#AroNeu

[cheesycheesyches]

self portrait????? dunno thought of shirt wanted to draw it

[fagdykemuppet]

ghoulette hcs 6/? (reposting some of the ones ive already posted just for cohesiveness)

(queer mist, transfem mist, aroneu mist, aro mist, trans mist, lesbian mist)

(please credit if used)

(@thebandghostofficial (hi))

[myoclonus-aro]

Hi all!

Sorry for the lack of activity in the past month. Tumblr falsely labelled my main as NSFW and despite my many appeals it won't go back to normal �� I've remade my main but since this blog is connected to my previous main, I haven't been able to access it.

I'm working on trying to make my new blog an admin so that I can still use aroneu bc it's a cool url and I like waffling about being aro. Until then, if you want to follow me somewhere I'll actually be active, my new blog is @teatual-backup and my discord server can be found here! It's not too busy and I have fun bots and dedicated channels for transgender and aro topics so give it a try!

Thank you!

[bigender-autism]

if you're going to thank me for adding an ID to your post because you're OP, add it to the original instead, in plain text and without a read more.

This ensures that everyone can find an accessible version of the post + you can make any corrections you want to.

19 ✰ xe/xem or it/its or he/him ✰ autistic, dyspraxic and some kind of tics (???) ✰ UK ✰ aro

I'm autistic and some special interests are Nanbaka, tea, Stardew Valley, Jellycats, and learning (intellectual) disabilities! I'm also a first year uni student and post about that sometimes. Autism and dyspraxia have a big impact on how I study.

Run by a rad inclus and a transandrophobia truther.

Also check out my main @refrainboy and my aromantic blog @aroneu!

[nyotasaimiri]

Arc Two 122

(this is the last one I have fully written)

Despite the many batches Lumen had made, the muffins didn’t last long against her ravenous friends. Gizzie timidly offered to help wash up after, and joined Arrowmail at the sink when Nyota gave permission. Marcy tagged in to help dry things, though she had to let the others put things away in the higher cabinets. The rest of them settled around the kitchen table. The cozy atmosphere was still there, but a tense new undercurrent rippled beneath it.

“So,” Nyota said, voicing what they were all thinking, “let’s talk business.”

“Ya don’t need me lecturin’ ya again,” Lumen said, folding his hands under his chin as he leaned on the table. “I trust ya to keep that business a few more days out.”

“Correct. I still have to repair my gear and get rid of this cough. But,” Nyota looked over at Hadley, “I have a promise to keep.”

Hadley nodded, her expression oddly quiet. “We can’t put that off too long, can we?”

“You tell me. You know her far better than any of us.” Nyota studied her; she was nervous, under the calm, but it wasn’t fear. Something else lurked there.

Hadley sighed. “No, we really can’t. Like Danni said, he can only put her off for so long. And if she was already sending one of my brothers after your head, she’s pretty impatient. But you can’t just walk in there, either. I know, I know. We said you would. But she’s a wily old beast. Hates meeting anyone from less than the best spot. She’ll have a trap ready for sure.”

“I expected as much.” Nyota felt a little disappointed at being correct, but not surprised. “And I take it she would not appreciate if we draw notice to that.”

“Yeah, no.” Hadley shook her head. “We have to play along, at least a bit. She won’t try to hurt you when I’m close by, though. I’m her heir, whether she likes that or not. Can’t risk me jumping to your aid and getting caught in crossfire, or splitting the clan. Lots of them like me and all.”

Nyota nodded slowly. It wasn’t a plan, not by any count, but an idea was forming still. Better than just walking in and letting this Boss do what she liked with them. “Mihre,” she said.

“Eh?” The floran looked up, nictating membranes flicking across their eyes as if they were confused. They’d been pondering the coffee pot, apparently paying no attention, but Nyota knew they had been listening in.

She made eye contact, keeping her face as relaxed as possible with the thoughts whirring behind her eyes. “I am going to ask a favor of you, and perhaps your Greenfinger. I will repay it to your liking when this is done.”

They blinked twice, eyes widening. “No guarantee of nice play, for what we ask? This must be big favor.”

She smiled a little. “Big favor, and trust in Namina to warn me if you and your Greenfinger were not worth my trust. I will explain it in detail later. I need to work those details out still.”

Mihre thought about this, the entire crew staring at both of them in anticipation, for a good long minute. “Deal,” they said at last. “I will asssk Greenfinger, you tell details later. Not a bad thing, having a Protectorate favor in the pocket. Not bad at all, having ex-Miniknog, yes?”

Nyota’s smile thinned, but only from habit, not from offense. How odd that her past was a benefit now, instead of a threat.

“Fighting trickery with trickery?” Hadley said, filling the strange silence that followed Mihre’s acceptance. “Well, it’s not half-bad to try, but...” 

Nyota touched her arm, trying to reassure her. “I will be careful with it. As careful as I can be. I do not want to be their enemy. They’re your family.”

“Well, yeah. I know that. I mean--that’s not it.” Hadley leaned back in her chair, arms folded close around herself. “It’s just, all of you. I don’t want you getting hurt--you’re my family too.”

A moment of shock, but it was swallowed in a warm and gentle knowing. “So I didn’t imagine what you said, as Aroneus fell.”

Hadley blushed and curled in on herself more, mumbling, “I don’t know what you would’ve imagined...”

Nyota hummed, her eyes half-closing under the warm memory. “It’s not so important for everyone to hear, maybe,” she said, giving Hadley a bit of safety. “Nothing to dig into. But.”

Her face went solemn and serious, the warmth almost tempering the resolve inside her, as she placed a closed fist over her heart. “Hadley, I vow to do everything in my power to keep all your family safe from harm.”

Hadley nodded slowly and carefully, uncurling, like her thoughts were so heavy that they would make her fall if she moved too hard. “Everything in your power, huh? From anyone else... But from you, I’ll believe it. I’ll believe in you.”

[refrainboy]

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🍄 Axel or John or AJ 🍄 20 🍄 Scottish 💙 🍄 Agender guy 🍄 Loser uni student in health and social sciences 🍄 Sideblogs are @aroneu for aromanticism, @ancient-fruit for stardew valley and @dungeonmeshi-ids for described dunmeshi posts! hmu if you want to help me mod the latter 🍄 one of the scary transandrophobia truthers you've been warned about

[melodiousvoid]

@sounds-of-my-silence @chaoticasystem @massivellamaprincess @tgirlboyswag420 @cats-95 @crypticarchivist @fates-a-crueler-mistress-anyway @parallel-system @ez-ra-zed @witchcraftandchaos97 @cryxx-stargxts @jellybeamzzz @cherrifruiti @pandoranmama @the-riddler-that-can-riddle @the80srewinders @goandlivelife @prototypesteve @zombie-dyke @crowpunkco @socialjusticeinamerica @haipa @autiebiographical @violentdyke @aroneu @titanfalling2 @safety-pin-punk @geese-in-flight @cryptid-sighting @purple-void-frog @nierawebster97 @explosionexplosionexplosion @murkypond-system @crustgremlin @being-a-human-isnt-very-fun

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I’m sorry if anyone got this who doesn’t really have a say in the passing of this bill (e.g. you don’t live in the United States). If possible, please pass this information along to your other United States mutuals. Though it’s only a potential law in the US, it may have an impact on the rest of the world.

GET KOSA TRENDING.

STOP SCROLLING NOW!

AS OF FEBRUARY 21ST, 2024, WE GOT FIVE DAYS UNTIL THE DAY OF DECISION OF THE KOSA BILL, WHICH WILL CAUSE MASS CENSORSHIP ROUND THE INTERNET IF PASSED. OR DOOMSDAY. WE NEED EVERYONE TO KNOW ABOUT THIS AND CONTRIBUTE. I'M NOT GIVING UP ON YOU ALL.

WE'RE DOWN TO THE WIRE BUT WE CAN'T GIVE UP YET. IF WE GIVE UP, EVERYTHING IS OVER. IF WE DON'T, AT LEAST WE HAVE A CHANCE.

I'M THE ONE WHO SOUNDED THE ALARM, AND I'M NOT GOING TO CURL UP AND DIE YET.

Reblog this post in every LEGAL way you can under the Tumblr guidelines with the appropriate tags. TELL AND TAG EVERYONE YOU KNOW, then add the tags to see below... and more if you can think of any complying.

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We won't let this stand any longer. Let's start a riot and get this trending.

[a-romantic--aromantic]

neu aro flag inspo turned into a moodboard.

these are the images/color swatches used to originally design the neu aro flag. a lockscreen* size is under the cut.

*lhis was labeled as instagram story size. that means lockscreen, right? idk.

[beccapaintmore]

Hello all! I’ve been doing this project over on Twitter (https://twitter.com/BeccaPaintmore/status/1444700310262456333?s=20   please click through for full size images)  - Pride flags colour picked from Star Trek costumes! Suggestions of  costumes/flags welcome! I am aiming to do every flag, so watch this space :3 9/?  

[casualbuttercupblog]

Reblogging this with some of my personal favorite aro blogs:

@aroneu Just a personal fav

@qpcultureis This is a good one for Queer Platonic Relationships. Which is a different kind of relationship outside of the Just Friends to Lovers pipeline

@arosuggestions They reblog aro memes that I like.

@ace-aro-queerplatonic-positivity QPRs but specifically with acearo homies. (Once again not ace I can't speak for ace experiences.)

@loveless-aro Some aromantics will categorize themselves as loveless. While the version of Al that you'd be writing might not fit in this box, but it's still something to check out.

@romo-aro-culture-is This might be a good resource for your specific idea. (They're inactive but there's still the archives.)

@aromantic-official Lots of resources.

@arosunflower Also just a personal fav.

about your post "shiping an aro/ace man with no regard(...)" post

I wanna start writing for Alastor but I don't really know what an aro/ace relationship looks like. Frankly (and this may sound stupid), I started re-watching all Ghibli movies bc if someone knows how to write meaningful platonic stuff is Mayazaki! Aside from that, to a certain extent, I think a relationship with him could be summarized as "more than friends, less than lovers" BUT idk if that's accurate, I still feel a bit insecure because I'm not aro/ace myself and wouldn't want to upset anyone. Would you happen to have any advice? :)

Ah, okay, I can only speak from my experience, and I'm not the only aromantic person in the world. And I am not ace, I'm pan. But I can try.

Aromantic is defined as "feeling little to no romantic attraction." I'm married. My husband is more of my best friend than anything, I feel very little romantic attraction, but he's one person that I have that tiny little kernel of romantic attraction in my heart for.

So yea! Your concept actually works really well. I would focus more on the platonic aspects of their relationship and why they enjoy being around eachother. What makes them want to do this?

For example, my husband is a hopeless romantic, and I want him to be happy. So, with a lot of the romantic things he wants, I do them because it makes him happy. From what I know about the ace community, some of them feel the same way about sex. I'd ask an ace blog if you can.

I hope this helped, but basically, focus on the friendship between the pairing. And why Alastor does things, is it because he has something to gain? Or does he just care about this person and want to see them happy. And remember, I'm not the only aro person in the world. My experience isn't the end all be all. We're all pretty friendly, tho!

[myoclonus-aro]

wild that aroneu is available as a url. pros of using microlabels ig

[mobblespsycho100]

we got canon aro lilith. now its time for canon aroallo/aroneu hunter

[nyotasaimiri]

Arc Two (redux) 101

Gizzie stayed silent as everyone finished breakfast, seeming lost in thought. As Nyota began to help her crew tidy up, they looked up and caught her eyes. “You met Asra Nox?” they asked.

Nyota paused, teeth bared slightly. They were foul memories. “I have, on three occasions. She’s a hate-filled creature. I do not know if she survived our last meeting, but I am in no hurry to see her again.” She took a deep breath, and let her clenched fists relax slowly, color fading back into her whitened knuckles.

“She did. She—I—I saw her. Not in person, but in a transmission.” Gizzie was shaking again. “They tell stories… You actually lived through fighting against her?”

Nyota took the bitter surprise of Asra’s survival stoically, with nothing but a short nod to acknowledge it even, as she felt Lumen’s worried gaze on her. “I did.”

“She beat that Nox into the ground,” Lumen said. He flared bright with a fierce copper light, riled up by his own memories. “Knocked her flat every time they met.”  

“Oh wow. That’s…” Gizzie shook their head in awe. “Wow. They tell stories, say she’s unbeatable… They tell stories about what she does to… Sorry.”

Nyota sighed, and broke eye contact. Tried to keep her heart shielded from this stranger still. “She killed my best friend.” It had been a long time since that found her thoughts; she looked up at the cold grey ceiling. “She threw his brand at me when we met for the first time…”

Sonny made a little strangled noise. Nyota touched her shoulder in comfort and apology.

Gizzie seemed to shrink more, trying to be even smaller. “I’m… I’m sorry.”

The small irony curved Nyota’s lips. “Then you aren’t like most Occasus at all. They would have said good.” She took a breath in the ugly, guilty silence that followed and focused on the sharp and biting cold. It soothed the bitter memory back down. “But I have wallowed in that for long enough. Lana, help me up, please. It’s time we got what we came for.”

Lana’s firm grip on her arm fed its strength into her as Nyota did her best to not stagger to her feet. Resting had been, from a certain view, a bad idea: every joint ached with stiffness at even the idea of movement. “When we get back to the ship,” she murmured, half a promise to herself, “I am going to have a proper sleep.”

“I will hold you to that,” Lana promised. She stepped in beside Nyota with practiced ease, offering more support without forcing Nyota to lean openly against her. Nyota caught herself absently wondering if Lana had learned the trick first from doing it, or having it done for her. Something to ask, later.

She turned her mind back to the moment just in time to avoid tripping on a loose tile, dislodged by Aroneus’s attacks. Ironic that it could still spite her after all that. Even at this distance, in the half-light of Arjun’s lamp and the surviving lights along the walls, she could see the fine carvings around the edge of the tile. The small spark in her, the same feeling that had known what the words at the entrance meant, told her that these carvings were wishes in a way, hoping for quiet and life.

It gave one of those things.

Nyota bit her lip to push the bitter taste out of her mouth again. Damn. Thinking of Nox did me no favors. She focused on the tile instead, and others like it, step by step toward the far door. This place must have been beautiful, once. With Arjun and Esther’s help, perhaps it could be again. Planted with new life to feed the creatures that sheltered here, fear drained away with the bad memories of the now-gone Warden. All of her warmed at that thought: the captain, the agent, and the Cultivator’s spark together.

Arjun was waiting for her by the door. “It won’t budge, Captain,” he said. He gave it a little whack with his wrench to drive the point home. “Dammit. We got this far…”

“Hadley,” Nyota said. “You can open it. Touch the door.”

“You sure about that?” Hadley eyed her, then reached out. Murky purple sparked in her hand: the last embers of Aroneus’s power. She jumped back and swore, then swore softer and with a clear note of appreciation as the heavy black door slid open. “Holy—Uh. Guess that worked?”

Nyota chuckled. “Lana or I could have done it, but your reaction was funnier. Go on, it won’t bite.”

Hadley shot her a dirty look and a half-hearted rude gesture. Nyota just smiled serenely, content in the knowledge that Hadley would forget this by the time Lumen allowed the two of them into the sparring room again.

The last room was simple and open, with stairs leading up onto a higher platform at the far end. Nyota could see a simple doorway high on a platform, flanked by faceless statues. A back door, perhaps. But the real prizes were just steps away.

Lumen whistled. “Captain, what is that?”

Nyota walked past the towering structure he was staring at; the console blinked to life with purple lights, a row of pale colored crystals flickering with warm radiance as she passed. Energy crackled between halves of a diamond-shaped structure that floated just above it. “I don’t know,” she admitted, “but Esther and Arjun could find out. Mind the rings, they’re charged.”

Lumen hummed nervously and followed her. He tugged Sonny out of the way of the massive stone half-arcs that hovered above the console as she caught up. “C’mon, lil’ Glowbug. Don’t want to touch that.”

Nyota stopped in front of the second object: a massive black anvil lined with violet light. She could feel the excitement near her, prickling in her fur. A quick glance at her crew made the source clear. “Ah. Arjun? I think you know what this is.” She touched Lana’s arm briefly to indicate she could stand on her own and stepped up to it.

Arjun’s eyes went wide behind his visor as he caught up. “I’ve seen this thing in old murals… Well, not in person, but in the—eh, you get the gist. Captain, that staff of yours, you’ll want that. This is a Builder’s Forge.”

[nyotasaimiri]

Arc Two (repost) 93

Hadley’s sword crashed hard into the warden’s heavy stone body, sent reverberation up her arm. “Damn tough thing,” she muttered as the recoil knocked her back. “Captain, how did you break into this thing? I can’t cut it.”

“Watch your feet,” Lana called. Her firebomb smashed on the tile and scorched away the creeping ice before it could lock Hadley’s feet down.

They felt distant, moved too slowly. Nyota’s eyes ached with healing warmth, but not enough to make the world move faster. Hadley had called her. “Strike it with itself,” she muttered, brushing at her arms where wisps of the purple light still clung. It was hard to push her thoughts into her throat. “With its echo.”

Hadley spared a glance back. Her expression was unreadable in Nyota’s too-sharp, too-fast sight. “You hit your head or something, Captain?”

“No, it’s…” Nyota raised her hands, frustrated. She couldn’t find the words. Something caught her right hand, clunked on stone. The staff. She was still holding the staff. But she had no strength left to attack. She cursed her own helplessness as she lay in Tarvei’s arms, able to do nothing but watch as Lana dodged an ice blast by a hair’s breadth. The hail of bullets from Lana’s assault rifle barely scratched Aroneus’s stone hide. The apex commander jumped back as the statue retaliated again. Nyota could tell it planned to deal with Lana and Hadley just as it had with her: wear them down until all they could do was freeze.  

Her grip tightened on the staff. I must help them.

Something sparked in the depths of the dark red gems. The purple light along her arms drained away. Nyota barely heard Tarvei’s startled cry as he saw it vanish. Her eyes and mind were on Hadley as the girl swung at Aroneus’s body again, on Lana as she raised her rifle and looked for any chink in the stone. The staff sang as energy hummed into it, as good as a war-cry to her dazed mind.

Hadley braced for the rebound again and nearly lost her balance as her heavy broadsword sheared into the statue’s side instead. Purple mist glittered around her hands and clung to the blade, flickering with sparks of red, four-petaled flowers.  Red like the light Nyota had shot down the drone with, flowers like the one she always wore in her hair. She shook the sword and the sparks glittered brighter. “What? Captain?”

“Heads up!” Lana grabbed her collar and hauled Hadley back before ice could encase her. “Keep on your toes, soldier. You got its attention, but it is not dead yet.”

Hadley let out a low whistle as the ice crunched uselessly in the air. “Sorry, sorry. Still a bit out of it.”

Lana’s eyes flicked over the visible edge of a bandage just under Hadley’s sleeve. But she just nodded, short and grim. “Just don’t make her grieve.”

Nyota kept her focus on them. On keeping them safe. On helping them fight. The tiny part of her rational mind that wasn’t too exhausted to think realized how foolish it was, thinking she could just want something to happen hard enough to make it true. But then she felt it work.  Like a switch turned on, like a slipped joint clicking back into place.

Lana’s next round of bullets didn’t just knock the bird statue back. They pulverized it. The statue exploded in harmless dust and blue light. But the blue didn’t last long. Purple consumed it, spread from the bullets into the statue’s core.

Aroneus turned its wrath on her, ice forming on Lana’s sleeves. The ice shattered when Hadley’s sword tore into its body.

“Whoa—now that’s more like it,” Hadley breathed as she caught her footing. Murky violet light gleamed around her like demonic fire and lit her grin up even brighter. Not just fire, though. Red flowers surrounded her, never blocking her sight as they seemed to guide her hand. She paused for just a moment to glance back at Nyota as Aroneus wobbled in the air. “Captain—you up to something?”

Nyota didn’t have the strength to call out to her. She tugged at Tarvei’s collar. “Tell her to act fast. I can’t hold this long.”

“Hey, stop that!” Tarvei tried to take the staff, but Nyota’s grip was like iron. “You’re in no shape for this.”

Nyota touched his chin and made him meet her eyes. “I have to. Trust me.”

Tarvei gripped her hand. “…okay. Don’t overdo it.” He bared his teeth in nervous fear. “Hadley, Commander, hurry it up!”  

“Right, right.” Hadley adjusted her grip and stared Aroneus down again. “There we go. Hey Blake, one more round!”

“Head in the game,” Lana reminded her. “Do not get carried away.” But her fierce fanged grin put the lie in her words. She ducked the last bird statue and let Hadley shatter it, then aimed her rifle at Aroneus’s main body.

The vengeful venom in her voice seemed to draw the violet fire in, red petals spread like wings at her back. “Every cut and bruise you gave my Nyota, let’s see how you like them!”

Bullets cracked on stone like thunder. Tarvei reached down to shield Nyota’s ears. Blue ruptured through the grey stone shell, and Aroneus came crashing down.

Nyota sighed and let her hand fall back. Done. They survived. She saw them both standing there in the settling dust and frost, Lana’s tall silhouette and Hadley so small beside her, lit by the breaking, dying ice. She felt the starlight in her chest again, fluttering like a frightened moth. Weak, frail. “It’s fine,” she murmured. Tried to murmur. The words didn’t form.

Black and red—Hadley, yes—was running toward her. Tall green close behind. A young woman’s voice in her ears. Me. She’s calling me. I should answer. She was too tired to even see now. Nyota dimly felt a frown crease her brow as her eyes slid closed. That’s not my name. I am Nyota. My name is not “mom”.

The scent of steel and summer storms faded as exhaustion claimed its due.

[nyotasaimiri]

Arc Two 102

(I think we finally hit the new stuff? Maybe?)

“Tell me about this Forge,” Nyota said. She was almost too tired to call the staff to her hand, but it still answered her in a flare of red light that made Gizzie flinch and gasp. The cold metal felt like part of her now. Had it always felt like that, or was it something that had changed in the fight with Aroneus?

Arjun nodded, adjusting his visor to knock off a last bit of frost. “Right. I’d love to take this thing apart, see what makes it work… But no one could put it back together after that. We made it this far, though. Might as well take something back with us, right?”

Nyota frowned. “What exactly are we taking, Arjun?” The warm air in this chamber stung and soothed her throat at the same time; her voice sounded terrible, she knew it.

He gestured at the anvil again. “These Builder’s Forges, they run on some strange, ancient energy source. Can’t translate the symbol for it. But my guess is that staff of yours, being so old, it might just do the trick. It won’t hurt the thing, at any rate.”

Nyota still hesitated. She had grown fond of the odd weapon from the depths of the Avian Temple. It felt like even more a part of her than her favored spear did, responding to just her thoughts. “You are certain about that?”

The old man nodded firmly. “I’m certain. These things can’t be used to break stuff.” He kicked the anvil lightly. “The Builders weren’t big on breaking things, for the most part. In the name and all that. They had tools to break down inert organic matter and remake it, if the notes were right. We’re not really sure how. But the Anvil can’t.”

Nyota took a breath and nodded. That helped.

Lana touched her shoulder. “Chin up, Captain,” she whispered. “It is not an experiment. No control, no variables. Not a lab coat in sight.”

Nyota paused again, just shook her head and laughed. “Only we would think of that,” she whispered back. But Lana was right. There was no need to fear the unknown this time. Lana just squeezed her shoulder and smiled.

Arjun nodded, pleased. “Just touch the anvil, ma’am. That should be all we need to see if it works or not.” He nodded again, hand to chin. “It’d be a miracle if it does work after all this time, no sense in getting my hopes up, of course. But trying can’t hurt.”

Nyota pushed all the possible ways that trying could hurt out of her mind. After all they had done together to get this far, she trusted Arjun. She felt herself waver with exhaustion as she lifted her hand.

Tarvei put a hand on her arm to steady her. “Maybe I should do this one, sis.” His amber eyes showed his worry clearly. Nyota’s tired mind realized her eyes had looked just like his, once, paler sclera and so open, so full of self. So free of the years of masks.

She smiled to reassure him and put her free hand over his briefly. “It’s fine. Just make sure I do not fall over. No, don’t argue. The staff is tuned to me already, so this saves trouble.” And she didn’t want him getting caught up in anything that might go wrong.

Vei frowned, but he bowed to her wishes. “Well, it’ll get you to nap sooner, I guess.”

Nyota laughed, stifled a hoarse cough, and touched the anvil.

Violet light flared around her, tossing her hair and gleaming in her eyes. Someone yelled—Arrowmail and Tarvei flinched back, Hadley and Lana reached for her. But it didn’t hurt. Nyota held up a hand and sparks collected in her palm like snow. The fiery aura settled down to a dull glow.

Nyota shook herself and tried to relax, visibly, and the doubt in their eyes faded just a little. It said something about all they had been through together, that no one questioned her judgment now.

Arjun grinned with fierce wonder. “Guess we finally know what happened to the weird purple energy from that old box,” he said. 

Lumen whistled and flickered with worry. “What’s this ‘bout weird energy? Well, darn silly question, I guess. Captain, last I checked, ya ain’t a novakid. What’re ya doin’ glowin’ like one?” 

“Eh, I think it’s nice on her,” Sonny told him. She sparked bright in the equivalent of a wink, even if her laugh was a little nervous still. “Right purdy lil’ light show.”

Arjun patted Lumen’s back, still grinning at Nyota. “Don’t worry about it. If she says she’s fine, she’s right. Damn, but I never thought… Captain, this is exactly what we were looking for.”

Nyota smiled back, light filling her eyes and dripping down into her hands. It was too overwhelming to speak, but she did not need to. Arjun took the lead. He guided her hands to the anvil, set the staff across it where it just touched her fingertips. 

“This was in Esther’s notes,” he explained. “The illustration was clear enough. You’ll be fine. These anvils were how they created their most useful tools.” 

“Perhaps even the artifacts,” Nyota murmured as some of the sheer force faded. “Arjun, you should record this. The Matter Manipulator has an option for that. The knowledge we gain from this could make everything worth it.” 

Arjun put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s already been worth it, Captain. But I don’t mind a bonus every now and then. Well, we’re almost done with this, then you can rest proper. Just touch the staff. The anvil will take it from there.”

[nyotasaimiri]

Arc Two (redux) 95

“Captain, I don’t often question yer sanity—”

“Either you are lying with diplomacy, or you should question it more often.” Nyota bit back a stiff grunt as her leg twinged from putting weight on it.

To his credit, Lumen still helped her stand and steady herself, despite his misgivings. “I dunno what ya think yer gonna get it to say,” he said. “That thing’s mostly rubble now. The Commander and our lil’ Firebrand tore right into it.”

Nyota gave him a knowing sideways smile. “Is that what you have been calling Hadley lately? It suits her.”

Lumen chuckled. “Sure does. She don’t mind it too much, either. So whatcha think this Warden thing can tell ya?”

“Hard to deter today, I see.” Nyota paused and leaned on Lana’s shoulder as she gathered her thoughts. “I couldn’t say what I want from it. But it is the last creature that really knows what this place was. If it even remembers that.”

Lana shot her a quizzical look. “Is that what brought you here? History?”

“Lumen didn’t tell you?”

Lana tilted her head, close as she could get to shaking it without dislodging Nyota. “No. He said you were in trouble. That was all I needed to know.”

Nyota frowned and put her free hand on Lana’s shoulder. “That’s reckless and you know it.”

Lana held her stare, green eyes somehow both patient and defiant at once. “I knew what I was doing. It was worth it.”

Nyota tightened her grip. “Lana Blake,” she hissed softly. “You command the Rebellion. Don’t you dare risk your work for my sake.”

Lana closed her hand around Nyota’s in quiet reassurance. Her voice was quiet, for Nyota’s ears only. “I won’t. I will not make you carry that.”

It stung hard in Nyota’s heart, how relieved she was to hear that, how well Lana understood. Cold air dried her tongue and she remembered to close her mouth, but it was several more moments before she could swallow the startled pricking tears and look away. “Thank you,” she breathed, and swallowed the emotion again. Feel, but not yet. She had to be Captain here. “Yes, we came here at Esther Bright’s request. This place might have been made by the same people who built the Ark at the Outpost.”

Lana did not respond for several moments. When she finally did answer, there was a kind of strain in her voice, like she was trying to express something she could barely understand. “This place is old.”

That earned a quiet chuckle. “Beyond imagining. Arjun was beside himself with excitement.”

“He still is.” Lana smiled through the weight of trying to comprehend. “He did not stop talking about it the entire time your Lumen was patching him up.”

Nyota started to reply, but a chill caught her. Lana stopped with a low, warning snarl. They had reached what was left of Aroneus, and it glowed softly at their approach. A low static pulse made her fur stand on end; it was scanning them.

“Gardener.” It spoke aloud, in the Apex language, faint echoes of energy making the stones hum with a cracked, leaden voice.

It was talking to Nyota, she realized. “No.” She touched her chest. “Host of an echo.”

The faint light brightened briefly. It felt almost like a nod, or a smile. “Life lingers.”

“Life thrives.” Nyota indicated the rubble that was left of Aroneus’s body. “Life fights.”

The light brightened again, longer. Nyota found herself imagining Lumen’s (Isobu’s) short whistle, so similar to her own inhaled surprise. This thing was no Novakid. But it still spoke with light. “You did not come here for that life.”

“No.” Nyota indicated for Lana to help her sit down; the commander did so, but reluctantly. Nyota understood the wisdom of staying on her feet in case Aroneus tried something. But she was tired. And if it was able to hurt her, it would have done so by now. “We came here chasing echoes. You have been in here a very long time.”

Aroneus hummed, and Nyota was reminded of Lumen again. “Time is nothing to stone.” It paused. “But everything to life.”

There was something in that statement that made Nyota study it again instead of answering. The blue lights along its body held stains of the purple energy still. It was a duller blue now, warmer and less harsh. Lana felt it too; she could tell from the sudden tiny shift in Lana’s hands at her back, in the sudden small tension of new attention.

The glow faded and flickered. “Do not repair me.”

“We would not even know where to begin,” Nyota said, honestly. The flicker this time felt more deliberate, almost like a dry laugh. “And after what you did, I would rather not fight you again.”

“Mutual.” The lights in the stone faded—no, flowed. They slid down the thin channels and into the crevices between tiles in the floor. Lana gripped Nyota’s shoulders, ready to pull her away, but the light flowed away from them, slowly, toward the far side of the room. “I lost the right to act. I will watch. You may still act.”

Lana bristled with uncertain energy, wary and curious. “What are you doing?”

“The forge. The legacy.” The light vanished into the black door set deep in the wall. Even at this distance, they heard the tiny click of the lock. “It is yours. Act well.”