#automatonic asks

[thelivingautomaton]

kristina hi hi hey howdy hiii howya doin??? sorry if this is totally out of left field, but i'm sitting over here thinking of true love waits in haunted houses (as one does) and i had to ask...are there any behind the scenes tidbits/scenes left on the cutting room floor/fun facts in general you've been itching to talk about at this point in the story? 👀

😭😭😭 queenieeeeeeeee, this is so kind!!! trust me, i am ALSO thinking very hard re: true love waits in haunted houses...at least whenever work isn't throwing me into a total clusterfuck scenario, lmao

I WOULD SAY...a lot of the behind-the-scenes thinking or tidbits i'm most proud of are difficult to talk about without getting into ~spoiler~ territory, LOL. but something unique that i did for this fic specifically was draw up a complete outline -- like, literally draw it, by hand:

my ass sat down in the park for three hours scribbling in a notebook, something i have done neither before nor since, LMFAO. i ended up transferring most of this content into the google doc where i do all my writing (spread out across...many, many subtabs), but this is where it all began :^) i think even from this page alone (the full outline runs to about...four and a half pages?) you can identify a couple of interesting points:

i did rework the title slightly, with apologies to radiohead

some imagery or ideas came immediately ("bedsheet walls like hospital bedspreads", the Bride's look and general vibe -- even if she didn't have that moniker from the beginning), some were a matter of sudden inspiration mid-hashing out the details (see "music! piano puzzle!" in the margins, lol), and some came to me literally halfway through writing a chapter (most notably the mannequins/"sculptures?" becoming anatomy models)

also, many of the things which are simple bullet points here (e.g. "Angela with the knife" or "finds the revolver") got fleshed out into whole scenes, which is part of why the chapter counts DEFINITELY do not match what i have in my outline, LMAO

and some things either didn't make the cut since they didn't flow well (the flower shop, Mary and Laura having a longer initial interaction in the apartments) or I just couldn't find an excuse to put it in (the Bible verse on the bathroom wall)...which isn't necessarily to say they won't show up in some fashion later 🤔

annnnnnnd, since this ask really brightened my day...here is a very small sneak preview of a section to come :)c

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

(Getting tired of all this discourse so take this cute)

Lunar decides to go annoy Solar again, reenacts the "WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD" vine, and Moons there cuz he passed out in Solars place.

Lunars such a lil gremlin boi especially when his lil brother relationship teasing is activated, I cant wait for him to absolutely embarrass Solar and Moon.

I was inspired.

[betweenblackberrybranches]

Day 7 of Medival Artober "Blacksmith"

When Y/N goes into the the next bigger village to get some things fixed or ask for something specific to be made for them Sun gets to see a lot of stuff, many things have changed since he was last able to freely roam outside and yet some things have stayed the same. And sometimes Sun dreams of a future as mundane and wonderfull as all these people get to live, as unobtainable as it seemed in the past... maybe, just maybe

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

Rusted knight Penny: somehow someway she’s alive but her gears are stiff and in dire need of oil

Ruby: *Caught in a hug from the Kindly Automaton* Wow! You've got a Strong hug!

Blake: 'Kindly' might be an understatement

Weiss: "Clunky" Also works.

Kindly Automaton: *Setting Ruby Down, Dashing over to Blake* I apologize for my noisy nature! I am actually here to aquire lubricant - vegetable oil for my mechanisms! As for the hug-

Penny: *removing her mask* I have not seen you, my friends for a long time!

Penny's face was weathered, cracking plates of ceramic, not unlike the Red Prince's. She moved with heavy, lurching jolts, her eyes aglow with the magic that suffused this place so heavily.

Jaune: Penny-

Penny: Do not. Jaune. You gave me what I had asked for. Thank you. I am sorry to have asked for it at all.

Yang: What- How-

Weiss: I watched you die!

Penny: I did die! However, due to the proximity to The Ever After, My soul was allowed to be put into a new body. I needed one that would survive an unknown amount of time - which I am very glad I chose to do, as my curiosity sent me back approximately Eighteen Years before we fell!

Ruby: ... *Hugs her again*

JWBY: *All hugging Penny*

Penny: *Returning the hugs as best she can, tearing up with something* I again apologize for my currently mechanical nature. I am physically cold and cannot feel the warmth radiating off of you. I miss it greatly. Thank you all.

[monstersdownthepath]

Do you think that Paizo forgot about the Kami Lords? Maybe I just didn't search hard enough, but I haven't seen anything about them at all, even in 2e.

I find it a shame since so many things can be done with Kami Lords. Maybe a lord could have an artifact as their ward. Another idea is that they could make the abandoned ruin of an old grand kingdom their ward, guarding its secrets from any pesky adventurers.

-----

I'm tempted to say yes; I don't own 2e's Bestiary 3, where the Kami actually show up in that edition, but the lore blurb from the book is on the Archives of Nethys and it mentions that some mortals worship kami like gods, but no kami is a god... meaning the Kami Lords have apparently been softly retconned out of existence.

I can't say I especially miss them; even compared to the rest of the niche demigods we've seen they were tragically underdeveloped, having no individually named members and barely a lore footnote in 1e's Bestiary 3 (where the family of monsters is introduced). There's nothing to miss! Though I really, really like the idea of a powerful and unique kami whose ward is an Artifact, I have to say! Perhaps not a deific kami, but one that may be revered as a god nonetheless.

[vulshokbersrker]

Some Helldivers have translated the language of the Automatons. Thanks to their hard work, I have created this font based on their work.

Collective Consciousness Helldivers 2 font:

[elijah-terry]

I saw your tags

under my poll and high five – I have three WIPs as well (so far) (only 2 are KH, though, the third one is Yakuza). ^^"

Good luck with your writing! 💜

you get it!!! 😭 thank you!! you too!! & i hope i see your kh fics out there <3

[aromanticasterisms]

getting to the bottom of the new area and going oh 1. ajaw was telling the truth about what (he thinks) he was 2. so that's why he looks like that 3. did kinich go to ochkanatlan to meet him or was he set up somewhere else

[inkwelltaleaublog]

HELLOOOO AUTOMATON 2.0 !! how is life?

🤖: "Life is the same as it always is"

🤖: "I am just sitting here with Katzenwagen. As per usual."

🤖: "Now, keep it down. My favorite radio show is about to start."

[dokkywokky]

god i haven’t posted in a while uhhhh GO BLORBO ARTDUMP

[cptn-bluebeard]

If I have to read “did anyone notice…?” And it’s the the most obvious shot/scene that they most definitely wanted the viewer to see, I am going to crash out.

[thelivingautomaton]

Hey! I hope you're doing well? 😄👋

I hope it's alright to ask, out of curiosity, I was wondering what do you think Jason's interactions with Maria could be like? That's if, say, she was at Rosewater Park as well, instead of being Mary's inner voice? :)

The place in which she finds herself isn't Heaven's Night, not really. Oh, sure, it might have all the fixings -- beat-up barstools and faded posters, neon signs humming pink and red and purple -- but that's only where she lays eyes upon it, only if she tells herself to concentrate and...remember? Imagine? See. When she looks at things head-on, they appear solid enough; but she can't quite ignore the way the world keeps slipping away at the edges, scuzzy decor blurring and changing as it undergoes half a dozen permutations, switching between memory and archetype and dream.

It's an idea of a place: nothing substantial, nothing real. But then, maybe that's rather appropriate.

"Pour you a drink?" says the bartender, and from the corner of her eye Maria can almost pretend that he's really someone else. The him that isn't him. She waves an indifferent hand, manicured nails gleaming in the dim light. Amber liquid sloshes into the glass. Almost as soon as the bottle's lifted away, Maria sweeps it to her lips. She can't quite help but to close her eyes as the fire washes down her throat. Funny, she thinks; even the idea of whiskey still burns. But closing her eyes turns out to be a mistake, because the world pulses underneath her eyelids, dark smoky haze briefly flashing bloody red.

She sets the glass back down on the bar with a clumsy thunk, her other hand rubbing vague circles at her temple -- but it's the metallic click of a lighter flicking on that drills a hole into her skull and really makes her pissed. Maria turns on her stool, the cheap leather seat squeaking faintly. "Do you really need to do that?" she snaps.

Behind the bar counter, Jason doesn't spare her a glance -- not until the end of his cigarette glows fiery orange above the tiny flame of his lighter. Even then, his gaze doesn't quite fixate on her own; instead it trains itself on a point about five inches to the left. The lighter disappears inside a jacket pocket as he plucks the cigarette from his teeth. The smoke that billows from his mouth is the same color as his eyes. "No," he admits after a moment. "But do you really need to do that?" He nods towards her, still not looking her square in the face. Maria blinks, then looks down. Without noticing it, she's pushed her cleavage up against the counter, a subtle but eye-catching display of molded flesh.

She scowls. It's not the sort of expression she's accustomed to, and it makes her jaw ache. "I'm not her," she says, before bringing her eyes back up to Jason. "You get that, right?"

"Sure." Yet his eyes are so, so far away.

"Look at me and say it," Maria insists.

When he stubs the cigarette out on the bar counter, it gives an angry little fizzle before dying away. The scorch mark it leaves behind is a perfect, blackened circle. For some reason, she can't bear to take her eyes off it. Jason's face is a blur, a distorted Polaroid ghost standing in the periphery. "You're not her," he says, voice muffled in the fog.

Maria's still not looking at him. She's staring at, or into, the cigarette burn, which now looks like nothing so much as a dark hole in the middle of the world. Her world. "But don't you think," she starts to say, and then her mouth dries up like parchment. She swallows, clears her throat. It still itches, but she utterly refuses to cough. "Can we just...you know. Pretend, maybe?"

Jason sets another glass down, right on top of the hole. It fades from her view as he fills it up with whiskey, and by the time he raises the glass to her in mocking, bitter toast, she sees that the hole had disappeared completely. "Is that what you really want?" he asks, knocking the whiskey back.

There was a hole here, thinks Maria. It's gone now. But all she says to him -- to herself, to the mirage -- is a quiet, "No. No, not really."

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Since Eclipse is back how would things go out in Automaton Heart Au?

I could see Eclipse pretending to be Solar but imagine this. Moon and Solar are dating but didn't tell anyone yet even though it's very obvious. Not to Eclipse though, he just knows they understand each other well.. And wants to take that as an advantage to get into Moon's room as he pretends to be Solar, Moon pulls him aside to talk to him and give him a peck. Eclipse is in total shock while Solar comes back only to see his "clone" and Moon is confused.

Hahahahah

I find that prospect so amusing, because in Automaton Heart AU, Eclipse IS alive.

He's been hiding under Sun's bed.

Yup This whole time.

(slightly related IZ gif cus I couldn't find the specific one I wanted)

And yeah, Sun knows he's there. He just hasn't told Moon exactly about it yet. They have an arrangement.

I guess I'll say some juicy details while being tumblr-appropriate. XD

Sun's room we know exists in the show, as it's been mentioned a few times, but it's never shown. (likely cus they can't think of anything in VR that makes logical sense)

So we know Sun's room is the only place that doesn't have any cameras.

In Automaton Heart AU.

Eclipse didn't die.

He believed to by Solar, and Moon because the blast that destroyed the star in his chest cavity. That would have destroyed nearly anyone.

But it knocked parts of him back. A majority of him was destroyed, but a torso, a hand, and a head/faceplate (with the rays/spikes blown off) managed to lodge deep into the ball pit.

When Moon traveled back to his own dimension, away from Solar's (After Solar yelled at him and punched Moon for not letting him sacrifice himself) Eclipse got teleported back to the main dimension along with Moon.

Waiting at the bottom of the Ballpit.

He wasn't biding his "evil time" or whatever.

He was completely knocked out and his systems failed. He was dead for all intents and purposes.

A few Days later, as Sun is disinfecting the Ball pit, he nearly trips over something.

Sun and Moon never noticed him, because they openly admit on the show to have their Olfactory sensors off, because they're working with Stinky Kids all the time. So they didn't even notice the smells of burnt metal deep within the ballpit, despite parent complaints because they just thought it was "Karen's being Karens" or them having issues with Fazbear or something.

Sun disturbing the charred broken frame of Eclipse (back to SolarFlare's body, because the Eclipse Body was entirely on star power. Just without the head spikes, a torso, and a pretty mangled hand with half his fingers missing) The machine whirrs to life.

Something that Sun is terrified of and didn't think would be physically possible.

Eclipse is motivated simply by anger and spite. As if he was his own ghost in the machine possessing his very being. He is 100% motivated by spite, as he is in all aspects of his life. He has nothing left to give. And he crawls toward Sun, weak, barely able to keep his head above the pit.

He wants to hurt them. He wants to kill them. They did this to them. It's all their fault. It's always been their fault hasn't it?

Eclipse lacks his proper monologuing skills. His voice box is charred. He can't speak but garbled sounds. His mind is too fractured to think properly. All he wants is to cause harm.

He collapses, his damaged claws tearing the edge of Sun's slipper.

And Sun doesn't know what to do.

He could just... Kill him again, but Eclipse is like this now. Sun doesn't even know how the fuck he survived any of that.

He could just kick him into the pit and have the Computer send him to another dimension...

But that doesn't sound right to Sun either.

He could tell Moon, but Moon would just like... find a gun and shoot him point blank at this point. Like putting down an injured animal.

That also doesn't sit right with Sun.

(Sun's Bloodmoon hallucinations/intrusive thoughts are going rampant as he tries to make a discission.)

Sun decides he'll figure out what to do with Eclipse later, and locks him in his room, away from the cameras and away from Moon.

He will tell Moon....

Eventually.

Sun and Eclipse reach a mutually beneficial agreement from this... as Sun agrees to fix Eclipse and give him a new body, as long as Eclipse plans to not hurt his family anymore.

Eclipse hated this, but he "agreed" his logic being that, since he can't make a verbal agreement, he can double cross Sun and kill them all once he's fixed.

But, it takes a long time for Sun to repair him and get parts.

It would go faster with Moon, since Moon has the more logical mind....

But Sun doesn't exactly want to tell his brother yet, as Moon is distracted with Solar, and he seems happy for the first time in a long while. He doesn't want to ruin that by saying "oh you didn't kill Eclipse by the way"

Also, Eclipse Also agrees that he doesn't want help from Moon.

Cue Slowburn in the background of Sun, tenderly taking care of Eclipse. And warming Eclipse on the idea of second chances.

Cue Eclipse not understanding why Sun is bothering with a lost cause of him at this point...

The two actually listening to eachother and enjoying eachother's company.

They don't talk about the past.... not yet.

Eclipse certainly can't...

but he is forced to listen, he can't move... and have someone genuinely caring and looking out for him....

and then they kiss.....

[betweenblackberrybranches]

I wanna eat ur art in the most polite way possible 🫡

Be my guest!

[jazzy-flowerr]

It's finally time everybody! The moment you've all been waiting for (probably not but shhhh)!

Time to Ask InkwellTale!

You could ask me about the AU, ask the characters themselves questions, or anything in between!

-

RULES:

-No NSFW or any other weird stuff (I'm a minor + ace spec)

-No bigotry (racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc)

-No spam

-If I feel a question you've asked would spoil too much (or I just don't want to answer) I will either give it a short/vague answer or just not answer at all. Hopefully you understand :)

-I'm a bit of a busy guy irl so don't expect me to answer questions immediately. I'll answer when I'm able to.

-

Here are the ref sheets for the characters so far, for anyone who's new here or just needs a refresher;

(this second one's a bit outdated since Maggie's design has been modified) (This is what she looks like now)

-

And here's the post I made about the basic plot of the AU;

-

Soooo that's about it! Ask away, folks!

Can't wait to see what questions you have to offer! See you all real soon!

Have a great day and remember to eat your water! :D

[monstersdownthepath]

Now that 2e has removed golems and subsequently the name from all the constructs (based of them) if you cover any of them will it be under their 1e name or their 2e name? I seem to remember you not being a fan of the name golem and being good about the antisemitism that is rooted into DnD and by extension PFs core

-----

I LOVE all the names they've been using, even if it makes searching them a little bit more annoying since they're not lumped into one category anymore. I'll def be using their 2e names if they have one, and calling them "Automatons" or "Automata" if not.