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farlahttp://archiveofourown.org/works/132497
Figurehead
everytime
...isn't a word, it's every time.
Anyway, I think I follow now - she had made the decision and would go back in time and herself killed, but she's interrupted by her future self so she doesn't. She doesn't know what to do next, just that she was told not to do something at the time, so she's stuck in a holding pattern and obsessing over when she has to use the pocketwatches to complete the loop, and why there's a loop, and if there actually is a stable loop or if she's deluding herself.
She looks down at the Black King. He should be accepting their surrender, not her. But he's dead, and she's the only royalty left.
I'm curious how much of this is survivor's guilt and how much is actual game design. As winning the game involves killing the King, it seems the Queen might be the first boss and normally killed before they reach the King, so there's never supposed to be a situation where she's alive and he isn't. On the other hand, that's entirely a player issue, so I don't know if it'd apply to their own war.
"I already am. I'm on top of everything." Jack looks at her, just looks at her, and finally says, "An hour ago, I got reports from the Land of Shadows and Shrines that you were dead. I don't want to have to change your status again."
Also what her relationship with Jack was before - well, all this. They seem to get along...civilly? unmurderously? better than in the kid's timeline? But I can't tell if it's just their relationship fluctuates based on how recently she's told him to wear his hat or if they've been doing better than in the session she gets killed or what.
The orbs on her ring are dark and her prototyping is gone.
Why'd this happen? Because the game has ended? Is it like, X hours after the door is made, the orbs stop working, or such?
The Royal Physician knows what's wrong with her. He's seen the same thing in the ranks of regular soldiers. They don't have a name for it, or a treatment, or anything tangible and useful.
This seems particularly sad - they're designed to know how to fight the war, and made real enough to get PTSD afterward from it, but no one bothered to tell them what it was, because that part wasn't considered important.
At least the shelves are an interesting cross-section of Jack's interests, from jazz music to weapons of war, to (oddly enough) terriers.
So is this version of Jack less embarrassed about that, or just he doesn't expect anyone to get near his books so he didn't bother hiding them?
It's the sort of thing the Royal Physician would understand. But he's dead, so she doesn't have anyone to tell it to.
Hm. That sort of raises the question of which pieces are replaceable. Presumably the monarchs completely aren't, which makes sense. But what about semi-unique pieces like him? Do they only get one with his particular set of skills, did she not appoint/make a replacement, does the Veil take a while to make each new carapace and there'll be another one eventually? And pieces like the archagent and crestenvoy, are they replaceable or more similar to the monarchs?
Anyway. I'm really glad there's a happy ending to this! The first time I read I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. When I got to the bomb I started rushing through because I was sure something terrible would end up happening, that it was going to turn out Jack was behind it, or Jack was going to die, or something else awful, not because it makes particularly much sense but because they just don't seem to ever get happy endings, and had to go back and reread properly after finding out things were okay.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/136432
Not in Blood, but in Bond
He remembered screaming until his voice was hoarse – or hoarser than it usually was. Swearing at the top of his lungs that you stupid curlyhorned bitch, you fucker, if you don’t follow us I’ll come back and kill you, just you try me don’t you dare be a selfsacrificing bulgechewer, you can’t play the hero you shitgobbling whore.
I like Karkat's internal voice in this, it's so very him. And how you describe Prospit and Jack, the sense of loss and how much he cares.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/136614
sun's angle
Eventually, you pen one in. It means “beloved.”
(You'd never tell him.)
David fucking Strider. Kid's going to be amazing if you've got any say in it.
Lovely writing, and a great interpretation of Bro's character.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/136776?view_full_work=true
Grublings
Eridan, look! You're watching my finger and I'm swimming!
This is adorable. The grubs spinning cocoons and the trolls having no real idea what's going on was interesting - the kids might not know much about human babies, but at least they've seen them.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/136935
Shades and Feathers
Depressing and well-written. It's nice to think of Dave getting a chance to say goodbye and have some degree of closure. And it's got to be particularly awful to have access to time travel and be able to go back and change things, kill Noir before he gets his power, but know you can't because that isn't how things turn out and it won't work.
Figurehead
everytime
...isn't a word, it's every time.
Anyway, I think I follow now - she had made the decision and would go back in time and herself killed, but she's interrupted by her future self so she doesn't. She doesn't know what to do next, just that she was told not to do something at the time, so she's stuck in a holding pattern and obsessing over when she has to use the pocketwatches to complete the loop, and why there's a loop, and if there actually is a stable loop or if she's deluding herself.
She looks down at the Black King. He should be accepting their surrender, not her. But he's dead, and she's the only royalty left.
I'm curious how much of this is survivor's guilt and how much is actual game design. As winning the game involves killing the King, it seems the Queen might be the first boss and normally killed before they reach the King, so there's never supposed to be a situation where she's alive and he isn't. On the other hand, that's entirely a player issue, so I don't know if it'd apply to their own war.
"I already am. I'm on top of everything." Jack looks at her, just looks at her, and finally says, "An hour ago, I got reports from the Land of Shadows and Shrines that you were dead. I don't want to have to change your status again."
Also what her relationship with Jack was before - well, all this. They seem to get along...civilly? unmurderously? better than in the kid's timeline? But I can't tell if it's just their relationship fluctuates based on how recently she's told him to wear his hat or if they've been doing better than in the session she gets killed or what.
The orbs on her ring are dark and her prototyping is gone.
Why'd this happen? Because the game has ended? Is it like, X hours after the door is made, the orbs stop working, or such?
The Royal Physician knows what's wrong with her. He's seen the same thing in the ranks of regular soldiers. They don't have a name for it, or a treatment, or anything tangible and useful.
This seems particularly sad - they're designed to know how to fight the war, and made real enough to get PTSD afterward from it, but no one bothered to tell them what it was, because that part wasn't considered important.
At least the shelves are an interesting cross-section of Jack's interests, from jazz music to weapons of war, to (oddly enough) terriers.
So is this version of Jack less embarrassed about that, or just he doesn't expect anyone to get near his books so he didn't bother hiding them?
It's the sort of thing the Royal Physician would understand. But he's dead, so she doesn't have anyone to tell it to.
Hm. That sort of raises the question of which pieces are replaceable. Presumably the monarchs completely aren't, which makes sense. But what about semi-unique pieces like him? Do they only get one with his particular set of skills, did she not appoint/make a replacement, does the Veil take a while to make each new carapace and there'll be another one eventually? And pieces like the archagent and crestenvoy, are they replaceable or more similar to the monarchs?
Anyway. I'm really glad there's a happy ending to this! The first time I read I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. When I got to the bomb I started rushing through because I was sure something terrible would end up happening, that it was going to turn out Jack was behind it, or Jack was going to die, or something else awful, not because it makes particularly much sense but because they just don't seem to ever get happy endings, and had to go back and reread properly after finding out things were okay.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/136432
Not in Blood, but in Bond
He remembered screaming until his voice was hoarse – or hoarser than it usually was. Swearing at the top of his lungs that you stupid curlyhorned bitch, you fucker, if you don’t follow us I’ll come back and kill you, just you try me don’t you dare be a selfsacrificing bulgechewer, you can’t play the hero you shitgobbling whore.
I like Karkat's internal voice in this, it's so very him. And how you describe Prospit and Jack, the sense of loss and how much he cares.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/136614
sun's angle
Eventually, you pen one in. It means “beloved.”
(You'd never tell him.)
David fucking Strider. Kid's going to be amazing if you've got any say in it.
Lovely writing, and a great interpretation of Bro's character.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/136776?view_full_work=true
Grublings
Eridan, look! You're watching my finger and I'm swimming!
This is adorable. The grubs spinning cocoons and the trolls having no real idea what's going on was interesting - the kids might not know much about human babies, but at least they've seen them.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/136935
Shades and Feathers
Depressing and well-written. It's nice to think of Dave getting a chance to say goodbye and have some degree of closure. And it's got to be particularly awful to have access to time travel and be able to go back and change things, kill Noir before he gets his power, but know you can't because that isn't how things turn out and it won't work.
