#also because I just think Corvus neat

[staticymaticyyourlifeisatravesty]

I am genuinely curious, when I made my last post I saw that a couple of us had some OCs that were the offspring of Primarchs. So I gotta ask, How many of you guys have OC children of the Primarchs and which Primarch is it that's giving grandkids to old Big E? For myself, Sanguinius has Lilith that is both greatly loved and the source of so many panic attacks because baby birb's fav uncles are Fulgrim and Leman. Usually ends up dirty with either one; paints with Fulgrim and dirt with Leman.

[grison-in-space]

I'm sorry? Pigeons have to coo to ovulate?

okay, okay, I left this one out in the tags without elaborating the other day and you were not the only person who asked-- @nanavn and @corvus--caurinus were also curious. I did not have a ton of time yesterday when my brain was not leaking out my ears, so here I am today.

First, I apparently misremembered my grad school teachings: the best-documented case study of doves being required to hear their own coo in order to ovulate is that of the ring or Barbary dove (Streptopelia risoria), not the rock dove which gave rise to our domestic pigeons (Columba livia). They look like this:

They're the domestic doves you see sometimes that aren't domestic pigeons.

But yes, I was completely serious: hens need to very specifically hear their own nest coo to ovulate. The way it works is this: these doves have a very specific courtship pattern, where courting males at different stages of the nesting process perform first a "bow" coo, then a nest coo. Then the hen makes a nest coo back, and the pair goes on to build a nest together in which the hen will lay fertile eggs.

If you prevent the hen from producing this coo--and the first paper I've linked does this in several different ways with both neural lesions and also mechanical blocks of the synrinx--she will not ovulate. Then Dr. Cheng tried rescuing the effect for doves who could hear but not produce their own coos by playing back recordings of devocalized doves' own nest coos, recordings of other hen's nest coos, recordings of male nest coos (their own males, I think, for preference?) and no recordings at all. Hen nest coo recordings, especially the recordings of the hens themselves, were enough to rescue ovulation effect... but deafened hens who could, themselves produce nest coos weren't able to make ovulation happen half the time even when the male was right there. The male nest coo and his mating display is really important, because his coo stimulates the female to make her nest coo, and that's where ovulation starts.

In 2003, a little over a decade later, Dr. Cheng wrote a whole book chapter about auditory self-stimulation as a phenomenon in neuroendocrine shifts. It makes for pretty interesting reading! I'm going to really enjoy it this afternoon. Stimulated ovulation is actually a pretty common phenomenon in animals--often it makes more sense to only bother ovulating if you know there's a partner around to use whatever eggs you yield up--but this one is one of the most interesting and elaborate systems out there, and definitely the one that offers the most options to a given female dove to potentially consciously control her reproductive output.

But grison, you might ask, what about the doves outside my window? Is this just a function of this one dove species, or are lots of doves doing this to make ovulation happen? So I went looking to find out whether anyone has checked. The thing is that the heyday of pigeon behavioral research has faded somewhat in the intervening decades since Dr. Cheng's discovery, so there's not as much as I might hope where people sat down to investigate the question. I did, however, find a neat study on Columba livia demonstrating that auditory stimulation is more important to courtship displays and success than visual displays are, although of course the multisensory courtship is stronger than either sensory modality alone. So yeah, the cooing back and forth really loudly is part of a display that is functionally necessary for successfully producing offspring, and the auditory component is important for basically every pigeon that has been studied in this respect (albeit that number is pitifully small).

I also found this really interesting review of known uses of birdsong to set internal emotional states in birds (either for the self or for a partner or flockmates) that I want to look into with more detail, plus this really thoughtful review from Dr. Donna Maney talking about how "incentive salience" can use learning and experience to make certain cues bring up neuroendocrine changes in state over time, which helps individuals control how their endocrine system is reacting to stimuli in the world they've been shaped by. Clearly I have some reading to do...

[youkaigakkou-tl]

Breakdown of the newest G-Fantasy cover

RARRRRRR IM SO INSANE ABT THIS I NEED TO SEAR THIS ART INTO MY EYEBALLS THERE SSO MUCH TO IT!!!! AUGHGHGHH ITS SO PRETTY!!! THE ASTRONOMY OF IT ALL!!!! ok had to get that out of my system im normal now lets get on with it

Starting with the most immediately obvious parts....

Bellflowers

GRARRR ITS BELLFLOWERS!!!! ITS BELLFLOWERS!!!!

Chinese Bellflowers, called "kikyou" in Japanese, are associated with and somewhat symbols of Abe no Seimei because of the pentagram shape, and Seimei's pentagram is also sometimes called "Seimei kikyou"

In other words, AAAAA BELLFLOWERS!!!!!!

Libra

This is Libra!! Not a whole lot to say about it, but there's a neat detail that the tippy point of the triangle (Beta Librae) is the brightest star in the constellation, and it's also represented by a more defined 4-pointed star here!

Cancer and Crux

Not much to say about Cancer, so lumping it in with Crux.

Crux, also known as the southern cross, is an asterism of four of the brightest stars in the southern hemisphere, and used for navigation similar to the north star.

There is also a northern cross (that's the "body" of Cygnus), but you can tell this is specifically the southern cross because the northern one has a star in the middle

Ursa Major

You can tell this is Ursa Major by the paw stars and the back leg! This is also the constellation that the big dipper is part of, which you may know from a previous rambles to be a big thing in Taoism and also associated with Abe no Seimei.

While we're on the topic of dippers...

There's this constellation that's covered by the G-Fantasy logo (that I didn't want to draw any definitive lines for) but I'm almost certain is the little dipper

What's the deal with the dippers anyway

Hey guys. remember when i lost my mind over the big/little dipper in my kyoto arc essay. still havent gotten over that.

So likeeee... the big dipper is the one classically associated with Taoism and Seimei. The little dipper doesn't really have much of an association with anything in that area, at most you could say its an extension of Polaris, the Big Boy North Star

Note the way the handles bend, the handle of the big dipper hooks down at the end. It's not as if this looks particularly different in different parts of the world, and you can see that every depiction of it irl is the way it is.

But consistently. Consistently. Sensei draws it with the handle bent the other way, aka looking more like the little dipper

Now there's a cute idea here that maybe the big dipper represents Seimei and the little dipper represents Haru. That's so cute! Unfortunately also just an idea. Because as you can see the little dipper is also there in Seimei's magic circle. So.

(Side tangent I swear at one point someone pointed out a principal art where its super clear that the mark on his face is Seimei's magic circle??? But now I can't find which art it is)

The Shichiseiken

Tangent-ception! I recently found out about the shichiseiken (seven star sword), named after the big dipper engraved on it. Originating in Chinese Taoism, it's said to drive away evil. There's been replicas and other versions afterwards, but the major one seems to be the one that had been reforged by Abe no Seimei after being destroyed.

(Though, none of these would be the one Ranmaru has, since his is double-edged and all these japanese swords are single-edged. And besides his just looks like a chinese sword anyway)

Couldn't identify these

too few identifying features on these two constellations sadly... they both Kinda look like they could be corvus.

Well. If it is corvus, and it represents Ranmaru, thats kinda cute. In that line of logic, cancer would be Sano, and libra could be either Hijita, Beniko or Renren (or all 3 lmao?)

Ok thats all i have for now i think. its 6am i gotta sleep i just had to write this right now

[pa-pa-plasma]

The Difference Between Eurasian Magpies (aka corvid) & Australian Magpies (aka not corvid)

I keep seeing people very confidently call Australian Magpies corvids, or imply that they're the same species as Eurasian Magpies, using them interchangeably even when they seemingly know a lot about animals or birds, &, as someone who has accidentally gained a hyperfixation surrounding corvid magpies specifically over the last 4 or so years (iykyk), this bothers me. mostly because it's not hard to tell them apart. I do not claim to be an expert, but I know enough to tell the difference at a glance or by sound.

Starting off by comparing them side by side (Eurasian Magpie, specifically Black-Billed, on the left, Australian Magpie on the right) so you can see the difference:

Quick differences:

Eurasian Magpies are iridescent (their feathers shine blue, purple, & green). Australian Magpies are solid black & white. As babies, Eurasian Magpies have adult colouration & Australian Magpies are more of a dark brown.

Eurasian Magpies have very long, diamond-shaped tails, about the same length as their body. Australian Magpies have shorter, rounded, fan-shaped tails.

Eurasian Magpies beaks are slimmer & recognizable as a typical corvid beak. Australian Magpies beaks are thicker & are partially white.

Eurasian Magpies have white on their chest, shoulders, & on their primaries. Australian Magpies have white on the back of the neck, coverts (non-flight arm feathers), tail, & sometimes the back.

Eurasian Magpies have black eyes as adults. Australian Magpies have brown/red eyes as adults.

The most effective way to tell what kind of bird you're looking at is your location. Are you in Australia? Then it's an Australian Magpie. Are you in Eurasia or North America? Then it's a Eurasian Magpie, baby!

Second most effective way (besides lookin) is their calls. Magpies sound like higher pitched crows. They can also mimic pretty well. (this magpie, Pie, was rescued as a baby & is unreleasable, kept by an experienced couple with access to veterinary care & socialization in Canada, the Black-billed Magpie's native habitat. All of their birds would have been euthanized if not taken in). More examples of magpie sounds & Pie talking.

Australian Magpies sound like this. Sorry, idk how to describe that. I saw someone comment they sound like a rusty gate & I think that's pretty accurate. They also sound more like songbirds.

Eurasian Magpies don't have a swooping season. You'll usually see them messing with other animals, like pulling tails & standing on other birds while they're flying. When they are seriously attacking something, they're usually mobbing, as corvids do.

Australian Magpies are pretty famous for their swooping. 'Nough said. Don't go near their nests.

Both species can be befriended & trained, but this can basically be said about any bird. These particular ones seem very suitable for this, though.

While both birds are considered highly intelligent, Eurasian Magpies are apart of Corvus, along with Crows, Ravens, Bluejays, & a bunch of other birds well known for their super high intelligence. They're the guys passing the mirror test & understanding water displacement & talking to you in an oddly human voice.

To be honest, I'm not sure how intelligent Australian Magpies are, as people tend to mix them up with Eurasian Magpies. What one does is attributed to the other so often I can't find sources that is specifically about one or the other on a quick search.

This is the thing that has been bothering me. They're very different, unique birds. I don't doubt Australian Magpie intelligence, but it would be neat for it to be easier to find sources that isn't just another author mistaking them for Eurasian Magpies.

Anyways, that's my quick (messy) guide to magpies! Just like the lovely mountain chicken, just because it's named that doesn't mean it is one. Australian Magpies are their own thing separate from corvids, & Eurasian Magpies are not just pests that exist to eat your crops, they are highly intelligent, social animals that have thrived despite everything. The coyotes of birds, if you will.

Oh, also, not getting into other magpies as that is a whole shitshow I don't wanna talk about. If you have 20 minutes, a quick runthrough of the entire crow family tree can be found here by Clint's Reptiles.

[moonfurthetemmie]

Aster (he/she)

Healer, cook, and martial artist. Also a little ball of anxiety 80% of the time. 

He’s very sweet, but his social skills are ass. Blue is not helpful, and Temp and Glaze used to pick on him when they were kids. They are mostly doing it affectionately, but it didn’t feel like it. He’s closest to Wren because Wren was the only one who tried to stop them. Nowadays they all get along a little better, buuut…

Aster had 0 reason to help everyone, but he ended up learning about Corvus and Orion along with the other clones, and decided he wanted to help. He tried to get Blue to teach him to fight, but Blue was like “,,,,aster i get nauseous at the sight of blood. Do you think i know how to fight.” Blue did however help them find ways to learn how to fight. 

Aster learned Vadakkan Kalari, which is one of many styles of Kalaripayattu. Enjoy the wiki link. Anyways, she also learned healing magic, and uses her flexibility from her Kalari training to weave between and around enemies to heal the others in a fight. It took a while for her to figure out quick battle healing, but she managed. She’s an invaluable part of the team.

Of his combat skills, Aster favors a dagger, but he also can use a sword and a spear, and can take down opponents bare-handed. Oddly enough, when he starts fighting, most of his anxiety seems to go away.

Blue

He was really not ready to take care of a kid, and he knew it. He tried his best, though, even if wasn’t great.

In trying his best not to be anything like his brother, he was often overly lenient with kid Aster, until his better judgment overrode those worries and he’d suddenly be like ‘ok no, no more of that.’ He told her that he just didn’t realize just how bad an idea it was, Aster became rather afraid to try things. And very unsure of when something that was ok at one point would suddenly Not Be Okay.

When he was older Blue did explain the actual reason and sort of apologized for being the source of most of his anxiety.

Like I said with Temp and Glaze, it’s probably a good thing he had the others’ help, or Aster could’ve wound up much worse. He’s very glad they invited him.

He did his best to teach her things he knew, though. Cooking, fibercraft, yoga. The yoga helped Aster work on his flexibility a lot, which is the main reason Blue was suggested it. He may have offered earlier on, but he wasn’t going to make her learn. Once they decided to pursue Kalari, though, he was like ‘yknow, yoga could give you some extra flexibility exercises, if you wanted to try it.’ He still didn’t make her, it was just more of a ‘this might help’ than ‘do you want to do this’ then.

Other Stuff

Aster's alignment is Neutral Good

Aster isn’t strawberry blonde it’s just dye. he wants to be but alas, he is the clone of someone with a much less interesting hair color

The scar on Aster’s face was gotten during her lessons. She’s actually very proud of it. 

Fun thing about Kalari, straight from the wiki: "...it is stated that the cardinal principle of Kalaripayattu was that knowledge of the art be used to further worthy causes, and not for the advancement of one's own selfish interests." which is,,,,pretty much exactly Aster's reason for learning to fight. go see the link to read the whole thing it's neat

[soraka-in-warhammer40k]

Shadows of Treachery (HH Vol. 22)

Another anthology of short stories. But Honstly? Until now I have not been a fan of those. It's always a coin-toss in these stories, with the range being "neat" and "absolute boredom". Luckily, the average on this book was a lot better than the previous ones.

Story #1 "The Blood Red Fist" was more on the boring side, mostly because it is essentially loyalists fighting and getting absolutely wrecked. I do not remember a single named character aside from Peturabo, but the main takaway here is the absolute fuckery of chaos. Rogal Dorn's order for the fleet to return to terra came in the wrongest moment. If it had come before the fight, they would have run and made it home safely with some luck. After the fight, it would have been useful as a rally point for the survivors - even if there would barely be any as Peturabo would totally shred them. But it broke through right in the middle of the maneuver, completly ruining any chances they might have had. Don't get me wrong, they wouldn't have won, but they would have dealt a devastating blow to the Iron Warrior fleet

Overall pretty lame, but I guess that's loyalists for you.

Story #2 "The Dark King" meanwhile tunes us in to what will later be the highlight of the book, mostly focussing on the Night Lords and Curze in specific. Let's just say thet Curze already murdered Astartes before the Heresy even began. Rogal Dorn and Fulgrim attempted to contain his madness, but they did not stop the man from LITERALLY BLOWING UP HIS HOMEWORLD BECAUSE HE DEEMED IT UNWORTHY. Curze at max. level insanity, so a pretty good read.

Story #3 "The Lightning Tower" meanwhile is also a lot more interesting. Also a loyalist tale, this is essentially just a conversation between Rogal Dorn and his first captain (I think). Also it directly references the first story from Dorn's perspective, which is pretty neat. Also it once again hammers home just how much Dorn hated his job for fortifying the palance.

Story #4 "The Kaban Machine" mostly is Mars being weird, and telling people the Dark Mechanicum exists? We got a confirmation that they are working on a functional AI, but that's not very shocking really. For anyone who has read "Mechanicum" it is absolute filler material.

Story #5 "Flight of the Raven" is also not very interesting - it takes place before Corvus' book and that one sorta spoils the ending. Mostly how the Raven Guard and their Primarch made it out after the Dropsite Massacre. No relevant information was gained, aside from establishing Corvus' supernatural perceptive abilities. Also pretty boring.

Story #6 "Death of a Silversmith" is also filler-material, but so, SO much better at its job. It's essentially a civillian's perspective on the whole thing, an artisan working under the Lunar Wolves right before the heresy who got murdered by a heretic and the pages are essentially his last thoughts as the life is bleeding out of him. What makes this so good is how short it is. The author had an idea, put it down, executed it well, but never overstayed his welcome. THIS is how you write filler!

But now, to the actual star of the book - not a short story, but a novella in lenght, story #6 "The Crow Prince" which was my first introduction to the Night Lords character Sevatar - who is in equal parts a new favourite of mine and also an absolute bastard. You see, he sees himself at very rational, efficient, and all that, but is also the prime exampe for "if you want to be REALLY stupid you need to be smart first, because the dumb person will never rationalize the truly stupid decisions or in fact never realize they coud make them".

The man is beyond reckless, both in combat and social situations. Also I love how he just takes absolutely no shit from his Primarch, and Curze is also delightfully insane in this story as well.

Not going to spoil much but I sure hope there will be more Sevatar in the future, mostly because I definetly want to see where this high-functioning-absolute-idiot will end up.

The next book will be Angelus Exterminatus, and I am excited for I heard a lot of good stuff about this one...

[lady-scorpion-and-friends]

Hello, hi, random question: are the people in Scorpion's kingdom human or are they like her father? Or, perhaps is it a mixture of both? I've always wondered that. Also, being royalty and likely having to talk with those all over the world to make trades or deals, does Scorpion speak any other languages or learning any languages at the moment? If so, which ones? The latter is coming from someone who's a big language nerd and is actually currently trying to learn another language (or rather, a few. XD Portuguese and Russian being my main two i wanna learn), and i always have to ask this. I just think its neat, ok? UwU'

Well I always had hard time to figure out how the people of Zandor would be like but i always imagined as mostly human however it wouldn't make much sense if I made Scorpion, Augustus and Corvus being the only ones with red skin, pointy ears and scorpion's tail so I believe that it was mixture of both but only royals should have the tail and the powers to make it easier and because they had dragons as guardians there, they would have other creatures like phoenixes, unicorns and so on, pretty much like a fairy tale realm.

Scorpion does tries to learn different languages, the ones that I made her speak the most are French, Spanish and Italian as myself have struggles with certain languages so with other languages, she had her mom to hire a translator for her so it could be easier to communique with others.

[moved-to-void-kissed]

id just like you to know that ive loved hearing about your dqix s/i, and your crush on pavo !! I'd love to hear more !!!!! dq has been my favourite franchise for like a decade now and 9 is one of my fave games ever haha ^_^ (corvus was my fave character ever for the whole of my teens mfhdkshslshsh—)

aaaaah bee you don’t know how happy this made me feel to see this, thank you so much for sending this ask!!! I always worry I’m kind of just talking to an empty room when it comes to my selfships in series that others don’t also selfship in (Void speaking into a void, or something, there’s a pun in there somewhere). I notice it more when I talk about Luna too. But, to know there are people who also know of and are also passionate about the same series that I am really does make me happy!!!! (You are super valid about liking Corvus, he is pretty cool, haha)

When it comes to Pavo, the reason I realised I had a crush on her was because I was playing a lot of DQIX recently for an AU I had for my XC2 selfships, making a party out of Sapphire, Vandham, Pyra and Perun where Pyra (or technically actually Mythra) was the Celestrian in the group. It just kind of stemmed from the fact that Pavo is really cool and I wish she had more presence in the game, though I’m in the process of unlocking the quest which involves her and Aquila so that will be neat. Also when I looked her up on the wiki and saw her actual official artwork, then saw she was in some other game where she has an awesome finisher move and an incredibly pretty new artwork (as well as a pretty cool voice!), the feelings just sort of kept avalanching .w.

As for my self-insert, Ardea, I’m still not completely settled on how I want to play her. I was thinking maybe an armamentalist with a bow, but I’m not actually very good at playing support like that (I find it way too tedious constantly re-buffing everyone after Disruptive Waves and would rather leave that to the AI) and also if I were to make a stand-in for Pavo so that I get to travel around with her, I think I would make her either a ranger or sage (with heavy strength investment and cool spell access) with a bow, because she uses a bow in her finisher from another game. Possibly I might make Ardea a martial artist with claws, just to make her nice and fast and really able to deal lots of damage which is always fun? I’ve not really played as that before either. Currently the rest of the party is Avalon as a warrior with a spear (since I just really like bringing him into different series with me apparently) and Iris, a luminary with a fan, since again I’ve never really used either of those classes before.

I have played a lot of DQIX in my time, I even have a bit of detail about the three other party members I always end up using (who are, I think, recreations of the first ever randomly-generated party members I got on an early playthrough!!) It’s one of those games where I have no idea where I got it from, but I’m so glad to have played it so much, especially more recently since I have a save editor that lets me access all the extra DLC-unlocked quests from years back that I haven’t ever really seen before!

I’m.. still very tired so I’m sorry I can’t think of much else more to say, and I wrote this in a lot of bits and pieces so it probably doesn’t flow very well, but seriously, thank you so so much again for this, Bee - it really means a lot, and if ever you want to talk about DQIX or the other games in the series, (do you have any self-inserts??) I’m always more than happy to listen and talk with you!!~

[ellewords]

Hi elle! How are you today? Take care of yourself.

Okay; Corvus and Gemini, atair and proxima centauri, moon and comet.

Have a nice day, dear!!

i’m doing alright !! hope you have a nice day as well <33

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

corvus : what are 5 things you appreciate about yourself?

— it’s the way i had so much difficulty answering this question. uh i guess that i like how i make a conscious effort to be kind to everyone. i know this is very bare minimum, but a lot of people don’t even have the decency to do that. um i like that i try to make sure that the skincare and makeup that i use are cruelty free (bec animal testing just makes me 😡). i like my hair, it’s pretty wavy which is nice (though very hard to care for and maintain). i am actually running out of things?? my handwriting is decent when my professor isn’t talking at the speed of light. and i like that i can read relatively fast considering that it comes in handy for my degree.

gemini : which character (fictional or not) is your spirit animal?

hmm i assume this means which character i identify with most? if so probably yachi from hq or amy from b99. though i would just love to exude elle woods, hermione granger, or robin from stranger things energy.

though a little note on using the term “spirit animal”

atair : why is your favourite book, well, your favourite? do you have a favourite quote from it?

— paulo coelho’s the alchemist (which i’m rereading rn) !! just a lovely story about listening to one’s heart, following dreams, and just so so well written. i have so many favorite quotes i can’t just choose one !!!

“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.” — 🥺

“So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.” — so who’s gonna tell me this huh :<<

“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”

“Don't give in to your fears. If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart.”

“We are travelers on a cosmic journey,stardust,swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”

proxima centauri : if you would have the chance to travel the world, which places or countries would you like to see?

— i really just want to go to a field of tulips in holland 😔 also maybe italy so i can put all these italian language classes to good use 🤧

moon : “A man is made of memories. It is all we are.“ (Lawrence) what do you think this means? Do you agree?

— the way this question sent me into my comparative literature classes. to an extent, i suppose i agree. memories play a role in who we are as people; the places we go to, the people we encounter and share them with, how we interact with these things all contribute in some way to our view of the world and of ourselves. and every single day we make different memories, also opening up the idea of growth and change based on the things we learn from these experience. but i don’t know, part of me likes to think that there’s more to us than that?

comet : you have the chance to undo one thing or decision in your life, would you take it? If you are comfortable sharing: what did you change?

— hmm, i don’t think i have any huge ~regrets~ in life. mostly because i really do try to think things through carefully. though i guess i wish i was more open and extroverted, esp before the entire world was put in pause; said yes to more opportunities, accepted more invitations to nag out, and just not let my anxiety get the better of me ://

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

neat space asks !!! 🪐

[ironxkid]

for headcanon topics: her favorite stars/constellations, birds, and/or what kind of music she listens to!

Favorite stars/constellations

her two most favorite constellations are Cetus and Corvus! Corvus because, well, it’s a raven (despite corvus meaning crow fdsgjsgfdj), and Cetus because it was one of the first constellations she learned about! Ironically enough, Cetus is known as the whale, sea monster, or leviathan, and it’s still a favorite of her despite hating the ocean fdsghjsd

her favorite star, currently, is SMSS J2003-1142 because that star is the root of the recent discovery of magnetorotational hypernovas!

Favorite bird(s)

corvids! Specifically ravens and crows, and I usually say her favorite in particular is the white-necked raven because I took a daemon quiz for her years ago and that was one of the results! Unfortunately the specific quiz I took is no longer available rip

tbh, she just thinks they’re neat! But they’re also incredibly intelligent, which she finds fascinating and may or may not have tried to get one to befriend her at uni

Kinds of music

tbh, Carter listens to just about everything! But, she draws a pretty hard line at country music dsgfjhdsfghj

now, she doesn't hate all country songs! But overall, she... absolutely doesn't care for most of it lol - it's the twang that tends to grate on her, and she doesn't like how nearly every song that's popular is a white man singing about beer, trucks, God, girls, se/x, and how Ame/rica's the best

her favorite genres, though, tend to be pop, folk, indie, and a mix of the three! 

[nemrut]

Epic 7 - 27.05.21 update

So, big update coming tomorrow and a lot of good stuff for beginners, but mainly gonna focus on the units though.

For one, the ML selector stuff. Am lucky enough to already own 4 of the 6 heroes, so for me, it is a decision between Ruele and Dark Corvus (or a second arby in order to build 2 different arbys but I am ashamed enough of owning one arby already). For most people, it would make sense to get an Arby if you don't have one, but I do respect people who hate Arby and stick to their guns on that one. Unfortunately, I was not strong enough in character for that and went for the good character who made my PVP and farming life easier.

Personally, I am gonna go for Ruele. I know that Ruele might be in the next mystic rotation or the one after the next new mystic hero, since she is getting a skin in RTA, and they need to run her again in mystics before that, but honestly, not really interested in Dark Corvus. And I am hoping for a good, exiting new mystic 5 star. Maybe ML Cermia or ML Celine?

Then there is ML Kawerik. I know people are ragging on him, but honestly, he seems pretty solid. He has a really good S3, a decent S1 and a weird S2. But his S3 alone makes him worthwhile using. While he might not be bad, it is however undeniable that he is boring. He looks bland and his skills are nothing new and do not introduce a new mechanic or do some crazy thing. He cleanses, gives ATK buff and immunity. That is very respectable and useful, in both, PVP and PVE. But we have similar heroes. Personally, I just recently built DJ Basar, and I am not looking to replace him. Sure, he has no atk buff, but he grants some healing and CR push instead. It is a skip for me, but not because he is bad.

Besides, he might get a buff in the coming months, transforming him into a monster, but you can't really count on that.

Now, coming to Ilynav. She seems pretty cool. Her S3 is an aoe attack, giving herself immunity and everyone on her team increased crit dmg. Her dmg is also based on her own health. Now, that seems decent. Even if her modifiers turn out to be bad and that her dmg is subpar, it should still be decent dmg and crit dmg buff can be useful, depending on the team. The one thing to keep in mind though, is that crit dmg cannot exceed 350%, so on certain characters, it might be wasted.

Her S2 inflicts injury, also does dmg based on her health, gives herself a health buff and can be triggered by her S1. Her S1 just does dmg based on her health and can trigger her S2. It also says that dual attack is the only condition which may not trigger the S2, so counter set seems viable there.

She also has a crit chance imprint.

So, overall, if her dmg modifiers are low, I guess she could be underwhelming but I do feel like there is room to use her. And who knows, maybe she will have actually great modifiers and hit like a truck.

Lastly, Ml Khwazu. He just seems strong. His S1 burns, and has a higher chance to inflict burns if he has vigor. Also inflicts one additional burn then. His S2 is insane, as it can cleanse himself after being hit by an aoe. It also grants him vigor, recovers his health based on his own atk value and gives himself a 20% CR push. His S3 hits one enemy, strips all buffs, inflicts two burns and detonates all burns on the target. Ignores ER if he has vigor. Also only has a 3 turn cd. So, it is a single target warrior who can delete a lot of units with his s3 and can't be shut down by aoe control. Individual units with no aoe attacks could ruin his days but this still makes him fairly strong on paper.

That said, I am not going to roll for him since he is an ML 4 star, so there is no guaranteed pity on him. If I get him, I will build him, but if I don't, not going to get sad about it.

So yeah, neat units all around.

That said, as everyone knows, collab and summer units are on the horizon, so it is a time to not waste too many resources. I really shouldn't roll for Ilynav but I think I am gonna, mainly because I have enough BMs to get her without touching my skystones. Hopefully, she won't require me to use up all my BMs like the last knight did.

[yeocult]

Hii~ ursa minor, corvus, orion, gemini, betelgeuse, deneb, spica, proxima centauri, mimosa, star cluster, moon, comet, delta iv heavy, heavy falcon, soyuz, RCS, RD-270, raptor? (so sorry it's a lot of questions 😅)

*cracks knuckles* it’s time to get ready to overshare !! thank you for sending so much in!! it was fun hehe

ursa minor: do you have hobbies or interests that no one knows about?

hmm sports, writing, and editing? i enjoy watching sports matches and being nerdy about analyzing the players and game lol, mostly basketball and volleyball! i hate playing sports though lol. writing and editing are just for fun! (irl ppl don’t know much so i guess it’s a secret). i’d like to pursue editing to something more serious though!

corvus: what are 5 things you appreciate about yourself?

1. neatness and i’m organized! / 2. i only surround myself with good people, if there’s something off about a person i immediately cut them off (idk if this is me running away from everything bad or that i respect myself lol) / 3. how easily inspired i am / 4. chill? (is that the right word?) sometimes i just can’t bring myself to care that much abt certain things lol / 5. fashion sense i think

orion: what element would you like to be able to bend?

i convinced myself i was a waterbender when i was younger lmao but i’d like to bend fire! no reasons, i just think it’s cool hehe

gemini: which character (fictional or not) is your spirit animal?

shizuku from whisper of the heart and ursula from kiki’s delivery service...they are just so comforting!! having a lil studio in the forest is such a dream!

betelgeuse: which video games gives you nostalgia for a place you have never been to?

ah i don’t play any video games :-(

deneb: you can turn one book into a movie,tv show or video game. which one are you picking?

omg this is a hard one! i’ll probably think about this more but rn i’m completely stuck >///<

spica: when do you consider a movie “good”?

no plotholes, it’s consistent, and not so cliche. the texture, not bland, and good writing is important too. soundtrack that evokes emotions is kinda important to me as well. not so much necessary but i like it when a movie has an open ending! i look forward to the cinematography a lot too :D but honestly, everything needs to work well together, the writers, actors, and production team.

proxima centauri: if you would have the chance to travel the world, which places or countries would you like to see?

ooooh i want to visit china, germany, dublin, singapore, hanoi, japan, s.korea, and new york! so many places >///<

mimosa: what do you associate with your favourite colour?

beige - comfort, coffee, home, silence, sundays, fresh sheets, and cookie dough :DD

star cluster: what is something you have gained, something you have lost and something you let go of during the past year?

gained - interest in filmography, writing, and editing / lost - activeness ?? lmao ever since quarantine I've gotten so lazy / let go of - a close friend of 5 years

moon: “A man is made of memories. It is all we are.“ (Lawrence) what do you think this means? Do you agree?

kind of! how we act and behave was all from our childhood—memories. it shapes us how we are today. we think a lot, we experience a lot, so it think this is what the quote means...? hopefully i don’t sound stupid lol

comet: you have the chance to undo one thing or decision in your life, would you take it? If you are comfortable sharing: what did you change?

yes! i would taken more opportunity and put myself out there more often even if i’ll get hurt—i think it’s a learning experience that i’ll never get back

delta iv heavy: what is your favourite thing about your degree course?

ah i’m not there yet (i’m assuming this is for uni/college). but, i’d like to study fashion design or something in the art department hehe

heavy falcon: what is a subject you are highly interested in but you would never study yourself?

english, biochem, interior design, history, ohmygod i have a lot. but the thing with me is that i’m very interested in anything, i’m curious, but i’ll never commit to anything that isn’t art because i’m simply just not passionate enough. there’s a difference with being interested/curious and passionate for me...? (not to mention i suck at anything else lol)

soyuz: language(s) you would like to learn?

chinese!! i’ve actually started learning 2 years ago but never continued with it because it’s just too hard !!! >:( i also can’t even speak my mother tongue fluently so i need to get that first before learning another one. the tones...are soooo !!! difficult !!!!! i’ve also learned french for 7 years but i sound embarrassing sigh

RCS: how do you stay focused and productive?

sigh...i’m the worst student ever. i just kinda guilt trip myself into studying like “you’re a burden if you don’t do good on xyz” or like just slap myself and get it over with yk? it’s not the best lmaoooooo

RD-270: Do you need silence to study? or do you like to listen to music? if so, what is your go-to study-playlist?

rarely, i like to listen to music 99% of the time. it’s either a random khh/krnb playlist with new songs i’ve never listened to, lofi, or piano music! sometimes i’ll listen to my own playlists but it’s distracting with songs i know lol

Raptor: do you study at home or do you prefer to study at the library/in cafés?

sigh, i hate studying outside. maybe that’ll change for me in the future. i’ve tried studying in the library and i got nothing good done. i’ve also never went to a cafe to study. although i do love the vibes, it’s usually too loud for me. i like being in the comfort of my own room :))

send me a space asks!

[musubiki]

May I hear more about Murda's not-a-coattail brother? He seems neat.

oh yeah!!!! 

his name is corvus, his sister calls him corv. hes about 2 years older than murda (24 after the timeskip), and hes the only one she trusts to be in her guild!! 

because of this, he has his work cut out for him. i wanna say hes like lime, but even limes stress doesnt come close because at least mochi is manageable for lime to handle. 

murda is just a pain in the ass. shes a bitter loner who puts up with people because she has to, and is kind of like Eeyore if eeyore had ager issues and a superiority complex. but corvus puts up with it because he loves his sister and she would actually be hopeless without him LOL

they live in a rainy mining town called Ardov’s Quarry. Corvus works in the mines and brings back gemstones that Murda fashions into jewelry and charms to sell (its kind of like mochis shop where she puts spells on her merchandise. im thinking it’ll be like those energy stones thing. “This quartz necklace will make bring you healing” or something)

his cursed item is his mining gloves, and their power bears a STRIKING resemblance to kyanites favorite weapon form - he can gather rocks/stones around his hands and use them to fight. powerful punches. except his is different from kyanites in the sense that kya needs materials AROUND her to gather from, whereas corvus’ gloves can manifest material to recharge.

hes cool, compared to his sister. can be pretty emotionless, most of the time. hes the sensible one. he is the leash that stops his angry sister from doing stupid things. also murdas crow familiar prefers to perch on his shoulder instead of hers because hes taller. he takes good care of her though, since they really only have each other now. 

[ranger-report]

Thoughts On: Heretic

Earlier this year, just before the beginning of quarantine, I played a little game called AMID EVIL, something I would not have done were it not for the enchanting video skills of YouTuber Civvie 11. In his video, Civvie demonstrated the awesomeness of the retro shooter, both in graphics and gameplay, and since I was jonesing for something a little more dark fantasy than I was used to, I decided to give it a try. The game is a thrilling rush, and worthy of its own post here, but that game was a segue into me finally picking up and playing a game series that I had been intrigued by for nearly twenty some odd years: the Heretic and Hexen games.

AMID EVIL owes a lot to these games; in fact, it's not much of a leap to say that it owes everything to these games. It's even less of a leap to say that most first person shooters, whether dark fantasy or no, owe a lot to these games. Raven Software introduced a monster of a franchise when they dropped Heretic in December of 1994, working in collaboration with id Software as Raven was creating their games using the DOOM engine (or, as I think we're calling it now, “id tech 1”). John Romero helped in-house, giving advice on how to work with the engine, which was instrumental for Raven to push id tech 1 to its limits. They made changes to the engine which eventually became staples in other FPS games: an inventory system, translucent objects, pushable objects, the ability to look up and down, and the ability to fly. While the game itself was objectively a reskinned version of DOOM, it was stylish and engaging and reworked the most popular game engine at the time. In short, it won accolades in no small amount, and sealed itself in history as a high watermark for boomer shooters, hell, for PC gaming in general. So when we're looking backwards into the foggy past of our ancestors, is Heretic a game that we, in the Year of Our Lord Gaben 2020, should consider playing, either for the first time or as a throwback? Roll up your sleeves, party people, we've got a deep one to dive into today. Because we can't simply look at Heretic alone; oh, no. We're going to have to look at the whole franchise.

Heretic is not a complicated game per se, but it has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. We have the standard issue Run-Gun-Have-Some-Fun gameplay that Wolfenstein and DOOM brought to the table. There's three keys of different colors – yellow, green, and blue – there's a variety of weapons that almost line up point-for-point with DOOM's stack of damage inducers, and there's a horde of enemies that are around every corner waiting for you to come out magic blazing. But where DOOM has a mostly straightforward path from point A to point B, Heretic is a trickster which can and will give cause to tear one's hair out. Secret doors, invisible walls, fake walls, and hidden switches are everywhere, which means that nine times out of ten you'll either be consulting your map to figure out where the fake walls are, or you'll be pressing the space bar on every surface to see if it will open or activate something useful. Raven did a bit of a whammy on the game, setting up the simplistic stuff to lure you in, as though promising a hot night out with the kind of experience you think that you're used to, but then they strap you in for the kinky stuff that you always imagined you'd be into, but now that we're here you're not so sure. Make no mistake, I did consult a walkthrough at least once, maybe twice if I'm remembering right, during my playthrough. And the game is punishing the deeper you get: enemies lie in wait immediately behind doors, around corners, hidden out of sight or just above you since some of them can fly, and as your limited ammunition dwindles down into the red, you'll be forced into running risk-and-reward of melee weapons and inventory items to keep moving. Fortunately, each weapon has its own ammo stock, and some enemies are more susceptible to different weapon types. Adding to the bonus in the player's favor are inventory items that boost weapon damage, specifically the Tome of Power which magnifies the current weapon's attack power into a secondary fire that more often than not is absolutely brutal. But, unlike future entries in this series, the motto of the day is: Keep Moving, Keep Shooting, Don't Stop Moving, Don't Stop Shooting. It's Fun, Fast, and Furious in an entertaining way that only occasionally leaves you pondering why you even booted up the game this morning.

However you may feel about the gameplay itself, it can't be denied that the visual aesthetics and gamefeel are dripping with atmosphere. Everything from top to bottom feels like the best of cheesy 80's style fantasy art, from the front cover to final screen. Gloomy castles, underwater domes, craggy hellscapes. Weapons impress with over-the-top magical properties. The default staff acts like the DOOM pistol, lobbing nearly harmless yellow energy, while the Etheral Crossbow shoots multiple energy arrows at once, like a magic shotgun, easily the most versatile weapon in the game. Besides that one, my other favorite weapons are the Hellstaff (which blasts rapid-fire red energy, and causes acid rain to fall when Tomed up) and the Phoenix Rod (basically a magic rocket launcher that belches fire when overpowered). Depending on what you're facing, proper usage of these weapons (all finely drawn sprites, natch) can either chew through a mob with ease or leave you scrambling to get back. Stun lock Disciples with the Dragon Claw while obliterating Golems with the Crossbow; save the Phoenix Rod for big bads. And enemy creatures run the gamut from the simplistically annoying Gargoyles (red bat-winged creatures who also shoot fireballs) to the sturdy Golems (which come in a secondary variety which throw flaming skulls at you) to the Disciples of D'Sparil (faceless hooded monks who fly, chant, and shoot fireballs at you, on theme). Usually these damage sponges come at you in packs, rarely doing so in solo numbers because otherwise the game wouldn't be a DOOM clone. What really gets challenging is when boss creatures start popping up like regular enemies – in packs. Take the Iron Lich for example, a massive floating skull wearing a spiked helmet that throws walls of fire and tornadoes that do continual damage, they appear as a boss at the end of the final level of the first episode, then appear later on in groups. They take incredible amounts of damage and return fire constantly, which leads to a tense game of bobbing and weaving and staying as far away from them as possible. But the absolute worst is the Maulotaur. Basically, a minotaur that stands head and shoulders taller than the Iron Lich, carries a huge mace, and shoots waves of fire at you which can one-shot you if you're not paying attention. Staying away from them is key, but they can charge forward fast in order to close distance and take a few swings at you with the mace. These assholes also start as a final bosses, then appear as regular enemies surrounded by waves of other mobs. Maulotaurs are the dealbreakers of the game; they require ridiculous amounts of ammo to kill, and will force you through most of your inventory items if you're not already powered up. Thankfully, your inventory can hold quite a few helpful items, such as quartz flasks for health, the aforementioned Tomes of Power to boost weapon damage, invisibility spheres and wings of flight, and even motherfucking time bombs. But amongst all these, the most ridiculous and yet satisfying item is the Morph Ovum. Shaped like an egg, when used it gets thrown outward and whatever it hits is transformed into an easily killable chicken. Got a wave of monsters crowding too close and you need to thin the herd fast? Turn them into chickens, then turn them into fried chickens.

What gets me is that this game doesn't feel nearly as highly regarded as its indirect sequel, Hexen, and that's probably because for the most part this is a full-on DOOM clone. There were a lot of them back in the day, too many to count, and I think that if wasn't for the legacy of Raven and Hexen, this might have fallen through the cracks of history. Is it uninspired? No, not in the slightest. The quality of the spritework and animations are top notch, the production values are stellar, putting it just above the quality of the average obvious Doom clone. The amount of innovation, with the aforementioned inventory system and modifications to the engine, mesh well with the ambitious world/story crafted in the background of a single warrior trudging across worlds to defeat an evil tyrant who has taken over his people's lands. The current version on Steam is actually the second version released; initially, the game launched in 1994 with three episodes, the first one being the shareware version, and then later on in 1996 had a second physical release which added on two new episodes. It was like an expansion pack folded into the main game, and considering that Hexen was released in 1995, it makes sense that the two new episodes of Heretic feel so much more brutal in difficulty by comparison. And thematically it makes sense for them to have a higher base difficulty, since it’s about escaping the dark world you had to break into, and now you're crawling your way back out of it. Kind of a neat trick, having the hero beat the bad guy halfway through the story, then showing his journey to get back home. Hell, even the name of the main character is awesome. A later game in the series will reveal that his name is Corvus, but originally the character was simply referred to as The Heretic, and in a gaming landscape featuring such characters as Doomguy, the Quake Ranger, and the Doomslayer, the Heretic ought to stand right up there with the rest of them.

So is the game worth playing today? Absolutely. Any fan of boomer shooters or retro gaming in general should absolutely play this game. Utilizing DOSBOX (which the Steam release uses) is fine, but doesn't allow for the best playing experience currently. A quick download of GZDOOM to launch the game will give better controls, easier mouse compatibility, and smoother graphics. There's a method to tie GZDOOM into your Steam page so you can even track how long you've been playing it (for those who this is important for). And it's super cheap, meaning there's little to no excuse to not play it. So why then is this game sitting in the background, kind of like the little engine that could? You know, I'm doing my best to get into the meat and potatoes of this game, to be more descriptive of it and really entice you, the reader, into wanting to play this game. The powerups are fun, there are segments where you absolutely get to go apeshit on monsters and laugh hysterically while you do so, there are moments where the “AHA” is so enlighting that the relief is palpable. Some of the bosses are so memorable that to find them around the corner later in the game as minibosses – in multiple! – is downright frightening and adds to the risk/reward, since they're usually guarding something good that you want to pick up. Long story short, if you like DOOM, you'll like Heretic, which feels like selling the experience short. But the real reason I think Heretic is overlooked is because it is overshadowed by the more complex, more engaging, and more brutal Hexen.

If it hasn't become obvious yet, this is going to be a multi-part Thoughts On post. You've read Heretic, which is a fine game that does what it does and is memorable and fun and fine. But next, we're going to dive into the second course of this delicious fantasy meal, Hexen, and talk about how the second game in this series is the one that got everyone to sit up and take notice of what Raven Software was doing.

[inflammatoryfandomblog]

okay, last episode of the season, let’s see how it goes, let’s go to the shooting gallery again:

- rip callum, can’t get any wings or his “i love you” confession in. soren keeps the plot moving forward, nice. he like... just steals callum away so he can have his big confession moment instead. i want to adopt this doofus, he’s my son now. 

-> does everyone the main characters interact with end up expositing their inner psychology? soren could have just said “i’m sorry, that was wrong” and it could have accomplished the same thing. cut away to his dad and claudia after the surprise hug if you really needed to hammer it in. “also because you’re smaller and weaker” is 100% soren though.

-> oh that trailer line of “we’re all that’s left of this family” is claudia saying this to her dad? these bastards pulled a switcheroo on us.

-> oh hey, they’re actually using the “just camp the spire” strategy i suggested earlier, neat. i just like it when i’m right.

-> ... soren visually “grew the beard.” i guess it’s gonna stay on him as a symbol of how he’s grown. oldie but a goodie.

-> kasef running on his own towards the sun elf army... was really funny. mood whiplash, but it was really funny.

-> the sunfire elves’ phalanx is seriously cool. they fight like spartans!

-> claudia vs. soren!!! nooo!!!! why do you play with my feelings like this!!! and amaya and janai have amazing fight choreography, i love how they fight individually, it’s so smart and dextrous.

-> i know i mentioned that the dragons can easily just... roast the humans in a line but when i watched the dragons come i was like “oh yeah, they have sunfire elf powers now, that won’t be as effective.” the fight with kasef vs. janai visually foreshadowed that pretty well.

-> soren’s knowledge of how the humans might take down the dragons could have been... more useful and all but... the animation on that kasef dragon jump really sold the movement. i guess this is where they put most of the work in.

-> ... where’s... where’s ibis at by the way? did he just disappear?

-> aanya ex duren! so glad we saw corvus again! he walked in like a big damn hero. rip kasef, may he rest in ... i guess he’ll be buried in that lava place in the breach, yeah? seems appropriate.

-> okay the whole “elves and humans are making up and we have VICTORY!” is... hokey... but holy shit did soren just DO THAT did he just stab his dad?? i mean... yeah viren deserves it and it was all an illusion in the end but... like, soren passed that mental hurdle, in those few moments, he believed he killed his dad. and claudia is probably not gonna see him as family after this huh.

-> i guess... that’s what the dark shroud was for. makes sense.

-> okay those sounds viren is making as he absorbs the magic power are... uhhh.... weird? i don’t like them.

-> does anyone know if they used 2D animation to animate callum’s mouth when he successfully uses the wing spell? it really looked like it for a second there.

-> ibis appears when the dragon queen wakes up! but... where was he? the case of the disappearing ibis is bothering me greatly.

-> ok zubeia is... really nice, all things considered... oh gosh, she reacted so well to seeing a bunch of humans and elves at her base... i guess only her husband was the boomer, huh.

-> janai and amaya are officially girlfriends in my heart ok

-> viren: “i lived bitch” claudia: “not really”. oh shiiit, i feel so bad for her, like... she saw soren stab what he believed to be their father, and she really is alone with him. and... dark magic can resurrect people? how did she manage that? and i guess bug-friend is gonna be butterfly-friend now. ha ha ha... they’re in danger...

-> and that wraps things up! i suppose i’ll write what i thought of this season as a whole cohesive story someday, you can probably guess what i think from my immediate reaction stuff but... some things i want to say someday. have a nice weekend y’all, and i hope you enjoyed this season! 

[whiskeyworen]

Miriya’s Pad

(Art commissioned from CheruSake) Author’s Note: This was my first attempt at a Guild Wars 2 fic, just as an experiment. I was very satisfied with the outcome, but chronologically it predates ALL the other GW2 stories I’ve put out here. In fact, if you read any of my Danae sister fics, there’s references to THIS one. If it sounds kind of clunky in terms of dialogue and descriptions, I apologize; I was still getting my feet back under me in terms of writing. It’s a bit cliche, and pretty corny, but I felt it was a cute fic. I’m actually really nervous about sharing it here, cuz I don’t know if people will like it at all. In terms of in-game chronology, this would be Pre-Scarlet by only a few months. Lion’s Arch was still the ramshackle version we all miss. That said, please enjoy. ***** "...And our final stop on our tour of Rata Sum is my personal quarters!" Miriya announced brightly, as the magitek cubes that formed the doorway slid in the cardinal directions. The internal barrier field dropped immediately once the cubes had slid into the ceiling, walls and floor. She stepped proudly inside, hands on her hips and smiled. "It's...Wow! Surprisingly spacious!" Kaleb blinked as he stepped inside. The barrier popped back up behind him and the door-cubes shifted shut once more, cutting out the natural noise of the Maguuma Jungle outside. He looked around in amazement at the personal dwelling of his teammate. "From outside it looks so...small." Miriya smirked and crossed her arms. "That's because I had it carved into the side of the mountain and disguised that way." She scuffed her sharp nails on her coat, smugly admiring them. "That and a little bit of fifth dimensional pocket-space manipulation make it nice and big." The home was open-concept in the Asuran style, a cube turned on its corner and hollowed out, easily thirty meters on a side, which gave it an amazingly high ceiling and a strangely deep and terraced floor. Looking up, Kaleb could see a Mystic Stone the size of his entire body hovering just below the top corner of the ceiling, providing a soft, diffuse blue light.  There were hard-light paths starting around the perimeter of the room, leading up to solid stone platforms held in place by mechanisms Kaleb could barely wrap his mind around. Each one had some kind of device or piece of furniture on it, though the purpose of some of them eluded him. To be honest, it looked less like a home and more like yet another Asuran laboratory. Turning his gaze from the ceiling to the floor,  he counted fourteen terrace steps down to what appeared to be a pool of water in the centre of the room, occupying the 'bottom-most' corner of the building's turned cube design.  Around the circumference of the room ran continuous Asura-design windows; high density force fields with a distortion added so those looking in or out can not see precisely what is there.

"It's um... very nice." He finally replied a bit hesitantly, stepping carefully in the room; each terrace was Asura-step scale, not human standard. If he tripped he'd no doubt fall all the way down into that pool of water in the bottom of the room. "So-o... this is where you keep your stuff? Kinda looks like another lab." "Well it IS a lab, silly." Miriya chuckled, crossing the room to a particular section of wall. A portion of the panels making up the wall and floor rotated at her approach, recombining to form a table and sink. Beside that, a cupboard slid into place from where the gaps were left by the panels, as well as a larger cube-shaped artifact half again as large as the diminutive Asura. "But it's also my home. I paid top-gold to get the constructor golem krewes to come out this far from Rata Sum and build it for me. All to my very demanding specifications." Kaleb nodded, exploring the room. He stepped up to one of the hardlight paths and experimentally tested it with an armoured toe. When it didn't give under his weight or the weight of his armour, he shook his head. Fancy Asuran gizmos. This was one of the reasons he was a soldier and not an engineer or inventor. "I see. So, why are we here now?" Miriya washed her hands in the sink, drying them in a device that clicked out of the side of the sink unit, and turned to face him. "We're here to relax and have a drink, and to be refreshed. Naturally." "Uh-huh?..." He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at her, a disbelieving look on his unshaven face. "If that's so then why's the rest of the group not here? Doesn't seem rightly fair to enjoy..luxury...without our friends." She made an exasperated sound, running her fingers back through her slicked back, molten lava-colored dreadlocks. With a flick of a wrist she sent the sink back into the wall, as well as the cupboard, but the larger artifact remained present in the room. Counting off on her little fingers, she explained. "One: Dhangalor is more interested in learning how to make his turrets and flame-thrower more efficient and effective. I wouldn't be surprised if we found him in three days, down in one of the weapons labs.  Hopefully he won't learn how to make mass-conversion generation devices; The idea that he could make a device that spawns grenades for him or unlimited turrets scares me more than your god Grenth." Tick: "Second. The moment we walked into the city, Slane disappearred. I wouldn't know where him or his...ugh.... partner... are even if I put a tracker on him. Which I don't have, incidentally." She stepped over to the large artifact, touching a blue power gem on it. The panels on the artifact slid open to either side, revealling a chilly, frosty interior, from which she drew a large, dark green bottle. "Third. Corvus is Priory. He's all about knowledge and technology. If he's not aiding Dhangalor, he's buried up to his nose -- a feat at that! -- in computer files and parchments and datapads." The little Asuran necromancer spun on her heel, presenting her treasure to the still suspicious human. The bottle looked old, and had a label that bore a very particular seal on it. The label was torn slightly near the base, and very, VERY worn... but there was enough to recognize the maker. ---SCALO- V-NERY. est. ---- "...and finally Fourth: I've been saving this bottle to drink with a human some day, and I feel it's the right time now. I trust you enough to enjoy this bottle and not squander it, nor to act inappropriately with it. I know how rare it is, and I think you know how rare it is." His jaw dropped, as did his arms. "Ascalon Vinery?! Did that come from the ruins of Ascalon??" He laughed nervously, facepalming. "Second most rare wine in all of Tyria, and it's just sitting in her...her...whatever. That cold thing..." "It's called a ReFridgerator. Prototype design." She looked at the device with a bit of concern. "Most of the time it keeps things chilled. Though there was one time I left a panel open and....well.. I had to defrost the place. Like, 'Claw of Jormag' kinda defrost." Still shaking his head, Kaleb smiled, and ran a hand through his close-cropped red-black hair. "Alright. You got my attention. Ascalonian wine, and a relaxing evening with a friend. I can do that, easily." Miriya grinned, and put the bottle on the top of the fridge before walking across the room to a green square on one of the terraces. "Do you mind if I get comfortable? This armor is nice, but compared to my own clothes, I always find it confining and itchy." She stepped on the square and a series of panels slid up around her, covering her to the neckline. She continued talking as she changed, the sound of shifting cloth coming from behind the barriers. "It's such a relief to get off the road too. Sometimes I just want to come home, relax for a while, before my next project." "I understand the sentiment completely." Kaleb nodded, turning his back to her changing; even though she was completely hidden, he was still a gentleman. Even to Asura. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the muscles and bones creak a bit with tension. "Been a while since I've been home too. Or out of this gear." He stretched and shrugged. "Ah well. What can ya do?" The panels around her sliding down, Miriya stepped out of the 'booth' and straightened her tunic. "Well, what I CAN do is offer you the use of one of my guest booths to change. I'm sure I can cobble some basic clothing together from the info-net if you give me a few minutes." "You can do that?" He blinked, raising an eyebrow. Kaleb had no idea what an info-net was, but if he could just take his armour off for a few hours... "What do I need to do?" She pointed at the green square, tapping a nearby toe-button with her toe. The green square turned blue, and resumed flashing. "Just step on the square. I just turned the dimensions to 'human', so it'll cover more of you than it would have a moment ago." Kaleb stepped onto the square and waited for a second. The panels slid up again, this time up to HIS neck. There was just enough space inside for him to flex a bit. "Hey, this is neat, but... uh... can't exactly take my gear off in a space this small." "Don't worry about that. The booth does the dressing and undressing." She replied, a hard-light display open in front of her on the front of the booth. She flicked through diagrams and designs until she found a suitable one. "Ah here we go. Aaaannnndd..... ordered. Seven seconds delivery? What is this, the stone age??" "What?" "Oh, nothing. System seems slow, that's all." She shrugged and moved a new screen up in front of her. "Just one last thing; full body scan for fit accuracy. Otherwise when it goes to remove your gear, it might...uh...remove body parts instead. Not exactly a smart system." "WHAT?!" Kaleb started to fidget, staring around at the panels in horror. "Take it easy! I only have one scar from a mis-scan! I don't want you to lose anything important!" That was enough to get him to freeze solid, staring straight ahead. His adam's apple bobbed in fear as he swallowed heavily. Inside the booth, a panel flipped open on all four walls, revealling a golem-eye. Flat green light played out from these eyes, scanning Kaleb up to his neck, and down to the soles of his boots. There was a quiet 'ding' and the eyes flipped shut. Next, a set of waldo arms rose out of the floor, sliding along a series of control crystals built into the seams of the chamber, and unfolding when they reached certain predefined points. Magitechnical fingers and drivers unfolded from these waldoes, and set about removing his armour, piece by piece, carefully drawing each piece back into the floor. "Miriya.... This is weird..." Kaleb muttered uneasily as his armour appeared to be disintegrating around him. "Am I going to get my stuff back in one piece? This...thing won't like, mash it into a scrap cube or something will it?" "Oh don't be a big baby." She replied, watching the readouts. Everything was going as planned. The monitors indicated a rapidly increasing percentage of armour removal, leaving a rather bare looking Kaleb underneath. A smile quirked her mouth, and without saying a word, she flicked a toggle switch visibly with her right hand, while her left hand hooked under the display and pressed a small red button. For....posterity. Yeah, that's it. For study. She told herself, as a flash blinded Kaleb in the booth from all sides. "What was that?!" He asked worriedly, down to his boxer shorts within the booth. "Hmm? Oh nothing. Sensor glitch." She replied almost distractedly, as she copied the scan file into another section of her database, under heaviest quantum encoding that she could get, and then proceeded to delete the original. "Nothing to worry about. It should be done now. If you reach out in front of you, you'll find some clothes on a little shelf. They were just transported from Rata Sum via micro-gate, so...uh...they might feel a little fuzzy. Residual dimensional static and all that." Kaleb indeed did find the clothing, folded neatly on a small shelf. As he picked it up, the walls of the booth slid back on all sides, extending planes as they did so to keep his privacy intact. Clearly the machine somehow intuited his need for movement space. A moment later and he had slid on the Asuran-designed human-size clothing. "Hmm...very nice material. This isn't wool, is it? I've not felt anything this soft before." "It's Jungle silk. We harvest it from the spiders and wurms. They might be dangerous monsters, but they can be quite useful for natural materials." She smiled, as the walls of the booth finally slid back into the floor. Seeing him fully dressed again, she tipped her head to the side, crossing her arms, and considered him. "Hmmm....Well, they don't look too bad on you. Perhaps I should have gotten the shorts too, so you could replace those human ones you have on." "Huh?" Kaleb was checking out his new duds in a reflection, when he realized what she'd just said. "You didn't see me in my shorts, did you?" "What? Oh no...no no!" Miriya flushed, shaking her head rapidly and holding up her hands in denial. "No no... That's not what I meant! I just meant I should have completed the set! That's all! Really!" His raised eyebrow made her flush even pinker, and she quickly turned away, running up one of the hard-light paths to her cupboard for glasses. Once she was certain he couldn't see her, she let herself exhale heavily. All that work, and she nearly flubbed it up! Returning with the glasses, she called up a table and hovering chairs out of another wall, placing the glasses on the table and pouring them a glass of wine each. "Now that you are... comfortable...Hehe, about that wine I mentioned?" **** "...And that's when I told him, I told him 'How could I have possibly have punched out your son, when he was already unconscious from the booze?'” Kaleb pointed out, and mimed an unconscious man, slumping on his chair and lolling his tongue out of his mouth. Miriya was doubled over laughing, slapping the table top in mock surrender and nearly knocking her wineglass off it. “Oh, by the Alchemy! How in Tyria did you ever get out of that situation?” She asked when she gained enough composure back, tears of laughter still streaming from her large green eyes. She continued to laugh and snicker as she tried to control it. The last two hours after they started to drink had been a blur. The lovely Ascalonian Wine had gone from a full bottle... to the dregs, which were swiftly being drained by a half-toasted Kaleb. He slammed the bottle onto the tabletop, and grinned. “Well you see, this big ol’ Norn, he thinks he’s defending his son’s honor or something, so he’s all puffed up and about to go Bear on me or somethin’... and then he looks over at his son, sees him facedown in his own drool, a shiner on his face that I claim came from the table as he fell... and he just deflates like a balloon. He shakes that big top-knotted head of his and hauls his son up by his backstraps, and just says ‘Yeah. Yeah, I can definitely see that. Boy hasn’t learned to hold his lager yet. Sorry if he bothered you.’ “ “No... No WAY.” Miriya’s jaw dropped. “You got to be kidding me.” Kaleb shook his head, sitting back and looking smug. “Nope. That’s what he said. He actually apologized for his son’s behaviour. Didn’t realize I had slugged that freakin’ twerp for his talk about how wussy--” He slurred it wuzzy “--humans are, and laid that kid out. I’m just glad it turns out he was drinkin’ age. Couldn’t use that bluff if he wasn’t.” “Cog’s gears, Kaleb, you definitely got guts. Standing up to a Norn in his hometown bar like that.” Miriya shook her head, and rubbed her eyes a bit. “I’d have had to call in my minions if that’d happened to me.” “And you woulda been squished for it.” Kaleb replied somberly, staring at her. “The moment they see your eyes and hands do that glow-thing, they would have flattened you with a damned boot. Not many like Necros these days.” “True, true...” Miriya nodded, levity completely gone. She traced the rim of her glass with a dark green-painted nail. “What about you? Do you like Necros?” He pondered for a moment. “Well, I don’t mind them... I don’t mind most anyone. But if they’re undead, I kinda mind them. Orrian and all that crap. But I don’t mind Necros that use Grenth’s gift for good.” She nodded, still circling the glass, an odd expression on her face. “That’s good, that’s good. Um,” She paused, flicking her eyes up to him for a moment to read his face before looking aside. “So....what about me? Do you like me? I mean, uh, I’m a Necromancer, after all.” He nodded, and thought about it for a second. “Well, duh, of course I like you. We’re teammates! I might not know how the Whispers operate, but if the Pact teamed us together, they must see something there, in our dossiers! And we work really well in combat together, as well as in info-gathering. Yeah, I like you. Of course I do, Miriya!” Miriya forced a smile at him, laughing along with him for a moment, before whispering off to the side, almost to herself. “That’s not what I meant...” "I hate to ask, but, do you have anything more like this wine?" Kaleb asked, tipping the dregs into his glass. He made a face, somewhere between concerned and goofy. "I mean, if we're going to keep drinking that is. I'm finally buzzed enough that I feel comfortable without my armour!" She laughed in spite of herself, in spite of the disappointment of his previous answer, but she steeled herself, hopping off her floating seat and heading for the refrigerator unit again. Looking inside she hemmed and hawed, listing things off. "Let's see, we've got that vile concoction that Colacokaia, that Hylek potionmaster forced upon me, we have indigo formula, and Sunny D....AH, here we go." With a triumphant, if a little unbalanced swing, she held the bottle up for his view. "It's... uh... says something about champagne. I forget where I got this from." He took the bottle from her, raising an eyebrow appreciatively as he considered it. "Not bad, but we can't just go chugging a bottle of champagne. That's more of a sipping kind of thing, in a relaxed situation. It's why nobles drink it at their 'parties' or whatever." He made a little, foppish, flippant gesture with his fingers and stuck out his tongue that made her grin. "You mean we should relax more? I thought we were pretty relaxed already!" Miriya laughed, hands on her short hips. "Any more relaxed and I'd probably be asleep!" Kaleb laughed and shook his head, putting the bottle on the table. "Nah, nah. I mean it wouldn't be good for sitting here at this table, trading dirty stories and reliving old fights. It's more...civilized a drink, I guess." The diminutive Asura pondered for a moment, before an idea struck her. "I got it! Come over here." She led him down the terraced interior of her home to the square shaped pool of water occupying the 'bottom' corner of the cube, and with a flourish indicated the gently lapping blue water. "Ta-da!" "What?... it's a pool of water." He replied, nonplussed. He crossed his arms and looked at her, confused. "Is there supposed to be something in it?" "Yes!" Miriya grinned, tugging at his pantleg. "Us!" She caught herself, and released his pantleg, coughing a bit. "I mean, it's not just a pool of water. I configured this corner to be either a hot spring or a cool bath, depending on what I felt like." "Really? You can do that?" He blinked, and considered the square of water. It was roughly his height on all sides, and he couldn't tell how deep it was based on the terracing and false-depth illusion of the shifting waters. "So....what, we should sit in it while we drink the champagne?" "Well, yeah?" Miriya shrugged and smiled, before running around the square to a panel on the edge of one of the stairs. After fiddling around with the controls, she pushed a red blinking square, and, much to her delight, the pool suddenly erupted into gentle bubbles. "Ah ha! There we go. Jaccuzzi." "Ja-whatzee?" "Nothing." She tested the water with a toe, smiling at the temperature, before turning and hopping up a few steps on the terrace. "Just one problem though; Our clothes. Shouldn't get them wet. Those'd get very itchy and kinda ruin my pool to boot." "So...what?" Kaleb knelt down and dipped his fingers into the water. "We'll strip down to our skivvies? This is as warm as that Norn hot spring...you know the one, in Lornar's Pass?" "You mean Wayfarer Foothills. Zelechor Hot Springs." Miriya frowned, shaking her head. "You are always so bad with locations. I'm surprised you get anywhere." "Hey, my hammer takes me wherever I need to go." He smiled, standing up. "Now, is there another booth, or where should I put this stuff?" "Oh! Anywhere!" She grinned, waving a hand at the terraces around them. "Just leave it high enough to not get wet." He nodded, and started shedding clothes, tossing them onto a higher step. Miriya stared for a moment, feeling the blood rush to her face, before she realized she WAS staring, and quickly looked aside. "Uh, I suppose I better...um...get ready too!" It took her almost no time to get rid of her simple tunic top and light pants, leaving her bathing suit-like bodysuit as the only remaining piece of clothing. It was hot pink and white; not her usual colors, and for a moment, she was horrified and embarrassed by the dichotomy between her normal dress and her bodysuit. Please don't let him say anything about the bodysuit. Please don't let him say anything about... "Nice bodysuit you got there. Didn't figure you for the color pink." He smirked, settling into the warmed water. SCRAP! Miriya swore internally, flushing almost as pink as her suit. She immediately leapt into the pool, covering herself to her neck in water while keeping her arms wrapped around herself. "I-I..er... I forgot about the color...You wear a body suit most of your life as an Asura, and you kinda forget about it!" He shrugged, taking the champagne bottle and looking around. "Uh, do you have any wine glasses or champagne glasses down here? The others we left up on your table up there." "Oh! Yeah... Um... Hang on, I'll go get them." She hopped out of the water, moving as fast as her little legs could carry her; the faster she moved, the less he'd see the pink suit. A few moments later, she slid into the water beside him, and placed the glasses on the exposed step behind them. "Here." "Thank you muchly." Kaleb smiled, and poured them each a generous portion of champagne. That done, he handed one of the champagne flutes to her, and saluted her with it. "To good friends, good drinks, and faking it like high society fops!" Miriya giggled, and tipped her glass so it dinged against his lightly, the pure crystal note a pleasant sound. "To one of the best teammates I've ever had, and possibly my best friend in all of Tyria." They both sipped. "Aw, that was sweet, Miriya." Kaleb smiled, scratching the back of his head after he finished his sip. "I knew we were friends, but I didn't know you thought of me as a best friend." "Well, I do, you big lug." She smirked and gave his arm a playful punch. She put her glass behind her, one step up on the shelf, and rubbed an ear in thought. "You never judge me based on my size, even when we first were introduced, never thought of me as weak or cowardly for being a magic user...never turned away when you learned what kind of magic I used, or what it sometimes does to me..." She shivered a bit, wrapping her arms around herself. "Using the Death Shroud is so intoxicating but... There are times I worry that I'll lose myself to it. And that I might end up no better than an Orrian." Miriya rubbed a tear away from her eye with a finger. Damn the alchohol... it was making her resolve fall away. Already she could feel the depression sinking in again. Soon she'd have to retreat to her room and spend the rest of the night getting herself under contro-- Her thoughts were interrupted by Kaleb wrapping an arm around her and drawing her up into his lap into a hug. It wasn't a comradely hug, like he might have done outside in the cities, or a brotherly hug as he'd done to her before in celebration of things. It was just a hug, but it was much more than just a hug, in a way she couldn't define. It took her a moment of stunned shock to respond, but she finally relaxed, wrapping her smaller arms as best she could around him and hiding her face in his chest. After a few moments, Kaleb spoke. "Miriya, don't ever doubt yourself. Don't ever doubt your skills; I know I don't. You mastered a fantastically powerful magic few dare to. I read the story about how you came to the attention of the Whispers: You made those Inquest pay for what they did. I think you might be one of the most powerful people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing." Miriya listened, and smiled sadly, closing her eyes as she realized he was only seeing her skills and abilities, and not her. So close...so very close... she lamented, still fighting the urge to cry. He just doesn't see... "I've never been scared of you or your skills, Miriya. Not even when you used the Death Shroud. Because I know you'd never harm anyone you cared about." He gently stroked her braids and ears with one hand, not letting her draw away with the other. "You're an amazing person, Miriya, and I think that no matter what, you'll accomplish anything you set your mind to." Miriya's eyes snapped open at that compliment. She quickly mulled it over in her head, and slowly withdrew her arms from the embrace. "Miriya?...are you okay?" Kaleb asked, concerned at her silence and her retreat from the hug. She had her head turned down, so he couldn't see the expression on her face at all. "....I can accomplish anything eh?" She whispered, half to him, half to herself, staring at her hands where they braced against his bare chest. To Kaleb's ear, he could hear the quiet wavering in those few words. "There's just one thing I can't seem...to do..." "What would that be?" He asked softly, wondering about his friend. He could see her shaking quietly, as if she were cold, though the water was quite warm. Her small digits reflexively twitched where she had them on his chest. "Is it something I can help with?" She half-laughed, half-sobbed, shoulders rocking with the effort to resist. Would she take the chance? Would it do anything, mean anything? What do I even have to lose? "Yeah....it's...something you could help me with." She whispered in a shaky voice. "What is it? You can tell me." NOW. "This." She replied, and quickly tilted her head up to catch him in a kiss. Her arms flew around his neck, half to support herself, half to keep him from snapping his head back in surprise as her lips found his. Miriya kept her eyes tightly shut to avoid looking him in the face, seeing the shocked, perhaps betrayed expression on his face as she broke through the friend-barrier to get what she wanted. At contact, she felt that electric charge that she always felt directed at him. In other situations, it had been when he'd touched her shoulder, or playfully flicked her ear with a finger. Or when he hauled her up to sit on his shoulder while they travelled. Little moments of contact, each with an electric pulse, at least to her. They were all friendly gestures, so she put off how they felt, guilty for feeling more. This moment though...the electric shock was so many magnitudes greater...but so was the accompanying guilt. I just tricked my best friend...she cried inside as she kissed him. I just tricked him, got him drunk, and now I'm stealing a kiss that wasn't mine to have...he's going to stay so far away now... her thoughts then fell apart into unrequited sorrow. Slowly, Miriya broke the kiss, letting her hands slip from his neck, and settling down into the warm water of the pool. She never looked him in the eyes; she just turned to the side and curled up on herself, arms around her knees, looking away. Looking ashamed. "I-I'm sorry." She whispered, sniffling. "I-I'm sorry I did that...I just... I wanted t-to..." "Hey. Hey Miriya." Kaleb's soft voice made her ear twitch. With her eyes clenched closed, she almost jumped when she felt his finger under her chin, turning her face up to look at him. Her green, almond-shaped eyes opened in terrified surprise, and she stared at him, pleadingly, but so badly scared of what the question might be. "...For how long, Miriya?" He asked. Her eyes searched his for any sign of anger or betrayal...or disgust. It wasn't long ago historically that humans thought they were the center of all things and that all were below them. Nothing like that was in his eyes. Only warmth and concern. "For how long have you been holding yourself back like that?" There was a moment of silence as she processed his question. Her face alternately lit up with happiness, but seemed so ready to break into full on tears at the very same moment. Her mouth almost stretched into a smile, though it was a shaky one, and a tear escaped her eye, sliding down her smooth cheek. She let out a half-chuckle, half-cry, before shaking her head. "....since...almost since the first time we met." "You entered the room, smiled, and introduced yourself...you and that big dumb iron hammer of yours. " She laughed a little, staring up at him. "I didn't know what to think. I was told there'd be a human on the team, but I expected some dour soldier...instead, you walked in and made me laugh." Miriya reached up and gently touched his hand where it cupped her cheek. "You didn't bat an eye at my Necromancy...you joked with me and made me feel welcome when we camped out on missions...I'm not sure, but I think you even snapped me out of the Death Shroud that one time, by...just being there." She turned her head in towards the palm of his hand and gave it a soft kiss. "I never thought I'd be attracted to a non-Asura. Never even entered my mind...till you. Once I realized that, I had to get your attention some how. Even if for a moment." A sigh escaped her. "When I learned we had business in Rata Sum, I contrived a way for us to be alone. I introduced Dhangalor to a weaponsmith friend, and I lent Corvus my card to the datablocks in the archives." "And Slane?" Kaleb asked. "Didn't have to do a thing. He just disappeared." She chuckled ruefully. "For all I know he's in this room and cloaked, watching my humiliation." The Asura turned her head to look him in the face. "I tricked you, to get you to come here. To get you alone... to get you drunk..." Another tear fell. "I-I'll understand if you want to leave, or if you never want to talk to me again...I just, I just..." Miriya was interrupted once again by Kaleb. This time however, he cut her off by giving her mouth something else to do. Eyes wide in surprise, it took her a moment to realize he was kissing her this time, and when that registered, she all but melted into his arms. "My poor Miriya..." Kaleb sighed after the kiss was broken. He stroked her cheek, rubbing a tear away. "I didn't see the signs...didn't know how you felt. I honestly thought you thought I was a... what's the term?" "...Bookah?" She chuckled feebly. He smiled. "A Bookah. That's it. I know, and I knew, that I could never match you mentally in damned near anything. But I didn't see all the times, all the little things you said and did...till now." "....and now?" "I'm not going to send you away, or ignore you, for starters." He smirked, raising an eyebrow. "And I'm not going to stop being your best friend either. So you don't need to worry your pretty little head about that." Miriya couldn't repress the giggle, which earned a broad grin from Kaleb. "That being said, I gotta admire your little plan. You did catch me off guard with that kiss...but...honestly it wasn't that bad." Her jaw dropped, and she stared at him as he winked. "It was actually pretty good. I had no idea you were that good a kisser." "I...I-ya...wha..." "You know, I think in the back of my head, I always wondered what it'd be like to kiss you. You had those lovely lips, and that black lipstick..." He grinned. "I never would have thought you'd have had a crush on a simple human." That earned him a smack to the shoulder. "You! I... I ARGH!..." She reached up and grabbed his cheeks so that he was looking her straight in the eyes. "Simple human?! Says the guy who goes and rips the scrappin' ARM off a Destroyer troll and beats it to death with it?! And then has the club at the end of that arm turned into a new hammer head?" She glared at him, teeth grinding, a low growl in her throat, before kissing him again. "You're just damned lucky I think you're cute, big Bookah." She purred, stroking his cheek, feeling the stubble under her nail. "Oh, now we're name-calling?" Kaleb chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Or is that supposed to be my pet name now?" "Mm, no...not a pet name." She frowned a bit, before smirking. "How about a code name for in public? Others might think I'm insulting your intelligence, but you'd know I'm not?" "Works for me...Bookah never really insulted me anyway." He shrugged. "Always made me think 'Book-reader' or something. So coming from an Asura, it doesn't actually sound like an insult." "Good...Then that's what I'll nickname you in public; Big Bookah. MY Big Bookah." She licked her lips playfully, her emerald eyes examining him so close up. "Mm... That does sound good."