#i can be trusted with advanced military technology

[chiffer178]

The feminine urge to pilot a war mech

[berriethewizard]

After only a little protest, Warriors allows Hyrule to look at the gash on his arm. It clipped right underneath his pauldron, and almost certainly would’ve taken out his sword arm if it wasn’t for his quick movements – but it doesn’t look too bad when Hyrule gets his layers off to take a look. 

“What’s the diagnosis, doc? Will I live to see another day?” Warriors dryly asks, to which Hyrule can only laugh at. The captain is much more experienced in medicine than him, formal military training versus Hyrule’s experience-based knowledge, but he appreciates the comment anyway. For quite a while, Hyrule has been observing him – trying to learn more from the clear confidence and knowledge the captain displays in and surrounding battle. There are many things he seems to be left behind on, in the ruins of his own world, and all he can do is listen and watch. While Warriors comes from a place far different from Hyrule’s world, the way he talks about the battlefields he’s seen reminds him of a lot of the landscape of his home. It’s nice to be trusted to be competent in something he does think he excels at by Warriors. Hyrule’s own continued survival has to mean something, right?

Hyrule would ask, perhaps, to have some more specialised training, if he knew at all how to approach the man. But every time he gets the opportunity, all he can see is the stern face of a soldier recounting the horrors of war, and he gets cold feet. His yearning for knowledge has not yet overcome the awkwardness. 

Hyrule just about finishes up healing the gash on Warriors’ arm when he hears Legend loudly comment, “Once again, Champion, your work with a bow astounds me. How do you do that?” Many visibly pick up their ears to listen in, not just his own – all eager to hear the explanation. 

“Honestly? This time it was just quickly switching between different arrow types. I didn’t do anything special.” This catches Hyrule’s attention the most. Different types of arrows aren’t really a thing where he’s from, and he’s been fascinated by many of the group’s use of them since he discovered them.

“No way!” Wind chimes in, “The way you used those bomb arrows, it was like you had a cannon in your hands!” Hyrule doesn’t know what a cannon is, either. He lets Warriors get himself dressed again, and joins the small gathering that has formed. 

Twilight scoffs. “Now I wouldn’t say that – cannons are huge, powerful machines – it’d be hard to replicate the force of something like that. Think of the power it takes to launch a person, Sailor. I don’t think any one bomb could be that powerful.”

“I’m sorry,” Legend looks at Twilight incredulously, “did you just imply you’ve been launched out of a cannon before?” Hyrule can’t help but copy Legend’s expression. What on earth is this machine, and why are they launching people out of it? 

“I have too, it’s not that uncommon.” Sky says. Wind nods his head aggressively next to him, while everyone else looks at the three of them in various states of creased brows and agape mouths. At least Hyrule isn’t the only one baffled by all this.

Warriors takes this time to say his own piece on the matter.

“They do exist, y'know. Hand cannons, I mean.”

Suddenly, all eyes are upon Warriors. He straps his pauldron back upon his shoulder, before turning to the group. 

“I’ve only seen one up close once. A trade ambassador from a country across the sea came to negotiate with the Queen, and with him came highly experimental new technology, including weaponry. About this big,” he mimes the size with his hands, which Hyrule approximates to be similar to the length of a shortsword, “composed of a metal barrel, small cannonballs named ‘bullets’, and an opening in the top to light gunpowder to launch. Shoots twice as hard and twice as far as an arrow, only needs one person to operate, and easy to move in active combat. They said that they’re hoping one day they’re advanced enough to pierce through armour.” 

“The Queen didn’t approve of these, right?” Twilight hesitates. “They sound… terrifying.”

“No she did not, thankfully. Let’s hope you never have to encounter one.” Warriors face darkens, like when he gets a bit too far into his war stories, and Hyrule decides if he wants to learn more about these cannons, he might go to Twilight or Sky instead. 

Hyrule doesn’t come from a very safe place. But he thinks Warriors’ era might be worse.

[striderl]

Hello StriderL, I love your headcanons, pretty interested in them. I wonder what Foley would think of the Astro invasion and the alliance teaming with skibidis

Honestly? Foley is against the idea of teaming up with the Skibidis under G-Toilet’s leadership, given that he still holds a grudge against G-Toilet for killing off Chief. However, as the situation grows dire, after a meeting with the entire Filming Industry, Gaffer provides him with the aspect that the Alliance is no matched for the Astro Toilet. Their military capacity and advanced technology far surpass anything the Alliance can muster. Even worse, the Alliance lacks critical knowledge of the Astro’s vulnerabilities, apart from the rudimentary reliance on brute force or overwhelming firepower.

Gaffer stresses that the most effective strategy against the Astros involves turning their own technology against them, or collaborating with G-Toilet who has the technology to hack the electrical mechanisms that an Astro possesses. Though the simple thought of aligning with him is preposterous for the TV faction, it’s undeniably practical and critical in this unpredictable situation.

Moreover, the ultimate goal of the Alliance is to end this war once and for all. Gaffer raises a rather compelling perspective for them: what’s the worst outcome if the Skibidis and the tech folks find a way to coexist? After all, humans had a saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” As long as the Alliance and the Skibidis share a common foe, cooperation is the key to their survival.

For now, Foley had to swallow his pride and accept the reality that he had to work with the Skibidis. The trust in Gaffer’s faith is all that tethered him from lashing out at a Skibidi when he sees one roaming in the hallway.

[glassesntea]

Levi and female!reader developing a relationship (Canon Universe)

Part 2/2

How your foolish idealism land you into the Survey Corps

After your guard duty he invited you to a tavern where he has gathered some of your comrades. Sat on a bench with other soldiers you listened to Floch musing about the situation of the island.

"Commander Hanji shows too much trust in these outsiders. She is far too lenient and for what? A technological advancement? As if it can erase a century of being nothing else but meat for Titans."

The others grumbled an agreement. Many in the army were not happy about the government's plan: working with the Marleyans was challenging at best and you were wary about Hizuru's involvement.

Mikasa hadn't said a thing to you regarding her official meeting with Kyomi's delegation, but the somber shadows in her eyes suggested that they weren't the allies you all hoped for. In the end, the island was alone against the world. Pretending otherwise would have been stupid.

Was it really possible at this point to really trust anyone who didn't suffer as the people on the island?

Floch invited you out with his group several other times.

You hung around with them, exchanging the same worries, and it was during one of your convos that you first met Levi Ackerman.

You all were in the mess hall, finishing the supper before the afternoon drill. It seemed that the new recruits would've been training with the infamous Captain of the Survey Corps.

Up to this point you and the others have never met him. Floch and some other soldiers that followed him religiously knew him pretty well.

"He really is that strong?" You asked, and you saw Floch's face produce a tiny grimance "What?" You tilted your head but his expression turned neutral once again.

"He is." He said, drinking from his mug "But not enough, if you want my opinion."

You frowned "What do you mean?"

"I mean that letting your personal feelings play a role in life or death's situations could potentially waste other's sacrifices," he looked at you "and doom everyone else as a result. That's his weakness: he cares far too much. "

"But he effectively guided the soldiers through difficult times. And since he joined the military the percentage of death outside the Walls has decreased a lot. It seems to me that he knows what he's doing and he takes objective decisions."

Floch pressed his lips together, abruptly turning his head to the side "And yet a single foolish decision may have changed everything. And what are we gonna do at this point?"

It seemed something personal, this veiled distate tinged with anger, but you didn't have the time to pry further that a scuffle broke out at your table.

Two boys of your cadet's regiment that participate to Floch's little assemble have started to push one another after shotting up of their seats. You have heard their mumbled conversation getting progressivly more heated while speaking with Floch. One was your friend but the other you couldn't stand him since the training day.

"Oi!" snapped Floch "Quit it, already!"

You stand up, gripping your friend's arm and putting a hand on the other's chest "Stop it, you two, you want a squad leader to put you on stable duty?"

"This moron has the gall to feel pity for fucking Marleyans POW when you Wall Rose people looked down on us when these fuckers brought down Shiganshina. You left us starving in the street!" He pointed at your friend "And now you talk about pity?!"

You lightly pushed him when he tried to come closer "Cut it, Otto. He isn't guilty of what happened then. We shouldn't..."

"Mind your buisness, Y/N! Always getting in the way, alway flaunting your good nature bullshit act as if we don't see how much of a poser you actually are."

You rolled your eyes "Wow, straight for the throat? Tell me something you haven't already said to me in training."

"Gladly." He hissed, ignoring Floch's call for order "You and Franz pretend to be, oh so good, but you know nothing of real suffer. You are nothing more than a Sheena bitch" he shoved you "that grew tired of fucking rich boys and wanted to see misery like it's the next exciting thing before sweeping in and proclaim to have the solution for everything. We are not your fucking playground for you to feel pleased with yourself!" He shoved you harder and Franz shouted and bolted forward just for him to be hitted by a punch.

However you were able to intercept Otto's arm when he retracted it and you twisted your body to slam him on the table, back first.

Otto spranged to his feet, ready to retaliate. Your fist closing, your arm pushed back ready to collide with his smaug face, but someone clasped your wrist thightly and before you knew, Otto was sent tumbling on the floor by a swift kick in the stomach.

You turned around, startled. A short man with a dark undercut, dressed with the old Survey Corp uniform, was looking at Otto weezing in pain. The mess hall was eerily quite.

He lifted his eyes, letting go of your wrist "Care to explain why you three were bawling like lunatics?"

Levi Ackerman. You have seen his portrait on newspapers. He was a legend in the military. And you realized that he must have seen your three make a fool out of yourselves and throwing fists like foolish children.

"I asked you a question."

You composed yourself "My apologize, sir. I didn’t mean to cause a ruckus.”

You looked down at Otto, rolling on the floor and groaning, holding his stomach as if it threatened to spill out. You winced, bringing your eyes again on the Captain’s.

“He… uh… he started to insult me and my comrade. I…”

Levi crossed his arms “And you body slam him onto the table because of it?” He turned to Floch “What did he said?”

Floch was less than thrilled to be dragged into the mess and he shot you a dirty look before answering “He said Wall Sheena’s brats shouldn’t talk about how hard life is since the Fall of Maria.”

It was a pretty sanitized version of the truth, but the core was legitimate. You winced again, fuck I’m such an idiot.

“So you hit him because he badmouthed you,” his voice was dry as a leaf “that’s a pitiful excuse, if I’ve ever heard one.”

“Captain, I…”

“You three are soldiers now, not tugs ready to rip each other apart just because your pride got hurt.” He lowered his stare to the groaning figure “Get up. I fully expect you all to be this lively in today’s training as well.”

He called for everyone in the room “Everyone out. Start with ten laps around the perimeter.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Regarding you three, I hope you don’t mind the smell of horse shit, bacause you will shovel it around for two weeks.” He turned his back to you after your response and you ran outside the mess hall with your cheeks burning in hot shame.

That was humiliating, but served you right for not thinking things through.

Your first meet with Levi went on like this: as a mumbling brutish idiot who kept on smelling manure on the clothes for the following weeks.

To be continued...

[redpenship]

i had to write a 6k word research paper last semester in which i had to do hypothesis testing relating to any subject about WMDs. my idea was to test why states step away from the brink of developing nuclear weapons or get rid of them, with a focus on two explanations: domestic normative changes (so, attitudes regarding nuclear weapons) and security-based explanations (do nuclear weapons provide meaningful defence to the state in question?). this was done in tandem with my plotting for buzzsaw 2, which made me curious about the strategic utility of projecting "safety" or "neutrality" to potential aggressors. the core dilemma in the story is about whether or not aliens can be trusted, or more specifically if kindness is present throughout the universe. it's really all about perception--so, how an individual perceives aliens. to link this with my paper topic, i was specifically seeking to prove that perceptions of nuclear weapons had a greater influence on the lack of horizontal proliferation than security issues. my findings were kind of interesting.

basically, i was proven incorrect. i used congruence analysis (comparing various states and why they did or did not acquire nuclear weapons) to do my hypothesis testing. i feel like rambling a little bit, so here are some of my favourite cases:

Canada (Nuclear weapons capacity: HIGH -- large domestic sources of uranium, multiple research reactors that could be converted to uranium-enrichment facilities for weapons production, encouragement from US to create arsenal, and sufficient high-tech weaponry knowledge to develop an arsenal). Normative explanation: Canadians on average do not perceive military strength as being a source of national pride. It isn't very important in the national consciousness. Security Explanations: Proximity to US means that any nuclear strikes on Canadian territory will provoke US retaliation against the aggressor. Moreover, Canada's nuclear weapons policy at the time emphasized the avoidance of negative security externalities--leaders believed that acquiring nuclear weapons would provoke enemy states into doing the same, and so chose not to obtain them.

Sweden (Nuclear weapons capacity: MEDIUM -- domestic plutonium sources, advanced weapons systems) Normative Explanations: Public support for acquiring a nuclear arsenal reached a high of 57% in 1959. A successful anti-nuclear weapons campaign by the Social Democrat Party sought to make Swedish identity and the possession of nuclear weapons "incompatible" lowered public support to 31% by 1967. The nuclear weapons program lost public support entirely within a decade. Security Explanations: Sweden was most concerned about a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. Despite being a neutral state, their leaders came to the conclusion that the United States would defend any western European state from Soviet expansion to prevent its sphere of influence from growing further. As well, Sweden was worried about provoking the USSR and chose not to develop an arsenal for this reason as well.

Brazil (Nuclear weapons capacity: MEDIUM -- similar reasons to Sweden) Normative Explanations: Brazil's nuclear weapons program occurred under its military dictatorship. After its collapse, the civilian government ended all plans to develop an arsenal. I'm not taking into consideration how Brazilians felt about it because it was a secret program. Security Explanations: The military regime was primarily concerned by Argentina's head-start on enrichment methods and ballistic missile technology. President Geisel established a military nuclear energy research program that ran parallel to the civilian nuclear energy body, CNEN. By 1990, they were believed to be around two years away from testing a Hiroshima-type bomb (admittedly, a piece of shit by 90s standards). The program was terminated in 1990 by civilian President Mollo. Notably, Argentina had transitioned to democracy a few years prior, which contributed greatly to the end of its paranoia towards its neighbour. (Military regimes are prone to mirror paradoxes, in which they assume their rivals are as equally unstable and militaristic. This was definitely true of Argentina's military dictatorship in general though).

My primary case study was South Africa, whose apartheid government built six nuclear bombs beginning in the 1970s until the late 1980s. I chose it because it's the only state to have ever built and then dismantled its nuclear arsenal. At the time, the government was very concerned about the survival of its white state, since the rest of Africa was decolonizing and they were becoming a pariah on the global scene for their apartheid policies. Also, Soviet and Cuban troops were running around getting into conflicts in the continent and they were worried about getting invaded for being anti-communist and super racist. This made them desperate enough to build nuclear weapons.

They actually tried really, really hard to get security assurances from the United States, which led to them going as far as to sanction Rhodesia for being white supremacist (a hypocrisy equivalent only to Norway convincing itself that it meets climate targets). They failed to convince the US to help them (because South Africa was strategically worthless, so it was totally within the United States' comfort zone to ignore them and later condemn them) and were pretty much only friends with Israel, who helped them quite a bit with the nuclear weapons program. In one of the texts I read for the paper (page 287 of Will South Africa Survive? by R.W. Johnson), there's a translation of a section of South African Prime Minister Vorster's interview with Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv in 1976 in which he states that Israel and apartheid South Africa kind of have the same thing going on, with specific reference to their policies of occupation and racial/economic exclusion. So, if you ever need some additional evidence that Israel is an apartheid state for whatever reason, feel free to cite a literal leader of apartheid South Africa admitting that Israel does the same thing.

ANYWAYS, apartheid South Africa got rid of its nuclear weapons during two events/processes: the end of apartheid, and the fall of the Soviet Union. The cause of their disarmament doesn't require much thought since PM de Klerk admitted to parliament that they got rid of their nuclear weapons because their primary security threat (the USSR) no longer existed. Their weapons weren't even very good (could only be delivered by bombers) and their entire strategy for them was to just imply to the US that they possessed them, which would force the US to step up and protect them so South Africa wouldn't reveal they had them to the world and potentially trigger proliferation across Africa.

What I got out of all of this isn't that normative/perceptive explanations for disarmament are worthless, but rather that security concerns must be dealt with as a prerequisite to disarmament. Sweden and Canada fell under US extended deterrence and felt no need to develop weapons, while Brazil and South Africa's regional security concerns collapsed and they no longer had a reason to have nuclear weapons. Countries who are not threatened by nuclear powers or are protected by nuclear powers do not need nuclear weapons to guarantee their survival.

Taking into this account, I've altered the story of buzzsaw 2 to reflect my findings somewhat. A lot of it is the same, I've just put a bit more attention into addressing the security dilemma faced by Earth lol. More specifically, how a planet can minimize security externalities to avoid provoking aliens and how the necessity of doing so can challenge the status of imperial powers on said planet...

[noramoons]

renounced | x.dj

summary: your life as the eldest child in the royal family is simple: follow everything you’ve been told, without complaint. the game is easy—until you meet xiao dejun, who shows you that you may not have to play their game at all.

pairing: prince!xiaojun x gender neutral!royal reader

genre: angst with a happy ending (?)

wc: 4k

rating: T/15+

warnings: unspecified time period, historical inaccuracies, brief mention of religious analogies, implied suggestive content, language, not proofread (😧)

a/n: happy xiaojun day! :D (me, finishing a fic on time?? 🤯🤯) hope u enjoy this little one-shot. i’m sure there are MAJOR historical inaccuracies for the politics depictions in this - feel free to leave any feedback or concrit you might have!

This is the last time.

It's like a mantra. You repeat it to yourself, over and over, starting the sentence over with every other stairstep you reach.

This is the last time. It has to be.

Of course, you said that the last time, too.

Prince Dejun has been a fixture in your life for nearly as long as you can remember. And for a long time—you hated remembering.

His family's kingdom had brought yours to the brink of annihilation in war—a long, terrible, stupid war that your nation had been comically unprepared for. The Xiao family had industrialized their military years before your father's generals even began to think about the idea, studying and honing in their technological advances to the point that when they finally brought their army to your doorstep, your father had no choice but to kneel. Can it really be called war if the other side never even stands a chance?

You had hated Xiao Dejun, then. Hated the very idea of him and his entire family. Hated that they had been so generous as to allow your family to stay in their palace for a month while yours was being rebuilt, him and his brothers running through the halls with gleeful abandon while you and your younger siblings had to restrain yourselves at all times. You always had to be poised and patient, silent unless spoken to—the perfect guests for who you saw as little more than your captors.

It was several years later before your father's advisors began whispering again, hushed murmurs that gradually tumbled their way down to your eavesdropping ears—not of war this time, but of the future. Of building future alliances with the very nation that had nearly decimated your home.

And you, as the eldest child, were the perfect sacrificial lamb.

You had felt just as much, too, the night of your first outing with the prince. You would be supervised, of course, but you still found yourself unable to shake the feeling as the servants dressed you quietly, whispering to each other when they thought you couldn't hear. Like they were preparing a stuffed pig for a feast.

You'd dreaded every step down the main stairwell of your newly rebuilt home, clinging to the marble railing that you were sure was just as cold and unforgiving as the prince waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs (Completely unlike the way you are currently racing up a flight of stairs, heart growing lighter with each step).

You had been surprised, then, when Dejun had taken your gloved hand in his—it turned out he was warm flesh and blood, after all.

He'd engaged in perfectly polite, yet expected small talk all throughout the main entryway and into the gate outside. It wasn't until you reached that first step outside, the furthest you'd been away from home in months, that he had squeezed your hand and dropped his voice into an octave that sounded much more familiar to the Dejun you had seen briefly in his home.

"Do you trust me?"

You were taken aback by the question—but you certainly weren't a liar. "No."

He'd laughed at that—a light, airy sound escaping past his lips that you thought had no right to come from a devil. "I thought as much. I would've been surprised if you'd said so." Something glinted in his eyes. "Can you give me a chance to change your mind?"

What on Earth was he talking about? The two of you were only supposed to wander the gardens until dusk—that was what your governess had said. "Why would I do that?"

A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth—you thought, for an absentminded moment, how seemingly perfect his teeth were. What a strange thing to notice. "Because it'll get us away from the eyes of your governess." 

Your own eyes widened. "What are you talking about? I—" I hadn't even noticed she was out here, you'd wanted to say. You had spun around, looking intently for somewhere she must have been hiding—she couldn't have been that inconspicuous if Dejun had noticed her already.

He'd squeezed your hand again, warm fingers still intertwined with yours. "I spoke with the stablehand before coming to call on you. He said he would leave a horse tied just outside the gates." He paused. "It's up to you, of course. Your Highness." He dropped your hand only to cross it across his chest in a mock serene bow, and you had bit onto your own tongue, hard, to keep a laugh from escaping you at the sight.

You had tried to weigh the consequences in your mind, but the thought of freedom was just as alluring as it always had been under the watchful eye of seemingly everyone else in the palace you'd grown up with. Even if it came with a price of momentary companionship with Xiao Dejun.

"We..." you had started. "We have to be back by sunset. No later."

He had grinned and taken your hand, running with you close behind, helping you mount the horse when you did, in fact, find one tied just outside the palace gates—and giving you the first taste, if only for an hour, of what real freedom might feel like.

You were chased down by your governess and a slightly bruised stablehand before the sun had even begun to set, but you and Dejun had talked, lying on your backs in an empty field miles away from the palace, for what felt like hours. It was then that you learned he cared practically nothing for politics, that he had no plans to be king the way his father had ruled. You discovered, through a series of conversations, that he wanted so much more for his life—to not be tied to something he hadn't chosen for himself. You'd never forget for the rest of your life how his eyes shone that evening, how they sparkled as he listened to you, and how he talked about the life he wanted with such excitement. He wanted to learn how to walk across a trapeze, or become a traveling musician, to sail across the world with a band of pirates—he wanted to at least have options. To be able to choose something for himself, something that was only his.

That glass facade you had built in your head of him shattered. He was so, so much like you, in every way you had never imagined.

Your governess gave you an earful when you were dragged back to the palace that night, but you could barely find it in yourself to care. Dejun had planted a dangerous seed in your brain—the idea of getting to choose.

While your father wasn't entirely pleased with the events of your first outing with Prince Dejun, his advisors still believed it would be a beneficial match for the future of the kingdom—so you were allowed to continue your courtship with the prince.

With every meeting, you found your affection for the worldview he had given you growing. You were allowed to let yourself want for the first time. You wanted the ability to choose what you did with your life. You wanted to see what the rest of the world looked like outside of your room in the palace.

You wanted Dejun. And he wanted you, too.

But perhaps that grasp of freedom was something you didn't deserve. After all—at the end of the day, there wasn't truly any aspect of your life's path that you chose yourself. Even the idea of freedom was ludicrous. Everything was preordained for your life by the same gods (who you had been told since birth) that had put your father on the throne—to say or do otherwise was simply unthinkable. Heresy. A refusal of everything you had been put on this planet to do.

It had clearly been too long since you had any reminders of that fact—and so your father's advisors, moods changing like the tides of the ocean, provided you with one.

Your kingdom and the Xiaos found themselves in a trade standoff—the Xiao kingdom had the grain your kingdom so desperately needed after his soldiers had burned your farmlands down to the soil, but your father's advisors refused to pay what the Xiaos were demanding. They could get grain and cattle at a much lower price from the Qian kingdom to the south—not nearly as militarily advanced as the Xiaos, but a longtime ally of your father's, and a royal family with a son your age.

One too many insults were exchanged between families over tense negotiations—and so your courtship with Dejun was called off. Replaced with a hurried engagement to the prince of the Qian family, a man you'd never met.

And yet—you couldn't burn the roots of what Dejun had planted in you. Now more than ever, you wanted that freedom Dejun had promised you. You wanted the ability to lash out about this choice made for you, to scream at your uncaring father who only saw you as a political pawn to be used for the betterment of the nation.

But what could you do? You had been raised in a calculating way—everything you did was politics. Every choice you made was a stepping stone for your future—and not just yours. The future of your family, your lineage, your nation rested on your shoulders as the next in line for the throne. Who were you to just cast that aside? Run away with nothing but the hope Dejun would follow you? Would he follow you?

There was still a positive outcome, albeit a small one—you learned that while your relationship with Dejun had been broken for you, your kingdom's alliance with the Xiao family was not entirely lost. It was damaged enough to not want your families permanently intertwined, but not enough to go to war again—or more importantly to your circumstance, not damaged enough that their invitations to your family's yearly galas with the surrounding kingdoms had been rescinded.

A full year passed by the time your family hosted another gala, and it took all the self restraint you had mustered within you to not rush across the ballroom and hold him impossibly close to you when you finally, finally locked your gaze onto Dejun again for the first time in a year. You saw the way his eyes lit up when he saw you from the top of the staircase—the same way you had seen them shine all those years ago, when he had first introduced that damned idea of freedom into your stupidly impressionable mind. You wondered if anyone else in the ballroom could hear how loud your heart was pounding.

It took almost the entire evening, dancing with several other princes and high-ranking officials (the ones your advisors had informed you to charm for potential future alliances) before you were finally able to drag Dejun out of the ballroom, unnoticed, and into a nearby corridor.

You stared at each other for a moment. Then two.

Dejun whispered your name, as if saying it too loud would shatter the moment you've given him.

"I've missed you," you said. Ever the careful, political one—you'd ached with how much your mind and soul had missed Dejun, but you couldn't tell him that. What if he didn't feel the same? What if he didn't want to be seen with you, now that you were engaged to someone else? What if—

He leaned across, cupping your cheek in one hand and pressing his lips to yours in one singular, fluid motion.

Once again—Dejun had presented you with an opportunity you hadn't even thought of yourself. You had seen a door at the end of a hallway and thought it to be the only exit—and Dejun had shown you how to escape through a window.

The next two years of galas were the same—on one night a year, you'd entertain guests for hours, dancing until your feet were sore and mind swirling as you tried to remember everyone's name and affiliation and rank. None of it mattered once everyone retired to their guest suites, preparing for a long day of travel tomorrow, and you were free to slip away and spend the long hours of the night, unnoticed, with Dejun.

Each time, you heard a rock at your window as you were preparing for bed, and each time, you knew what it meant. You'd look outside to see a shining pair of eyes in the darkness, holding a single candle and beckoning you to follow. You'd end the evening as far away from the palace as you could get, tangled in Dejun's limbs underneath the moonlight, the two of you only pulling your cloaks back on and hurrying back in giggles when the first rays of morning sunlight were beginning to rise.

It's what you're doing now—heart racing as you ascend the final stair and make your way to the balcony before you. But this time will be different, you know. It has to be.

You're getting married next month to Prince Kun. You should have cut this tryst off before it even began—you know it will only continue to cause you and Dejun both heartache and suffering. And from what you hear, his own father's advisors have been hard at work finding an engagement for Dejun. It won't be long before you're both encumbered with marital duties.

All of this is at the tip of your tongue to tell him—and then he turns around from the balcony railing.

The moon frames his dark hair like a halo, a soft smile tugging at his lips as he sees you walking towards him—and oh, gods, how could you ever tell him anything of the sort? When he's running a soft hand through your hair and he's pulling your lips to his, when you're closing your eyes against him and letting him glide a hand down to the small of your back and press his chest to yours—when you're tasting freedom on his lips, how could you ever take that away? 

But the thought still haunts you when you're lying on your back beside him, miles away from the palace and watching the stars glitter in the sky above you. You know why neither of you have discussed the fact that you're engaged to Kun, that you'll be living in a palace in an entirely different kingdom after next month. Admitting that you need to have a discussion, after all, feels like admitting that this has to end.

Dejun stirs beside you—you had thought he was asleep. You turn on your side to look at him.

He smiles when he sees your face, and you can't fight a smile from tugging at your own lips. How can you give this up? "This is it," he says, suddenly, and you feel your stomach lurch—of course he'd be the one to acknowledge this. "Isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" you say, quietly—but the quiver in your voice betrays that you know his meaning all too well.

Dejun reaches across and intertwines his fingers with yours, bringing your connected hands up to his lips as he kisses each fingertip. "Did you want to never discuss it? To lie with me here, and then never see me again?"

You frown. "Of course not. But I don't exactly know how—"

"Run away with me," he says suddenly. "They'll never find us. We can go to the ends of the earth."

You laugh at how abrupt he is. "They'd find us, Dejun. Your father owns the greatest military in the world, and my father has spies on every inch of this continent. We'd never make it across either border."

He's insistent. "We have to try. I told you, all those years ago, that I want to be able to choose something for my life, something that's only mine. It's you, Y/N. I don't care where we are or what we're doing—I can't stand to be apart from you anymore."

His words strike your heart like daggers, but you still shake your head slowly—grabbing the hilt and driving the daggers in further yourself. "It's too late. Don't you see? It's not just my family that's depending on my choices now—the Qians are too. I can't turn my back on this anymore by just running away."

"And who decides that?" He shoots back. "None of this has been up to you. Don't you think you deserve a chance to choose a life for yourself?"

You don't know why it's never occurred to you before. It's a fantasy—all of this. Ever since the moment your courtship with Dejun was called off years ago, you've been in a child's delusion. The real world calls now, with all of its accompanying rules and responsibilities—you have no place allowing yourself to stay in this illusion anymore. There has to be another universe, a different life where the two of you were smart enough to never do anything this stupid, but it isn't this one. There's no substance to you and Dejun. "And in that life, I would do what? Continue to be a once-a-year tryst to you? Do you..." You take a sharp breath. "Do you love me, Dejun?"

He looks like you've stung him with your words—maybe you have. "You know how I feel about you, Y/N, I—"

"Can you say it?" Part of you is screaming internally for giving him an ultimatum like this, for probably ripping away the only respite you've ever had from your life in a cage—but you know that if you don't do it, it'll be done for you. Just like everything else.

"I..." he trails off, and you find yourself utterly afraid for what he might have said—because it might have convinced you.

And then he inhales again. Clenches his jaw. "Goodnight, Y/N."

Your heart sinks, but you swallow down the self-induced disappointment. "Goodnight, Dejun."

You don't think either of you sleep much that night. You watch the sun rise on the horizon hours later—beautiful, cheerful shades of pinks and oranges that are a perfect contrast to the knots of worry you can feel brewing in your stomach.

As you and Dejun hurry back (in silence) to the south side of the palace, you begin to slow at the gate behind the gardens. In the past, you've always stopped here to say your goodbyes before heading back into the palace on your own separate ways, as to not arouse suspicion.

Dejun never stops. He never even begins to slow down his walking pace. Instead, you watch him walk past you, through the gardens and into the side door into the scullery—and now you really can't shake this feeling that you've made a massive, unchangeable mistake.

You remember how much you once hated him—how to even hear the name Xiao Dejun made your stomach twist. Now, you think, you'd give anything to hear his name announced in the same room as you. And it may never happen again.

The month that follows your engagement with Qian Kun goes by in a blur. The wedding preparations, the attire, the food for the guests—it's all chosen for you, anyway, so why should you care? You silently mourn the loss of all things good and routine in your life that you'd come to cherish before—including Dejun.

The wedding itself is a different experience—mostly because you don't feel like you're even really there. Everything is just as you had rehearsed the day before; your father walks you down the aisle in full royal regalia. You stand beside Kun and recite your perfectly memorized vows. You touch your lips to his.

It’s a game, all of it—and you’ve been told every move to play.

You don't eat much at the reception, and your new husband seems to notice. He asks if you're not feeling well, if you need to leave early—and as much as you know you need to stay to keep up appearances, to maintain the alliances your father's advisors have so carefully crafted for you with this marriage—you can't help but nod yes.

Kun is too kind for his own good, you think. He briefly shows you around the royal wing of your new home, where you'll presumably be staying for the rest of your life, before opening the door to the bedroom at the end of the corridor. You expect him to follow you inside, so you're surprised when he moves to open the door again to leave.

He turns around, a small smile of understanding on his mouth. "I'll see you in the morning, Your Highness. When you're feeling better." He hesitates for only a brief moment before adding, "You don't have to keep up appearances around me. I hope you know that."

You don't know that, in all honesty—but you smile and nod gratefully anyway.

You let yourself sit in the silence of your room for a long while, comfortable with it in contrast to the loud reception you can still hear ongoing downstairs. You think about calling for help on undressing out of your royal wedding attire, but the thought of being alone is still far more appealing, even if it takes you an hour to get out of all these layers.

You've only undone two buttons when you hear a thump on the floor, right below the open window. It's a rock, you realize in disbelief as you bend down to take a closer look. You hold it under the candlelight, and you finally recognize the familiar scrawled ink across the surface.

I love you.

You lean over the window, heart pounding so loud you can hear it rushing in your ears—and you see him. He hasn't even dismounted from the horse he must have ridden to the castle on, one hand still clutching the reins, other hand waving in the air to catch your attention.

Dejun's face lights up when he sees you, and you suddenly feel that same lightness in your chest the instant you see it. Like you'd never even left his side.

You grab the candle on your nightstand and bring it by the window to see him better, and it's then that you begin to hear what he's been saying—not yelling, thankfully, to ensure any wedding goers won't hear. But you don't even think you'd mind now, as you lean further out of the window and finally hear it from his own lips.

I love you.

You think about what he said only a month ago, an echo of the things he'd said to you when you were younger. That you deserve to choose.

You think that while there is a lifetime where you were smart enough to never do anything this stupid, there must also be another where you are brave enough to run away—to be in love, to choose with your own mind to leave behind everything you've known for each other. For something that you both know would last.

Maybe there's a part of you that thinks that lifetime can be this one—that they're one and the same. That some part of you still longs to be that foolish, and that brave.

You cup your hands around your mouth and call down to him—your answer to tonight's unspoken question.

I love you too.

a/n: feedback is always welcome through reblogs, comments, and messages 💛 thank you sm for reading!

taglist: @petrichor-han @kangroo-chan @ot7lonelylover @lilacdreams-00 @mainexiii @awkwardnesshabitat @lotus-dly @elizabeth11moreno @nerdysl-t @seung-scrittore

[ink-flavored]

Hiiiiii I have 📱, 🤔, 🖖, ❓ from your scifi themed ask game for youu °u° Thank you for making all of these as games btw, it's SO useful for worldbuilding!

thank u for the ask, and for enjoying my games!! i love making them :3

I will answer these for my Space Cruise WIP!

📱What’s the state of communication technology in your WIP? Do people communicate through their microchipped brains, or is a cell phone still the best way to get a hold of someone?

Not quite at brain chips yet, but we're past phones too! Most people carry around or wear infoscreens on their sleeves. I know it's a hologram phone/computer thing attached to a little metal stick that projects said hologram and can be clipped onto/sewn into clothes, but I have not ironed out all the details yet

When it comes to translating alien languages, there is quite an advanced technology for that. The translators that Kavi wears on both their ears are sort of like if a bluetooth earpiece was awesome. It's a little strip of metal that gets glued inside your ear (with medical grade adhesive or something idk) without blocking the hole, and can translate everything you hear in real time. It hears the words before they reach you due to soundwaves or whatever, and blasts the translation into your ears instead. It can take a little bit to get used to the fact that people's mouths aren't moving in sync with the words you're hearing, but it's a small price to pay for Understanding.

The translator can also be paired with whatever infoscreen you have, and you can mess with the settings of how specific words get translated and such

🤔What kind of technology is still being developed in your WIP? What’s something they’re still trying to figure out?

I answered this one already here! But I'm sure I can come up with more...

Laser guns aren't a thing, at least not for the average person. The only kind of laser/ray weaponry that exists is under lock-and-key in military files, and are so huge they can only be attached to spaceships or tanks. They're working on a smaller scale version of those lasers, but ONLY for military reasons. The power is too great for civilian hands etc. etc. you can totally trust the military with this power don't even worry about it

🖖Did the aliens reach out to humanity first? Why?

So humans and aliens got into contact sort of on accident?

Humans were chugging along, looking for a planet to park their spaceship on, and the aliens pulled alongside us in their spaceship and then this happened

To get another kick out of this, the aliens were in the equivalent of a BMW and the humans were in our dad's 2007 Honda Civic.

Humans were like "WOOOOO SAPIENT LIFE EXISTS WE DID IT YIPPEEEEE" and the aliens went "oh my god these little things need so much help"

❓What took humanity’s place on Earth, if anything?

There are still humans on Earth! Either the descendants of people who refused to leave when space exploration became a thing, or people who have returned to humanity's ancestral home to Find Themselves 🙏

It's not a very popular place to live, and the people who stuck around were considered either regressives or "so progressive they horseshoe theory'd themselves back to being regressive" but the people who stuck around have plenty more reasons than "we don't wanna" for staying on Earth (although those groups do exist, and hate aliens quite a bit). Money, access, power, fear of the unknown, and fear that another planet like Earth will be squandered before humanity has even finished cleaning up the first one.

[try out my sci-fi worldbuilding ask game]

[frangipanilove]

I don’t really understand how Beth would’ve ended up in all these different places. Is it because of the Commonwealths? The CRM? I’m confused and hate to say so cause it should be obvious but I’m feeling lost on it. I guess I should just trust “Beth is alive” and we’ll see her again. Just frustrating how long we’ve waited for her.

Hi friend, sorry it took me so long to get to this. I’ll try to answer, even though it might not be the kind of answer you had hoped for. I’m not really sure what you mean by “all these different places”. I personally don’t have any fixed opinion on exactly where she will show up, geographically. I expect there to be lots of hints and symbolism referring to her in Daryl Dixon season 2, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I believe she will literally show up. She might, but I’m not relying on it.

If your question is about the logistics of world travel, I don’t think that should be a problem. For starters, remember this is fiction. If tptb wants something specific to happen, they can just write it. We’ve seen that technology for world travel exists in this universe. We’ve seen advanced military technology like chinook helicopters, that were able to cross the North American continent without any issues. We’ve seen Daryl cross the Atlantic on a boat, we’ll see Carol do the same with a small plane. In FTWD we once saw Strand communicate with an astronaut on the International Space Station. Also in FTWD, we once saw them rehabilitate an old aeroplane and fly it out of a nuclear waste zone. We’ve also seen them travel by using a hot air balloon (shaped as a beer bottle, no less, and I’ve written about the incredible symbolism of that elsewhere)

For what it’s worth, people were crossing oceans centuries and millennia ago, and while I don’t think Beth’s on a viking ship or a balsa raft, humans have always migrated, and I don’t think a zombie apocalypse is enough to stop that drive. People will travel if they have a reason to, in real life, and certainly in fiction.

Tptb have also dropped hints of international trade throughout the seasons, with references to coffee (which only grows under very specific conditions), exotic fruits like pineapple, and also sugar cane. While none of that guarantees the presence of an international trade network, it does indicate the existence on one. At the very least, it renders it plausible that one COULD exist.

Also, Major General Beale from TOWL mentioned the CRM has spies everywhere, and I don’t remember his exact words, but I believe he mentioned overseas territories. So I wouldn’t worry about the logistics of travel. If TPTB want Beth to show up somewhere specific, they can just write it.

But there’s one thing we have no real insight into, and that’s the business part of the equation. Remember, TWD is ultimately a business, and if Beth is to come back, it will be because someone made the business decision to bring her back. And we can’t know what goes on behind closed doors at AMC. We can’t really know why she wasn’t brought back a long time ago, and we can’t know IF she’ll be back at all. We can’t really know for sure that EK even wants to come back. We can speculate, analyze interviews, social media posts etc, but it will still only be speculation and our subjective, biased interpretation.

And that’s what we do in TD, right? We watch the show and look for ways in which the symbolism tells us Beth is coming back. There’s an extensive symbolism framework present in TWDU that would help facilitate her return, and I like to believe it’s there for a reason. But ultimately no one can know for sure.

So I’m afraid I can’t guarantee that Beth 100% for certain will be coming back. I watch the show and I offer my interpretation of the symbolism, but you’ll never hear me make any promises, because I don’t think anyone can.

I understand the frustration, but for me, I’m a fan of the entire franchise, I love the main show and the spin offs and the entire TWDU, and I’ll continue to watch my favorite show regardless of whether or not Beth comes back, and that helps. I’d love for her to return, and I do believe that’s the story the symbolism is telling us, but I enjoy the show immensely regardless.

I hope this helps, but I’m sorry if it wasn’t the answer you were hoping for. Would love to hear more of your thoughts though 🥰

[dr-futbol-blog]

Trinity, Pt. 2

Next, we find the team inside the Ancient facility that seemed to be the source of the energy reading McKay got from the planet. Teyla is the last one to come down the ladder where McKay, Sheppard and Ronon are already down in the dark room with their flashlights. We do not see who came down first, and while McKay definitely seems excited enough to have wanted to come down first, it is extremely doubtful Sheppard would have allowed him to do that. Given that Ronon only switches his flashlight on after Teyla has descended and Sheppard is using the light on his P-90, we can deduce that it was likely Sheppard himself that had come down first, using his weapon to light the way. This is also symbolic of the role of the military in scientific advancement, given that they are in an Ancient military laboratory.

McKay: Definitely Ancient design. Their latest stuff, too.

As McKay is blowing 10,000 years of dust off of a panel, we see Sheppard in the background holding his hand over another panel apparently trying to switch it on with his Ancient gene. He must been doing it on Atlantis often enough that he expects it to work here, as well. He recognizes the technology as Ancient just as easily as McKay does. But he does not just recognize the technology as Ancient, he recognizes it as a lab which again witnesses to the amount of time the two of them have spent together.

McKay: Their latest being ten thousand years old. Sheppard: Looks a lot like the labs we found on Atlantis. Dex: So this is one of their outposts. Teyla: Yet the Ancestors made no mention of their presence here in the database. Why?

Teyla is again the first one to ask the relevant question, McKay and Sheppard too preoccupied by the possibilities to have been able to process any of the implications yet, and Ronon is clearly just simply overwhelmed by the Ancients being a tangible, real thing instead of something out of the legends. But we are again able to see them working together as a team here, with all of them having their own roles, strengths and even interests. McKay is the how person, Sheppard is the why person, Ronon is the what person and Teyla, even though she explicitly asks the 'why?' question here, is usually the who person. She poses the question why because she is interested in the who, the Ancestors and the original inhabitants of the planet, the Dorandans.

Eager to figure out the mystery himself, Sheppard urges McKay to get them some power going:

Sheppard: Well, let's find out. Can you power it up? McKay: Working on it.

This too is relevant for why things play out the way they do. While Sheppard poses this as a question, he seems to expect McKay to be able to do this. He may not be telling McKay what to do, and he certainly does not order him to do it, but nevertheless there is an expectation that McKay will be able to deliver. He relies on McKay's technical expertise and because McKay has been consistently able to deliver, is frequently able to perform smaller and larger miracles, it has practically become the baseline for his ability. Sheppard has such an unwavering trust and faith in McKay's abilities that he fails to recognize how this translates into an unspoken expectation, which in turn translates into pressure put on McKay's shoulders. And it is possible McKay does not himself recognize this consistently mounting pressure at this time, but it certainly is increasing. Adding on. Piling up. And as performing acts of service is how he seeks validation, there is a recipe for disaster brewing here.

Sheppard: I got two bodies here.

And speaking of disaster, one seems to have occurred in the facility and there is perhaps something symbolic in the fact that Sheppard is the one to come across the bodies of two Ancients that seem to have died under curious circumstances, as they are laying on their backs and their feet are touching. We do not know what these two people were to each other when they were alive, but they certainly are together in death.

Their deaths must have been instantaneous and occurred with no warning. Ronon comes across additional bodies in an adjacent chamber, and he makes an observation about the dead having been abandoned here. While none of the others can see it, this seems to give McKay pause. He actually stops what he is doing to think about it.

Dex: I got three more over here. Whatever happened here, no-one came back to claim the dead.

We know that there was nothing left of Peter Grodin's body to retrieve after he had been blown up by the wraith on the Ancient satellite but we never did find out what happened to the bodies of Dr. Abrams and Dr. Gaul of The Defiant One (S01E12), both of whose deaths McKay had likewise been unable to prevent and the latter of whom took his own life right before McKay's eyes. Did they ever retrieve their bodies or were they just left on the planet? And yet being able to retrieve the bodies from labs just like this one of Drs. Wagner, Johnson, Dumais and Hays in Hot Zone (S01E13), during the events of which Sheppard had also been forced to shoot Dr. Peterson, had not really made him feel any better about having lost them. McKay had further been unable to keep Drs. Monroe and Lindström from being killed by the wraith virus in The Intruder (S02E02). All of these people had worked under him, most of these people he probably had selected for the mission personally.

The bodies kept piling up, and it was so few of them that he had been able to send back to their families and loved ones back to Earth. There had been no one to claim the bodies but himself. He was responsible for all of their deaths. He looks haunted here, for a brief moment. Haunted by all of the deaths that happened on his watch. And given that he feels alone now, estranged as he is from his sister, having cut all ties back to Earth (like he told Cadman in Duet (S02E04), he has no intention of returning to Earth), his cat had probably died while they were away, and somewhere along the way he had also lost Sheppard, which was still fresh and hurt most of all.

He was alone. He felt lonely. If he died, there was no one that would care what happened to his body. Maybe he would be left rotting on the floor of some Ancient lab somewhere in this galaxy far, far away from Earth. He had once thought that he might even have found a home here, in these people that had become something like a surrogate family to him. How wrong he had been. A cold and lonely death was all that was waiting for him, in a cold and lonely grave, if he was so lucky to even get a grave. These people had no graves because no one had come to claim them, like Ronon had just pointed out. McKay looks up for the briefest moment, and yet all of this we can see in that one look.

And in the next moment, it is gone, and none of the others are there to see it. They are too busy trying to figure out the mystery to spare a thought for him. And McKay does what he has always done: he loses himself in the work. He gets back to trying to get Sheppard that power he wanted. He is twice as determined to figure out how to get that to happen. As long as he is fiddling with the Ancient control panel, he does not have to remember all the bodies he carries in his heart.

Sheppard: Can't tell if they were fed on by the wraith. Dex: Yeah, something killed them. Teyla: Something killed everyone on this world. Sheppard: Now why is this outpost, if that's what it is, still intact? Doesn't make sense.

Sheppard is kneeling by the bodies of the dead (lovers?), trying to suss out what had happened to them. As much as he appreciates that Ronon and Teyla are there with him, trying to figure this thing out, it has clearly been too long since he has heard from McKay, as he feels the need to touch base with him again. He needs to know what McKay makes out of all of this. And note that now, as he is again distracted by this mystery unfolding around them and not trying to keep a distance, he slips back into calling him with the more intimate address:

Sheppard: What do you think, Rodney? McKay: Ha! Sorry, I wasn't listening, but it just struck me that, if this is an Ancient outpost, why would the wraith leave it intact? Sheppard: ...It's a good question. McKay: Huh. Alright, so...

This is again played for comedy. McKay is not paying attention and says essentially the same thing as Sheppard, who then congratulates him on arriving on the exact same conclusion he did. As though this is meant to underscore the fact that Sheppard is also intelligent, perhaps even to remind us of the fact that Sheppard is occasionally faster than he is. But the thing is, even though the questions they pose have the same words in them, they are not the same question. The emphasis of the questions is different. Sheppard is curious about the present state of the facility and what lead to it. McKay is thinking about the wraith and their motivations. And Sheppard does honestly find that a good question, and it is also one that he as the military commander in charge of their struggle against the wraith should have been asking. They also stress different things. Sheppard puts stress on the word 'intact' where McKay puts emphasis on the word 'Ancient'. Sheppard is thinking about the base, McKay is thinking about the war. Sheppard is grounded in the present where McKay, even though his question is based in history, is actually future-oriented here.

But given their ability to read each other's thoughts from the minutest of cues that we have witnessed, this is probably also meant to underline their mental connection, how similar they are in thought and how they are able to work as one mind, one person. Their thinking is similar enough to facilitate this connection between them, and they do look each other in the eye here for a considerably long time. Something does seem to be communicated between them, enough that both Ronon and Teyla notice it and they both turn away from the two of them as though to give them a private moment here.

But then they both lower their eyes, and they both seem a little lost here. It is possible that Sheppard was hurt by the fact that McKay did not appear to be listening to him, and it is possible McKay was unsure of how to read Sheppard's comment, of whether he actually meant that it had been a good question or whether it had been sarcasm. McKay is not used to receiving praise from Sheppard, because although Sheppard thinks the world of McKay, he is not really a positive re-enforcement kind of guy. Even when he does give praise, it is often couched in sarcasm or flippancy, something to take the edge off and make it seem like not such a big deal.

Giving honest praise without wisecracking requires emotional earnestness of which Sheppard is in short supply. And hence, while a part of McKay is pleased that Sheppard would call his question a good question, another part of him is playing it down, convinced that he meant that it was a stupid question. And a part of the audience might see it like that too. Furthermore, the comedic beat of this exchange masks McKay's earlier haunted look, helping us forget that McKay is anything but a comic relief character. That is how good McKay is at hiding his pain.

Some time later, the team have returned to Atlantis and are filling Weir in on the discovery. Noteworthy here is that Sheppard and McKay are presenting it as one mind again, Sheppard using the 'we' form and both of them tag-teaming the explanation to her. Sheppard seems to be just as excited about it as McKay is. Sheppard also turns his body toward McKay as he speaks.

Weir: So it's a military research facility. Sheppard: From what we can tell, it's a ground-based version of the satellite weapon we used to destroy that hive ship. McKay: With one major exception. Firepower.

This is important and I have not seen it discussed previously. Sheppard references the LaGrange Point satellite here, featured in The Defiant One (S01E12) and The Siege (S01E19). While he does not mention it by name, that is what he is referring to. And what happens in this episode has everything to do with what happened on the satellite platform that Sheppard had meant to accompany McKay on but had been ordered by Weir not to. It has everything to do with Peter Grodin and McKay's inability to save him, with McKay blaming himself for Grodin's death because he had failed to fix the satellite. The satellite had been able to fire only once because the patch that he had been able to put together was only a temporary fix, and the wraith had destroyed the satellite with Grodin on it. Grodin, who had been important to McKay personally, whether or not you believe that they had been previously involved. It is against this backdrop (not to forget all the other scientists that have died under his watch) that we must interpret what happens in this episode, and that is why they mention it right here at the offset.

Sheppard says "we" here, doing what we have seen McKay do previously, trying to alleviate some of the guilt McKay is feeling by taking a portion of the blame. We have seen McKay take his share of the blame of waking the wraith e.g., in Poisoning the Well (S01E06). But while that is what he attempts to do, McKay can share the success of having managed to take out the hive, but he will not share the blame of failing to save Grodin. That is his failure and his alone. That is a loss that he has to live with every day of his life, and he is far from being over it. And again you cannot even hear it in his voice as he waxes poetic about the firepower of this new weapons platform but you had better believe that he remembers it. And, given that we later learn about McKay and Sheppard having discussed who talks about what to whom, they may even have agreed that Sheppard will be the one to talk about the connections of this new facility to the satellite because he just cannot bring himself to talk about it anymore than Sheppard can bring himself to talk about having roused the wraith. They are presenting this to her very much together.

McKay: I mean, if that single outpost was responsible for destroying an entire wraith fleet... Weir: And you're sure it was this weapon that destroyed all those wraith ships? Sheppard: It had to be. There's nothing on the planet that suggests the Dorandans had anything capable of inflicting anywhere near that much damage.

Note that Sheppard and McKay enter through the same doorway (the door between Sheppard and Weir; there are some possibly pseudo-psychological studies about people in love rounding objects on the same side so as to avoid having anything between them) to the conference room here and like they used to do, they almost try to enter it at the same time. McKay is very much in Sheppard's personal space and Sheppard's hand is definitely in McKay's space.

Teyla: If we could learn of such technology, we could defend other worlds from being culled. Dex: It didn't save the Dorandans. McKay: Yeah, but at the end of the day the outpost was still standing and that means... Well, I'm not sure what that means, but it means something definitely worth finding out. Weir: Colonel? Sheppard: He's right. It's definitely worth sending a research team back.

Sheppard looks anguished here. We should recall that it had been Sheppard's choice not to accompany McKay to the satellite platform that he believed had lead to McKay's death, and that pain that he had felt before he learned that McKay had survived the wraith destroying the satellite had been the worst pain of his life, pain unlike he had ever felt before. Something like that is not easy to forget, and the fact that McKay had survived it did not erase the fact that he had experienced the pain. He knows what it feels like now, losing McKay. Before he had left for the platform, McKay had put together a team and was in want of a pilot, hoping Sheppard would accompany them. And Sheppard had volunteered for the mission. He had wanted to be a part of the mission. And even now, it seems like Sheppard probably wanted to be a part of this team. But McKay seems to have other ideas.

McKay: Good! Well, give me Optican, Collins, and Zelenka if he's over the stomach flu. We'll try to access the computer's log books, see if we can decipher them. Once that's-- Weir: OK! OK! Easy sell. Go. McKay: Oh, good!

Now, Sheppard opens his mouth and almost says something to Weir as McKay mentions Zelenka's stomach flu which is interesting in the light of their earlier discussion about Ronon having a strong stomach and McKay being able to eat frozen dinners unthawed. There might be a bug going around the base and their earlier discussion may have had its genesis in that. Could be that Sheppard simply does not "like gross things," like people often say, or he was going to wisecrack about it but then thought better of it. He nearly says something but then decides against it. But it is also possible that Sheppard hadn't meant to interject anything about the stomach flu but was going to say something about McKay's choice of team. He might have been about to say that he very much wanted to insert himself into it, to protest not having him on it, to somehow make sure that this would not be a repeat of the previous mission, but McKay's mention of the stomach flu just short-circuited his brain. And as we see later, Sheppard was not going to let four scientists go back on the alien weapons platform without him. After the last time, he is not taking any chances.

Note also at the end that Sheppard first turns to watch McKay go, as one frequently does for someone they care about, but then he looks at Weir and smiles while tilting his head, and this expression is all about the fondness he feels for McKay. It has this "Got to love him, huh?" energy about it, like he just felt the need to share his fondness for McKay with someone that might appreciate it, or someone that would at least understand since Weir does know about them. It has been a while since he has seen McKay this happy and full of life. When he is like this, McKay is like a force of nature. That is the man that he loves.

Continued in Pt. 3

[hawkbutt]

Hi! I have to admit that I know nothing about Fallout but would like to understand your AU so idk could you explain Fallout for beginners please? (and maybe how the AU works specifically) 🧡

I’m going to try and put this in the most straightforward terms I can and maybe steal a few things from Wikipedia if I can’t.

And I hope you don't mind, I'll publish this as well so others can learn.

There are currently 7 Fallout games: Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76. (This is not counting the small things like mobile games or the table top games, or even the freaking pinball game either) PLUS there is also the “Fallout”  TV show on Amazon (It's good, My dad who knows NOTHING of Fallout loved it) ▬ The Show on Amazon is based in Los Angeles.

▬ The setting, back story, lore, just a little history:

The series is set in a fictionalized USA in an “alternate history scenario” that diverges from reality after 1945, following World War II. In this alternative "golden age", where atomic physics serves as the foundation of scientific progress, which leads to a bizarre socio-technological status quo. This means things like advanced robots, nuclear-powered cars, directed-energy weapons, and other futuristic technologies are seen alongside 1950s-era computers and televisions. 

▬ Nuka Cola ad featuring Nuka Girl leaning heavily into the atomic/nuclear aspect

The United States divides itself into 13 commonwealths, and the aesthetics and Cold War paranoia of the 1950s dominated the American lifestyle well into the 21st century.

▬ Map of all of the Fallout Commonwealths

The a whole bunch of history happens, it’s honestly wordy and gives the lead-up to how the bombs dropped on the morning of October 23, 2077, a “global nuclear exchange”, which subsequently created the post-apocalyptic United States, the setting of the Fallout world.

▬ Now, in my AU, I say that Buck is from a Vault.

The U.S. government, having foreseen this outcome just a few decades earlier, began a nationwide project to build fallout shelters known as "Vaults".�� The Vault-Tec Corporation designed the Vaults as public shelters, each able to support up to a thousand people. Something round 400K Vaults would have been needed if they actually wanted to help the American people, but only 122 were commissioned and constructed. 

Vault Boy; He is the corporate mascot of the Vault-Tec, His female counterpart is Vault Girl. They appear in virtually every released game and evolved over the years into a symbol of the Fallout franchise in general.

However, the Vault project was not intended as a viable method of repopulating the United States; instead, most Vaults were secret social experiments and were designed to determine the effects of different environmental and psychological conditions on their inhabitants. 

▬Lemme just use Norm Maclean (Fallout Series) here to showcase the sort of view in the vault and the lovely blue and gold jumpsuits ALL vault dwellers basically wear.

Now, only Seventeen control Vaults were made to function as advertised, in contrast with the other Vault experiments. However, they were usually shoddy and unreliable due to most of the funding going towards the experimental ones.  Many Vaults remained sealed as part of their respective experiments even after the radiation had reached safe levels.

EDIT: I forgot to actually talk about the Brotherhood of Steel.

▬ Eddie is a former Brotherhood of Steel Knight.

The Brotherhood of Steel, commonly abbreviated to BoS, is a quasi-religious technocratic military order founded in the immediate aftermath of the Great War  The BOS' core purpose is to preserve advanced technology and regulate its use. They believe humanity cannot be trusted with the means to destroy itself, and they think that acquiring technology would prevent another apocalypse. The Basics of BOS came from the fall of the western Roman Empire when the knights and scribes kept the fire of civilization going after the empire imploded. The BOS is a military order with a strictly enforced hierarchy and chain of command. At the foundation, that mandates obedience to one's superiors and forbids circumventing ranks when giving orders. When it comes to the individual members of the BOS, loyalty to and defense of the organization are the top priorities, - 1st: Loyalty to and defense of the organization - 2nd: Dedication and loyalty to the mission. - 3rd: Dedication and loyalty to one's superior officer. Brotherhood members are expected to follow each of these rules in that order. If one's superior should act against the interests of the organization or mission, the third rule is superseded by the second or first rule.

▬ Brotherhood of Steel Ranking Structure

The Brotherhood has been featured in every game and other entry in the Fallout series in one form or another.

▬ My manip of Eddie in a Brotherhood jumpsuit

Eddie's History with the BOS without spoilers

▬ My manip of Eddie in a Brotherhood jumpsuit

While homosexual relationships are generally tolerated, they are pressured to instead seek relationships that will result in 'repopulation.' This leads Eddie to be arranged with Shannon, which then leads to Chris's birth, though Eddie and Shannon are able to keep Chris' Cerebal Palsy (though in the FO Universe, it would be considered his 'disorder or ailment) secret from the BOS for the first few years. BOS finds out about Chris, and would never tolerate someone like Chris within their ranks. Eddie ultimately decides he can no longer remain a part of them, and following his own moral compass, he chooses to desert the BOS.  The Diazs, on their own, now in this new reality, Eddie is constantly on the lookout, aware that his status as AWOL from the BOS makes him a target.

▬ I have planned in the future that Karen is a former Enclave Scientist.

The Enclave is another military organization dedicated to the execution of an all-inclusive holocaust of non-members, who they dehumanize as "genetic non-compliance offenders." While being the continuation of a pre-war American deep state consisting of high-ranking political, military and corporate figures, its members publicly claim to be the direct continuation of the United States of America and its government after the destruction of the world during the Great War.

▬ Enclave power armor, X-01 power armor 

Without going too in-depth with them, it's obvious I hate them, they're the worst, they Suck, and I'm glad Karen left them (In my AU).

here are things I may mention in my AU (when it comes to finally posting my fic)

Pip Boy: The Pip-Boy (Personal Information Processor-Boy) is a wrist computer given to the player (Vault-Dweller) early in the games and series, which serves various roles in quest, inventory, and battle management, as well as presenting player statistics.

▬ This version of the Pip-Boy is not stated in-series, though the official replica sold by The Wand Company is called the Pip-Boy 3000 Mark V

Power Armor: Power Armor, is a type of powered exoskeleton featured in every game in the Fallout series. It allows for protection from enemy fire and enables the wearer to carry cumbersome weapons and other objects with ease. There are so many types, levels and styles of Power Armor. It is considered an iconic part of the Fallout universe, an effective marketing tool for a faceless protagonist, and a prominent symbol within the game's lore. ▬ “Post-war” the Power Armor is most widely used by the Brotherhood of Steel, a cult-like organization that collects and preserves technology (My husband said the BOS is like Mormons and their obsession with Geneology)

▬T-60 Power Armor

There are INSANE Animals that roam the ‘wasteland’. Some were modified by the Government (ie. Death Claws), but some were also just changed by radiation.

▬ BAD: genetically engineered creatures developed by the United States military to replace humans during missions, but they escaped into the wild in the aftermath of the Great War

▬ GOOD: Brahmin are mutated two-headed cattle; they still provide meat, milk, hide, and manual labor.

Ghouls... Ghouls are humans mutated by radiation, rather than killed by it. The mutation process, referred to as "ghoulification", this typically results in an extended lifespan, if not functional immortality, real-time regeneration of wounds allowing for reattaching limbs, and immunity to direct damage resulting from irradiation. However, it changes their appearance, resembling rotting corpses, burn victims, or walking corpses

▬ Cooper Howard - The Ghoul From the Fallout Amazon series

▬ Feral Ghouls in Fallout 4

Now, with my AU, I’m doing a small mix of The TV show, but throwing in elements of Fallout 4 and New Vegas (Kinda) While I won't delve into the details of every single game and its historical context, I hope this overview will provide you with enough information on the basics of Fallout? If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

Much Love, ▬ Kenna

[discar]

HZD Terraforming Base-001 Text Communications Network

Chapter 21 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

HIMBO: HEY, ALVA. HOW MANY DIVINERS ARE THERE?

DIVINER: I'm sorry citizen, that is a state secret kept closely guarded for tactical and strategic reasons.

DIVINER: Sorry!!

DIVINER: They drum that into us before we even get our Focuses!! I really can't tell you, though!

FlameHairSavior: Where did this come from?

HIMBO: I WAS REMEMBERING HOW MANY PRIESTS AVAD HAS TO DEAL WITH EVERYTHING, AND WONDERING HOW THE QUEN HANDLE THINGS.

DIVINER: Oh!! I think I understand now!! But Diviners aren't the only priests and scholars. I think I mentioned we're mostly explorers, actually? We can do more administrative work, more easily, thanks to our Focuses, but we have plenty of people trained without them!

HIMBO: I GUESS THAT MAKES SENSE.

HIMBO: WHAT DO YOU DO, THEN? WITH ALL THE SLAG YOU LEARN, I MEAN.

DIVINER: Mostly, we teach! Most of the technology of the Ancestors is still beyond us, but there were enough hints that we were able to learn advanced metallurgy, agriculture, and of course military strategy.

DIVINER: I think most important of all, though, we teach our people the importance of the arts and sciences!

DIVINER: Some of the earliest tribes the Empire conquered were little better than hiding in caves because they refused to understand the importance of progress!

BoyNextDoor: There's value in tradition, though.

DIVINER: Well, yes, of course, but...

DIVINER: Oh, right, you're from a tribe like that.

BoyNextDoor: We're not that bad.

FlameHairSavior: All-Mother Mountain is literally a cave, Varl.

BoyNextDoor: And in the cave is the Cradle facility where you found all these Focuses. If the tribe hadn't been protecting it all this time, who knows what would have happened.

FlameHairSavior: [BenAffleckTiredSmoking.png]

DIVINER: No, he's right! Traditions are important, even if we don't always know why! Your people knew that cave was important, because they remembered they were born there and so stayed close!

DIVINER: My people aren't even sure where exactly we came from!

HIMBO: I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT YOU LOT WOULD KEEP CRAZY GOOD RECORDS. THE OSERAM DO, AND WE DON'T HAVE FANCY FOCUSES.

DIVINER: Yes, of course! But only AFTER we found the cache of Focuses in the Great Delta! We can't be entirely certain where we came from before that!

MARSHAL Kotallo: I am curious how broadly anyone spreads from any given Cradle. Are all of our tribes from different Cradles, or the same?

FlameHairSavior: I think the Carja come from the Nora Cradle. Can't be sure, though.

HIMBO: OH, YEAH, THEY CAME TO MERIDIAN FROM THE EAST. THEIR PRIESTS WILL TELL THAT STORY IF YOU MAKE THE MISTAKE OF SITTING STILL FOR FIVE MINUTES.

MARSHAL Kotallo: How many Cradles are there?

FlameHairSavior: At least nine, because the Nora one is ELEUTHIA-9. But I don't know how many were planned total.

FlameHairSavior: Or how many survived, for that matter. The Faro Plague caused construction and supply problems for Zero Dawn.

Zo: Yes, I read about some of the animal samples that were lost because of the Plague. I have to assume that at least some of the planned facilities failed.

BoyNextDoor: The Nora Cradle has a Metal Devil frozen in the process of trying to dig it out. I think the shutdown came in minutes before they would have breached.

FlameHairSavior: Ah yes. That.

DIVINER: I sense a story!

FlameHairSavior: The High Matriarchs confuse a sense of drama with wisdom.

DIVINER: ??

BoyNextDoor: If you try to get Aloy to explain it will take weeks.

BoyNextDoor: Trust me.

β: but you know dont you

BoyNextDoor: Yes, yes. Assuming Aloy doesn't mind.

FlameHairSavior: I don't care.

BoyNextDoor: Well, as a baby, Aloy was found right outside the Cradle door, where the robot left her. Also, right under the claw of the Metal Devil. High Matriarch Lansra thought this was a sign that she was the daughter of the Metal Devil.

DIVINER: ...and??

BoyNextDoor: And what? That's obviously a bad thing.

BoyNextDoor: It's not like there's any prophecies about children of the Metal Devil or anything, High Matriarch Lansra just jumped to a terrible confusion.

DIVINER: Oh. That story is a lot shorter than I was expecting.

β: a good typo though

FlameHairSavior: Well, it led to me being outcast from birth and I had to win the Proving just to be allowed into my own tribe.

BoyNextDoor: Technically you only had to COMPLETE the Proving. You're the one who insisted on going to extra mile.

HIMBO: OF COURSE SHE DID.

DIVINER: Erend, do your people have any history about where they came from?

HIMBO: NOTHING LIKE A SPECIFIC DIRECTION. WE MOSTLY FOCUS ON HOW WE DELVED INTO OLD ONES RUINS AND LEARNED WHAT WE COULD FROM THEIR MACHINES.

HIMBO: NO ONE WAS LUCKY TO FIND A WORKING FOCUS, THOUGH.

FlameHairSavior: Or maybe every one that was found was immediately broken.

HIMBO: HA HA. IT'S NOT MY FAULT THESE THINGS ARE DAINTY.

DIVINER: How did you find an intact Focus, Aloy? The Quen cache was protected and clearly labeled, and you mentioned the Cradle. Did you find it there?

FlameHairSavior: No, I just found it in a random ruin when I was a child. It was still attached to a skeleton.

β: ew

β: and you just put it right on your head

FlameHairSavior: I was a curious child and it made everything light up when I touched it. So, yes.

FlameHairSavior: These things are pretty much immune to environmental damage. Unless they're hit by something, they last basically forever.

HIMBO: NOW I'M WONDERING WHY THE QUEN NEVER FOUND NORMAL FOCUSES. THEY HAD TO HAVE BEEN LOOKING.

DIVINER: I don't have any answers there, I'm afraid!! Maybe we were just unlucky? It's a very damp region, prone to flooding!

β: or theres a conspiracy keeping all the good things away from the lower ranks because they know it would endanger their dogma

DIVINER: I really, really wish that theory wasn't entirely plausible.

FlameHairSavior: Beta, please stop making people question their entire worldview.

MARSHAL Kotallo: Why not? It appears to be a family tradition.

BoyNextDoor: Ha!

HIMBO: HE'S GOT YOU THERE!

Zo: They are right.

FlameHairSavior: I hate you all.

Chapter 21 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

[striderincosmos]

Mass Effect Shower Headcanon

As time and technology has advanced on, medical aids of various kinds have advanced along with them. Joker's service in the Alliance military, despite what would otherwise be a crippling genetic defect, is the most shining example of this. However, consider:

The humble hearing aid has likely become both unobtrusive enough to be an otherwise invisible part of a person, and advanced enough to allow someone to hear in a range of frequencies (with some adjustment for the brain to recognize what it's hearing).

Hearing things just out of the range of regular human hearing... like turian subvocals. I trust you can do the rest of the math.

[fundielicious-simblr]

(AN: I've been seeing that a recent game update has wrecked havoc on people's games so I guess it's good I play offline, therefore never updating the game 😂. I got this idea randomly so I'm glad I found another reason to dig up old files. These next two side posts will serve as yearly round ups so that you can be reminded of what has happened in the sim-year that's come to a close. I will put the text for this under the cut for easier readability.)

Narrator: Family newsletters have been a thing for a while in this sims universe, the larger families (Allan's and Claire's) have used these to send out to friends and family who live quite a way away and are less technologically advanced. Casandra loves being able to write up and tell people about her ever-growing family, so this is easy businesss for her.

Text under here!

Collins Family Newsletter

Our family verse for the year was from Psalm 37:5,6 “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.”

To christen the new year, our son Charles and his wife Lorilee welcomed their first child, a boy they named Everett Collins. These two were ‘newlyweds until very recently, but that gauntlet was passed on swiftly and quickly. They live in a wonderful apartment around 30 minutes from us and are praying about buying their first property. Charles works the admin side of this plumbing business owned by a member of Newcrest Baptist, and Lorilee is now a devoted stay-at-home-mum.

This year we had precious Lana join the family! Parker and his beautiful bride were joined together in the Lord’s design on a wonderful spring day. Their courtship and engagement have been so sweet to watch, and they both made sure to honour the Lord and their parents during the whole process. They now live in the same apartment building as Charles and Lorilee and are praying they can buy a house in the near future. Parker continues to assist churches with their media, working mainly with the Newcrest Baptist media team; Lana has a ministry that aims to point young women towards the Lord in all they do.

Almost immediately after we got home from the wedding, Barrett and Kyleigh welcomed precious little Jackson Collins to the family. He joins older siblings Chloe, Allan Jr (AJ), Benjamin (Benji), Rose, Violet, Daisy, Marigold, Olivia, Preston, and Jefferson. Barrett and Kyleigh have trusted the Lord with the size of their family and he continues to bless them for their faithfulness! Kyleigh homeschools the children and Barrett works at an auto body shop, they are praying about adding an extension to their house. They recently announced that they’re expecting another baby that will join the family next autumn before Harvestfest - Praise the Lord!

In the summer Mason and Adalynn welcomed little Bethany Leonard to the family! She doesn’t know it yet but she’s a very blessed little girl - some would even say an answer to prayer! She joins 8 big brothers: Noah, Luke, Aaron, Paul, Joshua, Caleb, Jonah, and Titus. Bethany is doted on my all of her big brothers, as well as her delighted parents and their extended family. Adalynn continues to homeschool the boys whilst Mason works as a manager. They partake in ministry at Willowcreek Baptist, their home church, and are busy in the Lord’s work as a family.

Zoe and her husband Francisco announced to us recently that they’re expecting another little one next autumn! This blessing will join older siblings Javier Jr (JJ), and Cassie. Francisco continues to bravely serve in our country's military, and the family are a few months away from closing out their time in Windenburg. We thank the Lord for his mercy in keeping them safe daily as they make sacrifices to keep us all safe!

Maggie, her husband Shane, and their twins Iris and Arlo are thriving in San Myshuno, as are Reece, his wife Stacie and their kids Liam and Hazel. Both families attend a wonderful church that has an amazing ministries, one of which has them doing outreach to save the lives of the unborn! Their families are such a blessing to us and to those around them!

Beckett and Mandy are in Selvadorada and are thriving in the mission field! They came over for Harvestfest and enthralled us of wonderful stories of their work with the locals and about how so many people are getting saved and giving their lives to the Lord! They’re almost fluent in Selvadoradan simlish and send us such eye watering videos of them out in ministry reaching the hearts of the Lord and bringing souls to the Lord! We are so proud of them and their hearts for the Lord!

Amira, Thomas, and little Maya are doing wonderful in Windenburg! Little Maya is growing more and more daily, with her doting parents loving on her! Thomas continues working in accounting, with Amira caring for house and home. Priscilla, Felix, Andrew, and darling Grace are also thriving in Oasis Springs. Felix continues to work for his father, working to slowly change the country and bring it back to the Lord!

Onto those of us left at home; Allan continues in preaching at home and at various churches all over. We’ve had the blessing of being invited to various churches, tent meetings, revivals, and camps over the course of the year that have strengthened and blessed us more than we could ever express! In our travels we always try and see the kids if we happen to be passing by them on our travels. When we’re not being a preacher and preacher’s wife, we’re at home being parents and grandparents! This year we counted 55 people at our house for Harvestfest, including 30 grandbabies! We’ve been so greatly blessed by the Lord this year (like every year) that we can truly never even begin to repay the Lord for all the he’s done for us.

Macie, Annette, and Ashton are all making good use of themselves and the seasons of life that the Lord has them in. Macie spends all her free time in service to others, when she’s not helping with her local nieces and nephews, she’s providing child care to families at church. If she’s not local to Newcrest then no doubt she’s found herself on the staff of a camp, or helping a ministry with their outreach - aiding more hearts to turn toward salvation.

Annette has also positioned herself to serve others, in the recent past she’s spent her time babysitting and helping various families who need it. She’s recently been asked to join the admin team of a ministry run by a neighbouring church, so in the new year she’ll be working as an office assistant. It will be different, but it’s still an avenue of service to the Lord and she’s excited for this opportunity.

Ashton also likes to babysit in her free time, when she’s not home she’s travelling to see her siblings that live all over. She’s recently taken to baking and has found herself assisting a church member with a bakery often, with part of the proceeds going to support pregnancy care centres in our area!

As we close this year out, Allan and I are eternally grateful for all that the Lord has done for us and our family. We pray that this past year has been a time of worship, prayer, and togetherness. We also pray that this next year is full of the Lord’s mercies and blessings!

May you continue to be guided by the Lord's light,

Allan & Casandra Collins.

[sorrow-already-spoiled]

A Light Touch

The planet of Maliv was a shining beacon of light and technology across the vast galaxies, a crowning achievement of human advancement. A billion lights glowed across its surface, rivaling a small sun. Home to the Empire’s monarchy, and its central seat of power in the universe, Maliv was a utopia, casting its shadow long and far. 

The beating heart of the planet was undoubtedly Stellaris Academy, home to only the top 0.01% of candidates. Cadets move with precision, each step and breath calculated and practice-perfect. Neat black cut uniforms adorn their forms, boots and gold buttons polished to a shine. Three colors of arm bands were visible amongst the students. The carmine of sentinels, the azure of nulls, and the vastly outnumbered ivory of guides. The academy produced generals, politicians, cutting edge engineers, diplomats, pilots… Any alumni of the Academy was most assuredly worth something. 

Students of the Academy were hand picked at age 18 to spend the next four years preparing for the rest of their lives. Half of those students would not graduate from the program, the intensive demands of the curriculum leaving them husks of their former selves, dropping out in shame. 

Vellin was a special case. 

“We’re pleased to have you join our ranks Cadet Lawrynce. Please let me know anything I can do to help you adjust.” Dean Astin smiled. “I will do my best to see you succeed here.” Vellin only nodded in response. Dean Astin seemed like a nice woman, but he was not keen to trust her. Trust didn’t seem to go well for him. The freshly upgraded cybernetics in his arm ached on cue.

The non-lethal blaster pistol on his hip felt like a ridiculous toy after the reality of his previous few years. He hadn’t expected the engineer who did the preliminary work on his arm to send a video of his rehabilitation training to the Academy, and certainly hadn’t expected them to come to collect. He wouldn’t care at all, if the Academy couldn’t offer him what he wanted. 

A guide. 

Vellin’s battalion had one. A handsome, but chronically twitchy thing with deep set circles under his eyes. He had been a tall, muscular thing, good structure for a guide. It hadn’t saved him. Auxiliary guides were ineffective things, they died easily. Vellin wanted something more than that. He was going to need more than that. He had things he needed to do, and he couldn’t afford to lose himself to a powerful zone. He needed a bonded guide - a good match. Only the academys could provide that. 

Vellin was at a disadvantage already. He was 23, the last year of eligibility for Stellaris Academy. He lacked the educational basis that the rest of the students had, though he had not been recruited for his intellect. His schedule was full of specialized courses, ready to prime him for a military position on the front lines. His evenings were to be filled with one-on-one meetings with guides. He was going to need them all. He had no pre-existing connection to a guide, so any match would have to be strong without any chance of conditioning. 

He could feel eyes on him as they passed through the halls, the dean herself escorting him to his first class. He could hear every whisper. 

Who’s that?

A new student at this time of year?

He’s a sentinel. 

He looks strong. 

Vellin only cared about the ivory armbands. He would get what he came for. He squared his shoulders and followed Dean Astin. 

—-----------------------------------------------------------

After the seventh guide broke down sobbing, or became catatonic after trying to guide him out of a shallow zone, Vellin was beginning to become a bit disillusioned with the whole process. 

“The bombs… why are there bombs? It’s so loud…”

“It’s a mindscape, how can it be that dangerous?”

“I can’t, I’m sorry, I can’t.”

Vellin was not the typical sentinel. For one, his mindscape reflected the things he’d seen, and it wasn’t pretty. Second, he had absolutely no faith in guides. 

Vellin threw himself into guilt, and hauled himself out the the zone. Dean Astin raised an eyebrow, and he avoided her gaze. He knew sentinels couldn’t typically end a zone on their own, but he dismissed her curiosity with an excuse of the zone being shallow enough it ended on it’s own. 

In reality, it was a skill learned under fire, and one he didn’t care to discuss. 

—-----------------------------------------------------------

Vellin sat with his back against one of the massive birch trees in the courtyard. His arm was aching, a throbbing pain lancing through artificial veins. At least it numbed him to the noise of the academy. It was easier to ignore the hundreds of footsteps and conversations filling the air. He closed his eyes, and allowed himself to actually focus on the pain. He could feel where the oil and blood were mixing at his elbow joint, kept apart by only a thin carbon fiber sheet. He could feel the electric currents running through each individual copper wire, and where the wire was fraying and diffusing the current into his muscles to cause a twitch in his arm. 

A gentle warmth pressed unexpectedly against his shoulder, and it was warm, it was gentle, it was warm, it was gentle, it was warm, and Vellin descended into his own mind, spiraling into a true zone for the first time in over a year.

—-----------------------------------------------------------

This room was too familiar. Sterile. Only the small window at the top of the room, too tall to see out of, gave him any indication of the passage of time. Light came and went, day and night, again and again. The glow of bomb-light was brighter at night, turning the darkness to a red glow, as the foundations shook. Vellin stayed in the corner, knees pulled to his chest, the warmth on his shoulder burningly gentle. That couldn’t be right, he couldn’t be warm and safe here. He couldn’t be in anything but agony here. He didn’t know where this feeling went, where could it go?

Quiet steps echo from the hallway, somehow audible through the gray steel door. It was not the steps of the warden, not the steps of his brother, he did not know these steps. Soft but sure. The door swung open without a key, inviting the unknown guest in. 

He’d never seen this woman before. She wore the academy’s uniform, with an ivory armband around her bicep. Half her hair was dyed in a bright kaleidoscope of colors to create a purple holographic effect, and caring caramel eyes looked at him from the doorway. Her features were delicate and etched with concern. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause a zone. Honestly, I was checking to see if you were still alive. Your breathing was so slow, I was worried you’d fully died in the courtyard.” 

Vellin blinks as a bomb goes off in the distance. The girl does not flinch, or take her eyes off him. 

“What are you doing here?” His voice is hoarse.

“I was planning on helping you out of your zone, if that's alright? My name is Staziya.” Vellin blinks again, nodding slowly. 

“You aren’t supposed to be here.”

“No, I’m not. Where am I supposed to be?”

“Somewhere safe. Away from the war. Away from the compound.” 

“Take me there then.” Staiya reaches out her hand, and he takes it. He follows her down the hallway. “Look back for a moment?” He does, and the warmth on his shoulder becomes bearable. He blinks again and she slips out of his mind, dragging him to the surface with her.

—-----------------------------------------------------------

Her hand was still on his shoulder when he opened his eyes. She was crouched down in front of him with that same look of concern he’d seen in his mind. 

“Seriously, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s fine.” Her hand left his shoulder, and she stood up, preventing the sun from shining right in his eyes, creating a halo effect around her. 

“I guess I know you aren’t dead or dying then. What’s your name?” 

“Vellin Lawrynce.” 

“Oh, you’re the new student right? The mysterious fourth year?” 

“Yeah. Who are you?” 

“Anastaziya Kingsley.”

“You’re a guide.” The corner of her lip curved up as she tried to prevent a smile from taking over.

“How did you know?!” Vellin stared at her. He couldn’t be mad, it had been an obvious answer. “I’m more than just a guide though, for the record. I was extraordinary before I ever came to the academy.” Somehow her tone sounded more like she was rattling off a statistic than bragging of her abilities. “Not that it matters much now.” She shrugged. “Anyways, seeing as you aren’t dead, I should get back to the lab. Have a good rest of your afternoon, Vellin.” Vellin blinked. 

“I will?” Staziya smiled, warm enough to take his breath from him, and turned on a polished heel to head towards the labs.

She was a guide. A guide who did not cry, or go catatonic, or flinch at his mindscape. He hadn’t even felt her moving about, and the door to his cell had opened for her. The defenses that pushed out other guides had not only allowed her in. They had escorted her. She had pulled him from a true zone without any side effects, or trace of exertion on her part. 

Vellin didn’t know much about auras, or about guides in general, but he knew what a touch that light could mean. They were a match. A perfect match. 

[cienie-isengardu]

I mean, for our sake we should hope the Special Forces didn't use a live subject for Triborg because otherwise that means they sacrificed some poor intern to a cyber killing machine.

It's either they used a corpse which is still dubious or they used a living person who probably didn't consent given I only a few people would be willing to undergo something like this.

I think the main question is did Special Forces truly want to recreate C.I. Project and use it as a new kind of weapon for their own benefit or were they simply interested in advanced cybernetic technology that could revolutionize medicine & treating injuries or military equipment, as there is already at least one cybernetically-enhanced soldier in service of army and Jax got his cybernetical arms before Outworld Invasion and Netherrealm War happened. Which was something akin to 20 years before Mortal Kombat X's main story. I think it is very likely for Special Forces to develop this technology all this time, so finding such advanced data naturally prompted them to investigate[*]. 

Considering how the wars against the Outworld army and demons devastated cities and have left its mark on people's psyche, I can understand if Special Forces tried to find a way to create cybernetic bodies for their injured soldiers, so they could come back into military service. As Earthrealm was constantly threatened by Netherrealm and Outworld civil war(s), they were in need to keep a strong army in case the other realms attacked again. 

The Special Forces didn’t necessarily need to test the Lin Kuei technology on some poor alive subjects against their will. Such a possibility always exists of course, but so do people who willingly volunteer to test new technologies (for example, in hope to be healed from heavy injury) or decide to donate their bodies after death for scientific purposes. As we don’t have an idea what was the true purpose of Special Forces research - turning people in soulless machines or using data to create cybernetically-enhanced equipment for soldiers to give them better chance in fight with supernatural enemies, we can’t be sure if anyone was forced to undergo automation process the way Lin Kuei warriors were twenty years ago. 

For one, people like Sonya, Jax or Johnny wouldn’t allow for such a thing to happen as they first-hand experienced the terror of Cyber Lin Kuei during war and knew Kuai Liang who was forced into cybernetic enslavement. However since this is a matter of the Special Forces secret weapon laboratory (what still doesn’t mean S-F wanted to turn their soldiers into machines), our main heroes may have no clue what is happening until the Triborg broke free and became a threat to every living being.

I for one would love a storyline focusing on this plot, where there are no gods or supernatural beings threatening Earthrealm from outside and whose present demands from all heroes to unite against a common, oh-so-powerful enemy. Instead we could have a chance to see how each independent faction deals with the problem at hand, who ally with whom and how they mend the broken trust between Lin Kuei and Special Forces when some corrupted high-ranking member(s) of the government tries to create and use such technology to gain control over Outworld or any other realm rich in natural resources. Because I won’t believe that after two decades of constant threat no one in a high position of power didn’t consider invading Outworld and turning it into Earthrealm's colony to end the threat once and for good. General Blade is still a soldier and there are people who give the orders and wouldn’t it be interesting to see how the New Generation need to find a balance between orders and doing the right thing? Especially since we already have an intro dialogue about how the Special Forces wants Cyber Cyrax’s body to destroy all remains of C.I. Project, something Kuai Liang won’t allow to happen to his friend. 

[*] Alternatively, they were interested in data about Lin Kuei, as the games say Sub-Zero trained Special Forces and improved their skills but may not betray all his clan secrets, so they wanted to study Lin Kuei techniques without Grandmaster’s knowledge. Which sucks nonetheless.

[mostlynotwork]

It’s a city eat city world out there. But what happens when something threatens to  upset the balance of the world order?

‘Mortal Engines’ is set in a dystopian future where giant ‘traction cities’ roam the wastelands attacking and consuming smaller cities and towns. Aboard the great predator city ‘London’, apprentice historian Tom is about to have his world turned upside down. After Tom foils an assassination attempt on the life of the chief historian, he finds himself separated from his home and unsure who he can trust. Things only get worse as he uncovers a plot involving ancient technology and the devastation of the ‘Sixty Minutes War’.  

This book seems to be aimed at younger teens. As such, it simplifies the themes it touches on such as class, social Darwinism, and the risk of technology falling into the wrong hands. If you’ve studied any of these topics at a level beyond junior high, be warned. You may find yourself going “but what about…” at some point, due to the way some of these things are dealt with.

Reeve’s worldbuilding is centered around creating an environment for adventure. At times, that requires some hefty suspension of disbelief. (Which I go into a bit more in the spoilers section). However the underlying story is enjoyable and well paced. If you let yourself ride with the characters, you can look past some of the inconsistencies of the world. 

As a book aimed at a teen audience, this may not be for everyone. But if you’re willing to just kick back and enjoy adventures in a different dystopian world, then ‘Mortal Engines’ is an easy read.

…

…

…

…

…

…

There be spoilers past here

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Youv’e been warned.

…

…

…

…

…

…

Some aspects of the world building that didn't seem to make a lot of sense...

‘Mortal Engines’ has a fun, but impossible premise. Giant ‘traction cities’ are an awesome visual concept. Before I read this book, I assumed they were powered by some fantastical, futuristic energy source. But in the book it seems at least some of the engines are fuelled by burning stuff - mainly smaller cities. So straight up you need to accept that while giant steam powered cities are cool, they require a massive suspension of disbelief.

The tactics of city combat, especially in the early part of the novel, also require a certain suspension of disbelief. Chasing down and eating smaller cities is cool. But cities are huge and presumably hard to manoeuvre. They are essentially a giant mobile base, making them perhaps analogous to a battleship or aircraft carrier. Had the combat been modelled more closely around naval warfare, I think it would have made the world more believable. It would also have made some of the events later in the book (blowing up the enemy airships, anti-balloon rockets) make more sense.  

Finally - the engineers and scientists have managed to somehow reverse engineer some super advanced cyborg tech and a death ray - but all manner of simpler military technologies that would help them (fixed wing aircraft? artillery? radar? ) seem to have been missed. 

None of these really stopped me enjoying the novel, but I think it would have been better had the tech been a bit more thought through.