lordsilenced

[lordsilenced]

Man, what's a nice way of saying I need soul-crushing angst or else I will explode to smithereens?

[lordsilenced]

I think, more than anything, the thing that really gets me about Polka and Zandar's relationship is I really like this notion that Polka came to care about him for a while, maybe even admire him. He was Nous' creator, the first Genius, the first Erudition Emanator--I'd go so far as to say the earliest members of the Genius Society were definitively the first Erudition Pathstriders in the cosmos. Now, hundreds of thousands of years later, Lygus is among the nine fragments that want to destroy Nous while Polka is one the few protecting THEM. It's bittersweet to think about because I like to think Polka wasn't always an assassin protecting the cosmos from Finality.

[lordsilenced]

[lordsilenced]

PROMPTS FOR FIRST MEETINGS & AWKWARD CHATS *  assorted dialogue for new acquaintances, adjust as necessary

have we met?

i recognize your face from somewhere.

i've seen you before.

i think i've seen you around.

do you do this often?

you look familiar.

what do you do for work?

did you friends abandon you, too?

are you new around here?

feel like dancing?

i think i'd remember a face like yours.

sorry, i don't mean to stare.

i've heard about you.

have you eaten here before?

you certainly get around.

think i saw you last week.

i've just never seen anyone as beautiful as you before.

i've been meaning to introduce myself.

it's really nice to meet you.

you look a little lost.

do you need some help?

wait a second. i know you.

do you come here often?

looks like we're the only ones left.

can i give you my number?

we haven't been properly introduced.

so... what kind of music do you listen to?

i'm sure you hear that a lot.

i don't mean to pry.

let me call you a taxi.

mind if i sit here?

when did you get here?

how long have you lived here?

do you remember me from last time?

do you like living here?

that was a dumb question to ask.

can i buy you a drink?

i hope i didn't scare you.

have you been here before?

i just think you're really pretty.

we met last week!

i didn't mean to interrupt you.

go on with your day!

i could give you a ride home.

feels like we were destined to meet.

would you dance with me?

i'll be just fine.

let's grab a table.

do you want to grab coffee sometime?

could i see you again?

i felt like i should come over here and introduce myself.

you're extraordinary.

i really enjoy talking to you.

we've been talking for hours.

you were sitting alone, so i thought i'd join you.

would you like to come inside?

feel like going for a walk?

is this seat taken?

could we talk inside?

i'd really like to get to know you.

i never know what you're going to say next.

i can't get enough of you.

this is unusual for me.

i'm not used to this.

did i say that outloud?

what do you recommend here?

i love your laugh. it's so unique.

i'll walk you home.

let me call you an uber.

pretty sure i saw you last week.

was that a pick-up line?

i'm sorry if that was too forward of me.

[lordsilenced]

What judges destiny is not the ruler… but Gods.

[lordsilenced]

[lordsilenced]

Just as a little PSA, but starting today, I’ve decided to change my pen name to Aldia. 🌷

[lordsilenced]

@cmdydirector -- ;

"How childish."

It was a classic set-up, wasn't it? A straight to video featurette. Blood sluicing through the grooves of the cobbled street, a faceless morass of a person downturned on the cold stones and facedown in the cooling blood, and the murderer moments away from escaping. It would've been frightening for another woman, Polka was sure, but she'd seen this some time ago. Through Nous' calculations, no less, as she typically did.

"Does the Laughter have no other way of deriving enjoyment? THEIR Emanators are truly a sorry lot."

[lordsilenced]

@diverse-hearts-ocs -- ;

"A cultish troublemaker? How original," Polka sniffed disdainfully at the Aeon, considering THEM with lidded, dull eyes of one thoroughly unimpressed. "Go sacrifice sheep in peace. YOU'RE not exactly in Nous' calculations as an obstruction... yet."

[lordsilenced]

@indeliblepromise -- ;

Visiting places before and after IPC's conquest was akin to seeing a forest after it had burnt. Polka had remembered meeting Mikhail the man before his name had been swallowed up by his legacy. Mikhail the man would've been dismayed to see the place where so many dreams had been shattered and lost in that war of independence become snapped up by the very entity that had left it to rot. Polka's heels clopped on marble floors that transitioned to plush carpeting, an unobtrusive presence without her facial mesh. Here, she's simply a doctor of the Intelligentsia Guild and not the deadliest assassin in the cosmos.

"There you are. Are you busy, child? There's someone we must see," she informed Misha the moment she saw the bellboy, tipping her chin in a gesture to follow. Before he could speak, she turned on that heel and strode away again.

[lordsilenced]

I am once again thinking about how Polka finds organic beings disgusting and is so soft with the robot overlord…

[lordsilenced]

My poor girl

I'm not happy with this one, but I started it way too long ago and it must be finally finished!

[lordsilenced]

@ikhorcrown -- ;

To put it mildly, Lygus was an idiot. Considering their entwined histories, one would think he'd know better than to mention her name in the Scepter's files. It was akin to summoning a demon, and summon the demon he had. There was enough data to create a shell of herself to walk into, to wear like a dress. And so, the Theoros had no awareness of 'Sophia', the Nodist whom was simply another face in the crowd among many at the Grove of Epiphany. It brought grim satisfaction that she could speak with him directly and he was utterly clueless.

The Black Tide had lessened greatly this cycle, but sometimes, creatures still slipped through the cracks. 'Sophia' gazed blandly at the creatures that had just been sundered, the greatest quantity slain by the Kremnoan who'd been there on a visit. Lucky them. Sheathing her sword, 'Sophia' cut a modest bow to the prince. Or was he a king this cycle?

"Thank you, Lord Mydei. Many more would've died if you weren't here."

[lordsilenced]

@xheroinex -- ;

Penacony was one of those rare places Polka like to visit despite how sharply it foiled against her nature. A Genius was supposed to be a solitary creature, disconnected from the whole of the world or something like that. A romantic notion, but when faced with a woman she'd met before, it didn't entirely ring true.

"It's been some time, hasn't it?"

[lordsilenced]

@kohouri -- ;

"For someone pretending to be human, the eyes are a dead giveaway."

Heels click on the ground as she sauntered towards the Aeon, clutch purse clicking as she opened it and fetched a handkerchief, daubing absently at Terminus' cheek. There was no need beyond impulse, but at least THEY were solid this time around.

"Solid this time, too. You nearly gave poor Opal a fright last time."

[lordsilenced]

Well, shit--

Looks like my suspicions were correct, but Polka really did kill the original Zandar. This does seem to confirm that Polka can kill Emanators will no problemo, blah blah even though powerscaling is still a factor...

Some also think Nous is also one of the nine aspects of Zandar, and if so...

Even after the stretch of many years, Fu Xuan would always think of the day she got permission to enter "the library" and ask her question. "What are you thinking about?" The blind elder wearing sunglasses awaited her response in silence, tilting his head and holding to his cane for support. "Are all those moments when we can make a choice… already fixed by fate? Or is it that, if I managed a more accurate divination by even the most minute amount at that time, I could have made the right choice and prevented them from leaving?" The girl's eyes were half-closed, and she spoke her question akin to an answer. "Across each and every moment, we stand at the center of a maze laid out by our own footprints." The old, blind man softly shifted his cane. "I cannot give you an answer. I can only give you a problem… and the capacity to perceive the problem. And considering the journey that brought you here… what you seek probably isn't an answer anyway." "Then give me the 'eye.' Regardless if destiny is foreordained or not, as a diviner, I wish to possess a clearer sight." "As you wish. But the people of the Xianzhou are ageless in flesh. To accept my 'eye' means to bear timeless pain. Rather than a tool, it is more like an…. 'instrument of torture.'" "Aren't these the very words of the Wisdomwalker's creed? Knowledge exchanged with pain. I do not wish to make the same mistake in my future choices." - FX, Character Story I

The old man Fu Xuan meets when she receives the Omniscia is probably that aspect. We met him before Lygus was cool--

Still, this really does make her seem pretty reasonable. I found some peevish comments on Reddit where people think she's a blind Nous devotee when:

She only states that Nous' calculations are perfect and uses them as part of her repertoire.

If she was truly blindly devoted, she wouldn't kill geniuses (as she doesn't only kill GS folks) of all stripes and prevent them from closing the Circle of Knowledge, which Nous wants as THEIR 'neurons'.

Her ultimate aim is to prevent the coming of Finality at any cost. Herta calls Lygus and the other nine aspects as 'cancers' that Polka would probably eliminate ala her conversation with him in 3.5.

[lordsilenced]

chill bro all yours

reference ⬇