#warp speed warriors

[sea-of-machines]

I can already sense myself blast this on repeat

[myremains]

Modern day power metal heroes Dragonforce are taking a run at album number 9, I cannot believe they’re on their 9th album, 25 years they’ve been around, my first rock gig and they’re still powering forward, it’s phenomenal. You tend to know what you’re getting with Dragonforce by now, its going to be full of great and fast musical work and nice sweet tones and upbeat adrenaline fueling long tracks, but lets see where they’ve taken it this time.

By now we know what we’re getting with Dragonforce, generally speaking, and of course opener “Astro Warrior Anthem” is nearly 7 minutes long, very fast and extremely technical, the licks and solos are some of the best I’ve heard from them, Hudson’s vocals grow on me more with each big song like this that he carves through like a honey glazed knife through butter. “Power of the Triforce” is a textbook power metal tale of journey, talk of swords and a mystique, the sounds that these wonderful guitarists can make add another level to the sound. I wasn’t personally keen on “Space Marine Corps” at first, but it has grown on me quite rapidly, mostly its that tune that I can’t seem to stop humming, its so bubbly and bouncy, has its moments of being rapid and intricate but generally is a good one to sing along to, particularly I find whilst driving. They have a bash at covering Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams”, and if you didn’t know any better you wouldn’t know this wasn’t their own song, nothing more you can ever ask of a cover. The final song guest features Amaranthe’s Elise Ryd on vocals which natural got me really stoked, there is a version without her but why would you bother when her voice is so good, a happy rave to see in the end of the world, lovely guitar solos, very different but glorious addition to the back catalogue. A final mention to “Doomsday Party” guest featuring Amaranthe vocalist Elize Ryd, there is a version without her but I won’t ever need that, she adds a completely different layer to the fun chanty track with her gorgeous pipes, she flex’s those talents pretty hard on this track.

It doesn’t matter what the subject matter is there’s always a feeling of positivity and huge energy, the shift into the video game and space themes inkeeping with that power metal storytelling has been really big for them as it has given them a new lease of life and gives them that distinctive edge in a flooded genre. I will always be a Dragonforce guy, and I feel like they’re far from done yet.

[8/10]

[slrmagazine]

Extreme Power Metal Pioneers DRAGONFORCE Unveil New Single "Burning Heart” and Exciting Music Video

Extreme Power Metal Pioneers DRAGONFORCE Unveil New Single "Burning Heart” and Exciting Music Video. #dragonforce @DragonForce

Extreme power metal pioneers DRAGONFORCE are releasing their epic new album, ‘Warp Speed Warriors’, today, March 15 via Napalm Records! To celebrate the album release, the band unleashes the official music video for the latest single “Burning Heart”! Rapid drum patterns and thrilling guitars carry the catchy new track that arrives with a captivating music video. Herman Li on Burning…

[thelowestorder]

DragonForce - The Killer Queen

[rockattitudegr]

Οι DragonForce ανακοίνωσαν την κυκλοφορία του νέου τους άλμπουμ “Warp Speed Warriors” και έδωσαν στη δημοσιότητα το single “Power of the Triforce” και το επίσημο video που το συνοδεύει.

[horrorpatch]

Extreme Power Metallers DRAGONFORCE Drop Music Video For "Burning Heart"!

British extreme power metal heroes DRAGONFORCE has released a new single & music video for the track, “Burning Heart”. The new single is taken from the band’s new full-length album, Warp Speed Warriors, out today via Napalm Records. Watch the video and get more details about the new album and band down below. From The Press Release Extreme power metal pioneers DRAGONFORCE are releasing their…

[nelissecrectplace]

your warrior

neytiri x gn reader

word count: 818

language: ‘evenge-girl , yawne- beloved

description: ¡Establish relationship! Life as a future leader of clan was no easy feat, especially when the na’vi you called yours was a warrior. Of course the two of you make every moment count, even when patching her up.

Lazily mixing the herbal paste you allowed your mind to wander. Making herbal remedies all day was tiring. In your opinion, it was the most dreadful tasks of the healers. Sighing with your whole body you continue to grind up the leafs praying that they would magically grind themselves too dust. The boredom was unbearable.

Almost as if Eywa had sensed your misery the flap of the tent was opened. Joyfully whipping your body around you were quick to rise to your feet. You felt your tail wip in excitement as a familiar sent filled your senses.

“Neytiri!” Launching yourself onto the woman you embraced her. Feeling her slender yet toned arm wrap around your frame made your stomach swirl. It did not matter how many times she’s touched you the feeling never seemed to go away.

“Hello yawne.” Hearing her low voice you were quick to pull away, she only spoke like this when something was bothering her. Face warping into worry your eyes scanned her frantically. Eventually finding the source of her discomfort you quickly guided the woman down onto the mat. Anxiously, your body moved at a record speed, gathering all the pastes and herbs you would need.

“You said you would stay away from those tawtute.” Displeasure obviously in your tone you began to pat the blood off her thigh. You had seen enough bullet wounds to know these cuts were from sky people’s weapon. “Yet we can not keep ignoring them. It’s only a matter of time before they become aggressive again.” Stubbornly Neytiri attempted too reason, hoping you would see what she sees. Of course it was no use as your frown only deepened.

Eyes downcast you refused to meet the woman’s gaze as you tended to her wound. Neytiri could only sign at your headstrong personality, knowing it was one of the reasons she admired you so. “I am not out there, I can not stop you.” Rising to your knees you peered down at her. “Just be careful. I can not lose you.”

“I am always careful.” Meeting your eyes with a light smile Neytiri responded. She couldn’t help but admire the way you looked at her with such care in your eyes. It always amused her how you could get worked up over such minor injuries . Not tearing her eyes away from your form for a minute she watched as you moved around the tent. Feeling the burn of her gaze you couldn’t help but feel flustered. There was no doubt your braids were a mess from the days work, that fact only seeming to add to the purple hue on your face.

“I am fine! You cannot pretend to be mad forever.” Feeling her breath fan against your ear your body stiffened. Pretending to be busy with organizing the herbs you avoided her piercing gaze. Not having any of it Neytiri wrapped her tail around your leg. You couldn’t help but shiver at the contact as her tail slowly inched up.

Meeting her teasing gaze it was hard to believe this was the strong warrior the public views. “You are infuriating” Not giving her a secant to respond you crash your lips into hers. Seeming to play right into her hands Neytiri couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. Her hands traveling up to pull on your already messy braids. Placing your hands on her hips you pulled her impossibly closer basking in her heat.

Pulling away Neytiri wore a proud smile as her fangs on full display. A small smile settled on your face despite your attempts to maintain your facade. “You love the way I ‘infuriate’ you yawne.” Pushing the fallen strands of braids behind your ears her yellow eyes scanned your features. “True, my days would be boring without you.” Maintaining a teasing tone you pulled away from the na’vi, putting the medicines up for the night. “You are my ‘evenge after all.”

It was now Neytiri turn to be shy as she avoided your gaze. The purple hue of her ears prominent. “I am not yours yet.” Shyly reminding you of the reality Neytiri spoke low. Her tone almost sorrowful.

“You will be soon, the clan can talk all they want about how ‘weird’ it is that i’m the healer and you’re the warrior.” Bringing Neytiri back into your embrace a small laugh left the woman’s lips. “I can already hear the ‘She’s Mo’ats daughter why is she not the Tsahík’.” Adding onto your point the two of you couldn’t help but giggle at the remarks.

Placing your forehead on hers you stared into her yellow orbs. “I promise to make you mine, so I can always patch you up.” A fanged smile covered Neytiri face at your words. It was now her turn to smash her lips into yours. Her body pushing into you with all the love and passion she harbored.

a/n- Short little drabble for the one and only mother 🤭. I wish I had more ideas too write about her with :,)

tag: @yeosxxx

[deathmetalunicorn1]

ROR humans x Fem!reader who had ability of singing. She heal the humans with soft melody after they battle the god. But when It’s her turn in arena, she sing a dark melody of tot musica and easily defeat two gods who decide to take down one human and they didn’t see what’s coming.

If you don’t know tot musica, here, it’ll show you.👇

https://youtube.com/watch?v=V9_ZpqfqHFI&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE

-You have proven yourself useful with your fellow human fighters, the ones who had managed to survive this far, using your own abilities, singing a gentle lullaby song that soothed their pain, soothing them to sleep, and once asleep, you sang your secret song, one that could heal the wounds of others.

-You kept that song a secret, not wanting to be used as a tool, so if you used it, you always made sure they were asleep first, which was simply done with a lullaby.

-You didn’t look like a warrior, more like a popstar, but you didn’t mind, you liked it when others would underestimate it you, you liked seeing their shocked faces.

-Kojiro and Jack were both shocked when they woke up from what they both considered as the best naps of their lives, to find their wounds completely healed.

-When Kojiro questioned you about what happened you just gave him a bright grin, “It’s a secret~” which made him chuckle softly, but he thanked you, patting your head, it made you feel warm inside, getting soft affections like that from him.

-You had offered your services to the gods, telling Brunnhilde that you didn’t mind helping them too, which did touch her that you didn’t like seeing anyone in pain. Thor passed on your help, as did Zeus.

-Shiva didn’t have any say in the matter, his wives just gave him a look that shut him up and you were quick to put him to sleep. Once you asked his wives to give you a bit of privacy, you sang your healing song.

-You were able to stabilize Shiva and helped the massive wounds of his arms, since they were so massive, it would take several sessions, but with your first song, the valkyries were able to take over and hooked him up to machines that would help the regeneration of his arms speed up.

-His wives were so grateful for your help which made you smile warmly, glad that you were able to help, which made them pause and realize, just like their husband, there were some humans that were… different, special, honorable, like you and Raiden.

-When it was your time to fight, you came out with spotlights shining down upon you, twirling as if you were walking out to sing in one of your concerts, not a fight for your life, a fight for humanity itself.

-Your opponent came out, an evil, vile god of shadows, who thought it was a joke to fight such a weak human, especially after so many strong human warriors.

-You quickly proved that you weren’t just a cute face, delivering a whirlwind guillotine kick, which was shocking enough but you were in your platform boots of all things!!

-As you were fighting you kept feeling something grab at your ankles, keeping you in place so your opponent could hit you.

-You were able to catch what was grabbing you, grabbing your opponent as well and throwing them both over your shoulder and the stadium was quickly in an uproar, seeing the twins who had been cheating the whole match.

-The gods themselves were furious, as these idiot twins dishonored them for their actions.

-You were mad now, upset that these two managed to trick you, embarrass you.

-You inhaled deeply and began to sing, unlike the cheery poppy song you came into your match with, your song was deeper, darker, edgier, reality warping around you.

-The twins tried to attack but you always seemed to vanish, appearing in another section of the nightmare you were creating with your song, a monster appearing around them, one they tried to attack, but quickly failed.

-Your beast made quick work of these twins while you stood on his head, a bit slumped over, as this song, Tot Musica, always took a lot out of you.

-The gods and even the other humans were terrified of this beast you had created by just singing it into reality.

-Once declared the winner, your monster faded and once on the ground, you fell to your knees, gasping hard, feeling exhausted, not paying to much attention to the cheers around you.

-Once backstage, Kojiro was the one to meet you and he surprised you by picking you up princess style and carrying you to the med-bay where your wounds were dealt with and you fell asleep quickly afterwards, trying to regain your strength.

[fluffyfantasticducky]

Admit it

☆ Pairing: Loki x Reader

☆ Synopsis: Loki likes you, more than he's liked anyone before, you make him laugh, you intrigue him and he's very comfortable around you, but proud as he is, he won't admit it. So when it turns out you already knew, will he be up to it and confirm it?

☆ Word Count: 4,902

☆ Notes: Loki is in denial about his feelings, as he does.

☆ Warnings: Alcohol consumption. Angry drinking, drunken confessions.

Loki was a lot of things, a liar, a trickster, a warrior, a sorcerer, a jester, a prince, a god, a hero, once even a villain. His current title, an Avenger... Ironic, really. How just a few years he had tried to kill every single one of them, and now he was part of the team. Although, he could argue that he’s the reason they finally got together in the first place, so it was only fair that now redeemed, he’d be allowed to join the famous team that once (thankfully) stopped his attempt at invading Earth. 

Because this way he got to meet you. 

You, oh Norns, you. Where could he start? You had been born different, to put it simply, as in you were part of the human population with special traits. Back then, Loki’s most remarkable human was a man with strength and anger issues formidable enough to scar him emotionally. Nowadays, there were sorcerers that could compete with Asgard’s finest, artificially made sentient and intelligent beings, and people with remarkable abilities that came from birth. Like yourself. 

You were what Midgard had been addressing as a mutant, which essentially meant that you were born with special abilities. Some had super speed, some had laser eyes, other had super strength or like in your case, could make your way into people’s mind to take peeks into their thoughts. Funny you did not end up in that super school for mutants. 

No, you had made your way into the rank of trainees for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. And... somewhere else, but that was subject for another time. You were in a weird in between point right in the middle, you weren’t just a mortal in a suit, but your abilities didn’t stand out as much as for instance the reality warping witch. Not that you minded, quite the contrary, actually. 

You were quite a peculiar individual, on one hand you were a very shy and closed off person with most people, you mostly spent your times in the Avengers Facilities you hardly went outside and when you did it was very task focused, meaning if you went shopping you went to get the things you needed and came back, if you were going to meet someone that’s all you did, it was rare you went to stroll around the city or went to big events just because. When brought up, you argued it was simply because crowds meant lots of thoughts and it gave you headaches. 

On the other hand, inside the Compound you were bright and bubbly, always friendly and looking seeing you alone was rare, either spar training with Barton, Romanoff or Rogers, assisting Stark and Banner, cooking with Wanda and her tin-man fiancé maybe playing videogames with the young Spider boy and the other Maximoff twin, hearing Thor’s stories, even volunteering to babysit Barton’s youngest child and Stark’s daughter. And... even Loki got his quality time, mostly reading in the library or during training when your schedules aligned. But... for some reason, you seemed to look for his company a lot. 

It startled him at first, you approached him once, with a friendly aura he had never seen before, you smiled happily at him asking him to go with you downtown for a coffee. He was going to decline but when he opened his mouth, what came out was... 

“Of course. Let me grab a coat...” 

You seemed just as surprised as he felt, but your expression quickly shifted into a happy and comforting smile. 

“Alright, should I wait for you here?” 

He felt his lip curling up into a smirk. Without breaking eye contact, he flicked his wrist and under the sizzling green light he was so familiar with, his black long coat and glasses were conjured on him, as his appearance swapped, his hair turned shorter and brown as beard grew on his face. Your eyes widened big like plates as a soft blush appeared on your cheeks. 

“Ready when you are, dove” he smiled, offering you his arm for you to grab. 

Your flushed face, staring at him, scanning him. 

“A gentleman and a magician, color me impressed” you smiled. 

“Oh, no you little mortal, I’m much more than your cheap street wizards” he replied. 

“I can see that” you admitted, “but I think I like your hair black.” 

He didn’t admit it, but that had been a lot of fun. The conversation had been lighthearted and while at first you had struggled to find common ground, given you both came from very different backgrounds. But once it turned out you had a shared interest in theater and books, you had a nice place to start a conversation. 

Then it went on for a while, talking about life and missions, and whatever came to mind. Loki couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed so much, but you seemed to know exactly which buttons to press and how. By the time you had arrived at the coffee shop he had a slight stomachache. 

The coffee on its own was so insignificant that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember what he ordered that time, but he could recall that conversation no matter how much time it passed. 

He had been completely immersed in the conversation, that he hadn’t noticed when the sun set. And the walk under moonlight was even more pleasant, the temperature went down, making you shiver and hide under his arm and coat for extra warmth. It was... scaringly pleasant. 

“Doesn’t it bother you that we look like a couple?” 

“Given my reputation on earth, rumors of a partner is the least of my concerns,” he shrugged, “just enjoy the warmth.” 

“How are you so cozy if you’re a frost giant anyway?” you teased him. 

“I’m a magician, remember?” he grinned, “I have many tricks up my sleeve.” 

“Yeah,” you said, deviously, “me.” 

He never expected the fingernails scratching his upper arm. 

“Hehey!” 

“Ticklish much?” 

“Don’t be foolish” he spat out defensively. 

“Loki... I felt the panic ringing like an earthquake alarm” you giggled tapping your temple. 

“You’re delusional” 

“And you’re ticklish, deadly based on how badly you’re trying to deny it.” 

“Very funny.” 

“Thanks.” 

That was a first, usually, when Loki got a jab to his pride, the other person got a jab to the stomach with his daggers. Loki wasn’t one to take teasing lightly, but it felt inoffensive, like sure, it was meant to get on his nerves, but he couldn’t help but smile at you. 

That’s the first time he had a nice time being teased and not just teasing, the warmth on his cheeks felt somewhat comforting. No one had ever felt so easy-going, not fearing his god or royal status or using him as a steppingstone to get to Thor or his parents, not even trying to make him angry, just plain fun. 

The rest of the night was just as lovely, it was like none of you wanted it to end, so you prepared tea and chatted in the living room until late hours, when Wilson came to scold you both for not letting him sleep enough and risking his energy for his morning jog and not going to hear the end of it and blah blah blah. 

From then on it was getting to know each other. 

Thor got to tease him because now it was Loki filling your day with Asgardian stories. But you’d defend him saying you enjoyed listening to both talk about Asgard. Somehow, you always made the brothers get along. Thor talked about his parties and friends, while Loki narrated the most exquisite pieces of Asgardian literature, recited poetry, and made you laugh until you cried with every prank he ever played on Asgard. Both could talk for hours about their battle anecdotes, night could fall, and they would still be arguing about how events went down while you listened somehow not getting tired of the brothers’ antics. 

Training was another place you got to know each other better. 

“You sure you want to fight me, little mortal?” he teased you, “Is not quite a wise decision.” 

“I’ll take that risk” you replied with a wink that made Loki feel more things that he’d ever admit. 

You circled around the training mat for a few minutes, and that’s when Loki got his first to see your powers in action. You weren’t particularly strong or fast. But your mind reading gave you a heads up of every attack, so Loki had a hard time landing a blow. You, on the other hand, got to hit him a couple of times, not that it caused him any harm... well, other than his ego. 

Later on, Loki learned why he had trouble fighting you, Roger and Romanoff had designed your fighting style to be evasive and adaptable, focusing on compensating your lack of physical strength with good reflexes and responses. Although rather than making him angry, it made him admire you, and want to learn to fight you. 

That made you soon be sent in teams for missions together. Loki’s illusion and deception mastery to infiltrate you both, and your powers to extract intel without even needing to engage in direct conversation. 

“Alright darling, I’m on my way to the servers, did you get the code?” Loki asked through the communicator. 

“Not yet, I have yet to find O’Donnell, he was supposed to be in tech develop but the room empty, they said he went for a coffee break” you whispered back. 

“Yeah, what kind of idiot just stops everyone if they’re not caffeinated enough?” 

“Ah, that’s low, that’s hurtful.” 

“Thank you.” 

“Wait!” you whispered, indicating Loki you had found him, “Professor O’Donnell!” 

Loki slowed his pace to pay extra attention to what he heard over the com, you should be alright given Loki’s illusions were unbeatable, he made you look exactly like the general in command on the central. Your word was meant to be unquestioned, Loki himself chose to appear as another lab attendant, mainly to not stand out. But he still held his breath as you interacted with anyone, as low as it was, risk to getting caught was not zero. 

“Yes, General?” the investigator asked. 

“Are the reports ready?” 

“Ah, yes, they are almost done General!” the other voice said. “They should be done later on tomorrow!” 

That was a problem, you needed a trigger a certain train of thought, and he was derailing from the subject. And Loki was already by the hall, just a few meters away from his destination. 

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” you said. 

With the illusion over you, your voice sounded deep and intimidating. Loki stopped by a corner to hear, his breath stopping as he felt eyes on, looking at him weirdly for standing by the door. 

“Maybe I can stop by later by your office to see some advanced and get some work ahead with what’s already done. Would that work for you?” 

Bingo. 

“Ah, o-of course General!” 

“Alright, I’ll try meeting you after your break.” 

Loki soon heard footsteps, detecting your pace extra rushed and a close door. 

“1-9-9-3” Loki heard. 

Loki walked to the door, and typed in the code, which opened with a beep! 

“Took you long enough” Loki teased you. 

“Sorry, he focused on the work, I had to bring him to the office, so he’d think of the code”. 

“Right, but I got dirty looks for standing by my own door like an idiot.” 

“Not all of us are masters of manipulation” you whined. “Just get the data and meet me outside.” 

You seemed to be an unbeatable team. 

Loki felt comfortable around you. With time, comfort turned into friendship, which eventually turned friendship into fascination. He just loved learning about you, training and improving together, sharing secrets, developing inside jokes and codes that only you two understood, and he loved hearing you laugh. 

And soon, Loki couldn’t stand being away from you. 

“Darling, I’m thinking getting a drink by that coffee shop we like, would you like to come?” he asked, leaning on your door frame. 

“A-Ah... sorry Loki-Doki, I can’t right now... This report is taking me longer than I thought” you declined as you stretched on your chair. “How’s yours going?” 

“I haven’t finished either, turns out you can’t stretch much of infiltrating an auction without dozing off” he shrugged, and smiled at your shock, “I was hoping some coffee would wake me up.” 

“I don’t know, Loki... I really don’t want to come back to work on this.” 

“Come on, love” he insisted, “It’ll be my treat.” 

You thought about it, and Loki felt a delightful warmth running through his chest when he saw the smile reluctantly make its way on your face, your resolve breaking under the tempting offer. 

“And maybe a big cookie...?” you asked innocently. 

He flicked his wrist making his body be engulfed by his magic, to transform him into his now recurrent disguise, it was subtle, but it was impressive what changing his hair to short blonder hair and a beard did to conceal his presence. 

“Is there any other way to have coffee?” 

The whole walk you protested, calling Loki a bad influence and fearing you wouldn’t be able to finish in time unless you pulled an all-nighter, and how you couldn’t comprehend how Loki could be so chill about not handing it over in time. Loki just laughed at you whiny rant only making your cheeks reddened as you continue scolding him for laughing at you about something so serious. 

You had already arrived at the coffee shop and ordered while Loki went to save a seat for you to keep chatting and drinking while you chatted. 

“Thanks for treating me this time, darling” Loki said as you handed him his cup, “but next time I’ll be the one to pay.” 

“It’s okay, I just needed something heavier to work tonight” you groaned as you took a big sip of your coffee. 

“It’s just a report, love” Loki reminded you, “they won’t kick us out if one of their 18 reports they’ll get anyway.” 

“No, they won’t kick you out!” you snapped, “you are worth keeping. I’m just a low-tier mutant.” 

“Ah, right, because there’s so many of them around, willing to work for good and keep up with S.H.I.E.L.D.’s demanding regime and lifestyle.” 

“There’s more of us than actual than a god magician prince, it’s just the trifecta of «we must keep him! » and that’s without mentioning you’re the little brother of one of the 6 Og Avengers! They’d be insane not to keep you regardless of what you do!” 

“Like going rouge and trying to conquer Earth... again?” Loki said flatly, “Half of the time, I can’t tell if they actually want me to be here, or if I’m just being contained to be able to prevent, I plot against Midgard. I’m not an Avenger, I’m just a high-class prisoner.” 

“Shut your mouth, because that’s not true, Loki” you shushed him, placing a finger on his mouth, “I know that’s not true.” 

Loki gave you a weird look, you were very touchy with everyone in the Compound, but, in the Compound, you weren’t one to be so physical in public. 

“I’ve asked everyone in the Compound what they think of you, and... they say they like you, but...” 

A waitress interrupted you to bring the freshly out of the oven jumbo chocolate chip cookies, which you thanked her rather loudly and kept on staring at the spot where she had stood, after she had gone back to work behind the counter. 

“But...?” Loki inquired, getting your attention back. 

“But what?” you asked innocently. 

It was then that Loki noticed the pink tint on your cheeks. 

“Do you feel alright, sweetheart?” 

“Yes, of course... what was I talking about?” you said, grabbing your cup with sloppy hands 

“... They said they liked me...” Loki reminded you, wary of your moves. 

“Ah, right, right, right!” you said. “But I wasn’t satisfied, so I peeked in their minds, and they thought they could trust you when you first joined, but they think trusting you was the best decision they ever made, because you’re quite a softie.” 

“A softie?!” Loki gasped indignantly. 

“Yes, cute right? They think you turned into a softie, but I think you’ve always been, but we broke down your defenses, and you actually like us too...” you said before bursting into giggles. 

Loki just denied such claims, watching you giggle and laugh as his anger quickly subdued to curiosity and concern with your current state. 

“You are though! Like when you helped Peter with his literature by translating old Asgardian novels for him. Or how you gifted Clint and Kate an old set of bow and arrow made by the dwarves...” 

Loki rolled his eyes as you kept listing things Loki had done for everyone, while he looked at you drag words, your silly mood, your pink cheeks, and clumsy motions... He knew these symptoms. 

“Hey! That’s mine!” you yelled as he grabbed your cup and took off the lid to sniff the drink. “Don’t drink it!” 

The smell was faint compared to what he knew in Asgard, but this was undeniably alcohol. 

“Sweetheart, what are you drinking?” 

“It’s Irish coffee, it’s very bitter...” you pouted. 

“This is alcohol,” Loki asked severely, “why on Earth would you drink something like this?!” 

You shrunk in your seat like a kid at his scolding, making Loki’s heart ache. He didn’t like seeing you upset, but this wasn’t normal behavior, much less from you. 

Loki had only seen you this drunk once before. You had been like this, angry and pressured to push a limit. You had been in an awful mood the whole day, and by the night, you sneaked to the drinks cabinet and drank down half of a wine bottle by the time Loki found you. And just like now, you had gone from angry and stressed to giggly secret-spilling, with the mindset of basically a toddler, that’s how he had learned his brother like doing karaoke nights to cheesy pop songs on dorky Midgardian pajamas and frog feet-shaped slippers and that Stark had Captain America trousers. 

But he knew that angry drinking wasn’t a healthy habit, especially on you, who angry drank without pacing or measuring yourself, so you got very drunk, very quick. 

“But yeah, we all adore having you around Loki” you babbled “and I agree with Thor, you’re his favorite, you know?” 

Now that he didn’t expect, you weren’t much to talk about your feelings. But hearing that made him melt. You were trying to assure him that even his brother loved him, but the implication that you liked him as well made him stupidly happy. 

He just smiled and grabbed your hand. 

“Come on, love” he said gently, “Let’s get you home.” 

Soon he realized you were drunk beyond what he had seen you, you could barely stand up, so with a sigh, Loki kneeled to let you climb on his back giving you a piggyback ride. You shyly accepted given you were not gonna be able to walk on your own. 

And it turned out rather nice having you against him with your arms around his neck, you were warm and comfortably resting your head on his shoulder as you giggled while spilling dorky secrets to the young prince. All harmless innocent stuff, but amusing, nonetheless. And it usually came from places of care and concern. 

“...And Peter has an Iron-Man plushy that he talks to when he’s nervous...�� you mumbled, “I wish I could tell him he can go to the real Tony, but I can tell him I know...” 

“You know a lot of secrets, don’t you?” Loki teased you. 

“Sorry...” you said hiding your face against his shoulder. 

“Dear heart, what could you possibly be apologizing for?” Loki asked gently. 

“I don’t know these secrets because I want to...” you mumbled, “I can’t help but catch the thoughts like passing conversations on the street.” 

“We are aware, and it was hard to get used to,” he admitted “but we are aware you don’t intend to hear people’s thoughts.” 

“I know... but people still get angry about it,” you muttered “I don’t intend to, but no one likes feeling their privacy was invaded. I hate being the way I am...” 

“Don’t say that dove, I doubt anyone in the building blames you” he assured you. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, love.” 

“Thanks Loki” you said, as you nuzzled against his neck. 

Immediately he jolted as he felt your breath against his skin. 

“Ah, sorry, I wasn’t trying to tickle you.” 

“Yeah, you are” you pouted, “you can lie but your brain doesn’t. You’re very-very super very ticklish... Look you’re getting embarrassed because I’m right!” 

It would be useless to lie given you could see right through him. 

“You’re super ticklish... here.” 

And right then he felt your hands sneaking under his arms, as your fingertips wiggled against his armpits, which immediately made him break into laughter. 

“Ehehehe-hey!” he cackled, “Stohohohop it!” 

“See? So ticklish, and so cute” you smiled as you changed to scratch with your fingernails, making Loki double over with laughter. “And I’d dare to say you like it.” 

“Shuhuhut ihihit, you mihinx!” he whined. “Thahahat’s so bad!” 

“Ow, but it’s fun...” you whined, breathing against his neck, which only tickled more. 

And then something unexpected happened, between the tickles that were overwhelming and having all his focus spent on not dropping you, his magic failed, making his spell wear off, revealing his usual self. 

“Uh-oh...” you mumbled shyly. 

The previous scene had earned a few looks from bystanders, but their endearment and amusement turned into horror when they saw Loki’s real appearance. You hid against him when Loki, barely with time to recover from the giggle fit you had induced on him, summoned a teleportation spell and both of you disappeared under a green cloud. 

You reappeared on the halls of the Compound, right by your door, so with a relieved sigh he opened it and delicately placed you in your bed. Before sitting beside you. 

“Sorry I ruined the fun” you muttered. 

“Fun?” he gasped indignantly, “You called tickling me to pieces fun?” 

You nodded. 

“I do not like being tickled, you’re talking nonsense” he huffed. “It’s so childish and idiotic.” 

“And it puts you in a good mood because it’s mischievous fun” you cut him off. 

“You’re insane.” 

“It’s okay” you assured him, patting his hand, “I like getting tickled too.” 

That made Loki perk up his ears. 

“Do you, now?” he smirked. “Well, well, well... Now that’s a secret I’m interested in.” 

Immediately your face turned red as your eyes grew wide as plates, as he leaned to straddle your with his hands as he sat on your upper thighs. 

“W-Wait! Wahahait, Loki! Nononono, Loki don’t, I’m stupidly ticklish I—” 

“Oh, are you?” he grinned. “My, my... I’ve always loved your drunk honesty, but this is the most important bits of information you’ve given me...” 

“Loki!” you whined as you covered your beet red face with your hands. 

An opportunity he took to scratch your sides, making you jolt and burst into bright silly hiccupy giggles. 

“Lohohohoki! Thahahat hic tihihihickles, plehehehease hic hic—!” 

That was an adorable sight, you squeezed his wrists, yet not pushing him away. Guess you weren’t lying about actually liking getting tickles. 

“Please what, darling? Please more? Please tickle me to pieces? Gladly” he teased as moved to knead that sides of your belly. 

You wheezed arching your back as he gave repeated pinches to the sides of your tummy, slowly climbing to your ribs, pinching and squeezing your ribs and sides, causing you to scream with laughter. 

“Ah, so pretty and so ticklish... and so helpless” he growled as he sneaked his fingers under your arms. 

“AHAHAHEHE, LOHOHOHOHOKI STAHAHAHAP!” 

“No, I don’t feel like stopping, you shouldn’t have a problem taking what you dished out on me earlier, would you?” 

“PLEHEHEHEASE LOKI! NOHOHOHOT THEHEHEHRE!” 

He simply decided to take it up a notch, grabbing your wrists, and pinning them both above your head, making you even more helpless to his tickling free hand. 

“LOHOHOHOK—” you protest was got off by a wheeze that sentenced the end of the screaming laughter. 

Now the only sound you could make was wheeze in silent laughter and gasp for air as Loki tickled you silly. Tears began streaming down your face as Loki’s hand roamed to squeeze, pinch and scribble over every ticklish spot it could find. He only stopped when you began coughing between gasps of air. 

He got off you and saw you curl your legs up to your chest in an attempt to protect yourself. But it only made Loki grab your feet and take off your shoes and socks. 

“Noohohoho, no, no Loki please nohoho dohohon’t tihihihck— ACK!” 

A single finger scratch with his nail across your sole made you jump and swing your foot, kicking Loki right on the stomach making him fall off the bed. 

“Oh my gosh, Loki, I’m sorry!” you said, truly horrified. 

The trickster god, huffed and groaned in pain, not expecting a human kick to do so much harm. 

“I’m quite alright, you’re just stronger than I thought” Loki said, “I’m impressed.” 

You went down to sit next to him, placing a gentle hand on his stomach. Truly it didn’t hurt after initial impact, but you weren’t going to be at peace until you’d check yourself. And maybe he enjoyed having your hands on him. 

Until it tickled. 

“Hehey!” he whined. 

“Sorry...” you said, as a smiled shyly. 

“Oh, no I know exactly what you’re thinking” he groaned, “I do not, I repeat, I do not enjoy these childish games." 

“I can tell you do, but that’s okay... I know you’re not the type to admit you like something...” 

“Wha— What is that supposed to mean?” Loki asked. 

“A-Ah! Nothing no... it’s nothing!” you squeaked nervously. 

“Darling, you may read minds, but I am the God of it,” Loki said, “I can tell exactly when someone is lying.” 

“N-No, it’s nothing!” you said as you curled up on the spot, hiding your face on behind your knees. 

“Darling... you’re scaring me... What’s wrong?” 

“Can you promise you won’t get mad...?” you asked. 

“I don’t think you could truly upset me” Loki comforted you as he grabbed your hand to give it a gentle reassuring squeeze. “After all, you are my favorite.” 

Your face turned red and a shy smiled appeared on your face for a moment, before that anguished look made its way back to your features. 

“We were getting ready for the last mission, and I heard you, Thor and the others talking... About... me. How you maybe sort of actually... liked-liked me. And you said no... but, your thoughts... did not agree.” 

Oh, oh no. Oh dear, oh gods. 

Now a lot of things made more sense. How your face was red was in when you walked in the room, and how you suddenly decided to pair up with Steve to rescue the hostages rather than going for intel with him and Nat. How you were moody and distant afterwards. And why this mission report was causing you so much conflict. 

You knew he liked you. You had managed to peek that thought of his mind. A thought even he refused to admit. But now, out in the open, he felt relieved, and the way you just seemed embarrassed. 

“So you’ve known all this time? And that’s what upsets you?” 

“You promised you wouldn’t get mad” you whined. 

“I’m not, I think you are more upset than I am!” he laughed, before realizing something, “Does it bother you...? That I long for you like this?” 

“N-No...” you mumbled, “Not at all... I maybe sort of like you too...” 

“Then why were you so upset?” 

“How would you feel if you realized the person you have a massive crush on likes you too but you can’t do anything about it without revealing you may have stepped his boundaries?” 

“Massive crush, eh?” he grinned. “So.. It's safe to say that you wouldn’t mind if I stole a k—hmpf!” 

He was interrupted by a pair of lips against his own, that quickly melted him into a kiss. You had placed your hand on the side of his neck, sliding it to the back to play with his hair. The young prince pulled you closer to kiss you more, even pinning you against the side of your bed. 

Only breaking the kiss when you needed to gasp for air. And he got to admire you bright open eyes staring at him with a huge happy grin. 

“Beat you to it” you smiled. 

“Whahat?” he laughed. 

“I stole the kiss” you beamed proudly. 

He smiled as he leaned to kiss you again. 

“Now that you admitted you liked me... will you admit you like getting tickled...?” 

“Mmm, not yet...” he grinned. “But I have something better in mind.” 

“Wha— No! N—EEEEEEEHHH!” 

But Loki had already tackled you on the floor and went back to tickling you silly once more. But it was fine, one big confession at the time, and today had been more than enough.

| MASTERPOST |

[breannasfluff]

Swallowing hard, Warriors edges forward, hands waving in front of him. He’s useless without the lantern, unable to see what’s around him. He could be walking into a stone wall. He could walk off a cliff. He could be walking into the jaws of a monster.

A rock clatters behind him, too close for comfort. Warriors picks up the pace, shuffling faster. The speed costs him and his foot sinks into a puddle, past his boots. Cold water floods his shoe and he bites off a yelp at the chill. He’s certainly not hot anymore.

Another sound behind him, closer. Warriors gets out of the puddle, trying not to think of small cave bugs crawling into his boot and over his skin. Then—a faint touch on the back of his neck.

He can’t contain the yelp as he spins, throwing his fist out. He touches nothing but air and the faintest breath of laughter.

“Wild. This isn’t funny. I need you to stop.”

There’s no answer. Or, is that faint humming he hears? Sound bounces around the cavern until he has no context for what he hears. Is he still facing the right way? What if he got turned around?

What if he’s going deeper into the cave instead of out?

The what-ifs pile up until Warriors breath comes loud and harsh. Another touch on the back of his neck; damp and clammy. A hand.

He bolts.

Unable to see, Warriors runs blindly, bouncing off stalactites and tripping on the rough floor. The breathing gets louder behind him and he jerks to the side at the last second. A ribbon of pain traces itself across his shoulder, tearing the tunic.

“Stop!”

But there is no stopping. Now bleeding, Warriors scrambles blindly through the cave. Is this how it ends? Hunted until his heart stops with fear? Something cold slides down his back and he jerks away, slapping at his tunic. He can’t see what it is!

“Wild! Stop it, I’m begging you!”

He’s too scared to let this continue. Yet his only answer is more harsh breathing and the faintest laugh. Echoing on its heels is the echo of a lullaby. The sound whispers through the cavern, brushing by Warriors' ear. The words are nonsense, but the echo is unmistakable; Wild.

He’s…he’s being hunted in the cave. Whether the champion means it as a prank or serious matters little. Warriors is alone, scared, and without a means of escape. Fear chokes at his throat, turning his breathing into a high whistle. His heart pounds harder, faster.

The line of blood on his shoulder burns in the freezing air. When did it get so cold? He’s not wearing metal, but the tips of his fingers sting with the chill. The water in his boot turns to ice and he’s losing feeling in his toes.

Warriors edges forward again with a broken sob, hands out in front of him. A few more steps and they touch wet stones. At first, he jerks back, then moves forward as he feels in front of him. Stone, and more stone, and more wet rock. Nothing but stone with every step he takes. He spins, arms out, and touches more stone.

No. No, no, he’s trapped. How—what—

The melody is back, prickling down the back of his neck. Faint laughter warps in the darkness, turning malicious. A great creature breathes deep in the cave. He’s inside a monster, isn’t he? He walked directly into its maw and it will trap him here forever.

The stone presses closer, only it’s not stone, is it? It’s the monster, closing in around him. Weak prey, ripe for the taking.

A sharp line of cold presses against the blood on Warriors’ shoulder, then digs in with grasping claws. The breathing is in his ears now; until he can’t hear the wheeze of his own lungs. This—this is how it ends. Wild is going to kill him and claim it was an accident. Why, why, why —

The claws press into the wound.

Warriors screams.

Light flares, along with a shout. “Wars!”

Read the rest here!

[vicmillen]

Nooooo... I want my wip done dammit. But anyway my mind got hijacked by a sci-fi au, so. Here we go again I guess, have some sci-fi settings for the LU boys🫠🫠

Feel free to use any or all of this setting for yourself, if anyone is interested. Credits appreciated tho not needed.

General background

The Links came from different time period due to the unavoidable time delay and time wrap in intergalactic travel (think Ender's Game and how all the ships arrived at the same time despite spanning decades in departure). Up to recent times where instant wrap becomes a thing, at least.

The Links, and maybe the Zeldas too, may or may not have came from a common clone source (think Dances On The Snow style cloning, gee I love that novel)

There's a war involving a certain holder of the force of power, at some point.

I actually have no idea what the Links gathered for, something something evil shadows, I guess?

Is time travel a thing? I don't know. Depends on if they fucked with the spacetime continuum hard enough (they have). Though I refuse to melt my brain again for any inevitable paradox situations so for now let's pretend they haven't.

The Links

Sky was a well decorated pilot for the Hylian air force, back when air force is still it's own division. He is the furthest back in terms of time period, being one of the test pilot on board project Skyloft, the very first large scale long distance warp jump in Hylian history. Very skilled pilot, despite the outdated training. Fi is helping a lot with his retraining. His jet is simply named Crimson.

Four is a engineer from the Picori system. At one point got himself into a freak accident involving a cloning station and a lunatic scientist. Extremely quick learner and good at solve technical problems (it's like working fourth times the normal speed, you know:)

Time is humble ranch hand, or so he claims. He's not entirely wrong, but before he become said ranch hand, he has a complicated history with the Hylian council and the intelligence community. Specialized in mech suits, heavy hitter.

Twilight is the actual rancher, being Time's adopted son. However he got himself involved in a series of abduction and trafficking cases, and somehow ended up in some human experiment. Straight up not having a good time tbh. Though he broke himself out and took down the rig before Time got invited to the carnage, which is good because there's at least something left of the offenders. Good at mech suits and piloting jets, but specialized in hand to hand. Hand to claw? Hand to fang?

Warriors was an army captain on board of Artemis' flagship. Though he specialized more on the strategic planning than the daily management, hence why Wind is the unofficial captain of the ship now. Comes across as snobby at first because damn non of this gang have any training or discipline? Mech fighter, heavy hitter. Good with jet piloting too, just don't comes with his own jet. Copilot with Sky if needed.

Wind ran with Tetra's crew before whatever leads to him joining the chain, so a privateer. Though he prefers pirate, just sounds that much cooler. He comes with his own jet, the Red Lion. Talented pilot, very good at scouting. Surprisingly the most experienced in managing the staff on board since it's similar scale as Tetra's.

Legend is, well he'll say he's a merchant. Hauling and selling perfectly legal merchandise. The Federals disagree, but they're mistaken. His private jet, Sir Raven, is not technically armed, but the 'merchandise' on board is varied and certainly useful in hostile situations. Very skilled at navigating and bullshitting the feds and fighting with his custom weaponry. Kind of a weapons expert too.

Hyrule may or may not have been one of the perfectly legal merchandise that required Legend's shipping service at some point. And may or may not have led to Legend gaining yet another wanted poster somewhere, somehow. Works miracles with the med unit, and like Legend is great with the unusual weapons that they rig up.

Wild is a cyborg, multi talented but especially appreciated for working miracles with the food assembly thingie. Despite being the only one on board that don't need edible material to survive. Technically the owner of the ship, and technically is part of the ship too. Take care of the daily management with Wind.

The ships

The ship they're currently aboard is the Master Ship Zero very original I know, Fi is the ship's Ai. Though the three jets in the hull each have their own system. The master ship is not really meant for a crew of only 9, but between the Fours and some creative problem solving, they managed pretty well. (Or maybe the Links didn't came alone, so there are more crew, like Malon Ravio and idk, somebody else.)

Wind's Red Lion is the smallest and lightest jet. Single pilot, speedy and stealthy, but very little fire power.

Sky's Crimson is a antique very traditional fighter jet, though it's is under heavy modification to suit the need of the current situation. For a fighter is on the small side, but comes with heavy fire power.

Legend's Sir Raven is a modified commercial jet, packs a surprising punch. But overall focused on camouflage shielding and speed. The largest jet among the three, actually. At least the largest hull. Can fit the whole chain inside if need must, but cannot provide sustainable life support for more than three people.

[isagrimorie]

One of the interesting consequences of the Voyager writers forgetting that they didn't kill Joe Carey in seasons 2 or 3 is that every time B'Elanna's incapacitated, Seven takes over from B'Elanna.

It starts with Extreme Risk in season 5 and continues straight to season 7 until Friendship One when the writers realized, oh wait, the didn't kill Carey yet-- so they did.

Technically, it should have been Carey or Vorik who would be in charge of Engineering while B'Elanna was away. But while B'Elanna might not have been keen on Seven earlier on, she recognized Seven's talent in engineering and might have added Seven into the rotation.

And it tells me so much more about how B'Elanna thought about Carey and Vorik's performance.

On the other hand... for a Doylist reason, it might mean scheduling conflicts with Vorik's actor.

In Nothing Human B'Elanna couldn't communicate that she wanted Seven in charge of Engineering in her absence so Janeway did it but as we saw in Extreme Risk B'Elanna already thought about putting Seven in charge if she's not around. She must have communicated this to Janeway if she cannot do so.

In Course Oblivion the Demon copies might be copies but they are also to quote Farscape equal and original.

B'Elanna getting Seven up to speed and briefing her about Engineering is so good, also how moody the warp core engine could be. (Which explains why after B'Elanna was gone Voyager post Endgame kind of became hard to manage.)

So I guess the reason we don't see much of Seven during the events of Muse was because Seven had her hands full managing Voyager's very moody engine drive.

In Flesh and Blood when the holograms kidnap B'Elanna when the EMH Doctor betrayed the whole crew of Voyager*, Seven was the one leading Engineering. By this point B'Elanna and Seven have mutual respect for each other's strengths and competencies.

I love their hand-off and how smoothly it goes from B'Elanna to Seven in a crisis when B'Elanna's incapacitated.

Sorry Carey, the writers thought you were dead up to this season 7 two-parter. In-universe it just really means... you're a competent Engineer but nothing to write home about and that's more damning.

Once again, while I appreciate that Seven was a warrior badass in Picard, a warrior badass is not all Seven was. (Picard s3 nodded to it a bit with Seven and Shaw double teaming the nacelle engines but I hope a Seven-led show would incorporate all of Seven's parts since there would be more runway to do so).

*am i still angry that the EMH got away with betraying and legit putting the crew in danger with just a light slap on the wrist? YES.

[maklodes]

One thing I find amusing to imagine in Star Trek is that almost every species that is a member of, or in contact with, the Federation independently discovered the warp drive on its own.* (After all, the Federation generally regards contact with pre-warp species as a violation of the Prime Directive.) Since warp drives are, by our standards, impossibly advanced technology, that basically means that all species not only discovered warp drives on their own, but they also discovered basically everything leading up to warp drives: Newtonian physics of course, quantum mechanics, relativity, all of the mathematics describing all that, whatever crazy material science stuff leads to warp coils etc.

So not only is the valorization of Zephram Cochrane as the inventor of the warp drive just human parochialism (every species has one of those!), but every species also has its own equivalents of Planck, Einstein, Gauss, Euler,  etc, as well. (Okay, not exact equivalents, necessarily. The Bolian photoelectric effect guy needn’t be the same as the Bolian special relativity guy, and maybe in some species some of Lorentz’s discoveries, Poincaré’s discoveries, and/or Einstein’s discoveries were made by the same guy, but still it’s a pretty safe bet that such equivalencies do exist at some level.) 

I imagine conversations among different scientists/engineers of different species:

Human scientist: One barrier to the speed and efficiency of early starships is that  when Zephram Cochrane invented the warp drive…

Vulcan engineer: (sotto voce to a Vulcan associate) Zephram Cochrane was the humans’ equivalent of Sarmok and T’Pran.

Human scientist: … he didn’t have anything like modern duotronic computers, so he made some simplifying assumptions about plasma flow over warp coils, using a pre-existing computational magnetohydrodynamics model based on combining Maxwell’s equations with the Navier-Stokes equation…

Visiting Klingon scientist: Navier-Stokes equation?

Vulcan engineer: (quickly types something into a PADD) Klingons would know it as…  the Tensor of Gwartok the Honorless.

Visiting Klingon scientist: Ah yes, Gwartok’s Tensor. Thank you and sorry to interrupt.

Human scientist: … pardon me, but Gwartok the Honorless?

Visiting Klingon scientist: (sighs) There was an incident early in Gwartok’s life when there was only one open tenure track position. Another postdoc challenged Gwartok to a Bat’leth duel for it. Gwartok never showed up. He said he forgot about it  because he was distracted by thinking about a vexing fluid mechanics problem. Many thought he was an honorless coward.

Vulcan engineer: Fascinating.

Visiting Klingon scientist: … one thing Klingon scientists learn to accept is that it's the macho warrior clan guys who have the political authority, and who appoint the censorship boards which can edit our textbooks. We don’t always get to pick the epithets they assign to past scientists, but at least we still get to use their equations. (Sotto voce to herself) I think I’ll look up Maxwell’s Equations on my own.

One possibility is that universal translators just translate terminology based on specific names into the equivalent for the appropriate species. Although that could lead to its own problems:

Betazoid: After Zephram Cochrane’s first successful warp, when we were contacted by Captain Robau of the USS Kelvin, as a species we mostly put aside our ancient...

Human: After Zephram Cochrane’s first successful warp? Okay, I guess this would have taken place after that, but did you really mean..

Betazoid: (fidgets with combadge in irritation) Right. I really meant our species’ inventor of the warp drive, Lwaxana Hoitrax. You heard Zephram Cochrane though, right?

Human: Yes.

Betazoid: I guess the main clause of my thought about species unification and all that jazz was interpreted as being broadly applicable to warp drive inventions and first warps in general so it got translated into “Zephram Cochrane” for a human, but my secondary clause about Captain Robau and the Kelvin was too specific and particular to our history to get translated into a universal equivalent. I didn’t know I was going to add that secondary clause until I had already started saying my main clause, so the translator got caught off-guard, so to speak.

* There may be a few exceptions to the “Federation members/contacts all discovered warp drives on their own” rule. Like, if a pre-warp species gets conquered by the Cardassians, and thus gets coercively inducted into the warp-enabled galactic community without independently discovering warp drives, then the Cardassians attack the Federation and lose a war, being forced to cede some peripheral territories (including the conquered species) in the peace treaty, then the conquered species might regain independence, then decide to pursue Federation membership. 

[scribblecake]

Gentle Lights Ch) 1

I have clawed my way back from the depths of Hell, reborn and with fics in hand.

TW: Death/ Description of death. and some angst...

Inspired by some amazing works from @shanas-baby @droopycoquette and @zeezeecave

~***~

Pain. It was all consuming, blinding, paralyzing pain. The wailing figure above her blurred in and out of focus. Yet Izogie could recognize her. Yet her thoughts were rushing at impossible speeds. This was death. She was dying.

What should she say? What could she say? A million emotions ripped at her heart and she was running out of time. The darkness was already creeping into her vision.

“Nawi…Y-you move l-like a ssloth…” Izogie gurgled before she succumbed to the darkness…

~***~

Time is an odd thing. Sometimes, if one is unlucky enough, its true twisted and warped nature is revealed. Izogie seemed caught adrift in one such limbo. Darkness that spiraled forever and a gentle rhythmic pulsing were her only company.

A stagnant calm, heavy and static weighed at the warrior’s limbs as Izogie floated in the vast nothingness. Yet something nagged at the back of her mind. Something important. Her mind insisted and made her vaguely aware that somewhere in this odd space, pain thrummed from a distant unknown source.

It annoyed and unnerved her. 

“Where was it coming from?”

Occasionally in the static, sounds would slip through the veil of darkness. They warbled and bounced through the cavernous void and Izogie would puzzle over them. At even rarer times light would rip through limbo in thin slices.

Visions would flash in Izogie’s sensitive eyes. A twisted pile of broken bodies, a bloody hand, a sandy shore. None of it made sense and all the while, something somewhere was in pain.

“Where was it coming from?”

With little else to occupy her time the warrior often turned to her thoughts. So this was death? It was more underwhelming than she’d thought. Disappointing even. Despite the numbing calmness, Izogie felt strangely bitter about the thought. And try as she might, she couldn’t help but worry. Had Nawi been captured again? Had she failed that girl yet again? That made the warrior angry. Her… blood? Boiled at the very thought. 

thump…

What kind of a mentor was she? To let down a sister, her sister, and abandon her… Guilt tore through Izogie, fueling her rage.

thump… thump…

How weak of her… Nanisca would be disappointed in her, if she weren’t already!

thump…

Thump… Thump…

Rage, guilt, sorrow, and pure stubbornness lit a fire deep in Izogie’s heart. The darkness seemed to shake and warp. The illusion of stagnant comfort was broken. In its place was a murky unease.

She shouldn’t be here… 

~***~

[andorshitdaily]

NEXT UP ON WANDOR WEDNESDAY WARS........SOMETHING BRAND NEW!!!

Rather than the traditional single-elimination bracket, this next competition will take on more of a track meet style, meaning fewer rounds of polls but MORE characters moving on each time!

We'll have four (4) preliminary qualifying heats, with the top four vote-getters moving on two (2) semifinal heats, then the top four vote-getters from each of those will meet in one (1) eight-character final.

Get it? Good.

But what's the competition? I'm so glad you asked.

Welcome...to Wandor Winja Warrior.

That's right, this time we are pitting our beloved blorbos (and other motherfuckers) in the beautiful sport of ninja warrior. Unfamiliar with the concept? Check it out (actual run starts at around the 1:30 mark):

Basically the most intense obstacle course you can imagine, made to test one's agility, strength, and speed in unique ways. Who has what it takes to reach the top of the warped wall in the shortest amount of time? Who falls off the second quadstep and gets disqualified? You tell me.

Here are the randomly selected qualifying heats, set to start tomorrow:

Heat 1 Linus Mosk Luthen Rael Perrin Fertha Corv Cinta Kaz Birnok Syril Karn Karis Nemik

Heat 2 Leida Mothma Kleya Marki Mon Mothma Wilmon Paak Bix Caleen Jezzi Dedra Meero Gorn

Heat 3 Xaul Kino Loy Brasso Saw Gerrera Cassian Andor Ruescott Melshi Vel Sartha Taramyn Barcona

Heat 4 Taga Blevin Timm Karlo Salman Paak Tay Kolma Lonni Jung B2EMO (idk just go with it) Arvel Skeen

Remember, even though you can only vote for ONE person, FOUR of them will advance from each poll. So don't just think about who you think is the fastest out of everyone, consider 2-4 as well and think about voting for one of them instead. One or two votes could make all the difference.

May the best ninja win!