#please ask me about my legion of dumb children

[teaandinanity]

send me a ship with a heart and i'll tell you...

❤: who is more affectionate in public? in private?

♡: who is the bigger romantic openly? secretly?

❥: who is more likely to plan something big for valentine's day?

ღ: who is more likely to initiate hand-holding in public?

💕: who is more likely to make huge declarations of love in front of other people?

💘: who developed a crush on the other first?

💝: who spends more time (possibly overthinking) what presents to get the other?

💓: who initiates most physical contact?

💌: who is more likely to send cutesy texts to the other?

💟: who spends time reading their zodiac compatibilities?

💙: who is more protective?

💚: who tends to get sick more often? who is better at taking care of the other?

💜: who said "i love you" first? or, if neither has said it yet, who is more likely to say it first?

💛: who believes in soulmates?

[voidstilesplease]

Swords and Arrows

or That Summer When The Ares and Athena Cabins Finally Allied For Capture The Flag part 1 of 3

⚔️🏹⚔️🏹⚔️🏹

(A Steo Demigod AU) || For @anonymous's prompt: "Scott as a Roman demigod instead of Greek" || word count: 2,647 || The Entire Demigod Series -> [AO3][Tumblr] (it's finally a working link tfg)

Stiles pulls back, "I was going to ask if you missed me," he says, face flushed and beaming. "But it appears I don't need to."

"You never need to."

🏹⚔️🏹⚔️🏹⚔️

I.

"Why the long face, little brother?" Tara asks cheerfully, wedging herself on the bench between Theo and one of their half-siblings, and placing down her tray brimming with colorful food as opposed to Theo's bleak and half-empty one. She grins at Theo, but he's not in the mood to return the goodwill.

Theo pokes half-heartedly at the contents of his tray: a lonely sealed bag with a couple squares of ambrosia inside - the food of the gods - some cheese and two slices of wheat bread. "Don't call me little brother," he mutters with little heat, leaning to the table to whisper a request to his goblet, which immediately fills up with sparkling water.

Tara looks over Theo's head at Fred, their Head Counselor, sitting on Theo's other side. "He's not back yet?"

Fred shakes his head, wiping the bbq sauce at the side of his mouth. "Nope," he replies, popping the 'p' and catching on to the question without much elaboration. By now, there's only one 'he' that reduces Theo to a brooding and sulky man-child. "He hasn't answered Theo's last IM, too."

"Try the last five Iris Messages," Theo grumbles in annoyance. He turns to Tara, face contorted in a sour expression. "I mean, how difficult is it to take my call? He always has drachmas in his pocket exactly for this reason."

"He's probably busy disintegrating monsters," Fred says reasonably. Which, of course, makes sense. Monsters make the most infuriating and persistent roadblock of all. They make any journey twice as long for demigods - if they don't manage to kill you, that is. "Or, you know," Fred adds, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "maybe he's being an accomodating companion to the Son of Jupiter."

Theo grinds his teeth hard and fixes his head counselor with a death glare. Fred only shrugs at Theo's reaction, obviously aiming for the exact response, and chuckling through a bite of ambrosia. Theo has half a mind to punch him in the jugular. He doesn't need a reminder of who Stiles is with, thanks. Spitefully, he harshly impales a piece of grape from Fred's tray with the tines of his fork and shoves it to his mouth in the most menacing manner he can project.

It only makes Fred guffaw, spraying bits of food onto the table. The campers across from him slide their trays away protectively, shrieking an indignant chorus of "Fred!" as they make sure no stray bits made it into their platters. Fred raps at his chest as he reaches for his goblet, still laughing his dumb ass off while trying to wave his hand in apology.

Their neighbors also share their opinion on the appalling table manners of the Ares brood - spitting out food may slightly be a common scene from their lot, unfortunately.

Brett from the Apollo cabin throws corn kernels at Fred, a strange display of solidarity if you can believe it, while Ara, the half-Korean junior counselor of Athena cabin, gives the Ares and Apollo tables a look of disapproval. She's a pretty terrifying 15 years old, which is why Stiles is extremely fond of her. With Stiles gone to New Rome the first week back to camp, Ara is doing a kickass job taking over the head counselor duty. (But, to Hades with it, Theo would much prefer Stiles to be scowling at their table.)

"Okay, first of all," Tara says over the little chaos. "Fred, you're disgusting. Second," she holds Theo's chin to compel him to look at her, then smirks, "Stealing a piece of fruit is not a cabin 5-worthy intimidation tactic."

Theo opens his mouth for his scathing retort, but at the same time, one of Stiles's younger siblings points in the direction of the cabins. "Hey, it's Stiles!"

Many heads look up, but Theo springs to his feet instantly, scanning the area for Stiles. He catches sight of him almost immediately, bounding to the Mess Hall in his orange shirt, face bright under the camp's enchanted borders, as radiant as the last time Theo saw him four long months ago. Without much thought, Theo finds himself carried by his feet towards Stiles.

Stiles sees him coming too, and his smile broaden. Theo sprints, forgetting himself and where they are. They meet halfway, by the entrance of the Mess Hall, with Theo knocking into Stiles's open arms strong enough that it's a surprise they're still upright on the ground.

Theo squeezes him to make sure his mind did not conjure a Spectre to appease his longing. Stiles feels solid under his hands, if a little sweaty, and he smells as if he was run over by monsters. But underneath the grime, he catches the scent of Stiles's favorite body wash. He feels himself sagging in satisfaction.

Stiles pulls back, "I was going to ask if you missed me," he says, face flushed and beaming. "But it appears I don't need to."

"You never need to."

Theo doesn't know how long they stood just smiling at each other, but they break apart at Chiron's pointed clearing of the throat. It's not even in Theo's head to be embarrassed by his actions despite the cackling and many leering faces of the other demigods. Mr. D merely raises an unimpressed eyebrow, though the twinkle in his eyes can only be from amusement.

Chiron is sitting on his wheelchair today, hiding his horse's ass behind the illusion of human legs - why he still does it is a wonder - and rolls forward to them.

"Stiles Stilinski," he greets merrily, the lines of his eyes crinkling when he smiles. "Welcome back." Chiron gazes a little behind them, then, nodding kindly towards another boy Theo only notices, is standing patiently at a distance.

The boy, Scott McCall, son of Jupiter and a praetor of the Roman demigods' army, the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, steps forward to bow his head in respect of the centaur. "Chiron," he also acknowledges Mr. D who didn't bother to get up from the head table. "Lord Bacchus."

"Hm," Mr. D hums without correcting the demigod, sipping on his diet coke dismissively.

Theo doesn't hate Scott, but he also doesn't like him - strongly, irrationally, dislikes him. Instinctively, he shuffles closer to Stiles as if his boyfriend is going to dissolve into the Mist if he isn't close enough to pull him back.

Theo's been agitated since Stiles told him, a week prior, that he was flying to New Rome in California where Camp Jupiter is, the Roman camp, for a 'friendly' visit. Everyone's allowed to cross borders, but no one has really done so just to tour around. After all, the camps are on opposing sides of the country and monsters don't pause to consider not killing vacationing demigods.

A couple of times before last week, when Theo visited Stiles in his Manhattan apartment, he'd, out of the blue, mentioned the varied courses and scholarships that New Rome University offered, as Theo laid his head on Stiles's lap while the latter read. Theo hadn't minded it at the time, as Stiles quickly dropped the subject. But another month passed and Stiles mentioned it again, randomly, during one of their IMs, adding that he might check into the enrollment requisites. Theo started to worry, then.

If Stiles goes to New Rome for college, Theo can't follow him. He never even got to finish eighth grade. And Scott, he's one of the Romans, their leader, and grudging as he is to admit, one of Stiles's friends now the more he visits Camp Half-Blood. He will eagerly encourage Stiles, telling him of the countless perks that Camp Jupiter has. He will be as big a hero there as he is in Camp Half-Blood, and he can rise to praetorship alongside Scott if the Legion so wishes it.

Scott is not a bad person per se, but he wears the color and insignia of the place Theo might lose Stiles to. And if Theo blinks the wrong way, he might not see quick enough that Stiles is being whisked away to the other side of the coast, leading a life without him.

⚔️🏹⚔️🏹⚔️🏹

After officially welcoming the son of Jupiter to the camp, feeding him, and getting him settled in Cabin One, the campers go about their daily routine of training.

The blade vibrates when it hits the shooting log, right on the marked spot. Then it disappears into thin air and reappears in Theo's hand only to be thrown back to the same spot. He does it repeatedly, unrelentingly, until Tara aims with his bow and hits his blade with an arrow to send both weapons clanging to the ground, a few meters away.

Theo heaves; he doesn't even know he's breathless just from throwing until then. Wiping beads of sweat from his forehead, he nods appreciatively at the bow in Tara's hands when his sister stands beside him with a smile. "If we aren't siblings, I'd mistake you for a daughter of Apollo."

"Please," she laughs, opening her palm, gesturing at the fallen weapons. Both her arrow and Theo's blade fly to her hands in a matter of seconds. "I don't want to light up like a glow stick while waxing poetry during a fight." Children of Apollo don't actually do those in the middle of a fight, but they do glow when they're healing, and they can make others speak in rhymes just for fun. Tara offers the knife back to his brother. "Also, we're children of Ares. By birthright alone, we should know to wield any weapon of war."

Theo takes the knife and snorts, "And yet, I suck at archery."

"I can't summon weapons out of thin air," She points out, grinning at him as she puts the arrow back to its sheaf. "I guess we just can't have it all or Zeus would be zapping us one by one."

Theo scoffs, leaning into position to begin throwing again.

"Speaking of Zeus," Tara says, a playful tone in her words. "Where's your favorite son of the Sky God?"

Theo spares her a glare before flinging his knife and burying it onto the battered practice log. He purses his lips before answering, "He's at the Big House with Chiron, Mr. D, Stiles, and the other head counselors." He clenches his fingers around the blade's hilt when it returns to his hands. "They're talking about a little orientation on New Rome University's scholarships and handing brochures and study guide for the DSTOMP." Theo doesn't bother hiding the acid in his voice from his sister. She'll recognize it anyway, even if he masks it with neutrality. He can't mask it with neutrality.

She quirks a brow, "You don't sound too eager," she notes. "Are you still jealous of Scott, little brother?"

"I'm not jealous of Scott," he says, gritting his teeth. "And don't call me little brother."

"Why are you so strung up, then, if you're not baselessly jealous?"

He finds his reply being interrupted for the second time that day, this time by a distant rumbling coming from the sky. All activities on the ground cease as everyone turns to the increasing volume of an invisible running engine. Theo scans the space above them, at first not grasping anything in motion, until a burst of light reveals a flying, glowing red bus coming down fast to the ground.

🏹⚔️🏹⚔️🏹⚔️

Someone goes to alert Chiron as the rest of them scamper to the landing site by the amphitheater. The bus landed surprisingly smooth, despite its breakneck descent.

"Is that a Ferrari bus?" One of the campers points out.

Sure enough, the logo at the front of the vehicle, a black prancing horse on a yellow background, is of the famous luxury sports brand. But why would there be a flying Ferrari bus at Camp Half-Blood?

"Oh gods," Lori gasps somewhere on Theo's left. "Is that dad's sun chariot?"

As if on cue, the bus door opens, and a teenager who looks about Theo's age exits, wearing what he can only describe as a hipster look. He flashes a blinding grin - and quite literally at that, since they have to shield their eyes momentarily from the glimmer of his teeth - clears his throat dramatically, and announces:

"Hello demigods

The sun landed on your grounds

I am so awesome."

There's silence at first, then a series of enthusiastic applause from Brett and the rest of cabin seven comes next. The teenager bows theatrically, although Theo finds nothing extraordinary about what he just said. But soon, the others join in with half-hearted claps, recognizing the powerful aura suddenly seeping into their skins that could only mean there's a god among them - well, another god, aside from Dionysus, their Camp Director. And with the terrible haiku, there will be no mistaking who graced their camp today. The last time Theo had seen him, during the almost war on his first year at camp, the god had worn the body of a muscular mid-20's blond man. Now, it seems he favors to look even younger despite his four thousand years.

"Lord Apollo," Chiron's voice drowns out the applaud as he trots forward, now in his form as a white stallion from the waist down. "It's a pleasant surprise. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

Mr. D isn't as warm. He snorts, rolling his eyes. "Oh, bother, what brought you here now?"

Apollo's bright persona doesn't falter as he gestures at the bus - that is apparently his sun chariot. Theo remembers the time when he almost drove Apollo's chariot, if the Hermes cabin did not snitch it from under their noses, and thus putting three cabins grounded after a severe prank war. He had to take Liam's dish duties and pay him just so his present for Stiles could be delivered in time for Christmas.

"I'm here at the request of my little sister." The god says proudly, as the door opens again, this time with grumbling teenage and prepubescent girls coming out from the bus. All dressed in the same outfit: silver jackets, silver camo pants, and black combat boots, and they carry at their backs a quiver of sharp silver arrows. They glance at Apollo with apparent distrust, standing as far away from him as possible, as the god continues, "To deliver her hunters safely while she's away on a personal errand."

Several demigods groan in displeasure at the news, and even Chiron's lips form a thin line, though he tries to smile through the tension. Mr. D seems to be delighted now, though, happier to see the strange, vicious-looking ladies than his own brother. Personally, it feels like an omen of danger. Mr. D is never happy unless something perilous is about to descend upon his campers - even if his own daughter, Malia, is among them.

"Thank you, Lord Apollo." One of the hunters says albeit she looks physically pained by her words. She stands at the front of the group, a silver ring headwear around her head, with bouncing black curls, a pointed nose, and a strong chin. The other hunters also look at her when she speaks. It's easy to recognize her as the group's leader. "And thank you, Lord Dionysus, Chiron, for accomodating the hunters of Lady Artemis."

Chiron nods at the girl, eyes softening with kindness born out of familiarity, "You're always welcome, Allison."

Mr. D laughs boisterously, then. Like his punishment has just been lifted and he can go back to Olympus and away from the brats, celebrating by getting drunk on wine after years of prohibition. "Well, at least, Capture the Flag this Friday seems more enticing now, don't you think so, Chiron?" He gives a wicked grin at his campers, not waiting for a reply, his change in demeanor promising a torturous next few days for the demigods. "Ready to lose the Camp Half-Blood banner to these little girls for the 58th time in a row?"

~•~

[alleycat97]

Before There Was Us

Pairing: MC x Kamilah

Tag list: @themaskedanon @onyxgaytrash @kamilahslittlehoe @kelseyapperson @lightning-fury @beyondthenakedeye28 @wildsayeed @scarlet-letter-a0114 @mrskamilxh if you want to be added or removed let me know!

...

It was just a typical Thursday night for Kamilah, number 107,328 to be exact, but who was counting? There was no more days to her. She didn’t live by a calendar anymore, there was no need, the sun rose and set each day, nothing more or less.

Kamilah typically came home from work to work, a solitude she grew use to in her many years of being alone. Except a horrific cough coming from her master suite made her alter her typical plans.

She entered the room and set her eyes on the source, Amy. Amy, the mortal, the one who came into Kamilah’s life and completely stole her heart and ran with it. The young woman had Kamilah bad, something the vampire was trying to come to terms with after being alone for over a century.

She sat down on the bed next to Amy and instinctfully placed her hand on her forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“Terrible. I think I’m dying.” Amy winced as she tried to sit up, Kamilah holding her down.

“No. You need to relax and rest.”

“I’m tired of being here...” Amy whined causing Kamilah to laugh.

“Well I don’t want to tell you I told you so, but what did I say?”

Amy groaned recalling the other night. She wanted to go bar hopping with Lily but Kamilah insisted she stay in due to the rain and flu going around. Amy insisted she was immune and went anyway. After the 4th bar and way too many shots later she was stumbling around outside waiting for Kamilah to pick her up...in the rain.

Amy just slid further into the bed in defeat not wanting to admit that Kamilah was right, she would die before she would let her have that satisfaction.

Kamilah just laughed and kissed Amy’s forehead before rising to leave. “I’ll be back in a bit, I’ll just be in my office.” She couldn’t be too hard on her. She knew what the culture was like today and young adults of Amy’s age all did these things. Except it was very different from when she was that age, she just wanted Amy to be happy.

“Kami?” Amy called out in a tone that usually gets her anything she wants.

Kamilah stopped in the threshold, “Yes habibti?”

“Can you tell me about Egypt?”

Kamilah made her way back to the bed, she knew it would come eventually, but didn’t really want it to, not wanting to recall the past.

“I don’t know Amy. It was so many years ago. I don’t think I can recall it.” She lied crawling into the bed to join Amy who instinctfully latched on.

“Please....” Amy insisted.

“Ok let’s see...Well you know of my twin brother and being Cleopatras cousin.”

“Was she your first cousin?” Amy asked.

“Well then we didn’t call them that, but yes. Her father, the one who gave Lysimachus the horse, and my mother were siblings.”

“That’s so cool! Tell me about Cleopatra! I bet you guys were like partners in crime!” Amy said getting excited.

“Well early we were pretty close. Especially when my mother passed. We would play by the Nile with the other children. Cleopatra even talked me into wrestling against the boys.”

“So that’s we’re you get your tough act from.” Amy replied.

“Cleopatra was the more exciting one as kids. She was older than me but she was smart and cunning and would do anything.”

Kamilah took a minute to just sit back and enjoy the memory’s. “A lot was expected of us even as children. Her father, Ptolemy Xll was very strict. We did have fun but we also worked like any other. He went easier on Cleopatra because he was her favorite child.”

“What about your father?” Amy inquired.

“He was a General for the Army. He was always away fighting and one day he didn’t return. Lysmachus, wanting to be like father, joined the army and went off to fight much to the pleasure of Ptolemy. He took me into the palace and I was an assistant to Cleopatra.”

“Was Eypt violent?”

“Not particularly. If anything it was flourishing. Ancient Eygpy however, is a different story. We had chores yes, the men had to fight, but we were prospering, especially under Cleopatra.”

“Tell me more about her.” Amy said shifting slightly.

“Well Cleopatra was actually from Greek descent. She could speak 7 languages and everyone loved her because she embraced Eyptian culture and opened trade to many Arab nations.”

“So if she was the favorite? What happened to her?”

“Well when she turned 18, her father passed away and she took the throne. Except she had to share it with her younger brother Ptolemy Xlll. They were forced to marry and rule.”

“Oh gross!” Amy squealed. “That’s nasty.”

Kamilah laughed, “It was very common among nobility. He was 10 at the time.”

“Ewww. Please skip this part Kami.”

“You know I was engaged then as well.” Kamilah set the trap, feeling Amy tense, she loved when Amy got jealous.

“Kami. I said skip this part!”

“Oh relax, I’m just teasing. Anyway, after Ptolemy got older her forced Cleopatra and myself out of the palace and took over as ruler.”

“What did you guys do then?”

“Julius Caesar...”

“Ya’ll fucked Julius Caesar!?” Amy said cutting off Kamilah, bolting from her sheets.

“If you would let me finish please, no we didn’t. Well I never did but she did however, but not at this point anyway. He came to the palace and she snuck into the palace inside of a bedroll.

“How did she do that?” Amy quizzed.

“Who do you think rolled her into it?” Kamilah sighed face palming.

“Oh. Right.” Amy said blushing.

“Anyway. She made an alliance with Caesar and the two formed an Army and defeated Ptolemys Army at the Nile. Ptolemy tried to escape and drowned. She took back over the throne.”

“I’m getting bad bitch vibes from her.” Amy awed. “That’s when I officially became Nomarch.” Kamilah added.

“What happened to Julius?”

“He and Cleopatra became an item and she birthed his son Ceasarion. Together she ruled with her son.” Cleopatra visited Rome but always declared to keep Egypt separate.”

“Did Caesar like that?”

“It was merely a political alliance. Caesar needed the grain from Eypgt to feed his people, Cleopatra wanted her throne back. She seduced him to get what they both wanted. She was extremely intelligent.”

“Did she ever speak of Rome?” Amy asked.

“I was there. She took me with her.”

“What!!!!! No way!”

“It was beautiful. The culture, the architecture, it was like a complete other world. But it was also scary and chaotic. The country was on the brink of civil war with the thought of Ceasar becoming the Emperor. Fear lined the streets.”

“Then he got stabbed.” Amy recalled from history class.

“Very good Amy, yes he was murdered and Cleopatra and I returned to Eygpt where she later met Marc Antony.”

“Oh he sounds hot.”

“Oh...he was.” Kamilah smiled remembering. “He was just a smart and witty as Cleopatra, a perfect match.”

“Wait...so who ruled Rome after you guys left?”

“Antony, Caesar’s great nephew Octavian, and Marcus Lepidus, know as the second triumvirate. They hunted the liberators, those who killed Ceasar and formed the Roman Empire. Antony took control of Rome’s eastern provinces, alas, Eygpt.”

“So then he and Cleopatra fell in love?” Amy asked.

“Yes. The three rulers wanted more power and Antony married Octavia, Octavian’s sister, to calm the tension and show his commitment. But he kept up his affair with Cleopatra and had three kids with her.”

“So what were you doing while this was happening?”

“I just served alongside of Cleopatra with the other Nomarchs. I was in charge of a province and I spread Cleopatra’s influence in it.”

“Was it fun? Being so important?”

“Well I don’t know about fun. I had important decisions to make that affected peoples lives.” Kamilah recalled having to make tough decisions that helped shape her into the woman she is now.

“So back to Cleopatra, what happened to her and Antony?”

“Well they decided to strikeagainst Octavian to gain control over Rome that broke into civil war. Antony fought Octavian three times and was finally defeated after all of his men deserted him.”

“They left him?”

“Battle after battle, Antonys much larger Army left him and he was finally defeated without a fight.

“What did he do then?” Amy inquired.

“He fled. He was going to be captured so he ran. He received a letter that Cleopatra was dead, which in reality she locked herself and treasure into her mausoleum. Antony stabbed himself however he didn’t immediately die and found out Cleopatra was alive. He made it to Egypt to see her and eventually die in her arms.”

“Ah how romantic!” Amy cried. “True love!!”

Kamilah continued her story, “With Antony dead, Cleopatra sent Octavian her official word to abdicate her thrown in favor of her son and then took her own life once word had spread that Octavian was coming for her and her treasures to parade her around Rome as symbol of triumph.”

“How exactly did she die?”

“Snake poison.”

“I hate snakes.” Amy said shivering, placing her head in Kamilah’s lap.

“Then Octavian had Caesarion killed and he finally cemented his legacy as the first emperor or Rome and the one and only rightful son of Julius Caesar.”

“Oh. Poor guy. How old was Cleopatra?”

“39.”

“What did you do when you found out she died?” Amy asked.

Kamilah started rubbing Amy’s hair with delicacy,

“I cried. She was like my big sister. I was off training troops when a Roman Legion attacked us. We wouldn’t submit and then I met him...”

“Gaius...” Amy started with anger.

“He attacked and killed all of my soldiers and that’s when he turned me and brainwashed me. We immediately left Egypt and I never returned.”

“Omg Kami...I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok now. I was young and dumb then, I was 34 when I was turned.” Kamilah laughed revealing her age.

“Well we should go back and visit.” Amy said yawning.

Kamilah never thought about it. Eygpt was a special time in her life, she never had anyone to share it with. Maybe it would be fun to go visit and see how much has changed. “I think that would be a great idea Amy. Amy?”

Kamilah said as she stopped rubbing the girls head and watched the younger woman sleep in her lap. She easily removed her head from her lap and quickly got up to change before rejoining her and holding her close.

“Goodnight Habibti.” She said kissing the back of Amy’s neck.

[jeromesxreader16]

Such A Joker (45)

Part 44 Here!!!

~o0o~

I adjust the mask sitting on my face and smile at myself in the mirror. I could get used to this again. I could convince Jerome to leave with me to terrorize Central City. We could start over. He could laugh at frightened civilians while I make his favorite foods. No chances of an ending, only growth.

"Well don't you look dangerous." Jerome lays his chin on my shoulder peppering my skin with kisses. "You know what I've noticed?" "Hmm?" "You've been very loving lately." Jerome meets my eyes. "I've missed you?" "Try again." "I love seeing you laid below me?" He smirks chuckling. "Temping, but I can tell you're lying." Jerome huffs shaking his head. "I'm just seeing what might happen if I try to possibly have a tiny kid with you." My heart skips as I look deep into his eyes. "You want a kid, Jerome?" He shrugs walking away. "I don't know. A little. Don't you think it's time we-" "Yes." I nod my head smiling at him from the mirror.

His green eyes rake my form. "Yes?"

I look at myself in the mirror before sighing, taking the mask off, taking my hair down, and setting the gun and the mask on the table. I run my finger over the think black mask before turning to Jerome nodding my head. "Yes."

Jerome breaks out a smile and grasps me in his arms. He laughs in my shoulder. "I've never been happier." He whispers in my ear. I hug him tightly smiling. "Jim will be pissed." Jerome cackles loudly. "Yeah. He will be."

He looks down at me grabbing my cheeks. "I'm going to keep you safe, love. All of us." He says placing a hand on my stomach. "Jerome, there isn't anything there yet." I laugh shaking my head at him. He bends down kissing the place where his hand was. "You don't know that!" He argues smiling.

"You better go before you're late." "THAT'S SHE SAID!" "JEROME!" He laughs walking out the door. "Oh! I almost forgot. You'll be on the rooftop waiting for me right? I want you to see the show!" I tilt my head smiling. "I'll be there, Jerome."

~

Jim POV:

"Hello?" I say into my phone looking over several maps. "Have you found her? Any signs?" I sign over the line. "Jeremiah, I told you when I know you'll be the second one to know." "Don't you think we should try harder to-" "No one is working harder than me to find my daughter. Now you can ruin your chances now or you can hold off and let me do my job." Harvey holds his laughter as he shakes his head. "I'm sorry Mr. Gordon. I-I just... I care about her. I love your daughter Jim."

"I know you do. You and your brother. Which is why I know if Jerome took her, she's safe. He wouldn't hurt her, Jeremiah." He huffs in frustration. "Well, whatever I can do to help please let me know. I can't lose her." "You and I both." I hang up the phone sighing as Harvey laughs. "This is why I don't have kids." "Oh yeah? That's why?" "Hey, pal, what's that supposed to-" My phone rings again causing me to roll my eyes. "Jeremiah I told you I'm looking for her!"

"Gordon. We need to talk." Oswald speaks in the line. "Oswald?" "I'm outback. Come alone." "Yeah. All right."

~

"Well, this is a first." He scoffs waddling over. "Are you doing anything about Jerome?" "We're looking for him. Have you seen (y/n)?" "I saw her this morning. She's fine." "Do you know where she is?" "And if I did, do you think I would just tell you? Have you march in there, guns blazing? He needs to be stopped. He has everyone under his thumb... Freeze, Firefly, Hatter. They are all part of his plan. A dark, terrible plan."

"Which is?"

Oswald caves slightly. "Scarecrow has made a gas for him."

"Like a fear toxin?"

"Worse. Much worse. I saw it turn someone into a maniacal, cackling, violent animal."

"And what does he plan to do with it?" "He's smart. He hasn't shared the details of his plans with anyone." "I bet (y/n) knows." Oswald shakes his head. "He's told her the least. He doesn't want her involved." I sigh. "Frankly that's a relief."

"Instead, we all have a separate task to perform." "Such as?"

"He has yet to give me my role."

"Why did you come here if you're not gonna help me?"

Oswald yells shaking, "He scares the living hell out of me, okay? I mean, I was willing to play along with him for a while. Perhaps he had a way to make us all rich? A return to the good old days, you know? But nothing good will come of this."

"Or maybe you just don't like the competition," Oswald smirks at me before reaching into his blazer. "I'm not the only one who is worried." He passes me a note in my daughter's handwriting.

Dad, I hope you're okay. Just know I am. I hope Jeremiah is good too. I need you to stop Jerome. This isn't the Jerome we saw before. He's broken and completely insane. When he was reborn he lost every bit of sanity he was gripping onto. He's planning something bad. I'd rather see him locked up safely than killing hundreds this way. Do whatever you can. I love you, dad.

"She wanted to come. She's not allowed to leave without telling Jerome." "Where is he? Where is the gas?" "He only tells you what he needs to when he needs to. I just know he has to be stopped."

"Jim! Hey! You down here?! Jim?!" Harvey yells for me as Oswald disappears. "A uni just spotted Jerome near Paisley Square. Said (y/n) was seen being escorted to a rooftop." "All right, let's go!"

I call Jeremiah as I sprint towards the car. "She's in Paisley Square on top of the roofs. Stay where you are. I'll bring her to you." "But Gordon-" I hang up speeding towards the Square.

~

♪ Time has come today ♪

♪ Young hearts can go their way ♪

♪ Hey ♪

♪ Can't put it off another day ♪

♪ Time has come today... ♪

I smile watching the show from the top. Jerome comes out dancing on stage and steals the mic from the lead singer.

"Hey, buddy, beat it, will ya? I'm trying to work here!" He pushes Jerome causing him to laugh and knock him down with the mic stand. Many scream and run as the rest of the legion of horribles take their place on stage.

"Whoo! Where's everyone going? Ladies and gentlemen, we are the Arkham Asylum Lunatics. We came here to blow some minds! Whoo! Sorry to interrupt your little show, but you are gonna love this next one."

Jerome walks over to the side of the stage pulling out the line of hostages. "Introducing Mayor Pritchard, Commissioner Reynolds, Archbishop McGregor, and this lady... whoever she is. This is everybody. Everybody, say hi. Now, as you can see, we're still waiting for two guests of honor. But in the meantime, let's go over the rules of tonight's entertainment, shall we?"

"Dynamite." Jerome refers to the collars they wear. "Trigger." He waves the small box in his hands. "I don't get what I want? Boom. Headless people. And if any of you are thinking of going anywhere, you'll die, too. Snipers on the rooftops. Now, the one man who can give me what I want..." Jerome smirks before yelling out proudly.

"Calling Gordon. Calling Captain James Gordon." Jerome cackles loudly in the camera.

~

Jerome pulls out his phone and seconds later mine rings. "Hello? I think you're reached the wrong number." "Haha. Very funny. Remember I know where you sleep, doll. How's the view?" "Beautiful. You overdid yourself." "Had to get the best seat in the house for my future wife." "Future wife? I like the sound of that." Jerome giggles looking at me from the stage. "I bet you do. Keep watching, doll. You don't want to miss the fun." He hangs up welcoming my father to the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as I live and breathe, my soon to be father in law, James Gordon is in the house!" Jim shakes his head making his way closer to the stage. "Don't be stupid, dad."

"I'm not talking to you until I can get up there and check on the well-being of your hostages, and talk to my daughter." "First of all, Jim, you're late. Secondly, I think I'm the one who should be making demands, and thirdly, no."

"What you're doing is an act of terror, Valeska. Ask our mayor what this city's policy is on negotiating with terrorists."

"Terrorist? Frankly, I'm offended."

Jerome turns looking at the chairs then looking at Jim. "I got two empty chairs here. You haven't even asked me who they're for yet."

Jim shrugs, "All right, I'll bite. Who are they for?"

"Come on, James. I learned early your family has an eye for finding clues. You're a detective. Do some detecting."

"Jeremiah, your brother."

"Bingo. That's one. And the other?" "My daughter? I assume you're a tiny angry with her." Jerome scoffs laughing. "Dumb guess. MOVE ON!"

"The only other... irksome do-gooder who's ever spoiled my fun in this town. Bruce Wayne!"

"No!" My father yells. "You can take me. I'll sit up there with one of those things around my neck, but I won't let you have him."

"Well, I don't want you, Jim. I want my brother and I want Bruce. I want them now!"

I lean over the edge watching my father search the area, he looks up meeting my eyes. I wave frantically smiling. "All right. Let me get these people out of here, I'll come up there..."

"You are not listening to me! And that is forcing my hand." Jerome looks down at his remote.

I shake my head feeling guilt well in my chest. All these people don't deserve this.

"Jerome..."

He shakes his head. "No..." He presses the button and one of the hostages heads exploads causing everyone to scream.

"Bring me, my brother. Bring me, Wayne. Bring 'em now."

I shake my head looking around. "I can't let him do this." I leave my seat running down to the streets and away from the show.

I love Jerome. I do! I wish we could live a life together, but not like this. Not with him wanting to kill every moving thing. What would he teach our children if we had any?

I run down the street running in front of a car. It honks and stops inches from me.

"(Y/n)!" Dad gets out of the car running to me and engulfing me in his arms. "Dad." I cry into his hold. "We have to do something. We can't let him just-" "Shh. I know, but I need your help, (y/n)."

I nod wiping the tears. "Let's go."

~

I knock on the Wayne manor door waiting. "So... You and Jeremiah are-" "I don't know, dad." "Well you and Jerome have been-" "Dad. Please." He raised his hands. "I'm just trying to find out how you got two brothers to fall in love with you." I look up smiling at him. "Me too."

"Do you... still love him?" I look down at my feet. "Which one?" "Both?" I look at my father sighing. "I do. I love them both in different ways. I can't see Jerome hurt himself like this though. He's going to get himself killed." "And Jeremiah?" I smile thinking about the quite brother. "Jeremiah's sane, he showed me how to help myself, and I think that's why I'm not falling in line with Jerome's plan."

Alfred opens the door allowing us in.

"Master Bruce, we have visitors."

I step forward speaking, "Bruce, we need your help." "What happened?"

My dad turns on the TV showing Jerome's show. "Don't you know it's rude to keep a guy waiting? Bring me my hostages, James. My trigger finger is getting itchy."

"The hostages he wants are his brother... and you."

~

As we pull up to the Maze I smile. "He's home?" I smile nodding hand jumping out of the car. "Where else would he be?"

I open the door with my code and run through the maze coming to his office with the others far behind me. I step in looking at him hunched over the desk. ""Jeremiah." His eyes shoot up meeting mine. "(y/n)?"

He runs towards me holding me up in his arms. "I thought I lost you. I'm so glad you're okay." As he puts me down I place my hand on his cheek smiling. "He would never hurt me. He might after this, but I'm okay."

"What are you-" I crash my lips against his feeling light and free. I wrap my arms around his neck sighing into the kiss. Jeremiah pulls away holding me at arm's length. "Wait. wait. wait! Why are you here right now? Aren't you engaged to Jerome?" I look in the hall and see my father, Fox, Bruce, and Alfred. "We need your help, Jer."

Jeremiah looks at my father with fear.

"I watch the news. And you must be out of your mind if you think I'm gonna be led like a lamb to slaughter." "Jeremiah, I know you're scared, but we need to do something. He doesn't bluff."

"If we ignore his demands, there's no telling what he might do. If he finds out (Y/n) slipped away to do this he might lock her up for good. We wouldn't see her." Jeremiah looks at me with soft eyes. "You said he would never hurt you." "And he wouldn't. But he's not letting me go anywhere. He told me he was going to put me somewhere I couldn't be heard."

"We can block his remote's signal with this. If you and Bruce can get within a few feet of him, it will disable his remote... He'll be a sitting duck."

"For God's sake, Gordon, you have to know what he wants. To... murder us both on live television."

Bruce steps over offering his hand. "Mr. Valeska. I'm Bruce Wayne. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. I... wish the circumstances were better."

Bruce looks at the large generator raising his brows. I smirk as Jeremiah's face shows stress. He gets so caught up in his work.

"May I ask what it is you've been working on?" "Um, yeah. It's a compact electrical engine. It generates power. (Y/n) has a good idea of spreading them out across Gotham. It would wipe out the other company."

"Fascinating." I nod wrapping my arm around Jeremiah. "My boyfriends pretty smart, huh?" Jeremiah blushes, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"How much power?"

"Just two could light up every building south of Westward Bridge."

"I understand if you choose not to help us today. But I trust that Captain Gordon and Mr. Fox will see that no harm comes to me. But even if it does... maybe, by facing Jerome... I can show the people of Gotham that standing up to terror is the only way to take its power away."

I nod clapping, "If you ever lose your money Bruce, motivational speaking could work for you."

[fireteam-dauntless]

A Tale of Two Guardians IX

Part 1 of the Destined Series. Chapter 9 : Evacuation masterlist

word count : 1.8k tag list : @mail-me-a-snail @basically-nacl send me an ask or a pm to be added to the tag list!

There was radio silence for the next 20 minutes.  We were waiting on Skinner to finish his scouting mission.  I was on one knee by the Legionaries that were transporting our Guardians, checking ammunition and trying to keep my focus off of the dead bodies of my friends that were next to me.  I kept my sniper perched on my leg and I could see Maverick was casting a glance my way every now and then.  Then the comms light up, and the two of us opened up the channel so Skinner could come through.

“So I’ve got two routes for you,” Skinner said through the Taken static.

“Alright let’s hear ‘em,”  Maverick responds.

“You’ve got the most direct route but there’s a lot of Taken there with a couple rifts.”

“Alright, what about option two?”

“It’s completely out of the way but there’s no rifts and very little Taken.”

“So a bloodbath or a long diversion.”

Maverick turned to the Cabal’s leader. “What do you think we should do?”

“How long is the long way?”  The Bracus asked.

“Skinner?” 

“About 15 to 20 min if it stays quiet,”  Skinner responds.  Maverick relayed the information.

“And the short way?”  He asked again.

“Straight through the cafe and a 5 minute run down the hallway,”  the Hunter reported.

“So I vote safe, Zahn?”  Maverick turned to the Bracus.

“I’m with the short way.”

“Genesis?”

I paused before responding.  Maverick was leaving the vote to me.  While taking the short way was the fastest way out of here, it was too risky.  We could all die if we got overwhelmed. “Take the long way,” I said.  “I’ll cover you if anything comes up behind us.”

Zahn cuts in. “I could send some of my men down the short path as a diversion.”

“That’s suicide Zahn,”  Maverick protested.

“They understand that without sacrifice there can be no victory,” Zahn reaffirmed.

“As much as I don’t like it, they’re your men.”  Maverick turned to all of us in the room.  “Alright, then that’s the plan.  Let’s get moving people, let's not waste time. Skinner, you get to the air strip ahead of us and watch the Taken’s movements and radio if they start to catch on to our plan.”

“You’ve got it, o’ great leader,”  Skinner responded spitefully, then the channel cut off.

I stood and readied my sniper.  “Maverick,” I said, and he turned to me.  “I’ll cover you and watch for snipers.  Lead the way forward.”

Before we leave Zahn commands half of his Legionaries down to the hallway.  I nodded to all of them as they passed me.  They were ready to die in order to get us out.  All I could think of was Gilly.  He was ready to die in order to get us out, but I was the only one who made it.

“They’re probably not going to make it, you know that right?”  Maverick said to Zahn.

“I know and so do they, but I have taken their names so their sacrifice will be remembered.”

“Skinner are you in position?”  Maverick said over the channel.

“Yup, waiting on you people.”

“Alright let’s get moving people.”

As we all leave the armory Zahn motions for the Legionaries for the distraction toward the main door. 

Zahn gave his men a speech to boost their moral.  My Cabal was rusty, but it sounded like he was telling them this was for our escape, so not to falter. 

The rest of us head to the other way.  I stayed behind with a new legion that was transporting the dead.  A few Phalanxes and a Colossus followed behind me.

The comms light up again, and Skinner comes back through, speaking more to Maverick than me. “I still get to throw my knife at you back at the Tower right?”  He asked

“If we make out of here you can throw all the knives you want,”  Maverick sighed.

He laughed maniacally and cut the channel.

Our procession down the hallway was quiet, minus the sound of footsteps.  I kept glancing behind us, just to be sure we weren’t being followed. 

“Skinner your intel is solid, not a rift in sight.” Maverick said over the comms.

“You’re fucking right my intel’s solid,” Skinner said sarcastically.  “But the Taken are headed to the other door no doubt to help beat those Legionaries.”

“Good, less resistance for us.” As we’re moving forward, Maverick turns around and shouts the rest of us. “Alright Zahn, your men bought us a window let’s make sure we don’t waste it!”

“How's it looking out there?” Maverick asked Skinner.

“Quiet, most of the Taken went to the hallway. Good call on taking the long way.”

“Are there any snipers out there?”

“None that I can see, it's pretty clear, but there are rifts out here so we better make this quick ‘cause it will get ugly out here fast.”

“Well, we’re at the doors, is the coast clear?”

“For now, but with your fat ass I doubt it will stay that way for long,”  the Hunter snickers, and I couldn’t help but give a little bit of a sigh myself.

“Children,” I chided over the comms, “behave.”

“Alright, ass,” Maverick responded to Skinner, then cut out of the channel.  “Zahn, you and I should go out first and secure the ships.”

“Good idea, Light Warrior,”  Zahn responded, and commanded his men, splitting them up and telling them where to go.  I couldn’t help but keep glancing down the hallway behind us.  I started to get a bad feeling about this, it was way too quiet.  Before I could even bring it up to Maverick, though, I heard him tell Zahn to open the door, and they were gone.  I hurried over to the door and knelt down, glancing down scope.  I watched the airstrip as they ran, watching for trouble, waiting for this feeling in my gut to go away.  I moved my scope off from them once they reached the ships and scanned the runway.  

“Okay, Genesis,”  Maverick said over comms.  “It’s all clear, come to the ships.”

I thought I caught some movement down the other end, but it was gone in an instant.  “I don’t know, Mav,” I said as I lowered my sniper and stood.  “I’m picking up some movement from the other end of the airstrip.”  Even still, I motioned for the team of Cabal with me to follow, and we started to move.  My gut started to wrench, like something was about to happen, so I motioned for the team to go ahead of me.  I kept following them, but I stopped every five steps or so to look behind us and down the runway.  And just like that, when we were halfway to the ship, every portal came to life and Taken started to pour onto the airstrip.  

“Fuck!” Maverick shouted.  “It’s an ambush! Skinner, start taking them out, if you get compromised, come to me!  Zahn, tell your men with Genesis to protect them at all costs!”

The Cabal and I formed a body barrier around the ones who were carrying the dead.  I took out any snipers I could see from afar.  The first wave of enemies was brushed off with ease.  I quickly scanned the airstrip, and of course, back the way we came, I saw way too many Taken start to pour out of the hallway.  

“Move, move, move!” I shouted, waving for the Cabal to start running down the strip, and I brought up the rear.  “Mav, we’re about to have a lot of Taken behind us.”

“Copy that,” he responded.  

I paused for a half second to take out a couple more Taken snipers that appeared, it couldn’t have been longer than that, but a Blight started to form in the small distance that was between the Cabal and I.  I lowered my gun and backed away from it, and a gigantic Taken Knight spawned right in front of me

Why is it always me?  I thought spitefully to myself.  “Keep going!” I shouted to the Cabal, then pulled out my Sol Edge sword just in time to block it’s melee attack, but the pure force of it sent me backwards several feet.  I quickly caught my footing, but before I could even go in for an attack, I heard the distinct clang of a hammer, and I looked up in awe as Maverick slammed a Sunbreaker’s hammer into the Knight’s leg, causing it to fall back, and started hammering it’s face into the ground.

Maverick was screaming and shouting a long string of curses.  There was so much anger and rage in his voice it was barely recognizable. 

When the hammer finally faded from his hand, he stood, though his body was still surrounded by an aura of Solar energy.  He turned to me.  “Let’s go!” He shouted.  “Before I have to pound another Knight into the ground.”

I could only nod and I ran past him, catching back up to the team.  I escorted them the rest of the way to the Harvester without another problem, as most of the Taken had fallen back after Mav’s display of power.  The Cabal started loading them onto the ship and I stood by the ramp, scanning the runway.

“Skinner,” Maverick shouted once he caught back up with us.  “Come down here and watch her.  I still have to escort Zahn and his men to their ship. And Genesis,” he turned to me, “please try not to get killed.”

I held up my hands. “Hey, it’s not my fault everything has a hard on for me.”

He shook his head, but I could hear him chuckling to himself as he walked away.  Skinner appeared beside me, and he watched the entrance while I went inside to make sure everyone was secured for the ride home.  I knelt down next to my team members again, saying a small right of passing so they could have safe passage to the afterlife.  Whatever that was.

I stayed inside with them until I saw Maverick coming back from Zahn.  I joined Skinner back down on the ramp, and when he was within earshot, I said, “Alright Mav, everyone’s loaded on the ship, we’re just waiting on you.”

“Good,” he replies.  “I’m flying the Harvester. You, my Ghost and Skinner will be flying escorts. You’ll be behind me. Skinner and Ghost you’ll be to my sides. Alright now call your ships.”

“Aww, but wanted to strap you to the front of my ship,”  Skinner whines.  I rolled my eyes.  But of course, Maverick just had to indulge him.

“That’s a pretty fucking dumb idea, Skinner,” Mav responded.

“Yeah just as dumb as you coming here ALONE!” 

“Fuck off, I would have been fine.”

“NO you wouldn’t have.”

While they were arguing, I saw movement all the way back down the airstrip.  They were coming back for more, now that the Cabal were gone.

“GUYS!” I yelled.  “Taken!  Let’s GO!” 

“Can I throw Mav to them?”  Skinner asked.

“NO YOU CAN’T NOW LETS GO!” I snapped, then pulled out my Ghost and teleported back into my ship.

[demigodsanswer]

Hazel Levesque: Into the Prophecy-verse pt. 1

Time for the prologue to an AU I’ve wanted to write for a long time and need to finally get out of my brain. Hazel is a little OOC in this, but that’s because it’s an AU where she grows up in the modern world, not the 1920s. 

Description:

Rome was a three-thousand year old empire, with two capitals - Old Rome in Italy and New Rome in America. New Rome was the powerhouse of the gods and their hero’s.

The children of the Olympian gods lived amongst mortals, the most powerful of them joining the Legion, and some even earning fame status when major prophecies thrusted one or a few of them into the spot light. 

Hazel Levesque is an unclaimed, unimportant demigod, unsuitable for the esteemed legion. And she’s about to find herself at the middle of a major prophecy. 

~*~*~*~

Alright let’s do this one last time

“My name is Jason Grace. I’m the son of Jupiter and for ten years, I’ve the one and only child of the Big Three. I’m pretty sure you know the rest: I saved a bunch of people, fell in love, saved the city, and then I saved the city again and again and again. I also did this [cut to Jason getting hit in the head with a brick]. We don’t talk about that. Look, I’m a comic book, I’m a cereal, did a Christmas album, have an excellent theme song, and a so-so popsicle. I mean, I’ve looked worse. But after everything, I still love being the hero. I mean, who wouldn’t? So no matter how many hits I take, I always find a way to come back, because the only thing standing between this city and oblivion is me. There’s only one child of the Big Three. And you’re looking at him.” 

Hazel was listening to her music too loud to hear Chiron calling her. She had her first day at some prep school for demigods, meaning she was leaving Chiron’s half-way house for unclaimed and untamable demigods. 

New Rome was overflowing with demigods who either hadn’t been claimed or had been rejected from the Legion. Lupa had deemed her and her friend Leo “too insubordinate” for the Legion. He set the wolf on fire (an accident) and she had told the wolf to eat shit (not an accident.) Demigods who didn’t fit in the Legion and couldn’t live at their home with their mortal parents (like Hazel, who’s mom had been deem “unsuitable”) or didn’t have mortal parents (like Leo) lived in one of the half-way houses. There was hundreds of them around the country, all named “Chiron’s Half-Way House,” but only the New Rome branch was actually graced by the old Greek Centaur. 

He did his best to train or rehabilitate problem kids, getting them ready for either the legion or the real world. He was the one who had insisted every demigod apply to some fancy, over-priced prep school. And Hazel was the only one of them dumb enough to be smart enough to get in.  

 “Do I have to go?” She asked Chiron, as he adjusted the collar of her uniform (which she already hated.) 

“This is a step in the right direction for you Hazel.” 

She tugged on one of her curls, pulling it straight in front of her eyes before letting it bounce back into place. Chiron led her out to the car. Leo was waiting out on the front porch. 

“Don’t forget us little people while you’re off becoming some famous hero or some shit, Levesque.” He said, smiling. 

Hazel pulled him into a hug. “Who could forget you?” 

“I’ll bust you out as soon as I can,” he whispered. 

Hazel sat, clearly angry, in the back of Chiron’s car. He couldn’t drive, being a centaur and all, so Argus, the thousand-eyed half-way house driver was behind the wheel, and Chiron lectured her about all of her opportunities. 

“I don’t care,” Hazel protested. “I don’t want to go, I’m only here because I drew some pictures.” Her scholarship was art-based, that was true. She was a good artist. Not a really notable demigod skill, though. Still, someone had to mosaic all of Jason Grace’s accomplishments. They were only one year away from some world-ending prophecy that the tabloids still had yet to leak. So it was only a matter of time before Golden Boy Supreme (as Leo had nicknamed him) added another line on his resume. And if Hazel was lucky, which she rarely was, she’d be there to sculpt the whole thing in marble. 

“You passed the entrance exam just like everyone else,” Chiron told her. “This is your opportunity, Hazel. Do you want to end up like --” 

He cut himself off, but she knew how that sentence ended. Like her mother. Her mom wasn’t perfect, but she wasn’t bad. She was actually pretty cool. The courts were just picky about who was allowed to raise demigod children. Even mega-Hero Grace grew up with a foster mom - Sally Jackson, poster mom for good demigod parenting. Literally, her picture was on the side of buses. She had her own book. She had been on The View with the nine muses. 

Her mom wasn’t Sally Jackson, for sure, but she always made sure Hazel had food, and she taught her how to draw. The court’s problem was her mom’s inability to hold down a job. The only thing she managed consistently was selling her own homemade jewelry. It was all bullshit though. If Hazel wasn’t a demigod, they never would have separated them. 

“Whatever,” Hazel said as they pulled up to the school. She grabbed her backpack and suitcase, and preyed to whatever god her father was that she would be kicked out by the end of the day. 

“Tie your shoes!” Chiron yelled after her. She ignored him. 

Hazel walked into a whirlwind. The school was huge. Most people were in their uniforms, although a few wore ancient Roman style armor over theirs. Some carried stacks of books, and other had spears and swords. Half her day was academic - Latin, literature, history, science, and math. The other half was training - weaponry, climbing, survival skills, and pegasus riding. At least they had Pegasi here. She had been trained well enough at the half way house, but there were unfortunately lacking in magic horses. Well, besides Chiron’s lower half, which Hazel wasn’t too keen on riding. 

“You’re shoe’s untied,” a stranger said, passing Hazel. 

“Yeah, I know it’s a choice.” 

The sneakers probably weren’t uniform, but she didn’t earn the label “insubordinate” for nothing. 

She found her locker, wide and tall enough for armor, weapons, and other demigod provisions, and shoved her suitcase in it. She figured she would move into her dorm later on. 

Someone opened the locker next to hers. “Oh this is so embarrassing,” Hazel said to her locker neighbor, “we are wearing the same jacket.” She laughed awkwardly, but the girl just rolled her eyes before walking away. 

Off to a good start, Hazel though before grabbing her backpack and moving on to her first class. 

Each class seemed to come with its own thousand pound textbook. And the long, winding hallways made it impossible to stop at her locker in between classes. By fifth period - history - she had four new text books and figured she was about to get one more. 

She walked in late. She hoped the darkness of the room helped cover her late arrival, but she cast a shadow in front of the projector. 

“Ah Miss. Levesque,” her history teacher, some old guy named Mr. Quintus, paused the movie, “you’re late.” 

She shrugged, “Maybe y’all are just early.” 

A girl with black spiky hair and dark eye make up let out a stifled chuckle. Quitus and Hazel looked at her. “Sorry, it was just so quiet.” 

“Please take your seat, Miss, Levesque.” He started playing the movie again. Some history documentary. The Romans loved those. This one had some young narrator, who would have been handsome if it wasn’t for the scar down his face. With his blond hair and blue eyes, Hazel could have mistaken him for Jason Grace, if Jason were twenty-five, not fifteen. 

“The Titan Saturn, lord of Time, was overthrown by Jupiter and his other brothers and sisters, and his remains cast away.” 

Hazel was just staring to tune the whole thing out when Quintus paused the video again. “Can anyone tell me the Greek name for the Titan Saturn?” The girl next to Hazel raised her hand. “Yes, Miss. Grace?” 

“Kronos,” she offered. 

“Very good,” Quintus restarted the film. Hazel thought about leaning over and asking her if she was related to Jason, but figured she probably got that all the time. 

A week later, Quintus stopped Hazel on her way out the door. “Miss. Levesque?” 

She walked over to his desk. “What’s up?” 

Quintus showed her the score from their history quiz the day before. A red 0/100 was written across the scantron. 

“A zero?” Hazel tried to look genuinely upset. “A few more of those and you’ll probably have to kick me out of here, huh?”

“If a person wearing a blind fold took a true or false quiz at random, what score would they get?” 

“Fifty percent?” 

Quintus changed her 0 to a 100. “That’s right.” He stood and faced the bored to start erasing that day’s lecture notes. “Are you familiar with the story of Icarus, Miss. Levesque?” 

“Uh yeah, he was escaping the Labyrinth with his father with a pair of bronze wings. But he flew too close to the sun, the wax melted, and he fell into the ocean. it’s about pride, right?” 

“Correct,” he said, turning to face her, “but you left out a crucial element. Yes, Icarus was instructed by his father not to fly too high. But he was also told not too fly too low, as the sea mist could also weaken the wax.”

“Why are you telling me this?” She asked. 

“You’re trying to quit, and I won’t let you. You must remember not to let yourself fly too low, it’s just as dangerous. I’m assigning you a personal essay. Not about history, but about yourself and the kind of person who you want to be.” 

Hazel had spent an hour at her desk, trying to write anything for Quintus or for her literature essay, but her ADHD was going off the rails. She wished Leo would make good on his promise to bust her out of there. 

But she decided not to wait for Leo. 

She hadn’t seen her mom in a while. She grabbed her hoodie before making her way down the fire escape. 

[a-collection-of-villainous-aus]

BLIND AU PT6 the deleted chapter, changing pennywise to white hat.

(Had this sitting in my drafts for a few months, just finished it, if you don't like it just skip on by okays no one is making you read it❤️)

"Huh that's funny?"

Demencia leaned forward, hands on the glass, it was really more a murmured thought than something to be answered.

Black Hat who had recently found an odd comfort in petting 505 instead of relentlessly torturing him was currently running his claws lightly over the chubby bear, the soft feel of fur on fingers and palm soothing, sighing in response

"What is it? Something does feel off and yet familiar..."

"There's this guy, pretty tall, not tall as the tree though, big eyes, pretty hot stuff if I do say so my self talking to Fluggy."

The lizard girl explained, opening the window just a little more trying to get a better look.

Black Hat went from his lax position to sitting up straight, Demencia was ridiculously picky about partners, so if she was drooling over this one...snapping his fingers the window opened further and she nearly fell out a small sound of surprise escaping her, of course he could hear what they were saying, he was a predator with finely honed skills, the window could have been sealed and still he could have heard them, but there was no reason to keep Demencia out of the spying game.

"So how long have you been working here Flug, Acylius if I am right?"

The man enquired, leaning against the wall, smiling as he did so, it was unnatural, stretched too far back but then again it were not as if he were actually human.

"Please Robert, out side of the Manor, I am Kenning."

Acylius was currently lighting a cigarette and huffing, he was still miffed with his experiments failing and being unable to find a cure for Black Hat, he shouldn't care so much, it wasn't as if the old demon who practically boned anything in skirt or trousers cared how he felt.

"Yes, yes of course we all have our...ways and lives to live outside of our fun and games...though while it has been sometime since we last spoke I wouldn't mind a little game...you were always all games and no work make Flug a dumb boy."

He waved his hand wistfully, a playful gleam in his eye and shrugging, noting that Acylius was momentarily staring, even if it was a glare of sharp piercing blue eyes his own sparked into their golden colour, how lovely to be looked on so intensely by a creature of such power.

"Well it is why I am here and you are not, going around and scaring children instead, speaking of children are you not hiding until that club dies out, think you will return to Derry?"

The doctor was now smirking, drawing on his cigarette and exhaling smoke through his nose, he felt a sense of satisfaction as he watched Robert shift on his feet.

"My dear Robert Grey, you could so easily get prey if you looked like the current rendition of your story, fear is not the only thing that tastes good, there are adults begging to have you 'eat' them. "

Black Hats claws were digging into the wood work, he could hear the banter between them, so his informants forgot to mention this particular Eldericht demon was still alive and kicking and talking to his Acylius.

"Whoa wait isn't Robert grey that guy, that guy?"

"Yes that is...Pennywise, book got it wrong he's not here with just a lust for Earth women, gender and the like does not bother him...what is Acylius doing?"

Demencia peeked further out of the window, eager to answer Black Hat's question and curious herself.

"So what are you actually doing here, besides looking for new children to make a meal of?"

Acylius spoke bluntly, offering his cigarette to share with the being who'd stalked his University days.

Robert had always been weak against him because Acylius had never feared his existence, not once.

There was something pleasant in being near someone who could make him feel so submissive (at least in this case) and yet frustrating that he always chose to work.

Demencia acting as Hat's eyes whispered

"Sharing a cigarette, talking, clown dude totally wants to leave sap in the tree...or get the trees sap."

Hat's grip grew so tightly the windowsill broke answering through gritted teeth

"I see."

He kept his hearing sharp as this Eldericht asked if Flug would like to have some sort of dinner date with him, surely Flug would decline right, yes of course he would-

"I might take you up on that offer, but no children, I do not consume the young for my feasts..."

Black Hats pupil pulsed as smoke began to ebb past his lips.

"Boss man chill, I have a plan."

The demons tongue flicked out in thought, before turning to look at her, well he wasn't exactly eye line as he was facing her chest.

"Face is a bit further up Blackie."

Hat grumbled looking up a bit further, close but still not in line, it'd do Demencia decided.

Listening to her 'cunning' plan Black hat couldn't help but roll his eye, how ridiculously cheesy but as soon as he heard Acylius suggest this Pennywise dress up like the movie one he was all on board.

Acylius was continuing his conversation with Robert who was taking his suggestions to heart, especially considering who the Legion demon worked for, you would be a fool, not to take the free advice.

Black Hat followed the shadows that shied away from him, for even the darkness feared this beast who slithered amongst them, using Acylius's scent as a guide he finally appeared, rising up from the shadow cast by him.

Pausing, he was so close he could feel the heat of his back, lips parted slightly, oh he wanted to touch him, be touched willingly by him, hands lingering just above Acylius, taking a breath and about to follow through with Demencia's plan.

"My boss has arrived it would seem."

Acylius huffed, shoulders slumping and then blinking as hands slid around his waist, Hat was actually pissed about how Flug had reacted in his presence and not just that but in the presence of this LOWLY ELDERICHT WHO WAS WEAKER THAN BOTH OF THEM.

"Ohhh my boy you were pleading last night, but then again who would not beg for me..."

He forced The doctor to his knees so he knelt between both he and Penny, hands on his shoulders and claws running through his hair as fangs nipped at his neck, never looking up at the being at his door lest he give away his blindness.

Acylius was still reaching a height of Hats midsection, god his Flug was so tall, this being belonged to him and he would not let some little sloppy bitch claim what was his.

Flug growled, pupils turning to slits, he knew Hats secret had to be kept, so why not give the demon what he wanted, pulling him over his shoulder so that Hat was now in his arms

(Black Hat surprised, absolutely not expecting to be yanked over Acylius's shoulder)

In his dark world he felt the palm of his doctors hand, thumb stroking his cheek and then a kiss, deep intoxicating, taste of his skin, sinking into it, drowning in him.

This had not been part of the plan, Demencia had simply said make Robert uncomfortable and awkward so he left...waaaaait he didn't have his mask on for the clown but HE AGAIN was reminded that Flug had not been without it in his presence again, that any pictures taken were only of a faked one with his hologuise (hologram disguise) he had no idea how he looked, not that it mattered...but still he wished he could.

Pushing his face away with a hand, parting them, turning his head

"You bare your face for him...and remind me yet again you have not shown it to me."

Acylius who was holding him looked up at where Robert had been, no surprise he'd walked off.

No he was in the sewers where he liked to be, the door slammed shut by itself as he just let go of Hat, who unceremoniously fell in a heap.

"And why should I show it to you, you throw tantrums when I dare talk to someone who ia not you outside of this company, but oh it is perfectly fine..."

Acylius snapped getting to his feet and towering over the five ft nine demon, Demencia was watching from around the doors now, she'd never seen Acylius quite like this if his was him miffed how was he pissed.

The door to the front slammed shut by itself and he continued

"When you flirt with anything with a pulse, I am not bound to you, you have no right to demand to see my face, that is something I choose to display at my own leisure!"

He leaned down and Hat sucked in a breath as he felt the warmth of Acylius's ghost over his flesh, the inhuman growl that left him sending a shiver along Black Hats spine

"And considering you know not how my face looks both of your accusations have been wrong...I wear different faces with the hologuise you were once so impressed with, it clearly shows how easily you have forgotten my abilities. Lord. Black. Hat."

Black Hat had a twist in his stomach, so...he had been pissy over nothing, thrown tantrums over nothing...

"Yes I can see in your expression you realised you almost killed me in a pissy fit where you thought I would be so disrespectful as to just prance around without a bag simply because you could not see..."

"But I could feel your scars..."

Amadeus returned weakly

"You felt them because you know they are there, you are far too sensitive to be fooled by technology...now..."

Acylius's ears flicking back as he signed wearily

"I have to try and contact Robert and inform him that I am still free for that dinner date if he has not been completely scared off."

"I hope he has."

Hat mumbled, letting out a surprised out as Acylius grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him off his feet

"Will you be quiet for once! I am free to do as I please, there are more things at hand that you do not even realise because you are too up your own arse!"

"What are you talking it about?"

Hat returned sharply, easily getting out of Flugs grip, stumbling as he misjudged the distance of his feet from the floor, Acylius caught him without thought, making him look up, hoping he was facing him at least.

His hands felt firm and sure of themselves and if he was not mistaken he felt a tender caress of Acylius's thumb at his side.

"It does not matter...until it does."

"I see, would you then at least walk me back to my office?"

"No, 505 can do that..."

He looked at the door opening that had green hair poking out of it

"I need a word with Demencia."

505 made a baw sound and cheerfully started humming and held out a paw for him to take, which Hat took silently, guided by a big Teddy bear what had his life come to.

Once he was off, feeling a mix of emotions that he absolutely did not like Acylius folded his arms and called Demencia out like she was a mischievous child who he knew had broken something.

She peeked out and started trying to explain her actions

"What, he likes you, you like him, I was trying to hook you two up and you were flirting with that idiot and-"

"He despite being an idiot, Robert Grey is one of the oldest Elderichts still alive who might have some idea of an answer on how to help Black Hat, you may have just screwed that up with your plan I hope you feel proud of yourself, who knows how far I will have to go with him to pump information out of him now...both of you are...idiots."

[cottontail20]

Children Of Iron, Chapter 11: More Human Than Him

Summary: Vision and Peter share a sweet conversation before the battle with the Fire Elemental begins.

Ao3 link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/20323687/chapters/53388034

Wanda and Vision made love for hours, not wanting to waste the time they had together.

Most of the following day was spent repeatedly going over the plan (minus Peter who had to keep up appearances by remaining with his class), making sure everybody knew what they had to do. Beck put on what seemed to Wanda like a very grand performance, reminding them all how serious the threat they were facing was. How dangerous the Fire Elemental was going to be.

While she didn't trust Quentin Beck one bit, Wanda did believe that there was a threat, that something was coming. She could sense it, could feel the scarlet energy crackling just beneath her skin in anticipation of a fight. What she wasn't sure of was whether Beck was really there to stop the threat, or help it.

Wanda could have read Beck's mind, but this was an ability that she had not tapped into for quite sometime, mostly due to a crippling guilt over the terrible events she had contributed to the last time she had used it. Now, Wanda thought she was a little too rusty with that particular power to trust anything she might see.

Unfortunately, this meant that neither she nor Vision had any evidence to take to Fury and Hill to support their suspicions, so the only option they really had was to keep their eyes open. Hope for the best, but always be ready for the worst. --

Tension grew in the air as evening approached. So far, it seemed like everything was going to plan.. Apart from the large festival going on in the streets bringing a risk of civilian casualties. Again, all they could really do was hope for the best, try and keep the beast contained, and limit damage. At least, as far as they knew, all of Peter's classmates had been ushered back to the safety of their Hotel.

All that was left to do was for everyone to get into position, and wait for the Fire Elemental to make it's appearance.

"Wanda.." Vision grabbed his fiancee's hand one last time before they were forced to part. He was buzzing with nervous energy. "Please, be careful."

"You too, Vizh" She pulled him in for a quick kiss. "I know you're worried, but stick to the plan. Stay back unless we really need you. You and I have a Wedding to stay alive for."

"And Morgan" Vision added. "We promised her."

"And Morgan" Wanda agreed, kissing him again. "I love you, Vision."

"I love you too, Wanda..

"Now let's go beat this Monstru de foc."

"Yes, let's go." --

A short while later, everyone had taken their positions. Vision was in a tower with Peter, keeping watch over the festival goers below, all oblivious to the approaching danger. He knew Wanda was somewhere in the crowd, undercover, while Harley's droids, cloaked from view, circled the area at a safe distance.

Peter squirmed slightly in his new 'Stealth' suit. Vision glanced at him, concerned.

"Are you alright, Peter?" He asked.

"Yeah, just this new suit. It's a little tight around the old web-shooter, you know?" Peter mumbled. "Do you know? I mean, do you even have a.. Sorry, I guess that's kind of a personal question.."

"It's alright" Vision chuckled. "And to answer your question, yes, I do have a.. you know."

"Oh, okay.. That explains some things.."

"Like what?"

"Nothing.."

"Peter.." Vision frowned. He wanted to be someone the boy could talk to, freely. "If you have questions, it is okay to ask them."

"Well.." Peter pushed his mask-up, revealing that his cheeks were blushing bright pink, "I was kinda wondering how you and Wanda.. But what you just said, that explains it."

"Oh.." Vision's own face turned a slightly deeper shade of red.

"Sorry.."

"It's alright. I understand why my relationship would be a source of curiosity. I'm not exactly human.."

"Huh? Of course you are."

"You think so?" Vision felt a spark of warmth in his synthetic heart.

"Sure." Remembering the job at hand, Peter pulled his mask back on and hopped up to crouch in the window for a better view of the goings-on below. "Once, Mr. Stark told me that he thought you were more human than he was, most of the time."

A small smile tugged at Vision's lips.

"Thank you for telling me that, Peter."

"No problem.." Peter began, before Fury's voice crackled through their comms. --

"Energy spiking.." He said, eye on their monitoring equipment.

"There's seismic activity.." added Hill.

Harley briefly looked up from the Legion's controls to glance between their stern faces.

"Here we go.." He gulped. --

Wanda got a front row seat to the beginning of the show. Saw the water in the fountain bubble and steam, the ground cracking from the heat of the molten-hot magma that made-up the Fire Elemental's body as it rose from beneath the ground.

As the festival-goers began to scream and run from the beast, Wanda ditched the extra coat she'd been wearing to blend in with the crowd, and threw up her hands, creating a scarlet shield in an effort to protect the civilians as they fled. Something about the Creature's appearance seemed strange.. intangible, despite the destruction it was already causing. In the corner of her eye, she saw Beck land nearby, saw Peter swinging into action. Then, she became slightly distracted by a voice behind her.

"You're the Scarlet Witch.."

Wanda vaguely recognised the person to whom the voice belonged, a girl from Peter's class. Why did dumb teenagers always have to sneak out to find trouble at the worst possible time?

"You are supposed to be safe in your Hotel" She replied through gritted teeth. "Run!"

To her credit, the girl ran without further prompting. --

Vision hovered above the scene of the battle, waiting for his moment. Despite their best efforts, Peter and Beck had been unable to stop the Elemental from absorbing the carousel, even when Wanda had joined in properly after steering the civilians to safety.

Focusing, and hoping, Vision took aim, and fired, what was now a red beam rather than the former gold, in what seemed like a direct hit. At first, Vision was pleased with the realisation that he had retained this power, but the beam did not seem to have had any effect at all.. --

Meanwhile, Harley was strapped into the back seat of a a car, zooming along with Fury and Hill to the site of the battle. He felt rather useless. For all the work he'd put into his droids, they were not at all useful right now, against a beast that consumed metal.

If only he could have stepped up. Been ready for a suit of his own. Then he truly could have helped.. --

Back at the sight of the battle, things seemed to be improving as the combatants hurled non-metal debris at the Fire Elemental, and Vision continued to shoot from a distance, all to keep the monster from reaching the Ferris Wheel.

It was then that Wanda spotted them. The Teenagers on the Wheel, yelling 'Night Monkey', for reasons she did not understand. It didn't matter, she had to help them.

"There are kids on the Ferris wheel!" She yelled. Unfortunately, as she flew up to get them, Beck 'accidentally' struck her with another piece of debris, knocking her out and sending her flying into the distance.

Vision screamed.

"Wanda!"

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

athenas or the new ign videos... hmmm

im gonna go for the ign videos (moze gameplay and sanctuary-iii, no guns yet, i have a reason for that) because athenas hasn’t gotten its sweet instagram video yet. once that’s released i’ll do a full post on it. by the time i got around to finishing this post, they had released the video. oh boy... gonna do the gun post then the athenas post, i think. alright, off we go.

tl;dr: we read the entire end user agreement DAHL thrusts upon us for using the ECHO device, talk about some stuff like how (spoilers) it seems like Lilith will be getting her powers back at the end of the game, and a voice line Lily says that sounds like “Tyreen took my powers. it’s like Tannis said: [inaudible] Siren” (altho im not 100% sure on the [inaudible] part because 1) it sounds weird and 2) there’s a drum beat and also the devs are talking over her, the Siren part seems fairly accurate because of the way her mouth moves). so you know. im gonna be agonizing over that until i can hear what she says. ive already spent an hour just repeating it over and over. i nearly fell asleep lol

we’re gonna start with the moze gameplay (the first 14 minutes of bl3) because chronologically it’s first in both timeline and release date

i love the license plates on the right there

also it looks like they added in claptrap’s old welcome sign from windshear waste! time to stand in front of it for 30 minutes to see if any messages pop up like bl2

fast travel station as well, definitely going to see if/where i can teleport and going there immediately. i imagine this is more for DLC stuff and grinding tho.

also! i do believe we saw Covenant Pass previously. good to know this is actually where it is!

Marcus saying “And Welcome to Pandora!” in the beginning confirms that, yes, they’re going to be on a bus!! i wonder if there will be a fight scene before that though. it’s interesting Clappy mentions that “those jerks who tried to murder you are the children of the vault!” so i mean... there’s gotta be... right?

im also convinced this intro is going to be a mirror of Borderlands 1. i stg if it starts out with the first few notes of Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked and then swaps songs I’m going to lose my mind

also also, the order is totally going to mimic the bl1 one. Fl4k = Mordecai, Amara = Lilith, Moze = Roland, Zane = Brick. We even have Lilith taking Angel’s spot as the mysterious voice in our heads, and probably Marcus driving, AND being dropped off at a bus stop.

bet the reason they changed it from ‘Moze as the Bot Jock’ to ‘Moze as the Gunner’ is because it fits under ‘Roland as the Soldier’ better. Also, ‘Zane Flynt as Himselfs’ would be a play off ‘Brick as Himself’. Amara as the Siren is obvious, and ‘Mordecai as the Hunter’ vs ‘Fl4k as the Beastmaster’ is pretty similar as well, given Fl4k has all those Hunter skills.

the 4 basic emotes im guessing. im so glad we have the option to boop our friends in the face with emotes.

also moze’s little bunny skin is adorable

the ECHOnet used to be called “Riftspace”, “the Spline”, and... “MercTel: A Cyber-Dahl Joint” lmfao

specifically calls out Pandora. also, “artificial megastructures”??? THAT’S SO COOL

AND FUCKING

SENTIENT MEGASTRUCTURES???? 

gearbox. please. i have never ever wanted anything more in my life. please. it’s probably my birthday. PLEASE GEARBOX

also interesting that the user agreement specifically notes ‘Respawns’. I assume this is a joke because New-U stations have been confirmed not canon

“Core law”. Core law? Core... daddy? ... ????

core as in like a core government somewhere that’s not the border worlds? that’s interesting...

“The Legion”, okay, acknowledging TPS, that’s dope

“Project Blackrakk” ... im interested

“Thresher Company” lmao

im curious if Axton was apart of any of the mentioned ones. i don’t think it’s been stated, but i could be wrong

“Chieftain Oort”. also ‘Recently Legless Gary’, lmfao poor dude.

oh yeah im sure this is fine. also holy shit did they google the synonyms for ‘change’ and just start listing them? lmfao

“implicit subscription to the Digby Vermouth ‘Dig’s Gigs’ secret concert subscription service” 

sorry, what?

if this doesn’t come up again in the future- if we don’t get a spam letter or 3 in our mailbox about this concert subscription thing i'm gonna be so disappointed

Dahl hates you if you’re not a fan of hyper-jazz, “you snob” lmfao

my brain hurts, they’re good at writing these 

damn phones exist? i thought everything was ECHO. aight, that’s good to know. i guess there just aren’t any phone networks around the border worlds

also “shared dreamspaces” sound really cool

hm. that’s no good lmfao. also i love that the buttons are ‘Agree’ and ‘OK’. there is no escape, once you agree, you can’t even leave because you’re agreeing that you’re trapped with these rules even if you cancel.

that’s fucked up, DAHL. can’t believe you treat your user base the same way you treat your employees. i guess i shouldn’t be surprised.

anyway, shoutout to literally the only TOA I’ve ever fully read in my life.

also, clicking through this TOA too fast WILL end claptrap’s voice line early. so be careful if you want to hear what he has to say!!

oh shit lmao I gotta go edit that Fl4k post

ok im back ~time magic of being able to save things in drafts and post them at a later date~

sliding preserves momentum, so you can actually slide (nearly) the entire way down! i love this.

small, but claptrap bends his antennae when trying to be stealthy. i thought that was a pretty cool detail

“and some guns include an alternate shooting mode~! try it out!”

player: `immediately shoots claptrap in the face`

i died lol

a very nice look at this sign.

good to know that the twins really are tempting people to join with promises of food. i mean it makes sense, i imagine most of the cultists are desperate for stability and a reasonable life on pandora.

also, Shiv calls himself “holy influencer of the children of the vault” lol. i love that. gearbox really is going for the internet’s throat, isn’t it?

i do like that hovering over an NPC will give you their name only and not name/healthbar.

a better look at one of the signs referencing the Mother!!! i was waiting for this, the only real look we got at one was in that one scene with Moze and IB

“Behold the Mother strength surrender to the truth” 

yeah that’s not ominous...

i assume the mother and father are intended to be tyreen and troy? but idk how i feel about that implication...

i like the new little gear/spring effect for the magnet lol

new lilith! i know a lot of people don’t like it, but i do. she looks better than the bl2 vers. altho i think it’s weird they swapped both bl1 and bl2′s ‘AI’ effect to those dots and then didn’t bring it to BL3. the dots effect felt cleaner. curious why they’re not applying it to bl3 when they went thru all that effort in 1 and 2.

... back up please.

i like that there is a changing icon for long pressing now

“time to check out our slay of the day!” sounds like Tyreen but tbh i legit thought this was moze’s reaction to opening the chest at first lol 

you can hear someone start screaming in agony while she’s walking up the stairs, so i know it’s not moze, but im so used to the VHs talking when they see a new piece of loot my brain just assumed.

also THE MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND IS A REMIX OF BANDIT SLAUGHTER!!! IM SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS I WAS FREAKING OUT THE FIRST TIME I HEARD IT

also, claptrap when dropping health yells “this could save your life! then, you’ll owe me a life debt!” bullshit im pretty sure you already decided we owed you a life debt the moment we stepped off that bus

“i see it... the great vault” - a line from a cultist you kill

i know i mentioned in this post that the Great Vault may be already opened, but it could also just be a Vault they’re planning on opening and using the propaganda to convince the cultists to help them find it. 

“if you help us get this vault open, you’ll be handsomely rewarded! you’ll get superpowers! you’ll get regular meals! you’ll get money and guns and dates!” you know, the usual stuff. 

either way, elevating the Vault to a higher state (god/heaven/whatever) makes sense if you’re running a cult.

btw there is a hidden chest in the scaffolding to the left of the door, if you’re interested in grabbing some better guns before shiv. personally, i’ll be using the toy guns.

also the TVs are actually playing propaganda now!!

this one is asking questions that i cant understand due to the sound effects of the chest and claptrap talking, but it says something about “... the dust? ... join the Children of the Vault!”

“hey shiiiiiv all your dumb friends are dead!!”

shiv be like

“all my friends are dead”

some cool level-up art! I notice these are the same pictures as used on the japanese site. i wonder if they change depending on which VH you’ve picked (If you’re playing Amara/Fl4k, do you get pics of Amara and Fl4k? the player is playing moze, afterall).

also also “it’s a KIA on the knife wielding maniac. suuuper dead.” 

it’s cool that the VHs have specific lines for the deaths of bosses. i hope that continues and it’s not just a ‘15 min of intro gameplay’ thing. you know, where everything is super detailed in the beginning and then slowly gets less and less as the game progresses? anyway, moze’s little chuckle is fuckin adorable lol

ah. the door closes now so you can’t even explore Shiv’s room before Lilith shows up. gearbox plS you know me too well, i was looking for a g l i m p s e

claptrap’s voice line for getting released is SUPER off time, he hits the ground before going “you did it! i’m sa-ahhhhhhhh!” it’s weird, wondering if that’s just a glitch.

also also we get a nice listen to the revive ally sound. i could’ve sworn it wasn’t in the first look at this mission we got, because i heard it for the first time during the coop Zane/Amara gameplay on Promethea. i might be wrong, tho.

im very curious what these symbols are claptrap is beaming up

i mean you know what im gonna say

they look eridian

and they do

so wtf clappy why u beaming up eridian letters to Lilith

i assume maybe Tannis gave clappy some weird upgrade or something so he could communicate with the crimson raiders without the CoV listening in? it could be that Tannis or someone is decoding this message since Tannis does know how to translate Eridian (as shown in her bl1 ECHOs)

... or at the very least she gave Lilith a translator

the darkening makes it so that you can see the crackening. also this COULD just be a beam that lilith can see from wherever she is, but i want to believe there’s more eridian stuff. bc eridian stuff is fun.

this is so fu cking crisp im dying i love it

lilith’s tattoos spreading down her fingers

same symbol as her chest tattoo. maybe the symbol denotes new powers? like how lily has one on her chest for phasewalking, and a new one on her hand for teleportation

i love how her wings look like actual fire. i fucking love this

lilith is looking so fucking good in the new engine

im glad they got rid of her super red eyes, tbh it looked a bit weird

i think they are really pushing her fire affinity, im sure we’ll see Maya has an elemental affinity as well (im calling corrosive) and im sure Tyreen will too (slag). Amara looks to be Shock because that’s her ‘default’, but who knows until (if) bl4 comes out. but corrosive wings on maya would look SOOO fucking cool. please. please please please.

god she looks so good compared to bl2. i love how the tattoos softly glow in the dark, too. i gotta play this mission late in the day...

“you’re... the voice in my head, right?” i love this so much, i really hope my shitpost comes true.

lilith gives you a grenade mod for completing her mission! im really glad they are PUSHING through the tutorial/intro so you can get right into the game. bl2′s ‘intro’ of all these tutorials was brutal. especially waiting to unlock your action skill.

in 3 you get your action skill automatically at level 2!!! which is insane, i love it! they’re jumping right into it, it’s great. and they seem to be pushing for you to get all the stuff you need right away. 

it’s curious to note that in bl3 we get our class mods at the end of the Promethea demo (after Gigamind), since in bl2 you get your first (usually?) after the hunting the firehawk mission and both seem to take place immediately after we get to the ‘base of operations’ of the game (Sanctuary vs Sanctuary-III).

yep that quest is 100% in line with the quest marker. 

i imagine From the Ground Up may be discovering where the Vault Map/Key actually is? maybe bringing people to the Recruitment Center (notably Tannis)

for this scene. i hope this takes place after the HBC, because i seriously... can’t imagine the twins showing up, taking the Vault Map, bringing it to the HBC, and then NOT taking Lilith’s powers/trying to kill Lily and accidentally taking her powers. it just doesn’t make sense, Vault Hunters be damned, we are level 2 they could melt us easy peasy. 

If anything, it feels like we COULD find the Vault Map in the Recruitment Center, Tannis tries to activate it/fix it, we find out it’s mega broke, and then the Sun Smashers show up and take it. but i seriously can’t imagine Lilith nor the new VHs allowing that to happen while they’re still there. maybe if Tannis sends us to do something while Lilith is gathering other CR members? then it could make sense if they attack while Tannis is alone with the Key...

OR

we end up finding something in Shiv’s room that shows/helps us realize the Sun Smashers bringing the Vault Map to the Calypsos. tho this would mean the quest From the Ground Up is SUPER short and I imagine it’s not. Maybe we raid a camp of theirs like the one in front of Sanc-III with the bridge/ramp? We need to be about level 6 before we go and we start From the Ground Up at 2 so there’s obviously something DEEP we’re missing here. maybe this is a mission where we go gather the other Crimson Raiders? HMMMMMMMM...

.... oh.

nevermind lmfao

she opens her ECHO immediately after this LOL i feel kinda dumb now

raiding their camp it is! the Droughts sounds like a fun location. Very much like the dust. you guys think there’s a Shade situation going on there? i’m excited to see it. Still think we’re going to use Shiv’s room to get that lead, though. i just really wanna watch tv lmfao. i hope this means the bandits run from the camp to the HBC, or we find info that the bandit warchief sent a party to the HBC with the Vault Map. either way, i just don’t want the twins showing up until after the HBC or i will have so many questions. “why didn’t you kill lilith?” being the first. “the god queen wants her head!” ur goddamn right she does, so why doesn’t she (try to) kill lilith???

85% already?! hot damn

also

that’s one badass description there, Moze

also also

while having gun slots locked is pretty normal, im surprised they’re locking class mods and relics, too! i wonder when we’ll be able to equip relics. maybe when we first go to eden-6 or smth. or maybe after we meet up with Rhys. shit maybe he’s just handing us an artifact (im gonna interchange these a lot, sorry!) in that Promethea video lmfao

“ready to chuck some boom and frag some maniacs” lol moze i love you

if you’re playing Zane... `equips grenade mod for checkmark` `immediately equips second action skill and never actually uses grenade mod`

“it’s the firehawk! the god queen wants her head!” 

like i alluded to before, i would not be surprised if Tyreen doesn’t know she can absorb Siren powers... when she goes to succ lilith in front of Sanctuary-III, it’s totally possible she actually was trying to kill her. That could explain why she looks so intrigued at her hand like “oh shit okay lets see what this can do”

might be why she was okay with sending her cultists after her instead of showing up herself.

“alright, we got a foothold. maybe things are turning our way. come on killer, you’re with me” we are going to explore the SHIT out of shiv’s room.

alright alright alright

let’s move on to the Sanctuary-III stuff

yessss

i love the quest objective thing, it looks like we will be able to swap through our quests with the push of a button! also im curious why exactly we’re going to promethea right away. i wonder if the twins say something about moving there after getting the vault map/lilith’s powers, or if we hear from rhys. im expecting something about the vault map, since our vh will admit they don’t know rhys at all when talking to lorelei. but for some reason we need to be within the city limits? since lily says ellie got us within the city limits. 

hmmmmmm. okay, okay, maybe the map was trying to lead us to promethea for vault reasons during that short amount of time that we had it and it was working. maybe promethea is what we see when tannis is activating the key during that one cutscene? ohhh shit how dope would it be if we got that fucking easter egg message? omg “Children of the Vault. Come to Promethea. We are not on Pandora anymore. Tannis is not what she seems. Do not open the Vaults.” and everyone is like ‘uh did that thing just mention Tannis by name??’ and now it’s REALLY important to get the map back just so we can figure out wtf it’s trying to tell us. 

i will question how ‘Tannis is not what she seems’ would affect character relationships, especially if it’s said so early in the game. so perhaps we only hear the first part of the message. maybe it’s corrupted because it was recently broken. iunno. just playing around with ideas. the canon of this game is like flarp putty until sept. 13th

anyway moving on because this is literally the first f r a m e of the video

i like that you can see pandora’s eridian scar. if the destroyer is speaking through eridium to people, it’s gonna bust outta the side of this planet like you wouldn’t fucking believe lmao. eridium is a window to the soul and if you stare long enough into its glossy, shining sides, the destroyer stares back

that or it’s just like a beacon, slowly spreading its influence across the universe. but i like the idea that the destroyer can waltz out of a big enough hunk of eridium. so it will bust out of pandora’s eridium scar. F in chat for pandora but also lmfao the amount of tentacles and rage would be unparalleled.

reality is that the twins are probably farming this scar for eridium to turn into slag for multiple purposes. like brainwashing their cultists, giving them powers, and ensuring their guns have their manufacturer’s quirk (im getting to this in my next post bc im just gonna compile all the ign gun videos into one big post)

the floor art is different from the actual sanc-iii demo. i mention this first in my behind closed doors panel analysis, but im gonna mention it again because this is ~official~. the floor list on the first walkthru of sanc-iii we got had the names of all the crimson raiders and lines leading to their shops. so we had the infirmary/tannis, marcus, moxxi, etc listed on the floor. i imagine this new sanc-iii will change as we get more people on board or if we do a sort of re-decoration of the ship.

also also, it’s cool to see that we have 4 rooms on the minimap, likely one for each of the VHs (and your coop buddies). ive seen speculation that the other, non-played VHs will hang out in their rooms when you’re not playing them, and tbh i really hope this is the case.

we also know this version of sanctuary-iii is after pandora, so there are no promethea citizens aboard yet. which makes me double certain the first sanc-iii video we got takes place either after endgame (explaining why Lily has her tattoos back) or right after Athenas (explaining why Maya is there). which... i mean... spoilers, guys. 

that’s one good lookin fast travel station, holy shit

im in tears over here because “Caution: no steppy”. this is so fucking funny to me

no steppy on me

okay moving on because i will cry laugh over this for forever im allowed

moze’s room is so much different than amara’s

also i notice she’s on the left of the two on the top, which makes me hope the other 4 are reserved for the other VHs (or your coop buddy).

compared to the official sanc-iii demo video

and amara’s room

moze’s is so barren oh my god

someone get this girl like... a colorful throw pillow or something

baaank. also doubles as the secret stash. kinda upsetting, because that is infinitely less loot i can store when i make a lot of characters. also if i upgrade the bank once, is it upgraded across all my other characters too? or are the guns i put in storage slot 11 locked up until i buy the upgrade?

either way, i am saddened because no more mule characters. and way less space the more characters you make and more gear you find, because all gear you put in here is there across all characters. i hope this means our backpacks will be a lot bigger this time around!

supamax mfg shows up again

ppm/04-02 matches up with the number behind the fast travel station. i wonder if this will come into play. if the number changes later in-game im going to freak the fuck out bc that means wherever we are isn’t actually sanctuary-iii

ppm/04-02. remember that 👀

also, the wall behind the golden chest changed from red to steel/greenish. can’t tell the actual color. same as the floor

you know. that color.

“golden keys are popular. you can get some in-game and also get them online”

in-game you say??? im interested! i wonder if there will be some sort of arena (like moxxi’s) where if you complete it you get a key as a reward. i saw people speculating about some sort of randomized boss rush, that could definitely be a way to get gold keys, as well.

oooo engine room! im excited to explore here.

original size is 16. so, we have 40 backpack slots! still... you know... only 1 above the max of bl2, but hey. at least that’s an upgrade. as small as it may be

on the bright side: bank upgrades increase capacity by 5. with a base of 10, and 8 upgrades, we have 50 slots to fill. which is a big leap from the original 24. it is still a shame we have to share these across characters, tho

offline cultist stream? makes me think the CoV really was trying to steal/take over sanc-iii from the crimson raiders and we went to go take it (back?) in Taking Flight. either the CoV found/ordered Sanc-III, or the crimson raiders were building it/fixing it up, their stronghold got taken over, and the CoV were prepping it for takeover.

the shooting range. and if you notice that little CoV symbol in the bottom left there? yeah pretty much backs up my previous theory

all those red bits are tied to ellie’s crew challenge. so we’ll be collecting things for her!

an altar for scooter 😢

“we’re gonna get those cultism sumbitches, believe you me”

where you get yeeted out of Sanc-III. im definitely going to try jumping in it to see if it kills me. doesn’t look like the drop pods are available yet

that’s not clappy, pretty sure he’s hanging out on the bridge right now

schematics for veronica

the thing i was most excited about in this video!

loooots of customizations! which excites me because i know eridium used to get useless late game when you’ve grinded all the raid bosses. it looks like eridum is going to be in ultra high demand. but u can bet ur ass im gonna be unlocking all those fucking customizations asap.

veteran rewards is also super super interesting

hgggggg i wanna know what the shields do!!! 

i like the vault symbol at the top of the item card as well, shows you its a special type of weapon/item. im honestly surprised we’re able to buy ‘veteran rewards’ so early in the game? i mean obvi we won’t have enough eridium (look at the costs!) but it’s wild it’s even accessible. im personally a fan of the first bonus ‘anointed: gain life steal on action skill end’

looks like these guns have been chosen

to give them those special bonuses

i do see that just anointed is not class specific, but the ones that say anointed gunner or maybe anointed siren will be (confirmed by the devs in video).

you pay with eridium, so maybe the vending machine has some way to confer the power of eridium to the guns. or some shit. iunno. it’s possible this won’t be available until the end of the game, hence veteran rewards, and is only being shown to us right now since this is a showcasing video.

pandoran civilian. no promethea civilians today folks! i am CONVINCED that the old sanc-iii demo takes place after the end of the game. at least after athenas.

it’s weird seeing moxxi hanging outside her bar.

is also cool to know that the 4 slot machines are actually available. seems like npcs can play them, but we can use all 4 if we want to. which is really nice

the one on the far left is called the ‘loot boxxer’ and it gives mostly guns lol. i see they are taking jabs. good for them

better pic of the leftmost machines

Zer0 seems to have a bounty board? not sure if this is like a physical bounty board or if they will contact you when they want something dead, but it is cool to note. this isn’t shown in video, just the devs speaking about it.

similarly hammerlock has ‘big game hunts’ where you find “rare, challenging creatures” and kill them for him

apparently we’ll be killing something known as a manvark

this book

i fucking recognize this book

HAMMERLOCK NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

in all seriousness tho

hammerlock probably isn’t in his room because we haven’t rescued him from eden-6 yet.

a cool thing about the crew challenges: as you progress through the game and do these challenges, sanc-iii will ‘grow and change to reflect the things you’ve accomplished’. altho another dev says “sometimes these are optional things, like challenges” 

so now im like oh shit we’re gonna change sanc-iii as we play the game. i wonder if that means we’ll be changing the hull, too. because you know. the blue paint job. we gotta go STEALTH. sneaky beaky into the calypsos fleety

tannis doesn’t have the saurian on her table. also, interesting note, she DOES have the eridian log in the corner. meaning she must have had that before eden-6. interesting... maybe we’ll find more on Pandora.

she is still covered in blood tho. idk i don’t have an explanation for that. don’t think i want to think of one, to be quite honest.

oh no. (those are skulls next to all the gurneys)

“tannis plays a much bigger role in bl3 than she has in past games”. bigger than borderlands 1? that is... impressive. she’ll be running the health vending machines (which is weird bc i could’ve sworn in the promethea demo, zed was still running them... hm.)

another angle of sanc-iii

clappy? you good there?

the devs said they’re using him to plug a hole. i assume the calypsos shot at the ship as we’re leaving or smth.

lily with no tattoos, who also looks significantly more pissed than her other sanc-iii demo counterpart

you know. because she got her tattoos.

also

fucking

lilith says something right here. all i can make out is “Tyreen took my powers. it’s like tannis said. ..... [inaudible] Siren.” maybe some weird word i haven’t heard before? i swear she’s saying ‘like tannis said: a ‘m...’ Siren” but i am not 100% sure. if someone could help me out, that’d be rad.

so its sounding like lilith rushed in with explicit warning from tannis about tyreen stealing her powers, and tannis knew tyreen was some sort of Siren and warned lily, but lily didn’t listen. it could also be that lily is saying something like “im not a siren” but i can’t really hear it if she is. it sounds like she saying a word that starts with m to me. if someone could help me with this i’d owe you my life

whew. i am. fucking TIRED.

im gonna sleep for like 3 hours and then wake up and make food before the fl4k streams start.

[comicgirl08]

Supergirl recap: Red Daughter tries to turn Kara into Dead Daughter

Supergirl’s penultimate episode finds our heroes embarking on different missions, all of which are presumably racing toward the same end goal in next week’s finale.

Let’s start with Lena, who’s such a boss that she bought her mother’s privately owned prison so Lillian could work on extracting Harun-El from James. To ensure her compliance, Lena poisons her and gives her a day to earn the antidote. She also slaps a baby Truth Seeker on her mother’s arm.

“Couldn’t you just waterboard me like a normal person?” Lillian asks, but she also confesses that she paid $14,000 to make Lena’s middle-school boyfriend scram and she tells her daughter that she loves her. Aww! Happy Mother’s Day!

Lena also tracks down Lockwood to let him know that President Baker, and therefore he himself, is working for Lex. Lockwood, who’s got Harun-El-induced red eyes and shedding hair, isn’t pleased by this news and goes tearing off. James and Lena follow.

Before he confronts Otis, Lockwood injects himself with more Harun-El, which is certainly a choice. Dumb-dumb Otis, tucked away in a safe house with video games and what looks like a sweet plate of donut holes, confirms that yep, they’re working toward Lex’s goals of money and world domination. “Supervillain, right, I get it,” says a disgusted Lockwood. Then Otis and Lockwood start to fight. James tries to pull them apart but is overcome by his Harun-El, and in the end, Lockwood rips out Otis’s Metallo Kryptonite heart and bolts.

Lena then helps James to the lab, where Lillian injects him with her anti-Harun-El solution. And when she suggests that Lena didn’t have the ovaries to actually poison her, Lena coolly offers her a vial and suggests, “You should drink it.”

Okay, our next group of heroes are Brainy, J’onn, and Nia, who are tasked with finding the aliens from the DEO desert facility. Brainy’s also tasked himself with telling Nia he’s in love with her because he’s a multitasker.

A unicorn keychain gives Dreamer a vision that leads them to an Amertek facility, but J’onn says Brainy’s odds for successfully Wookiee prisoner gag-ing their way in are too risky. But when he flies off to survey the scene and the young’uns spot the keychain girl, they move in on their own, with Brainy’s image inducer making him look like Lockwood.

And let me tell you, friends, what follows is an amazing 60 seconds of television as Sam Witwer delightfully channels Jesse Rath’s Brainy trying to be Lockwood. It’s *chef’s kiss* perfection. And the Children of Liberty bust them immediately, of course, because Ben Lockwood’s a lot of things, but robotic he is not.

Time for a little light torture. At first, Brainy begs them to spare Dreamer, but the harsher the treatment gets, the more affected he is. Then he starts glitching—and I use that word intentionally. As he tells his captors, he’s from a race of synthetic beings who are time and space travelers with ancestral memories. And those ancestors were very bad people: conquerers and collectors. He laughs and cries, and the lights on forehead flicker and flash.

Then he announces that they rebooted him to be more like his emotionless ancestors. “And that was a calamitous mistake,” he warns before he effortlessly takes out a roomful of guards, smoothing his hair, and collecting his Legion ring.

In a voice several shades deeper and more dispassionate than we’ve come to know, he explains to J’onn, who snuck in disguised as Eve, that Nia could be useful to his plans. He enters her cell and kneels in front of her. She’s clearly expecting that love declaration, but instead, he locks her back up and informs her that she’s to walk through the portal with the other aliens. Then she can astral project and they can liberate the camp.

Nia’s not cool with this plan, but Brainy doesn’t care. Then he performs what to my untrained eye looked like the five-point palm exploding heart technique and leaves J’onn to be captured, calculating that this doubles their odds of success.

Dreamer catches sight of Brainy turning his back on her as she’s waiting to be ushered through the portal, and dang, you thought Brainy was cold? You haven’t met Brain the Fifth.

Finally this week, we have Kara, informing Baker’s henchmen that in the U.S., we don’t just black-bag journalists. They sneer that the CatCo servers have been scrubbed, so bye-bye evidence. She easily escapes the humans, but Red Daughter gets the jump on her with the help of some Kryptonite.

As Red Daughter casually screws a silencer onto a gun, Kara, restrained with a Kryptonite chain, begs her to see that they’re the same. Red Daughter disagrees, calling Kara limited and mocking her cheerleader skirt. (She’s just jealous, Kar-Kar!)

As Red Daughter rants about the American Dream being snake oil, Kara reminds her that she’s got 15 years of Kryptonite tolerance on her and escapes out the window with only a bullet wound in the arm.

She heads to J’onn for patching up (prior to his Brainy/Amertek exploits), and she realizes that if Lex knows who she is, Alex is in danger. But J’onn says restoring Alex’s memories could destroy her mind if her sealed-off neural pathways are opened up through his psychic force. The only hope is that she remembers on her own.

Well, how convenient, then, that Alex just had a dream about Kara’s unexplained strength when they were children. Kelly, who’s casually hanging at Alex’s, suggests the adoption trauma led to adopted sister memories, but Alex says it’s the same weird feeling she had during the recent DEO security sweep. I think it’s happening tonight, friends! The remembering is upon us!

Concerned, Supergirl sneaks into the DEO to work with Alex on locating Red Daughter using a satellite scan. When Haley finds them, she immediately believes their story that Baker’s working with Lex, particularly because she has reason to believe that Lex hopes to acquire Project Claymore technology. (Apparently,pp all six of the engineers on the project recently woke up dead.)

When the tracker turns up Red Daughter, Supergirl ditches Alex and finds an apartment filled with her belongings. “Oh, Rao, she’s stalking me,” Supergirl breathes.

She’s studying a photo of Mikhail when Alex comes in, horrified that Red Daughter’s place looks like Kara’s. Alex describes her fear for Kara as feeling like a piece of her heart is out there in the world, on its own without protection. As she cries, Supergirl takes her hand, but the almost-sisterly moment is interrupted when their mother calls to say that Kara’s there with her.

Supergirl freaks and races to Eliza’s, where Red Daughter’s super judgy about all of Kara’s stuff. She insists that Lex goes by “Alex” and says she serves the collective, not individuals. Kara asks about Mikhail, which was a mistake because Red Daughter believes the Americans killed him. She unleashes the exo-suit and the pair fight, with Kara insisting, “Hope, help, and compassion for all. That’s what I stand for.” But Red Daughter refuses to listen to her warning that Lex will turn on her.

While Kara assumes they’ll be evenly matched in the powers department, Red Daughter brags that she’s “evolved” and unleashes a purple lightning punch that … knocks out the daylight, somehow? I don’t quite understand it, but it’s suddenly dark as she pummels Kara into submission just as Alex arrives on her bike.

Kara the hero, of course, refuses to submit, and as Alex watches the power show, she experiences the return of other memories: Kara roasting marshmallows with her laser eyes, making it snow indoors with her cold breath, rescuing her plane in the series premiere, reluctantly accepting Alex’s offer to save her with the memory wipe.

“Kara,” she breathes just as Red Daughter delivers a terrible blow. Alex tries to intervene, but Red Daughter knocks her down, listens to the slowing of Kara’s heart, and flies upward. Come on, did Lex not teach her the double tap? Alex remembers everything now and races over to Kara’s body, screaming, “Kara, you can’t go!” as their mother arrives. Red Daughter watches from the sky until a distant noise summons her.

Desperate, Alex tells the unmoving Kara that there’s sunlight in everything, stuffing grass into her fists and insisting, “Kara, just take it. Take the grass. Please.” Then streaks of light travel through the ground and flow toward Kara, who’s pulling the sunlight from the Earth into her body. It revives her, and her first words to Alex are, “I missed you so much.” Danvers sisters forever!

Then Haley calls Alex with bad news: She found plans for a compact Claymore that could fit into a Lexosuit. And the television gives them worse news: Kaznia invaded while everybody else was busy with all the other stuff, apparently. The president tells the nation that Kaznia was aided by the terrorist Supergirl, and Lex in a Lexosuit singlehanded thwarted their plans and killed her. As proof, the news shows a dead-looking Red Daughter in Lex’s arms.

Snaps of the cape

Questions! I’ve got ‘em! How did the Kaznian invasion slip by such that everybody’s hearing about it for the first time on TV? Who can un-reboot Brainy? Was Red Daughter’s purple lightning what brought down Lena’s plane last week? Who else instinctively screams “Wolverines!” when they see the title “Red Dawn”? Is Red Daughter really Dead Daughter? I mean, she can’t be, right? We need her “Mikhail’s still alive!” redemption arc.

Such fun acting challenges for both Witwer and Rath this week! The former nailed the “Brainy-as-Ben” vibe, and the latter gets to create a whole new approach to his character. I can’t wait to see how this storyline unfolds, but I hope it ends with a lot of groveling for forgiveness from poor Nia.

Are you ready for the finale next week? I am (give us more Lex!), and I’m not (the show’s been so fun this season!). Until then, super-friends…

[glitterychaosprince]

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A/N: This was inspired by the song Time Machine by BOTDF, sleep deprivation, and half a liter of coca-cola. I hope you all enjoy this one-shot.

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Angela woke up with a smile on her face as she wondered what her loving boyfriend had planned for her. She chuckled as she grabbed her bath robe and wrapped it around her before heading downstairs to the kitchen. Her smile slipped from her face when she saw the letter neatly folded on the table. Picking it up, she read it. 'I'm sorry for leaving without telling you but me, Ever, Freed and Bickslow had a mission to go on. See you when I get home.'

Angela felt a tear run down her cheek which she quickly wiped away. 'I can't believe he forgot again,' she said with a depressed chuckle. For the third year in a row Laxus had forgotten her birthday. Had gone on a mission with them and told her through a letter.

And it wasn't just her birthday. Valentine'a Day, dates, anniversaries, all conveniently forgotten and traded for missions with the Thunder Legion. Angela had spent the past three years hoping that one day he would prove her wrong, but every time he ended up disappointing her. 'That's it. This time I'm gonna do it.'

~TIME SKIP 2 WEEKS~

Laxus walked into the guild with the Thunder Legion and smiled as he saw Angela sitting at the bar talking to Mirajane. He loved her more than the world itself and he had found the perfect thing to give her after the three years they've been together. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms protectively around her. When she didn't react at all he turned her chair around. 'Is something wrong Angel,' he asked caressing her cheek.

She gave him a weak smile before placing a light kiss to his cheek. 'No Laxus. I'm just tired. I think I'll head back home and take a nap.' He nodded and watched as she left.

He was about to go talk to his grandfather when he noticed the faint disappointed look on Mira's face. 'What?' he asked, slightly annoyed at her because of it. She just sighed and shook her head, going back to managing the bar and pouring drinks.

~TIME SKIP~

Laxus smiled as he entered his and Angela's shared house only to be met with an unnatural stillness to the air. Frowning he went to their bedroom and gently knocked on the door. 'Angel, you up?' he asked as he opened the door only to find the bed untouched with a note placed on his pillow.

Frowning, he picked the note up and read it. Then reread it to make sure that it truly said what he had read. 'Dear Laxus, I'm sorry but I can't do this anymore. For the past three year's you've not only forgotten Valentine's Day and our anniversary, you've also forgotten my birthday and dates we had planed weeks in advance. Everyday I woke up and saw another of your notes was a day my heart cracked. So I'm sorry, but I'm leaving. I already had master remove my guild mark and by now I'm long gone. Hopefully next time you find someone dumb enough to fall for you you'll treat her with more respect than you did me. I tried to be patient, but my patience with you has run out. I hope you have a nice life.'

Laxus crumpled the paper and sat on the edge of the bed, not even bothering to try and stop the tears that were falling. The room was silent aside from his sobs. He should've followed her earlier today. He should've asked gramps if he knew if something was wrong.

He pulled the small jewelry box from his pocket and opened it to reveal the sapphire ring that he had gotten for her. That night he had been planning on proposing to her, but now it's all over. If only he knew how to build a time machine. Then maybe he could prevent himself from being so stupid. Why couldn't he have, just once, remembered the things they had planned in advance. Remember her birthday without her having to remind me about it. Say no when Bickslow and Ever drag me on a mission.

There was a timid knock on the bedroom door and he looked up to see Freed standing there with a shocked look on his face. 'She left,' was all Laxus could manage to get out before he broke down again. Not to his surprise the green haired mage came over and tried to comfort him, but nothing would sooth the pain he felt deep within his chest.

~TIME SKIP 8 YEARS~

Laxus walked around Crocus as he waited for midnight to come. It had been eight years since Angel had left him and it still hurt to think about her. Of course it didn't help that seven of those years he had been sealed in time so it was technically only a year ago that it all happened.

As he was drifting off in his thoughts two small children ran into him. 'Sorry mister,' the black haired girl shouted before her blonde haired brother grabbed her wrist and started dragging her away. He couldn't tell why, but they looked so familiar to him.

He smiled as the boy gleefully dragged his sister off but it soon faded once he saw the lady they were heading to. 'Mommy, can we please go to Ryuzetsu Land?'

'Angela?' he breathed out but it was loud enough to distract her from what she was about to tell the boy.

She turned around and looked right at him before clearing her throat and putting on a straight face. 'I'm sorry but do I know you?' she said.

Laxus frowned. 'You were always terrible at lying,' he said with a chuckle as he approached her.

Angela steeled herself for what he would do. She expected his anger but when he hugged her she felt like crying. 'I've missed you so much,' he whispered into her ear. He then pulled away and looked down at her children. 'So what are their names?'

She smiled and rubbed Jane's head as she hugged her leg. 'Jane and Ash,' she said as she picked Ash up.

She was about to try and get away from him but before she could do anything he brought up the one question she didn't want to answer. 'Hey Ash,' she said to get his attention. With a fake smile she handed him some jewel. 'How about you take your sister into that toy store over there and buy something, okay.'

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Once they were gone Laxus asked again. 'So who's the father?' He didn't really want to know, but he also wanted to make sure they were being taken care of.

A sad look crossed her face as she stared into his eyes. Are free online slots fixed. 'When I figured out I was pregnant I was half-way across Fiore and by the time I got back to Magnolia, you had been kicked out and I couldn't find you. Eventually I came to Crocus and went into labor and have been here ever sense.'

Laxus felt like he had been punched in the gut (except lower) as what she was saying sunk in. 'They're mine,' he whispered as he looked to the ground in shame.

Angela nodded as she looked towards the toy store and laughed at what she saw. Jane and Ash were trying to capture Bickslow's babies as they flew around the big lug. 'You better not harm my children you idiot,' she shouted at him playfully.

He looked up and a big smile spread across his face, his tongue sticking out. 'Long time no see Angel. Where you working now?'

She let out a small chuckle. 'As a bar maid for the Sabertooth guild. The master's strict but it pays well and Jane and Ash love Frosche and Lector, so I'm not gonna complain too much.'

Angela checked her watch and gasped at the time. 'Jane, Ash, come here,' she called out as she worried about being late. 'I'm sorry to cut this reunion short but I have a dinner date with friends before the games start. See you later.'

With that she left, leaving Laxus to watch as her and their kids left. 'So who's the father?' Bickslow asked with his babies chanting 'father, father.'

'Me,' he said with a longing look on his face. 'Now I really wish I had a time machine or some way to go back and fix my mistakes before they happened.'

Laxus sighed before turning and going in the opposite direction that Angela had gone, thinking of everything that he had missed out on due to his own stupidity. He remembered one day Freed told him that over time he would feel better, but at this moment he couldn't have felt worse. He was completely aware of how his own stupidity had played a major role on her leaving him. Had caused him to miss out on the first seven years of his children's life.

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But he swore at that moment that he would find someway to capture Angela's heart again and convince her to rejoin Fairy Tail and become his wife.

He sighed as he came to a stop and removed the box from his pocket and opened it to look at the ring it contained. He would convince her to be his and then he would never let them go.

Slot Machine Fairy Tail Coloring Pages

Not until the day he was forced to leave them forever.

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[fuckyeahbadasswomen]

The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Margaret Tobin was born on July 18, 1867 in Hannibal, Missouri to John and Johanna Tobin; two poor Irish immigrants. Contrary to the myth, she did not survive a flood as an infant not did she have a nanny goat for a wet nurse. Maggie, as she was known back then, was educated by her aunt up to the 8th grade, equivalent to a high school education today. She then began seasonal work in the Garth Tobacco Factory for several years. Pretty soon, Margaret was 18 and had no suitable marriage prospects. In the spring of 1886, she bought a train ticket and moved out to Leadville, Colorado to live with her brother Daniel and hopefully to find a rich miner to marry.

James Joseph Brown

At first sight, Margaret rejected any idea of possibly marrying James Joseph Brown. She had come to Leadville to find a rich husband, and JJ was by no means a millionaire. However, after just a few months of courtship Margaret decided it was better to marry for love rather that money and on September 1, 1886 they were married. Pretty soon they had two children Catherine Ellen “Helen"  and Lawrence Palmer “Larry" Brown.

Family Portrait, taken in Leadville

After marrying JJ, Margaret began lessons with tutors, studying reading and literature as well as piano and singing. The happy family lived comfortably for several years in  Leadville right up until the US government repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, switching from silver backed currency to the gold standard which is still used today. This was really bad news for Leadville, which mainly relied on silver mining. Long story short, JJ discovered gold, became a millionaire and the family moved down to Denver.

The Family Home in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Denver

Now for the good stuff.

One of my personal heros, Margaret was an incredible humanitarian, philanthropist, feminist, and activist.

Some of the incredible things she did include (in no particular order):

Organize soup kitchens for poor miners and their families in Leadville, with her two small children in tow no less

Helped form the Denver Women’s Party, was involved in Colorado politics, and was part of the women’s suffrage movement at both the state and national levels

Was fluent in 5 languages

Donated money to the Denver Dumb Friends League (animal shelter, still open today)

Organized the Carnival of Nations, a festival in Denver to raise money for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. She had booths representing cultures from all over the world, including Native Americans, which was very much frowned upon. She and her husband JJ also donated quite a bit of their own money to the project. Interesting side note: once the Cathedral was completed, Margaret attended every Sunday she was in town. She was known to walk in a few minutes late (you can literally see the cathedral from her house) so everyone would have to turn around to see what she was wearing that day.

She worked with Ben Lindsey to create a juvenile court and detention system, similar to the system in place today. Before this, children would be tried as adults and sentenced to adult prisons, or left unpunished entirely because the judges couldn’t bring themselves to send child into such awful conditions. Margaret hosted functions (including an annual function at the Opera) and donated some of her own money to help fund Judge Lindsey’s cause.

She ran for state Senate three times

Margaret’s official campaign portrait

She attended the Carnegie Institute

She organized nurses and supplies in a relief station in France where she herself was an ambulance driver

She offered her cottage in Newport, Rhode Island to be used as a hospital

She translated books to Braille for soldiers who lost their eyesight due to mustard gas

She earned the French Legion of Honor Medal for her efforts during the war (really big deal!!)

Yes, she did survive the Titanic. But there is so much more to the story than Hollywood makes it seem. Margaret was on the deck of the Titanic and used her 5 languages to help get people off the ship. There was supposed to be a training drill the morning before it sank, to this day we don’t know why it was cancelled. Margaret is telling the passengers things like “it’s only a drill, you’ll be back soon” knowing this was the best way to save as many people as possible. Many did not want their families to be separated, or they did not believe the ship was actually sinking. You couldn’t tell until it was too late. It is believed that Margaret would have gone down with the ship had she not been forcibly put onto a lifeboat by two crew members. Once her lifeboat reached the water, Margaret took off her many layers of clothing (she dressed like an onion before leaving her room) and distributed them to the other women and children in her life boat. She then instructed the first class women to begin rowing. This was important to a) prevent hypothermia and b) not be sucked into the ocean by the undertow of the ship when it finally did sink. Once their lifeboat was found by the Carpathia, Margaret used her excellent organizing skills to collect and distribute blankets and clothing to the survivors of the Titanic from the passengers of the Carpathia. She also collected money from the first class passengers and survivors to give the the third class immigrants once they reached New York. She had some difficulty convincing them to donate, so she put a list with all the names of the first class people with the amount that they had given (or not) it didn’t take long for the 1st class passengers and survivors to realize they should donate as to not tarnish their name. She raised $10,000 equivalent to about $250,000 (USD) today. When the Titanic Survivor’s Committee was formed, she was of course appointed chairwoman. She attempted to testify in the Senate hearing but was turned away because she was (shocker) a woman. She did however help fight to change Maritime policy to families first (instead of women and children first) and ensure that there will always.be enough lifeboats, life jackets and properly trained crew members to prevent disasters like this in the future.

When on vacation in Florida her hotel caught fire, and she helped guide the other people on her floor out the fire escape to safety

She sang, yodeled, played the piano and classical guitar

She worked as an actress in NYC, living in the Barbizon hotel (men were not allowed past the lobby, this building was symbolic of a cultural shift in the ‘20s). She also taught acting, and had her own studio in the hotel.    

She died in her sleep in 1932 from a stroke brought on by a misdiagnosed brain tumor. She is buried in the Holy Rood Cemetery in New York.

Margaret Brown is so amazing and I can go on about her for days. Forgive my rambling.

Sources: Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth by Kristen Iversen

Random facts I know (I give tours in her home)

Pictures: Google?

If you have any questions, please ask!

I’m planning on writing about Justina Ford (the first African American female to be a licensed physician in Colorado) next, but if you guys have any suggestions please let me know!

[freshaslime]

What I like/don’t like about FE games that I’ve played (contain spoilers)

I just want an excuse to talk about my favorite series so I decided to make this post. Some of you maybe could relate to this or not, either it’s fine. I’m also open for conversation if you want to elaborate further. 

Disclaimer: This is super subjective there’s no way everyone will agree with me and it’s okay. And yes I really need to play Tellius games but my laptop is not strong enough to emulate it. 

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of The Holy War (FE4)

What I like: Great politics and world building. The way the map and story are connected are amazing as well. It has also has great cast (Lewyn quickly became my favorite anima mage). For some reason, it feels like I’m controlling an army while playing this game and makes the game feel big. I also have embraced the broken Holy Weapons. Oh and the auto save feature is great, I wish they would implement it to the other games. 

What I don’t like: They don’t tell the player about how the game works, like arena, inheritance, pairings, and money. If a player has to check a guide to understand basic things about the game, then it has a problem. Going across the map for 10 minutes after 5 minutes battling can be boring as well. 

Fire Emblem: Binding Blade (FE6)

What I like: Igrene’s supports. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and read it now. Hard mode is full of suffering but those hard mode bonuses are so great and beautiful. It also has great pre-promotes, this is the game that makes me appreciate them. Zephiel’s nihilism view on the world is really interesting and it makes him one of my favorite villains. He also has a badass animation, honestly the animations in the GBA games are cool as heck. 

What I don’t like: A R C A D I A. A fog of war desert chapter that has wyvern knights coming at the army and with a horse unit and a useless dark mage are forced to be deployed along with reinforcements at your tail is bad enough. But no, they had to include a sandstorm effect. I get it that it relates to the story but omg it always makes my eyes watery and uncomfortable. No other map gives more physical pain as this one. It also has ambush reinforcements but I don’t have too much of an issue on this game. RNG is… weird in this game. Roy is a dead weight until he promotes #NotMyBoy. Sophia can go to join Nino, Amelia, and Ewan.

Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword (FE7)

What I like: Battle Before Dawn is super fun. Hector and Lyn are cool lords. I’m not a huge shipper but this game has most of my FE otps (Lyn/Rath, Pent/Louise, and Matthew/Leila). Also Black Fang is a cool name for an organization. 

What I don’t like: Rain. Overall, this game is like Eliwood, mediocre. Both story and gameplay-wise, which is both good and bad at the same time. Rain. Considering that this is the prequel of FE7, Lyn’s addition feels weird since she’s nowhere to be found in FE6. Rain. Also Nino, I know you’ve been through a lot but thanks for making FE6 happen I guess, smh go join Sophia, Amelia, and Ewan. Rain.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (FE8)

What I like: Overall, this game has the strongest cast in the series and good villains as well and I couldn’t praise it enough. It’s super fun to see Ephraim being a gary stu and everyone embraces it. The Rausten defense map is pretty fun as well. The split campaign encourages replayability which is nice to have. Also I gotta mention Seth somewhere so they you go.

What I don’t like: The short campaign hurts, especially with an enjoyable cast. It also wouldn’t hurt to have more difficulty level, for people who wants more challenge. Amelia and Ewan can join Sophia and Nino. 

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (FE11)

What I like: Save spots, it’s only second to FE4’s auto saves feature imo. Caeda and Wing Spear are a blessing. I also quite like the portrait art. Good gameplay experience overall, since this is my first FE game and I got HOOKED after finishing it. Last but not least, Anna/Jake is otp. It also have a lot of difficulty levels, which I feel every FE games need.

What I don’t like: The 2.5D battle model looks weird on the DS. No supports hurts this game too. It has a huge cast and without any development for them, a lot of them are easily forgotten. The gaiden chapters requirement only makes it worse. Also hey ambush reinforcements that’s slightly more annoying that FE6’s

Fire Emblem: New Mystery of The Emblem ~Heroes of Light and Shadow~

What I like: They removed FE11’s dumb gaiden requirement, thankfully. Battling Legion, while the map is nothing special, it leaves me with a strong impression, probably because of his “Uweeheehee”. It’s quite similar to FE11 so I don’t have much to say here.

What I don’t like: The way Kris is handled as the avatar doesn’t feel right, I don’t oppose of Marth having an advisor other than Jagen but idk it’s like they both try to stroke each other’s ego. At least Kris got a monocle I guess. Oh and CAN WRYS STOP ASKING ME IF I WANT TO BE BALD??? Go hang out with Bantu or something smh. Honestly it’s been a while since I’ve played this game and I forget a lot about it. You can say it’s not too memorable.

Fire Emblem: Awakening (FE13)

What I like: Fun characters, except for a select few. There are some interesting and enjoyable supports in the game too (Gaius/Libra’s doughnut rain support always makes me laugh). It’s awesome if you’re playing to make great children with high stats and all the skills and see them break the game. Cutscenes and some maps look amazing. Great voice acting too. 

What I don’t like: The story falls off a bit in the end for me. Some characters stretching out their gimmicks too much. Open wide maps with ambush reinforcements are not a great match whatsoever, much more annoying than FE11’s since Awakening has relatively smaller maps (someone please correct me if I’m wrong, I’m talking out of memory here). Lunatic is difficult in a bad way with those enemy-only skills. Some of the class skills are completely inferior compared to the others.

Fire Emblem: Fates (FE14)

What I like: Overall, I like the balancing they did with pair up, reclassing, and Lunatic mode. The added personal skill is great and gives more personality to each character while some new classes skills added aren’t completely useless. The new classes are fun to use too. The cast is pretty good as well and there are great supports as well (shoutout for Charlotte/Kaden). Birthright wins in the story department, while Conquest deserves the praise for gameplay (Chapter 10 is frustrating when played blind but afterward it’s a complete fun), and Revelations leads in having everyone on the team and doing themed run on. I did a maid/butler run and it was amazing to see a huge ass dragon was killed by a team full of well dressed maids and butlers. 

What I don’t like: There are cases of missed opportunity on some of the characters here. Some outfit designs aren’t the best. It’s sad because the armored knights looks great, especially with the black and pink armor for Benni and Effie and then there’s the cavalry with thong. The excuse for children is bs. My biggest gripe with Birthright is that there are maps who would do just fine with “defeat the boss” goal but nope, it has to be “route the enemy”. It sucks to have finished killing the boss but can’t end the map because there’s still enemies at the other side of the map (Camilla’s underground chapter I’m looking at you). With Conquest, it has a weak story, even in FE standard which not high at all. Roy needs to thank Conquest!Corrin for taking the worst lord position from him. Revelation plays too much on gimmicks on the maps. The elevator map makes me want to cry out of sadness honestly. It also has balancing problems with the recruitable units. You don’t put a level 9 Dark Mage and a level 5 promoted bow user on the same map or make a unit useless on the map they join in.

[nixalegos]

Mundane Meeting

Horde garrison known as The Shadowhold- Frostfire Ridge, Draenor.

Nixalegos sat and looked at the nervous faces of his officers and lieutenants from his seat that was for all purposes, a throne.  Rineah stood behind him and to his left against the wall, not that any of them could see her, though none of them were dumb enough not to suspect Nix’s assassin was there. He’d personally chosen them to lead his operations and business ventures all over Azeroth and beyond. It didn’t pay to employ fools.

It was a pity then, that one of them was. One of them was a spy.  And while he didn’t know who technically they worked for, the Legion, perhaps a rival warlock, mercantile interest, or another criminal with a budding network of their own. It didn’t matter, and he wasn’t inclined to find out who. Everyone spied. It was the nature of the world. But he wouldn’t let it slide either. It was important to handle such issues as soon as you found them. But first, and most importantly, business. “Reports.” Was all he said, the rest knew the pecking order.

The goblin, Daxbolt Screwshot, was first, the only agent that wasn’t issued an area to manage. Elemental Shaman or not, the accountant was simply the finest bookkeeper Nixalegos had ever encountered.  “Trilliums been -real- good to us lately, rivaling felslate and leystone easily. The ‘Hold itself has shown a forty percent increase in profits since our last gathering, on account of most other champions and adventurers have left their own bastions here on Draenor fallow or utterly abandoned.” Came the nasally voice. Nixalegos simply nodded. Screwshot was making too much easy money counting coins and too cowardly to face his boss’s wraith to do anything so dumb.

“Your welcome.” Hawkrage Earthwound, the Tauren quipped. A bruiser with a talent for breaking legs and keeping the Tiller’s Union of the Four Winds out of their profitable business buying up fertile land and drilling deep for said trillium. He too started to boast about his numbers and the minor issues of maintaining said mining deposits as Nix only half listened.  The warlock already knew everything they’d all be officially reporting anyway. Money and figures and projections. 

The armored thug was just smart enough to know not to cross him.

Ranseul Vivadali, the human was next, and the only one of Nix’s inner circle not to be of the Horde. The human flashed a nervous smile, and started to recite his statistics and factoids. It was his job to keep an eye on Alliance news and rumors from his position. And Nixalegos knew the lesser Invoker had no designs to rise higher, content with the status quo.

Chainer Deliquax, Forsaken tracker of the Eastern Kingdoms, came after.

Rayzo Bitterbrew, Pandaren Cutthroat, after that. 

Jazrulaz, Darkspear Druid. 

Caeron Downheart, Sin’dorei monk ended it.

They all came to be called upon, and in turn all delivered their reports. It was hard to imagine any offer could be so tempting they’d risk all this. They didn’t get to their positions without considerable effort and sacrifice.

Life was full of small bitter disappointments.

He sat in silence for a few moments, letting tension and nervousness creep up on them. They all had their own networks under them, and Nix had feed each of them a small morsel. That there was indeed a traitor, but that the self styled Lord of Nothing didn’t know who it was.

That part was a lie. He’d known for a week, but the assault upon the Broken Shore had taken up his attention. He’d finally gotten time to...correct the issue, personally.

“A final matter, before I return to Dreadscar.” The words being the cue for Rineah to reveal herself at his side. Her radiant, wild smile was...suitably unnerving for the rest of them. It was obvious she was looking forward to this. And they all collectively knew what ‘this’ was.

“One of you has seen fit to betray me and sell out my secrets. Not content by the thousands of gold I pay you, and the hundreds upon hundreds more I know you all skim off.” Rineah moved to walk around the table, pass the chair that sat Screwshot. Who was sweating so hard he’d been able to put out a small fire elemental were one there.

Indeed, as she made her rounds, Nixalegos watched the faces of the others gathered, to watch the signs of fear, the nervous twitches they couldn’t hide.  Pass another chair the leather clad female went, like a horrific children's game.

Nix took that moment to speak again, slowly, dramatically, voice filled with contempt. “You all have sub officers who’d cheerfully murder whole towns to be in your positions, to make the money you do. To lead others in your not inconsiderable areas of influence.” Rineah made another pass around the table, only this time pausing behind the chair of Earthwound. Nix thought that was a nice touch. As the tension became so thick Nix could have used it to build a house. Useful or not the thug was getting a bit too uppity. Perhaps the shadow of his own death hanging over him would remind him the cost of being a braggart when it wasn’t needed.

The moment of relief was audible as Rineah slinked off again as graceful as a panther. The massive armored tauren had shuddered and sighed, his too big hands shaking on the chairs armrests.

The all too cheerful looking woman pass chair after chair again. She stopped at Downheart. Nixalegos just smiled.

The monk tried to stand, but Rin was faster, hooking her own arm under the monks and across his neck, her starting position more then enough leverage to keep him there as her other hand rose up, blade in hand and came down like an ice pick at their neck just above her wrist. Again and again and again her wicked blade was driven in and withdrawn in a gory display that splattered the vital fluids onto the table, splashing onto the others in droplets and trails as Rineah simply went to town on the bastards throat amid pathetic gurgling sounds that sounded like begging. Nix couldn’t help but notice that some of the blood was blackish in coloration. Interesting, so it had been the Legion spying. One mystery down. A long time, and a dozen lethal stab wounds later, a corpse slumped onto the table and bled out its last. No one moved save Rin, who wiped her blade off onto the back of Downheart’s chair looking quite pleased with herself. She’d likely ask for cheesecake tonight.

“I will accept recommendations for their replacement now.” Nix said.