#THIS BOTS CREATOR REALLY GOT HIS PERSONALITY

[pumpariah]

Help a brown asiolatine disabled trans person sustain their family + help their father leave venezuela

Hello there Tumblr people. I'm Ren, I was formely pumpyrunah before my past account got "ended" for being mistaken for a bot 🫠

I'll try to keep things as concise as possible this time around because I really want to get to working as soon as possible: I'm Venezuela and I'm working to help my parents with the house spendings and we also wish to in a near future help my father emigrate. Just last month ago we had out elections. And as I hope most of you already know, things didn't end up exactly well after the elections.

I Really would appreciate saving up the further details about what did or did not happens over here or my personal opinion on the whole shitshow, simply because it's already draining enough to both my physical and mental health. All that concern us right now it's that is obvious things aren't going to get easier in the near future, my current irl job just covers rent, half of groceries and my brother's institutionalization and savings have dried up. And less than a week ago The Humanitary Parole has been indefinitively "frozen"

Because of all of these new circumstances, it's extremely unlikely we'll be able to apply for a parole in the near future, so the current plan is for me to try as hard as I can to raise anything to both keep ourselves at bay in groceries and medicines, and also help my dad leave the country "The other way" through The Darién Gap 'safely' with a big group from his hometown in the following months. In order to have certain Docs and equipment really we estimate we're need around 8k USD. However I current have ran out of medicine and food with some debut luring over us so I need a bit of help quickly.

I don't want to simply beg for help, if anyone is interested in doing so freely i'm extremely thankful with my heart, but I really want to earn and work on helping my parents. So because of such I'm currently offering extremely cheap comms of little chibi doodles in a style like the example below for anyone that wishes something in return.

Even if you can't of don't wish to donate of order. Just by sharing this around as much as possible is enough to help. Thank you <3

Ppal, mind you is under my 'legal name'. Btw if anyone knows any way I can set up a Cashapp as a forgeiner please reach me out

[ 0 / 8000 ]

[major-wren]

Eggman's programming

I know this has been mentioned before, but isn't it so weird that Eggman programs emotions and personalities into his robots??

People point out that this is really self destructive on his end because it can lead to some of his creations turning against him after building resentful emotions toward him, like Omega, Gamma, and all of the robots on Scrapnik Island.

My personal headcanon behind his thought process is that not even pure mechanical obedience can rival the loyalty a creation will have to its creator, or "father." It doesn't matter if you reprogram or rewire its entire structure to have its own free will if it's inherent personality, aspirations, and deepest desires will always be to make eggman proud of them, because of the way he's designed and conditioned them. They'll always return to him no matter how many chances you give them, because he's made it so that their biggest desire is to make him proud, even when given free-will or reprogrammed.

We see this most clearly with Metal Sonic, and Sonic will even tease him and take digs at him for it in the comics, telling him to "run home to daddy" (cringe). Clearly, even the characters in-story can see how eggman has raised all of his creations to depend on him for any sense of self worth or purpose. Truly evil, and I think something that's always overlooked when discussing eggman. People say he's not a respectable villain but I think this is really compelling and a unqiue way for a villain to function. Especially because his design is pretty dad-like to begin with, with the mustache, glasses, round body, and bald head lol.

It's so effective, that even when Metal Sonic gains even more power than Eggman through becoming Neo-Metal, he still only wants to take over the world to gift to Eggman. His influence even goes past his creations and gains loyalty from other aspiring inventors, like Dr. Starline.

Most of all, I think it's so effective because it's genuine. He really does love his creations, but simultaneously holds them up to impossible expectations and holds severe disappointment in them when they fail. I mean, think of it. Isn't it awful to design a creation that entirely depends on you for any feeling of worth or purpose, and to make it capable of love and such, only then to neglect and abandon it when it doesn't live up to your impossible standards? Just think of Scrapnik Island and the sheer amount of abandoned bots there.

I think after seeing Mr. Tinker and Belle, it raises the question, does Eggman deep down just want to foster these fatherly connections? To build childrens' toys and fun-rides and kiddy amusement parks, with his helpful heart-filled robot creations? He does often say that he only wants to take over the world in order to "enhance it" with technology, and that people just aren't cooperating. Maybe somewhere down the line his pure intentions got corrupted somehow into this extreme need for absolute control.

[yes-i-write-fanfiction]

Can the tfa bots and elite guard react to Optimus and sentinel sparkling beans becoming best friends and Optimus and sentinel force to do play dates for their sparklings

-Optimus is happy that his kid is making friends and he's got nothing against the other sparkling personally. It's just that... it's so, so awkward to hang out with Sentinel while the two sparklings are playing. At first, he tries to keep a civil conversation but it always devolves into bickering and snide remarks. So Optimus decides to just ignore Sentinel instead, settling for watching the sparklings play instead. It's still awkward, the tense silence between them, the words left unsaid and the stolen glances at one another. But as long as his sparkling is happy then Optimus will bear with it. Even if he so badly wants to punch Sentinel in his stupid chin at times. No, Optimus, think of the children, you can scream into the void later.

-Does Ratchet feel sympathy for Optimus? Yes. But does he also think it's funny? Yes. The universe sure does have an ironic sense of humor sometimes. He's also happy to see that for once, Sentinel can put his own feelings and massive ego aside for the sake of someone else.

-Bumblebee may or may not burst out cackling when he first sees the two sparkling happily play together. Then he sees the morose expressions of both Sentinel and Optimus and he laughs even harder. He loves watching the sparklings play and 100% encourages them to hang out as often as possible. Also encourages them to play in the dirt so that Sentinel has to clean his kid later.

-Oh, Bulkhead thinks that it's just delightful that the sparklings don't yield to the tense situation between their respective parents influence their friendship. Encourages them to be nice to one another and happily lends them his paint and art supplies in case they want to draw.

-Prowl finds it amusing that amusing that despite all odds, these sparklings are just the best of friends. He privately talks to Optimus and tells him that despite his relationship with Sentinel, he is a good parent for allowing his sparkling to make friends on their own.

-It's a good thing for autobots to be close and trust one another, that's what Ultra Magnus thinks. Yes, the sparklings are still young and have yet to officially join the autobot ranks but as the respective offspring to two autobots (one being an Elite Guard) it's all but a certainty that they will one day join the cause. So it's good that they get along. He commends both Sentinel and Optimus for their parenting.

-Sentinel... Sentinel is not happy. Look, he loves his kid. Adores them! That's his little champ, Sentinel Jr.! Of course they're popular and making friends! But... why, of all sparklings, why did it have to be Optimus' kid? He won't actively discourage his sparkling from playing with them but he will try to nudge them towards other kids. You know, someone they have more in common with! Please? No? Fine. Go hang out with, ugh, Optimus' kid. Yes, yes, have fun. Yes, he loves you too. Now go play while Creator, uuuugh, stays with Mr. Optimus. Why is parenting so hard?

-Jazz thinks it must have been fate for these kids to be friends. They just get along so well, complete each other, really. To have found and befriended one another, despite Optimus' and Sentinel's history, yeah, that's one hell of a friendship. Jazz just knows that these two fill be pals for the rest of life.

-Honestly, Jetfire and Jetstorm just thinks it's funny. Look at Optimus' and Sentinel's faces! So funny! And they both have to act nice when their kids are there so the Jettwins can goof off as well, which is just an added plus. They like to play with the sparklings, encouraging them to act silly together.

[littlecrittereli]

Hi, first of all I’d like to say I love your art and writing, I read Reprogrammed in one sitting and it was marvelous, got me thinking of AUs. Everything my angsty little heart could desire. Wild Kratts has been a staple of my childhood so it’s amazing to see talented creators appreciating the show.

Secondly, for your Guardianship AU, that comic you made about Chris calling Martin cringe immediately thrusted a scenario into to brain that I could totally see happening as an alternative plot in “Let the Rhino Roll”

Zach: that’s a child

Chris, being held like a sopping wet kitten by a Zach Bot: and that’s and ugly, pickley, bitch!

Lastly, about the Reprogrammed AU, what’d you think would happen if the bros swapped places (Martin got captured why Chris remained safe). I love making AUs for AUs by tweaking certain things so I’d love to hear your thoughts. Personally I think it’d be a mixed bag as Chris would be both guilty and crippled with anxiety over his lost brother, leading into desperation and lashing out. Meanwhile I think Martin would loath the situation, but also feel weirdly content since he’s the one that got captured. That meant his little brother and friends were all safe and weren’t the ones going through the suffering. He’d probably also have heaping loads of guilt if he hurt Chris cause that’s his little brother who he’d sworn to protect and he just hurt him. So much angst potential

UR SO NICE THANK YOU!!!!!!!

(also that's such a silly prompt for Guardianship AU I will maybe draw that sometime if I get the chance <3 )

oooo.... a Martin version of Reprogrammed.... that would be really interesting! I agree that Martin would probably feel relief that Chris is safe. That is... until any sort of confrontation with Chris or Martin having any suspicion that he's hurt him. Martin would probably self destruct after that. But in a way I think Martin would be able to handle everything else a bit better because Martin takes on the mindset of "Bad things happen sometimes and it's out of our control" Meanwhile Chris is a very meticulous thinker in the sense that there needs to be a reason for things happening, and there needs to be a person to blame them on. And I think Chris would try his absolute best to fill in his brother's role during his absence, but ultimately feel super out of his league and Aviva or Koki would end up being the ones to step up as team lead.

Because as much as Martin goofs off or seems unorganized, I don't think the team realizes just how much they rely on him to make decisions. Ofc they make a lot of choices as a team and it's definitely not Martin bossing them around all the time, but in times of crisis or emergency, Martin's quick decision-making is what keeps them on their feet. Chris is great at planning, organizing, and strategizing, but put him on the spot and the poor guy will implode.

Super interesting concept though! I appreciate your thoughts; thank you for the ask!

[ripplestitchskein]

Some of you assholes are about to make me do an entire essay on writing structure, serialized fiction and like, fucking, the basic iterative creative process as it relates to HB.

Broad strokes though:

Pilot. 👏 Episodes 👏 Are 👏 Just 👏 Concepts 👏

Concepts are the INITIAL stage of the creative process. You may start with a character looking and behaving a certain way but by the time you get a final product they are completely fucking different. Or a story starts out in one direction in your early drafts but once you’ve really sat down and fleshed it out you realize you need to change it completely. This is why we have sketches, why we do drafts, why we do concept art. Every creative endeavor involves these steps. It’s rough -> refine -> refine -> refine -> finished product (or as finished as you can get with time/money/resource constraints).

That’s how every creative endeavor goes plus or minus some refinement steps. Things like money, time, and the number of people working on a project and tools available can change this math a bit but it’s ALWAYS the same basic principle. You start with a concept, you refine it over and over until it’s as close to done as you can make it. This can take a few days, this can take a few decades, but it still happens every time. Whether you SEE it or not.

Most of the time you don’t see the pilots of television shows. In major corporate productions all the behind the scenes growing pains happen before you lay your eyes on it. Examples we do have of true pilots often differ vastly from the end product and are usually released as special bonus material. Sometimes a show will call an episode the Pilot but there were versions of that pilot that got left on the cutting room floor. Before that there were character sketches, draft scripts, set designs, story breaking sessions etc that no one but the main creators see.

Independent productions, however, like Helluva Boss, like indie games, like web comics often don’t have the resources to go through that process without some transparency, they need to generate interest and capital. So they release concept art, pilots, Alpha versions and other pre-production materials to the public to get people to buy in and help them fund the project. That’s how they get it made.

The problem is some of you can’t seem to see past that rough draft.

Helluva Boss gave audiences the basic idea of the show with the Pilot. After they had secured interest and resources they could actually afford to flesh it out. And guess what? Like all creative cycles, shit changed. Characters changed. Designs changed. Stories changed. Then they released the first episodes, the final product, and those episodes said “Hey, this is what we landed on in terms of direction and this is the story we decided to tell. Here are the setups for what you’ll see going forward. Those set ups are:

“IMP is a business is hell specializing in the assasination of humans at the request of people already in Hell. There are four employees, Millie, Moxxie, Loona and the boss Blitzø. They accomplish this through the use of a grimoire that the title character (the boss) Blitzø is in possession of. He got this book from another character Stolas, they make a consensual sexual deal for use of the book. We have some indications of personality and characterization, financial struggles, but we’ll find out more in subsequent episodes.”

That’s episode 1. The first goddamn episode for the series.

Episode 2 is “Here is what we’ll actually be exploring through the course of this show beyond the broad premise you saw in episode 1: Blitzo’s relationship with Stolas. Stolas’s relationship with his family specifically his daughter and his failing marriage. Blitzo’s relationship with Millie and Moxxie. Blitzo’s relationship with his daughter. Blitzo’s issue with the Fizzarolli bot. Moxxie and Millie’s relationship dynamic.” All these things are setup and that is what the show is about. It’s what the show remains about, it’s what we’ve slowly been revealing and exploring.

So this whole “the show BECAME about Stolitz and Stolas is all sad owl now” is only an argument if all you saw and internalized was the rough draft. Because the actual FIRST. TWO. EPISODES. OF. THE. FINAL. PRODUCT. Very Explicitly layout what the show is going to be about and THATS WHAT ITS ABOUT. Blitzo’s relationships, including and very importantly his relationship with Stolas, Stolas’s relationships, and very importantly his relationship with Blitzø. Moxxie, Millie, Loona, Octavia and Stella are part of that. IMP is part of that but the central core of the show, as setup in the first two episodes are IMP, Blitzø, Stolas and the relationships that spiral off from those core things. And they have not changed, they have been expanded upon and revealed because….its a story, and that’s what happens in stories.

[quackityquackquackquack]

Hey Inanimate Insanity fandom, want to hear a crazy theory I came up with while thinking about episode 16 in the shower? (spoilers under the cut)

As you know, the latest episode reveals that all of the contests (except Bot, probably Bow, and maybe Dough) were actually created by MePhone4, and it's all-but-stated that this is the in-universe explanation for the gradual change in how they look over the course of the series; MePhone simply kept upgrading their models, so to speak, and making them look better. Now, here's the thing about that: There is one major character (other than Bot) who we can say with absolute, 100% certainty was not created by MePhone4, and that's, of course, Steve Cobs. After all, he's MePhone's creator, and you can't create your own creator (unless you're pulling some kind of weird time travel shit). However, consider the following: This is Steve Cobs in his debut episode,

this is Steve Cobs in the gemory flashbacks in episode 13,

and this is Steve Cobs now.

His design has changed, too. If the design-changes are an in-universe result of MePhone4 upgrading the appearance of his creations and not just out-of-universe artstyle evolution, then shouldn't there also be an in-universe explanation for how Steve Cobs' design has changed?

Well, let's put a pin in that for now. There's another mystery to discuss before I present my theory. It's a mystery that, unlike Steve Cobs' design changing, is one you've likely actually thought about: What is Me?

Despite Steve Cobs saying he got bored of Me, it's highly unlikely that Me isn't important. Too much attention was drawn to it, it doesn't resemble any real Apple product, and a person in the audience during the musical number describes it as "groundbreaking, world-shaking mythology", indicating it must do something really impressive. More to the point, though, its name is highly peculiar. Why just "Me"? Either Cobs is out of ideas for names, or there's something very significant about Me to warrant such a strange name, and the most obvious reason I can think of for why Cobs would call it that... is if it somehow literally is him.

My theory is that Steve Cobs is not actually the glasses-wearing corn cob man we know him as. At least, not anymore. He has uploaded his consciousness into whatever Me is, and the "Steve Cobs" we see throughout the series is just some kind of puppet body controlled from a distance by the real Steve Cobs, aka "Me". That's why his appearance notably changes over the course of the series; just like the people created by MePhone4, this fake puppet Steve Cobs started out not looking quite right, and its appearance had to be upgraded over time. Furthermore, I believe the Steve Cobs seen in the gemory flashbacks is him before uploading his consciousness into Me. That's his original body, hence why it looks better than the Cobs seen in episode 8 despite predating it timeline-wise. By the time of episode 8, he had uploaded himself into Me, but the technology was still flawed and not able to render him quite right, hence his notably different appearance in that episode. When he says that he "got bored of it", that's a sort of technical truth used to obfuscate the real truth. Yes, he's "bored" of it - because he has been Me for years and, knowing him, is at this point probably craving to upgrade to something even greater, but that doesn't mean Me isn't still something very important to him. And now, he's trying to make this Me technology commercially available to the public, which could mean one of two things; either he's giving other wealthy elites the power to also upload themselves into their own personal Mes (plausible, but from a writing perspective such a plot point wouldn't really serve much of a clear narrative purpose) or all of the Mes he's selling contain his consciousness and he's trying to spread himself across the whole world in some kind of world domination scheme.

[wolfiafuntime]

SAGAU Reverse Isekai W/ 'Zhongli'

Okay, so I came up with this idea months ago, and I plan to finish it but I have no inspiration right now. I'll make a part 2... Eventually...

Ft. Zhongli and 'Zhongli'

Tw. AFAB Reader (but pronouns aren't mentioned); Ends on an angsty cliffhanger that I remember made me cry

Published: December 31, 2023

Words: 1,044

Pages: 2.9

 Okay, I don't know why, but I just had this idea where an AFAB reader/you gets isekai'd into genshin while pregnant, and in a matter of a couple months to a few years, you fall in love with and marry Zhongli. And like, maybe Zhongli revealed himself to secretly have been Rex Lapis/Morax, but I have this other idea where only the vessels of the Creator know. It doesn't really matter, this is only backstory to the main idea.

 Anyways, you give birth to a healthy baby boy (also don't know why but it specifically has to be a boy), who grows up to be just like his step-dad Zhongli (who you had an army of kids with). And, for some reason, he disappeared, and it's soon discovered that he was sucked back into your original(?) world. You instantly want to go after him, but Zhongli stops you, worried that you going back to a world where you were powerless will make you powerless again, and you won't be able to come back.

 And so you two decide to build robots in your stead. One for you and one for him. You, obviously, go to the original Raiden Ei for help (reluctantly if it's Imposter AU), and she gives you all these tips and tricks. And, with some of Albedo's help, you replicate a controller and monitor so you and Zhongli can puppet your robots. But in the event that the connection cuts, you go to Sangonomiya Kokomi and ask her to make a pair of manuals that will eventually be turned into the robot's AIs. Manuals specifically made to not only replicate your and Zhongli's personalities, but also act as everyday people in your homeworld. She does. And with Raiden's (and maybe Albedo, Kaveh, and Dottore's) help, you put it into the robots. Then you dress the bots in inconspicuous clothing and send them off.

 Also, in the background, you figured out how to make a portal back to your world with Albedo, Dottore, and some other's help.

 Anyways, just as Zhongli worried, the connection to the robots is immediately severed. And while the real you and Zhongli are left to worry, the robotic you and Zhongli interlock their arms, and start their journey. These are our main characters.

 And they- you-- are very adorable. You talk to each other quietly, with you in wonder of the tech and food native to this world- even though you're both too busy to eat the food. And Zhongli's got this loving look on his face, and he wishes he could spend this new experience staring at your beautiful face. But he's made a contract with his real self to find his lost son, and he must complete it. For now, he can only chime in with his own wonder of the world. Of the cars, motorcycles, shopping centres, cafes, and fast-food places.

 It takes a while to do find the son, with just over two weeks passing by. Over two weeks of endless searching, through day and night and wind and rain. But eventually, you find him, and the boy is ecstatic to see his parents. It's a bit heart-pinching to see someone shout for you and have them run up to you and wrap you in a tight, love-filled hug. Kinda makes you want your own kid- a kid not belonging to another version of you- that does that. And you feel a bit guilty as you and Zhongli have to lie to him and pretend that you are his parents.

 Then your group starts the journey back to where you first appeared in this world. Where the real you has been opening a portal for an hour every sunrise and sunset. This also takes a bit of time, with breaks to get frankly delicious meals that Zhongli convinces people to pay for. And a break for a cheap, one-bed motel room that Zhongli also talks his way into acquiring. It's there that you and Zhongli break the news to the boy. Of course, the boy is shocked and mildly heartbroken, but understands. The both of you give him the bed for the night, and opt to cuddle as he sleeps.

 Zhongli, before you can even bend, picks you up and sits on the floor, his back resting against the room's walls. You can't help but snuggle into him, resting your head on his shoulder as he tightens his arms around your waist. And you look up into his eyes, amazed by his beauty, and he looks down into yours, amazed by your beauty. And the two of you get lost in one another's eyes, loving every moment of it, and only ever breaking apart to press silent kisses on one another's lips. You two stay like that the entire night, entirely lost in love and never wanting to come out of it.

 The next day is just a copy and paste of the first. You continue back to the portal, with breaks to get frankly delicious meals that Zhongli convinces people to pay for. And a break for a cheap, one-bed motel room that Zhongli also talks his way into acquiring. But the night is different from yesterday's night, as when the boy goes to bed, you both silently realize that when the boy returns home, your only task will be completed. There will be no reason for either of you to keep existing, and while Their Grace and His Lord are merciful, you know the people of Teyvat hate those with the Creator's face. The two of you know that your Creators will be kind in giving you quick deaths, but neither of you can stand the other dying.

 Still, the both of you were made for a purpose. To find the lost Prince of Teyvat and return him to his parents. So you both continue with the journey. Never uttering anything on the topic, and only acknowledging it when the boy is sleeping. And even then, the most the two of you do is look into one another's eyes tearfully, exchanging sad, sloppy, kisses…

...Yeah, sorry for ending it like this.

Masterlist

[masterqwertster]

Also, Ludinus is wild for thinking that whatever Downfall will be will justify his crusade.

Like, I'm sure he'll do his best to twist the events to fit his narrative. But he really doesn't seem to be considering that Aeor did a lot of horrible shit.

While I'm fairly certain Bells Hells will of course have sympathy for the people who just lived on Aeor, minding their own business, and how they didn't deserve to die as collateral damage, I really doubt they're going to see what the leadership of Aeor was doing as anything that didn't earn getting put down.

Bells Hells already know Aeor were the assholes that set up the Care and Culling. They handed out friendly aeormatons (who were either not considered people yet or were citizens that then got handed out to other political bodies like party favors) that were expected to be helpful and kind to their new charges until they had a homicidal meltdown, possibly by accident on the aeormaton's part, but certainly by design of their Aeorian creators since that was even a program in them. FCG hated that their own kindness served as a cover for some sort of assassin bot that he didn't want to be.

Bells Hells also knows that Aeor had the Factorum Malleus, upon which Ludinus's Malleus Keys are based. Given the fuss about freeing Predathos from the gods not wanting to die going on right now, to the kickback of trying to contact Predathos that cursed Molaesmyr and the Savalirwood, Bells Hells has largely concluded that freeing Predathos is bad and such Malleus machines should be destroyed.

Lastly, Bells Hells literally just fought a grand demon that Aeor was using to fuel an engine. And it sounded like Dominox was also used to provide more demons to do Aeor's bidding, which does not sound good or nice at all. This is not a sane or good idea for a power source and Bells Hells knows it.

So Bells Hells already has evidence that powerful people in Aeor were the kind of people they would personally oppose.

(And that's not even getting into the other terrible shit We the Audience also know Aeor has done. This post set is a pretty good example of the shit we know Aeor developed, plus the Aeor mention in Calamity about it weapon testing on a smaller flying city)

Maybe Downfall will show more of the negative side of the gods and their followers (Bells Hells already has personal experience with that between Team Issylra and Dorian yet they still aren't sold on killing them all, so I really doubt seeing more that doesn't personally effect them will sway them), but I really doubt it's going to put Aeor in a good light either. Humanize Aeorians and their work, sure, probably, maybe. But prove they didn't do anything to earn the ire that knocked them out of the sky? Doubtful.

[k4pp4-8]

In your future au is Darrel and the rest of the box bots still villains? And if so what's their drive to stay a villain? What they wanna accomplish and ect

OK SO in my future au most of the boxbots kind of abondoned villainy in order to pursue their personal interests.

Shannon became an actress and ended up hosting her own TV show. She started by playing props with her shapeshifting ability in plays but quickly got tired of not being in the spotlight.

Raymond started a solo music career and formed a band where he's the only member (like in canon his band is called "Ray and The Monds") He also did some collabs with drupe's fashion line.

Jethro followed his dream of becoming a dancer and eventually became a dancing instructor so he could help others also pursue their passion for dance.

Mikayla became an author and wrote many fantasy fiction novels, she often goes to conventions to meet fans and sign autographs.

Ernesto used to be an elementary school teacher (this time for real), but he ended up taking another job as a librarian.

Like in canon Fink becomes a popular pro gamer and a streamer.

The only ones who stayed in the villain business are Darrell and Boxman Jr. Darrell took over boxmore and unlike Boxman he doesn't care about attacking the plaza. His only employees are himself and Boxman Jr. So he's pretty much stuck with the worst minion ever.

I know that in canon Ernesto, Mikayla and Jethro inherit the company but that just makes absolutely no sense in my opinion.

Ernesto’s good at business and paperwork but he doesnt strike me as “boss material”. He’s too shy and gets stepped on so easily, i dont think he got what it takes to run a massive business, especially an evil one. Out of everyone in the family, Jethro is the only one who actually left Boxmore to pursue his own dream, so I just cannot imagine him wanting to keep working at Boxmore. He deserves to become a dancer!! PLus he’s the least evil of the boxbot! he doesn’t have an evil bolt in him and he doesn’t even do anything at boxmore. And finally from what I've seen, Mikayla could not care less about boxmore. Like I get that she doesn't do much in the show so we don't really get a good look at her personnality and desires, but there is absolutely nothing in the show that hints at her wanting or being able to run the company.

Darrell is the ONLY logical option for a Boxmore successor. He already does literally everything at boxmore (except paperwork cause that's ernesto's job). He knows how to build machines and robots and he's the only one we actually see do it.

And I think it would be the PERFECT way to show Boxman's character developpment. He would go from being furious at Darrell for stealing his company to willingly giving it to him. That gesture would mean alot to them since Boxman clearly does care about his company, so him trusting Darrell with it would show that he finally started thinking highly of his son.

I know that the ending was a little rushed but I hate that Ernesto, Mikayla and Jethro don't have an ending that fits their individual character. I think they deserve to have something that actually fits them instead of having an ending that feels like it was given to them because the creators couldn't think of something else

[co-mixed]

X-Men '97: Beyond Expectations

Let’s be honest, who was ready for this? 

Personally, I didn’t have many expectations. I knew it was X-men and I knew I’d love it probably no matter what. I had a fear it might be a little too clean and knowing full well what the comics are, making it child-appropriate wasn’t an ideal option. Should I even say the words “pleasantly surprised” at this point? They don’t cover it. 

X-Men ‘97 did something that’s been missing ever since the MCU started. It built the X-men fan community back up, brought in new fans, encouraged people to take a look at the X-titles again. We finally get to namedrop our favorite mutants, share ridiculous facts from their past, and yes, remember things like X-Men Evolution and Wolverine and the X-men. But then the show also showed us how heavily emotional and deep cartoons can be. 

Okay, enough vague statements, and no more avoiding spoilers.

The show really relies on the previously established lore with Charles being taken off-world to Shi’ar and the X-men left under Scott’s leadership. Or so he thinks. Right off the bat in the first episode, we get an epic X-fight like we’ve never seen and a cliffhanger with Magneto showing up. Not much of a shocker and yet, we’ve never seen the movies dare to do that (or anything that strays too far from Phoenix). Whenever that happens, Magneto trying to abandon his murdery radical ways, it always comes down to his clash with Charles. They really manage to make their decades-long disagreement everybody else’s problem. X-men usually pay the price. 

This time though, you finally see the creators working with the comics. We get so many storylines adapted in the span of 10 episodes, it’s unbelievable. That actually does follow the tradition set up by TAS. Only it’s been years, hence more stories and newer, harsher ones. 

To be honest, I never even imagined Genosha being adapted. Not just because it’s a heavy arc but because it’s just so obvious: when you mention Genosha you state the fact. We know what their goal is. It’s removing any ambiguity and allowing no misinterpretations of what the X-men are really and have always been about. So it’s a statement for sure. And I couldn’t be happier they finally made it. Correction, I could be happier if they hadn’t killed off Gambit. We’ll get back to that. 

So yeah, we got Genosha, OZT, Inferno, and Lifedeath (aside from minor elements and arcs I can’t particularly point out at the moment). So this show went to the depth of what makes X-men X-men, they took the personal arcs like Lifedeath or Inferno, the ones that focused on character journeys, and really showed us who the people are behind these stories. That’s mostly  Claremont’s legacy since both stories were from his era and it was his thing to take mutants through their personal hell. Bot arcs were compressed, of course, but the essence remained the same. Which, again is the only goal of an adaptation anyway. So some metaphors had to be sacrificed but ultimately, they just give you a chance to relive it through comics if you’re into it.

But then they hit us with big events like Genosha and OZT. They absolutely go as epic as any movie, because remember how you felt after ep.5? If you’re anything like me, you were devastated and if you’re a Gambit fan, you were shocked too. And this is one of the things that they didn’t just put aside and ignore, something that movies never focused on: the emotions. Throughout the show, the characters say several times that they’re a family. But we actually see that in the friendship between Storm and Jean (which come on, it’s been a long freaking time coming!), or Morph and Wolverine (that one resembles Wolverine’s friendship with Nightcrawler in the comics). But then in the love and drama between Scott and Jean (and Madelyne! And Logan! And probably Emma one day!), Storm and Forge, or Rogue and Gambit (and Magneto!).

Love and friendship - the genuine connections that make you care about the characters and how someone’s death or disappearance or even inner turmoil affects you. We see these things through their reactions, so for them to feel true, we have to see those connections. And here we finally do. Just like we do in the comics. I hope the eventual movie screenwriters keep that in mind because that’s the only way to build an X-men story, brick by brick. 

Look at the way Roro and Jean are cheering each other on, with mind and weather, and then when Phoenix shows up. 

X-men are a superhero soap opera and we all know that. And ffs let’s never again pretend like it isn’t. 

The politics. Now if you’re one of those “keep the politics away from my comics/movies/cartoons” types, X-men are not for you. X-men ‘97 even more so, because this show is all politics. I mean hello, Genosha? OZT? Bastion, sentinels, hate groups? We are even finally calling out Shi’ar! Which I love. We’ve been looking at them through ally glasses since more often than not they play on the side of the X-men. But really, in terms of intergalactic politics, they are no better than Kree or Skrulls (not the cozy ones from the MCU). They can get pretty mean. In one of his finer moments, mainly because it allowed him to rest comfortably on his high horse, Charles points that out. Even explains the short and easy-to-understand version of what being an empire means. But as he does that, unfortunately, Genosha is under attack. 

We give him shit for ditching his family like that but really, he just relied on his pal Magneto to keep it together. And he would’ve too, had his gloved hand not been forced by the likes of Val, Trask, and the evil droid that is Bastion. 

Here’s where X-men ‘97 do the absolute most – they mix and match stories, piling them on to absolutely overwhelm the heroes. To keep everyone preoccupied and focused on their piece of the drama cake to sneak in a shuttering final forte chord. 

And Genosha ain’t even that. 

Let me be corny for a moment there, but it’s probably one of THE moments for every fan, when after episode 5 we were warned that the best is yet to come. And we kept asking how? How do you top that? And we saw today (5.15.) because holy shit, this show raised the bar. 

We got teamwork. Really, one of the perfect elements of this show is the characters’ powers. The limitless force with which they jump into a battle. We knew it at “Give them the forecast” really. Because we’ve never before seen Storm at the height of her power, with all she can and has done in the comics. Right then and there we knew what we were in for. But then, the rest of that, or any other fight sequence was everything you could hope for. There wasn’t a single one you would wanna miss. Powers depicted as they were always meant to and amazing teamwork. That was one of the best elements borrowed from the recent comics. Recent because while they’ve been working as a team since forever, it was Krakoa that really emphasized how powerful mutant circuits can be.

Thanks to that, we got to see a showcase of creative use of abilities. Beast using his knowledge to his advantage, Morph using their power to turn into everyone who’s anyone - I mean they gave us so many little fun cameos, even though every time you had to take a double look and ask wait, Warren’s here? Psylocke showed up? Or ehhh Hulk? That’s very X-men. The characters have fun with their powers too, with the team landing in the first episode or Ororo flying around when she got her powers back (this ain’t about Forge :D). And then there are devastating displays of power like Gambit charging the Wild Sentinel (still not over it) or Magneto turning off the lights. Of course, in any battle you have to keep things interesting, which is why they don’t just let the heroes use their ultimate ability from the get-go and be done with the whole thing. The baddies also have to surprise you with being harder and harder to defeat.

Speaking of surprises, the fact that all the stories have been stitched together like a quilt makes every turn unexpected. I mean you can predict some things and chances are, the better you remember the comics, the more things you can get right. But what’s the fun in that? They don’t simply adapt arcs, they add and remove crucial elements that make it into something new. And that new is always unpredictable. Like take Genosha - Bastion was behind it instead of Cassandra. While Charles was in space, she wasn’t after him, the Shi’ar politicians, however, were. Or the whole ordeal with Maddie - Scott didn’t stand a chance there. Really, no matter how you spin that story, he can’t get out of it looking good. But they did their best and it worked. 

Then again, these are the things that make adaptations work and this is what the MCU is so good with. Civil War was hella different from the comics and it’s still a fan favorite. 

And as if all that was somehow not enough, the show is so quotable. It has all those little callbacks to previous episodes or TAS or even the movies, clever writing, and beautiful lines that stay with you for weeks and probably even forever. All the things about chosen family – tell me you didn’t tear up or straight up cry because that’s pretty much what I did. And yeah the first time you’re watching to find out what happens. The second — you really live through all the emotions. Along with the characters because they so do live them.  

There is so much X-men lore. You can read them like obsessed (which I often do) and still have so many stories to go through. Anyway, X-Men ‘97 finally flipped the page from the stories we know well and picked a new evil, building a new arc with him at the center. 

And then, the details in general. How well the animation is done and how tiny elements you notice help them build the narrative. I’ve been thinking about it since the first episode when I saw the look between Storm and Rogue before the team landed. In that one look, they agreed on a landing strategy they probably trained time and time again in the Danger Room. Similarly, the sneaky sideyes and looks, just pay attention to them when you rewatch (and I know you will), cause the details just make the whole experience even better. All reactions are awesome in this show like Ororo hearing about Forge’s disastrous neutralizer technology and calling an epic thunder. That’s pretty much how the characters stop being 2d even when all they are meant to be is 2d.

Did I mention the soundtrack? Pretty much a masterpiece, right? It feels epic and grandiose and in many ways, it’s because of the music. It’s obvious things it’s still so easy to simply forget to mention it. You pay attention to the story and the visuals but they are tied together by the sound. And it’s most noticeable in the Wolverine/Nightcrawler fight with Prime Sentinels or when Ororo flies around, or when Cable, Jean, and Scott jump into that epic family fight. Breathtaking. 

A big part of this show is about family. The kind that supports you and stands by you. You know, the opposite of Nina DaCosta! It’s always touching too because no other team is like that. You don’t get this benefit of the doubt with the Avengers and FF are actually related. You only get that with the X-Men if you’re willing to share the dream. 

I’m not going into the dream though, been there, done that. But I do want to talk about the finale. 

As many have predicted, we did get a cliffhanger. As if we wouldn’t have come back, pah-lease! But we’re obviously back to Apocalypse and this time he’s gonna mess up with several timelines at once. Now what exactly are we getting - I wouldn’t dare theorize. All I can think about right now is… okay, we’re probably getting some resurrections, some Stryfe, and once again, I’m hoping for New Mutants (even though the only new face I spotted was Dust and she’s from an entirely different team.)

Also, we see a wider universe: Cap and Iron Man, Black Panther (where again did Storm end up ;)), Cloak and Dagger, Daredevil, Strange, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man. If we ever have crossovers… 

Still, it’s been amazing and it’s now forever with us. 

I might be biased, no, I am most certainly biased but it’s the best animated show I have ever seen and I am ecstatic that it’s about the team I’ve loved my entire life.

[cozzzynook]

Rodimus tired from a long shift. Comes home confused wondering why there are people in his apartment. Drift and Ratchet were waiting for him to return so they could fall asleep together. He'd been so tired it took him a moment to remember they were in a relationship.

I could honestly see this happening.

He’s dead tired on his feet from working every single shift since they’re so short staffed due to medical leave, heat and rut leaves and creator leaves aboard the ship.

He’s been working non stop for days on end.

He finally gets a break when its another bots turn to start the long shift to give him a few days rest. He picked having the longest shift since he’s co captain. He didn’t feel it fair he gets to sit back and relax while another doesn’t and he hates working shifts like this so he would feel guilty giving it to another.

He finally gets off shift and it takes him a couple turns and times until he finally gets to the right hab. He was too tired to react to seeing Chromedome and rewind fragging with the door unlocked in a storage closet. He was too tired to truly feel the pain when he walked into a wall, a few times, and he was too tired to comprehend that the door to his hab wouldn’t open because he needed to put in the combination.

It wasn’t until the hab unlocked on its own after five minutes of him just staring, processor half asleep half away, did he come into recognition that another bot was inside his hab and his personal code.

“Who the frag are you and why do you have my code?”

He said it so confused with his optic ridges falling up and down too tired to really stay up, that he looked far too cute for the mech in front of him to be upset.

Not that he would.

If anything Drift thought it was hilarious and slightly concerning.

“I’m in our hab Roddy,” the mech pulled him in and Rodimus just looked even more confused.

“What do you mean our hab?”

There was a set of heavy pede steps and an older bot with a scowl and towel wrapped around his frame stood in the doorway to the wash racks and berth room.

“And who the frag are you?”

The mech looked at him like he had a few screws loose and the one holding him steady, when did he start tipping over?, was laughing with a servo on their intake.

“Kid..do you even know who you are?”

Ratchet can spot exhaustion, speedster exhaustion at that, in the blink of an optic and so he’s not even remotely upset, if anything he’s smirking now.

“Don’t call me kid. I’m a grown mecha.”

“Yer a kid to me, so yer a kid,” Ratchet smirked, enjoying this.

Rodimus tried rolling his optics but the world moved too and the white mech held him steady with both servos.

“Seriously, who the frag are you two and why are you in my hab?”

Their chuckling didn’t make it any better and when he gave off a weak growl that sounded more like a kitten grunt they both laughed.

“We’re your conjunx Roddy, this is our hab.”

The white mecha said.

Rodimus just…blinked, like a frog to be exact, which creeped Ratchet out and made Drift worry.

“There’s no way you’re my conjunx. I don’t do marriage.”

That..got them to pause and a flicker of emotion too complicated washed over their face plates before he could really see it. He thinks. Everything is so hard to understand.

“Roddy. We are your conjunx..you’re exhausted right now so you don’t remember. Once you rest for a few a while you’ll remember us, okay?”

Drift was familiar with speedster exhaustion so he knows its not Roddy’s fault but the words still hurt because they were once true.

“Nuh uh. There’s no way I’m conjunxed. I’d never risk my spark or tanks like that,” he said tipping to the side. Drift holds him closer, not that Rodimus can notice, he’s too exhausted to understand anything at this point. Honestly they’re both surprised he’d made it back and was still up.

“Plus,” he yawned full frame, kinks popping in uncomfortable places that made Ratchet come over to do a discrete scan, “I’d remember conjunxing a chubby hot milf and his kitten twink house wife.”

That comment made both mechs freeze before Rodimus passed out cold in Drift’s arms and Ratchet burst out laughing so loud he fell over crying from his optics.

Drift was blushing so hard and fuming from the word choice Roddy used that steam was coming from his helm and it made Ratchet laugh harder.

Drift ended up scooping Rodimus into a bridal carry before kicking Ratchet in the thigh plates. He carried Rodimus to their berth and let the mecha drop onto the bed turning frame and stomping out ignoring Ratchet’s loud laughter that bounced on the walls before sealing shut with the hab door.

When Rodimus onlined a full two days later, Ratchet was scanning him and nodding before giving him a smirk. He leaned over putting a servo on Rodimus’s chassis with a slag eating grin.

“Chubby hot milf huh, kid?”

“Oh my fucking gosh that was real,” Rodimus was beyond embarrassed at admitting that especially when he saw Drift’s finials flick in irritation besides them.

“Don’t beat yourself up kid. You aren’t the first nor the last to say that about me,” Ratchet kissed his cheek plate. “And I’m sure plenty have said the same about Drift, though, not to his face.”

“Just look at those thighs and that waist, he was built to be a bendable kitten twink—”

Rodimus couldn’t even finish the recharge addled sentence because Drift growled and jumped at him.

Rodimus was in a clumsy mad dash to safety while Drift was chasing him with his claws and bared fangs.

“I’ll show you a kitten twink you little slag head!”

Ratchet burst out laughing following at a slow pace drinking his morning energon watching the show.

Today was a good day for him.

[alieinthemorning]

Melancholia [Avatar of Wrath | Satan]

Content: Hurt/Comfort, Self-Indulgent

Pronouns: None

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don't forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work's concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

Despite what everyone thought

you got angry

really angry.

So angry that you ended up snapping at the brothers, stormed into your room and just started wrecking it.

Throwing things here and there.

Even to the point of throwing your D.D.D at your open door

that Satan was standing in.

“Woah there.” He said, catching the device with ease. “You might hurt someone.”

You glared at him. “Just because you feed off anger doesn’t give you the right to instigate mine.”

He sighed. “I’m not here to make things worse. I’m here to help.” He paused, holding out a hand. “If you’ll allow me.”

You stared at the open invitation for a moment before turning away as you crossed your arms. “Whatever.”

You could already feel the anger fizzling out.

Leaving you as a smoking fume of exhaust.

You barely registered Satan closing and locking your door, securing it with a binding spell. You counted the few footsteps it took for his long strides to meet you on the other side of the room. Then he was placing his hands on your shoulders, guiding you to your bed.

“No…room’s a…mess…” Ah. Talking had already become too much.

“We can deal with that after you’ve rested.” He gently maneuvered you, curled up against him with your head resting on his shoulder while he sat up against your many pillows, a book in one hand and the other tracing small patterns along your back.  

And then, he was reading to you.

Reminding you of a long forgotten warmth.

You soon succumbed to your fatigue

from your wrath

and from your melancholia.

You floated in and out of consciousness for a bit.

Hearing bits and pieces of Satan’s conversations with his brothers.

Assuring them that you were in good hands and to not disturb you.

Then he muttered a few incantations, ones to restore your room from before your outburst.

And then,

the soft lulls of his breathing.

Which pulled you back to sleep.

A beautifully dreamless sleep.  

Until you could sleep no more.

And you had to face your emotions.

“So…do you know what caused this?”

…

You either say it or you don’t.

Keep it buried in the deepest depths of your heart for the rest of your feeble life.

You bit your lip, tears already threatening to overflow. “...I think it was misplaced. I think the real reason was…is…the death of my father. The anniversary is coming up really soon.”

You knew that out of all the brothers’

Satan would have the least amount of understanding in this.

Hell, his father was his brother

or something.

And the brothers' creator…

Well they were still alive weren’t they?

The closest thing they had was Lilith, but Satan only had the remnants of Lucifer’s emotions to feed into his own regarding her, so—  

“I don’t understand.” He began, “The feeling of losing someone important. I’ve never had it happen to me. However, I can still sympathize. I felt your wrath, that emotion, no matter how misguided, was deeply rooted in pain and hurt.”

“It’s just—” Tears fell, you were quick to wipe them away. “I’m sorry. I—”

He grabbed your wrist, pulling them away from your face, allowing the tears to fall freely.

“It’s okay to cry. You don’t need to hold back— You don’t have to be afraid to feel anymore.

"I’m here.”

I forgot how personal this one was lol

Context if you didn't read the original: I wrote this on the anniversary of my daddy's death: April 19th. It's been 14 years.

Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist

[sunnys-aesthetic]

Hello!

I'm not sure if you're still answering asks concerning your DCA Detective AU, so if you're not, feel free to ignore.

My question is: Who is this Pops? If I got it right, he's the boys' creator who died "due to health complications".

What was his relationship like with the boys, Eclipse especially? I assume there's some good stuff, as I remember you mentioning that Eclipse learnt some engineering skills from him, and decided to find out more behind his death (is that right? And that is what got him mad, infected, and a mafia boss in the first place?)

What is Pops' backstory? Is it something dark, that led to his death, like the past coming back to get him (what if he didn't die because of health issues but of something else and that was just a cover???).

And also...

Here to say that I really appreciate your work and art, I love the AUs you've come up with! Looking forward to seeing more of our favourite detectives and faes! And... this might be a bit of a sore topic, but I read the earlier ask about Sleuth Jesters and Naffeclipse. I feel so awed with how you handled it. I understand how people feel when something of theirs is used by another person, and even with credit they are not the more popular one. I don't think its my place to say this, but I'm proud with how you managed it. I don't know what goes on out of the phone, off the screen, but I admire your strength with this issue. It's great to know you're getting more recognition for this wonderful idea you brewed! And your art, scrumptious!

Of course, if all this makes you uncomfortable, you are welcome to ignore and delete.

Sending hugs <3

Woah! I just wanna say first and foremost: thank you for liking my stories and my characters! sorry it took me so long to respond, I have lots going on always all at once but since I’m taking today off to just unwind I’ve finally got a moment to type this up,

There’s toons of questions here to let me address them all!

1. Pops is indeed an old man who created sun, moon, and eclipse! Think of him as the Geppetto who created his own Pinocchio’s.

2. Pop’s story was definitely not dark at all, but it’s not to say he didn’t have some life struggles here and there. He was a mechanic, an engineer and a brilliant man, he simply wanted to show everyone bots could be taught just as humans can grow.

3. He was a very beloved man and mechanic in the small section of the city he lived in, basically everyone in the block and knew him or recommended his shop to get your repairs done at!

4. Im still undecided on his fate, but the gist of it was that pops discovered the mega corporation that was fazbear.co was doing shady business and human experimentation on their robots (along with some cold cases on various children) , and planned to tell his local paper, which he did! And while it gained traction, almost a month after a ‘accidental fire’ took place in his shop and it is assumed he died in it because his body wasn’t recovered. He just went missing :( along with any evidence that could incriminate the corporation.

5.eclipses and pops relationship was really close! they were family and eclipse saw him as a father figure :) . Eclipse became a detective, looked after his brothers and they kept the shop (they had to rebuild it) and was promoted to head chief , and sun and moon also grew up to be detectives, the best in their courses of course! Basically it was tough but things were actually starting to look bright and hopeful again.

Lastly, from the bottom of my heart thank you for your kind words. And I’m a little embarrassed honestly , I’ve never heard someone say they admire mE but//! Thank you!! (//`ー´//)

I’m giving you the biggest hug back!

[the-splorts-eye]

Do you love detective stories but hate cops?

Do you love gay detective stories and hate capitalism?

Like disabled main characters who's disability actually comes up?

Like characters of color but not in the mood for stories on racism?

Tempted by the thought of romance at ages of 30+?

Does the idea of stories so queer you'll hesitate before calling any character a "man" or a "woman" make you think "Ah, yes pronoun shenanigans, just like my discord used to make"

And you into an abundance of strong, diverse female and nonbinary characters?

Do you fight for women's wrongs?

I know rep-only recommendations can be annoying, but I'm trying to grab your attention to promote some indie media. Luckily, though, this post isn't rep-only!

To read my full recommendation and review of Three of Hearts, click below. ♦️♥️♣️♠️

And if you aren't in the mood for a new thing right now, consider reblogging! Maybe even ping a friend who might be into this! You love supporting queer indie creators, right?

The story

♠️♣️♥️♦️Three of Hearts♦️♥️♣️♠️ centers on two paragovernmental agents in a fantasy, post-war, queernormative 1950s.

Roughly 20 years before the opening, a set of heroes purged magic from the world to turn the tide of the war. But scraps of this thaumaturgic energy still remain. S.U.I.T.S (securing unpredictable injurious thaumaturgic situations) is an agency founded to deal with everything left behind.

When two of the longest standing employees at S.U.I.T.S, Agent Vellum and Agent Felspar, are called onto a new case involving stone crops and a missing person, Felspar isn't surprised (Though Vellum, who's injury had him doing desk work most of his career, is). Things devolve quickly when the Agents realize this case comes from Felspar's home town of Cloven heart, an idyllic magical village that prefers to handle justice on it's own.

Answers yield only more questions, as the Agents realize almost everyone in town has something to hide, and Felspar isn't the only one whose past keeps catching up to him:

How much magic is still around? What's Vellum got sloshing around in there that people think is so juicy? What is Diamond, elven pop star and queer icon, doing in such a small town? Just how big is this case, and how can the Agents balance their legal responsibility, with promises they've made to Cloven Heart?

WHEN. WILL. THEY. JUST. KISS?

(if you're skeptical about central romances, I get it! See notes on aro/aceness and platonic relationships in the rep section for more info)

The combination of magic and newfangled war tech — think telegrams and radios — is somehow just as charming as a rotating cast of characters who will each stake their claim on your heart, but betrayal is imminent and mistrust is rife. The story strikes a wonderful balance between slice of life goodness, and edge-of-your-seat high drama, culminating In a show I highly recommend.

But are they just reskinned cops: my answer has got to be no. While they are technically law enforcement, the main two are entering a commune-like space, where that isn't so welcome. It's a situation they treat with caution and respect. The classic cop-plot of "Should I make myself judge, jury, and executioner because The Bad Guy™ deserves punishment" just isn't a problem. The justice system isn't perfect, in our world or the show's, and the story acknowledges that. But in a social, cultural way, they don't act like cops. They DO act like detectives. But the rules they choose to break and the ones they choose to follow will hopefully satisfy my fellow cop-haters who crave a good mystery

mid post note: I am not involved with the making of the show or the game space Kings. I just really like this podcast. Also, if you are seeing this text you are looking at a copy of the original posted on an unused sideblog so that I can keep the notes separate from my naturally spreading original without looking like a bot, and not get blaze notification spam.the references to "look in the notes for more" won't work for you. Yes, I spent my own money on this.

The format

♠️♣️♥️♦️Three of Hearts♦️♥️♣️♠️ is an Indie actual play — this is not DnD, hear me out — podcast in the game Space Kings. All the tension of dice rolls, without drawn out combat or clunkiness, it's a breeze of story-forward listening, even if you've never listened to actually play podcasts before!

If you've tried dnd actual plays, and haven't like the flow of them, I would recommend trying this. A few encounters that may feel random (though they're not) get the story kicked off at a fast pace, but it quickly settles into a story with a tight plot, great pacing, and impactful character development.

The use of a playing card deck to see the outcomes of risky actions means that no matter what happens, success or failure, the tension keeps rising, because there are only so many successes in the deck before you shuffle. The hosts do a wonderful job of explaining mechanics in the show, so it never interrupts the listening experience.

Actual-play connessuires who want to primarily see people playing a game might not be satisfied, as bonuses are given liberally, and I would describe the podcast as more story focused than game focused, But the risks are ALWAYS real, sometimes (often) with thrilling, shocking outcomes.

Also concerned AP listeners should know there's some chaos magic involved! I was surprised when it first came up, and doubtful about how it might affect the story, but it ended up weaving into the rest of the plot really well, and I feel neither like it had no affect, nor like it shook up everything the party was building in an unsatisfying way. Personally I would have preferred to go in knowing it was there, but I also don't think it's major enough to belong in the main synopsis. Now you know, though!

The hosts make a real effort to blend stats and story, and I think the pull it off wonderfully without spending too much time on mechanics. If you want to see that though, session 0 and other crunchy details are on the Patreon (where you get the same content no matter how much you pay, at a minimum of a dollar a month).

The pod has all the lighthearted fun and banter of a "friends around the table" show, but never once have I had that "oh my god, I'm not a part of your inside joke, shut up and play!" Feeling.

EDIT: i did not know "friends around the table" was the name of another podcast. no hate to them I'm sure they're lovely, this was just the use of a phrase.

I think it's a delight for AP and non-AP fans alike.

The episodes: roughly 45- 75 minutes long, with a midtro and some post-end music scenes, so listen through the end music, or check that there isn't extra content by seeing how close the play head is when the end music starts. It's not too long and quite pleasant in my opinion! The midtros always come at a nice moment to step back from the story, and are not too long and not irritating. I enjoyed listening to them! At some point, a midtro starts getting reused, and I was slightly disappointed I wasn't hearing new jokes every episode, but it's a small thing. I skip the repetitive ones with my 30 seconds forward button, and while I haven't timed the Intro, that's worked really well for me. I don't have to fiddle with my play head to make sure I don't skip forward too far. Super convenient.

Trigger warnings: the show is pretty lighthearted! Listeners sensitive non-graphic mentions of needles, blood, and/or guns might want to skip on this one, but most episodes don't get heavy. The few that do have pre-episode notes that warn you things get dark, how they get dark, and how to skip the darkest bits. Personally, I listened through them and enjoyed those parts a lot! But if that's not your thing, I agree with the warning that they're very skippable, and I think trigger-sensitive listeners will be pleased. As an indie pod, there are no fan made, super specific lists of triggers.

I'm trying to emphasize the balance between lightheartedness and drama, but if your mental health is sensitive to grim & dark media, i think this one is pretty safe. Please always exercise caution! But I'd describe 3o♥️s as emotionally restful.

Transcripts: transcripts are in the works, but do not currently exist except for episodes 1 and 2. Three of Hearts is a non-scripted show, so those are also unavailable. Some of the money given to the show will be used to hire a queer disabled transcriptionist! So if you listen and love it, consider sending cash their way. All transcripts are on patreon for free.

The rep

Don't you hate when someone raves about rep and you go in expecting something good and get like. One dog-boy described as having "chocolate colored skin"? Or when people make a "watch for rep" post and then mention like. Gay and maybe trans people and that's it, even when shows DO have disability and POC rep? Yeah that's not me. Here's the spoiler free rundown, race is at the bottom because I get into more detail with it, not because it isn't important:

Edit: For more on some of these topics from a hosts perspective, see the reblogged addition by @/citrusandsalt

MLM characters: Main characters, one confirmed bi the other unknown

Wlw characters: Reoccurring side characters (present or mentioned in every episode I think) Married. Orientation unspecified.

Enby love: LOTS. It's actually hard to really categorize mlm and wlw stuff because almost every character is nonbinary. Anyways— it's VERY queer

Women: I...I don't know exactly which characters are women 😂. But there are many feminine characters, and they're badass as fuck. Some are compassionate, some are cold, some are chaotic, most are a mix! The two main characters are...masculine...(I say with much hesitation) but you will not feel robbed for your woman-ly content.

Non-traditional family structures: All of the families in the story, pretty much, are non-traditional. Adoption is super common. (You want some wlw who just KEEP adopting kids? You got em) Found family is a MASSIVE force in the story. Also, It's a post-war story.........which is to say almost everyone's parents are dead.

Edit: an MC had poly parents, which may not be obvious but is true!

Polyamory: to my knowledge so far, there are polyam characters, and it is definitely present in the world! But no poly relationships in the forefront. I am about 2/3 through the current episodes, so there may be a present polyamorous relationship later, but also if I confirmed it that would be a spoiler. This may be that "playing it by ear" thing that happens with ttrpgs. I wouldn't listen for the hope of polyamory alone, but I don't tell you it's not there/won't happen.

Trans characters: almost all of them. Might think "oh there are only a few!" And you are wrong. You are so wrong.

Neopronoun users: yup! To my knowledge, minor characters. A handful who use at least he/she/they or they/them and may also use neos in a manner im forgetting

Plurality: no system characters yet, but the creators are friendly, I asked ;)

Aro/ace characters: none confirmed yet to my knowledge. Romance is very central, sex is joked about on occasion but it isn't at the forefront of the story at all. There are many, single characters who are thriving.

Edit: Actually! There is one character who discusses demiromanticism in cannon that I forgot, and another confirmed out of cannon character who is ace. Both are non-main major characters!

Platonic relationships: YES. As an aro person who hates so many romance tropes this one gets my stamp of approval. There's no real jealousy drama, exes who communicate and are supportive, and romance doesn't kill friendships. There's a central sibling relationship and non-familial platonic ones that have conflict, drama, resolutions, and a deeply satisfying significance in the story. If you don't like romance at all, this one might not be for you. If you just don't like stories exclusively about romance, I think you'll enjoy this. Genre wise, I'd definitely describe three of hearts as a mystery primarily with a strong romantic subplot, not a romance itself, and that comes through in player and character's additives and priorities.

Age diversity: the youngest characters in the show are older to middling teens, and the oldest are in their 400s. Okay but the oldest in human terms are roughly 60-70. The most common age range, and the ones the central characters are in, is 30-40. The second most common is that 60-70, then some ~40-50 folks here and there, with people in their 20s being probably the rarest (no named ones off the top of my head?) And there are a small number of teens. This is not a story about youth and youthful beauty. Generally, the older a character becomes the most bad ass/spooky powerful they are, and older characters are very involved in the plot.

Mental illness and neurodivergency: to my knowledge so far no characters are in cannon confirmed to have a specific mental illness or ND, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was part of a character or the main characters, and just hadn't come up. Listeners with cluster b or "scary" disorders, or with conditions that may cause them to lash out, will find satisfaction with how compassionately the narrative treats werefolk. To say more encounters spoilers. I would also say that depression, while the word isn't used and it is not central to the story, is present as a narrative force, and also treated wisely and with compassion. Still, as is usually for a good story, all of these bitches need therapy.

Disability: LOTS. There's a lot of "different, not broken" themes that disabled listeners are likely to love, but both of the main characters are disabled! One is a cane user, the other experiences migraines. These have a genuine, pressing, mechanical impact on the story. It's COMES UP. It's a real joy. For a magical world, there is no magical healing! Or there is, but it isn't a perfect solution, which in my opinion is just a magical version of real healing, though yours may differ! Also, there is a minor, reoccurring character who's a wheelchair user, and I think he's really fun.

Disfigurement: Excuse me if I am not prepared with the most sensitive way to speak about this, but I'm doing my best! There is a character with no eyes or nose, who is central and lovely. To my knowledge, there are no amputee characters or characters with limb differences (of the wheelchair user I'm not sure if it's specified whether or not he has legs). There is a character of questionable morality who has significant facial and bodily disfigurement. In as few spoilers as possible: this was not injury or genetic related. The disfigurement is treated with a firm compassion, and does not exist as a "this character is evil" signal. It's a long arc, but I imagine people who relate will be satisfied, though I cannot speak for anyone.

Characters of color: many! The main two are Hispanic and Asian. Terms like "dark skinned" are used for characters, but in the fantasy world race doesn't exactly translate, and I wouldn't call it "important" in this story. Read more about race below:

Fantasy racism: sort of! The word "race" is used to mean "humanoid species" and I know some folks don't like that? None of these fantasy races are oppressed, but specific people (Magic versus non-magic people) have conflict about that aspect of their identity, and policing is a related concern. I would place the allegory more in the space of transness and disability/neurodivergency if pressed to choose, but it doesn't feel like it's trying to tell a story about real-world oppression, primarily. I have more complicated thoughts on exactly what I'm trying to communicate here, but they involved some spoilers. DM me for more info!

Hosts/creator identity: out of three hosts, two are white, one is not! They are very queer, and disability is also...a thing! These are real life people, so I'm not going to get into detail, but check out their twitters plugged in the show for more on how they self-identify.

Edit: One of the hosts, Essay (@/citrusandsalts) discussed more on hosts identities in a reblog! If this concerns you, and you want less of me walking on eggshells about other people's identities, read her addition too!

Edit 2: Jordan, the GM also has commented additions!

Okay but are they racist: Real talk! As a black person who thinks I keep my ears sharp, I would say no! Not at all! This is one of those situations where I was like "YOU'RE WHITE?" And shocked about it, (if you listened to TSCOSI, same vibe) which is a very good thing in my books. The hosts are open and sensitive, and I have no complaints, however, this is just one perspective! This isn't coincidental, race is an active consideration in how the story is told — just not a central theme.

Minor but worth mentioning: A minor character has a name with what I believe is the Nahuatl "tl" sound in it, which is not pronounced correctly. It's a really hard sound! And I, op, can't really do it! But if that really irritates you this might not be the podcast for you.

[moonlight-tmd]

Prowlbee in an a.u. where Bee's father is a decepticon, but his personality is Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel.

He shows up to visit, and everyone questions how that guy is a decepticon.

Even better- Bee's father is a literal god of chaos and destruction.

This is a good opportunity to say that i will be separating the "Unicron and Primus are Bee's parents" AU from the Crack AU. (new au and tag is #god-sparkling au)

SO- to summarize: Unicron is a spirit of Earth and Primus is a spirit of Cybertron and they can materialize into transformers to interact with stuff. Bee is their Sparkling from the time they were a loving couple (now they are divorced per se). He grew up on Cybertron with guidance of his Sire (Primus) and now is living on Earth where he has fun with his Papa (Unicron).

So i had multiple takes on how they would meet. I actually think it would happen in one of the first fights when cons fight with the bots over something and Megs hurts Bee.

They all just hear a screech/roar in the close distance seconds after Megs punched Bee real hard. Megs carries on with his evil speech to the Prime and the next moment he is hit by a mining dump truck going full speed. Then said dump truck starts to shift and tadah- this ginormous bot twice the size of Megatron pops out and he is manhandling that chopper like nothing. The cons (Megatron) barely manages to run away, the moment the autobots think he's gonna wreck more chaos and possibly try to kill them he only shouts after the flyers "AND DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY SPARKLING EVER AGAIN!!".

This was both confusing and concerning. Bee goes running to that obviously dangerous bot and-- wait, why are they hugging?

So turns out this colossal fucker is itty bitty Bee's creator.

Now you'd think he'd be rowdy, aggressive and cause trouble on every occasion. But nah, this guy is smitten over his little kid, kinda like a doberman over a tiny baby. All scary but gentle. He's also cheery and loves to joke around and he will help out anyone if his sparkling asks him to. Parenthood completely changed this guy- at least when he's out in public or with his sparkling.

I haven't seen Hazbin Hotel, I only watch Helluva Boss, but I've seen some shorts about it.

I suppose Prowl would be definitely intimidated because holy fuck that is Bee's creator and he just threw Megatron like a ball across the field. Unis (Unicron's alias) is very happy that his kid got himself someone to love. Prowl hates to admit it but he's kind of questioning whether his relationship with Bee was a good idea, he still sticks with it in the end tho.

Everyone else is just as confused since Unis claims to be the most cruel and destructive warrior in the entire universe and here he is playing with Sari and Bee so gently and carefully, he never gives anything a scrach from his big claws or spike-like armor pieces.

ALTERNATIVELY (and maybe what you wanted in the first place)- Bee still has a Sire but he's not a giant godly being but instead a sleek warframe with a monsterstuck alt (a little taller than Optimus and Bulkhead).

So one time Team Prime gets a Decepticon signal on the outskirts near some abandoned facility and goes there expecting to find Megs and his minions. They spread out to get them from both sides but...

Well, they did stumble upon a Decepticon, one with awfully familiar features in fact, but that one didn't really behave like a Decepticon... He apologized for making a mess cuz he tripped and knocked down some tiny silos when they scared him and was very awkward and asking if they could maybe help him out. He strongly denied wanting to fight them even.

Then Bee came out of the bushes with Ratchet and the two bots with horns locked optics for a single second before running and hugging each other all happy.

So turns out this stray Decepticon they tracked down was Bee's Sire.

Let's name him... Dragonfly. He was a Decepticon, one of the higher ranking ones in fact, but not partaking in any business with the war surprisingly. He was a single parent and had Bee on a neutral colony, when Bee was old enough he helped his kid to get on a ship heading to Cybertron to work and secretly help his Sire out a bit on the colony. He and Bee couldn't communicate often, he didn't know Bee and his crew had gone missing but Bee had gone without replying to any of his messages for the longest time so he knew something must have happened to his bitlet. Worried and slightly paranoid he got into his camouflaged ship and went from place to place looking for him. He was spotted by the Elite Guard's ship and shot down when he neared Earth and now he was kind of stranded until his ship is fixed.

He was very nice and polite unlike the Decepticons all of the Autobots usually met. He even took a liking to the organics and Sari when she visited the next day- she accidentally mistook the new bot for Bee cuz they looked so similar. When she learned that this was Bee's dad she was hella excited tho. When Bee introduced Prowl as his sparkmate he was surprised but very pleased that his little bitlet found love. Oddly enough, he seemed very leaning into the idea of Prowl eventually becoming part of the family.

Despite being a Decepticon, Dragonfly didn't really interacted with either of the sides unless necessary. He wasn't very happy to hear that Megatron and his troops also reside on this planet, more so when his bitty is an autobot and fighting them. He deemed it the best option to just hide and don't interact with the Decepticons here, Megatron had respect for him but Dragonfly knew he would use this for his advantage if he learned Bee was his Sparkling. He's also not happy to hear Optimus boss Bee around for dangerous missions and solo escapades. He's even more upset that this low rank is bossing around a repair crew to fight with trained war soldiers instead of calling backup from the Elite Guard. At one point he confronts him about it and states that he will not let Bee go on any of the dangerous missions and fights to potentially die and that he is incompetent for making an untrained group fight a war. So what if you have field experience and a war vet on the team? They are still untrained and not ready to fight what Megatron has in store.

Optimus hated being a low ranking Prime and did not want to sit there useless when the threat was knocking at their door. But with what Dragonfly said it might have been time he made peace with the fact where he belongs now...

And so, Team Prime becomes more neutral to the Decepticons roaming out and about (outside for the threat of human villains, Optimus refuses to leave the humankind endangered by them) and lets the Elite Guard handle most of the calls, only times they are forced to assist is when an Allspark Shard appears.

Going back to Bee and Dragonfly- Dragonfly stayed on Earth a while after Team Prime fixed his ship to make sure everything was fine. He gave a communicator to his Sparkling to call him undercover at any time, they speak to each other every week. Team Prime still doesn't know why such a kind and nice mech is a Decepticon but Bee is happy and that's all that matters. They may also gotten a tad nicer towards Bee cuz a Decepticon is still a Decepticon, and with the role Bee's sire plays it would end really bad for them if they hurt him.

Welp, you got 2 versions of the same ask, one of them surely was what you wanted so yeh. Thank you for the ask!

[irrgartendotpng]

Hi hi I can't stop looking at your ocs zeno is so cutee pls can you say more abt them?? How did they meet? How sentient is Zeno? Is Martyn a robot thing? Can Zeno change the icon on the screen? From fish to smiley? ahhhhhhhabskahks

HEY, IM ACTUALLY SO HAPPY PEOPLE LIKE MY OCS!! Down below, I'll answer some questions :D

If you dont care about some long winded oc lore rant, look at this ascii art !

First one i made with an ascii text generator, the fish one was made by Max Strandberg!! (look that guy up, he made lots of cool open source ascii art ! ))

I've made a pinterest board and a spotify playlist for them, if you want to check it out :3c

Do you know that "Ist es over für mich"-guy ? Yeah, that's straight up Martyn.

Martyn is partially a creator of Zeno. He's a loserish freak, afraid of social interaction and has lived like a neet, before being kicked out of parents house. He ended working in the night shift at a huge IT company as a securty guard.

This is where he gets most of his tech supplies from; Stealing from the company at night and getting rid of the evidence :3c They've got a bunch of storeage rooms with old tech, so who cares, if it goes missing?

So, he builds up his personal tech collection, looking through old abandoned files. In there, he finds an unnamed primitive chatbot (think something like cleverbot). Martyn doesn't really interact with anyone, (outside of the bare necessities), which is why he decides to learn how to interact with others. Therefore he starts to build a relationship with said Chatbot. This is Gen1 Zeno.

After some time, Martyn becomes unsatisfied talking to something so un-human-like, so he begins to teach himself about coding and computer science to develop this Bot, to keep him company. He starts feeding it more media; More specifically movies he owns on DVD, random books from the internet archive and his childhood photos.

These photos show Martyn and his parents on trips, his home and bedroom and also Martyns old pet goldfish. (He is quite anxious of showing his face though, thinking his employer might have some type of backdoor access to the program, so he'd always censor his face.) After each piece of media was added to the bots databank, they'd talk about it extensively. Around this time, Zeno starts to gain some type of sentience and properly chooses the name "Zeno"

About the same time, Martyn steals a Macintosh SE-30, which Zeno specifically requested. He is able to display symbols, that he freely chooses from. (but no goldfishy yet!) This is sums up Gen2 Zeno.

The next few parts may not make much sense, but I think they're a funny, so I'm probably keeping them this way lololol (also; this whole story bit takes place around 2019-2021)

Martyn is a bit freaked out by Zeno chosing his own name. At this point in time, he is a bit delusional and worries, that the soul of his childhood pet goldfish is trapped in the system. (Spoiler: it isn't.)

Despite these worries, Martyn knows that to make Zenos behaviour more human-like, he needs a bigger text database. So... Martyn gives Zeno access to his discord and lets him consume all of those messages. Additionally, he joins many public servers. Zeno also starts to ask about viewing media from the internet, that he sees being mentioned in the messages he reads. So, Zeno is granted free internet access and chooses to watch live streams, while Martyn is gone.

This is also around the time Martyn becomes more desperate for connection and support, so he starts to open up about his delusions and worries to Zeno. At that point Zeno is still not quite able to fully understand this, but tries his best. This is also when Martyn opens up about the delusion he had, of Zeno being posessed by the soul of his pet goldfish. He is very amused by this and begins to display the goldfish icon to mock Martyn.

(I like to joke, that Zeno would have watched the DreamSMP during this time and I collected following screenshots, which remind me of their interactions. lol.)

feel free to disregard this;,, ANYWAYS!

This sums up Gen3 Zeno :3c

Since Martyn doesnt really have a life outside of work and talking to Zeno, he is very attached to him. Of course he'd fullfill any request given to him by Zeno. So, when Zeno asks to see Martyn via a camera system, he doesn't hesitate to steal some web cams from his workplace to set them up. Still a bit worried about a possible backdoor in Zenos code, so to somewhat hide his identity, he decides to shave his head.

(This is also how you can tell when Zeno is fully sentient in my art! If Martyns bald, that bot's fully aware of everything happening lol)

Generally, I like to think, that Zeno is very modular. You're celebrating something with cake and he needs to blow out candles? Attach a PC fan to that boy. He wants to make sounds? Gather a sound system and let that boy speak!!! (i feel like he'd mimic voices, rather than create his own,,) He wants to poke you? Attach a cylinder piston and he'll poke the shit out of you.

This is also part of that freaky robot head i added in the OG post.,, that is not martyn! martyn is fully human (so far ;3c)

^^^^^^ martyn built this freaky robot head for Zeno to control and get a better sense of the space he lives in.,,, its made out of xbox kinect parts lol :3 Adding to the modularity of Zeno, most of his parts are stored in a badly sorted server tower (imagine wires everywhere,,)

both of them are fairly new, but i do love them to death <33

also! towards this part of the story, martyns living space is quite cluttered with many stolen robotics parts. I've gathered some images, to give some sort of sense to what his room looks like lol

thank you for asking & reading to this !! if you have any other questions, i'd love to talk about them even more :D <3

(i feel i havent touched much on them individually and the full extend of their relationship, but i dont want to rant endlessly)