#THERES TOO MANY CHOICES TOO MANY OPPORTUNITIES TOO MANY THINGS TO CONSIDER | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

messiahman69 · 3 years ago

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eight pages of single spaced smt v ranting/rambling now that im done with the game (more like whining about missed opportunities/potential)

SMT V

was one of my most anticipated game releases for this year. SMT is a beloved franchise for me due to its handling of concepts and mature themes that I have not seen explored in other rpgs handled in such a way. Which concepts and what themes? Well for one, people die (nothing new to jrpgs i know), Or at least when characters tend to die in smt iv (Issachar) and smt strange journey (the crew of the arctic expedition the main character is a part of), their deaths are not taken lightly �� death and criticisms of how the world is governed in its overall treatment of people seem to be themes that are tackled in the smt franchise– especially when it comes to the “routes” aka the multiple endings the games are known to have.

Most smt games boast three factions, law chaos and neutral– most smt fans know what each route implicates. But for the rare rare unfamiliar with smt person reading this. Law and chaos tend to be extremist takes on how society should be ran. Law boasts totalitarianism and loss of individuality all for the sake of maintaining a utopian peace (and theres angels running it all too, working underneath a very strict God), chaos tends to favor what the name implies – a lawless land where might makes right and if you want something then use your fists and willpower to overcome any obstacles (demons run rampant in this one) while the “neutral” route tends to be a human safe option, where neither law nor chaos win – but it is never portrayed as a good end since it is just an extension of the status quo and the factors that led to the events of a smt game taking place. I feel as though smt challenges the player to question what pushes people to make extreme decisions. It asks what would you do if your values and beliefs were tested to their limits. Most games featuring a cast of characters that eventually start to drift as the apocalyptic circumstances force them to fight for their beliefs or die on the spot.

Unfortunately, smt v is a game that is missing these weighty choices and changes of character that the cast of smt games are known to go through when face to face with life or death circumstances.

Im actually pretty impressed with its remixed versions of the typical law, chaos, and neutral routes

Actually now that I think about it law is more or less the same

But law is not even shown to have a utopian spin to it, but rather smt v seems to push law as the faction for people that don’t like to think for themselves and would rather have another being make choices for them, and that’s literally it.

Which is a shame because law is a lot more than that, and this game only shows that loss of independence side of law, I don’t even like law but here I am advocating for it. Law in previous games seem to be a good and decent option to consider if one wants to live in perpetual peace.

Chaos in this game is now I almost want to say the same as how the world is now, which is to say inhabited by many gods. Which I find confusing since all these gods is why there is so much fighting, the game doesn’t really explain why an extension of more fighting amongst gods is a good thing. Nor does the chaos route explain how the reign of myriad Japanese gods will be an improvement. Actually what bothered me most about that route (and to some extent the game itself) is the lack of attention given the rest of the world. We are told that Tokyo is basically in a state of decay since it is literally Tokyo after the conception happened in smt 3. We are never told how the rest of the world is taking this conception. I would have been fine not knowing or caring about the rest of the world if this game did not feature the other gods from bethel.

If this game had said that the rest of the world exploded thanks to the conception, I would be fine, but we are shown zeus representing Greece, odin representing … Nordic European nations? Whatever, and Vasuki/shiva representing india. Are we ever told how those nations, or those representatives are handling their respective societies? Nope! I really wish the routes in the game were focused on letting you side with the factions of bethel (I would sign up with india) but sadly that is not a choice as you are tasked with killing rather than talking to each representative not too long after the bethel summit section of the game

These characters should have been given so much more care in terms of their character, views, even boss music – unfortunately you just murder them in some boring winter outdoors area, nothing special like the fight with shiva – which I wish each representative got a special stage and fight to emphasize their country of origin.

Your choices in smt v may as well not even matter – the only punishment you get is in a side quest that charges you money if your choices do not match with what route you end up with. Your human cast of characters don’t really care about what you say, their view of you does not change, and the events still happen as normal until the last hour and a half of gameplay (and that’s just because of some boss fights changing, and the final boss as well)

Speaking of, fuck all pretenses of trying to type calmly I just want to rant

How come I can’t fight lucifer if I go neutral, the other routes get to fight lucifer and they don’t have to complete a billion side quests and beat shiva (just learned shiva is a requirement for the lucifer fight in smt v neutral??)

Also each route sucks ass

How is neutral going to coincide with yakumo and nuwa? Yakumo literally tells you he thinks weaker people should just die off and for a while I thought he was pushing for chaos but nope! Mr “I think only Japan and Japan alone matters” is the real chaos guy but yuzuru only comes across as having tunnel vision and being extremely narrow minded. Nobody thinks to ask hey how is America doing right now (first off, fuck my cringe ass country, second I only bring up America because even smt 1 brings up America AND it has ties to odin, something I thought would be a recurring trend in this game since we have odin -- but doesn’t end up happening! Which is sad, that’s a missed opportunity for a reference and tie into smt 1, speaking of references

My god does this game love smt 3, I had high hopes for this game soley because the developers said they were aiming for another smt 3 like experience, which in my mind was like “great idea” as I love smt 3 for its bleak setting, pushed by very artistic dungeons and music, and the variety of npcs you come across and the human cast. This human cast, who really seem to be taking all this apocalypse stuff pretty appropriately ! like imagine for a second youre an unstable highschooler (who wasn’t) and your entire world has ended, no more family, school, nothing. And now you’re alone, isamu and chiaku are fantastic characters who develop their own sense of identity when coming to terms with what is happening to the world around them, and like I said I bring up smt 3 because the developers said they were using it as an inspiration for this game

They say inspiration but there is hardly a drop of atmosphere or depth in character writing in smt v that resembles what smt 3 held.

I am not asking for characters to be beside me the entire time, I am simply asking that they transform and adopt views they weren’t aware they had and embrace them. This cast of characters is so. So, bland???? Theyre dead fish

They don’t react to stimuli im sorry to say theyre so lame

Dazai and miyazu are the biggest culprits for being living corpses that won’t even flinch with a live taser pressed against their temples.

I remember being at such a loss that miyazu, nor the rest of the human high school students were stunned or amazed to be in the fairy forrest. Can you imagine standing next to oberon, THE oberon from Shakespeare and being like “I wish I was in bed right now” (ß one of the npc lines that stuck with me) and miyazu being like wow theyre so nice 😊 its like BITCH, YOU ARE IN A *FAIRY* FORREST. ARE YOU NOT IMPRESSED? OR AMAZED TO LEARN THAT FAIRIES EXIST? THERE IS A TALKING JACK O LANTERN RIGHT NEXT TO YOU, you could say wow this is like a fairy tale come to life, nope nope none of that, no , observations are none whatsoever just “wow they healed us and thanks for looking out for my brother” (her brother, who is entirely capable of taking care of himself) and what gets to me is that miyazu doesn’t question anything, was she aware that her brother worked at bethel? How long has he been working for bethel? How does she feel about her brother working for bethel? Hello? Earth to miyazu? Nope. Nothing she says is note worthy in my head, maybe the line about wanting to be a nurse but

Like what? Also is her short life span the reason why yuzuru works for bethel? Are they helping him keep her alive? I guess not since its revealed that Khonsu was doing all that, and

God Khonsu what wasted potential

I was so looking forward to how Egypt was going to participate in an smt game! Egypt! Wow ! I was very excited at the prospect of Egyptian participation in my smt game (hes on the goddamn cover) but to have his entire character development happen off screen, he falls in love with a human, and she reciprocates to this in such a weird way like

Oh my that part towards the end of khonsus quest where he Is about to kill himself for miyazu – and the game gave me three options to stop him, do nothing, or a third option which I don’t even remember – I genuinely thought I was going to make the choice for miyazu who – is standing two feet away watching me have a pretty dramatic battle with the Egyptian God Ra in the buttcrack of a concrete building in oberons backyard (very . epic . setting to be fighting Ra. I know. ) miyazu did nothing lmao oh my god I was hoping khonsu would forcefully fuse himself with her without her consent but I guess for nahobinos to form it has to be mutual but imagine if you will, Khonsu willing to force himself upon miyazu with the intention of saving her life (which I mean I guess he was considering? But iris said that if he fused with her the nahobino wouldn’t be miyazu anymore and Khonsu was aware of that) still though a lot of wasted potential, actually what sucks a lot is that all of this Khonsu stuff is shoved in a SIDE QUEST. The guy on the cover art has character development off screen and this information is revealed by NPCs in a SIDE QUEST, an OPTIONAL SIDE QUEST. ONE that you can prematurely end if you decide to kill Khonsu on the spot after his boss battle (which I was considering doing since at the time, since I didn’t know if letting him live would have some kind of repercussion in my throne seeking adventure) but alas.

I don’t even like his design hes just a green dude, and if you look at iris shes awesome, even seth is this dragon thing but khonsus just a green lad. Fuck man ra and their design given all its importance suCKS,

Yuzuru sucks so bad man oh man, muh Japan. Muh rebuilding of Japan (hey bro hows the rest of humanity doin---MY JAPAN IS GOING TO DISSOLVE PROTAGONIST DO YOU NOT CARE—oh ok then) if this was a better game they would’ve written yuzuru as a racist and that would have been interesting but nah like I said he comes across as having tunnel vision and the game doesn’t really bother explaining why hes willing to work with bethel or fight for Japan other than some shallow “gotta save my home” vibe. Also he could not be any more bland I swear, the game shows you what a nahobino is capable of, how powerful they are, even yuzuru comments on your power, and then when hes told he can be one too, his reaction? …. Yuzurus reaction….? “wow” and that’s it, hes not even asking you, the protagonist, what its like to fuse with another being, he doesn’t care what its like for you, another nahobino what its like, how you feel about it, how it feels, nothing -- all he says is “I hope we don’t fight” pretty ominously in Ueno and its like ok??? What prompted that? since yuzuru and the protagonist are on pretty good terms practically the entire game. And by good terms I mean absolutely nothing gives you the chance to side against him even at that point when he says that. It comes off as an empty threat. If I was given the choice to run away from bethel I would have done it. Hell this game coulve vastly improved if aogami was more involved

Look, near the beginning aogami is taken to bethel to have his memories examined and to restore his memory function. That doesn’t happen ever again, tsukiyomi could have been a better villain (or character) if he displayed the same distrust that Abdiel expresses for us. We are literally a threat to his plans as a nahobino– and he could’ve side eyed us with suspicion and have aogami come for more frequent memory examinations as we grow in power – something I would be doing if I was concerned about a powerful potential ruiner of my plans. But nah, tsukiyomi is like youll side with us right protagonist? And doesn’t give me the option to do anything but listen and do as he says. Now again, im pulling this out of my ass as I write this, but I suspect his lack of suspicion IS because we fused with his “brother”

Actually what the fuck is aogami even – we are told that tsukiyomi fused some magatsuhi into artificial bodies, but aogami is mass produced, and he barely seems to hold a will of his own, so by fusing with aogami are we seen as being more – robotic? Willing to follow orders? The nature of our fusion isn’t exactly addressed – like I don’t know if the protagonists actions are influenced by aogamis will and our fusing with him, but nothing in the game suggests a conflict of interest between the actions of aogami and the protagonist (would be interesting if aogami stopped our hand in the middle of killing tsukiyomi…..more wasted potential)

Oh my god speaking of – the demon king in that dungeon being mr vagina vulva was sooooo lame, I was hoping lucifer would have a more direct role in the game considering as how this game is practically nocturne 2 electric bugaloo but nah lucifer stays hiding like a coward the entire game – like do you know how active that guy was in checking in on us in nocturne?

Actually we get zero character interaction in general, and no im not counting tao’s return as character interaction, shes a pathetic excuse of a saint. In smt saints are usually beings with massive importance, which smt v got the memo for but it forgot to include the fact that the saint of smt 3 was heavily sad over her lack of power and lack to do anything. Yuko was nothing but an instrument for the worlds demise and left to be a bystander afterwards, unable and incapable of shaping the world to how she deems fit as she is unable to obtain Reason like Chiaki and isamu could. God that was cool. My god, man I did such a massive groan when they showed me super Saiyan tao I was like are you serious what even happened to you and why are you returning to me

One possibility I just came up with now is her returning to us because of our nature as a nahobino, in which case why the fuck does she not side with yuzuru when I reject the concept of recreating the world in the neutral route – would that not be fitting ? seeing as how she literally fucks off when I tell her im not interested in remaking the world? Oh youre so lofty and holy and powerful wow, ok bye she just flew off never to be seen again for the rest of the game LOL oh wait didn’t she kinda fuse with us by giving up her life for us? Im making up reasons because as much as the game likes to spell out stuff for me sometimes it really doesn’t do it for questions im genuinely wondering

Actually we aren’t told anything about taos backstory she says she had powers when she was little and worked with bethel when she was young but what does that even imply, did tsukiyomi seek you out when you were a kid, are you an orphan, where is your family, how do you feel about the conception, what the fuck did you do when u worked for bethel even – none of this is brought up.

I hate to say it but dazai is the only written character and his arc is PATHETIC

Dude I was laughing so HARD when he swept his hair back like what where did that come from why are you acting like a villain???? They tried to make him villain coded and his entire character to that point has been sniveling whining cowardly bufonon, and even that’s not enough for me to accept his view that someone else should handle his decision making because he was actually handling himself pretty well in the location leading up to the demon king castle and managed to make it in pretty far! All by himself and the demons that Abdiel provided him with, now we don’t see how he handles these demons in detail – maybe they did all the work for him who knows, but the fact of the matter is that for a character so insecure being given the opportunity to help Abdiel and advance in a dangerous location by himself would be more reason for him to gain confidence

Im writing all this because he does not change his ways despite all that, actually what pissed me off so much is his presence during the bethel summit, actually

Nobody stepped in for nahobino when Abdiel decided to fucking fight us, wouldn’t dazai or yuzuru step up for their former classmate about to die? Or tsukiyomi step in since we technically work for bethel Japan (and our death would mean the loss of a powerful asset)? Nothing happened! So after beating the shit out of Abdiel and so mercifully sparing her (not my choice to do that) after she tried to KILL me, dazai hobbles over like some decrepit dumbass and asks wahhh, im so sad protagonist, wont anyone think of wittle Abdiel, like bitch she just tried to kill me why don’t you ask me how im handling my bruises, and he asks me where she is, like zero concern for the protagonist – it doesn’t even matter if you tell him or not and his view of you does not change if you withhold this information

Actually dazai had zero concern at our first reunion in Da’at, and that should have been an indicator for how the rest of the game was going to handle yuzuru, dazai, and tao’s reactions to the protagonist

We all went to school together? Does nothing matter? I can see tao and yuzuru feeling detached about dazai and the protagonist since they have been known that the Tokyo we live in is a lie, but for dazai to have a similar disinterest really got to me. If anything it felt like a betrayal lol we were homies when we found out that Tokyo was fake , but omg dazai treats the falsehood of Tokyo and disappearance/unknown status of the rest of the world like it’s a Saturday cartoon – which again could be what they were trying to express with his character. But he doesn’t even say something stupid like, wait if Tokyo is fake how am I getting my super cool American imported camera for my youtube series, like, im begging for a crumb over here

His hobby as being a youtuber isn’t even expanded on, its just like a bow tie – just arbitrarily added on traits that serve only for…. Looks? I don’t know, none of this character information is brought up or referenced in any interesting important way – just like miyazus nurse ambitions, that’s not really addressed and nothing is leading up to that impression that she likes taking care of other people because the entire game before that reveal shes this meek stupid thing that cant speak up or do anything, shes not a go getter, or someone that takes care of people. Hell they could’ve just had her say I take care of yuzuru who is so hard working by making him lunch I don’t know.

How does 50 hours of gameplay have so much nothing, fuck man like I beat up nuwa and we get stopped by yakumo and he introduces himself and then they leave, ok? Later for no reason and with zero build up here comes yakumo again and hes back for?? Well the dialogue implies that nuwa wants to keep us alive (despite her wanting to kill us so badly when we first met) because we’re interesting, she does so by doing a stupid little saunter away and leaves us with yakumo who.. again I cant even remember why he wanted to kill us – I guess because he knew wed get in his way and he doesn’t like us because we are working for bethel ! hmph! (I wouldn’t be working with bethel if I had the choice)

SPEAKING OF CHARACTERS FUCK THAT STUPID RED MOTHERFUCKER GOKO WHAT THE HELL WAS HIS DEAL OTHER THAN BEING STUPID AND ORANGE AND STANDING AROUND MUTTERING SOME NONSENSE AND HUFFING HIS OWN FARTS IN A CORNER OF THE WORLD. Oh my god I was laughing really hard when I went neutral and blew up the throne and all he could do was idly stand by and be like “NO” LIKE THAT’S ALL DUDE?? DID YOU NOT KNOW I WAS GONNA DO THIS LMAO

He doesn’t stand by any side and probably licks pavement in his free time because he does fuck all the entire game I don’t know why they even added him in the game, the game could have replaced each of his appearances by a loud obnoxious fart sound effect and the game wouldn’t have changed because that’s how I felt like every time I had to interact with this bitch, just listening to him was akin to pressing my ear against some ass and hearing it rip because he didn’t contribute anything to anyone. I had to google what his deal is just now and hes actually Amitabha, a celestial buddha whos job is watching the world in wait for someone worthy to take the throne, which again I was hoping hed be a boss fight when I signed up to destroy the throne but nah he just idk stands there and thinks about how many toes he can shove in his mouth god idk what they even added him in for.

Speaking of yakumo again, I got his backstory or at least tid bits of it from npcs, that’s pretty lame. These guys again. Are on the cover of the game (at least nuwa is) and they get so little attention, nuwa just wiggles her ass here and there when shes involved in a scene and says barely anything of relevance (all she talks about is yakumo) oh wait she did explain how he acts once but that wasn’t even a cutscene it was just normal dialogue

SPEAKING OF, you know what deserved a cutscene – the reveal that aogami is susano-o. what a let down, they talk about it like its another Tuesday and afterwards aogami doesn’t address this and you as the protagonist aren’t given a choice to ask about anything, I have a feeling even Flynn was allowed to ask some plot heavy stuff when the game gave him the choice :/

My biggest struggle is trying to verbalize why and how nocturne did what smt v did but way better. They have the same amount of character interaction I feel like, and nobody really interacted with demifiend for a majority of the game. But it hits different, maybe it’s the massive changes everyone went through as you yourself were busy galivanting around trying to survive I don’t know, but now that I think on it, the characters of smt 3 were actively in the plot – Chiaki fuses with gozu tennou, isamu fuses with a bunch of similarly depressed spirits in the amala network – they do this because their views on life changes as soon as they stick around post conception Tokyo and come to terms with the fact that they cannot go back to the Tokyo they once knew. I always looked forward to my next run in with character in that game because they would kind of update you on stuff. Hell even isamu is like bro why didn’t you save me when I was in thors stupid chaos jail cell and kinda guilts you over it before he fucks off to the amala network.

Wait why did yakumo even break into the medical lab at bethel god….. all I know is he handed out demon summoning programs to people in Tokyo but that still doesn’t get addressed or go anywhere

Also no Stephen 0/10 game

The axiom is not brought up, Stephen given all his importance in the diamond realm dlc isn’t brought up (maybe hes gonna be dlc again), ugh, the events of smt 4a are not addressed. I was really hoping he would be here to address the franchises biggest mysteries but I guess silly redesign lucifer does that as a lore dump in the final 30 min of gameplay lmao

Lucifers redesign is OK, that’s it. I don’t like his legs, this is going into the subjective zone though and if you like lucifers redesign then that’s ok, im just kind of disappointed because it has one of the things I don’t like about doi’s demon designs and that’s having a bunch of useless lines all over the demon’s body (take a look at loup garrous arms, or redesigned smt 4a satan’s chest)

Wait a second smt v lucifer and smt 4a lucifer have the same stupid stubby legs what gives…anyways I also dislike smt 4a’s satan, silly big hands, non functional wings? Whatever im going into my subjective tastes too much..

Nahobino as a concept is very interesting and I wish it was expanded on more, for example, was the being that lucifer killed also a nahobino before he ascended? I think its implied yes but that still doesn’t cover the axiom/great will’s role in all this. And I very much love how our existence is a constant nuisance to Abdiel since if god were alive then the formation of a nahobino would not be possible and it could be that every time she looks at us she is reminded that the death of god could very well be real and is something she is trying not to address or come to terms with.

For no reason I want to bring up that I dislike amanozako

No reason why, I just cant stand her, she is another goko to me and every word out of her mouth is flatulence to my ears. I think she comes across as doing fake mannerisms, which even she points out at the end of her questline like “oh whoops teehee did I reveal I was trying to use you like a bodyguard” and im like girl this has been obvious with your annoying ass the second we met why are you acting like it worked oh that’s right I have zero input regarding anything as a silent protagonist.

Da’at environments needed some kind of diversity, I can only go through so much sand and listen to bland weird trumpet horn and not lose my mind. It took until Taito for me to start enjoying the overworld AND its music combined, every other area I felt like I was trudging miserably (while still having fun finding treasures ß probably my first compliment of the game) oh yeah and fairy forest was nice but I hesitate to call it a forest, its more like a sad river with all the npcs shoved in one corner and the rest is whatever, but please like even dark souls (yeah yeah I know why bring up that) has cool environments – evil swamp, shady dark forrest, CAVES, spider nest, CASTLE (I guess smt v had the demon king castle but it felt like a series of weird red corridors and funny air vents),

Ok im tired I literally cant see myself writing more about this I cannot give a fuck I would die for aogami I wish he said more stuff in game but hes a sweety and I don’t understand the dedication maybe its his programming but

Wait why was aogami sent to fuse with the protagonist in particular and not someone like dazai I don’t get it. Ugh. Another thing not addressed. I was ready to abandon each route for aogami but I wasn’t prepared for him to die for me and by die I mean cancel out the existence of demons

Hang on that’s an issue I have with this game none of the demons seem to give a single FUCK about their surroundings, the ones in smt 3 were like oh wait are we fighting with the ones from hijiri right now? And theyd be like omg whats happening, but here they really really don’t care, um,

Yeah but I guess aogami is our himbo burroughs who loves us because even burroughs didn’t seem that into it when you decide to side with the white and kept giving you status updates on the reactor thing u were beating the shit out of on how damaged it was but aogami was like. My own death? Sign me the fuck up (he does say he would have done the same actions if u go to true neutral ending tho) um.

Yea no Stephen 0/10 miss that motherfucker

(my actual rating for smt v would be a 5/10 – the gameplay is SO FUN. I loved exploring, I loved demon fusions, I love running around, getting lost.. one entire point is awarded for shiva’s tandava animation and boss music lol)

#probably has hella spelling and grammar errors i dont care

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dajaregambler · 4 years ago

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HeliosR - Gast Adler Card story “Preparations in advance are important”

Translation of Gast Adler’s 4* “THE LINK OF GUNSLINGER ” card story from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’.

Thanks to anon for providing me with the raws!

Gast: Hhmmm~....

Ren: ……..

Gast: Uuuhhhmmmnnn….

Marion: Gast, you’ve been constantly making noise. Go to your own room to sit and groan if that’s what you want to do.

Gast: Ah, m’bad. Was just thinking ‘bout stuff

Marion: About what? The shooting tournament has ended already, hasn’t it. Is there anything else you’re worrying about?

Ren: Is it about these guys of yours again?

Gast: Naaah c’mon, even I got a thing or two weighing on my mind!

Gast: I actually…. got an offer for an interview.

Marion: From the public relations department?

Gast: Well, from a magazine. One specialized in small arms

Gast: They came off on me after the shooting tournament ‘cuz they want to do a feature ‘bout me

Marion: What, it’s just an interview

Marion: Isn’t it a good opportunity to raise the appeal of our team. What are you worried for?

Gast: Don’t say it as if it’s nothing. It’s my first time doin’ one, which is making me nervous….

Ren: Can’t believe that you’re not good at interviews. You’re always going off rambling about even when no one asked for it.

Marion: Even though there weren’t any problems with the public relations department’s interview right after being admitted?

Gast: Well, that’s more work-related?

Marion: This is for work too. There’ll be countless chances to take interviews as long as you’re a hero.

Marion: I had taken an interview as… part of the special mission from the other day, but I had thought of it as a hero’s job and did it.

Marion: Go fulfill your duty as expected from a hero. It’s an order.

Gast: Uuh, uuuuh…. understood

Gast: Wait, Ren! Don’tcha wanna do this interview together?

Ren: I refuse. You’re the one that got asked to, remember.

Ren: And neither is it my strong point too.

Gast: Don’t say that, we’ll get over this togethe----

Ren: I’m going back to my room

Marion: Me too

Gast: Wai- let’s figure something out together!

Gast: ….Haaah. What to do…..

Gast: Gotta make up my mind though….

Gast: Haaaaah~~~

Victor: Oh my, that’s quite a sigh.

Gast: Doctor!? Why’re you here!?

Victor: I’ve come to fetch a sample that I’m keeping in my room.

Victor: And, this is also where my room is so no need to be that surprised.

Gast: Yeah, that’s right. No I mean, it’s ‘cuz lately I haven’t been seein’ you around here….

Victor: Either way, any reason as to why you’re sighing that much for?

Victor: I’m merely asking out of curiosity rather than concern, though.

Gast: Haha…. Nice that you get straight to the point, ain’t it

Gast: Well, actually…

---

Victor: I see, an interview for a magazine….

Gast: You’ve got used to doing ‘em, right Doc?

Victor: Indeed. I’ve taken interviews for various media in the name of being a researcher, rather than a hero.

Gast: So you do need to have buncha experience to be good at givin’ answers?

Victor: Being prepared in advance is more important than experience, if anything.

Victor: When it comes for magazine interviews you can form a rough outline on what you’d be asked, which is why memorizing anticipated questions and answers serves as an advantage.

Gast: Right… anticipated questions, huh

Victor: If you’d like to, we could perform a simulation of an interview? I will be taking care of the questions.

Gast: Eh? Is that fine? Ain’t you busy right now?

Victor: Lately I’ve been persevering despite my fatigue. Taking a short breather ought to help.

Gast: Then, I’ll take you up on the offer…. Thanks, Doc

Victor: Not at all

Victor: Now, the first question. While you’re in battle your weapon of choice is the rifle, but is it also used on a regular basis?

Gast: Um….right. I got various types when it comes to small arms in general, each one of ‘em are part of my treasured collection but, the rifle’s gotta be my first choice

Gast: It’s a pleasant feeling when I’m putting my mind into it and hitting a far-away target…. Pretty much love that kinda tension

Victor: Hm, I see

Victor: I’ve taken a look at your profile and noticed that you’ve listed darts as your hobby. Would you consider that shooting and darts are similar to each other?

Gast: Eh, darts?

Victor: If there’s any information open to the public about you as a hero, it might unexpectedly be brought as a topic during an interview.

Gast: Really…...

Gast: Um, darts, eh…. Right, it’s the same in the sense that you need to determine where to focus and aim at.

Gast: It’s that kinda pleasant feeling, like I’ve accomplished somethin’ when I get it onto the point…. It’s what makes it fun and maybe gets you hooked on it

Victor: I see. Thank you very much.

Gast: (Seriously feels like Doc got all the practice in…..)

Gast: (If the real deal’s gonna be like this then I’d be able to pull it off)

Victor: Although you make use of a gun during combat, you do thrive in hand-to-hand combat too, right? Would you say that you have a sturdy body that’s able to withstand pain?

Gast: EH!? Sturdy, body?

Gast: Uh, yeah…. Well, I’ve been working out since I was a kid, and had that time where I was a bit of a rascal, think I’m more solid than some others

Victor: Do you think of wanting to succeed as a hero for the sake of the people, of the world?

Gast: Y-yeah that's obvious! Theres times where Im still unsure about what I can do as a hero though….

Victor: But there are many things that you’re capable of doing? For the sake of the people and the world, there is something that requires your cooperation.

Gast: Oh, if it’s somethin’ I can do then I’ll help

Victor: Is that so. Fufu, to be honest I have invented a new machine. Which is why I wanted to ask someone to test it for me.

Gast: !? Did you just lead me on to become a guinea pig right there!?

Gast: No no NO way! That answer does NOT count!!!!!!!!

Ren: Oi, shut up

Marion: Why are you making so much noi-..... huh, Victor?

Victor: He told me that he had been asked to do an interview. Thus I had accompanied him for a simulation.

Victor: It seemed that he had been worried about the interview, yet the answers came out smoothly, which should mean that he’ll be able to face it with no problems.

Marion & Ren: ………………

Victor: Gast. I’ll consult you another time for what we talked about earlier.

Gast: Noooo no no, I said it didn’t count!?

Gast: (.....But, thanks to Doc I feel like my nerves calmed down a lil’. It was more or less a simulation, right?)

Gast: (No way it’ll end up the way it did now, so I’ll just take it easy♪)

#heliosR #helios rising heroes #gast adler #victor valentine #ren kisaragi #marion blythe

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astrologista · 4 years ago

Text

jason stop dying

ooooook i just watched ditf. it was PRETTY GOOD.... i only wish there was MOOORE! watching this REALLY brought me back to 2011 times to see it and i think they did a good job with most of the character design and animations insofar as matching it to the original. (maybe i’m totally wrong but i thought it looked good for the most part... also i just really love these character designs in particular). obviously the budget is not what it would be on a feature, so there are a LOT of places where animation gets recycled and many still frames. some parts are basically a slideshow lol. but i only sort of came to that realization awhile after watching, so i think they did a fairly good job of masking this... ymmv

so let’s get into it!!!

SPOILERS a-head! do not read until you’ve watched it because i’ll spoil everything

now obviously the thing to be aware of if you are not is the fact that this adaptation is not a panel-by-panel adaptation of the original death in the family comic. all references to jason’s mother (save one mention of her dying of illness) are completely removed, they go to bosnia instead of africa, and the circumstances around jason leaving are also heavily altered to fit the new narrative. this adaptation does slot perfectly into the universe established by the under the red hood animated movie from 2011 though, without which one would be pretty confused when watching this. it’s kind of a mystery as to why they didn’t just package this with utrh and release the entire thing as a collectors edition. instead they package it with like 4 or 5 unrelated dc showcase shorts which makes absolutely 0 sense but go off i guess. anyway

i liked that they took the time to adapt the scene from the original ditf where bruce is talking to alfred about jason! (i do not like that alfred didn’t get any lines. bad choice). tbh i can’t understand why they bothered showing us alfred, barbara and dick if they weren’t gonna give them any lines..... like come on........??

HOW INTENSE BRUCE LOOKS WHEN HE FINDS JASON IN SARAJEVO and just. grabs him lol. hes smad :)

ok so one two skip a few and we get to the first branch. instead of calling 1-900 we now get to choose whether jason lives or dies. there are 7 possible endings i think i got em all so let’s see what we got here.

“Hush” Route - Robin cheats death

hgrgdggr. i definitely think this is one of the more interesting endings, if not the most interesting one. this is also the only ending in which both bruce and jason survive the bombing. bruce is still too late, but this time jason barely clings to life and survives. as a hurt/comfort fan i was 100% on this shit from the word go but then jason? runs away from home lmao lmao i thought that was SO funny because 1) hes super messed up, how is he able to just literally run out the house that is SO funny to me and 2) implying that bruce would ever not be keeping an eye on him after that is just, lmao. it’s so zany. i call this the “hush” route because of the bandages but there are no other references to hush so ok. that’s fair. so anyway jason is now angsty for loosely explained reasons but the most fun part is yet to come.

when talia showed up, i really thought / was terrified for a second that they were gonna bring up certain “events” regarding damian’s parentage / who damian’s father is but then she mentioned bruce and i was like OH THANK GOD WE CAN STILL GO TO HEAVEN. i am so so grateful to the writers for NOT going there. cuz it was damn close ok. im not sure what the implication of this route is in terms of talia, jason and damian being a family unit but i want to believe talia sees jason as a son and damian’s brother (which is how she refers to him, damian’s brother) and not... yknow. i mean. jason raising a baby is kind of like a baby raising a baby...

no actually the reality of this scene is really dfuckin interesting like. they actually go with the “birth of the demon” (forget if it was birth of the demon or bride of the demon. one of those.) explanation for damian and that is something i’ve NEVER seen adapted so whoever wrote this can have a cookie and i kNOW this is something a certain someone will appreciate :)

not only that but the implications? are interesting? so talia’s claim is she miscarried so bruce won’t have to “choose” between damian and jason and idk if she’s supposed to be all on the-up-and-up in this universe but. i’m sitting here like GIRL YOU DON’T GOTTA DO THIS HE HAS A PRIVATE JET HAVEN’T YOU HEARD OF SHARED CUSTODY and BETTER YET HE HAS A MANSION JUST GO ON MAURY AND GET THIS SORTED OUT RIGHT NOWwwww

i’m also LAUGHING at the implications of jason thinking theres anywhere on earth that he’s going to go and hide damian’s existence from bruce. because you already know he’s just going to be tearing the planet apart looking for jason so this is actually hilarious. imagine he finds jason in one piece and also a baby. his baby. he’d be like (@ talia) “OMG WHY WOULD YOU THINK I WOULDN’T WANT THEM BOTH u are tearing me apart talia......” BUT THEN HE WOULD BE SO FREAKING HAPPY BECAUSE HE HAS TWO ALIVE SONS AND HE THOUGHT THEY WERE BOTH DEAD / (lost to crime)!!!

please lord imagine all of jason’s angst probably just originating from the fact that he has a brain injury that hasn’t fully healed and the trauma of going through all those surgeries probably gave him a lot of fear / paranoia about bruce and associating him with the joker because his neural pathways are all messed up but after he leaves he starts slowly healing back and regaining some of his lost sanity and thats when he realizes he misses bruce so much... but hes also raising his child... and every day it gets more difficult for him not to just take damian and bring him home and i ;v;

anyway i thought this route, while it had a few inconsistencies in it, was really freaking interesting and it gave me feels and plot bunnies and is probably the one i want to write about the MOST despite the fact that baby damian looks like a character from one of those web flash games in this lol

“True” End - Jason Dies

now if you select that jason dies the route basically defaults to the canon of under the red hood and the fact that utrh does not come packaged with this movie is a rather mystifying choice to me as i don’t think this adaptation would stand on its own very well. like you need quite a bit of background to really get anything out of watching this on its own, which is probably why it’s classified as a “short” and not as its own movie.

instead of showing all of utrh, it seems they took the opportunity to give a ~30 minute recap of utrh with basically entirely reused animation but they allow bruce to sort of. give his dvd commentary over it.

the biggest feeling i have on this is that it’s sad that they had to waste 30 minutes like this that could’ve been used to do something new and much more interesting, but honestly i’m not mad. it seems kind of obvious that this choice was probably made for budget and/or runtime reasons because a short does not get the same budget set aside as a full length feature film does. so they basically took the option of recycling 30 minutes of animation from the movie and dubbing new audio over it.

in evangelion they ran out of budget and that’s why the last two episodes consist of nothing more than still pencil drawings and frames while the characters engage in philosophical debates concerning the nature of reality and human connection. and i really enjoyed that. and for the same reasons, i also really enjoyed this.

i enjoyed seeing the clark kent of this universe. i enjoyed that he was basically out on a date with bruce. i enjoyed that bruce was willing to open up for once and tell clark all of what happened with jason. but what really makes this segment shine bright are bruce greenwood’s line reads. there are SO MANY good line reads in here. and i LOVED how many times he said the word “son”. very wholesome. the way he describes how he felt during the final fight with jason? probs my favorite FUCKING part.

and then him and clark joking together about contingency plans and then they’re going to work together to find jason and i ;_; this is probably the closest thing to a “good” ending but as a continuation of utrh i thought it worked really well. i really want to believe that bruce and clark did find jason in this route and that there was some closure in the end even though we didn’t get to see it.

including clark in this was DEFINITELY the right move as well, considering that he played a rather large role in the original ditf so it’s a welcome nod.

The rest of the branches exist under a separate option where Bruce makes it in time to save Jason from the warehouse... but Bruce dies......... :O

let me tell you bout it... bruce’s fucking DEATH SCENE i don’t know WHAT my man bruce greenwood is on, but the freaking LINE READS in this dialogue had me making INHUMAN NOISES. LIKE NOT ONLY WAS THE DIALOGUE GOOD, NOT ONLY DID HE SAY “I LOVE YOU, SON”, but this man is just an amazing actor. not just voice actor, but actor. he really really really really gave it the most i don’t know how else to say it....... it was very very well done and punched me sideways in the heart and i haven’t recovered and i’m not going to recover. and

ok so once we get past that.... scene.... u have to choose whether you’re going to catch the joker or kill the joker. bruce asks jason to promise not to kill the joker but technically jason doesn’t promise so........

Let’s start by choosing to kill the Joker. Jason attends Bruce’s funeral and various members of the Justice League show up to talk with him and just generally hang out. He has Alfred, Dick and Barbara as his support system, but Jason has some other plans.

This leads to a scene in a cafe where Jason meets with a man who... something something Killing Joke, flashlight, more Barbara being used as a plot device when she deserves better, Jason kills the Joker with a butter knife.

Once you do this you can choose to surrender to the police, or retaliate and escape.

Jailbird Ending

basically if you surrender to the police jason ends up in prison where he can actually attack even more criminals so.... ya

If you retaliate and escape instead you go to the Red Robin route where Jason becomes a vigilante who kills people much like the Red Hood and you get a further choice in a fight with Two Face where you can control how Harvey’s coin lands.

Tim Ending!

If you choose the coin to land clean face up, the thing rewards you by having Tim show up and I forgot what happened (wasn’t really paying attention lol) because i was so focused on TIM!

Prolly they felt sorry for him what with Jason stealing what is essentially his outfit (ok I know it was Jason’s first, but Tim made it cool) so they let a little baby tim have an appearance :) he’s very smol

I guess in this ending Jason gets reintegrated with the family somehow and Tim becomes “Bat-kid” which is hilarious to me but you know what it’s cute. CUTE.

The one ending where the coin lands scarred side up

i honestly forget what happens if you choose to have the coin land scarred side up but let me just say this is a FUCKED route to take, not only have you had jason survive and bruce die, you’ve now chosen to kill the joker against bruce’s dying wish, you’ve chosen to attack the police, and at the end of that you really are gonna choose harvey’s coin to be scarred face up???? choosing this made me feel like a DICK because here i am supporting jason’s whole fall to madness and villainy thing the way it wants me to and now he’s gonna die HERE? i hate it here.

interestingly enough he doesn’t actually die in this route. he ends up at home with barbara and dick while dealing with the fact that he killed the joker but the route ends with jason saying “i promise” so i guess this is supposed to be kinda sad. im so confused lol ok

So that is all the options if you choose to kill the joker, I believe. You can also make the choice to just catch him instead of killing him but amazingly enough, those routes are even more FUCKED up.

If you do this option Jason goes home, mourns Bruce with Dick, Barbara and Alfred, and becomes Red Hood BUT with a twist, he’s entirely on a bloodless operation in line with Bruce’s wishes. OR.... IS HE?

Things then follow the events of UTRH until the scene on the bridge with the van and the guys. Jason finally confronts Joker, who reveals the truth.

Apparently in this route Jason has actually been killing and decapitating his victims just like in the original movie, but he’s repressed it so as to not even realize to himself that he’s doing it.

that is FUCKED. also. i wanna cry because jason doing all of that stuff but not even realizing it ;------; jason blocking it out, because he wanted to honor bruce’s wishes for him not to kill anyone ;______; but he’s doing it anyway ;_____; he’s actually hearing voices telling him to kill ;____; like it’s a very cheap twist in a sense and also really quite cruel but.... damn, son.

There is a branch here where you can choose to spare or kill the Joker at this point (UNDERTALE???) but from what I can tell it seems to be totally meaningless what choice you pick because you end up at the exact same point either way, I think there’s a small variation in what happens after you make the choice but after that they just coalesce back together into the following two endings. Which seems incredibly cheap to me, I mean making a choice like that should alter Jason’s path completely but, it doesn’t! So... ooook....

Either way Jason ends up on the Wayne building and Talia shows up with a re-animated Bruce from the pit. Here’s another fun blast from the 2011 past with more gratuitous Grant Morrison dreck, remember that shit? Well, they’re gonna jam it down your throat here, too.

The reanimated Bruce is the Zur En Arrh Bruce and he’s already dead so this is all meaningless but basically Jason fights him and you get to choose whether everybody lives or dies.

Zur En Arrh - Everyone Lives!

if you pick this, jason actually gets the re-animated bruce back to the batcave and they lock him up down there because he’s still pit-mad and the prognosis is not great. but i’m not sure what they expected, he is the zur-en-arrh guy so I don’t think he’s getting better.

Zur En Arrh - Everyone Dies!

pretty much there’s an explosion and all three of them die and that’s it

I think that should be all the possible endings there are.

By the way the different ways in which black mask dies in this was actually a fairly clever running gag lollll. let that mf burn we don’t need no water.

overall there are a couple of things i would have done to SIGNIFICANTLY improve this adaptation beyond some of the obvious ones.

- the fact that all of the branching options are branched exclusively under the “jason lives and bruce dies” branch is a huge wasted opportunity. imo this is the most egregious problem with this, i was really looking for a more balanced tree / explanation of different things. i am probably super biased though being a fic writer and used to fic, we’re the ones making huge ass trees every day lol.

- the fact that there is no “good” ending here is something i kind of expected but given the context of this is lackluster. i sort of get it though because granted, the original ditf ends in an unresolved manner but it’s distinctly unsatisfying here. i secretly wanted an ending where bruce, like, figures out about the different endings and hacks reality to try to find a good ending where jason lives and everything is fine lmao. like a bat mite ending.

- i was disappointed in a sense that the narrative given in here is so basically simplistic? maybe i’ve been spoiled by games like 999 and undertale where shit gets messy and that’s not what this is supposed to be but when i play something with multiple endings in this day and age, at least play with the concept a little bit and connect some of the branches together narratively. use different devices. i was also hoping some of the choices would be a little bit meatier like you could choose to “forgive bruce” or something cool like that lol. but it looks like the majority of choices have to do with who lives or dies. and i felt like they couldve been a bit more creative with that ya know? being able to control harvey’s coin was a GREAT example of having some more fun with this.

- it is a huge missed opportunity not to have a “secret ending” on something like this. like where. the fuck. is my secret ending for completing everything. come on. and in a similar vein there should’ve been at least something in terms of bruce and jason interacting in a “true ending”. even if very brief. the closest thing to an ending this has is the “jason died” route and then the ending where he’s talking to clark which i feel like was a REALLY nice good optimistic ending as far as this goes, but it comes off as kind of disappointing i guess

there were SO many interesting nuggets locked into this thing though. i can’t deny it bugs me how many wasted opportunities there were with how they chose to structure things but i guess it’s the best you can do with limited runtime. i thought it was really well done though, makes an interesting companion piece to the original utrh, and is definitely something that i will be re-watching again soon!! overall i give it a 7/10 and some parts an 8/10+!

#a death in the family #death in the family #ditf #it was cool to see the different ideas they had to offer finally?#for what it was #it was kind of a collection of shorts and half spun ideas #plus i think about this shit like every day #so i cant help but be interested #someone come and talk to me about this #i really want to know #what ppl thought #spoilers #ditf spoilers #death in the family spoilers

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zojahc · 5 years ago

Text

EVERYTHING IS BAD AND THERES LOTS OF WORDS AND STUFF.

Okay so lemme just start off by saying this is really quite long. It began as me planning, and I just kept blood writing.

I was really on the fence with posting this because it’s been a long time since i’ve written properly and it’s all pretty janky. It’s also a lil’ more grimdark than I’m accustomed to.

But! To explain... It is the red/pur elite comic but much more fleshed out. This was the original direction for the comic but I stopped as I feel it’s one of those ones better communicated by text.

Red has been imprisoned by the enemy, and Purple is determined to save him.

~~~~~~ clicky below to read ~~~~~

This wasn’t like Red.

They’d completed hundreds of these assignments in their lifetimes; sneaking behind enemy lines, placing bombs and sabotaging software, destroying their designated target, retrieving the information they’d been commanded to find. It was all trivial. It was all practiced and perfect- only going astray where Zim was involved in something crucial- and Red and Purple were masters of this game, often designated leaders for both their height and skills.

But this time Red had not made it to the rendezvous.

Purple willed his pak legs to move quicker, their nimble tips kicking dust and stones loose from the barren dead planet- the smoking, cracked buildings growing closer. The base ahead was still reeling from the Irken attacks. This outpost had been tolerated by Irk for generations for the simple purpose of Elite training. The native race- a bulky, armored lizard-like species called the Morallv, hated Irkens with an absolute fury, and though it would take only a single blast from the newly constructed ‘Massive’ to wipe them from existence, they forever proved to be a good exercise for the Elite training. Get in, sabotage their weapons, upload crippling malware to their computers, blow up a few barracks on the way out- and by the time they recover, the next generation of Elites would be ready to sink their sharp claws into the outposts beating vitals.

Purple lived for challenges like these, he and Red would share excited ideas for how they would handle upcoming attacks, they’d make bets with each other on who could do the most, move the quickest, break the most, kill the most.

If there were any doubts that they’d return, they were never so much as joked about; both knew in unspoken beliefs that if it were enough to kill them, it would kill them both.

Yet Purple charged on, alone.

Somewhere behind him he heard the sound of a familiar engine- growing distant. Ascending.

He glanced back in time to see the Elite flagship blip out of existence and disappear into the sandy-colored sky above him. A pang of doubt shook through his ‘spooch- Was this the right choice?

The pak legs slowed to a halt, faltering for a moment as their suspended master dropped a few inches in space. He could still hail them and return to his home.

Purple let his antenna drop as his eyes closed; he thought of ‘home’- the Empire. The organised, efficient war machine was as close as an Irken knew to a ‘home’. He had a place amongst it, an expectation. He imagined himself returning to training, carrying on his classes, his assignments, and eventually ascending to something greater when it was all complete but he could feel a cold, wicked sensation enveloping him as he tried to picture it all- a void, an emptiness- an absence. His imagined self stood in solitude, without the familiar, red-eyed Irken smirking slyly at his side. He opened his eyes again and exhaled. That lonely world was not his.

Deftly his thin claws pecked at holographic keys on his gauntlet and a screen appeared in a blip above it, Irken doom scrawled across the intangible screen. He ignored the usual information- his rank, his location, his Pak status- and he keyed in the ID for Reds Pak. He was so accustomed to checking on his partner when they were separated, he was confident he could recite Reds unique ID number backwards.

The display brought up the information in a blink. Though limited by the void of space, the Empire kept tabs on all things- even if it meant only basic information- and from the little he had available, Purple could confirm at the very least that Reds Pak was still active.

He dismissed the screen with a single swipe. The thin spiked lances of his Pak resumed their pace.

The lesser ones were trying to hide their panic, trying to mimic their leaders stoic scowl.

Ever since they’d been dropped in this small, damp cell block, there had been fear emitting from the smaller Elites. Red, being both the most skilled and the tallest, was immediately looked to for guidance. But all he could manage was to bark them into submission- his mind occupied by the simple fact that he, an Elite- one of the best of his generation- had been captured.

He kept mulling the thought over in his mind, it’d all happened so quickly he could barely see where he’d faltered. He analysed it again and again- there had been a distraction, something stole his attention, and the beast he faced took the opportunity to strike him down.

The smaller Irkens were expected to be here. They were weak, not as clever, not as fierce- the only surprise that Zim and Skoodge hadn’t ended up here too, and that added more insult than Red ever dare mention. He had been relieved to find that Purple was not among them.

The Elite to his left whimpered pitifully, the only acknowledgement it received from Red was a warning glare.

Carefully, accompanied by a hiss of air through his teeth, he pulled the gauntlet of his right arm into his lap. The three claws protruding from it no longer did his bidding and hung limply from the end. Further up, jagged angular pieces jutted from his shoulder- all that remained of the armor there- he picked at one piece meekly as he considered pulling it free. He thought better of it and tapped the display on his right gauntlet. There was signal, but it was only enough to keep his Pak connected to the Empire and to maintain its life-giving functions.

Metal scraped on metal as the cell door opened abruptly. A sizeable beast sauntered through the door, shooting a sadistic toothy grin around the room as it entered. Hot air snorted out of its thick round nostrils, and a bassy rumble emitted from the leathery, armor-clad chest as it chuckled.

“Hello little bugs.”

Stomp. It stepped to the nearest Irken.

“Who wants to go first?”

Kneeling down to the quivering bugs level, the Morallv draped an arm lazily over its knee. The huge rounded underbite still turned upwards in an unsettling smirk.

“We know enough about you little insects to know that you’re all extremely knowledgeable on your Empire, and you’re going to share it all with us.”

Two thick yellow claws pinched the Irkens antenna between their tips.

“And you’ll want to know, over the years we’ve gotten particularly good at… Squashing bugs.”

Red had to admit- the Elite in question was doing a surprisingly good job of holding their composure, even as the claws pinched that little bit tighter there was no response. Realising his threat was having no effect the Morallv began to frown, dropping the four claws of his hand onto the top of the Elites skull- easily dwarfing the smaller creatures head- and he squeezed only hard enough to promise squeezing more.

The Elite faltered. It was subtle, but all in the room noticed- She looked. She looked at Red. Whether for guidance, reassurance or just simply a plea for help, she looked to her leader.

The wicked smile returned to the lizards face and he pushed the small Irken over with little effort. He crossed the small room with purpose and stood before Red, craning low enough to snort hot, damp air into the Irkens face.

Reds glare remained.

“So.” A split-tongue darted out to lick yellowing teeth in excitement. “You’re the leader, are you? They really do get shorter each generation.”

Ignoring the quip about his height (he was the tallest of them all, why would that topic ever hurt him?) Red simply stared unbreaking and unspeaking. He had no plan. He barely even had hopes. But he knew he would not play this game.

The Morallv knew that too.

He’d been sitting against the wall, letting his Pak work its magic on repairing his wounds, flooding his body with suppressants for the pain emitting from every break, tear and cut on his body. But now he found himself face-down against the ground with a fresh pain ringing from his jaw and a heavy, clawed boot pressing hard on his shoulders.

Morphine flushed a new wave of numbness through his body, and Red found himself thanking whoever on Irk decided that painkillers needed to be a Pak feature.

Until the boot pressed harder and the pain swelled again.

“I know you’re going to take the longest to break.” The bassy voice rumbled above him, Red clawed feebly at the ground with his working claws. The weight was too much for him to force off. “But the quicker you start to crack, the quicker your friends will give in to us.”

Pressing harder again, Red tried to distract himself from the pressure by focusing elsewhere- he looked for a moment to the other Elites, but the fear in their eyes made him furious- he listened instead, to the advice of Purple, and to the noise of his Pak. Many a time Purple had lamented about the sound of his working Pak being a reassuring one. Knowledge that you’re alive, he liked to say. It was true- nothing was more certain for an Irken than the little clicks and whirs of the life support on their backs. Quietly, he could hear the sound of a louder click, feeling a small vibration emitting somewhere from the machinery. A snapped propellor on a fan, he mused. Of all the damage his Pak could have sustained, that was fairly trivial.

Crack.

It took all of his willpower not to give the Morallv the satisfaction of crying out as something in Reds chest went from solid to snapped. His working claws dug three deep holes beneath them, and even his broken ones twitched in pain. He hissed and clenched his eyes shut.

The pain echoed again as the armored boot kicked him swiftly in the side- sending him crashing into the wall where he slumped, cradling his chest, staring in outrage at the candy-colored liquid that had dribbled from his teeth.

A bassy snort was the goodbye the lizard gave as it left the room.

The closest Elite rushed to Reds aid, but he only moved enough to bat the smaller Irken away.

Every record for their class said the same thing. Purple was a master of stealth.

Red hadn’t believed it when Purple came up on top of their first infiltration challenge. It’d been simple; get past Irken guards, steal a keycard, and get out without being noticed.

They went in one by one, waiting their turn expectantly, eager to prove themselves the moment their cold, militaint instructor said ‘go.’

Go! She had shouted to Purple. Instead the lilac eyed Irken swayed from one foot to the other lazily- and flicked a single, pink keycard out, pinched between the tips of his claws idly.

He’d gotten punched for his arrogance, but that day started his legend amongst the class- that loud, distracted, lazy and eccentric Purple reserved all his sneaking ability for the right moments.

But it was always a game, a challenge. A dare. Never before had he been in this situation. Perched high in the shadows, pipes and cables of an enemy fortification, his Pak barely able to keep his heart rate constant as he watched the Morallv soldiers pace beneath him.

The slight tap-tapping of his Pak legs had pushed his nerves to the edge and his experience knew to retract them, opting instead to move around in the darkness on foot. Arguably far slower, but this way he was completely silent.

They had all been briefed on the enemy on the journey over. The lists of weaknesses and strengths displayed on repeat inside his head. The lizards were heavily armored, big, and extremely strong. As well as having a toxic venom, they were formidable. But they had their weaknesses. One- thankfully to Purples advantage- was their inability to see in low light.

To Irken eyes, the shadows were simply a deeper shade of pink. To the lizards, they were an empty void that rendered Purple completely invisible.

Every flashing keypad or exposed cable was a prime opportunity to create more hiding places, and- given any other situation- Purple would have delighted in plunging the base in to darkness.

But today it was for necessity.

Anxiously, he checked the display on his gauntlet again. Pink characters and numbers soothed his nerves- Reds Pak was still active.

Tiny round indents in the walls, screws and bolts or metal panels all served as grapple points for thin Irken claws, Purple moving nimbly from one space to the next, across the tops of wide ventilation pipes and ledges of the ceilings. The dimly lit cobalt corridors seemed to stretch on forever, and he began to doubt his sense of direction as the doors and markings began to meld into the same sight- giving the illusion of running in circles. He perched atop a large circular pipe, surveying for any emergency hiding places, then dropped to the floor with an expert roll.

An amber light glowed fiercely from a large screen across the hall. Antenna twitching and sensing for movement around him, Purple silently approached it and tapped the screen deftly only to realise... the language was unreadable to him. It was some primitive scrawl the lizards defaced their computers with. He managed to find a map of the level he was on, but apart from deciphering the large ‘you are here’ marker, he couldn’t learn anything more from the screen.

With a growl of irritation, he pulled cables from his gauntlet, forcing their thin needle-like tips into any open port the screen offered. He wished- for yet another reason- that Red was at his side. Hacking was more the scarlet Irkens skill. In fact, Red succeeded over Purple in almost everything technology based- and Purple made up for the skills Red lacked. Together they were the perfect team.

Apart, this screen would remain unhacked.

Long black antennae twitched upright suddenly as Purple detected something- Vibrations, footsteps, from around the corner. There was a vent mere metres away, it took only seconds to tear the cover off, slip in and replace it. Perfectly timed as two Morallv guards turned into the hallway. Male and female walking side by side idly and chatting, one held a long staff with a round amber ball on the end- a weapon Purple couldn’t identify- and the female held an armful of candy bars.

“-might have a chance this time.”

“Unno” Muffled by a mouthful of candy, the female chewed loudly. “Ya say that each time. But each time the bugs attack us we get a bunch of them and they just all die.”

“They do!” The other exclaimed, the sound echoing so loudly in the metal vent that it caused Purples antenna to flick back against his head. “But this time! This time I have a good feeling!”

“You really think any of those bugs are going to give us access to their mainframe? Isn’t it, like, programmed into them that they can’t?”

“I dunno. Maybe. Can they… Like. Think? Or is that programmed too?”

“Why are you asking me, you idiot?”

The male shrugged as the pair passed Purples hiding spot, turning down another nearby corridor.

“Hey i’m just making conversation-” “Take a bar, and shut up.”

Purple waited until the cacophony of stomping and crunching grew quiet before he silently undid the vent again, slipping out like a shadow.

He placed it against the wall again with a gentle tink, Pak tools screwing it in place once more with practiced precision.

The ground receded from beneath him suddenly as he was lurched upwards, snagged by the long metal appendages of his Pak. Panic set in for a moment and he swung around to meet the glassy snake-eyed gaze of a Morallv guard that had been lagging behind his friends.

It snapped a candy bar on its teeth idly.

“Fellas!” It boomed without breaking its stare on Purple, causing his sensitive antenna to flick away. “Come check out this bug I caught!”

Thin silver blades burst forth from Purples Pak and shot towards his assailant, the spiked legs burying themselves straight into the glazed eyes locked on to him- and he was thrown down the corridor as the lizard wailed in pain, eyes covered by blood-filled claws.

The Irken had no chance to collect himself as boots stomped hard against his back, pinning him to the metal floor. Snacks littered the ground around him as the female lizard forsook them to grab at the dancing Pak legs, managing to grab hold of one and tear it in half with a wild show of sparking electricity. Three remaining daggers proved too quick for her as Purple directed them to slash across her torso, taking pieces from armor and leaving bloodied lines in the thinner places. She swung wildly, trying to wrangle the deft blades.

Taking the opportunity, Purple managed to throw her off balance and off his back, swiftly rolling to a crouch and pausing only to hiss in defiance.

Bright!

Claws covered his eyes suddenly, trying to alleviate the sudden overstimulation- blinding, white light so fierce he couldn’t open his eyes again without them stinging like hot fire. Even closed, the shining burned so intensely he swore he could feel it in his Pak.

That light!

One eye cracked open a sliver- regretting it instantly, he found himself feeling as though he’d just stared into Irks sun- he spotted the source to his left. The remaining lizard held his staff high above his head, the light on its end flicking erratically in pulses and flashes, the Irkens sensitive eyes could only stand a second of exposure before the pain became blinding again.

As a desperate last resort Purple summoned the blaster from inside his Pak and shot wildly in the suspect direction. He hadn’t wanted to rely on his blaster at all. For starters, his skill relied mainly in hand-to-hand combat and melee weaponry. Shooting was more Reds thing. A Pak blaster was also powerful enough to shoot through metal walls and loud enough to be heard yards away.

Relief washed over his senses as the light returned to a normal level. He rubbed his eyes feverishly, attempting to disperse the white circle that appeared in his vision and left him blind.

Metal creaked and cables screeched as something vital was once again torn from his Pak- vaguely sensing the presence of his blaster leave him, Purple bared his teeth to what he assumed was near him and swung the remaining legs of his Pak in a flurry around him, noting where they collided with anything that felt like it wasn’t wall or floor.

Shapes finally began to come in to view and he could assess his situation. The light bearing lizard laid in a crumpled heap on the ground, a large hole carved in his torso with liquids and bloody lumps collecting in a puddle around him, the horrible light weapon forgotten beside him.

The female Morallv stood ahead of him with her arms up, protecting her face from the wildly swinging blades- seeing his target now, the three thin legs all came down in a single point and pierced the lizards skull with a sound that would have disgusted a member of any other race.

Using the skull as a leg-up, Purple ascended into the mess of cables and pipes on the ceiling once again, hiding deep in the shadows as the remaining Morallv felt blindly at the wall, clutching his bloody face with one hand, and using the other to signal the alarm from the console on the wall.

Soothing.

He never thought he’d find a floor so comfortable.

No- Comfortable was the wrong word. Such a relief? So pleasant? So soothing?

The concrete was cold, icy to most- but against his swollen flesh and white-hot wounds, the cold was a welcome sensation. Laying on his side, staring unfocused ahead with his mangled arm pinned between the floor and his body, Red inhaled sharply- following the breath into his body, where it twanged off broken bones and sent pain rippling through his torso.

Everything was sore. He’d been through a lot, as an Elite. He was hard to defeat- but that didn’t mean he left unscathed from classes and brawls. Broken bones, slashes from weapons and claws, punctures from lances, they were all experiences he had under his belt. But this was all so much at once. His Pak suppressed pain, yet there was so much for it to deal with it couldn’t address them all. Somewhere in the distance his antenna picked up the vibration of something unusual, but he was too focused on his own predicament to wonder. The irkens around him had all received a similar welcome over the course of the night and all were a sad example of Elites. A few had collapsed, curling around on themselves in pain, some were bearing it as well as Red himself- sitting or laying motionless, reserving their energy. At least one, Red assumed, had died from the assault.

An attempt at dislodging his arm was stopped with a hiss, Red wanted to be stronger- at least be strong enough to sit upright, but his body wouldn’t permit it. The frustration building inside him was nothing he’d experienced before, he’d occupied his mind with brutal ways to tear lizards apart and images of him doing it, but now his mind wandered again. To here. This grimey, dark, damp cell, covered with generations of- he assumed- Irken blood.

He was meant to be stronger.

The irken near him scuttled backwards as Red exhaled through his teeth, angry, flexing his working claws. This wasn’t meant to happen. He’d failed the Empire. And it happened so early in his legacy. He hadn’t even finished his Elite training! He’d never piloted anything bigger than a Voot, and the only planets he’d been to outside of Irken rule were the ones meant for Elite training- one he’d failed on!

One he would die on.

He wanted to be an invader. He wanted to sink entire races with his own claws- he was destined to be a terrible force.

But instead, he would bleed out in some forgotten cell, succumbing to the wounds induced by a big reptiles blunt blows.

He unclenched his teeth, letting his claws relax and his antenna droop. Thoughts turning to Purple- His closest companion. Purple had made it out. He was certain of that. Tailing only a few feet behind his friend- always in proximity- Red had watched the Elite flagship descending on the horizon. They were en route to return to their normal lives. Back to class and back to assignments.

And Red had looked back. One finally gloating smirk at the lizards on their tail. He stopped to insult them.

But that stupid light caught his attention- that one moment of distraction was his downfall.

All he could do now was regret. The flagship left. He heard it. The Empire didn’t bother with captured Irkens, they were unworthy.

This was the end.

As if prompted by his thoughts, something changed. Something terrible. They all felt it.

Reds eyes snapped open and he sat up against his body's protests- looking around the other Irkens with him had the same response. They felt the same thing. Wide eyed and antenna bolt-upright they all exchanged terrified glances, then looked to Red who only mirrored their fear.

Working claws shook like leaves as he brought them to the opposite gauntlet. He tapped the holographic keys slowly, fear mounting in the room as the Irkens all came to the same conclusion.

The screen popped up over his gauntlet.

There was no writing, no report from his Pak, nor rank or any information.

There was only static on a blank screen.

Clawing like a feral animal he slipped from the rounded pipe he was travelling across. Sharp scratches across the metal made a cacophony of noise as he slipped down, breathless and dizzy.

Something was wrong.

Unable to get a grip, he fell, barely breaking his fall with the three working legs of his Pak. Shaking a foggy cloud from his head he quickly realised the predicament his fall had put him in and he darted for the closest hiding point-a random pile of crates, barrels and storage containers. Ducking in deep and making himself as small as possible in the shadows, he struggled for breath.

Purple ignored the group of lizards stomping around the hallway looking for the source of the noise, his attention focused on typing rapidly on the screen of his gauntlet. Entering the same digits he was so accustomed to, he prayed to Irk that the feeling of dread he was suffering with wasn’t related to Red…

Yet the pink screen was gut-wrenchingly void of any normal information, showing only a series of numbers.

Code 437

The sounds of the Morallv boots faded out of existence for Purple- his antenna quivered and drooped, raking his memory for the meaning of that code as despair began to settle deep in his ‘spooch.

They’d been briefed on Pak codes in one of the earliest classes, desperately he tried to recall the meaning of 437. Codes like these were typically used in the aftermath of a battle or incursion, to let the Empire decipher what had happened. 148 was the most common code, it meant that the organic host for the Pak- the body, had been destroyed. Purple had committed that one to memory. 361 meant that the Pak had been removed forcibly and ceased function from sustaining severe damage. 362 meant the same, but the addition of the body dying off first.

Code 437…

Purple sucked a breath through his teeth. That code was a precaution. Specifically appearing only when Irken were captured. In order to preserve their secrets, and prevent any prying aliens from gaining access to their technology, the Empire ordered the Paks connection to be severed.

They had switched off Reds Pak.

Typing in a flurry, Purple searched for the few other IDs he could recall; finding all that had been absent from the rendezvous- not that he paid them any real attention then- showed the same Pak code.

The empire had abandoned them all.

He tried to focus on the threat at present, watching the small pod of lizards shrug and cease their searching as they seperated down different corridors. Purple was eager to get moving again, he had to act quickly… Time was even more dire, now.

Voices of his various instructors echoed in his head as he replayed the memories of his classes. Paks were vitally important, sustaining life itself for Irkens, but their function was heavily reliant on the Empire. An Irken without a Pak was doomed to die. But as well, an Irken without a Pak was a soldier without a commander- and deemed a threat to the Empire. Without direct connection to their collective a Pak was programmed to cease all function. Like a battery losing charge, their life-sustaining features would begin to wane. Small things at first, the power of their ocular implants would fade, their Pak would no longer prioritise suppressing pain, then it would stop suppressing weak, primitive emotions like fear, and eventually…

Purple slipped from his hiding place hastily, keeping low and keeping to the shadows.

The Paks would become too weak to sustain vital functions like breathing and blood circulation. The function of the relevant organs were long lost to Irken ‘evolution’ and without the Pak, the organic host could not survive.

He’d intentionally distract himself during those classes. Red enquired once, asking why Purple insisted on getting his attention every few seconds to whisper something stupid or silently torment a smaller Elite between them, and Purple had dodged the question. In truth, it scared him. Death was for inferior Irkens. He had no fear of it. Even if he were struck down- it’d be in the middle of a heated, epic battle, not… Slowly and tortiously. The thought of watching ones body decay as the mind followed along sluggishly… It petrified him.

And it was so much worse when Red admitted that he shared that fear.

The corridors were getting darker and less hospitable as he pressed on. The further he delved down them, the less they looked like quarters or common rooms; far less inviting. Crates and barrels began to appear in mass littering the walls, inspecting some he found various primitive weapons like spears and maces- and a single orb that resembled the light from the staff, which he promptly smashed on the ground- he figured he was nearing an arsenal. The subtle decorations on the walls had shifted from soft and pleasantly colored panels and shapes to hard cobalt metal, the occasional angular spike splitting the wall. Sharp columns supported a wire-riddled ceiling, resembling a mass of worms.

He passed a wide open doorway, spying ships of different sizes parked across a blue-painted hanger. Committing that area to memory he pressed on. Purple could still hail ships, but he wasn’t certain that they would arrive quickly enough- or at all- and preferred to simply steal an inferior Morallv vessel.

Antenna perked upwards as he caught a familiar scent. Wafting from a hallway mere metres away he urged his Pak to squash his senses for a moment- the smell was overpowering. Familiar to him, in smaller bursts, from training at the academy. The smell of blood.

It smothered him like a fog, hesitantly he approached as his ‘spooch went into a fit of disgust. It didn’t smell of the coppery, salty substances that came from other fleshy races. It was Irken blood.

A plain, uninteresting door was the source of the smell at its strongest. Purple knew it was the door to a cell. He swallowed nervously- not certain if he was brave enough to pass through this portal. The scent of death was suffocating him and his imagination was beginning to run wild, even with his Paks attempts at suppressing his fear.

Claws stretched out hesitantly ahead of him, faltering before they made contact with the door. Trying to steady his shaking hands he swallowed nervously and-

The door began to open.

There had been a split second of opportunity. He acted on reaction, digging his Pak legs into the metal above the doorframe and launching himself upwards and onto a ledge there. A lizard sauntered his way out, glancing absently over his shoulder as he left the room. Candied pink liquid dripped from his claws and knuckles.

A thin needle-like spike slipped into the space of the automatic door, the mechanism whirring for a moment as it tried to close against the Pak leg. Jamming a couple more spikes in there, Purple managed to force it open and slipped in the cell. He broke a piece from the fourth, ruined leg, and wedged it in place before turning to survey the room- and stumbled backwards.

It was all just as his fearful mind had imagined. There was a small collection of Irkens littered about the room, limp and unmoving. New blood splatters decorated walls and floors, adding to the marks that had been there for decades. The damp, heavy scent of the cell was overwhelming and Purple had to clutch his forehead to regain his composure.

He scanned the dim room quickly, finding the target he so desperately sought. Red sat against the far wall; head bowed, eyes closed, his antenna limp and his uniform bloodied. Purple was cautious to approach, ghosting his claws along a mangled broken arm, too fearful to touch in case he might cause more damage- and he knelt in front of his partner.

He brought his hand to Reds face, delicately avoiding his skin with the tips of his claws and pressing the palm against his friends cheek in an effort to stir him.

His gauntlet was wrenched downwards quickly and painfully- he should have seen that coming- claws leaving a few thin cracks in the small console there. Crimson eyes squinted, unfocused, as the owner hissed through his teeth in warning.

“Red!” Purple pleaded, trying to break free with little conviction, hoping instead that Red would let him go.

The Irken gawked for a moment, realisation settled in and he ripped his working claws away- only to swat Purple across the chest full-force, knocking him off balance.

Purple landed on his backside with a graceless ‘oof’.

“What are you doing here?” Red shouted, but his voice lacked the intensity it usually did. He sounded exhausted and hoarse.

“Saving your sorry ass.” Purple rubbed his own sore quarters, shooting an accusing glare at his partner. The expression faded quickly as he surveyed the damage once more.

Sensing his eyes, Red bristled- “You should be aboard the flagship.”

“And so should you!” He countered, through his arms up angrily. “Now let’s go!”

Grabbing the crimson gauntlet and tugging gently, Purple tried to stir Red from his spot, but the Irken cast his gaze to the claws laying limp in his lap and ignored his partners insistence.

“I can’t.”

The resignation in that voice turned to daggers that cut straight through into Purples Pak; he felt the mechanisms within it stop for a split moment as he turned to his partner. Reds exhausted, defeated form seemed to slump further down the wall as he avoided Purples gaze. “I’ve failed, Pur. I’m unworthy. The empire has cut connection to my Pak, even if I left-”

“They could reconnect you, let's go!”

Red shook his head. “They don’t just do that for anyone that just shows up the control brains door. I’ve failed and failures are deactivated.”

“No!” Purple snarled, more intensely than he’d meant. If Red wouldn’t walk out on his own legs, then Purple would drag him. He lunged at his friend, wrapping his arms around his torso and lifting- Until Red cried out in pain and he promptly let go.

“You jerk-” Red whimpered, breathless. “My Pak can’t suppress pain anymore don’t you dare come near me again or-”

“You’ll what, bleed on me some more?” Gently this time, he put his claws on the sides of the bloodied chest, trying to aid Red in standing up- but the Irken didn’t accept the gesture and remained unmoving.

“Go away, Purple.”

His voice was cold.

The intruding Irken pulled his claws back to his chest, gripping them together nervously as he studied Red. This was out of character, he didn’t… Know what to do. Red had always been strong, but that could often work against him. He held ideas fiercely and little could be done to sway him, if he was certain of this…

Purple opened his mouth to say something witty and dismissive back, ready to try coaxing Red out again- not this feeble, defeated creature that sat before him- but vibrations hit his sensitive antenna and he spun around, looking in fear at the door. Something was coming, and he had mere seconds before he was sealed away to face the same fate as his comrades. He moved then faltered- turning to Red again, he placed his claws on the Irkens cheek and tried to let his eyes promise- I promise I’ll come back- and then he darted through the jammed door.

All the reptiles saw was a blur pass by them, then looked to the open portal- and chaos broke loose. One made certain the door was sealed and the rest took chase.

It took hours for Purple to shake them.

Retreating to an abandoned, dusty room and hiding himself away in the corner beneath old crates and pallets, he’d resigned to sitting in silence. His Pak whirred and clicked feverishly on his back as it focused on soothing his organic body.

What now?

He was lost. Both in terms of maps, and goals- he thought the hard part had been getting in, it never occurred that Red would refuse to get out.

He nibbled idly on the tips of his claws. Red was a stubborn jerk. In any other situation, Purple would physically force the other, but pain, true pain, was not something he was familiar with and he was hesitant to inflict it on his friend. Plus, he had no real plan for escape. He flopped onto his back, throwing up a cloud of dust around him, and stared at the dark, unlit bulbs on the ceiling above him.

Noise travelled down the hallway outside and he sat upright again, pak legs extending in anticipation. He growled quietly at himself, at this image. Here he was hiding away in the darkness, afraid of footsteps outside like some inferior prey creature, while his friend was likely dying rooms away.

He hooked his metal legs into the vent above him, leaping in with new found intensity and he weaved through the ventilation pipes, pausing only to peak at the rooms beneath him, until he arrived at the hanger. Rounded Morallv heads bobbed a few stories beneath him as they patrolled, he waited until they all separated into different corners and he dropped from the ceiling, landing onto a banister overlooking the lower level of the hanger.

Humming almost silently, he scanned the interior of the ground-level ship base. The ships were all varying shapes and sizes but kept a uniform theme. Boxy, ugly, primitive things painted blue and orange, that looked like floating boulders when compared to something as advanced as an Irken Spittle Runner. The larger ships were far too large to be an option for escape, they were designed to carry multiples of the sluggish, heavy lizard creatures at once- their engineers favouring space over functionality. He sprinted quickly along the banister and leapt to the floor beneath, landing silently beside one of the smaller ships. It was a one-person ship to a Morallv, but it was roomy enough to fit several Irkens. Pressing his claws to the blue-colored cockpit he inspected the inside- the controls seemed fairly simple, and the rear of the ship boasted a few decent looking thrusters. This ship was made for speed. Not that these reptiles knew what ‘quick’ was- It was merely faster than their own ships, and that was all Purple needed.

His claws traced the edge of the ship trying to find a way to access the controls, pausing as he spied the heavy metal landing gear attached to the floor beneath the craft. They were large, vice-like claws that clamped the ship in place, he tugged at them with his own fingers. Unsurprisingly, they didn’t move.

No matter, when it came to escape he would merely call out his blaster and…

He glanced over his shoulder, doing exactly what he intended in his plan. A sad, bent and headless metal appendage emerged from his Pak and sparked a few times to emphasize the lack of said blaster.

Blades through the brain was far too kind for that stupid lizard, he scowled.

No matter- Red still had a functioning blaster, when it came to escape, he could be the one to blow up the landing gear and free the ship. The thought of Red, toting his weapon around like the trigger happy fool he was, wicked smirk on his face- it made Purple snicker.

Darting to the underside of the next ship, then the one behind it, he crossed the hanger unnoticed and slipped through the main door to the base.

Retracing the steps he took hours before, he weaved through corridors and across open rooms. Carefully avoiding the patrolling lizards, he ducked behind pallets of weapons and metal armor, climbed into vents or disappeared into dark shadows when he needed. He couldn’t help the feeling of wicked pride growing inside him at how simple it was to evade these fools. He barely had to try.

Hearing Red’s words echo in his head, he urged himself to focus. “Don’t get cocky, Purple.” Reds memory glared, a hidden smirk barely showing on his lips. “You get cocky on a mission and you’ll get caught.”

If only he’d listened to his own advice.

They’d caught on, he pinched the tip of one claw between the others anxiously, lilac eyes watching intently from his shadowed hiding spot. There’s a guard now, standing at the door of the cell, looking bored. A shorter, rounder, orange-skinned lizard that leaned against the wall between the door and a console, flicking his claws idly against a polearm that stood taller than he did. Purple surveyed the room, grasping around for inspiration of a plan. The distance between him and the guard was too great for a direct attack; he would be spotted long before he landed a hit on anything vital, and given the guards proximity to the console it would be easy for him to sound the alarm. Purple could quickly retreat into hiding in that situation, but it would likely send some unwanted attention towards Red.

Standing as high as he dared, he peeked into the boxes surrounding him. The irony of being a base under constant attack by the Irkens was that the Morallv kept weapons on hand at all time- weapons that this Irken was eager and willing to use against them, he slowly and quietly removed what he believed to be a Morallv dagger, though to him, it was longer than his gauntlet- and he retreated back into his hiding spot.

The lizard scratched idly at his nostrils.

Slipping the handle flat against his palm, Purple held the blade behind him, claws pointed down the sharp metal as though holding a shard of ice.

He held his breath, and threw it deftly.

Then closed his eyes and considered praying to Irk.

The lizard collapsed forward onto his knees, weakly pawing at the space beside his head before continuing his downward motion, his chest hitting the ground with a loud thud.

The blades handle protruded from his temple, a puddle of blood rapidly growing beneath the glassy-eyed face.

Sighing in relief, Purple wasted no time and hastily approached the body, frisking it for anything that might gain him access to the cell. A key, a card, even a thumb if the door required a print scanner- and he found a bracer humming with energy and glowing with intricate technology mounted on the beasts wrist. When it didn’t come loose on its own, he hacked at the muscle until he could wriggle it off.

The reader by the door beeped in approval as he held the bracer against it. The door scraped open angrily, and Purple worried for a moment that it may catch a passerbys attention, but he didn’t wait to find out.

He burst into the cell and inspected it quickly again- choosing to ignore the obvious decline in numbers- one or two Irkens looked at the door in fear, recognising the sound of the reader at the door and knowing what would typically follow it through. Their fear became surprise at the sight of the Irken.

He ignored them, going straight to Red.

The injured Elite lay on his side this time, one antenna was snapped halfway up the base and the top half angled away. Pink blood stained his armor, his skin, and had dried in trails from his mouth. His eyes cracked open at the disturbance, having the strength to do no more than glare- realising who it was that stood before him, he exhaled a shaky breath and closed his eyes again.

Purple wasn’t ignored so easily, he slipped his claws under Reds shoulders and sat him upright, ignoring the yelp of protest that his partner gave. Lilac eyes fixed fiercely on tired crimson and Purple hissed back.

“We’re going.”

Closing his eyes again, Red had no response.

“I said we’re going, Red.”

Stubbornly he ignored again.

“Red!” Purple snapped, flicking his claws against the intact antenna and causing Red to jump, eyes open and glaring at the assault. “I can’t get off this planet on my own, my Pak blaster is ruined and I need it to get the ship free. You are coming with me whether you like it or not just so I don’t die here, too!”

Reds glare softened to a sad stare and he batted Purples claws away. “My Pak won’t respond to me, I can’t call my blaster out if I wanted to.”

The other Irken scoffed in response. “Your Pak might be cut off but the mechanics still work fine, let’s go.”

“I’ve tried already, it won’t obey me.”

“Tell it louder, then! Come on!”

“I can’t call my blaster out, I need the permission of my rank to do that, without the Empire I have no rank which means no permission. Idiot.”

Purple raised a non-existent eyebrow, looking at his partner queerly.

“What about your Pak legs?”

Red shrugged.

“It won’t work.” “Have you actually tried?”

“I’m telling you, Purple, it won’t work.”

It stayed silent for a beat as they stared at each other. Purple tilted his head and glared accusingly. “You’re really giving up?”

The creature across from him kept his stone-wall expression. “I don’t get a choice.”

“You’re really just going to let yourself die here?”

“The Empire decided that for me.”

“You’re really going to be outdone by the ones that made it back, like Zim?”

Red bristled.

“-Or Skoodge. They’re going to finish their training, you know.” “Shut up.” “- And you won’t, caus you’ll be dead.”

“Don’t be a jerk, Purple, I’m not happy about this either-”

“-You won’t because you gave up.”

A savage expression contorted across Reds face as that scenario ran through his head- exactly as Purple had intended, nothing got his friend more riled up than the idea of being second best, or Zim, combining the two had the perfect result. Until, the expression faded and that meak, uncharacteristic look of defeat fell over Reds features again.

“Whatever.” Was the grand finale.

Resignation mirrored in Purple, he tried to stop his shoulders drooping as Reds did. He sighed, cupping the other Irkens cheeks in his hands and leaning close- crimson eyes closed knowing this ritual, one they’d acted out in any time of need where their nerves got the better of them or their anger took control. Their Paks created an endless supply of electricity which surged through their bodies at all times- as they pressed their heads together, eyes closed, they waited for the familiar zap of the two circuits meeting, a soothing spark that reminded them of the others presence. Except, with one half of the circuit broken, the spark did not come. Lilac eyes remained closed as he spoke-

“We’re going.”

It was an order.

Ignoring all protest he pulled Red upwards, to his feet- and the Irken stumbled immediately as his legs gave way, Purple barely catching him in time before he fell to the ground again.

Maybe he had been a bit too eager with his battered friend.

Had he not been preoccupied with the extreme amount of pain he was in, Red would have been tearing strips off of Purple- both with words and with claws. He managed, against all his expectations, to plant the soles of his boots on the ground but the moment his weight shifted back under him, his legs threatened to buckle again.

It was embarrassing. Having to cling to Purples side for support. Silvery Pak legs wrapped around him gently to aid him in staying upright, and he was lead slowly- at Reds demand- from the room.

Red gave his partner a queer look at the sight of the dead lizard as they stepped over it, the blade still protruding proudly like a grizzly trophy. Purple just smiled a toothy smile.

The trip to the hanger was agonisingly slow. They’d been extremely lucky, managing to avoid the high-traffic areas of the base- mostly to Purples credit, as he’d learned the most favourite routes. They’d snuck into the hanger through a maintenance shaft, their pace faltering the closer they got to their goal as Red tired. But once the promised ship was in sight the battered Irken was practically dragged to it and allowed to flop against the side of the metal craft.

Purple busied himself with the cockpit, managing to pop the glass chamber open. It swung with so much force it nearly clipped him on the chin and he fell backwards with a thud. Red spent enough energy to give him a disapproving look before closing his eyes again.

Barbaric alien language scrawled across the screen within the cockpit, Purple leaned in far enough to search for anything that resembled a mechanism or a button to allow the landing gear to unlock- and finding none he slipped his upper half out again, turning to Red. And he did something all Irkens were reminded to never do.

He forced the top panel of Reds Pak open, delving his claws in deep to the mechanisms within. Red shot upright suddenly in alarm, teeth clenched and eyes wide- the sensation akin to another race having thin, probing claws within their skulls.

Metal and cables reacted involuntarily, turning on the assaulting claws and trying to force them out. Purple found the Pak legs first- or they found him, as they slashed at his gauntlets, he ignored them and continued to dig around in the enigma of Irken technology in an attempt to find the blaster. He encountered Reds favoured tablet next, one he’d tap away idly on whenever Purple was bored and trying desperately to get his attention. A tube of some sort wrapped around his wrist and he wrenched the arm free from the Pak, making Red shudder in response.

After what felt like an eternity his other hand clawed at a gun-like shape and he pulled it outwards, the mechanism whirring and clicking as it refused to be coaxed free. Wrangling it as far as he could, and pointing it to the landing gear, he pulled the trigger that existed only for situations like these.

Bang!

Pink fire exploded blindly around the claw-like vice. The sound reverberated off the walls and the force shook a few things loose from a nearby bench, clattering to the floor with loud metallic clangs. The ship rocked, teetering to one side.

As voices began to shout from the main door to the base, Purple scooped up his shaken friend and dumped him unceremoniously into the ship, jumping in after and kicking the ship into action.

#invader zim #invaderzim #invaderzim fanfiction #almighty tallest #tallest red #tallest purple #irken elite #irken elite red #irken elite purple

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illfoandillfie · 4 years ago

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Hi! I know you’re not requesting for them right now but I was wondering if you could give me a reading? I’m in a rough patch mentally as I overthink too much about my relationships. It’s with this guy named Matt. We’ve been taking for a month now and I really like him but I also kind of have commitment issues and now I’m overthinking that he doesn’t like me and that makes me want to ghost him. I just need to be reassured or something I guess and it would be lovely if you could whenever you can. If not I completely understand! 🤍

sorry i’m a bit late with this, hopefully it helps!

tarot cards: the hanged man, page of swords, queen of hearts, king of wands, strength, page of swords, 8 of pentacles, judgement

As i was drawing the cards i was focusing on matt and his thoughts regarding your connection which is important because there are cards in here which i think represent how he sees you and cards representing himself as well. so let’s start with those ones.

You’ve come out as the queen of cups clarified by the 8 of pentacles. Not a bad thing. The cups suit is the one most closely tied to the heart and emotions which means he does see you as someone he could love. the queen of cups is compassionate, comforting, wise and loving. At her lowest vibration she can be insecure, particularly when it comes to emotional insecurity, and maybe be clingy or stubborn. But she’s a symbol of loyalty, happiness and tenderness. The 8 of pentacles is an interesting clarifier. It’s a card of cultivation, representing the beginning of your relationship, as well as passion. But it can also represent high standards. These card coupled together show that he sees you as someone he wants to love, someone he could find happiness with, someone he would willingly put time and effort into building a relationship with, but he’s worried that your insecurity is causing you to pull away and that he can’t rise to the high standards you have.

On the other hand, he has come out as the King of Wands with Judgement. The king of wands is energetic and passionate and a natural leader. He’s incredibly good at overcoming challenges which i think is the main reason he’s appeared in this reading, though his negative traits show the other side of his fiery nature - someone who likes to be in control and who is maybe a little arrogant. The Judgement card represents reflection, rebirth and renewal. He is making a choice to pursue this relationship though he is aware something isn’t going right with it at the moment. But by appearing as the king of wands, matt believes he can fix the problem. It might be his drive for control or just a stubborn streak but whatever the motivation, he seems himself overcoming whatever challenges you’re putting in front of him, if that makes sense. Judgement is a card that often comes up when we’re at a crossroads or have some sort of decision to make and if this is the case for matt then he is deciding to go after you. He’s thought about it, he’s reflected on the situation and he has decided you are worth it.

Okay so let’s jump back to the first two cards now, the hanged man and Strength. The hanged man represents delays as well as sacrifice and new perspectives while Strength obviously relates to strength and power but it can also be non-physical forms of strength like resilience, endurance, courage, confidence, etc. Theres a sense that this isn’t something either of you can rush. Patience is required. But it will be worth it because the strength card implies the relationship you could have would be a strong one. It might just be a question of timing rather than a lack of interest from either of you. It may also indicate a need to change your point of view or how you’re approaching something so that things can stop stalling and move forward.

Then we have our page of swords and page of swords. It’s not often you get the same card in the same column from two different decks. Mathematically the probability of that happening is quite slim. So when it does happen, it’s something you probably need to pay attention to. The page of swords is curious and energetic if a little restless. All of the pages are messengers so it can be a sign that you’ll receive a message from matt but if you’re in communication thats not much of a surprise. In relation to love or relationships though, the page of swords can represent a lack of emotional intimacy. Swords are the suit connected with the brain as well as communication, they’re a sign of intelligence but they often don’t consider emotions and feelings as much as they should or else they struggle to talk about their emotions/feelings. But the natural curiosity of the page of swords suggests there is an interest in seeing where this relationship could go and perhaps that the delay referenced with the hanged man is making matt feel a little restless and eager to move things forward.

next i drew some love oracles for you.

From the romance angels we got: Give your relationship a change - work on your partnership / and Passion - allow your heart and soul to sing with joy! I think that first card is really all we needed to answer your question lmao but they’re obviously telling you to not pull away from matt.

We also got 3 heart oracles: Look Inside Yourself - examine what is causing you to feel this way / Romance - cupid’s arrow strikes! / Power - You instinctively know what is right for you and you have the power to say no or to walk away at any time. The look inside yourself one was especially interesting to me because it really connects with that Judgment card and the reflection is represents. While that card did come out in relation to Matt’s king of wands it could also double as a suggestion for you to do some soul searching and confront why you’re worried about whether or not matt is interested in this connection. romance obviously implies there is something here, some sort of romantic connection worth investing time and energy into. Power may be a sign that your instincts are trying to tell you something but also that no harm will come from seeing how things progress now because you can always call it quits later if it’s not working.

I got a few other oracle cards too:

From the Numerology deck: New Beginnings and Domestic Harmony. New Beginnings probably refers to the resent start of the relationship but it could also refer to the relationship progressing and beginning a new part of it. Either way this card is a call to let yourself step into the unknown and see where it takes you. Domestic Harmony indicates a time of healing your relationships and home. I’m going to quote directly from the guidebook here because its kind of whack how applicable it is lmao. it says “This card can indicate a time to make a commitment to your present relationship by declaring your desire to take things to the next level....Remember there is no such thing as the perfect relationship. Domestic harmony can only be achieved with effort, compassion and compromise.”

You also got 4 of the arcana of astrology cards: Leo, Virgo, Venus, and Second House.

Leo is the astrological sign tied to the Strength card and so relates to pride, ego, confidence and determination. Virgo is an interesting one to appear because the key message of this card is that your needs must take priority before you can think about anyone else. She can also be a symbol of needing to express yourself better or communicate better with someone. Venus is of course the planet tied to love but she also talks about putting yourself first. These messages could tie in with the idea of reflection and contemplating why you’re questioning matt’s interest as well as what you feel you need and deserve from a connection. The second house relates to the realm of values and in this case could mean that you are pushing your beliefs onto other people (ie: telling yourself matt isnt interested when he actually is).

finally i pulled a few cards from the channelled messages deck. These are meant to represent things matt would like to say if he could but take it with as many grains of salt as you wish.

Our first card is Strength (...Ego?) which defs calls back to the strength card as well as the mention of ego in the leo card just before. Someone’s ego is getting in the way. Is it yours which is impacting your commitment issues, or is it his making him come across incorrectly?

1 Cup represents the ace of cups which is about new beginnings particularly related to romance and relationships. And then we have I want a fresh start with you, so there is clearly an interest in moving things forward and getting beyond this speed bump to create a proper relationship together.

Listen To Your Heart calls back to that ‘Look Inside Yourself’ heart oracle. Your heart is trying to tell you something you just need to figure out what it is.

I need more time in reverse implies that he knows what he wants, he knows he wants you, he’s sick of whatever delay the hanged man referred to, he’s ready to move forward with you.

I am obsessed with your body in reverse indicates a physical attraction but theres interest beyond that, an interest in having something deeper with you.

I am absolutely in-love with you. Obviously it’s too early to expect the L word lmao but he can see himself falling for you if given the opportunity and the time to do so. He’s definitely drawn to you.

and then Have I lost everything? he’s worried that he won’t have the opportunity to show you what a good partner he could be, worried that you’re going to call an end to things before they really begin.

#card readings #apologies if some of this doesnt make any sense #its 11pm and im starting to feel v tired lmao #i dont think i missed anything though #but if you want more info or me to clarify something met me know!

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greenwaterskeeter · 4 years ago

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College Advice

My brother was like, hey if you have any tips… So i wrote this! And then thought, there’s lots of people on tumblr just now going to college too…

Theres nothing in here about covid or making sure you have enough money– because i dont know anything about being a student during covid and i wouldnt give the same advice for getting money to everyone (and i wouldnt always know how anyway). I assume in the advice that the reader has enough money, because my brother does. That makes a big difference! Someone struggling for money wont have the bandwidth or time, probably, to do a lot of the stuff i advise. Edit: ugh i forgot, this is about US schools, specifically liberal arts US schools. Sorry about that!

Also, I didnt feel right taking the affection out of it once i decided to share it publicly. Help yourself! I may not have as direct an interest in your life, but there’s nothing in there i wouldnt wish for anyone going to college right now. (there’s also quite a bit that I think applies to anyone regardless of whether they do college or not).

Hi ******!

College Advice:

Work: No matter how important your work is or how much you have, take at least one day off a week. No schoolwork or working for money or any kind of work at all that day! (if it works better for you to take a half-day here and there instead of the whole day, that will do). More than one day is preferable, but there may come times when you have So Much To DO that sacrificing your free time doesn’t seem so bad and even one day off feels like too much.

I’m sure you’ve had plenty of this already, but people will keep telling you (by things they say and don’t say) that what you accomplish is the most important thing. It is not. What is most important is up to you– but I think it’s being your own authentic self. That’s complicated of course, but it boils down to: you already have everything you need in yourself, and keeping in touch with what you really truly want and love comes before everything.

If you flunk out of school and all your nightmares come true and you still remember who you are, I will consider you to have succeeded. (but if you do forget– and so many things conspire to make you forget!– I will still be proud of you).

GPA: It’s not the same as it was in high school! I won’t get into specific numbers because different schools have different ways of calculating it, and different rates of gpa inflation etc. It’s mostly bullshit. Unfortunately, if you want to go to graduate school, it is bullshit you have to pay attention to, but even then it’s not as all-important as it was in high school. You don’t need a 4.0, not even to become a doctor or a lawyer. A 3.5 or 3.6 is plenty for the highest ambitions, especially given that you’ll be doing extracurriculars.

I would advise keeping half an eye on the numbers, and not straining yourself for even one additional 0.1 above your target, whatever you decide that is. If you decide not to do graduate school, you honestly could get any GPA as long as you don’t end up on academic probation (which i think goes on your permanent record? Or maybe not. I was on academic probation my last semester of senior year and i’m still not clear on whether it’s on the transcript somehow). After college, people only care that you have your bachelor’s, not what your grades were while you got it. They mostly won’t even care what the bachelor’s is in! It’s very strange, after all the work you’ve put in! (many of them only care that you had the money to go to school, very disappointing)

Extracurriculars: I did a lot of different ones, and still don’t feel entirely qualified to advise about them, because I hated most of them. My mistake was doing things I thought I should do instead of what I wanted to do. I think you should do what you want, even if there’s no existing group for the thing you want to do, for a few reasons. 1. You should enjoy yourself! Having fun is a very serious matter! Keeping the joy of living alive in your heart will make living feel worthwhile, of course, but it will also give you courage and the power to stick by your principles and keep pursuing your goals. 2. It doesn’t actually matter to graduate schools WHAT you did for extracurriculars; what they’re looking for is evidence for what kind of person you are, and they judge that that’s shown through HOW you do your extracurriculars (with commitment and integrity etc) rather than which ones you do. (even so, don’t let the “commitment” part keep you stuck in a soul-sucking activity!)

Choices: You’ll be told you’re supposed to choose your major on a certain timeline, do this and that and everything to very specific deadlines, all very proper. Of course, the more deadlines you meet, the easier things are. But on the other hand– human beings are not machines. You’re allowed to change your mind! Even after you were supposed to be sure! It’s much better to listen to your own misgivings and really look at them to figure out what you want as soon as you know they’re there rather than pushing them down in a panic because you’re not supposed to have them. If they’re ignored, they won’t go away, and they’ll eat at you, and one day they’ll ruin things. (this may be what midlife crises are made of).

Friends: I know you have an established way of having friends, very different from mine, and that’s a good thing! I also know a lot of people take going to college as an opportunity to finally allow themselves certain things. There’s all kinds of takes on this, from putting on a poorly-done accent to binge drinking to coming out. It’s much better to stretch your legs this way than otherwise, I think. We need all the autonomy we can get!

My advice here is: trust yourself. Listen to even your very quiet instincts. They’re there for a reason. You may elect to ignore them, but consider them first, and reject them afterwards if you must. The extreme end of this is Having A Bad Feeling. Listening to that has saved me from some sticky situations! A more mild form is the weird feeling of dissonance between you and an old friend. There are many reasons you may feel that, but unfortunately, in college, one of the most common reasons is that you’re becoming different people who aren’t so suited to being friends as your high school selves were. It’s painful! At the same time, it’s okay to love someone and not be together forever– but I suspect you already know that!

The one thing I would absolutely forbid is isolating yourself. It may seem impossible from where you are now, but that’s what I thought at the beginning too. College is a weird place, not exactly school and not exactly work and not exactly home, and it’s too easy to slip into anonymity. Tell your friends how you feel, good or bad! If you feel like you’re imposing on them, impose!! If they love you, they will prefer inconvenience over learning later that you were in pain and said nothing.

How to Learn: It’s true what they say, that teaching is the best way to learn. Your peers may not always welcome this– I was rather disliked in study groups for always explaining the answer, before I reined it in a bit (things were still awkward unfortunately! possibly for other reasons lol). Of course, other people’s jealousy isn’t your responsibility, and you may sow discord with your brilliance with my full blessing. If you’d rather not do that, my advice would be to become a tutor and/or TA in the subject(s) most important to you at your earliest convenience/whenever they allow you to. It really does make you an expert!

Humanities: They’re going to make you read a lot. Excessively, some might say! You’ll learn which readings are actually necessary to pore over, which ones you may skim, and which ones you may skip altogether. Please don’t feel guilty for not always doing all the reading! Almost no one does all of them. I didn’t even do all of them, and I was a stickler for Doing It Right.

Papers: my tricks are the Purdue OWL website (for brushing up on grammar, looking up how to do those goddamn finicky citation styles, seeing examples of finished papers in those styles), outlining, and rest time. Leaving time between drafts of a paper helps a lot! (that being said, I will be very surprised if you make it all the way through college without turning in at least a few first drafts. It’s not the end of the world, and if you’ve got a knack for it, the professors may not even know the difference! Very amusing). Reading through what you’ve written out loud also helps, however silly it may feel. It has to do with how your brain processes information, and hearing what you’ve written is different enough from seeing it that you’ll be more sensitive to errors and weirdnesses.

STEM subjects: For these ones, it’s more important to do all the homework, because they may only give you one problem per concept. Be very literal about how you interpret things, that’s how folks in STEM usually expect you to think. Office hours are gold, if you can get them (and if the professor isn’t an ass). TAs are hit or miss. Readings are usually super important, relatively short, and can be read multiple times for more benefit.

General knowledge: Don’t forget to think critically! You’d think that’s all you’ll be doing, but in fact most professors only want you to regurgitate their own thoughts back to them. Very disappointing. However, that doesn’t have to stop you! You can always think: “Who benefits from this? What voices aren’t I hearing from in this story?” (even in STEM there are stories). “Why is this important?” In general, don’t stop asking questions! This is where I think true intelligence lies.

I’m sure you don’t need ALL of this advice– please don’t think I don’t think you know what you’re doing! I’m being a little over-cautious not because I don’t trust you but because if there’s any chance of my mistakes and accidental successes helping you do better than otherwise, I want to give all of them that opportunity. Kind of a shotgun approach!

All my love,

Autumn!

#by auti #college advice #adulting #i guess? yeah i think this is that #and i'm mostly teasing abt wanting my brother to make ppl jealous #the joke is that he would NEVER #but i realize now it doesnt translate well to a general audience lol

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obeymematches · 4 years ago

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Hi!! I saw matchups were open and 👀 I'm an ANFP (A for ambivert). Generally with friends, my personality adapts to them, but I'm talkative, energetic and pretty playful. I like to annoy them by doing petty things such as untie their shoelaces or pat their head. I'm 5'2" with long black hair and brown eyes. I love learning about everything, I'm an enthusiast for learning new things!! My most favourite thing to learn about is cultures/languages or anything in the arts department! 1/4

I'm in love with music. I love all types of it and it's my life, though pop is the genre I most appreciate. I also enjoy making my own music, and will make songs for my partner, possibly a whole album for our anniversary. I also love writing and creating stories. It's a big passion of mine. I recently took up drawing too, and I would love to draw a portrait of my partner, should they allow me to!! With my partners, I tend to be overly affectionate. I love giving them praises!! 2/4 I've been told I'm very good at flirting, so I would wholeheartedly flirt with them, even though my pickup lines are very cheesy and wholesome. I will snuggle with my partner pretty much constantly should they allow me and press kisses wherever I can. I love playing with my partner's hair and giving them the world. I'm a switch in terms of being more confident or more flustered. It goes either way. I don't usually get mad, and I'm not normally a jealous type either. 3/4 I do hate being restricted though. I have a lot of guy friends and girl friends. If I'm not allowed to hang with them, the relationship will not go well. I also don't like a partner who doesn't respect my decisions about my life or my dreams. I'm very laid back about dates or things. I don't care much about gifts or where we go, more the experience and fun we have. Thank you so much and I hope this was okay!! Love your work!! 💕4/4 Oh hecc I forgot some hobbies!! I'm a singer!! A mezzo-soprano and I love singing given the opportunity! I'm a coder that's forever interested artificial intelligence! I love the thought that I could create a thinking mind with just codes or wires. I'm a true neutral. I love food as well as cooking it too!! But I'm not greaaat at it. I'm also in love with JRPGs and anime! And kpop haha. However, I'm not necessarily revolving my life around it. I bite my nails and I hate it. Sorry and thank you!

💕 Hi! 💕

Thank you for sending in a request, and thank you for your kind words! I hope you like the result!

So I decided to match you with Asmo!

My other choice would have been Levi since anime, but I decided to stick with my first thought. Levi can be too jealous at times and he definitely wouldn’t do well in a big social circle but I’m sure you’d be best friends, or it’s up to you if that would turn into something else. Because besides that there wouldn’t be any conflicts and the two of you could be just yourselves.

Here is why:

I think he is also talkative, so the two of you would have some things to talk about at all times!

I think it would be easy to annoy him but I’m sure he can prank you back if he wants to. I mean he lived with his brothers for centuries, for sure he has some ideas when it comes to pranking someone.

He likes the fact that you like to learn, that makes you smart and thats so cute!

The fact that you are ambivert probably means that he was the one who initiated conversation at first but you were very good at keeping that conversation about whatever was the topic, so you two connected early on.

I think at some parties he met with people who studied something similar as you are interested in so because of that he might actually know a thing or two about your interests. Sure he is probably more into gossip or makeup or fashion but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t listen when a different topic comes up.

He also likes pop music the most, so you would never have any conflict concerning this! You later mention that you sing a lot, so imagine having a duet with him!!!! I mean think about that!!! You could establish a band, juts the two of you!

Or if you are not into that then he would be sure to show you off at karaoke bars! The whole club would be looking at you two!

He would definitely serendae you if thats what you want, any time, on the spot!

I think his gosspis might influence some stories that you write. I mean us humans can’t even imagine all the things that go on in the devildom.

DRAW HIM LIKE ONE OF YOUR FRENCH GIRLS-

Jokes aside he would absolutely NOT be shy about that, you could practice drawing and he would be flattered!

Oh his love language is definitely affection so theres no conflict or conversation that needs to be held because of that! Imagine all the cuddles with him!

Asmo definitely loves himself and he definitely enjoys compliments so he would really appreciate that about you! Be prepared though because he is going to return the favor tenfolds more!

He is definitely one of the better flirtes of the bunch so if you two are at it i’m not sure who would decide to stay in the room anyway

Especially early in the relationship he would cuddle you so so much, lay on top of you, snuggle you, etc! very affectionate couple!

Oh I’m not sure if he likes it when someone touches his hair but if it’s you he might make an exclusion!

It’s really handy that you are not jealous because I don’t think he will ever stop flirting even if he is in a relationship and some might consider that cheating. But it doesn’t matter because the two of you have a strong connection! He is definitely not going to be nearly as jealous as Mammon would be for example, so hopefully you’d have no conflicts.

He is one of the more open-minded demons so he will definitely not restrict you in any way. Literally any way.

Oh it’s really nice that you have many friends, he is a social butterfly so he will feel just fine in your circle!

Maybe he would suggest merging his friends group with yours to have an extra big one where all of you have fun! Idk, think about that, its up to you

Anyways house parties are always loud and crwoded when the two of you are hosts. (imagine all the food you need to prepare beforehead....and all that cleanup afterwards...oh god i feel so bad is it really a good idea to match the two of you...)

I know you said you don’t care much about gifts but for sure thats his giving love language so expect many gifts just for you! Makeup, clothes, keychains, instruments, anything that reminds him of you!

I think he would respect you being a coder, I mean that means you could code some stuff for him too, right?? honestly he adores that you are so smart to do all these!

Don’t worry about food, I think you’d go out so much or have food delivered that your cookings skills might be unnecessary.

I think the fact that you are into animes would draw Levi in your circle and honestly Asmo would not really mind that. As I said he doesn’t mind your friends as long as you can give him attention too. He might join you two sometimes before going out or something. If you catch feelings for Levi along the way he doesn’t mind that either, I mean... he is the avatar of lust.... he knows how things work.

I mean in case Asmo hurts you or something I’m sure Levi would be the first person to be there and support you through it!

I headcanon that Asmo is into kpop. I mean idols are just perfect, just like him! you could definitely talk a lot about that!

He cares so much about appearance he would definitely find a way to have your nails well-kept!

So this is a very outgoing and energetic relationship, theres always something going on. But the two of you also trust the other and both of you are open-minded so hopefully there wouldn’t be many conflicts. He would absolutely infuelnce your appearance. He is also supportive and sensitive when it comes to you so you really feel special! Your hobbies differ a bit but hey, that is just a way to explore more of what life has to offer!

#obey me #obey me!#obey me shall we date #obey me asmo #asmo obey me #om asmo #om! asmo #asmo om #obey me asmodeus #asmodeus obey me #obey me matchup #swd obey me #obey me swd

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ofindcmitability · 5 years ago

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( benjamin wadsworth, 18, he/him) welcome to san francisco, william bright. rumor has it they are a demon-darklighter, but only they could tell you the truth! when i close my eyes, i think of them and imagine scars, broken blades & bloody hands.

enter at your own risk, this is a long one folks. i considered condensing but i said fuck it haha sorry guys theres a tldr at the end thou dw

BACKSTORY.

tw rape, abuse, child abuse, child soldiers, murder, assasination, abduction, torture, grooming, violence, weapons, entrapment, death, sucide attempt

he was born from a negotiation between a darklighter and a demon. well, more like the demon’s father and the darklighter. the demon was called MEPHISTO. he hungered for power in all shapes and forms, fathering a cambion and trying to use her for his own means. his daughter, a cambion named LUCIANA, had too much of her mother’s heart in her. she was useless to him, at least until he found use for her. as a bargaining chip. the darklighter’s name was JACK. the man had been an ordinary human by the name of jack adler in the 16th century. he was chosen by a demon to become something darker. however, even with this new power granted to him, jack wanted more. and more was something he never stopped reaching for.

jack wanted nothing more than his own army, and who better to be his soldiers than perfectly groomed children? so he made some. so many, all failures to him. the wrong species, he’d deem them. the wrong upbringing, the wrong strengths, the wrong EVERYTHING. in his hate for waiting, and sickness of failure, he started going after whoever he could. ( so yes, there’s lots of adler babies in the world. none of them to his standards but yeah. )

finally his mindset on a CAMBION. cambion, who were stronger than their demon counterparts. and a darklighter to boot? this child would be PERFECT. jack would even raise them himself, he decided. so after negotiations with mephisto, he took his daughter. he assaulted luciana, more than once. until finally, she got pregnant.

luciana was at a crossroads. she wasn’t happy. but that wasn’t the child’s fault, none of it was. so, she decided, she would TRY and love them. her level of succession... varied.

a small boy was born, given the name XION. it was not luciana’s choice, but jack silenced any protest. luciana hated the name. it was the name of a blade, not a child. and that was what xion was groomed to be. trained to hurt, to maim, to kill, all before he even reached double digits in age. jack was relentless in his plan. he wanted this child to be PERFECTION. and in jack’s eyes, he was. a measly five-year-old with blood-stained hands. perfection.

xion didn’t know what was right and wrong, he wasn’t taught it. he was taught his to slice with a sword, how to choke someone, the best places to hit, and how to make someone feel pain like no other. he learned violence like one would abcs. it was something ingrained into him. he lacked the knowledge to know killing was bad. no one told him otherwise. luciana had tried to, once. when he was small and lacked understanding. but her voice was small, jack’s was loud.

death was a normal part of life. to xion, it wasn’t just death that was normal. it was murder. murder he committed without looking back. xion had no idea the weight of a life. he simply obeyed his father’s orders without hesitation and continued on. he ate, he slept, and he obeyed. there was no room for likes, dislikes, wants or needs. he didn’t even know what he was missing.

he was nine years old when things... changed. luciana had given up on him by then. seeing the child she bore as a monster rather than a little boy. it was easier for her that way, at least for her. it made it a bit harder when xion actually started questioning things. it began with a man, an old man. xion’s first victim to ever beg for his life. many never got the chance, or they’d attempt attacking xion. ( each target was handpicked by jack, of course. ) but this man, an old man. he cried. he begged for his life, he spoke of a child younger than xion, a child that apparently needed him. he was on his knees, shaking violently as tears rolled down his cheeks. begging and begging. and xion... hesitated. this was unlike anything he’d known before. it brought to the surface emotion he didn’t even understand. so, xion let him go. he didn’t understand why, he didn’t understand much of any of it.

he knew his father was not one to confide in and his grandfather was hardly around as it was. so that left his mother. a woman who always kept her distance, who was cold at times. but never intentionally cruel. at least, not that he realized. he chased her down (no, it wasn’t easy. she didn’t want to be alone with him and he didn’t understand why.) but eventually, he was able to tell her. that he spared a man’s life. that he didn’t know WHY. that there was something wrong with him, obviously. luciana thought differently. instead of the anger he expected for his failure she... she put her arms around him. for a moment, he thought she was attacking him. but instead it was warm. it was a hug, his very first.

she spoke with such kindness, such softness, such affection--- it was unlike anything xion ever knew. he wanted more of it. ( he’d never been loved before, he didn’t understand it but it felt so nice? ) he saw her smile and it made him feel something else unfamiliar. something... good. he made her smile and it made him feel good. it was kind of wonderous. in her burst of emotion, luciana decided he could be salvaged. he wasn’t a monster, he could be saved. she began going on about how they could leave jack, leave hell, leave everything behind--- even their names! she never liked xion, she proclaimed, she much better liked WILLIAM. with curious eyes, he agreed to her plan. he hungered for more of it, for more love and affection and warmth.

a week, she had decided. she needed only a week to make preparations and then they would run like a week. a week, and then they were gone. well, luciana had been half right. she was gone in a week. on the day they were set to leave, xion couldn’t find the woman at all. and then there was his father, so smug... xion demanded the truth from him ( it was the first time he demanded anything.) and jack gave in. gloating, even. how luciana had deluded herself into thinking xion was any more than a weapon. how, maybe, she could have gotten away with it. if she hadn’t commissioned the witch to catch that spell. a spell to ensure jack couldn’t have any remaining children, to spare the world. jack hadn’t cared, he had xion. his perfect weapon.

his perfect weapon that attacked jack in that very moment. he dispatched with the boy easily, still only 9. scarring his down his eyes, and keen that he learns his lesson. xion, did not, in fact, learn his lesson. rather, he began to rebel. rebel was hardly even the word for his level of disobedience. refusing to even respond to the name xion ( in his head, he called himself WILLIAM, but jack needn’t know that ).

3 years went by, with xion intent on escaping his father or fighting him at all opportunities. no longer was he the perfect weapon at jack’s hand, he was something far worse. angry, disobedient, without purpose. he hungered for those warm emotions his mother gave him, and when he couldn’t recreate them he settled on something far more burning.

by the time the boy was 12 he riddled a number of scars, and unbridled fury. He wanted to find his mom. he was imbued with a goal. make sure his mother was alive, and once she was safe he’d kill his father and grandfather. simple. except… it really wasn’t.

it was nearing his 13th year when mephisto came back into the picture. angered at what jack had done to his daughter ( his possession ), mephisto arranged to set william free and to his mother. and finally, he felt it again, that warmth. his grandfather took him a asylum, a magical asylum. it was where his father had kept luciana and in the three previous years she’d been through what amounted to hell. her appearance alone was a drastic change, she looked so much older. so tired, so broken, exhausted by the simpleness of being. her hair was even whitening. and yet--- when her eyes landed on him she SMILED.

before william could make a move toward her, there was commotion. hunters, in the asylum. he didn’t know if it was planned or coincidence, but the timing was all too perfect. one moment, his mother was smiling at him. the next, the door flew open. her eyes went black, and then there was a bullet between them. william ATTACKED the hunters, almost like a rabid animal. he was scarred across the face, but ultimately they hesitated to kill a child. rather, they knocked him out.

he awoke in a cage with a devil’s trap upon it, keeping him locked within. the hunters were wary of the young boy, but ultimately unsure of what to do with him. they needed to decide if he was a menace to society or not. if he could be TRUSTED. so they did... tests. well, they called them tests. others would call them torture. william called them annoying (and to him, who been tortured properly the last three years, they were).

an ally of the hunters eventually came along. a young man by the name of DALLAN BRIGHT. it was around the time the hunters decided william was too dangerous, that he needed to be killed. now, you see, dallan didn’t exactly agree. and dallan (like his mother) was a cambion. so rather than arguing, he turned the hunters to stone and freed the young boy riddled with scars.

learning to trust dallan was something of a journey. he doubted it was permant, that dallan expected to become the guardian of a little hellion. and yet, together they remained. time went on, and something happened akin to bonding. will only thought akin because he had never bonded before. yet there dallan was, watching out for him in a way he had no idea what to do with. it was nice though. strengthened with time and action. when dallan proved time and time again he was trustworthy, and each time it shocked will. until eventually (maybe around the time he was 16) it stopped shocking him. because dallan was dallan and suddenly that meant something.

due to moving around quite a bit with dallan, will never had a fixture of permanent schooling. rather he acquired data from time to time and did a lot of research on what could be considered normal. he lacks quite a bit of knowledge in some others, where others he’s practically a dictionary.

APX SEASON 1.

his life changed in the form of a girl named lizzie saltzman. he was fiddling with a toy that made annoying sounds she wasn’t fond of. they talked and for the first time in his whole life, william felt interest, fondness. he was KEEN in getting to know the blonde girl who was undoubtedly one of a kind. the two met again, traded numbers, traded jabs and flirts. it was fun for them both, a spark to light up a whole home. however as she confessed to him her species a siphoner, will realized something vital. he happened to be a mass murderer, a former assassin, with kills over his belt extending past three digits. just because he wasn't that person anymore, didn’t mean lizzie shouldn’t know what she was talking into. he refused for a date until she knew more. then, she did. lizzie was a smart girl, she did her research. the two met at a library, ready to END IT ( before it even began). only for henchman of his father to attack. an altercation occurred, with the ultimate result of will sacrificing himself in order to ensure lizzie’s protection. will had been tortured for weeks, trying to reign him into submission. he had begged lizzie to let him go. she hadn’t listened. instead, she saved him. while he took to the mend, they spoke. they discussed. and their feelings were far too deep to let each other GO. it was beyond chemistry now, they were bonded together in ways they hadn’t with any other. eventually, the two went on their first date ( five guys ), they had their first kiss ( yes, there were fireworks between them ), among other things. they were a normal, healthy couple. at least until an incident occurred. lizzie’s life was put in jeopardy, and she confessed to him her dire situation of the merge. so, will proposed. it was a no brainer to him. if lizzie only had a few years left, a life sentence, if they didn’t find a way out of it— he wanted to spend every moment with her. she accepted, and they are officially ENGAGED. however, they made the decision to postpone the wedding itself for years to come. give them time to find a solution, and not to worry too much about it itself. only that bit has changed recently. done with the threat of jack looming above their heads, the two concocted a plan. a plan that went wayside. jack was banished to a prison world but lizzie DIED. or at least, will thought she did. his grief was painful, but upon learning she was alive--- well, things changed. the two made the decison to stop waiting for the wedding, they were happy and in love. they’re getting MARRIED.

the next radical change to his life was somehow getting a best friend in the form of landon kirby. inspired by lizzie, will tried to be more social. this resulted in him meeting landon kirby. the guy was a bit nerdy, but later will found out he was too. there was no life changing situation that thrust them together, but rather, much like lizzie and himself— will and landon clicked. they hung out together, had fun, built an ease of a relationship. so much so, that will confessed to landon his past on his own accord. and landon, he accepted will without hesitation. it was landon who found will in the aftermath of lizzie’s ‘death’ and it was landon who talked him off the ledge. the two are kinda bonded for life tbh.

NOTES / FUN FACTS:

for the longest time, william’s only goal had been to murder his father. that has changed in frequent time, however, if ever given the opportunity it wouldn’t be as easy he dreamed it. in fact, he’d probably struggle with killing jack due to the man being the single constant within his life and having such a power over him, even now.

meta on william halliwell & emotion.

nicole alfaro and arlo park are his half siblings and yep, will has no idea.

TLDR: william used to be a weapon (assassin) his father jack. hella escaped and was semi adopted by dallan bright ( he is william bright now ). met lizzie saltzman, fell deeply in love, and is a kind of a hot mess but he’s trying.

#apx:intro #all the tws are at the top #there are so many #take heed

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somnilogical · 5 years ago

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<<Over the past year, however, Google has appeared to clamp down. It has gradually scaled back opportunities for employees to grill their bosses and imposed a set of workplace guidelines that forbid “a raging debate over politics or the latest news story.” It has tried to prevent workers from discussing their labor rights with outsiders at a Google facility and even hired a consulting firm that specializes in blocking unions. Then, in November, came the firing of the four activists. The escalation sent tremors through the Google campus in Mountain View, Calif., and its offices in cities like New York and Seattle, prompting many employees — whether or not they had openly supported the activists — to wonder if the company’s culture of friendly debate was now gone for good.

(A Google spokeswoman would not confirm the names of the people fired on Nov. 25. “We dismissed four individuals who were engaged in intentional and often repeated violations of our longstanding data-security policies,” the spokeswoman said. “No one has been dismissed for raising concerns or debating the company’s activities.” Without naming Berland, Google disputed that investigators pressured him.)>>

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/18/magazine/google-revolt.html

<<“Of the five people that were fired, three of us are trans women,” Spiers said. “That is either an unbelievable coincidence or Google is targeting the most vulnerable.”

“Trans Googlers make up a very small percentage of Googlers,” she added. “They make up a slightly larger percentage of organizers, but not 60%.”>>

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/17/fifth-google-worker-activist-fired-in-a-month-says-company-is-targeting-the-vulnerable

i too am transfem and would "violate longstanding data-security policies" if my organization were being unjust. i wouldnt say that unless it were already obvious by what bits ive leaked to people about my life, because otherwise i could suppress this information and whistleblow more.

if you were an evil corp at this point youd probably try to avoid hiring any trans women in the first place because given this happens to you, its likely done by a transfem. not that this saved CFAR, who never hired a trans woman, from having a bunch of transfems whistleblow on them despite not being employees.

from what ive read from transfem google employees who are or were involved in activism, the degredation of google's culture. their complicity with ICE and weapons manufacturing mirrors CFAR's with OpenAI and DeepMind; authoritarianism and expulsion of transfems who object to this among a myriad of wrongs. to protect the territory of injustice and complicity with organizations like ICE, google needs to import "a consulting firm that specializes in blocking unions", CFAR needs to violate their whistleblower policy. if you once protect injustice, justice is ever after your enemy. morality isnt some modular thing such that you can be comitted to protecting injustice and not have this choice spiral into also invoking and protecting systems that protect injustice and invoking further things to protect those, recursively. all the way down to doing really dumb and obvious unjust things like transmisogyny (lots of future posts), changing your fundraiser after its clear its losing money, announcing that this year you got way below your donation target and claim to have no idea why.

well *i* know the compact generator for all of these things, and that makes me strong. unlike MIRI/CFAR who like the CDC rely on gaslighting the populace for myopic gains. i also wore a particle mask during the time that the CDC claimed that they were useless to preventing spread of disease, so it was really important to give them to doctors and nurses.

after so much gaslighting, *i* have built up general capabilities at arbitraging the difference between what agents claim and the truth. people who say:

<<Edit: This is a type of post that should have been vetted with someone for infohazards and harms before being posted, and (Further edit) I think it should have been removed by the authors., though censorship is obviously counterproductive at this point.

Infohazards are a real thing, as is the Unilateralists’s curse. (Edit to add: No, infohazards and unilateralist’s curse are not about existential or global catastrophic risk. Read the papers.) And right now, overall, reduced trust in CDC will almost certainly kill people. Yes, their currently political leadership is crappy, and blameworthy for a number of bad decisions—but it doesn’t change the fact that undermining them now is a very bad idea.

Yes, the CDC has screwed up many times, but publicly blaming them for things that were non-obvious (like failing to delay sending out lab kits for further testing,) or that they screwed up, and everyone paying attention including them now realizes they got wrong (like being slow to allow outside testing,) in the middle of a pandemic seems like exactly the kind of consequence-blind action that lesswrongers should know better than to engage in.

Disclaimer: I know lots of people at CDC, including some in infectious diseases, and have friends there. They are human, and get things wrong under pressure—and perhaps there are people who would do better, but that’s not the question at hand.>>

https://www.greaterwrong.com/posts/h4vWsBBjASgiQ2pn6/credibility-of-the-cdc-on-sars-cov-2/comment/uDYbgf3QtEQirbsJk

havent. its easy to see how peoples minds are warped when its someone elses glowy thing, when its someone elses friends working for an institution that that someone else routed their hopes through.

its easier to recognize betrayal and see knowledge beyond the veil when its happening to someone else, instead of you.

until you build up general skills for recognizing it, this sort of betrayal isnt infinitely powerful. and like how you might expect that smart people who live for predation would do anti-inductive smart predatory things, but they end up converging on child sex rings; institutions that betray you, because justice is their enemy will start doing dumb unjust things like banning two people from speaking about their irl experiences with anna salamon, saying their first-hand accounts werent evidence and then citing anna salamon's first-hand account of the meeting as evidence. when i objected that this was a fucked up self-serving ontology of "evidence" they acted like i was objecting to "beliefs flow from evidence" and they acted as if what i was saying was obscure and beyond their ability to comprehend. their "incomprehension" was fake, downstream of a fear to dynamically compute things in front of other people that might end up outside the orthodoxy. the result of which is they display a blue screen of death and say “i just dont understand and aaa dont explain this to me!!!”. and then people agree that it "seems like it could be an infohazard" because when your goal is the preservation of the matrix, everything that tears it down looks like hazardous information.

or a cfar employee, in response to claims that anna's transmisogyny influences CFAR's hiring choices, claiming that anna salamon, head of CFAR, is not involved in CFAR's hiring. until i post proof from another CFAR employee pursuing personal vengeance against the org for hiring their rapist where its tangentially mentioned and they suddenly "realize" that anna salamon, head of CFAR, is involved in CFAR's hiring process.

or a thousand other injustices that have burned themselves into my brain during my months of talking with people under the assumption that they were simply mistaken in their path to saving the world. when they were actually un-mistaken in their path to having babies and a low chance of personal death. hoping and expecting someone else will take heroic responsibility for the planet.

like when you drill down to the base of injustice, it bottoms out in dumb and petty injustice. like the structure doesnt go infinitely high and complex, if you go down to the base level, you just need a bit of courage to not flinch away from what you see even if it seems that it means the ruin of something you ran your hopes and dreams through.

"isnt this a little... extreme?" i hear some people ask. ""dont protect regions of injustice?" that sounds like the end product of obsessive compulsive fixation on virtue at the expense of practicality."

well, assuming the algorithm seeding this response is a systemic reasoning tool, it should forkbomb when you consider if youd output ""dont protect regions of untruth?" that sounds like the end product of obsessive compulsive fixation on virtue at the expense of practicality." in response to eliezers essay. the principle behind both is the same such that if you hold by one you should hold by the other.

all of these things have parallels. if you want to see what is happening with MIRI/CFAR, theres a lot of mutual information with whats happening with Google.

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shsldepressedlesbian · 5 years ago

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Few questions to help both us n you get to know the passengers on this cruise to hell better! 1,upon first glance what something someone would immediately notice abt your ocs appearance? 2,does your ocs Like their talent? This says a lot about them as people and feel free to go into detail why or why not they do. 3,do any of the cast have any character quirks? Be it in speech or otherwise

hey this looks fun :0

Yuuki: i think its safe to say the many assortments of flowers she wears in her hair. while she isnt a gardener or anything, one of her siblings is, and they often send flowers to her. yuuki, in turn, usually mends them all into a flower crown, or even plain just puts a single flower into her hair.

Emica: when it comes to it, i suppose her traditional japanese arm band, symbolising her stance on the student council. her many different necklaces is a close competitor.

Arata: he dresses like he just walked out of a time loop from england 1930s. i think thats pretty noticeable-

Mitsuo: the unhealthily dark bags under his eyes, and the very pale skin which does not go well with his very bright, red hair.

Asuka: her very rich, haughty aura. and even though anyone would hate to admit it, shes borderline very attractive.

Manabu: he looks like he came from a very formal ball, not to mention it would be hard to miss the variety of shiny crystals he wears as bracelets.

Seiichi: at first glance, people might say he looks like he just had a ruffle with someone- but if you pay attention, he actually really is neat and tidy- aside from his tie.

Tamotsu: at first glance, people would probably compare him to indiana jones when it comes to his outfit choice. he doesnt deny these comparsions.

Kamiko: her sunhat, for sure. theyre usually wide brimmed, though fashionable. the second thing is probably the many ‘luck charms’ she wears as accesories.

Kenta: how he looks much stronger than he actually is. also his sneakers. everyone notices the sneakers. even if you arent a fan of footwear, you WILL notice his sneakers.

Chieko: chieko is very… ordinary looking. in fact, her normalness compared to any other ultimate is probably the first thing youll ever notice. it actually makes her stand out.

Masa: the first youll notice about masa is her sheer size of accesories. bracelets, rings, hair pins, and necklaces galore. if you pay enough attention, youll actually notice she and tamotsu have matching necklaces.

Fumiko: a notable thing about fumikos appearance is how… scandalous her outfit is. fumiko isnt shameful at all about how much skin shes exposing; though it never gets too crazy. usually. hopefully.

Kohaku: there is nothing really abnormal about kohaku, other then their very bright mint color scheme. the reading glasses hanging from a small chain on the front of their suit is also something noteworthy.

Aika: the first thing youll notice about aika is the fact that her coat is almost completely made out of buttons- each one she sewed onto it herself. for someone who youd expect look to have come out of the 1990s, she has a reasonable modern feel to her clothes.

Satoru: at first glance, you could see satoru as, to be frank, a vsco boy. his casual outfit, sunglasses, and jacket with many pins relating to saving the ocean can give off that feel. however, he resents the stereotypes of ‘vsco’. also, its hard to tell if his murky hair is either white or grey.

Usagi: the first thing youll notice about usagi is the fact she always looks like shes prepared for a hike. her backpack, casual but warm outfit wear, and always pulled up hair can give that impression.

Yuuki: yuuki has a soft spot for her talent, considering how it dates back to her grandmother, and its always been something shes been experienced with. its fair to say yuuki likes her talent.

Emica: emica really doesnt consider herself worthy of her talent. the only reason she got it, afterall, is because of her dad, not to mention this fact has caused her a fair amount of nasty envy with her fellow classmates. still, she tries to honor her responsibility of being student council president. emica doesnt particularly like her talent.

Arata: if theres one thing arata is proud of, its his talent. hes been into history since he was a small child- and to have his research celebrated is his dream come true. he can, however, be a little cocky about it. he really does consider himself the best historian in history. arata likes, and is very proud of, his talent.

Mitsuo: he wont even tell anyone what his talent is. i wonder why…

Asuka: whether or not asuka enjoys her talent is left to debate. it is, however, for sure something she uses to her advantage. shes part of the main student council! of course everyone has to respect her, right? she also considers being the treasurer ‘finally’ a way to use her social skills and knowledge with mathematics to use. asuka likes her talent.

Manabu: manabu was always expected to be helpful in the study of outer space. his whole family line consisted of astronomers, astronauts, astrophysicists, and more. manabu had to choose his career at a young age, and he decided on astrogeology. this didnt mean manabu was stuck in the career. or, at least, he was, until an opportunity arrived. yet even when he got it, he decided not to take it. manabu always had a soft spot for astrogeology, though perhaps if he didnt have his current family line, he would have become the ultimate of a different talent. manabu likes his talent, though that may only be because of his history.

Seiichi: seiichis history of slam poetry goes all the way back to elementary. its his form of venting, if you will, as even though he comes across as nervous, his head is filled with anger at the world. but also hope, of making a new one. a better one. he considers being invited to attend sailing integrity was just a plus to his journey. seiichi likes his talent.

Tamotsu: tamotsu has been interested in tombs and the history of egypt for a long time. the closest thing he could find to fulfilling his interests was becoming a tour guide to show people around said tombs, and he found himself having fun, rehearsing facts and making the otherwise gloomy places bright. making tourists days a little more fun was good enough for him. tamotsu quite likes his talent.

Kamiko: kamikos talent was always something that she did as a fun hobby. sewing tapestries that told fascinating tales was always something she was invested in. and the many tales she sewed was really the only things that kept her company while she kept herself locked in her room. however, even if she likes her talent, she was not a fan of being recognized for it, and being coaxed by her parents to attend the academy. kamiko likes her talent, but isnt a fan of being the ‘ultimate’ of it.

Kenta: if we were being real here, kenta is very… neutral on his talent, which is weird for him. the way he learnt it is connected with bad memories, but doing it has always been refreshing to him. a way to run around, blow off steam. he supposes being called deemed the ‘ultimate’ of it isnt that bad. kenta likes his talent, for the majority.

Chieko: being the ultimate chemist wasnt chiekos first choice, but she takes it with dignity. chieko is neutral on her talent.

Masa: masas talent was born out of curiosity, and it grew from it. masas history of interpreting dreams is affiliated with many different emotions and memories. but for the most part, its been positive. she is very into the persona of it, and considers it a chance for her to act all mythical and wise. but, shes just really happy that she got to be a ultimate along with tamotsu. masa likes her talent, especially the attention she gets from it.

Fumiko: fumiko, probably, resents her talent the most out of the cast. its a very constant, confusing, love-hate relationship. she dislikes the title of ultimate lucky student, as she finds it cheesy, which is the whole reason why she calls herself a blackjack player. after talking to her for a bit, it becomes clear she doesnt want her talent to define her, and that she honestly couldnt care less about ultimates and the academies. her whole reason for applying to the lottery seems to stem from family reasons. while she dislikes the academy, she also takes any chance she can to pump her ego around her talent. its confusing, honestly. fumiko is not a fan of her talent.

Kohaku: kohakus murder mystery career started out as a coping method. however, they get very attached to every story and characters they make, putting love into every book, which is the whole reason they got recognized as the ultimate murder mystery novelist. kohaku has pride in becoming the ultimate murder mystery novelist, though they dont consider it a big deal. whether or not they became an ultimate wouldnt have any effect on the future of their career. theyll always write murder mysteries. kohaku likes their talent.

Aika: aika considers her becoming an ultimate a complete ‘accident’. aika isnt especially invested in vintage collecting- she just had a lot of old stuff she posted online, not even realising how old and valuable they really were, and the next thing she knew, the email and letter came. actually, the invitation to sailing integrity is what really made her consider making collecting old items a hobby. secretly, aika is a little insecure of her talent, finding it boring compared to others talents. aika likes her talent, but only to a certain point.

Satoru: satorus want to study the oceans animals has been active for a long time, especially since he was always close to water, considering his parents were fishermen. he finds the thought of the ocean being 95% explored to be highly interesting, and his goal is to crack down another 5% before he dies. becoming the ultimate of what he loved to do was very much a welcomed moment, especially with the promise that the academy would supply him with items that would help reinforce his talent. satoru has always been especially passionate about marine biology. satoru likes his talent.

Usagi: usagi is also very neutral when considering her talent. in fact, her talent is always at the back of her mind when introducing herself. usagi, truthfully, isnt a fan of most of the school referring to her as the ‘ultimate runaway’, considering how many of them paint it as a form of rebelling and thus delinquency. shes just a girl who likes taking sharing nature with the world whilst traveling, and wants others to see that as well. usagi is iffy on her talent.

(hmmm im not sure what your definition of ‘quirks’ are, but here, have this:)

Yuuki: taps her foot an awful lot.

Emica: none visible.

Arate: can you consider writing almost everything down a quirk?

Mitsuo: taps surfaces whenever hes thinking.

Asuka: none visible.

Manabu: none visible.

Seiichi: as noted before, he tugs on his tie when hes nervous. also has a habit of rising his voice when he doesnt mean to.

Tamotsu: has more of an american dialect.

Kamiko: has the iconic danganronpa stutter, hides her face behind her hat.

Kenta: none visible.

Chieko: also has an american dialect, though hers is less apparent then tamotsus.

Masa: has a very cryptic way of speaking, except when she lets normal sentences slip through.

Fumiko: has a bit of a drawl to her voice.

Kohaku: none visible, surprisingly.

Aika: almost always moving, cannot stand completely still.

Satoru: rarely uses h’s if they are at the front of the word.

Usagi: has an unidentifiable accent.

#cruise to despair

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