riverviewlogs | Get In Losers, We're Doing Research

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Get In Losers, We're Doing Research

who: Openish - Floor Six Mingle Post
what: Ed and Chloe Initiate Phase II: Research and Explore
when: Sometime After New Arrivals Show Up (July 10th?)
where: Floor Six
warnings: Please hit up Ed's Permissions Post, as he's a CRAU and may recognize your character or talk about being in various other worlds.

The kitchen is laid out with whatever (reasonable) refreshments one can imagine available within the quarantine, snacks and beverages to accommodate varying tastes spread across the kitchen island and counter tops. Enough seating for 20 (10 from the kitchen, 10 from the entertainment area) had been arranged around Chloe's display, however she chose to set it up - since it had been put on her as the tech savvy one between them to do the presentation.

New arrivals, whether they cared for the research and exploration party or not would easily find themselves surrounded by books, notebooks and other papers with various notations - all regarding Riverview, the history of the quarantine, rumors surrounding it and comparisons to other worlds that similarly pull people through portals. These are out in the open and free to browse, should one be so inclined.

[Anyone with relation to floor six is welcome to attend - resident, friend of resident, etc. If you're unsure whether or not your character would get an invitation please contact the player you have CR with. Should your character be the type to show up uninvited, feel free to crash. Pretty much anyone Ed has CR with would be notified, and he'll be making a public post on the network before this event actually takes place IC. However if you have any questions don't hesitate to hit me up:

TransmutedSelf]

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Self-preservation wasn't on Shiro's priority for it. As whole, no one had really gone after him because of it being there. As far as he knew, there was no way to remove it. If getting hit by Sendak's own prosthetic hand didn't knock it off, probably nothing would. Only around certain Galra and Galra druids did he have to worry about being targeted because of it. The arm itself was not a target for most though it might be if he showed it more.

Shiro was quiet a moment at the question. He had volunteered that, but it still took a second to form the answer. "They took it the way you'd expect someone to take someone else's hand." Yes, essentially cut it off.

"I was captured by the Galra, the race we are fighting in our world. I was forced to fight in their arena for sport. One of the Galra... druids is what they called themselves, decided I was her pet project so to make me stronger, they took my arm and gave me this one instead."

Answered how and answered why.

Removing automail was just part of the maintenance sometimes, it wasn't hard to remove - reattaching it was what was hard. It should only be done when one can safely relax after to recover from the shock the body goes through at having it reconnect to the nerves. Ed hadn't had that luxury back when he was 12, running on nothing but adrenaline and the sheer fear of dying if he didn't do something fast. It wasn't often threatened, not everyone knew that removing it left him helpless, but otherwise nothing else did. The serial killer had an in at the military, and Ed's reputation had been enough for gossip to make it to his ears. He'd used that to his advantage, but even without his automail, Ed had been underestimated.

Ed kind of stared at that, he couldn't really imagine expecting someone to take a body part like that. Just for the sake of it. Ed's own limbs had essentially disappeared without feeling anything until it was over - but the best way to describe what happened was more that they had been pulled off.

"That's messed up." It reminded him of the chimeras in the military, not exactly the same thing but altering a person's body to make them suit your own purpose - against their will, at that. It made him angry to think about, and his expression probably revealed the feelings boiling inside of him. "Sounds like you got out of there, though... Right?" Ed knew the portal could have pulled him from anywhere, he could have been in the middle of all that when he arrived here. He couldn't imagine all this talk about Keith, his mechanic, the lions etc. were all part of that slave arena, though.

Well, it was a little more expected of a method than some other worldly force just taking limbs. Having them cut off was something that could happen so easily. He didn't remember the exact specifics of how it had been taken from him but he knew that it hadn't exactly been his choice to no longer have it.

"It is, but that's how they operated. Once she decided I was her pet project, things only got worse than what it had been before." He did have that white shock of hair caused by stress and the scar across his face.

He could see that Ed was getting annoyed from having heard about that. Similar to Keith, who would have done anything to avenge Shiro.

"Yes, I did get out of there. A Galra who sympathized with the opposition to the Emperor helped me escape. That's how I got back to Earth, no matter how briefly. I wasn't even there 24 hours before we found the blue lion and she took us to the Castle of Lions."

Aside from Ed, most people with automail were war veterans or soldiers. Automail was a weapon before it was a prosthetic, people weren't going around cutting off limbs in his world as a means of improving their slave stock for battle. That sort of disgusting behavior was reserved for combining the injured and sick soldiers with animals to make them super human - or sealing a soul into a suit of armor, to guard an "abandoned" laboratory.

He hummed thoughtfully at that, normally Ed wasn't one to pry but- Shiro had brought it up a few times now. "What are these lions you keep mentioning? I get the feeling it's not just an animal."

It was disgusting. Shiro had seen it way too much in the Galra arena. He had been a part of it and it was only recently that he had managed to escape from them with the help of Ulaz. He had saved a group of other Galra slaves from losing their lives, but it had ruined his own life since it had made the Galra interested in him.

But then Ed asked another question, which kept him from focusing on the negative. He had that problem. He tended to think about that too much when it was brought up. It was hard not to spend too much of his time on it.

“You’re right; the lions are not animals. They are robotic lions. Like a lion made in design to as your arm.” In case Ed didn’t understand what “robot” meant. “They're are at least semi-sentient and can communicate with us. They don’t speak specifically, but we just get a feeling and we can understand it.”

Edited 2017-07-24 01:29 (UTC)

"Sentient robots...?"

Okay, that was a little bizarre, but if someone had compared them to an android or puppet Ed would probably understand it better. Most people wouldn't make the connection of a puppet having sentience, but he had some weird friends back in Purg. Living dolls were hardly the strangest.

"Sounds like they're kind of in your head."

Sounds dangerous to him, but if Shiro works with these things, he imagines they must trust them.

Shiro definitely wouldn't have used "puppets" for the lions. Puppet had a different meaning and they were too smart to be given that description.

"It's a bond we have with our lions. It helps us work better with them. The lions trust us and we trust them to help us as well. I could tell the difference after we found out who Black's original paladin was and the fact that he was somehow still alive after ten-thousand years."

So yes, the bond could potentially be dangerous considering how attached the lions became.

Lime and Hina would totally take offense to that thought process, but neither were here so that culture shock can be saved for another day.

"Ten thousand years...?" Different worlds, different species - whatever, it was still a shock to hear. "So, what happens when one of your lions has two- paladins?"

Shiro had also never met an intelligent puppet. If he'd met one, his opinion might change.

"Yeah, we're not sure how he's been alive so long. Even Allura was surprised to hear he's alive."

Shiro sighed, glancing down at his arm for a moment before looking back at Ed.

"Black's original paladin is actually our enemy, Emperor Zarkon. The connection wasn't realized until Keith and the red lion tried to fight him and Black and I had to pull them out. After that, Zarkon started trying to reach out to Black using their bond... and Black responded which let Zarkon and his forces follow us across the universe and exhaust the Castle's resources using teleportation jumps to try and get away.

Not long ago, I stayed behind to try and strength my bond with Black while Coran took the younger paladins to look for resources. Black showed me its creation right as Zarkon tried to reach out to it again. I had to fight him in some mental realm that Black had created by showing me this. During this fight though Black realized Zarkon no longer lived up to the ideals it was created to have and broke up the fight and broke its bond with him."

Lime was a good friend, Hina was a challenge - and she was a doll so being called a puppet might have offended her. Still, sapient creatures that were only known as inanimate objects in other worlds was a thing, he had learned.

"So, he's not supposed to be?" As in... That wasn't explained by a different species having a different life expectancy? He'd gotten used to all kinds by now.

Ed listened as Shiro continued explaining, nodding a bit at his words. He took a moment to absorb that statement before speaking again. "So, they have their own moral compass, and this guy went against that. Good thing they can choose who they bond with, I guess." That could have been awful if Black was obligated to go back to Zarkon after everything.

"As far as I know. Allura and Coran were both surprised he was alive so it seems that Galra aren't meant to live for ten thousand years. He does have an army of magic users they call druids, the leader being a woman, so they may be part of the reason that he's still alive. The leader definitely looks like she's seen more years than she was supposed to."

Shiro nodded in response. "Yeah it seems that way. It's possible Black was confused when Zarkon first started reaching out. They had been bonded previously. The fight between us though, the things Zarkon said, Black definitely decided to against Zarkon and saved my life. After that, we didn't have the problem of Zarkon trailing us so I'd assume that they have enough judgement of their own to figure who they want to be supporting."

Also a good thing since Black was the torso of Voltron. Without Black, there was no forming Voltron. And who knew how much influence Black would have to make the others break the bonds with their current paladins.

"I take it they're more familiar with him or his kind, then?" Galra definitely wasn't a word Ed was familiar with. The idea of anyone living longer than they were supposed to didn't settle well with him, not after what he learned about his own father. He scowled some at those words, but didn't speak on it. Instead focusing on the rest of what Shiro was saying.

"Saved your life...? Lucky that it turned out that way, I guess." Imagine if it hadn't, if Black sided with Zarkon would Shiro even be here now? "Are they here with you?" Ed had no frame of reference for the lions, but he knew his Milotic had somehow shown up despite him not being with it when he was pulled through the portal.

"They were. Based on what Black showed me during this vision, it appears that Alteans and Galra used to work together. King Alfor, Allura's father, and our enemy Zarkon seemed to be part of the same team at the time Black came to be. So I will trust Coran and Allura's word about the age of Galra. Granted I think Alteans also have extended lives as well."

"Yeah it was lucky that it did."

The next question got a confused look until he remembered Ed had no frame of reference for the lions.

"No they are not. You would know if the lions were here. Just to give you a comparison, I'm still shorter than the claws on Black's feet. They are... insanely massive and Black is the largest."

Edited 2017-08-08 19:09 (UTC)

"I wonder what happened, then... That they're not anymore." That was troubling, but at least it was troubling in an abstract sense. Ed worried for Shiro and his world back home, but it didn't have anything to do with him or the Quarantine so that put him somewhat at ease. For now.

"The claws...? That's insane!" Just like Shiro said, insanely massive. At least Ed knew what a lion was to compare the size to what he was used to. "That thing could be its own vehicle."

"I want to know too. I mean, Haggar seems to be a strong magic user and they are apparently harvesting quintessence, which is basically the life force of the universe, but no idea if that's connected to their life span."

Shiro nodded. "It is. Also they are vehicles. The cockpit is in the head and we fly them."

...Surprise.

That is a lot to absorb at once so Ed just stared for a moment. "The life force of the universe, how is that even possible?"

Okay, but you fly lions. Have a skeptical look at that, it's not disbelief so much as why lions of all things would you model a flying vehicle after. "You fly lions? Do they have wings or something?"

"I don't know how it is possible, but they seemed to be collecting it from somewhere and using it on their ships... or for something."

He can tell that Ed is still not sure about the lions and the question definitely tells him that. "Well, Black technically does, but the wings aren't needed for flights. They have a form of propulsion system that allows them to try through space and travel through the atmosphere. On land, they run as if they are animals."

That just makes it sound more disturbing Shiro, but okay. Nothing Ed can do about it so he focuses on the other subject for the moment.

"That makes sense." It made a lot more sense than the idea that they were sentient, at least - but that brought about another question. "What are the wings for then?"

It was disturbing. Shiro didn't like that they were using the quintessence the way that they seemed to be using it.

"When we form Voltron, the wings detached from the back and connect to each other and form the shield. So basically, the Black Lion is carrying Voltron's shield on it back. I don't know if they do anything else though. I haven't been able to unlock all of my lion's abilities because I don't have my bayard."

A shield. Okay, he could understand that logic at least. "That makes sense." None of this makes sense, Ed, don't lie. He doesn't get the whole forming Voltron thing, but he's not going to ask. At least not right away, this was already enough to absorb all at once.

"What's the bayard have to do with it?"

Shiro has the distinct feeling that this doesn't make sense. Five lions combining to form a person was a concept that was both simple and complicated at the same time. The idea was not hard to grasp. How was the hard part. He'd have to work up a diagram or something to help people understand it.

"The bayard is the traditional weapon of the paladin. It takes the shape of the weapon best suited for the paladin possessing it. Keith's is a double-edged sword, Lance's is a rifle, Hunk's is similar to hand-held cannon, and Pidge's can be used a grappling hook and is also potentially electrified. Because we don't have mine, we don't know what it will do. Our enemy has it.

The bayard is also used in the lions. There's a spot where the paladins can insert it and it creates other weapons for Voltron. Keith's bayard gives Voltron a sword."

Ed has no idea Voltron is a person so he's just going to stay in his ignorant bubble and not harm himself mentally any further. At least, that's the plan.

He just nodded as Shiro explained about all of the weapons. The idea of giving Voltron a sword would be puzzling if he put thought into it, but he's just not. He's more focused on the reason Shiro began explaining all of this, anyway.

"So, because you don't have your bayard, you can't ... insert it in your lion and see the full potential." He's following. Mostly. "That means you also don't know what weapon it even is, right? If Keith's is a sword and everyone else's are personalized to them."

"That's exactly right. I don't know what my bayard will do for my lion. I also don't know what I can turn my bayard into. Based on what Allura said, the bayard takes the shape of what the paladin will best be able to use. Apparently though, we might be able to change it into multiple weapons with enough practice."

If Zarkon's fight with Keith was anything to go on.

He considered that for a moment before nodding.

"I take it no one's been able to pull that off, yet."

"Not that I am aware of. If one of the paladins has, I haven't seen it and no one has told me."

Which he would be surprised if someone had pulled it off and managed to keep it a secret from him.

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