#Nexus Profits

[nny11writes]

WiP Wednesday - Hunt Showdown AU because no one stopped me :)

Shadow Weaver was there, knelt in the turned soil. Various blooms surrounded her and a small sack of seeds lay by her side. Of course it was a bit hard to concentrate on that considering the man who was wrapped in barbed wire and half buried looked up at her and began to scream through his gag. Weaver cuffed his ear the way she’d hit Catra a thousand times as she stood and wiped her hands off on her dress.

“You hush while the living are speaking. Your chance was had.”

“Torturing for fun or profit these days?” Catra asked, mildly curious as she stepped over the man to follow her master into the shade of a large willow.

Shadow Weaver sighed heavily, shooting her a side eye as she pulled a canteen off a low branch and handed it to her. The water was blessedly cool as she spoke, “You always think the worst of me. That one there died and rose, not a grunt but not quite human either. Strange tides these days, not that you’d know having been lazing about.”

Catra snorted at that. 

“Oh yeah, nothing to do in hell all damned eternity but kick my feet up.” She screwed the cap back on and gave the canteen back. “Fine, what’s with all this nonsense then? Your hold?”

Weaver glared at her, eyes like ice. “No. But I know the mark, they call themselves infernals. I believe you had some dealings with them before you got sloppy. The Prodigal Daughter no doubt.”

Catra bit her tongue hard enough to taste blood. 

She had not been sloppy the day she died, she had been betrayed.

[luna-rainbow]

The reason people were saying don’t forget fandom history isn’t because anyone thinks Stucky is the oldest MLM ship, or the biggest MLM ship, or the only MLM ship of its time. It’s because it was 2014 and gay marriage was still illegal. It’s because it was 2015 and MAGA was flying everywhere. It’s because it was 2016, people took to Twitter and trended #givecapaboyfriend. Mere weeks later, comics Steve Rogers was written into a Nazi.

It’s because it came at a turning point not just in superhero history but American history. MCU Steve Rogers was a return to a more sincere worldview after two decades of grim dark cynicism. The MCU, previously the domain of (mainly cis white) dudebros — you only have to look at the way Nat and Peggy were written in the early movies to know that women and other minorities, whether as characters or audience, were a distant afterthought — has gained traction with the mainstream audience. The advent of social media and internet accessibility meant a blossoming abundance of fan content that previous generations didn’t have.

This coincided with a time of intense ideological clash between progressive and conservative voices. Unlike what dudebros say, very few people believed the MCU would actually give Cap a boyfriend, but it did squarely place Captain America on the side of the LGBT community. Up until this point, MCU Steve in both canon and fanon has often been portrayed with hazy nostalgia for “the greatest generation” and the white picket fence dream. The hashtag trend was a reclamation of a character who was written by a minority, whose origin was a marginalised group for his time, and whose moral code was always supportive of people sidelined by history.

There will always be older ships, bigger ships, “more canon” ships, but you’ll never get another ship that rode the nexus of social media growth, genre popularity, LGBT recognition and political tug-o-war to breach containment the way Steve-Bucky did.

Don’t forget the history of #GiveCapABoyfriend, the BBC Steve-Bucky fan video, the “of course it’s a love story”, the “we went a little Brokeback” and the “Bucky is his home”. All of these were acknowledgement of the sheer size and international reach of the fandom. With a character many people thought of as the face of conservative America, it brought gay romance into the mainstream consciousness…and yes, without Steve-Bucky and several other concurrent massive MLM ships laying down the ground work, many of the newer canon gay romances would not have been green lit by profit-hungry studios.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Do not give them Toys

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

When the human government wished to initiate trade with the Filthrax Conglomerate the Filthrax were understandably cautious. They had always been sensitive when it came to sharing technology with other species. To that end they had an extensive amount of restrictions on what could and couldn’t be traded; excluding much of their more advanced technology from ever reaching the market.

The humans in comparison were technologically inferior to the Filthrax in nearly every aspect so they pictured the humans to heavily lobby for advanced technology to be made available. So it was with some surprise that when negotiations began the humans did not lobby for advanced technology, they instead seemed deeply invested in obtaining the Filthrax toys.

This was not something the negotiators had expected. Research into human culture had showed a deep rooted sense of aggression, towards outsiders and themselves when promoted, which made them believe that the first opening bid would be towards military grade technology.

Sensing the discord, the human diplomats explained that while they would like more advanced technology to be an option, they understood the hesitance and reluctance to trade such dangerous items. They said they would be fine earning the Filthrax’s trust over an extended period of time through trade. It seemed that several human enterprises had their eyes on Filthrax toys and they seemed like a safe enough items to begin trade. The Filthrax agreed and so trade lines were opened between the great powers.

What the aliens saw as a harmless deal was in fact the first foot in the door that could never be closed.

Several million orders for toys were placed almost overnight and the economic boon was felt overnight throughout the Filthrax Conglomerate. None of them understood the fascination humans had with their trinkets but if they were willing to pay then they would be more than happy to sell. It wasn’t until the Nexus Wars began that the Filthrax would come to understand their folly.

The “Nexus” was a series of star systems that held the majority of trade lanes between the core worlds and the far flung resource rich outer zones. Trade through these lanes was deemed to be the most stable for long distance transportation so whoever controlled these regions would make considerable wealth from their stewardship.

Current stewardship fell to the Omicron Empire who had held the systems for the last several hundred years and as such used the profits it generated to fund their empires expansion. The humans wished to control these routes to fund their own imperial ambitions but had never leveled the playing field with the Omicron military to make such a transgression possible.

Then, without warning, the human military launched a series of strikes against Omicron bases and fleets in the Nexus systems triggering the “Nexus War”. The Omicrons raised their fleets and armies and dispatched them to the systems with the full intention of repelling the humans and then carrying on their counter offensive into human space. What they met however was a suddenly technologically advanced human military spouting drastic advances in military equipment not seen.

Human soldiers now carried portable shielding units that blocked everything less than a direct hit from a hover tank, while their ships launched fusion bombs carrying a heavy enough payload to shatter Timbar class battleships in half.

With this new technology, the human military had taken control of half of the Nexus systems within five months of the wars start. Other powers dotting the stars took notice of the sudden prowess of the human military, as well as the calculations predicting that within another five months the Omicron Empire would be driven from the Nexus systems. Some cheered at seeing their old rivals in the Omicron’s brought low, others sent delegations to the human government pledging alliances and treaties, many more came to join the war effort now sensing blood amongst the stars; but to the Filthrax, they quickly came to realize the part they had played in this war.

While Filthrax toys were rather unremarkable, they were unique in the way that their power sources could last an entire lifetime. Through controlled energy distribution, the Filthrax had created a rudimentary power source that, while considered basic in their society, was light years ahead of any neighboring species.

The humans were well aware of this feature.

They knew before negotiations even began that the Filthrax would never part with their advanced weaponry or technology, but they would be willing to part with something they considered nothing more than a toy. Toys that were then torn apart to get to the power source, reverse engineered, and then used to power weapons and machines of human design.

Filthrax toys were now forming the basis for a new galactic power, and they had been fooled into giving them away for nothing more than currency.

The sudden realization sent shockwaves through the upper echelons of the Filthrax. If they admitted this they would be not only be publically humiliated on a galactic scale; but also be portrayed as cobelligerents in the war. Not only that, it would invalidate their own standing treaties with other species which specifically stated they would not trade anything that could be repurposed for war. They could see trade agreements torn asunder for a dozen species with even embargos placed upon their territories. Worse yet was if they did cease trading with the humans the human government could release the information and still black list them to the wider galaxy.

So they sat and watched the war from the sidelines, contemplating that their bobbles may have very well just doomed the universe.

[psychomusic]

oc time again! + her town & culture (heavily inspired by pre-roman italic populations)

she is suri sauthon (later suri laran, after her marriage). her story is linked to my swtor imperial agent, but most of her life for like. the one year away where she meets him, is spent in a town in the mountains of mirial.

despite mirial being cold and desert, and many cities developing underground, her town flourishes thanks to a force nexus, venerated in the form of an ancient, sacred, alive crystal. the ecosystem of that mountain depended on what "the horned crystal" was capable of giving them, but mirialans couldn't live off of that alone, so they developed trade and some rudimental technology, even if oftentimes it was bought thanks to the highly profitable trade of a plant used to make medicines that slowed down aging and had overall healing properties.

note: everything that's generated by this nexus has these healing properties BUT they have to be processed, except for those who bathed in the waters of the cavity under the crystal - the "real" nexus, but not the worshipped one. the waters were sacred but they were not thought to be miraculous, unlike the crystal, who instead was thought of as the keystone of the ecosystem: without it, everything would fall apart (and that is partially true: the cavity was the "real" nexus but thanks to the crystal, also strong in the force, the properties were spread all over the mountains). those who bathed in the cavity's waters - so, all of the town, who had a sort of baptism there - could eat the plant, make whatever food with it, and not only that plant, but everything generated by the nexus, that, again, had similar properties. this allowed people to live up to normal life-spans without advanced medicines or, much, really. to those who didn't live there, though, after the processing, had incredible effects, slowing down aging - for those who took it regularly - and making people able to live up to half a century more than the average]

originally, there were four tribes of nomads that lived thanks to horned farm animals that decided to settle down into one bigger town and other smaller settlements, to live off of transhumance. this division of the tribes stayed into the political and social organization: every person belonged to one tribe specifically, and had slightly different rituals and culture. for examples, each tribe had their own priests and healers, with different techniques and traditions. the town, tho, was guided by a group of people in the high priesthood, a position you could reach only by having earned the trust of all tribes. those high priests had many roles: they guided the people into sacred processions common to all the tribes, they managed the trading with outsiders, they did the maintenance of the temple of the summit (the one that functioned as casket to the crystal) and created a special liquid to offer the crystal that helps it grow.

this particular temple was important because 1. it was very visible, from every angle of the town, and it became an important identity symbol; 2. it stored the venerated horned crystal; 3. it had the altar where sacrifices were made for the crystals. that altar had a hole connected to the cavity, that allowed the liquids to reach the underground; 4. it had various symbols: statues representing each tribe + the high priesthood, and typical mirialan tattoos carved into the wood of the trees that served as columns for the temple, symbolizing 8 values that who dared to enter HAD to have; 5. it was on the way to an important lake (called "mother lake" because the lake the town was built around to depended on the waters of that other lake) where they traveled to in important processions; 6. it was said that a the wizard who unified the tribes made it with its magic, making the plant grow to hold the temple's roof. this wizard was, actually, a force user, obv.

BACK TO HER THOUGH: she's daughter of one of the high priests, who was in charge of managing the trades with outsiders, and lives in a house on the mountains with her mother and him. her parents are from different tribes (that's one of the things that earned him trust from the 4 tribes): when a child is born from two different tribes, they don't pick one to allign to, but they're usually linked automatically to the one with more relatives in it (in her case, the father's tribe: she had many uncles and aunts on his side while her mom only had one sister).

later, though, she got quite tied to her mother's tribe due to a mysterious illness that only her mother's tribe healer was able to cure. she spent 4 years (from 10 to 14 years old) living with the healer and learned her secrets. to better study, she wrote them down. when she returned home, she studied to become a priestess with her father. at 22 (the average age: you can't become priest before your 20s), she was supposed to take a test and become a priestess, but the healer of her mother's tribe died and the tribe asked her to take her place. she couldn't technically do that, but both tribes estimated both her and her parents and she was allowed to become both. she then decided to try to become a high priestess, and became one at 25 (a quite young age). being part of the council, she tried to convince the various tribe healers to unite their knowledges and write them down, and eventually made it. healers still remained tribe based but they now had an "upper, inter-tribe level" similar to high priesthood.

years later, the sacred horned crystal is stolen from the temple by some Hutt mercenaries looking for a profit. given the trust she has earned from all the tribes and the fact that her father is the high priest that deals with outsiders (and she's been hearing stories and advice about it since she was little), she is the one tasked with getting it back. without the growing crystal, the keystone to their ecosystem, the village would have lasted only a few years. in hrr quest, she meets imperial intelligence agent tar'x laran and, as they "solve the mystery" and fight to have it back, they get closer. they'll get married and have a daughter, Vegoia (who's the only one who actually will get to the plot of my story. this was all background)

[cupcakeslushie]

So, you mentioned Big Mama gave up smoking for Mikey, but also that she got bored and threw him in the battle Nexus. That prompts the question what is Mikey to Big Mama? Is he just a toy/tool, did she ever see him as her child or as a loved one? And also, what was their relationship before the battle Nexus? Why did she even take him in for?

I think, at least in my AUs Big Mama tends to be not very complicated, in that her number one motivation will always be money.

I usually see her as a very fickle character, because while she may form interests/relationships that are real to her, in that moment—the second she figures out she can profit from them, she’s putting all feelings aside and getting that bread.

So when she finds Mikey and Donnie…Mikey is this adorable little, scared thing that needs to be cared for, but while Donnie is also a cute kid in need of love, he’s just resistant enough to being molded into the perfect little doll. He complains about the fine dresses and shirts she puts them in being too itchy, has no appreciation for all the expensive food her 5 star chefs make them, and is only interested in cultivating one skill out of the many she tries to impart. It’s more troublesome than entertaining, until the point where Big Mama finally decides one child is more than enough to play house with.

I will say, she does come to care for Mikey, and maybe at first it was a passing curiosity of wanting to know what it would be like to be a mother. And then there’s a fondness and affection, but while Donnie’s personality and talents allowed for Big Mama to feel no guilt secreting him away and still get use out of him early—Mikey has hints of many skills which would make him a perfect heir to inherit her Nexus Hotel someday. The only issue with her golden child is he was just a bit too trusting when it came to running a business.

So Big Mama hoped a few years fighting in the pits (if he managed to survive) would nip that in the bud and toughen him up. If Mikey was to be her heir, he would need to be the strongest, and most cunning.

But in the end, if he couldn’t cut it, Big Mama would be of course be sad, but she could always pull out the spare and see if that could be salvaged.

[lakesbian]

lisa is such a Character. "the undersiders aren't friends, but they are each others sole replacements for every single support system and human connection they're missing, and that's actually Significantly More Intense" applies to her too, but the only reason she's lacking any other support systems or human connections is because she's being forced to be there. we see in her interlude that before she was kidnapped she had shitty dyed hair. was she enjoying being rebellious, once? getting to express her identity and experiment outside of the thumb her parents were keeping her under for profit? that ended when someone else started doing the exact same thing to her that her parents were, treating her like a tool and not a person. she has to be the smartest person in the room, she has to be untouchable, because if she isn't, she's fucked.

and everything about her behavior scans as such a desperate attempt to pretend that there's no gun to her head or leash guiding her--not just to convince the other undersiders (who aren't thinking that deeply about it anyways), but to make the fantasy so real that it's something taylor can live in. the act doesn't have to be that good for the team at large to buy into it, so at what point is the act more for herself? i dunno man. i think she cares about her team, obviously. i think she really enjoys when they get to be like silly regular teenagers going out for shopping and dinner together, and anyone knowing what's happening to her would be counterintuitive to that. i think the facts that alec's opinion on coil is "it's weird but a good deal, so whatever, back to video games," and brian outright says "family > undersiders" in response to seeing dinah, and rachel is, well, rachel, are all relevant to lisa never really opening up to anyone on the team but taylor. (who has such a strong moral compass that lisa has to lie to get her there, who storms out when she thinks lisa is being willingly complicit in dinah.)

rereading the early arcs is just like. man. Lisa Wilbourn Torment Nexus. if i think too hard about how she reflexively smiles, reflexively tunes the mask up harder, anytime something bad happens, i explode and die. i don't understand her yet but i want to. girl who has so many fucking layers of masks on it's like a clown-pulling-scarves trick but for self-consuming coping mechanisms. and i'm not sure if there's anything actually left under the last mask anymore. a girl in an impossible situation can build a mask to get out of directly participating in it the mask can consume the girl this is the nature of a borrowed face

[argumate]

Expert policy-makers in Western capitals feel that they have to make a response to major historic challenges like climate or the rise of China, or South Africa’s energy crisis. It is their job to look to the future and to devise at least purportedly rational strategies of power. But those who make policy on such matters as sustainable development do not hold the purse-strings and have limited capacity to shift budget-constraints. Those that do set budgets, either do not care about broader global issues, prefer other tools for affecting those goals - such as military power - or are revenue constrained and unwilling to levy more revenue from their constituents for the far-flung goals favored by the policy-making elite.

There is thus never “enough money” for the softer and more complex dimensions of development and global policy. But, despite these all too obvious limitations, the policy-machine grinds on. Faut de mieux those tasked with geoeconomic policy and sustainable development cooperate to come up with programs like JET-P. The policies tick all the boxes as far as sophistication of design and conception. Powerful interests - notably high-finance - ensure that they are arranged, at least notionally, so as to offer derisking and to promote the vision of public-private partnership. The promise of “mobilizing” private money helps to paper over the lack of solid public funding.

But despite all the self-interested engagement by private finance, the fiscal constraint remains paramount. The forces interested in global development are not as powerfully engaged as they are around the military-industrial complex, oil and gas or the Wall Street nexus. The result are ambitious and professionally designed policies that whip up waves of enthusiasm in the ranks of analysts, think tanks, NGOs, pundits, but which have no prospect of materially affecting reality either with regard to the announced policy objective or the profit opportunities of Western capital.

From experience since 2021 the conclusion we must surely draw is that the one interest that such policies undeniably serve is the perpetuation of the policy circuit. Practical effectiveness is not necessarily the main driver of policy-generation. Indeed, failure may be productive in generating new policy. This not only perpetuates the machinery of policy-making. More importantly it contributes to the generation of a “state effect” - the US has a policy for x,y,z. It sustains the common sense that the world is governed and that “governance” is in some sense a coherent process.

brutal

[edwad]

a few weeks ago i saw a video on twitter thats of some guy talking about how amazing it is that all these people make a pencil and then you can buy it etc. is this the type of stuff you/cordelia mean when youre talking about how some people actually take domination to be a great thing (not only consciously but as an actual articulated value, i mean)

i assume the video was friedman's "i, pencil" riff, which does get at some of those points (and which other socialists have responded to on similar terrain, doing the thing i talk about of merely describing the same processes but with different moralizations), but also at a more general level in the sense that the impersonal mechanisms of capitalism are seen as nondiscriminatory, which for liberal theorists is a major advance over the more direct forms of coercion found in pre-capitalist societies. the benefit here is that markets don't really care about your background, your money is as good as anyone else's, and there's a certain universalizing tendency which comes out of the formal equality which is baked into this logic.

this is echoed in the writings of plenty of classical liberal thinkers like walter e williams that argued segregation would've dissolved on its own if free market forces had been left to run their course, unhindered by racist laws upholding the forced separation of people. eventually, certain business owners would've put their profits before their potential racism, and other firms would've been forced to similarly accommodate in order to stay competitive. williams (who was black) actually criticized some of his friends at the time for spending their money in white businesses that they'd been previously barred from, because in their attempt to stick it to the shop owners that the day before had refused to service them, they were unintentionally enriching racists instead of giving their business to firms that would've taken their money all along, had it been legal and easy to do so. this particular problem (and its market solution) are sometimes dealt with in the context of things like the sears catalog during the jim crow era, which was a big talking point a few years ago as an instance of this market anonymity/impersonality delivering a certain form of economic fairness.

for a lot of marxists, this nondiscriminatory element isn't acknowledged for the merits of not caring about your background, but in some sense for not caring about you at all. everything is reduced to the merely economic. marx pretty famously says as much in the manifesto when he writes:

"The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his “natural superiors”, and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous “cash payment”. It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom — Free Trade. In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation."

this is also what's at stake in the formal equality of the worker in marx's capital, who, as a newly emerged legal subject with all the rights that entails, discovers their double freedom -- free to work or free to starve. and as he says there in v1, "between equal rights force decides".

what i think is significant here is that these aren't really two different accounts of how the system works. for people like smith and hayek, this impersonal mechanism (the invisible hand, etc) is understood as a kind of coercive force which pushes firms toward particular ends which are independent of the wills of any singular capitalist (and in fact express the whole of human economic activity in the aggregate) and which result in the universal generalization of particular principles throughout society, increasingly undermining lingering prejudices (eg smiths capitalist arguments against slavery). marx's analysis is pretty much identical (and this is the point), except in its normative angling. the totalizing character of capitalist production which recreates the world in its own bourgeois image and strives to constantly overcome its own self-imposed limits is similarly impersonal and indiscriminate, but this is presented as a problem to be overcome. hayek, even moreso than smith, recognizes this aspect of the price system which gets at the exact issue which marx is trying to highlight with his analysis of value.

both are aware of the historical uniqueness of the social formation and have no illusions about it via cliche appeals to "human nature" etc, and as i've mentioned above, its not really a difference in analysis, or even really in results (as cordelia has said, the strong form of the marxian complaint isn't that capitalism is doing something poorly, but that these are the effects when it is working well/asserting itself fully). so the point im making and have made repeatedly is that what's at stake here is a set of underlying normative commitments which marx and marxists have basically left unjustified. the usual claim is that marx was too scientific for that sort of thing, but i don't think that's really a possible reading (and if it is, it's not a good/internally defensible one).

if anything, the immanence of his analysis to the liberal theory which constitutes his object sets the limit on his ability to express himself fully, but it also provides the only adequate place to ground his normative account. his notion of contradiction is supposed to do a lot of the heavy lifting here, but to the extent that these contradictions are located in liberal theory itself, they *necessarily* don't go unaccounted for by liberals. he's not saying or demonstrating anything which hasn't also been posed as a liberal political problem. if you don't like crises, then very well, you can be a keynesian (maybe even a radical one). you don't think that works? well, your argument probably sounds a lot like hayek's. what is marx able to contribute here that isn't already understood as a careful balancing act -- if not a definite limit -- in liberal theory? the potential salvation of communism, which is supposed to overcome the problems (whatever they are taken to be) of capitalism, necessarily stems from some set of normative commitments that can't be written off. if his critique is tightly immanent, as it arguably was, then what marxists need to justify isn't really the account of the system (you don't even have to be a marxist for that!) but the case for its abolition.

if your problem with it is "domination", you need to be able to demonstrate what's wrong with the mechanisms that word is intended to describe, and it can't just be that they're impersonal or coercive. liberals feel the same way about these things and all of us experience gravity that way. you have to be able to say something more than that, but contemporary marxist accounts tend to only go as far as calling it "domination" and getting away with it because the marxists nod along, knowing that domination is naughty, otherwise why would we call it domination?

so, although cordelia can surely speak for herself, this is part of the project that i think she and i have sorta been picking away at in different ways for a while, with me catching on a bit later (maybe too late tbh). when i expressed my frustrations on this point, directed at chambers, i was in some sense admitting that she'd won me over on this style (if not the specific line) of questioning.

all of this aside, this is of course not a defense of liberalism in the liberal sense, but it is a kind of "defense" of liberalism as a project which has to be taken seriously and can't be written off or dreamed away. in this sense, i am merely following in marx's footsteps, who i think felt very strongly about the need to grapple with liberalism on exactly this kind of terrain, but i am turning the ruthless criticism on the ruthless critic, because i don't think he or his contemporary disciples in the value-as-domination literature have done a good job of navigating this problem. probably though, like nearly everyone else, i'm simply left waiting for cordelia's book.

[haveyouplayedthisttrpg]

Have you played BRANCH RIDERS ?

By Bodhana Group

Eight distinct realms branching out from your new home, the Nexus; separated and kept from one another to contain a malevolent force known as the Blight. Bent on sowing chaos and disorder, the only thing that stands between the people of the realms and the power of the Blight is you, the Branch Riders! Armed with your training, your passion and special gifts you bring from your home realm, you must pursue your mission carefully as the realms do not know of each other, the Blight, or the existence of Branch Riders. Protecting them becomes a game of battle and subterfuge, foiling the Blight and then returning to the Nexus to debrief and recover.

Branch Riders is an easy to play narrative driven role playing game built on the concepts of action, investigation, and creative play. Your missions take you to one of eight distinct realms, each based on a different genre. You venture forth from your new home, the Nexus, a respite between worlds.

You may be called to rescue a failed Branch Rider team, start a rebellion, or simply help a fledgling superhero find their place in the world. Players track the team’s Exposure - how aware the Blight is of their presence - and as Exposure increases, the mission becomes more difficult and dangerous. You utilize amazing gifts you bring from your home-realm, but their power risks Exposure - the energy they radiate from another realm is a beacon to your enemy.

Branch Riders originally was born from our work as a non-profit as well as our love of tabletop games. The Bodhana Group utilizes tabletop games for education, capacity building and therapy. A large facet of our work is providing training for practitioners, educators and parents on how to best use games in this way. During these training sessions we are asked how we come up with settings that match well to therapy. Some counselors and therapists found creating settings to be a challenge when running tabletop RPG. We envisioned a game that could provide a way to match settings and in-game situations with therapeutic concepts. Branch Riders was designed for fun but built for therapists, educators, and parents who, if they wished, could use the system to help players work on important goals. Telling good stories is at the heart of Branch Riders. Using it for therapy is just one more benefit it provides.

Currently on Kickstarter

[financieur]

#FINANCIALBRANCH. Money makes the world go round, and the same saying was true for Spectre, and its' successor, Quantum. The finance branch was born the same day as Spectre itself, along with other ever-present branches like Counter-Intelligence and Tactical Operations [ known as Soldiery until the 70s ]. Despite those antique roots, the financial branch evolved constantly to remain at the vanguard of their trade, often being ahead of the competition.

The branch's primary reason to be was to manage Spectre's financial assets and keep those well invested, as well as making sure those funds were ready for use. As time passed it evolved to offering similar financial services for organizations that were, for one reason or another, restricted from accessing legitimate banking systems. Any organization was welcome to their services, as long as they could find it and afford it.

Like all other branches, the Finance Branch operates behind the mask of multiple other front companies, all in order to hide the true name and nature of their organization. There are five major companies that act as pillars to the branch: Nexus Investment & Management, Suisse de L'Industrie, Eisenband, CX Worldwide and Qoya Capital. All of those fronts operate in legal means, providing clean profit and a way to clean their own illegal funds.

The branch holds headquarters in 29 countries [ Monaco, New York, Dubai, London and Tokyo being the biggest ones ], servers in 9 countries and it operates in all 253 territories [ 193 U.N recognized countries, 55 dependent territories and 4 territories with ongoing struggles ] with only Antarctica being uncovered.

The current triad in control of the Financial Branch is composed by Le Chiffre [ Alias, real name Marcel Renè Venier-Couvillon, operating as Jacquin Allard and other 12 identities ], Beatrice Trauschke and Cissonius  [ Alias, real name Daniel Wright, operating as Henry Thompson and other 5 identities ]. This is the team responsible for overseeing all the activities, legal and otherwise, under the umbrella of the Financial branch, and are the arbitrators behind every dispute regarding the path of the branch, furthermore, they each oversee one of the subsidiaries controlled by the branch, respectively Nexus, La Banque Suisse de L'Industrie and Eisenband Capital.

Nexus in an asset management company, with its expertise laid in private banking, brokerage, consultation and management of wealth for both individuals and companies. La Banque Suisse de L'Industrie is a multinational bank with focus in providing international banking services and financial support lines for companies and organizations. Eisenband Capital is a capital market group, specialized in locating and funding or acquiring companies that are branded as promising in their respective areas.

All those companies serve the true purpose of acting as the backbone of Quantum, controlling the entirety of the Group's financial transactions, investments, liquid assets and casinos.

The front companies have plenty legitimate clients, being well known companies in the international economic landscape, and their public services can be hired as any other bank, however that process is more complex when regarding their backdoor business. For an organization or individual to be able to utilize Quantum's international banking services they must be given referral by another organization that runs money through them or pass a screening process in person done by someone assigned by the Financial Branch [ this is the process that determines operational costs, liabilities, calculate management fee and open space for negotiation before drawing a contract ], as well as offer an initial amount of 50 millions USD or more. Management fee for illicit businesses vary between 3% and 12% of the total value, depending on region, risk, logistics and nature of business.

Those accounts must name a successor or benefactor for the managed assets in case of death of the account's responsible or the hiring organization's leadership. In case one of those stances happen, the successor musr claim ownership of the account within 90 days or the assets become permanent property of Quantum.

All of their financial services count on extensive infrastructure: offices in most major cities, digital applications and management tools, multiple payment methods, liquid assets transportation and storage services, and dedicated managers to larger accounts. For clients who can't afford any form of visibility, alternative methods of access are offered, such as in-person services for added management fees or 1-to-1 kinds of cryptocurrency.

The financial branch is also responsible for any transactions, payments and debt collections that might be necessary to Quantum's operations. For the funding of their underbelly operations, the financial branch provides the other branches or the service providing organizations with payment options in cryptocurrency or unmarked gold bars, as those are untraceable. For payment of bounties or first-serve-first-come opportunities, to-the-bearer medallions are given and can be collected in any casino controlled by Quantum in the currency of choice. And finally, for collaborators who need to take a large amount of cash abroad, torn playing cards [ digitally marked for authentication ] can be traded for money or gold in any CX Worldwide agency.

Debt is collected after a 90 days tolerance period, during which no large transactions are allowed to the debtor's account, and in case of failure to provide payment, all assets are seized. If the amount within the accounts lack enough funds to cover the debt, Tactical Operations are contacted for direct interference and seizing of any found liquid asset. Attempts to interrupt the seizing are answered with significant force.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS, DOUBTS OR WANTED INFORMATION: ASK!

[vamprisms]

honestly some people have such a rancid vibe like no you are not better than the guy who washes your jeep or makes your coffee or picks your strawberries or scrapes your shit flecks off the toilet bowl just because your grandad used the profits from his torment nexus factory to send you to cunt university so you could do the accounts for a small independent fracking business

[metamatar]

I got a little excited talking about robotics so I went into full engineer mode but obviously the OP is wrong on the ideological priors. A lot of problems in robotic automation are open and unsolved. Robotics is much much harder than software. But, capitalists ARE the reason that there isn't as much as much funding for doing non military robotics research and making progress on open problems. They want quick profits but robotics is in the VC parlance "deep tech" so you're going to be spending a lot of money and it may not lead to a profitable product. It's risky. Way easier to be disruptive via regulatory capture. As institutions have in the last two decades, especially in engineering pivoted aggressively to the private partnership model ala Stanford/Bay Area nexus even institutional research looks to create products instead of core research.

The more commie critique of the "why isn't automation taking away dangerous jobs and only taking the fun ones" is that taking away the fun ones has suddenly become possible right now and is affecting a certain type of content creator. We have been taking away some dangerous and boring jobs, that has been happening for a while, pretty unnoticed. It also decimates communities, just that those communities are less important to the media cycle. Sometimes, especially in the imperial core automation is more expensive than brutalising some third world citizens to do the robots jobs. It is obviously because of capitalism that it is even possible to deprive people to the extent that they are forced to accept shit wages.

[home-is-where-the-books-are]

Danny was surprised when his mother appeared at his bedroom door. “The university wants the house,” she said, then looked around the circular turret room. “If we all sign off, then the profits can be shared. You can come to New York.”

And then I wondered why the university needed a house in Westville... new conspiracy theory: Black Elm is a nexus. Only a couple of people at Yale know about this, and the truth is kept silent, as in the case of the Gauntlet

[madamlaydebug]

So we document our lives, we document everything, from our phones mined by Congolese children, for the profit of some men who don't need more money... Another selfie not saying anything, let me show you my lifestyle, look at the food I'm eating, look at who I'm with... Look at how much money I just made, while another child got played, another sister just got aids, which is a test on many diseases graded, by those who invented & made it but don't give a sh*t... look another rapper faded, another undereducated woman so we call her basic, let's face it, this society's tasteless, the super rich remain faceless, at least the melanin keeps me ageless, am I destined for greatness... I'm not sure what the definition is, is greatness creating a revolution, where we seek retribution, destroy constitutions to find resolutions... or is it just trying to get children to eat healthy, forget selfies & remain wealthy. I'm not sure anymore, keep shining in your African diamonds, keep climbing & finding that if you just pray to god it's all just timing, while I'm rhyming keep grinding at the system that treats darker children like dogs, whether their clever whatever the weather, locking them up forever, they're tethered to false hopes of a life better but never, unless they can severe oppressors...they remain stuck in this nexus. Didn't they pray to the same man in sky, but their dad is on drugs, Jesus wonders why?

Their mum caught slugs from the police, shouting thugs but they worship the same man above, they both believe in the same man that loves, but the man that shot her was tried by a judge who didn't budge, police walked free & the children got a hug. Keep dancing King, like it's all good, keep dancing Queen, in your own blood, you can't see this proactive vanity is all insanity & you should, escape the calamity & of all the tragedies, put down the liquor killing your uterus, put down the junkfood destroying the future us, pick up a book, put down your own face, now take a look at your own place, & ask yourself this are we winning, or still drowning & thinking we're swimming...

#ChakraBars

[isonachiumbu0]

What fans don't realize is that "what was i made for" by billie eilish is a 2018 hamato yoshi song. It fits him to perfection!!! Yoshi was depressed and traumatized to hell in back in the battle nexus. He's being exploited constantly by big mama and generally is in an awful place mentally, emotionally, and physically

I used to float, now i just fall down

Yoshi used to be happy as an actor and while he still had issues, he was overall content, especially while dating big mama. Now he resents his lack of freedom and current life

I used to know, but i'm not sure now what i was made for. What was i made for?

This is yoshi's lifelong crisis!!! He's been raised to believe that he's a hamato and needs to be engrossed in the hamato clan and a savior for the world, to deny his own ambition and joy for the sake of the clan and by extension, the globe. Yoshi then became a famous actor to fulfill himself. Then, he was forced to be a battle nexus contestant and told that he was meant to be making money and entertaining that way. One could even go on to when he was mutated and took on the role of a father to four mutants, which was way different than anything else he had been. With him being forced into positions to take on different life paths, it's unclear to yoshi what he was made for at this point because it seems that no one can agree. He's having an existential crisis, poor guy. Was yoshi born to be a hamato ninja? Was he born to be a film star? Was he born to be a trafficking victim? Was he born to be a mutant rat father? WHO KNOWS ANYMORE, not yoshi

Takin' a drive, i was an ideal. Looked so alive. Turns out i'm not real, just something you paid for

THESE LYRICS!!! ARE SO YOSHI CORE!!! He was an idol in the film industry, an a-lister, someone to admire and a beloved pop culture icon. He still is even as a battle nexus contestant. However, yoshi is dehumanized by so many around him, big mama, his fanbase (his yōkai fanbase in particular), draxum, and is literally objectified, turned into a toy for others to use to their own end, to make money off him, to bolster their own fame, to empower a mutant army. The "turns out i'm not real" lyric doubly works because yoshi's a fictional character (but that's news to him)

When did it end? All the enjoyment

The battle nexus ruined any passion he had for fighting. as an actor, it was all fake and he was treated with care, in the battle nexus, it's all too real and his life is put on the line each match

I'm sad again. Don't tell my boyfriend. It's not what he's made for. What was i made for?

Yoshi is incredibly depressed about his hardships and current positions as an abductee. He can't rely on big mama for emotional support like he used to because, well, she has literally kidnapped him and is the one gleefully inflicting pain on him. It's not what big mama's made for and yoshi realizes that now. It bums him tf out. At one point, he thought she was perfect for that, but she's way too obsessed with power and profit

The lyrics i skipped are pretty obvious, i mean, i think they're all quite clear when tying the song to yoshi's story, but to breeze through it, yoshi's basically joyless, he wants to be joyful and maybe his sons and new family can help drag him out of his pain

Funnily enough, the song "barbie dreams" by fifty fifty from the very same album as "what was i made for" suits yoshi perfectly, too (pre-battle nexus). ALSO FROM THE SAME ALBUM is "dance the night" by dua lipa, which fits him as well!!! in "dance the night" Yoshi's struggling with the stress of being an asian actor in the 80s and the stress of his family. but heyyy, look how at how he stuns on the dance floorrrr even though he wants cryyy :D the song spectrum of yoshi having a good time from great time to meh time to terrible time: barbie dreams -> dance the night -> what was i made for

[lostonehero]

What remains after eternity

I'm not promising anything

Jonny sighed as he stared out at the desert from his window. New Texas was well thriving. He decided that when he woke up from what was supposed to be his final death on his shitty asteroid planet, he decided to make it better. He was pissed and he really just wanted to die. He was promised an ending, but he could also just be the last mech because there was a fluke, and he's just plain immortal, eternally youthful that death and age can't touch.

It's been a few thousand years, but Jonny had singlehandedly fixed New Texas. They opened their borders, trade between other planets, and women were free to be what they please and not slaves. He even set up a government that worked for the people. Overall, he was viewed as some sort of undying saint.

The assassination attempts were uninspired and lacking any kind of fun. They also stopped trying after a few years.

He was tired. He was so tired and just wanted an end. Even this throne room, which was more of a farce than anything, was exhausting.

"Jonny?" A young man approached his throne.

"Yes? If you're here to kill me, take your best shot or whatever." Jonny looked over. "Never mind, it's just you. Oliver, I told you to find something else to do rather than babysit me." After the first 100 or so years, the people of New Texas decided to find a way to keep him company. He's tired of killing them to stay away, and it never lasted long enough to spill more blood.

"I will not!" The boy's tail stood upright. "There's a woman here who requested an audience."

"Name?" Jonny moved to sit upright.

"Doctor Carmillia." Oliver smiles and motions to the taller woman behind him.

Jonny just frowns. "Hello, Carmillia. If you want to experiment, go ahead. I don't care."

Carmillia seems taken aback. "What don't you want to curse me for true immortality? Come now, I'm sure you've figured it out. Your own mechanism is forever, and the longer you have it the more ingrained it gets."

"Ok." Jonny sighs and kicks his feet up. "Is there a point to this? I'm tired, Carmillia. I'm tired, and I don't want to do this anymore. So either do whatever you want or leave."

Carmillia steps back. Jonny seemed absolutely defeated. She had a trump card. This would kick start the chaos again. This would start the nechs back up. "Your mother was the first. She's still around, and I would love for you to watch me get her to fall in love with me."

Jonny shrugs, sliding down in his throne. "So she's alive eternally. I'm sure she has a nice life without me." He frowns. "It's been eons, I'm sure she's moved on from losing me."

"She's been searching for you for those eons!" Carmillia huffs.

"She's better without her fuck up of a son." Jonny's gaze lazily went back to Carmillia. "Are you going to spread a plague? Take me apart? Destroy, what I built? Just do it or leave."

"Jonny, come on, what's the fun in that? Don't you want to cause some mayhem? Violence? Get drunk? I'm in love with your mother, Valerie. Doesn't that mean anything?"

Jonny looks away. "Go ask her out then. You're better than my father." He looks to Oliver. "Go home, kid."

Oliver sighs. "I told you, doctor. Jonny doesn't do anything anymore except keep New Texas safe."

"How long have you been keeping him company?" Carmillia follows the young man out.

"Oh, I just started. My predecessor, the funeral, was last year. Our people have decided to keep Jonny company. Oh, he's told so many stories about his adventures and violence, but I've read all those books and such. I wonder if I'll get to see him like that before I die, it would be a sight. Tell me, do you know the other mechanisms that Jonny has talked about?" Oliver sighs. "Sorry, I'm rambling. It's just all so exciting. I actually live in this place with him."

Carmillia frowns. "I will find them." She turns and leaves the boy.

.......

Ashes, they were the leader of the most profitable empire in the Nexus galaxy. They got bored after ending up back on their planet, realizing that they really couldn't die, and their final death was nothing but a mockery. They grew their empire, trying to just feel something. Even fire got boring, not to say they didn't still love it, but they missed the others.

They did find Ivy after everything, but she didn't really have an interest in leaving her own prison of knowledge. Ashes gives them new books, and they have tea once a decade now. They tried looking for the others, but they weren't in the same galaxy, and they didn't have a ship strong enough to hop galaxies, and Ivy wouldn't help.

"So this is what you've accomplished?" A voice pulls Ashes away from the fireplace.

"Doc?" Ashes turns around to see Carmillia covered in the blood of their guards. "You could have just asked to see me." They sigh. "What do you want? To gloat? To have a part of this empire? I can get you whatever you desire."

"You've conquered a galaxy." Carmillia sounded impressed. "I just wanted to find you."

"You have, so what now?" Ashes returns their gaze back to the fireplace.

"Come with me." Carmillia smiles. "Don't you want to find the others?"

"I suppose." Ashes sighs. "If you can get Ivy from her, self-made prison. Then I will join you." They light up a cigar. "Try to be cautious. Ivy has gone in her head."

.......

A blue skinned woman held a glowing machine in her arms. It was the ai the one she selfishly abandoned because of basically a new coat of paint. She stares at the scrap heap that was once Aurora. From what she was told, the debris was found floating in space, and whatever couldn't be salvaged was dumped here.

Nastya doesn't understand why she was abandoned. She will take her to a new ship and install her and make her even better. She knows she was selfish, she abandoned the others, and now that she knows the truth, she didn't want to be alone for eternity. Even if it takes her millions of years, she'll rebuild Aurora and beg for forgiveness. She has to find the others.

A few hundred years and Aurora was built bigger and better than ever, ready to face eternity looking for her crew. Nastya sighs as she wipes her brow. "Ready to go?"

A soft beep and chirps.

"Right, well, I'll make it up to you, I promise. I won't ever leave again. I heard about DTTM, but that can't possibly be true. I'll find the new guys, too." Nastya smiles. "To eternity and beyond my love."

......

Tim ended back on earth, and he now sits in a nuclear waste. He watched the world implode, now it's post-apocalyptic, and he helped out the surving groups. He was tired. He just wanted to die, but even he grew immune to the radiation. Maybe he was slightly mutated, but that didn't really matter. He became a messenger between new towns and even a city.

The earth was long abandoned by the majority of humanity who went to conquer other planets they didn't destroy. However, what was left behind grew like weeds. Tim watched the earth heal it was still mostly a wasteland, but there was life in the waste. He liked the peace of it.

"Timothy." An elderly woman smiles, hobbling over with her cane. "Are you coming to tell some tales? The cold will come soon."

Tim nods. "Yeah, do you want me to tell about the moon again?"

"The children will love that." The woman chuckles.

"I remember when you were that age, with your eyes bright and you could sit in my lap." Tim smiles. "How time has passed."

"Of course, watcher, and I hope you watch over the youth of tomorrow." The old woman moves forward. "I'm grateful I lived long enough to see these trees you talked about return."

Tim nods and follows behind. "And may the next generations witness the oceans turn blue and flowers bloom."

"You speak of such wonderful things, Watcher. May eternity bless you."

Tim doesn't really do names anymore. All the people he's watched and guided blend together as the earth recovers. Rivers flow mountains grow, and land returns. Civilization grows, and he becomes a myth even though he remains. Maybe he'll remain long enough to see another war or apocalypse. For the moment, it's peaceful as populations grow and seasons change. The changes from the radiation haven't gone away, but he can't seem to mind.

A voice so familair breaks through and Tim watches as the familair man approach. His voice was long gone to being silent for so long. He just smiles at the man.

"Gunpowder Tim." The shorter man tilted his head staring at Tim.

Tim nods, and as he tries to speak, only a rasp escapes his lips.

"It's me, Lyf, the inspector?" Lyf furrows his brows. "My ship malfunctioned, and I honestly don't know when or where I am, Yog Sogoth decided to be a bit extra helpful after that fight during DTTM. Have you seen Marius? Or like everyone else? I'm surprised I found you."

Tim tilted his head, seemingly confused.

Lyf huffs. "Whatever, come on." He grabs Tim's hand and drags him to his ship. "You'll be great leverage when it comes to the others. He doesn't notice the roots grown into Tim's feet or the changes in his body, or even the fact he gives off radiation.

Tim can't protest. He is unable to speak.

.......

Marius found his home planet. He knows whe he is now. He became a doctor and a baron and everything else he could think of ever wanting to accomplish. He plays his violin now, for hours and sometimes even days as he watches time pass him by.

Wars came and went, and he remained. Rebuilt, his old mech found his parents' graves and just did everything he could possibly think to do with the infinite amount of time he had.

He wanted to die. He wanted to... he couldn't remember what he looked like or what his name was, but he loved him. It's been far too long, and his mind wasn't keen on letting him recall what he had forgotten. He was a part of a group, a family he thinks.

His violin carries the tune over a barren planet, a virus wiped out his people and left him as the last of his species. Destroyed the plants and animals. He can't recall the last time he ate. Water is plentiful. It's the only thing that remains. He thinks it's water, he isn't sure.

Maybe it will come back to him. He'll just keep playing, and it will come back to him. Another song, and he'll remember something.

.......

Brian scowls, and dieties gathered around him. "Are you quite done? The biometal is enough, but I must leave."

They pamper him, they treat him like a pet.

He sighs. He's been trying first eons to leave this lavish spoiled life. He misses the others. He would even take being back on that sun again. He got what he looked like before the metal body, but what's the point he knows the mechanism is still there now biometal, but it remains. He hated this he wanted to kill something. And he wanted his family back.

A rainbow diety came by, and Brian scowls. "Leave me alone."

"My acolyte is searching for you." The deities' voice is incomprehensible, but Brian has gotten used to the spoken words of gods. "I wish to reunite the mechanisms, I have missed your songs and adventures, and I do not wish my acolyte, my child to be alone in eternity."

"Get me out of here." Brian just responds as he always does to any passing diety that wanted to have him as a pet.

A rainbow static enveloped him, and Brian vanished from the world of gods.

........

Lyf cursed as a rainbow static appeared, and something heavy fell on him. "Fucking shit! Fuck you Yog Sogoth."

Brian could cry. "Inspector!" He scrambles to his feet, embracing Lyf.

"Brian?" Lyf pauses. "Why are you soft?"

"Doesn't matter now." Brian smiles. "I'm bio metal, and I have the stuff I had before I was mechanized." He turns and spots Tim. "Tim! You're... you're...." He frowns, looking Tim up and down.

Tim's long hair was freshly buzzed in a military cut. There seem to be various vines and plants growing on his skin. His eyes remain the same, almost more ingrained into his face. His beard was cut short, and he had this odd look on his face like a pleasant curiosity. All that comes from his mouth as he attempts to speak was a wheeze of a rasp. He settles on waving.

Brian frowns. "What happened to him?"

"I really don't know, but it's been like six months since I picked him up, and he hasn't said a word. He also refuses to wear shoes. I also tried to cut the vines, but they just grew back. They also bleed, which is kind of terrifying." Lyf shudders. "He kind of reminds me of TS minus the talking."

"We need to find Raphaella. She'll be able to figure this out." Brian sighs. "But I am very happy to see you again. Where are you heading?"

"Oh well, I found Tim by accident, so I might as well look for Jonny next." Lyf crosses his arms. "What happened to everyone?"

"We were supposed to have our final deaths. I saw it. I had a vision, and they happened, but... well, it didn't happen. I don't know what happened to everyone else." Brian's large fox ears pin against his head. "I don't know how they handled it."

"They'll be fine." Lyf smiles. "See, Tim's fine he just can't speak."

Tim wasn't paying attention he was growing a flower in his palm.

........

"Now that I can feel again, I hate the heat." Brian adjusts his hat as they wonder through a desert asteroid.

Tim had a content smile on his face, and a trail of grass seemed to follow in his footsteps. They were carried by the sands and died, but it was still unusual.

"We really have to find Raphaella." Lyf watches Tim continue forward without a care.

"I... yeah, you're not wrong." Brian sighs.

They walk for a bit longer to the modest capital looking building, and the people say that Jonny should be in. They landed on New Texas about a decade into their journey.

An older man was at the entrance. His horns were sharpened, and he was in a uniform. He raised a brow as if he wasn't used to foreigners making their way here. "What brings you guys here? Assassination attempts? Proof of immortality? Wisdom? A story?"

Lyf and Brian exchange a look.

Brian blinks. "Um, we're here to talk to Jonny. I'm Drumbot Brian, and this is former inspector Lyfrassir Edda. Well, Gunpowder Tim is also with us but he lost the ability to talk."

Tim waves as he blooms cactus flowers on his feet.

The man looked shocked. "I'm sorry you're..." He frantically motions for them to follow. "Jonny! Jonny! You have guests!"

Jonny looked tired, and his horns were fully grown out along his scalpe that curved up at the ends. His hair was long tied into a braid. He was in a handmade outfit that was very casual. He was more muscular than they were used to, and his tail lazily flicked back and forth. "Oliver, what has gotten you so excited?" He doesn't even look over.

Oliver runs up to the throne. "Jonny, are these... are they who they claim?"

Jonny flicks his gaze over and puts on his goggles with prescription lenses. His breath catches in his throat. "Tim?"

Tim smiles and waves again, trying to speak, but a rasp escapes his lips.

"Yeah...." Lyf frowns as he approaches with Brian. "We really don't know what happened to him, but he can't talk anymore and is radioactive. He also can spread plants like a virus. Well, not like a virus, but his plants bleed."

"Brian?" Jonny hopped out of his chair. "What happened to you?"

"I became a pet to a bunch of deities." Brian sighs. "Dunno, how long it's been, but I'm biometal now. Time doesn't exactly work where I was."

"You guys just vanished." Lyf crosses his arms. "Yog Sogoth fucked with my ship and I ended up whenever this is. I found Tim by accident, then Yog Sogoth dropped Brian on me. We're looking for Marius or Raphaella to fix Tim. Do you know where they are?"

Jonny pulls the three into a tight hug. "Fucking I thought I was the only one save for Carmillia and her lies."

"Carmillia visited?" Brian furrows his brows.

Jonny pauses. "Oliver, when did the doc show up?"

Oliver hums and scratches his beard. "I couldn't have been more than 16, I just started here. A lifetime ago, in a sense."

"Well, I suppose I can say this is the end to your watch." Jonny walks over and holds out his hand. "I think I'll head out with them."

Oliver's eyes widen, and he hugs Jonny tight. "May you tell the future generations new tales. I will spread the word."

Jonny hugs back just as tight. "Give the old guard my regards. Let this place fall to ruin as time sweeps by."

"May I return to nothing but dust." Oliver finished. "May the universe embrace you to eternity."

Jonny nods salutes and leaves with Brian, Tim, and Lyf.

......

"I have to ask, but were you a god to them?" Brian finally breached the subject a few decades into their travels.

Jonny shakes his head. "No, not even close. I was just another one of them who couldn't die, and I told stories." He shines the harmonica in his hands. "I was just someone who wanted to change things, nothing special."

"How long was it?" Brian tilted his head.

Jonny paused. "I don't know." He chuckles softly. "I don't care, though. I made a happy ending."

"A..." Brian's eyes widen. "Jonny, are you ok?"

"A bit tired." Jonny smiles sadly. "But their ain't no rest for our kin."

.......

Nastya frowns. She found Marius by happen chance. A barren wasteland destroyed by a bio weapon virus. He was skin and bones, and his violin melody was haunting. His memory is bad to say politely.

"Oh, hello, did we meet before?" Marius smiles, holding a bowl of broth in his hands. He's shaking and looks deathly thin.

Nastya gives a sad smile. "Why, Marius, we have." She started to play along after the 59th time he did this. "And you promised me to finish that bowl of yours."

"I did? Yes, yes, of course." Marius drinks greedily from the bowl till it was empty. "Could you tell me where I am? I seem to be waiting for some friends, but I can't recall who they are."

"You're on the spaceship, Aurora, and your friends will be here soon. I'll pour you another bowl why we wait." Nastya swallows the lump in her throat.

"I don't think I'm hungry." Marius summons a violin out of nowhere. He begins to play a haunted melody as his eyes become unfocused and he just plays.

Nastya's smile drops. Maybe when he isn't so malnourished, he'll remember. It's been a constant cycle since she brought him on board. She even got his old clothes. Well, Aurora helped her make them. They hung on him like a tent.

Aurora flashes suddenly, and a screen opens up. A communication from another ship.

"Aurora! We can't just accept all hails." Nastya pauses as video comes through.

"Is this Aurora? This is Drumbot Brian. Everyone else is asleep for the night." Brian pauses before his eyes widen. "Nastya?"

"Brian?" Nastya gasps. "Aurora, take them on!"

A metal hand pops out with a thumbs up.

.......

Jonny yawns, rubbing his eyes. "Why did you wake us?" He shuffles forward following Brian. "Is it my turn to stand guard?"

Lyf stretches. "No, he wouldn't have woken all of us up." He stretches his tail.

Tim whistles the only noise he could make from his mouth at this point as he marches forward.

Brian nearly pushed the three out into a metal hanger. "Welcome back!"

Jonny yawns again. "Welcome back where?"

"Jonny?" Nastya gasps.

"Nastya?" Jonny's eyes soften. "I'm glad to see you again."

Tim waves he knows of her but never met her.

"O-oh, you left before I ever met you." Lyf holds out his hand. "I'm Lyfrassir Edda, the one Bifrost survivor, acolyte to Yog Sogoth. I think, honestly, don't really know what they want to do with me."

"You know Marius." Nastya's pupils widen.

"Yes! We were looking for him to help with Tim. He can't talk, and we really don't know what's up with the plants or radiation." Lyf pauses. "I also miss him."

"Follow me. All of you, please." Nastya smiles as Aurora chirps.

The soft haunting melody from a violin gets louder as they get closer to the med bay.

"Of course he's playing that stupid vio -" Lyf chokes on his words as the door opens, and he can see Marius.

His hair was long, barely moving, and his clothes hung off of him. He was like a skeleton with skin. His eyes were sunken in, and he was smiling. His hands were bleeding slightly as if he had been playing for days straight. The bandages that were new were stained. His tail hung limp off the table. Even his ears drooped.

Nastya swallows. "He was on a planet that was destroyed by a bio weapon virus, wiped out every living creature and plant. I have no idea how long he was there."

Marius stops playing, putting the violin to the side. "Hello! I'm Marius Von Raum. Who are you?"

"You... you know who I am." Lyf sucked in a breath.

"Do i?" Marius smiles. "I think I'm waiting for my friends to find me. Would you like to wait with me?"

Brian's silverish goldish hue paled.

Jonny had a stricken look on his features.

Tim for the first time since he was found frowned.

Lyf could feel pain try to steal his voice as tears tricked his eyes. "Marius, it's me, Lyfrassir, Lyf. You know me."

"Do I?" Marius continues to smile. "I'm quite sorry I seem to..." his eyes lose focus as another violin appears, and he begins to play again.

Nastya covers her mouth. "I've been trying to get him to eat more, but he can barely drink the broth I give him. If I could just get some weight on him, maybe he could remember something." She sucks in a breath. "He goes around like this every time. Please play along."

Lyf was crying. "N-no! This... this.... Marius." He pushed the violin away and sat next to him. "I'll wait for you. I'll wait with you."

"Aurora will bring the broth every hour for him. Also, some mashed vegetables." Nastya turns away. "We can only guess how long he was there, but the planet has been dead for tens of thousands of years at least."

Jonny reaches out and holds Nastya's hand. "Come on, show me where my new room is."

Nastya nods and leaves, Brian follows, and Tim wanders behind them but doesn't exactly follow.

......

"Don't you want a belt?" Nastya smiles.

Jonny shrugs. "I don't really need one. I made these clothes."

"What about your gun? I restocked the armory as well, Aurora even revamped the shooting range." Nastya smiles a bit wider.

Jonny shakes his head. "I'm ok. Thank you for the offer. Did you rebuild Ivy's library?"

"O-of course." Nastya frowns. "Why?"

"I think I want to read right now." Jonny hums. "I want to read something with a happy ending. Will you join me?"

Nastya freezes. "Jonny, are you ok?"

"Just a bit tired." Jonny hums softly as he walks down the hall, and Nastya follows with concern.

.......

"Why the fuck should I even let you on my ship?" A woman with horns that curl around her cow like ears. "I will accept everyone but you."

"Hello, Doctor Carmillia." TS waves from behind the woman.

Carmillia smirks. "I can tell you where your son is."

The woman didn't look impressed. "I can and will track him myself. Try again."

"Valerie, please, I promise to behave. I'm just trying to get them back together. The Mechanisms come on you want to help." Carmillia smiles, showing off her fangs.

Valerie narrowed her gaze and looked at the people behind her. "Names?"

"Raphaella, ma'am." She seemed less confident and deranged. "I want to try science experiments again. I... I...." She shakes under the gaze. "I don't want to be used anymore."

Valerie motions for her to come inside. "I'll keep ya safe." She watches Raphaella run inside her wings folded tightly against her back. "Who are you?"

"Ashes O'Reilly, quartermaster." Ashes crosses their arms. "You look like Jonny."

"That's because I'm his mother." Valerie hums. "As long as you don't fry the circuits, you can come on. However step out of line and I will leave you."

"Understood." Ashes nods and heads on.

"Ivy Alexandria." Ivy frowns. "I would like to return to my library. Books and records don't leave, time passes, and they will remain and grow."

"I've got a library on board, kid." Valerie sighs. "TS bring her on."

"Yes, Ma'am!" TS picks up Ivy and brings her on board.

Valerie returns her gaze to Carmillia. "You can come until I decide against it. If you try anything, I will make sure you never find us."

Carmillia smiles wide and runs on board.

........

"I am Marius Von Raum." Marius smiles. There's a bit more meat to his bones. "You are Lyfrassir Edda, and you are waiting with me."

Lyf nods, feeding Marius another bite. "Yes, that's right. We're going to not wander away from Med Bay today."

Marius has a bit of trouble swallowing, but he gets the stew down. "We are waiting together for my friends."

"Yes, we are." Lyf smiles. "Almost done, just one more bite." It's a bit of a struggle, but he gets Marius to finish. "We did it all done."

"I'm a doctor." Marius says while he gets up. "My friends don't believe me."

"Oh really?" Lyf puts the bowl down and follows Marius. This was new, and it lit a flame of hope in his chest.

"I went... I went." Marius furrows his brows, and the light flickers in his eyes. "I think I think...." He frowns, which was new. "Another... there was another war." He stops talking as his eyes lose focus, and he summons a violin. A haunting melody begins to play as he stands still and plays.

Lyf sighs. "You'll get there, and I'll be right here when you do." He guides Marius back to his bed, who keeps playing. He smiles softly and reaches out to pet his hair, which slowly reaches back out and wraps around his finger. "Yeah, we'll get him back."

.......

Jonny spent more time in the library, or the gardens than anywhere else. He seems to keep his mind busy, and violence seems to be the last thing on his mind. Eternity weighs on him.

Brian was in the gardens with Tim when Jonny walked in. "Good afternoon, Jonny."

Jonny nods in acknowledgment as he approaches Tim, who is growing new trees from his own vines. "Would you like to read with me?"

Tim paused as the flowers bloomed. He smiles as his new norm lets out a rasp and follows Jonny to the bench.

Jonny smiles. "This is a new one. We just picked up planet side, I've been told it ends very sweetly."

Brian smiles as he works on the vegetable garden. Jonny and Tim have always been close, and it seems they were trying to rebuild that even if both men have changed so much. Nastya was still trying to get Jonny to be violent. It wouldn't work.

Tim's gaze drifts as he leans on Jon. This was normally the sign that he was about to sleep. His behavior was random at best, but you pick up cues on what he is doing.

Jonny hums softly, closing the book. "You're right it is better to take a nap. I am a bit tired."

.......

Valerie hums softly as she leans back. "What is it?"

"I um well..." Raphaella walks slowly towards Valerie. "How have you not... I mean, it's been just as long for you."

"We found her again." Audrey smiles she appears.

Valerie shakes her head. "I've already changed, but I've accepted my reality. I know each of you has suffered, and I understand that it wasn't easy being alone, but it takes time. You'll never be who you were, but you'll just be different, and that's ok."

"I want to be me again." Raphaella shakes. "My experiments won't ... haven't worked."

"You're already you." Valerie smiles. "You just have to accept you changed."

Raphealla sighs but relaxes. "Can I have some blood?"

"Mine or in general?" Valerie smirks.

Raphealla smiles shyly.

.......

Lyf hums softly as he mixes the batter. He was humming "Tales to be Told." Marius was playing the violin part he wasn't all there today, but he was still good company.

Marius finally looked healthy, but his mind was still not together. He was beginning to have lucid periods, but nothing concrete enough to recognize anyone.

"So what will it be today? Muffins or cake?" Lyf smiles, breaking his humming.

Marius continued to play, not noticing anything.

"Hmmm, you're right. Muffins are better because Tim hates cake. Afterward, we can cuddle and watch a movie." Lyf chuckles softly, pulling out a muffin tin. "Never understand why Tim hates cake. It's a perfectly fine dessert. I suppose pie is better, or a nice custard, or whatever that cactus stuff Jonny grows." He doesn't notice Marius had stopped playing.

"I like sweet breads." Marius blinks seemingly confused.

Lyf drops the pan out of shock, making a mess of the floor. "Shit shit shit. Fuck."

"I didn't know you could bake Inspector." Marius smiles.

Lyf freezes staring at Marius. "Marius?" He barely whispers.

"Yes?" Marius seemed confused as he looked around. "I don't.... I don't... where am I?"

"Aurora! The starship Aurora! We're in the kitchen." Lyf abandons the mess and rushes to Marius's side.

"N-no, that isn't.... that isn't possible." Marius started to look frustrated. "It's gone. I... I..." He tugs at his sensitive hair, trying to shock himself with pain. "N-no I went.... I didn't.... I..."

Lyf pulls Marius into a hug. "Breathe."

Marius shudders, and he stills. "Hello, Lyf, why are we hugging?"

Lyf sighs and pulls away. Progress isn't linear. He would say that all the time. "Because I like you."

"You do?" Marius tilted his head unsure. "You don't like me or my violin, though."

"I... um..." Lyf takes a breath. "You've grown on me."

"Like a mushroom?" Marius smiles.

"Yeah, like a mushroom." Lyf smiles back.

"Do you know when the train is coming?" Marius blinks as Lyf grips his shirt.

"I think it already has." Lyf swallows.

"That means we have to go." Marius smiles. "I think... I think..." He pulls away and summons a violin and begins to play.

"I don't want you to go." Lyf wipes his eyes. "Ok, it's time to clean up and try again. I'm thinking sweet bread." He smiles as Marius is playing a happy tune. "Yeah, sweet breads for you."

.......

Tim observed. That's what he does. He's the Watcher. It's hard to think of a time before that. Jonny is a familiar comfort, but he couldn't recall why. It hurts to think sometimes. He just wanted to be good. This place was very clean and he had his own room. He let his plants grow in his room. He was safe and not forgotten.

He feels as if he's missing something. The blue skinned woman keeps putting him in a room with weapons, but he doesn't want to be in there. He thinks her name is Nastya, and she seems sad all the time. He has tried to give her flowers and fruits, but it seems to just confuse her. He doesn't like being confused either. They call him Tim or Gunpowder, all of them do. The name is Familiar, and he will respond to it, but he's the Watcher. He's been that for a long time.

They keep asking him to speak, but he knows he can't. He forgot when he stopped, he forgot when he was able to. Marius is nice he doesn't ask him to speak. They play music together, Jonny gave him a guitar, and he knows how to play, but can't remember why or how he knows. Marius is nice he tells him secrets about war and survival. He's confused and scared like he is.

He liked to work with his hands. He can grow his plants with his hands and dirt. Brian was also nice with his hands. He always seemed to help him clean up like the others. It's not like he tries to be dirty, but his plants need soil, and the bad, painful thing inside of him always hurt others, but he didn't seem bothered. Brian always said he was warm, but that's it, and that made him happy. He thinks he is making Jonny sick because he's always tired, but he doesn't complain.

He doesn't like the heavy clothes Lyf gives him. They are familiar, but they cover his plants and weigh him down. He doesn't want to get them dirty either. They seem important because everyone gives him the coat back. Lyf talks about his eyes a lot and asks him to look for things. He likes Lyf, he asks him to do his job and he likes that. He's a bit weird with his colors and static, but he makes Marius very happy.

Everyone asks him about violence or guns. He can't tell them the truth. He doesn't want to be a weapon anymore. They can't know he was a weapon, but he thinks they already do know. He likes Aurora, she is very nice, and helps him when he gets lost. She doesn't let him spread his roots anywhere, but the garden, she said it hurts. He apologized for it but still didn't quite understand how it hurt. It used to hurt him. He can remember when they used those weapons again on earth. They just rebuilt, too.

He can remember the burning, and he was trying to save something, or was it someone. He didn't really know anymore, but he thought the fighting was over something dumb. The bombs were loud and dirty, and they didn't leave anything but radiation. The first time, if he could recall properly, they recovered and regrew. They were thriving, and then someone got upset and built them again.

He wanted to tell his story, but his hands shake really bad when he tries to write. Jonny is really patient with him. They nap together a lot. Maybe one day he'll remember why Jonny calls him his amazing destruction and why he loves him so much.

.......

Nastya nearly jumped when Aurora was suddenly hailed. They've been peaceful, and nobody should even bother them. She sighs and takes the video call. "This is Nastya of the starship Aurora and pilot Drumbot Brian."

Brian nods, adjusting his hat.

"This is Valerie of well Audrey you aren't bothering me today, so Audrey." The woman leans back as a familair doctor is handcuffed to the side. "We've been looking for you."

"Carmillia?" Brian blinks stunned. "Jonny mentioned something when we first found him. Guess it was true." He shrugs and begins to brush out his tail.

"What happened to the body I made you?" Carmillia leans forward, tugging on the cuffs.

"I became a pet to a bunch of deities." Brian shrugs.

"Is the inspector with you?" Valerie smiles softly.

"Lyf?" Nastya pauses and nods. "He is with us, Aurora?" She pauses. "He's making lunch with Marius. As for Jonny and Tim, they are in the gardens taking a nap."

A familair figure rushed in. "Nastya?"

"Ashes!" Nastya smiles wide.

"Are you alright? We've been looking for a long time." Ashes grins. "You've got Jonny and Tim, I've missed them. Are they up for drinks?"

Nastya's face falls. "It would be easier to explain if you saw them in person." She can see the frustration grow on Ashes face.

"Ashes, that's enough." Valerie sighs and holds her hand up. "May we board?"

"Aurora, let them on." Nastya cuts the feed and covers her face

......

They were loud the moment they returned to the Aurora. It was like coming home, but everything was wrong. Nastya was alone to greet them.

"Where's everyone? What's with this lack luster welcoming party?" Ashes huffs and crosses heir arms. "Not that I'm not happy to see you. I expected a bullet to the brain or fire." They pause. "I can set something on fire."

Nastya looks at the others who come out. "Raphaella, TS, and Ivy. It's nice to see you."

"Where is everyone?" Ivy frowns. "There is a 65% chance Jonny and Tim are causing damage to the Aurora. A 45% chance Marius and Lyf are having sex somewhere, and an 85% chance Brian is in the gardens."

"You wouldn't be right." Jonny sighs. Tim was behind him. "It is nice to see you guys again." He looked exhausted. "Have you guys been having fun?" He's wearing his goggles and had a book in his hand. His signature belts were gone, and he was in casual, comfortable clothes.

Tim still had shirt hair and a perfectly trimmed beard. He was in a plain t-shirt with dirt stains. He was in shorts, and vines traveled his arms and legs and into his skin. He smiles and waves opening his mouth to produce a rasp.

"Tim can't talk anymore. He's also radioactive. You can find him by following the dried plant footprints." Nastya sighs. "Jonny, have you seen Marius?"

"He's not lucid if that's what you're asking." Jonny frowns. "Lyf is doing some chores while he plays. It's a happy tune, though."

"What do you mean by not lucid?" Raphaella cautiously moves forward. "I don't think... actually, I don't think Tim knows who we are."

Ashes stomps forward, startling Raphaella, and Jonny stops them from touching Tim.

"Leave them be." Jonny sighs. "There isn't a point to hurt him."

"What happened to you?" Ashes stares at him.

Jonny shrugs. "I'm just a bit tired."

Valerie steps forward. "Of course you are." She smiles sadly and holds out her hand. "How about a walk?"

Jonny nods and takes her hand. "May I take Tim with us?"

"Whatever you wish, Sand Skipper." Valerie takes his hand, and they go down the halls. Tim follows behind without a word.

Ashes are fuming, and Ivy stops them from shooting. "What has gotten into everyone one? This isn't right. We've been seporated before, for eons, and we never ended up like this. We aren't supposed to be broken. We've been through worse, so what if we didn't truly die?"

.......

The faint violin music alerted Ivy from her library. It wasn't Nastya she didn't have her violin. Well, it was still in here. They said Marius is here, but none of them have caught him in the halls of Aurora. At least Lyf has made sure of that. Curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she might as well see what had happened to him.

Marius looked the same, except for his clothes, they were purposely soft, it seemed. He was walking around playing.

Ivy clears her throat.

Marius seems to pause and drop his violin to his side. "Hello!" He turns and smiles.

"Hello Marius." Ivy keeps a neutral expression.

"You know me." Marius tilts his head.

"Of course I do. There is a 57.92% chance this is a game." Ivy's voice was emotionless.

Marius pauses no look of recognition in his eyes. "I'm waiting for my friends to find me. Would you like to wait with me?"

Ivy's face morphed to confusion. "Marius, you know me. I'm Ivy. You spend hours in my library looking at romance novels and bad poetry."

Marius seems to lose focus. "You seem very nice, miss, but I have to get back to waiting. I'm sure my friends will be back here soon." He brings the violin back up.

Ivy slaps the instrument out of Marius's hands. "No! NO NO NO!" She can feel sparks fly from her head. "You are Doctor Baron Marius Von Raum, who is neither a baron or a doctor, and my friend. You are my friend." She felt emotions swirl in her head things she can remember truly feeling since before her mind was mechanized.

Marius's eyes seem to lose their hue. He summons another violin and begins to play. He slowly starts to walk in a random direction. The music is haunting.

Ivy is shaking. "Don't just walk away! Don't... Don't.... I didn't mean to leave." She begins to follow Marius. "I think my mechanism is malfunctioning." She can feel something leak from her eyes, and she didn't know her species could cry. She didn't know she was still capable of crying.

.......

Jonny was reading to him in the garden before the sound of a gunshot, and he was splattered with bits of blood, bone, flesh, and brain. Jonny was reading to him, and now he slumped over, and his head was gone. Jonny was ready to him, and now they were talking, boasting about how finally this would get fun get normal.

Tim reached out like a child who didn't know any better and gently shook Jonny in vain. They were still laughing and talking. Jonny didn't move, Jonny was gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. He watched. That's what he did he just watched. Why did he watch? Why? Why?whywhywhywhywhy? He was good. He had to be good.

Bad gets replaced.

Bad gets punished.

Bad loses.

They stopped making noise when the roots settled. They made a very good trophy. They had useless metal. They didn't need it. They were taken care of. He did good. He will watch now. He is the watcher, that is what he does, and he is good.

"Tim?"

He stared at the tree twisted red roots, and fruit bloody dripped from the thick branches.

"Tim."

The leaves were white like bone, and the thorns were sharp teeth. The veins pulsed as the tree flourished.

"Tim!"

He stumbles back as Jonny pulls him from his roots and his feet bleed. It hurt. Aurora asked him not to make roots. He frowns, staring at the tree, red dripped from the massive towering twisted thing.

"Tim." Jonny's voice was soft. "Tim, can you hear me?"

He adjusted his gaze. Jonny was back. His head grew back. He forgot something important. He... he didn't know who Tim was. He should know who Tim is. He wanted to listen to a story. A story about the moon. He opens his mouth as a silent rasp leaves his lips.

Jonny pulls Tim into a tight hug. "I'm ok. I'm always ok. We have eternity, don't you remember?"

He rasps again, trying to ask for the story about the moon. Jonny knows it. Jonny can tell him who Tim is. His eyes... his eyes grew deeper roots.

Jonny smiles. "Ashes is fine, too. They left, and they went to get Raphaella. She'll be excited to experiment with this." He pulls Tim along. "Come on, I'll help you clean up. We can take a nap after, and then I'll find a better story to read to you."

He follows along, holding on tightly to Jonny's hand. Jonny will tell him. Jonny always had stories to tell. He'll know who Tim is.

.......

New rules were written. New rules bathed in blood and pain.

Ashes stared at the new rule list nailed to the wall of the commons. Their limbs still felt wrong. They didn't understand what happened, that... that tree was still there. A stark reminder of change. They didn't find them fast enough. They turned their gaze to Raphaella, who was watching them.

"Did it hurt?" Raphaella almost sounded innocent.

"Of course it did." Ashes sighs. "You can test it if you so desire."

"I think I want to give Tim his voice back." Raphaella was nervous. "Human vocal cords can recover disuse. His has not. I want to know why. Will you.... will you help me?" She held an old spark in her eyes.

Ashes smiles softly. "I would love to."