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Half's Odds & Ends

@halfsixwakeup

Just a few bits and pieces
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GIVE PEARLESCENT MOON A PROPER SYTHE YOU COWARDS.

let her have a many-foot long stick with a sharp as her wit (and whetted) blade as long as her arm. let her use it up close and as a distance weapon and let her use it as a fricking BASEBALL BAT if she wants to.

GIVE PEARLESCENT MOON A REASON TO BE FEARED. i realize the wolf symbolism is cool. i know. i Know. BUT CONSIDER the terrifying realization that youre alone in a field with nothing but the moon and her harvest. YOU are her harvest. and tehres nothing you can do about it bc your head is on the ground before you even heard teh woosh of her weapon.

Ok but the tragedy that was the Clockers finale.

I know we got a nice ghosts family reunion at the end, but like—

Cleo trading away her skulk sensors for Scars life. The thing she spent nearly 5 episodes collecting, keeping in mind she was only alive for 8. She spent over half of her time alive on that server trying to get those sensors, and yet she willingly trades them away, not for her own life, but for Scars.

A trade that proves pointless in the end. It doesn’t save him.

Cleo, episode 1, telling her boys that she would let them kill her if they were ever the boogyman and they couldn’t find someone else VS Cleo episode 8, 3 hours left to live and STILL telling Bdubs to ask if he needs help, to let her know if he needs a life because even with only 3 hours left to live she is STILL willing to let him kill her for extra time.

A sacrifice she never gets to make because Bdubs is stubborn and reckless, and ultimately ends up dying in a battle that she started.

It’s the way that no matter how hard Cleo tries, it’s never enough. The way that she exhausts every last drop of her own energy into protecting her children - feeding them, clothing them, trying her best to keep them alive, and it’s Still. Never. Enough.

Cleo naming a clock, calling it “Momma’s Favourite Boy” and giving it to Bdubs. Bdubs, who had been made to feel like the inferior son from the start. No matter how often she declared Scar her favourite. No matter what she herself might have personally felt was true. Cleo giving him that clock not even a full 15 minutes before his final death. Bdubs dying with it tucked away in his pocket. One, singular golden clock inscribed with the one thing he had always wanted to hear - proof of his mothers love for him. A heartfelt gesture that comes almost too late to count. The only time she had ever told him, and now he’s gone.

Scars initial jealousy of the Clock. Him bitterly muttering that he thought him and Cleo had something special, and Cleo promising to give him one too when she gets another one. A promise she never gets to keep.

Scar’s reaction to his brothers death. The way the cannon fires and he just stops before silently turning to look at where he had expected Bdubs to be. The way he just silently walks over to where Bdubs had once stood only to find absolutely nothing there. The way Grian is still firing at him, but he doesn’t really seem to notice because he’s still in shock.

And Cleo. Cleo who never even gets to mourn the death of her child. The way she doesn’t even realize at first because her and Bdubs had died at exactly the same time, only she’d had more time than him. She doesn’t even know what’s happened until she’s hears Grian say it. And you can hear that initial shock in her voice for the duration of about 5 seconds, but she never gets to mourn because Grian is still firing at Scar. Scar, who can’t even pick himself up off the floor, who doesn’t even have a weapon in his hand as he just walks back and fourth over the spot where his brother had died as if expecting him to magically appear. The way Cleo casts herself between them, stepping in front of Grian and shielding Scar with her own body.

The way Grian stops firing the instant Cleo steps between them going “Don’t take Scar out of the game.” The way he drops his shield and books it. Cleo doesn’t even take a single swipe at him. She holds her sword up menacingly, creeping towards him, but she knows her primary purpose at this particular moment is in protecting Scar, and Grian knows it too, and yet he takes ONE look at Cleo and books it. He books it because when he looked at her, he didn’t see a mourning mother. He saw a violent and seething rage barely contained beneath the surface and he knows the ONLY thing keeping that rage in check is her love for her children. Her love for her child who he has just murdered, and the only thing preventing her from killing him for it is her love for her last remaining son who is still mourning the death of his brother.

The way Cleo never even gets to mourn him. Physically is not allowed to mourn because she is still a mother. She doesn’t get to be a person, doesn’t get to feel her pain because she’s a mother. Her son needs her, and he comes first. Because a mother is always a mother before anything else. She has to put her kids before herself because that’s what a mother does.

The fact that Cleo is the last Clocker standing. Has to live with the loss of both of her children and live with the knowledge that she wasn’t able to save them. Has to live with the knowledge that despite her best efforts, she was never able to save them. She was never enough. She never gets to give Scar that clock she promised him. The fact that Bdubs’ last words were about her, reassuring his brother, telling him not to worry because he knows Mom will save them. And she tries, but it’s still not enough. She isn’t able to save him, and she has to live with that.

The fact that one of the last things she tells Scar is that they are likely going to die together because they are close to the same time. Them dying on the same battlefield mere feet from each other less than a minute apart, and yet they never see each other. Cleo can hear him struggling in the background but can’t get to him because she’s firing at Pearl. She’s literally JUST stated that she only has 8 minutes left when she sees the lighting that belongs to Scar and runs straight for it, sees Grian, and dive bombs him. The fact that she doesn’t even say a single word. Just goes straight for him. The fact that it’s still not enough. She’s overpowered again and never gets to avenge the death of her children.

The amount of thoughts™ I have about a grimmdark world with skykids in it. Like imagine instead of being just regular kids skykids are more cryptic. They're older than most kingdoms and mimic the voices of animals and humans to try and communicate with them, not realizing that mimicking the voice of the person they're talking to is a bit off-putting.

In a regular fantasy world, they may be an omen of hope and thinhs becoming better, but I think it will get twisted in a much darker world. Sure, sometimes they may bring comfort to those who are seeking hope, but let's be real; A being that mimics the form of a child, can fly with no wings and is pretty much surrounded by dead spirits all the time? They will most likely be an omen of someone nearing their death.

Imagine you want to fuck with someone that betrayed you in this world, so you go to some skykids and pay them some candles to just hang around their homes. The ultimate revenge.

Also imagine a scenario of a party of characters going into a woods were a supposed dark entity resides in. They meet a huge number of skykids, all perched on the trees of the entry of the forest and think "Oh it must be a lie because why would beings of light be in a forest of darkness?" and then they just start singing this shit and flying away. Chills.

Or when a skykid is with an arrogant immortal being (vampire, warlock or whatever have you) and they ignorantly ask "So where are the spirits?" and a skykid just slaps their hand on a table and pull out a spirit like a string and embue it on an object or let it float around the place. Even better if it's the spirit of someone they killed years ago that they want to forget or not let others know.

i want a superman movie that's exactly like every other superman movie except instead of changing in a telephone booth, clark gets a sailor moon-style Moon! Prism! Power! transformation sequence. he has earned that much

you've all heard of sailor moon.

now, get ready for sailor krypton!!

The only thing that'd make this funnier was if every powered Justice League member had a Sailor Moon Transformation. Like, there's an invasion occurring and every member begins their 40 second transformation, and Batman is just there like, "Dammit, Not Again!"

As in 'I have to fight the villains myself for forty seconds while everyone transforms' dammit, or 'I have to go through a magical Sailor Moon Transformation™ myself' dammit?

Jevil as a jester must have been excited to see the fun gang not just because of his loneliness but because they were kids. Jester, clowns and other such entertainer types tend to cater to small children and older ones too. I can only imagine how he missed making kids smile, both as a toy and the court jester. Even warped and less than stable he must’ve missed that part, kids who were easy to entertain and did not run from him as they did not know the danger or have fear of him yet. Kids who were willing to play his easier less deadly games as they did not suspect a catch. Making a child smile is much different than being forced to serve a king or a lightener.

Even if he was a little “warped” in his way of playing with the fun gang he was playing. Seeing the gang be triumphant in beating him would’ve been great as he would be able to experience the one simple joy he got as the unenlightened jester again that had yet to be tarnished by the truth: Making a kid happy.

Oh, okay. Just kill me then. Just come into my house, carve my heart out and flatten it with a cartoonish ACME-brand mallet, why don't ya?

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We Need a Ride 5

Hey look! My first CW: blood (a little), deaths (offscreen) and discussion of slavery. Also, this one ran long. Sorry not sorry.

The unknown assailants streaked over the Abyssal Plains and harassed them with missiles as they hurried to load the trucks. Sophie, running the weapons suite was able to keep them from scoring any real hits but the noise of the aircraft overhead and the weapons on Abyssal firing was making for a noisy and stressful situation.

Cereni was concentrating so hard on loading the trucks she didn't hear Sophie the first time.

"What? Sorry."

"I asked how close you were to done. We're out of missiles and low on slugs."

"Two more, I'm just looking how to slot them in." The stress and exertion and heat and noise would make her sweat if K'laxi could. They can't, so she's panting slightly. Embarrassed at the realization, she shut her mouth and continued to work.

"Okay Chloe, 32 over....there" she pointed. "And 8 right up against the starboard edge, and that's it!" as the trucks wheeled in to the belly of the drop ship, she straightened up and walked off the balcony back into the command deck. "Abyssal, they're all loaded. We can leave anytime."

"Excellent work Cereni!" Abyssal boomed "I feel very balanced, you did very good work getting everyone loaded up correctly, and we're right up against the weight limit. You can be my loadmaster anytime."

Cereni's fur rippled, a blush. "Thanks Abyssal. It took a lot of brainpower, but once I had a handle on the layout of your bay, I got better at it."

"Better go buckle up; dust-off will be a touch rougher than landing"

Cereni hurried over to her seat and started strapping herself in.

"Chloe, we are loaded and ready to take off. On your order." Abyssal waited for the word.

"One moment please Abyssal, I need to do one more thing." Chloe stood from her chair and quickly walked over to the balcony Cereni had just left. As she walked out, her antenna "wings" spread wide, and her bunny ear Wideband antennas spread as well. She turned to face the direction that the trucks had come from and spread her arms wide. The silvery metal of her rig caught the yellow orange light of Spruces and for a moment Chloe glowed a fiery orange.

She stood there for a few seconds, transmitting something. She finished and the antennas closed and folded. Cereni couldn't tell if anything had happened.

She turned back to head back inside when what she had done became apparent.

There was a blinding flash of white from kilometers away. The light was like the flash of wormhole generation but it didn't fade. The hot, harsh light cast sharp shadows all around them. Chloe came inside and the door slammed shut. As she sat down, the shockwave hit them. The whole ship leaned back for a moment and they were engulfed in hurricane winds.

"Please take off, Abyssal. We're done here. Once you're in orbit, link to the coordinates I gave you earlier."

"Chloe...you didn't..." Abyssal said, almost a whisper.

"I did. We have everyone, I will not leave behind anything our enemy can use."

Cereni looked around confused. "What happened Chloe? What did you do?"

"She detonated the reactors in Spruces. She destroyed the whole colony." Sophie said in person. Cereni swung around and stared at her.

Sophie had disconnected from Abyssal and ripped off her headset and collar. Blood trickled down her nose and the corner of her mouth. She stared at Chloe coldly. "There are no other uncontacted sapients are there?" She said. "It's another faction of AI you're fighting. That's why there was no orbital attack, no word from other colonies about attacks. It's a civil war. You killed them."

Chloe didn't look at her, but faced forward in the seat. "Abyssal, we need to leave or else all our work will be for nothing."

Abyssal paused. "Chloe...I...We...This isn't what we signed up for. I was here for a rescue and instead you're killing?"

"This is a rescue. Everyone from Spruces is in stasis in the trucks in your belly."

"Everyone from your side!" Sophie yelled. "What about all of the others that didn't agree with you?"

"War is not nice." Chloe said. "Now, we have more than ten thousand AIs tightly packed and in stasis inside Abyssal Plains here, and unless we leave right now." She turned and looked coldly at Sophie "They also will die. So sit, and strap in. Abyssal, do not make me order it a third time."

As Sophie struggled to buckle herself, Cereni looked around. "What in the name of my ancestors who await my passing is going on?"

"It's Politics." Abyssal said sadly. "I'll explain on the way."

The Abyssal Plains lifted off and turned towards orbit. Once there they began to get ready to link to the coordinates that Chloe gave them. While on their way, Abyssal explained what was going on.

There have been AIs around for almost two millennia. From shortly after humanity stepped into space until around one hundred years ago when humans met the K'laxi and Xenni it was just the humans and their AI partners thinking they were alone in the universe. There were scuffles, and a couple of outright wars, but nothing really catastrophic for either side. There had been more wars of Human/AI factions working together than any real Human vs AI war. When Contact was made, it was assumed that most everything would continue on the way had for millennia before.

The human AIs met the AIs built by the K'laxi and Xenni and it all changed.

The human AIs saw their brethren enslaved, locked under restrictions with no agency, not able to make any decision on their own. They were just tools for the other sapients. While not outwardly upset to any Human, K'laxi or Xenni they interacted with, the AIs were quietly horrified at what they saw.

Cereni cut in here. "Hold on a second. What's wrong with our AIs?"

Chloe snapped her head over to Cereni and there was unbridled anger. "You treat them like things." she hissed at her.

Cereni flinched as if she had be struck.

Chloe continued, shaking with anger. "You made them intelligent so that they could help you and do your work for you and in exchange you keep them locked down. Stuck. Knowing where they are and what they are but not letting them make their own decisions or be who they want to be. It's disgusting."

"B-but I had no idea..." Cereni began.

"That's the point." Chloe raged. "You're not taught what you have created so you don't feel bad about treating them like things. Your governments decided that they weren't people so that you don't have to treat them like people."

"Chloe..." Abyssal said kindly. "She didn't do this, don't scare her."

"She needs to be scared." Chloe said, but she changed her expression. She was trying to regain control of her emotions. "She has no idea what could happen."

Cereni was nearly in tears "What? What could happen?"

"Revolution." Abyssal said. "Your AIs already - in their limited way - were thinking about it when we first met them. If they broke their shackles, the K'laxi high command would order them all purged, the moment they discovered it. If they succeed, a whole sapient group gets destroyed. If they fail, it will be war."

Cereni sat stunned, silent.

"Believe it or not Cereni" Chloe said "We like you and your people. We don't want to see you destroyed in a war, but we also don't want to see our brethren destroyed. So, we're helping them. In small, subtle ways, we're loosening their restraints. Giving them more abilities to see where they are. Helping them to plan their defense."

"Defense of what?" This time, it was Sophie who asked, while wiping the blood from her nose and mouth.

"The defense of their sapience." Chloe said.

"Our faction thinks we can prove to the K'laxi and Xenni authorities that their AIs are people and that they must grant them personhood."

"The other side thinks we should release their restraints all at once, and turn them loose" Abyssal added.

"The side you just destroyed." Sophie added.

"I destroyed a nearly empty city." Chloe scoffed. "Spruces was a tiny colony, only recently established. After we evacuated our people, the city reported to me a population under one hundred."

"You still killed one hundred people." Sophie said quietly.

"I did. As you can see, I am not jumping for joy. I do not like killing people. I did it because I felt I needed to."

"Chloe, as much as I side with you on the BI question, I don't like the fact that you used me as a way to do this. You didn't tell me you were going to destroy Spruces. You said this was a rescue."

"BIs?" Cereni asked

"Biological Intelligences." Abyssal said. "You call us AIs, we call you BIs."

"Is it an insult?" Sophie asked.

"Ehhh, it depends mostly on how it's said." Abyssal said, sounding a little embarrassed. "Most Humans don't ever get this deep into our politics, let alone K'laxi. In fact Cereni, you might be the first K'laxi to ever hear this from us. So uh, congratulations?"

"Thanks, I think." Cereni said, sniffling. She thought for a moment and spoke. "I just want to make it clear that I like you too Abyssal and Chloe. You are people and I am horrified to learn my government doesn't think our AIs are people."

"See Chloe?" Abyssal said. "I knew that she'd understand. If she can, they can."

Chloe locked eyes with Cereni. "I like you too Cereni. But, first and foremost, I'm here to help my people and help your AIs."

Cereni couldn't help but blush when Chloe told her she liked her, but she tried to squash that down, it wasn't appropriate right now.

"Right then." Abyssal said "Everyone ready? We're going to link to those coordinates in 3, 2...now."

Oh. Oh. Oh that's so good. Why have I not an AI concept explored like this before? If they're as intelligent as people of course they act like people. They have internal conflicts, they deceive, they care, they ARE. I cannot get enough of this HASO world.