#the atlas stations look so fucking cool chat

[absolutelyzoned]

big fan of this gender... oohough..

[homogrimoire]

The Final Song, For an Earth Angel

Fair Game Week 2020: Day 6 - Atlas Ball / Mantle Battle

Read it on AO3 here.

The night of the dance, Clover made sure not even a hair was out of place. He also mentally prepared himself for what would transpire. He had no doubt that Qrow would accept his love and the dance now, he just needed to prepare himself. It was a major thing he was doing. After checking his hair one last time, he made his way to the ballroom. Clover was guarding the punch bowl as Qrow arrived with the kids, Ruby eagerly dragging him along. Clover admired the man as he walked in. He was standing tall now, as opposed to the hunched over posture he would hold when he first arrived. And of course, he looked as stunning as ever. Hot, great with kids, amazing personality, and literally one of the best huntsmen to have ever lived. He was the whole package. How could Clover not fall in love with him? Qrow then split from the kids as they went do their own things, and made his way over to Clover.

“Hey there hot stuff.” Clover winked. He poured himself another cup of the punch and took a drink. It tasted all right, but as to be expected of a school dance planned on such short notice.

“You’re pretty easy on the eyes yourself Lucky Charm.” Clover chuckled.

“Drink?” He asked, offering him a cup.

“No thanks. That stuff is almost always spiked.”

“I’ve been watching it all night.” Clover enticed. Qrow kindly too up the offering, which pleased Clover. Before taking a drink, Qrow took a sniff of it.

“Yup. Spiked.” Clover stopped mid drink, swallowing what was in his mouth with an audible gulp.

“Fuck.”

“Maybe later.” Qrow winked. This man is going to be the death of me. Clover thought as a blush spread across his face. “If you want, I’ll let Jimmy know what happened while you replace that.”

“Sure.” Clover mustered as Qrow went to find the General, keeping his eyes on him until he disappeared into the crowd. With no Qrow to ogle at, he went to take care of the punch. On his way to dump it, he wondered how the punch could have possibly been spiked. He knew he kept his eyes on it like a hawk, so he tried to think of any moments he took his eyes off it. Then it hit him that the only time he did long enough for someone to slip in some alcohol was when his eyes were on Qrow. He knew that he only had himself to blame, but then again, it caused Qrow to flirt with him so overtly. It was another sign that Qrow liked him back, he just had to make the move. Walking more quickly. He searched for punch to refill the bowl, but found none and instead replaced it with water. If it came down to it, it would be easier to tell if it was spiked. After a whole half hour of that, he reentered the ballroom. He saw Ren and Winter chatting where he was stationed.

“Good. You’re here.” Ren said.

“General Ironwood instructed me to switch stations with you. Apparently, the students find me too intimidating. Someone like you is better off than me on the dance floor.” Ren motioned for Clover to follow him.

“Alright...” he said suspiciously, wondering what Ren was planning.

“And remember to blend in!” She shouted as they merged into the crowd. Apparently, they were going deep into the crowd where Qrow and the rest of the kids were. He was just finishing a fun little dance with Ruby before joining Yang and Blake, mostly just to embarrass Yang. As soon as she noticed Clover, she mentioned it to her uncle, thankful for the Ace Ops’ appearance.

“Hey there Lucky Charm. Ready to show these kids how it’s done?”

“Only if I can get the last dance.”

“I think that can be arranged. But until then,” Qrow pulled him into the fray, almost causing him to trip, “let’s have a good time with everyone!” They first danced with each other, a spectacular, if just a tad too vulgar for the setting, display of their bond as they moved in sync with each other. Soon, they took turns dancing with each of the kids, having fun, and laughing at little jokes and minor missteps here and there. Clover was getting tired, and went find a seat so he could take a small break. The dancing took a lot of energy, but it was undeniably worth every second. As he watched Qrow and Nora share an energetic dance, Ren took a seat next to him.

“On my way down here, Weiss told me she saw an empty balcony two floors up. It should be about right above us.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” After a moment of comfortable silence between each other, Ren spoke up again.

“You know, we all care about you too, not just our Uncle Qrow.” It caught Clover off guard. He wasn’t expecting this talk so soon, especially at a dance.

“That… means a lot to me. Thanks.” He could not fully convey how much it did mean to him. They sat there, watching the love of their life dance and have fun, knowing that the final song was next. He felt content. As the song stopped, Ren got up.

“See you later, Uncle Clover.” Did I hear that right? Clover could only stare in disbelief as he walked away. He almost didn’t notice Qrow as he sat next to them.

“Having fun hot stuff?” Now that he was closer, Qrow noticed that Clover did look really hot, in both senses of the word. Some of the gel in his hair was undone in the chaos of dancing, leaving some strands out of place.

“With you? Always.”

“It’s kinda hot in here, don’t you think?” Qrow asked as he tugged on his collar.

“I know a place where we can cool off, if you want. It’ll still be hot with you there, but I think we can manage.”

“Lead the way Boy Scout.” Qrow said as he stood up. “I’ll be riiight behind you.” Qrow had to hand it to Atlas. They sure knew how to design a good uniform. They continued chatting and laughing as they always did. Once they reached the decently sized balcony after a short walk, Qrow filled him in on what he missed while he was taking care of the punch. They could hear the sounds of the party as they droned on below them. The thing that made Qrow laugh the most was when he told Clover that Yang had tripped right into Blake. He was laughing so hard as he leaned against the railing that he could barely tell what happened. It was endearing. So much so, that he wanted to tell Qrow that he loved him right then and there, but he didn’t. He wanted the moment to be as perfect as could be. However, his laughing fit and Clover’s vehement admiration was interrupted by an announcement.

“If I can have your attention please,” spoke Ironwood. “the final song is about to commence, so grab a partner, and proceed to the dance floor.” That was Clover’s que.

“May I have this dance?” He asked Qrow with a bow, a hand extended out for him to hold.

“Lucky for you,” Qrow began as he took his hand, “I’ve been waiting all night for a certain lucky guy to ask me.” Hand in hand, the final song began. They both gazed into each other’s eyes, the light of a shattered moon making them sparkle.

“You look stunning, as always.” Clover complimented.

“On most days, I chalk it up to luck.” he joked. The slow song dictated their simple, but intimate movements.

“And today?”

“Really lucky.” The both chuckled. They continued their dance in content silence, slowly inching closer and closer. “You know, I love you Clover.” Qrow smiled gently, a slight blush arising. Clover supposes he should have considered that Qrow could have told him first.

“I planned to tell you later, but it looks like you beat me to it.”

“Do I get a prize for first then?”

“I’d say so, my lucky charm.” They closed their eyes, and slowly leaned closer into each other. As the song neared its end, they dared not break away from each other. Months of pining were finally manifesting in that small, but so significant moment. They only finally stopped just so they could catch their breath. “I love you too Qrow.” Together, they leaned against the balcony’s railing, holding each other’s hand, gazing lovingly at each other, recounting all the times they so overtly flirted, and the times the kids poked fun at them. Moonlight shining against the Qrow’s dark clothes and salt and pepper hair made him look angelic. Clover told him about Ren, which made Qrow laugh in surprise.

“It’s always the quiet ones you've got to watch out for.”

“I can tell.” He wasn’t going to tell Qrow that Ren called him Uncle Clover, yet. That was a story for another day. The sound of a vibration interrupted their conversation. Clover Picked up his scroll out of a pocket. He sighed sadly.

“Duty calls.” He really didn’t want the moment to end.

“Hmph. We should get going. It’s starting to get cold anyways. And who knows, maybe Yang and Winter started a Big Sister Dance Off.”

“Heh, I would pay to see that.” They continued their walk back to the ballroom hand in hand, enjoying the silence and each other’s company.

“I hear Vacuo is warm this time of year.” Qrow said just before they opened to the doors to reenter the ballroom. “You’re welcome to tag along with us if you like.” Clover thought for a moment.

“You know, I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” Qrow gave him a quick peck on his cheek.

“Lucky me.”

[ask-beacons-finest]

How's the AFD!RWBY+Penny vacations going? Are Ruby, Weiss and Penny enjoying Atlas? Have Blake and Yang gone to the daycare and taken off to Vacuo? 

(Asked by anon)

Afewdrinks!Weiss, sitting in a booth at a club, music pounding in her ears as the various lights around the venue flicker and flash to make a flipbook-like visage: Ugh...where's Ruby with our drinks?

Afewdrinks!Penny, sitting beside Weiss, bobbing her head side to side with the music: Would you like me to go find her? 

Afewdrinks!Weiss, nods, laying her head atop Penny's should for a moment: Please? 

~~~

AFD!Ruby, sitting at the club's bar, laughing drunkenly: No way! I know him too!

AFD!Rando, a dude obviously a few years older than Ruby, chuckling a bit: O-Oh, you really do know the DJ? 

AFD!Ruby, nodding, taking a sip of her drink before putting it down: Yeah!! He's a friend of one of my girlfriends!

AFD!Rando, nodding, putting his hand in his pocket and glancing at the drink: Oh no shit, cool. Wait, did you say girlfriends, like plural?

AFD!Ruby, excitedly nods: Yeah man! I've got two! They're great and I love them a bunch. They're fricken...gorgeous too. Like some of the most beautiful girls EVER.

AFD!Rando, raising an eyebrow in interest: That so? Well hey, where are they? I'd love to buy you all a drink, chat a bit.

AFD!Ruby, turning away from the bar to the crowd behind her, looking around: Uhhhh, let's see...I think they were over there in one of the booths...yeah! Yeah! See that white hair? That's Weiss! Penny must've gone to the bathroom or somethin.

AFD!Rando, quickly putting his hand back in his pocket as Ruby turns back around: That's cool. That's cool. I'm sure they're both pretty great.

AFD!Ruby, nodding, picking up her drink: Oh yeah! They're the coolest!

AFD!Ruby, bringing the drink towards her lips, only for her wrist to be caught in a tight grip from beside her: H-Huh? Oh!!! Hi Penny! Hey this is my girlfriend Penny! 

AFD!Rando, with a bit of a scowl: Hey.

AFD!Penny, slowly lowering Ruby's hand to place the drink on the counter, putting a single finger into the drink: …

AFD!Ruby, confused: H-Hey if you wanted to you coulda just asked for a sip y'know?

AFD!Penny, after a small flash of green light from her eyes, narrowing them and glares daggers at the dude: What did you put in this?

AFD!Ruby, taken aback: Wh-...what??? No Penny he's cool he wouldn't-

AFD!Penny, shooting her hand past Ruby, and grabs hold of the guy's wrist as he tries to walk away: Very well. Don't answer me.

AFD!Penny, uncaringly twists her wrist, a wet snapping sound coming from the guy as he collapses and screams out while holding his hand, steps over and rummages through his pockets to find a few packets of powder, one opened: Ruby. I beg you. Not to be so trusting. 

AFD!Ruby, disgusted: DUDE! WHAT THE FUCK!? 

AFD!Penny, giving the guy a swift kick to the face, knocking him unconscious before handing the drugs to the bartender, and giving a quick explanation on what happened: Let's go back to the booth Ruby.

AFD!Ruby, still absolutely disgusted, embarrassed due to feeling like an idiot, taking a tight hold of Penny's hand after spitting on the guy's face: Yeah...let's...yeah.

~~~

AFD!Weiss, protectively holding onto Ruby, who's clearly upset and was crying: Hey, hey it's okay, it's okay. You're just too nice for your own good. We'll leave okay? 

AFD!Ruby, sniffling, rubbing her eyes: I'm just...I'm an idiot I'm so sorry...I'm so fucking stupid.

AFD!Penny, sitting close against Ruby on the opposite side of Weiss, resting her head against Ruby's: You're safe, that's all that matters.

AFD!Neon, hopping up into the booth, nearly completely nude, her body covered in glowsticks liquid, making her a walking art piece: Hey, you guys okay? Bartender told me some cheery red head snapped a dude's wrist, I suspected it was you guys.

AFD!Weiss, nodding, frowning: Yeah, Ruby had...become acquainted with an undesirable.

AFD!Neon, growling: Fuckin bastards. Thought all of them were banned by now. Do you want me to bring you guys back to Flynt's backroom? It's a lot safer and quieter back there.

AFD!Weiss, nodding: Please. I hope neither of you will be upset if we call a cab back there. I think this might have been enough for us.

AFD!Neon, shaking her head, holding out her hand for Weiss to take, the four of them forming a train: Don't you worry about it, I'll call the cab myself. 

~~~~~

AFD!Yang, sitting at the airship station, waiting to board their flight, joking with Ilia: The next thing I know, I open the shower curtain and BAM, amber eyes glaring at me from the darkness. So naturally I take the showerhead and just spray the shit out of them.

AFD!Ilia, cackling: That's what Blake gets for being a good girlfriend and checking on you after the power goes out?

AFD!Yang, defensively, laughter breaking through: Hey all I'm saying is I've seen more than enough horror movies to know how that situation ends.

AFD!Blake, shaking her head, muttering: Maybe I should've just killed you.

AFD!Blake, with a sly smile spreading on her face: But hey Yang, why don't you explain just what you were doing laying down in the bath with the showerhead in your hands? Hmmm?

AFD!Yang, stammering, embarrassed: W-Well you see I was just...uhhh, I was-

AFD!Trifa, standing up, motioning her head towards the boarding door for the airship: Our flight.

AFD!Yang, jumping up from her seat, grabbing Blake's hands and pulling her up too: Oh no! Guess that story will never be told! 

AFD!Blake, rolls her eyes: Mhhm.

~~~

AFD!Blake, walking down a boardwalk built atop a beach, wearing a large brimmed sunhat: It's a bummer we were separated on the flight. 

AFD!Ilia, happily soaking up the Vacuo sun: It's alright! I mostly napped. 

AFD!Yang, swirling a keychain around her finger, four keys attached to it: I'm just worried about our luggage…

AFD!Blake, taking hold of Yang's hand: Shh, the hotel service took care of it. Now let's hurry! I wanna see our-

AFD!Trifa, as the four walk over a sand dune, her jaw dropping: Holy shit.

AFD!Ilia, dumbfounded: Is...is that our-?

AFD!Blake, nearly speechless: It's...it's like the size of my family's house...and it's on the water…

AFD!Yang, nearly breaking into a sprint towards the cabana, excitedly calling after the three: WELL!? LET'S GO CHECK IT OUT!

~~~

AFD!Blake, stepping into a large open style room, a cool ocean breeze blowing her hair out of her shocked face: This...it's beautiful…

AFD!Yang, sighing a breath of relief: Our luggage. Thank Gods.

AFD!Ilia, going around the room, peeking into doors: A bar! A kitchen! A beautiful living room!!! Two bedrooms! Guys!!!!

AFD!Trifa, looking around in amazement: What uhh...what gym do you go to? I might get a subscription.

AFD!Yang, biting into a peach from a complimentary fruit bowl, with a smile: Well if there are more people there I'd have less a chance to win next year.

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

Sanctuary-III: Demo Analysis

Hi again! I’m here to do my full Sanctuary-III analysis. (im back on my bullshit of actually structuring posts like a functioning human. holy mother of g-)

Tl;Dr: So from what I’ve gathered so far, Sanctuary-III looks like a Maliwan-inspired ship, but was actually built by a company named <SUPAMAX MFG>. I do think the ship we go on in the demo is taken from another part of the game, probably the time period when we’ve reached the Maliwan/Monastery planet of which I don’t know the name (the one we see Maya on). I understand that we can see Pandora in the demo, but it’d be easy to travel back there and simply remove the option for the monastery planet when we go to Promethea. I have a couple reasons for thinking this, so I’ll go over it when we get there.

For now, let’s get started :D

So, even though we’re going to be doing a full analysis of the demo, I did want to start with our previous sightings of the ship.

Ellie hanging onto a smaller version of the ship.

Lorelei resting her foot on a larger model

one hiding behind Zane near the car

better view below:

and a ship as we see it on the cover art:

notice I say A ship because there are definitely differences between this one and the Sanctuary-III we meet in the demo.

Most notably the colors/design, but also the back engines are missing from below the spoiler and the fins on the front are different shapes. Additionally, the one in the cover has windows that are significantly different from the demo and the engines in demo have fins coming off the tops that we don’t see here. I’ve been yelled at before that this isn’t a noticeable enough difference to think about, that the developers just decided to roll with it, but honestly I believe if the designers put that much time into ensuring the cover art has a dozen easter eggs to solve, why would they look at the ship and decide “eh, that’s good enough”? I wanna believe they’re not that laidback about this.

So I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for now and provide a handful of theories as to what this cover art ship could be:

1. Sanctuary-II or an earlier model of Sanc-III (or both)

2. A shuttle used to move people to-and-from places Sanctuary-III is too large to access and the drop pods are too violent to hit (I’m thinking meteors/asteroids here) annnd hopefully we get to putz around space in one

3. A fully separate ship from Sanctuary-III that we’ll have to use later on in the game, either due to Sanctuary-III being destroyed, or other weird circumstances that would render it unavailable. Could possibly be used to reach Elpis?

Anyway, enough of that. Let’s get right into the thick of things with the actual ship from the demo!

This hit me right in the heart. I love that u can see Pandora in the background, too.

The actual ship! Do you see what I mean by those minor differences to the cover art ship? Moving on.

The reason I thought this ship was mainly because of the huge swaths of orange and the blue engines/bridge. I had thought it was Atlas as well at one point, but retracted both those statements when I saw the name of the manufacturer printed everywhere inside lol

It is possible it was made specifically for either of those companies. I am leaning towards Maliwan, so I’ll point out my reasons why as we move through this.

Also, check out the docking bay on the bottom there. That door leads to the large room we see Ellie in. I think the fins on the front of the ship are to hold it up when it’s landed so we can drive vehicles out the bottom. I am hoping for a scene near endgame where the ship is shielding us from huge attacks from above as we drive out of the bottom and, right as we escape, it collapses behind us. Fingers crossed.

the back of the ship. And the engines I mention you can’t see protruding out the back on the cover art.

Oh, and say hi to the CoV!

that’s where Troy’s sword gets launched from orbit

as we zoom in, we can see a whole bunch of things

to start, looks like Hyperion got some nice rebranding. I hope Blake took over tbh

a poster of moxxxi’s. I love the feather in her hat; I wonder if that means her a mordy got back together...

also im going to take the time to point out

how much I love that each Vault Hunter gets something that glows. Amara has her tattoos (and she can customize the color!), Fl4k has their eye, Moze has Iron Bear’s digistruct pack, and Zane has a cool jacket. Rock on my babies, you’re all beautiful. Oh, and the whole teleporting animation for this, I don’t know if its like a “first time” only thing or what, but I love it, I love it so much. I’m so glad we’re going to be able to see our Vault Hunters in the third person.

okay moving on

so right away you notice the guide telling you where places are, with arrows point in different directions. It’s quite hard to read at the moment, but we do see it again later. 

We all know about the quick change station and the lost-and-found, so I don’t think I ought to go over those right now. 

claptrap seems to have his own little cereal or something, not sure if that’s been sighted anywhere else, but im afraid for anyone who eats it

player quarters! holy balls im so excited for these

We can see the display cases everywhere, but there’s also a vault (not that kind) in the back left. I imagine that’s the bank. Hoooopefully we get a larger storage capacity or my mule characters are gonna have a ton of new buddies to talk to lol

better look at the cereals.

also apparently that water bottle we see in the Game of Thrones joke the twitter posted is an actual asset in the game.

While we have singular display cases for guns, it looks like items get their own display cases

it can show off rarity color and on the bottom left, you get to see exactly what you’re looking at. no more confusing grenade mods for shields in this house

a non-holographic poster for the Typhon Deleon movie. I think this is the first we’ve seen outside of Promethea. I guess Amara’s a fan.

A vault symbol rug, and the symbol spray painted onto her punching bag. I think that poster in the back is a Monty Python reference? I didn’t get quite a good look at it, we might see another one later on.

Amara has a window seat, I’m actually hoping we’ll be able to hang out in our rooms and look out the window at space. I would honestly spend so much time here. Also, regarding the bed (not pictured, that’s the window seat), I’m wondering if that will have any gameplay effects or if it's just aesthetics. I hope it’s at least bouncy...

she does have some jakobs crates holding up the plants. Don’t know if that has anything to do with her backstory or if its just to fit the aesthetic of her room.

we’re also told “again, you can modify your player quarters to how you want to play” which... I don’t know if I’m looking too deeply into that, but it seems like we’ll be able to pick and choose things like furniture or overall layout. I wonder if they’d let us cycle between the other VH’s rooms. Not sure exactly what it’s supposed to imply, but it is something to point out.

Our first look at the SUPAMAX MFG logo. “Ships made Quick”

We also get our first look at Ellie’s cargo bay. More on this later

behind the curtains to the left of here

a poster of Jack and some lootable washing machines. We’ve seen the poster before, from what I’ve heard it's a movie poster starring timothy doppleman. Which... What a legend. 

Now, I do want to point out we see this logo next to the cargo bay

this is one of the reasons I thought the ship was Atlas at first, however you can tell there’s no gap on the right of the triangle and the bottom edges don’t match. I definitely think the new Atlas logo is a delta to signify change, though, cause Rhys is a big ol nerd.

some blueprints of the ship and a bunch of reused posters from BL2 thrown in for decor purposes. There’s another poster of Typhon to the left of that, but since we’ve already seen it, fuck ‘em

We also see a buttload of Maliwan crates hanging around the ship, matching the color design of the one we saw floating around space 

here’s one of them!

a better look at the blueprints as a standalone poster. It looks like ‘Sanctuary’ was written over with something, but I can’t make out what. also checkout how the paint on top doesn’t match the paint on the cover art’s ship. Nor does the cover art have the fins coming off the engines like we see here. I actually just noticed that even the spoilers are different shapes.

Moving on before I go off on another tangent

a poster for Marcus’s shop

the new golden chest as Randy called it. I believe we’ve seen the animation already, where the guns splay upwards like a peacock or smth

a cowgirl hangin out on more Maliwan chests

Marcus’s new sign. Honestly? He’s rocking the bun.

this dude we find walking out of the store. Don’t know what his deal is, but I’m digging it.

this Amara already has 5/8 Pistol SDUs unlocked! (Also, there are 8 max SDUs) Makes me think she’s a high level character. That’ll come into play later lol

5/8 Backpack SDUS. I didn’t show it but she also had 1/8 Shotgun SDUs. Also only +3 to backpack space each. Considering Amara already has 5 unlocked, that means we get the regular 12 backpack space to start. D:

bank space only gets +2. Amara already has 2, meaning the bank can only hold 8 items without upgrades. F in chat for the big bank dreams. Max amount the bank can hold is 24. Somebody comfort me... hopefully these SDUs increase exponentially 😭

the mystery SDU. It looks like a box with a question mark on it, giving out guns and grenades. Makes me worry this is some form of loot box, but considering it can be bought with cash in-game, that’s probably a good sign. Maybe you can buy golden keys in game to open the gold chest now? Randy said no microtransactions and, while he is Randy, I want to believe him (disregarding the skins fiasco because we all knew that was coming).

since i’ve also seen speculation that it’s the upgrade for the capacity of the Lost-And-Found, I think that’s probably what this actually is.

the shooting range we can see from here. Doesn’t appear to have any targets yet, but it may be like the one in BL2 where they only appear when we enter.

more Maliwan boxes to the left of the shooting range.

Crew Quarters sign!

some very big (tm) Maliwan crates

tannis’s sign!

this NPC actually seems important, I’m wondering if she’ll give us a side quest or something

what i’m guessing is the power core to the ship. It’s in such a great place to get shot... i wonder if perhaps... we’re going to have to do that at some point...

“ain’t no place like space” I love this place.

also looks like there’s a shortcut here. You can see the planks across the pipes, the balcony, and the railing here that’s gonna be easy to get over. Excitement!

looks like a control panel right in front of the core. Yeah, there’s definitely going to be something related to it. Maybe we’ll get attacked and we have to go stabilize it. Maybe our ship will get hijacked and we’ll have to blow it up from the inside. I can’t be the only one who thinks this place is wayyy too grand to not get destroyed...

better look at that bad boy

the opening to moxxi’s bar

actual bar

i have no idea what this is, but i dig it. Also the zer0 for the O is making me go  🤔 i don’t THINK Zer0 would get involved, but then again, they are doing missions for Moxxi in Tales, so maybe the two got together to make something

this door seems different enough and detailed enough (red glowing light) to make me think we’re going to be unlocking this and going through it at some point. Then it shall glow green and make me happy instead of frustrated. the minimap, unfortunately, does not agree with me, but I want to believe. or that’s gonna bother me to no end. Maybe some sort of “we just escaped control core angel” situation, idk.

some slot machines. Ca$hTrap! and Tinx’s Hijinx. Looks like an NPC is using the latter though so idk if it will be available to use. 

scoring system. Looks like the ??x row will give us a new character skin!! hype.

the uhhh... Lava Lamp column... will give us...? ???

A devil fruit?? A grenade? wtf is that???

3 bananas gives us new colors! Crowns = head

the... Eridium...? That seems way too pink to be Eridium tbqh. It reminds me more of Seraph crystals, but maybe its a reference to the ‘Eridium’ growing out of the ground on Promethea? ...... Maybe that’s growing because Atlas/Typhon actually DID open the Vault on Promethea

uh anyway

The last column is about more crystals and then cash and then the last one... I assume the icons are Claptrap’s eye (considering the game), but the reward? i think that’s the grenade the demo player gets in the demo 

we’ve also got Loot Boxer (also taken by an NPC) and Vault Line. I’m wondering if the NPCs using the machines are just a gameplay mechanic and they’ll disappear after a certain level/event. Maybe those ones give us better loot. idk.

for Vault Line, i think that says “Knockout Prizes” but I could be wrong. More importantly, it looks like we can get legendaries from this one! First column shows a green/purple/yellow (legendary?) gun. I can’t tell what the other icons are meant to be, though. i think the next 3 are shields, then maybe class mods? or... grenade mods? i don’t know. The last one is a total blob for me, no ideas on that. Also wondering if that machine costs Eridium to play or something, 1) because of its design and 2) because the rewards seem sooo much better than Claptrap’s.

outside we see the Crew Quarters sign for the first time and, interestingly enough, a TV broadcasting the same symbol we see being broadcasted all across the CoV camps. What’s up with that?

infirmary and crew quarters signs on the wall this time

more Maliwan crap. even says it right on the tin. Why is there a pokeball on there?

a map of the ship. We see this on a bunch of monitors, even ones on Promethea, for some reason. This one is mirrored. dunno why.

more signs. Left top to bottom: “Cargo Bay” “Armory” “Infirmary”

Right top to bottom: “Engine Room” (OwO) “Crew Quarters” “Cargo Bay” “Armory” annnd nothing on the last line this bend around. when they turn the corner, you can see that it, too, says “infirmary”

Also, the Heatant and Coolant Pipes lmao

“LAB/SICK BAY” pointing to the left towards Tannis’s corner

so, here’s where we get our first glance at something very very interesting

now, the crew makes us think this is our first time visiting Promethea in the demo. But if it is, why are there Promethea civilians wandering around the ship? I believe i go over this some in an older post, but I’ll recap:

1) It could be that Sanctuary III was already in the air before the game starts and had already visited Promethea to take some Civilians off Rhys’s hands so he had less to worry about. That would mean that we’d need a shuttle or something to reach the ship in order to activate the fast travel station, which is (possibly) where the ship on the cover art could come in. Because in the borderlands universe, you need to reach a Fast Travel station first before you’re able to teleport to it and if Sanc III is flying and Lilith doesn’t have her powers, we’re stranded on Pandora. (Alternatively, the ship could come down from space, but... I kinda doubt it can without not being able to take off again. Maybe borderlands just has cooler spaceships... idk. They were able to make a caravan space capable). Unfortunately, this would mean those screencaps from the new trailer that looks like Sanctuary III being infested with wildlife would not take place on early-game Pandora/that we wouldn’t rescue the ship and claim it as our own. (We could possibly get Sanctuary III in the air in the new BL2 DLC if this is the case.) The ship getting infested then could take place above the Maliwan planet or Promethea or soon after we join the crew and we’re sent down there to clean it up as a side quest. Or there’s a time skip and the ship gets overrun and we have to fix it. Now that’d be rad... 

2) gearbox is being sneaky beaky about the demo time. We do see Maya later on, which leads me to believe this takes place after we meet her. Where does it look like she’ll be? On the Maliwan/Monastery planet. It could be possible that the devs took the ship back to Pandora and simply removed the Maliwan planet from the list of places to take our ship. That would leave Promethea as an option while also explaining why there are both Promethean citizens and Maya on board. Could also explain Lilith having her tattoos back, since we don’t know the events of the story that lead to us going to find Maya. Though, I think I have an idea... I’ll leave that for my Maya masterpost though. Lilith also says “We arrived in one piece... that’s a first” when we travel to Promethea, leading me to believe either that’s where Sanctuary-II warped and got destroyed (maybe explaining why there are Promethea Civilians with us now), possibly in the asteroid fields, also maybe due to a mechanical failure, or Sanctuary-III, when it first went to Promethea with us, got a bit damaged by the rocks floating around Promethea or some other thing like the CoV attacking, idk. What are those rocks for, anyway? ....... I gotta make a post on that, don’t I? oi oi oi...

Moving on

the front of the Infirmary

....

this kinda looks like a baby T-Rex. There are T-Rexes on the swamp planet, which we now are assuming is Promethea, aren’t there? Oh hell yeah. If the swamp planet ISN’T Promethea I’m gonna be all like [shocked pikachu face]. that outskirts area was really making me believe. 

anyway, see above lol

we also get another glimpse at the SUPAMAX logo

some lootables in the back

not sure if these are Maliwan or not.

Zed also has a machine in the back here. We haven’t seen him around yet, but odds are he’s still kicking because of this. And hopefully still friendly with the crimson raiders. Maybe Tannis locked him in a closet or something, idk.

oooo i haven’t seen this screen before

i want to know what it isssss

this also looks eerily familiar. brb, gonna go find what this reminds me of

okay, so

not sure if its exactly the same material/type of symbol, but this location, what i have dubbed the “temple” cuz i got no better name for it, does have square emblems across the floor with borders.

so, interestingly, this one has what looks like an eye with beams shooting out of it. if that description sounds familiar to you, it should, because

EYEBALL

now i got no idea if these are related aside from being in the same game, but it does interest me that they’ve both got eyeballs and streaky beams.

Oh and Tannis’s Vault symbol doesn’t have the writing (?) across the edges, but I will say, it does kinda look like cuneiform and eridian writing had a baby. Like, if you super heavily pixelate the Watcher’s name on her title card...

tbh I’ve theorized a lot about this place, but haven’t found anything I particularly like. From the place where the first Vault Atlas ever opened is (meaning its on Promethea and could explain why Tannis has that slab), the Great Vault’s holding place (where the skeleton on the ground is Typhon and his final journal) (perhaps the Great Vault is the entryway to the Eridian homeworld... that could explain why the CoV are trying to find it... might be a reason why they’re being manipulated by new aliens to find it. god please let them be the Seraphs...) uh, anyway, I also had an idea that it was someplace on the Maliwan planet, and maybe that it was in the archives area that was taken over by Maliwan and that the skeleton was of a Siren. That would explain why Maya is shown handing the book to Little Blue in the MoM. I go over that in an old post though, so moving on.

 oh, there’s also a frame of Tannis’s animation where the dinosaur she was inside stands up and clips through the table:

there’s a small room over here we don’t get to see, and I’m wondering if there’s another NPC joining us on Sanctuary-III that isn’t showcased. god I hope if its pickle he got more bearable as he got older because dear god i hated him in tps. I can’t see Athena nor Janey with a desk like that. Maybe Vaughn? Though would he really want to go back to being an accountant after everything...?

more maliwan boxes btw. looks like someone scribbled on this one lol

now we head to the bridge!!!

looks like an arcade game lol

but possibly a control mechanism for shuttles coming in???  👀 👀 👀

Crew Quarters and the SUPAMAX logo

oh yeah, and in case you were doubtful that this was a borderlands game:

“Caution: Excessive Farts Detected”

the Bridge!!!

We’ve got a holo-projector thing up front like we’ve seen Rhys use, as well as a mini one used as a digistructer during Lorelei’s hamburger quest. Most interesting, Lily has her tattoos! Definitely wondering if this takes place later on in the story or if they swapped her early game model in. either way, they’re definitely there. 

some cool art of Sanctuary III zooming away

just have to say

i love this so much

its great

okay moving on

I wish they’d be more specific. do ruins = vault? Typhon says he discovers the Vault and the Key in one fell swoop. if Typhon DID give atlas the Vault key and the location to the Vault (and we’re not just listening to an ARG for the movie or smth) then why didn’t Atlas open it immediately?! I mean, in TFTBL Cassius says Gortys is their last ditch attempt at opening a Vault! So what the heck?? I can’t believe that it would be less than 200 years from the first Vault being discovered to the Eridians abandoning everything. like vault keys take 200 years to naturally charge so there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be already charged and available (Unless its more of a cycle thing where it charges and then discharges after a while for safety’s sake??). 

And another thing, if that IS Eridium growing out of the ground on Promethea, then they totally DID open the first Vault. Or at least Typhon did. Unless there was something stopping them... like... Maybe in the temple those demon-looking-things stopped them from getting through and that’s why we find a bunch of skeletons around the place? Or maybe the Guardians got to them, or some other Eridian protection scheme. i don’t know... im so confused... brain hurt...

anyway

why the fuck does Elpis look like this

is that the light side of the moon? dear god im blind.

hhhh at least we can still see the crackening

lowkey wondering if the ship is based off of Eridian tech. I could totally see a slip-space drive being based off Lilith’s phasewalking

when we finish travelling, Lily says “We’ve arrived in one piece. that’s a first” and yeeah, i can see whyyy

rocks. rocks everywhere. tbh i think these rocks are 1) why lilith says that (we’ve either been to Promethea before in Sanc-III or Sanc-II got decimated slip jumping here) and 2) why the VH’s entry into Promethea is apparently so awful Lilith needs to ask if they’re actually still alive. also, we get to see just how much of Promethea is cities and goddamn. that’s a lot for a borderworld.

sorry for the youtube bar. 

Deck A: Hammerlock - Infirmary/Tannis - Deck B: Marcus - Moxxi Deck C: Cargo Bay

I am honestly so curious how they got this ship with that lettering on it. I guess they could’ve made it themselves, but... you gotta wonder... maybe we get the ship built on Pandora by Ellie. Or she helps us fix it up after we remove all gross rat things from it.

MAYAAAAA

better look at the Monty poster plus some other stuff, like a clock, dartboard, and a gas mask. Also if anyone knows what that says up top there, please let me know, im super curious!

Hammerlock’s quarters!

this guy has the same facial hair as Zane. I swear to god if I hear “Oh, that’s me fourth brother” im gonna lose my absolute shit

something to the far left outside of Hammerlock’s quarters we’re not allowed to see yet :(

there’s also graffiti of “Charge port here” around the ship and i think that’s hilarious. It’s like an airport

put your ports in, damn it!

Ellie!!!

More maliwan boxes to her left, btw

the actual cargo bay. remember how i said to look at the bottom of sanctuary III to find the door? I’m like 90% sure that’s it right there. Randy also says “down here we can check out the vehicles we’ve collected AND this is how/where we get access to the planets while we’re in orbit”.

Crazy Earl’s black market! dunno how he’s actually, like, connected to the black market from here, but, hey, who knows what he’s got in there.

veteran rewards, apparently drawn over one of Marcus’s machines lol

“Inter-Galactic” a little drawing of Sanc-III and another Maliwan box (you can see why I think this ship is Maliwan, right?)

Clappy and his GF... yeah...

one very big digistruct pad. listen... im praying for a space shuttle. i really am.

finally:

the drop pod

god this looks awesome. I bet we’re gonna have many a fun time in there lol

I finally get to live out my dream of being an ODST in borderlands. what badasses they are.

[thelarryficrecplace]

Yeah combined but just like the afterglow fic

Might not be exactly like it, but here’s some fics that do remind me of it:

the dead things we carry by MediaWhore:

Summary: He hasn’t seen him since that day in France, that horrible muddy day where for one terrifyingly long second, Louis really thought he was going to die. He winces with the phantom pain, the hand not holding his cane going to his stomach automatically, remembering the franticness, the tenderness, of Harry’s hands while Louis was bleeding out.

This is the man who saved Louis’ life.

For one second, Louis fears Harry won’t recognise him, but his eyes widen when he turns to his left and they meet Louis’. He takes a step forward, reaching for him with a shaky hand before stopping himself.

“Louis,’ Harry says with a shudder and Louis doesn’t think his name has ever carried more weight.

This is the only man Louis ever thought about kissing for real.

“Oh,” Mrs. Padley says, clearly taken aback. “You two know each other?”

There are some things people never fully come home from. Until, one day, if they’re lucky, home comes to them.

Word count: 25,314

A Word We’ve Only Heard by lululawrence:

Summary: So, where are you headed?” Liam asked, not wanting to sit in awkward silence for their journey.  It was twelve hours to Chicago, and that was far too long to sit and not chat with his fellow passenger in front of him.

“Chicago,” he answered, his blue eyes meeting Liam’s own.  “It’s home.  Been on the road for quite some time now, it’s the first time I’ll be able to sleep in my own bed in almost a month.”

Liam whistled.  “You must be pretty excited.”

The man gave a soft smile, which made him look younger than Liam initially expected; he might even still be in his twenties.  He wondered what kind of a life this man had led to look so tired until he smiled.

Or, it’s 1951, Harry is the owner of a music shop, and Louis is a traveling salesman making his way back home.

Word count: 6,668

Say Your Prayers by nothing_but:

Summary: Louis was left wondering what the fuck this encounter had been. Coming to this camp - especially after learning that it was a religious one - he had never expected to find himself in a bathroom with the attractive, strictly Catholic, not-gay-or-anything head counsellor making flirty remarks. Quite the opposite, to be honest.

Or the one where Harry, head counsellor at a Catholic summer camp, dedicates his time to what he loves most, year after year. It’s mostly the same every summer; the place, the topics, the games. This year, however, there’s a new assistant counsellor stumbling into his camp, and possibly his heart.

Word count: 59,151

Have A Little Faith In Me by FallingLikeThis:

Summary: Harry Styles remembers Louis Tomlinson fondly. They used to spend the summers bonding at Bible Camp, helping each other memorize bible verses for their weekly challenge against the boys in the other cabins, and chatting into the early hours of morning when they were supposed to be sleeping. They had been so close back then. Harry was heartbroken when Louis hadn’t been there last summer. He’d heard rumors, vague comments about how Louis had changed but he didn’t believe them. He couldn’t. Because the other boys, the ones from Louis’ home town, were saying that he’d started getting piercings and tattoos, that he’d come out as gay, and that he’d turned his back on God.

Harry had thought he’d never find it in himself to believe them but the image before his eyes has him suddenly questioning everything.

Word count: 15,656

Through Lonely Streets and Neon Lights by sweetly_disposed:

Summary: 1920’s era, Great Gatsby inspired. Harry is a poor boy living in the South Village. Every night he watches the North City come alive and longs of crossing the river to be a part of it and escape his dreary life. The infamous Mr Tomlinson lives across the river from Harry. His parties are the stuff of legend; people on both sides know about them, and all Harry wants is a chance to go to one. When fate swings his way and he finds himself in Mr Tomlinson’s house, he gets much more than he could ever have bargained for.

Word count: 25,107

Atlas At Last by louisandthealien:

Summary: He doesn’t know what he had been expecting out of the road trip itself besides burping contests and too much shitty gas station food with Oli and Stan, but in the brief moment before Harry ambles up his driveway, Louis idly wonders if this is about to become some sort of Gay Coming of Age story.

Maine to California in ten days. In which Zayn’s an open-shirt hippie they meet somewhere in Ohio, Liam’s the pastor’s son running away from home, and Niall’s the number they call on the bathroom wall.

It’s 1978. Harry and Louis are just trying to get to San Fran in time for the Queen concert.

Word count: 83,037

Back To You And Tennessee by rippedgloves:

Summary: Louis Tomlinson rises to rock and roll fame at age twenty three and is thrown into a life of luxury and excess, but being on stage isn’t easy for a boy who has always stuck to the side-lines, and Louis struggles to deal with his new fame as he joins the Grand Ole Opry and is sent out on tour with names like Liam Payne and Elvis Presley. His life takes a turn, however, when his childhood role model, Harry Styles, joins them on tour, and the two become closer than two men in the spotlight are allowed to be.

Word count: 57,174

Life Had Just Begun by xxPayne:

Summary: It’s 1985. All the cool kids are wearing Members Only jackets and acid wash jeans. The gay rights movement might be gaining traction around the country, but for a small town in Colorado, even listening to Queen is an invitation for a beating. Louis Tomlinson’s life is turned upside down when he comes face to face with the afterlife, and is given one seemingly simple mission: save Harry Styles.

Word count: 63,921

Embellish Your Heart by letsjustsee:

Summary: Or, a Bootlegger AU where it’s 1925 in small town America, and Louis Tomlinson has never met anyone quite like Harry Styles.

Word count: 28,611

modern love by prettyoddnjh:

Summary: It’s August 9th, 1985. “Shout” by Tears for Fears is the top song on the Billboard charts, Back to the Future has been the #1 film in the country for five weeks straight, and Harry has just moved to what he believes to be the shittiest town in the Midwest.

Louis has been wasting away in East Chicago for over five years, Harry is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to him, and both of them are hiding a dangerous secret from their best friend: they’re, like, totally sprung on each other.

Word count: 72,145