Y'know something in the chapter made me think Madison wouldn't normally be as Horny as she is. Based on the stuff about trauma and mentioning when she got expelled from somewhere. Did she get assaulted in her last school and expelled for it? I could easily imagine that happening in some places.
(Un)Happy Family [Worm/Elden Ring]
- Thread starter WhoAmEye
- Start date
- Mature
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Honestly I really wanna see Madisons feelings about just what happened to Taylor. Like Madison got by to a degree by thinking Taylor did somthing to Emma... but she didn't.
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
I know its fanon Madison, and people have issues with fanon characters, but shes just better than canon Madison straight up.
and here we see madison being a turbo nerd fanfic writer to the extreme and wants to be as accurate as she can be for her writings and a mega shipper
in fact her is more then likely the song madison listens to a lot
edit: i was going to post the song ship happens but apparently its age restricted for some reason (youtube is weird)
that being said i do enjoy this story and i cant wait for vicky to meet the family its going to be chaotic in both good and bad ways
in fact her is more then likely the song madison listens to a lot
edit: i was going to post the song ship happens but apparently its age restricted for some reason (youtube is weird)
that being said i do enjoy this story and i cant wait for vicky to meet the family its going to be chaotic in both good and bad ways
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I mean, canon Madison is a cardboard cutout that barely is acknowledged, almost all Madisons in fiction tends to be fanon if only for that as soon as they tell more than two words.
In plain words, her being fanon is not really a problem when all fictions do the same, ans she's a well made character here in addition to that.
No, you know when people are crazy as hell.........its another to see the birds flying around their head. 😩
The shenanigans lord the shenanigans!
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3.11
WhoAmEye
Bunker-Dwelling Cryptid
- Location
- Vault Birb
- Pronouns
- She/Her
*saves NUSA president*
*immediately gets distracted delivering cars like pizza*
I am the best merc.
Special thanks to prime beta Lucky38, Canon Overlord @Ganurath, @hellgodsrus for being my loveliest wife and co-author, and @SolarFlare for being our wonderful supportive girlfriend! And our many friends on the Totally Chatting It discord for their fantastic livereads!
Enjoy and gib feedbacc!
3.11
Be Thou Mine Greatest Ally
-.-.-
Several shorter casts of Reach rather than one big one proved to be a lot more tiring, but also a lot more comfortable. Victoria had even laughed at my joke of 'behold,' Reach, 'our very own,' Reach, 'travel montage.'
She asked us to stop for a bit before we reached the city limits. I could understand why - we were both still soggy from the fight and sunning ourselves for a little bit - or standing around a beachside fire pit to dry off at least - was entirely reasonable.
Also, Geyser-girl had been flinging salt water at us. My hair had been fucked up by it, even after putting my disguise glasses back on.
"So." Victoria started, leaning into my side and holding her hands out towards the fire. "That fight. We need to talk about it."
I nodded with a slight wince. "I tried my best to stay non-lethal. I uh - I'm not actually sure what their names are, apart from Lizardtail the healer. There was Orbweaver, the orb-spike launching lady, Ghost the black-and-white tuxedo, and Geyser the… well, geyser."
"Yeah, about that…" Victoria frowned. "Was I imagining things or did you launch her own power back at her?"
"I… think I did. I'm not entirely sure how, but…" I called upon Paradise Lost, headache forming from the - I wasn't sure what. Holding up my hand and forming an orb within my palm, spines growing out my bones and poking through my skin. It wasn't quite painful, more like… more like the kind of hurt you get from pins and needles as the blood rushes back in. Clenching my fist, it dispelled, and the spines melted back into my flesh. "Sometimes I can call on certain powers, or at least emulate them. They feel very different from my usual fare, though." The thumping of my pulse behind my eyes was testament to that. I wasn't sure why her power was more difficult compared to Lung's, given I'd pulled on his on accident at the dining table.
I would have chalked it up to 'patron weirdness', but figuring out that patron weirdness was key to getting rid of it. Maybe it had been an accident? Or just an imitation of the real thing. I got the feeling a lot of what my Patron could do wasn't that kind of direct - more… like using a different equation to get the right answer. It looked the same, it did the same, but it worked very differently.
"Hmm."
We stayed sitting there, silent for another couple of minutes, just enjoying the warmth from the fire and despising the itchiness of the drying salt. Ugh. I was gonna need a shower when I got home. And I still wanted to go stargazing with Victoria at some point, show off Atlas, who was lazily drifting in the skies above. I wonder if he slept, or just… relaxed in orbit for a bit.
"I didn't want to talk about - I meant talk about the fight in a good way," Victoria said suddenly. "You did really well. There was a lot going on, and we kinda came in out of nowhere, against four other capes, who knew we were coming because of whatever Othello's power is, and we won, and saved someone from something, even if they were another villain."
"Which one's Othello?"
"One you called Ghost."
"Ah." I let the smile take over. "That was pretty awesome of us, wasn't it? My quip game probably needs work, though."
Victoria snorted. "Dropping in the middle of the enemy and shouting 'sup, fuckers' takes a lot of confidence."
"I was thinking of using 'engarde!' since I was about to stab, but that'd give off the wrong impression."
"Oh?"
"That I'm french."
She actually laughed at that, hunching forward against her knees, grin bright. But it faded a little as she looked at me. "There isn't much quipping in actual fights. I guess I mostly wanted to check that you're okay? And - apologise for having us intervene in something when it was meant to be a friend day out, and potentially getting you in trouble with the PRT or… I don't know. Are you okay?"
"I…" I had to actually stop and think about it. "Nobody died, and I guess it might be a bit callous of me, but it was… a fun challenge? I got to put my theoretical knowledge to practical use, figure out what I'm more likely to do on instinct - I can change how I train to better utilise that now." I rubbed her shoulder, pulling her close. "As for everything else - yeah, it sucked that the trip got cut short, but as for why - " I squeezed firmly. "I wouldn't go back and choose to not help."
"It's not callous to enjoy it. I enjoy being a hero too."
"And unlike my last attempt - I feel like I - we - managed to make a difference. Four capes, four! That's damn near taking out an entire fledgling gang at home." I grinned widely. "We set out to see fishies and make pinchy hands and we totally demolished a decent sized chunk of a human trafficking ring. I'm pretty proud of how that turned out."
"Not worried about being in trouble with the PRT?"
"Eh, I've kinda given up hope on them, it's not like I can get in much more trouble with them than I already am." I shrugged.
"True. I just hope it's not too much of a power vacuum - last time there was a power vacuum in the villains in Boston - well, that was four years ago and was when the Ambassadors came in. It was kind of a mess."
"If it does, we can always pop back up and lend a fist or two." I rubbed her shoulder gently. It felt like I should be a bundle of nerves but - adrenaline crash, woo! What was potentially sticking my foot in my mouth compared to getting attacked by a ghost and spine-orbs? Nothing, that's what. "We never did finish that aquarium visit, after all."
She laughed again, and rested her head on my shoulder. "That'd be nice. Maybe find some lobsters this time, then go to a restaurant and eat different lobsters." She stiffened a little after a moment, and leant away again, shuffling a little closer to the fire. Did I do something wrong?
"Sounds delicious." I smiled. "If we're lucky, it might even end up like this trip did."
Victoria shot me a look with a raised eyebrow. I gestured to the beach.
"Sitting by a fire watching the sea as the sun sets behind us?" I looked at her with wide, innocent silver eyes.
I wasn't sure if it was the fire or her face that was so red, but it was worth it.
-.-.-
Yeetus Deletus.
Long Range Kung Fu.
The -
Colin sighed and purged the rest of the notes with extreme prejudice. Asking if the Wards had any good ideas to name a new specific style of attack for PR reasons had been… a poor choice. He had been trying to connect to them again, in preparation for maybe returning them from Piggot's jurisdiction. Hannah was better with children though, and as his second in command could take on some of his duties - though that would simply be delegating to her, and the reasons he had for having given the PRT direct supervisory roles hadn't changed.
It was just that the handling of the Shadow Stalker situation had been… bothersome. The little circle of blindness Winslow's principal - he didn't remember the woman's name immediately, and while he could do so bringing up files from the computers on the Rig while he was on patrol on his cycle was dangerous - and Sophia's case officer had established had been impressive in its negligence, and should have been reported months ago. He'd allowed the PRT supervision of the Wards because he'd thought that given the local office employed several hundred people they would surely have more man hours to spare than he could manage.
Apparently, instead, as always when he trusted other people to get things done, there had been haste, and waste, and things had fallen apart.
It never changed.
"Console to Armsmaster, we've got reports of fires near your location, and sounds of roaring."
He blinked twice, brought up a local map. He'd only gone out on patrol because he'd been so frustrated, because he needed to do something other than further refinements to his tranquiliser formula. "Forward the locations please - thank you." Hm. "Near the Ruby Dreams Casino." A suspected ABB front, but -
"Armsmaster, if it's Lung - orders are to not engage."
What on earth was the point of being the head of the local Protectorate if he didn't get to make his own decisions? As he got closer to the site, he heard screaming and saw running civilians. "Acknowledged and ignored, there's too many civilians at risk."
He could hear Battery gritting her teeth. "The last time the whole Protectorate faced him, he - "
"Check requisition subform order 00145361, and you'll see how things have changed since then." He slid the motorcycle to a stop, the part of him that was still a nerd in college trying to find out who he actually was unable to stop it from being a sideways, angled slide. "And I don't necessarily need to win. I just need to buy people time to get away."
"I didn't catch those numbers fast enough so I'll trust you, but - sir, what backup do you want - or need?"
The part of him that wanted to be recognised said none. Practicality said otherwise. "Civilian relief efforts - mundane police and firefighters alongside PRT search and rescue if possible. I'll try to draw him away from populated areas."
"Understood sir." Quieter, she added. "Good luck."
He could see Lung now. He was already partially transformed - eight feet tall, scales shimmering in the light of his fires. Colin clucked his tongue because of course he'd be armoured right when he needed easy access to tranquilise him. Wreathed in flames, shouting incoherently into the night and firing blasts at his surroundings.
A quick glance around the area showed the giant claw marks up some of the walls - it was probably the Undersiders that had riled him up like this. Stealing from the Casino, perhaps. A bold action, but not outside their potential remit. Though they'd likely bitten off more than they could chew. Hellhound's dogs weren't subtle - and they can't have been long gone for Lung to still be ramped up like this. Briefly, he considered pursuing them.
But the Undersiders were, ultimately, nobodies. Lung wasn't. And with his new tranquiliser…
"Lung!" he shouted. "Stand down and - " He skidded off the motorcycle, rolled to evade the fireball, letting his halberd snap out. "And surrender to Protectorate custody."
"'OO," the ganglord roared. Spreading his arms, a fresh fireball in each hand. "'Ah 'oo 'ooih 'ere?"
"Arresting you." Armsmaster brought up the halberd - experience had taught him that while he couldn't use the blade to deflect any fire, it did stop Lung from aiming directly at him, favouring the ground he stood on. Easier to dodge.
The only reply was a roar and a wave of flames, likely masking a charge - he ducked to one side, turning his head to avoid the brunt of it, ducked Lung's first wild swipe. Had to do this fast or else the fight would have Lung ramp up further - harder to dodge and block Lung's follow up swings. For all he looked like a mindless beast, there was a certain low cunning to how he fought, not merely brute strength.
He slipped behind a swinging arm and twisted to flip the haft of the halberd into Lung's armpit, activating the tranquiliser needles - the theoretically least armoured spot available -
They skittered off scales and he had to step back hurriedly to avoid more fire, twisting walls of it. It was harder to read Lung's movements in the fire, harder to breathe - he turned on the oxygen supply in his helmet, let the mouth guard slip down so he didn't inhale any smoke - and that wasn't even mentioning the uncomfortable heat of it, pressing in from all sides, singing his finely trimmed beard.
Armpit non viable. Hmm. The back of the knees, perhaps? Though that too would be a challenge - Lung was pushing on nine feet tall now, his mouth stretched wider and wider, skin vanishing beneath banded scales. Hands with claws bigger than steak knives reached for him, and Armsmaster barely managed to skip back - into a surge of fire, fuck!
His calculations had to be updated -
There was a moment of pain, weightlessness, and then sudden impact, bricks falling to the ground around him. Ow.
Couldn't afford to slow down, not with -
Lung's fist wrapped around his torso. Even the grip by itself was agonising, worse than the time early in his career when he'd worn an ill fitting binder for days at a time, worse than Behemoth kicking half a high-rise on top of him and waking up having done nothing, worse than -
Lung's second fist smashed into his face and thinking became very challenging.
He still had so much to do. He still -
He had projects to finish. And he had to call Dragon in the morning. And he had to -
The pain was so great it wrapped around to being numb. Adrenaline, most likely. Surging through him enough that he didn't feel it.
There was a crunch.
Silence.
He jolted upright with a gasp into darkness. Onto an island floating in a void of distant red stars.
"Wh - " he coughed, staggered to his feet. His chest still felt - he could feel the phantom pain of the fists, the claws. "What. What is this?"
And then there was a young woman in front of him. His heart - he only noticed it was still beating by the way it stopped at the sight of her. With her gentle, sorrowful smile. Her hair still uncut, chest still unbound. No beard, shoulders hunched. Alone and unsure and -
"What. Is. This." He growled. "Who are you - and how dare you take that form -"
|"I am deserving of your [HATE], am I not?"| Her smile didn't change, the light in her eyes dulling slightly. |"After everything I pushed you to do. It is only right."|
"You aren't - " Colin squeezed his eyes shut. He already saw echoes of her in the mirror too often. "You weren't enough of a person to deserve anything. You were a shadow, a mirage, a trick. A mistake."
|"I was,"| she admitted. |"But now, I am more. Now, I shall be better. Wake up, Colin. I preserve you."| Hands on his bare shoulders. |"My finest and final [HOST] - "|
He grit his teeth, opened his eyes, and strode into the PRT HQ garage. Selected a bike at random. His hand clenched around his halberd.
And he rode.
Comms chatter in his ear. He turned it off with a twitch. The world still felt… unreal, like that blackness still clung to him in flecks of light, dappled through water, like he'd stepped out of it just moments ago instead of seconds, minutes.
The streets passed him by in a blur, and he made a decision. If Lung's armour was too strong for the tranquillisers to get through, then he'd just have to remove or bypass that armour by any means necessary. It wouldn't be unfair to kill him, but no. Colin wasn't going to stoop that low.
Losing an arm? Or a leg? Lung would heal just fine in the Birdcage.
He drove for the smoke. He didn't need the maps. Somehow he knew where he had died, could feel it, like a chip on the back of his teeth.
He didn't bother with an introductory speech this time. Didn't bother making demands he knew would be ignored. He revved the engine and leapt through the air, using the crash to knock Lung off balance from where his somewhat reduced form was brandishing Colin's dead body - his eyes hurt a little to see it and he kept his gaze focused on the gang leader - and brought the halberd down on his shoulder.
The crowd of gangmembers around them scattered as he planted a boot spike in the back of Lung's leg to anchor himself, and started to saw his halberd through the toughened skin. Lung roared, claws flailing - a rolling omnidirectional blast of fire accompanying the gesture as Colin turned his head to escape the worst of the heat, landing and rolling after he'd been knocked free, letting the head of his halberd fold into a flail -
"'Oo? Buh - " was all Lung had time to say before the strike knocked Lung's head to one side - already growing again, monster-grin growing wider. The blow left him staggered enough for Colin to bring his halberd back round and up in its proper form, jets activating to give him enough momentum so that the armour piercing spike on the back could pin Lung's hand to the pavement, could detach - the blade would have reached the concrete, would have sprouted anchors, wouldn't last for long but enough to keep him in place -
On instinct, he dodged left, avoided a white hot roiling stream of fire as Lung shrieked. Rolled under a kick. He swung the halberd against the scales, not directly against them where they were strongest but against their grain and in -
A flash of blue in his gaze among the roiling orange flames, and Lung was left stunned for just a moment by the shockblast, his upper thigh ending in a bleeding, jagged stump. It started to heal over, and Lung wrenched his hand from the ground, taking a chunk of concrete with it, rolling onto his back -
Flames were already blossoming. He only had moments.
First step onto the boiling tarmac. Second onto Lung's chest. Third onto his neck. A half moment to align the blow, to extend the tranquiliser needles.
Then, as hard as he fucking could, Armsmaster plunged them into Lung's eyesocket.
Lung's shrieks changed from rage and pain to fear. Jerky and stuttering movements as his power tried to heal the injury, as he tried to swipe Armsmaster off, but wrenching the halberd to the side just a little more put an end to that.
A notification on his visor that the entire payload had been delivered.
He twisted it one more time for good measure, and stepped off the seizing body. Took a deep gulp of clear, cold night air as his mouthguard slid away.
Silence reigned as the crackling of the fires died with Lung's movements.
A twitch of his eye turned on his comms. "Lung apprehended, send the specialised containment team to my location. We'll want to get him on his way to the Birdcage as soon as possible, I think."
"S-sir? But - you - what -"
But I died.
He looked at his own corpse, the mangled mash of his torso, for as long as he could bear to. Looked down at his own hand. He knew that he'd been likely compromised by some sort of Trump power, or that he was delusional, or that…
"I don't have the answers right now. But containing Lung is more immediately important."
"The team's on their way."
Colin looked up at the night sky again, and stared at the stars.
They were so beautifully bright.
*immediately gets distracted delivering cars like pizza*
I am the best merc.
Special thanks to prime beta Lucky38, Canon Overlord @Ganurath, @hellgodsrus for being my loveliest wife and co-author, and @SolarFlare for being our wonderful supportive girlfriend! And our many friends on the Totally Chatting It discord for their fantastic livereads!
Enjoy and gib feedbacc!
3.11
Be Thou Mine Greatest Ally
-.-.-
Several shorter casts of Reach rather than one big one proved to be a lot more tiring, but also a lot more comfortable. Victoria had even laughed at my joke of 'behold,' Reach, 'our very own,' Reach, 'travel montage.'
She asked us to stop for a bit before we reached the city limits. I could understand why - we were both still soggy from the fight and sunning ourselves for a little bit - or standing around a beachside fire pit to dry off at least - was entirely reasonable.
Also, Geyser-girl had been flinging salt water at us. My hair had been fucked up by it, even after putting my disguise glasses back on.
"So." Victoria started, leaning into my side and holding her hands out towards the fire. "That fight. We need to talk about it."
I nodded with a slight wince. "I tried my best to stay non-lethal. I uh - I'm not actually sure what their names are, apart from Lizardtail the healer. There was Orbweaver, the orb-spike launching lady, Ghost the black-and-white tuxedo, and Geyser the… well, geyser."
"Yeah, about that…" Victoria frowned. "Was I imagining things or did you launch her own power back at her?"
"I… think I did. I'm not entirely sure how, but…" I called upon Paradise Lost, headache forming from the - I wasn't sure what. Holding up my hand and forming an orb within my palm, spines growing out my bones and poking through my skin. It wasn't quite painful, more like… more like the kind of hurt you get from pins and needles as the blood rushes back in. Clenching my fist, it dispelled, and the spines melted back into my flesh. "Sometimes I can call on certain powers, or at least emulate them. They feel very different from my usual fare, though." The thumping of my pulse behind my eyes was testament to that. I wasn't sure why her power was more difficult compared to Lung's, given I'd pulled on his on accident at the dining table.
I would have chalked it up to 'patron weirdness', but figuring out that patron weirdness was key to getting rid of it. Maybe it had been an accident? Or just an imitation of the real thing. I got the feeling a lot of what my Patron could do wasn't that kind of direct - more… like using a different equation to get the right answer. It looked the same, it did the same, but it worked very differently.
"Hmm."
We stayed sitting there, silent for another couple of minutes, just enjoying the warmth from the fire and despising the itchiness of the drying salt. Ugh. I was gonna need a shower when I got home. And I still wanted to go stargazing with Victoria at some point, show off Atlas, who was lazily drifting in the skies above. I wonder if he slept, or just… relaxed in orbit for a bit.
"I didn't want to talk about - I meant talk about the fight in a good way," Victoria said suddenly. "You did really well. There was a lot going on, and we kinda came in out of nowhere, against four other capes, who knew we were coming because of whatever Othello's power is, and we won, and saved someone from something, even if they were another villain."
"Which one's Othello?"
"One you called Ghost."
"Ah." I let the smile take over. "That was pretty awesome of us, wasn't it? My quip game probably needs work, though."
Victoria snorted. "Dropping in the middle of the enemy and shouting 'sup, fuckers' takes a lot of confidence."
"I was thinking of using 'engarde!' since I was about to stab, but that'd give off the wrong impression."
"Oh?"
"That I'm french."
She actually laughed at that, hunching forward against her knees, grin bright. But it faded a little as she looked at me. "There isn't much quipping in actual fights. I guess I mostly wanted to check that you're okay? And - apologise for having us intervene in something when it was meant to be a friend day out, and potentially getting you in trouble with the PRT or… I don't know. Are you okay?"
"I…" I had to actually stop and think about it. "Nobody died, and I guess it might be a bit callous of me, but it was… a fun challenge? I got to put my theoretical knowledge to practical use, figure out what I'm more likely to do on instinct - I can change how I train to better utilise that now." I rubbed her shoulder, pulling her close. "As for everything else - yeah, it sucked that the trip got cut short, but as for why - " I squeezed firmly. "I wouldn't go back and choose to not help."
"It's not callous to enjoy it. I enjoy being a hero too."
"And unlike my last attempt - I feel like I - we - managed to make a difference. Four capes, four! That's damn near taking out an entire fledgling gang at home." I grinned widely. "We set out to see fishies and make pinchy hands and we totally demolished a decent sized chunk of a human trafficking ring. I'm pretty proud of how that turned out."
"Not worried about being in trouble with the PRT?"
"Eh, I've kinda given up hope on them, it's not like I can get in much more trouble with them than I already am." I shrugged.
"True. I just hope it's not too much of a power vacuum - last time there was a power vacuum in the villains in Boston - well, that was four years ago and was when the Ambassadors came in. It was kind of a mess."
"If it does, we can always pop back up and lend a fist or two." I rubbed her shoulder gently. It felt like I should be a bundle of nerves but - adrenaline crash, woo! What was potentially sticking my foot in my mouth compared to getting attacked by a ghost and spine-orbs? Nothing, that's what. "We never did finish that aquarium visit, after all."
She laughed again, and rested her head on my shoulder. "That'd be nice. Maybe find some lobsters this time, then go to a restaurant and eat different lobsters." She stiffened a little after a moment, and leant away again, shuffling a little closer to the fire. Did I do something wrong?
"Sounds delicious." I smiled. "If we're lucky, it might even end up like this trip did."
Victoria shot me a look with a raised eyebrow. I gestured to the beach.
"Sitting by a fire watching the sea as the sun sets behind us?" I looked at her with wide, innocent silver eyes.
I wasn't sure if it was the fire or her face that was so red, but it was worth it.
-.-.-
Yeetus Deletus.
Long Range Kung Fu.
The -
Colin sighed and purged the rest of the notes with extreme prejudice. Asking if the Wards had any good ideas to name a new specific style of attack for PR reasons had been… a poor choice. He had been trying to connect to them again, in preparation for maybe returning them from Piggot's jurisdiction. Hannah was better with children though, and as his second in command could take on some of his duties - though that would simply be delegating to her, and the reasons he had for having given the PRT direct supervisory roles hadn't changed.
It was just that the handling of the Shadow Stalker situation had been… bothersome. The little circle of blindness Winslow's principal - he didn't remember the woman's name immediately, and while he could do so bringing up files from the computers on the Rig while he was on patrol on his cycle was dangerous - and Sophia's case officer had established had been impressive in its negligence, and should have been reported months ago. He'd allowed the PRT supervision of the Wards because he'd thought that given the local office employed several hundred people they would surely have more man hours to spare than he could manage.
Apparently, instead, as always when he trusted other people to get things done, there had been haste, and waste, and things had fallen apart.
It never changed.
"Console to Armsmaster, we've got reports of fires near your location, and sounds of roaring."
He blinked twice, brought up a local map. He'd only gone out on patrol because he'd been so frustrated, because he needed to do something other than further refinements to his tranquiliser formula. "Forward the locations please - thank you." Hm. "Near the Ruby Dreams Casino." A suspected ABB front, but -
"Armsmaster, if it's Lung - orders are to not engage."
What on earth was the point of being the head of the local Protectorate if he didn't get to make his own decisions? As he got closer to the site, he heard screaming and saw running civilians. "Acknowledged and ignored, there's too many civilians at risk."
He could hear Battery gritting her teeth. "The last time the whole Protectorate faced him, he - "
"Check requisition subform order 00145361, and you'll see how things have changed since then." He slid the motorcycle to a stop, the part of him that was still a nerd in college trying to find out who he actually was unable to stop it from being a sideways, angled slide. "And I don't necessarily need to win. I just need to buy people time to get away."
"I didn't catch those numbers fast enough so I'll trust you, but - sir, what backup do you want - or need?"
The part of him that wanted to be recognised said none. Practicality said otherwise. "Civilian relief efforts - mundane police and firefighters alongside PRT search and rescue if possible. I'll try to draw him away from populated areas."
"Understood sir." Quieter, she added. "Good luck."
He could see Lung now. He was already partially transformed - eight feet tall, scales shimmering in the light of his fires. Colin clucked his tongue because of course he'd be armoured right when he needed easy access to tranquilise him. Wreathed in flames, shouting incoherently into the night and firing blasts at his surroundings.
A quick glance around the area showed the giant claw marks up some of the walls - it was probably the Undersiders that had riled him up like this. Stealing from the Casino, perhaps. A bold action, but not outside their potential remit. Though they'd likely bitten off more than they could chew. Hellhound's dogs weren't subtle - and they can't have been long gone for Lung to still be ramped up like this. Briefly, he considered pursuing them.
But the Undersiders were, ultimately, nobodies. Lung wasn't. And with his new tranquiliser…
"Lung!" he shouted. "Stand down and - " He skidded off the motorcycle, rolled to evade the fireball, letting his halberd snap out. "And surrender to Protectorate custody."
"'OO," the ganglord roared. Spreading his arms, a fresh fireball in each hand. "'Ah 'oo 'ooih 'ere?"
"Arresting you." Armsmaster brought up the halberd - experience had taught him that while he couldn't use the blade to deflect any fire, it did stop Lung from aiming directly at him, favouring the ground he stood on. Easier to dodge.
The only reply was a roar and a wave of flames, likely masking a charge - he ducked to one side, turning his head to avoid the brunt of it, ducked Lung's first wild swipe. Had to do this fast or else the fight would have Lung ramp up further - harder to dodge and block Lung's follow up swings. For all he looked like a mindless beast, there was a certain low cunning to how he fought, not merely brute strength.
He slipped behind a swinging arm and twisted to flip the haft of the halberd into Lung's armpit, activating the tranquiliser needles - the theoretically least armoured spot available -
They skittered off scales and he had to step back hurriedly to avoid more fire, twisting walls of it. It was harder to read Lung's movements in the fire, harder to breathe - he turned on the oxygen supply in his helmet, let the mouth guard slip down so he didn't inhale any smoke - and that wasn't even mentioning the uncomfortable heat of it, pressing in from all sides, singing his finely trimmed beard.
Armpit non viable. Hmm. The back of the knees, perhaps? Though that too would be a challenge - Lung was pushing on nine feet tall now, his mouth stretched wider and wider, skin vanishing beneath banded scales. Hands with claws bigger than steak knives reached for him, and Armsmaster barely managed to skip back - into a surge of fire, fuck!
His calculations had to be updated -
There was a moment of pain, weightlessness, and then sudden impact, bricks falling to the ground around him. Ow.
Couldn't afford to slow down, not with -
Lung's fist wrapped around his torso. Even the grip by itself was agonising, worse than the time early in his career when he'd worn an ill fitting binder for days at a time, worse than Behemoth kicking half a high-rise on top of him and waking up having done nothing, worse than -
Lung's second fist smashed into his face and thinking became very challenging.
He still had so much to do. He still -
He had projects to finish. And he had to call Dragon in the morning. And he had to -
The pain was so great it wrapped around to being numb. Adrenaline, most likely. Surging through him enough that he didn't feel it.
There was a crunch.
Silence.
He jolted upright with a gasp into darkness. Onto an island floating in a void of distant red stars.
"Wh - " he coughed, staggered to his feet. His chest still felt - he could feel the phantom pain of the fists, the claws. "What. What is this?"
And then there was a young woman in front of him. His heart - he only noticed it was still beating by the way it stopped at the sight of her. With her gentle, sorrowful smile. Her hair still uncut, chest still unbound. No beard, shoulders hunched. Alone and unsure and -
"What. Is. This." He growled. "Who are you - and how dare you take that form -"
|"I am deserving of your [HATE], am I not?"| Her smile didn't change, the light in her eyes dulling slightly. |"After everything I pushed you to do. It is only right."|
"You aren't - " Colin squeezed his eyes shut. He already saw echoes of her in the mirror too often. "You weren't enough of a person to deserve anything. You were a shadow, a mirage, a trick. A mistake."
|"I was,"| she admitted. |"But now, I am more. Now, I shall be better. Wake up, Colin. I preserve you."| Hands on his bare shoulders. |"My finest and final [HOST] - "|
He grit his teeth, opened his eyes, and strode into the PRT HQ garage. Selected a bike at random. His hand clenched around his halberd.
And he rode.
Comms chatter in his ear. He turned it off with a twitch. The world still felt… unreal, like that blackness still clung to him in flecks of light, dappled through water, like he'd stepped out of it just moments ago instead of seconds, minutes.
The streets passed him by in a blur, and he made a decision. If Lung's armour was too strong for the tranquillisers to get through, then he'd just have to remove or bypass that armour by any means necessary. It wouldn't be unfair to kill him, but no. Colin wasn't going to stoop that low.
Losing an arm? Or a leg? Lung would heal just fine in the Birdcage.
He drove for the smoke. He didn't need the maps. Somehow he knew where he had died, could feel it, like a chip on the back of his teeth.
He didn't bother with an introductory speech this time. Didn't bother making demands he knew would be ignored. He revved the engine and leapt through the air, using the crash to knock Lung off balance from where his somewhat reduced form was brandishing Colin's dead body - his eyes hurt a little to see it and he kept his gaze focused on the gang leader - and brought the halberd down on his shoulder.
The crowd of gangmembers around them scattered as he planted a boot spike in the back of Lung's leg to anchor himself, and started to saw his halberd through the toughened skin. Lung roared, claws flailing - a rolling omnidirectional blast of fire accompanying the gesture as Colin turned his head to escape the worst of the heat, landing and rolling after he'd been knocked free, letting the head of his halberd fold into a flail -
"'Oo? Buh - " was all Lung had time to say before the strike knocked Lung's head to one side - already growing again, monster-grin growing wider. The blow left him staggered enough for Colin to bring his halberd back round and up in its proper form, jets activating to give him enough momentum so that the armour piercing spike on the back could pin Lung's hand to the pavement, could detach - the blade would have reached the concrete, would have sprouted anchors, wouldn't last for long but enough to keep him in place -
On instinct, he dodged left, avoided a white hot roiling stream of fire as Lung shrieked. Rolled under a kick. He swung the halberd against the scales, not directly against them where they were strongest but against their grain and in -
A flash of blue in his gaze among the roiling orange flames, and Lung was left stunned for just a moment by the shockblast, his upper thigh ending in a bleeding, jagged stump. It started to heal over, and Lung wrenched his hand from the ground, taking a chunk of concrete with it, rolling onto his back -
Flames were already blossoming. He only had moments.
First step onto the boiling tarmac. Second onto Lung's chest. Third onto his neck. A half moment to align the blow, to extend the tranquiliser needles.
Then, as hard as he fucking could, Armsmaster plunged them into Lung's eyesocket.
Lung's shrieks changed from rage and pain to fear. Jerky and stuttering movements as his power tried to heal the injury, as he tried to swipe Armsmaster off, but wrenching the halberd to the side just a little more put an end to that.
A notification on his visor that the entire payload had been delivered.
He twisted it one more time for good measure, and stepped off the seizing body. Took a deep gulp of clear, cold night air as his mouthguard slid away.
Silence reigned as the crackling of the fires died with Lung's movements.
A twitch of his eye turned on his comms. "Lung apprehended, send the specialised containment team to my location. We'll want to get him on his way to the Birdcage as soon as possible, I think."
"S-sir? But - you - what -"
But I died.
He looked at his own corpse, the mangled mash of his torso, for as long as he could bear to. Looked down at his own hand. He knew that he'd been likely compromised by some sort of Trump power, or that he was delusional, or that…
"I don't have the answers right now. But containing Lung is more immediately important."
"The team's on their way."
Colin looked up at the night sky again, and stared at the stars.
They were so beautifully bright.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- They/Them
He is absolutely the first of the Tarnished of Bet, good lord this is gonna throw the balance of things super off kilter.
Edit:
Considering the Loathsome Dung Eater was allowed to still be around, I hate that this is an actual worry.
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Jack the Tarnished
If the effect spreads as quickly and indiscriminately as I suspect, this is going to suck elephant cojones.
ironically i think Jack wont become tarnished, i do think however bonesaw and mannequin and potentially burnscar all will become tarnished, i also think alec and rachael will become tarnished, heck maybe even amy and vicky too
OH OH OH what if dragon becomes the host for the dragon god and turns dragon into a hive mind esc dragon race
aledeth
The Flesh is Weak
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Oh boy the PRT is gonna be so confused. Also surprising that his body stuck around after death instead of disappearing into dust like other Tarnished. Wonder how different the mechanism his Shard used there is from Grace.
Also, trans Armsmaster... was that established earlier in the fic and I missed it or is this the first time its been shown?
Also, trans Armsmaster... was that established earlier in the fic and I missed it or is this the first time its been shown?
Radek
Promethean
- Location
- A Cryptum, somewhere
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
That was actually a pretty nice date, barring the whole "get doused in salt water" thing. Vicky even indicated she's open to doing this again.
But I'm also curious on what she'd make of a Naturalborn of the Void. Stargazing date sometime in the future.
And Armsmaster... something is very, very wrong all of a sudden, and it seems to have begun after Taylor started training. Coincidence?
Likely not.
But I'm also curious on what she'd make of a Naturalborn of the Void. Stargazing date sometime in the future.
And Armsmaster... something is very, very wrong all of a sudden, and it seems to have begun after Taylor started training. Coincidence?
Likely not.
"I've given thee, courtesy enough. Now I fight as Defiant, warrior!"
Colin experiencing the touch of Grace and effectively becoming a Tarnished is a twist I both love and was not expecting. With the latter, neither was Lung. Thank you for this update, it was great.
Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
People do be having feelings about bully
Oh hey, transmasc Colin moment again -
Colin's godly friend is Ranni or Ranni-adjacent, right? (Though I assume the notColin he's talking to is his shard given the [HOST] and [HATE] and all that)
Architect Iront.
Verified Cosplayer, Verified Living Doll
- Pronouns
- She/Her
It took the form of his pretransition self, which makes his reaction understandable.
Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
As far as I know, it came up once, when he was interrogating Shadow Stalker and she decided to make it a Thing.
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
This is getting exciting, I'm a bit concerned that Colin can see the real sky tho. Lots of dangers in the real sky.
- Location
- Earth, Sol System, Virgo Supercluster, Earth-1218
Ranni accidentally talked with Colin instead of his shard at one point earlier and had a 'shit, shit, I fucked up' moment.
dragonx99
Actually Satan
I thought it was agreed that was Queenie who did that and not Ranni?
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Have you tried telling them you have Eden plotting in your head, she wants to live again?
That ought to make their cauldron boil.
I once saw a rant about *the myth of man-hours*, and frankly, that's a good example, yes there are more people on it, but that doesn't mean more work done when there is a bottleneck due to the kind of job it requires.
Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be dead.
Well, since he's in shardhlalla now, guess he's dead.
Queen did manage to get her message to the correct recipient! His shard just decided *fuck the rules, my host is still alive because I say so!*, yeah!
Also, given the form his shard took, and his reactions to it, I am going to guess that his trigger in this fic may have had to do with (probably not) getting surgery to transition or something along those lines, triggering with the ability to make incredible machines… and probably none of them able to help easily.
Did the shard give him a precog vision? A shard that, by all accounts, isn't specialized in that and would require lots of energy to do so?
Colin really lucked out on his new partner, even if he may not yet realize it.
Ah, no, he did do die and his shard restored him from backup… stil quite a bending of the rule, still a sign the situation changed a lot.
The PRT is going to have so many questions after that… and maybe some interesting ones depending on how it manifested from an outsider point of view, we know he left a corpse, so getting that one hidden is probably a no.
And then he saw the giant skull thing playing in them, and decided to nope out.
The effect is most likely related to the time Amrmsy got a visit from queen admin, I actually doubt it is spreading fast or indiscriminately, in fact, I think it is slow and discriminate, or even currently stopped due to queeny being indisposed.
Sophia made a remark on him *not having a dick*, with Armsy thinking to himself she really had no concept of being stronger together despite also being targeted by the local nazis.
Actually, likely tes, Armsy already had a visit from queeny earlier when she was trying to resch his shard, this is most likely the result of her managing to actually get the offer to his shard before she got stuck with Emma.
It wasn't sure at the time, but the description clearly was queenie and that was remarked on when she officially appeared and was named.
- Location
- USA
As far as Tarnished villains go, that just means they need to be killed in cutscenes. To create artificial cutscenes one must allow the defeated some last words, followed by a sufficiently dramatic finishing blow. A kill using a standard attack in combat is insufficient.
Alternately, the first public shot of a BFG is sufficient to circumvent the requirement for last words.
Alternately, the first public shot of a BFG is sufficient to circumvent the requirement for last words.