#swtor shit tag

[tiredassmage]

A Visual Guide Bullshit Reference to Tyr

& the growing number of fuckin' aus i started and @hyrohkaah is helping me grow like we started a fuckin'. community garden or something.

get you a man that can do both or w/e i guess

[arkhavens]

had a loose idea for smthn that would fix like all of my issues w where swtors storyline is/has been going.

what if, instead of immediately getting queued for the prelude to kotfe, there was a quest placed right before it where you essentially chose if you want that toon to actually go through the kotfe/kotet expansions, OR to play through the 5 years that the alliance commander is in carbonite?

bc for 1- i really want details on that period, and 2-it seems like Such a fucking lazy cop out to just mention that "oh yeah lol all the class characters just disappear for some reason right when the alliance commander does and their respective govts are fine w that" and act like that Makes Any SENSE.

it would give bioware a chance to actually diversify the story again, it would give players that dont want to lose their companions a way to still continue the story, we could get actual development into why the hell malgus is even alive, it would make the republic and empire being even remotely functional make sense(bc while i could understand the smuggler+bounty hunter dropping off the map, you cannot fucking tell me that the republic losing the Barsen'thor, the Hero of Tython,+Havoc Squad's leader, AND the empire losing the Empire's Wrath, multiple major members of the dark council,+Cipher 9, ALONGSIDE anyone Else that was lost in the fighting, would just be fine.)

and like it wouldnt even need to be a complete chronicle of the 5 years!! we've had major timeskips in game b4, so it could definitely speed past some shit. but just seeing how the empire and republic even managed to hold it together at ALL would be fascinating.

i honestly feel like setting up a sort of branch out -> joining point -> branch out again -> rejoin etc pattern to content could work really well if done properly. it would weave the overarching story together but allow for a lot of diversity in playthroughs, which is what ive seen practically Everyone complaining about.

idk. just, more class content. the little class missions on rishi engaged me more than the entirety of kotfe+kotet, and im saying that as someone who actually kind of enjoyed those expansions the first go around

[squirrelno2]

Last Line Challenge

Rules: in a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like).

thanks for the tag, @mwolf0epsilon! finding the last thing I wrote was the hard part because it's been like a week and a couple days ago I went on a rereading spree trying to inspire myself, which means a lot of random fics said they'd been opened recently but had nothing new in them. anyway.

(the one I ended up with is about 3-5 layers of au - it's Shiny/Ven the kid who Dogma adopts in my fic series, but as an adult having time travelled to swtor, but also THIS isn't even my canon for that it's an au where she's kind of forced into becoming a Sith??? why don't you work on anything that people have context for and want to see completed, I ask myself every day) Preamble over here's some lines!

She sounded so much like Ven’s father it hurt. Ven thought about the things she’d done, long before the Sith got their hands on her, and turned her face away. It was a good thing Nalyan and Dorne had each other. They were both too good for her.

noooo idea who I know who's been doing stuff recently and also dear god if i took this game literally that's a lot of people but. @what-point-is-there hiii i know you've been doing art can I convince you to share a wip (no pressure i'm being silly) and for anyone else who wants to share a wip do it! I will vouch for you and say i personally tagged you. with like my mind or something i don't know.

[relevant-url-incoming]

I think the funniest thing I ever did to Nalyan was put him in this outfit like.

Oh you don't like being around Jedi? and your excuse is that you don't care about or trust the Force and you think Jedi are so stupid and you dislike their aesthetics and insert another petty grumpy argument here? what the fuck are you wearing buddy because that looks suspiciously like half the clothes that got dropped on my consular. you've got a dopey little ponytail that's totally not a little piece of eight-year-old you still desperately hoping to become someone's padawan and your formal outfit is just bootleg jedi clothes. it's funny because if i don't laugh at it i feel really really sad for him. my guy. you need so much therapy for all the shit i put you through.

anyway he will wear this and tell people with a straight face that he's never spoken to a single jedi in his life. these people include risha and corso, who were in fact there the last time he talked to a jedi, and guss, who takes this as an insult and not nalyan being a fucking weirdo (because if anyone other than guss asks nalyan is the first to say he should totally count as a jedi. only if guss isn't there though). this man has Problems.

[ophexis]

trying not to think too hard about how quickly a certain art site that shall not be named went downhill the second they started doing their opt-in/out bullshit

[certified-anakinfucker]

📖 RN NOW PLS

you have no idea how far back i had to go in my OLD ask tag to find this fucking link. i love you kebbie i really do and i hope this genuinely proves it - so send me a book for a daydreamed story of mine! trust me i have many!

this ask has deadass been in my box for two years now um. holy fuck. its gonna be super long bc this is actually my excuse to force myself to figure out how this fucking story actually goes. youre my sacrificial lamb, babe <3

under the cut for toxic/abusive relationship themes | mostly stemming from not putting an end to toxic cycles and briefly refusing to believe it was an issue

so i had this old ass wip, right. it was called parisian lovers despite no one in the entire story being french whatsoever and it was basically a love story for a sexual relationship with danger turning into a genuine view into what happens when you dont. like check yourself before running headlong into what you think you want

ive since started readapting it to (surprise) swtor and an excuse to explore sith pureblood (henceforth referred to as "tsis") cultures surrounding whats considered normal in their dating/relationships, and also how it challenges familial relationships

the details of it are super fuzzy mostly bc all the meat of it was lost to twitter dms that i refuse to open. so heres a quick fast easy rundown

basically, youve got tsiksos. he is the third born and third son of an extremely powerful and wealthy union of bloodlines, and since hes really not the most important one, he decides he wants to study a niche theory of dark arts. something about how channeling power needed to cast sorcery can be amplified through vocals and choreography. basically he went to a contemporary dance school for the shadow wizard money gang

tsiksos meets ûtainoz, who is practically a beast in this school. he sees the valedictorian spot and hes steamrolling anyone he needs to. hes ruthless, hes heartless, hes a smooth-talker, he will do anything to get his way, and tsiksos found that hot and sexy and definitely worth falling in love with

predictably, this goes terribly. tsiksos doesnt know what the hell he walked into, only that he may as well enjoy it because hes sleeping with the hottest, most talented guy at this school. ûtainoz got a little too comfortable, though, and by the end of their tenure there lost his valedictorian spot to tsiksos,,, who was also gunning for it right under his nose

but whatever, its fine, they go their separate ways with the taste of one anothers venom permanently burned in each others mouths. they both fill their own niches. ûtainoz goes into more of a performative, traveling role and relies on his aesthetic rather than his power - whereas tsiksos followed through with his intent and deepened his connection to the dark arts through what he learned. he became something of a siren, honestly

anyway anyway anyway. tsiksos moves off of his homeworld. he decides he wants to actively burn fires through everywhere ûtainoz has been. and hes extremely successful. he wants to win, he needs to win, he will win. he meets utajhaiw while in the new city, and while poor utajhaiw falls in love - tsiksos sees someone he can keep close with him if he just uses all the right words.

which works! theyre together, its great, theyre fucking almost daily. but they argue every hour. to the point where it gets violent more often than not with tsiksos on the offensive. the arguments are largely fabricated or instigated out of boredom. but isnt it worth it for the sloppy nasty disgusting hateful makeup sex?

yeah well. the neighbors of their apartment dont think so. theyve nearly called the cops every time, until neighbor laishtzi comes over to investigate what just hit the wall. he gets pulled, literally, into the middle of their fuck. his partner rîshja follows and, likewise, gets pulled into the middle of their fuck. its like some sort of apology thing for them too and it becomes regular.

enter: their friend nunjor, a lawyer (i think. something like that) who also ! gets pulled into the sex life. whats worse is that both tsiksos and utajhaiw both fell in love with nunjor and wanted to have him as a permanent third.

sometime after this, the whole hatefucking thing gets a little too hateful. tsiksos actually genuinely nearly kills utajhaiw, and hes starting to hide the knives in earnest. nunjor suggests that they attend actual couples' things instead of just their joint performances where utajhaiw plays and tsiksos conjures something.

they try it. they enjoy it. their relationship actually improves. they make a vase together in a ceramics class.

by the way, utajhaiw has asthma. tsiksos has been stressing him out so bad hes started smoking. on purpose. yes it is what you think it is and tsiksos thinks its hot because he wants to shotgun the smoke from his mouth

anyway, something happens and tsiksos starts backsliding. they have another argument and he breaks their ceramic vase. all that dust from the glaze and the clay triggers a pretty bad asthma attack, bad enough that the neighbors come over (it had been so long without an incident) and call the paramedics to come get him. utajhaiw actually snaps at tsiksos in the middle of literally coughing himself to death, and this is uh. a little traumatizing. because its never been this bad before.

utajhaiw makes it to the hospital fine, refuses to see tsiksos, and nunjor is on utajhaiw's side - that was fucking uncalled for, dude. tsiksos goes back to their apartment, alone for the first time since they bought it together. naturally he should not be alone at this time

laishtzi phones a friend, kaqur (psychiatrist-adjacent) and his partner jashru (probably a psychologist, if not professional "wtf is wrong with you, stop that"). they agree to take tsiksos in while utajhaiw is back home with his family.

its about a year i think? that tsiksos stays with them, basically on s-watch, and it turns out he has a really severe derealization + depersonalization whammy going on, spurned from still dressing the way ûtainoz liked him to dress and the way other people wanted to see his body. he punched through a mirror. so once he started dressing in looser, more comfortable clothing - surprise! he felt better!!!

(meanwhile, utajhaiw spent a year at home strengthening his lungs again, writing songs and poetry, and reconsidering his entire life. spoiler alert: he actually was in love with tsiksos)

but things are never easy. at some point, tsiksos has a bit of a meltdown and breaks out of his little prison, steals the spare key to his apartment, and ends up burrowing in the bed wearing utajhaiws clothes and sleeping on his side of the bed because he feels so fucking bad about what he did to him. but uhhhhhhh.

apparently nunjor also decided to pay a visit that night. and tsiksos, in some nightmare-sleep-haze, reacts to nunjor trying to wake him as if he were ûtainoz - meaning he tried to apologize through offering his body. rubbing his hands on his thighs, face in his crotch (since nunjor was standing at the side of the bed). when nunjor gently corrected him and woke him (not that he would have been upset at the idea of fucking him again, buth he didnt seem to be in the right headspace) it actually uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sent tsiksos into a worse panic. scrambling out of the bed. tripping on something. breaking a glass.

oh, hello ptsd - it sure is nice crab-scrambling backwards on your hands and bare feet over glass while hyperventilating and sobbing so hard you genuinely cant see. again, laishti and rîshja to the rescue getting him back to kaqur and jashru.

so heres where the fun happens. ûtainoz comes back. hes genuinely changed for the better, he is apologetic. he wants to make it up to the person he hurt the worst. does tsiksos take him up on that? yes. should he have? yes, actually, because he needed the closure.

they start rekindling what little flame they had together. days turn into weeks, months, and theyre getting along just fine. apparently nunjor had left, and tsiksos had no comm - by the time tsiksos noticed, it was uh. almost a little too late.

theres a time where tsiksos and ûtainoz are in a speeder together and ohhhh nunjor is a poet, its in his full name, but he also composes. he sings. and he sings about how badly someone has just lifted him higher than ever before dropping him down into nothing. tsiksos has a breakdown on the lawn of some random recreational park.

things will get better again, though! somewhere along the way, tsiksos and ûtainoz make peace with who they are and who they were. nunjor comes back and he and tsiksos talk it out. they forgive each other. and then tsiksos and utajhaiw reunite. they explain a lot. they forgive each other.

tsiksos/utajhaiw/nunjor throuple endgame is the only thing that matters to me actually.

thanks for coming to my ted talk i love you so much

[eorzeashan]

I really should RB that companion ask meme but all I can think about is Eight showing up as a comp in KOTFE's rescue chapter. Instead of just Lana, he's there too.

The Outlander is like "who is this????" while Lana starts off with "he's-" is interrupted "I'm just a helping hand. More importantly, can you walk?"

You feel Lana glaring at him as his smile grows wider, but there's no time to press questions.

> Nod yes

"Well, don't push yourself. You did just get out of being locked in carbonite."

> Shake head no

> I can tough it out, but it hurts...

Choosing either of the bottom two options results in him picking up the PC into a bridal carry. (Yes, even larger models).

> Wh... hey!

"It'll be bad if you strain yourself here. Leave it to me."

> That's not the problem!

"Not now- arms around neck, we're going!"

Gruffer classes will make some very loud complaints.

The scene plays out as usual, except PC's who did not choose to walk on their own are not forced to go by foot. The combat remains, though he will still pick you up when the cutscenes start again. Lana, if romanced, helps move you along by sharing the weight between you two.

He stays largely silent in the elevator, to which you can continue the conversation with Lana as written or question her about his identity; she'll give a vague clue and redirect it back to your current issue. For Imperial Agents, you have the option of stopping him outside the elevator and asking are you...? before being interrupted by skytroopers entering the Zakuulan office (in true KOTFE/ET style), forcing both of you to cut off the convo and enter combat.

That's the gist of it. There probably could be room to flirt, but there's too much going on to feel necessary; he also splits off when you're confronted by Zakuulan knights to distract Vaylin.

When you ask why he isn't coming on board with you in the escape shuttle, Lana says he'll find his own way back as he's capable enough to do so. You can disapprove (with special dialogue that refers to her callousness towards using others if you disagreed with her treatment of Theron in SoR) or wonder to yourself with an extra neutral option, but again, there's little time to think on it. The chapter ends.

[maulfucker]

The problem with making myself a star wars oc is that I love designing aliens but I hate creating anything for premade settings

[oolathurman]

so i've had this very specific vision in my head regarding jarrok's apartment, which i entirely blame my mom the interior designer for. when i found out there's a website that'll render whole rooms for you... well i couldn't help myself :U

there'd be more wall art but this is the general gist of it. two beds, two baths, a rich person tub that can fit two or more people, a walk in closet the size of a new york apartment, all that good stuff. if i'm calculating right the entire thing's about 1800 sq ft?

and yes i had to get the eames arm chair. (god this is such a specific thing that no one but architects know about it's so nerdy help)

misc notes under a readmore

the fur rug is supposed to be a wampa

the stove hood should be higher

forgot to add kitchen cabinets

there may or may not be a tv in jarrok's room on the wall above the small seating area

laundry is in the guest bath

in the living room, on the wall between jarrok's room and the living room, is a tv/holo and a fireplace underneath.

clawfoot tub in the guest bath

i also didn't add shelving in the walk in closet but just imagine it's there ok

[skiitter]

fighting for my life rn on wookiepedia. absolutely inundated with information. canon whomst. girl help.

[certified-anakinfucker]

I HAVE ZERO REGRETS I AM CACKLING EVILLY I AM FILLED WITH SUCH GLEE

So I essentially keep to my own little sandbox when it comes to SWTOR, my own characters and stories. BUT, sometimes @certified-anakinfucker's Darrash comes over to play with Khel and Quinn. Thoughts happened, talks happened, sobs happened, and while the background circumstances are my fault, this scene is very much to be blamed on Cheeri!

Anyway, no polish here, just feels and word vomit. CW for mention of character death.

Darrash Nealev. The name dredges something out of the tangled mess that’s been steadily replacing Quinn’s once-orderly brain over the last few days. Muddied memories of a small, slouched figure, a cocky grin made wider by scars that split across warm brown cheeks. Green eyes flicking around, a gaze both distracting and distracted. Never keeping still, constant jittering, fingers fiddling with the settings of a sniper rifle long enough that it must threaten to trip him up - No. Not Darrash. Cipher Nine. An agent. An assassin. The thought catches in Quinn’s roiling brain, latches on, digging, twisting, so that almost before the door has closed again behind his unexpected visitor, Malavai has already moved - ramming the other man bodily into the nearest wall, pinning him there, as the business end of his blaster pushes hard into the hollow place beneath Cipher Nine’s chin.

For once, there’s no easy roll of a neck or shoulder, no cocksure remark dropped casually from the space between flashing teeth. There’s almost no reaction at all, and for some reason Quinn finds this infuriating, and his blaster bites harder, forcing the agent’s head back - the only movement Nine has made, save for the barely perceptible trembling of his lithe body against the wall.

Their eyes meet, furious blue boring into now-muted green, and Quinn actually sees it, for the first time - true fear fluttering in the other man’s gaze. And hell, he should be afraid, because the stubble is thick on Quinn’s too-pale jaw and the hollows of his eyes are burning with unsummoned tears and his teeth are bared as though he’s only a moment away from tossing aside the blaster and using his jaws instead to rend the life from Nine’s throat.

But then words croak from that throat, thin and terrified:

“You - you think I did it.”

And in these last few moments, in the wild rampage of his grief, that’s exactly what Quinn has thought. Because who better than the infamous yet unknowable Cipher Nine to carry out such an act - to peer through the scope of a prototype sniper rifle and drive a Force-rending bolt into the unsuspecting back of the Empire’s Hand?

A tremor runs through his own hand as the memory grips him again; he shoves it aside by jamming the blaster even harder against the underside of Nine’s chin, till the man’s head is clamped in the vise formed by Quinn’s need for retribution and the unyielding wall behind him. He should say something, he needs to say something, but it’s lodged in his throat as though he’s the one trying to swallow and breathe beneath a blasterpoint. So instead it’s Nine who speaks again, soft, scared, not quite a plea, but an entreaty nonetheless:

“Quinn, please think about this. If I killed Khel, would I be standing here unarmed?”

Rationality, logic - these things have not been heeded or welcomed in Malavai’s broken brain. All semblance of reason has given way to the tidal wave of heartbreak, rushing in to fill the terrible hollow left behind by Khel’s death. 

But now they nudge gently at him, circling, coaxing him to stop, and breathe, and think. Quinn stares at the agent, sucking in harsh breaths that tinge his tongue with the mud he can smell hanging on the other man. He searches the Cipher’s still stiffened face for any hint of deception, of guilt, but there’s nothing, nothing but fear and a fragmented pain, and slowly, wretchedly, realisation finally takes hold.

It wasn’t him. It wasn’t Darrash.

And yet, even as he feels the fury draining from his limbs, Quinn remains there for another moment, the blaster still pressed tight to Darrash’s tilted chin, because if it wasn’t Darrash he doesn’t know who, and now he has no outlet for the anguish still building unbearably inside him.

But then the moment passes. Quinn withdraws the blaster, steps back, pivots away from the terrified agent; a second later he hurls his weapon into a corner of the room, letting out a sound more akin to a wounded nexu than a decorated officer of the Imperial military; and then he buries his face in his hands, as though skin and flesh and bone might somehow be strong enough to hold the magnitude of the grief once more retching from his mouth.

[tiredassmage]

he's officially escaped containment (dromund kaas)

[gothamcityneedsme]

People You'd Like to Get to Know Better

Tagged by @abysskeeper yayyyyyyyyy

⟡ FAVE SHIPS ⟡

Also Trick x Tavon

Beatrice x Battler

Flynn x Nanashi

Satoko x Rika

Bruce Wayne x Weiss Schnee (yes i am serious)

Myn Donas x Kirney Slane

many others...impossible to list my fav ships

⟡ LAST SONG ⟡

Anyone's Ghost - The National

⟡ LAST FILM ⟡

Aquaman 2! I haven't seen the first one but I thought it was really fun. It felt like. It was made for women? Which is a weird thought to have during a film but I noticed the lack of male gaze and was sort of transfixed by that lack. The themes of the movie were fun and it was very eventful with tons of shit happening, which was a blast.

⟡ CURRENTLY READING ⟡

'The Adventures of Superman' the 1942 novel (1995 reprint version). I'm still just in the beginning parts but I really enjoyed its depiction of Krypton. It's wild to be reading the first superhero novel.

I also pulled out the FE Chess zine i have, but I haven't actually cracked it open yet. Both are in my 'active reading pile' on my nightstand :)

⟡ CURRENTLY CRAVING ⟡

a couch for my room so i can watch tv again

the ability to finish the third chapter of the dc fic i really want to post

the energy to fix the damage in the wall of my room and my bathroom (not major i just. dont. feel like it)

a nightwing poster.

more ops catalysts in swtor...

i would put a food here but i am just not a food motivated person so thats hard for me.

OK. Tagging just for funsies (do this if u want to): @roseofcards90 @shadeslayer @enterlameprofilename @yoursupremeruler @yarrayora @salamancialilypad @halsaph, and anyone else that wants to do this!

[certified-anakinfucker]

20. Who do they like as a person but hate their work? Vice versa, whose work do they like but don’t like the person?

11. If someone was impersonating them, what would friends / family ask or do to tell the difference?

56. If they’re scared, who do they want comfort from? Does this answer change depending on the type of fear?

for darrash! <3

HIIIII HELLO HI HI HI

my blorbo. my boy. my guy. my little gender mongrel.

(from the weirdly specific asks)

20: Who do they like as a person but hate their work? Vice versa, whose work do they like but don’t like the person? (a) Hunter. He always agreed with Hunter's sentiments, and had verbally told him so before. He would have even helped him under the table had Hunter not decided to go the route of killing thousands just to prove a point. That's what he was trying to explain on the Tenebrous, before Hunter decided that mercy wasn't an option.

(b) Oh boy. Probably any given Moff. He respects being in charge of So Much, but he hates that power goes to peoples' heads and they start acting unwise. But it does make a nice Moff Hunting Season™ so hey, you win some you lose some you win some again.

11: If someone was impersonating them, what would friends / family ask or do to tell the difference? Silly rabbit, you can't impersonate Darrash! Even when the Old Man gave up his beautiful plan to study Darrash on Tatooine through Mia, Darrash wasn't really acting like himself because he fucking hated Tatooine and was being a grump the whole time. If the Old Man went back to Intelligence and impersonated Darrash based on that, he wouldn't even make it to Dromund Kaas' orbital spaceport.

But if you really want to.. well, you'd just have to know him from day one. Darrash is a very unique blend of street rat and Imperial elite; he gets as far as he does because he knows how to blend in naturally - not like he's SUPPOSED to be there (an Imperial seeking to blend in) but like he's always been there (someone who legitimately grew up in these environments). His peers could easily tell he wasn't himself if he didn't offer a snarky retort at the orders given, or if he actually tried really hard on his assignments as opposed to just knowing how to not get himself fucked up in the process.

56: If they're scared, who do they want comfort from? Does this answer change depending on the type of fear? Darrash would absolutely be seeking comfort from his loved ones.

Firstly, there is Vector. Vector would be his closest friend and confidant. His safe space, his lover, his most trusted companion outside of his own mind. This is his husband. His better conscious, his shining light.

Dr. Eckard Lokin and the Minister of Intelligence (formerly known as Colonel Tylado Bentismo, Watcher Seventeen, or Keeper) come afterwards as Darrash's adoptive fathers once he entered the realm of Intelligence. Tylado brought him in as a sort of pet project or guarantee for his promotion to Keeper, should he prove that he can create a top-notch operative for Intelligence and keep them alive with his remote guidance. He didn't count on accidentally gaining a reluctant son, nor actually seeing himself as a father. Darrash does fully trust him, not just implicitly, but genuinely. He loves him. He knows Tylado didn't have much of a choice once operations spun out of his hands, and Tylado is amazed that he is still .. well, alive.

Likewise, Eckard understands Darrash better than the Agent wants to admit. He's known him since his first day in Intelligence, having to conduct medical examinations and quickly learning that he needs to be heavily sedated beforehand. He doesn't like treating Darrash like an animal, as other officers have suggested, he sees Darrash as a genuine son. And Darrash, albeit feigning a grudge, sees him like a father alongside Tylado. (The two of them had been married for twenty years by the time Darrash came into the picture, and they both had their turns trying to raise and look after him without showing extraneous bias..)

Raina comes next, as Darrash's protégé and adoptive little sister. She's a tad rigid and rough around the edges but she means very well and is always ready to learn when she's made or experienced an error in her ways. She learns to trust herself first, and follow her gut in the field.

[certified-anakinfucker]

VARHOPA TIIIMMMEEEEEE WAAAAAAAAAAAA THANK YOU OLIVER 🌹🌹🌹🌹

varhopa time....

var is mine, ahopa is @certified-anakinfucker's <3

[Commissions Open]

[eorzeashan]

Besides living in an incredibly haunted castle that may or may not have Jadus' specter spying on him through every mirror and flashes of unknown shadows out of the corner of his eye, Eight was ordered to bring the Dread Master's bodies back from Oricon where they were buried in a plot of soil in Jadus' laboratory-- eventually sprouting from their remains a massive dreadseed tree that bore human-faced fruit. Oddly enough, the tree is very much alive, and retrieving cuttings from it and steeping the roots in tea has a plethora of observed effects, some of which include summoning a hallucination of the Dread Masters, though which one appears tends to vary. They insist through these drug-induced hazes that they are very much at peace, having finally become one.

This does not prevent them from insisting you should join them in this blissful afterlife, among gnarled roots and thorns and bled dry. Perhaps this may even be a false sentiment, given the tumorous outgrowth on the back of their trunk that resembles a missing master.