#this isn't based on anything/anyone by the way

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

i'll be honest i haven't done as much Illario Pondering up to this point as some others. but i am Rotating Him now so gonna do my thinking out loud on my already too long post just because...

obviously Illario and Lucanis responded to their childhoods in very different ways/grew up into very different people but i think if you want to trace Illario's Issues back down to this level you can see how that would turn him into who we see in the game/stories too.

while Lucanis ends up as a loner with "no one else" (that he Counts anyway), Illario seems to have way more connections when we meet him as an adult--he flirts with anyone, he's into nightlife, he hooks up with random people at parties, the other Crows will mention him like he's a known presence in their lives--yet none of them know what he's Really up to. So his relationships outside Lucanis & Caterina do seem to exist in plenty, but they also seem to be very shallow. Unless he has some offscreen never mentioned confidant, no one seems to know what he's up to, with either Lucanis's or Caterina's "deaths", or his alliance with the Venatori/Gods. he's kept that part secret while keeping up all these other social connections. in theory maybe he got some of the other off-screen talons on his side who knew the whole story but we don't have any evidence for that either way I think (though I don't remember all the codex details so I could be wrong).

[sidebar: yes, Zara, i know. apparently they were deep enough in whatever they had going on to have love-y pet names but like... clearly not enough that Illario wasn't willing to kill her to cover his own tracks; and personally i have my doubts that the relationship was without any ulterior motives on Zara's part either. even if they did care for each other on some level they were or weren't willing to admit (since that's entirely within our realm of interpretation now) it clearly took lesser priority than their other goals)]

SO. Illario's a conniving man (intentionally!) who isn't sharing everything he knows with his "allies" probably on either side, but at the same time... he is still a very emotional man. i don't think the whole "use people and drop them" thing is his actual desire as much as how he's gotten used to operating in the world. while Lucanis seems to have self-isolated as a way to protect both himself & those around him, I think you can interpret Illario as instead learning that he can achieve the same result by instead having a large amount of very shallow relationships. By spreading around his desire for connection he creates a situation where Caterina can't possibly remove them all from his life, but has the plausible deniability of not being actively close to anyone so he doesn't risk punishment falling on himself either.

and i don't necessarily think his approach was a WORSE one compared to Lucanis', at first. in many ways something's better than nothing and Illario seems to have a better understanding of himself & his emotions (not saying he always does or it's a GOOD understanding, but "better than Lucanis" is not a very high bar), plus way more experience in general at just. social anything. because now that they're adults, ILLARIO is the one who has managed to stand up to Caterina, and change the direction of his own life, even if he did pick the most ruthless path to it. Unlike Lucanis (in The Wigmaker Job & first parts of Veilguard) he DOES show great deal of autonomy, understanding that his tiny family is the thing holding him back from what he really wants. But he also has no one else jumping over to help him, no one left he can manipulate, and so he reaches past the crows to the Venatori/Gods as the next step.

so the true downside to this is in fact based in reputation more than anything else. because he's spent years seemingly playing with the emotions of everyone else while never really giving them a way in, as a coping mechanism... he's already burned those potential bridges in a way Lucanis hasn't. people aren't willing to extend extra graces to him the same way. possibly it even contributed to why Caterina liked him less as a successor, since he was less controllable by her personal rules/whims. i dont really have a thesis statement here like before since i haven't been mulling it over as long but i think it's a fun way to interpret their dynamic.

man... in Veilguard it really is so so clear how much Lucanis yearns for connection, how much he laments having barely anyone who is a tangible long-term presence in his life. Illario and Caterina are IT until he meets Rook, he tells them.

but he grew up in the Dellamorte estate. A huge, huge manor that would not just have servants, but STAFF. payrolls full of people who clean and cook and keep the place running. And we know he had some amount of free reign around the place. He explored in the tunnels and basements and found the secret entrance/exit while playing alone. He learned how to make churros and cook other food from the kitchen staff. Someone taught him to knit. So... where are those people? Where's the kindly cook who became a second mother, or the maids who watched him play? He would know their names and remember them, if they were around long enough. And it's NOT just some rich boy privilege that makes him forget they're there, because we know he sees the working class as people who with real lives. In The Wigmaker Job, he knows elves in the alienage, who think well enough of him to let him use their secret routes around the city. He risks the whole mission and breaks rules to let one single serving maid go--they're not invisible or somehow lesser to him. He was raised as a Crow, he's been trained since he was a boy to be observant--he'd listen for the names and details about the lives of servants who were around him all the time as a child. And he is also kind and gentle, so he would reach back if they offered him any kind of affection

Which means their absence in his life is intentional. Caterina must have had the staff rotated often enough that he couldn't learn who they were, and discouraged anyone from talking to or connecting with the Dellamorte boys--she probably thought she was keeping them safe. Keeping them from having people who might matter and therefore could be used against all of them--not to mention it's way easier to slip a poisoned treat to a trusting child, or convince them to follow you out of the estate to an undisclosed location. Her paranoia after losing all her children and other grandkids warped into isolating the Dellamorte boys utterly from any kind of connection and affection outside of herself, and then she withheld it anyway, because she was afraid of getting hurt again too (<- not an excuse, still abuse). And she is NOT a kind woman, who would look over a transgression--servants disobeying her orders about staying away from her grandsons would mean losing their job at best and probably physical punishment along with it. Or maybe you just never saw that coworker who dared say something kind to a crying child again.

It's so sad. And makes it so much more meaningful that there WERE occasional times he got away with it anyway. I wonder how much those cooks risked when teaching him how a kitchen runs, and to make his favorite dessert. If they had some excuse for it, or were all sent away once Caterina found out. Of course he'd stop trying to make friends with any children of the staff his age, if any time he did, the whole family got moved to work at a summer villa in the country instead. If the people who cleaned his rooms were different every month. He'd notice that anyone who he tried to get close to just ended up out of his life entirely, and so eventually Caterina wouldn't need to keep isolating him intentionally as he grew. Lucanis learned. He started doing it himself.

[dindjarindiaries]

Crosshair making the shot to free Omega was more than just a heroic moment of redemption. It was a display of trust that, more than anyone else, Crosshair absolutely needed to finally make peace with himself.

This analysis is somewhat piggybacking off of this one about The Return, in which I discuss Hunter's true motivations during that episode and how earning trust and loyalty back from Hunter is one of Crosshair's greatest desires, especially as a younger sibling. While he may have started to earn it back then, this scene is the full culmination of it, and it's the moment when Crosshair can finally let go of the past and just be himself with his family again.

As always with any analysis, this is a disclaimer that you may view this moment in an entirely different way due to various biases, one of the most notable being based upon your own favorite characters and your own life experience. All I ask is that you read through carefully before chiming in with any counterarguments!

This analysis hinges heavily upon this line/moment, which indicate two major things for Crosshair: trust from both Omega and Hunter in taking the shot, the latter of whom knows he's down his shooting hand.

It starts, of course, after Hunter's killed CX-2 and he's preparing to go after Hemlock and Omega. Being the protective eldest brother/sergeant he is, he tries to convince Crosshair to stay behind, but Crosshair refuses and insists on helping. It doesn't take much at all to convince Hunter, and in probably one of my favorite underrated moments, he immediately picks up a second blaster for Crosshair - something that alone is a massive sign of trust in his brother and his abilities, even if they're both barely functioning.

Because, again, Hunter knows that Crosshair is down his shooting hand, but he doesn't doubt that his brother will still be able to use the weapon. And it's not just that.

Hunter knows that his brother can still shoot better than him. Not just because Hunter and his senses are no doubt absolutely overloaded right now, but because he has true faith in his brother and his sharpshooting abilities.

(Also... bonus points for this shot of them supporting one another. I hate what led to this, but I live for them literally leaning on each other again after everything they've been through.)

So then, we get this. The position they automatically assume, with Crosshair's blaster positioned on top of Hunter's shoulder. This is already establishing Crosshair as the primary sharpshooter here. Even before Hunter says a word, he's showing Crosshair how much he trusts him to make the shot when the time comes.

After this, we get out first hint of Omega displaying strong trust in both of them.

(She, of course, doesn't know yet about Crosshair's missing hand, but that wouldn't have matter anyway. We all know she still would've displayed the same amount of trust in him that Hunter does here.)

It doesn't matter what Hemlock put them through. It didn't matter to her when he first caught her trying to free them. She has complete, utter faith in her brothers to protect her. As someone who's so big on loyalty and has been trying to earn that full loyalty and trust back from his family, can you imagine how this made Crosshair feel already? Seeing her so confident in their ability to save her, even when she has a blaster pointed at her head?

Hemlock moves himself and Omega closer. This is when one of my favorite subtle moments happens: Hunter literally looks over at Crosshair, as if he already knows exactly what's about to happen.

Again, he already knows that Crosshair's going to take that shot and that he's going to make it. Hunter wouldn't risk Omega. Ever. If he had anything other than full confidence in Crosshair making the shot, then he wouldn't have allowed it.

But Hunter isn't just looking at Crosshair for that reason alone. He can also recognize that Crosshair is unsure, and scared. Hunter might even feel that way, too, but he's ever the eldest brother and sergeant, so he makes it his duty to make a plan and to give Crosshair the reassurance to do what Hunter knows he can do. What he trusts Crosshair to do.

Not only is Hunter telling Crosshair here that he trusts him, but also that Omega trusts him. In fact, he's insisting that she trusts him enough that she already knows exactly what to do to give him the perfect opportunity to take the shot.

Hunter also doesn't frame this as a choice. He tells Crosshair what to do, proving to him just how much confidence he has in Crosshair's ability to pull it off. Instead of a "Come on, you can do it!" it's literally a "You will do this."

And again, it's not like Crosshair missing wouldn't be a big deal. If Crosshair misses here, like he points out, it could risk Omega in several ways, either her being hurt by a stray shot or Hemlock getting the upper hand and killing both of them. But Hunter, protective Hunter, tells Crosshair that it has to be him. That it will be him.

Then, of course, Crosshair takes the shot - and makes it.

(And now, a moment of appreciation for the swiss cheesing...)

(I just noticed Hunter's knife is gone? Give it back??? What's he gonna do without his emotional support knife???????)

Now, the moment when Omega is finally about to reunite with them... but she notices Crosshair's missing hand. She realizes that, even without his shooting hand, the one he's been struggling with ever since their first imprisonment on Tantiss, Crosshair still made the shot. He's still worthy of that trust. And Omega and Hunter have known it, but Crosshair hasn't.

This is when we get another one of my favorite subtle moments (if you've been following me here, you'll know I've talked about this one before). Hunter's gaze guides Omega over to Crosshair and his missing hand, though I think it's a lot more than pointing that out. To me, it's Hunter saying "It was him. It was all him."

And that's when Omega runs forward and gives Crosshair the hug he really, really deserves.

This look in Crosshair's eyes... is everything.

That's the look of a man who's, of course, in utter shock, but it also dawning upon a massive realization. He's really, truly, cared for. And not even just that, but he's trusted, with their lives. You can't tell me that Crosshair didn't know at this point that Hunter's life was tied up with Omega's, too. If Omega had been lost, Hunter would have lost himself, too. By entrusting Crosshair with that shot, Hunter was essentially putting his own fate into Crosshair's hand, too.

And they both trusted him enough to do it. Finally, finally, he had their trust back. This embrace is proof and celebration of that, just as it's also proof of their loyalty to him.

(Hunter having a hand on both their backs I'm gonna be sick! I love them all so much!)

Remember, just a few hours before this, Crosshair was volunteering to Plan 99 because he felt as if he truly deserved that fate. He had clearly forgiven everyone except himself as far as their pasts went.

But here, Hunter and Omega - the two people whose approval Crosshair seeks out the most - both proved that they trust him with their lives. Even when he's far from being at his strongest.

All Crosshair ever wanted from his family was to have their trust and their loyalty again, and this moment is when he finally saw that he had it, and it's what allowed him to finally, at long last, make peace with himself again.

[streetchicken]

It's been 40°C (roughly 104 in freedom numbers) the past 2 days and I don't have the energy to draw anything, so y'all are getting sadboy nikghost hours as my first attempt at a minific-

NikPriceGhost? Mostly NikGhost worried over Price :)

Tigger warning: No beta, we go down like the helo when Ghost's piloting.

It's probably early morning now. Or at least Nikolai assumes it's early morning. He hasn't had much grasp on time since providing ex-fil for 141 earlier that day, or yesterday or whenever it had been.

The mission was a bust. It wasn't anyone's fault in particular. Intel was false, the site had been armed and waiting in the dark for the two-man stealth team. It was supposed to be easy. A routine recon with Lieutenant Ghost and Captain Price leading the mission. A mission they seemed overqualified for. In and out. Like shadows in the night, gone before witnesses could even gasp a last breath.

Nik takes a long breath then dangles the cigarette between his fingers, tapping the ash into a metal bowl. The tip faintly glows, not even enough to light his fingers in the cover of dark. God it had been dark.

Nik could barely see as the two hauled into the Black Hawk. The only light provided by buttons, small screens and the pop of rifle bullets as they ricocheted off the hull. He didn't get a chance to see the state of them, focused more on maneuvering out of firing range. He thought everything would be okay. These are the two best members of Taskforce 141, unstoppable, бессмертный.

The next breath comes out shaky, curling into little puffs of frost. The city lights blinked idly, watching him, waiting for Nik to crack. The silence feels so loud. Nik slots a shaky hand over his eyes. He can still hear it.

Ghost's voiced trembled. That man never faltered. To hear him so uncertain. ебать, he nearly put the copter in a nosedive at that.

"Price was hit." Nik can still hear the echoes of it. "Nik, i's bad."

The cigarette finds it's way between Nikolai's lips again. The taste of cheap tobacco sticks to his tongue. He couldn't find his usual quality stuff when they landed at a hidden base just on the outskirts of some random city Nik couldn't care to remember the name of. In fact, he'd nicked this pack off Ghost first chance he could.

The cigarette slips from between the russian man's lips. His eyes snap up to find one of those very shadows at his side. Chist, Nik hadn't even heard Simon come out onto the balcony.

"I forget they call you the Ghost." Nik rumbles into the otherwise silent air. A face if bravado slipping on easily.

Simon scoots the custom balaclava up to the bridge of his nose. His skin basically glows under the moonlight with just how pale it is.

Like a ghost. Nik muses, realising the moniker isn't just for how silently Simon can move. "Can I have cigarettes back?"

Simon takes up the seat on the other side of the small patio sofa. He could almost curse the hotel for cheaping out on the chairs. "Can' sleep?"

Typical Simon, right to the point. Nik swallows the rock that settles in his throat. Suddenly he contemplates stealing it back from between Simon's fingers.

"John?" Simon continues, easily guessing the reason for Nik's silence.

He sighs in response and hangs his head between his shoulders. The cold does little to quell the burning behind thick black lashes.

Simon studies Nik from his perch on the seat, free arm lazily settling on the backrest behind Nikolai. The Russian's hair is pulled out from the usual slicked back look, baby curls fanning at his neck and around his ears. "Th' doc said 'e'll be olright."

"'Alright.'" Nick mimics the word, trying to dispel the images of Price so pale and lifeless in the gurney. "He was shot, Simon."

"And i' isn't the first time, Nik." Simon rebuttles in that even tone of his. Nik settles against that tone, using it to stay level. Simon finishes the thought. "And i' didn't hit anythin' vital."

The air went quiet again. Crickets and distant traffic set a gentle hum as their backdrop.

Nik opens his mouth, but struggles to find the words. They stick to his throat, ache like barbed wire. It hurt to admit what he was feeling, but if this didn't go anywhere he's afraid he'd pop.

"I can't- I can't lose him, Simon."

Simon lets the words settle in the night, allowing Nik a moment to collect his thoughts.

"He...you, I-" Nik's voice breaks. It cracks pathetically in the face of silence. His eyes burn with unshed tears. "Черт, извини."

He sits back and runs a hand over his eyes. Nik presses the pads of his fingers into his sockets in a desperate attempt at dispelling the tears. His breath is shaky, laboured. His ribs feel so small, pressing into his lungs, his heart.

Simon breath puffs out around the cigarette. He's close enough already, so his fingers find the curls at nape of Nikolai's neck. They thread through the stiffened strands then settle in the juncture where Nikolai's shoulder meets his neck. It makes Nik's body rattle with a barely-there shiver.

With a soft tug Nikolai came thudding down against Simon's shoulder, his face finding that space in the crook of the Brit's shoulder. Simon settles his hand around Nik's shoulder and adjusts to hold his weight.

And all at once Nik could find the courage to cry.

He hides his face from the city lights, keeping the tears private as they soak into Simon's shirt. There's no sound, no hiccuping, no sobs or wails. Just quiet tears and shuddery breaths.

And Simon lets him. He leans in closer, chasing off the cold and just holding Nik. He doesn't offer any words. No encouragement or soothing. Just quiet acceptance and a warm shoulder.

Suddenly the silence didn't feel so loud anymore.

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

"Elon did a 'Nazi salute'! What the fuck?" scream the same people who have been calling every single Jewish person a default Zionist and just generally been antisemitic for over a year. It's times like this when I wonder if they genuinely have any real opinions or if they just react to whatever gets them angry in the moment.

Every single white person is racist. Every single straight/"cis" person is an LGB- or TQ+phobe. Every single male is a sexist who upholds the patriarchy. Every single woman/minority who isn't a leftist is a traitor. And now, every single Jewish person is a Zionist. That is, unless they want to talk down to any of these groups or give fake support, then it's "We're just trying to help/educate you, but you have to recognize your wrongdoings and privilege." Welcome to the club lol.

Leftists are the ones saying that the right will come for any minority next, but they are the ones who turned their backs on women, The Gays, people of color, and now Jewish people. Leftist outrage is projection. I'm not necessarily annoyed/angry about it anymore, I'm more exhausted than anything else, but I'll still say that the next four years will be interesting.

Personally, I'm keeping my eyes focused on the economy. That's what I'm worried about. I think it says something, it almost seems...privileged...that I haven't seen many leftists worried about the economy (I'm willing to be proven wrong, by the way - I'm just going off what I've personally seen), and they're instead more worried about "the rise of bigotry" that hasn't actually come from anyone but themselves.

But that's just me. I really didn't think it'd take only the inauguration (essentially the prologue) for them to find something to overreact about, but here we are. I should've given them less credit.

It's all so tiring.

This is modern leftism in a nutshell. Modern leftism is all about turning off your brain and only reacting based on emotion. It's why they can have so many conflicting beliefs at once. To them, they're not conflicting at all because they feel real in the moment. And the emotional moment is all that matters.

If they feel scared over things that never happen, they don't lose that fear. They just invent new reasons to be scared. You see it with the climate hoax, with Trump, with trans "treatment", with basically everything the left screams about. Their fears are never rational, and they've never based on anything that actually justifies them. The worst case scenario is the only one that exists because it's the one they feel the strongest about. Someone disagrees with them? That makes them angry, so now that person hates them and wants them to die. That leap of logic justifies the anger and also conveniently absolves them of any responsibility to treat that person with respect or restraint. After all, if someone wants you dead, why shouldn't you defend yourself in any way you can? Even with violence.

That's the essence of modern leftism. It's an ideology of toddlers with just enough adult thinking ability to invent justifications for any action those emotions spur them to take.

The only surprising thing is that assassinations and murders and riots aren't more common.

[labyrinthofsphinx]

Do you think Al would actually get jealous at Vox getting closer with his female self? I remember him not being threatened, but since it's another version of himself, do you think he would be?

Anon asked: Alastor doesn't get jealous but he got jealous of Velvette right? Is there a reason for that? What would get Alastor jealous?

You know, those are excellent questions! I guess a little talk about jelly Al:

I might've mentioned it before but part of the reason that Alastor doesn't get jealous of Vox's, um, paramours is that he truly thinks Vox is only really interested in men, namely because he doesn't see him flirt with girls with any serious intent while he's around. It's a cover, a front, and any 'relationship' he could have with them is, to Alastor, based upon an impossible to maintain lie. He is very, very much in the black or white view on sexuality because of the time and place he was raised in. Basically, he's not jealous because he doesn't believe Vox would ever want someone else...which isn't too far off from the truth, if for entirely different reasons.

But there's another side to this, that Alastor has never seen Vox with someone he's had an actual relationship with, man or woman. Alastor is far from the first person that Vox has been in love with, though he's the only one that Vox himself admits finally makes feel like that passion and spark unlike anything and anyone before. But he's had other relationships before. Al's also not around to see Vox with his current paramours. Vox keeps it all behind closed doors and for a very brief time. Al might see them 'flirt' at a party, and maybe head off to a hotel together, but he doesn't see all the little things in between. That, and Vox is always back with him the next day.

This is all a long way to say that Alastor...has never been given a reason to be jealous. He's not threatened by people who he is convinced don't have a shot. He thinks he wouldn't be jealous but, oh boy, is he very, very wrong.

Take Velvette, for example. Kinda teased here, but Vel is someone who Vox has a longstanding business partnership/professional friendship with...who may also be interested in him like that. Professional business partners with benefits kinda deal, and they're both mature enough to just leave it at that.

But to Alastor? Who thinks that you can't have one without the other? Oh, he would get so, so jealous if he ever saw the two of them together. Heck, the kisses were already pushing it beyond acceptable. And he doesn't even realize he is jealous/possessive. And if you asked him, he'd deny it, and say that Vel is a woman so Vox can't love her anyways so what does it matter.

His reaction doesn't always reflect what he's saying ;)

Anyways, Vel loves to poke the bear. Hence, manipulating it to make Alastor jealous on purpose.

But, hypothetically, if there was a guy that caught Vox's eye aside from Al...well, they better start running. He might say he wants Vox to move on, but he both, in the back of his head, doesn't believe it could ever really happen and refuses to have someone take his attention away from him. He would torment anyone who got too close...and he probably wouldn't even realize he was doing it.

As I liked to put it, and in a nebulous way, Vox is Al's, but Al is not Vox's.

Annnnd to get to the female Alastor issue...oh boy, would that be a barrel of 'fun'. So, bluntly? Yes, he would be insanely jealous. Not only because this would be the, in Alastor's view, one and only woman who could catch Vox's eye, but also 'Allie' is a lot more aware and comfortable with herself than Alastor at this point.

'Allie's' been married before, and it wasn't a happy experience. She knows that she doesn't 'want' men in that way, and she doesn't 'want' women in the same way either. She hasn't quite gotten that she's aroace, particularly because there isn't a term at the time for it, but she's already figured out what she's comfortable with and what's too much, both emotionally and physically. Vox, to 'Allie', is just about perfect for her. He knows her boundaries without a word needing to be said. His touch doesn't make her skin crawl. She gets to define what their relationship is at any given point in time. There's no negotiation or trying to 'prove' her affections for him. He can love her without needing anything back, just like her Vee. Except he's a man, so she can even fulfill those little promises of a house with a white fence. If he was in her verse, she'd marry him, 100%. Possibly kids too, depending on her own comfort levels.

And that would drive Alastor up the wall. Because how dare. That's his Vox, and, no, he doesn't not care if they're technically the same person because they aren't the same person and-!

So, yeah, in short? He'd be very, very jealous.

Not that he'd really ever needed to be, because Vox would never do anything with 'Allie' that would make Al uncomfortable. All he'd really need to do, with any potential relationship, is tell Vox that he's uncomfortable with it and that would be that.

To Vox, his (but not his) Alastor will always come first.

(Secretly, Alastor knows that too.)

TLDR: Yes, Alastor would get jealous if there was ever a legitimate 'threat'. 'Allie' qualifies for that too, more than most. He's not usually jealous de facto though. And Vox would end any relationship on the spot the minute Alastor asked him to.

Thanks for the asks!

[frostgnawdraws]

I've been staring at the travelers' ships and comparing them to hatchy's, like a normal person who likes outer wilds a normal amount would do, and figured i would share my observations for anyone it may interest. mass amounts of yapping under the cut ::3

starting with chert - their ship is a comparable size to hatchy's, and is configured the same way in that the cockpit view is parallel to the ground. it's a bit higher up off the ground, presumably to accommodate the boosters, which stick out from the bottom of the ship. there is only one booster module as opposed to hatchy's two. it actually has three cockpits, which i assume is to allow them more observation capability from within the ship. each cockpit module has a scout launcher and autopilot module, so its possible that all three function as an actual cockpit with a seat, controls, etc, but think it's more likely that this is because they were all copy-pasted and removing the launcher and autopilot from two modules was not an important enough detail to bother with (which, fair). Also, there is only one headlamp and landing camera, and their positions imply that the cockpit on the opposite side of the ship from the only non-cockpit side is the only true cockpit. also, there is no satellite dish for the signalscope, but there is an appendage for it. there isn't a scout in any of the launchers, but their scout is visible at their camp. their ship does not have a visible entrance. not entirely related to the ship but also of note - i might be wrong but i believe they are the only traveler to have a visible signalscope at their camp. also, the radio at their camp looks different from all the other radios in the game (as far as im aware). just from how it looks i would guess it is an older model? but its also possible its a newer one, although i doubt this since chert is implied to be one of the more experienced astronauts and, although they cant have been on ember twin for THAT long since one of their recordings mentions hatchy ("the new astronaut") and hal's translator, I would guess they have been on their current expedition for longer than either gabbro or riebeck. on the other hand, esker has the same radio model as gabbro's and the one in the museum/observatory, and they supposedly don't come down to timber hearth very often, nor are they visited by other astronauts often. still, its not out of the realm of possibility for esker to have a newer radio than chert, just interesting.

next up is riebeck! their ship is also of comparable size to hatchy's, although it is configured differently, with the cockpit view perpendicular to the ground. their ship has two booster modules sticking out of opposite sides of the ship, the same as hatchy's. two sides of the ship have oxygen and fuel tanks attached, as opposed to one side of hatchy's. they have a visible scout launcher and autopilot, with no scout in the launcher and their scout visible at their camp. they have headlights and a landing camera, although the positioning of the headlamp does not make sense to me since the light would not be hitting anything the cockpit is directly facing - im guessing this is the same as the triple scout launchers and autopilots on chert's ship, and is simply a detail too unimportant to bother with. Their ship has a hatch on the bottom that looks the same as hatchy's. riebeck also does not have a radio at their camp, which I found interesting. i think based on their ship, their recordings, and what others say about them that they are on their first expedition and are the newest astronaut aside from hatchy, so its possible that the newer astronauts have a radio built into their helmet?

next up is gabbro's ship. its a bit smaller than hatchy's, although configured almost identically, with a cockpit parallel to the ground, two booster modules, oxygen/fuel tanks strapped on the back and top (with a bit more stuff strapped to the top than hatchy's), and a hatch on the bottom. the hatch is wooden instead of metal and glass. their ship is the only one to have visible antennae and an external radio, and they also have a radio at their camp. coming back to the possibility of riebeck and hatchy having radios built into their helmets, if this was true i don't know why gabbro would have so many antennae while neither chert or feldspar have antennae on their helmets or ships? although gabbro also mentions having the same map functionality as hatchy, and the museum exhibit states that the 3d map is used by their "newest astronauts," so maybe the antennae on their helmet and ship are for the deep space satellite rather than radio transmission, and for riebeck and hatchy they have improved their technology so it doesn't necessitate as many antennae as well as adding built-in radio functionality to the helmets. gabbro's ship has an autopilot module as well as a headlamp and a landing camera. like chert, they have an arm for a satellite dish for the signalscope, but no actual dish. there is no visible scout in the launcher and also no scout at their camp - its possible this was just an unimportant detail, but knowing gabbro i like to think they don't bother to recall their scout when they launch it until they need it again and just let it hang out wherever it lands lol.

and last but not least is feldspar's ship! their ship is quite a bit smaller than hatchy's and is easily the smallest of the ships visible in the game. it is configured like riebeck's (or, rather, riebeck's is configured like feldspar's) with the cockpit facing perpendicular to the ground. it doesn't have any oxygen or fuel tanks attached, although its possible that a) those got knocked off in the crash or b) there wasnt room on the ship for an existing oxygen-and-fuel-tank-bearing-module and they didn't want to model anything new for it. also, they have an autopilot module, a (empty) scout launcher, a headlamp, and a landing camera, although the landing camera is completely blocked by the thrusters. also, there is no visible entrance to the ship. I am assuming that the positioning of the headlamp - like riebeck's, its not pointed in the same direction as the cockpit view - and the presence of an autopilot module and a landing camera are most likely due to the cockpit and landing gear models being copy-pasted between ships, as i really doubt feldspar wouldve had an autopilot or landing camera, although i suppose the autopilot could also be explained as being a very rudimentary version (which could also go for other astronauts like chert and maybe gabbro), ex. being capable of locking onto things and calculating the ship's relative velocity and direction of movement, but not actually maneuvering the ship (or maybe even less functionality than that, who knows.) the reason i'm so confident feldspar wouldn't have had an autopilot system as advanced as hatchy's is because a) they would not use that shit and b) its implied to be a work-in-progress, as one of slate's lines is "I can’t wait to get back to working on the new ship. We’re working on fixing the autopilot’s avoidance system for this one," and also i like to think the full-fledged autoflight system that completely takes over control of the ship's movement was developed in response to feldspar's disappearance - also due mainly to one of slate's lines, "it’s finally time to test the new landing hydraulics with a pilot instead of the autoflight system." this could just be because all their other astronauts are currently on expeditions and aren't available to test-fly anything, but i also just really doubt that riebeck or chert would be willing to be test-pilots?? gabbro might, but who knows. the other astronauts are scientists with specific goals, while hatchy (and probably feldspar) don't seem to be scientists and don't have specific missions - as far as i can tell their job description is fuck around and find out, and it seems like hatchy, despite being a canonically sub-par pilot prior to the events of the game, is the only professional fuck-around-and-find-out-er aside from feldspar. anyways. basically i think the autopilot is a relatively new thing and slate only started working on it after feldspar fucked off to dark bramble because they didn't have anyone willing to test-fly their new stuff. also, the lack of scout in feldspar's launcher or at their camp is probably not an intentional detail but im going to pretend it is. my explanation for it would be that they either launched their scout into the bramble seed by their camp and didn't manage to catch it on the way back and they don't have the warp retrieval tech, OR when their ship's electrical systems went screwy it sent the scout flying as it does with hatchy's scout if you launch your scout at the ship. also!! their ship actually has a signalscope dish, i think it's the only one aside from hatchy's to have the actual dish and not just an empty appendage.

anyways. wow thats more yapping than i thought it would be. in conclusion i think that feldspars ship is the oldest (obviously) and hatchy's is the newest (also obviously), with chert's coming after feldspar's and being the first to be configured with a cockpit parallel to the ground (plus the extra cockpits.... chert's ship is just very specialized lol), and then gabbro's after chert's, and then riebeck's, and then hatchy's. that order is mostly based on what order i think they became astronauts in rather than the features of the ships, but now that i've taken a look at the ships i think that order still checks out. i am very confident about riebeck being the most recent astronaut aside from hatchy, but im not sure why their ship would be configured like feldspar's is when chert, gabbro, and hatchy's ships are all configured differently? maybe they felt more comfortable with their ship being that configuration because it was an older design, although considering slate's track record i dont think older=better would be a logical conclusion to make in this case lmao. I also think considering how they feel about the gravity crystal pathways they probably wouldn't be a fan of their ship's default gravity direction being different from the planet it's on? idk, that configuration is probably how gossan's ship would be constructed so maybe they were more comfortable with it since their flight coach was used to it and could train them in that configuration more thoroughly than the newer one. they also say "Feldspar would barely have laughed at me, I bet" in reference to their landing on brittle hollow, which implies that feldspar was present (or at least Not Missing) for at least part of their training.

honestly im not really sure what to think as far as how long feldspar has been gone for? everyone just says some variation of "a long time," and it has to have been long enough that they aren't actively searching for them anymore, which imo would have to be at least a year or two? (earth years, not timber hearth years - i usually ignore how long the in-game orbits, rotations, etc. take because while they work for the gameplay they are unrealistic and switching everything to earth-like day-night cycle, year length, making the loop longer, etc. makes more sense for the type of content i create) but if you look at feldspar's camp, while they are definitely not going anywhere, they seem to have a good amount of food and water. the trees are pretty tall but also timber hearth pine trees are clearly not like earth trees and its not unreasonable to assume the trees could have grown to that height in a few months or years. honestly canon compliance is not a super big deal to me so this is less of a theory and more of a Creative Liberty but my headcanon/interpretation/this-probably-isn't-canon-but-i-like-it-that-way version of how long feldspar has been in dark bramble is that, based on how people on timber hearth talk about them and the fact that there isn't an active search effort for them, they've been gone several years, probably somewhere between 3 and 5, but dark bramble is clearly a spatial anomaly and i would honestly be surprised if there wasn't some kind of time dilation fuckery going on in there, the node they're in could be on the other side of the universe inside a bramble orbiting at breakneck speeds around a supermassive black hole for all we know, and also i only care about scientific accuracy as far as i can throw it, so based on both the weirdness of dark bramble and the fact that feldspar is Not Dead, has a good bit of food and water, and is outwardly pretty chill about their situation (personally i think they're probably not as cool with it as they act, i think theyre in denial about needing help, but i do think their ability pretend to be chill with it implies they haven't been out there THAT long, bc i think if they had actually been there long enough for the space program to give up actively looking for them they would've eventually swallowed their pride and wouldn't be talking like they just left yesterday and telling hatchy to have ground control come get them "whenever they have time") i think that in the node of dark bramble they're in, somewhere between 8 and 12 months has passed. again that's not necessarily a theory on what is Actually True, it's not intentionally canoon-divergent but im not too concerned with being 100% accurate to canon if that makes sense?? wtv this started as observations about the travelers' ships idk how i even got to this topic lmfao

sorry if this is incomprehensible and thank you for coming to my ted talk ::D im gonna go lay awake in bed and think about this game for six hours

[alienjaes]

Tiktok Blacksmith: "Hey, everyone. Due to tiktok's rules about certain words, i'm having to change my language a little in these videos going forward. Rest assured, it'll still be the same content!

Now, today we're going to make some forging unalives-"

[trixxedheart]

It is amazing how the "people that love and uplift transwomen" website will instantly fucking maul a transwoman if she even remotely insinuate that using radfem rhetoric harms trans people

[miraluking-respectfully]

felix being referred to more or less exclusively as "your soldier" in-game speaks to how little the writers put into his character beyond his noggin full of sith secrets & his relationship with the consular; still, i do find it kind of sweet and funny, in a way. he's not a republic soldier, not even your personal bodyguard; he's your soldier. the consular is a small nation-state in and of herself

[forcebookish]

if arkarm were really both supposed to be gay for you then why was arm made admin of a Hot Boy facebook page in the first place? shouldn't he just be gay from the start? sus writing choice tbh

[weed-cat]

.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

fr both taylor's quants as mirrors to themself. rian Seen as so meritous and deserving and talked to and tasked with and advised and considered but apparently rian's whole thing is going "huh. wha" and having wendy's level of self-reflection (none). winston who is begrudgingly allowed to sit in his corner and ignored b/c he's undeserving so he can't really be meritous and nobody would look in that mirror b/c it's gonna be So not their reflection. while he just won't stop cassandraing and having all these insights and perception and observations nobody even asked or told him to have and is peak taylor understander and just like taylor: isn't guided by a paper-thin ego but also will take criticism / blame / mistreatment Too Much for his own good

[the-rose-owl]

I'm going to lose my mind. Why do some people think that humans just have the magical ability to interpret animal behavior completely by intuition and have it never be wrong ever

[borealing]

honestly when i was deep in mdzs fandom writing fics weekly and getting thousands of hits per day i was So mentally unhealthy about getting recognition. now i post most things i write on anonymous and get 400 hits per fic and it's truly freeing. i no longer feel guilty about writing or not writing i no longer feel like a failure when a fic doesn't get better than 10:1 hits to kudos ratio i simply write for enjoyment and when other people enjoy it too it sparks a special kind of joy in my soul,,, no more writing to see if ppl like it and if they do i feel relieved and validated, i am writing for ME

[forgotn1]

I know it's the years of bullying, rejection, and loneliness that cause it and I'm going to keep doing my best to push through and be more open with what I feel and what may come my way, but it's still incredibly difficult for me to imagine a world where someone is actually interested in me romantically. There's always that voice in the back of my head telling me there's better options out there. That people don't want that from me and I'm going to die alone. It's very hard not to listen to, especially as the years go on and I'm still alone. But I also know I can't get anywhere if I listen to it, so I just have to try and ignore it as best as I can.

[cursed-spirit-manipulation]

tellimg thing about Geto is the "the part of me that hates non sorcerers" and "the part of me that wants to reject that part" like it's not that there's a part of him that doesn't hate normal ppl it's that there's a part of him going "maybe that's fucked up actually? IDK tho" and that's very real (part of me that's "everyone should die forever" vs part of me that's like "that's not very leftist let's work on that") like. He's ultimately (at the time) a kid who wants to do what Feels Right but he doesn't really have a true internal ability to determine that for himself so it's his Actual Internal Emotions (hatred) vs What People Tell Him Is "Right" (not hatred), not Gut Reaction (hatred) vs Internal Values (caring Abt human life). Like a lot of ppl write it as the second thing which while that makes sense on the surface I think it misses that he's a child who's trying to go through the motions of being a good person because he's growing up and being taught Jujutsu Society Values which. Doesn't seem to actually genuinely value lives beyond the basic societal "don't kill people" and "civilian death = bad" (also he sees ppl who aren't sorcerers as fundamentally less Real and Human that Sorcerers so that's also. Y'know. A problemmm)