#actual indie small company

[divorciada]

it's been 6 months and I still haven't seen a single piece of bg3 fan merch irl

[korattata]

remind me to never ever read the comments on a game that's in early access ever again

[victorborkowski]

i have an au that lives in my head where sova is actually a radiant but he doesn't know it BECAUSE. i think ice (and therefore snow) powers obviously make the most sense for him. but i think him having a secondary ability where he just ages slower than normal.... at a Glacial pace..... hahaha......... would be really funny. like that being what manifested first for him, way back when first light happened 13-14 years ago and he was still in the military, and he's like fresh out of a war with half his friends looking haggard as fuck because war AGES a mfer. but he's over there looking like he's still freshly 20 just :D lalalalalala! and nobody questions it. ever. especially him. he looks at himself in the mirror and is just like yep that's a normal thirty-something year old. and then later on out of nowhere rooms start getting colder while he's in them, his body temperature DROPS and sage is briefly so concerned until it turns out he's completely fine, just sitting at a casual 95 F body temperature now. and then later it turns into his breaths misting when he gets upset or his tears turning into little snowflakes, and eventually one day during a mission he just EXPLODES and there's ice fawking EVERYWHERE.

i also think. personally. after the email from sage -> brimstone, where sage is like 'i think we need to reclassify what the protocol considers a radiant' it could be reaaaalllly interesting to, like...maybe make some commentary re: extended close exposure to radianite? like. sova's EYE. that is IN HIS EYEBALL SOCKET. which is obviously IN HIS HEAD. is giving him 24/7 constant close exposure to radianite. it is literally so close to his BRAIN. and ur gonna tell me that won't change a mfer? okay......

[icewindandboringhorror]

I love all of these goofy product photos where the water bottle is extremely obviously just photoshopped onto a stock image of someone pretending to hold something or whatever.. very convincing..

[anorchidkid]

diehard sky cotl fan and therefore im also a diehard tgc complainer and i do not understand why there is the giant merged manta on that floor of vault

like i admire the lore building and vault is one of my favourite levels (i was starstruck for the entire of my first playthrough of it) but at what point was it a good idea to go "oh what if we stuck 4 mantas TOGETHER???? we will make no other reference to this amalgamation and it will look like a bug to everyone seeing it for the first time but let me cook"

[tastycitrus]

i don't get why arteria gave the cygnus soldiers a new design, but they're still wielding spears

well, i do understand why they went with the same infantryman design; they didn't want to make five different sprites when they could just get away with one. but i don't have to like it.

like come on nexon. you already made the designs, why not actually use them?

[imsobadatnicknames2]

Question: If abolishing intellectual property laws would only strengthen companies abilities to exploit poor artists, why are these same companies constantly lobbying to make IP laws stronger and stricter?

Like do you honestly, legitimately, unironically believe that Disney has spent decades and millions of dollars lobbying for something that protects US from THEM?

Also it's funny how your tags try to paint anyone in support of copyright abolition as an entitled consumer who just wants to be able to freely pirate poor artists' hard work free of consequence when every single copyright abolitionist I've met in my life is some sort of artist who has come to the conclussion that the restrictions that copyright law imposes on them in terms of what they can and can't use in their art outweigh the supposed "benefits" of being protected by it (which generally exist only on paper unless you're already wealthy).

[kdinjenzen]

So with all the stuff going on around Nintendo Vs Pocketpair I feel like people are missing the point of what's going on.

And this article actually finally brings up the biggest point: Nintendo has 1000s of patents and chooses not to enforce them all on everyone.

The idea that, quoting the article and Serkan Toto, "Nintendo's sweeping list of patents means it likely "could have sued half of the gaming industry back in 2017," …so like WHY NOT DO THAT?

There's a million reasons to not do it for Nintendo but TLDR is it's just bad business for them to do so.

The real take away is -what has PocketPair/Palworld done- that has brought out Nintendo to start enforcing these things in this particular situation?

A lot if you pay attention to PocketPair/Palworld's marketing and social presence. They threw rocks at Nintendo, so Nintendo is finally pushing back.

Now I'm not going to fully go to bat for Nintendo and say "they are a good company" because there's no such thing truly…

But in most cases with Nintendo, they C&D folks multiple times before even thinking of escalating anything to real legal trouble. Which is kinder than most companies.

The final thought of the article says that Nintendo may feel "threatened" by PalWorld but… I don't buy it.

Pokemon is THE highest grossing franchise in the world… ever… of all time. It's total revenue is around $100 BILLION with a B.

PalWorld, even at it's height, didn't even come close.

The aspects that I think Nintendo decided to act upon in their mind for this is the brazen bold rudeness and shit talking that happened on social media/marketing with PocketPair/Palworld.

PLUS the fact that Pokemon fans were also quick to be like "bruh, even if this isn't stolen it's obviously design lifted" for a lot of Palworld's Pals.

Add in the fact that both Microsoft and now Sony have pulled PalWorld onto their platforms… Nintendo is going to notice and get mad.

The truth is that PocketPair is an indie dev… with major AAA studios behind it now in a lot of ways. Which actually hurts PocketPair in a sense.

Nintendo tends to ignore indie stuff and has actually collabed with many indie studios before in major ways, so they aren't anti-indie.

Nintendo is OLD SCHOOL and expects a little bit of respect.

Nintendo has not taken action against pretty much any of the other true new Tiny Critter Collecting Indie IP that have popped up, a lot of them are ON Nintendo platforms and have had Nintendo feature them in directs…

But PocketPair threw rocks. Nintendo easily saw this as disrespect, but could be ignored.

What CAN'T be is the outcry from their own fanbase to "look into things" with PalWorld to see what, if anything, was lifted from Nintendo directly.

And Nintendo did. They took over a year to look into it.

This isn't Nintendo doing a knee jerk reaction, they went over things and took their time to research what PalWorld and PocketPair were doing.

Nintendo isn't stupid. They don't pick fights for no reason.

Regardless of if you LIKE Nintendo, or your feelings on a big company taking on a little company… Nintendo is very likely on the right side of business, IP, and patent law here.

Nintendo -losing- here would be, actually, really bad for small folks more than big guys in the long run.

Adding in the fact that PocketPair launched a generative Ai art game on top of all that…

This feel like, yes, Nintendo is flexing in a lot of ways but… they chose who to flex on and not to flex on -everyone-… so there seems to be a solid reason as to -why-.

Again the real take away is that IF Nintendo could have sued half of the gaming industry (as of 2017) with all the patents they have … why didn't they and WHY are they choosing to sue PocketPair/Palworld -now-?

Because that's more important than anything else.

[not-terezi-pyrope]

Often when I post an AI-neutral or AI-positive take on an anti-AI post I get blocked, so I wanted to make my own post to share my thoughts on "Nightshade", the new adversarial data poisoning attack that the Glaze people have come out with.

I've read the paper and here are my takeaways:

Firstly, this is not necessarily or primarily a tool for artists to "coat" their images like Glaze; in fact, Nightshade works best when applied to sort of carefully selected "archetypal" images, ideally ones that were already generated using generative AI using a prompt for the generic concept to be attacked (which is what the authors did in their paper). Also, the image has to be explicitly paired with a specific text caption optimized to have the most impact, which would make it pretty annoying for individual artists to deploy.

While the intent of Nightshade is to have maximum impact with minimal data poisoning, in order to attack a large model there would have to be many thousands of samples in the training data. Obviously if you have a webpage that you created specifically to host a massive gallery poisoned images, that can be fairly easily blacklisted, so you'd have to have a lot of patience and resources in order to hide these enough so they proliferate into the training datasets of major models.

The main use case for this as suggested by the authors is to protect specific copyrights. The example they use is that of Disney specifically releasing a lot of poisoned images of Mickey Mouse to prevent people generating art of him. As a large company like Disney would be more likely to have the resources to seed Nightshade images at scale, this sounds like the most plausible large scale use case for me, even if web artists could crowdsource some sort of similar generic campaign.

Either way, the optimal use case of "large organization repeatedly using generative AI models to create images, then running through another resource heavy AI model to corrupt them, then hiding them on the open web, to protect specific concepts and copyrights" doesn't sound like the big win for freedom of expression that people are going to pretend it is. This is the case for a lot of discussion around AI and I wish people would stop flagwaving for corporate copyright protections, but whatever.

The panic about AI resource use in terms of power/water is mostly bunk (AI training is done once per large model, and in terms of industrial production processes, using a single airliner flight's worth of carbon output for an industrial model that can then be used indefinitely to do useful work seems like a small fry in comparison to all the other nonsense that humanity wastes power on). However, given that deploying this at scale would be a huge compute sink, it's ironic to see anti-AI activists for that is a talking point hyping this up so much.

In terms of actual attack effectiveness; like Glaze, this once again relies on analysis of the feature space of current public models such as Stable Diffusion. This means that effectiveness is reduced on other models with differing architectures and training sets. However, also like Glaze, it looks like the overall "world feature space" that generative models fit to is generalisable enough that this attack will work across models.

That means that if this does get deployed at scale, it could definitely fuck with a lot of current systems. That said, once again, it'd likely have a bigger effect on indie and open source generation projects than the massive corporate monoliths who are probably working to secure proprietary data sets, like I believe Adobe Firefly did. I don't like how these attacks concentrate the power up.

The generalisation of the attack doesn't mean that this can't be defended against, but it does mean that you'd likely need to invest in bespoke measures; e.g. specifically training a detector on a large dataset of Nightshade poison in order to filter them out, spending more time and labour curating your input dataset, or designing radically different architectures that don't produce a comparably similar virtual feature space. I.e. the effect of this being used at scale wouldn't eliminate "AI art", but it could potentially cause a headache for people all around and limit accessibility for hobbyists (although presumably curated datasets would trickle down eventually).

All in all a bit of a dick move that will make things harder for people in general, but I suppose that's the point, and what people who want to deploy this at scale are aiming for. I suppose with public data scraping that sort of thing is fair game I guess.

Additionally, since making my first reply I've had a look at their website:

Used responsibly, Nightshade can help deter model trainers who disregard copyrights, opt-out lists, and do-not-scrape/robots.txt directives. It does not rely on the kindness of model trainers, but instead associates a small incremental price on each piece of data scraped and trained without authorization. Nightshade's goal is not to break models, but to increase the cost of training on unlicensed data, such that licensing images from their creators becomes a viable alternative.

Once again we see that the intended impact of Nightshade is not to eliminate generative AI but to make it infeasible for models to be created and trained by without a corporate money-bag to pay licensing fees for guaranteed clean data. I generally feel that this focuses power upwards and is overall a bad move. If anything, this sort of model, where only large corporations can create and control AI tools, will do nothing to help counter the economic displacement without worker protection that is the real issue with AI systems deployment, but will exacerbate the problem of the benefits of those systems being more constrained to said large corporations.

Kinda sucks how that gets pushed through by lying to small artists about the importance of copyright law for their own small-scale works (ignoring the fact that processing derived metadata from web images is pretty damn clearly a fair use application).

[gatheringbones]

[“When I produced a small queer porn website in 2009, we came up against credit card companies threatening not to process our members’ payments when we posted fisting videos, and we posted a lot of fisting videos. The niche subgenre of “queer porn” emphasizes communication and safer sex as part of the action and tends to take a vérité/gonzo approach: the camera parks itself in the room and documents the way queers cum and adjust and gaze and writhe. In my experience, when you give queer porn stars carte blanche to do whatever they want on camera, they frequently want to put their hands inside each other. Thus, fisting has become closely associated with indie queer porn, which gives bans on the act a strong stink of homophobia.

Many of these constructions of what is considered legally obscene or in violation of a digital platform’s “community standards” are dictated not by actual communities but by tech plutocrats interested only in hoarding wealth and social control, or politicians and other lawmakers who do not understand or care about the confirmation biases that lead them to make arbitrary judgments on so-called morality. They also come from corporate credit card companies who want to make money off adult entertainment while still distancing themselves from perceptions of deviance. All of these entities are pretty clearly motivated by the notion that the erect penis should always be the focus of sex and by discomfort with the idea that pussies and asses can gape with pleasure if you treat them right.“]

tina horn, from why are people into that? a cultural investigation of kink, 2024

[silver-horse]

a company who has the money to make it happen AND they are passionate about their game.  yeah, that is an anomaly. lol

the fact that one dev on twitter criticised them for too much “effort” and called the game “nonsense in scope”  Lmao they are literally mocking the game for being too good and mocking the developers for... like giving a fuck about their own game? 

triple AAA developers getting butthurt on twitter about how baldurs gate is an anomaly and shouldn’t set the standard for future games is just embarrassing.

“don’t expect games like BG3 to come out because they just got lucky”

larian is PASSIONATE as hell about this game, you can just tell how much they care in interviews. people should and will spport larian for their hardwork, for listening to player feedback, and for creating a great game!

[caitified]

can we get a caitlin x reader where reader is a fan and meets cc in Indy at an event and they just click. caitlin isn't fully out to her teammates though so she's trying to be lowkey with her flirting and is failing miserably lol

flirt

caitlin clark x reader

warnings: a little awkward, inspired by caitlin at the gala a few weeks ago, requests are open!

the gala is in full swing, filled with everyone from sports icons to industry insiders, and you’re just trying to soak it all in. you’re there representing your broadcasting company, a little starstruck but trying to keep it cool—until you spot caitlin clark a few feet away. she’s standing with a whole group of her indiana fever teammates, laughing and mingling: kelsey, temi, nalyssa, katie lou. they’re all impressive, but it’s caitlin who has this energy that keeps drawing your attention.

you’re doing your best not to stare, but caitlin glances up and catches your eye, a little smile tugging at her lips. then, without missing a beat, she excuses herself from the group and walks over, her teammates too caught up in their own conversations to notice her laser focus on you.

“hey,” she says, her tone casual but that smile just a little too interested to be entirely professional. “having a good time?”

“yeah, it’s amazing,” you reply, trying not to sound too flustered. “honestly, it’s a bit surreal seeing everyone in one place.”

she laughs, leaning in a little. “trust me, we’re just normal people. maybe a little taller than most.” there’s this spark in her eyes, and she finds these tiny excuses to brush her hand against yours or lean just a bit closer than necessary. every time, your heart skips, but each time one of her teammates glances over, she shifts back, trying to look casual. problem is, she’s terrible at being subtle.

kelsey notices first, raising an eyebrow as she looks between the two of you. “caitlin, making new friends?”

caitlin gives her a look, doing her best to play it cool. “yeah, just, you know… networking.”

“networking, sure,” kelsey says with a smirk before wandering off, clearly amused.

caitlin rolls her eyes, muttering, “ignore her.”

“oh, i don’t mind,” you tease, grinning. “she’s just picking up on your very subtle flirting.”

caitlin flushes but tries to laugh it off. “i don’t flirt,” she says, then quickly adds, “but… hypothetically, if i were—would it be working?”

you’re about to answer when temi appears, glancing between the two of you with a knowing smile. “hey, are we interrupting something?”

“nope!” caitlin says a little too quickly, shooting you an almost guilty smile. “just… talking shop.”

temi nods, clearly not buying it but not pushing either. “right. well, we’re heading over to grab drinks. want to come?”

caitlin hesitates, glancing at you. “actually… i think i’ll stay here a bit.”

temi raises an eyebrow, clearly holding back a grin. “sure thing,” she chuckles, walking back to the others.

as soon as she’s gone, caitlin sighs, giving you a lopsided smile. “this is going so well, huh?”

“you’re not as subtle as you think,” you laugh.

she bites her lip, looking down for a second, then pulls a small card from her pocket. “here, for networking,” she says, handing you her number scribbled on it.

“totally professional, right?” you ask, mirroring her grin.

“of course,” she replies, her eyes twinkling. “though… if you’re around later, maybe we can expand this networking session.” she winks, cheeks flushed as she tries to play it off, failing miserably.

her teammates are watching as she rejoins them, giving her all kinds of teasing looks, but you’re left there with her number in your hand, grinning to yourself and already looking forward to whatever might happen next.

part 2? lesson coming soon for all that asked

[vxnuslogy]

– nuvole bianche.

pairing: scaramouche x gn!reader

premise: scaramouche, or kunikuzushi to you, never dreams. but after that accident on prom night, he's been dreaming more than he liked. he wonders if his past actions were actually enough.

– warnings: angst with slight comfort <3 + slight spoilers for the game "until then"

– author's note: this is what happens after i watch a playthrough of every depressing indie game. art credits to @.inertraccoon on twitter. | ~4.7k words.

“look at you working so hard,” you tease as you sit beside him. “what happened to quitting hm?”

he only rolls his eyes at you and elbows your side. you scoff in offense and shove him back. for a while, the two of you went back and forth elbowing one another until you burst out into a fit of laughter. scaramouche only clicks his tongue, his eyes focusing back on the set of black and white keys in front of him. all the while feeling your lingering stare and the way it made the hairs on his arms stand.

“if you’re going to disturb me then leave. i have no use for distractions.” his voice was stern but you only threw him a smile. your own finger danced on the keys with his in perfect harmony, scaramouche couldn’t help the small smirk that twitched at his lips.

“will you finally tell me the name of your piece?” you ask. 

he paused in his movement and just stared in front of him. you continued to play his piece with ease. scaramouche didn’t want to acknowledge how your fingers had memorized every line and curve of his creativity with such precision; he begins to wonder if you’ve taken all of his talents in playing the piano.

“not a chance!” he replied, tone higher than normal.

you let out a sigh and shook your head. scaramouche stares at you with a blank expression, he takes note of the fading light from your eyes and the way your hands slowly drop to your lap. your head turned here and there, taking your surroundings in for some odd reason he didn’t want to figure out.

“you’re acting strange.” he points out and you smile. 

“i just remembered how we first met, that's all.”

he lets out a groan and drags a hand down his face. “don’t remind me.”

your laugh ringed out the empty music room as you playfully shove at his shoulder. 

“oh come on!” you say, wiping the pretend tears from your eyes. “our first meeting was cute.”

“i was ready to cut off your fingers.”

“like i said, it was cute.”

he looks at you with a bewildered expression. his lips turned into an odd smile and his brow kept twitching in annoyance. “you’re such a pain.”

“don’t lie to me kuni,” you tease. “i know you love me!”

“and for the nth time, don’t call me that!”

you cease your teasing and just sigh. body leaning into him despite his protests. you drum your fingers on your lap as he continues to play the piece he’s so keen to keep a secret despite you helping him create it in the first place. for a moment, you close your eyes and relish in scaramouche’s company. taking deep inhales, catching small whiffs of his perfume and tea he had this morning, then opening your eyes as you exhale. 

“another boy went missing today.” you randomly say which made him pause.

“who is it this time?” he shifts closer to you; knees touching as you feel his hand interlace itself with your own. you bury your face further into the crook of his neck. you don’t mention the way his ears flush a cute pink and how his breathing turned shaky.

“it was kazuha today.” you whisper. “how long do you think before another one goes missing?”

he scoffs. you could practically see the frown that tugs at his lips. “don’t know and don’t care.”

“do you really not care?”

you detach yourself from him and look at his eyes. they were such an electric shade of purple, it almost felt illegal to look at them for free. 

“why should i?”

“kuni come on.”

he glares at you and you screw your mouth shut.

scaramouche lets out a deep sigh and stood up. he grabbed your arm and started tugging you out of the music room.

“come on,” he didn't bother to look back as he spoke. “we’ll be late.”

“what if i’m the next to disappear?”

“then i’ll look for you.”

you stare at the back of his head with your mouth slightly agape. neither of you mention the way your classmates stared at your hands and the burning of your ears and cheeks.

– –

what a disaster, you thought. what was supposed to be a heartfelt reunion for a son and his mother turned into a bitter one-sided screaming fest. you flinch when the harsh slamming of the door echoed into the now silent kitchen. 

“i’ll…” you start, pushing your chair back and giving an empathetic smile to the woman who looked identical to your hot headed friend. “go look for him. please excuse me.”

as you close the sliding doors, you couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. a hand dragging itself down your face as you try to spot the treehouse scaramouche had told you about. you dragged your feet into his old backyard and it wasn’t long before you spotted a tree with a small wooden house, the bark had worn out ladders. taking a deep breath, you climb up.

“kuni, you there?” you call out but no one replied. when your head peeked into the slightly ajar door, you feel your heart sink. there he was, in all his mopey state, knees hugging his chest as his eyes stared blankly at the doll in his limp hand.

“hey..” you quietly approach him. “what was that back there? i thought you two were okay now.”

“i told you this wouldn’t work out.”

you frown at his pessimism. “of course it’s not going to work out if you aren’t even trying to–”

“but i am trying!” he shouts, abruptly standing up from his sitting position. you felt a twinge of concern–fear– when he glared at you with tears pricking his eyes while his hand tightly gripped the doll like a lifeline. “is it my fault she wasn’t there when i needed her the most?! is it my fault that she was slowly spiraling into depression and compromising all her relationships?!”

“kuni come on,” you slowly stand and try to calm him down. “you know i don’t mean it like that.”

“then what did you mean!?” he stomps his way over to one of the desks and slams his hands down. you have no doubt that the adults back in the house heard it with how loud it was. 

“i wanted my mother to be there for me when i lost someone important to me.” he murmurs, head hanging low. one hand grips the stray picture frame on the desk and in one violent action, throws it across the room. you flinch at the loud shattering of glass clamored in the rickety old treehouse.

“kuni!” 

“you said you understand.”

“what?”

your feet subconsciously stepped back when scaramouche turned to glare at you – eyes cold and cruel. he pressed his lips into a thin line, his eyes following your movement like a hawk.

“you said you understood me, was that also a lie?” his voice cut through the air like a cold knife. he no longer looked like the kunikuzushi you grew up with. the words get stuck in your throat, your mind racing to try and say something–anything.

“but i do understan–”

“then why are you taking her side!?”

“but i’m not taking anyone’s side!” you take a deep breath and rub your temples. “kuni, please, just try to calm down.”

he only clicked his tongue, the sound harsh like the oncoming storm outside.

“where are you going?!” you shout, chasing after him.

“don’t follow me.”

“kuni!”

you try to reach for his hand but the sharp slap echoes in the rain-soaked air. you felt your eyes widen and for a while, you saw a flash of regret and hurt in his eyes as you let your hand drop to your side. he could glare at you all he wanted but you’ll always see through him– at least he hoped you could still recognize him. the way your frown deepened, how you cradled your wrist, and the way your hair slowly hid your eyes– scaramouche was sure you would be the next one to leave him.

“i’m trying my best to understand, kunikuzushi.” you whisper.

how long has it been since you called him by his full name?

“but it’s so hard when all you do is detach yourself when someone tries to get close to you. it’s suffocating y’know?”

“then leave,” he replies, colder than before.

“and what if i actually did?”

scaramouche opened and closed his mouth to reply but no words came out. what would he do if you actually left? would he return to his reclusive self? pushing anyone and everyone away if they tried to get too close? but wasn’t he already doing this right now? what is wrong with him.

“you never tell me anything, kuni, not how you feel nor what's going on,” tears prick your eyes as you try to approach him again. “can’t you see how much this is hurting us? when will you finally let it go? when will you finally move on from the things that have hurt you instead of holding grudges? it’s so painful to see you so stuck in the past.”

“i’m not as forgiving as you.”

“you don’t have to forgive her for anything!”

“you don’t understand.”

“then make me understand! for once kuni, just tell me what you’re feeling instead of leaving me to guess.”

this was going nowhere, he thought. so he did what he does best: runaway and never look back. you call out to him, you even try to catch up to him but the sudden downpour of rain made it hard to make out his figure that slowly disappeared. he ground his teeth together and gripped his hair. 

“i’m a fucking mess.”

– –

scaramouche stared at himself in front of the mirror. dressed in formal kimono for tonight’s prom theme. a deep sigh left him as he readjusted his haori. the house was unusually chatty tonight – most probably because his mother was downstairs with nahida and her mother. it filled the normally quiet and serene atmosphere with something warm.

it’s been around a week and a half since you had last talked to him. he hasn’t heard from you since he dropped off the box of dango with a note asking for a dance, he hopes you liked them. he reached for the gel on his desk but he hesitates, not sure if he wanted to gel his hair back or just leave it as is. you’ve always nagged him about being presentable, now it’s become a habit of his to bring a small mirror and a comb wherever he goes.

a knock echoed in his room. 

“may i come in, kunikuzushi?” ei, his mother, asked from the other side.

for a brief moment, he hears your voice. urging him to open the door and let his mother inside, hear her out. with another sigh he reluctantly gets up from his seat and opens the door.

“do you need anything?” he asks bluntly, raising a brow at the older woman her mouth opened and closed, eyes looking everywhere but him. it makes him frown but he doesn’t dwell on it for long.

ei cleared her throat and gestured if she could come in. scaramouche relented. 

“i’m glad the kimono still fits you,” she finally says. “blue suits you better than purple.”

“thank you…” he quietly mutters, ignoring the sudden spike in his temperature.

“before you leave, i wanted you to have this.”

a feathered ornament was placed on his hands and he felt the wind get knocked out of him. he’s suddenly taken back to the old backyard where he and a younger boy played under the big sakura tree that housed their little base.

scaramouche bitterly smiled and twirled the ornament in between his fingers. “i thought you threw it away.”

ei frowns. her hands smoothing out the creases of his white nagagi and his haori. “you treasured that little feather, how could i possibly throw it away.”

he doesn’t say anything more and lets his mother fix up his appearance. she helped him readjust the kakuobi on his waist, brush out his hair, and even assisted him in making the red eyeliner he always wore be even.

“is [name] at the venue already?” he asks as he boarded the car, waving goodbye to nahida at the porch.

“i assume they are,” miko answered as she buckled the seat belt. “be sure to make up with them alright? all of my hard work in getting you that kimono from chiori would be wasted if you don’t.”

scaramouche rolls his eyes and looks out the window. he can’t help but frown at the feeling that’s swimming in his guts. something bad is going to happen–he was sure of it.

– –

the venue was obnoxiously – in his mind– decorated, but it was overall decent. in the distance he could see some of his classmates (re: friends) on the dance floor. when aether’s eyes caught sight of him, the blonde boy immediately waved him over but scaramouche only ducked under his hand when venti wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“get off of me!” he protests and tries to run away but a tanned hand dragged him back to the dance floor.

“come on man,” sethos grins at him. “let loose a bit!”

and that’s how scaramouche got dragged all over the venue with his little band of misfits. xiao and albedo were chatting by their table, the purple haired boy threw his middle finger up when albedo stuck out his tongue at his misery while xiao only rolled his eyes in amusement. the twins were by the dj requesting songs and heizou was on stage performing with childe.

scaramouche sighed for the nth time and let a small smile slip out. he only rolled his eyes when venti tugged at his cheeks and when charlotte took a photo of them. for the entire night, he let himself enjoy everyone’s company, all the while, keeping an eye out for you.

“scara, look over there.” itto nudged him and pointed across the room.

his heart suddenly started racing when he saw your figure slip away behind the gymnasium doors.

“was that [name]?” lumine asked, her brows furrowed. “should we go follow them? it’s raining pretty heavily...”

rain. scaramouche felt his feet run towards the doors, ignoring the shouts of concern from his peers. it was raining tonight. he couldn’t shake the growing dread that gripped his heart as the rain poured down. 

the raindrops felt like small bullets that penetrated his skin. he was in pain and he didn’t know why. his mind kept screaming at him to run, and run, and run, but he didn’t know where he was running to. to catch up to you? no. that’s wrong, he is trying to catch you, so yes. maybe?

“you’re almost there.” a voice that sounded like yours echoed and everything went white.

scaramouche was suddenly inside an all too familiar room–your music room. there was a piano in the middle where you sat on the stool, the giant window in front of you was left open. the white curtains flowed with the wind as he tentatively tried to take a step closer.

“you know,” you start, fingers pressing onto the keys to play a familiar tune he knew by heart. “you never really told me what you titled this piece.”

“how is that relevant now?” he snapped, voice raising in volume. why did he sound so frustrated? why did this feel so familiar but strange at the same time?

“i guess there are some things you’ll never get to know, huh?” your tone was sad, but accepting.

you stop playing at the part he composed for you.

“why did you stop?” his voice turned shaky, the panic settling in his gut.

you look back at him and smile. “you don’t need to be too hard on yourself you know.”

“hey!” he shouts, chasing after your vanishing figure. when he tried you catch your wrist, it suddenly turned to smoke, inevitably slipping through his fingers. he felt his heart drop when he looked to see you standing in front of the giant window.

“you need to go now, kuni.”

“[name]!” he cried, desperation clawing at his chest.

you flash him one last smile. 

“don’t leave me alone!”

and then he was back outside under the harsh downpour of rain. his hands meet the pavement hard, he felt the pain shoot up all the way to his head but he didn’t care. this was too familiar���too painfully fucking familiar. his breathing started to turn shallow, vision blurring with his tears as the rain continued to pound down on him, drenching him straight to the bone.

give up.

he refused.

give up.

he refused.

give u–

“kuni?” 

he looks up from the pavement and he sees you there, across the street. under the bus stop with your hand under the rain. there were tears on the corners of your eyes as you realized that it was him.

you laugh in disbelief and rub at your tears. “you came all this way, for me?”

“you idiot,” he curses at you as he stands up. “i wouldn’t have had to if you hadn’t left. i still want that dance!”

scaramouche felt his smile slip away when a flash appeared in his mind– a warning, a memory, an inkling feeling that something bad is going to happen.

“don’t!” 

but it was too late. he willed his feet to stand up and help you. save you like you did to him. what went wrong? everything was fine–he was talking with his mother again, he can play the piano without having the urges to jump off a cliff, he had friends now, he had you. so why did everything start clicking into place in his mind, as if this was how it’s supposed to end? 

am i too late? he asked himself as he reached a hand for you. everything was too slow, he caught every expression that went across your face that was painfully illuminated by the yellow headlights. 

will the last time you played piano together truly be the last?

“why are you smiling…?” he asks, voice breaking in disbelief.

but if that truly was the last time, then how will you find out that he named the piece after you?

“why are you doing this to me!” he shouted, voice echoing in the empty streets.

he didn’t quite pick up on what you said the last time you two played in the music room. it was something along the lines of “you’re so mean.” or “why won’t you tell me?” but those don’t feel quite right. why couldn’t he remember?

“don’t leave.” he pleaded, just above whisper.

why didn’t he pay enough attention?

you once told him, “the greatest movies are never made.” but he often wanted to counter them with “but here you are in front of me.” will he never get the chance to tell you that?

ah. 

now he remembers.

the words you said that day, it was….

“i love you, kunikuzushi.”

– – 

beep. beep. beep.

so this was it? he asked himself as he stared at his hands. they were bandaged and bloodied. the heart monitor’s rhythmic beeping made his ears ring, feeling each beep drill itself into his skull as the doors opened and a flood of nurses and doctors rushed in.

the mask over his lips continued to fog up with his labored breathing, adding to that suffocating feeling inside his chest. everything was too much– too loud, too bright, too real. he wanted to leave. he needed to see you. but his vision blurred as his body gave out, collapsing back on his bed. was he dying? but didn’t he already die? this didn’t make sense.

a warm hand gripped his arm. when he turned to look at the person he felt the last flickers of hope in his heart die out. it wasn’t you.

there by his side was his mother, eyes blown wide and breath shaky as she tried to calm her breathing. she looked so strange, that frazzled and panicked look in her eyes didn’t belong there. she was supposed to look stern, strong–unyielding, not this fragile, worried mother.

“[name]...” he whispers. still clinging onto that small shimmer of hope.

“i’m so sorry, kunikuzushi.” ei’s voice brokes as she hung her head low, tears dropping to his arm. 

“oh.”

the word slipped from his lips, barely audible. so it was a dream after all. 

– – 

home didn’t feel quite like home without you. even more so as his acquaintances (re: friends) helped him store everything in boxes. the twins were arguing over something, xiao and albedo’s little sisters were playing in one of the spare rooms, childe and itto were competing to see who could carry the most boxes, and his mothers were helping move his piano.

scaramouche ended the call with a breath of relief. he pocketed his phone and stared blankly at the sealed cd in one of the boxes. ei told him it was found on your body on the night of the accident. he frowned at the memory but picked up the cd nonetheless.

nahida told him he had run off in the middle of prom when his mother arrived. you chased after him and the both of you unfortunately got into an accident. the dreams–hallucinations maybe– were created by consciousness to cope with the guilt, his psychiatrist said. zhongli said it would be best to distance himself from anything that reminded him of you, but how could he? not when every turn he took you in this small town you were there.

ripping the plastic and placing the cd in his worn out cd player, he skipped through the songs. a smile creeping up his lips when he realized you finally got it right. you burned the cd with songs he actually liked.

“hello…? is this thing working?”

scaramouche stopped. so did everyone present in the room when they heard your voice. from the corner of his eye, he saw miko try to approach him but ei held her back. for the nth time in the past 8 months since he woke up, he felt grateful for the woman.

“it’s flashing red so i’m just gonna assume it’s recording. if it’s not then this is gonna be very, very, embarrassing.” you laugh and paused. “i’m not really sure why i’m doing this. maybe it’s because i’ve been having this strong sense of deja vu? it kinda keeps me up at night, y’know? the thought that i won’t be able to tell you, so here i am, recording just in case something bad happens.”

he winces at your keen intuition but he makes no effort to stop playing the recording.

“it’s… been hard. seeing you in so much pain, i mean. it just became harder when we grew up and all i could do was just… watch. i didn’t know how to help. i was there, but it never felt like it was actually enough. was i doing enough, kuni?” you chuckle bitterly. “i never got why you wanted to be called scaramouche. names are an important part of someone’s identity, so i kinda get why you wanted to be called something else, but i don’t think i’ll see you as someone who isn’t kunikuzushi. sorry about that. maybe i’m also a bit stuck in the past, like you.”

he feels ei sit beside him, guiding his head to lay on her shoulder as your voice continues to echo throughout the now empty house.

“i hope in the future, you aren’t so hard on yourself and you continue playing the piano. seeing that spark in your eyes again, though almost always momentarily, makes me really happy. i felt a part of me become jealous. i never liked piano that much; i only ever played it because you liked it. i felt a little bit left behind. i don’t know. i-i just thought, you’d be stuck with me in this gray area for a little longer.” your voice started to shake. “i felt really sick and guilty when i started to hope you’d fail the audition. i’m so sorry about that. you were working so hard, and that made me want to work hard too! so i started practicing without you. i asked furina to mentor me, and oh boy, was she strict.” you chuckle. “but it was worth it. seeing that look of bewilderment on your face when i played nuvole bianche for auditions was really cute! i don’t think i’ve seen that expression on your face before.”

“w-whoa, whoa why is the red flashing slowing down?! is the recording gonna end?!”

he laughs at your panicked state. fiddling with the cd case in his hands.

“well okay then, i’ll wrap this message up. kuni, i’m so glad i met you when i climbed over our fenced gates. i’ll never forget that confused look on your face when i jumped over it and landed in your backyard and just, started listening to you play. you know, i was very sure you’d call your mom and have me kicked out.” you chuckle and take a deep breath. “i like you, you know. like very, very much and not in the friends type of like. for the longest time, i’ve had the biggest crush on you. i’m surprised you didn’t notice! hell even xiao figured it out and he’s the densest person i know!”

scaramouche turns to glare at xiao who only shrugged his shoulders.

“but yeah, i like you. i can’t really make a grand confession, i suck at words. if… if you really want to know how much i like you, then come over to my place and i’ll show you this piece i made for you! i don’t know what to title it yet but i’m thinking about “kabukimono’s finale.” oh crap the red flashing is gone now! okay, okay, bye now kuni! and please don’t be too hard on yourself okay? remember,” you pause. “i love you.”

and like that, the recording ended. scaramouche sat there on the floor with his mother for a long time. everyone had finished moving his stuff out and all that was left were his piano and the cd player in front of him. slowly, he closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. 

“thank you,” he says in a quiet whisper. “for being here, i mean.”

ei smiled and patted down his hair, still using her shoulder as his makeshift headrest.

“you’re welcome.” she replied with a kiss to the crown on his head.

he carefully placed the cd back in its case and tucked it into a box labeled “[name].” standing up, he takes one last look around the house.

“thank you,” he whispered once more. scaramouche could have sworn he saw you turn to look at him from the piano stool to flash him a smile and a small wave. the light reflecting in your eyes reminded him of the filtered sunlight that slipped through the cracks of that giant window in your music room. he wonders if this was real or just a final farewell his mind conjured up to seal the gaping hole inside his chest. but maybe it didn’t matter.

he isn’t quite sure if you understood the weight of both your words, but they were enough. the house is quiet again, but not nearly as lonely as it felt after he woke up. there was a feeling of peace in the silence, like a final note that’s still lingering just long enough for the melody to be completed. 

as he walked out of the house, leaving the boxes for the movers to move, scaramouche felt a sense of peace wash over him. the pain and guilt of losing you will never really disappear, but he had to walk down a path without you sooner or later. but for the first time since that accident, he felt like he could finally let go of the past. 

step after step as he crossed the road and further away from his childhood home, he smiled– a small bittersweet smile. this won’t be enough to ease the pain but it was the beginning of something new. and for now, that was enough.

© vxnuslogy 2024. do not plagiarize, repost, or translate any of my works without my knowledge or consent in other platforms or websites.

[anim-ttrpgs]

What to Play Next with Eureka.

So, now that the pay-what-you-want/free Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy beta has over 400 downloads at the time of writing this (wow!) and has been up for about 3 weeks, I’m sure at least some people have already played Horror Harry’s Haunted House, the free tutorial adventure module we included with the beta download, and are excited to play more!

To that end, I’ve quickly thrown together a non-comprehensive list of adventure modules to run using Eureka, and where you can find them.

Adventure modules, if you’ve never used them, are a lifesaver for GMs. (And also they’re a different thing from those railroady “adventure paths” and crappy 5e adventures that you might be familiar with.)

Official Eureka Adventures

You can find official Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy adventure modules on our Patreon page. Supporting us is what makes Eureka, and our ongoing promotion of many other TTRPG creators, possible.

Horror Harry’s Haunted House

This is an official Eureka adventure module that comes free with the beta linked above. It is a super low-stakes “tutorial” adventure that sees the PCs solving a “murder” in an interactive escape room. The point of this scenario is to be a short and fun way for players to learn the mechanics of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy without risk of their characters dying.

FORIVA: The Angel Game

This is an official Eureka adventure module by A.N.I.M. currently available only to patreon subscribers. Set in the year 1999, this adventure involves the PCs investigating a mysterious threat targeting teenagers.

The Eye of Neptune

This is an official Eureka adventure module by A.N.I.M. currently available only to patreon subscribers. Set on a skeleton-crewed oil rig in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, this adventure puts the PCs in a tense situation as members of the crew start to disappear one by one...

Free Call of Cthulhu Adventures

Since we have not had the time (yet) to build up a robust library of official Eureka adventure modules, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy has been playtested the most by using Call of Cthulhu adventure modules, and it is designed to work well with them. In fact, in many cases it actually plays them better and smoother than Call of Cthulhu itself!

Chapter 7 of the Eureka rulebook covers how to convert an adventure module from another game for use with Eureka, and its super easy! The only thing that will need to be adjusted will be the HP values of monsters and we have a formulae for that.

What's In The Cellar, a super short adventure where the PCs will investigate a mysterious cellar.

Scritch Scratch, there's rats.

The Derelict, set in the modern-day in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, the thought of a substantial salvage reward drives the investigators to attempt to rescue the a stranded ship, but in doing so they attract the attention of a strange and deadly monster. 

The Lightless Beacon, the ivestigators are unfortunate passengers on a ship heading for Rockport, Massachusetts, on Monday, April 12th, 1926, the night of the new moon. Due to a malfunction at the lighthouse on Beacon Island, their ship founders on nearby rocks, forcing the investigators to take to a small lifeboat and head to Beacon Island for refuge in the growing storm.

Dead Boarder, a murder investigation, which centers on the discovery of a body in a locked room.

Paid Call of Cthulhu Adventure Modules

Even though they aren’t exactly “indie,” just about any non-WotC company that makes TTRPGs is an ally against the monopoly crushing the entire hobby and art form of TTRPGs, so we would love it if you could support them as well as supporting us. Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy wouldn’t exist without Call of Cthulhu, and especially not without Call of Cthulhu adventure modules! In fact they’re like one of the only “big” names out there that still regularly puts out adventure modules, which seem to be a lost artform seemingly everywhere else despite once being being absolutely synonymous with GMing. They’ve been making new official Call of Cthulhu adventure modules consistently for like forty years, and buying and playing these will encourage them to keep doing that.

New Tales of the Miskatonic Valley (pack of adventures)

The Reeling Midnight, by Tom Lynch. introduces Investigators to Arkham's truly decadent party scene. (I've played this one, pretty good.)

Wasted Youth, by Christopher Smith Adair, explores the roots of juvenile delinquency, culminating in a wild chase through the wilderness.

Spirit of Industry,by Oscar Rios, takes Investigators to the village of Dunwich, where they explore old murders and an ancient mystery.

Proof of Life,by Keith Herber, is a tale of extortion and madness in the Lovecraft Country town of Foxfield.

Malice Everlasting,by Oscar Rios, expores Kingsport and old grudges.

The Night War,by Kevin Ross, sees the author of Kingsport, City in the Mists, revisit his creation when a veteran of the Great War is suddenly haunted by deadly nightmares.

A Mother's Love, by Seth Skorkowsky, author of the Valducan series, takes us to the hidden town Innsmouth, with all its squalor, dangers, and dark corruption in a brand new scenario for New Tales of the Miskatonic Valley, 2nd Edition. (I've played this one, pretty good.)

The Things We Leave Behind (pack of adventures)

Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home, by Jeff Moeller. The investigators search for an abducted child in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, where time becomes a serious concern.

Forget Me Not, by Brian M. Sammons.  An accident in a TV truck in rural Michigan sees the investigators awake in a ditch with no recollection of how they got there.

Roots, by Simon Brake. Inquiries into a missing teen will teach the investigators that some mid-west communities prefer to be left alone.

Hell in Texas, by Scott Dorward. After a suicide at a church's east Texas Halloween haunted house, strange events threaten the lives and sanity of all those in the vicinity, including the investigators.

The Night Season, by Jeff Moeller, shows that fandom in Anchorage, Alaska, can go too far when reality begins to shift.

Occam's Razor (pack of adventures)

A Whole Pack of Trouble - a group of film students have gone missing while shooting a found-footage style movie over college break. 

Eye of the Beholder - five days ago, a young woman disappeared while working on an art project.

Frozen Footsteps - A Wendigo-obsessed professor heads off to Michigan's Upper Peninsula for some rare (for him) fieldwork and discovers far more than he bargained for.

Dark and Deep - A snuff film is making the rounds in which a woman is mauled to death by a Deep One. Are the film's establishing shots enough to track down the lighthouse was filmed at and get to the bottom of things?

Visions from Beyond - A late-night voicemail left by a friend/relative in need of immediate help followed by them not answering their phone 

The Watchers - the investigators are contacted by a single woman who lives alone and is being watched by unknown people.

A Cleansing Flame - Bodies are being discovered, burned to death, with no known fire starter/accelerant present.

Does Love Forgive? (pack of single-PC adventures)

Love You To Death, Chicago: February 15th, 1929. It’s a cold winter’s day when the investigator’s good friend Hattie May appears in their office at the detective agency. Her beloved pet dog, Highball, is scheduled to be destroyed later today and she needs the investigator’s help getting him back from the Chicago Police Department. It doesn’t sound like too difficult a task, does it?

Mask of Desire, New York: September, 1932. The investigator, together with their two close friends Anna Konrad and Lucas Reston, has been invited to a party at wealthy—and notorious—socialite Madame de Tisson’s swanky apartment on the Upper West Side. Anna is somewhat distracted by her audition tomorrow for Nancy Turner, the famous jazz orchestra conductor. What is the link between the audition and a mysterious parcel that arrives the next day? And, why do so many people seem to be interested in the contents of the parcel?

Night Mother's Moon (stand-alone adventure), investigators are New York City’s street homeless who come together to solve the mystery of something that is stalking and killing the members of their community. (Playing this one with Eureka right now actually.)

[victorborkowski]

A TWENTY FOUR HOUR COMP BAN ON TOP OF THE 30 MINUTE REGULAR BAN?????????????????????????

the pms rage continues and now it's about how valorant keeps freezing on me today when im trying to play matches. spike rush? freezes as soon as agent select is over / game is supposed to load. dm? literally froze in the main menu as soon as it said match found. had to hard-shutdown my pc. load into val again. spike rush again. freezes after agent selection. restarted my pc again. i dont even want to open it bc i know it's gonna hit me with a 30 minute penalty and im so ANGRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

[typewritingyip]

The Arcturus Missions

Part Ten - Decisions

Part Nine

———

Cybertronian days were actually shorter than days on Earth, right around a twenty hour rotation and a four hundred solar cycle year. 760 hours worth of difference. For a cybertronian though, their light and dark cycles did not mean terribly much since it was typical to say up for cycles on end. Their lifespans are significantly longer than almost all organics in the vast universe.

—

Once it was dark, almost too dark to see, the heater kicked up and glowed brightly. Hound had started to finally keep track of the time and unless they were in winter, it shouldn’t be dark yet, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. Others had joined them, Breakdown wandering back over once his translator was calibrated to his preferences and several mecha that Jazz knew. It was interesting how the term seemed to carry over in a way. Mecha their company, the mech suits they pilot and the mecha they were now meeting. At least that is how it was described to him from Jazz, who was glowering at Hound as he made small talk with the one called Mirage, “You know, it took me a long time to get a hold on their language, then you all waltz in here with your fancy translators.” He was pouting, Hound smirks a bit as Mirage speaks up, “They can’t help that they have better upgrades than you do Jazz, you recharge in off hours, you miss out.” He shrugs, smirking.

”You know what Mirage, just cause you’re not wrong doesn’t mean you’re right.” Prowl snorted, tucking his head down, Jazz smiled and his visor brightened. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe shared a long look before shifting, one leaning against the other but it was hard to tell in the dark, “Yeah, we can’t help that our upgrades are just better than yours. What did you expect from Percy?” The other nodded and scratched at his jaw, “You know Jazz, we might have a spare on the shuttle, but that’s all the way out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, it’d be a long walk for you, less you want to race.” Hound groaned and put his face in his hands, “We are not racing across an unfamiliar planet just for a translator, I’m sure whenever we can get back to the Odyssey, it will still be there.” They both sighed deeply, “You’re no fun Hound.” Mirage shifted in his seat, leaning forward some, “You have racing on your planet? But, you don’t transform?” Hound was quick to send a message to the twins, glancing towards Jazz before shifting to sit up more even though he was getting very tired.

”Well, yeah. There’s this pilot, I mean, a guy back home named Blur. He’s won at least one championship in most major series, Formula One, NASCAR, Indy Car. Least, he did before the Quints showed up.” Sideswipe sounded sad, those two had loved the street races they had back home and were ecstatic to race any pilot who’d be willing. Mirage nodded slowly before shaking his head, “Those mean nothing to me, but if you like racing, you’ll have to visit Velocitron when the borders open back up.” Sunstreaker frowned slightly and shrugged, “Sounds fun, I think.”

Mirage seemed genuine, sure, Hound was pretty sure he was just spying on them for the sake of his boss but he still seemed like a nice enough person, “So, how did you four end up on a shuttle, flying into the vast unknown?” Nodding slightly, Hound knew the probing when it was there, but it was innocent enough, “Some of us volunteered for it,” “And some of us were volunteered.” Breakdown nods slightly to Jazz, but he still smiled a bit, “I’m glad to be here though.” Jazz nodded back before looking closer, his visor brightening slightly, “Hey, you’re the one who handled the Moscow attack in 96’ right?” Breakdown nodded, rubbing at his neck lightly, “That was a long time ago.” “Not that long ago, at least to the company I’ve kept recently.” Hound winced slightly, Moscow felt like a lifetime ago and it was just after he started piloting. More than a thousand pilots had died between then and when the twins were found compatible. Hound looked down and worried at his lip.

Sunstreaker, who’d moved closer to the heater so it was easier to see his yellow, spoke up, “Well, to answer your question Mirage, we volunteered. Least me, Sides and Hound did. It was around six months after Jazz disappeared that the list went around, a good chunk of names were still on it when I last saw it.” He sat back a bit, Sideswipe nodding, “Oh yeah, anyone who worked at Mecha and was compatible put their name on the list, you kidding?” Hound nodded, sighing a bit, “It’s going by seniority far as I can tell. Arcturus Two is going to be a one man mission, I think 2672 is next.” Mirage shifted and cleared his throat slightly, “Um, so do you guys pick your identification numbers or are they assigned?” Hound shared a look briefly with Jazz but Breakdown spoke up, “It’s our place in the line of the programming we went through for the work. I was the 1,457th pilot to come out the other side of the compatibility test. Jazz and Hound were found compatible before me, and I was before the twins.” he gestures mildly, though sitting back against one of the melted crates with a yawn.

It went quiet for a while after that, Mirage was staring at them, there were a lot of things clicking into place in his mind, Prowl knew it but had to keep his mouth shut for now not only Jazz’s sake but the others too.

“How many people went through this, programming?” Mirage’s voice was almost quiet, like he didn’t actually want the answer, Hound scratched his jaw lightly and looked up to the stars, “The newest pilot, was given the number 13,592.” Jazz jumped slightly and turned to Hound, almost knocking Prowl from their makeshift bench, “When I left we were in the eight thousands Hound.” Nodding, Hound continued to stare at the sky, “If you thought we dropped like flies before, it’s worse now.” Jazz stared at him, looking to the twins then Breakdown, they all nodded. There was no avoiding the truth, Mirage shifted uncomfortably before clearing his throat, “Two things, you keep using the term ‘pilot’ . Is there a reason for that?” Hound nodded, but Jazz spoke up before he could, “It’s just the designation we gave to those fighting the Quints, to distinguish them from civilians.” Nodding slowly, Hound cleared his throat, “Exactly.” The lie was painful, but necessary, “And two then, and I hate to ask, in the roughly thirty stellar cycles that the Quintessons have been attacking your planet, how many civilians have died?”

Hound’s mouth went dry, even as he stared at the sky avoiding eye contact. The twins shifted uncomfortably, it was a topic incredibly close to home for them, so the one to speak up was Breakdown, “Of strictly civilian deaths, since 1984, over one billion people. Just shy of thirteen percent of our global population.” Sunstreaker nodded, “And it’s only getting bigger every attack.” Hound continued to stare at the stars, lightly tugging on his dog tags.

—

Prowl had stayed until Jazz was in recharge, until they were all in recharge, before joining Mirage and the others in command to talk. He rubbed at his face plates, leaning against the table while Megatron was ranting, again, “They send them out to die, they build them to die, they’re the closest to disposables that we’ve seen!” Megatron’s fist connected with the projection table, cracking the screen, Optimus sighed deeply. Prowl was still holding his report, optics rolling to look at Mirage who was leaning against the wall, also clearly bored of the ranting, “They sent four of them to space, to find Jazz, who they thought was dead to recover data and expected them to die for it too.” Optimus had finally had enough, “Yes, we understand. But we are not their people, their government, or in a situation to help the people of their planet. We spoke of this earlier, we cannot change their minds in a day and they are here now where we will show them their worth.” He rubbed lightly at his chest, something he had started doing when Jazz arrived. Very few knew how he lacked the ability to feel Jazz’s spark and now five mecha who he couldn’t truly feel, it was not going to be pleasant.

Mirage clears his throat a bit and hands over a data pad, “I got to speak with them before they rested, they seem just as awkward as Jazz did when he first arrived except there is a mech called Percy who designed the translators they are using so it’s significantly easier to talk with them.” He gestures to the data pad, “This is what I’ve gathered for the moment, they are taking a lot of cues from Jazz but Hound is the commander of their mission.” Optimus nodded and flicked lightly through the report before handing it to Megatron, “Thank you Mirage.” He nodded and leaned back against the wall, Ironhide shifted forward, “We have a recovery team currently moving their shuttle, but uh, it seems terribly small.” He tosses a puck onto the table and it projects an image of the Odyssey, “Unless they strapped themself to the outside or can fold down into much smaller boxes, I don’t see what use it would have provided other than initial flight.” Prowl steps forward, gesturing, “I actually think it’s more of a storage shuttle, if you look here.” He points to the top of the shuttle and its seam down the length of the top, “I believe it splits open there, likely only while in space. And these,” he gestures to the gangway magnets, “Would have likely attached them to the shuttle.” Megatron throws his hands in the air and storms away, muttering about the treatment of mecha on the backwater world.

Once Megatron has cleared the room, Ironhide moves and takes his place at the table, clearing the image of the Odyssey to show the map of Cybertron, “We need to accept they are better equipped to fight the Quints than we are. As much as we all hate it, they were re-programmed to fight them.” Prowl takes a breath, resting a servo on the table, “We have to ask them to stay, same as we did with Jazz.” They stood there silently for a moment, Optimus slowly shook his head, “Asking Jazz is very different then asking all of them.” “Yes, but did you see them out there?” Ironhide pointed towards the battlefield, Prowl shifts and clears his throat, “Ironhide is right, it was projected that this battle would take cycles, and it was done within mega-cycles once they arrived.” He sighs slowly, offering his own datapad, “We have to ask them to stay, but we have guarantee to get them to Quintessa. It’s the only way that they will stay and fight for us.” It hurt, truly, any outcome was a death sentence.

—

When morning rolled around and the sun rose, Hound was the first up, he’d locked up the suit for the night and slept on the floor of his cockpit. Getting too old to sleep in the pilot's seat anymore. He sat on the floor and brought up the visual outputs as he got breakfast together, yawning. Hound stared, almost open mouthed at the sight before him. Jazz and Prowl were cuddling, that was to be slightly expecting, but the lingering mecha were not. It was a group of them wandering around their makeshift campsite, talking through comm’s Hound was certain. They were mostly unfamiliar, aside from Mirage who stood almost uncomfortably close to him, “Mech, these guys are sound sleepers.” Hound continued to sit there, eating slowly and watching with a deep frown.

One of the other mechs shrugged, “Jazz is the same, they’ll sleep the whole light cycle if we let them.” Moving over and crouching near Breakdown, the mech shines a light at it, “I don’t know what will wake them up though, less you think a wrench to the helm will?” Hound shifted into his pilots seat, stretching for a moment as he reactivated the motion adapters, his own visor lightly up. Mirage glanced over and smiled brightly, “Wow, one of them wakes at a decent mega-cycle.” Hound rolls his eyes and sits up, stretching again, “They won’t be up for another hour or so, I’m sure.” He slowly stands, looking around the small group, “There a reason why you’re all watching us sleep?” One of them chuckled and gestured to Jazz and Prowl, “Them, Prowl hates recharging in the field.” Hound hummed and slowly sat back down, rubbing his face, “Well, at least I know it’s not us.” He looked over the others in his crew, who were all still asleep.

Mirage edged closer and sat with him, clearing his throat, “I think actual introductions are in order, that’s Bluestreak and Smokescreen, and that one is Ironhide. We’re a part of the Prime’s inner circle. Either with Spec Ops or Primesguard.” Hound nodded slowly, then tilted his head slightly, “Ah, what’s a prime?” Jazz’s visor lit up and he spoke sleepily, “It’s like the pope, but give him a gun.” He rubs at his face and slowly sits up, being mindful of Prowl. Hound snorted slightly, “Don’t let Breakdown hear you say that or he’ll have a crisis. Actually, the twins either.” Jazz chuckled and looked around, even though his frown wasn’t visible, Hound could hear it, “Hey mechs, everything alright?” Ironhide shifted uncomfortably, “We actually came to speak with Hound.” Jazz spared a look to Hound as he stood, whatever this was, wouldn’t be good, “I’m all ears.” Mirage stood and gestured towards the command tent, “We’ll speak in there.”

They walked in silence, Hound’s hands hanging loosely at his side. Normally if he weren’t in a mech, he’d have walked around with his hands in his pockets but having to pilot so early was keeping him tired and at ease.

Ironhide pulled aside the curtain and stood slightly at attention, “My Prime, Hound of Earth.” Hound almost came to a grinding halt, swearing under his breath as he stepped in then standing at attention, saluting, the red and blue mech from last night was no longer hiding his face and gave an easy smile. He waved a hand, “You are not one of my soldiers or my people, you don’t need to salute to me Hound.” “Yes sir.” Hound shifted a bit and clasped his hands behind his back.

The Prime smiled painfully before gesturing to the table, “I wished to speak with you and yours about your mission.” Hound nodded and moved to stand across from Optimus, clearing his throat a bit, “I understand that your planet sent you out to find Jazz’s remains and the data he carried, then to send back any data you could recover about the route to the Quintessons.” Although he worried his lip, Hound nodded, “Yes sir.” Optimus watched Hound for a moment before activating the map table, “I know this is not the direction that you thought your mission would go, but we are all glad you found Jazz and inadvertently, us.” Hound’s feet shuffled slightly as the prime pulled up the map of someplace entirely unfamiliar.

Optimus rested his hands on the edge of the table, staring down at the map with such worry, “We hate to ask this of you, but as we have learned from Jazz, you all were programmed specifically to fight the Quintessons, and his track record has shown the evidence of that.” He gestures to a chart on the edge of the map, “He gets more confirmed kills than all my soldiers on a given day combined.” Hound stays silent, staring at the map and finally understanding that was the planet they were on all laid out.

“I understand that your mission is important to you and I swear you’ll be able to finish it, but we must ask you for help.” Hound stared at the map, watched as Optimus brought up all the places the Quintessons had attacked, “We’re outnumbered here, our civilians were just getting settled back to their lives when we were attacked. Please, you and your mechs take down more of our enemies than any group of us could.” Hound looked up to Optimus, still frowning, “How many confirmed kills do you have against the enemy sir?” Optimus almost looked sheepish, “Only thirty four, I don’t take to the field often.” Hound nodded and pulled up his own logs in his visual feed, starting at the number, “We're all in fights like the one yesterday? The barrage of them?” Optimus nodded, looking at the table, “Unfortunately, yes. I know Jazz said they’d often attack one or two at a time on your planet.” “I’ve killed over three hundred. More than three hundred successful missions.” He stares at the table, “If you can get our satittle pointed to Earth and swear we will be able to finish our mission, I believe we’d be willing to help.” “Of course.” Hound looks up, maintaining eye contact with Optimus Prime, “You saved Jazz’s life and have kept him alive for five years. If he is going to stay, then we will stay.” His hands were sweating and suddenly, he was very glad to be in a giant mech suit and not standing before the leader as just himself.

It was like he could feel the relief in the room, the way it had gone from almost uncomfortably warm to cool, Optimus sagged slightly with relief, “Thank you Hound.” He took a breath, “I will have to speak with my team and Jazz, it’s a big decision.” “I would assume so.” Hound shifts his feet awkwardly, “Sir,” “Optimus is fine.” He gulped, “Optimus, sir. You do understand that having, now, five humans on your side may be difficult?” Optimus chuckled and nodded, “Yes, I imagine you worked with Jazz frequently?” Hound opened his mouth, closed it, and shook his head lightly, “No sir, Optimus, uh. We don’t work with other pilots often.” It sat there, between them, the sad truth.

Of course Hound had known and been friends with Jazz, knew his reputation. They both worked for Mecha, but so did the twins and Breakdown but he’d never actually been in the field with any of them before. They’d file paperwork at the same time or eat together in the cafeteria, but it was never like this. Not for him.

Optimus nods slowly, “Your people are very odd Hound and I’m sorry they saw fit to send you so far from home.” Hound really didn’t know what to say, nodding slightly and clearing “It’s an honor to live and die for my country, and my planet.” Optimus’s smile somehow turned even sadder, “I would not recommend saying that where others can hear, or they will pity you till the end of time.” Hound shifted back slightly, gulping again, “Sir,” “Optimus,” he tried his hardest not to roll his eyes, “Optimus, sir.” Hound took a shaky breath, “It is an honor to live and die for the people I care about. Because regardless of how I die,” his hand hit the number on the front of his suit, “When we all were found compatible, it was like signing our own death certificates and it guaranteed the people we cared about would be taken care of. So, I won’t accept their pity and I’ll never regret the choice I made.” Nodding slowly, Hound goes to turn but stops, “I’d like to go wake and speak with my team, sir.” Optimus stood, staring before nodding, “Of course.” Hound turned and saluted quickly, before leaving, breathing heavily.

—

Mirage and Ironhide poked their heads into command, “Well, he looked pissed.” Optimus had his face in his hands, “I worry I insulted him at the end.”

—

Hound came back over to the group, where Breakdown and Prowl were now away. The twins were still asleep on the floor, so Hound switched to their private comms and activated an alarm sound. Sunstreaker’s suit shot upright while Sideswipe remained on the floor, but was yelling into the comm, “What the hell Hound!” Hound moved around and sat down, “Once we’re all awake, we need to talk.” Jazz winced, looking to Prowl, “Um,” Hound waved it off, “Prowl can stay, you two are,” he paused, not really sure what they were, “Friends, so long as he doesn’t mind me talking shit about his boss.” Jazz and Prowl both paused before Jazz shook his head, “That didn’t translate right, I didn’t think things about human anatomy would but wow.” Hound’s face grew hot and he cleared his throat.

Once Sideswipe was in his seat and piloting, he came over and kicked Hound before sitting back down grumbling. He nodded slightly, letting him have this one before sighing slowly, “The Prime is going to get our relay satellite pointed towards Earth,” “Uh, what’s a Prime?” Substreaker’s hand went up slightly, “He’s Joan of Arc.” Sunstreaker paused, “Uh, wait, what?” Jazz sighed and shrugged, “He was chosen by Primus, their god, to lead the planet. He used to supposedly be just a normal guy, who fell in love with the wrong guy, and was picked by Primus to fix the world.” Sunstreaker slowly nodded and Sideswipe then put his hand up, “So, he’s if you mixed the pope, the president, and master chief?” Hound stared at him, then Sunstreaker smacked his brother, “Shut up.”

Breakdown lowers himself back to the seat, “I almost forgot we were on another planet, but that is very odd.” Hound nodded slightly, “Regardless, back to the topic. Jazz, are you planning on staying on this planet to help them in the fight?” Jazz looked over, he’d been staring at Sideswipe like he was an idiot, “If you mean this war, yes. I plan to stay.” Hound nodded slowly and sighed, “Then we will stay with you, push these Quints off Cyber-whatever and once that’s done we will go find their home world to end this fight.” “Make them wish they never laid their beady eyes on Earth!” Hound sighed as the twins high fived, Jazz looked at him with a bit of sympathy, visor dimming, “We follow your lead commander.” He didn’t know if that was better or worse. Breakdown rested a hand on Hound’s shoulder, “We can work with them and still succeed at the mission, we’re not the only ones on this side of the fight anymore.” Hound nodded again and stood, looking to Prowl, “How does your command structure work and where will we report?” Prowl tried not to smile, standing and offering Jazz a hand up, “It’s likely you’ll all report to myself and Mirage. For now, we head to Iacon with the Prime. Your shuttle will be there when we arrive.” Hound sighs, rubbing his face.

A lot had happened in the last few days for him, and it just kept coming.

———

A/N

I can’t believe I’ve gotten through 10 parts of Arcturus One. Now, I will pick this back up after the one shot for Arcturus Two. That should be out tomorrow and then back to the regularly scheduled programming.

Tags!

@lunarlei68 @whirlywhirlygig @loop-hole-319 @pixillandjester @alek-the-witch @not-a-moose-in-disguise @goddessofwind8water @neurologicalglitch @dersereblogger @pixel-transformers @mrcrayonofdoom @wireplaces @twilightfreefaller @original-blog-name-2 @devilangel657 @robbin-u @childofprimus @miniartistme @starwold @tea-enthusiasm @valeexpris606

And once again thank you to @keferon for this amazing AU