#Cybernetic Hi-School Part 3

[luckydaikon]

[pixelpunk98]

[jpitha]

Awakenings 2

Part one is back here

****Six months earlier****

"Okay, the recording has ended." Starbase said. "I'll pack it down as compressed as I can and beam it to the ship." Starbase paused for a moment. "Wait, I don't have a message laser. We're going to have to rig a message laser out of something, we've never had to send ultra long distance messages before, certainly nothing like half a light year!"

"What about one of the Starjumpers? They're old enough that they probably have message lasers." Fellmeli said as she went over to her desk in the office she shared with James and sat back down, drained from recording the video message.

"Oh, good idea Fellmeli! I'll ask them."

James sat across from her at his desk and looked at Fellmeli "So, what do you think?"

"Think? I think this is insane. We have what is most probably a lost human colony ship coming in system with who knows how many people on board, they don't have a wormhole generator, nobody is awake on it and they can't steer." She looked up at James. "Oh, and it also has the last human alive - probably alive - who was equipped with a brain computer interface, a cybernetic connection and Starbase says that they need her to do....something. Your people really colonized planets this way?"

"Much before my time, but yeah. We colonized four planets that way." He paused a moment before continuing "It was dangerous though, we did send out a dozen or so colony ships, Mt Greylock was one of the last, if not the last one. Most colonies got 2 ships - Parvati got 3 - and 3 ships were lost."

"Lost? like destroyed?"

James nodded. "One was confirmed destroyed, the Mt Stratton was destroyed on initial boost after it had left Earth, probably an engine failure. Mt Greylock and Mt Baxter were both lost en route, assumed destroyed. There was no way to reach them and they were both supposed to be vanguards for their colonies, so nobody to report that they never made it."

"Why do you know so much about old colony ships?" Fellmeli asked as she flicked an ear, a K'laxi raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I learned about them in school; I did a report on them when I was 14. I learned all I could and a Starjumper - the Spyglass - was in-system when I was doing the report, so I got to ask them about it. They weren't around for the launches, but they did travel to the colonies. I had never got talk to a Starjumper before, let alone interview one! They were really nice about talking to a kid for 30 minutes while they were loading up."

Fellmeli nodded. "Lucky then that you're one of the co-representatives of Zen'm'gan's Reach when what might be the long lost My Greylock is coming in."

"Yes, but it's weird. Why here? Why now? The Greylock is at least 500 years overdue, and I don't think was even set to come this way. It doesn't add up."

As James mused, Starbase chimed in. "Good call Fellmeli. The Dialectic did still have a message laser and was able to send the message to the ship coming in. She actually was excited to do it. She said she hasn't used her message laser in nearly two hundred years!" Starbase sounded pleased.

"So how long until the message reached them?"

"Dialectic said it was only an estimate, but it based on the calculations from observing the drive flame, it'll take five or six months for them to get the message, by which time, they'll be much closer to us. We should have the second message ready to send them in 3 though, we'll need to give them time to prepare."

James stood and started pacing the room. "Speaking of that, Starbase, just why do you need a cybernetically equipped human at all? You are a K'laxi starbase!"

"Well, yes, originally. When humanity came on board, we were surprised at how many humans - whole families - came on board. We were caught flat footed and had no room. a Starjumper, the Picaresque volunteered to be broken down and integrated into me for immediate needs and then after that we started construction on less..ad hoc upgrades."

Fellmeli stopped cold. "Wait, Starjumpers all are run by AIs. Starbase, what happened to Picaresque."

"Yeah, that's the thing. He was supposed to be offloaded into a body but I think Picaresque is still in here. I need a cybernetically equipped human to...er....go inside me(us) and look for him"

"YOU CAN'T TELL??" Fellmeli blew up.

"No...I mean, yes...I mean...not really? So much of Picaresque's systems were used in me that we merged...only a bit though. I'm still me, but I think he's still in here, and...I think he has asked me if he can come out. The whole thing is weird. I've been the Starbase ever since I was brought to being, but now I sometimes I feel like I need to...thrust my stardrive, or twist to face the stellar wind. Things I would never know myself as a Starbase, but things a Starjumper would know. Also I get these hints. Like Picaresque is lost and trying to ask for help. It's tough to explain. I've tried explaining it to Starjumpers when they visit and most of them agree that at least part of Picaresque is in me, and they also agree that we should try and reach him - at least to give him the option to leave - and if he doesn't want to leave then to either merge completely or get like a joint custody thing going."

Fellmeli stared dumbstruck at the wall. "So Picaresque has been lost inside you for...more than one hundred years?"

"I fear so Fellmeli. I hope Co-Captain Maplebrook can help. She's probably the only one who can."

Part 3

[nobody-nexus]

Never said this here, but I am making my own AU similar to others: The theme here being cybernetic sci-fi

Freddy: The son of a multi-millionaire Fredbear and his wife Ruby, however was given up to the uncle of Ruby, Theodore Fazbear. Given the name Freddy, he was raised by a single father who was also a world wide known professional gamer, living basically upper middle class his whole life, however was taught to keep himself to be humble. Even if that humbleness is what ended up with Freddy almost dying due to a defective heart, thankful that a cybernetic one replaced the one he had, which also affected how his puberty worked. Now, at age 27, He’s now an infamous street performer, being a jack-of-all-trades for money to save up to move out to his own place. He’s aware of his original parents, but doesn’t wish to bother them at the moment

(Enhancement: Cybernetic Heart)

Chica: The daughter of a voice actress and a toy maker, her parents clearly preferred her over her little sister Faith. But other than the small sibling rivalry, she didn’t have a terrible life for the most part. With two loving parents, she felt almost unstoppable… Until she was 15, when she had an awful car accident and ended up with her legs having to be amputated and replaced with enhancements, but she didn’t fully mind it. About 3 years later, when she needed to head to college, she saw a wolf girl being kicked out of the university. Of course, she couldn’t stop herself from helping her. So, now at age 25, is now an internet song based Twitch streamer and is the roommate of that wolf, making pretty good money with her streaming as well as being in college and being a bit of a party animal

(Enhancement: Cybernetic Legs)

Monty: The son of unknown parents, but was placed into the foster care system for a few years, until he was 4 years old, where he was adopted by an older farmer couple named Graham and Desmond. They give a loving, if a bit harsh environment due to being farmers, which makes Montgomery learn to be strong, growing up taking care of animals and crops. He went to school at a small local school for the farming countryside, where he was bullied until his family moved to the city when there was a better job opening that paid more than the current job. In the city, Monty was NOT used to anything around him, but he managed to soon fit in, however took a bit TOO much of a liking to cybernetic enhancements, sadly causing him to be addicted to the concept (unknown to his parents). He’s now a brawler for a multitude of fighting based occupation

(Enhancement: Cybernetic Arms, Legs, and Pieces of Organs like Lungs)

Roxy: The daughter of an infamous gang leader nicknamed “The Twisted Wolf”, she lived a constantly dangerous life.They would go in shifts where one cares for a baby and toddler Roxanne while the others do crimes to help take care of themselves and the baby. She only thought they were really busy with jobs, even when she was old enough to care for herself. At age 14, she saw on TV that basically what she saw as her family had been arrested for YEARS of crimes that she never knew about. After a bit of living on her own, he ended up in the foster system, however due to her father’s background and her own thievery background, she never was adopted- but always wanted to do cybernetic work. As an adult, she tried to get into college, but got kicked out. However, a kind bird decided to give up some kindness…

(Enhancement: Cybernetic Arm and Veins in her Eyes)

[spinningbagel]

Heyyyy y’all I come bearing a gift for you all ✨✨ (it’s Sheriff’s design in the Cyberpunk Au)

I debated posting this, not sure if I should wait to do the others but decided to just do them individually so I can talk about the design, the character in the Au and other things I feel the need to mention.

So without further ado, here’s Sheriffs design:

And an alternative version to show off some glowy parts of the outfit:

So, with Sheriffs design I wanted something interesting yet something that’d be mostly practical for his line of work. So he’s got a cool jacket for that with some orange accents to represent the district he lives in (I’ll talk about districts at a later date.) the orange accents are also on his shoes and the thingys on his pants.

The back of his jacket has the star to represent the sheriffs star he has in canon because I didn’t want to give him an actual one in this, if you’ve seen the one or two drawings I did of Hero, i did the same thing there just with the sleeves.

Moving on.

On his right arm, you’ll see what is essentially an electronic glove with a screen in his arm. It’s something Shooter created early into his and Sheriffs partnership, it does many things including having a built in map and communication app of Shooters design. Aside from using earpieces, this is their main form of contact, especially during stealth missions where it’s dangerous to speak.

And moving onto the left arm, we’ve got Sheriffs cybernetic arm, this is obviously to replace his mutated one in canon. It’s got dark greys on it in order to blend into the night but does have a light mode variant he can switch to at anytime. Yes, the shell of the arm can switch between light and dark and even a bunch of other colours. It’s a newer model in the world and is highly customisable. The arm also shifts into a gun as seen below the arm on the main drawing. There’s two variations, the first being where the hand becomes the gun and the second where it pops out of a compartment on the arm. I’m leaning more towards the first option but you guys can leave your thoughts.

There’s also his visor which is not on the main drawing but beside it, another one of Shooters creations, the visors job is to scramble facial recognition technology in order to keep Sheriffs identity secure. It can also make it seem like his eyes are a different colour to what they are. The visor also comes equipped with a mini map for when checking his sleeve isn’t an option.

Those are really the main parts of his design I wanted to mention. So let’s talk about other things about him.

In the MBCPAU, Sheriff is a bounty hunter and occasional assassin. He takes up odd jobs even given to him by clients or by other sources who give him information on criminals who have a bounty over their head. He’s obviously in this for the money, needing to pay off the loan he used to purchase his cybernetic arm (and have the surgery to get it attached. Yes it’s surgically attached to his body.) and to keep himself and Ryan under a safe roof. Ryan is wheelchair bound and doesn’t have an electronic one, not being able to afford it. Sheriff is also saving for one because he doesn’t want Ryan to strain himself trying to get around the house (which has been made as wheelchair accessible as possible.)

Sheriff met Shooter in high school and the two have been close ever since, Shooter has been assisting Sheriff on his missions since Sheriff barged into Shooters apartment one night, bleeding and delirious. Sheriff is thankful he’s on his team, Shooter saving his ass more times then he can count. Shooter doesn’t usually join him on missions, instead hanging back in his apartment and offering guidance from there.

Also this isn’t about Sheriff but Shooters parents are absolutely loaded (they’re head engineers for the company who produces cybernetic parts) so he lives in district 3.

Anywayss.

I believe that’s all, for any further questions you may be having, please head to my query box. It’s always open for asks and I live receiving them!!

As always, Stay safe and eat bread O/

[twothpaste]

Sorry if this sounds a bit dumb, but what is Claus’s relationship with Porky in your Intermission AU? How do they view each other and how did they stand and how are they currently standing with each other. I read that part of the fic where Porky goes to Ness and Paula’s apartment and made a scene there and it feels like that’s where Claus is done with him and their. “Friendship”

Aw, man, these two are an absolute trainwreck! Claus n' Porky's relationship was one of the things that sparked the whole AU, truth be told. This premise of taking fantastical events from the games, and translating them into grounded experiences young people often go through irl... What if instead of Porky converting Claus into a brainwashed cyborg supersoldier, the whole thing was literally just an abusive friendship? That's basically the first fic in a nutshell. The more I wrote and thought about it though, the more intricate and sad and harrowing it got. I have so much rattling around in my head about these two, and it's been oozing out of my ears like Cheez Whiz for a year and a half 🫠. I'll put the charcuterie board below the cut:

Intermission Claus and Porky have a lot more in common than you'd expect (I think this is true in canon, too, but that's a whole other post). They were both outta place college freshmen, masking their insecurities with overconfident edgelord personas. They shared a lot of the same interests (video games, Reddit, misinterpreting messages about toxic masculinity in Berserk and Fight Club). They've got a lot of similar baggage, worst of all. Broken families, woes over their emotionally unavailable fathers, mental health problems that sometimes alienate them from their loved ones… Porky appealed to Claus' broken ego, making this guilt-ridden once-neglected kid feel exclusively cool and smart and valued. Porky, an always-neglected kid (with no fucking friends), absolutely relished Claus' earnest company and undivided attention. You'd almost think it could've been good for them. Havin' a mutual confidant to vent their frustrations to, bonding through genuine solidarity. But since Porky is Porky, he doesn't know how to maintain friendships without being a possessive megalomaniac about it. And since Claus is naive and impressionable by nature, he fell for it hook line n' sinker.

He coaxed Claus away from his other friends. Gradually got this dude parroting his vernacular and his bullheaded attitude. Which, of course, made Ness n' pals less willing to put up with Claus. "You're practically my double," Porky might've joked. N' Claus wouldda laughed it up, mistaking it for praise. Porky takes advantage of Claus' emotional volatility. He can rile him up into tirades, or flip him into horrific dissociative states, at a moment's notice. Instead of cybernetic mind-control, it's all the weird ways abusers isolate victims, and re-wire their personality and behavior. Most abusers don't exactly do this stuff consciously - and it's obviously just as unacceptable whether it's conscious or not - but I kinda wanna leave Porky's manipulation up to reader interpretation. Is he delicately pulling strings like a puppetmaster, here? Does he think that's what he's doing? Or is he blindly channeling his parents' behavior, since it's all he's ever known? Maybe all of the above…

There's all these miserable layers to it, like?? How Porky's vendetta against Ness provoked the whole thing. (He drove his first and last best friend away in middle school, never got over it, and now is out to spite him by hoarding their lovable fun upstanding mutual college acquaintance.) How Claus is still frantically trying to emulate his father's masculinity at this stage, and how that's leading him down a dangerous path with Porky. (Trying his very best to forgive a now-reformed Flint for 3 years of griefstricken alcoholic absence - while Porky throws a wrench in his efforts, stoking his righteous anger to keep him bitter and isolated.) How Porky emulates Aloysius almost inevitably, despite hating his father's guts, 'cause after torching his friendship with Ness he was left with no other role models. How Claus yearns for acceptance and approval, and gets this twisted version of it from a guy who treats him like an action figure. How Porky's secretly vehemently jealous of Claus' tight bond with Lucas - 'cause he himself has been self-sabotaging his relationship with Picky for years. How Claus put up with being taken advantage of and dehumanized, 'cause his self esteem is so terrible - but the last straw for him was seeing Porky treat Picky like shit. 'Cause he'd never in a million years even dream of treating Lucas like that. Forgive me if it's a lot, but every bit of it makes me feel like [this].

In the aftermath of it all, I think Porky does realize (deep, deep, deep down) he's ruined what couldda been a really positive friendship for the both of 'em. And he does feel deliriously guilty about it. But he never admits fault. Just blames Ness n' Lucas n' Paula, resigns to hate Claus forevermore, and stews about it endlessly. Even though he knows all it's accomplishing is making him more lonesome and miserable. His Peter-Pan-esque immortal childhood, in Intermission AU, is deconstructed into this sad sick shell of a guy who simply refuses to grow up. (Or confront his guilt, or mature as a person, or apologize to anyone, etc etc…) And his "Absolutely Safe Capsule" is really is just his self-inflicted friendlessness. Maybe he resigns himself to it. If he doesn't have any friends, no one can "betray" him anymore. And he won't have to hurt like this ever again 🥲

Claus, on the other hand, walks away with this erratic mix of anger and pity towards Porky. Which often turns inward - blaming himself for getting so sucked into it, for bein' such a d-bag to his own friends & brother under Porky's influence. Graciously now he's got several absolute real ones he can talk to about it. He ultimately ends up pinning most of the blame on Aloysius (who kinda lives rent free in his head, even though they only met once). But regardless, he can barely stand to think much about Porky. Much less to be in a room with him. Which is a shame, considering they've got at least 2 more years at the same college. I might do more with 'em in the future.

If anyone's interested in these two - aside from Intermission (the fic) (the first one), there's more Claus n' Porky woes in Hunker. Especially [Chapter 20] (which can be read as a oneshot 😉🤐).

[seeker-of-truth]

Manuscript Word Search Tag

ahhh this is so exciting, I've never done these before and now I have multiple tags? Dying, so thank you so much for the tags!!!! I'm including links to there posts too so you can read their stuff too :)

I'm going to cheat a little bit by extending this to the entirety of Hard To Kill but 99% is going to be from I, Pre Defined.

@ghostoffuturespast gave me blossom, scent, rust, dream, & rain. - their post here

blossom (using bloom (they're basically the same right?))

“So, 3 months. That work for you Johnny?” Johnny looked at the desperation in her face for a second and let out a strained laugh, “Stubborn ass merc. Yeah, if that’s what gets you back to your body, sounds preem.” V could tell that Johnny didn’t believe that he could be brought back, but she didn’t care. She’d just have to prove him wrong again. Letting out a shaky breath she looks up at Alt, “Alright, let’s go then.” V stands, anxiety blooming across her chest, she pushes down the choking sensation that threatens to overwhelm her. Johnny’s cybernetic arm sitting at the small of her back, thumb rubbing circles, guiding her to the well. Once there V sits at the edge, she places a hand on her chest, taking a few deep breaths, trying to maintain some level of composure. Johnny sits at the corner of the well, foot planted on the ledge, arm draped over his knee. “S’alright princess, it’ll be okay, you got this.” The affection in his voice alone threatens to break V completely. I, Pre Defined Chapter 1 - Fear of Dying

scent

Verena smiles and follows Sara into the house. Passing through the doorway she is hit by the smell of stale beer and mildew. It’s strange but the scent is always a comfort to her. Probably from the association from playing shows or nostalgia from sneaking into shitty little bars and clubs when she was in high school. Reaching the second floor they find a corner to settle in and start working on their beers. The night goes on and 1 beer becomes 2 and 2 becomes 3 becomes 4. They play dumb drinking games with everyone well into the night. Their laughter coloring the air peach, glints in their eyes. As night shifted into morning, they found themselves pulling away from everyone else. Sitting in the attic, a comfortable silence falls around them as the sunlight begins transforming the night sky to a gentle deep blue with orange steaks just beginning to enter. La Belle Femme

rust

no rust 'round these parts :(

dream

The first week at the Pistis Sophia passes by slowly. Instead of working on a plan, V spends her days laying on the mattress watching the fan spin lazily. Getting up only to take her meds and smoke. The beauties ran out quickly and she was left tossing and turning every night after, her thoughts keeping her awake just as much as her physical discomfort. The nagging feeling that she left Johnny to rot in a digital purgatory gnawing at her chest during every waking minute. When she did get sleep her dreams were a tangled mess of what was left of Johnny’s memories and her own. Sometimes she would see him reaching down for her from an escaping helicopter. Other times her broken body would be tied to a chair in the slums of Rio, Johnny standing over her, barrel of his gun at her forehead, blank expression on his face. But worst of all, sometimes she would be trapped in an endless void, screaming into it, never getting a response. She would always wake up out of breath with her heart in her throat. The only thing that could calm her was going up to the rooftop to smoke and gaze at the lights emanating from the city. I, Pre Defined Chapter 3 - Money on Dust

rain

V quietly curses to herself before slowly getting back to her feet. Autopilot takes over and she walks into the armory grabbing a duffle bag from the floor and packing it with extra ammo. Walking up to the loft she grabs enough of her stuff to last a couple days. Feeling numb she descends into the elevator and rides through the city not thinking about where she’ll end up, letting the downpour soak her to the bone. After driving for a while, she finds herself parked in front of Kerry’s villa, she lets out a snort as she pulls up the driveway. Of course she ends up here again. Dismounting her bike and walking up to the door she realizes she has tears streaming down her face along with the rain and is attempting to wipe them off when a disgruntled Kerry answers the door. “Fucking hell. So what? You just show up here, lookin’ like a wet dog when you’re feeling like shit? Come in,” Kerry says, waving her in. I, Pre Defined Chapter 5 - En Soledad (not yet released)

@peaches-n-screem gave me ride, miss, cold, bright, & calm - their post here

ride

V spends the next couple days flighting around the penthouse, keeping herself occupied with busy work. Disassembling and cleaning her guns – twice, moving her shit out of boxes, ordering new pants. Doing everything she can to avoid the constant itch for a chemical release and to keep crushing dread from overwhelming her. While organizing the armory for the third time that day V’s hand brushes against the shotgun she had been avoiding just as much as her holo. She knew she should call Judy, but she just - wasn’t ready. What was she supposed to say, ‘Hey Jude, you know that crazy shit your output just pulled to maybe save her life? Yeah, didn’t work. She’s also grieving a man who died 50 years ago and was killing her. Oh and all that grief – pointless, she can get him back.’ The thought alone was exhausting to say the least, but she was tired of being alone. V wanted to be around someone, someone who had known Johnny, who she could talk about him with. Rouge was out of the question; she would just ride her ass about not calling Mr. Blue Eyes. But Kerry, Kerry’s the perfect option. Knew Johnny better than most, knows what it’s like to lose him. I, Pre Defined Chapter 4 - Continental Shelf

miss

Walking down into the kitchen she turns on the coffee maker, making a cup of coffee for both her and Judy. By the time she’s pouring synthmilk in both mugs Judy is walking down the stairs, sleep still present on her face. She yawns before planting a kiss on V’s cheek, “G’morning baby, you’re up early.” “mornin’ – yeah, stress I guess,” V says handing Judy a cup of coffee while taking a sip out of her own, “usually I’m not too worried before meeting a client. But this all reeks.” “Worse than meeting with Evie?” V grimaces, “leagues worse.” Judy weighs V’s words, taking a cautious sip of the hot coffee, “Well in that case you best head out.” “Yeah, your right, I’ll see you later okay?” V says, giving Judy a kiss before grabbing her edgerunner and heading to the door. “Missin’ you already,” Judy says with a smile as V leaves. I, Pre Defined Chapter 4 - Continental Shelf

cold

Rogue crouches down to get a better look at the merc, “Shit V, you’re in awful shape. What happened?” concern clear in her voice. V stammered, desperately trying to sting together a coherent thought now that the immediate need to get to safety was no longer keeping her alert. “I…I had to leave Johnny behind, Rogue. And for what? ‘m still dyin’ anyway…” the truth spilling out of her mouth. “What are you talking about V? c’mon look at me,” Rogues voice now coming through a haze, V struggled to focus on her, but the cold rushing through her was becoming overwhelming. “Fuck you’re going into shock. C’mon V, stay with me here,” Rogue says grabbing V’s face in both her hands. “I’m gonna jetwash you, OK kid?” “mhhmm,” V’s head now leaning against the wall of the bomber, eyes half lidded. Rogue beings removing V’s edgerunner so that she’s left in her tank top. Picking up V’s arm and placing the AirHypo to her side, Rogue taps the button, injecting the medication. Instantly a feeling of warmth washed over V, the world in front of her resharpening to something recognizable. Looking at Rogue she’s greeted with worry written on the fixer’s face. “You good now?” “Uh, yeah, thanks. You got a smoke?” V says palming at her pants pockets. Handing V a small cigarette case with a chuckle, “That bastard give you any good habits?” She passes the case back, raising her eyebrows up at Rogue. V lights the cigarette, taking a long drag, enjoying the feeling of nicotine entering her body. I, Pre Defined Chapter 2 - Afterglow

bright

When she had called him ‘the guy who saved my life,’ she had meant it much more metaphorically than he had taken it. She remembers him responding, ‘you have no idea how badly I want that to be true,’ not realizing that it was already true. Working under Arasaka’s thumb for all those years had taken its toll, she still fought ruthlessly, that was engrained in her like any ‘Saka operative, past, or current. But she was an echo of the bright-eyed kid who wanted to do good by her people and would fight anyone who got in her way. Johnny brought that back out of her, brought out the ability to feel true joy again, to fall in love, to live. Jackie had planted the seeds of that flower, but it was Johnny who nurtured it. He did it not by teaching, or even the data overwrite, but by creating the room for her to do it herself. I, Pre Defined Chapter 3 - Money on Dust

calm

The first week at the Pistis Sophia passes by slowly. Instead of working on a plan, V spends her days laying on the mattress watching the fan spin lazily. Getting up only to take her meds and smoke. The beauties ran out quickly and she was left tossing and turning every night after, her thoughts keeping her awake just as much as her physical discomfort. The nagging feeling that she left Johnny to rot in a digital purgatory gnawing at her chest during every waking minute. When she did get sleep her dreams were a tangled mess of what was left of Johnny’s memories and her own. Sometimes she would see him reaching down for her from an escaping helicopter. Other times her broken body would be tied to a chair in the slums of Rio, Johnny standing over her, barrel of his gun at her forehead, blank expression on his face. But worst of all, sometimes she would be trapped in an endless void, screaming into it, never getting a response. She would always wake up out of breath with her heart in her throat. The only thing that could calm her was going up to the rooftop to smoke and gaze at the lights emanating from the city. I, Pre Defined Chapter 3 - Money on Dust

And that's it, thanks for reading!

Tagging in no particular order and with no pressure: @elvenbeard @fly-amanitaa @wanderingaldecaldo @luvwich and tagging back both @ghostoffuturespast & @peaches-n-screem :)

Your words, should you choose to accept, are: whisper, light, tendril, slam, & haze.

[plantdonutwrites]

💙 tmnt vday prompts · week 01 · leomin (leo x min-ji)

hello! it’s me again and i am PARTICIPATING and talking about ocs and ships and things I seldom ever talk about in public. WELL. here goes nothing.

1. in which tmnt universe does your pairing exist?

the 2003 animated series, also known as the series that has my entire heart.

2. introduce us to your otp.

well, you guys already know leo, of course. but this young lady here is min-ji seong! she’s a korean-american high school student who lives in new york city. she’s a pianist, but she also writes songs and plays the acoustic guitar. when she was eleven, she was in the subway when a bombing ‘incident’ happened and lost half of her left arm; she now has a cybernetic prosthetic. she’s a warm and empathetic person with a dash of trauma and skittishness.

3. how did they meet?

it’s a whole... thing, but they meet when leo and his brothers investigate the foot going into a building one night that ended up being min-ji’s aunt’s boutique, and she was working the closing shift when she was attacked and was either going to be abducted or murdered by the foot soldiers. you know the drill, though: our boys show up, take some names and beat up the bad guys, and the day is saved. for the moment, anyway. min-ji ended up being in the foot’s and the purple dragon’s cross hairs by no fault of her own... but that’s a story for another time.

4. how is the relationship now?

after upwards of two years of being friends (and pining), they eventually start dating and for the most part is great and wholesome and cute and very healthy. they’re very insightful and attentive to one another and feel safe in each other’s company. they both have their traumas and shortcomings, but fortunately are pretty good communicators, so any bigger issues between them are often immediately addressed and short lived.

5. what is each other’s love language?

words of affirmation and quality time are very big for the both of them, in both receiving and giving. acts of service is also present in the two of them, but not as prominent.

6. do they get married or have any kids?

no and no. the future is pretty uncertain, especially since min-ji has ambitions of becoming a professional musician of some kind, and who knows where that will take her. but for now they have each other and are fully committed to that, and that’s enough.

7. what is your favorite thing about this pairing? (gush as much as you want!)

oh, THIS is going under a cut.

leo got to be a first person witness in min-ji's growth and healing with her low self esteem, self worth, and also her traumas. and he is so, so proud of her and genuinely feels honored that he's gotten to be a part of her life and see her overcome obstacles of all kinds. he admires her inner strength and how all of her experiences haven't left her cold (like it had once done to him). She is continuously recovering from past experiences, learning how to defend herself and stand up for herself, and shows kindness to people even when they don't deserve it. not to mention she bonds significantly with his family--becoming close friends with raph, being a beam of support for don, and being silly with mikey and occasionally indulging in his mischief and playfulness. he appreciates that she cares deeply for his family and he wishes he could get to know her family in the same way.

on min-ji's part: when they first met and during the period of time where they were still getting to know one another, leo (intentionally or unintentionally) offered min-ji a lot of stability and a sense of safety that she didn't have in her life for a while, and she clutched onto it for dear life. she has always found him to be a calming, but strong presence, who was always gentle and hyper aware of her mood and her verbal and physical expressions of emotions and thoughts, which was like a breath of fresh air for her. min-ji finds leo easy to talk to and express herself with, even with difficult or embarrassing topics. learning more about his and his family’s past (especially with what happened at the end of season 3 and throughout the first half of season 4) made her even more sympathetic to them, and she admires how he was able to heal from those events as well. all in all, they’ve had intense roads to individual recovery and they found one another along the way, which is beautiful.

thanks for reading! 💙

credits!

· tmnt vday prompts

· tmnt otp meme

· art by @redstringraven​ (used with permission, thankie muchly)

[cosmic-cd]

BODY PART BLAST ! ! ! ! 🧠 + 💀 + ❤️ for the dimension cross crew for the OC ask meme w

ACK!! OUGH!!! AGH!!!! TERRIFYING!!!! (HIIIII MIO)

answering these for all four beasts, so this is gonna be a little long!!!

(Answering questions from this ask meme! if anyone would like, feel free to send in more questions!!)

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

RGB - she's my beloved fursona!!!!! a single quality is hard to pick... but i'll say her personality is very fun to write because it lets me flip between RGB Is An 8 Foot Tall Furry Thing who loves enrichment (jumping straight into highly dangerous situations for fun and causing trouble on purpose) and RGB is in REAL danger she can't just escape conveniently from and has a far more nervous, cautious side underneath the very intense confidence.......

Gear - my baby boy angel sweet boy i love him i'm grabbing him with my teeth and shaking him around violently. it's kind of the personality again (even though i adore his design and i'm so proud of him as a whole) my favorite thing about him is 100% the fact i somehow combined four decently different favorite characters into one guy, and that makes him INCREDIBLY fun to write.

the bold and daring recklessness + being wildly overpowered from sonic, the knack for inventing and being the little brother from tails, the jadedness and charisma + voice & some other traits from barney calhoun, and also inventing but unhinged about it a bit from The Engineer TF2... he is the guy of all time to me

Source - oh they are just an absolute goddamn blast to write. i think my favorite part about him though is just the tonal dissonance between his personality and his backstory, and similarly to RGB- the change in behavior when things have flipped from danger for fun to real danger. funny mushroom in a fursuit (tragic, miserable, so soggy and sad)

DC - DC's like my least developed dimension cross member and i feel bad about it!!!!! i LOVE their design to pieces.. but i think if i had to choose a trait about them so far- it's the fact they come across as the most anxious and shy member of the D/C crew, but they may be the most unhinged. (y'know. the whole uh. surgically installing their own cyborg enhancements thing.) they care a lot about the crew and ensure they're healthy in a safe manner- i wouldn't QUITE put them in the bracket of being like the Medic TF2, but. concerning. sometimes.

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

RGB - Insectophobia, arachnophobia, (but this really only applies to small normal bugs and not big or anthropomorphic ones, amusingly) and mild claustrophobia. She doesn't mind cramming herself into small cozy spaces voluntarily (like a cat) but involuntarily is a different story (hates smaller ships and small rooms)

Gear - Way worse claustrophobia- Some small spaces are OK voluntarily (especially if he's making repairs in the walls of the ship), but he gets nervous in very close quarters. also mildly afraid of deep water (though unlike sonic, he can swim, at least)

Source - Doesn't have any phobias per se- But has a healthy fear of fire, and a general fear of rain. (i wonder why)

DC - this worm can fit so much anxiety...... Extreme phobia of deep water (can't swim) and ironically kind of afraid of like. regular worms. like earth worms. they have so many fears otherwise though <3 and a tendency to faint

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

RGB - The day she met Gear.

Gear - The day he and RGB finally bought the cargo ship they'd been saving for, changing the course of their lives forever.

Source - When an act of kindness cut through the curtain of heavy rain, offering a hand to a lonely creature. Or, uh- that time he ate a bug that RGB was hiding from. Either one.

DC - The day they finished medical school... What, that's boring? (and RGB's isn't?) Okay, okay. The day they completed their thesis- proving that cybernetic limbs could work, and that the nervous system of their species could absolutely be compatible with artificial limbs and the brain would take to it like a charm with little issue. (of course, they immediately were kicked out and not given a medical license, but that's okay, the achievement was way more important. if their species, a bunch of fuzzy worms off the string with arms, couldn't handle the scientific advancement of legs- then that was their loss!)

[signalwatch]

Marvel Watch: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Watched:  05/21/2023

Format:  Theater!

Viewing:  First

Director:  James Gunn

On Friday night I watched the mostly panned Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, and on Saturday spent an ungodly amount of time discussing the film with Danny for the Superheroes Every Day podcast.  Spoiler: it wasn't my favorite movie.  And so it was that here, deep in Marvel Phase 5, that I finally saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).  

You'd have to listen to the podcast and read between the lines on other posts to know how I feel about Marvel these days.  It's an affection, but one that knows where we're at in the scheme of creation and the realization that what always worked will not always work, and that they're now on to properties that have always struggled within the Marvel portfolio, while still not dishing up a Fantastic Four movie that we all know is coming.

As has been largely agreed upon, James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy solidified the lessons of Iron Man (and to a lesser extent, Thor) and re-positioned how Marvel designed its films into action-comedies with heart.  GotG somehow, against all odds, managed to make you care about a tree with one line of dialog, an asshole space-raccoon, a manchild with knives, a mass-murderer, and a slacker with delusions of grandeur.  Plus a redneck pirate!  The heart part was a bit surprising as we watched our leads kill a ship full of pirates, etc... Not the usual side of superheroes.

Bit, dammit, if I wasn't weepy at the end when Groot did his thing.  And in the second one when we all worked through whatever we call found family and family.  And who didn't like the Christmas special?

When I was 12 and getting into comics (circa 1987), I picked up a bundled four-pack of the 1986 Rocket Raccoon mini-series from a spinner rack at my local comic shop (and still my shop!), Austin Books and Comics.  I was wildly enthusiastic about what I read, but also understood - apparently this series was not popular and I was going to have to love Rocket alone.  

In truth, Rocket was deeply changed by the time he got to the GotG films.  In the original series he was a gold-hearted law-man in an insane world (literally), with an otter girlfriend and a Walrus uncle.  They'd been placed there to help keep an eye on "the loonies", crazy humans who needed looking after.  The series is bonkers and has nothing to do with anything that would come up later in the comics or movies featuring the now gruff and ready-to-rumble Rocket.  Over time, these things happen in comics.

I was also very aware of the High Evolutionary from late 1980's/ early 1990's comics, and in-particular a really fun summer event called "The Evolutionary War"* that gave me insight into his whole deal.  He's a Grade A villain, but I wasn't sure how one would use him in a Marvel film.  But here we are.

SPOILERS

Full stop - it was nice to see Marvel firing on all cylinders again.  They're taking too long between sequels and re-appearances of fan-favorite characters as they litter the MCU with new characters, but mostly it's been 6 years since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.  Snippets of them in in big crossover films is nice, or doing some day work on Thor is cool, but... come on.  

Luckily it doesn't feel like anyone missed a beat.  Even if the audience who saw the last one in middle school is potentially now in college (that's too long, Marvel).  

After multiple movies of Rocket being a bit rough around the edges, we get his origin story - even if the Guardians don't.  And that's okay.  But after being wounded in a fight with the newly hatched Adam Warlock by the Sovereign, Rocket is injured and its discovered his cybernetics include a kill-switch, which in turn points to the legitimate and illegitimate affairs of the MCU-space-freighting High Evolutionary.  

Turns out this movie is about vivisection and animal testing, and puts a face to the whole affair, while creating Ani-Men along the way.

It's clear Gunn read and appreciated the groundbreaking comic We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, a three-issue story about a dog, cat and rabbit given cybernetic enhancements as a military experiment.  Set free by their keeper when she realizes the military is going to euthanize them, things get very dark, very fast, but it's also an emotional rollercoaster.  (Talk about the comics that live in your head.  It's still one of my favorite comics of all time.)  

Pretty clearly Gunn took the characters from the whimsical 1986 comics, overlaying them on ideas and concepts seen in We3, creating something new and utterly heartbreaking in ways I was not expecting.

Meanwhile, Peter Quill is working through his grief at living in a world where his new Gamorra has rejected him, Nebula is trying to make the best of her situation and move forward, Mantis is coming into her own and Drax is... Drax.  

Our villain this outing is the aforementioned High Evolutionary, recast here as a galactic-level type, played with tremendous effect by Chukwudi Iwuji - a "visionary" who is endlessly working his way to building a utopian society by trying to create new species through an endless parade of grotesquries.  But maybe he doesn't know what he's doing?  And/ or is more into the process itself than the end goal?  And who jealously sees a true, inherent genius in his creation of Rocket that he, himself, lacks.

I can't say how remarkable it is that Gunn works in multiple arcs across multiple characters, and, arguably, those arcs all work.  It's possible the overall story that's an excuse for spending time with his characters is a little messy - but I didn't really think so.  Gunn is mostly responsible for his own scripts, and he manages to keep things tight.  But nothing sacrifices the journeys we've been on since the first film - the characters continue to grow, reflect, refract and change.  

And this is Gunn.  He absolutely knows how to push the buttons to make you laugh, cry, sit on the edge of your seat, make you love a character instantly and care about them in ways that few other filmmakers can do.  All of this is wrapped up in one of the more violent corners of the MCU where life really is cheap, and the devastation of whole planets is something that happens along the way.  Characters we just met meet swift and terrible ends.  

But violence isn't the point.  Unlike many-a-superhero movie, GotG doesn't reduce itself to a slog of equally matched foes making a light show.  Here in Volume 3, we have a finale during which the last 1/3rd isn't just when things get crazy, it's also when character arcs come to a head and work through to completion.  And not just "if I beat that guy, I can go home".  It's all fairly legitimate third act resolution, which is really something when you consider it's also the 9th to 15th act we've had for some of these characters.  

Gunn creates amazing scenes.  It's worth noting that he does use practical sets when he can (Knowhere's business area is one massive set), and he doesn't rely on dark or haze to cover up what he wants to show.  His characters are buyable in their insane spaces - making our own world and reasonable facsimiles of it - look like the alien thing on screen.   And he knows that intersplicing events is the real action in many action movies (thanks, Star Wars, for that lesson!).  But he's also not above an astounding but reasonably paced hallways fight giving our re-teamed heroes their moment.  

And, of course, Gunn's soundtrack was typically on point.  I assume Gunn and I must be within a few graduating classes of each other, because I see him.

This was the first movie since probably February of 2020 that Jamie and I have seen together in a theater, and the first for me in an Alamo since, I believe, Birds of Prey.  So of course I'm almost predisposed to like this one on principle of the cinematic experience.  And, sure, I am certain I missed an error or ten.  I am sure the anthropomorphization and cruelty shown to Rocket and his friends was disliked, or seen as manipulative or sentimental.  On that we'll have to part ways and ponder the very nature of fictional narratives.

As with all of Gunn's output from the past decade-plus, the rollercoaster of experiences and emotional whiplash - while maintaining a coherent story - is mind-boggling.  For comparison/ contrast, one need only turn their eye on the recent-to-Disney+ Quantumania, which just keeps hitting the same notes over and over.  

I don't mind that Gunn essentially killed characters I'd hoped to see on screen one day since the appearance of Rocket.  In a way, I'm disappointed, but I do feel it's earned.  I may actually be more cheesed that this eliminates the possibility for a We3 movie, but that was never going to happen properly, anyway.  And I am delighted that Rocket did get so much spotlight this film, and that the story felt meaningful.  

I have no idea what will become of Marvel Studios over the next five to ten years.  Not all signs point to another twenty years of non-stop success, and some bad choices have been made here and there in a way that seemed impossible once Marvel started firing on all cylinders.  But it's great to send off at least this little corner of the MCU with a sequel worthy of the goodwill.

Sunday afternoon I was asked what I thought of Gunn on Superman: Legacy, and while I won't get into why, specifically, watching a non-Suicide Squad film settled for me that he's the right person of the job at this moment.  I think he's got it.  

*I've always held this up as "how comics cross-over events should be handled".  There's a main story and the individual summer annuals tie-in, and you can opt in or out, and it gives everyone time to mention that it happened later in the year in their ongoing titles.

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from The Signal Watch https://ift.tt/NyRxbmf

[nitrosodiumofficialuses]

Music Games Investigation

This time, I have broader genres. Any game that uses music or sound in an interesting way, for my purposes, is a "music game".

Friday Night Funkin - This is a game I was obsessed with back in 2021. It's a prototypical falling-arrows rhythm game, with the funky counterculture aesthetic of late 2000s Newgrounds. You know, Madness Combat, Pico's School, all of that. Mechanically, it's nothing special, but a few of the tracks really stand out, and the levels have interesting gimmicks - Week 3 has a rushing train to throw you off, and Week 7 takes place in an active warzone, with soldiers running about and tanks rumbling across the screen, further blocking your arrows. The fanbase is... difficult, it seems they can't go a week without ending up with a mod cancellation or some new drama. But, mechanically, it's fine. I'm no way near as good as I used to be at it, but sometimes I still open it up and play a round or so.

Metal Hellsinger - I've only seen a little of this game, but it looks really sick. You enter Hell with a cool sword, and then you kill demons to the beat of heavy metal, starring actual metal singers. I don't know what else to say; it's pretty distilled, no real bloat or feature creep. You can do combos and executions, and the longer you kill on beat for, the more your combo meter increases. Interestingly, unlike a lot of music games, the focus isn't on going at ludicrous speeds, it's about staying on beat, so the character is actually pretty slow.

Hi-Fi Rush - I've heard of this game, but I honestly knew nothing about it until today. All I know is it's a rhythm game and possibly a JRPG, and it stars a cat, and it's all really stylised and cel-shaded. After watching a few videos, I've found it's pretty cool! It's some sort of third-person action game, where everything in the world is tied to the beat - screens flash, trees bob, and enemies move according to the music's BPM. You also have to attack, using elaborate combos and moves to the game's alt-rock soundtrack. Everything in the environment just pops with colour; it's a very bright game, taking you from lava pools to gigantic robot factories. It seems like something I'd actually enjoy, to be honest.

Also, here's a quick look at dynamic soundtracks. The first one I'll look at is the hi-tech hack n' slash Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Apart from having some of the best music in the Metal Gear series, the music is sort of dynamic. In boss fights, it loops the bridge of the song until you get to a point where you can critically wound the boss, at which point, the chorus flares up, perfectly timed with you slicing a chunk off your current cybernetic foe. Once you've cut them down to low health, the lyrics kick in. It's so amazing. Doom 2016 had a similar system, where the music would fast-forward to a high-octane segment when you got into combat, and the beat would loop until you were at a point in combat where the beat would drop. The earliest dynamic soundtrack I know of is System Shock. Different parts of the soundtrack would be louder/quieter, higher/lower pitch based on your current health, SHODAN's grip on the floor you were on, whether you were in combat, and a bunch of other features. Thing is, nobody noticed it, and so they removed it for System Shock 2.

[algrolo]

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners ended so badly that I gotta say, as a whole Id say the show was bad. The first half of the show? Awesome, colorful, action-packed, well done. The second half? Complete and utter trash.

They had this great concept, this young kid sinking in debt and a loss of a recent lpved one, causing him to get this cybernetic spine upgrade which makes him Fast. He gets pulled into a local crime group and starts running with them to make ends meet and develops this found family.

Then, and this is where it just nosedives, a plan goes south, the crew loses their leader and his girlfriend, so the kid steps up and we get this timeskip. Gone is the lovable, kinda buff but overall slim kid, and he just looks like your average "buffed up action guy except its all cybernetics and chrome". And the story pivots from him to his girlfriends lore. He, like his mentor (the ex-leader) gets too much fucking chrome, causing issues with having too much tech while still being a person.

So many issues here. 1. Whyd you change the character model he looks so boring now. 2. The reason he went metal is so he could fight better. Which is stupid because his advantage was speed. Seeing the bulked up guy going fast looks dumber than the lanky kid zipping by 3. Absolutelu 0 learning about having too much metal. Your old leader died from it, idiot. 4. The kid was introduced as actually being quite proficient in school, yet this is never applied in a literal sense, ever. He just becomes leader and has good charisma? Those things are unrelated to school smarts.

I feel like its either a product of Netflix anime demands or the studio culture surrounding action animes, but something about the past 3 Ive seen strike me as odd. The setups are inherently so cool and interesting, only to have completely lackluster endings, due in part to the narrative falling to pieces. I dont need high volume action scenes every god damn episode if their purpose is only to look cool. Give me some plot, please. Actually connect the dots of your story instead of being in the drawing room and going "hey wouldnt it be cool if this happened". Thats just bad writing.

Worse yet was this was a Studio Trigger project which means they were working on this dumb project based off a failure of a game instead Of Just Working On ANOTHER SEASON OF BRAND NEW ANIMAL!!!!

[shadowglens]

🔥 📙 🍋 🌠 for delaney pleaseeeee :3

JUMBO ASK GAME

🔥 give us a list of general likes and dislikes, such as colours, textures, music, weather and other stuff!

delaney likes lots of things: neon, pink, high heels, g-strings, baseball bats, fast cars, even faster bikes, getting tattoos, dying her hair, public sex, being a smartass, singing at the top of her lungs, running red lights, drugs but only the Fun ones, partying with friends, vodka, watching the sunrise burn against the high rises, making money and Nibbles! she loves life! loves the energy and sound and feel of it all! she doesn’t want to miss anything, doesn’t want to waste anything. 

(she doesn’t like small dark spaces, or sexual braindances, or the feel of cold winter air on her bare skin, but she doesn’t like to think about why she doesn’t like those things too much.)

📙 what kind of subjects (of conversation, of discussion, in school or whatever) does your oc find interesting or engaging or that they can talk for hours about? what kind of stuff do they just find fun?

del has such a thirst for life and even if she was never very well educated, she’ll happily listen to any of her friends or loved ones go on about their hobbies! she won’t be able to sit still throughout, obviously, but she’ll still listen. she herself is super passionate about changing her appearance, from very basic hair dyes and makeup and tattoos to full-body cybernetics - when she first meets vik, he’s kind of shocked at how knowledgable she is about different implants, because he’s not a judger by any means but she doesn’t look like the type to know or care about anything other than eddies and fast cars and sex. she likes the freedom it gives her, to literally change her physical body how she wants.

🍋 does your oc act petty and jealous easily? what sort of things make them feel like this and do they experience guilt for getting so worked up? how do they deal with these emotions when they get them? if your oc doesn’t feel like this often, why not?

oh man, del gets very jealous and clingy! she the worst! when she finds friends she attaches herself to them at the hip, and very much likes being the centre of attention, so when that’s threatened she does get a little pouty and mad. not in a way that she’ll then try and ruin her friends other relationships, but she’ll probably good-heartedly bitch to them about it. 

with sex it’s always been different, because sex to her is like drugs or alcohol or any other vice that she engages with - a quick release, a moment of pleasure, and then they part ways. when Feelings get involved she doesn’t like how it makes her feel, doesn’t like the way she wants them only looking at her and no one else. for a while she hates the way she notices herself Performing almost for johnny, to try and keep his attention on her. johnny, if anything, is worse - what a perfect couple they make lol.

🌠 who was your oc’s first friend? do they remember them or are they still friends now? talk about some of the people your oc has lost contact with over the years. do they have any regrets about losing these people and would they revist them if they could?

probably misty. del didn’t have many friends as a young kid, when she was playing in the gutter outside her family’s tiny excuse for a home, and then ... well. dark rooms and all that. 

by the time padre finds her and takes her in when she’s about fourteen, she’s not that interested in being friends so much as she wants to feel Powerful and In Control again. she doesn’t make many true friends with the valentinos, and if anything just chews her way through casual fling after casual fling until they all hated her anyway. it’s not until she meets misty when she’s in her early twenties that she feels a true kinship with someone else and starts to learn to love life and her existance again. then jackie comes barelling into her life and things really fall into place. 

[peachlover94]

Scrap Anime Series Idea Stockpile (Collection 3)

Here are some more ideas for potential new anime series both in long/continuing and short/near-OVA/ONA (Original Video Animation/Original Net Animation) form!

My question to you, is, which of the following has the most potential that would be deserving to be seen on television or online?

Hash it out in the comments below which ideas jump out at you the most and seem like they'd be fun to see.

1) Busan, the Act of Contrition - In this deep, dramatic seinen/josei series, a young woman with the name of Banira Yoshida knows her grandfather Seiji Yoshida took in some "comfort women" as part of his high status and spoils collection as an Imperial Japanese Army officer in the Second World War with many of them coming from Busan, South Korea. Overwhelmed by the shame of her ancestor having taken part in sexual slavery, Banira slips away on a ferry to Busan from Osaka to place herself in sexual slavery as atonement for her ancestor's crimes against the children of South Korea. She ends up taking a job as a maid to a young, rich, cute femboy named Kyung Ja Phung who is descended from one of the comfort women who Seiji took as a sex slave long ago. Both having demons to work through, Kyung Ja and Banira both find a surprise solace in each other as they navigate pitfalls and perils of life in South Korea.

2) Devil Lady Reborn - In this psychological horror, dark superhero team Josei reboot of Go Nagai's Devil Lady/Devilman Lady; seven young high school teachers are attacked by demons causing them to unleash their hidden powers as the Devil Ladies - black, white, yellow, green, blue, red and pink. Discovering their powers and deciding to use them to do some good while cleaning up their town of all crime by night, the seven Devil Ladies baffle the Yakuza and the police alike with their macabre heroics. Venturing into Hell to discover Akira and Jun Fudo as the ones who helped awaken their powers to try and stop the apocalypse from claiming their world as it did Akira and Jun's worlds. The only way for them to make it happen is to stop all of Satan's Devil Beasts and God's Rogue Angels while forcing God and Satan to overcome the long-held grudges and make peace with one another. But their truce is easier said than done.

3) Fairy Mermaid Angel - A sci-fi/fantasy romantic dramedy about a girl from space who can turn into a mermaid to swim fast through vast stretches of ocean or into a bird-winged angel fairy to fly great distances across the sky. With the identity of Mekaria Nesoi, she has come to Earth for sanctuary as her family is being hunted by the Kibolans over their empire suffering a defeat by the Galaxies Alliance resulting in the destruction of the Kibolans' dreaded weapon the Midas Touch battle station. With her magical powers, she saves the life of an adolescent boy named Tamaki Gonohe who is eventually swept off his feet by her. Together, they take on the mundane challenges of life on Earth in the 21st Century while traveling across spacetime to keep one or three steps ahead of the Kibolans' evil plots for galactic domination. Even so, Mekaria also must come to terms with the fact that she may possibly be an orphan in space.

4) Hunter-Killer On The Run - In this cyberpunk science fiction action josei/seinen series, a team of seven cybernetically enhanced girls arrives in modern day Tokyo looking for teenaged Hikaru Kaito as he prepares to graduate from high school with his girlfriend Keiko Ran. Young Hikaru doesn't know why, but a weapon has been built to kill him and Keiko. This weapon - a Hunter-Killer is powerful, versatile and near-indestructible like something out of one Harlan Ellison's stories "Demon with a Glass Hand" and "Soldier Out of Time". The Hunter-Killer will feel no pity, remorse, pain or fear and it can't be reasoned or bargained with. And old Hunter-Killer is bringing an army of its followers back to the present to prevent the future of the UN-allied AI named Eos helping machines and humanity co-exist in peace. The maidens Electra, Maia, Tayga, Alcia, Celeana, Stera and Mera are the only soldiers who can fight HK's armies.

5) Joint Aquatics Team - In this seinen/josei sports anime, Kurosawa High School is home to the top coed (boys and girls) swimming, diving and water polo team in the region. The Waves as they are called, the teams keep in shape for their meets and tournaments while also taking part in mixed water-based martial arts like Keijo (hip whip/bust boom wrestling racing) so to keep their reflexes, speed and defense up in their regular sports and lives. Umiko Takagawa is a girl on the swim, dive and water polo teams along with her boyfriend Masaki Chibu as they hone their bodies, crafts and friendships/teamwork to take the Kurosawa Waves to the next level and prove they have what it takes to go toe to toe with the best of the best. Tragedy and triumph go hand in hand with the Waves as they figure out their way in this crazy world while keeping the water they swim in as their sanctuary and conduit for resolving their differences.

6) Longitude X Latitude Y - This oceangoing josei/seinen dramedy follows the lives, love and adventures of the crew of Japan's largest three-funnel cruise liner ever built with Century 21 travelers in mind. Built by Mitsubishi at Yokohama, the Nesaku Maru is designed for carrying large amounts of cargo and passengers in luxury across the world while also able to be quickly equipped as a 121-gun battleship in an emergency should World War III break out. Launching on her first cruise from Yokohama to Lima, Peru; the Nesaku Maru is progressing nicely on a pleasure cruise and mercy mission of delivering food and medical supplies. But the Neo Axes alliance of Russia, North Korea, China, Belarus, Ethiopia, Venezuela and Nicaragua see fit to overturn all libertarian or democracy-sympathetic powers and commence war on the United Nations. The Nesaku Maru now has to transport refugees and battle pirates for sanctuaries.

7) 777th Girls Military Brigades - In this tribute successor to the likes of other major military girl anime with elements of the magical girl and military science fiction genres, the UNASDF (United Nations Allied Self-Defense Forces) is beset by a crippling disease targeting personnel with high concentrations of naturally occurring Y-chromosomes (whilst sparing transgender service members and women). This disease is launched by the invading Agartha to consume and plunge the Multiverse into emptiness. The Agartha's arrival has granted magical powers to teenage and young adult girls ages 17-26, however, and they allow for the creation of more powerful and transforming mecha from warships (Navy) to walking tanks (Army) to airplanes (Air Force) to battle and destroy the Agartha. Representing the seven continents of Earth, all 21 members of the 777th UNASDF Girls' Military Brigade battle to take back our home world.

8) Out from the Kiln - Inspired by Natsuo Kirino's gripping josei feminist drama novel, eleven women put upon from dead-end bento factory jobs and either estranged or abusive families finally have had enough. One of them, Yayoi, strikes back against her abusive husband Kenji by killing him via strangulation. She then discovers that Kenji was a member of some Yakuza clans and they are highly connected with the factory she works. The eleven women must now unite to hide the body across Japan and arm themselves against the nightclub owner who has lost everything due to Kenji's misdeeds as well as the Yakuza seeking to eliminate all threads leading back to them. Yayoi, Masako, Kuniko and Yoshie lead their seven coworkers in a battle for their lives, their families and their freedoms as even the police grow more sympathetic to the ladies' plights and offer rewards for the capture or elimination of major Yakuza enforcers.

9) Quests of the Paladin Joan - In this alternate history josei fantasy, Joan of Arc is saved at the last minute by a cult of followers all having heard about her deeds in the Siege of Orléans, and is summoned by Quaniel the Angel of God's South Wind to go on a series of quests. The quests are to help prove her and six other women who are said to have had visions from God worthy of inheriting Excalibur, the lost sword of King Arthur Pendragon, and whoever wields Excalibur can unite the peoples of Earth against the armies of Hell that are infesting the now corrupted churches claiming to preach gospels of love but take up crusades of intolerance or hatred against innocent commoners. In a party consisting of herself (white), Muse of Nymph (black), Ulrikka of Fyrkat (pink), Zandra of Avalon (red), Xylia of Cornwall (blue), Katherine of Pisa (green) and Sierra of Hanover (yellow); Joan's life and trials of legend are still to begin.

10) Sorrows of the Lost Generation - This heartbreaking seinen/josei tragedy follows what a town can only describe as the murder-suicide of the wealthy Hidaka by the father Ryouma in his enforcing the code of the Mahikari. One of Ryouma's victims was his own male-to-female transgender child Arisu who was one of the few to stand up to his abuse, and one of the only friends Arisu had in her high school is Raika Bokugi who is shocked and devastated to hear of Arisu's death. Determined to avenge Arisu and her little sisters' deaths, Raika arms herself to go undercover the coming summer to expose the Mahikari cult who are worming their ways into every backdoor of the Japanese government and institutions. Knowing more kids like her and Arisu are in danger the longer the Mahikari go unchecked, Raika begins planting damning evidence among the cult's leadership to eliminate each other and expose their abusive deeds.

11) Utsumi, Champion of Battle Royale - In this spiritual continuation of Koushun Takami's dystopian action horror seinen series Battle Royale, it turns out that Yukie Utsumi did not die in the Program and was only assumed to have been killed by Kazuo Kiriyama. After the death of her teacher the Administrator Kinpatsu Sakamochi and resulting escape of Shogo Kawada, Noriko Nakagawa and Shuya Nanahara; Yukie is determined to avenge her classmates as well as protect her little brother and sister so they don't fall victim to the Program as she has been believed to have. Setting up a little shelter and booby traps for the government as they try to retake the island for the next Program, Yukie sleeps and kills her way to commandeering their boat and slipping into the Japanese underground so she can rescue her family while meeting up with Shuya and Noriko. With the government on alert, they have to hurry to break out.

12) When Did I Become A Harem Protagonist?! - In a semi-apocalyptic seinen/josei harem dramedy, unlucky everydude Akihiro Honda wakes up in his home of Sapporo to find only 12 girls in his high school are left with him one day. They first take to their new freedom and live their lives up to the fullest until a week passes and nobody is there to check them. Fearing for families and friends around the country and the world, Akihiro and the girls decide they have to find out what has been causing essentially a near-extinction of the human race and maybe put a stop to it as they hot-wire everything to navigate a country barren of most people. Over the course of their odyssey, Akihiro and his "Losers' Club" grapple with the burning questions of love and what it means to be human. Akihiro doesn't want to leave any of the girls in their club childless and loveless, but it's quite uncomfortable for Akihiro who is not a harem player.

13) Yuri-chan is a Boy?! - In this slice-of-life mistaken identity romantic dramedy, Yuri Baba is attending a prestigious girls' secondary school to keep an eye on his young sister Noriko in the wake of their older sister Miyumi disappearing just before graduation. The only way they can pick up Miyumi's trail, however, is if Yuri disguises himself as a girl which isn't really that big a problem as Yuri looks, feels and acts more feminine anyways. Yuri soon finds attraction to the tomboyish Benitsuru "Benny" Yoshizaki who is at first oblivious to Yuri's feelings until she discovers his secret and why he is attending. Wanting to help uncover the web of lies and conspiracies surrounding her friend Miyumi's disappearance, Benny teams up with Yuri and Noriko to pick up the trail whilst also engaging in some wacky hijinks along the way. Narrow escapes from exposure somehow reveal clues that all is not well underneath their academy.

[nitrosodiumepicfps]

Music Games Investigation

This time, I have broader genres. Any game that uses music or sound in an interesting way, for my purposes, is a "music game".

Friday Night Funkin - This is a game I was obsessed with back in 2021. It's a prototypical falling-arrows rhythm game, with the funky counterculture aesthetic of late 2000s Newgrounds. You know, Madness Combat, Pico's School, all of that. Mechanically, it's nothing special, but a few of the tracks really stand out, and the levels have interesting gimmicks - Week 3 has a rushing train to throw you off, and Week 7 takes place in an active warzone, with soldiers running about and tanks rumbling across the screen, further blocking your arrows. The fanbase is... difficult, it seems they can't go a week without ending up with a mod cancellation or some new drama. But, mechanically, it's fine. I'm no way near as good as I used to be at it, but sometimes I still open it up and play a round or so.

Metal Hellsinger - I've only seen a little of this game, but it looks really sick. You enter Hell with a cool sword, and then you kill demons to the beat of heavy metal, starring actual metal singers. I don't know what else to say; it's pretty distilled, no real bloat or feature creep. You can do combos and executions, and the longer you kill on beat for, the more your combo meter increases. Interestingly, unlike a lot of music games, the focus isn't on going at ludicrous speeds, it's about staying on beat, so the character is actually pretty slow.

Hi-Fi Rush - I've heard of this game, but I honestly knew nothing about it until today. All I know is it's a rhythm game and possibly a JRPG, and it stars a cat, and it's all really stylised and cel-shaded. After watching a few videos, I've found it's pretty cool! It's some sort of third-person action game, where everything in the world is tied to the beat - screens flash, trees bob, and enemies move according to the music's BPM. You also have to attack, using elaborate combos and moves to the game's alt-rock soundtrack. Everything in the environment just pops with colour; it's a very bright game, taking you from lava pools to gigantic robot factories. It seems like something I'd actually enjoy, to be honest.

Also, here's a quick look at dynamic soundtracks. The first one I'll look at is the hi-tech hack n' slash Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Apart from having some of the best music in the Metal Gear series, the music is sort of dynamic. In boss fights, it loops the bridge of the song until you get to a point where you can critically wound the boss, at which point, the chorus flares up, perfectly timed with you slicing a chunk off your current cybernetic foe. Once you've cut them down to low health, the lyrics kick in. It's so amazing. Doom 2016 had a similar system, where the music would fast-forward to a high-octane segment when you got into combat, and the beat would loop until you were at a point in combat where the beat would drop. The earliest dynamic soundtrack I know of is System Shock. Different parts of the soundtrack would be louder/quieter, higher/lower pitch based on your current health, SHODAN's grip on the floor you were on, whether you were in combat, and a bunch of other features. Thing is, nobody noticed it, and so they removed it for System Shock 2.

[niennandil-me-writes]

Fragments of a Cybernetic Mind: Chapter 9 - Daddy Issues

Summary Half a year has passed since the events of Christmas of 2064. The world is slowly adjusting to sentient ROMs. But Turing is distracted from their task as ROM-kind’s leader and ambassador by another obligation they carry. They want to deliver Leon Dekker’s last words to his daughter. But first, they’ll have to find her, which doesn’t prove easy. They ask their journalist friend for help, who seems less than thrilled.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 10 (final) Epilogue

cn: family problems, bigotry

Turing spends the next weeks combing through the memory data, but without any success. Any leads they find just terminate in dead ends as the data becomes eaten up by glitches, corruptions or the memories just cut off at the wrong point. What they do find in new information - mostly more insight on Sarah - doesn’t lead anywhere substantive either, not even when they cross-reference the mesh.

I asked Lexi to keep her eyes and ears open, since she is meddling with extra-legal activity as part of her job. She finds some people claiming to have contact to military androids who are willing to do dirty deeds for the right pay, but it all seems very dubious. The same results from Crow’s side.

I continue searching the mesh for mentions of Dekker and other combat androids, reading my way through accounts of violent crimes attributed to them. For some reason, it doesn’t trigger my trauma as much as even the happiest of Dekker’s memories did. 

None of this gives us any information on Dekker’s family. It’s like his entire existence has been scrubbed of the mesh, and the world at large, which seems a particularly cruel fate for him. If it weren’t for my own pride, I would consider talking to Flores again.

At least my writing is going well. My editor has been sending me notes the last weeks, and together we give the text the last polish. I’m particularly proud of the chapter describing the events in Parallax’ server room, though I still have to think of a good pseudonym for Dekker. While most of what Flores said left me bitter, I do agree with her that his full name doesn’t need to be known, especially now that we might involve his daughter. So far all I got is his name with some letters shuffled around.

It's one of the last days of summer, though the heat is not any less intense for it, burning down on the market street and making the air flimmer. That’s Neo San Francisco for you. Turing, Lexi and I fled inside the Hassy bar, where we ordered some of Ramona’s newest creations: the Iced Hassy Hot Cup.

We are surprised to see Chad and Oli here as well, who are enjoying one of the last days of their summer break before it’s back to school. Oli is having a deep conversation with Ramona about a new VR drama, while Chad leans cooly against the counter and pretends he doesn’t care, though he keeps chiming in with opinions on one particular character he seems to identify with a lot.

“Hey, no loitering!” Lexi calls over to him as a joke.

“What?” Chad yells. “What are you, a cop?”

“Chad...” Oli puts a hand on his arm. “That’s the lady who arrested us for spraying graffiti in November.”

Chad flinches back.

“Relax, I haven’t worn the badge for months now,” Lexi says, leaning back against the cushioned seat with her Hassy.

“Oh, yeah,” Chad says. “So you can’t do nuthin’ to us. We could trash the whole place, and you couldn’t stop us!” He climbs on the nearest empty table, garnering looks.

“I could,” Ramona interjects. “And I will.”

“Chad, please don’t get us banned from this place,” Oli pleads. “I like it here. And I like Ramona.”

“Fine, I’ll not trash this place,” Chad gives in. “But not because I’m scared or anything. I just like hanging out here. You don’t piss where you drink.”

“Especially because after this performance, I’m not letting you use the restroom,” Ramona says.

“Come off that table, Starfucker, and sit with us,” I call up to the boy.

“Hey, you called me it.” Chad grins and jumps off the table that starts dangerously teetering. “Oli, you haven’t called me it in ages.”

“Do you sign like that on your college applications as well?” Oli asks as he walks over to our table, rolling his eyes.

“For the art schools, yes.”

“Wait, I thought your dad was against art school?” Oli says.

“Yeah, he wants me to go to law school, so I can do the HR’s work in court,” Chad explains. “Which sounds boring as fuck.”

“I’d love to see you face off against Jess,” I say. “That would end in a cat fight.”

“The only way you should ever be in court is as a defendant,” Lexi notes.

“I’m sending out applications to art schools anyway,” Chad says. “And even if Dad won’t support me, I know Mom’s got my back.”

“Wait, I thought you weren’t in contact anymore?” Oli asks. “After the whole, uh, gene splicing thing?”

Chad looks embarrassed. “She, erm, actually reached out to me last month. So we met up. Kept it secret from Dad, he wouldn’t understand.”

Oli’s face lights up with a wide smile. “Chad, that’s amazing!”

“No big deal. We just talked,” he scoffs. “Caught up a bit. I was never really into the HR stuff anyways.”

“That’s sweet,” Ramona says. “I can’t believe your father would separate a family over some bigoted ideas about purity. That’s straight up evil.”

“I am very happy for you, Starfucker,” Turing says.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all happy for me.” Chad blushes, brushing his hand over his face in a way that makes it look like he’s trying to punch the tears out of his eyes. “Anyways, we talked a bit about my plans for the future. And Mom said she supports my decisions, and that she’d pay for art school. Said that’s what parents are for, after all.”

There’s a loud crashing sound as this time, a table does fall over, drinks flying through the air and to the floor. Oli has to dodge out of the way.

“Damn it, I just cleaned there!” Ramona cries out. “And it’s my shift as well! The ROM’s on break.”

“We are so sorry,” Turing says. “We will help you clean up.”

“Hey, is everything okay?” Lexi asks me.

I’m staring ahead, my mind racing. Then I turn to Lexi: “Can you get us access to Fairlight’s finance accounts?”

“What?” She looks at me in confusion. “Did your drink have too much caffeine?”

“Did you figure out a way to track Fairlight?” Turing wants to know, their face a question mark.

“But some of the brightest minds in the country already looked through everything he left behind,” Lexi explains. “And they didn’t find anything. TOMCAT included. Besides, the accounts are all frozen.”

“They weren’t looking for this,” I say. “And it’s not Fairlight I am trying to find. So can you give me access or do I have to ask TOMCAT?”

“I can try to call in a few favors,” Lexi says, still confused.

“What did you find out?” Turing asks.

“It’s what Chad said,” I explain. “A good parent secures their child’s future, even if they might not be able to be there for them.”