#right isnt it just his statuette and that one?

[ihm-bread]

ppl theorizing about the unknown dragon statuette but considering cal doesnt like it...isnt it the mines dragon....????

[bitchfitch]

I'm still picking at 'Retired' spy Zephyr to figure out how he's going to be loony, extremely self destructive tendencies is the current vibe but the Flavor of it isnt there yet. But I've got Retired Supersoldier Renard figured out.

He's spent so long being gaslit and having his actual perception of reality discredited and made to feel fake that he struggles to tell what's real and whats a story. It means he settles into their cover story and new life as civilians almost instantly, but when reality conflicts with the story it confuses him and sends him into explosive bouts of rage as he seeks to Make it fit. That used to be an adaptation he needed to use in order to survive the absolute hell he was put through, but now that he's out... It's just destructive.

He ends up genuinely believing their new lived lie is the truth. He's was honorably discharged from the army following a traumatic head injury before he ever saw actual combat. He and Zephyr were highschool sweethearts who married before Renard was deployed for the first time. Zephyr has always ran a tattoo and piercing studio, Renard is a data analyst now. Neither of them have ever taken a life.

They live in a happy white picket fence neighborhood, all the other houses are empty They have a cat, it's a statuette that was part of the Generic Home Decor their place was furnished with for this experiment. They have two beautiful infant children to whom Renard is a doting father, He hasn't noticed that they don't age or cry, or move, or that they're cheap baby dolls.

Zephyr loves him. He loves Zephyr. Their wedding was beautiful. The pictures of the event make his head hurt because they don't 100% line up with their agreed on story. They got married in the winter, Zephyr already had his piercings and tattoos. The man in the picture is dressed for a hot summer wedding and his skin is bare of any identifiable marks. They've been in love since highschool. Renard doesn't remember anything about highschool. He never went.

Zephyr loves him, they're married, a lot of the time Zephyr treats him like a stranger or like there was nothing between them.

A man from the military comes by every week to talk to them. Renard remembers the man giving them their new identies. He asks questions about them that don't make sense. What cover? What plan? What experiment? Why was he given a new identity? why did the man introduce him to the husband he had had for a decade like they were total strangers the first time the man came to visit the house?

What is he writing in his stupid clipboard? Always writing. the scratching sound is killing Renard. he can take it. it's not Right. he just meant to grab the clipboard and take it away from the man.

Renard doesn't know what he's looking at when he stands in the tiled foyer of his perfect home. The man is on the ground. he's screaming. Zephyr is bolting out the door. There's something in Renard's hand. There's so much blood.

the clipboard is on the floor beside his feet. There's something in his hand. Renard is staring at it and his brain isn't letting him process what it is.

Zephyr comes back. there's other people with him. They take the screaming man away and Zephyr is saying sweet things to him that don't match the movements of his mouth. He takes the thing in Renard's hand and passes it to one of the people. They wrap it in scarlet plastic.

He'd just meant to grab the clipboard. Something told him he'd grabbed the man by the wrist too hard instead... but there was so much blood. He wasn't a strong man. He was big sure, but he wasn't strong. Their story involved nothing about this man, or Renard being particularly strong.

Zephyr was still right there, soothing him. Telling him that now that their guest was gone they should go have a drink in the dining room. Zephyr likes making cocktails, Renard likes watching his husband do it. He just wishes he could handle more than one Martini before he was so sleepy he could barely stand. You'd think a man his size wouldn't be such a lightweight. Zephyr tells him he always has been, and it doesn't feel right to Renard, but his husband wouldn't lie to him. right?

He dreams of torn off hands that night.

[sisterofiris]

Ištanu, the Sungoddess of Arinna

𒀭𒌓𒌷𒇥𒈾

The Sungoddess of Arinna is the most important Hittite solar deity, and overall one of the most important deities in the Hittite pantheon. Originally, she was worshipped by the Hattians, the pre-Hittite people of central Anatolia (modern Turkey). Her cult centre was the town of Arinna, the ruins of which are yet to be discovered. As the Hittite kingdom developed, the Hittites incorporated her, along with many other Hattian deities, into their pantheon, and she kept a prominent place there until the collapse of Hittite civilisation in the early 12th century BC.

Names

In Hittite texts, the Sungoddess is usually referred to by the logograms ᴰUTU ᵁᴿᵁTÚL-na, or ᵁᴿᵁTÚL-naš ᴰUTU-uš, meaning “Sungoddess of Arinna” (Arinna itself means “source” or “spring”). In Hittite, this would have been read as Arinnaš Ištanuš. Ištanu is a Hittitisation of the Hattian name Eštan. It’s the most commonly used name for the Sungoddess, and is also the Hittite word for “sun”.

She is also referred to as Arinniti, Arunniti or Ariniddu, meaning “the Arinnian” in Hattian. Another name is Urunzimu, or Wurušemu in later texts. The meaning of this word is unclear; it has variously been interpreted as “šemu of the land”, “mother of the earth” or “queen of the earth”.

Mythology

Unlike other deities, the Sungoddess is hardly featured in mythology (or at least in the texts that have survived). Her parents are unknown. Her consort is the Stormgod Tarḫunt (Hattian Taru), the other most important deity of the pantheon. They are known to have a son, Telepinu, a daughter, Mezzulla, and a granddaughter, Zintuḫi.

Role and attributes

The Sungoddess is heavily tied to royalty. A prayer by King Ḫattušili III says that “whoever you set up, Sungoddess of Arinna, my lady, as king or queen of the land of Ḫatti, they are right with you, Sungoddess of Arinna, my lady, and you are the one who lifts them up or abandons them”** (CTH 383 i 5-10). Hittite kings called themselves by the title ᴰUTU-ŠI, or “My Sun”, and used a winged sun disc as part of their iconography.

Detail of the seal of King Muršili II, showing a winged sun disc. The Sungoddess of Arinna was also Muršili’s personal deity. (x)

While not a warrior deity per se, the Sungoddess is also responsible for military success. She was said to run in front of the king on the battlefield: “the Sungoddess of Arinna, my lady, the Powerful Stormgod, my lord, Mezzulla, and all the Gods ran before me.” (CTH 61.I ii 3-4) King Muršili II and King Tudḫaliya IV both prayed to her for victory against their enemies.

Due to her associations with kingship as well as influence from the Mesopotamian Sungod Šamaš (see below), the Sungoddess is responsible for divine justice. “You are the lord of just justice”, says a hymn to her (CTH 376.A i 35′). In particular, she is described as bringing justice to the most disfavoured and isolated people of society: “Ištanu, to the oppressed and lonely person you are both father and mother; for the bereaved and oppressed person you compensate grievances.” (CTH 372 i 35-38)

Her mercy, or compassion (both are the same word in Hittite), is one of her most frequently mentioned attributes. To quote just a few passages:

Ištanu, you are the shepherd of all, and your message is sweet to everyone. (CTH 372 i 61-63)

Since childhood, my God’s mercy, I recognise and acknowledge it. (CTH 373 obv. 10′)

Now, before my God, I call for mercy. My God, hear me! (CTH 373 rev. 22)

You listen to invocations. You, Sungoddess of Arinna, are a merciful deity, and you have mercy. (CTH 376.A i 38′-40′)

The person whom the Gods are angry with and whom they reject, you, Sungoddess of Arinna, have mercy on him. (CTH 376.A ii 1)

The Hittite word for mercy, genzu, is etymologically connected to genu, “knee” or “lap”. Being merciful, then, means taking someone onto your lap. Notice how the Sungoddess is holding the child in the statuette above.

The Sungoddess is rarely depicted in cult statues. More often, she’s represented as a sun disc. Other imagery associated with her is lions (also a symbol of royalty) and the apple tree, which is mentioned in a brief mythological passage about her.

Connections

The Hittites called their land “the land of a thousand Gods”, due to their habit of adopting local deities and viewing them as separate from (though often overlapping with) other, similar deities. As a result, there isn’t just one Sungoddess but many. Most notably, the Sungoddess of the Earth is the Sungoddess of Arinna’s chthonic counterpart - the sun that travels to the Underworld during the night. The Sungoddess of the Earth is herself associated with Lelwani, an Underworld deity also linked to healing.

In the 13th century BC, the Sungoddess of Arinna was syncretised with Ḫebat, a Hurrian Goddess, thanks to the influence of Queen Puduḫepa, who was herself Hurrian. Another Eastern deity closely related to the Sungoddess is Šamaš, or the Sungod of Heaven. She adopted many of his attributes, including justice, and various Mesopotamian hymns to Šamaš were adapted for the Sungoddess, to the point that it’s often hard to determine which sun deity a text is referring to.

Gender

You may have noticed that some of the above quotes refer to the Sungoddess using male terms. In particular, CTH 376.A, while naming the Sungoddess of Arinna specifically, addresses her multiple times as “lord”. One explanation for this is that the hymn was originally written to the Sungod of Heaven, and the scribe simply forgot to change the male terms to female ones.

However, it may also be that the Sungoddess, by absorbing some aspects of the Sungod of Heaven (and possibly also of an Indo-European sky deity), becomes male in certain contexts. She wouldn’t be the only Hittite deity to do so; Ištar is also depicted as both male and female in Hittite iconography (as well as in Mesopotamia, where she was worshipped by a gender-non-conforming priesthood). To quote Trevor Bryce (Life and Society in the Hittite World, p. 143): “... the Hittites had no difficulty with the notion that deities who performed both male and female roles had both male and female sides to their persona, and it was appropriate to address and depict them as male or female according to the particular role in which they were engaged at the time.”

First picture: my altar to the Sungoddess of Arinna. Second picture: a gold pendant likely depicting the Sungoddess, 14th-13th century BC (x).

**All translations are my own.

[fixxofvixx]

Stay With Me -Demon Leo AU- Chapter 8

Hello all~~~! Demon Leo for you today~

Not a lot of romance in this one but IT IS coming! After all-he is an impatient demon 😉😉😉

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Please please please let me know what you think!

😈😈😈😈😈😈

You stood there for a moment processing what he’d said.

“What do you mean, ‘handcrafted by a demon’?” You stepped closer and took a look at them yourself. They were the same as you remembered them. It was a set of three ordinary silver pieces. An ornate clock with two matching statuettes of trees.

“They were most likely a gift since I can’t see any type of purpose they would have served. Much like the pendant I gave you, they would have been given as a show of friendship,” he turned to look at your pendant and then his eyes traveled slowly up to yours, “or love.”

Heat spread over your cheeks and you were forced to break eye contact with him. You heard his chuckle before clearing his throat.

“Did your grandmother ever say anything about these?”

“Not really. I had always been intrigued with them and wanted to play with them when I was little but she would never let me. She just always told me that they were delicate and had to be handled with care. One day she called me to her room and handed them to me. She told me to never tell anyone I had them and I should hide them well. About a week later, both of my grandparents died in a fire. My parents never said much about it and they seemed rather thrilled. So I never told them about the heirlooms. They knew about them though. I remember them asking me if I had stolen anything from my grandparents. That they needed it back to remember them by.” You hugged your arms around yourself, your mind wandering back to that time. You missed your grandparents.

Leo’s hand came up to wipe a tear from your cheek that you hadn’t even realized had fallen. You looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

“You did good not telling them. I’m not sure who these came from and, honestly, I’m not sure I want to find out. There are hundreds of demons walking the earth. Some are good and some are bad. I’m assuming since these appear to have been a gift, it was a good one. But demons are territorial and I don’t really want one in my forest. But if you would like for me to find out, I can. For you.”

“No, that’s okay. As long as my parents don’t have them, I’m happy. Besides, I think I can only handle one crazy demon in my life anyway.” You poked his arm and he flinched as if it had hurt.

He turned his body towards you slowly and grinned. Danger warnings went off in your head and you laughed nervously.

“Oh! Kona still has my feather! I wonder what he did with it?” You bolted out of the room and hurried down the stairs.

When you threw open the front door, Leo was already there with his arms crossed, leaning against the door frame. Your heart jumped and you stood frozen for a moment. Catching yourself, you stood as tall as you could and raised your chin at him.

“That’s not fair! You cheated!” You folded your arms over your chest and pushed past him. Walking to the steps, you noticed your feather laying on the ground. Smiling, you hurried down the steps and picked it up. You ran your fingers along the vane to smooth it out.

“Do you really like it that much?” His voice came from directly behind you and you turned to him and shrugged.

“I’ve always loved feathers and wings. I suppose its because I constantly fantasized about leaving home and flying far away somewhere.”

“Yet you are afraid of heights.” He chuckled and you sent him a glare.

“I guess that’s why I was stuck there for so long.” You looked around at your surroundings and laughed. “This isnt as far as I always imagined going but it’s exactly what I wanted.”

“You wanted to live with a demon in a forest?” He was trying to hide his smile but you could still see his face twitch.

“No. I wanted to be happy somewhere. I wanted to leave that awful town behind. I wanted friends. I wanted a life. I have all those things here.”

“For as long as you want it.” He smiled and began to lean his face towards yours. You held your breath as got closer. He was mere millimeters from your lips when he stopped. You opened your eyes to see him staring off into the woods.

Suddenly, Leo grabbed your wrist and pulled you back into the house. He made sure you were inside the door before he stopped. His hand wrapped around the nape of your neck as he leaned forward to place a kiss on your lips. Almost immediately, his voice sounded in your head.

Stay in the house and don’t come out. You are protected in here. Promise me.

Worried, you tried to pull back but he held you in place. You trusted his words but still wanted to know what was going on.

I promise, but what’s wrong? Is it my father?

No, another demon.

You stilled instantly. You had no idea what that meant for you but if Leo was concerned then you would heed his warnings.

He finally pulled away and walked back down the steps. By the time he reached the dirt path that lay out in front of them, you noticed a man walking through the trees.

He was just a bit shorter than Leo but still tall. His hair was jet black but he was too far away to see the exact color of his eyes but they looked to be the same color as Leo’s. You wondered if all demons had the same eye color. He stopped a few feet from Leo and picked some unknown particle from his sleeve.

“You know, it took me two hours to get through your barrier. A less dedicated demon would have given up. Are you trying to keep a secret?” The man spoke to Leo but stared directly at you. A cold shiver ran up your spine and slunk farther behind the wall beside you.

“Not really. Just trying to keep the riff raff out.” Leo spoke in a confident tone but the other man laughed.

“Ouch. You know I wouldn’t have had as much trouble if I could teleport. But Dad really didn’t take the time to teach me.”

“No, brother, you just didn’t take the time to learn. You were too busy trying to kill off your so-called enemies.”

Brother?! Your eyes widened at Leo’s words. You had no idea he had family. You watched as anger flashed across the man’s face but he took a deep breath and smiled again.

“All of this doesn’t matter. I’m not even here to see you. My business is with you, beautiful.” His eyes laid upon yours again but you kept quiet.

“You have no business here at all. You need to leave.” Leo moved until all you could see was the back of his head. Leo’s wide shoulders completely covered the man in front of him.

“Aw, come on little brother! I just want to talk to her. I had no idea you had a plaything.” The man’s teasing seemed to awaken Leo’s demon side as you noticed small tendrils of black smoke trailing around his feet.

“Leave. Now.” Leo’s voice was flat and terse. You remembered that tone. It was the same one he’d used when he talked to your father in the town.

“No…..no, I think I’ll stay right here. Why don’t you come out from your hiding spot, beautiful? I just want to talk to you.”

“You only talk to me. Tell me what you want and then you can leave.”

“Well, now, that wouldn’t be any fun.”

You were too busy listening to their exchange you didn’t realize that something was creeping up behind you. Hearing a shuffle, you turned to see a large lynx. It had been a while since you had seen one. Not since you moved from your previous hometown. It advanced on you and flattened yourself against the wall. It lunged and swatted one of its huge paws at you and you screamed as its claws connected with your arm. You turned to run out the door but it managed to lunge again and sink its teeth into your leg, causing you to fall to the porch floor.

“Y/N!” Leo ran up the steps and towards you but the lynx released your leg and lunged for him. The force of the contact sent Leo and the cat back down the steps.

Before you could sit up, arms were around your waist, lifting you up. You turned to see Leo’s brother smiling triumphantly. Ignoring the searing pain in your arm and leg, you struggled against his hold. He effortlessly descended the porch with you in tow, unfurling his wings as he went. Huge, pure white wings stretched out from his back, lifting you both in the air. Your voice only seemed to be good for screaming at the moment as you went higher and higher. Terror enveloped you and you were paralyzed. The man slapped a hand over your mouth while tightening his arm around your waist.

“Enough of that, lovely. We don’t want to disturb the entire forest. I just want to ask you a few questions while lover boy is grounded.”

Your eyes ventured downward to see Leo still struggling with the Lynx. Tears exploded from your eyes. Heights were tolerable with Leo because you trusted him. You had no idea who this guy was or what he intended to do. Trust was the farthest thing from your mind at the moment.

“Now, somewhere in your possession, you have something that belongs to me.”

You only shook your head as his hand was still over your mouth. You had no idea who this guy was, much less have anything of his.

“I know you do,” his lips were next to your ear and you tried to pull your head away, cringing. “A little birdie told me that you do. So tell me where it is and you’ll never have to see me again. How’s that?”

Looking down you saw that Leo was finally free of the lynx that lay motionless a few feet away. As soon as he was on his feet, his wings sprang from his back and he was in the air. The man holding you finally took notice and yelled to Leo.

“What did you do to my baby, you little shit?!”

Leo reached you both in a matter of seconds, black smoke twirling beneath him. He hadn’t turned filled demon yet, but he was getting there.

“Its alive, for now. Let her go and you can go tend to that thing. Far, far away.”

“Not until I get what I came for!”

Leo’s eyes were on you the entire time he spoke to his brother. The bright blue orbs shone with promise that you would be okay.

“And what is that?”

“This one has items in her possession that were crafted by a demon. I want them back.” Your heart skipped at his words. You had no idea how he knew of them but you knew he wasn’t getting them.

“And what makes you think she has them?” Leo drifted closer to you but his brother retreated to maintain distance.

“Like I told her, a little birdie told me. And since when do you fly? You always hated flying.”

“Focus, brother. Give me the girl and we can finish this conversation on the ground.” Leo came close once again and reached for you. His brother wrapped his arms around you tighter, making it hard for you to breathe. The cuts on your arm and leg were screaming in pain now. You couldn’t see them properly so you only hoped the blood loss was minimal.

“I don’t know. She fits kind of nice against me, don’t you think? Can I keep her, brother?”

That seemed to be Leo’s breaking point. His eyes turned almost immediately and his fangs extended. You felt the man’s hold on you falter a bit. as if he was afraid.

“Let her go, now.” Leo growled out his demand.

“Oh, fine.”

With no warning, the arms holding you were gone and you dropped, screaming, to the ground below. You squeezed your eyes shut, waiting for death. You heard a flutter of wings and felt a hand wrap around your wrist and pull you to a stop. Due to the velocity at which you were falling, your shoulder popped and you screamed in agony. An arm wrapped around your waist this time and you opened your eyes to see Leo staring back at you.

“I’m sorry, my love, I will fix it, I promise.”

Relieved that it was Leo who had you now, you ignore the pain once again and wrapped yourself around him. You buried your face in his neck and held on for dear life. Your body was now fully in pain. Tears streamed down your face and your body was shaking.

Your body jolted slightly when he landed on the ground, sending a new wave of pain throughout your body. You raised your head to look around for his brother but he was nowhere in sight.

“He’s gone. Took the lynx and left. He’ll be back though. Let’s get you inside.”

He carried you into the kitchen and placed you on the counter. He placed his hand on your leg just above your knee.

“We’ll heal these first and then I’ll set your shoulder.” You silently nodded and watched as the ugly scratch on your leg slowly disappeared. Once it was healed, he moved to your arm and finished with that quickly.

“He’s your brother?” You asked quietly, not sure if he wanted to talk about it.

“Yes. Albeit he isn’t a very good one, but a brother just the same.”

He didn’t say anything else. He just grabbed your waist and lifted you off the counter. He turned your body around so you faced the counter.

“Hold onto the counter.” He took your dislocated arm in one hand and placed another on your shoulder. “Relax and take a deep breath.”

You did as he asked and as soon as you exhaled he pulled on your arm and you felt your shoulder pop. A short burst of pain caused you to cry out and he smoothed his hand over your shoulder to ease the pain. His lips ghosted over your shoulder soon after and you stilled, the feeling helping to dissipate the pain. He rested his chin on your shoulder and sighed.

“Do you feel okay now? Any pain?” You shook your head and smiled.

“No, I’m okay, thanks to you……again.”

“Always. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.” He kissed your shoulder again before turning you back around to face him. You looked up at his face and saw the sorrow and guilt behind those beautiful eyes.

“I do. But they can be answered in time. I am curious about one thing.” He silently waited for your question so you continued. “What’s his name?”

“Hakyeon.”

[thelifetimechannel]

ARADIA: hi! ARADIA: i dont think weve spoken JAKE: Oh! Hi there. No i dont think we have. JAKE: Youre a troll arent you? ARADIA: yes well spotted :) ARADIA: our paths never crossed before earlier today but you have met many of my comrades JAKE: So are you friends with karkar and the one who kept sniffing me? JAKE: I dont think ive quite managed to catch everyones names yet. JAKE: I know its silly considering weve been around each other and fought together but you know how things get lost in the shuffle. ARADIA: i am indeed! ARADIA: i havent been the most diligent in maintaining our friendship lately but weve known each other for sweeps ARADIA: i managed to lose track of time for a while there myself ARADIA: so much to see so much to do ARADIA: paradox space is full of adventures waiting to happen JAKE: Oh lordy. Isnt THAT the truth. Places to be! Things to do! Reality destroying horrors to fight! JAKE: This may not be true of you but im more than ready for a siesta. ARADIA: i guess a short rest might be in order ARADIA: but after that im eager to explore our new universe! ARADIA: i have seen a lot so far but there is always more to discover JAKE: !! JAKE: Of course! JAKE: What do you think is on the other side then? Will we just get dumped out into the void? ARADIA: hmmm ARADIA: im not sure ARADIA: i have been many places but i have never been through a victory door ARADIA: not yet ARADIA: i would imagine we would be able to visit some of the worlds i saw on the lab readouts though ARADIA: including your former earth that has been placed there JAKE: Former earth? You mean like home? ARADIA: in a sense ARADIA: jade captured your earth far in its future and brought it back with her ARADIA: now it has been placed in the new universe you have created as a home for some of the carapaces who have shared your journey with you ARADIA: im sure theyll go about making it very homelike for their tastes ARADIA: i dont know if thats where youll want to settle down but it is far from the only planet out there JAKE: Oh. So its the earth thats wrecked and flooded and all that. ARADIA: i believe so ARADIA: your earth, but its future JAKE: Well nuts. JAKE: I know its silly to say so but for a moment i was almost thinking i could go back to my island. JAKE: I mean its not much. But if you dealt with the beasts it wouldnt be a bad vacation home. Im just not sure i have space for everyone! JAKE: At the very least i could gather up some of the things i left. ARADIA: hmm ARADIA: well considering it is only a matter of being there at the right time... ARADIA: i might be able to help with that JAKE: Really?? JAKE: Oh of course you could. I recognize that gear. JAKE: Speaking of which... do all trolls grow pretty fairy wings when they god tier? Ive seen them on the clown and now on roxys moms gal pal. ARADIA: we usually do! ARADIA: for some reason i havent seen any on karkat or his ancestor in the dream bubbles ARADIA: a few have even sprouted them without the aid of sgrub but that is rare ARADIA: why, are you jealous? ;) JAKE: Psssh. No. Theyre not really a match for my rugged aesthetic. JAKE: I mean i know it doesnt look rugged. Especially before i ditched the shorts. But sparkly butterfly wings on a guy is uh. Somewhat questionable in human culture? ARADIA: how strange ARADIA: youd think anyone would like a pair of these! but tastes are not disputable ARADIA: usually JAKE: Maybe if they were pointier or if my uh. JAKE: Ruggedness. JAKE: Hadnt already been called into question today. ARADIA: ruggedness is easily reestablished ARADIA: i often established mine by uncovering ancient mystical ruins or destroying things with my mind ARADIA: sometimes i got a little too carried away with that last one JAKE: I already blew up parts of two planets by accident but as long as the new universe has plenty of new tombs to plunder i guess thats a sound course of action. JAKE: Just save some for me! JAKE: Or hells bells take me with you! There can only be so many ancient mystical ruins in a fresh baked universe. ARADIA: sgrub did seed them throughout our world ARADIA: it stands to reason it might attempt to do so again ARADIA: such ruins would be in need of extra desecration JAKE: Would they also have transportalizers to prospit and derse? JAKE: ...like... new prospits and derses if im on the right gravy train? ARADIA: if a session of sgrub is slated to be played ARADIA: which i suppose it is since our adversary did so and or will do so ARADIA: he and who knows how many others ARADIA: though i believe rose is hoping to make that number a small one ARADIA: she might appreciate some ruin recon ;) JAKE: Oh! Gladly! JAKE: I grew up near one of those temples so i know you have to... carve your own souvenirs. So to speak. JAKE: Sadly skaia leaves precious little in the way of strange statuettes or precious trinkets. ARADIA: i will mark you down for hivehold item retrieval and ruin expeditions ARADIA: and if we desecrate a few instead of treating their contents with respect it will only be following in the footsteps of troll indiana jones all the better JAKE: !!! JAKE: You have an indiana jones?? ARADIA: of course ARADIA: what kind of civilization wouldnt have indiana jones JAKE: I mean OBVIOUSLY. JAKE: Indys one of my heroes! Along with lara croft of course. JAKE: I wanted to be just like them as a tyke. And i guess i kind of am? Except instead of putting precious treasures in a museum i exhumed a bunch of skeletons. ARADIA: that sounds exciting too! ARADIA: the crux of the adventure is the adventure itself not the loot you gain ARADIA: that is the team charge motto JAKE: I think i can get behind that. JAKE: Maybe the real adventure is the friends we make along the way? ARADIA: haha i hope so! ARADIA: and the lessons we learn but those are often painful ARADIA: then again sometimes our friends can be painful too at times ARADIA: but they are still worth it JAKE: Yeah. JAKE: Yeah they are!! JAKE: People are more... complicated than you might initially take them for. But i think youve got to try and understand them. JAKE: Friendship has to be a two-way street. And ive not always been the best at that but... consarnit i can try harder than i have been. JAKE: Sometimes people need that. ARADIA: if there is one thing i have learned through my time with the dreamers it is that people want to be understood ARADIA: sometimes they cant find peace until someone does JAKE: I guess i didnt realize how much things weighed on my friends until it... well... boiled over. ARADIA: haha ARADIA: i could tell you some stories about that ARADIA: but perhaps another time JAKE: Were all in sort of the same boat i guess. Hurting like the dickens on the inside. JAKE: At least were not alone then? ARADIA: yes! ARADIA: that is the most important thing to remember ARADIA: we are not alone JAKE: Not anymore!