[ChicletPrime]

Chapter One

• okay, dream time? some sort of birth or rebirth - dark, warm, something dissolving. boundless weightlessness. sunlight filters through blurred vision as consciousness stirs.
  

re-punching my current theory ticket that that the girlfriend is the heart of a star come to life.

• oh. i am amnesia girl again for a hot moment? i dunno where i am, but the place is familiar. nor do i know how i got here, when clearly this is my room in Skyhaven that I stole from Caleb because that's what little sisters do - take their older brother's stuff without asking.
  
• speak of the lovely devil. hello Colonel Xia.
  
• oh, i have a fever do i. is it that kind of fever you need to 'medicate' me for, Caleb? 
  
• oh wow, i really do have a problem. Caleb's called in to the Association for me to take some sick days and i have no idea what he's talking about. "Sunlight streams over the window sill yet the familiar face before me appears as if he's submerged in dark water."  well, technically that's Rafayel, but maybe the veil between parallel worlds is thin right at this moment.
  
• "It's okay. It's okay if you forget."
  

holy shit, i am one minute into this and what the hell is going on. do i... do i forget him often enough that he knows to reassure me about it?!   /dives back in

• jesus h mctaggart on a pogo stick. this is something i do. unless "lucid dream" means i'm hallucinating all of this. but there's no mist indicated flashback or memory, so...
  
• the gentle look on Caleb's face! 
  
• .... between his suspected chip and my apparent whiteouts, its a wonder either of us are functional in any sense of the word
  
• he gently grasps my hand with something close to reverence.  Caleb. oh my Caleb. is this where you get to fulfill all your dreams of taking care of me while i stare at you in desperation, knowing nothing? 
  
• "I'm Caleb. I'll always be...."
  
• and now my brain decides to download Train_Whistle_Symphony.mp3 and i can't hear a thing.
  
• "There's a thread-like, crimson wound on the inside of my arm."  oh no, please don't tell me he's loading us up with the good medication. what am i even saying. this is Caleb. of course he would.
  
• i know i've forgotten something important. no idea what.
  
• okay, now we're 10 days in the past and looks like we're getting off the train into Skyhaven. commentary referencing the shenanigans of Homecoming Wings that was apparently two months ago, and that Caleb and I are learning a new way to get along. "... I still can't help but wonder what secrets lie hidden behind that unfamiliar Colonel's uniform."
  
• a new appendectomy scar? his lucky yu-gi-oh card deck? a mickey of cheap gin in a flask!?
  
• hi, Caleb! come to pick me up, after i surprise-arrove at the station. 
  
• maybe he knew i was coming somehow. maybe he was just speedy on the highway after I texted him out of the blue.  i obviously knew to just stand around and wait for him though, because that's what i do. show up and have complete faith in Caleb to drop everything for me, and once again, my faith is rewarded.
  
• apparently i have a hotel? wow, things have changed for sure. more info - "half a month ago" (what, they can't say two weeks?) the Association gave me a special assignment as the Fleet needed a Hunter to help detect Metaflux on some secret mission they had going on. i took it "for work and to be closer to Caleb".  of course i did. i always want to be closer to Caleb, even when we're half strangers to each other now. 
  
• this is awkwardly worded (again). i think what the game is trying to tell me is that i took this special assignment two weeks ago, this is me arriving out of the blue at the station when Caleb didn't know I was coming and he's quizzing me on why i just suddenly decided to turn up on his doorstep on my day off and I've decided that I'm not going to tell him that I'm actually here for work, because why would i tell him a trivial detail like that? 
  
• "Yeah, I took the day off to see you. You should be teary-eyed since that's the next step in the protocol."
  
• oh girlfriend. this is so going to backfire. he probably has you under 24/7 surveillance from an orbital satellite and knows what you had for breakfast that morning. he probably signed your work permit.
  
• ... hang on, didn't he do exactly that in an Anecdote? or in the main story somewhere? we applied .. nooo, that was Zayne! we tried to apply to be the Hunter escort on something to do with his research team, being all smug about surprising him, and then he just stared at us with those calm, placid eyes and said not only did he know we were assigned to the trip, he was the one to authorize it.   okay, back to THIS story and another parallel congruency moment.
  
• the fact that Caleb has his own personal plane that he just uses like its a motorcycle to get places is something i don't think we talk enough about.
  
• 10 minutes later we're at his place. He half confesses that he knew we were coming because somebody told him and we pout for less than 20 seconds before we start grilling him about the 'secret mission' the Fleet needs a Hunter for.
  

• "We can focus on the work stuff later. Cancel your hotel reservation first."
  
• Caleb, never change, you bossy bossy thing. 
  
• and of course we'll probably do it because he spreads his arms wide so we step up to him to wrap our arms around his neck because of course we want to be closer, and.... "Welcome home." 
  
• "As sunset's light filters in through the windows, our shadows lean closer together on the floor and meld into one."
  
• d'awwww
  
• if we die, he'll crawl into the coffin with us and my dead corpse will be thrilled.
  

[ChicletPrime]

Chapter Two

i apologize ahead of time. This is another Caleb-centric story and I am probably going to quote every second sentence because i find it amazing and want to cross-stitch it. if you are looking for brevity in a playwatchthrough, you will not find it here. This is not a place of honour.

• worky worky time in the morning. Caleb's at least added some stuff to his apartment but honestly, this boy needs a fashion intervention in all aspects of his life. then again, his work/work balance doesn't leave a lot of time for a life to happen.
  
• yes, Caleb, we're still slightly bothered by the fact that you found out we were assigned to this mission before we had a chance to surprise you with it. can you please stop being two steps ahead constantly? i know your legs are long, but i can break one for you, it's really no problem. 
  
• aaaand before i can get to my untied shoelace, the Colonel's on one knee to deal with it. 
  
• as a real person, this would be so offputting. as a fictional character, i am happy to just stick out my Cinderella-combatboot and continue to grill the top of his hair.
  
• "I pick up the cap from the nearby coat rack, run my thumb over the silver insignia, and then place it on Caleb's head." 
  
• lick the insignia. get your cosmic DNA all over it so any computer scan knows who he belongs to. 
  
• ... i may not be well adjusted either. 
  
• "Your entire demeanor changes when you're wearing a uniform."  "Is it too intimidating? Or is the color too heavy for you?"
  
• oh, nice. universal key to everything Caleb owns apparently. i wonder if that will come in handy in about two chapters.
  
• since we chose to come in by civilian train and didn't book a seat on the Fleet shuttle, i gotta ride shotgun with Caleb this week.  oh noes. that means i'm in charge of calling out any horses we see by shouting "cows!" as we go by (and vice versa) and finding the good radio station.
  
• The Fleet command centre is on the 17th floor. yeah, these skyscrapers are pretty tall for a floating island. Caleb's adjutant is named Liam who takes me through the entry procedure. i may have to revise my fanfiction.
  
• i am not even in my seat and already somebody is doubting my credentials as a Hunter.  amigo, would you like me to stuff those chest medals up your throat through your evacuation canal? 
  
•  "So the command centre allows anyone to just waltz right in now huh? Caleb sure has a knack for being an eyesore."
  
• that has to be a really crappy literal translation or something, that is a really weak sentence. military address is last name only in the west, is it not the same in the east? everyone just wanders around calling out first names? then again, in this english dub, Caleb doesn't have a last name so maybe they were just stuck and didn't want to call him by title.
  
• so this rude guy is "Colonel Heath". i guess above Caleb in seniority? "...the Tuum Fleet's Colonel." curious is that is a ship name or a particular division of the Fleet or...
  
• oooh, political factioning upcoming?  /grabs notebook.  
  
• oh, Caleb's in charge of this conference? how did i not guess. :P 
  
• "...there will be personnel changes within the Fleet next week. I will assume command over the Tuum Fleet. Colonel Heath will be relieved of his duties so he can rest and recuperate at Atley Island."
  
• notes:  is "Atley Island" the place that the nurses on the Fleet ship were alluding to while I was in lockdown in the medical bay? what does Heath need to recuperate from? he's obviously walking around and attending conferences without issue.
  
• "The Wanderers and Metaflux index in the Deepspace Tunnel are on a whole different scale to what Skyhaven and Linkon display."  something something collab with the Association to supervise physical evaluations of the Tuum Fleet officers.  wouldn't.. wouldn't Zayne be a better choice here? what would i be able to evaluate them for, other than if my heart thinks they're tasty? 
  
• oh god, i can just imagine it. we slap a hand on some lowly sub-lieutenant, our Evol goes nuts with sympatico vibes  as the exam room lights up in rainbows and Caleb shoots him in the head before anybody can start to develop loving feelings. sorry, sixth LI! maybe on your next reincarnation. 
  
• so we get through the day and presumably the fleet transfer of command, then on the tarmac Caleb is waylaid before he can get to me by Heath, who wants to know why he's not interested in the banquet. 
  
• (because he wants to get home and nibble my ears. honestly, do i have to lick more of his insignia for the scanners?)
  
• "Well, I'd like to give you some advice, young man."
  
• oh this should be good.
  
• "I know how you got this position. You're just Lucius' pawn, planted here to infiltrate the Fleet." and then how pawns are easily replaced. "A year ago I was standing in your shoes."
  
• not wrong! so yeah, confirmation at least the The Prof is playing an outside game from the Fleet command perspective. Although if he's "in" enough to install Caleb at the highest levels and arrange for him to command what sounds like a fair chunk of the Fleet/Fleetships...? 
  
• "In other words, you've been abandoned, Colonel Heath." 
  
• ooooh. thems fighting words. 
  
• Heath is a fool and says he's might be a pawn in (the Prof's) game but not in others. and that Caleb would do well to consider giving himself a way out.
  
• he's with me. we're going together or not at all. and i might be shorter than some but have you seen my guns? Onychinus made them special for me.
  
• "Once you're off the ground, the only path is forward."  also... very true. "Atley Island's been experiencing a lot of storms lately. Even the sturdiest aircraft could be torn apart - worry about yourself first."   yeah. Caleb's threat displays are pretty decent, all things considered. and when the guy goes for him, he just stops him in his tracks.
  
• ....then he sees me and strides over, genuine joy in his eyes. 
  
• this boy, i swear. the switch inside him better be titanium with how often he flips it.
  
• it's midnight, we're home and i'm just now really realizing that Caleb has his own struggles with the Fleet.
  
• and the boy's wearing jewelry! a stone bead bracelet and a thick ring on his right index finger. nice!
  
• ah, okay. so Caleb is not only taking over "Tuum" Fleet, he's also keeping his own so its more of a hostile takeover than a merger. and that whoever is supporting Heath is the real problem to watch out for. aaaand then i ask who's supporting him in this current bid for more Fleet control. 
  
• (you have the name girlfriend, c'mon, you heard Heath say it)
  
• and Caleb blinks his baby purples and says "Isn't that you?"
  
• imma gonna die
  
• I touch his hand. and say no matter what, i've got his back. 
  
• as you should, girlfriend, as you should.
  
• okay i think i know what i'm supposed to be doing as a Hunter .. since my evol is "anhausen" or resonance, i need to check the Tuum fleet personnel for Metaflux... call it poisoning i guess. if Deepspace is that many orders of magnitude stronger than Skyhaven or Linkon' disturbances and I already know that people can turn into Wanderers, i guess i need to check them to make sure nobody is on the flashpoint for when they head back to the Tunnel.
  
• I"ll protect you, you dumb, helpless colonel from getting fired!"  me and my kaleidomoonscope diagnosis rod will save the day!
  

[Coldsaturn]

Lucid Dreeeeeeam!!!
So, fun story: up to this point I really liked the concept of gege Caleb and I liked Homecoming Wings, but majority of his cards and audios were insufferable to me because of the constant "Remember this remember that remember when" he got going on every 2 seconds. It drove me absolutely insane and forced me more toward fan content than canon material.
Then Lucid Dream happened. I swear it was like reading a fanfiction on crack, I still giggle and kick my feet whenever I rewatch it. Not even the english localization managed to completely save them on this one.

- lick the insignia. get your cosmic DNA all over it so any computer scan knows who he belongs to.
This was so unhinged and out of the blue that I burst out laughing. Let your intrusive thoughts win, MC.

- and Caleb blinks his baby purples and says "Isn't that you?"
The rizz on this guy. The puppy eyes!

[ChicletPrime]

as mentioned, this is not a place of honor. i dunno what chapter three has in store for us, but hopefully i won't embarrass myself.

Chapter Three

• So the command transfer is complete but problems are expected. i am .. interviewing? .. a Vice Captain of Tuum who has a number designation. He backtalks me which would never happen in a military organization of any repute. i might be a civilian contractor but this kind of disrespect would be indicative of a much larger failure. he's also apparently strapped into the interrogation chair which makes the grandstanding even weirder.
  
• ah, so this guy 'opted out' of the required medical exam. 
  
• why am i the interrogator, exactly? i know, i know, i am reading too much into it. don't question, just accept.
  
• wow, okay. so he's not interested in being turned into a monster. so, is it, like, everybody in the Fleet in on this clandestine medical experimentation and absolutely nobody is spilling it to the newspapers in Linkon or Skyhaven? 
  
• "Monster... are you talking about the Toring Chip?"  "That chip is just the beginning of their twisted modifications!"
  
• Girlfriend seems kind of out of touch here. She did scout the lockdown areas where the experiments were being eliminated and she knew they were being eliminated/cleaned up/disposed of AND that Caleb was in charge of that very gruesome duty. why is she being kind of obtuse here? 
  
• yeah, Tuum Officer No. 3997 is adamant he's having nothing to do with either chip or modifications. It sounds like we've already done the examinations on everybody else and now we're rounding up the dodgers?
  
• "The Fleet's real big shot will return soon. Let's see how long your monster colonel can keep this up." 
  
• i have faith in him. as long as he needs to, is my answer out loud, but yeah, i'm worried too.
  
• so we compare some medical notes on other people and the girlfriend notes that Before and After being transferred to Caleb's fleet and undergoing the exam show different results. "The chip rewrote Kevi's memories and now it's causing drastic enhancement in these officer's physical capabilities."
  
• so. huh. okay. you get the chip installation which wrangles your memories, overwriting your thoughts and personality. you then get physically enhanced somehow during a "medical exam". Then the third step is "modification"? 
  
• now we flash back to "three days ago" - the Tuum Officer 6025 that just handed us some more files, nicely organized, was fighting, yelling that he wouldn't take the exam. "Caleb can only pull this off because he has someone's backing! You monsters... nobody wants to be like you!"  but he's completely different now, with an altered personality.
  
• We go after the officer to try and get more answers, but Caleb's  right there. and we know he won't tell us the truth if we ask about 'the modification' right now. i try and keep the files i've been looking at out of his line of sight but yeah, that flies like a lead balloon. also, we blurt out that we thought he was gonna be in a meeting still so now he knows we're keeping tabs on his whereabouts.
  
• hmm, he's going to be busy tonight with another meeting about the fleet merger, i should eat dinner alone and he'll pick me up at nine. yay, i think! i can ransack his office for more stuff related to this 'modification' business. i am.. i am so naive. somebody really needs to explain to her about what 'enough rope to hang yourself with' means.
  
• there we go. universal key, activate! form of... open Caleb's office!
  
• i have to say that is a really cool office. 
  
• yeah, i'd have opened his personal file too. let's see. brother dearest graduated from the DAA, but was involved in secret training during his third year, achieving outstanding results. due to his exceptional performance in finding new patrol routes within the Deepspace Tunnel, he was promoted to be the Fleet's colonel. Recommended by Prof Lucius.
  
• ah. there's a full body scan image. his right arm is marked in an abnormal shade of blue.
  
• I KNOW WHAT THAT IS. 
  
• oops. caught. the account is forcibly logged out and a notification that the device's login permissions have been revoked.
  
• as i turn to jet, i end up opening a serendipitous desk drawer. "Chip Implanter. For Clinical Trials Only."
  
• i... hide it in my shoe's secret compartment. well, go go gadget us. 
  
• Caleb is letting us get away with so much. does he want us to know? so he doesn't have to tell us himself? EDIT: going through this again, that's has to be what's happening. Caleb CAN'T talk about anything 'classified' and its ALL classified. all he can do is stay out of the way and let us figure it out from the stuff he is doing his best not to guard.
  
• niiiiiiice
  
• okay, yeah. that was sweetly done. "Aren't you going to ask me (about what I was doing here in places I'm not supposed to be in using a key you gave me that opened it)?" and his reply "About why you're in my office? Or whether you found the thing you were looking for?"
  
• wow, yeah. so Caleb intended for me to take the bait, there will be no repercussions for me entering his office because unless he says otherwise, i had his permission, but that covering up the traces in the system from the breach of security 'will be a hassle'. he takes the terminal decryptor from me inexorably. "I doubt you'd put me between a rock and a hard place. Right?"
  
• well, if you put it that way.  "The face, the voice, the actions - I know them all too well. Yet, the person standing before me is like a stranger."
  
• i straight up ask him what trouble he's in and he says he can't talk about anything classified. so i ask if he'd be sent to Atley Island to become another abandoned pawn. 
  
• and he asks me somebody totally random about my hair, completely shifting the conversation. 
  
• ... chip? its your chip futzing you out? or are you trying to flip switches before the chip can interfere.
  

FUCKING HELL.  the beginning of this whole thing. DO I HAVE A CHIP? did it rewrite my memory of Caleb because of something that's going to happen?!?

Chapter Four

• "The Fleet's Colonel, secret training, the Toring chip, modifications - whatever these terms really mean, they're the strings that bind Caleb's hands and feet. These strings compelled him to reappear before me. And one day the unseen hand controlling these strings will pull him away from me once more."
  
• hey, re-used background wallpaper, i missed you so!  we're at a banquet to... celebrate the fleet merger? yeah. Caleb, the rising star of the high echelon Fleet personnel.
  
• he says my hair is messy and starts to fix it. i have a hairpin he gave me before the event. i bet its tracking my location, body temperature and resting heart rate.
  
• so, the merger was NOT going well with most of the Tuum fleet people unwilling to cooperate.. until two days ago when they suddenly were.
  

• "Are you asking me where Colonel Heath, Tuum Officer No 3997 and all those opposing the handover went?"
  
• yeah, i guess i am although we both know they went to Astley and whatever horrors are being perpetrated there.
  
• "Do you hate it when I'm like this?"  you mean when you're ruthlessly cutting through anything resembling opposition because you know the clock is running out, and even if i'm here to watch, you can't stop to make it any more pleasant for me to see? 
  
• "If I throw a wrench in your plans, will you lock me up like you did before?"  "... You wouldn't force me to do that."  "Yeah... I've got your back. It doesn't matter what you do. Why are you still not telling me about your plan?" 
  
• DANGER WILL ROBINSON
  
• i draw my gun but Caleb is faster.
  
• eeeeeee
  
• "Suspended in front of his forehead, defying gravity, is a bullet."
  
• shit, he really is fast. i grab gun tighter and his hand and trying to get him behind a pillar. but he stops me. (of course he stops me.) his eyes linger on his palm instead, lips pressed into a thin line.
  
• oh boy, is the arm reveal about to come up?!
  
• nope, jumping the gun there. apparently this must be a diversion, actual target has to be elsewhere. He looks out the window at the Alpha and Beta fleet bases. (Alpha, Beta, Caleb, Tuum - who names these things? Weirdest version of the Greek alphabet ever)
  
• how would someone 'take over' a fleet base.
  
• so Caleb has already sent people to check the Alpha base, and after a power struggle engaged by eye contact alone, I will check out the Beta base with Liam.
  
• i bet you a dollar right now that Liam is a double agent.
  
• "The girl's figure fades into the night. She's heading in the opposite direction of where the real danger lies. The veins in Caleb's neck bulge and then recede. He narrows his eyes at the bullet in his palm for a long while. He slowly tightens his grip around it."
  
• so.. am i to read that as Caleb being the real danger? 
  
•  ah, Heath. sitting alone in a dark armory as footsteps approach. "You're quick on your feet... ugh!" i think he was expecting his assassin to be coming back for payment. before i advance this, let me guess... Caleb? nobody collapses a guy to the ground like our favorite petty military officer.
  
• woo! go get him, black hole boyfriend!   i am super pleased to know that my fanfic attempt was right on the character money.
  
• "At the same time, numerous red dots light up, all zeroing in on Caleb's figure that's concealed among the shadows."  "Who said you could start it when she was around?"
  
• oh FUCKING HELL. "No gunshot rings out and the expected explosion never comes. Caleb locks eyes with the dumbfounded man as he walks into the light, one deliberate step at a time. The gun barrels aimed at him are twisted downward. The crisp sound of breaking bones cuts through the air as he steps on the man's wrist, pinned to the ground."
  
• this is fantastic. superlative, no notes.
  
• It was okay as a plan, old man. I die here, I provide the excuse to the old men at the top to purge everyone i've gathered under me. 
  
• 'After slowly putting on his gloves, Caleb leans down and grabs the man's distorted, reddening face. "Too bad you picked the wrong target."  Caleb's hand moves to the man's throat. Heath's eyes bulge with pain as Caleb's grip tightens, and the bones in his neck creak under the pressure. 
  
• i shall take a moment here to say that Heath's VA is doing a fine job. well done! you sound deranged, pissed off and scared all at the same time.
  
• he wouldn't dare? why wouldn't he dare? you've already set it up to be a barely plausible accident in a firearm's armory. and who is the Fleet going to protect afterwards - a valuable (and living) Colonel or the dead corpses? 
  
• ex-Heath. can't say i'll miss you.
  
• oh hey now. exit Heath, intro unknown voice. "Colonel Caleb, it's been a long while." 
  
• NO NO NO
  
• whoever or whatever it is, it gave Caleb pain voice! and his evol disappeared!
  
• "With a flick of that person's fingers, dark blue veins abruptly surface on the side of Caleb's neck. He's brought down to his knees." 
  
• "I thought destroying the Toring chip would be difficult... I'll just use your dead body as a greeting gift to Professor Lucius then."
  
• did.. did this guy just implode the chip inside Caleb? which is going to kill him?! what the hell is happening?
  
• "The incandescent lightbulb suddenly goes out. With a flash of lightning outside, Caleb's pupils contract in an instant."
  
• you know, lightning turns up a lot when Caleb is overwrought. dramatic writing for ambiance you think? or actual barometic pressure inversion? 
  
• "I was wondering how Heath would dare to act so recklessly. Turns out it was you. Even with you involved... the outcome will still be the same." 
  

[Coldsaturn]

- why is she being kind of obtuse here?
My biggest issue with Caleb's MC is that she really reads as more naive. Every LI gets some variation of this theme (with Sy she's gullible, with Raf she's oblivious, with Zayne she's...the most normal possibly lol, with Xav she straight up chooses to ignore all the half-truths he gives her), but with Caleb she is this sheltered young girl who's just now stepping into the world and she thinks she's so strong and independent but Caleb can manipulate her 20 ways to Sunday and she just stares at him blinking prettily. Which is an interesting twist on their dynamic, both obsessed with each other to the point of being blind about everything else.

- does he want us to know? so he doesn't have to tell us himself?
I agree with you. I think he's also conflicted because in a way he doesn't want to get her involved, so he genuinely wants her to stay in the dark. On the other hand, they're clearly at a point where everything he doesn't say is pushing her away, and something has to give.

- the beginning of this whole thing. DO I HAVE A CHIP?
You know of course I canNOT answer this question

- i am super pleased to know that my fanfic attempt was right on the character money.
You were! Nailed his canon colonel characterization /slow clap

- "Who said you could start it when she was around?"
So hot. He keeps on going feral every time someone gets too close to her just because she's close to him

- did this guy just implode the chip inside Caleb?
I think the sentence is meant to be read as "Since I thought destroying the chip would be too difficult, I'll just straight up kill you instead"

- lightning turns up a lot when Caleb is overwrought. dramatic writing for ambiance you think? or actual barometic pressure inversion?
You know what, lightning twisting his warm expression into something cold + apples have always been around as imagery tied to him, but I like the idea that it's about his evol acting up.

[ChicletPrime]

well, like... if i keep going with the "the two of them created the deepspace tunnel, i just know it!", it wouldn't be THAT much of a stretch to decide that whenever Caleb is TRULY upset, he grabs the entire fucking atmosphere and twists while he's trying to keep from doing worse.

[ChicletPrime]

Chapter Five

• meanwhile back at the ranch... the girlfriend confirms that the attempted "takeover" was a diversion. A dozen aircraft streak off into the night sky, likely Caleb's reinforcements (however that works). yeah, okay. "The fleet bases were never in danger. It was Caleb who played the diversion. And you knew, Liam." 
  
• does adjutant'ing come with danger pay? 
  
• so the girlfriend finally clues in that Caleb knew something was going to go down at the banquet and made sure she was well away from it.  Liam points out (rightly so) that if she was there, it would affect any decisions the Colonel could make. still, annoying. i have guns! i know how to use them! 
  
• "Liam, you're Caleb's adjutant. Do you think he trusts you?"  "I don't need the Colonel's trust. I only need his orders."
  
• well, that's a cold ass line.
  
• Liam's eyes are empty as he confirms that if Caleb ordered him to leave his loved ones behind, he would (because he follows orders).  "We're not the same as you."
  
• "Because I haven't been modified by that chip?" 
  
• huh. Liam says that if i had a chip, the Colonel would do whatever it takes to have it removed. but i am pretty sure at this point that i DO have a chip? or maybe... i did pick up a "chip implanter" from Caleb's office so maybe i am still on my way to getting one, before we catch up to the beginning of this chapter when i didn't recognize anything, including my own brother.
  
• okay, so Liam is out since he's done his duty to keep me distracted and advises me that the Colonel said he'd wait for me at home after the banquet.  however last we knew, Caleb was fighting for his life with some unknown person who might have a shot at taking him out? dun dun dun
  
• oh. oh no, girlfriend. do not be standing alone in the rain, thinking about the chip and the implanter hiding on your person and 'erasing the remaining distance between me and Caleb'.  that is crazy talk. 
  
• OH FUCKING HELL GIRLFRIEND.  okay. she did it. she injected herself in the arm.  which means that the wound we saw on our arm at the beginning must be the chip having come OUT.  what am i thinking?! is this one of those 'if you have to live in a cage, i'll join you behind bars' kind of thing?
  
• "Just imagining Caleb's reaction upon finding this out sends a shiver through the depths of my heart."  Rafayel is going to be pretty upset too! did you not even think of the fishboy ONCE before throwing your bride-hood over for a cyber-metal crown? 
  
• Caleb found us! as we sit hopelessly in the slowing rain on a bench in the city. 
  
• okay. so. whatever happened in the armory after we faded to black... Caleb won? or just escaped? or was permitted to continue after chastisement? no, black silhouette guy did say he was going to kill Caleb since the chip was too troublesome to worry about, so either our boy won past, or managed to just get out of Dodge.
  
• "When we played hide and seek in the past, Caleb always managed to find me. But even if he finds me now, I can't bear the thought of going back to that place called 'home" with him." 
  
• this is SO DIFFERENT in vibe from the mock wedding vows we just went through. where we literally build a small home for Caleb as a promise for the real one someday.
  
• oh, that's so sad.  the girlfriend doesn't like apples because there was a specific type of apple tree that grew by the  train station, and every time Caleb had to leave to go back to Skyhaven, she had to smell the petals.
  
• "No one can take me away from you."  that is a LIE, Caleb Xia. "Will you come back with me now?"
  
• "How long do you plan to lock me up this time? A month? A year? Or forever?"   well, at least she's getting the bigger picture. that's something. 
  
• oh, wow. and if somebody should come looking for me? "I'll hold a funeral they can attend."  that is so gruesomely perfect.
  
• this is... so wow. much pain.  halp.
  
• did Caleb just have a chip related whiteout?! i am going to rip Ever's collective face off.
  
• i've seen that little clip elsewhere before, where he fold to his knees in front of us, and asks to go home, but i did not know he just literally collapses to the ground right afterwards! Caleb, no! 
  
• ... the use of rain instead of tears was perfect.
  

i keep trying to stop and take screenshots :D

[ChicletPrime]

Chapter Six

This is still not a place of honor.

• So we somehow manage to get Caleb home but once in the bedroom, his weight collapses, taking us both down onto the bed. (awright!) (sorry, wrong moment)
  
• i hate Caleb pain noises
  
• "..my gaze is drawn to the crimson veins behind his ear." o rly now
  
• "Warning... Emotional fluctuations have surpassed the threshold limit." a HA! so the chip IS for emotional regulation / suppression.  "Amidst the deafening roars of thunder, he seems ensnared in a deep nightmare. In agony, he's pulling his collar apart."
  
• i swear to god, his evol has to be fucking with the atmosphere, calling lightning. the rain was lessening when he found us, and now we're back to full on storm by the time we get home.
  
• he's pleading in his dream for us. je-sus. 
  
• "The crimson veins beneath his skin branch out from behind his ear, extend to his shoulder, and flow down his tense right arm." 
  
• "Commencing chip activation process... executing mandatory erasure... "
  
• she searches with trembling hands for a reset button that might not even exist.
  
• oh crap, Caleb just woke up with a terrible anger on his face and suddenly i'm slammed to my back with his face dripping with sweat staring down at me. he.. he doesn't remember me, does he? 
  
• oh, that is a VERY hateful Caleb face. my wrists are yanked over my head. 
  
• this is heartbreaking.
  
• "Why are you struggling? Are you scared of me? Do I feel like a stranger to you?"
  
• oh, phew. he's not completely gone. 
  
• "Program... complete..."
  
• the depths of my hatred for Ever has descended into the Marianas Trench.
  
•  "How could you possibly understand... my guilt and sin...."
  
• And he's out cold again. but his right arm is still twitching rhythmically. 
  
• ... and now its later that night and i'm having a nightmare. which is quite frankly terrifying, of Caleb being restrained by vines in a jungle, poisoned and dying, feeding into the decay eating into him.
  
• oh! looks like we slept in the same bed that night because i reached for him when i woke up and he, of course, was not there. 
  
• oh. oh no. he in the living room, holding a picture with a confused look on his face. its the one from the card where he's graduated, and we're kissing his cheek out of excitement and congratulations. he woke up and saw us lying next to him. and we're in the photo.
  
• His cool touch strokes my cheek as if he's seeking an answer to some enigmatic question beneath my skin.
  
• "Who are you?"
  
• .
  
• .
  
• oh. oh my god. i knew it was coming and it still hits like a brick. holy shit. how often has he had to build himself back from scratch? how fucking much does he love her to keep finding his way back from being lost and unanchored in Deepspace? 
  
• "Caleb is sitting in front of me, yet he acts like a puppet stripped of its soul. Unlike Kevi, his memories haven't been altered. The Toring Chip has completely wiped them out."
  
• and girlfriend, may i point out at this juncture, that you fucking injected yourself with the chip too. i mean, if you want out of this particular rat race that is Caleb's unending desperation, that's definitely one way to accomplish it and i might even respect that choice if you'd known what you were even doing.  but you didn't and now you're both going to be brain wiped and in ten years you'll cross each other's paths in a mall and neither of you will even falter.
  
• He has no idea who I am, but he remembers how I make him feel. and he remembers we gave him the necklace. "Were we... close like this?"
  
• oh MY HEART
  
• It strikes me like lightning -- no matter what I say, he'll believe me.
  
• i REALLY wanna know what the cn translation has here for what we say to him.
  
• The pleasure from deceit and setting traps almost numbs my limbs. I tighten my hold on him and my lips brush against his earlobe.  "Caleb, can you promise me something? From now on, you won't go anywhere else. You'll always stay by my side."
  
• yeah. his freak is her freak. they are never going to unwind from each other. these two are glued together at the amygdala.
  
• aaaand he promises, pulling her against his body too tightly for shadows.
  

[Coldsaturn]

- put a pin on Liam!

- 'erasing the remaining distance between me and Caleb'.  that is crazy talk.
Absolutely unhinged behavior from MC throughout this entire couple of chapters. I love it. Up until this point we could still be thinking she's this naive little sister trying very hard to prove to her gege that she's an adult but failing at every step the moment she has him in front of her. And then these chapters hit and you're like "no okay she's as unwell as he is"

- "Just imagining Caleb's reaction upon finding this out sends a shiver through the depths of my heart."
Canon, she fantasizes about hurting herself so Caleb loses it and fusses over her.

- "I'll hold a funeral they can attend."
Insane iconic lines, one after the other.

- how often has he had to build himself back from scratch? how fucking much does he love her to keep finding his way back from being lost and unanchored in Deepspace?
Put a pin on it because we'll see a bit of it in some of his cards!

- no matter what I say, he'll believe me.
INSANE LINES. Unhinged behavior. Your gege forgets you and your first thought is "wait a second, this might not be all that bad after all"

- This chapter and all the ones that follow need to be watched from the direct CN translation. Whether you do it right now or after you've played the EN version, it's mandatory.

[ChicletPrime]

okay, its this morning and i can't finish the rest of the chapters until tonight which is fine, but wow. i definitely knew something like this was coming but now that i'm over the edge and barreling down the track, i gotta know what happens next, stat.

i am wondering too -- did the girlfriend inject herself with the chip so she'd stop feeling too? because Kevi felt nothing for his lost sister, which is her only reference for what the chip actually does. was that a moment where she maybe.. gave up a little? decided to join him in being forced away from feeling what she feels, just like he is? wanting to give up control so she doesn't have to fight it anymore, let the chip handle it.

0.o

- no matter what I say, he'll believe me.
INSANE LINES. Unhinged behavior. Your gege forgets you and your first thought is "wait a second, this might not be all that bad after all"

I KNOW. like, laaid'a'mercy these two. maybe she's not his level of manipulation, but anybody who thinks she's as pure as the fresh fallen snow is off their rocker.

... we have so many pins. pin density increasing. pin nirvana.