used them for a job they weren't made for out of necessity, the damn Lost Legion shot at them when they were running away, too. Assholes."

"I managed to get the vault hunter's I'd hired down to Elpis in a moonshot, think you've met a couple of them. They got to Concordia thanks to-" Shit. He hadn't actually thought about Janey in a while. He'd ask Athena how they were both doing, but she'd probably curb stop his head before he could even say hello. "-uh, this mechanic. They asked Lilith and Roland to help cause, y'know, Dahl had stuck a jamming signal somewhere on that moon and I couldn't work Helios's defences until it was shut off. They knew people on Helios were dying, and they said no."

"They only started to help when their lives were in immediate danger and Dahl got control of the moonshot laser and start firing away at Elpis. I really did trust 'em to help us, y'know? Like they promised they would."

"I guess they kinda did. We managed to get control of the laser again and… They blew it up. They nearly took the whole space station down just because they didn't want Hyperion having it. That stupid laser could've saved Pandora, you know. It could've- The blasts were so concentrated we could've wiped out an entire bandit settlement and their nice neighbours next door would've barely felt the ground tremble. I'd worked so hard on that laser. You have any idea how hard it was to make? How much progress they destroyed when they blew that damn thing up? A lot! A whole, freaking lot and-... Sorry. Off topic. Uh…"

He made a small noise, "Oh, yeah. Anyway, after that it was just a rush trying to get to the vault before anyone else did. Dahl was already there, but after what happened with those two I wouldn't have been surprised if they got to the vault first just so we couldn't."

"But, we did. My vault hunters took care of the- The Empyrean Sentinel, I think they called it. Big bastard, more human than the other vault monsters. Freaky stuff."

"So, the Sentinel was dead, and we finally got to the vault relic. It looked like… Nothing. Very underwhelming. Just a weird little floating vault symbol. I decided to touch it and-..." Jack went quiet for a while, his knuckles growing white with how tightly he was gripping the armrests of his chair, "And I saw… everything."

He felt sick even talking about it. The pit in his stomach growing deeper and he knew if he didn't stop soon he'd fall into a full blown breakdown. So, he took a shaky breath in and continued.

"Wasn't long after that when Lilith made her grand entrance. She destroyed the relic and- blasted the fuck out of my face. You ever had your face branded by some freaky eridian technology? It sucks. Real bad."

He let his head drop back, and he rubbed his eyes, "So, there's my side. Think I can quit my day job and become a professional story teller?" Though he tried to make a joke, the fire in his voice seemed to have dissipated. He just sounded… tired.

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

GEARBOX THIS IS EVERYTHING I’VE EVER WANTED THAAAAHAHAHAANK YOUUUUU

FUCK OKAY TRAILER BREAKDOWN BECAUSE I AM LOOOOOOSING MY FUCKING MIND OVER THIS TRAILER HOOOOOLY SHIT

POSSIBLE PSOILERS??? MAYBE? GOD DDDDDAYMN WHAT A WAY TO GET BACK INTO THE THEORY SCENE LMAO

SO FIRST OF ALL I’M NOT CERTAIN THIS IS RELATED TO THE BARMAN/SECOND STARS CULT QUEST I FOUND IN THE FILES AS SOME PEOPLE SUGGESTED, BUT I WILL ADMIT IT IS SUSPICIOUSLY SPECIFIC. MAINLY ABOUT A CULT AND THE FACT WE SEE A BAR HANGING OUT IN THE TRAILER, BUT HEY, I AM NOT GOING TO MAKE ASSUMPTIONS RIGHT NOW I AM JUST GOING TO ENJOY THIS WHILE I CAN

ANd breathe in

breathe okay

okay

im okay.

i’ve watched this trailer like 15 times already oh my god it’s so good. i wasnt so hyped about the casino dlc bc, like, i already spoiled myself on it BUT THIS IS (AS FAR AS WE KNOW) UNCHARTED TERRITORY AND

IT’S TECHNICALLY A WATER PLANET

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES

okay

okay

i will stop using caps

for the most part

hhhhhhh

okay.

let’s just be calm. i got this

BUT HAVE YOU SEEN THIS THOUGH????

oh ym goD

the fucking lighthouse sent me. i just. i went feral for a solid hour and a half. just wheezing on my test. i fell onto the floor at one point, don’t remember when. it was so fucking good, i couldn’t feel my goddamn hands

;-; its so beautiful i could stare at this all day hhhhhhh

i just

hhhhhhhhhhhh

oh ym godddd ;-;-;-;-;-;-;

it’s so fucking beautiful

i can’t

okay

we see the gun/health station under the lighthouse so it’s not really THAT big, and we can see a town in the distance. running across the ice sheets is giving me HUGE southern shelf vibes which i am in love with. this whole aesthetic is just ;w; so good

there’s a catch a ride in that town as well so we know this area is fairly big (which is confirmed in a later shot)

and oh my GOD can you imagine seeing some big ol beast lurking beneath the surface of the ice sheets hohhhh

MAN

okay sorry im still not oevr this its just so fckign good

inside the belly of the beast rotting Monster and OHHHHHHHHHHH THE IMPLICATION-s of that. of that. im calm.

we get a look at 2 new enemies and mmmmmm we get a better look at them later on so just look how fuckig beautiful thsi area is with its acid that’s probably rotting stomach acid and AAAAAAAA

first close up of the town, giving me really big uhhhh we happy few vibes? which im not complaining about

TENTACLES asdfghj

anywway more toen, bridge looks like like athenas which is DOPE im hype for more athenas-esque architecture

the TOWNss oh my god im so im love with this aesthetic god. damn.it i need this injected directly into my veins like right N O W

also the bridge is going over another pool of acid, which the tentacle is coming out of. i imagine this monster was sorta acid based, which is funny. since. frozen water planet. and it’s OOZY too. oozy boy means the eridians didn’t make this one! ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

hm who’s ready to face the unintended consequences of our actions?! NOT THE ERIDIANS WHOOO BOY (you cannot tlel me that there are mantakores on this planet and not say there was eridian fuckering going on nooOOPE)

also, side note, DIGGING the spike pit under the house on the bottom right. hope we get to explore that bad boy

ALSO

who are you mysterious figure whose cape billows in the wind? are you just part of the environment?? MAYBE

more town

first look at that BEAUITUFL red barrier which OOOOH I WANNA TOUCH SO BADLY

look at it

LOOK AT IT

NOODLE BOWL

EATS??? food place?? im not sure i can’t read, Jared, 19

see s-ar(?)ed??

THAT

THAT IS BEAUTIFUL

doesn’t look like a corporation shield (no corporation gunk lying around either) and we do know red glowy shit is the New Eridian Aesthetic, so im just saying.

it could be a corporation tho, mostly because uhhh later shots

hold up

that’s not uhhhhhhhhhhh

yeah it CAN’T BE lol

cursetown - something something

these red thingies are probably just rotting monster flesh but it does look very similar to the vines on nekrotefeyo

given how worried wainwright looks i imagine him and hammylocks are being coerced into the whole marriage thing in order to complete a ritual

i mean no judgement but that red background is absolutely garrish for a wedding

1. pirate ship??? please??? look at all the mist outside and the wooden bars

god PLEASE can i get a pirate ship.  CNA I PLEASE GET A PIRATE SHIP

Captain scarlett wsan’t enoughhhh

2. why the fuck does she have a tail

3.

DJ Midnight performing Saturday: The Dark Mix Deep W???? Hear The Voices (hmmm) and Let The Music Enter You

gee i wonder if this is cultist propaganda

I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU PEOPLE ARE

BUT YOUR TIMING

SUCKS

IIIII AM HERMEAUS MORAAA

no wait wrong game

BUT BRO TENTACLES COMING OUT OF THE MAGIC PORTALS???? UFCKF UEYS THIS FITS PERFECTLY INTO H2O A- i mean, damn haven’t we got enough tentacles from the destroyer?? wow gearbox... heh. hm.

SO I AM WONDERING IF MAYBE THE GREEN UNDER THE BRIDGE AND SUCH ISN’T LIKE CORROSIVE ACID BUT MAYHAPS SOME SORT OF MAGIC SLUDGE COMING OFF THE BIG OL MONSTER BOY THAT THESE CULTISTS ARE HARNESSING TO TAP INTO something. i lost steam. but i mean MAGIC PORTALS

and we all know where teleportation takes us

MANTAKORES!!! WHICH MEANS ERIDIAN INTERVENTION SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE

they seem like fire/ice boys which i absolutely adore

THIS SHOT IS SO COOL OH MY GOD

LIKE I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN IT JUST LOOKS D O P E

WHAT IS THIS??

WHAT IS THIIIS??

CAN I PLEASE HAVE YOUR JACKET

OH ALSO

I MENTIONED IT IN ANOTHER POST BUT THIS

REMINDS ME A LOT OF THIS

IM SURE THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NO CORRELATION BUT I THOUGHTIT WAS FUNNY

ALSO REMEMBER THE BLACK EYES THING I HAVE A WHOLE THINGIE THING IMMA BRING BACK OT IT JUST HOLD TIGHT

THIS SHOT?? OH MY GOD? IT’S LIKE A MOVIE????????? I LOV EI LOVE IT LIV E OT

nND THE WOLFIE BOYS THATTHE ARTICLE MENTIONS

UCKING TENTACLES HFDGDHFGJKH THIS IS SO FUCKING COOL OH MY GOD

HE’ SGOT TENTACLE ARMS LIKE MOTHERFUCKING CHADAM

BRO IM

BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

AND A GUN THIS MOTHERFUCKER STILL HAS A GUN

WHAT A MAN

MORE TECHONOLOG Y THAT IM SURE PLAYS A ROLE IN THIS SOMEHOW

BEAUTIFUL

WE SLAM THIS DUDE UP AGAINST A WALL SO HARD SHE/HE/THEY (I ASSUME SHE BC WE CAN’T SEE HER FACE AS A COMMON TROPE) 

BREAKS THE WINDOW WHICH LOOKS SUSPICIOUSLY LIKE A WINDOW ON SANC-III BUT IM NOT MAKING ANY ASSUMPTIONS

also red SPARKS WHICH REMIND ME OF ERIDIANS AGAIN

also her whole helmet thingie??? very Guardian-like

THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE IS GIVING ME HUGE HECTOR/KEY/PLANT/ERIDIANBULLSHITTERY VIBES THEY EVEN HAVE THE GLOWING SACS OF OOOOOOOZE

which is another point to the “green sludge is magic/connected to their powers somehow” theory. hmmm i hope we mix neon green and eridium purple. purple/green is my favorite color combo. and ugh with the lovecraftian vibes? be still my beating heart!

WINNIE SHOOTING SOMOHE

i fucking LOVE the laces on this shotgun. so fucking pretty omfg

magic circle MAGIC CIRCLE MAGIC CIRCLE

also new chest it looks like

BROO??? HOLY SHIT?????????

JABBER WOLF!! SO FUCKING COOL

THAT SKULL MOUTH IS SO FUCKING DOPE IT LOOKS LIKE TROY’S TATTOO

ohhhhhhHHHHHH THE MOON IS GREEN TOO DON’T DO THI GEARBOX IM GONNA SCREAM IF THERE’S ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE ERIDIUM

THIS SHOT OHHHH

THE BAR LOOKS FUCKING FANTASTIC OH MY GOD

shots SHOT SHOTS SHOT SHOTS HTOSHSTOHSOHTS

dND the MERFOLK TAIL ON THE FAR RIGHT I DON’T GIVE A FUUUCK WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS THAT’S MER TAIL THAT’S A TAIL FUCK U

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YSEY SEYSEYSE BIGGG

THE BARTENDER OHOH

HAVE I MENTIONED THE GIANT FUCKING MUSHROOMS BTW

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IM GETTTING SUCH DRAGONBORN DLC VIBES I LOVE IT

SWEETFRUIT VILLAGE BTW THAT’S IMPORTANT

YOU ALLL LOOK SO FUCKING AMAZING OH MY GOD

the bartender!!!! his glasses!! AND THE VOICE MODULATOR???

the netch looking boys are called

slithercresses btw and THEY LOOK STUNNING

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

NEW RED CHESTS??? LOOK ERIDIAN TO ME

WHICH MIGHT MEAN------

ALSO THE DIMENSIONAL TRANSFER PROGRAM ON SANC-III WHERE BBY BOY MAUREICE MAKES US A PORTAL TO HELL??? WHICH GREEN OOZE WHICH IS “HECKTOPLASM” BUT MAYBE ACTUALLY N O T

THE STAR OF THE SHOW BABY GIRL GAIGE WHO’SACTUALLY OLDER THAN ME NOW FUUUUUUUUCK

YOU’RE SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL II LOVE YOUR NEW GOGGLES

H??????????????

POSSIBLE NEW PSYCHOMASK UNLESS HE’S JUST GROWING THOSE BONE HORNS IN WHICH CASE YOU GO MAN IM PROUD OF YOU

TENTACLE GUNNNNNN WHICH BETTER LPAY A PART ERIRDIANS YOU FUCKS

THIS PLACE IS WHY I THINK THIS MIGHT BE RELATED TO S O M E CORPORAITON? BUT THEN AGAIN IT MAY JSUT BE THE CULT HEADQUARTERS OR WHATEVER, THAT RED BUBBLED MANSION LOOKS P HQ

FOOD CARTS AND ALSO WHATEVERS IN THAT SWINGING BAG LOOKS LIKE BONES HELL YEAH

this this THIS THIS THIS THIS WHAT IS THIS A NEW CIRCL  E OF SLAUGHTEr? ERIDIAN???

THEYRE PUMPING SOMETHING INTO/OUT OF THE CORPSE!!!!!!! ALSO

mutaTED FEET

[something] world! with a skull symbol on the side

both green btw

god YES I LOVE GREEN AND PURPLE IM SO HAPPY

SAILOF HOLE

hammylocks helping us with a fight by some bones and more wolfie boys!!!! i love these little dudes

FIRE MUTATED SLUGS AAAAAAAAA THEYRE SO COOL

ns tHEY CUR L UP INTO BALLS AND ROLL AT YOU LIKE KRAGGONS

AND I WONDER HOW THE SLUGS MUTATED IS IT POSSIBLY THE G R E E EN?

AND THEIR SHELLS LIKE SUCC UP LAVA?????????????

THESE BRAIN-Y BOYS 

SO BLUE I LOVE THEM

AND MORE GREEN MIST BY THE WAY OWOWOWOWOWO

another look at a baddie with STUDS THIS TIME

A MAGIC WARLOCK TYPE BADDIE THIS TIME AND HE SUMMONS A STAFF AND ALSO I THINK THAT’S ERIDIUM CANNISTER BEHIND HIM

AND IT HAS SIMMILAR TENTACLESTO THE GUNS DO YOU THINK WE’RE FINALLY GOING TO GET ANA NSWER ASA TO WHY OUR GUNS ARE A L I V E

MORE SNAIL DUDES AND THE GREEN STUFF IN THE BACKGROUND M A N I LOVE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA SNAILS

OOOOOZE

BACK AT IT AGAIN IN MY CYCLONES

GREEN FUCKING PUDDLES

B O N E S FUCKING I HOPE THIS EXPLAINS HOW THE SKAGS ON PANDORA GOT SO FUCKIN LARGGO OUTSIDE OF JUST ‘YEAH THE SEASONS’

MORE

this

THIS

ONE

THIS LOOKS LIKE A SAURIAN THE ARMORED ONES THE BASHY ARMORED ONES THAT START WITH ‘C’

TWO THAT GUN IS KICKASS

IT’S GLOWING G R E E N AND IT HAS ***THE TENTACLE BARREL***

OHHHH IM SO READY FOR AN EXPLANATION GEARBO X PL E ASE

GIVE IT TO ME

ALSO THIS

IM EXCITED ABOUT

PROBABLY RELATED TO SWEETFRUIT VILLAGE BC THE MUSHROOMS MAYBE THEY USE IT TO MAKE BOOZE MUSHROOM BOOZE EW

WHY IS HE GRAY?????? HE’S NOT WEARING A JACKET MAYBE HES CRYO-FLAVORED

more sluggus THESE ARE GREEN FLAVORED :O

also, side note

PLEASE TLEL ME THIS WAS INTENTIONAL GEARBOX

LEMME SLAP BLANE’S ASS

YOU *GUYS* PLEASE

BUBBLE MANSION??? GREEN OOZY VILLAIN THAT GOT SLMAMED INTO A WALL??? BABY BABY GIRL

THE R E D

and she’s USING A TENTACLE GUN TOO

THAT’S GOTTA MEAN SOMETHING RIGHT

hhhhhhHHHHH

also ther’e sa fridge on the left lol

also the consoles look similar to that one shot with zane which is why i believe this is part of that bubbled-y mansion.

YES ES YES YES YES YESY SYEYSE 

I WANNA RIDE THE SKY TRAM SO BAD PLEASE

I WANNA REENACT UNTIL DAWN

I HAVE A MIGHTY NEEEEEEED

ALSO NOTE THE EYES

AND THE PURPLE HOW IT LOOKS LIKE AN ERIDIUM PURPLE

ANYWAY I HA[VE TO GO EAT FOOD NOW BUT GO LOOK AT THIS LINKN

I LOOKED UP THE NAME OF THE PLANET AND MYTHOLOGY AND NOTHING CAME UP, BUT GOOGLE RECOMMENDED ME 

T H I S

https://pantheon.org/articles/l/lycurgus.html

AND MAN OH MAN

“FAMOUS FOR HIS PERSECUTION OF DIONYSUS” THE GOD OF P A R T I E S LIKE IDK A WEDDING PARTY, WHICH FORCED YA MAIN MAN DIONYSUS TO <JUMP INTO THE OCEAN> WHICH COULD HAVE SOME RELATION TO THE TENTACLES

OH AND ALSO LYCURGUS WAS THEN <<<BLINDED>>>  WHICH COULD PLAY A PART IN THE BLACK OOZY EYES EVERYONE HAS

DIONYSUS ALSO ENDS UP PUNISHING LYCURGUS WITH MADASS AND WE ALL KNOW HOW THAT RELATES

OKAY BYE 

[randomfandomimagine]

Fate Is Sealed. Chapter 7

Fandom: John Wick

Ship: John x Elizabeth (OC)

Previous Chapter - Chapter Index - Next Chapter

Read it on AO3!!

Aurelio put his jacket over my shoulders, stopping to comfortingly rub my back.

“Fuck” He muttered, passing a hand over his mouth, after John was done explaining. “No wonder she’s such a wreck”

“Yeah” John walked through the garage, offering me a glass of a thick liquid and peering at me with worried eyes. “Can you think of anyone who-?”

After little consideration, I snatched the glass from his hand and downed it in one gulp. It burned like hell and it made me cough, but it helped me numb all the overwhelming sensations that were taking over my mind and body. The crawling in my skin, the fuzziness in my brain… Just… everything.

“Holy shit, Elizabeth...” Aurelio uttered, heaving a deep sigh. There was a loud silence in which I felt them intently watching me. When I rolled my eyes, my friend continued speaking, directing his words at John. “To answer your question, yeah. I don’t know the details, but she's in trouble with this guy, Gaige Stoakes”

“Smiling Gaige?”

“That’s him. I think he’s the one who sent her to kill you”

“He is”

“So whatcha gonna do about it?”

“Take care of it” Retrieving a gun from his belt, he adamantly cocked it.

“No” Every fiber of my being felt unstable, but I still spoke up. “You’re not doing that, I don’t want your charity”

“It’s not charity” John frowned, watching me gravely. “I owe you a debt; you’re involved in this because of me”

“I didn’t help you because I wanted you to owe me” I stood up, ignoring how weak and shaky I felt and how my legs seemed made out of jelly.

With the corner of my eye, I caught Aurelio tensing up at my sudden movement, but I completely ignored him and faced John. He observed me in silence; his eyes were piercing as though he was trying to read my mind.

“I just helped you, John, because it was the right thing to do” I said to fill the silence, sitting back down when I felt myself swaying. “Because I wanted to”

Even as he towered over me, holding a gun in his hand, his gaze was stern yet somehow soft at the same time. His head slightly fell forward, forcing the curtain of dark hair over his features to hide them.

“Fine” John budged, saving his weapon. “But this isn’t over”

“Maybe, but it’s my problem, not yours” I wrapped myself with Aurelio’s jacket, averting my gaze under John’s attentive stare. “And I don’t work like you do”

“I’m going home” He paused, sending me a significant glance with his following words. “It’s safe there”

I averted my gaze, flustered by the invitation. While a part of me was glad that I had somewhere else to go, somewhere where I wouldn’t feel on edge given the circumstances, the other part of me was too conflicted to even admit it.

My relationship with John was itself too strange and complex. I knew there was some kind of connection, he had to feel it too. When we were together there was a different atmosphere now, electric almost. My thoughts inevitably evoked those moments in which I treated his wounds, and I became rattled at the memory of that intimate closeness.

Footsteps claimed my attention, although I repressed the urge to look up. I knew John was leaving, slowly, giving me the chance to call him back. I didn’t.

“You good?” Aurelio rested a hand on my shoulder, patiently awaiting a response.

I sighed, quickly lifting my glance just in time to see John’s tall figure disappear outside.

“Yeah” I locked eyes with my friend, forcing out a smile. “I’m fine”

“You were lucky John was there” Aurelio let out an awkward chuckle, allegedly to relief the tension. However, I scowled at him.

He was right, but he didn’t have to say it. It made me feel helpless, like a damsel in distress. Like I had no power, like I never fought for myself. And I was done with that.

When Aurelio stepped away from me, I stood up. I took his jacket off me, placing it on the chair instead. He was already a few meters away, but turned around with the unexpected movement.

“Hey, where you going?” He asked me, giving me a wary look.

“John’s” I only replied, exiting the garage with determination.

I didn’t really like lying to Aurelio. We had been friends for a long time and I appreciated his support. But I needed to do that alone. If I told him my plans, it would have complicated everything. And he might have involved John again.

Standing before Gaige’s place, I took a deep breath. It was insane, but there wasn’t much else I could do other than pull a John Wick and kill everyone. And that wasn’t really my style.

I came in, trying to remember the things I mentally planned to say while I walked all the way there. The sight of that place that I had been in so many times was strange. It was probably the first time ever I was willingly there and not being threatened. Or tied up. Or serving as a punching bag.

The building still gave me the creeps. I could feel the evil there floating in the air. None of these people were up to any good.

Once inside, a blonde woman with wild brown eyes and a ponytail watched me half amused and half disgusted. I did my best not to even glance at Simone as I went straight to Gaige’s office.

The adrenaline once again made an appearance as I lifted my fist to knock. My knuckles made contact with the door, and I opened it immediately after as not to get cold feet.

Inside the room I was received with a nasty sight. I used to think that Gaige’s lively face was bad enough because of the fake nature of it. That was until I read a clear anger in his features. 

“Elizabeth Dawson” Gaige only said, setting his wide brown eyes on me.

“I want to make a deal” I valiantly said, making myself loud and clear. “Let’s end this bullshit. I’ll do anything to settle it”

“I gave you a chance” There was a dangerous edge to his usually falsely cordial voice. “But you didn’t kill John Wick. In fact, you sent him to me and he killed many of my men”

I took a step back, closing my hands into fists when the realization hit. This was a terrible idea, obviously. That I wanted to act on it didn’t mean I thought it was smart. It clearly wasn’t. But I had to go and do it anyway. I had to do something.

“Then you two kill two of my closest, most loyal men” My heart hammered inside my ribcage with the mental image of Delfino and Dominic’s dead bodies. “And now you expect me to forgive you just like that?”

“I’ll do anything” My voice shook, aware of what I was promising.

“It’s too late for that” He clapped his hands twice, making me jolt up in alarm.

I jumped up again when the door to the office opened behind me and a certain woman walked in. There was a tense pause in which the three of us waited for the other to act. Until I did, trying to gain the upper hand.

First shielding my face with my arm just in case, I advanced towards Simone and shoved the hard part of my palm against her nose. I heard gunshots as I made a run for it.

The scene was all too familiar when the goons outside stood prepared to intercept me. This time I ran for the window instead. It was a few stories up, but I went for it and accepted my fate.

I screamed as I fell, landing on my feet but losing my balance. My ankle twisted, but I was sure I had only sprained it slightly. My knees received the true impact as I fell forward, painfully breaking my fall first with them and then with my hands and my arms.

I looked up, stopping for a second to catch my breath and analyze the situation. I had forgotten with the rush of the moment, but just then I realized I had walked there from the car shop. I literally had no way of making a quick escape. I should have thought about that before. I was fucked.

I was too into deep in that shit and I could not think straight. I had just wanted it all to end once for all. Stupid! I had to go and do that reckless bullshit. I just made everything ten times worse.

Standing there alone in the middle of the street I probably looked like a fool. I frantically thought what my options were, but there wasn’t much to do.

A pair of wedge heels resonated near me, so I slowly turned around to face her. I was surprised she came alone, but she could probably take me on her own.

I could clearly read the contempt in Simone’s brown eyes, more intense than ever. I never really thought she was close to those two, but apparently she was. Like she needed another reason to hate me.

She pulled out a dagger and walked towards me at a too calm pace. I gulped, forcing my mind to focus on the scene that was about to develop.

All I had was my trustworthy knife and gun, my fists and the medium amount of self-defense knowledge I had. I didn’t know if it would be enough to survive an actual confrontation like that. Especially if she was that pissed at me, more than ever.

I pulled out my gun from my belt and pointed it at her. Simone didn’t bat an eye and continued to close the distance between us, the fire in her eyes only growing more intense by the second.

Watching the tattoo that peeked from under my sleeve, I gathered the courage necessary to cock the weapon and set my finger on the trigger, ready to pull it.

Before I could, she moved at the speed of light and drew a revolver, not hesitating not one second to shoot. The bullet barely graced my wrist, but it burned my skin as it peeled some off and caused me to drop my weapon.

“You’re gonna pay, Lizzie” She scowled at me, not lowering her gun. “And now you don’t have your dear Boogeyman to protect you”

I wished I had told John what my plans were. Or even Aurelio. They might not have helped, but at least they probably would have stopped me from this madness.

I knelt on the ground, clutching my raw skin to my chest. Watching her point the gun to my head was when the adrenaline once again came to the rescue, triggering all my instincts and self-defense abilities.

Throwing myself backwards so my back slammed against the ground, I sent her a high kick that deflected the bullet. The gunshot echoed around the empty streets and the projectile got lost above me.

Lunging forward and desperately holding on to her wrists, I pulled myself to my feet as I forced her gun up and away from me. Simone grunted in frustration, struggling against my grip. Our forces were almost equally matched, but knowing that I would eventually lose, I changed my strategy.

I twisted her arm over my head and forced her in a lock, pressing her back against my front and taking ahold of all my strengths to keep her in that position. That way, the gun was aimed away from me entirely.

Simone shot a couple more times as she wriggled in my grip, now screaming in fury. I grit my teeth, trying not to listen to my heart pounding in my chest and ears.

I loudly cried out when I suddenly felt an excruciating pain in my upper arm, subsequently making me let go of her. My head began spinning when I saw the hilt of a dagger sticking out of it. It took all the self-restrain within me not to pass out at the harrowing sight.

My heart thumping inside my ribcage, faster than before, reminded me that I still needed to focus. It must have been just two seconds but to me it felt like several minutes before I recovered.

Simone was ready to retaliate, but all I could do to stop her was kick her in the stomach, yet that only bought me a couple of seconds as she caught her breath again.

I took a step closer to face her, but I stopped in my tracks when a gasp left my throat. A gunshot had sounded, and I had felt the impact. My eyes widened and my throat instantly dried as I cautiously looked down to myself.

My side was gushing blood, and I got so light-headed for it that I fell to my knees once more. My entire body had gone completely numb, including my brain since it could not comprehend the fact that I had been shot, except for the acute burning sensation in my left side. It felt like the bullet had been on fire and was consuming me from the inside.

My hands moved on their own as they clutched the bullet wound, staining my fingers with a sickening crimson. Helpless squeaks escaped my lips in anguish.

“Oh, how I hate to see you suffer like that” Her voice was overly sweet, in a clear fake tone that made my blood boil. “Maybe I’ll stretch it out before I kill you”

Her venomous words gave me enough strength to stand up to her. I rapidly pulled out my knife and slashed it against her wrist. I felt nauseous when I felt it deeply cut through skin and tendon. Simone groaned and her fingers automatically lost the strength to keep wielding the gun.

When the weapon hit the floor, I kicked it hard, sending it as far away from me as possible. The damage was done, but at least she wouldn’t be able to finish me off with it.

“You pathetic little girl” I yelped when her fist made contact with my temple, causing me to literally see stars as I lost balance and landed sideways on the floor. I heard the metallic sound of my knife landing close to me.

Taking advantage that I was down, Simone punched me right over the eye. As she threw her arm back, I weakly pushed her shoulders to get her away from me. It didn’t do much and she unleashed her fist against my face again.

Not knowing what else to do, I wrapped my hands around her neck as tightly as I could. She immediately gasped for breath and reached out to hit me again, but I pushed my knees against her to create some distance.

Her face was becoming blurry, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of the blood loss or the tears that were starting to form on my eyes.

I grimaced when her long nails managed to scratch at my face, painfully digging in my cheek and causing me to inevitable let go of her as they dug deeper into my skin.

As soon as she was freed, she pulled out the dagger from my arm. It had felt so numb after I was shot that I had forgotten it was still lodged in there. The action was so quick and ruthless that it literally blinded me from pain, and I shrieked in response. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see, I couldn’t function. For several seconds, there was only pain. That also got rid of my numbness and made every other wound to join in a collective wave of agony.

“You think you can get away with it?” I felt her blade, warm with my blood, against my throat. “You worthless, insignificant piece of-“

I was barely aware of what I was doing as I stretched out my arm and took hold of my knife to blindly sink it in her. Not aiming, just wherever I could reach, whichever body part was the closest.

It gave me enough time to get her off me as she struggled to breathe with a knife to her chest, and stumble to my feet. I watched her for a few seconds, ready to strike back.

I had never felt so alert before, somehow managing to ignore all the pain I was going through and how so many places in my body throbbed. I felt like an animal, pure instinct and adrenaline that took over my conscious self and moved without warning.

As soon as her eyes directed towards me, pulling the knife out of her chest, I acted without thinking. I tiredly punched her on the jaw, knocking her out cold. She limply fell backwards onto the ground.

I made it. I had no idea how, but I had made it out alive and dodged her. I was –allegedly –safe then. For the time being. My mind seemed to work on autopilot as my feet tiredly dragged across the ground, moving in a direction I wasn’t entirely sure about. I couldn’t focus; every thought that popped up in my head vanished before I could grasp it. Everything was hazy and distant; the whole world spun around me and challenged me to keep my balance.

A somewhat lucid thought stayed in my mind long enough for me to realize where I was going. I smiled, hopeful, when I was received with a warm comforting sensation at the thought of him.

Turned out I didn’t technically lie to Aurelio, I just took a detour. A long, torturous and traumatic detour. I would have gone to him in the garage, but I didn’t really want to get him in trouble. Besides, I felt safer there with John. It was that stupid connection I felt with him, like I was drawn to him. So I kept walking to his house, glad that I remembered his address from back when I investigated him. But overall, relieved it wasn’t too far from there.

Tag list: @lea-kenneth / @lookinsidemyhead / @ciccithedreamer / @writerandee / @contanto-que-voce-me-queira / @recentcrib8422 / @anita-e-taylor / @elena-mayfair / @fyspidey / @mell-bell / @yes-captainstark / @quentinbecksass / @buckysjuicyplums / @misfvit / @e-lysium / @alluna-naozumi / @alainabooks143 / @superbateclipseclod / @angelenemies / @hopeinahotbox / @deaadenn / @spacepari / @piaeforever21 / @thecraziestcrayon / @homeybadger // Let me know if you want to be added or taken off this tag list!!

[doom-dreaming]

College AU - Margaritas, Mal, and Moze

@marigold-magpie HERE IT IS AND IT’S....it got away from me. and it’s more the girls making fun of Troy than anything else, honestly. also i’ve edited and edited this and i’m still not totally happy with it, but   w h a t e v e r

(Read it here on Ao3!)

“Ooh…margaritas!” Sasha practically pounced all the way from the door to the nearest blender.

“Courtesy of your selfless donations…” Tyreen tapped her knife against the edge of each as she listed them. “We got strawberry, lime, and…” She dipped her finger into the last one. “…peach! If you want some variety.”

“Straight tequila shots?”

Tyreen snatched the bottle away from Fiona’s wandering hand. “Nuh uh. We wanna have fun, not get shitfaced. Besides…” she tilted the bottle, frowning. “Miiiight not have enough for the rest of the mix—”

“What’s up, nerds?!”

“Funny, coming from you.” Tyreen raised an eyebrow, but didn't look up from the lime she was slicing.

Gaige huffed out a half-offended sound. “At least I’m not majoring in sociology, or whatever.” She dumped her backpack beside the couch. “What’re you gonna do with that, anyway?”

“Start a cult?”

“Yeah, good luck. I’ve seen your ECHOgram, you’ve only got, like, 500 followers.”

“Compared to your…what, fifty?” Tyreen leveled a smug grin at the redhead’s pout. “Nice try.” She licked the lime juice from her fingers and waved the knife at Moze, who was still standing semi-awkwardly near the door. “Just make yourself comfy, hon. Nothin’s off-limits. Except Troy’s room, but you don’t wanna go in there, anyway.”

“Uh…speaking of Troy…“ Sasha’s voice drifted over from the couch. "He’s got more followers than both of you.” She held up her phone. “743.”

Simultaneous cries of indignance flooded the small room.

“What the FUCK—”

“How in the hell—” Gaige beelined for the couch, her drink forgotten. Without hesitation, she vaulted over the back and landed next to Sasha. “I didn’t even know he had one! Lemme see. Oh, Ty, it’s you!”

Tyreen pinched the bridge of her nose. “Drunk karaoke? Yeah…” She moodily garnished her drink and joined the rest of them. “I just don’t get how he has more…” She mellowed into grumbling as she curled up on a chair in the corner of the room. “…fucker.”

Gaige snickered, popping back to her feet to retrieve her drink. “The fatal weakness in your perfect sibling relationship, huh?”

“I’m not that jealous, I just, y’know, spend hours doing tutorials and editing the videos and he records thirty seconds of me singing 'Hey, Mama’ after a dozen shots and…” She glowered at Sasha. “You and Fi would never—”

Fiona’s loud laughter cut her off. “Oh, I definitely would.”

Sasha agreed with a disappointed nod.

Tyreen sighed. “It’s petty and it shouldn’t bother me, but…”

“But that’s why we’re here,” Fiona reminded. “To drink and bitch!”

“To drink and bitch!” the rest of them echoed, raising their glasses.

“Or just drink,” Moze piped.

Fiona smirked. “I knew I liked you.”

“I mean, I just got here and so far? No complaints.”

Gaige plopped down beside her on the floor and patted her arm. “Valid.”

“Okay, then I’ll start.” Fiona took a long drink before setting the glass carefully onto the coffee table. “So...my ex—”

A collective groan rose from the group.

“—yeah, he swore up and down that he wouldn’t start shit with Rhys, but what does he do?” She didn’t let the question hang long. “Starts shit with Rhys!”

Sasha kicked her feet up. “Guy’s a fucking asshole. I don’t know what you ever saw in him, honestly.”

“Yeah, that makes two of us. Rhys is a dumbass, but at least he’s not a lying, cheating—”

The front door of the apartment opened just loudly enough to bring the conversation to a halt. Troy shuffled in with his bag hanging off of one arm and his jacket bundled in the other, oblivious to anyone else. He kicked the door shut, abandoned his bag next to the kitchen counter, and made it halfway across the apartment before Tyreen cleared her throat.

“…what’cha got there, bro?”

“Uh…”

“You look kinda...guilty.”

“No, I, um…” He tossed his hair. Readjusted his glasses. Heaved a defeated sigh. "...it's a cat.” Sure enough, the jacket mewled.

Instant mayhem.

“A cat?!”

“Don’t get it near me! I forgot to take my allergy meds!”

“I hope you don’t want to keep it—”

“Everybody shut the fuck up, you’re scaring him.” Troy elbowed his way past his sister, toward the coffee table. “I found him around the back of the building. We don’t have to keep him, I just figured I’d get him outta the cold." He set the jacket down, pulled back a few loosely-folded layers, and extracted a wiggling orange kitten. “Buuuut…I might’ve named him already…“

“Troy…”

He tucked the kitten to his chest, looking offended. "Just for tonight, Ty, I promise. In the morning I’ll take him to the shelter—don’t look at me like that.” He grabbed his jacket from the table and turned on his heel. “I’m gonna give him a bath.”

“Troy, you know campus policy—”

“Fuck campus policy! I’m not putting him back out!” The slam of the bathroom door sounded like an exclamation mark.

“Don’t get rabies!” Sasha called after him.

“Bold of you to assume he doesn’t already have it…” Tyreen dropped her head into her hands. “Fuckin’ idiot.”

Gaige’s grin was too wide to be innocent. “Hey, Troy! What’s his name!?”

“Mal!” came the muffled reply, followed by a sharp, “Oh, shit—ow!”

“Cute!”

“Stop encouraging him,” Tyreen groaned. “I’m at least ninety percent of his impulse control and I don’t need you making things worse.” She paused, then let her head fall back with a weary sigh. “But I guess as far as breakup behavior goes, rescuing a cat is better than rebounding…”

“How bad was that breakup, anyway?”

“Lethal, based on how he’s acting.” She rubbed at her eyes. “I…shouldn’t be mean. Troy gets invested. I think he was waaaay more into it than August was—”

Sasha nearly choked on her drink.

“You good?”

She brushed off Fiona’s back-patting. “Yeah, I’m good, I’m good. Just—” cough “—went the wrong way. All good.”

“You should let him have a couple drinks with us,” Moze suggested. “Maybe—”

Four voices shouted, “No!” in unison.

“Or…not?”

Tyreen huffed. “You know how most people have an alcohol tolerance? Troy has an alcohol intolerance. That first day you met us? Yeah, he was fucking trashed ‘cause he spent the whole night trying to drown his broken heart.”

Troy’s voice drifted out from behind the bathroom door. “…I heard that!”

“It’s not a secret!” Tyreen yelled back.

Troy grumbled something inaudible, then emerged. Shirtless. The kitten squirmed inside a towel. “Little dude scratches like a motherfucker… Someone wanna hold him while I…?” He motioned to the red slices across his chest with his free hand.

Tyreen glanced around the group. Fiona was still holding her hand over her nose and mouth, shaking her head. Moze was…definitely focused on Troy’s abs. “Anyone?” Gaige and Sasha just shrugged. She narrowed her eyes. “If you’re trying to trick me into keeping this cat, I swear to God… Fine. Hand him over.”

“You don't have to make such a huge fucking deal out of it,” Troy complained.

Tyreen's glare was downright scathing. “Then apparently you don't remember the baby bird. Or the snake. Or the—”

“Yeah, okay, whatever. Just take the cat.” He pushed the towel into her hands. “I swear it's only for tonight.”

“I don't believe you…!” she sang at his retreating back. He flipped her off before shutting the bathroom door again. She rolled her eyes.

Moze's voice was the first to break the silence. “So, uh...didn't know Troy wears glasses.”

“He doesn't, usually. But—oh no, no way—” Tyreen intercepted the kitten as it made an attempt to escape. “—he's blind as shit—”

“Heard that too!”

“—and wears contacts most the time.” She cocked an eyebrow at Moze. “But be honest, that's not what you were lookin’ at.”

The younger girl's face flushed a shade darker. She stirred at her drink, mumbling, “Just didn't expect he'd be…”

“Like that?” Gaige filled in. “Yeah, I didn't expect it either the first time—” She cut herself off abruptly. “Uh.”

“The first time what...?” Sasha asked cautiously.

Tyreen rolled her eyes, aware that she was the only one not acting like Gaige had just confessed to murder. “They hooked up. It was, like, a year ago.”

“WHAT?!”

“It was at an engineering thing! We were both drunk!” Gaige shrieked in an attempt to defend herself. “Neither of us remember anything about it! It just sorta..." She gestured helplessly. "We woke up with, like, half our clothes on the floor and honestly I wouldn't have believed anything happened except I had dried c—”

“OH MY GOD, SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Troy yelled. “Literally no one needs to know the details!”

“Yeah, I'm with him on that,” Sasha admitted, her expression sour.

Tyreen attempted to hide a snicker behind her hand. Her unoccupied hand. The hand that wasn't scratching the kitten behind the ears. “The only reason I found out was ‘cause as soon as he got back and had his head in the toilet, he started cryin’ about it—”

Troy stalked out of the bathroom, scowling. “I was not crying—”

“You were crying and puking and—”

“And now I'm leaving. Gimme the cat—wait, are you petting—?”

“Shut up. Take him.” The kitten, lulled by Tyreen's attention, gave a confused ‘mrrrp?’ as he was roused by yet another handoff. “Go...listen to some music or something.”

“So you can tell more lies about me? I see how it is.”

“Oh my God, would you just take your emotional support animal and go, already? Please?”

“C'mon, Mal,” Troy sniffed. “We don't need them anyway.”

Tyreen gulped down the rest of her drink as he disappeared into his room, half in an attempt to not snark back at him and half in an attempt to get buzzed. “Anyone want refills?” she sighed once he closed the door.

Fiona silently raised her empty glass.

“You know, you're the only one here with a brother,” Gaige mused.

“And ain't I lucky,” Tyreen drawled, taking Fiona's glass and slouching back into the kitchen. “I mean...I love him, obviously. But he's a pain in the ass.” She paused, cocking her head toward his bedroom door. “Okay, I think we're good. He can't hear us. What'd you have, Fi? Lime?”

“Yep.”

“So...should I or should I not try to...y'know.” Moze clicked her tongue and nodded in the direction of Troy's room.

“If you wanna go out with my brother, you have my blessing. Or...whatever. But...maybe don't go for the kill immediately? Give him some time. Get to know him first.”

“More like know what you're getting into,” Gaige joked.

“I...think I've got a pretty good idea.”

Tyreen tuned them out and took another long drink of her margarita. Troy's follower count was starting to make sense.

****** @corpseyb0nes @afterthedreamer @mischiefsilvertongue @tricerathotss @vanderlinde-exe @ayilachan @zipp0flare @luxury-of-insanity @vanillabuttercreamm @anni000001 @imchaoticnerd @pepper-demon 

[geezerwench]

The folks are UPSET:

(What do Koreans have to do with this?)

ablanktechpriest

Wrong, Rosenbaum went there to hunt people, gaige and the other guy went there to play hero. Luckily kyle was smart enough to arm himself since Antifa loves hurting people

storyofmyparadise

Not even close

menendezsupporter

🔁 geezerwench

17 is a kid. He was being chased and beaten when he shot. He worked in Kenosha and his dad lived there.

gsirvator

🔁 ace-pervert

If I'm not mistaken, Trayvon was shot because he started attacking Zimmerman for following him, got Zimmerman on the ground, began to beat his head into the pavement and then got shot.

cherokeefrank

🔁 ace-pervert

There seems to be a trend here. If you try to beat someone to death, you get shot.

throw-away-opinions

gsirvator

People still pissed off about Trayvon when all evidence proves he ambushed Zimmerman and beat the shit out of him, and only stopped when Zimmerman shot him. They didn't even have to invoke stand your ground laws or anything like that, because it was clear that Zimmerman was attacked unprovoked. And no, someone looking at you is not legal grounds to assault someone.

cutthegordianknots

🔁 ace-pervert

People always have to cherry pick details to make things seem different than they really are.

bfunplease

👎

padfoot-turtle-lover

who tf even is Trayvon? and how is he related to Rittenhouse?

1ogb

🔁 original-honeychiles

WITH THE KYLE RITTENHOUSE VERDICT, IT WILL BE OPEN SEASON FOR BLM PROTESTS.

usagioni

@ablanktechpriest Why do you consider the two people who got shot to have been playing hero, but the kid who travelled out of state with a weapon to defend some buildings wasn't? Pretty hypocritical regardless of political stance or how you feel about the trial.

ablanktechpriest

@usagioni because kyle protected/ regulated his community like Antifa and blm wanted and got attacked by them but didnt take it lying down and acted masterfully in the Situation. Better even than i probably would have

usagioni

@ablanktechpriest I mean, that's not really what they want. Big difference between professional adults with mental health training helping to regulate a community, and a child showing up with a gun. But that's not even the point. Rittenhouse thought of himself as a protector. The last two victims also thought of themselves as protectors. So if you're going to say one group was playing hero, then so was the other.

ablanktechpriest

@usagioni no rosenbaum and the other two wanted to play butcher/executor of the fascist movement

usagioni

@ablanktechpriest I'm not sure that you understand what a fascist is. But it's very clear that there isn't actually any sort of consistent logic behind your opinions, you're just assigning labels based on political affiliation and your viewpoints. So I think we're done here. Hope you have the kind of day you deserve.

ablanktechpriest

@usagioni Antifa attacks everyone they politicly disagree with and do their best to dehumanize them in the eyes of the public. Thats fashism 101

yourpoliticsarestupid

🔁 siryouarebeingmocked

@geezerwench And what about Grosskreutz and Ziminski? They armed themselves to go riot. Former had his gun illegally and latter fired the first shots into the air, endangering everybody around.

avianmasquerade

🔁 theun--sj

Both Zimmerman and Rittenhouse are Hispanics whom the Left frames as white supremacists—how very interesting 🤔

so-i-can-like-things

🔁 italian-bigot

Schrodinger's POC

mudkimp

🔁 cartoonking1

They wouldn't be thinking at all about how Rosenbaum got a plea deal for only 10 years on 5 convicted charges for statutory rape against minors.

mr-system-of-a-downer

yeah Zimmerman was defending himself by shooting the teenager he was told to stay away from and ended up back in court anyways for something unrelated good lord rittenhouse was in the right but it’s okay to denounce one thing and support another. Who’s to say Trayvon wasnt defending himself from the weirdo man following him in the neighborhood his father lived in

youngfreeradical

@avianmasquerade funny I thought his name was rittenhouse not rittencasa. I’ll bet you’re one of those who “doesn’t see race” anyway.

mizumanta

A riot. It was a riot. He armed himself because the police were ordered to stay back and tonsof rioters were reported as armed.

OP is against rooftop koreans too apparently.

theindependentconservative

🔁 geezerwench

Tell me you didn’t pay attention to the facts without telling me you didn’t pay attention to any of the facts

perniciouspussyparade

🔁 theindependentconservative

People like OP don't care about the facts when their fee-fees are driving their motivations.

acityofglasswithnoheart

🔁 perniciouspussyparade

Zimmerman was Hispanic, stop being race blind if your going to mention race or maybe just stop being wrong. Youre assuming because i support Rittenhouse that i support Zimmerman and thats just not true. One is a clear murder case and the other has 4 fucking videos of what happened, including one of someone pointing a gun at Rittenhouses head. You wanna be outraged at the Martin case then go ahead, but with Rittenhouse case you're being willfully blind to fit your world view.

knights-freedom

🔁 theindependentconservative

But but but but CNN and BET told me he's a white supremacist killer that went blood rage attacking only unarmed innocent black people and bragged about it.

cmefowler

Another emotionally driven, logically unsound snowflake. Kyle is still free and self-defense is still legal. Cope.

geezerwench

@cmefowler You forgot "cope and seethe."

Yeah, Kyle Rittenhouse, the "kid" who armed himself to go to a protest. He's a murderer. He went hunting for people.

[much-obliged-timothy]

Whumptober #11

Borderlands - #11 - Dehydration

*

Axton needed to find the others.

He knew that. Some part of him thought he might have even been trying to do just that.

The rest of him, though, had slumped down on the ground. He put his head between his knees as the world swam before his vision, his head pounding.

The sun beat down on his skin. Faintly, he hoped he didn’t get a sunburn. Fastest fuckin’ way to wrinkles.

He didn’t know how long he’d been separated from the others for. Had it been a day already? Two days? 

He couldn’t remember if he’d been heading to a certain destination, or just wandering aimlessly. Aimlessly, probably.

He slowly lifted his head, looking around for any sign of shade. None, of course. Fuckin’ Pandora. No wonder Jack hated this planet.

Axton put his head back between his knees. He cautiously ran his fingers over the back of his neck, pulling them away with nothing but dirt and dust. No sweat, despite the insane heat.

“Fuck,” he muttered, tugging his shirt off and balling it up, shoving it in his bag. Not good.

He knew the symptoms of dehydration. This mission was supposed to be quick, so he hadn’t brought much water with him. He’d run out a while ago, even trying to stretch out how long it lasted him. 

The dizziness, the headache, lack of sweat, lethargy, onset of delirium…

“C’mon,” he urged himself, picking his head up and trying to get to his feet. “C’mon, idiot, Lilith’s never gonna let you live this down.”

He had to find water. At the very least, he needed to find some shade. 

He cursed the bandit that had broken his ECHO. He cursed their stupid plan to split up in vehicles to draw the bandits away from their camp so Zer0 and Gaige could sneak in and get what they were after. He cursed the asshole who destroyed his vehicle and left him stranded who knew where. 

Axton forced his feet to drag him on. No way in hell was he dying here, like this. If he went out, it would be in the glory of a damn good fight. Not thirsty as hell in some random bumfuck spot on Pandora.

His body, however, didn’t agree with him.

He stumbled along for as long as he could before his legs gave out, dumping him ungracefully to the ground. He tried to push himself back up, but his arms trembled too badly and his legs refused to cooperate. The world spun before his eyes and he laid down, cheek pressed to the dirt beneath him and breathing shallow.

He could feel the frantic flutter of his heart. He reached up, grabbing the ring he wore around his neck and rolling it between his fingers.

“Not like this,” he mumbled, trying once more to get up.

He made it to his knees this time before a wave of dizziness assaulted him. He threw his hands out to catch himself before he could fall again.

“Not like this,” he repeated through gritted teeth.

He’d survived all the other shit that had been thrown at him up to this point. No way in hell was he giving up now. 

And no way in hell was he dying before Handsome Jack.

The thought was enough to get him to his feet, but not carry him very far. Before he knew it, he was back on the ground, rolling onto his back to squint up at the sky. 

He rolled the ring between his fingers again, closing his eyes as he thought of Sarah, of everything that had led him here. So much for glory; his stupid ass was about to die in the middle of no where because he forgot to pack an extra water bottle. 

“Axton!”

The voice was muffled. Axton tried to open his eyes.

He didn’t realize he’d partially succeeded until his sluggish brain finally registered that it was dark out. But- no- no, he’d just been looking at the sky and it was daytime- 

“Someone call ahead to Zed,” a voice close to him said in alarm. “He’s dehydrated. And it looks like he has an infection here.”

Someone touched his leg and pain flared up through it. He wished he had the strength to kick them in the head. 

“Axton, can you hear me?” 

Sure, he could hear them. He couldn’t process the voice enough to put a name to it, but he could hear them. He caught a glimpse of the darkened sky again, realizing that someone had pulled his eyelid up.

“We need to move him. Now,” the voice said.

“Ax, come on, you idiot,” another voice said, worried. He felt a hand on his head, gently lifting it. “You owe me, like, a lot of drinks. I totally thought you were dead when we spotted you. You asshole. You don’t get to die like a pussy. That’s Jack’s job!”

“Right, so if he kicks it, Gaige doesn’t get to give the eulogy,” someone said.

“Shut up, Salvador! Help us move him so we don’t have to worry about who gives the eulogy,” the one holding his head said. “Maya?”

“He needs medical attention. I...I hope we’re not too late, but he’s so unresponsive…” 

Someone was swearing. Several people, actually. He felt hands on him, lifting him. His leg flared in pain, but he couldn’t remember when he’d injured it. When he fell, maybe? He vaguely remembered falling a couple of times.

Someone settled his head on their lap. The sound of a vehicle turning on reached his ears, and then his body shook as it rumbled. 

“Axton, open your eyes,” someone said. “Please, open your eyes.”

He couldn’t. The voices calling to him were starting to fade out.

“Drive faster. It’ll only take a few minutes to get to the fast travel station. He’s weak, but he’s still got a chance if we hurry. Come on, Axton, you need to fight. You love doing that, don’t you? Do it, then, you overdramatic asshole.” 

He wanted to. But he was so tired. His head hurt. His leg hurt. His body refused to move, try as he might to lift his hand. 

Axton could feel the weight of the ring against his bare chest, though. He focused on that as it bounced lightly with the movement of the vehicle. 

It made him feel better to focus on the movements of the ring against his skin. The voices had faded to a muffled white noise, verging on soothing despite their frantic tones. 

Axton let it all lull him into an unconsciousness darker than the night sky.