#ocelot sunrise

[hikayeplays]

Steam Next Fest October 2023

Alright let's see as many Demos as possible!

1. Ocelot Sunrise

A nice roguelite bullet hell with various levels (only one playable in the demo) and a sci fi scavengers story and a comics/borderlandesque aesthetic that makes the cutscenes very nice to look at. The background music is a bop too. Alas the controller controls are not completely implemented yet and quite clunky to use in a mixed way, however the power ups and the weapons seems really fun to play with.

7.5/10

Wishlisted

2. ASTRA: Knights of Veda

On first impact a bread and butter jrpg with all the pros and cons of the genre like huge bazongas! Regardless of which category you consider them in. The artstyle in game and in battle is expecially nice with this sort of "dress-up paper doll" look that sets it somewhat apart and the cutscene style for the evil faction and the dream realm is quite good. The controls are nice and intuitive enough although it needs a mouse to click on certain things like equipment. The voice acting is good enough? I'd say but the audio levels mixing leaves to be desired in some parts. Now the cons: it required to make an account even to play the demo and it has an obligatory post download 8 gb of additional content, there are "daily reward" and buyable cosmetics but most aggravating of all (for me) there are minutes of cutscenes every 5 minutes or so of gameplay.

5/10

Not for me

3. Estate Agent Simulator

The first bugged demo. The second prompt for the italian tutorial popped up with this half baked and definitely not italian way and had to restart the game in english

The gameplay itself is fine? For a game like this? Certainly not particularly nice nor particularly bad but the camera bobbing is atrocious, it gave me nausea after I cleaned the first house, the game was also completely silent. I'll add a +1 for the promise of a pettable dog

4/10

4. Lose CTRL

A surreal satirical you rage you lose puzzle game in which you play as Billy as he tries to climb the corporate ladder to reach a segway. The game mess with your controls and your mind in a mix between Get Over It and Brazil (1985). The split screen capabilities intrigue me although I wonder how it could work with keyboard and mouse controls. The general style is charming and distinctive but also amateurish and rough around the edges. To try, at least once.

7/10

Wishlisted

5. Leila

Leila is a chill and relaxing kinda lofi click and drag puzzle game that goes back the memory lane in a coming of age(?) Tale for a middle aged woman, the titular Leila. The puzzles shown have a nice variety between styles and difficulties, and they are certainly meant for someone looking to lubricate those neurons. The art and the background music are pretty nice and the voice acting is quite good too. If you like click and drag puzzles I feel that wishlisting this one (and always trying the demo before) maybe one of your best bets so far.

8/10

6. Tales from the Dancing Moon

An old-school-ish rpg inspired by runescape in which you run around doing errands for the townsfolk and at the same time try to unravel the mistery of your memory loss, the presence of a smartphone that you can use to take photos in game gives it a mild isekai flavour but not too strong based on what I've seen. The controls appear fluid enough and the sound design while not spectacular does it's job. The character creation menu is surprisingly in-depth for this kind of games.

6.5/10

Runescape wannabe

7. There's Always a Madman: Fight or Flight

A text based spy adventure in which you play as this super special agent and have to choose between different options both in action and dialogue. While the story itself seems nice the absence of any voice action or any background image besides some solid background color makes the experience hoverwelmingly boring as you are left to click repeatedly thru text.

3/10

I yawned

8. Rocket!

A mix between a shoot them up and a roguelite bullet hell heavily inspired by galaga and the classics. While the concept is nice and seems intriguing enough and I don't doubt it may end up garnering quite the cult following like many other niche games the controls are exceedingly hard and finicky, the spaceship appear to drift incontrollably with no apparent rhyme or reason.

4/10

9. Aureole: Wings of Hope

An incredibly fun and novelty platformer/dasher game where you follow the tale of two angels while you speed and dash and jump at full force thru obstacles in the shape of a bouncy halo. The mechanics are surprisingly simple and incredibly flexible at the same time, creating a gameplay that can be adjusted to your own needs, I appreciated particularly the ability to "freeze" while you charge a jump or a dash. Despite not being a platformer lover I absolutely adored this little demo to bits, so far the only that has left me truly wanting more.

9/10

Wishlisted

[revelforevermore]

When The Ghouls Play Minecraft

Prompt: The ghouls playing survival mode in Minecraft.

Notes: This is a random prompt, but one that has been living in my mind for a bit. Enjoy!

Aether: He’s a simple ghoul. He likes to play the traditional way and his goal is to build a boat, a fishing pole, and spend his days in the Minecraft world fishing. Of course, peace is not an option, and the others will sneak attack him in the water. He tamed one wolf into a dog that follows him around; his dog is the ONLY thing Dew won’t mess with.

Dew/Sodo: He immediately seeks out an Enderman to square up—even if he has no weapons. He fears nothing; when everyone else is trying to sleep, he’s out playing assassin so everyone playing the game with him has to wait ten minutes until sunrise or brave the outside world at night. He likes to shoot Aether’s avatar with arrows. Him and Swiss have the highest death count because they take each other out all the time. He doesn’t build a single thing in the game. He’s the one who tries fighting the ender dragon. Also stakes out every village he can find, pillages them, and burns them to the ground—unless he feels like he can be their new leader.

Swiss: He’s fun to play with, but do NOT let him build anything. He was once in charge of building a bedroom and he managed to get the whole house burnt down (the game auto saved right after the mistake was caught). He usually tags along with Dew and they fight off all the things trying to kill everyone. He likes fighting the Creepers since they go boom. Everyone dreaded the day he discovered how to make TNT; the lawn around the houses they built are covered in craters. He makes the excuse he’s helping the others to find mines.

Mountain: He’s the potions expert and he’s the one who makes a lot of the weaponry and armor for everyone. He took care of the ghoulettes first in weaponry which pissed off Dew, but once he gave him a magic sword he shut up. He’ll help with other tasks as needed; he’s often taken on mining escapades since he’s so good at finding precious items. He likes crafting things and he’s made iron giants for each of the players. His iron giant regularly tries to kill Dew. 

Rain: He’s a little homemaker in the game. He focuses on building their shelters and relies on the others to gather materials for them all. He makes all the food and sources the coal for them. His favorite thing to do in the game is tame the wolves into dogs; so far, he has 11 that follow him around all day and help him hunt down animals. He's working on getting a whole farm organized. He has a pet zombie, too. 

Phantom: He’s a miner; he never carries much on his character since he dies so frequently. He severely underestimates his life force and how far of a drop things are. He throws himself around and moves so fast that his screen is dizzying. He likes finding the witch shacks and fighting the witches. He’ll follow Dew and Swiss around since when either dies, he can collect their supplies as his own. Rarely gives them back. Somehow, he manages to build a portal to the Nether world. He likes the ghasts. Regularly tries to summon Herobrine. He summoned a Wither before anyone was ready once and completely fucked up everyone’s day. 

Cumulus: She picks flowers most of the time or just wanders around; she’s always on the hunt for the best landscape views in the game. She wants a house built on top of a mountain no matter what anyone says, and manages to convince the others to help her. The creatures at night spook her so she’s always hiding or trying to sleep during that time. She’s trying to tame an ocelot locked in her room so she can have a cat.

Cirrus: She collects building materials for the others, while also acting as muscle. She does what Dew thinks he does: she protects the others while collecting materials for them to use. She likes exploring the map to look for random buildings to explore or the temples. She’s a regular Indiana Jones.

Sunshine: While Rain constructs the buildings, Sunshine does the decorating for them. She browses SO MANY forums looking for decoration ideas; so far, they have complete bathrooms, a proper kitchen, and even an aquarium. She also created the gardens so they could have other food sources and she tends to it alone.

Aurora: She’s a total horse girl and focuses her mission on getting one. She managed to get one and rides it everywhere; she would ride it into the houses if she was allowed. Besides that, she likes to mine with Phantom and is the first one to find Diamond. She’s one that will brave the dark to go fight the villains, and she likes messing with the the zombies before taking them out. 

[activate-shadow-of-the-window]

Day 10 of No One Except @mr-orion Asked November (NoOneExOriAskNov).

I bid you welcome to the Land of the Sunrise, one of the four major continents of the World of Four Horizons! It is located near the Ocean of the First Horizon, from which the sun rises every morning. Just a sketch map for now, but I’ll clean it up later. My first map in a couple seasons, and it’s for my fanfic worldbuilding project…

Below the cut is all my lengthy worldbuilding nonsense.

Here is a list of the nations, their rulers, their biomes, and their general appearances, in alphabetical order, that call this continent home.

- Climbing Spires is located in the southern red desert, its buildings of sturdy metal and built into the sides of buttes and mesas. Cub Fan Voidstars, a half-vex exile, rules as Sovereign of the Red Rock Crown, over humans, vulture-folk, camel-folk, and thinking husks.

- Dragon’s Spine is located on the largest and only true mountain range of the continent, its buildings being mostly sturdy castles that fly purple banners. Commander X, an enigma in armor, rules as the first Wearer of the Dragon Crown in ten generations, over a sparse population of humans, goat-folk and free iceologers.

- The Drained Lands are the only unclaimed territory of the continent, so desolate and dangerous are they. It used to be the home of the nation of Geyser Heights, a place of fish-folk that once ruled the entirety of the Lapis Sea. The only known survivor of the Evaporation Disaster is XB, a wandering dolphin-folk messenger.

- Elsewhere is located in the western savanna, its buildings being a strange amalgamation of countless architectural styles. Joe Hills, a completely normal human, rules as the first and only occupant of the Other Throne, over seemingly every sort of people imaginable.

- Evergreen is located in the western hilly taiga, its buildings whimsical and elegant, from grand castles to tall bridges to quaint villages in dark wood and green. Gemini Taylor, a deer-like fae, rules as the Queen of the Crown of Needles, over fox-folk, wolf-folk, humans, and other cold-weather faeries.

- Great Acacia is located in the southern windswept savanna, its buildings sprawling, colorful, and almost all parts of massive temple complexes dedicated to the Acacia divinities. Pearl Moon, a llama-folk, rules from the High Priestess’ Throne of Histories, over other llama-folk, horse-folk, meerkat-folk, ostrich-folk, and humans.

- Iceberg Metropolis is located in the northernmost lake, a place cold enough to have its own icebergs, its buildings modern, pale, and sleek. Keralis is the current Mayor of the Blue Ice Crown, with another wolf-folk, Iskall, as his vice; the two administer a population of more wolf-folk, goat-folk, humans, and a few iceologers.

- The Labyrinth is located in the southern jungle, its buildings swooping, golden, and intricate. Impulse Esvee, a wild ocelot, rules as the Emperor of the Emerald throne over other ocelots, cat-folk, humans, panda-folk, and bat-folk.

- Livingstone is located in the western hills and forests, its buildings ruins of a long-lost nation retaken by nature. Bee Double Oh, an insectoid fae, rules from the Moss Throne as lord of horse-folk, fae, humans, and a few spider-folk.

- The Maw is located in the formidable ice spike biome north of the Lapis Sea, its subterranean buildings harsh, practical, and made of stone. A Doctor Mk-77, whose species is not known, leads this underground world with the Deepfang Crown on his head, alongside strange thinking zombies, skeletons, spider-folk, and humans.

- The Neverglades is located in the cold northern swamp, its buildings craggy and foreboding in black. Tango Tek, a third stray, a third blaze, and a third human, rules from the Basalt Throne over thinking drowned, skeletons, witches, humans, and a few hoglins that managed to stave off zombification.

- Permafrost Springs is located in the eastern snowy plains and half-frozen lake, its buildings stately and columned in white and blue. Cleo, a rather long unlived zombie, now sits on the Everfrost Throne, and rules great ranks of humans, thinking zombies, iceologers, and goat-folk.

- Sunset Coast is located along the edge and into the shallows of the south Lapis Sea, its buildings gilded and reaching for the sky in copper and browns. Grian Sunset, or Virida, depending on who you ask, is the parrot-folk Sitter of the Dusk Throne, the first ruler of this young nation of other parrot-folk, a few humans, and a couple panda-folk from across the sea.

- The Tangle is located in the southern mangrove swamp, what few buildings it has being converted fragments of giant, ancient machines. Ren Dog, a name taken in pride and in shame, is the first and only Lord of the Vine Crown, commanding a small population of wolf-folk, drowned, and humans that are willing to follow such an exile.

- Technicolor City is located in the eastern plains and forests, its sprawling buildings painted in bright colors and standing in cheery ranks. Scar Timely Good, half vex and half elf, wears the hat-like Crown of Colors, and happily rules a motley population of humans and animal-folk of all kinds.

- Umbra is located in the central dark roofed forest, its hidden buildings polished and strangely lifelike in the shadows of the trees. False Symmetry, an unknown sort of dark fae, sits on the Darkwood Throne, and rules odd humans, fox-folk, bat-folk, and fae.

There are three other major continents, one for each cardinal direction. In the west, there is the Land of the Sunset, where the Empires rule the land. In the north, the Land of the Equinox, and in the south, the Land of the Solstice, are… nonexistent. For now.

[hee-blee-art]

I would really li r to hear as much as you're willing to tell us about glasses and ocelot 👀

oh I'd love to talk about glasses and ocelot /gen >:) [cw: guns, violence, murder]

glasses is a "commercial assassin / hitman" working as a long-term agent for a company that handles mostly white-collar contract kills. he's a very talented sharpshooter / sniper despite having fairly poor eyesight. has like half of a physics degree (dropped out). loves shooting, used to do archery as a kid / teen and would go to a (gun) shooting range to blow off steam in uni, where he was approached by a rep of the company he ends up working for and offered a job, which he leaves his entire life behind to take (for multiple reasons). his nickname comes from the fact that it's very uncommon for people in his "field" to wear glasses; most wear contacts or get corrective surgery if needed, but he hates both of those things, so it became a bit of a teasing nickname among his coworkers that stuck. his "real" name—which is to say the name attached to the new fabricated identity that he was assigned & assumed when he joined the company—is lixin zhao, but no one aside from his boss calls him that. is almost always detached, carefully collected, and guarded. he keeps everyone at arm's length or much farther, only has good social skills when he's undercover or acting on the job, and has essentially no hobbies. his job is his everything to him, and he's one of the company's top employees, but he has no life to speak of outside of it and nearly everyone who meets him outside of his on-the-job personas thinks he's rude, arrogant, generally unpleasant or just boring, save for two of his coworkers—cignetti and judge—who have a strange part-bully part-rival frenemy sort of affinity for him. very professional and careful on the job but also fairly irresponsible and self-destructive. sleeps with his gun in his bed. overall a pretty big mess of a human being, but good at hiding it. enjoys simple things in life—good cooking, fresh air, sunrises. privately, he loves the ocean, and whenever he is afforded the time and ability he goes to the beach or out on boats to surf, swim, or just stand at the water's edge, which are the only times he truly feels at peace. one of the best moment of his life was watching blue whales while undercover on a cruise near portugal—which was also where he first met ocelot.

ocelot simply calls himself a freelancer, but has been variously identified by others as an eclectic criminal, a professional torturer, a serial killer, a cult leader, a high-ranking mafia member, among others throughout his "career." he doesn't work for any kind of organization, but he has had lots of different affiliations at various times, most criminal, some famous, and few both. no one knows anything about his life before age 20 when he was among the crewmembers rescued from a collapsing oil rig in the north sea—no one could find any record of how he got there or of him at all before then. he is clever, charming, intelligent, ruthless, highly adaptive, and quite impulsive—though he is also very good at thinking on his feet, twisting situations in his favour, and claims to have very good luck. he's also just kind of a freak. operates according to a personal code and his own whims, which are both very strange and hard to discern. ocelot was a codename shared between several intelligence, investigative, and law enforcement entities that he kept managing to evade early in his career, and after a significant intel leak by a rogue hacker, it became his brand so to speak, and he liked it, so he started going by it almost exclusively. he has given his "real" name on several occasions as aksel gunnar, but no one has ever been able to confirm that in any concrete legal way at least, and assume that is another alias. he's somewhat of a celebrity criminal, though very few people know much about him, and no one knows or understands him holistically (himself included). he is extremely dangerous and wanted by lots of people, governments and criminal organizations alike, both dead and alive. would wax poetic with equal passion about arts, astronomy, ancient civilizations, power dynamics, cuisine, and gore. hates guns, loves knives. he has several distinctive tattoos, including norwegian rosemaling designs on his chest, a norwegian textile inspired band on his left arm, and a smiling stylized sun on his right forearm. he also has several distinctive scars, including the ones on the right side of his face and the left side of his neck. overall, he's very visible, and often times doesn't really bother trying to stay hidden. very brash, big ego, definitely a romantic in a fucked up kind of way. he's very intrigued by glasses, convinced that the reason that they keep running into each other is that they're fated to be in each other's lives in some significant way, a notion that glasses vocally detests, but he can't deny the strange way their paths seem to intertwine.

[wordchanter]

4 Random Deities

Maibean the gnomish god of winter, water, beggars and farming. They are associated with the color pink. They expect that followers keep an ocelot as a pet.

Ajakhani the tigerkin demigod of nobles, jewelers and beggars. They are associated with tortoises; the color azure; and tourmalines and topazs. Followers of Ajakhani are burdened by the ability to understand any language.

Adra the minotaurian lesser deity of sunsets, winter, monarchs and blacksmiths. They are associated with the color magenta.

Zenel the human demigod of fire, sunrises and hunters. They expect that followers renounce all other gods.

[firstaidspray]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Tagged by @rhettsabbott to share some shit yayyy!! This one is a bit from the Paz and Marlin confession story, a happier path in the Paz Lives AU. They are having a nice moment before he almost fumbles Thee Angel of Peace.

“Hey, Paz.”

His hand on her shoulder, warm from the sun and his tactical glove. She jumps under his touch and whips around, eyes wide, expression somewhere between surprised and annoyed. Marlin's eyes mirror hers, and he wants to remove the hand from Paz’s shoulder, but he can't.

“What is it?” Her voice is shockingly calm, sweet. Almost like when she had amnesia.

Marlin blinks a couple of times. “I…I just…”

She smirks at him. “Well? Spit it out.”

“Do you…” He will stumble over his words again, he thinks. “Do you want to, um, spend some time together? Outside of target practice and mess hall and missions…you know, like, how real friends do…”

Paz nods her head in the direction of his other hand. “As you carry a rifle, meant to be on duty?”

Marlin rolls his eyes. “I don't want to. Be on duty, that is. I want to spend time with you.”

A smile spreads over her lips. “Then spend it.”

The soldier slings his rifle over his back with his free hand, and his other remains on Paz's shoulder, like it is glued there. He smiles at her, and she smiles back. Neither really know what exactly to do with their time spent together, but they know to do it away from the other DD soldiers.

“I know a lower deck where we can watch the sunset,” Paz says quietly, putting a finger to her lips to indicate silence. “You want to spend your time that way?”

Marlin's smile widens and he nods, then takes his hand off her shoulder, finally. But it is soon taken from his control again, this time by Paz, who links her fingers with his and drags him off to this lower deck, giggling like she still has amnesia.

They head down to this lower deck, taking two small flights of stairs, ending up beside two lifeboats. Paz then releases his hand and leans against the railing on her elbows. Marlin does the same, and the two gaze out at the horizon.

A cloudy sky does not obscure, but rather enhances, the pinks and yellows and oranges of a sunset above the ocean. They bleed together, forming a gradient of peach to almost purple, the deep yellow sun at the center. It slowly dips beyond the edge of the water, stirred up and choppy from the incoming rain the clouds also signal.

And there's silence. Well, as much silence as is possible on Mother Base. In the distance are mechanical sounds, soldiers speaking to each other, footsteps on the metal floors, helicopters arriving and departing. But that ambience, combined with the waves lapping at the side of the base itself, is what silence is to Marlin and Paz.

“This is one of the prettiest sunsets I've seen,” Paz muses after a moment. “Too bad I don't have a camera.”

Marlin nods in agreement. “Yep. Do you watch the sunset a lot?”

Paz smiles. “I do. Sometimes alone, sometimes with Ocelot, now with you. I always watch the sunset and the sunrise. I like to see the beginning and end of each day.”

“Usually, I'm up training or caring for others in the sick bay by the time the sun rises,” Marlin chuckles. “I don't get to pay much attention to it.”

“So you missed sunrises when you cared for me?” Paz asked with a smirk, indicating she's joking.

Marlin clicks his tongue. “Yes, but you were more important than those sunrises. You still are.”

“Am I more important than sunsets, too?” She asks with a tilt of the head.

He looks confused. “Why?”

“Because you are staring at me more than you are looking at the sunset.”

[versatileer]

Daily Giveaway Roll & Freebies– November 11th-13th 2023

The @Versatileer Daily 🎖️ Giveaway Roll & Freebies 🎖️ 💜 November 11th to 13th 💜 Welcome to the Versatileer “Daily Giveaway Roll” A daily listing of #GiveawaysEndingSoon – #Giveaways ending daily midnight Pacific Time. Brought to you by Versatileer: Daily Giveaway Roll – 11/11/23 – 11/13/23 Expiring 11/11 – 2 a.m. until 2 a.m. Ocelot Sunrise Giveaway Worldwide Win a 5.25″ 300-Watt Bluetooth…

[lucanto-fandom]

hey I live here in colombia and have seen ocelots here as I travel a lot through the mountains here i've seen lots of cats and have seen one or two Ocelots also almost every zoo here has one of them, they are very shy but when they get comfortable around you they show up you just have to be very quiet and don't move fast any time because they are very alert and any change of sound or stump they fly away, and tou loose them also they appear at sundown and stay until sunrise.

I actually did research on ocelots while writing my major Encanto fanfic, and one of the first things I learned was that they're painfully shy.

They've said absolutely nothing, and yet I completely understand.

I think they used to be pets, too.

[rooh-afza]

ocelot and big boss taking the time to have a romantic little cigarette kiss at sunrise while venom is quite literally bleeding out in the middle of the road

[anamericanintlaxcala]

My morning routine is pretty basic. Wake up, brush teeth, get my kids up, go downstairs and make COFFEE!!! I am up most mornings before the sun. Which is about to change with the daylight savings “fall back”. It’s a very welcome change. Mostly. I have an absolutely incredible view from my back window. It’s always different so it feels like a surprise every morning. I get to watch the sunrise behind La Malinche.

La Malinche. Although considered an active volcano, hasn’t erupted since 1151 BC. Sitting at 14,636 ft, it’s a view I’ll never get used to. And more awesome than the Volcano itself is the history! The name Malinche represents the Aztec woman it was named after, Malinal. Daughter of an Aztec chief. She served as a guide and interpreter to Hernán Cortés. Later to be known as one of, if not the main villainess of Mexico’s history! In Mexico today, her name symbolizes the very essence of treachery and betrayal. I’m hyping up all this drama and now…. I’m going to leave you hanging! I’ve attached all the links so you can go research this epic folktale for yourself.

Ok back to me and my view 😏 Our little town sits at the bottom of La Malinche. My family and I have gone up the mountain a few times for a fun day trip. It would be a great place to hike around if in fact I was a hiker. Apparently you can catch a glimpse of an Ocelot!! Which is reason enough to make the trek for me. Our house is positioned so that La Malinche is directly behind us. Close enough to see the details of the trees that cover the mountain’s side. Now as routinely as brushing my teeth, iPhone camera at the ready, I snap my morning picture. I’m no photographer! But some of the pictures I have captured from my back window are pretty spectacular.

[ephxmerall]

𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒.  repost and fill in the words you most associate with your character!

animal: ocelot, ginger house cat, cheetah colors: pale blue, white, orange month: april songs: here's a whole playlist number: 8 day or night: day plant: orange tree, sunflowers, forget-me-nots smell: orange blossoms, warmed wood, old parchment, ink, the scent on the air before a storm season: summer food: tarts, coffee cake, fruit salad drink: tequila sunrise, chamomile tea, ice water element: water, air (electricity but that's not a base element—)

Tagged by Stolen from: @bleuwalk Tagging: Steal it like I did!

[mythical-song-wolf]

Not Again

Inspired by another fic’s vague line about a Mermaid World and Petra saying, “Not again” When Ivor was washed into another portal

They had gone into this world because Ivor got knocked into its portal after exiting another one. But now Jesse was pretty sure she didn’t want to leave.

She was a goddamn mermaid in a beautiful ocean world! Her tail is a vibrant iridescent blue that shifts between blueish-purples and blueish-greens everytime she moves it. She can’t help but move it side to side and swim around in small circles to see how the colours change and glitter everytime she moves.

Off to the side, Lukas and Petra briefly ogle at their own tails. Petra has a gold and white striped tail, with some extra fins off to the side that fan out when she’s not swimming. Lukas has the tail of a betta fish, stunning and beautiful with fins that shine an array of colours of oranges, blues, and yellows. If one weren’t paying attention closely, one would assume his tail is iridescent like Jesse’s.

Even their outfits and armour changed to accommodate their new forms. Their armour has shortened to cover the parts of their torso not covered in scales, tightening up and changing in material for easier mobility under the water while still being as flexible. To accommodate some of the new fins and such on their arms, their sleeves are gone but still leave the elbow and shoulder pads on. Even their ears changed to look a bit like fins, letting them hear as if they were above ground.

“Are you three done looking yet?” Ivor asks, swimming up to them with a green tail that turns darker the further it goes down, “As fascinating as this transformation is, we were just in a water world and I don’t plan on staying here long.”

“Relax Ivor, we did just get here. Besides,” Lukas directs their attention to Jesse, who’s still happily swimming in awe at her transformation, “Jesse’s having too much fun for us to ruin it now. I think this is the first world I think she really likes.”

Petra rolls her eyes, “Just wait until something like giant sharks or an empire we’ve offended come and get us.”

Lukas ignores her and opts to swim up to Jesse, “Hey, I’m guessing you like this one?”

She finally looks away from her own tail to meet his eyes with a bright smile, “Yeah,” She says, her tone giddy and light before her smile drops, “But we need to get on finding that portal.”

Lukas nods, letting that faded smile go by for now, as the other two approach, “Yeah, but where do we even begin?” He says, gesturing to the vast ocean around them, “There’s not really clear ground or directions we can follow.”

“We could split up, teams of two. One going east, another west. The portal shouldn’t be too far so let’s search around a thousand blocks away before heading back and meet back here.”

“Where exactly is here?” Petra asks, fauxing a calm tone despite her flaring fins giving her emotions away.

Jesse points to a batch of coral in front of a cave, “Just find the rainbow coral with the patch of seaweed in front of a cave.”

The four split up into groups of two, Jesse with Ivor and Lukas with Petra.

“So... how do you like the tails?” Jesse asks, a smug assumed smile on her face. Ivor smiles before going on a whole tangent that Jesse happily listens and adds onto.

~~~~~

Lukas and Petra swim and observe in silence, with the former occasionally stopping to take note of what they see.

“What are you even putting in there?” Petra asks after the twelfth time Lukas has stopped to write something.

“Taking notes. This place, the hallway, the other worlds, everything, it’s all been so fascinating and different. I’m writing this down so we can keep track of the portals, and maybe be able to revisit some of these worlds when we get home.”

“If.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s if we get home Lukas, not when.”

“Petra—” He tries to place a hand on her shoulder, only for her to turn, fins flaring.

“Let’s face it Lukas! We might never find the right portal home! This hallway goes one for who knows how long. We’ve been here for what? A week? And we’ve gone through how many portals to try and find the right one—?”

“Thirty three.”

“See! See what I mean! We’ve gone through thirty three portals in the past week, and we haven’t even made a dent in that stupid hallway! We might end up like Cassie Rose at this point, either trapped in the hall or trapped in one of the worlds because we can’t find that stupid portal.” Petra sighs, before swimming away from him to try and calm down, but he follows. “I just want to go home, Lukas.”

“I think we all do... Jesse was right, we really should’ve turned back and gone to the Sky City’s world when we had the chance. Rest up, restock...” Lukas trails off, his thoughts wander to how the Ocelots— Blaze Rods would’ve taken them staying longer than expected. With the citizens of Sky City being on land for the first time, they didn’t have anything. No shelters, buildings, nothing. The Blaze Rods would’ve been tied up or kept in a temporary makeshift prison until a proper one was made.

Would Maya feel betrayed over how he let them get arrested by the Sky people? Would Gill try to worm his way out because in the end it was all Aiden’s idea and fault? Would Aiden even resist imprisonment? Or would his pride make it so he faces the consequences without showing weakness?

In the end, it was because of Lukas that they ended up there. The Blaze Rods were targeting him, so they also targeted his friends. Aiden felt like it was all the New Order’s fault somehow. How he and Aiden broke up. How Aiden wasn’t lined up to be the hero. How Aiden lost the battle as the city was crumbling around them. He took no blame until he was taken away by the guards.

Jesse told him that she took on Aiden and let Lukas save the founder because she knew Aiden was after him more than anyone and she didn’t want to take the risk of Aiden doing something he’d regret (whether she was saying this as a threat to Aiden or not, Lukas can’t tell).

What would they have tried if they stayed? Would they even try anything? Knowing three people with more training and with weapons more heavily enchanted are there to keep them in line? If they had stayed, would they have wanted to leave?

He knows Jesse would’ve tried to keep all of them away from the Blaze Rods, especially him. Ivor would complain about how his tree punching days were behind him. Petra would grumble but listen to Jesse because she’s the leader for reasons Lukas knows but reasons the others aren’t consciously aware of. What would he do? What would he have done had they stayed to get rest? Would he avoid the Blaze Rods like the plague while trying to help the people? Would he try and talk to them? To him?

“The sun’s setting, we should head back,” Petra points out, snapping him out of his head and turning his attention to the dimming sky.

~~~~~

When the two get back and head to the cave Jesse was pointing at, Ivor and Jesse are already set up with... a fire?

“How—?”

“Guys! What took you too so long?” Jesse asks, rushing over to check on them.

“We’re fine Jesse, we just got a bit distracted by all the amazing things around here. Speaking of... how...?” Lukas points to the blue fire at the centre of their camp.

“Oh! The flint & steel apparently also works under water.”

“Huh.”

“How did your search go?”

Petra sighs, sitting down and hugging her tail, “We didn’t find the portal, or anything really interesting for that matter outside of some pretty fish.”

“Well, that’s good,” Jesse chuckles at Lukas and Petra’s confusion, “Because we found the portal, but you guys took so long with getting back that we decided to set up camp.”

Petra smiles for the first time since they got here. The team gets settled for the night and by sunrise in this world, they’re already back in the portal hall.

Note: This was not the direction I was hoping to take this but this is the msot writing motivation I’ve had in ages so I’ll let it do its thing

[nothingunrealistic]

2, 5, 22, 27, 30, 34, 36, 41, 45, 48

2. Favorite scene(s)?

hmm this was a surprisingly hard one… the three failed escape attempts of sheila nail isn’t my favorite song (though i do like it!) but i think it does make for the best Scene in the show. also a big fan of the endings of oh well, i was a teenage delinquent, and the finale

5. Favorite orchestration moment(s)?

the two instances during oh well where there’s no singing and we just get “boom, boom-boom, tsh” repeatedly, incredibly loud and powerful (timestamp 1, timestamp 2)

also the end of the first chorus in oh well, where the sparse orchestration that’s been under the whole song so far gives way to the entire band bursting to life (timestamp)

the horns under the first few lines of susannah’s reprise of masochist that then give way to the full band (timestamp)

i could probably double this if i listened to the whole show again. charlie rosen tony award When

22. Headcanon(s) for what happens between Teenage Delinquent and Finale?

dozens upon dozens lmao, so much so that all the lihn fic i’m writing / planning to write focuses entirely on what happens in that timespan. a few:

the girls get split up after the police arrive at nation - dorothy and ya-ya manage to stick together, but everyone else is separated.

susannah moves to new york city as soon as possible, and that’s where she becomes involved both in professional music circles and in civil rights / lgbt rights activism. this is basically canon tbh

given how often we see rat flipping through a magazine or newspaper and listening to the radio, i think it’d be fun for her to ultimately do something in journalism - maybe writing, maybe photography, maybe being a reporter.

either dorothy or ya-ya (or both!) somehow gets work in hollywood - maybe ya-ya achieves her dream of working on special effects for scifi movies, or dorothy uses her vocal chops to become a voice actress.

i like tatiana wechsler’s idea of judith becoming a very chill therapist  

kitty moves to san francisco and also becomes involved in lgbt rights activism. though none of the girls know for many years where the others are, once susannah becomes famous enough to be sent fanmail, kitty manages to write to her, and they stay in touch for years.

sheila does successfully get to mexico without tearing francis’s head off, and spends several years living and working in various cities in mexico before moving back to, and around, the western united states. she often attends / supports protests and labor strikes.

francis gets attacked by an ocelot :)

27. Teenage Delinquent or Revolution Song?

teenage delinquent! every line from “and if we meet again, how i hope the world is different then” onwards gives me chills, as does the accompanying staging. i’m always a sucker for sunset / sunrise imagery and big dramatic kisses that actually feel narratively earned

30. Scene(s)/concept(s) you would like expanded upon?

i’ve said this repeatedly but i would really like to see a further exploration of the contrast between dorothy’s commitment to playing the part of the Happy Homemaker / being Properly feminine and nurturing, and her implied tomboyish past and current willingness to get violent 

34. A very small detail that you appreciate?

i really like the notebook that susannah carries around that has her logo on it! here are some good pictures that include it

36. Favorite song(s) off the Hits of Nation/character playlists?

i haven’t listened to all these songs / playlists yet, but of the ones i have heard:

jesus was a cross maker - judee sill (i first heard this song via these playlists and listened to it on repeat for DAYS)

be my baby - the ronettes

fast car - tracy chapman

i’m on fire - bruce springsteen

back to black - amy winehouse

rose’s turn from gypsy

41. An anecdote about your experience with LIHN?

thanks to lihn, i have a moment of [!] whenever i unexpectedly hear be my baby anywhere. a couple weeks ago, i heard it playing while i was in the bathroom because my family was watching dirty dancing in the next room; a few days later i heard a salsa cover of it that was partly in spanish and partly in english and that i sadly have not been able to find online.

45. If you could ask a single member of the cast/creative team about one thing, what would it be?

i’d ask joe iconis if sheila’s line about “i like to be with a guy, and then i like to not be with him” is meant to imply that she’s somehow had boyfriends / dated guys despite having been in a juvenile hall since she was nine or if that’s a completely hypothetical statement. or if she’s just flat out lying

48. Favorite time Francis was wrong?

his letter to susannah is just a delightful bevy of Being Wrong. claiming that the crystals sing “will you love me tomorrow”? wrong, as pointed out by susannah. saying that he is “following [his] moonlight” like kerouac? the quote he appears to be referencing is from allen ginsberg (and was also written in the 1980s, but no matter…). saying that by the time susannah gets his letter, it will have been a week since they saw each other? it’s been nine days! wrong again!

(Love in Hate Nation ask list!)

[starbrigand-a]

* 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻

repost, don’t reblog !

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

FULL NAME.   Cyree Bellegar. TITLE.   Ace. Captain. Voidhound (swtor). A lot of expletives. NICKNAME.   Friends call her Cee, or Cap, occasionally. GENDER.    female. HEIGHT.    five feet and two inches. AGE.   31. ZODIAC.   saggitarius. SPOKEN LANGUAGES.   galactic basic. huttese. ryl.

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

HAIR COLOR.    EYE COLOR.   dark blue. SKIN TONE.   red. BODY TYPE.   short and athletic, but in that thin, scrappy, wiry sort of way. VOICE.   slightly lower than average, with a bit of a drawl. transitions back to her ryloth accent only when she’s genuinely angry or upset—which isn’t often. DOMINANT HAND.   right. POSTURE.   (leans casually against the wall like a Cool Person) SCARS.   lots of smaller ones, though none terribly visible or major. TATTOOS.   light red ones down her lekku. BIRTHMARKS.   beauty mark under her right eye. MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S).   COWBOY HAT 

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 !

PLACE OF BIRTH.   Ryloth HOMETOWN.   didn’t have a name. SIBLINGS.   luxsa bellegar, a gangster on the other side of the outer rim. PARENTS.   couple ‘o assholes that she hasn’t seen in years.

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 !

OCCUPATION.   smuggler, bounty hunter, and whatever else you need so long as it pays.  CURRENT RESIDENCE.   her starship, an XS Stock Light Freighter named Desert Sunrise. CLOSE FRIENDS.   her whole ship’s crew; corso riggs, akaavi spar, guss tuno, bowdaar and risha (swtor verse); gordie and becc (canon verse). RELATIONSHIP STATUS.   can’t tie a free lady down. FINANCIAL STATUS.    actually surprisingly wealthy, though not through any kind of legal means. DRIVER’S LICENSE.   can fly a starship legally? CRIMINAL RECORD.   extensive counts of many things, including thievery, falsifying official records, smuggling, arson, murder... VICES.   see above. also drinkin’ and frequent companionship.

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION.   bisexual. PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE.   submissive | dominant | switch PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.   submissive | dominant | switch LIBIDO.   link. TURN ON’S.   confidence. bad boys/girls. tall people. MONEY. TURN OFF’S.   nerds and bootlickers. LOVE LANGUAGE.   physical touch. acts of service would be her second. RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES.   doesn’t want romantic relationships, generally, but enjoys having casual flings with interesting people. still, she’s not terribly ashamed of pda in public if a partner lets her get away with it.

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG.   click. HOBBIES TO PASS TIME.   most of her time-passing includes swindling her own crew out of their money by cheating at cards and spinning her blasters around like she’s revolver ocelot, but she also likes to collect plants from planets she visits and keeps a little potted-plant garden in her quarters (labelled and everything.) LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED.   right. PHOBIAS.   many things. slavers. getting stranded. wizards. death. pain. the past catching up to the present... and large bugs. SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL.   very high, though not quite as high as she makes it out to be. VULNERABILITIES.   has some amount of fear and regret about stuff she’s done that she covers up. terrified of dying, and especially terrified of dying with nothing to show for her life. all of these are things that are not hard for a perceptive person to figure out. also, despite being pretty brave, she doesn’t stand up to pain well (and avoids crossing the empire for this reason). a jedi/sith/force-sensitive type could threaten her into doing basically anything, because the force freaks her out and she’s totally spineless around people who can use it.

tagged by: i stole this from an old rp blog of mine from a while ago

tagging: and now it’s your turn,

[lunaraen]

"We don't have to talk about it, but when you're ready... I'm here." with Radar trying to help out Aiden when he moves back to Beacontown?

Radar likes sunrises more thansunsets. Sunsets promise darkness and the looming need to sleep that'll end upgetting ignored about as long as he can ignore it, while sunrises promise fullnew days to continue what he knows and to experience different things and meetnew people.

But for every sunrise there's asunset, and he's not the only one feeling melancholy tonight.

There's only a little shame inadmitting to himself that he's focusing so much on the view so he won't have tofocus on Aiden's next sigh, the latest in a string of far too many.

Beacontown doesn't quietly slipoff into the darkness of night, hasn't in all the time Radar's worked here andeven before then, and it lights up in a different way once the sun sinks lowand the moon soars high. The maintained protections for people's creativitywhen building means there are a lot of different designs, but so much of thecity glows even at sunset.

Even the calmer districts andareas tend to have a number of sea lanterns and blocks of glowstone, gentle, in comparisonto the multicolored beacons and the beams reaching to the clouds at the center of the city, but still lit.

It makes the city that much saferwhen the sun can't protect them from mobs and it all looks stunning, chill bluesand warmer golden glows mixing together nicely and spiced up by the glowstinted by colored glass, the cooler neons of the night almost a trademark ofthe busier areas. It's impossible to see the intricate designs many of thelanterns have from here, but their smaller glows and tinted glass help theshops stand out.

It's another part of Beacontown'scharm. 

Even when close up detail isn't available, it stands tall, beautiful, andsafe, radiating life and warmth as far and as loudly as it can.

(He can even see the glassencased lines of lava surrounding Ivor’s home, tubes of orange snaking theirway to the ground, the skull house itself used more for storage now thanliving, given Ivor’s well used room and lab in the temple.)

Radar might not like sunsets asmuch as sunrises, but he still likes them. It's hard to dislike something sopretty.

Night, as pretty as it is, hasfar more hate-able features, like wandering seas of monsters and bloodthirstycreatures, and it still brings sleep, serene moonlight nights, and skies full ofglittering stars.

He doesn't even hate night.

(It used to be his favorite timeof day, once, when he slept more often, probably more reasonably. Even when hewas being worked to the bone under Stella, he looked forward to sleeping assoon as he could, as soon as the quill was down and the paperwork finished.

Dreaming was his favorite thing,when he could be anybody and anywhere, before it became another distraction,another problem demanding attention and time.)

The hill is plainer, almostunremarkable save for the view it gives them and the way the city's colorsreflect off the grass, muted and soft.

It's like a beacon of peace.

Or loneliness.

(Radar needs to leave the poetryto Lukas.)

Beacon of everything or nothing,or both, it's treated all the same by Aiden, fingers plucking at some of thepurple-tinted blades of grass and one hand curling into the loose soil. His jawkeeps clenching and unclenching, and the fingers digging into the dirt mimicthe motion.

It's been a bad day.

(Maybe a bad week, or even amonth. Aiden's been more melancholy than usual lately, just a bit morewithdrawn and snarky, and there's no real telling how long he's been feelingdown.)

And Aiden stares.

He stares down at the city, atthe lights and the milling people, the same way Petra eyes an encroachingmonster horde or the way Ivor monitors a notoriously tricky potion.

There's a hunger in his eyes, a want, tempered by experience andexpectations.

They've been here before, whenRadar was first tasked with giving Aiden a tour of Beacontown and Aiden wasonly hesitantly trusted (and trusted at all much more by Jesse than by Lukas)to not try and pull anything. It was almost an entire season ago.

The walk here was meant to berelaxing, meant to be a chance for Aiden to vent, and he's just as relaxed asRadar is.

Radar, for the record, is notrelaxed in the slightest, doing his best to keep from rapid-fire tapping hisfoot against the ground while his fingers card through his hair in an almostfrantic manner and his mind keeps returning to reminders of paperwork stillunfinished and projects that need more attention.

He needs to diffuse thesituation, whatever it is, for both their sakes, to be a good friend and alsoto keep each of them from spiraling in silence.

(Having a panic attack on anondescript hill outside of town isn't what either of them needs.)

Radar almost rests a hand onAiden's shoulder before thinking better of it, hand instead resting on his own kneeas he sits cross-legged beside Aiden and foot tapping quietly against thegrass. From this angle, he can see the bottoms of his shoes are temporarilygrass stained, tinged green.

"We don't have to talk aboutit, but when you're ready... I'm here."

There's no real ideal or expectedresponse to that. Radar's ready to respect his answer, whether he spillseverything now, lets Radar know he's not ready now and may never be, or giveshim the silent treatment.

Aiden stays quiet just longenough for Radar to begin to suspect he's going with the third option.

"...there's not a lot todiscuss." The answer is as unfortunately unhelpful as expected and feared.The follow up helps only incrementally. "You've read Lukas's book– everybody here has. You already know what happened."

Trauma isn't easily coped withafter years of stewing and barely a season of healing. Guilt is just as hard.

And Radar is officially trainedfor none of this, though he's had plenty of unofficial on the job trainingthanks to the mountains of trauma trailing behind and hidden by the Order.

"And it's been kind ofterrifying, I won't lie. Knowing you did those things and that Jesse stillwanted you to come here, and live with us." Radar swallows, hoping itisn't as terribly loud as he thinks. More importantly, he worries this is justmaking Aiden feel worse, and Aiden doesn't look much more comforted by theadmission. "But Lukas doesn't seem to know much about what happened to youafter that, after you first got to Sky City, and he definitely never publishedanything on it. He changed your names for a reason."

Different names kept their livesfrom being any more stressful or rough upon returning to their own world, andkept Radar from knowing exactly who Aiden was or what relevance he had to Lukasand Jesse until they'd decided to clue him in.

Beyond the Order and the BlazeRods themselves, and him, no one knows the connection between the old Ocelotsand the harrowing Sky City adventure.

The only reaction Radar's seenfirsthand is the occasional surprise and excitement that Aiden, Maya, and Gillare back, having been gone so long but still being known for their fantasticand award winning building skills, and none of them have reported any harsherinteractions.

"Yeah, well, all theexciting stuff ended pretty much when the Order left. What you read was allthat was worth reading." It's hard for Radar, sometimes, to see Aiden asthe monster from Lukas's retelling. He thinks whatever personal growth Aidenhad before writing his letter to Jesse would be much more interesting to read,more enlightening and less horrifying. "Gill got slammed, once, with abrick. He was bleeding pretty bad– he's lucky it only ended up leaving him aconcussion. We're lucky."

"...you aren't worried aboutanyone here doing something like that, are you?"

Aiden says nothing.

He almost speaks, for a moment,mouth opening before it shuts and he shrugs, looking away from Radar. His nosescrunches slightly as he gives a hollow half-grin, a tired huff, his fingersbrushing his hair back and only almost getting tangled in it.

The Yeah, I mean, come on goes unspoken, and Radar has to swallow again.

The paranoia's understandable,and it's terrifying.

And Radar has always protectedhimself with knowledge in the face of terror, when he has no shield to bash,because sometimes it feels cowardly but it's comforting in the end to knowthings will likely turn out okay and how, because Jesse almost never fails andgets up every rare time she does.

"There are few areas in townas well protected as the temple, and people here don't have the same connectionto what happened as people who actually lived in Sky City. You can always goback to living with us if you don't feel safe." Aiden's shoulders hunch,and Radar has the dismal realization that he's not helping yet, too blunt ortoo intense in his desire to help fix everything. He forces any dismay at thisrealization out of his voice, letting it relax as he also forces himself tobreathe. "If anyone here has a problem, all they have to do is see that theOrder's already forgiven you guys. It's done, it's over, and the Order wouldn'thave you living here if they didn't trust you."

The look Aiden levels him isalmost blank, unamused and flat before he raises an eyebrow.

"They kept Cassie."

(Okay, so that's one other personwho knows their actual involvement in Sky City.)

"Who's been making her ownprogress!" Aiden's expression doesn't change much, while Radar's wilts."I don't think she's murdered anybody recently."

Aiden snorts, his bangs fallinginto his eyes as he shakes his head.

"Right, there are just giantrats and disappearing spider colonies actually mutilating bodies in those cavespeople keep somehow wandering into. That might fool a couple of reporters, butI don't think it's really got the press duped either. Not all the way."

It definitely doesn't fool Radar,if only because he's sat in on a number of conversations about Cassie's meansof disposal.

As much as they could beconversations, with Cassie disregarding them.

And while Aiden hasn't sat in on anyof those yet, he's smart enough to have figured it out, especially when everynamed body, the few not mutilated past the point of recognition, ends up linkedto some plot to overthrow or harm the Order.

And he's smart enough to knowRadar knows better too.

"I don't think she'smurdered anybody who didn't have it coming?"

Maybe letting Cassie into theirlives, their home and headquarters, was a questionable decision, but it wasJesse's, and Cassie defends herself by pointing out that she only attacks peoplewho she has good reason to believe are a serious danger to the Order orBeacontown.

Her "interventions" arerare and occasional enough, not to mention helpful. The shadier parts of BadLuck Alley are understandably more fearful, more cautious, and Radar thinksthey're all the better for it.

(He's admittedly not much of afan of Bad Luck Alley, as much as he likes Jack and Nurm, because people living"off the grid" more often than not seem to think they're above orbelow the rules enough to not worry about them, and that includes basic stufflike "please don't try to overthrow the Order that saved the worldmultiple times". This way, no matter why they're pulling that kind ofstuff less, they're safer from Cassie.)

It comes down to Jesse being really nice to a lot of people in waysRadar doesn't understand and in ways he's kind of okay with neverunderstanding.

He doesn't understand it any morethan how he understands why Jesse's good with forgiving him for his occasionalslip ups and lost forms even when it costs them so much time and stress.Jesse's done so much for so many people, and if she wants to do more, who'sgoing to stop her?

(There should probably be adifference between her forgiving him for screwing up on the job and activelytaking serial killers and old tormentors into their temple, but it's Jesse. She knows what she's doing.Well enough to somehow pull it all off, anyway.)

And he's right, but that's notthe right thing to say. Not with how Aiden tenses up, eyeing him more critically before relaxing his hands.

Radar isn't sure when they curledinto fists in the first place.

"Would I have it coming?Would Maya? Would Gill?" Radar doesn't have a good answer, and Aiden knowsit. He doesn't pause long, gaze drawn to the scarlet sunlight bouncing andshimmering off the rooftops and windows of Beacontown. "If you didn't knowus, only knew we tried to kill the Order, that I tried to kill Jesse, and Cassie thought we were some kindof threat? Would it be okay then?"

Heck of a question to ask.

(Radar's first thought is thatAiden is perhaps unfairly charitable towards Maya and Gill, happy as Radar iswith all of their progress, and that Maya and Gill don't view themselves theway Aiden does and actually kind of hate it when he blames himself foreverything that happened.

They've made it clear they're asguilty as he is, not more and not less.

But he doesn't want Aiden, with abad history of being angry near edges, to nudge him off the cliff here and now,and he doesn't want him to storm away, so Radar doesn't bring it up.)

"...morals are hard whereCassie's concerned."

Aiden's look softens, half-smilehumorless before he sighs.

"Yeah, I get that. And Idon't know if I can really blame her for it. But... the idea that some peopleearn that kind of stuff, getting attacked, because they're suspicious enough ordid bad enough things before is what got us so much hell in New Sky City. Gillgot more than just a brick chucked at his head, you know."

He knows.

"...sorry."

"Nah. Don't– don't worryabout it. It's just– everybody thinks they're doing the right thing. Even ifthey're throwing junk at people's heads, or attacking them from shady cornersand dark alleys, or burning cities to the ground."

It's a good thing Aiden doesn'tsmoke or drink, because he looks ready for either, and Radar isn't planning ondriving him further down that path.

"We try to avoid doing thatsort of thing here. It's not really good for making people feel safe, and itjust kills tourism."

It doesn't quite get a laugh outof Aiden, but the snort sounds amused.

"Smart."

"...do you feel like you'redoing the right thing?" Radar doesn't mean to contribute to Aiden'scrisis, or whatever it is that he's exactly grappling with, which might just bea moral dilemma topped with trauma. He just gets the feeling that he is, andAiden's guarded look prompts him to clarify. "Now that you're here?"

Maybe that's not the point.

Maybe he's missing something.

Maybe Aiden doesn't even know,stuck in the past and still clawing his way into the future.

"Hell of a lot better thanwhere we were." Aiden shrugs, tilting his head to the side as he looksaway from Radar and up at the gathering wispy clouds above them. "...itfeels too good and I'm scared of messing it up. Jesse trusting us doesn't meananything– sure, it's nice and all, but she's Jesse. Cassie offers protection, but Jesse took in Romeo too–and she pretty much has to teachhim how to be human again. Us being here doesn't make it all better, doesn'tmake us seem like anything other than scumbags she's feeling sorry for. I don'tactually have to worry about walking on eggshells around her, but I'm halfafraid she's going to wake up and realize she has no reason to trust us, orthat we're a threat to her city and her people. There were no powers to takefrom us, no fancy gauntlet to guarantee everyone’s safety."

(Radar might still not fullyunderstand the story, but it sounds to him like they lost plenty of power whenAiden tried to kill Jesse and she came back, when she had him at sword pointand spared him.)

It's complicated.

Radar knows from experience thatthings that are complicated tend toultimately just be good fuel for thinking in circles.

He's no Jesse, but he'll have todo.

"You're not a threat–you're getting a second chance, doing your best with it, and Jesse knows it.And if you're worried about other people seeing you that way, then you'll justhave to show them that you're not taking it for granted, that you are trying tomake it better." Radar dusts off the knees of his pants as he stands,shrugging as he picks a bit of fuzz off his vest. "We've seen a lot ofweird things here. Even if everybody knew who you were, what you really did, Idon't think it'd shake or bother too many people. You're not hiding here– you're making amends."

"It's probably not a goodidea to just shout it out, anyway."

"Probably not." Theidea of Aiden doing that, running down the streets and just snapping from thepressure, isn't realistic. It still gets a smile out of Radar. "But Idon't think you were planning on that– or bringing it up at work for fun. Itdoesn't sound like great lunch break small talk."

What Aiden talks with hiscoworkers about is his business, but bringing up past failed attempts to murderOrder members or an entire city hardly seems his style. However justified hisparanoia is or isn't, for himself and for Maya and Gill, he's careful and smartenough to take care of himself and not test Radar's theory over how badlypeople might react. Aiden's history as an award winning builder sounds likesomething he'd be more likely to bring up at work or get ribbed for.

"Not really."

Jesse's secret, Radar suspects,is that she's too good at forgiving others because she knows they need help.

It's not out of any ignorance, orblind hope that they'll get better, but the sheer determination that they can be better people and that she can helpthem do less damage, be less cruel to others and themselves, while working outwhat they want their lives to be. It works well enough, from what he's seen,and few worlds will complain about having less serial killers and megalomaniacsto worry about.

Jesse has that sort of inspiringeffect on people.

There's no reason Radar can'thelp with the healing process, and Aiden doesn't scare him the way Cassie does.

"You know, you can spend thenight at the temple with us." It's been a while since Aiden's stayed longwith the Order, visiting regularly after moving into his own place nearby butvisits rarely going over an hour at a time. Walks around town like this havebeen only a bit more common and a smidgen longer. "Ivor makes pretty goodhot chocolate."

"Is there anybody that triedto personally kill Jesse who didn't end up forgiven?"

"I mean, a couple, but it's ashort list." One was an evil supercomputer, and two others werepower-happy maniacs who didn't know when to ask for forgiveness from someonewho's nearly an endless well of it. "And that's not an answer."

It might be because of hispersonal experience, or lack thereof, with them, but Radar thinks he likesAiden much better.

"Sure. Let's go get cavitiesor sugar crashes or whatever that stuff will give us."

In Radar's experience, Ivor's hotcocoa is great for getting good rest, helped by the right amount of sleepingpotion mixed into it, and he knows that the last time Aiden tried it, he endedup taking an impromptu several-hour nap on their couch.

A repeat performance might not benecessary, but it's probably tempting.

Besides, if Radar actually endsup getting to sleep at a reasonable time tonight, he's taking Aiden with him.

[wordchanter]

3 Random Deities

Rumolem the turtlekin demigoddes of sunrises and hunters. They are associated with octopuses and quartzs. They demand that all labor to be dedicated to them and demand that followers keep an ocelot as a pet.

Datt the catfolk god of metalsmiths, potters, fire and autumn. They are associated with the color burgundy and diamonds. They demand to be offerred daily sacrifices of animals and expect that followers renounce all other gods. Followers of Datt are granted the ability to remember details precisely.

Opolobo the turtlekin demigoddes of fire. They are associated with the color verdigris and mantises and foxs.