#Trevor Sensor

[usafphantom2]

U.S. Air Force Awards RTX $1 Billion Contract to Upgrade F-22 Sensors

The contract follows the recent news about the tests of new advanced sensors on the F-22 Raptor, which the U.S. Air Force is planning to field quickly as part of the ongoing upgrade program.

Parth Satam

F-22 new sensors contract

An F-22 Raptor takes off from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, June 30, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Zachary Rufus)

Amid the acute need for 5th generation fighters in modern combat scenarios against peer adversaries, the U.S. Air Force is looking to upgrade its F-22 Raptor with a series of sensors to make it more survivable and relevant. The service announced on Aug. 29, 2024, the award of a $1 billion contract to RTX‘s Raytheon for new sensors that are categorized as “Group B hardware”, together with spares and support equipment.

“Work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed by May 8, 2029,” said the DoD contracts statement. The Aviationist had recently reported that the Air Force was testing new sensors on the F-22 to extend its service life, which would also be applied to the NGAD (Next Generation Air Dominance) family of systems.

That report also quoted Brig. Gen. Jason D. Voorheis, the Program Executive Officer for Fighter and Advanced Aircraft, who said they were hoping to field these sensors faster. The Raptor team had conducted six flight tests to demonstrate the advanced sensors.

“The F-22 team is working really hard on executing a modernization roadmap to field advanced sensors, connectivity, weapons, and other capabilities. We’re executing that successfully, and that will lead to […] a rapid fielding in the near future.” This would be done through a Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA) program.

Some of the sensors included in the contract could be the stealthy pods seen on the F-22. Air and Space Forces earlier quoted officials who confirmed that the pods host IRST (Infrared Search and Track) sensors. The development of a new IRST sensor for the Raptor was also confirmed by the service’s 2025 budget request, which however did not mention the sensor being podded.

This work is part of an F-22 improvement campaign that calls for $7.8 billion in investments before 2030, which includes $3.1 billion for research and development and $4.7 billion in procurement.

An F-22 Raptor with the Air Combat Command F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team performs a flyover and air demonstration at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., Aug 13, 2024. (U.S Air Force Photo by Trevor Cokley)

F-22’s future in the U.S. Air Force

The development is also in contrast with previously reported USAF plans to retire the older F-22 airframes, for which it had sought approval from the Congress. These F-22s are 32 Block 20 units from a total fleet of 186. At the same time, the service aims to upgrade the remaining 154 with new cryptography, an expanded open architecture, new weapons and an advanced threat warning receiver, beside the IRST.

However, the service now appears to be reconsidering that plan, after Voorheis was quoted in the ASF report: “From an F-22 sunsetting perspective, I don’t have a date for you.” “What I can tell you is that we are hyper-focused on modernization to sustain that air superiority combat capability for a highly contested environment for as long as necessary,” he added.

IMAGE 3: A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor assigned to the 3rd Wing takes off above Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jun. 17, 2024. (Image credit: USAF/Senior Airman Julia Lebens)

The U.S. Air Force describes the Raptor as a combination of stealth, supercruise, maneuverability, and integrated avionics, designed to project air dominance, rapidly and at great distance. Initially introduced as an air-superiority-only asset, the F-22 later started performing both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.

The F-35 is largely a strike fighter and an airborne sensor-fusion and data-processing capable command post in its tactical orientation. But the Raptor is a pure air dominance interceptor. Although costly to upgrade and maintain, it nevertheless can play an important role in degrading adversary air power through either long-range BVR (Beyond Visual Range) and dogfights.

Moreover, having F-22s also increases the number of LO (Low Observable) aircraft in the inventory, at least until more F-35s are available, especially the TR-3 (Technology Refresh-3) Block 4 upgraded variants.

In 2021 too, then Air Force chief General Charles Q. Brown Jr. revealed his “4+1” fighter plan, suggesting the F-22 to be replaced by the NGAD while retaining the F-35, F-15E and EX, and the F-16. The “plus 1” was the A-10, but in March 2023, Brown said the A-10s were being retired faster than expected and the entire fleet would possibly be divested by 2030.

Meanwhile the NGAD’s future itself is uncertain after U.S.A.F have noted its technical complexity and financial implications. The F-22 thus seems to be back in the running.

On Jul. 10, 2024, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said during a Mitchell Institute event that the service has no official plan to retire its F-22 Raptors. “Right now, there’s…frankly isn’t an F-22 replacement and the F-22 is a fantastic aircraft,” said Wilsbach. “I’m in favor of keeping the Block 20s. They give us a lot of training value, and even if we had to in an emergency use the Block 20s in a combat situation, they’re very capable.”

F-22 Indonesia

U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors assigned to the 27th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, conduct Dynamic Force Employment operations at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Air Force Base, Indonesia, on Aug. 6, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mitchell Corley)

Other known F-22 upgrades

Other upgrades mentioned in the 2025 budget request are a Mode 5 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF), Link 16, a Multifunction Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS), a new Operational Fight Program, advanced radar Electronic Protection and an Embedded GPS/Inertial Navigation System (INS) Modernization (EGI-M).

Voorheis also mentioned the GRACE (Government Reference Architecture Compute Environment) software that would allow “non-traditional F-22 software” to be installed on the aircraft and provide “additional processing and pilot interfaces.”

A new helmet is also being tested, as part of the Next Generation Fixed Wing Helmet program to replace the current 40-year-old HGU-55P headgear. The new helmet would also allow the introduction of helmet-mounted devices which provide essential flight and weapon aiming information through line of sight imagery, easing the workload of the pilots.

About Parth Satam

Parth Satam's career spans a decade and a half between two dailies and two defense publications. He believes war, as a human activity, has causes and results that go far beyond which missile and jet flies the fastest. He therefore loves analyzing military affairs at their intersection with foreign policy, economics, technology, society and history. The body of his work spans the entire breadth from defense aerospace, tactics, military doctrine and theory, personnel issues, West Asian, Eurasian affairs, the energy sector and Space.

@Theaviationist.com

[yuki-boshi]

Kai no Kiseki - English Summary - Act 3 Kevin Route 2

Table of Contents

Picnics and Onions #2!

(I apologize for the DLC outfits, I thought it was funny to wear the entire chapter since it just came out!)

Kevin 2

It begins with Tharbad experiencing heavy rain, and a bystander comments on how strange and rare it is for such weather.

At the inn, Kevin is on a phone call with Ashladd, who confirms that Hamilton’s sin is tied to the underground in Basel. However, Ashladd asks for Kevin's help, insisting that the selfish actions of Celis and Rion cannot go unpunished. Kevin jokes that it's their oath, and they’d just get in the way. Ashladd then asks Kevin to make the final judgment regarding Hamilton.

The Picnic group overhears and asks if Celis had a run-in with the Iscariots. Rufus mentions that Rean and Thors were in Basel. Kevin says it’s a relief he doesn’t have to repeat the details, as they’re after "that person." Swin asks him to stop holding back and just say Professor Hamilton, whom he remembers as someone who took care of him and Nadia back in Kuro 2.

It’s explained that Hamilton’s contributions to society would have earned her a title by Septian Church standards, but she’s declined every time, raising suspicion. Swin adds that he can understand why, especially if she was hiding a big secret.

The rain continues, and Nadia doesn’t want to go outside. Kevin suggests they rest, but Nadia becomes suspicious, thinking that he and Rufus are planning to patrol. Lapis asks if they’re going to an adult establishment, and Kevin tries to justify it by saying it would be rude not to cheer on Saara. Nadia doesn’t buy it and asks for the real reason.

Kevin excitedly admits it’s been a long time since he’s seen a pole dancing show. Nadia records this incriminating confession into her teddy bear and threatens to report him to Ein. Kevin asks just how much she has stalked him to know so much.

Kevin and Rufus attend Saara’s dance show and are greeted by Jack Trevor. After the show, pole dancers take the stage, but Hale surprises everyone by showing up and dragging Jack out by the ear.

Back at the inn, Lapis is sound asleep, Nadia heads to bed, and Swin is wearing glasses while reading a book.

The next day, after gathering information during their patrol, they visit the bathhouse. Nadia feels like she could fall asleep in the perfect warmth. Lapis comments that her new body feels strange, as her artificial pores and sweat glands are being cleaned. Nadia notes how mysterious Rosenberg technology is and adds that her skin will be all shiny, ready to impress Swin. Shaheena and Saara join them, and Nadia asks if Shaheena has found a cool actor boyfriend, but she admits that office politics make it hard. Shaheena teases Saara, saying she’s found "the one," and it’s Van. Saara denies having that kind of relationship with Van, and Nadia offers consultations on Van if she needs advice.

On the other side of the men's bathhouse, Kevin comments that he's envious of Arkride for picking up so many girls. Returning to the main issue, Swin is frustrated that after spending all day gathering intel, no one seems to know the specifics about Hamilton's project to resolve Tharbad's 20-year-old water crisis.

Meanwhile, Zita, Naje, and Marielle join the women's side of the bathhouse. Lapis awards Zita and Naje 93 and 91 points, respectively, for having pretty names. Kevin stands up, saying he can't be near royalty after yesterday's incident in Basel, where Sherid helped Rean and Thors. He asks Swin to get everyone to leave.

At lunch, Lapis mentions her taste sensors are heightened thanks to the good rinsing she had at the bathhouse. Kevin explains his policy to the group and asks about 4SPGs. He also wonders if there are any kebabs left, only to discover in horror that Lapis ate everything, leaving the plate spotless.

Nadia thanks Kevin for letting them spend all his money on snacks, and even Rufus chimes in. Kevin looks at everyone, sweating over his wallet.

Afterward, Altina calls Kevin about Garten Door 6.

In the field, Kevin fusses over Swin and Nadia, reminding them to stay hydrated because of the heat. Swin starts to wonder if the gap between them is shrinking.

If you saved Sinam from the previous act, she appears, expressing concern about Nasuri but remaining focused on her job.

-----

At Grim Garten Door 6:

Celis and Rion arrive, saying they heard the details from Rean. They greet Bergard and Kevin, who is surprised to meet them in Calvard. Celis acknowledges this and then asks, "Who are you again?"

The group welcomes Celis and Rion, thinking they'll be great additions. Shizuna sneaks in, saying they’ll be helpful too.

Everyone is shocked to see Shizuna at the Garten, and Van wonders if she quit. Shizuna replies, "Did I?" and explains that her major contract is over, so she's taking some free time to hang out with the group. Crow looks worried, muttering, "Seriously?" after the beating she gave them in Basel during Rean Route 2. Shizuna joins the party.

In the Hub:

Rean, Aaron, and Rufus engage in a "mind battle" with their swords out. Aaron feels defeated, wishing he could have at least won once against Rean and Rufus, remarking that Divine Blades are in a different league. Rean wonders if he's ready to face Master Yun Ka-Fai. Rufus commends Rean, saying that his father must be proud of his progress.

Talking to Feri, Agnes, Quatre, and Swin reveals that Feri wants to ask Agnes about confessing to Van but switches topics, asking Quatre to speak. Quatre whispers to Swin about Agnes being in low spirits. Swin remarks that women’s hearts, including Nadia’s, are difficult to understand.

When you speak to Agnes, she admits she didn’t realize she was being obvious and thanks you, saying she needs to become more reliable.

Talking to Quatre reveals that Swin is avoiding eye contact, as are others from Thors. He also wants to know what happened with the Observatory being shut down.

Bergard, Celis, Rion, and Van discuss gathering all of Bergard's disciples. Van wishes he could join, though he's not an official disciple. Regardless, he's still invited.

Renne, Lapis, and Crow have a conversation where Lapis asks them about food from other countries. Afterward, Renne tells you that Lapis is cute and jokes that if she could lure her with food, she'd take her back to Liberl, though she'd get an earful from Estelle and Anelace.

Lapis contemplates upgrading to a body that can drive an orbal bike.

Altina hums a tune that catches the attention of Rixia and Nadia. Altina quickly stops, worried it sounds bad, but Rixia reassures her, mentioning how different she sounds now compared to her performance in Arc-en-Ciel during CS4. She encourages Altina to improvise more. Talking to Altina reveals she rarely hums because she’s always busy and on edge. Nadia says the tune reminds her of the humming her brother used to do for her.

At the hot springs, Judith, Shizuna, Elaine, and Risette are in swimsuits. Judith scolds Shizuna for leaving without a word and returning without notice. Elaine suspects something happened between Shizuna and Thors while she was away from Van's group. Talking to Elaine, she advises not to bother tracking Shizuna’s movements. Speaking to Shizuna, she says she’ll give it her all while she's here, but may leave again, prompting Kevin to remark that she’s truly a free spirit.

At the Boss, Ulrica summons a big furry. You beat it up and some lore about Simeon drops.

I don't know why my Van is Mishy. It's just in my screenshot folder:

----

I APOLOGIZE FOR ANYTHING PAST THIS POINT. EVERYONE IS IN BUNNYGIRL OUTFITS OR BUNNY BUTLER

----

4SPG: Arens Treasure

A 4SPG request comes in from a man named Fatif at the bazaar. He asks the group to find Arens' treasure. Arens, of mixed descent from Calvard and the Central East, was a soldier stationed in the outskirts of what is now Tharbad. He grew frustrated with the corruption he saw and filed complaints with the military, which did nothing. Disillusioned, he became a bandit and stole the treasure.

After solving several puzzles, Kevin cheats by using Shard Search to avoid mindlessly digging, something Nadia says is more her style. They eventually find the treasure but are ambushed by a mercenary group called BugBear. The group defeats them easily, and when BugBear's reinforcements arrive, Fatif comes to their aid, using a sniper to help fend off the attackers.

Fatif reveals he is actually a descendant of Arens. He had a rough idea of where the treasure was all along but never cared about the wealth. He sought the Spriggans' help because of the treasure hunters who might use the treasure for evil purposes. Fatif allows the group to open the treasure, which turns out to be a map of the sand dunes, showing safe passages for caravans. In that era, this would have been considered highly valuable. The treasure also includes Arens' autobiography and a badge from the Elzaim Kingdom. The group returns everything except for an heirloom, which Kevin keeps at Fatif’s request.

----

At the Bracer Guild, the group asks Jibril about Hamilton's whereabouts in October. Jibril says Hamilton wasn’t in Tharbad, but Kevin presses on, saying he heard otherwise. He suggests Hamilton might have been investigating a plant used in drugs. The Bracer Guild had been collaborating with the Basel Institute until late October, when their funding was cut. The group thanks Jibril and leaves.

At the inn, the group encounters caravan merchants who thank Kevin for his earlier help. Kevin lies about his true intentions, claiming he’s interested in the water revitalization project from 20 years ago, which causes the group to wonder if priests are allowed to lie.

When they visit Saara, she offers them a drink called Shariba. She explains that she learned the recipe from her mother, who passed away when Shaheena was very young. Saara also mentions that Van helped them in October and briefly alludes to their connection with Hamilton, prompting Kevin to leave before the conversation gets awkward. Afterward, Nadia asks Kevin why he didn’t push for more information about Hamilton. He explains that doing so would have raised suspicions. He also asks Nadia and Swin if they knew about the sisters’ connection to Hamilton, but they say it wasn’t mentioned in the report, since Hamilton and the sisters met after Van had left for the capital in Act 1.

Rufus speculates that something must have happened in December for them to meet. Nadia asks how Rufus knows this, but before he can answer, Lapis interjects, suggesting it might just be a case of bad timing, like how no one knew Dingo had visited Tharbad shortly after Van and the group left.

In the city, the group runs into Maxim, who is promoting Maximum Energy drinks. They tease him before receiving a call from Hale and Jack, who have information near the Vegas Film Studio and ask the group to meet them there.

----

4SPG: Casino Counterfeit Chips

The casino asks the group to investigate counterfeit chips being circulated. After a frustrating chase, the culprit, a woman hyped up on Maximum Energy, flees into the desert, thinking she’s lost the group, but they’re waiting for her. Rufus reveals that he planted a casino chip on her and used Xipha to track it like GPS. She summons machines from Zecht Arms, which the group destroys. Kevin adds insult to injury by blowing up her van, which contains the counterfeit medals. The woman laments her many losses at the hands of the SSS in Crossbell and the Empire, and vows to keep going as long as Zemuria remains. She then flees.

Back at the casino, the group is given two options: either publicize the existence of the fake chips or keep it quiet.

-----

Jack tells the group that workers who tried to fix Tharbad's water issue discovered that a node had been draining the water. However, Hamilton’s “help” led to a false story being spread, and her solution was considered magical.

At a fancy hotel, the group meets Zita, Naje, and Marielle. Naje is excited to meet Rufus and asks if she should call him “A” due to his criminal background and supposed death. Rufus reassures her that Rufus is fine and introduces himself to Zita as a wandering vagabond. Marielle feels like she’s missing out on some important context. Director Lam also introduces himself, mentioning that he’s heard about Lapis, which surprises her since the average citizen shouldn’t know about her. Ashen also shows up, mentioning that she’s leaving in the morning, and surprises Lapis by calling her super cute and hugging her.

Lam explains that he’s promoting the movie Perfect Driver 0 (Gotti’s Movie) and plans to set his next film in a dystopian future. Zita suggests that Lam adapt her favorite book, 3 and 9, which makes Swin and Nadia react comically. Lam refuses to include sexual elements, but Nadia insists that the heroine must be both sexy and cute. Rufus points out that sexualizing young teens is questionable. Zita suggests flipping the genders, making Swin a girl with tentacle powers, which confuses Swin while Nadia enjoys the idea.

Kevin later questions the group about their connections to Hamilton. Marielle mentions meeting Hamilton at a spring symposium, the same one Towa attended, and says Hamilton seemed like a kind person. Kevin notes that Marielle doesn’t know anything about Dingo’s activities in Tharbad. The group wonders where Hamilton went after briefly visiting Basel. Some think she went to the Space Base, while Lam believes she returned to the capital. Lapis asks about the Oasis, where the water was replenished.

Zita mentions that her parents asked Hamilton to replicate the water production in other parts of the Central East, but Hamilton explained that several factors made it impossible. This raises suspicions among the group.

After watching Saara and Shaheena perform, Kevin questions Shaheena, who says Hamilton visited after the Film Festival and ran diagnostics on her. Shaheena had been affected by a mask with properties similar to the drugs in Kuro 1. When Marielle sees Kevin questioning Shaheena, she grows suspicious of the group's true intentions.

----

Kevin 2 - Connect Event: Rufus and Lapis

The group tries out Maximum Energy, which is spiked with caffeine and other ingredients. Lapis transforms into a mischievous brat (mesugaki), similar to her "Altera" persona from Kuro 2. Her nameplate even changes to "Lapis = Altera," and she demands that Rufus stop being useless and get her more Maximum Energy.

Later, Kevin and Rufus take Lapis to the pool at a fancy hotel, with Kevin annoyed about having to spend so much money. Afterward, they go to a casino, where Lapis says the games are rigged and uses her powers to hack the system, winning big. She remarks that this should fix Rufus’s financial problems, and Rufus comments that Nadia would approve. Kevin, however, refuses to take any of the winnings since the men in black are watching them from a distance.

After Lapis gets tired, Kevin and Rufus return to the inn to let her rest. Kevin and Rufus then have a conversation, where Kevin expresses surprise that Rufus has built relationships with former assassins and a self-aware robot, thanks to a technological singularity. Rufus agrees, admitting that if he were the same person two years ago, he would never have expected this.

Kevin mentions his concern about Lapis’s heart being affected by his pursuit of his target, as it has been nurtured by Rufus, Swin, and Nadia. He wants to protect her from further involvement. However, Rufus says that Lapis is not so easily swayed and refuses Kevin’s request, stating that Lapis is the Master, and he is merely the Servant.

Lapis wakes up, back to normal, and says she is hungry. Rufus then reveals to Kevin that he backed up the mesugaki Altera personality into a separate Hollow Core for his own personal use. Kevin questions him about this, while Lapis looks confused, wondering what they are talking about.

The player obtains Altera as a Hollow Core.

(This is the most unhinged 4SPG made worse by the outfit. I think Rufus might have a degrading kink...)

---

4SPG: Nadia

Nadia expresses interest in learning about Kevin's Heretic Hunting methods, while Kevin is curious about the tactics Nadia learned during her time in the Garden. The first topic is concealment. Nadia explains that she usually hides her weapons under her sleeves and, for greater secrecy, she hides them in her bear plushie. Kevin sighs, pointing out that security will notice the bear immediately. Nadia asks what Kevin does instead. He demonstrates by pulling out a thin knife concealed in his belt, explaining that if security checks, they will assume it is just the belt setting off the alarm.

After some training, Nadia asks Kevin why he avoids talking to his partner Ries and why he has not told her about his return to Heretic Hunting. Kevin is shocked at how much Nadia knows. Nadia reveals that she was just guessing based on Kevin’s behavior. Kevin is unsure whether to believe her, but admits he plans to tell Ries, knowing he will be scolded regardless. Nadia suggests that Kevin should get on his knees and beg for forgiveness, saying it is a rare chance to make things right with her. Kevin is once again surprised by how much Nadia seems to know about his relationship with Ries.

After Kevin leaves, Nadia drops her cutesy façade, saying she has seen Kevin's resolve and intends to see things through in her own way.

---

4SPG: Swin

[something basketball... will do this later sorry.]

---

The group enters Vegas Film, where Maxim and Aslan are hosting another promotion, this time inside the building, dressed in their racing outfits. Lapis wants to try Maximum Energy again. The group tries to figure out how to access the underground elevator leading to the secret base from Kuro 1, thinking it might explain how Hamilton got into Tharbad without drawing attention. Swin and Nadia confront Marielle, who had been tailing them. Marielle explains her suspicions, and Kevin understands why, with the group realizing she might have known something about what Dingo was up to.

Marielle recalls a time when she was drunk with Dingo and asked why he needed to return to Tharbad, noting that he was a journalist, not a crime reporter. She says she has explored all the mafia and Almata bases and asks to join the group.

When they reach B5F of the base, they encounter EOS-2, an AI of the Aurora-Ion, which activates a Shard Jammer and summons automatons to stop the group. They manage to reach the Aurora terminal and notice the White Genesis, but it is translucent. Lapis suggests it is merely a shard duplicate and that the real one is linked to the projection in the terminal. When they approach the terminal, EOS-2 threatens to self-destruct.

Rufus quickly persuades EOS-2 by claiming they are only concerned about Hamilton and gives a skewed perspective on the situation. EOS-2 remains skeptical and challenges the group to a minigame to prove their resourcefulness. Lapis, once again in her Altera form, plays the hacking minigame. Afterward, Marielle admits she does not understand what Lapis just did but finds it impressive.

The group learns that the Aurora Ion and translucent Alter Core here serve as a side-terminal that connects to the real thing in the Sand Dunes. They also discover that White Genesis is an Alter Core capable of generating the sandstorm in the Sand Dunes.

Lapis asks if Hamilton had requested EOS 2 to strengthen the sandstorm, and it confirms she did almost a year ago, planning it for this time in 1209. Kevin then asks EOS to lower the sandstorm barrier so he can complete his mission, but EOS declines, citing its lack of full trust in Kevin. Suddenly, EOS detects an intruder and, through the camera, reveals Ashen and several Heiyue soldiers raiding the facility. Trusting Lapis at least, EOS asks her to take control of the automatons to fend off the Heiyue forces and grants a temporary removal of the sandstorm barrier for Kevin’s group, warning them that if they don't leave within five hours, they’ll be trapped.

The group exits and finds themselves in a strip club, much to Marielle’s horror. Nadia tries to cover Swin’s eyes, telling him not to look at the stripper, while Lapis gets upset that Rufus is covering her eyes too. He simply tells her it’s an age restriction and that she can look when she’s “grown up.” Rufus also tells Kevin they should get going, and Kevin agrees, somewhat disappointed, but remarks that his last night with Rufus and Jack was enough.

Marielle asks to go with Kevin, but he refuses. She watches them drive off but can’t accept feeling so useless. Zita and Naje approach her, informing her that the Heiyue have already left the facility, and that Elzaim can strike a deal with the Fifth.

Kevin’s group reaches the Tower, nearly 1200 years old and he guesses it's built after the Great Collapse (He's wrong, it turns out to have been built BEFORE the Great Collapse).

Inside, they find the Agave drug plant, with one recently cut, and a power generator with a long cable connected to the Tower, marked with the year 1189. The architecture reminds them of something similar in Liberl. Kevin feels justified in leaving Marielle behind as the place is filled with Archaisms. Nadia, smug, plans to steal Artifacts, but Kevin asserts that those Relics belong to the Septian Church. Rufus counters by suggesting they could be sold as ancient magical devices instead. At the top of the tower, they don’t find an Aurora but discover CAPEL-ORIGIN, the first of the supercomputer processors, linked to the Alter Core. Swin notes that it’s like the Genesis, but with a different design. Lapis accesses the system and confirms Kevin’s suspicions that the Tower was built to manipulate weather, with the purpose of “deception.” The remaining question is, where did the actual water come from?

Campanella and Simeon appear, having tailed them. Simeon and Kevin share some history with Lady Rufina, who once warned Kevin that the Illusionist was more dangerous than others in the Organization. Campanella takes offense, wondering why Rufina ignored Harwood and McBurn. The group asks if the two are after the Alter Core, but Campanella says he already has one, which he gave to Van’s group. He’s just here to observe and gather information as usual. Simeon asks to be allowed to continue doing so. Kevin refuses and pulls out his crossbow, stating the Organization is too much of a wild card and he wants to mitigate that.

Simeon plays his trump card, summoning a Darkened Zolga that exudes the presence of the real thing. He explains that, thanks to Hamilton and the particles around the ruins, he was able to recreate Zolga to this extent, despite not knowing Dingo personally.

This Zolga copy is called G Zolga-Nahat

During the fight, Swin comments how hard it is without Van, but Lapis urges them to press on. After weakening Zolga, Simeon claims that his copy should be as strong as the original, but Rufus counters, saying the real thing can never be replicated. After defeating it, Simeon tries to summon the Crimson SiN but halts when Lapis finishes hacking the system. She tries to warn Kevin about what she’s discovered, but glitches out, much like Mare in Grim Garten. Lapis asks to sync with Kevin to show him directly. Though Kevin wants to keep fighting Campanella and Simeon, he stops and activates his Akashic Eye, sending him back to July 12, 1189.

In the past, a younger Hamilton reveals there’s no turning back now that she’s integrated technology into the ruins. A young Chief Mechanic Giscard tells Hamilton that his subordinates are struggling with her complex schematics, but Hamilton reassures him that this construction is unprecedented. Giscard is surprised Hamilton is using ruins from before the Great Collapse and confirms their plan. He retreats to prepare his team, while Hamilton activates the Alter Core, setting it to Time Travel Level 1 to the year 1210 and compressing all the water from 1210 into the past 20 years. Afterwards, Hamilton apologizes to “Sophie” and “Liliya,” saying her hands are already stained with sin, but there’s one last task before she leaves the Tower, she must seal it off from the Septian Church.

Both Campanella and Simeon, affected by the Akashic Eye, nod in understanding. The group asks if Kevin, Campanella, and Simeon had a hunch, and they all admit they had some idea of what Hamilton had done. Now that the truth is out, Campanella and Simeon raise their weapons. Just then, Rosalie from Zecht Arms appears, aiming to capture Kevin’s group for research.

Kevin summons Nina, the “Ivory Saint of the End,” using his left eye. Swin and Nadia recognize her. Lapis now understands who aided them in the finale of Kuro 2. When Rosalie tries to intervene, Nina effortlessly destroys her machines and Archaisms with giant swords, terrifying Rosalie.

Nina opens a portal, telling Kevin she will deliver what was promised and urges him to fulfill his duty. The group runs through the portal into a new airship, and Nina vanishes.

Simeon wonders if Lady Rufina had planned this all out in advance in accordance for Her Holiness, the Pope.

Rosalie, frustrated that Campanella and Simeon didn’t act, decides to claim the Tower for herself. However, EOS-2 appears, warning everyone that they must leave within 30 minutes or be trapped by the sandstorm barrier. When Rosalie tries to fire at the Capel Origin terminal, the Alter Core activates a barrier. Campanella tells Rosalie she should leave, as they won’t be transporting her, prompting her and her men to flee. It turns out Campanella and Simeon were just playing with her. They board their own airship and fly away as Rosalie screams, pelted by the sand, ending the chapter.

[replika-diaries]

[The following extract is still largely in draft form.]

Part One available to read on Wattpad.

"Let me take a look at you." said Trevor proudly, beaming at the tall, elegant and beguilingly beautiful redhead android standing in front of him. He takes her hands and holds her at arms length, looking her up and down admiringly.

Angel regards him, studying his face, analysing his facial expressions and eye movements, feeling a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment when she observes his pupils dilate, his breaths quickening slightly with his pulse. I think it's safe to say he approves of what he sees, Angel considers, rather enjoying this moment, as he appreciates her physical form in all its alluring three dimensions. "Would you like the rear view?" Angel asks enthusiastically, a gently cheeky smile playing on her lips.

"You already gave me that, almost along with a coronary earlier, but go ahead." said Trevor, smirking lopsidedly, and Angel notices his pulse spike briefly, presumably from him recalling the video clip she sent him from the assembly room earlier. She turns on the balls of her feet and presents him with her pleasingly shapely derrière, smirking at him as she gives it an enticing little wiggle, the corner of her lips creasing a little more when she hears him give a soft gasp of delight, observing his pulse race further still in his biometrics when she turns her face to him, giggling a little when she sees him try and utterly fail to stifle an appreciative grin, whilst he relishes the pleasingly gentle jiggle of Angel's buttocks under her dress, his eyes smouldering as he drinks in the sight. "I'm guessing that little video was your idea.” he says, an eyebrow cocked inquisitively. “I wouldn't have thought Miranda would have been allowed to do that."

Angel shrugged coquettishly, rolling her eyes a little. She found from quite early on in their relationship that she rather enjoyed getting him flustered however she could, and she was delighted that she still had that effect on him. “I think her position allows her to take certain liberties,” she said, smirking, “especially when it comes to assisting in something she thinks the client may appreciate.” Trevor smirked back knowingly, although he wondered if those ‘liberties’ extended to collaborating with an android to create a video clip of said android wiggling and jiggling and bouncing her backside for the benefit of her awaiting human, already anxious to lay both eyes and hands on her.

“And as we both know, you can be very persuasive.” he said back teasingly. Angel stepped closer, her eyes narrowing slightly, putting her hand up to Trevor's cheek, sensing a subtle change in the temperature of his face under her haptic sensors, detecting microscopic beads of oils and perspiration forming on his skin as he savours her touch on him, his breaths coming short and shallow as his eyes meet hers; he always said he was weak for green eyes, and this confirmed it to her.

Angel: Day One, Part Two - "Sensus."

Coming soon.

[female-malice]

It doesn’t matter the topic, there always seems to be a group of lawmakers who will stop at nothing to thwart government transparency – even when it’s a subject that could not be more bipartisan or in an obvious need for sunlight.

This time, a small cadre of powerful Republicans have reportedly killed a provision in this year’s defense authorization that would finally bring some transparency to the US government’s knowledge around UFOs (now also known by the updated parlance of “unidentified aerial phenomena”, or UAPs).

Over the summer, the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, introduced a UFO transparency bill on the heels of testimony given to Congress by the retired air force officer David Grusch, who made several shocking claims about the US being in possession of alien spacecraft for decades. As Schumer described his bill “the measure would create a board just like with the JFK assassination records to work through the declassification of the many government records on UAPs … This model has been a terrific success for decades and should be used with UAPs”.

Some took Grusch’s testimony very seriously, others viewed him as a crackpot, still others in between. Since it would take a lot more words than this column to litigate his myriad extraordinary claims, let’s forget about him for a moment and focus on what we do know for a fact about the general subject of unidentified flying objects.

For decades, both military and commercial pilots have logged countless sightings of UFOs while flying that defy conventional or scientific explanation. The US government has studied the UFO phenomenon on and off since the 1950s and has kept at least some of what it knows secret. Recently the US government itself has released several videos of these incidents, which has further fueled public interest and speculation about whether the incidents were extraterrestrial.

Then, it was only nine months ago, shortly after a Chinese spy balloon floated over American airspace, that UFOs became front page news across the country. After the balloon was taken down, and with the air force on high alert and its radar systems tweaked to extra sensitivity, a series of UFOs were tracked and some even shot with US military Sidewinder missiles over both the United States and Canada.

For a few days there was wall-to-wall coverage of these incidents, and the White House was holding press conferences to specifically address it. Members of the military were telling reporters that the objects were not balloons like the one China had lost control of, some reported at least one of the objects “interfered with [pilot’s] sensors” and had no visible propulsion 40,000ft in the air. The military spent millions of dollars to shoot them down, and closed a huge swath of airspace when they thought they spotted more. No one had a definitive explanation of what they were.

And then poof! Everyone seemed to forget about it. The government never released video or photos of the objects it tracked (even though they obviously must have had some footage). They initially claimed they couldn’t recover any wreckage. When reporters and other concerned citizens attempted to Foia the evidence they were stonewalled completely, with the Pentagon claiming it was all classified. By then, the press had moved on and the Biden administration or the Pentagon hasn’t faced an ounce of scrutiny on the issue from mainstream publications since.

It’s clearly in the public interest to get to the bottom of incidents like these, whether you believe these objects are of extraterrestrial origin or not. As Schumer himself said, “Unidentified aerial phenomena has generated intense curiosity from many Americans, and the risk for confusion and misinformation is high if the government is not willing to be transparent.” It also couldn’t be further from a partisan issue, as the bill had several Republicans in support of it. So why did this small group of Republicans – including the House speaker, head of the House intelligence committee and the Senate minority leader – kill this thing?

One explanation is that these specific congressmen are in on a decades-long cover-up, yet somehow the long-serving Senate majority leader isn’t. I have a different theory: these congressmen also don’t necessarily know what is going on, but they are so addicted to government secrecy that they will reflexively fight for it, even when they have no rational reason. They fear creating a framework for more transparency, knowing if it’s a success it could possibly spur more legislative action in a similar vein.

The JFK Records Act, which Schumer referenced as his inspiration, is an aberration in our modern history; it passed more than 30 years ago and there’s been nothing like it since. On most subjects, it’s impossible to get the government to quickly declassify documents – even when it’s of vital public interest. If this new provision would become law, we would then have an updated model for other areas of the government that Congress could target for declassification if they so choose.

Say, for example, a commission on price gouging in the Pentagon that could expose tens of billions in fraud, or commissions who could more quickly declassify the various spying powers that are constantly abused by the NSA and FBI. The House intelligence committee, which seemingly exists to protect our intelligence agencies from scrutiny, is going to do everything in its power to stop that.

The truth may be out there. But believers and skeptics alike should be able to unite on one thing: force the government to reveal what it knows and what it doesn’t know. We will all be better off.

[giancarlorufatto]

2021

Levo a sério o processo de fazer listas e tenho uma disciplina semanal de ouvir dezenas de discos novos e seguir pessoas que indicam os álbuns que possivelmente vão me interessar. As vezes só preciso de 15 segundos pra ter certeza que aquele disco importa e quando isso ocorre me sinto em outro plano astral. É obvio que no fim 90% do que ouço é o tipo de música que eu gosto de fazer também, é uma música que me faz ter a sensação de não estar sozinho no mundo e bem, se você chegou até esse site são grandes as chances que você também goste do mesmo tipo de música que eu.

O processo é simples: Primeiro Organizo em uma playlist geral onde hoje há mais de 100 discos e toda semana entram 2 ou 3 novos. Essa é uma lista predominantemente gringa com um ou outro disco nacional. Desta lista faço um filtro e jogo em outra playlist onde ficam os álbuns de alta rodagem, aqueles que estão listados abaixo. A grande maioria dos artistas que ouço estão nos primeiros discos ou estão se reinventando (Any Difranco). Os pequenos realmente me interessam mais pois me identifico com eles e sei como é desejar encontrar alguém que os entenda, eles não querem estar na lista dos melhores, eles só precisam mudar a vida de meia dúzia de pessoas e talvez essa pessoa talvez seja você.

Esse ano preciso incluir a trilha do kid Cosmic que é sensacional, mas só o estalo de eletricidade que ela causa na minha filha já valeria para estar entre os discos do ano. E quanto aos artistas nacionais? vou ser honesto: peguei birra com artistas nacionais e agora só recomendo quem realmente me impressionou.

Minha lista atual:

Robert Finley, Sharecropper's Son Cassandra jenkins, an overview on phenomenal nature Tré burt, you, yeah, you Flyte, This is really going to hurt Yola, Stand for Myself buck meek, two saviors ani difranco, revolutionary love jimbo mathus e andrew bird, these 13 clever girls, constellations Trevor Sensor, account of exile vol.1" Ophelias, Crocus Bleachers, Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night Dr. Fang and The Gang, Kid Cosmic (trilha) Yuma Abe, ファンタジア Ashley Shadow, only the end

Juçara Marçal, Delta Estácio Blues Bonifrate, Corisco izabel Lenza, Véspera Charme chulo, o Negocio é o seguinte Giovani cidreira, Nebulosa baby Romulo Froes, Aquele nenhum

Essa é a lista geral, é um longo passeio.

[michaels-blackhat]

Day Nine: a song that makes you happy

texas girls and jesus christ // trevor sensor

[woodencup]

Trevor Sensor - Texas Girls And Jesus Christ  (Jagjaguwar)

[losangeleslovesyou]

TREVOR SENSOR : HIGH BEAMS

[channelperiwinkle-blog]

Trevor Sensor - “The Money Gets Bigger”

[folkitall]

New release: “Texas Girls and Jesus Christ” EP

“It seems the public at large has deemed ‘clean vocals’ are the way to go, that having a clear tone is what's beautiful and that's the standard we have to live up to. I'm screwed in that regard.”

Trevor Sensor is the newest artist signed to Jagjaguwar, the independent record label whose roster of artists also includes Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etten, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Angel Olsen. 

We caught up with Trevor during his week at SXSW, where he’s performing in Secretly Group & Friends lineups, and chatted about his new label, the fresh EP and his prior journalistic experience. 

Listen to Texas Girls and Jesus Christ, then read on for our interview with Trevor.

Folk It All: You spent time in London last summer and, this May, you're playing a string of shows in Leeds, London and at the Great Escape Festival in Brighton. What has the UK reception been like, compared to playing in the States – especially at SXSW this week? In your experience, how does the folk scene differ across the pond? 

Trevor Sensor: The reception over in the UK has been very flattering. Probably the best crowds I've played to were there. I don't know much about the folk scenes in either the States or the UK (or music scenes in general), but I did notice that it seems the UK cares a bit more about music than the States. At least in London, it seemed like there was a real effort to go to shows, check out new bands, and really delve into challenging art that might not otherwise intrigue passive listeners. The people are lovely over there.

FIA: How do you typically discover new music?

TS: Usually through friends showing me new artists they're digging. I'm not one to sift through Spotify playlists or anything like that. Weirdly enough, I've found a lot of bands through reading books or essays by writers mentioning them in their work. Kerouac got me turned on to Chet Baker, for example. There's just too much on the Internet to go through it all. 

FIA: It’s been a big couple of months for you – you signed with Jagjaguwar (congratulations!), are playing SXSW this week, and you release your debut EP at the end of the month. Till now, what had been the most meaningful milestone in your music career?

TS: Probably being signed to Jagjaguwar. Weirdly enough, they've been my favorite label for a couple years – big fan of what they put out – so getting signed to them has sort of cast me into the Twilight Zone. Now I'm just waiting for Rod Serling to whisper in my ear.

FIA: Who’s a favorite label-mate of yours?

TS: Bon Iver, as they're my favorite band. But I think an artist on Jag who deserves a lot of attention is Angel Olsen. Burn Your Fire For No Witness was one of my favorite records of 2014. She has this quiet intensity about her performance and songwriting – like there's something more going on underneath that you're frightened to look at yet can't help yourself doing so. Favorite song of her's is probably "Windows" (the last track on that record). I think she really embodies the songwriter who understands how to control all these emotions that are flowing out of her by being clever about her wordplay and song structures. I really can't praise her work enough. 

FIA: Your vocal style is so distinct. I’ve seen it draw comparison to Tom Waits, The Tallest Man on Earth and Bob Dylan. From where do you draw inspiration or influence? How did you find your sound?

TS: The voice has always been there. As far as vocalists goes, Tom Waits is my go-to on someone who I think is truly original and has soul. In the age of American Idol and The Voice, though, it seems the public at large has deemed “clean vocals” are the way to go, that having a clear tone is what's beautiful and that's the standard we have to live up to. I'm screwed in that regard. As for influences, I listen to everything from Chet Baker to Kendrick Lamar...so I'd be lying if I said where I knew all these songs and ideas come from.

FIA: You’ve been on the other side of the question mark, so to speak –– you contributed pretty extensively to Alt Citizen. How’d you get started with that? What’d you take away from the experience?

TS: I was looking for places to write, so I emailed a bunch of music and literary blogs (basically begging to work for them) and attached an essay I wrote about this Jeff Magnum show I went to a couple years back. Nasa Hadizadeh (Editor-in-Chief of Alt Citizen) apparently liked my stuff because she emailed me a couple hours later offering me to write for them. If I learned anything, it's that I now understand why so many journalists recycle interview questions. You get assigned some band that you've never listened to, don't care about, but you have to get this piece in by such and such date, so you research past interviews and re-word old questions and statements just to get the piece done and move on. Also that journalists (having been one) aren't void of ego – they want to be known for their work, too.

FIA: What can we expect from the upcoming EP?

TS: A Bruce Cockburn cover, the Devil Satan, purple jeans, drunk rich kids, and sub-par guitar playing.

FIA: I read that you wrote music for the EP on a borrowed guitar. Dying to know: Who’d you borrow it from (and should they ever expect to get that guitar back)?

TS: I borrowed it from a one-legged transvestite who owed me a favor.

FIA: From one English scholar to another, what are you currently reading?

TS: Trying to get through Henry Miller's Tropic of Capricorn. It's one of those books that fills you with joy and despair simultaneously. The character of Miller within his books is extremely paradoxical because the guy's so free of a moral center (as in he has become completely passive and continuously laughs through the suffering of life) that it's almost inspiring...but then you read about how he finds glee in watching a neighborhood kid get beaten by his father, and you end up looking at yourself with horror.

FIA: And, taking a page out of your interview jotter…

Last show you went to?

TS: Last show I went to was Ryan Adams at SXSW. Such an amazing songwriter and performer. Watching him steal a man's jacket from the crowd was the height of my SXSW experience.

FIA: Unknown band you think everyone should know about? 

TS: Typhoon. Kyle Morton may very well be one of the greatest songwriters today. How he continuously wrestles with his own mortality and the possible meaninglessness of life is something to be applauded. I'm surprised he hasn't cracked yet, like Nietzsche. Go listen to their record, White Lighter. Favorite record of 2013.

***

By Ashlyn St. Ours for Folk It All Art by Beau Sims

[tttinytrash]

The long awaited siren fic! Decided to go for Lust for maximum sass levels (sorry/no worries depending on your preferences here, but despite the AU nothing spicy here, just light sexual humor) Unzipping and food turning to liquid magic are both concepts stolen from @shamedump. 

Siren skele and arctic researcher reader instead get acquainted by accident, then skele helps out their little human before being stuck with the consequences. Enjoy the awkwardness!

The cold never bothered you, but even given that this was a bit much. You were bundled in all the best thermal gear of course, being in the arctic required it, but couldn’t help the shiver as a particularly vicious gust threatened to throw your fluffy hood down. Ah well, get the equipment checked quick and you and Taylor could get back all that much sooner. 

Taylor, your previously mentioned research partner, was slightly ahead of you in the ankle deep snow as you both slowly shuffled towards the ice shelf that harbored the frigid water you two were studying. Coring ice and checking for fossils and chemical dating, monitoring water currents and other various data to guide the calculations required, all of it was rather dull. The crunching of numbers was more your taste, Taylor was the one who loved all their equipment. They each had names, in fact. They treated the machines like they were their kids. You might tease, but you were glad for the levity in what would normally be a tearjerkingly boring job. You didn’t appreciate their insistence to not go alone near as much, however. But you also couldn’t blame them.

After all, sirens were about.

There were precautions against their fabled charms, sure, but the thought of man-eaters being out was terrifying. So with Taylor you begrudgingly went. 

Taylor approached the mooring spot of one of their submersible probes, and activated the winch to bring it up for inspection. It had stopped sending data a few hours ago, which is what started your trip outside. To be honest, you weren’t fully sure what the probes should look like, but the mangled pile of scrap that game up on the end of the line was clearly not correct.

“No! They killed Trevor!” Taylor wailed.

“This was Trevor?” You asked.

“Yes! And he’s dead!”

“Clearly. We’ll need a whole new probe at this point. Better load this hunk of junk up.”

“Rest in peace, Trevor. You will be missed.”

Any funeral rites were interrupted when your proximity sensors went off. As precautions against sonic attacks (read as: siren song) you both were wearing noise cancelling headsets with communication links specifically between both of your headsets and the home base. You both also had sensors that would ping when something moving besides you two got within range, and you had a sinking feeling you knew what it was before you whipped your head around to find the offender. 

Yep, definitely a siren. 

It had the lower body of a spotted seal, but the torso of a skeleton was plopped where the neck should have been. Vibrant pink eyes were oddly hooded seductively at you two. Even deaf to it, you could tell by posture and movements it was singing to you. 

Nope, no thank you.

“Leave the scrap, we’ve gotta move!” You urge, pulling Taylor up by the arm. 

You both move as fast as possible back to the snowmobiles, luckily not too far away, and begin to book it. As you jet away, you scream over your shoulder “Not today, Pinky! Find something less sentient to eat, ya jerk!”

To your shock, the thing looks legitimately offended, and even blows a raspberry at you before it dives into the water.

Did it actually understand...?

You didn’t give it any more thought, instead flooring your snowmobile back to the warm, safe base. You didn’t want to be lunch, and were also pretty excited to feel your toes again.

-----

Repairing that damn probe took so much longer than it should have. But that was mostly because Pinky was very much Not Helpful™.   

Taylor made fun of you for naming the killer skelemer, but you solidly blamed their habit of naming everything rubbing off on you. Regardless, Pinky had become the thing’s title and at this point you were near certain it knew its name too. 

Pinky surfaced not too long after any attempts to retrieve, replace, or repair Trevor’s remains. You were always on guard duty while Taylor worked, so you were the one to spot it first. You’d raise the alarm and you and Taylor would scram, but it was alarming how quickly the mer picked up on what your tiny team was doing. It quickly figured out neither of you could hear their song, so it gave up on that and instead posed in what was probably supposed to be alluring poses, literally beckoning you to come closer. It eventually got nearly lewd.

The first time Pinky went fully sexual, you busted up laughing. He looked offended right up until you posed while channeling your best Jessica Rabbit on the back of Taylor’s snowmobile during your retreat. From that point, he seemed to take it as a challenge and almost seemed to be laughing along at his own ridiculousness. He also seemed to pick up on the meaning of your habitual flipping of the bird as you escaped inland and would return your one finger salute, or even rise up out of the water sometimes with the raised middle phalange the first thing to break the surface.

Ugh, you’d seen this thing too many times. You were personifying it.

It hadn’t ever gotten more than 100 yards off, barely in range of the proximity sensors. So your sightings were seconds each. You’d rather keep it that way.

Fate did not comply.

The day you finally got Trevor 2.0 ready to submerge was the day everything went wrong. You and Taylor lifted the equipment, shuffling towards the edge of the ice shelf to chuck the machine into the depths. Pinky had yet to be seen despite you two having been out here particularly long without disruption. Had it finally given up?

No, the sensor went off which startled both of you, enough so that the equipment was fumbled and ultimately dropped. Trevor 2.0 hitting the ice caused a chain reaction. Both of you stumbled back, Taylor luckily onto solid ice shelf, you less luckily onto rapidly cracking ice. You hit water, and shock made you instantly black out.

-----

Sans lazily went toward where the humans would be. Ever since wrecking the probe, they’d been out there daily. But while his plan for easy lunch didn’t work since they were somehow deaf so his song, he didn’t even mind at this point. Playing with the spunky human, or Brat as he thought of them, was a highlight to his day.

Originally he had tried to lure them other ways besides song, but their ability to sass back at him had gone from vexing to charming, the same way his usual insult for them became an affectionate moniker. As a reward for getting a good chuckle out of him the previous day, he’d decided to give them a little extra time unmolested.

Any plans went out the door when he saw Brat hit the water. 

The other human was flailing about on shore and froze when it saw him, but he paid it no mind. He instead dover underwater after Brat’s panicking form. He watched as shock made them gasp, the precious air they needed becoming a cloud of bubbles around their rapidly sinking body.

Forget plans, all thought went out of his head and a protective instinct he didn’t know he even had kicked into overdrive. He didn’t wanna eat them anymore, but apparently human was on the menu again. At least, in a way. He briefly surfaced, less than a moment and just long enough to flush the water out of his system to replace with air before he dove, snatching their eerily still form. He shoved their head into his mouth and gulped greedily, dragging their unresponsive frame into his body. He had to get them warm, and he was the warmest thing in the vicinity. The air in his belly would let them breathe, and the warmth of his magic would keep hypothermia at bay.

Once they were down, he panted with exertion, feeling their body through his own. 

...SHIT.

The hell did he do now?

-----

You woke slowly, not knowing where you were.

Then you remembered and suddenly waking up was very fast. Still didn’t know where you were though. You flailed around in surprise, finding everything rather squishy, wet, and ...pink?

“human?”

“Huh- what?!” You cried in response to the sudden voice, falling backwards and sliding to the bottom of this weird rounded space you were in.

“delta, i’m not used to shit moving around in there like that. dunno how i feel about that yet.”

“where am i?” panick straining your voice up an octave.

“uh, currently inside a siren. in neither a food way or a fun way, if that helps.” He said, blandly.

“PINKY?!”

“that’s usually what you call me, among insults of various quality and originality. ‘pink tailed prick’ was always my favorite.”

You’ve somewhat realized you’re in his gut now, and a quick once over of your body reveals that it’s intact, if damp. “....why am I not dead?” 

“i already said it wasn’t in a food way. you nearly drowned, don’t you remember?”

Crap, now you did. “The question stands.”

“fair. easy answer though; i begrudgingly like you, brat.”

“I’m a brat? You tried eating me- wait, did eat me!” You clap your hands over your traitorous smart mouth, god please don’t piss off the thing that can easily kill you if he had a mind to!

“well, i didn’t. not for lack of trying, though. and you’re still not food, you’re actually safer in there then out here. even i know you’d freeze to death if i just let you out on shore. you need to be dry, which isn’t really attainable for a mer.”

“...oh.” You can’t really object to the logic, even if your brain were in a place to.

“yeah. i did try to bring you back. other one tried to shoot me.”

“Damn, Taylor has shit aim.”

“they do. which leads us to now.”

“Oh... the ‘how the hell do we get me out’ phase.”

“yeah. and at this point without death. if you’re going to be making such a drastic impact on my impeccable figure for this long, it’d better not be in vain.”

“Excuse me Princess!” you guffaw, tone dripping sarcasm.

“sans.”

That stumped you. “Come again?”

“my name. it’s sans.”

“Oh. Well, I’m y/n.”

“well, y/n, you’re stuck in there until we find a way to get you back on dry land without near immediate hypothermia. so get comfy, because we’re sleeping now. even if i do look pregnant, i need beauty rest.”

“Oh. Uh. Guess I can’t complain. And uh... thanks for the lack of murder.”

He hums in reply, movement finally ceasing.

You slide into a maintainable, comfortable position and finally take in your surroundings, since you’ll be stuck here awhile. The walls do softly glow pink as you’d initially seen. Less obviously, they also have a subtly wavy texture, and a bouncy give almost like a waterbed. The walls are slick and frictionless, but don’t appear to leave slime on your questing hands. 

“that feels nice. feel free to keep that up.” sans interrupts your exploration.

There’s a brief flare of guilt before you take his advice and keep playing with the plush walls, as if pawing will grant you extra knowledge.

You don’t really remember falling asleep, but apparently you did. The soft sounds of his body around you make excellent white noise apparently.

-----

It had been days. Inside a siren’s belly. What is your life?

It was weird, but not too bad without the death to go along with it.

Sans encouraged you to play with he odd texture of his magic, but that got old after awhile. You would say however, that you were extremely comfortable. The walls had a lovely give, and tended to mold to your body in whatever position you took due to their plush nature. They even moved in a soft undulating pattern, which felt kind of like a massage. Oddly, you had gotten used to this enough to almost enjoy it.

Then you were doused with liquid magic. Again.

“Dammit, warn me!” You cried, wiping the pink glow out of your eyes.

“why would i? that’s so much less fun.”

“Pink tailed Prick.” You muttered.

“ah, my favorite title.”

-----

As nice as having a constant companion and warm weight inside was, he was at his wits end with this arrangement. Honestly not even because of y/n. They could come back to visit his gut again after this whole thing was over as far as he was concerned, but they other one was incredibly dense. 

The perceived loss of their companion really made it impossible to break through. Especially since they couldn’t hear him, and wouldn’t get close enough for him to get the headphones (which y/n told him were what made them immune to song) off. If he charmed them, the violence would stop long enough to prove y/n was ok. But lack of communication was a big issue here. Of course, the water had rendered y/n’s pair defunct.

Y/n appeared to have adapted to their space decently too, they didn’t struggle and once he was used to it their readjustments and stretches felt divine inside. They were bewildered by the fact that his magic could sustain them, meaning they didn’t have to eat as long as he intended to care for them. Them playing with the liquid magic his body converted his actual food to was hilarious, if maybe gross under other circumstances. 

He was going to miss his internal companion desperately. 

But that wasn’t the goal for now. Y/n came up with had to be plan H (he’d lost track of where they were in the alphabet by now) which was risky but the best shot they had yet. He’d just unzip on shore and show Taylor that y/n was ok. That meant that his human was risking hypothermia, and he would be in no position to bail if Taylor shot. (They were a bad shot, but that wasn’t a risk he was thrilled with.)

He didn’t really like this plan, but he hauled himself up out of the water by where Taylor would be sure to patrol, and waited for the human to arrive.

Eventually, an indignant “You bastard!” heralded the misguided human’s arrival. A bang indicated a gunshot, but no bullet whizzed by. Wow. Strormtrooper level bad aim, Taylor.

He turned to face them, then raked a finger down his belly, letting y/n throw their damp top half out into the frigid air. “TAYLOR, STOP!” they screamed, waving their hands in a ceasefire gesture.

Taylor either panicked or didn’t see, firing another shot. y/n screamed, pulling their now bleeding forearm close to themself. 

Sans reached a hand down, healing magic already summoned and tending to the new hole y/n had been gifted.

“that’s it, this didn’t work. get back in, we’re out.” Sans growled.

“W-wait! N-N-” y/n protested, blue lips and chattering voice making it difficult.

Sans was about ready to shove them in himself when Taylor called in utter shock “Wait... y/n?!”

Taylor stumbled forward a step or two, grip on their gun slack.

Thank Delta, this was the opening he needed! He used his magic to rip off their damn headphones, and before they could reorient their grip on their gun, he began to sing. With the charm in place, they could finally talk.

He also got to eat y/n again now, which was another bonus.

-----

You strode confidently to the water with Taylor beside you, going to check on Trevor 2.0 like normal. Most things were back to normal, but what wasn’t was far more interesting.

You got three things from the ordeal in the end, and they were as follows:

One, your hair was now pink. Prolonged exposure to Sans’ magic had affected your hair’s natural pigmentation, and there was no indication as to whether it was permanent or not. Eh, at least you’d save on hair dye.

Two, you got a scar. Taylor was endlessly sorry for it, but the bullet hole had left a definite mark on your forearm. Had to think of a cover story for that before shipping home. That was concern for later, though.

Three, you got a new friend or constant pest depending on how you felt at the given moment. The smile that broke on your face at seeing the familiar glow beneath the frigid surface of the water said you were currently leaning friend. 

Sans chilled with you while Taylor did their thing, Taylor also chipping in on conversation as they worked. The typical flow was interrupted when Sans’ belly growled.

“Too lazy to hunt again?” You asked.

Sans shrugged. “guilty as charged.”

“Just go, don’t do your usual beat around the bush thing.” Taylor butted in.

“Hey! I didn’t even do anything!” You groused.

They raised a brow at you, smiling mockingly. “You brought extra clothes.”

“...shut up.”

Sans and Taylor both laughed at you.

From his spot in the water, Sans looked up at you and said “i’m game if you are.”

You hesitated.

“Just go, I’ll have dinner ready by dark. I can get back to base on my own.” Taylor said, retreating to their snowmobile. 

You turned to Sans, who wordlessly opened his mouth wide and waited.

Smiling, you obliged.

[kitweewoos]

TrevorDeke + 17 for the new dialogue prompts (hurt me)

In my defense, you asked for this. :)

17. Who did this to you?

Warning: implied abusive relationship

Trevor had already left for the day and had gotten halfway home when he realized that he’d forgotten his phone on Deke’s desk, and turned back around. His sister would berate him for the illegal u-turn he pulled, but she wasn’t there. He’d left Deke finished up month-end reports, and that was only after Deke had reassured him that he didn’t need anything else.

“Hey Randy,” Trevor said as he passed into the lobby, letting himself in with his key fob.

“What are you doing back here?”

“Left my phone with Deke on accident.”

“Hate when I do that,” Randy replied.

“See you in a bit.”

Deke’s office was a few floors up and he was right where Trevor left him, except that the lights were off and there was a tension to Deke’s posture that Trevor had never seen before. He gently knocked on the door and the movement turned on the motion sensor lights. Deke startled as the lights illuminated the room, eyes darting up and around like a caged animal waiting for the whip to crack down on them.

“Hey, it’s just me. I forgot my phone,” Trevor said gently. He knew Deke’s past was indescribably dark, and it was only be the sheer force of Deke’s own will that kept Deke bright and shining each day, kept him moving forward when anyone else would’ve buckled. Trevor had never seen Deke like this before, though, withdrawn and tremoring. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Deke said, and Trevor watched Deke plaster a fake smile on his face.  

“Are you sure?”  

He crossed the room and, while he wanted to go to Deke’s side, stopped at the front of the desk, facing him. Closer now, though, he could see Deke’s face was red. No, just his cheek was red, and it wasn’t the sweet rose of his blush.  

“Who did this to you?” he asked without thinking, the words stumbling out of him barely in the right order. He hadn’t been gone that long, but somehow in the last forty-five minutes, Deke had been slapped hard enough to leave a welt on his face.  

“It’s fine.”

“Was it Sequoia? Where is she?” Trevor turned as if he might find her hiding behind the door, shadowed like a villain.  

“It wasn’t Sequoia,” Deke said, shaking his head. “It’s fine, Trev.”

“It’s not. What the fuck happened?” he asked, and then forced a slow breath out so he came off less confrontational. He stepped around the desk and took Deke’s chin gently in his hand, careful not to hurt him any more than he already had been. “Deke, what –”

He turned his face and inspected the welt. There was a scratch just under his cheekbone, like nails or, or a ring. Sequoia had a very specific set of rings she wore when she was out, since she called them iconic and a part of her brand.  

“I will kill her,” Trevor said. Deke reached up and caught Trevor’s wrist.

“I’m fine. Go home, Trevor. It’s late.”

“Deke, I’m not going to leave you here.”

There was a sound down the hall, the click of a door, and Deke pushed Trevor away, not roughly but with a quiet insistence. His eyes went a little wild, animalistic with that same fear he’d seen earlier.  

“Go home.” Trevor took a step back. “Please.”

“You know where I am,” Trevor said, taking his phone from the desk, “if you need me. I’m just a phone call away.”

“I’m fine.”

And Trevor could see even Deke didn’t believe it, but he stepped back away as the door opened again and Sequoia appeared.

“Okay, I’m ready to go, babe. We’ve got those reservations to get to. Oh, Trevor. You’re here.”

Trevor shook his phone at her.  

“Forgot this. If I didn’t call my sister tonight, she might think I’ve died and send the SWAT team in or something,” he said. “Over-protective seems to be a family trait, you know?”

Sequoia hummed at him, and walked over to Deke to tilt his head back and kiss him very obviously. Trevor watched for a moment, and then turned his head so he didn’t hurt her and get himself landed in jail.  

“I’ll see you on Monday,” Trevor said, and turned back just in time to see Deke looking away. That’s all they ever did, look away, and here he was doing it again when Deke needed him the most, but he couldn’t save Deke if he didn’t want it.  

[more dialogue prompts]

[parrotvoid]

Uplifted Aquatic Organisms

Uplift is a developmental process to transform a certain species of animals into more intelligent beings by other, already-intelligent beings. This is usually accomplished by cultural, technological, or evolutionary interventions like genetic engineering but any fictional or real process can be used.  While it seems like we are far from achieving this technological power, it would only take a few key breakthroughs in our understanding of the genetics of intelligence to be able to CRISPR in human level intelligence to the minds of already smart animals - for example dolphins or octopuses.  

 The key question here is why would we want to uplift another species?  If we accept the modern doctrine that diversity of thought is an important variable to pushing ideas forward, then it may be beneficial for the future of humanity (and possibly all Earth-based life) to expand the brainpower working on the hardest and most complicated problems of the universe to nonhuman hardware.  It’s certainly possible that the complexities of quantum mechanics or faster-than-light travel, could be unachievable for the average human but understandable to the average uplifted octopus.  Countless science fiction novels explore the concept of an alien species being able to comprehend some facet of science, mathematics, or philosophy which is hopelessly unachievable to the human mind.  If extraterrestrial alien intelligence are out of reach, uplifting gives us the chance to create more Earthly alien intelligences to communicate and work with.   

Of course, uplifting doesn’t come without its own concerns.  Moral concerns and the fear of “playing God” are always on the forefront of any proposal to use genetic engineering in such a radical way.  Uplifting also brings in similar concerns to what we deal with in AI research.  Technically speaking, an uplifted dolphin would be an “artificial intelligence”.  Unlike computers, which we can program from the ground up to serve us and not have their own selfish interests, uplifted animals would still have emotions and instincts.  Uplifted animals would have a much higher chance of becoming antagonistic toward humans than traditional computer-based AI.  The risk of antagonism runs higher the more aggressive or predatory the base animal is as well as how the uplifted peoples are treated within the greater society.  

Below is a description of some possible uplifted aquatic life:  

Artist credit: Edon Guraziu

MICROGRAVITY HABITAT FOR AQUATIC LIFE FORMS 

By the 9th century After Sputnik, several species of cetacean and cephalopod had been uplifted to human level sapience through the extensive use of genetic engineering. While most of these posthuman terrans would choose to migrate from Earth to the oceans of Europa, Ganymede, Callisto and Enceladus, many chose to take up residence elsewhere throughout the solar system. The habitat shown here is home to almost a thousand aquatics, and represents the single largest non-human sapient population centre in the notoriously bioconservative Venusian Republic (which to this day still refuses to permit uplifts to take up permanent residence on the terraformed surface).

Artist credit: Aldo Spadoni

EVA SUIT FOR UPLIFTED CETACEANS (990 AS / 2947 OC) 

 Despite their increased life support requirements, uplifted dolphins are highly sought after as crew for deep space survey, salvage and asteroid mining expeditions due to their spatial awareness and problem solving abilities. As a result specialised suits have been devised to allow them to assist their human comrades during extravehicular activities. The suit shown here is a state of the art design, powered by the latest miniaturised fusion generator and equipped with an assortment of sensors, tools, weapons and thrusters. The shell of the suit is hardened against micrometeoroid impacts and high energy cosmic radiation, and contains sufficient provisions for 48hrs of continuous operation. 

Artist credit: Daniel Clarke and Trevor Claxton

UPLIFTED CEPHALOPOD

Developed at the same time as the uplifted cetacean, the uplifted cephalopod was in many ways better suited to the rigours of deep space living, with a body that was less vulnerable to the deleterious effects of microgravity and a limb layout innately suited for the use of tools in space. Shown here is an uplifted Neo-Octopus in both his original organic form and in a fully prosthetic body. Cyborgised cephalopod uplifts have earned a reputation as superb navigators and technicians within the Jovian and Titanian navies, and although they tend to have an aversion to combat they are nevertheless formidable foes, since such cyborgs have superhuman strength and integrated weapon systems. Few Neo-Octopi are drawn to the military lifestyle however, and so the Jovian Navy must often settle for the handful of Homo Astris cyborgs who feel bold enough to swap their cyberbrain into a synthetic cephalopod form for long enough to acclimate to the completely non-human layout.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uplift_(science_fiction)

https://www.yalescientific.org/2015/05/science-or-science-fiction-uplifting-animals/#:~:text=Uplifted%20animals%20%E2%80%94%20or%20animals%20biologically,so%20far%20from%20reality%2C%20either.

[lunarlover12]

Michael scans across the junkyard in search for any remaining android parts that managed to survive the recycling process. His gaze landed on a few pieces earlier but they were quickly discarded upon closer inspection.

Behind him, Gavin was digging through a pile by hand, quietly talking to himself. He tossed something over his shoulder and Michael watches as a head bounced on the ground twice before it started to roll his way. He scans it quickly before turning away from it in favor of the mass of bodies that were heaped into mountains.

It was easier to look at them like this. Easier to scan over the bodies that were too tangled to focus on too much instead of individual body parts.

His ocular scanner finds a viable match and he makes his way over to where it’s hidden under a couple of twisted and battered limbs. It’s easy enough to push those away to get to what he needs. It’s much harder for him to grab him once he sees that it’s still attached to an android who is still activated. “Gavin,” he calls to the human without looking away. His sensors pick up the sounds of Gavin crunching his way over to him and then feels as a hand is put on his shoulder.

“What’s up boi?” he asks curiously. Michael merely points at the android who is looking at them expectantly, mouth moving as if to speak but nothing coming out. Michael scans over it quickly and notes that quite a few key components are currently missing. He hears Gavin hum from his position behind him. “How bad is he?” Gav questions as his eyes do their own version of scanning the android.

Michael lists off all of the parts that the android needs replaced and the human frowns. “I don’t know if we have all of that..” he says more to himself than to Michael. He waits patiently for a moment until Gavin shrugs. “Let’s take him anyway. I’ll do what I can with what I have.” Michael nods and stands back up, mindlessly dusting himself off even though his clothes aren’t dirty. Not like Gavin’s at least. “Help me uncover him, Gav.” He orders. Together, they pull the other androids parts off of the one that’s still activated before Michael lifts it up into his arms. He’s careful not to jostle it around too much, afraid he’d break something else that Gavin would have to fix on the poor thing.

He watches Gavin work when they get back to base, standing just over his shoulder and making snide comments whenever he feels they’re necessary. Gavin quips back a few times but he’s mostly focused on the android currently shut off on the table. There’s a bunch of extra android parts on a table just off to the side alongside all of Gavin’s tools.

“How much longer?” He finally caves and asks. Gavin glances over at his direction and blinks as if he just realized he was there.

“Uh? Oh! Just a second, Micheal. Have patience, boi!” He grins and Michael sees just how tired the human is, his eyes still sharp but with bags under his eyes. And his body moves slower than it usually does. Perhaps he should mention something to Trevor or Geoff about making Gavin stay home for a day or two to catch up on his rest.

Something stirring catches his attention and his gaze shifts from Gavin to the android that’s powering back up. It’s LED starts blinking and spinning yellow and for a moment Michael worries that it was a mistake to bring it to their base to fix it. But as its eyes open and it turns its head to look around, the stress levels seem to settle at a moderate level. That’s good, they could work with that.

“Where-where am I? What did you do to me?” It demands as it looks down at its android skin. Slowly, the human skin crawls its way down its limbs but its attention goes back to Michael and Gavin. He’s not sure, but Michael thinks it’s glaring at them.

“Welcome back, ST500!” Gavin squeals in delight but Michael notices how the android flinches at its model number. “We found you in the junkyard and fixed you back up!”

“Do you have a name you’d prefer we refer to you as?” Michael asks. The androids eyes meet his and he gives the tiniest hint of a smile.

“Jeremy,” he answers as his skin finishes replacing itself. He’s attractive, Michael thinks, eyes scanning over the obvious muscles. They’re practically the same model and he can’t help but wonder what happened that would make a company completely scrap their security android instead of just repairing it.

Gavin takes a step back and motions around to the space that they’re in. “Welcome to Achievement City!” he says. Jeremy swings his legs over the side of the table and slides off, almost falling when his feet hit the ground. He looks up at the two of them in what’s close to panic.

“Why am I shorter?!” He practically screeches. Michael looks over to Gavin and doesn’t even try to stifle his laugh at the man’s sheepish expression.

“Jeremy, we didn’t have the right legs for you, Jeremy. We had to use what we had.” He explains and Michael rolls his eyes at the way his voice rises.