#but you can't persuade a robot

[swan2swan]

"Life is actually a series of encounters in which one event may change those that follow in a wholly unpredictable and even devastating way." --Ian Malcolm

[singlecrow]

I Have Reread Seven Murderbot Books In A Small Number Of Days, and Am Now Completely Insane About The Following Non-Exhaustive List Of Things (in no order)--

let's start with the fact the first book is almost ENTIRELY a letter from Murderbot to Mensah. it's 40,000 words. Murderbot, you are an emotionless robot for SURE.

Pin-Lee. Just in general. no, also, the main character of Sanctuary Moon is also a lawyer with increasingly bizarre problems. hello. (why did they take a LAWYER on a planetary survey??)

Amena tells ART and Murderbot, in case they didn't know, that they're having a baby. They didn't know.

AMENA. sixteen years old and whiny teenager who isn't like her annoying genius family who don't understand her NO ONE UNDERSTANDS. spends rest of book being brave and competent and mighty. whatever.

Amena's little sister! I wish we had a name for her but I like Murderbot calling her Small Human, also it shows her the video she wants to see but scrubs out all the gore and violence (it doesn't care though humans are stupid)

never wanted fanart of anything so much as Murderbot, upon hearing Mensah startled by a journalist and drop a bottle of almond milk, jump over Ratthi's head, run 100m down a corridor, scream at the journalist and catch the bottle of almond milk. (aside: that story breaks my heart. you see her from Murderbot's POV as a leader of men. compassionate and brilliant and a diamond under pressure. and from her own POV she's screaming and she can't stop.)

not that all cops are bastards, only that after a meeting with them Mensah tries to persuade her partners, kids and siblings that they should give up on humanity, move to an uninhabited continent and take up new careers in soil reclamation

ART, when its blorbos die in its shows. The bot equivalent of staring at the wall for seven and a half minutes. HI ART.

"I came for our mutual friend." jesus. It picks her up and saves her and lets her hug it. She tells it fear and anger are the enemy. (and then the crew freak out at the woman who stood down a homicidal killer robot by glaring at it.) (I love Mensah the most. no one knew this.)

Amena's parents are two probably normal people plus a planetary leader and a sentient killer robot

ART finds out Mensah is coming aboard and shouts at everyone to start cleaning (ART you're so neurotic)

ART and its sister Iris

ART and Murderbot are having a baby (I know I did that one already)

Round Here We Save The World Through The Power of Documentary Filmmaking

Mensah.

[avelera]

You may have talked about this before, but what's your opinion on Arcane!Machine Herald? Because I've seen him get a lot of hate because he diverges a lot from his original self-made cyborgy lore, but I personally LOVE him to bits. I was kinda worried because Arcane S1 already had lots of mechanical bodymods and an entire race of sentient robots so I was like "ok how is he supposed to be radical compared to that?" and then he engineered himself into a worldending cosmic horror being, i love him

I have no investment in League or its lore so Arcane Machine Herald doesn't have a strong emotional attachment to me one way or the other?

To me, the design emphasizes the magical aspect of the Hexcore taking over Viktor. The one complaint I do understand from League fans and somewhat share is that Viktor's Herald villain arc is a bit muddled with his S1 scientific motivations, to me.

The thing is, to me, Viktor is a scientist, and the Machine Herald and Commune leader stuff is a bit too mystical to me for the Viktor we knew. I have trouble reconciling how he pivoted to that if it was his own choice. That's why I tend to headcanon that the Hexcore was pretty active not just in persuading Viktor to become a Cult Leader, but also for the aesthetics and tone of the cult leader choice, leaning into mage imagery like robes and a staff.

Of course, that robs some agency from the character, which is overall less interesting, but I can't help but feel a true villain arc that was totally self-directed by Viktor would have been a bit more scientific, it would have been more him willfully replacing parts of himself to stay alive.

But as you noted too, that doesn't really work within Arcane, neither does that original Machine Herald motivation. We've got Bolbok on the Council who is basically a robot, we've got Sevika and the entire undercity with tons of metal body modifications. Viktor making it some sort of cause to replace humans with machine parts to cure their imperfections doesn't really work in Arcane as something that's an ideological stand or a philosophy of any kind. It's just day to day life. So from there, I understand leaning more into mysticism as his route for making people "perfect".

Perhaps my... hmm, not point of criticism but simply a personal story squick is that I don't like cults and I don't like the hippy sort of imagery they went for with Cult Leader Viktor, for me the whole vibe was very squicky throughout (which is why I was thoroughly baffled when people ever thought the cult was a good thing, I was silently screaming with discomfort the whole time) and a part of me really struggled to reconcile how S1 Viktor would ever choose to craft a place like this. Like I said, that's why I kind of had to go with the idea, for my own sake, that Viktor on his own wouldn't craft some weird hippy monastery where everyone just works and praises him all day, that this is an element of the Hexcore. That Real Viktor if he could control his own actions and was fully present (rather than half living on the astral plane) would also be horrified.

As for how this lends to the Machine Herald design *shrug* that's also a very "mystical" look to me, it follows from the more magical take on Herald, but it is artistically cool and very alien. Personally, I see it as simply the humanoid form of the Hexcore, its choice for what it will look like, and it's basically just using Viktor as a battery at that point to power itself in turn and to give itself a voice, Viktor is all but wholly subsumed, he didn't design that look, he has been the cocoon for the Hexcore growing inside him, and Ekko + Jayce + Anomaly Future Viktor are needed to rip it off of the real Viktor, who is immediately horrified by all that occurred and, to me, had very little agency throughout while being constantly fed the belief that he did have control. Honestly, I think Viktor was contending with an ancient seed of Void power using him as a vessel and he was hilariously outclassed by something far more ancient and powerful than him using him as an incubator for itself but, again, that's just one possible interpretation.

I know this got a bit off topic but yeah, I agree on some points about how the original Herald stuff just doesn't work in Arcane and the rest is sort of my more general feelings about the Herald and the Herald look.

[naomi-nana]

✎ᝰ. business is (not) booming . have the real me! series

in which a certain someone from ignihyde made a game called twisted wonderland with them in it, and you ended up ignoring the real them over their game self. how would they react?

featuring : azul ashengrotto, (cameo appearance: jade, floyd, jamil, kalim)

cw : gn!reader, certified scammer azul(jk), fluff fluff fluff, nothing else aside from grammar errors cuz english aint my first language🙏

a/n : this is some type of series!! i will write for other characters in this same prompt too:3 so i hope you all will like it!

being in the same club as idia, it's no wonder that azul is one of the many people who is promoting and playing the game. he was the first one that introduced it to you, too. though he kinda regrets that decision now. it's only been three days, and you already got to book two of the game.

and you haven't paid attention to him at all.

well, no worries. he's happy that you're playing a game that he made, even though idia did most of the job and he only managed the microtransaction. but he still contributed to it, right?. "oh? it seems like you're still playing that game i introduced you to. but of course, the game is of such good quality. i was dejected when idia refused the idea of monetization, though ..."

"im glad he does! otherwise, i wouldn't be able to play this, y'know." you frowned, clicking away at the rhythm game. he chuckled before he sat beside you on the couch. "hmm, you're already nearing leona's overblot fight. you're very quick when you focus on something." he compliments you, leaning over your shoulder to see your screen.

"ah, hey! you're covering the screen! i can't see azul's animation like this!" you stood up from the couch with a huff while walking over to the stair so you can play peacefully somewhere else. azul looked at you with widened eyes, wondering why you were so upset for not being able to see his animation when you can literally see the real thing.

he's more annoyed that his minions are snickering behind him, though.

for the next few days, azul can't help but secretly hover over your shoulder to see what you're doing. and every time, it's always his game self on the screen.

he's flustered that you like him so much to the point you put him on your home screen in the game, but still! why not put him as the home screen on your phone?! ... oh, you already did.

anyways, expect to see the octatrio hang around you even more often than usual. even grim is too scared to eat on the same table as you. they usually ask you about the progress of the game. but it seems to you that only azul ever asks specific questions while jade and floyd are grinning ear to ear.

those specific questions are, "what do you do when you run out of azul cards to play with, i wonder?"

even after doing all that hovering and questioning, you still don't stop playing the game and squealing at his game self. azul has considered making a deal(threatening and persuading) idia to immediately take down the game, but then it'd mean he loses the extra profit from it. sigh ...

so he decided to ask for advice from the very high guarded but intelligent jamil. when he first approached him and kalim, jamil was immediately on guard mode and already thinking of ways to refuse his scam and escape. but kalim held him back.

"jamil, hypothetically speaking, what would you do if kalim ever asked your virtual self for help instead of the real you? would you be upset and kill the virtual robot, or would you talk it out with kalim? hypothetically, of course."

he, unfortunately and obviously, did not get any answer from jamil. but kalim did answer for him, though. "if it were me, i'd talk it out with myself! it's not good to hide your feelings, you know?"

huh. it is a very great advice. so, azul finally made up his mind and went back to octavinelle to write a whole script of what he is going to say the next time he meets you. yet, when he arrives, you were already there waiting for him.

you explained that the twins had told you about it all earlier and that they were also urging you to go and talk to him about it.

jade said, "it is amusing to see him spiral into a fit of despair the moment you abandoned him for him in the game. but it is also starting to feel creepy."

floyd said, "im bored walkin' around and spying on ya! i wanna do my own thing! do somethin' about it!"

azul feels like he wants to go ahead and crawl into his octopus pot right now. but no matter, at the very least, he gets to talk to you and spend time with you. his game self can go ahead and rot in hell.

naomi-nana. do NOT repost, do not use,(with or without permission), do not reccommend or talk about my works outside of tumblr.

[ckret2]

I haven't even watched Samurai Jack (should I?) but a brief glance in Tumblr tags made me come to the conclusion that Scaramouche is most often tagged with "scaramouche samurai jack".

I can't tell you whether you should watch Samurai Jack.

What I can tell you is this: it's a very pretty very atmospheric show—gorgeous backgrounds, long sequences with no dialogue—so if you want to just stare and absorb the atmosphere it's a great show, but if your attention span is short and you aren't in the mood to lengthen it it's a difficult watch. If you've got the attention span it's got some of the most beautiful sequences to come out of a kid's cartoon produced for a mainstream market.

It's very episodic until the final season, and you see a whole lot of strange places and meet a whole lot of interesting characters, once. Most of the one-time characters sorta do their job but don't leave an impression. You might cry over a robot with a silly-looking dog.

For the first four seasons there's only three regularly recurring characters: the hero, the villain, and some dude that shows up like,, three or four times or so? In the fifth season we make it up to six recurring characters wow

It bounces back and forth between hard scifi and high fantasy and then sometimes there's a town being devastated by a farting dragon

it toes the line between "mixed martial arts/samurai epic" and "goofy over-the-top hyperexaggeration of a mixed martial arts/samurai epic." This is a Western show made with a target audience of weeaboos.

Aku spends an entire episode in disguise crossdressed as a hot human babe. I don't think Jack was ever in drag but one time he wore high heels and looked good doing it. I don't know if that's important to you but it's important to me.

Also Jack's clothes get ripped off a lot in the heat of combat. That's not important to me but it might be important to you.

If part of the reason you're asking me if you should watch the show is because my post on Scaramouche intrigued you, you oughta know that he only appears in the final 5th season and he's in like three episodes.

Because the show's been over almost eight years (and the final season came after a hiatus of 13 years), there are a lot of people like "oh yeah I watched that show, I remember it, it was good" but not a lot of people actively currently participating in the fandom.

None of this is to persuade you or dissuade you from watching it, but to tell you stuff that might impact how much you wanna see it.

anyway thanks for the tag research assistance

[mildcharacterenjoyer]

E 123 Omega is an adorably lethal robo boi and you can't prove it to me otherwise.

Here are some of my adorable headcannons for him.

Once he gets enough storage for ammunition that he doesn't care about wasting some, he blasts any and all signs of Eggman icons or brand names he sees no matter where they are. Even if they are just stickers or shown on a screen. He angy and want revenge.

Omega has the ability to pick up metaphors, hyperbole, sarcasm, memes, and hand signals fairly quickly. But sometimes he uses them slightly wrong due to a logging error or a misunderstanding from the source he learned it from. He flipped the bird way too often when he first learned what it meant.

He wishes he could eat, especially when the food is presented well. He tries to play off his stares like he doesn't care, but he's not fooling anyone.

He kicks things when he's angry. Which is often, but usually when he is frustrated with another robot or some inanimate object. He has kicked some of Sonic's larger friends before, such as Storm or Vector.

Omega falls prey to Rouge's flirts. She persuades him very easily.

Omega is extremely touch starved, but has no idea that he is or what it even means. He lacks the basic nervous system to register that kind of sensation. He has pain receptors which flare up whenever his armor or his internal systems are damaged. He has never minded that feeling no matter how intense.

Once Omega discovered sports existed, he didn't really get it. They were not destroying each other or the ball, "boring". It took a great deal of explaining from multiple different angles that it was tests of strength and skill against each other or the other team. Omega slowly warmed up to the idea and started watching along with the others.

Omega has grown a fondness for Tails over the time the fox has spent fixing or upgrading him. Their first couple meetings were rocky, but nothing resolving misunderstandings couldn't fix.

Omega has in fact imagined himself with a tail before. He has yet to find the one that would fit his threatening and lethal vibes.

Despite just how much ammo and fire power can fit within his body, Omega always tops off whenever and wherever he can. Even if he just uses one bullet and has spare time, he'll reload.

Rouge gave him a physical angry meter when they first formed Team Dark so he could better communicate his emotions with his teammates. For at least three years it was always set to max. When he started allowing himself to more frequently log other emotions, Omega changed it accordingly. It is now rarely set to max.

Omega eventually wants to test his fire power in sparring matches against all of Sonic's friends. He keeps a checklist of who he battles.

When Rouge first picked Omega up off the ground and flew around with him he was extremely impressed. He dare not ask for it, lest Rouge use it against him.

Omega wants Shadow to talk to him more often. He takes it somewhat personally whenever the hedgehog takes down robots without him to assist.

Omega has a personal mirror that he carries around. It has two uses: he burns things with its reflection and magnification, or he just looks at himself. He admires himself a lot.

Drawing and/or coloring pictures of Omega is the fastest way to his heart if you are a child or if you want him to like you. He loves fanmail.

The most balanced out Omega's emotions had ever been, was when both Shadow and Rouge were sitting on his shoulders and they were just talking about a past mission. That was the closest he ever felt to peace.

[changingplumbob]

Second Round - Day Three (Gonk) 3 of 3

@sleepyselkiesims, @sanitysims, @bakersimmer, @invisiblequeen, @abbysimsfun, @fallin4fiction

Arista: I really hope no one accuses me of using my mermaid song powers to cheat!

Nicola: Well you won't hear that criticism from me

Arista: I just genuinely had a fun time! And I'm glad you won to. Hopefully Evie can win the next one

Nicola: *sing-song voice to the tune of Finally by Cece Peniston...almost* Finally, it's happened to me, me and De on a date, my feelings can't describe it...

Arista: It looks pretty stormy still... I hope you didn't pick the beach

Nicola: I did not! I hope the park has shelter

Arista chose to visit a cafe for her solo date. The sky may be cloudy but that doesn't matter if the company is good.

Deanna: Question... Do you think you're mostly lucky or unlucky?

Arista: Honestly, neither

Deanna: Really? I suppose that's a healthy attitude. You've never had a bunch of good or bad luck?

Arista: Nothing particularly terrible has ever happened to be, but neither has anything particularly great. Coming in last for round one is easily the unluckiest thing that's ever happened to me!

Deanna: Yikes, I'm sorry

Arista: It was just the first round, I can improve

Deanna: Can we get deep for a bit? 

Arista: Going out of the shallows huh? I'm open

Deanna: My family believe in the watcher but I know not everyone does. Do you believe in fate, you know, destiny? Or do you think we're all at the mercy of some watcher?

Arista: Oh absolutely

Deanna: Can I ask what makes you believe that?

Arista: I found the coding for it. And I know my family line was pre-destined, it's literally the classic fairytale. But I like to think whatever is watching us out there likes to give us some measure of control over our own actions

Deanna: You found code? That's impressive! Joey will love to hear how

Deanna: Say you can live anywhere. Where would you live?

Arista: When I moved out I decided to try out the city, mostly because it was as different from my childhood cottagey life as I could get

Deanna: That makes sense

Arista: But there's so many places I haven't been, I'd want to visit as many places as possible before finally deciding.

Deanna: I have to say I like being in Tartosa because it's close to my family

Arista: Family is important, and Tartosa is beautiful! I can definitely understand why you would want to stay close

Deanna: I could be persuaded to move if it was to somewhere stable

Arista: I think an eventual home base sounds good but I'd have to check out places before picking

Nicola has chosen to go to the park for her solo date this round.

Deanna: Do you think you're mostly lucky or unlucky?

Nicola: I don't want to get philosophical or anything, but neither

Deanna: Oh? Not had luck either way?

Nicola: My life is good, but bad things happen. I also can't win a challenge to save my life it seems. But that doesn't mean I'm unlucky. It just means it wasn't my day. But I'm here with you right now, and this is the luckiest I've felt in a long time.

Deanna: Can we get deep for a bit? My family believe in the watcher but I know not everyone does.Do you believe in fate, you know, destiny? Or do you think we're all at the mercy of some watcher?

Nicola: This is definitely deeper than anything I get to talk about with my students! 

Deanna: Sorry, I swear it's not an exam

Nicola: Watchers who leave autonomy on high like to believe in fate and destiny, don't they? I've never met the Watcher, so I don't know what's true. Is it a person, a corporation, a robotic algorithm? It's all so much to think about that I sometimes feel like living in the moment, doing whatever you feel like doing right now, is the only life worth living. I've been told that's childish, that plans and designs are part of life, but the best laid plans sometimes lead to divorce, so..

Deanna: I'm sorry you had to go through that. For what it's worth I think signing up for something like this after that makes you brave

Deanna: Say you can live anywhere. Where would you live?

Nicola: My family in Henford is so important to me. I don't have any news from home in here, but before I left, my brother Dominic was looking for engagement rings for his girlfriend, Anika. I would love to live in Henford for the clean air and my family, and my students, but Tartosa's beaches are growing on me. For the right person, I'd live anywhere.

Deanna: I have to say I like being in Tartosa because it's close to my family. I could be persuaded to move if it was to somewhere stable...

Nicola: We could spend the school year in Henford and summers in Tartosa

Deanna: Tartosa summers are lovely

Nicola: The best of both worlds. I think your family would like Henford, too - Artemisia would like the wily foxes, I think!

Deanna: Oh they could definitely be her spirit animal

With the dates concluded it's skill time back at the villa. The contestants get four hours today to focus on a skill of their choice. Evelyn chooses to play it safe by studying the broader discipline of fitness, while Kristina and Nicola have opted to narrow down their study to rock climbing. Nephinae, Arista and Yasmine all think alike and choose to work on their charisma.

While Deanna is prepping food for everyone I catch up with her about the dates.

Devin: Nicola and Arista, first dates for both of them

Deanna: Good point! Maybe that's why they weren't mind blowing, we're still getting to know each other

Devin: I thought you had a little crush on Nicola

Deanna: For sure, she's cute! But it didn't seem to help the date get gold. I was glad of the opportunity to talk to each of them though

Devin: Any sentiments at all?

Deanna: I mean I do feel closer to Arista after chatting, she's such a lovely and interesting person

Deanna fixed everyone dinner. At this point autonomy is set to full again. Deanna will not start conversations, it's up to contestants. Deanna is locked out of all bedrooms but the rest will have access to beds for sleeping and computer distractions.

This group seems eager to start talking!

Evelyn: I really like your shirt Nephinae

Nephinae: Aww, thanks Evie

Yasmine: Where did you get it? Or did you fabricate it?

Nephinae: Oh I found it thrift shopping! There's so many treasures out there

Arista: I like the sleeves, very princess coded

Nicola: Lots of my students would love it

Kristina: Is that everyone's dishes?

Deanna: Oh I can do that

Kristina: I got it... but if you're free I could use a hug

Deanna: *laughs* Okay

Nicola: I think we got a pretty good group this time

Nephinae: You say that now, wait till I wake up grumpy

Arista: *laughs* Dwarves reference

Nephinae: Coffee?

Nicola: You need coffee?

Nephinae: Maybe? I'm tired

Evelyn: But if you have coffee now, how will you get any sleep?

Arista: You could just... sleep

Nephinae: *sighs*

To Kristina's shock Nephinae decided to nap on the same couch she napped on last round. Maybe they do have stuff in common after all. Yasmine went to go swim laps still full of energy while Arista went to sleep in a bed. Evelyn, Nicola and Kristina kept talking to Deanna until time was called on the day.

Cafe venue by @sleepyselkiesims Park venue by @ethicaltreatmentofcowplants Villa renovation by @paracosmic-sims

[dekariosclan]

I can't help but send another ask - or, well, this falls more under headcanon territory - your insights into Gale are always so poignant and immensely entertaining!

Can't remember exactly where in Act 1, but at some point Gale mentions that during his isolation he warded his townhouse tower against visitors for their own safety. Now, it's easy to take that at face value and assume he meant standard boring ol' protection spells, but we've all seen his resurrection protocol.

Which led me to ponder the following: what do you imagine the ratio of "practical wards meant to harmlessly deter visitors" to "elaborate booby traps that put Home Alone to shame" is? Does he remember where they all are, or after returning to Waterdeep are there a lot of "ah, must have missed that one" moments while rescuing poor Tav from yet another trap they set off by accident? Is Tara part of the security system?

I just feel your thoughts on the matter would be positively delightful to read

Can I just say, I would legitimately pay a ridiculous amount of money to see a Gale / Home Alone crossover movie.

Ridiculous. Amount.

But since we will never be blessed with that, let’s chat about it here!

You are absolutely correct that Gale talks about warding his tower during his confinement! He mentions it during his conversation with Tav at the tiefling party, if you question him about being lonely during his confinement:

Now, for your ask:

The ratio of ‘practical wards’ to going full “Home Alone: Lost in Waterdeep”? I think it’d be 50% straight up barriers and 50% goofy booby traps…and honestly, I don’t think that the goofy booby traps are just a Gale thing. I think it’s a wizardly pride thing. Remember that wizard tower in the Underdark?! That guy had turrets with laser beams, an enchanted ass elevator, and a robot that needed a hug but would also kill you. Lorroakan had Ramazith’s tower set up with false portals, guards, puzzles that can disintegrate you and again, every wizard’s favorite, those damned laser beams.

I think Gale’s barriers and wards would be straightforward spells. His traps, though, I feel would be 190% more creative. And 190% more GALE, as every single trap would involve our favorite mirror image Gale popping up to say hello!

I think the barriers/wards would do fine for deterring most visitors—Gale did say he’d set up enough ‘to keep a small army at bay’—but in the event of a more persistent guest, Mirror Gale would politely provide ample (and increasingly passive-aggressive) warnings to try and persuade any visitors away:

“Hello there! You seem rather determined to make your presence known! Rest assured your visit has been noted; however, i must ask that you turn back from here. Have a lovely evening!”

“Greetings! You know, I would have thought it was quite obvious by the myriad barriers you’ve had to traverse that company is unwelcome, yet here you are! A more intelligent visitor would have likely given up by now, but it seems common sense won’t stop you, will it? No no, heaven forbid.”

“You don’t quite seem to be getting the hint. Tell me, are you often this belligerent and clueless? I shall make note not to invite you to any parties once my Tower is open to visitors once more.”

“Hello again! Ha-ha, ahh….are you quite sure you wish to proceed? I must warn you that I have been, ah, instructed to incinerate you if you go any further! Ah-ha, no hard feelings of course!”

Do I think Tara would be part of the security system? That’s a tough one, because while Tara CAN AND WILL cast a fireball with excellent accuracy when needed (as shown by the rooftop meeting if it goes sour), I think she would’ve been unable to commit to security duties due to having to go find magical Gale Dinner©️ trinkets for his consumption.

Finally, I would assume that Gale would take extra special care to ensure that all traps/wards have been deactivated when he brings his beloved Tav home—however, I could see there mayyybee being one or two missed. In which case, a quiet afternoon of Tav exploring their new home might suddenly be disrupted by a glowing Gale appearing and proclaiming, “Hello! Ah! Well—this is rather awkward, isn’t it? Despite ALL prior warnings, you have now breached my inner sanctum and sadly, must be punished for it. I shall now commence following you and reading a selection of Elminster’s teachings on the history of conjuration spells, which is sure to bore you so completely that you will long for death—”

[yanderes-galore]

Sure! @okchijt helped me with the plot, so here you go! Darling is a Mobian/Animal like Sonic who is partially roboticized and sees Eggman like a father.

Prompts Here

Yandere! Sonic Prompts 1, 2, 16

"I'm going to kiss you. Okay? Just...just let me kiss you."

"Tell me you want me. Please. Just for one night tell me...tell me that you want me."

"We shouldn't...we shouldn't do this."

"Why not? What's so bad about enjoying this?"

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Forbidden love, Manipulation, Forced affection, Clingy behavior, Kissing, Dubious/Consensual relationship.

You weren't sure why you bothered coming back here. You should have never started coming to this exact spot in the middle of the night to meet the blue hedgehog. He should've always been an enemy.

He shouldn't be your friend... you shouldn't be doing this-

It was all nice at first. You had been coaxed into meeting the Sonic in private. At first... it was all nice chat. It made you feel seen... made you feel loved... it was like a feeling you've long forgotten.

It was innocent when you came to the hedgehog, Sonic, for a feeling of something new. He often asked if you could leave Eggman and enjoy him. You began to see him as a friend... but always refused the offer.

To you, your visits were a way to have a glimpse into a normal life. You could justify it by just telling yourself it was all to get information. You wanted to have a normal life with Sonic... but could not leave the doctor.

You could tell how much your answers affected the hedgehog. He never seemed to like the idea of you staying with Eggman more than him. As a result... the innocent nature of his visits shift to something else.

Sonic's attempts to persuade you grow more desperate as you continue to meet him at night. His words became more aggressive and persistent. He even began to touch your hands or pull you into his embrace. Sonic seemed to try his best to pull you into his side...

But you remained loyal to Eggman.

He hated every second of it.

Even now as you meet the hedgehog leaning against a tree you can see him glaring. You refuse to run from him and stand before him despite your fears. Even when he wraps himself around you... your barely flinch.

"Just come back with me..." Sonic whispers, green eyes pleading towards you. He's acted like this before... which is why you didn't bother leaving. However... it was never this intense.

"I know you're part robot due to Eggman now... but you'll always have a home with me!" Sonic begs. "Don't you want a normal life? I can give you that!"

You say nothing and silently wonder again if this was a good idea. You shouldn't have ever met up with him in the first place. Now look where you are.

"Come on... please admit you want this!" Sonic pleads, keeping an intense gaze in your eyes. "Please admit you need me!"

"Sonic..." You sigh, pushing away from his tight grip. "Eggman will notice I'm gone. I really should head back, this wasn't a good idea-"

You barely finish your sentence before Sonic is tackling you onto the ground. You gasp as the wind is knocked out of you. That green gaze that always seemed so welcoming... now looks spiteful and glaring.

This... wasn't your friend anymore.

"No! You can't leave yet!" Sonic cries out. You go silent as the hedgehog's breathing goes ragged on top of you. Fear pings throughout as you try to assess the situation.

"Tell me you want me. Please. Just for one night tell me...tell me that you want me." Sonic whispers, looking desperately towards you for some sort of validation. Shock courses through you as the hedgehog leans closer.

Sonic didn't want to be your friend... Sonic wanted to he something else.

Your ears pin back in shock... what do you say?

You're brought back to your senses when Sonic leans closer.

"I'm going to kiss you. Okay? Just...just let me kiss you." Sonic whispers softly, nose touching yours. "I've... waited a long time for this."

This makes you make a move.

"We shouldn't...we shouldn't do this." You lightly push away the hedgehog, face heating at the thought. However, Sonic gently holds your wrist. He's soothing....

"Why not? What's so bad about enjoying this?" Sonic whispers with a small smile. "Don't you want to be loved?"

You say nothing and Sonic presses his lips softly on yours.

Truth is... you did want to be loved... no matter how strange it felt...

You just wonder how long it will last.

[tropicalcontinental]

Entity Kevin (Rogue AI that just wants to learn what it can about humans and their lives. Is quite upfront about doing this instead of the usual slow-burn. Will stick around as long as the person is interesting. Still somehow manages to be the best anti-virus around. Will not let himself on your computer if you're boring by his standards.)

He also steals and retains information by eating it. He is unsure why he was programmed like this.

Y'know the drill (more yapping below)

Thinking about what Kevin would even be in the Swap!AU that's in my head, and it kinda came down to either him being that AU's Souler, or something else completely.

I settled on something else completely since I feel like Zander is the closest in relation to Souler (being his victim and all, while Kevin is like, somewhat related.) (Zander fills Souler's role, somehow.) So instead of a Paranormal Mercenary interested in the supernatural, he's an entity himself interested in humans. And also he's an anti-virus program because why not (inspired by Digital Satan, Kevin's own anti-virus and assumed experience with coding, and a pinch of headcanon.)

But instead of being obsessive or whatever, I feel like it would be funny if Kevin is just looking for any remotely interesting humans after getting bored of being just an anti-virus/BonziBuddy esque software (he accidentally gained sentience, as one does.) He stays on your computer and sticks around for as long as you are interesting before dipping to find someone else.

Doesn't mean he can't be nosey and get all your personal information and still be a Rogue AI that doesn't understand personal boundaries, but it comes from deep curiosity instead of crippling loneliness and using your personal information to persuade you to not delete him.

He also may do his job as an anti-virus while changing random stuff to your files for fun because bored Rogue AI gotta bored Rogue AI. Still boasts about being the best anti-virus on the market (validity to be inclined towards true.) Also a pretty good Entity Deterrent (entities impede on his human research so they get dealt with.) He may also wish to be human, but it's more of a desire to observe beyond his digital confines than be with anyone in particular.

In short, someone get this guy a robot body he needs to go into Sociology. Entity!Kevin is this world's Little Mermaid, except there is no love to be found along the path of knowledge. Just more information.

[arceespinkgun]

In regards to Marvel Prowl, I think the disconnect about Prowl’s character has to do with the difference between the UK and US comics? Maybe he was portrayed a little different in one of them that caused the origin of the prick personality to come to light. I’m not too sure

Unlike somebody like Grimlock who was written really differently between the US and UK stories before attempted course correction, Prowl never struck me as being particularly different between them. Budiansky's US comics from the very start still featured some level of bluntness and rudeness to him, like I remember Prowl saying he found Bluestreak's prattling annoying. And when Mirage suggested the Autobots just steal fuel from the humans, Prowl didn't say something like, "Stealing from other lifeforms is wrong" but instead said, "Your plan is both simple and simple-minded" lol I do think this abrasive streak led to the prick in-joke, I just personally don't consider a fundamentally good person lacking in social graces or getting stressed out to be a prick.

I do think that UK writer James Hill wrote him as the most angry of all the writers, he's the one who wrote him snapping at Jetfire, but like I said in another post that still reads as pretty mild behavior. Actually, can I just say that this snippet I've put below the cut from "Hunted!" which is one of the annual stories Hill wrote really reminds me of like, the dynamic between TFA Prowl and Bumblebee? XD

"Prowl? How much longer must we monitor these news broadcasts?" Bumblebee's words echoed throughout the cavernous room that he shared with the Autobots' master strategist.

"Optimus Prime instructed us to look out for Decepticon activity," Prowl snapped, his eyes hardly leaving the grey image that he watched flickering across a large video screen, "and that's what we're going to do until he and the others return to the Ark."

Bumblebee moved away from his comrade, his arms slumped by his sides. It just wasn't fair. The other Autobots were on a mission, a mission that would undoubtedly bring them into conflict with the Decepticons. It was a mission that Bumblebee had been purposely excluded from. "It's typical," he muttered, just loud enough for Prowl to hear. "Why's it always me that gets the boring tasks? I bet Jazz never…"

"Look… on the screen!"

Bumblebee hurriedly spun around. On the video screen an unshaven man could be seen standing in the centre of a jungle clearing. Torrential rain battered his frail form and a blanket had been wrapped around his shoulders. A young woman was gently trying to persuade him to enter a nearby Jeep. Prowl remained motionless, completely trans-fixed by this image. Long minutes passed before he spoke. "Can't you see it?" he whispered, almost to himself. "On the ground, a small piece of metal."

"Are you all right?" Bumblebee asked. He was beginning to worry about Prowl. Perhaps the pressures he was under had finally taken their toll on his logic circuits.

Ignoring his friend's concern, Prowl continued to stare at the screen. "Quickly, computer," he shouted, "freeze frame! Now, enlarge the picture." He turned toward his smaller comrade. "According to the commentary I received through this audio link-up," he said, pointing to a heavy cable that connected his chest to the video screen, "that man is Doctor John Butler. He was a member of an expedition team that recently disappeared in South America. The Red Cross found him in the jungle and he's now being treated for shock in a convent hospital."

"That's all very interesting," Bumblebee said, a quizzical expression etched across his robotic features, "but what's it got to do with us?"

The Autobots' tactician pointed fiercely at the computer-enlarged image on the video screen. A small metallic chip was lying in the undergrowth. "That piece of metal is not of Earth design," Prowl exclaimed, "It was manufactured on Cybertron… And if my memory circuits are correct, it was once part of Ravage's armoured hide!"

"But that would mean the Decepticons are active in South America."

"It's more than likely. We'd best inform Optimus Prime." Prowl raised his right arm and spoke into a radio transmitter that he'd previously built into his wrist circuits. "Autobot Prowl calling group leader Optimus Prime." There was no reply. Prowl switched to another frequency. "Prowl calling Optimus Prime." Again nothing. Not even the faintest whisper of a signal. "It's no good," Prowl cried, "something's interfering with the radio transmissions. I'm receiving nothing but static!" Rage swelled within him and he tore the audio link up from his chest in an uncharacteristic fit of anger. A shower of sparks was sent across the room.

"Hey, watch it!" cried Bumblebee.

Prowl marched toward the room's exit.

"So what do we do now?" Bumblebee shouted after him.

"There's nothing we can do," he replied, "except wait."

"Wait!" Bumblebee chased after the taller Autobot, placing an arm on his friend's shoulder. "The longer we remain inactive, the greater any possible threat becomes. Surely the two of us should go to South America and investigate."

"No," Prowl said, as he turned and looked down at Bumblebee. "Such a move is out of the question. We've no idea of the Decepticons' strength or of Megatron's plans. Logic dictates that we remain here until Optimus returns. He'll decide on an appropriate plan of action." "

Twin Twist and Top Spin are in the Ark," Bumblebee persisted, "I'm sure they'd help us."

"For the final time, Bumblebee… No! We are not going to South America." Prowl had never been in the jungle before. It was a dark and primal place that defied logic. It was not to his liking. It's utter madness, he thought. How did I let myself be talked into coming to South America?

[tobiasdrake]

Y'know I was thinking about Brave New World and how it's a Hulk movie with Captain America as the Protagonist, and I thought what if we change the antagonist?

Like, instead of a sequel for the "Incredible Hulk" movie, we make it a sequel to "Captain America and the Winter Soldier"?

We bring back Zola, and make the Big Threath "The Sleepers"?

Y'know the Giant Hydra robots.

I think a secret Hydra threat might have increased the movie's unfavorable comparisons to Winter Soldier. Though that might be unavoidable.

Despite Age of Ultron allegedly featuring the very final defeat of Hydra, Hydra is still around, according to Ant-Man. And also Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but that series isn't canon right now.

For me, I think the best thing they could have done would have been to just let Ross be the monster that the movie wants him to be. He's already barking racism at Sam and sacrificing Isaiah for PR and detaining Sterns without trial to force him to give him treatments.

Just take out the parts where the movie turns around and goes, "But he's a really good guy. He's a good guy. Honest. He's such a changed man, I swear!" and just let him be vile. Let the Red Hulk be the actual villain of a movie that culminates in a boss battle with the Red Hulk.

You can still have Sam talk him down at the end!

Make the Red Hulk fight into Ross lashing out after he's been publicly exposed for his crimes, similar to how Iron Man handled the Ironmonger fight. Big fantasy superhero moment where Ross is like "I AM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES" but Captain America is here to drag him away on behalf of The People anyway, and then Ross suddenly reveals what he was making Sterns do to him.

The Red Hulk fight should feel like the culmination of Ross's entire journey across the MCU, from Incredible Hulk to Civil War to Black Widow to Avengers: Endgame and now reaching its apex in Brave New World. Like this is what it's all been building towards. It's all finally coming out here.

It should feel climactic, not just for the movie but for the Saga of Thunderbolt Ross. Finally releasing all of the tension that has been built up for two decades around this smug little shitstain of a man. You don't even need to have seen Incredible Hulk to want to see Captain America break Ross's fucking nose. He's kind of a big deal.

Making him the well-meaning deuteragonist was a wild choice. And seeing how the box office is performing for the film, I can't help but think that this choice ruined any hope the film had of finding its audience.

But I can't help but feel there's a version of this movie that could exist, where Sam gets to have his moment of triumph over a truly heinous Ross, an action-packed boss fight with the Red Hulk, and still ultimately give a big speech that persuades Ross to cut his losses, recognize the futility of his actions, and surrender for his daughter's sake.

[yellowhollyhock]

I was thinking since Donny likes robots what if he joined a secret underground robot fighting club Raph is the first to noticed Donny is always tired so one night he follows him. Does Raph try to stop him or join in that’s up to you. lol

ooh fun scenario! hmm I think any Raph would notice a brother acting odd and follow except maybe 87 (because they'd all three follow together), but which Donatellos would join a robot fight club

2012 I can see this for sure, and in that case Raph's reaction is most likely 'this is stupid, I can't believe you're losing sleep over this, you're cringe come home and btw your robot sucks.' But then maybe the robot wins and Donnie persuades him the money is worth it? Or loses badly and Raph sees his brother sad and completely changes his tune. Or this h. hh. happens during. mutant apocalypse and. Well that's a bit much to wrap my head around rn fjshajdjaj

2003 I don't really see Donny doing this? He seems to favor mech suits more than remote control robots compared to other Donatellos, and maybe that's why I can't picture this because he couldn't go wear it and fight himself, and I don't see him purposely sending someone else (not even Casey ahsgah). Unless it happens in the future but given the prevalent issue of robots rights in fast forward and the fact that he's busy with fixing the time window, probably not. In general Donny is not the turtle to go out looking for a fight, very adventurous yes but confrontational, no not really. Actually this is a plot I'd see more with Angel! Maybe still a bit of a character stretch but I could see it. Which means Casey would be the one to notice and go to Raph for help, and Donny would be tagging along because obviously he wants to see those robots and steal any parts that get knocked off in the fights. And that's very funny to imagine because Raph will have to be the responsible one herding those three like cats just trying to get through the contest and back home safely. I'm sure he'd enjoy himself too, though, he likes watching fights and all the 03 turtles know enough mechanics to be at least a bit interested

rise - I mean this is the episode where Shelldon sneaks off to join the PDs team on a robot fight. Already canonically Donnie is against it and Raph isn't in that episode iirc. Would be fun to see his and Leo's reaction to the story though!

Next Mutation - now see what would happen is, Donnie builds a cool fighter robot, Raph and Mikey get the idea to enter it into some kind of competition they happen to have just heard about, Splinter says Absolutely Not, and then they do it. Probably lose for the sake of learning a lesson by the end of the episode. Or they win but can't get the prize because of being turtles? Or something

2007 - maybe? for moneys? if Raph found out I think he'd be very much on on board, but it depends how the conversation goes-- wait no I know he's Nightwatcher when he finds it. Goes to crash the party because it's an illegal thing and a place where he's likely to find criminals, interrupts a fight Donnie was winning, finds the broken pieces at the lair later and realizes he broke Donnie's bot. But he can't say anything because no one's supposed to know he's the Nightwatcher. And part of him is definitely like 'why is he wasting time with this random stuff instead of fighting crime' and another part of him is like 'ok cool good so Donnie and Mikey do have lives outside of the lair and moping that Leo is gone.' Maybe he'd offer to help with the robot but at that point Donnie (who knows he's the Nightwatcher) is like 'oh no that was just a stupid side project trying to earn some extra cash, dumb idea waste of money I should just stay focused on work' and Raph. Hates that

I don't feel like I know a lot about Mutant Mayhem yet, but this is definitely something I could see them bonding over! And like with 12 I feel like it would start with 'ok my weird little brother and his freaky anime hobbies' but soon turn into 'ROBOT FIGHT ROBOT FIGHT GO DONNIE GO.' Which is funny, I wouldn't have said 12 and mm Raphs were generally that similar

Also. tmnt az turtles this absolutely would happen. Except Raph would catch Donnie sneaking out to just watch the robot fights and then persuade him to join and they'd build their fighter bot together

that's what comes to mind atm. Very fun thought, thanks for sharing!

[palebyulsoo]

Rating TF2 mercenaries if they can vogue {aka "can they serve 💅❤️✨?"}

I was gonna put this in my writing blog since I do want to get back into writing but fuck it, WE BALL 👹💥💥‼️This is a stupid thought that's been poking my mind so it's not for seriousness but mostly shits and giggles 😭 I'll be rating from least to best and giving my little explanations.

{Note : This is MYYYYY opinion. I'm still slowly catching up on the TF2 comics so if there's a few things I may get wrong, that's my bad. 😭 I'm in no way a professional in vogue dancing so I'm just going off from what I know in some bits of dancing- Oh and small spoilers ig? Specifically in Snipers, Medic {it's only a photo in a panel of sorts but just making sureee} and Scouts section mayhaps.}

9. 💥Heavy💥

-I'm sorry, I really do love him but Heavy CANNOT vogue. His ass is NOT doing the death drop. 😭

-Ok I'll give him one little bonus point since the kazotsky kick kinda counts in terms of supporting form, I think he'd be able to do at least a duck walk or smth.

-But honestly? With his form in a ballroom?? Idk about that 💀 AGAIN I LOVE HEAVY BUT HE'S N O T SERVING. HE'S GONNA SHAKE THE BALLROOM.

-Unless maybe he practices on voguing moves or smth idk. 4/10

8. 🔧Engineer🔧

-Ehhh..... Not really serving.

-I don't see Engie as the type to vogue, maybe he can do some hand movements here and there {A bit janky too-} or some dances too but voguing? Death drop? Nope. 🧍

-I definitely think that robot hand he has is heavy or smth, there's noooo way the gunslinger is light at all 😭 and with how he works on machines and stuff? Yeah, idk if his form can support in voguing. 🚶‍➡️

-But like I said! Although janky, he could definitely do waacking with his hands if he practiced. And honestly? Waacking with the gunslinger would actually go hard ngl. 4.5/10

7. 🔥Pyro🔥

-Sort of...? Not really?? I don't know what to say with Pyro. :'))

-Like I can kinda see Pyro voguing but at the same time not really. It's like with Engie where I can see them definitely do waacking or maybe a few more moves.

-But you know what, I'll give Pyro a bonus point because it would be cute to see them do waacking or a vogue dance like okkkkk burn the base down with your moves 😫💅‼️

-While I can't fully picture it, I know Pyro can definitely serve and do a dip. 5/10

6. 🦘Sniper🦘

-Originally, I was gonna put Soldier in 6th but then I thought about it.... And changed their rankings 😔 {pls pLS PLS DON'T SNIPE ME AND HEAR ME OUT-}

-I adore Mick sm and he's just so sudxudjdjdj but I gotta put my bias down for a moment. I knowwww I said I'm slowly catching up with the comics but because I joined in late, I actually stumbled upon spoilers by accident 😔😔😔 {Why does this keep HAPPENING TO ME-}

-But I'm gonna let it slide and give bonus points. Why? While I know that Australians in tf2 lore are well, stronk with strength, I don't think they would focus on dance activities or anything when it comes to being stronk.

-And while Mick may not be physically active with his lanky form, I just KNOW he would definitely kill with his moves. Just teach him the catwalk or something and boom, he's serving. 5.7/10

5. 🦅Soldier🦅

-Oh he's serving alright!....By that, I mean "serving 🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅🦅💥💥💥💥‼️‼️‼️‼️", not "serving 💃💅💕✨".

-Listen, when it comes to Soldier, I don't think he wants to vogue and will definitely believe that voguing is for women {classic toxic masculinity-} and the only thing that will actually be close to serving in tf2 is killbinding {and ykw? in my view, the killbinding counts as a death drop if you time it correctly and can be a serve so it honestly applies to the mercenaries too-}

-BUT ☝️🗣️ I like to believe that when he's persuaded or smth, he definitely serves CUNT in CUNTRY. He pulling all the moves, the waacking is waacking, the catwalk being so FIERCE, and the dip bringing the base down!

-He'd definitely be the type to perfect his dances kinda. That's why sometimes this video just reminds me of him, "SCOUT. RUN THE ROUTE AGAIN! DAMMIT! IT'S C U N T-" 7/10

4. 💣Demoman💣

-Oh my fuck Demo would so SLAY THE BASE DOWN. He's only in 4th because of his alcoholism. 😭

-LIKE HAVE YOU SEEN HIS KAZOTSKY KICK TAUNT???????? HIM DANCING WITH BOTH LEGS AND ARMS??????? THAT HAS GOT TO BE THE HARDEST SHIT I'VE SEEEEEN BUT OMG HE DOES IT SO WELL 😫💕💕💕‼️

-Voguing, whether alcohol or not, THAT SCOTTISH MAN CAN SERVE AND YOU CAN'T TELL ME OTHERWISE. Tavish got that form and body support, aughhhh I bet he can pull even the most difficult ass vogue moves.

-Put on "here comes the hurricane legendary katrina" and I just know Tavish? WILL BE CATWALKING AND DEATH DROPPING SO HARD AUGHHJHSHDDG 8/10 {Just rereading my section for Demo really made it clear that I love him so bad actually aaahshdhxhd}

3. 💉Medic💉

-Shout out to that tiktok video of "'Medic my man' ur man is gay" that started this stupid brainrot of ranking and rating mercenaries on vogue btw. {I LITERALLY HAVE THE VIDEO SAVED BUT TUMBLR WON'T LET ME POST IT NOOOOO-}

-Have you seen Medic? Have you seen h i M?? LOOK ME DEAD IN THE EYE AND TELL ME HE CANNOT SERVE.

1. Scout

-I just know Medic is pulling all the N A S T I E S T death drops oh my ggaaawwhddjdx. He would be so precise with waacking and catwalking, it's not even a joke no more. 😭

-Like even with his fit and stuff, he would still know how dance with no problems. He's serving in medical AND military field! 9/10

2. Spy

-This is my bias peaking but hear me out hEAR ME OUT PLSPPSPLSPLSPLS 😭😭☹️☹️☹️😭☹️😭☹️😭

-Spy definitely knows how to dance, especially waltz and tango, but y'know what I bELIEVE IN SPY SERVING CUNT ENERGY! THAT MAN KNOWS HOW TO BALLROOM VOGUE 😫💥💥💥💥💥💥

-Not only does he serve the floor, HE KNOWS HOW TO DRESS THE PART. Listen, Spy? In that one dress???? The black and blue/gold and white????? AHHHHHH HE WOULD SO DANCE IN THAT FIT OH MY GOD {Can you tell I'm obsessed with the idea of Spy in both suits and dresses? I'm legit a sucker for suits and dresses augh.}

-I know I keep bringing up the kazotsky kick taunts as an example for each Merc {because the kazotsky kick focuses on leg form and core strength, which is the same thing for vogue dances-} but have yOU SEEN HIS LEGS??? THEY'RE SO LONG. THAT MAN COULD EVEN STRUT HIS SHIT AND BE A MODEL‼️10/10

-'SCOUT? S C O U T?? WDYM S C O-" Shhhhh hear me out PLEASE P L E A S E, HE CAN SERVE CUNT LIKE HIS DAD I SWEAR 😭😭😭😭😭😭

-His break dance taunt? Him dancing in general?? He's GOT to be flexible as fuck and know some good moves, he got his legs and speed from SPY. S P Y. LONG ASS LEGS.

-But in all seriousness though, I like to think he got his moves from not just Spy but also his ma too. Mostly comes from a small headcanon of mine where Scout's ma knows a lil bit of go go dancing and maybe when Spy wasn't in the picture, his ma taught Scout a few moves. :3

-He got that groove from both his ma AND dad, so Scout knowing how to catwalk? Waacking? DO A DEATH DROP?? OOOOOOH HE KILLIN EM AHHHH. 10/10

{Note : oh mygodddsjx I'm finished fINALLY- anyways, like I said before- This is mostly my opinion and I made this out of shits and giggles, so it's not serious 😭 I might change it up one day though if I doooo change my mind. Anyways, thanks for reading ig 💀💀💀}

[amxrany]

!! CHAPTER 7 / DIASOMNIA ARC SPOILERS !!

Hi I just got home, so let's get to it (Part 1):

Picking up where we left off, where the main gang meet up with Idia. Sebek thought that all of them were awake in the real world but Idia was like "nah we're still stuck in the dream world"

I completely forgot that Idia barely touches grass (joke) in the main story so he introduces himself to the Silver and Sebek and when Sebek introduces himself Idia got scared cuz of how loud he was 😭

Since Idia's awake, Silver immediately goes on defense thinking that the darkness or even Malleus will attack. But then, Ortho comes on screen (like literally he appears on a monitor) telling the gang that they don't have to worry about that for a while.

Edit: There's this one part I legit forgot to add which I will now cuz it's funny where Silver and Sebek were just sandwiching Idia and Idia's says something along the lines of getting hurt from being squeezed between armor (Sebek) and HARD MUSCLES (Silver) LIKE WE GET IT IDIA WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Ortho then explains to the rest about how he managed to escape the dream world and transfer his consciousness to STYX. Although he's not able to conjur Unique Magic because he's not a mage, but rather a humanoid robot, he still has his unique perks (aw that's cute)

Flashback Time: So we have Cerberus Ortho investigating the current situation of Sage Island, trying to prevent the thorns from spreading as well as break through the shield, which is apparently much harder than the open gates of the Underworld. But don't worry guys the Shroud Parents are also there to help him out.

Ortho was given a 20 minute time limit to analyze Malleus's magic, because once those 20 minutes are up he shuts down, which was difficult. UNTIL THE MAN OF THE HOUR MALLEUS APPEARS, who's surprised that Ortho was awake. But Ortho tells Malleus that he simply switched bodies cuz he's an AI, which is something Malleus probably doesn't understand (damn AHAHAHAHAHA)

Knowing that he needed to buy some for the machinery thingies (idk what they're called don't even ask) to collect the needed data, Ortho challenges Malleus. Malleus admires the fact Ortho can keep his sanity for so long, thinking that it's the pinnacle of technology. It was a crazy battle, with Ortho losing one of his dogs

OH MALLEUS I LOVE YOU BUT YOU BITCHHHH (mostly the latter btw)

Ortho's running out of time, with only 30 seconds left and Malleus is about is to put him to sleep. he says he's sorry to his parents NOOOO

BUT SOMETHING HAPPENS, the attack stops; STYX came in just in time to intervene. The Shroud parents uses their drones to attack Malleus's shield and Ortho uses a full blast to get him out of Sage Island and land himself back to STYX and we get this moment of the Shrouds (minus Idia) collapsing into each other's arms.

MALLEUS NO

Ortho regains consciousness after awhile and tells his parents that he's guilty the the two robot dogs were destroyed (oh yeah forgot to mention the other one was destroyed too whoopsie), but Mama Shroud said that they can just repair them and we just have this heartfelt moment in the family.

That is, until Papa Shroud brings up that the magic used by Malleus reminds him of the ancient magic surrounding Grim. Another thing is that it's downright impossible to destroy Malleus's realm from the outside UNLESS Malleus himself disappears. They can't destroy the realm by force either because it will also permamnently lock all victims inside of it. The only thing they can do is to be as persuasive as possible to let Malleus let go of everyone (but trust me when I say I don't think that will work)

So they bring up Maleficia as someone who can persuade Malleus, but Mama Shroud has something else in mind and shows Ortho a live from Idia's dream, which is when he notices something was off. It's possible that she found a way to access everyone's dreams (and let's just say Idia is just like his mum). That;s when Ortho realizes what his mom meant, and that is to find a way to get everyone to wake up and find a way to disrupt the dream world.

Okay Ima end the first part here for now, sorry this took awhile guys I had lots of things to do the moment I got home 😭. But I promise to get things out as quick as I can (I still have a reflection paper to speedrun lmao)

Next: Part 2

[copper-9spurgatory]

J- I have to ask- was it really N's fault? everything that happened? all his fault? somehow Sheila liked'em more then you? was he ever personally mean to you? belittled you? intentionally caused you harm? and just cause she liked'em more- wouldn't that've meant he interacted with'er more? drew her ire more? people like that, tend to treat those they LIKE worse- if not more covertly- and due to the whole- robot servant thing- not much any of you could've done! so I just ask- dose he really deserve that much resentment? if you think so- I can't change ya'n won't really- try! just- asking ya to really think bout it-

It wasn’t N’s FAULT but he did play a part. He lacks a spine and would always slither back to Sheila whenever he’s mildly inconvenienced. He’s her yes-man and wouldn’t dare to do anything to upset her. Hell, he never defended nor protected us three, HE NEVER HAD OUR BACKS.

While he had fun playing with Sheila, we would always be in the path of her wrath. Do you think he would’ve at least tried to persuade Sheila into being kinder? Of course not, he just sit there and let it happen.

Sheila liked him for his dependence on her, how spineless and “cute” he is. Y’know, getting rid of the old dog to make room for the puppy,