thatonebirdwrites

[thatonebirdwrites]

Excellent article addition to this thread.

It is also bizarre to have science fiction condemned as a tool for imperialism, when a vast majority of it -- if one reads any book that is NOT by a cishet white man -- critiques colonialism, imperialism, patriarchy, and cishet white supremacy. It seems that professor who read a bigoted essay on science fiction failed to examine marginalized people's science fiction. If he'd bothered to do any research whatsoever, he'd have seen just how anti-imperialist science fiction can be.

For example, N.K. Jemisen's The Broken Earth Trilogy tackles themes of colonialism, family, and genocide. It does this through the medium of SF/F, where the world in which the characters live contributes to the layering of the themes. It's not just the characters sharing their story, but the world itself shares its story of sacrifice, oppression, and healing from the trauma of oppression. Jemisen hails from New York, USA.

Another example is Nnedi Okorafor, who is a Nigerian author, who tackles imperialism/colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy. Her books ask the question of who are we? Imperialism/colonialism both strip away culture and attempts to shove people into narrow and painful stereotypes, to steal away their identity and force us into cogs for the capitalist war machines. Resistance means holding onto who we are and who our people are, and fighting to keep that alive. Through that act, we can find the strength to topple harmful systems.

That's just two authors, but they are both Black authors, and if there's one thing I learned in my short stint in the Iowa Writer's Workshop back in 2005, is that Black authors are rarely highlighted. Thus the program could not truly tackle its own bigotry until it reckoned with its silence and erasure of marginalized authors. (This happened after I left, when Black and Indigenous graduate students toppled the mostly white professors controlling the program. Suddenly in the 2010s, the Iowa Writing Workshops pumped out online classes anyone could take that dug into marginalized stories to examine these themes. Sadly, these online classes are no longer funded and have since ended in the early 2020s.)

I remember how hurt I was when my professor rejected my science fiction story about grief and erasure by those in power. How they used it as an example of 'low brow works.' How they told me to stop writing nonsense and write what I know. How they pushed back on the fact I had people of color in the story.

I dropped out of the program and for awhile stuck to nonfiction and poetry. Then I discovered authors like N.K. Jemisen and Octavia Butler and so many other LGBTQIA, Disabled, and/or BIPOC authors. Which lead me to more and more marginalized authors, and it was them that helped me return to writing. I learned so much from their writings and how they crafted their stories and themes.

When I escaped my abusive ex and couldn't write for a long while, it was the stories of queer characters of color that helped me find my voice again. Characters and stories my professors in the writing workshop would have derided as 'low brow' and 'no good.'

So I guess the questions I always have for these so-called writing programs is:

Do they view the writings of marginalized authors as legitimate and worthy of respect? Are they willing to challenge themselves and examine the themes in our works? In the works of Black, Indigenous, people of color? In the works of Disabled people? In the works of LGBTQIA people? In the works of people who are not cishet white American or European men?

If they writing classes do not draw from marginalized authors, then it's highly likely they have nothing to teach me other than bigotry and stereotypes, like the one I had quit. I've been forced to read those so-called literary classics. And sure there is some points to learn from them, but I learned the most about writing from marginalized authors -- the very authors these professors seem to write off as less than.

And where is that 'they are less than' mentality coming from?

Internalized, unchecked bigotry socialized into us by American (and some European) societies, which have yet to reckon with their racist and imperialist pasts. When academic circles deem stories by marginalized people as 'less than' they are drawing on that legacy of writing off whole populations as disposable in order to justify the exploitation, slavery, and horrifically brutal oppression rained down upon them. Much of which still happens today to many marginalized populations such as Black, Indigenous, LGBTQIA, Disabled, and immigrant populations (not just in America but in Europe and other countries too).

Writing workshops don't live in a vacuum, and the context of where they stand in our history and how they were weaponized by governments needs to be examined.

The writing workshop world has yet to reckon with that harmful legacy that seethes through it, and there's a reason why marginalized writers often form their own workshops. Because the ones in the academic halls are still steeped in imperialist, colonialist, patriarchal, cishet white supremacy. Until the academic writing workshops in many universities reckon with that legacy, they will continue to cause harm to budding writers, especially our most marginalized.

Which is why it is a joy when marginalized writers band together to form their own workshops.

my creative writing prof also HATES fantasy. as in if she asks for an example of symbolism in a book, and you give something from a fantasy novel, she’ll ask for an example from a “non-commercial book” instead.

I dunno man, people can have preferences, but the second you discount the artistic merit of sci fi and fantasy I stop taking your opinion seriously. and there’s such a big culture in Canada of only valuing literary fiction, to the point where one of our biggest authors, Margaret Atwood, refused for a while to classify her books as sci fi or fantasy. she said they were “speculative fiction”, which is entirely separate and very highbrow (sarcasm).

and I could go on about how Octavia Butler and Ursula Le Guin wrote books every bit as intellectual (and honestly, even more so) than their literary counterparts, but I am also an enjoyer of schlock!! I think there’s artistic merit in animorphs, and in isekais where a japanese schoolgirl reincarnates into a magical spider who has to level up like it’s a video game! it’s like with everything, you can’t draw a clean line that separates ‘art’ from ‘non-art’ or even ‘lesser art’, and pretending you can do so just makes you look ignorant and goofy. in my opinion.

[thatonebirdwrites]

Please. When I get comments from folks who tell me they enjoy my current WIPs, I get a jumpstart in energy and can write for a little bit. (there's two longer fics that are haunting me that I have every intention to finish, but my poor health and general depression due to increasingly bad news makes it hard for my brain to function. every little dopamine hit helps). I know this can help me finish fics, but it's even more amazing to watch me comment on an WIP that hasn't been updated in years, and suddenly within a few weeks, it gets an update. That's delightful. Why would you take that a joy away from yourself and the author?

I feel like this is an unpopular opinion, but more people should read incomplete/unfinished/in-progress fanfics.

I've noticed this huge trend where creators on tiktok and tumblr who will be explaining how to use Archive Of Our Own to new users and they always say "and make sure to scroll down and click completed only" or how people will go out of their way to mention they only read completed fics 'because they were traumatized when they forgot to check the dates and didn't realize this fic hadn't been updated since 2012'.

The thing is - I think by not engaging with and/or actively avoiding writer's WIPs readers are potentially adding to the aggregate of abandoned works. Now this obviously isn't the case for all abandoned fics, anything from major life events, to loss of interest, to getting busy can be a reason for a fic getting abandoned - but at least on some level I just know that writers are quitting while they're ahead when they aren't garnering any response or feedback because reading WIPs has become unpopular. If you're worried about reading something that hasn't been updated since 2012 then you can use the date updated function to sort out old fics.

Anyways, support your favorite fanfic writers by engaging with their WIPs.

[thatonebirdwrites]

where i’m at girls

[thatonebirdwrites]

Don't demoralize your fellows, do not doom post. Spend your time helping others. Boost your communities, participate in protests, donate to campaigns to help palestinians, Anything, just do SOMETHING to help! Small actions are actions. Dont give up, dont doompost, dont doomscroll. HELP people! Please! Just help people!

[thatonebirdwrites]

It may come as a surprise for some players to call Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a Disabled narrative, and yet that is essential to the core of the story. Several of the main characters are disabled in different ways: physically disabled (Gustave and his prosthetic and Alicia with her burn injuries) and neurodivergent (Lune and Maelle). The way disability is explored in this game provides a positive reinforcement that being disabled doesn't mean a death sentence. We can thrive if given the support and care necessary for our survival. As the city and culture of Lumerie attests, this care and support is possible and crucial to everyone's survival. Read more in my article above. Spoilers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

[thatonebirdwrites]

It may come as a surprise for some players to call Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a Disabled narrative, and yet that is essential to the core of the story. Several of the main characters are disabled in different ways: physically disabled (Gustave and his prosthetic and Alicia with her burn injuries) and neurodivergent (Lune and Maelle). The way disability is explored in this game provides a positive reinforcement that being disabled doesn't mean a death sentence. We can thrive if given the support and care necessary for our survival. As the city and culture of Lumerie attests, this care and support is possible and crucial to everyone's survival. Read more in my article above. Spoilers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

[thatonebirdwrites]

Expedition 33 - The Game Who Masks Truth And Lies With Beauty

I'm cooking up some essays on this game because holy shit this game. Today's entry will be about its endings.

For those that have not played it, this will contain SPOILERS for the endings. (Crosspost from my Comradery.)

Playable Characters:

Gustave (Act 1)

Lune

Maelle

Sciel

Painted Verso

Monoco

Crucial Non-player characters: Various named Lumerie citizens, Gestrals, and Grandis that the players meet throughout the game. They won't factor into today's essay however.

Dessendre family:

Renoir (father)

Aline (mother)

Clea (oldest daughter)

Original Verso (the son who died)

Alicia (youngest daughter)

(There is a painted version of Renoir, Verso, Clea, and Alicia in the World of the Canvas).

That's all the people you really need to know to understand the following.

Is the Canvas people Real?

One of my essays digs into the question as to whether the people of the Canvas are real. Which, if real, the erasure of the Canvas would be a genocide. If not real, then no harm no foul.

I came to the conclusion that I agree with Maelle. They are real; they are alive; they are sentient; they are unique. Destroying the Canvas is a genocide of multiple diverse cultures. I won't dig into the reasons here as that would require a full, separate essay. This youtuber does an excellent video essay on this by the way and the youtuber also digs far more deeply than I do into why Maelle's ending is the morally 'good' choice.

Now let's look at how the endings are presented.

The Game Deliberately Misleads

The game uses carefully placed shots to mislead us. As in, this game actively *lies* to us. Why?

For one:

Verso is an unreliable narrator. I'm still sorting out my thoughts and evidence for this. It's part of a whole essay, but sufficient to say when a character actively lies and/or projects their view of things onto others and/or manipulates others through deception and lies -- they are inherently unreliable in regards to truth and what is real.

There is a reason the axon representing Verso is called the Mask Keeper -- He Who Guards Truth With Lies. Verso actively gaslights people in order to get his way, and lies often. He even introduces himself as a liar, so he recognizes his own nature. This doesn't mean he isn't capable of compassion -- he is, and he is quite charming, but it doesn't erase the harm he's done to get his way.

By making him the protagonist in Act 2, that shifts Act 2 into an unreliable narrator stance. So we're left on edge, wondering what the truth actually is. We know that Verso is holding back something from the others, but we don't know what. What does he guard with his lies?

If he had been honest from the start would it have altered things? Perhaps or perhaps not. He doesn't give anyone the autonomy to make that decision. He makes it for them in order to exert as much control as he can. Which ironically is not all that different from Renoir's attempts at controlling his family.

Again, one can still love others and still be a controlling jerk. Verso is inherently complex, but also unreliable when it comes to the truth.

For two:

The game is a masterclass in burying the lead. Leading us to believe who is really the protagonist, only to yank the floor out from under us twice.

First, we are led to believe the main protagonist is Gustave. Then the shocking and painful end of Act 1 reveals that no, Gustave isn't the main lead.

For Act 2, the perspective is Verso, though the game itself plays as a team, where Maelle, Lune, Sciel, Verso, and Monoco are all playable. The fighting mechanic allows for a team of three to fight together.

Then comes the shocking end of Act 2, which leads us in still another direction.

We learn that the one person who witnesses the vast majority of this story is actually Maelle, who is Alicia -- the youngest Dessendre, who Aline had repainted as a baby into the Canvas world. This allowed Alicia to grow up as part of the Canvas people but without her memories.

In Act 3, Maelle regains her memories of her life as Alicia, and admits to Lune and Sciel how weird it is to have memories of two lives in her head-- one in the real world and one in the Canvas.

So we're led astray several times before the truth finally sprouts, and the truth doesn't unravel until the perspective is Maelle's. That I think is perhaps the most honest this game is. It's a signal to the players that Maelle will tell us the truth.

For three:

There's several interpretations to everything in this game. Even the ending has several interpretations regardless of who you choose in the end. This is done through fantastic camera angles and carefully cut shots, positioned to evoke the most emotions from a player. It's masterfully done, and absolutely stunning.

So let's discuss the endings! I'll dig into my take on it, while doing my best to refute a common take that I feel falls for the misleading camera shots this game does.

One way the game mislead players is in Maelle/Alicia's ending:

In Maelle's ending, we see everyone at the Opera house, and an older Verso sits down to play. The game cuts to Alicia in real life with the paint on her face, then back to the Canvas world. Many people interpret this as her puppeting him, which isn't accurate to who she is nor does it fit the evidence of what she is capable of doing.

To puppet him requires a tremendous power in the art of Painting and control of that power that doesn't exist in the evidence the game lays out for us. So let's dig into that first.

If we look at Alicia's talent as a Painter, every person in her family seems to view her as not being as talented as the rest of the family. Only one of her paintings met Aline's rigidly high standards, and it was one of their mansion.

Renoir at least holds hope she can reach the potential he sees in her, but is what he sees his vision and expectations for her rather than who she truly is?

I know what it's like to have a parent with ridiculously high expectations of what I am potentially capable of doing, and yet in the end, that smothered me and made my life infinitely harder. This is why Maelle releasing her father's Axon of her is her letting go of her father's expectations of her. It's the healthiest action she could take honestly.

Her Painter Ability

We are shown how Alicia doesn't seem to enjoy painting. She would prefer to read books, an activity Clea disdains in their scenes together. We also see no proof that Alicia has much power as a Painter either. Her painting is of the mansion, but it's simply a replica of what already exists.

Also, no one -- not even Aline, the most powerful Painter in the game, could mind-control anyone. If Aline could, painted Verso wouldn't have turned against her; she would have puppetted him.

One might argue that Clea found a way. She painted over Aline's painted version of her. (Say that ten times fast!) Yet I suspect she may have painted Aline's version out of existence and left her version with a task to do. Clea's version is able to recognize Verso likely because Clea put a piece of herself in her creation, perhaps inadvertently.

Clea's version also has unnatural eyes similar to a possible Nevron, while Aline's version were human. Yes, one of her eyes turns human when she recognizes Verso, but she's not Aline's version. She's Clea's version, and thus she battles with how Clea made her versus her recognition of Verso. That is why her ending is tragic. Clea never achieved mind-control -- she merely repainted the person entirely, and piece of her she left behind ends up turning on herself.

This ability to paint over others' creations only Clea and Aline seem to have. Neither Renoir or Alicia are ever shown as having this ability.

Personality and Morals

At start of Act 3, Verso must teach Maelle how to paint. It does not come to her easily, and with his lesson, she uses her fencing to aid her in bringing back Sciel and Lune. But all she is able to do is coalesce their chroma back into who they were the moment they were gommaged by Renoir. This is evidenced in how Sciel coughs and Lune takes in a breath, where both are baffled as to how they are at camp rather than Lumerie.

She wants to bring them back, to remember them for who they are, not to control them. She wants them to live out their lives naturally, and she proves this again and again in her actions, where she does her best to save others.

In fact, she doesn't want to fight her father or Verso, and she offers them choices which depend on them accepting her autonomy. They refuse. In Verso's case he refuses to his death, and in Renoir's case, he finally relents when he realizes that taking away his daughter's autonomy could destroy her more than her staying would.

Alicia/Maelle shows no interest in painting, nor does she show any interest in creating anything. She enjoys fencing, helping foster kids, doing parkour atop buildings, and reading books. Her delight seems to come from helping others, so I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up in a teaching role as an adult.

To bring back those gommaged, she recognizes that she might die if she does this act, but of all her family members, she is willing to sacrifice her life so others may live. That's a level of compassion that her other family members just don't show -- except for possibly original Verso.

 Alicia/Maelle goes out of her way to honor the wishes of others (See the Reach area where painted Alicia asks to die, and Maelle does as she asks). Over and over she shows integrity that the other members of her family seem to lack (except for possibly real Renoir). When she messes up, she listens, seeks understanding, respects the other, and apologizes. Then she seems to do her best to hold herself accountable. This shows how she is still growing. She learns from her mistakes.

She's reliable, definitely as reliable as Lune and Sciel, and she goes out of her way to speak truth to the best of her knowledge. As soon as she knows a new truth, she immediately shares it with her loved ones as soon as she can (such as every scene with Lune, Sciel, Gustave, Monoco, and Verso).

So I can rely on Maelle to stay true to her values. To allow her support system to keep her in check, and for her to come to a compromise with Verso.

As for the shadow boy who represents the shard of original Verso's soul, I can trust Maelle will take care of him as gently and kindly as she takes care of the other foster kids.

She will also be honest with him. Verso approaches him with leading questions, projects how he feels onto the boy, and manipulates the boy toward an answer. Maelle does not do this.

Her interactions with the shadow boy is to ask straightforward questions on how the boy feels and what the boy thinks, and to ask for clarification (one can see this in the various places in the Canvas world where you encounter the boy. The boy speaks of a world he loved before others came and hurt it).

Now this is where her narration in her ending is absolutely crucial.

At the start of her ending, she asks, "if you could grow old, would you?" That question gives Verso autonomy to decide if he would or not, and I'm sure Maelle/Alicia would accept his choice.

Because his reasoning for destroying the Canvas world has less to do with concern for the real Dessendre family, but for his own needs to not live an immortal life as a facsimile of a real person. He outright says "I don't want this life." And the few times he's honest, he admits to hating how Aline made him immortal.

So in the narration over the Opera scene, Maelle offers a compromise. Why? Because she understands that he doesn't want the immortal life. She accepts that and offers him an alternative. Based on his appearance on stage, he takes her at her word.

The dissonant note before he plays is his old age showing. He likely is dying. Then the game shows us a glimpse of real world Alicia, how she too is dying because of her choice to remain in the Canvas.

Maelle understands this, and it's why the scene goes gray. She's grieving already, but there is an acceptance in her face. She will let him go, and I can trust her to do so.

Will she leave her Canvas world to avoid her own death? Likely no, but it is her decision. I do not fault her for staying with healthier and more loving people; that's what I did when I escaped my abuse.

In the real world, she lived in isolation within an abusive environment. I'll discuss how her real life environment is abusive when I speak to the second possible ending below. For the moment, let us examine how one heals from abuse.

It's not possible to heal from abuse while still trapped in an abusive environment. It's only when I escaped my abuse that I was able to finally start my healing journey. It's why psychologists and social workers work to aid people in escaping abuse first before the healing process starts.

I like to describe it as: if you were being continuously stabbed, how could your body ever heal from stab wounds if you didn't escape that situation? It can't. Neither can the scars of emotional, verbal, physical, and/or sexual abuse.

In the Canvas, Maelle has a loving chosen family who helps her stay morally good and on the right path. She is no longer isolated and driven toward suicide. She has escaped her former abusive environment.

She wants to do right by her loving family. So not only does her ending prevent a genocide, but it gives the characters the most autonomy and chance at life than any other ending.

Maelle/Alicia's fate in Verso's ending.

Some claim Verso's ending is the 'better' ending because the family is facing their grief. Yet are they facing their grief? They are certainly facing a gravestone at least.

The game shows the scene without any jarring juxapositions of one world versus another. For all intents and purposes, it seems like the family has taken a step toward healing.

I argue this is the game misleading us again.

First, Clea is still angry and focused on Revenge. She has shown zero growth. Her character looks at the grave, looks at the rest of the family, and she storms off not long after the scene starts. She's still angry, and nothing in her facial expressions or behavior shows she's learned anything from the Canvas events. If anything, it just annoyed her and took her away from her true mission: revenge.

Aline and Renoir are shattered by the events of the Canvas and take solace in each other. They utterly ignore Alicia/Maelle, who is once more alone and isolated. Aline seems truly broken, and the game hints that staying in the Canvas as long as Aline and Renoir did causes damage to one's mind and body. Whether they recover from this? There's no evidence the game provides either for it or against it.

Alicia attempts to connect to Clea by looking at her, but Clea gives her nothing in return, only walks away. The only smile Alicia has is when she hallucinates her dead Canvas family, and her smile fades when they gommage away. She is left with nothing but a plushie.

I fear for her because she's trapped in an abusive environment in the real world. So forcing her away from her chosen family and back into abuse is the worse choice in my opinion.

Every scene of her in the real world shows her isolated. Sure, Clea can push Alicia to leave her room, but none of her words show any emotional support. She is hurtful, critical, and pushes Alicia into choices without regard for what Alicia wants.

Alicia can't even speak up as her voice was lost in the fire -- in fact the burns on her face and her lost eye? This family is rich and they don't have any healthcare access? Where are the doctors in this world? Even with a heavily burned face, there's ways to soothe the healing to avoid massive scarring, but that wasn't done at all for Alicia.

Alicia is newly disabled. She's isolated. She has no care system in the real world. We're expected to believe being cut off from the only family that gave her care is healthy for her?

Staying in an abusive environment will never let you heal. Studies have shown this, and the professional advice given is to assist in helping the person survive and eventually leave the abusive environment. Then and only then can one tackle the trauma from that abuse. I know for myself I could not heal while I was stuck in an abusive environment. It wasn't until I escaped that I could finally start to heal.

Proof Alicia is in an abusive environment:

Clea's words to her are verbally abusive. She outright says she'd let Alicia die if she'd been in Verso's shoes. That she both love and hates Verso for saving Alicia. That it's Alicia's fault all this happened in the first place. Expects perfection from her and mocks her for not living up to her insanely high standards. Mocks Alicia's hobbies, and shows no regard for what Alicia wants. This isn't even all the evidence of her verbal abuse, just the most blatant ones.

Aline is no better. We see her memories in the monolith, and it shows her arguments with Alicia, where Alicia runs away in tears. It shows how exact she is with her demands for perfection, and how Alicia failed to live up to it. In fact, only one painting of Alicia's is ever seen good enough for the wall (mentioned later in Act 3). Even our encounters of her in the Canvas show how she blames Alicia. All the other members of her family she paints them whole, but not Alicia. She makes sure painted Alicia has all the scars from the fire and thus is unable to talk or speak up for herself.

Verso gaslights, deceives, and lies far more than he shows care. Whether the original Verso gaslighted as much as painted Verso is hard to say. The axon Renoir paints to represent his son implies that Verso wore many masks to hide his true thoughts and feelings, so it's possible he did gaslight in real life too. So Painted Verso lies to Maelle at major points in Act 2, misleads her, omits crucial details that he knows about her, and admits that he let Gustave die to make sure Maelle did what he wanted. That stunning admission really brought home how abusive his actions had been. Yes, I get that Painted Verso is complex, and he had some truly lovely moments with Maelle -- like the scene of them at the piano together as Esquie dances in the background. But those kinder moments cannot erase the abuse.

Renoir is the only one that doesn't actively abuse her. He actively seems to care for her. He watches out for her the best he can. Helps her train. The axon he paints for her isn't about her flaws. It's about his hopes for her reaching her potential; however, his expectations soar too high and he fails to truly see her. So his expectations and hopes serve more as a burden than it does as a balm. He never blames her for Verso's death either. But what he does not do in the 'real world' is be present for her. Over and over we are shown that Alicia is cut off from the family, and Renoir doesn't bridge this gap. He may believe in her potential, but why does he not support her? Why does he leave her in her isolated states? I think it's because he's so focused on Painting and/or on control; on making sure he keeps his family together that he ends up neglecting Alicia. Not because he meant to but because he failed to make the time for her.

So why would Maelle/Alicia trust him when he says things will get better? He's the only one that could perhaps convince her, but his arguments fall flat because he has nothing to offer her. No better future to help her envision. Only empty platitudes. And it's why he gives up on control, and finally gives her the autonomy she should have had in the first place.

Is it any wonder that Maelle doesn't want to return to that soulless 'real world?' She has no support system. She's in an abusive environment. Her voice has been taken from her. She has no autonomy.

Again, this is where the game misleads. Because astute players will notice in Verso's ending, that the only smile Alicia has is when she hallucinates her friends from the Canvas world, but her smile fades the moment they gommage away. The game ends with her alone, cut off still, with only a plushie for comfort.

If there is one person I can trust in this game to do the right thing, it's Maelle who has proven that over and over. Even after learning the truth of who she was, she still did her best to honor the wishes of others. To listen to them, and when she finds out she inadvertently hurt someone, she apologizes, owns up for her mistake, and tries to do better next time.

She actively learns and grows from her mistakes, and she does this because when she was part of the Canvas people as one of them she had loving people to teach her a different way to be.

The Canvas chosen family will keep her in check. They have from the start, and she trusts them, sometimes more than she trusts herself. This is why I decided her ending is the morally good one: one it stops a genocide, but also the healthier choice for Alicia/Maelle. It also shows more respect for the autonomy of the characters as well.

But again, the game specifically sets up the endings to mislead us. To make us question what is really happening. This is why there's been so many conflicting viewpoints on the nature of these endings and what they mean.

We're meant to question reality. What is real? What is the truth? Who can we trust in all of this?

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a tragedy. No matter what choices we make in the end, there will always be a tragic side to it.

It's up to us to decide meaning from this tragedy, and take that with us in our own journeys.

Thank you for reading.

[thatonebirdwrites]

Thanks for the tag, @thejanewayprotocol!

I have a tendency to forget I put things in drafts entirely, so will just toss this into the wilds of tumblr right away. definitely a nice distraction from feeling ill.

Favourite colour: Violet

Last song: Obsessed with the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 soundtrack. God, this soundtrack is gorgeous.

Currently reading: Just finished Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard. Sapphic space operas for the win! I'm still working on the The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong, which is a very cute and cozy book about chosen family.

Also reading The Internet Con: How to Seize the means of computation by Cory Doctorow, which is my nonfiction book of the month.

Currently watching: After finishing Andor with friends, I have been watching nothing. I did play through the entirety of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 which has cut-scenes in it. Does that count?

Currently craving: something sweet. Can't decide on what tho.

Coffee or tea: TEA. Been drinking through my oolong tea stocks, and am almost out. But with tariffs being a nightmare tea prices have risen, and I am sad.

Tag: @nottawriter, @luthordamnvers, @snowydragonscave, and uh anyone who wants to play i guess? no need to do this either. but I AM curious as to what everyone is reading/listening-to/watching/etc.

[thatonebirdwrites]

[thatonebirdwrites]

The largest mass shooting in American history was a hate crime against gay people. Don’t ever forget that.

[thatonebirdwrites]

AO3 is an archive. It was built to be an archive, meaning what is put in the archive, stays in the archive. If anyone leaves a comment like the above, it is a scam. Do not fall for it.

THIS IS NOT REAL. If you get this comment, they’re just trying to get you to delete your fic.

1) I would have gotten some kind of email from Ao3 if this was true

2) this comment is formatted to be perfect to tack onto any fic they choose

3) ALSO why on earth would Ao3 get rid of entire fandoms off the site? Even if they WERE inactive? Who knows if others will be ‘late’ to the fandom and want some fic to read. Who knows if someone wants to come back to their 6 year old account only to find most of their fics deleted.

I’m lucky to be a reasonable adult who has seen tricks like these who also had a very kind person comment their own doubts.

Please let your Ao3 friends know <3

[thatonebirdwrites]

OOC thoughts for using this story in Korrasami and Supercorp AUs: ... Korrasami AU: Sciel is Korra and Lune is Asami. Maelle can be Jinora.

Due to what happens at the end of Act 1, I am unable to think about Gustave without wanting to weep.

...

Supercorp AU: Sciel is Kara and Lune is Lena. Maelle can be Nia.

...

I also adore the original Expedition 33 characters, so I will write fanfiction of them as well as Korrasami and Supercorp.

I have come to the conclusion that I have a specific type when it comes to writing and reading queer relationships.

Because Korra is similar to Kara Zor El Danvers who is similar to Sciel. And Asami is similar to Lena Luthor who is similar to Lune.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 -- moments between Nevron fights (excerpts of a larger work)

LUNE and MAELLE After Flying Waters ACT 1

A quiet settles over the camp. Gustave dangles his feet over the cliff as he writes in his journal for his apprentices, and Lune scrubs the pan from a quick dinner. Maelle kneels at her side to rinse the cups. The last of their tea, which means no more luxuries. Lune hadn’t expected the entire expedition to be wiped so quickly, so she’d carried bare minimum supplies. Scavenged a crate or two more then followed the fresh footprints of a human being to find Gustave.

She doesn’t dare mention how close she’d come to finding Gustave dead. “So,” Lune attempts conversation, but she feels rusty. It’s been a long time since she’s tried to reach out to others. “That manor. Who is this Curator? Why did he bring you there?”

Maelle leans back on her heels and a crinkle forms between her eyebrows. “I… I’m not sure.” Her fingers tighten around the cup. “I felt a kinship almost. Like I could hear his voice. And that room. It felt …” she shakes her head. “I likely imagined it.”

“Maelle.” Lune lightly touches her shoulder. “Don’t dismiss data. If that room evoked emotion, it could be crucial to our mission.”

Maelle dries the cup and tucks it into the pack. “It felt familiar. Like I’d been there prior.” She looks at Lune, her expression hopeful as if she has all the answers. “Did you feel anything?”

Lune tucks away the pan and dries off her hands. “I found it intriguing that it folded a much larger space into a small location. What pictos is needed for such a transformation must be immense. I could not sense any however, which felt odd. It was quiet. No Nevrons. Never seen architecture quite like that in Lumiere.”

Maelle stands and throws a rock into the pool. “Why was I saved though? So many died…”

Lune doesn’t have an answer. She suspects Gustave will know exactly what to say, but this is not Lune’s strength. Emotions and people do not enter into her calculations. They’re messy, confusing, and often overwhelming. She takes a deep breath, and tries for Maelle’s sake. “I’m sorry. Part of the decision to land there relied on my calculations. It should have been a relatively quiet stretch of beach.” She had no idea an older man existed on the continent. How could she? No one lived past the current number on the Paintress’s Monolith. The gommage made sure of that.

“He just killed them.” Maelle clenches her fist. “It’s his fault they died, Lune. Not yours.”

“Perhaps, but I still made that calculation.” Lune stands and dusts off her pants.

Maelle sighs. “I simply wish the Curator had saved more than just me.”

“A wish can sour us to the mission,” Lune says, her tone careful. “Deal in facts and figures. We cannot change what has already transpired. And so we continue.”

“Right.” Maelle gives her a tight smile. A sign that perhaps Lune’s words assisted her? She returns the smile in hopes it is sufficient for the younger girl's needs. “Will you show me your work?” She drops the pack by the fire and gestures to the logs they’d situated.

Lune hasn’t ever shown anyone her work. Not since her parents died on Expedition 41, but the way Maelle sits and looks at her expectantly, her full trust despite Lune’s anti-social behaviors, has her sitting down next to her and pulling up her matrix. She explains the art of transcribing data into the diamond-shaped energy matrix, the calculations made concerning pictos, and to her surprise, Maelle asks astute questions.

When Gustave returns to the fire, he smiles at the sight of Maelle and Lune bent over Lune’s work. Lune glances up with a nod to acknowledge his approach, but returns her focus to Maelle. “… layering pictos as you described has been confirmed in the section under calculus.”

“Oh, the theorem your parents devised. Didn't they confirm a limit to it?”

“Yes, three are stable. Four grow exponentially unstable and likely to end in combustion. However, I learned of a detail inherent within the chroma of Nevrons, where chroma can copy a pictos into a usable form—”

“Your work with Gustave,” Maelle interrupts. “Is that where the converter first came to be?”

“Yeah,” Gustave says. “Lune and I were working on her calculations, and it gave me the idea of the converter. If I could extract the chroma, Lune can refine.”

“And thus we create copies of the pictos to layer ours in ways my parents never dreamed.”

“But it takes time to learn the pictos in order to refine and copy it. I remember.” Maelle glances toward the cave at the far end of their camp, where the Curator lurks. “It’s good that the Curator can help upgrade our weapons and pictos. Speeds things up a bit, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. A surprising aid.” Lune nods, her smile crinkling the skin around her eyes. “You are a fast learner.”

“She always has been,” Gustave agrees. “Our Maelle, though whether she stays focused is quite the challenge. Always eager to run the courier to escape her lessons.”

That earns him a roll of her eyes. She pokes his side. "I do study at times."

"Oh?" He raises his hands in mock surrender. "When not endlessly needling me for a duel? Sometimes I wonder if you’re a gestral in disguise." He laughs when Maelle sticks her tongue out at him.

Lune can't help but smile at their affection. Even here, on the continent, in the midst of great danger and deadly Nevrons, the pair find a way to uplift their spirits. She can't help but feel grateful that Maelle survived to give Gustave the hope he needed to continue.

Lune sees movement in the cavern. She walks slowly, carefully past the mound of bodies, only to pause at the sight of Gustave. His eyes are closed, and he holds his summoned gun against his forehead, his hands shaking, and tears streak his face. Lune sits down next to him and struggles with what to say. She can’t let him die like this, but how to stop him?

She calculates the force from the pistol and comes to a conclusion. Sitting down next to him, she positions herself so the blast would hit her as well. She takes a deep breath and accepts this risk. “You do that we both die.”

He opens his eyes and for a brief moment he stares, the pistol wavering in his hand. Then the decision is made, and his weapon evaporates.

“Hey…” Relief floods her. As hoped he’d made the right decision. She leans forward to try to snag his gaze, but Gustave doesn’t respond. “Fucking hell, wake up, Gustave.” She moves to crouch in front of him, her tone acerbic.

“Lune,” he whispers, the shock still in his face, the way he looks around as if he sees nothing and yet everything. “The others.”

“I know. We’re the only ones left. You don’t get to die.” She stands and holds out her hand, but he doesn’t take it.

Instead he sucks in a tearful gasp. “It’s just a matter of time. We — we’re already dead. Look around.” His arm shakes as he gestures to the mound of bodies that surrounds them, that are wrapped up in sickly blood red tendrils that drip and splatter in the cavern. “Look.”

“This is not a foregone conclusion. When one falls, we continue.” It’s the only words she has, and she needs him. She knows he has the strength for this. She knows the shock of death. She’s lived it, and now she needs him to stand and face it too. The cavern shakes with the approach of a Nevron, and she thinks of how narrowly she escaped the last two. Together they stand a chance; alone they are easy pickings.

That moment had terrified her. How many other expeditions had fallen to such a fate when faced with such death? The mantra, ‘when one falls, we continue’ is what keeps her moving and fighting. It’s how they reached the Indigo tree finally, their rally point, only to watch yet another expeditioner die a violent death. Yet they marshaled their powers to defeat that deadly Nevron, through timed dodges and the synergy of her elemental powers to his sword and pistols.

It was after, higher in the Indigo tree, that they discovered a note about Maelle’s survival. The one that led them through floating waters, past water-based Nevrons, and into a strange, larger-on-inside manor. Maelle, unharmed, had been reading at a desk.

Now she watches Maelle and Gustave gently goad the other, alive and well.

Tomorrow comes, and with it the chance to meet gestrals, a legend in their hometown. She can’t wait to ask questions on if it is true that they can reincarnate or how their political system functions. It’s perhaps a small selfish need to know, but it is her own form of hope.

_____

LUNE And SCIEL At Gestral Village

Two of the challengers had been defeated. Lune breathes in and out, her powers sizzles through her, and the weapon floating above her hand. Since landing on the continent, she has refined her skills, crafted new ones to build up her stains, then used all four stains in a blast of elemental energy. As good as the gestrals are with fighting, they have little defense against her stain-fueled attacks.

The gestrals in the stands cheer, and wave their spindley arms in anticipation of their champion. Paintbrush-styled hair sprouts from their wooden heads, their masks carved with sigils, and it almost looks as if they paint the sky as they wave their bodies back and forth. She shakes her head to dispel the irrational thought.

By her calculations, she has enough energy for the final fight, but she will need to be strategic. To parry and dodge more often.

“And NOW. The one who single-handedly destroyed a Sakapatate,” the announcer says grandly in the gestrals language, “to EARN HER SPOT in the Hall of LEGENDS. The Stranger!”

A familiar figure runs and leaps from the stands. She lands with flourish and raises her hands to the cheers of the crowd. Cards manifest in her hands and she throws them into the air, working the crowd like a pro fighter.

“Wait…” Maelle says from behind Lune. “Isn’t that…?”

“Sciel?” Gustave says, stunned.

Lune stares, unable to speak. How is this so? Their expedition had fifteen members, and most had died in that deadly beach encounter. Lune barely escaped, her powers useless against such onslaught. The Nevrons assisting that old man deadly with hallucinatory powers that blighted several of her compatriots. She’d seen so many die, and hadn’t Sciel been lying among the bodies?

"Sciel..." Lune whispers. She struggles to box up the sour memories, to retain her focus on the present, but Sciel's appearance threatens to implode her careful control of her emotions.

Sciel turns and her eyes widen. “What — How — You guys… You’re alive!” She holds up her hands and rushes toward them.

Gustave meets her halfway and hugs her tightly.

“I thought I was the only one left.” She turns and smiles as Maelle shyly sidles forward. “I knew you were resourceful,” she says, gently to the teenager.

“How did you get here?” Lune asks, words finally breaking free from the shock of Sciel alive.

The announcer interrupts with a loud shout. “Hey humans! We’re here to see some fighting! If you don’t wanna fight, we’ll come down and fight ourselves?”

Sciel steps back and turns to take in the crowd, a sly smile upturning her lips. Her amber-hued skin almost glows in the torches of the arena. As beautiful as Lune remembers.

“They’re expecting a bit of a show.” Sciel moves to a proper dueling distance and turns to face Lune and the others. “Shall we?” With a flick of her wrist, her scythe blazes into being and a card appears in her other hand.

Lune smiles. Typical Sciel, always ready to leap into action. “So be it.” She can unleash her questions on Sciel after they dealt with the gestrals silly arena.

With a swirl of her hands, her Lunerim manifests, its four stain-holders empty and ready for use.

[thatonebirdwrites]

No, app on my phone, I don't want to edit it with AI. I don't want to generate with AI. I don't want to ask the AI. I don't want to make AI wallpapers. I don't want to rewrite with AI. I don't want t-

[thatonebirdwrites]

It is not just trans rights discourse that has moved to the right.

You can see this within Abolition discourse -- the Abolish police became Defund Police then became Give Police More Money and Training. (This is due to Democrats hijacking this, which you can read about in various books by Black Abolitionists such as Mariame Kaba, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Cedric Johnson's After Black Lives Matter, and others.)

This happened with Disabled People as well. Talking about accessibility has become a niche topic, and we're labeled as divisive or hostile if we bring it up. (Alice Wong, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Imani Barbarin, my own articles)

This also happened with Infectious Disease migitations, which is a rather deadly one. If we can't admit that masking regularly and having better air purification units work to mitigate disease PLUS the free access to vaccines, then how can we stop future pandemics? (See the Disability list)

There's a lot of topics that shifted right. This is what happens when we meet centrists, hardline right, and outright fascists in the middle.

We cannot and should not negotiate with people who are willing to sacrifice populations for endless growth/profits. (This should include those willing to destroy the planet for endless growth/profits too).

Tolerating the intolerant means the intolerant ultimately wins. Instead, hold the intolerant accountable for their intolerance.

all the trans bathroom bans have this awful tendency to push the overton window of even trans advocacy by trans people to the right

so many trans people now are focused on pleading to let trans women use women's restrooms and to let trans men use men's restrooms that I feel like the demand that was much more prominent even 5 years ago to construct non-segregated accessible bathrooms for everyone is almost nonexistent

[thatonebirdwrites]

tagged by @nottawriter

It took me far longer than I want to admit before I realized that the bolded ones symbolize what that person likes to read in the either/or. Anyway, without further ado:

coffee shop or flower girl | au or fix-it | enemies to lovers or childhood friends | angst or fluff | love at first sight or pining | modern au or historical au | break up & make up or proposal & wedding | get together or established relationship | soulmates or unrequited | fake dating or secret dating | obvious pining or domestic fluff | hurt/comfort or crack | meet the parents or meet cute

Okay, I am a simple reader. I like most stories if they are well-written. It's probably ironic of me to not like stories that are heavy on angst, and yet many of the ones I write are exactly that.

I love a good AU, but if a fix-it is well done? Then I'll read it.

I don't mind enemies to lovers, but I didn't choose it for this mostly because the ones I like they aren't necessarily "enemies." More like rivals, which feels like a less caustic version of that.

I cannot handle secondhand embarrassment, so meet the parents is a nope. Oooof.

TAGS: I don't know. Anyone who still reads my stuff and finds this interesting I guess?

[thatonebirdwrites]

You want to know why Inigo Montoya remains such an iconic and beloved character even 35 years after the Princess Bride came out?

It’s because he’s one of the few characters in fiction who has a story where he has dedicated his life to revenge, his whole motivation is about getting revenge….and he gets it! and then he isn’t empty or despairing! he doesn’t regret it! he’s totally satisfied!

because so many stories about revenge or rage are about characters “seeing the futility of their actions” or learning “their desire for revenge has only made them the monsters they hated” FUCK THAT.

Inigo Montoya kills the man who kills his father, is allowed to live in the narrative after and be happy about it and it is so satisfying. it’s fantastic. it’s iconic.

let more characters rage against the world, bring it down with bloodied hands, and let them be FUCKING RIGHT about it. Let them celebrate their success with sharp grins, and let them live happy, full lives where they always remain proud/fulfilled for what they’ve done

[thatonebirdwrites]

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 -- moments between Nevron fights (excerpts of a larger work)

LUNE and MAELLE After Flying Waters ACT 1

A quiet settles over the camp. Gustave dangles his feet over the cliff as he writes in his journal for his apprentices, and Lune scrubs the pan from a quick dinner. Maelle kneels at her side to rinse the cups. The last of their tea, which means no more luxuries. Lune hadn’t expected the entire expedition to be wiped so quickly, so she’d carried bare minimum supplies. Scavenged a crate or two more then followed the fresh footprints of a human being to find Gustave.

She doesn’t dare mention how close she’d come to finding Gustave dead. “So,” Lune attempts conversation, but she feels rusty. It’s been a long time since she’s tried to reach out to others. “That manor. Who is this Curator? Why did he bring you there?”

Maelle leans back on her heels and a crinkle forms between her eyebrows. “I… I’m not sure.” Her fingers tighten around the cup. “I felt a kinship almost. Like I could hear his voice. And that room. It felt …” she shakes her head. “I likely imagined it.”

“Maelle.” Lune lightly touches her shoulder. “Don’t dismiss data. If that room evoked emotion, it could be crucial to our mission.”

Maelle dries the cup and tucks it into the pack. “It felt familiar. Like I’d been there prior.” She looks at Lune, her expression hopeful as if she has all the answers. “Did you feel anything?”

Lune tucks away the pan and dries off her hands. “I found it intriguing that it folded a much larger space into a small location. What pictos is needed for such a transformation must be immense. I could not sense any however, which felt odd. It was quiet. No Nevrons. Never seen architecture quite like that in Lumiere.”

Maelle stands and throws a rock into the pool. “Why was I saved though? So many died…”

Lune doesn’t have an answer. She suspects Gustave will know exactly what to say, but this is not Lune’s strength. Emotions and people do not enter into her calculations. They’re messy, confusing, and often overwhelming. She takes a deep breath, and tries for Maelle’s sake. “I’m sorry. Part of the decision to land there relied on my calculations. It should have been a relatively quiet stretch of beach.” She had no idea an older man existed on the continent. How could she? No one lived past the current number on the Paintress’s Monolith. The gommage made sure of that.

“He just killed them.” Maelle clenches her fist. “It’s his fault they died, Lune. Not yours.”

“Perhaps, but I still made that calculation.” Lune stands and dusts off her pants.

Maelle sighs. “I simply wish the Curator had saved more than just me.”

“A wish can sour us to the mission,” Lune says, her tone careful. “Deal in facts and figures. We cannot change what has already transpired. And so we continue.”

“Right.” Maelle gives her a tight smile. A sign that perhaps Lune’s words assisted her? She returns the smile in hopes it is sufficient for the younger girl's needs. “Will you show me your work?” She drops the pack by the fire and gestures to the logs they’d situated.

Lune hasn’t ever shown anyone her work. Not since her parents died on Expedition 41, but the way Maelle sits and looks at her expectantly, her full trust despite Lune’s anti-social behaviors, has her sitting down next to her and pulling up her matrix. She explains the art of transcribing data into the diamond-shaped energy matrix, the calculations made concerning pictos, and to her surprise, Maelle asks astute questions.

When Gustave returns to the fire, he smiles at the sight of Maelle and Lune bent over Lune’s work. Lune glances up with a nod to acknowledge his approach, but returns her focus to Maelle. “… layering pictos as you described has been confirmed in the section under calculus.”

“Oh, the theorem your parents devised. Didn't they confirm a limit to it?”

“Yes, three are stable. Four grow exponentially unstable and likely to end in combustion. However, I learned of a detail inherent within the chroma of Nevrons, where chroma can copy a pictos into a usable form—”

“Your work with Gustave,” Maelle interrupts. “Is that where the converter first came to be?”

“Yeah,” Gustave says. “Lune and I were working on her calculations, and it gave me the idea of the converter. If I could extract the chroma, Lune can refine.”

“And thus we create copies of the pictos to layer ours in ways my parents never dreamed.”

“But it takes time to learn the pictos in order to refine and copy it. I remember.” Maelle glances toward the cave at the far end of their camp, where the Curator lurks. “It’s good that the Curator can help upgrade our weapons and pictos. Speeds things up a bit, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. A surprising aid.” Lune nods, her smile crinkling the skin around her eyes. “You are a fast learner.”

“She always has been,” Gustave agrees. “Our Maelle, though whether she stays focused is quite the challenge. Always eager to run the courier to escape her lessons.”

That earns him a roll of her eyes. She pokes his side. "I do study at times."

"Oh?" He raises his hands in mock surrender. "When not endlessly needling me for a duel? Sometimes I wonder if you’re a gestral in disguise." He laughs when Maelle sticks her tongue out at him.

Lune can't help but smile at their affection. Even here, on the continent, in the midst of great danger and deadly Nevrons, the pair find a way to uplift their spirits. She can't help but feel grateful that Maelle survived to give Gustave the hope he needed to continue.

Lune sees movement in the cavern. She walks slowly, carefully past the mound of bodies, only to pause at the sight of Gustave. His eyes are closed, and he holds his summoned gun against his forehead, his hands shaking, and tears streak his face. Lune sits down next to him and struggles with what to say. She can’t let him die like this, but how to stop him?

She calculates the force from the pistol and comes to a conclusion. Sitting down next to him, she positions herself so the blast would hit her as well. She takes a deep breath and accepts this risk. “You do that we both die.”

He opens his eyes and for a brief moment he stares, the pistol wavering in his hand. Then the decision is made, and his weapon evaporates.

“Hey…” Relief floods her. As hoped he’d made the right decision. She leans forward to try to snag his gaze, but Gustave doesn’t respond. “Fucking hell, wake up, Gustave.” She moves to crouch in front of him, her tone acerbic.

“Lune,” he whispers, the shock still in his face, the way he looks around as if he sees nothing and yet everything. “The others.”

“I know. We’re the only ones left. You don’t get to die.” She stands and holds out her hand, but he doesn’t take it.

Instead he sucks in a tearful gasp. “It’s just a matter of time. We — we’re already dead. Look around.” His arm shakes as he gestures to the mound of bodies that surrounds them, that are wrapped up in sickly blood red tendrils that drip and splatter in the cavern. “Look.”

“This is not a foregone conclusion. When one falls, we continue.” It’s the only words she has, and she needs him. She knows he has the strength for this. She knows the shock of death. She’s lived it, and now she needs him to stand and face it too. The cavern shakes with the approach of a Nevron, and she thinks of how narrowly she escaped the last two. Together they stand a chance; alone they are easy pickings.

That moment had terrified her. How many other expeditions had fallen to such a fate when faced with such death? The mantra, ‘when one falls, we continue’ is what keeps her moving and fighting. It’s how they reached the Indigo tree finally, their rally point, only to watch yet another expeditioner die a violent death. Yet they marshaled their powers to defeat that deadly Nevron, through timed dodges and the synergy of her elemental powers to his sword and pistols.

It was after, higher in the Indigo tree, that they discovered a note about Maelle’s survival. The one that led them through floating waters, past water-based Nevrons, and into a strange, larger-on-inside manor. Maelle, unharmed, had been reading at a desk.

Now she watches Maelle and Gustave gently goad the other, alive and well.

Tomorrow comes, and with it the chance to meet gestrals, a legend in their hometown. She can’t wait to ask questions on if it is true that they can reincarnate or how their political system functions. It’s perhaps a small selfish need to know, but it is her own form of hope.

_____

LUNE And SCIEL At Gestral Village

Two of the challengers had been defeated. Lune breathes in and out, her powers sizzles through her, and the weapon floating above her hand. Since landing on the continent, she has refined her skills, crafted new ones to build up her stains, then used all four stains in a blast of elemental energy. As good as the gestrals are with fighting, they have little defense against her stain-fueled attacks.

The gestrals in the stands cheer, and wave their spindley arms in anticipation of their champion. Paintbrush-styled hair sprouts from their wooden heads, their masks carved with sigils, and it almost looks as if they paint the sky as they wave their bodies back and forth. She shakes her head to dispel the irrational thought.

By her calculations, she has enough energy for the final fight, but she will need to be strategic. To parry and dodge more often.

“And NOW. The one who single-handedly destroyed a Sakapatate,” the announcer says grandly in the gestrals language, “to EARN HER SPOT in the Hall of LEGENDS. The Stranger!”

A familiar figure runs and leaps from the stands. She lands with flourish and raises her hands to the cheers of the crowd. Cards manifest in her hands and she throws them into the air, working the crowd like a pro fighter.

“Wait…” Maelle says from behind Lune. “Isn’t that…?”

“Sciel?” Gustave says, stunned.

Lune stares, unable to speak. How is this so? Their expedition had fifteen members, and most had died in that deadly beach encounter. Lune barely escaped, her powers useless against such onslaught. The Nevrons assisting that old man deadly with hallucinatory powers that blighted several of her compatriots. She’d seen so many die, and hadn’t Sciel been lying among the bodies?

"Sciel..." Lune whispers. She struggles to box up the sour memories, to retain her focus on the present, but Sciel's appearance threatens to implode her careful control of her emotions.

Sciel turns and her eyes widen. “What — How — You guys… You’re alive!” She holds up her hands and rushes toward them.

Gustave meets her halfway and hugs her tightly.

“I thought I was the only one left.” She turns and smiles as Maelle shyly sidles forward. “I knew you were resourceful,” she says, gently to the teenager.

“How did you get here?” Lune asks, words finally breaking free from the shock of Sciel alive.

The announcer interrupts with a loud shout. “Hey humans! We’re here to see some fighting! If you don’t wanna fight, we’ll come down and fight ourselves?”

Sciel steps back and turns to take in the crowd, a sly smile upturning her lips. Her amber-hued skin almost glows in the torches of the arena. As beautiful as Lune remembers.

“They’re expecting a bit of a show.” Sciel moves to a proper dueling distance and turns to face Lune and the others. “Shall we?” With a flick of her wrist, her scythe blazes into being and a card appears in her other hand.

Lune smiles. Typical Sciel, always ready to leap into action. “So be it.” She can unleash her questions on Sciel after they dealt with the gestrals silly arena.

With a swirl of her hands, her Lunerim manifests, its four stain-holders empty and ready for use.