Morose

🌠 Once Upon A Time 🌠(Concluded)

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Megan Pendragon

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Location: Atlantica
Skills: N/A

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Eventually, they made their way through the woods to what seemed to be a hill. Eric and Ariel motioned for everyone to get down low and Megan nodded, lowering herself down to the ground. She didn't care about getting her clothes dirty. She never really cared about it in the real world either, so it was hardly a time to start. Army crawling her way, Megan stopped and peered over the hill. There was the bay below, with what looked like almost a dozen pirate ships present. She glanced to her side and saw that Eric was using a pocket telescope of sorts, and he explained that there were gunpowder barrels down there.

After Sierra looked through the spyglass, Megan accepted it and looked on through. She saw the barrels that Eric had mentioned, but she also noticed just the poor conditions of the dock. The docks didn't look like much upkeep had been done, and if she had to guess, they didn't look very stable as well. She imagined that if Jack could control his fireballs, he could probably instantly destroy the docks. "The docks are shit," Megan murmured, before passing the telescope to her brother.

Agents of SHIELD - Concluded

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@BlueSky44@Kirah@Nallore@Natsu

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EARTH 257 - 6:30 AM Nov. 15th, 2021 - London, England

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Jubilee Park and Garden -

Luminous and Doom weren't turning up again, it seemed - the speedster had done a brief bit of fighting with Oliver, before completely clearing the area. Oliver would be able to tell that she had gone east, but beyond that, the only clue as to where she was going was from what Raynor had said - that Doom had asked Luminous to take him to the Nexus, wherever that was.

Niah shouting for the civilians to run was, shockingly, extremely effective. Maybe it was because the United Kingdom here was so used to the fae, but parents were scooping up their children and fleeing the park immediately now, snapping out of the initial shock and confusion. Of course, on such a crowded day it meant that even with people making an effort to evacuate, things still weren't great. In fact, there was a huge risk of trampling - particularly for small children, or for anyone really who might trip and get run over by the mad hoard of people trying to escape the park.

Now Matt, he did not have nearly an easy a time at his task. Gargantos had taken a bit of damage from Sparky's attack, looking a little fried in some areas, but its tentacles were just as deadly as ever before. The good news was that Matt would manage to touch Gargantos - the bad news was that it was because Gargantos flicked him away like he was just an annoying bug. However, that touch was enough and Matt managed to paralyze one of Gargantos' tentacles, the demon somehow screeching despite having no mouth as it realized it couldn't move the tentacle that had touched Matt.

Cass would manage to help some of the civilians flee to safety - namely, she was able to grab some little kids and roll with them out of the way of Gargantos' tentacles, as well as save some people who were almost trampled in the mad rush of people trying to escape the park.

Hopefully Oliver had given Maria permission to take some of his power, as she managed to successfully do so. Maria acquired Oliver's super-speed and would be able to use it to zip around, helping out civilians and greatly clearing out the park thanks to her newly enhanced speed. Of course, the side effect of the absorption also meant that Oliver would be feeling somewhat drained, as Maria had accidentally taken a portion of his life force as well. But I'm sure he wasn't using all of his life force anyways, right?

Bonnie wasn't used to Flynn disagreeing with her course of action. She knew that in video games, it was fine to target the eye itself - she had played a few herself after all. But here, there were so many civilians that she was worried that blinding the eye would only make its movements more erratic, putting more innocent people in danger. However, they didn't have time to argue about it. And thankfully, the team seemed to be focused on evacuation efforts, with a few working on attacking the demon itself.

She figured she'd be most helpful at evacuation, and Bonnie spotted an elderly couple in harm's way. She sprinted on over there, only to be blessed with terrible luck. Gargantos only had one of its tentacles paralyzed, leaving several of them free and flying around. The eyeball grabbed Bonnie and lifted her high into the sky - and then, Gargantos threw her across the park. Bonnie normally didn't scream. But she knew that a fall like this would be fatal for her child, if not herself. So she screamed.

Luckily, Amelia was a great catcher. "I've got you, mate!" she called out, flying on up to Bonnie and catching her. She was holding Bonnie bridal style, a modern day Superman as she floated gently down to the ground and set her friend down carefully. "Might not be a bad idea for you to get out of here, to be honest - what with the babe and all," Amelia pointed out. As much as she was reckless and put her own life in danger, Amelia knew that not everyone could afford to do that - and Bonnie definitely couldn't right now.

"I'm fine, I'm not going anywhere," Bonnie insisted stubbornly, though her hands were shaking. She was prideful, but she wasn't dumb - she knew that had been too close for comfort.

Amelia raised an eyebrow, before flying back up into the sky. She wished she had something like super strength or the like - it would make fighting the eyeball much, much easier. There was only so much she could do by blowing wind at him. However, now that it was decreed okay to blind the eyeball, Amelia did get an idea. There was a reason she wore goggles when she was doing stunts and skydiving and the like - maybe if she blew a ton of wind in the demon's face(?) she could force the eyeball to close its lid, allowing people with a little more power to get in some good hits.

Amelia summoned up a gigantic gust of wind and sent the wind flying at Gargantos - at first, it seemed like it might've worked... but then Gargantos just turned around and started trying to attack the fleeing civilians, the wind just buffeting its back(?) now. "Bloody cunt," Amelia cursed.

Raynor grit his teeth. "I hate magic," he muttered, before instantly imagining his cousin ridiculing him for that statement. He wished that he had been better at crafting hard light constructs - that he could throw a light spear at the eyeball - but he didn't have that power. His father had been brilliant at it. So instead, Raynor threw his dagger, Lyting, aiming for the center of the eyeball. The dagger missed and Raynor held out his hand, calling Lyting back to him.

He threw the dagger again, not giving up - but Gargantos grabbed Raynor, squeezing him in its grip and keeping him from breathing. The demon was enraged, recognizing an Asgardian god. Gargantos hated gods. The demon screeched, making its intentions clear. It wasn't interested in hurting other people now. It just wanted to kill Raynor.

Song of Heroes - a Percy Jackson RP (Morose & DragonicQueen)

Lorna hesitated for a moment as Fable brought up the minotaur in the room - the fact that Luke was way older than Kitty. Luke was college aged, 19 years old. If he did like Kitty back, it would be weird - and though Lorna would never admit this to Kitty, gross as well. The best case scenario was that Luke turned her down gently. It wasn't Kitty's fault though - she couldn't help it. Lorna didn't blame her at all. "I didn't want to say it, but... You're 13 and he's 19... It would be weird if you two dated," Lorna admitted, hoping her friend wouldn't hate her for saying it. But again, she wasn't going to add her opinion that she would find it gross as well.

"But maybe when you're older and he's older, it'll be less weird - like 21 and 27 doesn't sound too bad," Lorna offered. She didn't know if Kitty would still like Luke then - but her friend really did have it bad for him. Maybe they could work out, in a few years, when the age gap wasn't as bad. Lorna didn't say anything else for a moment, looking at Kitty nervously, but the more nervous Lorna felt the more prone to blabbering on she became. "Like what would be your ideal outcome if you talked to him? Like let's say that you do it, you tell him you like him when the time is right... Would you want to ask him to, like, date? Or..."

The Gifted - Concluded

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@Nallore@BlueSky44@Achronum@Trainerblue192@Kirah

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Genosha: August 22nd, 2021 - 10:00 PM

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The Quiet Council of Genosha

Autumn Table:
Magneto - Omega Level Mutant, Master of Magnetism
Reeva Payge - Disorienting, Hallucinatory Sonic Scream
SELENE! - Psychic Vampire-Witch, Dark Priestess of Rome, Demonic Huntress, Goddess of the Moon, the First One, Mother of All Mutants

Summer Table:
Veil - Invisibility and Force Fields
Caduceus - Omega Level Mutant, Healing and Adaptation
Spark Plug - Electrokinesis, Empathy, Weather Manipulation

Spring Table:
Esme Frost - Telepathy, Psychic Host of Emma Frost & the Dead Cuckoos
Polaris - Mistress of Magnetism
Moneta - Retrocognition and Holographic Projection

Winter Table:
Mr. Sinister* - All
Mystique - Shapeshifting
Destiny - Prophecy

* not actually a mutant

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Veil & Casper & Sunshine

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Location: the Carousel
Skills: Mediumship

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The Main Stage

An oddly hushed silence came over the venue as Selene finished her song. Silently, like puppets, the members of the Quiet Council all rose to their feet and turned to pay attention. Their faces would look blank, their eyes glazed over and unseeing, words falling upon deaf ears should anyone but Selene speak to them.

"Thank you, darlings - now, in the moments to come, you may find yourself asking why? Why did I die for the Dark Priestess this night? Why is the garden of Eden aflame?" Selene began, opening her villainous monologue. "I shall do you the honor of knowing for what purpose your deaths serve. Since time immemorial, I have been a predator, with the ones we call homo sapiens as my prey. Their souls have sustained me for eons, enhancing my beauty and power and granting me immortality."

"With the souls of homo superior, my fellow demigods, I shall not be merely immortal... I will ascend to true godhood - omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient! I have ensorcelled the minds of your Quiet Council through my ballad. Now, my dark coven, go out and do as your goddess commands - kill every mutant on this sacred island, so that way I may claim my divinity through devouring their immortal souls!"

Selene then broke out cackling, a good proper villainous laugh. "Oh, and do try to escape - I adore playing with my food," she added wickedly.

A hum filled the air, as a gigantic magnetic field surrounded the venue. Magneto and Polaris had combined their powers to construct it, the field so strong as to prevent anyone from leaving, even by teleportation or magical spells. And of course, no one would be able to come inside.

They were trapped, with twelve of the world's deadliest mutants gunning for their heads. The Quiet Council members were firmly under Selene's spell, and had been ordered to kill every mutant in sight.

Let the party begin.

Mutant Underground Table -

Everything Jack was talking about sounded completely and utterly insane to Casper - but then again, that seemed to be the norm for them. They were mutants with weird godlike powers, was being able to see and channel ghosts really that strange next to Jack being brought back to life? Hell, Casper had been part of resurrecting Ben not too long ago. There really was no reason for him to raise an eyebrow at what Jack was saying, even though it gave him chills - probably knowing that Sinister was involved. That man was bad news.

"Wait, James? You okay?" Casper asked, looking at his boyfriend with concern. Selene's performance had just hit its peak and suddenly, it was like James wasn't there - like he was under a spell. Casper gasped. "Omg omg omg, is she... is she really... no she can't be, she can't be actually singing the spell about putting someone under her spell from a movie where they use it to put people under a spell and then using it in the real world to put people under a spell?!" Casper said, completely freaking out.

Then, Selene gave her evil villain monologue, revealing that she had done just that - and that his poor, wonderful James was now under her control.

"James, snap out of it!" Casper said, before hurrying and pressing a kiss to James' lips. "C'mon, true love's kiss for the win?" he said hopefully. It did not break the spell. Some spells could be broken by true love - but not this one.

Of course, poor David was so freaked out by everything happening that another personality bubbled up to the surface, taking control. Legion was carrying himself now with much more self confidence, flicking a finger and sending poor James flying backwards via telekinesis, away from the table. "Name's Jack Wayne, you'll be thankin' me for that in a minute when he tries to kill ya," Legion said, nodding at Casper.

"Now, I don't know much about witches, but I do know that people tend ta burn 'em - anyone got any gasoline?" Legion asked.

"No, I left my gasoline at home - of course we don't have gasoline!" Sunshine snapped. Her heart was pounding furiously in her chest and she felt like crying. They had a place that was theirs, a place where they belonged and could be free and safe... and here was Selene, a mutant just like them, trying to kill them all and burn it all down to the ground. Sunshine felt incredibly angry, but more than that, she felt betrayed. They were supposed to all be working together here.

"We do have alcohol - that's flammable, right, babes?" she asked Marrow. "I have perfect aim, so I can hit her with a Molotov or ten. It'll destroy her - and the couture." She was very much deciding to ignore Selene's claims about being immortal. That had to be Selene bluffing - probably to try to keep people from trying to kill her.

"Very, babes," Marrow said, snapping off bone marrow daggers and tossing them to those in their group, so that way everyone had some sort of weapon. "Stabbing her in an artery ought to also do the trick."

A small child then ran up to the table, screaming and crying. "Mama!!! Mama!!!!" the child wailed.

Shi'Ar Bartender Set-Up

Veil was about to tell Moneta that it was fine and not to worry about it - that spilling painful secrets was what parties and alcohol were for. However, as Selene got deeper into her song, the world gradually seemed to fade away. At first, it was like someone had shoved cotton balls in Veil's ears; then, it was like a filter had been slipped over everything, the world strangely sepia. And then, it was all too late. Veil was enchanted, held underneath Selene's spell.

Some small part of her must have been fighting the spell though, as Veil attempted to turn invisible and remained incredibly visible. But that in itself took almost all of her concentration. Veil turned to look at Max and extended her hand. She shaped a small force field around his head and slowly shrank it, making it smaller and smaller, putting pressure on his skull and suffocating him, threatening to burst him like a zit.

"Oh come ON!" Ben complained. "I come back from the dead and the first party I'm at, this shit happens? Fucking unbelievable, I hate it here," he muttered. Tentacles shot out of the pocket dimension in Ben's stomach, curling around Veil and squeezing tightly as he tried to choke her out. Her concentration faltered, forcing her to release Max, as Veil struggled to push against the tentacles to free herself.

Song of Heroes - a Percy Jackson RP (Morose & DragonicQueen)

Lorna was very happy when the attention was off of her, feeling like she could relax ever so slightly. It was nice to focus on Kitty and Luke for the moment anyways. Her friend was always a little nervous around Luke and right now, the blush in Kitty's face was undeniable. "Oof, she has it bad," Lorna commiserated, watching for a moment as Kitty walked off towards the tree line with a sword. Lorna still had with her the sword she had used during training today, so she just kept it and went off after her friend at a run, seemingly refilled with energy already.

"So if you don't wanna talk about boys, what do you wanna talk about?" Lorna inquired. She knew that most of the campers their age tended to like to talk about boys or girls, usually in private - something Lorna never really felt the urge to do herself. Whenever they'd play games of MASH, Lorna was always stumped as to who to put for potential partners, usually just listing off random gods or heroes from myths.

What If?

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Jade & Guin

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The door opened and Guin was quick on the draw, reaching out and making skin-to-skin contact with the first person through the door. Suddenly, the entire world shifted for her, her perspective changing as she was now staring at her own body, seeing the confused person now inside of it. Guin was now at least six feet tall and she could feel her new muscles, along with other new parts. She didn't know this person's name, but she didn't care. They worked for Magneto, they worked for the person who killed her father, so they deserved to die.

Two others came on through the door, one of them attacking Cass. Mary whipped the other one back with some vines. Guin didn't want to ruin the element of surprise by announcing she had switched, so she went and grabbed the one Mary had thrown back. She picked him up as easily as if he were a doll and slammed him down on her knee, aiming to shatter his back. The first blow didn't do the trick, so Guin slammed his back over her knee again, seriously injuring him. "If you haven't figured it out by now, it's me," Guin said, her voice now decidedly masculine. She brought the person down on her knee one last time, breaking his back, and Guin then dropped him down to the ground carelessly.

Meanwhile, Jade was walking down the hallway and listening. There were several doors that they could try, and up ahead to the left she could hear movement from behind one of them, and the sound of a doorknob rattling as someone prepared to leave to enter the hallway. Quickly, she had to make a choice. Did she open a door at random, hoping that it would conveniently be empty so they could avoid whoever this turned out to be? Or did they take advantage of the element of surprise and rush at whoever this person was and kill them? If they opened a door and it turned out to not be an empty room, then that would be at least two people they'd have to fight.

She glanced at Edus and Thalia, before readying her angel blade and creeping forward in the direction of the rattling door. She'd rather not gamble on a fight on multiple fronts, when she could instead of one with just one front. She moved so that way when the door opened, the door would block her from view. Whoever entered the hallway then she could stab in the back and kill once they had moved into the halls.

Readied Action

Jade is going to jump out from behind and stab the person in the back who comes into the hallway

Song of Heroes - a Percy Jackson RP (Morose & DragonicQueen)

Nadja Eisenhardt

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Nadja Eisenhardt

Character Quote: "I am the only me that ever was.”

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Character Summary

Name: Nadja Eisenhardt
Faceclaim: Gratiela Brancusi [Lightning Thief]
Aliases: Nadia (hates)
Gender: Female
Birthday: October 1st
Age: 14 [Lighting Thief]
Ethnicity: German & Jewish-Romani
Birth Place: New York City, New York
Godly Parent: Athena
Cabin Number: Six | Summer Camper
How Many Years At Camp: Three
Occupation At Camp: Camper
Languages: English, Sinte Romani, German, Ancient Greek

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Appearance

Height:
Weight:
Body Type:
Eye Color: Grey
Hair Color: Brown
Hair Style: Shoulder length, thick and very curly
Skin Tone: Warm, tanned/light brown
Tattoos/Scars/Piercings: N/A
Camp Outfit:
Personal Style:

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Psychology

Creative * Clever * Fierce * Blunt * Self Righteous * Prideful

Sexuality: Homosexual
Relationship Status: Single
Personality:

Nadja is somewhat introverted - but make no mistake, she is not shy. She is a proud person, the sort of person more likely to stare you down rather than look away. She is fierce and brave and calculating; sharp just like her mother. When she is angry, it can be like fighting with a storm. Yet just as much as she is intimidating, she's also very curious and joyful. She loves to laugh and experience new things and adventures. Stories are one of her favorite things in the world. She loves feeling connected to the people around her, knowing that they all have a shared experience. She also enjoys playing tricks on people from time to time - not as often as some of the Hermes campers, but often enough.

Fatal Flaw: Pride - Unsurprisingly for one of Athena's children, Nadja is incredibly prideful. She thinks that she can do better than others, such as the gods. It does not come however from a place of overestimation of her own abilities, but rather from acknowledging the pain and suffering her people have gone through that the gods could have prevented.
Habits:
Hobbies:
Fears:

• ...

Likes:

• ....

Dislikes:

• ....

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Skills

Demigod Abilities:

• Wisdom & Strategy - Like most of Athena's children, Nadja is incredibly gifted when it comes to matters of the mind. Battle strategy and tactics come naturally to her - she would be considered a prodigy by the outside world. Riddles and puzzles come easily to her, provided she is already aware of their greater context (i.e., if a riddle hinged on you knowing X and Nadja does not know that, she cannot solve the riddle).
• Craftsmanship - Nadja can make just about anything out of a pile of scraps. Of course, her ability cannot create from thin air - she needs starting materials that make sense in order to create, whether it be an improvised weapon or a shelter. Most forms of crafting Nadja picks up naturally (i.e., she could self teach herself how to knit, crochet, glass blow, and so forth).

General Skills:

• ...

Combat Skills:

• ...

Magic Item(s):

• ....

What Do They Carry On Them:

• ....

Possessions In Cabin:

• ...

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History

Biography: Nadja was the first in her family to be born in the United States. Her father, Django had immigrated to the United States in his early twenties, along with his twin sister, her aunt Marya. Django settled down in New York City, working odd jobs and doing his best to make ends meet. His quick and sharp mind attracted the attention of the goddess Athena, whom he shared a brief romance with that ultimately resulted in a newborn baby being sent down from Mt. Olympus. Django named the baby girl Nadja meaning Hope.

Nadja's grandfather moved in with her father and her when she was about five years old, after the death of her grandmother Kezia. Her grandfather and father had a lot of issues, resulting in screaming matches between the two of them, but they both did their best to raise her. Her father wasn't always the best at expressing his emotions, yet Nadja never had to wonder how he felt about her. He spoke through actions. Her grandfather, while he hadn't been a great father to Django, he spoiled Nadja and doted upon her, treating her like his little princess.

When it came to school, Nadja was bullied a lot - the other kids seemed to find no shortage of ways to be cruel and horrible to her. The teachers often would mispronounce her name routinely. When she started middle school and came home crying about a slur that one of the other students called her in the halls, her father and grandfather had had enough. Her father pulled her out of school and her grandfather immediately began homeschooling her, doing a decent job at it as well. This arrangement worked out well enough until a monster showed up at their front door. No one was hurt luckily, thanks to the teamwork of her father and grandfather, but it was decided that it was time for her to go to the camp her mother Athena had mentioned all those years ago.

Nadja has been at Camp Half-blood during the summers ever since; during the school year, she goes home to New York City.
How Long Have They Been At Camp Half-Blood: Three years

Birth Town: New York City, New York
Previous Living Quarters: N/A
Current Living Quarters: Camp Half-blood | New York City, New York

Family:

• Django Eisenhardt (father)
• Athena (mother)
• Erik Eisenhardt (grandfather)
• Kezia Eisenhardt (grandmother, deceased)
• Marya Williams (née Eisenhardt) (aunt)
• Paul Williams (uncle)
• Bobby Williams (cousin)
• Freddy Williams (cousin)
• Athena cabin (half-siblings)

Love Interest:

• ....

Friends:

• ....

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Additional Information

Theme Song: The Zombie Song by Stephanie Mabey
Extra Information:

• ...

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Song of Heroes - a Percy Jackson RP (Morose & DragonicQueen)

Lorna was completely oblivious as to the real reason why her face was red. She really hadn't put much thought into crushes and stuff like that - kissing boys and everything just didn't interest her. She figured it might later, but she wasn't worrying about it. So, when Kitty told Lorna that her face was red, she didn't consider it was because of feelings she might have been having - or the fact that she was completely flustered. "Oh gods, I hope I don't have a sunburn - that'd be the worst, especially on the face, bleh. D'you think ambrosia would work for that? Does your cabin have some sort of special sun care treatment thingy?" she asked, addressing that last question at Fable in particular, as Fable's father was the sun god.

Her eyes lit up at the idea of going into the forest and bringing their weapons. Yes, Lorna's arm had been aching from sword practice and her body was covered in bruises, but she was already excited at the idea of running through the woods with their weapons. The lake also seemed fun to her, but she figured it wouldn't be as active and she didn't like lying around on the beach as much as other people did. "Both sound pretty cool to me - the wood's'd be pretty fun, especially if we get lucky and find a monster." Yup, her heart was pounding from excitement at getting to maybe go fight a monster. That was it.

Song of Heroes - a Percy Jackson RP (Morose & DragonicQueen)

"I'm sure it's the thought that counts," Lorna told Kitty, trying to cheer her friend up. Truthfully though, she didn't really know what to make of Poseidon. She had a hard time imagining him as a cuddly, cheerful, touchy feely sort of parent - but maybe she was wrong. Maybe he would be happy with just a picture with some macaroni glued onto it. It'd been a while since there were any demigod kids of Poseidon, so something was better than nothing, right? "I wouldn't worry aboat it," Lorna added, her own Canadian accent shining through on about.

Of course, the minute her attention was back on Fable, her mind was freshly short circuiting again. How did Fable get her hair to look so perfect? Lorna immediately started tugging slightly on her own hair, wishing that her color was a little brighter and her waves a little straighter. She laughed what felt a little too loudly at Fable's joke about Kitty's words being silly.

"Pudding and biscuits are totally so confusing - like, biscuits are soft and dough-y and not sweet and you put jam on them. And then pudding is the stuff you make from the Jell-O box and definitely couldn't be what you'd call cake or ice cream," Lorna agreed. Her heart was pounding and she didn't know why. "I'm free right now, actually - well we have crafts later but that isn't for a few hours so I have nothing to do, it isn't my day to clean the cabin thank god everyone's socks smell so so so bad. What aboat you? Oh sorry, you just said you have nothing. Kitty has nothing too. Did you want to do something?"

The Gifted - Concluded

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@Nallore@BlueSky44@Achronum@Trainerblue192@Kirah

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Genosha: August 22nd, 2021 - 9:50 PM

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Veil & Casper & Sunshine

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Location: the Carousel
Skills: Mediumship

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Mutant Underground Table -

David thought for a moment about Selene's question - and he blushed, grinning a bit at Harry's answer. He felt firmly in control and present tonight, none of the others bickering for a turn at the wheel. He felt peaceful. "I'd want my last night to be like this," David admitted, before sheepishly nipping at Harry's earlobe and then pulling away. He wasn't drunk, but Harry was right - it was easy to get drunk off of vibes. "I'm me and he's him. That's all I need. Plus, my baby brothers are here," David added, referring to Jack and Casper.

Casper held up his hands in the shape of a heart, beaming at David. "Love you too, Davie!" He wasn't as close with David as he was with Jack - largely because David had spent most of his life in an asylum. David had been adopted by his mother legally speaking, but they were actually half-brothers. Valentine was Casper's only full blooded sibling. But even with the distance, Casper did love his brother - he loved everyone in his family, with the exception of his dad.

Selene sighed at Echo's query, almost with longing - as if the idea of a true, permanent death was absolutely enticing to her. "If it were my last night in the world - as impossible as that would be, as I am immortal, darlings, never forget that should you decide to kill me - I hope my death would come at the hand of a redheaded sweetheart... And I would spend my final hours bathing in the blood of my enemies under the moon's divine light."

"That's creepy as fuck," Sunshine said, giggling at Selene. It was becoming a little hard for her to take Selene seriously. From a distance, Selene was a terrifying dominatrix - but up close, she really was just pure camp. It was like she was giving a performance, playing a children's idea of a supervillain. And Sunshine had to admit, the vibe was fun - the more Selene talked, the more outlandish things she said, the more Sunshine wanted to listen.

"And yeah, you better not be planning on fucking my wife," Sunshine teased Andy, giving her a warning glare before breaking out into a grin. She knew that Marrow's was hers and that she was Marrow's. She didn't feel a need to really worry about someone else trying to steal Marrow away, as Sunshine believed in their love more than she believed on anything else in the world. Marrow completed her and she completed Marrow.

"Much too little for me, anyways," Marrow agreed. "Aren't you like twelve?"

"You are welcome, of course, for your restored life - I did have a hand in it," Selene mentioned to Jack.

"You... What? When? When did you die?" Casper asked, his eyes wide. "Oh shit, did the X-Cutioner kill you? Shit Jackie, I'm so sorry - I didn't notice - I mean I was frozen and ooooh that must've been it, huh? You froze and shattered like freezing gum and then hitting it with a rock and.... Oh yikes, that must've hurt so much. But you're alive, so that's what matters."

Sunshine didn't say anything to Jack's revelation that he had died, but her eyes did dart over towards him, as she regarded him with suspicion.

Suddenly, Selene rose from her chair. "I must be off now, my darlings - I'm performing a little number in a moment here, so do please pay attention. I'm giving a tribute to one of my favorite films of your era, you may know it? It stars an ancient and formidable trio of witches, the Sanderson Sisters." She then waved before gliding off through the crowd, and was soon out of sight.

Shi'Ar Bartender Set-Up

Veil took a long sip of her drink, listening to everything Moneta had just confessed. To be truthful, Veil didn't know her very well - she barely knew her, really. So this was all a lot to process from a practical stranger. "Wow, that's... That's a lot," she said. "Hate that he's a cop, but at least he's safe, right?" she finished.

Meanwhile, Ben had half a mind to bite Max's tongue and pull him away from the crowd. He could picture it in his mind's eye for a moment, but Ben decided against it. He hadn't even thought through the logistics of this relationship - he was mentally over thirty years old, physically less than eighteen. He didn't know if it would be age appropriate for him to blow Max's back out. But he found himself not caring if it were.

In line, Ben accepted the flower - he stared at it, his own cheeks going crimson for a moment. No boy had ever given him a flower before - no one ever had, really, with the exception of his funeral. His adoptive siblings had each presented his coffin a flower, their faces showing varying degrees of emotional distress. He wondered if any of them would care now that he was alive - or if it had all been an act, a way to keep up appearances, like so much of his childhood had been.

He realized he had fallen silent though, just studying the flower. And then Ben didn't care that Max needed to grab the drinks from the bartender. He didn't care that they were in a crowd of people. He was alive and the blood was pumping through his veins and the music was blasting, Dazzler singing her heart out to a rock ballad, and Ben put a hand on the back of Max's neck and pulled him in close and kissed the shit out of him.

Ben then pulled away and grabbed James' and Casper's drinks in one hand, holding the flower in his other, and a self satisfied smirk was on his face.

Veil couldn't help but grin - she was genuinely happy for the two of them. And Ben seemed to be in a much better mood now than he had been earlier that day. "When did this happen?" she asked, taking a coy sip of her own drink, curious as to what the boys would say. She was pointedly not responding more to Spark Plug about her own fascination with Aurora - one French-Canadian mutant twin girl thirsting after another French-Canadian mutant twin girl, how more cliché could she be? But that wasn't really it. No, the truth was that as much as Veil loved to be in control in intimacy, she wanted to feel chased when it came to something new. She wanted Aurora to come find her. She wanted to feel hunted.

The Main Stage

Up at the main stage, Dazzler had hopped off for a break, Reeva introduced the next singer -

"Please, put your hands together for the Dark Priestess, the Vampiric Huntress, the Mother of All Mutants, The First One.... SELENE!" Reeva's voice was telepathically amplified, rattling in everyone's minds as Selene took the stage, appearing suddenly in a burst of smoke. Selene winked at the crowd, before snapping her fingers and her outfit transformed into something more comfortable to perform in.

"This one is for the gays," Selene said, before her performance began.