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mitochondriaandbunnies · 5 months ago

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Miami Vice S2E5: The Dutch Oven

Investigated for a bust gone wrong, a rudderless Trudy gets involved with an ex with a connection to a dangerous dealer.

Trudy episode! Trudy episode!

I could complain that when Trudy and Gina get spotlight episodes, the focus is often on their romantic entanglements, but like.... that's actually true for Sonny and Rico a lot of the time, too? (Even about half the Castillo episodes deal with the fallout from his former marriage.) I think the Vice writers just really like romantic melodrama.

The opening shots of Trudy putting on Jem and the Holograms makeup are really beautifully shot, and also make me think of both Blade Runner and Bubblegum Crisis. The gritty cyberpunk future was real, for one brief beautiful moment in the 80's. Truly unfair that we traded silver wigs and human baffle paint for fucking google glass.

When Trudy shoots the dealer who was firing at her and Sonny, she is vibrating with softly contained panic. You can see immediately that a) she intended just to wing the guy, and b) she has prepared herself for this moment and is trying desperately to be calm and professional because she thinks that's what she's supposed to do as a cop (which is to say: not a person)

Let me be clear that all of this is also ignoring the fact that we have absolutely seen all the members of Vice kill random dudes in cold blood before; we are somehow pretending that this is a first.

We are introduced to Trudy's ex David through a shockingly long musical sequence in which his band plays on stage in a club; it is visually pleasant, but also frankly a little boring given its length.

Giancarlo Esposito is here again, this time with a more substantial role

Tying back to Trudy's controlled panic, when she tells David that she killed a man, she blithely states that she "did it for the job," behaving as if she is unbothered by the violence she is expected to commit in the name of justice. However, she then precedes to sleep with her ex and cries and tells him she's empty inside, so, uh. Clearly she's processing this super well.

We also definitely have not seen exactly this behavior with Crockett and Tubbs

The entire team is basically just one big mess of Bad Romantic Decisions Made In the Face of Trauma I Refuse to Address

Trudy and Sonny are wearing matching outfits in the interrogation room (jaunty little Easter numbers, to be exact); in a lot of ways this episode is about the ways Trudy and Sonny are similar, the ways they back each other up, and how their friendship is deeper and more meaningful than we might have previously known. I think their friendship is really quite lovely; I think it's also notable that Vice is telling us that we should perceive the inner life a Black woman with equal narrative weight to that of our white male protagonist. By making Trudy a foil to Sonny, the episode is saying something that is obviously true (and yet rarely if ever stated in television dramas with a perceived white male audience): that a woman of color has all the same complexities, inner turmoil, hopes, fears, and difficulties with the broken justice system as a white guy. It's a low bar, but it's still refreshing to see a show manage not to trip over that very low bar and break all its teeth.

And, yes, the episode is about Trudy's relationship with David, but more than that it is about what the majority of good Vice episodes are about-- what it means to try to be a good person and preserve your soul in the face of unrelenting injustice, violence, and societal structures that serve power and capital rather than people.

However, Vice does trip and smash its face open on a different low bar, unfortunately: the show's depiction of Internal Affairs is absolutely fucking awful as usual. I don't know why this is the one place Mann's works always seem to thematically shit themselves. IA is consistently depicted (especially in Vice, also in Crime Story,) as ghoulish sadists looking to send "good people" to jail on minor technicalities. Whenever IA is on screen, Vice briefly becomes standard TV copaganda, and I really don't get it. It's not only tonally at odds with the rest of the show, it's also just boring and derivative, given that that's how IA was/is depicted in every other cop show ever. I could argue that we're supposed to actually agree with the IA agent here (he says Trudy and Sonny knew that backup was right behind them and that the suspect likely didn't believe that they were cops, so they should've taken cover and waited for the backup to arrive-- and frankly he's not wrong about that) and that the REAL intended takeaway is that "sometimes what is right is unpleasant," but the matter is dropped pretty unceremoniously later in the episode, so that seems unlikely. Or, maybe Mann and his team were playing 4D chess here, and the secret close-reading point we're supposed to take away is "the suspect actually would've gotten shot no matter what, most likely, because he was firing at police officers and when the backup arrived they'd probably have done the same thing as Trudy, so ultimately it doesn't matter who killed him because the system is set up to sometimes just have dead bodies as collateral," but that seems wildly overcomplicated for how intensely unlikable they make Gallo. I don't know. No art is perfect and humans are complicated but it's still just weird.

Trudy seems ridiculously young in this episode. I don't know if they did her makeup differently or something, but she seems like an absolute baby.

These are truly my least favorite Trudy and Gina outfits in the series; they look like the Golden Girls decided to dress up as hookers for Halloween

The party David brings Trudy to just has SO much happening in it. It's on a boat! There's multiple stage areas! Drugs! Wild outfits! The singer (who, I feel I should note, is artist Buster Pointdexter, also known for being the Ghost of Christmas Past in Scrooged)'s absolutely incredible hat!

Despite being a teetotaler, I am generally on the side of Drugs in the War on Drugs, and I don't believe carceral punishment makes any sense for drug-related crimes (especially for drug users.) So frankly, I am on David's side when it comes to Trudy being like "I should arrest everyone at this party for doing coke." There is a flattening of the party goers (who are casually using but otherwise just dancing and having a good time) and dealer Adonis, who is a cackling knife-wielding maniac toting around a suitcase full of coke, threatening people for money and generally attempting to cause mayhem for cash. It's weird to me that Trudy doesn't get to "hmm, maybe the one who needs to be arrested is... Adonis" until close to the end of the episode.

However, David's reasoning for why Trudy shouldn't arrest all the partygoers is pretty lame-- he doesn't address or have any sympathy for her discomfort, and just tells her that she can't arrest them because "these people trust me." It seems like if he took ten seconds to think about where his girlfriend's head might be right now, he might've come to the conclusion that a quiet dinner would probably have been a better choice than The Coke Party.

I'm actually torn on the extent to which we're supposed to see David as a villain here-- on the one hand, he's dismissive of Trudy's feelings and seems, at best, utterly oblivious to Adonis' behavior, but on the other hand he does not appear to be involved in the drug trade, and Trudy is, frankly, just as dismissive of his feelings. I get the sense that really, they just aren't right for each other-- there's a reason they broke up in the first place, and they're only back together because Trudy is making poor decisions fueled by her fear and shame.

Trudy goes to Sonny to run the dilemma of "my boyfriend has friends who do drugs" by him, and he makes it clear that it's not really a problem with a solution. They are honest and blunt with one another in a way that indicates a fairly serious level of trust and familiarity. They are also physically affectionate in a way that really does not read as romantic, even though the actual actions (a back massage and a kiss) could be read that way. It's interesting to me the extent to which we see Sonny go for touch as the way to make a connection whenever it is safe to do so-- he is demonstrative and giving with Billy, hugging and kissing him whenever he sees him; he kisses and puts his arms around women who are his friends and not current lovers, including both Caroline and Gina post their respective break ups; he immediately embraces any of his male friends if they're hurt or otherwise in serious crisis. You get the sense that Sonny would be like this with all of his friends all of the time if it were socially acceptable, but that he's careful not to extent that affectionate to men most of the time. I am picturing the version of Sonny with no internalized homophobia and he would absolutely be grabbing random dudes around the neck and kissing them on the check. Stan would die.)

When Trudy shares her concerns with the rest of the team, Rico asks the difficult question-- is David in on it? Later, when Trudy is deciding whether to bust Adonis or not, he will also tell her "whatever your play is, we'll back you" (in contrast to Sonny encouraging her to go ahead with the bust.) We get precious little of the possible friendship between Rico and Trudy, but what we do get indicates a quiet understanding between the two of them that speaks to their relative worldliness in comparison to their partners. I wish we got to see more of who they are as friends.

I will always be impressed by how legible scenes in Vice shot in total darkness are; it has none of the muddy "turn down the saturation and brightness of the whole scene" shoddy color grading of modern shows, consistently avoids day-for-night, and manages rich, deep, impenetrable blackness at the same time. There's a moment where Rico is doing surveillance in complete darkness, and all we can really see is the outline of his face, and yet the scene is completely and totally clear and readable-- half the screen is inkwell black, but there's not a single question as to what you're seeing.

WHAT is with David's house. Broski why is your bedroom a literal hole in the wall filled with tarps. Why is the nicest room in your house the bathroom.

I'm usually a big fan of the Vice music video sequences, but jesus the "Who to Listen To" section of this one is DUMB. Generally, Vice attempts to do something sort of... interesting? with the juxtaposition of the visuals and the lyrics; this one just replays footage from the episode we're already watching to a backdrop of such painfully literal, ehem, thought provoking lyrics as "Here comes a man with a scam to sell" and "You've got to know who to, Who not to listen to." Hmm. I wonder what that could possibly be about. Let us puzzle this one through. It's just so esoteric, I might never be able to figure it out.

Sonny gets an entire plate of cocaine to the face and you can sort of see Rico following close behind afterwards like. Hey. Uh. Maybe go home, actually?

The episode ends with Trudy declaring that the job isn't just what she does, but what she is; David responds to this with "you've got no soul. No honor."

Okay

That's a little harsh

But also...

He's not totally off the mark, there, either. Trudy's devotion to doing the job (and most likely, trying to make up for feeling like a failure for having killed the man from the beginning of the episode), drives her to use David to make the bust. By letting herself be a cop rather than do the job of a cop, she doesn't consider the other possible options. Adonis becomes a target, David an obstacle: they cease to be people. There's a version of this story where Trudy steps back from the case and lets the others who aren't emotionally involved (and therefore who are not betraying David) carry out the bust. There's another version where the Vice squad chooses to trust David, given that Trudy believes he's not involved, and brings him in the bust rather than letting him be blindsided. But I think Trudy's wounded sense of her purpose and her fear surrounding her worth and goodness causes her to think she has to do something to immediately rebalance the scales. If she can catch this man who is clearly a danger to everyone, if she can capture as many pieces on the board at once as fast as possible, maybe it'll make up for having killed someone. However, this pursuit of justice quickly gets in the way of justice in service of people-- she only further besmirches her honor by, once again, attempting to be the entire instrument of justice herself rather than letting someone else (and the standard mechanisms of the system) handle the situation.

Wait.

Shit.

Was Michael Mann playing 4D chess with the Internal Affairs guy after all?

Hmm.

Well.

Pervert Driver.

#miami vice #miami vice s2 #the dutch oven #s2e5 #sonny crockett #trudy joplin #giancarlo esposito #my gifs

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still--kicking · 2 months ago

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Heeeey I love your recs!!! I’m kinda new to this fandom so I’d like to ask about what you consider THE klance fics, like the most popular or the ones that most of the klance shippers have read o they need to :3

this is my favorite type of request omgg let's get into it. there will definitely be some repeats from previous lists on here but I'll be sure to add some new ones for you too :)

if I ever don't recommend There, Nestled Against His Pulse by hiuythn (55,081 words, rated T) when I'm asked about my favorite klance fics, assume I've been replaced by an imposter. this is a canon compliant soulmate au where the first and last words your soulmate says to you are written on your wrists, and Keith's last words make him believe he's going to kill his soulmate so he does everything in his power not to find them. truly one of the best things I've ever read in my entire life it makes me cry every time

Dear Reader by heavily_caffeinated (80,982 words, rated M) this one is wildly popular in the fandom and absolutely deserves to be, it's a college au where Keith is a jaded psychology student and Lance is an education major. someone starts posting scathing but anonymous complaints about the university on the school's tumblr page, and when Lance starts being mentioned frequently by the anonymous writer he enlists Keith's help to find out who it is

after dear reader I highly recommend reading caf's other works, A King and His Fisherman and Silver Bells are two popular ones but their shorter fics are excellent too!!

sunflower [re] by xintong (41,557 words, rated M) is one of the most famous post-canon fics. just trust me on this one

Where the apple falls by europa_report (145,819 words, rated M) Lance is gravely injured and Keith stays with his family to watch over him and wait for him to (hopefully) wake up

don't mind me recommending this twice in once day, but:

Poor boys and pilgrims by SirCumference (85,000 words, rated M) is peak pining Keith content and also incredibly well written and structured. While in the quantum abyss, Keith sees visions of himself in three alternate realities where he's falling in love with Lance. This fic has it all, a mermaid / pirate au, a cyberpunk au, a coffeeshop au, and even post-canon fix it. Chef's kiss

Life After Death by TaylorTot (90,074 words, Rated T) Lance wakes up after Allura revives him in the omega shield episode, but he's lost all of his memories except for the fact that he was in love with someone named Keith

My soul has your claim, my soul is in flames by queen-of-voltronian (146,137 words, rated T) takes place during season 7, Lance is pining HARD and then accidentally gets cursed and has to kiss the person he loves most before sundown. And then plot happens. They also address all the bullshit the writers did to Lance in the later half of the show. It's immaculate. I cried.

If you enjoy textfics, call me, beep me by orphan_account (85,591 words, rated G) has the most kudos and bookmarks of any klance fic on ao3. a girl gives Lance a fake number and he ends up striking up a friendship with the person he texts, some guy named Keith. this one is adorable and it's one of the ancient texts imo

sorry there are so many repeats here but I hope you enjoy these !!! and welcome to the fandom <33 whatever horror stories you've heard about us being insane in are probably true, but we're way more chill now so welcome aboard lmao you came on at a good time

#kicking asks #klance fic recs

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scaryanneee · 8 months ago

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VEILPUNK 9:52 ⚡️

Narrative parallels between [and MAJOR SPOILERS for] Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Cyberpunk 2077

Wake up, Samurai, we have a Thedas to burn. Let’s play a game:

Meet [V]/[Rook]. She is living her life as a [nomad/streetkid/corpo]/[Dragon/Crow/Lord/Watcher/Warden] when circumstances (aka, some kind of fuck-up) lead her to begin a new adventure with her friend [Jackie Welles]/[Varric Tethras].

The pair embark on a mission that involves a history lesson about a mercurial and rebellious [rockerboy]/[ancient elven mage] who made a questionable choice [50]/[8000] years ago when he [detonated a nuclear bomb]/[created the Veil]. That decision had dire consequences, but was done with good intentions: to take down a corrupt and powerful group – the [Arasakas]/[Evanuris].

Anyway, the job that [V]/[Rook] is on goes really, really bad: needless to say, we won't be working with [Jackie]/[Varric] anymore. [V]/[Rook] finds herself injured but alive… and the previously mentioned grumpy old [rockerboy]/[elven god] is now living in her head, somehow?!

[Jackie]/[Varric]’s fate is not the only consequence of [V]/[Rook]’s actions. In fact, the clock is ticking: if [V]/[Rook] does not find a way to fix her mistake soon, she faces certain death. Not to mention, she promised [Jackie]/[Varric] that she would take care of the [biochip]/[team] for him.

As she works to undo what she has done, [V]/[Rook] either bonds with the [Johnny Silverhand]/[Solas] living in her head, or hates him, or something in between. There’s lots of snarky jabs traded between mind-resident and host, but also moments of genuine understanding that build over time.

It is kind of weird walking around the world, though, because you see symbols of [Johnny]/[Solas]’s legacy in the form of [Samurai memorabilia]/[Fen’Harel statues] pretty much everywhere... anyway.

In an optional questline, [V]/[Rook] can watch some of [Johnny]/[Solas]’s memories. She learns that his [nuclear bomb]/[creating the Veil] was about more than just fighting [corpo]/[godly] corruption. It was also about avenging the death of a woman he cared for deeply: [Alt]/[Mythal], who was killed by the [Arasakas]/[Evanuris]. [Alt]/[Mythal] and [Johnny]/[Solas] may have had a complicated and at times turbulent relationship, but there was no doubt he loved her. There’s also no doubt that [Johnny]/[Solas] feels, in part, personally responsible for her death.

[V]/[Rook] also gets to meet some of [Johnny]/[Solas]’s old friends: [Kerry]/[Dorian] and [Nancy]/[Morrigan], who both worked alongside him in [Samurai]/[the Inquisition], and [Rogue]/[Inquisitor Lavellan], a highly competent woman who [Johnny]/[Solas] had a romantic relationship with at one point (and who [Johnny]/[Solas] regrets not having treated better). [V]/[Rook] also meets some of [Johnny]/[Solas]’s greatest enemies from his past – like [Adam Smasher]/[Elgar’nan] – and gets to make [Johnny]/[Solas] proud by kicking their asses on his behalf.

Finally, at the very end of the game, [V]/[Rook] can choose to either redeem [Johnny]/[Solas] or condemn him. They can even get help from a version of [Alt]/[Mythal] to do so!

Roll credits.

This is all to say: I love both of these franchises very much and, so it is very delightful to find all of these parallels between them. To be very clear, this is not an accusation of stealing or anything – stories echo, history rhymes, etc. – just an affectionate observation.

BUT.

It also highlights, for me at least, a few things Cyberpunk did well that Veilguard would have benefitted from incorporating. Namely:

A prologue based on character origin, where Rook meets/bonds with Varric, like V does with Jackie

More interaction between Protagonist and Guy Living in the Protagonist’s Head

Deeper engagement with the universe’s lore, particularly the setting and its impact on our protagonist. Night City feels like another character in Cyberpunk in a way that Veilguard's Thedas really does not.

The protagonist having a smaller scale, more personal investment in the outcome of events – V’s race against the biochip is instantly understandable, and her tenacity and strong will to survive make her very easy to relate to and like. I never quite felt the same level of investment in Rook, and I think that’s in part because her fight against the gods is so enormous in scale that it feels quite impersonal at times.

Story parallels aside, these two games are also both examples of games that were rushed through development and suffered for it. For Cyberpunk, that meant infamous technical failures; for Veilguard, that apparently means writing that is inconsistent at best and baffling at worst.

Fortunately, CD Projekt Red was able to add tons of post-release updates (and the excellent Phantom Liberty DLC) to Cyberpunk, that really helped it ultimately evolve into the game it was intended to be.

Unfortunately, I think it is extremely unlikely that EA/Bioware will ever give Veilguard the same treatment.

But if I’m looking for something to hope for about this franchise (despite the long odds)... I think that would be it.

Anyway, if you read this far: thanks, [chooms]/[lethallen]! 🖤

#dragon age the veilguard #veilguard spoilers #cyberpunk 2077 #solas dragon age #solas #johnny silverhand #bioware #cd projekt red #dragon age #veilguard critical #veilguard

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mythalism · 3 months ago

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Fav cyberpunk ending?

OUUUOUOUOUGHGHGH!!!!! jumping up and down to answer this

so i still have not played the nomad ending or the phantom liberty ending. nomad because it just seems so specifically designed for the straight man's panam romance and obviously though i love panam it would not make sense for my V to be running away with her so i dont really care LOL. and i havent done PL ending because i saved songbird and killed reed (ouch) so it was not available to me though im going to try it during this playthrough (i know vaguely what happens and ive heard its meh).

but actually and perhaps unpopular-ly my favorite is the devil ending. AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i feel crazy just thinking about it. obviously its not my canon ending (temperance is canon to me). its too tragic. but holy fucking shit. it was the moment that made me crazy about the game. it solidified the brain worm. it cemented this game in my heart as a favorite. when i first finished, i just did sun (w/ rogue) and temperance, and i was very gagged, but i wasnt like... freaking out. and then like 2 weeks later i decided to try devil at my friends encouragement and oh my god. oHHHHH MY GOD. IT CHANGED EVERYTHING. IT SOSOOSOOSOSOSOS INSANE. in terms of writing it is leagues above the others, imo. to the point where i think it's plot beats should have been more integrated into the other endings because they feel so essential to bringing the story full circle. getting that resolution to the story of the arasaka family feels like it should have been an unavoidable part of the main story rather than an optional ending that i would suspect most people dont choose. the entire sequence of finding out that 1. saburo is alive as an engram to 2. walking away from yorinobu after interrupting his suicide attempt with his head in his big sister's lap as she comforts him to 3. waking up and watching with building horror as you realize what they did to him as his father begins to speak through him and that YOU ENABLED EXACTLY WHAT YOU SPENT THIS WHOLE GAME AVOIDING HAPPENING TO YOU!!!!!!!OUGOUGOUUGHGHGHGHGHG!!!!!!!!!!!! V can describe it to takemura as a shakespearean tragedy and god is that the perfect way to describe it. its SO GOOD. and thats just the big moments. the little ones are just as fantastic. the devil ending feels like a horror game. the fucking rubix cube. falling on the treadmill. the sentence the doctor had you read being all about the human soul. i LOVED the news segment of people being interviewed of what they think of saburo taking over his sons body. hearing johnny's voice in your nightmares. the fact that hes GONE and it feels like such a huge loss. it feels "empty" as V says. and hes really gone. you fucking killed him and ohhhhh do you feel it. the way you can answer his name to every single one of the doctor's questions. i was screaming. the way takemura comes and tells you it was all for nothing. you killed johnny for nothing. you basically killed yorinobu for nothing. you betrayed and destroyed yourself for nothing. oh god i just remembered JOHNNY'S LINES IN MIKOSHI OHHH MY GODDDDDDDD YOU BETRAYED YOURSELF!!!! ITS ABOUT THE PRINCIPLE!!!!!! ITS BETTER TO DIE THAN BETRAY WHO YOU ARE!!!!!! AND HE WAS RIGHT HE WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG AND YOU CANT ESCAPE IT!!!!!!!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED!!!!!!! the fact that you get the choice to put yourself into secure your soul or leave and die is so fucking good. you get one last chance. will you betray yourself again? i obviously didnt and walked away. singing fucking never fade away as you leave. V's face as they snarl and rip the bullet necklace. and then its over. WHAT THE FUCK!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT A WAY TO END A FUCKING GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OHHHHH MY GOD IT MAKES ME SO CRAZY JSUT THINKING BACK ON IT. THIS ISNT EVEN A COHERENT ANALYSIS BC IT JUST MAKES ME SO CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU CHOSE WRONG!!!!!!! YOU CHOSE WRONG YOU BETRAYED JOHNNY YOU BETRAYED YOURSLEF IT WAS ALL FOR NOTHING!!!!!!! NOW LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES AND DIE WITH THEM TOO!!!!!!!!!!!! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

#asks #cyberpunk #spoilers in here dont read if u havent finished!!

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seastarryclouds · 6 months ago

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A long yap session about the Maelstrom in the Danger gal Dossier

Ok finals are finally over and I have a chance to sit down and write this all out, I’ll go over the first page of Maelstrom info that details: Base of operations, recent history, resources, goals, and a little intro prepared Linda “Overpass” Lucastra who is undercover at the Totentanz… oh to run around undercover at the Totentanz… don’t get caught!

In the nice little intro we get, “Maelstrom clawed their way through the 4th Corporate war and reconstruction much as night city did: scarred, battered, but fiercely alive.” The DgD takes place in cyberpunk red, which takes place in 2045. Most of the city is recovering from the Arasaka tower nuke. Funny enough, before the nuke Maelstrom was considered a middle grade booster gang, but here it states that this is when they start to get major power and become a big deal with their drug and cybernetic trade. Something that I find pretty interesting, is how they manage to bounce back considering what happens to their base. But before I cover that, one of the reasons that they pull forward so well is due to the fact that they are one of leading gangs that is salvaging valuable gear from the hot zone, “Maelstrom also leads the other gangs in salvaging valuable gear from the hot zone using hoards of scavvers willing to get cancer for a shot at a membership and some shiny metal.” I suppose you do what you must do to survive in night city, even if it means possibly getting radiation poisoning in order to join one of scarier gangs in night city.

Now, base of operations… in 2023 they lost their entire territory in the arasaka nuke… I’m not joking, its stated in the book and is one of the reasons I’m so shocked that maelstrom manages to become such a bigger threat in 2045-2077. “In 2023, Maelstrom lost their entire territory to the Araska Tower nuke. The neighborhood around the abandoned department store they called home survived the blast, but raging fire swept through the area and brought it all down. Totentanz…(which the maelstrommers called their second home) was also badly damaged.” Completely insane and awesome to me that these guys got their shit rocked and managed to bounce back. They stabilized the Totentanz and re-opened the bar, and moved their base of operations to the middle floors of the hotel. Makes me wonder if some of the maelstroms are allowed to crash at the Totentanz as a kind of home. Like if they don’t have apartments or homes they can stay there, or perhaps have to stay there? The coolest bit of lore here that I’m pretty sure didn’t make it into 2077 is that in the ballroom of the Totentanz there is burned out chrome from fallen maelstrom members that cover the wall INCLUDING A MUMMIFIED CORPSE OF THEIR FORMER LEADER HAMMER WHO WAS KILLED IN THE NUKE! Insane, I love it. The book also states that it’s considered a mark of honor among members to have old chrome that has visible nuke scars. Details that can be used when drawing/making maelstrom ocs me thinks!

Moving onto recent history (as of 2045 of course) the Dgd states that maelstrom started and continues to build itself on castoff and survivors of other gangs. I honestly think this might still be true in 2077, some of the gang members can be seen wearing belt buckles of other gangs. My brain is a bit foggy right now as I’m writing this but I believe they will snatch members of other gangs and convert them for fun too. In this section it also states that it was an old condo that shielded the maelstroms old headquarters from the worst of the nuke. However, most of the cybered up members (ones that were heavily chromed) died in a frenzy of extreme violence frenzy that happened after the explosion. Survivors claim that it was EMP induced. This frenzy happened between gangs and possibly within maelstrom itself? “ the survivors fought on, absorbing Remnants of other high chrome gangs during the recovery.” It was Warlock, the gangs current leader who started to gather maelstroms best members and shape it into a business.

Speaking of business, during this time Maelstrom controls a drug trafficking network and also move reclaimed weapons and tech. They take wannabe (and disposable) gangsters into the hot zone to scavage for valuable equipment of all kinds, but they really want cyberware. They have deals with rippers all across the city. I find this really interesting, because in 2077, I’d say the ones shipping cyberware parts to shady rippers are mostly scavengers, (the gang). However, I do think in 2077 Maelstrom still has a bunch of cyberware lying around that they might sell? But my bets is that they keep it to over chip people for fun, (see metal monk mission). The final part in resources mentions the Totentanz, and that the headquarters and garage are in the same building.

Finally we have their goals, dgd states “Maelstroms rank and file members work the gangs drug or cyberware trade to advance and earn drinking money or credit with allied ripperdocs.” Warlock however, the gangs current leader, has longer term goals to get a permanent home for the Totentanz and the gang. (My goofy ass ‘awwwwwing’ at this) between the drive of the gangs leader and the trade network, it makes since that they had the strength to pull through and stick around. Maelstrom, being a gang and all, also enjoys a, and I quote “‘Chrome, Smash, Dance, and Bash’” attitude. Oh our little party freaks :)

The final detail here is something I think might be missed or never brought up in 2077. The dgd mentions the Inquisitors and that if any Maelstrom members come across them, they will set aside all other business to curb stomp them. Inquisitors are very anti cyberware and consider it blasphemous. The inquisitors were more of a cult than a gang and it goes without saying that maelstroms hate them. There is about 20 years of bad blood between them.

And that’s all for the first page that holds the intro of the maelstrom gang in the Danger gal Dossier. I will yap about the maelstrom members in this book and interesting details about them, but for now I’ll leave it here cause it’s sooooo late and this was a lot to type out, see you next time chooms!

#maelstrom #maelstrom gang #danger gal dossier #cyberpunk #cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk 2045 #cyberpunk red #cyberpunk inquisitors #my little freaks I love them so much #one of my fav details the book gives us #is the fact that they have their old boss mummified on a wall #and like #it would be so cool to see that in game #I want to explore the whole totentanz building damn it #and old chrome being a honor to have?#so cool

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lillythepyromancer · 2 months ago

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I thought i'd introduce myself, shant I?

Welcome to my blog kind stranger!

My name's Lilly, Lilliana and any other alternate spellings. You may also call me Pyro. I'm a 19 year old Software Engineering University student. I also happen to be transgender and aroace*! Im also in a commited relationship with @hxy0k! Go check out their stuff!

So uh. Whats your deal?

Im glad you ask! Im a huge nerd! (Of everything there is to gain knowledge of, I will try to know and remember It! (and fail at It but try!))...

...but I mostly like greek mythology, videogames and medieval history and architecture.

oh yeah. im also a Dungeon Master! i play Pathfinder 2e, D&D, TWDRPG, Unnoficial Hollow Knight TTRPG, Hitos (A Spanish System with no known translations that I know of) and currently I'm making my own! (based on d100s and percentiles, with so much customization its taking YEARS to make (currently its been 4 years in the making)). Other TTRPGs I want to play but I haven't yet (because getting groups together to play is management hell) include Vampire The Masquerade, Cyberpunk and LANCER!

What about talking to you?

Do it!!!!! I have heavy social anxiety and talking to people is incredibly hard. I am 100% approachable and as friendly as I can. I am just anxious constantly and making the first move is hard on my psyche.

Asks are open, DM's too.

I love talking. a lot. about anything and everything. i also listen a lot (even if im not good at conversation).

What videogames you play?

All I can get my hands on. But since you are asking so nicely...

My favorite genres of games to play are; RPGs (with amongst my favorites being the Owlcat Pathfinder games, Fallout: New Vegas, Baldur's Gate 3, Disco Elysium, Dragon's Dogma 1/DA, Cyberpunk 2077 and KOTOR 2 (I didn't play 1 when i played the second I should replay both on Steam now)), Shooters (WILDLY varied taste tho, but I really like Halo (Reach, my beloved), the whole Metro Franchise (SO ATMOSPHERIC SO COOL), Ultrakill, Helldivers 2), Stealth games (with a love for the Dishonored franchise and Metal Gear, but one of my recent likes is Mark of the Ninja!), VR games (this isn't even a genre, but I LOVE Blade and Sorcery and the The Walking Dead VR games. My favorite VR Game is Blade and Sorcery, hands down), any Game made by Valve (seriously Portal and Left 4 Dead are two of my favorite games) and arcade games! (This including ANYTHING really. I love Beat Em Ups, side-scrollers, platformers... I've spent hours playing weird obscure games using emulation tools that would be lost to time otherwise. But my favorites? Both Dungeons & Dragons SOM//TOD and Cadillacs & Dinosaurs. Honorary mention to Knights of the Round (Did you notice I like beat em ups?))

...i also have others I couldnt fit here. Im not a fighting game girlie (because im really bad at them) but I really like Soulcalibur, Street Fighter III and Guilty Gear!

Im also not a horror game aficionada but SIGNALIS has been A WORLD SHATTERING EVENT in my gaming career. BRAIN TWEAKING EXPERIENCE. Chemistry completely changed forever. Please play It. Right now. Its imperative you do, for your sake.

I also really like the first Dark Souls! I would love to say more but- I can't. Its been years and I've only played the first one. Bloodborne fucks severely tho and I will defend It forever GOSH how i love em both even if the second half of the first DS, SUCKS, SEVERELY. (Im the only person i know that hates having to run through the Duke's Archives so much i put off New Game + cycles forever to NOT go kill scaleless' ass)

I really like Indie games but since every single one I like is basically a different genre here you got a speedrun (and recomendation list!);

Celeste (my favorite Game ever, helped so much with anxiety at the time, played It when i didn't know I was transgender... That fact gets funnier with replay), Deadlight (play It once and thats it. Zombie parkour puzzle Game.), Slay the Princess (the multiple voices thing is oddly relatable), Project Zomboid (100% the BEST BEST zombie survival Game ever, love It), Webfishing, Darkest Dungeon (MY BELOVED the sequel), Noita (i like torture), Hollow Knight (even tho im not really into metroidvanias, Hollow Knight IS really fun), Terraria (player since 1.1!), Charlie Murder (not that well known and they deserve It!!), Broforce (It is. So fun), every Game made by The Behemot, Lethal Company, Phasmophobia, Rain World, Undertale and Deltarune (of course) and lastly, Inscryption (another Game that is so so good, please play It)

And well, not an Indie but... I play Minecraft. So much

WOW. Thats was a LOT of text. Anything you do on the side outside of playing games?

I write! Both for my TTRPG campaigns I DM but also stuff on the side!

Nothing's public tho, my cringy fanfiction Will stay with me to my grave. However, I am writing original material right now! A Magical Girls story which any kind of synopsis would blow up the initial mystery. I **may** share snippets of It some day. If my anxiety allows me.

I also do YouTube videos. They aren't very good but I like em. Please check It out. And leave comments! They do make my day.

And... Im also a musician! I play the piano, I'm a drummer and I sing in a choir. I'm composing some stuff on the side as well but I dont have time nor resources to record and compose as comfortably as I'd like. Maybe if I end Up being able to get something I'll post It!

And i draw. Im not good at It, but I draw! This blog should have SOME examples of OC's i draw. Some of em are NPCs in my campaigns, others are player characters, other are just characters. I love em all the same.

Anything else?

I know the Standard Galactic Alphabet. I think its neat. My favorite movie is The Princess Bride. My favorite song is... im not sure I have too many. I have two Blåhaj.

I think you are good to go! Venture into my blog as you wish!

Oh, well. I am also probably autistic. There are no doubts in my all autistic friend group about it.

*im on the aroace spectrum, demisexual and demiromantic to be precise.

#trans #lillythepyromancer #blade and sorcery #transgender #signalis #youtube #lilly's silly corner

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frostyclove · 1 month ago

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wish world all the thoughts its sitting in here

i know this cabin hello willow set

oh fuck coincidence central vibes

omg the baby is going to be ruby isnt it she hates the name so she picked a better one

lol nope

this man is useless

what in the torchwood

ooooh its conrad isnt it

awww last christmas vibes isnt it ouch

nursedoc <3

oop space babies references oh hi poppy

oh i hated that

this is starting so good i so am enjoying - also - the rani is funny did not expect that. (did no homework for this ep)

oh no i love this

omg im living for this plot and setting

PRODUCTION

but also CONCEPT

RUBYYYY <33333

awww hes the cutest

hehe john smith hello !!

aww poor ruby lol

wait uncle -

GRIDLOCK VIBES FUCK YEAH

ewwwwwwwwwww but also wait literally who

omg the set is so pretttyyyyyy

i wanna hear the story.... i dont really care about this guy

oh -

oop

oh her parents are not real i dont think they have the exact same fun facts

omg lol this is such a ~fuck the bigots~ episode

oh thats quite early isnt it

WAIT SAPPHIC KATE MIGHT STILL BE IN THE WORKS WAIT

they... want the doubt?

are they already killing him off omg

honestly what a physical manifestation of moral ocd wtf

oh no

OH - i didnt like that agreed flood

who tf is that baby

aww

omg icon

wait also though ruby has ptsd so. she is disabled. are we gonna talk about that or no

also this is literally the whole 'dont split from conformity' of fascism and im really glad we are discussing that

holy shit this whole thing is about ableism and like on its face its not like meant to be interpreted its like literally well done there for talking about it

OH ---- Oh o

OWEN COPYCAT

WHAT THE FUCK

THIS WHOLE SCNEE

oh yeah tables dont do that

me all the past two years - thats what he said tables dont do that

omg rogue is the self insert

omg iconic

no bel dont...

also i wanna shout out a fun little game right now its like... so the same vibe as this episode its called fuck idk its joy its joy we happy few thats it sorrty doctor getting arrested by mrs flood

this is your lesson not to snitch on your close friends or people you know (and ffs dont call ice on people)

me in cyberpunk 2077 - standing on the side of the road i hate dirving in that gmae

omg they dont have apple

BROADCASTING 3RD METION THE ERA ITS GOTTA MEAN SOMETHING

ruby my darling my angel <33

oh ouch it is the 'only real thing is love' ouchies

soooo very spy kids

ohhh and this will also wake up the timeless child fob watch wont it

please master show up please please please

holy shit the babies are hers arent they

this is so dumb i love it so much

OHHHHH

land of fiction maybe please maybe please

unfotunately there is something odd to making the whole 'doubt yourself ;;;; sorry why did she just make a joke about exposition ;;; not sure how i feel about doubt being the ranis but she is right doubt does manage to break through but like

SPY SPY SPY PPLEASE

OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

well then alright then well the i...

russell said you can have all the treats except my one gimme my double masters back

bitch thats just a bit rude

is belinda okay ????

is anyone okay

lol what a cut off moment anyways i loved that time to see how everyone else felt which is frankly far scarier

#doctor who spoilers #doctor who #wish world

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hellfiresky · 5 months ago

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Seeing Red: Fractured Flames (and) The Bounty Hunter’s Code

Contribution to @clonexocweek | Theme: Conflict

(Image sources: Cyberpunk 2077 - edited)

These are some excerpts from Chapter 15 and Chapter 24 of my long fic, Seeing Red. In Chapter 15, Rex blew up, causing a major tension between him and Tal. In Chapter 24, after a few months apart - they finally made up.

Summary: After a successful but compromised mission in the Hasamadhi Warehouse District, tensions between Rex and Tal reach a breaking point, leading to a heated confrontation. Their fallout coincides with Rex’s imminent deployment to Geonosis, giving them months of forced distance - whilst he fights on the front lines, Tal finds herself working under Fox in Coruscant’s underworld.

Pairing: Captain Rex x Ge’tal Solus (Exiled Mandalorian bounty hunter OC) Warnings: Lots of swear words.

Taglist: @orangez3st @msmeredithrose

Chapter 15 (first to middle part): Fractured flames

Tal toyed with the small pink tooka keychain Leea gave her the other day whilst slouching in that uncomfortable chair in 501st’s command centre. She was back inside those cold walls of the Republic military base to face Rex, who hadn’t stopped pacing the room since she walked in. He wasn’t even looking at her, but she could feel his frustration radiating off him in waves, simmering just beneath the surface, ready to boil over.

“…completely unacceptable,” the captain folded his arms tightly across his chest, his face locked in that infuriating mix of anger and restraint. “You went off the grid without warning, didn’t report in for over twelve hours, and compromised the entire operation.”

Compromised. Heard he doesn’t throw around words like that for fun.

She dragged her eyes to meet his, catching the full weight of his glare. She knew damn well he was ready to chew her out for hours. Fives told her about this kind of speech before. It was Rex doing what he did best: keeping his soldiers in line. Only this time, she wasn’t his soldier.

“I didn’t compromise shit,” Tal finally broke her silence after a while. “I got the proof, didn’t I?”

Rex stopped dead in his tracks. Turned to face her fully for the first time since she’d stepped into the room that evening. “You think this is just about the proof? You’re damn lucky you made it out alive, Tal.”

“I had it under control!” She spat out and the words tasted bitter in her mouth. It was true, she had it under control, but at what cost?

“No, you didn’t,” The restraint in Rex’s anger finally cracked. “You didn’t tell me about the Black Sun op, you didn’t check in, and I had no fucking clue whether you were dead in some alley or rotting in an underground cell.”

Tal dropped her gaze, suddenly finding the overly polished floor more interesting than the way Rex’s words were cutting her open. “I’ve done this before, Rex,” she muttered. “I can handle myself.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. The walls felt even colder, the fluorescent lights too harsh, and Tal swore she could hear the wind out of the air conditioner thrumming in the distance. Rex let out a frustrated breath and ran a hand over his face. “Tal… you can’t do this. Going off on your own, cutting comms… You think you’re invincible, fun fact, you’re not.” This wasn’t about orders anymore. It was about him being worried - really fucking worried. She opened her mouth to argue, to throw something sharp back at him, but nothing came out.

“You could’ve been killed,”

“I know,” Tal’s voice was barely above a whisper. She didn’t know if he heard it or if the dead air just swallowed her words whole. “But, I got the job done. The Clovis proof is real, innit,” she reiterated, pulling up her defences. “And, for the record, I didn’t know Arok was working with the Pykes until after I accepted his deal. It was just… the price for that damn recording.”

The room seemed to hold its breath for a moment.

“Pykes?”

“The Pyke Syndicate is involved now?” He threw his hands up. “You think you can just take on jobs for the Pykes while working with us? Do you have any idea what happens if, not if, when Black Sun finds out?”

She looked away.

“Do you have any idea what you just did? You went off grid - without backup, with no communications OR clearance from me - infiltrated Black sun, and threw yourself into a job with the fucking Pykes! And now you’re sitting here like it’s nothing? You’re lucky the whole op hasn’t gone up in flames. You’re lucky you’re not dead.”

“Arok had the location of the Clovis proof. I didn’t have a choice. He forced my hand.”

“You always have a choice, Tal. And, again, you could’ve come to me. I could’ve helped you make a better plan.”

“What exactly would you’ve done?” She rolled her eyes.

“We could’ve baited Arok into thinking he had the upper hand, made him feel like his deal was locked in. We’d have gone in quietly - no messing around with extra jobs. Fox’s Shock Troopers have been running covert ops across Coruscant’s underworld for years. He’s got eyes and ears everywhere. We could’ve tracked Arok’s movements, mapped out Black Sun’s security, and extracted the proof cleanly - without touching the Pykes, without tipping anyone off.”

He wasn’t just throwing out ideas, this was a fully-formed plan, one he was already mentally walking her through. “And while we were running that op,” Rex's eyes bored into hers, “we’d have been watching Arok the whole time. Without you being stuck in the middle of it.”

Shit.

“And if it came down to it?” Rex took a deep breath before giving a sharp exhale. “We could’ve set him up to take the fall with the Pykes. Make it look like he was double-crossing them . You think Arok’s the only one who can play this game? We could’ve had him pinned down with both Black Sun and the Pykes hot on his tails, while we walked out with the Clovis proof, no questions asked.”

Rex finally stopped. His mind was always moving a hundred steps ahead, piecing together moves before anyone even realised there was a board to play on. “We could’ve done it clean, Tal,” he continued. “No collateral. No compromise. No one on the team put at risk. You want to pull jobs like this, fine - but you do it smart, and you do it with us. You don’t take these kinds of risks when there’s a better way.”

“You don’t think I would’ve figured out a way to get that proof without you getting your hands dirty with the Pykes?” Rex went on again. “You let Arok - an info broker who probably would sell his own parents for credits - trap you into doing his dirty work. Again, you should’ve told me. I could’ve protected you, protected the op, and we’d have been done with this without risking the entire mission.”

Tal knew she’d screwed up, and now it was painfully clear how deep she was in. Rex’s strategy wasn’t just a hypothetical - it would’ve worked. It would’ve saved her from walking into Arok’s trap and dragging them into dangerous territory with two syndicates ready to blow everything to hell.

“I—” she started, but Rex didn’t give her a chance to defend herself. “Again, you could’ve gotten yourself killed. And for what? A deal you didn’t even need to make.” He started pacing again. “I can’t pull you out of this shit if you won’t even let me know what’s going on. I can’t protect you if you’re going to throw yourself into the fire without a second thought.”

“I fucked up,” she yelled in defeat. She could feel Rex’s glare drilling on her, no, she wasn’t ready to look up yet. “I thought... I thought if I told you, it’d just slow everything down. I figured it’d take days for you to re-strategise, to get everyone on the same page. I didn’t have time for that. I had the shot. I had to take it.”

For a second, Rex just stared at her, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Days? Days?” He scoffed. “Ge’tal, I just gave you a strategy in minutes. Do you think I’d waste time sitting around drawing up some plan?”

“You really don’t get it, do you? I was on the Resolute when you were down there, flew out here just for this meeting that could’ve been an email had you followed protocol and did the mission spotlessly, and I’m supposed to be back on the Resolute in less than five days for another campaign. Who the hell knows where we’re headed next. We don’t have the luxury of time. You think I’d have dragged my feet on this? If you’d trusted me - if you’d said something - we could’ve been in and out faster than the time it took you to crawl through those filthy vents.”

“I... I didn’t think—”

“No, you didn’t,” Rex interjected. “You didn’t think, and you didn’t trust us. Do you have any idea what resources we have at our disposal? You think I’d have left you out there alone? Fox is always cc-ed in your reports. Shock troopers are everywhere on Coruscant. We could’ve had an entire team ready to go. We could’ve coordinated with Fox, had Shock Troopers on standby. You wouldn’t have been cornered by Arok - you would’ve been protected.” He snapped the last sentence.

Tal hadn’t even considered that. The Shock Troopers were all over Coruscant, able to respond to threats in minutes. Hell, she was under their radar the entire time. Those eyes she felt back on 1312 and 1313? All theirs. If she’d involved Rex, they could’ve mobilised an entire response team.

“Why didn’t you trust me? Or them ? I get that you’ve been running jobs solo for a long time, but this isn’t just some freelance op in the underworld. We don’t waste time at the Grand Army.”

“I didn’t...” She trailed off, unsure of what to say. She’d acted on instinct, but that wasn’t an excuse. “I didn’t trust myself,” she muttered finally. “I thought... if I waited, if I told you, the opportunity would slip through my fingers. And then what? I’m no good to anyone if I miss my chance.”

“You’re not out there alone anymore, Tal. This isn’t just about you - this is bigger than that. You’re part of something now. You have a team behind you, people who’ve got your back. I kept reassuring you prior to the op, remember? When you got anxious about your lot finding out about you working under our contract? But we can’t do our job if you’re constantly cutting us out, running around making decisions on your own.” He was right. She wasn’t used to this. She wasn’t used to having people who cared whether she made it out alive. “Hell, other contractors working under us are always out there milking our resources every millisecond,”

“I didn’t mean for it to go like this. I just... I didn’t want to drag you into it.”

“Well, now we’re all dragged into it,” Rex rolled his eyes. “But it could’ve gone a whole lot smoother if you’d trusted me - trusted us. Yes, Fox has got his men spread thin, but they’re everywhere. One word, and they’d have been there, watching your back. I would’ve been there.”

“At least, I covered my tracks.” She sighed, it was her last chance to defend herself.

“You? Covered your tracks?” Rex’s voice dropped again. “Do you have any idea what you’re saying?” He rubbed his temples. “The Pykes and Black Sun both have eyes everywhere. One slip, one goddamn mistake, and they’ll come for us. We’re not just talking about you getting killed, Tal. We’re talking about the mission falling apart, my men - our men - getting hurt because of your recklessness.” He ran a hand over his freshly trimmed buzzcut, clearly trying to keep himself from completely losing it. “You think you’re safe? You think because you crawled out of a vent and made it back in one piece, everything’s fine?”

“I’m fine. I know what I’m doing.” Tal straightened up. She tried to keep her voice nonchalant, but it felt forced, even to her.

“No,” Rex stopped dead in front of her again. “No, you don’t.”

“You have no idea,” he continued. “Right after that holocall - right after you basically told me to chill after leaving me in the cold—I had to call in Commander Fox. Do you know what that means?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “It means I had to get Shock Troopers down into the Southern Underworld and Hasamadhi to clean up your mess before Black Sun figured out who the hell was stealing data from their LC and who they’re working for.”

“You didn’t cover your tracks as clean as you thought,” Rex’s tone was ice-cold. “You left enough digital footprints for them to start asking questions. You literally almost got caught. Fox had to deploy an intelligence unit quietly down there to clean up your mess before Black Sun started knocking on our doors.”

“We had to scrub everything,” Rex pressed on. “No matter how minor they were. Every move left a trail. Fox’s squad had to sweep the entire sector, sanitising every trace. If they hadn't, the trail would've led right back to us - right back to you, the GAR, everything.”

Tal wanted to throw up. She thought she’d been careful. She thought she’d covered herself. But if Rex was right - no, because Rex was right - then she’d just barely scraped by without getting all of them caught in the crossfire.

“This isn’t just some underworld job, Tal. It’s not just you sneaking into some shitty bar for a bounty. If Black Sun finds out we’re involved, we lose everything . You think they wouldn’t retaliate? They’ve got resources, too. They’ve got influence. And the moment they connect the dots, it’s not just you they come after - it’s us. It’s the entire fucking Republic.”

She hadn’t thought about it like that. She hadn’t wanted to think about it like that.

“You could’ve told me,” Rex reiterated again and again and again. “You could’ve trusted me, trusted us. Fox could’ve had people in place to cover you before you even went in. Shock Troopers all over the planet. We could have made it work cleanly.”

“I didn’t—” She cut herself off, realising how stupid she was about to sound.

“You didn’t what ?” Rex’s voice was sharp again. “Think we’d have your back? You didn’t think we could handle it? Do you think I’m out here, just waiting for things to fall apart? Because you’re only a contractor we wouldn’t protect you? You really think I’d leave you in the dark if I knew what was going on?”

Tal didn’t have an answer, at least not a good one. She’d thought she was doing the right thing by going it alone. That by keeping them out of it, she was protecting them. But now? Now it felt like she’d just been reckless. Careless.

“I thought I was protecting you,” she mumbled.

“Protecting me?” Rex echoed. “That’s not how this works. You don’t protect me, you don’t protect us by going off on your own and putting yourself, and the mission, in danger. We protect each other. That’s the whole fucking point. And you know what makes that work? Trust. You’re reckless. And it’s going to get you killed one day. You might not care about that, but I do.”

Rex stood there, staring at her for a long, heavy moment. He wasn’t pacing anymore. He wasn’t yelling. That almost made it worse. “This was your first major breach,” he finally said. “I agreed to let you work on your own - within reason, because you’re good at what you do. But this? What you pulled? That wasn’t acting on your own, that was reckless.”

“You don’t get to decide where the line is drawn. Not when it comes to this,” Rex started again. “You want to take risks? Fine. I’m not here to stop you from doing what you’re good at. But when those risks put the mission or my men - at risk, that includes you, that’s where it stops.” He reached out for the drive that held the Clovis proof on the desk in front of her and slipped it into one of the pockets in his chest rig.

"That proof is valuable, but it’s not worth the reckless stunts you pulled to get it. You work with us, you follow our protocols.”

Tal opened her mouth, but again, what could she say? He was right. She knew he was right. She'd messed up, and now she had to live with it.

“If you want to keep working with the GAR, there are limits. You will follow them, or you’re done. Clear?”

The silence that followed was like a live wire ready to burn out between them. She watched him. For a split second, she thought she’d pushed him way too far this time. But then, just as quickly, that thought passed. Her lips twisted into a defiant smirk. “Yeah,” she said. “Crystal clear, Captain.”

Rex shook his head. “And another thing - what’s this I hear about you picking up a solo bounty hunting job while on an active mission for us? Is that true?”

A lazy blink from Tal. “Oh, that?” A nonchalant shrug followed, like the whole thing wasn’t worth mentioning. “Quick job. Easy credits. Found it in a vending machine cache.”

He just stared in disbelief. “A vending machine cache?” He paused. “What the hell, Tal?”

Tal was genuinely amused by his reaction, oblivious with everything else that was happening in that head of his. “Yeah, the underworld’s full of ‘em. Punch in the right codes, pick a drink, and boom - bounty details. Made three thousand credits. Not bad for a side gig, huh?”

“Look, I got everything done,” she continued. “You got your Clovis proof. I’m safe. You sorted things out. What’s the big deal?”

“Are you serious right now?” Rex trembled with fury just beneath the surface. The calm exterior? Gone. “You risked your life, you compromised everything, and you took a random job while on duty, from a fucking vending machine?”

The smirk slipped from her face. This wasn’t the angry and annoyed Rex, the one who tolerated her stunts with deep sighs and lectures just a few minutes ago. No. This was different. He wasn’t just pissed, he was done.

“Rex, it wasn’t—”

“Don’t.” His voice cut through, final, a verbal blade slicing the tension between them. “Don’t even try to explain it. Do you still not get it? This isn’t just you and your underworld stunts, and your cool edgy bounty hunter friends, and your little quirky vending machines. You’re under contract with the Grand Army of the Republic. This is bigger than you, bigger than whatever side hustle you think you can pull off without consequence.”

“Three thousand credits?” His hands flew up. “I’ve lost men, good men, for less than that. And you breached everything, just so you could make some quick cash off a vending machine bounty.”

“But nothing happ–”

“I trusted you. I thought you understood what was at stake here. But clearly, I was wrong. I’m disappointed in you, Tal.” He cut her off again. It hit like a physical blow, right to the gut. Tal swallowed hard, blinking rapidly, but didn’t break eye contact. There was no comeback this time, no smart-ass comment that could save her ass. “I don’t even know what to say anymore. You’re reckless. Reckless, reckless, reckless.”

The weight of his words hung in the air like smoke, choking out whatever fight she had left in her. The bravado she usually wore like armour felt flimsy now in the face of what he was really saying. Rex’s gaze held hers for a long moment before he turned away.

“You know what? Thanks. I’ll send this proof up the chain. The Jedi will deal with it. You need to figure out where your priorities lie. Because if this keeps up, there won’t be a next mission.”

And with that, he stormed out, leaving Tal alone in that stark white room. She sat there, still, for a moment, staring at the door. She felt a sting behind her eyes and immediately clenched her jaw, biting down hard to stop the flood. Don’t cry, Tal. Don’t you dare fucking cry. But the burning lump in her throat was impossible to ignore. Tal couldn’t help but feel the ghost of another lecture, one that had happened years ago. It was like the past had crashed into the present, and suddenly, she wasn’t just in a room with Rex, but back in the cold war room of her clan in Mandalore. She could still hear the voices, her clan leader, her comrades in the Reaper Unit - spitting out words that stung just as much as Rex’s had today.

Chapter 24 (first to middle part): The Bounty Hunter's Code

Witnessing her own handover in person was... odd. Tal stood stiffly in the centre of the war room, she crossed her arms and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. And there he was, Marshal Commander Fox, standing across from Rex and literally handing her over like she was a borrowed datapad. “Ge’tal’s been operating under my direct command for the past one month and a half,” Fox pulled up a file on one of the holoscreens. “Her work on tracking Separatist activities in the Coruscant underworld has been unconventional, but effective. She identified Car Affa, a smuggler who fed Republic weapons to Separatists, and their supply chain. You were cc’d in all SITREPs.”

“I’ve reviewed them,” Rex replied. “Good work, Commander. I appreciate the progress, and we’ll need her reassigned back under my direct command now that I’m back on Coruscant.”

Fox set his orange mug down, the white vulptices decorating the ceramic mug seemed comically out of place in the military environment. He looked back to Rex. “Understood,” Fox said. “But let’s get this straight, Coruscant Guard retains jurisdiction over any intel she acquired specifically for Guard operations during that timeframe. That data remains ours. You’ll have access to everything related to joint efforts, including her work on Car Affa, the smuggling network, and CIS presence in the underworld.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less. Was there additional intel she pulled that hasn’t been cross-referenced with the 501st yet?” Rex mentally prepared himself for the stream of intel as he picked up a datapad that was laid out in front of him. Fox didn’t answer immediately. He sank into the only available chair in the room. The space around them barely resembled an active headquarters, rows of seats were buried under discarded gear, crates of tech, and half-assembled equipment. Dust lingered in corners, and the sound of dormant terminals hinted at how rarely the 501st used their Coruscant command post. It wasn’t their true home; that was the Resolute. He drummed his fingers on the armrest of the seat. “Minor operations,” he explained. “Surveillance runs, tracking leads for local insurgent activity, a few smaller players that tied into Coruscant Guard cases. Nothing major, but they were actionable on our end. They didn’t cross into frontline relevance, so they weren’t pushed through the 501st channels.”

Rex turned his attention to Tal, who was now engrossed in the live updates from the probe droids that Fox streamed earlier on the holotable. Her eyes glazed over the surveillance footage in an almost-childlike wonder. “Anything I should know about?” Tal shrugged. “You weren’t missing much. Whilst you were off-world, I kept busy running clean-up ops for Fox here. Dealt with some low-level criminals trying to exploit the war down in the underworld. Shut down a few underground slavers, disrupted illegal slicer rings tapping into GAR comm channels. Basic stuff." A faint smirk crossed her lips. "Just keeping myself busy and earning some extra credits."

Rex narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to Fox. He lowered his voice so only the Marshal Commander could hear. "You drafted new contracts for her?" Fox took a slow sip of his caf from the uncharacteristically adorable mug. "Compensation for services rendered," he replied evenly. "She operated under Coruscant Guard directives during that period. And resources stretched thin, it made sense to utilise available assets. Standard protocol."

"I wasn't informed that the Coruscant Guard used our joint contractor without cross-unit coordination," Rex leaned forward and pressed his hands on the desk in front of Fox. The Marshal Commander met his gaze steadily. "We adhered to all necessary regulations. Again, given the circumstances, it was an efficient use of resources. Ge'tal proved effective in handling matters that required a less conventional approach."

Rex looked back at Tal, who had returned her focus to the surveillance. "I see. Going forward, I'd prefer to be made aware about any operational changes involving personnel assigned to my unit."

"In a way, she is also assigned to my unit. But very well. Understood," Fox acknowledged. "Transparency ensures efficiency."

Tal looked over her shoulder after sensing the weight of their muffled conversation. "Everything all right over there?"

"Just discussing protocols," Rex offered a smile to ease the moment.

"Well, if we're done with the formalities, I've got some leads on residual arms smuggling routes we might want to monitor." She didn't press further.

"Send me the details," Rex said. "We'll coordinate and see how it fits into our current operations."

"Will do," Tal turned back to the probe droids’ feed.

Rex returned his attention to Fox. "Appreciate the handover, Commander."

"Anytime," Fox stood up and carried the mug with him. "And Rex, she did good work. Might consider allowing her more room to do things her way."

"I'll take that under advisement," Rex replied. Fox gave a curt nod before walking towards Tal. She straightened instinctively, masking the fact that her mind had wandered. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to stay under Fox’s command, he was a nightmare to work with, except that little speeder escapade, but still. Her thoughts wandered to something Fox had mentioned a few days ago at Serenity Table, the one about blacking out with blood on his arms. He hadn’t finished the story, though. What was that about? And would she ever had the chance to–

“You’re still with us, Ge’tal?” Fox’s voice snapped her back to the present. “What? Yeah. Just... taking it all in.”

“Try to take it in while actually listening,” Fox said dryly before pointing a thumb at her, “She’s your problem now.”

Rex took a pile of datafiles Fox left on the desk and shook his head with that near-imperceptible patience he always carried. “I’ll handle it.”

“All right, then,” Fox stepped back, eyeing the two of them. “She’s officially back under the 501st. Anything else?” Rex shook his head. “That’ll do. I’ll take it from here.”

Fox lifted the orange mug in his hand and took a sip. “You did good work,” he said quietly. “Stay alive, Ge’tal.” He hesitated for half a second. “And, uh… thanks.” He tapped the mug twice with his index fingers. Tal tilted her head. Oh. She knew that mug. Bright orange with tiny white vulptices illustrations scattered across it, she’d shoved it into his hands as a joke, just to see if he’d actually use it. “Always my plan,” she held his gaze. Fox said nothing more. The faintest ghost of a smile appeared. There. Then gone as soon as he pivoted sharply and strode out of the room. She watched the empty spot where he was standing before Rex’s voice cut through.

“You two worked together for weeks, and I’m still not sure if you respect each other or want to kill each other.”

“Maybe both,” Tal turned to Rex with a shrug.

Rex gave her a sidelong glance, masking his expression for a moment. Then he sighed, he rested his hands on his hips as he broke eye contact. “I... owe you an apology,” he said finally. “For how we left things before I deployed to Geonosis. I overreacted.”

“You?” Tal pushed herself up onto a desk that had clearly been left to gather dust. She sneezed once, wiping her sleeve across her face. “Overreacted?”

“You were reckless, Tal,” he ignored the jab. “Hasamadhi wasn’t just dangerous, it was a fucking powder keg, and you lit the fuse without thinking about who’d be caught in the blast.”

“I got the intel, didn’t I?”

“You got lucky,” Rex countered. “That kind of recklessness doesn’t just put you at risk. It puts everyone at risk. My men. Your contacts. The people we’re supposed to protect.”

Tal’s smirk faded as she looked away, bracing for the lecture that always seemed to follow with him. “You could’ve said that without snapping at me.”

“You’re right,” he admitted. “I let my frustration get the better of me. I should’ve handled it differently.”

Tal searched his face for a moment. This wasn’t the by-the-book Captain Rex she was used to. This was... something closer to an actual person with feelings. “So, what’s this? A peace offering?”

“Call it what you want,” Rex replied. “But I need you to know I wasn’t just chewing you out for the sake of it. I need people I can trust. People who can think on their feet without losing sight of the bigger picture.”

“Yeah, well, trust goes both ways, Captain. You didn’t exactly give me the benefit of the doubt.”

“I’m giving it now,” he said simply. “Let’s start fresh. Deal?”

Tal locked her sight at his hand for a moment before extending her own. “Deal.”

Rex shook her hand and smiled. “Good. And for the record, no more staying over at the barracks with…” he sighed and rolled his eyes, “the usual suspects.”

“I WAS SMUGGLED. Can you imagine? These di’kut stuffed me into a crate like some contraband shipment.” Tal barked out a laugh.

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope,” Tal grinned. “Your boys. Fives, Jesse, Hardcase, Echo, Kix, decided that was the most efficient way to get me out of 79s. We did some galguzzling and got wasted. I’m a sleepy drunk, so I passed out. Boys got worried about leaving me at 79s and apparently taking me back to 1312 wasn’t an option.”

Rex let out a quiet chuckle. He wiped the edge of the nearest console with the side of his glove and watched a small cloud of dust puff into the air. “Never an option after midnight,” He stepped back from the console and crossed his arms. “Before I brief you on your next major assignment,” he eyed the room’s doorway, “there’s, um... someone who needs your help.”

“What do you mean?” Tal frowned. She barely had time to process the statement before Rex beckoned someone at the door with his fingers. A young Togruta stepped into the room and stopped next to Rex. She had a pair of bright blue, curious eyes. It was clear to Tal that the girl was trying to look composed, but the awkwardness was impossible to miss.

“This is my commander, Commander Tano,” Rex introduced the girl. “Ahsoka,” the girl chimed in quickly, offering a smile that was as polite as it was nervous. “I’m a padawan.”

Maker, she’s a kid. Tal’s gaze lingered on the Togruta a little bit too long as the realisation struck her. The girl couldn’t have been much older than fifteen. Tal didn’t know what she expected, Jedi were all weirdly powerful mystics warmongers to her, but this? The fact that Rex answered to a teenager was jarring in a way she couldn’t quite place. Kids didn’t belong in war zones. And it brought back to another kid that was a hot topic in the underworld, Fett.

She kept her thoughts to herself. “Right. And?”

Rex cleared his throat. “Anyway. Car Affa. The Jedi tracked him down and captured him yesterday.”

“You’re welcome,”

Rex gave her a pointed look. “Your intel was spot-on. Thanks to you, Fox’s boys are still shutting down his smuggling routes as we speak. Should make it harder for Separatist supplies to slip through the undercity.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear it,” Tal didn’t bother hiding the scepticism in her words. “So why am I still here? The Jedi no longer need my help to lead them to their targets,”

“Actually… I do.”

Ahsoka stepped forward with her hands clasped behind her back. Tal noticed the confidence in the way she moved, but it was the kind you had to force when you were in over your head. “I…” the girl’s cheeks flushed as if she knew exactly how this would sound. “I lost my lightsaber.”

Tal blinked. “You what?”

“It was stolen,” Ahsoka clarified, her voice rushing the words out quickly. “In the slum district. G17.”

A Jedi lost her lightsaber? Is it a cue for me to laugh?

Rex let out a deep exhale and stepped in. “She’s already aware this isn’t standard Jedi behaviour.” Ahsoka rolled her eyes into oblivion at his jab, “Thanks, Rex.”

Tal stared them down and something clicked into place. There it was. The way Rex’s voice softened when addressing the girl, the casual way she looked up at him like an exasperated younger sibling. Tal had seen it many times before, brothers watching out for sisters in the underworld, trying to keep them out of trouble while knowing they’d inevitably find some anyway. Or an older sister looking out for a younger sister back on Mand— “And you’re asking me… why?” Tal finally probed.

“Because I need someone who knows the underworld better than I do,” Ahsoka admitted. “I’ve already looked, everywhere I could. But I can’t involve anyone officially. My master…” She trailed off, looking at Rex for backup. Rex pinched the bridge of his nose before looking back at Tal. “Her master can’t know about this. If he finds out, she might be grounded from fieldwork for god knows how long.”

“That’s not an exaggeration,” Ahsoka stomped her right boot against the floor.

A stolen lightsaber? This wasn’t a job. It wasn’t official. This was Jedi business. Charity work!

“So let me get this straight,” Tal said slowly. “You’re asking me to hunt down a stolen Jedi weapon off the record. Meaning no pay. No GAR backup. Nothing official.”

Ahsoka shifted uncomfortably. She curled her hands into fists at her sides. Tal watched her face carefully, taking note of the way guilt ran behind her eyes. “I… don’t have credits,” Ahsoka mumbled. “But if you help me, I can find a way to make it up to you. Or—”

Rex cut her off and pulled Tal aside. “Look, I get it. It’s unofficial. And it’s not ideal. But you know how bad G17 is. If we don’t recover it soon, we could be looking at bigger problems, someone with that kind of tech in the wrong hands? It’s bad news for all of us, not just the Jedi.”

Tal clenched her jaw as she looked up at Rex. He wasn’t wrong. That was the part that pissed her off. She looked back to Ahsoka, taking in the way the girl stood there, straight-backed and defiant but still clearly embarrassed. She almost felt bad for her. “Great,” Tal muttered under her breath. “First the Republic, now charity work for kids.”

Ahsoka’s face flared indignantly. “Hey, I’m not a kid!”

Rex coughed up a laugh and earned himself a glare from the padawan. Tal rolled her eyes and grabbed her helmet from the desk where she was sitting. “Fine. I’ll help you,” she jabbed a finger in Rex’s direction. “But you owe me, Captain.”

“I’ll put it on your tab.”

Ahsoka blinked and looked up at him, scrunching her brows together like she was trying to work out exactly what he meant. Rex let out a long-suffering sigh. “Out-of-pocket expenses. It’ll go through unofficial channels.”

“Alright, kid. Be honest. Have you actually searched the underworld yet?” Tal probed the kid who was now glued to her datapad. Ahsoka sighed and shrugged. “I tried, okay? Master Sinube helped me narrow down the name of the thief.” She dropped her voice a little. “He’s been… helpful. Knows his way around people. But he’s also, uh…”

“Old.” Rex deadpanned. Ahsoka muffled a chuckle. “I mean, I did call him ‘gramps’ once, and I stand by it. He’s slow, but he gets things done in his own way.”

“Sounds like you dragged the poor guy into the deep levels.” Tal snorted softly under her breath.

“More like he dragged me.” Ahsoka scratched at her montral absently. “We tracked down the name of the thief, Bannamu, a Patrolian. He’s a small-time pickpocket but apparently knows how to keep himself invisible.”

“And you want me to what?” Tal shifted her weight onto one leg as she raised a brow at the padawan. “Hunt him down, bring him back cold, and toss your lightsaber on top for good measure?” Her mouth curved into a wicked grin and spoke conspiratorially. “You want his head wrapped in a nice bag with ribbon?”

“NO! No!” Ahsoka widened her eyes in panic, hands flying up as if to physically wave the idea away. “Don’t kill anyone! I just—” she caught herself and softened her voice as the words tumbled out. “I just want my lightsaber back. That’s it!”

“Relax, kid. I don’t waste precious slugthrower bullets unless someone pays for them.” Tal couldn’t hold back a laugh. The Togruta in front of her exhaled in visible relief. “Here’s the deal,” Tal pointed a finger in the Togruta’s direction. “I’ll help you figure out where Bannamu’s hiding and who he might be dealing with. That’s it. I’m not storming back alleys or crawling through ventilation ducts for free.” Ahsoka opened her mouth, ready to argue, but froze when Tal pinned her with a glare. It was enough to snap the padawan’s resolve in half. She swallowed whatever she was about to say and nodded stiffly instead. “That’s fine. Master Sinube and I can handle the rest once we know where to look.”

“Good.” Tal already ran through her mental map of the underworld. Bannamu. Small-time thief. She could work with that. “G17’s full of rats. This Patrolian won’t be easy to pin down, but if he’s trying to offload something as flashy as a lightsaber, it’ll ripple through the market. I’ll need a few hours to pull in some favors. Maybe less if I piss off the right people.”

Rex, who’d been listening from the sidelines, spoke up for the first time in minutes. “Play nice, Tal.”

“I’ll play however gets us results, Captain.”

#clonexocweek #clonexocweek2025 #clonexocweek2025 day 3 #Captain Rex x OC #captain rex x ge'tal solus #hellfiresky #star wars #clone wars fic #the clone wars #captain rex #star wars fanfiction

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insomniwillow · 6 months ago

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Novo Amor

For @cyburnya for @mcytblrholidayexchange!

Read it here on ao3!

just some cute and sweet etoiles/phil/missa with mild cyberpunk elements! Hope you enjoy!!

"Remind me why we agreed to live somewhere with a season that hates us?" Etoiles panted, limping another step forward while also trying not to lean too heavily on Missa's shoulder.

The snow that surrounded them was already ankle-deep and was significantly slowing their trek back to the house, Etoiles' foot thumping dully against the ground with every step, frost-ridden and unresponsive as of an hour ago. Not the first time, not by a long shot, but he'd prefer that the amount of times he was left partially immobilized was kept to as few as possible. Which of course led back to the question- why was he even in the snow to begin with?

"Because Philza seemed happy and we all agreed to stay." Missa said, his otherwise nonchalance disturbed slightly by how hard he was breathing, stuck lugging Etoiles around. "And we both like to see him happy, and we probably weren't thinking about the snow when it was so hot outside."

"I do not like it when you speak truth to me Missa, this is my problem." Etoiles scowled, making Missa laugh breathlessly. "I should have just done the genetic inserts like you did, I think. Imagine, I could be part cucumber right at this moment, Missa! It would be my dream in life."

"I don't think plants do well in snow either, though?" Missa hedged, one the triangle ears sitting atop his head flicking some of the accumulated snow off- one of the few things he actually had gotten from the kits mean to shift and add genetic code to a person's system, though he lamented not being lucky enough to get the improved balance he'd been aiming for. "I think you would just be asleep right now, right?"

"Oh, that would be much more annoying than this." Etoiles said half jokingly, tossing his dead leg forward another step in demonstration. His arm still had some feeling the nerves wired through it, aching with the cold in an attempt to get him to fix it, but there wasn't much he could do for it while stuck out in a forest with snow actively falling around them. It would be a lot of effort to strip down to get at the mechanism to just turn it off completely, so he was forced to bear it. Truly no one had known suffering as he had. "But maybe my skin would turn green to match my arm and leg, or maybe I would eat only sunlight- very efficient, yes, I like that idea. I go outside and bam! I am full, no cooking or eating required of me."

"Awww, you would not eat my chorizo?" Missa pouted, and Etoiles wrinkled his nose at him, not liking the idea of having to give up such an efficient idea. But Missa made very amazing chorizo also, which Etoiles was forced to concede.

"Maybe I would eat only chorizo." Etoiles offered, and Missa beamed up at him, wide and pretty enough that he was compelled to press a kiss to Missa's forehead, his dark hair tickling Etoiles' nose and brushing along the half-deadened sensors of his left cheek.

There wasn't much that could beat one of his partner's smiles, except for maybe a properly functional leg and arm and a full belly, but all of those things were waiting at home. Sad. It really was like the world hated him.

Phil was already out of the house the second it came into view between the thicket of trees, the warm brown wood a herald of all the things that would likely kill Etoiles if he couldn't get to them. His wings were tucked close to his back, because he was far smarter than Etoiles was, the slightly shifting metallic feathers reflecting the lightness of snow as he hurried towards the both of them, alarm all over his face.

"What happened?" he exclaimed, tucking himself along Etoiles' other side to help him limp ever so slightly faster towards their house. At least he was warm, though again, with as many frozen and therefore deaden sensors that made up his left side, he mourned the fact he was only getting half the sensation of his partner pressing up against him. "You both were only supposed to get fucking firewood, what-"

"Philza, please, you do not have to yell, we are right here." Etoiles said with exaggerated exhaustion, but was quick to add. "Snow is just my weakness, man, it is saying to me 'you are shit' and it is true, so I cannot argue."

"Oh, jesus." Phil heaved, exhaling hard enough he was likely expelling all of his worries with it. "I though someone'd fucking attacked you out there-"

"Aypierre made sure that would never happen, Philza." Etoiles scolded. "You need to chill a little bit my bro. We are in the middle of snow and you are still struggling at this."

"As if you'd be totally calm if I fucking came back home being carried by Missa and visibly fucking limp." Phil shot back, shooting a glare up at him as they slowly made their way up the wooden stairs that lead up to their house. "Oh, fuck me, I didn't even think about a ramp-"

"If we can get him on his feet again we can save the ramp until spring." Missa piped up, likely furrowing his brows at the thought of Phil trying to work out in the snow for an extended period- his wings already weren't taking kindly to the weather when he kept inside, let alone his joints. They were all full of such little inconveniences, it was really such a shame, but Etoiles supposed it was the only way to give everyone else a chance. "I think we have more of those sonic dryers in the basement, right Phil? Can you go get those while I put more wood on the fire?"

"Yeah, that'll be good." Phil huffed, kicking the door open with the toe of his boot before all three of them made their way to the couch. Etoiles literally collapsed, moaning a bit as if pained, but his partners knew him well enough at the point to know he was only making fun.

Missa gave a cute full-body shake to get rid of the worst of the wet still clinging to himself before he slid his wood frame off his shoulders, wiggled a couple logs free, and tossed them onto the fire. Phil was already gone, presumably poking around their shitty basement, but before Etoiles could even wonder where he was, Missa was in front of him again, wielding a towel spread in between both hands, like a threat.

"Ah, I see, you are going to smother me." Etoiles said dully, and Missa barked a surprised laugh, even as he pressed the towel to Etoiles' dead leg, wiping away with snow still clinging to the synthetic 'skin' though as it was it looked a little more like an error message than anything else. "I knew this day would come- too shit to even fight snow, what kind of person am I...."

"A very cool looking one." Missa offered with a grin, moving up to towel down Etoiles' arm next. He was practically in Etoiles' lap now, and his one good hand came up to rest lightly on Missa's hip, just to make sure he didn't fall. Missa was the goat at many things, but keeping his balance was not one of them. "No te precupes, once it's not so wet it'll probably feel a lot better."

"This is impossible Missa." Etoiles told him factually. "Do you know what is better than this? Nothing, and that is what I am feeling now."

"You're not cold?" Missa asked, one hand holding Etoiles' dead arm by the wrist as he wiped the melted snow from Etoiles' palm with more care than Etoiles had ever deserved in his whole stupid life. Then Missa planted a quick kiss to his palm, smiling lightly to himself as he glanced up at Etoiles, then past him as Phil came rushing up the stairs. "Oh, Phil! Did you find-"

Etoiles pulled him down into a proper kiss before he could even finish his sentence, the little squeak that escaped him way too cute for a piece of shit like Etoiles, but Missa leaned into him all the same. He was a little breathless as he pulled away, smiling shyly down at Etoiles even as Phil slid in front of them, looking less worried now, which was an extra bonus to the kissing.

"What was that for?" Missa asked, his nose wrinkling a little bit in mock indignation, and Etoiles raised his eyebrows at him, eyeing the little space between them.

"What the hell are you saying, Missa? My bro?" Etoiles asked incredulously, and both he and Phil laughed. "You are sitting in my lap and you are asking me why I am kissing you? Like it is strange?"

"Awwwww, que bonito Elotes." Missa cooed at him, dropping the towel onto the couch beside them to wrap his arms around Etoiles' neck, pressing a kiss to his nose, then his chin before Etoiles heaved a heavy sigh and pressed forward to kiss his mouth. Like a real bro would, not being all teasing, even if that was a little cute too. Missa giggled into his mouth, and the rush of elation that filled Etoiles was like as if he'd just shattered through the Federation's firewall all over again.

"You two are cute enough to make me sick." Phil said flatly, taking a seat beside them, and Etoiles promptly flipped him off. "Alright, alright, Missa c'mon, mate-"

And now it's his turn to be cut off as Etoiles cupped a hand behind his head and tugged him in for a kiss, nearly dislodging Missa from his lap entirely. But he just laughed again, tucking Phil's hair behind his half-missing ear before pressing a kiss to Phil's cheek, and then to his mouth when Etoiles finally released him.

"Jesus, you two are fucking incorrigable." Phil laughed, a little breathless himself as he leaned away from both of them, bringing the sonic heater he'd dug up between them like a very tiny and inefficient shield. Etoiles observed it- a tiny cylindrical device at first glance, but as Phil pinched two opposite corners, the stacked rings that made it up spread out between his hands. "Scoot Missa, lemme at him."

"Ough, evil to the both of us, Philza." Etoiles moaned as Missa extricated himself from Etoiles' lap, offering one last kiss to Etoiles' forehead before moving to the kitchen, the lights buzzing on noisily as he entered the room. An old ass sensor system, but it still worked somehow, and Missa said he found the sound soothing, which was good because Phil found the sound irrationally irritating, but there was also a reason he wasn’t allowed in the kitchen, and Etoiles supposed that was as good an excuse as any. "You are secretly my enemy in disguise, I knew it. Come to kill me by sending my very cool and warm partner away."

"Wha- I'm fucking cool!" Phil protested.

"No, Philza is the goat, we all know this, he is better than <i>cool</i>. You are a shit imposter."

"Right, right my mistake." Phil chuckled to himself, fussing with the holo screen on the last circle, jabbing his index finger at the heat spectrum repeatedly until he was satisfied with it. It hovered in midair, scanning Etoiles' position before each circle positioned itself around him, and with only a flash of slightly too intense heat, he could feel whatever moisture Missa had missed evaporate off him entirely. "There we are. I think your skin grafts might be fucked but most cybernetic arms and legs tend to shut down before water can properly fry them, so now we just gotta wait a bit."

"Ah, so I am trapped on this couch in front of the fire? I would not wish this on my worst enemy, Philza, how could you do this to me?"

"Pft, what the fuck ever, mate. Look, we'll get a hold of Antoine and he should be able to get you some kind of weather-resistant skin grafts, alright? Most people don't even have to bother with the weather nowadays, so sorry if it slipped my mind." Phil scoffed at him, sliding the sonic dryer's rings back into place before tossing the whole thing over his shoulder and tucking himself under Etoiles' still-dead arm, having folded his wings back under his shirt sometime when he'd been in the basement. "'Sides, having you stuck in one place isn't so bad, see?"

"Ah yes, my partner under an arm I cannot feel." Etoiles deadpanned, but he pressed a kiss to Phil's forehead anyways as Phil laughed. "What a joy. Next you are going to tell me you are going to sleep on my dick which I cannot feel."

"Jesus." Phil sputtered, just in time for Missa to reappear, holding two steaming mugs of some kind of liquid in both hands that his quickly pressed into their hands before disappearing again to grab his own. He squished himself in between the couch arm and Etoiles, wriggling a bit until he could bury his feet underneath Etoiles leg with a mischievous smile. "Awww, thanks mate."

"I remembered to put chili in yours this time, Phil." Missa offered, only a touch shy, glancing over the rim of his mug. He'd put a pinch of cinnamon in Etoiles, and he smacked his lips together, enjoying the feeling of warmth spreading in his chest.

The snow continued outside, all pale and bitter cold, the sunlight almost clinical looking, but Phil was still pressed up against Etoiles, and Missa gave a pleased little hum as he took his own sip of chocolate, and Etoiles gave a contented sigh.

All was well.

#my writing #qsmp #qsmp etoiles #qsmp philza #qsmp missa #qsmp fanfiction

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worddevourer · 4 months ago

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Well, I finished Locked Tomb 1. In point of fact I resumed right after the first trial completion, and then finished the whole book in a straight shot, which took until 5 AM, because there's really not a great place to step off.

And like... I don't think I've seen another book with so many bleeding holes where a sequel needs to go.

Knowing what's technically inside the Tomb only raises more questions, and it still feels like there's a big hole in why the 9th exists. Literally like the second page of the glossary notes that most planets are thalergenic, because can be extracted for thanergy, but are almost never thanergenic, meaning they produce death energy on a stable basis. And boy, doesn't the 9th feel like a planet that is constantly dying. But as to how that interacts with the contents of the Tomb? Powering the wards? Containing the contents? Sustaining the contents? I'm still not entirely sold on the official story that this is some kind of monster the Emperor defeated. I had actually initially suspected, before I fully understood Lyctorhood, that the Emperor's body itself was in there, sustained by the 9th, and he was remotely puppeteering whatever convenient body he so desired somewhere else.

But also, after everything that happened... 4 bodies missing? Coronabeth and the member of the 2nd were both alive at last check, so fair enough. Moreover we've got some pretty hints that seem to imply Coronabeth desperately wanted to be her sister's Cavalier, and that thread has not been pulled yet. Camilla was... badly hurt, but she was also medically capable.

The one, of course, that really gets me is Gideon. No surprise there, I imagine. Fucking inexplicable is what she is. Lives through nerve gas, survives the awful living conditions of the 9th and comes out the other side as an extremely competent warrior, is somehow of strong interest to an OG Lyctor, to the point of specifically sparing her while killing someone in the next bed over, makes it through the energy drain trial with apparently no lasting injuries, despite the fact that she absolutely should not have. Has her name appear on a random scrap of paper in a 10,000 year old laboratory. And now her body is missing.

Barring time shenanigans, that would imply Gideon dates back 10,000 years, and was somehow involved in the original Lyctor trials. Which really is kind of at odds with the story of her landing on the 9th as a child 20 years ago.

I have aggressively little information about what her deal is. What it boils down to is that she survives things she simply shouldn't be able to. I assume either that Harrow is either going to have some very weird Lyctor experiences related to the fact that that's who her battery is, or that, somehow, despite literally giving her soul away, she's still going to somehow survive and do things.

My narrative brain is at war, saying at once that her somehow surviving would cheapen her death, and that there's so much mystery still left in her backstory that the plot cannot possibly be done with her yet. What I'd expect, and frankly what would make all of this line up perfectly, is for her voice to somehow remain intact in Harrow's head, like it did when Harrow first became a Lyctor, but that stopped in the first minute or so, so I'm curious if it'll somehow resume? Unclear.

(As an aside, this is all putting me in mind of the Johnny Silverhand thing from Cyberpunk. I am very compelled by the image of Gideon kneeling over Harrow's body, like 'wake the fuck up, Harrow. We've got a city to burn.')

On less major notes:

I still do not know why Cytherea really just seemed to hate the 4th. Like... She killed other people, yeah, but these kids were fully on edge for like several days beforehand, talking about how they felt like they were being stalked, and she painted, in blood, on the walls 'death to the 4th' before killing them. Baffling.

There's definitely something about the salt water thing. I'd almost discount it as some 9th tradition, with Harrow's parents doing it just because 'that's how it's done,' but for the fact that Teacher, in one of his few actual statements of personal opinion, talks about his hatred of water, and we later find out he is about as close to a sentient undead as we've seen. I half expected that to become relevant by the end of the book, but no such luck.

Anyway. Book is good, and one must imagine these questions will be dispelled, and new, even more baffling questions will take their places when I move on to the next book.

#The Locked Tomb #gtn #gtn spoilers #I had also heard that this book got freaky #Or possibly the series as a whole #So far so normal #You know #Some fucked up implications #And some bone monstrosities and soul siphoning #But what's a little soul siphoning between Kismeses?

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lanternlight-foxkit · 2 months ago

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@blaze-vibes-here (so sorry for being late the anxiety anxiety'ed)

so in the mcyt au I was yapping abt a few days weeks ago (the one that is definitely under control and of a manageable size. the only one I have yapped abt so far) the fic I was talking about is set in Eclipse District, known as Karma by the locals (it's a whole city, yes). Karma is essentially the Lifesteal area of this au (it's very demure and small-sized chat I swear /lhj), and it's kinda like a dark cyberpunk genre? I'm honestly not that good with genres, but I was going for something like dark cyberpunk with a touch of fantasy (because the wider au is predominantly fantasy and it would be weird for Karma to not have at least a bit, although I have it as more of a magitek vibe).

It's a major city now, but it used to be (and still is) an industrial district- y'know, with factories and the like, and the only housing that was really there was for the workers. This is why it's officially called Eclipse District, that's a holdover from the old days.

Then there was a population boom (haven't figured out why yet) and there wasn't enough space for all the people, so they ended up expanding vertically instead of horizontally (specifically upwards. they tried going down and ran afoul of the void anomaly. very unfortunate, we hate when that happens <//3 )

For infrastructure: the center is very developed, as in Very Tall, but there are still factories and the old housing (shorter, slightly less cyberpunky) on the outskirts. Not all the way around, just in a kind of half-moon shape (some of the defunct factories were converted to housing and then expanded upwards when they realized they STILL didn't have enough space).

They did try to build a subway, which also ran into the void anomaly and was shut down afterwards. They've just got bad cave generation, I guess.

The outskirts are. so badly managed it's not even funny. They've got a police department worthy of Gotham except there's no Commissioner Gordon (not to say that the whole thing is corrupt, there's just no non-corrupt higher ups). Also, the outskirts have vigilantes/antiheroes (the POG ofc), because the police are also terrible at their jobs :D (fun fact: the POG kill those they deem unsafe to leave alive, because there is literally no other way to keep them off the streets and away from innocents. regular criminals like idk muggers get away with just a beating tho)

The government is corrupt (of course) and there is a mafia (the MOB) that has a Very Visible headquarters in the center of the district. No one does anything of note about this, of course.

I don't think there's anything else? Feel free to ask questions if you've got any, idm ^^ (or criticize my worldbuilding, just please keep it constructive)

oh btw I've barely watched the recent seasons (I was already slipping by s4 and have completely lost the plot, aka I know basically nothing about every season after s4) so you may have to explain events to me if you have a specific question abt seasons after s4. just a quick warning lol

#lifesteal smp #no specific characters just yapping abt a setting lol #mcyt realms au #this au is gonna be here a while may as well get it a tag lol #writing #worldbuilding #writeblr

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iamtheoutsideworld · 7 months ago

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Looking at it now.. Johnny's final assault attacking Arasaka Tower was a suicide run. And not "oh this is hella dangerous" it's more like this guy is suicidal but he disguises it w/ heavy drug use and fucking ppl and being an absolute asshole b/c that was his way to cope(and let me be clear .. if the hashtags and picture isn't clear enough I'm talking about Johnny from cyberpunk 2077 the video game that came out in 2020 nothing else)

I also think that ig most ppl's thoughts of Johnny wouldn't be that he was "suicidal" but just a messed up person for whatever reasons. But looking back on it he 100% was/could've been suicidal or had suicidal tendencies. He says he was "on top of the world" but I think unconsciously he was tired of this shit and he wanted to see how far he could take it. It seems like he had really "lost his mind"

I say this b/c i think his assault to save Alt was the final straw. She was important to him and I think he could've blamed himself for the fucked up shit that happened to her. If he showed he cared more, if he had been stronger or faster she wouldn't have been dead. More involved in her life. The fact he had lost her felt like there was nothing left to really "stand in his way" of doing this deadass suicidal stunt. I think yes Johnny did want to bring down arasaka but to blow up a tower killing so many ppl it was extreme it was so extreme and possibly the way he felt when he losses Alt.

I started to think how often ppl died in his life in this "edgerunner" life, how many ppl had left Johnny in this time, what he was going thru. The pressure of this band his Silverhand persona was him there was at times no difference with Johnny vs Robert. Alt was the person that would see that side of him but she also was that person that saw a side of him that wasn't just a "rage against the machine" guy.

And um the times Johnny and V are together u see V sorta "warm his heart" and give Johnny hope. Johnny witnesses how much V cares for their friends and how badly they fight to live, the ppl V also lost. Johnny hurt when V hurt(how couldn't he when they shared the same body) but I think that's why V had such an influence over Johnny. Also I think that's why Johnny wanted V to trust him to show he would do anything to make sure V succeeds. He was an asshole but it was never out of bad intentions it was for "V's sake" IDK The fact that Johnny begins sharing more "intimate" memories with V especially during Dogtown missions and such.. anyways Johnny believes in V so much that he suggests a frontal assault on Arasaka tower b/c of how much they grew together and how much Johnny sees V change, change ppl, and influence others.

Yes, V is a "fool" but there's something a fool has that makes ppl want to trust them and that's their way of drawing ppl to them without even noticing. And V does that so much. [ IDK let me know what u think u can kindly disagree but please uh u don't need to be rude about it thanks and yes i started thinking of this shit when I was taking pictures during Johnny's flashbacks. ]

#virtual photography #cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk #johnny silverhand #v #male v cyberpunk #video game commentary #Analysis #cd projekt red

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vermutandherring · 2 years ago

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Part 1 is here

It is impossible to defeat nature and its laws. You cannot destroy the established order of things, because sooner or later it will return to the starting point, albeit modified. Part of the eternal order is war. This is a rather conventional character, which, nevertheless, has all the features of eternal evil, which the main character must defeat. Before the battle, Sundowner reveals another revelation to Raiden: he is too blinded and naive to think that he can change the world. War is part of cruel human nature. This is an outdated tool, which we have not been able to completely discard. But like a real virus, rooted in the very middle, it evolved with us, adapting to the conditions of the times.

War is indifferent to moral guidelines and honor, deaf to human suffering and merciless to victims. This virus is ready to manifest itself at any moment, as soon as the system crashes. What for Raiden as a person is a matter of morality, for the World Marshal as a large military company is supply and demand. Even the "Patriots", well known to Raiden, did not invent anything new. The fact that after their "disappearance" history continues in the same direction is only proof that the established order cannot be defeated. This is what Sundowner actually says: Raiden with his good intentions will not change the world. PMC has offices all over the world, and therefore their products are in demand. They are only suppliers working for the war market. After all, war is a business hidden behind the face of morality, and the person in it is a commodity.

This again resonates with the rest of the games in the series, where the main unit is not so much the metal gears themselves, but the people behind their creation and control. Of course, the crown of creation of both nature and man is not a perfect tank, but the Legendary Soldier. Big Boss used to be the one. The same fate awaited Raiden. Towards the end, however, MG Rising moves in a slightly different direction, touching on the theme of the "ideal society". As the Patriots once fought for a single ideal world, so Armstrong seeks to create an ideal society where "people will die and kill for what they BELIEVE". Be that as it may, history constantly shows that an imperfect man cannot create a perfect society. After all, it cannot become even the best version of itself. MG has something of the dystopia inherent in the cyberpunk genre. But, at the same time, it remains close to reality, where some wars are fought to stop other wars.

Each war has its own methods of achieving the goal. I like that MG Rising raises the question of the facelessness of the enemies that Raiden kills in packs. Their fate does not interest you as long as it is only a dummy for beating. But as soon as you imagine in front of you a person who has life, destiny and its own will, it becomes morally difficult to destroy them. Maybe that's why it's much more difficult for me to kill innocent NPCs in modern games - they suffer too realistically and look like real people who have their own lives. Giving the enemy human traits is what Sam uses to break Raiden mentally: reality doesn't match his moral principles. It turns out that they are just a cover for his true nature. But as a player, we lean more towards our main character, considering his (that is, our) actions a priori correct. Raiden's reasoning about the sword as an instrument of justice gives us a moral discharge: we destroy the villains who exploit the weak, and therefore do nothing wrong.

But all this is just an illusion. There is no moral attitude that would give a person the right to take the life of another person. "Who saves the weak from the man who saves the weak?" Through the mouths of the characters, the game in a peculiar manner breaks through the fourth wall, addressing the player. Why do we kill? Why do we justify our cruelty? Perhaps Monsoon's phrase that nature cannot be defeated does not mean only the world order. But also a person who has always been marked by cruelty, and therefore cannot defeat himself. As Raiden, we have no right to judge or condemn someone to death. But our internal attitudes, they are memes, give us an excuse, and the game gives us such an opportunity.

In the general sense, a meme is a unit of information. An attitude or idea that is repeated in different variations and transmitted by imitation or learning. The thesis Meme as a gene was formed by the scientist Richard Dawkins in the 1970s, comparing cultural phenomena with human genes, which copy themselves and are ultimately subject to natural selection. In fact, this is all that Monsoon is talking about: memes (that is, cultural attitudes) influence our behavior, the way we communicate and perceive reality. Culture, religion, our own will - everything is formed from the outside and imposed on us as a given. However, not all cultural phenomena undergo selection. In the struggle for the human mind, the "stronger" meme survives, the one most successfully replicated by the carrier, and therefore more valuable.

Raiden wins with his tool of justice meme Mistral with her thirst for revenge because his beliefs are stronger. But this fake facade of nobility is not enough to defeat Monsoon's nihilistic worldview. Dawkins claims that memes adapt quickly, easily deforming under external conditions. All memes disappear, but are immediately replaced by new ones. Breaking Raiden's unnatural mindset, Monsoon forces him to quickly adopt a new one: "…killing your enemies felt good. Really good <…> I was born to kill <…> Pain… this is why I fight”. Thus, Raiden returns to his original beliefs, where he is Jack the Ripper. Again following Dawkins, memes can change and combine and split, resulting in the formation of new memes. For Raiden, it becomes obvious that you can achieve your goal in another way, by accepting the repulsive part of yourself and using it for good.

This is the transformation that Samuel could not go through at the time. Unable to handle his thirst for revenge and justice on his own, he falls under the influence of Armstrong's memes. In the end, this makes him doubt his own ideals, and later he rejects them altogether. It's clear from Sam's backstory that he's not a bad guy. Rather, a guy who got into the wrong company and chose the wrong path. There is something in his character about samurai stories, especially the Hagakure - a treatise on bushido - the samurai's unwritten code of honor. The series of stories was created by Nabeshima Mitsushige in 1716. In them, he told the stories of the former samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo, who after the death of his master became a ronin - an exiled samurai. In short, the meaning of the book can be described by the phrase 'A samurai has no goal - there is only a path', which was attributed to Yamamoto himself (although he did not actually say anything like that).

Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861). Tomimori Sukeemon Masakata from the Biographies of the Loyal Retainers series. Woodblock Print, c. 1847. Source: Ronin Gallery

Sam begins his samurai path to avenge his father's death, but as his purpose crumbles, he becomes increasingly hesitant and ends up becoming a mercenary for terrorists. The transformation from a respected man to a robber was quite a common phenomenon among samurai during the turbulent times of Japanese history. But Sam's path was not in vain and meaningless. Yamamoto commanded the samurai to find their own way in life, discarding thoughts about the past, future and everyday problems. This path was paved on the battlefield with a sword (or rather a bow and a horse), and to die in battle for a samurai is the highest honor. Sam and Raiden's battle was a test of their ideas; a turning point that had to decide whose ideology has the right to exist. Samuel himself speaks about this in his posthumous message.

Both were not enemies, but rather adversaries, each had their own convictions at stake as a kind of equivalent of honor. Sam's mindset and fate shows that personal beliefs do have weight. If they are true and worth fighting for, if they are the same strong memes, they will continue to exist. That is why, finally accepting his nature as an assassin, the sword as a weapon, and the goal as completely achievable, Raiden defeats Samuel.

Totally forgot I started to write it, so i had to finish it, haha.

#game review #video games #gaming #videogames #metal gear #metal gear series #metal gear rising #metal gear rising revengeance #mgrr #mgr raiden #raiden mgr #mgr monsoon #samuel rodrigues #jetstream sam #my articles #japanese art #samurai

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cyberpunk-red-archive · 2 months ago

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Buckshot Cyberpsycho

[an original short story in the cyberpunk universe]

TW: violence

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[Back to masterpost]

It didn't start off bad. Fin can't even tell for sure when it started, but it did start at some point, and it only got worse from there. He didn't question it at first, Kei's anxiety, her irritability, her complaints about everything feeling out of her control. He didn't think twice about her spending her cut of a gig's eddies on getting even more chrome, it made sense to him, even though he didn't particularly like it. They weren't going out drinking together as much as they used to, but that's because Kei spent more time training. It took Kei lashing out at him while they were out practicing shooting for him to start suspecting something was off.

He had a new shotgun, one that he hadn't held or shot with before, and he was trying to figure out how to take the cartridge out, when he accidentally dropped it and it shot a stray bullet. He laughed it off, and expected Kei to tease him, but she got very angry at him instead.

“Are you stupid?” she had yelled, getting in his face. “You could've fucking killed us! You incompetent fucking bastard.”

“It was a mistake!” Fin had tried to say, but she pointed her pistol at his face and he remained frozen.

“Mistakes don't bring people back from the dead! If you're incompetent, then you're fucking useless to me. I spent all this time trying to teach you, at which point am I supposed to just cut my losses?”

And then she stood there, with a loaded gun pointed at Fin's forehead. With the level of disdain and anger in her eyes, Fin half expected her to shoot. But she didn't, she eventually went back to shooting at the targets in the field, and pretending Fin isn't there. He left, and she didn't invite him to come shoot with her again. But it didn't make sense to him. Fine, he can be cocky, but he knows when he's bad at something, and he's a pretty decent shot with a shotgun. Kei never complained before, in fact she seemed to quite enjoy shooting with him, so this gave him whiplash.

But it didn't stop there. If it had, he might've excused it. Maybe she was having a bad day, she's been placing a lot of pressure on herself since Bugger got hurt a couple of gigs back. But Kei started getting controlling, started chewing him and Bugger out for the food they eat, for how much or how little they work or train. Fin didn't argue with her, not until she started yelling at Bugger for not being done working on her pistols, which she had given to him only a couple of hours ago. She was getting in his face, baring her teeth, and Fin got between them.

“Kei, you're out of line,” he had told her, and she punched him in the stomach, hard. He fell to his knees, nearly threw up his breakfast, while Bugger tried to get Kei to leave.

“You think you can just barge in here and tell me what to do, motherfucker?” she screamed, while Bugger kept her at a distance from Fin. “You're not one of us! You're a fucking wannabe we picked off the street out of pitty!”

“That's enough! You need to go cool off, Kei,” Bugger yelled at her, and it was maybe the first time Fin had heard Bugger arguing.

“Sure, pick her fucking side, see where that gets you!” she replied, before leaving in a huff. And that stung. But it also confused Fin a lot. Kei was acting nothing like herself, and that's when the thought first started creeping in from the back of his mind.

Cyberpsychosis.

He had heard about it before. Hell, he'd even studied it in class, and he's been unfortunate enough to witness at least one cyberpsycho in person. But Kei? No, Kei couldn't be a cyberpsycho. Sure, she's lashed out a couple of times, but she still acts like herself most of the time! Granted, a quieter, more suspicious, less fun and excited herself, but still. She still tells Fin fun stories about her first time holding a pistol while Fin paints her nails, while they both sit on her bedroom floor like a bunch of schoolgirls. But then Fin jokes about her reaction to him dropping the shotgun at the shooting range, and she's suddenly screaming bloody hell and trying to claw his eyes out. But it's still Kei, right? It has to be.

Kei barely talks to anybody anymore. She spends all her time that's not on gigs either boarded up in her room making incomprehensible theory boards about all the people she thinks are conspiring against her, or out at the shooting range. This has to be something, maybe it's mania. Fin hopes it is. Because the alternative is too terrifying to consider.

Fin is making himself coffee. It’s still early morning, still dark out, as all winter mornings are. He sits in front of the counter, mindlessly tapping his fingers on it as he waits for the water to boil. He thinks he hears something behind him. He turns around, and Kei is in the doorway of the kitchen. He's startled, he jumps a little, but it's nice to see Kei out of her room. She stares at him. He hasn't turned on any other light except leds above the kitchen counter, and he hasn't put on his mirrorshades yet, so Kei's eyes look like two bright circles staring at him from the darkness. It unsettles him a little.

“Morning Kei! Want me to make you some coffee too?” he asks.

There's a bullet hole in the counter, right next to him.

Why is that there?

Why did he just hear a gunshot?

Kei is pointing a pistol at him.

Shit.

He jumps out of the way of the next shot, and lunges at Kei, trying to wrestle the gun out of her hand. They both fall back on the floor in the living room. Another shot goes off, landing in the ceiling. Fin tries to call Bugger, and he picks up quickly.

[What noise?]

he asks, but Fin talks over him.

[Kei's cyberpsycho! Help!]

he sends through his agent. She tries to roll, the gun falls from her hand, flying across the room. Her and Fin Keep on wrestling, but she's clearly stronger. She yells as she pins him to the wall by the throat with one hand, the popup gun in her other arm at his forehead.

“Kei…” he tries to say, his hands grabbing at her hand.

He closes his eyes

A loud bang goes off.

The blood feels warm. It drips down his face. Why is he still conscious?

Kei's hand slides off his throat.

He opens his eyes.

He inhales sharply.

Kei is missing most of her head.

Her jaw hangs open. Her eye stares blankly.

Red. Red. Red. Dark red. Warm. Still exploding out of her head.

Her limp body falls on top of him, like some sort of twisted embrace.

He doesn't move. He doesn't breathe. He doubts he can.

Is this shock? Is this what shock feels like?

He should note this feeling in his journal later.

Solid chunks of something are sliding down his face. They’re warm. There's bits of bone hanging. The lights are on now. He can see everything.

He doesn't dare look anywhere but the one blank spot his eyes got fixed on.

He doesn't dare breathe.

Kei is warm.

Bugger is talking to him?

It's muffled.

He should probably…

He looks up at Bugger.

“Kid?” he says quietly. Fin opens his mouth to reply. He doesn't say anything.

Bugger is holding a shotgun. His shotgun, that he was working on upgrading.

“Fin.” Bugger says. “We need to…” his voice breaks and wanders off.

Shake it the fuck off, Fin thinks to himself. He grabs Kei's shoulder, pushing her off of him. She falls with a thud, like a ragdoll. It won't be long before rigor mortis sets in and she becomes completely stiff. He looks at her and finally manages to breathe out, before he takes in a long, shaky breath. He turns around to the other side and hurls the contents of his stomach on the floor. His throat burns.

“You…” he tries to say, and his voice cracks. “We could’ve… I could’ve done something…”

“Done what, kid?” Bugger stands there while Fin tries to pick himself up from the floor.

“I don’t… I don’t fucking know!” Fin yells, looking at Kei again. He tries to stand up but his knees give out the second he puts weight on them. Bugger puts the shotgun down, leaving it leaning on the wall, approaches him and tries to grab him by the arm. “Don’t touch me!” Fin growls at him, and he retracts his hand. “Maybe there… there must have been something I could’ve done there must have been…” his words are quick and shaky, he doesnt recognize his own voice anymore.

“She was cyberpsycho, kid.” Bugger speaks quietly, his eyes fixed on Kei. “It was her or you.”

“Then why the fuck did you choose me?” Fin snaps at him, his voice a whisper but his tone bitter.

“What else was I supposed to do?” Bugger raises his tone. “She was already gone.” his voice breaks, and desperation seeps through his words. “Should I have let her shoot you? And then what? She’d go on a rampage until the maxtac fuckers gun her down? Would that have been a better way for her to go? What was I supposed to do, Fin?”

Fin doesn’t reply. He looks at Kei. The popup gun in her arm is still out, in the middle of the gore on the floor. He briefly wonders who’s gonna rip it off of her body.

“Fuck, I’m gonna be sick again,” he finds himself saying as he finally manages to get up and stumbles towards the bathroom. He barely makes it to the toilet before he starts gagging. His stomach is already well empty, so he dry heaves for a bit before he starts throwing up bile. When he’s done - at least he hopes he is - he gets up and catches a bit of himself in the mirror.

He’s all covered in blood. His face is more blood than skin, there’s nearly dried chunks of Kei’s brain hanging off his hair and his face, his clothes are soaked with blood. He feels sick once more.

He doesn't think himself as someone who has a weak stomach for gore, but this is a whole other league. It’s one thing to see a random goon’s brains splattered on him, it’s a whole other to see Kei’s. This whole thing doesn’t feel real.

He doesn’t attempt to clean himself, that’s gonna be a Herculean task that he leaves for later. For now, he walks back into the living room. Bugger is sitting on the couch, he doesn’t acknowledge Fin’s return. Fin sits next to him. He reckons they’re both very aware of the corpse sitting a few meters from them.

“I should’ve said something earlier,” Fin breaks the silence. His voice is low, hoarse, his vocal chords burned by stomach acid.

“We both should’ve,” Bugger says soberly.

“I tried so hard to convince myself it wasn’t cyberpsychosis.” Fin laughs bitterly. “Fucks sake, I’m a medic, I should’ve known. I should’ve done something.”

“It was too late, kid.”

“Then I should’ve done something earlier.”

Bugger sighs. He puts a hand on Fin’s shoulder and Fin flinches a little.

“We both could’ve done better. But it’s not your fault that I had to shoot her, Fin.”

“But you still blame me, don’t you?”

Bugger retracts his hand. He’s quiet for a while. When he finally speaks, he sounds hesitant.

“I got no reason to blame you.”

“That doesn’t mean you aren’t,” Fin replies. “It’s fine, I get it. I’d blame me too.”

“It’s really not your fault.”

“Yeah, I got you. We should probably take care of the mess.”

Bugger shakes his head.

“She’s my shot. I’ll take care of it. You go clean yourself up.”

“What are you gonna do with the body?”

“Incinerate her, probably. She wouldn’t want me to spend eddies on some fancy crap.”

“Gonna sell her chrome?”

“Probably should. Go clean up, kid. I’ll handle it.”

Fin throws Bugger a look before he gets up from the couch. He’s ought to shower, he goes to grab some clean clothes first, and grabs his mirrorshades while he’s at it. He doesn’t know it yet, but that conversation he’s just had with Bugger might be their last. He’ll leave their apartment that night, he’ll leave Bugger a message, grab his stuff and go.

[Hey man. Today’s been a lot for both of us. I’m leaving for a while. Hit me up when you feel ready to talk. Or don’t. I get it either way.]

Bugger will have replied relatively quickly. Maybe part of Fin will hope he will try to chase him down, to convince him to come back. But Bugger will have only said three words, before he never messages him again.

[Good luck, kid.]

#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk #cyberpunk aesthetic #cyberpunk art #cyberpunk oc #cyberpunk red #short story #tw violence #tw gun violence #Spotify

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