#war thunder supersonic

[beardedalcoholic]

Space Cowboys

The humans had abandoned them. After seemingly endless cycles of fighting the battle was about to be lost and the war with it, and the humans had left them to fight for themselves.

‘So much for the legendary pack-bonding of humans.’ Krillna thought to himself as he leaned around his bunker to lay down some suppressing fire on the enemy. Tungsten rods magnetically accelerated to near supersonic speed ripped into the battle field and enemies died by the dozens…but it wasn’t enough.

Seemingly endless waves of the reptilian enemies known as the Slentine seemed to crawl and slither towards their position. Fields of scales and fangs greeted him every time he looked around his barrier, looks of desperation and hopelessness looked back every time he turned away from the battle.

“You would think the humans could have at least left us the weapons before they ran like cowards!” cried out one soldier before he was cut down by enemy fire.

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’

“Did anyone else hear that?” Krillna asked after firing another salvo of rounds towards the slowly advancing enemy. Looking at his ammo counter and seeing it was empty, Krillna threw his weapon to the ground and grabbed the ceremonial bone dagger the warriors of his people were gifted upon maturity.

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’

Holding the blade to his chest and breathing the prayers of his youth, Krillna begged the seven skies of his homeland for the power of the mighty storm, pleaded for his spirit to be flown on the winds to his ancestors. Finding himself at the end of his prayers and ready to face the enemy head on and to fight tooth, bone and claw in the ways of his ancestors, Krillna couldn’t help but think he heard something on the wind again. Looking to the forest side of the battlefield, Krillna felt a rumbling through the pads of his clawed foot.

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ RAWHIIIIIDE!

With the sound of thunder and snapping trees, Krillna felt all three of his hearts stop and fall.

Gierophants, mighty horned beasts weighing several tons with great crests of hardened skin behind the skull to protect the neck and a row of spines extending the length of the spine, each one several times as tall as Krillna’s seven foot frame. Easy to anger, nearly impossible to outrun, harder to damage and often found in herds of fifty to one-hundred the gierophant was this world’s largest inhabitant, but Krillna thought he saw something on the back of the lead beast.

Humans.

Humans were riding the gierophants…a herd of what looked to be sixty or more and each one had a human standing on the snout of the creature and even more behind the crest or between the dorsal spines.

RAIN AND WIND AND WEATHER

The humans were either lashed to a spine or each other with lengths of rope and each one was firing wildly into the horde of enemies, hanging sideways from the flanks of the great beasts, weaving between the spines, crouching behind the crest and all were firing their rifles.

HELL BENT FOR LEATHER

“Sir? Am I having a substance dream or are those humans riding Gierophants into the Slentine ranks in a stampede while singing what sounds like a human battle song?” A young warrior asked in disbelief as the battle field seemed to come to a stop. The pause didn’t last long as the slentine soldiers quickly turned their weapons on the stampede of human madness and animal rage.

WISHING MY GIRL WAS BY MY SIIIDEEE!

“You are most definitely seeing this pup, the crazy humans went and did the impossible again…WARRIORS OF CANTRAXA!” Krillna called out to the stunned warriors behind him, filled with a renewed hope for victory.

“DRAW YOUR BLADES AND RELOAD YOUR WEAPONS, THE HUMANS HAVE GIVEN US THIS CHANCE AND BY THE FIRE PLAINS OF OUR HOME WORLD I WILL NOT STAND BY AND MAKE NOTHING OF IT!” Holding his blade high above his head the Pack-Master let loose the battle cry of his ancestors with such ferocity that it seemed to ring from the very heavens, turned from his comrades and ran face first into the chaos of the newly evened battle.

ALL THE THINGS IM MISSIN’

Three hardened battle packs of Cantraxa warriors, thought to be beaten down by sheer numbers and attrition, thought to be defeated and simply too stupid to understand… howled. Each and every one felt what the humans referred to as battle lust and with the feeling of fire singing in their veins each and every one reached deep into their souls and called the ancient war cries of times long past. GOOD VITTLES, LOVE AND KISSIN’

The humans sang on, swinging wildly from the sides of the Gierophants or hanging on with one hand and firing with the other, seemingly oblivious to the rounds of enemy’s fire flying past them. With every human felled the others seemed to sing louder. Krillna was in awe of these small hairless creatures as he ran towards the battle, they rode the great beasts of this world like they were born to it, they faced a horde of enemies without fear and sang their defiance in the face of death and defeat. ARE WAITING AT THE END OF MY RIIIIIIDEEEEE~

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The battle was won, the slentine ranks had been broken in half by the stampede and when the front ranks turned to fire on the new threat they were drowned in an avalanche of fur and fang, bullet and bone from the Cantraxa warriors.

The humans had run over and shot down much of the enemy, the field had been churned to a bloody mud pit of broken bodies and weapons, the Gierophants were long gone by then, the humans had dismounted and returned to base.

Krillna watched in curious amazement as the humans went about their post battle chores.

Groups of humans combing the battlefield for survivors, pulling bodies from the muck and determining if they could be saved or not. Slentine and Cantraxian alike were given final honors or medical aid…mere hours before these small hairless maniacs were riding juggernauts of death into battle while singing and laughing and now, they were providing aid and respect to not only their comrades but the enemy as well.

Amazing graaaceee

A hauntingly sad and seemingly profound song floated like fog over the battle field from somewhere among the humans.

How sweet the sound

Funeral pyres and graves were dug according to cultural wishes, wounded were cared for regardless of species or alignment in the war. Bodies counted and tears were shed that day and as the last sun in the sky fell below the horizon, Krillna found himself surrounded by his warriors and humans.

Holding a strange liquid in his cup, the humans called it beer…or maybe stout?...Krillna looked to the leader of the humans as she stood upon a table laden with food and drink.

“Tonight, we celebrate our victory!” The humans cheered and the Cantraxans yipped and howled like pups.

 “Tonight, we mourn our glorious fallen!” With a silence that choked the very soul, every human raised their drink to the memory of those they had lost and drank deeply. Krillna and his warriors all mimicked the humans in their silence and honors.

 “Tonight…we honor our worthy enemies.” The commander of the humans raised her cup one last time and as one all the humans followed. Krillna could not see the reason behind the last one but was not about to comment on it while surrounded by humans.

Instruments were tuned and soon employed to their fullest extent as humans began dancing and singing, wagers were made, games were played and for a few moments Krillna could almost believe that they were simply back in his homeland celebrating the lunar convergence festival.

Spotting the human leader on the outskirts of the revelry Krillna silently approached the human as she slowly drank and watched those she had shed blood with. Stepping on a fallen can of some kind alerted the commander and as she whipped her head towards Krillna, he froze in place…the look in her eyes was not that of a celebration, but rather that of battle mad soldiers. Items within reach categorized as weapons, responses and plans ranging from peacefully violent to disturbingly chaotic flashed through her face in seconds. Her grip on the cup she held and the tensing of her muscles told Krillna that she had to stop herself from launching the cup at his face.

Raising his clawed hands in a sign of peace Krillna approached the commander slowly. As he approached the tiny human, no more than five feet tall, Krillna noticed tears leaking from her eyes in a steady stream cutting tracks through the remaining dirt and grime upon her cheeks. Hands shaking the commander raised the nearly impromptu projectile to her mouth and took a steadying sip before addressing the large warrior.

“What can I do for you Pack-Master?” Asked the commander as she turned her eyes back to the celebration before her.

“You do not celebrate victory like the others? Why do you spill tears so freely War Mother?” Krillna asked, using the honorific of the greatest female warriors of his people.

“I uh…it just takes a little time for me to wind down from battle and get into the spirit of things, eventually I’ll head out and show these youngsters how to really party but for now I will just have to deal with the aftermath of the adrenalin.” The commander said with a small shake to her voice.

“I have heard of this adrenalin, most species would simply die if exposed to it but you humans produce it naturally?” The Pack-Master asked.

“Yes, our bodies naturally produce it and well…it dissipates quicker for some and for others it sticks around longer. Battle madness, bloodlust, berserker rage and more are just different names of the same thing, active or excess adrenalin…our minds are changed and muscles freed of restraints while under its influence but afterwards we have to put the beast back in the cage and deal with the mess it made, physically, mentally and spiritually.” The commander responded with a look in her eyes that said she was looking deep into the past.

“How did you humans tame the Gierophants? It was previously thought impossible to even safely approach them never mind ride them or direct them.” Krillna asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from the maudlin thoughts the commander seemed to be sinking into.

With an almost visible brightening of her features the commander looked up at Krillna.

“We didn’t actually tame them, we were trying to find either a good escape route to get everyone out or possibly a way to ambush the Slentine army, make them fight on two fronts as it were. We ran across the herd of Gierophants by accident and sort of came up with the plan on the spot, we figured if they started to stampede in our direction the base would be destroyed but if they went just little to the side they would hit our enemies. Jackson over there used to be what we call a ‘Cowboy’ and said if you can point a bull’s nose in one direction the body would follow, so we made some lassos and climbing rigs and well, the rest is history.” The commander finished with a small shrug and a decidedly less shaky sip of her drink.

 Krillna was almost to shocked to breath.

“You found a herd of the planet’s largest and most dangerous animal, decided to irritate them into charging you with the enemy directly behind, hoping that they would run over said enemy and while they did that you threw ropes on them so you could climb onto them and ride them…you humans are insane.” with a shake of his great furred head Krillna could only thank the seven skies that these lunatics were on their side.

With a laugh the commander tipped the last of her drink back and wrapped her hand around one of his fingers, his hand being large enough to completely encompass her own, and began to pull him towards the firelight of the bonfires, a mischievous light in her eyes and a smile that spoke of wicked delights to come on her lips.

“Oh you haven’t even begun to see the madness of humanity, come and we shall sing you songs of our people.” The commander laughed as the crowd enveloped them, music wound through the air like smoke, soldiers and warriors alike danced and spun and Krillna could only laugh as he downed the rest of his drink and threw reservations to the wind with a final thought.

‘Humans are weird, but wonderful.

[meowmeowmeowmeow4x]

Supersons +1 propmt fill Part3 Tr3s

The sprinklers activated in an instant and covered the centre in a deluge of water. Whatever scientists remained scrambled to recover what remained of their creations before the water could irrevocably damage them. In a hidden corner, one Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent made knowing glances to each other, a mutual agreement reached in seconds after decades of friendship. With the help of a crowbar, the men quickly pry open one of the exit doors, making way for panicked civilians to exit the premises, 'Brucie' giving comfort to those distressed by the recent events. It wasn't long before they had to make themselves scarce. They had their sons to rescue, there was no time!

As Bruce and Clark snuck out into the empty hallway, having been quickly evacuated by a Gothamite's natural self-preservation instinct and discipline from years of attacks. They nodded, and went their seperate ways. Clark to go change into his Superman outfit, and Bruce to calm the inevitable deluge of reporters before changing into his own costume.

Cameras flashed over the front entrance to the event, blinding the last few stragglers to leave, and Bruce, standing tall against the crashing sea.

"Mr Wayne! What can you tell us about the new villain that Joker has teamed up with?"

"Mr Wayne, how does Wayne Industries intent to secure future events from attacks on this scale?"

"Where is Damian Wayne? Sir how can Wayne Industries secure the future of Gotham if you cannot protect your own children?"

"Mr Wayne is it true that you allowed Jack Fenton to attend the event despite knowing he was a quack?"

And on and on and on. Bruce never intended to give these people what they wanted. He had children to save, and investigations to conduct. Before he could excuse himself, however, a roaring boom echoed down the street like summer thunder. Reporters screamed as they trampled over each other to escape the path of a silver behemoth charging down the road. Thick metal plates lined its exterior. A large satellite dish adorned its top, and jutting out from the sides were massive guns. The van sported too many OSHA violations to be anything less than a tank on four wheels than any civilian vehicle. Batman will have to crack down on whatever corrupt whitecollar criminals allowed this monstrosity on the roads.

The van charged right up to where Bruce was standing on the pavement, before coming to a terrifyingly rapid halt, so sudden that the entire vehicle jerked forward from its momentum. It would have been cartoonish if it hadn't stopped cleanly right in front of him. The front door slammed open, and a pair of black-gloved hands grabbed Bruce by the shoulder. In public surrounded by cameras, Bruce was helpless but to comply.

"BRUCIE WAYNE! I'VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU!"

Bruce scanned the interior of the van in an instant, clocking in the undignified Clark Kent clinging to his seat like a child to their parents leg, tie messed up and suit creased. His classes were crooked on his face. "He just scooped me up like I was paper mache, Bruce!" The man's voice was shaking.

"Strap in Brucie, because the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle cares for no trivial matters like traffic laws, or even physics laws!"

What kind of branding was this? "The Fenton Family wha-" Jack slammed the gas. The GAV rocketed into max gear in an instant. The force threw the poor man off his feet. Bruce went hurtling into the backside of the GAV and crashed with a bang. The G-forces kept him glued to the wall like a black-suited starfish, at least until Clark extended an arm to peel him off.

"I'm starting to think you might be right about him being a supervillain." Clark whispered.

Bruce grimly nodded.

"Alright so now that we're all together, here's the plan folks!" Jack said, tone all too cheerful for the chaos he was creating on the road. Innocent cars swerved out of the way of the advancing war machine. Pedestrians clung to lampposts and fences as gale force winds blasted them from its wake. "Let's start with the bad news: Our kids have been spirited away by suffering spooks! The good news: The Fenton Radar works!" Jack tapped on a screen on the van's console, showing two beeping dots on a radar map.

"BUILDING!" Clark yelled. They were rocketing right into a townhouse.

Jack yanked the wheel to the left. The GAV turned 90 degrees in about half a second, turning both passengers into ragdolls thrown across the side. On the outside, a subtle Superman-shaped dent was visible. "Thanks for that, Clarkie! Now I'm sure you guys aren't as experienced as me and my lovely wife Maddie are in hunting ghosts, but don't worry! I can give you a crash course."

"Please don't say crash course." Clark quivered.

"Could you maybe slow down?!" Bruce yelled over the roaring engines.

"No can do, Brucie! Any slower and the GHOSTS will leave the Fenton Radar's range, and then we'll never get our kids back!"

"I think I'm going to be sick." So Kryptonians can get nausea from high-speed vehicles, interesting. He'll have to update his file.

"The Joker and his associates entered your portal and set it to blow, how can we even get the kids back if they're on the other side!"

Jack turned around with a smile. "That's what the Fenton PortaPortal version 2 is for! Never leave home without a spare, my grandpa Fenton always said!"

"Dr Fenton, that bridge was destroyed in a gang fight!" Bruce shouted. Construction workers were already scattering, but a thick concrete barrier stood in their way.

"No need to worry, Fenton engineering can handle a little hole here or there!"

"The entire bridge was destroyed, we're going to fall off!"

"I love your sense of humour Brucie, but even if we did it wouldn't matter!"

"I really think it does, Dr Fenton!" Clark gripped the bottom of the nearby seat hard enuogh to dent.

"Nonsense, watch this!" Jack pushed the gas even further, as if that was even possible. The GAV reduced the concrete barrior to smithereens. "Go go Fenton Famliy Ghost Assault Vehicle: Aerial Mode!" The mad scientist's shouted in glee. He pulled another lever, activating a pair of wings from the sides.

Clark would deny screaming like a girl to the end of his days.

~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, in the Zone...

Danny shifted nervously in his position, atop the swarm of Lydia's bats, and flanked by the freaking Joker of all people on one side and Freaking Freakshow on the other. What did he do to deserve this?

If It was just the Joker and Freakshow, he would just happily transform and kick the snot out of these clowns, but sadly he's not alone.

Also tied up with rope both human and ghostly were one Damian Wayne and Jon Kent, the former of which looked none too pleased about the current situation. While Damian spat vitriol upon the Joker and his "D-list half-rate assisstant," with man himself largely ignoring his words to fawn over the chaos of the Realms, Danny contemplated his options. Good news: Freakshow hadn't blown his secret yet, which was cold comfort for the moment, seeing as if he had, he'd just be able to punch these suckers and be done with it, but nooo. Maybe he could overshadow the other boys and hypnotise them into forgetting? Was that a thing that can be done? Would've been convenient, and because of that, Danny suspected it's wishful thinking. If it worked, great, if it didn't work, well Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne have ties to the Justice League, who have ties to the government, who hire the GiW, so there's a non-zero percent chance such a stunt would end up with him on a dissection table.

Which means he's left playing the waiting game, spectating the Joker jumping up and down like a fangirl over all the green, and purple, and fighting, and death. First day in Gotham, guys.

"Psst." Jon whispered to him.

Danny said nothing, but leaned a little on Jon's side.

"Don't worry, we're gonna be ok, I'm sure the J-J-Justice League will be here. Just sit t-t-tight, ok?"

Wow, that was really touching that he was trying to comfort Danny, but the ghostly part of him didn't even need to feel Jon's shaking, or hear his stutter to know the kid was absolutely terrified. Now that he thought about it, it really should be him doing the comforting.

"Eh I wouldn't hedge my bets on it." Causing the other boy to squeak in fear. Curse you, snark instinct. Why can't you be heroic and reassuring instead.

"Neither would I, boy." Freakshow said, almost like he was rubbing in just how much danger his secret was in.

"You will unhand us, or you will know the meaning of pain in every sense of the world. This I tell you. I will feed you to my chickens. I will cut up your flesh and grind it into paste and then fertilise my vegetable garden with it. You will regret crossing me."

Jon let out the faintest whisper, something Danny would've never heard if he wasn't a ghost, and a master of quiet sounds. "Really selling the normal kid act here, Damian."

"On the contrary, lovely chlidren, I believe it is you who will soon become ghosts. NEYEHEHEYEHEH" Oh god here comes the gratuitous laughter. "I can't believe such a t~~tttttTANTALISING opportunity has been out there for me this whole time! AHAHAHAHAAH. And for you, my little children, to have come to this wonderful little science expo alongside your dear old daddies only to become part of the exhibit?" The Joker cracked into laughter, slapping his knees and collapsing in fitful giggles.

Each of the free boys gulped, each of them considering how to save the apparent civilian(s) among them without exposing themselves...

@impyssadobsessions

[usafphantom2]

Guerrilla Aircraft

Mar 22, 2023

By Mark Strauss

The U.S. Air Force chief of staff, General John P. McConnell, was “hopping mad,” according to an April 1965 report in Time magazine. Two fighters from North Vietnam’s tiny air force had gone up against two U.S. F-105 Thunderchiefs—and they had won. “What McConnell wanted to know was how the Thunderchief, a big brute of a plane with speeds up to 1,400 mph, had been bested in combat by the snail-paced (730 mph) MiG-17, a relic of the Korean War,” Time noted.

The MiG-17 didn’t have radar and missiles. And it wasn’t much to look at. Lieutenant Colonel Earl Henderson, who had taught U.S. pilots to fight MiGs in a program called “Constant Peg,” derisively compared the MiG-17 to a “tractor.”

“It was crude,” he told Steve Davies, who wrote Red Eagles: America’s Secret MiGs, a book published in 2011. “The cockpit had valves—faucets, literally—to turn everything on and off.”

Still, the fighter had an impressive and lethal advantage during combat with F-4s: It could turn on a dime. “That little airplane can give you a tussle the likes of which you’ve never had before in your life,” the late Robin Olds, Operation Rolling Thunder’s most successful fighter pilot, told a U.S. study team in 1967. “Their turn radius has to be seen to be believed. It’s incredible.”

With guidance from ground controllers, MiG-17s became adept at ambushing U.S. pilots. “The North Vietnamese air force seems to be adopting some of the tactics the Viet Cong guerrillas have used on the ground for years—hit and run, and fight only when you think you are stronger than your opponent,” the Associated Press reported in 1965.

Other, more advanced MiGs would enter combat over the course of the war: the MiG-19 (the world’s first mass-produced supersonic aircraft) and the delta-wing MiG-21, which was equipped with radar and heat-seeking missiles and could equal the acceleration of the F-4. Still, some North Vietnamese pilots continued to favor the MiG-17 because, while it was slower than its successors, they regarded it as more maneuverable.

And they inflicted a terrible toll: From 1965 to 1972, MiG-17 pilots downed 71 U.S. aircraft.

Mark Strauss is the managing editor at Air & Space Quarterly.

[abookishdreamer]

Character Intro: Theia (Kingdom of Ichor)

Nicknames- The Light Titaness by the people of Olympius

My Gem by Hyperion

Titi by her many grandchildren (through Selene)

Age- 47 (immortal)

Location- Rhodes, Olympius

Personality- Theia is a bright and cheerful woman. She's very wise (without coming across as a know-it-all), insightful, and incredibly resourceful with phenomenal business savvy. She's married.

She's the Titaness of sight and heavenly light, and also by extension, the goddess who endowed the brilliance of silver, gold, and gems. She has several abilities/powers like photokinesis, invisibility, teleportation, antanaklokinesis (reflection manipulation), supersonic eyesight, summoning/manipulating gems, silver, gold, and she can also change her entire physical state into gold, silver, diamond, crystal or platinum.

Theia is married to Hyperion (Titan god of heavenly light). Even though they've been together for thousands of years, at times it still feels like the first moment they met. They were even on the cover of Modern Olympus magazine, as the country's most influential couple, beating out Zeus (god of the sky, thunder, & lightning) and Hera (goddess of women & marriage).

She's the mother of Eos (Titaness of dawn) & the fraternal twins Selene (Titaness of the moon) and Helios (Titan god of the sun). Her son is definitely her favorite!

Her go-to drink is a tequila daisy cocktail (a drink made with tequila, lemon juice, grand marnier, & club soda) with a mango lassi being a close second. She also enjoys white wine, bellinis, white sangrias, mimosas, and classic martinis! Her usual from The Roasted Bean is a large caramel latte.

Her favorite sweet treats are the pineapple-mango sorbet and the champagne macarons from Hollyhock’s Bakery.

Theia lives with her husband in Rhodes on a massive estate- a glittering gold palace, just a few minutes away from their son. The inside are in colors of gold, silver, cream, and yellow. The dining room has a large impeccably designed chandelier, dripping in various gems. Her favorite place in her house is the sun room.

She's a sought-after jeweler/jewelry designer. She has her jewelry store/brand Euryphaessa throughout the country, a few stores in the Underworld, as well as the Underwater realm!

She's good friends with Chrysanta (goddess of metal), Elpis (goddess of hope); they often double date together, Leto (Titaness of demurity & motherhood), Alectrona (goddess of the sun & morning), Bronte (goddess of thunder), Zeuxo (goddess of marriage), Elais (goddess of oil), Litismós (goddess of culture), Rhapso (goddess of sewing), Astrape (goddess of lightning), Phoebe (Titaness of prophecy, the moon, radiant intellect, & mystery), Aígli (goddess of glamour), Lyrikós (Titaness of voice & song), and Mnemosyne (Titaness of memory & language).

She's currently not on speaking terms with Clymene (Titaness of fame & renown).

As far as the "younger" generation, Theia is friendly enough with some of them, especially Hestia (goddess of the hearth), and Demeter (goddess of the harvest & agriculture).

Theia was recently a mentor to Phaenna (goddess of jewels).

Even though she doesn’t like Clymene, Theia absolutely loves the Megaleio brand! Hyperion got her the most expensive handbag as an anniversary present. She also has a growing collection of jeweled clutches from Diamond Ave. (her favorite being the one that’s in the shape of a hot air balloon!)

She doesn't think much of her son-in-law Endymion or her other daughter’s ex-boyfriend Ares (god of war).

In her free time, Theia enjoys sunbathing, tanning, surfing, reading, doing embroidery with her daughters, going shopping (especially with Helios), and spending quality time with her husband and granddaughters.

Her go-to dish to make is spicy mango chicken curry (served with jasmine rice). She also likes shrimp puttanesca, lobster tails, and caviar topped deviled eggs.

"The light within is the brightest of all."

[siachenstudios]

Who is the Strongest Avenger?

Hey folks, hope you all are doing great! Do you know who is the strongest avenger? If not, then this article is all that you need in order to satisfy your curiosity, to know about who is the strongest avenger?

However, This is strongly based on Marvel’s Avengers Ranked From Most to least Powerful. So without any further ado, let’s dive straight into this article.

Who is the strongest avenger?

1.  SCARLET WITCH

Scarlet Witch is the most powerful Avenger. We will shout this from the rooftops if we have to! With the power of telekinesis, she can move anything with the wave of a hand.

Her fight with Thanos in the MCU showcased the most power out of any of the Avengers by far. She breaks The sword of Thanos which was able to cut through Captain America’s shield.

2. CAPTAIN MARVEL

A lot of you will wonder why Captain Marvel isn’t the first on this list, and we get that! Even Kevin Feige himself has stated that Captain Marvel is the strongest of the Avengers, and if we were looking at the comics, she would definitely be on top.

While her powers include the usual heightened abilities of a superhero, she also has a special “seventh sense” which surpasses Spidey’s sixth sense. Unfortunately, Captain Marvel didn’t have the chance to show all she has to offer.

Many fans were a little disappointed as there was a lot of build-up for her character, only for her to be flung back into the sky from whence she came. The strongest avenger ever.

3. THOR

In Infinity War, we see Thor take on the full force of the sun. THE SUN, y’all. It doesn’t look like Thor will live to tell the tale, but he does! He’s a god after all!

Interestingly, he is immortal and has the ability to control lightning?

Even if he isn’t everyone’s favorite original Avenger, there is no denying The God of Thunder is the strongest of the original group.

READ MORE – 12 Marvelous Best Mario Characters Of All Time

4. THE HULK

The Hulk has a lot more to offer! For starters, he is a LOT stronger than Drax, has a fast healing factor, and can go without water or sleep if needed.

Behind the big green guy is Bruce Banner. He is one of the smartest Avengers and eventually is able to become one and the same as Hulk.

However, It’s safe to say The Avengers would not have the same force without The Hulk’s ability to smash all things in his path and take any blow.

5. DR. STRANGE

Stephen Vincent Strange, M.D., Ph.D. is a Master of the Mystic Arts. Originally being a brilliant but arrogant neurosurgeon.

Dr. Strange may not be everyone’s favorite Avenger, there is no denying his power. Strange can shift time and dimensions of free will.

Having also been joined by the Guardians of the Galaxy, Strange battled against Thanos. He has the abilities of flight, teleportation, astral projection, and so much more.

6. VISION

The vision was a synthezoid made from vibranium, created by Ultron with the help of Helen Cho, and given life by the powerful artifact known as the Mind Stone.

Upon his birth, Vision declared he was neither Ultron nor J.A.R.V.I.S., but one that would fight with them to protect humanity. How cool!

However, Because Vision wasn’t a victim of the Decimation, he wasn’t restored when Bruce Banner used the Infinity Stones. The strongest avenger ever.

Wanda Maximoff continued to mourn his loss and talked with Clint Barton who lost Natasha Romanoff about those that they have lost.

READ MORE – 15 Most Powerful Female Marvel Characters

7. IRON MAN

Speaking of this wonderful man, Anthony Edward “Tony” Stark was a billionaire industrialist, a founding member of the Avengers, and the former CEO of Stark Industries.

A brash but brilliant inventor, Stark was self-described as a genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist.

However, With his great wealth and exceptional technical knowledge, Stark was one of the world’s most powerful men.

Tony’s Suit gives him superhuman strength, speed, durability, agility, reflexes, senses, and supersonic flight.

It also contains missile projection and regenerative abilities.

This suit makes Tony indestructible, and the best part about it is that he made it himself. The strongest avenger ever.

He is the one to ultimately defeat the big bad, after all. But a few other heroes give him a run for his money due to their sheer power which cannot be matched.

8. BLACK PANTHER

Black Panther has genius-level intellect as well as superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes.

This guy can smell fear, amazing isn’t it? Well, I personally don’t know about you, but that is an individual I would want on my side.

People loved him when they saw him Using the incredibly sharp claws on his suit.

Black Panther slashed at his enemy and tried to kill him, eventually pinning him to the ground and attempting to stab his target through the throat. What a scene it was! Mind-blowing.

You brought unexplainable energy to the screen that can’t be matched. Rest in power.  

9. CAPTAIN AMERICA

Captain Steven Grant “Steve” Rogers is a World War II veteran, a founding member of the Avengers, and Earth’s first known superhero.

Speaking of him, Rogers grew up suffering from numerous health problems, and upon America’s entry into World War II, he was rejected from serving in the United States Army despite several attempts to enlist.

Due to the serum coursing through his veins, Cap has enhanced strength, speed, stamina, durability, reflexes, senses, and healing. The strongest avenger ever.

READ MORE – Thor vs Captain Marvel: Who Is More Powerful?

10. WINTER SOLDIER

I guess you all may be surprised to find him on the list of Strongest avengers. Nevertheless, Winter Soldier is the most powerful Avengers and none other than a BEAST.

This guy has a LOT more combat and weapon experience, and frankly, many of us are shocked that Cap won their fight. Intriguing, right?

Conclusion:

Scarlet Witch is the most powerful among the list of who is powerful Avengers. Wanda’s power is magic.

She can warp reality and is able to put all of the Avengers in a dream-like state when she is first introduced.

The best part about her? Wanda is still discovering her power. She has showcased so much power, yet most of it is still contained inside of her.

We can’t wait to see more of her and everything she has to offer!

[razieltwelve]

Kung Fu Hedgehog (Final Effect)

Her Imperial Highness Averia VII smiled as she watched her beloved hedgehog go through some basic combat forms. He looked absolutely adorable swiping away with his claws and jabbing at the air with his quills.

Her father chuckled and ruffled her hair. “You might think he’s adorable now, but wait until you actually see him in combat. Those movements take on an entirely different cast in his combat form.”

X     X     X

Averia turned and gestured. Shards of ice sharpened to monomolecular sharpness lanced through the air at supersonic speeds. The Grimm in their path simply ceased to exist, but more Grimm were pouring into the area by the moment. The rest of her unit had already fallen into position around her. Her Semblance alone was more than enough to deal with the incoming Grimm, provided they could be kept away from her.

However, her attention was soon drawn to where her hedgehog had waded into battle. His sheer size and strength meant he was ideal for drawing attention, and she felt a reflexive moment of fear on his behalf before Lord Hedgeborough demonstrated once again why he was her hedgehog.

His towering form allowed him to simply crush smaller Grimm underfoot as he rumbled forward. A swipe of his claws transitioned perfectly into a spin that allowed him to launch a barrage of his quills into the approaching Grimm. The lone Grimm sturdy enough to survive the onslaught was a massive specimen, easily a match for the hedgehog in pure size.

But what the Grimm had in size, it lacked in skill and speed. Lord Hedgeborough dodged through a storm of blows, his claws raking across the Grimm’s flanks before another strike pulverised the thick, bony plates that protected the Grimm’s chest. Another missed strike allowed the hedgehog to drive his shoulder up and into the Grimm’s chest before he fired several quills into the now unguarded flesh. Rather than simply lancing through their target, these quills drove deep into the Grimm and then exploded. Microscopic shards of supremely modified keratin turned into clouds of shrapnel that reduced the huge Grimm to a bloody smear.

More Grimm approached, and Averia readied her Semblance, but it was unnecessary. Lord Hedgeborough was ready to meet them, and the hedgehog wove a tale of devastation through their ranks. The comical swipes he practiced in his smaller form became thunderous blows that cleaved his opponents to pieces or sent them hurtling back. The jabbing with his quills became potent salvos. And the rolls, charges, and drives flattened and smashed everything in his path.

As the last of the Grimm fell, Lord Hedgeborough ambled back toward her and the rest of her unit. He wasn’t even breathing hard, the genetic modifications and other alterations allowing him to perform at peak efficiency in even the longest battle.

Averia reached out and patted him on the snout before turning her attention to the horizon. They were needed further north. More Grimm had made planetfall, and they needed to intercept them before they could form up into a sufficiently large swarm that could overwhelm the beleaguered planet’s defenders.

Above them, the fleet continued to wage war on the space-faring Grimm. The battle for orbital supremacy was currently in their favour, which was why she’d been deployed. She needed to gain combat experience, but they would never have allowed her to set foot onto the battlefield unless they thought the battle was in hand.

“We should get moving.” The speaker was one of the Dia-Farron, a young member of the Imperial Guard who possessed Bag of Tricks. His war hamster nodded at the aircraft swooping overhead. “It looks like things are going to get a little more complicated.”

X     X     X

Author’s Notes

All of the ‘war’ animals have developed systems of combat that suit their forms. This is because most traditional systems of combat were developed with humans and Faunus in mind, but war hamsters, Imperial hedgehogs, and other uplifted animals do not share the same form as humans or Faunus. These systems of combat are constantly refined and passed down through the various groups. However, it is not unusual to see uplifted animals practicing in their smaller forms since it’s more space-efficient and can be done anywhere.

If you’re interested in my thoughts on writing and other topics, you can find those here.

I also write original fiction, which you can find on Amazon here or on Audible here.

[kilesplaysthings]

classic songs for the IkeSen boys~

from a playlist compiled by yours truly ;) Was a bit iffy about the Mitsunari and Yoshimoto ones, but I think there’s some fitting lyrics there! What do y’all think? :D

Nobunaga: Back in Black by AC/DC

Back in black, I hit the sack. I've been too long, I'm glad to be back. Yes, I'm let loose from the noose that's kept me hanging about. I've been looking at the sky 'cause it's gettin' me high. Forget the hearse, 'cause I never die. I got nine lives; cat's eyes; abusin' every one of them, and running wild. ‘Cause I’m back, yes I’m back. Back in black. Yes, I’m back in black.  

Hideyoshi: Hearts on Fire by John Cafferty

Time will not allow you to stand still, no. Silence breaks the heart and bends the will, and things that give deep passions are your sword. Rules and regulations have no meaning anymore. Hearts on fire. Strong desire rages deep within. Hearts on fire. Fever's rising high. The moment of truth is here...

Mitsuhide: Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears

It's my own desire. It's my own remorse. Help me to decide. Help me make the most of freedom and of pleasure. Nothing ever lasts forever. Everybody wants to rule the world.  

Ieyasu: Carry on, Wayward Son by Kansas

Masquerading as a man with a reason, my charade is the event of the season. And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know. On a stormy sea of moving emotion, tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean. I set a course for winds of fortune, but I hear the voices say 

Carry on my wayward son. For there'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more.  

Masamune: Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf

I like smoke and lightning, heavy metal thunder, racin' with the wind, and the feelin' that I'm under. Yeah Darlin' go make it happen. Take the world in a love embrace. Fire all of your guns at once and explode into space.  

Like a true nature's child, we were born, born to be wild. We can climb so high. I never wanna die. Born to be wild...  

Mitsunari: Beautiful Loser by Bob Seger

He’s your oldest and your best friend. If you need him, he’ll be there again.

He’s always willing to be second best. A perfect lodger, a perfect guest.

Beautiful loser, read it on the wall and realize you just can’t have it all.

Shingen: Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (you know I had to use this for him lol)

Risin' up, back on the street. Did my time, took my chances. Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet. Just a man and his will to survive. So many times, it happens too fast: you trade your passion for glory. Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past. You must fight just to keep them alive!  

Kenshin: Behind Blue Eyes by The Who (ok so he has one blue, one green, but you know what I mean lol)

No one knows what it's like to feel these feelings like I do, and I blame you.  No one bites back as hard on their anger. None of my pain and woe can show through. But my dreams, they aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be. I have hours, only lonely. My love is vengeance that's never free...

Yukimura: Fire in the Twilight by Wang Chung

Taking a break from the role of the everyday boy; the man who leads the way, the man who leads the way. Is he for real or is he back to the old way boy? Can he lead the way, oh can he lead the way? He's searching, but he's lonely, and he's hurting, but he's only, waiting for a chance just in time to live a life. Does he need ya, does he want ya, does he listen to what you say? Is he only waiting for the simple way?

Sasuke: Deja Vu by Dave Rodgers (gotta give our memelord a meme song lolol)

Déjà vu! I've just been in this place before, higher on the street, and I know it's my time to go. Calling you, and the search is a mystery. Standing on my feet, it’s so hard when I try to be me, woah! Déjà vu! I've just been in this time before, higher on the beat, and I know it's a place to go. Calling you and the search is a mystery. Standing on my feet, it's so hard when I try to be me, yeah!

Yoshimoto: The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel (I find Yoshimoto to be quite a sad and resigned figure. I feel like this song kind of fits him with how useless and silent he feels as a fallen leader...in a way? Plus, this is kind of artistic and hipster-ish which seems to be fitting for him lol)

Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again, because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain still remains within the sound of silence.

"Fools" said I, "You do not know silence like a cancer grows. Hear my words that I might teach you.Take my arms that I might reach you." But my words like silent raindrops fell and echoed in the wells of silence...

Kennyo: Man in the Wilderness by Styx

Another year has passed me by. Still I look at myself and cry, what kind of man have I become? All of the years I've spent in search of myself and I'm still in the dark, 'cause I can't seem to find the light alone. Sometimes I feel like a man in the wilderness. I'm a lonely soldier off to war sent away to die - never quite knowing why. Sometimes it makes no sense at all...

Ranmaru: Ooh Child by The Five Stairsteps

Ooh child, things are gonna get easier. Ooh child, things’ll get brighter. Someday, yeah, we’ll get it together and we’ll get it all done. Someday when your head is much lighter. Someday, yeah, we’ll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun. Someday, when the world is much brighter...

Motonari: Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen

I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky like a tiger defying the laws of gravity. I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva. I'm gonna go, go, go, there's no stopping me! I'm burning through the sky, yeah! Two hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit. I'm travelling at the speed of light. I wanna make a supersonic man outta you! Don’t stop me now!

[handeaux]

Remember When The Air Force Practiced Nuclear War Over Cincinnati?

Unless you’re an air show regular, you don’t hear many sonic booms these days. The occasional military flight gets over-enthusiastic and sometimes a meteor smacks the atmosphere just so, but such incidents are pretty scarce.

Time was, sonic booms were a regular and frequent occurrence in Cincinnati. From the mid-1950s well into the 1960s Cincinnatians were amazed, then annoyed, by this novel phenomenon.

Although Cincinnatians read about sonic booms since the early 1950s, the first local booms were recorded in 1955 when an F-104 Starfighter squadron out of Dayton’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base engaged in maneuvers south of Wilmington. For the next five years, occasional Starfighter sorties caused residents to light up the switchboards at newspapers and police departments.

The first sonic boom in Hamilton County was blamed on a B-58 Hustler supersonic bomber being flown from Wright-Pat to Ft. Worth, Texas by a civilian test pilot. That boom, on 2 August 1957, cracked a plaster ceiling in one of the northern suburbs and resulted in widespread panic. The Cincinnati Enquirer [6 August 1957] was not amused:

“Telephone lines of fire departments, police, newspapers, radio stations and the like were jammed with calls. It was an illumination illustration of what might happen if the scare had some basis, and those lines were needed for emergency purposes.”

Problem was, sonic booms were so new and so different – five to 10 times louder than thunder – that people had no reference. Walter McCrosky didn’t. He was caretaker of an Oakley apartment building. When he heard a sonic boom on 4 December 1958, he was convinced it originated inside his building and called the fire department. When they found nothing amiss, he refused to believe the sound was caused by an airplane 30 miles away.

So many sonic booms and complaints about damage allegedly caused by sonic booms piled up that the local newspapers published contact information for Air Force officials handling damage payments. On 22 October 1959, the Enquirer printed advice from the Internal Revenue Service allowing deductions for damage to property as the result of sonic booms.

None other than Al Schottelkotte, then a columnist for the Enquirer, announced 4 May 1960 that Cincinnati need no longer endure sonic booms because the F-104 squadron based at Wright-Patterson had been cut in an Air Force budget move.

The respite was short-lived, because the Air Force revealed in 1962 that it was going to bomb Cincinnati a couple nights each week for the next year. Air Force logistics, it turned out, had painted a big tactical “X” on Cincinnati.

The Air Force set aside a limited number of corridors for attack training, and two of the corridors ran through Cincinnati airspace. One started in New York and ended in Missouri; the other started in North Carolina and ended in Minneapolis after going through Milwaukee.

Lying along these practice corridors were four Nike missile emplacements at Oxford, Wilmington and Felicity, Ohio and at Dillsboro, Indiana. Each had state-of-the-art radar systems capable of evaluating the accuracy of supersonic bombardiers. Within the “Cincinnati Target Complex” were several locations boasting brilliant radar profiles. These spots became the “bullseyes” onto which the bombers aimed their practice bombs: Addyston, Mason, Middletown, Maysville, Connersville, South Dayton and the Greater Cincinnati Airport.

Although the Air Force gave the heads-up so Cincinnati could prepare for a rash of sonic booms, practice runs were also mandated for the sub-sonic B-52s and B-47s that formed the backbone of the United States nuclear deterrent strategy. Consequently, the local media were disappointed when the first practice run produced no sonic booms at all. “Boom Over City Goes Pf-t” whined the Enquirer [17 July 1962]:

“Hey, what happened to that boom? Cincinnatians expecting to hear the air-ripping thunder of B-58 Hustler bombers over the city last night were disappointed. Only one of the jet bombers flew over – and it made no sonic boom.”

In short order, the air Force fell into a pattern with two booms sounding almost every night between 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and another set around 11:00 p.m. Those late night booms generated the most complaints about interrupted sleep, awakened children and disturbed pets. Despite the grumbles, the aerial maneuvers inspired patriotism at the Enquirer [27 July 1962]:

“The ‘sound of freedom’ boomed loud and clear over the Cincinnati area last night in two window-rattling installments, sending jarred citizens to their telephones. The booms sounded at 8:18 p.m. and again at 8:28 p.m. as two B-58 Hustler bombers passed over the city on practice runs from Asheville, N.C. to Milwaukee.”

Perhaps the most profound impact of the 1962 assault on Cincinnati occurred at the Camp Myron Kahn Boy Scout facility near Camden, Ohio. Cheviot Boy Scout Troop 601 occupied the camp for a week that summer. One night, the scouts enacted a ritual in which several boys, dressed as Indians, ran into the council ring and chanted an incantation before a stack of wood. One boy intoned, “Let there be fire!” just as a sonic boom cracked the sky and just as a hidden scoutmaster ignited the bonfire. According to the Cincinnati Post’s Si Cornell [9 August 1962]:

“The little Indian chief seemed amazed at the extent of his mystical powers.”

[animeman08]

Thor

Thor Odinson is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, which is based on the Norse deity of the same name, is the Asgardian god of thunder who possesses the enchanted hammer, Mjolnir, which grants him the ability to fly and manipulate weather amongst his other superhuman attributes.

Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (August 1962) and was created by penciller-plotter Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee, and scripter Larry Lieber. He has starred in several ongoing series and limited series, and is a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers, appearing in each volume of that series. The character has also appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, movies, video games, clothing, toys and trading cards.

The character was first portrayed in live action by Eric Allan Kramer in the 1988 television movie The Incredible Hulk Returns. Chris Hemsworth portrays Thor Odinson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Doctor Strange (2016) in a cameo, Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and will return in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). Additionally, archival footage of Hemsworth as Thor was used in the 2013 episodes "Pilot" and "The Well" of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Thor placed 14th on IGN's list of "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time" in 2011, and first in their list of "The Top 50 Avengers" in 2012.

Powers and abilities

Like all Asgardians, Thor is incredibly long-lived and relies upon periodic consumption of the Golden Apples of Idunn to sustain his extended lifespan, which to date has lasted many millennia. Being the son of Odin and the elder goddess Gaea, Thor is physically the strongest of the Asgardians. Thor is capable of incredible feats of strength, such as lifting the almost Earth-sized Midgard Serpent, supporting a weight equivalent to that of 20 planets, and by combining his power with that of Beta Ray Bill, destroying Surtur's solar system-sized dimensional portal. If pressed in battle, Thor is capable of entering into a state known as the "Warrior's Madness" ("berserkergang" in Norwegian and Danish alike), which will temporarily increase his strength and stamina tenfold, although in this state he attacks friend and foe alike.

Thor possesses a very high resistance to physical injury that approaches invulnerability. He has even survived energy blasts from Celestials. Thor possesses keen senses that allow him to track objects traveling faster than light and hear cries from the other side of the planet. Thor has the ability to travel through time. His stamina allowed him to battle the entire Frost Giant army for nine months without any sustenance or rest; Thor has shown the ability to regenerate wounded portions of his body, including entire limbs or organs, with the aid of magical forces such as Mjolnir. Thor has superhuman speed, agility, and reflexes, enabling him to deflect bullets with his hammer, and to swing or throw it at many times the speed of light. In early stories, Thor has shown to be capable of vortex breath, which produces powerful winds. Like all Asgardians, he has immunity to all Earthly diseases and some resistance to magic. Exceptionally powerful magic can overwhelm Odin's enchantment that transforms him between Asgardian and mortal forms.

As the Norse god of thunder, Thor can summon the elements of the storm (lightning, rain, wind, snow) and uses Mjolnir as a tool to focus this ability, although the hammer cannot command artificial weather, only natural. He can cause these weather effects over the world and destroy entire buildings; by whirling his hammer he can lift entire buildings with the wind. Thor can also create small tornadoes by quickly whipping his cape in circles. As the son of the Earth goddess Gaea, Thor has shown some control over the Earth.

Thor is a superb hand-to-hand combatant, and is skilled in armed combat, excelling in the use of the war hammer, sword, axe and mace. Thor possesses two items which assist him in combat: the enchanted Belt of Strength, and his signature weapon, the mystical hammer Mjolnir. The first item doubles Thor's strength and endurance while the second is used to control his weather abilities; flight; energy projection and absorption (sufficient to reignite a dying star); dimensional travel; matter manipulation, and the most powerful of his offensives, the God Blast (which taps into Thor's life force, and has even forced Galactus to flee), the Thermo-blast, and the Anti-Force (which counteracts another force). Using Mjolnir by throwing it in the desired direction and then holding on to the handle's leather loop, Thor can fly at supersonic speeds in Earth's atmosphere and travel faster than light in space. He can also use the hammer to create a barrier by letting it spin in a circle, and even managed to contain an explosion powerful enough to destroy 1/5th of the universe, although at the cost of his own life. He can throw an object out of Earth's atmosphere by using his strength, and throw his hammer to Asgard from which it will return.

When Thor has to transport companions and/or objects to a destination by himself, he has a chariot drawn by two huge mystical goats called Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder that can fly nearly anywhere he desires almost as easily as with Mjolnir.

When in possession of the "Odinforce" that usually empowers his father, Thor has proven capable of killing Galactus when the latter is very well fed and therefore at full power.

[miralandisgay]

You remember that Every Makeup Challenge I was doing? Yeah I forgot about that, but I'm gonna try to do it again.

Starting from the beginning. Instead of images, I'm working with the actual names of the makeups, adding to this list as I get more. I'm going by how they rank in rare, with new things added while I do this on the end of the list.

Swan of Desire

Glory Without Regret

Sword and Poem

Pigeon Maid

Peach Sweetheart

Northern Soldier

Cloud Lady

Blue Icy Eye

Swan of Innocence

Scented Snow

Meditative Moon

Sapphire

Extraordinary Elf

Carrot Dream

Endless Miss

Sepulchral Eyes

Innocent Angel

Sunny Star

Dream Nocturne

Zephyr

Ethereal Faith

Salvation of Blood

Affectionate Eyes

Downcast Soul

Queen Saint Phoenix

King Saint Cloud

Queen Saint Obscure

Pupil of Silver Wings

Hippie Clown

Dressed Up Clown

Wound of Nirvana

Wounds of War

Winter Awake

Frown in Despair

Arch Brows

Jade Elegance

Slender

Awakening Spring

Forced Bitter Smile

Help Laughing

Rich Makeup

Peachy Kiss

Nightmare Foreword

Deep Stars

Fallen Star's Shadow

Feather Fantasy

Light Mist Brow

Goddess's Favor

Night Sakura

Warm Smile

Poem of Wind and Moon

Naughty and Lovely Bear

Little Fairy Cat

Endless Love

Love with No Excuse

Summer of Secret Love

Hidden Serpent

Blood red Pupils

Superpower of Love

Flower Beauty

Rainbow Sundown

Sky Pursuit

Night Shadow

Figure of the City

Cold Pond Eyes

Moon of Whirlwind

Youth Storm

Youth Trend

Simple Twist of Fate

Bone Painting Night/Day

Radiance of Heart

Me in Another Time

Cat Earl

Echo of Galaxy

Supersonic Frequency

Silent Lamb

Shadow Ice Stone

Burning Will

Compassion

Lament

Flower of Sin

Sweet Demon

Obstinanceness

Daydreamer

Legendary Singer

Legendary Artist

Legendary Music

Legendary Show

Her Word

God's Messenger

Breathtaking

Lantern Date

Aim at the World

Honest Heart Tested by Heaven and Ground

Look of Dragon

Tide of Fog

Pupils of Night

Early Rabbit

Vain Longing

Whisper

Sly Pupil

Sunset Butterfly Dream

Rain from the Heaven

Thoughts at Silent Night

Living in the Wilderness

Shiny Smile

Kagamine Len

Kagamine Rin

Crane's Eyes

Soul Draining

Yohko

Undead Singer

Beautiful Soul

Peak of Soul

Tonight's Poem

Back to Past

Demon hunting

Mortal Game

Deep Nebula

Kaidan Girl

Radiant Poem

Divine Look

Rose Star

Heavenly Snow

Scattering Splendor

Spring Water Lunar

Carefree Singing

Original Aspiration

Pure Pursuit

Secret Gift

Single-minded Nightingale

Thorny Roses

Sincere Wish

Resplendent Starlight

Glory in Night

Beyond the Mist

Midnight Affection

Mighty Milky Way

Banished to Eden

Walk in Wilds

Sly Black Cat

Innocent Sleeping

Midnight Slumber

Shared Dream

Dream Chaser-Honey

Clear Dreamland

Caring Eyes

Silent Stone

Slumber of Eons

Tears of Joy

Future Prayer

Holly After Snow

Adventurer's Will ♡Anna

Icy Way ♡Elsa

Ai Emotion

Perception

Poet in the Wild

Endless Ruins

Fairy's Tale

Pinkish Candy

Liquid Heart Tempt

Seagulls Under Sky

Shadow of Poet

Clear Hope

Green Dawn

Impermanence

Floating Moon

Advent of Devils

Heartfelt Wish

Moon Tonight

Fairy Tale Cutie

Spring Elf

Love of Roses

Cute Sweetheart

Shed Tears

Soul Divination

Thunder Faith

Secret of Little Devil

Bright Spots

Blue Longing

Six Principle Yin and Yang

Mysterious Young Girl

Ocean Beacon

Kindred Earl

Seducing

Fall on Earth

Blood Lunar Eclipse

Demonic Beauty

War Grandmaster

Supreme Power

writing all these down made me realize this is gonna take a while.

I'll post one style a day until I'm out of makeups, hopefully I'll keep getting makeups for a while. Check the #oneaday and #everymakeup tags to find them. I'll post today's in a little while...

[mendelpalace]

Good Ending 

DUSTINODELLOFFICIAL recently uploaded this nearly two-hour compilation of relaxing, downbeat, and chill tracks from Sega Genesis games. 

Recorded from Sega Genesis, Model 2 w/discrete YM2512 + line out mods + MegaAmp via Tascam US-1x2 @ 24/44

00:00:00 Valis - Deja-Vu 00:00:54 Arcus Odyssey - Map 00:02:21 Final Zone - After the War 00:06:47 Mega Anser - Bank Menu 2 00:09:05 Light Crusader - Status Screen 00:09:56 Tanglewood - Storm Warning 00:12:32 Batman - Ending Theme 00:15:05 Psy-O-Blade - Be Discared 00:16:18 Harukanaru Augusta - BGM 6 00:17:48 Zoop - Bored Stiff 00:19:55 Crusader of Centy - Burn Daisy 00:22:03 The Pirates of Dark Water - Track 2 00:25:24 Ecco the Dolphin - The Vents 00:26:57 Wonder Boy in Monster World - Under the Ocean 00:28:49 Fatal Labyrinth - Main Theme 00:29:52 Dahna - Continue 00:30:36 Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf - BGM4 00:33:50 Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin - Good Ending 00:35:31 California Games - Surfing 00:38:10 Jennifer Capriati Tennis - Ending 2 00:41:24 Flashback - Sound Test 11 00:44:19 Cannon Fodder - Heroes of War 00:46:44 Shinobi 3 - Ground Zero 00:49:07 Vapor Trail - Staff Roll 00:50:56 Golden Axe - Old Map 00:52:00 Shining Force - Reading Girl 1 00:53:13 Super Hydlide - O.M.I.S.E 00:54:13 Castlevania Bloodlines - The Sinking Old Sanctuary 00:56:16 Shining Force II - Elven Town 00:57:58 World of Illusion - Level 3-1 01:00:26 Columns - Lathesis 01:05:03 Mickey Mania - Garden 01:07:02 Landstalker - A Ballad for Princess Loria 01:09:38 Minnesota Fats Pool Legend - Until Tomorrow 01:12:38 Sonic the Hedgehog - Star Light Zone 01:14:15 Ball Jacks - Ending Theme 1 01:16:02 Wonder Boy III - Big House 01:19:30 Devil's Course - BGM 1 01:22:06 Aerobiz Supersonic - Managing Scenarios 1 and 2 01:23:09 Waialae no Kiseki - BGM 1 01:28:57 OutRun - Last Wave 01:30:50 Monster World IV - Heart of Icegrave 01:33:01 Shanghai III Dragon's Eye - Main BGM (Shanghai) 01:34:16 High Seas Havoc - Sea of Deep Sorrow 01:36:45 Shining in the Darkness - Requiem 01:38:19 Ys III - Sentimental Twilight 01:39:32 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Sky Chase Zone 01:40:59 Super Thunder Blade - High Scores 01:42:26 Dynamite Headdy - Ballad for You 01:48:43 Streets of Rage - Good Ending 01:50:58 Ristar - Next Cruise

[sporttlive-blog]

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is an American men's expert nba basketball alliance. It is made out of 30 groups (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the four significant pro athletics alliances in the United States and Canada. It is the head men's expert basketball alliance on the planet.

The alliance was established in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).It changed its name to the National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, in the wake of converging with the contending National Basketball League (NBL). The NBA's normal season runs from October to April, with each group playing 82 games. The group's season finisher competition reaches out into June. Starting at 2020, NBA players are the world's best paid competitors by normal yearly compensation per player.

The NBA is a functioning individual from USA Basketball (USAB),which is perceived by the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) as the public overseeing body for basketball in the United States. The alliance's few global just as individual group workplaces are coordinated off of its mind workplaces in Midtown Manhattan, while its NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are coordinated out of workplaces situated in Secaucus, New Jersey.

The NBA is the third wealthiest pro game group after the NFL and the MLB by income.

Creation and BAA–NBL merger (1946–1956)

The Basketball Association of America was established in 1946 by proprietors of the significant ice hockey fields in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. On November 1, 1946, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the Toronto Huskies facilitated the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens, in a game the NBA currently alludes to as the main game played in NBA history. The principal bushel was made by Ossie Schectman of the Knickerbockers. Despite the fact that there had been before endeavors at proficient basketball classes, including the American Basketball League and the NBL, the BAA was the principal association to endeavor to play essentially in enormous fields in significant urban areas. During its initial years, the nature of play in the BAA was not essentially better than in contending associations or among driving free clubs, for example, the Harlem Globetrotters. For example, the 1948 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won that group's 1948 title, and the 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers won the 1949 BAA title. Before the 1948–49 season, nonetheless, NBL groups from Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Rochester hopped to the BAA, which set up the BAA as the association of decision for collegians hoping to turn proficient.

 On August 3, 1949, the remaining NBL groups Syracuse, Anderson, Tri-Cities, Sheboygan, Denver, and Waterloo–converged into the BAA. In concession to the merger and to maintain a strategic distance from conceivable lawful entanglements, the alliance name was changed to the current National Basketball Association, despite the fact that the combined class held the BAA's overseeing body, including Maurice Podoloff as president. Right up 'til today, the NBA claims the BAA's history as its own. It presently figures the appearance of the NBL groups as an extension, not a merger, and doesn't perceive NBL records and measurements.

The new alliance had seventeen establishments situated in a blend of huge and little urban areas, just as huge fields and littler exercise rooms and arsenals. In 1950, the NBA solidified to eleven establishments, a cycle that proceeded until 1953–54, when the alliance arrived at its littlest size of eight establishments: the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia Warriors, Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals, Fort Wayne Pistons, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, and Syracuse Nationals, all of which stay in the group today. The cycle of compression saw the association's littler city establishments move to bigger urban communities. The Hawks moved from the Tri-Cities to Milwaukee in 1951, and afterward to St. Louis in 1955. The Rochester Royals moved from Rochester, New York, to Cincinnati in 1957 and the Pistons moved from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Detroit in 1957.

 Japanese-American Wataru Misaka broke the NBA shading obstruction in the 1947–48 season when he played for the New York Knicks. He remained the main non-white part allied history before the primary African-American, Harold Hunter, marking with the Washington Capitols in 1950. Tracker was cut from the group during instructional course, yet a few African-American players played in the association soon thereafter, incorporating Chuck Cooper with the Celtics, Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton with the Knicks, and Earl Lloyd with the Washington Capitols. During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, driven by focus George Mikan, won five NBA Championships and built up themselves as the class' first tradition. To energize shooting and dishearten slowing down, the group presented the 24-second shot check in 1954. On the off chance that a group doesn't endeavor to score a field objective (or the ball neglects to reach the edge) inside 24 seconds of acquiring the ball, play is halted and the ball given to its adversary.

 Celtics' predominance, group development and rivalry (1956–1979)

In 1957, new kid on the block place Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, which previously highlighted watch Bob Cousy and mentor Red Auerbach, and proceeded to lead the establishment to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Focus Wilt Chamberlain entered the alliance with the Warriors in 1959 and turned into a predominant individual star of the 1960s, setting new single game records in scoring (100) and bouncing back (55). Russell's competition with Chamberlain got perhaps the best contention throughout the entire existence of American group activities.

Bill Russell shielding against Wilt Chamberlain in 1966.

The 1960s were ruled by the Celtics. Driven by Russell, Cousy, and Auerbach, Boston won eight straight titles in the NBA from 1959 to 1966. This title streak is the longest in NBA history. They didn't win the title in 1966–67, yet recovered it in the 1967–68 season and rehashed in 1969. The control added up to nine of the ten title standards of the 1960s.

 Through this period, the NBA kept on advancing with the move of the Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles, the Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, the Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia to turn into the Philadelphia 76ers, and the St. Louis Hawks moving to Atlanta, just as the expansion of its first development establishments. The Chicago Packers (presently Washington Wizards) turned into the ninth NBA group in 1961. From 1966 to 1968, the association extended from 9 to 14 groups, presenting the Chicago Bulls, Seattle SuperSonics (presently Oklahoma City Thunder), San Diego Rockets (who moved to Houston four years after the fact), Milwaukee Bucks, and Phoenix Suns.

In 1967, the alliance confronted another outside danger with the arrangement of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The classes occupied with an offering war. The NBA handled the most significant school star of the period, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (at that point known as Lew Alcindor). Nonetheless, the NBA's driving scorer, Rick Barry, bounced to the ABA, as did four veteran arbitrators—Norm Drucker, Earl Strom, John Vanak, and Joe Gushue.

Teams

The NBA started in 1946 with 11 groups, and through an arrangement of group extensions, decreases, and movements, at present comprises of 30 groups. The United States is home to 29 groups; another is in Canada.

The current alliance association isolates 30 groups into two gatherings of three divisions with five groups each. The momentum divisional arrangement was presented in the 2004–05 season. Mirroring the populace dispersion of the United States and Canada in general, most groups are in the eastern portion of the nation: 13 groups are in the Eastern Time Zone, nine in the Central, three in the Mountain, and five in the Pacific.

[pawsitivevibe]

Who wants to see my alphabetical future dog names list? No one? Too bad!!

Call Name - “Registered Name Ideas” 

A

Amidala - “Spark of Rebellion” 

Anarchy - 

Anomaly - “Deviance in Design” 

Antic - 

Arcana - “Roll Initiative”, “Make An Arcana Check” 

Atomic - 

B

Baloo - “Bear Necessities” 

Banzai - “Crash Test”, “Bombs Away”

Bigby or Bixby - 

Blink - “And U Miss It” 

Boomer - “Kangaroo Boomerang” 

Bound - “Adventure Abounds” 

Bright - 

C

Captain - “Space Captain”, “Pirate Life For Me” 

Carol - “Captain Marvel”, “Punch Holes In the Sky”, “Higher Further Faster”

Codex -

Comet - “Haley’s Comet” 

Cyclone - “Rather Blustery Day”, “Wind Rider” 

D

Dash - “Now You See Me”

Dax - “Daxidilian”

Denver - 

Dilemma/Emma - 

E

Eleanor/Ella - 

Enigma - “Riddle Me This” 

F

Fleet - “Fleet Feet” 

Fly - “When Pigs Fly” 

Frenzy - 

G

Gadget - “Thinamajig” 

Galleon - 

Gambit - “Card Trick”

Glinda - “Good Witch”

H

Harleen - “Mischief Maker”, “Boom Smash Pow”, 

Havok - “Wreaking Havoc”

Hubble - 

Hugo - 

Hurricane - “Storm Warning”  

I

Ivy - “Pretty Poison”, “Poison Ivy”, “Guardian of the Green” 

J

Jaina - “Sword of the Jedi” 

Juniper - 

K

Kell - “Darker Shade of Magic”, “Red London”, “As Travars” 

Korra - “Hero of Legend” 

L

Lady - “Luck Be a Lady”, “Lady Luck”, “Bella Notte” 

Larka - “Winter Wolf” 

Laureline - “Adventure In Spacetime” 

Leia - “Rebel Princess”, “Not a Committee” 

Lila - “Darker Shade of Magic”, “One of a Kind”, “Never Too Many Knives”

Luke - “Jedi Skywalker”, “New Hope”, “Farmboy Skywalker”

M

Maeve - 

Maizel - 

Mara Jade - 

Marvel - 

Mayhem - “Making Mayhem” 

Mera - 

N

Nebula - 

Nova - 

Nym -

O 

Oliver - 

P

Pajamas - “Bananas in Pajamas”, “Goodnight Moon” 

Pilot - 

Pip - 

Pirate - “Hoist The Colours” 

Polaris - “Follow The North Star” 

Pym - 

Q

Qismat -

Query -  

R

Ranger - “Ranger Danger”, “Roll Initiative”, “Roll A Nature Check” 

Rey - “New Hope”

Risk - 

S

Saga - “Tale As Old As Time”

Sansa - “Winter Is Coming”, “Lady of The North” 

Scorch -

Scout - “Scout About”, “Scoot Aboot” 

Sirius - “Mischief Managed” 

Slam - 

Solo - “Scruffy Looking Nerf Herder” 

Sonic - “Supersonic Boom” 

Starbuck - “Eye of Jupiter”, “Space Pilot” 

T

Tenzin - 

Thor - “Bring the Thunder” 

Torrent (Torri) - 

Tundra - “Northern Calling”

U

Ursa - “Constellation Majora”, “Ursa Major” 

V

Valerian - “Adventure in Spacetime” 

Valkyrie/Val - “Valhalla Is Coming” 

Velocity - “Airspeed Velocity”

Venture - “Adventure Is Out There”

Vivian/Viv - 

W

Wanda - “Shade of Scarlet”

Whimsy - “Whimsical Adventure”, “Wit and Whimsy”, “Fun and Fancy Free” 

Whirl - “Whirlwind of Chaos”

Winona/Winnie - “Even Longer”. 

X

Xena - “Battlecry”, “Warrior Princess”, “Drums of War” 

Y

Yasha - “Winter Soldier”

Z

Zurri - 

[antiquechampagne]

Beastly Kingdom - CH 9 - Greatest Show on Earth

( Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels)

Liz loved watching the bustle around the park for the nearly invisible signs of her plan showing themselves. The invisible cogs quickened their pace when she received word the General was on his way from Sanctuary. Everything was coming together, even better than she had anticipated. As the General entered the park late in the afternoon, her sealed final instructions made their way to the respective gang leader. Liz decided to put Nate up in her penthouse for the night, satisfied with Dixie and Gage standing guard so no one would dare to try any funny business. The General wasn’t too happy about spinning his wheels for the night, but Liz had a few more final touches to complete before the show could start.

The sun rose in a hazy sky, but Liz had little time to sit and enjoy it, she had been up for hours. Dragging nearly ever raider to one place was a serious pain in the ass. The only venue large enough to house everyone was the main Nuka-Town square, right outside the circular market. A rudimentary stage had been built to add height and extend the 'map alcove', allowing those on stage to look down at the gathering crowd. Liz counted on the long-standing animosity to prompt self-segregation between the gangs. All she had to do was seed the prospective areas with the certain people to make sure each gang stayed in the zones she designated: Operators to her left, the Pack to the right with the Disciples milling about in the middle.

It was growing close to eleven when Liz got word that everyone was in attendance, the final few drug to their spots by an ornery Gage. She stood at the side of the stage as Mason and the rest of the leaders shuffled around off stage, trying to hide their boredom but keeping a cool eye on Nate. The crowd was getting restless. Liz let them stew a few minutes longer than was strictly necessary before ascending the steps, the other leaders trailing behind her.

Standing at center stage with her entourage flanking her, Liz looked out, quickly scanned the faces and belted out, “ALL RIGHT! EVERYONE, SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

The crowd fell silent. She felt her voice could carry to the very corner of Nuka-World.

“I know what you assholes want to hear, but you… and the General…“ She glanced behind, glancing Nate up and down. "Are going to have to wait.” She heard a shuffle as, on cue, Mason guided Nate to upstage right, Mags and Nisha backing to the other.

“I want to make it absolute clear to each one of you sons-of-a-bitches here, that what we have here in Nuka-World is something unique… something fucking special. You aren't going to find anything like this anywhere else. And, as your Overboss, I'm not going to let anyone or anything take Nuka-World from us. I will do anything to keep us safe.” The crowd was drinking in her words. She decided to step it up a notch.

“Who’s going to keep you safe?” A weak chorus answered. She gave a death-glared down at the crowd, arms crossed. “Who?”

“The Overboss!” That was better.

She wanted more. “WHO?”

Nearly everyone was on their feet now “THE OVERBOSS!” Their answer thundered, followed by whoops and flailing weapons.

“That’s how I expect a true Nuka-World motherfucker to answer!” Liz puffed her chest out. “And who’s the baddest motherfucker in Nuka-World?”

“THE OVERBOSS!”

She thrust her hands out, quieting the cheering crowd.

“You’re damn right.”

She couldn't stop a smirk from spreading over her scarred lips. Time to make them shit their pants.

“Now, I want you to meet the newest member of the Nuka-World family.” She slapped her thigh, as if calling a dog to her side, only instead of a whistle; she let out a low growl.

The crowd glanced around nervously, confused. In the distance, a deep rumbling growl answered. Liz's smirk bloomed into a full on grin as she watched the audiences faces fill with fear. They all knew that sound. She just stood and drank it all in.

Behind the stage, a huge black clawed hand rose from inside the closed market and grasped the roof. With a swift feline-like grace, Big Mama made her entrance. Vaulting herself over the structure, the huge glowing creature landed with a thump next to Liz, snarling. The scattered screams and horror-filled eyes staring from the crowd was totally worth clearing out the market in the dead of night to lock Mama inside with a huge pile of meat.

Liz casually scratched Mama’s chin. “Say ‘Hi’, Big Mama” she prompted.

Mama trumpeted loudly, a supersonic shock wave knocking back the throng, several people in the front blown over by the force. The crowd semi-recovered, but were still frozen, unsure how to react.

In a distant corner, a single triumphant roar rippled across the impromptu theater.

"Fuck YEAH!"

The sound seemed to break the spell, as the entire crowd broke into a raucous applause, shouts and gunfire. Liz let the audience party as she directed Mama to stay behind her, motioning to her underbosses to join her by her side. The crowd, having released some nervous energy, naturally calmed down to where she could address them again.

“Now,” She walked to the edge of the stage. “Let’s get down to serious business at hand. There are only two organizations that pose any real threat to Nuka-World: The Minutemen and The Brotherhood of Steel. Our very existence is a bloody thorn in the side of the Minutemen's peaceful and flavorless vision of the Commonwealth. The Brotherhood, on the other hand, would cream themselves if they got their hands on all our pre-war tech and fire power. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that shit out. I'd been planning for since we started to expand outside of the park."

"Here, imagine my surprise when the Minutemen’s very own General Popsicle walking through the doors, offering a deal nonetheless.” Liz walked over to Nate, stretching her arm over his stiff shoulders. “Gotta hand it to’em, that took balls. More than I thought any Minuteman might have.” She gave him a little squeeze as her other hand slipped her knife out of its sheath on her hip. "But this deal, it got me thinking. -Thinking hard- about the future of everyone here. Here we are sitting pretty in our park, but how can we become something even stronger... spread our influence over the all Commonwealth, maybe even further? Would an alliance with the Minutemen be worth it?" Letting go, Liz began to pace next to Mason, picking at her teeth with the blade. "Just ask Gage... I thought about all this shit ‘till my brain was leaking out my ears. Then, I locked myself up tighter than Bradberton's hidden office bunker to figure all this out."

She made her way over to where three of raider leaders stood. This time she hung herself between the Black siblings, one arm draped over Mags' shoulders, the other over her brother. She still held her knife loosely, weaving it idly through the air under William's chin as she spoke. "I talked to all my underbosses about it, feeling everyone out. Getting their input, as it were."

Liz pursed her lips as if in thought for a moment, every movement calculated to pull in the audience's attention. With a disappointed shake of her head, her blade straightened itself on William's the stubble-speckled neck. "I hate to say it, but one gang just wasn't on-board with my plan." Her free hand gripped Mags metal clad shoulder. "And that is just unacceptable. I won't stand for it." It was so hard not to smile as she watched the shock and fear once again creep over the watching crowd.

Without another word, she swiftly turned the blade away from William and plunged it straight into Nisha's neck. Blood gurgled to her lips. She slumped to the floor. Mason grabbed Nate, whisking him off-stage to safety. On cue, the trusted senior members of the Operators and Pack in the audience unleashed a deadly storm of bullets on the Disciples sandwiched between them, slaughtering many before they even had the chance to draw their own weapons.

"NO!" Dixie sprang on Liz, her blades already drawn, her shock quickly dissolving into a murderous rage. "YOU DOUBLE-CROSSING BITCH!"

Liz didn't even have to move. She watched and grinned as a giant clawed hand effortlessly pinned Dixie to the boards. With a guttural snarl, Mama's giant jaws latched onto Dixie's metal-strapped helmet, crushing the life out of her lover in a matter of moments.

"Careful now, Mama," Ignoring the occasional projectile, Liz coaxed Mama to reluctantly let go of the twitching body. With a few quick slashes, she removed a few choice bits of metal armor. "I don't need you getting anything unpleasant stuck in your teeth. There you go, sweetie. Go to town." She gave an affectionate thump on the deathclaw's luminous hide.

A bullet grazed the Overboss's shoulder, causing her to wince. Turning on her heels, she faced the crowd, searching for the offending shooter. Once she locked eyes on the desperate man, she quickly dispatched him with a knife to chest.

"Ugh, seriously?" Fussing over her bloodied sleeve, she returned to Mama, who was happily munching away in the middle of the stage. The screams and gunfire began to wane. She gave the glowing creature a scratch before returning to the edge of the stage, looking at the bloody, body-filled ground where hundreds of people had once stood.

"Where were we... ah, yes. The plan. The remaining gang leaders have been briefed on the plan and have agreed to the terms." She motioned to Mason to bring Nate back on stage. He was looking decidedly greener around the gills. "Those terms being as follows. The Nuka-World raiders will aid the Minutemen in their offensive to end the Brotherhood. We will withdraw all our settlements and cease any expansion into the Commonwealth, keeping to Nuka-World." Liz pulled a cigarette from a pocket and lit it "In return, the Minutemen will share the spoils, as well as give us access to all established trade routes, along with exclusive and complete control to all chem trade and mercenary contracts within the Commonwealth," she nodded to the Blacks and Mason, respectively.

Nate, recovered, nodded in agreement. He stretched out his hand. Liz grabbed it, pulling him in close. "You're gunna love this next bit... soldier boy..." she whispered to him, pulling a lung full off the cigarette.

Liz gave a nod to Mason, who pulled a cowering Dr. Mackenzie up on stage. Liz reached into her pocket and pulled out a chunky black remote. Mackenzie gasped. The doctor knew a bomb collar detonator as soon as she saw it.

"Not only are we going 'legit', but, as an act of good will...“ Liz opened a compartment on the side, slipping a key into the waiting slot. As she turned, the red light on the detonator and Mackenzie's collar turned dark, the lock sliding open with a clunk. "All of the traders are now free to go and do as they please." She puffed, releasing a long stream of smoke. "However, as an incentive to stay and help Nuka-World grow, I am officially setting aside the town Bradberton as an area for anyone who wants to settle down in, under the complete protection of the Pack, of course."

Mason released a bewildered Mackenzie. All she could manage was to nod of comprehension, slowly skittering off stage as soon as Mason let go of her shoulders.

Liz turned back to the crowd. "And just to be crystal clear on this... anyone not on board with my plan..." she opened her arms dramatically before the sea of bullet ridden bodies before her, "can see my established termination policy." The whole park was as quiet as the grave, all except for the wet crunching of bone and meat from Mama and her meal.

"Seems we are in agreement then! Who's up for making the Brotherhood and the Commonwealth our little bitches?"

Every corner of Nuka-World rang with their thunderous answer.

[xandurielx]

Massive Humanity Dump

Chapter 1

The humans had abandoned them. After seemingly endless cycles of fighting the battle was about to be lost and the war with it, and the humans had left them to fight for themselves.

‘So much for the legendary pack-bonding of humans’ Krillna thought to himself as he leaned around his bunker to lay down some suppressing fire on the enemy. Tungsten rods magnetically accelerated to near supersonic speed ripped into the battlefield and enemies died by the dozens…but it wasn’t enough.

Seemingly endless waves of the reptilian enemies known as the Slentine seemed to crawl and slither towards their position. Fields of scales and fangs greeted him every time he looked around his barrier, looks of desperation and hopelessness looked back every time he turned away from the battle.

“You would think the humans could have at least left us the weapons before they ran like cowards!” cried out one soldier before he was cut down by enemy fire.

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’

“Did anyone else hear that?” Krillna asked after firing another salvo of rounds towards the slowly advancing enemy. Looking at his ammo counter and seeing it was empty Krillna threw his weapon to the ground and grabbed the ceremonial bone dagger the warriors of his people were gifted upon maturity.

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’

Holding the blade to his chest and breathing the prayers of his youth, Krillna begged the seven skies of his homeland for the power of the mighty storm, pleaded for his spirit to be flown on the winds to his ancestors. Finding himself at the end of his prayers and ready to face the enemy head on, to fight tooth, bone and claw in the ways of his ancestors, Krillna couldn’t help but think he heard something on the wind again. Looking to the forest side of the battlefield, Krillna felt a rumbling through the pads of his clawed foot.

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ RAWHIIIIIDE!

With the sound of thunder and snapping trees, Krillna felt all three of his hearts stop and fall. Gierophants, mighty horned beasts weighing several tons with great crests of hardend skin behind the skull to protect the neck and a row of spines extending the length of the spine, each one as tall as Krillna’s 7 foot frame. Easy to anger, nearly impossible to outrun and harder to damage and often found in herds of 50-100 the gierophant  was this world’s largest inhabitant, but Krillna thought he saw something on the back of the lead beast.

Humans. Humans were riding the gierophants…a herd of what looked to be 60 or more and each one had a human standing on the snout of the creature and even more behind the crest or between the dorsal spines.

RAIN AND WIND AND WEATHER

The humans were each lashed to a spine or each other with lengths of rope and each one was firing wildly into the horde of enemies, hanging sideways from the flanks of the great beasts, weaving between the spines, crouching behind the crest and all were firing their rifles.

HELL BENT FOR LEATHER

“Sir? Am I having a substance dream or are those humans riding Gierophants into the Slentine ranks in a stampede while singing what sounds like a human battle song?” A young warrior asked in disbelief as the battle field seemed to come to a stop. The pause didn’t last long as the slentine soldiers quickly turned their weapon on the stampede of human madness and animal rage.

WISHING MY GIRL WAS BY MY SIIIDEEE!

“You are most definitely seeing this pup, the crazy humans went and did the impossible again…WARRIORS OF CANTRAXA” Krillna called out to the stunned warriors behind him, filled with a renewed hope for victory “DRAW YOUR BLADES AND RELOAD YOUR WEAPONS, THE HUMANS HAVE GIVEN US THIS CHANCE AND BY THE FIRE PLAINS OF OUR HOME WORLD I WILL NOT STAND BY AND MAKE NOTHING OF IT!” holding his blade high above his head the Pack-Master let loose the battle cry of his ancestors with such ferocity that it seemed to ring from the very heavens, turned from his comrades and ran face first into the chaos of the newly evened battle.

ALL THE THINGS IM MISSIN’

Three hardened battle packs of Cantraxa warriors, thought to be beaten down by sheer numbers and attrition, thought to be defeated and simply too stupid to understand… howled…each and every one felt what the humans referred to as battle lust and with the feeling of fire singing in their veins each and every one reached deep into their souls and called the ancient war cries of times long past.

 GOOD VIDDLES, LOVE AND KISSIN’

The humans sang on, swinging wildly from the sides of the Gierophants or hanging on with one hand firing with the other seemingly oblivious to the rounds of enemy’s fire flying past them. With every human felled the others seemed to sing louder. Krillna was in awe of these small hairless creatures as he ran towards the battle, they rode the great beasts of this world like they were born to it, they faced a horde of enemies without fear and sang their defiance in the face of death and defeat.

 ARE WAITING AT THE END OF MY RIDE

The battle was won, the slentine ranks had been broken in half by the stampede and when the front ranks turned to fire on the new threat they were drowned in an avalanche of fur and fang, bullet and bone from the Cantraxa warriors. The humans had ran over and shot down much of the enemy, the field had been churned to a bloody mud pit of broken bodies and weapons, the Gierophants long gone by then after the humans had dismounted and returned to base.

Krillna watched in curious amazement as the humans went about their post battle chores. Groups of humans combing the battlefield for survivors, pulling bodies from the muck and determining if they could be saved or not. Slentine and Cantraxian alike were given final honors or medical aid…mere hours before these small hairless maniacs were riding juggernauts of death into battle while singing and laughing and now they were providing aid and respect to not only their comrades but the enemy as well.

Amazing graaaceee

A hauntingly sad and seemingly profound song floated like fog over the battlefield from somewhere among the humans.

How sweet the sound

Funeral pyres and graves were dug according to cultural wishes, wounded were cared for regardless of species or alignment in the war. Bodies counted and tears were shed that day and as the last sun in the sky fell below the horizon, Krillna found himself surrounded by his warriors and humans. Holding a strange liquid in his cup, the humans called it beer…or maybe stout?...Krillna looked to the leader of the humans as she stood upon a table laden with food and drink.

“Tonight we celebrate our victory!” the humans cheered and the cantraxans yipped and howled like pups.

“Tonight we mourn our glorious fallen!” With a silence that choked the very soul, every human raised their drink to the memory of those they had lost and drank deeply. Krillna and his warriors all mimicked the humans in their silence and honors.

“Tonight…we honor our worthy enemies” The commander of the humans raised her cup one last time and as one all the humans followed. Krillna could not see the reason behind the last one but was not about to comment on it while surrounded by humans.

Instruments were tuned and soon employed to their fullest extent as humans began dancing and singing, wagers were made, games played and for a few moments Krillna could almost believe that they were simply back in his homeland celebrating the lunar convergence festival. Spotting the human leader on the outskirts of the revelry Krillna silently approached the human as she slowly drank and watched those she had shed blood with. Stepping on a fallen can of some kind alerted the commander and as she whipped her head towards Krillna, he froze in place…the look in her eyes was not that of a celebration but rather that of battle mad soldiers…items within reach categorized as weapons, responses and plans ranging from peacefully violent to disturbingly chaotic flashed through her face in seconds, her grip on the cup in hand and tensing of her muscles told Krillna that she had to stop herself from launching the cup at his face.

Raising his clawed hands in a sign of peace Krillna approached the commander slowly. As he approached the tiny human, no more than five feet tall, Krillna noticed tears leaking from her eyes in a steady stream cutting tracks through the remaining dirt and grime upon her cheeks. Hands shaking the commander raised the nearly impromptu projectile to her mouth and took a steadying sip before addressing the large warrior.

“What can I do for you Pack-Master?” Asked the commander as she turned her eyes back to the celebration before her.

“You do not celebrate victory like the others? Why do you spill tears so freely War Mother?” Krillna asked, using the honorific of the greatest female warriors of his people.

“I uh…it just takes a little time for me to wind down from battle and get into the spirit of things, eventually I’ll head out and show these youngsters how to really party but for now I will just have to deal with the aftermath of adrenaline.” The commander said with a small shake to her voice.

“I have heard of this adrenaline, most species would simply die if exposed to it but you humans produce it naturally?” The Pack-Master asked.

“Yes, our bodies naturally produce it and well…it dissipates quicker for some and for others it sticks around longer. Battle madness, blood-lust, berserker rage and more are just different names of the same thing, active or excess adrenaline…our minds are changed and muscles freed of restraints while under its influence but afterwards we have to put the beast back in the cage and deal with the mess it made, physically, mentally and spiritually.” The commander responded with a look in her eyes that said she was looking deep into the past.

“How did you humans tame the Gierophants? It was previously thought impossible to even safely approach them never mind ride them or direct them” Krillna asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from the maudlin thoughts the commander seemed to be sinking into.

With an almost visible brightening of her features the commander looked up at Krillna.

“We didn’t actually tame them, we were trying to find either a good escape route to get everyone out or possibly a way to ambush the slentine army, make them fight on two fronts as it were. We ran across the herd of Gierophants by accident and sort of came up with the plan on the spot, we figured if they started to stampede in our direction the base would be destroyed but if they went just little to the side they would hit our enemies. Jackson over there used to be what we call a “cowboy” and said if you can point a bull’s nose in one direction the body would follow so we made some lassos and climbing rigs and well, the rest is history.” The commander finished with a small shrug and a decidedly less shaky sip of her drink.

Krillna was almost to shocked to breath “You found a herd of the planet’s largest and most dangerous animal, decided to irritate them into charging you with the enemy directly behind you on the hopes that they would also run over said enemy and while they did that you threw ropes on them so you could climb onto them and ride them…you humans are insane” with a shake of his great furred head Krillna could only thank the seven skies that these lunatics were on their side.

With a laugh the commander tipped the last of her drink back and wrapped her hand around one of his fingers, his hand being large enough to completely encompass her own, and began to pull him towards the firelight of the bonfires, a mischievous light in her eyes and a smile that spoke of wicked delights to come on her lips.

“Oh you haven’t even begun to see the madness of humanity, come and we shall sing you songs of our people” The commander laughed as the crowd enveloped them, music wound through the air like smoke, soldiers and warriors alike danced and spun and Krillna could only laugh as he downed the rest of his drink and threw reservations to the wind with a final thought.

‘Humans are weird, but wonderful’

Chapter 2

Shi’tar could only look upon what was once his home with despair. The invaders had come and ravaged his world in barely a handful of cycles…entire cities reduced to rubble and ash in their wake. Huddling in the ruin of their home Shi’tar and his brood merely sat and hummed the song of mourning for their species waiting for the end to come. Food was scarce after the ravagers that destroyed their home had taken or burned what little they had. The Galactic Council had abandoned them in favor of turning their resources towards slowing the tide of destruction that was the Kellnakt, a nomad race of pillagers and destroyers. This was just one in a long line of worlds the Kellnakt had come to and destroyed, a small planet of little note in the big picture of the universe, why should the GC bother to help when they could put their effort towards protecting the next planet or system?

On the morning of the third cycle after the destruction of their world is when it happened. They came from the skies in thunder and fire, like angry gods come to strike down the survivors and put them out of their misery. Great ships hundreds of units wide and thousands long flew through the atmosphere in graceful arches until they came to rest upon the just outside what use to be Shi’tar’s home town. Shi’tar ran to the edge of the city to see what new curse had just landed on their world, mandibles clicking in fear. Hiding behind a tree Shi’tar watched in amazement as three ships carefully landed and began to open, bright light spilling out into the pre-dawn gloom until from the belly of one ship a figure emerged.

Taller than Shi’tar by half…shoulders clad in what looked like some kind of chitin the seemed to extend in plates down arms that rippled with muscle even under what looked like scaled armor between the chitinous  plates, a long torso that flowed down into a set of legs that appeared strong enough to crush Shi’tar with a single blow. Shi’tar took all this in quickly and thought maybe they had a chance at hope…they might be able to bargain slavery for safety, surely such a powerful creature could use a few servants to clean up or work in factories of some kind, until Shi’tar saw the eyes. Forward facing eyes that seemed to track all movement at once…the eyes of a predator.

Shi’tar felt both of his stomachs turn to ice as he looked closer, the creature turned its head side to side scanning the surroundings…with un-erring accuracy it snapped to one side when an animal cried out off to the side of the field, this was a predator, born to hunt and kill and it had come to this world scour any survivors from its surface Shi’tar just knew it. Lifting one appendage from its side Shi’tar saw that it held a…funnel? Cone? Of some kind to its facial orifice and began to speak in passably good Cochcorikan…the language of Shi’tar’s species.

“Hello? Are you a representative of the…shit how do you say that….um…. Cokc….Cokar…Cochcorikan? race and homeworld?” The figure asked as its voice was amplified by the cone out to Shi’tar.

Shi’tar turned away from the predator and put his back to the tree, all three hearts thundering like the beating steps of a Lanqor . What could he do? He was just one Cochcorikan how was he supposed to defend his brood from a creature like this? And what did it mean asking for a representative? Was it looking to kill off the leaders first?

“Um, hello…We saw you behind that tree when we landed, could you either come out here or get someone who could speak with us please?” Shi’tar wasn’t sure if it was bluffing or not but he wasn’t about to reveal himself…even if it did know he was there, every minute it spent on him gave his brood more time to either run or simply live and he was going to give them every minute he could.

“Excuse me” the voice of the alien predator was right next to him.

“AHHHAA!” Shi’tar would later tell this part of the story as releasing a mighty war cry and not the sound of a scared hatch-ling. Laying there on his back Shi’tar looked up at the creature before him that had snuck up with the footsteps of a soundless breeze.

“AH Yes..um hello…do you speak for your world?” Why was it just standing there? It had him dead to rights and was in a position of power and dominance…wait… it was leaning forward and extending its appendage tipped in keratinous talons! This was it, Shi’tar closed his six eyes and waited for the Great Brood Mother to usher him to the Final Nest…um…why was it pulling him to his feet?

“Sorry I spooked you there, we are from the Human Relief Society and are here to offer aid if you would accept it.” Shi’tar couldn’t believe it, he was alive and standing before a creature born to hunt and survive off the death of others…it stood there towering in front of him baring its teeth at him in a show of dominance after displaying the obvious physical power it had by lifting him from the ground…was it hoping that he would run? Maybe it was looking for a chase before it killed him…and what was it talking about? Relief Society?

“We are a small group of humans that are hoping to provide aid to worlds hat have been effected by disasters like the Kellnakt invaders but in the hopes of maintaining peace and cultural boundaries we won’t help unless permission is given…do you want out help?” The massive creature looked upon Shi’tar with a glint of what could only be seen as hope in its large eyes…eyes the color of an ocean under storm and containing the fires of creation.

“Y-y-yes?” Shi’tar would later edit out the stutter of disbelief in later tellings but at the moment he felt as though the Great Brood Mother was smiling upon him…this couldn’t be possible…Humans, the great war species from a Death World that practically re-invented the word of ‘un-inhabitable’, the race that could live in almost any environment and who were known as an unstoppable tide of destruction and madness were here…to help.

“PLEASE! please help us worthless life forms oh Great Ones!, we have nothing of worth to give to ones so great but please help us, we are but weak farmers and merchants, we have no great warriors or love of battle but we will do as you command…please, I beg of you…help my brood, help my race.” Shi’tar would never feel shame at this display of weakness before such a creature as a Human for who was he to hold his head high before an engine of destruction such as the galaxy had not seen. It was not until the human dropped to one leg joint and placed a…hand?...yes hand that is what they called the great crushing ends to their appendages…upon Shi’tar’s head and spoke in a voice that conveyed all the love and shelter of the Final Nest that Shi’tar began believing that maybe his hive would live to see another solar rotation.

“What is your name, what would you have me call you?”

“This most unworthy one is known as Shi’tar, but I will take any designation you would honor me with oh Great One.”

“Raise your head Shi’tar of the Cochcorikan Race…we are here to help, not to subjugate, we seek to build not destroy…you say you are worthless but I see a species that has built a home and culture that can be spread across the stars…you claim you are weak but I see survivors that lived through an invasion of a more advanced species with little more than farm tools to defend themselves with…you say you have no great warriors or love of battle, I see a race that has ascended beyond petty conflicts and wars and that has built a world of peace and prosperity…if you would let us help you we would only ask that you perhaps teach us and help us achieve such a state…now do you want us to help you, so that you can help us?” Shi’tar felt his eyes excreting at the words of this mighty Juggernaut of War, to think that such a powerful race could possess such compassion was unbelievable, he could not say Yes enough to the offer of aid and assistance.

With a baring of teeth the giant of a human lifted Shi’tar to his feet once more and turned to his ship, placing a hand to his chest and pressing a previously unseen button the human seemingly spoke to the air and Shi’tar watched as the other two ships opened and rank upon rank of human clad in battle armor descended from ramps. Shi’tar had not heard any rumors of a hive mind between humans but it could only be so as they walked in perfect sync, their mighty steps sounding as one great beast walking upon the world. Forming into one large mass of bodies Shi’tar was amazed at what he saw…hundreds of humans in perfect rank stood before him and the other human, faces blank of any emotion, eyes burning a desire so deep it frightened Shi’tar to think of the lengths these humans would go to t achieve what they sought.

“HUMANS OF EARTH!” The human next to Shi’tar bellowed to the ranks before him “SOLDIERS OF SOL AND CHILDREN OF GAIA! THE KELLNAKT HAVE RAVAGED ANOTHER WORLD AND BROUGHT LOW ITS PEOPLE, WE ARE HERE TO RAISE THEM FROM THE ASHES OF DESTRUCTION…WILL WE FAIL!?”

The response from the human horde before him was enough to echo from the very skies themselves, a resounding “NO” nearly blew Shi’tar from his feet. With a few orders snapped out in rapid fire the apparent leader of these humans sent groups to secure perimeters, survey landscapes, set up medical positions for wounded and sick and to scout for secondary and tertiary landing sites. The last orders confused Shi’tar, why would they need more landing sites? Surely they were all there was to help his people from destruction…right?

By mid-day no less than two dozen more ships came thundering from the skies to land across the planet with more ever arriving. Entire capital ships of materials landed only to be swarmed by humans and unloaded so that they might take off again and make space for another ship to land with yet more building and relief materials. Shi’tar stood within a hurricane of humanity as humans raced about with the light of purpose in their eyes, tents for the sick and injured were erected, building that somehow survived the invasion were either destroyed and rebuilt stronger or repaired and re-enforced. Survivors were ushered into small areas out of the way of the human’s rebuilding efforts and given food, hatchlings were kept busy and cared for, humans took time to play with the young ones so that they wouldn’t get in the way of the adults.

The humans moved with a grace and purpose born only of long repetition as they lifted rubble from collapsed buildings and moved materials from one place to another. The dead were gathered and  named, death rites were administered and rituals were observed to honor the fallen. The humans worked tirelessly throughout the day and into the night, lights were brought out to illuminate the work sites so that the humans could continue long into the dark. Hatchlings fell asleep to the sound of life being rebuilt around them, adults were consulted on the best places to build certain structures, in fewer cycles than it took the Kellnakt to destroy their cities Shi’tar was receiving reports from around the planet that entire communities were being raised once again.

Shi’tar looked out from the top of the tallest structure that had been built and marveled at his new home…every building had been built to the specifications of his culture, the path of destruction that had once marked his home world as another conquest of the Kellnakt was swept away in the storm that was the Human Relief Society …a storm of furious rebuilding and repair.

The time for the humans to leave came sooner than any would wish and many attempts at keeping the humans had been made, from shameless bribery to begging but none of the attempts were successful. It was with many ocular excretions that the humans boarded their ship and once again ascended to the stars until only one ship was left, the first ship to land in fact.

Shi’tar stood before the human that he had been cowering before and begging aid from and stood tall with a new found confidence. He stood as a survivor and friend to humanity as opposed to kneeling as a servant to a superior race, never had he stood so tall and proud.  Extending his clawed ‘hand’ Shi’tar shook the powerful hand of the human that had brought hope back to his world, smiling as best he could while his eyes leaked secretions of joy at the knowledge that his brood would not only live for another cycle, but thrive to see hatchlings of their own.

“Just remember, if you need help again don’t hesitate to call us, we may be labeled as deathworlders but that doesn’t mean we can’t promote life as well.” The human said as he shook Shi’tar’s clawed hand.

“Please, take these younglings with you, they may not be much for battle or labor but they have a mind for business and trade that may help you in the future, you helped us rise from the ashes of defeat and destruction, let us help you aid other in your quest to help others.” Shi’tar gestured to a dozen younglings that stood off to the side with bags packed and ready for travel.

“It would be our honor, admittedly we aren’t the best at the merchant side of things, all right you lot get aboard and prepare for  long ride our next stop is a few lightyears away.” The human said with a smile upon its face, Shi’tar still had to suppress a small shiver at the teeth baring sign of happiness that humans insisted upon.

“What will you do if you ever catch up to the Kellnakt? They are a warrior species the likes of which has plagued the galaxy for longer than most can remember, or will you stay ever behind them to undo what they destroy?” Shi’tar asked as the younglings walked up the ramp into the human ship and disappeared.

“WHEN, we catch up to the Kellnakt we will offer them what we have always offered…aid and help to rebuild a home, medical help for the sick and wounded and protection from those that would destroy them…should they refuse we will back away, but should they refuse and offer violence towards us or our friends…we will show them what it means to fight those born upon a death world and we will meet them with fire and fury to rival the gods and we will not stop until any threat to those under our protection is dealt with, and then we will offer aid once more.” The human spoke with a conviction and confidence that both terrified and inspired Shi’tar.

“Should you ever need food or supplies or simply somewhere to rest do not hesitate to return to us and we will provide aid in return though I can’t promise all the best the universe can offer as are but simple farmers and merchants.” This last part was said with a new found confidence, and a bit of newly learned sarcasm as he thought about the various crates of training manuals and weapons the humans had… “forgotten to load”…supplying weapons in certain situations could be considered illegal after all, but it was not un-heard of for items to be misplaced or lost all together in the hectic flurry of movement that was rebuilding cities and reloading star ships after all was said and done.

It was with a certain amount of sadness that Shi’tar and his people watched the humans board their ships and leave the atmosphere, with significantly less fanfare than they had arrived with thankfully. Shi’tar didn’t know if they would ever meet the humans again but he did know that if they did ever cross paths in the future, his people would not be seen as weak farmers and merchants easily broken and defeated again.

Chapter 3

First Medical officer of the Galactic Union Revka Jihar looked on in awe as the human zipped from one console to other. Sliding from one side of the room to the other only to go back she displayed a true mastery of her job. Coordinating rank upon rank of human shock trooper forces into position, confirming approval of Human Medium Force Allowed, checking and double checking the health status of hundreds of humans, receiving reports from multiple divisions of engineers and mechanics about the status of one drop group or another…it was overwhelming to the Kalarian to watch.

“Shock Troopers stand by to stand by for final approval on drop, med squads confirm ready stations for injured, eng corps get those fucking launch tubes in the green before I come down there and fire you out one by one until I am satisfied my boys won’t hit atmo looking like strawberry jam, Hell Jumpers get to your pods and strap in we have yellow light on drop and I am not waiting for any Late Lucys should we get green.” The rapid fire communication of the humans had never ceased to amaze Revka, how they could say so much with so few words using only inflection, not to mention context, tone, body language and a myriad of other factors that they themselves seemed un-aware of. Keys rattled like gunfire beneath First Rank Orbital Shock Drop Coordinator Amelia Hargrove’s nimble fingers, screens came to life only to be replaced by others as they were dismissed. Within barely a handful of human minutes Frist Rank Hargrove sat back limply in her chair with her arms hanging down the sides as she breathed deeply in seeming exhaustion, Revka knew better though, he had seen this human go cycles without rest or nutrition.

An alert from the single remaining screen in front of the human grabbed her attention and her head snapped up from its slumped over position, the gleam of anticipation and sudden movement reminding Revka of the humans predatory lineage. Jumping to her feet with enough force to send her division command chair sliding back on tracks laid into the floor to the edge of the large room they occupied Amelia comm’d the captain of the ship.

“Captain Shelsa, Shock Trooper Command…I have green on all drop requirements, personnel and approval…Awaiting Final Command: Angel Fall.” Amelia Stood disturbingly still and focused as she awaited the order from her captain to release the humans upon the world beneath them. Revka stood in the back of the room next to the abandoned chair, furiously making notes upon his digital clipboard without even looking down at it. Being the first species other than human to witness the deployment of Shock Troopers into an active battle field Revka was not about to miss a single document-able moment of what he was witnessing. The tension in the air radiating from the human in the middle of the large room was almost enough to choke Revka, the human had not moved in the slightest since her last communication, her muscles seemed to bunch beneath her skin tight command suit as the micro-cycles slid by, until…

“Shock Command, Captain Shelsa…you are green for trooper drop, repeat you are green for drop…Amelia!” First Rank Hargrove’s head snapped up at the sound of desperation and pain in the captains voice.

“Yes Captain? I am here.”

“…Amelia, these, monsters attacked earth…they struck down schools and hospitals…these invaders took my baby girl from me without warning or reason given…invoke the Battle Gods….” First Rank Amelia went dead silent and painfully rigid from this last command. It was well known humans had music for all occasions and that they would perform different tasks with more or less efficiency depending on if music was being played to them and depending on the task or musical selection. Revka felt his feathers bleach of all color at the last command…it was not a command given with hopes of leaving survivors, the Battle God ‘Queen’ was something of a legend among different species due to the effect said music had on humans…but these last words were spoken with such cold venom Revka had to grip the deck plates with his talons to keep himself from bolting in fear. Revka watched as the Orbital Shock Drop Coordinator calmly answered in the affirmative, slipped an Augmented Reality Visor over her eyes and seemed to deflate as tension left her body.

Walking to the middle of the room First Rank Amelia began to glow softly as synaptic relays lit up across her suit, lines of light racing from her toes to her visor and everywhere in between, muscles slid with liquid grace beneath her suit as she stalked forward.

It started gently…hands lifting to flow through screens only she could now see through her visor…hands and arms moving like the conductor of a symphony Revka had seen on earth and with each movement a new small screen came to life around Coordinator Amelia, each screen containing a new face…the faces of her boys…the faces of humanities most feared ground based battle troops…the Orbital Shock Troopers known only as the Hell Jumpers.

No words were spoken at first, Amelia simply stood there under the gaze of over five hundred trained, battle hardened, soldiers. Soldiers that were about to be dropped from orbit onto a planet light years away from home into a raging warzone with nothing but a small pod made to break away on impact to protect them from the heat and violence of atmospheric entry. None looked scared, no tears were shed in fear or pain, this was simply another good day to die for these individuals Revka realized.

“Kikiki! Kakaka!” The suddenness of Coordinator Amelia’s cry and movement nearly had Revka molting a full tails worth of feathers. Amelia slammed one foot down to her side so that she was bent at the knees.

“Kauana kei waniwania taku tara” Hands slapped into her thighs and stomach muscles in time to her chant.

“kei tarawahia, kei te rua i te kerokero!” Feet stomped and hands slapped as she continued her chant, voice raising to echo throughout the room.

“He pounga rahui te uira” Amelia’s voice rang with a clarion call to battle, it vibrated with the rage of an entire race that had been wronged as she raised a fist and slapped her arms.

“ka rarapa ketekete kau ana” Revka felt sorry for himself as he watched the display before him as he had not thought to make arrangements for his newly born clutch of whelps should he perish on this mission.

“To peru kairiri mau au e koro e!” Looking at the many images of the Shock Troopers arrayed before and around the still stamping and chanting Coordinator Revka could see that each one was focused upon her with a burning intensity.

” Hi! Ha! - Ka wehi au ka matakana,”  Eyes narrowed, teeth were bared in rictus smiles, pulses throbbed in necks, nostrils flared in anticipation as the chanting grew somehow louder and more fervent.

“ko wai te tangata kia rere ure tirohanga” First Rank Amelia stamped and pounded her feet into the ground as if to defy fate to move her, as if she was seeing the future and challenging it to be anything other than what she demanded it to be.

“ngā rua rerarera” Hands slapped and struck with force that would shatter the bones of Revka’s species like she was trying to beat reality into submission and bend it to her will.

“ngā rua kuri kakanui i raro! Aha ha!” With one final strike First Rank Orbital Shock Drop Coordinator Amelia Hargrove let loose a sound that would haunt Revka’s rest cycles for the rest of his life. The sound that echoed throughout the room seemed to contain all the suffering that had been felt at the hands of the enemy, all the pain of loss and the rage of those who could not do anything to seek retribution for those wronged. Screens lit up as each trooper dropped from the belly of the ship into the planet’s gravity well, each and every face pulled into a mask of rage and determination beneath face shields snapping into position. Revka thought that perhaps the spectacle was over now that the humans had been sent planetside…until Coordinator Amelia’s arm snapped out and with a few deft movements brought up a simple non-standard screen.

The media screen floated barely a hair’s breadth from the end of Amelia’s fingertips as she scrolled down a list of songs. With little more than a thought a song was selected and broadcasted to every shock trooper, soldier and crewman.

Drums beat and strings were plucked with a sense of anger lurking behind the sounds, after only a few seconds of this First Rank Amelia began to sing in a tone of voice unlike anything Revka had heard from the normally bubbly and flirty Coordinator, like gravel grinding in honey and rising into an angry cry tinged with desperation.

I feel the pressure is building in me

My stomach's sick, it's getting harder to breathe

I hear the screaming, I feel the disease

It's burning me up and there is nothing to breathe

Will you crawl with me

Will you stand with me

Would you follow me

Would you believe with me

Tell me you'll breathe with me,

tell me you'll die with me

Come on, get on, let me hear your war cry!

Come on, get on, let me hear your war cry!

Come on, get on, let me hear your war cry!

Yell it out, do or die

Let me hear your war cry!

The battle that followed after the start of this terrifying song was less a battle and more a chaotic slaughter of the enemy. Humans that had been forged of star matter and tempered over eons of living on a death world and driven by madness channeled from a world in pain through musical Battle Gods dark and ancient tore across the land. They fell from the skies in gouts of flame like avenging angels come to strike down the very gates of Hell, no enemy was spared, no mercy given nor asked.

The battle had been long and hard, the final count of the dead had come out to one hundred and seven troopers lost out of over five hundred…a small number but one that was felt like a hammer blow among those that knew them. Revka had stayed and watched the entire time as Coordinator Amelia somehow split her attention between directing troop movements and battle plans all while continuing to dance and sing to various songs of battle and victory. When the final call of victory came over the open channels the music was allowed to stop and First Rank Amelia fell still, her arms hung limp at her sides…screens showing haggard and haunted faces of her soldiers, her troopers, her boys signing off one by one as they went to seek medical aid or further orders, synaptic relays dimming from a fiery blaze to a pale glow until they too fell silent and dark.

Revka walked slowly from his position in the back of the room towards the silent and still figure of the human known among the crew as Battle Siren…the one human who was expected to endure the responsibility of coordinating hundreds of war machines, who was given authority to make decisions in battle and who had to carry the weight of those decisions. As he got closer Revka noticed a new taste on the air, sharp and salty…not sweat, he didn’t have sweat glands and the skin suit Amelia was wearing prevented her body from needing to sweat…tears? Yes Revka could taste the salt of tears on the air.

Slowly coming around to face the Battle Siren Revka was somewhat surprised to find a river of tears slowly falling from under the AR visor. With a deep breath as if she was emerging from deep waters Amelia lifted the visor from her tear soaked eyes and seemed to stare through the bulkheads and deep into the void, then in a soft whisper she said a single sentence that would be taken to the Galactic Council and repeated again and again among those who thought to strike out against the humans.

“They sowed the wind with their strike against our young and injured…so too did they reap the hurricane of our vengeance.”

With that single sentence spoken a new sound began to emanate from the Coordinator, a long drawn out note not unlike the tune of a bell. Revka backed away and made his way out of the room, the Battle Siren had begun to sing a new song, but not one of war and conquest, rather a song of pain and history filled with conflict but also about seasons changing and hope prevailing. The humans may have had a great pantheon of voices to channel inspiration from when going into battle, but so to did it seem that they had ones for peace and healing.

Chapter 4

There are many stories of humans defying the odds, but there are very few that strike true fear of the hairless apes into those that hear them. Many stories and legends of old have been whispered among the stars of great humans that stood against the tide of change, who battled with forces beyond their power to defy but these are all stories long into the tale of Humanities dance among the stars, stories that inspire caution and tales that speak of ill fates that befall those who cross humans. There are many stories of small deeds, seemingly insignificant acts of kindness and bravery that provide a foundation for the great legends to stand proud upon, such as a tale not widely spoke of… a young teacher, a purveyor of historical knowledge to young minds, remembered best by a statue. A figure wrought of white stone shot through with black streaks and golden flecks that to this day stands tall and strong, holding a single tome clutched to its’ chest behind a shield while holding a blade aloft as if to ward away intruders, upon the blade a single phrase repeated in every language spoken by humanity: No harm shall befall these children.

It was near the beginning of mankind’s entrance to the galactic opera. Barely a few decades after First Contact and Acceptance a raiding party of Kazak struck an outlying colony. This was a peaceful world, farms and agriculture snuggled closely to cutting edge scientific institutions dedicated to the betterment of the very industries that they were surrounded by. It was very much a world built in a feedback loop of growing crops, improve methods, grow crops with improved methods, improve upon growing methods, grow crops with improved methods and so forth, constantly doing all they could to not only produce as much as they could from the land they were given but to in turn give back what they could to the land that sustained them.

The Kazak came like a plague of biblical locusts, great swarms that blocked out the suns of the world. Ships landed like bloated birds of prey only to vomit forth battalions of Kazak warriors, raiders of worlds that would strip the land clean of all it could immediately provide and leave it a barren scorched wasteland.

Mrs. Love was halfway through a lesson on the Spartans of Old Earth with her class when the sirens began to wail. Doing her best to remain calm Mrs. Love ushered her class of younglings into a special room that could double as a shelter if the need arose. Promising her class that nothing was wrong and that all would be well in a few minutes Mrs. Love pressed her palm to the scanner beside the door and sealed the room. Turning her back to the now closed door Mrs. Love surveyed her surroundings, ancient pieces of armor and weaponry imported from Earth specifically for the exhibit, benches to sit and think upon…not much else around her. Listening to the sound that the children were to young to pay attention to and discern from the background noise Mrs. Love listened to the sound of approaching steps outside the hall.

Mrs. Love was a kindergarten teacher, untrained, un-blooded, un-fit to battle hordes of enemies intent upon the destruction of whatever they saw fit to destroy…but that wasn’t about to stop her. She was a Human damnit, a Child of Gaia, Daughter of Sol and she would be damned before she would walk quietly into that good night only to leave her class behind to face the monsters under the bed.

Running over to a display the young history teacher quickly said a prayer for strength and forgiveness from the previous owner of the armor she was looking at. Grabbing a nearby ashtray she smashed the protective glass case around the set of bronze armor and with mounting panic quickly donned the heavy metal plates and helm.

It was with no small amount of trepidation and humor that the raiding party of Kazak walked into the Hall of Ancient Earth Warriors only to see a human female in poorly fitting pieces of metal. Standing tall before a section of wall that scanners showed a large number of bodies behind the foolish female stood holding a spear in one hand, shield in the other with a sword attached to her hip. Like a child pretending to be their parents the young female pushed her oversized helmet back and spoke with a weak voice to the raiding party.

“I-I-I am Mrs. Love, Teacher of Histories to the kindergarten class of Sancti Nicholi Grade school….please turn back and approach no further, no harm shall befall these children.” Historical records would rarely, if ever convey the hitch and stutter in the teacher’s voice as she stared at the oil slick colored carapaces of the Kazak before her. Many accounts of the events would paint the 5’ 0” 130Lbs. teacher of history as a 7’ 6” 300lbs master of combat after her declaration of protection. Security footage of the museum has been confiscated but multiple witnesses attest to Mrs. Love’s combat prowess.

3rd Battalion fourth infantry unit, Call-sign Vladimir, were the first to stumble upon the museum after the attack. Powerful men and women clad in armor and wielding state of the art weapons walked into the Hall of Ancient Earth Warriors expecting an ambush or attack of some kind, only to be faced with absolute carnage. Bodies of Kazak Warriors lay scattered about the hall, dismembered and eviscerated and ravaged, an entire battalion lay dead like a macabre carpet stretching from one wall to the next. Looking up from the piles of dead bodies the group of humans was surprised to find a single entity showing signs of life.

Sgt. Cortez approached the kneeling figure slowly and with his weapon held low to the side. It was a small figure, clad in ill-fitting bronze breastplate over crimson stained white dress shirt with equally ill-fit greaves over simple black slacks. Kneeling with round shield in one hand and sword in the other Cortez nearly missed the beginner’s history book clutched in a white knuckle grip behind the shield before the bronze helm rose in a single sharp movement. With a scream that would haunt Sgt. Cortez’s dreams for years to come the figure leapt into action with a stab that nearly took the Sgt.’s liver.

Like a marionette whose strings were suddenly gripped by a drunken puppeteer Mrs. Love lunged with her appropriated short sword, after being deflected by a reflexive turn Mrs. Love swung her shield bearing arm as hard as she could with a scream of defiance. After her attempt at a shield bash was turned away Mrs. Love pivoted in a downward twirl she had no right to perform as gracefully as she did to strike at the armored figure’s legs.

Deflecting the strike at his legs with the bayonet on the end of his rifle Sgt. Cortez quickly retreated a couple of steps to better assess the armored warrior before him. Cortez was slightly surprised to find the relatively small form before him was swaying on its’ feet, the shield arm shook and the sword tip dipped periodically as if it was too heavy to hold upright properly. Upon closer inspection the figure showed all the signs of being beyond simply tired and well into being exhausted.

In a single liquid move the armored figure moved and was within Sgt. Cortez’s guard before he could understand what was happening, with a scream and screech of parting metal the armored figure scored a deep gash through the breastplate of the Sargent’s armor from hip to heart. Grabbing the armored assailants hand and sword before it had a chance to recover and make another attempt the Sgt. tried something that he had no reason to believe would work.

“Stand Down soldier” The figure stopped like it had been struck “The battle is over, you are victorious Spartan, the pass is held and defended…stand down.” Like a puppet with its strings cut the figure fell limp in a clatter of armor, held up only by the arm held in Sgt. Cortez’s grip until it was slowly lowered to the ground, adrenaline and fear no longer lending strength to limbs unaccustomed to the burden of sword and shield. Hearing a slight sound from the helmeted figure Sgt. Cortez leaned down to better hear, and in a single, final exhalation, Mrs. Love the Spartan of Sancti Nicholi Grade School, Defender of the Innocent spoke her final words…”No harm shall befall these children.”

At the entrance to every school after that day a statue was erected, a statue of a young woman standing tall and proud clad in ill-fitting armor, holding a book behind a shield with a sword held aloft as if in challenge to those who would dare bring violence to those under her watch.