#so much fun figuring out how to design robots as human children

[renae-the-turtle]

You know what, i was gonna wait to do this, because i had a plan, but...

Woe! Human designs be upon ye!

I couldn't decide whether to post these each separately with character descriptions, and space it out over several days, or if i should wait and digitize these first so the colours would be clearer, buuuut... i was putting it off too long, so imma dump them all at once right now, more than an hour past my bedtime.

Time will tell if i regret this in the morning or not.

There will be more character designs coming, of course, but these are just the ones I've drawn so far.

[no1ryomafan]

Meg Moment Ramble

So I’m a person who has the slowest realization about the most mundane and obvious things in life, especially stuff correlated to myself. One thing I’ve been rotating a lot recently is how interconnected a persons interests are to one another, regardless how different some interests are or if a person really isn’t deep into a past interest anymore compared to current. A persons “taste” generally forms from stuff we are exposed to at a young age, figuring out what we strongly resonate with and if we want more of that thing. This is especially obvious with autistic people, like myself, as we form intense fixations on things. We are more inclined to get into things similar to each other to feed into a special interest, but sometimes we can have interests that are completely different from each other yet have some shared similarity.

For me I was reflecting how funny it was that as a child, Pokemon was my primary special interest, but I have since grown out of it and Getter is seemingly my new permanent special interest to replace it. (After a few years of struggling to find what I was gonna fixated on heavily after I became less attached to Pokemon) On a surface level, I feel these two share no similarities whatsoever. Stuff like me having a Mega Man fixation before I got into Getter feels more connected due to “robots” but than I though about it more and realized while completely unintentional, my childhood series and current fixation share a few small connections.

One thing I remembered with Getter is the factor of people fighting in giant robots was never a turn off for me. I was someone who didn’t even know the Mecha genre existed-which I know is embarrassing but I’ll save that for another time-but I never heavily consumed Shonuen anime. Pokémon, while I consumed every form of content of it that existed, practically all of its fights are NOT fought by humans, it’s all the creatures themselves being commanded by their trainers. Getter-and most mecha’s-in a strange way follow that formula almost, as the robots DO the fighting, but the human pilots are the one in control of moving their robots. It’s not human to human combat and while I’m okay with that idea, my brain has realized it has enjoyed more the concept of non human creature’s fighting.

Pokémon also made me realized I just enjoy stories with non humans but there’s still HUMANS within it, so I was probably destined to like robot media, even if I never had much exposure as a child. The idea of two different species having conflicts fascinated me, even if something as simple as Pokémon never really addressed something deep like this. Also in a strange way for me Getter has a childhood aesthetic even in its later iterations. Perhaps because with Toei it was originally marketed for children, but the OVAS feel like a more mature version that grew up with the audience that watched the original series. Still something that can be enjoyed with Toei knowledge-as I hardly watched it myself-but even something as “edgy” as Armageddon radiates the spirit of the old series with how referenced filled it is. It’s something a kid could in theory watch if it weren’t for all the gore, but it keeps the fun action paced battles and cool robot designs that would any kids eyes would light up at.

I honestly feel if I somehow found Getter early-whether in a timeline Toei getter actually got fully dubbed and brought over but still aired as a old cartoon on networks or I randomly found clips of one of the ovas on YouTube-even if I was too young to experience it, I would be enthralled by it. Maybe I do just think this way because current fixation, but this realization dawned on me and yeah, my taste really checks out at the end of the day.

[corruptionpit]

I wrote out yet another infodump about my Fanonfell Mettaton on Discord, so I figure that I may as well post it on here too, cringe culture being dead and all that.

Begin copy-paste:

So the thing about Underfell is that it was just a bunch of designs (or descriptions of designs in Mettafell's case) that OP only expounded on with a "canon" later after people were thoroughly having fun making things on thier own, often hilariously edgy (and admittedly sometimes downright unpleasant) directions. Mine's more Horrortale lite than anything resembling Vic's ideas tbh but I don't care I Am Having Fun

But yeah, essentially mine is Mettaton from the eeevil mirror universe where Asgore became bloodthirsty after the deaths of his children instead of empty and dragging the rest of the resentment-filled monsterkind down a "kill or be killed" path right behind him. So a little ghost is still born full of wanting and craving admiration, but he hates humans just as much as everyone else does and REALLY wants to do something about it. He meets Alphys (who really is a total Mad Scientist who's only regret about the Amalgamates is that the experiment failed here) while she's scrounging for parts in the Waterfall rubbish tip (Human Fan Clubs aren't gonna be a thing here). Recognizing ambition, the two hit it off and he becomes something of a lab assistant for a while. Eventually, after yet another round of promises that Asgore is not going to keep, Alphys realizes he'd be the perfect host for a human-hunting robot, one designed to prey on the fear of humans (insects, things with big mouths full of razor-sharp teeth and hands with razor claws, things that look superficially human but are "off"…). Mettaton is delighted at first, and he merges with the body, celebrating both all the newfound sensations and the promise of purpose.

But of course, the barrier wasn't broken, and he quickly finds himself purposeless again. By the time we meet him he is…not doing well In an inverse of canon, Alphys ends up pulling away, completely absorbed in her work and desperation to get back into Asgores good graces, so he is quite alone. His body eventually becomes a bit of a clusterfuck held together by electrical tape and hope due to his often having to repair himself following violent altercations with other monsters. He starts blaming his appearance for the reason he feels so empty, wondering if his decision to become corporeal was a mistake in the first place.

His switch is jammed, so he no longer can switch to his oval-shaped power saver mode, meaning he has to recharge pretty often. But, Alphys often locks the lab while she's working as a safety precaution, meaning he has to scrounge for food and available electrical outlets like a man in an airport as an alternative. While I'm not 100% sure how they first meet, he strikes up quite a toxic friendship with Papyrus, captain of the royal guard. Papyrus is just as desperately lonely as he is in canon, but he fears showing weakness and his emotionality comes in the form of quite a nasty temper. Mettaton needs the protection of the third most powerful monster in the Underground, and Papyrus doesn't know how to keep a friend without having collateral over them, so while they both want the companionship they make each other thoroughly miserable. Papyrus ends up getting him a job as an actor in the capital… as the villain in bizarre and terrible propaganda films the crown produces, turning his face into an easy target for the public's resentment.

His fortunes begin to change twofold: he agrees to be the lab rat in an experiment of Alphys' that will apparently open up a door into an adjacent dimension, allowing the Underfell monsters to invade and hopefully impressing Asgore again. This apparently fails, but it establishes a mental link with the Mettaton living the adjacent universe, Lust Mettaton. The two end up hitting it off due to how similar they are under the surface and the way they both are dealing with skeletons they have mixed feelings about.

Concurrently to his growing relationship with Lust Mettaton, he hears from Papyrus that another human has fallen into the Underground, he and Alphys hatch a scheme that he plans to betray in the end. He will gain the human's trust as they are publicly menaced by the mad scientist, only to lead them to an execution point in the CORE and kill them in glorious and public fashion, handing the SOUL over to Alphys after. However, he goes rogue. He's just… done at this point and figures that leaving on his own to hunt humans on the surface is his only real chance to improve his circumstances at all. Unfortunately, the superpowered Frisk royally kicks his ass in front of the whole world on said soundstage and the infamous Underfell comic where he's viciously harassed until he ends his life nearly happens until the boundaries between realities finish breaking (causing cataclysmic damage) and his fellow tormented robot lands quite unceremoniously upon his head.

Thus begins his road to improving his self-esteem and kicking a lot of ass alongside his two companions (the aftermentioned Lust Mettaton as well as canon NEO from an aborted No Mercy run). He develops an interest in fashion, but if Canon Mettaton looks like an explosion at Claire's he looks like an explosion at a 90s hot topic. He looks like he took one look at Shadow the Hedgehog and went "you know what, this is my gender now". By the end he's become so fond of himself and the things that make him unique and monstrous that in the end, when No Mercy survivor Alphys offers to repair the accumulated damage on him and change him into something he likes better, the only cosmetic change made besides fixing the damage is a THIRD pair of arms.

Mettafell Stimboard by @shinekittenace

[pyreo]

deltarune megapost

I wanted to make a Deltarune post about the lore and the things that aren’t  obvious. And once I do that I wanna focus on why Mettaton is incredibly important to this setting

And also why he poses a problem

Why did Toriel and Asgore get divorced?

Without the setting of Undertale, Asgore and Toriel’s marriage still broke up after they had Asriel. There needs to be a reason though. In UT it was Asgore’s ‘worst of both worlds’ decision regarding killing anybody that fell from the human world, including children. We saw how close they were before this happened. Only something deep and serious caused that rift. In Deltarune, what on earth did Asgore do?

What happened to Dess?

Mentioned a handful of times by Noelle, Dess was her older sister and is mentioned In Undertale.... in that Xbox exclusing casino thing. The way Noelle talks about her, the conspicuous way Noelle gets locked out of her big house - it implies Dess is gone or deceased. Berdly recalls a spelling bee when he and Noelle were younger where she, despite being smarter than him, misspelled ‘December’, allowing him to win.

In the two-player spelling puzzle, it also spells out ‘December’ as Noelle recalls the past and her silhouette regresses to a child while she does so. Being distracted by her sister’s disappearance, rather than pure shyness, could account for her misspelling her name on stage, and it clearly left a big psychological mark for her to have this visual regression in the Dark World.

However, there’s a graveyard in Hometown with no Dess. I heard another theory that she has been missing for years, because where each character’s personal room is made by Queen to reflect their tastes via their search results, Noelle has a calendar where every day is December 25th. This could imply that Noelle continually searches the internet for ‘December Holiday’, her sister’s name, to see if there are clues to her disappearance, but of course the only result you would get is the date of Christmas.

Who is the Knight?

It’s now implied to be Kris, who has been forcibly removing the player’s influence to act on their own. By all accounts the Knight is the game’s main antagonist. Spade King and Queen both mention the Knight as someone who influenced their position - they brought Spade King to absolute power, and showed Queen that creation of new worlds was possible.

We’re led to believe that Kris was doing this, because they’ve been acting outside of the player’s control. Eating the entire pie between chapter 1 and 2 might have been a red herring to cover that they also went to the library and used that knife to slash open a dark fountain there.

However. This has issues. How would they even manage to shuffle slowly all the way to the library and get in the computer lab? The Knight is also the one creating the hidden bosses. They talked to Jevil until he realised he was in a game and he lost his mind; they ruined Spamton’s life by elevating him to success and then crushing him. Whatever the Knight is doing seems to be deliberately planned with key players in mind.

Kris opening the fountain at home at the end of ch.2 can be explained in that you just figured out in Cyber World that anyone determined enough can do this, and so, Kris decided to. So a better question might even be...

What does Kris want?

We have no idea. They are capable of removing the SOUL, ‘us’, temporarily, and putting things in motion we cannot influence. But they also keep putting us back in control afterward. This is hinted at right when ch.2 starts, where if you inspect the cage in Kris’s bedroom they threw us into, the description says it’s inescapable. Meaning Kris came back and took us out, willingly.

They allow us to pilot them through the game. Why? Because they cannot live without the SOUL for long for some reason? Because they’re bad at bullet hell? Why did they slash Toriel’s tyres before opening the fountain, making sure nobody could drive away?? Why did they specifically open the door?

You can find out details about Kris through the creepy way you interact with the townsfolk, who think you are Kris. They play the piano at the hospital waiting room - better than you. They used to go to church just to get the special church juice. It’s all normal, relatable things, not like someone who’s trying to plunge the world into darkness. Judging by their search history portrayed in their Queen’s castle room, they really want to see their brother again. However the castle has a room based on Asriel’s search history too, and Kris (not you) closes their eyes and won’t look at it.

What is Ralsei?

His name is an anagram of Asriel. Is he an extension of Asriel? The slightly flirtier dialogue in ch.2 would point to no. Is he an extension of Kris themselves, given the link between Kris’s childhood habit of wearing a headband with red horns on it, to pretend to be a monster like their family?

Ralsei knows exactly where the Dark World in the school is located, and unlike regular Darkners, knows the world is folded up inside the ‘real world’. There’s a certain whiplash to Ralsei telling you to hop out of his reality into yours and go down the hallway to retrieve all the board game items.

How does he jump from one Dark World to another, without assistance? How does he not get petrified like Lancer and Rouxls? Is this a power level thing because he’s a prince or something else? We definitely do not know enough about Ralsei.

He also says this incredibly suspicious thing after you spare Spamton NEO. Susie was also curious but accepts that maybe it ‘didn’t mean anything’, which is a sure tell that these optional bosses do mean something.

Someone is orchestrating what’s happening, opening fountains, manipulating the rulers, and influencing NPCs to become the optional bosses. Why? I suspect Ralsei for both knowing too much, and pretending something doesn’t matter when it clearly does. Until Asriel actually comes home from college I’m going to suspect he’s involved in this too.

How much does Seam know?

Seam on the other hand knows a lot about what’s going on but is openly withholding information while helping you. He’s nihilistic. He says things like:

One day soon... You too, will begin to realize the futility of your actions. Ha ha ha... At that time, feel free to come back here. I'll make you tea... And we can toast... to the end of the world!

Either this ‘end of the world’ is a reference to The Roaring, where opening too many dark fountains dooms the Dark World and the real one... or, I can’t get out of my head the idea that Deltarune takes place in a fake, or weird reconstruction of Undertale where things don’t match up, and eventually it will have to disappear. After all, powers of determination and creating and manipulating universes are Undertale’s basic bread and butter. How can we look at an Alternate Universe containing the characters we already know and not suspect that? Seam also uses Gaster’s key words, ‘darker, yet darker’, seemingly to clue us in that he’s not off track here.

Why haven’t we seen Papyrus?

This is a bright neon flashing ‘something’s not right’ sign. It’s not like Papyrus’s voice actor was too busy or anything. His absence is noticable and for a reason. Nice of Sans to promise we could meet him despite being aware we’re piloting a child’s body around, though, even if he didn’t follow through.

What locations in town could be used for dark fountains in the next 4 chapters?

If the sequence continues, we have chapter 1 in the school games room, chapter 2 in a computer lab, and chapter 3 in front of Kris’s television, where the aesthetic of each setting influences the world, characters, and enemies in the Dark World created there. Future possibilities include the church, the hospital, sans’s grocery store, Noelle’s house, and the closed bunker.

What the hell’s in the closed bunker

This one’s too obvious, honestly. I think it’ll open for no reason in chapter 7 and a little white dog will bounce out and steal one of your key items and nothing else happens.

Why does Asgore have these

Unlike the bunker feeling like a joke teaser, I gotta believe this is foreshadowing something weird. For example, what does opening a dark fountain in here with the seven flowers do? Does it just take you into Undertale?

Each chapter will have a hidden boss with a ‘soul mode’ from Undertale

Chapter 1 let you stay red, but I think each subsequent chapter is going to change your soul mode to one of the seven colours and design the encounter around that. Purple, yellow, green and blue were used in Undertale, leaving the light blue and orange modes yet to be revealed.

How does Spamton emulate Mettaton Neo’s name, body, and incorporate his battle theme, and the ‘Dummy!’ theme, with no actual connection between them ingame?

This is a really fun one that’s explained over in this post here. Swatch is the Dark World creation from the paint program on the library computers, so he’s able to explain that a Lightner made the robot body decaying in the castle basement that way.

Mettaton went to the library and drew his ideal form, Mettaton NEO, in MS Paint, and the Dark World formed that into a puppet body which Spamton was able to hijack temporarily. So by doing that Spamton was able to channel Mettaton’s appearance, attacks, music, and SOUL mode for the fight.

This might mean that the future hidden bosses, each with their own SOUL mode, might be based on the associated character for that mode (Muffet, Undyne, and Sans or Papyrus), and the boss will take on some aspect of them from their world to leech their fight mechanics.

The Problem With Mettaton

We don’t exactly know what Deltarune is about. It’s an alternate universe where the characters from Undertale already live on the surface, have completely normal lives, but diverge from the storyline of Undertale and, crucially, have not lived through the changes Frisk brought to their lives.

Remember how Undertale had a dozen different ending routes depending on who you befriended? The constant reinforcement in Undertale was that your choices mattered. Through Frisk, you chose to bring Alphys closure about her mistakes, you chose to befriend papyrus instead of attacking him, you chose to help Alphys and Undyne realise their feelings for each other and it’s only doing that that leads to the golden ending and escape to the surface.

Deltarune is the opposite, your choices do not matter. The only thing you can do to force the route of the game to change is to force Noelle into a No Mercy run, which is indirect, and also, a total desperation to mess with an otherwise set course. This version of the characters have not been helped by Frisk - Undyne and Alphys are not together, Papyrus has no friends, Asgore cannot get over himself, and they’re clearly the worse for it, but potentially, you COULD still do these things. In fact it’s hinted that you already are.

But there’s Mettaton.

He’s still a ghost and does not leave his house. In Frisk’s world, Gaster deleted himself, promoting Alphys to royal scientist by bluffing with Mettaton, and she then build him his ideal body. In Kris’s world... Alphys is a school teacher. There’s no barrier to break, no reason to experiment on souls, no Flowey mistake, and no body for Mettaton.

It was sad in Ch.1, but now with the Spamton NEO fight in ch.2, it’s unmissable. Mettaton wants that body and he cannot get it. Alphys in this universe is not going to leave her teaching job and suddenly be able to build a robot. Mettaton is just... screwed out of his happy ending and cannot get it.

So what resolution could this have? If it wasn’t for Mettaton I might believe in the vaildity of Deltarune and Hometown. But. How can you doom this character? If Undertale was the only way Mettaton could be befriended, then Undertale is Primary Universe A and Seam is right - the world of Deltarune is doomed as some kind of aberration. It all relies on how this gets explained in the future, but the core mystery of Deltarune is how exactly this universe intersects with Undertale and whether one is an offshoot of the other. How the Dark World links into that is another complication. But even as we get more fun characters and neat stuff in the Dark Worlds, let’s not forget we have absolutely no idea why Undertale’s characters are living here with no mention of underground or why there are no other humans beside Kris.

[danny-chase]

The Batfam as Tech Majors

AU where Alfred got tired of watching Bruce slap duct tape on the Batmobile and call it good, so he forced the children into college. He makes each of them complete an internship with Lucius in R and D so they have better knowledge of how the devices that their lives depend on work. Majors/minors/tropes under cut.

Dick:

Mechanical Engineering Major

He was in undeclared engineering for as long as possible

He settled on mechanical because it seemed the most broad

Plus he joined a car club, loved it, and there were a ton of MechE’s there

He ends up taking credit overloads most semesters because he always finds 1-3 random classes that he wants to take

Despite taking everything from advanced computer science classes (he somehow convinces even the most intense professors to let him into their classes) to hyper specific phycology classes, he doesn’t have any minors to show for it

He just gets bored with the subject after a couple classes

This gives him a bunch of random knowledge

When he talks to his younger siblings about classes, somehow he’s always managed to take at least one that they’re in, and offers advice.

He has the best RA stories. He most certainly did not need to be an RA. But the school was hurting for them and he thought it would be fun.

His residents loved him, but that didn’t stop them from playing beer pong in the common spaces at 3am.

He founds a circus arts club after his residents pull up information about his past and get overly excited about it

Specifically, he finds out they know about his past, because one of them decided it was a good idea to try and juggle knives, and because he’d prefer there not to be any additional bloodstains on the carpet he decides to start the club

He nearly graduated late because he forgot he needed to take specific classes for his major

Barbara: 

Computer Science/Math duel Major

She’s a TA for Comp Sci 1, all the students fight to get her help because she’s amazing at spotting bugs and is super patient

Somehow she’s the president of 3 clubs and is on student senate

She’s the curve breaker

She gets homework assignments meant to take a week done the day they’re assigned

She and Dick went to a single party together, stayed for five minutes, decided it was too loud, and went to get ice cream

Along with her club, she’s in professional organizations, and is part of a women in STEM mentoring program

She started a petition to get more wheel chair ramps installed. Half the buildings are protected under some “historical grounds” bs that’s an excuse for not being accommodating

The petition didn’t go anywhere at first, but it was widely shared on social media and made the school look horrible, so they implemented some of her proposals

Jason:

Philosophy/Cognitive Science duel Major

He gets asked “There’s a philosophy major?” every time he has to do one of those stupid what’s your name and major icebreakers

Jason lives in the library

He’s fallen asleep in there at 3am after it gets locked up

He quotes philosophers at his siblings when they’re being annoying, and it effectively shuts them up, because he only quotes the most nonsensical arguments

He gets involved with the college’s community outreach program

He volunteers for a local robotics team

When people find out his majors, they’re genuinely confused, because he understands robotics really well

He lies his ass off about being really interested in it as a child

Dick convinced him to be an RA for a semester, and he almost had a heart attack

Someone choked in front of him on the first day

Despite seeming like a tough RA, he genuinely cared about his residents and had to quit because he was so stressed out that one of them would do something stupid and die

Cass:

Innovation/Design Major

She’s really observant, so she’s great at spotting flaws in infrastructure and coming up with ways to fix them

Spending time with Barbara made her realize the lack of systems designed with wheelchair users in mind

Her experience being illiterate and not knowing English has imprinted on her the need for signage that can be understood by anyone

She focuses on taking project based classes, where she can draw out her designs and build them, rather than figuring out the math behind them

She has patents for the inventions she created at WE

She was exempted from the “Alfred’s mandatory college degree program” but decided to go as a part time student for herself

It took her twice as long to graduate, and a lot of tutoring from her siblings, but she made it!

The family threw her an extra special party when she graduated - everyone else had minor celebratory dinners, but they went all out for Cass

There was not a dry eye at her graduation ceremony

Cass works part time with WE on and off as a designer after her first internship

She comes up with ideas during patrols, draws them and sends them to Lucius

Tim:

Computer Science Major with a minor in game design

He makes it to approximately 20% of his lectures

He nearly didn’t graduate on time because he put off his humanity courses for so long

He missed the actual ceremony, even though the family showed up

He starts all his assignments the day before they’re due

If at all possible he avoids groupwork and offers to do assignments by himself because he gives his teammates heart attacks when he starts his part the project at 3pm the day before it’s due

This leads to extremely frequent all-nighters

He always finds himself rewriting everyone else’s code to make it work more efficiently

This can, of course, cause some people to feel a little upset

Other students specifically seek him out as a teammate so they can half ass their parts

He participates in game jams when he has time, and got super into the hacking club

Against all odds, he joined a fraternity

Dick literally fell off a building when he found out

He makes up stories about partying for the heck of it, when in reality he and the guys just play Smash Bros together until 3am

He hasn’t seen anyone drink more than two beers, and he hasn’t tried alcohol there either

He joined on accident, he had just pulled an all-nighter and stumbled into a recruiting fair, he heard someone shouting about Mario Kart Double Dash, and bada bing bada boom, he agreed to rush because it involved being stuck in a room playing video games all weekend

Steph:

Civil Engineering Major with minors in Sustainability and STSS (Science, Technology, and Social Science) 

She gets constantly shit on for being a civie

Every time she introduces herself someone mumbles “fake mechie” in the background

She and Jason complain about the disrespect together

She was genuinely shocked when Bruce offered to pay for her college tuition

She’d been planning on going and cutting costs any way possible

But Bruce took her aside when she was applying and offered to pay it all

She refused at first, but then money just appeared in her bank account, and what was she supposed to do, give it back?

She also participates in professional groups and is a member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers), and she mentors younger students

She ends up as class president by running a very successful social media meme campaign

She got and email saying she’d won and panicked because she had no idea what she was doing and was just having fun making memes

She ended up staying class president the entire time, and ended up getting really into it, and ended up with a pretty solid approval rating

She joined a sorority and had a blast

They worked with the local animal shelter, and she started bringing Damian along as well

Her sisters think he’s adorable and he secretly enjoys the attention

She gets her revenge on all the civil engineering haters by landing her dream job redesigning the poorer areas of Gotham to include more green spaces, increase affordable housing, and upgrading access to utilities

Duke:

Biochemisty Major with a minor in Neuroscience 

Harper, Tim, Steph, and him are all in the same year

Tim convinces him to join the fraternity with him

He joins a variety of professional groups as well

He mentors other BIPOC, and joins NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) and runs helps run professional development programs

But he’s also in like million other clubs that he does not put on his resume

He’s runs the college’s meme page club, is part of the Pokémon Go club, is on the competitive Overwatch team, consistently attends the anime club’s Dragon Ball Z watch parties, joins the Dance Dance Revolution club, and the list goes on and on

When Tim is awake, and Harper isn’t busy, they go with him, but both of them have too much inconsistencies in their schedule to join

He ends up meeting like half the campus

He unintentionally has become a god of networking

Unlike his siblings, he goes all the way for a doctorate

He researches Joker venom, determined to figure out a cure for his parents (in my HC, he eventually does)

He wins like every award imaginable for his groundbreaking research into venoms as he comes up with vaccines that save countless lives

He still works on the meme page, even after he graduates

Harper:

She somehow defies all odds and triple majors in Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering

She takes credit overload every semester, and gets credit for her internships at WE

She and Steph were roommates freshman year, and Steph swears that Harper never sleeps

She is the most wanted partner for every engineering project

She thrives in college, and lives off of coffee

She’s in the front row in every lecture

She doesn’t leave the lecture halls, she’s gotten locked in more than once after falling asleep

She had a heart attack the first time she saw students using the machine shop

Half the students weren’t wearing safety glasses, she counted three people wearing slides, the machines were rusted over, the soldering irons were all broken, and she nearly watched someone break their wrist using a power drill

She refuses to work there

Her secret to success is prioritizing - she absorbs the material like a sponge so if homework is only worth 5%, it isn’t getting done, and she’ll just cram before the exam

She almost joined Tim and Duke’s frat (it’s co-ed), but she didn’t have the time

They let her in without rushing senior year because Tim ended up as the boss, and he said so

Cullen:

I don’t know a ton about Cullen, but I feel like he would be a comp sci major

He comes in when Harper, Tim, Duke, and Steph are upperclassmen, and he joins all of Duke’s clubs

They have a million inside jokes

To the other siblings, it seems like the two have their own language

He also joins a club that mentors LGTBQ+ students at the local high school, and encourages them to pursue STEM careers if they’re interested

Jason recruits him as a mentor for the robotics team (he’s the lead mentor at this point) after some of the kids in his mentoring program mention him at a meeting and Jason is like O.O

He avoids parties at all costs, and ends up joining the frat as well

It’s all Duke’s fault he’s in a frat

He does however, meet some lovely boys in the frat

Damian: 

Aerospace Engineering/Environmental Engineering dual Major with minors in sustainability and biology

He nearly riots when he’s presented with the college’s idea of a vegetarian/vegan meal

He manages to get out of the meal plan after that, and begins rallying students to push for better options that contain actual protein

He joins a community service club that works with the local animal shelter, and secretly joins the circus arts club (that’s thriving even without Dick there)

He learns how to sew blankets out of old clothes for the animals

He and Barbara are the only siblings to graduate with a 4.0, simply because they were the only one that took the time to actually do all the homework, and remembered to turn things in on time

He refuses to live in the dorms, and instead lives in one of their apartments nearby (once again somehow managing to complain to the college enough to get his housing waived)

He literally walked in once when visiting Duke, and immediately walked out, and resolved never to step near one again

He makes a total of three friends while at the school, both are in the animal shelter club

They exchange vegetarian/vegan recipes, and get together to cook

He decides to move off campus with them his junior year when they needed another roommate, and he won’t admit it to his siblings, but he had a ton of fun

He and his friend group may have joined an animal rights hacktivist group and may have helped orchestrate some major hacks

Poisson Ivy finds out and feeds him targets and information when they’re supposed to be fighting (she just walks back to Arkham if the others aren’t watching, and slips him a list at the end)

Bonus Bruce:

He cries at every graduation

He’s asked to make a speech at every graduation

He never does - it’s about his kids, not him

He single handedly is keeping the school from bankruptcy - not that any of his kids (other than probably Barbara) know

He sobbed for days after Cass graduated

He genuinely didn’t expect Dick or Tim to graduate

After Dick graduated, he wouldn’t let Bruce touch any of the equipment, and the rest of his kids followed suit

He isn’t actually bad at engineering, his education was just super informal, and hey duct tape works 95% of the time in his experience

The real reason Alfred was annoyed was because he refused to take the time to properly fix something if someone was in danger, and then he’d forget that he’d just used duct tape to patch something

But now since no one lets him touch anything, he’s genuinely lost a lot of the knowledge

But in a pinch, he can fix stuff

[mossolantern]

Some of My Thoughts On Security Breach

Now that the initial hype for FNaF:Security Breach has died down a little, I've found myself wishing that the game was more traditionally scary, since it’s marketed as a horror game. Let’s get this out of the way before I say anything else. I don't hate Security breach, in fact I found it to be quite a fun and goofy experience! But that’s where my problem with it lies: It’s fun and goofy, not scary. While I am still a fan of the franchise, I am not the biggest fan of the more cartoony sci-fi direction that the games have been pushing towards in every new installment ever since it was in the forefront during FNaF: Sister Location.

I remember back in 2014 when everybody and their brother wanted an official free-roam FNaF game, hell, I was one of them! And while we did get one 7 years later in the form of Security Breach, it's missing what made the first games so engaging and thrilling in the first place (in my own opinion, at least). The main thing that made FNaF scary for me when I first discovered it in 2014 was the familiarity of the surroundings that the game had to offer. As a kid I used to go to Chuck E. Cheese for almost every birthday I had, as well as some of my friends’ and family members’ birthdays. Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza was the equivalent of the real-world’s Chuck E. Cheese!

After closing time, it’s a place that most people wouldn’t want to be caught in when the lights are off and the place is devoid of any other human life. Something feels generally unsettling and just..overall wrong when you’re in a place that’s usually lively and cheery while it’s completely devoid of people and light! This was very scary to me, and I’m sure there are at least a few other people who would agree. While Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex is very impressive and looks like it’d be fun to visit, It doesn’t feel devoid of people or light. It doesn’t seem like a place that I wouldn't want to be during closing time, as it is still pretty well-lit and populated (even if it isn’t by humans)

Considering that Fazbear Ent. is constantly getting lawsuits, having their locations closed down for various reasons, and even claiming bankruptcy at some point, I suppose it’s just a tad strange that they have such a large power-guzzling and high maintenance location to their name. (Perhaps I’m just applying too much real-world logic to a fictional company, but what I’m trying to say is that I personally believe that it would be more scary if the location was a bit more cramped and dark, it’d definitely add more tension and it’d make hiding a more prevalent mechanic!)

Another thing that made the original few FNaF games so scary to me was the designs of the animatronics. Now I know what you’re probably thinking, “But the new designs look good!” and yes, they do look good, I’m not denying that, but they don’t look like animatronics. They look like robotic fursonas or action figures that you’d find someone collecting more than actual animatronics that you would believably see at a children’s restaurant or mall. Are they what I wish animatronics realistically looked like at pizza joints? Yes! But sadly, most restaurant-based animatronics don’t look that well-polished in reality, and that’s what makes them so uncanny, cool, and scary! While I don’t think that having the sentient AI is a bad idea, I do find that their perfectly articulated and fluid human movements hinder the animatronics’ ability to reach full scare potential for me. Part of what most people find unsettling about animatronics is their stiff and almost human movement patterns. There's something wonderfully spooky about how they try to imitate human movement imperfectly, and I'd love to see the glamrock gang in more of a FNaF 1 trailer style of both movement and build (keeping their eccentric colors and defining features like their colorful fur patterns or monty's mohawk and roxanne's rad hair, of course. I am in no way saying I want to strip away the individuality from these bots, I just feel like the original fur-like texture from the FNaF 1 band was more scary to me personally than the plastic-like shells of the Toys and Glamrocks, and it’s what I’d personally like to see in the future, even though I know how unlikely that is to happen lol! It's just cool to imagine how scary the game could have been with some slight changes!! Please don’t take any of this too seriously! I mostly wrote this for fun and everyone has a right to their own opinions on the game!)

[the-slut-verses]

sayer relisten thots, season 5.5

i'm referring to that series of bonus eps between seasons 5 and 6, the classic lit and remastered season one eps, this is split into two parts

the classic lit ones:

the classic lit ones were so great, idk the vibes of these ais reading stuff i had to read in english class with the full suite of sound design is just good

the lovecraft one read in dr young's voice was my favorite, something about his particular voice just inspires the "i want to see that twink obliterated" reaction and hearing him go thru ordeal after ordeal is Fun, kudos to whoever suggested that ep

the first bonus ep they did like this all the way from s2 iirc had the framing device that it was sayer reading these things to help a resident fall asleep and it's just really cute

sayer being salty and having opinions and asides about classic lit is fucking hilarious when coming thru it's robot voice

esp the one where it fully stopped the soundscape just to point out the problematic period typical misogyny

it's like, diversity win! the evil ai planning humanity's destruction is a feminist sksksk

remastered s1:

the remastered s1 eps were not as fun for me

idk the fun thing abt indie pods is seeing the creators figure out and get better at their craft as they continue and those eps have a certain charm and earnestness to them

they cut out some lines, and like, sometimes they make the ep more coherent, like they cut out that thing where sayer implied people were having children on typhon

but for the most part, it makes the ep feel more cramped

like, i really loved the low level alerts cuz it built up the world and implied plot happening outside of sven

but they edited them to come across as tighter and more relevant to what's happening to sven, and i miss how wtnv-esque early sayer was

i also take enjoyed the way they'd read itunes reviews that was cute sad to hear en cut out

on that note, and they developed a wider music library, and in some eps it worked really great like in a dreamless sleep cuz it really underscored the vast terror of sayer

but in most eps, not much was happening at all so the music felt like it was Too Much, like,, sven's just getting dressed this scene doesn't need sad piano music, sven's just on break this doesn't need a big orchestral score with choir

it's kinda funny if i headcanon it's sayer making things unnecesarily dramatic as it is its nature but i don't think that's what they were going for

also it felt like there was less room to breathe in terms of pacing and it just messed up the vibes

like ep 5, the one where sven was on break and sayer was bothering him to bitch about their other coworkers, the original was really fun cuz it was very chill until it got to the end, and sayer's insisting multiple times there's no low level alerts until the very last minute was really cute cuz it felt like it was trynna come up with excuses to talk to sven

but with the melodramatic music and tighter script, it felt more frantic

maybe im just biased cuz i listen to this pod's soundtrack and i can recognize the songs but yeah

also, the ending of ep3 was really confusing cuz it ended with sayer saying to sven good luck on your first day of work

but then in the next ep sayer references sven accidentally ending up on floor 13??

that happened in the original s1 but not in the remastered version

but yeah im excited to hear the remastered vore ep i hope they keep it as horny as the original

[sexycraisinthanos]

I’m gonna infodump about my favorite movie

Rise of the Guardians

It’ll be under the readmore, but TL;DR: Watch Rise of the Guardians and read the books

Rise of the Guardians is a 2012 animated film released by Dreamworks. The story is childhood figures (Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and Jack Frost) trying to defend the children of earth against Pitch Black, (The Boogeyman) 

It’s based on a book series called Guardians of Childhood, written by William Joyce. Who, if you don’t know, writes children’s book. Guardians of Childhood is more of a “Young Adult” series compared to his other Guardians books (The Man in the Moon, Sandman: The Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie, and Jack Frost are all part of the series, but they are picture books.)

He’s also written other books you may be familiar with.

The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs and A Day with Wilbur Robinson 

Sound familiar?

Maybe you’d recognize them as their movie counterparts, Epic (animated by Blue Sky Studios) and Meet the Robinsons (animated of course by Disney)

Also Rolie Polie Olie, which was a favorite Disney Jr cartoon growing up for me, and was also a book series. 

I could honestly go on and on about William Joyce, his work was a part of my childhood a LOT (even credited for working on some of my favorite films like Buddy, Robots, Toy Story, and A Bug’s Life) and that’s probably why I love ROTG so much.

I read all of the Guardians books and own all of them save for Jack Frost and The Art of Rise of the Guardians and the books are not cheap, but what books are? I have HARD COVER BITCHES. Half of them were gifts and I also own the ROTG DVD.

The art in the books (all drawn by William Joyce himself) is really good (this is my favorite art from the books)

And the animation in the movie, as expected from Dreamworks, is beautiful. 

You get to see all their unique homes and they’re such varying types of environments. Of course, you have the North Pole, where it’s chaotic and wonderful. Just look at this concept art 

And then you have the Tooth Palace, where the Tooth Fairy does her work

It’s very obvious that there are some Indian inspirations in the design because Tooth herself is actually Middle-Eastern (in the books it’s explained in depth more and one of my complaints about the movie is that they whitewashed her even though her concept art in the ending credits shows her with brown skin)

The Warren, where the Easter Bunny paints his eggs

Which is something you never really think about because people only focus on the North pole so seeing so much thought put into it is really nice

We never see where Sandy works/lives (in the MOVIE. But the GAME on the other hand lets you explore EVERYONE’S homes and that’s a whole nother story)

We DO however see Pitch’s lair and

it’s rightfully spooky. When you actually see the scene play out in the lair, you get all confused and don’t know which way is which and it always unsettles me which is GOOD because that’s what it’s SUPPOSED to do

What’s really unique about ROTG is that there’s a source material (and as of now there are eight books (five novels, three picture books) and the series isn’t DONE yet) and instead of turning the books into a movie even though the plot is literally RIGHT THERE, they took the source material and turned it into a prologue. The movie takes place about 300 years after the books do and since the books are supposedly still ongoing, and William Joyce was CONTINUING to write the series while the movie was in production. (Three books have come out since the movie came out.)

I love how challenging that must have been for William to try to include stuff from his previous books in the movie AND to try and link the movie to his newer books despite some continuity errors (also worth noting that he has written a book about Santa and his wife, but Mrs. Claus is YET to be seen or even mentioned in the movie) but I appreciate the effort he put into it and I can’t wait to see what else he’ll come up with.

The characters look a BIT different from their book counterparts

Jack is voiced by Chris Pine and his voice is WAY TOO DEEP and the creators can’t agree on an age for him (book age is 14, but he can age himself up and down to a certain point and some producers said they imagined him 17 or 18) and (imo) I think Jack’s design was pretty lazy (a blue jacket with brown pants) compared to everyone else’s. I mean you have North, who is 

BIG

His design is based more on the worldly Father Christmas than the Saint Nick/Santa that we know. 

When he’s not in the Pole he’s wearing his big red fur coat and a cossack hat

Because he’s Russian

I’m pretty sure he canonically was raised by bears but that may have just been me imagining it. His book appearance is way different because when we meet him, he’s not Santa yet. So he’s still young

Of course, as the books go on, he looks like Santa

Bunny has the most drastic character change from his book design, as depicted by this fanart (which i couldn’t find a credit for that wasn’t pinterest so if anyone knows please tell me)

And there’s a CANONICAL reason why he looks so different (two actually)

Once they put Hugh Jackman in the role, they wanted a more dry Australian ranger-type design for him, and then the robes got in the way because of how he was moving, even when they changed him to just a lab coat, so they decided to forgo clothes altogether

Fun fact about Bunny. He’s a Pooka, a shapeshifting folklore creature that can turn into either a rabbit, goat, cat, dog, or horse. (or even a human with animal like features) Which actually gives a lot of people the headcanon that Pitch uses the souls of all Bunny’s dead people (yep he’s a sole survivor) as Nightmares

But he’s a different kind of Pooka. He’s an alien technically. And this breed of Pooka CANNOT eat chocolate because it does things to their body. Like giving him six arms. Or making his ears into helicopter propellers. 

This is relevant because he uses chocolate in battle multiple times. So the canonical explanation for why Bunny looks so different is that he ate too much chocolate and it permanently changed his body.

Which I love. I could go on about him but all the characters are interesting

Tooth has probably the second most confusing design

She’s based off a hummingbird with dragonfly wings, which aesthetically makes so much sense, but in the books she has regular feather wings. I also don’t like how weird her proportions are. Her feet are tiny nubs, her head is too big for her body (her body is actually pretty nicely designed it’s just every other part of it that bothers me) and I already mentioned the whitewashing

PITCH on the other hand had the biggest glow down compared to the books

He’s just wearing a black robe and, apparently, he doesn’t even have sleeves, which you can’t even really tell because it’s just all smudgy and shit

I mean I guess that’s the point, that he looks like he’s clothed in shadow, but it’s frustrating to look at especially compared to his book design where he’s wearing a FABULOUS coat

Meanwhile Sandy has the PERFECT character design

He’s just ROUND and wears a bathrobe made of sand. Like it’s not even that different from his book design (his hair has more frills than the book version) because it’s such a perfect design and I love how he’s animated. You can’t see it that well because the gif quality, but the sand also sparkles and it just makes it so fun to watch on screen 

The movie itself has its share of flaws. (the movie likes to pick and choose the rules it wants to follow about its universe, a huge plothole, and some cheaply constructed arguments between characters that really just make me annoyed because I don’t want to see the easter bunny making a child cry I want to see him get into a fist fight with Santa it’s like you don’t even KNOW your demographic) But I love it and there’s SO MUCH I could talk about. There are characters in the books that weren’t in the movie and there were characters in the movie that weren’t in the books (because they weren’t born yet but IRRELEVANT) 

It was a HUGE flop despite critics praising it. Like 8,000 people lost their jobs over it that’s how big a flop it was. But it’s such a dear movie to me and it’s clear that William Joyce holds this series close to his heart (dedicating it and the movie to his late daughter) which makes sense because it’s based on stories he told her when she was young and I’m so honored that he chose to share these stories with us. I just love the series and I should do a re-read at some point

[thirium-fiction]

Be Back Soon (Markus x Reader)

Word Count: 3k+

Request:  Maybe a Markus fic where reader works at CyberLife but secretly helps repair deviants?

A/N: AhHhh this request was so interesting! I chose to use the violent revolution route for Markus because it worked better. I had some fun with this one and I’m pretty proud of it despite getting a little carried away with the background. I’m sorry I just love giving huge amounts of content for a story!

Warnings: Slight swearing and angst

-

You had worked for CyberLife for awhile now, having been close friends with Elijah Kamski when he was younger and was just getting started with studying androids and his business. The two of you first met in college and you heard all about the 12-year-old who got into the University of Colbridge. It was practically unbelievable when you first heard about it. You worked your ass off to get to where you were at 18 and when you found out a pre-teen did the same? It’d be a lie to say that it didn’t cause a little bit of jealousy. But, he turned out to be a pretty kind kid. Sure, he had a bit of an ego to him considering he was among some of the top students in the United States and they were all older than him. Yet he still knew when to draw the line if he wanted to make connections for his future company.

And that’s how Elijah began to connect with you.

Both of you were studying AI when he noticed your inability of accepting the possibility that any form of artificial intelligence could be nothing more than what their creators designed them to be. It was an extremely dangerous mindset that you had considering how advanced technology was becoming. The idea that androids were just machines was safe. Didn’t you want to be safe? Considering how many verbal debates you’ve gotten into over the subject, apparently not. 

As a matter of fact, your stubbornness on the subject granted you the ability to help with Elijah’s Turing test for Chloe. You did it once through a computer, asking a series of questions for both Chloe, who was pretending to be human, and the actual human who had to convince you they were the actual person and not an android. Chloe passed with flying colors and you were shocked to realize that you assumed the human was an android.

You did another form of the same test but in person this time to see how she’d look in public situations around others. You had never met Chloe so you had no idea what she looked like. Another female was in the room and had to convince you once again that she was the human while Chloe did the same. Chloe’s expressions and responses were just - so -  natural. It really solidified your idea that machines can be so much more. But, people can just refute you by saying that Elijah designed her to make you believe that.

Nevertheless, she fooled you again and was the first android to pass the Turing test in 2022.

CyberLife began pumping out androids to the public like never before. People were willing to spend thousands of dollars just so they didn’t have to do “extras” like chores, caring for family, transportation, and other forms of work. And once humans got their hands on them, they practically became children and destroyed what was meant for them to enjoy. It was sickening what you’ve seen them do and how openly they’d talk about such abuse. You tried going to Elijah multiple times about the problem you’ve seen.

“There’s nothing I can do.” He would say to you like always. “I can’t control what people decide to do with their product.”

“They’re not products!” You’d shout at him, infuriated by how he was handling the situation yet again. 

Then he’d leave the room without saying anything else. 

Elijah became increasingly more distant once he heard about Amanda’s death during February of 2027. You knew they had been extremely close with her being his mentor along with being his professor as well. She was your professor too but they had a bond that you were never able to form with her. And, not more than a year later, the CEO of CyberLife resigned from his position and left out of the blue. He never told you of his plans or where he was going. He left a simple sticky note on his desk addressed to you that read:

I’ll be back soon.

It’s been ten years and there was still no word from him.

So, you continued life how you usually would. You went to work for CyberLife as a normal manufacturing employee under a new boss (who was a complete jackass). But, as time went by, more and more “deviants” started to make the news. They were always badly damaged after escaping the their owners after injuring/and or killing them so they would stand out from a crowd. You knew the media was purposefully blocking out the part where they were doing it out of self-defense. Humans couldn’t possibly be held accountable at all.

You had enough of the bullshit.

Every once in awhile, these deviants would find their way back to the CyberLife warehouses. You occasionally had some manufacturing work to be done there so you spent some of your shifts around those branches. Those androids who were luckily enough to make it that far were usually in dire need of biocomponents to keep themselves going. You’d catch them trying to steal whatever they could get their hands on but instead of reporting them like you should, you decided you could help them instead. They were always frightened at first, afraid you’d turn on them or take them apart right then and there. You always made sure to make them feel at ease through the process of repairment. If there wounds were too great, you offered them the option to continue or to stop. Some would carry on despite knowing they had little time left while others gave up on the table right in front of you. 

It wasn’t long until more and more heard of your name and looked for you as a source of safety. Eventually, it reached a point where hiding them became increasingly difficult. It was hard to take care of multiple beaten up androids in one night while also having to get your work done. There have been a couple close calls where you had to convince your coworkers you were just fixing up regular androids for clients. You could only use the same excuse for so long if the only robots you were repairing were horribly beaten. 

It was saddening how many came your way looking for some type of assistance. If they were comfortable enough, they’d tell you why they ran away in the first place. After that, some would let you know that their plan was to find Jericho and meet Markus himself. 

Ah, Markus. 

You had heard of the android hero before. He was practically a wanted criminal across the United States because of his revolution. His face was all over the news after his speech and fires and violent riots followed not long after. He was an intimidating and scary figure to most humans but you couldn’t help but understand where he was coming from. For years, androids have been beaten down and oppressed by society because they were seen as less than to humans. It wasn’t surprising that he was angered by it. 

You never would’ve guessed you’d come face-to-face with such a legend, however. 

You were walking around the warehouse lot, enjoying a bit of fresh air after having been inside forever from loads of paperwork. It was dark out and luckily the area had some pretty substantial lighting or else you would’ve been left completely blind to your environment. Yet, it wasn’t enough for you to notice the figures running towards you in the distance. You didn’t even realize you weren’t alone until you heard footsteps closer behind you. Expecting some of your regular coworkers, you put a tired smile on your face and turned around but immediately froze once you saw a familiar pair of determined blue and green eyes. 

“It’s you.” You whispered in awe, your heart racing in both excitement and slight fear. “Both the hero and the terrorist.”

Markus just barely tensed at your words, not ever having planned to be labeled as a terrorist by anyone. He’s heard it through the media numerous times but someone doesn’t ever really get used to that sort of thing.

The redheaded woman next to him (who you knew was also an android from your experience with them) walked up to him and gently grabbed his arm. “I don’t trust this. They’re human, Markus. They can easily report us to the authorities. We should find help somewhere else.” She muttered, turning her head away so you couldn’t really tell what she was saying.

The RK200 pulled his arm away from her grasp before returning his attention back to you. “You’re (Y/N), correct?”

You nodded, still shocked to be in the presence of such a figure among the potential future of artificial intelligence. “In the actual flesh.” You laughed, trying to ease your own nervousness more than anything. When no laughs were thrown back at your sad excuse of a joke, you cleared your throat and stood tall. “U-Uh, yes. I’m (Y/N).”

Markus glanced between his group of friends and the woman gave him a look of disapproval. He gave her an apologetic look back before hesitantly stepping out of the way to reveal an injured PL600 being carried by a PJ500 model. “We need your help.” He said quickly, looking around to make sure there was no one nearby. When he noticed your lack of response, he gave you a pleading look. “Please.”

You blinked a few times and rubbed your face before slightly shaking your head. “If you were caught here, I couldn’t possibly fathom what would -” Your eyes fell on the blonde android in front of you, blue thirium slowly oozing out between his fingers as he held his wound. You could tell this wasn’t his first rodeo with injuries. Actually, all of them seemed experienced with this type of situation. Taking a deep breath, you finally nodded and ushered them to follow you. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do. But, I can’t guarantee anything.”

You saw Markus’ shoulders relax and he gave you a kind smile with a nod as a thanks. Your heart skipped a beat at such a sight. He was actually quite handsome and whoever had him before he became deviant must’ve been very lucky. 

You led them into a discreet room towards the back of the warehouse with a table in the middle of it. Everyone knew that’s where you worked for the most part so not many ever came by to interrupt you. It was surrounded with different materials for your operations with an apron in the corner, perfectly clean as if it wasn’t covered in blue blood many times before. 

Thank God for thirium evaporation. You would’ve been given away a long time ago if it wasn’t for that. 

“Set him down there, please.” You ordered, pointing to the table as you turned your back to them and put the apron on. Once you tied the knot behind you, you swiveled around and froze at the amount of androids in the room. Four. You rarely ever got to experience more than one at a time when deviants would come to see you. Sighing, you shuffled over to the door and leaned outside, taking one last survey of the area to see if anyone was around before closing it and locking it. 

You noticed the PJ500 model and the woman stand by each other in the corner away from you as Markus stood over the injured android. You put on a pair of surgeon gloves and walked over to the table that was already starting to be stained blue. “Can I ask what the rest of your names are?” You ask, breaking the heavy silence in the room.

“Simon…” The PL600 grunted as you slowly removed his hand away from his covered wound to inspect what happened.

The other man in the corner in the room was next to reply. “Josh.”

The girl was last and the most cautious. It was obvious she still didn’t trust you despite having heard a lot about you from the others back at Jericho. You were human after all.

“And that’s North.” Markus said on her behalf, his gaze lingering on her a bit as sort of a ‘knock it off’ before he looks at Simon once more. “We’re not used to this kind of...treatment from a human. We’ve all had out fair share of unpleasant encounters with them. So, going to one for help is certainly new for us.” 

You chuckle a bit before grabbing a pair of tweezers nearby and gently moving the skin and parts around inside the wound, trying to find what you were looking for. “It’s alright.” You shrugged, feeling your tool knock into something small and hard. “You guys aren’t the first to be suspicious of my intentions.”

“Hey, Markus.” Josh piped up from his corner. “North and I are gonna stand outside on watch. That alright?”

The leader gave them a small nod. “Just be careful.”

You waited until they left to continue speaking. “I’m surprised careful is still in your vocabulary considering how much trouble you’ve gotten yourselves into.”

A snort came from Simon at your remark which was a little jarring to you. You had to remind yourself they couldn’t feel physical pain like humans can. Once you pulled out the object from his wound, it healed like usual (must’ve been clogging his system) and you handed him a cup of blue liquid for him to drink to replenish what he lost. He took it and thanked you softly before downing it in a blink of an eye. When he was finished, he stood up and swiftly placed the cup back in your hands.

“You truly are a miracle worker like they say.” Simon states, a gracious expression on his face as he give you a little bow. “Thank you.”

You watched as he left the room to meet with the others with only a slight limp. It was obvious he was much more gentler than the people he was around. Almost like a lost child.

“I’d like to thank you once again as well.” Markus said, his tall stature causing him to hover over you. “We would’ve lost many of ours if it wasn’t for you.”

“How could I deny a legend?” You smirk, beginning to put away your tools so it can at least look a little tidier for the next deviant that comes along.

He raised his eyebrows briefly, breaking eyes contact with a smile of his own before he paused, suddenly overwhelmed with confusion. “All humans hate us.” His statement made you stop in the middle of putting an item away and face him. “What’s stopping you from doing the same?”

You pursed your lips in thought, having never considered the possibility of you hating androids like others have. “Have all humans been terrible in your experience?”

The question made Markus’ stare fall to the floor in sadness once he remembered his time with Carl. “No, actually. Quite the opposite.”

“The same goes for humans with androids. People are scared of what they don’t know.”

“We’re scared of what we do know, (Y/N). You’re one of the few who actually sees us for what we are. The rest will never understand.”

“They won’t understand if you don’t give them a chance to.” You whipped out your phone and pulled up an image from online and showed it to him. “They will never give you a chance if they see this.”

Fire. Chaos. Screaming. Crying. Deviants. Humans.

That’s what was on the screen. 

You were showing him a result of one of his many riots from a different perspective.

“They will only see you as an enemy, if they haven’t already, if you continue things this way.”

Markus gently pushed the screen away from him and stepped away from you. “I came here for help and I received it. I don’t need a lecture along with it.” He shook his head, hatred making its way across his features. “You spend years researching what I live everyday. Even you will never truly see what it’s like for us. Do not tell me what is right from wrong.”

He began walking towards the door before you stopped him with a hold on his wrist. “What was your life like before all this?”

His back was to you, not even bothering to turn around. “I was Carl Manfred’s android.”

You let out a little gasp and quickly dropped your grasp on him. You’d seen the articles about the famous artist losing his life to a heart attack. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Markus moved his head to the side to look at you, still not turning fully. “He’d still be alive if humans hadn’t gotten in the way.” His shoulders fell, his determined leader facade beginning to crack. “If only I hadn’t listened. If I had pushed back and not endured. He’d still be here.” 

That’s when he decided to face you fully, revealing the worn down look on his face. The weight of a whole revolution showing itself in one single expression. 

“Now, I’m fixing that mistake.” He hissed, a fiery look in eyes. “I’m pushing back.”

Despite the fact you barely knew him, you wanted to reach out and hold him, letting it know it was gonna be alright. And somehow you suspected that he knew that’s what you were thinking, and he backed away from you once more.  

“I don’t need your pity.”

The android made his way to the door, his long coat flowing behind him triumphantly despite him being so tired (or, at least, what tired would be for an android). You resisted the urge to call out to him and ask him to stay. There was so much more about him that you wanted to know. But, you knew deep down that he’d might not ever feel comfortable enough to share what he’s truly been through with someone like you. A human. 

He gave you one last purposeful look before leaving you with the last words that Elijah gave you before his disappearance.

“I’ll be back soon.”

-

[masterlist]

TAGS:

@stars-with-citrus​ @aproxied​ @polimollykari​ @timedthyme

Please join my new narrative taglist [here] to keep yourself updated along with other stories!

[datawyrms]

Dannymay#1 Eyes

Who could have known one accident could completely change the course of all their lives? Sure, Danny had the most obvious change. Not many people could claim they were doing their best impression of Schrodinger's cat at all times. Yet he and Sam had changed too. His gothic friend had managed to figure out how to decide which issues were worth fighting for while actually having a chance of making a change stick. No more frog heists and poorly interpreted menus, but a lot more paperwork and sit ins. It had been worth it though, repealing any of the mayor’s idiotic programs that were just designed to make surveying everyone easier.

He’d never really thought hacking into and coordinating hundreds of camera feeds was going to be something he was going to be casual about. Yet here he was once again, Tucker Foley, the guy with all the eyes.

It had just been something to thwart Vlad at first, considering how gross it was the man kept sneaking bugs into the Fenton household. What kind of homie would he be if he let some rich asshole keep creeping on his mum? It had been tricky at first, plenty of failures, but now it was practically routine. Even the newest, most highly guarded systems were more like a fun game than the ��baffing computer nonsense’ Danny and Sam insisted it was.

Maybe using the hidden cameras and breaking into others wasn’t the most morally correct choice. Maybe they’d gone a little too far. Yet every time his PDA was able to beep and let him know a camera had spotted a ghost, the ethical implications didn’t seem as important. It was one less ghost that could terrorize freely until Danny could detect it ‘naturally’, or found out on a news broadcast and end up sprinting away while cursing whoever decided to come haunt the town that day.

He checked the alert, eyes rolling as he adjusted his glasses. Technus getting a little too close to an electronics store yet again. He wouldn’t need to call his exhausted half ghost friend for this one if he cut him off quick enough. Blaster, Thermos, PDA, scooter, good to go.

The tech obsessed ghost was already mid monologue as Tucker ran closer “And soon, I-”

“I thought you upgraded to not do the long winded monologues?” the teen asked, thermos pointed and eyebrow raised.

“A-HAH! Ghost child’s mentally superior assistant! There was no one to hear the monologue, so I may make it!” the ghost apparently didn’t care about the suctioning soup container, more invested in refuting the comment. “Now you shall-”

“That’s great dude. How about we just not make another mech that gets blasted to bits today?” he rolled his eyes, watching as the surrounding area quickly emptied of people. ‘Get out of the way of the scary glowing thing’ being such a common occurrence really improved everyone’s knowledge of fire escape routes.

The caped ghost crossed his arms, looking away somewhat sheepishly. “I was not going to make a mech to bring around your clearly calculated doom!”

“You like, always make some sort of mech. Then we have to smash it and all this stuff gets wrecked. Really ruins the whole ‘and beeping’ part of your title,” Tucker said, edging closer. Jazz had insisted Danny was being a bit too much like their parents with the ‘fight first, maybe accidentally ask questions while punching’ policy with the ghosts that had been showing up for literal years At least it proved throwing them back in after a fight wasn’t going to make them stay gone, and they should try some new approaches. Technus was more of a nuisance than a menace, so trying the talking method with him seemed safe enough. After all, he could at least understand the ghost’s obsession with technology.

“It is not my fault the ghost child is always with the smashing! I would like to keep the electronics beeping, thank you very much!” The ghost remained defiant, but the green glow blanketing some of the monitors died down a little.

“Well if you go scaring everyone with a big glowing computer of course it’s gonna get smashed! Are you sure you actually like technology?”

Now that got a reaction. Technus almost seemed to grow larger with how brightly he was glowing. “OF COURSE I DO! ONLY I KNOW THE INTRICACIES OF ALL THESE NEW FANGLED BEEPERS AND BOBS! ONLY I CAN INTEGRATE AND ASSIMILATE TO IMPROVE IT AND MYSELF! YOU COULD NOT EVEN IMAGINE-”

He had to cut the ghost off before he tore off to make a mess. “Okay, chill! It’s just a real shame how much stuff gets ruined when you do this whole haunt and scare the humans thing, you know?”

“It...is that but I must be a worthy foe! It is the peak of rudeness to not put up a decent fight to such a good nemesis! On his territory no less!”

Tucker had to take a moment to think that over. Then another to hold back a snort. “You’re going to smash up all this stuff because you think Danny wants a good fight. Seriously?”

“Yes! Well, that and the terrified human screams! Those are always a hoot, someone should have thought of making somewhere in this world their haunt before now! Wait- why are you laughing?”

“Oh man he’s going to hate this.” he managed to say through laughter. “And what, you lose and get a free ride back home after having a fun day out around humans?”

“The ghost child is a good nemesis for that! Much better than having to drag myself back home with all energy spent! Skulker keeps taking part of my cloak, it is VERY IRRITATING and UNFRESH.”

“Okay, okay, I’m going to cut you a deal. As Danny’s friend, I’ll let you take one thing back to the ghost zone to play with if you just leave now.”

Technus slouched, glancing around a little as if worried the half ghost was going to just pop out a garbage can. “Eh? Won't he be offended I did not challenge him after trespassing? Child ghosts hold terrible grudges!” he spoke in the closest thing the ghost ever got to a whisper, aka theater whispering. “My intelligence is too much to be fooled by a human ploy!” Oh he was absolutely eyeing some sort of camera with adorable flowers on the casing.

“Hey, I’m his friend! He lets me watch over all of Amity, if he’s mad I’ll explain for you, okay?” Tucker wasn’t bothering to threaten with the thermos anymore, even if he still hadn’t quite realized this was actually working.

“Ah! Clever of him to use his humans that way. I should try it with little robot minions! Though my lair is not nearly so big…” the ghost was completely distracted as he mused “Maybe little floating fish! Or floating eyeballs! You are certain he will not be angry?”

“Dude, I promise you he won’t be mad about it. Swear on my glasses. Just take it and go.”

He hesitated for a moment more before swiping the packaged children’s camera, still doing a few double takes at Tucker to make sure the teen wasn’t moving to stop him. “Then I, TECHNUS shall take this ocular image stealing device and devise NEW HORRORS to BRING UPON THE SOULS OF THE LIVING”

“Or you could just play some video games. Those are fun, and if you don’t make a mess you might get to scare some people for a bit.”

“I WILL TAKE THAT IN TO CONSIDERATION, FOUR EYED ONE”

Then he was gone, cackling to himself as he tore through the sky. Jazz was going to have a field day with this one...

(I need to make a pseud on A03 to post all these later...hmhm)

[jupitermelichios]

DC: The High-School AU: The Series: The Staff (the musical)

So I finally cast the school staff and teachers for my DC High School AU, which I thought some of you would have some fun with! I took the subject list from a fairly fancy looking private school, because only schools you have to pay for have their subject lists online, so I’m probably offering way more classes than your average state school, but hey, it’s my AU and I wanted to cram in as many supervillains, obscure heroes, and bad jokes as possible.

Admin & Staff

Principle - Amanda Waller

Deputy Principle & Treasurer - Noah Kuttler (the Calculator)

Nurse - Myra Mason (she was Dr Midnite’s nurse and love interest in the 40s & 50s, then got fridged, but I’m unfridging her and giving her a job with much better survival prospects)

Councillor - Ethel Peabody (she’s a psychiatrist from the Gotham TV show, and also in my headcanon, Amanda Waller’s sister)

Librarian - Stanislaus Johns (The Librarian. I considered bookworm for this job but he’s literally called the Librarian, what was I supposed to do, not use him?)

Admin Staff - Laura Conway (Superman supporting cast and occaisional vampire), Mabel Martin (Riddler’s secretary), Theresa Collins (Goldstar, also Booster Gold’s secretary)

Business

Loren Jupiter (aka Mr Jupiter the richest and therefore most thrustworthy man in the world) - Business 101, Business Law, Entrepreneurship

Wesley Dodds (Sandman) - Business Communications

Annabeth Chamberlain (Brimstone) - Marketing, Hospitality & Tourism (she doesn’t work in tourism, but I figure anyone who can waitress while also having the power to set people on fire and damn them to hell and keeps her job probably knows a whole lot about customer service)

Family & Consumer Science

Miss Tribb (Lobo’s childhood teacher who inexplicably survived the extinction of their species) - Childhood Developement, Early Childhood Education

Neil Richards (The Mad Mod) - Texiles/Sewing, Fashion

Tenzil Kem (Matter-Eater Lad) - Food & Nutrition

Finance

Noah Kuttler (The Calculator) - Personal Finance

Foreign Languages

Matron Bertinelli (Nu52 Huntress, who I’m declaring a sepperate character and the aunt of pre-52 Huntress because they’re radically different characters and I like both of them) - ASL, Italian

Chang Jie-Ru (Nu52 Yo-Yo) - Chinese, AP Chinese

Yolanda Montez (Wildcat II) - Spanish, AP Spanish

Barbara Minerva (Cheetah) - Latin

Health Sciences

Myra Mason - Emergency Medical Responder training

Charles McNider (Dr Midnite) - Anatomy & Physiology, Health Class

IT

Brian Durlin (Savant) - Computer Programming, Web Dev

Jennifer Lyn-Hayden (Jade) - Digital Art 101

Arnold Wesker (Ventriloquist) - 3D Animation, 3D Graphics (I don’t know why but the idea of Wesker as an animator just tickled me. Obviously his real passion is stop-motion, but he learnt 3D because there were more jobs)

English (the fancy private school called this ‘language arts’ which is so prentious it makes me feel slightly nauseous)

Wesley Dodds (Sandman) - English Language, AP English Language

Rac Shade (Shade the Changing Man) - English Literature, AP English Literature

Chloe Sullivan (the worst character in the Smallville TV show, a hotly contested position) - English Language, Communications 101, supervises the School Paper and the Yearbook

Shelly Gaynore (The Whip III) - Englist Literature, Creative Writing

Basil Karlo (Clayface) - Intro to Shakespeare

Nick Scratch (officially his supervillain name is just Scratch, but I refuse to consider that a code-name, looking at you Drake) - Communications 102: Public Speaking

Mathematics (which has a 100% villain make-up, which seems accurate from what I remember of high-school maths)

Noah Kuttler (The Calculator, because I think I’m funny) - Pre-Calc, Calculus, AP Calculus

Harlan Graves (The Underbroker) - Stats, Algebra 1, Algebra 2

Angelo Bend (Angle Man, becuase I know I’m funny) - Geometry, Trigonometry

PE (I realise this is probably too many PE teachers but there are a lot more caonical althetes than just about any other job in the DCU except maybe scientist)

Lawrence Crock (Sportsmaster, you knew this was coming) - Gym, Weight Training, coaches Baseball, Basketball, Tennis & Hockey

Lisa Snart (Golden Glider) - joint-coaches Cheerleading, coaches the Drill Team, Wrestling

Randy Hanrahan (Stallion) - PE, joint-coaches Cheerleading & Cross-Country, coaches Football

William Everett (Amazing Man) - PE, joint-coaches Cross-Country, coaches Track & Field

Matron Bertinelli (Huntress, sort of) - coaches Soccer & gymnastics

Performing Arts

Lisa Snart (Golden Glider) - Dance

Hartley Rathaway (Pied Piper) - Music 101, Music Theory, Composition, teaches Guitar & Percussion

Isaac Bowin (The Fiddler) - Music 101, AP Music Theory, leads Jazz Band, Orchestra, Marching Band

Siobhan Smyth (Silver Banshee) - part-time, leads the Choir and teaches singing

Basil Karlo (Clayface) - Theatre, Theatre 101

Simon Trent (Grey Ghost) - Theatre, Theatre 101, Film Studies

Ted Kord (Blue Beetle) - Theatre Tech

Mary Louise Dahl (Baby-Doll, from B:TAS) - Film Studies, Video Production

Betty Bates (Lady-at-Law, who is technically owned by DC now due to corporate buy-outs) - Debate

Science (do you have any idea how hard it is to pin down areas of specialisation for comic book scientists? TNT is on this list entirely because he’s the only actual honest-to-god professional chemist I could find)

Kirk Langstrom (ManBat) - Biology, AP Biology

Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy) - Biology, Environmental Science

Thomas “Tex” Thomas (TNT) - Chemistry

Achilles Milo (Professor Milo, again not really much of a code name) - Chemistry, AP Chemistry

Will Magnus (I refuse to even dignify it as a code-name) - Physics, Earth Sciences

Ray Palmer (The Atom) - Physics, AP Physics

Adam Strange (DC is just doing this to fuck with me, personally) - Astronomy

Social Studies & Humanities

Barbara Minerva (Cheetah) - World History

Maxie Zeus (ffs) - World History, AP World History (fun fact, Maxie was canonically just a normal history teacher before he got lightning powers, became convinced he was Zeus incarnate, and set out to become a criminal, making him my favourite DC mobster by a country mile)

Terry Long (aka one of the only characters to really deserve to get fridged) - US History, AP European History

Eobard Thawne (every code-name he has is stupid, but lets just go with Reverse-Flash as the least awful option) - US History, AP US History

Nick Scratch - US Government, AP US Government, AP Comparative Politics

Rex Tyler (Hourman) - AP Art History

Magdalene Kyle-Burton (Sister Zero, she’s a sometimes-nun and a sometimes-sister to Catwoman) - Comparative Religion

Michael Carter (Booster Gold) - Economics, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics

Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow) - Psychology (there is exactly one heroic psychiatrist in all of comics, and I’d already used Dr Fate elsewhere. Scarecrow seemed like the least bad option of the remaining pool for being around children, and he does at least have teaching experience)

Adam Strange - Sociology

Betty Bates (Lady-at-Law) - Law

Richard Occult/Rose Psychic (it’s complicated, lets just say Dr Occult and leave it at that) - part-time, Criminal Justice

Technology & Engineering

Ted Kord (Blue Beetle) - Electronics, CAD, Woodworking

John Henry Irons (Steel) - Engineering, Metalworking

Will Magnus - Robotics

Visual Arts

Linda Lee/Danvers (she’s Supergirl, but I’m making her a different character from Kara Danvers/Kent because the DCU is really short on artists and I needed someone to teach the damn class, although the only thing that really makes her distinct from other supergirls is that she fucked a horse that one time and IDK how that will translate into a personality...) - Ceramics, AP Studio Art: 3D Design, Art 101

Rex Tyler (Hourman) - Graphic Design, Drawing, AP Studio Art: Drawing

Jack Knight (Starman) - Painting, AP Studio Art: 2D Design, Art 101

Jennifer Lyn-Hayden (Jade) - Photography

So there you go - I’ll be honest I still don’t really understand how high-schools in the USA work, and I have no idea what Design studio art even is so I kind of assigned those ones at random, but now it’s done and cannot be changed.

As always this universe is open to prompts so if you want a chapter focussing on any of these characters just drop me an ask or a comment and I’ll see what I can do. Making Dr Occult & Rose Psychic a single gender-fluid person is already on my list to do, since that’s who I thought they were for a longest time when I started reading comics and I’m still kind of annoyed that isn’t canonically what’s going on.

[actuallyvady]

I watched a Korean movie called Space Sweepers last night. It had good reviews and it starred some actors we knew from a couple of our favorite k-dramas, and the plot sounded fun (very Cowboy Bebop) but mostly we decided we had to watch it when we found out the spaceship was called “Victory”-- look, I’m a nerd, we all are, but we’re also fans of BIGBANG in this house, and anyone who liked kpop in 2019 has heard the Korean word for victory-- “seungri.”

(We are not fans of his, to be clear; before the scandal he was our least favorite and we spent a lot of time giggling about “pimping” that year. Just wanted to make that clear-- this is not a #BigBangIsFive household, we just figured we would laugh every time we heard the ship’s name. If this paragraph makes no sense to you, smile, be grateful, and move on.)

Anyway, Space Sweepers. Turns out it’s a great movie. Set in 2092, Earth is basically uninhabitable (but still inhabited, because not everyone can afford to leave), Mars is being terraformed, and a fraction of humanity is privileged enough to live in an idyllic, earth-like space colony. Our leads are not among the privileged. The sweepers are cleaning up the debris humanity has left in orbit over the years; it’s a dangerous job that doesn’t pay well, they just sell what they can of the scrap they’ve picked up. We quickly learn that they are in debt and no matter how much they work, getting deeper in it.

It was a brilliant film, and I highly recommend it.

Personal highlights (with spoilers!) under the cut.

- this being scifi, they have technology that doesn’t exist yet, and one of those things is a universal translator... and rather than having that be a handwave to make everyone speak the same language, every character speaks their own language, and they all just understand one another. It’s very cool.

- while it is a big-budget film with all kinds of fancy effects, it does not feel like it’s trying to be Hollywood. It is hard to articulate why, but much like Parasite, it feels very much like it was made by a Korean filmmaker, in spite of the multilingual cast. (Not saying it’s anything like Parasite, but I figure a lot of you will have seen that one, and may understand what I mean about it feeling Korean.)

- It took my entire family way too long to recognize Richard Armitage, but he is the villain and does a great job.

- There is no romantic subplot. We have a female captain, and she has no romance, even in her backstory. We have a character whose backstory includes having lost a child, and even he has no romantic entanglement-- the girl was adopted. (Which isn’t a thing it just explains how a dude could have a child without also having a fridged wife.)

- There is a child who is important to the plot. The villains call her Dorothy. Her name is Kot-nim, and everyone who respects her agency calls her that. It... I have a Korean nephew. My sister chose to keep his Korean name, the name his birth mother gave him. (He is lucky; his is fairly easy to say. That did not stop my grandmothers from struggling with it.) Plenty of Korean children are given new names. Plenty of Koreans chose western names because westerners don’t bother learning how Korean names are said. My nephew met a Korean man the other day; he gave his name as Gabriel, and then smiled and offered his Korean name. So to hear this character consistently referred to as Dorothy by the bad guys and as Kot-nim by our heroes... I am not articulating it well, but it made me happy.

- TRANS ROBOT TRANS ROBOT TRANS ROBOT

- ... sorry I’m just very excited about this one. One of the members of our band of misfits is a former military robot, Bubs. Bubs has a genderless design and is voiced by a male actor, and is treated as male by the crew... until Kot-nim comes along. She calls Bubs “Unnie”-- big sister-- and Bubs is delighted. Bubs admits that she has been wanting to get a body upgrade but is worried about how the others will react-- plus she can’t afford it. In the end, Bubs gets a cute new (female!) body and is trying to pick out a new voice, and there’s a very sweet exchange where Kot-nim tells her she likes the voice she has now. The whole thing is never a joke, and it made me incredibly happy.

All in all, it’s not a breathtakingly original film-- scifi tropes abound!-- but it doesn’t need to be.

[dangerd00dles]

My review on the new Sonic Movie! *SPOILER WARNING!*

For a start, I just want to express how grateful I am for the redesign Paramount worked so hard on! They took their monstrosity and made it look more like the modern sonic we know and love to this day! 

Another thing to note about the redesign is how much more emotion and expression it holds, the enlarged eyes show more emotions and give the animators in this project more to work with. Not only that but by getting rid of the “human” teeth, the design appears less uncanny and more cartoon-like. I also think that the CGI is immaculate as throughout the film I didn’t see the model do anything rigid and the model seemed unnatural to earth but still seemed semi-organic. 

*THERE WILL BE SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT*

The story of the movie is easy to follow and quite fast paced in my opinion. There are some cringe worthy scenes, such as the moment when he flosses after defeating one of Robotnik’s robots and near the end when he get his new bed.

The beginning of the film shows Sonic’s childhood and why he must stay hidden in order to protect his power and himself. This bit of the movie is a tad cliche with having the parent figure perish whilst protecting the protagonist. It then timeskips to the older and current version of sonic, showing how he lives and interacts with the other characters. It also shows us that Sonic is lonely and tired of having to hide. During him playing a baseball game with himself he snaps and causes a massive power outage which alerts the government, causing them to send in Dr Robotnik who is played by Jim Carrey. Whilst Sonic is looking for a place to use his rings he is accidentally tranquilized by Tom who then takes him to San Francisco whilst avoiding Robotnik.

The story has many memorable moments and like I said earlier, easy to follow. One of my favorite scenes is the bar fight. It was comical and had a couple of surprises and by looking at it I can feel that the actors had fun with it. The editing in this scene was also really smooth and pleasing for me in a way.

The characters in the story were also memorable and had a nice feel to them. Each one stuck out and had their own quirks! In my opinion the best character was Robotnik by far, not only was he comical and an interesting villain but also had a great personality and made didn’t fall into the category of being “too generic”. Jim Carrey did a great job at capturing Robotnik’s personality and incorporating it into his acting.

However not everything about the movie was perfect, like I mentioned earlier I hated the fact that Sonic flossed in the movie, it seemed out of character for him and was a cheap tactic to keep the kids interested. I also thought that the movie was quite cliche in some parts and cringe worthy.

The music was a mix for me, there were some bits of it that were really nice to listen to, especially the reboot of the green hill zone theme towards the end and having the music from the sonic mania trailer at the beginning (one of my favorite music artists composed that)! However not all the track was too memorable and didn’t have much of an affect on me.

 Apart from that I feel this movie was a good one and as much as I’d like to say I’d recommend it to anyone, I think major Sonic fans and children would enjoy this film the best.

[the-sheep]

ID GO ABSOLUTELY BONKERS IF U TYPED OUT HIS ENTIRE HISTORY FBFBFBFB i would like 2 see it..........

alright right right

This ended up being A HUGE POST so all info is under the cut.

Unless you’re on mobile, in which case, enjoy scrolling.

It all starts on flight rising. Well, Heart starts on FR. It REALLY starts with my webcomic/animated series.

It wasn’t well drawn or animated at first, but it steadily got better. One of the plot holes, back in 8th grade, was “who created priscilla and Jake?”

It was mostly summed up to “Penny made all the bots its all simple” but i was a middle schooler and i needed a complicated (and edgy) story. 

Thing is I had already made Fandragons of a good chunk of my ocs on flight rising.

I bred two dragons to get my main characters, so why not just use them?

Christy Suggested the name Cavet, and I liked it.

Yeah this is my first digital image of him as a human and he DOES NOT LOOK RIGHT

no necklace, no beard, orange eyes…

horrific.

So I made human designs for them both, but Chrysanthemum remains forgotten, not even canon to Mechanical Fury anymore.

Here’s old art of her and Cavet back before she got wiped out from existence.

the art is bad btu the Heart gimmick is there

Here’s him in his second image ever. The one that pretty much defined his design.He also quickly gained a husband

Anyway he quickly morphed into a villain several time more dangerous than the main villain

He’s responsible for the deaths of not ONE, not TWO, but THREE children.

Two his kids, one the younger sister of a character that one of the dead kids liked.

One of his dead kids got his own story, the other was literally a main character.

Chloride, (Charlie) in all his glory, lucky enough to get resurrected as an android but after finding out he’s not who he thinks he is, has to attempt to live a normal Human life… when his two best friends are paranormal investigators, his love interest having lost their arm and their only remaining sister to the main villain.

He originally found out he was an android by finding his own blueprints, hearing his Mom cry about it, and then cutting open his face (for his signature scar) and running off. 

Running into Cavet’s husband, Nathair Liu. He stitches him up, know all about robotic n all that but he is.

also a secondary villain….

I hate the art in this video but its not my worst.

(Video was Vendy’s debut, too. tho Vendy was more Nate(logan/mind/princi/whatever)’s kid than Cavet’s)

Okay i’ve gotten off track.

Yeah at this point I was really loving Cavet, on FR, and wrote an entire long story between him and Skittles based on the events of Mechanical Fury.

This was where I got the idea for reincarnation.

I needed an explanation for why the same character was in two different universes, and it was perfect. In fact, it lead to an amazing way to end it. 

But what is in control of all this? What does he see in the in between?

Well, Death was packaged with two other red herrings to keep people from thinking she was more important than them from the start, when in fact, she was. One of the plot points is that Cavet dies. He continues causing havoc, but nobody can figure out why or how. he doesn’t have a body.

Except he does. Death.

She was scary, but that was just her, she was a literal robot grim reaper. Nobody suspected she was spreading a virus to make robots susceptible to Augap’s control everywhere she went. Not even her. Cav liked hanging out in the AI scape, AKA the robot afterlife or virtual heaven.

What a fun way to make a real grim reaper.

I never really kept track of the transition from “cute robot char” to “cute real god char”

and i guess it never happened. Heart still thinks of her as she was, as cute little Litty. Except when she’s not. He gave form to the literal concept of DEATH. And became her friend. She still calls him Papa, sometimes.

In any case, Cavet’s doodles started being more and more revolving around his angst with the reincarnation.

in fact, i had a few character in the same boat as him, as I had made a couple dragons into MF characters as well.

I called them The Artifacts. It didn’t seem rounded out with only four, so I added a 5th. To give me more leeway in case I make a character i like enough to bring with them.

and turns out. I did.

I was sad enough about Cavet losing the love of his life, betraying him, creating a rift between them with his descent into obsession.

So he came with them.

They’re inseparable.

after a few lives of getting revenge on him for killing his sons and some adult humans and a BUNCH of robots, (not even counting his crimes in the vampire life he committed because he thought he lost Liu forever) Soul revealed to him something about Heart’s 6th life, which Mind doesn’t remember.

But he was there.

Long story short, he was Captain Shuggazoom. Yeah 10 lives of stuff he forgot before he started remembering his past lives. Messed Heart up.

ANYWAY BACK TO DEVELOPMENT!

I went around, making original characters to fill in Heart’s lives. I put him in a LOT of stories, but a notable one is My Old Ask Blog, @ask-musical-monsters

In which Heart is our lovable Tweedle, Bean.

He’s the bird. (this is also the blog where Willow was made!) (also a character i referenced when putting antauri on the baldi blog)

I still hadn’t abandoned MF so Bean has a lot of influence from Cavet. 

I REALLY liked bean. It occured to me here-ish that Heart isn’t constrained by being my oc. He can be whoever he wants and nobody will care. 

So of course I immediately declare him purple guy. No drawings of him, but I know I said he was purple guy at some point. Also at this point in time I started organizing the lives by number order, and making a simple arc for Heart and the others to follow.

1000 lives. 

I made a brief description of heart’s 1st life, but made it purposefully very superfluous so i can change it whenever i want. All i know is he had albinism, and a desire to live forever.

That summer I got an amazing idea. I would take advantage of the Baldi’s basics trend with a ASK BLOG.

It was a mathematically calculated success. I did as many things as possible to generate more audience. MAIN thing being posting as often as possible, and being REALLY funny. 

But knew I wasn’t going to like adding to the ask blog if i didn’t like the main character

I already knew he was going to be Baldi, but I wasn’t sure exactly how to characterize him either. 

Turns out making him heart solved both of those problems. He’s always been Heart.

And Princi has ALWAYS been mind.

Even if they don’t always show their artifacts, they always were the same people as all these other things ive made. They have a DEEP connection to both each other and me.

At some point, I re-re-discovered SRMTHFG. The first few seconds I saw SK I knew he was Heart. It was so perfect it scared me.

HE EVEN DOES THE POSE!!!!! RED EYES!!!! AAAH!!!

I got an idea for a storyline based on formless and regret and monkeys… so.. uh

Anyway that kinda brings us to today, where the events of the blog have happened based on Heart things, and i can play around with Heart as much as I want.

And Willie’s next life? Well, 23 is my favorite number. It’ll be cool, but I’m not sure how. All I know is 23 wears a striped shirt, and is a vamp again.

In summary, Heart is the most important character I’ve ever made, and I will never come close to anybody as wonderful and as complicated as him. He’s the greatest formless, the best villains, the heroes, and one character i want to hold out for finding irl.

 I love them even in scribbles i find on bus seats, in fanart of him, love her in songs i hear, in flowers i see in the wild.

Whoever they end up being, it’s safe to say I’ve fallen in love with Heart. 

If you want me to describe his in universe story, I’ll need a seperate post.

Other Heart Resources:

The Spreadsheet

The Playlist

[mst3kproject]

The Star Wars Holiday Special

Happy Holidays, MSTies!  Your present is Episodes that Never Were are back!  Remember last year, when I said Elves was so bad I wished I’d watched the Star Wars Holiday Special instead?  Let’s find out what those words taste like.

The galaxy may be in the midst of a rebellion, but Chewbacca promised his family he will be back for Life Day, and god damn it, he’s gonna get there!  He and Han Solo dodge Imperial forces and asteroid fields on the way, but the real danger may be waiting for them at home, as Stormtroopers do a treehouse-to-treehouse search for rebel sympathizers.  It won’t be much of a holiday if Chewie arrives home only to be immediately arrested!

That sounds exciting, doesn’t it?  It even sounds like it could be made to mean something. There is perhaps a point here about inter-ethnic empathy – Life Day may be a Wookiee holiday, but Chewbacca’s alien friends still know how important it is to him and they’re gonna help him keep his promise.  We could also compare it to Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.  In that movie, the Martians want to celebrate Christmas but aren’t particularly interested in what it means.  They get all their information about it from pirated television and from children who don’t understand anything much more than ‘free stuff’.  We didn’t give Christmas to them, they literally stole it by kidnapping Santa.  In the Holiday Special, the Wookiees are sharing their cultural traditions with outsiders who have become part of their family – Leia’s speech at the ends notes the humans’ respect for this.

But none of that’s relevant, because this is just a bad 70’s variety hour in a Star Wars costume.  We don’t get to see claustrophobic scenes of our brave heroes hiding from the Storm Troopers.  We don’t get sweeping space battles or bickering robots or weird new planets… we don’t get anything we go to see Star Wars for.  Instead, we mostly watch the Wookiees sitting around their house passing the time as they wait helplessly for Chewbacca to get home.  This could have been neat in itself if Wookiees had an interesting culture, but they live in a Mod 70’s Treehouse and seem to spend most of their time watching television.  The brief opening sequence, in which Solo and Chewie outrun their pursuers in the Millennium Falcon, is just a tantalizing offer of chocolate on the tip of a giant turd.

The actual point of the show, as far as the people who produced it were concerned, was the various little musical numbers and comedy sequences along the way, some of which are more Star Wars-themed than others.  Most of these are presented as one or other of the characters watching them on some form of television, which often doesn’t make any sense.  The sequences themselves are usually not very well-presented and a lot of them are just downright boring, so let’s go through them one by one. Top up your eggnog, folks.  We may be here a while.

Our first setpiece is a holographic circus featuring jugglers and acrobats, which the adults use to distract Lumpy so he’ll stop bothering them – like parents at the mall letting their kids watch Paw Patrol on a tablet while they shop.  When you see televised circus acts, they’re usually filmed up close and at interesting angles, to heighten the sense of danger, and give you a good look at what’s going on.  The Star Wars Holiday Special presents it as tiny figures on a table, always shot from far away and looking down, which removes all the drama from the stunts.  Lumpy enlarges a figure, but it’s only the ringmaster.  The others remain tiny, all while this little Wookiee looms over them like a kaiju that will start stomping if it isn’t entertained.

Then we get Mark Hamill’s cameo (in which he looks weirdly like one of the puppets from Invaders from the Deep), followed by Malla’s attempt to cook Bantha Surprise by following the directions on a tv show.  I’m not very interested in cooking shows anyway, but I have a hard time imagining anybody being interested in a fake cooking show featuring fictional ingredients from other planets.  What we see on Malla’s screen comes across as a sort of parody, but not actually a funny one. I’m tempted to think Harvey Korman must have been making fun of some particular 70’s cooking show maven but I don’t begin to know who that might be.

The ‘humour’ of the sequence is supposed to come from Malla’s attempt to follow the directions even though the cook on the show has four arms and Malla only two.  I could pull some commentary on ableism in cooking and cooking shows out of this, but it would be a stretch, and nobody on the writing end was thinking about it that hard.  It’s just stupid, and so is Korman’s plastic wig.  Malla eventually turns it off in frustration, long after we’re tired of listening to it.

By the way, if you’re wondering whose stupid idea it was to set the whole thing on Kashyyyk (or, as a guy in the Special calls it, Kazook) and not have any subtitles to the Wookiee’s dialogue?  That was apparently 100% George Lucas.  The actual script and everything was in the hands of the television producers, but Lucas would not budge on the premise being Wookiee-centric.  At least he exorcised that particular demon here, instead of subjecting us to it on the big screen.

Anyway, next Art Carney drops by to deliver some Life Day presents, among which is the source of our next setpiece: a VR machine which reads Itchy’s mind to present a personalized fantasy!  This takes the form of Diahann Carroll in a sparkly feather wig, singing a song and saying things like “I am your fantasy, experience me!”  The song is okay, I guess, and Carroll has a lovely voice, but what we’re seeing is basically a boring music video.  She’s just standing there on a glittery black background, and we can’t forget that she’s singing to a geriatric Wookiee who is doing the Wookiee equivalent of jacking off to this (emphasized by the appearance of literal little swimmers in part of the sequence!).  The fact that it’s a personal fantasy plucked from his subconscious makes it feel like this was something we weren’t supposed to be privy to, like we’re looking through somebody else’s computer at his girlfriend’s nudes.

Princess Leia (also looking disturbingly puppet-like… are we sure the actual actors appeared in this, and not look-a-likes in heavy makeup?) and C3P0 get their cameo, and then there’s the single actually effective moment in the Special.  This is when we think Han Solo and Chewie are about to arrive home, ending our torment a full hour early, but no, it’s the Storm Troopers!  This bit isn’t fantastic, but it does work.  Then, sadly, we’re on to the next variety act.

This is a holographic music video which Carney shows to the Imperial troops as a demonstration that the device he has brought Malla for Life Day is harmless.  It’s Jefferson Starship moaning out a rock song, in which I can understand at best one word in three.  The visuals are in intense soft-focus that’s probably supposed to be artsy.  The costumes (what I can see of them) aren’t any more Star-Wars-y than anything else bands wore in the 70’s.  And the song sounds like something you’d find in the ‘easy’ setting on Rock Band.  Why does Black Helmet sit there and watch the whole thing when he’s supposed to be searching every house on Kashyyyk/Kazook for rebel sympathizers?

The version of the Special currently available on YouTube, which tragically lacks the commercials, has a lot of comments along the lines of this is what you hallucinate after buying Death Sticks from that guy on Coruscant.

To drive the point home, the next thing we see is Lumpy watching a cartoon about Han Solo and Chewbacca crash-landing on an ocean planet while searching for a mystical talisman that makes things invisible (I wish they hadn’t actually shown this object – then I could have made jokes about it being the One Ring).  This sequence is generally regarded as the best thing in the Special, and it introduced Boba Fett and provided some characterization for him.  It is definitely true that this is the only segment with a plot, and with its weird aliens and grubby outposts it feels a lot more like Star Wars than anything else going on here.

The main thing that keeps me from enjoying this segment is that it just looks weird.  The animators use exaggerated squash-and-stretch on the droids, even more so than on the living characters, which makes them look like they’re made out of jell-o. Princess Leia looks like something out of a cheap 60’s manga and Luke like he was drawn by a twelve-year-old based on an action figure that wasn’t actually of Luke Skywalker.  Luke has no pupils, which is very distressing, but not as distressing as when C3P0 blinks.  Even worse, as far as I can tell Han Solo has no eyes at all.

The design of the alien planet in this sequence is pretty cool, though.  It appears to be entirely covered in a kind of goopy ocean and the creatures that live in it are neat-looking, even if not terribly plausible.  Animation is really a great medium for fantasy and science fiction, because it levels the playing field: we’re not thinking about the special effects because everything on screen looks equally unreal.  This is something Disney, who used it to such beautiful effect in Lilo and Stitch, totally forgot at just about the same time as they acquired the rights to Star Wars.  Oh, for what could have been.

I want to note here that the average review on this blog is about as long as what you’ve read so far.  We’re only about two thirds of the way through the Special, though, and I can’t really divide a holiday review up into two weeks.  Therefore, consider this your permission to take a break and go snag another latke or whatever you’re snacking on, and then we’ll continue.

There’s one fun bit of background social commentary in the animated sequence, too: the only way for humans to survive the virus is to hang them upside-down so their brains will get enough oxygen despite their weakened hearts.  In the city there’s an advertisement for the cure – and the upside-down human pictured in the ad is, of course, a woman in her underwear.  The image isn’t detailed and it’s not the focus of the shot, so I don’t think it’s an actual piece of gratuitous cheesecake.  Apparently somebody at Nelvana Ltd was just salty about the advertising industry.

The self-contained story in the cartoon makes sense within itself. It justifies Fett’s fearsome reputation far better than anything in The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi, and the characters seem to be in-character even when they’re off-model.  The problem is with it as a part of the framing story about the Imperial troops searching Chewbacca’s house!  The Special is very explicit that this is not something that’s actually happening in the real world at the same time as the other events – it is a cartoon Lumpy is watching on TV.  Why, in a galaxy controlled by the Empire, would there be cartoons using the real names of real rebel operatives and presenting them as the heroes?  If nobody’s supposed to know Boba Fett is connected with the Empire, why does the show blow his cover?

More importantly, where can I get one of those awesome giant stuffed Banthas Lumpy has in his room?  I don’t know if that’s a real toy that was available in the late 70’s, but Comic Images does make something similar and you can buy them at Wal-Mart or Toys R Us.

While cleaning up the mess the Stormtroopers made of his room, Lumpy watches an instructional video of how to put together some kind of radio. This features Harvey Korman as an android who keeps getting jammed.  Like cooking shows, instructional videos aren’t very interesting unless you’re trying to follow the directions – since we can’t follow the directions, this one is pointless to begin with.  The ‘joke’ is not funny, and lines like “every one of the ten thousand terminals on your circuit breaker module is a different colour” might be amusing when written down but they just don’t work when somebody says them aloud.  Fortunately, it doesn’t last long.

Then we get on to what’s probably the second-best thing in the Special, the bit where we learn that the Mos Eisley cantina is owned by Bea Arthur.  It would be easily the most expensive thing in the Special were it not made up of b-roll footage and re-used puppets from Episode IV.  It’s also kind of got a plot, in that a guy with a baking soda volcano on top of his head (this is certainly an efficient way to get the alcohol directly to your brain) is trying to confess his love to Bea while she just wants to get on with running her business.  Eventually he gets his heart broken and leaves, and then the Empire shuts the bar down, so Bea throws everybody out with a song.

I have to admit, in The Force Awakens when Han Solo mentioned a female friend who ran a ‘watering hole’… there was a moment there when I was half-expecting it to be Bea Arthur’s character.  I’m relieved that it wasn’t, but also just the slightest bit disappointed.  We had to wait for The Mandalorian to get a proper Holiday Special callback.

This bit almost had a chance to say something with its ‘thwarted romance’ plot.  Usually such a thing in a tv show would get what the male character would consider a happy ending.  He would prove to his love interest that being cared for is important, she would realize that love is better than money, and they would metaphorically ride off into the sunset.  What it looks like we’re going to get here instead is something more like the episode of South Park where Butters fell in love with the Hooters waitress. Harvey Korman’s character (yes, he plays three different characters in this Special and this was apparently supposed to be a selling point) realizes his crush is based on a misunderstanding, and while it makes him sad, he’s not going to be an asshole about it.

Nor is Bea’s character vilified for rejecting him, which she does tactfully but firmly, as if she’s gone through this many times before. He’s just a minor annoyance in her day before she goes on to worry about bigger problems, like getting everybody to obey that Imperial curfew.  Then, however, at the last second he pops up from behind the counter after everybody has left – and that’s where the segment ends.  I think we’re supposed to assume they got together after all, but I kind of hope she just threw him out with the rest of them.  No means no, damn it.

Bea Arthur’s Go Home Song is to the tune the Cantina Band was playing in Episode IV, so it pretty much goes without saying it’s the catchiest piece in the Special.

Then, finally, it’s time to celebrate Life Day!  The Wookiees hold up some glowing Christmas balls, then dress in red robes and walk through outer space into a, uh, wormhole, I guess, that takes them to the base of the giant tree from Avatar.  There it’s time for our final setpiece, the culmination of this whole ninety-minute ordeal… Princess Leia sings!  The Life Day Carol is to the tune of the main Star Wars theme, and the lyrics sound like something from a generic Christmas album you get free if you buy three cards at Hallmark.  Carrie Fisher is a decent singer but she looks like she’s as glad this is over as we are.

Much like Howard the Duck, The Star Wars Holiday Special is a production in which they made all the worst decisions they possibly could.  Focusing on the Wookiees at home rather than following Han Solo and Chewbacca through the action killed the whole thing at the starting gate.  Then that plot is nothing but a frame on which they can hang the various variety acts, and none of those are very good.  It’s only towards the end of the sequence that what we’re seeing even has anything to do with Star Wars.  Watching it is an ordeal on the order of an un-riffed Coleman Francis film.  It’s so bad, it’s not even something people get together and watch like they do Manos or The Room.

So why do we still have it?  The Holiday Special was only broadcast once, and was met by fathomless loathing from critics, Star Wars fans, and ordinary people alike. It has never been released in any other format (Andrew Borntreger of badmovies.org has a story about how Lucas had him thrown out of a Q&A panel for asking if it were getting a DVD release), so the fact that you can find it on YouTube today is down to some nameless hero who recorded it on their newfangled VCR back in 1978.  That person then showed it to friends, apparently on the basis of oh my god, you guys, this is so bad, you have to see it, and then because misery loves company they copied it to show to their friends. What we have today is copies of copies of copies of copies, like fragments of Sappho only with VHS artefacts instead of holes in the papyrus (and without the artistic vision).

Humans like to preserve remarkable things.  Sappho we’ve preserved because it’s remarkably good, but the Star Wars Holiday Special we preserve because it’s remarkably bad.  Lucasfilm has tried very hard to stamp it out.  George Lucas himself has said that if he could he would gather up every copy that exists and smash them with a sledgehammer… but we won’t let him do it. We keep copying the Special and passing it along, in a way that’s very familiar to MSTies in particular.  We’re circulating the tapes!  Why this tape in particular?

I don’t claim to know, but my working theory is that it keeps us humble.  We are a species that can produce great things when we put our minds to it.  We landed on the moon.  We eradicated smallpox.  We built the Taj Mahal and the Sagrada Familia.  We wrote The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Einstein Field Equations and the aforementioned works of Sappho.  But for all that, we are also capable of throwing the same kind of effort into creating utter disasters – and the Star Wars Holiday Special is the rare example of an unmitigated disaster that didn’t actually hurt anybody.  It reminds us to take a step back and look at what we’re doing without getting too invested in it, but does so while being harmless and at times humorous.

Would I still rather watch this than Elves?  You bet your shaggy Wookiee ass I would.  The Star Wars Holiday Special may be longer, but it doesn’t leave nearly such a bad taste in my mouth.

I will leave you with this: the Special was, as I mentioned, only broadcast once, in 1978 – that means its signal is now forty-one light years from Earth and still going.  There are several hundred stars within that bubble, around two dozen of which are known to have planets.  Somewhere out there, aliens might be getting their first signal from humanity right now and it’s the Star Wars Holiday Special.

[autobuttonsanddeceptistitches]

Viper’s Vengeance Chapter 3: Peril Among the Stars

Chapter 1

So, its been almost six months since I updated this story. Primus it feels like so long ago. I had so much going on in my life, I’m happy this is over, now I can start working on the next chapter!

~

Ten years since the incident. Program updating, systems operational, protocols online, activation, begin. The eternal darkness ended for the longest time. A figure stood there, bearing a skull for a face. Scanners indicating an unrecognizable soldier. Not of any origin. The prototype stared, a life hidden behind black glass, leaving worry in the samurai. Bludgeon stepped back, pointing a katana's tip at the symbol on the failure's chest.

“State your designation.” The mech ordered, leaving confusion on the Rattler.

No reply, instead, the machine pushed the sword away and walked towards the exit. The skeleton sneered, noticing the warnings going off all around them. “Alert, unknown enemy detected, alert.” Said in such calmness that didn't seem to care.

“You'd better prove yourself whatever your name is. I don't want to return to base with a defect for spare parts!” That seemed to trigger something in the dark blue mech's systems, and off he ran...

“Viper?” Her voice broke the processor's glitch. Viper blinked a few times, turning to face her. “Are you sure you're okay here? I do remember that your processor acts up in certain locations.” She reminded, glancing at the lights bringing the place back up into operation.

“This is where Cobra sealed me after my malfunction. Ten years after that, Luca revealed this location to Megatron. He grew impatient of the human's failures, so the human spat out this. Bludgeon found me right as an Autobot got too close to the area. Took care of Sideswipe, which was all that bone face needed to prove that I was worth the time.” Viper walked past the femme and towards a large machine. “Here, this is where my new life began.” The mech gave a swift kick, then tearing apart the rest of the stasis pod.

The femme ninja listened to the denting metal and shattering glass. Standing still as this continued for a bit. Yellow optics took notice of the interior, finding old forgotten machinery. No wonder Cobra dumped their failed prototype here. What was the first mission she took on in the Earth Wars? Ah yes, when she had to face Arcee who hid secret codes. Far simpler times, before the Prime Cores, Demigods, Deathsarus, GI Joe, and Cobra. Such insanity in a few short years. That voice in her helm kept repeating that confession, yet, she couldn't say. Why is it so difficult to talk?

She waited until Viper finished crushing the stasis machine apart. His wings flared, back hunched over. The snake got up, turning to face her. “I'm better now, sorry about that, there are some things I never want to see active again.” Viper trailed off, heading over to a big computer. “In this, it houses the answers I am seeking. From what I can know, this system has a lot of Cobra plans and projects. Bludgeon insisted that we leave this place soon so I could meet Megatron. I couldn't uncover its secrets at that moment. I want to know why Cobra created me, it's impossible for someone to come up with an insane idea. A whole organization going along with it. A robot soldier wearing the shell of a Rattler.” His bulky digits pressed on the small keyboard, being careful to ensure not to break the source of his past.

Words scrolled by which showed so many forgotten ideas. Nightbird listened to the swearing before tugging him aside. Then she typed it out herself. “I'll handle this, I'm used to tiny keys.” The Japanese fembot interjected, finding it to be easier for her to do this. Odd, nothing on Viper, yet the name Rattler and Transformer did appear a few times.

After a bit of digging around, a file appeared with top secret reports. The two read through them, both taking it all in. How could the American government know so much about Cybertronian technology? Its documentation came thirty years before the Autobots and Decepticons arrived to Earth. It didn't make any sense, nor the live specimen documented. The identity lost, making it difficult to guess who would give up their body for them to research.

Viper took a while to say anything, left in silence over all the materials they read. “Those documents, they must've been the blueprints Cobra used to create me... Nightbird, can you find anything about who wrote this?” He whispered, optics glued to the screen as they found a picture file.

A bunch of humans, all posed by a piece of machinery that appeared advanced for the time based on their clothes. Some men and women, all in Triple-I: Intelligence and Information Institute. Nightbird typed around a few files, noticing how their names appeared.

“I recognize some of them from my collected memories, and all their names are in the files. They're the ones behind how Cobra created you.” She trailed off, yellow optics glanced at the dark blue mech. He stared at the humans in their thirty year old days.

“Do you know where they are now?” Viper came up to the screen, taking in the details.

“A quick search on the internet gave me everything I needed, oh how clumsy they are to use this 'social media'. I assume this was a long forgotten program, happened in North Dakota, August 16th, 1986. No one knows of this as they retired from the military. All this time, America had access to those of the stars. Why do you ask?”

“I may have killed my creators, but knowing this, I cannot let more of me be born by their hands. I'm not yet done with my thirst for revenge. Nightbird, I'd suggest you go back with the others. There's a high risk that I will die once this task is complete. All hiding in America and other parts, they forget, not knowing that their pasts will haunt them once again.” The mech copied the data, making the best route based on where the humans live. They'll all pay for their foolishness. Their thirst for eternal knowledge will destroy them.

Nightbird held his shoulder, her optics narrowed. “Its not easy to complete a task solo. I'll come along, you've already shown me your second birthplace. Before you complain about how I can't because of the water, I'll find my ways. Where are you heading first?”

“Los Palmos Observatory, located in Texas close to Mexico. Two of the scientists at the Triple I worked at North Dakota. They wrote a bit about Cybertronians ability to travel through the stars. Nothing too major, but its a start. Think your tires can handle that? Its farther than from here back to base at Arizona.” He chuckled, wings twitching and ready to leave this trash heap.

“Sounds good, will meet you there when I can. Take care Viper, we're going to be dancing with death soon.” She flipped her body, transforming and driving out of the hidden base.

Why is she so intent on helping him? All the dark blue jet knew is that he's the only Cybertronian created by humans. Viper waited till she's far away to dim the computer's screen. He turned to stare at the scar embedded into his helmet and face. Primus he felt tired, unsure what to think knowing how right she is. Its a suicide mission to enrage the American government and the Autobots, but this has to happen. Taking a few deep vents, the mech connected a few cables to his helmet and lied down. Gotta leave one last present to those who documented the creation...

Data, so many pieces swirled around the unconscious mind. Downloading into his helm, awakening those old memories that most forgot. Humanity stole the gift of those from the stars. Living aliens, mastering the ability to change shape. Documenting entire histories far before the first man sharpened a rock. Yet, as Viper continued this, strange images began to form. Among them, the complete blueprints of the Rattler Transforming Soldier. Bright blue optics widened, noticing something wrong. It has no face underneath the visor and mouthplate... The Decepticon stared, before touching his own mouthplate and broken visor. The dates don't add up, these can't be the complete ones! He stared before deleting the information once its registered into his helm.

After a while going through the tediousness, its over now. Viper forced his processor out of this self inflicted slumber. Now no one can look up those old documents anymore. No human deserves to know the existence of Cybertronian life, not if they gave birth to imitations. Those who are fakes, that shamed upon. Yet, that empty face remained etched into his optics. More questions came than answers, leaving the mech in silence. As the snake got out of his forced slumber, he noticed an acid gun lying by his side. The same weapon left behind after Cobra's demise. Fingers touched the aged metal, knowing how good it is to wield this old weapon once more. Must've been a gift from Nightbird, who seemed to get it all fixed up. “Canary, I'll figure out why you hide so much from me.” Came a chuckle, before he got out of the old place once again.

Back in the harsh sunlight, why is the western coast so darn hot? No wonder there isn't that much greenery around here. Why couldn't the Decepticons set up a base somewhere nice? Rather than the remains of human activity. Still, the images he saw made his tanks clench. How could those blueprints show no face? Processor in a daze, forgetting Nightbird as she drove beneath him. They traveled across the shadows of the canyons once leaving civilization. So many lives passing by, children at a school, people buying at stores, watching movies. Oh the movies; such strange concepts that Cybertronians never got into until the war. Easiest way to document any traitors or secret plans. That's from what he recalled listening to the others when they got overcharged off their afts.

Oh what fun times to hear the cheery voices that everyone gave out after a successful raid. Also when a new bot comes over from wherever. Moon, Earth, any planet, depends on if they're liked among the others to care. Why is Earth such a gathering place for these guys? There are other planets too, yet they stay on what they called the 'dirtball'. Viper never felt right to call his home the dirtball. This planet is where his creators got the materials to create him. The mech exhaled, noticing how the Sun began to set. The yellow sphere that rotates around this planet. Cybertron didn't have any light up above, nor any oxygen. Three moons which the Autobots claimed as their own. The Rattler remembered how happy he felt to be on the metal moon, that its the home far away from home. Due to their technology, both could move across the deserts further than a regular car on a road trip. The suburban family riding out to somewhere like Palm Springs or Las Vegas.

It took a long time to travel from California to Texas. Baking in the hot sun never helped his mood as music kept playing from his radio. A lot of Spanish songs, getting closer to the border. What a strange choice for an advanced observatory's location, but no matter what. They'll be the first to pay for their crimes. Down below, a stylish black and white car drove on the road. Nightbird is quite durable, but that makes sense for everyone. Cybertronians are able to handle the heat. Viper’s quite lucky that he won’t have to endure any pain in the Summer warmth. Still nothing back from Megatron or the rest of his soldiers. Its good, no reason to worry as he must’ve taken the request for a break for granted. Never easy to obliterate an entire army by oneself. The rest of the flight is a blank, with the dust devils coming and going. Once the mission is over, he’ll try to visit Tijuana to eat some barbecued iguana. Whatever that may taste like.

The misery ended in the night sky’s greeting. A lone observatory lay still, lens continuing to observe what may be out there. Los Palmos has seen better days, forgotten to the world beyond the science community. Hiding a sin, that desire to find life beyond the Earth. Two life forms detected in the scanners, the files state for them to be Jack and Sue Richards. Two astronomers who’ve spent long lives exploring across the world. To the most exotic places for the greatest lens to observe the distant nebulae. Before their journeys, they accepted being members of the Triple I, which meant a piece of his birth. Los Palmos is their home, far up in the mountains that could show much more of the desert had the sun blessed them.

Viper landed on the rocky top, bright blue optics stared for a long time. His turbines slowed down to reduce the heavy noises. Acid gun clenched in a firm hold. So, this is how revenge grows, to slaughter them, their work is the reason he grew in the Cobra’s nest. To awaken as an abomination, there is nothing left they can give to the Earth that will matter. Time’s left them old and weak. No matter how old or young, its time to never return from the path he once stepped on. Their intense craving will be their undoing, thirty years later.

Sue finished another cup of coffee, heavy bags underneath those brown eyes. Weary eyes glanced up to the old photographs of so many places she once been to. Jack is nearby, back to work on their favorite machinery. A telescope meant their lives, the reason Triple I came to them with their suggestions. To work with them for extra payment and free vacations, oh how perfect it seemed to be. Until that one day… Sue waited for the drink to kick in, an influence rushing through weakened veins. No longer a thought about what may come next, unless it’d be an old family member or friend. Their nephew, an old photo showed said child gripping a diploma while enveloped in blues. “Its been a good life, hasn’t it Jack?”

A man stepped away from the large telescope, coming down to her. “Are you thinking about the Grim Reaper again?”

“Why would I dream of a snake bearing those dark ominous robes?”

“Sue, you should cut the caffeine out, the doc did say it’ll influence your medication.”

“But, we still need to record a few more sights. Los Palmos is our home. I miss those days, and I wished we never got involved with Triple I. To know that aliens exist, to hide that from everyone.” The woman trailed off, taking a large gulp. A nearby candle burned among the heavy lights above which gave light to this dark dome. Silence, a gentle breeze brushing the exterior as always, a hope to bury away the past.

Nightbird transformed, finding Viper standing still. “Once I begin, I cannot go back. Think of your choice Nightbird, I know the consequences of my actions.” He came closer to the observatory as the ninja watched, remaining still.

The Cobra prototype slammed his body against the large building, causing it to shake. He rammed into it a few more times, breaking away the concrete and storming into the building. Something shattered, it must be where they are! Viper prowled into the hallway, kneeling down to ensure he wouldn’t damage his wings.

Sue and Jack ran, a broken mug lay on the floor as the alarms blared. A large shadow emerged from a hallway, causing them to hide in a spare room. Lying on the walls were a few guns, a pitiful attempt to save themselves, but what else could they rely on? Faraway help? They waited in the darkness, holding onto each other and weapons as their ears rang. Hearts racing faster once seeing blue staring back at them.

“Sue and Jack Richards, Triple I, you've chosen a grave mistake for both Cybertronians, and me. The atonement is death.”

Sue fired a few shots at the mech's face, each bullet bouncing off of the mouthplate. The gun slipped from shaking hands, as Jack tried firing back, but with no effect. “Please, don’t do this! We have a nephew who always visits us!” Sue gripped her husband’s jacket, tears coming down the wrinkled face.

“Then he’ll understand.” He aimed the gun, shooting the two with a powerful blast of acid. Emotion drained from blue optics as they screamed. Bodies melting down into puddles of decaying flesh. A rush of energy came to the mech once hearing nothing but alarms. Without warning, he tore through more of the observatory. Acid gun put to use getting rid of everything. “What do you think Cobra Commander!? Do you believe me to be a failure now!?” His roar echoed through the bleak sky.

Nightbird remained still, staring as the building melted into concrete and steel puddles. Yellow noticed the mech walking up to her. She stared up at his optics, finding nothing but a blank blue. “We need to leave before the humans get here.” The femme transformed, driving across the mountain range.

Viper glanced back before running over to the edge of the cliffside and transforming. Soaring through the darkened canyon, dark blue blending in with the darkened oranges. That’s it, no way back once the candle burned bright. A flame that will never die. The flier followed yellow headlights as she swerved across the mountain's paths. In the distance, bright red and blue lights glowed through a known road. ::We’ll need to find a place to hide, I can see the humans coming this way!:: He messaged her.

::I’ll find my way down, we can’t hide here! Go get to somewhere safe and message me when you do!:: She kept driving, never speaking as the Rattler vanished in the night sky.

The ninja femme touched the ground, sprinting away before the vehicles could find her. On the enhanced tires, she didn’t strain under the pressure. A rush of wind graced her back, must've been the human vehicles driving by. So they were going that way too. Nightbird stared at the large puffs of smoke from what remained of the building. Viper did this, but its for a greater good, was it?

After roaming through the darkness, she’d soon slip into a hidden cave. She took a few minutes to relax, then noticed a small fire in the larger part. Nightbird crawled in, finding Viper illuminated by the reds and oranges. Blue optics staring up at an opening in the ceiling.

“I got worried the humans found you.” Not a sign of damage on him, so strange since he’d went through a mess earlier. A bit dusty, but nothing wrong with that. She sat down on the other side, tossing him a cube.

“They’re not meant for speed, they're for emergencies. I’m amazed at how fast they were to arrive, we need to find the best time to get out of here.” The femme leaned back, exhaling a deep vent. “We’ll need to wait until the event dies down before we can head over to our next destination. Do you know where we will go?”

“I’m thinking about it, since the other targets are in further parts of America.” He brushed off the dust, blue optics glimmered alongside the fire burning bright. “You’d better get some rest, you’ve been driving everywhere to tag along with me. I’ll make sure nothing happens.” Viper waited, putting his gun down.

“What about you? Weren't you the one who destroyed the observatory in one swoop? I'm sure none of them will find us, they're too concerned about the two who died. How many more do we need to hunt down?”

“A few more, they kept it a secret. The document states how eight made contact with the Cybertronian on that fateful day. Two are dead, leaving the rest still hiding in their regular lives. Most are in America, yet two aren't. We'll find them, but must keep secret, because the Autobots will find out.”

“But once its over, we'll return to the others, won't we?”

“Depends on if I can survive long enough. But, if I do die, then I will be okay with that once their dead. I do wonder though, will I go to the Allspark? I am human made, wouldn't Primus consider me to not be one of his? It makes me wonder if there is an afterlife for me.” He opened his chest, showing the lack of a Spark.

“I'm sure there is, don't you remember what Starscream said? He saw something after death, and is alive with us now to tell us.”

“He wouldn't stop talking about it, after the death of Unicron.” Viper looked up, hearing the sirens get louder. “Looks like its time to rest.” The mech grabbed a clump of dirt, dropping it over the flames and letting them die down. “We leave as soon as the morning comes.” He lay down, dimming the lights on his armor and entering into a soft recharge, closing the chest.

Nightbird stared before following his orders. She kept to the shadows as the investigation began further away from them. “Six more, you're quite risky to do this.” Came a soft chuckle before joining him in the rest.

Darkness, that's how life begins, doesn't it? Something strange is happening. Whirling machinery, a rush of Energon, dripping, praying, is this where life comes from? Its quiet, what is this? A dream? But, I can't have dreams, I'm not real...

Someone's calling for a name? What is this name? Who's name is it? Why can I hear it? I don't remember it...

My optics opened up, I don't remember this. I'm not at the Cobra base? Its some sort of lab, but not one I recognize. I sat up, taking in my surroundings. Its all Cybertronian, no sign of humanity's work. What's going on? My helm moved down to my body, no. Its not mine! I got off the table, shaking before finding other mechs staring at me. All seemed to be joyous at the sight of my movements. Some came closer to me, speaking about their troubles and what they hope my awakening will mean. If I can concentrate enough, I should be able to move, or speak. Why can't I do this? My controls are gone, I'm lost in this mech's body. Why aren't I scared? This is a dream, I'll wake up when my processor decides to. But, pure Cybertronians can dream, I'm a fake, I can't dream.

A mech came up to me, bearing blue and white armor, a grand smile on his face. He seemed to be talking, but under deaf audio receptors.

Everything flashed white, I now faced an open door to Cybertron? Its golden, much like the mysterious cities of gold on Earth. Cybertronians walked in the streets, speaking among themselves. None bore any symbols, speaking of their lives. I watched this dream run far from the door, exploring this new world. Life, I felt alive, that this was me. No, what I saw wasn't who I am. I will wake up, then forget. Yet, I wished I lived in this Cybertron before the war. Everyone's in union, its so different compared to the one I stepped upon. Gold glimmered alongside the orange lights. If I was human, I would've shed tears upon sight of this marvelous wonder.

Another flash, taking me away from the rushing views, I'm staring up at the stars in some sort of crystal garden? Its so beautiful, much like the sky when I first awoke. They glimmered among the stars, leading me to wondering why I'm here. Then, someone came into view. She stared at me, or this body I'm residing within. A rush of something came back, I couldn't recall why I felt this way, yet, I wanted it to last forever. The femme spoke to me, yet I couldn't hear what the words meant. I wanted to know what this meant, it hurt so much. She's... pretty, I like how she looks in those soft colors. She smiled, cupping this body's cheek, meaning no visor or mouthplate. But, it faded away to white... Wait, don't go! I want to know who you are, who this body belongs too. I'm not real, I'm an imitation... Please, stay...

Blue lights came back online, finding himself in the cave. Nightbird is still asleep, a dream. Yet, what was it about? What body did he see himself in? He lowered his helm, noticing the sounds of sirens are gone. They must've chose to wait for the morning to inspect for the damage. Optics inspected the opening of the cave above, finding glimpses of morning. Its' time to go. He crawled over to the femme, holding her shoulder.

“Wake up Canary, we've got to go before they find us.” He muttered, causing her to stir.

“Ah, so they're gone?”

“Yep, we don't have to worry about them for a while. Gotta get going now before they come back. Our next stop is over in Florida, so I hope you brought your sunscreen.” Viper chuckled, earning a glare from the femme.

“Don't make me report you in for that.” Said with a playful gesture before leaping up onto the ground above.

Viper jumped up as well, soon the two were off again on their long journey. Yet, in this morning light, it brought back the sight of Cybertron when it bore gold. At first, it wasn't good to dwell on strange dreams, yet, now, he wanted it more. How he craved to step into that other mech's life, how he wished it was his. But, life proved to be cold and cruel, leaving him to lash at those who lost trust. Yet, Nightbird so far, she seemed nice, but no one can tell if a ninja has other motives until revealed later. For now, its best to keep his guard up, and prepare himself for the next target of his past.