The Grand Resurrection
"First ran into him back during a huge crisis when his soul was stuck in another kid's body—long story. I've seen how he's a ruthless criminal, but I've also seen him care for a weak and helpless toddler."
His voice lowers an octave.
"I found that relatable."
Then back to his casual self.
"Next time I saw him, he was locked up, but he was sure he'd escape. Later, I found him running this bar with a few bandits, ended up buying it from them and doing some major renovations, while keeping them on as employees. Since then, we've also picked up Lei here."
Lei casually half-raises a hand in greeting. "I'm also a bandit, by the way, and the boss is a former member of some big Japanese crime syndicate. This bar's literally entirely run by thieves and crooks. Frankly, I'm amazed it hasn't run into any issues because of that yet."
Riften
You are cursed, Kasli. You will carry those curses for as long as you live. Your new friend's efforts will prove futile. They might even make things worse.
...
Kasli hasn't gotten up.
Edited by KiriK on Sep 10th 2025 at 6:05:22 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."The Grand Resurrection
... okay she'll ask Tahn about the soul thing later. She notably isn't surprised at all when Majima tells her about him caring for a toddler.
She then smirks.
"Ah, the so-called 'uncatchable' Ken Tahn got away with it again. You should really change that title to 'unimprisonable'."
"That's not as catchy."
"Also, you bought it from him? He didn't just give leadership to you? Now that I believe a whole lot more."
She looks at Lei.
"Well, you've probably guessed it already, but so am I."
She hands Lei and Majima a small card with a violet on it.
"'Lucky' Violet, one of the top crooks in my world. My luck is so amazing that I've never failed a single heist, and I've never been caught. Kenny can confirm that for me."
A small groan at her calling him Kenny again in front of other people.
"And if this place is run by similar-minded people I think I'll feel right at home here."
Riften
"Ah, there you are.", Tharja casually says to Severus as Kasli is still having a crisis in front of her. The mage looks back at her.
"This girl has been afflicted with one of the strongest curses I've ever seen. I've taken it upon myself to deal with that curse.", she says, grinning a little. This is the kind of challenge she's been missing for a long time.
Her expression goes back to normal.
"Oh right. She cursed Gangrel by accident earlier so we should hurry back to Fort Dawnguard soon before it spreads."
She crouches a bit and snaps her fingers, wanting to see if it'll snap Kasli out of her trance-like state. If not, Severus is going to have to carry her to the fort.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay."I see," Severus replies, having not expected the day to take such a turn. "Perhaps I could be of some assistance, if you'll have me. If this curse is as powerful as you say, it may require two minds to break."
He looks down at Kasli before offering her a hand up.
"Come. You'll have far more comfortable places to rest at our stronghold."
Palace of Heaven, Great Xuanlen
Thirteen years before the Cairo Tragedy
Warm air struck her face as the steward guided her into the cobblestone chamber. The air was filled with musk, pervaded by that coppery smell of blood mixed with something else. Young Xin-Hi saw the crowd gathered around her mother’s bed and started for her, but was halted by a hand upon her shoulder. Looking up, she saw over her was Supervisor Hast, the old scholar’s face turned into a frown. Behind his visage was barely masked sorrow as he let fall upon her other shoulder his hand, crouching in front of the girl. He searched for the words, and turned away when his eyes threatened to leak. Before he could formulate what needed to be said, a cry split the deathly silence. Xin-Hi peered over Hast’s shoulder, as from her mother’s bed was lifted a small thing, pink and bloody and kicking.
As the midwife drew the babe away, the crowd parted just enough for Xin-Hi to see her mother’s hand over the bed’s wooden edge. Tiny and pale. Unmoving. The midwife crossed the room and Hast stepped aside, guiding the elder woman’s hands to the small girl’s, where there in her grasp was placed her brother. His wailing ceased, his legs slowed, and his eyes found Xin-Hi’s. An emotion without name filled her. Xin-Hi looked at Hast, at the midwife, at the midwives and doctors and ministers gathered around her silent mother. Her lips split apart, but no words emerged, only a squeak, a formless question asking for an answer she didn’t want to know.
“You have to protect him.” Supervisor Hast knelt in front of Xin-Hi, battling the stability of his own voice. “It is your destiny, Xin-Hi Xuan. Empress. The world wants nothing less than to do you harm. You must shield yourself from it, but you must shield your brother, too." The battle was a losing one, and his voice cracked apart. “Protect him.”
…
..
.
Silverflame Mont, Eternis
Three days after the Cairo Tragedy
The hall had never been so silent as it was now, and Aelun felt it’d never again feel full. Even when court was assembled, even when people filled it wall to wall, it would be precisely as empty as it was in this moment. Behind him, the wings of his dragon beat as the argent beast flew away, and the titanic doors groaned shut. Light filtered in through the stained-glass walls, reaching around the columns holding up the mountaintop ceiling and painting colored designs on the marble floor. Aelun halted where he stood.
She was filling his throne. His face twisted into a snarl.
"I hope you don’t think that because you share my blood, you are my heir."
"And inherit this?" The General’s arms flew open as she rose from the stone seat, twirling down the stairs and joining Aelun in the otherwise empty hall. "I’m quite alright on my own. But thank you."
"If that were true, you would’ve stopped searching for us a long time ago." Aelun frowned and leveled his face as Lutema stopped in front of him. Now, with more time and silence with which to study her features, he could see where his influence ended, and Luin’s began. It was haunting, the visage of his own blood, rendered decades older than him. Seeing her…only made him angrier. Furious at the injustice of it. This was supposed to be the happiest week of his life — the only happy week of his life. Instead, he wondered what truly remained between him and the willful collapse of all his inhibitions. He was of half a mind to unleash upon the world his thoughts, to make every person alive feel an ounce of the pain he felt now. "I presume you’ll be leaving now. On to the next world, right?"
Lutema’s oft-biting voice took on a foreign sincerity. "No, I…I think I’ll stay awhile. Far from your little empire, don’t you worry."
"What joy."
"Fuck you, prick!" Lutema hissed, her brows contorting into an arrowhead pointed down. "You could at least pretend to care a little bit about your daughter!"
"You’re not daughter of mine." Now it was Aelun who sneered, sweeping past her and making for his throne. "You have no right to mourn her. All you caused her was pain."
"I was trying to make her stronger."
"For all the good that did. She wouldn’t have even been there that day, had you not called for it. You provided her the blueprints of her own destruction, and then have the audacity to mourn her? To pretend you knew her at all?" He ascended to the seat and settled into it. Silence reigned in his wake for moments following.
"…you’re right." Lutema ceded at last, bowing her head. "It’s my fault. The one time I found either of you two early enough, and I was the one who led her to her own death. I’ve given up on trying to find her. Some people are simply meant to be lost to others, forever."
"I hope you don’t expect me to take pity on this otiose act of sorrow."
"Pity?" The General lifted her eyes. "The last thing I need is your pity. Make no mistake, I did not come here out of any fondness for you. You can grieve alone for all I care, with everything that ten thousand miles of your kingdom has to offer to plug the hole in you that’ll never be filled. I only came out of respect for her. Your wife."
"Respect? Is that what you call it?" Aelun scoffed, and in return, the General only smiled.
"I just thought you should know, that…"
…
..
.
Cyrna, Eternis
Three years after the Cairo Tragedy
Beams of golden sunlight dazzled the snow-white courtyard, striped with the shadows of marble giants, the silhouettes of ancient warriors and kings standing proud against the bare sky that encircled the mountaintop city. Before him were gathered a host of royally-appointed heralds, who had traveled the realm to climb the Mother’s Rise and came to the Eternal City in the sky to stand before their king, waiting for the decree they would spread through the land.
Down in the crowd, they watched Aelun rise. The wind, bitter on his cheek, threatened to topple him. Three years had been unkind to him; three years for which none outside of his household had seen him. Once the shining ideal of Eternis’ national spirit, like an icon of the old gods of man chiseled from their very visages, he was emaciated now. His cheeks were sunken, his jaw thin, and the bags around his eyes heavy. His hair, once a neatly-trimmed mane, now flowed like a madman’s cape. His clothes, light and silky, now looked more like armor on his frame, and he carried them with the weight of it. His pale lips shivered open and he delivered, in a small voice, the first words he’d decreed since the sudden and unexpected death of the Queen-To-Be.
"Two hundred and fifty-five years ago," he croaked, "My forefather, Laeron the Hawk stood where I stood now, and told the world…" Aelun trembled as another gust ran through him. "…that if ever his descendants could look out from this mountain and see land that was not beneath his rule, then Eternis had fallen. Five years before that, he stood in its shadow, and promised his followers the world after his father’s war had torn Eternis apart. Seventy years of conquest after, his progeny, Piodessus the Holy, announced that that the empire’s borders had reached the edge of the territory of the First Dragons. He insisted that to expand any further would be sacrilege. Thus, for one hundred and eighty years following, the old line of kings has obeyed their grandsire’s decree. But I come before you now with a confession. Piodessus the Holy…" Aelun lingered. His eyes traveled the crowd. They were enraptured, the fools, ever voracious for controversy. They thought he did not know the things they whispered into people’s ears, the ways they bent and twisted his word into things so near to lies they might as well have been. The people cry for lies, and upon my grandsire’s grave, they shall have it. "Piodessus the Holy was an unholy man. He invited whores to his dungeon—every day, they came—and removed their heads after, so they could never speak of his sin, nor birth his bastard. He cursed the Oldwyrms with every breath he took in private. Every daughter his wife the Queen birthed, he crushed in the skull of with a stone and whispered another prayer for a son to the gods whom he was so quick to profane." A stunned silence hit the crowd. Aelun couldn’t decide between laughing or sneering, and resisted both. Like hounds at the river, the wordbearers lapped up his every word.
Piodessus was, by all accounts, just as holy as his title suggested. But he was also a dead man, long dead, and Eternis was a dying nation surrounded by enemies. The people needed to be whipped, somehow, into frenzy. If not me, Aelun told himself, then our enemies would be the ones spitting on his grave.
But he wasn’t done yet. He allowed the murmurs to run rampant a few moments longer before his voice rose once more. "And the Church was no stranger to his abuse. Inheriting the throne after his father’s failures in the North, he saw only one way to save the honor of our family. By insisting that King Vakar’s defeat had been born not of mortal men, but as divine judgement by the Oldwyrms themselves. He bastardized their name, and threatened Ponticuff Aery—may the scales rest firm over him—into authenticating his lie." They were wild now, like sharks in a feeding frenzy. He knew they’d tear him apart, too, if he allowed them, but he wouldn’t. Aelun was stronger than all of them. The king swayed where he stood before beginning again. "It was a lie. Everything Piodessus said here, standing where I stand now, addressing the outcriers of his time, was a lie. I came here to rectify the wrongs of my grandsire. I came here to tell you all the truth that you deserve. I came here because I have a new promise, upon the graves of my grandsires — not the liars, but the warriors! The men who built this empire, not the ones who worked to tear it apart from within! To enslave our people to decadence! Today, I free you! I declare an end to the degeneracy of our great home, I promise you all, that Eternis has not seen the end of its day! It has not even seen its noon! Eternis will not only earn back its former glory, but win anew in ways the world has never seen. We will rise. We will win. We face enemies on all sides, in every direction are people who desire nothing less than to feed on our empire’s corpse, and so dedicated are they, that they shall even die for it! And believe me, they will! On the name of every great king this land and her people have ever known, whose blood swims in my blood, Eternis will triumph!"
His words echoed into silence. Then, their cheers rose like flame, and shook the sky.
With great power…you know the rest.Mal
im four years old Ez says. She then briefly try cutting into her food, only to fail, prompting her to grimace and begin to emit frustrated little cries, building up into a sobbing fit that Mal is thankfully quick to resolve, having briefly stopped by to contemplate the food before starting to cut into Ez's nondescript steak, to her happiness as she start digging into the SOUP.
The more Kana speaks, the more Mal blinks. Oh yeah, this is the bad guy faction. No real amount of justified grievance could justify doing what Kana was doing. There was a difference between system dickishness... and basically dropping a colony unto a planet. Mal, however, decides to let her continue, keeping an eye on Ez as she eats her steak.
it taste like steak she intervenes wisely through Kana's spiel, not realizing what she's talking about. Mal does though, and he grimaces a little.
You brought up "Jupiter", is that another planet? Or were you going to destroy your own homeworld? It didn't sound like it was an hellhole much. What does it even look like now? Mal says. He himself would have no problem with his own homeworld being torn down, but since Kana's universe seemed to be smaller in scope than his own, he didn't know how wise the humans were.
Still, he lets her answer, eating the steak and all without any reluctance and placing the tips of his fingers on Ez's glass of water to help her drink without spilling it.
Heh, ultrapolises can be bleak for sure. All you see is the tall skyscrapers but if you look down, very down, you'll see the rivers of filth their bases are steeped in. Shoddily made underbellies where people had to fight to survive. Still, they're decently... good to live in if you're middle-class. If you want to see some trees, you can always hook up to VR. And you'll find the best Mobile Suits parts there. Mobile Suits themselves are off the table for flight - too many people taking them to joyride. Mal says, flicking some dirt off from beneath his nails.
I didn't really get to grow up in mine too much. I was young when I was made to leave it. But I made more than enough bad memories to never want to go there again. Mal continues. Though at least I got to have memories of where I was born. Ez... We're often on the move.
is okay because that means i wont be sad seeing places like papa can Ez says. miss kana can I ask a question?
kanask a question... Mal giggles to himself while Ez turns her head to stare at him, confused, before turning to Kana.
what is love to you do you just love fighting the eearth people i am asking people about what they love because i wanna get what love is because if i dont find out what it truly is early then then i might end up with years wasted doing wrong things i dont want that itd be very stupid and im not stupid thank you for answering
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterEternis
"...yes, I do realize that now. Many people told me the exact same thing- I was more sure in my skills than I should've been."
Aelric shook Bridonnus' hand with a firm shake, before turning once again to where the bear- Aeghulfsba? -had retreated through the forest. There's a thoughtful expression on the man's face.
"By the fact that you have a name for that beast, and the weapons stuck in her hide, I would assume she's been a constant threat to people who come through here?"
Somu's Workshop
"Oh, it's something I had to overcome to utilize Matter-Energy storage on any reasonable scale. As it turns out, having a computer read and categorize every single atom of an object before transforming it into energy and storing it... isn't something that plays nice with the type of tech my world would call 'normal'."
Somu looks through the data as he continues speaking.
"In addition to self-learning code..."
"...hm."
He looks at some of the redacted files for a moment, a few elements of them seeming to catch his interest before he moves on, pulling up some of his own files.
Various diagrams and files pop up. There's... a lot.
Some of it is mundane, clear notes on self-taught metallurgy and alloying, farming, automated assembly... But it quickly becomes more esoteric.
Notes on how Nodes (like the one in Somu's chest) work, constantly producing Essence for use in machines or just in nature itself. Notes on Leylines, the underlying magical 'structure' of a planet. There's...
...a lot. (Too much for me to explain here right now. It's a bit late as I write this)
"I can see quite a few applications for much of this tech... I would just need the raw materials- moreso the specialized ones that didn't exist in my world than anything else."
aeiou: the secondSomu's Workshop
Other!Edelgard observed the files, but it's all a bit above her head. She's certainly not unequipped to deal with matters of technology, but Somu was on a different level compared to what she was used to.
"I figured that would be an issue. Even in worlds that superficially resemble my home, the exact properties of the materials involved tend to differ just slightly enough. That is just one of many ways that traveling between universes can be..." she sighed, "...Inconvenient. I'll arrange to provide anything you need."
Yatta!Hotel
Mark's silent, he's not opening up about that aside from a silent recognition that the Vendor is probably right. He backed up and scanned the rooms for things while Kayo's unloaded into the pile. As he turned around, the two are suddenly on the floor, the scarecrows are mangled, and a massive rock was flying his way.
He could only raise his arms before he too was sent flying. Upon getting up, he stared at the creature before him. Focusing on its eyes, his own. He looks hesitant to make a next move but he's left with no choice. Whilst scurrying away, he would reach and snatch a pair of oil lamps, probably destroying parts of hallway via the chain's collateral
"So what the fuck am I looking at!? " He yelled at the Vendor, before hurling the lamps and following it up with a pair of fireballs, hoping to stun it by engulfing its hair in flames.
He'd ready his chains to fight but the fact he felt a similar presence to his own just from that stare-down makes him question.
"Do I beat it to a pulp or do I cry you a river to make it stop?! I'd rather do the first thing!!"
Edited by BoniniBanana on Sep 11th 2025 at 4:27:26 PM
realSource Filmmaker, Reddie, HCU
Yuta frowned as he hit the ground. Huh. The unmovingness of this creature, even against all the attacks that’d hit it — was it impervious to physical attack? And the apple before him, he wasn’t liking the appearance of it. The others continued their assault, but…
Yuta doubted the effectiveness of it. So he again called to the creature, knowing there was no guarantee it’d even respond: "Hold on! Who is Cob? Can you tell us who Cob is?"
——
The smirk which now stretched across Serav’s features highlighted the darkness which manifested around his venomous eyes. "Oh, I am well aware. There have been others before me. But none like me. I am a scholar, first and foremost, before I am a warrior. I studied those who came before. I studied their successes, their great victories, where they were strong…and where they were weak. I’ve no intent on making the same witless errors my predecessors were so vulnerable to." Serav was privy to the modulation of her speech, the way she’d ramped up her vocabulary. To appear more intelligent in my eyes, hm? Yet what he didn’t notice was how she’d used it to subtly stir at the waters, invoking his temporal knowledge, and seeing what came to the surface. "Skywalker. A feeble old man, as it is, if even he still lives. Though here, he may be a young man…" Serav mused, pretending as though he hadn’t already given the notion hours of thought, but the practiced way he recited his next words betrayed the truth of them. "But, like any man, he has his weaknesses, Skywalker. He suffers from the same virus all true Jedi do: compassion. His compulsive need to protect, to do “the right thing”—" Here, his voice had taken on a mocking tone, "—will drive him into the strangest, and most dangerous, of places. Even to his death." Serav stood abruptly. The chair threatened to topple over from the suddenness of his movement, but a small pinching motion—yet one he ensured was visible to Reddie—affixed it in place, tilted, somewhere between a stand and a fall.
"I couldn’t help but notice you still haven’t given me your name. Have they finally squeezed courtesy from the curriculum at the Temple?"
——
Blessed silence filtered jnto the room after Raique’s scream pushed them out, allowing a moment of recoupenance in which Raique scooped up the Maxx, who might as well have had birds floating around his head. Yet just as they were about to leave, the facility rumbled around them. Things burst from the walls, smashed through the roof, and rose from the ground, taking form into an army. There were some two dozen sandmen, largely simplistic in design yet bearing weapons in the vague form of clubs, axes, hammers, and blades; and within their ranks, three golems standing tall, great mounds of sands with no legs but definite arms. They pressed a final challenge to who was undoubtedly the biggest threats on campus.
The sandtide converged.
While the sandmen threw themselves at the trio, trying to overwhelm and suffocate while occasionally swinging their AR Maments to keep the pressure on, the golems did the heavy hitting; all three focusing on a different hero each. Their strategy, more essentially boiled down to pulverizing the foe while they were otherwise restrained with the smaller constructs, meeting the trio’s powers and ingenuity with sheer, crushing weight.
Edited by ISZATSO on Sep 11th 2025 at 10:24:17 AM
With great power…you know the rest.The Hotel
As parts of the hallway crumbled slightly, The Medicinr Vendor shot out of the ruins-
But his appearance was noticeably different. His colors had been inverted, wearing a golden kimono with a bright red obi wrap and dark purple pants. His hair is long, unrestrained, and white, and his skin turns into a dark tan. The being's eyes are red with black sclera, and the simplistic red markings on his face become more detailed and wrap around the being's entire body with a golden color. He also wears large circle earrings with bangles hanging on it. And now he towered over Kayo, a solid meter put onto him that gave The Medicine Vendor a demigod-esque appearance.
◊
Kayo wanted to silently fangirl, until he turned his sword towards the ruins. The sword was opened now, revealing a blade of raw chaotic energy shimmering like a sun. The figure arced the blade forward, incinerating brick and wood as the bubbling mass of fetal entities began to spill forth from the cracks.
He looked to Mark, but couldn't say anything, a look utterly determined on his face.
"He can't talk to you right now! Ri takes his voice when this happens! Try both-"
Kayo was cut off as from the wreckage a trio of monstrosities lunged from the debris, and she had to pull upon deadeye-esque technique as her blunderbuss rapidly fired off bolts of similarly vivid energy into the entities of tang dynasty pottery and umbral flesh.
◊ Their bodies moved like smoke towards, but one was smitten with a bolt directly in the eye, letting out a horrid death rattle as it shattered.
Mark was on his own-
And his fireball technique was not only met with the creature throwing its chains at them, but quickly absorbing the flame into the chains. Mark saw the creature roar back at him, rattling its chains as the fire traveled upnits metal binds and towards the stone, now spinning his way like infernal whirling blades.
District 21
Spamton was not meant for this. Not at all. But at the same time... he felt Raique would kill him if he ran off.
Raique meanwhile seemed rather ecstatic about this. He'd get to try out his plan. Hes get to prove himself.
Maxx was glaring at the Golems with something akin to... murderous intent. Afterall, he was THE MAXX, and they were the...
Whatever they were. But all three knew that this Sandtide was nothing but bad news if they couldnt stop them, then Parker was in fir a very bad... bad time.
"They're sand! We got adhesives... all around us too might I add!"
[Stick em up!] and then we beat on them until [Start crying for your mommy!]?"
"Sure, whatever you said."
"If it gets too much... leave me behind."
As the Maxx stared down the golems, there was a feeling that washed over Raique. Suicidal old bastard... what was he trying to prove. He knew Maxx was reckless if those he cared about came into the picture...
Guess he cared for all of them gathered here.
No, he wasn't gonna be left alone.
"Fat chance."
Raique hovered up and immediately took his rolls of molten wax paper
and whipped it towards the sand soldiers, using his thaumakinetic powers to make this assault more or less into a continuous whip, broken slamming it's into the Golem's head.
Maxx was just a brute. Claws flying all over the place as he had wrapped his fist up in the adhesive. He felt his hands getting heavy with the grains, but this only meant his strikes were getting a tad bit more brutal with each swing. Until finally, dragging his sand encrusted hands across the ground, he charged towards the other Golem. With sparks flying up with the swing of his limbs, he'd try to literally punch through the kneecap of one golem and continue the momentum up to his thigh.
But as the sand soldiers tried to move into ambush Maxx's exposed back, a series of sales pitches were hurled rapidly their way from the Salesman, each word more or less a flood of grind stones submerged part of the sand tide.
"You'll finally make the cut, When youre nothing but-
[Allen wrenches, gerbil feeders, toilet seats, electric heaters, Trash compactors, juice extractor, shower rods, and water meters, Walkie-talkies, copper wires, safety goggles, radial tires, BB pellets, rubber mallets, fans and dehumidifiers, Picture hangers, paper cutters, waffle irons, window shutters, Paint removers, window louvres, masking tape and plastic gutters, Kitchen faucets, folding tables, weather stripping, jumper cables, Hooks and tackle, grout and spackle, power foggers, spoons and ladles, pesticides for fumigation, high-performance lubrication, metal roofing, water proofing, multi purpose insulation, Air compressors, brass connectors, wrecking chisels, smoke detectors, tire guages, hamster cages, thermostats, and bug deflectors, trailer hitch demagnetizers, automatic circumcisers, Tennis rackets, angle brackets, Duracells and Energizers, soffit panels, circuit brakers, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, calculators, generators, matching salt and pepper shakers, stopwatches, Watchdog, Dog collars, Colorado, Genshin Wishes, Adderall, Ping pong balls, Ponchos, choke chains, Chainsaws, Swordfish, shish kebab, bobcat, Human Cadavers, Labubus, Dark Shards, Crystal Cars, Plush toy, Toy box, Box wine, Backgammon, Bob's Burgers Tees, Ham and eggs, Egg chair, fold-out bed, sea shells, Bed and bath, Bath Sponge] who hates it's [$4.99,] Life[boat? Boat shoe, Shoestring, String bean, Baby Monitors, Bean bags, Bagpipes, Pipe bombs, Bomber jackets, Jakapil, Jackdaw, Doorstop, Porn Mags, Pokémon Trading Cards, Dinosaur Pycnofibres, Alien Ooze, Obtuse Angles, Rubber goose, Green moose, guava juice, Giant snake, birthday cake, large fries, chocolate shake-
[GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!]"
Before he paused and looked behind himself, seeing the third golem about ready to stomp ontop of him.
"[Funny Scream.] me..."
AwawaLike a chainsaw through butter, the paper shredded the earthen host, accumulating sand along its edges to serve as a club that broke apart the enemy’s forms before their specks were amalgamated onto the whip. He avoided the golem’s grasps and lunged all the while, each escape dangerously narrow and yet deeply measured at once. Finally, when enough had been accrued, Raique turned his makeshift weapon against the Big G, breaking it to pieces and claiming more of itself onto the whip each time. Any time the titan attempted to reassemble it was immediately brought back to a formless clump, and this time with a little less mass, until the threat was downscaled entirely to a nonissue.
Maxx, meanwhile, had opted for a little bit more of a hands-on approach. Literally. Clumps of sand exploded from the objects of his ire like PG-12 blood and gore, ending with him at the golem’s base and punching it apart while Raique watched his six. Attempting in vain to physically overpower the most powerful in the room, the great pile shifted its arm and brought the palm down upon the Maxx. It was futile. A fist blew the hand apart, and the Maxx was right behind it; lunging up onto the mountain and pummeling it to pieces from the top down.
And let us not forget Spamton, who cleaned up the soldiers that Raique had left behind. A dark shadow draped over him, for the third—and now final, too—golem had finally crossed the room to its target. Both arms swooped wide swinging shut with a thunderous clap, its center where currently stood the salesman. Spamton holds his hands infront of his chest, making a silent prayer as he sees the fist coming down-
He'd make it, broken and left for dead, but he' make it. Maybe he can put himself back together in a good garbage can-
Until suddenely, he realized he wasn't being pulverized. Standing above him was the Maxx, shoulders tensing and feet digging into the flooring.
"Not... today... not ever!"
Putting all his weight into it, he threw himselfnup into the air, proceeding to make the Golem stumble back. Spamton, now seeing an opportunity, opened his mouth to a horrifyingly wide gape-
As smaller versions of himself threw themselves from his maw and began to tackle the Golem's leg, their combined weight bringing the giant down to level-
Just for Raique- No... *Mystery* to fly up into the air with sand encrusted rolls in his hand, and traumaturgically shaped them into a stone. Hearing it up rapidly, it became a firey inferno, glass shinmering as the aand stuck to it rapidly heated up, nd with one powerful throw, the art devonwrecking balls slammed into the head of the golem.
All thrre waited for something to happen... and when nothing did, they let our a collective sigh.
"That was [Too Close]..."
A gust hummed into the room, sweeping up the failed remnants, and vacated them. Coast was clear, and Marko’s final effort to stop the trio fell apart like grains of sand in the wind. Now, somewhere within the storm, he was solely at the mercy of the Maxx, the Mystery, the peddler, and the Spider—
Another flash of light lit up the room, followed immediately by a thunderclap, like Raique had seen already. And another, and a third in rapid succession. There was within the maelstrom a booming roar that sounded more akin to a voice than anything else. Then, after a moment, they’d see it: a shape flung from the haze. Red. It flew back and to the ground, smashing into a parking lot just outside the art department if not stopped. Within his crater, the Spider-Man; gripping his torn-up suit and fighting to his feet but falling. To those three who’d no doubt went after him, he groaned: "Not…alone…ooghf…"
With great power…you know the rest.District 21
All three rushed over to Spider-Man, Raique immediately looked to the scrapes along Parker's suit...
Spider-Man was only mortal afterall. He wasnt some nebulous ball of power, he had limits...
Maxx immediately looked our the hole, his eyes narrowing under his own mask. Now was his time to think as Mystery propped up the web-slinger...
Wait.
He took into a spint towards a ruined keyboard in the room, throwing aside easels and tables until he finally found it-
In the ruins of the vaults of those ancients of names I've only heard whispered, I gaze upon the beaded and strewn apart corpse of a keeper. Their true form lost to our fight, to the winds that scour even the deepest burrow. But, among these beads there is a broche... one powerful enough to heal the Spider Boy...
Mqxx finished his monolog and lifted a ruined keyboard, and on it he pressed-
F1.
A smaller version of Spamton flew down from the heavens, little angel wings carrying it as it that brushed Parker's nose, and patted his head.
Parker could seem strength return to him,the suit was still damaged but the flesh was recovering.
Spamton meanwhile seemed... unenthused.
"WAY TO GO YOU [Animal I Have Become]! WHAT IF [coming soon] WHATEVER PUT [He can do whatever a spider can!] INTO THE 2ND FLOOR FROM THE [plead the fifth] COMES DOWN HERE AND NOW I CAN'T [Bop it!]?!?!?
"That won't happen. All four of us together can even the odds."
Maxx sounded sure of himself, walking back over to the group as his shoulders seemed lax, his knuckles scraping the earth.
"Who did this? How many are there?"
Raique immediately put his hands up into the air, feeling around fornsome sort of energy.
"If the sandtide is dying down... that means... he's potentislly heading for us."
Raique looked to their scraps they had acquired earlier, thinking on how to combat this... tag team themselves.
"In which case... It's a good time for us to debut as a hero team now, huh?"
The feral hein he held was audible in the giddiness of his words.
Awawa"God..?" Spider-Man extended a wavering arm to the descending Spamton, bumping fingers. His arm dropped and he huffed again, even as the sinew under his damaged suit stitched itself back together. The hero scratched at his shoulder before kicking up, back onto his feet. "No rest for the waggish, I guess." He addressed Maxx first, answering his question. "Just two, thankfully. Flint Marko and a girl named Maxine Dillon — Electro. A wannabe supervillain. Though I guess she’s not really a wannabe if she—" He did a double take in the middle of his sentence. "Oh, hey, Maxx. Spamton. How’s the business?"
Raique’s hunch brought him back to business. "Yeah. Uh. I forgot to tell you guys. We’ve got about two minutes before he shows up. Looks like campus is mostly evacuated, but it’s not worth taking the risk. We’ll need to keep him away — Center Park (not to be confused with central park) isn’t far, if we can lure him there, we can amp the fight up a bit.”
"I did try talking to him, but…as long as Dillon’s in the picture, he’s not gonna listen to reason. If we could separate the two of them, two of us might be able to get through to Marko, while the other two deal with Electro." A flash of teeth beneath a slight tear in his mask.
"Dn Q. Divide and conquer."
Edited by ISZATSO on Sep 11th 2025 at 1:23:28 PM
With great power…you know the rest.The scan results are... a bit strange. Kuveli's mostly normal looking on the outside and a bit below the surface, having all the usual confusing stuff in all the usual places. But go further underneath, and extensive parts of her inner body have essentially been hollowed out and replaced. Some parts with cybernetic components of distinctly Grineer origin, tampered with for the sole purpose of actually fitting in the narrow spaces provided for them. Other parts with, as if it wasn't given away earlier, copious quantities of Kuva - considering how much she bled out earlier, logically too much to be contained in there, yet evidently it was contained nonetheless... Most of the microfractures she was complaining about happen to be in the cybernetic components.
Kuveli's attention proper is not on herself anymore, more on what was said to her. Or, you know, telepathed to her. She tilts her head one way...
{If you saw what I believe you saw, then yes. That was an end... And a beginning, of sorts. One of the first things I had to do was learn about myself.}
Then tilts her head the other way.
{There is just enough distinction between memories to understand who was who. It let me comb through their memories, catch up on some details, relive what they lived to some degree... I did not once feel any sign of pain while doing so. I presumed it was like that for all Tenno...}
And then back to normal head positioning.
{Perhaps there are limitations to memory, or something... different with this one. If there were more individuals like me out there, it would make it a lot easier to understand...}
Jack glances down at his own broken leg, then returns his gaze to Neodyme with an indifferent shrug.
"Eh, I've had worse. Sometimes the choice is running on a broken leg, or dying in a really painful and embarrassing way, and when you have to face that choice enough times, you'll get used to it. Or you'll just die, but I'm clearly not dead, so... Anyway."
Opting to leave some things unsaid, Jack turns to answering questions instead. He only needs a quick nod and a shaky hand for Neodyme's inquiry on samesoul stuff, not feeling like doing a full explanation right away, then listens to their thoughts on Zero's behavior. It's hard to notice, but he does mutter a quick "easy there" once he registered just how worn down Neodyme might be, but besides that... He waits. And once Neodyme is done explaining, Jack contemplates.
"Yeah... Seems like we've got the same conclusion here. Guess that's enough cross verification to write that down."
And contemplates further. He should probably say something. At least try to be reassuring, even if it's just not what he's good at... Thusly, Jack sighs.
"These things happen. People ain't rational actors - even I ain't immune to that - so sometimes they'll gloss over the details and do the same mistake again. And sometimes, they'll do that even when they've got someone around trying one's best to make sure they don't do that. It takes time, experience, and a bit better mental fortitude that what he's got, to break out of the pattern."
Then, without having any better ideas on how to actually help, he just shrugs, leaning a bit more on the scythe afterward.
"Just don't let it get to you too bad, yeah? It won't help them, won't help you, and won't help whoever else is around if there's other people in need of being helped. Even if it hurts in the moment, the best one can do is keep their spirits up, and, well... Мы дышим с усилием. Emphasis on effort. He'll learn that too eventually."
The fact that only 140 characters are allowed here is honestly so disappointing to me.Mal(vel)
"Yeah, Jupiter. Fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the solar system. Big gas giant where most Helium-3 is made so they have an energy monopoly." Kana explains somewhat flippantly. "Besides, nobody was destroying Earth. Except Char but that whole Axis thing happened."
"As for how it looks now. Same as ever. Desertification in places like Africa and North America where a colony hit. More livable in places like Europe or South America."
Then the small and intelligent Ez asks her a question.
"What love is like?" she muses, looking at the ceiling and smiling in a less creepy way. "My pops told me it's a burning, passionate feeling. When you find someone or some thing you know you want to be part of your life forever."
"First time I felt that..." and now it's creepy again. "When an AEUG Nemo got too close to my Gaza-D, so I pulled the beam saber out and ran it through the cockpit. Seeing it go all limp after..."
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."Divide and Conquer
Spamton seemed more than eager to answer the question:
"Never been better! It's all [COLLAPSING] around me! [FALLING APART] at the [SEAMS]!"
Hearing the tactics, Maxx growled out at this, looking to Raique with a pondering claw to his own forehead. Raique paced back and forth, before grabbing a hold of Spamton's hand and running towardsa a table, not legless. Using his prior skating technique, both began to raise up into the air.
"Spidey and I can go deal with one... Spamton and Maxx... help out with whoever you get. Might have to be Maxine."
Maxx nodded, helping Parker up before jumping from wall to wall, until he was able to leap from one porch of debris to the hole in the roof the web-slinger had slammed through.
AwawaHyrule - Faron
<...it can heal.>
______ lets out a sigh, catching their breath. They just... stare at Source.
*...
<Something's up. But what?>
<...apart from the status effects.>
<This thing isn't reacting to our attacks, even if we're hitting it pretty hard...>
<...hm?>
It might just be ______, but they could swear the tension in the air is growing. Making their heart- well, the amulet -race faster and faster.
*I have an idea. Just give me a bit.
For the moment being, they take a defensive stance, a thin shell of red energy surrounding them.
aeiou: the secondRiften
I am the anger you feel at the cruel world we live in. A fundamental part of you. A voice for your deepest, darkest thoughts.
Sh...
And still you deny me.
Kasli jolts upright right as Tharja snaps her fingers. "SHUT UP! LEAVE ME ALONE!"
She realizes she said that out loud, in their faces. Her whole body starts trembling. "O-oh...I...I..."
Edited by KiriK on Sep 11th 2025 at 4:06:10 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Riften
Tharja does seem surprised for a moment, but, surprisingly given her usual appearance, not bothered at all by it.
"This curse is more powerful than I first anticipated. I think I'll accept your offer, Severus. It may still be a challenge even for the two of us."
She looks down as Kasli.
"Don't fret. I've had worse curse-fueled reactions than being screamed at. Try not to let it get to you, it'll only make it harder to work with the curse. The more you let it affect you, the stronger it will be."
She is now the one offering a hand to help Kasli stand up.
"Let us go. It's a decently long walk from here. And we're not going to carry you. If you fail to take the first steps then I cannot help you."
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Hyrule, Faron
30
Verdant Bonds healed Source
Wait what? Verdant Bonds' auto-healing is not once per 'turn'? It went through before any attacks hit it. Oh no.
"Specters.", Source says as he sees the girl summon again. Is he calling her summons that?
Regardless, Source gets hit by the attack. A small, flame-like aura appears around him. But not to fret, this isn't a power-up of any kind, but rather a Burn effect.
20
Well that's not the entire bit of gained HP taken away again but every little bit helps.
Ruo Shan's furious bullet-firing strikes him next. ... huh. Their attacks don't produce any numbers. They are dealing damage, right?
"You can stop."
Yeah, because that response is definitely not going to anger Ruo Shan even more.
"Cob"
"is Cob"
"There is nothing else"
"There is no more darkness."
... well that was a non-answer.
FAMINE
The apple reappears and now affects the girl...'s summon. Yeah, the fairy girl is the one who gets poisoned. The girl will probably be very relieved because that could have easily been her instead.
Edited by DevilPsyco on Sep 12th 2025 at 1:26:14 PM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.LOURENT
A lone man was walking through the desert, the moon cloud-veiled above him. Black wispy cloth tattered over their visage, their uneven gate noticeable. They moved with a bounce as if their knees were beginning to buckle, leaned forward in such a comedic manner-
His goal was simple. While Ingqumbo was occupied... and the Maxx too...
Leave the city. Until you find a place no one would look.
There were caves... holes in the desert where people had been-
Azy... Glint... Ver-
The figure beneath the clothes felt their names on the ends of their fingers... rheir digits club like as rhey felt around the edges.
Someone else.
Someone who may be useful later.
The Izs beneath the cloth had no determination itself. Just the raw need to survive and see. It exists simply to exist.
And that's ok.
But not for Rikkirackk. It was promised something special if it let him take control for a bit.
Its face veiled, it raises a knife and with all its might-
Struck the earth, and there he heard it. Just as energy inky black flowed past its eyeless visage-
And the darkness subsumed them.
Awawa???
The lone man, after having been covered by the darkness, would awaken to find himself inside a futuristic-looking city. Yet despite all the bright green lights, he would know with full certainty that wherever he ended up now, it's a realm full of darkness.
His respite would not last very long. As if having sensed someone new appearing, the man will be able to see beings approaching from the distance, flying through the air towards his current location.
Even if the man were to try to run, they would reach him before he could even leave the street he's currently in. A group of 10 female-like mechanical beings
land around him, their arms shifting into cannons that take aim at him.
But they don't fire. Not yet. And that gives him a chance to speak.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Mal
shrugs slightly. Ok, that didn't compute to him but it computed to her. And as he prepares for the worst, he's initially pleasantly surprised by what Kana has to say. It's sweet. It's nice. It fits his own explanation he'd given Ez earlier, and Ez is curious in that as well, actually leaning in as she leans the side of her head towards Kana, as if to let her words enter her head holes easier.
its like how papa described it very blasphemous very nice Ez says, nodding up and down. And Mal smiles, for it is indeed similar. On top of being something her own dad apparently passed down unto her. He kinda wish he could be like that - to help his daughter such that she quotes him.
And then she goes back to being Kana. Ez's eyes widening slightly as she listens, Mal spitting his drink of water into his steak in surprised horror.
wow you have a blasphemous definition of love is very interesting! Ez laughs is this why you have no boyfriend miss kana Ez asks next.
Don't say that to the miss. You don't know her personal life. Mal chides, half-embarrassed, half-accepting that he'd let his child ask a psychopath her definition of love. Ez is being very philosophical about love right now so... huh, excuse her if she's being invasive.
mister claw told me, papa told me, penny told me, kana sugar told me, zhank you for answering even if you were very weird with it i will not forget it because you were so weird thank you for that
Reddie
Simply laughs a little, having forgotten that basic etiquette. How truly blasphemous of me. I'm Reddie Mercurie. In my time, most people tend to recognize me by name, so you'll forgive me - I haven't needed to introduce myself in a while.
Reddie then smiles, clearly a bit peeved she forgot, but also eager to move on. She was also glad to have discovered a tidbit of information. He was a Mandalorian warrior of old. His name is bestowed to every pilot of the galaxy who carved a name out for themselves. I've had competition to that title but when the time came to bestow it upon them, they all had mysteriously died by my hand, so I was the default choice by then.
I'm no ordinary Jedi. That compassion you speak of - I think it's half of the problem. The other half is that my forebearers defined the world without seeing it. I intend to rectify that, and if it means talking to people they'd oppose, like you, to see their worldview... That is fine by me. But anyway, I wasn't necessarily raised in the temple.
Reddie points at her uniform and her mask. In case the outfit hadn't given it anyway.
Riften
While the mages are fretting over a potential curse over in Riften, the pond just a stone's throw from Fort Dawnguard starts to bubble, as if boiling in spite of the ice in and around it.
Gangrel is just on his way out for another patrol, this time with Beruka accompanying him, when he notices the bubbling water.
Uhhh... Uh-oh!
! Beruka clenches her fists, but her hands are trembling.
Meanwhile, back inside the fort, Yuji feels a chill run down his spine. He's had the nagging sensation of a curse being about for a few hours, but it suddenly got a lot worse.
...Guys, get ready for trouble.
Edited by Bolded1 on Sep 12th 2025 at 8:44:16 PM
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitter

Hyrule
Ruo Shan heaves as the apple core withers before him, stumbling back and nearly stepping on Yuta. He takes a couple of deep breaths in,shaking his back as he feels some of his strength leave him-
"Wretched... cherub..."
Ruo Shan takes a deep breath and puffs our their chest, the "rib"-like formations atop his back getting larger and arching over his face just a tad, as his shell has a much more spiny visage.
"Strike me again! I dare you!"
Before releasing a volley of bullets from the cannon into the lion's left flank.
Awawa