01: To Grow and Learn, As a Bondsman Becomes a Brigadier

[gurrenbrigbonded]

[1]

Matthew should be happy. He has risen from the status of bondsman to become a Mechwarrior again, proven himself to his new clan in combat twice, and acquired many potent (well, zany) comrades and allies. His star is truly on the rise, even more so because the Gurren Brigade is a small group.

And yet, he finds himself troubled: by moral quandaries, elaborate philosophical dilemmas, the conflict between the traditions he came from and the urgings of his heart.

More immediately, though, he is troubled by his Nova, which is...wrecked. An arm blasted off, the armor is pitted and cored, and the gyro system half near pretty much melted.

He notices certain techs in the hangar bay glaring at him.

"Ah..."

[2]

Matthew has organized a discussion group in one of the lounges, for a very specific group of people: former Jade Falcon Clansmen taken as bondsmen. The topics on discussion are varied: how people are settling in, what interesting things have happened, gossip about the more infamous members of the Chalice...and culture shock, of course. The massive culture shock. And the shouting of attack names: what's with that?

There are refreshments of course. And booze. And cookies.

Matthew chats with a few fellow former Falconers. He really perks up, however, when Trothkin from his former Star show up.

[I figured this would be a good way to develop plot related to all the Clanner shenanigans, as well as explore characters both pc and npc. Anyone who has/is connected somehow to a bondsman, feel free to come over. And everyone else, too. There are cookies.]

[3]

Matthew walks down the hallway, whistling a merry tune.

Then he stumbles midstep, his eyes widening as he realizes the awful truth.

"I...I uttered a contraction in the midst of battle!" He cries out.

Comments

[azure_savior]

... So? What's wrong with that?

It gets a message across faster than saying everything long-form.

[gurrenbrigbonded]

The Ex-Clanner is busy being very maudlin.

"Fah! A Freeborn would not understand! It is the dignity of all Trueborn to be disciplined in their speech, to avoid contractions in our language! And in the heat of battle...I failed in my duty!"

If he had a fainting couch on hand, he would be using it.

[azure_savior]

So... using the word "aff" instead of "affirmative" or even the less formal "yes" is okayed, but using contractions aren't?

... How much of a Trueborn's behavior is supposed to be defined by tradition here?

[gurrenbrigbonded]

All the behaviors, my friend. All the behaviors.

Matthew raises an eyebrow.

"Well, yes. 'Aff', in of itself, is a modification of the word 'affirmative', but by itself is still a complete word. A contraction splices together two words in such as way that they no longer have independent meaning. It is a butchery of language that desecrates the tongue of the Star League!"

[azure_savior]

Right.

... You know, you seem the kind of person that could probably use a little food for thought, so I'm going to tell you a little story, if that's alright. One I read from one of my dad's old research journals he had in the pre-Second Impact days.

I take it that you'll take what I'm about to say into consideration?

[gurrenbrigbonded]

Matthew leans back against a wall, tucking some thumbs into his belt.

"Aff. I will listen diligently."

The records of his biological progenitor? This should be interesting.

[azure_savior]

It's a pretty scary study, to say the least. If it's true, of course... but considering some of the things we've seen it's not too hard to imagine it is.

But a group of scientists take a group of monkeys. Or dolphins. Or octopi. Or any other kind of extremely intelligent animal. The kind that's always billed as being super-smart, even by human standards. But they take the group and put them in a confined environment, and put something "desirable", like food, out where all the animals can see it.

But the thing is... the food is trapped. And if any of the animals go for it, something bad happens to them. The study with the monkeys had a sprinkler system go off and soak them all. And before long whenever one of the animals decides to try to go for the desirable thing, the others gang up on it to stop it from triggering the trap.

Then the scientists take things to the next step and take one of the animals out and replace it with a newbie. One that doesn't know about the trap. So it tries to go for the food and all of a sudden, all the others are ganging up on it. Before long, the newbie gets broken in too, and if the scientists swap out another of the animals, that newbie'll be just as vicious with beating in the rules to newcomer.

And hell, even if the animals are released into another environment, they'll react as hostile as ever if they see one of their own acting in the way they were hardwired to retaliate against.

... Can you sense where I'm trying to go with all of this?

3

[hominilupusinexilio]

Even though Matthew's no longer a Falcon, Resnick still takes time out to play out the old Wolf-Falcon rivalry, sneering at him as he is wont to do, though less viciously than before.

"You have not been here two months and already your speech begins to degenerate. So much for Falcon tradition."

Re: 3

[gurrenbrigbonded]

That thing. With ears. And steam coming out of them. Matthew's doing that.

"Stravag Wolf-in-Exile! I will have you know that the Jade Falcon tradition has three times the strength and potency of–!"

Re: 3

[gurrenbrigbonded]

Wait a moment...

Matthew grins and folds his arms as a thought occurs to him.

"But I shall let the brave and noble warriors of Jade Falcon come to their own defense. Now longer am I of that Clan. Risen from penitent servitude, I take my place as Abtakha among the Clan of true heroes, blasting through all obstacles in my path, inspiring others to drill through possibility!"

He puffs up his chest.

"I am Mechwarrior Matthew of the Gurren Brigade! So come now! Whose traditions will you denigrate this time?"

[Want to RP Tynall in the second scene sometime?]

[hominilupusinexilio]

[Sure, a little later]

Resnick is sincerely puzzled. Who was...Oh, right. That guy.

"Well, it seems you are improving your lot in the universe." By implication: the Falcons suck worse than a loud, shirtless power-bro who can't read. "Tell me of this Clan." He folds his arm and raises his eyebrow.

[gurrenbrigbonded]

[Cool. I look forward to seeing more of her, and explicating the Trothkin-Drama.]

Oh. Matthew sees what you did there. Bravo. Bravo.

...He'll scratch your eyes out later for that. For the moment, he genuinely frowns in thought at your question, rubbing the back of his head.

"Honestly, it is quite difficult to describe: on the surface, we number at roughly three or four."

That Kei might be a member...she associates with Kamina, right?

"The Leader of the Gurren-Dan has described the Brigade as a 'Brotherhood of Manly Souls': I still attempt to pick apart the nuance of the meaning of this phrase..."

He smiles softly. "But one thing I can say for certain: the Gurren Brigade is a Clan of heroes. Heroes who will become legends, accomplishing great deeds with the mech known as Gurren Lagann."

[hominilupusinexilio]

Naturally, Resnick zooms in on the aspect of this that will be most irritating to Matthew's orthodox mind.

"A brotherhood of manly souls? So you have absorbed the Spheroid superstitions about biological sex too, quiaff?"

Poor Matthew. He never catches a break.

"What is this mech? Another super-heavy design?"

1

[whats_a_paladin]

You look like you're torn over something.

[gurrenbrigbonded]

That voice...you are Paragon Raynor Joz, quiaff?"

Matthew extends his hand.

"A pleasure to meet you in person: you fought quite formidably against those warped nightmares!"

[whats_a_paladin]

That'd be me, yes.

[Strong handshake get.]

The Virtues always give me strength when I fight to protect. You fought well and with courage yourself, as well. Both back then and now, judging by the state of your robot.

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"Aff! A Gurren Brigadier could not display anything less than skilled courage..."

As he looks at his Nova, a piece falls off from the severed arm port and clatters to the ground.

"They will be able to fix it, quiaff?"

There is nervousness in his voice.

[whats_a_paladin]

Of course. White Chalice has talented mechanics and parts to spare, it's not hard to repair a robot. Don't be afraid to push it to its limits.

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"Ah. That is good to hear: I worried that repair and maintenance would be difficult with so many models, especially..."

He nods to the the Paragon's currently crimson mech.

"The magical ones."

He pauses.

"Stravag. I cannot believe I have grown so comfortable discussing magic like this."

2

[hominilupusinexilio]

Tynall Vickers, despite her hatred for him, has Resnick's wavy blond hair and strong jaw. However she smiles when she sees Matthew.

"This was a good idea, Matthew. I cannot fathom the shouting either. Warriors have been known to shout and howl in battle, that is only natural. But to broadcast the weapon you are trying to use seems foolish, quiaff?"

Re: 2

[gurrenbrigbonded]

[I wrote up some anecdotes in my journal about Tynall, Matthew, and the other members of his former star. What do you think?]

"Aff! It it a ridiculous practice!" Matthew replies loudly, index fingers pushing against each other as he guiltily recalled what he did during the battle against Viral.

"A warrior should not hide or hold back form his opponent. But a degree of guile and subtlety is always prudent!"

He frowns and strokes his chin.

"I have heard from some of the Chalice pilots that shouting out attack names boosts their potency. But that seems to be mere freeborn superstition."

[hominilupusinexilio]

[Looks good to me]

"Perhaps they are voice activated commands that the Terrans have forgotten are there, in the same way the Spheroids forgot how to use and make old Star League tech?"

She then recited a relevant passage from The Remembrance:

"The truth is that you are the descendants
Of traitors who scurry about like rats
In the dark, fighting over petty kingdoms
At the foot of the emty throne.
Never recognizing that you have given up
The one true prize."

This passage was the same in the Wolf and Jade Falcon versions.

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"You may speak more truth than you know." Matthew says thoughtfully, sipping at a drink.

"Many of the warriors of the White Chalice appeared to have acquired or unearthed their mechs from strange locations. The Dai-Gurren Brigade that I now find myself a part of acquired their most powerful mech from deep underground!"

He chuckles at Tynall's quotation.

"I can find no truer thing to say about the so called leaders of the Earth Sphere. Still, do not forget the earlier line:

No natural disasters cost you.
There was no great disease, no famines;
no interstellar catastrophe to blame."

Matthew suddenly looks troubled.

"The amount of disasters the Earth Sphere has suffered has been nothing short of dreadful. Have you heard of all the alien abominations that tried to overrun this planet? I hear Chandra mention stories told by her bondholder about a shapeshifting menace known as the Invaders..."

He shudders at his own memory of fighting on the decks of the White Chalice with Kamina and the Paragon, holding back monsters that were a fusion of flesh and machine...

[hominilupusinexilio]

"Still, they behave like Scavenger Lords. They are clearly not fit to hold Sacred Terra."

There's a muttering of agreement from the other captured Falcons. Had Matthew begun to drift from their fanatical certainty yet?

[gurrenbrigbonded]

Matthew has gone through many trials and tribulations that have indeed challenged his certainty. His leader, the Invincible and Foolish Kamina, who has dared him to fight for his own justice, live according to his own codes. Simon, who has shown that courage and strength can arise from the most unlikely of places. Raynor Joz, so like the heroes of myth. And Joshua, who passionate intellect has unsettled Matthew in many ways–

"Aff!" He says, clenching his fist. "The coming of the Crusader Clans in force shall surely purify Terra of all it's dross!"

Oh right. Peer pressure.