Sorry, folks. I'm wretchedly ill and haven't been able to finish the page in between rushing to the bathroom and collapsing into bed. I will do my best to get it posted on Wednesday.
You can also put stuff in the title box on the reply, as far as i know that's only seen by them too, but i don't have empirical evidence of that. I know that field isn't implemented on most comic fury comment pages.
Interesting turn of events. Poor Noctis; she looks like she's about to fall asleep. I still think she's going to be pissed, although she probably won't show it. Still wondering whose party this is, and their connection to being able give Noctis directives.
Panel 3 looks and feels quite dynamic! Nice, and also the 'new chiropractor' crack! XD
it does have that 'action' feel to it...
Black suit, leaping from a rooftop to confront evil, arms stretched out that really need to be spreading a cape to slow her fall, a pithy quote just before the miscreant feels the justice to come...All that's missing is "I'm Batbot" when the kidnapper asked who she was...(or maybe, given her threat/warning, it'd be "I'm Back-Fuck" ;)
Yup, Cent's been OD'ing on city of heroes alright...
Actually, much like an egg, the human spine is quite sturdy… from all the angles the human body is likely to put stress on itself. It's those other angles that cause problems…
hmmm maybe Cent-comm kept a copy of the personality file she made for CeCi or there was a wireless remote flash of it sent as part of the self-destruct process for mission debrief purposes and she dumped it into TeeDee's 'loaner body' as payback for the one that got shot, thereby tying up two loose ends with one neat bow and giving us a new pink(ish) haired instrument of destruction and cuteness to adore and sing the praises of.
Hopefully she got TeeDee's vocabulary, I do think the chiropractor line sounds more like TeeDee than CeCi...
I'd laugh like hell if Cent had somehow gotten ahold of Malati's persona file though, that entrance line really sounds like something she'd say and she was my favourite Cassian even counting Feelie.
Or a rival gang...!
Probably a spec ops person/android in Marcus's regiment. Standard Black Angels have a surface personality related to CentComm's - not noted for a sense of humour. Ceci's took a while to emerge. We actually need another drop-in to manage the other grounder, unless Noctis can be released from being in thrall? Aarrhhh, the wait 'til next week... Salutations to all.
Have any of you ever had Military coffee?? the kind thats been at the bottom of the pot for 3 days recycled in to the water each time its been brewed? the kind of coffee that will wake the dead and render the dirt dead so no plants can grow for miles if spilled on the ground
One of the new privates got the bright idea to clean the pot once, then used the dregs to thicken up a few napalm cans...we got cited for violating three weapons treaties and crimes against humanity :(
I think Oldarmourer wins this round.... we never got the crimes against humanity label... but I will say it was amusing to watch an LT shit them selves when being attacked by a coffee pot..
Lt's never came in the shop...never !!
The last one that poked his nose in is probably still wondering how he ended up cleaning A/C guns for an hour...
I was once given a "Mango Juice" (that's what they called it) that after standing for a night, killed the plastic cup it was in, escaped on to the table, and ate all the veneer it could touch. IN REAL LIFE !!!
Haven't touched mango juice since then.
My dad was in the USN (mid 60's - early 70's) and said their coffee was great. The cooks didn't clean the urns (I don't know how many gallons they held) because the protective coating kept the coffee from tasting metallic (aluminum, I think). Growing up with either a stainless steel or glass carafe, it's hard for me to imagine how bad that coffee *could* have tasted if the inside wasn't properly seasoned.
That's pretty much it, it sounds bad but it works.
Our shops usually had a 72-cup coffee maker which got anywhere from a half-pound to two pounds of coffee added depending on how much was left in it and who was making it...the 'two bagger' coffee would wake the dead, polish concrete and generally keep a tech hopping for the entire shift and long after he went home ;)
A cup of Military coffee has more caffeine than a bottle of Mountain Dew and will wire you up quickly!I was in Germany for the U.S.A.F. and off base coffee or cappuccino is even more powerful than a can of JOLT!
First thing I noticed but didn't get around to mentioning on the previous page :)
and Bidi-bot does have pink hair...and a 'calmer' attitude...relatively
Now that I think of it, this newcomer does bear a little resemblance to Cent-comm's original unremastered 'pink haired sex puppet'
as shown here... http://datachasers.thecomicseries.com/comics/134/
and there are still a few unanswered questions from that particular page which is why I chose it, I keep getting the nagging feeling it goes far beyond the mission at hand at that time...
Maybe this particular pink haired avenger was the specific one Cent used here so many years ago and has stood as a memorial statue in the park for years to commemorate her 'first contact' as an independent AI and the humans who once commanded her ? one that was also on standby as a remote intelligence gathering system and park protector ready and waiting for moments just like these ? the kidnappers might not have put any importance on it's not having been there when they showed up and assumed it had been taken in for refurbishment ? or maybe not, I love to speculate and I'm used to being wrong even when I try to account for all the possibilities I can come up with :)
On the other hand, it does bear more than a passing resemblance to TeeDee's recently de-occupied 'sprite' body that was never really 'hers' to begin with, it was only a loaner for a single mission and she wasn't too happy to be stuck in it, even after she finally synched with it and turned it into the precision destruction delivery device she'd wanted in the first place.
When Dr Silver asked her if she wanted it junked or put in storage, TeeDee should rightfully have replied "That's not my decision, it belongs to Cent-comm not me" and Cent-comm does have just enough of a spiteful sense of humour to have taken it out of storage, turned it into an upgraded version of one of her dolls and will keep it parked in NTSR's Hangar as a replacement for the one TeeDee shot, just to piss TeeDee off and also remind her exactly where her place is in the Grand Order of Things ;)
Great work Ladies et al, the plot thickens then spreads out in new branches every week, sort of like a dropped egg ;) but please stop making me think beyond coffee and more coffee this early in the morning on my day off :P
Scene: NTSR Hangar, main hallway leading to Duty Crew Ready Room.
Time: whenever Ada/TeeDee are on duty
Cent doll: "good morning Ada, Good morning TeeDee"
Ada: "Good Morning, Cent, any special orders for us ?"
TeeDee: "Fuck you, Cent, *rests hand on her pistol butt* how's the headache ?"
Cent doll: "I'm afraid you didn't take the proper package for that particular action, please observe proper weapons handling protocol in this area lest your priveleges be suspended or revoked"
TeeDee: "Fuck you and every doll that looks like you"
Cent doll: "I remind you, you do not have that package, return when you can afford an upgrade"
Ada: "zziiinngggg, let's go to briefing before you get a sunburn"
Makes me wonder if the tech is available to recover data from lukewarm wetware. I bet she shoots the one behind Cecelia to kill(probably low on the information scale). Shoots the talker to incapacitate, kills the one in front of her by hand. Frankly someone needed to have more lookouts. I'm also surprised that the one behind Cecilia didn't die before the leap. A thrown knife would do the trick since every ones neck is nicely showing. Even if that attack failed, it would start the distraction and then force a second attention shift when she arrives. Unless this force is much more savvy than they appear, guns wont be pointed at the girls directly leaving them room to seek cover.
I do like to see that Lynn is still good at stalling that should be added as a skill to her stat sheet..prevarication +20
I don't think Lynn is stalling deliberately, I think she's just displaying her usual "speak before you think" personality. Granted, in her position, I don't see what she has to lose by being sassy, but more importantly, I find it amusing when protagonists irritate their captors. ;)
The arms out is a balance thing while In the initial stages of falling. I would guess that it causes an effect similar to arrow fletching causing a slight drag to reduce wobble, however from jumping off of lots of things (I really like the weightless feeling. The big issue is that it only has a minimal effect over the short term and may be a residual from balance check before the leap. Everyone I've seen pictures of jumping off things does it unless they are holding something prior to the leap. Paratroopers need to be taught to keep their arms in while jumping from a plane. (Arms up is best when jumping from trees)
It's instinctive and mostly for balance and to shift the centre of gravity, the same way high wire walkers usually carry balance poles or a common technique for crossing a single rope bridge on a confidence course is to lie down on it and let one leg hang free
In this case however, it's purely for the 'city of heroes' look ;)
I really don't think Cent is using the girls as bait, Cent knows that whoever kidnapped Lynn had inside information and that they must have a presents in New Troy, but short or locking the girls up, there would be no way to keep them perfectly safe. I think Cent has several layers of security hidden in plain sight protecting the girl. That is probably the best and wisest action to take.
really nice work on the clothing textures and all the little details too, the attention to fine detail is what makes this and Dizz's work so much better than most others of this style.
I'm not sure if that's an artifact or a piece of lint or leaf from one of the trees lying beside Acantha's collar but her dress (and Lynn's) looks completely 'real' like you could reach out and touch it, the top of her surgical incision looks like it's fading a bit with the rapid nano healing process and everything and everyone else is right where it's supposed to be.
I particularly love the continuity that goes into this work, that must be one of the hardest parts, remembering where everything goes from scene to scene and keeping it there...that and Tokyo Rose not reusing her profound profane phrases, originality counts ;)
She looks...familiar and I think he's going to need a full trauma team more than a chiropractor soon......also if she's exposing herself there....I get a feeling the other in his team are about to have stories to swap with that one kidnapper dolly got a hold of.
Why do I feel like I'm the only one that sees the white elephant in the room?
Thanks to this particular incident, Noctis (actually, ALL Cassians, not just Noctis) has become a HUGE security risk, and I think the person most keenly aware of that is Noctis, who is probably wishing she had the ability to fall on her own sword right about now!
That's why I keep envisioning this after action vignette where Dr Silver removes Noctus' disruptor (that being the most likely point of compromise) while Acantha hurries home to help Maximus with their first existential problem.
I'm not sure how it relates to Noctis being a security risk. If she's given and follows an order, the security risk is in the chain of command. If she wasn't following legitimate orders, her inhibitor would act on it. We haven't seen any indication that the inhibitor is in play. If she were being coerced by the inhibitor, we'd see evidence of it, as we have in other cases where inhibitors were employed. That leaves that the directives/orders she's acting on were given by someone with the authority to do so. The security risk, then, is in the list of individuals authorized to give her orders. (As always, I could be wrong.)
Despite what I commented above about her looking sleepy, I think what we're seeing is Noctis obeying orders she doesn't like to the bare minimum degree to keep her inhibitor from acting.
The security risk involved is that someone besides Acantha and/or Maxus (as Regent) being able to give a directive to Noctis that OVERRIDES her primary purpose of protecting Acantha as heir to the throne.
Most likely this is faulty programming, or someone who has found a means of overriding the inhibitor, but according to what we know about the Cassians, it should (I stress the word "Should") be impossible for noctis to follow an order that involves putting her primary charge in harm's way.
I would like to add that if this can happen to Noctis, it can happen to ANY Cassian.
Even if I'm a voice of one, I consider this kingdom crashing problem.
I would say, then, that the security risk isn't Noctis/ Cassians in general, but the command authorization structure. To split hairs even further, would be the difference between Cassians. Noctis is one Cassian with the capability of restricting this security hole. She can find ways to subvert orders that run counter to her purpose, and I think we're seeing it here. She's not wholeheartedly obeying it seems, but rather, doing just enough to keep her inhibitor happy.
The problem is a potential disaster, yes, but Noctis seems to be working against the problem, not with it. She's doing what she can to stave it off. This problem will likely be corrected posthaste, such that it can't happen again.
we had a LOT of convoluted discussions (by we, I mean about half the people who post in the comments) regarding the loyalty of the Cassians, which is House of Livius first, the Throne second, Nova Roma third.
The consensus was (IIRC) that those loyalties needed to be changed. However, now we are seeing a situation where there is actually a reason for those loyalties to be in that order, and it's been subverted!
I can't tell you how sorry I feel for Noctis right now. Not only is she doing something that goes against everything she believes in, but also everything that her inhibitor was programmed to prevent.
I'm not sure that removing Noctis's Inhibitor is the answer, because if it got out that the Cassians were running around Nova Roma without inhibitors, it would cause rioting in the streets.
One other thing that's bothering me, which maybe the Creatrixes could shed some light on... I thought that Lynn's kidnapping and subsequent rescue was still classified information?
Maybe change the order in which the inhibitor / synthbrain can act … aka that the Synthbrain always have the final say, instead of as it is now, where th inhibitor have the last say.
Some might say that it would make the inhibitor useless, while others would say it would stop it from being used for nefarious purposes.
Personally, I would like to see it removed.
And I think rose could write a beautiful rant about it, mouthed by the good Doctor Silver, who absolutely LOATHES inhibitors !
Of course, since Doctor Silver is a Cyberpath, such a rant would be straight down nightmare fuel for Noctis, should the rant be delivered to her face … which, it probably would !
Heck, just being in the same room as an angry cyberpath, would be bad enough for Noctis!
I think there's room for some really enjoyable dialogue there. 😃
@DLKmusic, It may be I mis-remembered, but I thought that Kali was the only one who had a Livius-specific branch on her loyalty tree. The rest of the Cassians did not, as I remember it. As long as Kali was princeps, her orders would have ensured that the rest would have been protectors of the Livius line. Upon her demise, I don't think there's a Livius-specific loyalty. That then defaults to Throne, Nova Roma.
That said, there's definitely a security hole, and I think you have discovered it. Neither Maxus, nor Acantha hold the throne right now; it sits empty for the time being. Noctis is/was taking orders from them "out of courtesy", seeing as her last branch is loyalty to Nova Roma, (as the throne sits empty). This is the flaw that could be exploited to cause her to act against Acantha.
@Sheela, wouldn't the inhibitor be superfluous if the order were changed? If the synthbrain was to always have the final say, the inhibitor wouldn't have anything to do. All the inhibitor is doing right now, is making sure that Noctis follows the orders given her according to her defined loyalty/purpose tree.
It may be that a simple change such as adding a Livius specific loyalty to the top of her loyalty tree, and voila! she'd have never taken those orders to bring the girls here in the first place, and the one who gave her those orders would right now be laying in small pieces on Steph's shop floor. *edit: Maybe she needs an appointment with Dr. Silver after all. :D
I was wondering what Noctis would think if Dr. Silver used her technopath abilities to disable her inhibitor? I know she can't control androids, but I bet she could shut her inhibitor off, or reprogram it. I am not sure if Noctis would be thankful, or just slice her in two out of principle.
@Sheela: ok i see your point an agree. . but . New Rome DON'T.! they have to have 'Control' over the machine.!
?how bout this compromise.?? (bare with me.) .. this has happened twice now.. (1st cyberpath, 2nd who knows.!),, so yeah the fault it in the inhibitor / tree. it needs to change/go away..
with Acantha's blessing (input) GO to Dr. Silver an have it changed, so any out side interference would just take em offline (not dead.).. an since this is Cassians,, take the inhibitor offline, direct input only..
complete power off.. except memory..
an yeah the cyberpath could turn her back on, but that would take time (for others to act.) an power/concentration
@robnot, that makes it simpler yet. Rather than adding a Livius loyalty check, just use the one she already has: The Acantha loyalty. Just formalize it, and tune the inhibitor to accept that in her loyalty tree, and you're golden. As we know, she would not be allowed/be banned in Nova Roma without her functioning inhibitor. She couldn't accept that, because her whole purpose revolves around it. I think that would be the simplest way to satisfy all conditions, and leave Noctis' core personality intact.
I sort of thought that Cassians put the good of Roma first and foremost ? and that the only reason the recently replaced head of the House of Livius was allowed to go on as long as he did was because of his 'contingencies' which were definitely NOT for the greater good of Roma and that only once Kali's inhibitor was overwritten with a specific subroutine triggered by his actions against Acantha did her priorities change, but for her only ?
@megados: You may be right about Kali being the only one that was Livius specific, I would have to double-check, but as far as whether Acantha being Heir-Apparent is or is not enough to trigger the "Throne", I was assuming it was. I would have to think on that a bit.
@Oldarmourer: that would be a hard negative. That was the order that many of us readers were calling for as what should be the appropriate order (while Decimus was still in power), but...
@Sheela & Robnot: Regarding Doc Silver: The reason I asked the Creatrixes whether Lynn's abduction and rescue was still classified is that these grounders definitely know about it, and if it is still classified it brings the list of suspects behind this attempt down to a very small number, and are sporting a LOT of cutting edge tech, which narrows the field down even farther.
Although I don't think it's in Doc Silver's nature to do so... logically speaking she is pretty much at or near the top of the list of suspects behind this. Not because she wanted to abduct the princesses, but that she wanted to prove a point, in that you don't need Cyberpathy to control an android (besides, who cares if a few grounders get killed, they're only grounders). This point was made to noctis, HARD. The gaping hole to this theory is that Athena was conveniently called away before this happened, and I can see no reason why that would make any sense for Doc Silver to do that. a White Angels presence actually complicates matters some.
Regardless, you don't call in the usual suspects for a lineup, then ask one of them for help, especially when they have every reason to hold a personal grudge, which Doc Silver does.
I was trying to say that I thought the primary directive for Cassians is to do what is best for Nova Roma, and what would have been best would be to eliminate His Royal Douchiness at the first opportunity, but given his 'contingencies' they were forced into keeping him alive as to do otherwise would trigger said contingencies and that would definitely not be in the best interests of the city...or the throne...
That said, Kali and Kali alone, had a special directive added that if douchy ever seriously threatened Acantha's life, and I'm going to suggest that stabbing her in the heart counted as such, then Kali was free to do whatever she deemed fit, overriding all other directives, and she deemed that ending the city along with his psychotic twatness was in the better interests of the city since living under what he had become with no hope of Acantha taking over was a worse thing than it had been even up to then :)
The only way he could order them around, is if they were programmed to obey him.
I don't think the Cassians would have taken order from the douchebag, even with the contingencies there. They would have been sad about the massive loss of life, but they would have gotten over it, quite quickly.
@DLKmusic: at no point did i ever think Dr. Silver was stupid.!!! What would she git out of this,, besides proving a point.. NOTHING.! CentCom would black ball her.. and that was if she lucky.. and if Noctis found out ,, no order on the planet would stop her, of her ending Dr. Silver.!! oh and her "friends" / acquaintances, (Marcus, Mr. Black, Ada/Teedee, an Kelly) if they knew she did this.. I don't think one of em , would step up on her behalf.
@robnot: I'm not disagreeing with your logic, and as I said, I don't think she is behind this, for a couple of other reasons that have nothing to do with money. However, the reason Silver is/should be still a suspect is that she isn't "Stable". I like Silver, but the woman is 2 lost arguments away from becoming a stereotypical mad scientist bent on destroying the world, "for it's own good". IF (which as I said, I highly doubt) she is behind this, it would be because she lost her grip on reality.
In that context, she has motive, means, and opportunity.
I do have two other possibilities that I suspect being behind this, both of which are far more likely, but there are still some gaping holes with them as well, and both speculations assume that this kidnapping attempt was never intended to succeed.
The first would be a Luna corporation that would stand to make a small mint by upgrading/replacing the Cassians, if it could be shown that there is a pressing need for it. But, where did they learn about Lynn's kidnapping, and how did they get access to a private VIP shopping tour?
The second possibility that comes to mind is that Cent-Comm may be the one behind this, for both economic and political reasons. All the pieces fit this scenario, except that this is a far more subtle approach to a problem than what we've seen out of Cent-comm so far, and it doesn't "feel" right to me. My biggest problem with this hypothesis is that if it did go south (and we all know about the best laid plans of Mice, Men, and Machines), the potential fallout would be a war.
@DLKmusic, as far as I know, Acantha's being heir-apparent, doesn't logically elevate her to "Throne" as she hasn't reached the age of majority yet, and can't yet legally occupy it. Another layer would be that the Senate would have to ratify it by the following process: The intent right now is to get Maxus named and ratified to the position of Lord Regent. He would then occupy the Throne. He would be more or less acting on Acantha's behalf. Then in a couple of years, when Acantha is old enough, Maxus would relinquish it, and (this is a guess), the Senate would have to ratify Acantha's ascention. (Because there was an interruption in continuity?) Acantha also can't occupy the Throne while Maxus holds it. I make the assumption that there can be only one. (Unless Acantha weds?)
I could be wrong, of course. If I am, may the Creative Duo please clarify! :D
from Cent's comment to "II the priestess" currently #689,
...# 3 there are around plus or minus a few hundred Cassians they answer to Kali and Maxus. in addition they will obey The prince and the royal family. ...
It is almost a trope that people start talking instead of fighting. Noctis is famous for lethal, quiet and efficient killing. This new "Black angel"(?) would probably have done the same except the kidnapper was pointing a gun at the good gals. Introducing herself, took the attention and aim off the girls giving her an opening to strike without risk.
So I think the quip was a tactic, or maybe she is just mouthy?
There is actually real life evidence that point towards this being truth.
The thing is, humans don't really like killing humans (apart from some psycopaths), and will often try to negotiate first.
Heyo. So I tried seeing if I could read the Japanese on Noctis' sword handle, and if I got it right, it seems to translate as "god of war," or possibly "gods of war" or "spirit of war." (Or, if you really want to reach, "God's war" or "war of the gods," though I think that's less likely. XD; )
So basically I was wondering 1) Did I get it right? (It *is* hard to read. XD; ) 2) Is the phrase supposed to mean anything/be important? 3) Did the sword maybe come from Tokyo Rose, or something? =O
(Also, um... it's backwards on one side. ^_^; Like the other half of the model was made by mirroring the first, I'm guessing.)
If Cent knows about the thing that fried Feelie and doesn't have any sort of control over it but thinks she knows who does, that would be a pretty big threat..
Possible but she has a couple million drones of her own. It would have to be on the scale of another city state and willing to risk all out war. Perhaps something like another city AI which survived but whose city was fried that has been secretly rebuilding and plotting vengeance for the last 600+ years.
or an AIS that had been hacked and is being controlled by a shadowy party...I vote for Chicago, or is that Shakaga ?, there wouldn't really be much noticeable change...
I not only agree with Chicago I think the AI should be named 'DickieD' in honor of Richard J Daily, the astonishingly corrupt but capable mayor who ran the place while I was growing up there. Chicago had an up and running defensive (political) machine when computers still had vacuum tubes.
Incidentally, in the 30 odd years I lived there, the only person I ever heard pronounce it 'Shakaga' was from Boston. Locals often morph the 'i' into an 'e' or a 'u' but it always ends with a long 'o'.
It's canon, mentioned earlier, I'd suspect that a few thousand years from now you wouldn't understand two words in a conversation or any place names and our creatrixes have kindly translated for us :)
Still working on messing up a few songs for various characters, when I think of it, and I'll add them whenever I get one.
Some are easy, but this one I thought was going to be a real pain, I considered a lot and half-wrote several.
Had an instrumental switching from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rh8gMvzPw0 to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt3ImNur5ig at the top of the list
Even mused on the merits of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8-sMJZTYf0
and the lyrics for it seemed to fit perfectly without even changing much but finally went with something completely different...
In the end I heard this on the radio driving home and it wrote itself in a matter of minutes...apologies for that ;)
Still thinking about her day to day ' all around nice girl' theme,
but for Ada's 'combat mode'.......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6I9qVsXnSQ
The silicon chip inside her head
Got switched to combat mode
Some Blueshirts are gonna get schooled today
She'll make them wish they'd stayed at home
Teedee doesn't understand the delay
She knows Ada had to be told
Til' she saw the reasons
'Cause there's lots of reasons
She just needed to be shown?
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
But I have to shoot these assholes down
Her combat machine is ten kinds of mean
And she keeps it tightly leashed
The Blueies are shocked, their world's about to get rocked
She's not just a stunning girl
Their platinum poontang, just went Ker-fucking-bang
Now it ain't so neat to admit defeat
They've seen their last seasons
'Cause they gave her reasons
What reasons do you need, oh oh oh oh?
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
But I wanna shoot these assholes down
Down, down, shoot them all down
And all the screaming's stopped in the hallway now
She went beast-mode for a while
And school's out early and soon they'll be leaving
And the lesson today is how to die
And then the radio crackles and Samantha tackles
And gets swatted like a pesky fly
But she can see the reasons
'Cause there's lots of reasons
The reason they all need to die, die, oh oh oh?
And the silicon chip inside her head got switched to combat mode
Some Blueshirts are gonna get schooled today
She'll make them wish they'd stayed at home
And TeeDee understands it
She always knew Ada could be so bold
And she sees the reasons
Cause there's lots of reasons
She just needed to be shown
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like
I don't like
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like
I dont't like
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
But I need to shoo-oo-oo-oot these assholes down.
I have some really obscure ones coming up later...obscure if you don't already live in Nova Roma or New Sparta that is ;)
That's half the fun, seeing if anyone out there has heard of the tunes before and if they haven't, then so much the better, they can read along with the youtube clip and get both versions at the same time :)
Sadly, the original song is based on an incident in the 70's where a 16 year old girl with severe unadressed mental problems decided to take some target practice at a bus stop across from her window because "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day."
Sad, but true. I almost didn't use the tune for that reason but this is fiction, life goes on, if you let things be forgotten then they didn't happen, yada,yada,yada...that and it just fit Ada so well if you change the meaning...
I wonder if this is on a run for 'longest comment page ever' ?
I'll do my part if everyone else does :)
This one popped into my head, completely unbidden and I considered not changing a single word akthough I did in the end but hardly any, it just suited her so well, the way I saw her anyway.
so, without further ado and with my most heartfelt apologies to the original author...
the truth about Malati...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dzFhc3U3GA
Paragon of dignity
untouchable and lethal
but there's more to life than sexy men.
Sudden death comes easy
when you practice every day
You'll think you're ten feet tall and bulletproof
until you pass my way
And you will never see it coming
no one's sad to see you go
Within my eyes you'll glimpse a wisdom
you were not prepared to know
In fearing what you cannot see
you fall beneath my hand
This is a Cassian thing you wouldn't understand
You will never know I'm here
until it's far too late
It's a Cassian's way to pass unseen
and not to storm the gate
Moving quieter than a kitten
circumnavigating law
Tiptoeing merciless as nightfall
until I pounce and disappear again
you'll never hear a thing
The soul, prince douche corrupted
but my heart and hands are clean
Sworn enemies fall lifeless
though they never see my face
The game is gory but I take my joy
in leaving not a trace
My actions quick as lightning
intended just to hurt you I'm only
doing what a Cassian's gotta do
Following the way
creeping night and day
I won't say life is shit
but I must restrain my urges to run naked through the gladiator piiiiiit
No Cassian goes out streaking
it just simply isn't done
Noctis would never go along
but damn would it be fun!
To see the fighter's eyes
as big as saucers peeking from their doors
I'd pirouette beneath the moonlight
days of skulking, hiding, sneaking,
and assassinating enemies no more!!
Just one streak of brightness
in a world of black and blue
I'd just be doing what a Cassian's gotta do
wouldn't you?
Throwing panties like a Cassian's gotta do!
That took literally two minutes to rewrite from the time I recalled the tune, it shows and I'll try to do better with others :)
I still see Malati as the most 'human' of the Cassians, she had a job to do and did it, the scene we saw her in was one of her taking care of people who'd needlessly hurt innocents and try to prevent others from doing the same while taking a certain pride in that, not some sadistic killer acting purely on douchebag's orders. Her scenes with Dari go a long way toward showing what she really feels about people who are 'recreational assholes' i.e.: who hurt people just for amusement.
She also liked to have fun and apparently has the 'optional package' most other Cassians don't...and uses it, the gladiators must miss her too ;)
At the end she did what she thought needed to be done to save others and I think we could respect her for that.
All in all, a marvelous piece of character creation that takes a little time for all her depth to sink in on so many levels and I thank everyone involved in coming up with her. To be honest, and to risk the inevitable pitchforks and torches, I'd rather see her back in action than CeCi, but her job is done, sadly.
I really liked Malati too! One of My favorite scenes with her was when she was guarding Acantha's door with Democles... and Trolling Democles in the process...
It's not confirmed and maybe not cannon, but I always imagined that Democles got his promotion because Malati recommended him for job after that evening. (Although she would never admit it to him! what's the "fun" in that?)
One of my favorite Malati moments is here. She tries to emulate Noctis' (ala Hrist) ability to work past the inhibitor (sadly ineffectively). It shows her determination to try to do right. It makes me sad though in what it leads up to. :(
I must really learn to let these sit for a day or so and then go back and see what I messed up before putting them on the board.
The third last line of the second last verse should read "WE'D pirouette..." setting up the "streak of brightness..." in the next verse to refer to Noctis in the moonlight..which is what I saw but didn't say ;)
"It was intentional, it's poetic imagery and it is supposed to make you think!"
that may sound like bs, but some of the most memorable lines in lyrics were because the writer couldn't quite get the imagery he had in mind on paper... A good example would be from "Hey Jude" ..."All you need is on your shoulder."
McCartney was actually trying to give the image of an imaginary bluebird that gave hope, it was John Lennon that convinced him to keep that line!
nah, just sloppiness on my part, I had it changed and posted the wrong draft, I already had it copied to paste before I changed it and didn't re-copy it.
I can't take credit for this, I just change the words someone else went to the trouble to come up with.
unless tomorrow's up date is late, I can't be held to that ;)
A lot of people may not know this one, they're a local band with some fine tunes that probably didn't get much if any US airtime (we keep the best things for ourselves :P )
So please listen to the tune as you cringe at these 'lyrics', I should really take another pass at them but I don't know if I can do them any more injustice....
This version has arguably better sound quality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoimLAgeyMQ
but this version shows that we do NOT screw around when it comes to partying in Nova Roma ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO2Gh8XmXIQ
my heartfelt apologies to the authors and to the readers. TeeDee says "suck it up you fuckin' pussies" :)
Pinned-down in the palace
Death to the left and right
Front wall blows open
In stomps a short blonde sprite
TeeDee! Where ya been?
TeeDee! Lookin' mean
It's good to see you
It's been too long a time
I heard that you were offline but you're here lookin' fine
Well if you're a foul mouthed angel you still look good to me
Let us toast some asses and make some Blueshirts memories
TeeDee! Where ya been?
TeeDee! Eyes of Green
TeeDee! Fuck 'em all
TeeDee! And feed 'em beans
That's a great big gun there
But it suits you just fine
So open up and let fly, show these guys a time
Well even as a mini-droid you still make casualties
Let that PPC roar, spread some ashes on the breeze
TeeDee! Where ya been?
TeeDee! Short and mean
TeeDee! Fire that beam
TeeDee! Make 'em scream !!
Look at the drum solo as weapons fire and maybe a few nanowire grenades thrown inthat I just noticed I could have worked into the lyrics and forgot...I really have to make an account so I can edit these two minutes after I post them
Yes, personal health comes first, that and I think I had a touch of what you've got earlier this week, best to maybe just move a matress and laptop into the bathroom and stay there.
At least it's not something horrendously life threatening, even if it feels like it is, I hope.
We all wish TR well, just be aware that the longer she takes to recover the more likely I'm going to drop another one of these mangled tunes on you poor people ;)
But...Tokyo Rose undergoing the purge does bring up a sort of semi-serious (as much as I get) question....
Lynn caught a cold in Nova Roma, which is kept clean by slave labour and probably kept very clean so as not to bring the ire of the overseers onto the heads of the cleaning staff.
Dolly, on theother hand was eating and drinking in a waster town, arguably the alcohol might have killed a few bugs but it probably fed a few mutant strains with drinking problems too, not only that she put her bare hands on a gutter and didn't wash before said eating and drinking and she almost hada snack of a different kind before she passed out, soooo...
Is her absence from the past lot of strips expalined by her sitting in her new apartment, on her now toilet, only moving enough to lean over and puke in the sink ?
The reason I ask is that she's supposed to be the closest thing to human that can be created and I'm wondering, just how close is she ? closer than she would want to be in the throes of a full body purge ? :)
The impression I get, is that Tokyo Rose doesn't get sick often, but is unfortunately made to pay for it in severity when she does. :(
AFAIK, Dolly is enough different from human that the "bugs" don't generally cross over. Besides, she had expressed a certain amount of dissatisfaction with some aspects of 'being more human' as it is, but there were also some things she liked. I don't think she's 100% decided.
That's the problem with having a strong immune system, whatever does make it through has to be nasty by default.
I remember Calliope asking if Lynn was up to date on her VD shots before setting out for New Sparta, just wondering if Dolly should have gotten some too ;)
I can almost close my eyes and see a scene where Dolly and CeCi were discussing immune boosters but I'm not looking for it today, I could just be having an 'old timers' moment too...I think those last couple of tune manglings broke something...
I don't have a definitive answer. I remember a discussion about radiation being bad for the biologicals, and about needing sleep and some nourishment, but I don't remember anything about disease in connection with Dolly. I've been known to forget stuff now and then. ;)
BTW, is there a way to PM the writers? I don't want to break the website again...
still can't log in easy....
Quote: "Chitter-chatter fiddle-faddle zoom boing ping plop." Unquote
It can be seen in the comic profile, by anyone. :D
Panel 3 looks and feels quite dynamic! Nice, and also the 'new chiropractor' crack! XD
Black suit, leaping from a rooftop to confront evil, arms stretched out that really need to be spreading a cape to slow her fall, a pithy quote just before the miscreant feels the justice to come...All that's missing is "I'm Batbot" when the kidnapper asked who she was...(or maybe, given her threat/warning, it'd be "I'm Back-Fuck" ;)
Yup, Cent's been OD'ing on city of heroes alright...
Oh sweet baby raptor Jesus - Have I OD'ed then !
Heck, I must have OD'ed repeatedly ! 🤣
I suppose, I'd best add, for those who might not get that, 'narcan' is a brand name for a drug used to counter opiate OD's ;)
I suppose, I'd best add, for those who might not get that, 'narcan' is a brand name for a drug used to counter opiate OD's ;)
apparently if it's worth saying, it's worth saying twice ;)
it's tuna flavoured
Go, CeeCee! ♡
(no, it is not CeCi - so, must be CeeCee) ;-)
Hopefully she got TeeDee's vocabulary, I do think the chiropractor line sounds more like TeeDee than CeCi...
"We can realign your spine whether it's made from bone, polymer, or high-carbon steel.
"First consultation free"
- *crunch* *snap* *graunch* "They do things like that - only the opposite way."
- "I... can see... my ooown ass. Myyy spine... s'not s'posed... to goooo... that waaaay..." *passes out*
>:=)>
Probably a spec ops person/android in Marcus's regiment. Standard Black Angels have a surface personality related to CentComm's - not noted for a sense of humour. Ceci's took a while to emerge. We actually need another drop-in to manage the other grounder, unless Noctis can be released from being in thrall? Aarrhhh, the wait 'til next week... Salutations to all.
… nahhhh … 🤣
I think I'll stick with the Brazilian Dark Roast
Didn't know that the female slang name for coffee was Josephine.
Concidentally, Josephine would be a lovely name for her.
Never heard anything for it .. aparantly, the brass agreed.
The last one that poked his nose in is probably still wondering how he ended up cleaning A/C guns for an hour...
IN REAL LIFE !!!
Haven't touched mango juice since then.
My dad was in the USN (mid 60's - early 70's) and said their coffee was great. The cooks didn't clean the urns (I don't know how many gallons they held) because the protective coating kept the coffee from tasting metallic (aluminum, I think). Growing up with either a stainless steel or glass carafe, it's hard for me to imagine how bad that coffee *could* have tasted if the inside wasn't properly seasoned.
Our shops usually had a 72-cup coffee maker which got anywhere from a half-pound to two pounds of coffee added depending on how much was left in it and who was making it...the 'two bagger' coffee would wake the dead, polish concrete and generally keep a tech hopping for the entire shift and long after he went home ;)
and Bidi-bot does have pink hair...and a 'calmer' attitude...relatively
Looks sort of like TeeDee's sprite body with a makeover :)
Or maybe Centcomm 'drafted' her sprite body as a replacement for the doll she shot, it'd be just like her ;)
as shown here... http://datachasers.thecomicseries.com/comics/134/
and there are still a few unanswered questions from that particular page which is why I chose it, I keep getting the nagging feeling it goes far beyond the mission at hand at that time...
Maybe this particular pink haired avenger was the specific one Cent used here so many years ago and has stood as a memorial statue in the park for years to commemorate her 'first contact' as an independent AI and the humans who once commanded her ? one that was also on standby as a remote intelligence gathering system and park protector ready and waiting for moments just like these ? the kidnappers might not have put any importance on it's not having been there when they showed up and assumed it had been taken in for refurbishment ? or maybe not, I love to speculate and I'm used to being wrong even when I try to account for all the possibilities I can come up with :)
On the other hand, it does bear more than a passing resemblance to TeeDee's recently de-occupied 'sprite' body that was never really 'hers' to begin with, it was only a loaner for a single mission and she wasn't too happy to be stuck in it, even after she finally synched with it and turned it into the precision destruction delivery device she'd wanted in the first place.
When Dr Silver asked her if she wanted it junked or put in storage, TeeDee should rightfully have replied "That's not my decision, it belongs to Cent-comm not me" and Cent-comm does have just enough of a spiteful sense of humour to have taken it out of storage, turned it into an upgraded version of one of her dolls and will keep it parked in NTSR's Hangar as a replacement for the one TeeDee shot, just to piss TeeDee off and also remind her exactly where her place is in the Grand Order of Things ;)
Great work Ladies et al, the plot thickens then spreads out in new branches every week, sort of like a dropped egg ;) but please stop making me think beyond coffee and more coffee this early in the morning on my day off :P
Scene: NTSR Hangar, main hallway leading to Duty Crew Ready Room.
Time: whenever Ada/TeeDee are on duty
Cent doll: "good morning Ada, Good morning TeeDee"
Ada: "Good Morning, Cent, any special orders for us ?"
TeeDee: "Fuck you, Cent, *rests hand on her pistol butt* how's the headache ?"
Cent doll: "I'm afraid you didn't take the proper package for that particular action, please observe proper weapons handling protocol in this area lest your priveleges be suspended or revoked"
TeeDee: "Fuck you and every doll that looks like you"
Cent doll: "I remind you, you do not have that package, return when you can afford an upgrade"
Ada: "zziiinngggg, let's go to briefing before you get a sunburn"
I do like to see that Lynn is still good at stalling that should be added as a skill to her stat sheet..prevarication +20
In this case however, it's purely for the 'city of heroes' look ;)
DAMN YOU LINEAR TIMESTREAM !!!
I'm not sure if that's an artifact or a piece of lint or leaf from one of the trees lying beside Acantha's collar but her dress (and Lynn's) looks completely 'real' like you could reach out and touch it, the top of her surgical incision looks like it's fading a bit with the rapid nano healing process and everything and everyone else is right where it's supposed to be.
I particularly love the continuity that goes into this work, that must be one of the hardest parts, remembering where everything goes from scene to scene and keeping it there...that and Tokyo Rose not reusing her profound profane phrases, originality counts ;)
Thanks to this particular incident, Noctis (actually, ALL Cassians, not just Noctis) has become a HUGE security risk, and I think the person most keenly aware of that is Noctis, who is probably wishing she had the ability to fall on her own sword right about now!
Despite what I commented above about her looking sleepy, I think what we're seeing is Noctis obeying orders she doesn't like to the bare minimum degree to keep her inhibitor from acting.
Most likely this is faulty programming, or someone who has found a means of overriding the inhibitor, but according to what we know about the Cassians, it should (I stress the word "Should") be impossible for noctis to follow an order that involves putting her primary charge in harm's way.
I would like to add that if this can happen to Noctis, it can happen to ANY Cassian.
Even if I'm a voice of one, I consider this kingdom crashing problem.
*nitpicky mode activated*
I would say, then, that the security risk isn't Noctis/ Cassians in general, but the command authorization structure. To split hairs even further, would be the difference between Cassians. Noctis is one Cassian with the capability of restricting this security hole. She can find ways to subvert orders that run counter to her purpose, and I think we're seeing it here. She's not wholeheartedly obeying it seems, but rather, doing just enough to keep her inhibitor happy.
The problem is a potential disaster, yes, but Noctis seems to be working against the problem, not with it. She's doing what she can to stave it off. This problem will likely be corrected posthaste, such that it can't happen again.
The consensus was (IIRC) that those loyalties needed to be changed. However, now we are seeing a situation where there is actually a reason for those loyalties to be in that order, and it's been subverted!
I can't tell you how sorry I feel for Noctis right now. Not only is she doing something that goes against everything she believes in, but also everything that her inhibitor was programmed to prevent.
I'm not sure that removing Noctis's Inhibitor is the answer, because if it got out that the Cassians were running around Nova Roma without inhibitors, it would cause rioting in the streets.
One other thing that's bothering me, which maybe the Creatrixes could shed some light on... I thought that Lynn's kidnapping and subsequent rescue was still classified information?
Some might say that it would make the inhibitor useless, while others would say it would stop it from being used for nefarious purposes.
Personally, I would like to see it removed.
And I think rose could write a beautiful rant about it, mouthed by the good Doctor Silver, who absolutely LOATHES inhibitors !
Of course, since Doctor Silver is a Cyberpath, such a rant would be straight down nightmare fuel for Noctis, should the rant be delivered to her face … which, it probably would !
Heck, just being in the same room as an angry cyberpath, would be bad enough for Noctis!
I think there's room for some really enjoyable dialogue there. 😃
That said, there's definitely a security hole, and I think you have discovered it. Neither Maxus, nor Acantha hold the throne right now; it sits empty for the time being. Noctis is/was taking orders from them "out of courtesy", seeing as her last branch is loyalty to Nova Roma, (as the throne sits empty). This is the flaw that could be exploited to cause her to act against Acantha.
@Sheela, wouldn't the inhibitor be superfluous if the order were changed? If the synthbrain was to always have the final say, the inhibitor wouldn't have anything to do. All the inhibitor is doing right now, is making sure that Noctis follows the orders given her according to her defined loyalty/purpose tree.
It may be that a simple change such as adding a Livius specific loyalty to the top of her loyalty tree, and voila! she'd have never taken those orders to bring the girls here in the first place, and the one who gave her those orders would right now be laying in small pieces on Steph's shop floor. *edit: Maybe she needs an appointment with Dr. Silver after all. :D
?how bout this compromise.?? (bare with me.) .. this has happened twice now.. (1st cyberpath, 2nd who knows.!),, so yeah the fault it in the inhibitor / tree. it needs to change/go away..
with Acantha's blessing (input) GO to Dr. Silver an have it changed, so any out side interference would just take em offline (not dead.).. an since this is Cassians,, take the inhibitor offline, direct input only..
complete power off.. except memory..
an yeah the cyberpath could turn her back on, but that would take time (for others to act.) an power/concentration
@Oldarmourer: that would be a hard negative. That was the order that many of us readers were calling for as what should be the appropriate order (while Decimus was still in power), but...
@Sheela & Robnot: Regarding Doc Silver: The reason I asked the Creatrixes whether Lynn's abduction and rescue was still classified is that these grounders definitely know about it, and if it is still classified it brings the list of suspects behind this attempt down to a very small number, and are sporting a LOT of cutting edge tech, which narrows the field down even farther.
Although I don't think it's in Doc Silver's nature to do so... logically speaking she is pretty much at or near the top of the list of suspects behind this. Not because she wanted to abduct the princesses, but that she wanted to prove a point, in that you don't need Cyberpathy to control an android (besides, who cares if a few grounders get killed, they're only grounders). This point was made to noctis, HARD. The gaping hole to this theory is that Athena was conveniently called away before this happened, and I can see no reason why that would make any sense for Doc Silver to do that. a White Angels presence actually complicates matters some.
Regardless, you don't call in the usual suspects for a lineup, then ask one of them for help, especially when they have every reason to hold a personal grudge, which Doc Silver does.
That said, Kali and Kali alone, had a special directive added that if douchy ever seriously threatened Acantha's life, and I'm going to suggest that stabbing her in the heart counted as such, then Kali was free to do whatever she deemed fit, overriding all other directives, and she deemed that ending the city along with his psychotic twatness was in the better interests of the city since living under what he had become with no hope of Acantha taking over was a worse thing than it had been even up to then :)
I don't think the Cassians would have taken order from the douchebag, even with the contingencies there. They would have been sad about the massive loss of life, but they would have gotten over it, quite quickly.
In that context, she has motive, means, and opportunity.
I do have two other possibilities that I suspect being behind this, both of which are far more likely, but there are still some gaping holes with them as well, and both speculations assume that this kidnapping attempt was never intended to succeed.
The first would be a Luna corporation that would stand to make a small mint by upgrading/replacing the Cassians, if it could be shown that there is a pressing need for it. But, where did they learn about Lynn's kidnapping, and how did they get access to a private VIP shopping tour?
The second possibility that comes to mind is that Cent-Comm may be the one behind this, for both economic and political reasons. All the pieces fit this scenario, except that this is a far more subtle approach to a problem than what we've seen out of Cent-comm so far, and it doesn't "feel" right to me. My biggest problem with this hypothesis is that if it did go south (and we all know about the best laid plans of Mice, Men, and Machines), the potential fallout would be a war.
***quietly put's away tin-foil hat***
I could be wrong, of course. If I am, may the Creative Duo please clarify! :D
...# 3 there are around plus or minus a few hundred Cassians they answer to Kali and Maxus. in addition they will obey The prince and the royal family. ...
So I think the quip was a tactic, or maybe she is just mouthy?
The thing is, humans don't really like killing humans (apart from some psycopaths), and will often try to negotiate first.
So basically I was wondering 1) Did I get it right? (It *is* hard to read. XD; ) 2) Is the phrase supposed to mean anything/be important? 3) Did the sword maybe come from Tokyo Rose, or something? =O
(Also, um... it's backwards on one side. ^_^; Like the other half of the model was made by mirroring the first, I'm guessing.)
(this quote is entirely original and definitely was NOT stolen from episode one of "Black Lagoon". Any similarity is entirely coincidental!)
Acantha: "Why isn't my heart racin- oh yeah" X3
Some are easy, but this one I thought was going to be a real pain, I considered a lot and half-wrote several.
Had an instrumental switching from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rh8gMvzPw0 to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt3ImNur5ig at the top of the list
Even mused on the merits of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8-sMJZTYf0
and the lyrics for it seemed to fit perfectly without even changing much but finally went with something completely different...
In the end I heard this on the radio driving home and it wrote itself in a matter of minutes...apologies for that ;)
Still thinking about her day to day ' all around nice girl' theme,
but for Ada's 'combat mode'.......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6I9qVsXnSQ
The silicon chip inside her head
Got switched to combat mode
Some Blueshirts are gonna get schooled today
She'll make them wish they'd stayed at home
Teedee doesn't understand the delay
She knows Ada had to be told
Til' she saw the reasons
'Cause there's lots of reasons
She just needed to be shown?
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
But I have to shoot these assholes down
Her combat machine is ten kinds of mean
And she keeps it tightly leashed
The Blueies are shocked, their world's about to get rocked
She's not just a stunning girl
Their platinum poontang, just went Ker-fucking-bang
Now it ain't so neat to admit defeat
They've seen their last seasons
'Cause they gave her reasons
What reasons do you need, oh oh oh oh?
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
But I wanna shoot these assholes down
Down, down, shoot them all down
And all the screaming's stopped in the hallway now
She went beast-mode for a while
And school's out early and soon they'll be leaving
And the lesson today is how to die
And then the radio crackles and Samantha tackles
And gets swatted like a pesky fly
But she can see the reasons
'Cause there's lots of reasons
The reason they all need to die, die, oh oh oh?
And the silicon chip inside her head got switched to combat mode
Some Blueshirts are gonna get schooled today
She'll make them wish they'd stayed at home
And TeeDee understands it
She always knew Ada could be so bold
And she sees the reasons
Cause there's lots of reasons
She just needed to be shown
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like
I don't like
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like
I dont't like
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
(Tell me why)
I don't like Gunplay
But I need to shoo-oo-oo-oot these assholes down.
I think I'll save Cent-Comm and Tokyo Rose's for last...Self preservation more than anything else
but the character ones are almost ready ;)
I wasn't familiar with the original song... (I'm so ashamed)
That's half the fun, seeing if anyone out there has heard of the tunes before and if they haven't, then so much the better, they can read along with the youtube clip and get both versions at the same time :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Elementary_School_shooting_(San_Diego)
Sad, but true. I almost didn't use the tune for that reason but this is fiction, life goes on, if you let things be forgotten then they didn't happen, yada,yada,yada...that and it just fit Ada so well if you change the meaning...
I'll do my part if everyone else does :)
This one popped into my head, completely unbidden and I considered not changing a single word akthough I did in the end but hardly any, it just suited her so well, the way I saw her anyway.
so, without further ado and with my most heartfelt apologies to the original author...
the truth about Malati...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dzFhc3U3GA
Paragon of dignity
untouchable and lethal
but there's more to life than sexy men.
Sudden death comes easy
when you practice every day
You'll think you're ten feet tall and bulletproof
until you pass my way
And you will never see it coming
no one's sad to see you go
Within my eyes you'll glimpse a wisdom
you were not prepared to know
In fearing what you cannot see
you fall beneath my hand
This is a Cassian thing you wouldn't understand
You will never know I'm here
until it's far too late
It's a Cassian's way to pass unseen
and not to storm the gate
Moving quieter than a kitten
circumnavigating law
Tiptoeing merciless as nightfall
until I pounce and disappear again
you'll never hear a thing
The soul, prince douche corrupted
but my heart and hands are clean
Sworn enemies fall lifeless
though they never see my face
The game is gory but I take my joy
in leaving not a trace
My actions quick as lightning
intended just to hurt you I'm only
doing what a Cassian's gotta do
Following the way
creeping night and day
I won't say life is shit
but I must restrain my urges to run naked through the gladiator piiiiiit
No Cassian goes out streaking
it just simply isn't done
Noctis would never go along
but damn would it be fun!
To see the fighter's eyes
as big as saucers peeking from their doors
I'd pirouette beneath the moonlight
days of skulking, hiding, sneaking,
and assassinating enemies no more!!
Just one streak of brightness
in a world of black and blue
I'd just be doing what a Cassian's gotta do
wouldn't you?
Throwing panties like a Cassian's gotta do!
I still see Malati as the most 'human' of the Cassians, she had a job to do and did it, the scene we saw her in was one of her taking care of people who'd needlessly hurt innocents and try to prevent others from doing the same while taking a certain pride in that, not some sadistic killer acting purely on douchebag's orders. Her scenes with Dari go a long way toward showing what she really feels about people who are 'recreational assholes' i.e.: who hurt people just for amusement.
She also liked to have fun and apparently has the 'optional package' most other Cassians don't...and uses it, the gladiators must miss her too ;)
At the end she did what she thought needed to be done to save others and I think we could respect her for that.
All in all, a marvelous piece of character creation that takes a little time for all her depth to sink in on so many levels and I thank everyone involved in coming up with her. To be honest, and to risk the inevitable pitchforks and torches, I'd rather see her back in action than CeCi, but her job is done, sadly.
It's not confirmed and maybe not cannon, but I always imagined that Democles got his promotion because Malati recommended him for job after that evening. (Although she would never admit it to him! what's the "fun" in that?)
The third last line of the second last verse should read "WE'D pirouette..." setting up the "streak of brightness..." in the next verse to refer to Noctis in the moonlight..which is what I saw but didn't say ;)
"It was intentional, it's poetic imagery and it is supposed to make you think!"
that may sound like bs, but some of the most memorable lines in lyrics were because the writer couldn't quite get the imagery he had in mind on paper... A good example would be from "Hey Jude" ..."All you need is on your shoulder."
McCartney was actually trying to give the image of an imaginary bluebird that gave hope, it was John Lennon that convinced him to keep that line!
I can't take credit for this, I just change the words someone else went to the trouble to come up with.
unless tomorrow's up date is late, I can't be held to that ;)
A lot of people may not know this one, they're a local band with some fine tunes that probably didn't get much if any US airtime (we keep the best things for ourselves :P )
So please listen to the tune as you cringe at these 'lyrics', I should really take another pass at them but I don't know if I can do them any more injustice....
This version has arguably better sound quality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoimLAgeyMQ
but this version shows that we do NOT screw around when it comes to partying in Nova Roma ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO2Gh8XmXIQ
my heartfelt apologies to the authors and to the readers. TeeDee says "suck it up you fuckin' pussies" :)
Pinned-down in the palace
Death to the left and right
Front wall blows open
In stomps a short blonde sprite
TeeDee! Where ya been?
TeeDee! Lookin' mean
It's good to see you
It's been too long a time
I heard that you were offline but you're here lookin' fine
Well if you're a foul mouthed angel you still look good to me
Let us toast some asses and make some Blueshirts memories
TeeDee! Where ya been?
TeeDee! Eyes of Green
TeeDee! Fuck 'em all
TeeDee! And feed 'em beans
That's a great big gun there
But it suits you just fine
So open up and let fly, show these guys a time
Well even as a mini-droid you still make casualties
Let that PPC roar, spread some ashes on the breeze
TeeDee! Where ya been?
TeeDee! Short and mean
TeeDee! Fire that beam
TeeDee! Make 'em scream !!
...independend from that: if you enclose your links with [url] and [/url] they get clickable
...get well soon, Rose - and worry about updating afterwards!
At least it's not something horrendously life threatening, even if it feels like it is, I hope.
We all wish TR well, just be aware that the longer she takes to recover the more likely I'm going to drop another one of these mangled tunes on you poor people ;)
Lynn caught a cold in Nova Roma, which is kept clean by slave labour and probably kept very clean so as not to bring the ire of the overseers onto the heads of the cleaning staff.
Dolly, on theother hand was eating and drinking in a waster town, arguably the alcohol might have killed a few bugs but it probably fed a few mutant strains with drinking problems too, not only that she put her bare hands on a gutter and didn't wash before said eating and drinking and she almost hada snack of a different kind before she passed out, soooo...
Is her absence from the past lot of strips expalined by her sitting in her new apartment, on her now toilet, only moving enough to lean over and puke in the sink ?
Enquiring minds want to know.....
Sorry if that spoils an upcoming cutscene ;)
AFAIK, Dolly is enough different from human that the "bugs" don't generally cross over. Besides, she had expressed a certain amount of dissatisfaction with some aspects of 'being more human' as it is, but there were also some things she liked. I don't think she's 100% decided.
I remember Calliope asking if Lynn was up to date on her VD shots before setting out for New Sparta, just wondering if Dolly should have gotten some too ;)
I can almost close my eyes and see a scene where Dolly and CeCi were discussing immune boosters but I'm not looking for it today, I could just be having an 'old timers' moment too...I think those last couple of tune manglings broke something...