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newstfionline · 9 months

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Tuesday, July 25, 2023

10 years since bankruptcy, Detroit’s finances are better but city workers and retirees feel burned (AP) Mike Berent has spent more than 27 years rushing into burning houses in Detroit, pulling people to safety and ensuring his fellow firefighters get out alive. But as the 52-year-old Detroit Fire Department lieutenant approaches mandatory retirement at age 60, he says one thing is clear: He will need to keep working to make ends meet. Thousands of city employees and retirees lost big on July 18, 2013, when a state-appointed manager made Detroit the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy. In 2013, Detroit had some 21,000 retired workers who were owed benefits, with underfunded obligations of about $3.5 billion for pensions and $5.7 billion for retiree health coverage. Pensions were cut. “You become a firefighter because that’s your passion and you’ll make a decent living. You would retire with a good pension,” said Berent, who told The Associated Press that his monthly pension payments will be more than $1,000 lower than expected due to the bankruptcy. Berent’s city-funded healthcare also ends with retirement, five years before he’s eligible for Medicare.

Scorching heat on U.S.-Mexico border (AP) People withered in blistering heat on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, where temperatures hit a scorching highs this week and many got little relief from the sun. Maribel Padilla, part of the Brown Bag Coalition, met up with people who are homeless and particularly vulnerable to the heat in Calexico, on the border between Mexico and California, where temperatures hit 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius). She provided them with a cold, wet towel, and some refreshments to give them respite. Many placed the towels over the heads to shield themselves and rehydrated with cool bottles of water. Just across the border in Mexicali, Mexico, many plunged into indoor pools for some exercise and cool comfort. But there was little choice for those working outside, who sweated through their clothes in 115-degree Fahrenheit (46-degree Celsius) temperatures. Most others kept away from the outdoors, or stayed in shade cast by buildings.

Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro fades from the spotlight (AP) Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is fading from the spotlight. Brazil’s top electoral court ruled last month that Bolsonaro is ineligible to run for any political office until 2030 for abusing his power and casting unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system. Bolsonaro was once called the “Trump of the Tropics” after emerging as a crusading outsider promising to shake up the system and pursuing an aggressive brand of identity politics including conservative values. A clear demonstration of Bolsonaro’s waning power was a tax reform vote in Congress’ lower house this month. A proposal supported by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government to overhaul Brazil’s notoriously complicated tax system was also backed by lawmakers and the general public. Bolsonaro tried to marshal opposition—his first attempt at doing so—but the reform passed by a greater than 3-to-1 margin. Almost two dozen members of Bolsonaro’s party defied his will. Bolsonaro has “little to no influence as a potential opposition leader,” political analyst Leandro Loyola wrote after the vote.

Ukraine’s campaign against Russia risks descending into a stalemate. (WSJ) When Ukraine launched its big counteroffensive this spring, Western military officials knew Kyiv didn’t have all the training or weapons—from shells to warplanes—that it needed to dislodge Russian forces. But they hoped Ukrainian courage and resourcefulness would carry the day. They haven’t. As the likelihood of any large-scale breakthrough by the Ukrainians this year dims, it raises the unsettling prospect for Washington and its allies of a longer war—one that would require a huge new infusion of sophisticated armaments and more training to give Kyiv a chance at victory.

Russia says Moscow and Crimea hit by Ukrainian drones (AP) Russian authorities accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on Moscow early Monday that saw one of the aircraft fall near the Defense Ministry’s main headquarters, while the Russian military launched new strikes on port infrastructure in southern Ukraine. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties when the drones struck two nonresidential buildings. The Defense Ministry claimed that the military jammed both attacking drones, forcing them to crash. Russian media reported that one of the drones fell on the Komsomolsky highway near Moscow’s center, close to the main Defense Ministry building. Another drone hit an office building in southern Moscow, gutting its upper floors. Russian authorities said that another Ukrainian drone attack early Monday struck an ammunition depot in northern Crimea and forced a halt in traffic on a major highway and a railway crossing the Black Sea peninsula that was annexed by Moscow in 2014. Railway traffic was restored several hours later.

Landslides block key roads in northern Pakistan, as the death toll from monthlong rains rises to 133 (AP) Landslides triggered by torrential rains have blocked several key roads in northern Pakistan, stranding tourists and disrupting traffic, officials said Monday, as the death toll from weather-related incidents in the past month rose to at least 133. Monsoon rains have returned to Pakistan a year after devastating floods killed 1,739 people across the country. The monsoon season, which officially began on July 1, will continue until September in the South Asian country.

Fukushima nuclear plant water release within weeks raises worries about setbacks to businesses (AP) Beach season has started across Japan, which means seafood for holiday makers and good times for business owners. But in Fukushima, that may end soon. Within weeks, the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is expected to start releasing treated radioactive wastewater into the sea, a highly contested plan still facing fierce protests in and outside Japan. The residents worry that the water discharge 12 years after the nuclear disaster could deal another setback to Fukushima’s image and hurt their businesses and livelihoods. “Without a healthy ocean, I cannot make a living.” said Yukinaga Suzuki, a 70-year-old innkeeper at Usuiso beach in Iwaki about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the plant. “If you ask me what I think about the water release, I’m against it. But there is nothing I can do to stop it as the government has one-sidedly crafted the plan and will release it anyway,” he said. “Releasing the water just as people are swimming at sea is totally out of line, even if there is no harm.” The beach, he said, will be in the path of treated water traveling south on the Oyashio current from off the coast of Fukushima Daiichi.

Philippine president to deliver state-of-the-nation speech amid protests (AP) Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was to deliver a state-of-the-nation speech Monday after his first year in office. More than 20,000 police, backed by other security forces and army troops, were deployed to keep order amid protests and secure the House of Representatives, where Marcos will deliver his speech before a joint session of Congress. Marcos, 65, rose to power in June last year in a landslide victory that was among the most dramatic political comebacks in recent history. His father was ousted in a 1986 uprising. The president has refused to apologize and has steadfastly defended his father’s legacy. About 6,000 left-wing, labor and human rights groups staged protests ahead of his speech in Congress with diverse demands, including for wage increases, to address attacks against political activists and journalists, and to recall a government program to phase out traditional but aging passenger jeepneys.

Israel’s Identity (NYT) When tens of thousands of Israelis marched up to Jerusalem this weekend to protest the far-right government’s plan to limit judicial power, many were driven by an urgent fear that the government is trying to steal the country that their parents and grandparents fought to build against the odds. “It’s really a feeling of looting, as if the country is their spoils and everything is theirs for the taking,” said Mira Lapidot, 52, a museum curator from Tel Aviv. This desperate march, in the middle of a heat wave, over the 2,400-foot mountains that lead to Jerusalem, was “a last chance to stop it.” The government’s supporters—many from more nationalist and religious backgrounds—largely believe the opposite: that the country is being stolen by a political opposition that has refused to accept its losses, not only in a series of democratic elections but also through sweeping demographic and cultural changes that have challenged its once-dominant vision of the country. “It should really be called a coup, not a protest movement anymore,” said Avi Abelow, 49, a podcast host from Efrat, a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. “They’re willing to destroy the unity of the Israeli people, willing to destroy the unity of the Israeli Army—and destroy Israeli democracy—to hold on to their power.” The dispute reflects a painful schism in Israeli society—between those who seek a more secular and pluralist country, and those with a more religious and nationalist vision—about how to maintain Israel’s self-image as a Jewish and democratic state amid a disagreement about what both those concepts mean.

Israeli parliament approves key part of judicial overhaul that has exposed deep fissures in society (AP/Foreign Policy) Israeli lawmakers on Monday approved a key portion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive plan to reshape the country’s justice system despite massive protests that have exposed unprecedented fissures in Israeli society. The vote came after a stormy session in which opposition lawmakers chanted “shame” and then stormed out of the chamber. (With the opposition out of the hall, the measure passed by a 64-0 margin.) It reflected the determination of Netanyahu and his far-right allies to move ahead with the plan, which has tested the delicate social ties that bind the country, rattled the cohesion of its powerful military and repeatedly drawn concern from its closest ally, the United States. The overhaul calls for sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, from limiting the Supreme Court’s ability to challenge parliamentary decisions to changing the way judges are selected. Rights groups have said they will petition the Supreme Court to strike down the new law; foreign leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, have called on Netanyahu not to move forward with more judicial reform; and the nation’s largest union, Histadrut, announced on Monday that it will begin negotiations to kick-start a labor strike in protest. “This is the destruction of Israeli democracy,” said opposition leader Yair Lapid. “We will not give up.”

Buying Nauru? (Quartz) FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is taking doomsday prepping to a whole new level. New court filings released last Thursday detail how Bankman-Fried’s brother outlined a plan for the billionaire to purchase the island of Nauru—that’s right, the entire country—to construct a bunker for waiting out the apocalypse. The world’s smallest island nation was once a money laundering haven, which makes it a bit too on the nose as an escape for the disgraced founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange, who is accused of swindling $8 million from his customers.

#headlines #news

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silenceindustries · 11 months

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World Building June Day 14 - Novum and Food

Food in Novum is all artificially made, thanks to the endangered animals and crop shortages due to the withering years, artificial food became the default for most people on the street, with big companies attempting to be the first to solve the famine or at least reduce the amount of people dying due to hunger.

Even over 30 years later there is still a shortage of “real” food available, currently available “pseudo” food is actually quite tasty and healthy. However “real” food material is considered an expensive luxury that is only available to the powerful and wealthy.

For those in orbital habs, or on long journeys to one of the many extraplanetary missions part of the New Space Race, Pseudo-food is easily stored for such long journeys, and easy to rehydrate as needed.

#World Building #World Building June #WBJ #Silence Post #Cyberpunk #The Dark Future Of Novum

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ifyougoillfollow · 2 years

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y'all i SWEAR i've started working on the next chap of my erasermic vamp au but like gimme a minute i just remembered i love women

#jkjk i never forgot 😌#what i really mean is that i just remembered i have ocs #many of whom are women with deep and messy af connections with each other and also some of them smooch #rip to bnha but my world-building and characterization is different i.e. female-centric i.e. better <3 #also there's built-in vampires and werewolves so really it's win all the way down #anyway that's why i've been awol for bit but not to worry i'm def still hyped about vamp au and my million other bnha fic wips #it's just that my soul was withering from lack of women so i must nourish it with a lil original content #once my soul is rehydrated it's new vamp au chapter for you hoes #don't mind me just ramblin'

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powdermelonkeg · 3 years

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So, BO2W Breakdown

Buckle up, this is gonna be a long one.

Here we’ve got Ganon’s...energy taking over Link’s arm. Ordinarily, I’d call it Malice, but based on what it turns into, I’m just going to be calling it corruption. We don’t get much information from this scene besides this expression:

Link’s grabbing the corruption with his other hand, and wincing. It looks painful. I personally think it’s for cinematic effect that it was included, but it COULD be a gateway into a Phantom Hourglass sort of mechanic--Link has to function on a time limit, or using the corruption’s power could drain his life.

Next we’ve got a closeup of Ganondorf. F in chat to the rehydration theorists.

And the closeups of his jewelry. The only significant thing I can see is his necklace, which looks like a cross between the Gerudo symbol and a Fleur de Lis:

But what I’M most interested in is this tie on his belt:

For one, it’s WAY bigger than it needs to be, and that’s deliberate. Ganondorf’s got a jewelry aesthetic he’s already hit above; everything else is gold, why not this bit?

Most importantly, you can barely make it out, but the designs either look Sheikah or Zonai--they’ve got that same kind of swirly busy pattern to them. The red tint and tan-ish lines in it makes me think it’s possessed Sheikah tech.

Next, we’re shown Zelda falling. This looks like it happens right after these two caps from the first trailer:

So we reach for her as the ground collapses, and evidently, we fail to pull her back up. So my next question for that scene is going to be what the in-game reason is for us not diving in right after her. Maybe we won’t get one, since the appeal of the original BOTW was that you could fight Ganon whenever you wanted.

Up next, we’ve got a skydiving shot:

The first thing to notice is that Link’s pose while skydiving is just about identical to his pose in Skyward Sword:

Second is that, yes, he’s falling towards a floating island, and that in itself is noteworthy, but he’s FALLING. There’s something either above him that he jumped off of, or a force that carried him high enough TO fall, and I doubt Nintendo’s encouraging magnesis flying.

So, there’s a few options: Loftwings making a return (which is unlikely, but a hope I have), something like Revali’s Gale boosting Link up for a cinematic shot, indicating that the corruption arm has that kind of power, or islands higher than the one shown here.

Now the island itself:

In Skyward Sword, Skyloft looks like this:

And (spoiler alert) we loose this island here over the course of the game:

Now, it’s not a PERFECT 1:1 match, as most things between games aren’t, but a quick rotate and overlay shows it’s got the same kinds of shapes between the two. The same “W” shape along the eastern side, the same tiny island off the northeast point, the same relative edges.

Now, I don’t know what happened to the plaza at South Skyloft, or the Knight’s Academy isle, but it could very easily be drift away from the central island.

The presence of other islands through the clouds seems to support that theory. Now let’s look at Link here:

The outfit is new. We haven’t, to my knowledge, seen one of this design in other games. My gut reaction to this image was “oh, we go back in time and we’re the first hero now!” because it’s vaguely reminiscent of Tapestry Hero.

But upon closer inspection, that theory’s null and void. Under Link’s tunic in the image above, you can see that he’s still wearing the shorts he woke up in in the first game. So either Sheikah boxers haven’t changed in 10,000 years, or it’s taking place in present day. Jokes aside, I’m curious to know if the outfit he’s wearing is modeled after Tapestry Hero.

Next thing to point out is the obvious:

Link’s arm here looks less prosthetic and more...withered, I almost want to say. The corruption here’s made his hand look frailer, and armored them up with Zonai patterns before it fades out at his shoulder. Based on how the tattoos look, I think they’re an artifact of the corruption taking hold.

Also, the belt here:

Aesthetic purposes, or specific function? The presence of the second, smaller one on the side reminds me of Skyward Sword’s adventure pouch, which could be how the new game handles inventory size:

Next we’ve got another flying shot:

It seems like he’s flying towards Ruined Skyloft, and you can see the bottoms of islands above it, possibly meaning that the sky serves as more than just a hub world like it did in Skyward.

Now let’s look at the paraglider he’s using. It’s new.

This is how the paraglider looks in the original BOTW. It looks like we still have the Rito symbol in the center, but other than that, there’s a LOT of changes here.

First off is the color. We’re now blue and gold. The shade of blue makes me think of the Kochi Dye Shop’s navy blue:

So, possibly a dyeable paraglider?

The new pattern surrounding the Rito symbol makes me think that it’s combining the paraglider with Skyward Sword’s sailcloth:

Other than that, there isn’t much else to say about the paraglider besides the handles looking like they’re made of bone. Craftable paragliders? God, I hope not.

Back to Link:

Here we have him in different gear than the last shot. He’s wearing the snow boots, he has a shield with a stylized Eye of Truth looking upwards, and he looks like he’s carrying a traveler’s sword and an unknown bow. The presence of the bow makes me think that the shield here is a lower tier item, rather than this game’s Hylian Shield equivalent.

Now, let’s get a better look at the horizon:

The trees here look a lot like the smaller trees you can find in Akkala, but there’s a distinct lack of red among them.

Then it looks like we’ve got some ruins at the furthest isle.

Whatever the rock formations are over there, they don’t LOOK natural.

Another thing I noticed is the bottoms of the islands.

These look a little too geometric to be natural, too. Now, this one, I’m a little muddy on, because it COULD be a stylistic choice. But it also reminds me of the Shrines if you clip out of bounds:

And a little bit of the dormant Gate of Time from Skyward:

My money’s on the cube-like nature of the islands’ undersides being deliberate, rather than just a far-off render.

And then there’s this thing!

What is it? It doesn’t look broken at all; look how nicely the roof(?) is kept. The ribbing on the sides makes me think it might be a Zonai thing, but the shape makes it difficult to figure out. A giant temple? An airship? A sloped coliseum? This thing haunts and vexes me.

Our next shot is presumably from one of the islands, based on the color. Here we can see that there are definitely ruins all over the place. Link is in the same gear as before, so I won’t touch on him.

This, however, has my interest. The design here has more geometric patterns--Zonai ruins?

We’ve got another one off in the distance here. Sky checkpoints, like Sheikah towers?

Now this guy here. There’s a LOT to look at. First off is the eye design, it’s the same sort of upward looking one that Link has on his shield in the previous shots.

The energy that’s pulling this thing towards its base looks like the same green energy that surrounds the arm holding Gan in place in Trailer One:

This stuff. That, plus the fact that the robot has to be pulled into its base rather than just existing, implies that either A: Link activates it himself, like a trial thing, or B: that the green energy here functions in the same way Malice does in the original BOTW.

This pattern at its base is intriguing, too. I don’t recognize the gold symbol in the center, but the green around it reminds me of the portals from Twilight Princess.

Which, yes, everyone’s already said that the Twilight Princess patterns look like Zonai things. But another thing this weird dial thing reminds me of is from Lanayru Desert:

On top of that, the color palette of this guy looks like that of the Lanayru Robots from Skyward:

BO2W robot on the left, Lanayru robot on the right. Given that Skyward is a lot more vibrant than other non-Toon Zelda games, I think this is a fair enough comparison to draw similarities from.

And then we get a closer view of the sky ruins from the last shot. I don’t know if the geometric pattern in the corner is a deliberate carving, or wear from time, but since the pattern looks ALMOST mirrored around the corner, I’m going to go with the former.

A better shot a few frames later. The robot has HANDS, which I do not like in any way shape or form. However, we get a better look at the sky ruins.

We haven’t seen this style of stairs before, to my knowledge. The pedestal out front looks like a light source, and it has the same floral egg thing the robot above has on each shoulder; the eggs could easily be a power source for Zonai tech. And at the top of the stairs, we see a pedestal, backing up the theory that these ruins function as our new Sheikah towers.

This is our next shot. Which...

Unikoblins. Can we talk about that? UNIKOBLINS.

Anyways, Link is here again in his old clothes. This is a very early game shot, because his right arm isn’t corrupted yet; this means we get to explore Hyrule before we embark on the main quest. Which gives rise to a question: Where’s Zelda?

The hopeful side of me wants to say that she’s a tutorial companion, like Navi or Tatl, at least for the beginning here. The pessimistic side of me thinks that she’s waiting for us at a predetermined location, and this is just part of getting to her.

Now the unikoblin structure itself is built on a Talus, meaning that the dev team at least intends to have more inter-monster interactions. But if you kill the Talus, does that mean that the base falls apart, or does it just drop down as a separate entity?

Also, what are these background ruins? The one on the left looks like it’s a distinctly different style than the one on the right. It looks almost like a giant guardian arm.

Our next shot is Link’s arm getting corrupted. Which, first of all, the effects look beautiful.

Now, we can see a corner of Link’s hip here, and we know that this is his right arm. So Link’s lying down here. Unconscious? Knowing how Zelda games like to start with Link waking up, probably. Although it looks like at least part of his shorts got an update.

We can see what looks like circuits here. It looks a bit like the electricity puzzles you can find in the Divine Beasts and Shrines in the original.

Then we’ve got these strange symbols.

Whatever this circular stone he’s lying on is, it looks a lot like the Zonai puzzle from the “A Fragmented Monument” sidequest.

This one that everyone thought was the Mirror of Twilight for years.

Our next shot is Link using the corruption powers against enemies:

The spike ball itself looks solid; the question is, is this a duplication power, or a visualization of how the spike ball is set into motion?

We see it barreling over a poor Unikoblin or two, but I’d like to turn your attention to the Moblin and the background.

The moblins here have helmets, and the bases, while they carry the same design, look like they have more cause and effect in mind. The left base’s rock, for instance; that’s a lot bigger than the rocks we got to play with in the last game, and it looks like we can barrel anything in the screen over with it.

The helmet, though, concerns me a little bit. It looks natural rather than forged; like it’s the moblin’s horn, just very much deformed. Does it mean a harder enemy, or is it just for flavor?

Our next shot is this strange flower thing. Note that Link’s right arm is perfectly fine in this shot, meaning that it’s still early game.

This is what Link’s flamethrower looks like. And this:

Is Zonai art.

So the question is, what IS the flamethrower? My first thought was that it’s either a new item in its own, or it’s a Sheikah Slate upgrade. The latter might sound a little far fetched, but Link in this game is right-handed, and in BOTW, he always held the slate in his LEFT hand when using it.

We have more of the weird faded designs that we saw on the Sky ruins:

And we’ve got some kind of pedestal or stage behind the ground flower thing:

It looks like it’s either an altar or a grave, from what I can tell. The stairs aren’t the same design as the ones in the sky, and there aren’t any patterns on it.

More importantly, though, is that this place is underground. This could be a part of the game you’re required to go through, in order to get to Raisin Gan.

A few seconds later, though, we get our answer to what the flamethrower is!

It’s a shield!

Off to the left side, we can see pillars with more weird scribblings towards the top. These match the Sky ruins’ pillar shape, with a narrow base and a wider top.

Our next scene is...weird.

We see a puddle splash in reverse. It’s hard to tell if it’s actually water or not, but the design on the ground implies that it’s either been there for a long time, or that that’s a dedicated splash spot. And the quality and zoom makes me think that this is part of a cutscene. Return of the timeshift stones?

We then see Link...surfacing out of the island? I don’t know how else to describe it. However, his arm is changed again, and glowing, meaning that this is a corruption power. And the “water” he rises out of here looks a lot like the puddle in the last clip.

We get a good look at the Zonai Lights:

A Sky ruin that looks like it contains a room:

And a glimpse of other isles’ ruins in the far distance.

And then as the camera zooms out...

We can place a location!

We’re right over Thundra Plateau!

We also get a mildly better look at the back wall of the sky ruin, which looks to be some kind of table:

The next scene is Hyrule Castle:

The ground shakes and it starts to rise up. However, notice that the columns surrounding the castle are now missing.

We’ve also got red sparks in the air, like we would have in a blood moon. However, due to the sky color, we can assume that this is a conscious decision by Gan himself, and that he isn’t drawing power from his surroundings.

We then see that power bleeding out of the ground. It’s MUCH more red than Malice is, which has always been a kind of burnt pink-ish color.

However, even though Ganon lifts the castle up, he doesn’t lift it very high.

The castle’s about triple the height it was. But since we’re talking Skyloft levels of floating islands, this is still pretty ground-level. What’s interesting to me, though, is that in this shot, despite the game now being about sky islands that we should be able to see from ground level...there aren’t any here. This, to me, means that there’s going to be a sudden appearance of the isles in the sky, rather than them simply being accessible now.

And that’s the whole trailer! I have many questions.

My blog! If you have any opnions/questions/theories, feel free to drop an ask!

Part 2 is up! We missed a lot!

#botw #botw2 #bo2w #the breath just got wilder #breakdown #analysis #e3 #trailer #theory #zelda #loz #nintendo

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zlixlriffs · 3 years

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Mezelean Clone- You are a terracotta clone of the king of Mezelea

Clone-

You have the face of your king

Slayer of Horses-

Attacking a horse fills you strength. (get strength 4 for 12 seconds)

Inorganic Being-

You are a constructed creature. You can’t eat normal food but you can’t starve either. (You are also immune to posion and wither.)

Dense-

You are made of a heavy material, you fall faster and sink in water.

Bisque Fired Skin-

Your terracotta skin is resistant to high flames and explosions. (lava will still hurt you though)

Porus Clay-

You get softer when exposed to water and you move slower. (weakness and slowness)

Patch Up-

When you get hurt use clay balls to fill in your cracks. (use clay balls to restore hearts)

Rehydrate-

You found out a way to rehydrate terracotta into wet clay. (put terracotta with a water bucket in the crafting grid to get a clay block)

Fall Apart-

Upon death you break up into terracotta blocks.

Downloads - Here

Masterpost

Notes: I think this is a fun one to play as. It’s not as difficult as the Automaton but it does shake up how you play the game. The most fun thing you can do as a terracotta clone is to make an automatic terracotta farm that also farms heads. The mechanics of this origin want you to make one. Also the Codman and Rivendell Elf origins were updated to be more consistent and buffed a little bit.

#empires smp #minecraft origins #smallishbeans #joel smallishbeans

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bluewritesao3 · 3 years

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Guilt or a shitty job?

Summary: You join the mandalorian on a vaguely described job to the back water planet of Vispoc, that holds far more than originally anticipated leading to a very much needed history lesson and some emotion

Warnings: I think this gets angsty towards the end (I’ve never written angst before so bare with me pls) . talk of consumption of fogs, Talk of canon events like order 66 and the empire. Talk of Jedi stuff.

Taglist: Let me know if you wanna get tagged. Send me and ask or DM

Word Count: 3.5k (this was meant to be a dabble)

Masterlist | Cross Posted on A03

Gif credit: @johnboyuga

Kneeling on the floor of the Crest, you meditated in the quiet of the ship with the less then talkative Mandalorian hidden away in the cockpit and the miniature Grand Master Yoda safely tucked away in his hammock. The quiet offered you the peace you needed to gain a greater control over your thoughts and emotions. “Peace. Serenity, Harmony. We must master ourselves before we can hope to master the force.” You muttered your last masters teaching to yourself with closed eyes basing in the steady silence.

As the ship jolted and rocked beneath your knees, you centred yourself more ignoring the shifting metal biting into your knees. When you’d found the right peace and began to slip into a trance, the heavy thunking of boots echoed through the ship throwing you out of your almost trance-like meditation. “How far out are we?” You asked still knelt on the floor with your back still turned to the shiny Mandalorian.

He passed by almost too quietly, looking less shiny in the artificial lighting of the ship, you heard the quiet noise of the baby’s little sleeping compartment opening. “A hour at least,” He said distorted by his helmet as as he ducked down into that you originally assumed was the Mandalorian’s sleeping space and was now the child’s. “We’ll be landing in a few.”

You sighed and pushed off of the floor, wiping your hands on the course weave of your trousers. Watching the Mandalorian always surprised you that a man covered in impenetrable mental could be so careful with a baby. The Mandalorian carefully fished the child from his little hammock and situated the groggy blue bundle into the crook of his arm. You smiled at the sight, the child had a strong connection to the first and had a tendency to project life events into it, you’d originally assumed that he was doing it intentionally while the Mandalorian was away. The more you asked the child about these events the more he would immediately perk up and begin babbling as if he was glad you asked. “What’s the planet like?” You asked out of simple curiosity because it wasn’t like there were any windows in the hull of the Crest and since taking off you didn’t know any details other than the Mandalorian found work.

“Find out for yourself,” The Mandalorian muttered, you could see he was far more focused on the child than anything you had to say. “Going to need you for this one anyway,” He added retreating back up into the cockpit with the child in hand, you followed quietly without knowing why the Mandalorian was traveling to the planet of Vispoc but you’d agreed to help the Mandalorian with whatever work he had going it was mainly babysitting but you’d fallen in love with the little green gremlins upon first meeting.

Ascending into the cockpit, the pair of you worked like a well oiled machine so that the Mandalorian was able to take off and flue without any interference with the child. Staring out of the window, you stared at the slowly approaching planet. It looked as if a large part of it was made up of water spotted with green land masses and white spieling clouds obscured quite a bit of the water and land masses. “Looks safe enough. Don’t want repeat of Trask.” You muttered stroking one of the child’s large petal shaped ears.

The child cooed quietly as he played with his favourite control level knob, slowly turning it in his little clawed hands. Out of the corner of your eye you could see the swirling clouds wind in tighter on themselves like an incoming hurricane. “Slightly observation. Might wanna avoid using the jetpack when we’re planet side.” You warned side-eyeing the stoic lump of beskar casually tilt his helmet and give the planet a brief second look before pushing a few buttons.

“Says it’s water-rich and windswept. Got no major populations or star ports.” The Mandalorian uttered helmet barely picking up on the words as he looked at one of the screens embedded into the ships control panel. “Gonna be a bumpy landing.” He added and you took it as a sign to buckle your seat belt and clung to the child, his little arms raised in excitement when a few alarms began sounding as the Mandalorian began the bumpy decent onto the planets surface.

The closer the Crest go to the planets surface the more you could feel the planets attainment to the force. At first you thought it was the child of the winds you were sensing but it felt older like an ‘accumulation of energy’ as your late master called it when somewhere or someone had a strong connection to the force. “Do you feel that too?” You asked the child and received a delighted squeal as the Crest was battered by the winds and thrown to the left.

Glancing out of the window at the fast approaching planet, you began bracing for an impact just like the frozen tundra wasteland the new republic had chases you both into. The control panel flashed and alarms beeped in time with your pounding heard as the Mandalorian yanked on the ship’s controls, slapped various buttons and flipped switches with a level of blind accuracy you’d only seen from your fellow Padawan’s during group training or sparing practice.

As the Crest touched down on the rusted abandoned hanger, a withered painted sign proudly pronounced the planet’s name, Vispoc, while another clearly announced that the planet had some affiliation with the republic before the Empire came to power. You breathed a sigh of relief and drew in the clam the sense of peace you’d tried meditating on hours ago. “You good?” The Mandalorian asked sounding a little breathless and gently smoothed down the child's wispy white hairs, who’d seemingly enjoyed himself, maybe it was the sudden flashed of the escape pod that had put you on edge or maybe it was something entirely different. “Looks abandoned.” The Mandalorian observed taking in the dilapidated hander and strips of torn fabric hanging off of stacked cargo boxes.

You nodded shakily and began unbuckling yourself with the wild settled on your shoulder in preparation of you having to single handedly climb down the ladder into the cock-pit. “I’ll feed him then we can go. Okay.” You told to the mandalorian and leaving him to do whatever was needed in the cock-pit before the three of you ventured out into the cold of the planet. As you began your decent into the hull of the ship the child began to gargle a little at the mention of being fed. “Stars you’re a hungry thing aren’t you.” You commented as your feet touched the grated metal in the full.

Settling the child on top of the largest cargo crate as you set about mashing up one of the ration bars and rehydrating it with a little water from a flask. Ration bars and recycled water was not a good combination and you could attest to it seeing as it was the only part of your diet for at least a year after the purge. While you worked the child babbled and made grabby hand towards the small tin rectangle you held in your hands even though he was sending images of a particular frog with blue and black stripes he’d probably seen before you arrived through his connection in the force. “Sorry bud. We don’t have any blue and black striped frogs or any amphibians at all.” You joked and offered him a spoon of mushed up, rehydrated ration bar, he took the first spoonful without an issue but after the second and third you think he’d began to realise that it wasn’t a froggy mush.

He quietly grumbled aloud to himself in his own baby garble and frowned as a new spoon of ration bar mush was presented to him. “Listen, maybe I can convince your Dad you get some froggy pets.” You promised as you tried to sooth him by motioning towards where the Mandalorian was still hauled up doing post flight checks. “Then you can hunt ‘em yourself.” You added hopefully appearing the small grumpy child and offered the spoon again.

As if he’d actually considered it the child made a noise of agreement and began wolfing down every spoon of ration bar mush fed to him. “Y/N, you really shouldn’t promise him such things.” The mandalorian’s modulated voice came out of nowhere in true Mandalorian fashion causing the baby to immediately perk up as if he’d been given a stim-canister. “I have too many pets as it is.” The Mandalorian added as he pulled open the locked metal cupboard where he kept all his weaponry and began to load himself up as the Crest’s ram opened up with a mechanical whirling.

Depositing the child into his little cloth bag, “This looks questionable at best.” You muttered taking in the silvers of landscape revealed to you by the slow opening of the Crest’s ramp. Standing at the mouth of the ship, you slowly scanned the landscape, the hanger the Mandalorian had parked in seemed derelict from years of abandonment and seemed perfect for a smugglers crew to hide some coveted cargo. Noticing the out-cropping of a large temple-like structure was peaking out from behind the large mountain looming in the foreground.

“Here,” The Mandalorian said holding out the hilt of your Lightsaber, the cold sunlight glinted off of the dull weathered durasteel illuminating some of the symbols carved int other space between the emitter and the switch. “Might need it.” He nodded to the Lightsaber he’d once referred to a laser sword.

Reaching for the long metal hilt was a lot harder than you originally anticipated. ‘This weapon is your life.’ Your late asters words echoed in your head. Feeling the Mandalorian’s visor trained on you was almost burning its T-shape into your face. With a shaky hand, you firmly grasped the all to familiar leather wrapped hilt of your lightsaber and just held it trying to become comfortable with its weight again. It’d been the same as the one you’d built when you’d been selected as a Padawan and taken part in the gathering on Ilum. You were sure your hesitation was as clear as Vispoc’s oceans. “If my master could see me now. Hesitant. They’d be so disappointed in me.” You explained shakily, your late master never got ashamed or angry when you put a foot wrong or hesitated but they were always disappointed when something sailed or went wrong. As you hooked it onto your repurposed belt and gun holster, the child snorted as if he was getting impatient with all the waiting around.

Descending the ships ramp, the weight of the baby on your left felt like nothing compared to the history of the weapon hanging on your belt rhythmically bouncing as you walked. With the Mandalorian at your side, the both of you approached the village at a slow speed, only stopping when the winds picked up significantly and blew particularly hard. The dark rock bit into the palms of your hands as you shuffled along the mountain trail, hand on the wall searching for something to steady yourself when the winds blew. Farther up the trail the Mandalorian waited quietly but impatient, you could see where the child’d picked it up from, as if the winds didn’t bother him in the slightest and you was convinced that it was all the beskar that was weighing him down.

With your free hand holding the child’s side bag closer to your body, you had a much clearer view of the temple-like building that was peaking out from behind the mountain. Two large stone pillars flanked a set of double doors. Above the doors harsh winds swirled around one another like a brewing hurricane, in front of it was a raised dais with set stair leading down to what you assumed was the ground. Feeling the force trying to pull you in the direction of the temple, you brought up your shield again forcing the pull to detach itself from your being. “That part of me is too scared to even think about going there. Just yet.” You muttered into the wind and gently patted your Lightsaber as if you was trying to reassure yourself that you’d have to work up the courage to visit a temple again before became part of the living force.

Once on the move again the unlikely pair came to the mouth of a mountain-side village. A small handful of the homes seemed to be build from cylindrical walls and topped with dome roofs, the whole place felt restless with the scrapes of brightly painted fabric banners whipped around in the significantly more gentle wind. Other homes were built in close quarters with one another jutting out slightly from the sides of the mountain, they followed the natural lines of the paths and the mountain faces. “What or who are we looking for, Mandalorian? ‘Cause this place looks abandoned.” You asked glancing around the village and grimaced when you caught sight of the warning on the wall signed with a blood red imperial symbol.

The mandalorian sighed deeply as if he knew the whole trip was a bust. “He said it was in the village. Maybe there’s multiple villages.” He cursed clearly frustrated as you allowed yourself to slump down onto an outcrop of stone that seemed like a good place to sit.

“I doubt whatever you’re looking for is still here, Mandalorian.” You muttered promptly gesturing to the bright white grimy sighs screwed to the side of one of the cylindrical homes. It clearly stated that the village now belonged to the empire and all the occupants were in evacuate immediately or be arrested. “No doubt all the villages are under Imperial hold regardless of size.” You added gently offering the baby some of the jerky you kept in one of the bouches tied to your bed.

“Come one we’ll try the next on.” Was all the Mandalorian said before speedily continuing down the trail.

Watching the Mandalorian’s gate, You could see the that everything was beginning to weigh on him because it was much long ago that he’d found out he was raised by religious zealots and you’d honestly contemplated leaving there and then given the Jedi’s history with that particular groups of Mandalorian’s. Even if you’d spent almost 3 decades in hiding the teachings of your late master wouldn’t relent, emotions only clouded one’s judgement.

Hours down the line, you and the Mandalorian had traded off the task of carrying the child. The mandalorian now had the child’s side bag slung safely across his body with the child filling the safe space between both you and him.

The pair had visited multiple villages across the planet, even come across a largely developed town that yielded little to no information about whatever if was the Mandalorian was looking for. You suspected that whatever he’d been tasked the retrieve was inside of the temple-like building you’d seen when visiting the first village. The force connection was only growing stronger and carried whispers with them, they gently scabbed the very edges of the shield you had built after feeling it at its strongest for the first time. The child clearly wasn’t as effected as you were, maybe it was because he hadn’t had as much training, you weren’t sure but it worried you given that the child was 50 and just about had a grasp on lifting things.

Sitting in the cantina listening to the quiet chatter and howling winds, you carefully fed the baby spoonful after spoonful of bone broth. Subtly trying to watch the Mandalorian out of you peripheral you watched him fidget and continuously open and close his fist almost like he was waiting for someone, antsy was the word your brain suppled you with. “What exactly is it we’re looking for?” You asked gently wiping away any spilt broth from the child’s face. Waiting patiently, you took a sip of the water from the cup in front of you and watched the Mandalorian silt his helmet as if he was contemplating telling you what exactly they were doing on this windy hellhole. “You said you’d might need me. That implies that it’s something Jedi related.” You surmised slowly piecing together the small fragments of information you’d collected on the journey from one village to the next.

“It’s Jedi. I just don’t know where to look.” The Mandalorian huffed laying his hand flat on the table. “I’m open to suggestion,” He added allowing his shoulders to drop a little like he was relieved to share the job with you. “The Jedi are a mystery at most. Why doesn’t anyone know anything?” He asked sounding completely lost and a small part of you was itching to teach someone about the ways of the Jedi but the much larger part of you that was acting purely on instinct screamed that revealing such information would only get more killed.

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you slowly began drawing circles on the table avoiding the black t-visor staring straight at you unrelenting. “Because we’ve been wiped from history,” You began to explain hearing the child whine a little but you pushed on. “Our temples had fallen into disrepair or burned to the ground. The Empire sentenced us to death and denied a trial.” You explained farther remembering all the time you’d spent running and begging for your life, all those you’d cut through just to survive to see the next sun rise.

Without seeing the Mandalorian’s face, you couldn’t tell what expression he held, sometimes you were envious of the emotionlessness the armour offered him but he sat silently and listened as you rambled. Casting a quick glance around the cantina because anyone worth their information knew that cantina walls had ears. Always. “As the Republic fell the Empire rose and wiped us away with it. Anyone that’s still left knows better than the out themselves.” Memories of the great purge flashed across your memory, the stand-off between your late master and the commander and the clones chasing you across the length of the republican cruiser. It’d be enough to put any 12 year old into hiding and to never some out again. “Our relics became decoration and prices to be won. Our Lightsaber’s were another’s trophy.” You babbled nervously as you ignored the small green hand of the child clinging to your sleeve or the forced wave of calm being pushed onto you by the child.

The Mandalorian tilted his head noting that he was listening and absorbing all the information you were providing him with, the way he stared at you when you finished simply said ‘but why?’ and in all honesty you couldn’t give him an answer. “The thing I’m being paid to find. Theres a possibility that it’s Jedi.” He explained and you’d never felt such a strong urge to fling someone across the cantina and through your blooming anger, you nodded in understanding that the Mandalorian needed to make money some how and if it wasn’t chasing bail jumpers or debts half ways across the galaxy it had to be something Jedi related. Maybe this was the biggest fuck you to the Jedi from the Mandalorian’s. “If I’d known I wouldn’t have taken the job.” He added guilt dripping from the words even if they were mechanical.

“Is that why you gave me my saber back,” You began planting elbows on the table quietly seething with something akin to anger. “Out of guilt for taking the job?” You questioned staring directly into the black abyss of the Mandalorian’s t-visor. “Be clear with me Mandalorian. Was it guilt.” You demanded anger flaring a little, knowing full well that the Mandalorian had been adamant on him keeping your Lightsaber locked up out of harms way or at least till he trusted you to carry it and keep it out of the kids reach.

“We should go.” was all the Mandalorian said as he rose from his seat, took the child and excited the cantina to go back out into the drab wind-swept landscape leaving you sitting alone at the table looking for the peace you’d been able to find before landing.

Gingerly resting a hand on the hilt off your Lightsaber and glanced around wondering if anyone had noticed it on your person. “Memories of an old friend.” You whispered dropping the shield and walking out of the cantina, the Mandalorian stood of to the side holding hands with the smaller version Grand Master Yoda. The pull of the force called to you in a way that you’d never experienced since the gathering on Ilum and being on the surface of coruscant. “If we’re going to a temple. Stay close and ignore the whispers.” You warned and set of in the direction of the temple wishing the spirits there were at least laid the rest and not running rampant through the temple.

#Din Djarin x reader #din djarin x jedi!reader #jedi!reader #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian #Din Djarin #Blue writes instead of doing uni work #blue writes

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gendersanciau · 3 years

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Aremusgender, Arefacimusgender, Arescimusgender, and Exarescimusgender

Aremusgender: a dry, parched gender that has no connection to anything other than dryness, desert, wind, and tumbleweeds. Etymology: Latin, “aremus” meaning “we are dry”

Arefacimusgender: a dry, parched gender that dries up very quickly and disappears. Etymology: Latin, “arefacimus” meaning “we dry up”

Arescimusgender: a dry, parched gender that is dried out and empty, though it can be “rehydrated” or form connections to things that are connected to water. Etymology: Latin, “arescimus” meaning “we become dry”

Exarescimusgender: a dry, parched gender that dries up completely, withers, and disappears. Etymology: Latin, “exarescimus” meaning “we dry up completely”

#floros favs

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mercy-misrule · 3 years

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the louis/lestat marriage post makes me insane. i hate this series i hate knowing anything about anything i will drown lestat in the sea until he rehydrates like a withered piece of seaweed

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serararku · 3 years

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Overture: Of Plight and Purpose

<Theme>

S'era swayed and bobbed in her saddle, clutching the reins of her chocobo like her life depended on it - because it did. The dust of Thanalan still gripped her coat and hair, as did the exhaustion of battle cling to her bones. She nearly fell from her chocobo more times than she could count, no longer aware of where she was truly going; the skin of spring water bouncing on her hip was long emptied and dried, and she wouldn’t make it much further without something to drink. Through dirty goggles she eventually looked up to witness her surroundings, now realizing she was no longer at the mercy of Azeyma’s most cherished champion - the sun.

The land surrounding her was dark and barren. What was once an endless blue sky stretching onward in all directions was now scorched and muddled with thick grey clouds, yet she knew it would be folly to hope for rain. Strange crystalline spires of pink and violet stretched from the sundered earth to reach toward the cloud ceiling, and there was this choking miasma in the air that made her feel dizzy and weak. This was no place for the living.

Yet she had searched nearly everywhere else for him. She started in her ancestral homelands of Thanalan to the south; through the streets of Ul’dah, across the sun-blasted drylands, and along the rolling dunes of the Sagolii Desert. Next she searched high and low on the island of La Noscea to the west, fending off against pirates and cutthroats in Limsa Lominsa and beyond its borders. When that proved fruitless she went east until she was lost in the wooden sea of the Black Shroud. Deep in the forest all she found was frustration and danger. Out of any other options, S’era decided to go north, as that was the only direction she had left to go.

She was close, she could feel it.

Kwehzimoto squawked and chirped anxiously, twisting his head to scan their surroundings before abruptly turning off the old beaten road. S'era had just enough time to slip the device back into her coat and tug at the reins before her chocobo broke into a sprint, leaping over crags and weaving through tight crevices. "Moto!" She squeaked, covering her face before the dead branches hanging overhead raked at her skin and eyes. She was blinded from the withered trees and fragile rocks jutting out from the walls snapping against her arms, barely able to stay in her saddle from Kwehzimoto weaving through the long dead thicket.

It wasn't until the unruly chocobo slowed down to a standstill did she open her eyes. Before her sat a great lake of shimmering blue water - a stark contrast to the otherwise barren and dusty hellscape she’s witnessed so far. And she wasted no time either; the sight of fresh water filled her with renewed vigor, giving her the strength to slide down the side of her chocobo’s saddle, pluck the water skin from her pack, and collapse to her knees at the edge of the lake. The water tasted awful, or at least it should have; her maddening thirst was just the seasoning she needed to happily drink to her heart’s content, shoving her face into the cool water to chug until she felt sick. Rehydrated and refreshed, S’era sat back and wiped her face, before reaching for the skin to fill that up too. Kwehzimoto stopped halfway through his own drinking to chirp angrily at S’era, before his tail feathers bristled. Was it an intruder? A dangerous wild animal? It was neither.

It was a corpse. S’era squinted her eyes to see a body along the edge of the lake. Arrows were buried in his back, at least three or four. Garlean arrows. Given the track marks behind him, it was likely he was dragging himself through the dust before collapsing just short of reaching the water. Two ragged ears trembled under the dead wind. They were partially hidden beneath a tangled mess of hair clogged with dried blood and sand; without a doubt he was a Miqo’te like her.

“Azeyma guide him to your endless fields of eternal sunlight.” S’era sighed, rising to her feet to approach the corpse. If nothing else, he deserved a proper burial. She looked down at him with pity, wondering if he had anything worthwhile on his person before expiring; but the ragged clothes didn’t make him appear like anyone well traveled. She reached down and grabbed one of the arrows, deciding it best to pull them all out before she began digging a hole. The first one came out clean enough.

“Argh-!” The groan nearly caused her to leap right out of her skin!

"Oh gods! You're alive?!" S'era dropped the arrow in her grasp and fell to her knees beside him. Frantically she pulled him onto his side, revealing his grimacing face and dirt-caked lips. Another groan slipped through his clenched teeth- he was desperately clinging to life. She pulled off the cork of her water skin with her teeth and began pouring a thin but steady stream into his mouth. The stranger could barely move, let alone drink, but the taste of water was enough to stir him.

"Th...thaaugh.." he mumbled, before coughing. The man opened his bright yellow eyes and stared up at S’era; if it weren’t for his ragged breath, she could have sworn he died right then and there.

She gave him a gentle smile before placing her palm against his forehead. If he didn’t bleed out first, this fever would burn right through him. “You can’t stay here… I’m going to lift you onto my chocobo, okay? This will hurt.” The man didn’t move to object, his breath weak and steady when she gripped him by the arm to pull him out of the dirt.

Kwehzimoto chirped nervously when she strapped him to the saddle. As she tugged the reins to follow the road to the nearest town, she couldn't shake that old anxious feeling. S'era strained to look across the great dusty valley before her- toward the direction this man had crawled from. Smoke billowed along the horizon as the glare of the setting sun distorted the silhouettes of large spiraling towers pointing to the sky. "A castrum?!" She hissed, taking a tentative step closer; S'tage could be there, fighting for his life!

“Uugh…” The man wheezed again, his voice weaker than before. S’era knew he didn’t have much time; his chance of survival was dubious at best, but he would definitely die by the time she reached S’tage if she didn’t get him some medical help immediately. She looked to the smoke, then to the wounded man, then back to the smoke, unsure of what- or who- to pursue; all in all she was left with a difficult choice to make. And she lacked the time to think it through.

When next the man opened his bright yellow eyes, he was greeted not to ash, dust, and darkness, but to pale light and warmth. He was laying on his back, surrounded by silk sheets and white pillows, more comfortable now than he has been in well over a year- well over a decade, even. Above him shined a light so bright and blinding, he swore it was his people’s chosen deity herself; for who else but the Goddess of the Sun blind him so effortlessly? He was adrift- alone on a sea of white water, surrounded by the comforting warmth of his goddess Azeyma, and blinded as well as dumbstruck by the searing light dangling low overhead. “This is it.” He thought to himself, humbled by her approaching beauty. “This is the end.”

“Oh. Oh!” An unfamiliar voice squeaked. He heard the hard thud of feet before they scampered off into the distance, but it was far too bright to see anything past Azeyma’s light. Yet slowly, his eyes adjusted, and the longer he squinted, the more he came to realize how false his initial fever-dream truly was.

It wasn’t the afterlife at all. He blinked until he could make sense of his surroundings, finding himself not in the presence of the Warden Herself, but in some makeshift hospital bed. The divine light was but a lantern dangling over his bed, and the warm white water was in fact his own bedsheets. Discovering how alive he remained made him both disappointed and relieved, further impounded by the fact that he was obviously not in Garlean possession again. He moved to rise from his bed and sit up straight, but the agony in his back sapped what little strength he had left, forcing him to drop the back of his head onto the sunken pillow from whence it came.

Then the door swung open, and he half-expected a Garlean interrogator to waltz in. "Good morning!" A voice beamed in between labored breaths. A lalafell waddled into the room, glistening with sweat and out of breath. "Welcome back to the land of the living!"

"Where am I…? What… how long have…"

"You're in the Revenant's Toll, and you've been in and out of it for nearly two days." She answered as sweetly as she could, lifting up her cupped hands to reveal a crisp red apple. "Here… you must be hungry."

It was agony to move. Through his pained wince he noticed the arrows sitting on the nearby table, cleaned and displayed for him. He had a dozen more questions, true, but the mention of food highlighted how hungry he truly was. The lalafellin woman waddled to the edge of his bed and graciously handed over the fruit, before turning on a heel to jump up into the seat of the chair.

"You're really lucky she found you when she did." The woman beamed at him as he devoured the offering. "Men larger and healthier than you have died from far lesser injuries. I thought you would never open your eyes again." Her smile vanished when she leaned in. "I don't mean to rush you, but your rescuer has some urgent questions regarding your former peril. Shall I let her in?"

"Aye…" Was all he could manage to say. The little woman slid off the edge of the chair and waddled back to the door, arms swinging all the way out to help keep her balance. He couldn't help but smile at how lalafells walk around, but his subtle smile didn't last long; out from the hallway stepped in a familiar face he swore he had seen in a dream before.

Short hair as black as raven feathers. Soft fair skin peppered with freckles. Full lips cracked and dry from the desert heat. And a pair of big bright eyes, one the color of ice, the other blue and deep enough to drown in. He stared at her while she cautiously approached the side of his bed, awestruck and dumbfounded. It took a conscious effort to pick his jaw off his lap; she was the first real woman he had seen in years, after all.

"My name is S'era Rarku." He snapped out of his stupor at the sound of her voice, and the mention of her surname. It was a name he knew well. "May I have yours?"

Through an itchy throat and in between ragged breaths he answered. "K'thalen Tia, lass…"

"I don't want to disturb your rest any more than necessary, so I'll get straight to the point." S'era lowered herself into the nearby chair, her eyes fixated on him. "I'm looking for a Tia. He has pale silver hair and deep orange eyes. Does that sound familiar?"

K'thalen could hear the hopeless desperation she failed to hide in her voice, so he wasn't eager to give her the good- and bad- news. "There's only one Tia I know that matches your description. You must be talking about S'tage, aye?"

Like the floodgates swinging wide open, he noticed relief wash over her face and body. She slouched in her chair before running her hands through her hair, still seemingly in disbelief. "Thank Azeyma…! My long search is finally-! Is he alive?! D-do you know where he is?! I have so much to tell him!"

"He's alive, aye. But lass… I wouldn't celebrate so soon. Tage is being held prisoner by Garlean bastards. He's locked up tight in Castrum Aeternium."

The beaming smile and light in her eyes both vanished as quickly as they first arrived. "Then I need to rescue him and bring him home."

K'thalen watched her carefully. "Much easier said than done. Much easier. We're talking about Castrum Aeternium. A fortified fortress…! You couldn't hope to sneak past all those guards, and even if you did, dragging out a prisoner would be impossible!"

"I have to try." She responded, rising to her feet. "Get some rest… and thank you for the information and warning."

He couldn't bear the thought of her marching to her death. "Many tried to rescue their loved ones, lass. All failed. And if they capture you… they'll torture you until they discover who you meant to save. Then they'll execute them and make you take their place."

Her tail bristled, but her face remained a stone mask. "They won't take me alive. I'll fight my way in, and fight my way out."

"Fight your way out? By yourself?" He ignored the blistering pain shooting up his back when he reached out to gesture at the daggers fastened to her belt. "You think those cake cutters stand a chance against reinforced Garlean steel? You wouldn't even know where to go, lass. You would be wandering blind, until they found you."

"What else can I do? I can't leave him there to die. I won't!"

K'thalen stroked his chin, deep in thought. "He won't be going anywhere. They'll keep him alive as long as he doesn't try anything." He paused long enough to gauge her reaction. "You'll need training. Proper training, lass. And lots and lots of friends."

"I don't have friends…" S'era did her best to ignore how pathetic that sounded, choosing to move on to her next point sooner than later. "Where am I supposed to get training? And what weapon would help me against Garlean machines?"

K'thalen fell silent at first, seemingly lost in thought. "... I've seen a man slice through armor as thick as a door with a sword. But you would need to find a master to teach you how to do that… and unless you have double my weight in gil…"

The idea of leaving S’tage in chains when she was less than a few hours away from reuniting with him at last put a lump in her stomach; how could she turn back now when she was so close? Maybe she could sneak into this Castrum Aeternium, avoid all the guards and sentries, find him, free him, then… then…

“Thank you for the tip. I should be heading back to the free cities to look for a master, then.” S’era politely bowed before eyeing K’thalen closely. “I’m… afraid I used up the last of my gil to give you the care you need. I hope you recover quickly, K’thalen. Goodbye and good luck…”

“H-hold on, now…” He seemed reluctant to speak, and not just because it was painful. “That makes twice you saved my life, lass… take me with you back to the Black Shroud- if I can reconnect with my old job and acquaintances then we’ll have a roof over our head. Plus, I can draw you a map of the castrum once I’ve fully recovered.”

S’era’s eyes widened a bit while her ears perked up. “You would do all that? For me?”

Slowly a pained smile spread across his face. “I owe you my life. What sort of Tia could I call myself if I didn’t pay my debts?”

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