#INFERNO CLIMBER

[annon-guy2]

King of Fighters Tournament Poll: Arc System Works Edition

[ferrousblod]

Frozen Inferno

This took forever, I love this game yippee. Struggled with the brushes I chose for this, the size actually started to lag the program.

Time: 4 days, with breaks

Speedpaint here

[pixeldistractions]

They dried themselves and their clothes in the sun. It was too much sun, maybe. Their skin felt warm and threatened to turn pink and blistery later. They put their clothes back on and started the hike back to camp. 

The afternoon had been peaceful while they splashed in the water, but now the boys were tired and hungry for a warm dinner cooked over a campfire. Their tempers were short, and the mosquitoes didn’t help.  

“Hey, boys, quiet down. Come check this out.” 

“Whoa! Is she gonna fall?” (Milo)

“Is she gonna die?!?” (Felix)

“No. I mean, I hope not,” Jordan said.  

“Dad, did you ever climb a rock like that?” Milo asked.

“Not like that. WOW, that’s wild.” 

The climber swung her body from rock to rock, hanging by fingertips and toes, yet she clung to the rock with purpose and skill. It was impressive.

Felix looked ready to charge the cliff face himself. “Dad, can I climb that rock?”

“Not today,” Jordan said. “You need to learn how. You need ropes and harnesses and different kind of shoes.”

“Can we buy them at the camp store?”

“Nah, not today. But you can climb that little rock over there.” 

So the boys ran off to scramble over a lesser rocky slope, dreaming of that giant cliff face ahead of them. They weren’t the only ones dreaming.

Jordan thought of the brochure in his pack for the climbing classes. He thought of impossibilities and setting them on fire. And why not? He was sick of caring about what Colette thought of his life. He was sick of not living.

There was a fire lit inside him in that moment. It was a small and exciting fire, a contained little glow. Its possibilities were endless and undefined. How could he know that little fire wouldn’t die when he went to sleep tonight? That it would still burn when he returned back home to Wisconsin? That it could even grow into a raging inferno strong enough to burn down his whole life?  

— “why are you here? #3: a cage left open” part 6.5/9

Next -> // WAYH #3 start // index

author’s note: so, this whole flashback story serves a few different purposes. First, obviously, it’s a prequel to where we left off in book 5. It’s also an expanded beginning for those who are starting fresh. And, an origin story! When I first started writing this saga, Jordan already had one foot out the door, tickets already bought, he was already leaving. But as the story went on, I realized how we never got to see how he came to that decision. The moment the rocks called to him and set fire to his life. Here it is!

[cheriecelestial]

Luminary Pt.1

pairing *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ Yan Emperor!OC X Swordmaster!OC

disclaimer *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ yandere thoughts. hurt/no comfort. angst. mentions of violence and character death. lovers to enemies.

a/n *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ Reposting a very old piece post editing (not really lol). According to my old a/n this was “very 3am spontaneous writing” meaning the idea was spontaneous not the process. Very manhwa-esque historical plot ig. Please listen to Joel Sunny’s Luminary for the whole experience. like always COMMENT LIKE & REBLOG (☆≧▽^)

Pt.2

Ceaseless noblesse chatter, clinking of glasses and rustling of ball gowns blurred into an unintelligible myriad of sounds. Cecily massaged the bridge of her nose in an attempt to calm the pulsating migraine in her forehead. As much as she loved dressing up on her own accord and dancing, she felt much repulsion to high society. Whosoever had compared high society to a sandalwood tree must’ve been a wise person - exquisite and ambrosial smelling but intertwined with serpents waiting to pounce. Her sharp gaze, reminiscent of a relentless hunter, swept the expanse of ballroom to locate her target attendee. He wasn’t here, not yet at least. But he was expected to be here soon, after all what king doesn’t show up to the party he hosted in his own honour ?

Everything the room exuded an elite air of grandeur. Golden tendrils resembling vines creeping up the wall and colluding in a labyrinthine pattern of flowers and leaves against the stained glass ceilings. Lush roses filled each vase placed exactly five meters apart from each other. In the centre of the dome were three collinear alchemy powered faux stars, the centre attraction and the nominative factor of the ballroom — the Syzygy Hall. Leaning against the stone wall, the crisp night air fills her lungs while the stars twinkle in the dark, velvety sky, and she watched them with a nostalgic sense of appreciation. The flashing memories of her stargazing in this very hall with a certain gifted mage tugged harshly on her heart stings but she forced herself to shun them and focus on the task ahead.

Cecily shifted her attention to the noblemen and women drift across the smooth marble floors like clockwork nutcrackers in grandfather clocks. It all looked so beautiful and for the lack of a better word, rich. A part of her would’ve wanted to join to the festivities had her heart not drowned in waves of indignation for the host. But then as having danced her fair share of high society parties — she knew of the incessant debauchery, corruption and vicious yet sugarcoated calumny at the core of this diamond and silk adorned marvel. Nobility was a word that evoked images of artifice, undeserved riches, wastefulness and textbook narcissism. Albeit belonging to the pinnacle of non-royal nobility — Cecily’s lineage was both a blessing and a curse. As the daughter of one of the three dukes in the empire and the daughter and successor of the continent’s finest swordsman , Carlisle Reginald, Cecily was taught to be wary of desperate social climber with saccharine laced tongues at a young age. Just the thought of her family flared the inferno of negative feelings further.

“This far behind enemy lines ? Can’t tell if it’s brave, audacious or plain stupid.” Cecily rolled her eyes at the new admission. “What would you know anything about bravery Marcellus ?” The red haired paladin flinched at the woman using his full name and bit his tongue to restrain himself from answering her verbal jabs.

“I did what I had to do” He muttered quietly with his gaze fixed on the floor as if it was the most scintillating creation known to mankind. “You mean leaving your men to die mid-battle and defecting to the enemy’s side ?” Cecily scoffed at his confession. She couldn’t help be reminded of the past when they were trainee knights and how they were a symbol of valour and justice. The nights they spent at taverns celebrating after successfully completing missions and training. Cecily couldn’t pinpoint when everything changed and when people she knew digressed beyond recognition but it left a bitter taste in her mouth. Marcel’s words were slow to come out but he sighed and answered, “I merely chose the winning side . Unlike you, I have a sense of self preservation.”

“Where I��m from , we call it cowardice”

“Probably why that place burnt to the ground,”Marcel was hit with a sense of instant regret the second those words left his mouth. He muttered a quick apology as if that ever solved anything .

“Don’t say what you don’t mean. Genuine care doesn’t suit the self-serving likes of you.” Cecily spat out with anger laced in her seemingly calm tone. Had it been some other place with someone else, she wouldn’t have hesitated to draw her sword. Knowing her temper, he saw fit to change the topic of the conversation, “ It’s a fine dress you’re wearing. But I have to say - had I not known better I’d say it was a wedding gown. One refined enough for a duke’s daughter”

“It is a wedding gown. I just repurposed it since I don’t need it anymore and my other gowns were burnt along with my house. I’m sure you remember, you were there.”Cecily spoke in a monotone as she absentmindedly fiddled with the lace trimmings of her dress and the silver corsage on her wrist.

Marcel gulped at the realisation and looked away to the sea of jolly nobility dancing their evening away but he still couldn’t seem to shake off the chills floating in the air. Luck truly wasn’t on his side today “I know it was a purely political arrangement but Cedric was a good man. You have my condolences.”

His words evoked a humourless laugh from Cecily. Just how shameless could he be ? Leading the campaign that killed her fiancé and still have the guts to offer his sympathies.

“Losing a fiancé ? I’m sure you know what that’s like. Considering how you let Lucia Arden die just to save your own skin.”

Cecily remembered the sweet and gentle field medic who stopped at nothing to consistently heal her comrades and boost her fellow knights’ morale with her encouraging words. And she also remembered watching the radiant light leave her eyes and her skin turn frigid pale after Marcel defected and ambushed his own squadron. Cecily and Marcel were the closest of friends, maybe that’s why his betrayal stung so much. Had someone told about Marcel’s betrayal to her younger self from two years ago, she would’ve laughed at them and wonder if they lost their mind.

“What happened to her was regrettable. I asked her to join me. But she refused. Because she was -” so loyal to you, is what he wanted to say but something told him that not completely the sentence would serve him better. Cecily didn’t respond to him nor did she look at him. Marcel’s gaze fell to her fist which had clenched so tight that her knuckles were turning white.

“I tried you know. I really tried to convince her. That was more what I should’ve done considering what her family did to Genevieve—” despite his attempts to mask his emotions, venomous contempt seeped into his voice.“Lucia wasn’t her family. She didn’t know. She had no part in it.” Cecily countered firmly.

“She was going to be a mother ! And they—”Marcel swallowed thickly, unable to continue. Cecily sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose. Genevieve - the feisty barmaid at their favourite tavern who managed to capture Marcel’s heart and subsequently died a tragic death the hands of the Marquis Arden who couldn’t bear the disgrace of his daughter’s fiancé choosing a destitute orphaned commoner over his well-bred aristocratic daughter.

“What happened to her was unjust, but that doesn’t justify your treachery. You let your own men die. The very men that swore loyalty to you. The ones that fought, ate and bled by your side.” Cecily eyed him with simmering hatred. Marcel looked uncharacteristically startled for a moment by the her disdain but covered it up quickly. Silvers of guilt flashed in his eyes when he realised that even if he had managed to secure a future for himself as the commander general of the new king’s knights, he lost something truly important to him. The past him would’ve really hated him now.

“Of all people I thought you’d know what it’s like to lose the one you love the most. But in hindsight, you’re probably worse off than me. I’m sure you know, he isn’t what he used to be. The King’s scouts have been looking for you and the other rebels . You should leave before he sees you.” Warning her was the most he could do for her now. He had sworn loyalty to the new king but standing in front of his childhood friend - he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of conflict.

“Why ? Is he planning to send me and my men to the gallows ?” Cecily scoffed as if impressed that the king was putting in so much effort to locate her. “Your men ? Yes. You ? No. Corrupted or not, not even he could get himself to kill the woman he loves so dearly. But I’m positive whatever his plans for you are, would make you wish that he sent you to the gallows instead. He won’t kill you but beware— he won’t be soft either. He’s changed beyond recognition.”

“That’s exactly what I’m counting on,”she muttered to herself as she watched Marcel vanish from her side and melt into the sea of guests.

For a moment the entire ballroom stilled and she knew he was here. Her eyes swept the length of the ballroom till she met the gaze of the devil himself. Unlike what he used to wear when she knew him, he donned the most lavish robes and jewels she’d seen on a person. His unruly platinum hair were styled perfect to accentuate his looks. The crystalline vivid blue eyes she fell in love with were replaced by a sinister shade of ruby red. He stared intently at her, it is as if his eyes intended to pierce her skin and rip out her soul. Her stomach twisted and the chill in the air sent goosebumps down her neck and back. He never looked more glorious. The corners of his lips curled up into a slight smile as he made his way through the crowd. Her breath shallowed with each step that he took towards her.

“Duchess Reginald. It truly is you and here I thought my senses were deceiving me.” Cecily flinched at the title knowing full well that she never got to ceremoniously inherit the title since the previous Duke died at the emperor’s sword following the coup d’état and the estate was burned to a crisp not too long ago. His gentle expression of adoration cut off air from her lungs and she felt as though the string of pearls around her neck turned into a noose. She wanted to scream, to cry, to seek retribution for all the havoc he wrecked but swallowing her emotions down she placed her hand on her heart and bowed lightly,“Glory and blessings upon the rising sun of the Asterin empire,” Cecily heard melodious laughter as response to her words. Her heart dropped from the sheer impact. Cecily Reginald was a creature of pure control and the idea of losing control, especially just by his mere presence, was offensive to her. Her heart burst into multitude of emotions as she tried to rein them and stay calm.

“And I never thought I’d see you bow. But then, bowing isn’t always submission. Now is it, my dearest Cecily ?” Electricity coursed her veins at the way her name rolled off his tongue in the same tender fashion as he used to when they were younger. He’s changed beyond recognition, Marcel’s words ringed in her ears. Cecily didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of eliciting a reaction so she shifted her gaze away. Much to her dismay, her refusal just swelled his need to provoke her further .

“Please don’t shy away duchess. It’s a glorious party, would you be so kind to grant me the honour of a dance ?” The king outstretched his hand towards her with seemingly innocent intent. The emperor’s first dance of the evening, an action that symbolised winning the favour of the emperor. Which was why — traditionally it was done between courting, betrothed or wedded couples. After a moment’s hesitation she took his hand and was guided to the centre of the dance floor. The king placed a hand on her waist and interlaced his other hand with hers. The position seemed so natural to them like two pieces of a puzzle that were created to fit together. He actioned the orchestra and the waltz began without a hitch as the band of musicians weaved pleasant melodies into the air.

“You look ravishing my dearest.” Cecily’s breath hitched as the king tugged on her waist, pulling her closer. His smirk widened in satisfaction at her visceral reaction. “Thank you your majesty.” She looked at him with her eyes betraying traces of emotion even though she was restraining herself to her best capacity. But the memory of his touch still fills her heart with longing but she still hated how much the sensation excites her.

“I was informed that troops stationed north of Demaris were brutally slaughtered by the rebel forces spearheaded by a certain raven haired general. You wouldn’t know anything about that, now would you duchess ?” Cecily’s face hardened and she replied in a sharp tone,“Depends on why those troops were present in the first place your majesty.” The king’s troops were sent to forcefully evict war immigrants that were rendered homeless by the conquests of the previous emperor since he regarded them as a political liability. The villagers were kind enough to house some of the rebels in exchange for protection against the monsters near the border.

Vivacious laughter bubbles from his chest and he responded ,“Very well dearest. And please, drop the formalities. Call me by my name. Your majesty feels unnatural.” She knew provoking him any more than necessary would only spell trouble for it. Her scheme had to work out as planned. “Atticus,” she breathed out with much difficulty. Saying his name was a tougher task than she had initially thought. A pleased smirk made its way onto his lips, leaving Cecily feeling as if she had lost.

“I know blue is your colour but I have to admit, you look utterly angelic in white. You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful person I have ever laid eyes on. What a fine bride you would make.”

Under different circumstances, she would’ve blushed and accepted the compliment graciously. Cecily felt a strange feeling of melancholy and what ifs shrouded her. She was so determined before coming here and she couldn’t afford letting her purpose dissolve just because she was holding onto the ghost of the man she loved.

“What use is beauty when you’re cursed with rotten luck the way I am. I have two dead fiancés on my tab already.” She laughed humorouslessly and eyed him with an insinuating sharpness. Atticus smiled with his evergreen charm before continuing knowingly ,“ Hmm. Maybe it’s a sign from the goddess of marriage that those men and you weren’t meant to be .”

Cecily arched her brow at his revelation. Is that what he was trying to paint them as ? Twists of fate ? She may not have loved either of them but they weren’t deserving of the end that befell them. “I know you’ve taken many aliases in your lifetime but goddess of marriage ? That’s a new one your majesty.” Atticus’ mocking clearly struck a nerve. She half expected him to take offence to her words but instead he looked at her in bemusement.

He clicked his tongue in a ‘ah’ gesture and suggested ,” Well you know what they say m’lady. Third time’s a charm .” Cecily knew exactly what he was implying but she didn’t want to grant him an ounce of satisfaction by giving him a favourable reaction .

“Unfortunately your majesty, I am above wedding kinslayers and dark magic practitioners .” She scowled at him as if testing to see if he had even an ounce of conscience intact . Atticus’ smile faltered and there was a brief flicker of discomfort in him as the implications of her words sunk in. His eyes narrowed slightly at her reaction.

“Ces I —,” but before he could respond Cecily cut him off ,“ And even if they had it coming . It doesn’t change the fact that you killed my father.” Memory of the pain of finding out about her father’s death on accounts of treason was clear as day in her heart. Carlisle Reginald was many things but not a traitor. He was so loyal to the crown that there were times when she resented him for choosing his duty over his own family.

Atticus visibly grimaced and his eyes turned to icy resentment ,“ The same father that abused you and caused you unimaginable pain in the name of training ? The same father who burnt the side of your face to destroy any chance of marriage because noblemen don’t wed women with scars ? The same father that nearly pushed you to end your life because you couldn’t handle the mantle of becoming the next swordsmaster ? Do you truly resent me for it my dearest ?” Cecily felt her throat tighten with emotion. She glanced away as though trying to think of an answer. There is no right answer to that question.

“ I don’t but —,” She admitted, her eyes still fixated on the corners of the room ,“ What about my Silas? Why did you kill him ? He looked up to you. He chose to pursue alchemy over swordsmanship because of you. He was a child . He didn’t deserve it.” The night her father died, the king’s men burnt her family estate to the ground and her brother with it.

Atticus stared at her for a couple of seconds before letting out a pained sigh ,“ My love, you must believe me. I never intended to put Silas in harm’s way . I just wanted to get rid of the duke because he was the only one standing between me and the throne. I was sure that Si would be at the academy. But unfortunately he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. If it provides any solace just know I had the informants and soldiers who failed to convey that Silas was in there executed .”

There were many things she wanted to say, to vent her frustration and anger but when the time came - her grief was too severe to be expressed in words so she just looked at him, hoping he’d see how much he made her suffer. Atticus tore his gaze away from hers and clenched his jaw as if keeping himself from saying or doing things that would just worsen their situation. Uncomfortable silence befell them as they continued to dance. For the first time she realised, that they were is a ballroom filled with people. The world seemed to have dissolved into nothingness when it came to Atticus but now she was starting to feel the weight of the other guests’ curious stares and whispers. Of course rumours would make their way across high society at the speed of lightning. Two star crossed lovers forced on opposite sides by fate. Cecily and Atticus had love, one for the ages but one chose the duty to her homeland over love and the other chose power over love. Love had no place in this fight of morality and duty. It was quite a pity really.

“But your crimes don’t end there. You delved into a form of magic that was forbidden for a reason, there is always a cost for power that wicked. Always.” She looked straight into his ruby red eyes. The vibrant blood red swirled in a way that resembled shadows obscuring a ravenous beast lurking underneath.

“Is that why you got engaged my brother ? To dispose of me and make him king ?” Cecily felt the temperature around them fall as Atticus’ eyes shone with a newfound sense of fury. Gone was the sweet and gentle man she knew, instead he was replaced by this - this thing. His fingers twitched where he held her waist as if wanting to tear into her skin.

“Sure. Let’s go with that .”She replied cooly. Logic be damned, she just wanted to shatter the mask he was wearing and truly see what he’d become.

“You think I’d let him have you ? Let him make you his queen ? I‘m so sorry if it hurts you my darling but I will slay any man who thinks he can have you . If you really want to be queen, I could make you this very moment. Just say the word.” For the first time, his suave facade cracked. He sounded almost desperate, so much so that Cecily was tempted to believe that a part of the old him was still in there. Regardless of Cedric somewhat sanctimonious and saintly character, he always lacked the vigour and the ambition it took to become king and most of all - to deserve Atticus’ goddess. Cedric was the only pure blooded prince who showed an inkling of kindness to a bastard of the previous emperor so Atticus granted him the mercy of a quick and painless death. But the idea of him wedding his beloved was beyond blasphemous and filled him with unimaginable rage; making him want to give Cedric a slow and painful death instead.

To him, Cecilia Seraphina Reginald was the closest humanity has attained to godliness. The passion she projected in her art and the fire that burned behind her eyes is enough to drive anyone to insanity . She used the sword as if it was an extension of her own body and where most fought with the crude desperation , every movement of her body was deliberate and precise as if she was floating like a butterfly through the air. With each step, she seemed to move through space and time, transcending the boundaries between ordinary and extraordinary. Each slash and strike was like a paint stroke on canvas, drawing a picture of beauty and grace in motion. Her raven hair striking a beautiful contrast against her emerald eyes . Even when her father burnt the side of her face , it barely obscured her beauty. Atticus had seen her in sickness and in health. At what she considered her worst, to his eyes — she was far more enchanting than any of the excessively powdered noble ladies he’d seen in court . There is something religious about the way he adored her. There never was a God in Atticus's life. No one deserved that title after what life had thrown at him since he was little.

He remembered the first day they met when she fended off the third prince bullying Atticus at their first day at the Royal Academy. She never once discriminated against for being an illegitimate child of the emperor. Atticus was born as a result of acts of cruelty on an elite battle mage of an enemy nation who was taken by the previous emperor as spoils of war. Despite his actions, the emperor never even bothered to officially make her his concubine so Atticus’ status in the Royal Palace was akin to that of a servant’s. Throughout his childhood, he had been a prince solely in name. His entire life, everyone looked at him as if he was some sort of abomination — except her. Despite that the dignified and legendary duke’s only daughter, the lady with the highest status after the empress and princesses themselves, when faced disapproval for befriending the emperor’s bastard, she never once turned her back on him. And not necessarily because she was kind but because it was the right thing to do. Cecily was first person in Atticus’ life who made him believe that he was worth being treated as a human.

“What have you become Atticus ? We could’ve—”

“We could’ve what exactly ? Huh ? There was no other way. And you know it.” Atticus spat out through gritted teeth, a look of abject misery flashed by Cecily’s face. He was right, unless there had been some great power intervention there was no way he could become king. It didn’t matter if the most elite swordsmaster or the nouveau rich nobles that supported him, he could never get past the old nobility and the six legitimate pure blooded princes.

“What is worth it ?” She asked with her words dying by the end of the sentence. For a moment, she felt as though she was back when they were kids and how he would talk about making them pay. No rebels or tyrants, no duty or thirst for power — just as Ces and Atty .

Something in Atticus’ snapped as he gripped her wrist tighter,“ Better than anything I ever imagined. They always acted so high and mighty, you should’ve seen how they grovelled and begged . It was worth it, all of it.”

“Was it worth losing me ?” Cecily knew she shouldn’t have asked something she didn’t want him to answer. She knew she shouldn’t have crossed that line. She shouldn’t have because she knew the answer. But she had to— in order to move on, to let him go, to fulfil her duty and destiny.

“I haven’t lost you” Out of all the responses he could’ve given , this was the least expected. Did he truly believe that ? Cecily searched his face for any signs of fallacy or trickery but found none. Her mouth fell open in disbelief and after composing herself she asked ,“ What makes you say that ?”

“The way I feel for you.” He answered without even skipping a beat. Cecily scoffed internally, the way he felt for her ? What a jest. It was common knowledge that the starting price for dark magic is a person’s humanity. Dark magicians were known to not be able to feel anything let alone remorse or guilt .

“That’s not true. You can’t feel anything.” She jeered at him. Atticus didn’t respond and twirled and lifted her into the air in accordance to the rhythm of the waltz. His lack of reaction almost made her think that he didn’t hear what she said, she opened her mouth to say that again but was cut off by his reply ,“Contrary to popular beliefs my darling , dark magic doesn’t completely deprive a person of all emotion. It merely diminishes emotions that were present in silvers and amplifies the most emotions felt by the person. In short, the user becomes absolutely sure of what they feel and what they want. Anger becomes rage , sadness becomes despair , fear becomes horror and love becomes –” As he spoke, he pressed his lips against her hand. She can feel the heat of his breath in the centre of her palm ,“ — unbridled obsession.” Cecily breath hitched as he moved his lips up her wrist to her palm again, tracing her veins with his lips.

"Pray tell, is that how it went ? Your barter of soul with a devil for dominion only to find yourself upon the throne, consumed by anguish not because you killed your family but rather by the realization that your affection for me would impede your ambitions ?"

Atticus got closer to her. His eyes were locked on hers, and his lips had a slight twitch to them. Lust. He was never the type to give into such base urges, but in the her presence - he craved her. A part of him hated this feeling even more than her tormenting comments. If only he could kill her and rid himself of this weakness of the flesh. “You aren’t far from it . You know I never understood the appeal my father saw in my mother but I guess I do see it now. Fiesty enemy general that just refuses to concede and all.”

“And here I thought you said you were never going to be anything like your father. I guess you kings are doomed to repeat failures of your predecessors. After all the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” He absentmindedly hummed in response to her words as if neither agreeing nor disagreeing. His eyes were fixated on his thumb caressing her wrist, Cecily noticed it and tilted her head to her side as if silently asking ‘what’re you thinking ?’

“You aren’t wrong my darling. Maybe I am the same as him. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I have everything I wanted. Except for a couple things and I don’t intend on stopping until I’ve got them.” Atticus’ eyes gleamed with a glint of great impending danger. He paused for a second as if debating whether he should disclose his plans or not but in the festive atmosphere decided the former. “You’re quite a stubborn little thing you know. I wonder if I were to incapacitate you from wielding the blade ever again, would your resolve shatter ? All the princes are dead, there’s no one to succeed me. I’ve made sure of it. Who would you crown king after me ?” He wondered if he chopped her wrists off so that she couldn’t use her sword again, would she stop resisting then ? Or perhaps if he snapped her ankles then maybe she wouldn’t be able to run away ?

“Incapacitate me ? You think you could do that ?” Albeit Cecily knew she was playing with fire, she wanted to see to what limits she could provoke him before he took extreme measures. They were playing a dangerous game. Both were waiting for the other to make a mistake, to lose their cool and to drop the civil facade and settle the score .

Others might see Atticus as this stone cold man with no feelings, but his heart was beating loud and clear in his chest, seemingly for one purpose. He hoped that his emotional conflict would clear out once he made the deal but it didn’t help. Not one bit. He often found his eyes subconsciously searching for the familiar figure in the crowds of people he’d address every day, wanting nothing more than to reach out and have her with him again. The scent of her skin and the light lavender fragrance haunted him as he tried to sleep, the vivid image of her following him in his dreams. If it were up to him, he’d drag her to the church alter this very moment and make good on the wedding gown she was wearing. He knew she wore that to mock his guilty conscience, that is if he had any left.

“I have my knights stationed at every corner of the ballroom. One action and they’ll attack.”

“You think fresh recruits could even hold a candle against a swordmaster ?” She was right, no matter how trained they would never able to best her. The only one who stood a chance against her skill was he himself. No one else.

He chuckled at her spirit, it was one of the things he adored most about her. “No. Not really.” Cecily smiled with a victorious expression but at the same time she knew if he were to use his magic, things were bound to get messy. Although not their own, but much blood would be spilt and in a room full of the empire’s finest — it wasn’t a risk she was willing to take.

a/n 2.0 – After reading this my current writing seems so crappy wtf. I guess there is a reason this took three months to write. Tho good to know I couldn’t articulate my thoughts well enough to make a respectable plot even back then. Sorry for the abrupt ending, tumblr kept glitching so I had to split it in two. I’ll upload pt.2 in a week.

[aneurinallday]

Today I was thinking about documentaries, so here are some of my favourite documentaries:

Fire of Love (2022) - the love story of two volcanologists, set against the fiery backdrop of our planet's awesome and terrifying destructive power. The awe-inspiring scale of volcanic eruptions is juxtaposed with the personal, intimate story of these two soulmates.

Into the Inferno (2016) - a study of volcanoes and the way they shape the cultures and societies around them, told in Werner Herzog's usual profound and existentialist way

The Dawn Wall (2017) - the odd and amazing story of a man who decides to scale a 3000-foot cliff with his bare hands

Touching the Void (2003) - the thrilling survival of two men who climb up a mountain, and the harsh choice that is made when one of them gets injured

Man on Wire (2008) - a portrait of an eccentric and unusual man who decides to perform an illegal tightrope-walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

Encounters at the End of the World (2007) - a captivating portrayal of the daily life of scientists in Antarctica. Werner Herzog transforms the bleak and frozen environment into a surreal and mind-boggling alien landscape.

The Deepest Breath (2023) - the story of a record-breaking female free-diver (someone who swims as deep as possible then returns to the surface with a single breath)

Last Breath (2019) - the story of a diver carrying out deep-sea repairs when his umbilical cable gets cut off, leaving him stranded at the bottom of the ocean

Sherpa (2015) - a depiction of the injustice faced by the Sherpas of Nepal, who have the thankless job of helping rich tourists climb up Mount Everest. The filming of the documentary is interrupted by an avalanche, throwing the crew and their subjects into chaos.

Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake (2022) - a similar documentary about a devastating earthquake and the Nepalis, foreign tourists, and Everest climbers who were impacted by it. I cried a lot.

Take Care of Maya (2023) - the devastating story of a young girl with a rare neurological condition, who is wrongfully taken from her parents when they are falsely suspected of abusing her. I cried A LOT.

Abducted in Plain Sight (2017) - a true crime documentary about a predator who worms his way into a family. Some of the most staggeringly clueless parents I've ever seen in my fucking life

(disclaimer these shitty blurbs were written by me)

[nameexpert]

500 Strong Dart Team Names to Win Every Match

Introduction

When it comes to forming a dart team, one of the most exciting decisions you'll make is choosing the perfect team name. Whether you're aiming for something funny, hilarious, or even dirty, the name you choose sets the tone for your team’s personality and energy. From cool dart team names that impress your competition to unique dart team names that stand out, there's a name for every type of dart squad. Whether you're looking for something good dart team names to inspire confidence, or you want to go for the bold and inappropriate dart team names, your team’s identity starts with the perfect moniker. For couples who want something special, we’ve even included dart team names for couples to show off your partnership. So, let's dive into a list of dart team names that cover everything from funny dart team names to the most outrageous dirty dart team names. Introduction Bullseye Brilliance" (Names inspired by precision and mastery) Steel Stingers" (Inspired by power and resilience) Flight Force (Inspired by agility, precision, and fluidity) Iron Will" (Inspired by strength, resilience, and determination) The Revolutionaries (Inspired by transformation, change, and dominance)Final Thought:

Bullseye Brilliance" (Names inspired by precision and mastery)

Apex Shots Master Marksmen Bull Chargers Triple Trailblazers Pinpoint Prodigies Target Ambassadors The Golden Fliers Steel Masters Crimson Sights Bulls Eye Magicians Focus Ambush Dart Monarchs The Precision Pathfinders Bulls Trackers Sharpshift Squad Apex Alphas Razor Reign Target Tacticians Steel Apex The Archers Guild Triple Enigma Spot Sentries Velocity Conquerors Iron Shots Bulls Vanguard Steel Dreams Dart Genesis Razor Zenith The Final Throw Bulls Pioneers Apex Velocity Flight Seekers Spot Tacticians Target Builders Blade Whisperers Crimson Force Trajectory Ambassadors The Silent Fliers Aim Architects Bulls Dreamers Steel Mavericks Bulls Prodigy Apex Pilots Dart Drivers Precision Nomads The Iron Dartsmen Blade Savants Silent Seekers Apex Marksmen Dart Relics Bulls Throwbacks The Razor Spirits Triple Legends Velocity Dashers Crimson Focus The Dart Whisperers Razor Infinity Target Frontiers Blade Anchors Apex Blasters The Crimson Torch Steel Visionaries Silent Pioneers Triple Navigators Aim Invictus Bulls Whisperers Precision Dartsmen Razor Sentries Steel Vault Blade Fliers Trajectory Comets Apex Horizons Spotmasters Steelflight Target Titans Bulls Wranglers Razor Thunder Velocity Cyclone Apex Phoenix Precision Stingers The Throw Masters Silent Victory Dartstorm Blade Perfectionists Velocity Charge Target Blaze Iron Surge Apex Wind Razorstrike Crimson Trajectory Bulls Zenith Steel Flame Blade Vortex Silent Apex The Trajectory Squad Velocity Kings Steel Wave Razor Crusaders Spot Hunters Apex Dawn

Steel Stingers" (Inspired by power and resilience)

Dart Beasts Iron Shadows Blade Blitz Silent Archers Razor Storm Apex Stingers Target Wolves Flight Terminators The Silver Bolts The Iron Blaze Velocity Dashers Dart Raiders Blade Hunters The Crimson Darts Razor Cyclone Apex Inferno Bulls Quake Velocity Dashers Target Scouts The Apex Titans Iron Throws Silent Blazers Razor Defenders Apex Throwlords Precision Strikers Blade Eagles Iron Spotters Bulls Savants Apex Seekers Razor Masters Triple Wolves Bulls Edge Blade Hunters Silent Knights Apex Vortex Dart Seekers The Crimson Vipers Bulls Spinners Steel Phoenix Target Titans Precision Commanders Razor Climbers Blade Throwers The Apex Trail Velocity Falcons Bulls Navigators Apex Prodigy Crimson Bolts Target Oracles Razor Shooters Steel Flyers Trajectory Wolves Iron Thunderers Spot Raiders Bulls Riders Apex Raiders Dart Predators Velocity Blazers Precision Lancers Silent Titans Iron Prodigy Bulls Guardians The Apex Barrage Target Savants Velocity Trackers Razorflight Blade Survivors Apex Blazers Velocity Chargers The Apex Marksmen Bulls Commanders Dart Innovators Razor Dominators Velocity Wolves The Flight Prophecy Blade Cyclone Crimson Dashers Apex Guardians The Spot Tacticians Bulls Nomads Blade Kings Apex Pioneers Velocity Heroes Target Nomads Razorwave Iron Seekers Silent Vault Precision Raiders Steel Vision The Target Flame Bulls Marksmen Apex Legends Dartwave Razor Storm Iron Champions Velocity Zenith Bulls Lightning Razor Nomads Apex Trackers Target Lancers

Flight Force (Inspired by agility, precision, and fluidity)

Aero Blasters Precision Flyers Target Wings Bulls Jetstream Velocity Soar Blade Stream Flight Hawks Apex Gliders Razor Swift Dart Fliers Airstrike Legends Bulls Skyward Apex Falcons Blade Surge Steel Soarers Dart Tornadoes Flight Seekers Velocity Flyers Razor Falconry Apex Airwaves Bulls Skyfall Swift Arrows Razor Breeze Dart Raptors Target Skywalkers Apex Skydarts The Dartwinders Velocity Wings Razor Raptors Apex Airblaze Sky Masters Bulls Aero Razor Wind Flight Savants Target Cyclones Apex Skyfire Steel Winged Blade Gliders Velocity Windriders Skyhunters Blade Flight The Flying Bulls Apex Thunderbirds Razor Vortex Flight Tacticians Dart Gliders Apex Aero Target Flyers Razor Stormriders Bulls Horizon Velocity Riders Sky Dominators Dart Prophets Apex Breeze Razorflight Sky Guardians The Aero Titans Bulls Skydarts Blade Turbulence Razor Chasers Dart Winds Target Stratos Apex Climbers Swift Blades Flight Mavericks Razor Raptors Target Tempest Apex Airstrike Velocity Horizon Blade Flyers Sky Titans The Flight Surge Aero Pathfinders Apex Windstorm Razor Gliders Bulls Flyers Sky Shredders Apex Cyclones Flight Crusaders Blade Cloud Razor Airmasters Dart Ascendants Bulls Skystrike Apex Airmasters Velocity Windseekers Razor Skyriders Dart Skyward Target Vultures Bulls Airbringers Apex Draft Steel Airwaves Razor Vanguards Apex Windsurge Dart Navigators Bulls Windrunners Razor Wingers Sky Commanders Apex Skyfighters Velocity Propellers Razorforce

Iron Will" (Inspired by strength, resilience, and determination)

Iron Clutch Steel Authority Precision Giants The Dart Forge Razor Titans Iron Wolves Steelstorm Apex Blasters Dart Dominion Iron Vanguard Razor Strength Steel Legacy Iron Hunters Dart Legends Apex Strikers Precision Titans Bulls Steel Razor Warriors Iron Cyclones Blade Defenders Steel Thunder Dart Enforcers Iron Pathfinders Apex Commanders Razor Authority Dart Spartans Iron Resolve Steel Pioneers Apex Savants The Iron Legion Razor Vision Steel Defenders Dart Crusaders Apex Titans Iron Fury Steel Striders Bulls Fortress Iron Storm Razor Hunters Dart Enforcers Steel Gladiators Razor Legends Iron Wave Dart Warriors Apex Resolve Precision Legion Razor Titans Bulls Ironclad Steel Pathfinders Apex Shredders Razor Commanders Dart Mavericks Steel Nomads Iron Warriors Razor Falcons Apex Defenders The Iron Blades Dart Legacy Steel Surge Apex Pathfinders Razor Brutes Iron Marauders Steel Nomads Dart Prospects Apex Gladiators Iron Titans Razor Force Steel Legacy Bulls Iron Precision Fists Iron Stallions Steel Assassins Dart Defenders Apex Intrepid Razor Kings The Iron Storm Steel Mavericks Dart Brutes Iron Frontiers Razor Champions Apex Soldiers Steel Visionaries Iron Archons Dart Conquerors Razor Stallions Steel Predators Apex Sentinels Iron Tigers Dart Warriors Razorstorm Steel Enforcers Iron Pulse Dart Sentinels Apex Falcons Razor Nomads Steel Tacticians The Iron Fury Bulls Legends Razor Titans Dart Guardians

The Revolutionaries (Inspired by transformation, change, and dominance)

Apex Revolution Razor Rebels Dart Reign Bulls Uprising Velocity Revolution Iron Dynasty Dart Revolutionaries Steel Uprising Apex Ascendants Target Rebels Razor Sovereigns The Resurgence Precision Rebels Apex Breakers Razor Monarchs Dart Renegades Steel Dominators Bulls Breakthrough Razor Dynasty Apex Dominion Dart Kings Precision Reign Steel Invincibles Iron Outlaws Apex Outcasts Velocity Monarchs Razor Ascendants Dart Defiance Bulls Vanguard Steel Kings Razor Rise The Target Revolution Iron Monarchs Apex Overlords Precision Kings Razor Warriors Dart Titans Steel Reign The Apex Surge Velocity Kings Razor Renegades Dart Breakers Steel Leaders Precision Warriors Razor Kings Bulls Revolution Apex Rebels Dart Dominion Velocity Defiance Razor Vanguards Steel Outlaws Dart Vanguards Apex Legion Razor Dynasty Bulls Uprising Iron Champions Dart Commanders Steel Vanguard Apex Rebels Razor Revolution Dart Dynasty Iron Defiance Bulls Storm Velocity Rebels Razor Renegades Apex Outlaws Dart Ascension Steel Titans Razor Monarchs Velocity Revolutionaries Dart Pathfinders Apex Conquerors Steel Revolutionaries Razor Kings Bulls Empire Dart Sovereigns Razor Legacy Velocity Dynasty Steel Defiance Dart Avengers Apex Uprising Razor Defenders Dart Rulers Precision Revolution Steel Nomads Bulls Masters Razor Kings Dart Defiance Apex Monarchs Steel Vanguard Razor Enforcers Dart Stormers Bulls Revolutionaries Apex Titans Razor Overlords Dart Assassins Steel Champions Velocity Masters Razor Guardians Dart Vanguard Final Thought: No matter the vibe you're going for, from hilarious dart team names that bring laughter to the game to cool dart team names that reflect your team’s skill and swagger, there’s something for everyone. Whether you're seeking something more inappropriate dart team names to push boundaries, or you're after a unique dart team name to set your squad apart, the right name is out there. So, get creative, have fun with it, and choose a name that fits your team’s personality and goals—because in the end, it's all about having fun and making your mark! Read the full article

[mikgecko]

We got the MC and Crew poll! Character inspo sheets down below

[huntershowl-moving]

ok update: my partner is incredibly smart and cool & he helped me come up with some vibes

persephone is so chock-fucking-full of cursed energy it is literally leaking out of her through her hair (the smoke! except it's not smoke, it just manifests in a similar form).

uses the curse conduit technique, which allows her to amplify, absorb, and expel cursed energy. she can funnel it from herself into others who are running out, overclock her or others' power, or siphon it out of enemies whose techniques she wants to weaken.

powerful AF, at the expense of their sanity orion just being a normal guy. first grade? special grade? i don't fuckin know man.

because she is essentially a power source herself, seph can use self-produced cursed energy to power machinery. this requires detailed knowledge of the mechanical makeup of anything complex, as she must create one part at a time & design the curse-circuit system herself. the gross part of it is that she has to include her DNA as part of the mechanism. mostly, she uses blood or hair for this. the more cursed energy required to power it, the more of herself she must build in.

this is how her arms work!

additionally, though it is a boon that persephone can funnel cursed energy into her objects remotely, it stuns/disorients her and causes her physical pain when they are destroyed.

this is one of two outlets for the bonkers wellspring of cursed energy she contains (much of it from birth, but further amplification from the IMMENSE amount of rage constantly ablaze in her soul). the other is visceral murders — sorcerers, normies, curses and curse users alike. persephone's blind rage is often enhanced by blows that expel large amounts of the energy at once.

when they first woke from their coma after a two-year disappearance, their cursed energy was at an all-time high. the rage fueled a fire that was already an out-of-control inferno. she found herself waking up in the rubble of destroyed buildings with no idea how she'd got there, collapsing to her knees and retching black smoky ichor when it became too much for her body, and generally exhibiting signs and symptoms of "yeah this will kill you if you don't find an outlet" (turns out, killing people was the outlet. whoops.)

history !!

parents were super weak grade 4 jujutsu sorcerers but had that social-climber ambition. they secretly believed curses could be used to their benefit. when they learned they were having twins, the parents made a pact with a special-grade cursed spirit for More Powerful Kids (since twins were unlucky and they worried about their already low power being further diluted between two children). in exchange, a piece of the cursed spirit would live within each of the kids, so that if it was ever exorcised it would still live in some form.

little did they know, the twins would also be born with a heavenly pact: one child (persephone, then hana) was given double the cursed energy, and the other (orion, deadname lost) was born with barely any at all — just enough to see curses.

as a consequence of their deal, the children were born with traits that betrayed their cursed blood: persephone's hair behaved unnaturally, and orion had inverse eyes (black sclera, glowing white irises.)

their parents, dismayed, moved the whole family to the US to start over — they knew jujutsu society would hunt them down if it was revealed what they'd done.

as per usual, the twins run away as children and are picked up by an international crime syndicate called the unseen.

after backstory fuckshit goes down with seph & her notoriety as hellhound garners too much attention, their boss sends persephone to japan where there is a lot of chaotic shit going down with curses and jujutsu sorcery — just to let the heat die down. unfortunately, hellhound is not deterred by the move & continues her monstrous operations overseas.

from there, i can see the timeline branching into a sort of lone agent verse or a jujutsu high verse, though those haven't quite cooked up in my brain yet.

the latter would require some... um... fanagling, though. since even if she hid her visible cursed traits from the other students & could mask it with her distracting amount of cursed energy, i still feel like that part of her would be recognizable. especially to advanced sorcerers & certain mfs who can see everything ever. lmao

(also weeeee YEAH DUDE SHE'S POWERFUL!!! i have no problems making her powerful because the power scale in this fucking story is so far beyond it anyway KJDHJKDHS)

now that we’re caught up on the jjk anime, i gotta figure out seph’s verse…. i feel like theres a really cool and sexy cursed technique and/or heavenly pact idea for her somewhere but i cant Reach it

[fazedlight]

In the mood to share some of my favorite books. Apologies for being a nerd, there's some fiction in there too: Danger stuff (nonfiction): * Into Thin Air (Jon Krakauer) - A really interesting account of the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster that killed 8 people, told first-hand by someone who was there. * The Last Dive (Bernie Chowdhury) - The story of father-son cave & wreck divers who ultimately met a tragic end in a sunken U-boat. * Trapped Under the Sea (Neil Sidwey) - Describes the engineering marvels and challenges of the Boston harbor waste treatment facility being built, including the story of two men who died in the 10-mile tunnel that runs under the ocean. * Alone on the Wall (Alex Honnold) - Honnold is a free solo climber, meaning he climbs several-thousand-feet-high rock faces without any ropes/safety gear. His book on how he got there is really interesting. * Normal Accidents (Charles Perrow) - General account of various disasters (Chernoby, Challenger, Three Mile Island) and the types of mistakes and policy decisions that result in these disasters. Science/tech stuff (nonfiction): * Longitude (Dava Sobel) - Describes the politics, science, and engineering developments that went into creating more and more accurate clocks, which were priorities for European nations attempting to cross oceans. * The First Three Minutes (Steven Weinberg) - Describes the early universe, just after the Big Bang. Fascinating physics. * The Code Book (Simon Singh) - This is about codes and cryptography (not computer code) throughout the ages, starting back from ancient Egypt. It was really interesting to watch how technology built on technology to get where we are today. * Tubes (Andrew Blum) - I think a lot of people think the internet is something that just exists sort of ambiently in the air. It's literally massive wires (well, fiber) that gets placed in the ground by construction crews, running crisscross across continents and oceans, plugging into huge routers in cities all around the world. This book explains physical internet architecture. Society (nonfiction): * The Witness Wore Red (Rebecca Musser) - A devastating and fascinating account from a woman who grew up in a cult. * One Perfect Day (Rebecca Mead) - Basically investigative journalism around the wedding industry, forming a really interesting cultural critique. * Because Internet (Gretchen McCulloch) - A fun linguistic analysis of how language evolves between generations. [I haven't finished this book yet, but it's been fun so far!] Fiction: * Mexican Gothic (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) - As the title suggests, it's a gothic novel, that weaves a really interesting story about colonialism and misogyny. * Inferno (Dan Brown) - I know people tend to be meh on Dan Brown, but the villain of this book in particular was really interesting, for reasons I don't want to spoil. (Don't watch the movie, though, they change the villain into a boring generic villain.)

[humbug-demartino]

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Daria

Season 1

1. Esteemsters 2. The Invitation

3. College Bored 4. Café Disaffecto

5. Malled 6. This Year's Model

7. The Lab Brat 8. Pinch Sitter

9. Too Cute 10. The Big House

11. Road Worrier 12. The Teachings of Don Jake

13. The Misery Chick

Season 2

1. Arts 'N Crass 2. The Daria Hunter

3. Quinn the Brain 4. I Don't

5. That Was Then, This Is Dumb 6. Monster

7. The New Kid 8. Gifted

9. Ill 10. Fair Enough

11. See Jane Run 12. Pierce Me

13. Write Where it Hurts

Season 3

1. Through a Lens Darkly 2. The Old and the Beautiful

3. Depth Takes a Holiday 4. Daria Dance Party

5. The Lost Girls 6. It Happened One Nut

7. Daria! 8. Lane Miserables

9. Jake of Hearts 10. Speedtrapped

11. The Lawndale File 12. Just Add Water

13. Jane's Addition

Season 4

1. Partner's Complaint 2. Antisocial Climbers

3. A Tree Grows in Lawndale 4. Murder, She Snored

5. The F Word 6. I Loathe a Parade

7. Of Human Bonding 8. Psycho Therapy

9. Mart of Darkness 10. Legends of the Mall

11. Groped by an Angel 12. Fire!

13. Dye! Dye! My Darling

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1. Fizz Ed 2. Sappy Anniversary

3. Fat Like Me 4. Camp Fear

5. The Story of D 6. Lucky Strike

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[impuretale]

“Skipping Reels of Rhyme” - Excerpt from Slowly Turns the Spinning Wheel

A chapter from Book 1 of my crossover series, which currently encompasses The Stand (2020 interpretation), lots of other King properties, and Once Upon a Time. My first (of very seldom) uses of an OC in this series but also a look into New Vegas and toying a bit with an easter egg from the show.

--

When the first detractors went up on the telephone poles, the streets of New Vegas took on a different light for many. Very quickly, promise of reward and immediate upward mobility was enough to convince most that it was worth looking the other way when the slaves began to appear. Then the crucifixions. Thankfully for the many involved, including the celebrants that crowded the Inferno after sundown, as well as Citizen Randall Flagg's recently uplifted golden boy, Lloyd Henreid, it seemed the force that would be chiefly in charge of 1) rounding up slaves in the outer cities and roads and 2) stringing up the condemned, seemed to already be in plentiful supply. 

The slavers, as a group, tended to have the most noticeably shady persons involved. Chances are you know somebody on the raiding parties, but only one if at all. While new citizens were relieved not to be demoted to the very bottom, few volunteered to spread that misery around. 

The rest tended to always carry an air of unwashed, discomfiting otherness. You knew them by the classic cars they would tear into town aboard, usually more meticulously maintained than the drivers themselves, and their garish dress -- not such a standout if you came to New Vegas as a newer, later citizen, as everyone seemed to express their wilder selves through dress, but the raiders you picked out easier, because it always seemed to somehow evince a harder edge of tryhard mixed with only the veneer of care taken. (And an odd detail you never missed once you knew how to spot them: They almost always had sores on their foreheads. While many said it was either some leftover shared ritual of whatever they got up to when no one was looking, or the effect of whatever they wore on their heads while working out of town. One couldn't say, either way.) No one wanted to sidle close to them, even the mobile climbers that would cozy up to virtually anyone if it would get them access to more of what they wanted; they were respected for doing the jobs everyone wanted to either ignore or only acknowledge when it brought them entertainment, and the men and women themselves seemed satisfied with that. 

Regular workers maintained the dam and the power to New Vegas; they cleaned up after the gladiator battles, too, and nobody wanted to go lower. They oiled the machine that gave Vegas all the luxuries of the world before and to come. The raiders, however, provided the fuel. In every way, the most thought you were to give the unfortunates they picked off? Why, they were the very sorts that were responsible for things like Captain Trips and every true ill of the old world! 

Even the very young ones.

Everyone also suspected that the raiders were responsible for some of the more crude graffiti that started to appear in various places around Vegas, even in corners of the casino Inferno, itself. A way to remind that they had a presence everywhere. Weasel eyes are watching, indeed.

When ten attempted runners were condemned to the crosses all at once, the raiders seemed the only ones that didn't walk away from the whole experience feeling especially grim, and in the days to follow, the energy among the people was more subdued. A swathe of growing worship that was in its own way flagging, a held breath as far too many people seemed to weigh the position they were in at once. 

Even the usual partiers seemed quieter. The cries of adulation rising up around the pool-turned-gladiator-ring continued to dutifully sound off, but more for fear of what would drift back down if they failed, and their leader and deliverer, though sated, could tell he did not drift quite as high as he had before. 

Randall Flagg fed his flock on a steady diet of equal shares of fear and plenty, and it was becoming clear that perhaps, this last time, when he meant to stay too much disobedience, he had instead overcorrected. He took immediate action, of course. 

Lloyd Henreid had directions to put in more regular appearances, to take part and roll out a more royal welcome to the new citizens, or the ones that seemed to be withdrawing; keep the party going, and keep a weather eye open for holdouts. The Rat Woman had orders to up her game -- propaganda played ceaselessly on screens around the city, more activity coordinated to keep the people distracted, and the gladiator battles would have to be pressed with greater aplomb. Make better enemies of the ones being thrown to the chainsaws. Anger and outrage could override too much sense -- or even too much fear. 

A night or two of this, and Flagg was feeling no different, and he would have been weighing more drastic options -- to just press harder on the fear -- were it not for an unusual and not at all expected turn in the wind. 

Though his eye did open and cast his gaze through crows, rats, weasels, wolves, and more, none would glance the wandering set of bootheels that carried themselves into town in the early hours of Mayday evening. In fact, any such creatures that were too near seemed too distracted for Flagg to see into and control; one crow in particular had decided that rolling down the windshield of a car abandoned on the road, over and over again, was simply too important a task to heed any magical call. 

When one was dim, the whole point is that no one notices you until you wish to be. 

Tonight (along with the Dark One setting down in the Northeast some weeks ago) marked one of several clear signs that the world, crumbling and chaotic but slowly rebuilding, was becoming far more widely traveled of late. 

Dim being what it was, Flagg felt a change well before he saw what brought it. The world around them holding its breath, not in dread for the first time in days, but nervous anticipation. Even as Lloyd washed up and dressed, the Rat Woman prepared her lines with obsessive attention to detail, and the numbers filed in, they all felt it. A change, uncertain if it would be better or worse than what had come so far, and the Dark Man stood in the air, tense and searching -- then the effect was near instantaneous. 

The Rat Woman came to work that day with her orders, but by the time she had to program in the lights for the evening, she found herself adding in a few more flourishes. The music had to be reworked at the last minute. Everyone needed to be up, she decided. Something a little different, but it felt right. 

Food and liquor went out with greater care, everything seemed especially sumptuous, sweet, and rich, such that everyone that partook tonight, even the ones who didn't eat much -- who came to meet their other vices -- felt drawn to have more than just a taste, for once. Extra cases were opened, for everything. 

The music, usually hammering and intense, took on an almost nostalgic bend. Even as all the VIPs were emceed in and welcomed with rounds of cheers, it seemed familiar sounds that sparked some forgotten flame unfurled people as they took to the floor. Unusual but not impossible, Flagg opened his eyes and realized he heard lifted voices -- not just cheers or screams, but singing, with no worry of rehearsed words or even trained intonation.

There was almost worry of a usurper, something to come and feed on the worship and fear that Randall Flagg had been careful to cultivate, at a moment of possible weakness, and the inability to pinpoint a source only increased the hammer of the heart in his chest.  

He finally saw her when Lloyd, of all people, approached nearby, slithering among new citizens to be wined and dined and shown the best of what New Vegas and their great benefactor had to offer. The Dark Man almost lost her when his right hand's focus shifted, not a hard turn but it slid away like a sweetly progressing melody. 

Who Lloyd saw had been a vision. Perfect blonde hair tinged cotton candy pink with a face and body as sweet as the color, and dressed to flaunt every inch of that. The sight of her stopped him short, and she took him in with the same awe. Inspiration struck them, a perfect chord of mutual desires and promises, and as host of the evening's festivities, Henried came alive that night. And Flagg's eye pursued beyond him, even as invisible hands seemed to smooth and flatten the hackles raising along his spine. 

He followed a whirl of skirts and clacking heels onto a floor that should have been too dense for room to dance long steps, and yet many bodies glided as though they were waves in a vast ocean, and it seemed every person that collided with another merely stumbled into serendipitous opportunity. A discussion held back for days, to be discussed in darker corners, a kiss long-awaited, a dance partner... 

The wanderer was nearly lost in the crowd, and Flagg felt a shudder rise through him as the energy swelled in a new, nearly overwhelming way. 

The people were embroiled, much so that tonight no bets were placed, and the Rat Woman could not end the music long enough to introduce even one new fight. 

The raiders were not pleased, and those that had come to watch the party followed the movement of the crowd in a bizarrely focused stare, like human camera lenses, never seeming to focus on a fixed person. 

Undeterred, the people all wished to dance, to drink, to eat, to sing and to hold onto the pure moment of it. Those that lived their first night in New Vegas would leave it unforgetting, and those that had been there from the start felt that high of freedom that their own firsts had given them. 

When they were called in their fervor to give thanks to their One and the Only -- Flagg lost track of her when he hit the ceiling, and he lay there as though he had sprawled on the floor, carried in the intoxicating wave of multiple forces tugging him in different directions, and that wave of perfection. 

It wasn't just the fear, or the vice, or the adulation this time; all had been there before, at different intensities. This time they were all brighter, searingly bright, and chased with pure, unbridled joy. A perfect cocktail of energy, and Flagg had to close his eyes, lower himself gently as all his senses buzzed with the high of the congregation in the floors below, certain that he was spinning.

So strong was that reeling sensation that he did not notice that the elevator had started climbing. 

Behind his eyelids he was drawn into the fervor on the floor, the taste of liquor he always avoided touching (lest it dull the extrasensory) the warmth of each undulating body, pulsing bass and the Rat Woman's agile fingers as she directed each and every shift in the evening's light and sound like the conductor of an orchestra, the burst of new flames of want and avarice as that pink-cotton beauty gave Lloyd Henreid her true name. Energy that was still his, always his, unstolen. All of it, bleeding into him ulta-charged, and the room around him and beneath him, spinning, turning, pure euphoria--

--And then still. 

Flagg looked at last, and the doors to his lounge stood open. The thrum of that energy still coarsed pure flames in his veins, and he found himself sucking in a breath as he strode to close the doors again. 

She was sitting at his bar when he turned back. At first he would swear his vision had gone blurry, no definite features would make themselves clear. Eyes and a face, limbs, a body, feet to carry her, but not there until he focused on them. But just as quickly and with knowledge he did not know he had, it was certain that she had no clear form to take, save at that exact moment, when she wandered near enough to him to finally stand motionless.

Neither young nor old, with a face that might have been just as alluring as any in the commotion below, if she cared enough to make a canvas of it. Dark and windswept waves of hair. A dreamy mouth. Eyes gray like morning mist. And clothing of no particular time, patchwork of every possible era. 

If it was a face that existed on a tome somewhere in that library, no instinct called out to him to confirm as such, but something about her felt something like a sameness, like those highways he'd wandered a hundredfold and found anew each time around. She was the familiarity of faded denim, of careworn leather, cassette decks, and sleeping under stars.

As he circled her, the room's fire feature created a sobering separation between them.  

"You have grown a lovely garden," she said in a voice that was every shade of wistful, sad and exhilarated all at once. "There are so few in this desert anymore, and you --" She froze, eyes alight with a dawned understanding. "It's you." 

Flagg took that in with a studious eye, no longer an ounce of anything in him approaching a beast facing an intruder but a man looking over a puzzle. "You seem a touch confused, miss," he offered, with carefully directed softness. "And I don't believe we've met." 

The wanderer wagged a finger, conceding a point. "You are probably right about that, whoever you are." 

His brow knitted. "You don't know." 

She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Gonna say probably not." She sat forward, her hand coming to rest carefully, almost pointedly, on a crossed knee. "But that I also get the impression that I have always wanted to see you in the flesh. Is that weird?" 

A moment of shared, perhaps too-prolonged eye contact. 

She nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, probably weird." 

But Flagg did not come closer, did not do more than watch as she served herself a glass of milk as he often did.

His eye followed her and her first sips, the wave of the flames in the fire, again called to his attention the undulations still pulsing in him from the fervor below. But a careful, inward reminder of the signs he was seeing. Of a story bound in leather. 

"Is that what you would call this?" he asked, leadingly.

The wanderer looked up, with the still and serious countenance of one asked for a password, and whatever winding and gyring ways she carried through the door with her, she did not dally:  

"I would call it a meeting on the road." 

And then like a spell broken she was back to not so much sitting as floating in the place she found herself in. An approximation of sitting by someone who considered the concept still new and alien. 

"What do I call you?" she asked, for the moment a very specific non-specific answer. 

"You don't already know?"

"Not right now, I don't!" she said with a nonplussed, it is how it is, shrug. 

The name she'd probably heard a thousand times since wandering into the strip, she regarded now with a thoughtful nod and purse of her lips as she repeated it, like she was tasting something new. 

"Cool," she mused. "Now it's my turn to make something up!" 

Flagg didn't frown; any confusion that might have inspired, he kept from the smoothness of his face. "Do you think I'm lying to you about my name?"

"Hm?" She glanced at him, pulled momentarily from her own considerations. "No, you try something on that fits you well, you wear it. And it does, by the way." 

"Does what?"

"Fit you well." A smile.

And he saw no lie in that. 

"As for me...it's been so long. But I'm feeling a...Wendy? Yes. Definitely Wendy." 

A game of twenty questions with a person who was barely there would normally fail to reveal much of any import. But the more they spoke, even as Flagg sat across from Wendy and drank, but kept her talking, the more grounded and real she became, whether her answers made sense or were utter gibberish to him. The later the night drew on and the party below still did not quiet, the more still she became, the more certain in her words. 

But of greater importance: So did Flagg, and inwardly, somewhere in that library, there were not unlocked doors, but surfaces that were easier to see through. Words he could make out at a distance. And a certainty that he had known who W.P. was all along. 

"I believe," he said after a longer stretch of silence than he'd felt in what seemed like hours, "this is the part where we make a trade."

"Is it?" Her empty glass found its way onto the countertop, but she never set it down. Again, that look of something rising in her eyes. "Oh. This isn't one of those. But I believe I already left my gift on the floor downstairs. Did you like it?"  

"And a night's chat was all you wanted in return?" 

Wendy sat on the edge of the bar stool, fingers curled around the edges to support her as she leaned forward. 

The favor -- a fair enough trade -- she took a kiss goodbye. 

And Flagg, a being who took fire but always returned it with a closed fist rather than an open hand, felt her lips cool against his, but rather than the malingering left in many a poor soul who had shared a night with a passing stranger and felt their lives take an unpleasant turn, she did not look unfulfilled, but satisfied. 

Unsullied as one can only be when encountering one that may very well be made of the same sorts of mysteries. 

A curiosity equally met. 

"I tire of deserts," he heard her lament, long after he could no longer see her. "All I remember now are deserts. I think tomorrow: the sea." 

And for a fleeting instant, the idea was attractive. Cool ocean air, endless waves of water stretching into forever. But with renewed wisdom, Flagg also knew just as quickly that he stopped being for that a very long time ago. At least before Campion.  

Well into daylight the next day, celebrants spun and sang and cried out in ecstatic wonder at being alive and together. The Rat Woman found especial passion in her work. Lloyd Henreid gave warm welcomes but the warmest to his cotton candy beauty, and she found herself propelling to the highest place her well-groomed nails could claw her to. 

The effect that they all felt that night would not be fleeting, either, if only because, unknowing that another party had lit the flame, everyone in New Vegas that night would chase that high for the rest of their lives, however long or short, returning to the places where they felt it, sometimes cultivating it for themselves or stewing in the memory of it.  

A few got the guts to make a run for it, and no one followed.

Either way, Flagg flew higher. By dawn, however, he had forgotten what W.P. stood for again. Like a song written in a dream that you forget the sound of on waking.

The raiders in match step followed with narrow gazes the wisp that blew out of the city that morning, tasting on the air familiar food but none with sure enough hands to catch smoke or steam in their claws. Some with wiser dispositions could walk the trail she blazed back to its source into the deeper parts of the desert where their classic cars would not carry them.

An archway, a door formed in the fall of natural stone. A map was marked, but they ran out of gas before they were even back on the road. 

In the other strongholds of the west, far up in Washington, down into the valleys of California, they watched for signs anew. If booted feet met road, then weasel eyes were watching. 

And far in the east, caravans of wanderers marched on. The dreams, for a while, would be even worse. 

[ferrousblod]

Real mood

[gear-project]

I know this isn't exactly Guilty Gear related but I can't find the answer to this anywhere online and you've talked about the game before so I figured it was worth asking, do you have a list of the non-GG and non-BB assists in Code Shifter? Everywhere just says there are 100 but they never say what the 100 are. Feel free to ignore.

Non BB/GG Playables: 16 in total (16/30)

-Kunio (River City/Kunio-Kun) -Riki (River City) -Masao Kobayashi (River City) -Koki Mizoguchi (River City) -Saburo Jinguji (Detective Jinguji Saburo: Ashes and Diamonds/Jake Hunter) -Willy (Double Dragon) -Abobo (Double Dragon) -Jimmy Lee (Double Dragon) -Billy Lee (Double Dragon) -Misako & Kyoko (River City Girls) -Desert Ship (Of Mice and Sand) -Avatar (Birthdays the Beginning) -Gear (Damascus Gear Series) -Explorer (Inferno Climber) -Alto Travers (Wizard's Symphony/Wizard's Harmony) -Spica Celest (Wizard's Symphony/Wizard's Harmony)

Double Dragon Assists: 3 -Chin Taimei -Yagyu Ranzou -Burnov

The Combatribes Assists: 3 -Berserker -Bullova -Blitz

Guilty Gear Assists: 18 in Total

BlazBlue Assists: 18 in Total

The Launch Trailer states that there are "30 Playable characters" and "70 Assist Characters", which is where the 100 total comes from.

This listing accounts for 42/70 Assists, as I haven't unlocked them all or discovered them all, unfortunately.

Chances are good though that they are in fact part of the above listed games, if not something else entirely that ARC System Works has worked on.

Sorry I couldn't list them all, but it's a good start, at least for now...

[darksilvania]

246-GARGAROYLE [Gargle-Gargoyle] -Rock/Dragon -The Gargoyle pokemon -Ability: Storm Drain/Rock Head - Rain Dish (HA) -Dex: "It stores rain water inside its throath to use for both comunication and to use against predators. It comunicates with others by a complex series of gurgling sounds that scientist are still trying to fully comprehend." -Moveset:    -Rock Throw    -Water Gun    -Echoed Voice    -Roost -->Evolves at lv. 30<-- 247-CATHEDROYLE [Cathedral-Gargoyle] -Rock/Dragon -The Grotesque Pokemon -Ability: Storm Drain/Rock Head - Rain Dish (HA) -Dex: "They make their homes on high cliffs where they stand motionless on the edge, even for hours or days, waiting for prey to come by. They are incredible climbers, they can climb perfectly smooth surfaces with ease." -Moveset:     -Rock Climb     -Take down     -Smack Down     -Rain Dance -->Evolves at lv. 60<-- 248-NOTREDOYLE [NotreDame-Gargoyle] -Rock/Dragon -The Monument Pokemon -Ability: Storm Drain/Rock Head - Rain Dish (HA) -Dex: "Despite having wings it cannot fly due to its size and weight, yet it climbs and jumps so fast and far it gives the impresion of doing so. It is mostly nocturnal spending all days sleeping completely motionless and seamingly coming back to life when the sun goes down" -Moveset:     -Head Smash     -Scald     -Dragon Tail     -Heal Bell

->Using Notredoylite<- MEGA NOTREDOYLE -Rock/Fire -Ability: Extreme Heat* -Moveset:     -Head Smash     -Inferno     -Ancientpower     -Incinerate *Water-type moves evaporate before touching the pokemon due to the flames high temperature, the steam produced will cover the field lowering accuracy

On april 15th of this year, Notre-Dame de Paris was almost destroyed by a terrible fire, a great part of the roof and the inside was damaged by the flames, if not completely burnt. However the Cathedral was saved just in time, and though the damage was extense, it survived, and hopefully it will be restored. Many were moved by the tragedy, as the cathedral represents for them more than just a building, it is a landmark, a symbol, a piece of art and history, and so, even when the fire did a lot of damage, it also brought many together, joined in their love for what Notre-Dame represents, and so, inspired by this feeling, I made this, as a tribute, with fire working not as a destructive force, but as a force of change and rebirth, for it will rise again, as it has done for more than 700 years!!!

[tinycartridge]

Code Shifter is a weird crossover that works in a weird way ⊟

I like a lot of the franchises Arc System Works has collected over the years, like the Kunio-kun crew, Double Dragon, and my dude Jake Hunter, but I’ve blazed very few blues, and my gears’ reputation is unassailable. Many of the characters in the crossover platformer Code Shifter: Developed by A.R.C. don’t resonate with me at all, their names weirdly punctuated gibberish. On top of that, they’re rendered in a Kunio/River City-esque pixel style that makes them extra unrecognizable to my eyes.

Even without deep connections to all the people with equal signs in their names, I was surprised to find it easy to stick with Code Shifter to the end. Whether I knew the references or not, I liked the retro artwork and the weird way it meshed into its 3D Kim-Possible-Tron backdrop, I liked discovering new characters and trying out their abilities. I also liked the way customization and depth slowly showed itself in an otherwise simple platformer.

I even liked the other entire game in there!

Code Shifter brings together characters from various franchises including Arc’s big names and… a lot of characters I can’t even recognize, and who the game doesn’t give me enough information about. But look! I found this in the digital manual! Now I know to be excited about the guy from Inferno Climber!

The characters are all supposed to be data from a game, Colorful Fighters, designed by a company named A.R.C. You play a programmer named Stella, who uses a virtual environment of her design to debug the code -- and that’s Code Shifter. It’s a 2D platforming UI for debugging. I’m no software engineer, but this seems both reasonable and efficient. Between levels, you can stroll the A.R.C. office and meet the rest of the Colorful Fighters team. Then you go into Code Shifter and debug their issues.

Inside Code Shifter, you default to Stella’s avatar, Sera, who can double jump, do some neat sword combos, and who is the only person who can destroy “virus” icons. Other characters are located in “hero” icon stations around the level. They all have different abilities: some are fast, some can jump higher or fly, some have elemental properties, and Jake Hunter smokes constantly. (That’s not beneficial in any way, but I thought I’d mention it.) These attributes and abilities are used for… I don’t want to say puzzles, since they’re obvious and the right character is usually right next to the obstacle. But it’s a good motivator to encourage use of different characters.

That knowledge of the different characters can then be used in Colorful Fighters, a multiplayer fighter I can only describe as “Smash Bros. but River City Ransom.” It’s uneven, unbalanced, shallow… everyone only has a few moves, and the visual chaos makes it hard to distinguish what’s going on. But despite all of the good reasons Colorful Fighters shouldn’t work, I’m into it. Also, I just realized this video game is who you’re trying to rescue in Code Shifter. I’m into that too, as a weird take on the treasure at the end of the quest.

You unlock new characters for Colorful Fighters by completing levels in Code Shifter. You can also earn equippable skills for Code Shifter both by performing well in levels and by finding them around the A.R.C. office. These skills increase speed, strength, jump distance, and, most excitingly, the number of heroes you can switch between.

Code Shifter isn’t a Smash Bros. level crossover success, nor is it a perfect platformer. It is basically, in all respects, fine, with big empty levels that are easy enough to navigate and combat that’s challenging enough to be interesting. It’s a straight-down-the-line, mid-tier last-generation XBLA/PSN download game, to nail down the vibe. But the Kunio-inspired fighting, the game dev storyline, and the wacky Colorful Fighters mode made Code Shifter a good time for me. Even if I’m not a big Wizard’s Symphony guy yet.

JOIN CLUB TINY AND OUR DISCORD Support Tiny Cartridge!

[imdoingthismspaintadventure]

WORM 1.5 : In which we are saved by the bestest of good boys

You don’t properly appreciate what superhuman strength means until you see someone leap from the sidewalk to the second floor of a building on the far side of the street.  He didn’t make it all the way to the roof, but he came to a point maybe three quarters of the way up.  I wasn’t sure just how Lung kept from falling, but I could only guess that he just buried his fingertips into the building’s exterior.

Holy shit.

He just mega jumped to the building where Taylor is and is hanging on the outside wall by his claws!

You better come up with a way to escape or to do something, cause you seem preeetyy dead right now.

I heard scraping and crunching as he ascended, and looked to my only escape route.  I didn’t harbor any delusions as far as my ability to get down the fire escape before Lung came over the top of the roof and deduced where I’d run off to.  Worse, at that point he could probably just beat me to the street level by jumping off the roof, or even just shoot fire at me through the gaps in the metal while I was halfway down.  The irony of the fire escape being anything but didn’t escape me.

Yeah that’s kind of a disadvantage of being in high-up places if you can’t fly or teleport or something. Pretty easy to get trapped.

I wished I could fly.  My school offered the choice between Chemistry, Biology and Physics, with Basic Science for the underachievers.  I hadn’t picked Physics, but I was still pretty sure that no matter how many I could gather together, jumping off the roof with a swarm of flying insects gripping me would be just as ineffective as the 9 year old superhero wannabes you heard about in the news, jumping off ledges with umbrellas and bedsheets.

 I really don’t think they can carry your bodyweight, or even slow down your descent. You would splat on the floor like a, well, bug.

Also holy shit that is kinda dark and probably a likely consecuence of powers in our world. Poor kids.

For the time being, I was stuck where I was.

Home BuildingStuck

Reaching inside the convex armor that covered my spine, I ran my fingers over the things I had buckled in there.  The EpiPens were meant to treat anaphylactic shock from allergic reactions to bee stings and the like, and likely wouldn’t do a thing to Lung, even if I could get close enough and find a point to inject.  Worst case scenario, the injections would supercharge his power by prompting a surge of whatever hormones or endorphins fueled his power.  Not useful, dangerous at best.  I had a pouch of chalk dust that was meant for climbers and gymnasts, I had seen it in the sports store when I was buying the lenses for my mask.  I had gloves and didn’t think I needed the dryness and extra traction, but I had gotten the idea that it could be useful to throw at an invisible enemy, and bought it on a whim.  In retrospect, it had been kind of a dumb purchase, since my power let me find foes like that with my bugs. As a tool against Lung… I wasn’t sure if it would explode like regular dust could when exposed to flame, but fire didn’t hurt him anyways. Scratch that option.

...Fuck yes

I love characters that think about what they could do best in every situation with the resources they have. If Taylor is like this for the rest of the serial....God I’m gonna enjoy this.

The problem is that I don’t think she has many options at all

I tugged the little canister of pepper spray free from my armor.  It was a black tube, three inches long, not much thicker around than a pen, with a trigger and a safety switch.  It had been a gift from my dad, after I had started to go on my morning jogs for training.  He had warned me to vary my route, and had given me the pepper spray for protection, along with a chain to clip it to my belt loop so it couldn’t be taken and used against me by an attacker.  In costume, I had opted not to keep the chain for the sake of moving quietly.  Using my thumb, I flicked the safety off and positioned the tube so I was ready to fire. I crouched to make myself a smaller target, and waited for him to show himself.

Hmmm could pepper spray work? Maybe if he doesn’t have his eyes or face fully armored...

Also I find the mental image of this possibly hilarious.

Lung’s hands, still on fire, were the first thing to show up, gripping the edge of the roof hard enough to bend the material that covered the roof’s raised lip.  His hands were quickly followed by his head and torso as he hauled himself up.  He looked like he was made of overlapping knives or spades, smouldering yellow-orange with the low temperature flame.  There was no skin to be seen, and he was easily seven or eight feet tall, judging by the length of his arms and torso. His shoulders alone were three feet across at the very least.  Even the one eye that he had open looked metallic, a glowing, almond shaped pool of liquid-hot metal.

He probably looks more like a daemon than a dragon now. At least he doesn’t seem to have wings...

Just a veritable inferno of molted metal and flame and a looot of anger

I aimed for the open eye, but the spray fired off at a sharp angle, just glancing off his shoulder.  Where the spray grazed him, it ignited into a short lived fireball.

Taylor used improvised flamethrower against the fire demon! Doesn’t seem very effective...

Hopefully the spray doesn’t ignite before touching his face because I think a pyrokinetic can handle himself otherwise...

I swore under my breath and fumbled with the device.  While he brought his leg over the edge, I adjusted my angle and shot again.  This time – with a small tweak of my aim mid-shot – I hit him in the face.  The ignited spray rolled off of him, but the contents still did the trick. He screamed, letting go of the roof with one hand, clutching the side of his face where his good eye was.

AAGH MY EYE! WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE GODDAMN EYE??!

Taylor could be an excellent markswoman, she seems to have a lot of precission and nuance in aiming.

It had been vain to hope that he would slip and fall.  I just counted myself lucky that however metallic his face looked, there were still parts of it vulnerable to the spray.

At least for now...

Lung hauled himself over the edge of the roof.  I had him hurting… I just couldn’t do anything about it.  My bugs were officially useless, there was nothing left in my utility sheath, and I would hurt myself more than I hurt Lung if I attacked him.  Making a mental note to pick myself up a concealable knife or baton if I managed to live through this, I bolted for the fire escape. 

Time to use the Joestar’s secret technique then!

Also yeah some hand to hand weaponry could be useful for the future. Probably not with this warp-demon, but with regular joes, so that we can be less squishy wizard in our approach

“Muh… Motherfucker!”  Lung screamed.  With my back turned, there was no way to see it, but the roof was briefly illuminated before the wave of flame hit me from behind.  Knocked off balance, I skidded on the gravel and hit the raised lip of the roof, just by the fire escape. Frantically, I patted myself down.  My costume wasn’t on fire, but my hair – I hurriedly ran my hands over it to make sure it hadn’t been ignited.

Oh fuck!

Yeah the fact that the costume is not yet fully complete came back to bite you it seems. Let’s hope we don’t end up with too severe burns in our first night out, christ.

Small mercies, I thought, that there was no tar used on the roof.  I could just imagine the flames igniting the rooftop, and just how little I’d be able to do if it happened.

That... would have been unfortunate. 100% fucked instead of the .... 87% we are at right now.

Lung stood, slowly, still covering part of his face with his hand.  He walked with a slight limp as he approached me.  Blindly, he lashed out with a broad wave of flame that rolled over half the roof.  I covered my head with my hands and brought my knees to my chest as the hot air and flame rushed over me.  My costume seemed to take the brunt of it, but it was still hot enough I had to bite my lip to stop from making a sound.

The costume seems to be fire resistant! Mostly.

Spider silk is fucking badass.

Lung stopped advancing, slowly turning his head from one side to another.

“Cock.  Sucker,” he growled in his heavily accented voice, his cussing interrupted by his panting for breath, “Move.  Give me something to aim for.”

Actual perfect recreation of trying to hunt a fly at 4 am in the morning when you can’t sleep, and aren’t a white hot metal terror.

I held my breath and stayed as still as possible.  What could I do?  I still had the pepper spray in my hand, but even if I got him again, I was running the risk that he would lash out and bake me alive before I could move.  If I moved first, he would hear me and I would get knocked around by another blast of flame, probably before I could get to my feet. 

Eeeh your options are...

1) Spray him in the face, get blasted

2) Stay quiet.... probably get blasted as well.

3)Try to get away, and get... I’m starting to see a pattern here

Lung moved his hand from his face.  He blinked a few times, then looked around, then blinked a few more times.  It was a matter of seconds before he could see well enough to make me out from the shadows.  Wasn’t pepper spray supposed to put someone down for thirty minutes?  How was this monster not an A-Lister?

Well ain’t that a fucking horrible thing to think about.

Either:

1) He’s way stronger than he should be and he’s basically content with being small-time thug, even with the potential he has in the larger world stage

or...

2) He’s a big fish in a small pond and the people out there make him look silly by comparison which is.... holy shit.

He suddenly moved, flames wreathing his hands, and I screwed my eyes shut.

At least he’s not saying feel the heat over and over

And also how the fuck will you get out of this one

When I heard the crackling whoosh of the flame and wasn’t burned alive, I opened my eyes again.  Lung was firing streams of flame, aiming for the edge of the roof of the adjacent building, a three story apartment.  I looked to see what he was aiming at, but couldn’t make anything out in the gloom or in the brief second of light Lung’s flames afforded.

!!!!!

Reinforcements!! Someone has come to help!! Or at least to fight AGAINST Lung!!

Yes!

With no warning, a massive shape landed atop Lung with an impact I could swear people heard at the other end of the street.  The size of a van, the ‘massive object’ was animal rather than vehicle, resembling a cross between a lizard and a tiger, with tangles of muscle and bone where it ought to have skin, scales or fur.  Lung was now on his knees, holding one of the beast’s sizable claws away from his face with his own clawed hand.

OH FUCK

A GIANT FUCKING METAL-LOOKING BONEY FERAL BEAST JUST FELL FROM NOWHERE AND IS FIGHTING AGAINST THE INFERNAL DRAGON MAN

Lung used his free hand to strike the creature across the snout.  Even though he was smaller than the beast, the impact made it rear back.  It took a few short steps back in reaction, and then rhino-charged him off the edge of the roof.  They hit the street with an audible crash.

AND THE TWO BERSERKERS ARE HURLING THEMSELVES OFF OF THE BUILDING TO THE STREET BELOW

This is glorious.

I stood, aware I was shaking like a leaf.  I was so unsteady on my feet, from the mixed relief and fear, that I almost fell over again as two more impacts shook the roof.  Two more creatures, similar to the first in texture, but slightly different in size and shape, had arrived on the rooftop.  These two each had a pair of riders.  I watched as the people slid off the backs of the animals.  There were two girls, a guy, and a fourth I identified as male only because of the height.  The tall one approached me, while the others hurried to the edge of the roof to watch Lung and the creature duke it out.

THEY WERE JUST THE RIDES FOR THESE PEOPLE

What a fucking entrance

“You really saved us a lot of trouble,” he told me.  His voice was deep, masculine, but muffled by the helmet he wore.  He was dressed entirely in black, a costume I realized was basically motorcycle leathers and a motorcycle helmet.  The only thing that made me think it was a costume was the visor of his helmet.  The full-face visor was sculpted to look like a stylized skull, and was as black as the rest of his costume, with only the faint highlights of reflected light on the surface to give a sense of what it was.  It was one of those costumes that people put together out of what they can scrounge up, and it wasn’t half bad if you didn’t look too close.  He reached out a hand towards me, and I leaned away, wary.

Damn he looks cool. He’s giving me ghost rider vibes in his outfit, but without the flaming skull part. Just badass biker energy

I didn’t know what to say, so I stuck to my policy of not saying anything that could get me into a worse situation.

At least you are not on fire, even though mr black leather and his zombie behemoths aren’t really giving me heroic vibes

Withdrawing his hand, the man in black jerked his thumb over one shoulder, “When we got word Lung was aiming to come after us tonight, we were pretty freaked.  We were arguing strategy for the better part of the day.  We eventually decided, fuck it, we’d meet him halfway.  Wing it.  Not my usual way of doing things, but yeah.”

Oh! ooooohhhh.

So the “Killing kids” part wasn’t actually murdering random civilians for the evulz

It was probably a territorial dispute! Cause these are totally villains or anti-heroes/vigilantes. Either/or

Behind him, one of the girls whistled sharply and pointed down at the street.  The two monsters the group had been riding on bounded across the roof and leaped down to the street to join the fight.

Seems like that one is the trainer.

The guy in black kept talking, “Wouldn’t you know, his flunky Lee is there with a half dozen guys, but Lung and the rest of his gang are nowhere to be found,” he laughed, a surprisingly normal sound for someone wearing a mask with a skull on it.

He doesn’t seem to consider us a threat at least so that’s a relief

So they fought his underling while our girl here, on her lonesome, straight up picked a fight with bossman.

“Lee’s no slouch in a fight, but there’s a reason he’s not leader of the ABB.  He got spooked without his boss there and ran.  I guess you’re responsible for that?”  Skull-mask waited for a response from me.  When I didn’t offer one, he ventured towards the edge of the roof and looked down, then spoke without turning to look at me, “Lung is getting creamed.  The fuck you do to him?”

Oh shit the venoms or the eye-injuries are making a difference in helping the hell-mount win!

“Pepper spray, wasp and bee stings, fire ants and spider bites,” the second of the girls said, answering the question for me.  She was dressed in a skintight outfit that combined black with a pale shade of blue or purple – I couldn’t tell in the dark – and her dark blond hair was long and windblown.  The girl grinned as she added, “He’s not holding up too well.  Gonna feel a helluvalot worse tomorrow.”

She can know all that with just a look??

Information-based powers!! Intuition? Clairvoyance? Omniscience? Those always seem crazy OP to me in terms of offering support!

The man in black suddenly turned to look at me, “Introductions.  That’s Tattletale.  I’m Grue.  The girl with the dogs-” he pointed to the other girl, the one who had whistled and directed the monsters.  She wasn’t in costume unless I counted a plaid skirt, army boots, a torn-up sleeveless T-shirt and a hard plastic, dollar-store rottweiler mask as a costume. “-We call her Bitch, her preference, but in the interests of being P.G., the good guys and media decided to call her Hellhound instead.  Last and certainly least, we have Regent.”

Grue? Huh, I can’t really guess what he could do based on that. Isn’t it like an urban legend or fairytale monster?

Tattletale...so her power IS information based! I also like the simpleness of her costume which I hadn’t mentioned

Bitch (Hellhound think of the children! ) looks really butch and badass from what I can hear. She seems to be the one with the beast power, cue the “Bitch” in her name

Regent...hmmm, something nobility-related?

I finally caught up with what he was saying.  Those monsters were dogs?

Abyssal doggos!!

“Fuck you, Grue,” Regent retorted, with a chuckle and a tone of voice that made it clear he wasn’t really that offended.  He was wearing a white mask, not quite as decorative or made up as the ones I associated with the carnivals in Venice, but similar.  He’d placed a silver coronet around his short black curls, and wore a ruffled white shirt with skintight leggings tucked into knee-high boots.  The outfit was very renaissance faire.  He had a build that made me think more of a dancer than a bodybuilder.

He looks really theatrical. I really like his aesthetics. I still wonder what his power is.

Introductions done, Grue looked at me for several long moments.  After a few seconds, he asked me, “Hey, you okay?  You hurt?”

“The reason she’s not introducing herself isn’t because she’s hurt,” Tattletale told him, as she continued to lean over the edge of the roof and watch whatever was going on at the street level, “It’s because she’s shy.”

Damn omniscients and their lack of privacy!!

Her power is actually scary though. No secrets with her around..

Tattletale turned around and it looked like she was going to say something else, but she stopped, turning her head.  The smile she’d been wearing faded, “Heads up.  We’ve gotta scram.”

Bitch nodded in response and whistled, one short whistle followed by two long ones.  After a brief pause, the building was suddenly rattled by impacts.  In just moments, the three creatures of hers leaped from the alleys to either side of the building and onto the roof.

Grue turned towards me.  I was still standing on the opposite end of the roof, by the fire escape. “Hey, want a ride?”

What?? Oh god is someone else coming as well?? What now?

I looked at the creatures – dogs?  They were bloodied, snarling creatures out of a nightmare.  I shook my head.  He shrugged.

The dogs look like something you would see on doom and it is amazing

“Hey,” Tattletale said to me, seating herself just behind Bitch, “What’s your name?”

I stared at her.  My voice caught in my throat before I was able to get the words out, “I don’t… I haven’t picked one yet.”

“Well, Bug, a cape is gonna show up in less than a minute.  You did us a solid by dealing with Lung, so take my advice.  Someone from the Protectorate shows up, finds two bad guys duking it out, they’re not going to let one walk away.  You should get out of here,”  She said. She flashed me a smile.  She had one of those vulpine grins that turned up at the corners.  Behind her simple black domino style mask, her eyes were glittering with mischief.  If she had red hair, she would have made me think of a fox.  She kind of did, anyways.

It’s true she doesn’t have a name yet! I guess bug would suffice for now.

And yuup they were bad guys, I knew it. Seems they have mistaken Taylor for one!

Well when you take into account the possibly too-grimdark edgy-lite costume and what she fucking did to Lung with her bugs in his eyes.... yeah I could see how they can draw that conclusion

With that, they leaped over my head, one of the three beasts hitting or stepping on the fire escape on the way down, eliciting a screech of metal on metal.

When I realized what had just happened, I could have cried.  It was easy enough to pin down Regent, Tattletale and Bitch as teenagers.  It wasn’t much of an intuitive leap to guess that Grue had been one too. The ‘children’ Lung had mentioned, the ones I had gone to so much effort to save tonight, were bad guys.  Not only that, but they had mistaken me for one, too.

Happy first day out as a hero, Taylor! Well done!

And it still might not be over yet, let’s see what happens with this hero arrival. Let’s hope they don’t reach the same conclusions this time.

But we will see that next time! See you in the next update!