shitposting rave 2, electric boogaloo

Energy weapons do, I read, set dry brush alight easily. That's my biggest concern with them around here. I read also they are fairly detectable with the right equipment, though the same can be said for bullets, just different tech.

But yes, Oneira, you and Erim really do need to compete on the sniping thing, because there's nothing like friendly rivalry to motivate!

I have a lot of training ahead of me to get my ten-command ready for modern warfare. Their scout training should help, they're skilled in evading detection already, not just pitched melee battles.

 

"There's a weapon for ewherrything, aye. 's why I've got both Longest Night and Snowtooth ready, sometimes I need one, sometimes I need the other."

 

Energy weapons can indeed set dry brush afire, but since we haven't cut most of the forest down and we let it burn under controlled conditions, and we also haven't overheated the biosphere, it's dry out here but we don't have the kind of drought conditions they get on the Earth I came from. I know I've described this as a rather Californian climate to some of you, but it's not a post-global warming California.

I mean, I wouldn't turn Dipper loose with Ahab's Crosshairs (no, you are not going to live that down) in the forest this time of year, but...also, fire is a natural part of the ecosystem here. I absolutely don't want it near my house--nor Jim's--but I would absolutely prefer it to having the entirety of Harker, Iltani and Hargraeven's knucklehead corps in my house.

 

Fine. But every time you mention that I managed to turn the security back on in that spaceship, you need to also mention that you told me I could and also the part where I saved your behind.

 

I don't deny it. That was one of the moments I've been proudest of you.

 

That's a good point, Ford! And your house looks to me like you've engineered it to be pretty fire-resistant. No flammable materials on the outside. Fire resistant roofing. And I bet you that you have it set up so that the inside gets fresh air even if the outside is smoky. And you have access to the ocean for all the firefighting water you could possibly want.

I hope I can learn to shoot a gun better than I can fire an arrow, for which the best result I get is that I hit the target. Most of the time. Somewhere. If it's big enough.

Not that melee weapons are obsolete in the age of guns. Especially with skill, and good armor.

 

I realize that this is perhaps an awkward time to 8egin such a line of convers8ion, however I'm not entirely sure we could find a time that isn't. That's simply the nature of such encounters, especially with people you've not spoken with at all prior to now. Still, if you don't find it a 8other, I'd like to open an investig8ion on you, Jamethiel Knorth. With you, rather, given that you seem to 8e curious a8out my own species as well!

You see, I've met humans and learned a great deal of them. Same with ro8ots or automatons or however the particular mechanical individuals here prefer to identify. Along with a num8er of other creatures. I've never at all met one of your kind though! It's quite apparent that, despite all similarities of appearance, you're not at all human, as well. Which is fascin8ing. I'll hold off on the inquiries for a moment, and wait for your response though. My excitement will just have to w8.

As I stated earlier, I'm more than happy to return the favor as well. It's just not polite to demand inform8ion without a price, after all. I've done a great deal of reading and research on my own species, 8oth of the 8eforan and Alternian varieties, on topics ranging from 8iology to history to religion. I also have personal experience as a cerulean8looded troll, we 8eing quite different from the rust8looded and jade8looded trolls you've met in a num8er of ways.

I do hope this isn't too forward a request to make! Still, as I said I'm not certain how to 8etter ease into this sort of thing.

 

........

That was very educ8ional. Clearly. Though to 8e serious for a moment, I've gathered that Auto8ots and Decepticons are factions among your species. Is ro8ot an appropriate general term for you or is there something else?

 

We prefer the term Cybertronian now that the war is over. Or Transformer, to be inclusive of colonials.

 

Why, hello -- Aranea, isn't it? And you're right. We aren't human. We look a bit more human than you. Pink to brown skin. Red blood. No horns. Well, there have been horned Shanir, if the singers' tales are true, but very rare.

Are the blood colors and castes something that occurred naturally in your species, or were they made to be that way?

 

I see. I'll keep that in mind when speaking a8out your kind from now on. Thank you for this answer!

 

Aranea Serket, yes. Your mention of Shanir 8rings up a question I've 8een wanting to ask. Namely what exactly is a Shanir? You use other terms such as High8orn as well, in a fashion similar to how we use our castes. That doesn't say much for the roles of the groups though. Granted, one can easily extrapol8 that High8orns form the ruling aristocracy of your society. Shanir is a more unusual term though, to which I've nothing analogous in my own culture. At least not 8ased on what limited knowledge I have. So far all I have gathered from reading through this thread is that you are one and that there appears to 8e something rather unique a8out your 8lood 8ecause of it. Namely, the 8lood8inding effect you shared with Porrim earlier.

Which is a topic I'm interested in in particular. Much like Porrim my intrigue is due to caste pecularities, though whereas hers is founded in 8lood mine is founded more in the function of the 8lood. Namely that you are a8le to force o8edience via 8lood, whereas I am a8le to do so via psychical power.

To answer your question a8out whether castes are naturally occurring or not they are, yes. The num8er of castes and colors has 8een naturally or artificially altered at times, however. Such as in the unfortunate case of the lime8looded genocide on Alternia. On a 8iological level, however, they seem to spring up due to chromosomal differences in a fashion similar to sex. Which is related to the matter of genetic dominance in the slurry. You see, trolls reproduce via supplying a mother gru8 with the com8ined genetic materials of all trolls collected in a given season. Some trolls have far more dominant mixtures, a fact which can 8e amplified via the use of darts. The so called "8ones" in the "8one8ulge". At least among my own timeline's variant of trolls. Given that some individuals here have claimed to 8e hermaphroditic as per the norm it's quite possi8le that other timelines also lack the concupiscent darts.

 

This is going back to times before accurate history, to matters of singers' songs and legend. Our God, the Three-Faced God, found three peoples and joined them as the Kencyrath. For a purpose, defeating the crawling chaos of Perimal Darkling, ancient of enemies. We were all changed by our God to suit Its purpose.

One of these peoples was the Highborn, of which I'm one. The Highborn are smaller, gracile humanoids, many of whom are Shanir. We are the rulers and priests.

Another were the Kendar, also humanoids but a tall, stocky people. Kendar are our crafters and soldiers and workers. They were changed to make them dependent on the Highborn. They have a deep need to form a mind-bond with a Lord, or a Highborn delegated that ability by the Lord.

Lastly, there are the Arrin-ken, who were our judges, meant to keep us pointed in the right direction and to mitigate the power of the Highborn. They're giant cats, not humanoid, and talk through the mind. Except they got too annoyed with the rest of us two thousand years ago and left in a snit and haven't returned. They're still there, living in the high mountains, watching over us but not interfering.

Shanir are Highborn with powers and abilities, or Kendar with some Highborn blood. Many have little ability to do anything, but some have horrendous power. Alas, I'm one of those.

It seems so strange that you have a mother grub. That seems like ... a weakness. Is there only one? Is that perhaps why your species evolved such aggression, to defend her?

 

Oh! Yes, that clears things up very nicely. Thank you. I find it interesting that you have Kencyr that can speak through mind. That is another quirk frequent in my caste, a8litity to speak telepathically. I am also capa8le of reading minds, 8oth in terms of thoughts and feelings. With thoughts it takes a 8it of effort and focus on the individual in particular. Feelings, however, I pick up at all times regardless of my focus. I can of course pinpoint the reading, 8ut in general I am taking in the feelings of everyone around me. This holds even across mediums like the internet and for different species. I'm quite aware of your exact emotional state at the moment for example, 8ecause I am quite literally feeling it right alongside you. If I so chose I could gain an ever clearer view of it too. What thoughts it is attached to. I could even pick through your past 8y emotion as well, moments lost to time's relentless march rever8er8ing 8ack into reality through me.

As for your question a8out our mother gru8 it certainly is a danger as we only ever have one at a time. One that is 8reeding at least. Porrim was raised 8y a mother gru8 that a8dic8ed her role in the caverns. It's not why we're a violent species though, as originally we weren't. Trolls on 8eforus were very peaceful. To the point where we were entirely unsuited to the game we had to play. The Alternians are violent due to the culture 8eing tailored to cre8 winners of the game. The Handmaid has mentioned that she has 8red certain tr8s into her race and she's quite right in that regard. She is used 8y Doc Scratch and Lord English to cr8e a race of people well suited to win SGRU8 at any cost. This does play into why the jade8lood caste has the role it does though. Assigning a single very rare caste to take care of the mother gru8 in the lusii infested caverns of the planet is our species' way of protecting her naturally. While 8eforan trolls might not 8e the most aggressive creatures our lusii certainly could 8e! They are how even newly pupated trolls could survive in 8eforus' early sweeps.

Also, I'm curious a8out this "horrendous power" of yours. Does it extend past the 8lood8inding? If so to what degree and how?

 

So, binding.

There's the normal way that Lords bind Kendar. Need meets need. The bond is made almost instinctively. Afterward there's a generally fairly light connection. I'm not constantly aware of everything my Kendar do, but I can reach out and touch them, mentally. I can feel their mood and their contentment, the strength of the bond. I can to a limited degree send messages in the form of feelings. They can feel me there, feel content that all is right in the world. This kind of binding is a Shanir talent, but such a common one that we don't tend to even think of it that way. We can generally bind a few thousand Kendar each.

And then there's blood-binding. Unto death and perhaps beyond. Unbreakable, adamant. Completely compelled obedience. The bound one being physically and mentally incapable of harming the binder, or disobeying. In ancient times, as far as we can tell from the legends, it was common. A Lord's inner circle would be blood-bound; his personal guard and others he had to absolutely trust with his life. To be granted binding right as a lesser Highborn may have required blood-binding to the Lord, to ensure that the House's Kendar could not be led against the Lord. None of this has been done openly for thousands of years. I've not heard of it being done since the Fall, three thousand years ago. The old powers have been more cause for mistrust than admiration, since then.

Horrendous power? My mother killed two-thirds of our people, using the Great Dance to reap their souls. I was born and raised specifically to succeed her. I can do at least as much as she. A million fell to her dance. I can dance up the lusts of men and women and leave them entranced. I can give commands that are compulsions. I told one to "back off" and he walked backward straight out of a second-story window. I hear he is still trying to, and can only restrain himself by constant effort. I drowned a city with my power as just a side-effect of protecting me and mine. I break things that need to be broken. I am Nemesis, the living avatar of That-Which-Destroys, the third face of God. Do not cross me or you shall break, too.

 

Now that's fascin8ing. You get more and more so with each post, if you don't mind me saying. Thankfully, I've no reason to cross you and I dou8t I will 8y accident. My am8itions, so to speak, are squarely focused on research at the moment.

That aside, hearing that your 8lood8onds are permanent and constant forced o8edience is rather interesting. I can't manage anything on that scale, not without constantly poking in on the person in question. Unless we are counting the gradual 8ehavior modific8ion that I was capa8le of on Alternia. Which is intriguing, honestly, seeing her work. On Alternia I was a8le to, over the course of time, significantly alter the 8ehavior and thought patterns of other trolls to the extent where diso8edience wasn't just virtually impossi8le. It was literally so. The individuals in question were no longer capa8le of anything 8ut unending loyalty to me. Admittedly, it is more than a 8it destructive and it is unfortunate what happened to Porrim on Alternia.

As far as the Gr8 Dance goes that's certainly horrendous! Still fascin8ing though. Dou8tless it may 8e useful to you as well. Granted, only in the most desperate of cases of course!

 

I have my mother's fate to warn me against abusing it. She was tricked by her twin brother, consort and Highlord -- all the same person -- to do it, and didn't realize what she was doing until too late. He wanted the souls, you see, so that he could live way beyond his natural span. He has. Three thousand years. And Jamethiel Dream-weaver had to keep dancing, once she began, for the dance opened a gateway to the primal void inside her and if she ever stopped it would consume her.

Our honor code, you see, had no concept of betrayal from above. It requires absolute obedience to one's Lord. If one's Lord gives a dishonorable order -- there is no way to get out of it except suicide. My mother was not even given that chance.

What did happen to Porrim on Alternia? And are you fond of her? I really cannot tell.

 

She is a friend, yes. Though I haven't spoken with her as much as in the past recently due to 8eing preoccupied. She does poke in on me at times even while I'm working, though. Something for which I'm gr8ful, though I must insist that she doesn't need to remind me to eat so often. Also since she has already mentioned it we used to 8e romatincally involved. M8sprits to 8e exact. That unfortunately didn't work out for reasons I'm not willing to share at the moment. If she wishes to I won't 8egrudge her that, however.

As far as what happened to her Alternian variant, she 8ecame a slave. Originally 8elonging to another of our friends and my then kismesis, she was stolen from his care and underwent the process I mentioned a8ove. 8ehavior modified gradually over time until I had a completely su8servient m8prit. Out of jealousy the aforementioned then kismesis of mine had her assassin8ed, which was for the 8est really. She had ceased to 8e Porrim.

 

Ah, I also am reminded to eat often. I forget and I have food problems from childhood.

Why did you make her into so subservient a slave? It seems odd that you would do that to someone you are fond of, unless the alternative was worse?