#tenno bar

[therewithinthestars]

ok but what is this "in every universe" thing i have going on with excal/umbra/arthur tho, bcs how did they trick me into simping over the same character three different times

[themanwhomadeamonster]

The 1999 combat theme and its foreshadowing because the autism got to me and I spent too long trying to figure out this soundtrack

Jumping off from @brokenjardaantech's WITW music analysis post here - go check it out, it's very insightful and lays the foundations for what I'm about to talk about! And thanks to @theterribletenno for the burst of inspiration by giving me a massive oh shit realisation in the most chilling way possible LOL

Spoilers under the read-more; TL;DR at the end :'^D

To preface, the soundtrack is structured in an ABC structure with bridges between A and B, as well as another between B and C that borrows from A. The key starts in Cm, briefly modulating to Gm in section B then back to Cm during the second bridge, and settling on Em for section C. In-game for WITW you most likely will only hear up to the first bridge since the Technocyte fight only goes for around a minute long

Sections A, the bridges and partially C feature genre similarities to grunge rock with fuzzy guitar chugging, whammy bar, and palm muting, while the drums are notably sharp snares (except for the first bridge, which are clean bass kicks that gradually distort transitioning into section B's style). Musically, it sounds like a typical fighting soundtrack meant to hype you up - the melody is confident and likes to push and pull its rhythm. But in section C it notably become emptier in its layering while keeping the distorted drums, placing emphasis on the lyrics (which I'll get to below lol). Heavier syncopation and polyrhythms are also introduced.

Section B however is the main outlier. This section is where it most strongly resembles industrial rock: rhythmic synth layers begin to accompany the melody (a pedal point line that plays every semiquaver/sixteenth note), synth drums replace acoustics and the guitars drop the fuzz that is characteristic of grunge and steadily strum every quaver/eighth note. Compared to the push and pull rhythm of section A, this section is steadier, less chaotic than the other sections, it wants you to focus on this section.

Notably, the lead guitar introduces a familiar leitmotif: This is What You Are (which @brokenjardaantech goes more in depth regarding its use in WITW). Here, though, its second chord becomes flattened (Dm -> D♭m) and introduces a diminished, dissonant sound. To me this was the first hint that the song may actually be about Arthur's downfall. This is What You Are is a musical leitmotif that recurs in moments of vulnerability, especially when someone is at risk of losing their sense of self, their identity and what they are. It plays during The Second Dream when we discover the Operator, during the New War when Eidolon!Lotus just lost herself to Ballas and can't recognise the Tenno, and in WITW during the Vessel "fight" when the Tenno is forced out of their Warframe.

I was prompted to actually dig more into the lyrics because I saw @theterribletenno bring up something really interesting

In this specific song, the leitmotif is diminished, it's corrupted. "Surrender to the corruption" - this is what Arthur is afraid of. I brought up earlier that section B had a genre shift. The contrast of the music is important, it's highlighting something, and together with the musicality of the leitmotif, it's making a sense of urgency and danger. The leitmotif is a warning to Arthur.

Section B sings these lyrics:

Break it, break it, Break it open!

Compared to the desperation in the other lines, these two lines are sung mockingly. The Infested are trying to break Arthur, and are succeeding. Their voice is becoming his. But there are actually two vocal lines in this section - you can also hear muted backing vocals in a much less aggressive and lethargic tone warning that "Disillusion". Arthur is trying so hard to keep his own voice and stay clear-minded but it's being drowned out and he's nearing his breaking point, and Albrecht, based on the Codex Fragments you find, is well aware of this.

In section C, while the layering is less intense it's noticeably more heavily syncopated and polyrhythmic, and introduces new (accompanying) echoing and dissonant synth layers reflecting the confusion and disorientation that Arthur begins to feel (these synth layers are actually introduced in the second bridge, but are more easily heard in section C). Section B and C also keep the synth/distorted drums that section A and both bridges lack (at most it's a reverb in those sections); the industrial sound of the song becoming associated with the increasing influence of the Infested over his humanity.

So I tried deciphering more lyrics for each section; I haven't figured all of it out and most of it could very well be wrong because of how heavily clipped the vocal line intentionally is so I don't want to make anymore assumptions than I need to, but I can understand enough of it to realise that the song is foreshadowing Arthur's corruption to the Infested. In green are the lyrics I'm confident are correct:

A:

Sting it, sting it, sting it! Sting it, sting it, sting it in the flesh!

Bridge:

I don't understand! It brings more disease!

B:

Break it, break it, Break it open! (Disillusion)

Bridge:

Sting it, sting it! Sting it in the flesh!

C:

Who's dreaming? Who's the [???] It's a vision[?]!

TL;DR: the grunge/industrial genre hybrid represents Arthur's humanity/Infested respectively, and the song becomes increasingly industrial as the song progresses, most noticeably through the increasing distortion of the drum sound. Section A sets the stage, section B serves as a warning to Arthur that he's losing his sense of identity as the Infestation drowns out his "voice" while a dissonant version of This is What You Are plays, and section C is him experiencing confusion and disorientation as the Infestation continues to corrupt him.

[grineerios]

SURVEY RESULTS!!

So!! It's that time, folks! By the time this posts, the survey will have formally been closed. Thank you so, so much to the 65 participants. I never expected to get so many responses, and I owe the Warframe community big-time.

I am planning on eventually releasing platform-specific data as I compile it, alongside any other neat correlations I spot. I did this mostly for fun- the assignment's bar was low, but I took it pretty far because I enjoyed it- so I'm not a professional or anything at statistics! There will likely be inaccuracies, and I may occasionally miss data on accident.

So! This post is dedicated to sharing the data from all platforms. The data of everyone who participated is represented under the cut.

One more thing before I share the results! I want to give a massive shoutout to the following Tenno:

Operator Faolan (@decoyroid), Operator Bunny (@clockworkcrow), the Harrow Prime Operator/Kullervo Drifter, the person with the old Cephalon OC, Operator Lucille/Drifter Dove (the Accidentally Transgender Tenno), Operator Bird/Drifter Shrike (@aconfusedzephyr), the Wooden Puppet Warframe, The Gremlin Siblings, the person with several dozen warframe OCs (I'm calling you Costco bc you bought them in bulk it seems), Operator Mira (@yareli-warframe), the Mostly Dead Idiots person, the Infested Operator based on SCP-610, Fish Bait the Nezha, the author of the Symbiosis Trilogy, Operator Giraffe/Drifter Sarah, the Void Witch Operator, Meet and Starry, Limbo Umbra, Crab Frost, Operator Enara/Drifter Shrike (@ookamisoulreaper), Operator Ayatan, The Toothpick Tenno, Operator Kepler/Drifter Cam (@mythandlaur), and Operator Beth.

I adored hearing about your OCs, and it's always so good to see the community's creativity. I'm happy to do a little warframe sketch or something as thanks if you reach out to me in DMs.

With thanks aside, let's get to the data! :D

Player Statistics

Of the 65 people surveyed...

Platform

54 people played Warframe on PC. (51 through Steam, 3 not through Steam.)

6 people played Warframe on Playstation.

4 people played Warframe on Xbox.

1 person played Warframe on the Nintendo Switch

Start Date

5 people started playing in 2013

3 people started playing in 2014

6 people started playing in 2015

9 people started playing in 2016

6 people started playing in 2017

9 people started playing in 2018

5 people started playing in 2019

5 people started playing in 2020

4 people started playing in 2021

4 people started playing in 2022

8 people started playing in 2023

Play Frequency

A majority of people played often, but not every day, with 27 out of 64 people (42%) giving a 4 out of 5 on how often they feel they play.

The average score for the entirety of the surveyed group was 3.3.

Squad Size

Most Tenno tended to play publicly, with 40% of you reporting so. Behind that, 31% reported playing by themselves typically. The more players involved, the lower the percentage of people who typically played with that amount of squadmates, with 17%, 8%, and 5% rates for squads of two, three, and four respectively.

Mastery Rank

The most common MR among surveyed players was MR 18, Gold Eagle, followed by MR 20, Silver Tiger.

7 players were below MR 10

25 players were at or between MR 10 and MR 19

24 players were between MR 20 and MR 30

9 players were of Legendary Rank (MR 31 to MR 33)

The average mastery rank of all surveyed players is MR 20.

Premium Currency

45 people (69%, nice) have bought Platinum at least once

12 people (19%) have bought both Platinum and Regal Aya at least once

8 people (12%) have never bought Platinum or Regal Aya.

Tennogen Cosmetics

Of the 63 responses...

39 (62%) people have purchased Tennogen content

24 (38%) people have not purchased Tennogen content.

Warframes

Of the 65 people surveyed...

Starter Warframe

Excalibur and Volt were the most popular, at 22 people (or 34%) choosing them as their first Warframe. Mag came in at 18 people (or 27%) having chose her as their first Warframe, and Loki in last place, with 2 people having chose him as their first Warframe.

(Side note, someone answered Nezha as their first Warframe?? Pop off, you mad lad, I guess?)

Warframe Usage

Of 65 people surveyed, with up to three votes each...

Wisp/Wisp Prime saw the most usage, with 15% percent of people listing her in their top three most used Warframes!

Other popular Warframes include:

Hildryn/Hildryn Prime (8 votes, 12%)

Mesa/Mesa Prime (8 votes, 12%)

Harrow/Harrow Prime (7 votes, 11%)

Kullervo (7 votes, 11%)

Titania/Titania Prime (7 votes, 11%)

Valkyr/Valkyr Prime (7 votes, 11%)

Volt/Volt Prime (7 votes, 11%)

Warframes that saw little usage (1 vote, or 1.5%) include:

Garuda/Garuda Prime

Inaros/Inaros Prime

Loki/Loki Prime

Nekros/Nekros Prime

Nova/Nova Prime

Nyx/Nyx Prime

Trinity/Trinity Prime

Warframes that saw very little usage (no votes) include:

Atlas/Atlas Prime

Banshee/Banshee Prime

Caliban

Citrine

Hydroid/Hydroid Prime

Sevagoth

Styanax

The Stalker (okay, this one makes sense tbh.)

Favourite Warframe (Gameplay)

of 64 responses...

In first place, a tie between Gauss and Valkyr/Valkyr Prime! (5 votes, 8%)

In second place, a tie between Kullervo and Nezha/Nezha Prime! (4 votes, 6%)

In third place, a massive tie between Grendel, Gyre, Octavia/Octavia Prime, Protea, Wukong/Wukong Prime, and Xaku! (3 votes, 5%)

Favourite Warframe (Design)

of 61 responses...

In first place, a tie between Limbo Prime and Yareli! (5 votes)

In second place, a tie between Gyre, Volt, Wisp, and Wisp Prime! (3 votes)

In third place, a tie between Citrine, Equinox Prime, Excalibur Umbra, Ivara Prime, Mesa Prime, Nezha Prime, Rhino Prime, Sevagoth, Titania Prime, Voruna, and Xaku! (2 votes each)

Warframe In Relation to Player's Gender

A Warframe's gender presentation was primarily irrelevant to players in relation to their own gender presentation. Non-binary and feminine-presenting people were more likely to prefer one gender presentation over the other, with both groups preferring feminine-presenting Warframes.

While the majority of masculine-presenting people reported an indifference to their Warframe's gender presentation, they tended to prefer masculine Warframes over feminine or androgynous Warframes.

Of 64 surveyed participants...

24 identified as non-binary, androgynous, or genderfluid

21 identified as feminine

18 identified as masculine

1 of unknown gender presentation

Weapons and Companions

Of the 65 people surveyed...

Starter Weapons

36 people chose the MK-1 Paris, while 23 people chose the MK-1 Braton. (7 didn't remember what Primary they chose.)

38 people chose the MK-1 Kunai, while 20 people chose the Lato. (6 didn't remember what Secondary they chose.)

35 people chose the Skana, while 23 people chose the MK-1 Bo. (7 didn't remember what they chose.)

Favourite Primary Types

In first place, Rifles! (39 votes, 60%)

In second place, Shotguns! (37 votes, 57%)

In third place, Bows! (33 votes, 51%)

With the fewest votes:

Crossbows (1 vote, 1.5%)

Primary Kitguns (4 votes, 6%)

Arm Cannons (5 votes, 8%)

Favourite Secondary Types

In first place, Pistols! (37 votes, 57%)

In second place, Dual Pistols! (31 votes, 48%)

In third place, Shotgun Sidearms! (22 votes, 34%)

With the fewest votes:

Dual Shotguns (2 votes, 3%)

Crossbows (2 votes, 3%)

Secondary Kitguns (10 votes, 15%)

Favourite Melee Types

In first place, a tie between Heavy Blades and Polearms! (21 votes, 32%)

In second place, Swords! (20 votes, 31%)

In third place, Hammers! (12 votes, 19%)

With the fewest votes:

Daggers and Nunchaku (0 votes, 0%)

Assault Saws and Machetes (1 vote, 1.5 %)

Fists, Rapiers, and Whips (2 votes, 3%)

Favourite Companions

Of 64 responses...

In first place, Vulpaphylas! (21 votes, 33%)

In second place, Kavats! (17 votes, 27%)

In third place, Sentinels! (11 votes, 17%)

With the fewest votes:

Predasites (1 vote, 2%)

Helminth Chargers (3 votes, 5%)

MOAs and Hounds (5 votes, 8%)

Quests, Story, and Progression

Note: I feel like people got a little confused with this one, as some quests have more votes than their prerequisites. I will present the data here as I've been given it, with any inaccuracies included.

Story Quest Completion

Vor's Prize (64/65)

Once Awake (63/65)

Stolen Dreams (63/65)

The Archwing (65/65)

The New Strange (62/65)

Natah (62/65)

The Second Dream (63/65)

Rising Tide (60/65)

The War Within (64/65)

Chains of Harrow (60/65)

Apostasy Prologue and The Sacrifice (58/65)

Prelude to War (59/65)

The New War (56/65)

Angels of the Zariman (55/65)

The Duviri Paradox (55/65)

Side Quest Completion

Saya's Vigil (63/65)

Vox Solaris (63/65)

The Deadlock Protocol (58/65)

The Waverider (46/65)

Heart of Deimos (62/65)

The Limbo Theorem (60/65)

The Silver Grove (56/65)

Octavia's Anthem (55/65)

Hidden Messages (55/65)

The Jordas Precept (57/65)

The Glast Gambit (51/65)

Call of the Tempestarii (54/65)

Veilbreaker (54/65)

A Man of Few Words (56/65)

Howl of the Kubrow (60/65)

Sands of Inaros (50/65)

Patient Zero (55/65)

Mask of the Revenant (46/65)

Favourite Hostile Faction

In first place, the Grineer! (20 votes, 31%)

In second place, the Sentients and the Infested! (13 votes, 20%)

In third place, the Corpus! (10 votes, 15%)

In fourth place, the Orokin/the Corrupted! (7 votes, 11%)

In fifth place, Narmer! (2 votes, 3%)

Favourite Non-Relay Syndicate

In first place, Solaris United! (22 votes, 35%)

In second place, the Entrati! (17 votes, 27%)

In third place, Vox Solaris! (7 votes, 11%)

Least Favourite Non-Relay Syndicate

In first place, The Quills! (14 votes, 23%)

In second place, The Ventkids! (13 votes, 22%)

In third place, The Necraloid! (10 votes, 17%)

First Relay Syndicate

Cephalon Suda (24 members, 37%)

Red Veil (13 members, 20%)

Steel Meridian (11 members, 17%)

Arbiters of Hexis (7 members, 11%)

New Loka (6 members, 9%)

The Perrin Sequence (4 members, 6%)

Current Relay Syndicate

Cephalon Suda (20 members, 31%)

Steel Meridian (18 members, 28%)

Red Veil (11 members, 17%)

New Loka (6 members, 9%)

The Perrin Sequence (5 members, 8%)

The Arbiters of Hexis (4 members, 6%)

Gameplay and World Design

Favourite Planet/Location

In first place, the Zariman 10-0! (17 votes, 27%)

In second place, the Void! (14 votes, 22%

In third place, Earth! (8 votes, 13%)

With the least votes:

Eris, Sedna, Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Europa, and the Kuva Fortress (0 votes, 0%)

Saturn, Ceres, Phobos (1 vote, 2%)

Mars (2 votes, 3%)

Favourite Tileset

In first place, the Zariman 10-0! (15 votes, 25%)

In second place, Corpus Gas City! (10 votes, 16%)

In third place, Orokin Moon! (9 votes, 15%)

With the least votes:

Infested Ship, Grineer Settlement, and Grineer Asteroid (0 votes, 0%)

Grineer Sealab, Grineer Shipyard, and Grineer Asteroid Fortress (1 vote, 2%)

Grineer Galleon, Corpus Outpost, and Sentient Murex (2 votes, 3%)

Favourite Free-Roam Area

In first place, Duviri! (25 votes, 39%)

In second place, the Plains of Eidolon (19 votes, 30%)

In third place, the Orb Vallis (13 votes, 20%)

In fourth place, the Cambion Drift (7 votes, 11%)

Favourite Proxima Region

In first place, a tie between Veil Proxima and Earth Proxima (21 votes, 37%)

In second place, Saturn Proxima (7 votes, 12%)

In third place, Pluto Proxima (4 votes, 7%)

Favourite Non-Standard Gamemodes

In first place, Free Roam (53 votes, 86%)

In second place, Grineer Railjack (39 votes, 63%)

In third place, Duviri Spirals (37 votes, 60%)

With the least votes:

Cephalon Capture (Conlaive) (1 vote, 2%)

Annihilation (2 votes, 3%)

Lunaro (3 votes, 5%)

Railjack and Archwing Mission Types

Skirmish, Railjack (41 votes, 79%)

Orphix, Railjack (14 votes, 27%)

Pursuit, Archwing (11 votes, 21%)

Rush, Archwing (10 votes, 19%)

Alerts

The most popular:

Void Fissures (47 votes, 76%)

Maroo's Ayatan Hunt (30 votes, 48%)

Sorties and Archon Hunts (24 votes, 39%)

The least popular:

Kuva Siphons/Floods, Syndicate Missions, Kahl-175's weekly quest (10 votes, 16%)

Clem's weekly Mission (11 votes, 18%)

Nightmare Missions (13 votes, 21%)

World Events

Most enjoyed:

Razorback Armada (20 votes, 47%)

Balor Formorian (19 votes, 44%)

Least enjoyed:

Thermia Fractures (34 votes, 72%)

Ghoul Purge (22 votes, 47%)

Standard Mission Types

Most popular:

Exterminate (53 votes, 82%)

Capture (46 votes, 71%)

Survival (45 votes, 69% [nice])

Most disliked:

Defection (35 votes, 57%)

Hijack and Interception (19 votes, 31%)

Defense (18 votes, 30%)

Msc. Questions

Drifter/Operator Preference?

From 64 responses...

Operator Preference (22 votes, 34%)

No Preference, enjoys them both equally (17 votes, 27%)

Drifter Preference (16 votes, 25%)

Warframe Preference (9 votes, 14%)

Favourite Character?

From 55 responses...

Cephalon Ordis (18 votes)

The Lotus (7 votes)

Clem (6 votes)

The Operator (4 votes)

Excalibur Umbra (4 votes)

Little Duck (4 votes)

Ticker (4 votes)

The Business "Biz" (3 votes)

The Man in the Wall/"Wally" (3 votes)

Grandmother Entrati (3 votes)

Thursby/Legs (3 votes)

Eudico (3 votes)

The Drifter (2 votes)

Cephalon Cy (2 votes)

Loid (2 votes)

Hunhow (2 votes)

Kahl-175 (2 votes)

Kullervo (2 votes)

Rell (2 votes)

Teshin (2 votes)

Yareli (1 vote)

Archimedean Yonta (1 vote)

The Stalker (1 vote)

Palladino (1 vote)

Erra (1 vote)

Varzia (1 vote)

Son Entrati/Kermerros (1 vote)

Tyl Regor (1 vote)

Executor Ballas (1 vote)

Nora Night (1 vote)

Caliban (1 vote)

Equinox Prime (1 vote)

Gauss (1 vote)

Lavos (1 vote)

Mesa Prime (1 vote)

Volt Prime (1 vote)

Ash Prime (1 vote)

Mirage Prime (1 vote)

Xaku (1 vote)

Revenant Prime (1 vote)

Nezha Prime (1 vote)

Bombastine (1 vote)

Lodun (1 vote)

Drusus Leverian (1 vote)

John Prodman (1 vote)

Konzu (1 vote)

Octavia (1 vote)

Otak (1 vote)

Cephalon Suda (1 vote)

Cephalon Sark (1 vote)

Cephalon Simaris (1 vote)

Cephalon Samodeus (1 vote)

Cephalon Jordas (1 vote)

Cephalon Melica (1 vote)

Cephalon Apnar (1 vote)

Cephalon Vull (1 vote)

Why do you enjoy Warframe?

Lore/Story (23 votes)

Fast-Paced power fantasy gameplay/Comfortable movement (21 votes)

Variety (7 votes)

Customizability (7 votes)

Character Designs (6 votes)

Familiar and Fun Gameplay Loop (5 votes)

Good learning curve/Depth to gameplay systems (5 votes)

Community (5 votes)

Ethical and fair free-to-play business model (4 votes)

Nostalgic (2 votes)

Do you participate in Warframe communities online?

I observe, but don't post (28 votes, 43%)

Yes (21 votes, 32%)

No (10 votes, 15%)

I am a content creator for said communities (6 votes, 9%)

If you make fan content for Warframe, what do you make?

Art/Animation (15 votes)

Fanfiction (10 votes)

Theories (2 votes)

Videos (1 vote)

Digital Photography/Captura (1 vote)

How likely are you to recommend Warframe to a friend?

I've dragged my whole friend group into this game (31 votes, 48%)

Very likely (21 votes, 32%)

Somewhat likely (8 votes, 12%)

Somewhat unlikely (5 votes, 8%)

Unlikely (0 votes, 0%)

Aaaand, that's it! Hoo boy, that was a ride. 44 questions.

Once again, thank you so much to everyone who participated, shared the survey, or reblogged to spread word about it. You all are amazing, and Warframe has every right to be proud of its community. I hope you managed to learn something neat about the way people interact with the game, or about the game itself! I know I did :D

[modzilla07]

Jade Shadows update/story impressions

Story aside I actually really like the new gamemode it's like Hijack but fun

As for the story my thoughts are "That's all?"

Story spoilers below

The story's pretty short(despite the warning it took me like 10min) and I believe it's to it's detriment.

When Jade faded I was flabbergasted as I didn't expect her to supposedly be one of the focuses and not get more than a single line or scene with her as the focus before dead wife syndrome hit her.

Also I feel like it does muddy the waters on Stalker's previous motivations as I assumed he hated the Tenno for his misplaced loyalty, but it's clarified here he hates warframes specifically. I feel like the parallel he had with the Tenno in the Second Dream makes less sense now. The only way I can justify it is he couldn't bring himself to hate children for reasons he only now understands.

Jade as a concept raises logistical questions for me than anything. The way warframes are made from what I gather are people are Infested by technocyte and then further augmented with tech then armor/skin is slapped on, but the baby isn't an infested fleshball it has warframe skin. Did the Orokin warfame-ize the baby separately they did make her stomach see-through after all? But if that's the case they would have accounted for that and had an equivalent power source for her so why is she running out now? Was it in a prior fetal stage before and she's been using her power to gestate it further over the hundreds of years? Shouldn't she have had more than enough energy to stay alive once the Operator transfered into her and directly had a link to more power? She's a supporter whose abilities can heal herself. Wait we were transferenced in her when she dissolved did we feel ourselves disintegrate?

Is Sister Xeto dead? She mentioned what happens if you fail and she let Stalkeeboy go. I expected her to be in charge of the new game mode to make up for it but it's just Parvos.

--Side bars--

Love how Stalker got his shit rocked so hard by a default Excalibur with Skana his pregnant wife came out of hiding to save his ass

Love how much Hunhow(who saw his own wife's corpse get turned into a superweapon after his kids get mind controlled only for one to die) badgers Stalker into just asking for goddamn help

"Doesn't fight like a Tenno" Bitch this is exactly how I play Ash or Loki

BIRTH MINIGAME

"...My void barren womb." Not the trans character we expected but good for you grandpa

"I AM STILL THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE HUNHOW. Anyways here a new warframe, access into my inner sanctum where my roommate just moved out, and your allowance :)"

Acolytes trying to take care of Orion/Sirius sitcom when

If Xeto wasn't killed and fired instead is there gonna be a Tenno-Hunter baby fanclub?

[pavooko]

Volta

Volta is a 17 year old Tenno Drifter who’s still on his way of recovering and refreshing all the stuff before the awakening.

He has been fond of spaceships and cosmic stuff since the early childhood when there had been star-shaped lamps hanging over his bed. That’s why his parents, being the researchers for some void projects in the Empire, couldn’t refuse the offer to become the part of the Zariman 10-0 crew. A flight into the unknown, yet something hopeful and of so many perspectives…

Stepping on the board of an enormous spaceship Volta shared a dream with his parents:

— Mom, Dad! When we finally arrive in Tau… Could it be possible for me to become a spacecraft engineer?

— Guess in Tau there are no impossible things, kid.

There indeed were no impossible things in Tau. The impossible things were in the “inbetween”.

There were just a few days left before his 17th birthday when The Void Jump incident happened. He was scared, shocked, confused. Terrified by the animal-like screams and howls of the familiar voices, he was sitting in the corner of the classroom, trying to convince himself this was all a nightmare, and when he would finally wake up… Well, it didn’t actually work. The nightmare was as real as all the shocked kids around him, as the screeching noise of metal bars outside the classroom, as the warm, dark-red trickles of blood running down his cheek as a belated birthday gift from a feral creature he used to call “Dad”.

When his fragile sleep was interrupted again and another real-life nightmare began he, however, noticed a new “variable” in it. A silhouette sitting in the opposite corner of the room. A silhouette no one had paid attention to. A copy of him. This “thing” offered him a deal. An eagerly-awaited salvation from this horrendous dream. An offer from a creature looking like him, talking his voice, but watching him with eyes more frightening than all the nightmares he had faced… But what if even this creature with its glowing eyes and abnormally-wide smile would appear to be less scary than the nightmare he would have to endure in future…? Volta wasn’t sure if those thoughts were of his own, but when a loud thud in the blocked door made some of his companions cry and sink into the cold feeling of panic and fear, he realized the time’s up. He’ll save the survivors at least for now. What comes next… Well, together, they would figure it out.

In fact, they did figure everything out. In a way much different from what he had expected, but, after all, they were finally safe.

And then the Orokin came. The more time he was spending on Lua, in some special “research-cells” or at the test-sites, the less he believed there would be a chance for him to fulfill his dream. Even if it wouldn’t be Tau, he could still do great out here… right? Wrong. A broken, yet slowly recovering and vivid mind, willing to build and invent, in the Golden Lords’ opinion was nothing in comparison with a small, trembling body, filled with devilish void-power, bringing death and destruction into their ideally-shining life principles.

Dreaming of becoming a creator, he ended up as a destroyer — The Old War was the reason of it.

He was not fond of brutality and sheer force, turning any Warframe connection into a disastrous fail. He did accept their pain, their piercing emotions and memories, but he couldn’t accept their offer to destroy, to kill, to bring pain and make the enemy suffer. Who knows, where he’d end up after another two or three rejections (or if he’d end up at all), if one day he wouldn’t be presented to a Prime, looking even more ridiculously-fashionable than all the other warriors of shining gold and luxurious whiteness…

— What is their name again..?

— It’s Limbo, Tenno.

— “Limbo”? Like an “inbetween” space?

— Like an “inbetween” space.

Although Limbo was made to fight The Sentients as much as all the other Primes, he seemed somewhat less hostile, more… unusual? mysterious? familiar?

This whole creature was about traveling through the space and time, wrenching all the existent and non-existent laws of physics. Limbo Prime was a riddle, a complicated equation, a tricky math problem Volta was eager to solve. If only he had more time… more time before…

— Child! Get into the Reservoir, quick! It’s the only way you’ll be safe!

And when he managed to open his(?) eyes again it appeared there was no math problem. The equation erased from his memory after a long-time sleep. He found himself in a body of a Warframe which appeared to be Volt. He hadn’t figured it that he was an independent being, separated from this exact frame, but still it felt a bit off being able to run so fast, to strike with lightings and… destroy… again. As time went on, he was looking for some other Warframes to craft and try on. He was looking through some data records, analyzing the information he could find but everything… all of them, Gara, Excalibur, Mag, Chroma and the others… they felt off. He just read and didn’t find anything that could catch his attention in “that” very way.

It had been like that until his fellow ship Cephalon Ordis didn’t send him a theorem. An equation. Messed up, corrupted and yet interesting to solve. That was it. Limbo. Not a Prime though, but that was definitely much better than anything else.

Not so much time after gaining access to Limbo, Volta started following Lotus’ orders for the protection of a mysterious “Reservoir”. Only after a chain of some well-known events and not-so-warm encounters with The Shadow Stalker and The Sentients it would appear that he was, in fact, neither Limbo, nor Volt. A Tenno. A fragile, disoriented child, waken up from his second dream. There’s still a long way to go, but still, Volta hopes that this time nothing can stop him from proving that there’s no devilry in him and his “so-called-devilish” brothers and sisters.

[retphienix]

As someone who in their baby tenno days thought Inaros was the fucking coolest because he has "big health bar", and has, for every other waking moment of my tenno journey, fuckin' hated his boring ass kit and how he literally is just "IDK man, big health bar and built in PSF, IDK, my buttons don't do anything but kinda sorta keep my health bar big man, IDK"

I am stoked as fuck that his revamp is finally on the horizon.

And I am worried that I'm going to fucking love it and end up playing the silly big health bar guy again lol

Guess that's not a bad thing :P

[fanframesftw]

Warframe Concept: Justiciar, the Invisible Hand

General Ability: Advanced telekinesis.

In-Game Abilities:

Passive - Increase credit pickup per enemy killed with Long Arm and Of The Market, or while utilizing the effect of Turncoat.

Turncoat - The ability to "blend in" amongst any faction, barring Narmer. This includes not being attacked by enemies, even while in plain sight, and unique enemy voicelines regarding the Warframe.

Long Arm - Extends pickup radius in accordance with a highly extended melee range, by floating melee weapons through the air to slice, dice, and smash enemies. The Warframe can only walk and run while using this ability.

Of The Market - Using telekinesis, pick up pickups and throw them at enemies for devastating damage. Including Credits, nav coordinates, and resources, alongside ammo boxes and even dropped weapons and corpses.

Hand of Justice - Mark an enemy for execution. If killed using other abilities, gain temporary armor, energy, and health in accordance with how elite said enemy is.

Summary: Hail the Justiciar, the long arm of the invisible hand, of the market. Legend has it that before Zanuka, before any other Corpus Warframe project, Alad V did something awful in the pursuit of reverse engineering and bettering Warframes for Corpus use. Use the Invisible hand to turn your foes own confusion against them. Never run out of uses for dropped ammo crates. Execute the justice within us all.

Background: "The Infestation. A marvel isn't it? Just one infection, and it spreads like a wildfire, overriding the mechanical and flesh alike… Or at least, that's how it usually goes. See, before the Infestation, before all of that, there was only the Helminth. The say that's what created the Warframes, afterall, correct? Anyways, I digress. The point is that wisdom is gained through suffering, and tonight, I intend to make you very, very… wise." ~ Alad V The output of the Justiciar Project was flawed. The input: A single, healthy male test subject. His family's debts would be paid off entirely if he agreed, so Alad V promised, and to his credit, he did deliver. But not before the helminth sapped away everything that the test subject was, leaving an insane husk to be just barely controlled by void-touched individuals in Corpus possession. The Justiciar was at first hideous, but after careful molding of the Helminth (torture) at the hands of Alad V's crew, it began to take on a more aesthetically pleasing shape. Now? Covered from head to toe in drapped cloths and veils, only the glowing bits and the outline of it remain 'visible', a testament to how far it has fallen out of Corpus' hands, and its growing personalization. Eventually, the void-touched individuals I mentioned staged an escape, nearly killing Alad V. After that? There was no trace of them. Apparently, they had been rescued, alongside the Justiciar, by a Tenno. The experiment was a resounding failure, and set Alad V back quite a bit, or so the story goes. Appearance: With a large, corpus-inspired head, molded and shaped into something similar to the form of common corpus helms, this warframe is draped in cloths and veils, concealing it's overall form. Not because it's horrifying or too disgusting to view, but because it doesn't want to be viewed as the corpus enforcer it once was. Still, the Invisible Hand of the Market it is, and it acts as judge, jury, and executioner to its former masters and all those that threaten the stability of everything. The cloth and veils are pulled tightly with coils and rope, outlining the form everywhere but it's head, where heavily draped veils refuse to let its former allegiance shine through.

Signature Weapons: Red Hand - A colossal, two-handed blade with a squared off tip. Energy pulses through the center, and crackles with regularity across the surface of the blade. It is like an old-fashioned executioner's sword, only designed by the corpus. The hilt actually functions as a storage for the batteries used to power it. Deals high amounts of Electricity and Slash damage, while also short-circuiting shields. When wielded by Justiciar, it deals cold damage, combining to create an effect of magnetization.

Dead Hand - A particle disintigration beam inspired by the Atomos of Grineer fame, this corpus-designed beauty can fit perfectly around the hand of any Warframe, but especially so for the one it was meant to be wielded by. However, it is now very infested, and deals high corrosive damage, spewing acid from the giant tumor that now covers it. Say thanks to the Helminth!

Dread Hand - A corpus anti-gravity tool, used in high-gravity environments. This weapon has been reverse-engineered to increase the gravity of objects and people, typically crushing them violently.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Friday, January 12

(Giles gets up and walks towards her.) GILES: Um, Buffy, all of this is rather dependent on you're being able to control the Mayor. BUFFY: Faith told me to play on his human weakness. WILLOW: Faith told you? Was that before or after you put her into a coma? BUFFY: After. WILLOW:Oh.

~~Graduation Day Part 2~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Weekly Drabbles #68 — Wasteland by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Daily Drabble #8: Broken Mirror (Harmony/Anya) by MadeInGold (Harmony/Anya, G)

Resurgence by CoffeeHunt (Giles/Spike, E)

Prowling the PleasureScapes by teddyscott (Oz/Spike, M)

The female of the species by FPBarbieri (Sineya, T)

Daily Drabble #7: A Song of Sorrow (Spike/Xander) by MadeInGold (Xander/Spike, T)

Self-Care by Maxineeden (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion - Ch. 408 by madimpossibledreamer (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure xover, T)

How I Met your Father - Ch.10 by Nyleve_Hacy_Careese_Helliam_03 (Angel/Cordelia, other pairings, Not Rated) COMPLETE!

Back undead and little again - Ch. 1 by AnkiKind (Angel, Spike, Fred, M)

If I Died In Your Arms (Third Chances) - Ch. 1 by The_Red_Rabbit (Angel/Darla, Not Rated)

Slaying the Slayer - Ch. 3/? by WillowBee326 (Buffy/Faith, E)

For The Dark - Ch. 3/7 by CharcoalTeeth (Buffy/Faith, E)

[French language] Les deux Phénix - Ch. 6/? by FridayQueen (Buffy/Faith, M)

Halloween Horrors - Ch. 9 by AJ Fields (myfanfiction) (Xander/Anya, Tara/Willow, T)

Breaking Broken Hearts - Ch. 12/? by Jess_Ann_Perreault (Jenny/OFC, Giles/Jenny, T)

Do We Serve Water In This Bar? - Ch. 5/? by Alwaysandforevermylove (Buffy/Faith, E)

Omission - Ch. 9/? by toutes_les_routes (Spike/Riley, Buffy/Riley, E)

New Beginnings - Ch. 1 by slinky (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Afterburn - Ch. 3 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

What If Love Was Enough? - Ch. 10 by Spikelover4ever (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

A Waxy Gent Chuckled Over My Fab Jazzy Quips - Ch. 12 by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Pack My Box with Five Dozen Liquor Jugs - Ch. 12 by honeygirl51885 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Love Ridden - Ch. 5 by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Goodbye to Everything That I Knew - Ch. 16 by fortes775 (Buffy/Spike, R)

The Neighbor's Point of View - Ch. 76 by the_big_bad (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Buffy the Tenno - Ch. 35 by DarkPhoenixLady (Buffy, Warframe universe xover, FR15)

A Darkened Night of the Soul - Ch. 1-24 by In Mortal (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

A Waxy Gent Chuckled Over My Fab Jazzy Quips - Ch. 12 by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Pack My Box with Five Dozen Liquor Jugs - Ch. 12 by honeygirl51885 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Love Ridden - Ch. 5 by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Out For A Walk... Bitch - Ch. 6-7 by MaggieLaFey (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

What the Drabble? - Ch. 68 by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy/Spike, R)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: The Watcher by SortDeep5635 (Giles, worksafe)

Artwork: Commission for @greensword101 based on their angel au... by artsying-ifer (Connor, worksafe)

Gifset: Faith told me to play on his human weakness... by fuffygifs [by charmedslayer] (Buffy, Faith, worksafe)

Gifset: It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero... by andremichaux (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Gifset: I can't explain what it is that I feel right now... by andremichaux (ensemble, worksafe)

Manip: SuSuSunnydale, here's to the fools who love by loveisntbrains (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

... I've just finished Lullaby (Angel 3x08) and a couple of things... by keanherself

Day: 10 Favorite Season 3 Episode [Bad Girls, The Prom] by k0nstantly-tragic

Day: 11 Favorite Season 4 Episode [Hush, This Year's Girl, Who Are You?] by k0nstantly-tragic

Recently watched the episode of Buffy where Jonathan... by hieronymus-botch

[Recs & In Search Of]

ISO: aeongsoul seeks Buffy/Faith fic recs [responses in the notes]

In_Imbolic by duh_i_write rec'd by February Fangest [Throwback Thursdays - Spike/Drusilla]

[Fandom Discussions]

Angel and the Claddagh Ring by abreathofsnowandashes

[Kendra Young commentary in the tags] Season 2 Inkworks 1999 Trading Card by spikedru

Just wanted to say I have a crush on you... [Buffy x Faith text messages] by captain-peroxid3

Why is Spike so polarizing? updated by garfan

Would Buffy and Faith Stay In The Police Force? [post S12 in the comics] by Priceless and Stoney

Times where a character dropping the F bomb would have been appropriate? by jdpm1991

What's with the double standards with how Buffy and Willow are treated? by Rainbow_dreaming

I’m on my first watch through and up to season 6 and these are my thoughts... [Spuffy question] by constantsurvivor

Xander’s speech to buffy in S5E10 was not for her at all [anti Riley] by Stranger_2000

That time Anya read Xander to filth..... (spoiler in second image) by alrtight

Giles playing dress up with Spike when he was living with him by alrtight

What is the worst thing this character has ever done? [Giles] by Buffster13

I’m currently watching Angel (mid season 1) and Cordelia changed so much since Buffy. I’m loving her! by kindaweird0

What do you think of “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been”? by JellyfishDry9464

What was evil Cordelia’s original plan before the rewrite? by grkpektis

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[todayisafridaynight]

FORGOT TO REPLY BECAUSE OF THE RGG TV ADAPTATION FIASCO BUT YEAH I DID READ THE SUBTITLE FILES FOR REAL but that was just me getting carried away 💀💀💀Exactly Though. I see the vision… dude is so conflicted…

I sometimes think about that too, because some of the other actors with Araboshi-za also joined the yakuza along with Arakawa, right? Provided they didn't join the Hikawa Family (or at least abstained from inflicting The Horrors on Arakawa) I wonder if they could've been some of the first to leave their families to join/refer people to join the Arakawa Family, or if Arakawa really just started with no one (at rock bottom… as it were…) and it was his charisma that drew people to him. Structured this terribly but Do You Get What I Mean…

I also expect a good deal of it is just like, snapping out of how desensitized he's had to become. Obviously he's got this inkling that being a yakuza is Pretty Messed Up by the time Jo joins, but it's still so notable to me that the Arakawa Family became so much more brutal after Jo joined and the body count was out of control.

But then when Ichi joins, Arakawa doesn't want him involved in that side of things at all (bar Ryuji but he was banking on him not killing Ryuji anyway lol), and the family as a whole moves away from all the killing almost entirely. Like the implication is sooooooooo… you both can and do make each other worse whether you want to or not… but Ichi puts Arakawa in touch with the side of him that doesn't want to live like that anymore...

I want to know so much more about like, Jo and Arakawa's first kills and compare and contrast how they were affected in the long and short term. If you're hesitating to ask Jo to swear his life to you, do you hesitate to ask him to take a life for you? Is it worse if you hesitate less? Guys you GOTTA gimme something to work with here

ANYWAY. SHORTENING TSUTSUMI'S NAME GANG REPRESENT friend and I've been calling him 223 for ages… y'know… tsu-tsu-mi.. when I have to specify Y3 Mine I say 3ne on occasion… but I guess most people probably read it as Tsutsu-three and Three-ne, if most people reading my username as Oh Four Tenno is anything to go by lmao

naw i get what you mean dont worry i got'chu 100%. maybe some ex-stage members joined with arakawa when he joined his first yakuza family and mightve followed him after The Incident occurred. then through his own merit he attracted people to join- i mean he was able to convince ichi to follow him after one interaction, it doesn't seem like an impossible idea. who's to say really (´▽｀)

its a testament to the arakawa family's image considering how jo and ichi both initially describe the arakawa family as being a family of killers and/or having influence, yet by the time ichi's in prison they seem to have lost that identity when the other prisoners have no problem laughing at them. i certainly wouldnt account arakawa's age as being a factor for 'losing his bite' and becoming jaded (for starters, he's not even in his 50's yet by 2001) when we've seen older yakuza still be ruthless in the series. TRULY a believable case of arakawa wanting to prevent others going down bloody paths like he and jo did. in my humblest of opinions (❁´◡`❁;;)

on that note though it would be interestin to know how their first murders went and how that affected em..

[derelicthorror]

Hey have you ever seen Cephalon Cordylon’s wiki page? He was like, an in universe QnA written by someone in DE.

I just think you’d find him neat.

NEW CEPHALON BEST FRIEND ALERT? oh man i've been devouring all of these entries and there is so much lore material here? corpus mostly subsisting on nutrition bars? tenno getting caught on their syandanas actually being pretty rare? the implication that arbiters alignment is more or less the standard and deviations are taken note of? there is SO much here i love lore writers omg

for anyone else who saw this and went !!!!! but also doesn't super-love reading on fandom if given the choice, i really like @orokinarchives a ton!

following this, i have so many questions about cordylon. how is the son of a gun doing these days? what was going on with him during the sacrifice and onwards? what kind of unique perspective would you get from the Lotus's cephalon of all people?

thank you, zoe zoethembo!

[trackerkitsune]

👀

Sorry for sliding in most of them, but!

1, 6, 9, 11, 15?

@runningwolf62 cuz this answers some of yours too :3 this is under a cut cuz it looooong~

1: What is their pre-bullshit backstory?

Olexei was a doctor on a space colony before he became a Harrow Prime. Family run clinic, his parents were both medical professionals before him.

Kitsune and Rien were once a little girl called Erin, who had an obsession with space and a decent knowledge of anything to do with it, and a love of animals. (Rien notably changed her name to still reflect her original name, but at the same time to spite the Orokin.)

She was good friends with Rell, often spending a good amount of time talking about space flight with him and listening to him talk about the complicated mathematical principles related to it… Up until the Incident on the Zariman Ten-Zero. Both of them became protectors in different ways of the other kids on the ship.

6: What is their personality like? Are they different around strangers? How?

Rien’s pretty mistrustful of strangers, and doesn’t tend to open up much, acting standoffish. She keeps the snark on 11 and probably gets herself in trouble.

When she’s gotten used to someone and trusts them, the softer side comes out. She fusses over people, she loves physical affection and will happily display such affection to others too. She’s got some insecurities that she tries to hide with arrogance, but even just the meaning of her name betrays those insecurities.

Kitsune is not what you’d call well-adjusted. Though she’s a sweet, caring person to those who know her, she’s a little unhinged and tends to intimidate strangers to try to get them to leave her alone - an unhealthy coping mechanism from the harsh reality of never knowing if a mission will be her last or someone else’s that she knows. There’s the additional factor of her void powers making her unstable too. (Umbra does his best to help with this by providing her the stability and patience of a parent.)

Most still find her quite unsettling because of how her void power manifests itself.

Olexei is pretty damn aggressive when he’s left alone with strangers - his first meeting with Rien, without the calming influence of his known Operator, was rather violent. Only the Drifter’s reflexes from multiple loops of Duviri saved her, honestly. He’s cold, standoffish, and refuses to speak or communicate with those he doesn’t know in any way, and doesn’t enjoy being pressed to do so - he lashes out, though thankfully not with his powers.

When he gets used to someone, though, and accepts them into his tiny circle of trusted people… A little of his human side shows through. He doesn’t exactly ease up much, but he does at least talk and share some snark. He enjoys bantering with Rien especially, and is protective of Kitsune. When he gets angry, he can be pretty cruel too - a cruelty that he gained during his captivity under the Orokin. He’s got a very visceral fear of Infested, and refuses to go aboard the derelicts after one very unpleasant encounter.

-

9: Do they keep in touch with past classmates? Friends? Other Tenno?

Rien doesn’t really know if any of her fellows have survived in Duviri, and has subsequently lost contact with most of them.

Kitsune stays in contact with quite a few Tenno, and has worked with (bullied) Darvo to set up a sort of bar and social venue on Larunda relay for Tenno to hang out. She's something of a relatively constant presence, and is always willing to help out.

-

11: Are they comfortable jumping out of their warframe and showing their own body to other? Why (not)?

Rien spends most of her time out of warframes, and has no particular worry about showing herself.

Kitsune won’t show herself except with people she trusts. (Which ends up being quite a few people eventually.) She doesn’t mind the Entrati, and is particularly comfortable around Son, owing to their mutual experiences of having freedoms removed from them.

-

15: Do they have anything that still ties them back to their days as human?

Olexei doesn’t have anything physical tying him to his past as a human - only the vague and inconsistent surfacing of his past medical knowledge and his memory of what got him turned into a warframe in the first place.

[a-tenno-called-prin]

Dumb little headcannon, but all the Tenno ship Cephalons low-key hate each other ever since one of them mentioned that their Operator is the best Operator amongst the Tenno ranks. Of course, all the others chimed in with their opinions, and this very quickly devolved into the digital equivalent of a bar fight. The situation got so bad that the Lotus herself had to get involved and mediate.

Now, they work with each other because they have to, not because they want to.

The Operators know none of this.

[mundanemiseries]

  A soft sigh as the young man stepped out of the bar, gloved hand reaching up to pull out his earbuds. He hadn't even been listening to anything they just made the noise...easier to deal with, he supposed.

  The tenno produced a lighter from his pocket, quietly watching the flame flick on and off, taking in the sparks, the soft noise, the way the flame moved in the evening breeze. Koko hummed softly to himself, an old familiar tune as he idly played with the lighter in his hands.

  He'll head back inside in a bit. He had people waiting for him, after all (still an odd thing to think about...even now). He just needed the space for himself, a bit of breathing room out here in the quiet. A moment to back away because everything inside was just...getting loud...overwhelmingly so.

[cuteteacakes]

Commissions for @boredandblank

I was given permission to post the 3 mini commissions I wrote for @boredandblank  based on the PS3 game Dark Sector’s protagonist, Hayden Tenno. I was asked to used prompts from a writing meme actually, all about making him miserable basically xD Enjoy!

One: Nightmares, Can’t Sleep, Hopelessness

They were everywhere. Shadows of what were once human beings chasing him down. Metallic skin, people with the Technocyte clawing at his body while he tried to shove them all away. But they kept coming. He fired his gun, but the bullets were simply absorbed into skin that rippled like mercury. 

They were swarming, becoming an amalgamation of metal and bodies, undulating wildly and without rhyme or reason. They were gaining on him. He could feel their hot breaths and fingers gripping at his clothes. No matter how many times he shot at them, they kept absorbing the blows. The mass reached his feet. He ran, not going anywhere. A chunk of the mass broke off and became Nemesis, raising its scythe-like hand and bringing it down upon his shoulder, tearing into the skin. 

Hayden Tenno awoke with a start. He could still feel the remnants of the night terror prickling at his body, though the exact scene that played out in his sleep vanished quickly and he forgot what it was about. That didn’t stop his heart from pounding, his lungs gasping for air. Hayden took a couple deep breaths, and things clicked back into place. He had fallen asleep after barring himself inside a storage room, that’s right. He had decided to rest against a stack of burlap sacks. They were filled with lumps that were semi-soft, he didn’t question what was inside (although it gave off a foul odor like rotten fish). He just wanted some time to rest. It felt like he hadn’t rested for weeks. 

He raised his head and put it back down.  He should really get some sleep. He closed his eyes, and the Technocyte monsters appeared again, Nemesis standing tall and imposing behind them. This time Hayden went on the attack, using the weapon Nemesis infected him with to slice the other’s head off. Hayden was quick, but Nemesis was quicker. Lightning fast, its hand was around his neck and squeezing tightly. Hayden’s hand reacted instantly, flying to the clawed fingers digging into his neck and— he opened his eyes again, the weapon on his hand dangerously close to slitting his own throat. Hayden stared at it for a beat. The thought was there. A dark thought that he knew he shouldn’t be having, but was very tempting.

“Dammit, maybe I should do it-” he murmured to no one. He held the blade over his neck, letting the thought sink in more and more. Why was he doing this anyway? When he first came to Lasria, he had been so sure of his objective. Even when he was dubious about the effectiveness of the booster shot he was given, he was sure he would get the job done. As he went into his second night of being infected himself, he wasn’t so sure anymore. What was the point? It’s not like he’d be able to even get out of Lasria because of his infection, which wasn’t even his fault, dammit. It was that motherfucker Mezner, that sonuva bitch Nemesis, hell, even the CIA could fuck itself. They wouldn’t give him the antidote even when he asked for it, the bastards.

It’d be so easy to just end it… 

Just one little slice and all his problems would be gone…

Hayden’s hand trembled, feeling the oddly cold and malleable surface waver and vibrate. It was pressed against his skin now. Any more and his skin would puncture and bleed. He wouldn’t feel it. It’d be over quickly. That’s what the Agency trained him for, wasn’t it? This was essentially a suicide mission and he was a pawn the whole time. If he offed himself, nobody would miss him, nobody would know…

Nadia would know. Hayden’s brow furrowed. He grit his teeth and put his hand, his weapon, back down by his side. That was the coward’s way out. Although he didn’t exactly feel like a hero either. What was he exactly? Did it matter? He hadn’t eaten anything for so long, maybe all these thoughts were because of hunger. Was that the empty feeling he felt in the pit of his stomach? Or was it the knowledge that this mission was a complete waste of time and no matter what he did, nothing mattered because he wouldn’t be able to get out of this pit?

Or maybe all these intrusive thoughts came because he couldn’t sleep. He felt like he hadn't slept in days. There was some scientific fact about lack of sleep being bad for your health or something, but was feeling like crap part of it? Fuck it, he wasn’t a scientist. Otherwise he’d be in a lab, probably studying a cure for the Technocyte disease, not in Lasria surrounded by people infected with it. 

Hayden put a hand to his head and forced his eyes to close. He needed to sleep. He needed sleep but his mind wouldn’t let him. Sometimes, and this was one of those times, he wished he could feel pain. Maybe he’d pass out from it and have a dreamless night (which was as good as having a nightmare-less night). Instead he was numb. He’d been numb his whole life. Maybe that numbness moved to his heart, his brain too. Maybe that’s why he felt so out of sorts. That’s right. It was the lack of sleep talking, not him. This wasn’t him. It wasn’t-

There was a sudden violent banging on the barricaded door, causing Hayden to shoot upright. The door started to shutter on its hinges. The infected would break  in soon. So much for trying to get some rest. Not like his brain was going to let him anyway. 

With a strained grunt, Hayden got to his feet. The banging on the door continued. He rolled his neck, getting at least a couple satisfying pops out of it. 

“Looks like I have some house guests…”

Right now, this would be Hayden’s life. Until he succumbed to the Technocyte virus, he wasn’t going anywhere outside of Lasria.

Two: Applying Bandages, Stitching Self Up, Lost and Alone

It was a stupid mistake that could’ve been easily avoided. It was a mistake that anyone could’ve made, but Hayden couldn’t afford any mistakes. And now he was clutching his shoulder, blindly stumbling through alleyways, and trying desperately to avoid being detected by anything less than human. 

It started when his foot hit an empty can when he wasn’t looking. He had just put a bullet through the head of Viktor Sudek and was confronted by Robert Mezner and Nemesis. They probably left him for dead, but it’d take a lot more than that to kill him. Anyway, after he pulled himself together and unsteady on his feet, he stumbled into a can, sending it bouncing against the alley wall until rolling to a stop. The sound echoed off the concrete walls, breaking a suffocating silence and making Hayden flinch. Then it was quiet again. Until it alerted every Technocyte victim within a fifty foot radius, which was a lot more than he thought since so far he’d been lucky at not seeing any nearby. But one little clang, and the moaning and scrambling feet came from all around, heading straight towards him.  

“Shit-” He tried to press his hand harder to the wound, but blood continued to seep through his fingers. That was his second mistake. After being heard and spotted by at least twenty zombies, Hayden had fired his gun at them, not looking where he was going, and backed into one. With a guttural growl it grabbed his shoulder. No, a better word would be it tore at his shoulder, because both shirt and skin were torn away from his body. Hayden didn’t notice the bleeding until he sliced off the attacker’s head with his new weapon conveniently growing from his infected arm.

“Shit-” he had muttered the same cuss word when he realized blood was now dripping down his arm. He needed to find somewhere safe to patch himself up. He couldn’t think too much about it however, since he could hear more infected quickly approaching. Damn, if only he could just patch that before-

A crash behind him made Hayden spin around. He had to get moving or else he’d probably lose his whole arm next time. Still clutching his shoulder, he scrambled as fast as he could, out of the crumbling building and into the street. 

And that’s where he was right now. Panting, feeling light-headed from the bloodloss, and yet not feeling the pain of his wound. The world was beginning to spin, but he wouldn’t let himself pass out, not yet. He didn’t care where his feet took him, as long as it was somewhere he could be relatively safe. 

An infected zombie stepped out from a blind corner and scared the crap out of him. He immediately sliced its head off. The headless body slumped to the ground like a sack of meat. Where the fuck did that one come from? Hayden quietly stepped over the body and found that there was a gaping hole in the side of a building, just big enough for someone with Technocyte, or him, to crawl through. Taking a chance, Hayden crouched and shimmied into the hole. It was empty, thank God. Now he could address the wound. 

Taking bandages out of his pack, he tore it with his teeth. Even if he couldn’t feel the pain his wound was causing, he sure as hell wasn’t going to make it worse. He sat down hard with a grunt. Now maybe he could assess the damage- oh. He was still bleeding. Really hard. He’d have to take his shirt off first. It was ripped already but he didn’t want any threads getting stuck under his skin. He didn’t have any antiseptics either. That wasn’t good. He’d have to find some later. The place was littered with so much junk he didn’t think it’d be a problem finding something useful, right?

Hayden pressed the gauze onto the wound, feeling the skin react, but not transferring to his brain. Damn, if he was anyone else, this would’ve probably really hurt. Good thing he couldn’t feel it. 

He then took the bandage and began wrapping the wound, going slowly so he wouldn’t make too much noise. The crunch of the bandage as he wrapped was the only sound in that small space, next to his labored breathing which he tried to calm. 

As he continued to wind the bandage, Hayden glanced up and out of the hole he hid in. He was so busy trying to get away from the zombies chasing after him, he didn’t even bother to look where he was going. He wasn’t familiar with Lasria in the first place, all he knew was that he needed to get to the radio station, contact his superiors. He was headed in the right direction when he started out, but he took so many turns trying to shake his pursuers that he didn’t know which way was up, let alone which way to the radio tower. You’d think with a tower you’d be able to see it rising above the tops of the buildings, but luck wasn’t on his side. The city was so congested they practically blotted out the sun if the smog itself didn’t already.

Almost finished with the bandaging. Hayden was itching to get out of this cramped space. Not only did a Technocyte zombie crawl out of the spot where he was now sitting, there was only one way out, and the even more chilling thought, only one way in. What if a horde of them appeared? He wasn’t ready. He was in the middle of something. He was unarmed- well, technically that wasn’t true anymore, not with his new bio-weapon. But still. The thought of flinging his now-infected arm through more than one head… Was it even possible? While he did want to test it out, it’d be stupid to try in this hidey-hole. He needed out. He needed instruction. He needed… damn, he needed someone to talk to or else this isolation would drive him nuts.

Hayden decided his patch job was good enough. It was getting darker and he needed to move. The more he stayed put the more thoughts got to him. And that didn’t do him any good.

Three: Unsteady, Falls Trying to Leave Room, Pounding Headache

“The Black Market can supply you with weapons, in case you-” Yargo Mensik gestured towards Hayden’s arm. “Run out of ammo.” 

Hayden also looked down at his arm and flexed his fingers. Yargo sure talked a lot. 

“You can find Black Market in certain marked manhole covers, the symbol looks like this-” Yargo began to draw a crude picture of some type of flower. He passed it to Hayden, who reluctantly took it. He squinted as he tried to figure out what it was supposed to be. Yargo shrugged. “Forgive my artistic skills, they are lacking. The symbols on the manhole covers look like lotus flowers. You know what lotus flower looks like, yeah? Good, good. Find these, and the black market will take care of you… for the right amount of rubles, of course.”

Hayden was tempted to roll his eyes. “Thanks.” Every time he had to kill someone, the meager amount of rubles they had on their body was pathetic. If he was going to get anything upgraded, he’d have to kill a lot more people. And despite having done it so many times before, it just didn’t sit right with him. These weren’t soldiers he was killing. They were once human. They had lives, as crappy as they were having to live in squalor. Wrong place at the wrong time. He pushed back his chair to leave. 

“Oh, one more thing, Agent Tenno.” Yargo slid a clean bandage across his desk. “You best change that one you have on your shoulder. I give this one to you, since I know the scraps you find around here are dirty at best. Patch yourself up before you go.”

Hayden reached out to grab the bandage, his head suddenly becoming dizzy. He shook it. “Thanks, but I’m kind of in a hurry. I’ll do it later.” 

He stood up to leave. The room spun. He must’ve done it too quickly, all the blood was rushing to his feet. He put his head in his hand.

“Are you feeling alright, Agent Tenno?” Yargo raised an eyebrow. He leaned forward in his chair.

Hayden grit his teeth. “I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” Obviously he wasn’t fine. He couldn’t feel the pain, but maybe that wound was worse than he thought. No, he was imagining things. He couldn’t have lost that much blood when he was attacked, right? 

“Maybe you should sit down for a moment. You don’t look too good.” Yargo’s words expressed concern, but the tone of his voice was flat, like he was stating that it was cloudy that day. Hayden shook his head, and that little movement set off a sudden pounding like he’d never felt before (because in all honesty, he hadn’t). What the fuck was this? What was going on? Yargo was standing, leaning over towards him.

“I think you should sit.” It was no longer a statement of concern but an order. Who did he think he was? Yargo was a sleeper agent, he wasn’t even activated. For all things considered, Hayden was talking with a run of the mill old man from the area who didn’t know anything. 

“I have to go-” Hayden turned again to go, Yargo not stopping him this time. He took one step. Two steps. He was almost to the door when the dizziness and pounding headache became unbearable. Hayden lost his footing and fell to the floor. He tried to put his hands out to stop himself, but his wound had made him weak and his arms crumpled before his face hit the ground, not soon after the rest of his body did. He felt the impact, knew it was bad by the sound of his shoulder bandage ripping, but the pounding headache was all he could focus on. Why wasn’t Yargo saying anything? Or… or was he? Through the constant thumping of his own pulse in his head and the loud ringing in his ears it was hard to make out anything else. 

“—and, Agent Tenno?” 

Yargo’s voice was muffled, like it was underwater. Hayden let out a constrained grunt. Stop talking, I can’t hear you. Did he say that out loud or was he thinking it? He didn’t know, he could only feel the pounding. But Hayden suddenly felt his arm being gripped and his body hoisted up. The room was still spinning. Through all the ringing and pain, he could feel himself being walked back across the room. Each step sent a vibration shooting up through his leg and body, rattling his still-pounding headache. He kept walking though, even if it was more a shuffle at a snail’s pace. His legs hit something solid and he crumpled into the chair he was just sitting in. 

“Give me that bandage, I will do it myself.” That was Yargo, his voice finally penetrating through the pounding. “I have some vodka too. You look like you need something strong. Set your head right.” There was a clink, a pouring, and Hayden felt glass press against his good hand. “Here. Drink up.”

Hayden took the glass filled with the clear liquid reluctantly, sniffed it to make sure he wasn’t being poisoned. 

“You think I would poison you? I am on your side. Now drink.” 

Hayden felt pressure on his shoulder before pulling, the sound of bandages crusty with dried blood being torn away and pulling on his skin. He downed the shot. It burned his throat and stung on the way down, but it managed to clear his head a little. It wasn’t pounding so much. He held the shot glass aloft and jiggled it to get Yargo’s attention. 

“You want another shot, Agent Tenno?” Hayden could hear the smile in his words. He grunted.

“Be a pal and top me off, Mensik.”

[leolithe]

Imagine how Ballas would have reacted to seeing his ex becomeing gay with the sentient clone of herself?

"You were such an astronomical shit-head in life, that the only person you loved left you for herself"

That would have been a such a massive punch to the ego.

Yeah honestly Margulis x Lotus has some very funny roots depending on who you ask!

In Lotus' perspective it's like "OK I have these memories of a dead woman and I'm supposed to become her now. But I can't just stop being a Sentient and have myself exploded by the Jade Light so i'm gonna do the closest thing to becoming Margulis and devote myself to her memory instead"

In Margulis' perspective it's like. "Tfw your toxic dead ex's gross intent to bring you back to life actually formed a will of her own and now she's showing more love to you than he ever could"

Like i literally would not put it past b*llas to even know that Margulis' favourite flower is the lotus. He loved her sure, but did he respect her as a person with her own wants and goals? Absolutely not!!!!!

Meanwhile Lotus who is a sentient AI who wasn't supposed to develop any feelings in general is using her Sentient Rationality to preserve Margulis' legacy. Her helmet hiding her eyes being a recognition of Margulis' blindness already speaks so much more to Lotus' respect of her than b*llas who wanted to wipe any evidence of "Tenno meddling" off Margulis and her appearance.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery and all that. Lotus never sought to change Margulis; b*llas set the bar so low that Margulis met Lotus and was like "Yes, accepting her love is healing for me actually. Wow i love not having to convince people of my hopes and dreams. I've never felt so validated by someone else in my life."

Lotus was born from the intents of a controlling father and a toxic jealous ex... It still gets me that the quote that represents her in The Sacrifice is "Dream not of what you are, but of what you want to be."

And sometimes what you want to be is a big ol lesbian robotgirl who kisses other women :3

[brookston]

Holidays 12.23

Holidays

Anagram Day

Asian Corpsetwt Day [Every 23rd]

Be Kind Day

Bitumen Day (French Republic)

Children’s Day (Sudan, South Sudan)

Christmas Eve Eve

Day of All Level Operational Control Structures Servicemen (Ukraine)

Economists Day

Federal Reserve Day

Festivus (Seinfeld)

Fiesta de Andacollo begins (Chile)

Flag Day (Sweden)

Fool's Day

Happy Things Day

Immaculate Reception Anniversary Day

John Canoe Day (Jamaica)

Kisan Diwas (India)

Leap of Faithiversary

Learn Metric Day

Lille Juleaften (Small Christmas Eve; Denmark)

Metric Conversion Day

National Christmas Movie Marathon Day

National Farmers Day (India)

National Forest Day

National Laura Day

National Nicole Day

National Salon Marie Morris “Be Kind” Day

National Farmers Day (India)

National Roots Day (a.k.a. Family Roots Day)

Night of the Radishes (Noche de Rabanos; Mexico)

Porlaksmessa (Iceland)

Port Said Day (Egypt)

Queen's Birthday (Sweden)

Secret of the Unhewn Stone (Celtic)

Stars & Stripes Forever Day

Suez Victory Day (Egypt)

Tenno Tanjobi (Japan)

Tibb's Eve (Newfoundland, Labrador)

Tom Bawcock’s Eve (Cornwall, England)

Transistor Day

Two Days To Go Day

Victory Day (Egypt)

World Chase Tag Day

World Tacha Day (Nigeria)

Yuletide Lad #12 arrives (Ketkrókur or Meat Hook; Iceland)

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Bake Day

National Pfeffernüsse Day

National Popcorn Popping Day

Popcorn Popping Day

Root Beer Day

Stargazy Pie Day

World Checkers Custard Popsicles Day

4th Saturday in December

National Eggnog Day [4th Saturday]

Super Saturday [Saturday before Christmas]

Independence Days

Commonwealth of Deseret (Declared; 2012) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Abassad (Coptic Church)

Acca Larentis (Celtic goddess who guards the dead)

Behnam, Sarah, and the 40 Martyrs (Coptic Church; Martyrs)

Dagobert II (Christian; Saint)

Dauntless Dragon (Muppetism)

Festival of the Great Heat (Feast Day of Hathor; Ancient Egypt)

Festivus (Pastafarian)

Holiday (Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster) [Date Approximate]

HumanLight Celebration (Secular Humanism)

John Belushi Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

John Cantius (Christian; Saint)

John Marin (Artology)

Larentalia (Old Roman festival honoring Dea Tacita, the silent odes, a goddess of the dead)

Lavoisier (Positivist; Saint)

O Emmanuel (7th O Antiphon or Great Advent Antiphon; Christian) [7 of 7]

Psote (Coptic Church)

Saturnalia Day 7: Day of the Mothers (Pagan)

Servulus (Christian; Saint)

The Ten Martyrs of Crete (Christian; Saint)

Thorlac Thorhallsson (Christian; Saint) [Iceland]

Victoria (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [52 of 53]

Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]

Uncyclopedia Bad to Be Born Today (because nobody cares about you as it's nearly christmas.) 

Premieres

The Accidental Tourist (Film; 1988)

The African Queen (Film; 1951)

As Good as It Gets (Film; 1997)

Beaches (Film; 1988)

Blackadder’s Christmas Carol (UK TV Special; 1988)

Dangerous Liaisons (Film; 1988)

The Dawn Patrol (Film; 1938)

Da Ya Think I’m Sexy, by Rod Stewart (Song; 1978)

Dirty Harry (Film; 1971)

Emma, by Jane Austen (Novel; 1815) [#4]

Funny Things Happen Down Under (Film; 1966)

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Film; 2022)

Good Morning, Vietnam (Film; 1987)

Grand Canyonscope (Disney Cartoon; 1954)

Green Card (Film; 1990)

Hansel und Gretel, by Englebert Humperdinck & Adelheid Wette (Opera; 1893)

Holiday Time at Disneyland (TV Special; 1962)

Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (Disney Cartoon; 1938)

My Blue Heaven, recorded by Fats Domino (Song; 1951)

My Week with Marilyn (Film; 2011)

The Pale Blue Eye (Film; 2022)

Scent of a Woman (Film; 1992)

This Magic Moment, recorded by The Drifters (Song; 1959)

Trollhunters (Animated TV series; 2016)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Disney Film; 1954)

UFO Club (London Bar; 1966)

Up in the Air (Film; 2009)

A Visit From Saint Nicholas or The Night Before Christmas, by Clement Clarke Moore (Poem; 1823)

Working Girl (Film; 1988)

Today’s Name Days

Victoria (Austria)

Ivan, Vikica, Viktorija (Croatia)

Vlasta (Czech Republic)

Torlacus (Denmark)

Eugenia, Senna, Senni (Estonia)

Noel, Senni (Finland)

Armand (France)

Johannes, Victoria (Germany)

Nifon (Greece)

Viktória (Hungary)

Giovanni (Italy)

Balva, Saulcerīte, Viktorija (Latvia)

Mina, Veliuona, Viktorija, Vilbutas (Lithuania)

Sigurd, Sjur (Norway)

Dagobert, Mina, Sławomir, Sławomira, Wiktoria (Poland)

Angelina (Russia)

Nadežda (Slovakia)

Juan, Victoria (Spain)

Adam (Sweden)

Avrele, Avrela (Ukraine)

Hart, Hartman, Latoya, Wade (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 357 of 2024; 8 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 51 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Ruis (Elder) [Day 26 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Jia-Zi), Day 11 (Yi-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 11 Teveth 5784

Islamic: 10 Jumada II 1445

J Cal: 27 Zima; Sixday [27 of 30]

Julian: 10 December 2023

Moon: 88%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 21 Bichat (13th Month) [Lavoisier]

Runic Half Month: Jara (Year) [Day 13 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 3 of 89)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 2 of 31)