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asleepinawell · 4 years ago

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Book Recs

I was gonna do one of these at the end of the year, but I’ve somehow managed to read 26 books this year already (12 novellas, 14 novels), almost all featuring queer authors and/or characters so this is already a long list.

Note: There’s a few on here I was kind of meh about, but in most of those cases it was a ‘book might be good but it’s not for me so i’ll mention it to put it on people’s radar anyway’ type of thing. Insert the usual necessary tumblr disclaimer about all of this being only my opinion and your opinions are valid too etc etc.

In order of when I read them:

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir - Fantasy novella from the author of gideon the ninth that’s a twist on the classic princess trapped in a tower waiting for a prince story. Quite fun. (novella)

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht - Dark fantasy about revenge and magic. m/m couple but like I said it’s pretty dark and twisted all around so definitely not a happy queer romantic story. My opinion was interesting premise that could have been executed better and probably should have been a full novel to embellish on the world building potential. (novella)

A Memory Called Empire & A Desolation Called Peace - Arkady Martine - Probably tied with murderbot as the best things I read this year. Scifi, f/f couple, wonderfully done exploration of what it means to fall in love with a culture that is destroying your own. More of the many queer anti-imperialist books that have come out recently and certainly some of the best. The second one is a direct continuation of the first. (2 novels)

The Tyrant Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson - This is the third in the Baru Cormorant series (The Masquerade) and was my favorite so far. The second and third book were originally one book that got split I believe and the second book didn’t stand alone as well (though was still great), but the third book really made up for that. Dark fantasy world starring a queer woc whose country and culture is destroyed by the imperial forces of that world colonizing and assimilating them. She vows revenge and decides to work her way up within her enemy’s ranks to enact it from within and bring an empire to ruins. Really really fascinating study of so many different aspects of our own world and the systems which enable and allow bigotry and how bigoted and violent narratives are used to control minorities. This is definitely a darker series and I was particularly impressed with some of the commentary on the racism prevalent in non-intersectional feminism as depicted through a fantasy world. Can’t wait for the last one to come out! (3 novels, 1 forthcoming)

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells - There’s six of them--5 novella and a novel--and the first is All Systems Red. Told from the point of view of a self-aware droid/android that is rented out by a corporation to provide protection in a dystopian capitalist hellhole future that isn’t that unlike our current capitalist dystopia but is in space. Muderbot hacked the chip that controlled it and instead of going rogue just wants to be left alone to watch its favorite tv shows. Murderbot is painfully relatable and the books are both funny and poignant. Highly recommended. (5 novellas and a novel).

Winter’s Orbit - Everina Maxwell - This was a m/m romance novel with a scifi backdrop of royal intrigue. Generally I’m more into scifi with a queer relationship in the background than vice versa, so it wasn’t my favorite, BUT I think it was still well written and someone looking for more of the romance angle would enjoy it. Has all your favorite romance tropes in it, especially the yearning. (novel)

The Divine Cities - Robert Jackson Bennett - Three book series. I’m very conflicted about this one. Set in a fantasy world where an enslaved nation overthrew the country enslaving them and now rules over them. It’s a story of what happens after the triumphant victory and within that it’s also a murder mystery tied into the dying magic of the conquered nation. It also has a six foot something naked oily viking man fist fight a cthulhu in a frozen river. The second book was by far my favorite, mostly due to the main character being brilliant. My conflict comes from the fact I don’t feel like the story treated its women and queer characters well. Like it had really great characters but it didn’t do great by them overall. That and the third book didn’t live up to the first two. But still definitely worth a read, can’t stress enough how cool some of the world building was. (3 novels)

Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant - This might be the only one on here I disliked. It’s got a doomed boat voyage and creepy underwater terror and monsters and a super diverse cast of characters, but I just didn’t enjoy the writing style. While having a diverse cast is great, there were a lot of moments where it felt like characters were pausing to explain things about themselves that felt like a tumblr post rather than a normal conversation you might have while actively being hunted by monsters. I also bounced off all the characters. But a lot of people seem to have liked it so if you’re into horror and want a book with a f/f main couple then maybe you’ll enjoy it. (novel)

Dead Djinn Universe - P. Djèlí Clark - Around the early 1900′s, a man in Egypt discovers a way to access another world and bring Djinn and mysterious clockwork beings called Angels through. As a result, Egypt tells the British to get fucked and Cairo becomes one of the most powerful cities in the world. So Egypt, magic, djinn, a steampunk-ish vibe, oh and the main character is a butch queer woman who enjoys wearing dapper suits and looking fabulous while she investigates supernatural events. Her girlfriend is also mysterious and badass. And she has a cat. There’s three novella (one of which technically might be considered a short story) and then the first novel. You should absolutely read the novellas first (A Dead Djinn in Cairo, The Angel of Khan el-Khalili, The Haunting of Tram Car 015). Super fun and imaginative series. (3 novellas and a novel, more forthcoming)

River of Teeth & Taste of Marrow - Sarah Gailey - From the book description

“In the early 20th Century, the United States government concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. This is true. Other true things about hippos: they are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a man in two. This was a terrible plan.”

Queer hippo riders!!!! Very much a western but with hippos. Main couple included a non-binary character. Loved the first one. The second one I was more meh about due to one of the characters I was supposed to like having obnoxious man pain that a woman had to take the brunt of the whole time. Also there were less hippos. But queer hippo riders! Definitely read the first one, and they’re both novellas so no reason not to read the second as well. (2 novellas)

A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers - I may be the only person who hasn’t read the long way to a small angry planet at this point, but I did grab her new novella and I loved it. It made me want to go sit out in the woods and feel peaceful. The world it’s set in feels like a peaceful post-apocalypse...or diverted apocalypse maybe. Humans built robots and robots gained sentience, but instead of rebelling they just up and left and went into the wilderness with a promise that the humans wouldn’t follow them.The remaining human society reshaped itself into something new and peaceful. It’s the story of a monk who leaves their habitual monking duties to go be a tea monk and then later wanders into the wilderness and becomes the first human in ages to meet a robot. Very sad there’s no fan art yet. (novella, more forthcoming)

The March North - Graydon Saunders - This was such a weird book that I’m not sure how to explain it. The prose style is hard to get used to and I suspect a lot of people will bounce off it in the first chapter. There’s no third person pronouns used at all and important events get mentioned once in passing and if you blink you’ll miss them. Set on a world where magic is extremely common to the point that rivers sometimes run with blood or fire and the local weeds are something out of a horror movie and most of the world is run by powerful sorcerer dictators, one country banded together (with the help of a few powerful sorcerers who were tired of all the bullshit) to form a free country where powerful sorcerers wouldn’t rule and the small magics of every day folks could be combined to work together. The story revolves around a Captain of the military force on the border who one day has three very powerful sorcerers sent to them by the main government with the hint that just maybe there’s about to be a big invasion (there is) with the implication of take these guys and go deal with this. The world building is extremely complex and very cool...when you can actually understand what the fuck is going on. There is also a murder sheep named Eustace who breathes fire and eats just about everything and is a Very Good Boy and belongs to the most terrifying sorcerer in the world who appears as a little old grandma with knitting. It had one of the most epic badass and wonderfully grotesque battles I’ve ever read. But yeah, it is not what I would call easy reading. Opinions may vary wildly. I did also read the second one (A Succession of Bad Days) in the series which was easier to follow and had a lot more details about the world, but overall I was more meh about it despite some cool aspects. The chapters and chapters of the extreme details of building a house that made up half the novel just weren’t my thing. (novels).

The Space Between Worlds - Micaiah Johnson - In this world parallels universes exist and we’ve discovered how to travel between them, but the catch is you can only go to worlds where the ‘you’ there is already dead. This turns into an uncomfortable look at who would be the people most likely to have died on many worlds and how things like class and race would fit into that and what we would actually use this ability for (if you guessed stealing resources and the stock market you’d be correct). The main character is a queer woc who travels between worlds with the assistance of her handler (another queer woc) who she has the hots for. She accidentally stumbles on a whole lot of mess and conspiracy and gets swept up in that. Really enjoyed it. (novel)

Witchmark - C.L. Polk - Fantasy world reminiscent of Victorian England (I think?) where a young man with magical gifts runs away from his powerful family to avoid being exploited by them. He joins the army and fights in a war and comes home to try and live a quiet life as a doctor, but a murder pulls him into a larger mystery that upturns his life. Also he’s extremely gay and there’s a prevalent m/m romance. This one was a fun-but-not-mind-blowing one for me. (novel, 2 more in the series I haven’t read)

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon - This was one of those that everyone loved but I couldn’t get into for some reason. I tried twice and only got about halfway through the second time. It’s got dragons and queer ladies and fantasy world and all the things I like, but I wasn’t that invested in the main story (which included the f/f couple) and was more interested in the smaller story about a woman trying to become a dragon rider. There are few things that beat out a lady and her dragon friend story for me and that was the storyline that felt neglected and took a different turn right when we got to the part I’d been waiting for. But, I know a lot of people whose reading opinions I respect who loved it, and if you like epic fantasy with dragons and queens and treachery and pirates and queer characters then I’d say you should definitely give it a try. (novel)

Bonus: I didn’t read these series this year, but if you haven’t read them yet, you should.

Imperial Radch (Ancillary Justice) - Ann Leckie - Spaceship AI stuck in a human body out for revenge for their former captain, but that summary does not come close to doing it justice. Another one examining imperialism and also gender and race.(3 novels)

Kushiel's Legacy Series - Jacqueline Carey - This is two series, six books total, and starts with Kushiel's Dart. Alternate universe Renaissance-y Europe in a fantastical world where sex isn't shameful and sex workers are respected and prized. Lots of political intrigue and mystery. A lot of BDSM and kinky stuff too (the main character is a sexual masochist, oh and also bi!). I first read this series when I was fifteen or sixteen and it definitely made a big impression on me. Same author also wrote the Santa Olivia series which I’d also recommend. (6 novels)

The Locked Tomb (Gideon the Ninth) - Tamsyn Muir - I mean, if you follow me, you know. If you don’t follow me you still probably know. I’d have felt remiss to have left them off though. Lesbian Necormancers in Space. Memes! Skeletons! Biceps! Go read them. (2 novels, 2 forthcoming, 1 short story)

Books On My To Read List:

Fireheart Tiger - Aliette de Bodard

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water - Zen Cho

Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse

This Is How You Lose the TIme War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Ninefox Gambit - Yoon Ha Lee

Also, if anyone has any recs for scifi/fantasy books starring queer men (not necessarily having to do with a queer relationship) and written by queer men I’d love them. There’s a lot written by women, and some of them are great, but I’d love to read a story about queer men from their own perspective.

#book recs #books #mp

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meredoubt · 3 years ago

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P@reon early access discussion, avoid to not read speculation on stuff in Tuesday's video

I become more and more convinced that Starlight (are we even calling them that now? sob) is going to be the first human to crossover. Maybe in conjuction with something we learn in the Android storyline? That's clearly ramping up, AND October's spoiler? Nah, we are firmly in Meridian territory. Erik wants that moving forward. Plus, with Vega's ambitions.. lot going on.

I don't think they're gonna just, pop out, Rift fixed. That seems too simple. There's that theory demons coming out of the Well are a subset of the humans who've died, right? Maybe we'll...get confirmation on that. It'd actually be kind've sweet if Avior was Starlight's Steward. It would just wrap up neatly with his previous talk about mentoring inquisitive souls.

Idk I just want Avior and Starlight to get out. I'll be sad if they don't repair their relationship, but i can respect it. Then again i'm still mourning my villain!Avior theory so clearly i like him at his most dubious. But, i hope they work it out. At the very least because no matter what Avior said out loud, he clearly knows that he still loves them, and he's...immortal. that's a tough thing to carry around forever.

but I appreciate that for all of five minutes the two could discuss it like adults. Like i could see them ending either way. Until Starlight dropped that plan on him lol, I can't emotionally handle it when my faves get all choked up. Milo and Gavin crying was more than I could take, and they at least have largely sweet videos lmao. Avior ;_;

#redacted asmr

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therattsden · 4 years ago

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There’s nothing there

“You’re back surprisingly early.” There was a smugness to the androids gaze, arms crossed over her chest. It had only been a few days since she’d released her and she was already crawling back. “Did you miss me?”

The haunted look along Chell’s face said otherwise, hands raising shakily to sign. ‘Nothing out there.’

“... What?”

She swallowed thickly, still shaken from the discovery. ‘The edge of the field... Black and pink wall. Couldn’t go further.’

“I... That elevator lead to the surface. Is this some sort of prank? It’s in poor taste, even for someone as sad as you.”

The mutes head shook solemnly. ‘No. Look for yourself.’

She couldn’t help but sneer, hand moving to a hologram to call for the Atlas and P-body. “Fine. I’ll send the testing bots up there, and they will prove you’re just making this up.”

Well. A week passed and it was confirmed. The field ended in walls that couldn’t be passed and seemingly had no texture. With that in mind, GLaDOS had gathered the only other one they knew to have any clue what might be happening, the three standing around her chambers.

Doug spoke first. “I thought I had just lost it when I saw it but... Could we be in a simulation?”

“You’re sounding more delusional than usual.” GLaDOS snapped. That didn’t mean it wasn’t nagging at the back of her mind. If it were a simulation, who was running it? What was the purpose?

Doug spoke again, rather timidly. “What do either of you remember happening right before the neurotoxin incident? Because I... Only remember bits and pieces. Falling asleep and then working until you started killing everyone. I chalked it up to a trauma response, but this is... Indicating unpleasant possibilities...”

Chell pondered that question a moment before giving a ‘somewhat’ handwave. She knew she had come here for money, was put in a pod, and then everything else happened, but... The details before that sort of blurred. GLaDOS however was tense. “I... I had asked for access to the generator. Then I was shut down for a little while and events went as they did. What are you suggesting then, Ratt?”

“Well... Given Chell’s recent discovery, how sure are we that all of this happened?”

The mutes eyes darted to him. ‘What?’

“...” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, uncomfortable with having to spell it out. “What if we aren’t us, but are... Uploads. Into a simulation, to see what would happen if she killed everyone. What she’d make and how we’d react... And that our real selves are still in the 90′s, in pods for the others to... Observe...?”

GLaDOS was certainly skeptical, but the evidence was becoming clear. “... So you’re saying none of this is real?”

Doug shifted nervously. “Unfortunately.”

‘What do we do then?’

Both Doug and GLaDOS turned to her, the idea hitting at the same time. “What you do best. We break out.”

#Portal #Portal 2 #Stories Of The Facility (Drabbles)#//this au hit me like a fucking train

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quipperphilippines · 4 years ago

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6 Tips for Conducting Exam Activities on Quipper

The 3rd Quarter Examination period is just around the corner. Here are a few tips and reminders to help you prepare and have a smooth and successful exam experience:

Overview:

Construct your exam questions on Quipper CREATE.

Ensure that your exam content has not been used in previous activities or enabled for self-study.

Be mindful of the 12-hour rule in sending examinations on Quipper LINK.

Set an ample amount of time for your Quipper Exams.

Refrain from editing, unpublishing, or deleting your exam content once it has been sent to your classes and the exam is ongoing.

Remind students to avoid using multiple devices and browsers when answering an exam activity.

1. Construct your exam questions on Quipper CREATE.

You can create a separate course for all your examination items, or simply add a new unit/topic under an existing course and label it accordingly on Quipper CREATE. Make sure to publish the course so you can send the exam to your class via Quipper LINK.

TIP: Want to make use of Quipper’s ready-made questions for your exam? Use our Test Bank feature on CREATE to import questions from the available Quipper content based on your school’s subscription.

2. Ensure that your exam content has not been used in previous activities or enabled for self-study.

Doing this will prevent students from having records of multiple or existing attempts of the activity using the same set of questions. This also ensures that students do not have access to your exam questions before the scheduled exam period.

TIP: Go to your Quipper LEARN account and check on the “Course List” section if your exam content is visible there. If not, this confirms that your students don’t have early access to your exam.

3. Be mindful of the 12-hour rule in sending examinations on Quipper LINK.

Send your exams to your class or classes earlier than the intended schedule (12 hours before at most).

TIP: The hourly period seen on LINK follows the 24-hour time format. Make sure that you’re setting it with the correct period.

4. Set an ample amount of time for your Quipper Exams

By doing this, you're giving your students a chance to check and review their answers and avoid cramming while taking the exam. It also allows the system to manage concurrent traffic more effectively and prevent possible issues from occurring.

5. Refrain from editing, unpublishing, or deleting your exam content once it has been sent to your classes and the exam is ongoing.**

This will help avoid cases such as students not seeing the exam on their account or possible score discrepancies due to editing a question while they are currently answering the exam.

TIP: Try answering your exam questions on your own to see if it’s good to go using the Preview feature on CREATE.

6. Remind students to avoid using multiple devices and browsers when answering an exam activity

Although students can access their exam Quipper LEARN via different browsers (Chrome, Mozilla, Safari) and our LEARN Android app, it is highly advised that they stick to one medium as they attempt to answer and complete their exam activities.

TIP: Make sure that your students are using the supported browsers mentioned above or the latest version of our LEARN Android app.

In assessing our students’ learning, we must remember that technology is a tool that we can use to measure what our students have learned effectively. With this, Quipper is the perfect solution to do this and more. From lesson planning to delivery to measurement, Quipper has got you covered; it’s E-Learning and more!

Are you an existing Quipper user? Log in to our LINK platform to start sending your exams to your classes.

Interested in officially partnering with Quipper? Fill in our contact form, and together, let’s bring the best education to all corners of the world!

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techblog15 · 4 years ago

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Smartphones and their Impact on Language and Literacy.

In an age of rapidly evolving technology and social media becoming an increasingly prevalent part of society, it is essential to consider how this new age of digital communication impacts language and literacy. Smartphones have now evolved into one of the most convenient and almost essential part of living in today’s society. Subsequently the way in which we communicate over these devises have adapted for speed and convenience, predictive text glosses over our spelling errors and new vocabulary is frequently being created. The change in the way we digitally communicate is raising the question of whether there are any negative impacts of smartphone use. Plester et al states studies “have shown that children are actually aware of the difference between digitalised and standard language” (Plester et al., 2021) outlining that there is very little crossover when there is both standardised teaching and smartphone usage outside the classroom.

However, this topic is becoming increasingly discussed as technology such as smart phones and tablets are more accessible to children and young adults, prompting us to debate whether this can have a negative effect on their cognitive learning and literary development.

Through this, smartphones have been identified as a double edge blade in its contribution to a constantly evolving language. The English language has evolved from old English, to that of early modern English likened to William Shakespeare. We have come a long way since then. When we consider new and rapid growth of textisms and non-standard written language commonly used with smart phones such as “LOL” and “BRB” the spark for concern is understandable yet extremely generalised and flawed. Caroline Tagg’s exploring digital communication: language in action reported that “Public concerns over the impact of the internet on reading fail to take into account the fact that reading online texts requires an awareness of conventions and expectations as much as offline ones do[…]” (Tagg, 2015) Tagg outlines these concerns as far more complex than we are led to believe , highlighting that in order to even understand and navigate this new age digital literacy we must first have an awareness and a standard level of literacy and understanding of the English language.

(Image: https://www.sutori.com/story/a-closer-look-at-everyday-writing--eVfQFiU7i2xkNu7EEbNae5v2)

This new form of communication is indeed having an effect on language and literacy skills, but not in the way we are understandably mislead, by fear and nostalgic attachment to traditional forms of learning and terminology. Instead, smartphones can indeed be beneficiary to literacy skill development.

(Image : https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/24/16528282/amazon-kindle-app-redesign-ios-android-light-theme-goo)

This is through the multiple platform's smartphones provide, E-Books are a key example of this. Platforms such as Kindle and Google Books offer convenient accessibility to a wide scope of fiction and non-fiction, ranging in genres, reading level and age groups that pre-smartphone wasn’t able to offer. Amy Camardese et al Using E-Readers to Improve Reading for Students with Mild Disabilities, “These tools encourage learning to take forms that accommodate a variety of readers who may find text-to-speech, highlighting, font changes, text size, dictionary features and audio recording of comments to enhance their personal reading style.” (Camardese, Morelli, Peled and Kirkpatrick, 2014) these benefits are further emphasised in relation to student with mild disabilities, catering to groups who would otherwise struggle with standard methods of education.

References:

Camardese, A., Morelli, M., Peled, Y. and Kirkpatrick, M., 2014. Using E-Readers to Improve Reading for Students with Mild Disabilities. [online] ERIC. Available at: <https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1134860> [Accessed 11 March 2021].

Endlsey, K., 2020. Textism. [image] Available at: <https://www.sutori.com/story/a-closer-look-at-everyday-writing--eVfQFiU7i2xkNu7EEbNae5v2> [Accessed 12 March 2021].

Plester, B., Meachem, S., Bowyer, S., Jackson, E., Tarczynski-Bowles, M. and Wood, C., 2021. A longitudinal study of children's text messaging and literacy development. [online] curve.coventry.ac.uk. Available at: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2010.02002.x> [Accessed 10 March 2021].

Statt, N., 2017. Kindle, Amazon. [image] Available at: <https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/24/16528282/amazon-kindle-app-redesign-ios-android-light-theme-goodreads> [Accessed 12 March 2021].

Tagg, C., 2015. Exploring digital communication: Language in Action. London: Taylor & Francis Group, p.119.

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oldchaotetothecore · 5 years ago

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Clockwork Heart AU

Inspiration drawn out of a rock, and from Camera Shy by Aisukuri-Mu Studio; Me in this Android Body by agent000.

Ed Elric is an android

(A/N: yep, that’s all. Posting in order of latest saved. 3/4)

(Kidding! I finally wrote something down just for you guys. 😘)

Amestris is a city; is a nation, is a people, is a cemetery with graves laid on tombs and bones left bleaching in the ashes of cities unfed.

Amestris is hungry; with no bread, no meat, no blood that may satisfy it. A war machine, cutting swathes of its own troops down as it does the enemies’, burning its heart with its corpses.

Amestris is cold; with the baking heat of summer and the silence of the cicadas. The acrid scent of chemicals mingles with the sweet scent of rotting flesh and the scavengers breathe just barely.

They dig up the graves.

They tear open the tombs.

There are not enough soldiers, there is not enough food.

EE0803 blinks on. Records indicate it shut off suddenly, improperly. It runs diagnostics, sitting up from where it laid in the rubble, letting the sand and crumbling pebbles fall off. The sun is high overhead, but IntClock insists it is 2300.

There are lacerations on both legs and its right arm, the scratched metal supports shiny with tinted circulatory fluid. It will need to patch itself to get very far. ComDrive can’t access Cycle, and hasn’t updated Mission Files, either.

Dust clouds as EE0803 stands up, surveying the collapsed church. There is no sign of the insurgents, or of the other Gold Leaf Units. ComDrive remains out of sync. ForeThought blinks in the upper left of its vision, reminding it to return to Camp Shore for further instruction.

SUMMARY: Edward Elric was a very normal boy in a very normal home. War tore up the nation, but he lived. His brother lived. His friends lived. They also died, as fleshbags are wont to do. The war ended only for a lack of means to keep it up. Not that much later, it’s less of an issue. Dead bodies make excellent bones to build something new.

A/N: Haven’t decided how many canon characters will be used or recycled. I figured I would have a (great?) granddaughter or grandniece be a driving force. Much of the family drama there would be of her disgust and frustration of the corpse of a (distantish) family member being used as a war machine. Ed would still have died pretty young, maybe early twenties. Ed and Al did not commit Human Transmutation here, and Ed never joined the military. He was famous in a backroads folklore kind of way. He and Mustang never met.

GLOSSARY ComDrive: Communications/Command Drive (by which the Military orders Units around, and by which Units contact each other but mostly the Military) Cycle: A program that runs like the internet, but just for the Military. ForeThought: The program that personally bosses Units around. IntClock: Internal Clock (oh no, something must have been jostled rather harshly there. do hope nothing bad comes of it... ;P) Mission Files: Self-explanatory. Where Military commands are logged.

#fanfic ideas #fma #fma au #alternate universe #steampunk au #kind of anyway #clockwork heart au #androids #snippet #edward elric #android edward elric

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httpjeon · 7 years ago

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hot bot: test ― hoseok (m.)

hoseok/reader | android!au, hot bot!au | smut

wordcount: 3.1k

contents: dom!hoseok, panty stuffing, multiple orgasms, cum eating, squirting, praise kink, sir kink, degradation/name calling, cunnilingus, choking

― synopsis: as a product tester, you have one of the most sought after temporary positions in Hot Bot Inc.

note: this is a spinoff for hoseok who was mentioned in the main hot bot story. you do not need to read the main story to understand this!

blog masterlist ― hot bot: series masterlist

THERE WILL NOT BE A PART 2

Early morning at Hot Bot Inc was like another world. Everyone was still groggy and were sat around slowly drinking coffee and answering emails for a days work ahead of them. You were the same, staring blankly at the computer screen, sorting through emails slowly.

You had gotten through a few answers when the pager on your desk buzzed, drawing your attention from the progress you weren't making.

"Employee Number #33214-8 please report to the Testing Department."

It was short and simply but it kicked you into gear, finally letting the haze of sleep escape your body. You stood up, turning the monitor of your computer off before grabbing your pager and your company badge.

The Testing Department was secured behind what felt like a dozen clearance doors which you would need to scan your badge to gain access to.

Every year or so, when the company came out with a new and improved line of Hot Bots, a select few workers would be picked as 'Product Testers'. It was a highly sought after position, as you can imagine.

The robots were state of the art and damn good at what they do. As mere office workers, your salary wasn't nearly as good as, say a programmer, so there was no way you could afford to buy one yourself even with employee discounts.

The shock you experienced when you got that email announcing you as a Product Tester was enough to make your entire year. Ever since then, you'd been waiting for your turn to be brought in to test.

"Hello, I'm ______, employee number #33214-8," You showed your card to the lady at the desk.

"You're ordered to room 3," She said simply, handing you another card that reminded you of a hotel key card.

You bowed in thanks before scurrying through the double doors and into a hallway that was beyond what you were expecting.

The floor, ceiling and walls were white. The fluorescent lights making the color nearly painful to look at.

You found the correct room and pressed the card to the scanner, a loud click signalling the door was now unlocked and accessible. You pushed your way in, the door locking once again behind you.

The room looked similar to a hotel room fit with a bed, night table and dresser. You weren't sure what the point was because they were just robots.

Maybe it's for the human's comfort. You mused, stepping more into the room.

As you took a seat on the bed, relishing in the comfort it brought to your back, the door unlocked once again.

It was quiet for a second and you held your breath.

Maybe someone tried to get into the wrong room?

Just as that thought passed, someone opened the door and let it lock behind them.

Silence for a moment.

"_____?" An unfamiliar voice caused you to stand up.

As you were about to reply, a man came from around the corner, a smile lighting up his face at the sight of you.

"Who are you?" You asked, raising a brow, only making him chuckle.

"I'm Hoseok," He held his hand out, making you squint in confusion, letting him shake your hand in greeting. At the confused look on your face, his smile fell. "You are the product tester, right?"

"That's right," You replied, folding you arms over your chest as you looked up at him.

He was good looking. His skin was flawless except for a little freckle on his top lip.

"Well, I'm tester...meet the product," He held his arms out and spun around.

"What?!" You screeched.

You had never actually met a Hot Bot so you weren't sure what you were expecting but you were positive that this person was a, well, person!

"P-Prove it!" You shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

He was too lifelike. Hell, you could even see his chest rise and fall with breath. Robots don't need to breathe!

"Okay," Hoseok replied plainly, turning around and pulling down the collar of his white turtleneck to reveal an LED button located on the base of his nape. "Proof enough?"

"Y-Yeah..." You muttered, taking a seat on the bed once again.

Hoseok fixed his collar, straightening his turtleneck before turning to look at you again, flashing a brilliant smile once again.

"So...do you know how this works?" You asked, now feeling timid under his gaze.

"Oh right," Hoseok turned around to go over to the dresser, picking up a clipboard you hadn't noticed. "You have to fill this out,"

He took a seat on top of the dresser, probably to keep some distance between you until you're comfortable with him.

'But wait, robots wouldn't feel compassion. Stupid girl,' You scolded yourself.

The first page was information about Hoseok.

BTS900 Line Model.

Serial number CSQS56NH

177cm and 65 kg.

The next line had you choking on your own salive, making Hoseok cock his head to the side curiously.

Penis Length/Girth: 6.89in/5.787in

You quickly moved onto the information section about him.

"BDSM?" You said aloud, making Hoseok nod his head.

"Are you experienced in BDSM, ______?" The way he said your name had shivers traveling down your spine.

"Uh...not really," You replied bashfully.

“Well, I’ll take care of you,” He said, approaching you and taking the clipboard from you, dropping it on the bed beside you.

How the hell are you meant to put your life in the hands of this robot. BDSM was some serious shit, what if he chokes you and doesn’t realize he’s too rough and breaks your neck or something! The possible thoughts of dying by the hands of a sex robot caused you pulse to accelerate.

“Are you nervous?” He asked, voice now much softer than what it was.

He reached up and cupped your cheek, making you look up at him. You were shocked by the sincerity held in his eyes. “Your heart is racing,”

“I-I’m just not sure how this will work when you’re an…”

“Android?” He completely, smiling when you nodded. “You’ll have a safeword.”

“A safeword?” You repeated, still keeping your eyes locked with his.

He was smiling now, but nothing malicious behind it. He gently stroked his thumb over your cheek.

“A safeword is a word you’ll give me, that will be programmed in me, to make me stop if something will become to much. If anytime during the session, you become uncomfortable or something doesn’t feel right, you say the word and it’ll stop right there.” He explained, keeping his tone even and calm, which helped you to calm down as well.

“What if I can’t talk? Like if I’m...g-gagged or something?” You asked, stumbling over the work as it felt foreign in your mouth.

“I won’t cover your mouth, don't worry. If my owner wishes to be gagged, there will always be a safeguard in place to assure they can signal me to stop,” The way he answered was very mechanical, almost as if it had been rehearsed. Perhaps it was in his programming to say it?

“Okay,” You sighed, closing your eyes for a second to ease your running mind before opening them to look at him again. “Safeword will be Test.”

Hoseok grinned, letting out a little huff that sounded almost like a laugh before nodding. “Test it is,”

Then, it was as if a switch had been flipped in him and his eyes turned black, as if they were swimming with arousal. He stood in front of you, lithe fingers unbuttoning the button of his pants and undoing the zipper. Beneath, you could see he was bare, wisps of hair decorating he flesh surrounding his cock, which he carefully pulled out.

Part of you was shocked to see he was hard, but you reminded yourself that he was a robot built to be erect. He wrapped a fist around himself, slowly jerking himself off. The sight was pure sin and you couldn’t help but clench your thighs together to give some type of relief to the arousal.

“Are you turned on, baby?” He asked, shocking you with how low his voice became. You nodded, squeezing your thighs together again. “Why don’t you come over and suck my cock for me? If you’re a good girl, I’ll make sure you cum tonight.”

You had never been particularly submissive or dominant in bed, always having partners who only did vanilla. But he way Hoseok was talking to you lit a fire in you and you knew that you wouldn’t be able to go back to vanilla after this. You scooted forward, your pencil skirt almost uncomfortably tight as you kneeled on the bed before Hoseok. With one hand on the base of his cock, he laced the other hand through your hair and tugged your face closer to his cock. You could see a little bead of moisture develop at the tip and slide down his shaft to meet his hand, where the drop disappeared.

He gave you an expectant look and you didn’t need to think twice before enveloping the head of his cock in your mouth. He signed at the feeling, eyes fluttering closed as he allowed you to get accustomed to having him in your mouth. As you swirled your tongue around everything you could touch, he gripped your hair harder. He carefully drew you further down his member until the tip brushed the back of your throat and you gagged, pulling off of him to inhale.

“Never deepthroated?” He asked, fingers gently wiping the saliva off your chin.

“N-No…” You replied, embarrassment flooding through you. There was no reason to feel it, everyone has to start somewhere. However, underneath his kind gaze, you felt yourself calm.

“I’ll teach you then,” He gave you a moment to gather yourself, stroking his hand up and down his shaft to spread the moisture of your saliva.

“Okay…” You whispered, opening your mouth to take him inside again.

“Relax your throat,” He growls, waiting to feel you relax before slowly sinking deeper into your mouth. When he grazed the back of your throat, you fought down a gag and allowed him to sink to the hilt. Looking through tears, you saw his head tossed back as a moan tore from his lips. He held you like that for a second, feeling your throat spasm around him before he pulled out, a string of spit still connecting you and him.

“W-Will you cum?” You asked, wincing at how raw your voice already sounded.

“You want me to cum?” He cooed, still gently stroking your skin.

“Y-Yes please,” Your response made him smile.

“Such a good girl,”

Biting his lip, he began to feed his cock to you again, making you whimper as it grazed the back of your throat. You continued to relax, letting him use your mouth to get off.

His little pants of exertion soon became groans of pleasure. The hand in your hair tightened and you could feel his body trembling. The anatomy of these robots was truly astounding, you mused, before realizing it was a strange thought to have while he was balls deep in your throat.

Before your mind could get any more jumbled, you let out a final groan before he came. Your mouth filled with the creamy, warm liquid. However, instead of a bad normal-cum taste, your mouth was filled with a sweet, almost candy-like flavor. You let it linger on your tongue as he pulled his still-hard cock out of your mouth. He watched with a small smile as you licked your lips of the liquid.

“Cotton candy,” He said, making your eyes jerk up to meet him. “Yummy, huh?”

“V-Very,” At your response, he wiped a stray drop of cum from your chin, letting you suck it off his thumb with a grin.

“Slut,” Like any girl, you would usually bustle at the term but in this environment, you felt a shiver go down your spine.”Lay down for me,”

You scrambled to do as he said, laying your head on the pillows as Hoseok crawled on after you. His fingers, so slim and pretty, caught the zipper on your skirt.

With some shuffling, you managed to slide the article off. It landed somewhere in the room, but you didn’t care because Hoseok was on his stomach between your spread legs.

“Cute panties,” He commented, only adding to your embarrassment.

There was only time to blink before suddenly, he was sliding his tongue along the crotch of your panties, mixing both your juices and his saliva into the material. It didn’t take long before the material was soaked, sticking to you lips in an obscene manner. You clit was throbbing, crying out for direct stimulation, which he didn’t provide. Your hole fluttered pathetically around nothing and you realized you’d never wanted to be filled more in your life.

“H-Hoseok?” You whined, however, it was cut short when he suddenly gave a sharp smack to the wet crotch of your panties.

“That’s not my name, babygirl,” He growled, making your cunt clench once again.

“A-Sir, please!” You whimpered, the word just falling out of your lips before you could think twice.

“That’s a good girl,” He praised, once again licking up the fabric of your soaked panties. “What do you need?”

“C-Can you take them off?” You asked, your voice trembling. Hoseok appeared to think it over for a moment, mindlessly stroking your trembling thigh.

“Since you asked so sweetly, I can do that for you,” His nails slightly scratched your skin as he hooked his fingers into the material.

Once they were off, you felt extremely exposed.

This feeling multiplied when, with his thumbs, he spread your lips to expose your wet slit to his greedy gaze. A low growl escaped his lips as he slid his tongue through the wetness, moaning as it costed his tongue.

“So fucking sweet,” He purred, continuing the action while avoiding your clit until you were trembling.

You had never been this wet. You were dripping everywhere, and his saliva only added to it.

Eyes rolling back into your head, you arched your hips in hopes that he’d give some attention to your clit. Instead, you felt a pressure at your entrance; a strange material slowly being pushed into your spasming hole.

Looking down, you could have cum on the spot. Hoseok was slowly pushing your soaked panties into your pussy. The feeling was strange, the material grazing your walls. But, surprisingly, you were filled with pleasure. Once half the material was stuffed inside your cunt, Hoseok's mouth suddenly latched onto your clit.

Your orgasm blindsided you, your hips arching into his sinful mouth. With trembling thighs, you squeezed around his head. He didn’t seem to mind, simply providing soft licks to your sensitive clit as your orgasm faded. Once he was sure you came down, he carefully pulled the panties from your hole.

Then, there was a flurry of movement as you both stripped.

When you were both naked, he pinned you down, your hands above your head. His grip was strong, making sure there was no way you would escape.

“You remember the safeword?” You whispered the reply, making him smile before he began to fill you.

Your mouth fell open at the feeling.

You were panting by the time he bottomed out, your thighs trembling as you began to grind your hips into him. He growled, hands still holding you down as he began to fuck you earnestly.

“Little slut,” He snarled, watching how your eyes rolled back in your head. “Taking my cock so well,”

“Please, sir,” you cried arching your back as he brushed against your g-spot. “please, please, please, ple-“

Releasing one of your hands, he cut off your begging by wrapping a strong hand around your throat. The pressure cut off your air, making you unable to continue your cries. The idea of a robot having its hand around your neck should have frightened you but, you were too lost in the way his cock was abusing your cunt.

The lack of oxygen to your brain, coupled with the way his pelvis was grinding against your slick clit every time he sunk into you, had you reaching your end.

Feeling the way you clenched so delightfully tight around him, he knew you were going to cum. He released your throat, watching with a smirk as you gulped air in with a gasp before your finally came with a choked cry.

As your orgasm peaked, Hoseok pulled his cock out, using the firm head to slap against your quivering clit. Before you could even think that your orgasm was ending, you were skyrocketing again. This time, however, little droplets littered both yours and Hoseok’s skin. The bed sheets beneath you became soaked and stuck to your skin. Hoseok didn’t stop tormenting your clit until you had to reach down to stop him, your whole body trembling.

With a grin on his lips, he began to stroke his cock until his smile disappeared, being replaced by an open mouth. His head fell back as he came, a puddle of white forming on your skin as his cock drooled it out.

As he released his cock, you couldn’t help but to scoop out some of the warm cum onto your fingers. Hoseok watched with lidded eyes as you popped the fingers into your mouth, humming at the sweet taste. You continued to do this until your skin was completely free of his cum and you sunk back onto the bed. With your eyes closed, you didn’t notice Hoseok had vanished until you felt a soft material wiping down your skin.

“What’re you doing?” You mumbled, watching him as your fought back a yawn.

“Cleaning you up, silly,” He explained, making your brows furrow. You weren’t aware bots were able to perform aftercare.

Shrugging, you let your mind drift to how nice it felt to have him cleaning you and before you knew it, you drifted to sleep.

Walking back to your desk was difficult. After your nap, you woke with sore hips and wobbly legs. Walking through all the hallways, your mind was blank and you couldn’t wait to just get back to your desk and finish up work.

Clutching the clipboard from the testing room, you finally were able to sit with a sigh.

Flipping through the pages, you answered various questions; “How would you rate your experience with Hot Bot Hoseok?”, “Were there any bugs you’d like to address?”, “How was the behavior of the bot?”

After ensuring that everything was answered and legible, you turned to the last page where you were to sign your approval to put the bot on the market and as proof it had been tested.

As you signed your name, there was a voice in the back of your head telling you that something was a little...human about Hoseok.

#bts #bts smut #hoseok smut #bts scenarios #hoseok scenarios #bts imagines #hoseok imagines #bts preferences #bts reactions #bts fanfic #hoseok fanfic #bts suga #min yoongi #bts yoongi #btssmutclub

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vivekhaldar · 5 years ago

Text

How Unix Won

Unix has won in every conceivable way. And in true mythic style, it contains the seeds of its own eclipse. This is my subjective historical narrative of how that happened.

I'm using the name "Unix" to include the entire family of operating systems descended from it, or that have been heavily influenced by it. That includes Linux, SunOS, Solaris, BSD, Mac OS X, and many, many others.

Both major mobile OSs, Android and iOS, have Unix roots. Their billions of users dwarf those using clunky things like laptops and desktops, but even there, Windows is only the non-Unix viable OS. Almost everything running server-side in giant datacenters is Linux.

How did Unix win?

It was built by programmers, for programmers. If you read the early papers describing Unix, you will see how the key abstractions (hierarchical filesystems, permissions, processes, interactive shells, pipes) have lasted conceptually unsullied for decades. That could only have happened if it exerted such a force field over geek minds that they propagated it.

The majority of it was written not in assembly language, but in C, a higher-level language, hence making it portable. This enabled relatively easy ports to a wide variety of hardware.

A freak historical accident. AT&T Labs, where it was developed, was forbidden under its anti-trust settlement from commercializing products unrelated to its core telecom business. Hence, Unix was licensed very cheaply to universities, including UC Berkeley, which subsequently built one of the more influential branches of the Unix family tree—BSD. Apparently, AT&T classified Unix as industrial waste for tax purposes when licensing it!

Unix spread through academia, and those students spread it through corporations after they graduated. It's a strategy that has been used by every major tech company, only in this case it was organic.

And then came the Internet, and the whole universe of daemons, tools, protocols, and utilities that undergirded it was built natively on Unix. That wasn't a huge surprise because a lot of the people that built the Net were Unix natives. BSD open-sourced its TCP/IP stack, kicking off its wide adoption outside the military.

By the late 90s and early 2000s, Linux started taking over the server-side. It has become the ultimate virtuous cycle in open source. When picking a new kernel one is virtually forced to go with Linux because of the huge community and massive engineering that has gone into solidifying it. That's probably why Android picked Linux even though it was running on the other end of the hardware spectrum.

So how and why would we move past Unix?

Unix, which got standardized into the POSIX spec, has accreted a tremendous amount of complexity over the decades. The POSIX spec is 3000 pages long. Linux now has nearly 400 system calls. What started as a clean, pure, minimal and elegant set of system abstractions has become a complex beast.

The very idea of the OS providing general-purpose abstractions with wide applicability is being challenged. When Unix was created, IO was orders of magnitude slower than CPU. There were enough CPU cycles to burn to provide these high-level abstractions, like a complex hierarchical filesystem. Now IO can easily saturate CPU. At least on the server side, folks just want to get the fastest performance out of their hardware. That's leading to the rise of frameworks like SPDK and DPDK that bypass heavy OS abstractions for storage and networking in favor of applications directly accessing the raw hardware, and rolling whatever abstraction they do need on their own.

The entire ecosystem in which an OS exists is changing. Application-level experiences are hermetic and make the underlying OS more or less irrelevant. Just look at Android or iOS or ChromeOS. Programming to a virtual machine (like the Java VM) makes programmers much more invested in their PL/runtime than the OS.

The above two points raise an interesting question: what does a modern operating system want? Look, for example, at Fuchsia, which is going in the direction of a microkernel with capabilities, that pushes most drivers and OS services out to userspace. These are ideas that have been floating in academic OS research for decades, but could never gain real mainstream acceptance because of the high barrier to making a viable real-world OS. This is the effect Rob Pike was talking about in his "Systems Research is Irrelevant" talk. But the prior two trends are finally dislodging the iron grip of Unix, and OSs are becoming interesting again!

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skycrystal23 · 6 years ago

Note

What if Markus had deviated like a year before the begining of the game, and had fallen in love for Carls daughter? They have the fluffiest lovestory, start to create a group with humans and android, but then Markus format his own memory to keep the reader safe. Reader leads the group alone ever since. Time skip, Markus goes to Jericho, meet the readers group and during the first demonstration, the reader gets shot to protect Markus, and then he remenber everything, but he already is with North!

I’m so sorry this took so long but viola! Request filled!

Markus x Reader

FORGET ME NOT

Characters: Markus RK200, Reader, North

Warnings: Character death

Words: 4,000 (approx.)

NOVEMBER 2037

The snow was falling, sprinkling theground outside with its frozen white flakes. An old film was playing on the television,but you weren’t paying too much attention to it. Instead you were watching yourhalf brother Leo pace back and forth muttering to himself while he nervouslywrung his hands. His gaze was fixed on the Android that was in your room whohad his back to him as he folded your clothing and piled them on top of yourdresser. You could see the steady yellow glow of his LED in the mirror attachedto the dresser in front of him.

Leo was on it again, the Red Ice.You could tell by his flighty and erratic behaviour. He had a hatred forAndroids, especially the one in the room. He had burst into your room a fewminutes ago but had yet to say anything. It was almost like he was strugglingto find the words. Markus jumped off your bed all too quickly when he heard theheavy footsteps approach your room at an alarming pace. You and Leo were neverreally close, he appeared shortly after you did into your fathers’ life. CarlManfred, the famous artist, who seemed to have too much fun with women in hisearly playboy years.

The clock was ticking quietly, itwas the only noise you could focus on. Your gaze briefly flickered over toMarkus whose eyes locked onto yours in the mirror. He quickly looked away whenLeo finally opened his mouth. “I-I need some.” He said, his voice shaky. Younoticed his bloodshot eyes and the icy paleness to his skin. Leo needed helpbut whenever you offered it, he refused. You heard how addictive Red Ice was.It’d already killed hundreds of people across the country. “Leo, I don’tunderstand.” You said slowly standing from your bed. He lashed out when youtried to approach him, snarling at you and almost hitting you.

“MONEY – I…INEED MONEY!” He screamed.

At this point Markus turned aroundand walked over to the two of you. He seemed calm but the LED on the side ofhis head said otherwise with its red flashing light. “Do you require assistanceMs. Manfred?” He asked solely focusing on you. Just as you were about to answerLeo spoke up. “What,need your plastic pet to speak for you?” He hissed.

“Leoyou need to leave, come back when you can think straight.” You retorted.

“Wouldyou like me to escort you out?” Markus asked motioning for Leo to head to thedoor.

Leo grumbled something, most likelya curse, and stormed out of your bedroom. He slammed the door behind himleaving you stood there in complete shock. You still didn’t understand why yourfather allowed him access to the house with the state he was currently in. Assoon as you heard the front door to the house slam shut you let out a sigh ofrelief, feeling all the anxiety melt away from you. “I thought he was going tosee you, see us.” You said quietly while turning to Markus. Before Leo burstinto your room you and Markus were cuddled up on your bed watching an old film.

Humanand Android.

Together.

It wasn’t exactly unheard of; somepeople were even married to specialized household Androids who were supposed toact as a significant other. But Markus was different. He had always beendifferent from day one. Markus was hand crafted by Elijah Kamski himself, agift to your father in exchange for something your father had done for him. Youwrapped your arms around Markus and sunk into him, closing your eyes and takinga deep breath. “He would have probably torn you apart if he saw you with me.”You whispered. Leo despised Markus, he thought that he was replacing him insome way.

You wished people knew what you knewabout Androids. They weren’t just pieces of machinery; they were so much more,and Markus was proof. He was alive. Therewere others like him. They were hidden away underground. That was your sidejob, you were helping Androids like him that needed to escape. You knew justhow cruel some people were to the people like Markus. You couldn’t bare toimagine anyone hurting him. You hadn’t told your father about your sidemission, but you believed he knew, your father was a wise man and could seeright through your lies.

Markus’s hand moved to your back andhe pulled you closer to him. He had always been this way – emotional that is.Other Androids described breaking through some sort of barrier and then havingan onslaught of errors and emotions flooding at them after. Your arms looselyhung around his neck and you leaned back in his arms, staring up at him. TheAndroid smirked at you and tilted his head down slightly. “I love you too muchto let anyone hurt you.” You said with a smile before kissing him. The two ofyou parted and you noticed how his eyes seemed to almost glow, not to mentionthe grin on his face now. “What?” You asked raising an eyebrow. “Iwould do anything to keep you safe.” He replied, his version of ‘I love youtoo’.

DECEMBER 2037

The snowfall was heavy, and the sides of the roadswere growing higher and higher the more snow is pushed off of the road to theside. The temperature was only going to continue to drop. The underground wascolder than above ground. It was dark as you sat on the ground against the wallof the abandoned subway system. The subway closed down a long time ago whenself-driving cars and the new bullet trains were introduced above ground. Thisis where you and your rag-tag group of human-android friends hid.

You were shivering down here. It washard to stay down here at night with how cold it was becoming. There neverseemed to be enough blankets to go around. Even some of the Androids werefeeling the effects of the frigid air beginning to shock their systems. Youwere hiding from the police, a lot can happen in a single month. Drearily youlooked around and could see the dozens of multi-coloured LED’s glowing in thedarkness. The steady dripping sound of the water leaking from the ceiling wasslowly lulling you to sleep. The cold was the only thing stopping you fromfully resting your eyes.

It had been a long day of evadingpolice custody. Officers were on the streets prowling for you and anyone whomay be supporting you and your cause. Recently you had become the new talk ofthe city and the media absolutely ate you up. It was mostly because you wererebelling against the government and rescuing ‘defective’ Androids that were inneed of a safe place. The deviants came to you when they had nowhere to go andthe humans that were like you came to support the group as well. A blanket wassuddenly draped around your shoulders and a hand fell onto your shouldersqueezing it gently.

Markus sat down next to you andpulled you close to his side. He was dressed warm enough in some of Leo’s oldclothes you dug out of some boxes in the storage room. Androids were built likehumans in some ways, for example they needed to keep their core temperaturemoderately warm or they would begin to become sluggish and eventually theywould shut down. “You should make a fire.” He said quietly.

“No– no fire.” You said, teeth chattering.

He still had much to learn. Androidswere programmed to find answers for reasonable problems and sometimes did notthink further on the matter, expanded thought was not something they weredesigned to have. “W-we’re under the city. I-In a s-subway system that stillhas c-connections to the city above. P-Police can detect s-smoke and willc-come check.” You said, voice shaking and teeth chattering even more. Markuspulled you closer and nodded slowly. The LED spun yellow as he processed thenew information.

After awhile your eyes fell closedand you snuggled closer to Markus. It was later in the night when the air ofthe subway tunnel had become more frigid when your eyes opened. The hair on theback of your neck stood and goosebumps flared up over your body. In thedistance you heard the crackling of a walkie talkie, someone was coming.“Everyone we need to go now!” You said as loud as you could without breakingyour whispered tone. Just as people were starting to stand up you were allblinded by a flood of bright white lights. “Detroit Police freeze!” A manyelled hidden behind the sea of flashlights. “Run!”You screamed.

It was mayhem after that. The soundof gunshots popping off echoed down the tunnel as you all sprinted away. Thelights followed all of you down the tunnel, your group slowly thinning outbecause of the rapid fire the police rained down on everyone. There were twoladders on either side of the tunnel up ahead that led up to the street. It washow all of you got down here. “Up – go up!” You yelled. It was difficult toform the words you wanted to say with the shock running its course through yourbody. You were shaky and terrified out of your mind.

You reached one of the ladders andmoved to the side ushering your group up before you. “Markus!” You yelled, eyessearching in the dark for him. The lights were coming closer and closer to youand you still couldn’t see him. The last person went up the ladder and thelight from the street above fell onto you like a halo. Your hand moved to theladder and you looked around once again for him. Then you saw his figureemerging in the distance, he wasn’t walking right, and he practically fell intoyou when he reached you. “You’re hurt.” You said looking at the Thiriumspilling from the bullet holes in his body.

“Comeon we have to go.” You said tugging him up the ladder as you climbed.

His hand stopped you, he grabbedyour arm and held it firmly. You looked down at him and saw the absolutedespair in the eyes. The police were running after you, they were almost here.“Reset me.” He said. It dawned on you what he was asking you to do, you shookyour head. This was ludicrous, they would kill him either way even if he wasreset or not. “Markus they’ll kill you.” You said, tears coming to your eyes.

“Iwill slow you down and I know you won’t leave me and if you don’t reset me,they’ll pry every piece of information on you out of my head.”

Markus was right. Why did he have tobe right? Androids couldn’t reset themselves and the action would only pop upif a registered ‘owner’. You hated the thought of being his owner. The wordleft a sour taste in your mouth. Nevertheless, you forced the dreaded words outof your mouth. “RK200 #684 842 971 I order you to reset yourself.” You said thewords coming forced from your mouth. Cyberlife employees were really supposedto reset Androids to avoid any unwanted errors that may come with it. Deviantswere allowed to choose whether the action could be done or not which was whyresets tended to not work on deviants.

His LED spun red and you knew it washappening. You leaned down and kissed his forehead, eyes closing as you feltthe tears roll down your cheeks. After a moment you pulled back and quicklyclimbed up the ladder and out of the manhole without sparing him a second glance.

NOVEMBER 9, 2038

You awoke to a harsh knock on yourdoor. Your eyes flew open and you gasped loudly. The loud knock had awoken youfrom yet another nightmare. It was always the same one that repeated over andover inside of your head, usually before something big. The nightmares werealways of that night down in the old subway tunnels where you had to abandonMarkus. This time you dreamt of seeing him get shot by the police. You wereglad the knock on your door awoke you when it did.

Shuffling through the tiny apartmentyou opened the door and greeted one of your Android friends. Jaime wasresponsible for keeping tabs on the other group; Jericho. Whispers around thestreets said that they were marching today. You didn’t get out much anymore,not after the incident in the tunnel. Your face was plastered over everyprecinct wall in Detroit. People in your group like Jaime came and you wouldexchange information and they would go back and relay it to your group. It wastoo dangerous for your face to be shown in public…until now.

Jericho was once a small grouplocated in an old freighter by the water. It had significantly grown in numberssince then. Your information about the new leader was very little but you knewthat his name was Markus. You already told yourself that it wasn’t your Markus.The police most likely shot him as soon as they came upon him and then dumpedhis body with the rest in a junkyard. It was also logical that there were infact other Androids out there with the same name. After all, there weremillions of Androids spread across the United States and that name wasn’t onlyspecial to one specific Android as much as you wished it was.

Jaime followed you to the beat-upsofa in the middle of the room. You plopped down onto it while he stood infront of you looking down. This apartment building was condemned and had yet tobe demolished so you camped out here in secret. He sat down next to you andoffered you one of his awkward smiles. He’s an HR400 who escaped from the EdenClub, he joined your group a little while after what happened at the tunnels. “Theyare marching today. One of our informants inside got confirmation of this. Asyour advisor I would like to point out Jericho’s recent violent disturbances,public opinion is beginning to sway.” He informed.

Yousighed, “What you’re really saying is that we need to confront them.”

He nodded and you sunk further intothe couch. You had held off interacting with Jericho up until this point. Ifyou didn’t then the likelihood that Androids would survive this ‘revolution’was highly unlikely. Jericho was becoming destructive and it was damaging thepublic opinions severely. You knew this day would come, when you would have toconfront this group. The awful feeling in the pit of your stomach wasn’thelping. You sighed again and dragged your hands down your face tiredly. “Whereare they planning to do this?” You asked.

“WoodwardAvenue.” Jaime answered.

It wasn’t too far from where youwere currently located. As a leader you had to make the tough decisions. Youstood up and grabbed your long black coat from the bedpost it was hanging onand slid it on. “What are we going to do?” Jaime asked following you to thedoor. You pulled the hood up and looked up at him, “We’re going to stop them,cut them off before they get too far.” You answered.

That was exactly what you and yourgroup did. You hid within the crowd of your group, your head down to keepyourself hidden. Jaime was next to you and had communicated your instructionsto the group. Some of your followers were helping the people on the sidewalksget away before the confrontation happened. You had no doubt in your mind thatthe police would show up soon. It was only a matter of time now. “He’s here.”Jaime said, loud enough for you to hear. You nodded and moved through the crowdquickly until you were at the front. You raised your head to finally get a goodlook at this so called ‘ruthless leader’.

Your world shattered around you whenyou saw his face. So many nights you spent believing he was dead, wiped fromthis world completely. There was no mistaking him and you knew that it wasimpossible that this was some other Android. Elijah Kamski made Markusspecifically for your father. There was no other Android like him and therenever would be because Kamski didn’t make Androids anymore. You met in themiddle; he had a female Android at his side. She was a WR400 from the EdenClub. The two of them seemed close. “We’re demonstrating peacefully, is that acrime?” He asked, hearing his voice was a nightmare in itself.

You pulled the hood down and staredat him wide eyed. “Markus.” You whispered his name for the first time in almosta year. He looked at you as if you were a threat. It was almost like speakingto a poor imitation of him. He looked like Markus but this…this wasn’t Markus.He seemed so cold and angry, something that he never was before. “Markus she’sa human.” The Android to his side said, the word ‘human’ rolling off her tonguein disgust. It was clear that she had a problem with humans. You drew in abreath, gaze hardening as you pushed the thoughts of Markus to the back of yourhead. You had to remind yourself that this wasn’t him. It couldn’t be him. “Dueto the recent outbreaks of violence from Jericho I’ve deemed you unfit to leadyour group.” You said swallowing the lump in your throat.

“Ahuman leading our people Markus, it’s insane!” the redhead yelled.

He stared at you completely ignoringhis companion at his side. “I didn’t use to lead alone, I had someone else. AnAndroid that I cared for very much, he helped me take care of my father. Oneday we were caught by the police and well, I thought he was gone.” You said,gaze fixed on Markus. His LED was missing, he looked like a human. There seemedto be a spark in his eyes and just when he went to speak the SWAT team pulledup behind you. The tires squealed against the pavement and armored squadsrushed out of their trucks and lined up. You turned around and walked throughyour group whom moved out of the way to make a path for you. “This is an illegalgathering, disperse immediately!” An officer shouted from behind the line up.

The SWAT teams had their guns aimedat your group and Jericho. They took this as a threat. Your fears were comingto life. Markus had destroyed any sort of credibility you were trying to build.You raised your hands in the air surrendering and the rest of your group didthe same. “You don’t want to do this; we’re trying to save Detroit!” Youyelled. It was the truth. Jericho was going to start a civil war if you didn’tstop them – stop Markus. The officer continued to yell; his commands beingprojected through the crowd. Then you heard her voice, her voice loud and clearthroughout the rumbling of the two groups. She was talking to Markus,encouraging him to fight.

You turned your back to the SWATteam and just as you were about to yell to stop any sort of plans, he yelled,“Attack!” Jericho ran through your group, Markus and the Android to his sideleading them and clashed with the SWAT team. There was gunfire and yelling andyour group stared at you looking for answers. You had been a mystery to most ofthem until today. “Stop them!” You yelled. They nodded and jumped into thefight as well trying to separate Jericho from the SWAT team. Through the flurryof people, you frantically looked around for Markus. That Android has beenpersuading him and you knew it. “Markus!” You yelled moving through the fightswiftly.

You finally saw him, with her. She had a smile on her face as sheshot one of the men dawning a SWAT uniform. Markus looked at her the same waythat he used to look at you. It made your heart wrench at the thought. Anyprevious thoughts of how dangerous he was to the cause vanished when you sawone of the SWAT members aim their gun at his back. “Markus!” You yelled runningfor him and before you knew it you were tackling him to the pavement. The shotrang off in the air within an instant. You rolled off of him and fell back ontothe cool pavement feeling the cold air brush against your face.

Markus stood up, his shadow loomingover you. “Markus we can’t let them get away!” You heard her yell off to yourright. He didn’t budge, his gaze fixated on your figure. He looked haunted, likehe had seen something he wished he hadn’t. He fell to his knees and dragged youinto his lap. Your body was cold and hot at the same time, like you werebecoming numb from the bottom up. Your stomach was the hotspot where it burnedthe most. You felt his hand press against your stomach, and you yelled. Thesound of your pain caused him to pull his hand away quickly and that’s when younoticed the blood.

Howpoetic.

You two seemed to be doomed, notmeant to be. It was wickedly cruel to make your relationship as tragic as this.Just when you seemed to get to him again you were the one to be destroyed thistime. “M-Markus.” You whispered; his name barely audible against your lips.

“Whathave I done?” He whispered to himself.

There were tears in his eyes when helooked down at you. Markus was never one to cry. He was wise and strong and tosee him cry made your heart ache. He looked you up and down, his gaze seeminglyzoned out as he did. He was scanning you and assessing your wounds and yourprobability of living. Your hand fell on top of his and you squeezed it pullinghim from his informative daze. The SWAT team had retreated and whoever was leftalive was treating those who were injured. North was looming behind Markusglaring down at him with her arms crossed.

Your gaze flickered to his mouth andthe way his lips trembled as he tried to hold himself together. “I wish I was asdurable as an Android.” You whispered with a pained laugh. Markus shook hishead. This didn’t seem to be the first time he’s had to deal with such a loss. Thepain in your stomach was growing worse and your body only continued to growcold. The colder you got the more fatigued you became. You needed to rest youreyes if only for a moment. “We’re not all evil Markus, you used to love meafter all…once upon a time. Don’t you forget that.” You said, your words becomingslurred together.

The deviant leader was at a loss forwords. He didn’t even know how to talk to you. He was still trying to processthe fact that this was well – it was you! Markus just got his memories back ofyou and everything the two of you went through and he was losing you. Thispainful blow was worse than when he lost Carl. “Markus you can’t ju-” North wascut off by the deadly looking Markus gave her when she began to speak.

He wasn’t there for long. Soon hehad emerged from the crowd, face blank and tear stained as he carried your bodydown the street. Something inside of him broke. Deviancy was no longer all itwas cracked up to be. Emotions were complicated and painful, he wanted to benumb again. He knew one thing that he wanted…he wanted to never forget you.

Andhe never did.

#detroit become human #detroit: become human #DBH #dbh markus #dbh markus x reader #markus x reader #dbh rk200

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little-napoleon · 6 years ago

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- Latest Alpha Build Download for Patrons: https://littlenapoleon.itch.io/changelingtalealpha/patreon-access - Demo Download (Free to Play!): https://littlenapoleon.itch.io/changelingtale - Game Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnfvpAAkFHs

Marion's Chapter 3 is out for patrons to play! It's a moo-ving chapter, for sure :P

We're also excited to announce that Changeling Tale is now available on Android! Now you can take a little TF with you on the go! We'll make an Android version of the Demo soon, too, for non-Patrons to enjoy the early chapters of the game on mobile. If you haven't played yet and enjoy TF, be sure to check out the trailer and the demo in the links above!

Above all, a big thank you to everyone who plays and supports our game!

----------

Want to learn more, get reward content, or support its development?

https://www.patreon.com/LittleNapoleon

#transformation #tf #furry #transform #cow #deer #nessie #uilepheist #wolf #werewolf #visual_novel #game #changeling tale

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so-shiny-so-chrome · 6 years ago

Text

Witness: KirkyPet

Creator name (AO3): KirkyPet

Creator name (Tumblr): kirkypet

Link to creator works: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirkyPet/works

Q: Why the Mad Max Fandom?

A: I was actually quite fixated on Fury Road after watching it on DVD. I didn’t expect to particularly like it - I’d never seen the previous Mad Max movies (I finally have!) - but I was transfixed. And I didn’t particularly ship Furiosa and Max until the haemothorax/transfusion scene (although then I very much did). There were just so many layers of detail and backstory there waiting to be explored, because so little was actually said or explained. It’s like a neutron star of fic-fodder. And I didn’t discover ao3 til summer 2016 so I spent a full year wandering around like a lost soul. So, yeah. Quite a huge deal for me really.

Q: What do you think are some defining aspects of your work? Do you have a style? Recurrent themes?

A: Music. Minor characters looking on and commenting on the protagonists (big fan of Thomas Hardy’s more comedic efforts, where this happens a lot). Reasonably happy endings.

Q: Which of your works was the most fun to create? The most difficult? Which is your most popular? Most successful? Your favourite overall?

A: Maybe the small town modern AU (Ordinary People), because it was a nice change from the Wasteland setting. I’m not very Wasteland-minded at all. But the Bladerunner AU (Do Androids Dream etc) and the new Firefly AU are lots of fun because the two sets of movie worlds mesh together way better than I’d expected.

The most difficult? - My Wasteland headcanon stuff. It’s too fluffy and not remotely violent which doesn’t really ring true. I’m very aware that my Furiosa is hardly ever violent, or my Max particularly mad. But that’s the great thing about fanfiction - the infinite versions of characters and scenarios. Surprisingly the Blues Brothers AU is quite tricky. I can’t quite make Jake Blues and Furiosa the same person. But it’s an excuse to listen to great tunes. And Jessie will make a comeback in that one though (she’s not dead, I should make that clear).

On the old kudos-to-hits ratio, the Firefly AU is taking off surprisingly well, but it’s quite smut-focused so that might well account for it ;) early days yet. Bladerunner AU is doing well for a multi-chapter. Up Around The Bend (an oldie, the escape from the Citadel) is hanging in there.

Most successful? I’m happy enough with all of them, except maybe I Kissed A Girl. Please don’t read that. Favourite overall - It’s a toss-up between Ordinary People (a chance to explore my headcanon in a modern small town setting) and the Bladerunner AU (it makes me weep).

Q: How do you like your wasteland? Gritty? Hopeful? Campy? Soft? Why?

A: Hopeful and silly and everyone has access to a record player somehow. This is why I stick to writing AUs these days. But I’ll happily read all of the above!!! And entirely intend to!

Q: Walk us through your creative process from idea to finished product. What's your prefered environment for creating? How do you get through rough patches?

A: Watch a film, browse tumblr, listen to music, get an idea. Have a good think about it, think about it some more, find a starting point, write it down, go from there. Maybe stick a draft on tumblr if I’m not sure if it’s going to fly. Write it anyway.

For OCs, figure out what someone looks like. That’s weirdly essential for me. Zal (Furiosa’s Dad) is Ed Harris, Young Val (Furiosa and Max’s grownup daughter) is Alicia Vikander and Toots (rescued-kid-turned-Wasteland-son-in-law) is Didier Drogba (bit of a blast from the past but hey). I was getting nowhere with Blues Mothers Jessie until I recast her as Sofia Boutella (because if Max is getting a generational update, she needs one too). And Firefly AU’s Mister Jobassa is Jakob Oftebro. All very pretty people, but what are you gonna do? But they’re only these people in MY head - they can be whoever the reader wants them to be. Oh, and Pin from Ordinary People was 100% an actual real tour guide I met on holiday once.

Preferred environment? Usually while half asleep in bed, or walking, or In the gym, or watching tv - world building seems to be something that happens away from the keyboard. Writing itself is exclusively on my phone so can and does happen anywhere at all. Rough patches are usually caused by guilt that I’m not spending enough time on the day job :P

Q: What (if any) music do you listen to for help getting those creative juices flowing?

A: I listen to music all the time anyway, mainly upbeat pre-90s tunes. Disco, funk, ska, motown, anything like that. And it always find its way into the writing. Sometimes artificially (where I’m on a song-lyrics-as-title theme - it took ages for some of the Wasteland fics) but most times it can help shape the story in a BIG way. I can’t listen to certain songs now without reliving a chapter or a whole fic - Dionne Warwick’s Do You Know The Way To San José is Bladerunner!Furiosa’s Green Place song, and Ash’s Angel Interceptor is StarTrek!Max’s flying music - it’s noisy enough but also speaks to me about a longing to not be alone in the universe. Concrete and Clay is smalltown!Max’s bittersweet lament for Jessie and Twistin’ The Night Away is the final party scene in Cheedo’s update of The Rivals. Some fics wouldn’t have been written at all if it wasn’t for a particular song. The Black Keys’ Heavy Soul was my original Wasteland Furiosa/Max ship theme back in 2015, before I’d even heard of ao3 - that’s the closest I’ve come to a song fic. Caleb was only Caleb because of a line in Symarip’s Skinhead Moonstomp, and I was so desperate to write a fic with Leo Sayer’s You Make Me Feel Like Dancing In it that it was the final excuse for a whole modern mirrorverse to my Wasteland headcanon series. Bet you’re sorry you asked now. But I’ll have to go and put together a Kirkyverse OST list.

Q: What is your biggest challenge as a creator?

A: To put the damn thing down and walk away. To not assume it’s awful if I don’t get a kudos in the first thirty hits. Thumb cramp from phone-typing.

Q: How have you grown as a creator through your participation in the Mad Max Fandom? How has your work changed? Have you learned anything about yourself?

A: I didn’t write at all before the Mad Max fandom. Apart from a ghost story when I was about seven (it did win a prize tbh) and a truly god awful Stephen King rip-off when I was fourteen (which makes me nauseous from embarrassment when I think of it). So a fair bit, it’d probably be fair to say. It would be impossible not to, you know, from zero :) My work has changed from spinoffs of inspirational fics (thanks Squid!) to ‘well, I suppose I’ve got a head canon, let’s see if I can make this work’ to ‘goddammit I’ll finish this if it kills me’. Then I missed my exit on the Roundabout of Fic Endings and had to go round again in a modern AU mirror verse. Now it’s all movie mashups, which is lots of fun and probably never-ending. During which time I have learned that crossovers are my favourite to write. And that writing fanfic is probably not a temporary fad :)

Q: Which character do you relate to the most, and how does that affect your approach to that character? Is someone else your favourite to portray? How has your understanding of these characters grown through portraying them?

A: I don’t really have a favourite tbh. They’re all their own people and do their own thing. Writing them is very dependent on their environment, and it’s often surprising how they behave and where they end up. It feels a bit like they’re on Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Q: Do you ever self-insert, even accidentally?

A: Hah yes. The first one was Zephyr the annoying visitor in Witches and Ogres. Young Val’s social awkwardness in As was very much on loan from me.

Q: Do you have any favourite relationships to portray? What interests you about them?Furiosa and Max are pretty much always there - sometimes it’s probably platonic, and sometimes there’s a third person involved (nothing posted yet but but but). It depends on the fic.

Q: Do you prefer to create in one defined chronology or do your works stand alone? Why or why not?

A: One big long chronology for the headcanon series (childhood to old age), then a whole bunch of little universes for everything else.

Q: To break or not to break canon? Why?

A: Not to break, as much as I can. But it depends.

Q: Share some headcanons.

A: Furiosa was never actually a wife - she was captured but dodged the whole Vault experience. Max is the original Max, of Jessie and Sprog fame. Toecutter was Joe’s younger self - he scooted around on motorbikes and raised hell before deciding to settle down and take the Citadel. AU Toast and Dag are twins (from a shady mob family). Furiosa’s Dad is a friendly Wasteland bandit.

Q: If you work with OCs walk us through your process for creating them. Who are some of your favourites?

A: They’re supplementary characters who make the plots fit together, and sources of conflict or humour (usually both). I think I like Ordinary People’s Alexa and Mallory best. Although the Irish War Boy crew in Beyond the Pale were fun to write. Ace’s trio of love interests (Brick, Big Dave and Caleb/Pin) are a consistent theme. Sometimes I steal characters from other sources (stand up Christopher Brookmyre) when it’s convenient.

Q: What sparks your many wonderful AUs?

A: Movies, tv, gifs, tumblr prompts and general chitchat (thankyou btw!!!)

Q: A lot of your fics are light-hearted and hopeful, which is great to see for the apocalyptic Mad Max world. Your thoughts on that? What is it about the characters that inspires you to reframe them?

A: I just really like comedy and am committed to winkling it into every fictional scenario whether it’s appropriate or not. Glad people don’t hate it!

Q: Who are some works by other creators inside and outside of the fandom that have influenced your work?

A: Well, it was Squid’s ( @sacrificethemtothesquid )Length and Breadth of Fury Road that got me out of the starting blocks! Christopher Brookmyre’s The Sacred Art of Stealing was a big influence on my headcanon series, as was a particular Coronation Street storyline from some years back :)

Q: Tell us about a current WIP or planned project.

A: Blues Brothers AU series (Sweet Home Chicago) -Wasteland Star Trek First Contact AU (Angel Interceptor) -Firefly AU (Our Mister Jobassa) -His Dark Materials AU (unnamed as yet, just brewing in my head, hope it just stays there for the meantime) -Will combine all the headcanon works into one long fic sometime. That’s everything from Witches and Ogres through to Ordinary People. Probably be called ‘All the Things that I’ve Done’ (basically the two lives of Furiosa: Wasteland and mirrorverse).

Thank you @kirkypet

#Mad Max Fandom Creator Spotlight #Mad Max Fandom Spotlight #mad max fanfic #mad max fanfic author spotlight #fury road fandom #fury road fanfic #kirkypet

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thedcdunce · 6 years ago

Text

The Atom

“Size isn't matter.” - The Atom

Real Name: Raymond “Ray” Palmer

Gender: Male

Height: 6′ 0″

Weight: 180 lbs (82 kg)

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Auburn

Powers:

Microscopic Stability

Abilities:

Judo

Physics

Swordsmanship

Weaknesses:

Missing Hand

Equipment:

Bio-Belt

Katarthan's Sword

Indigo Tribe Staff

Universe:

Earth-One

New Earth

Base of Operations:

Ivy Town, Connecticut

Morlaidh, Amazon Rainforest, Brazil

Citizenship: American

Parents:

David Palmer; father

Susan Palmer; mother

Marital Status:

Divorced (Jean Loring; wife)

Widowed (Laethwen; wife)

Occupation:

Professor

Scientist

Adventurer

Education: PhD Ivy University

First Appearance: Showcase #34 (October, 1961)

Last Appearance: Titans Vol 2 #38 (October, 2011)

Powers

Microscopic Stability: For some reason, Ray's physiology allows him to not explode when he is miniaturized unlike other living things which explode after a short time of being miniaturized.

Abilities

Judo: Ray Palmer often finds himself in situation where physical violence become necessary. As such, he has developed a proficiency in the martial art judo.

Physics: Dr. Palmer has a Ph.D. in physics and was a full professor at Ivy University.

Swordsmanship: The Atom used a long sword as a weapon while living among the Katarthans, gaining considerable skill in its use.

Weaknesses

Missing Hand: He allowed Baracuda to cut off his left hand to save Ryan Choi from the miniverse.

Equipment

Bio-Belt: Originally, Ray's size/weight controls were located in his belt buckle. However, he later moved them to his gloves for greater accessibility and swifter transitions, and in the costume he wore after his days in New Morlaidh, had an encepholpathic grid in his mask that allowed him to do it mentally.

Size Alteration: Able to shrink his body to varying degrees, achieved by storing most of his mass in a pocket dimension. As the Atom, Ray can assume any size from his normal six-foot stature down to sub-microscopic, although he generally deems a height of six inches as most functional.

Mass Alteration: Able to instantly alter his molecular density to whatever degree he desires. Ray can also assume any weight at any height—up to his full 180 pounds.

Flight: He is able to glide on air currents and stiff breezes. A favorite travel method Ray had, was to call some location on the telephone; when the intended phone answered, he could shrink down enough to literally travel through the phone lines in seconds to emerge out of the answering phone.

Superhuman Strength: By shifting all his mass into his fists he can punch with incredible force.

Dimensional Travel: Ray found out that by shrinking beyond the subatomic scale he could slip beneath reality at the quantum level to traverse around the multiverse at will.

Katarthan's Sword: The Atom used a long sword as a weapon while living among the Katarthans, gaining considerable skill in its use.

Indigo Tribe Staff

Personality

Ray Palmer is a hard-working, dedicated man. In fact, "dedicated" is hardly the word for it; "driven" is a little closer to the truth. Once Ray starts working on a problem or puzzle, there is absolutely no stopping him. This single-minded pursuit of his goals is more than a little responsible for Ray's shattered marriage, though it has occasionally come in handy to Ray the crime fighter. In spite of his obsessiveness, Ray is a level-headed hero and a likeable human being.

History

Ray Palmer is the Atom, the Mighty Mite, a superhero with the ability to shrink to incredible sizes while retaining his full mass, making him a formidable combatant. He was a member of the original Justice League of America, where he gained a great deal of respect from his peers. Aside from his crime-fighting career, he is also one of the world's top scientific minds, given his background as a brilliant physicist. He is capable of shrinking to subatomic sizes, and explores the universe on a frontier unknown to any other man.

Origins

Ray Palmer grew up in Ivy Town, Connecticut where he studied physics at Ivy University, under renowned scientists such as Alpheus P. Hyatt. He began dating law student Jean Loring, eventually becoming exclusive. Both graduating and working in their professions, Ray would frequently ask Jean to marry him, but she would always decline, wanting to establish herself as a lawyer before getting married and settling down.

While a physics graduate student, Ray Palmer discovered a tiny fragment of white dwarf star material that had fallen to Earth. Investigating matter compression, Ray theorized that if he were to grind a lens from this fragment and focus ultraviolet light through it, he could shrink anything struck by the light down to a fraction of its original size. Ray rushed off to his laboratory, tried the experiment, and found that it worked exactly as he had imagined but the objects he shrunk became unstable and exploded moments later.

A couple of days later, a disillusioned Ray and some friends became trapped in a cave-in while out spelunking. Ray was forced to risk instability and use the shrinking lens on himself in order to escape the cave and save the lives of his friends. For some reason, however, Ray didn't explode and returned to his normal height. In fact, the shrinking lens worked on his body much better than he had expected, and he developed a set of control devices that gave him limited control over his weight as well as his size. Ray later hypothesized that some unknown "x-factor" in his genetic makeup prevented his atoms from becoming unstable, though many scientists now believe that Ray's ability to shrink was actually made possible by the "Metagene", which is the source of many superhumans' powers.

Early Career

Keeping his discoveries a secret, even from his Jean, Ray created the identity of the Atom and began a career of crime fighting in Ivy Town. In his first recorded adventure, the Atom stopped the crook Carl Ballard from exploiting the tiny alien Kulan Dar, to commit his crimes. Foiling this plot, the Atom became a trusted hero in Ivy Town, and established a great working relationship with the local police. Next, the Atom defended the wealthy Doctor Gordon Heath from a plot against him orchestrated by his caretaker Bates.

The Atom's heroics made him an ally of the CIA, who sent him overseas to rescue Professor Anton Kraft from foreign spies. Returning home, he stopped crooked newspaper reporter Greg Phillips from stealing valuable chess pieces. The Atom met his first super-villain when battling Jason Woodrue, an exile from the Floral Dimension, who attempted to take over the Earth with specially bred plants. The Atom defeated Woodrue with the help of Maya Queen of the Dryads that live in the Floral Dimension. Atom next stopped jewel thief Bart Tranter with the help of the self proclaimed Mr. Odd and recaptures Carl Ballard when he masters Kulan Dar's teleportation abilities.

The Atom would next be used in a bizarre plot by Amos Fortune and other villains to destroy the Justice League of America, using a de-memorizor ray to pit the Atom against the League. With the aid of the Atom, the team of heroes would defeat Fortune and his minions and elect the Atom as a member of their group. Next, the Atom would have his first clash with Chronos, a criminal obsessed with time.

Reconnecting with Professor Hyatt, Ray would learn of Hyatt's experiments with the Time Pool, a device of Hyatt's creation allowing him to "fish" for items out of a tiny portal that can bring items through time. As the Atom, Ray would travel back time to ancient Middle East where he would help a young boy named Hassan best a group of thieves and bring back a golden Dinar for Hyatt's study. When simultaneous nuclear explosions on Earth-One and a parallel world causes the two to merge, the Atom helps the JLA prevent the inhabitants of that world from destroying three major cities on Earth to prevent the cataclysm and work together to revolve the problem.

When visiting Happy Harbor, Rhode Island to give a lecture as Ray Palmer, the Atom comes to the rescue of Entron Kol a visitor from a sub-atomic world who is trapped on Earth and uses a wish fulfillment device to try to draw help to his plight. Returning to Ivy Town, the Atom foils an attempt by a crooked photographer named Elkins from framing Tom Parks for crimes he did not commit. Ray would next attend a JLA meeting were the team would ponder how to get out of a dangerous scenario posed by one of their fans.

When Ray's colleague, the world-traveling Ted Ralston is turned into diamond by a strange stone he brought back from one of his expeditions, Ray would travel into the microscopic world inside the gem where he would clash with the Atlantean tyrant Karl Jat. Next he would foil jewel thief Fred Harris' plot to rob a lake side community using local folklore to hoax the people into thinking the thefts were perpetuated by a ghost. The Atom would next be targeted with the rest of the JLA by the Tornado Tyrant. In another adventure with the Justice League, Ray would aid the League in liberating the people of the micro-world of Starzl, whose three android defenders had turned evil.

Back in Ivy Town, Atom would foil a plot by stage manager Howard Crane from framing former astronaut Peter Venner for crimes he did not commit and in a Time Pool adventure travels back to 18th century London to foil Dick Turpin from stealing the king's gold. The Atom and the rest of the JLA would next be forced into exile from the planet Earth due to the manipulations of Dr. Density, however the JLA would foil this plot, ending their exile. When preventing an invasion of Earth from the Thalens, the Atom would team up with extraterrestrial lawman Hawkman and his partner Hawkgirl, forming a long lasting partnership between the trio.

On another Justice League case, the Atom and his fellow JLA members would clash with Spaceman X. Later the Atom would be present with the JLA in their first team up with the Justice Society of America, their counterparts from Earth-Two, against the Crime Champions, a group of villains from both universes. While on the home front, Ray would battle an escaped Dr. Light, stop Alfred Trask an art gallery employee working the masterpieces his employer has on display, would battle an evil doppelganger created of himself created out of a lab experiment gone awry and thwart an attempted kidnapping of the king of France during a Time Pool adventure to the year 1609. His next meeting with the JLA would be less eventful with the group relating their battle against Queen Bee while Ray would tell them of his encounter against Dr. Light.

Working with the CIA once again, the Atom would go to Vienna to collect the plans for a new anti-gravity metal, however exposes it as a communist plot to destroy America, and back home foils Doro Briggs' theft scheme involving hoaxing people into believing that she can transform into a swan. The Atom aids his fellow Justice League colleagues in once more defeating and capturing their old foe Kanjar Ro and Kraad the Conqueror, tyrant ruler of a sidereal dimension.

Back home, Ray would attend a Ivy University ten-year reunion, where he would foil Jack Archer's attempt to use hypnosis to steal a priceless Buddha statue, followed by a cruise with Jean Loring where he would stymie invaders from Randath. Next Atom and a number of his fellow JLA members would be rapidly aged by Despero, but later restored to normal following Despero's defeat at the hands of his fellow JLA members who were unaffected.

On the home front, Ray would find his powers being used for crime when he is temporarily the prisoner of a crook who uses his body as a power source for a ray gun and later uses the Time Pool to travel to Baltimore circa 1849 where he helps Edgar Alan Poe solve a mystery involving stolen gold coins. Atom would next aid the Flash in stopping an invasion of Earth by Attila-5. Later the Atom and his friends in the Justice League would be manipulated by the ultra-galactic "I", an evil being who's very existence was threatened by the JLA's continued success.

In Ivy Town, Ray would clash once more with Chronos and clear the good name of his civilian identity when he is accused of a crime he did not commit. Back with the Justice League, the Atom is present when Green Lantern relates a solo adventure to the group and would be among the super-powered members of the League to go on "strike" following a UN sanction preventing them from using their powers, all a plot orchestrated by the evil Headmaster Mind. Still with the League, he would be present when a video created by Superman's father Jor-El, regarding the other planets he considered sending his son prior to Krypton's destruction.

Resuming his activities in Ivy Town, Ray would battle his own costume when it briefly gained sentience and aid Doc Magnus in rebuilding the Metal Men and stop the evil Uranium. When visiting his old classmate Ed Thayer, Atom would get caught up in an attempt by foreign spies trying to steal Thayer's Illusion-Maker device and foil the teleporting Hyper-Thief's robberies. Atom is also present when the Justice League invites his ally Hawkman into the group and in attendance of Aquaman's marriage to Mera.

Next, while on vacation the Ray becomes the temporary pawn of criminal inventor Andrew Frost, battles Brain Storm with the JLA, crushes the Hooded Hijackers, and uses the Time Pool to travel to the 19th Century, where he comes to the rescue of writer Jules Verne. Atom would become an unwilling pawn of the Endless One, and is forced to fight some of his fellow JLA members and when restored to normal becomes a victim in one of Dr. Destiny's plots to get revenge against the JLA.

The Atom would have to combat side-effects of his Time Pool adventures when battling the evil Phantom Mask, and spend a brief time thinking he was a flea in a flea circus when spies attempt to replace Ray Palmer with one of their own agents. He would next aid Zatanna search for her missing father on a micro-world ruled by the Druid. Later, joins with the Justice League in once more battling Brain Storm. Going solo, Atom prevents crooks from benefiting from his "stool-pigeon" computer and with the aid of Maya and the Dryads posing as Leprechauns, convince Arthur Ennis to fill a witness report with the police following a robbery. During his next team up with Hawkman, and Hawkgirl against Matter Master, the trio of heroes would trust their secret identities to each other. Atom and his fellow JLA members would team up with the JSA against the evil Johnny Thunder of Earth-One who has manipulated the Thunderbolt into creating Earth-A and the Lawless League, criminal versions of the Justice League.

The CIA once more hires the Atom to stop a group of Russian spies who are attempting to manipulate Jean Loring's father in an attempt to get at the Atom, and on another Time Pool to 18th century London where the Atom prevents one of Professor Hyatt's ancestors from being thrown in debtors' prison. Atom would also aid his fellow JLA members in preventing global disaster and conflict inadvertently created by Andrew Helm's Corti-Conscience machine. Acting solo, he stops a common thug named Eddie Gordon from enslaving the Bat-Knights of the Elvaran people. Atom next helps Batman, Robin, and Elongated Man capture "Numbers" Garvey and his gang.

The Atom also aids the Justice League in defeating the Key during his attack. Returning to Ivy Town, the Atom makes up a story about alien invaders to make the return of a radion-ball sound like a more exciting adventure and foils a robbery plot orchestrated by groundskeeper Billy Knowels. Atom's powers are briefly pilfered by Professor Ivo in a plot against the Flash, when the Flash relates the story to his fellow JLA members including the Atom, they are unaware as they are not using their powers at the time. Next Atom would join the Justice League and Metamorpho in battling the Unimaginable.

After liberating the Floral Dimension and Earth from destruction at the hands of Jason Woodrue, the Atom would join the JLA in curing Batman, Green Lantern, and Flash from a plague infected upon them by the Unimaginable. Atom would return to Ivy Town, to foil a series of robberies orchestrated by Bill Jameson, the so-called "Man in the Ion-Mask". Working with the CIA once more, the Atom would travel to Russia to foil Boris Kalumchuk's plot to poison America with irradiated gold. Ray would next join the Justice League of America in their battle against the Shaggy Man.

Engagement to Jean Loring

Back in Ivy Town, the Atom would earn a new villain in the Bug-Eyed Bandit. During this adventure Jean accepts proposal for marriage for fear that Ray would eventually become too absorbed in his work to ask her anymore. When both Earth-One and Earth-Two are threatened by the Anti-Matter Man, the Atom would be one of the Justice League and Justice Society members gathered to combat the threat.

Going solo in Ivy Town once more, the Atom would crush the Panther Gang and going on another Time Pool journey to 18th century France where he foils an assassination attempt against Benjamin Franklin. Returning to the JLA, the Atom would aid them in stopping the Lord of Time from manipulating Vietnam war hero Sgt. Eddie Brent. Returning home, Atom would clash with once more against his old foe Chronos. Later, when the entire population of Ivy Town suddenly shrinks, Ray learns that a chunk of white dwarf star landing in the city water supply is the cause, and cures the people with no ill side effects. Ray would next work together with his Earth-Two counterpart in foiling a plot by the Thinker to rob Earth-One and escape to Earth-Two. At a JLA meeting, Atom, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Batman and Elongated Man would all learn that of Zatanna's success in freeing her father with the help of magical proxies that she created of the heroes following her respective encounters with each of them.

Ray would return to Ivy Town where he would stumble upon and foil another plot by Eddie Gordon to manipulate the Elvarian Bat-Kights. He is also present when the JLA must face the evil Mastermind, who has turned many of the League members weapons against them. Atom would team-up with Hawkman once more to search for the missing Johnny Burns, a reformed crook, to reunite him with his sick mother. During the encounter, they battle Toyboy, Johnny's evil half brought to life when Mrs. Burns is briefly endowed with mental powers following a scientific accident. Rejoining the JLA, Atom would foil the Royal Flush Gang's attempt to destroy the League.

When paralyzed in a lab accident, Ray manages to get Jean to activate his size-control devices causing him to shrink to microscopic size, freeing him of the paralysis. Before returning to Earth, he would save the sub-atomic people of Palonds from the evil Honds. The Atom would also be present to cheer on a UN-sponsored charity race between Superman and the Flash. He would later team-up with Aquaman against the plankton creature called Galg the Destroyer. After a rematch against the Bug-Eyed Bandit, the Atom would team-up with the Elongated Man against Chronos. After battling the Big Gang, witnessing another race between Superman and the Flash, foiling "Smarts" and his gang, Atom has another Time Pool adventure to London to prevent Colonel Tom Blood from stealing the crown jewels from the Tower of London.

The Atom is one of the members of the Justice League enslaved by Queen Bee, until they are saved by Batgirl. In another revenge plot against the Justice League, Dr. Destiny briefly switches the League's bodies with some of their greatest foes. For a time, Atom would be forced to trade bodies with Jason Woodrue, until Dr. Destiny's ultimate defeat. When twin transmitter towers on Earth-One and Earth-Two cause people to rapidly age either forward or backward, Earth-Two's Atom would have to briefly battle a young and hot-headed Ray Palmer before destroying the towers and returning everyone back to normal. Atom would next work with Batman in foiling the Cannoneer from robbing the Brotherhood Express. The Atom would also be involved in a Justice League case where the group would get embroiled in a gang war between the Pyrotekniks and the Bulleteers in a complex scheme hatched by mobster Leo Locke.

The Atom would soon gain an unusual ally in his next adventure, Major Mynah, a mynah bird that he meets foiling a group of Viet Cong soldiers from raiding a Cambodian temple while on an archeological dig in the region. With the bird injured in the battle, Atom takes the helpful creature to Hawkman who replaces the bird's broken wings with mechanical ones. Major Mynah becomes Ray's pet, following him in both his civilian and costumed identities. After helping the Atom capture crooks, Major Mynah's involvement almost tips Jean off to Ray's secret identity and so he comes up with a method of disguising Mynah for future adventures. The Atom would return to the Justice League and foil the Key's plot of using Superman to destroy the JLA and later battle Dr. Anomaly. Ray and Major Mynah would next go into action to stop an invasion from the alien Physalians from feeding on the humans they have captured. The Atom is one of the JLA members seemingly killed by T.O. Morrow, he is restored to life following Morrow's defeat at the hands of the JSA, their new ally Red Tornado and surviving members of the JLA.

Justice League Mainstay

As time would go on, Ray would eventually get involved in less frequent solo adventures, often teaming up with either Hawkman or getting involved in many of the Justice League's cases.

Ray joins Carter and Sheira Hall on vacation in Mexico City and battles Telka and his followers. With the Justice League, the Atom battles the laughable Generalissimo Demmy Gog of Offalia, in a pathetic attempt to conquer the world. The Atom next is hired by the FBI to break up a spy ring. He succeeds thanks to the intervention of Major Mynah. This would mark the Atom's last use of Major Mynah. The bird's ultimate fate is unknown. Atom also finds himself involved in a revenge plot enacted by criminal Jason Madden, who attempts to kill his former accomplice Chuck Wheeler. Atom aids the Justice League in clearing Green Arrow's name in a murder frame-up plotted by Headmaster Mind and the Tattooed Man. Ray is involved in a Justice League investigation of the new costumed vigilante known as the Creeper.

While attending a science convention with Carter Hall, Ray and Carter are attacked by a man resembling Carter. This gets them embroiled in a battle against the Shiva, Hindu goddess of destruction, who with her army of Nether-Men is attempting to win back worship of humanity. Through the efforts of the Atom, Hawkman and Hawkgirl the plot is thwarted. The Atom would join his fellow Justice League colleagues in traveling to Mars and aiding their comrade Martian Manhunter against the evil Commander Blanx, a battle ends in J'onn J'onzz's resignation from the team. Ray next goes into action as the Atom to foil a plot by rival university professor Horace McByrd to discredit Ray among his peers. Ray next joins the JLA and Hawkgirl in saving Hawkman who has been turned into salt by a group of demons, fighting off their minions a biker gang known as the Gruesome Ghouls in the process. When Professor Heinrich Von Rilk is almost assaulted by Ivy University students for destroying an electron-microscope, Ray learns that Von Rilk did it to prevent an invasion from a microscopic world. Investigating the claims as the Atom, Ray confirms Heinrich's story, and stops the invasion by defeating its vanguard, a creature known as Ag. Atom would be among the members of the Justice League and Justice Society who would ban together to save both universes from the threat of Aquarius, a living star creature bent on revenge for being exiled by his superiors.

When Jean Loring is kidnapped by the people of Jimberen, a microscopic world who believe that she is the descendant of their ruler, Atom and Hawkman team-up to rescue her. However, due to the radiation the people of Jimberen expose Jean to, she is driven insane from the ordeal. With technology on Hawkman and Hawkgirl's homeworld of Thanagar making it possible to cure Jean, Atom would entrust her to the care of Hawkgirl.

Focusing on Justice League business, Atom would be one of the members who would accidentally have an evil duplicate of himself created out of his ego, which would battle new Justice League member Black Canary. When an influential man named John Dough would attempt to turn the United States government against the JLA, manipulating Snapper Carr into betraying the group, the Atom would be involved in the conflict, which would reveal Dough to be none other than the Joker. Atom and the Justice League would soon setup shop in a new base, an orbital satellite above the Earth.

During this time, Atom and the other members of the JLA would team up with the Vigilante against the Doomsters, aliens who threatened to pollute the Earth.

Ray would ultimately learn that Hawkgirl's quest to restore Jean's sanity on Thanagar was met with trouble when both women's souls were stolen by Norch Lor, a scientist from Thanagar who's misguided intention to save the universe from the coming "end of all things" was attempting to collect the souls of all living beings in a Ghenna Box. With the help of Tomar-Re of the Green Lantern Corps, Ray and the Justice League would restore Hawkgirl and Jean's souls to their bodies, Jean however would still remain insane. Atom and Hawkman would travel together en route to Thanagar to try and get Jean the help she needs, and along the way run into the threat that Norch Lor was attempting to protect them from: The insane Jest-Master, who leaves all those in his path completely mad. With the help of the Justice League, Atom and Hawkman would defeat the Jest-Master. In the aftermath of the battle, Jean's constant exposure to Jest-Master's insanity rays would restore her sanity to normal. Returning to Earth, the Atom would once more join the Justice League and the Justice Society in preventing another threat to both Earth-One and Earth-Two. This time coming from a being called Creator2, whom by utilizing Red Tornado's connection to both realities, would attempt to merge the two universes together, threatening to destroy both. Atom and his colleagues would foil this plot, however the Spectre would seemingly perish in the process.

Sword of the Atom

Ray and Jean's marriage would become strained over time as Jean's law practice and Ray's devotion to both science and super-heroics would take time over their romance. Soon, Jean would begin an affair with her fellow lawyer Paul Hoben, which Ray would stumble upon one night. Realizing their marriage was on the rocks, Ray would decide to investigate White Dwarf star radiations he detected out of South America and decide to investigate it without Jean. Taking a flight with some drug runners, he would learn too much about an illegal cocaine field and prompting the pilots to attempt to kill Ray. However, the pilot would be shot and Ray would jump ship and shrink down to Atom size. Ray would be struck by lightning trapping him at a height of six inches. The plane would crash, and because one of the men aboard stole one of Ray's rings, the world would presume him dead and Jean would go on with her life and pursue her relationship with Paul. Ray meanwhile would find himself captured by aliens known as the Katarthans—small aliens whose ancestors were left on Earth centuries ago and live in a world of high technology and barbarism. With a revolt immanent, Ray would be captured along with members of a resistance led by Taren.

Forced into gladiator battles, Ray would learn the Katarthans' language and befriend Taren and learn that he hoped to overthrow their leader Caellich and marry princess Laethwen. The two men would become unknowing pawns of Deraegis who would seek to cause the people to revolt against Caellich so that he could rule. To this end, he would blind Taren, causing the people to protest. Taren, Atom, and Laethwen would escape the arena and flee into the jungles where they would reunite with the rebels. Knowing his end is near, Taren would turn over leadership of the rebels to Atom, and perish while the group fled an army of carnivorous ants. Atom and Laethwen would soon fall in love with each other. Atom would lead the warriors on to Moralaidh to launch a revolution. In the final battle, both Caellich and Deraegis would be slain, but not before Deraegis would activate an old star drive powered by a white dwarf star fragment. Attempting to save his newly adopted people, Ray would dive into the plant to try and stop the reactor from exploding. However the white star radiation would cause him to grow as it irradiated him and smash his way through. Growing to near human height, Ray would frighten the people away before the reactor exploded. Restored to his normal height and in a delirium caused by radiation exposure, Ray would pass out and be found by rescuers. Waking up in the hospital, Ray would come to realize that he no longer had an interest in returning to his old life and have moved on from Jean. Having learned that Jean had come to South America looking for him he would decide to finalize their divorce and try to find Laethwen again.

Returning to Ivy Town to settle his affairs, Ray would realize that there wold be no way to rekindle his romance with Jean. In repairing his size change belt, Ray would find that the process of shrinking would cause him great pain due to his absorption of massive amounts of white dwarf radiation and would fear that constantly changing his size could eventually kill him. Finalizing his divorce from Jean, Ray would put his money on an expedition back into South America, taking along with him writer Norman Brawler to chronicle the experience. The two men would run afoul of drug dealers and Ray would shrink down to Atom, giving up his normal height seemingly for the last time to help destroy the drug operation. Finding the Moralaidh tribe and being reunited with Laethwen, Ray would leave Norman to find his own way back. Norman would publish the tale in a book called The Atom's Farewell, which would become a best seller.

Ray would lead Laethwen's people in building a new New Moralaidh and rebuilding the alien societies lost technology, he and Laethwen would become wed as well. However, his past life could not stay away, as when Jean would marry Paul Hoben and when the newly weds would clear out Ray's lab she would accidentally shrink herself. In order to restore her to her normal height, Paul would have Norman Brawler lead him and Jean to find Ray. However, along the way, Jean would be captured by minions of rebel leader Torgul who had captured many of the Moralaidhian women including Laethwen. Ray would lead a mission to rescue the captured women, which would end in Torgul's death, and the freedom of his people. With Jean restored to her normal height, Ray and Laethwen would wish them farewell, Ray leaving Paul with his old size changing belt.

Ray would remain New Moralaidh's champion but would come at times to aid his old allies in the Justice League of America.

Crisis on Infinite Earths

When the evil Anti-Monitor attempted to destroy the entire multiverse, his opposing force the Monitor would sacrifice his life to shunt the five surviving realities into limbo, however they were slowly merging together causing chaos on all worlds and threatening their destruction in the process. Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three and the Harbinger would gather heroes and villains from all realities in an attempt to rally their support in saving what was left of the multiverse. Atom would be among their numbers and would agree to aid in the effort.

Ray would be called in to examine the Red Tornado, who is recaptured by the heroes following a lengthy captivity under the Anti-Monitor who converted the android into an engine of destruction. However, despite the best efforts of the Atom and T.O. Morrow, the Red Tornado would self destruct, causing massive damage to the JLA Satellite, and apparently destroying the Red Tornado.

Later on in the Crisis, when a united group of super-villains from each surviving reality would attempt to conquer each earth, Atom would be among a group of super-heroes dispatched to Earth-S to attempt to quell the uprising in that reality. Although the heroes there were made prisoner, the Atom would be part of a counter attack of heroes that were uncaptured, and would succeed in freeing Billy Batson allowing the boy to change into Captain Marvel and turn the tides of battle.

Changes Caused by Crisis on Infinite Earths

Following the defeat of the Anti-Monitor, the surviving parallel worlds were combined to create a new universe. While, much of the Atom's Pre-Crisis history remains the same, many of his past adventures may have been altered or erased from existence entirely. In particular, Atom's encounters with Hawkman may be different given the extensive changes of Hawkman's origins. The Thanagarian Katar Hol is replaced in Post-Crisis history with Earth native Carter Hall the Hawkman formerly from Earth-Two.

In addition, due to the massive changes in the histories of his fellow JLA colleagues Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, the Atom's history may have been altered by proxy and many of his adventures alongside these heroes no longer be part of history.

In addition, many of the adventures that the Atom had with the Justice League of America that involved traveling to other universes, particularly their encounters with the Justice Society of America on Earth-Two, likely no longer exist, or if they do, in a vastly different manner such that the multiversal threat was simply a threat to a single unified universe.

Lastly, the Atom's encounters with his Earth-Two counterpart may no longer be part of history, or if they are, they have been altered in such a way to accommodate the notion that these adventures only happened in a single universe as opposed to having occurred on Earth-One and Earth-Two.

Power of the Atom

The Katarthans and their village were soon wiped out by a horrible fire and the Atom returned to Ivy Town, only to find that one of his friends had written a book exposing Ray's secret identity in his absence. After battling various foes, such as Strobe, Humbug, and Swarm, Ray learned that a US Government agency had engineered the destruction of the Katarthans, in order to induce his return to the States. He avenged the Katarthans by permanently reducing the agents responsible for the massacre to six inches in height. Ray returned to Ivy Town just long enough to bid his friends farewell, and then briefly went into hiding.

Suicide Squad

The shrunken agents, now calling themselves the Micro Squad, vowed revenge on Ray. Ginsburg, one of their number, made an attempt on Ray's life, but died in the attempt. Ray approached Amanda Waller, who convinced him to fake his own death and secretly join the espionage unit known as the Suicide Squad. As a part of this mission, Ray went undercover and Adam Cray served in the Suicide Squad as the new Atom. Adam was killed by Blacksnake and Ray resumed the role of the Atom. Later still, he joined the then-current Justice League on a semi-active basis.

Teen Titans

Al Pratt, the original Atom, died during a battle against Extant in Zero Hour. During this event, Ray was also hit with a blast of chrono-energy that de-aged him into a youth again. He would go on to become a member of the Teen Titans.

Identity Crisis

In time, Ray and Jean were able to be friends again. In the divorce she had received half of his patents. As a gesture of friendship, Jean decided to sign them back to him. Little did he know that this was but one of many facets to Jean's deadly scheme to win Ray back. Since their divorce, Jean had somehow become seriously deranged and believed that the only way to be reunited with Ray was to force the issue. Incredibly, she devised an elaborate plan to endanger Sue Dibny, wife of Elongated Man Ralph Dibny. Jean was privy to the fact that every year on her birthday, Ralph would be absent solving a custom-tailored mystery devised by Sue. She bypassed the Dibnys' security by shrinking down and traveling via the phone lines into their home. She then entered Sue's body and obstructed the blood flow to her brain. To cover up this evidence, Jean scorched Sue's body.

Jean knew that this event would send all the heroes scrambling to protect their loved ones and—hopefully—drive Ray back into her arms. Jean employed two other schemes to cover her tracks. First, she faked an attempt on her life, then she hired Captain Boomerang to kill Robin's father Jack Drake. She supplied Drake with a gun to defend himself, hoping that Boomerang would be killed and that everyone would believe he was Sue's killer as well. Eventually, Dr. Mid-Nite's autopsy of Sue's body revealed the truth, and the Atom himself elicited a confession from Jean after she inadvertently spilled the beans when asking about a letter sent to Jack along with the gun. Ray managed to put two and two together because Batman had taken the letter away from the crime scene even before the police arrived, so only he and the Leaguers were supposed to know of its existence. She was promptly admitted to Arkham Asylum. With Jean's incarceration, Ray was overwhelmed with despair, and shrank continuously until he vanished completely into a microscopic or subatomic world.

Ray's legacy would continue on with Ryan Choi utilizing a version of his costume and shrinking device to become the current Atom for a short time.

Countdown

During the missing year following the events known as the second Crisis, Palmer's technology is employed by Supernova to shrink and grow in size in order to enter and exit the bottle city of Kandor.

Ray took refuge the Nanoverse, and met a young mystic who told him about the new reformed existence of the Multiverse. He traveled through different realities and find himself in Earth-51, where its heroes eradicate supercrime and create a utopian Earth. There he witness his Earth-51 counterpart's death and took his role in this reality including marrying this world's Jean Loring.

While there he study much about his Earth-51 counterpart and discover he never became the Atom and acted as a scientist consultant to the Earth-51 Justice League. Also this Ray gifted with the ability to be immune to all kinds of diseases and viruses. Furthermore, the Earth-51 Palmer worked on preventing the deadly Morticoccus Virus, and knowing that in every reality of the Multiverse there is deadly chance that the virus would appear decided to travel the Multiverse and inoculate each inhabitants with his immune system. Realizing the importance of his counterpart's work, Ray carry on Earth-51 Ray's work and travel to different worlds inoculating each denizen of every Earth with a resistance to the Morticoccus Virus.

Unknowable to Ray the Monitors and the Challengers from Beyond were scouring the reformed Multiverse for him as they believe that he maybe the one to prevent a cataclysm known as the Great Disaster. Eventually the Challengers discover him and learns his history on Earth-51. Shortly afterward Bob reveals his intention in killing Ray. With the Challengers' help, Ray escapes but witness the death of his Earth-51 friends and his alternate wife.

Despite what the Challengers were told by the Monitors, Ray reveals to them that it was the Ray Palmer of Earth-51 who was meant to stop the Great Disaster.

After joining the Challengers, teaming up with Jimmy Olsen, Forager, Harley Quinn, Holly Robinson, Mary Marvel, and Firestorm on Apokolips, Ray discovers that Karate Kid was infected with the Morticoccus Virus. Following the damages to the planet by the Pied Piper and Brother Eye, Ray secretly eavesdropped on Monitor Solomon and Darkseid, learning that Darkseid wanted to remake reality and Solomon wanted the Great Disaster to happen. Alerted by this, Ray returned to the others and was pressured into curing Karate Kid.

Ray and the others were then teleported back to the reconstructed Earth-51 and seek advance medical attention from Project Cadmus; however, once they were at Cadmus Karate Kid was already dead.

Ray helped the scientists at Cadmus in finding a cure to the Morticoccus Virus after the virus was released to the world. Despite everything he has done, the Great Disaster prevailed forcing Ray and his friends to return back to their Earth.

After returning to their world, Jimmy Olsen is kidnapped by Mary Marvel, who has been corrupted by Darkseid. Ray hitches a ride from within Jimmy. When Darkseid takes control of Jimmy's powers, Ray locates and shuts down the control sphere inside Jimmy's brain, but is then swarmed by Apokoliptian antibodies. While escaping this onslaught, Ray discovers the "battery" containing the New God spirit energies. Ray removes it from Jimmy's head and shatters it, releasing the energies.

Ray later joins Donna, Kyle, and Forager in their new mission as border guards to the Multiverse, realizing that there is nothing left for him on New Earth anymore. However, Palmer returns to New Earth one more time, upon realizing that his old nemesis Chronos had taken his identity to mislead a young pretender to his identity, Ryan Choi. After helping his successor to once again save Ivy Town, he returns to the Multiverse with a new sense of fulfillment, leaving his town in the hands of a new, capable hero.

During the Final Crisis, Ray returns to New Earth and works with Choi again to aid in the efforts to evacuate the last free humans.

Blackest Night

During the events of the Blackest Night, Ray asks Hawkman to visit his wife Jean Loring's grave to be honored as a fallen member of the community, but Hawkman refuses due to her murdering Sue Dibny. Ray later called Hawkman again, over the phone. Atom is then invited to visit Carter in order to discuss his heartache over his wife which the deceased Carter planned on killing him.

Arriving at Carter's house, he was attacked by the Black Lantern Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and only escaped by miniaturizing himself and hiding in Carter's Black Lantern Ring. Ray did a thorough exploration of the ring, discovering that it was nothing like Hal Jordan's power ring, instead made of dark matter with micro-wormholes sending energy to an unknown source. Jumping out, he helped Hal and Barry Allen fight off the Black Lantern Justice Leaguers, with his compassion attracting the Black Lantern Dibnys. Ralph mocked Ray for still being love with Jean after she killed Sue, but the two Dibny Lanterns were destroyed by the Indigo Tribe, the wielders of the indigo light of compassion, then teleporting the three living Leaguers to the Hall of Justice, where they met up with Firestorm Jason Rusch and Mera. After Indigo-1, leader of the Indigo Tribe, explained that the Black Lanterns were expressions of darkness which considered the living to be invaders, Barry and Hal pointed out that Ralph and Sue had no reaction to each others' attack, leading Ray to conclude that the Black rings were some sort of organic computer that rebooted the body without restoring their essences. Before they could plan a proper counter-attack, the Black Lantern League arrived and attacked, and the Indigo Tribe teleported Hal away, leaving Ray, Barry, and Mera without a means to effectively fight the Black Lanterns. Ray had almost been turned into a Black Lantern by a reanimated Batman but ultimately been protected by an unknown force. Ganthet inducts him into the Indigo Tribe as a deputy for his strong compassion.

Indigo-1 claims that she can teleport the armies of each Lantern Corps onto Earth, if given time to meditate. So, the responsibility falls to Ray to protect her while she does so. Before she enters her trance, she reveals to Ray that the indigo staff and his overwhelming compassion allows him to mimic the other powers of the Lantern Corps; she demonstrates this by temporarily becoming a Red Lantern and vomiting corrosive blood all over an attacking company of Black Lanterns. She then enters her trance, while Ray fights off Black Lanterns Hawkman and Hawkgirl by temporarily becoming an Orange Lantern, loudly proclaiming "I want my friends back!" He then summons two orange energy duplicates of Khufu and Chay-Ara to help him fight off his and Indigo-1's attackers. He is briefly successful. But then Jean shows up to torment him, and she leaps into Indigo-1's ring. Ray follows her. He ends up reliving Sue Dibny's death, and is then attacked by various Black Lantern Morlaidhans, the miniscule race he befriended during his time in the Amazon jungle years before. He fights them off and--summoning the powers of a Green Lantern--destroys Jean. Indigo-1 manages to summon the various armies and thanks Ray for his help. He tells her to keep his involvement in the deployment of the troops a secret, and asks that she help him find a way to legitimately resurrect Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

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