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Recent Statuses

3 mos ago
Nothing ever ends poetically. It ends and we turn it into poetry. All of that blood was never once beautiful. It was just red.
8 likes
3 mos ago
Oh sorry. I read the question wrong. 1's actually my social security number.
1 like
3 mos ago
1
4 likes
4 mos ago
The phallic stimulation toy of consequence rarely arrives pre-lubricated.
8 likes
9 mos ago
Imagine not knowing about the schenanigans that coding-wizard got into on Iwaku... There's no post formatting that man can't harness for his unholy machinations.
2 likes

Bio

I have 3 mottos here in life, really.




Most Recent Posts

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

No Conor mainly feels guilty, though a little angry Julian tried taking on so many powerhouses solo




- The greatest genius of his generation.
<Snipped quote by Sep>

Julian is in everyone's doghouse.


He's taken a two-year nap. He's sleepy.

<Snipped quote>
Congrats on 100th post, and welcome back Fearless GM!
Question, or rather, a thought that I've had - is it plausible that Eilidh could "notice" Julian is awake - due to some psychic/connection/timey wimey stuff? Maybe she gets hit with a weird headache out of nowhere in the Tower scene and isn't sure why? Just a thought I had! Let me know what you think and I'll get a post going c:


A weird sensation as Julian's status changes is fine and appropriate.

Let's aim for 200th post by the end of the year, yeah? :P

<Snipped quote by Hillan>

Hillan over here throwing Shade...


Or at least Shade's daughter...
@Hillan being dramatic and waiting for the 100th post.


I wasn't gonna let anyone else have it.
Prodigal Son; Wandering Gun.


It was in Metropolis it had happened. Like everything else that ever made an impact on his creation, it came from the ‘City Of Tomorrow’. He, meant to prove the best of the two greatest visionaries on the planet, met his match. His team had disbanded around him, scattered to the wind. He hadn’t held them together like he should’ve. Or perhaps held them too tight.

It had been 639 days. 639 days since the four people marched into the city and lit it on fire. The third Atomic Skull, the shadow mage Essence wielding the full power of her birthright, Brutalia the rogue amazon powered up by the Blockbuster Mutation formula, and finally their leader, fueled by nothing but six pints of Guinness and a hatered for the man in Blue.

The League was dispatched. The first responders, a Green Lantern, a Flash and several of the recently appointed Titans were all decemated in moments. Essence dominated the speedster, trapping him in another dimension. Atomic Skull’s flames burnt so hot that the ring melted and the she-hulk Brutalia showed exactly why a 4000 year old culture of warriors weren’t for a bunch of rookie teenage heroes to mess with. A trio of Terror that would tear down the city bit by bit.

The biggest guns of the League were off-world during the attack. Handling a situation on Rimbor. The attack was against the interests of the most powerful man in the world, which is how the satellite array designed to atomize the foe of man in his ivory tower came into play. Scarlet fire from the sky rained down, searing Essence in a heartbeat. The purple and green robots protected the city as best it could but proved little match.

Continuing their rampage in the city once more, only one young man stood to face the threat. Leaving his blue space-mineral behind some time ago he wasn’t afraid of what was to come. Ready to face his destiny, prove he was just as much of a hero as the man fighting for another world half-way across the known universe. Yet as brilliant of a mind as the man protecting the city from the shadows.

He was Julian “Ax-El” Luthor. He was born from darkness yet had always chosen to walk in the light, twilight incarnate. He dove into battle, utilizing every strategic advantage he could muster, countering the powers of his foes. His kryptonian powers and 12th level intellect made him capable of engaging the remaining two adversaries, beating the breaks off of the amazon while ensuring the atomic bonehead ran out of juice trying to melt him.

Yet it all came to a halt when his win streak came to an end. The two cold hands of Manchester Black coiled around his head, his purple eyes staring into his very being. Echoing and ripping through his mind, destroying every neatly orchestrated metaphorical microchip the lab-grown hero had. If the Martian Manhunter had known what was happening, he would’ve known that what Black breaks, he can put back together again.

Alexander “Lex” Luthor did not know this, instead placing a .44 to the back of Manchester’s skull and applying enough pressure to spray the only brain that could have saved his son onto the sidewalk of Kal-El Avenue.

Since that day, when Julian bought the city another day all on his own, he lost everything. The mad psychic had done damage to him that no alien powers could heal. No magic could put it back. Tubes and alien machines kept him alive inside of the most advanced Cadmus facilities, his body serving as nothing more than an empty husk. It had been 639 days since Julian was taken from this world.

Today, his eyes opened.

M O R G A N B R A N D
M O R G A N B R A N D





Solstone

Morgan was resting at his home early in the morning, not able to quite find rest to sleep yet too tired to do anything really productive. Caught reading a book, his butler, Willem walks by and pours him another cup of rest-inducing tea.

“Terrible night for sleeping sir?” Willem asked and Morgan nodded in silence.
“I think it’s the moon. Stirs all the men on the island crazy.” the Butler spoke, glancing out from the quarters towards Huitzil Castle on top of the spiral mountain where the moon appeared perched upon its walls. Morgan turned the page of the book, an adventure novel from his childhood, one written by Sasuke Ozar, an adventurer from the Grandline and the first to provide comprehensive maps of the area nowadays known as The Devil's Sea.

“I will bring you some light eating for the early morning, sir.” Willem promised as he vanished into the kitchen to start preparing cold cuts for the Baron. Morgan sipped the tea, slightly cold. His finger traveled from the handle to the bottom of the cup, his fingernail turning into a small but intense flame that quickly made the water steam into the perfect temperature.

The morning was interrupted by shouting from the outside, the guards rushing to the front door, knocking and hollering as Morgan emerged from his study. Willem was greeting them at the door, and Jack exited from his bedroom in the opposite wing from Morgans. The young man was carrying the blue-haired soldier of Solstone. Morgan knew the man with the blue hair - Tagoma.

“TAGOMA… HE’S HURT. Lao that bastard! And then…. And then the prince, he… Good star in heaven.” The boy panted in a panic.

“What’s your name? What about the prince?” Morgan ordered, nodding for Willem to tend to Tagoma’s wounds, peering outside it was clear that there were more wounded than just Tagoma.

“Cerulean, sir. Cavean Cerulean, Baron.” Morgan nodded at the confirmation “And it was… It was Aztec. We were fighting Lao and his triad goons when Aztec showed up. Beat the piss out of all of us.

“Why were you fighting the Solar Triad? I was not consulted.” The baron stated firmly, ensuring Cerulean that their actions lacked justification.

“It was about the mines, sir. The Triad are attacking our miners, breaking up our shifts and threatening our union.” Tagoma spoke, as Cerulean was dumbfounded at the question. Morgan nodded, Willem giving him first aid.

“How are they attacking our men?” The former Ashbringer’s voice rang out, the boys eyes widening upon seeing their childhood hero in person.

“Harassing them at home, underpaying our deliveries and making sure our men’s shifts are shorter and more dangerous than those in the triad’s union.” Tagoma and Cerulean both tried to explain. Morgan and Jack nodded. They would have to handle this, and as with all things related to the triad it was never gonna be fun.

“And what about the prince?” The Baron inquired as he put on his coat and grabbed his cane. Jack was grabbing his overcoat and hat.

“He beat the sunlight out of us for fun. Lao and his guys, too. We heard the striders arrive as well as some marines, something about an assassin and needing to protect Aztec. Barely crawled away in the chaos.”

“There was some girl setup to shoot him or something.” Tagoma began, with Cerulean finishing.

“Someone's already coming to poach Hexxer's bounty, money will drive the desperate mad. You should have come to me with this before you took matters into your own hands. I’ll handle this. You boys rest up. Willem, ensure the two young men as well as their wounded companions outside have everything they need till I return.”

“Certainly sir. Do you two ruffians take one or six sugars in your tea?”

“Uh… Two?”

“So uncivilized…”

”What are you gonna do, Morgan?” Jack was putting his jacket over his arms as they were moving away from the manor.

”We’re heading to the union offices. I need to speak to the foreman. The triad wouldn’t be openly attacking our workers if they weren’t playing a bigger game.”

”Should we call Stede?”

”Why bother him when he’s finally drank himself to sleep. I’ll call upon him when I know there’s fighting to be had.”

”That’s the spirit BWAHA” Jack chuckled heartily as the two headed off to the coast of Solstone to speak with the foreman in charge of the mines.
Post up! Should be getting more frequent going forward.

M O R G A N B R A N D
M O R G A N B R A N D





Solstone

Finding out that the renegade prince was a target of an assasination plot piqued Morgan’s interest. It was never hard to understand why someone would want the prince dead - Aztec was perhaps the most outwardly detestable of the royal family. It was a matter of figuring out who and getting them to call off the hit. Few had the guts to attempt to attack the royal family, especially those who did not come from the island and no islander would hire an outside assassin to do so. It was quite the conundrum, one that Morgan pondered over his next few pints at The Ashes. Brust and Darnold had left him, once he had given them the clear that he would need to think the situation over, he wasn’t sure if he could aid them in their search, nor if he really cared. The relationship between the Marines and the politicians on Sunstrider was always complicated, the base was located in Solstone, as the main kingdom never truly accepted Marine assistance, wanting to sort its issues out on their own. Furling his brow and letting out a slight sigh.

Or because they had secrets they didn’t want the world government putting its nose in.

Finishing his drink, he figured it was about time to head back home, Stede was cleaning the bar and Jack sat in the back, smoking his hemp pipe while listening to some old codger tell him a story from his youth for the 10th or so time this week. The old warrior always enjoyed hearing tales of old, even from times before his own.

”Truly want me to believe there was a man who fought using three swords in that country of Wano?” Jack chuckled as the old man, Graz Coots, carried on explaining the details of his many travels through the Devil's Sea, before the new world had even given birth to its king and namesake.

Graz nodded intensely “Yeah! They said he had made a deal with death, once so intense that if he ever opened his mouth to speak, the miasma would leak out and spread chaos and death! So the bloody samurai did the only thing he could, kept a sword in his mouth!” Jack laughed heartily as smoke left his lungs. Noticing that Morgan was about to leave, Jack’s eyes grew sharper, himself getting ready to follow his ward. Morgan waved him off.

”Rest a while more, Jack. I’ll return shortly. Got a short detour to take before I’m heading back to the manor for the night.” Jack nodded in response, turning his gaze back to Graz and his story about the Devil’s Sea. Stede waved bye to Morgan, raising the remaining of his ale to the Councilman’s health.

Morgan exited The Ashes, took a deep whiff of the cool air outside, producing his cigarette case from his pocket he put the cigarette to his mouth and ignited it with his lips, the flame traveling along the paper of the cigarette past the filter almost invisible, until it grew in size at the end of the cigarette, expanding and perfectly ignited the tobacco. Walking a few blocks, Morgan stopped, leaning against a stall that had closed for the night.

“The sun is gone.” A voice, determined and enigmatic spoke, first half of a codex to ensure the safety of the meeting.

”But yet I have a light.” Morgan responded, completing the code from the stranger on the other side of the stall, invisible to the councilman.

”What do you know about Hexxer? What does the West Blue’s most dangerous assassin seek here on our island?.”

Bonet chuckled.
“What does anyone seek here, dear Baron? I know precisely little about the killer known as The Hexxer, which is a lot more than anyone else. But you cannot afford that information, Brand.” The spy assured Morgan who scoffed, Bonet was never an easy man to do business with.


”Are the marines right in fearing for the prince’s safety?.”

”If Hexxer is indeed coming for your prince, then Aztec is already ruin.”

”That’s not an answer.”

”You don’t pay me for speculation. You pay me for the truth. They do not know for certain that the prince is the target of the assassin, but if he is there is little that can be done to save him.”

”Do you know where Aztec is?” Morgan asked, dragging from his cigarette as Bonet chuckled.

”Do you fear for his safety, Baron?”

”No. I fear for my country. Principcide would shake the stability of our already fragile nation. Besides, I doubt Aztec would go down without a fight and I’ve seen that boy grow into a man since we were both children. He’s always had a near insatiable appetite for destruction. ”




Zenith:

The docks erupted into chaos as explosions rang out, a battle erupted between a few rogue members of Solstone and the Solar Triad, protecting their turf as each believed the other faction was overstepping their boundaries in recent weeks.

“You stank ass solstoners have no right to do business on the Triad’s turf, you better tuck your tails between your legs and get outta here ‘for you get blown up!” One of the Solar Triadmen shouted, they numbered six triad members, four citizens of Solstone.

“You triaders have been cheating us for too long! Our deliveries have been getting shortchanged for the past month. This is a formal complaint!” The solstoner, Tagoma, shouted back, holding up a filed paper from the Solstone courthouse. A gun was raised and the lead tore the paper to smithereens. Tagoma and the others ducked for cover.
“Sorry, I don’t see any formal complaints or letters of safe passage!” Lao responded, a shit-eating grin on his face. His fellow gangsters joined in

SHIHIHIHI they laughed as Tagoma cursed.

“I have copies!” He shouted, chucking a object from his pocket towards the triad, plugging his ears with his fingers as his three cohorts did the same. Lao looked at the object, still laughing

“SHIHIHI you throw this garbage at me?? A bomb? C’mo- wait a BOMB” He caught himself, his and the other triad members eyes bulging out of their skulls as they all ducked for cover .

SOLBOOM.

Leaving a two meter-wide crater in the alley, damaging the walls slightly, spraying debris around.

“You freakin’ solstoners are crazy!” He shouted, hiding behind some crates. “Come out and fight instead you bastards!” He yelled, his body still postulated on the ground, Tagoma rose up, gun in hand as he and his three allies got ready to make a stand.

From the side of the alley another figure moved, only revealing his through the darkness.

”You guys having a fight? Without inviting me?”

The voice spoke, sending a chill down the spines of all 10 combatants who were ready to let loose on each other.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THE PRINCE DOING HERE?!”
“NO WE DIDN’T MEA- PLEASE HEL-” Tagoma and Lao both screamed, as shouts and yells woke up half of Zenith.
M O R G A N B R A N D
M O R G A N B R A N D


The Ashes Tavern, The Solstone, Midsummer Island



Captain Doster had taken his seat next opposite Morgan in the lounge where the five of them could speak privately. Jack and Stede were present for the sit down, the latter having ensured that one of his staff was manning the bar after the fallout from the pirate crew had been cleaned up. The only one standing behind the marine Captain was his Lieutenant. Morgan had gotten the rundown on them both, clear to him that the younger of the two lawmen were new to the island – in fact, he was new to working with the captain at all. Solstone was a sovereign state. Violence was around every corner. Even if they had never been hostile to the marines, it was still odd that the marine had not brought any backup to the bar, only himself and his right hand man. Then again, he only ever brought Stede and Jack with himself wherever he went.

”Councilman Brand. Baron. We’ve gotten quite worrisome reports recently, regarding criminal activity near this section of Midsummer Island. There are troubling winds and we have reason to be concerned about the safety of certain individuals.” Captain Brust began, Morgan nodding.

“More pirates like the ones we saw today?” Morgan asked solemnly and the captain grimaced.

”Sort off. The Bull Pirates aren’t a nothing-affair in this sea. They aren’t big fish. On the other hand, we’ve received information that tells us that one of the big shots of this blue is heading this way to make their way back from the devilish sea beyond the red mountains.”

“Oh? Who?"

“We do not know for certain. But based on the destruction left in their wake, we’re believing it’s The Hexxer.” His words were icy. Hearing the name a shiver ran down Morgans’ spine, Jacks’ eyes widened, Stede looked in confusion at his companions' reactions.

”What’s the big deal?” The barman questioned, breaking the silence. Jack tsk’d him.

”The Hexxer is one of the most prolific assassins in this sea’s history. Nobody has ever survived to identify them, leaving only the many occult symbols behind when they kill.”

The Marine Captain Brust nodded.
“And we fear we know who the target is, this is why it is vital that we cooperate with the government of Solstone.”

Morgan’s eyes widened as the captain produced a picture from his dossier. Recognizing the picture immediately.

”Aztec. The Renegade prince.”
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