A door chime made Tylum Mavoy pause mid-sentence as she read a picture book aloud to the blonde haired girl on her shoulder. She furrowed her brow in confusion and carefully hoisted herself out of her chair, mindful of both her human daughter perched on her shoulder and her very pregnant belly.
“Who could that be?” She muttered absentmindedly and mostly to herself as she waddled towards the front door of her home, on the other side of which someone was pressing the call buzzer very insistently. Her belly stuck out slightly from underneath her shirt and she placed a hand over it as the baby within kicked indignantly.
“I don’t know mommy.” Tallicent mumbled around the thumb in her mouth as she perched on Tylum’s shoulder. “Maybe it’s Daddy.”
“Silly girl. Daddy wouldn’t use the door buzzer, he’d just come inside.” Tylum smiled and glanced at her daughter out of the corner of her eye. The little blonde girl had been barely a toddler when Tylum had found her in the old HOS shelter, though malnourishment had made her seem much younger. Tylum was relieved (and perhaps a little proud) to say that her daughter was a much healthier size now.
“Well, then I don’t know who it is.” Talli shrugged.
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” The Titan woman replied as she pressed the button to open the door.
“Surprise!” A voice on the other side of the door shouted excitedly. “Happy ‘Found You’ Day!”
Before Tylum could react she was beset by a reddish blur. Her daughter was plucked up from her perch and Tylum was spun around indignantly.
When she regained her bearings, she realized that her home had been invaded by a young woman with amber colored eyes, a cloud of red hair and an enormous grin.
“Hi Myona.” Tylum sighed.
“How’s my favorite little niece?” Myona cooed excitedly to the giggling girl she now held in her palm.
“Myona, Talli’s Found You day isn’t until next week.” Tylum rubbed the bridge of her nose. Since no one knew when Talli’s actual birthday was, she had instead elected to celebrate the day that Tylum had first encountered her daughter. She called this day Tallicent’s ‘Found You’ day. After marrying her husband, the tradition had continued.
“Well sure.” Myona replied, as if she were stating the obvious. “It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I showed up then, now would it?”
Tylum grimaced and desperately tried to keep her mind from dwelling on Myona’s logic. She knew that doing so would only result in a headache. Instead she smiled, shrugged serenely, and watched her daughter and her former housemate interact. As much as Myona sometimes exasperated her, Tylum couldn’t deny that Talli loved Myona like an Aunt, and the feeling was mutual.
“Now then…” Myona said as she crossed through the entryway and set the little girl down on a table at the edge of the room. “Auntie Myona has a special surprise for you…!”
“What did you get her?” Tylum asked warily.
“Nothing much. Just what every little girl deserves on her special day.” Myona reached into the bag hanging from her shoulder and removed a plastic box, which she opened to reveal a frosted pastry covered in colorful sugar.
“Tah dah!” Myona said as she set the box down in front of an awestruck Talli.
“Wow!” The little girl mumbled. “Is that for me?”
“Sure is.” Myona smiled.
“But not right now…” Tylum rubbed her forehead. “You can have some of it later.”
Talli sighed. “Aw, but mommy…”
“I’m sorry Talli, but you’ll ruin your dinner. …for the next year…” Tylum snapped the lid back onto the pastry box and carried it into the kitchen, talking as she went. “You can have a piece of it after your dinner, okay? Myona, what made you think giving my daughter a fetalla that is literally bigger than she is was a good idea?”
“Because it’s fun!” Myona explained. She looked down at the little girl and winked. “Fear not! That is not the only surprise I bring today!” The exuberant titan once again rummaged in her bag for a moment before plopping a large stuffed animal toy on the table in front of the small child.
It was made in the shape of a stylized hypposhaar, with neon green colored fur and a dark blue mane. It was also about twelve times longer than the girl to whom it was being gifted to.
Talli however, didn’t seem to care in the slightest. She practically bounced with excitement once she saw her gift and was climbing on top of the toy before either of the adults could stop her. (Not that they actually wanted to.)
“Mommy! Look at this!” She cried as she lay on the back of the stuffed animal and buried her face in the fluffy mane.
“It’s a very nice gift.” Tylum smiled. “What do you say?”
Talli climbed down from atop her toy and ran across the table to Myona’s hand. She wrapped herself around Myona’s finger and hugged it tightly “Thank you!”
“You’re very welcome.” Myona giggled as the small child went back to playing with her present.
The two women stood silently watching Talli play for several minutes before Myona spoke again. “You know, sometimes I envy you, Tylum.”
Tylum shrugged. “There are a lot of human kids out there who could use someone to look out for them that won’t want to stick them in a glass box…”
Myona shook her head. “No… I mean, don’t get me wrong, I admire what you and Ohsen are doing; but you know me. If it’s not cooking or coding I can’t focus on it for more than a few minutes. I’d probably leave the poor kid on a shelf as soon as something brightly colored caught my eye.”
Tylum narrowed her eyes and glanced over at her friend. “I think you’re selling yourself short.”
“Maybe.” Myona shrugged. “And maybe someday I’ll change my mind. But for now, I’m perfectly content to be the crazy aunt to everybody else’s kids. All of the fun, and none of the work.”
Tylum snorted and rolled her eyes.
“But… there is one other thing that I want to show you.” Myona grinned.
“Another surprise?” Tallicent gasped, looking up at the giant women.
“You got that right kiddo! Wait here, I’ll be right back!”
“Oh Emperor, what now…?” Tylum sighed, though there was a very slight smile on her face. Myona did not stop to explain, she merely disappeared through the front door. There was an expectant silence that followed in her wake.
She had been gone for several minutes before Tylum began to wonder if she was coming back.
“Behold!” Myona cried dramatically as she swept back into the house, pulling on the handle of a mag-lifter that was bearing was looked like a giant metal box. The excitable redhead deftly maneuvered this contraption through the living room and lowered it onto the table next to a wide-eyed Tallicent.
“What is that…?” The girl whispered.
“Our newest prototype.” Myona explained. She tapped a command prompt onto her keypad and a small portal on the side of the box irised open.
“Go on kiddo.” Myona encouraged. “Step inside.”
Talli looked up at her mother who, somewhat reluctantly, nodded her approval. Feeling only a little nervous, Talli stepped through the opening and into a room that was dimly lit with a cool blue light. As soon as she stepped over the threshold, the door slowly closed behind her.
“H…hello?” She called uncertainly.
“It’s okay.” Myona’s muffled voice came through the walls. “You’re perfectly safe.” Talli took a deep breath and didn’t feel quite as scared anymore.
“Okay, so what is this?” Tylum asked as she peered down at the contraption her daughter had disappeared into.
“Watch.” Myona grinned as she once again reached into her bag and removed a slightly lumpy looking metal ball that was roughly the shape of her fist.
She entered another set of commands into her pad and the ball sprang to life. Lights along the outer edge of the device lit up. Myona casually tossed it into the air where it seemed to float, as if falling in slow motion.
Then, much to Tylum’s surprise, the device began to construct what looked like a shell around itself. Tylum realized that it must be a projection, a holographic form that quickly resolved itself into looking like her daughter.
An astonished gasp escaped Tylum’s lips. The little girl, (who wasn’t quite as little anymore) looked around in wonder before finally turning to face her mother.
Talli’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She stepped forward and reached out a hand to touch her mother’s hand, as if to make sure she was real.
Tylum’s vision blurred as her eyes watered. She carefully lowered herself into a kneeling position and wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling her in tight.
“You did it.” Tylum mumbled. “You finally did it.”
“We finally did it.” Myona agreed. “It took us years, but we finally made a mobile holographic emitter small enough to use like this. I figured what better way to show you, than to let you give your daughter a found you day hug?”
“H-how much?” Tylum pulled back from the embrace and looked into her daughter’s eyes. “How much will it cost for one of these?”
“Less than it would cost to completely rig a house with holo emitters. But you don’t need to worry about that, Tylum. Do you really think I’d charge you for something like this? It’s my pleasure.” Myona smiled. “I mean, I can’t give you this one, it’s just a prototype. There are still some issues we’re trying to fix, so I have to take it back to the office with me. But I promise, when they’re ready, you’ll have the first one off the line.”
Tylum smiled and leaned over to whisper something in her daughter’s ear. Before Myona could even react, Talli had bounded back across the room and thrown her arms around Myona’s waist, knocking her off balance for a moment.
“Oof…” Myona gasped as she felt the impact of the toddler rushing into her. But, after a second to recover her balance, Myona leaned down and picked Talli up to cradle her in her arms.
“Thank you, Myona!” Talli giggled as she buried her face in Myona’s mane of red hair.
“You’re welcome, sweetie.” Myona smiled. “Happy Found You day.”
I thought it was a cute story. I love getting a glimpse of the other families like this.
For the record, I thought the scene was adorable, and heart warming.
Same here.
I’m way too drunk… so I’ll be straight up with yall about the issue at hand if yall don’t mind… I would like to know the Empire’s stance on gun control? Yes or no? Because I grew up around guns, I know how to use them, respect them, and agree with the 2nd amendment. I understand that what happened in Orlando was tragedy but if there were armed guards there it wouldn’t have been that bad of a tragedy, aka why no mass shootings happen in Texas
I too, want piece. I don’t believe all Muslims are terrorists. But I dont agree that the restriction of assault weapons is the answer. The point of the 2nd amendment is too defend yourself against tyranny foreign and domestic. I like the idea that Background checks should be used… but that costs lots of fuckin money… LOTS OF FUCKING MONEY DUDES. I know that lives are more important than money, all life is precious.
But ISIS believes that hanging gays is the only way to convert others to their faith, or throwing them from cliffs for liking the same gender.
What I want yall to understand is that there will be no piece in America for gun control… America we are unruly, we bow to nobody, millenials will bow to the UN powers but the remanded would much rather die on their feet
http://forgifs.com/gallery/d/148472-2/Okay_wtf_reaction.gif
Gawd dammit got drunk again, my b dudes, ignore please
Loved the story!
Tallicent is adorable! So cute when Tylum wonders aloud who might be at the door and Tallicent takes a guess. That’s little kids to a tee. Then we have the gifts! What kid wouldn’t love getting a frosted pastry bigger than they are? Or toys they can climb on? Being a human sized kid in a Titan sized world has a few pluses.
After reading the comments, I gotta say I like the holo things that make everyone the same size for awhile. Easier for people to relate to one another. Hard to think of humans as less than people when the size difference is eliminated. I seem to recall that awful vet lady that murdered all those people had to keep reminding herself that these people were “pets” while in the holo thing. I also think holograms would be a bit jarring. For awhile you can relate to Titan’s at their size, but then someone kicks the cord, the thing gets unplugged and suddenly you’re slammed back into reality. Gotta snap back to monumental people and monumental stuff all round you again.
The life extension technology, I see as very believable. In the future it will be a reality.
Loved it!
*burp*
Humans…..ahh…….. silly…. funny…. cute …. and tasty
This is a good invention. Well done. :):):) Nice scene too. 🙂
I feel bad. Took me like five minutes to remember who the hell tylum was. So many characters to keep track of nowadays
Cute moment at the end by the way
Don’t feel bad, I couldn’t remember who she was also.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters
All the characters from this series could be the new page image.
While the scene was adorable of course, I feel a bit of unease at Tylum’s reaction (crying, “you finally did it”) : she almost sounds like her daughter had a terrible disease or handicap and Myona discovered a cure or wheelchair.
Except no, Talli is perfectly normal and healthy, she’s just small. Human.
Maybe I’m reading too much into this.
Well, let me put it this way: if your daughter was confined to a bed, and suddenly got a wheelchair, you’d be thrilled. Not because she wasn’t valuable when confined to bed; because she’d be able to experience more now that she had an assistive device to help her. On Earth, Tallicent would be totally fine, and able to get around without assistance — but she doesn’t live on Earth.
@ DX : that’s my point precisely : Tally is NOT confined to a bed, nor is she sick or handicaped in any way. What works against her is the giant environment she lives in.
The whole series tells us that Humans and Titans can live together normally, on the same (Titan) worlds and what’s getting in the way is only bigotry.
Except here, Tylum reacts as if she’s been given something fundamental she had been missing in her relationship with her adopted daughter. Don’t you see the contradiction ?
If that’s the way Tylum feels deep down, one of the most open-minded titan in the series, then no, human-titan families can never be “full” and normal and that’s what bothers me.
But as JS said below, I also get this is just a nice touching scene and there’s no great meaning behind it.
Tylum was indeed missing something in her relationship with Talli, namely the ability to convey her love for Talli through a hug. But I don’t understand why you see that as Tylum missing something fundamental, something that would prevent a human-titan family from being “full” and normal.
The size difference between humans and titans is a deeper issue than for example skin color in that there are practical considerations for living together. But one of the points of this series is that the mind matters more than the body, that living together is very much possible with a little bit of effort. Now, living together is not for everyone. Some people will decide that the effort and risk are too much. There is nothing wrong with that decision. But others will want to live together, and there is nothing wrong with that decision either.
I think you missed the point completely, NE.
Hard light plus life extension is flirting with universe breaking. Its the differences that make it interesting. And if there’s no difference what’s the point.
What was JohnnyScribe’s rule? Humans can’t become Titans. They can just live nearly as long now and appear as Titans and interact physically with the world at Titan size. Big difference!
Holograms have been in the universe since Physics. So has life extension. Mobile emitters have been a thing since Contact. Why are you guys bitching about this now? All this is is a short scene about a mother who was able to give her daughter a hug in what was probably the first time in her life. For the record? That’s why Tylum is crying. Because she can actually hug her daughter for once, not because her daughter superficially appears to be a Titan and so is now a “real person” or whatever.
Sure the holograms give the illusion of being a Titan, but that’s all it is: an illusion. Maybe for a few hours the Titans and humans can walk around at the same scale, but you can’t live in a simulation. Eventually the holograms have to be turned off and they’re right back where they started. That’s the difference.
Sure the holograms give the illusion of being a Titan, but that’s all it is: an illusion. Maybe for a few hours the Titans and humans can walk around at the same scale, but you can’t live in a simulation. Eventually the holograms have to be turned off and they’re right back where they started. That’s the difference.
Maybe JS…but when Freeman reactors become more common I’d have Myona take the next logical step when the unit becomes small enough to hide within the titan sized projection of the human. Effectively that would be the equivalent of a holo-mech suit the human could wear for an entire day or longer allowing humans to live and work in a titan world. For that matter both humans and Titans could use such a device to become formidable warriors for dealing with threats like insectoids, working in hostile environments, etc.
Ok that’s what it is. Sweet, no doubt. However, as a reader it’s an effort to ignore hard light because it breaks the universe. Fortunately its been sparely used and therefore can be ignored. Yes you can live in these simulations, practically always. But for basic nourishment. So any human can become a Titan with a small bit of tech, even if its for only a few hours it makes the universe so pointless. “We can all coexist when the tech literally makes it easy.” Fucking yawn.
Nighteye is right btw, Tylum reacts like there was a handicap that was a problem. If only everyone was Titan lol. What was missing? Can’t she hug her when small? No normality unless they are the same and can hug each other on the same scale?
Do what you want with your series, just realize that your readers will call bullshit on it. Additionally, get mad all you want at criticism, or just remove comments. Honestly, never wanted to tell you to get fucked by a goat more than I want to now.
*Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*
Ow! gotta watch those stingers……
Okiedoke, gonna take another crack at this………
First off; This is a lovely and heartwarming scene between three really nice and likeable people, I enjoyed reading it
However, I think I should clarify a point I made before (below)..The term I referenced is used primarily in psychological circles and applied during treatment so I can understand when people don’t get what I am saying. My apologies for that..This tech when used between adults (in universe) to make a particular situation more ‘bearable’ is fine but when an adult and child are using it, it becomes a different story..The child unconsciously gets the message that she is more valued when she is ‘enhanced’…Not verbally stated but communicated just as clearly.. Its great for the adult not so great for the kid…Over time the kid gets this message stated again and again, what makes it worse is that she is living in a giant dominated world with this unconscious message rolling about in her head. Its a double whammy for the kid..Thats why I also said that the characters should be ultra careful when using it with a kid, especially one that is a legally adopted child.
btw I’m not a shrink but I do know a few in reel life (also stayed at a Holiday Select Inn recently but not sure that counts)
Savonarola, Sayanora? Ciao Hasta la Pasta…I’m outta here!! Its kayaking time! wooo hooo..
@Bugz
Interesting. I didn’t think of Tally’s subconscious reaction to this but you’re perfectly right. This sort of things must remain exceptionnal or she’s gonna get the wrong message and that will screw her up.
I know the series try to mimick real life social issues but the “just shower them with love and all will be fine” stance doesn’t really apply, that’s not enough.
You can surround human kids with nicest giants ever, they’ll still grow up in a giant world, where they are the same size as a bug (scilith) or a mouse (tupp) and that will always linger in a part of their mind. How does a kid raised like that build a sense of self worth ? How does he grow up to be bold and engaged and ready to face the world ?
And that’s in an ideal situation with perfectly nice titans around.
In fact, we saw several pet humans with zero sense of worth, thinking they had nothing to contribute to the world, even when they were owned by nice people. Would that be better if they are raised like kids and not pets ? Sure. But that doesn’t change their environment.
A while back, i put a link to an unfinished story by cewilson5 (warning : she writes GT stories) i thought was pertinent, I’ll put it again :
http://cewilson5.deviantart.com/art/The-Small-One-in-the-Family-457207288
It’s about a human kid adopted in a family of giants, who grew up among them but when he’s about to turn 18, he wants to move out in a human-only part of town and you see how it got there even though he loves his giant parents and they love him.
If you can’t be bothered, the last lines are the kid telling his giant dad how he feels :
“I don’t feel like a man when I’m around you,” I admitted at last. “When I’m around you…I get so mad. I want to hate you…but what’s worse…” my eyes watered as my father’s eyes continued to grow increasingly worried, “…I want to be you. And I never can be. I can never be a giant and be with mom and Sarah like you can. I want that. I want that so bad but I can’t. Because I’m a human. And I’m tired of feeling like I’m not a real man because I’m so…I just hate who I am when I’m here.”
I think in the Titanverse, realistically things would go that way more often than not.
Uh Oh…looks like some members of the local chapter of the PC brigade got their feathers ruffled….. 🙂
I understand what you are saying Nighteye, in a way it is a very subtle admission by Tylum that Talli by herself is ‘not enough’ That she needs ‘enhancements’ to be fully accepted. Although it can be handled with care and vigilance just like what Rixie and Alex did with Ryan (hopefully).
That was so adorable…
I want an Aunt Myona….
damn it that was adorable.
D’awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
My thoughts exactly.