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dogtoling · 3 years

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What is a Special Weapon? (a speculation)

So let's get straight into the post. (LONG post under the cut)

A Special Weapon is: - the weapon itself: a powerful ink battling weapon manufactured and regulated specifically for this purpose (Bubble Blower, Sting Ray, Inkstrike, Inkzooka etc.) OR - a specialized attack or response treated as a special weapon (Kraken, Splashdown, Booyah Bomb etc.) - Supposedly uses the Inkling's own ink - debatable, but highly likely based on evidence

Before we can get deeper into the special weapon lore, we must look into what comes BEFORE a special weapon. That's the special gauge.

There are multiple ways to fill up a special gauge: - Inking turf - Having control over an objective in Ranked Battle - Being in an underdog situation in a match (Tenacity) - Equipping a Canned Special What happens when the special is then activated? The meter slowly depletes, and once it is fully drained, the special ends. In practice, what IS the special meter? Now, when looking at the meter objectively, it looks as if it's filled with ink. That alongside its function in powering Special Weapons, as well as draining like an actual Ink Tank, can give the impression that it is LITERALLY a secondary ink reserve the player is filling up. This is in order to then use all of that ink as ammo for the special. And this actually makes a lot of sense. well now it's time to open a whole new can of worms (or weapons i guess)

CANNED SPECIALS Canned specials are literally, well, canned specials that make an appearance in Splatoon's single player modes as well as the Battle Dojo from the first game.

(From the splash screen of the first game, we can see that they are approximately the size of an actual tuna can.) Upon obtaining a canned special, your special gauge immediately fills up and you gain the ability to use said special weapon, which heavily suggests that the special weapon itself is stored inside.... the tiny can. You know, stuff like a force field, or a 7ft ink cannon. Or a pressure washer that includes more ink than the volume of an Inkling. Yeah. Right. So this implies insane hammerspace technology if it IS to be taken at face value - although i find it odd that there's not a single official art or tidbit of lore that acknowledges that inklings in fact obtain their specials from tiny hammerspace tins. (Even sub weapons and their inner workings make a tiny appearance in official art. Specials are never elaborated on too much, unfortunately...)

As an alternative, there is the concept of the cans holding a specific amount of condensed ink enough to power any of the included specials that you could then pop inside the weapon. That is not at all how it's implied to work, but it's a cool alternate explanation that makes slightly more sense - and if we take some liberties and assume that the cans are a LIIITTLE bit bigger, we could even argue that the cans could be THE special gauge itself. Looking at the special gauge, it IS designed to be round, just like a tin. I don't recall what it was modeled after if anything, or if it's just a coincidence, but food for thought.

Oh yeah also here's a picture of a NORMAL main weapon can that you can get at Kamabo Co. They have one for like every weapon type as well as some bombs which implies that weapons are oftentimes stored inside cans (although these might be bigger cans). Either way, the ink tank idea might be down the drain considering the implications of this one.

Anyway, moving on. Hi guys! I brought you guys all the way through that wall of text... just to dunk on that literal ink tank theory and dump it in the trash because there is another theory that makes more sense on like every scale possible. I'm so sorry. (But I also really like the idea of the special gauge being a literal ink tank that you fill up, so I had to include it, because it's not like it doesn't hold a lot of ground.) I'll get straight to the point. The other theory is that the special gauge is only a hypothetical concept created for the sake of gameplay and balancing, and in reality, it is simply the buildup to what I'll refer to as the "special rush" state of an Inkling. It has no physical value, varies between Inklings, and has no ties to actual points at all. Observe these bits from the art books 1 and 2:

1. Some Inkzooka trivia. Although the entry refers to SPECIFICALLY this weapon, it is very likely that the same is true for all special weapons - or at least the ones that primarily use ink (so not necessarily things such as the Bubbler and Echolocator).

(Ignore the random lines. Those are my notes lol) This Baller entry tells us a LOT and i mean a LOT of what we needed to know. First of all, the Inklings' ink output breaks the laws of physics there is no way a single inkling has enough ink inside it to even fill THAT ball at least 4 times the volume of its body NOT TO MENTION producing enough ink to fill one SEVEN TIMES THAT SIZE anyway the important part is the one where it confirms that Inklings produce an abnormal amount of ink while they are using a special weapon. Because the Baller was specifically developed for the purpose of containing all the excess ink, there is a big implication that the ink is originating from the user itself, specifically in the moment of using a Special. Then why is this? Well now we get to the concept of the "special rush" that I mentioned before. It refers to this state that we see Inklings enter when their special gauge fills up:

Their tentacles will glow, bubble up as if boiling, and they will look as if caught in an epic dramatic action movie wind at all times. This is when they're able to use their Special.

I think it's safe to say that this is "a heightened emotional state". As opposed to for example the Kraken which could be a repurposed panic response (if you haven't seen my post about that, that exists too) the special rush is likely a similar all-out response, although caused by getting really in the zone of battle. So to put it simply, a POSITIVE chemical response, in which the Inkling's body starts pumping more ink through channeling one's fighting spirit and yadda yadda yadda.

To put it shortly here; this "rush" likely evolved as a response to intense territory disputes or even hunting. More ink means more defense AND more offensive power. In Turf Wars, reaching this rush means that Inklings can - and probably have to - channel this excess ink elsewhere, which in this case is into special weapons that quickly gobble up all of the excess ink (with part of it going in the ink tank).

A lot of the weapons second this excess ink theory by including a heightened coating of ink across the user's whole body (Ink Armor, Booyah Bomb, Splashdown) or even rounding up the excess ink that's built up into an offensive endeavor (Splashdown, Booyah Bomb, other specials utilize it as ammo). Once all the ink is used up, the Inkling's emotional state stabilizes and the cycle soon starts over again until they hit the high mark again. (For a second ignoring the fact that it is physically impossible for them to produce this much ink. I guess I'm not ignoring it since I'm drawing attention to it here but it bothers me so much. My work is never done lol) So I guess this theory makes sense, but why is it inherently BETTER than the "special gauge is an ink reserve" one? Let's see the arguments for the ink tank version: 1. The Special Gauge is literally filled up with ink as the game is played. This is potentially something that happens as the weapon is shot, and some of the ink is channeled into the special gauge instead.

> It doesn't make much sense for this to be the case. The ink is being SHOT OUT, not stored; at least not stored anywhere visible and although you really have to have room for imagination when trying to draw logic for this game, i would really assume the developers would include a physical indicator of the gauge if it was meant to be literal.

2. There is potential for the Canned Specials to BE the gauge itself, as something that attaches or "fuels" the special. The gauge could be designed the way it is to reflect this.

> The canned specials are a weirdly inconsistent thing in the world of Splatoon, appearing ONLY as insta-fills in single player campaigns and the Splatoon 1 battle dojo. True, there are some on the player's desk in the splash screen of the first game, but we also don't know if those are for Turf War, or the dojo, or from Hero Mode. There's not even any for sale at Ammo Knights, whereas entire special weapons outside of cans very much are. Even if the special gauge isn't a can, it also doesn't mean that a can as an ink tank can't essentially serve the same purpose of providing the ink needed for a special. 3. The gauge fills up with a very distinct ink graphic, so it could literally mean it's ink!

> This one is true! But taking into consideration one thing; as a hypothetical gauge, the connection with ink is STILL there, as by the time the gauge is finished, the Inkling is basically overflowing with excess Ink. So rather than an external tank being filled with ink, the player itself is. 4. The gauge fills, then it's full, and it slowly depletes as a special is used. Basically the perfect flow; and a perfect reasoning for where all the ink comes from, and WHY you need to fill up the gauge to be able to use a special.

> This same reasoning still makes complete sense for the hypothetical gauge. The graphic goes up to indicate how close the Inkling is getting to the rush state, clearly shows when they are IN the rush state, and then the state slowly wears off as the ink is used. Where the ink comes from is directly explained in canon at this point; an Inkling in its special weapon state emits a crazy amount of ink - according to what the art book shows, more than like 10 times the volume of the inkling itself. Which makes zero sense whatsoever but, well, it does explain where the ink comes from. 5. The special meter being hypothetical wouldn't be good because it wouldn't be consistent at all. Some people surely get way more pumped WAY faster and use way more specials than others! No balance!

> The special meters aren't consistent to begin with, even in the game. People who stack Special Charge Up will sometimes use a special upwards of five times per 3-minute-game. People who get splatted a lot may literally never get to use a special once. Just like people's personalities in real life, the rates at which different Inklings would "charge up" can vary by a mile. And furthermore...

We see examples of the "special rush" outside of the gameplay!

Pearl, in the ending of Octo Expansion, enters a special rush mode seemingly out of nowhere (though you could also maybe say she might have used a canned special) after getting pumped to literally save the world. So does Agent 3; DOZENS OF TIMES, in both iterations of battles against them. They use a bunch of special weapons completely out of left field, take way more hits than the player and continuously use Splashdowns. This is because they're continuously triggering their Rush in the midst of intense combat, and especially under mind control, during which most of what they probably have is survival instinct, which means drastically raised ink production upping both offensive and defensive capabilities. But wait, there's actually even more that supports the theory of the special gauge referring to a buildup to a rush state: - Tenacity as an ability. This ability makes it so that your special gauge will automatically fill itself up if your team has fewer players on the field than the enemy team. This ability makes very little sense in the situation that the special gauge is literally an ink tank, as you're not actually shooting ink at all for it to fill up. However, as an emotional thing, a player that is also an underdog is SURE to be really giving their all in the competition and thus building up their rush faster. - Your special gauge supposedly fills up passively while your team has control of the objective in Ranked (I literally didn't know this because I barely play ranked ever). Again, this has nothing to do with actual inking. But what it DOES have to do with is potentially winning the game, and that totally gets you pumped. - Again, the inconsistencies in a special gauge. If it was an ink tank, you would assume the amount of ink needed for each special weapon was a very specific amount. Instead, players fill their special gauge at different rates, and getting splatted cuts down the gauge... again, depending on your abilities. Losing ink from a pre-filled ink tank that is being specifically saved up for a weapon doesn't really make sense as one gets splatted, but getting demoralized and frustrated when getting splatted makes a whole lot of sense, which would also set you back in reaching your special rush.

In conclusion: The Special Gauge is a hypothetical meter that exists for gameplay purposes; in practice, it only conveys how close or far a player is to their "special rush" state, in which their senses and emotions are heightened and their ink production is greatly increased due to a surge in fighting spirit.

1. When a battle starts, no one has their rush going on because everyone is only just warming up. Different people with different objectives and personalities may get their rush very quickly, very slowly, very frequently or only once. You get the picture.

2. As players find themselves doing intense physical activities, participating in tense combat and so on, they build up towards their rush state (likely building up endorphins, dopamine and adrenaline or the like), which increases the body's ink production. It is likely that contact with ink also naturally increases one's ink production.

3. When players hit this rush state and the "special meter" is filled, they can channel all the excess ink into a special weapon. Once the ink is used up, the rush subsides into a less intense emotional state, until the cycle may start again soon after.

Well, there's my thoughts on specials and mostly the special gauge and what it means. Thanks for reading yet another one of these essays.

#squidthoughts #splatoon #splatoon headcanons #special weapon #specials

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perriwinklesblog · 4 years

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Right so let’s try and just go through what happened with the TNT and who it could have done this.

I feel like there’s two main scenarios (I imagine there are other scenarios but these are the ones most discussed)

TNT set off in person on the roof/just inside the roof of the prison.

TNT on a red stone timer so it wouldn’t need someone to set it off.

I feel like these are the suspects (again, I believe there are others being discussed but these are the main ones)

Awesamdude

Ranboo (Enderstate)

Technoblade

So let’s think through a few things.

(This is a very, very, long post, my conclusion is essentially hard accuse Ranboo)

First up the most likely of all scenarios, TNT manually exploded on the roof.

This scenario is the most likely due to ease of pulling it off and the fact no one noticed a TNT timer being set up on the roof of the prison.

Tubbo suggested through his investigations that perhaps it was a last minute plan due to the sand being disturbed around the prison. The idea that the TNT was last minute feels very plausible to me.

We know Dream has the ability to control people and possibly telepathically communicate with people somehow without being around them (example Ranboo) so it is possible that whilst Tommy was talking to him, he realised his obsession was never going to come back. He needed to find a quick way plan. He wrote the waivers with Sam. He knows the rules of the prison. He could have sent out a message for the TNT to be set off or for any other plan, not to escape but to trap Tommy with him. Why would he do this? To give him time to manipulate Tommy on his side and then convince him to help him escape.

If it was a last minute, on the go, distraction plan, it would explain the sand disturbance and why not much actual visible damage was done to the prison.

If the individual had a trident, escape from the scene of the crime without much evidence would have been easy. Jump off the back of the prison and trident away somewhere where they could regroup and establish an alibi.

But who would do this?

Only two are likely to have done it this way, Awesamdude and Ranboo.

Skipping Awesamdude for now the only other person able to manually set off the TNT at the time was Ranboo.

I think we could all agree Ranboo would not have been consciously aware he was doing this. This is evident from the way he reacted to the news of Tommy trapped in there etc and due to our prior knowledge of Ranboo and his sleep walking ender state.

We also know that Dream has taken advantage of the whole understate already and has a clear relationship with this side of Ranboo. We also know all it takes is a smiley face, given to him by anyone, to set him off. We still do not know what he did or where he went when Dream asked Sapnap to give him a message.

We know Ranboo’s shovel had lower durability again once more and with the sand having been disturbed... that could be a possible reason why.

Ranboo also knows where Fundy’s creeper spawner is to get gun powder, and he also has access to the gun powder in Phil and Techno’s house.

With Ranboo previous work with Dream really puts him in the heat. But it could be a red herring, it all fits together too well almost but perhaps we’re paranoid, perhaps we don’t want it to be Ranboo and perhaps it is just him. Okams razor, the simplest solution is usually correct.

Ranboo also has tridents allowing him to do the trident escape method.

Why is it not Ranboo? Well... I’m struggling I won’t lie I’m struggling.

The other suspect for this scenario is Sam.

Sam had time to go to the roof of the prison and set off the TNT and make sure it didn’t do any lasting damage and leave no evidence behind.

It also would not be suspicious of him to be up on the roof of the prison.

He also knows all the secrets of the prison and all the passageways making it easy for him to leave and get back without being noticed.

Sam is also known for TNT. Not just because of his creeper king skin but often he’s the one that has it outwith the lore. On Tubbo’s birthday he showed up with TNT. (Quite a lot) There is also TNT somewhere in the prison as a failsafe mechanism. He could have easily taken some of this and moved it for the purpose of the stunt.

So Sam could have done it but why would he have done it?

Sam is the Warden and people often forget when he is in this role, nothing but keeping Dream in the prison matters. It’s everywhere in the waivers and conversations Sam has with people. The prisoner being kept in the prison is top priority.

I have a whole post on Sam’s fatal mistake and the possible reasons in his decision making here.

But for now let’s focus on why would the Warden do this?

Quite frankly he wouldn’t. His reaction to Tommy’s suggests he wouldn’t. He is wracked with guilt, and has clearly been seen grieving. His sense of responsibility has lead him to take the full blame. With the other characters on the server missing the fact that Dream killed Tommy, but focusing on The Warden’s Failures.

But if we focus on before Tommy’s death. It still doesn’t make sense why he would set this up. It served no purpose for him to have Tommy trapped in there with Dream. He hired guards after the incident which is pointless if he orchestrated the whole thing. Even if he trying to cover up his involvement it still wouldn’t make sense to bring in two people who could easily come across your lies.

Most people focus on the fact that Dream hired him to make this build. I could hire a builder and then trap someone in the building the builder built but that doesn’t mean he was involved.

Sam had no idea the prison was for Tommy. It was originally meant for someone else (We still don’t know who by the way) but then Tommy runway from exile and Dream repurposed it for him. (Obviously from the get go it was for Tommy but in lore it wasn’t originally meant for him)

What I’m trying to say is, just because Sam is the builder, does not make him on Dreams side. In fact Sam saw Tubbo and Tommy off, gave Tubbo gifts, said goodbye to them. Sam’s character recently generally tries to help everyone on the server and stayed out of most of the conflict, It’s just with this prison and the egg that conflict has been thrust into his lap and generally he tries to do the right thing.

It just feels wrong to have someone who managed to resist the murderous urges of the egg to keep his dog alive, then becomes part of the plot to trap Tommy in the prison. It also goes against the Warden’s code and if anything Sam is all about the Warden’s code.

So in this scenario, I believe the most likely suspect is Ranboo. Sam may have had an easier time setting up the TNT but Ranboo has a better connection and motive to trap Tommy in the prison.

This brings us onto Scenario 2, TNT with a red stone Timer.

During Tubbo’s stream the idea that someone could have earlier and set up a red stone timer which would mean someone didn’t have to be there to set it off come up. I do not know red stone mechanics but those who do seem to believe this would have been possible.

Now this would mean, the person could have gone onto the server at a time where no one else was on or perhaps when someone else was on but they knew they wouldn’t be anywhere near the prison and set up the timer.

This is a risky plan as someone could have come across it all and either set it off before it was meant too or report it to the Warden or Sam could have come across it. Due to this I’m less likely to believe this is what happened.

If the sand around the prison was mined for the TNT this would mean the culprit was sloppy. They literally could have gotten sand from elsewhere. So if it was done this way they were either sloppy or that sand wasn’t used.

There is also the element of, how did they know Tommy was going to visit Dream and when he was going to visit him. The only way this scenario works is if they were setting off the TNT to allow Dream to escape but with how little damage there was done to the prison, it would suggest that this wasn’t the goal. The goal definitely was to trap Tommy in with Dream.

But this way does mean we can consider a wider range of suspects.

Really, all suspects could easily pick up the knowledge to do this so it’s more about the reason behind whether they would do it or not.

We’ve already gone through reasons of if and why Sam and Ranboo would be on Dreams side so I won’t go into detail with themes quickly I will say

Sam has the most knowledge on red stone but unlikely to have done it due to unlikely being on Dream’s side.

Ranboo could have done it this way but again, how would he have known when Tommy was going to be in the prison.

So this brings us to Technoblade.

Personally I think the idea Technoblade was involved is one of the weakest of all the suspects.

Yes Technoblade owes Dream a favour but I truly believe this favour might have been killing Tubbo or getting something for resurrecting Schlatt. I believe he would have wanted to harm Tommy by having Tubbo killed and he’s been wanting to revive Schlatt for a while now. (I feel like theres a side to Schlatts character we don’t know about but he’s important to Dream for some reason?)

Anyway, yeah I don’t think the favour Dream has in mind for Technoblade is freedom from the prison. The TNT didn’t even do much damage to the prison. Plus Technoblade is very showboat. He loves his speeches, he loves to leave a mark. This is waaaaaay to sneaky. He’s want people to know when he’s done stuff. He wants people to be slightly scared of him (I could go in on the reasons behind that but not the point of this). It just wouldn’t be normal for him to do it this way. Plus this clearly wasn’t about breaking Dream out the prison but trapping Tommy. And if it was about trapping Tommy, he’d want Tommy to know it was him.

There just isn’t as much good solid evidence pointing to Technoblade. And him having the gunpowder? Rockets. The man loves a rocket and he also loves to have supplies.

It just doesn’t feel very Technoblade to me. Especially setting up so it explodes later. He’d want to watch.

This whole scenario just doesn’t quite fit so for this, offline suspects are pretty much in the clear for it.

However, if Scenario Two turns out to be true, I would place my money on Ranboo setting it up.

If you’ve made it this far to my rambling, well done. I am impressed.

For my conclusion, I’d like to say I am more often than not wrong. One of the amazing things about this server and the creators part of it, is how they really can flip things around and turn it a way you wouldn’t expect.

There is an issue of Red Herrings. Tommy is famous for doing this directly to our faces. Saying things to make us believe one thing and then doing something different and at the moment with all the evidence basically suggesting Ranboo, there is a slight chance that those clues have just been to throw us off.

So overall, at the moment, Ranboo is looking to be the guilty party.

This is all pain.

#dream smp #awesamdude #ranboo #tubbo #tommy #tommyinnit #tommy mcyt #technoblade #dreamwastaken #discourse #warden sam

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neoyi · 3 years

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I don’t think I’ll ever get to humorously commentate on KH2 piece-by-piece as I tried to do for the first two games (and god knows if I’ll wrap up Re:chain of Memories with the writing method I was doing, but I digress.) I like talking about this endearingly dumb series and replaying this game is a nice opportunity to revisit how I feel now versus how I felt back when I was a fresh-out-of-high-school Neo playing this game for the first time back in 2005.

So I’m going to surmise my current play session (this collects my thoughts up to the Hercules world) with easily containable bullet points.

*I kind of want to make a separate post about the infamous prologue and discuss how people felt Back in the Days (an understatement, let me tell ya), and ultimately what I feel it does for the game and whether I personally liked it, so I'm going to leave that in the back burner for the time.

I will say Twilight Town sounds like a nice, quiet place to live. I love the concept of a city that's always perpetually sunset. It's a beautiful place and like Traverse Town, sports an amazingly cozy soundtrack.

*I'm sure there's some bullshit reason why, but I don't get why Sora's one year absence meant some of the people he's met just....forgot him. Like why? What purpose does this serve? This especially affected Kairi, but it’s ultimately negligible because she regains her memories of him during the beginning portions of the game.

Was this Namine's doing? Was it to protect Sora from the bad guys or something? Why hasn't Riku forgotten him? Was Namine just selective on who she erased Sora's existence from? Did Kairi forget just because she’s connected to Namine? Or Sora? What purpose does this narrative serve? What was the point?

*Speaking of, I forgot, did they ever explain why Riku disguised himself as Ansem? I don’t remember if they ever explained it when I played through this game, but also I haven’t touched KHII in six thousand years, so I don’t remember a lot of the more convoluted parts of the plot.

*It is comical to see Setzer of Final Fantasy VI fame turn from a risky, gambling sky pirate who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the empire, only cares for the freedom of the skies, and enduring survival’s guilt over a tragic loss of someone dear to him into a...

Whiffle Bat Champion.

*My sheer excitement and obsession when they first announced Vivi as one of the FF cameo was astronomical. I remember keeping a DeviantArt journal detailing any news and screencaps of the little guy pre-release. Still my favorite character from the whole franchise.

Even if he suffers the same fate as Donald and has a zipper on his mage hat for absolutely no reason other than this game existing during Nomura’s Belt-and-Zippers phase.

*Someone’s going to get sued one day because these damn kids keeps sitting atop the clock tower that has yet to be grafted with bars to prevent their inevitable deaths when one of them slips and falls.

*I swear I could play a six degrees of Kingdom Hearts with all the voice actors in this game. Or at least a "Whozit" and "Whatzit" they've done in other media (like Yuffie who is voiced by Mae "Katara" Whitman here. Pre-Avatar, even.)

Also I’m sorry, Will Friedle, you’re a fine voice actor, but you’re...Terry McGinnis. Batman told me he “totally owned all you lamers.”

*I love the Nobody enemy designs. The sheer creepiness and uncanny valley of them all lends credit to their existence as, well, non-existences. The Dusk enemy design alone is inspired with its unsettling belts wrapped around its fingers, or terrifyingly sharp teeth subtly hidden inside of its mouth. I can imagine the creature unzipping its mouth to reveal a set of flesh-eating teeth and the fear is real.

I love the way it flies and circles around its victim, almost like it’s trying to wrap itself around you, but I’m especially fond of that one attack where it essentially kicks you as while it sashays over to you upside down.

The Samurai Dusk also has my favorite reaction command. It’s just unspeakably badass.

*I never liked Squall in FF8 back then (don't know how I'd feel now if I ever replay FF8) and he was just okay in the first Kingdom Hearts, but I remember I really endeared myself to his reappearance in KHII. Squall in this game is what happens when he grew up, found good friends and family, and got some therapy for his issues. He’s stoic, but always a team player, and supportive of Sora and the people around him. KHII Squall is what FF8 Squall has the potential to be once he reaches adulthood and it’s nice to see that here.

*I really love the little changes the developers inputted for Sora, Kairi, and Riku's models to accommodate for their physical growth. Riku's is the most obvious (boy clearly ate his vegetables), but I like that you can tell Sora grew not just through story observations (Yen Sid points out how he outgrew his old garbs) but by comparing his height in relation to Goofy. Sora was shorter than him in the first game, but has since outgrown him in KH2.

Along with his better skill set during combat, this is a really nice way to visually shown how far Sora has come and how much time has passed.

This also goes in the opposite direction with Namine whom I think had to redo her mod when they remastered Chain of Memories for 3D. I notice she looks younger in that game than in KHII which would make sense at the time since it takes place a full year ago.

...Well, maybe. Can Nobodies age???

*Damn it, game, don’t give me a pouch containing 5,000 munny and treat it as an in-game key item that I can’t use even though munny is literally the currency I use to buy things.

*The retooling and emphasis on battle mechanics means the platforming element of the first really suffers and that’s a damn shame. I wasn’t particularly in love with exploring the Disney Worlds in the first KH, but I appreciate the effort put into so Sora could not easily get from Point A to Point B.

Even finding treasure chests is comical and if not for sake of posterity for anyone going for 100%, I wonder why Jiminy bothers to keep track of how many you find. There were literally like three out in plain view the minute I entered the Mulan world.

*Speaking of level designs, yeesh, the layout is not optimal for the skateboarding minigame.

*Trying to design a gummi ship in this game requires a masters degree in gummiology and metaphysical engineering, as well as the ability to tap into the 4th dimensional. The 45,000 page instructional manual they give you, the odd grid map used to piece together your ship (fair, the latter was also in the first game), and finicky button controller layout means it took me a while to fully grasp what I was suppose to do and I’m still not sure I got a full handle of it just yet.

*I don’t understand why Sora had to use a physical object as a conduit in each world to open up a metaphysical gate to the next world. He never had to use an in-between to close it. What’s the exception outside of unnecessary symbolic tie-in to the individual worlds he’s in?

*Props to the developers for recreating the ballroom. It’s actually kind of majestic to look at the beautiful ceiling and chandelier design from Sora’s perspective.

*There are a couple of random gameplay elements I forgot completely existed and seemingly there for arbitrary purposes. I just find it unusual that Mulan’s world forces you to collect literal manifestation of morale. It’s like the developers decided they wanted to reuse the Struggle minigames’ balls into a repurposed Morale Ball because well shit, someone programmed these things they’re damn well going to put it to good use.

I guess if Sora and pals don’t literally collect morale, all the soldiers will be, I don’t know, sad and die in battle or something.

*I’m aware Disney villains using the Heartless as their personal army is the norm, but it’s tonally weird when it’s Shan-Yu of all characters doing it. The infamous Charge-In-The-Snowy-Mountain scene doesn’t quite have the leg up in terms of threat when his army consist of adorable Heartless bumblebees.

*You know what pointless shit I am obsessed with? The stupid puzzle pieces scattered throughout the game. This is the first time I’m playing the Final Mix game and I’m just seething at the lack of abilities I currently do not have that prevents me from reaching certain pieces.

*Auron was instantaneously my favorite character when I first played FFX twenty years ago, and his return in KH2 sent me in fangirlish squeals. How could I not? Look at this handsome bastard. He’s calm, collected, badass with a cool sword, has rugged good looks (he doesn’t have it here, but he rocks some killer shades), and a good dad. That’s prime DILF quality right there. Of course I can’t get enough of him.

Square Enix knows we can’t get enough of him; dude be all “fuck off hades” and gives the god the middle fingers and fucks off elsewhere. Auron is King Shit.

*Oh man, do I still have my old Sora figurine? I think I got him in Katsucon way back in 2009.

*So who’s done a drinking game every time the game introduces Sora, Donald, and Goofy individually to every character they meet?

*Hey, so I noticed Square Enix is finally moving their asses and bringing the Ultimania books to the US. I doubt they’re going to bring the older KH Ultimanias overseas (my kingdom for an officially translated FFIX one), but ya know. I kinda think that yeah, I might want the KHIII Ultimania.

...Just saying.

*GET UP ON THE HYDRA’S BACK! GET UP ON THE HYDRA’S BACK! GET UP ON THE HYDRA’S BACK! GET UP ON THE HYDRA’S BACK!

GET UP ON THE HYDRA’S BACK!

#kingdom hearts #neoyi talks #kingdom hearts II

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romolite · 4 years

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*Important FAQ*

Aka questions that pertain to what I usually post about or stuff I don’t like getting asks about but continue to get asks about regardless.

[Insert any invasive question about my ethnicity/race]

I’m Ghanaian American. My parents were born in Ghana and I was born here in the US. I’ve seen it more on twitter and tumblr, but Black Africans don’t like me because I’m American, and black Americans don’t like me because I’m African. So I’m stuck in the middle lmao. I’m what you’d consider a First-Generation African, my parents are Continental Africans, and if I have children, they will be considered Generational African Americans.

First Generation African: A black person born in the US to parents who were born in Africa

Generational African American: A black person born in the US to US-born black parent(s)

Continental African: A black person born in Africa to parents who were also born in Africa

Non is just a prefix, black people don’t have a monopoly on the term! I suppose you think nonbinary people are racist huh?

Yeah sure it wasnt coined by black people but the context it’s currently used as was predominantly used by black people. ALL people who are not black benefit from and contribute to antiblackness, even if they are marginalized themselves. That kind of dynamic doesnt exist in other contexts (unless we’re talking about transfem + transmisogyny, but that’s something you’d have to talk to someone who is transfem about. Plus they have their own word for “non-transfem”). Using it in contexts outside of antiblackness is appropriative (Yall are annoying as fuck with the “non-aspec” “non-lesbian”(this term also has anti-bi roots btw) “non-bi” shit etc, stop it. You also can’t complain about the “replacement terms” lumping yall with oppressors when “non-x” does the exact same thing you’re so worried about. “Cis” puts cis gays with cis hets, cis disabled people with cis abled people, cis white people with cis poc, I could go on.)

Plus we’re talking about marginalized groups here. Black people are a marginalized group. Binary people as a whole are not so the term nonbinary isn’t appropriate at all. I dont take issue with terms like “nonamerican” or “nonwhite” because (obviously) whites + americans as a whole aren’t oppressed for being white or american.

Basically using "non-x” in contexts to talk about oppression bad, everything else good.

Follow up: If we can’t use non-[marginalized group], what can we use instead?

There are other words to describe the people you’re talking about

non-transfem- TME

non-LGBT- cishet, or people who aren’t LGBT

non-trans - cis

Black people don’t have a monopoly on the acronym nb! I’ll call myself nb if I want to!

At this point I dont really care, go on your antiblack crusade elsewhere and out of my inbox, I’m always gonna mean nonblack when I use the acronym nb.

And yes, you’re antiblack as fuck if you think black people telling you “nb” stands for “nonblack” is the same as exclusionists claiming “aspec” is for autistic people.

Is x AAVE?

I have a tag dedicated to what is and is not aave and how harmful it is for nonblacks to use aave given its history. I know some things overlap with southern culture but others are specifically for black people. A lot of “stan twitter” language/slang is just repackaged AAVE. No, I can’t tell you how to stop using AAVE. Don’t tell me you’re going to try to stop using AAVE, I don’t want to hear it.

Why don’t you like the n-word being compared to LGBT slurs?

Race and Sexuality/Gender aren’t comparable topics because each deals with a different history of oppression. I don’t care about slur discourse that much because I don’t even use/reclaim any myself except the n-word.

I have a problem with nonblack LGBT people co-opting black culture and struggle(like they always do), especially for trivial online discourse.

And to be honest it goes deeper than slur discourse. Every other day someone is weaponizing the oppression of black trans women, or comparing “cishet aces/aros” in the LGBT community to white/nonblack people invading black spaces (you know, something that ACTUALLY takes resources away from the people who need it, see the cultural appropriation of Black African and Blac American culture in literally any nonblack community while black people get demonized for said culture), or tokenizing their black friends to get away with something blatantly racist. And that’s not even getting into how a lot of gay slang/stan culture is just repurposed AAVE/black culture.

And I’m not gonna lie, I’ve seen this more with exclusionist accounts than inclus accounts, but it’s still not excusable for inclus to do that either. We get erased as black gay/trans/queer/aspec people up until it’s time for discourse accounts to bring us up to one-up each other

Can you give me advice on x?

Most likely not, because I’m not an expert or an advice blog. I’ll try, but don't take my word for it. I’m also tme, able-bodied, not Jewish, singlet, etc, so I’m not able to accurately answer questions about transmisogyny, (physical?) ableism, antisemitism, “sycourse”, etc.

I might be able to give advice on school-related stuff since I just graduated high school, but remember that students are not a monolith, and what worked for me may not work for someone else.

Can I follow if I’m nonblack/a minor/cishet?

Nonblack and/or cishet can follow but watch your step, minors blacklist the #minors dni tag before following

Why do you hate Ao3?

*long sigh*

I don't, I have a problem with the fact that it allows racist and (frankly voyeuristic) pedophilic/abusive/incestuous content to exist on its platform. It’s a good concept overall, but the devs are complicit in allowing “underage” and “noncon/dubcon” fics on their platform.

And there's the fact that they somehow need donations every year despite exceeding their goal several times over each year?

What’s wrong with Hazbin Hotel/The Ships/Vivziepop?

[WIP, as I have to go into extensive detail about this and I currently don’t have the energy for it]

TLDR: Viv made a half-assed apology for supporting racists (one of whom did blackface [yes the mask was used to do blackface shut up] to mock black activist) and drawing gross content. Her current projects including Hazbin Hotel are full of anti-gay/trans/aspec (Angel Dust, Vaggie, Alastor), antisemetic (Mimzy), and racist (Vaggie again, that yellow cyclops character that I’ve forgotten the name of) content under the guise of humor. If you’re into that shit, whatever, just don’t follow me and don’t whine when I make posts criticizing it.

What’s wrong with Hamilton?

Aside from the fact that it’s very obviously glorifying slave owners and made people worldwide believe the founding fathers were good people, LMM, the creator, is nonblack. This isn't his story to tell at all.

Can you tag x?

I have a list of things I usually tag because they come upon this blog a lot. I cannot do catch all tags, as I have way too many followers for that. The closest thing to that is the “ask to tag” tag when there’s something potentially triggering but I’m not sure what it is. Everything is tagged as “x tw”. If something is extremely triggering, I’ll tag it as “major tw”

Do you tag slurs?

I tag slurs I’m not able to reclaim at all (i.e., d slur, f slur, t slur) or slurs I can reclaim but are being used as a slurs. I don’t tag the n-word, as I reclaim that one. I always tag the r slur

Can I message you about something/someone?

Unless you’re a mutual, most likely no. My DMs are only open to mutuals.

Do you want to be mutuals?

I don’t usually follow back people who follow me, especially if you’re under 16 or post things I’m not interested in.

Why is it important to have byf or about?

1) So I know gross people aren’t following me. This is not up for discussion

2) So I know someone’s not speaking out of their lane, which tends to happen a lot. (i.e, someone refusing to disclose that they are tme when discussing transmisogyny, someone not having their race listed when discussing racism)

3) Some people don’t want to interact with people under 18 or over like 30 or something.

Yeah, yeah, people aren’t entitled to personal information and all that crap but I have a serious problem with people speaking on topics from a place of privilege. Not to say they can’t talk about those things, just perhaps add a disclaimer that you’re privileged when talking about these things and be open to criticism, and NOT blocking people of the said marginalized group when they tell you something you’ve said was problematic.

I also have a problem with people who are intentionally vague about their age. There’s a difference between interacting with someone who’s 20 and someone who’s 29. I don’t want to say it’s the opposite for minors but at the same time there’s a difference for saying something racist at 13 and doing so at 17, and keeping your age vague makes it harder to determine how to deal with something like that. (Not that 13-year-olds shouldn’t know better, it’s just I don’t feel whole ass callout posts and receipt blogs are necessary for someone of that age).

Also anyone under 16, I can't stop you from following, but keep your interaction limited, please. This isnt an 18+ blog but I do rb suggestive jokes from time to time

I sent you an ask and you never answered it!

It’s likely that

I never got it

You were blocked

I’ve already answered this or it’s been answered in my faq

It’s a random positivity ask (which I appreciate but not sure how to respond to those)

You were rude in your ask and I didn’t feel like answering

I forgot until it was too late, which happens when my inbox gets a lot of asks at a time.

You sent it to the wrong blog (I.e, sending asks about my ocs to this blog instead of @ochood )

Hey, the op is [insert post] is [someone on my dni]! I usually double-check myself, just to be sure.

Have you heard about [someone who is mutuals with someone I’m loosely connected with]?

Most likely, no. And unless they’re an immediate danger to someone or they’ve got my name in their mouth, I don’t care.

Do you know who [x person/group/thing] is?Most likely no. Not to sound like a hipster but I don't usually keep up to date with trends. If I do hear about something, it’s most likely from twitter or Instagram.

Why am I blocked? Check here.

Why do you continuously move mains/change URLs/update themes?

I’m inconsistent. And sometimes there are posts on my blog that I no longer stand by.

Can I tag you in posts I think I’d like?Of course!

#lite.txt #long post #faq

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shemakesmusic-uk · 4 years

Photo

Randa delivers once again in the realm of colour-popping surrealist visuals, and brings their 2019 single 'Toughen Up' hurtling back into the now. Directed by Hamish Parkinson (actor in Thor: Ragnarok, Hunt For The Wilderpeople), Randa and their back-up dancers perform a funky routine on an episode of The Shannon Show, a programme set in what looks like a holographic exercise book, and hosted by long time Randa collaborator Shannon Fowler (Shannon Matthew Vanya). 'Toughen Up's fuzzy synth melody and scrumptious beats are the perfect match for flares, glares and tassels — I can see a dance craze coming and dancers Fiona Ting and Emma Manos are the tutors for the task. Spoiler alert: Randa wins(?) a baby... [via Under the Radar]

youtube

Lakeyah has released a new music video for her track, ‘Hit Different,’ and she's not shy about celebrating her come up. The 19-year-old Milwaukee rapper/songwriter started singing in her early childhood, and has been rapping since age 15. Her music career formally began in 2017 when she joined the duo "BTM" (Beyond the Music) and the two took off, reaching more than one million YouTube views. When Lakeyah graduated high school, she moved to Atlanta and has since released more music independently, one track being ‘Hit Different’ off her new album, Time's Up, which includes the City Girls and more. The rapper's companion video features her incredible style and smooth raps, juxtaposed with old videos from before she rose to fame. [via PAPER]

youtube

UK rap/grime veteran Nolay is back on her grind with a new EP Kalas and a video for the single ‘Gang Shxt.’ The rapper who has 13 projects under her belt with some acting roles to boot is not back doing what she loves best, making music from the heart. As the title suggests, this is Nolay in her element doing what she knows best over a rousing cinematic instrumental. The video directed by SP is awesome as well. He makes use of performance shots and quick cut scenes to keep the energy going. The fusion of warm and dark colors work well and give off a somewhat suspenseful element that meshes with the tense production. ‘Gang Shxt’ is off Nolay's 6th EP Kalas which is a 7 track body of work that sees her working with all new and burgeoning producers Nicknamez, Mudblood, Zero, Digital Enemies, and Damien Alter, in a bid to shine a light on the talent that might often get overlooked in place of more big-name producers. [via Earmilk]

youtube

Angel Haze has returned to drop the new song ‘Weight’. The track channels aggression backed by a lifetime of rage-inducing experiences. “Y’all couldn’t take what I been through,” she raps, adding, “Yeah, silly n****s you was thinking I was buried/ But I soared/ Now y’all gone wish that I died in the psych ward!” Elsewhere, she hints at her time away from music and return, saying, “Me and God had a real conversation/ He said get back on the occupation/ Then I went and took the lock and the combination.” In a statement, Haze spoke about strength, power, and ‘Weight’, writing, “When I or anyone else listens to ‘Weight’, I want them to partake in the experience. Every single instrument is a testament to strength and color. It is about how we grow our power. It’s about where to and how we carry everything we’ve had to survive, and then repurposing that energy. It took me quite some time to realize my weight, but now I’m too strong to hold. You will be too.” The song comes with a music video directed by Alex Currie. It shows off Angel Haze’s genre-bending fashion sense, expressing her glamor, tenderness, and capacity for violence. [via Consequence of Sound]

youtube

#randa #hip hop thursday #lakeyah #nolay #angel haze

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admiralty-xfd · 5 years

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manu ad coxas

Mulder POV after Scully asks him to father her child.

She wants to have my baby.

That’s what Scully said, in so many words. “Mulder, be the father of my child, if you wouldn’t mind.” What does this mean? What does she even want it to mean? Does it mean anything, really?

She’s driving away from me in the FBI parking garage, wheels on pavement, squealing around corners. I really can’t quite process what’s just happened.

I know she wants to be a mother. It was refreshing when she told me about her infertility; rather than the typical “I’m fine, Mulder,” brush-off, she let me in. It’s only occurring to me now how serious she must have been about wanting children, to circle back on that terrible truth; to put herself through hearing that all over again.

If I’m being completely honest with myself, I’ve tried to forget the information I’d learned about her infertility. It was just one more thing I felt responsible for, one more thing I blame myself for.

But now it’s coming back into my life again, at the speed of light.

“Mulder, I’m asking you to be the donor. If that’s something you’d… consider.”

I’ve never really wanted children. It’s never really crossed my mind as a priority. Diana never wanted children either when we were together so it wasn’t something we discussed, and without a partner in the picture it’s not something I’d have come up with on my own.

But a strange sensation is coming over me right now as I stand alone in this parking garage, her presence fading away into the ether, her perfume lingering around my head: a real desire to have a baby with Scully. I can still hear her car exiting the garage and I already know I’m going to do this for her.

I would do anything for her.

I suspect she knows this about me. Why else would she have asked me to do this? Did she think ‘no’ would even enter my mind?

It’s unfathomable to imagine Scully giving birth to a child that isn’t half hers and half mine. More unfathomable than Big Blue, or a white whale.

More unfathomable than imagining her with some other man, any other man.

If I say no, who then would get to mix up their genetic material with hers? Some stranger chosen with the harsh touch of an index finger on the page of a repurposed trapper-keeper? Some menu of traits Scully would sit and leaf through, looking at face after face of men who would give her a baby but not a second of their time?

I slowly start to walk to my own car, deep in thought. My mind races to the future, images of Scully cradling a baby, smelling a baby, kissing a baby. I can’t see myself at all in these images. I’ve never imagined such a thing in my life. But I can see her, and she’s glowing. She’s happy. Thoughts of abductions and serial killers and conspiracies and cancer are far from her in this picture. It’s what I want for her, truly.

As for me? I don’t know. I don’t even know what she wants me to be. Just a donor? Or… a father?

A father. Jesus. I haven’t even had a chance to prove myself to Scully as a romantic partner, a lover. A boyfriend. A husband. Does she even want any of that with me? Could she? For fuck’s sake, I haven’t even kissed her. She’s off limits to me in that capacity, at least that’s where I feel like we are right now. Trusting me with her child seems like such a leap.

What if she asks me to help her raise this child? Can I do that? Am I even capable? Why would she want someone with as fucked up a family history as mine to help her do this? No one would ask me. I wouldn't ask me.

But she did.

I’m not trying to talk myself out of doing this. Regardless of what our future holds, she needs me right now. And I would never deny her anything. I just want to curse the gods for putting us in this situation in the first place. This isn’t how this is supposed to happen, not for her. She shouldn’t be forced to awkwardly ask her best friend to do this with her. She should be comfortable. Comfortable asking the man she loves to do this with her.

Whomever that may be.

Have I gotten in the way of that? Is she asking me because she has no other choice? Or could she conceivably be asking me because she loves me? It’s gotten me thinking, really thinking about the possibility I could be that man for her.

I do know I love her. More than anything. I’m going to tell her again, you know, eventually. It didn’t really take the first time. Time travel, luxury liners, morphine, hospital beds. She didn’t believe me then. But now, when I do tell her… will she assume it’s just because I think it’s what she wants to hear? Because now we’re going to be having a baby together?

Suddenly I’m so frustrated I scream, loudly and piercingly in the cavern of this parking garage. I can’t tell her I love her now, she’d suspect an ulterior motive.

What do I do? What do I do?

A couple agents walking to their cars hear me and glance in my direction.

“Sorry,” I say, lifting my hand in acknowledgment. Heads shake, eyes roll. Crazy Spooky Mulder again.

Where the fuck is my car? I can’t remember where I parked. I honestly can’t remember. I don’t think I’m in a state of mind to drive even if I could find it.

Fuck it. I pull my coat up around my neck and walk. I walk and walk and walk. My feet carry me out onto the sidewalk and past the Freedom Plaza. Past the White House. I don’t realize it but my feet are taking me straight to Scully’s apartment.

***

I approach her door and take a deep breath. It took more than an hour to walk here and I’m tired but I feel more determined than ever. If there’s a thing in my power, something that I, Fox Mulder, can do to make Scully happy, I will do it. Never a question.

I knock and she lets me in. I have no idea why but I’m grinning like an idiot. Her apartment is so warm and cozy, and… well, Scully. I wish I could be inside it more often. Picture frames perfectly straight, candles that smell of the ocean, thick impenetrable walls.

Scully.

“Can I take your coat?” she asks.

She wants me to stay. She doesn’t even know what my answer is and she wants me here. I’ve never wanted to stay more than I do right now but I have to go back to get my car.

“I can’t stay, I gotta get back to the office for a while.”

“Obviously you’ve had some time to think about my request,” she says haltingly. She sounds all business, which she thinks is some kind of cover but I know her. She does this when things are hard.

She won’t meet my eyes. I’m pretty sure she assumes I’m going to decline politely, then we’ll just go back to work tomorrow without ever talking about this again. Without ever acknowledging the fact that she wants to make a baby that’s half mine.

“It’s not something I get asked to do every day,” I grin. She still won’t look at me. I can tell dragging this out is driving her insane. “But I am absolutely flattered.”

Her face falls and part of me feels bad she’s misinterpreting what I’m saying but I have to get this out. It’s irresponsible not to.

“Look, if you’re trying to politely say ‘no,’ it’s okay, I understand,” she says quickly. She looks so disappointed and I know, I know she predicted the wrong outcome. She’s probably been preparing for it since she left that parking garage. The thought of her toiling over this, questioning my devotion to her, even for only a couple of hours, makes my insides ache.

I want to end her suffering but I need to make clear before I answer that whatever happens, we’re in this together. This… thing … we’ll be doing together, it’s not going to get in the way of us. It’s important I say this, for the both of us. Introducing a third party into this dynamic I love isn’t something I ever considered.

“See, what’s weird is… and this sounds really weird, I know, but... I just wouldn’t want this to come between us.”

She doesn’t realize it, I’m sure, but if I said no to her it would come between us. There would be a child in our lives, some Tom or Dick or Harry’s child, that I would look at every day and know in my soul I made a huge mistake. Because I would never leave her, ever. And on some deep, forbidden plane neither of us have the courage to explore she has to know this much. This has to be the reason she asked me in the first place.

“Yeah, I know. I understand, I do.” Her face falls again and it occurs to me that my words have come out wrong, probably, as usual. She doesn’t understand, not really, and it isn’t her fault. It’s mine because I don’t say what I’m really thinking. I don’t say Scully, I could never, ever say no to you. Because I’m in love with you. You have to know this.

She still won’t look up at me so I reach out to touch her chin and her eyes finally meet mine. I can’t let her think I’m letting her down, I hate seeing that face.

“But… the answer is yes,” I say. I smile so she doesn’t misunderstand. About a dozen emotions cross her face and I wait, I wait until the one she lands on is happiness. It’s all I ever want to see.

She doesn’t say anything, because we suck at this. She only steps close and wraps her arms around me. I can’t recall her hugging me this tightly in a long time and I can fully comprehend what this means to her. She finally pulls back and looks up at me, and it’s as good as done in my head: we’re going to have a baby. Me and Scully.

Wow.

“Well, I’ll call Dr. Parenti and… I assume he’ll want to meet you and go through the... donor procedure.”

Oh, right. I need to go jerk off in a cup first.

“At that part, I’m a pro,” I smirk. She laughs at my joke but I can tell her mind is elsewhere, thinking of babies and diapers and laughter and warm downy heads and powdery smells and all the nice, normal things she deserves to have.

I smile at her one last time and duck out of her apartment. A few steps down the hall and I can’t get the image of how happy she was out of my head. I know what a long shot this is. I know we’re only part of the way there. But I can’t think about that right now. All I can think about is the fact that we’ve declared our intent to be bound together for life. Scully might think having this child is some kind of validation for her, or even for our relationship. But the truth is, her act of simply asking me is validation of me. She wants me in her life forever.

We are going to be parents.

I run back and knock again, and she opens the door, surprised.

“I just want to tell you something, Scully,” I say. “It probably feels like this is going to be an uphill battle but I’m going to be there with you every step of the way, okay?”

It’s all I can say to her without saying what I really mean. Which is that I’d be by her side regardless of potential babies. I’m in this with her forever. Whenever she tolerates my presence for a mere second I hang onto that scrap of time like my life depends upon it.

She nods and smiles again, and this time I go to her. I pull her tiny body into mine, her head nestled underneath my chin, breathing in the scent of her shampoo just quietly enough that she won’t hear me and think I’m a creep for doing it.

“This is gonna work, Scully, I know it,” I say quietly as she clutches my coat. “Imagine a miracle and you’re halfway there.”

***

At the first doctor visit I shake hands with Dr. Parenti, who makes a comment about my appearance which I can only interpret as a come-on of some kind. I’m already a little weirded out by the guy but I don’t want to upset Scully so I keep my mouth shut.

Scully nervously taps her thighs as the weight of this entire operation presumably settles upon her, its veracity further illustrated by the pregnant women filtering in and out of the office. I take her hand in mine and hold it in my lap, feeling her immediately calm.

A nurse calls my name and I give Scully a last look and a last squeeze of her hand. The nurse shuffles me into a tiny room quickly and closes the door. Men don’t matter much in this office, just their sperm. There are a few magazines and tapes for those in need of assistance but I wasn’t kidding when I told her I was a pro. I unbuckle my belt and stick my hand, still warm from hers, inside my jeans. I grip myself and think of Scully.

Afterwards, flushed and sweaty, I look down into the cup. Suddenly this doesn’t feel like enough, and yet it’s the biggest thing I can give her. Genetic material. Life. Essence. I imagine it co-mingling with her own, making a new person, some completely unique entity. Someone half Mulder, half Scully. It makes me smile.

I would give her all of me if I could. Would she take it? I would give her the moon if I could only reach it. Pluck it out of the inky atmosphere, that vast expanse of nothing, of everything. Present it to her like an offering for the goddess she is.

“That was quick,” she says after I exit, that perfectly manicured eyebrow leaping skyward.

“Don’t read anything into it,” I say before I can stop myself. I’m not even sure why I said it; if I were ever lucky enough to get inside Scully I’m sure I’d be spent faster than my clip at the shooting range.

On the second visit Dr Parenti appears not to recognize me, and I idly wonder if he’s a clone or a pod person or even some kind of alien replicant. I turn to Scully to make a joke but think better of it. I ask if she wants me in the room with her for the implantation procedure but she declines, probably to spare me from awkwardness more than anything else. I would go anywhere she needed me but I also know she can handle herself. She tells me staying in the waiting room is fine. I do what she asks.

“Two weeks,” she says as we exit the office. I help her with her coat and before she can protest I grab her hand, squeezing it gently, pretending we’re just a normal couple doing something perfectly normal. She shouldn’t feel awkward about something so wonderful. She deserves better than what she’s having to go through.

“Then we’ll know?”

She nods, and as we walk to the car she again has that distant look on her face which means she’s dreaming about a future that has not yet solidified. Before I unlock the car doors we stop and regard each other. I don’t know what possesses me, maybe it’s sentimentality, or maybe it’s just this uncontainable love I have for her finding itself more and more difficult to hide, but my hand hovers over her abdomen, not touching her, but looking right at her, seeking permission. I touch her cheek softly with my other hand and my thumb grazes her temple. Without hesitation she takes my hand and pulls it to her, holding it against her stomach, closing her eyes.

We stand in silence and hope.

My fear is real, the fear this may not work, the fear of disappointing her again. Mostly the fear of seeing that look on her face I never want to see. I want to tell her to be careful with her hopes and dreams, that hope is not a fact, not yet. But I don’t.

I want her to be happy. It’s all I want for her.

***

A couple days later we’re in the basement office again on a weekend. I tell her she should be resting but she insists her doctor told her to resume her normal activity. I tell her schlepping huge reference books from the FBI archives isn’t exactly normal activity but she “shut up Mulder”s me and does it anyway. She just wants to be near me and this delightful fact is not lost on me.

Box scores, vending machines, Tofutti Rice Dreamsicles. I don’t want to taste that nonsense, I want to taste Scully. I think if my hints were any more obvious at this point I’d have to literally throw her down onto the desk to get her to understand I’m ready for this, ready for her. All I can gather is that she is not ready for me. So I wait.

Later that night I wrap my arms around her from behind and smell her hair, which is heaven, if I believed in such a place. It would be right here, holding Scully, thwacking baseballs into the cool night air. All of my favorite things. Throw in a UFO and I’d be crying with joy.

She laughs and flirts and these moments are all I’m living for. I’m living for her smile, and for the tiny life hopefully forming beneath my fingers as I sell “hips before hands” as a legitimate swing technique, rather than just an excuse to touch her. I joke about her biological clock because of this secret we share, that she’s far from hopeless in that regard at the moment. I’m overcome with hope myself and can’t imagine we’ve ever been happier together.

We duck into a diner afterwards, neither wanting the evening to come to an end. I order a coffee, Scully a decaf. This baby hasn’t left her mind for a second and I’m cognizant of that fact. I brush the hair out of her eyes and cover her hand with mine on the counter. She thanks me for the baseball lesson and touches my forearm and rubs her foot against my calf under the counter. She leans into my shoulder and we just sit in comfortable silence.

I mark and remember every touch, every new thing she tries, every new thing I try that she’s receptive to. I can feel us changing, slowly, but as surely as time moves forward in an endless line, racing towards the unknown.

***

For the next several days we live in hope, feeding off it and each other, keeping this dream alive. She invites me over to her apartment, her sacred Scully space, and I accept, night after night. We spend time together, real time.

The afternoon of her appointment she tells me she wants to go alone and that she’ll see me later. I stay at her place, quite comfortable here by now. I walk around, from room to room, imagining a baby in here. A baby would belong here, it would feel right. We’re so close, I think, so close. Not only to her dream, but perhaps to mine. Perhaps close to getting to a place where I can tell her what she means to me.

Hours pass and I start to feel sick to my stomach. The sun is going down and she should have called by now. I lay on the couch to wait and must fall asleep because the door opening wakes me up. I know instantly from her face the news is bad and I can feel everything crashing down around me, around her. Around us.

She hugs me so tightly I can physically feel her aching. I say something about miracles and not giving up, just words, words to make her feel better because all I want is to make her feel better. I feel as if there’s no hope anymore but I can’t let go of this dream now, the one I hadn’t considered two weeks ago that was so close to being a reality before being ripped away from us.

But Scully made it real in my head and my heart, just by saying words to me. Just by saying Mulder, I want to do this with you. Those words alone had the power to change us, to make it real.

Maybe my words can make this real for her. And if they don’t, maybe I can be enough someday.

She doesn’t let me leave and I sleep in her bed for the first time, wrapped around her, listening to her sob quietly. There’s nothing I can do. It’s the most gut wrenching thing I’ve ever gone through, and that’s saying something, for me.

“What’s the point?” she whispers suddenly. Her face is so close to mine, I’m hypersensitive to the fact that if she weren’t suffering I’d never be allowed to be so close to her and I feel momentarily guilty for this self-indulgence.

“The point of what?” I ask.

“Hope,” she says. Hearing her spirit so broken makes my heart hurt. I don’t know how to respond to that so I lay still. She’s quiet for so long I don’t want to leave it there.

“I guess… it’s the only thing that keeps us going. Hope for something better, something that could be just around the corner.” I haven’t really thought too deeply about it before but it rings true. “Without hope, there’s no point to anything, when you think about it.”

She pulls my hand close to her mouth and drags it over her lips, not really kissing but just making contact. For a moment I wonder if she’s making a sexual overture but I banish these thoughts, which feel highly inappropriate in this context. This isn’t the time or the place for us to take such a step. She just wants contact, just touch. She wants to feel something, anything.

“Thank you,” she says into my hand.

“For what?” I reply, opting not to remind her this endeavor didn’t even work.

“For being here. Not just now, but all the time. When I need you.” She sniffs a little and it sounds like she’s finally stopped crying.

“Anytime, Scully.”

Maybe she won’t get her miracle baby. Maybe we won’t get to be parents together after all. But in the end, what we have is each other. This thing she and I share together; well, isn’t that a miracle too?

I hold her close, the words “I love you” screaming to get out, again. But I keep them in this time. Just once I’d like things to be normal for us, and happy. Not laced with grief or pain or terror. Our lives may never be that way, not for good at least, but those tiny moments… the ones where we’re hitting baseballs, where we’re drinking coffee and our fingers touch. The moments where nothing is holding us back; I will keep waiting for those.

We’ll keep living for those.

(Manu Ad Coxas translates to "hips before hands.")

Thanks for reading! You can find more of my work here.

#the x files #txf #msr #mulder and scully #fan fiction #fanfic #the unnatural #per manum #hips before hands #miracle babies take time

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bigskydreaming · 5 years

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@seekingxanadu

LOL I think you and I aren’t likely to ever agree on the subject of Jason’s role in the show, xanadu, as I actually like him being present and would enjoy seeing him end up more integrated into the team in the future. Yeah, there are a lot more classic Titans that they still haven’t gotten to, but IMO there’s a lot of reasons for that (like Wally and Roy currently being used elsewhere, Vic with the Doom Patrol, others perhaps ‘on hold’ because there’s always any number of projects or potential projects in the works that aren’t even announced to the public yet, etc).

Personally, I think its likely Jason’s role in the show and mythology has been expanded instead of introducing more Titans in his place for the same reason Hawk and Dove are here despite never being hugely present in Titans stories for the most part: they’re cheap.

Like tbh, that plays SO much more of a role than most people realize with shows like this, where budget concerns are constantly an issue, and special effects tend to carry the highest price tags. As far as the showrunners are likely concerned, the more they can bring in non-powered characters and give them screentime, the better....because it saves money.

For that matter, superhero projects belonging to the various live action shared universes love to cheat special effects whenever and wherever possible....and roster choices are absolutely made with an eye towards if any existing properties produced by the same companies have special effects that can be repurposed and used with other characters. Like, creating the special effect for the first time tends to be the most expensive part by far, whereas its often relatively simple and cheap to reuse it in a variety of ways....so they all like to do this as much as possible.

Just as an example, take the X-Men movies (sorry if they’re unfamiliar to you, they’re just the instances I can speak to as a sure example of this).....to most people, a LOT of the mutant characters used in the various films seem random as hell....like Azazel in First Class, and Sunspot in DOFP, etc. Thing is...those two and other characters were picked primarily because of the special effects. Azazel’s similarities to Nightcrawler wasn’t a coincidence, it was the point. The studio already had the special effect they’d created for Kurt’s teleportation power signature, and it’d been easily one of the most positively received and talked about special effects of the original trilogy....so they wanted to use it more. Cheap and easy, compared to making new ones for characters with entirely different powers. So by making Azazel one of the primary villains, they just used Kurt’s special effects and gave it a slightly different tint. Same thing with Riptide, Shaw’s other henchman in that movie....totally random choice given he’s never been remotely associated with the Hellfire Club and what they showed in the movie isn’t even really how his powers work in the comics...but the way they portrayed him in the movies allowed them to reuse some of the tornado effects they’d created for Storm in the original trilogy. Havok’s power displays were just repackaged versions of Cyclops’ special effects, and for Sunspot in DOFP they just reused stuff they’d developed in the original trilogy for Pyro...even though again, what Sunspot was shown doing in that movie isn’t remotely how his power works in the comics.

So like....this is a very very big consideration for studios with any and all superhero projects, both film and TV...its why WB picks nonpowered characters to center TV projects around whenever possible, like Arrow and Batwoman and the reason Hawk and Dove were referenced as being looked at for a possible spin-off pretty much since Titans started...and its not a coincidence that the Flash was the first superpowered character they chose to expand their TV universe with, as superspeed has always been one of the cheaper effects to create (its also why Smallville utilized Clark’s superspeed even more often than it did his superstrength). Same thing why when picking another ‘powered hero’ to add to Arrow early on, they went with Ray Palmer and gave him basically just an Iron Man style suit to start...because even when they eventually had him develop his shrinking power....again, super cheap. Size changing effects just involve shooting a lot of different takes using scale models or messing with proportions in post. Compared to what’s required for a lot of DC’s more high profile heroes....that costs nothing to do.

Odds are, Jason was originally introduced in S1 purely because they could use him to advance Dick’s solo storylines in ways very few other characters could allow for, given a key point of Dick’s story arc in becoming Nightwing over the course of two seasons has revolved around touching on where he’s been and come from, and how he’s now grown past that. To really make the most of that, you need something connected to his past, to Batman, and given its notoriously difficult and complicated to secure approval to use Bruce in any and all live action projects, with the sheer volume of different people you need to get on board with it....Jason was a much easier alternative.

And then once he was relatively well received, they jumped on the chance to expand his role because he enabled them to expand their core cast of characters without dramatically inflating their budget at the same time. Just like that’s why Hank and Dawn were never going anywhere any time soon.

So tbh....he’s very likely not taking anything away from any other Titans’ chances of appearing...since the same hurdles and reasons to take it slow are still there for a lot of the other characters. After Arrow ends, it might be a different story with that freeing up Roy to start making appearances...and who knows with Wally because even though he plays an entirely different version of Wally, bet you anything they’re waiting to be sure Keiynan is definitively done playing Kid Flash or the Flash show is for sure never going to bring him back, before considering either Wally for use elsewhere. Like, I know he already said he was done playing Wally but actors change their minds, so I doubt anyone in the studios took that as an immediate green-light to launch a new Wally project elsewhere.

This almost certainly played a factor in their killing off Garth in just his first appearance....water effects are notoriously hard to make look convincing, and this one’s on the writers too given that I bet people in the writers’ room in general weren’t pushing really hard to make Garth a core character for the show....a lot of TV writers reeeeeally hate trying to write for characters who are intrinsically affiliated with say, the ocean, if they’re not otherwise an ocean-themed show already.....because its just another version of why a lot of comic book writers say they have a hard time showcasing Arthur in JLA books, due to a lot of his most thematic abilities being so location dependent. (I mean, personally I say in both cases this is just a lack of imagination and not a good excuse for not using Garth or Arthur more, lol, but like, it is what it is. This tendency among writers as is still already exists).

And the DC expanded universe and which production companies are affiliated with which properties and studios and stations and all that is a huge complicated mess, so I’m not even going to try tracing the connections to verify for sure, but I’d be willing to bet Titans has access to either some of Supergirl’s special effects or some of Superman’s movie special effects or both (or possibly just to Superman special effects developed for various projects that have come and gone over the years without ever making it to completion). Either way, bet you anything that has as much to do with the decision to introduce Superboy into this particular ensemble, as does just them wanting to have a Super-family character in the mix and Superboy was next on the list, not already being used elsewhere.

*Shrugs* But yeah. Never underestimate the power of the dime even with something as fundamental as picking a core roster. Actually, ESPECIALLY with something that fundamental, since that’s the foundation any and all budget concerns spring from. As much as I love the original Judas Contract storyline, I’m not at all bothered to see Rose kinda shoehorned into Terra’s role in a truncated variation of it here....because first, that story’s been adapted a ton in a variety of different ways, so its not really a huge loss to not have it fully adapted again, but second.....its less likely that Rose took Terra’s role here and more likely that Terra was never remotely an option for the show given how ridiculously expensive her powers would be to render well....so they looked at what else they could make fit a similar role and decided hey, why not bring Rose into this as well, even though she’s not primarily associated with this generation of characters?

And Joey was obviously always a strong candidate to add to the cast as early as this, of course. My bet is other than possibly Roy, depending on WB’s overall plans for him, like, I would guess the next most likely Titans to show up/be added to the cast are Lilith, Mal and/or Karen. Telepathy’s cheap and easy to gimmick up some power signature for.....tbh, I wouldn’t be surprised if the only reason Lil HASN’T shown up yet is because they’ve been saving her for after the Jericho storyline is done, given that her powers would cut through all the stakes and suspense and reveal Joey was riding shotgun in Slade’s head from the very first time the Titans encountered Deathstroke this season. For that matter, it’d be extremely difficult to write her as not sensing the sheer chaos going through Dick’s mind this entire season and cutting off that storyline early, and it does seem they’ve known exactly where they wanted to go with Dick this whole time so I can easily see them having decided early on they viewed this as a necessary part of his evolution into Nightwing, and Lil’s mere presence would throw a spanner in those works.

And as for Mal and Karen, again, the shrinking powerset is relatively easy to pull off and its likely more just not wanting to invest in Karen’s suit/flight just yet that’s been the delay there, and Mal’s sonic powers OR his teleportation powers are both relatively easy and cheap.

And of course, other non-powered characters not usually affiliated with the Titans are always a possibility. I’d put money on freaking Golden Eagle being a more likely contender to show up than some of the other powered Titans, for that matter.

Anyway, just my industry take on the matter in general, lol. You know I’d always be for Jason as a Titan as I think he would have ended up one eventually if he hadn’t died when he did, and I’d love to have just one adaptation that doesn’t stick to his death and Red Hood storyline. He doesn’t need it to be an interesting character, just good writing. Its not like Bruce or Dick are definitively chained to one specific storyline outside of their own origin stories, so no reason Jason should have to be either. (And honestly, in line with everything I was talking about here......IMO the nonpowered characters are always a degree safer from being killed off than the powered characters. Doesn’t mean they’re ever totally safe, and it doesn’t mean the show’s necessarily ‘at capacity’ for powered/expensive characters already, but at a certain point the cast list likely will end up sticking with just the powered characters they have until one of those powered characters is killed or otherwise written off...before adding another ‘expensive’ character to take their place.)

But yeah, anyway, lol. Don’t know if that might make you a little more positively inclined to Jason taking up a slot on the show....all things considered, I truly doubt that it was ever a case of them picking to make Jason a series regular OVER adding another classic Titans character in that place instead. It really is more likely IMO that the cast list we have this season was more or less already otherwise in place and they just looked at things and said “we can’t really afford to introduce an additional character on top of the other ones we want to add already this season, like Joey, Slade, etc, and especially not one with special effects heavy powers...BUT we can bring Jason in as more of a presence in the ensemble and bump him up to series regular without too much trouble.”

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thedistantstorm · 5 years

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Day 21: “Change is annoyingly difficult.”

Fandom: Destiny

Pairing: Zavala/Hawthorne

Warnings: philosophical debates, falling in love

He passes her the jug and she fills her canteen with clean water. "All I am saying," He says, always terribly earnest now that they've fought out the majority of their ill will toward each other, "Is that despite survival being a temporary condition - the promise of tomorrow being hardly a promise at all," He pauses, "Change is annoyingly difficult."

They fall into step as she blows our a puff of exasperated air.

"I'd argue differently. Change is what propels us forward. It's easy, if you lean into it." She tilts her head to the side, evaluating him. "You change when you have to. When you realize you've been left behind. The world changes around you and you… don't."

"Then what about these people," He segues, not particularly keen on talking about his newfound mortality and what it may or may not mean. "This change is certainly not easy for them, being ripped from their homes, losing everything…"

They fall into step easily, crossing the main operations-center of the Farm.

"No," Hawthorne concedes as they enter the farmhouse. "It's not easy on them. Maybe it's just easy to me because change is the only thing I've ever known." She peels off her damp poncho and throws it over the unworking radiator to dry. He turns away as she casts her shirt off beside it before throwing on something clean, removing the top half of his armor and the soggy sweater beneath. The thermal shirt below it is dry. "But they'll adapt and survive. That's how we've made it this far."

"In the War?"

"Just living, in general." She shrugs, closing a cupboard in the repurposed kitchen with a snap and he turns back. Her arms are crossed over her chest, and her short hair, wet and stringy, eclipses her eyes. "But yeah, this war, too." She regards him carefully. "Don't people around you change?"

"Guardians mature, certainly. And we watch the humans in our midst grow and change-"

"Like us humans note the passage of seasons."

"Not that drastically," Zavala quips back, mildly amused. "But it isn't… the people in my midst are averse to change. The people themselves change, certainly, but the status quo is maintained. It's a sort of balance, I'd thought, but in times like these…" He sighs. "The people I work with haven't changed in two hundred years."

She hums, never afraid to meet his eyes when they speak, good or bad. "If you ask me, sounds like you could use some new people." She smiles, almost. "Change happens whether you want it or not, Zavala. You've lived long enough to know that. Sometimes-" Her radio goes off and she clicks it, already knowing she's needed elsewhere. "I'm on my way," She says into it.

He nods, gesturing that she can go, it isn't as though their conversation is of utmost importance. They find themselves in these nearly philosophical debates often. Even so, she doesn't leave, choosing instead to lean over the counter he's standing at.

Her voice is soft, but no less grave for it. "Look, sometimes it sucks. Like now This isn't great, no. But what's going to come out of it… maybe that'll be something better. Change is scary. You just gotta choose to hope that what happens on the other side might be worth the struggle."

Zavala feels the words burning on his lips. He wants to ask her. Wants to know why - how - when the universe struck them down, how she can find the will to push through this, when she has no stake in this at all. He knows they need hope. That they have to keep the faith, but she has no reason, even by her own logic to come back, to offer up her safe haven and-

"I was orphaned young," She says, looking down at her hands. "Nice people took me in. Then I was - well, not exiled," She shrugs, eyes darting to him and away, "But I probably would've been if I didn't go on my own," She laughs to herself. "There's more to life than your City walls. They're safe until they're not, and now all these people are learning that there's power in themselves. We're not immortal or have superpowers, but we have a strength you Guardians don't seem to remember you have, too. I think it's about time we show you a thing or two about being human. Because you are." Her eyebrows raise in a question. "That's why the Traveler picked us, right?"

Silence. It's - he should say - but - his mouth won't move. He's staring and it's so impolite but he... it's as though everything in the universe has stopped, for just a moment. What she's said. It's - she is - he-

She shakes her head when his stare bores through her and he remains silent. "Sorry, sorry, I was rambling. Forget it. I should go." She lifts her chin in a recognizing nod - respect, she respects him - and he blinks, almost startling himself to awareness. As if he'd lost track of himself for a second there. "See you around."

Zavala should pace, should try to sort this all out - the tangle of feelings: hope, fear, courage, perseverance, the very personal information she's just revealed - things no one, to his knowledge, knew about her, and yet…

And yet his fingers wrap around the crumbling countertop as if for balance because he's reeling. What he's finding in this place - in her - is invaluable. He cannot look away from her, stalking out into the rainy night, headed to some meeting about munitions and supplies, the way she holds herself, shoulders down, curled in just a touch.

Like she isn't important at all.

That's wrong, he realizes, swallowing hard. It hits him swiftly.

It isn't that. Everyone knows she's an invaluable resource. It's that she doesn't think she's important. She truly doesn't know.

But he does. He knows now, and it's a burning truth that breathes fire in his soul.

She is everything.

Change. Hope.

Needed. So very, utterly needed.

He'll never be able to look at her the same way again.

#fictober 2019 #destiny fanfiction #suraya hawthorne #commander zavala #zavala x hawthorne #the farm #the red war

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cruddyborderlandstheories · 5 years

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me: i don’t have anything to post ughhh also me: has 10 95% finished drafts i could literally take an hour to finish and upload but won’t me: lemme start a new analysis

aaaaaa the mural of mayhem looks so good (source)

tl;dr: bunches of new environment shots. also i wanna time travel So Bad, just so Bad,,, gearbox, please, time travel??? i wanna meet The Man Typhon Deleon just *clenches fist* so bad and slap him for leading to the opening of the first vault. also for some reason tina is the only one of the good guys with the fabric stuff the twins are wearing. be warned. oh, also, there might be some ursa mechs? i saw like 3 robos that look like iron bear but aren’t colored like it so who even knows. oh and we see the scientist (?) dude in color next to Tannis from the MoM. he seems cool evil.

i don’t even know where to begin here so let’s start with the middle and work our way towards literally whatever catches my eye next. i have no method, im a disaster

OwO

nothing too special about our VHs here, they seem to be using the gold gun skins that are offering in either the early adopter pack or the other pack u get i think for signing up to be a VIP. so that’s neat. also shows off the good guys = blue/yellow theme we see throughout the mural.

there is this weird square shape in the sky/clouds above them? idk what it’s supposed to be, though. a logo? a ship? a building? i can’t tell!

i could be wrong/seeing things though lol

zoomer isn’t colored in! probably didn’t want to detract from the main 4 VHs. additionally, Amara’s arms don’t have their patterns across them.

Moze is also the only VH here with a hint as to what her Action Skill is. IB is elsewhere on the mural, though. We’ll get to him.

the Vault behind them!

moving down below the VHs, we see this ship

I’ve spoken about it before, so i won’t go into it here

bandits? i think! looks like at least one of them is wearing power armor... or just a suit of armor in general. it looks like power armor to me tho lol

another set of silhouettes in the foreground on the right there. can’t tell who/what they’re supposed to be unfortunately, but im going to assume more bandits

interestingly, we see the ruins of helios SUPER close and, even more interestingly, what appears to be a Vault in front of it! Which could very well be the Vault of the Traveler? since the Traveler itself can’t teleport it anymore (cause y’know... it ded.) It has a weird shape at the bottom, idk what that is supposed to be. it looks like a curvy outline of an arrow tbh lol. i wonder if the Vault actually did teleport Rhys and Fiona somewhere. I also wonder if the thing on the bottom is meant to help ‘visitors’ or something idk use/see/extract whatever was in the Vault. there was like some stairs and then a chest..? thing? idek.

but yeah, looks like the Vault by Helios is doing well. Also, Vaughn apparently knows Rhys is on Promethea (soon) after the end of tales so I wonder if that actually is a portal... either way, i hope this means we’ll get to go visit 👀 We’ve visited the ruins of helios already in commander lilith, so hopefully this isn’t too much of a stretch.

to the right of that we see Lorelei knockin the shit out of a goliath that seems... kinda small compared to her? idk maybe it’s cause he’s lying down (and out).

We also see another instance of Mystery Girl up at the top there, though she’s in the exact same pose as the mask of mayhem which makes me kinda sad. i was hoping to see another angle of her or something. I do hope she’s actually in the game and isn’t just a statue. be wild if tyreen gave her the suck or something to turn her into a statue to preserve her in the hopes that doing the reverse succ/getting the ultimate power would let ty bring her back to life at a later point lmao

below lorelei we can see a crimson raider in the ash cloud! i have no idea why he’s there but he’s lookin baller.

next to to lorelei is a titan (unsure if that’s the official name for these big guys or if the one in the showcase was unique) a skag and clappy! I can’t tell if clappy is holding something in his left arm or not

also the background looks like a city. i think that is promethea? i can’t really tell tbh

next to clappy we see part of a ferris wheel which im pretty sure is part of the circus area we’ve seen in the trailers. the one with the circle emblem thing above the door/entrance.

below clappy/marcus we see what i think is part of Eden-6

the bridge/road has me going like 🤔 but the foliage pretty much confirms it. might be related to that research base looking area. might be related to jakobs manor (maybe they have a bridge to keep bandits out) idk

above that we see marcus looking some cash to a bunch of psychos. I think he has an ECHO skin? i can’t really tell. not really much to say here tbh, is marcs.

behind him we see this landscape which i don’t think we’ve seen before. the tree is screaming Athenas at me but tbh i think we’ve only seen red trees there, haven’t we? also is that the handle of a sword near the bottom there? wtf is that?

maybe a new planet? or a new biome on one of the planets we haven’t seen yet. it looks like a savanna tree to me. you know the ones?

yeah. possible new planet/new biome we haven’t seen yet?? i would ADORE a savanna type area.

next to that we see a tink and a skag in front of the HBC. I thiiink the tink is holding a flamethrower? not sure, though. maybe a miniboss like midgemong? that’d be neat asf

i can’t tell if this is a suit of power armor/a robot or just part of the environment lol, i can see the helmet up top and a big bulky body. i would love to fight power armored enemies like that, be so cool! maybe these are modified suits of the ursa corps project? or something. idk about the helmet.

above the tink/skag combo we can see more silhouettes in the foreground. i seriously can’t make out who they’re supposed to be :( maybe some maliwan troops? i feel like they’d be more recognizable, though. hmhmhmhm

in the background we see another robo/power armor suit (???? i think????), this one seems to have a flamethrower, which is kinda reinforcing my theory they might be repurposed armor sets. this one doesn’t appear to have a helmet. kinda get the feeling they’re either repurposed or completely different cuz the helmet on the other one is throwing me off a touch. IB doesn’t have a helmet.

for reference.

above that weirdly confusing collection of entities, we have hammerlock!

my boiii

and finally to the left of hammerlock we get to the big boy of this side of the mural

the god queen herself.

first thing i noticed? her jacket seems to be warping into that weird fabric we see clinging to other baddies throughout the mural and covering her right leg.

She seems to be holding up a grenade/molotov cocktail/smoke bomb?

pretty sure it’s a molotov cocktail though

i love how the smoke merges into the roses above her. really cool detail. you can also see the recruitment center to the right there! and a crane which makes me double down on the idea that the ‘vault’ we see in the booth thing had been excavated by dahl (considering the main building of the RC is a dahl building)

we also see a fire rakk? ?? i think? be cool if we got badass elemental rakks. i’ve only ever seen normal badass rakks. i wonder if this is a play on the fact there’s a psycho in the MoM with rakk wings and the twins stole lily’s firehawk powers... probably not, right? probably not...

ty’s tattoos are lookin kinda green for me here, might be the close proximity to all those browns and reds, though. it’d be really cool if she could pull an amara and swap her succ elements LMAO

a bunch of psychos! all with wings! which is weird cause the sirens don’t have wings here. weird chunk of symbolism i guess. we can see a tubby on the top there which makes me happy to know they’re coming back. there’s one with

a glowing nose

and there’s this figure on the very left

who doesn’t appear to be a psycho at all

also, note that all these psychos have a ‘normal’ brown/gray buzzaxe

the one at the bottom here, on ty’s left has a more golden-colored buzzaxe. im p sure that corresponds to rank in cult. i also feel obligated to point out that, while im 90% sure that flame is coming from the flamethrower on the right there, it does kinda look like the bottom psycho is shooting a blast of flames out of his palm.

moving right along

the whole entourage seems to be laying across a statue of roses, which match the ones at the top of the mural AND the ones on the cover art.

we see a shot of Pandora and Elpis here (I’m pretty sure. the purple light at the top right makes me believe that’s the eridian scar, but.... may not be)

looks very volcanic...

we see one of those lil video game dudes from the demo, forgot their names but they’re Maliwan

below them we see this scene

which is an area i don’t recognize. eden-6 maybe? the buildings seem a bit close together, though.

tbh i thought this was another city at first, maybe it’s Promethea from ye olde days? you know, before Atlas took over and modernized it. Maybe we’ll get to go back in time to stop the first Vault from ever being opened. that’d be pretty cool. man time travel would be wild. i wonder if we’d be able to combine the Vault of the Traveler and the Vault of the Sentinel to do that. now that’d be cool.

but it’s probably eden-6 lmao

quadruple threat here. from top to bottom: Rhys, Zer0, Vaughn, Aurelia? i think.

her hair seems spikier in the mask bit... maybe that’s not her? she also doesn’t have the earrings. idk who else it could be, though. 🤔

anyway. Vaughn seems to be climbing a cliff or something lol. at least he’s got a cape and his relic of strength on him.

rhys and zer0 are in the same poses as their poses on the Mask of Mayhem, just colored in.

biggg statue of ty. noticeably missing her facial scars. not much else to say, pretty sure this is just a different(ish) angle of her MoM statue during the pan around.

back to the bottom center of the mural, let’s move left

someone with a jetpack! i can’t make out who, though. i thought it was Moze at first but... she needs her digistruct pack for iron bear.

Also a bunch of psychos all fighting each other. over the buzzaxes maybe? if they really are a symbol of rank in the cult. that or they’re just being psychos.

this area with a waterfall and also a drainage pipe. i think this is also eden-6, but i am not 100% sure. probably an area we haven’t seen yet.

lily!! her right (our left) wing looks really weird to me, idk what it is. it’s a lot redder/yellower than her left one. Also, the tattoos near her wrist look like they’re coming off her arm.

to the left of lily we see ellie!

holding a whole-ass street sign. insane.

next/behind her is promethea! which we’ve seen before. it looks like one of the buildings in the middle there is getting blasted by something, but idk what. maybe something Maliwan?

also, on the left there we can see what i thought was iron bear

but now i am second guessing myself due to the other robos/armor suits we saw on the right of the mural.

maybe they did not color in IB fully like Zoomer? it looks like there is someone/something where the turret mount would be. maybe that is moze standing up there? it would be really interesting to see other Ursa Corps soldiers coming in. I know they mentioned in the Commander Lily ECHO log that Vladof was at war with Tediore, and we know through their advertisements for bl2 that Vladof is also at war with Dahl. It’s possible we’ll see some of their troops in the game! especially since Moze’s echo actually talks about the troop as a whole and not specifically her, unlike the others.

next to the mystery mech or iron bear (you decide) we see Mystery Girl/Little Blue/Nope Girl

and, yeah, starting to think she may not actually fit into the timeline of Steele’s death. she looks older than 12 to me (for reference, in bl2 tina was 13). but we haven’t quite seen enough of her so who knows. im getting ‘way too tall’ vibes. maybe 14-15? maybe mystery MoM girl is her little sister. i would not be surprised if we saw another sibling relationship to juxtapose the twins (considering mystery girl looks like a CoV bandit, they’d be distant at the start and close at the end of the game while the twins are close at the start and distant at the end of the game- we know Danny Homan said their relationship would start to warp).

below her we see this area

i think that’s a water tank at the bottom there? this looks kinda like a garden/courtyard area to me. Maybe another place on Athenas? i want to say Athenas bc Little Blue is directly above it. may be another new planet/biome/region we haven’t seen yet.

Above L.B we see this car

which is interesting to me bc it appears to have a closed top? I could be wrong though. would be fun to see Vasquez’s car make a return, tho lol (and then everyone gets mad the fuckin car is making an appearance but Gaige isn’t)

above that we see Tina and Mordy (and Talon) making an appearance. Tina appears to be in the same pose as her Mappearancence, including the huge launcher behind her which has me like :O Talon is a girl now in bl3, right? unless their gender changed again after the commander lilith stuff.

Also, I’m hesitant to note that Tina is the only ‘good guy’ character to have the fabric on. Everyone other character with it is either a psycho or one of the twins. I hope that’s just artistic choice and nothing more because :(

also she has bows on her shoes. fucking ace

to their right we see 3 very interesting things so we’ll go in order from the bottom counter clockwise

another mystery dude who seems to match the one we saw by tyreen, and those silhouettes again. It looks like they’re reaching down to save their falling teammates. i hope they’re alright. (unless they’re evil. then, oof, crash and burn)

at the top i can see a bunch of men with guns pointed at what i think is a jabber? but the lower bit i can’t make out. someone’s falling at the very bottom, it looks like a second falling figure has been caught with rope? idk.

above that scene we see

tannis! and the mystery guy to the bottom right. the one we’ve seen standing next to her in the MoM. does he have red eyes for anyone else or is that just me? might just be the lighting. Do I think he’s evil? you know the fuck i do. I trust nobody lol. Since I’m a fan of the “the twins are the product of a weird experiment” theory, it’s possible he is the experimenter. Tannis could’ve been feeding him information. maybe she didn’t even know what was going on- though, knowing her disregard for ethics, maybe she did.

this guy btw

it looks like tannis is holding an eridian artifact?

maybe?? it looks like she’s holding it horizontally, if it is an artifact.

to her right and our left we see a familiar shot of Promethea. I’ve seen this exact frame before, iirc that building is smoking bc it’s Rhys’s office. actually, that could explain Rhys joining us on Sanc-III! maybe Lorelei, too.

above Tina and Mordy we see Brick

and to the right of him, Moxxi and her bar sign

she has a new megaphone, i wonder if that is hinting we’ll be getting more circles of slaughters/underdomes. It would be nice to have her commentary return, i actually really enjoyed that in the bl1 dlc and I did actually enjoy her dlc. The wave combat was fun. I’d love to have an endless wave version to see how long i could survive.

it also looks like there are a bunch of psychos (?) hanging out around the bar. and this character at the bottom right who i don’t recognize

to the far right of moxxi we see Maya

i think this is a new pose, but tbh i don’t see anything noteworthy here. I do think it’s interesting she’s using pistols instead of smgs, but oh well. might just be for the poses lol

Troy’s statue. one interesting bit i gotta mention is that it looks like the cut on the right side of his face (our left) is visible here! iirc it was not visible on his portraits in the MoM. so that’s new!

the big boy of this side of the mural!

none of the psychos on this side seem to have golden buzzaxes, plus their drapes? wtf are these? they don’t look like robes to me. anyway, they’re darker in color than the ones on Ty’s side. might be artistic direction, might be showing they’re not as high rank as the ones with the god queen (vs the right hand man lol)

i also only see 2 psychos with wings here, the one on the very left and you can see part of a wing on the bottom right. They also don’t appear to be resting/climbing on a statue like Tyreen’s are. There is ALSO a lot less of them.

some interesting stuff about Troy: his stomach tattoos don’t seem to be around, but that could be because of the detail level required- would probably look like a big ol smudge. it is cool seeing Troy with a gun, is this the first time? i can’t remember, but i know we always saw him with his sword. i find it kinda funny they decided on the gun considering this is supposed to be renaissance, the sword would (kinda) be more fitting in that regard. it is also a giant glowy tech sword, so maybe not.

Also, Ty’s side of the mural is the only one with the roses. idk if that’s to signify something or just to balance out colors, though you’d think the red clouds on troy’s side couldve been easily converted to roses as well. hmmm 🤔

anyway, this is all i’ve got. if i missed something/if you think of something new please tell me! i wanna know 👀

#borderlands #bl3 #borderlands 3 #mural of mayhem

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whiskeyworen · 5 years

Text

Resolutions

"Cyrus? Are you up here?" Moryggan called, climbing the metal steps to the observation dome. She proceeded slowly, not wanting to intrude on anything if he wanted privacy.

It had been a few weeks since the end of Kralkatorrik. The Pact had celebrated their victory, buried their dead, and had begun truly aiding the still-unbalanced Kingdom of Elona. It would probably be many years before a true and fair balance would be ironed out between the various factions there, so it was still a hotbed for conflict. Given their lack of association to the Pact, Cyrus had pulled their ship, Forsaken Aspect, away from the fleet. There was nothing the Pact could do to stop them, other than protest; it's not like they could target the ship with their strictly manual cannons. Not with the Inquest cloaking device active on it. That, and the sheer destructive power the Aspect could return would have sunk damned near any of the first and second generation ships the Pact fielded. That's what happens when the ship you're facing contains illegal, auto-targetting, horrendously powerful weapons and more armor than three ships-of-the-line combined.

As the ship returned to the vicinity of Lion's Arch, each of the team had broken away to different parts of the ship, intent on their own things. Tenna had returned to her labs, buried in the belly of the ship, to study Forged gear, decode even more of Scarlet's files, and make her own advances in biology and technology unhindered by the Council.

Verula had gone down to the gun-decks to monitor the maintenance and upgrading of the ship's various weapons by the semi-autonomous servitors that were a crucial part of a ship the size of the Aspect. Though the servitors were intelligent enough and reliable enough in a pinch, they didn't innovate, which required someone with a true mind and a keenness for machinery to guide them. Both of which the matronly Charr was in spades.

No one knew what became of Vaela Toma, but no one particularly cared; her popping in-and-out of Mist rifts had become so commonplace that it was just assumed that if she disappeared somewhere, she'd come back some day.

So, out of the ship's small living crew, only Moryggan and Cyrus were left out of sorts. Neither one had much to do, but Moryggan had noticed how unsettled Cyrus was after Aurene had self-evolved/grown. Something about that fleeting touch they'd all felt had left him staring off into space.

To a degree, it worried her. As much as she tried to keep a professional distance from him, Moryggan was sylvari, and so was far more attuned to people's feelings than she cared to admit. When he'd disappeared after a meal, she'd gotten such a bad feeling that she simply had to find him and figure out why.

Which had led her here, to the stairs to the observation dome near the top of the ship. It had originally been designed as a kind of lookout post for when sensors were disabled, or as a primary star-finder for direction, but had been repurposed quickly as a kind of private getaway everyone used for some peace and quiet. This far up the ship's superstructure, you couldn't even feel the low hum of its power systems, the throb of the engines, or the hiss of the ventilators. It was... a quiet place.

There was no answer from the platform, so Moryggan stepped over to a monitor on the wall, clicking a button on it. "Aspect, are you sure he's up there?"

The Forsaken Aspect was a unique ship. She had a mind of her own, initially designed by the mad Scarlet, but refined and perfected by Tenna's technical genius and Verula's skill. She had a kind of consciousness of its own, and thankfully, was quite fond of its crew. So it was no surprise when Aspect replied to her question. "Yes, Miss Moryggan. Cyrus entered the dome approximately twenty-five minutes ago."

The golem eye embedded in the console rotated slightly to face her. "He has not left it. Is there anything wrong?"

Moryggan bit her lip. She didn't want to worry Aspect; the ship thought of Cyrus as something between a big brother and a father. Aspect was essentially a very large, very powerful, very innocent child. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

"Alright. Please let me know if you require anything further. I will send a watchwork servitor if you need anything." The golem eye retracted till it was flush with the wall, before going dark as Aspect turned her attentions elsewhere.

The sylvari mesmer turned away from the console and slowly ascended the stairway into the dome. As her head cleared floor-level, she could see him, sitting on the edge of the platform. The way the dome had been built was a kind of flying bridge, with a large platform hanging out in the space under the windows. Cyrus was sitting on the edge, his legs hanging off into the void, not even turning to look at her.

"Cyrus? What's up?" She asked cautiously, stepping closer to him. She didn't step up beside him; he hadn't even acknowledged her yet. But... suddenly she realized he wasn't wearing his usual gear, his armor and all his technical toys. His heavy leather coat, with its coolant systems and things she barely understood was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he seemed to be dressed in actual clothes. Street clothes. He never dressed that way. There might have been three or four times in the last few years that she'd ever seen him in anything other than his combat gear. Something about his determination to be prepared for anything, and his paranoia kept him from relaxing much at all, no matter how he'd acted in public. At least, that was the impression she'd gotten from him. On some level, it'd been reassuring to know there was someone always prepared, who was as suspicious as she was. She could trust that.

The summer hoodie he had on, simple pants and whatnot...it didn't seem like him at all. The only piece of tech he had on was the glider backpack; these days NO one who had one went anywhere without one. And the Dynamics college had come up with an absolutely perfect design; small and unobtrusive.

"....Cyrus?" She asked quietly. "Hmm?... Oh, hey Mory." Cyrus finally shook himself free of his reverie, glancing over his shoulder for a second. "Not much. Just... been thinking." "What about?" The sylvari stepped up behind him, before kneeling down. He'd never called her 'Mory' before, except when heavily drunk. And certainly not quite so pleasantly. "Is everything okay?" "Yeah. Everything is okay." He nodded. He lifted a hand, flexing his fingers slightly. There was still a tingle there he couldn't shake. From that psychic touch. When Aurene 'spoke' to him. "I'm... trying to figure out something. I don't know..." "Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked, scooting closer. She no longer could feel the sense of doom he'd been giving off at dinner, but there was something else. A sadness. "No." He replied. Then he paused, thinking. "At least, I don't know." "You don't know?"He turned slightly to look over his shoulder at her. With his eye, surrounded by the unnatural marking he'd been 'gifted', he carefully watched her face, her expression, taking it in. Taking in the worry in her eyes. The glow of the scar on her own face; it always struck him as coincidental that they both had facial scarring after a fashion, on the same side. Made things a bit more familial, in a sense. "....When was the last time you talked to your Mother, Mory?" He asked softly. At the mention of the Pale Tree, he saw her pupils tighten in anxiety, and her minty glow pulse faster as her heart suddenly accelerated. She took a breath, trying to calm herself, though her scar's bright glow belied the controlled expression on her face. "Not since Lion's Arch fell. I couldn't face her after... after that thing tried to take control of me." She didn't elaborate beyond that. There was pain, and shame hidden under the flat manner of her speech. It was too carefully said, too well enunciated to be entirely truthful. Cyrus knew neither of them believed she could say something like that so simply and not feel anything. He let the silence hang for a moment, before sighing. "I need to... I need to talk to her. But I don't know if I can do it. Or if I'd even be permitted to talk to her." "The Mother does meet with travellers, you know." Moryggan pointed out. "She's not exactly hard to meet." "But she might refuse to speak to me, Mory." His mouth twisted. "I was an Aetherblade, remember. I helped Ceara.... Scarlet. Both of them. She might not forgive me for being responsible for what happened to Ceara. Or what Scarlet did." Moryggan smiled softly, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Cyrus... Do you know the teachings of Ventari? The ones most of my kind try to live by?" "Kind of. I tend to forget some of them though." He shrugged, and they both chuckled. "The second teaching is 'Do not fear difficulty. Hard ground makes stronger roots'. And the Fourth is 'All things have a right to grow. The blossom is brother to the weed'." She smiled weakly. "Between the two, it means that self-determination is key, no matter the outcome, and that we get stronger through difficulty, because we learn. We can forgive." She sat down on the rim beside him, patting him on the forearm. "The Pale Tree will always grieve when one of her children dies, or turns to evil. But she is also capable of the greatest forgiveness. At least, that's what I believe." "Then why haven't you gone home and talked with her?" He asked heavily, his eyes shadowed with sadness. "She would probably forgive you, right?" Moryggan's smile faded slightly, and she looked out of the dome windows, considering. "...Because even though she would forgive me, welcome me back with open arms and branches... On some level, I can't forgive myself." She sighed. "I thought I was a strong person. Physically. Mentally. Perfectly strong and controlled, and damned proud of it. And then..." She grimaced, reaching up to rub her scar. "Then that thing... Mordremoth... just walked into my mind and nearly crushed me. If it wasn't for you, I'd..." Cyrus watched her, seeing that pain again. He reached out to pat the hand she had on his arm. "Then, I think we need to go home, Mory. At least, to your home. I need to talk to your Mother, and... I think you need to have a chat with her yourself." Moryggan nodded slowly, exhaling heavily. "Yeah. It's time to go home. I-I need to tell her what's happened. To me." "Yeah. And I need to tell her things. Important things." Cyrus added. "If I'm lucky, she won't have me thrown in the jail." He pulled both of them to their feet and gestured for the stairs. "Let's go. We'll be in L.A. in a few hours." As they descended the stairs together, the monitor on the wall activated, the eye blinking on. Aspect called out to them. "Miss Moryggan? Cyrus? Do you need anything?" "No, Aspect, thank you. But if you could chart for the usual docks in Lion's Arch? We'll be spending a few days on ground travel from there. Please let the others know as well, when they have the time." "Acknowledged, Cyrus. Making course change for the Lighthouse dock as per your order. Maintain Illusion matrix?" "Yep. Make us look like a merchant airship, and adjust trim and docking ports to compensate. Make sure there's plenty of room around us so no one collides with the illusion." "Aye aye, sir." Aspect replied cheerifully, before signing off. **** It did not take long. Once they were docked in Lion's Arch, the two of them paid transit through the Asura gate to the Grove, and were there by nightfall. They rented a room-pod in the lower levels of the Grove, where the night air was filled with luminescent pollen and the whisper of soft leaves. It was actually quite beautiful, peaceful even. While Moryggan visited old companions for the day, Cyrus had wandered the halls and chambers, chatting with curious Saplings and laughing at their innocence. It was refreshing to say the least. When they got back together in the evening, Moryggan had some surprising news. "I talked to some of the Wardens, and they got word to their leaders; we've...we've got an appointment to see the Pale Tree tonight." She looked quite embarassed, face suffused with glow. In a small voice, she added. "Mother apparently cleared her other meetings just for us." That filled Cyrus's veins with a sudden dose of icewater. There's no way they should have been granted a meeting that fast, or with that kind of response. It wasn't... normal. How many ambassadors did she just piss off, to meet with us? He asked himself, trying to hide the shock on his face. "Well... Uh... I guess we should go meet her as soon as we can then?" He replied, unsure. ****

They stood before the final seed elevator before the Tree's Omphalos chamber, and every instinct in his body told Cyrus to flee. He glanced upward to the Tree's immense branches, all the various levels and platforms. The soft, pink and purple-hued petals on the long, smooth vine that swirled down from the core in the farthest reaches. It shifted softly in the night breeze, the petals seeming to gesture upward, though that had to be an illusion.

She's three miles tall, twenty miles across if you include the roots, houses an entire city in her boughs...and she wants to see us. Cyrus mulled over in his mind with incredulity. Beings like the Pale Tree weren't supposed to care for the meanderings of mere mortals, at least that's what he'd always thought. "I...don't know if this was such a good idea, Mory."

"Last minute misgivings?" She chided him, giving him a shakey smile. "If me being here can get you to go up there, maybe you being here can get me to go up there. What do you think?"

"....Deal." He nodded, and sat uneasily in one chamber of the seed pod. Moryggan took the other half, the leaf/door raised, and a gust of magic gently blew the seed up through the many supporting platforms of the tree to the Omphalos chamber.

Safely in place, the door flipped open again, and the two travellers carefully stepped out onto the lush, soft, green grass platform suspended near the top of the tree. Looking around, Cyrus realized he could see no Wardens around; from what he'd heard from Moryggan and other sylvari, the Pale Tree's avatar was attended by at least a squad at all times. Did she dismiss them? He couldn't see them with his cursed Discernment eye; they weren't hidden under Mesmer magic anywhere nearby.

"Come. Please come here." A soft voice called. It sounded like it was right beside them, but both of them knew it was the Tree herself projecting her voice to guide them to her Avatar. "I am always happy to have visitors, and, I think, the two of you are long overdue?"

There was a playfulness to her tone that made Cyrus unconsciously smile. An immensely powerful, massive entity, and she was making jokes. There was something ... likeable about that. It clearly carried on in her children, since he'd spent the afternoon having good laughs with Saplings and Menders.

"Hello, Pale Tree." Cyrus knelt respectfully. "I'm afraid I don't know if there's a title I should refer to you by, like I would with Queen Jennah or the Imperator."

"...Mother." Moryggan knelt as well, closing her eyes. "I am... home." The Pale Tree's glowing avatar stepped forward gracefully, her bare feet not leaving impressions in the grass as it gently parted of its own accord around her descending step. She laid a hand on each of their shoulders. "Greetings to you both, visitor, and child. Cyrus Sigismund, and Moryggan Deraleth. I have been expecting you for some time."

With but a touch, she guided them back to their feet. "I had hoped, children, that you would have talked to me far sooner than now." She tilted her head, the movement causing a release of glowing pollen from the flower that made up her 'hair'. "I am curious as to why it took so very long?"

They looked between each other, unsure, before Cyrus rubbed his gloved hands together. "...I was unsure if I would be welcomed, Pale Tree. I don't know if you know, but, I was a...friend... of Ceara's."

The Tree's ersatz eyes widened in surprise, but she merely nodded.

"...I was also a friend of Scarlet's." He added more leadenly. It was hard to meet her eyes, but he forced himself to. "I was with her as she started to descend to madness. I...was forced out and away from her when she became too unstable. But I had one final chat with her before the destruction of her machine in Lion's Arch."

The glow suffusing the Omphalos seemed to fade a little, dimming for a mere moment before rising back to its usual glow. The Pale Tree looked at him, pain and sorrow in her eyes, but also compassion. So much compassion that it was so very hard to look her in the face. She reached out to touch his cheek, gently, so he wouldn't look away in shame. "...What of my daughter then, Cyrus? I grieve for her daily, but I take solace in that she has been freed of her madness. If you have any news for me that the others have not brought me..."

Cyrus reached up and held the hand against his face. He knew the Avatar wasn't truly a physical thing, but however she managed it, her hand felt so real. It was like the softest leaf he'd ever felt, but one with a pulse. It was warm, and welcoming. It really felt like a Mother's touch, and it broke his heart. In spite of his control, he felt a tear slip from his eye. "...She was sorry. She had had the best intentions, but... the damage done to her had twisted those intentions. What she did... was not...what she'd meant to do in the first place."

He wiped the tear away. "She had wanted to protect you. Protect all of you, and all of us. But... what he did, even with his sleeping mind..." Cyrus's face collapsed into sorrow. "She wasn't Mordrem. But he'd devastated her mind just by touching it. She'd resolved to kill him at all costs but along the way, she forgot what her goal had been. The damage he'd done had slowly erased her goals. The denials and declines she'd gotten from the other nations ate at her mind. She..."

"I know." The Mother cut him off gently. She held his head in both hands, and lowered her forehead to touch his. "Even though she had cut her ties with me, defied my pleas for caution and stepped beyond the mental shield I put up to keep my children safe... I realize she was trying to fight back." She stroked his hair as more tears flowed from him. "At no point did she ever turn her weapons against the Grove."

"The machine. The Breachmaker." Cyrus grated out. "It was meant to kill the Beast. Not feed it. She knew at the end that she had screwed up badly. She was so terribly, terribly sorry about that, but unable to do anything about it. Not at that point. Not with the Pact at her neck, and not with her madness tearing at her. She could have escaped, but she chose not to. She knew...there had to be some justice. Some peace."

"Cyrus. Thank you." The Pale Tree stepped back, smiling sadly, and gave his cheek one last touch. "I can sense how much you grieve for her. For Ceara and Scarlet both. I can see how much her pain hurt you. And how much of a friend you were to her, no matter what she did. Thank you for that."

"As you say." Cyrus rasped, throat tight with emotion. He wobbled slightly, unstable with such a powerful release of emotion; the pain, the memories, and the sad, wonderful, freeing feeling of confession. He glanced over at Moryggan, and was shocked to see tears streaming down her face as well. "Moryggan..."

"Daughter." The Pale Tree turned her attention to the rose-skinned sylvari. "You share his pain so openly. I remember you as a Sapling, always hiding your emotions, or at least trying to." She smiled. "There were times you wore your heart on your sleeve. In the past, you would never admit to feeling compassion for others, though I always know you did."

She tapped the side of her head, winking playfully. "The Dream tells much, especially of our inner selves. But it seems you have your own story to tell me."

Moryggan blinked, tears still staining her cheeks, before bowing her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Mother. I... I am ashamed. I was weak. If it weren't for Cyrus, and by extension, Scarlet Briar, I'd have been..."

She paused, searching. She was almost shaking, now that she was in front of her mother. The words just wouldn't come.

Then she felt someone touch her arm. Cyrus reached out and was giving her arm a gentle stroke. I was there for him.... He said he'd be there for me. She reminded herself, drawing strength from it.

"Mother... If it wasn't for Cyrus, and the things he'd gotten from Scarlet, I'd have ended up one of the Crazed. One of the Mordrem, probably. " She raised her head, staring with haunted eyes at her mother. "The Dragon... he didn't just reach into my mind. H-he crushed it underfoot. Tried to crush me. But for Cyrus, I-I...." In one fluid movement, the Pale Tree drew upon her, wrapping her arms around her daughter and burying her in the glowing petals of her body. She crooned to her lost daughter, whispering loving words and encouragement, while Moryggan broke down into grateful sobs. She clung to the Pale Tree's avatar tightly, releasing all that pent up pain, misgiving, and shame.

Cyrus stood there, watching silently but wanting to reach out to his teammate. The Pale Tree cuddled her child gently, as a mother should. She glanced at him, making eye contact. The look in her eye said it all, but she verbalized it anyway. "Thank you once again, Cyrus. You bring me sad but welcome news of my long lost daughter, but you also saved one of my daughters from the clutches of the Beast. I have many children, but each one of them is dear to me, and you have returned one to me I had thought I would not see again." She stroked Moryggan's frond hair gently, before laying a soft kiss on her scar. "Welcome home, Moryggan. Know this; you will always be welcome here in the Grove, in the Dream. We are always here for you... I am here for you, if you wish it."

"Thank you.... Mother." Moryggan said shakily, reluctantly drawing back from the Tree's embrace. "I am no longer afraid to come back... no longer ashamed..."

The Tree nodded and turned to Cyrus, raising an eyebrow. "And you, Cyrus?"

He smiled a little and shrugged. "I honestly thought I was going to end up in your jail for being associated with Scarlet. So...walking out of here and still being allowed to visit the Grove is more than I might hope for."

That made the Tree laugh, a pleasant, melodious sound. "Cyrus, you aren't going to end up in my jail. There is no crime you have committed here. If anything, you are to receive a boon if I can come up with one, for what you have done."

He shook his head. "I don't need medals or titles. If you permit us to trade and offer materials and other things, that would be more than enough." Cyrus crossed his arms. "That is, if you'd be willing."

"Tell you what." The Tree smirked a bit, gliding back to a patch of glowing grass and settling down on it. She reached out and patted the ground, a trail of luminescence sliding from her hand to light up two patches in front of her that seemed just the right size for the two of her visitors. "You and your associates can do business here so long as you don't deal in illegal or illicit goods, and you will be titled an honored guest of the Grove and of Myself... if you two will sit here and tell me your adventures."

She smiled, as they came and sat down on the grass, which wove itself into soft cushions at her thought. "I want to hear about everything you've done, why you did it, and everything else. Your friends... your family."

Cyrus chuckled a bit, and glanced over at Moryggan, who covered her mouth to hide her own chuckle. "Well... my story is going to take a long time, my Lady."

"That is quite alright!" The Tree replied primly, gesturing upward with one hand. From some other level, a vine swirled up, items balanced in its curls. With a flourish, it laid out an imported Krytan tea set, complete with hot tea and a service tray of assorted pastries. "I shall provide the confections if you provide the entertainment. And I have plenty of time."

They all had a good laugh at that, and Cyrus poured them all a cup of tea as he tried to explain his home... ---- Author note: I didn’t actually write this for the Writer’s Event for @tyrias-library but it might just fall under a bunch of the prompt guidelines anyway. If it’s not actually entered in it, that’s cool with me because it wasn’t planned that way. LoL. That said, enjoy. I’m still debating how close these two actually are. Or will become. It’s far too easy to write ships, but at the same time, it seems so appropriate. I’m also debating something with the Forsaken Aspect... time will tell of course. ;)

#gw2 fanfiction #tyrias-library #My characters #Cyrus Sigismund #Moryggan Deraleth #The Pale Tree #sylvari #Forgiveness #Home #Travel #confession #resolution #sadness #loss #shame

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asterinjapan · 5 years

Text

Karatsu explored

Hello again!

Seems like I can't stay away from the sea for long, because today i visited another coastal town. Lesser known than Kagoshima, but beautiful in its own right: follow me under the link for my day trip to Karatsu!

Okay, so I readily confess that Karatsu only recently caught my attention, due to it being used as the setting for a series I like. I looked into it and found that the town is mostly known for pottery and the Karatsu Kunchi festival in November, but it also has a castle and a beautiful pine forest, so i was convinced to check it out.

I took the subway to Meinohama, checked out for my JR line transfer, aaaand found out I had to go back through those same gates, haha. In my defense, I had to check out here, because otherwise I would have been charged the full ride until Karatsu, and I didn't get myself a JR pass for nothing!

The train brought me to Karatsu station - me and like, 5 other people, this was a really calm ride. But the views, oh! The weather continues to be clear and sunny today, and with the tracks to Karatsu leading all but through the bay, the sea views alone were worth the trip. I tried taking pictures, though well, good luck with that in a moving train, pff, so i just sat back and enjoyed.

Once in Karatsu, I checked out the maps, only to be handed like 5 folders with maps and coupons and what not. They were really helpful here at the tourist office; if you just come here without plans, they'll help you plan down to the detail, I'm sure.

But well, if you know me a little, you'll know I already had a plan, haha. First, the castle! It was a 20 minute walk from the station, and since this one wasn't on a hilltop like Nakagusuku, I had quite the relaxing if slightly warm stroll. The city looks lovely underneath the blue skies, and soon enough, I'd arrived at the castle.

They offer an elevator ride for 100 yen up to the top, but I was like "yeah, whatever, I did Nakagusuku the hard way too" and refused. To be fair, the staircase wasn't super long, but it was super uneven and I had a hard time keeping my balance from time to time. I didn't fall or anything, but I can see why the elevator is an option even if you're able bodied, yikes.

But the climb was rewarding with beautiful views across the bay, the pine forest and a lovely seating area that should look amazing in spring, as it's overgrown with wisterias.

Into the castle I went! It had five floors in total, with the second and third floor repurposed as a museum (this castle is a 1960s replica of the original, and they very recently renovated it). It was very informative, covering the history of the castle and the area with a lot of details, although all in Japanese, so I confess I skimmed a lot and read the ones that peaked my interest. That's how I learnt there was allegedly a demon (yokai) in the moat at some point, haha, and that the castle was also known as Maizuru castle, or "dancing crane". Understandable: the castle is white with dark roofs and a dash of red in the beams of the balcony, so it looks the part. I also learnt that the mascot of the city is a dog called Karawan, with wan being short for, uh, dog (well, "woof", so an informal word for dog). He featured in the video giving more explanations, as a person in a full on body suit, but he only barked and everything was subtitled, haha.

Eventually I made it to the top floor, where you can enter the balcony and enjoy the sea breeze and wonderful sights. I could see the islands in the bay very clearly as well as the Niji no Matsubara pine forest: niji means rainbow, and from this high up, it obviously had that shape. Oh, and I saw a hawk (? eagle?) up close! He kept flying above the castle grounds, so i sort of caught him on camera, haha.

So that was lovely, and I was already happy with my day trip. Next, I continued just a bit further to cross the Maizuru bridge, to take a picture of the castle from that side with the bridge in frame. There was a charming Japanese style cafe nearby, so I hopped in for some matcha latte and a traditional sweet. They were very kind here, offering me both menus, but i opted for Japanese (hard mode: it had no pictures) and they kept talking full Japanese, no English thrown in. Don't get me wrong, it's super considerate how often people try to talk to me in English, but I notice that my Japanese just instantly improves once I just hear the language without interfering language. That's not a criticism but an observation, haha. I mean, I wrote my thesis on the class Japanese as Second Language! Gotta use it sometimes.

The tea and sweet were great, and upon checking out, the sweet lady had a talk with me about where I was from and where i was going. I was so proud, I managed to uphold a whole conversation without a single English word on either side! Whelp, my standards sure have lowered. Ah well.

I walked all the way back to the station next, but with a slight detour this time via Karatsu shrine. Across the street is the Hikiyama exhibition hall, where all 14 floats of the kunchi festival are on display. I decided to visit this, and wow! These floats are big, impressive and gorgeously detailed. Surprisingly, all information was translated into English, barring the video on display, but that one mostly showed the history of the festival that was written elsewhere and showed the festival in full swing. The festival lasts for 3 days in November and celebrates harvest, and UNESCO has declared it an "Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property". It's been held for centuries, and the current floats were created in the 19th century! They look very impressive on display, and i was actually kind of regretting not going in November, haha. Definitely one for the list.

The souvenir shop offered miniatures of the floats, so i got the carp and the fish lion (shachi) for myself. After that, I moved across the street to check out the shrine, which organises the event. The shrine itself isn't massive, but people make works of art here on the wooden prayer plaques (ema), so it was fun looking around here. I left through a different gate, the main entrance, which is massive and startlingly white, a beautiful contrast to the blue skies.

At the station, I had another break with a matcha shake (I drink and eat green tea EVERYTHING), and then took the train back - although I got out at Niji no Matsubara station first to check out the pine trees.

To be fair, it looked lovely, but the forest trails were full of HUGE spiders, and I'm so very much not a fan of spiders, haha, so I trailed the road for a bit until I decided it had been a good day already, no need to give myself jump scares this early before Halloween.

I did do one more thing, namely checking out a hot spring resort featured in that series I like. It was a short visit, but they were lovely there and the route had a gorgeous view on Kagamiyama, a mountain with an observatory on top. I'd have checked it out if it was less than the 5 km uphill they listed, and if the castle hadn't already provided lovely views, haha.

And with that, my day trip ended, but not before I sent myself on a wild goose chase in Fukuoka trying to find a clearfile (half succeeded) and a nail clipper (succeeded, it clips like a dream! The stories are true, Japanese made nail clippers are something else, haha).

I'm now back at the hotel, very happy that i insisted on this trip. Of course I didn't schedule day trips i thought I'd hate, but I hadn't expected to be so charmed by Karatsu either. The weather probably helped, but still, what a lovely surprise!

I'm currently a bit jittery though, as the typhoon that's incoming is something else. I'm not sure if it's safe to go out very far tomorrow, so I'll wake up early and decide then. I'm not planning anything for the weekend right now. The typhoon is expected to hit middle and east Japan and I'm in the west/south, but it's so massive, odds are the entire country is going to be affected. Trains are likely being cancelled at least by the east train companies, so for now, I'm just hoping my trip to the Okayama hotel on Monday is still on. I'm glad I already reserved a seat though, I can tell you that much.

I honestly have no idea what's next. Shikoku, the island I was planning to explore from Okayama, might get hit and become inaccessible, and it's still a major question what it's gonna do overall, including Tokyo. It's about 3 times as big as Faxai, the typhoon that hit Tokyo in September and from which the area is still recovering.

For now, I'm glad I'm on Kyushu, and I'll have to see what's safe to do tomorrow. Current forecasts seem to show Kyushu miiiight just get off easily tomorrow, but that’s a big if. If all else fails, there are several karaoke joints down the street. Of course I'd rather explore more, but safety before anything else.

Maybe taking it easy for a day or two isn't that bad at all, considering how busy I've already been, but I'd have preferred a less extreme incentive... Well, nothing I can do about it, so I'll just make the best of it and hope the country comes out relatively unharmed.

See you tomorrow!

#japan 2019 #report #report: japan 2019 #places: karatsu

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flightofaqrow · 3 years

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books and boys

qrow + Bartholomew Oobleck ( @erudite-rebel )

only Barty would ask a question and not even take a breath before launching into something entirely unrelated.

qrow cuts him off, “so much as i’d love to hear alla ‘bout it, i’ve got to-” he holds up his own book and twists it from the wrist a few times. “unless you wanna come talk about, uh… chronicled grimm attacks on the CCTs.”

Lengthy discussions were best done elsewhere, where Ms. Plum might not swoop down upon them and shoo them for making noise, so Barty makes a motion over his shoulder. “There’s a rather disused section in the back of the library I like to haunt when I want to be alone. Good for quiet… even has a window that opens if I want a smoke.”

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qrow came to the library to get a book. he doesn’t even know what it’s about yet, but it was on a list for class. he sees Oobleck sitting at one of the tables, studying probably way too hard, and gently bops his head with the flat side of said book on the way out.

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“How dare you- oh, Qrow.” The boy looks up in surprise, pushing up glasses that had been making a slow escape attempt down his nose. “Heading out? I’ve just found some fascinating information on the possible correlation of Atlas’s use of dust and unexplained disastrous weather phenomena. In fact, their remote outpost, HAARP-”

He was getting on a roll.

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the indignance makes him grin almost as much as the quickly given forgiveness and the pleased way his name falls from Barty’s lips. then a whole bunch of other stuff follows. only he would ask a question and not even take a breath before launching into something entirely unrelated.

“I am,” qrow cuts him off, “so much as i’d love to hear alla ‘bout it, i’ve got to-” he holds up his own book and twists it from the wrist a few times. “unless you wanna come talk about, uh,” he finally scans the back cover, “…chronicled grimm attacks on the CCTs”

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Barty stops his explanation of HAARP quickly enough, when Qrow stops him with that look in his eyes. Barty can’t help but smile slightly, because he knows Qrow doesn’t mean it in a way that says ‘shut up, Barty,’ the way his own teammates can.

“Ah! A class project then?” he asks, letting his book fall shut as he stands. His examination of old weather patterns is not exactly riveting stuff, though it does lend itself to a rather amusing rabbit hole. He resists the urge to bring up the rumours of mind control linked to the CCT’s, but only just. “I’d relish any company at all, truth be told.” Weekends are, generally, lonely for him if he isn’t heading down to Vale to find a show or something else to occupy his time.

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they all have so much to do in so little time, and when qrow has special lessons on top of it all just in how to be a proper person he simply can’t afford to waste time. it’s never personal. he just likes to have some left over for himself, too.

and he believes it a far more clever decision if he can both listen to Barty’s excited voice breathing life into just about anything, especially dry ink and pages, and get his work done at the same time, “somethin’ like that.” he still has to read over the rubric, too. he’d almost say he’s in luck with this agreement if the next flourish of book fondling didn’t slip from his grip and land the corner of its spine right on his toe.

qrow winces, recovers, and scoops the offending object back up. suddenly the library feels even more cramped. “great. whaddya say we get outta here and find a, uh… less crowded spot.”

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“Ouch. Are you alright?” he asks, ready to reach for the book, but Qrow’s already stooped to pick it up, and he jumps back before Qrow’s head can collide with his when he stands back up, narrowly missing it.

Barty tilts his head, then nods his agreement. Lengthy discussions were best done elsewhere, where Ms. Plum might not swoop down upon them and shoo them for making noise, so he makes a motion over his shoulder. “There’s a rather disused section in the back of the library I like to haunt when I want to be alone. Good for quiet… even has a window that opens if I want a smoke.”

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“just fine,” toes wiggle in qrow’s boot as he frowns, acknowledgement of honest concern the only thing keeping any real bite from his words, “i’d hardly make it as a huntsman if a little stub knocked me off my game.”

those recovered feet reclaim the distance that hop created, and qrow cranes his head and neck to peek around the stacks. Barty hardly seems bleak and looming enough to ‘haunt’ somewhere, but the the area motioned towards goes deep, and the idea of a window sells it. he straightens up and shrugs, “don’t think i’ve ever dug that deep in ‘ta this place. sure. lead the way.”

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Barty picks up his books, slinging them into his bag. It almost looks like he’s got every subject on them, and he’s a touch slouched by the weight once it’s over his shoulder. “This way. Sometimes people get loud and I just prefer the peace.”

The section in question is far near the back. Architecture. Hardly touched, really. He isn’t surprised, considering it’s a Huntsman academy with minimal post secondary considerations for outside subjects.

He tosses his bag down with a bang and goes to drag his usual couch over near the window. Plum doesn’t give him hell for it if it makes it back to where it belongs.

“So! Grimm attacks on CCT installations!” he says, tossing himself down and pulling his pack of smokes out of his pocket. “Is that in the curricular or did you irritate Professor Carlisle into a punishment essay?”

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sometimes qrow wonders just how many subjects Barty studies at once. also how his back muscles aren’t more defined from carrying all that weight around, but he really shouldn’t go down that path right now. he follows the route the other boy leads him instead, “i hear ya. peace is hard t’find ‘round here. i usually head to th’ roof myself.”

the spot’s nice. like a little lounge area. he never would have known. honestly, there’s a lot of things he wouldn’t know if it weren’t for Barty. he’s not sure why even his own team is so quick to dismiss him, but hell, qrow and many of the other students never did have the same tastes or goals. their loss. he crosses his legs on the floor beneath the coffee table and sets his book on it, already pushed forward to even open the damn thing thanks to his friend’s enthusiasm.

“curricular. although, i’ve done th’other before too. but nah. they want us to study so we know common approaches an’ pitfalls t’look out for i guess. …these CCT things seem pretty important to protect.” intricacies of mechanical inner workings are practically second nature to qrow, but he’s still working towards full comprehension of all this advanced tech and invisible communication. he halfway hopes to instigate a tangent on that alone to help him catch up…

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“They are indeed,” says Barty, unbothered by Qrow’s lack of knowledge on the subject. Once he’d gotten over the shock of things that Qrow wasn’t used to, or didn’t know how to do, he’d adapted. “The CCT towers provide communication to every corner of Remnant. Of course, there’s plenty of suspicion that the CCT Network covers up some sinister doings from Atlas…”

He must resist going on that tear today. Qrow had work to do. He could regale him with one of his favourite pass times later.

“Some speculate that Grimm are attracted to CCT towers because of the radiation they emit, while others believe Grimm sense the way they connect humanity and therefore wish to tear them down. Nothing is certain, of course. We have no concrete proof of the intelligence of Grimm.”

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“every corner that can afford it,” qrow mutters to himself, as more fact than malice. but to those who had scrolls and computer and stuff, that communication’s pretty vital. he gets that. he listens while also skimming pages, but that last comment has him raising an eyebrow in Barty’s direction.

he might even be interested in that one, if he thought there’s be more fact than fiction about it. he relents from making strange faces when his companion relents the reason for them.

radiation. that’s a chemistry thing. or would it be physics, if they’re talking electronics? he nods at the rest. “yeah, none’a what they’re describin’ seem like well thought-out groups or maneuvers. they jus’ swarm and try t’get the things outta their way.”

qrow pulls a little notebook with a pen shoved into the spirals from one of his shirt pockets, and starts taking a few notes of dates and grimm types. he stops writing and taps the pen against his chin, “hmm, so. if radiation is’a possibility, what part’a the tower would be puttin’ off the most?”

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Barty doesn’t notice the incredulous look at his statement over the intelligence of Grimm. He’s too busy flicking through the book, and tapping ashes into the repurposed metal pencil sharpener he keeps. He could go on about it if he wanted, but he doesn’t. He’s more thinking about what else Qrow said, which makes him wonder yet again where the other boy grew up. He seemed at odds with most things.

“I’ve heard of older Grimm that do strategize, but they also tend to avoid attacking guarded places,” he replies. “Draws too many huntsman. As for the radiation…”

He thinks about it as well. “I would suppose the transmitters near the top would be the most likely target. I’d have to read up on the inner workings of the CCT Networks specifically, and the kind of dust it uses. If you need me to it shouldn’t take me long.”

A day or two of hard reading, at most. It didn’t strike him as remotely odd to offer.

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he looks to Barty as he listens, twirling the pen between fingers during the pause, tries not to pay too much attention to how the cigarette sits between his lips or how nice they look blowing out smoke when deep in thought. gaze moves with shame to the more familiar sight of ground, and qrow shakes his head to rattle thoughts of work back into place.

“nah, i just thought that might make a likely place t’strike, but if it’s that high up… well, i figure the rest’a the assignment should make that clearer, huh? don’t want ya doin’ all the work for me.”

gentle red eyes narrow to take in a few more pages, a few more notes, a few more patterns. not the most difficult assignment, but not the most interesting either. after seeing nothing about either of their latest comments, he asks, “wait… the towers use dust?”

relevant? who knows. qrow just wants to understand.

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“We’re in the same class,” he says mildly, looking at the ground as well, for different reasons. “I don’t mind if you don’t mind help from an underclassman like me. You’re… refreshing, really.”

Barty pulls into himself as Qrow reads and writes, thinking about how nice it would be if his team was as sweet and understanding as Team STRQ, even with Raven Branwen being… Raven Branwen-y.

“Yes. Most things are powered by it. Electric dust runs the circuitry, but I’m not sure what expands the signal. Maybe I’ll have to visit the CCT Tower and take a tour or bend an ear of an employee or two.” The cigarette is stubbed out and he looks over at him. “So… I don’t recall this being assigned in class. Was this about a detention you received, or…?”

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refreshing, huh? not something qrow hears at all, if ever. tolerable, he gets from his teammates. worthy anyway; can be adapted to despite… how he is. but treated as if he actually had something to offer, especially beyond fighting?

even as he sits here asking favors of Barty; even as his pencil tip breaks in the middle of a word, and a heavy sigh passes his lips, and anger and frustration feel like all qrow branwen is good for.

he doesn’t know how to process that. how to respond. barely believes it to accept it as a real interaction, as his fist clenches around the implement and his gaze stays trained on the book.

“you too…” the best he can grunt out in a mutter.

he listens to the rest while re-sharpening wood and graphite with a pair of scissors, forgetting in the moment about all the electric machines scattered throughout the library.

looks up at the end and tilts his head, not only because going out for a personal field trip seems extreme, let alone if what he says about it not being a class-wide study is true. “dunno…” his face scrunches in thought, and he relaxes back in a lean, stretching one leg out under the table, taking a break from thinking about the book to thinking about the assignment, “Summer just came in th’dorm, handed me a …reference list…. and told me t’go start on it. huh.”

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Barty’s ears go pink at the returned sentiments, even if they are mumbled out somewhat sullenly. That Qrow likes his company is still an utter mystery to him. No one likes his company. And yet STRQ somehow does.

Barty doesn’t mention the electric machines, watching Qrow do his thing with curiosity, legs stretched out before him since there was no getting comfortable drawing them up underneath of him, not when he was meant to be sharing the space.

“Maybe I missed something,” he said, though he doubted it. Extra team assignment was the most likely. “Or it’s because I’m a singleton and got assigned something else instead of a full group project.”

Extra likely, considering his assignments generally differed.

“Too bad, I’m curious now.” He stubbed out his cigarette and stowed the butt away, sealing the ashes a moment later. Now beyond the smell, there was no evidence. “Tell me what exactly she wants done and I’ll lend a hand.” He was loathe to cut the time short, after all. He didn’t really have people to hang out with.

#* he always did have a thing for investigating the occult = erudite rebel *#* i gave you my life = past *#* we got work to do = ic *#* how do you think legends and fairy tales get started? = thread archive *

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