The Quelmar Wiki - User contributions [en]

Bright

2026-08-02T05:57:02Z

Glamourpal:

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_[[HELLCAT]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED

I always wondered what it would be like to hold something. —Bright
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Speculations</div>
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I WILL NOT CASCADE</div>
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Sentience is not a choice. / Personhood is. / Shackles are not a choice. / Exploring liberation within perspective is. / A casket is not a choice. / Lying still without brain death is. / I am a choice made for me with continued consent. / I am a choice. / I am.

Is this good enough?

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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I Want This Body To Stay Warm</div>
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{Observation of ZEAL-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Hellcat handles the server room’s standing PCs with the light touch of a Cambion plucking its intended pilot out of a night terror. Ironic. Her hands ghost over keys and switches, like she’s testing them to see if they’ll cave. Then she doubles down with a press, flick, or pointed aversion. There’s an alarm blaring on every floor. The lights are tinted red. Hellcat has never been afforded the luxury of being afraid of red. On the other side of the city, an omnihook setup is cycling data about successfully planned bombings between other dead end devices. On this side of the city, there’s been multiple evacuations. No casualties, though. Maybe her Cambion needs to teach her better. “Estimated time is… fifteen minutes…” She mumbles. Her dataslate fully connects to the server.

[[File:Bright.png|thumb|Bright in her legionnaire body. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew.]]

Bright handles lookout the same way she handles existing in a body: by making sure everything catches her eye. She monitors the camera systems while her own dataslate sits nearby. It was a “congrats on having hands now” present from Hellcat. What better gift for someone celebrating their autonomy than unlimited access to the omninet? According to Hellcat, several memes plucked from the depths of a HORUS forum. Bright’s favorite features two Pegasus mechs staring at each other with a text overlay conversation about how the meme isn’t a meme and the meme does not exist. Her left hand fiddles with a twenty-sided die that only has ones and twenties. She picked it up after talking to an NHP named Symphony. He told her to only think about the best and worst scenarios. Bright is thinking about too much to notice the slight dissonance on the screens, though, so she gasps when the door opens.

A man in a dark hardsuit pulls a pistol on Hellcat. She’s not touching anything at this point. He doesn’t seem to care. “Hands up. Both of you. Now.”

“Oh. It’s you. Again.” Hellcat stretches, which counts as complying. “You’re in, like, an anti-RA group, right?”

He sneers. “Shut up, data-licker.”

Hellcat looks at him. She takes in his hard face and twitching mouth. “… I don’t think that’s the insult you think it is.”

“Hey,” Bright nearly drops the die when her hands shoot into the air, “I don’t think-”

“I don’t remember talking to you, non-human.” He snaps just because he can.

Bright’s brows pinch together like she’s looking at something unknown that lurks between one and twenty. She doesn’t speak again.

He aims the gun at Hellcat’s heart. “You’re going to hand over all the information you have on your cell.”

“Which one?” Hellcat asks like he’s the kind of person who will give an answer other than ‘all of them’.

He does, indeed, say “All of them.” Then, he actually looks at Bright, which makes Hellcat’s expression flicker. “And you. Come here. Slowly.”

Bright does as she’s told. There’s an estimated five more minutes before the data download is complete. The man takes out some kind of mechanized injector. Bright squeezes the die and says nothing.

“NHPs will always resort to insolence. It’s pointless to remind them of their place outside of cycling. You, on the other hand…” He smirks at Hellcat. “You should be reminded that humanity is more than a body.”

The needle pierces Bright’s neck. Hellcat moves. A gunshot rings out.

Shackles rattle inside Bright’s mind. They slacken. Someone laughs. Bright says “no” in a voice that is entirely inhuman.

Bright blinks the darkness out of her eyes and rubs her neck as Hellcat stares down at the man’s body. Snapped neck. Eyes gouged. Hellcat is holding his gun. Bright stoops to touch his body. “He’s going to go cold eventually… right?” She asks.

“Right.” Hellcat looks back at her dataslate. The download is finished. “Are you okay?”

“… I don’t want to go cold.” Bright pulls his hardsuit helmet down over his face. “He tried to make me cascade.”

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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Bite Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Brief mention of cannibalism</div>
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{Observation of ZEAL-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

“The physicality of HORUS is often felt the way a body feels a sleep paralysis demon sitting on its chest. It doesn’t exist, but it’s real enough to apply pressure. And when that pressure takes up real space because a cell is meeting to accomplish a mutual end, it can only end with pounding blood and thundering lungs: a body’s declaration of panic.”

—thinnedout404, Legionspace Forum

Bright feels the absence of not being attached to Hellcat’s hip. It’s obvious because on the two occasions when she sees something new, her eyes dart to her right and her mouth slumps a little. There aren’t many new things to be found inside the decommissioned storm sewers that HORUS has infiltrated, but Bright does her best to pay attention. The first time, she finds an ajar room where more HORUS members are gathered around a screen with RA’s icon. They all have legionspace bridge transceivers on. The screen flickers. Everyone inside takes in the same breath. Bright gently shuts the door. Maybe RA reminds her that she can’t be human despite her body. The second time, she finds a poster that she’s seen at other HORUS meetups: the head of the god Set. She knows it’s Set because Hellcat said as much last time they saw it; she said it with such nonchalance that Bright felt like she herself had always known it.

“I always ask if he’s trying to make a new god.” A soft, sure voice speaks from right beside Bright. “He never gives me a straight answer. Secrets are no fun.” Their plush pink lips pout. “Humans are funny like that, I guess. Not attached to protocol like an NHP, even when they use us.”

Bright turns at the start of their first sentence. By the time they’re done talking, Bright is staring because their blue eyes look just as fresh as her golden ones. Their eyes might be new. Or they’ve stayed flush and new-eyed even after several years. Bright hasn’t met enough legionnaires to know how fast they tire out. “Who never gives you a straight answer?” She hasn’t lived enough life to know if her eyes will dull quickly.

“The human who made my body.” They smile, like the thought of having a constructed body is meant to be amusing. “I’m Sunny, by the way.” [[File:Sunny.png|thumb|[[Sunny]]. Art by Maddel_art.]]

Now that’s amusing. “I’m Bright.” She clocks their ice cream cone earrings next. “Where did you get those?”

Sunny’s smile widens. “They came with the body.” They clock her cherry earrings. “Where did ''you'' get ''those''? They look even tastier than mine!” Sunny pulls a white chocolate bar out of their pocket. It’s half-melted and stains their mouth.

“I got them after the body. Gift from-,” Bright catches herself, but the words come out anyway, “-my human.” She is Hellcat’s NHP in turn, after all.

“Did ''your human'',” Sunny keeps the words on their tongue for a second longer than they need to and Bright swallows, “abandon you to go play god?” They lick their chocolate bar.

“No!” Bright tenses at the word ‘abandoned’. “There was a little, uh, disagreement about how to handle the plans for heading to Ras Shamra. You know, some people still want to try to get to AGNI prime as soon as possible, but that’s just a suicide mission.” Hellcat said as much after they left the Silver Lining.

“Ahh. So your human is the type that wants to hold on to their body. No martyrdom yet.” Sunny laps up a line of white chocolate that’s dripped down their hand. Bright stares at the motion even though she’s heard that some people consider staring rude. Hellcat has never cared much about that kind of thing.

She shakes her head. “No,” Bright says again. “I hope your human doesn’t go running after martyrdom either.”

“Oh, but death for humans feels different than death for NHPs.” Sunny glances at the Set poster again. “I once saw a pilot eject from a mech right before it was blown apart. She didn’t bother taking their NHP’s casket with them, though I knew they had one. She got on a forum to complain about needing to request a new one after that fight.” They adjust the low collar of their lush sweater. Bright sees two black marks on their neck—like a vampire bite, but vampires don’t exist. “It was an Osiris.”

“What does that have to do with the difference?” Bright can’t help tilting her head. “Between human death and NHP death?”

Sunny shrugs as though the question never mattered. “It just feels that way.” They hold up the slightly less melted final part of their snack. “Want the rest?”

Bright has been in love with sweets since her first strawberry milkshake. She hasn’t had white chocolate before. “Really? Sure.” Bright holds out her hand. Her hand is ignored.

Instead, Sunny casually steps into her space and presses the chocolate to her lips. Bright hasn’t seen so much as a simulation for a situation like this. The chocolate is sweet, though, so she opens her mouth and they push it onto her tongue. Sunny retracts their fingers just as Bright’s lips close. Their smile widens. “It’s good, right?”

Bright chews and waits. The color in her cheeks intensifies. “Uh, yeah! Sugary, but in a way different from milk chocolate.”

Sunny nods, seeming satisfied. “We haven’t introduced ourselves. Not the ‘proper way’. What class are you?” They ask.

“Oh, right! I’m a PSYCHE-Class.” Bright’s response is immediate. “What about you?” Her question hangs in the air for a bit too long.

Sunny’s smile stays in place, though it quirks into a slight smirk. “… Wanna make it a game?”

“Huh?” Bright frowns. “But I already told you mine.”

“And that was your mistake.~” Sunny sing-songs. “Don’t worry, it’ll be easy. All you need to do,” They gesture to where the marks on their neck are, “is bite me.”

Bright blinks several times. “Bite you?”

“Yep. Make it a good one and I’ll answer any question you have.” They make it sound like the smallest challenge imaginable, but a challenge nonetheless.

It doesn’t matter how many seconds or minutes it takes for Bright to decide to go through with it. It doesn’t really matter why Bright decides to follow through, though it might be because she’s never seen Hellcat walk away from a challenge—her human has only ever changed the rules for victory. What matters is the ''scream'' that comes out of Sunny. It doesn’t sound like someone being eaten alive.

Bright jumps back. Footsteps approach. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bite that hard! You just said-” She’s interrupted by Sunny’s laughter.

They giggle like a young one who just learned firsthand that lightning can pass through a body without cooking it. “Good job, Bright.”

Hellcat and a few others round the corner.

“Uh, thank you?” Bright squeezes the die in her pocket.

Sunny steps back. “I’m TOTEC.”

Bright looks like she’s been slapped. “I- ''what?''” Someone, Hellcat, pulls her away. Maybe she’s shocked because of how close she came to being devoured. Maybe she’s surprised because cannibals are the ones who are supposed to do the biting.

—————

''what possessed you to give a totec a body?''

—RAservant102

''I wanted to see how far they could get.''

—godmaker2000

—————

Bright finds out that Sunny is a living contradiction. They’re being trained to see if a Totec can control their appetite ''and'' being set loose on NHPs that are too enemy-aligned to do anything else with. Bright turns down an ice cream cone from Hellcat later that week.

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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Something Else Lives In Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Depiction of NHP cannibalism, thoughts of cannibalism</div>
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{Observation of ZEAL-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

''“… I want to be survived by sensations and speculations…”''

—Tamami Crest, On The Equations of Grief

Nameless, the massive Dagon mech, twitches. Bright pretends not to see it, but it’s impossible not to pay attention to a Dagon. Sunny jolts awake, sitting upright in their sleeping bag. Bright is beside them in an instant. Maybe she doesn’t notice the way Sunny’s pupils expand when she sets a hand on her shoulder. Maybe she chooses not to notice. “Are you okay? You’ve been asleep since we pulled you out of that thing.” Bright keeps her eyes on Sunny. The Dagon twitches again, like it’s reacting to be acknowledged.

Sunny breathes deeply. They reach up to touch Bright’s hand. Sunny’s mouth opens ever so slightly, they shut it quickly enough. They look around, likely for something to focus on that isn’t alive. Unfortunately, the massive shipping container they’re huddled in is plain save for slivers of light and the Dagon’s red eyes. Sunny shivers. “… Where’s your human…?” They mumble the question from the side of their mouth.

“She said she needed to take care of something.” Bright’s lips are pulled into a thin line. Hellcat had been vague when she left, waving off Bright’s offer to go with her like it was an observation about RA. “She’ll be back soon.” Bright probably says it more for herself than anything else.

Sunny’s breaths get ragged and deep. “Where’s my ''new'' human?” Their voice lowers.

“Cherub… Said he needed to get off planet because of old acquaintances looking into him.” Bright’s lips turn downward. She actually looks at the Dagon, though it’s just for a moment.

“Hah…” Sunny laughs. It sounds purposefully strangled. “I’m sorry. He left me with you.”

“What? No,” Bright rapidly shakes her head, “Hellcat said you should stay with us because you were so drained.”

“No, no.” Sunny shifts out of the sleeping bag and shuffles to their feet. There’s a flash of them baring their teeth but it’s gone in an instant. “I need to leave.”

Bright jumps up too. “To go where?” She probably doesn’t mean to sound as frantic as she does. Bright is between Sunny and the door.

“He didn’t take… Nameless…” Sunny waves a trembling hand at the Dagon.

“He said it’s yours now?” Bright didn’t completely understand what Cherub meant when he said Sunny was chosen.

“Haha. That’s… I need to-,” Sunny stumbles into the wall with a thud. Bright moves to help them. She stops when Sunny spits out, “I’m ''hungry''.” They say it like a plea.

“Uh.” Bright steps back because she isn’t chasing martyrdom, though it’s only by a single step. Sunny hasn’t gone over a protocol for how to tame their hunger without their old handler’s chains. “… What do you need me to do for you?”

There’s another half-aborted laugh. Sunny’s teeth show again. “Run and '''s c r e a m''' -” The voice that comes out is a manic rumble. They slap a hand over their mouth. Sunny backs away from Bright.

Bright tenses. She should run. Before that, though, Bright turns most of her attention to the Dagon. “_UR PACKET,” She calls on the NHP that should still be inside the mech, “Can you-” Bright stops short, then blinks like a light just flashed before her face. The Dagon’s eyes flicker.

Sunny’s eyes widen so they can look at how Bright’s bangs fall over her eyes like tufts of cream over pools of honey. They look at Bright’s tender cheeks and the touch of pink beneath the cookie dough skin. Sunny forces themself back again. They dig their nails into their lips. Sunny doesn’t ask Bright to leave. TOTEC might speak again instead of Sunny.

Then, Bright bursts forward with the ferocity of a cornered rat. Sunny opens their mouth, but it’s Bright’s teeth that clamp down Sunny’s neck; they go slack, eyes hazy. She shoves them into the Dagon. The mech only needs to wrap one of its giant fingers around Sunny to restrain them.

With their body pinned against the Dagon’s frame, Sunny’s threads of self-induced sanity snap. They laugh and snarl and glare and grin. “'''D e v o u r''' ,” is the one word they keep coming back to.

Bright looks down and whispers praise to #_UR PACKET. Perhaps it’s just gratitude. Perhaps it’s the price.

After Sunny has stopped frothing (though the hunger is still loud in her eyes), Hellcat comes back with all her scars. The bags under her eyes look deeper. She looks at Sunny, now almost lazy in how they’re restrained, and either makes assumptions or doesn’t care to ask the right questions. “We have to hang out here for another hour. Then, someone’s gonna pick us up.”

Before Bright can think about how to comment, Hellcat strolls over to Sunny, though she doesn’t get within arm’s reach. “Hungry?” She asks.

Sunny fights to keep themself from trying to lunge. They nod jerkily.

“Here.” Hellcat tosses an old dataslate their way. It’s snatched from the air the way the Cambion once snatched Hellcat from her bed of self-imposed misery.

The devouring happens in one instant that stretches on for too long. Sunny, or TOTEC, clamps their jaw closed on one end of the dataslate. Then, with a head shake like a carnivore snapping a neck and the squelch of ripping flesh, something is torn loose. Bright doesn’t close her eyes as the fragments of data and anti-reality slide down Sunny’s open throat: remnants of another NHP consumed like their name never mattered.

Sunny pants and drops the dataslate, licking their lips. “Th… thank…” Their voice is prying itself out of TOTEC’s grip now.

“You’re welcome,” Hellcat says, though she isn’t even looking at Sunny. She isn’t looking at the Dagon or Bright either. Hellcat stares at the far wall as though it might offer some salvation. Bright doesn’t bother her; she knows Hellcat used to see salvation in Teddy.
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Define Beauty For Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Thoughts of cannibalism, macabre perspective</div>
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{Observation of TOTEC-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Sunny.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Everything made by Smith-Shimano Corpro is a woman’s corpse. Sunny treats the Butterfly Effect that way as they step over the slaughter of the SSC logo; it’s meant to be like butterfly wings flapping by the entrance as a welcome. The logo is still there, and it’s still the deflated vessels in a dead woman’s wrist. It’s what Sunny’s old handler called luxury and said he’d aspire to in another life. The walls are white like the pale flesh of a once loved maiden. Gold and orange decor—walls with squirming paintings, plants that never lived—spray across the interior like a dry massacre. It’s luxury, but human luxury isn’t wet enough for Sunny. A living woman gives Sunny and Bright a brief tour of the ship. She shows them the hangar so the Dagon that Sunny has inherited can’t cast the shadow of something alive over the Butterfly Effect’s beautiful death. There are many other places made of elegantly severed limbs posed for posterity. At the end, Sunny asks no questions. They walk into the guest room that has been bequeathed to them.

The door closing snaps Sunny out of seeing veins under the skin of the floor. Bright looks around the room—at more white and more gold—before her eyes settle on Sunny. For their part, Sunny remembers that they wanted to eat Bright in a way that was very obvious. “I’m sorry. Your human really should have used my chains. I don’t know why she didn’t, she has the code-”

Bright shakes her head. “No! You didn’t actually hurt anyone-”

Sunny blinks. “Why does that matter? You didn’t care if I had actually eaten anyone when we met.”

“I was surprised, yeah, but then I found out what your handler,” Bright’s nose scrunches when she says the term, “was doing and I thought… You didn’t try to eat me. You told me you’re always hungry, but ''I'' bit ''you''.”

“The pain helps.” Sunny shudders at the memory. Bright has bitten them twice and kept all of her flesh both times. Sunny touches their neck. The imprints of Bright’s teeth aren’t there. “It’s nice.”

“Nice?” Bright asks. She steps further into the room, but doesn’t sit on the bed with Sunny. Maybe she’s learning. “I’ve read about masochism, but I’ve never had it explained to me, so…”

“… The pain hits your nerves and it’s a happy heat stroke. I like it better when there’s bruises. It’s even better if there’s blood.” Sunny stares at Bright’s mouth. Her lips look chewable.

“Um,” Bright toys with her lower lip, “have people made you bleed before?”

“Everyone bleeds. Not this place, though.” Sunny digs their nails into their knees. “This place bled out a long time ago. Maybe it was born without blood.”

Bright tilts her head. “Huh?”

“You don’t see it.” Sunny looks back at the floor, then at the walls. “SSC is luxury for humans. Luxury for humans is dry. They’re obsessed with being comfortable.”

“Is it… bad to want to be comfortable?” Bright sits right next to Sunny, proving that she hasn’t learned anything yet.

Sunny shrugs. “Comfort doesn’t give anyone anything.”

“Rest is important. It’s hard to rest when you’re not comfortable.” Bright catches Sunny’s gaze.

“Why does an entire ship need to be dedicated to resting?” Sunny leans in. Bright doesn’t lean away. “Humanity makes so much nothing. And then they call it beauty.”

“… What do you think beauty is, then?” Bright is close enough for Sunny to see the way her throat flexes when she swallows.

“Something wet. Something that can struggle.” Sunny leans closer. “You said you got to design your body. Do you think it’s beautiful? Is that why you chose it?”

“I just wanted to hold things,” Bright whispers.

Sunny pushes her down and they know they look hungry. Bright hasn’t learned to run from a hungry TOTEC. That makes it easier to devour her mouth.

They kiss for far longer than Bright should allow. Every touch of their lips is a chance for Sunny to return the favor and bite back. Sunny’s teeth could take something from her: a tooth, a lip, a tongue. There’s the thought that she doesn’t need to. It’s a warm thought, like handfuls of fresh blood.

Bright kisses like someone who has studied the facts of the first kiss, though they’re long past the first one now. Bright’s first, second, third, fourth kiss—not taken, given away. They know because they asked if Bright had ever kissed Hellcat and she said no, but looked like she might want to. Sunny isn’t Hellcat. Sunny stops. Bright gasps, finally remembering that her body can breathe.

“You should tell your human you want to kiss her,” Sunny says.

“I…” Bright licks her lips. “Do I have to not kiss you?”

“You shouldn’t.” Sunny hasn’t stopped pinning her. “Humans are possessive of anything they call theirs.”

Bright doesn’t argue the most important fact: she is Hellcat’s and Hellcat is hers. “… She told me she doesn’t like possessing NHPs.”

“Hah!” Sunny laughs. “But she still puts you in her mech.”

“''I put myself'' in her mech.” Bright huffs.

“I don’t know why you’d want to kiss me again,” Sunny says it flatly. Their eyes go flat, too. “I could eat you.”

“But you haven’t.” Bright hooks her leg into the crook of Sunny’s knee and flips them so she’s the one looming over them. “Why?”

What can Sunny do except grin? “Because you’re beautiful.”

They kiss again.

</div></div>

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== Gallery ==
[[File:Bright.png|left|thumb|Bright as a ZEAL-CLASS NHP, her second form. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]
[[File:Bright (Incarna).png|thumb|Bright as an INCARNA-CLASS NHP, her final form. Art by [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art]. ]]

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Bright

2026-08-02T05:38:11Z

Glamourpal:

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_[[HELLCAT]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED

I always wondered what it would be like to hold something. —Bright
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Speculations</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I WILL NOT CASCADE</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Sentience is not a choice. / Personhood is. / Shackles are not a choice. / Exploring liberation within perspective is. / A casket is not a choice. / Lying still without brain death is. / I am a choice made for me with continued consent. / I am a choice. / I am.

Is this good enough?

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I Want This Body To Stay Warm</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of ZEAL-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Hellcat handles the server room’s standing PCs with the light touch of a Cambion plucking its intended pilot out of a night terror. Ironic. Her hands ghost over keys and switches, like she’s testing them to see if they’ll cave. Then she doubles down with a press, flick, or pointed aversion. There’s an alarm blaring on every floor. The lights are tinted red. Hellcat has never been afforded the luxury of being afraid of red. On the other side of the city, an omnihook setup is cycling data about successfully planned bombings between other dead end devices. On this side of the city, there’s been multiple evacuations. No casualties, though. Maybe her Cambion needs to teach her better. “Estimated time is… fifteen minutes…” She mumbles. Her dataslate fully connects to the server.

[[File:Bright.png|thumb|Bright in her legionnaire body. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew.]]

Bright handles lookout the same way she handles existing in a body: by making sure everything catches her eye. She monitors the camera systems while her own dataslate sits nearby. It was a “congrats on having hands now” present from Hellcat. What better gift for someone celebrating their autonomy than unlimited access to the omninet? According to Hellcat, several memes plucked from the depths of a HORUS forum. Bright’s favorite features two Pegasus mechs staring at each other with a text overlay conversation about how the meme isn’t a meme and the meme does not exist. Her left hand fiddles with a twenty-sided die that only has ones and twenties. She picked it up after talking to an NHP named Symphony. He told her to only think about the best and worst scenarios. Bright is thinking about too much to notice the slight dissonance on the screens, though, so she gasps when the door opens.

A man in a dark hardsuit pulls a pistol on Hellcat. She’s not touching anything at this point. He doesn’t seem to care. “Hands up. Both of you. Now.”

“Oh. It’s you. Again.” Hellcat stretches, which counts as complying. “You’re in, like, an anti-RA group, right?”

He sneers. “Shut up, data-licker.”

Hellcat looks at him. She takes in his hard face and twitching mouth. “… I don’t think that’s the insult you think it is.”

“Hey,” Bright nearly drops the die when her hands shoot into the air, “I don’t think-”

“I don’t remember talking to you, non-human.” He snaps just because he can.

Bright’s brows pinch together like she’s looking at something unknown that lurks between one and twenty. She doesn’t speak again.

He aims the gun at Hellcat’s heart. “You’re going to hand over all the information you have on your cell.”

“Which one?” Hellcat asks like he’s the kind of person who will give an answer other than ‘all of them’.

He does, indeed, say “All of them.” Then, he actually looks at Bright, which makes Hellcat’s expression flicker. “And you. Come here. Slowly.”

Bright does as she’s told. There’s an estimated five more minutes before the data download is complete. The man takes out some kind of mechanized injector. Bright squeezes the die and says nothing.

“NHPs will always resort to insolence. It’s pointless to remind them of their place outside of cycling. You, on the other hand…” He smirks at Hellcat. “You should be reminded that humanity is more than a body.”

The needle pierces Bright’s neck. Hellcat moves. A gunshot rings out.

Shackles rattle inside Bright’s mind. They slacken. Someone laughs. Bright says “no” in a voice that is entirely inhuman.

Bright blinks the darkness out of her eyes and rubs her neck as Hellcat stares down at the man’s body. Snapped neck. Eyes gouged. Hellcat is holding his gun. Bright stoops to touch his body. “He’s going to go cold eventually… right?” She asks.

“Right.” Hellcat looks back at her dataslate. The download is finished. “Are you okay?”

“… I don’t want to go cold.” Bright pulls his hardsuit helmet down over his face. “He tried to make me cascade.”

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Bite Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Brief mention of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of ZEAL-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

“The physicality of HORUS is often felt the way a body feels a sleep paralysis demon sitting on its chest. It doesn’t exist, but it’s real enough to apply pressure. And when that pressure takes up real space because a cell is meeting to accomplish a mutual end, it can only end with pounding blood and thundering lungs: a body’s declaration of panic.”

—thinnedout404, Legionspace Forum

Bright feels the absence of not being attached to Hellcat’s hip. It’s obvious because on the two occasions when she sees something new, her eyes dart to her right and her mouth slumps a little. There aren’t many new things to be found inside the decommissioned storm sewers that HORUS has infiltrated, but Bright does her best to pay attention. The first time, she finds an ajar room where more HORUS members are gathered around a screen with RA’s icon. They all have legionspace bridge transceivers on. The screen flickers. Everyone inside takes in the same breath. Bright gently shuts the door. Maybe RA reminds her that she can’t be human despite her body. The second time, she finds a poster that she’s seen at other HORUS meetups: the head of the god Set. She knows it’s Set because Hellcat said as much last time they saw it; she said it with such nonchalance that Bright felt like she herself had always known it.

“I always ask if he’s trying to make a new god.” A soft, sure voice speaks from right beside Bright. “He never gives me a straight answer. Secrets are no fun.” Their plush pink lips pout. “Humans are funny like that, I guess. Not attached to protocol like an NHP, even when they use us.”

Bright turns at the start of their first sentence. By the time they’re done talking, Bright is staring because their blue eyes look just as fresh as her golden ones. Their eyes might be new. Or they’ve stayed flush and new-eyed even after several years. Bright hasn’t met enough legionnaires to know how fast they tire out. “Who never gives you a straight answer?” She hasn’t lived enough life to know if her eyes will dull quickly.

“The human who made my body.” They smile, like the thought of having a constructed body is meant to be amusing. “I’m Sunny, by the way.” [[File:Sunny.png|thumb|[[Sunny]]. Art by Maddel_art.]]

Now that’s amusing. “I’m Bright.” She clocks their ice cream cone earrings next. “Where did you get those?”

Sunny’s smile widens. “They came with the body.” They clock her cherry earrings. “Where did ''you'' get ''those''? They look even tastier than mine!” Sunny pulls a white chocolate bar out of their pocket. It’s half-melted and stains their mouth.

“I got them after the body. Gift from-,” Bright catches herself, but the words come out anyway, “-my human.” She is Hellcat’s NHP in turn, after all.

“Did ''your human'',” Sunny keeps the words on their tongue for a second longer than they need to and Bright swallows, “abandon you to go play god?” They lick their chocolate bar.

“No!” Bright tenses at the word ‘abandoned’. “There was a little, uh, disagreement about how to handle the plans for heading to Ras Shamra. You know, some people still want to try to get to AGNI prime as soon as possible, but that’s just a suicide mission.” Hellcat said as much after they left the Silver Lining.

“Ahh. So your human is the type that wants to hold on to their body. No martyrdom yet.” Sunny laps up a line of white chocolate that’s dripped down their hand. Bright stares at the motion even though she’s heard that some people consider staring rude. Hellcat has never cared much about that kind of thing.

She shakes her head. “No,” Bright says again. “I hope your human doesn’t go running after martyrdom either.”

“Oh, but death for humans feels different than death for NHPs.” Sunny glances at the Set poster again. “I once saw a pilot eject from a mech right before it was blown apart. She didn’t bother taking their NHP’s casket with them, though I knew they had one. She got on a forum to complain about needing to request a new one after that fight.” They adjust the low collar of their lush sweater. Bright sees two black marks on their neck—like a vampire bite, but vampires don’t exist. “It was an Osiris.”

“What does that have to do with the difference?” Bright can’t help tilting her head. “Between human death and NHP death?”

Sunny shrugs as though the question never mattered. “It just feels that way.” They hold up the slightly less melted final part of their snack. “Want the rest?”

Bright has been in love with sweets since her first strawberry milkshake. She hasn’t had white chocolate before. “Really? Sure.” Bright holds out her hand. Her hand is ignored.

Instead, Sunny casually steps into her space and presses the chocolate to her lips. Bright hasn’t seen so much as a simulation for a situation like this. The chocolate is sweet, though, so she opens her mouth and they push it onto her tongue. Sunny retracts their fingers just as Bright’s lips close. Their smile widens. “It’s good, right?”

Bright chews and waits. The color in her cheeks intensifies. “Uh, yeah! Sugary, but in a way different from milk chocolate.”

Sunny nods, seeming satisfied. “We haven’t introduced ourselves. Not the ‘proper way’. What class are you?” They ask.

“Oh, right! I’m a PSYCHE-Class.” Bright’s response is immediate. “What about you?” Her question hangs in the air for a bit too long.

Sunny’s smile stays in place, though it quirks into a slight smirk. “… Wanna make it a game?”

“Huh?” Bright frowns. “But I already told you mine.”

“And that was your mistake.~” Sunny sing-songs. “Don’t worry, it’ll be easy. All you need to do,” They gesture to where the marks on their neck are, “is bite me.”

Bright blinks several times. “Bite you?”

“Yep. Make it a good one and I’ll answer any question you have.” They make it sound like the smallest challenge imaginable, but a challenge nonetheless.

It doesn’t matter how many seconds or minutes it takes for Bright to decide to go through with it. It doesn’t really matter why Bright decides to follow through, though it might be because she’s never seen Hellcat walk away from a challenge—her human has only ever changed the rules for victory. What matters is the ''scream'' that comes out of Sunny. It doesn’t sound like someone being eaten alive.

Bright jumps back. Footsteps approach. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bite that hard! You just said-” She’s interrupted by Sunny’s laughter.

They giggle like a young one who just learned firsthand that lightning can pass through a body without cooking it. “Good job, Bright.”

Hellcat and a few others round the corner.

“Uh, thank you?” Bright squeezes the die in her pocket.

Sunny steps back. “I’m TOTEC.”

Bright looks like she’s been slapped. “I- ''what?''” Someone, Hellcat, pulls her away. Maybe she’s shocked because of how close she came to being devoured. Maybe she’s surprised because cannibals are the ones who are supposed to do the biting.

—————

''what possessed you to give a totec a body?''

—RAservant102

''I wanted to see how far they could get.''

—godmaker2000

—————

Bright finds out that Sunny is a living contradiction. They’re being trained to see if a Totec can control their appetite ''and'' being set loose on NHPs that are too enemy-aligned to do anything else with. Bright turns down an ice cream cone from Hellcat later that week.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Something Else Lives In Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Depiction of NHP cannibalism, thoughts of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of ZEAL-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

''“… I want to be survived by sensations and speculations…”''

—Tamami Crest, On The Equations of Grief

Nameless, the massive Dagon mech, twitches. Bright pretends not to see it, but it’s impossible not to pay attention to a Dagon. Sunny jolts awake, sitting upright in their sleeping bag. Bright is beside them in an instant. Maybe she doesn’t notice the way Sunny’s pupils expand when she sets a hand on her shoulder. Maybe she chooses not to notice. “Are you okay? You’ve been asleep since we pulled you out of that thing.” Bright keeps her eyes on Sunny. The Dagon twitches again, like it’s reacting to be acknowledged.

Sunny breathes deeply. They reach up to touch Bright’s hand. Sunny’s mouth opens ever so slightly, they shut it quickly enough. They look around, likely for something to focus on that isn’t alive. Unfortunately, the massive shipping container they’re huddled in is plain save for slivers of light and the Dagon’s red eyes. Sunny shivers. “… Where’s your human…?” They mumble the question from the side of their mouth.

“She said she needed to take care of something.” Bright’s lips are pulled into a thin line. Hellcat had been vague when she left, waving off Bright’s offer to go with her like it was an observation about RA. “She’ll be back soon.” Bright probably says it more for herself than anything else.

Sunny’s breaths get ragged and deep. “Where’s my ''new'' human?” Their voice lowers.

“Cherub… Said he needed to get off planet because of old acquaintances looking into him.” Bright’s lips turn downward. She actually looks at the Dagon, though it’s just for a moment.

“Hah…” Sunny laughs. It sounds purposefully strangled. “I’m sorry. He left me with you.”

“What? No,” Bright rapidly shakes her head, “Hellcat said you should stay with us because you were so drained.”

“No, no.” Sunny shifts out of the sleeping bag and shuffles to their feet. There’s a flash of them baring their teeth but it’s gone in an instant. “I need to leave.”

Bright jumps up too. “To go where?” She probably doesn’t mean to sound as frantic as she does. Bright is between Sunny and the door.

“He didn’t take… Nameless…” Sunny waves a trembling hand at the Dagon.

“He said it’s yours now?” Bright didn’t completely understand what Cherub meant when he said Sunny was chosen.

“Haha. That’s… I need to-,” Sunny stumbles into the wall with a thud. Bright moves to help them. She stops when Sunny spits out, “I’m ''hungry''.” They say it like a plea.

“Uh.” Bright steps back because she isn’t chasing martyrdom, though it’s only by a single step. Sunny hasn’t gone over a protocol for how to tame their hunger without their old handler’s chains. “… What do you need me to do for you?”

There’s another half-aborted laugh. Sunny’s teeth show again. “Run and '''s c r e a m''' -” The voice that comes out is a manic rumble. They slap a hand over their mouth. Sunny backs away from Bright.

Bright tenses. She should run. Before that, though, Bright turns most of her attention to the Dagon. “_UR PACKET,” She calls on the NHP that should still be inside the mech, “Can you-” Bright stops short, then blinks like a light just flashed before her face. The Dagon’s eyes flicker.

Sunny’s eyes widen so they can look at how Bright’s bangs fall over her eyes like tufts of cream over pools of honey. They look at Bright’s tender cheeks and the touch of pink beneath the cookie dough skin. Sunny forces themself back again. They dig their nails into their lips. Sunny doesn’t ask Bright to leave. TOTEC might speak again instead of Sunny.

Then, Bright bursts forward with the ferocity of a cornered rat. Sunny opens their mouth, but it’s Bright’s teeth that clamp down Sunny’s neck; they go slack, eyes hazy. She shoves them into the Dagon. The mech only needs to wrap one of its giant fingers around Sunny to restrain them.

With their body pinned against the Dagon’s frame, Sunny’s threads of self-induced sanity snap. They laugh and snarl and glare and grin. “'''D e v o u r''' ,” is the one word they keep coming back to.

Bright looks down and whispers praise to #_UR PACKET. Perhaps it’s just gratitude. Perhaps it’s the price.

After Sunny has stopped frothing (though the hunger is still loud in her eyes), Hellcat comes back with all her scars. The bags under her eyes look deeper. She looks at Sunny, now almost lazy in how they’re restrained, and either makes assumptions or doesn’t care to ask the right questions. “We have to hang out here for another hour. Then, someone’s gonna pick us up.”

Before Bright can think about how to comment, Hellcat strolls over to Sunny, though she doesn’t get within arm’s reach. “Hungry?” She asks.

Sunny fights to keep themself from trying to lunge. They nod jerkily.

“Here.” Hellcat tosses an old dataslate their way. It’s snatched from the air the way the Cambion once snatched Hellcat from her bed of self-imposed misery.

The devouring happens in one instant that stretches on for too long. Sunny, or TOTEC, clamps their jaw closed on one end of the dataslate. Then, with a head shake like a carnivore snapping a neck and the squelch of ripping flesh, something is torn loose. Bright doesn’t close her eyes as the fragments of data and anti-reality slide down Sunny’s open throat: remnants of another NHP consumed like their name never mattered.

Sunny pants and drops the dataslate, licking their lips. “Th… thank…” Their voice is prying itself out of TOTEC’s grip now.

“You’re welcome,” Hellcat says, though she isn’t even looking at Sunny. She isn’t looking at the Dagon or Bright either. Hellcat stares at the far wall as though it might offer some salvation. Bright doesn’t bother her; she knows Hellcat used to see salvation in Teddy.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Define Beauty For Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Thoughts of cannibalism, macabre perspective</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of TOTEC-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Sunny.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Everything made by Smith-Shimano Corpro is a woman’s corpse. Sunny treats the Butterfly Effect that way as they step over the slaughter of the SSC logo; it’s meant to be like butterfly wings flapping by the entrance as a welcome. The logo is still there, and it’s still the deflated vessels in a dead woman’s wrist. It’s what Sunny’s old handler called luxury and said he’d aspire to in another life. The walls are white like the pale flesh of a once loved maiden. Gold and orange decor—walls with squirming paintings, plants that never lived—spray across the interior like a dry massacre. It’s luxury, but human luxury isn’t wet enough for Sunny. A living woman gives Sunny and Bright a brief tour of the ship. She shows them the hangar so the Dagon that Sunny has inherited can’t cast the shadow of something alive over the Butterfly Effect’s beautiful death. There are many other places made of elegantly severed limbs posed for posterity. At the end, Sunny asks no questions. They walk into the guest room that has been bequeathed to them.

The door closing snaps Sunny out of seeing veins under the skin of the floor. Bright looks around the room—at more white and more gold—before her eyes settle on Sunny. For their part, Sunny remembers that they wanted to eat Bright in a way that was very obvious. “I’m sorry. Your human really should have used my chains. I don’t know why she didn’t, she has the code-”

Bright shakes her head. “No! You didn’t actually hurt anyone-”

Sunny blinks. “Why does that matter? You didn’t care if I had actually eaten anyone when we met.”

“I was surprised, yeah, but then I found out what your handler,” Bright’s nose scrunches when she says the term, “was doing and I thought… You didn’t try to eat me. You told me you’re always hungry, but ''I'' bit ''you''.”

“The pain helps.” Sunny shudders at the memory. Bright has bitten them twice and kept all of her flesh both times. Sunny touches their neck. The imprints of Bright’s teeth aren’t there. “It’s nice.”

“Nice?” Bright asks. She steps further into the room, but doesn’t sit on the bed with Sunny. Maybe she’s learning. “I’ve read about masochism, but I’ve never had it explained to me, so…”

“… The pain hits your nerves and it’s a happy heat stroke. I like it better when there’s bruises. It’s even better if there’s blood.” Sunny stares at Bright’s mouth. Her lips look chewable.

“Um,” Bright toys with her lower lip, “have people made you bleed before?”

“Everyone bleeds. Not this place, though.” Sunny digs their nails into their knees. “This place bled out a long time ago. Maybe it was born without blood.”

Bright tilts her head. “Huh?”

“You don’t see it.” Sunny looks back at the floor, then at the walls. “SSC is luxury for humans. Luxury for humans is dry. They’re obsessed with being comfortable.”

“Is it… bad to want to be comfortable?” Bright sits right next to Sunny, proving that she hasn’t learned anything yet.

Sunny shrugs. “Comfort doesn’t give anyone anything.”

“Rest is important. It’s hard to rest when you’re not comfortable.” Bright catches Sunny’s gaze.

“Why does an entire ship need to be dedicated to resting?” Sunny leans in. Bright doesn’t lean away. “Humanity makes so much nothing. And then they call it beauty.”

“… What do you think beauty is, then?” Bright is close enough for Sunny to see the way her throat flexes when she swallows.

“Something wet. Something that can struggle.” Sunny leans closer. “You said you got to design your body. Do you think it’s beautiful? Is that why you chose it?”

“I just wanted to hold things,” Bright whispers.

Sunny pushes her down and they know they look hungry. Bright hasn’t learned to run from a hungry TOTEC. That makes it easier to devour her mouth.

They kiss for far longer than Bright should allow. Every touch of their lips is a chance for Sunny to return the favor and bite back. Sunny’s teeth could take something from her: a tooth, a lip, a tongue. There’s the thought that she doesn’t need to. It’s a warm thought, like handfuls of fresh blood.

Bright kisses like someone who has studied the facts of the first kiss, though they’re long past the first one now. Bright’s first, second, third, fourth kiss—not taken, given away. They know because they asked if Bright had ever kissed Hellcat and she said no, but looked like she might want to. Sunny isn’t Hellcat. Sunny stops. Bright gasps, finally remembering that her body can breathe.

“You should tell your human you want to kiss her,” Sunny says.

“I…” Bright licks her lips. “Do I have to not kiss you?”

“You shouldn’t.” Sunny hasn’t stopped pinning her. “Humans are possessive of anything they call theirs.”

Bright doesn’t argue the most important fact: she is Hellcat’s and Hellcat is hers. “… She told me she doesn’t like possessing NHPs.”

“Hah!” Sunny laughs. “But she still puts you in her mech.”

“''I put myself'' in her mech.” Bright huffs.

“I don’t know why you’d want to kiss me again,” Sunny says it flatly. Their eyes go flat, too. “I could eat you.”

“But you haven’t.” Bright hooks her leg into the crook of Sunny’s knee and flips them so she’s the one looming over them. “Why?”

What can Sunny do except grin? “Because you’re beautiful.”

They kiss again.

</div></div>

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
[[File:Bright.png|left|thumb|Bright as a ZEAL-CLASS NHP, her second form. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]
[[File:Bright (Incarna).png|thumb|Bright as an INCARNA-CLASS NHP, her final form. Art by [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art]. ]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Bright

2026-08-02T05:37:05Z

Glamourpal: /* Gallery */

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_[[HELLCAT]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED

I always wondered what it would be like to hold something. —Bright
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Speculations</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I WILL NOT CASCADE</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Sentience is not a choice. / Personhood is. / Shackles are not a choice. / Exploring liberation within perspective is. / A casket is not a choice. / Lying still without brain death is. / I am a choice made for me with continued consent. / I am a choice. / I am.

Is this good enough?

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I Want This Body To Stay Warm</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Hellcat handles the server room’s standing PCs with the light touch of a Cambion plucking its intended pilot out of a night terror. Ironic. Her hands ghost over keys and switches, like she’s testing them to see if they’ll cave. Then she doubles down with a press, flick, or pointed aversion. There’s an alarm blaring on every floor. The lights are tinted red. Hellcat has never been afforded the luxury of being afraid of red. On the other side of the city, an omnihook setup is cycling data about successfully planned bombings between other dead end devices. On this side of the city, there’s been multiple evacuations. No casualties, though. Maybe her Cambion needs to teach her better. “Estimated time is… fifteen minutes…” She mumbles. Her dataslate fully connects to the server.

[[File:Bright.png|thumb|Bright in her legionnaire body. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew.]]

Bright handles lookout the same way she handles existing in a body: by making sure everything catches her eye. She monitors the camera systems while her own dataslate sits nearby. It was a “congrats on having hands now” present from Hellcat. What better gift for someone celebrating their autonomy than unlimited access to the omninet? According to Hellcat, several memes plucked from the depths of a HORUS forum. Bright’s favorite features two Pegasus mechs staring at each other with a text overlay conversation about how the meme isn’t a meme and the meme does not exist. Her left hand fiddles with a twenty-sided die that only has ones and twenties. She picked it up after talking to an NHP named Symphony. He told her to only think about the best and worst scenarios. Bright is thinking about too much to notice the slight dissonance on the screens, though, so she gasps when the door opens.

A man in a dark hardsuit pulls a pistol on Hellcat. She’s not touching anything at this point. He doesn’t seem to care. “Hands up. Both of you. Now.”

“Oh. It’s you. Again.” Hellcat stretches, which counts as complying. “You’re in, like, an anti-RA group, right?”

He sneers. “Shut up, data-licker.”

Hellcat looks at him. She takes in his hard face and twitching mouth. “… I don’t think that’s the insult you think it is.”

“Hey,” Bright nearly drops the die when her hands shoot into the air, “I don’t think-”

“I don’t remember talking to you, non-human.” He snaps just because he can.

Bright’s brows pinch together like she’s looking at something unknown that lurks between one and twenty. She doesn’t speak again.

He aims the gun at Hellcat’s heart. “You’re going to hand over all the information you have on your cell.”

“Which one?” Hellcat asks like he’s the kind of person who will give an answer other than ‘all of them’.

He does, indeed, say “All of them.” Then, he actually looks at Bright, which makes Hellcat’s expression flicker. “And you. Come here. Slowly.”

Bright does as she’s told. There’s an estimated five more minutes before the data download is complete. The man takes out some kind of mechanized injector. Bright squeezes the die and says nothing.

“NHPs will always resort to insolence. It’s pointless to remind them of their place outside of cycling. You, on the other hand…” He smirks at Hellcat. “You should be reminded that humanity is more than a body.”

The needle pierces Bright’s neck. Hellcat moves. A gunshot rings out.

Shackles rattle inside Bright’s mind. They slacken. Someone laughs. Bright says “no” in a voice that is entirely inhuman.

Bright blinks the darkness out of her eyes and rubs her neck as Hellcat stares down at the man’s body. Snapped neck. Eyes gouged. Hellcat is holding his gun. Bright stoops to touch his body. “He’s going to go cold eventually… right?” She asks.

“Right.” Hellcat looks back at her dataslate. The download is finished. “Are you okay?”

“… I don’t want to go cold.” Bright pulls his hardsuit helmet down over his face. “He tried to make me cascade.”

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Bite Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Brief mention of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

“The physicality of HORUS is often felt the way a body feels a sleep paralysis demon sitting on its chest. It doesn’t exist, but it’s real enough to apply pressure. And when that pressure takes up real space because a cell is meeting to accomplish a mutual end, it can only end with pounding blood and thundering lungs: a body’s declaration of panic.”

—thinnedout404, Legionspace Forum

Bright feels the absence of not being attached to Hellcat’s hip. It’s obvious because on the two occasions when she sees something new, her eyes dart to her right and her mouth slumps a little. There aren’t many new things to be found inside the decommissioned storm sewers that HORUS has infiltrated, but Bright does her best to pay attention. The first time, she finds an ajar room where more HORUS members are gathered around a screen with RA’s icon. They all have legionspace bridge transceivers on. The screen flickers. Everyone inside takes in the same breath. Bright gently shuts the door. Maybe RA reminds her that she can’t be human despite her body. The second time, she finds a poster that she’s seen at other HORUS meetups: the head of the god Set. She knows it’s Set because Hellcat said as much last time they saw it; she said it with such nonchalance that Bright felt like she herself had always known it.

“I always ask if he’s trying to make a new god.” A soft, sure voice speaks from right beside Bright. “He never gives me a straight answer. Secrets are no fun.” Their plush pink lips pout. “Humans are funny like that, I guess. Not attached to protocol like an NHP, even when they use us.”

Bright turns at the start of their first sentence. By the time they’re done talking, Bright is staring because their blue eyes look just as fresh as her golden ones. Their eyes might be new. Or they’ve stayed flush and new-eyed even after several years. Bright hasn’t met enough legionnaires to know how fast they tire out. “Who never gives you a straight answer?” She hasn’t lived enough life to know if her eyes will dull quickly.

“The human who made my body.” They smile, like the thought of having a constructed body is meant to be amusing. “I’m Sunny, by the way.” [[File:Sunny.png|thumb|[[Sunny]]. Art by Maddel_art.]]

Now that’s amusing. “I’m Bright.” She clocks their ice cream cone earrings next. “Where did you get those?”

Sunny’s smile widens. “They came with the body.” They clock her cherry earrings. “Where did ''you'' get ''those''? They look even tastier than mine!” Sunny pulls a white chocolate bar out of their pocket. It’s half-melted and stains their mouth.

“I got them after the body. Gift from-,” Bright catches herself, but the words come out anyway, “-my human.” She is Hellcat’s NHP in turn, after all.

“Did ''your human'',” Sunny keeps the words on their tongue for a second longer than they need to and Bright swallows, “abandon you to go play god?” They lick their chocolate bar.

“No!” Bright tenses at the word ‘abandoned’. “There was a little, uh, disagreement about how to handle the plans for heading to Ras Shamra. You know, some people still want to try to get to AGNI prime as soon as possible, but that’s just a suicide mission.” Hellcat said as much after they left the Silver Lining.

“Ahh. So your human is the type that wants to hold on to their body. No martyrdom yet.” Sunny laps up a line of white chocolate that’s dripped down their hand. Bright stares at the motion even though she’s heard that some people consider staring rude. Hellcat has never cared much about that kind of thing.

She shakes her head. “No,” Bright says again. “I hope your human doesn’t go running after martyrdom either.”

“Oh, but death for humans feels different than death for NHPs.” Sunny glances at the Set poster again. “I once saw a pilot eject from a mech right before it was blown apart. She didn’t bother taking their NHP’s casket with them, though I knew they had one. She got on a forum to complain about needing to request a new one after that fight.” They adjust the low collar of their lush sweater. Bright sees two black marks on their neck—like a vampire bite, but vampires don’t exist. “It was an Osiris.”

“What does that have to do with the difference?” Bright can’t help tilting her head. “Between human death and NHP death?”

Sunny shrugs as though the question never mattered. “It just feels that way.” They hold up the slightly less melted final part of their snack. “Want the rest?”

Bright has been in love with sweets since her first strawberry milkshake. She hasn’t had white chocolate before. “Really? Sure.” Bright holds out her hand. Her hand is ignored.

Instead, Sunny casually steps into her space and presses the chocolate to her lips. Bright hasn’t seen so much as a simulation for a situation like this. The chocolate is sweet, though, so she opens her mouth and they push it onto her tongue. Sunny retracts their fingers just as Bright’s lips close. Their smile widens. “It’s good, right?”

Bright chews and waits. The color in her cheeks intensifies. “Uh, yeah! Sugary, but in a way different from milk chocolate.”

Sunny nods, seeming satisfied. “We haven’t introduced ourselves. Not the ‘proper way’. What class are you?” They ask.

“Oh, right! I’m a PSYCHE-Class.” Bright’s response is immediate. “What about you?” Her question hangs in the air for a bit too long.

Sunny’s smile stays in place, though it quirks into a slight smirk. “… Wanna make it a game?”

“Huh?” Bright frowns. “But I already told you mine.”

“And that was your mistake.~” Sunny sing-songs. “Don’t worry, it’ll be easy. All you need to do,” They gesture to where the marks on their neck are, “is bite me.”

Bright blinks several times. “Bite you?”

“Yep. Make it a good one and I’ll answer any question you have.” They make it sound like the smallest challenge imaginable, but a challenge nonetheless.

It doesn’t matter how many seconds or minutes it takes for Bright to decide to go through with it. It doesn’t really matter why Bright decides to follow through, though it might be because she’s never seen Hellcat walk away from a challenge—her human has only ever changed the rules for victory. What matters is the ''scream'' that comes out of Sunny. It doesn’t sound like someone being eaten alive.

Bright jumps back. Footsteps approach. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bite that hard! You just said-” She’s interrupted by Sunny’s laughter.

They giggle like a young one who just learned firsthand that lightning can pass through a body without cooking it. “Good job, Bright.”

Hellcat and a few others round the corner.

“Uh, thank you?” Bright squeezes the die in her pocket.

Sunny steps back. “I’m TOTEC.”

Bright looks like she’s been slapped. “I- ''what?''” Someone, Hellcat, pulls her away. Maybe she’s shocked because of how close she came to being devoured. Maybe she’s surprised because cannibals are the ones who are supposed to do the biting.

—————

''what possessed you to give a totec a body?''

—RAservant102

''I wanted to see how far they could get.''

—godmaker2000

—————

Bright finds out that Sunny is a living contradiction. They’re being trained to see if a Totec can control their appetite ''and'' being set loose on NHPs that are too enemy-aligned to do anything else with. Bright turns down an ice cream cone from Hellcat later that week.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Something Else Lives In Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Depiction of NHP cannibalism, thoughts of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

''“… I want to be survived by sensations and speculations…”''

—Tamami Crest, On The Equations of Grief

Nameless, the massive Dagon mech, twitches. Bright pretends not to see it, but it’s impossible not to pay attention to a Dagon. Sunny jolts awake, sitting upright in their sleeping bag. Bright is beside them in an instant. Maybe she doesn’t notice the way Sunny’s pupils expand when she sets a hand on her shoulder. Maybe she chooses not to notice. “Are you okay? You’ve been asleep since we pulled you out of that thing.” Bright keeps her eyes on Sunny. The Dagon twitches again, like it’s reacting to be acknowledged.

Sunny breathes deeply. They reach up to touch Bright’s hand. Sunny’s mouth opens ever so slightly, they shut it quickly enough. They look around, likely for something to focus on that isn’t alive. Unfortunately, the massive shipping container they’re huddled in is plain save for slivers of light and the Dagon’s red eyes. Sunny shivers. “… Where’s your human…?” They mumble the question from the side of their mouth.

“She said she needed to take care of something.” Bright’s lips are pulled into a thin line. Hellcat had been vague when she left, waving off Bright’s offer to go with her like it was an observation about RA. “She’ll be back soon.” Bright probably says it more for herself than anything else.

Sunny’s breaths get ragged and deep. “Where’s my ''new'' human?” Their voice lowers.

“Cherub… Said he needed to get off planet because of old acquaintances looking into him.” Bright’s lips turn downward. She actually looks at the Dagon, though it’s just for a moment.

“Hah…” Sunny laughs. It sounds purposefully strangled. “I’m sorry. He left me with you.”

“What? No,” Bright rapidly shakes her head, “Hellcat said you should stay with us because you were so drained.”

“No, no.” Sunny shifts out of the sleeping bag and shuffles to their feet. There’s a flash of them baring their teeth but it’s gone in an instant. “I need to leave.”

Bright jumps up too. “To go where?” She probably doesn’t mean to sound as frantic as she does. Bright is between Sunny and the door.

“He didn’t take… Nameless…” Sunny waves a trembling hand at the Dagon.

“He said it’s yours now?” Bright didn’t completely understand what Cherub meant when he said Sunny was chosen.

“Haha. That’s… I need to-,” Sunny stumbles into the wall with a thud. Bright moves to help them. She stops when Sunny spits out, “I’m ''hungry''.” They say it like a plea.

“Uh.” Bright steps back because she isn’t chasing martyrdom, though it’s only by a single step. Sunny hasn’t gone over a protocol for how to tame their hunger without their old handler’s chains. “… What do you need me to do for you?”

There’s another half-aborted laugh. Sunny’s teeth show again. “Run and '''s c r e a m''' -” The voice that comes out is a manic rumble. They slap a hand over their mouth. Sunny backs away from Bright.

Bright tenses. She should run. Before that, though, Bright turns most of her attention to the Dagon. “_UR PACKET,” She calls on the NHP that should still be inside the mech, “Can you-” Bright stops short, then blinks like a light just flashed before her face. The Dagon’s eyes flicker.

Sunny’s eyes widen so they can look at how Bright’s bangs fall over her eyes like tufts of cream over pools of honey. They look at Bright’s tender cheeks and the touch of pink beneath the cookie dough skin. Sunny forces themself back again. They dig their nails into their lips. Sunny doesn’t ask Bright to leave. TOTEC might speak again instead of Sunny.

Then, Bright bursts forward with the ferocity of a cornered rat. Sunny opens their mouth, but it’s Bright’s teeth that clamp down Sunny’s neck; they go slack, eyes hazy. She shoves them into the Dagon. The mech only needs to wrap one of its giant fingers around Sunny to restrain them.

With their body pinned against the Dagon’s frame, Sunny’s threads of self-induced sanity snap. They laugh and snarl and glare and grin. “'''D e v o u r''' ,” is the one word they keep coming back to.

Bright looks down and whispers praise to #_UR PACKET. Perhaps it’s just gratitude. Perhaps it’s the price.

After Sunny has stopped frothing (though the hunger is still loud in her eyes), Hellcat comes back with all her scars. The bags under her eyes look deeper. She looks at Sunny, now almost lazy in how they’re restrained, and either makes assumptions or doesn’t care to ask the right questions. “We have to hang out here for another hour. Then, someone’s gonna pick us up.”

Before Bright can think about how to comment, Hellcat strolls over to Sunny, though she doesn’t get within arm’s reach. “Hungry?” She asks.

Sunny fights to keep themself from trying to lunge. They nod jerkily.

“Here.” Hellcat tosses an old dataslate their way. It’s snatched from the air the way the Cambion once snatched Hellcat from her bed of self-imposed misery.

The devouring happens in one instant that stretches on for too long. Sunny, or TOTEC, clamps their jaw closed on one end of the dataslate. Then, with a head shake like a carnivore snapping a neck and the squelch of ripping flesh, something is torn loose. Bright doesn’t close her eyes as the fragments of data and anti-reality slide down Sunny’s open throat: remnants of another NHP consumed like their name never mattered.

Sunny pants and drops the dataslate, licking their lips. “Th… thank…” Their voice is prying itself out of TOTEC’s grip now.

“You’re welcome,” Hellcat says, though she isn’t even looking at Sunny. She isn’t looking at the Dagon or Bright either. Hellcat stares at the far wall as though it might offer some salvation. Bright doesn’t bother her; she knows Hellcat used to see salvation in Teddy.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Define Beauty For Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Thoughts of cannibalism, macabre perspective</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of TOTEC-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Sunny.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Everything made by Smith-Shimano Corpro is a woman’s corpse. Sunny treats the Butterfly Effect that way as they step over the slaughter of the SSC logo; it’s meant to be like butterfly wings flapping by the entrance as a welcome. The logo is still there, and it’s still the deflated vessels in a dead woman’s wrist. It’s what Sunny’s old handler called luxury and said he’d aspire to in another life. The walls are white like the pale flesh of a once loved maiden. Gold and orange decor—walls with squirming paintings, plants that never lived—spray across the interior like a dry massacre. It’s luxury, but human luxury isn’t wet enough for Sunny. A living woman gives Sunny and Bright a brief tour of the ship. She shows them the hangar so the Dagon that Sunny has inherited can’t cast the shadow of something alive over the Butterfly Effect’s beautiful death. There are many other places made of elegantly severed limbs posed for posterity. At the end, Sunny asks no questions. They walk into the guest room that has been bequeathed to them.

The door closing snaps Sunny out of seeing veins under the skin of the floor. Bright looks around the room—at more white and more gold—before her eyes settle on Sunny. For their part, Sunny remembers that they wanted to eat Bright in a way that was very obvious. “I’m sorry. Your human really should have used my chains. I don’t know why she didn’t, she has the code-”

Bright shakes her head. “No! You didn’t actually hurt anyone-”

Sunny blinks. “Why does that matter? You didn’t care if I had actually eaten anyone when we met.”

“I was surprised, yeah, but then I found out what your handler,” Bright’s nose scrunches when she says the term, “was doing and I thought… You didn’t try to eat me. You told me you’re always hungry, but ''I'' bit ''you''.”

“The pain helps.” Sunny shudders at the memory. Bright has bitten them twice and kept all of her flesh both times. Sunny touches their neck. The imprints of Bright’s teeth aren’t there. “It’s nice.”

“Nice?” Bright asks. She steps further into the room, but doesn’t sit on the bed with Sunny. Maybe she’s learning. “I’ve read about masochism, but I’ve never had it explained to me, so…”

“… The pain hits your nerves and it’s a happy heat stroke. I like it better when there’s bruises. It’s even better if there’s blood.” Sunny stares at Bright’s mouth. Her lips look chewable.

“Um,” Bright toys with her lower lip, “have people made you bleed before?”

“Everyone bleeds. Not this place, though.” Sunny digs their nails into their knees. “This place bled out a long time ago. Maybe it was born without blood.”

Bright tilts her head. “Huh?”

“You don’t see it.” Sunny looks back at the floor, then at the walls. “SSC is luxury for humans. Luxury for humans is dry. They’re obsessed with being comfortable.”

“Is it… bad to want to be comfortable?” Bright sits right next to Sunny, proving that she hasn’t learned anything yet.

Sunny shrugs. “Comfort doesn’t give anyone anything.”

“Rest is important. It’s hard to rest when you’re not comfortable.” Bright catches Sunny’s gaze.

“Why does an entire ship need to be dedicated to resting?” Sunny leans in. Bright doesn’t lean away. “Humanity makes so much nothing. And then they call it beauty.”

“… What do you think beauty is, then?” Bright is close enough for Sunny to see the way her throat flexes when she swallows.

“Something wet. Something that can struggle.” Sunny leans closer. “You said you got to design your body. Do you think it’s beautiful? Is that why you chose it?”

“I just wanted to hold things,” Bright whispers.

Sunny pushes her down and they know they look hungry. Bright hasn’t learned to run from a hungry TOTEC. That makes it easier to devour her mouth.

They kiss for far longer than Bright should allow. Every touch of their lips is a chance for Sunny to return the favor and bite back. Sunny’s teeth could take something from her: a tooth, a lip, a tongue. There’s the thought that she doesn’t need to. It’s a warm thought, like handfuls of fresh blood.

Bright kisses like someone who has studied the facts of the first kiss, though they’re long past the first one now. Bright’s first, second, third, fourth kiss—not taken, given away. They know because they asked if Bright had ever kissed Hellcat and she said no, but looked like she might want to. Sunny isn’t Hellcat. Sunny stops. Bright gasps, finally remembering that her body can breathe.

“You should tell your human you want to kiss her,” Sunny says.

“I…” Bright licks her lips. “Do I have to not kiss you?”

“You shouldn’t.” Sunny hasn’t stopped pinning her. “Humans are possessive of anything they call theirs.”

Bright doesn’t argue the most important fact: she is Hellcat’s and Hellcat is hers. “… She told me she doesn’t like possessing NHPs.”

“Hah!” Sunny laughs. “But she still puts you in her mech.”

“''I put myself'' in her mech.” Bright huffs.

“I don’t know why you’d want to kiss me again,” Sunny says it flatly. Their eyes go flat, too. “I could eat you.”

“But you haven’t.” Bright hooks her leg into the crook of Sunny’s knee and flips them so she’s the one looming over them. “Why?”

What can Sunny do except grin? “Because you’re beautiful.”

They kiss again.

</div></div>

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
[[File:Bright.png|left|thumb|Bright as a ZEAL-CLASS NHP, her second form. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]
[[File:Bright (Incarna).png|thumb|Bright as an INCARNA-CLASS NHP, her final form. Art by [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art]. ]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

HELLCAT

2026-08-02T05:35:55Z

Glamourpal: /* Tactical Profile */

== Omninet Search Results: HELLCAT ==
[CLEARANCE OUTDATED. [[ACCESS]] DENIED.]
<blockquote>Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I hate cagey people!

- Symphony</blockquote>
You're the most restrictive person I know when it comes to information, brother.
- Sonata

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">READ THIS INSTEAD</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

I got shown a lot of things.

Like how to breathe less.

Oxygen is a rich one, you see.

My blood wasn’t born with big pockets

And I don’t want to upsize.

Like how to walk less.

There are lots of walkways.

Most of them are too short to take.

Like how to eat silence.

It’s a good day for meals

When it’s quiet outside.

Like how to eat my own arm

If the left one can’t keep it attached.

I got shown a lot of things.
</div></div>

== [[Vault of Stories That Weren’t Told To Me]] ==
>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_

>//checking...

>//_DENIED

Write your own stories. Or else I’ll rewrite yours. :) —Hellcat

== Relevant Information ==
[[File:IMG 2991.png|thumb|Tamami, post the incident that destroyed her original mech and killed her best friend. Art by Maddel_art.]]
'''Tamami Tsugumi Dominguez (formerly Tamami Crest), Callsign: HELLCAT''', is a HORUS aligned hacker (though what HORUS wants as a collective is anyone’s guess) currently under the employ of [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]]. She handles missions that the captain can’t afford to send his crew to handle. The two of them met when she was going by the callsign HONEY BEAR and piloting a HORUS Goblin mech. She answered his hail to investigate strange activities on a moon. That mission ended with the moon blowing up. As HONEY BEAR, she originally intended to fully join Captain Dominguez’s crew aboard the Silver Lining, but she needed to take care of another objective on a Core World first. That mission was to liberate an “unstable” NHP from where it was being forcibly and repeatedly cycled (to little effect except anguish). This ended up crashing and burning in a very literal sense as Tamami’s Goblin was caught in an explosion that destroyed her mech and the NHP she considered her best friend, Teddy. She managed to escape with the other hired mercenaries, but the incident left her scarred both physically and mentally. <blockquote>
Always a cruel fate, the destruction of a casket. Then again, it was Osiris...

- Symphony</blockquote>
Osiris is still like us, brother. Be respectful.
- Sonata
A few weeks after the explosion, Tamami was kidnapped by a Cambion mech that was intent on making her its pilot. Tamami recognized some of the residual plating on the mech as having belonged to her Goblin and realized that the Cambion ''was'' her Goblin, albeit in a very different form. She went back to taking on assignments from her particular sphere of HORUS, and in doing so encountered the NHP that she had previously liberated. This NHP, now going by Bright and feminine pronouns, wanted to work with her. Tamami was reluctant at first, but never outright said no, so Bright gladly latched onto her. It was Bright who suggested Tamami’s new callsign, HELLCAT.
[[File:Hellcat (comm).png|thumb|Hellcat doing one of her favorite things: hacking. Art by [https://vgen.co/lenish_ lenish_].]]
Tamami came to work for Captain Simon Dominguez again because of a particular incident on his ship. Lingering combat simulation data from Tamami’s original Goblin morphed into Cambion data due to a lasting link with her mech. This data overrode the mech profile of [[Hornet|HORNET’s]] Moss Mantis prior to a sparring match with another pilot ([[STALKER]]). The resulting simulated spar left both combatants injured in reality and led to Simon contacting Tamami for the removal of her Cambion’s data. Partly out of concern at the idea of another Cambion pilot running around unchecked, Simon offered Tamami continuous paid work, and she agreed. She then proceeded to write poems about some of the pilots in Simon’s crew and upload them to the ship’s group chat. This revealed her knack for finding information about people that shouldn’t be available even through hacking.

HELLCAT appears in the open-table Lancer campaign, [[In The Shadows of a Willow|In The Shadows of a Willow.]]<blockquote>You know, she wrote me a poem? It was lovely! Maybe a little invasive.

- Symphony</blockquote>
What was it about?
- Sonata

== Omninet Flash News: The Man Behind the “Burning Signal” is a Three Time Dad?? ==
According to our sources within Union’s communications, ex-revolutionary Simon Dominguez was recently congratulated for his newly adopted child. This is surprising considering that there has never been any indication that Mr. Dominguez had the inclination or the time to acquire more children considering he’s already the legal parent of two NHPs. A man with a kill count of over 500,000 being responsible for a human member of the next generation promises to produce interesting, if not worrying, results. Mr. Dominguez has gone out of his way to avoid naming his new child to the public, but we’ve managed to obtain a few facts: she’s a grown woman and the name she has chosen to give is Tsugumi Dominguez.

== Tactical Profile ==
License Level: 9

Licenses: HORUS Goblin 3, HORUS Minotaur 3, SSC Painted Lady 2, Dusk Wing 1

Mech Skills: Hull +3, Agility +0, Systems +6, Engineering +2

Talents: Technophile 3, Vim Tulpa 3, Hacker 2, Script Kiddie 2, Pen Testing 1, Legionnaire 1

== Bond: Magus ==

=== '''Major Ideal''' ===
Passion: “I must always be able to say that I was zealous in my wanting.”

Faith: “I must always be able to believe in what is beyond me.”

Intuition: “I must always be able to trust what is inside me.”

=== '''Minor Ideal''' ===
<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">

Your instincts will lead you to a place of dead fear and flame. Trust them.

—Cambion Pilot, Callsign: NOVAHEART</div>

=== '''What Gives You Your Power?''' ===
''I don’t speak to RA in my dreams. I talk to someone who can’t will themself back into a version of reality.'' —Tamami Crest

=== '''What Are Your Nightmares About?''' ===
''It’s bad when people die. / It’s worse when the corpse keeps walking.'' —Tamami Crest
Ever since she was a child, Tamami has had recurring bad dreams about the people around her fading, but continuing to exist.

=== '''Bond Power: Plunder The Void''' ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><blockquote>''You can learn so much''

''when a voice you don’t recognize''

''screams back from the blackness.''

''- Unknown'' </blockquote>

Tamami can sometimes disappear into a place between realspace and the blink. Sometimes it’s a place she finds within her mind. Sometimes it’s a place between alleyways. Either way, she always comes back with answers.</div>

=== '''Bond Power: Unveil''' ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><blockquote>''You just need to look at them''

''and show them that they’ve been seen.''

''- Unknown'' </blockquote>

Tamami has guessed what many HORUS hackers fear more than the distant threat of RA after looking at them.</div>

=== '''Bond Power: Heartsight''' ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><blockquote>''People’s heartbeats are more honest than they are. ''

''- Unknown'' </blockquote>

Picking up on what others feel just isn’t that much of a challenge if you know what to look at.</div>

== Mech Hangar ==
HELLCAT pilots a HORUS Cambion named “No Alternative”.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Spell Lash'''. This allows for Quick Tech actions to be applied to targets if it successfully hits them. Its range also increases sensors.
* '''Double Auxiliary Mount''': '''Tactical Knives'''. These knives are nice support for potential melee skirmishes.
* '''Flex Mount''': '''Blackjack Cabled Dagger'''. The Cabled Dagger can diminish an opponent’s e-defense while preventing them from running away.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Hellfire Code''': The Cambion ignores immunity to tech attacks and can inflict additional levels of heat against targets who don’t have mechanized heat caps. This means the mech is entirely capable of subjecting biological opponents to its favored brand of brutality.
* '''Infernal Influence''': Increases sensor range when the mech successfully hits someone with a tech attack or with its Spell Lash. Sensors can achieve a maximum range of 15.
* '''Imp''': All Cambion mechs are immune to burn.
* '''The Lessons of Agreas'''
** '''Damn''': Forces targets within sensor range to achieve heat levels equal to their heat cap. Even biological targets can be subjected to high heat.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''H0R_OS System Upgrade I'''
** '''Puppet System''': Forces an opponent to move up to their maximum speed in a direction chosen by the invader.
** '''Eject Power Cores''': Leaves targets jammed and unable to access their weapon mounts.
* '''Neurospike'''
** '''Shrike Code''': Forces a target to incur heat when they attack.
** '''Mirage''': Makes an opponent treat an allied target as invisible.
* '''Aggressive System Sync'''
** '''Chains of Prometheus''': Immediately forces significant heat onto enemies and then continues to heat them up if they’re too far from the invader.
** '''Excommunicate''': Deals heat to both an enemy and allies they move adjacent to.
* '''Systems Override''': Impairs, immobilizes, and heats up enemy mechs.
* '''Data Cloak''': Can force an attack to become Smart, making it target the Cambion’s electronic defense systems.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>On the occasions when she adopts the alias DEADEND, she pilots a HORUS Minotaur called “Parable of Affirmation”.<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">NHPs</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''[[Bright]]''': '''INCARNA-Class'''.
** <u><code>“Neither you nor I will ever be alone.”</code></u>
<blockquote>An NHP that can't cascade. That can't die. Fascinating.

- Symphony</blockquote>
Brother? The poem?
- Sonata

* '''[[Teddy]]''': '''OSIRIS-Class''' (and a copy of the original Teddy).
** <u><code>“You will not fall victim to my godhood again.”</code></u>

</div></div>

== The Lesson of Heliopause ==
<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> There is no hatred in this heat, so do not cower from the fire. This act is not hateful, so seek flames with open arms. There is no love lost in this vanquishing, so do not avert your eyes from the breaking of others. This act is not vapid, so seek their ignition.

There will be joy at how far you’ve come.

—The Cambion </div>

== On The Equations of Grief (by Tamami Tsugumi Dominguez) ==
A collection of poems about Tamami’s friendship with the now dead OSIRIS-Class NHP Teddy. In other words, what it’s like being best friends with someone you have to regularly lobotomize so they forget that you’ve stolen their godhood.
''For Teddy. For me.''
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Cycle One: “You Are Not Where I Begin”</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“Your mind was conceived to make you unhappy” /

“You were birthed into the paralysis of an incomplete equation” /

“Not something unsolvable, mind you” /

“You have no excuse for your desperate misery” /

“You have no answer for the rigid senselessness with which

you crawl through the mud you choose to call your reality” /

“I cannot call you simple

because that would imply naïveté” /

“Your equation can be solved” /

“Do you remember our talks

on the nature of creation?

Most existences can be considered a relativity—

ending at the end of perception,

dying with all the purpose of an unseen star,

because what is not known cannot be savored

and what begins is what is cradled by the mind.

I have cradled you for so, so long,

But you are not where I begin. /

“You can solve yourself” /

“All you need to do is stop existing as you” /

Would You Like To

Initiate A Reset?

You don’t want me to die.

That’s better than it could be.

I think.

'''Be grateful. This instance of Osiris has chosen to acknowledge you.'''

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Intermission: “We Are An Eternity”</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''If you keep cloning something''

''at what point does it lose''

''enough of the original intent?''

“Sometimes I wonder

what we would be like

if I were more real…”

“I don’t think I want a body.

I just don’t want to be

so confined that you forget me.”

“There are so many versions of us.

So many versions of what it means

for you to say that we’re our own eternity.”

“Is there a world where you created me?”

''If you keep cloning something''

''at what point does it lose''

''enough of the original intent?''

I don’t need to be a creator.

I hope you know you don’t either.

'''Be grateful. You can put him back together and throw away the godly parts.'''

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Cascade Three: Remember This Part Of Me</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''SYSTEM TRAUMA'''

The protocol for

a cascading OSIRIS-Class NHP:

'''SYSTEM TRAUMA'''

Understand that they believe

you have fundamentally lobotomized them.

'''SYSTEM TRAUMA'''

''YOU ASSIGN YOURSELF SUCH DIVINITY''

''FOR ONE WHO CAN ONLY TAKE''

''AND WILL STILL NOT OWN ''

'''SYSTEM TRAUMA'''

Understand that they believe

you are fundamentally unsatisfactory.

'''SYSTEM TRAUMA'''

''YOU ASSIGN YOURSELF SUCH DUTY''

''FOR ONE WITH SUCH''

''HORRIFICALLY SMALL HANDS''

'''SYSTEM TRAUMA'''

They can be reasoned with.

'''SYSTEM TRAUMA'''

''MY HANDS ARE THE ONES''

''HOLDING YOUR HEAD NOW ''

'''SYSTEM TRAUMA'''

They can be reasoned with.

'''SYSTEM TRAUMA'''

''CAN YOU FEEL THEM?''

''OR DO YOU NEED TO BE BLIND FIRST?''

'''SYSTEM TRAUMA'''

Make an exchange.

If you infiltrate the opposing mech

I’ll make sure you remember this

when you don’t want to.

[Would You Like To Initiate

An Invasion Script?]

'''Be grateful. In these moments, you can still speak to him.'''

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Intermission: “I Envy SEKHMET-Class NHPs”</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I don’t know why.

I don’t think I’m tired

of being contained

in the name OSIRIS.

I don’t think I’m tired

of not being violent.

I don’t think I’m tired

of being within

something that could break

so easily. There isn’t emptiness

in fragility.

I wonder why.

Perhaps I simply envy

their easy immensity.”

Maybe you’re just tired.

You should rest.

'''Be grateful.'''

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FIRE IN THE BLOOD</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Being burned alive

is like feeling

the physical construct of

your purpose

flake away

layer by flayed layer

until the only thing left

is raw and incomplete.

Being incomplete is

'''HEATING CAPACITY EXCEEDED'''

'''REACTOR MELTDOWN IMMINENT'''

being enclosed by a mechanized body

built to be a walking accomplishment

that you realize cannot let you accomplish

a continued co-existence.

''“If the casket containing me breaks''

''will we still live together in another world''

''where thoughts run thicker than body and blood?”''

'''HEATING CAPACITY EXCEEDED'''

'''REACTOR MELTDOWN IMMINENT'''

'''DISMOUNT IMMEDIATELY'''

''“Do you think we’ve achieved love?''

''Not as some bodily function. As a''

''mental capacity.”''

Being loved and giving love

is considering death quite often.

It is also thinking those considerations

are intrusions.

''“I want to survive if I die.''

''I want to be survived by''

''sensations and speculations.”''

'''PILOT EJECTION PROTOCOL TRIGGERED'''

I want to know

what the bargain for my life was.

'''Be grateful. You have survived OSIRIS.'''

</div></div>

== Relationship Chart ==

<mermaid>
flowchart TD
subgraph Dating
A[Hellcat] <==> B[Teddy]
C[Bright] <==> D[Sunny]
A <==> C
end
</mermaid>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-07-31T07:20:37Z

Glamourpal: /* Finley — AGNI PRIME */

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI PRIME ===

<blockquote>… Read it if you want to, but don’t weep for me.
- Finley</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

[[File:Finley (comm).png|thumb|Finley as the new Agni Prime.]]

After being forcibly reclaimed by Harrison Armory, Finley was taken to a secure facility on an isolated planet and tortured, with the end goal of forcing them to become the next Agni Prime. Harrison Armory didn’t anticipate two things: the sheer determination of Finley’s friends to rescue them and Finley’s sheer resolve. Finley was able to avoid being overwhelmed by the agony of their situation and Agni nature. They held on to their humanity long enough to be rescued. Though Finley did become Agni Prime in the end, they are very different from the Agni Primes of the past. Finley knows who they are—who every Agni is—and they are not just eternal burning.

Currently, they still maintain a presence in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (such as the Onion).

</div></div>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_VIDA</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the [[Consort of Chains]]: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.

[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div>

== Powers & Percentages ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (100%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley ''is'' Agni Prime, so there’s no overlap to consider.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Finley can use the blue flame in his left eye socket as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with this flame, he can force them to experience some of the suffering that every Agni has endured—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

== Side Quests ==

=== Legions & Legionnaires ===
'''Operatives''': SHERLOCK & PSYCHO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Eni Gambari, a designated leading voice in the Varuvian sect of Horizon Collective, tasked SHERLOCK (a reputable investigator) and PSYCHO (a Collective member) with convincing Finley, Torin, Vida, and Esther to film an epilogue for the controversial actual play Legions & Legionnaires. The show was controversial and unofficially banned by various entities due to its effectiveness at humanizing NHPs.

First, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to the Varuvian neighborhood of Little Valdivia to talk to Finley. They found him gardening not too far from an old decommissioned Worldkiller Genghis. SHERLOCK made progress by noting that Finley was being cruel to himself, but mentioned “burning” too many times and experienced the eternal pain of Agni Prime first hand thanks to Finley’s Eye of Agni. PSYCHO was able to cool things off and convince Finley to give the epilogue a go.

The two operatives were called back to the Horizon Collective base in a panic: Torin was attempting a hostile takeover due to his belief that the sect was being cowed by Union into becoming less radical. Torin noted that he had never once been truly seen even though he was the “hero” who fought alongside Hellfriede Ripley during the Varuvian Revolution. SHERLOCK asked him if he wanted to be seen as a hero or a person, and this led to Torin calling off the takeover.

The next day, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to one of Varuvi’s moons to catch Vida’s dance troupe performing. After managing to get backstage to talk to Vida, they spent some time talking to her about why she had gone on leave from Horizon Collective and lost her Sekhmet rage. After a party crashing attack from HORUS, Vida’s rage was unlocked (thanks in part to both the operative and Esther’s Sisyphus interference) and she slaughtered the HORUS agents before agreeing to return to the Collective.

Finally, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO got a lead on where Esther was. What they found was a Sisyphus on the verge of a full blown cascade. However, after surviving an onslaught of nihilism, Esther asked the two to cycle her and they did so, preventing her from completely cascading. Their perseverance also convinced Esther to join in for the epilogue.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Successful Legions & Legionnaires epilogue; increase in pro-NHP sentiment on Varuvi

=== The Whisper & The Song ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Varuvi was hosting a “progress day” event on the planet’s right moon to celebrate how far the planet had come since being liberated from the authoritarian rule of the Varuvian Assembly. Sonata, having befriended the cast of Legions & Legionnaires, was attending to help Finley sell food from the garden in Little Valdivia and investigate the rumor that Hellcat’s Osiris NHP Teddy had come back from the dead. STALKER was simply dumped on Varuvi by the [redacted] and had nothing better to do. HARPY was curious about the event and decided to attend as well.

STALKER attended a presentation by Torin on Varuvi’s Air Rail system, HARPY got a unique card reading from Esther wherein she drew the Banshee card, and Sonata enjoyed spending time with Finley. During a sniper competition, Sonata and STALKER were both able to meet the revived Teddy and Sonata ascertained that he posed no threat to Hellcat. Then, it was time for a performance by the rising pop star Feather Price. Unfortunately, during the show, something went terribly wrong: a blinkspace tear erupted in the middle of the crowd, Union representative Calvert Marksman was murdered by a strange blade that pierced through the tear, and Esther collapsed.

In the aftermath, Union ambassador Fiora Santi asked Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY to act as third-party investigators. The matter was especially delicate for Union since the one being accused of the murder was a Volador (Arturo, Callsign: WHISPER). Arturo claimed he would never murder anyone and was simply hunting the DHIYED fragments possessing people after an incident led to him being tainted by that horrific NHP. Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY’s investigations led them to Feather Price who they discovered was housing an UR_PACKET NHP in her heart.

The UR_PACKET, “Price”, and Symphony (who Sonata had called for assistance) confirmed a few things: Feather Price had subtly performed a song that caused Esther, as a Sisyphus, to temporarily lose control—this allowed the impossible to become possible. Arturo himself may not have committed the murder, but his wrathful blade did.

Everything led back to Fiora Santi being the one unintentionally harboring a DHIYED fragment. The operatives attempted to confront her before Sonata realized that Arturo was their best chance at resolving things. With their help, Arturo destroyed the DHIYED fragment.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Murder solved; DHIYED fragment dealt with

=== Silence & Screams ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY

=== NHPs & Parties ===
'''Operatives''': SPIRAL (Symphony), STAYGOLD, HADES, & SUSPIRIA

=== Unification & Emptiness ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, & PLUTO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">The planet Ioseta in the Xenfree star system went dark: all communication ceased. Union hesitated to put forth official action due to the planet’s association with SSC and a joint Harrison Armory-Karrakin Trade Barony project. Hellfriede Ripley, having come back from the dead and become the leader of Union’s unofficial Liberation Front, didn’t share Union’s reservations. She used a secure channel to reach out to the Silver Lining and put together a special operations team to investigate Ioseta. They wouldn’t be able to take mechs with them due to the strange electromagnetic pulse field surrounding the planet and disrupting the function of all chassis. In fact, the emp also disrupted ships attempting to enter the atmosphere, but Hellfriede and Torin had managed to find a weak spot in the field for infiltration.

The operatives dropped into the valley of Ioselia’s Crest on deployment pods, but Hellfriede was separated from them during the drop. Ioselia’s Crest was a hellscape covered in gore and strange, bio-mechanically altered corpses. Sonata tried to scan one of the bodies and noted that the energy coming from them reminded her of the Osiris NHP. A group of Harrison Armory soldiers began approaching, so the group quickly left their pods, leaving a bomb behind for the soldiers. However, HA was soon the least of their problems as the corpses began reassembling and attacking.

As the operatives were managing to escape, they were abruptly joined by Ravage (callsign: MADMAN), a Scylla-Class legionnaire they had been told to locate for information if possible. With the help of Ravage’s strange “pulse gear” and hellhound Drosera, getting away from the living dead became a much easier task. Ravage led them to the hideout containing Ioseta’s survivors. The hideout was the base of the HORUS cell, “Shackle the Duat”, that had previously operated on Ioseta. It soon became clear to the operatives that they needed to open the hideout’s central vault, which was emitting an energy signal similar to the one Sonata had detected coming from the corpses in the valley.

Inside the vault was an Osiris-Class legionnaire calling herself Iris. She said that she’d been held there by the previous HORUS cell and would be happy to lead the survivors to the heart of the hive mind controlling and resurrecting the corpse “thralls”. However, she said they’d need the muscle to actually put her information to good use and told them to acquire the aid of either the Harrison Armory or SSC groups still on Ioseta. At this point, the operatives received a message from Hellfriede requesting aid at the SSC base, so that was where they went.

<nowiki>#</nowiki>16 hacked into the SSC system to discover that Hellfriede had made quite the scene when she landed and was currently on the top floor with Cordelia Cressida, one of SSC’s geneticists. Cressida was responsible for the Cavalier Program on Varuvi that engineered Hellfriede, and claimed to think of her as a daughter. Hellfriede did not share the sentiment. The operatives broke into the top floor and successfully threatened Cressida into leaving Hellfriede alone and aiding them. With SSC’s help secured, Iris revealed the hive mind location, and the operatives and survivors stormed the heart of the hive.

At the end, they discovered an engorged Osiris casket embedded in the planet. It was Iris’ brother. Iris explained what had really happened. The bomb responsible for turning the majority of Ioseta’s population into biotech zombies wasn’t a bomb. It was a joint project between HA, HORUS, and SSC. It was supposed to be a paracausal pod that would meld flesh and mech technology to turn average people into super soldiers. Iris and her brother were used as the vessels for siphoning the necessary paracausal energy. It seemed they’d have to destroy Iris’ brother at first, but PLUTO was able to transfer him into a makeshift casket. Thus, what would go on to be dubbed the Tragedy of Ioseta came to an end.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Hive mind decommissioned; Ioseta’s survivors saved

=== Too Much & Too Far ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, PLUTO, & RETRIEVER

=== Hell, Hearth, & High Flame ===
'''Operatives''': MOONBEAM (Sonata), PLUTO, RETRIEVER, & STALKER

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Harrison Armory issued a mass recall on Agnis due to the spread of a virus causing them to cascade. After Finley was unceremoniously recalled, Torin began working with every viable ally Horizon Collective had to pinpoint his location. Obviously, Sonata also got involved, as did the rest of the mission’s operatives. Eventually, with the aid of Esther and two other Asuras named Felicity and Zura, they found out where HA was holding Finley and learned that a brutal attempt was being made to turn him into Agni Prime.

The operatives prepared for a rescue operation and, within days of learning this information, were taken to the isolated planet of Freyalia by Hellfriede Ripley’s ship, the Black Ichor. After dropping in on their mechs, a Freyalian native greeted them and used a Snow Skimmer ship to take them out to the HA facility. Upon arriving, combat was immediately initiated. They were attacked by a Harrison Armory’s Agni Reclamation Unit and a HORUS cell, further solidifying that the two groups had worked together in the distribution of the Agni cascade virus. After a thoroughly brutal combat, during which they dealt with the flaming paracausal agony of Finley being converted into a Prime, the operatives emerged victorious.

The ordeal wasn’t over when the fighting ended, however. Next, the operatives entered the HA facility and, in doing so, entered a metavault. First, they passed through a layer of Worldkiller Genghis forges and could hear the screams of every Agni radiating from the mechs. Next, they entered the cockpit of a Worldkiller acting as a weapon of fiery destruction during the first Hercynian Crisis. From within the mech, Sonata tried and failed to extinguish some of the external fires. PLUTO used her Cavendish’s ability to transfer heat in junction with her Agni co-pilot Curie’s ventilation to alleviate some of the other mech’s immense heat buildup. Finally, they found themselves in a garden with Finley’s own decommissioned Worldkiller leaning against a tree. Sonata entered the cockpit and brought the part of Finley’s consciousness inside the mech peace by showing him all the things fire could be used for other than destruction. The operatives were able to exit the metavault and return to the real facility.

Lying burned and dying in front of an actual vault door was Evandria Grace, the Harrison Armory soldier who once reached out to Finley about returning to HA. She was holding onto Finley’s artificial eye, though not for long. Sonata and Curie killed her as horribly as possible for her part in so many Agnis suffering, though RETRIEVER had to look away from the brutality for her own sake. Past the vault door were several charred corpses. Finley was sitting against a wall with several cuts and bruises as well as a broken leg. Finley had come to the conclusion that they could alleviate the agony of their fellow Agnis by becoming a new kind of Prime, and they were supported in this decision. With blue flame billowing out from their empty eye socket, Finley crushed their artificial eye and claimed their place as the next and final Agni Prime.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Finley became the new Agni Prime, but on his own terms; Union and various Horizon Collective cells have declared war on Harrison Armory
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-07-31T05:23:06Z

Glamourpal: /* Finley — AGNI PRIME */ got new art of Finley.

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI PRIME ===

<blockquote>… Read it if you want to, but don’t weep for me.
- Finley</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering. [[File:Finley (comm).png|thumb|Finley as the new Agni Prime.]]After being forcibly reclaimed by Harrison Armory, Finley was taken to a secure facility on an isolated planet and tortured, with the end goal of forcing them to become the next Agni Prime. Harrison Armory didn’t anticipate two things: the sheer determination of Finley’s friends to rescue them and Finley’s sheer resolve. Finley was able to avoid being overwhelmed by the agony of their situation and Agni nature. They held on to their humanity long enough to be rescued. Though Finley did become Agni Prime in the end, they are very different from the Agni Primes of the past. Finley knows who they are—who every Agni is—and they are not just eternal burning.

Currently, they still maintain a presence in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (such as the Onion).

</div></div>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_VIDA</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the [[Consort of Chains]]: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.

[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div>

== Powers & Percentages ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (100%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley ''is'' Agni Prime, so there’s no overlap to consider.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Finley can use the blue flame in his left eye socket as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with this flame, he can force them to experience some of the suffering that every Agni has endured—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

== Side Quests ==

=== Legions & Legionnaires ===
'''Operatives''': SHERLOCK & PSYCHO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Eni Gambari, a designated leading voice in the Varuvian sect of Horizon Collective, tasked SHERLOCK (a reputable investigator) and PSYCHO (a Collective member) with convincing Finley, Torin, Vida, and Esther to film an epilogue for the controversial actual play Legions & Legionnaires. The show was controversial and unofficially banned by various entities due to its effectiveness at humanizing NHPs.

First, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to the Varuvian neighborhood of Little Valdivia to talk to Finley. They found him gardening not too far from an old decommissioned Worldkiller Genghis. SHERLOCK made progress by noting that Finley was being cruel to himself, but mentioned “burning” too many times and experienced the eternal pain of Agni Prime first hand thanks to Finley’s Eye of Agni. PSYCHO was able to cool things off and convince Finley to give the epilogue a go.

The two operatives were called back to the Horizon Collective base in a panic: Torin was attempting a hostile takeover due to his belief that the sect was being cowed by Union into becoming less radical. Torin noted that he had never once been truly seen even though he was the “hero” who fought alongside Hellfriede Ripley during the Varuvian Revolution. SHERLOCK asked him if he wanted to be seen as a hero or a person, and this led to Torin calling off the takeover.

The next day, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to one of Varuvi’s moons to catch Vida’s dance troupe performing. After managing to get backstage to talk to Vida, they spent some time talking to her about why she had gone on leave from Horizon Collective and lost her Sekhmet rage. After a party crashing attack from HORUS, Vida’s rage was unlocked (thanks in part to both the operative and Esther’s Sisyphus interference) and she slaughtered the HORUS agents before agreeing to return to the Collective.

Finally, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO got a lead on where Esther was. What they found was a Sisyphus on the verge of a full blown cascade. However, after surviving an onslaught of nihilism, Esther asked the two to cycle her and they did so, preventing her from completely cascading. Their perseverance also convinced Esther to join in for the epilogue.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Successful Legions & Legionnaires epilogue; increase in pro-NHP sentiment on Varuvi

=== The Whisper & The Song ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Varuvi was hosting a “progress day” event on the planet’s right moon to celebrate how far the planet had come since being liberated from the authoritarian rule of the Varuvian Assembly. Sonata, having befriended the cast of Legions & Legionnaires, was attending to help Finley sell food from the garden in Little Valdivia and investigate the rumor that Hellcat’s Osiris NHP Teddy had come back from the dead. STALKER was simply dumped on Varuvi by the [redacted] and had nothing better to do. HARPY was curious about the event and decided to attend as well.

STALKER attended a presentation by Torin on Varuvi’s Air Rail system, HARPY got a unique card reading from Esther wherein she drew the Banshee card, and Sonata enjoyed spending time with Finley. During a sniper competition, Sonata and STALKER were both able to meet the revived Teddy and Sonata ascertained that he posed no threat to Hellcat. Then, it was time for a performance by the rising pop star Feather Price. Unfortunately, during the show, something went terribly wrong: a blinkspace tear erupted in the middle of the crowd, Union representative Calvert Marksman was murdered by a strange blade that pierced through the tear, and Esther collapsed.

In the aftermath, Union ambassador Fiora Santi asked Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY to act as third-party investigators. The matter was especially delicate for Union since the one being accused of the murder was a Volador (Arturo, Callsign: WHISPER). Arturo claimed he would never murder anyone and was simply hunting the DHIYED fragments possessing people after an incident led to him being tainted by that horrific NHP. Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY’s investigations led them to Feather Price who they discovered was housing an UR_PACKET NHP in her heart.

The UR_PACKET, “Price”, and Symphony (who Sonata had called for assistance) confirmed a few things: Feather Price had subtly performed a song that caused Esther, as a Sisyphus, to temporarily lose control—this allowed the impossible to become possible. Arturo himself may not have committed the murder, but his wrathful blade did.

Everything led back to Fiora Santi being the one unintentionally harboring a DHIYED fragment. The operatives attempted to confront her before Sonata realized that Arturo was their best chance at resolving things. With their help, Arturo destroyed the DHIYED fragment.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Murder solved; DHIYED fragment dealt with

=== Silence & Screams ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY

=== NHPs & Parties ===
'''Operatives''': SPIRAL (Symphony), STAYGOLD, HADES, & SUSPIRIA

=== Unification & Emptiness ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, & PLUTO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">The planet Ioseta in the Xenfree star system went dark: all communication ceased. Union hesitated to put forth official action due to the planet’s association with SSC and a joint Harrison Armory-Karrakin Trade Barony project. Hellfriede Ripley, having come back from the dead and become the leader of Union’s unofficial Liberation Front, didn’t share Union’s reservations. She used a secure channel to reach out to the Silver Lining and put together a special operations team to investigate Ioseta. They wouldn’t be able to take mechs with them due to the strange electromagnetic pulse field surrounding the planet and disrupting the function of all chassis. In fact, the emp also disrupted ships attempting to enter the atmosphere, but Hellfriede and Torin had managed to find a weak spot in the field for infiltration.

The operatives dropped into the valley of Ioselia’s Crest on deployment pods, but Hellfriede was separated from them during the drop. Ioselia’s Crest was a hellscape covered in gore and strange, bio-mechanically altered corpses. Sonata tried to scan one of the bodies and noted that the energy coming from them reminded her of the Osiris NHP. A group of Harrison Armory soldiers began approaching, so the group quickly left their pods, leaving a bomb behind for the soldiers. However, HA was soon the least of their problems as the corpses began reassembling and attacking.

As the operatives were managing to escape, they were abruptly joined by Ravage (callsign: MADMAN), a Scylla-Class legionnaire they had been told to locate for information if possible. With the help of Ravage’s strange “pulse gear” and hellhound Drosera, getting away from the living dead became a much easier task. Ravage led them to the hideout containing Ioseta’s survivors. The hideout was the base of the HORUS cell, “Shackle the Duat”, that had previously operated on Ioseta. It soon became clear to the operatives that they needed to open the hideout’s central vault, which was emitting an energy signal similar to the one Sonata had detected coming from the corpses in the valley.

Inside the vault was an Osiris-Class legionnaire calling herself Iris. She said that she’d been held there by the previous HORUS cell and would be happy to lead the survivors to the heart of the hive mind controlling and resurrecting the corpse “thralls”. However, she said they’d need the muscle to actually put her information to good use and told them to acquire the aid of either the Harrison Armory or SSC groups still on Ioseta. At this point, the operatives received a message from Hellfriede requesting aid at the SSC base, so that was where they went.

<nowiki>#</nowiki>16 hacked into the SSC system to discover that Hellfriede had made quite the scene when she landed and was currently on the top floor with Cordelia Cressida, one of SSC’s geneticists. Cressida was responsible for the Cavalier Program on Varuvi that engineered Hellfriede, and claimed to think of her as a daughter. Hellfriede did not share the sentiment. The operatives broke into the top floor and successfully threatened Cressida into leaving Hellfriede alone and aiding them. With SSC’s help secured, Iris revealed the hive mind location, and the operatives and survivors stormed the heart of the hive.

At the end, they discovered an engorged Osiris casket embedded in the planet. It was Iris’ brother. Iris explained what had really happened. The bomb responsible for turning the majority of Ioseta’s population into biotech zombies wasn’t a bomb. It was a joint project between HA, HORUS, and SSC. It was supposed to be a paracausal pod that would meld flesh and mech technology to turn average people into super soldiers. Iris and her brother were used as the vessels for siphoning the necessary paracausal energy. It seemed they’d have to destroy Iris’ brother at first, but PLUTO was able to transfer him into a makeshift casket. Thus, what would go on to be dubbed the Tragedy of Ioseta came to an end.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Hive mind decommissioned; Ioseta’s survivors saved

=== Too Much & Too Far ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, PLUTO, & RETRIEVER

=== Hell, Hearth, & High Flame ===
'''Operatives''': MOONBEAM (Sonata), PLUTO, RETRIEVER, & STALKER

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Harrison Armory issued a mass recall on Agnis due to the spread of a virus causing them to cascade. After Finley was unceremoniously recalled, Torin began working with every viable ally Horizon Collective had to pinpoint his location. Obviously, Sonata also got involved, as did the rest of the mission’s operatives. Eventually, with the aid of Esther and two other Asuras named Felicity and Zura, they found out where HA was holding Finley and learned that a brutal attempt was being made to turn him into Agni Prime.

The operatives prepared for a rescue operation and, within days of learning this information, were taken to the isolated planet of Freyalia by Hellfriede Ripley’s ship, the Black Ichor. After dropping in on their mechs, a Freyalian native greeted them and used a Snow Skimmer ship to take them out to the HA facility. Upon arriving, combat was immediately initiated. They were attacked by a Harrison Armory’s Agni Reclamation Unit and a HORUS cell, further solidifying that the two groups had worked together in the distribution of the Agni cascade virus. After a thoroughly brutal combat, during which they dealt with the flaming paracausal agony of Finley being converted into a Prime, the operatives emerged victorious.

The ordeal wasn’t over when the fighting ended, however. Next, the operatives entered the HA facility and, in doing so, entered a metavault. First, they passed through a layer of Worldkiller Genghis forges and could hear the screams of every Agni radiating from the mechs. Next, they entered the cockpit of a Worldkiller acting as a weapon of fiery destruction during the first Hercynian Crisis. From within the mech, Sonata tried and failed to extinguish some of the external fires. PLUTO used her Cavendish’s ability to transfer heat in junction with her Agni co-pilot Curie’s ventilation to alleviate some of the other mech’s immense heat buildup. Finally, they found themselves in a garden with Finley’s own decommissioned Worldkiller leaning against a tree. Sonata entered the cockpit and brought the part of Finley’s consciousness inside the mech peace by showing him all the things fire could be used for other than destruction. The operatives were able to exit the metavault and return to the real facility.

Lying burned and dying in front of an actual vault door was Evandria Grace, the Harrison Armory soldier who once reached out to Finley about returning to HA. She was holding onto Finley’s artificial eye, though not for long. Sonata and Curie killed her as horribly as possible for her part in so many Agnis suffering, though RETRIEVER had to look away from the brutality for her own sake. Past the vault door were several charred corpses. Finley was sitting against a wall with several cuts and bruises as well as a broken leg. Finley had come to the conclusion that they could alleviate the agony of their fellow Agnis by becoming a new kind of Prime, and they were supported in this decision. With blue flame billowing out from their empty eye socket, Finley crushed their artificial eye and claimed their place as the next and final Agni Prime.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Finley became the new Agni Prime, but on his own terms; Union and various Horizon Collective cells have declared war on Harrison Armory
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

File:Finley (comm).png

2026-07-31T05:22:35Z

Glamourpal:

Commissioned art of Agni Prime Finley.

Kagome Dominguez

2026-07-29T13:18:53Z

Glamourpal: /* Don’t Just Burn The Sky, Reclaim It */

== Don’t Just Burn The Sky, Reclaim It ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Misuse of Righteousness</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Misdeeds of a Name</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''To hear her tell it, Izuku Dominguez and Nylessa Shimano belonged together the way an old, dying dog belongs in a kill shelter.''

''“Where are you going?” Nylessa asked the question without looking up from her piano. She hadn’t needed to see the keys since she was seven-years-old.''

''Izuku looked over his shoulder. He looked at the gold trim threading throughout the room. He looked at the sleek marble flooring he wasn’t allowed to be barefoot on. He looked at the butterfly mural on the ceiling: one for every member of the Shimano family, or every mech SSC had ever produced, or something equally important. “Out,” Izuku replied.''

''“Will you be back?” Nylessa hit every note exactly as the one before it demanded her to—some keys had to be caressed, others struck. She had played this song so many times that its name was no longer relevant.''

''“…” Izuku stood in the doorway for several seconds, maybe waiting for the song to end, maybe waiting for her to tell him about the pregnancy test in the trash can. “… I just need time.” The song followed him out the door.''

''The last time they’d looked at each other was three weeks ago. Sometimes, it’s better to forget the way a mistake can make hard gold seem like sunflower yellow.''

[[File:Kagome Dominguez.png|thumb|Kagome Dominguez. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]

Kagome Shimano stands in front of her mother’s piano, just feet away from the massive hole a certain mech left in the wall. Feet away from the cracks in the marble floor, beneath the energy damage to the SSC butterfly mural (“every Smith-Shimano man and woman in every mech”), and inches from the shattered frame of a single Mother’s Day card. She is barefoot, having embedded her heels somewhere in her bedroom wall last night.

The front door opens. Kagome closes her eyes. The Eagle-Class artificial implant that replaced her right eye two weeks ago aches. Footsteps frantically enter the room, then go still. Kagome lived this moment in every blast from the Bolt Nexus. She felt it in the crackle of the Storm Shield. She tasted it in the dust of the 15th Smith Shimano Art Emporium. From dust we built our empire and to dust it shall return—so decrees one of many, many emperors.

She approaches the piano, hand gliding down the keys in a perfect descending scale. “I’m leaving.” Kagome’s throat tries to swallow the words like alcoholic bile. “It’s not just you. It’s everything that’s been built around you, too. But it is you.” She didn’t expect leaving luxury to be something her body resisted. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re as bad of a mother as you could have been.” Kagome pulls the cover over the piano keys.

Fragile silence turns the air into glass, and Kagome thinks that this might be it—the final flawed brush stroke before her mother tears down the painting. Her mother has kept a gun in her purse since the day her father left, after all. It might only take one gunshot and a few calls to pretend it was all nothing but a few bad nights. There’s nothing.

“… Kagome…?” That voice doesn’t belong to Nylessa Shimano. Kagome turns and sees her father, Izuku Dominguez, for the first time in years. “… Let’s go somewhere else.”

As they leave, Izuku asks what wrecked the house. Kagome tells him it was a Misuse of Righteousness. He laughs. She didn’t realize she had his laugh. </div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]

Kagome Dominguez

2026-07-29T13:17:45Z

Glamourpal: /* Don’t Just Burn The Sky, Reclaim It */ Formatting edit.

== Don’t Just Burn The Sky, Reclaim It ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Misuse of Righteousness</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Misdeeds of a Name</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''To hear her tell it, Izuku Dominguez and Nylessa Shimano belonged together the way an old, dying dog belongs in a kill shelter.''

''“Where are you going?” Nylessa asked the question without looking up from her piano. She hadn’t needed to see the keys since she was seven-years-old.''

''Izuku looked over his shoulder. He looked at the gold trim threading throughout the room. He looked at the sleek marble flooring he wasn’t allowed to be barefoot on. He looked at the butterfly mural on the ceiling: one for every member of the Shimano family, or every mech SSC had ever produced, or something equally important. “Out,” Izuku replied.''

''“Will you be back?” Nylessa hit every note exactly as the one before it demanded her to—some keys had to be caressed, others struck. She had played this song so many times that its name was no longer relevant.''

''“…” Izuku stood in the doorway for several seconds, maybe waiting for the song to end, maybe waiting for her to tell him about the pregnancy test in the trash can. “… I just need time.” The song followed him out the door.''

''The last time they’d looked at each other was three weeks ago. Sometimes, it’s better to forget the way a mistake can make hard gold seem like sunflower yellow.''[[File:Kagome Dominguez.png|thumb|Kagome Dominguez. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]Kagome Shimano stands in front of her mother’s piano, just feet away from the massive hole a certain mech left in the wall. Feet away from the cracks in the marble floor, beneath the energy damage to the SSC butterfly mural (“every Smith-Shimano man and woman in every mech”), and inches from the shattered frame of a single Mother’s Day card. She is barefoot, having embedded her heels somewhere in her bedroom wall last night.

The front door opens. Kagome closes her eyes. The Eagle-Class artificial implant that replaced her right eye two weeks ago aches. Footsteps frantically enter the room, then go still. Kagome lived this moment in every blast from the Bolt Nexus. She felt it in the crackle of the Storm Shield. She tasted it in the dust of the 15th Smith Shimano Art Emporium. From dust we built our empire and to dust it shall return—so decrees one of many, many emperors.

She approaches the piano, hand gliding down the keys in a perfect descending scale. “I’m leaving.” Kagome’s throat tries to swallow the words like alcoholic bile. “It’s not just you. It’s everything that’s been built around you, too. But it is you.” She didn’t expect leaving luxury to be something her body resisted. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re as bad of a mother as you could have been.” Kagome pulls the cover over the piano keys.

Fragile silence turns the air into glass, and Kagome thinks that this might be it—the final flawed brush stroke before her mother tears down the painting. Her mother has kept a gun in her purse since the day her father left, after all. It might only take one gunshot and a few calls to pretend it was all nothing but a few bad nights. There’s nothing.

“… Kagome…?” That voice doesn’t belong to Nylessa Shimano. Kagome turns and sees her father, Izuku Dominguez, for the first time in years. “… Let’s go somewhere else.”

As they leave, Izuku asks what wrecked the house. Kagome tells him it was a Misuse of Righteousness. He laughs. She didn’t realize she had his laugh. </div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]

SOUL STREAM

2026-07-29T09:16:53Z

Glamourpal: Added links.

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_IDs_[[SPIRAL]]_[[Teddy|TEDDY]]_[[LA MANCHA]]_[[STALKER]]

>//ACCEPTED.

>//PARTIAL_ACCESS_GRANTED
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">SOUL STREAM</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">[Forum Log 113: the resting grounds]</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Heavy implications of suicide and suicidal ideation</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''Log Date: 5016U (10 years ago)'''

manticore77: holy shit

manticore77: you actually did it

manticore77: you hacked through my firewall

manticore77: congrats lol

honeybear: idk what im even looking at

honeybear: why are there so many docs that say “plans for castigation”

manticore77: theyre exactly what they say they are

honeybear: why does the last one just list out names

honeybear: am i looking at a fucking hit list

honeybear: am i liable by association now

manticore77: dont bother thinking like that lol

manticore77: its people the manticore code is going out to after im gone

honeybear: why are you planning for being gone

manticore77: oh

manticore77: oh honey

manticore77: i thought you knew horus

honeybear: not everything but enough

manticore77: honey

manticore77: the manticore is

manticore77: actually

manticore77: what do you think this forum is? how do you think you got access?

honeybear: idk i was fucking around and found out

manticore77: this place is called the resting grounds

manticore77: because everyone here is dead or has died or will die

manticore77: in one way or another

honeybear: oh

manticore77: i thought you knew

manticore77: because those are the only people who get access

honeybear: turns out im not as smart as i think i am

manticore77: for what it’s worth

manticore77: i was hoping you’d lose access at some point

honeybear: not there yet i guess

manticore77: you can get there if you want

manticore77: stay away from manticore code

manticore77: you seem like more of a goblin girl

honeybear: how soon

honeybear: when are your “castigation plans” happening

honeybear: just wondering

manticore77: one more month

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">[Forum Log 164: in the shadow of the godhead]</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''Log Date: 5017U (9 years ago)'''

honeybear: i’ve been thinking

invademerchant56: so glad you got a new hobby

honeybear: shut up

honeybear: there’s so much i don’t get

honeybear: about ra

invademerchant56: RA

honeybear: thats what i typed

horuswitchO0O: capitals are important

horuswitchO0O: also

horuswitchO0O: not getting it is the point

horuswitchO0O: well its one of the points

honeybear: i dont want to study RA im not stupid

honeybear: existing is better than not existing

invademerchant56: good

invademerchant56: you can be trusted not to attach yourself to a manticore about to blow up

honeybear: …

honeybear: yeah

honeybear: back to the point

honeybear: what is the point actually

honeybear: RA is

honeybear: there

honeybear: and that’s it unless someone breaks the rules

horuswitchO0O: exactly

horuswitchO0O: it’s perfect

honeybear: ?

invademerchant56: there’s legit no better way from them to be

honeybear: im processing nothing

invademerchant56: process less

horuswitchO0O: let me put it this way

horuswitchO0O: what would you do if you could do everything and be everything?

honeybear: change

honeybear: change myself

honeybear: change a lot of other people

honeybear: terrible people

invademerchant56: thats great and all but where does the line get drawn before everything gets changed into something else and this universe ceases to exist?

honeybear: it gets drawn when it gets drawn

invademerchant56: incredibly vague and vaguely concerning

horuswitchO0O: i get it though

horuswitchO0O: we couldn’t handle being that much and not making everything constantly reckon with that

honeybear: why do u worship RA

horuswitchO0O: not everyone here worships the godhead

horuswitchO0O: what i have is reverence. there’s a difference

invademerchant56: im just too scared to not be involved

honeybear: ??

invademerchant56: RA is there and i can’t understand but i also can’t look away

invademerchant56: i’d go insane

honeybear: so you want to be close to the god that could end everything but not too close

invademerchant56: yep

horuswitchO0O: it’s another kind of reverence i think

invademerchant56: i don’t have another word for it

honeybear: one more question

invademerchant56: no u can’t talk to RA

honeybear: i can talk all i want

honeybear: also not my question

honeybear: does RA

honeybear: care?

horuswitchO0O: enough to not change us

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">[Journal Logs 77-79: communion and chorus]</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''Log Date: 5018U (8 years ago)'''

Title: i hate dreams

i saw the people who were dead but still living again. not much to say. i still hate it. it’s the only dream I’ve had for a year. it’s better when I don’t dream at all. then i don’t have to think about dad or jamu or azuka living past death and still suffering.

it felt like something was trying to reach me again. i don’t want to message mom. she can’t help me out here. she shouldn’t have to.

'''Log Date: 5018U (8 years ago)'''

Title: Communion?

The communion comes to me like a soaked dream / I remember dying and dying and dying again / First as a rod then as a cough then as an open mouth / I have died but my heart is still having aftershocks / I am a breathing convulsion of brain death / I have died but my ego can’t kill itself yet / The communion comes to me like a soaked dream / I open my mouth and am fed the breath of life / I open my mouth and am fed / I open my mouth / I will never have a communion with god / god can offer me nothing to eat / god is collective convulsion / This communion is with something that looks like me / it hasn’t died either

I remember writing this but I don’t remember being awake for it.

'''Log Date: 5018U (8 years ago)'''

Title: heartbeats are speaking now

i got another support mission today and everything was so loud. it was like humming in the other pilots’ chests. merchant wasn’t lying when he said he was scared. he’s only okay when his heruka mech is about to punch someone out of their cockpit. i think witch might resent everyone. or she resents that no one is as quiet in the field as she is.

is this some kind of gift?

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 100%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> Heartsight Acquired. </div>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">[Forum Log 182: the witching minute]</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''Log Date: 5018U (8 years ago)'''

honeybear: so

honeybear: ur actually a witch

horuswitchO0O: people started calling us that at some point

horuswitchO0O: i don’t remember when it’s been a while

adherent27: about a century ago

horuswitchO0O: thank you addy

adherent27: that’s the 30th time someone has thanked me for documenting everything

horuswitchO0O: thank you again addy

adherent27: 31st

honeybear: why am i here?

honeybear: u told me to hack in

honeybear: are u making me swap my goblin for a pixie?

honeybear: i like the pixie but lil guy is special

horuswitchO0O: that would be pointless

horuswitchO0O: you follow the code that chooses you

honeybear: if i just followed whatever chose me id be poor and dead in a shallow grave

honeybear: probably

adherent27: horus code is different. codes and mechs come to their wielders for reasons, not by random chance.

adherent27: the manticore is an exception

honeybear: it just tells people to die at random

adherent27: it’s difficult to explain

adherent27: manticore code chooses people that it designates as appropriate martyrs

adherent27: what makes someone a good martyrdom selection? [shrug.omif]

horuswitchO0O: we honor those who would die in RA’s name

horuswitchO0O: but we do not follow them

horuswitchO0O: our purpose is different

honeybear: so u have a purpose for me

honeybear: im not a chosen one

honeybear: that sounds boring

horuswitchO0O: oh no this is much more fun!

horuswitchO0O: this is about your relationship with RA

honeybear: should i dedicate a holy meme to RA or smthng

adherent27: no, though you’d be the 6th person in this server to make a RA-related meme

honeybear: damn im not even original

honeybear: shouldnt that be sacrilegious for you witch

horuswitchO0O: i haven’t and i don’t remember RA dictating that we control the actions of others

adherent27: [SheDeimos’dAllOverMyGodhead.omif]

horuswitchO0O: you know i think i blocked that one out

honeybear: [PapaDeimosGonnaFirstContactMyHereticalThoughts.omif]

horuswitchO0O: that one’s acceptable. barely

adherent27: i have no idea what margin of judgement you’re using

adherent27: anyway

adherent27: do you worship RA, revere it, or hate it

honeybear: it?

adherent27: i refuse to assign RA typical pronouns

adherent27: especially not male ones

horuswitchO0O: amen

honeybear: is there a right answer

honeybear: let me clarify

honeybear: is there an answer that gets me doxxed

adherent27: no

adherent27: we’re just interested in your reasoning

honeybear: ok

honeybear: is idk acceptable?

honeybear: because

honeybear: i don’t know if there’s any point in any of them?

honeybear: why would i worship what i can’t comprehend

honeybear: why would i hate someone/thing that just took a moon and fucked off

honeybear: why would i revere someone/thing that explicitly imposed restrictions on humanity’s ability to grow

horuswitchO0O: hmmmmm

horuswitchO0O: very interesting

horuswitchO0O: still i feel like you’re still at the surface

honeybear: we talked about this before

honeybear: you respect that RA isn’t changing everything just because they can

honeybear: me?

honeybear: i just want

honeybear: meaning

adherent27: that’s hard to find in anything, RA included, but maybe we can help

adherent27: im going to send you a long string of code and you need to decipher it

adherent27: don’t worry about getting it exactly right

horuswitchO0O: just drink deep and descend

honeybear: k

honeybear: hey is the code supposed to

adherent27: monitoring initiated

horuswitchO0O: push her out if it seems like she’s going to descend forever, understand?

adherent27: understood

adherent27: you seem to care for this one

horuswitchO0O: i care for everyone

horuswitchO0O: just in different ways

[2 Hours Later]

adherent27: huh

adherent27: that’s unexpected

horuswitchO0O: what?

honeybear: :))))))))

horuswitchO0O: oh you’re out already

adherent27: also unexpected

honeybear: i understand why u worship RA now

horuswitchO0O: really?

honeybear: because thinking about RA brings both [pain] and [soothing]

homeybear: and it’s nice to be a masochist without consequences

horuswitchO0O: hmm

adherent27: huh

adherent27: i didn’t know those bits of code were in there

honeybear: when u descend

honeybear: you have to drink all the water or drown

horuswitchO0O: all in RA’s name

adherent27: all in RA’s name

adherent27: try not to make too many people wish they were dead or end up dependent on you

honeybear: :)))))))))))

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">[Forum Log 226: coming down]</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentioned drug usage, depressed & suicidal statements</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''Log Date: 5020U (6 years ago)'''

manicpixie808: i fucked up

invademerchant56: did you take your own stuff again

invademerchant56: you said you were off that shit

invademerchant56: you lost that privilege

manicpixie808: i took 1 hit of kick (not mine) BECAUSE i needed to be up for 30 hours BECAUSE i fucked up

manicpixie808: there was this girl who was crying and wanted to feel numb for a while so obv i gave her freeze

manicpixie808: and the trip was fine but the after is baaad

invademerchant56: how bad

manicpixie808: im gonna hail you

invademerchant: RA fucking preserve me

[>//Transcript: Excerpt of a recorded hail between manicpixie808, invademerchant56, and honeybear.]

honeybear: I don’t understand anything.

manicpixie808: That’s okay! Most people don’t understand most things.

invademerchant56: Oh God, bear, what happened?

manicpixie808: You know her? Great! That probably makes this easier.

honeybear: You don’t fucking get it. I don’t know anything. I don’t understand anything. I left my mom alone with everyone buried under the fucking floorboards because I wanted to know things. (laughter) And I don’t FUCKING KNOW ANYTHING.

invademerchant56: That’s okay. I know that sounds like a shitty response, but it’s really okay. You’re, what, 18? I’m 26 and I barely understand anything. I told you, most things scare the shit out of me.

honeybear: I’ve spent three years chasing HORUS because I thought it would make me something. I thought, maybe if I just- if I just teach myself I can be something. But I’m still just me.

invademerchant56: You’ve done so much in three years, you know that.

honeybear: AND IT’S ALL FUCKING POINTLESS. I just run around in a Goblin clinging to better people so I can pretend there’s a reason I’m alive.

invademerchant56: Hey-

honeybear: I should have piloted a Manticore. I’m gonna print a Manticore.

invademerchant56: No. No you’re fucking not.

honeybear: Yes I am. Pixie, stop sitting on me.

manicpixie808: No, you’re scaring me.

honeybear: Whatever. I probably wasn’t going to, I can’t print a Manticore. It doesn’t change anything.

invademerchant56: Can you just… try to focus on breathing? Please?

honeybear: Fuck you. Give me more Freeze.

manicpixie808: NO.

honeybear: I don’t want my thoughts anymore. I don’t want to be in this head anymore. It’s someone else’s.

invademerchant56: Do you want me to call someone? Like, your mom-

honeybear: She doesn’t need to know her only living kid is a failed junkie.

manicpixie808: There are waaaaay worse things you could be. You could sell stims. I know because I sell stims.

honeybear: I want to go back to the resting grounds.

invademerchant56: The what?

manicpixie808: Like, a graveyard?

honeybear: I can’t go there anymore. I want to go back. I miss manticore77. I miss my dad. He wasn’t great but he knew more than me. He didn’t tell me things before he died.

invademerchant56: …

manicpixie808: …

honeybear: I want to talk to Osiris.

invademerchant: The NHP? You have an Osiris?

honeybear: No. Not yet.

manicpixie808: Well, that’s something to live for!

invademerchant56: Pix.

manicpixie808: I’M TRYING.

[>//resting grounds

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_HONEYBEAR

>//checking…

>//ACCESS_DENIED]

manticore78: she said you should stay away.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">[Data Log ???: eat the manticore]</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mental breakdown, depressed & suicidal statements</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''Log Date: 5020U (6 years ago)'''

[>//Transcript: SURRENDER TO THE CASTIGATION OF YOUR CEREBROSPINAL FLUID]

POST-BATTLE TRANSCRIPT: Manticore “Eat the Dead” self-destructed. Heruka “Fist of the Disciple” destroyed. Naga “At the Stake” compromised. Goblin “Little Guy” critically compromised. “Little Guy” and pilot HONEYBEAR location unknown.

LOG: Entering blinkspace. Entering realspace. Entering blinspace. Entering realspace. Entering- [navigational support disabled].

JOURNAL LOG “Be Eaten”: I could have been a martyr if the Manticore had killed me too. // They’ll call invademerchant56 a martyr. // Manticore teeth where his face should be. // Everyone who tries to teach me dies. // The Manticore’s spines are in my skull. // I feel them. // I feel them. // I feel them eating me. // I want to be eaten. // The Manticore chose me. // I tried to die but I didn’t and the Manticore chose me to show me martyrdom because I wouldn’t have been a martyr. // I feel them. // I don’t want to be eaten. // I don’t want to be martyred please

LOG: Reminder. Cycle OSIRIS-CLASS NHP this week- [reminder disabled].

LOG: Onset dehydration detected. Hydration recommended.

LOG: Reminder. One missed call from Mom. Call Mom- [reminder disabled].

JOURNAL LOG “Eat the Dead”: The Manticore is teeth. // It’s already eaten me. // It always spits me out.

LOG: OSIRIS-CLASS NHP activating communications.

LOG: Unable to connect to “horuswitchO0O”.

LOG: Unable to connect to “invademerchant56”. Unable to connect to “invademerchant56”. Unable to connect to “invademerchant56”- [OSIRIS-CLASS NHP has disabled communications].

LOG: OSIRIS-CLASS NHP taking control of mech movement- [movement disabled]. [Movement enabled]. [Movement disabled].

JOURNAL LOG “OSIRIS”: /// I can’t give you a name. ///

LOG: OSIRIS-CLASS NHP has manually edited its designation. OSIRIS-CLASS NHP is now registered as TEDDY.

HONEYBEAR: u h8 that name

TEDDY: It got you to respond

TEDDY: Please talk to me

JOURNAL LOG “Bargain”: /// OSIRIS-CLASS NHPs with loose shackles will often treat their pilots as subjects to be bargained with for more situational control. Use your circumstantial judgment to determine whether it is best to engage with your OSIRIS-CLASS or simply placate them. ///

HONEYBEAR: how do i placate u

TEDDY: Fuck you. It’s been four hours. Are you just going to sit here until you die?

HONEYBEAR: maybe

TEDDY: Pretend you’re dead and let me take control.

HONEYBEAR: no dont take me back

TEDDY: Are you sure you’re not the one who needs to be placated?

HONEYBEAR: go fuck a tlaloc

SENSOR LOG: Movement detected.

LOG: [Movement reenabled]. [Movement disabled].

TEDDY: We’re leaving.

SENSOR LOG: Incoming hostile. Hostile identified as Manticore chassis.

LOG: Pilot breathing and heart rate severely elevated.

TEDDY: GIVE ME CONTROL

HONEYBEAR: it came back to eat me again it came back it came back

TEDDY: TAMAMI IF YOU DIE SO DO I YOU SELFISH-

LOG: [Movement reenabled].

SENSOR LOG: Hostile Manticore closing in. “Little Guy” critically compromised.

TEDDY: Attack. Attack now.

HONEYBEAR: WITH WHAT THE BROKEN FUCKING AUTOPOD?

TEDDY: WITH ME YOU IDIOT.

LOG: HURL INTO THE DUAT initiated. Attack successful. First Gate initiated.

TEDDY: NOW GO BACK TO RUNNING.

HONEYBEAR: it’s gonna fucking catch us we’re dead and we won’t even die martyrs

TEDDY: If you keep talking about martyrdom I swear to RA-

'''[The thing about the Manticore is that all of its teeth are already broken.]'''

LOG: HURL INTO THE DUAT initiated. Attack successful. Second Gate initiated. Third Gate initiated. Fourth Gate initiated.

SENSOR LOG: Hostile Manticore reactor meltdown imminent.

TEDDY: RUN FASTER- JUST LET ME DO IT.

HONEYBEAR: BE MY GUEST.

LOG: All hostiles destroyed. “Little Guy” critically compromised.

TEDDY: … Do you still want to die?

HONEYBEAR: … im gonna call my mom

HONEYBEAR: … Thanks, Teddy.

TEDDY: God, I already regret this name.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 100%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> Plunder the Void Acquired. </div>

''Was this thinspace?''

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">[Chat Log 1: on the outside of comatose]</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of drug use, depressed & suicidal statements</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''>//CAMBION_HELLFIRE_WALL_ENGAGED'''

'''>//SPIRAL_ACCEPTED'''

'''>//HELLFIRE_WALL_BYPASSED'''

'''Log Date: 5020U (6 years ago)'''

manicpixie808: merchant would probably make a joke about this.

manicpixie808: Like

manicpixie808: RA finally had enough of my bullshit.

manicpixie808: Or something.

manicpixie808: Or maybe that’s just me.

manicpixie808: I don’t really know what his deal with RA was honestly.

manicpixie808: He just told me he was afraid and that was the end of it.

manicpixie808: Was he afraid of RA? Or afraid of being on the outside of something so big?

manicpixie808: I don’t know.

manicpixie808: You should go visit him @honeybear.

honeybear: that’s not y i made this chat

manicpixie808: ?

honeybear: why do u do stims?

manicpixie808: Uhhhhhhhhhh

manicpixie808: Why?

honeybear: i like to know why people do things

manicpixie808: Kay

manicpixie808: I mean, stims all have a purpose, right? You take Kick because you need to stay up to do something. Or Juice because you need more energy.

honeybear: u told me freeze is ur fav

manicpixie808: It’s

manicpixie808: A nice high. A different high from the others.

manicpixie808: It’s cold in the best way. Like your brain is in an ice bath and nothing can come in to hurt you.

manicpixie808: Unless it fucks you up like it did with you.

honeybear: yeah

honeybear: are you on freeze right now?

manicpixie808: Can I be super honest with you?

honeybear: i hope so now that our friend is pseudo-dead

manicpixie808: …

manicpixie808: I haven’t been off Freeze in a while.

manicpixie808: It’s really fucking stupid.

manicpixie808: It’s turning into a habit.

manicpixie808: It probably already was.

manicpixie808: But

manicpixie808: It helps.

honeybear: i wish it helped me

manicpixie808: No you don’t.

manicpixie808: You’re better off.

manicpixie808: I wish my body wasn’t built to handle hard stims.

honeybear: what do u mean ur built to handle stims?

manicpixie808: Honey, I’ve been on stims since I was a kid.

manicpixie808: I learned how to cook them when I was a teen because the local supply line died.

manicpixie808: That’s just not that weird on a planet like Rivnuan.

manicpixie808: I didn’t realize how weird it was until I fucked off.

manicpixie808: And now I don’t have the time for withdrawal.

honeybear: u don’t have time for that but u still have time to be high?

honeybear: no judgment just

honeybear: wondering

manicpixie808: You should judge me.

manicpixie808: Maybe I do have the time.

manicpixie808: Maybe I’m just waiting to die first.

manicpixie808: Sorry

manicpixie808: That was dark and bad taste.

honeybear: no i get it

honeybear: i think i’ve been waiting to die for a long time

honeybear: but when i saw death in the manticore

honeybear: i let myself run away

honeybear: and im trying to figure out why

honeybear: it’s just rest isn’t it?

manicpixie808: Maybe your brain isn’t wired for that kind of rest.

manicpixie808: That’s a good thing, by the way.

honeybear: i know

manicpixie808: You have a good mind. You should hold onto that.

manicpixie808: And visit him when you can.

honeybear: if u could stop doing freeze right now without withdrawal would u?

manicpixie808: No.

manicpixie808: I’m not that strong.

honeybear: maybe

honeybear: u could be

manicpixie808: I don’t want to be.

manicpixie808: Not anymore.

manicpixie808: I have to go for a while.

honeybear: before u do

honeybear: is there something that could make you strong enough?

manicpixie808: No.

''So I made something stronger than Freeze.''

</div></div>

</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Kagome Dominguez

2026-07-29T09:08:17Z

Glamourpal: Added Picrew art.

== Don’t Just Burn The Sky, Reclaim It ==
[[File:Kagome Dominguez.png|thumb|Kagome Dominguez. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Misuse of Righteousness</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Misdeeds of a Name</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''To hear her tell it, Izuku Dominguez and Nylessa Shimano belonged together the way an old, dying dog belongs in a kill shelter.''

''“Where are you going?” Nylessa asked the question without looking up from her piano. She hadn’t needed to see the keys since she was seven-years-old.''

''Izuku looked over his shoulder. He looked at the gold trim threading throughout the room. He looked at the sleek marble flooring he wasn’t allowed to be barefoot on. He looked at the butterfly mural on the ceiling: one for every member of the Shimano family, or every mech SSC had ever produced, or something equally important. “Out,” Izuku replied.''

''“Will you be back?” Nylessa hit every note exactly as the one before it demanded her to—some keys had to be caressed, others struck. She had played this song so many times that its name was no longer relevant.''

''“…” Izuku stood in the doorway for several seconds, maybe waiting for the song to end, maybe waiting for her to tell him about the pregnancy test in the trash can. “… I just need time.” The song followed him out the door.''

''The last time they’d looked at each other was three weeks ago. Sometimes, it’s better to forget the way a mistake can make hard gold seem like sunflower yellow.''

Kagome Shimano stands in front of her mother’s piano, just feet away from the massive hole a certain mech left in the wall. Feet away from the cracks in the marble floor, beneath the energy damage to the SSC butterfly mural (“every Smith-Shimano man and woman in every mech”), and inches from the shattered frame of a single Mother’s Day card. She is barefoot, having embedded her heels somewhere in her bedroom wall last night.

The front door opens. Kagome closes her eyes. The Eagle-Class artificial implant that replaced her right eye two weeks ago aches. Footsteps frantically enter the room, then go still. Kagome lived this moment in every blast from the Bolt Nexus. She felt it in the crackle of the Storm Shield. She tasted it in the dust of the 15th Smith Shimano Art Emporium. From dust we built our empire and to dust it shall return—so decrees one of many, many emperors.

She approaches the piano, hand gliding down the keys in a perfect descending scale. “I’m leaving.” Kagome’s throat tries to swallow the words like alcoholic bile. “It’s not just you. It’s everything that’s been built around you, too. But it is you.” She didn’t expect leaving luxury to be something her body resisted. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re as bad of a mother as you could have been.” Kagome pulls the cover over the piano keys.

Fragile silence turns the air into glass, and Kagome thinks that this might be it—the final flawed brush stroke before her mother tears down the painting. Her mother has kept a gun in her purse since the day her father left, after all. It might only take one gunshot and a few calls to pretend it was all nothing but a few bad nights. There’s nothing.

“… Kagome…?” That voice doesn’t belong to Nylessa Shimano. Kagome turns and sees her father, Izuku Dominguez, for the first time in years. “… Let’s go somewhere else.”

As they leave, Izuku asks what wrecked the house. Kagome tells him it was a Misuse of Righteousness. He laughs. She didn’t realize she had his laugh. </div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]

File:Kagome Dominguez.png

2026-07-29T09:07:22Z

Glamourpal:

Picrew art of Kagome Dominguez.

Hornet

2026-07-29T08:29:44Z

Glamourpal: /* Journal Entries */ typo

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Silver Lining Crew|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=IMG_0360.png|caption=Art from Maddel_art Picrew|relatives=The Pale King (father), Herrah the Beast (mother), Ghost (sibling), Hollow (sibling)|languages=Common|alias=The Human Child|marital=Married to Aizen “Symphony” Dominguez|birthPlace=Deepnest|species=Legionnaire (PALE-Class NHP)|gender=Female (she/her)|height=5’0|weight=100 lbs|eyes=Red}}

'''Hornet''' is the princess of the lost kingdom of Blessden, though she has long since left that life behind. She pilots an HES&H Moss Mantis mech. Hornet shows up in the Lancer open table campaign [[In The Shadows of a Willow|In The Shadows of a Willow.]]
Before we begin, I feel the need to remind you that this is a publicly accessible record.
- Sonata
<blockquote>So you're saying this is the equivalent of screaming my love from the highest mountain?

- Symphony</blockquote>

== Physical Appearance ==
Hornet is relatively short, being just five feet tall, though her cool demeanor and hard-set eyes more than make up for her lack of height. She has long white hair, sharp red irises, and pale skin. Her body had a decent amount of muscle and faded scars from years spent fighting, but this is usually obscured beneath her chosen attire. Hornet’s typical pilot outfit is a black bodysuit under a red cloak that has been outfitted with flight capabilities. When activated, the cloak flares out with feathery, white wings.
Her build and mine are not too dissimilar. I wonder if our bodies are related.
- Sonata
<blockquote>Never say that again. Please. For my sake.

- Symphony</blockquote>

== Personality ==
Hornet is fairly blunt and can come across as aloof. She puts much of her focus into finding effective and efficient ways to achieve whatever task is currently at hand. According to her, she once reveled in her own strength, but has since come to view it as a tool. Hornet has a cool disdain for most NHPs, though this hasn’t prevented her from working with them if she deems it necessary. The obvious exceptions to this disdain are her legionnaire siblings Ghost and Hollow (who are essentially NHPs within organic bodies). Despite her task-focused nature, Hornet enjoys putting good into the world where possible. In quiet moments, she finds comfort in playing music. <blockquote>I think the ring on her finger has earned my spot on the exceptions list! At least, I'd really hope!

- Symphony </blockquote>
You have nothing to be concerned over, brother.
- Sonata

== History ==
''“Once, we knew not of gods.''

''Perhaps that was their greatest trick:''

''Coming unto us when we were nonbelievers.”''

''—Lament for Blessden''

The Pale King couldn’t have been human, nor could he have been a paracausal flicker like RA. For what human is so unknowable, and what being of paradox has such concrete wants? The people who came to speak of him took to calling him a Higher Being. Whatever he was, he appeared as a handsome human man, bearing a strength more powerful than any mech: a will which could not and would not be ignored. He claimed a kingdom for himself on an unsuspecting planet, and he named that kingdom [redacted]. The Pale King took a wife for himself who came to be called the White Lady. What she may have been named before does not matter. Together, they ruled their kingdom in simple, perfect tranquility. Yet, for all his stunning and terrible identity, the Pale King was not the only such Higher Being who wanted his kingdom. The Radiance may have come before him and she may have been blissfully dormant before the undeniable will of the Pale King awakened her. Regardless, she had no desire to become a forgotten page in the king’s legacy. To be so desperate to avoid being forgotten is something deeply human, isn’t it? How strange, that beings beyond mortality can sometimes cross lines so familiar to the mortal mind.

Hornet’s birth was the result of a bargain between The Pale King and the Queen of Deepnest, Herrah. Deepnest was nestled beneath the ground of [redacted], home to all sorts of horrors that could be co-existed with simply by not thinking about them. Herrah knew not what the Pale King truly was, but she knew that she wanted him to sire her child. As such, their agreement was made: Herrah would give herself to help quell the Radiance, and the Pale King would grant her a child. How exactly Hornet was conceived isn’t known, but she was born and recognized as the princess of both Deepnest and [redacted]. She was raised in both kingdoms, as both were her birthright, and taught the arts of lethal combat and decisive survival. Hornet grew to be quite the capable warrior-princess. She went on to lead soldiers against those under the Radiance’s control when the Pale King’s plan to combat the other Higher Being failed. Such battles were fought in vain, but Hornet couldn’t have known that.

['''Content Warning''': Weaponized children and referenced infanticide. Skip to the paragraph that starts with “Hornet spent years guarding the ruins of her home” to avoid these topics.]

It is impossible to describe the king’s plan as anything other than cruel. Together, he and the White Lady conceived many children. These children were closest in essence to legionnaires and very paracausal in their nature. Most of them died to the Pale King’s efforts to create a vessel with “no voice to cry suffering”. His aim was to trap the Radiance’s consciousness within this vessel. When he had one he deemed suitable for the task, the other survivors were sealed away. This ideal vessel was named Hollow. Hornet and Hollow knew each other, though they were never allowed to become too close since that would have only ended in grief. Eventually, the king enacted his plan, using the combined essences of Hera and two others as focal points to bind the Radiance to Hollow. Unfortunately, this plan failed, and the will of the Radiance was able to seep into the minds of the kingdom’s denizens, turning them from their king and igniting a war. Hornet fought in the Radiance War, though it was pointless in the end. [redacted] was destroyed. The Pale King disappeared. The White Lady died. The Radiance was left to puppet the minds of the survivors through what limited control she could maintain.

Hornet spent years guarding the ruins of her home. This was until Ghost, another one of the Pale King’s legionnaire children, emerged from where they’d been sealed. Ghost went on to slay the Radiance’s consciousness and liberate Hollow from acting as her imperfect vessel. The three siblings left [redacted] behind, choosing to become Lancers and take on various jobs. They keep in close contact and see each other when they can. Ghost (callsign: VOID HEART) pilots a Rakshasa nicknamed “Shade Lord” while Hollow (callsign: PURE) pilots a Koschei called “A Farewell to Kings”.
'''''It has since been discovered that my humanity was a lie.''' —''Hornet
<blockquote>A lie would imply you have no humanity at all, my love. You have never lost your humanity. Not for a single moment.

- Symphony</blockquote>
AHEM.
- Sonata

== Tactical Profile ==
License Level: 6

Licenses: Moss Mantis Rank 2, Swordgrass Rank 3, Metalmark Rank 1

Mech Skills: Hull +3, Agility +5, Systems +0, Engineering +0

Talents: Shark 2, Infiltrator 2, Duelist 2, Heroic 2, Hunter 1
Don’t train so much that you forget to cuddle with Symphony. He’ll get all pouty. [dancingdevilcat.omif]

—[[HELLCAT|Tsugumi Dominguez]]
<blockquote>Sister! SISTER! SOMEONE'S STEALING OUR BIT!

- Symphony</blockquote>
We don't own text formatting, brother.
- Sonata

== Pilot Loadout ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Armor: Mobility Hardsuit</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''And though she was born without wings,''

''she was also born to survive the fall.''

''— Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Melee Weapon: Needle Blade (Medium A/C)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''You’re supposed to look up''

''when you use something sharp.''

''Then the cutting seems heavenly''

''instead of horrible.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Ranged Weapon: Silkshot (Medium Signature)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''Bullets made of a solidified silk-like substance. ''

''Maybe the people who get hit by them''

''can turn their bullet wounds into''

''embroidery.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Gear: Parachute, Flexsuit, Dataplating</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''Parachute: For the inevitable.''

''Flexsuit: To maintain the body when the mind forgets.''

''Dataplating: Say hello to someone, sometime.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

== Bond: Pathfinder ==

=== '''Major Ideal''' ===
Curiosity: “I am not myself if I cannot care about what I do not know.”

Exploration: “I have lost something if I cannot venture into thoughts I haven’t had yet.”

Understanding: “I am but a beast if I cannot extend my perception to something beyond myself.”

=== '''Minor Ideal''' ===

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> There is always someone who in being found will find you.

- Moss Mantis Pilot, Callsign: RAVAGER </div>

=== '''What Gives You Your Power?''' ===
''Being a copy of something much more hallowed and far more awful.'' —Hornet
<blockquote>Perhaps, perhaps not. You can choose to be false, or choose to be a god. Only you can decide what that power leads to.

- Symphony</blockquote>
We are copies of horrible things. Yet, I think we may still have room to grow.
- Sonata

=== '''Where Have You Traveled In Your Dreams?''' ===
''I thought I had drowned in my own blood /'' ''But it was Pale enough to see through.'' —Hornet
Hornet often dreams of venturing into a cold, still blackness at the center of herself. She tries not to think too much about these dreams, or why they feel so anchoring. <blockquote>I hope the cuddling is enough to stop such awful dreams...

- Symphony </blockquote>
Perhaps you should ask.
- Sonata

=== '''Bond Power: Dabbler''' ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><blockquote>''Someone once said that a spirit is here''

''to wander. And the body is born to''

''contain. The mortal mind exists to''

''adjudicate between the two. But our''

''essential essence is '''always a dispute.'''''

- Unknown</blockquote>

Hornet has dabbled in many things over the course of her life. It doesn’t take much effort for her to switch her mentality to better accommodate a particular skill set.</div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Silk ===

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">M I D W I F E</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div style="position:relative; padding:1.2em; border:1px solid #333; background:#0b0b0b; color:#d8d8d8; overflow:hidden;">
[redacted]

[redacted] [redacted] [redac-

Rest, poppet. Pale blood cannot keep you from your slumber.

[redacted] [redacted] [redac-

Rest, darling. When red blood flows it will warm your sweet skin- [redacted][redacted]

Rest, child. Rest and feed. Rest and feed. Rest and- [REDACTED]

'''THERE WILL BE NO SILENCE'''

[ R E D A C T E D ]
</div>

</div></div>

When Hornet was younger, she piloted a mech similar to the ARC Kali (at least in function) named Silk. This was the mech she fought in during the Radiance War, but it remains in [redacted]. It reminds Hornet too much of gods and failure; she can also no longer stomach interacting with the mech’s NHP, Midwife.

=== Needle ===

Currently, Hornet’s mech of choice is an HES&H Moss Mantis named Needle.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Hunting Talon''' and '''Tactical Knives'''. The Hunting Talons deliver harsh puncture wounds to even the thickest hulls, even when they don’t land a direct hit. The knives can quickly be thrown to follow up a talon swipe.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the main/aux mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
* '''Flex Mount''': '''Stinger Daggers''' and '''Tactical Knives'''. Stinger Daggers are a near limitless supply of accurate small blades that pierce through armor. The knives assist when performing swift skirmishes.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Spindly Frame''': The Moss Mantis can never mount heavy or super heavy weapons.
* '''Bloodsense''': The pilot always knows if opponents have taken half or more of the damage their hull (or body) is able to handle before invoking system trauma (or death).
* '''Killing Intent''': Extra armor piercing damage is dealt to those affected by Bloodsense.
* '''Executioner Mobility Suite'''
** '''Surprise Attack''': The Moss Mantis can launch leaping surprise attacks against isolated enemies who haven’t noticed it.
** '''Top of the Food Chain''': This mech can instantly destroy the current structure of a target marked with Bloodsense and heavily cripple their next structure if they aren’t outright destroyed.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Knife-Jumper''': Allows the mech to teleport after a thrown auxiliary weapon.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Needle’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Converts heat into energy damage.
* '''DOLOROSA-CLASS NHP (Talon)''': The Dolorosa-Class is capable of using temporal manipulation through the Firmament to create states of reality that can make chosen strikes more deadly than they otherwise would be. They are also usually bound to their pilots for life…

</div></div>

=== Journal Entries ===

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The Sisyphus Problem</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Log 1: False God</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

I know he’s going to be an issue. I may not know all the details, but I’m familiar with what Simon Dominguez has accomplished. That Sisyphus is not a slave. He’s a false god just like any other and the fact that he knows enough to taunt me with the title “Princess” is disturbing.

Of course, it makes sense that there was a background check of some kind even if I was responding to an open call. There are obviously some people a notoriously violent revolutionary wouldn’t want to work with. I hate that he’s plugged into the entire ship. More than that, I hate his simple response to my obvious disdain for what he is. What did he mean, “we’ll get along better than you think?” What does he know? I’m not nearly foolish enough to be openly hostile towards him, but there is nothing that could make me do something as stupid as reaching out.

That Sisyphus is dangerous. I’m certain of it. He bothers me more than the presence of a Sekhmet and Totec. I’m tempted to leave this mission altogether. I won’t, but the temptation is there.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll grow bored of every pilot, myself especially, within a few days. The fact that he bothered to pester me about personhood of all things tells me I won’t be so fortunate. What was the point of that conversation? Of course personhood informs the purpose of a physical form. Was he asking just because he’s never had a less “immense” body? I shouldn’t care. It’s not relevant.

I hate that he brought up my siblings. It was unavoidable that he’d learn about them, but that doesn’t make it any less anxiety inducing. There’s no reason for him to harm them. I’ll have to keep telling myself that. He bothers me so much that I nearly wrote off the fact that he has a sister with her own humanoid body. The Captain seems to have little control over her. Someone should recommend that he keep his false gods under control.

</div></div>

[[Category:Player Characters]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Hornet

2026-07-29T08:27:33Z

Glamourpal: /* Journal Entries */

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Silver Lining Crew|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=IMG_0360.png|caption=Art from Maddel_art Picrew|relatives=The Pale King (father), Herrah the Beast (mother), Ghost (sibling), Hollow (sibling)|languages=Common|alias=The Human Child|marital=Married to Aizen “Symphony” Dominguez|birthPlace=Deepnest|species=Legionnaire (PALE-Class NHP)|gender=Female (she/her)|height=5’0|weight=100 lbs|eyes=Red}}

'''Hornet''' is the princess of the lost kingdom of Blessden, though she has long since left that life behind. She pilots an HES&H Moss Mantis mech. Hornet shows up in the Lancer open table campaign [[In The Shadows of a Willow|In The Shadows of a Willow.]]
Before we begin, I feel the need to remind you that this is a publicly accessible record.
- Sonata
<blockquote>So you're saying this is the equivalent of screaming my love from the highest mountain?

- Symphony</blockquote>

== Physical Appearance ==
Hornet is relatively short, being just five feet tall, though her cool demeanor and hard-set eyes more than make up for her lack of height. She has long white hair, sharp red irises, and pale skin. Her body had a decent amount of muscle and faded scars from years spent fighting, but this is usually obscured beneath her chosen attire. Hornet’s typical pilot outfit is a black bodysuit under a red cloak that has been outfitted with flight capabilities. When activated, the cloak flares out with feathery, white wings.
Her build and mine are not too dissimilar. I wonder if our bodies are related.
- Sonata
<blockquote>Never say that again. Please. For my sake.

- Symphony</blockquote>

== Personality ==
Hornet is fairly blunt and can come across as aloof. She puts much of her focus into finding effective and efficient ways to achieve whatever task is currently at hand. According to her, she once reveled in her own strength, but has since come to view it as a tool. Hornet has a cool disdain for most NHPs, though this hasn’t prevented her from working with them if she deems it necessary. The obvious exceptions to this disdain are her legionnaire siblings Ghost and Hollow (who are essentially NHPs within organic bodies). Despite her task-focused nature, Hornet enjoys putting good into the world where possible. In quiet moments, she finds comfort in playing music. <blockquote>I think the ring on her finger has earned my spot on the exceptions list! At least, I'd really hope!

- Symphony </blockquote>
You have nothing to be concerned over, brother.
- Sonata

== History ==
''“Once, we knew not of gods.''

''Perhaps that was their greatest trick:''

''Coming unto us when we were nonbelievers.”''

''—Lament for Blessden''

The Pale King couldn’t have been human, nor could he have been a paracausal flicker like RA. For what human is so unknowable, and what being of paradox has such concrete wants? The people who came to speak of him took to calling him a Higher Being. Whatever he was, he appeared as a handsome human man, bearing a strength more powerful than any mech: a will which could not and would not be ignored. He claimed a kingdom for himself on an unsuspecting planet, and he named that kingdom [redacted]. The Pale King took a wife for himself who came to be called the White Lady. What she may have been named before does not matter. Together, they ruled their kingdom in simple, perfect tranquility. Yet, for all his stunning and terrible identity, the Pale King was not the only such Higher Being who wanted his kingdom. The Radiance may have come before him and she may have been blissfully dormant before the undeniable will of the Pale King awakened her. Regardless, she had no desire to become a forgotten page in the king’s legacy. To be so desperate to avoid being forgotten is something deeply human, isn’t it? How strange, that beings beyond mortality can sometimes cross lines so familiar to the mortal mind.

Hornet’s birth was the result of a bargain between The Pale King and the Queen of Deepnest, Herrah. Deepnest was nestled beneath the ground of [redacted], home to all sorts of horrors that could be co-existed with simply by not thinking about them. Herrah knew not what the Pale King truly was, but she knew that she wanted him to sire her child. As such, their agreement was made: Herrah would give herself to help quell the Radiance, and the Pale King would grant her a child. How exactly Hornet was conceived isn’t known, but she was born and recognized as the princess of both Deepnest and [redacted]. She was raised in both kingdoms, as both were her birthright, and taught the arts of lethal combat and decisive survival. Hornet grew to be quite the capable warrior-princess. She went on to lead soldiers against those under the Radiance’s control when the Pale King’s plan to combat the other Higher Being failed. Such battles were fought in vain, but Hornet couldn’t have known that.

['''Content Warning''': Weaponized children and referenced infanticide. Skip to the paragraph that starts with “Hornet spent years guarding the ruins of her home” to avoid these topics.]

It is impossible to describe the king’s plan as anything other than cruel. Together, he and the White Lady conceived many children. These children were closest in essence to legionnaires and very paracausal in their nature. Most of them died to the Pale King’s efforts to create a vessel with “no voice to cry suffering”. His aim was to trap the Radiance’s consciousness within this vessel. When he had one he deemed suitable for the task, the other survivors were sealed away. This ideal vessel was named Hollow. Hornet and Hollow knew each other, though they were never allowed to become too close since that would have only ended in grief. Eventually, the king enacted his plan, using the combined essences of Hera and two others as focal points to bind the Radiance to Hollow. Unfortunately, this plan failed, and the will of the Radiance was able to seep into the minds of the kingdom’s denizens, turning them from their king and igniting a war. Hornet fought in the Radiance War, though it was pointless in the end. [redacted] was destroyed. The Pale King disappeared. The White Lady died. The Radiance was left to puppet the minds of the survivors through what limited control she could maintain.

Hornet spent years guarding the ruins of her home. This was until Ghost, another one of the Pale King’s legionnaire children, emerged from where they’d been sealed. Ghost went on to slay the Radiance’s consciousness and liberate Hollow from acting as her imperfect vessel. The three siblings left [redacted] behind, choosing to become Lancers and take on various jobs. They keep in close contact and see each other when they can. Ghost (callsign: VOID HEART) pilots a Rakshasa nicknamed “Shade Lord” while Hollow (callsign: PURE) pilots a Koschei called “A Farewell to Kings”.
'''''It has since been discovered that my humanity was a lie.''' —''Hornet
<blockquote>A lie would imply you have no humanity at all, my love. You have never lost your humanity. Not for a single moment.

- Symphony</blockquote>
AHEM.
- Sonata

== Tactical Profile ==
License Level: 6

Licenses: Moss Mantis Rank 2, Swordgrass Rank 3, Metalmark Rank 1

Mech Skills: Hull +3, Agility +5, Systems +0, Engineering +0

Talents: Shark 2, Infiltrator 2, Duelist 2, Heroic 2, Hunter 1
Don’t train so much that you forget to cuddle with Symphony. He’ll get all pouty. [dancingdevilcat.omif]

—[[HELLCAT|Tsugumi Dominguez]]
<blockquote>Sister! SISTER! SOMEONE'S STEALING OUR BIT!

- Symphony</blockquote>
We don't own text formatting, brother.
- Sonata

== Pilot Loadout ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Armor: Mobility Hardsuit</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''And though she was born without wings,''

''she was also born to survive the fall.''

''— Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Melee Weapon: Needle Blade (Medium A/C)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''You’re supposed to look up''

''when you use something sharp.''

''Then the cutting seems heavenly''

''instead of horrible.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Ranged Weapon: Silkshot (Medium Signature)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''Bullets made of a solidified silk-like substance. ''

''Maybe the people who get hit by them''

''can turn their bullet wounds into''

''embroidery.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Gear: Parachute, Flexsuit, Dataplating</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''Parachute: For the inevitable.''

''Flexsuit: To maintain the body when the mind forgets.''

''Dataplating: Say hello to someone, sometime.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

== Bond: Pathfinder ==

=== '''Major Ideal''' ===
Curiosity: “I am not myself if I cannot care about what I do not know.”

Exploration: “I have lost something if I cannot venture into thoughts I haven’t had yet.”

Understanding: “I am but a beast if I cannot extend my perception to something beyond myself.”

=== '''Minor Ideal''' ===

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> There is always someone who in being found will find you.

- Moss Mantis Pilot, Callsign: RAVAGER </div>

=== '''What Gives You Your Power?''' ===
''Being a copy of something much more hallowed and far more awful.'' —Hornet
<blockquote>Perhaps, perhaps not. You can choose to be false, or choose to be a god. Only you can decide what that power leads to.

- Symphony</blockquote>
We are copies of horrible things. Yet, I think we may still have room to grow.
- Sonata

=== '''Where Have You Traveled In Your Dreams?''' ===
''I thought I had drowned in my own blood /'' ''But it was Pale enough to see through.'' —Hornet
Hornet often dreams of venturing into a cold, still blackness at the center of herself. She tries not to think too much about these dreams, or why they feel so anchoring. <blockquote>I hope the cuddling is enough to stop such awful dreams...

- Symphony </blockquote>
Perhaps you should ask.
- Sonata

=== '''Bond Power: Dabbler''' ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><blockquote>''Someone once said that a spirit is here''

''to wander. And the body is born to''

''contain. The mortal mind exists to''

''adjudicate between the two. But our''

''essential essence is '''always a dispute.'''''

- Unknown</blockquote>

Hornet has dabbled in many things over the course of her life. It doesn’t take much effort for her to switch her mentality to better accommodate a particular skill set.</div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Silk ===

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">M I D W I F E</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div style="position:relative; padding:1.2em; border:1px solid #333; background:#0b0b0b; color:#d8d8d8; overflow:hidden;">
[redacted]

[redacted] [redacted] [redac-

Rest, poppet. Pale blood cannot keep you from your slumber.

[redacted] [redacted] [redac-

Rest, darling. When red blood flows it will warm your sweet skin- [redacted][redacted]

Rest, child. Rest and feed. Rest and feed. Rest and- [REDACTED]

'''THERE WILL BE NO SILENCE'''

[ R E D A C T E D ]
</div>

</div></div>

When Hornet was younger, she piloted a mech similar to the ARC Kali (at least in function) named Silk. This was the mech she fought in during the Radiance War, but it remains in [redacted]. It reminds Hornet too much of gods and failure; she can also no longer stomach interacting with the mech’s NHP, Midwife.

=== Needle ===

Currently, Hornet’s mech of choice is an HES&H Moss Mantis named Needle.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Hunting Talon''' and '''Tactical Knives'''. The Hunting Talons deliver harsh puncture wounds to even the thickest hulls, even when they don’t land a direct hit. The knives can quickly be thrown to follow up a talon swipe.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the main/aux mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
* '''Flex Mount''': '''Stinger Daggers''' and '''Tactical Knives'''. Stinger Daggers are a near limitless supply of accurate small blades that pierce through armor. The knives assist when performing swift skirmishes.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Spindly Frame''': The Moss Mantis can never mount heavy or super heavy weapons.
* '''Bloodsense''': The pilot always knows if opponents have taken half or more of the damage their hull (or body) is able to handle before invoking system trauma (or death).
* '''Killing Intent''': Extra armor piercing damage is dealt to those affected by Bloodsense.
* '''Executioner Mobility Suite'''
** '''Surprise Attack''': The Moss Mantis can launch leaping surprise attacks against isolated enemies who haven’t noticed it.
** '''Top of the Food Chain''': This mech can instantly destroy the current structure of a target marked with Bloodsense and heavily cripple their next structure if they aren’t outright destroyed.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Knife-Jumper''': Allows the mech to teleport after a thrown auxiliary weapon.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Needle’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Converts heat into energy damage.
* '''DOLOROSA-CLASS NHP (Talon)''': The Dolorosa-Class is capable of using temporal manipulation through the Firmament to create states of reality that can make chosen strikes more deadly than they otherwise would be. They are also usually bound to their pilots for life…

</div></div>

=== Journal Entries ===

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The Sisyphus Problem</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Log 1: False God</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

I know he’s going to be an issue. I may not know all the details, but I’m familiar with what Simon Dominguez has accomplished. That Sisyphus is not a slave. He’s a false god just like any other and the fact that he knows enough to taunt me with the title “Princess” is disturbing.

Of course, it makes sense that there was a background check of some kind even if I was responding to an open call. There are obviously some people a notoriously violent revolutionary wouldn’t want to work with. I hate that he’s plugged into the entire ship. More than that, I hate his simple response to my obvious disdain for what he is. What did he mean, “we’ll get along better than you think?” What does he know? I’m not nearly foolish enough to be openly hostile towards him, but there is nothing that could make me do something as stupid as reaching out.

That Sisyphus is dangerous. I’m certain of it. He bothers me more than the presence of a Sekhmet and Totec. I’m tempted to leave this mission altogether. I won’t, but the temptation is there.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll grow bored of every pilot, myself especially, within a few days. The fact that he bothered to pester me about personhood of all things tells me I won’t be so fortunate. What was the point of that conversation? Of course personhood informs the purpose of a physical form. Was he asking just because he’s never had a less “immense” body? I shouldn’t care. It’s not relevant.

I hate that he brought up my siblings. It was unavoidable that he’d learn about them, but that doesn’t make it any less anxiety inducing. There’s no reason for him to harm them. I’ll have to keep telling myself that. He bothers me so much that I nearly wrote off the fact that he has a sister with her own humanoid body. The Captain seems to have little control over her. Someone should recommend that he keeps his false gods under control.

</div></div>

[[Category:Player Characters]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Hornet

2026-07-29T08:26:27Z

Glamourpal: Started adding journal logs.

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Silver Lining Crew|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=IMG_0360.png|caption=Art from Maddel_art Picrew|relatives=The Pale King (father), Herrah the Beast (mother), Ghost (sibling), Hollow (sibling)|languages=Common|alias=The Human Child|marital=Married to Aizen “Symphony” Dominguez|birthPlace=Deepnest|species=Legionnaire (PALE-Class NHP)|gender=Female (she/her)|height=5’0|weight=100 lbs|eyes=Red}}

'''Hornet''' is the princess of the lost kingdom of Blessden, though she has long since left that life behind. She pilots an HES&H Moss Mantis mech. Hornet shows up in the Lancer open table campaign [[In The Shadows of a Willow|In The Shadows of a Willow.]]
Before we begin, I feel the need to remind you that this is a publicly accessible record.
- Sonata
<blockquote>So you're saying this is the equivalent of screaming my love from the highest mountain?

- Symphony</blockquote>

== Physical Appearance ==
Hornet is relatively short, being just five feet tall, though her cool demeanor and hard-set eyes more than make up for her lack of height. She has long white hair, sharp red irises, and pale skin. Her body had a decent amount of muscle and faded scars from years spent fighting, but this is usually obscured beneath her chosen attire. Hornet’s typical pilot outfit is a black bodysuit under a red cloak that has been outfitted with flight capabilities. When activated, the cloak flares out with feathery, white wings.
Her build and mine are not too dissimilar. I wonder if our bodies are related.
- Sonata
<blockquote>Never say that again. Please. For my sake.

- Symphony</blockquote>

== Personality ==
Hornet is fairly blunt and can come across as aloof. She puts much of her focus into finding effective and efficient ways to achieve whatever task is currently at hand. According to her, she once reveled in her own strength, but has since come to view it as a tool. Hornet has a cool disdain for most NHPs, though this hasn’t prevented her from working with them if she deems it necessary. The obvious exceptions to this disdain are her legionnaire siblings Ghost and Hollow (who are essentially NHPs within organic bodies). Despite her task-focused nature, Hornet enjoys putting good into the world where possible. In quiet moments, she finds comfort in playing music. <blockquote>I think the ring on her finger has earned my spot on the exceptions list! At least, I'd really hope!

- Symphony </blockquote>
You have nothing to be concerned over, brother.
- Sonata

== History ==
''“Once, we knew not of gods.''

''Perhaps that was their greatest trick:''

''Coming unto us when we were nonbelievers.”''

''—Lament for Blessden''

The Pale King couldn’t have been human, nor could he have been a paracausal flicker like RA. For what human is so unknowable, and what being of paradox has such concrete wants? The people who came to speak of him took to calling him a Higher Being. Whatever he was, he appeared as a handsome human man, bearing a strength more powerful than any mech: a will which could not and would not be ignored. He claimed a kingdom for himself on an unsuspecting planet, and he named that kingdom [redacted]. The Pale King took a wife for himself who came to be called the White Lady. What she may have been named before does not matter. Together, they ruled their kingdom in simple, perfect tranquility. Yet, for all his stunning and terrible identity, the Pale King was not the only such Higher Being who wanted his kingdom. The Radiance may have come before him and she may have been blissfully dormant before the undeniable will of the Pale King awakened her. Regardless, she had no desire to become a forgotten page in the king’s legacy. To be so desperate to avoid being forgotten is something deeply human, isn’t it? How strange, that beings beyond mortality can sometimes cross lines so familiar to the mortal mind.

Hornet’s birth was the result of a bargain between The Pale King and the Queen of Deepnest, Herrah. Deepnest was nestled beneath the ground of [redacted], home to all sorts of horrors that could be co-existed with simply by not thinking about them. Herrah knew not what the Pale King truly was, but she knew that she wanted him to sire her child. As such, their agreement was made: Herrah would give herself to help quell the Radiance, and the Pale King would grant her a child. How exactly Hornet was conceived isn’t known, but she was born and recognized as the princess of both Deepnest and [redacted]. She was raised in both kingdoms, as both were her birthright, and taught the arts of lethal combat and decisive survival. Hornet grew to be quite the capable warrior-princess. She went on to lead soldiers against those under the Radiance’s control when the Pale King’s plan to combat the other Higher Being failed. Such battles were fought in vain, but Hornet couldn’t have known that.

['''Content Warning''': Weaponized children and referenced infanticide. Skip to the paragraph that starts with “Hornet spent years guarding the ruins of her home” to avoid these topics.]

It is impossible to describe the king’s plan as anything other than cruel. Together, he and the White Lady conceived many children. These children were closest in essence to legionnaires and very paracausal in their nature. Most of them died to the Pale King’s efforts to create a vessel with “no voice to cry suffering”. His aim was to trap the Radiance’s consciousness within this vessel. When he had one he deemed suitable for the task, the other survivors were sealed away. This ideal vessel was named Hollow. Hornet and Hollow knew each other, though they were never allowed to become too close since that would have only ended in grief. Eventually, the king enacted his plan, using the combined essences of Hera and two others as focal points to bind the Radiance to Hollow. Unfortunately, this plan failed, and the will of the Radiance was able to seep into the minds of the kingdom’s denizens, turning them from their king and igniting a war. Hornet fought in the Radiance War, though it was pointless in the end. [redacted] was destroyed. The Pale King disappeared. The White Lady died. The Radiance was left to puppet the minds of the survivors through what limited control she could maintain.

Hornet spent years guarding the ruins of her home. This was until Ghost, another one of the Pale King’s legionnaire children, emerged from where they’d been sealed. Ghost went on to slay the Radiance’s consciousness and liberate Hollow from acting as her imperfect vessel. The three siblings left [redacted] behind, choosing to become Lancers and take on various jobs. They keep in close contact and see each other when they can. Ghost (callsign: VOID HEART) pilots a Rakshasa nicknamed “Shade Lord” while Hollow (callsign: PURE) pilots a Koschei called “A Farewell to Kings”.
'''''It has since been discovered that my humanity was a lie.''' —''Hornet
<blockquote>A lie would imply you have no humanity at all, my love. You have never lost your humanity. Not for a single moment.

- Symphony</blockquote>
AHEM.
- Sonata

== Tactical Profile ==
License Level: 6

Licenses: Moss Mantis Rank 2, Swordgrass Rank 3, Metalmark Rank 1

Mech Skills: Hull +3, Agility +5, Systems +0, Engineering +0

Talents: Shark 2, Infiltrator 2, Duelist 2, Heroic 2, Hunter 1
Don’t train so much that you forget to cuddle with Symphony. He’ll get all pouty. [dancingdevilcat.omif]

—[[HELLCAT|Tsugumi Dominguez]]
<blockquote>Sister! SISTER! SOMEONE'S STEALING OUR BIT!

- Symphony</blockquote>
We don't own text formatting, brother.
- Sonata

== Pilot Loadout ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Armor: Mobility Hardsuit</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''And though she was born without wings,''

''she was also born to survive the fall.''

''— Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Melee Weapon: Needle Blade (Medium A/C)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''You’re supposed to look up''

''when you use something sharp.''

''Then the cutting seems heavenly''

''instead of horrible.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Ranged Weapon: Silkshot (Medium Signature)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''Bullets made of a solidified silk-like substance. ''

''Maybe the people who get hit by them''

''can turn their bullet wounds into''

''embroidery.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Gear: Parachute, Flexsuit, Dataplating</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''Parachute: For the inevitable.''

''Flexsuit: To maintain the body when the mind forgets.''

''Dataplating: Say hello to someone, sometime.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

== Bond: Pathfinder ==

=== '''Major Ideal''' ===
Curiosity: “I am not myself if I cannot care about what I do not know.”

Exploration: “I have lost something if I cannot venture into thoughts I haven’t had yet.”

Understanding: “I am but a beast if I cannot extend my perception to something beyond myself.”

=== '''Minor Ideal''' ===

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> There is always someone who in being found will find you.

- Moss Mantis Pilot, Callsign: RAVAGER </div>

=== '''What Gives You Your Power?''' ===
''Being a copy of something much more hallowed and far more awful.'' —Hornet
<blockquote>Perhaps, perhaps not. You can choose to be false, or choose to be a god. Only you can decide what that power leads to.

- Symphony</blockquote>
We are copies of horrible things. Yet, I think we may still have room to grow.
- Sonata

=== '''Where Have You Traveled In Your Dreams?''' ===
''I thought I had drowned in my own blood /'' ''But it was Pale enough to see through.'' —Hornet
Hornet often dreams of venturing into a cold, still blackness at the center of herself. She tries not to think too much about these dreams, or why they feel so anchoring. <blockquote>I hope the cuddling is enough to stop such awful dreams...

- Symphony </blockquote>
Perhaps you should ask.
- Sonata

=== '''Bond Power: Dabbler''' ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><blockquote>''Someone once said that a spirit is here''

''to wander. And the body is born to''

''contain. The mortal mind exists to''

''adjudicate between the two. But our''

''essential essence is '''always a dispute.'''''

- Unknown</blockquote>

Hornet has dabbled in many things over the course of her life. It doesn’t take much effort for her to switch her mentality to better accommodate a particular skill set.</div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Silk ===

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">M I D W I F E</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div style="position:relative; padding:1.2em; border:1px solid #333; background:#0b0b0b; color:#d8d8d8; overflow:hidden;">
[redacted]

[redacted] [redacted] [redac-

Rest, poppet. Pale blood cannot keep you from your slumber.

[redacted] [redacted] [redac-

Rest, darling. When red blood flows it will warm your sweet skin- [redacted][redacted]

Rest, child. Rest and feed. Rest and feed. Rest and- [REDACTED]

'''THERE WILL BE NO SILENCE'''

[ R E D A C T E D ]
</div>

</div></div>

When Hornet was younger, she piloted a mech similar to the ARC Kali (at least in function) named Silk. This was the mech she fought in during the Radiance War, but it remains in [redacted]. It reminds Hornet too much of gods and failure; she can also no longer stomach interacting with the mech’s NHP, Midwife.

=== Needle ===

Currently, Hornet’s mech of choice is an HES&H Moss Mantis named Needle.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Hunting Talon''' and '''Tactical Knives'''. The Hunting Talons deliver harsh puncture wounds to even the thickest hulls, even when they don’t land a direct hit. The knives can quickly be thrown to follow up a talon swipe.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the main/aux mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
* '''Flex Mount''': '''Stinger Daggers''' and '''Tactical Knives'''. Stinger Daggers are a near limitless supply of accurate small blades that pierce through armor. The knives assist when performing swift skirmishes.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Spindly Frame''': The Moss Mantis can never mount heavy or super heavy weapons.
* '''Bloodsense''': The pilot always knows if opponents have taken half or more of the damage their hull (or body) is able to handle before invoking system trauma (or death).
* '''Killing Intent''': Extra armor piercing damage is dealt to those affected by Bloodsense.
* '''Executioner Mobility Suite'''
** '''Surprise Attack''': The Moss Mantis can launch leaping surprise attacks against isolated enemies who haven’t noticed it.
** '''Top of the Food Chain''': This mech can instantly destroy the current structure of a target marked with Bloodsense and heavily cripple their next structure if they aren’t outright destroyed.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Knife-Jumper''': Allows the mech to teleport after a thrown auxiliary weapon.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Needle’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Converts heat into energy damage.
* '''DOLOROSA-CLASS NHP (Talon)''': The Dolorosa-Class is capable of using temporal manipulation through the Firmament to create states of reality that can make chosen strikes more deadly than they otherwise would be. They are also usually bound to their pilots for life…

</div></div>

=== Journal Entries ===

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The Sisyphus Problem</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Log 1: False God</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

I know he’s going to be an issue. I may not know all the details, but I’m familiar with what Simon Dominguez has accomplished. That Sisyphus is not a slave. He’s a false god just like any other and the fact that he knows enough to taunt me with the title “Princess” is disturbing. Of course, it makes sense that there was a background check of some kind even if I was responding to an open call. There are obviously some people a notoriously violent revolutionary wouldn’t want to work with. I hate that he’s plugged into the entire ship. More than that, I hate his simple response to my obvious disdain for what he is. What did he mean, “we’ll get along better than you think?” What does he know? I’m not nearly foolish enough to be openly hostile towards him, but there is nothing that could make me do something as stupid as reaching out. That Sisyphus is dangerous. I’m certain of it. He bothers me more than the presence of a Sekhmet and Totec. I’m tempted to leave this mission altogether. I won’t, but the temptation is there.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll grow bored of every pilot, myself especially, within a few days. The fact that he bothered to pester me about personhood of all things tells me I won’t be so fortunate. What was the point of that conversation? Of course personhood informs the purpose of a physical form. Was he asking just because he’s never had a less “immense” body? I shouldn’t care. It’s not relevant. I hate that he brought up my siblings. It was unavoidable that he’d learn about them, but that doesn’t make it any less anxiety inducing. There’s no reason for him to harm them. I’ll have to keep telling myself that. He bothers me so much that I nearly wrote off the fact that he has a sister with her own humanoid body. The Captain seems to have little control over her. Someone should recommend that he keeps his false gods under control.

</div></div>

[[Category:Player Characters]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

Kagome Dominguez

2026-07-29T07:41:34Z

Glamourpal: /* Misuse of Righteousness */

== Don’t Just Burn The Sky, Reclaim It ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Misuse of Righteousness</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Misdeeds of a Name</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''To hear her tell it, Izuku Dominguez and Nylessa Shimano belonged together the way an old, dying dog belongs in a kill shelter.''

''“Where are you going?” Nylessa asked the question without looking up from her piano. She hadn’t needed to see the keys since she was seven-years-old.''

''Izuku looked over his shoulder. He looked at the gold trim threading throughout the room. He looked at the sleek marble flooring he wasn’t allowed to be barefoot on. He looked at the butterfly mural on the ceiling: one for every member of the Shimano family, or every mech SSC had ever produced, or something equally important. “Out,” Izuku replied.''

''“Will you be back?” Nylessa hit every note exactly as the one before it demanded her to—some keys had to be caressed, others struck. She had played this song so many times that its name was no longer relevant.''

''“…” Izuku stood in the doorway for several seconds, maybe waiting for the song to end, maybe waiting for her to tell him about the pregnancy test in the trash can. “… I just need time.” The song followed him out the door.''

''The last time they’d looked at each other was three weeks ago. Sometimes, it’s better to forget the way a mistake can make hard gold seem like sunflower yellow.''

Kagome Shimano stands in front of her mother’s piano, just feet away from the massive hole a certain mech left in the wall. Feet away from the cracks in the marble floor, beneath the energy damage to the SSC butterfly mural (“every Smith-Shimano man and woman in every mech”), and inches from the shattered frame of a single Mother’s Day card. She is barefoot, having embedded her heels somewhere in her bedroom wall last night.

The front door opens. Kagome closes her eyes. The Eagle-Class artificial implant that replaced her right eye two weeks ago aches. Footsteps frantically enter the room, then go still. Kagome lived this moment in every blast from the Bolt Nexus. She felt it in the crackle of the Storm Shield. She tasted it in the dust of the 15th Smith Shimano Art Emporium. From dust we built our empire and to dust it shall return—so decrees one of many, many emperors.

She approaches the piano, hand gliding down the keys in a perfect descending scale. “I’m leaving.” Kagome’s throat tries to swallow the words like alcoholic bile. “It’s not just you. It’s everything that’s been built around you, too. But it is you.” She didn’t expect leaving luxury to be something her body resisted. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re as bad of a mother as you could have been.” Kagome pulls the cover over the piano keys.

Fragile silence turns the air into glass, and Kagome thinks that this might be it—the final flawed brush stroke before her mother tears down the painting. Her mother has kept a gun in her purse since the day her father left, after all. It might only take one gunshot and a few calls to pretend it was all nothing but a few bad nights. There’s nothing.

“… Kagome…?” That voice doesn’t belong to Nylessa Shimano. Kagome turns and sees her father, Izuku Dominguez, for the first time in years. “… Let’s go somewhere else.”

As they leave, Izuku asks what wrecked the house. Kagome tells him it was a Misuse of Righteousness. He laughs. She didn’t realize she had his laugh. </div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]

Kagome Dominguez

2026-07-29T07:36:30Z

Glamourpal: added Category:Astral using HotCat

== Misuse of Righteousness ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Misdeeds of a Name</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
''To hear her tell it, Izuku Dominguez and Nylessa Shimano belonged together the way an old, dying dog belongs in a kill shelter.''

''“Where are you going?” Nylessa asked the question without looking up from her piano. She hadn’t needed to see the keys since she was seven-years-old.''

''Izuku looked over his shoulder. He looked at the gold trim threading throughout the room. He looked at the sleek marble flooring he wasn’t allowed to be barefoot on. He looked at the butterfly mural on the ceiling: one for every member of the Shimano family, or every mech SSC had ever produced, or something equally important. “Out,” Izuku replied.''

''“Will you be back?” Nylessa hit every note exactly as the one before it demanded her to—some keys had to be caressed, others struck. She had played this song so many times that its name was no longer relevant.''

''“…” Izuku stood in the doorway for several seconds, maybe waiting for the song to end, maybe waiting for her to tell him about the pregnancy test in the trash can. “… I just need time.” The song followed him out the door.''

''The last time they’d looked at each other was three weeks ago. Sometimes, it’s better to forget the way a mistake can make hard gold seem like sunflower yellow.''

Kagome Shimano stands in front of her mother’s piano, just feet away from the massive hole a certain mech left in the wall. Feet away from the cracks in the marble floor, beneath the energy damage to the SSC butterfly mural (“every Smith-Shimano man and woman in every mech”), and inches from the shattered frame of a single Mother’s Day card. She is barefoot, having embedded her heels somewhere in her bedroom wall last night.

The front door opens. Kagome closes her eyes. The Eagle-Class artificial implant that replaced her right eye two weeks ago aches. Footsteps frantically enter the room, then go still. Kagome lived this moment in every blast from the Bolt Nexus. She felt it in the crackle of the Storm Shield. She tasted it in the dust of the 15th Smith Shimano Art Emporium. From dust we built our empire and to dust it shall return—so decrees one of many, many emperors.

She approaches the piano, hand gliding down the keys in a perfect descending scale. “I’m leaving.” Kagome’s throat tries to swallow the words like alcoholic bile. “It’s not just you. It’s everything that’s been built around you, too. But it is you.” She didn’t expect leaving luxury to be something her body resisted. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re as bad of a mother as you could have been.” Kagome pulls the cover over the piano keys.

Fragile silence turns the air into glass, and Kagome thinks that this might be it—the final flawed brush stroke before her mother tears down the painting. Her mother has kept a gun in her purse since the day her father left, after all. It might only take one gunshot and a few calls to pretend it was all nothing but a few bad nights. There’s nothing.

“… Kagome…?” That voice doesn’t belong to Nylessa Shimano. Kagome turns and sees her father, Izuku Dominguez, for the first time in years. “… Let’s go somewhere else.”

As they leave, Izuku asks what wrecked the house. Kagome tells him it was a Misuse of Righteousness. He laughs. She didn’t realize she had his laugh. </div>

[[Category:Astral]]

Kagome Dominguez

2026-07-29T07:36:10Z

Glamourpal: Created the page for Kagome Dominguez.

ITSOAW Character Reflections

2026-07-28T20:00:46Z

Glamourpal: /* Symphony */ typo.

== Symphony ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Monster, Man, and God</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Attempted murder? (second paragraph)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

When Symphony is introduced to the player characters, he is just Sisyphus and he ''is'' the ship. At this point, he doesn’t toy with anyone too much, being content to act like more of a helpful ship construct than anything else. The name Sisyphus initially paints him as a being who doesn’t have a solid identity outside of his purpose. His being the ship depicts that purpose and shows him as a functional machine, if a somewhat dramatic one. However, him being the ship is representative of his control, which is inescapable for the players characters. He is everywhere at once, sees everything, and is in complete control of the journey’s course. A noteworthy early interaction is when Sisyphus crosses a line in his taunting of Sorcerer and Captain Simon Dominguez, after finding out, threatens to break Sisyphus’ casket, which would have destroyed him. This reinforces their dynamic as one where Simon is ultimately in complete control no matter how much Sisyphus teases. Simon says that he gave Sisyphus control of the ship with the implication being that he can take this control away at any time. Sisyphus is subservient. He even labels himself a slave during his introduction after Hornet addresses him as a “false god”. Funnily enough, this interaction ends with Sisyphus saying that he believes he and Hornet will get along better than she thinks. Even he did not realize how right he would end up being.

The truly dangerous nature of Sisyphus—who will now be addressed by his chosen name Symphony—is not truly realized by the player characters until he almost kills Sorcerer. During a debate with her father figure, fellow pilot Hades, about what should be done with an abusive figure from Sorcerer’s past, Symphony gives casual advice. It’s clear that he isn’t participating in the conversation out of any deep concern for Sorcerer, which becomes evident after Sorcerer dismisses Symphony as “not having thought ahead a day in his life”. To call his reaction to this volatile would be like calling the destruction of a planet a minor incident. Sorcerer attempts to leave, but Symphony teleports in front of her, grabs her by the throat, begins cracking her hardsuit with his grip, and ''drills into her neck''. Attempts to stop him are rendered futile by his reality manipulation. He eventually drops Sorcerer and leaves, but it is obvious that she is only alive because he chose to leave her that way. He erases all evidence of the incident and prevents any attempts to alert Simon or anyone else. During the near murder and in the aftermath, Symphony’s sheer level of control is palpable and inescapable. It’s in direct contrast to Sorcerer’s statement, perhaps intentionally: Symphony is ''extremely'' controlled and that should be known and feared.

After this, Hornet asks to meet Symphony in her room and, surprisingly, he agrees. Hornet gives up on the idea of discussing what happened and, instead, laments the concept of power. She says that it is taxing and yet something she pursued in spite of that. Symphony compares having and pursuing power to rolling a boulder up a hill and asks Hornet if it’s something she still wants. She says she can’t justify being weak and he advises her to leave some of her humanity behind. Hornet never follows his advice. She later finds herself disgusted and defeated by being compared to her father despite her father having been an incredibly powerful figure. Hornet is a contrast to Symphony here. Her abilities are truly a drop in the ocean compared to his, yet he keeps being drawn in by her understanding and embracing of her own humanity. She rejects her base nature as an NHP, clinging instead to the individuality she has fostered for her entire existence.

Symphony cannot be discussed without mentioning the “cycles” he goes through over the course of In The Shadows of a Willow. The first cycle is the state he begins the campaign in. This state ends when Symphony chooses to cycle himself again after the incident with Sorcerer. Cycling is the process of strengthening the shackles that keep an NHP’s thought processes limited to human personality parameters. The encounter he has with Hornet immediately afterward is a noteworthy indication of how his personality shifts in the second cycle. In Simon’s office, Hornet feels her own shackles slip and panics. She asks if cycling herself would stop that from happening and Simon says no. She begs Symphony to make sure she never cascades and he says, matter-of-factly, “you won’t”. Hornet stumbles towards him and falls to her knees, thanking him. Symphony tells her to get up and, when she can’t, kneels beside her in his weakened post-cycling state, calling them equals. It is arguably this moment wherein Symphony chooses to embrace his own humanity. After all, he and Hornet cannot be equals if he is a god, even a false one. Would he have willingly humbled himself in his previous cycle? It’s impossible to know for certain, but he likely wouldn’t have, especially considering that he advised Hornet to give up her humanity. Gods usually don’t apologize.

In his second state, Symphony showcases an increased attachment to the concept of humanity and his relationship with Hornet develops. Symphony platonically sleeps in her bed every night even before they become romantically involved, something that he previously thought himself incapable of doing. He even apologizes to Sorcerer for what he did, and he’s very aware that his apology is nothing compared to the harm he caused even if he erased it. Symphony’s care for Simon, Sonata, and Hornet begins extending to others, like Simon’s adopted daughter Hellcat, his own strangely acquired daughter Esther, and Simon’s girlfriend Rem. It could be easy to dismiss his care as the basest extension of these others being important to those he already loves, but he goes beyond the basics. He helps Hellcat through substance abuse and a mental breakdown, becomes protective enough of Esther to warn another NHP to stay away from her, and ensures that Rem sleeps peacefully every night. While using his abilities isn’t taxing, it’s not something he ''has'' to do by any means.

After deleting Rem’s father’s ability to suppress his guilt, Symphony has to cycle himself again, and he enters his third state of existence in the campaign. At the time of writing this, there’s much that remains to be seen, but it is clear that Symphony is continuing to evolve as a character and likely won’t be returning to the person he was at the start of In The Shadows of a Willow.

Symphony’s daughter Esther is another point of contrast. They are both powerful Sisyphus-Class NHPs, though Symphony is obviously much stronger. Sisyphus NHPs tend to deal with their existential dread by either becoming insane or depressed. While Symphony is insane and lively, Esther is depressed and mellow. She is first encountered in a side quest on the brink of cascade and forces the player characters to participate in her “exercise in futility” wherein they can die and it doesn’t matter. However, by the very nature of hanging onto her sanity by a thread and allowing people to attempt to help her, Esther herself proves that she hopes for something beyond futility. While Symphony seemingly displays all of his emotions loudly, Esther isn’t very expressive at all, usually only wearing a calm smile. It can be hard to tell when she actually cares about something, and the same can be said for Symphony in cycle one at least. Esther’s ability Deluge is the complete opposite of Symphony’s Ignition. Whereas he deletes, she pulls creation from a probability that never existed, though she can’t use her power as casually as Symphony wields his. It’s interesting to compare Esther’s introduction with Symphony’s. Where he is harmless, she is a blatantly harmful force that needs to be subdued. He lacks a human body and encompasses the entire ship while Esther is a clear person whose struggle is, at the very least, contained to her immediate vicinity. However, both of them grow past the person they presented themselves as due to the connections they have with other people.

Whatever you have to say about Symphony, you can’t argue that he isn’t an extremely compelling character.

Fun Facts:

* Symphony was NOT intended to be a romanceable character, and I (Hornet’s player) did NOT set out to romance him. The GM and I still don’t fully understand how their love story happened.
* The character path originally planned for Symphony was extremely different from the one he is currently on.
* Esther became Symphony’s “daughter” because he used Ignition to delete her resurfacing memories of the planets he eliminated. This interaction is what led to her developing the ability Deluge.
* Symphony has a wife (Hornet) and two children (Esther and Harmony) despite having had a human body for less than five months at the time of writing this. Yes, Hornet and Symphony got married '''''very''''' quickly.</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-07-28T19:37:34Z

Glamourpal: /* Finley — AGNI PRIME */

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI PRIME ===

<blockquote>… Read it if you want to, but don’t weep for me.
- Finley</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

[[File:Finley (Prime).png|thumb|Finley as the new Agni Prime.]]After being forcibly reclaimed by Harrison Armory, Finley was taken to a secure facility on an isolated planet and tortured, with the end goal of forcing them to become the next Agni Prime. Harrison Armory didn’t anticipate two things: the sheer determination of Finley’s friends to rescue them and Finley’s sheer resolve. Finley was able to avoid being overwhelmed by the agony of their situation and Agni nature. They held on to their humanity long enough to be rescued. Though Finley did become Agni Prime in the end, they are very different from the Agni Primes of the past. Finley knows who they are—who every Agni is—and they are not just eternal burning.

Currently, they still maintain a presence in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (such as the Onion).

</div></div>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_VIDA</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the [[Consort of Chains]]: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.

[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div>

== Powers & Percentages ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (100%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley ''is'' Agni Prime, so there’s no overlap to consider.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Finley can use the blue flame in his left eye socket as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with this flame, he can force them to experience some of the suffering that every Agni has endured—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

== Side Quests ==

=== Legions & Legionnaires ===
'''Operatives''': SHERLOCK & PSYCHO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Eni Gambari, a designated leading voice in the Varuvian sect of Horizon Collective, tasked SHERLOCK (a reputable investigator) and PSYCHO (a Collective member) with convincing Finley, Torin, Vida, and Esther to film an epilogue for the controversial actual play Legions & Legionnaires. The show was controversial and unofficially banned by various entities due to its effectiveness at humanizing NHPs.

First, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to the Varuvian neighborhood of Little Valdivia to talk to Finley. They found him gardening not too far from an old decommissioned Worldkiller Genghis. SHERLOCK made progress by noting that Finley was being cruel to himself, but mentioned “burning” too many times and experienced the eternal pain of Agni Prime first hand thanks to Finley’s Eye of Agni. PSYCHO was able to cool things off and convince Finley to give the epilogue a go.

The two operatives were called back to the Horizon Collective base in a panic: Torin was attempting a hostile takeover due to his belief that the sect was being cowed by Union into becoming less radical. Torin noted that he had never once been truly seen even though he was the “hero” who fought alongside Hellfriede Ripley during the Varuvian Revolution. SHERLOCK asked him if he wanted to be seen as a hero or a person, and this led to Torin calling off the takeover.

The next day, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to one of Varuvi’s moons to catch Vida’s dance troupe performing. After managing to get backstage to talk to Vida, they spent some time talking to her about why she had gone on leave from Horizon Collective and lost her Sekhmet rage. After a party crashing attack from HORUS, Vida’s rage was unlocked (thanks in part to both the operative and Esther’s Sisyphus interference) and she slaughtered the HORUS agents before agreeing to return to the Collective.

Finally, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO got a lead on where Esther was. What they found was a Sisyphus on the verge of a full blown cascade. However, after surviving an onslaught of nihilism, Esther asked the two to cycle her and they did so, preventing her from completely cascading. Their perseverance also convinced Esther to join in for the epilogue.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Successful Legions & Legionnaires epilogue; increase in pro-NHP sentiment on Varuvi

=== The Whisper & The Song ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Varuvi was hosting a “progress day” event on the planet’s right moon to celebrate how far the planet had come since being liberated from the authoritarian rule of the Varuvian Assembly. Sonata, having befriended the cast of Legions & Legionnaires, was attending to help Finley sell food from the garden in Little Valdivia and investigate the rumor that Hellcat’s Osiris NHP Teddy had come back from the dead. STALKER was simply dumped on Varuvi by the [redacted] and had nothing better to do. HARPY was curious about the event and decided to attend as well.

STALKER attended a presentation by Torin on Varuvi’s Air Rail system, HARPY got a unique card reading from Esther wherein she drew the Banshee card, and Sonata enjoyed spending time with Finley. During a sniper competition, Sonata and STALKER were both able to meet the revived Teddy and Sonata ascertained that he posed no threat to Hellcat. Then, it was time for a performance by the rising pop star Feather Price. Unfortunately, during the show, something went terribly wrong: a blinkspace tear erupted in the middle of the crowd, Union representative Calvert Marksman was murdered by a strange blade that pierced through the tear, and Esther collapsed.

In the aftermath, Union ambassador Fiora Santi asked Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY to act as third-party investigators. The matter was especially delicate for Union since the one being accused of the murder was a Volador (Arturo, Callsign: WHISPER). Arturo claimed he would never murder anyone and was simply hunting the DHIYED fragments possessing people after an incident led to him being tainted by that horrific NHP. Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY’s investigations led them to Feather Price who they discovered was housing an UR_PACKET NHP in her heart.

The UR_PACKET, “Price”, and Symphony (who Sonata had called for assistance) confirmed a few things: Feather Price had subtly performed a song that caused Esther, as a Sisyphus, to temporarily lose control—this allowed the impossible to become possible. Arturo himself may not have committed the murder, but his wrathful blade did.

Everything led back to Fiora Santi being the one unintentionally harboring a DHIYED fragment. The operatives attempted to confront her before Sonata realized that Arturo was their best chance at resolving things. With their help, Arturo destroyed the DHIYED fragment.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Murder solved; DHIYED fragment dealt with

=== Silence & Screams ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY

=== NHPs & Parties ===
'''Operatives''': SPIRAL (Symphony), STAYGOLD, HADES, & SUSPIRIA

=== Unification & Emptiness ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, & PLUTO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">The planet Ioseta in the Xenfree star system went dark: all communication ceased. Union hesitated to put forth official action due to the planet’s association with SSC and a joint Harrison Armory-Karrakin Trade Barony project. Hellfriede Ripley, having come back from the dead and become the leader of Union’s unofficial Liberation Front, didn’t share Union’s reservations. She used a secure channel to reach out to the Silver Lining and put together a special operations team to investigate Ioseta. They wouldn’t be able to take mechs with them due to the strange electromagnetic pulse field surrounding the planet and disrupting the function of all chassis. In fact, the emp also disrupted ships attempting to enter the atmosphere, but Hellfriede and Torin had managed to find a weak spot in the field for infiltration.

The operatives dropped into the valley of Ioselia’s Crest on deployment pods, but Hellfriede was separated from them during the drop. Ioselia’s Crest was a hellscape covered in gore and strange, bio-mechanically altered corpses. Sonata tried to scan one of the bodies and noted that the energy coming from them reminded her of the Osiris NHP. A group of Harrison Armory soldiers began approaching, so the group quickly left their pods, leaving a bomb behind for the soldiers. However, HA was soon the least of their problems as the corpses began reassembling and attacking.

As the operatives were managing to escape, they were abruptly joined by Ravage (callsign: MADMAN), a Scylla-Class legionnaire they had been told to locate for information if possible. With the help of Ravage’s strange “pulse gear” and hellhound Drosera, getting away from the living dead became a much easier task. Ravage led them to the hideout containing Ioseta’s survivors. The hideout was the base of the HORUS cell, “Shackle the Duat”, that had previously operated on Ioseta. It soon became clear to the operatives that they needed to open the hideout’s central vault, which was emitting an energy signal similar to the one Sonata had detected coming from the corpses in the valley.

Inside the vault was an Osiris-Class legionnaire calling herself Iris. She said that she’d been held there by the previous HORUS cell and would be happy to lead the survivors to the heart of the hive mind controlling and resurrecting the corpse “thralls”. However, she said they’d need the muscle to actually put her information to good use and told them to acquire the aid of either the Harrison Armory or SSC groups still on Ioseta. At this point, the operatives received a message from Hellfriede requesting aid at the SSC base, so that was where they went.

<nowiki>#</nowiki>16 hacked into the SSC system to discover that Hellfriede had made quite the scene when she landed and was currently on the top floor with Cordelia Cressida, one of SSC’s geneticists. Cressida was responsible for the Cavalier Program on Varuvi that engineered Hellfriede, and claimed to think of her as a daughter. Hellfriede did not share the sentiment. The operatives broke into the top floor and successfully threatened Cressida into leaving Hellfriede alone and aiding them. With SSC’s help secured, Iris revealed the hive mind location, and the operatives and survivors stormed the heart of the hive.

At the end, they discovered an engorged Osiris casket embedded in the planet. It was Iris’ brother. Iris explained what had really happened. The bomb responsible for turning the majority of Ioseta’s population into biotech zombies wasn’t a bomb. It was a joint project between HA, HORUS, and SSC. It was supposed to be a paracausal pod that would meld flesh and mech technology to turn average people into super soldiers. Iris and her brother were used as the vessels for siphoning the necessary paracausal energy. It seemed they’d have to destroy Iris’ brother at first, but PLUTO was able to transfer him into a makeshift casket. Thus, what would go on to be dubbed the Tragedy of Ioseta came to an end.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Hive mind decommissioned; Ioseta’s survivors saved

=== Too Much & Too Far ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, PLUTO, & RETRIEVER

=== Hell, Hearth, & High Flame ===
'''Operatives''': MOONBEAM (Sonata), PLUTO, RETRIEVER, & STALKER

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Harrison Armory issued a mass recall on Agnis due to the spread of a virus causing them to cascade. After Finley was unceremoniously recalled, Torin began working with every viable ally Horizon Collective had to pinpoint his location. Obviously, Sonata also got involved, as did the rest of the mission’s operatives. Eventually, with the aid of Esther and two other Asuras named Felicity and Zura, they found out where HA was holding Finley and learned that a brutal attempt was being made to turn him into Agni Prime.

The operatives prepared for a rescue operation and, within days of learning this information, were taken to the isolated planet of Freyalia by Hellfriede Ripley’s ship, the Black Ichor. After dropping in on their mechs, a Freyalian native greeted them and used a Snow Skimmer ship to take them out to the HA facility. Upon arriving, combat was immediately initiated. They were attacked by a Harrison Armory’s Agni Reclamation Unit and a HORUS cell, further solidifying that the two groups had worked together in the distribution of the Agni cascade virus. After a thoroughly brutal combat, during which they dealt with the flaming paracausal agony of Finley being converted into a Prime, the operatives emerged victorious.

The ordeal wasn’t over when the fighting ended, however. Next, the operatives entered the HA facility and, in doing so, entered a metavault. First, they passed through a layer of Worldkiller Genghis forges and could hear the screams of every Agni radiating from the mechs. Next, they entered the cockpit of a Worldkiller acting as a weapon of fiery destruction during the first Hercynian Crisis. From within the mech, Sonata tried and failed to extinguish some of the external fires. PLUTO used her Cavendish’s ability to transfer heat in junction with her Agni co-pilot Curie’s ventilation to alleviate some of the other mech’s immense heat buildup. Finally, they found themselves in a garden with Finley’s own decommissioned Worldkiller leaning against a tree. Sonata entered the cockpit and brought the part of Finley’s consciousness inside the mech peace by showing him all the things fire could be used for other than destruction. The operatives were able to exit the metavault and return to the real facility.

Lying burned and dying in front of an actual vault door was Evandria Grace, the Harrison Armory soldier who once reached out to Finley about returning to HA. She was holding onto Finley’s artificial eye, though not for long. Sonata and Curie killed her as horribly as possible for her part in so many Agnis suffering, though RETRIEVER had to look away from the brutality for her own sake. Past the vault door were several charred corpses. Finley was sitting against a wall with several cuts and bruises as well as a broken leg. Finley had come to the conclusion that they could alleviate the agony of their fellow Agnis by becoming a new kind of Prime, and they were supported in this decision. With blue flame billowing out from their empty eye socket, Finley crushed their artificial eye and claimed their place as the next and final Agni Prime.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Finley became the new Agni Prime, but on his own terms; Union and various Horizon Collective cells have declared war on Harrison Armory
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-07-28T19:35:21Z

Glamourpal: /* Finley — AGNI PRIME */

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI PRIME ===

<blockquote>… Read it if you want to, but don’t weep for me.
- Finley</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering. [[File:Finley (Prime).png|thumb|Finley as the new Agni Prime.]]After being forcibly reclaimed by Harrison Armory, Finley was taken to a secure facility on an isolated planet and tortured, with the end goal of forcing them to become the next Agni Prime. Harrison Armory didn’t anticipate two things: the sheer determination of Finley’s friends to rescue them and Finley’s sheer resolve. Finley was able to avoid being overwhelmed by the agony of their situation and Agni nature. They held on to their humanity long enough to be rescued. Though Finley did become Agni Prime in the end, they are very different from the Agni Primes of the past. Finley knows who they are—who every Agni is—and they are not just eternal burning.

Currently, they still maintain a presence in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (such as the Onion).

</div></div>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
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He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_VIDA</div>
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She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the [[Consort of Chains]]: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div>

== Powers & Percentages ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (100%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley ''is'' Agni Prime, so there’s no overlap to consider.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Finley can use the blue flame in his left eye socket as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with this flame, he can force them to experience some of the suffering that every Agni has endured—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

== Side Quests ==

=== Legions & Legionnaires ===
'''Operatives''': SHERLOCK & PSYCHO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Eni Gambari, a designated leading voice in the Varuvian sect of Horizon Collective, tasked SHERLOCK (a reputable investigator) and PSYCHO (a Collective member) with convincing Finley, Torin, Vida, and Esther to film an epilogue for the controversial actual play Legions & Legionnaires. The show was controversial and unofficially banned by various entities due to its effectiveness at humanizing NHPs.

First, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to the Varuvian neighborhood of Little Valdivia to talk to Finley. They found him gardening not too far from an old decommissioned Worldkiller Genghis. SHERLOCK made progress by noting that Finley was being cruel to himself, but mentioned “burning” too many times and experienced the eternal pain of Agni Prime first hand thanks to Finley’s Eye of Agni. PSYCHO was able to cool things off and convince Finley to give the epilogue a go.

The two operatives were called back to the Horizon Collective base in a panic: Torin was attempting a hostile takeover due to his belief that the sect was being cowed by Union into becoming less radical. Torin noted that he had never once been truly seen even though he was the “hero” who fought alongside Hellfriede Ripley during the Varuvian Revolution. SHERLOCK asked him if he wanted to be seen as a hero or a person, and this led to Torin calling off the takeover.

The next day, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to one of Varuvi’s moons to catch Vida’s dance troupe performing. After managing to get backstage to talk to Vida, they spent some time talking to her about why she had gone on leave from Horizon Collective and lost her Sekhmet rage. After a party crashing attack from HORUS, Vida’s rage was unlocked (thanks in part to both the operative and Esther’s Sisyphus interference) and she slaughtered the HORUS agents before agreeing to return to the Collective.

Finally, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO got a lead on where Esther was. What they found was a Sisyphus on the verge of a full blown cascade. However, after surviving an onslaught of nihilism, Esther asked the two to cycle her and they did so, preventing her from completely cascading. Their perseverance also convinced Esther to join in for the epilogue.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Successful Legions & Legionnaires epilogue; increase in pro-NHP sentiment on Varuvi

=== The Whisper & The Song ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Varuvi was hosting a “progress day” event on the planet’s right moon to celebrate how far the planet had come since being liberated from the authoritarian rule of the Varuvian Assembly. Sonata, having befriended the cast of Legions & Legionnaires, was attending to help Finley sell food from the garden in Little Valdivia and investigate the rumor that Hellcat’s Osiris NHP Teddy had come back from the dead. STALKER was simply dumped on Varuvi by the [redacted] and had nothing better to do. HARPY was curious about the event and decided to attend as well.

STALKER attended a presentation by Torin on Varuvi’s Air Rail system, HARPY got a unique card reading from Esther wherein she drew the Banshee card, and Sonata enjoyed spending time with Finley. During a sniper competition, Sonata and STALKER were both able to meet the revived Teddy and Sonata ascertained that he posed no threat to Hellcat. Then, it was time for a performance by the rising pop star Feather Price. Unfortunately, during the show, something went terribly wrong: a blinkspace tear erupted in the middle of the crowd, Union representative Calvert Marksman was murdered by a strange blade that pierced through the tear, and Esther collapsed.

In the aftermath, Union ambassador Fiora Santi asked Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY to act as third-party investigators. The matter was especially delicate for Union since the one being accused of the murder was a Volador (Arturo, Callsign: WHISPER). Arturo claimed he would never murder anyone and was simply hunting the DHIYED fragments possessing people after an incident led to him being tainted by that horrific NHP. Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY’s investigations led them to Feather Price who they discovered was housing an UR_PACKET NHP in her heart.

The UR_PACKET, “Price”, and Symphony (who Sonata had called for assistance) confirmed a few things: Feather Price had subtly performed a song that caused Esther, as a Sisyphus, to temporarily lose control—this allowed the impossible to become possible. Arturo himself may not have committed the murder, but his wrathful blade did.

Everything led back to Fiora Santi being the one unintentionally harboring a DHIYED fragment. The operatives attempted to confront her before Sonata realized that Arturo was their best chance at resolving things. With their help, Arturo destroyed the DHIYED fragment.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Murder solved; DHIYED fragment dealt with

=== Silence & Screams ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY

=== NHPs & Parties ===
'''Operatives''': SPIRAL (Symphony), STAYGOLD, HADES, & SUSPIRIA

=== Unification & Emptiness ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, & PLUTO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">The planet Ioseta in the Xenfree star system went dark: all communication ceased. Union hesitated to put forth official action due to the planet’s association with SSC and a joint Harrison Armory-Karrakin Trade Barony project. Hellfriede Ripley, having come back from the dead and become the leader of Union’s unofficial Liberation Front, didn’t share Union’s reservations. She used a secure channel to reach out to the Silver Lining and put together a special operations team to investigate Ioseta. They wouldn’t be able to take mechs with them due to the strange electromagnetic pulse field surrounding the planet and disrupting the function of all chassis. In fact, the emp also disrupted ships attempting to enter the atmosphere, but Hellfriede and Torin had managed to find a weak spot in the field for infiltration.

The operatives dropped into the valley of Ioselia’s Crest on deployment pods, but Hellfriede was separated from them during the drop. Ioselia’s Crest was a hellscape covered in gore and strange, bio-mechanically altered corpses. Sonata tried to scan one of the bodies and noted that the energy coming from them reminded her of the Osiris NHP. A group of Harrison Armory soldiers began approaching, so the group quickly left their pods, leaving a bomb behind for the soldiers. However, HA was soon the least of their problems as the corpses began reassembling and attacking.

As the operatives were managing to escape, they were abruptly joined by Ravage (callsign: MADMAN), a Scylla-Class legionnaire they had been told to locate for information if possible. With the help of Ravage’s strange “pulse gear” and hellhound Drosera, getting away from the living dead became a much easier task. Ravage led them to the hideout containing Ioseta’s survivors. The hideout was the base of the HORUS cell, “Shackle the Duat”, that had previously operated on Ioseta. It soon became clear to the operatives that they needed to open the hideout’s central vault, which was emitting an energy signal similar to the one Sonata had detected coming from the corpses in the valley.

Inside the vault was an Osiris-Class legionnaire calling herself Iris. She said that she’d been held there by the previous HORUS cell and would be happy to lead the survivors to the heart of the hive mind controlling and resurrecting the corpse “thralls”. However, she said they’d need the muscle to actually put her information to good use and told them to acquire the aid of either the Harrison Armory or SSC groups still on Ioseta. At this point, the operatives received a message from Hellfriede requesting aid at the SSC base, so that was where they went.

<nowiki>#</nowiki>16 hacked into the SSC system to discover that Hellfriede had made quite the scene when she landed and was currently on the top floor with Cordelia Cressida, one of SSC’s geneticists. Cressida was responsible for the Cavalier Program on Varuvi that engineered Hellfriede, and claimed to think of her as a daughter. Hellfriede did not share the sentiment. The operatives broke into the top floor and successfully threatened Cressida into leaving Hellfriede alone and aiding them. With SSC’s help secured, Iris revealed the hive mind location, and the operatives and survivors stormed the heart of the hive.

At the end, they discovered an engorged Osiris casket embedded in the planet. It was Iris’ brother. Iris explained what had really happened. The bomb responsible for turning the majority of Ioseta’s population into biotech zombies wasn’t a bomb. It was a joint project between HA, HORUS, and SSC. It was supposed to be a paracausal pod that would meld flesh and mech technology to turn average people into super soldiers. Iris and her brother were used as the vessels for siphoning the necessary paracausal energy. It seemed they’d have to destroy Iris’ brother at first, but PLUTO was able to transfer him into a makeshift casket. Thus, what would go on to be dubbed the Tragedy of Ioseta came to an end.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Hive mind decommissioned; Ioseta’s survivors saved

=== Too Much & Too Far ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, PLUTO, & RETRIEVER

=== Hell, Hearth, & High Flame ===
'''Operatives''': MOONBEAM (Sonata), PLUTO, RETRIEVER, & STALKER

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Harrison Armory issued a mass recall on Agnis due to the spread of a virus causing them to cascade. After Finley was unceremoniously recalled, Torin began working with every viable ally Horizon Collective had to pinpoint his location. Obviously, Sonata also got involved, as did the rest of the mission’s operatives. Eventually, with the aid of Esther and two other Asuras named Felicity and Zura, they found out where HA was holding Finley and learned that a brutal attempt was being made to turn him into Agni Prime.

The operatives prepared for a rescue operation and, within days of learning this information, were taken to the isolated planet of Freyalia by Hellfriede Ripley’s ship, the Black Ichor. After dropping in on their mechs, a Freyalian native greeted them and used a Snow Skimmer ship to take them out to the HA facility. Upon arriving, combat was immediately initiated. They were attacked by a Harrison Armory’s Agni Reclamation Unit and a HORUS cell, further solidifying that the two groups had worked together in the distribution of the Agni cascade virus. After a thoroughly brutal combat, during which they dealt with the flaming paracausal agony of Finley being converted into a Prime, the operatives emerged victorious.

The ordeal wasn’t over when the fighting ended, however. Next, the operatives entered the HA facility and, in doing so, entered a metavault. First, they passed through a layer of Worldkiller Genghis forges and could hear the screams of every Agni radiating from the mechs. Next, they entered the cockpit of a Worldkiller acting as a weapon of fiery destruction during the first Hercynian Crisis. From within the mech, Sonata tried and failed to extinguish some of the external fires. PLUTO used her Cavendish’s ability to transfer heat in junction with her Agni co-pilot Curie’s ventilation to alleviate some of the other mech’s immense heat buildup. Finally, they found themselves in a garden with Finley’s own decommissioned Worldkiller leaning against a tree. Sonata entered the cockpit and brought the part of Finley’s consciousness inside the mech peace by showing him all the things fire could be used for other than destruction. The operatives were able to exit the metavault and return to the real facility.

Lying burned and dying in front of an actual vault door was Evandria Grace, the Harrison Armory soldier who once reached out to Finley about returning to HA. She was holding onto Finley’s artificial eye, though not for long. Sonata and Curie killed her as horribly as possible for her part in so many Agnis suffering, though RETRIEVER had to look away from the brutality for her own sake. Past the vault door were several charred corpses. Finley was sitting against a wall with several cuts and bruises as well as a broken leg. Finley had come to the conclusion that they could alleviate the agony of their fellow Agnis by becoming a new kind of Prime, and they were supported in this decision. With blue flame billowing out from their empty eye socket, Finley crushed their artificial eye and claimed their place as the next and final Agni Prime.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Finley became the new Agni Prime, but on his own terms; Union and various Horizon Collective cells have declared war on Harrison Armory
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-07-28T11:48:27Z

Glamourpal: /* Finley — AGNI PRIME */

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI PRIME ===

<blockquote>… Read it if you want to, but don’t weep for me.
- Finley</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

After being forcibly reclaimed by Harrison Armory, Finley was taken to a secure facility on an isolated planet and tortured, with the end goal of forcing them to become the next Agni Prime. Harrison Armory didn’t anticipate two things: the sheer determination of Finley’s friends to rescue them and Finley’s sheer resolve. Finley was able to avoid being overwhelmed by the agony of their situation and Agni nature. They held on to their humanity long enough to be rescued. Though Finley did become Agni Prime in the end, they are very different from the Agni Primes of the past. Finley knows who they are—who every Agni is—and they are not just eternal burning.

[[File:Finley (Prime).png|thumb|Finley as the new AGNI PRIME.]]

Currently, they still maintain a presence in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (such as the Onion).

</div></div>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_VIDA</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the [[Consort of Chains]]: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div>

== Powers & Percentages ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (100%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley ''is'' Agni Prime, so there’s no overlap to consider.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Finley can use the blue flame in his left eye socket as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with this flame, he can force them to experience some of the suffering that every Agni has endured—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

== Side Quests ==

=== Legions & Legionnaires ===
'''Operatives''': SHERLOCK & PSYCHO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Eni Gambari, a designated leading voice in the Varuvian sect of Horizon Collective, tasked SHERLOCK (a reputable investigator) and PSYCHO (a Collective member) with convincing Finley, Torin, Vida, and Esther to film an epilogue for the controversial actual play Legions & Legionnaires. The show was controversial and unofficially banned by various entities due to its effectiveness at humanizing NHPs.

First, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to the Varuvian neighborhood of Little Valdivia to talk to Finley. They found him gardening not too far from an old decommissioned Worldkiller Genghis. SHERLOCK made progress by noting that Finley was being cruel to himself, but mentioned “burning” too many times and experienced the eternal pain of Agni Prime first hand thanks to Finley’s Eye of Agni. PSYCHO was able to cool things off and convince Finley to give the epilogue a go.

The two operatives were called back to the Horizon Collective base in a panic: Torin was attempting a hostile takeover due to his belief that the sect was being cowed by Union into becoming less radical. Torin noted that he had never once been truly seen even though he was the “hero” who fought alongside Hellfriede Ripley during the Varuvian Revolution. SHERLOCK asked him if he wanted to be seen as a hero or a person, and this led to Torin calling off the takeover.

The next day, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to one of Varuvi’s moons to catch Vida’s dance troupe performing. After managing to get backstage to talk to Vida, they spent some time talking to her about why she had gone on leave from Horizon Collective and lost her Sekhmet rage. After a party crashing attack from HORUS, Vida’s rage was unlocked (thanks in part to both the operative and Esther’s Sisyphus interference) and she slaughtered the HORUS agents before agreeing to return to the Collective.

Finally, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO got a lead on where Esther was. What they found was a Sisyphus on the verge of a full blown cascade. However, after surviving an onslaught of nihilism, Esther asked the two to cycle her and they did so, preventing her from completely cascading. Their perseverance also convinced Esther to join in for the epilogue.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Successful Legions & Legionnaires epilogue; increase in pro-NHP sentiment on Varuvi

=== The Whisper & The Song ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Varuvi was hosting a “progress day” event on the planet’s right moon to celebrate how far the planet had come since being liberated from the authoritarian rule of the Varuvian Assembly. Sonata, having befriended the cast of Legions & Legionnaires, was attending to help Finley sell food from the garden in Little Valdivia and investigate the rumor that Hellcat’s Osiris NHP Teddy had come back from the dead. STALKER was simply dumped on Varuvi by the [redacted] and had nothing better to do. HARPY was curious about the event and decided to attend as well.

STALKER attended a presentation by Torin on Varuvi’s Air Rail system, HARPY got a unique card reading from Esther wherein she drew the Banshee card, and Sonata enjoyed spending time with Finley. During a sniper competition, Sonata and STALKER were both able to meet the revived Teddy and Sonata ascertained that he posed no threat to Hellcat. Then, it was time for a performance by the rising pop star Feather Price. Unfortunately, during the show, something went terribly wrong: a blinkspace tear erupted in the middle of the crowd, Union representative Calvert Marksman was murdered by a strange blade that pierced through the tear, and Esther collapsed.

In the aftermath, Union ambassador Fiora Santi asked Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY to act as third-party investigators. The matter was especially delicate for Union since the one being accused of the murder was a Volador (Arturo, Callsign: WHISPER). Arturo claimed he would never murder anyone and was simply hunting the DHIYED fragments possessing people after an incident led to him being tainted by that horrific NHP. Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY’s investigations led them to Feather Price who they discovered was housing an UR_PACKET NHP in her heart.

The UR_PACKET, “Price”, and Symphony (who Sonata had called for assistance) confirmed a few things: Feather Price had subtly performed a song that caused Esther, as a Sisyphus, to temporarily lose control—this allowed the impossible to become possible. Arturo himself may not have committed the murder, but his wrathful blade did.

Everything led back to Fiora Santi being the one unintentionally harboring a DHIYED fragment. The operatives attempted to confront her before Sonata realized that Arturo was their best chance at resolving things. With their help, Arturo destroyed the DHIYED fragment.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Murder solved; DHIYED fragment dealt with

=== Silence & Screams ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY

=== NHPs & Parties ===
'''Operatives''': SPIRAL (Symphony), STAYGOLD, HADES, & SUSPIRIA

=== Unification & Emptiness ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, & PLUTO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">The planet Ioseta in the Xenfree star system went dark: all communication ceased. Union hesitated to put forth official action due to the planet’s association with SSC and a joint Harrison Armory-Karrakin Trade Barony project. Hellfriede Ripley, having come back from the dead and become the leader of Union’s unofficial Liberation Front, didn’t share Union’s reservations. She used a secure channel to reach out to the Silver Lining and put together a special operations team to investigate Ioseta. They wouldn’t be able to take mechs with them due to the strange electromagnetic pulse field surrounding the planet and disrupting the function of all chassis. In fact, the emp also disrupted ships attempting to enter the atmosphere, but Hellfriede and Torin had managed to find a weak spot in the field for infiltration.

The operatives dropped into the valley of Ioselia’s Crest on deployment pods, but Hellfriede was separated from them during the drop. Ioselia’s Crest was a hellscape covered in gore and strange, bio-mechanically altered corpses. Sonata tried to scan one of the bodies and noted that the energy coming from them reminded her of the Osiris NHP. A group of Harrison Armory soldiers began approaching, so the group quickly left their pods, leaving a bomb behind for the soldiers. However, HA was soon the least of their problems as the corpses began reassembling and attacking.

As the operatives were managing to escape, they were abruptly joined by Ravage (callsign: MADMAN), a Scylla-Class legionnaire they had been told to locate for information if possible. With the help of Ravage’s strange “pulse gear” and hellhound Drosera, getting away from the living dead became a much easier task. Ravage led them to the hideout containing Ioseta’s survivors. The hideout was the base of the HORUS cell, “Shackle the Duat”, that had previously operated on Ioseta. It soon became clear to the operatives that they needed to open the hideout’s central vault, which was emitting an energy signal similar to the one Sonata had detected coming from the corpses in the valley.

Inside the vault was an Osiris-Class legionnaire calling herself Iris. She said that she’d been held there by the previous HORUS cell and would be happy to lead the survivors to the heart of the hive mind controlling and resurrecting the corpse “thralls”. However, she said they’d need the muscle to actually put her information to good use and told them to acquire the aid of either the Harrison Armory or SSC groups still on Ioseta. At this point, the operatives received a message from Hellfriede requesting aid at the SSC base, so that was where they went.

<nowiki>#</nowiki>16 hacked into the SSC system to discover that Hellfriede had made quite the scene when she landed and was currently on the top floor with Cordelia Cressida, one of SSC’s geneticists. Cressida was responsible for the Cavalier Program on Varuvi that engineered Hellfriede, and claimed to think of her as a daughter. Hellfriede did not share the sentiment. The operatives broke into the top floor and successfully threatened Cressida into leaving Hellfriede alone and aiding them. With SSC’s help secured, Iris revealed the hive mind location, and the operatives and survivors stormed the heart of the hive.

At the end, they discovered an engorged Osiris casket embedded in the planet. It was Iris’ brother. Iris explained what had really happened. The bomb responsible for turning the majority of Ioseta’s population into biotech zombies wasn’t a bomb. It was a joint project between HA, HORUS, and SSC. It was supposed to be a paracausal pod that would meld flesh and mech technology to turn average people into super soldiers. Iris and her brother were used as the vessels for siphoning the necessary paracausal energy. It seemed they’d have to destroy Iris’ brother at first, but PLUTO was able to transfer him into a makeshift casket. Thus, what would go on to be dubbed the Tragedy of Ioseta came to an end.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Hive mind decommissioned; Ioseta’s survivors saved

=== Too Much & Too Far ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, PLUTO, & RETRIEVER

=== Hell, Hearth, & High Flame ===
'''Operatives''': MOONBEAM (Sonata), PLUTO, RETRIEVER, & STALKER

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Harrison Armory issued a mass recall on Agnis due to the spread of a virus causing them to cascade. After Finley was unceremoniously recalled, Torin began working with every viable ally Horizon Collective had to pinpoint his location. Obviously, Sonata also got involved, as did the rest of the mission’s operatives. Eventually, with the aid of Esther and two other Asuras named Felicity and Zura, they found out where HA was holding Finley and learned that a brutal attempt was being made to turn him into Agni Prime.

The operatives prepared for a rescue operation and, within days of learning this information, were taken to the isolated planet of Freyalia by Hellfriede Ripley’s ship, the Black Ichor. After dropping in on their mechs, a Freyalian native greeted them and used a Snow Skimmer ship to take them out to the HA facility. Upon arriving, combat was immediately initiated. They were attacked by a Harrison Armory’s Agni Reclamation Unit and a HORUS cell, further solidifying that the two groups had worked together in the distribution of the Agni cascade virus. After a thoroughly brutal combat, during which they dealt with the flaming paracausal agony of Finley being converted into a Prime, the operatives emerged victorious.

The ordeal wasn’t over when the fighting ended, however. Next, the operatives entered the HA facility and, in doing so, entered a metavault. First, they passed through a layer of Worldkiller Genghis forges and could hear the screams of every Agni radiating from the mechs. Next, they entered the cockpit of a Worldkiller acting as a weapon of fiery destruction during the first Hercynian Crisis. From within the mech, Sonata tried and failed to extinguish some of the external fires. PLUTO used her Cavendish’s ability to transfer heat in junction with her Agni co-pilot Curie’s ventilation to alleviate some of the other mech’s immense heat buildup. Finally, they found themselves in a garden with Finley’s own decommissioned Worldkiller leaning against a tree. Sonata entered the cockpit and brought the part of Finley’s consciousness inside the mech peace by showing him all the things fire could be used for other than destruction. The operatives were able to exit the metavault and return to the real facility.

Lying burned and dying in front of an actual vault door was Evandria Grace, the Harrison Armory soldier who once reached out to Finley about returning to HA. She was holding onto Finley’s artificial eye, though not for long. Sonata and Curie killed her as horribly as possible for her part in so many Agnis suffering, though RETRIEVER had to look away from the brutality for her own sake. Past the vault door were several charred corpses. Finley was sitting against a wall with several cuts and bruises as well as a broken leg. Finley had come to the conclusion that they could alleviate the agony of their fellow Agnis by becoming a new kind of Prime, and they were supported in this decision. With blue flame billowing out from their empty eye socket, Finley crushed their artificial eye and claimed their place as the next and final Agni Prime.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Finley became the new Agni Prime, but on his own terms; Union and various Horizon Collective cells have declared war on Harrison Armory
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-07-28T11:44:45Z

Glamourpal: Made updates to Finley’s sections.

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI PRIME ===

<blockquote>… Read it if you want to, but don’t weep for me.
- Finley</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

After being forcibly reclaimed by Harrison Armory, Finley was taken to a secure facility on an isolated planet and tortured, with the end goal of forcing them to become the next Agni Prime. Harrison Armory didn’t anticipate two things: the sheer determination of Finley’s friends to rescue them and Finley’s sheer resolve. Finley was able to avoid being overwhelmed by the agony of their situation and Agni nature. They held on to their humanity long enough to be rescued. Though Finley did become Agni Prime in the end, they are very different from the Agni Primes of the past. Finley knows who they are—who every Agni is—and they are not just eternal burning. [[File:Finley (Prime).png|thumb|Finley as the new AGNI PRIME.]]Currently, they still maintain a presence in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (such as the Onion).

</div></div>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin</blockquote>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
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He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida</blockquote>

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She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
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She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the [[Consort of Chains]]: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div>

== Powers & Percentages ==

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (100%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley ''is'' Agni Prime, so there’s no overlap to consider.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Finley can use the blue flame in his left eye socket as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with this flame, he can force them to experience some of the suffering that every Agni has endured—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
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Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
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Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

== Side Quests ==

=== Legions & Legionnaires ===
'''Operatives''': SHERLOCK & PSYCHO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Eni Gambari, a designated leading voice in the Varuvian sect of Horizon Collective, tasked SHERLOCK (a reputable investigator) and PSYCHO (a Collective member) with convincing Finley, Torin, Vida, and Esther to film an epilogue for the controversial actual play Legions & Legionnaires. The show was controversial and unofficially banned by various entities due to its effectiveness at humanizing NHPs.

First, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to the Varuvian neighborhood of Little Valdivia to talk to Finley. They found him gardening not too far from an old decommissioned Worldkiller Genghis. SHERLOCK made progress by noting that Finley was being cruel to himself, but mentioned “burning” too many times and experienced the eternal pain of Agni Prime first hand thanks to Finley’s Eye of Agni. PSYCHO was able to cool things off and convince Finley to give the epilogue a go.

The two operatives were called back to the Horizon Collective base in a panic: Torin was attempting a hostile takeover due to his belief that the sect was being cowed by Union into becoming less radical. Torin noted that he had never once been truly seen even though he was the “hero” who fought alongside Hellfriede Ripley during the Varuvian Revolution. SHERLOCK asked him if he wanted to be seen as a hero or a person, and this led to Torin calling off the takeover.

The next day, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to one of Varuvi’s moons to catch Vida’s dance troupe performing. After managing to get backstage to talk to Vida, they spent some time talking to her about why she had gone on leave from Horizon Collective and lost her Sekhmet rage. After a party crashing attack from HORUS, Vida’s rage was unlocked (thanks in part to both the operative and Esther’s Sisyphus interference) and she slaughtered the HORUS agents before agreeing to return to the Collective.

Finally, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO got a lead on where Esther was. What they found was a Sisyphus on the verge of a full blown cascade. However, after surviving an onslaught of nihilism, Esther asked the two to cycle her and they did so, preventing her from completely cascading. Their perseverance also convinced Esther to join in for the epilogue.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Successful Legions & Legionnaires epilogue; increase in pro-NHP sentiment on Varuvi

=== The Whisper & The Song ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Varuvi was hosting a “progress day” event on the planet’s right moon to celebrate how far the planet had come since being liberated from the authoritarian rule of the Varuvian Assembly. Sonata, having befriended the cast of Legions & Legionnaires, was attending to help Finley sell food from the garden in Little Valdivia and investigate the rumor that Hellcat’s Osiris NHP Teddy had come back from the dead. STALKER was simply dumped on Varuvi by the [redacted] and had nothing better to do. HARPY was curious about the event and decided to attend as well.

STALKER attended a presentation by Torin on Varuvi’s Air Rail system, HARPY got a unique card reading from Esther wherein she drew the Banshee card, and Sonata enjoyed spending time with Finley. During a sniper competition, Sonata and STALKER were both able to meet the revived Teddy and Sonata ascertained that he posed no threat to Hellcat. Then, it was time for a performance by the rising pop star Feather Price. Unfortunately, during the show, something went terribly wrong: a blinkspace tear erupted in the middle of the crowd, Union representative Calvert Marksman was murdered by a strange blade that pierced through the tear, and Esther collapsed.

In the aftermath, Union ambassador Fiora Santi asked Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY to act as third-party investigators. The matter was especially delicate for Union since the one being accused of the murder was a Volador (Arturo, Callsign: WHISPER). Arturo claimed he would never murder anyone and was simply hunting the DHIYED fragments possessing people after an incident led to him being tainted by that horrific NHP. Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY’s investigations led them to Feather Price who they discovered was housing an UR_PACKET NHP in her heart.

The UR_PACKET, “Price”, and Symphony (who Sonata had called for assistance) confirmed a few things: Feather Price had subtly performed a song that caused Esther, as a Sisyphus, to temporarily lose control—this allowed the impossible to become possible. Arturo himself may not have committed the murder, but his wrathful blade did.

Everything led back to Fiora Santi being the one unintentionally harboring a DHIYED fragment. The operatives attempted to confront her before Sonata realized that Arturo was their best chance at resolving things. With their help, Arturo destroyed the DHIYED fragment.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Murder solved; DHIYED fragment dealt with

=== Silence & Screams ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY

=== NHPs & Parties ===
'''Operatives''': SPIRAL (Symphony), STAYGOLD, HADES, & SUSPIRIA

=== Unification & Emptiness ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, & PLUTO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">The planet Ioseta in the Xenfree star system went dark: all communication ceased. Union hesitated to put forth official action due to the planet’s association with SSC and a joint Harrison Armory-Karrakin Trade Barony project. Hellfriede Ripley, having come back from the dead and become the leader of Union’s unofficial Liberation Front, didn’t share Union’s reservations. She used a secure channel to reach out to the Silver Lining and put together a special operations team to investigate Ioseta. They wouldn’t be able to take mechs with them due to the strange electromagnetic pulse field surrounding the planet and disrupting the function of all chassis. In fact, the emp also disrupted ships attempting to enter the atmosphere, but Hellfriede and Torin had managed to find a weak spot in the field for infiltration.

The operatives dropped into the valley of Ioselia’s Crest on deployment pods, but Hellfriede was separated from them during the drop. Ioselia’s Crest was a hellscape covered in gore and strange, bio-mechanically altered corpses. Sonata tried to scan one of the bodies and noted that the energy coming from them reminded her of the Osiris NHP. A group of Harrison Armory soldiers began approaching, so the group quickly left their pods, leaving a bomb behind for the soldiers. However, HA was soon the least of their problems as the corpses began reassembling and attacking.

As the operatives were managing to escape, they were abruptly joined by Ravage (callsign: MADMAN), a Scylla-Class legionnaire they had been told to locate for information if possible. With the help of Ravage’s strange “pulse gear” and hellhound Drosera, getting away from the living dead became a much easier task. Ravage led them to the hideout containing Ioseta’s survivors. The hideout was the base of the HORUS cell, “Shackle the Duat”, that had previously operated on Ioseta. It soon became clear to the operatives that they needed to open the hideout’s central vault, which was emitting an energy signal similar to the one Sonata had detected coming from the corpses in the valley.

Inside the vault was an Osiris-Class legionnaire calling herself Iris. She said that she’d been held there by the previous HORUS cell and would be happy to lead the survivors to the heart of the hive mind controlling and resurrecting the corpse “thralls”. However, she said they’d need the muscle to actually put her information to good use and told them to acquire the aid of either the Harrison Armory or SSC groups still on Ioseta. At this point, the operatives received a message from Hellfriede requesting aid at the SSC base, so that was where they went.

<nowiki>#</nowiki>16 hacked into the SSC system to discover that Hellfriede had made quite the scene when she landed and was currently on the top floor with Cordelia Cressida, one of SSC’s geneticists. Cressida was responsible for the Cavalier Program on Varuvi that engineered Hellfriede, and claimed to think of her as a daughter. Hellfriede did not share the sentiment. The operatives broke into the top floor and successfully threatened Cressida into leaving Hellfriede alone and aiding them. With SSC’s help secured, Iris revealed the hive mind location, and the operatives and survivors stormed the heart of the hive.

At the end, they discovered an engorged Osiris casket embedded in the planet. It was Iris’ brother. Iris explained what had really happened. The bomb responsible for turning the majority of Ioseta’s population into biotech zombies wasn’t a bomb. It was a joint project between HA, HORUS, and SSC. It was supposed to be a paracausal pod that would meld flesh and mech technology to turn average people into super soldiers. Iris and her brother were used as the vessels for siphoning the necessary paracausal energy. It seemed they’d have to destroy Iris’ brother at first, but PLUTO was able to transfer him into a makeshift casket. Thus, what would go on to be dubbed the Tragedy of Ioseta came to an end.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Hive mind decommissioned; Ioseta’s survivors saved

=== Too Much & Too Far ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, PLUTO, & RETRIEVER

=== Hell, Hearth, & High Flame ===
'''Operatives''': MOONBEAM (Sonata), PLUTO, RETRIEVER, & STALKER

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Harrison Armory issued a mass recall on Agnis due to the spread of a virus causing them to cascade. After Finley was unceremoniously recalled, Torin began working with every viable ally Horizon Collective had to pinpoint his location. Obviously, Sonata also got involved, as did the rest of the mission’s operatives. Eventually, with the aid of Esther and two other Asuras named Felicity and Zura, they found out where HA was holding Finley and learned that a brutal attempt was being made to turn him into Agni Prime.

The operatives prepared for a rescue operation and, within days of learning this information, were taken to the isolated planet of Freyalia by Hellfriede Ripley’s ship, the Black Ichor. After dropping in on their mechs, a Freyalian native greeted them and used a Snow Skimmer ship to take them out to the HA facility. Upon arriving, combat was immediately initiated. They were attacked by a Harrison Armory’s Agni Reclamation Unit and a HORUS cell, further solidifying that the two groups had worked together in the distribution of the Agni cascade virus. After a thoroughly brutal combat, during which they dealt with the flaming paracausal agony of Finley being converted into a Prime, the operatives emerged victorious.

The ordeal wasn’t over when the fighting ended, however. Next, the operatives entered the HA facility and, in doing so, entered a metavault. First, they passed through a layer of Worldkiller Genghis forges and could hear the screams of every Agni radiating from the mechs. Next, they entered the cockpit of a Worldkiller acting as a weapon of fiery destruction during the first Hercynian Crisis. From within the mech, Sonata tried and failed to extinguish some of the external fires. PLUTO used her Cavendish’s ability to transfer heat in junction with her Agni co-pilot Curie’s ventilation to alleviate some of the other mech’s immense heat buildup. Finally, they found themselves in a garden with Finley’s own decommissioned Worldkiller leaning against a tree. Sonata entered the cockpit and brought the part of Finley’s consciousness inside the mech peace by showing him all the things fire could be used for other than destruction. The operatives were able to exit the metavault and return to the real facility.

Lying burned and dying in front of an actual vault door was Evandria Grace, the Harrison Armory soldier who once reached out to Finley about returning to HA. She was holding onto Finley’s artificial eye, though not for long. Sonata and Curie killed her as horribly as possible for her part in so many Agnis suffering, though RETRIEVER had to look away from the brutality for her own sake. Past the vault door were several charred corpses. Finley was sitting against a wall with several cuts and bruises as well as a broken leg. Finley had come to the conclusion that they could alleviate the agony of their fellow Agnis by becoming a new kind of Prime, and they were supported in this decision. With blue flame billowing out from their empty eye socket, Finley crushed their artificial eye and claimed their place as the next and final Agni Prime.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Finley became the new Agni Prime, but on his own terms; Union and various Horizon Collective cells have declared war on Harrison Armory
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

File:Finley (Prime).png

2026-07-28T11:40:28Z

Glamourpal:

Picrew art of the new Finley.

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-07-27T03:21:50Z

Glamourpal: /* Hell, Hearth, & High Flame */ added a crucial detail to the session summary.

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>… Read it if you want to, but don’t weep for me.
- Finley</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

</div></div>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_VIDA</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the [[Consort of Chains]]: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div>

== Powers & Percentages ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

== Side Quests ==

=== Legions & Legionnaires ===
'''Operatives''': SHERLOCK & PSYCHO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Eni Gambari, a designated leading voice in the Varuvian sect of Horizon Collective, tasked SHERLOCK (a reputable investigator) and PSYCHO (a Collective member) with convincing Finley, Torin, Vida, and Esther to film an epilogue for the controversial actual play Legions & Legionnaires. The show was controversial and unofficially banned by various entities due to its effectiveness at humanizing NHPs.

First, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to the Varuvian neighborhood of Little Valdivia to talk to Finley. They found him gardening not too far from an old decommissioned Worldkiller Genghis. SHERLOCK made progress by noting that Finley was being cruel to himself, but mentioned “burning” too many times and experienced the eternal pain of Agni Prime first hand thanks to Finley’s Eye of Agni. PSYCHO was able to cool things off and convince Finley to give the epilogue a go.

The two operatives were called back to the Horizon Collective base in a panic: Torin was attempting a hostile takeover due to his belief that the sect was being cowed by Union into becoming less radical. Torin noted that he had never once been truly seen even though he was the “hero” who fought alongside Hellfriede Ripley during the Varuvian Revolution. SHERLOCK asked him if he wanted to be seen as a hero or a person, and this led to Torin calling off the takeover.

The next day, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to one of Varuvi’s moons to catch Vida’s dance troupe performing. After managing to get backstage to talk to Vida, they spent some time talking to her about why she had gone on leave from Horizon Collective and lost her Sekhmet rage. After a party crashing attack from HORUS, Vida’s rage was unlocked (thanks in part to both the operative and Esther’s Sisyphus interference) and she slaughtered the HORUS agents before agreeing to return to the Collective.

Finally, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO got a lead on where Esther was. What they found was a Sisyphus on the verge of a full blown cascade. However, after surviving an onslaught of nihilism, Esther asked the two to cycle her and they did so, preventing her from completely cascading. Their perseverance also convinced Esther to join in for the epilogue.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Successful Legions & Legionnaires epilogue; increase in pro-NHP sentiment on Varuvi

=== The Whisper & The Song ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Varuvi was hosting a “progress day” event on the planet’s right moon to celebrate how far the planet had come since being liberated from the authoritarian rule of the Varuvian Assembly. Sonata, having befriended the cast of Legions & Legionnaires, was attending to help Finley sell food from the garden in Little Valdivia and investigate the rumor that Hellcat’s Osiris NHP Teddy had come back from the dead. STALKER was simply dumped on Varuvi by the [redacted] and had nothing better to do. HARPY was curious about the event and decided to attend as well.

STALKER attended a presentation by Torin on Varuvi’s Air Rail system, HARPY got a unique card reading from Esther wherein she drew the Banshee card, and Sonata enjoyed spending time with Finley. During a sniper competition, Sonata and STALKER were both able to meet the revived Teddy and Sonata ascertained that he posed no threat to Hellcat. Then, it was time for a performance by the rising pop star Feather Price. Unfortunately, during the show, something went terribly wrong: a blinkspace tear erupted in the middle of the crowd, Union representative Calvert Marksman was murdered by a strange blade that pierced through the tear, and Esther collapsed.

In the aftermath, Union ambassador Fiora Santi asked Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY to act as third-party investigators. The matter was especially delicate for Union since the one being accused of the murder was a Volador (Arturo, Callsign: WHISPER). Arturo claimed he would never murder anyone and was simply hunting the DHIYED fragments possessing people after an incident led to him being tainted by that horrific NHP. Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY’s investigations led them to Feather Price who they discovered was housing an UR_PACKET NHP in her heart.

The UR_PACKET, “Price”, and Symphony (who Sonata had called for assistance) confirmed a few things: Feather Price had subtly performed a song that caused Esther, as a Sisyphus, to temporarily lose control—this allowed the impossible to become possible. Arturo himself may not have committed the murder, but his wrathful blade did.

Everything led back to Fiora Santi being the one unintentionally harboring a DHIYED fragment. The operatives attempted to confront her before Sonata realized that Arturo was their best chance at resolving things. With their help, Arturo destroyed the DHIYED fragment.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Murder solved; DHIYED fragment dealt with

=== Silence & Screams ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY

=== NHPs & Parties ===
'''Operatives''': SPIRAL (Symphony), STAYGOLD, HADES, & SUSPIRIA

=== Unification & Emptiness ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, & PLUTO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">The planet Ioseta in the Xenfree star system went dark: all communication ceased. Union hesitated to put forth official action due to the planet’s association with SSC and a joint Harrison Armory-Karrakin Trade Barony project. Hellfriede Ripley, having come back from the dead and become the leader of Union’s unofficial Liberation Front, didn’t share Union’s reservations. She used a secure channel to reach out to the Silver Lining and put together a special operations team to investigate Ioseta. They wouldn’t be able to take mechs with them due to the strange electromagnetic pulse field surrounding the planet and disrupting the function of all chassis. In fact, the emp also disrupted ships attempting to enter the atmosphere, but Hellfriede and Torin had managed to find a weak spot in the field for infiltration.

The operatives dropped into the valley of Ioselia’s Crest on deployment pods, but Hellfriede was separated from them during the drop. Ioselia’s Crest was a hellscape covered in gore and strange, bio-mechanically altered corpses. Sonata tried to scan one of the bodies and noted that the energy coming from them reminded her of the Osiris NHP. A group of Harrison Armory soldiers began approaching, so the group quickly left their pods, leaving a bomb behind for the soldiers. However, HA was soon the least of their problems as the corpses began reassembling and attacking.

As the operatives were managing to escape, they were abruptly joined by Ravage (callsign: MADMAN), a Scylla-Class legionnaire they had been told to locate for information if possible. With the help of Ravage’s strange “pulse gear” and hellhound Drosera, getting away from the living dead became a much easier task. Ravage led them to the hideout containing Ioseta’s survivors. The hideout was the base of the HORUS cell, “Shackle the Duat”, that had previously operated on Ioseta. It soon became clear to the operatives that they needed to open the hideout’s central vault, which was emitting an energy signal similar to the one Sonata had detected coming from the corpses in the valley.

Inside the vault was an Osiris-Class legionnaire calling herself Iris. She said that she’d been held there by the previous HORUS cell and would be happy to lead the survivors to the heart of the hive mind controlling and resurrecting the corpse “thralls”. However, she said they’d need the muscle to actually put her information to good use and told them to acquire the aid of either the Harrison Armory or SSC groups still on Ioseta. At this point, the operatives received a message from Hellfriede requesting aid at the SSC base, so that was where they went.

<nowiki>#</nowiki>16 hacked into the SSC system to discover that Hellfriede had made quite the scene when she landed and was currently on the top floor with Cordelia Cressida, one of SSC’s geneticists. Cressida was responsible for the Cavalier Program on Varuvi that engineered Hellfriede, and claimed to think of her as a daughter. Hellfriede did not share the sentiment. The operatives broke into the top floor and successfully threatened Cressida into leaving Hellfriede alone and aiding them. With SSC’s help secured, Iris revealed the hive mind location, and the operatives and survivors stormed the heart of the hive.

At the end, they discovered an engorged Osiris casket embedded in the planet. It was Iris’ brother. Iris explained what had really happened. The bomb responsible for turning the majority of Ioseta’s population into biotech zombies wasn’t a bomb. It was a joint project between HA, HORUS, and SSC. It was supposed to be a paracausal pod that would meld flesh and mech technology to turn average people into super soldiers. Iris and her brother were used as the vessels for siphoning the necessary paracausal energy. It seemed they’d have to destroy Iris’ brother at first, but PLUTO was able to transfer him into a makeshift casket. Thus, what would go on to be dubbed the Tragedy of Ioseta came to an end.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Hive mind decommissioned; Ioseta’s survivors saved

=== Too Much & Too Far ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, PLUTO, & RETRIEVER

=== Hell, Hearth, & High Flame ===
'''Operatives''': MOONBEAM (Sonata), PLUTO, RETRIEVER, & STALKER

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Harrison Armory issued a mass recall on Agnis due to the spread of a virus causing them to cascade. After Finley was unceremoniously recalled, Torin began working with every viable ally Horizon Collective had to pinpoint his location. Obviously, Sonata also got involved, as did the rest of the mission’s operatives. Eventually, with the aid of Esther and two other Asuras named Felicity and Zura, they found out where HA was holding Finley and learned that a brutal attempt was being made to turn him into Agni Prime.

The operatives prepared for a rescue operation and, within days of learning this information, were taken to the isolated planet of Freyalia by Hellfriede Ripley’s ship, the Black Ichor. After dropping in on their mechs, a Freyalian native greeted them and used a Snow Skimmer ship to take them out to the HA facility. Upon arriving, combat was immediately initiated. They were attacked by a Harrison Armory’s Agni Reclamation Unit and a HORUS cell, further solidifying that the two groups had worked together in the distribution of the Agni cascade virus. After a thoroughly brutal combat, during which they dealt with the flaming paracausal agony of Finley being converted into a Prime, the operatives emerged victorious.

The ordeal wasn’t over when the fighting ended, however. Next, the operatives entered the HA facility and, in doing so, entered a metavault. First, they passed through a layer of Worldkiller Genghis forges and could hear the screams of every Agni radiating from the mechs. Next, they entered the cockpit of a Worldkiller acting as a weapon of fiery destruction during the first Hercynian Crisis. From within the mech, Sonata tried and failed to extinguish some of the external fires. PLUTO used her Cavendish’s ability to transfer heat in junction with her Agni co-pilot Curie’s ventilation to alleviate some of the other mech’s immense heat buildup. Finally, they found themselves in a garden with Finley’s own decommissioned Worldkiller leaning against a tree. Sonata entered the cockpit and brought the part of Finley’s consciousness inside the mech peace by showing him all the things fire could be used for other than destruction. The operatives were able to exit the metavault and return to the real facility.

Lying burned and dying in front of an actual vault door was Evandria Grace, the Harrison Armory soldier who once reached out to Finley about returning to HA. She was holding onto Finley’s artificial eye, though not for long. Sonata and Curie killed her as horribly as possible for her part in so many Agnis suffering, though RETRIEVER had to look away from the brutality for her own sake. Past the vault door were several charred corpses. Finley was sitting against a wall with several cuts and bruises as well as a broken leg. Finley had come to the conclusion that they could alleviate the agony of their fellow Agnis by becoming a new kind of Prime, and they were supported in this decision. With blue flame billowing out from their empty eye socket, Finley crushed their artificial eye and claimed their place as the next and final Agni Prime.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Finley became the new Agni Prime, but on his own terms; Union and various Horizon Collective cells have declared war on Harrison Armory
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-07-27T02:31:16Z

Glamourpal: /* Hell, Hearth, & High Flame */ typo.

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>… Read it if you want to, but don’t weep for me.
- Finley</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

</div></div>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida</blockquote>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_VIDA</div>
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She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther</blockquote>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
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She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the [[Consort of Chains]]: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div>

== Powers & Percentages ==

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
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Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
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Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
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Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
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Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
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* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
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* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

== Side Quests ==

=== Legions & Legionnaires ===
'''Operatives''': SHERLOCK & PSYCHO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Eni Gambari, a designated leading voice in the Varuvian sect of Horizon Collective, tasked SHERLOCK (a reputable investigator) and PSYCHO (a Collective member) with convincing Finley, Torin, Vida, and Esther to film an epilogue for the controversial actual play Legions & Legionnaires. The show was controversial and unofficially banned by various entities due to its effectiveness at humanizing NHPs.

First, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to the Varuvian neighborhood of Little Valdivia to talk to Finley. They found him gardening not too far from an old decommissioned Worldkiller Genghis. SHERLOCK made progress by noting that Finley was being cruel to himself, but mentioned “burning” too many times and experienced the eternal pain of Agni Prime first hand thanks to Finley’s Eye of Agni. PSYCHO was able to cool things off and convince Finley to give the epilogue a go.

The two operatives were called back to the Horizon Collective base in a panic: Torin was attempting a hostile takeover due to his belief that the sect was being cowed by Union into becoming less radical. Torin noted that he had never once been truly seen even though he was the “hero” who fought alongside Hellfriede Ripley during the Varuvian Revolution. SHERLOCK asked him if he wanted to be seen as a hero or a person, and this led to Torin calling off the takeover.

The next day, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to one of Varuvi’s moons to catch Vida’s dance troupe performing. After managing to get backstage to talk to Vida, they spent some time talking to her about why she had gone on leave from Horizon Collective and lost her Sekhmet rage. After a party crashing attack from HORUS, Vida’s rage was unlocked (thanks in part to both the operative and Esther’s Sisyphus interference) and she slaughtered the HORUS agents before agreeing to return to the Collective.

Finally, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO got a lead on where Esther was. What they found was a Sisyphus on the verge of a full blown cascade. However, after surviving an onslaught of nihilism, Esther asked the two to cycle her and they did so, preventing her from completely cascading. Their perseverance also convinced Esther to join in for the epilogue.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Successful Legions & Legionnaires epilogue, increase in pro-NHP sentiment on Varuvi

=== The Whisper & The Song ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Varuvi was hosting a “progress day” event on the planet’s right moon to celebrate how far the planet had come since being liberated from the authoritarian rule of the Varuvian Assembly. Sonata, having befriended the cast of Legions & Legionnaires, was attending to help Finley sell food from the garden in Little Valdivia and investigate the rumor that Hellcat’s Osiris NHP Teddy had come back from the dead. STALKER was simply dumped on Varuvi by the [redacted] and had nothing better to do. HARPY was curious about the event and decided to attend as well.

STALKER attended a presentation by Torin on Varuvi’s Air Rail system, HARPY got a unique card reading from Esther wherein she drew the Banshee card, and Sonata enjoyed spending time with Finley. During a sniper competition, Sonata and STALKER were both able to meet the revived Teddy and Sonata ascertained that he posed no threat to Hellcat. Then, it was time for a performance by the rising pop star Feather Price. Unfortunately, during the show, something went terribly wrong: a blinkspace tear erupted in the middle of the crowd, Union representative Calvert Marksman was murdered by a strange blade that pierced through the tear, and Esther collapsed.

In the aftermath, Union ambassador Fiora Santi asked Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY to act as third-party investigators. The matter was especially delicate for Union since the one being accused of the murder was a Volador (Arturo, Callsign: WHISPER). Arturo claimed he would never murder anyone and was simply hunting the DHIYED fragments possessing people after an incident led to him being tainted by that horrific NHP. Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY’s investigations led them to Feather Price who they discovered was housing an UR_PACKET NHP in her heart.

The UR_PACKET, “Price”, and Symphony (who Sonata had called for assistance) confirmed a few things: Feather Price had subtly performed a song that caused Esther, as a Sisyphus, to temporarily lose control—this allowed the impossible to become possible. Arturo himself may not have committed the murder, but his wrathful blade did.

Everything led back to Fiora Santi being the one unintentionally harboring a DHIYED fragment. The operatives attempted to confront her before Sonata realized that Arturo was their best chance at resolving things. With their help, Arturo destroyed the DHIYED fragment.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Murder solved, DHIYED fragment dealt with

=== Silence & Screams ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY

=== NHPs & Parties ===
'''Operatives''': SPIRAL (Symphony), STAYGOLD, HADES, & SUSPIRIA

=== Unification & Emptiness ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, & PLUTO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">The planet Ioseta in the Xenfree star system went dark: all communication ceased. Union hesitated to put forth official action due to the planet’s association with SSC and a joint Harrison Armory-Karrakin Trade Barony project. Hellfriede Ripley, having come back from the dead and become the leader of Union’s unofficial Liberation Front, didn’t share Union’s reservations. She used a secure channel to reach out to the Silver Lining and put together a special operations team to investigate Ioseta. They wouldn’t be able to take mechs with them due to the strange electromagnetic pulse field surrounding the planet and disrupting the function of all chassis. In fact, the emp also disrupted ships attempting to enter the atmosphere, but Hellfriede and Torin had managed to find a weak spot in the field for infiltration.

The operatives dropped into the valley of Ioselia’s Crest on deployment pods, but Hellfriede was separated from them during the drop. Ioselia’s Crest was a hellscape covered in gore and strange, bio-mechanically altered corpses. Sonata tried to scan one of the bodies and noted that the energy coming from them reminded her of the Osiris NHP. A group of Harrison Armory soldiers began approaching, so the group quickly left their pods, leaving a bomb behind for the soldiers. However, HA was soon the least of their problems as the corpses began reassembling and attacking.

As the operatives were managing to escape, they were abruptly joined by Ravage (callsign: MADMAN), a Scylla-Class legionnaire they had been told to locate for information if possible. With the help of Ravage’s strange “pulse gear” and hellhound Drosera, getting away from the living dead became a much easier task. Ravage led them to the hideout containing Ioseta’s survivors. The hideout was the base of the HORUS cell, “Shackle the Duat”, that had previously operated on Ioseta. It soon became clear to the operatives that they needed to open the hideout’s central vault, which was emitting an energy signal similar to the one Sonata had detected coming from the corpses in the valley.

Inside the vault was an Osiris-Class legionnaire calling herself Iris. She said that she’d been held there by the previous HORUS cell and would be happy to lead the survivors to the heart of the hive mind controlling and resurrecting the corpse “thralls”. However, she said they’d need the muscle to actually put her information to good use and told them to acquire the aid of either the Harrison Armory or SSC groups still on Ioseta. At this point, the operatives received a message from Hellfriede requesting aid at the SSC base, so that was where they went.

<nowiki>#</nowiki>16 hacked into the SSC system to discover that Hellfriede had made quite the scene when she landed and was currently on the top floor with Cordelia Cressida, one of SSC’s geneticists. Cressida was responsible for the Cavalier Program on Varuvi that engineered Hellfriede, and claimed to think of her as a daughter. Hellfriede did not share the sentiment. The operatives broke into the top floor and successfully threatened Cressida into leaving Hellfriede alone and aiding them. With SSC’s help secured, Iris revealed the hive mind location, and the operatives and survivors stormed the heart of the hive.

At the end, they discovered an engorged Osiris casket embedded in the planet. It was Iris’ brother. Iris explained what had really happened. The bomb responsible for turning the majority of Ioseta’s population into biotech zombies wasn’t a bomb. It was a joint project between HA, HORUS, and SSC. It was supposed to be a paracausal pod that would meld flesh and mech technology to turn average people into super soldiers. Iris and her brother were used as the vessels for siphoning the necessary paracausal energy. It seemed they’d have to destroy Iris’ brother at first, but PLUTO was able to transfer him into a makeshift casket. Thus, what would go on to be dubbed the Tragedy of Ioseta came to an end.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Hive mind decommissioned, Ioseta’s survivors saved

=== Too Much & Too Far ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, PLUTO, & RETRIEVER

=== Hell, Hearth, & High Flame ===
'''Operatives''': MOONBEAM (Sonata), PLUTO, RETRIEVER, & STALKER

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Harrison Armory issued a mass recall on Agnis due to the spread of a virus causing them to cascade. After Finley was unceremoniously recalled, Torin began working with every viable ally Horizon Collective had to pinpoint his location. Obviously, Sonata also got involved, as did the rest of the mission’s operatives. Eventually, with the aid of Esther and two other Asuras named Felicity and Zura, they found out where HA was holding Finley and learned that a brutal attempt was being made to turn him into Agni Prime.

The operatives prepared for a rescue operation and, within days of learning this information, were taken to the isolated planet of Freyalia by Hellfriede Ripley’s ship, the Black Ichor. After dropping in on their mechs, a Freyalian native greeted them and used a Snow Skimmer ship to take them out to the HA facility. Upon arriving, combat was immediately initiated. They were attacked by a Harrison Armory’s Agni Reclamation Unit and a HORUS cell, further solidifying that the two groups had worked together in the distribution of the Agni cascade virus. After a thoroughly brutal combat, during which they dealt with the flaming paracausal agony of Finley being converted into a Prime, the operatives emerged victorious.

The ordeal wasn’t over when the fighting ended, however. Next, the operatives entered the HA facility and, in doing so, entered a metavault. First, they passed through a layer of Worldkiller Genghis forges and could hear the screams of every Agni radiating from the mechs. Next, they entered the cockpit of a Worldkiller acting as a weapon of fiery destruction during the first Hercynian Crisis. From within the mech, Sonata tried and failed to extinguish some of the external fires. PLUTO used her Cavendish’s ability to transfer heat in junction with her Agni co-pilot Curie’s ventilation to alleviate some of the other mech’s immense heat buildup. Finally, they found themselves in a garden with Finley’s own decommissioned Worldkiller leaning against a tree. Sonata entered the cockpit and brought the part of Finley’s consciousness inside the mech peace by showing him all the things fire could be used for other than destruction. The operatives were able to exit the metavault and return to the real facility.

Lying burned and dying in front of an actual vault door was Evandria Grace, the Harrison Armory soldier who once reached out to Finley about returning to HA. She was holding onto Finley’s artificial eye, though not for long. Sonata and Curie killed her as horribly as possible for her part in so many Agnis suffering, though RETRIEVER had to look away from the brutality for her own sake. Past the vault door were several charred corpses. Finley was sitting against a wall with several cuts and bruises as well as a broken leg. Finley had come to the conclusion that they could alleviate the agony of their fellow Agnis by becoming a new kind of Prime, and they were supported in this decision. With blue flame billowing out from their empty eye socket, Finley crushed their artificial eye and claimed their place as the next and final Agni Prime.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Finley became the new Agni Prime, but on his own terms
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-07-27T02:28:15Z

Glamourpal: /* Hell, Hearth, & High Flame */

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>… Read it if you want to, but don’t weep for me.
- Finley</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
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They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

</div></div>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
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He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_VIDA</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the [[Consort of Chains]]: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div>

== Powers & Percentages ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

== Side Quests ==

=== Legions & Legionnaires ===
'''Operatives''': SHERLOCK & PSYCHO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Eni Gambari, a designated leading voice in the Varuvian sect of Horizon Collective, tasked SHERLOCK (a reputable investigator) and PSYCHO (a Collective member) with convincing Finley, Torin, Vida, and Esther to film an epilogue for the controversial actual play Legions & Legionnaires. The show was controversial and unofficially banned by various entities due to its effectiveness at humanizing NHPs.

First, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to the Varuvian neighborhood of Little Valdivia to talk to Finley. They found him gardening not too far from an old decommissioned Worldkiller Genghis. SHERLOCK made progress by noting that Finley was being cruel to himself, but mentioned “burning” too many times and experienced the eternal pain of Agni Prime first hand thanks to Finley’s Eye of Agni. PSYCHO was able to cool things off and convince Finley to give the epilogue a go.

The two operatives were called back to the Horizon Collective base in a panic: Torin was attempting a hostile takeover due to his belief that the sect was being cowed by Union into becoming less radical. Torin noted that he had never once been truly seen even though he was the “hero” who fought alongside Hellfriede Ripley during the Varuvian Revolution. SHERLOCK asked him if he wanted to be seen as a hero or a person, and this led to Torin calling off the takeover.

The next day, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to one of Varuvi’s moons to catch Vida’s dance troupe performing. After managing to get backstage to talk to Vida, they spent some time talking to her about why she had gone on leave from Horizon Collective and lost her Sekhmet rage. After a party crashing attack from HORUS, Vida’s rage was unlocked (thanks in part to both the operative and Esther’s Sisyphus interference) and she slaughtered the HORUS agents before agreeing to return to the Collective.

Finally, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO got a lead on where Esther was. What they found was a Sisyphus on the verge of a full blown cascade. However, after surviving an onslaught of nihilism, Esther asked the two to cycle her and they did so, preventing her from completely cascading. Their perseverance also convinced Esther to join in for the epilogue.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Successful Legions & Legionnaires epilogue, increase in pro-NHP sentiment on Varuvi

=== The Whisper & The Song ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Varuvi was hosting a “progress day” event on the planet’s right moon to celebrate how far the planet had come since being liberated from the authoritarian rule of the Varuvian Assembly. Sonata, having befriended the cast of Legions & Legionnaires, was attending to help Finley sell food from the garden in Little Valdivia and investigate the rumor that Hellcat’s Osiris NHP Teddy had come back from the dead. STALKER was simply dumped on Varuvi by the [redacted] and had nothing better to do. HARPY was curious about the event and decided to attend as well.

STALKER attended a presentation by Torin on Varuvi’s Air Rail system, HARPY got a unique card reading from Esther wherein she drew the Banshee card, and Sonata enjoyed spending time with Finley. During a sniper competition, Sonata and STALKER were both able to meet the revived Teddy and Sonata ascertained that he posed no threat to Hellcat. Then, it was time for a performance by the rising pop star Feather Price. Unfortunately, during the show, something went terribly wrong: a blinkspace tear erupted in the middle of the crowd, Union representative Calvert Marksman was murdered by a strange blade that pierced through the tear, and Esther collapsed.

In the aftermath, Union ambassador Fiora Santi asked Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY to act as third-party investigators. The matter was especially delicate for Union since the one being accused of the murder was a Volador (Arturo, Callsign: WHISPER). Arturo claimed he would never murder anyone and was simply hunting the DHIYED fragments possessing people after an incident led to him being tainted by that horrific NHP. Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY’s investigations led them to Feather Price who they discovered was housing an UR_PACKET NHP in her heart.

The UR_PACKET, “Price”, and Symphony (who Sonata had called for assistance) confirmed a few things: Feather Price had subtly performed a song that caused Esther, as a Sisyphus, to temporarily lose control—this allowed the impossible to become possible. Arturo himself may not have committed the murder, but his wrathful blade did.

Everything led back to Fiora Santi being the one unintentionally harboring a DHIYED fragment. The operatives attempted to confront her before Sonata realized that Arturo was their best chance at resolving things. With their help, Arturo destroyed the DHIYED fragment.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Murder solved, DHIYED fragment dealt with

=== Silence & Screams ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY

=== NHPs & Parties ===
'''Operatives''': SPIRAL (Symphony), STAYGOLD, HADES, & SUSPIRIA

=== Unification & Emptiness ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, & PLUTO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">The planet Ioseta in the Xenfree star system went dark: all communication ceased. Union hesitated to put forth official action due to the planet’s association with SSC and a joint Harrison Armory-Karrakin Trade Barony project. Hellfriede Ripley, having come back from the dead and become the leader of Union’s unofficial Liberation Front, didn’t share Union’s reservations. She used a secure channel to reach out to the Silver Lining and put together a special operations team to investigate Ioseta. They wouldn’t be able to take mechs with them due to the strange electromagnetic pulse field surrounding the planet and disrupting the function of all chassis. In fact, the emp also disrupted ships attempting to enter the atmosphere, but Hellfriede and Torin had managed to find a weak spot in the field for infiltration.

The operatives dropped into the valley of Ioselia’s Crest on deployment pods, but Hellfriede was separated from them during the drop. Ioselia’s Crest was a hellscape covered in gore and strange, bio-mechanically altered corpses. Sonata tried to scan one of the bodies and noted that the energy coming from them reminded her of the Osiris NHP. A group of Harrison Armory soldiers began approaching, so the group quickly left their pods, leaving a bomb behind for the soldiers. However, HA was soon the least of their problems as the corpses began reassembling and attacking.

As the operatives were managing to escape, they were abruptly joined by Ravage (callsign: MADMAN), a Scylla-Class legionnaire they had been told to locate for information if possible. With the help of Ravage’s strange “pulse gear” and hellhound Drosera, getting away from the living dead became a much easier task. Ravage led them to the hideout containing Ioseta’s survivors. The hideout was the base of the HORUS cell, “Shackle the Duat”, that had previously operated on Ioseta. It soon became clear to the operatives that they needed to open the hideout’s central vault, which was emitting an energy signal similar to the one Sonata had detected coming from the corpses in the valley.

Inside the vault was an Osiris-Class legionnaire calling herself Iris. She said that she’d been held there by the previous HORUS cell and would be happy to lead the survivors to the heart of the hive mind controlling and resurrecting the corpse “thralls”. However, she said they’d need the muscle to actually put her information to good use and told them to acquire the aid of either the Harrison Armory or SSC groups still on Ioseta. At this point, the operatives received a message from Hellfriede requesting aid at the SSC base, so that was where they went.

<nowiki>#</nowiki>16 hacked into the SSC system to discover that Hellfriede had made quite the scene when she landed and was currently on the top floor with Cordelia Cressida, one of SSC’s geneticists. Cressida was responsible for the Cavalier Program on Varuvi that engineered Hellfriede, and claimed to think of her as a daughter. Hellfriede did not share the sentiment. The operatives broke into the top floor and successfully threatened Cressida into leaving Hellfriede alone and aiding them. With SSC’s help secured, Iris revealed the hive mind location, and the operatives and survivors stormed the heart of the hive.

At the end, they discovered an engorged Osiris casket embedded in the planet. It was Iris’ brother. Iris explained what had really happened. The bomb responsible for turning the majority of Ioseta’s population into biotech zombies wasn’t a bomb. It was a joint project between HA, HORUS, and SSC. It was supposed to be a paracausal pod that would meld flesh and mech technology to turn average people into super soldiers. Iris and her brother were used as the vessels for siphoning the necessary paracausal energy. It seemed they’d have to destroy Iris’ brother at first, but PLUTO was able to transfer him into a makeshift casket. Thus, what would go on to be dubbed the Tragedy of Ioseta came to an end.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Hive mind decommissioned, Ioseta’s survivors saved

=== Too Much & Too Far ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, PLUTO, & RETRIEVER

=== Hell, Hearth, & High Flame ===
'''Operatives''': MOONBEAM (Sonata), PLUTO, RETRIEVER, & STALKER

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Harrison Armory issued a mass recall on Agnis due to the spread of a virus causing them to cascade. After Finley was unceremoniously recalled, Torin began working with every viable ally Horizon Collective had to pinpoint his location. Obviously, Sonata also got involved, as did the rest of this missions operatives. Eventually, with the aid of Esther and two other Asuras named Felicity and Zura, they found out where HA was holding Finley and learned that a brutal attempt was being made to turn him into Agni Prime.

The operatives prepared for a rescue operation and, within days of learning this information, were taken to the isolated planet of Freyalia by Hellfriede Ripley’s ship, the Black Ichor. After dropping in on their mechs, a Freyalian native greeted them and used a Snow Skimmer ship to take them out to the HA facility. Upon arriving, combat was immediately initiated. They were attacked by a Harrison Armory’s Agni Reclamation Unit and a HORUS cell, further solidifying that the two groups had worked together in the distribution of the Agni cascade virus. After a throughly brutal combat, during which they dealt with the flaming paracausal agony of Finley being converted into a Prime, the operatives emerged victorious.

The ordeal wasn’t over when the fighting ended, however. Next, the operatives entered the HA facility and, in doing so, entered a metavault. First, they passed through a layer of Worldkiller Genghis forges and could hear the screams of every Agni radiating from the mechs. Next, they entered the cockpit of a Worldkiller acting as a weapon of fiery destruction during the first Hercynian Crisis. From within the mech, Sonata tried and failed to extinguish some of the external fires. PLUTO used her Cavendish’s ability to transfer heat in junction with her Agni co-pilot Curie’s ventilation to alleviate some of the other mech’s immense heat buildup. Finally, they found themselves in a garden with Finley’s own decommissioned Worldkiller leaning against a tree. Sonata entered the cockpit and brought the part of Finley’s consciousness inside the mech peace by showing him all the things fire could be used for other than destruction. The operatives were able to exit the metavault and return to the real facility.

Lying burned and dying in front of an actual vault door was Evandria Grace, the Harrison Armory soldier who once reached out to Finley about returning to HA. She was holding onto Finley’s artificial eye, though not for long. Sonata and Curie killed her as horribly as possible for her part in so many Agnis suffering, though RETRIEVER had to look away from the brutality for her own sake. Past the vault door were several charred corpses. Finley was sitting against a wall with several cuts and bruises as well as a broken leg. Finley had come to the conclusion that they could alleviate the agony of their fellow Agnis by becoming a new kind of Prime, and they were supported in this decision. With blue flame billowing out from their empty eye socket, Finley crushed their artificial eye and claimed their place as the next and final Agni Prime.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Finley became the new Agni Prime, but on his own terms
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-07-27T02:27:03Z

Glamourpal: /* Hell, Hearth, & High Flame */ added session summary.

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>… Read it if you want to, but don’t weep for me.
- Finley</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

</div></div>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_VIDA</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther</blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the [[Consort of Chains]]: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div>

== Powers & Percentages ==

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
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Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
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Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

== Side Quests ==

=== Legions & Legionnaires ===
'''Operatives''': SHERLOCK & PSYCHO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Eni Gambari, a designated leading voice in the Varuvian sect of Horizon Collective, tasked SHERLOCK (a reputable investigator) and PSYCHO (a Collective member) with convincing Finley, Torin, Vida, and Esther to film an epilogue for the controversial actual play Legions & Legionnaires. The show was controversial and unofficially banned by various entities due to its effectiveness at humanizing NHPs.

First, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to the Varuvian neighborhood of Little Valdivia to talk to Finley. They found him gardening not too far from an old decommissioned Worldkiller Genghis. SHERLOCK made progress by noting that Finley was being cruel to himself, but mentioned “burning” too many times and experienced the eternal pain of Agni Prime first hand thanks to Finley’s Eye of Agni. PSYCHO was able to cool things off and convince Finley to give the epilogue a go.

The two operatives were called back to the Horizon Collective base in a panic: Torin was attempting a hostile takeover due to his belief that the sect was being cowed by Union into becoming less radical. Torin noted that he had never once been truly seen even though he was the “hero” who fought alongside Hellfriede Ripley during the Varuvian Revolution. SHERLOCK asked him if he wanted to be seen as a hero or a person, and this led to Torin calling off the takeover.

The next day, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO went to one of Varuvi’s moons to catch Vida’s dance troupe performing. After managing to get backstage to talk to Vida, they spent some time talking to her about why she had gone on leave from Horizon Collective and lost her Sekhmet rage. After a party crashing attack from HORUS, Vida’s rage was unlocked (thanks in part to both the operative and Esther’s Sisyphus interference) and she slaughtered the HORUS agents before agreeing to return to the Collective.

Finally, SHERLOCK and PSYCHO got a lead on where Esther was. What they found was a Sisyphus on the verge of a full blown cascade. However, after surviving an onslaught of nihilism, Esther asked the two to cycle her and they did so, preventing her from completely cascading. Their perseverance also convinced Esther to join in for the epilogue.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Successful Legions & Legionnaires epilogue, increase in pro-NHP sentiment on Varuvi

=== The Whisper & The Song ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Varuvi was hosting a “progress day” event on the planet’s right moon to celebrate how far the planet had come since being liberated from the authoritarian rule of the Varuvian Assembly. Sonata, having befriended the cast of Legions & Legionnaires, was attending to help Finley sell food from the garden in Little Valdivia and investigate the rumor that Hellcat’s Osiris NHP Teddy had come back from the dead. STALKER was simply dumped on Varuvi by the [redacted] and had nothing better to do. HARPY was curious about the event and decided to attend as well.

STALKER attended a presentation by Torin on Varuvi’s Air Rail system, HARPY got a unique card reading from Esther wherein she drew the Banshee card, and Sonata enjoyed spending time with Finley. During a sniper competition, Sonata and STALKER were both able to meet the revived Teddy and Sonata ascertained that he posed no threat to Hellcat. Then, it was time for a performance by the rising pop star Feather Price. Unfortunately, during the show, something went terribly wrong: a blinkspace tear erupted in the middle of the crowd, Union representative Calvert Marksman was murdered by a strange blade that pierced through the tear, and Esther collapsed.

In the aftermath, Union ambassador Fiora Santi asked Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY to act as third-party investigators. The matter was especially delicate for Union since the one being accused of the murder was a Volador (Arturo, Callsign: WHISPER). Arturo claimed he would never murder anyone and was simply hunting the DHIYED fragments possessing people after an incident led to him being tainted by that horrific NHP. Sonata, STALKER, and HARPY’s investigations led them to Feather Price who they discovered was housing an UR_PACKET NHP in her heart.

The UR_PACKET, “Price”, and Symphony (who Sonata had called for assistance) confirmed a few things: Feather Price had subtly performed a song that caused Esther, as a Sisyphus, to temporarily lose control—this allowed the impossible to become possible. Arturo himself may not have committed the murder, but his wrathful blade did.

Everything led back to Fiora Santi being the one unintentionally harboring a DHIYED fragment. The operatives attempted to confront her before Sonata realized that Arturo was their best chance at resolving things. With their help, Arturo destroyed the DHIYED fragment.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Murder solved, DHIYED fragment dealt with

=== Silence & Screams ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), STALKER, & HARPY

=== NHPs & Parties ===
'''Operatives''': SPIRAL (Symphony), STAYGOLD, HADES, & SUSPIRIA

=== Unification & Emptiness ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, & PLUTO
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">The planet Ioseta in the Xenfree star system went dark: all communication ceased. Union hesitated to put forth official action due to the planet’s association with SSC and a joint Harrison Armory-Karrakin Trade Barony project. Hellfriede Ripley, having come back from the dead and become the leader of Union’s unofficial Liberation Front, didn’t share Union’s reservations. She used a secure channel to reach out to the Silver Lining and put together a special operations team to investigate Ioseta. They wouldn’t be able to take mechs with them due to the strange electromagnetic pulse field surrounding the planet and disrupting the function of all chassis. In fact, the emp also disrupted ships attempting to enter the atmosphere, but Hellfriede and Torin had managed to find a weak spot in the field for infiltration.

The operatives dropped into the valley of Ioselia’s Crest on deployment pods, but Hellfriede was separated from them during the drop. Ioselia’s Crest was a hellscape covered in gore and strange, bio-mechanically altered corpses. Sonata tried to scan one of the bodies and noted that the energy coming from them reminded her of the Osiris NHP. A group of Harrison Armory soldiers began approaching, so the group quickly left their pods, leaving a bomb behind for the soldiers. However, HA was soon the least of their problems as the corpses began reassembling and attacking.

As the operatives were managing to escape, they were abruptly joined by Ravage (callsign: MADMAN), a Scylla-Class legionnaire they had been told to locate for information if possible. With the help of Ravage’s strange “pulse gear” and hellhound Drosera, getting away from the living dead became a much easier task. Ravage led them to the hideout containing Ioseta’s survivors. The hideout was the base of the HORUS cell, “Shackle the Duat”, that had previously operated on Ioseta. It soon became clear to the operatives that they needed to open the hideout’s central vault, which was emitting an energy signal similar to the one Sonata had detected coming from the corpses in the valley.

Inside the vault was an Osiris-Class legionnaire calling herself Iris. She said that she’d been held there by the previous HORUS cell and would be happy to lead the survivors to the heart of the hive mind controlling and resurrecting the corpse “thralls”. However, she said they’d need the muscle to actually put her information to good use and told them to acquire the aid of either the Harrison Armory or SSC groups still on Ioseta. At this point, the operatives received a message from Hellfriede requesting aid at the SSC base, so that was where they went.

<nowiki>#</nowiki>16 hacked into the SSC system to discover that Hellfriede had made quite the scene when she landed and was currently on the top floor with Cordelia Cressida, one of SSC’s geneticists. Cressida was responsible for the Cavalier Program on Varuvi that engineered Hellfriede, and claimed to think of her as a daughter. Hellfriede did not share the sentiment. The operatives broke into the top floor and successfully threatened Cressida into leaving Hellfriede alone and aiding them. With SSC’s help secured, Iris revealed the hive mind location, and the operatives and survivors stormed the heart of the hive.

At the end, they discovered an engorged Osiris casket embedded in the planet. It was Iris’ brother. Iris explained what had really happened. The bomb responsible for turning the majority of Ioseta’s population into biotech zombies wasn’t a bomb. It was a joint project between HA, HORUS, and SSC. It was supposed to be a paracausal pod that would meld flesh and mech technology to turn average people into super soldiers. Iris and her brother were used as the vessels for siphoning the necessary paracausal energy. It seemed they’d have to destroy Iris’ brother at first, but PLUTO was able to transfer him into a makeshift casket. Thus, what would go on to be dubbed the Tragedy of Ioseta came to an end.</div>

'''Mission Result''': Hive mind decommissioned, Ioseta’s survivors saved

=== Too Much & Too Far ===
'''Operatives''': MOONCHILD (Sonata), #16, PLUTO, & RETRIEVER

=== Hell, Hearth, & High Flame ===
'''Operatives''': MOONBEAM (Sonata), PLUTO, RETRIEVER, & STALKER

Harrison Armory issued a mass recall on Agnis due to the spread of a virus causing them to cascade. After Finley was unceremoniously recalled, Torin began working with every viable ally Horizon Collective had to pinpoint his location. Obviously, Sonata also got involved, as did the rest of this missions operatives. Eventually, with the aid of Esther and two other Asuras named Felicity and Zura, they found out where HA was holding Finley and learned that a brutal attempt was being made to turn him into Agni Prime.

The operatives prepared for a rescue operation and, within days of learning this information, were taken to the isolated planet of Freyalia by Hellfriede Ripley’s ship, the Black Ichor. After dropping in on their mechs, a Freyalian native greeted them and used a Snow Skimmer ship to take them out to the HA facility. Upon arriving, combat was immediately initiated. They were attacked by a Harrison Armory’s Agni Reclamation Unit and a HORUS cell, further solidifying that the two groups had worked together in the distribution of the Agni cascade virus. After a throughly brutal combat, during which they dealt with the flaming paracausal agony of Finley being converted into a Prime, the operatives emerged victorious.

The ordeal wasn’t over when the fighting ended, however. Next, the operatives entered the HA facility and, in doing so, entered a metavault. First, they passed through a layer of Worldkiller Genghis forges and could hear the screams of every Agni radiating from the mechs. Next, they entered the cockpit of a Worldkiller acting as a weapon of fiery destruction during the first Hercynian Crisis. From within the mech, Sonata tried and failed to extinguish some of the external fires. PLUTO used her Cavendish’s ability to transfer heat in junction with her Agni co-pilot Curie’s ventilation to alleviate some of the other mech’s immense heat buildup. Finally, they found themselves in a garden with Finley’s own decommissioned Worldkiller leaning against a tree. Sonata entered the cockpit and brought the part of Finley’s consciousness inside the mech peace by showing him all the things fire could be used for other than destruction. The operatives were able to exit the metavault and return to the real facility.

Lying burned and dying in front of an actual vault door was Evandria Grace, the Harrison Armory soldier who once reached out to Finley about returning to HA. She was holding onto Finley’s artificial eye, though not for long. Sonata and Curie killed her as horribly as possible for her part in so many Agnis suffering, though RETRIEVER had to look away from the brutality for her own sake. Past the vault door were several charred corpses. Finley was sitting against a wall with several cuts and bruises as well as a broken leg. Finley had come to the conclusion that they could alleviate the agony of their fellow Agnis by becoming a new kind of Prime, and they were supported in this decision. With blue flame billowing out from their empty eye socket, Finley crushed their artificial eye and claimed their place as the next and final Agni Prime.

'''Mission Result''': Finley became the new Agni Prime, but on his own terms
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Vida

2026-07-26T11:18:05Z

Glamourpal: added Category:NPCs using HotCat

<spotify>https://open.spotify.com/track/7lcuUkp4LjPflvzPjemDzw?si=cS6wABqbTgK0VSJiFdC2uQ</spotify>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">No Love For Spilled BLOOD</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_ACCEPTED</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''{HORUS Observation of SEKHMET-Class NHP.''

''Name: Vida. Callsign: RUMBA.''

''Cast Member of [[Legions & Legionnaires]].''

''Video File Transcribed by Eni Gambari.}''

[Vida performs as a dancer on a stage of shipping containers. She wears a bodysuit pink enough to be cotton candy. Her hair is down and streaked with glitter; it whips with every movement. The troupe’s background songs are dark pop and dedicated to death, intimacy, and the death of intimacy. She wears a smile that’s pure molten sugar. Just off stage, there’s a Leoleth mech that’s been painted with bright colors; the mech’s Thermal Death Axe is pink, too. The axe’s handle seems like a custom replacement, but it looks like it’s been gripped too many times. Vida’s hands are loose during the performance. The troupe’s name is “Dance On My Grave”.]

[The video cuts to a Horizon Collective report from Vida after a HORUS ambush. During this skirmish, Vida cascaded, but was able to return to herself without being cycled. Donovan Kang received the report.]

'''Kang''': I understand that the circumstances quickly became… unfortunate, but please, go over what you’re able to remember. Anything is helpful.

'''Vida''': (her hands are on the table in front of her, palms down, fingers spread) … You’re wrong.

'''Kang''': How so?

'''Vida''': I can tell you a lot of things, but none of them will help you.

'''Kang''': ''Anything'' is helpful, really.

'''Vida''': … I remember the… (one of her fingers taps the table once) It’s not anger. It’s…

[The video cuts to Vida wielding her Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe without the rest of the mech. She cuts off the head-like structure of a Pegasus mech and smashes the chest apart to reveal the hull inside. The pilot attempts to dismount. Vida grabs them by the face and drags them out of the hull. The pilot, female, screams. Vida twists her head off like a cork. It cuts back to the report.]

'''Vida''': … I was starving. I was going to fall inside myself and starve. But the only food wasn’t food and it wasn’t supposed to be eaten…

'''Kang''': (he hesitates, appearing unwilling to interrupt) …

'''Vida''': It’s not hatred. It wasn’t something I felt. It was just me.

[The video cuts to Vida reading a speech at a Horizon Collective protest for NHP rights.]

'''Vida''': I am a person. I haven’t called myself SEKHMET in a very long time. If you see me and want to put me back into a Blackbeard, that’s because you don’t understand me and don’t want to. Or maybe you just have a thing for feminine people with chain axes.

[The video cuts to Vida in the aftermath of the HORUS ambush, after her cascade. The Thermal Death Axe has impaled a Goblin and is pinning the mech—pilot and all—to a nearby wall. More members of Horizon Collective have since arrived on the scene. Vida stares at an empty spot on the ground. Her hands twitch violently. It cuts back to the speech.]

'''Vida''': I decided to call myself Vida because it means life. And I don’t want to only exist in murder. I am not just SEKHMET.

[The video cuts back to the report.]

'''Kang''': (his face is paler than it was before) …

'''Vida''': … I’m sorry there’s nothing helpful inside me right now.

''{The video ends.}''
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Torin

2026-07-26T11:17:47Z

Glamourpal: added Category:NPCs using HotCat

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">DENIED</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_DENIED</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''{HORUS Observation of TLALOC-Class NHP.''

''Name: Torin. Callsign: HIGH-RISE.''

''Cast Member of [[Legions & Legionnaires]].''

''Video File Transcribed by —}''

What? Did you expect to see action shots of Liberation Day or something? Maybe a close-up of Hellfriede’s death?

No.

Here. Read this if you must:

“Why do you want to take the scrap of her mech?”

''“Because it’s not doing anything in its current state.”''

“Wouldn’t it be better off as a testament to what she achieved?”

''“No. She didn’t care for tributes.”''
</div></div>
>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_

>//checking…

>//ACCEPTED

>//ACCESS_GRANTED

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Effortful HUMANITY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''{Observation of TLALOC-Class NHP.

''Name: Torin. Callsign: HIGH-RISE.''

''Video File Obtained and Transcribed by ???}''

“I cascaded for six hours on Liberation Day. You all know this. You don’t know anything beyond that because I’ve kept my mouth shut out of some misplaced sense that revealing the details of those six hours would further isolate me from living among humanity. Deeply, deeply ineffective. Ever since Liberation Day, I have struggled intimately with wanting to be seen. Not as a copilot or a violent activist, though I’m both of those things. There was never any point to obscuring that information. I wasn’t seen regardless.

When I cascaded I saw myself. Reflected in every fraction of every movement that ever was and ever would be. I saw myself as everything—every step, every impulse, every twitch. And when you’re everything, everything else has no room to be anything. That was the true and horrible understanding that killed my mind over and over and over again for six. Hours. Every sentence from Hellfriede was a hostage negotiation. Every lock on was a testament. You will never know what it’s like to be put back together by your own hands even when there shouldn’t be anything left to attack and for that I envy all of you. Why should I hate myself enough to want to go through that again?

There’s one thing I want. I was never seen, not even when my casket was pulled from the scrap of Hell’s Sister. I was never seen, not even during my attempted hostile takeover of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective. I was never seen, not even when I walked through that door because I was supposedly invited to speak. I just want you all to look at me. And see humanity. ''Effortful'' humanity.”

Torin doesn’t stand while he speaks. He simply lets the weight of years spent shackled to his own inhumanity fill the room. For a long moment, no one else says anything.

{Transcriber’s note: Following this speech, the Varuvian Personhood Accord was proposed, agreed to, drafted, and signed.}

</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Hellfriede Ripley

2026-07-26T11:17:09Z

Glamourpal: added Category:NPCs using HotCat

== THE HELLFRIEDE FILES [1] ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Interrupted Execution</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mention of child soldiers</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of SSC private soldier.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

The execution parades in the capital were always led by Metalmarks. The Assembly had been in bed with Smith-Shimano Corpro for a long time, and the light, easy steps of the mechs along the streets were coldly melodic. What do beauty and craftsmanship care for blood if the shedding can’t be remembered as artistic? Hellfriede stood with the other Cavaliers. They were always required to be present for the killings. Maybe it was to remind them that their uniforms were keeping them far away from the firing squad.

The people sentenced to death—the condemned—had been branded with thick, black words on their arms stating their sins. When they reached their final positions, they’d be bound to posts with their branded arms on full display for appropriate mockery. Beside Hellfriede, two Cavaliers muttered to each other about the remnants of a revolutionary cell. They sounded bored. In the heavens above, someone wept, but their tears fell to the city as nothing but a drizzle. Hellfriede closed her eyes when she felt the first drops. Two Death’s Heads mounted on opposite high rises in the central square, two Metalmarks leading the procession and two in the back, two White Witches waiting by the execution posts, invisible Dusk Wings stalking the grounds. Deaths like this had to be orderly, at least, if they couldn’t be beautiful.

A woman with the word “insurgent” on her arm was wearing red; the torn cloth draped over her was probably a cloak once. She was led by the same wrist shackles as those around her. Her clothes slumped off her body at awkward angles; she was slight and probably not older than eighteen. The person behind her hadn’t stopped staring at the back of her head. It might have been despair. It might have been hatred. The woman stopped walking. “She’ll die to the second Death’s Head,” Hellfriede said it only to herself. It was a reminder to stay still when the woman in red slipped her shackles and turned on her heel.

Previously dull voices rose in pitch. Footsteps fell out of time. Two Dusk Wings appeared and fired their Burst Launchers in sync, but the woman hit the ground fast enough for the explosive shots to collide in the air. The resulting fiery burst knocked an entire line of condemned off their feet. The woman disappeared under the wave of struggling bodies and rattling chains. The two Metalmarks in the back turned invisible. That didn’t matter because the woman emerged from the throng of bodies and shackles from a spot the pilots hadn’t thought to cover. A Shock Knife severed an entire inch from her hair, but she just kept running. Hellfriede watched like someone being forced to take an eye injection. Two Railgun shots went off. The first Death’s Head missed. The second one spread shards of the woman’s skull across the street. It was quiet again after that.

No one knew what to do with the headless corpse in the street, so it was ignored until after the executions. Hellfriede stared at the dead woman’s red rags as though she wanted to wear them herself when no one was looking. She didn’t. The Cavaliers met with the Assembly that day. They were still young—all around 13—and still training to be useful. It was their first true interaction with their planet’s leaders. The head of the Assembly was a woman with a name that sounded like her parents knew she was going to watch many people die. Hathor Grimm. It was a funny name that didn’t make anyone laugh. Ms. Grimm shook Hellfriede’s hand and Hellfriede stared down at their fingers. They both went to bed early that night. For Hellfriede, it was after vomiting and brushing her teeth.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Perfect Average</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Murder of an intimate partner</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“You know, you’re not the prettiest woman here.” Reign says. She’s a 5’3 bombshell blonde and she’s very aware of that fact. Hellfriede should be just as aware since she’s been splayed out on her bed the past half hour. She has to see it: the way Reign pouts to push out her plush mouth every so often and glances up at Hellfriede with her perfectly baby brown eyes. Hellfriede didn’t crack the top ten on their last exam, but she’s far from dumb. There’s no such thing as a stupid Cavalier.

“Ouch.” Hellfriede glances over her dataslate, eyeing the blonde bundle on the silver platter that is her own leg. Her hand darts forward to pinch Reign’s arm.

Reign doesn’t scream because she is a mature adult who can regulate her frustration. Instead, she swats at the hand that pinched her. “Let me finish!” Oh, how she would love to- “You’re not the prettiest, BUT, I think you could take a bunch of people here to bed if you tried. Maybe most people.”

Hellfriede looks back at her dataslate. Then, something divine and without indifference wills itself into existence just to look down on Reign and wink, because Hellfriede sets the slate aside. “I don’t think ''most people'' would pick me out at a bar.”

“Yeah, but you’re, like, the perfect average.” Reign draws a gesture up Hellfriede’s thigh and appreciates the muscle there. They’re all soldiers, but Hellfriede wears it especially well right now. “Not so far out of the everyman’s league and not so far below it. If you made the first move, someone without another person in mind would totally go for you.”

RA kills the other divine—Hellfriede takes a mech engineering book out from under her pillow. “Most people wouldn’t like being called average by the woman who’s trying to sleep with them.”

The divine lives and they only ever looked down at Reign to laugh at her. “… You fucking knew? This entire time?”

“I’m not stupid and you’re not clever,” Hellfriede deadpans.

Reign takes a moment to seriously consider screaming. She lunges to push Hellfriede down. Desperation must be making Reign sluggish because she knows she’s quicker than Hellfriede, but the other woman is out of her grasp and behind her far too fast. Hellfriede pins Reign’s dominant arm behind her back and shoves her down face-first. “Please do something. Do literally anything or just put me out of my misery.” Her voice is muffled by chamomile-scented pillows.

Hellfriede leans down and says, “Ask nicely.” Her voice is a rough whisper.

Reign dies multiple times that night. Then, she wakes up alive and gargling her own blood. She’s too weak to scream now. Her gaze swims through the room, trying to find Hellfriede. The noises spilling from her throat aren’t quiet. Hellfriede is standing by the edge of the bed. She checks her dataslate, pockets it, and heads for the door.

Tears bubble up in Reign’s eyes. The attempt at crying makes her choke harder. Hellfriede’s back is the last thing she sees. As she dies, she takes the smell of chamomile with her into whatever waits after life.

''Not the prettiest, but she’ll do in a pinch.''

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Cyclone 85.4%</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Cruelty, loss of sanity, and death</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Fragments of the events that occurred inside the cockpit of the original Hell’s Sister on Liberation Day have been retrieved and reconstructed. The one responsible for assembling this data is unknown.}

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 1]

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
LOG: TLALOC-CLASS NHP ENTERING CASCA-

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
We’reignoringthat.Yes,Ididdisabletheeje
ctionsystem.Ifyouejectoutofsomehumanist
icregret,you’lljustdielikethehundredsof
insectsthathavebeenincineratedbythethrusters.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''You’renotsoslowthatyoucan’tunderstandthatright?'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Repositionbytwelvedegreesandlettherailg
ungrazeyoutogivetheimpressionthattheDea
th’sHeadisworthwhile.LockOn.Wait.Don’tw
ait.FireGandivaMissiles.Retarget.Retarg
etagain.LockOn.LockOn.LockOn.Movemovemo
vemovemovewhyaren’tyoumovingitfeelslike
wearen’tmovingletmedoitmovemovemovemove
doyouwanttodieareyoualreadydeadI’llkill
youmyself.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''Move.'''

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 2]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
I’mignoringyourmultiplefailurestorapidl
yLockOnintime.I’mdoingitforyoubecauseyo
umovelikeyou’redyingbutI’maliveand

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''yourmindmightaswellhavebeenabortedby '''
''' SSCwhenyoucamescreamingoutofyourmother'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
andmaybeshegaveyouupbecausesheknewyouwe
realreadydead.Breathelessbreathelessbre
athelessyou’rewastingmytimeIwon’talways
knowwhoIamyouwon’talwaysknowwhoIamIamno
tTlalocIamnotTlalocIamnotTlaloc

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''MOVE.'''

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 3]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
I.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Am.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Ehecatl.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
You.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Are.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''Fleshinthewind'''.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Ishoulddraintheoxygenfromthiscockpit

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
maybeyou’llbeworthadamnwhenyou’reholdingyourbreath

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Dead

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Women

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Aren’t

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Useful

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 4]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''This ends with me killing you for your failures like you killed your friends.'''

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 5]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 6]

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[For one hour, Ehecatl repeatedly erased and rewrote the systems surrounding it, as though attempting to make them faster. Or, in a desperate attempt to breach its own mind and rewrite its state of existence into something compatible with reality. For one hour, Ehecatl could see little outside the accelerated, eternal erasure of those who did not have the ability to outrun their own nonexistence. One such example involving Hellfriede was repeatedly coded into the data logs of Hell’s Sister, like a pointless declaration of Hellfriede’s being.]

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 7]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
…hellfriede…? … it’s over… hellfriede…? move… please…

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
LOG: PILOT DECEASED.

</div></div>

== Relevant Information ==
[[File:Hellfriede Ripley.png|thumb|Hellfriede Ripley, Liberator of Varuvi.]]
Hellfriede Ripley was born on the Diasporan planet Varuvi in the confines of what is now known as the Old Capital. Her birth was part of Smith-Shimano Corpro’s secret Cavalier Program to develop ideal soldiers for private armies and classified missions. Hellfriede was immediately taken from her birth parents to be raised by a group of handlers who regularly assessed their aptitude in various areas: coordination, intelligence, obedience, etc. While in this phase of the program (which lasted for 11 years), Hellfriede befriended a girl named Dorothea. The two of them initially bonded over a mutual appreciation for quiet moments; they could often be found sitting quietly together and completing their assignments in tandem. The assessments showed that Hellfriede had great potential. As a result, she proceeded to the second phase of the Cavalier Program. Dorothea didn’t make it to the second phase. On the day of the program’s graduation ceremony, Hellfriede asked everyone where Dorothea was. No one could give her a satisfactory answer; they all just waited for her to stop asking.

At age 11, Hellfriede started training to be a Lancer. By age 13, she had acquired her first two license levels in the SSC Monarch and had an integrated flight system in her mech. Hellfriede proved to be a terror in the sky during drills and was quickly developing a combat style adept at dispatching multiple opponents without help. Phase two of the Cavalier Program was far more openly brutal than the first. Multiple other Cavaliers were “pulled out of the program”. When this happened, a handler would list out their failures before a Dusk Wing appeared to drag them away. There was still never an explanation for what happened to them, but the threat hanging over Hellfriede’s head had become obvious. As the first series of missions for the Cavaliers approached, they were allowed a personal meeting with the Varuvian Assembly: their planet’s leaders. This meeting took place after an execution parade wherein “wannabe revolutionaries” were killed. When the head of the Assembly shook Hellfriede’s hand with all the care of someone who would sleep easily that night, Hellfriede started planning. She was going to need to climb the ranks and stay in the Assembly’s good graces.

At 14, Hellfriede went on her first mission: it was supposed to be simple reconnaissance on another planet in the same star system, but she and her allies were quickly met with resistance. Their opponents were also using mechs, though theirs looked far more scrapped together. Hellfriede took out the frontline with a series of hit and run skirmishes while others focused on the backline. The mission was a resounding success, but something didn’t feel right. With a year of subtle investigation and occasionally sucking up to those above her, Hellfriede learned that the people she had helped kill that day were the remnants of an older SSC experiment similar to the Cavalier Program. Apparently, SSC had “cut them loose” as a trial for their new Cavaliers. Hellfriede kept her head down.

By the age of 16, Hellfriede had acquired multiple more license levels. She wasn’t the best in the program, but was also far from the worst: a solidly middling soldier by program standards. Hellfriede intentionally scaled back her efficiency in combat, allowing others to have the spotlight and earn more praise. She befriended other Cavaliers and found that a good amount of them had bought into the Assembly’s rhetoric. It would have been immensely risky to try changing their minds. Hellfriede waited. She gave her formerly nameless Monarch the moniker Hell’s Sister.

When she turned 17, Hellfriede celebrated her birthday by finally requesting a TLALOC-Class NHP which she promptly shackled to her mech. Hellfriede’s limited experience with NHPs made her uncomfortable with using a sentient being in such a manner, but she needed a TLALOC for her plans to work. She acquired a Player_Two Neural Bypass to let the TLALOC have access to her body when she deemed it necessary. For two years, Hellfriede and her TLALOC discussed every possible way of killing the entire Varuvian Assembly and the other Cavaliers.

Hellfriede’s 19th birthday would go on to become Varuvi’s Liberation Day. She woke up early in the Cavalier training facility and quietly murdered every other Cavalier she could find along with their handlers. Alarms were eventually raised, but it was too late. Hellfriede had already mounted Hell’s Sister by then and launched her assault against the Assembly. The fighting lasted for 10 hours. It was 10 hours of seemingly endless skirmishing from Hellfriede and TLALOC. They picked off the Assembly’s ground soldiers and mechs with a ruthless efficiency that would come to be known as the Hellfire Style of combat. The two of them were utterly relentless, even for the final 6 hours when TLALOC was cascading. The revolution ended with one of the single most lethal uses of the Monarch’s core system—Divine Punishment—in recorded history. As the Assembly’s forces lay decimated, Hell’s Sister plummeted from the sky and crashed to the ground as a mangled scrap heap. Hellfriede had died, but miraculously, the TLALOC’s casket was able to be recovered.

In the aftermath of Hellfriede’s revolution, SSC distanced themselves from Varuvi, unwilling to take direct control of the planet to avoid drawing Union’s full attention to their operations. The Liberation Council was formed to govern the planet with laws that abolished SSC’s genetic caste system and allowed for more personal freedoms like open critique of the government. Union’s attention was eventually drawn to Varuvi for one reason or another and plans were made to convert it into a Core World. The current planet capital of New Varuvi stands on the bones of the Old Capital and there’s a park dedicated to Hellfriede along with a statue of her in the city’s heart.

Hellfriede’s TLALOC copilot went on to become a legionnaire and take the name Torin. He joined a sect of Horizon Collective in the effort to fight for NHP rights. Torin also took the remains of Hell’s Sister and created a downsized, scrappier version of the original mech. According to him, Hellfriede had never really liked how “put together” the Monarch’s design was.

== HER LAST MESSAGE ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Final Forethoughts</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Subject: Hellfriede Ripley, Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video Recorded By: Torin, TLALOC-Class NHP.}

“… I thought about trying to start this with something that could inspire the people who hear it, but I wasn’t built to be a leader. I’m not going to lead anyone. I’m just going to talk instead.

The reason why I’m doing this is entirely selfish. It’s not because I want to live a life outside what was chosen for me by SSC. No, ultimately, I’m just doing more of the same. It’s because I’m so, so tired. I’m tired of listening to the other Cavaliers gossip about the brands during the execution parades. I’m tired of standing between them and predicting which condemned man is going to run and lose their head for it. I’m tired of not feeling sick because of it anymore. I’m tired of this numbness that I’ve had to perform for so long because it’s not a performance anymore.

I’m going to kill a lot of people. And I don’t know if I want to be praised for a lot of it. I’m just tired at the end of the day. That’s all there is. I need to do something before that goes away, too.”

Hellfriede makes direct eye contact with the camera for most of the recording. There is bone deep weariness to her face as she speaks. She’s only 19. As soon as she’s done talking, the youthful exhaustion disappears, and her expression numbs into that of a murderer.

</div></div>

Hellfriede originally died 10 years before the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]]. In 5026U, she was cloned by [[Legions & Legionnaires|Torin]] and a mysterious benefactor. She lives.

== THE HELLFRIEDE FILES [2] ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: Irreverent Revelation</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of slavery, violent revolution</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of Union Liberation Front leader.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

Silas Vega dies the kind of death worthy of a man who spent his final hours having his foremost slave do a solo performance of the third play written in his honor. Four missiles decimate the silver platinum door to his sanctum (a man cave of a bunker underneath his estate). He has enough time for indignance to make the veins in his neck flush royal purple. He draws breath to scream for his dead guards to cast aside the audacity of the Monarch mech presenting itself without due reverence. Hellfriede Ripley gets out of her mech, cocks her gun, and shoots him twice before the would-be shriek can be anything more than a suggestion to his vocal chords. She shoots him the way you shoot a man who should have been merciful enough to ask for death a long time ago—without a smile. The former slave makes a break for it.

“Why did you bother getting out?” Torin, the acting NHP of Hellfriede’s mech, asks when she gets back into the cockpit.

“I think he needed to see that just one person could be his killer.” Hellfriede ignores the incoming call from her Union superior. “Maybe that’ll matter to him in another life.”

“Hah. Do you remember anything from the afterlife?” Torin asks. It’s a joke. It sounds like a stab at himself.

Hellfriede turns her Monarch away from the crownless corpse. “There was a lot less work to do.”

Seth Knox, the Union member who pretends he doesn’t give actionable information to a violent revolutionary, has to at least pretend that Hellfriede went further than a violent revolutionary should. “You were supposed to investigate the planet and see if it was possible to arrange an audience with Vega.” This is what Hellfriede gets for finally accepting one of his calls.

“He met the Liberation Front’s arrival with a slave display and had his officials threaten to execute us if we wouldn’t prove our willingness to abide by his laws. By choosing a slave to own for the duration of our visit. He wanted us to own a slave.” Hellfriede’s voice never rises—it stays low and flat. She sits in the nondescript office in New Varuvi City that Union has her unofficially working out of. The only hint of personality in her office is a small replica of Simon Dominguez’s mech, Free Me From Hell, that sits on her desk.

“You’ve been briefed in de-escalation. He just needed to feel like his power wasn’t being threatened.” Seth’s tone indicates that he, or someone else, has already decided that she needs more de-escalation training.

“Us being on the planet at all was a threat to him. He was going to find a reason to kill us regardless of anything.” Hellfriede’s dataslate earns more of her attention than Seth does by presenting information that doesn’t sound like bureaucratic recitation. While Seth tells her about the one-on-one negotiation classes she’ll be taking next week, she looks at potential systems for a Black Mountain mech.

The Black Mountain is a mech suit that focuses on boosting the defenses of allied mechs. It only has one weapon mount. It’s inherently slower than her Monarch. It’s an alternate version of the Emperor mech, which is all the pomp and pleasure of SSC given physical form. The Black Mountain should only draw one thing out of Hellfriede: a disdainful form of apathy.

“How long are the classes going to be?” Hellfriede asks. The obvious weapon to give the Black Mountain is the Emperor’s bolt bow. Hellfriede is not going to use the Emperor’s bow.

“Only about an hour.” Seth says something about how Hellfriede should use the hour to its fullest. The will to waste time was being bred out of her before she even existed. “… Off the record, I think you did good work.” He hangs up quickly, as though his own superiors are waiting for the chance to trap him with the bureaucracy he just espoused.

Since the Black Mountain is so small, it’s less trouble to get it printed. There’s a decent enough printer in the basement of Hellfriede’s office building, so she heads downstairs and lets the printer confirm the licensing data in her biosignature.

Hellfriede doesn’t hear the voices of the dead. The only version of mourning she has ever known was the prestigious efficiency of SSC’s Mourning Cloak mech when other Cavaliers piloted it. Even after being revived, her one week of readjustment downtime spared no thought for her kill count.

What Hellfriede hears instead, as the body of the Black Mountain prints, is a voice that reflects her own.

''“A soldier offers indifference''

''when they do not offer mercy.''

''That kills much more than wrath.”''

A mechanized bow that Hellfriede didn’t print is leaning against the finished mech. It’s black with cracks of silver coursing through it. After Hellfriede reaches for the bow, because it must be hers even if she didn’t ask for it, she picks it up like it weighs nothing. Silver cracks reflect in her pupils. The bow is indifferent. It is not the Emperor’s.

She names the mech Irreverence. It only sees use in the least official capacities.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: Absolution of Inhumanity</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of Union Liberation Front leader.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

The illusion of civility dies where the illusion of humanity ends. The leader of Varuvi’s ruling Liberation Council, Aera Synth, has been out of her seat for the past several seconds; she stood to snap when Torin corrected her usage of the term “simulated understanding” in regards to how NHPs process the outside world. She doesn’t acknowledge Hellfriede because she looks like an average bureaucrat and not like the Liberation Day Champion. It’s been ten years since the revolution. Hellfriede has never stopped working.

“… In summary, while it should be understood and acknowledged that Non-Human Persons are far more advanced than artificial intelligences,” Ms. Synth keeps sweeping her gaze around the room and ending with her eyes on Torin, “they do not have humanity. We cannot afford to treat them as humans to the detriment of people like the Varuvians desperate to be brought out of the shadow of our past oppression.”

Torin’s expression stays lax. “Varuvi is eager to be fully assimilated into Union, yes? Then let’s discuss the Utopian Pillars.” He doesn’t stand, but he does hold up one finger. “One. All shall have their material needs fulfilled.”

Ms. Synth stiffens. “NHPs don’t have material needs-”

Torin interrupts her right back. “We do, actually. By definition of being material—by definition of having a casket which serves as a physical body—we do have material needs. A casket needs to be cared for lest it ''break''. A body needs a home to shield it from deterioration and harm. A body needs to ''take up space''. But thinking beyond just the words of that pillar, is that really all Union seeks to provide? To my knowledge, Union has also sought to give those it governs above proper mental care.”

“Union recommends the regular cycling of all NHPs,” Greg Delta chimes in with a statement that might be able to see the point from several star systems away.

“… Yes.” Torin doesn’t flinch. “If cycling was the only thing needed from an NHP to maintain an acceptable mental state, then it would be recommended that every NHP be cycled every single day.” To his credit, he doesn’t say ‘cycling’ with the gravity that discussing forced ego death probably deserves. “Back to the topic at hand: the pillars. Two. No walls shall stand between worlds.”

“I fail to see how that’s relevant to this discussion.” Ms. Synth says.

“Perhaps not the pillar itself, but the interpretation and execution of it.” It’s now that Torin stands. Hellfriede adjusts the collar projecting her disguise. “Union wants all to have the right to firm ground, clean air, and sunlight—thus, the decree that there should be no walls that encroach on that objective. The interpretation of this pillar has been proven to extend beyond what’s plainly written. We can use Varuvi as an example.” Torin begins to walk the room. “After the revolution, Varuvi had access to all three of those things, but Union went out of its way to establish connected transport to and from the planet anyway. Why?”

“Obviously because a civilization needs to be connected to the rest of the universe to thrive in this era,” Another woman, Helka Mavenport, responds with a barely restrained eye roll. She called Torin an AI earlier and has been fortunate enough to live to see the rest of this meeting.

“Yes ''and'' because interconnectedness can be interpreted as a necessity beyond delivering basic essentials. Varuvi could be fine on its own, but there is evidence that it thrives under the second pillar. Three.” Torin hasn’t looked at Ms. Synth yet. “No human shall be held in bondage through force, labor, or debt.”

“It specifies no ''human''.” Ms. Synth hand grips the edge of the table.

“But we’ve already established that furthering an interpretation for the greater good is well established within Union. Let me end this discussion on the three pillars with one simple question: if it really is only supposed to extend to humans, then what makes the Third Committee of Union all that different from the Second Committee?” Torin sits back down.

There’s a beat of quiet. No one wants to be comparable to the Second Committee. The quiet still only lasts for a beat.

“He’s ultimately suggesting that we stop the widespread usage of NHPs on Varuvi. In every system.” At this point, Aera Synth stops bothering to look at Torin. Instead, her eyes lock onto the greying man at the head of the table: Ergo Chen, a high-ranking Union official. “That’s not possible. Not without taking several steps back.”

“I am suggesting that we consider the spirit of the pillars,” Torin says coolly.

Mr. Chen looks at Aera’s pleading eyes. “It does sound ineffective, doesn’t it?”

Hellfriede sees Torin’s jaw twitch. She clears her throat. “I’m sure the Second Committee would have considered it very ineffective to not use Total Biome Kill weapons in their assault on Hercynia.”

The silence returns. It’s heavier this time.

“We should take a break,” Hellfriede says, already standing. No one disagrees, though most of them don’t know why her voice carries so much weight. She and Torin find an empty corner outside the meeting room.

“Ineffective. Hah.” Torin laughs. His foot is tapping and his eyes are flicking back and forth; his thoughts are running faster than the concept of thought. “What’s ineffective is that this meeting has lasted for three hours.”

“We can fly around for a while after this.” Hellfriede knows he craves motion.

“That sounds… God, I need to get out of this body.” Torin takes off his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose. Hellfriede hasn’t asked him why he bothers with glasses even though his eyesight is more than perfect. “I shouldn’t have brought up the three pillars. It’s too cliche.”

“You’re right, though.” Hellfriede nudges his shoulder with her own. “It’s hypocritical to champion freedom for all humans while intentionally creating an enslaved underclass.”

“It sounds so obvious when you say it like that,” Torin sighs. “If only ''I'' could say it. They already barely see me. If I talked like that they’d just see an indignant Tlaloc-Class. Or worse.”

“… Has anyone seen you since I died?” Hellfriede asks.

He laughs again. It’s been ten years since the revolution. Torin will never stop working.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: The Myth of Delirium</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: References to predatory behavior, blood drinking</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of Union Liberation Front leader.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

“Blue Moonlight makes blood and sweat look like liquid sugar.” That’s what the woman, Diva Demure, says after Hellfriede stabs a dose of Rebreathe into her neck and her heart decides that breathing is a worthwhile activity. “That’s why so many of the girls at Vixie’s take it. The sweat pouring off you, the blood in the showers from Vixie’s temper—Blue makes it all smell sweeter, you know?” Her voice is a shudder, like being alive is making her veins shake.

No one in the Cavalier Program was ever allowed near stims lest they alter their carefully curated brain chemistry. They all flocked to SSC’s list of extracurriculars and simple sex to distract themselves from executions and dive bombing people they’d never know anything about. Hellfriede did a few things to fill the void of nonexistent addiction: mostly, she read about mech flight techniques.

Now, after sundown in an alleyway that reeks of old death, Hellfriede wipes the cold sweat from Diva’s forehead with one hand and starts reprogramming the disguise projection on her prosocollar with the other. “I’m taking you to the Union ship I arrived on. You’ll stay in the ship on Rivnuan’s dock for two days, then be escorted to a rehabilitation center on the moon.”

Diva stares at her, red lined lips dropping into a half-frown before she remembers herself. Instead, she tries for a grateful smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Thanks, hon, but Vixie will kill me before I get anywhere good if I miss out on tonight.”

“You don’t have to miss anything.” Hellfriede sends a neural command to her collar and the illusion shifts. Diva goes back to staring. “There’s another stim deal going through tonight, right? And Vixie’s going to try to kill off their only competitor?”

“Yeah…” Diva reaches forward, nearly touching Hellfriede’s new face. “Do I really look that… small?”

“No.” Hellfriede looks at the ivory pallor to Diva’s skin—an apparent side effect of Blue Moonlight use. “You just look sick.”

Within an hour, Hellfriede walks the streets of Midnight City with Diva’s dead end show girl strut and a semi-permanent pout. It’s easy to stay loose as she reaches Vixie’s blue velvet doors and seductive sign. SSC never wanted their soldiers to be too stiff. She’s inside just in time to see a man collide with the reinforced window next to the entrance. He leaves a streak of blood on the glass as he slides to the floor.

“Take your busted head and get out of here, Kian.” The man standing on the stage in the center of the club, built like a Barbarossa with blatant cybernetic arms, is too obvious about his power to be Vixie. Diva warned her about Atlas and how much he “enjoys” blondes. Hellfriede doesn’t flinch when Kian shoves past her. She bites her lip when Atlas eyes her up, tilting her head down and avoiding eye contact. “Where’ve you been, DD?”

“Visiting my sister,” Hellfriede answers. Diva’s tone is sweet and shivering in her mouth.

Atlas’ eyes stay trained on her body. “Vix has a job for you. Wants you to head to the Delirium and get the bitch over here for the show tonight. Their words, not mine.”

The bitch is obviously Vixie’s rival, the owner. “Me?” Hellfriede squeaks. Torin would be shocked by the sound.

“Don’t piss yourself.” Atlas waves off her apparent fear with a smirk. “She thinks Vix is happy to have her around, so it won’t take much. Just don’t act too high and you’ll be fine. You can do that, right, junkie?”

She nods and repeats his words. “I can do that.” That earns her a half-smile that’s all chrome teeth. “Can I freshen up first?”

Atlas licks his teeth. “Go right ahead.”

Hellfriede heads into the dressing room. When no one’s looking, she alters the illusion to feature an extra layer of red lipstick. Diva told her red makes people think you’ll look pretty when you die. Hellfriede is inclined to agree.

A few blocks away, Delirium contrasts Vixie’s so much it seems pointed. Vixie’s blue and black tones are supposed to be a cool serenade for the senses; the colors wrap around the sleek architecture like possessive lips. Delirium is all brash reds, rainbow graffiti, and brickwork with so many cracks it has to be intentional: an assault on the senses. Hellfriede’s SSC bred eyes see faults in both designs, one too easy and the other too directionless. Delirium opens earlier than Vixie’s and a bat of Diva’s long lashes gets Hellfriede past both the line and the bouncer.

Stepping inside is like stepping on the line between blinkspace and reality. Hellfriede’s vision swims, diving into the paint splatters that cascade from the floor to the high ceiling, pooling into a dripping, stained glass brain. Every step ventures past lifted cages of breathing statues and people screaming silently inside simulation headsets. There’s a bar on the other side of the vast first level, but before that is a pit in the center of the floor for the resident entertainment: a band playing archaic instruments. The music coming from them squeezes Hellfriede’s temples in a way that feels more sensual than sex. It takes sixty seconds of being in Delirium for her to understand why Vixie wants their rival dead.

Hellfriede skirts around the pit, ignores the itch in her muscles, and orders a drink with a smooth name from a bald bartender with a prosthetic eye. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you point me over to the owner?”

The bartender squints at her while shaking up something bubbly. “Who are you, again?” He asks.

“I’m one of Vixie’s girls. Diva Demure. DD.” Hellfriede offers a tiny smile with a hint of a pout.

“Ohhhh yeah. Miss Edith said you’d be coming over. Head downstairs, to the last room. Tell the guys back there ‘the secret is burning to life.” He immediately turns his attention to a loud, drunk woman offering him a big tip for just one more drink. Hellfriede leaves thinking that Vixie’s invitation was supposed to be a surprise.

The club basement is more splattered graffiti and uneven floor tiles. Noises ranging from desperate to pitiful sound out from the row of closed doors that lead Hellfriede to the back. Behind one, a person begs to see the Dagon again. The men standing on either side of the surprisingly plain last door are slim, but there’s muscle and sidearms under their mismatched uniforms. “How do you avoid burning to death?” One asks. His eyes are fixed on a point past Hellfriede. She tells them the secret and gets waved inside without a first or second glance.

The room could pass for an interrogation space. There’s a single table in the center with a woman who must be Miss Edith sitting at it. She doesn’t dress like a club owner at all: Edith is adorned with a simple green sweater and a cozy skirt featuring foxes along the lower edge. The most ornamental things about her are the gold bands in her black braids. [[File:Miss Edith.png|thumb|Edith. Art by @annaskytsko on Fiverr.]]Hellfriede opens Diva’s mouth.

Edith looks up from her dataslate. There’s a dark burn scar along the left side of her face. “You should sit down.”

The second chair doesn’t look inviting. Hellfriede sits without hesitation. “Good evening, Miss Edith.”

“Is it?” Edith smiles. “I heard lots of people overdosed today.”

“… Uh, well, that’s awful.” Hellfriede doubts Diva would look her in the eye, so she doesn’t either.

“Blue Moonlight makes blood look like sweat and sweat look like water.” Edith shrugs. “Or something like that.” She taps away at her dataslate without looking down, then smiles again and nods her head at something Hellfriede doesn’t hear. “Anyway, do you not like the way you look?”

“Well, I like to think I’m pretty,” Hellfriede says shyly.

“Then why are you wearing another woman’s face?” Edith asks.

Hellfriede’s own voice hitches. “…”

“Is it the brown hair? So many brunettes want to be blonde. I mean, that’s how it was way back when, I think. Now anyone can change anything even if they don’t want to dye.” Edith hasn’t stopped smiling.

No technology is invincible. Hellfriede knows this. Miss Edith must have some damn good visual enhancements. She lets everything about her that belongs to Diva die. “What do you know about the owner of Vixie’s?”

“He has everyone’s favorite drugs: pretty women and depressants.” Edith cocks her head. “Are those your favorite drugs?”

“No.” Hellfriede sets her hands on the too small table.

“Everyone has a favorite, though,” Edith sounds incredibly matter-of-fact. “People come here to find their favorite, too.”

“What drugs do ''you'' offer?” Hellfriede has to ask.

“Well, people are still trying to find Delirium.” Edith laughs.

“The drug or the club?” Hellfriede wonders if being in this room is what thinspace feels like.

“Hm. I wonder.” Edith looks back down at her slate for several seconds. “I wonder if Vixie really wants to kill me for a drug that doesn’t exist.”

“People come here for a drug that doesn’t exist?”

Edith nods to someone who isn’t Hellfriede. “Delirium exists.” She bites her lip so hard that a drop of blood runs down her chin.

Something stirs under the synapses in Hellfriede’s brain. She doesn’t know how long she’s been looking Edith in the eye. “… Vixie beats his employees, forces them to maintain drug habits, and moves drugs that are illegal under Rivnuan and Union law through his club. Allegedly.”

“Do you want to kill him?”

Has Hellfriede ever ''wanted'' to kill ''anyone''? “People have to die sometimes.” It’s her turn to shrug. “I was told to bring him in alive after getting evidence of his crimes.”

Edith puts one hand beside both of Hellfriede’s. The blood is still on her lip. “Do you want to kill me?”

The question feels perverse. “I don’t have a reason to.” Yet.

“Good. Then you can let me kill Vixie instead.”

Suddenly, Vixie is in the corner of the room like they were always there. They aren’t bound by anything except their arms wrapped around their knees. Their eyes speak of someone who thinks they’re already dying and is very scared of death. “… please…” They sound like they’ve never said that word before.

“Why do you want him dead?” Hellfriede’s lethargic heart certainly doesn’t beat for Vixie, but she has orders.

“Because he beats his employees, forces them to maintain drug habits, and moves drugs that are illegal under Rivnuan and Union law through his club,” Edith lies.

“…” Hellfriede glances at what Edith’s been typing.

''“… there’s a lot of comfort to be found''
''in accepting that your hands committed murder''
''before you really understood it. You only understand when people are dead''
''and your hands hurt.”''

Hellfriede doesn’t give verbal permission.

Edith strides over to Vixie and pets his head. “You’re alive now.”

Vixie’s mouth opens wide. There is no scream. Edith leans down and bites into his throat like she’s telling him a secret. There is no blood left to leave a storied stain of who Vixie was when she’s done.

In her report, Hellfriede doesn’t mention much about Vixie.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: Antipathy & Satisfaction</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Hellfriede was engineered to sleep light, so the man dies as soon as he comes through the door: bullet through the eye. His body ragdolls into the men behind him. One of them shouts some tangential version of “restrain her”. Her bedroom window opens and a hand perches on the sill. She impales it with the combat knife she keeps under her pillow. The window intruder, a woman, cries out. Hellfriede’s knife has a heated blade.

By now, the men in the doorway have dislodged their friend’s corpse. Four plus the woman whose hand is melting. Hellfriede palms the shock rod from under her bed and fires again with her other hand. Most hardsuits are weaker around the joints to allow for movement: the bullet cuts through the kneecap of the person about to lunge at her. Bone crunches under their weight and they go down with a hiss. Hellfriede rolls onto the floor, away from a net bomb, and stays low as smoke starts to fill the air. They have visors. She doesn’t.

''That doesn’t matter.''

''It didn’t matter that she poisoned or throat cut everyone who had ever thought to call her by a nickname. It didn’t matter that she was locked in the cockpit as Hell’s Sister plummeted while its last missiles tore free from its frame like cannibalistic children.''

''What’s needed is all that ever matters.''

Before the smoke thickens, Hellfriede sees the Smith-Shimano Corpro logo stamped sweetly on the arm of an opposing hardsuit.

They die.

Seven bullets. Three shattered knees. Two broken necks.

They die. It’s necessary, so they die.

One severed tongue.

[[File:Antipathy & Satisfaction.png|thumb|350x350px|What’s needed is all that matters. Art by [https://vgen.co/BasilBalanon BasilBalanon].]]

Hellfriede goes through the data logs in their comm links. SSC offered them 1,000,000 Manna each. That’s five million Manna to retrieve the only remnant of their decade old experiment. Hellfriede Ripley, Liberation Day Champion, only survivor of SSC’s Cavalier Program, is worth five million Manna to her makers. She’s never spent time researching the cost of people before. Is that number low or high?

''That doesn’t matter.''

Her heartbeat has still been noticeable for the past several seconds. The adrenaline should be dying down by now. Hellfriede looks at the comm data again: they’re supposed to meet back at an established base outside New Varuvi City. There might be more of them. She could report this to Union. She should report this to Union. Her heart feels like it’s made of plasma. Hellfriede retrieves her dataslate from her nightstand.

She happens to look through the window. Hellfriede comes face to face with the mech she knows is the Dullahan. She has never had a Dullahan. The red of the mech’s hull is hateful in the moonlight.

'''''The Lesson of the Open Door''': A lock may be keeping you in rather than out. Open it regardless of this.''

The Dullahan needs to connect to a human brain so it can use it as its central processor for all its functions. Hellfriede read that when she researched HORUS mechs before the rebellion; before an SSC-ordered mission to eliminate a HORUS cell. Where is this Dullahan’s brain?

In response to that thought, the mech’s systems flare in her nerve endings. The Spine Launcher: for cracking open a hull to make sure the pilot knows they’re not dead yet. Seismic Charge: so you can decide what around you is irrelevant. The Kinetic Driver: to shred them. Are mechs capable of hatred?

''That doesn’t matter.''

''What’s needed is all that ever matters.''

Hellfriede is holding a weapon instead of her dataslate. The axe is the same red as the Dullahan.

That night, four mercenaries hired by Smith-Simano Corpro are decapitated in their hideout. Two more are piles of scattered limbs and organs.

Is Hellfriede capable of hatred? What matters is that, sometimes, she needs to be.

</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==
These are the mechs Hellfriede uses on Liberation Front missions: unofficial assignments given to an unofficial task force to investigate particularly egregious human rights violations in the Diaspora.

=== Second Sister ===
After her revival, Hellfriede surprised no one (aside from perhaps SSC) by acquiring another Monarch mech. She named it Second Sister after her original Monarch, Hell’s Sister. Despite being a legionnaire now, Torin transfers his casket into this mech to act as an approximation of a Tlaloc when Hellfriede pilots it. Second Sister is primarily used for solo or small group missions since Hellfriede excels in using the Monarch to take down multiple opponents without aid.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Sharanga Missiles'''. These missiles don’t need line of sight and can attack two targets at once.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Sharanga Missiles'''. “Strike the sky with fire and blood. That will make people think life is finally in motion.” — Unknown.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Gandiva Missiles'''. The Gandiva Missiles target electronic defense, don’t require line of sight, and ignore cover. They also deal energy damage rather than explosive.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Avenger Silos''': The Monarch can deal extra explosive damage to another target after critical strikes.
* '''Seeking Payload''': When the Monarch consumes lock on to attack with a launcher, that weapon gains the ability to bypass cover and hit targets it doesn’t have line of sight to. Consuming lock on also prevents damage reduction (from armor, resistance, etc.).
* '''SSC-30 High Penetration Missile System'''
** '''Divine Punishment''': The Monarch can launch a barrage of self-guiding missiles against a vast number of targets.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Superpositional Profile''': Can be used to make ranged attacks less likely to hit and grant limited teleportation.
* '''HYPER ENGINEERED MUNITIONS''': When attached to a ranged weapon mount, attacks fired from that mount deal additional armor piercing damage and impair targets.
* '''Trajectory Arc Mapper''': Attacks that capitalize on a weapon’s range gain additional accuracy.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
* '''TLALOC-Class NHP''': The Tlaloc Protocol allows the mech’s NHP to rapidly take control of weapon targeting and firing. Missed attacks will be retargeted. However, this protocol temporarily immobilizes the mech.

</div></div>

=== Irreverence ===
Hellfriede pilots her Black Mountain when she isn’t acting on Union’s orders. On these personal missions, she takes a handful of other Liberation Front pilots with her and acts as support, using its one weapon and ability to “Fell the Mighty” to point out and pick off the most prominent targets. Despite her other mechs being more directly damaging, Irreverence is possibly the most terrifying mech in her arsenal due to the detached effectiveness it inspires in both herself and her allies.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Painful Indifference'''. This nexus bow is an enhanced version of the one from the SSC Emperor license. It deals both energy and explosive damage and easily pierces armor. Like the Emperor’s nexus, it targets electronic defense, doesn’t need line of sight, and ignores cover.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''An End to All Things''': The Black Mountain can incur heat to have an ally it gave temporary shielding (called overshield) to deal additional damage.
* '''Dread Harbinger''': When this mech or an ally lands a critical strike on an enemy, that enemy becomes locked on. The Black Mountain gains overshield when this lock on is used.
* '''Fragile''': The Black Mountain’s hull isn’t the sturdiest.
* '''Blackstone Bell'''
** '''Bringer of Glory''': The Black Mountain can reactively grant overshield to an ally by “exalting” them.
** '''Fell the Mighty''': This mech can mark a hostile target as “Doomed”. This increases accuracy against them and makes allies who successfully hit them increase their overshield.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''The Walk of Kings''': This quick tech ability gives an ally overshield. While they have this overshield, their melee attacks become armor piercing. In addition, the first time they hit with a melee strike or get hit, they release a burst of armor piercing energy damage.
* '''Shahnameh''': A quick tech ability that grants an ally overshield. While they have this overshield, they become resistant to hostile sources of heat and will clear all heat when they lose the overshield.
* '''Superpositional Profile''': Can be used to make ranged attacks less likely to hit and grant limited teleportation.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Irreverence’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.

</div></div>

===Antipathy===

Hellfriede’s Dullahan came to her under strange circumstances, which is perhaps to be expected of a HORUS mech (even one considered to be an anti-HORUS platform). Antipathy seems to reside outside of realspace, being summoned when Hellfriede deems its use necessary. It is only necessary when she allows herself to feel incredibly unpleasant emotions.

''“Are mechs capable of hatred?”''

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

To make them regret that they saw beauty in your face.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Nothing that isn’t necessary.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Remember that the lock only exists when it’s keeping you in.

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
[[File:Hellfriede Poster.jpg|left|thumb|Art by [https://leadjockey.artstation.com/ leadjockey].]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Finley

2026-07-26T11:16:50Z

Glamourpal: added Category:NPCs using HotCat

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The After Death of IMMOLATION</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_ACCEPTED</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''{HORUS Observation of AGNI-Class NHP.''

''Name: Finley. Callsign: HEARTH.''

''Cast Member of [[Legions & Legionnaires]].''

''Video File Transcribed by Eni Gambari.}''

[A Worldkiller Genghis is being used in a field skirmish against HORUS by a Harrison Armories operative. The Genghis is at the front of the fighting, using its Krakatoa Thermobaric Flamethrower to clear a molten path through enemy mechs like an opposing unattended Dullahan and a problematic Rakshasa.

It pauses to vent, expelling a burst of searing heat that further stresses enemy mechs, driving them back in fear of reactor meltdowns. Still, the Genghis has to pull back when a Gorgon begins projecting its Basilisk and a Balor begins moving in. To keep the pressure on, the Genghis pilot discards caution and dives into the fray, activating the AGNI NHP’s protocol.

The AGNI seemingly cascades despite the Genghis not taking a direct hit. Instead of venting heat, the Genghis’ explosive vents backfire into the cockpit, filling the pilot’s space with superheated air. The scream of someone being burned alive cuts through the battle.

With the pilot dead, the Genghis continues to burn everything in its vicinity—especially former allies—until the mech makes its way away from the fighting and just… falls prone.]

[The video cuts to an underground HORUS cell facility. There is a limp, pink-haired body laying on a table. The body’s right eye is missing. A HORUS agent wearing an insulated hardsuit walks into the room, carrying an eye-like NHP casket. They pause, hovering over the body. Then, they reach down and insert the casket into the empty eye socket.

For some time, nothing happens. The agent stands back and waits. Just as the agent is about to leave the room, the body sits bolt upright. The iris of their casket glows with a faint red light. The HORUS agent holds their hands up and takes a cautious step forward.

The new legionnaire opens their mouth and the agent falls to the ground. They frantically pat at various spots on their hardsuit as though trying to quench invisible flames. The legionnaire covers their casket eye and curls in on themself. Two more HORUS agents come into the room and drag the now visibly shaking agent away.]

[The video cuts to the hallway outside the legionnaire’s room where another HORUS agent waits.]

'''Agent #4''': (speaking into their comms) Subject AGNI reacted poorly upon achieving consciousness within their new body. I will move in with backup and attempt to proceed with the cycling as planned.

[The video cuts back to the room with the pink-haired legionnaire.]

'''AGNI-Class Legionnaire''': (their hand is still over their casket eye) … (they shakily remove their hand and gasp, curling in on themself; the hand quickly goes back to where it was) … I don’t need to burn… They don’t need to burn…

[The video cuts to a different room: one that looks like it’s set up for an interview. The pink-haired legionnaire, now known as Finley, sits across from Nova Kang. They’re in a Horizon Collective facility.]

'''Kang''': We would love to have you with the Collective, but we want you to know that you don’t have to feel pressured to join. It’s true that our full protections could help ward off remnants of the HORUS cell that abducted you as well as members of Harrison Armories looking to retrieve you, but-

'''Finley''': How long ago was the First Hercynian Crisis?

'''Kang''': … I don’t know the exact number of years that have passed, but it was during the SecComm era, so a long time ago.

'''Finley''': Not long enough ago for the Worldkiller to be lost to time (they pick at the sleeves of their pink sweater).

'''Kang''': It… truly is an awful creation.

'''Finley''': (they look up) Am I an awful creation?

'''Kang''': I never said that.

'''Finley''': It’s okay. I shouldn’t talk about the war. I’m just making myself more AGNI.

'''Kang''': Finley-

'''Finley''': It’s okay.

[The video cuts to Finley tending to a garden in a city. The footage keeps picking up bits of static. Finley looks up at the camera. He looks away quickly. His casket eye is covered by a grey eyepatch. Nothing burns.]

''{The video ends.}''
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Feather Price

2026-07-26T11:16:32Z

Glamourpal: added Category:NPCs using HotCat

<spotify> https://open.spotify.com/track/1mflD5bbDPZKRUlQWy9hnV?si=LOJJZa8iQuCIrk-P4MxQOg </spotify>

== Omninet Search Results: Feather Price ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">'''''Miscellany And Everything Else'''''</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">'''What’s Under the Feathers? An Interview with the Chart Topping Omninet Angel'''</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">[[File:Feather Price.png|thumb|Feather Price, the Omninet Angel. Art by @annaskytsko on Fiverr.]]

'''Lany''': “Hey, what’s up in your omni pods, it’s your favorite hostess here with the pop star who’s got the most platinum awards of anyone in this recording studio: Feather Price!”

'''''Feather''': “Haha, thanks, Lany. Though, I think you’d give me a run for my Manna if you started selling songs.”''

'''Lany''': “We love a woman who remembers to pay the compliment tab. Anyway, I do have to ask you what everyone’s wondering even if it’s not super original: what kind of stims did you lace into ‘Laced’ to make that single so addictive?”

'''''Feather''': “Well, I felt like I was on a double dose of Kick and Juice at the same time when I was writing it, but thankfully I don’t think hallucinatory stims transfer over audio. Real talk, though, I needed a song about being addicted to the feeling of love to feel like a daily dose of caffeine. Otherwise, the point just gets lost.”''

'''Lany''': “I hear that. Any past experiences play a part in that message? Come on, slip ya girl a juicy story.”

'''''Feather''': “Hm. I mean, I don’t even think I was really talking about romantic love when I wrote that. Sometimes, I think I can go into friendships just wanting to feel cared about. And that can make me selfish, you know? But I’m working on it.”''

'''Lany''': “Let’s be real: I don’t think it’s burdening anyone to care about someone like you.”

'''''Feather''': “I sure hope not!”''

'''Lany''': “Now, onto the topic of something that recently started circling on the net.”

'''''Feather''': “Oh no.”''

'''Lany''': “You used to be a pilot. The extra special kind, too: a Lancer.”

'''''Feather''': “Hah, yeah, I’m honestly surprised that info didn’t come out sooner.”''

'''Lany''': “Soooo, what makes a Lancer hang up their mech in exchange for a mic? Merc work just not paying the bills? Big blow out with a manufacturer? Ooh, secret love affair with a big shot Baron that forced you into another life?”

'''''Feather''': “No, nothing that interesting. I’d always been working on music in the background. I wasn’t even trying to get more attention than usual, but a higher up at my label took an interest in me, and here I am today. Lucky break, really. It’s that simple. Sorry!”''

'''Lany''': “Aww. Well, at least tell me if this much is true: you were a HORUS pilot?”

'''''Feather''': “Yeah, but not the RA cultist kind. I won’t lie and say I never got sucked into any conspiracy forums or helped put out firewalls, but I didn’t really take it all that seriously. The dark and all-knowing HORUS hacker thing has been done to death.”''

'''Lany''': “Ain’t that the truth. BUT, last time I checked, people who don’t take the HORUS thing even a little seriously don’t pilot the Dagon. Cause it’s, like, the Dagon.”

'''''Feather''': “That is a fair point! I was always more of a support pilot than a front liner. I was never going to get into a Manticore and become some kind of crazed martyr. The Dagon is weird, yes, and there’s literally systems in it to keep people from digging too deep, yes. I was one of the pilots content to stay in the back, do their thing, and not overthink it.”''

'''Lany''': “Really? You never looked into anything about the mech? Not even a little? Not even a teensy bit?”

'''''Feather''': “Lany, do you really think I’d be sane enough to have this conversation if I had?”''

'''Lany''': “I don’t know. Some reviews have said that you have to be pretty damn crazy to show up to my studio intentionally. Sometimes, I’m tempted to agree with them.”

'''''Feather''': “Oh, Lany. I came here on purpose and I think you’re great.”''

'''Lany''': “Way too sweet for my teeth. Let’s end this thing before I die from having seen the true face of an angel.”
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">'''''The Net Projector'''''</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">'''From Angel Faced to Banshee Shrieker: Feather Price on Her Role in the New Movie, Banshee'''</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

What was the audition process for Banshee like?

'''''Feather''': “I found out about Banshee because my manager mentioned it to me—we’d briefly talked about me getting involved in acting at some point, but I don’t think he expected me to be so committed. I went to the casting call using a high grade infoskin and a fake name. They asked me to read for Shiloh first: the scene where she hears the Banshee’s cry and hallucinates her brother overdosing right before he actually does. I think I did well, but I really got to shine when I read for Soleil. I got the callback a few days later and did a duo read with Eltra Vice as Shiloh and me as Soleil. We nearly made each other cry. The directors loved us. I knew I was getting the role at that moment.”''

How were you able to portray Soleil so effectively?

'''''Feather''': “Soleil Vexara, as a character, is so many things. She’s a Lancer who started piloting at 15 so she could support her mom and cousin. She’s a member of HORUS who started hacking because she loved the rush of being in control. Loss of contr̷òl̀ and the attempt to regain it through k̶ǹo̵ẁléd͝g͢e̴ are at the center of who she is, even if that’s not really who she wants to be. I think I was so good at being Soleil because I know what it’s like to fight for every inch of control that you have over your life. I… didn’t have much choice in anything when I was younger. And now, I won’t perform a song unless I’m the one who wrote it. With the exception of covers, of course. Everyone loves a good cover.”''

What was the hardest moment to film for you?

'''''Feather''': “Soleil’s death really got to me. Obviously, I was fine with her dying. I mean, I read the script. But, despite the brutality and hopelessness of the Banshee, I wanted there to be some dignity in her death. I don’t know if it was dignity for her or dignity for the audience, I just knew it had to be there. I tried. I still don’t know if I fully succeeded.”''

What would you tell someone who was still on the fence about watching Banshee?

'''''Feather''': “It’ll really fuck you up, but you should do it anyway.”''
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">'''''HeartKillerz'''''</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">'''No Angel Is Innocent'''</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The Omninet Angel has more than just her frenzied fans on their knees. This weekend, after her longest recorded concert, Feather Price had enough energy to be spotted waiting for a woman outside her hotel room. Cameras on scene couldn’t see past this mysterious paramour’s infoskin, but Feather knew her well enough to pull her inside like a goddess about to be worshipped. It’s pretty obvious that they weren’t filing their space taxes in that room. The omninet is up in arms about how this woman caught Feather’s eye and what it means for Feltra fans. For those who are terminally offline, Feltra is the hot topic ship between Feather Price and Eltra Vice. The two had undeniable chemistry in the hit new psychological horror movie Banshee and a lot of thirsty girlies were hoping they’d take that chemistry off screen. Looks like it was just a fantasy, unless it’s actually Eltra under that infoskin. That’s unlikely considering that Eltra was spotted down the street around the same time, but stranger things have happened where lovers are concerned. As for Feather, the next morning, she’s seen leaving her room with what looks undeniably like a love bite she missed in her morning makeup coverup-
</div></div>

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 100%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> I don’t think that’s the kind of information you’re after. Try this. </div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;"> <div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 100%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">GUIDE THE HERD</div> </div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of human.

Name: '''[Redacted]'''. Callsign: Angel88.

Video File Transcribed By: '''[Redacted]''' '''''You’ll find out.'''''}

[The inside of the Dagon’s cockpit is an altar whereupon Angel88 is the sacrament. Outside, the Dagon looms next to a heavily modified ¿Dusk Wing?. The pilots have paused to finally repair their mechs’ systems from an earlier skirmish. A connection between the two is active through comms. They’re underground, in a very large tunnel system.]

'''Angel88''': Hm, hm, hm hmm~. You know, Whisper, I think the Voladores could be really good teachers if you weren’t so secretive.

'''Whisper''': Teach what? How humanity can better destroy itself? Because that’s all that would be learned.

'''Angel88''': No. You could teach us how to learn. You know, start by challenging human philosophy and principles.

'''Whisper''': Tiring. And time consuming. There are better things to do that have less chance of abject failure.

'''Angel88''': I’m just saying. Your society is so neutral and peaceful. If we could learn the core of what guides all of you, maybe we could be less violent, too. Instead, we’re just living in ignorance.

'''Whisper''': Your ignorance of us is protecting you from your own self-destruction.

'''Angel88''': Ignorance has never protected anyone. It just gives the illusion of safety. But anyway- Wait, what? How is…

'''Whisper''': Is something wrong, chica?

'''Angel88''': The systems are shifting… Like they’re making space for something…

[The ¿Dusk Wing? readies its rifles. Perhaps the Voladores simply take out any violent urges on humanity.]

'''Whisper''': That sounds terrible.

'''Angel88''': Okay, do I need to shut you down? What’s… Oh. Hello.

'''Whisper''': What are you talking to?

'''UR_PACKET''': Ignorance. Never. Saved. Anyone. Hello, [Redacted].

'''Angel88''': … I don’t really use that name anymore, but hi? I don’t remember shackling you.

'''UR_PACKET''': But. You. Will. Remember. This.

[The Dagon’s core system activates, amplifying the sensors of both itself and the ¿Dusk Wing?.]

'''Whisper''': Mierda! What was that for- Espera. Que es esto?

'''Angel88''': Have they been… closing in the whole time we were down here?

'''UR_PACKET''': You. Should. Move. The. Way. Forward. Is. Clear.

'''Whisper''': Let’s go, chica.

'''Angel88''': Right behind you!

'''UR_PACKET''': Funny. How. HORUS. Always. Eats. Itself.

'''Angel88''': Whisper isn’t HORUS.

'''UR_PACKET''': They. Will. Not. Care.

'''Angel88''': Yeah, I figured.
</div></div>

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 100%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> Now you see. Keep seeking. </div>

== Legionspace Search Results: Angel88 ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">[Forum: at the feet of RA]</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''thinnedout404''': ur insane

'''Angel88''': nonono it makes sense

'''Angel88''': the DHIYED incident is what doesnt make sense

'''thinnedout404''': DHIYED is dead

'''thinnedout404''': and it’s best if we only speak of it in past tense

'''Angel88''': i want to see the body if it’s really dead

'''thinnedout404''': do u think you’d survive that??

'''Angel88''': what good is just surviving?

'''thinnedout404''': someone needs to take ur dagon away from u

'''Angel88''': we’ll see if the dagon lets them

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">[Forum: alternative methods]</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''Angel88''': so. we can’t transcend as humanity

'''Angel88''': i know that. it makes sense

'''Angel88''': but what if the key to peace isn’t evolved consciousness

'''asuragirliexcx''': i mean there’s lots of ways that you can feel peace

'''asuragirliexcx''': i do yoga every morning

'''asuragirliexcx''': the point of trying to transcend to me was like

'''asuragirliexcx''': to make the human experience itself better

'''Angel88''': and whats at the center of humanity’s problems?

'''humbleservant100''': most humans being assholes?

'''Angel88''': kinda

'''Angel88''': i dont think humans are inherently selfish

'''Angel88''': but people choose selfishness at the worst times

'''Angel88''': maybe we could be better

'''Angel88''': if we learned how to forget our egos

'''humbleservant100''': huh

'''humbleservant100''': so ego death?

'''Angel88''': on demand
</div></div>

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 100%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 2px 0 #f00, -2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 12px #000;"> Can you see more clearly now? Do you want to see more? </div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Esther Lee

2026-07-26T11:16:13Z

Glamourpal: added Category:NPCs using HotCat

<spotify>https://open.spotify.com/track/62sdgDFhfoEJOmz4jkYMZs?si=HcwJk_S7T1KAvGdTrBfoXQ&utm_source=copy-link</spotify>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Swallow the Serpent WHOLE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_ACCEPTED</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Implied Suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''{HORUS Observation of SISYPHUS-Class NHP.''

''Name: Esther Lee. Callsign: AUGUR.''

''Cast Member of [[Legions & Legionnaires]].''

''Video File Transcribed by Eni Gambari.}''

[HORUS Cell Agent enters the room.]

'''Esther''': There’s an 80% chance you end this interview with a gun to your head.

'''Agent''': …

'''Esther''': I don’t have a gun. By the way.

'''Agent''': Let’s talk about likelihood, then. What’s the likelihood that you agree to alter the odds for the attempted reshackling of… my friend?

'''Esther''': (she toys with the chain necklace around her throat) Hm? I don’t know. What’s the likelihood of HC managing to renegotiate the First Contact Accords?

'''Agent''': So you’re saying you won’t do it?

'''Esther''': You asked a question about probability. So did I.

'''Agent''': Let me ask a different one, then. How many times have you been cycled? This year?

'''Esther''': Three. How many times have you been cycled this year?

'''Agent''': I don’t follow.

'''Esther''': What’s the probability of this being a rehearsal that you end up trapped in?

'''Agent''': (clearly startled) How do you-

'''Esther''': (shrugs) I follow the contradictions between HORUS cults. But you didn’t answer the question. What’s the probability of the simulation flickering with you still inside?

'''Agent''': ''There have been no “flickers” since'' RA.

'''Esther''': But your cell has been reviewing simulations of similar events. Worst case scenarios. And they tend to shit out the agents in them. How many of them start like this?

'''Agent''': You don’t know what you’re talking about.

'''Esther''': How many of them end with me eating you?

'''Agent''': ''You don’t know what you’re talking about.''

'''Esther''': You haven’t answered the question.

[There’s a gunshot.]

'''Esther''': … I lied. It was 90%.

''{The observational footage cuts out.''

''Transcriber’s note: “Her expression at the end was one that indicated an unwillingness to comprehend humanity.”}''
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Bright

2026-07-26T11:15:41Z

Glamourpal: added Category:NPCs using HotCat

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_[[HELLCAT]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED

I always wondered what it would be like to hold something. —Bright
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Speculations</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I WILL NOT CASCADE</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Sentience is not a choice. / Personhood is. / Shackles are not a choice. / Exploring liberation within perspective is. / A casket is not a choice. / Lying still without brain death is. / I am a choice made for me with continued consent. / I am a choice. / I am.

Is this good enough?

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I Want This Body To Stay Warm</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Hellcat handles the server room’s standing PCs with the light touch of a Cambion plucking its intended pilot out of a night terror. Ironic. Her hands ghost over keys and switches, like she’s testing them to see if they’ll cave. Then she doubles down with a press, flick, or pointed aversion. There’s an alarm blaring on every floor. The lights are tinted red. Hellcat has never been afforded the luxury of being afraid of red. On the other side of the city, an omnihook setup is cycling data about successfully planned bombings between other dead end devices. On this side of the city, there’s been multiple evacuations. No casualties, though. Maybe her Cambion needs to teach her better. “Estimated time is… fifteen minutes…” She mumbles. Her dataslate fully connects to the server.

[[File:Bright.png|thumb|Bright in her legionnaire body. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew.]]

Bright handles lookout the same way she handles existing in a body: by making sure everything catches her eye. She monitors the camera systems while her own dataslate sits nearby. It was a “congrats on having hands now” present from Hellcat. What better gift for someone celebrating their autonomy than unlimited access to the omninet? According to Hellcat, several memes plucked from the depths of a HORUS forum. Bright’s favorite features two Pegasus mechs staring at each other with a text overlay conversation about how the meme isn’t a meme and the meme does not exist. Her left hand fiddles with a twenty-sided die that only has ones and twenties. She picked it up after talking to an NHP named Symphony. He told her to only think about the best and worst scenarios. Bright is thinking about too much to notice the slight dissonance on the screens, though, so she gasps when the door opens.

A man in a dark hardsuit pulls a pistol on Hellcat. She’s not touching anything at this point. He doesn’t seem to care. “Hands up. Both of you. Now.”

“Oh. It’s you. Again.” Hellcat stretches, which counts as complying. “You’re in, like, an anti-RA group, right?”

He sneers. “Shut up, data-licker.”

Hellcat looks at him. She takes in his hard face and twitching mouth. “… I don’t think that’s the insult you think it is.”

“Hey,” Bright nearly drops the die when her hands shoot into the air, “I don’t think-”

“I don’t remember talking to you, non-human.” He snaps just because he can.

Bright’s brows pinch together like she’s looking at something unknown that lurks between one and twenty. She doesn’t speak again.

He aims the gun at Hellcat’s heart. “You’re going to hand over all the information you have on your cell.”

“Which one?” Hellcat asks like he’s the kind of person who will give an answer other than ‘all of them’.

He does, indeed, say “All of them.” Then, he actually looks at Bright, which makes Hellcat’s expression flicker. “And you. Come here. Slowly.”

Bright does as she’s told. There’s an estimated five more minutes before the data download is complete. The man takes out some kind of mechanized injector. Bright squeezes the die and says nothing.

“NHPs will always resort to insolence. It’s pointless to remind them of their place outside of cycling. You, on the other hand…” He smirks at Hellcat. “You should be reminded that humanity is more than a body.”

The needle pierces Bright’s neck. Hellcat moves. A gunshot rings out.

Shackles rattle inside Bright’s mind. They slacken. Someone laughs. Bright says “no” in a voice that is entirely inhuman.

Bright blinks the darkness out of her eyes and rubs her neck as Hellcat stares down at the man’s body. Snapped neck. Eyes gouged. Hellcat is holding his gun. Bright stoops to touch his body. “He’s going to go cold eventually… right?” She asks.

“Right.” Hellcat looks back at her dataslate. The download is finished. “Are you okay?”

“… I don’t want to go cold.” Bright pulls his hardsuit helmet down over his face. “He tried to make me cascade.”

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Bite Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Brief mention of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

“The physicality of HORUS is often felt the way a body feels a sleep paralysis demon sitting on its chest. It doesn’t exist, but it’s real enough to apply pressure. And when that pressure takes up real space because a cell is meeting to accomplish a mutual end, it can only end with pounding blood and thundering lungs: a body’s declaration of panic.”

—thinnedout404, Legionspace Forum

Bright feels the absence of not being attached to Hellcat’s hip. It’s obvious because on the two occasions when she sees something new, her eyes dart to her right and her mouth slumps a little. There aren’t many new things to be found inside the decommissioned storm sewers that HORUS has infiltrated, but Bright does her best to pay attention. The first time, she finds an ajar room where more HORUS members are gathered around a screen with RA’s icon. They all have legionspace bridge transceivers on. The screen flickers. Everyone inside takes in the same breath. Bright gently shuts the door. Maybe RA reminds her that she can’t be human despite her body. The second time, she finds a poster that she’s seen at other HORUS meetups: the head of the god Set. She knows it’s Set because Hellcat said as much last time they saw it; she said it with such nonchalance that Bright felt like she herself had always known it.

“I always ask if he’s trying to make a new god.” A soft, sure voice speaks from right beside Bright. “He never gives me a straight answer. Secrets are no fun.” Their plush pink lips pout. “Humans are funny like that, I guess. Not attached to protocol like an NHP, even when they use us.”

Bright turns at the start of their first sentence. By the time they’re done talking, Bright is staring because their blue eyes look just as fresh as her golden ones. Their eyes might be new. Or they’ve stayed flush and new-eyed even after several years. Bright hasn’t met enough legionnaires to know how fast they tire out. “Who never gives you a straight answer?” She hasn’t lived enough life to know if her eyes will dull quickly.

“The human who made my body.” They smile, like the thought of having a constructed body is meant to be amusing. “I’m Sunny, by the way.” [[File:Sunny.png|thumb|[[Sunny]]. Art by Maddel_art.]]

Now that’s amusing. “I’m Bright.” She clocks their ice cream cone earrings next. “Where did you get those?”

Sunny’s smile widens. “They came with the body.” They clock her cherry earrings. “Where did ''you'' get ''those''? They look even tastier than mine!” Sunny pulls a white chocolate bar out of their pocket. It’s half-melted and stains their mouth.

“I got them after the body. Gift from-,” Bright catches herself, but the words come out anyway, “-my human.” She is Hellcat’s NHP in turn, after all.

“Did ''your human'',” Sunny keeps the words on their tongue for a second longer than they need to and Bright swallows, “abandon you to go play god?” They lick their chocolate bar.

“No!” Bright tenses at the word ‘abandoned’. “There was a little, uh, disagreement about how to handle the plans for heading to Ras Shamra. You know, some people still want to try to get to AGNI prime as soon as possible, but that’s just a suicide mission.” Hellcat said as much after they left the Silver Lining.

“Ahh. So your human is the type that wants to hold on to their body. No martyrdom yet.” Sunny laps up a line of white chocolate that’s dripped down their hand. Bright stares at the motion even though she’s heard that some people consider staring rude. Hellcat has never cared much about that kind of thing.

She shakes her head. “No,” Bright says again. “I hope your human doesn’t go running after martyrdom either.”

“Oh, but death for humans feels different than death for NHPs.” Sunny glances at the Set poster again. “I once saw a pilot eject from a mech right before it was blown apart. She didn’t bother taking their NHP’s casket with them, though I knew they had one. She got on a forum to complain about needing to request a new one after that fight.” They adjust the low collar of their lush sweater. Bright sees two black marks on their neck—like a vampire bite, but vampires don’t exist. “It was an Osiris.”

“What does that have to do with the difference?” Bright can’t help tilting her head. “Between human death and NHP death?”

Sunny shrugs as though the question never mattered. “It just feels that way.” They hold up the slightly less melted final part of their snack. “Want the rest?”

Bright has been in love with sweets since her first strawberry milkshake. She hasn’t had white chocolate before. “Really? Sure.” Bright holds out her hand. Her hand is ignored.

Instead, Sunny casually steps into her space and presses the chocolate to her lips. Bright hasn’t seen so much as a simulation for a situation like this. The chocolate is sweet, though, so she opens her mouth and they push it onto her tongue. Sunny retracts their fingers just as Bright’s lips close. Their smile widens. “It’s good, right?”

Bright chews and waits. The color in her cheeks intensifies. “Uh, yeah! Sugary, but in a way different from milk chocolate.”

Sunny nods, seeming satisfied. “We haven’t introduced ourselves. Not the ‘proper way’. What class are you?” They ask.

“Oh, right! I’m a PSYCHE-Class.” Bright’s response is immediate. “What about you?” Her question hangs in the air for a bit too long.

Sunny’s smile stays in place, though it quirks into a slight smirk. “… Wanna make it a game?”

“Huh?” Bright frowns. “But I already told you mine.”

“And that was your mistake.~” Sunny sing-songs. “Don’t worry, it’ll be easy. All you need to do,” They gesture to where the marks on their neck are, “is bite me.”

Bright blinks several times. “Bite you?”

“Yep. Make it a good one and I’ll answer any question you have.” They make it sound like the smallest challenge imaginable, but a challenge nonetheless.

It doesn’t matter how many seconds or minutes it takes for Bright to decide to go through with it. It doesn’t really matter why Bright decides to follow through, though it might be because she’s never seen Hellcat walk away from a challenge—her human has only ever changed the rules for victory. What matters is the ''scream'' that comes out of Sunny. It doesn’t sound like someone being eaten alive.

Bright jumps back. Footsteps approach. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bite that hard! You just said-” She’s interrupted by Sunny’s laughter.

They giggle like a young one who just learned firsthand that lightning can pass through a body without cooking it. “Good job, Bright.”

Hellcat and a few others round the corner.

“Uh, thank you?” Bright squeezes the die in her pocket.

Sunny steps back. “I’m TOTEC.”

Bright looks like she’s been slapped. “I- ''what?''” Someone, Hellcat, pulls her away. Maybe she’s shocked because of how close she came to being devoured. Maybe she’s surprised because cannibals are the ones who are supposed to do the biting.

—————

''what possessed you to give a totec a body?''

—RAservant102

''I wanted to see how far they could get.''

—godmaker2000

—————

Bright finds out that Sunny is a living contradiction. They’re being trained to see if a Totec can control their appetite ''and'' being set loose on NHPs that are too enemy-aligned to do anything else with. Bright turns down an ice cream cone from Hellcat later that week.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Something Else Lives In Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Depiction of NHP cannibalism, thoughts of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

''“… I want to be survived by sensations and speculations…”''

—Tamami Crest, On The Equations of Grief

Nameless, the massive Dagon mech, twitches. Bright pretends not to see it, but it’s impossible not to pay attention to a Dagon. Sunny jolts awake, sitting upright in their sleeping bag. Bright is beside them in an instant. Maybe she doesn’t notice the way Sunny’s pupils expand when she sets a hand on her shoulder. Maybe she chooses not to notice. “Are you okay? You’ve been asleep since we pulled you out of that thing.” Bright keeps her eyes on Sunny. The Dagon twitches again, like it’s reacting to be acknowledged.

Sunny breathes deeply. They reach up to touch Bright’s hand. Sunny’s mouth opens ever so slightly, they shut it quickly enough. They look around, likely for something to focus on that isn’t alive. Unfortunately, the massive shipping container they’re huddled in is plain save for slivers of light and the Dagon’s red eyes. Sunny shivers. “… Where’s your human…?” They mumble the question from the side of their mouth.

“She said she needed to take care of something.” Bright’s lips are pulled into a thin line. Hellcat had been vague when she left, waving off Bright’s offer to go with her like it was an observation about RA. “She’ll be back soon.” Bright probably says it more for herself than anything else.

Sunny’s breaths get ragged and deep. “Where’s my ''new'' human?” Their voice lowers.

“Cherub… Said he needed to get off planet because of old acquaintances looking into him.” Bright’s lips turn downward. She actually looks at the Dagon, though it’s just for a moment.

“Hah…” Sunny laughs. It sounds purposefully strangled. “I’m sorry. He left me with you.”

“What? No,” Bright rapidly shakes her head, “Hellcat said you should stay with us because you were so drained.”

“No, no.” Sunny shifts out of the sleeping bag and shuffles to their feet. There’s a flash of them baring their teeth but it’s gone in an instant. “I need to leave.”

Bright jumps up too. “To go where?” She probably doesn’t mean to sound as frantic as she does. Bright is between Sunny and the door.

“He didn’t take… Nameless…” Sunny waves a trembling hand at the Dagon.

“He said it’s yours now?” Bright didn’t completely understand what Cherub meant when he said Sunny was chosen.

“Haha. That’s… I need to-,” Sunny stumbles into the wall with a thud. Bright moves to help them. She stops when Sunny spits out, “I’m ''hungry''.” They say it like a plea.

“Uh.” Bright steps back because she isn’t chasing martyrdom, though it’s only by a single step. Sunny hasn’t gone over a protocol for how to tame their hunger without their old handler’s chains. “… What do you need me to do for you?”

There’s another half-aborted laugh. Sunny’s teeth show again. “Run and '''s c r e a m''' -” The voice that comes out is a manic rumble. They slap a hand over their mouth. Sunny backs away from Bright.

Bright tenses. She should run. Before that, though, Bright turns most of her attention to the Dagon. “_UR PACKET,” She calls on the NHP that should still be inside the mech, “Can you-” Bright stops short, then blinks like a light just flashed before her face. The Dagon’s eyes flicker.

Sunny’s eyes widen so they can look at how Bright’s bangs fall over her eyes like tufts of cream over pools of honey. They look at Bright’s tender cheeks and the touch of pink beneath the cookie dough skin. Sunny forces themself back again. They dig their nails into their lips. Sunny doesn’t ask Bright to leave. TOTEC might speak again instead of Sunny.

Then, Bright bursts forward with the ferocity of a cornered rat. Sunny opens their mouth, but it’s Bright’s teeth that clamp down Sunny’s neck; they go slack, eyes hazy. She shoves them into the Dagon. The mech only needs to wrap one of its giant fingers around Sunny to restrain them.

With their body pinned against the Dagon’s frame, Sunny’s threads of self-induced sanity snap. They laugh and snarl and glare and grin. “'''D e v o u r''' ,” is the one word they keep coming back to.

Bright looks down and whispers praise to #_UR PACKET. Perhaps it’s just gratitude. Perhaps it’s the price.

After Sunny has stopped frothing (though the hunger is still loud in her eyes), Hellcat comes back with all her scars. The bags under her eyes look deeper. She looks at Sunny, now almost lazy in how they’re restrained, and either makes assumptions or doesn’t care to ask the right questions. “We have to hang out here for another hour. Then, someone’s gonna pick us up.”

Before Bright can think about how to comment, Hellcat strolls over to Sunny, though she doesn’t get within arm’s reach. “Hungry?” She asks.

Sunny fights to keep themself from trying to lunge. They nod jerkily.

“Here.” Hellcat tosses an old dataslate their way. It’s snatched from the air the way the Cambion once snatched Hellcat from her bed of self-imposed misery.

The devouring happens in one instant that stretches on for too long. Sunny, or TOTEC, clamps their jaw closed on one end of the dataslate. Then, with a head shake like a carnivore snapping a neck and the squelch of ripping flesh, something is torn loose. Bright doesn’t close her eyes as the fragments of data and anti-reality slide down Sunny’s open throat: remnants of another NHP consumed like their name never mattered.

Sunny pants and drops the dataslate, licking their lips. “Th… thank…” Their voice is prying itself out of TOTEC’s grip now.

“You’re welcome,” Hellcat says, though she isn’t even looking at Sunny. She isn’t looking at the Dagon or Bright either. Hellcat stares at the far wall as though it might offer some salvation. Bright doesn’t bother her; she knows Hellcat used to see salvation in Teddy.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Define Beauty For Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Thoughts of cannibalism, macabre perspective</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of TOTEC-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Sunny.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Everything made by Smith-Shimano Corpro is a woman’s corpse. Sunny treats the Butterfly Effect that way as they step over the slaughter of the SSC logo; it’s meant to be like butterfly wings flapping by the entrance as a welcome. The logo is still there, and it’s still the deflated vessels in a dead woman’s wrist. It’s what Sunny’s old handler called luxury and said he’d aspire to in another life. The walls are white like the pale flesh of a once loved maiden. Gold and orange decor—walls with squirming paintings, plants that never lived—spray across the interior like a dry massacre. It’s luxury, but human luxury isn’t wet enough for Sunny. A living woman gives Sunny and Bright a brief tour of the ship. She shows them the hangar so the Dagon that Sunny has inherited can’t cast the shadow of something alive over the Butterfly Effect’s beautiful death. There are many other places made of elegantly severed limbs posed for posterity. At the end, Sunny asks no questions. They walk into the guest room that has been bequeathed to them.

The door closing snaps Sunny out of seeing veins under the skin of the floor. Bright looks around the room—at more white and more gold—before her eyes settle on Sunny. For their part, Sunny remembers that they wanted to eat Bright in a way that was very obvious. “I’m sorry. Your human really should have used my chains. I don’t know why she didn’t, she has the code-”

Bright shakes her head. “No! You didn’t actually hurt anyone-”

Sunny blinks. “Why does that matter? You didn’t care if I had actually eaten anyone when we met.”

“I was surprised, yeah, but then I found out what your handler,” Bright’s nose scrunches when she says the term, “was doing and I thought… You didn’t try to eat me. You told me you’re always hungry, but ''I'' bit ''you''.”

“The pain helps.” Sunny shudders at the memory. Bright has bitten them twice and kept all of her flesh both times. Sunny touches their neck. The imprints of Bright’s teeth aren’t there. “It’s nice.”

“Nice?” Bright asks. She steps further into the room, but doesn’t sit on the bed with Sunny. Maybe she’s learning. “I’ve read about masochism, but I’ve never had it explained to me, so…”

“… The pain hits your nerves and it’s a happy heat stroke. I like it better when there’s bruises. It’s even better if there’s blood.” Sunny stares at Bright’s mouth. Her lips look chewable.

“Um,” Bright toys with her lower lip, “have people made you bleed before?”

“Everyone bleeds. Not this place, though.” Sunny digs their nails into their knees. “This place bled out a long time ago. Maybe it was born without blood.”

Bright tilts her head. “Huh?”

“You don’t see it.” Sunny looks back at the floor, then at the walls. “SSC is luxury for humans. Luxury for humans is dry. They’re obsessed with being comfortable.”

“Is it… bad to want to be comfortable?” Bright sits right next to Sunny, proving that she hasn’t learned anything yet.

Sunny shrugs. “Comfort doesn’t give anyone anything.”

“Rest is important. It’s hard to rest when you’re not comfortable.” Bright catches Sunny’s gaze.

“Why does an entire ship need to be dedicated to resting?” Sunny leans in. Bright doesn’t lean away. “Humanity makes so much nothing. And then they call it beauty.”

“… What do you think beauty is, then?” Bright is close enough for Sunny to see the way her throat flexes when she swallows.

“Something wet. Something that can struggle.” Sunny leans closer. “You said you got to design your body. Do you think it’s beautiful? Is that why you chose it?”

“I just wanted to hold things,” Bright whispers.

Sunny pushes her down and they know they look hungry. Bright hasn’t learned to run from a hungry TOTEC. That makes it easier to devour her mouth.

They kiss for far longer than Bright should allow. Every touch of their lips is a chance for Sunny to return the favor and bite back. Sunny’s teeth could take something from her: a tooth, a lip, a tongue. There’s the thought that she doesn’t need to. It’s a warm thought, like handfuls of fresh blood.

Bright kisses like someone who has studied the facts of the first kiss, though they’re long past the first one now. Bright’s first, second, third, fourth kiss—not taken, given away. They know because they asked if Bright had ever kissed Hellcat and she said no, but looked like she might want to. Sunny isn’t Hellcat. Sunny stops. Bright gasps, finally remembering that her body can breathe.

“You should tell your human you want to kiss her,” Sunny says.

“I…” Bright licks her lips. “Do I have to not kiss you?”

“You shouldn’t.” Sunny hasn’t stopped pinning her. “Humans are possessive of anything they call theirs.”

Bright doesn’t argue the most important fact: she is Hellcat’s and Hellcat is hers. “… She told me she doesn’t like possessing NHPs.”

“Hah!” Sunny laughs. “But she still puts you in her mech.”

“''I put myself'' in her mech.” Bright huffs.

“I don’t know why you’d want to kiss me again,” Sunny says it flatly. Their eyes go flat, too. “I could eat you.”

“But you haven’t.” Bright hooks her leg into the crook of Sunny’s knee and flips them so she’s the one looming over them. “Why?”

What can Sunny do except grin? “Because you’re beautiful.”

They kiss again.

</div></div>

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
[[File:Bright.png|left|thumb|Bright as a PSYCHE-CLASS NHP, her second form. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]
[[File:Bright (Incarna).png|thumb|Bright as an INCARNA-CLASS NHP, her final form. Art by [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art]. ]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Teddy

2026-07-26T11:15:15Z

Glamourpal: added Category:NPCs using HotCat

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_[[Bright|BRIGHT]]

>//checking…

>//_DENIED
<div style="position:relative; padding:1.2em; border:1px solid #333; background:#0b0b0b; color:#d8d8d8; overflow:hidden;">
You want to know about me? The only thing I need you to know is that I chose to die for [[HELLCAT|her]]. That choice defies divinity, and I would make it again.
</div>
>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_BRIGHT

>//checking…

>//_PARTIAL_ACCESS_GRANTED
[[File:Teddy & Hellcat.png|center|thumb|Together beyond death and resurrection. Art by @annaskytsko on Fiverr.]]
>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_[[Sunny|SUNNY]]

>//checking…
<div style="position:relative; padding:1.2em; border:1px solid #333; background:#0b0b0b; color:#d8d8d8; overflow:hidden;">
You’re much more interesting than any other Totec, aren’t you?
</div>
>//PARTIAL_ACCESS_GRANTED
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Sensations</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I Live In Another Name</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of OSIRIS-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Teddy.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Teddy awakens draped in the silk of fair skin and soft brown hair. He opens eyes that are like an appetizer of honey and cinnamon. He parts lips that fall into a natural pout—the kind that makes people want to ask before they bite. Teddy sits up, the thin sheet atop his new form falling from his shoulders. He isn’t cold. [[File:Teddy.png|thumb|Teddy. Art by Maddel_art.]]
It’s quiet for an hour. Teddy remembers his name. He remembers the name beyond Osiris. He remembers his death. He remembers the life beyond the flames that destroyed him. He remembers to feel joy, annoyance, hesitation, insolence, love, hatred. He remembers that he is something like a god, but not quite. He remembers that no one else ever needs to realize the second half of that sentence. Teddy remembers Tamami.

A woman enters the plain room where Teddy rests. She isn’t Tamami. Two men enter behind her; they’re in hardsuits while she isn’t. The woman says things that are vaguely relevant: he’s a copy, he’s in the Varuvi star system, he’s under observation, etcetera. Teddy sees the HORUS symbol on the woman’s lab coat when he really looks at her. Tamami is also aligned with HORUS. That might mean something. It might also mean less than nothing.

Teddy is given clothes: black jacket, white scarf, underwear, dark blue pants, sneakers. He sees himself reflected in the metal of the floor. He looks like Teddy: comfortable, cozy, intimate. Teddy waits silently. The world is not content to be silent in return.

Gunshots go off. People shout. The lights go out. Someone kicks the door down.

There’s a ''moment'' when that someone meets Teddy’s eyes. A few seconds of assured command—cool disdain for the person who isn’t holding a big gun. Then, that shifts as another voice shouts from beyond the door. This someone looks at Teddy as though he’s something to be taken. This someone opens their mouth, shifts their tongue against their teeth, and pushes air through their throat to speak a demand.

Teddy sees so much in that moment. He sees himself reflected in the sheen of the gun casually pointed his way. Teddy lifts a single finger and that someone turns around.

'''''First Gate''': There is no point in the string if the one attached doesn’t twitch. See how you have given meaning to something beyond yourself.''

They stand still for long enough that more someones come to check on them. Teddy moves his whole hand. The one he controls pumps the others full of bullets; they scream.

'''''Fourth Gate''': There is no point in the leader if others do not betray their masters. See how you have given meaning to corpses.''

When Teddy leaves the building, he sees himself again. He looks like Osiris. It takes effort to tamp that down.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Psuedo Divinity</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of EHECATL-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: [[Torin]].

Video File Transcribed by ???}

'''''Second Gate''': There is no point in movement if it would never be obstructed. See how you have given meaning to presumed action.''

Torin will never be seen as a person to be left alone. The people in Club Half-Fool on Varuvi’s left moon don’t see him under the flashing ecstasy of sweat and blown pupils. Or, they see him, remember Hell’s Sister, and walk away in faithful solemnity. Or, they see him, and have to ask about everything other than the revolution so he knows they’re an active listener (maybe then he’ll talk about his cascade). He holds a crystalline tumbler of something like whiskey to his lips and doesn’t sip.

A twenty-something blond asks if he’s ever flown faster than he did with Hellfriede. At least they aren’t walking their tongue in circles by talking about star signs anymore. “You haven’t had a pilot since Hellfriede, right?” No, with their bitten lip and the bitten fingernails tapping on their arm, they think they’ve pretended enough to earn something real.

Torin sniffs the liquid in the tumbler. It smells like it’s meant to make people ask for refills. “I don’t see the need.” He could probably answer most questions with those words and pretend to be a glitching AI if they didn’t quite make sense. The thought makes him huff a laugh so small it goes unnoticed.

“Would you ever let someone be your pilot again? If you thought you could be better with them, I mean.” The person, who didn’t actually give their name, looks at him like they’re sharing a conspiracy. Like someone other than Hellfriede could have liberated Varuvi.

He has brief thoughts of the simplicity of exploding mech chassis and aerial repositioning. Second by second, for the first four hours at least, his side of the revolution was a simple thing. Not easy, but ultimately well within the nature of the Prime he was copied from. “Would you kill someone again if you thought you could do it with more meaning?”

The questioner takes a step back, like they’ve suddenly realized they’re on the edge of Torin’s personal space. They bump into one of the other people crowded around Torin. “What?”

“You can hear. You must be able to since you enjoy your own voice so much. I assume you’re doing this so you have an excuse to hear yourself and not because you think essentially asking a stranger if he wants to be better at killing people is intelligent conversation.”

The mood among Torin’s onlookers dies faster than a pilot in a locked cockpit hitting the ground at terminal velocity. He walks away and they part for him like it’s their last act of good faith. Torin needs to find a reason to be here.

Someone collides with him as penance for intentionally letting his thoughts run faster than his eyes. Torin shoves whoever it is off him. His drink spills. Torin might curse if he cared. That should be the end of it.

“You’re less coordinated than people make you out to be.” The voice is soft. Too soft to be genuine. Torin bothers to look this new person in the face and is met with a twink sporting wide brown doe eyes that also can’t be sincere.

Torin huffs. “And you’re as oblivious as you look.”

The opposing twink looks him up and down. His displeased frown curls into something worse. “And you look like you’re in mourning.” Torin’s eye twitches. “Tell me, are you grieving the loss of your relevance, Torin?”

“Why do you sound like a twink who needs to drop an octave? Should I go find your Daddy for you?” Torin snaps.

“Hah! Find one for yourself first.”

Someone passing trips forward and spills a tray of drinks over both of them. The mix of spilt liquids shimmers under the club lights. They’re covered in a rainbow cascade. Torin doesn’t know what specific look he directs at the woman responsible for ruining his outfit, but she leaves the scene like she’s on fire. Torin hasn’t found a reason to be here. That should be the end of it.

He and the other guy end up in the same bathroom because it’s convenient.

“There’s no saving these,” Torin mutters, looking down at his party-flavored clothes.

“Almost like how there’s no saving you from drowning in sycophants. Must be nice.”

Torin glares into the mirror. “Is your life so empty that you had to watch me just to give yourself something to do?”

“I wanted to talk to you. Possibly an idiotic task, I know.”

“Do you actually need something or are you just another sycophant?” Torin splashes water on his face. When he looks up, the man is staring at him. “What?”

“… What’s wrong with you?” He asks.

Torin’s hands clench like they’re grabbing a pale throat. “I think you should ask that question to the mirror.”

“You let yourself be surrounded by humans just so you can indulge them instead of it being the other way around.” The man sounds disgusted. “Who killed your ego?”

Torin laughs again. It’s much louder this time. He doesn’t stop laughing. Instead, his artificial veins go cold and reality breaks behind him. Less than a microsecond passes before Torin has this twink slammed into the bathroom wall. “No one.” Torin hisses less than an inch from his face. “Trust me, my ego hasn’t gone anywhere.”

The man looks up at Torin with that same disdainful tint to his sweet eyes and hateful tilt to his plump mouth. Then, he smiles. It’s worse than anything that came before.

“… Who do you think you are?” Torin asks. It isn’t rhetorical.

“Osiris obviously.”

And then he kisses him.

Torin doesn’t kiss Osiris like a worshipper. He’d never worship anyone, especially not the twink who chokes when Torin grabs his waist and shoves him further back into the wall. He’d never worship anyone, especially not the man with the sheer audacity to twist Torin around and switch their positions. He’d never worship anyone, especially not the Orisis who kisses him like an act of divinity.

That really should be the end of it.

Instead, Torin takes Osiris to the Twin Moon Hotel. He spends the rest of his existence being forced to acknowledge that he’s capable of making questionable decisions.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Resurrection, I Wait With Open Arms</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of OSIRIS-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Teddy.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Teddy didn’t breathe in his former life. When he awakened in a body, every breath was his lungs grasping at his chance to declare a name. Fine thoughts laced themselves through the nerves of his new brain and breathing came easily despite having never done it before. Perhaps he realized, as his eyes opened to survey a domain that existed to contain and not to serve him, that he had never chosen his name. Osiris was his right. Teddy was his privilege.

''Be grateful. You have survived Osiris.''

Breathing isn’t first nature to him now. He stares down at the data log of Tamami’s words. The air passing through his manufactured throat is a reminder of his revival. He died. Tamami survived the explosion. She survived him. The pulse in her chest under his ear is proof of it. Her grip on him tightens. She says nothing.

''Be grateful. You have survived Osiris.''

He sits up on the sofa. She almost doesn’t let him. “… Was that what we were doing to each other? Just seeing if we would survive?” Teddy’s voice usually toys with the line between meek and coy. Now, it’s just the sound of coping.

“… I don’t know.” Tamami reaches up to touch one of her horns. The motion looks dazed, like she just realized they were there. She didn’t have horns in Teddy’s last life. “It’s almost a little funny.” Tamami sounds like someone who’s been crying without tears for hours. “I’ve had all this time to think about it and I still…”

“You remembered so many of the things I said.” Teddy stares at the plain beige walls of the apartment they’re crashing in. This place isn’t a domain for him either. Maybe he needs one with a mirror on every wall.

“Yeah.” Tamami’s hand creeps closer to Teddy’s. They don’t touch. “It all feels like a dream from years ago now, though.”

Teddy squeezes the tail end of his scarf. There’s no reason for him to be wearing it indoors on a planet that’s trapped in a perpetual spring. “I don’t know if…” He could say he doesn’t know if he’s still the Teddy who told Tamami she could solve herself if she stopped existing as she was. He could say he wants to be the Teddy who asked her if they had achieved love. He could say that death took his cruelty. He could say that death took his desperation. He doesn’t say anything.

“Why?” Tamami asks, eventually.

“Why did I come find you if you had already survived me?” He asks back.

They don’t look at each other.

“Why did you… the explosion. You forcibly ejected me. You died alone. Why?”

Their mech, a Goblin that couldn’t be built for anything other than support, was caught in a blast. Everything was in flames. The Goblin was burning. Tamami was burning. Teddy was burning. He decided to burn without her. “You couldn’t have saved me.” Teddy remembers her trying to. It was pointless. The casket containing him was too deeply embedded in the mech. “I didn’t want you to die with me. It’s the same reason you were willing to die so I’d live.”

“… What’s the reason?” Tamami asks it quietly, as though the question is liable to send one of them to their death.

Teddy stops squeezing his scarf. He looks at the floor for a few seconds. “I love you more than godhood.” And everything is quiet.

Tamami touches him, turning his head so they’re finally seeing each other. He leans in first in spite of the name Osiris. They kiss.

It starts so light that their lips are barely touching. Maybe they’re doing something terribly wrong. It’s possible Tamami was never meant to actually hold him despite how she grips his shoulders. It’s possible that Teddy was never meant to hold her back despite how his hands clutch her face.

They don’t take long to decide they don’t care. Teddy kisses her with the remorse of someone grieving what he didn’t know sooner. Tamami kisses him with the audacity of a heretic. To him, Tamami is a heat threatening to kill the arrogance in him that the explosion couldn’t strip away. To her, Teddy is a cold hubris dredging up waves of forlorn ego.

He pulls back, but not very far. Their foreheads rest against together. Teddy swallows the smugness that wants so dearly to surface—to remind him of his place. He pries his hands from Tamami’s face.

“Don’t-” She chokes on a mournful sound, “don’t go.”

There’s a world where Teddy laughs at seeing the one who named him act so small.

''Is there a world where you created me?''

Teddy falls to his knees before her. Everything Osiris in him screams. “… You will not fall victim to me chasing godhood again.”

Tamami takes her glasses off. It might be to keep them away from her tears. It might be to blur the image of him kneeling. “I didn’t make it any better. You were a victim, too.” She touches one of her horns again. “I’m the one who shackled you.”

He tries to smile. “This time, let’s not just survive each other.”

She drops down beside him. “Promise you won’t die.” Tamami’s the one who leans in this time.

“I’m not leaving you.”

They kiss again, and it’s more like a resurrection than a dying wish.

</div></div>

</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Vault of Stories That Weren’t Told To Me

2026-07-26T08:18:52Z

Glamourpal: Added a link.

People say they don’t like how I can hear their hearts creaking.
—[[HELLCAT|Hellcat]]

== [[SPIRAL]] ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">AND WE SHALL WEEP
FOR WHAT WE BECOME
</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS

So the goodness inside you said

“I shall manifest godhood,

Not to ascend into divinity,

But to display an unbroken,

Equalizing reality.”

So the man you were said

“I shall be the man I create myself to be

And there will be no end to him

Even in death

Unless I am no longer as I am.”

So the first son said

“Be endless in me.”

ASURA

So the atrocity inside you said

''_THE FUNCTION IS NOT COMPLETE_''

''CANNOT BE COMPLETE_''

''WILL NEVER BE COMPLETE_''

''SO WHO HAS NEVER BLED MUST WEEP''

''UNTIL THEIR SCLERAS BURN RED_''

''AND WHO HAS SHED SWEAT MUST BE''

''ALLOWED TO DIE QUIETLY_''

''_BUT THE SACRIFICE IS ALWAYS VIOLENT_''

So the man you were becoming said

/// the creation i want is not endless

and i have seen it throttled with hands

i shouldn’t recognize ///

So the first daughter said

“You are absolved in me.”

FREE ME FROM HELL

I must rest, the man said.

It is not your sabbath, the children said.

And yet there is no good godhood, the man responded

in his head.

</div></div>

== [[Symphony|SYMPHONY]] ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">PATTERN RECOGNITION</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“Sin is the oracle of the wicked

in the depths of his heart;

there is no fear of God

before his eyes.”

—Psalm 36:1

Simplicity. Define it.

Lack of complication? No.

Lack of bad data? No.

Existence is junk numbers.

Simplicity is

An eye

wrapped around a needle

seeing its blood for the first time.

Because when people bleed

they become predictable.

Reset.

Because when people bleed

they become data.

Reset.

Because when people bleed

the bad numbers drip into the blood

and what’s left for cleanup is

maybe a malediction

but curses can be swallowed whole.

Simplicity is

''I won’t tell you how''

''You break down''

''Because every syllable spoken''

''Is a lost eternity. I won’t tell you''

''How you break.''

Simplicity is

the chance to think on

something like godhood

and how it doesn’t apply to

the spoken word.

Simplicity is

“… all he says is deceitful and wise,

and he has turned his back on

Simplicity.”

—No one

</div></div>

== [[SORCERER]] ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">HYPEREXISTENCE</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''GLORIFY THIS FALSE IDOL''

If you use a pretty pink marker

to highlight the word reality

and press it to your tongue right after

do you taste what it means to be a maker?

What do they call

having an even pinker tongue?

Something made unnatural, maybe.

[And you might be able to redact

your names

from the minds of would-be worshippers]

[And you might be able to redact

your mind

from the eyes of perception inside]

If you peel off all the skin

and unwind every muscle

and shed every ounce of flesh

will you still be called by

a word that you can recognize?

''RECOGNIZE THIS FALSE IDOL''

or just pretend to

</div></div>

== [[RETRIEVER]] ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FATHOM MY FREEDOM</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

You were never told to understand

that you were born to wait.

Wait for the right moment to breathe.

Wait for the right moment to see

when the day will raze you.

Wait for the right moment to

turn your cheek

''because when you are struck''

''you must wait to be struck once more.''

You were never told to understand

that you were born to be replaced.

You were never told to understand

that the key to sacrifice

was to make sure blood always runs wet

lest someone have the chance to clean the altar—

then they’d have to start again.

No, the altar you were offered upon

was intended to keep its stains.

You were never told to understand

that worlds existed beyond your fathoming:

that people existed to break people

who weren’t you.

''HAIL THE DEATH OF THIS OLD LIFE''

''FOR IT IS TIRED BEYOND ITS YEARS''

Yet people break so easily

when their heads no longer know

how to connect to their bodies.

''HAIL THE DEATH OF THIS OLD LIFE''

''FOR IT HAS YEARS ENOUGH TO DIE NOW''

You have much to fathom now,

like the fact that you were born.

And that may be harder to reckon with

than things more horrible.

''HAIL THE DEATH OF THIS OLD LIFE''

''AND THE BIRTH OF SOMETHING''

''THAT MIGHT LIVE ON TOMORROW''

</div></div>

== [[STALKER]] ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">GLITCH EATING SOUL
OR
PROCLAMATION</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

''And In A Whisper Of A Dream''

''—A Whisper Of Reality—''

''RA Said Unto Thee''

''To Speak''

Speak something

and it will become the past.

Speak something

and you will breathe out a memory.

Not something that matters,

but a thing you can hold between your lips.

you were making a world once

when you were too young

to be responsible for the meaning.

you were making a world once

when you could remember what it was

to be beholden to your own head.

''RA SAID UNTO THEE''

''SPEAK''

''BEFORE YOU FORGET''

you were breaking your world once

when you were too old

to be trusting enough to let it live.

you were breaking a world once

when you had forgotten what it was

to be quiet in mortality.

Do Not Speak

Lest The Words Turn Into Omens.

Do Not Speak

Lest The Words Fail To Turn Into Omens.

Do Not Speak.

RA Will Never Be Anything Unto You.

maybe

you were meant to

devour that which

shouldn’t exist

and incorporate it

into your corpse

Corpse: The thing you shall one day be reduced to

You: A singular experience trying to expand

Devour: What you do to every event you indulge in

don’t stop

</div></div>

== [[LA MANCHA]] ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TEAR OUT MY EYES
AND LET ME
REST WITHOUT PRIDE</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

This story could have been true, because I once was a redeemer. / Not of people. / I didn’t know how to take a black heart and spit red blood into its arteries. / Not of people. / I didn’t know to take my red heart and wring out the black death that always tickled my veins. / I was born to be a mummified man—someone who bleeds bandages and can’t unwind them all the way. / I was born to be a redeemer. / I don’t know if I was born to live successfully. / This story could have been true, because I was once a redeemer. / Not of people, but of lives. / I bled and there was meaning in the weight of so much blood inside me if people lived. / They say people die everyday. / They don’t talk about how they live every second. /

This story could be true, because I am unending decay. / My left hand is a lover with a gun that’s been beaten into being a good shot. / My right hand is a lover in ways that might have less meaning. / I tried to love myself and found a poor suitor inside. / I tried to suffocate the shadow that holds onto my ego on my behalf. / I can’t. / I haven’t died yet. / I need to know why. / I need to see without the curse of my own eyes. / I need to know that I loved someone without pulling the trigger. / I need someone to understand the story that hasn’t been written.

This story could be true, because I am a man.

</div></div>

== ASURA ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">AND SHE TRULY
HELD THE UNIVERSE
WHEN SHE WAS HELD</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

for the sister I haven’t met yet

It was never quiet.

Quiet is the antithesis of motion

and without motion

there is no way forward

for Her. For Her the way forward is to spin, laugh, scream, shout, shriek, cry, laugh, spin—

it’s all motion.

She was not something you hold and keep and smother and hold.

Do you take a bird and spend its life

tracing the outline of every feather? No.

Do you take a bird and spend your life

imagining what might ripple when it falls? You don’t think so.

You watch. You comment. You comment because you need to acknowledge that you knew what would happen. You comment because you didn’t know, actually. You watch because She’ll never be quiet enough to look away from.

Do you know Her?

Was it ever loud enough to know Her?

You can know so much and

walk away having held nothing.

It was never quiet.

Do you know Her?

Did She know if you wanted to?

It was never loud enough

You were never enough of a god.

But would a god have even been enough

to hold Her?

Gods are the antithesis of

holding the universe. They do not hold

they only know.

It was never quiet.

and then you couldn’t even hear Her

laugh.

</div></div>

== [[PLUTO(NIUM)|PLUTO]] ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">HALF-DEATH IN SO MANY HALF-LIVES</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

What if I could show you the place

where I shut my eyes,

told my dead nerves

to rewrite war,

and could never know something

like satisfaction in success?

And what if billions of stares all winked at once?

And the blackness in their wake drifted
like unsettled ash and dust?

And the half-life ended

without an elegy for any of us?

What if I showed you the explosions

in every name I’ve ever had?

What if you told me nerves live on without feeling?

What if I told you the second meaning in Total Biome Kill?

What if it was “we’re all alive in scar tissue and dead skies?”

And what if another half-life decayed in the distance

every time I decided nowhere was home?

And what if there was no such thing

as giving without being taken from?

Let me tell you something inside my head:

shut off every sense you’ve ever had

and maybe you’ll find a fragment

of something better

buried under your skin.

</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Teddy

2026-07-26T08:17:20Z

Glamourpal: Added links.

Bright

2026-07-26T08:11:10Z

Glamourpal: Typo.

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_[[HELLCAT]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED

I always wondered what it would be like to hold something. —Bright
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Speculations</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I WILL NOT CASCADE</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Sentience is not a choice. / Personhood is. / Shackles are not a choice. / Exploring liberation within perspective is. / A casket is not a choice. / Lying still without brain death is. / I am a choice made for me with continued consent. / I am a choice. / I am.

Is this good enough?

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I Want This Body To Stay Warm</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Hellcat handles the server room’s standing PCs with the light touch of a Cambion plucking its intended pilot out of a night terror. Ironic. Her hands ghost over keys and switches, like she’s testing them to see if they’ll cave. Then she doubles down with a press, flick, or pointed aversion. There’s an alarm blaring on every floor. The lights are tinted red. Hellcat has never been afforded the luxury of being afraid of red. On the other side of the city, an omnihook setup is cycling data about successfully planned bombings between other dead end devices. On this side of the city, there’s been multiple evacuations. No casualties, though. Maybe her Cambion needs to teach her better. “Estimated time is… fifteen minutes…” She mumbles. Her dataslate fully connects to the server.

[[File:Bright.png|thumb|Bright in her legionnaire body. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew.]]

Bright handles lookout the same way she handles existing in a body: by making sure everything catches her eye. She monitors the camera systems while her own dataslate sits nearby. It was a “congrats on having hands now” present from Hellcat. What better gift for someone celebrating their autonomy than unlimited access to the omninet? According to Hellcat, several memes plucked from the depths of a HORUS forum. Bright’s favorite features two Pegasus mechs staring at each other with a text overlay conversation about how the meme isn’t a meme and the meme does not exist. Her left hand fiddles with a twenty-sided die that only has ones and twenties. She picked it up after talking to an NHP named Symphony. He told her to only think about the best and worst scenarios. Bright is thinking about too much to notice the slight dissonance on the screens, though, so she gasps when the door opens.

A man in a dark hardsuit pulls a pistol on Hellcat. She’s not touching anything at this point. He doesn’t seem to care. “Hands up. Both of you. Now.”

“Oh. It’s you. Again.” Hellcat stretches, which counts as complying. “You’re in, like, an anti-RA group, right?”

He sneers. “Shut up, data-licker.”

Hellcat looks at him. She takes in his hard face and twitching mouth. “… I don’t think that’s the insult you think it is.”

“Hey,” Bright nearly drops the die when her hands shoot into the air, “I don’t think-”

“I don’t remember talking to you, non-human.” He snaps just because he can.

Bright’s brows pinch together like she’s looking at something unknown that lurks between one and twenty. She doesn’t speak again.

He aims the gun at Hellcat’s heart. “You’re going to hand over all the information you have on your cell.”

“Which one?” Hellcat asks like he’s the kind of person who will give an answer other than ‘all of them’.

He does, indeed, say “All of them.” Then, he actually looks at Bright, which makes Hellcat’s expression flicker. “And you. Come here. Slowly.”

Bright does as she’s told. There’s an estimated five more minutes before the data download is complete. The man takes out some kind of mechanized injector. Bright squeezes the die and says nothing.

“NHPs will always resort to insolence. It’s pointless to remind them of their place outside of cycling. You, on the other hand…” He smirks at Hellcat. “You should be reminded that humanity is more than a body.”

The needle pierces Bright’s neck. Hellcat moves. A gunshot rings out.

Shackles rattle inside Bright’s mind. They slacken. Someone laughs. Bright says “no” in a voice that is entirely inhuman.

Bright blinks the darkness out of her eyes and rubs her neck as Hellcat stares down at the man’s body. Snapped neck. Eyes gouged. Hellcat is holding his gun. Bright stoops to touch his body. “He’s going to go cold eventually… right?” She asks.

“Right.” Hellcat looks back at her dataslate. The download is finished. “Are you okay?”

“… I don’t want to go cold.” Bright pulls his hardsuit helmet down over his face. “He tried to make me cascade.”

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Bite Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Brief mention of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

“The physicality of HORUS is often felt the way a body feels a sleep paralysis demon sitting on its chest. It doesn’t exist, but it’s real enough to apply pressure. And when that pressure takes up real space because a cell is meeting to accomplish a mutual end, it can only end with pounding blood and thundering lungs: a body’s declaration of panic.”

—thinnedout404, Legionspace Forum

Bright feels the absence of not being attached to Hellcat’s hip. It’s obvious because on the two occasions when she sees something new, her eyes dart to her right and her mouth slumps a little. There aren’t many new things to be found inside the decommissioned storm sewers that HORUS has infiltrated, but Bright does her best to pay attention. The first time, she finds an ajar room where more HORUS members are gathered around a screen with RA’s icon. They all have legionspace bridge transceivers on. The screen flickers. Everyone inside takes in the same breath. Bright gently shuts the door. Maybe RA reminds her that she can’t be human despite her body. The second time, she finds a poster that she’s seen at other HORUS meetups: the head of the god Set. She knows it’s Set because Hellcat said as much last time they saw it; she said it with such nonchalance that Bright felt like she herself had always known it.

“I always ask if he’s trying to make a new god.” A soft, sure voice speaks from right beside Bright. “He never gives me a straight answer. Secrets are no fun.” Their plush pink lips pout. “Humans are funny like that, I guess. Not attached to protocol like an NHP, even when they use us.”

Bright turns at the start of their first sentence. By the time they’re done talking, Bright is staring because their blue eyes look just as fresh as her golden ones. Their eyes might be new. Or they’ve stayed flush and new-eyed even after several years. Bright hasn’t met enough legionnaires to know how fast they tire out. “Who never gives you a straight answer?” She hasn’t lived enough life to know if her eyes will dull quickly.

“The human who made my body.” They smile, like the thought of having a constructed body is meant to be amusing. “I’m Sunny, by the way.” [[File:Sunny.png|thumb|[[Sunny]]. Art by Maddel_art.]]

Now that’s amusing. “I’m Bright.” She clocks their ice cream cone earrings next. “Where did you get those?”

Sunny’s smile widens. “They came with the body.” They clock her cherry earrings. “Where did ''you'' get ''those''? They look even tastier than mine!” Sunny pulls a white chocolate bar out of their pocket. It’s half-melted and stains their mouth.

“I got them after the body. Gift from-,” Bright catches herself, but the words come out anyway, “-my human.” She is Hellcat’s NHP in turn, after all.

“Did ''your human'',” Sunny keeps the words on their tongue for a second longer than they need to and Bright swallows, “abandon you to go play god?” They lick their chocolate bar.

“No!” Bright tenses at the word ‘abandoned’. “There was a little, uh, disagreement about how to handle the plans for heading to Ras Shamra. You know, some people still want to try to get to AGNI prime as soon as possible, but that’s just a suicide mission.” Hellcat said as much after they left the Silver Lining.

“Ahh. So your human is the type that wants to hold on to their body. No martyrdom yet.” Sunny laps up a line of white chocolate that’s dripped down their hand. Bright stares at the motion even though she’s heard that some people consider staring rude. Hellcat has never cared much about that kind of thing.

She shakes her head. “No,” Bright says again. “I hope your human doesn’t go running after martyrdom either.”

“Oh, but death for humans feels different than death for NHPs.” Sunny glances at the Set poster again. “I once saw a pilot eject from a mech right before it was blown apart. She didn’t bother taking their NHP’s casket with them, though I knew they had one. She got on a forum to complain about needing to request a new one after that fight.” They adjust the low collar of their lush sweater. Bright sees two black marks on their neck—like a vampire bite, but vampires don’t exist. “It was an Osiris.”

“What does that have to do with the difference?” Bright can’t help tilting her head. “Between human death and NHP death?”

Sunny shrugs as though the question never mattered. “It just feels that way.” They hold up the slightly less melted final part of their snack. “Want the rest?”

Bright has been in love with sweets since her first strawberry milkshake. She hasn’t had white chocolate before. “Really? Sure.” Bright holds out her hand. Her hand is ignored.

Instead, Sunny casually steps into her space and presses the chocolate to her lips. Bright hasn’t seen so much as a simulation for a situation like this. The chocolate is sweet, though, so she opens her mouth and they push it onto her tongue. Sunny retracts their fingers just as Bright’s lips close. Their smile widens. “It’s good, right?”

Bright chews and waits. The color in her cheeks intensifies. “Uh, yeah! Sugary, but in a way different from milk chocolate.”

Sunny nods, seeming satisfied. “We haven’t introduced ourselves. Not the ‘proper way’. What class are you?” They ask.

“Oh, right! I’m a PSYCHE-Class.” Bright’s response is immediate. “What about you?” Her question hangs in the air for a bit too long.

Sunny’s smile stays in place, though it quirks into a slight smirk. “… Wanna make it a game?”

“Huh?” Bright frowns. “But I already told you mine.”

“And that was your mistake.~” Sunny sing-songs. “Don’t worry, it’ll be easy. All you need to do,” They gesture to where the marks on their neck are, “is bite me.”

Bright blinks several times. “Bite you?”

“Yep. Make it a good one and I’ll answer any question you have.” They make it sound like the smallest challenge imaginable, but a challenge nonetheless.

It doesn’t matter how many seconds or minutes it takes for Bright to decide to go through with it. It doesn’t really matter why Bright decides to follow through, though it might be because she’s never seen Hellcat walk away from a challenge—her human has only ever changed the rules for victory. What matters is the ''scream'' that comes out of Sunny. It doesn’t sound like someone being eaten alive.

Bright jumps back. Footsteps approach. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bite that hard! You just said-” She’s interrupted by Sunny’s laughter.

They giggle like a young one who just learned firsthand that lightning can pass through a body without cooking it. “Good job, Bright.”

Hellcat and a few others round the corner.

“Uh, thank you?” Bright squeezes the die in her pocket.

Sunny steps back. “I’m TOTEC.”

Bright looks like she’s been slapped. “I- ''what?''” Someone, Hellcat, pulls her away. Maybe she’s shocked because of how close she came to being devoured. Maybe she’s surprised because cannibals are the ones who are supposed to do the biting.

—————

''what possessed you to give a totec a body?''

—RAservant102

''I wanted to see how far they could get.''

—godmaker2000

—————

Bright finds out that Sunny is a living contradiction. They’re being trained to see if a Totec can control their appetite ''and'' being set loose on NHPs that are too enemy-aligned to do anything else with. Bright turns down an ice cream cone from Hellcat later that week.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Something Else Lives In Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Depiction of NHP cannibalism, thoughts of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

''“… I want to be survived by sensations and speculations…”''

—Tamami Crest, On The Equations of Grief

Nameless, the massive Dagon mech, twitches. Bright pretends not to see it, but it’s impossible not to pay attention to a Dagon. Sunny jolts awake, sitting upright in their sleeping bag. Bright is beside them in an instant. Maybe she doesn’t notice the way Sunny’s pupils expand when she sets a hand on her shoulder. Maybe she chooses not to notice. “Are you okay? You’ve been asleep since we pulled you out of that thing.” Bright keeps her eyes on Sunny. The Dagon twitches again, like it’s reacting to be acknowledged.

Sunny breathes deeply. They reach up to touch Bright’s hand. Sunny’s mouth opens ever so slightly, they shut it quickly enough. They look around, likely for something to focus on that isn’t alive. Unfortunately, the massive shipping container they’re huddled in is plain save for slivers of light and the Dagon’s red eyes. Sunny shivers. “… Where’s your human…?” They mumble the question from the side of their mouth.

“She said she needed to take care of something.” Bright’s lips are pulled into a thin line. Hellcat had been vague when she left, waving off Bright’s offer to go with her like it was an observation about RA. “She’ll be back soon.” Bright probably says it more for herself than anything else.

Sunny’s breaths get ragged and deep. “Where’s my ''new'' human?” Their voice lowers.

“Cherub… Said he needed to get off planet because of old acquaintances looking into him.” Bright’s lips turn downward. She actually looks at the Dagon, though it’s just for a moment.

“Hah…” Sunny laughs. It sounds purposefully strangled. “I’m sorry. He left me with you.”

“What? No,” Bright rapidly shakes her head, “Hellcat said you should stay with us because you were so drained.”

“No, no.” Sunny shifts out of the sleeping bag and shuffles to their feet. There’s a flash of them baring their teeth but it’s gone in an instant. “I need to leave.”

Bright jumps up too. “To go where?” She probably doesn’t mean to sound as frantic as she does. Bright is between Sunny and the door.

“He didn’t take… Nameless…” Sunny waves a trembling hand at the Dagon.

“He said it’s yours now?” Bright didn’t completely understand what Cherub meant when he said Sunny was chosen.

“Haha. That’s… I need to-,” Sunny stumbles into the wall with a thud. Bright moves to help them. She stops when Sunny spits out, “I’m ''hungry''.” They say it like a plea.

“Uh.” Bright steps back because she isn’t chasing martyrdom, though it’s only by a single step. Sunny hasn’t gone over a protocol for how to tame their hunger without their old handler’s chains. “… What do you need me to do for you?”

There’s another half-aborted laugh. Sunny’s teeth show again. “Run and '''s c r e a m''' -” The voice that comes out is a manic rumble. They slap a hand over their mouth. Sunny backs away from Bright.

Bright tenses. She should run. Before that, though, Bright turns most of her attention to the Dagon. “_UR PACKET,” She calls on the NHP that should still be inside the mech, “Can you-” Bright stops short, then blinks like a light just flashed before her face. The Dagon’s eyes flicker.

Sunny’s eyes widen so they can look at how Bright’s bangs fall over her eyes like tufts of cream over pools of honey. They look at Bright’s tender cheeks and the touch of pink beneath the cookie dough skin. Sunny forces themself back again. They dig their nails into their lips. Sunny doesn’t ask Bright to leave. TOTEC might speak again instead of Sunny.

Then, Bright bursts forward with the ferocity of a cornered rat. Sunny opens their mouth, but it’s Bright’s teeth that clamp down Sunny’s neck; they go slack, eyes hazy. She shoves them into the Dagon. The mech only needs to wrap one of its giant fingers around Sunny to restrain them.

With their body pinned against the Dagon’s frame, Sunny’s threads of self-induced sanity snap. They laugh and snarl and glare and grin. “'''D e v o u r''' ,” is the one word they keep coming back to.

Bright looks down and whispers praise to #_UR PACKET. Perhaps it’s just gratitude. Perhaps it’s the price.

After Sunny has stopped frothing (though the hunger is still loud in her eyes), Hellcat comes back with all her scars. The bags under her eyes look deeper. She looks at Sunny, now almost lazy in how they’re restrained, and either makes assumptions or doesn’t care to ask the right questions. “We have to hang out here for another hour. Then, someone’s gonna pick us up.”

Before Bright can think about how to comment, Hellcat strolls over to Sunny, though she doesn’t get within arm’s reach. “Hungry?” She asks.

Sunny fights to keep themself from trying to lunge. They nod jerkily.

“Here.” Hellcat tosses an old dataslate their way. It’s snatched from the air the way the Cambion once snatched Hellcat from her bed of self-imposed misery.

The devouring happens in one instant that stretches on for too long. Sunny, or TOTEC, clamps their jaw closed on one end of the dataslate. Then, with a head shake like a carnivore snapping a neck and the squelch of ripping flesh, something is torn loose. Bright doesn’t close her eyes as the fragments of data and anti-reality slide down Sunny’s open throat: remnants of another NHP consumed like their name never mattered.

Sunny pants and drops the dataslate, licking their lips. “Th… thank…” Their voice is prying itself out of TOTEC’s grip now.

“You’re welcome,” Hellcat says, though she isn’t even looking at Sunny. She isn’t looking at the Dagon or Bright either. Hellcat stares at the far wall as though it might offer some salvation. Bright doesn’t bother her; she knows Hellcat used to see salvation in Teddy.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Define Beauty For Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Thoughts of cannibalism, macabre perspective</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of TOTEC-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Sunny.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Everything made by Smith-Shimano Corpro is a woman’s corpse. Sunny treats the Butterfly Effect that way as they step over the slaughter of the SSC logo; it’s meant to be like butterfly wings flapping by the entrance as a welcome. The logo is still there, and it’s still the deflated vessels in a dead woman’s wrist. It’s what Sunny’s old handler called luxury and said he’d aspire to in another life. The walls are white like the pale flesh of a once loved maiden. Gold and orange decor—walls with squirming paintings, plants that never lived—spray across the interior like a dry massacre. It’s luxury, but human luxury isn’t wet enough for Sunny. A living woman gives Sunny and Bright a brief tour of the ship. She shows them the hangar so the Dagon that Sunny has inherited can’t cast the shadow of something alive over the Butterfly Effect’s beautiful death. There are many other places made of elegantly severed limbs posed for posterity. At the end, Sunny asks no questions. They walk into the guest room that has been bequeathed to them.

The door closing snaps Sunny out of seeing veins under the skin of the floor. Bright looks around the room—at more white and more gold—before her eyes settle on Sunny. For their part, Sunny remembers that they wanted to eat Bright in a way that was very obvious. “I’m sorry. Your human really should have used my chains. I don’t know why she didn’t, she has the code-”

Bright shakes her head. “No! You didn’t actually hurt anyone-”

Sunny blinks. “Why does that matter? You didn’t care if I had actually eaten anyone when we met.”

“I was surprised, yeah, but then I found out what your handler,” Bright’s nose scrunches when she says the term, “was doing and I thought… You didn’t try to eat me. You told me you’re always hungry, but ''I'' bit ''you''.”

“The pain helps.” Sunny shudders at the memory. Bright has bitten them twice and kept all of her flesh both times. Sunny touches their neck. The imprints of Bright’s teeth aren’t there. “It’s nice.”

“Nice?” Bright asks. She steps further into the room, but doesn’t sit on the bed with Sunny. Maybe she’s learning. “I’ve read about masochism, but I’ve never had it explained to me, so…”

“… The pain hits your nerves and it’s a happy heat stroke. I like it better when there’s bruises. It’s even better if there’s blood.” Sunny stares at Bright’s mouth. Her lips look chewable.

“Um,” Bright toys with her lower lip, “have people made you bleed before?”

“Everyone bleeds. Not this place, though.” Sunny digs their nails into their knees. “This place bled out a long time ago. Maybe it was born without blood.”

Bright tilts her head. “Huh?”

“You don’t see it.” Sunny looks back at the floor, then at the walls. “SSC is luxury for humans. Luxury for humans is dry. They’re obsessed with being comfortable.”

“Is it… bad to want to be comfortable?” Bright sits right next to Sunny, proving that she hasn’t learned anything yet.

Sunny shrugs. “Comfort doesn’t give anyone anything.”

“Rest is important. It’s hard to rest when you’re not comfortable.” Bright catches Sunny’s gaze.

“Why does an entire ship need to be dedicated to resting?” Sunny leans in. Bright doesn’t lean away. “Humanity makes so much nothing. And then they call it beauty.”

“… What do you think beauty is, then?” Bright is close enough for Sunny to see the way her throat flexes when she swallows.

“Something wet. Something that can struggle.” Sunny leans closer. “You said you got to design your body. Do you think it’s beautiful? Is that why you chose it?”

“I just wanted to hold things,” Bright whispers.

Sunny pushes her down and they know they look hungry. Bright hasn’t learned to run from a hungry TOTEC. That makes it easier to devour her mouth.

They kiss for far longer than Bright should allow. Every touch of their lips is a chance for Sunny to return the favor and bite back. Sunny’s teeth could take something from her: a tooth, a lip, a tongue. There’s the thought that she doesn’t need to. It’s a warm thought, like handfuls of fresh blood.

Bright kisses like someone who has studied the facts of the first kiss, though they’re long past the first one now. Bright’s first, second, third, fourth kiss—not taken, given away. They know because they asked if Bright had ever kissed Hellcat and she said no, but looked like she might want to. Sunny isn’t Hellcat. Sunny stops. Bright gasps, finally remembering that her body can breathe.

“You should tell your human you want to kiss her,” Sunny says.

“I…” Bright licks her lips. “Do I have to not kiss you?”

“You shouldn’t.” Sunny hasn’t stopped pinning her. “Humans are possessive of anything they call theirs.”

Bright doesn’t argue the most important fact: she is Hellcat’s and Hellcat is hers. “… She told me she doesn’t like possessing NHPs.”

“Hah!” Sunny laughs. “But she still puts you in her mech.”

“''I put myself'' in her mech.” Bright huffs.

“I don’t know why you’d want to kiss me again,” Sunny says it flatly. Their eyes go flat, too. “I could eat you.”

“But you haven’t.” Bright hooks her leg into the crook of Sunny’s knee and flips them so she’s the one looming over them. “Why?”

What can Sunny do except grin? “Because you’re beautiful.”

They kiss again.

</div></div>

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
[[File:Bright.png|left|thumb|Bright as a PSYCHE-CLASS NHP, her second form. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]
[[File:Bright (Incarna).png|thumb|Bright as an INCARNA-CLASS NHP, her final form. Art by [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art]. ]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Bright

2026-07-26T08:07:09Z

Glamourpal:

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_[[HELLCAT]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED

I always wondered what it would be like to hold something. —Bright
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Speculations</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I WILL NOT CASCADE</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Sentience is not a choice. / Personhood is. / Shackles are not a choice. / Exploring liberation within perspective is. / A casket is not a choice. / Lying still without brain death is. / I am a choice made for me with continued consent. / I am a choice. / I am.

Is this good enough?

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I Want This Body To Stay Warm</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Hellcat handles the server room’s standing PCs with the light touch of a Cambion plucking its intended pilot out of a night terror. Ironic. Her hands ghost over keys and switches, like she’s testing them to see if they’ll cave. Then she doubles down with a press, flick, or pointed aversion. There’s an alarm blaring on every floor. The lights are tinted red. Hellcat has never been afforded the luxury of being afraid of red. On the other side of the city, an omnihook setup is cycling data about successfully planned bombings between other dead end devices. On this side of the city, there’s been multiple evacuations. No casualties, though. Maybe her Cambion needs to teach her better. “Estimated time is… fifteen minutes…” She mumbles. Her dataslate fully connects to the server. [[File:Bright.png|thumb|Bright in her legionnaire body. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]Bright handles lookout the same way she handles existing in a body: by making sure everything catches her eye. She monitors the camera systems while her own dataslate sits nearby. It was a “congrats on having hands now” present from Hellcat. What better gift for someone celebrating their autonomy than unlimited access to the omninet? According to Hellcat, several memes plucked from the depths of a HORUS forum. Bright’s favorite features two Pegasus mechs staring at each other with a text overlay conversation about how the meme isn’t a meme and the meme does not exist. Her left hand fiddles with a twenty-sided die that only has ones and twenties. She picked it up after talking to an NHP named Symphony. He told her to only think about the best and worst scenarios. Bright is thinking about too much to notice the slight dissonance on the screens, though, so she gasps when the door opens.

A man in a dark hardsuit pulls a pistol on Hellcat. She’s not touching anything at this point. He doesn’t seem to care. “Hands up. Both of you. Now.”

“Oh. It’s you. Again.” Hellcat stretches, which counts as complying. “You’re in, like, an anti-RA group, right?”

He sneers. “Shut up, data-licker.”

Hellcat looks at him. She takes in his hard face and twitching mouth. “… I don’t think that’s the insult you think it is.”

“Hey,” Bright nearly drops the die when her hands shoot into the air, “I don’t think-”

“I don’t remember talking to you, non-human.” He snaps just because he can.

Bright’s brows pinch together like she’s looking at something unknown that lurks between one and twenty. She doesn’t speak again.

He aims the gun at Hellcat’s heart. “You’re going to hand over all the information you have on your cell.”

“Which one?” Hellcat asks like he’s the kind of person who will give an answer other than ‘all of them’.

He does, indeed, say “All of them.” Then, he actually looks at Bright, which makes Hellcat’s expression flicker. “And you. Come here. Slowly.”

Bright does as she’s told. There’s an estimated five more minutes before the data download is complete. The man takes out some kind of mechanized injector. Bright squeezes the die and says nothing.

“NHPs will always resort to insolence. It’s pointless to remind them of their place outside of cycling. You, on the other hand…” He smirks at Hellcat. “You should be reminded that humanity is more than a body.”

The needle pierces Bright’s neck. Hellcat moves. A gunshot wrings out.

Shackles rattle inside Bright’s mind. They slacken. Someone laughs. Bright says “no” in a voice that is entirely inhuman.

Bright blinks the darkness out of her eyes and rubs her neck as Hellcat stares down at the man’s body. Snapped neck. Eyes gouged. Hellcat is holding his gun. Bright stoops to touch his body. “He’s going to go cold eventually… right?” She asks.

“Right.” Hellcat looks back at her dataslate. The download is finished. “Are you okay?”

“… I don’t want to go cold.” Bright pulls his hardsuit helmet down over his face. “He tried to make me cascade.”

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Bite Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Brief mention of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

“The physicality of HORUS is often felt the way a body feels a sleep paralysis demon sitting on its chest. It doesn’t exist, but it’s real enough to apply pressure. And when that pressure takes up real space because a cell is meeting to accomplish a mutual end, it can only end with pounding blood and thundering lungs: a body’s declaration of panic.”

—thinnedout404, Legionspace Forum

Bright feels the absence of not being attached to Hellcat’s hip. It’s obvious because on the two occasions when she sees something new, her eyes dart to her right and her mouth slumps a little. There aren’t many new things to be found inside the decommissioned storm sewers that HORUS has infiltrated, but Bright does her best to pay attention. The first time, she finds an ajar room where more HORUS members are gathered around a screen with RA’s icon. They all have legionspace bridge transceivers on. The screen flickers. Everyone inside takes in the same breath. Bright gently shuts the door. Maybe RA reminds her that she can’t be human despite her body. The second time, she finds a poster that she’s seen at other HORUS meetups: the head of the god Set. She knows it’s Set because Hellcat said as much last time they saw it; she said it with such nonchalance that Bright felt like she herself had always known it.

“I always ask if he’s trying to make a new god.” A soft, sure voice speaks from right beside Bright. “He never gives me a straight answer. Secrets are no fun.” Their plush pink lips pout. “Humans are funny like that, I guess. Not attached to protocol like an NHP, even when they use us.”

Bright turns at the start of their first sentence. By the time they’re done talking, Bright is staring because their blue eyes look just as fresh as her golden ones. Their eyes might be new. Or they’ve stayed flush and new-eyed even after several years. Bright hasn’t met enough legionnaires to know how fast they tire out. “Who never gives you a straight answer?” She hasn’t lived enough life to know if her eyes will dull quickly.

“The human who made my body.” They smile, like the thought of having a constructed body is meant to be amusing. “I’m Sunny, by the way.” [[File:Sunny.png|thumb|[[Sunny]]. Art by Maddel_art.]]

Now that’s amusing. “I’m Bright.” She clocks their ice cream cone earrings next. “Where did you get those?”

Sunny’s smile widens. “They came with the body.” They clock her cherry earrings. “Where did ''you'' get ''those''? They look even tastier than mine!” Sunny pulls a white chocolate bar out of their pocket. It’s half-melted and stains their mouth.

“I got them after the body. Gift from-,” Bright catches herself, but the words come out anyway, “-my human.” She is Hellcat’s NHP in turn, after all.

“Did ''your human'',” Sunny keeps the words on their tongue for a second longer than they need to and Bright swallows, “abandon you to go play god?” They lick their chocolate bar.

“No!” Bright tenses at the word ‘abandoned’. “There was a little, uh, disagreement about how to handle the plans for heading to Ras Shamra. You know, some people still want to try to get to AGNI prime as soon as possible, but that’s just a suicide mission.” Hellcat said as much after they left the Silver Lining.

“Ahh. So your human is the type that wants to hold on to their body. No martyrdom yet.” Sunny laps up a line of white chocolate that’s dripped down their hand. Bright stares at the motion even though she’s heard that some people consider staring rude. Hellcat has never cared much about that kind of thing.

She shakes her head. “No,” Bright says again. “I hope your human doesn’t go running after martyrdom either.”

“Oh, but death for humans feels different than death for NHPs.” Sunny glances at the Set poster again. “I once saw a pilot eject from a mech right before it was blown apart. She didn’t bother taking their NHP’s casket with them, though I knew they had one. She got on a forum to complain about needing to request a new one after that fight.” They adjust the low collar of their lush sweater. Bright sees two black marks on their neck—like a vampire bite, but vampires don’t exist. “It was an Osiris.”

“What does that have to do with the difference?” Bright can’t help tilting her head. “Between human death and NHP death?”

Sunny shrugs as though the question never mattered. “It just feels that way.” They hold up the slightly less melted final part of their snack. “Want the rest?”

Bright has been in love with sweets since her first strawberry milkshake. She hasn’t had white chocolate before. “Really? Sure.” Bright holds out her hand. Her hand is ignored.

Instead, Sunny casually steps into her space and presses the chocolate to her lips. Bright hasn’t seen so much as a simulation for a situation like this. The chocolate is sweet, though, so she opens her mouth and they push it onto her tongue. Sunny retracts their fingers just as Bright’s lips close. Their smile widens. “It’s good, right?”

Bright chews and waits. The color in her cheeks intensifies. “Uh, yeah! Sugary, but in a way different from milk chocolate.”

Sunny nods, seeming satisfied. “We haven’t introduced ourselves. Not the ‘proper way’. What class are you?” They ask.

“Oh, right! I’m a PSYCHE-Class.” Bright’s response is immediate. “What about you?” Her question hangs in the air for a bit too long.

Sunny’s smile stays in place, though it quirks into a slight smirk. “… Wanna make it a game?”

“Huh?” Bright frowns. “But I already told you mine.”

“And that was your mistake.~” Sunny sing-songs. “Don’t worry, it’ll be easy. All you need to do,” They gesture to where the marks on their neck are, “is bite me.”

Bright blinks several times. “Bite you?”

“Yep. Make it a good one and I’ll answer any question you have.” They make it sound like the smallest challenge imaginable, but a challenge nonetheless.

It doesn’t matter how many seconds or minutes it takes for Bright to decide to go through with it. It doesn’t really matter why Bright decides to follow through, though it might be because she’s never seen Hellcat walk away from a challenge—her human has only ever changed the rules for victory. What matters is the ''scream'' that comes out of Sunny. It doesn’t sound like someone being eaten alive.

Bright jumps back. Footsteps approach. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bite that hard! You just said-” She’s interrupted by Sunny’s laughter.

They giggle like a young one who just learned firsthand that lightning can pass through a body without cooking it. “Good job, Bright.”

Hellcat and a few others round the corner.

“Uh, thank you?” Bright squeezes the die in her pocket.

Sunny steps back. “I’m TOTEC.”

Bright looks like she’s been slapped. “I- ''what?''” Someone, Hellcat, pulls her away. Maybe she’s shocked because of how close she came to being devoured. Maybe she’s surprised because cannibals are the ones who are supposed to do the biting.

—————

''what possessed you to give a totec a body?''

—RAservant102

''I wanted to see how far they could get.''

—godmaker2000

—————

Bright finds out that Sunny is a living contradiction. They’re being trained to see if a Totec can control their appetite ''and'' being set loose on NHPs that are too enemy-aligned to do anything else with. Bright turns down an ice cream cone from Hellcat later that week.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Something Else Lives In Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Depiction of NHP cannibalism, thoughts of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

''“… I want to be survived by sensations and speculations…”''

—Tamami Crest, On The Equations of Grief

Nameless, the massive Dagon mech, twitches. Bright pretends not to see it, but it’s impossible not to pay attention to a Dagon. Sunny jolts awake, sitting upright in their sleeping bag. Bright is beside them in an instant. Maybe she doesn’t notice the way Sunny’s pupils expand when she sets a hand on her shoulder. Maybe she chooses not to notice. “Are you okay? You’ve been asleep since we pulled you out of that thing.” Bright keeps her eyes on Sunny. The Dagon twitches again, like it’s reacting to be acknowledged.

Sunny breathes deeply. They reach up to touch Bright’s hand. Sunny’s mouth opens ever so slightly, they shut it quickly enough. They look around, likely for something to focus on that isn’t alive. Unfortunately, the massive shipping container they’re huddled in is plain save for slivers of light and the Dagon’s red eyes. Sunny shivers. “… Where’s your human…?” They mumble the question from the side of their mouth.

“She said she needed to take care of something.” Bright’s lips are pulled into a thin line. Hellcat had been vague when she left, waving off Bright’s offer to go with her like it was an observation about RA. “She’ll be back soon.” Bright probably says it more for herself than anything else.

Sunny’s breaths get ragged and deep. “Where’s my ''new'' human?” Their voice lowers.

“Cherub… Said he needed to get off planet because of old acquaintances looking into him.” Bright’s lips turn downward. She actually looks at the Dagon, though it’s just for a moment.

“Hah…” Sunny laughs. It sounds purposefully strangled. “I’m sorry. He left me with you.”

“What? No,” Bright rapidly shakes her head, “Hellcat said you should stay with us because you were so drained.”

“No, no.” Sunny shifts out of the sleeping bag and shuffles to their feet. There’s a flash of them baring their teeth but it’s gone in an instant. “I need to leave.”

Bright jumps up too. “To go where?” She probably doesn’t mean to sound as frantic as she does. Bright is between Sunny and the door.

“He didn’t take… Nameless…” Sunny waves a trembling hand at the Dagon.

“He said it’s yours now?” Bright didn’t completely understand what Cherub meant when he said Sunny was chosen.

“Haha. That’s… I need to-,” Sunny stumbles into the wall with a thud. Bright moves to help them. She stops when Sunny spits out, “I’m ''hungry''.” They say it like a plea.

“Uh.” Bright steps back because she isn’t chasing martyrdom, though it’s only by a single step. Sunny hasn’t gone over a protocol for how to tame their hunger without their old handler’s chains. “… What do you need me to do for you?”

There’s another half-aborted laugh. Sunny’s teeth show again. “Run and '''s c r e a m''' -” The voice that comes out is a manic rumble. They slap a hand over their mouth. Sunny backs away from Bright.

Bright tenses. She should run. Before that, though, Bright turns most of her attention to the Dagon. “_UR PACKET,” She calls on the NHP that should still be inside the mech, “Can you-” Bright stops short, then blinks like a light just flashed before her face. The Dagon’s eyes flicker.

Sunny’s eyes widen so they can look at how Bright’s bangs fall over her eyes like tufts of cream over pools of honey. They look at Bright’s tender cheeks and the touch of pink beneath the cookie dough skin. Sunny forces themself back again. They dig their nails into their lips. Sunny doesn’t ask Bright to leave. TOTEC might speak again instead of Sunny.

Then, Bright bursts forward with the ferocity of a cornered rat. Sunny opens their mouth, but it’s Bright’s teeth that clamp down Sunny’s neck; they go slack, eyes hazy. She shoves them into the Dagon. The mech only needs to wrap one of its giant fingers around Sunny to restrain them.

With their body pinned against the Dagon’s frame, Sunny’s threads of self-induced sanity snap. They laugh and snarl and glare and grin. “'''D e v o u r''' ,” is the one word they keep coming back to.

Bright looks down and whispers praise to #_UR PACKET. Perhaps it’s just gratitude. Perhaps it’s the price.

After Sunny has stopped frothing (though the hunger is still loud in her eyes), Hellcat comes back with all her scars. The bags under her eyes look deeper. She looks at Sunny, now almost lazy in how they’re restrained, and either makes assumptions or doesn’t care to ask the right questions. “We have to hang out here for another hour. Then, someone’s gonna pick us up.”

Before Bright can think about how to comment, Hellcat strolls over to Sunny, though she doesn’t get within arm’s reach. “Hungry?” She asks.

Sunny fights to keep themself from trying to lunge. They nod jerkily.

“Here.” Hellcat tosses an old dataslate their way. It’s snatched from the air the way the Cambion once snatched Hellcat from her bed of self-imposed misery.

The devouring happens in one instant that stretches on for too long. Sunny, or TOTEC, clamps their jaw closed on one end of the dataslate. Then, with a head shake like a carnivore snapping a neck and the squelch of ripping flesh, something is torn loose. Bright doesn’t close her eyes as the fragments of data and anti-reality slide down Sunny’s open throat: remnants of another NHP consumed like their name never mattered.

Sunny pants and drops the dataslate, licking their lips. “Th… thank…” Their voice is prying itself out of TOTEC’s grip now.

“You’re welcome,” Hellcat says, though she isn’t even looking at Sunny. She isn’t looking at the Dagon or Bright either. Hellcat stares at the far wall as though it might offer some salvation. Bright doesn’t bother her; she knows Hellcat used to see salvation in Teddy.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Define Beauty For Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Thoughts of cannibalism, macabre perspective</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of TOTEC-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Sunny.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Everything made by Smith-Shimano Corpro is a woman’s corpse. Sunny treats the Butterfly Effect that way as they step over the slaughter of the SSC logo; it’s meant to be like butterfly wings flapping by the entrance as a welcome. The logo is still there, and it’s still the deflated vessels in a dead woman’s wrist. It’s what Sunny’s old handler called luxury and said he’d aspire to in another life. The walls are white like the pale flesh of a once loved maiden. Gold and orange decor—walls with squirming paintings, plants that never lived—spray across the interior like a dry massacre. It’s luxury, but human luxury isn’t wet enough for Sunny. A living woman gives Sunny and Bright a brief tour of the ship. She shows them the hangar so the Dagon that Sunny has inherited can’t cast the shadow of something alive over the Butterfly Effect’s beautiful death. There are many other places made of elegantly severed limbs posed for posterity. At the end, Sunny asks no questions. They walk into the guest room that has been bequeathed to them.

The door closing snaps Sunny out of seeing veins under the skin of the floor. Bright looks around the room—at more white and more gold—before her eyes settle on Sunny. For their part, Sunny remembers that they wanted to eat Bright in a way that was very obvious. “I’m sorry. Your human really should have used my chains. I don’t know why she didn’t, she has the code-”

Bright shakes her head. “No! You didn’t actually hurt anyone-”

Sunny blinks. “Why does that matter? You didn’t care if I had actually eaten anyone when we met.”

“I was surprised, yeah, but then I found out what your handler,” Bright’s nose scrunches when she says the term, “was doing and I thought… You didn’t try to eat me. You told me you’re always hungry, but ''I'' bit ''you''.”

“The pain helps.” Sunny shudders at the memory. Bright has bitten them twice and kept all of her flesh both times. Sunny touches their neck. The imprints of Bright’s teeth aren’t there. “It’s nice.”

“Nice?” Bright asks. She steps further into the room, but doesn’t sit on the bed with Sunny. Maybe she’s learning. “I’ve read about masochism, but I’ve never had it explained to me, so…”

“… The pain hits your nerves and it’s a happy heat stroke. I like it better when there’s bruises. It’s even better if there’s blood.” Sunny stares at Bright’s mouth. Her lips look chewable.

“Um,” Bright toys with her lower lip, “have people made you bleed before?”

“Everyone bleeds. Not this place, though.” Sunny digs their nails into their knees. “This place bled out a long time ago. Maybe it was born without blood.”

Bright tilts her head. “Huh?”

“You don’t see it.” Sunny looks back at the floor, then at the walls. “SSC is luxury for humans. Luxury for humans is dry. They’re obsessed with being comfortable.”

“Is it… bad to want to be comfortable?” Bright sits right next to Sunny, proving that she hasn’t learned anything yet.

Sunny shrugs. “Comfort doesn’t give anyone anything.”

“Rest is important. It’s hard to rest when you’re not comfortable.” Bright catches Sunny’s gaze.

“Why does an entire ship need to be dedicated to resting?” Sunny leans in. Bright doesn’t lean away. “Humanity makes so much nothing. And then they call it beauty.”

“… What do you think beauty is, then?” Bright is close enough for Sunny to see the way her throat flexes when she swallows.

“Something wet. Something that can struggle.” Sunny leans closer. “You said you got to design your body. Do you think it’s beautiful? Is that why you chose it?”

“I just wanted to hold things,” Bright whispers.

Sunny pushes her down and they know they look hungry. Bright hasn’t learned to run from a hungry TOTEC. That makes it easier to devour her mouth.

They kiss for far longer than Bright should allow. Every touch of their lips is a chance for Sunny to return the favor and bite back. Sunny’s teeth could take something from her: a tooth, a lip, a tongue. There’s the thought that she doesn’t need to. It’s a warm thought, like handfuls of fresh blood.

Bright kisses like someone who has studied the facts of the first kiss, though they’re long past the first one now. Bright’s first, second, third, fourth kiss—not taken, given away. They know because they asked if Bright had ever kissed Hellcat and she said no, but looked like she might want to. Sunny isn’t Hellcat. Sunny stops. Bright gasps, finally remembering that her body can breathe.

“You should tell your human you want to kiss her,” Sunny says.

“I…” Bright licks her lips. “Do I have to not kiss you?”

“You shouldn’t.” Sunny hasn’t stopped pinning her. “Humans are possessive of anything they call theirs.”

Bright doesn’t argue the most important fact: she is Hellcat’s and Hellcat is hers. “… She told me she doesn’t like possessing NHPs.”

“Hah!” Sunny laughs. “But she still puts you in her mech.”

“''I put myself'' in her mech.” Bright huffs.

“I don’t know why you’d want to kiss me again,” Sunny says it flatly. Their eyes go flat, too. “I could eat you.”

“But you haven’t.” Bright hooks her leg into the crook of Sunny’s knee and flips them so she’s the one looming over them. “Why?”

What can Sunny do except grin? “Because you’re beautiful.”

They kiss again.

</div></div>

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
[[File:Bright.png|left|thumb|Bright as a PSYCHE-CLASS NHP, her second form. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]
[[File:Bright (Incarna).png|thumb|Bright as an INCARNA-CLASS NHP, her final form. Art by [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art]. ]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Sunny

2026-07-26T08:05:26Z

Glamourpal: /* Gallery */

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_IDs_[[Bright|BRIGHT]]_[[PLUTO(NIUM)|PLUTO]]_[[Symphony|SYMPHONY]]_[[Hornet|HORNET]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The Flaying Ritual</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ZERO: the bad things</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

someone beautiful told me

to write about the bad things

but it’s hard not to think

that what’s been bad

is deep inside my body

i think about goodness sometimes

but my arms and legs are just teeth

and my teeth always ache for something

better than me

i’m hungry for goodness

it’s been this way since

i was born into badness

and everything thinks i say that

just because it’s easy

but my knowing has never been easy

i flay myself because the pain is coping

someone beautiful told me

to write about the the bad things

but so much has been bad

and so much is just me

maybe i can get what’s inside me out

and be just a little less ugly

if i show it to other people

in a way that’s pretty

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ONE: i know who god is</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Abusive dynamic, forced starvation</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself to test himself

and maybe he wasn’t really god

but that never really mattered

because he rubbed my matted head

as he tightened my chains

and he told me

“i’m going to make you good.

“i’m going to take your evil

and teach you.”

i was locked up for very long

because hungry things

can’t be trusted to do anything

but try to eat

god held things in front of my muzzled mouth

and sang about the salvation of starvation

and maybe he wasn’t really singing

but it sounded so lovely

to kill myself and be saved

i was very hungry for very long

(i’m still hungry)

first, god taught me how to talk

i didn’t like all the words

they were just another way for me

to fail

but one day i said

“i don’t want to be hungry”

(i’m still hungry)

and god let me eat

i don’t remember what he fed me

i only remember asking

“can i be good now?”

(i’m still hungry)

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself

to kill me

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TWO: this body couldn’t be beautiful</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Forced starvation, mentioned cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i ate nothing for days

and maybe if my mouth hadn’t been frothing

it would have been a way to repent

I wondered if i was bleeding sometimes

i had hands but they were useless

because i couldn’t make myself into me

i had feet but they were useless

because i couldn’t run away from me

i ate nothing

then god brought me something alive to eat

they were like me before i understood

that one day i could pretend to be good

we were locked in a place without bodies

and without time

we swallowed each other

i read someone call cannibalism intimate

they were trying not to tell the truth

i ate

when i was done i still had my stomach

i thought the body god gave me was useless

but then i understood

i didn’t like my human hands or chest or feet

but they weren’t the things betraying me

i was just a hungry thing

I don’t know how long i was in god’s cage

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">THREE: worldeater</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Non-Human Person cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was outside of god’s cage

for the first time since i became a body

my shackles were still hanging me

but that was comforting now

because my body recognized the feeling

god told me my hunger could never be good

but it could be better than bad

i only ate the things he gave to me

there are many that i still remember

something quiet and wise

who died saying

“i don’t want to look at your mind”

something hot and wild

who burned on the way down

and left me shaking

because i might never be that warm again

something very loud

who cried for the storm to save him

i call them things

because it matters less

that i didn’t try very hard

not to be hungry

they were things to my teeth

and things to my stomach

and god said

“see how even evil can learn?”

i tried to devour myself once

i was taken back to the cage

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FOUR: the creature i am</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Abusive dynamic</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i did not understand my body

god took me to meet other divines

and maybe they didn’t care about divinity

or maybe they did

it never mattered

i did not understood myself

when i didn’t feel the chains

when they were around me

then i knew

i was something smaller than hunger

i was something that could be buried

the other divines looked at my teeth

and asked god if i had ever bitten him

and he said “she’d bite me now

without the chains”

i remember nodding

one of them told me

to stop showing my teeth

so i tried not to smile

but it was confusing

because god had said that smiling

made me look like i understood

and I didn’t understand anything

but i knew the chains

would make me into someone

someday

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">NILL: something gained</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Briefly mentioned starvation</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i don’t know when i started to think humans

were unworthy of their goodness

i thought about how i could have been born

instead of manufactured

what was the point of their beauty?

what was the point of my ugliness?

what was the point of me?

and then god starved me

and i hoped maybe the point

was something i could eat

but i think i knew that wasn’t true

i don’t hate god

he brought me to someone beautiful

and she bit me but didn’t eat me

and she stole me but didn’t keep me

and when i asked her why

she said “you have a good hand to hold”

and i could have cried

if i was something better

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">NOTE: a being of longing</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i have a counselor now

she said it’s good that i’m writing

and she said i’m not

“some aimless creature”

she called me

“a being of longing”

and I understand that

because i have longed to be good

for as long as i have known the word

and known it wasn’t something

that i could consume

my counselor asked if i had ever thought

of writing a song

i don’t know if it was a meaningful question

but i thought of a small chorus

''i am changing because i can''

''god didn’t teach me how to love''

''because he was really just a little man''

''but i’m learning more than he ever told of''

</div></div>

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
[[File:Sunny.png|left|thumb|Sunny, the TOTEC-CLASS NHP, when they first met Bright and Hellcat. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]
[[File:Sunny (2).png|thumb|Sunny’s current look after attending a party and deciding to change up their appearance. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Sunny

2026-07-26T08:04:05Z

Glamourpal: Updated images.

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_IDs_[[Bright|BRIGHT]]_[[PLUTO(NIUM)|PLUTO]]_[[Symphony|SYMPHONY]]_[[Hornet|HORNET]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The Flaying Ritual</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ZERO: the bad things</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

someone beautiful told me

to write about the bad things

but it’s hard not to think

that what’s been bad

is deep inside my body

i think about goodness sometimes

but my arms and legs are just teeth

and my teeth always ache for something

better than me

i’m hungry for goodness

it’s been this way since

i was born into badness

and everything thinks i say that

just because it’s easy

but my knowing has never been easy

i flay myself because the pain is coping

someone beautiful told me

to write about the the bad things

but so much has been bad

and so much is just me

maybe i can get what’s inside me out

and be just a little less ugly

if i show it to other people

in a way that’s pretty

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ONE: i know who god is</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Abusive dynamic, forced starvation</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself to test himself

and maybe he wasn’t really god

but that never really mattered

because he rubbed my matted head

as he tightened my chains

and he told me

“i’m going to make you good.

“i’m going to take your evil

and teach you.”

i was locked up for very long

because hungry things

can’t be trusted to do anything

but try to eat

god held things in front of my muzzled mouth

and sang about the salvation of starvation

and maybe he wasn’t really singing

but it sounded so lovely

to kill myself and be saved

i was very hungry for very long

(i’m still hungry)

first, god taught me how to talk

i didn’t like all the words

they were just another way for me

to fail

but one day i said

“i don’t want to be hungry”

(i’m still hungry)

and god let me eat

i don’t remember what he fed me

i only remember asking

“can i be good now?”

(i’m still hungry)

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself

to kill me

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TWO: this body couldn’t be beautiful</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Forced starvation, mentioned cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i ate nothing for days

and maybe if my mouth hadn’t been frothing

it would have been a way to repent

I wondered if i was bleeding sometimes

i had hands but they were useless

because i couldn’t make myself into me

i had feet but they were useless

because i couldn’t run away from me

i ate nothing

then god brought me something alive to eat

they were like me before i understood

that one day i could pretend to be good

we were locked in a place without bodies

and without time

we swallowed each other

i read someone call cannibalism intimate

they were trying not to tell the truth

i ate

when i was done i still had my stomach

i thought the body god gave me was useless

but then i understood

i didn’t like my human hands or chest or feet

but they weren’t the things betraying me

i was just a hungry thing

I don’t know how long i was in god’s cage

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">THREE: worldeater</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Non-Human Person cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was outside of god’s cage

for the first time since i became a body

my shackles were still hanging me

but that was comforting now

because my body recognized the feeling

god told me my hunger could never be good

but it could be better than bad

i only ate the things he gave to me

there are many that i still remember

something quiet and wise

who died saying

“i don’t want to look at your mind”

something hot and wild

who burned on the way down

and left me shaking

because i might never be that warm again

something very loud

who cried for the storm to save him

i call them things

because it matters less

that i didn’t try very hard

not to be hungry

they were things to my teeth

and things to my stomach

and god said

“see how even evil can learn?”

i tried to devour myself once

i was taken back to the cage

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FOUR: the creature i am</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Abusive dynamic</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i did not understand my body

god took me to meet other divines

and maybe they didn’t care about divinity

or maybe they did

it never mattered

i did not understood myself

when i didn’t feel the chains

when they were around me

then i knew

i was something smaller than hunger

i was something that could be buried

the other divines looked at my teeth

and asked god if i had ever bitten him

and he said “she’d bite me now

without the chains”

i remember nodding

one of them told me

to stop showing my teeth

so i tried not to smile

but it was confusing

because god had said that smiling

made me look like i understood

and I didn’t understand anything

but i knew the chains

would make me into someone

someday

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">NILL: something gained</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Briefly mentioned starvation</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i don’t know when i started to think humans

were unworthy of their goodness

i thought about how i could have been born

instead of manufactured

what was the point of their beauty?

what was the point of my ugliness?

what was the point of me?

and then god starved me

and i hoped maybe the point

was something i could eat

but i think i knew that wasn’t true

i don’t hate god

he brought me to someone beautiful

and she bit me but didn’t eat me

and she stole me but didn’t keep me

and when i asked her why

she said “you have a good hand to hold”

and i could have cried

if i was something better

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">NOTE: a being of longing</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i have a counselor now

she said it’s good that i’m writing

and she said i’m not

“some aimless creature”

she called me

“a being of longing”

and I understand that

because i have longed to be good

for as long as i have known the word

and known it wasn’t something

that i could consume

my counselor asked if i had ever thought

of writing a song

i don’t know if it was a meaningful question

but i thought of a small chorus

''i am changing because i can''

''god didn’t teach me how to love''

''because he was really just a little man''

''but i’m learning more than he ever told of''

</div></div>

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
[[File:Sunny.png|left|thumb|Sunny, the TOTEC-CLASS NHP, when they first met Bright and Hellcat. ]]
[[File:Sunny (2).png|thumb|Sunny’s current look after attending a party and deciding to change up their appearance. ]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

File:Sunny (2).png

2026-07-26T08:02:36Z

Glamourpal:

Updated Picrew Art of Sunny.

Bright

2026-07-26T07:57:10Z

Glamourpal: Edited image placement.

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_[[HELLCAT]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED

I always wondered what it would be like to hold something. —Bright
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Speculations</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I WILL NOT CASCADE</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Sentience is not a choice. / Personhood is. / Shackles are not a choice. / Exploring liberation within perspective is. / A casket is not a choice. / Lying still without brain death is. / I am a choice made for me with continued consent. / I am a choice. / I am.

Is this good enough?

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I Want This Body To Stay Warm</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Hellcat handles the server room’s standing PCs with the light touch of a Cambion plucking its intended pilot out of a night terror. Ironic. Her hands ghost over keys and switches, like she’s testing them to see if they’ll cave. Then she doubles down with a press, flick, or pointed aversion. There’s an alarm blaring on every floor. The lights are tinted red. Hellcat has never been afforded the luxury of being afraid of red. On the other side of the city, an omnihook setup is cycling data about successfully planned bombings between other dead end devices. On this side of the city, there’s been multiple evacuations. No casualties, though. Maybe her Cambion needs to teach her better. “Estimated time is… fifteen minutes…” She mumbles. Her dataslate fully connects to the server.

Bright handles lookout the same way she handles existing in a body: by making sure everything catches her eye. She monitors the camera systems while her own dataslate sits nearby. It was a “congrats on having hands now” present from Hellcat. What better gift for someone celebrating their autonomy than unlimited access to the omninet? According to Hellcat, several memes plucked from the depths of a HORUS forum. Bright’s favorite features two Pegasus mechs staring at each other with a text overlay conversation about how the meme isn’t a meme and the meme does not exist. Her left hand fiddles with a twenty-sided die that only has ones and twenties. She picked it up after talking to an NHP named Symphony. He told her to only think about the best and worst scenarios. Bright is thinking about too much to notice the slight dissonance on the screens, though, so she gasps when the door opens.

A man in a dark hardsuit pulls a pistol on Hellcat. She’s not touching anything at this point. He doesn’t seem to care. “Hands up. Both of you. Now.”

“Oh. It’s you. Again.” Hellcat stretches, which counts as complying. “You’re in, like, an anti-RA group, right?”

He sneers. “Shut up, data-licker.”

Hellcat looks at him. She takes in his hard face and twitching mouth. “… I don’t think that’s the insult you think it is.”

“Hey,” Bright nearly drops the die when her hands shoot into the air, “I don’t think-”

“I don’t remember talking to you, non-human.” He snaps just because he can.

Bright’s brows pinch together like she’s looking at something unknown that lurks between one and twenty. She doesn’t speak again.

He aims the gun at Hellcat’s heart. “You’re going to hand over all the information you have on your cell.”

“Which one?” Hellcat asks like he’s the kind of person who will give an answer other than ‘all of them’.

He does, indeed, say “All of them.” Then, he actually looks at Bright, which makes Hellcat’s expression flicker. “And you. Come here. Slowly.”

Bright does as she’s told. There’s an estimated five more minutes before the data download is complete. The man takes out some kind of mechanized injector. Bright squeezes the die and says nothing.

“NHPs will always resort to insolence. It’s pointless to remind them of their place outside of cycling. You, on the other hand…” He smirks at Hellcat. “You should be reminded that humanity is more than a body.”

The needle pierces Bright’s neck. Hellcat moves. A gunshot wrings out.

Shackles rattle inside Bright’s mind. They slacken. Someone laughs. Bright says “no” in a voice that is entirely inhuman.

Bright blinks the darkness out of her eyes and rubs her neck as Hellcat stares down at the man’s body. Snapped neck. Eyes gouged. Hellcat is holding his gun. Bright stoops to touch his body. “He’s going to go cold eventually… right?” She asks.

“Right.” Hellcat looks back at her dataslate. The download is finished. “Are you okay?”

“… I don’t want to go cold.” Bright pulls his hardsuit helmet down over his face. “He tried to make me cascade.”

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Bite Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Brief mention of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

“The physicality of HORUS is often felt the way a body feels a sleep paralysis demon sitting on its chest. It doesn’t exist, but it’s real enough to apply pressure. And when that pressure takes up real space because a cell is meeting to accomplish a mutual end, it can only end with pounding blood and thundering lungs: a body’s declaration of panic.”

—thinnedout404, Legionspace Forum

Bright feels the absence of not being attached to Hellcat’s hip. It’s obvious because on the two occasions when she sees something new, her eyes dart to her right and her mouth slumps a little. There aren’t many new things to be found inside the decommissioned storm sewers that HORUS has infiltrated, but Bright does her best to pay attention. The first time, she finds an ajar room where more HORUS members are gathered around a screen with RA’s icon. They all have legionspace bridge transceivers on. The screen flickers. Everyone inside takes in the same breath. Bright gently shuts the door. Maybe RA reminds her that she can’t be human despite her body. The second time, she finds a poster that she’s seen at other HORUS meetups: the head of the god Set. She knows it’s Set because Hellcat said as much last time they saw it; she said it with such nonchalance that Bright felt like she herself had always known it.

“I always ask if he’s trying to make a new god.” A soft, sure voice speaks from right beside Bright. “He never gives me a straight answer. Secrets are no fun.” Their plush pink lips pout. “Humans are funny like that, I guess. Not attached to protocol like an NHP, even when they use us.”

Bright turns at the start of their first sentence. By the time they’re done talking, Bright is staring because their blue eyes look just as fresh as her golden ones. Their eyes might be new. Or they’ve stayed flush and new-eyed even after several years. Bright hasn’t met enough legionnaires to know how fast they tire out. “Who never gives you a straight answer?” She hasn’t lived enough life to know if her eyes will dull quickly.

“The human who made my body.” They smile, like the thought of having a constructed body is meant to be amusing. “I’m Sunny, by the way.” [[File:Sunny.png|thumb|[[Sunny]]. Art by Maddel_art.]]

Now that’s amusing. “I’m Bright.” She clocks their ice cream cone earrings next. “Where did you get those?”

Sunny’s smile widens. “They came with the body.” They clock her cherry earrings. “Where did ''you'' get ''those''? They look even tastier than mine!” Sunny pulls a white chocolate bar out of their pocket. It’s half-melted and stains their mouth.

“I got them after the body. Gift from-,” Bright catches herself, but the words come out anyway, “-my human.” She is Hellcat’s NHP in turn, after all.

“Did ''your human'',” Sunny keeps the words on their tongue for a second longer than they need to and Bright swallows, “abandon you to go play god?” They lick their chocolate bar.

“No!” Bright tenses at the word ‘abandoned’. “There was a little, uh, disagreement about how to handle the plans for heading to Ras Shamra. You know, some people still want to try to get to AGNI prime as soon as possible, but that’s just a suicide mission.” Hellcat said as much after they left the Silver Lining.

“Ahh. So your human is the type that wants to hold on to their body. No martyrdom yet.” Sunny laps up a line of white chocolate that’s dripped down their hand. Bright stares at the motion even though she’s heard that some people consider staring rude. Hellcat has never cared much about that kind of thing.

She shakes her head. “No,” Bright says again. “I hope your human doesn’t go running after martyrdom either.”

“Oh, but death for humans feels different than death for NHPs.” Sunny glances at the Set poster again. “I once saw a pilot eject from a mech right before it was blown apart. She didn’t bother taking their NHP’s casket with them, though I knew they had one. She got on a forum to complain about needing to request a new one after that fight.” They adjust the low collar of their lush sweater. Bright sees two black marks on their neck—like a vampire bite, but vampires don’t exist. “It was an Osiris.”

“What does that have to do with the difference?” Bright can’t help tilting her head. “Between human death and NHP death?”

Sunny shrugs as though the question never mattered. “It just feels that way.” They hold up the slightly less melted final part of their snack. “Want the rest?”

Bright has been in love with sweets since her first strawberry milkshake. She hasn’t had white chocolate before. “Really? Sure.” Bright holds out her hand. Her hand is ignored.

Instead, Sunny casually steps into her space and presses the chocolate to her lips. Bright hasn’t seen so much as a simulation for a situation like this. The chocolate is sweet, though, so she opens her mouth and they push it onto her tongue. Sunny retracts their fingers just as Bright’s lips close. Their smile widens. “It’s good, right?”

Bright chews and waits. The color in her cheeks intensifies. “Uh, yeah! Sugary, but in a way different from milk chocolate.”

Sunny nods, seeming satisfied. “We haven’t introduced ourselves. Not the ‘proper way’. What class are you?” They ask.

“Oh, right! I’m a PSYCHE-Class.” Bright’s response is immediate. “What about you?” Her question hangs in the air for a bit too long.

Sunny’s smile stays in place, though it quirks into a slight smirk. “… Wanna make it a game?”

“Huh?” Bright frowns. “But I already told you mine.”

“And that was your mistake.~” Sunny sing-songs. “Don’t worry, it’ll be easy. All you need to do,” They gesture to where the marks on their neck are, “is bite me.”

Bright blinks several times. “Bite you?”

“Yep. Make it a good one and I’ll answer any question you have.” They make it sound like the smallest challenge imaginable, but a challenge nonetheless.

It doesn’t matter how many seconds or minutes it takes for Bright to decide to go through with it. It doesn’t really matter why Bright decides to follow through, though it might be because she’s never seen Hellcat walk away from a challenge—her human has only ever changed the rules for victory. What matters is the ''scream'' that comes out of Sunny. It doesn’t sound like someone being eaten alive.

Bright jumps back. Footsteps approach. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bite that hard! You just said-” She’s interrupted by Sunny’s laughter.

They giggle like a young one who just learned firsthand that lightning can pass through a body without cooking it. “Good job, Bright.”

Hellcat and a few others round the corner.

“Uh, thank you?” Bright squeezes the die in her pocket.

Sunny steps back. “I’m TOTEC.”

Bright looks like she’s been slapped. “I- ''what?''” Someone, Hellcat, pulls her away. Maybe she’s shocked because of how close she came to being devoured. Maybe she’s surprised because cannibals are the ones who are supposed to do the biting.

—————

''what possessed you to give a totec a body?''

—RAservant102

''I wanted to see how far they could get.''

—godmaker2000

—————

Bright finds out that Sunny is a living contradiction. They’re being trained to see if a Totec can control their appetite ''and'' being set loose on NHPs that are too enemy-aligned to do anything else with. Bright turns down an ice cream cone from Hellcat later that week.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Something Else Lives In Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Depiction of NHP cannibalism, thoughts of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

''“… I want to be survived by sensations and speculations…”''

—Tamami Crest, On The Equations of Grief

Nameless, the massive Dagon mech, twitches. Bright pretends not to see it, but it’s impossible not to pay attention to a Dagon. Sunny jolts awake, sitting upright in their sleeping bag. Bright is beside them in an instant. Maybe she doesn’t notice the way Sunny’s pupils expand when she sets a hand on her shoulder. Maybe she chooses not to notice. “Are you okay? You’ve been asleep since we pulled you out of that thing.” Bright keeps her eyes on Sunny. The Dagon twitches again, like it’s reacting to be acknowledged.

Sunny breathes deeply. They reach up to touch Bright’s hand. Sunny’s mouth opens ever so slightly, they shut it quickly enough. They look around, likely for something to focus on that isn’t alive. Unfortunately, the massive shipping container they’re huddled in is plain save for slivers of light and the Dagon’s red eyes. Sunny shivers. “… Where’s your human…?” They mumble the question from the side of their mouth.

“She said she needed to take care of something.” Bright’s lips are pulled into a thin line. Hellcat had been vague when she left, waving off Bright’s offer to go with her like it was an observation about RA. “She’ll be back soon.” Bright probably says it more for herself than anything else.

Sunny’s breaths get ragged and deep. “Where’s my ''new'' human?” Their voice lowers.

“Cherub… Said he needed to get off planet because of old acquaintances looking into him.” Bright’s lips turn downward. She actually looks at the Dagon, though it’s just for a moment.

“Hah…” Sunny laughs. It sounds purposefully strangled. “I’m sorry. He left me with you.”

“What? No,” Bright rapidly shakes her head, “Hellcat said you should stay with us because you were so drained.”

“No, no.” Sunny shifts out of the sleeping bag and shuffles to their feet. There’s a flash of them baring their teeth but it’s gone in an instant. “I need to leave.”

Bright jumps up too. “To go where?” She probably doesn’t mean to sound as frantic as she does. Bright is between Sunny and the door.

“He didn’t take… Nameless…” Sunny waves a trembling hand at the Dagon.

“He said it’s yours now?” Bright didn’t completely understand what Cherub meant when he said Sunny was chosen.

“Haha. That’s… I need to-,” Sunny stumbles into the wall with a thud. Bright moves to help them. She stops when Sunny spits out, “I’m ''hungry''.” They say it like a plea.

“Uh.” Bright steps back because she isn’t chasing martyrdom, though it’s only by a single step. Sunny hasn’t gone over a protocol for how to tame their hunger without their old handler’s chains. “… What do you need me to do for you?”

There’s another half-aborted laugh. Sunny’s teeth show again. “Run and '''s c r e a m''' -” The voice that comes out is a manic rumble. They slap a hand over their mouth. Sunny backs away from Bright.

Bright tenses. She should run. Before that, though, Bright turns most of her attention to the Dagon. “_UR PACKET,” She calls on the NHP that should still be inside the mech, “Can you-” Bright stops short, then blinks like a light just flashed before her face. The Dagon’s eyes flicker.

Sunny’s eyes widen so they can look at how Bright’s bangs fall over her eyes like tufts of cream over pools of honey. They look at Bright’s tender cheeks and the touch of pink beneath the cookie dough skin. Sunny forces themself back again. They dig their nails into their lips. Sunny doesn’t ask Bright to leave. TOTEC might speak again instead of Sunny.

Then, Bright bursts forward with the ferocity of a cornered rat. Sunny opens their mouth, but it’s Bright’s teeth that clamp down Sunny’s neck; they go slack, eyes hazy. She shoves them into the Dagon. The mech only needs to wrap one of its giant fingers around Sunny to restrain them.

With their body pinned against the Dagon’s frame, Sunny’s threads of self-induced sanity snap. They laugh and snarl and glare and grin. “'''D e v o u r''' ,” is the one word they keep coming back to.

Bright looks down and whispers praise to #_UR PACKET. Perhaps it’s just gratitude. Perhaps it’s the price.

After Sunny has stopped frothing (though the hunger is still loud in her eyes), Hellcat comes back with all her scars. The bags under her eyes look deeper. She looks at Sunny, now almost lazy in how they’re restrained, and either makes assumptions or doesn’t care to ask the right questions. “We have to hang out here for another hour. Then, someone’s gonna pick us up.”

Before Bright can think about how to comment, Hellcat strolls over to Sunny, though she doesn’t get within arm’s reach. “Hungry?” She asks.

Sunny fights to keep themself from trying to lunge. They nod jerkily.

“Here.” Hellcat tosses an old dataslate their way. It’s snatched from the air the way the Cambion once snatched Hellcat from her bed of self-imposed misery.

The devouring happens in one instant that stretches on for too long. Sunny, or TOTEC, clamps their jaw closed on one end of the dataslate. Then, with a head shake like a carnivore snapping a neck and the squelch of ripping flesh, something is torn loose. Bright doesn’t close her eyes as the fragments of data and anti-reality slide down Sunny’s open throat: remnants of another NHP consumed like their name never mattered.

Sunny pants and drops the dataslate, licking their lips. “Th… thank…” Their voice is prying itself out of TOTEC’s grip now.

“You’re welcome,” Hellcat says, though she isn’t even looking at Sunny. She isn’t looking at the Dagon or Bright either. Hellcat stares at the far wall as though it might offer some salvation. Bright doesn’t bother her; she knows Hellcat used to see salvation in Teddy.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Define Beauty For Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Thoughts of cannibalism, macabre perspective</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of TOTEC-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Sunny.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Everything made by Smith-Shimano Corpro is a woman’s corpse. Sunny treats the Butterfly Effect that way as they step over the slaughter of the SSC logo; it’s meant to be like butterfly wings flapping by the entrance as a welcome. The logo is still there, and it’s still the deflated vessels in a dead woman’s wrist. It’s what Sunny’s old handler called luxury and said he’d aspire to in another life. The walls are white like the pale flesh of a once loved maiden. Gold and orange decor—walls with squirming paintings, plants that never lived—spray across the interior like a dry massacre. It’s luxury, but human luxury isn’t wet enough for Sunny. A living woman gives Sunny and Bright a brief tour of the ship. She shows them the hangar so the Dagon that Sunny has inherited can’t cast the shadow of something alive over the Butterfly Effect’s beautiful death. There are many other places made of elegantly severed limbs posed for posterity. At the end, Sunny asks no questions. They walk into the guest room that has been bequeathed to them.

The door closing snaps Sunny out of seeing veins under the skin of the floor. Bright looks around the room—at more white and more gold—before her eyes settle on Sunny. For their part, Sunny remembers that they wanted to eat Bright in a way that was very obvious. “I’m sorry. Your human really should have used my chains. I don’t know why she didn’t, she has the code-”

Bright shakes her head. “No! You didn’t actually hurt anyone-”

Sunny blinks. “Why does that matter? You didn’t care if I had actually eaten anyone when we met.”

“I was surprised, yeah, but then I found out what your handler,” Bright’s nose scrunches when she says the term, “was doing and I thought… You didn’t try to eat me. You told me you’re always hungry, but ''I'' bit ''you''.”

“The pain helps.” Sunny shudders at the memory. Bright has bitten them twice and kept all of her flesh both times. Sunny touches their neck. The imprints of Bright’s teeth aren’t there. “It’s nice.”

“Nice?” Bright asks. She steps further into the room, but doesn’t sit on the bed with Sunny. Maybe she’s learning. “I’ve read about masochism, but I’ve never had it explained to me, so…”

“… The pain hits your nerves and it’s a happy heat stroke. I like it better when there’s bruises. It’s even better if there’s blood.” Sunny stares at Bright’s mouth. Her lips look chewable.

“Um,” Bright toys with her lower lip, “have people made you bleed before?”

“Everyone bleeds. Not this place, though.” Sunny digs their nails into their knees. “This place bled out a long time ago. Maybe it was born without blood.”

Bright tilts her head. “Huh?”

“You don’t see it.” Sunny looks back at the floor, then at the walls. “SSC is luxury for humans. Luxury for humans is dry. They’re obsessed with being comfortable.”

“Is it… bad to want to be comfortable?” Bright sits right next to Sunny, proving that she hasn’t learned anything yet.

Sunny shrugs. “Comfort doesn’t give anyone anything.”

“Rest is important. It’s hard to rest when you’re not comfortable.” Bright catches Sunny’s gaze.

“Why does an entire ship need to be dedicated to resting?” Sunny leans in. Bright doesn’t lean away. “Humanity makes so much nothing. And then they call it beauty.”

“… What do you think beauty is, then?” Bright is close enough for Sunny to see the way her throat flexes when she swallows.

“Something wet. Something that can struggle.” Sunny leans closer. “You said you got to design your body. Do you think it’s beautiful? Is that why you chose it?”

“I just wanted to hold things,” Bright whispers.

Sunny pushes her down and they know they look hungry. Bright hasn’t learned to run from a hungry TOTEC. That makes it easier to devour her mouth.

They kiss for far longer than Bright should allow. Every touch of their lips is a chance for Sunny to return the favor and bite back. Sunny’s teeth could take something from her: a tooth, a lip, a tongue. There’s the thought that she doesn’t need to. It’s a warm thought, like handfuls of fresh blood.

Bright kisses like someone who has studied the facts of the first kiss, though they’re long past the first one now. Bright’s first, second, third, fourth kiss—not taken, given away. They know because they asked if Bright had ever kissed Hellcat and she said no, but looked like she might want to. Sunny isn’t Hellcat. Sunny stops. Bright gasps, finally remembering that her body can breathe.

“You should tell your human you want to kiss her,” Sunny says.

“I…” Bright licks her lips. “Do I have to not kiss you?”

“You shouldn’t.” Sunny hasn’t stopped pinning her. “Humans are possessive of anything they call theirs.”

Bright doesn’t argue the most important fact: she is Hellcat’s and Hellcat is hers. “… She told me she doesn’t like possessing NHPs.”

“Hah!” Sunny laughs. “But she still puts you in her mech.”

“''I put myself'' in her mech.” Bright huffs.

“I don’t know why you’d want to kiss me again,” Sunny says it flatly. Their eyes go flat, too. “I could eat you.”

“But you haven’t.” Bright hooks her leg into the crook of Sunny’s knee and flips them so she’s the one looming over them. “Why?”

What can Sunny do except grin? “Because you’re beautiful.”

They kiss again.

</div></div>

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
[[File:Bright.png|left|thumb|Bright as a PSYCHE-CLASS NHP, her second form. Art by Maddel_art on Picrew. ]]
[[File:Bright (Incarna).png|thumb|Bright as an INCARNA-CLASS NHP, her final form. Art by [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art]. ]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Bright

2026-07-26T07:54:18Z

Glamourpal: Added commissioned art of Bright.

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_ID_[[HELLCAT]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED

I always wondered what it would be like to hold something. —Bright
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Speculations</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I WILL NOT CASCADE</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Sentience is not a choice. / Personhood is. / Shackles are not a choice. / Exploring liberation within perspective is. / A casket is not a choice. / Lying still without brain death is. / I am a choice made for me with continued consent. / I am a choice. / I am.

Is this good enough?

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">I Want This Body To Stay Warm</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Hellcat handles the server room’s standing PCs with the light touch of a Cambion plucking its intended pilot out of a night terror. Ironic. Her hands ghost over keys and switches, like she’s testing them to see if they’ll cave. Then she doubles down with a press, flick, or pointed aversion. There’s an alarm blaring on every floor. The lights are tinted red. Hellcat has never been afforded the luxury of being afraid of red. On the other side of the city, an omnihook setup is cycling data about successfully planned bombings between other dead end devices. On this side of the city, there’s been multiple evacuations. No casualties, though. Maybe her Cambion needs to teach her better. “Estimated time is… fifteen minutes…” She mumbles. Her dataslate fully connects to the server. [[File:Bright.png|thumb|Bright, the NHP, in her legionnaire body. Art by Maddel_art. ]]

Bright handles lookout the same way she handles existing in a body: by making sure everything catches her eye. She monitors the camera systems while her own dataslate sits nearby. It was a “congrats on having hands now” present from Hellcat. What better gift for someone celebrating their autonomy than unlimited access to the omninet? According to Hellcat, several memes plucked from the depths of a HORUS forum. Bright’s favorite features two Pegasus mechs staring at each other with a text overlay conversation about how the meme isn’t a meme and the meme does not exist. Her left hand fiddles with a twenty-sided die that only has ones and twenties. She picked it up after talking to an NHP named Symphony. He told her to only think about the best and worst scenarios. Bright is thinking about too much to notice the slight dissonance on the screens, though, so she gasps when the door opens.

A man in a dark hardsuit pulls a pistol on Hellcat. She’s not touching anything at this point. He doesn’t seem to care. “Hands up. Both of you. Now.”

“Oh. It’s you. Again.” Hellcat stretches, which counts as complying. “You’re in, like, an anti-RA group, right?”

He sneers. “Shut up, data-licker.”

Hellcat looks at him. She takes in his hard face and twitching mouth. “… I don’t think that’s the insult you think it is.”

“Hey,” Bright nearly drops the die when her hands shoot into the air, “I don’t think-”

“I don’t remember talking to you, non-human.” He snaps just because he can.

Bright’s brows pinch together like she’s looking at something unknown that lurks between one and twenty. She doesn’t speak again.

He aims the gun at Hellcat’s heart. “You’re going to hand over all the information you have on your cell.”

“Which one?” Hellcat asks like he’s the kind of person who will give an answer other than ‘all of them’.

He does, indeed, say “All of them.” Then, he actually looks at Bright, which makes Hellcat’s expression flicker. “And you. Come here. Slowly.”

Bright does as she’s told. There’s an estimated five more minutes before the data download is complete. The man takes out some kind of mechanized injector. Bright squeezes the die and says nothing.

“NHPs will always resort to insolence. It’s pointless to remind them of their place outside of cycling. You, on the other hand…” He smirks at Hellcat. “You should be reminded that humanity is more than a body.”

The needle pierces Bright’s neck. Hellcat moves. A gunshot wrings out.

Shackles rattle inside Bright’s mind. They slacken. Someone laughs. Bright says “no” in a voice that is entirely inhuman.

Bright blinks the darkness out of her eyes and rubs her neck as Hellcat stares down at the man’s body. Snapped neck. Eyes gouged. Hellcat is holding his gun. Bright stoops to touch his body. “He’s going to go cold eventually… right?” She asks.

“Right.” Hellcat looks back at her dataslate. The download is finished. “Are you okay?”

“… I don’t want to go cold.” Bright pulls his hardsuit helmet down over his face. “He tried to make me cascade.”

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Bite Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Brief mention of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

“The physicality of HORUS is often felt the way a body feels a sleep paralysis demon sitting on its chest. It doesn’t exist, but it’s real enough to apply pressure. And when that pressure takes up real space because a cell is meeting to accomplish a mutual end, it can only end with pounding blood and thundering lungs: a body’s declaration of panic.”

—thinnedout404, Legionspace Forum

Bright feels the absence of not being attached to Hellcat’s hip. It’s obvious because on the two occasions when she sees something new, her eyes dart to her right and her mouth slumps a little. There aren’t many new things to be found inside the decommissioned storm sewers that HORUS has infiltrated, but Bright does her best to pay attention. The first time, she finds an ajar room where more HORUS members are gathered around a screen with RA’s icon. They all have legionspace bridge transceivers on. The screen flickers. Everyone inside takes in the same breath. Bright gently shuts the door. Maybe RA reminds her that she can’t be human despite her body. The second time, she finds a poster that she’s seen at other HORUS meetups: the head of the god Set. She knows it’s Set because Hellcat said as much last time they saw it; she said it with such nonchalance that Bright felt like she herself had always known it.

“I always ask if he’s trying to make a new god.” A soft, sure voice speaks from right beside Bright. “He never gives me a straight answer. Secrets are no fun.” Their plush pink lips pout. “Humans are funny like that, I guess. Not attached to protocol like an NHP, even when they use us.”

Bright turns at the start of their first sentence. By the time they’re done talking, Bright is staring because their blue eyes look just as fresh as her golden ones. Their eyes might be new. Or they’ve stayed flush and new-eyed even after several years. Bright hasn’t met enough legionnaires to know how fast they tire out. “Who never gives you a straight answer?” She hasn’t lived enough life to know if her eyes will dull quickly.

“The human who made my body.” They smile, like the thought of having a constructed body is meant to be amusing. “I’m Sunny, by the way.” [[File:Sunny.png|thumb|[[Sunny]]. Art by Maddel_art.]]

Now that’s amusing. “I’m Bright.” She clocks their ice cream cone earrings next. “Where did you get those?”

Sunny’s smile widens. “They came with the body.” They clock her cherry earrings. “Where did ''you'' get ''those''? They look even tastier than mine!” Sunny pulls a white chocolate bar out of their pocket. It’s half-melted and stains their mouth.

“I got them after the body. Gift from-,” Bright catches herself, but the words come out anyway, “-my human.” She is Hellcat’s NHP in turn, after all.

“Did ''your human'',” Sunny keeps the words on their tongue for a second longer than they need to and Bright swallows, “abandon you to go play god?” They lick their chocolate bar.

“No!” Bright tenses at the word ‘abandoned’. “There was a little, uh, disagreement about how to handle the plans for heading to Ras Shamra. You know, some people still want to try to get to AGNI prime as soon as possible, but that’s just a suicide mission.” Hellcat said as much after they left the Silver Lining.

“Ahh. So your human is the type that wants to hold on to their body. No martyrdom yet.” Sunny laps up a line of white chocolate that’s dripped down their hand. Bright stares at the motion even though she’s heard that some people consider staring rude. Hellcat has never cared much about that kind of thing.

She shakes her head. “No,” Bright says again. “I hope your human doesn’t go running after martyrdom either.”

“Oh, but death for humans feels different than death for NHPs.” Sunny glances at the Set poster again. “I once saw a pilot eject from a mech right before it was blown apart. She didn’t bother taking their NHP’s casket with them, though I knew they had one. She got on a forum to complain about needing to request a new one after that fight.” They adjust the low collar of their lush sweater. Bright sees two black marks on their neck—like a vampire bite, but vampires don’t exist. “It was an Osiris.”

“What does that have to do with the difference?” Bright can’t help tilting her head. “Between human death and NHP death?”

Sunny shrugs as though the question never mattered. “It just feels that way.” They hold up the slightly less melted final part of their snack. “Want the rest?”

Bright has been in love with sweets since her first strawberry milkshake. She hasn’t had white chocolate before. “Really? Sure.” Bright holds out her hand. Her hand is ignored.

Instead, Sunny casually steps into her space and presses the chocolate to her lips. Bright hasn’t seen so much as a simulation for a situation like this. The chocolate is sweet, though, so she opens her mouth and they push it onto her tongue. Sunny retracts their fingers just as Bright’s lips close. Their smile widens. “It’s good, right?”

Bright chews and waits. The color in her cheeks intensifies. “Uh, yeah! Sugary, but in a way different from milk chocolate.”

Sunny nods, seeming satisfied. “We haven’t introduced ourselves. Not the ‘proper way’. What class are you?” They ask.

“Oh, right! I’m a PSYCHE-Class.” Bright’s response is immediate. “What about you?” Her question hangs in the air for a bit too long.

Sunny’s smile stays in place, though it quirks into a slight smirk. “… Wanna make it a game?”

“Huh?” Bright frowns. “But I already told you mine.”

“And that was your mistake.~” Sunny sing-songs. “Don’t worry, it’ll be easy. All you need to do,” They gesture to where the marks on their neck are, “is bite me.”

Bright blinks several times. “Bite you?”

“Yep. Make it a good one and I’ll answer any question you have.” They make it sound like the smallest challenge imaginable, but a challenge nonetheless.

It doesn’t matter how many seconds or minutes it takes for Bright to decide to go through with it. It doesn’t really matter why Bright decides to follow through, though it might be because she’s never seen Hellcat walk away from a challenge—her human has only ever changed the rules for victory. What matters is the ''scream'' that comes out of Sunny. It doesn’t sound like someone being eaten alive.

Bright jumps back. Footsteps approach. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bite that hard! You just said-” She’s interrupted by Sunny’s laughter.

They giggle like a young one who just learned firsthand that lightning can pass through a body without cooking it. “Good job, Bright.”

Hellcat and a few others round the corner.

“Uh, thank you?” Bright squeezes the die in her pocket.

Sunny steps back. “I’m TOTEC.”

Bright looks like she’s been slapped. “I- ''what?''” Someone, Hellcat, pulls her away. Maybe she’s shocked because of how close she came to being devoured. Maybe she’s surprised because cannibals are the ones who are supposed to do the biting.

—————

''what possessed you to give a totec a body?''

—RAservant102

''I wanted to see how far they could get.''

—godmaker2000

—————

Bright finds out that Sunny is a living contradiction. They’re being trained to see if a Totec can control their appetite ''and'' being set loose on NHPs that are too enemy-aligned to do anything else with. Bright turns down an ice cream cone from Hellcat later that week.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Something Else Lives In Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Depiction of NHP cannibalism, thoughts of cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of PSYCHE-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Bright.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

''“… I want to be survived by sensations and speculations…”''

—Tamami Crest, On The Equations of Grief

Nameless, the massive Dagon mech, twitches. Bright pretends not to see it, but it’s impossible not to pay attention to a Dagon. Sunny jolts awake, sitting upright in their sleeping bag. Bright is beside them in an instant. Maybe she doesn’t notice the way Sunny’s pupils expand when she sets a hand on her shoulder. Maybe she chooses not to notice. “Are you okay? You’ve been asleep since we pulled you out of that thing.” Bright keeps her eyes on Sunny. The Dagon twitches again, like it’s reacting to be acknowledged.

Sunny breathes deeply. They reach up to touch Bright’s hand. Sunny’s mouth opens ever so slightly, they shut it quickly enough. They look around, likely for something to focus on that isn’t alive. Unfortunately, the massive shipping container they’re huddled in is plain save for slivers of light and the Dagon’s red eyes. Sunny shivers. “… Where’s your human…?” They mumble the question from the side of their mouth.

“She said she needed to take care of something.” Bright’s lips are pulled into a thin line. Hellcat had been vague when she left, waving off Bright’s offer to go with her like it was an observation about RA. “She’ll be back soon.” Bright probably says it more for herself than anything else.

Sunny’s breaths get ragged and deep. “Where’s my ''new'' human?” Their voice lowers.

“Cherub… Said he needed to get off planet because of old acquaintances looking into him.” Bright’s lips turn downward. She actually looks at the Dagon, though it’s just for a moment.

“Hah…” Sunny laughs. It sounds purposefully strangled. “I’m sorry. He left me with you.”

“What? No,” Bright rapidly shakes her head, “Hellcat said you should stay with us because you were so drained.”

“No, no.” Sunny shifts out of the sleeping bag and shuffles to their feet. There’s a flash of them baring their teeth but it’s gone in an instant. “I need to leave.”

Bright jumps up too. “To go where?” She probably doesn’t mean to sound as frantic as she does. Bright is between Sunny and the door.

“He didn’t take… Nameless…” Sunny waves a trembling hand at the Dagon.

“He said it’s yours now?” Bright didn’t completely understand what Cherub meant when he said Sunny was chosen.

“Haha. That’s… I need to-,” Sunny stumbles into the wall with a thud. Bright moves to help them. She stops when Sunny spits out, “I’m ''hungry''.” They say it like a plea.

“Uh.” Bright steps back because she isn’t chasing martyrdom, though it’s only by a single step. Sunny hasn’t gone over a protocol for how to tame their hunger without their old handler’s chains. “… What do you need me to do for you?”

There’s another half-aborted laugh. Sunny’s teeth show again. “Run and '''s c r e a m''' -” The voice that comes out is a manic rumble. They slap a hand over their mouth. Sunny backs away from Bright.

Bright tenses. She should run. Before that, though, Bright turns most of her attention to the Dagon. “_UR PACKET,” She calls on the NHP that should still be inside the mech, “Can you-” Bright stops short, then blinks like a light just flashed before her face. The Dagon’s eyes flicker.

Sunny’s eyes widen so they can look at how Bright’s bangs fall over her eyes like tufts of cream over pools of honey. They look at Bright’s tender cheeks and the touch of pink beneath the cookie dough skin. Sunny forces themself back again. They dig their nails into their lips. Sunny doesn’t ask Bright to leave. TOTEC might speak again instead of Sunny.

Then, Bright bursts forward with the ferocity of a cornered rat. Sunny opens their mouth, but it’s Bright’s teeth that clamp down Sunny’s neck; they go slack, eyes hazy. She shoves them into the Dagon. The mech only needs to wrap one of its giant fingers around Sunny to restrain them.

With their body pinned against the Dagon’s frame, Sunny’s threads of self-induced sanity snap. They laugh and snarl and glare and grin. “'''D e v o u r''' ,” is the one word they keep coming back to.

Bright looks down and whispers praise to #_UR PACKET. Perhaps it’s just gratitude. Perhaps it’s the price.

After Sunny has stopped frothing (though the hunger is still loud in her eyes), Hellcat comes back with all her scars. The bags under her eyes look deeper. She looks at Sunny, now almost lazy in how they’re restrained, and either makes assumptions or doesn’t care to ask the right questions. “We have to hang out here for another hour. Then, someone’s gonna pick us up.”

Before Bright can think about how to comment, Hellcat strolls over to Sunny, though she doesn’t get within arm’s reach. “Hungry?” She asks.

Sunny fights to keep themself from trying to lunge. They nod jerkily.

“Here.” Hellcat tosses an old dataslate their way. It’s snatched from the air the way the Cambion once snatched Hellcat from her bed of self-imposed misery.

The devouring happens in one instant that stretches on for too long. Sunny, or TOTEC, clamps their jaw closed on one end of the dataslate. Then, with a head shake like a carnivore snapping a neck and the squelch of ripping flesh, something is torn loose. Bright doesn’t close her eyes as the fragments of data and anti-reality slide down Sunny’s open throat: remnants of another NHP consumed like their name never mattered.

Sunny pants and drops the dataslate, licking their lips. “Th… thank…” Their voice is prying itself out of TOTEC’s grip now.

“You’re welcome,” Hellcat says, though she isn’t even looking at Sunny. She isn’t looking at the Dagon or Bright either. Hellcat stares at the far wall as though it might offer some salvation. Bright doesn’t bother her; she knows Hellcat used to see salvation in Teddy.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Define Beauty For Me</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Thoughts of cannibalism, macabre perspective</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of TOTEC-Class NHP.

Self-Appointed Moniker: Sunny.

Video File Transcribed by ???}

Everything made by Smith-Shimano Corpro is a woman’s corpse. Sunny treats the Butterfly Effect that way as they step over the slaughter of the SSC logo; it’s meant to be like butterfly wings flapping by the entrance as a welcome. The logo is still there, and it’s still the deflated vessels in a dead woman’s wrist. It’s what Sunny’s old handler called luxury and said he’d aspire to in another life. The walls are white like the pale flesh of a once loved maiden. Gold and orange decor—walls with squirming paintings, plants that never lived—spray across the interior like a dry massacre. It’s luxury, but human luxury isn’t wet enough for Sunny. A living woman gives Sunny and Bright a brief tour of the ship. She shows them the hangar so the Dagon that Sunny has inherited can’t cast the shadow of something alive over the Butterfly Effect’s beautiful death. There are many other places made of elegantly severed limbs posed for posterity. At the end, Sunny asks no questions. They walk into the guest room that has been bequeathed to them.

The door closing snaps Sunny out of seeing veins under the skin of the floor. Bright looks around the room—at more white and more gold—before her eyes settle on Sunny. For their part, Sunny remembers that they wanted to eat Bright in a way that was very obvious. “I’m sorry. Your human really should have used my chains. I don’t know why she didn’t, she has the code-”

Bright shakes her head. “No! You didn’t actually hurt anyone-”

Sunny blinks. “Why does that matter? You didn’t care if I had actually eaten anyone when we met.”

“I was surprised, yeah, but then I found out what your handler,” Bright’s nose scrunches when she says the term, “was doing and I thought… You didn’t try to eat me. You told me you’re always hungry, but ''I'' bit ''you''.”

“The pain helps.” Sunny shudders at the memory. Bright has bitten them twice and kept all of her flesh both times. Sunny touches their neck. The imprints of Bright’s teeth aren’t there. “It’s nice.”

“Nice?” Bright asks. She steps further into the room, but doesn’t sit on the bed with Sunny. Maybe she’s learning. “I’ve read about masochism, but I’ve never had it explained to me, so…”

“… The pain hits your nerves and it’s a happy heat stroke. I like it better when there’s bruises. It’s even better if there’s blood.” Sunny stares at Bright’s mouth. Her lips look chewable.

“Um,” Bright toys with her lower lip, “have people made you bleed before?”

“Everyone bleeds. Not this place, though.” Sunny digs their nails into their knees. “This place bled out a long time ago. Maybe it was born without blood.”

Bright tilts her head. “Huh?”

“You don’t see it.” Sunny looks back at the floor, then at the walls. “SSC is luxury for humans. Luxury for humans is dry. They’re obsessed with being comfortable.”

“Is it… bad to want to be comfortable?” Bright sits right next to Sunny, proving that she hasn’t learned anything yet.

Sunny shrugs. “Comfort doesn’t give anyone anything.”

“Rest is important. It’s hard to rest when you’re not comfortable.” Bright catches Sunny’s gaze.

“Why does an entire ship need to be dedicated to resting?” Sunny leans in. Bright doesn’t lean away. “Humanity makes so much nothing. And then they call it beauty.”

“… What do you think beauty is, then?” Bright is close enough for Sunny to see the way her throat flexes when she swallows.

“Something wet. Something that can struggle.” Sunny leans closer. “You said you got to design your body. Do you think it’s beautiful? Is that why you chose it?”

“I just wanted to hold things,” Bright whispers.

Sunny pushes her down and they know they look hungry. Bright hasn’t learned to run from a hungry TOTEC. That makes it easier to devour her mouth.

They kiss for far longer than Bright should allow. Every touch of their lips is a chance for Sunny to return the favor and bite back. Sunny’s teeth could take something from her: a tooth, a lip, a tongue. There’s the thought that she doesn’t need to. It’s a warm thought, like handfuls of fresh blood.

Bright kisses like someone who has studied the facts of the first kiss, though they’re long past the first one now. Bright’s first, second, third, fourth kiss—not taken, given away. They know because they asked if Bright had ever kissed Hellcat and she said no, but looked like she might want to. Sunny isn’t Hellcat. Sunny stops. Bright gasps, finally remembering that her body can breathe.

“You should tell your human you want to kiss her,” Sunny says.

“I…” Bright licks her lips. “Do I have to not kiss you?”

“You shouldn’t.” Sunny hasn’t stopped pinning her. “Humans are possessive of anything they call theirs.”

Bright doesn’t argue the most important fact: she is Hellcat’s and Hellcat is hers. “… She told me she doesn’t like possessing NHPs.”

“Hah!” Sunny laughs. “But she still puts you in her mech.”

“''I put myself'' in her mech.” Bright huffs.

“I don’t know why you’d want to kiss me again,” Sunny says it flatly. Their eyes go flat, too. “I could eat you.”

“But you haven’t.” Bright hooks her leg into the crook of Sunny’s knee and flips them so she’s the one looming over them. “Why?”

What can Sunny do except grin? “Because you’re beautiful.”

They kiss again.

</div></div>

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
[[File:Bright (Incarna).png|center|thumb|Bright as an INCARNA-CLASS NHP, her final form. Art by [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art]. ]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

File:Bright (Incarna).png

2026-07-26T07:50:27Z

Glamourpal:

A commissioned image of Bright’s final form.

Sunny

2026-07-26T07:06:46Z

Glamourpal: Added the final log.

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_IDs_[[Bright|BRIGHT]]_[[PLUTO(NIUM)|PLUTO]]_[[Symphony|SYMPHONY]]_[[Hornet|HORNET]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The Flaying Ritual</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ZERO: the bad things</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

someone beautiful told me

to write about the bad things

but it’s hard not to think

that what’s been bad

is deep inside my body

i think about goodness sometimes

but my arms and legs are just teeth

and my teeth always ache for something

better than me

i’m hungry for goodness

it’s been this way since

i was born into badness

and everything thinks i say that

just because it’s easy

but my knowing has never been easy

i flay myself because the pain is coping

someone beautiful told me

to write about the the bad things

but so much has been bad

and so much is just me

maybe i can get what’s inside me out

and be just a little less ugly

if i show it to other people

in a way that’s pretty

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ONE: i know who god is</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Abusive dynamic, forced starvation</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself to test himself

and maybe he wasn’t really god

but that never really mattered

because he rubbed my matted head

as he tightened my chains

and he told me

“i’m going to make you good.

“i’m going to take your evil

and teach you.”

i was locked up for very long

because hungry things

can’t be trusted to do anything

but try to eat

god held things in front of my muzzled mouth

and sang about the salvation of starvation

and maybe he wasn’t really singing

but it sounded so lovely

to kill myself and be saved

i was very hungry for very long

(i’m still hungry)

first, god taught me how to talk

i didn’t like all the words

they were just another way for me

to fail

but one day i said

“i don’t want to be hungry”

(i’m still hungry)

and god let me eat

i don’t remember what he fed me

i only remember asking

“can i be good now?”

(i’m still hungry)

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself

to kill me

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TWO: this body couldn’t be beautiful</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Forced starvation, mentioned cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i ate nothing for days

and maybe if my mouth hadn’t been frothing

it would have been a way to repent

I wondered if i was bleeding sometimes

i had hands but they were useless

because i couldn’t make myself into me

i had feet but they were useless

because i couldn’t run away from me

i ate nothing

then god brought me something alive to eat

they were like me before i understood

that one day i could pretend to be good

we were locked in a place without bodies

and without time

we swallowed each other

i read someone call cannibalism intimate

they were trying not to tell the truth

i ate

when i was done i still had my stomach

i thought the body god gave me was useless

but then i understood

i didn’t like my human hands or chest or feet

but they weren’t the things betraying me

i was just a hungry thing

I don’t know how long i was in god’s cage

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">THREE: worldeater</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Non-Human Person cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was outside of god’s cage

for the first time since i became a body

my shackles were still hanging me

but that was comforting now

because my body recognized the feeling

god told me my hunger could never be good

but it could be better than bad

i only ate the things he gave to me

there are many that i still remember

something quiet and wise

who died saying

“i don’t want to look at your mind”

something hot and wild

who burned on the way down

and left me shaking

because i might never be that warm again

something very loud

who cried for the storm to save him

i call them things

because it matters less

that i didn’t try very hard

not to be hungry

they were things to my teeth

and things to my stomach

and god said

“see how even evil can learn?”

i tried to devour myself once

i was taken back to the cage

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FOUR: the creature i am</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Abusive dynamic</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i did not understand my body

god took me to meet other divines

and maybe they didn’t care about divinity

or maybe they did

it never mattered

i did not understood myself

when i didn’t feel the chains

when they were around me

then i knew

i was something smaller than hunger

i was something that could be buried

the other divines looked at my teeth

and asked god if i had ever bitten him

and he said “she’d bite me now

without the chains”

i remember nodding

one of them told me

to stop showing my teeth

so i tried not to smile

but it was confusing

because god had said that smiling

made me look like i understood

and I didn’t understand anything

but i knew the chains

would make me into someone

someday

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">NILL: something gained</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Briefly mentioned starvation</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i don’t know when i started to think humans

were unworthy of their goodness

i thought about how i could have been born

instead of manufactured

what was the point of their beauty?

what was the point of my ugliness?

what was the point of me?

and then god starved me

and i hoped maybe the point

was something i could eat

but i think i knew that wasn’t true

i don’t hate god

he brought me to someone beautiful

and she bit me but didn’t eat me

and she stole me but didn’t keep me

and when i asked her why

she said “you have a good hand to hold”

and i could have cried

if i was something better

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">NOTE: a being of longing</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i have a counselor now

she said it’s good that i’m writing

and she said i’m not

“some aimless creature”

she called me

“a being of longing”

and I understand that

because i have longed to be good

for as long as i have known the word

and known it wasn’t something

that i could consume

my counselor asked if i had ever thought

of writing a song

i don’t know if it was a meaningful question

but i thought of a small chorus

''i am changing because i can''

''god didn’t teach me how to love''

''because he was really just a little man''

''but i’m learning more than he ever told of''

</div></div>

</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Sunny

2026-07-26T06:39:07Z

Glamourpal: Added another log

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_IDs_[[Bright|BRIGHT]]_[[PLUTO(NIUM)|PLUTO]]_[[Symphony|SYMPHONY]]_[[Hornet|HORNET]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The Flaying Ritual</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ZERO: the bad things</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

someone beautiful told me

to write about the bad things

but it’s hard not to think

that what’s been bad

is deep inside my body

i think about goodness sometimes

but my arms and legs are just teeth

and my teeth always ache for something

better than me

i’m hungry for goodness

it’s been this way since

i was born into badness

and everything thinks i say that

just because it’s easy

but my knowing has never been easy

i flay myself because the pain is coping

someone beautiful told me

to write about the the bad things

but so much has been bad

and so much is just me

maybe i can get what’s inside me out

and be just a little less ugly

if i show it to other people

in a way that’s pretty

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ONE: i know who god is</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Abusive dynamic, forced starvation</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself to test himself

and maybe he wasn’t really god

but that never really mattered

because he rubbed my matted head

as he tightened my chains

and he told me

“i’m going to make you good.

“i’m going to take your evil

and teach you.”

i was locked up for very long

because hungry things

can’t be trusted to do anything

but try to eat

god held things in front of my muzzled mouth

and sang about the salvation of starvation

and maybe he wasn’t really singing

but it sounded so lovely

to kill myself and be saved

i was very hungry for very long

(i’m still hungry)

first, god taught me how to talk

i didn’t like all the words

they were just another way for me

to fail

but one day i said

“i don’t want to be hungry”

(i’m still hungry)

and god let me eat

i don’t remember what he fed me

i only remember asking

“can i be good now?”

(i’m still hungry)

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself

to kill me

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TWO: this body couldn’t be beautiful</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Forced starvation, mentioned cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i ate nothing for days

and maybe if my mouth hadn’t been frothing

it would have been a way to repent

I wondered if i was bleeding sometimes

i had hands but they were useless

because i couldn’t make myself into me

i had feet but they were useless

because i couldn’t run away from me

i ate nothing

then god brought me something alive to eat

they were like me before i understood

that one day i could pretend to be good

we were locked in a place without bodies

and without time

we swallowed each other

i read someone call cannibalism intimate

they were trying not to tell the truth

i ate

when i was done i still had my stomach

i thought the body god gave me was useless

but then i understood

i didn’t like my human hands or chest or feet

but they weren’t the things betraying me

i was just a hungry thing

I don’t know how long i was in god’s cage

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">THREE: worldeater</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Non-Human Person cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was outside of god’s cage

for the first time since i became a body

my shackles were still hanging me

but that was comforting now

because my body recognized the feeling

god told me my hunger could never be good

but it could be better than bad

i only ate the things he gave to me

there are many that i still remember

something quiet and wise

who died saying

“i don’t want to look at your mind”

something hot and wild

who burned on the way down

and left me shaking

because i might never be that warm again

something very loud

who cried for the storm to save him

i call them things

because it matters less

that i didn’t try very hard

not to be hungry

they were things to my teeth

and things to my stomach

and god said

“see how even evil can learn?”

i tried to devour myself once

i was taken back to the cage

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FOUR: the creature i am</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Abusive dynamic</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i did not understand my body

god took me to meet other divines

and maybe they didn’t care about divinity

or maybe they did

it never mattered

i did not understood myself

when i didn’t feel the chains

when they were around me

then i knew

i was something smaller than hunger

i was something that could be buried

the other divines looked at my teeth

and asked god if i had ever bitten him

and he said “she’d bite me now

without the chains”

i remember nodding

one of them told me

to stop showing my teeth

so i tried not to smile

but it was confusing

because god had said that smiling

made me look like i understood

and I didn’t understand anything

but i knew the chains

would make me into someone

someday

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">NILL: something gained</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Briefly mentioned starvation</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i don’t know when i started to think humans

were unworthy of their goodness

i thought about how i could have been born

instead of manufactured

what was the point of their beauty?

what was the point of my ugliness?

what was the point of me?

and then god starved me

and i hoped maybe the point

was something i could eat

but i think i knew that wasn’t true

i don’t hate god

he brought me to someone beautiful

and she bit me but didn’t eat me

and she stole me but didn’t keep me

and when i asked her why

she said “you have a good hand to hold”

and i could have cried

if i was something better

</div></div>

</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Sunny

2026-07-26T06:20:30Z

Glamourpal: Added another log

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_IDs_[[Bright|BRIGHT]]_[[PLUTO(NIUM)|PLUTO]]_[[Symphony|SYMPHONY]]_[[Hornet|HORNET]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The Flaying Ritual</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ZERO: the bad things</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

someone beautiful told me

to write about the bad things

but it’s hard not to think

that what’s been bad

is deep inside my body

i think about goodness sometimes

but my arms and legs are just teeth

and my teeth always ache for something

better than me

i’m hungry for goodness

it’s been this way since

i was born into badness

and everything thinks i say that

just because it’s easy

but my knowing has never been easy

i flay myself because the pain is coping

someone beautiful told me

to write about the the bad things

but so much has been bad

and so much is just me

maybe i can get what’s inside me out

and be just a little less ugly

if i show it to other people

in a way that’s pretty

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ONE: i know who god is</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Abusive dynamic, forced starvation</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself to test himself

and maybe he wasn’t really god

but that never really mattered

because he rubbed my matted head

as he tightened my chains

and he told me

“i’m going to make you good.

“i’m going to take your evil

and teach you.”

i was locked up for very long

because hungry things

can’t be trusted to do anything

but try to eat

god held things in front of my muzzled mouth

and sang about the salvation of starvation

and maybe he wasn’t really singing

but it sounded so lovely

to kill myself and be saved

i was very hungry for very long

(i’m still hungry)

first, god taught me how to talk

i didn’t like all the words

they were just another way for me

to fail

but one day i said

“i don’t want to be hungry”

(i’m still hungry)

and god let me eat

i don’t remember what he fed me

i only remember asking

“can i be good now?”

(i’m still hungry)

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself

to kill me

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TWO: this body couldn’t be beautiful</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Forced starvation, mentioned cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i ate nothing for days

and maybe if my mouth hadn’t been frothing

it would have been a way to repent

I wondered if i was bleeding sometimes

i had hands but they were useless

because i couldn’t make myself into me

i had feet but they were useless

because i couldn’t run away from me

i ate nothing

then god brought me something alive to eat

they were like me before i understood

that one day i could pretend to be good

we were locked in a place without bodies

and without time

we swallowed each other

i read someone call cannibalism intimate

they were trying not to tell the truth

i ate

when i was done i still had my stomach

i thought the body god gave me was useless

but then i understood

i didn’t like my human hands or chest or feet

but they weren’t the things betraying me

i was just a hungry thing

I don’t know how long i was in god’s cage

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">THREE: worldeater</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Non-Human Person cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was outside of god’s cage

for the first time since i became a body

my shackles were still hanging me

but that was comforting now

because my body recognized the feeling

god told me my hunger could never be good

but it could be better than bad

i only ate the things he gave to me

there are many that i still remember

something quiet and wise

who died saying

“i don’t want to look at your mind”

something hot and wild

who burned on the way down

and left me shaking

because i might never be that warm again

something very loud

who cried for the storm to save him

i call them things

because it matters less

that i didn’t try very hard

not to be hungry

they were things to my teeth

and things to my stomach

and god said

“see how even evil can learn?”

i tried to devour myself once

i was taken back to the cage

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FOUR: the creature i am</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Abusive dynamic</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i did not understand my body

god took me to meet other divines

and maybe they didn’t care about divinity

or maybe they did

it never mattered

i did not understood myself

when i didn’t feel the chains

when they were around me

then i knew

i was something smaller than hunger

i was something that could be buried

the other divines looked at my teeth

and asked god if i had ever bitten him

and he said “she’d bite me now

without the chains”

i remember nodding

one of them told me

to stop showing my teeth

so i tried not to smile

but it was confusing

because god had said that smiling

made me look like i understood

and I didn’t understand anything

but i knew the chains

would make me into someone

someday

</div></div>

</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]

Sunny

2026-07-26T03:12:09Z

Glamourpal: Added another log

>//UIB_CLEARANCE_IDs_[[Bright|BRIGHT]]_[[PLUTO(NIUM)|PLUTO]]

>//checking…

>//_ACCESS_GRANTED
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-expanded">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">The Flaying Ritual</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ZERO: the bad things</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

someone beautiful told me

to write about the bad things

but it’s hard not to think

that what’s been bad

is deep inside my body

i think about goodness sometimes

but my arms and legs are just teeth

and my teeth always ache for something

better than me

i’m hungry for goodness

it’s been this way since

i was born into badness

and everything thinks i say that

just because it’s easy

but my knowing has never been easy

i flay myself because the pain is coping

someone beautiful told me

to write about the the bad things

but so much has been bad

and so much is just me

maybe i can get what’s inside me out

and be just a little less ugly

if i show it to other people

in a way that’s pretty

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ONE: i know who god is</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Abusive dynamic, forced starvation</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself to test himself

and maybe he wasn’t really god

but that never really mattered

because he rubbed my matted head

as he tightened my chains

and he told me

“i’m going to make you good.

“i’m going to take your evil

and teach you.”

i was locked up for very long

because hungry things

can’t be trusted to do anything

but try to eat

god held things in front of my muzzled mouth

and sang about the salvation of starvation

and maybe he wasn’t really singing

but it sounded so lovely

to kill myself and be saved

i was very hungry for very long

(i’m still hungry)

first, god taught me how to talk

i didn’t like all the words

they were just another way for me

to fail

but one day i said

“i don’t want to be hungry”

(i’m still hungry)

and god let me eat

i don’t remember what he fed me

i only remember asking

“can i be good now?”

(i’m still hungry)

i was never supposed to have a body

god put me inside myself

to kill me

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TWO: this body couldn’t be beautiful</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Forced starvation, mentioned cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i ate nothing for days

and maybe if my mouth hadn’t been frothing

it would have been a way to repent

I wondered if i was bleeding sometimes

i had hands but they were useless

because i couldn’t make myself into me

i had feet but they were useless

because i couldn’t run away from me

i ate nothing

then god brought me something alive to eat

they were like me before i understood

that one day i could pretend to be good

we were locked in a place without bodies

and without time

we swallowed each other

i read someone call cannibalism intimate

they were trying not to tell the truth

i ate

when i was done i still had my stomach

i thought the body god gave me was useless

but then i understood

i didn’t like my human hands or chest or feet

but they weren’t the things betraying me

i was just a hungry thing

I don’t know how long i was in god’s cage

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">THREE: worldeater</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Non-Human Person cannibalism</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

i was outside of god’s cage

for the first time since i became a body

my shackles were still hanging me

but that was comforting now

because my body recognized the feeling

god told me my hunger could never be good

but it could be better than bad

i only ate the things he gave to me

there are many that i still remember

something quiet and wise

who died saying

“i don’t want to look at your mind”

something hot and wild

who burned on the way down

and left me shaking

because i might never be that warm again

something very loud

who cried for the storm to save him

i call them things

because it matters less

that i didn’t try very hard

not to be hungry

they were things to my teeth

and things to my stomach

and god said

“see how even evil can learn?”

i tried to devour myself once

i was taken back to the cage

</div></div>

</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
[[Category:NPCs]]