#scythe of the emperor

[kouratdrhuii]

Invictus Tactical warsuit ready to join the Scythe of the Emperor.

Commission work

[pantmonger]

Scythes of the Emperor! (test mini)

Playing with the idea that the genestealer kiss would progress through each generation of geneseed implantation, just as it does though generations of births, giving rise to hybrid space marines!

[wh40kartwork]

Mansirius Thracian

by Katerina Andreeva

[0ut0fr34lity]

Owl House

I've noticed tumblr seems to like my fanart, and so, I present to you: Hunter from the Owl House!

There's also Belos, Luz, and Eda. I made an AU of TOH x Arc of a Scythe, so that's where those come from. But I'd definitely say Hunter was my favorite character. I loved his arcs. And he just feels like such a brother to Luz. I love the show and wish Disney wouldn't have cut it short. It was beautiful.

Just as a note, if you like my art in general, would you consider viewing my other posts? I'd love it if someone wanted to know my ocs stories, but I only want to share them if someone smiles about it, yknow? So if you are interested, please take a look at my OC posts <3

[gorasgwyrn]

My Scythes of the Emperor sergeant cheered the squad to victory against the Tyranids.

[vampcompany]

got the btvs tarot deck as a gift and wow she's so pretty

[clover-cat-commissions]

Apothacary Diamtis

[theartofmetal]

27. Emperor - Emperor (EP - Black Metal, 1993)

Art by Gustave Doré: "Death on the Pale Horse", 1865

[dr-stiches-that-40k-bitch]

The Last Known Thought

    Prologue: Clio

    The rain is always harsh on this planet. It’s cold, dark, dampening, hellish. He couldn’t handle the constant pattering, the constant slamming into their camp quarters. He finally awoke in it, grumbling underneath the breath of his. His hands encrusted in dirt and muck already, his feet stepping down from his cot and beginning to look around to see if any of his brothers were awake. Counting them all in his head, the Lieutenant, specialists, Sergeant, and more.. Wait. Where is Furos?

    He looked towards the ends, seeing the tarp peaked right out and a path of footprints. Following them lightly, and soon peaking out, there was the hulking mass himself. Furos was kneeling down, right next to a little girl. Clio was well aware of her, Zofia. The only family he had, true family, along with being their own Astropath for their personal ship. The Squad was all sound asleep, but by now they were waking up too.

    “Uncle Furos, will we see each other on the field?”     “I’m sure. You’ve worked hard, prove to the chapter you’re worthy enough..” His lips pressed up against her forehead, kissing it goodbye as he made his way back. Clio immediately threw himself back, scrambling away. He had just witnessed his own brother essentially promise an astropath a position on a battlefield. Not good..

    ‘He can’t allow it, Castelos had already hated the girl. Nothing but scum to him..’, his mind races. It was panting at its own rate, letting himself try to ease himself away.

    ‘It’s fine.. It’s fine.. Furos knows what he is doing. Castelos is a spiteful man for a reason. I assume..’ He was confused about Castelos himself. Castelos was naught a bad brother, one whom he puts faith into the Emperor in full, along with being one of the better specialists. Ammo carrier was a job suited to the bruff man of Castelos. Soon, Furos broke his thoughts, patting his shoulder,

    “Clio, you seem.. Off. Is everything alright? No issues on the homefront?”, the bellowing voice echoed. Even for a newly made Primaris Marine, Furos stood tall. 3 metres tall, his height was nothing to scoff at. Standing above Clio at this height, he looked down towards the talons, soon pulling out his rosary.

    Slapped into the hand of Clio, the rosary went. Furos was a gentle soul, giving a grin that could make anyone smile. Looking into the yellow teeth, the mutton chops, it was something that no man could forget. Clio let his mind speak, the buckling armour clanging the rosary back into the palm of Furos.

    “You do what you can, Brother.. It's all we can do in these times. Our hope and future lay within us, so let’s work on it, yes?”

    “You speak truths! I can’t say it better, even with my reading..”, he cackled out. Furos Make. 239. A soul of youth and a better future. A keen reader. Clio felt a presence around him that moment, something off putting. It felt as if death had just touched him, soon fading and dissipating away. It was something he couldn’t understand nor wish to comprehend.

    Clio shook his head, looking at Furos and nodding. He nodded Furos away, soon walking back to their armoury area. There was just an off-putting detail on this day. The plan was simple though for them, at the very least.

    2 weeks ago, they had landed on this planet of Greytha, a planet of fields and farms. It was nearly conquered already, the final battle against a human contingent that’s refusing to appeal to the Imperium of Man. There were shadowy things funding their weaponry and more though, weapons akin to an enemy they’ve encountered.. At Damocles themselves, the T’au.

    The T’au remained supplying and funding at this moment, but recent recon had proven the landings of reinforcements of Fire Warriors, so now their battles have increased. The whole 2nd Company had been deployed into this sector, all to combine against this sudden landing. Only the great Josephus of Sotha could have ordered it, so now he had dubbed it. Lines were thin at the moment, so the 2nd Squad had been called to press into a line that had been holding for 5 days. A push, to add a bulge into the battle and truly reaffirm the strength of the Scythes.

    Maybe this could add more. The assault was decreed on this day, and Clio had been pushed around enough. It began with that morning incident, but now it’s getting worse..

    Much worse..  

[narejane]

OC REDESIGN!!!!

YAYAYYAY IT'S BEEN 5 MONTHS NOW IT'S FINALLY TIME😈😈😈

New lore, She's apparently an assassin/Exorcist under the jade emperor's order, since she's capable to kill but would die at some point, she will, she's pretty strong but she's also weak of the strongest being such as swk, macaque, the hell she'll die if she mess with mk tf💀, so she's not that special of a character and just kills for a job life to maintain rent:3

HER ABILITIES!!!!!!

As no one knows, Nare is a smoke demon:D!!! so it's pretty obvious why this is her healing method, plus not only the bombs only heals her it can also it also makes her stronger like merging with the smoke, getting bigger like macaque's smoke monster. But if she runs out of it, fire smoke can be also exceptional!

So like I had the inspiration in an anime, so basically when she detached some parts of her body, it's transforms into any weapon possible, the bigger part she detached the bigger weapon. But she mainly uses the scythe more since she's an assassin/Exorcist:D!!! Like death itself:3 to demons only

Ye ye, I like this one a lot:3 inspiration from Rapunzel the series Cassandra:D! But red obsidian>:3 (idk if that actually exist but SHHSHSHSH Delulu is the solulu)

Just for her to make her job easier to hunt down the demons she was scented to kill:3

Bonus new lore:

Not biologically but emotionally:333 but only nare feels that but nezha just sees her as a coworker/friend, she kept calling "father" because nezha took care of her like one,he manage her life to be better cuz he found her dying on the ground 🥹,but nezha just can't picture himself as a father since uhhh... *cough* *cough* iykyk

[kouratdrhuii]

Bladeguard veterans

Commission work !

[englishsub]

book rec by me

so you want to get back into reading books but have no idea where to start and disdain booktok (if you get me started on this however i will become an unskippable cutscene so that's for another day). understandable. there is so much out there and it is all so overwhelming and you don't even know what you like now that you've been a decade out of the game. again, understandable. it does not have to be scary. i will help you. below i have created some categories that can get you started.

i want to read Literature

literary fiction, with crossover from historical fiction and magical realism

PEACH BLOSSOM SPRING by melissa fu

THE VASTER WILDS by lauren groff

THE FAMILY CHAO by lan samantha chang

OUTER DARK by cormac mccarthy

SEVERANCE by ling ma

LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS by ryka aoki

IDENTITTI by mithu m. sanyal

PIRANESI by susanna clarke

i want to read sci-fi/fantasy that won't break my brain

sci-fi and fantasy that is gentler on the brain cells. easier to grasp magic systems with multiple but not an overwhelming number of overlapping plotlines

EMILY WILDE'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES by heather fawcett

KINGS OF THE WYLD by nicholas eames

THE JASMINE THRONE by tasha suri

THE CITY OF BRASS by s.a. chakraborty

A RIVER ENCHANTED by rebecca ross

JUNIPER AND THORN by ava reid

BLACK SUN by rebecca roanhorse

THE FINAL STRIFE by saara el-arifi

THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER by andrea stewart

i want to read sci-fi/fantasy that forces me to lock the fuck in

i would not recommend picking these up as your first foray back into books after many years of not reading recreationally, but i'm not your mom.

THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER by simon jimenez

JADE CITY by fonda lee

THE FIFTH SEASON by n.k. jemisin

THE RAGE OF DRAGONS by evan winter

A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE by arkady martine

GIDEON THE NINTH by tamsyn muir

THE ART OF PROPHECY by wesley chu

THE GRACE OF KINGS by ken liu

horrify me!

there is far more to the horror literary canon than stephen king and dean koontz, i promise. consider looking up warnings for these.

TENDER IS THE FLESH by agustina bazterrica

THE RUINS by scott smith

CONFESSIONS by kanae minato

EPISODE THIRTEEN by craig dilouie

REPRIEVE by james han mattson

MARY by nat cassidy

DEAD SILENCE by s.a. barnes

AUDITION by ryu murakami

THE SALT GROWS HEAVY by cassandra khaw

don't care, i want romance

some of these feature crossover genres, like fantasy and horror.

VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE by isabel cañas

DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS by sue lynn tan

SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE by tia williams

HAPPY PLACE by emily henry

ONE DARK WINDOW by rachel gillig

i want QUEER romance

again, a mix of historical, fantasy, and contemporary crossover genres.

WE COULD BE SO GOOD by cat sebastian

IN MEMORIAM by alice winn

MOST ARDENTLY by gabe cole novoa

A STRANGE AND STUBBORN ENDURANCE by foz meadows

A MARVELLOUS LIGHT by freya marske

THE EMPEROR AND THE ENDLESS PALACE by justinian huang

SPELL BOUND by f.t. lukens

SORRY, BRO by taleen voskuni

ONE LAST STOP by casey mcquiston

DELILAH GREEN DOESN'T CARE by ashley herring blake

i haven't felt anything since i read percy jackson/the hunger games in middle school/high school

adventure is still out there.

SCYTHE by neil shusterman

WE HUNT THE FLAME by hafsah faizal

SIX OF CROWS by leigh bardugo

GEARBREAKERS by zoe hana mikuta

i'll read anything that's not straight or white

many books in the above categories fit this, but here's even more, across a variety of genres.

LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by malinda lo

BABEL by r.f. kuang

WHEN THE RECKONING COMES by latanya mcqueen

THE UNBROKEN by c.l. clark

IF YOU'LL HAVE ME (graphic novel) by eunnie

LEGEND OF THE WHITE SNAKE by sher lee

THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone

SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN by shelley parker-chan

"all ya books suck"

like any other genre or book age group, there are duds and there are standouts. ya is not special in this regard. try some of these!

DIVINE RIVALS by rebecca ross

STRIKE THE ZITHER by joan he

THE RED PALACE by june hur

A STUDY IN DROWNING by ava reid

EMPIRE OF SAND by tasha suri

LEGENDBORN by tracy deonn

i check out and read a lot of these books for free via my local library by using the libby app (you can even add your friends' library cards to gain access to libraries in places you don't live). when i'm feeling like reading via audiobook, i use libro fm!

look, no one HAS TO read diversely. no one is going to be reverse fahrenheit 451'd and locked in a room with no fanfic and only books and not let out until they work their way through the entire literary canon. but reading, and reading widely, and reading diversely, is what teaches people to form their own opinions and question the things they are told. it's why they hang up stuff like "READ READ READ!!" in grade school classrooms.

we live under systems that increasingly benefit from going unquestioned. no, of course reading ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE by robin hobb is not going to dismantle these systems tomorrow, nor probably even in our lifetimes. but doing it will help set up a world capable of doing it in the future. and until further notice, we are all part of this wretched world. might as well read a good story while we're here.

anyway, i'm reading THE WEST PASSAGE by jared pechaček and the new cmq book this week.

[mapsontheweb]

German Colonisation in the East to c. 1400

Beginning in the eleventh century, new arable land was made available in the German kingdom through the clearing of forests and use of irrigation. The new three-field system (originating in northern France) was introduced, by which peasants alternated between winter crops, summer crops and fallow, resulting in increased agricultural productivity. Moreover, several agricultural techniques and equipment were improved: harrows and ploughs were made of iron, the scythe was further developed, the horse replaced the ox as draught animal, there was increased use of the threshing flail, and grains were processed with water mills (and wind mills from the twelfth century onward). Together with the generally favourable conditions of the so-called Medieval Warm Period, this intensification of agriculture led to people having a better and more stable diet and thereby an increase in birth rate. While sparsely populated during the ninth century, the East Frankish (German) kingdom came to rival the population of France sometime during the twelfth century. Farmland was divided and older villages were replaced by so-called Hufen villages and the size and number of cities increased, in turn causing a rise in the price of agricultural goods. Germanic peasants were invited to settle in the lands of German princes in the imperial border marches, as well as Slavic lands such as Bohemia, Moravia, Pomerania, Poland, Mecklenburg and Silesia. From around 1125, a combination of political motives and missionary urge caused the Holy Roman emperor Lothair of Supplinburg to call for increased settlement of lands in the east.

Germanic settlement in the east happened in three general ways: (a) creation of uniformly planned large villages, where settlers received equal land grants and could pass on their holdings as hereditary possessions (b) settlement in cities built by Slavic princes in hitherto Slavic lands where settlers received judicial and administrative autonomy – including the right to build fortifications – and German Law received a privileged position, based on that of an already well-established city in the German heartlands (cf. Magdeburg) (c) settlement in already well-established Slavic communities where settlers could keep their German Law, which was often extended to include the non-Germanic population. By the end of the fourteenth century, the eastward settlement of Germanic people largely ended and much of the agrarian population went to live in the cities, causing many smaller villages to be abandoned. According to the recommendation of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Slavic populations were generally left undisturbed by settlers, and economic communities where Germanic and Slavic populations lived together were often the rule. Nevertheless, many territories east of the Elbe and later the Oder came to be Germanised over time and crusading campaigns against pagan Slavic and Baltic peoples throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries resulted in much bloodshed. Moreover, the introduction of a new ship, the cog (Kogge), allowed Germans to take part in the lucrative Baltic trade, which they soon came to dominate at the cost of Slavs and Scandinavians through the Hanseatic League (founded in Lübeck, 1356).

by undevicesimus/deviantart

[brucewaynehater101]

Hear me out for mixing Emperor Tim and Spider Tim. Spider Tim does not want any of the Bats to know about his spider form, but Young Justice knows all about it. It started because Greta asked him about the magic she could sense in him and Tim telling them that he had some "thread based magic" and took a few strands of his silk to wrap around Cassie. She had to genuinely try to break out of just 5 loops of this hair thin thread. They ask him why he doesn't use this all the time and Tim simply shrugs, "I can't make a lot of it. The older I get, the more I'll be able to make bur for now? I'm stuck with only a few dozen yards a day." This isn't quite true. He can currently make about 50 yards but it will grow with time.

Months later, they run into a magician who casts an anti magic barrier around them, canceling out Tim's Glamor and he immediately transforms into his spider form. He looks back at himself and then yells, "you rat fucking bastard! Do you have any idea how rude it is to out people as non human who aren't ready to come out yet?! I'm gunna fucking *eat* you!" To which, he does. They do a Q&A as Tim devours his meal in the saftey of Bart's space ship. Tim tells them about how dangerous poachers are to him and why, how his mom is the best ever and what normal spider demon parents do, why he's actually eating the guy, and when someone asks about his civilian ID, Tim says, "I still can't tell you but bow you've seen why. You know what I am. I just told you how much of a problem poachers are. If word gets out that I'm a Spider Demon and one of you guys slip up with my civilian name, it's not just me at stake. It's my mom and her siblings and my cousins and my siblings who I've never met. Our families don't meet up because of how dangerous the poachers are,how they could and would decimate our entire population at the drop of a hat. You think they don't use truth spells on us to try and pry who our family members are out of us? You think they won't use those same spells on you guys to force you to tell them who I am so that they can hunt down and exterminate my family? I can't risk that, even if I trust you guys with this form. But... I can tell you guys that you can call me Tim." Having such a good explanation for why he cant tell them beyond "Batman said I can't" should let up a ton of tension in the future and make when he does eventually tell them all the sweeter.

Tim decides that when he's visiting his planets, he doesn't have to worry about Earth Based Poachers so he uses his spider form. He has to admit that it feels *really* nice to stretch out his limbs for so long and also climb up and down walls. Plus! None of these people know to fear spiders! He doesn't have to worry about looks of disguste or hatred simply for what he is! His citizens still think he's adorable and sweet and small.

His spider form does *not* help with the problems with the GLC because the moment the humans see a picture of him, they are all reeling back. John will never admit that he has a phobia of spiders. Kyle freely says, "it looks like it's a spider demon. There was rumors of one running around back on Earth for a while. I never saw it but if it is, then it's extremely dangerous." And Hal pipes up, "I saw it once and that is definitely the spider demon that was running around. I didn't get to see it for very long, but I was hunting down a magician and saw it fighting that thing. It was horrifying, that thing chopped the guy up with its front, scythe like legs and after it killed the magician, it ate them! And then it vanished. But how did it get into space and become the leader of this empire?"

Hal did see Tim do that. What he didn't see is that fact that the magician was a poacher who was planning to also go after the other Bats thinking that they were definitely creatures too. Of course Tim wouldn't allow his family to be hunted like that by someone who would tell them his greatest secret. So he made sure they couldn't and had a nice snack in the process.

Tim deserves to snack on that magician. That was rude af of them to do that to him (although I doubt they cared and they can't care now that they are dead). Do magicians taste differently? Like static or something?

I'm also curious about how YJ treats Tim's OG form. I bet he oscillates between severely unbothered (it's who he is, why should he care?) to being self conscious (Bats and others have expressed their dislike of spiders and his form could cause him to be taken out by a poacher). He just flips between these two depending on various variables.

I'm also curious about Tim killing and the No Killing Rule. How will Bruce react to this?

I do like the addition you did for GLs. I wonder if they try to reach out to John Constantine about the spider demon taking over the universe. I love Tim and Constantine interactions, ngl

[insert-something-funy-here]

PHIGHT OR PHLIGHT

Happy holidays!!! Here's chapter 4!! I might have a special present by christmas for yall if I'm not too busy :)

Hope yall enjoy stinky man crashing out while his rogue robot reconsider his career change!!

Bit of a content warning here: religious ideology and character death, read at your own discretion.

Part 1 || Part 3 || Part 5

Using the power of a god as a battery, how laughable. But this connection could do more than that, it was a direct way of influence. Granted it would be easier to leave him as he is, but where’s the fun in that? Besides, he’d get there eventually, may as well speed up the process and play with the product. Frankly, it doesn’t truly matter either way, alive or not, there’s nothing that can’t be manipulated.

Biograft could feel the air of the room around him, he lies shut down on the workbench as Medkit integrates the eye to power him. He felt the air inside him, his poor cooling system barely keeping it moving. He felt himself fall deeper than his body, he felt something other than himself in his code.

“That man may have created you, carved your mind, but I gift you life, soul.”

When making him, Subspace used hard code. All Biograft had known was the simplicity of set values and fixed data. Outside of that were the servers, all updates and new information being inputted through them. That was all he had to think about, all he could think about. But some loose line of code allowed for something more. But right now, he was still just code.

“ You’ll exist proper thanks to me.”

He could feel something new brewing inside him. Hear the gentle hum of energy flowing through him, replacing the electricity he ran on. He felt him. The Father changing him.

“You could consider yourself one of my children, as I am the one to truly give you existence through a fraction of myself.”

This pushing, crowding, invading of his innermost self. Is it even him thinking?

“I hold all my followers dear, but you? I have high hopes for. You best not disappoint. I have no use for a child which cannot provide back to me.”

Is it him thinking? Or is it this invisible force living through him? He felt the whirrs of his fans, but was it him making them move? He felt a gentle pulse as his new core began to stabilize. Did he have a heartbeat? Or was it just this hidden lord which forced its mimicry. Did he breathe? Or was the air he felt just commanded by some remorseless emperor to move as such?

“Don’t worry, don’t fight, you’ll receive what you wish, just don’t fight it.”

He felt his being expanding, preset values becoming dead weight. Stored data becoming memory-like. Simple intake and analysis becoming learning. As though he were being created, no, birthed for the first time. His limitations being stripped, he could edit his own code. But this came with a weight to it, the burden of a soul always does.

“Now then, what have you to say?”

He could speak whatever he wanted, but knew the response he owed.

“Thank you Father.”

Bigrafts lights turn on, a teal color replacing the orange they were before. The projection on his face now only showing one eye, the other replaced by a cactus flower. He sits up as Medkit watches anxiously. Biograft looks away from him and to himself, opening and closing his hands. Everything had this new depth to it; he felt his joints, his “skin”, the ever so slight warmth from the lights across him, and Medkit’s stare. After a deep breath and clearing his throat, Medkit breaks the silence, “How do you feel?”

Biograft thinks for a moment, realizing how the question doesn’t overwhelm him. He’s feeling a lot, but he’s able to think through it now. “I feel… I feel content. It’s odd, I have so much on my mind, but right now I feel okay.”

Medkit’s expression shifts slightly, showing some relief and a bit of surprise, “Good… that’s good,” he nods, “I should let Scythe know we’re finished.” Biograft nods and watches as medkit leaves. He steps off the workbench and stretches, it’s a familiar sensation, yet it’s different now. He looks down and notices the Blackrock emblem previously on his chest now replaced by that of the Lost Temple. Scythe’s and Medkit’s entrances interrupt him.

“Well lookie here!” Scythe steps in front of him, looking him up and down before putting a hand on his shoulder, “lookin like real family!” She gives a gentle squeeze before letting go and turning to Medkit, “You did a fine job on him. How’s his gear lookin?”

Biograft looks at Scythe confused, knowing what he’s about to ask she answers first, “Well we have to make sure ye distinguishable from the others don’t we? Don’t worry, I’ll teach ya how to use it.”

Medkit goes to one of the counters while Biograft responds, ‘I’m sure I’m capable of learning my own gear-”

Scythe cuts him off as Medkit walks towards the two with Biograft’s new weapon, “Aw but where’s the fun in that, besides you’ll already be with me for the next lil while considerin’ I gotta show you around.” Biograft opted not to respond, recognizing his lack of choice in the matter. He looks at the double-headed spear Medkit hands him, the ends having been taken from his old swords, but they’re now the same teal his lights are. He takes it and steps back in order to spin it a few times, feeling the new weight in his hands. “Havin’ fun?’ He stops as Scythe speaks, “Now, I got one last thing before we get going, you need a name lil guy!”

Biograft looks at her confused, so she continues, “Well we can’t just keep callin' ya Biograft, you’ll get mixed up with the others! So let’s give you a real name-”

Before Scythe gets a chance to continue, Biograft interrupts, “I want Medkit to pick it.”

Scythe chuckles under her breath and the two of them look at Medkit expectantly. Medkit thinks to himself for a moment. Seeing as he should be named after his gear the first word to come to mind was jägerstock; however, that doesn’t run off the tongue particularly well. It’s also known as a hunting staff… “Hunter.”

Biograft, no, Hunter stares at him before nodding, “That is my name now,” he looks at Scythe, “Hunter.”

“Well then, since that’s settled, we oughta get goin,” She walks to the door, motioning for Hunter to follow her, “See ya round ‘Kit.”

Hunter looks at Medkit for a moment, having so much more to say, but only manages to get out, “Bye,” with an implied, ‘for now I hope,’ before leaving. Medkit returns a quick goodbye as Hunter walks through the door.

Being left alone, Medkit reflects. The remaking of Hunter's gear was a familiar process, it reminded him of just how much he missed his old work. Gods, he hated being a doctor. It was such a miserable thing. But he couldn’t just stop. Not when there are people to help. That’s why he lives, isn’t it? That’s why he has the abilities he does. Why his crystal is different from Subspace’s at least.

The two had carved tangible pieces of the Iphinity which solidified into the crystals they used for power. It asked them what they wanted. Subspace said to destroy, Medkit said to help. The equipment they used has long been destroyed and Medkit made sure to take his notes before leaving. It would take Subspace some time to figure out how to repair the machinery missing half the processes for such.

Subspace’s crystal was much better at holding and channeling energy, while Medkits was better for manipulating it. That was how he healed people, simply reversing their wounds. It’s how he’s able to revive them.

It helps people, but he hates it.

He hates it. He hates the panic of being too late. He hates the chance that there may be a day where he cares for those he could save no more than Subspace does his test subjects. He hates that he cares underneath it all. He hates that he knows that day has long been coming. He hates it. He hates it. He hates it.

But what he hates most, is that there are demons he can’t save, because he knows he’s one of them.

A couple days pass, Scythe training Hunter and teaching him the church’s ways. If it weren’t for The Father’s energy keeping him alive, he wouldn’t have followed any of the beliefs they were spoon feeding him. Though, he only took a couple to heart.

He doesn’t need sleep, but finds mild satisfaction in it, so he continues the habit. Today Scythe wakes him, seeming quite excited, “Get up! You got yer first mission today!” He gets up from his bed, leaving the mostly empty room and follows behind Scythe as they walk through the church's halls. “It’s a simple one, we’re gettin’ some gears for a dear patron of the church. It’ll be interesting seeing how ya do against a triple for your first kill, but I think you’ll do fine.”

Confused, he asks, ‘A triple? Please clarify.”

Scythe laughs, “A triple is a demon who’s gear has three main parts, instead of the usual one. They’re rare, ‘bout as rare as healers. Doubles, like me, are still pretty rare, but not as much as them. The one you’ll be goin’ after is named C.G. and wields a saber, rifle, and flag. We’ll be makin’ our way to Thieve’s Den.” Hunter nods, remaining quiet for a few seconds as he takes in the information.

“You said this would be my first kill. That is incorrect, unless you mean in the context of my working for the church.” Scythe stops in front of him and starts laughing.

She turns to face him, “Aw, bless your heart! You really think what you’ve done before counts?”

He looks at her confused, “Why wouldn’t it? Those demons are dead.”

She continues to laugh, Hunter unable to tell if it’s genuine or mockery. She takes a deep breath before staring him down, “Let me ask you somethin’, have you ever felt the weight of a life in your hands?” Before he can respond, she steps closer, “I know you’ve killed, but that wasn’t when you were living, that was when it was all you were meant for. All you were made for, because you were just a machine. Don’t misunderstand, you're still a machine, but you’re alone now. An individual that can think and feel fer itself, bearin’ the burdens of life. You haven’t killed like this.” She takes another step forward, “You have to take now, knowing you can be taken from just the same. You have a life now, you have something- well, someone, to loose. Still think you can kill the same?” Hunter finds himself unable to respond, tense. She grabs his shoulders, “Aw, you’ll be okay, there’ll be consequences if you can’t, but I know you it in you. Besides, family’s here to help, I’ll be watching your first couple missions, so don’t worry about anythin’ goin’ too wrong, alright?” Hunter hesitantly nods. Scythe lightly pats his shoulders before stepping away and the two of them leave the church.

“DAMN IT” Sucpace yells while throwing various supplies off one of his lab tables, glass shattering and various substances sprawling out on the floor. Hyperlaser observes his tantrum from afar. He had come to ask about the sudden drop in security, but found this instead.

“What the hell happened?” Whatever it was was definitely going to mean lots of work for him, so better to just get to the point.

“They got away! They- Medkit and that Biograft, they’re alive and they got away!” Subspace’s voice chokes up as he starts a coughing fit.

“A Biograft? Really?” That would explain the current state of things, but it was still hard to believe. Still not fully understanding, Hyperlaser asks a bit more forcefully, “What happened.”

Clearing his throat, “I had him cornered. Biograft was supposed to help, I had him. Medkit was right there in front of me, and that corrupted Biograft punched me off! Medkit’s bullet took a chunk of my side!” He motions dramatically to the injury. “Then they ran off!” he grips the table, about ready to throw it like he did with all the supplies which previously rested on it. “He took it! He broke him! He-”

Hyperlaser cuts him off before he could get too absorbed in his rant, “I assume you want me to retrieve him?”

Subspace pauses for a moment before grinning under his mask, seemingly a bit calmer, “No, no it’s fine, I’ll get back at him! I’ll just go back to the plan I had before! It’ll be perfect! I’ll take from him like he did to me!” As Subspace starts to laugh to himself, Hyperlazer decides that it’d be smart to leave. Subspace, not really noticing or caring about his exit, brings out an older set of files and starts writing on a nearby whiteboard.

All he has to do is kill Sword! That’s all! He’ll kill him, figure out some way of animating his corpse, and use him to get to dear ol’ Meddy! And once Meddy is dealt with, fixing that rogue robot is next on the list. How dare Medkit corrupt his son. There’s nothing wrong with Biograft, all his inventions are as flawless as he is! This one just needs some… correcting! With Meddy out of the way, it’ll be easy! But first things first, that son of a sword.

He arrives in a desolate grassland. There’s only one person other than him and Scythe. That’s the target, just a quick kill, then he’s done.

He arrives at a house. There’s only one demon inside. A Slow and painful death is what he deserves.

Hunter quietly approaches them, weapon ready in his hands.

Subspace begins flooding Sword’s house with a newer variation of his usual poison gas.

They stand and turn to face Hunter. They remain in a cold silence, waiting for the other to make a first move.

The Home’s air is suddenly chilling, but it takes Sword a while to notice something’s wrong. He hears his front door open and stands up. He sways and almost almost falls over going to see who just came in. He can't see much more than a tall figure, but there’s only one person who would walk into his home unannounced like this.

It’s hard to tell who swung first, but it didn’t matter considering neither of their attacks were hitting. Hunter still being unused to his weapon put him at a disadvantage. The demon he was fighting was weak, but knew how to use their gear in ways that made up for it. All it took to get them on the ground was a slight misstep and a smart calculation.

“Dad?”

“Go on, just make it quick.”

A sharp pain in his gut followed by laughter and a distorted voice, “Oh dear child, is that who the poison made you see?” he asks mockingly before continuing to laugh. He pulls the weapon out of him, watching as Sword falls to the ground. He says, “You both deserve this.” before stabbing him once again.

Hunter was caught off guard by the sudden surrender. The fight was a difficult one, but they were fighting. Perhaps there was something more he was missing, but he had to focus and get this over with.

As Sword lays bleeding out before him the air starts to feel tense, and not because of his poison. Without warning Subspace is suddenly thrown into a wall, it almost breaking from the impact. He coughs and takes a moment to regain himself before looking forward and seeing someone holding Sword.

And with one swift movement, it was.

They were gone.

They were gone, lying still, resting.

Scythe steps forward as Hunter stares at the body before him. For the first time since having the ability to feel, he felt nothing. Blank and void. Or perhaps he was feeling so much he just couldn’t feel it. Regardless, he was numb. Trapped. Scythe Picks up one of the gears, “Aw look, baby’s first kill!” She’s about to congratulate him, but without warning a familiar red rope wraps around him and steals him away. ‘SFoTH Damnit!” she huffs, picking up the gears and chasing after Hunter and his captor.

The rope around Hunter lets go as he finds himself next to Katana. ‘So you are the Biograft he mentioned.”

Hunter had questions, but they both knew it wasn’t long before Scythe found them, “My name is Hunter. Who told you about me?”

Katana sighed, “Hyperlaser.” Before Hunter asked anything more he asked, “Why? Why do you join them? They are corrupt. You are a hatchling young and blind. They are clipping you of wings you have yet to grow.”

“For someone I care about.” Biograft stands, readying his weapon.

A few moments pass, Katana processing his words, “I see. Then I shall cut you down as I would any of them.” He begins charging his weapon. Before either can move, Scythe steps in.

“Well, well, well, been a while hasn’t it?” Scythe smiles at Katana.

“Far too long. I'll see to it that your head is permanently severed from your body." He grimaces under his mask.

She chuckles "How violent! It's funny how some things never change." Scythe turns to Hunter, “We’ll leave for now, don’t need to drag the newbie into this! C’mon.” Scythe turns invisible, Hunter copies.

“Your corruption truly knows no bounds,” is the last thing they hear from Katana as they escape back to the church.

This was not good, not in the slightest. Sword was dead yes, but now his father was beating Subspace to a pulp. Venomshank knew he would outlive Sword, he always knew that. Relationships of any kind between gods and mortals never ended happily. But this wasn’t how Sword was supposed to die. This wasn’t when Sword was supposed to die. That boy had so much potential, and was such a kind soul, only to die like this. Venomshank should’ve been faster, he should’ve dropped what he was doing the second something felt off, should’ve trained him better, should’ve spent more time with him, should’ve… Should’ve better shown his care. Showed his love. Showed how Sword is and always will be a part of him. He should’ve actually followed through on his duty and promise to always be there for him.

But he’s already gone. The cause of his death almost gone too. Though Subspace is laying on the ground, coughing and wheezing, something’s wrong. He’s going to do something, but what?

It’s well known that when two phighters sacrifice their gear to the spawn, they obtain a biological child. The SFoTH deities being the exception. So what if one sacrificed their gear to god? A gear is attached to one’s soul, there’s plenty of worth in it. But is it enough for a blessing? Subspace had gone over the possibilities before, it was likely nothing would happen, especially considering the decay starting to corrupt his gear, but what else was there to do? He wasn’t going to just lie there and accept death, he was supposed to be making others do that! So in a last ditch effort, he calls to the only god he thought would respond and offers himself.

“ILLUMINA!!”

[clover-cat-commissions]

Brother Talon walks to war, DEATH TO THE TYRANIDS