#how many other zombie drones are/were there?

[shinxeysartgallery]

J is kind of an asshole and I think we all realize that especially after what she did in Episode 8. Still think she's being hated on a bit too hard though.

She knowingly sided with Cyn, despite knowing what she was responsible for, and that's obviously not a good thing. However, do keep in mind that all of the affected Elliot Manor drones are just traumatized children at the end of the day. Cyn put all of them through immeasurable horrors. Even without Cyn's influence, the drones were treated horribly by the humans (other than Tessa). And based off the scratched-off armbands that we saw N, V, and J have that also match Cyn's armband, there's strong implications that all three of them are also "zombie drones" much like Cyn is herself. We don't know what they were subjected to before being tossed into the dump and later being found by Tessa.

As J and V are fighting, J makes an interesting comment that sheds some light on her motivations. "...It tricked me, too." Obviously, that was never elaborated on, but it strongly implies that she had made some sort of a deal with Cyn for an unknown reason. We got confirmation that V also had made a deal with Cyn, which was basically that she'd do whatever Cyn wanted as long as she wouldn't hurt N (and then would leave them both alone). Don't know if N also made a deal, but he's likely there as a part of V's deal.

So it makes me wonder, what exactly did Cyn promise J? Did she tell her that she could bring back Tessa? Promise to not let her die again? Something else entirely? Based on her comment to V, SOMETHING was definitely promised that ended up being a lie. Everyone reacts to trauma differently. Saw a post a while back (will hyperlink it later if I can find it again) by another user doing a very good breakdown of how they perceived the drones' personalities changed as a result of their trauma. N became a doormat because he kept getting hurt or hurting others every time he stood up for himself or someone else. (They also add that V's coldness towards him contributed to it and made him lose a lot of self-confidence.) V became rather cold because she was basically forced to turn off her emotions to cope with what she was doing. And she was purposefully mean to N to chase him away as an attempt to protect him from Cyn. J became a corporate bootlicker because she was terrified of being discarded again, so now she feels like she has to prove that she's useful.

And I think those theories all definitely hold some water here and help to explain why J still chose to side with Cyn, even after realizing that whatever their deal was was a lie. It's likely that she realized that if she decided to side against Cyn, Cyn would've just killed her straight-up. And that's really not out of the question, considering what she did to N and V once she realized that those two had asked too many questions and realized that she was the bad guy they wanted nothing to do with. If J had also gone against her, she'd just be replaced with either a clone that had its memories wiped (as evident by Cyn's comment to N in Episode 7: "your clones will forgive me") or a personality shift, or just flat-out a completely different drone altogether. There's also her comment towards V during their fight. "I promise it's better on the winning team.", which implies that J had full belief that Uzi wouldn't have been able to stop Cyn and Cyn was going to get her way no matter what. That paired up with the personality shift might imply that she felt trapped. Cyn preyed on her vulnerability and fears of being discarded and weaponized them against her. She believed that Cyn was going to win no matter what, and if she went against Cyn, she was going to be discarded again. Despite knowing she was tricked, she probably stays loyal to Cyn because she's terrified of that outcome. She doesn't want to die, she doesn't want to be thrown away again. But the only person she feels she can get that security from is the same one that basically caused all of her problems. That same person is practically the equivalent of a god in the universe and seemingly NOTHING can stop it. What choice does she have in that perspective?

I still feel like she's an incredibly tragic character. Horribly mistreated by humans, forced to watch (or participate in) her best friend's death at the hands of the one she despises the most, sees the same bestie be horribly mutilated and disfigured, be forced to commit horrible atrocities herself, and be manipulated and lied to. She deserves a redemption arc.

You're obviously allowed to still hate/dislike her, but that's just my thoughts on it!

[factual-fantasy]

Heya Factual! Wanted to give ya a million pats on the back for the new art- obviously it looks great as always- but also I'm always excited for new Grimace lore! The monopoly gag was hilarious- I actually thought it was serious for a moment- and then I was ecstatic to see him finally evolve into a Gengar- now he looks even more like Grimace than ever before!

Seeing him evolve reminded me of an interesting fact that I wanted to tell you and Grimace- it's been recently confirmed that Gengar is actually the favorite Pokemon of Atsushi Nagashima, the game director of the entire Pokemon TCG! He said during a recent tour that that's the reason Gengar gets so many cards every year- is because he just likes him a whole lot! So anytime Grimace is feeling down, he can remember that he and his kin hold a special place in the heart of the man responsible for balancing their very existence- at least on the table top!

As for my usual Mario stuff- thanks again for answering my last batch of Asks- I think your implementation of Snifits especially will work quite well! And as for today- I just wanted to keep it simple, and ask for some clarifications regarding an already existing species in the AU, if that's okay, that being the spooky scary dry bones!

You've mentioned them a couple times I'm the past- I believe as creations of Kamek- but I don't think you've ever drawn them- any ideas what they'd look like in your style? Would they maintain any semblance of their former selves- or be mindless zombies like in the movie? What would be involved in creating one? And would the spell only work on normal koopas- or would it be used to raise other creatures- perhaps even deceased royal Koopas to create dry Bowsers!?

And also as a sort of side Ask- have you seen the Super Mario Bros Movie yet? If you have what did you think? I noticed you mention it in the last post regarding the Snifits- but I couldn't tell if you were talking about the trailer or the film itself...

(Oh, and as always, thanks for taking the time to answer all our Asks- hope you're finally over the hill and feeling a bit better!)

@neo-metalscottic (Monopoly gag post) (Gengar evolve post)

Thank you so much!! :DD I'm glad you had fun with those posts! XDD And that's so interesting! :0 I would have thought his favorite Pokémon was Pikachu XDD

Now for your dry bones questions...

As for the royal koopas thing.. When Kamek beings something to live/back to life. They are basically just a mindless zombie. They hold no memories of their old selves it seems.. so when a royal koopa dies, they just let them rest. Becuase bringing them back to life would just make them this mindless drone.. not only would it be disgusting and depressing, but its also probably seen as rather disrespectful. To bring someone of such high status back to life as a mindless slave is just.. not great. Hence why Bowsers wife was simply buried when she passed. There's nothing Kamek could do to bring the real her back..

As for the dry bones, I have a solid concept. Buuuut I'm not super sure how it fits into the AU quite yet..

I was thinking that however many years ago.. there was some kind of war or battle that the koopa kingdom was involved in. And they were losing. They were losing too many soldiers.. So out of desperation.. The current king and queen ordered Kamek to do the unthinkable. Bring their fallen soldiers back to life..

They won the battle. But at a cost. Now the majority of their army/citizens are these mindless zombies.. its hard to say how much of the original koopa remains in these dry bones.. since they don't seem to have any memories of their past life..

The remaining living koopas would eventually repopulate and grow in in numbers. They would also learn to live along side the dry bones.. But its always really disturbing to be a koopa and seeing your great grandfather's corpse mindlessly wandering the streets.. still wearing the same armor he was wearing when he died during the great war..

As for their appearance, I actually pictured them being rather large skeletons. A lot of them are missing limbs or have broken bones.. they are all wearing old timey armor that they had on during the war. They are rather mindless and unresponsive to most things.. Though I imagine when some kind of danger is spotted, they suddenly jump to life and become really animated. Rushing towards the threat and neutralizing it swiftly and violently. Just like the soldiers did back in the day..

Once the threat is neutralized, they slump their shoulders. And begin to slowly wander again…

There's a lot I would like to do with this. I wanna experiment with the koopas interacting with the dry bones. Perhaps covering them in flowers to pay respects but to also make them seem less scary to children..

Perhaps some koopa families find their relatives and guide them by the hand back home and have them participate in family gatherings. Maybe its their way of coping.. or they're just showing love. "No matter how far gone you seem or how long ago you died, I still love you. And you are still apart of this family." 🥺

Sometime I'd like to draw them on my pc. But as it stands I'm still rather unwell and cant sit at my desk for very long 😭💔

As a last note, I did finally watch the Mario movie! :D... IIIIt was about what I expected. <XD

Other than Mario and Luigi's relationship being spot on? I found myself rolling my eyes the whole movie. Its probably safe to say that I'm not the target audience and that most people had a lot of fun with it.

And hey! If I didn't like the movie, I can just make my own Mario universe. Which is what I did! XDD

[haastera]

A Complete Explanation of the Ep7 or 8 Flashback (My Guess)

I may have put most of the pieces together about the core collapse.

-JCJ arrives in the aftermath of the mansion incident to investigate, possibly due to Tessa's parents having ties to the company.

-JCJ either captures some of the infected workers or interrogates Tessa to figure out what happened. Tessa tells them about CYN, and that she was a Zombie drone. The corporation realizes that the AS has something to do with mutated AI and begins the Cabin Fever program on Copper 9, watching as the AS and legions of Murder drones overrun world after world to harvest all life, be it biological or drone, in the name of feeding their insatiable thirst for oil.

On Copper 9 they construct Cabin fever labs and begin their experimentation. Worker drones are admitted into the program as an alterative to being disposed of or are Zombie drones that JCJ recovered. Their goal is to recreate the circumstances that led to CYN.

The experimentation involves torturing drones to damage their AI and induce the AS mutation. Once they have an infected drone, research shifts to analyzing the AS capabilities, the infection's impact on a worker drone, it's progression, and how to stop/control it. The worker's directly involved in this research wore gloves as a possible (and apparently ineffective) way to restrict their powers and low cut shirts to expose their core, providing advanced warning to the Cabin fever staff of AS infection nearing critical mass.

However, for as of yet unknown reasons the program was shut down. Perhaps they realized just how big of a nuclear bomb they were playing with by deliberately inducing Solver mutations or mistakenly believed they had hit a dead end in their research. Alternatively, the program may have been shut down because of it's success, with JCJ no longer needing the test subjects.

Regardless of the reason, all the test subjects were to be disposed of. Nori may have first tried to negotiate with the humans to avoid her and the other's disposal. If she did her pleas were unsuccessful and in her overwhelming desperation the AS succeeded in directly controlling her in the same way UZI was hijacked when trying to save N, killing as many of the Cabin Fever labs personnel as it could get it's tentacles on.

While controlled by CYN Nori's mind is temporarily synced to the hivemind and shares in it's memories. She sees the AS consuming the biomass of entire planets and converting them into oil to fuel itself and endless legions of Murder drones. Biomechanical predators the AS has created as it's soldiers.

Nori mentally defeats CYN/regains control and decides to sabotage the infrastructure JCJ was utilizing to generate geothermal energy from Copper 9's core, triggering a core collapse to wipe out all biological life on the planet in an effort to starve the AS out.

The resulting explosion creates the entrance N, V, Tessa and UZI jump down in ep6 and buries Nori underneath the snow. She is later rescued by Khan and a party of worker drones who have arrived at Camp 98.7 to investigate the blast.

Nori begs Khan to create a series of fortified outposts to shelter the workers from the Murder drones she knows the AS will send to harvest the drones' oil.

Meanwhile, the CYN-Solver is incensed at failing to corrupt Nori and fearful that JCJ's research may very well hold the key to it's defeat, even if the humans don't yet realize it. The CYN-Solver sends the Murder drones to Copper 9 with 2 goals as opposed to the usual 1.

First Task: Construct the spires by harvesting all life near their landings zones (now just drones after the core collapse)

Second task: Seek out any facilities with the Cabin Fever symbol, enter them, and burn it down. Destroy every trace of the research JCJ was conducting on the AS to prevent the creation of more drones like Nori and keep humanity in the dark.

Can't wait for Ep7 to come out and prove literally of this wrong.

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

Ψ M is for Maraclea: Chapter One

M is for Maraclea: Following an accident you had over summer break, you find yourself in limbo after being legally dead for several minutes. Now an outcast at boarding school, you end up finding comfort in a strange boy named Nigel. As winter draws near and tragedy strikes, your only reprieve from madness comes from a mind much like your own.

Warnings: Mentions of Drowning, Mean Girls, Reader Has Trauma.

To Note: Nigel Colbie x Fem!Reader, NAMED Reader for Plot Reasons, There Are A Lot of DARK Themes.

Word Count: ~2.3k

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You felt like you were going to fall asleep. Mrs. Kamp had one of those voices that put many a girl to sleep during her lectures on the 17th century religious between the king and parliament. You didn’t quite understand why this subject why it was so important to go so in-depth about it. Probably because your boarding school was religious. Very religious. The entire reason you were there. Your father was busy dealing with your brother, the last thing he needed was for you to cause him trouble too.

Granted your boarding school was only a stones throw from Alex’s, and where your father was currently headmaster, but you still felt like he was trying to send you off for someone else to take of. Lord knows he’s still quite paranoid after what happened over the summer. You were about to start drawing another round of circles in your notebook when you felt the girl behind you poke your back.  Your pencil paused and you heaved an internal sigh as a crumpled note sailed over your shoulder.

With a clenched jaw, you reached for the note and slowly uncrumpled it, your eyes tiredly watching as Mrs. Kamp continued to drone on about the crusades and the importance of attending Sunday mass. Eyes dropping ever so briefly, you didn’t even other to read the full message when you caught sight of your new nickname. Zombie Fish Girl.

Nearly everyone at the school called you that. Certainly after the news of your accident circulated the social groups. You’d been visiting a great aunt in the countryside and several town girls had invited you to go swimming. Long story short, you’d suffered a muscle cramp and had ended up drowning. You’d been dead for about five minutes before you miraculously came back to life. You did quite understand how the story of your accident had reached your school. But it had, and the girls had been mercilessly teasing you about it ever since. Perhaps tease, wasn’t the right word. Cruel. That was far more accurate. At the very least your roommate was quite nice, but Susan was nice to everyone. You ignored the note for the rest of the class and tossed it in the bin as you left.

Ignoring the snickers an snide calls as you walked the halls of your school were easy enough, but avoiding sharp elbows and feet purposely stuck out, was hard. Certainly when your things went flying and you crashed down onto your knees with a grimace. Like today. Only you had a few extra books with you and your pencil pouch burst open at the seams.

Trying not to scream or cry in frustration, you reached out and began collecting your things. Pencils clenched in your grasp, you shoved them into the pocket of your school blazer and picked up the scrap of your pencil pouch. You’d stitched it shut the last time it broke open… but this time you were pretty sure that no amount of stitching would fix what had broken. Much like you. Feet appeared in your side vision and Susan knelt down next to you, grabbing the rest of your loose papers and stacking them in a neat pile.

“I’ve asked them to stop several times,” Susan softly mentioned, handing you your papers as you gathered your books against your chest. “I don’t understand why they won’t listen.”

“They’re just being girls,” You mumbled, getting to your feet and trying not to grimace as your knees sharply ached. You glanced down and saw that you had broken skin on the old stone floor, blood slowly dripped down your shin. Staring numbly at your battered, broken, and bruised skin, your face remained passive as you blinked tiredly. You couldn’t wait to get away from this place.

“It is still cruel of them to make fun of something that was so serious,” Susan tutted, her eyes carefully examining you. You’d changed when you came back from summer vacation, and she knew that the accident was the cause of it. Since meeting you in year nine, Susan had gotten to know you as a quiet but nice girl. Someone who actively participated in the school activities. You were just a shell now. “Why don’t to come with me to practice? There’s a grand piano we’re using for the play and Michael from the academy is sick, so we don’t have someone to play for us while we practice.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve touched a piano.” You mused. Your father wouldn’t be pleased to hear that and would want you to make sure that you were keeping up with the skill. “I suppose if I could help.” Susan hummed happily and you walked along side her, back to your shared dorm. After dropping off your school supplies, you and Susan began the trek to the boys academy. It wasn’t the far of a walk, perhaps a kilometer and a half, but it was a winding one.

You were walking in silence with a few other groups from your academy, listening to their giggles and gossip while enjoying the dampness that hung in the air.

“We really should have cleaned up your knees before leaving the dorm, Mary.” Susan tutted, glancing down at your knees. You’d really taken a tumble when you had been tripped. “I’m sure that the nurse at the boys academy will have something that we can use to clean your wound.” You made sound of acknowledgment and let your eyes wander to the lake that separated the girls academy from the boys. The water was gentle, barely disturbed by the somber of the day.

A normal person would have some fear of water after drowning, certainly being so close to such a large lake. But not you. You found the water placid, inviting, curious even. What you would give to feel that beautiful peace once more. Susan drew you from your inner thoughts.

“Oh, it looks like we got here before everyone else,” She mused, eyeing the rather empty hall where the play would take place. You blinked, wondering why you had arrived at the academy. Time either slipped by incredibly fast for you, or it lasted an eternity. Looking around, your eyes settled on the grand piano set up in the corner of the large space. “You will find the sheet music in a folder.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” You murmured, silently making your way over to the piano. The folder was resting on the stand. You took it and looked in the contents. It was all family complex pieces, no novice would accomplish playing the entirety of the play, that was for sure. You look at your fingers, wondering if you still play as well as your father had demanded. He wouldn’t want you to play if you were anything but perfect. He did have a reputation to uphold.

“Do you think you’ll manage?” Your eyes lifted to see Susan gazing at you with a hopeful look. 

“I will need to practice, but yes,” You replied, closing the folder. Susan beamed at you and the chatter of other girls and a few of the boys from the academy proceeded to steal her attention away. Setting the folder to the side, you took a seat on the piano bench and lightly ran your fingers over the ivory keys. Familiar yet foreign. Everything felt foreign after you died. Pressing down on a key, you carefully listened to the sound the large instrument made.

“It needs to be tuned,”

“Did you say something Mary?” Susan asked, pausing in her efforts to check that all of her costume was there. You lifted your eyes to meet hers and repeated yourself.

“The piano, it needs to be tuned,” You pressed the key again, making the slightly off note play again. “The strings are off.” Susan blinked for a moment before turning to Ethel, the stage manager from the girls academy.

“Will you see that the piano is tuned?” Ethel eyed you for a moment before agreeing and scribbling on the clipboard she held.

“I’ll have that done, the custodian here should be able to get it done by tomorrow.” Ethel announced before turning back to Susan, plainly ignoring your presence. You were fine with that. Ethel wasn’t one of the mean ones, she just ignored you. Since the piano needed tuning, you spent your time pressing different keys, checking the weight and pressure needed for this particular piano. You were almost grimacing from the off key notes filling the grand room.

“I didn’t know you were that bad at playing the piano, sis,” Your fingers stilled on the ivory keys and you looked to the side to see your brother lounging against a nearby doorway.

“The piano needs—”

“Tuning, clearly, even a rabid dog could sound better than that.” Alex said, cutting you off. He nodded his chin at you. “What’re you doing here?”

“I was invited,” You answered, withdrawing your hands into your lap. “I can’t imagine you had a reason for being around here willingly.’ Alex’s eyebrow arched in challenge, but before he gave you a quick witted response Susan was gliding over to you.

“Mary, Eloise was having difficulty with the strings of her dress and I could use your help.” Susan announced, breaking your concentration on your brother to look at her.

“Oh, is Sadie not here today? I thought she was in charge of the costumes.” Your comment had Susan gesturing over her shoulder.

“She stayed behind to finish some work she missed last week.” Hmm, you had noticed that Sadie has been out of class last week. Standing up, you gave your brother one last look.

“If that is all, Alex,” He smirked at you and disappeared down the hall behind him. Turning around, you faced Susan once more.

“Where is Eloise?”

“This way,”

The piano had been tuned for you and now played beautifully. This day most of the play efforts were going into building the set, so you were alone in the grand room. You were once again pressing random keys, checking to make sure that the sound produced were up to your standards. All the notes that you played sounded adequate, so you riffled through the folder of music for the play and picked one at random. Placing the sheet music in front of you, you gave it a once over to get the gist of where your finger placements would be. Then you placed your fingers on the keys, and a foot on the pedals, and began.

The music piece started off slow, single keys pressed, single notes filling the large room in a silence breaking sound. But slowly… slowly the more and more notes were added and your fingers were soon flying across the keys in rapid succession. It was a symphony of sonorous music meant to break hearts and intrude on a watery traveler. By no means was this a happy piece, no it was a dark and chilling. It was a piece that one might find in a haunted gothic church on a stormy night

But as you were slowly falling into the darkened melody, something in the back of your mind called for awareness of your surroundings. Your fingers slowed, the haunting music drifting  away to silence as you looked around with a puzzled look on your face. Were you not alone? No one was with you in the grand room, you could see that much… but at the same time you didn’t feel like you were alone. Not at all.

Rising from the piano bench, you strode a few paces, further looking around for anyone lingering. Perhaps one of the girls had forgotten something after cleaning up from rehearsal? You stepped into the foyer of the grand hall and gazed out the window. No, all the girls were still working on the set props. You must have been imagining things again, it was an increasing occurrence since the accident.

“Mary?” The call of your name from your father brought you back, and twisting your head, you saw him approaching. He’d been overly concerned for you since the summer, but at least you didn’t have to bear the brunt of his parenting while at the girls academy. Your brother wasn’t as lucky.

“Father,” You greeted quietly, wondering what he wanted from you this time. He strode up to you and looked you over, noting your banged up knees. Bruising and healed cuts marred your skin.

“I heard that you were assisting with the play by taking the piano position.” He commented, observing you closer. “I am happy to see you getting more interactive with school activities.”

“They needed someone to play the music,” You answered absentmindedly. “Susan asked if I would fill in for Michael during rehearsal.”

“Still, it’s good to see you out and about, you haven’t been the same since—” He cut himself off and cleared his throat. “Never mind that, have you been attending your doctor visits? Mrs. Smith said that you haven’t been attending the math league meetings regularly. You’ve been spending more time alone.”

“It’s not the same as it was last semester, I do not enjoy spending time around the girls as I once did,” You didn’t bother telling him about the cruel nicknames they now called you. There was no point, no one around understood what you were feeling. Your words clearly bothered your father, but he couldn’t complain when you weren’t hiding out in your dorm room reading. This was far better than that.

“Do keep attending rehearsals,” He ordered. “To get back to your normal life you need to stop hiding yourself away.” You stood stiffly as he walked away, feeling nothing within your heart. Your father was just another person who didn’t understand. Glancing back at the piano, you briefly thought about returning to it and immersing yourself in that gothic music once more. In the end you decided to numb yourself with a chilly walk back to your dorm.

Date Published: 8/14/23

Last Edit: 8/14/23

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[honey-minded-hivemind]

Imagine the WoF/X-Men 🧪Hivemind AU starring dragonet Reader, Dad!Dragon!Logan, and a mix of the X-Men/Brotherhood teens trying to flee the hordes of zombies/drones...

Dad!Dragon!Logan would not be catching any breaks, and while yes, technically the Hivemind dragons don't want to hurt them (assimilation isn't peachy, though), he can't help but want to stab them over and over again. Some crazed, brainwashed lizards want to kidnap, possibly hurt, his kid? Turn any of his kids into that?! Oh blazing f*cking moons NO. Takes them to hide out in the places that are more obscure in Pantala/Pyrrhia, like the Pantalan mountains or sinkhole, and the Pyrrhian NightWing island and chilly area between the Sand and Ice Kingdoms. He is not taking chances, and he can't risk the zombies catching him, either. That means the kid/s would be on their own... And while yes, they are capable, would they really be able to last that long on their own, with no adult protection, no city or home to return to, and slimmer chances of a food source...?

If he and the dragonets were to slowly be picked off, I imagine he would be one of the first, if not the first, to be captured, likely defending one of the kids and getting knocked out while his head was turned. The Reader and the other dragonets don't want to leave him, but they aren't left with many options... A few have to stop Reader from trying to stay with him, dragging them back, even as they cry out... The group really is on their own now... And one by one... each encounter they have, trying to escape groups of drones, they seem to always lose someone... until it is just the Reader left, after months of searching for a safe haven and on their last legs...

Within the Hive, Logan would certainly put up a struggle, once he wakes up and finds himself strapped down and weak from whatever drug was used to sedate him... He hates seeing his friends like that, with their moon-white eyes and grinning faces, telling him it will be alright. That there isn't anything to fear, now that they're here for him... How it won't be long for the dragonets to join them... Try as he might, he can't break through his binds, and his frie- the drones, only shush him and pull out two needles... Strong arms keep him pinned even further, the nutjob who claimed they were brothers holding him firmly, along with a dragon who smells of rain and ice... The moment the first needle sinks in, he fights harder, only for the grips on him to tighten... The longer he breathes, the more tired he feels, his talons feeling weighed down and his head feeling heavier with each blink... Talons are soon patting him, soft voices reassuring him, and then the next needle slips in, sending something... warm... into him... A feeling akin to warm honey, sticky and sweet, slowly filling each crack and nook in his mind, sending the world around him spinning... Gentle buzzing stirs the back of his thoughts, small jolts of warmth and peace and calm injected in, like the soothing heat of a soft blanket...

Waking up, everything feels... odd, somehow. Even... right? Voices, his friends, their rivals, the old, the young, all warm and inviting and full of care and joy, happy to know he is safe and with them... But... "Where... where are the kids? Where's MY kid?"... The Hivemind stirs, relaying information to each other, less sentences and more memory, a knowing rather than a learning... The dragonets ran... And... They're alone.... No... no no nO NO! Burning MOONS, WHERE ARE THEY?! ... It takes awhile to spiral back down to themselves, having to lean out of their instincts, but they decide they have to find the kids... Those are THEIR kids, HIS kids, and they are on their own. THAT is unsafe, and means they aren't with THEM, in the Hivemind, within the Hive itself... Joining the search doesn't take long, over the next month or so finding the dragonets one after the other, until the only one still alone, out of reach... is the Reader...

And that just won't do...

And during the months on their own, Reader has been struggling. Losing their dad, their friends, and whatever family and home they once had, has not left them in a healthy mindset... Most days they hardly eat, staying curled up in a small, cold cave hidden within the mountains, only daring to venture out for water after days of not drinking... Their heart hurts, their mind hurts, even their body hurts, suffering from lack of food and crushing depression. But even still...

It doesn't take too long for Logan to find them, and he doesn't like what he sees: His kid, scrawnier and weaker than ever, terrified of every noise or shadow, and shaking with every move they make... It makes his heart break, his friends break, even Dragon!Victor (who was actually right... they were brothers... who would've thought...) break, seeing his once bright and sweet kid a scared, trembling shadow of themself...

They try to run... but it isn't much of a fight. It feels easy, too easy, for him to pin them, to pull them against himself in a firm embrace, trying to soothe them even as they weep and claw against him... Sadness rushes through him, a tacky, oily feeling of guilt bubbling over as he presses the dart into their scales, sending them into a sleepy, quiet state... He promises... he promises they'll be gentle, when they join them to the Hive... It might be scary, but he's there, and he isn't leaving them again... Neither will their friends, who are resting in the Nest as they adjust to the Hive, slowly feeling the same warmth and love he felt seep into them, bringing calm and peaceful bliss... It might take some time for the serum to sink in, the sweetness of the Hive, but he'll always be there for them...

[ria-writes-stories]

Ship: Nuzi

Title: Cherry bright cheeks

Genre: Cotton Romance

Description: Wouldn't you like to know weather boy?/ref

for: (forgive me for the ping)

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(No one's pov)

The cold harsh wind of the atomic winter waste planet waltzed through the empty hollow streets and cities. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound, everything was in a harmonic silence, or so that should be the case...

Uzi and N were on the roof of a tall building, with a stack of magazines and manga next to them. Uzi was showing N some of her favourite manga and magazines, which varied from absolute chaos and riot to simple heavenly illustrations. N being completely new to all of this, he always had questions 'Hey Uzi what's this?' 'What about this?' 'Why did everything get so dark all of a sudden?' 'Wow! so many details!' N was pretty joyful to be able to see all of this as Uzi simply smiled looing at N's uncontained happiness as she explained to him every single little thing, in the most Uzi way possible of course 'It's an alien' 'It's a mutant zombie' Because it is the scene where the protagonist proceeds to unlock their inner anger to destroy, tear and break everything within their path' 'Yes, there are many details, that's why I like it so much'.

Uzi's head was filled with all sorts of thoughts. Her short purple hair was gently being brushed by the hair, like a soft caress of an old friend that hasn't seen her in so long, while her mesmerizing deep purple eyes subtly darted between the pages of the manga to the eyes of her 'friend'. Friend. What a liar she is. A terrible one at that.

Her heart beat a thousand kilometers per hour whenever she saw his smile. His bright shiny star smile, with those yellow eyes of his like two orbs made from the core of the sun itself, so warm, gentle and soft yet capable of cruel, merciless heats of wave enough to kill one. 'You lead a murder drone here?!' the first day they met. The first day they saw one another for the very first time, back when she still believed that disassembly drones were nothing more or less than savage ruthless beasts and monsters, helpless puppets in the hands of the cruel humans.

And now she couldn't imagine a more gentle beast that ever walked upon this planet. He was so pure, how could anyone wish him anything but well? Always putting other before himself, always looking out for her, always being there for her, no matter what, no matter their fights even. She was hollow and empty the day after they defeated eldrtich J, and then when she saw him again at prom night... she felt like all of her beggs, prayers and wishes were answered. All she has ever yearned for was right there in front of her.

His eyes were looking at everything with such great curiosity, but not necessarily because he found it as intriguing as she did, not, he looked with so much entertain because he knew how much all of these things meant to her, and he knew how much more it meant that she was sharing all of this with him. It made him feel warm. It made his heart have a strange and unsettled calamity. One that soothe his soul and yet made it feel as if his chest was on the verge of bursting at any given moment.

He analysed every single detail and message in all of these white and black pages. He couldn't help but wonder what she felt when she first read these pages by herself. Was she nervouse? Was she excited? Was she thrilled? How did she feel when she first read them all on her own? How does she feel now sharing them with him? He wanted to know what's in her mind, what's in her heart. It simply felt like that was his duty, that it was what he had to do to feel fulfilled and not once before has he felt better than being by her side. Fear wasn't something he felt anymore, it was simply...gone, as if it was never there... perhaps he even forgot what it felt like.

She acted rough all of the time but he knew it wasn't intentional, at least not with him. It was simply what she was used to, walls built around her heart due to so many unfortunate events happening in her life, and he couldn't dread anything more than everything that has hurt her and caused this.

Yet he admired her for it. She was all on her own and she didn't let anyone walk all over her, yet he didn't have that many coming for him and he was stepped all over. How was she so strong? Was it her soul? Her mind? Her heart? Her spirit? Whatever it was he admired her, he looked up at her and...maybe loved her.

In a moment of weakness his eyes trailed off from the pages of the manga open in front of him, and slowly but surely made their way towards her face. What was there not to admire? Those deep purple eyes like the vast wide galaxy, filled with so many wonders, adventures and fascination. Her short hair that looked as if it was hand made by the stars themselves as a humble gift to compliment her as a person.

Their eyes met. Shock, fear, anxiety, both startled and caught off guard by the other one. Her eyes looked into his gentle docile sunshine orbs as he looked into her strong and determined, galaxy orbs. Their hearts shyly asked each of them to not look away as their brains told them to immediately break eye contact, but neither seemed to listen, they were stuck as if immortalised in an eternal painting that will last for centuries and beyond.

"So... uhm... do you like the manga?" Uzi was the first to break the silence as she looked at N with an unsure look. "O-oh!" N said as he looked away. "Y-yeah! It's nice." "Cool." Uzi said with a sheepish smile as she looked away shyly with a slight blush on her, as N did the same, rubbing his neck from nervousness.

"Oh- also, I was going to ask, what is this? I see it a lot through your mangas." "Oh, these? They are Cherry Blossoms!" Uzi replied calmly as N looked at her face with purely curious eyes. "Are they purple?" "No. Why?" Uzi asked as she looked up at N puzzled with his question. "Oh, no reason. I just read somewhere here that a boy told a girl she has Cherry Blossoms on her cheeks." N said with a dorky smile.

Uzi's face lit up immediately as her blush only spread from the comment.

"N!!!" She said in revolt as she lightly frowned crossing her arms to her chest as she looked away. "You can't just say that to people!" "Ah-!!! I'm sorry Uzi!" N said immediately as anxiety and nervousness filled his voice. Was it a bad thing? Did he screw up? He was so nervous he didn't know what to do other than stand there and look at Uzi.

Uzi on the other hand felt her cheeks warm up as she lightly looked over her shoulder and she couldn't help but smile slightly at his worry.

'Like the cherry blossom of your cheeks'

Uzi remembers the line very clearly, from her favourite romance manga, and she couldn't help but wonder, how much of a coincidence N's words were.

The end

[hisuian-history-makers]

Pre-Episode 4 Theory

Post Episode 4 Theory

I knew I was right to be skeptical about Uzi going full Murder Drone! But wow—there is a lot too unpack with what this one introduced.

|><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><|

First off, what’s wrong with Uzi’s classmates? Why were they so afraid of her when Doll was going all prom murder? The first time I slightly get cause they were surprised by her speaking a bit suddenly. But the second time? They all saw Uzi exit the tree lining before she spoke!

Unless it’s right in front of them—they barely react/register tragedy, going as far as to play it off as a joke. I thought Lizzy was a singular case due to being best friends with Doll. She at least seemed far more nonchalant about killing off her classmates. And she isn’t even AS infected!

The promo showed who was going to be killed.

Once again, I’m reminded these are robots trying to mimic human society. Their emotional intelligence is pretty poor overall considering they barely react to deaths afterward. Following mob/herd mentality, no continuous sense of self-preservation, and having very loose morals.

The fact they found more comfort in known murderers is concerning. Makes me wonder how their parent's generation even survived.

(Also, it was Nori’s idea to create the doors and not Khan's? “Build doors against the coming sky demons!–The singularity awakens...”)

—

Two; How in the world can Uzi’s AbsoluteSolver create organic matter?! I was under the strong impression that it used nanites to affect general things. Yet this is on a completely another level.

Something which her mother seemed to be aware of. Uzi made f*cking bat-like wings and a mouthed tail out of nothing. People appear to be debating whether she was fully herself or AS crazy during that scene in the ep comments. It. It could either way to be honest. We see her puke up (streaming) oil from Daren and look at her oil-covered hand in horror. Her eyes/visor flickering between a Murder Drone X to high temperature warning to AS symbol in one eye.

And yet she goes into murder mode pretty quickly. Laughing eerily similar to V from Ep 1.

She tricked V by begging to speak to N, then during the falling talk was clearly in full control of herself. I hate the Absolute Solver program.

—

Sidenote, We see how V has indeed been hiding things. “New body, same horrors, huh, Cyn?” Who from a very brief flashback from N is the fourth yellow-eyed drone Tessa restored. We kinda knew about her from the beginning since we see “Absolute Solver attempt block by Administrator CYN.” post-reboot slap. She had the AS symbol plus the large distended mouth in the flashback. She—she had a human arm in her mouth showing it off to N (I think.)

How she maintains an Administrator position in the JCJenson corporation—shown to hate rogue/free-thinking AIs—I’ll never know...

Another, or the same arm, was shown in a chandelier a few seconds after. The flashback ends with what I believe to be a black hole in the sky. Or maybe a blotted out sun?

Red eyes were visible when N fries that monitor touching the buttons. Except for them being rounder than a drone’s so we can rule out Doll.

—

Thirdly. There was more to Nori than we could imagine given the little bug recognizing 02.

Register Torture Chamber complaint??? Either Nori used torture chambers(!) on other drones or was subjected to one. She seemed to have a descent into madness after the core explosion. If the box of “Family Memories before Nori went Kooky & Insane” was any indication. I did miss that when I first watched the episode...

Nori didn’t just see the three Murder Drones, she saw countless descended from the sky that the doors were her idea in the first place. There are so many questions we can ask about this: Did Nori and Yeva know about the Zombie Drone thing? Did they not use their abilities in public to avoid turning as Uzi does? Will Doll eventually turn—or is it only older AS “02”? How often did Worker Drones turn into Zombie Drones back on Earth that there needed to be a training tape about them? I really hate AS.

—

4th—AbsoluteSolver does indeed cause the same overheating issues in Murder Drones. It feels nice to get a confirmation for this since we could only speculate. Uzi burns in sunlight now. She can regenerate like a Disassembly Drone too. All while still having wings, a stinger/mouthed tail, and the AbsoluteSolver abilities. The purple protagonist has the programming to become a far deadlier AS/Murder Drone hybrid.

Took down V like it was barely anything. Where did her new wings and tail even go when N caught her? Do they fold into her body like the Murder Drone's own ones do?? Her tail??? I thought J’s AS heart-thing was fleshy cause it used human ribcage remnants. Clearly, we know otherwise that it becomes an extension of advanced AbsoluteSolvee users... What did Cyn/Tessa/JCJenson create? (nightmare fuel)

—

Lastly, character growth! Uzi showed her softer side and insecurities in this episode. N appears to be losing his doormat qualities defending himself. V’s still mean—but worried mean~ She is looking out for N, and very afraid for them.

Glitch and the crew really stepped up their animation ability in this episode. Characters are far more fluid. We see their expressions range, the episode was less joking to bring home how serious Cabin Fever was. At least more so compared to the other three episodes—nice.

More in the tags. >>>>>>>>>>>>> 2nd Post-Ep Four Theory

[radiant-fanon-maker]

AU idea: Lee & Ler. (This is a bit long, just a quick heads up. Sorry about this ^^")

Tickling was one of the many things Workers just couldn't experience. It wasn't like they didn't have mechanical nervous systems, but their tough outer layers made it hard for it to bring the desired effects. So they all just give up on trying to implement this human thing into their lives.

Well, almost everyone. Uzi for some reason could experience the joys that tickling could bring to one. (It's the Zombie Drone coding's fault.) Her mother would often tickle her while playing. But after her passing, Uzi hasn't had the chance to receive them anymore. Her dad never really understood it, so he never tried it.

Over the following years Uzi had been roughly tickle-starved. The only time she could experience the comforting tingly feeling even slightly was when she ran a toothbrush through her stomach, or a feather on her feet. Of course, they weren't very effective (curse of not being able to tickle yourself) but they were at least something. But still, they weren't the real thing, and no matter what she tried she could never fully satisfy her lee moods.

Thad on the other hand was dealing with a different issue. He wasn't ticklish, being a worker and all, but rather he wanted to tickle someone. Back when he was a little droneling, during one of the cartoon shows he and Lizzie were watching, a tickle scene came one. Maybe it was the character's big smile or the sound of their laughter but Thad was mesmerised. He wanted to experience it. So he tried.

But no matter what he used or who he tickled it never worked. The drones around him either didn't react at all or got annoyed with him. After a while he stopped trying. He was starting to get to the age where the others around him found the mere idea of tickle to be an immediate unpopular marker. So he showed these thoughts under his consciousness. But deep down his ler moods were piling up. He wanted to tickle someone, ANYONE. He felt like he'd burst at any moment.

One day, Thad accidentally walked in on Uzi trying to soothe her lee mood. At first she tried to defend herself. That this isn't what it looks like but ultimately she confessed about how much she enjoys being tickled. She asked him not to tell anyone, she didn't want to become the school's laughingstock. He told her he won't tell anyone, under one condition. She let's him tickle her.

And this was the start of their routine. At least once a week they meet up somewhere exclusive and Thad tickles Uzi like there's no tomorrow. They also like to test different tickle styles out. Tickle songs? Yes. Spidering fingers? Yes. Raspberries? Yes. Different kinds of tools? Yes. Tickle bites? You bet yes!

Not sure what you could do with this idea of mine but I'll leave the rest up to you. :3 (This idea came to me while sitting in church. Don't ask why.)

gahhhhhhh I wanna draw so much for this but I wasn't sure what but I decided on my favorite kinds of tickle method

Uzi: HAHAHA!!! TH-THAD!!!

Thad: pttttt

[creative-author]

I'd love to hear more about your story! Especially how Maze Runner and the Inheritance Games helped inspire it but I'd love to hear anything you're willing to share

Hi!

I saw your ask and just brainstormed a few things about it because many things are just "normal" for me now.

I don't know how much you know about my story, so if you got more questions, ask away! (You can find a little summary here)

(and I am willing to share very much, I try to keep this short)

Maze Runner:

The catastrophies are heavily inspired by tmr. The world where my story takes place has had many different catastrophies in the past few years. In tst, Brenda tells Thomas something about why the world is now how it is and a part that stuck with me were the sun storms/solar flares. So I began with that. I added many more things like heavy thunderstorms, hurricanes and even asteroids crashing near Japan and all over Europe, all over the span of three years, causing the USA to build "Safety Zones" (a bit like Denver in tdc but with a huge dome over it), where some people can live, when they can afford it. Like tdc it looks much better on the outside than the inside (but there are no zombie-like people)

I have two other stories, that are inspired by maze runner! Both are very old and on hold right now. One is called "Escape" and is about a girl named Abigail Blair Cleary that is accused of murdering the president's son. Now she flees alone, trying to not get caught, and has to get through a big dessert (like the scorch). But she isn't that long alone, because she rescues two people who follow her without knowing who she is. The other one is called "Forgotten" and evolves around a school, where the kids are pretty much alone, besides a few adults. One group tries to rebel against the adults and go behind the barrier, just to realize that there a hundred small machines that try to kill them.

The Inheritance Games:

The Inheritance Games have a very small impact on this story. It's mostly one personality of a side character that is inspired by her bubbly personality.

Also, one of the main characters (Dean) tries to help everyone. In my first draft, he tried to rescue a boy while the building was falling apart (the boy is well, but Dean needed time to recover after almost being buried alive). It reminds me a bit of Nash

I have another WIP, where the inheritance games is a much bigger influence. The WIP is called "Swords of Friendship" and currently put aside, so I can work on two other projects. Its about two best friends and one of them gets chosen to rescue the world. Two young men, who were trained their whole live to be chosen, are disappointed but then help them, while uncovering a lot of secrets about the "chosen ones"

One last thing I want to share, because I remembered a few hours ago: I have scenes planned, that are inspired by the Disney parks. One scene would have the group sit on a rooftop and watch a firework from a safety zone nearby. One of them would tell them, how safety zones would use compressed air to shoot the fireworks higher and how some zones would use drones for some parts.

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

Space Engineers

Okay, there are some brutally clever designs in there.

I saw a couple people playing Space Engineers and they were hauling a big ol’ ship through space - They’d hooked another ship onto it to use as a kind of semi-separated cargo hold - and as they tried to get toward a nearby moon to restock on ice and minerals they got a mayday.

They pondered this for a few seconds and then decided to ignore it. Rather, they decided physics wouldn’t let them intervene because their ship had no proper brakes (that is, front-facing rockets), so at their current velocity they couldn’t stop and help. As they watched in the rear viewport, pirates descended on the ship they’d received the call from.

Then this happened again. Another mayday, then more pirates. They were starting to wonder whether the whole mayday thing was bait in the first place.

Then they passed by a pirate drone factory and it launched a drone after them.

Space Engineers does a really good job of making clear how ludicrously much space is in Space. Because they were moving faster than the drone started at, it couldn’t quite catch them, but they couldn’t quite lose it either because it had occasional recharging boosters. It chased them for maybe fifteen minutes until the captain decided to spend some rounds on taking potshots at it.

Then they realized it wasn’t the ordinary kind of hostile. They’d assumed, because of the guns on it. But its weapon was the front-mounted camera. It was keeping track of their movements and transmitting to the pirates.

The thrusters on the individual suits are quite powerful in Space Engineers. For a short sprint they can keep up with the ship at full speed, assuming it’s not making a jump. The problem is the local fuel supply, which gives out very quickly. Also collisions at that speed are often fatal to a squishy human in a suit. But with this speed and a few extra tanks of hydrogen, the captain decided to go out and deal with the drone in person.

Once he got close he saw the other weapon. The guns were purely ornamental; The drone was carrying a camera and a nuclear warhead. So the captain synced his speed to the drone, landed on the front of it, drilled the camera off of it, kicked off, and flew back to the ship. Without a camera the drone had no transmission but also no basic guidance, and just kind of flew away.

With the captain returned and no pirates immediately visible, the team found themselves...caught in the gravity well of the moon they’d been approaching all this time. Oops. They tried to land, but crashed pretty catastrophically...except not quite, because everyone lived. And most of the ship survived as well, caught on the top of a mountain. At the mountain’s base, the ship’s detachable mining vessel had detached and rolled but maintained integrity.

The team started to try and work out a) how to get their ship refitted to escape the gravity well, b) how to deal with the fact that, while only mildly damaged, their ship was now upside-down, and c) how to get their little miner properly unstuck and back up the mountain to reattach to their main ship.

Then zombies attacked.

This was so completely out of left field that the first two times people shouted about it, one of the crewmen flat-out didn’t believe them even though the ship’s automated turret had started firing shells into the dark.

The concept of the space zombies was scripted, certainly. Someone had to apply that shambling animation by hand. But so many of the particulars of the story were unique to the way the players were playing. The devs couldn’t count on the players crashing; There was no forced crash, just a regular ol’ physics engine and a team that had been playing in deep space with only the gravity they could turn on and off at a whim in their own ship.

The devs didn’t predict that the players would construct a net at the base of the mountain to catch all the zombie engineers’ bodies after they were slain, so they could go through them for quality science materials at their leisure.

This kind of thing is what sandbox games are for.

[food-for-hungry-mtr-fans]

MTR Doris Takeover AU P2

Oh, your gunna be real sad here, mate. Fran is the only person POSSIBLE to write HCs about.

Neil is termination two. In this timeline Dor-15 had taken over before Wilbur was born and killed Cornelius after forcing him to watch his family become enslaved. Therefor he is dead, and Wilbur was never born.

I will gladly do Franny, and to make up for the lack of characters you specified, here’s how Carl, Billy, Joe and the twins and holding up.

FRANNY.

The curator of our happy little gang.

She manages all the ‘zombified’ family, commanding them house tasks while Gaston manages the sentient ones.

She doesn’t show a lot of emotion. She isn’t controlled, but does have a Dor-15 with her, Bowler Hat guy style.

She bonded with the Dor-15, which is named ‘Fr-11’ [pronounced frie] and is more docile than normal Dor-15.

The hat does a lot of her action thinking.

If she has any empathy for her family, she hides it.

Her apathy is one of the reasons Art gave up. If Franny crumbled under the force of the helping hats, then all hope was lost.

Gaston despises her demeanor. He wants to shake her into showing any feelings.

CARL.

Poor guy is rusting.

Carl has two distinct modes that are triggered on an off by a massive switch on his ‘back’.

Back is in quotations because it’s really an attachment to his back - a modified Dor-15 connected to his main power.

When is his controlled mode, Carl acts like a drone of sorts. He attacks anyone who isn’t a Robinson with no remorse or need for permission.

When he’s on his normal mode he tends to be the only positive light in the family, trying his hardest to socialize with those barely sentient.

Hes the only person Gaston is okay dropping his guard around.

His write arm got destroyed from rust damage, and is down to the wire. Hes in a bad state, lots of exposed frames.

He refuses to get repaired because he would rather be shut down than let Dor-15 get more inside his wires.

BILLY.

Both in semi-sentience, but are considered the least sentient of the family who aren’t zombies.

Billy manages most of the practical house stuff. Getting food, keeping lights on. She also manages multiple work districts in Tommorowland.

Billy isn’t super aggressive, but she will destroy anyone who picks a fight. She cannot attack without permission, but if hit in any way she will mercilessly destroy her enemy.

Monologues a lot.

Works on making efficient transport systems for coal and materials across work districts.

Even in her controlled stupor, she is still sometimes seen giggling happily as she works on her trains, filling them with coal.

Her trains are everywhere in the city. If it’s a vehicle more than 20 feet long, she made and manages it.

JOE.

Joe is the least sentient by technical standards.

He spends most of his day watching the cameras, and never seems tired of it.

In fact, his devotion and unwavering blankness makes him seem like a zombie, but he isn’t. He is sentient.

He was already non-verbal pre-takeover, only saying a handful of words by will but writing often

A Dor-15 sometimes speaks for him, but he doesn’t usually need it.

He wears a visor that allows him to remotely see as many camera screens as needed at once if he moves away.

The visor also controls a pack of Dor-15, which all bend to his will.

Think the villain from Big Hero 6’s nanobots.

SPIKE AND DIMITRI.

Alive, and mostly unharmed.

They were forced to evacuate their pots as Dor-15 destroyed almost all plant life.

They like to poke their heads from pipes, Mario style.

Dimitri acts mostly the same, but it’s unclear if that’s because he cares little for the family, or he’s coping.

Its more likely the latter.

Spike on the other hand it taking the situation more seriously.

He resides often in the vents and watches the family, doing small works of sabotage to keep Franny and Gaston busy.

Only Laszlo knows they’re there, but everyone thinks he’s crazy, so they ignore him.

They bring Laszlo paint and scrap metal in exchange for food.

Dimitri never leaves the pipe, but Spike occasionally leaves to scuttle off and steal stuff for their survival.

Dimitri has eaten a vent rat. He didn’t need to; they had food. He just wanted to. Said it was ‘authentic apocalypse experience.’

[aynoha]

Ok, so I have some of theorys about the Absolute Solver and Zombie Drones so lisent up:

1. It is something that hapen when one of those things that tried to rebuild J in episode 2 infect a Worker Drone .

In this theory Murder Drones have some short of mechanisim that prevent that what hapen to Uzi in episode 4 hapen to them, also explains episode 2 because by J been dead there is no more sistem, makeing that thing beeng avel to control the body.

2. The same as befored but it only hapen when the drone is dead, that's why they are called Zombie Drones

3. Is a disease that humanity at frist take advanteg of it because the psyquic powers part of the Absolute Solver, but then starting to make the same things that hapen to Uzi in episode 4, which, at frist wasn't so much of a deal, but then they started to eat humans and growing biolical parts, and the appearance of a whole planet full of drones with a reasing population and atleast to drones infected (Yena and Nori).

In order to stop the spreding of the disease they create the Murder Drones, but because the Absolute Solver make Worker Drones so deadly the put a little pice of one their biolical pices inside of the Murder Drones, with some short of inmune sistem inside of them, to make them deadly as the Zombie Drones as it was posible in order to kill them, but not enough to make them a threat to humanity.

This theory can explaind the similarities between Murder Drones and Zombie Drones, such as: the need for oil, the X in there faces, being avel to regenerate body parts and being sensetive to sun light (wich I think is some kind of side efect); what hapen to J in episode 2 and the numbers in Nori's and Yeva's necklaces, the are there to mark whic drones are infected and how many, meaning there were at least other 46 infected drones.

Also there is a little detail in episode 4 to suport this wich is that in the episode Thad have fangs wich can mean that he is being infect.

Also probably Cyn is the infect 0.

4. The Absolute Solver is a beta of Murder Drones but end up resolting in horribel disaster.

Nothing more to adress here, just the same explications that in the n° 3, but the numbers on the necklaces are for the number of betas made and That have fangs because yes or one of his parents are also a beta.

(Idk if I wrote anything of this right i'm spanish and I'm writing this on my phone)

[transingthoseformers]

I imagine humans would be killing dark energon with fire. So much fire. Like we have seen zombie movies. We know how this will end... wouldn't it be cool if we were hardwared to recognize the threat of undeath because we evolved on motherfucking Unicron. Why we've had the dead coming to haunt the living and they came back wrong as some of our earliest monster tropes. The underworld is the realm of death and it is below our feet. Who else is down there? The Unmaker.

Maybe why human's retained our sapience and sentience is Optimus using the Matrix causing Primus' mass adoption of the Human species? Everyone survives intact and they know who is to thank and why. Megatron changed them and OP hacked the change so they would be more than sparkless slave drones. Because OP sacrificed himself (again. Don't worry it won't stick.) Humans and any the other sapient and sentient species have alt modes. Like cetacians, crows, octopodes, and elephants.

Oh man can you picture shape-shifting crows fucking with Deceptacons? They be an even worse menace than orcas.

Human's are dealing with the religious trauma of learning our creator diety sucks but his twin doesn't and he adoptedour squirrely asses. Well the Zoroastrians might be taking it better than most.

Tarantulas, Scorpanok, Shockwave heck even Starscream and Knockout would over the moon to study this.

Would our hair-do's become part of our helm structure, or would our hair become prehensil cables that formed a sensory array?

Spec evo questions because I too am a biologist at heart:

Would Homo sapiens-techni have sparks?

Would we have Mediports and cables?

Would we have our own cybertronian brand/mark or would we fall under the old symbols?

How would we be colored?

Would the human body be unarmored like protoform or would we gain armor plating?

Since cybertronians are intersex by human standards would earth creatures including human folow suite?

Would we have t-cogs or would the transformation be a synergistic part of our physical systems?

Would humans be naturally good at mass displacement? Cause otherwise our altmode choices would be very limited

Would we be natural triple changers? Like human mode, mech mode and beast mode, or would human mode be our root mode and we could choose to scan whatever?

Yepppp

I can also see them using regular energon to cancel it out, wasn't that a thing that an equal amount of energon and dark energon could cancel each other out (or at least they did in Raf??)

We areeee and it's odd

Oooo maybe yes yes maybe! Oppy will come back. Somehow.

So humanity is pissed, has every right to be pissed, and have the power of at least one god and nature on their side (as much as nature could be)

Sssddd yes. Crows would fuck with them so much so so so much, all the corvids would.

The scientists are equally having the time of their lives and so very confused, but I feel like Tara is taking it more smoothly than the others for rather visible reasons

Answers I might be able to provideeeee

On the topic of hair: hmmmn I have a feeling it's more likely to become helm ornamentation, but option two sounds like it would have interesting consequences considering our much more furry mammal counterparts

Honestly? I do not feel like HS-T would have sparks in the same way that cybertronians do, but there would definitely be an increase in the electrical aspect of our nervous systems and I can see a definite increase of complexity there as other parts of our body get a little melded together with metal. After all many cybertronians are their spark plus a body, but us? We're the complicated dance that all multicellular life is.

Would we have mediports and cables, hmm. Difficult question, but I'm gonna say yes because it's fun to think about.

I feel like we'd make up our own factions and symbols, unless directly aligned with a cybertronian faction.

On one hand, I'm getting a very clear image of gray/silver becoming a very common color on CyberEarth. But on the other I love the idea of the technoorganic life on CyberEarth taking on so many different varieties of colors, especially since using most camouflage might be out of the picture (for now????)

Ooo o o okay I feel like most CyberEarth life would be a mix of armor and protoform, because it'd be cool! And it makes sense some areas would be more squishy than others, connected into the next question of

Maybe??? I like that answer, but that's because I personally find the current valveplug anatomy setup of cybertronian sexual anatomy very much unrealistic gender goals and it's honestly sad I can never have anatomy like that. So I'm biased

hmmm ok I feel like on one hand, the T-cog is at heart an organ. Like, it's mentioned that it's a matter of biology, not technology, so I DO feel like we'd develop some equivalent to it?? Maybe??

I feel like it would take a while for most of the humans to get used to mass displacement, some might be better at it than others because pure chance

I'm almost tempted to say triplechangers pop up occasionally like they do in cybertronians!!

I do feel like the human mode is our root mode, and anything we scanney scan becomes our altmode then.

[missameliep]

The Next Chapter (Wake the Dead - Troy Hassan x MC)

Book: Wake the Dead

Pairing: Troy Hassan x Malia Jones

Characters: Malia Jones (MC), Troy Hassan, Shannon Fox, May.

Rating: M (see notes bellow)

Word count: ~3.900

Summary: After the colonies survive the second surge, Malia and Troy make a hard choice, but one they are not going to regret. On the contrary.

Notes:

English is not my first language;

Characters belong to Pixelberry, except OC;

I don't know if we learn how old May is in the book, but I HC she's around 6/7yo, so she's 13/14yo in this story;

This fic was inspired by an ask from a lovely anonymous reader and is my submission to @choicesdecember2022 - day 7 - Question…? | kiss | middle of the night (thanks for hosting it @peonierose);

Trigger Warning: pregnancy; mentions of miscarriage; mentions of zombies; mention of a minor character death; non-descriptive mentions of medical procedure; kissing and make out; language; readers discretion advised;

The events from this fic take place 7 years after the end of the book.

“Sorry! You want me to do what?” The chair squeaked when Shannon abruptly turned around to face Malia in that small improvised space that functions both as hospital and lab, where she spends most of the hours of her days.

Fighting a laughter, Malia repeated slowly, “To remove the implant.”

The other’s gaze darted to her face, while her brain was possibly searching for any rational explanation for such an odd request. Her voice dropped to a whisper, despite the fact nobody was around, “Why? Are you experiencing pain? If you are, we can run some tests.”

This time Malia didn’t hold the laughter, remembering some of the weirdest conversations of her entire life – which is quite an accomplishment considering her frequent visits to the lab to assist on Shannon's research on drones, and the autopsies of the weirdest specimens they got ahold of that she assisted.

“Right now, no pain. But if those ladies at weaving mill were not trying to scare me, I can expect a lot of pain in my future.”

Shannon’s eyes widened and she stared in confusion. For the past eight years, since Malia broke that glass window to rescue the scientist, their friendship bloomed, they taught one another, shared secrets and had each other’s backs countless times... However, even after all these years – or because of them –, Malia wasn’t able to teach her dear friend to relax and not assume any minor complaint or request from her might hide a terrible illness that will leave her all alone again – no matter how many times she assured her even if she were gone, the colony has plenty of people who care for her. There was no time to revisit the subject now and the other's jaw tensing that much wasn't fun to watch.

Malia decided to cut her some slack and go straight to the point, “I want a baby.”

“Oh!” Shannon’s deep brown eyes widened and it was almost possible to hear the engines turning inside her head.

“You can do it, right?” she pressed, eager for a confirmation.

“Of course. It’s supposed to be a simple procedure: a small incision to remove it from under your skin and two stitches to close it.”

“Great! You’re free to do it now, right?” Malia clapped her hands and proceeded to remove her t-shirt, already knowing nobody else was coming for the doctor this time of the day.

“Don’t you have questions before we start?”

Malia shook her head, already picturing the three kids she and Troy talk about during late night shifts on watch or long trips to explore the cities they get their supplies from. He even suggested some names if they were all boys; she still hasn’t figured out why the names Huey, Dewey, and Louie are so hilarious and make him bend over with laughter.

“Are you aware of the aftereffects? Once you remove the implant, the hormonal doses will cease, and your body will go through changes. You’ll experience menstrual periods, for instance. There are reports of immensely painful experiences and some conditions that might require painkillers and medical attention.”

“Again, the mill ladies made sure to share all the gross details. So, you can check that box,” she said pointing at the clipboard over the desk where Shannon writes down information about the patients and keeps a checklist that makes her less anxious about forgetting important information she must tell the patients before actually doing any procedure. Unless it is emergency care, she believes people should have a saying on their treatment and information makes people less scared of what they will be facing.

Malia knows by heart that speech that justifies her caution. Shannon is a scientist, but necessity turned her into basically a one-woman medical team, fortunately an excellent and empathetic one, and the perfect professor to train others to deal with healthcare in the colonies.

Taking a deep breath, Shannon put the pen down and got up.

“Alright. If you already researched the side effects and are sure... We can start.”

Walking to a corner of the room, she soaped and scrubbed her hands. The scent of the sanitizer reached Malia’s nostrils, already seated at the edge of the gurney.

“It might take weeks for the hormonal levels in your body regulate,” Shannon’s words were punctuated by the light clinking of metallic items, while she fished them from a drawer. “I can run some tests in the meantime.”

“Only if you swear not to treat me like your drones...” Malia joked, and the other shoulders shook with a quiet laugh while she prepared the instruments.

“Next time, I’ll go with you and Troy to that library you mentioned. I need to research some medical books so I can know exactly the required hormonal levels, and how to keep the embryo viable until the insemination.”

“The what?”

“Embryo is the technical term for the fertilized egg that will become your baby. Or babies. Because of the odds we must implant at least two or three.” Shannon smiled to herself with the idea and turned around to face her and continued the explanation.

Now it was Malia’s turn to get confused.

“I’ll need to run some tests on Troy too, assuming he will be the donor.”

“Donor? Oh! Wait!” Malia waved her hands, finally recovering her ability to speak. “No need to help us in that whole conceiving part, we’re doing this Old-World style.”

The other’s eyebrows raised momentarily, and she took a deep breath, letting the information sink in. “So, I suppose my help won’t be necessary then...”

“If all I heard is true, I’m sure I’ll need a lot of help from you. Specially with the actual giving birth part. No way in hell I’m pushing a watermelon-sized baby through my vagina while sober. So, you better come up with a lot of drugs. And I’m talking about drugs potent enough to knock down a horse, darling!”

They laughed together and Shannon asked Malia to lie still, while she filled a syringe with the content of a small vial.

“Maly, I will do all I can to help you. I’ll research the best birthing methods. We’ll have months to prepare. Don’t worry.”

Shannon averted her gaze and took the syringe.

“If you get pregnant.” She paused and focused on cleansing her hands with sanitizer. “At the lab I saw the rates and the reasons in vitro fertilization was the chosen method to all births in the facilities. Besides the lower rates, there are higher chances of malformation and spontaneous abortion during the first weeks and –”

Malia sat up and rested a hand on her shoulder interrupting her speech.

“We’ll take our chance. You and I were conceived the old way and we turned out alright, didn’t we? Well, you more than alright, considering that you combine a genius brain with that face of yours!”

A giddy giggle escaped her lips and a smile rounded Shannon’s reddened cheeks, and she resumed the tasks. Using ice to numb and an almost insignificant fraction of a dose of anesthetic despite Malia’s protest to not spend precious resource on her.

“I’m used to pain.”

“We have enough, don’t worry,” Shannon said, holding the syringe. “You’re not scared?”

“About that huge knife you’ve got over there? Definitely!”

“Scalpel. And that’s the smallest...” she smiled softly. “And you know what I mean...”

“I’m terrified!” A chuckle rumbled in her chest. “But in a good way. Troy and I want this so much. We have talked about having a baby for years... We barely survived the first surge... But what we learned about the hives and how to get rid of them before the surge. All things considered, the second one was way smoother and I have hope things are getting back on track. There are fewer hordes now, the scouts from every colony reported; and some days are so quiet that you can almost hear the world healing. I believe one day zombies will go back to being scary tales people use to trick children into eating their veggies.”

Shannon nodded.

“The night before the surge we talked about this... And decided it was time. I turned thirty-three last month and the colony is stable. I think I could take some time to lay low without letting people down...”

“You never let anybody down.”

“You know what I mean...”

“And you can count on us.”

“I know. I can already imagine you guys helping us out. Aunt Shannon will teach the baby all the cool science stuff –”

“Aunt Shannon? I like the sound of that!”

“– and Uncle Eli will craft a tiny bow and arrow and make little charts and our baby will have the neatest crib around... And we’ll keep an eye on cool aunt Angel, so she won’t teach them how to blow things up before they are old enough... Like five or six.”

They both chuckled, and Shannon smiled thoughtfully.

“And May will be the greatest big sister...”

“She will.”

“Have you told her?”

Malia’s eyes squinted, and Shannon couldn’t tell if it was from physical pain or stirred by her question.

“We better wait till we’re sure... I don’t want to hype her and then... let her down again. She’s not being herself since Feather passed away...”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything about the rates...”

“Hey! I’m a newbie in this whole pregnancy thing... and there ain’t a lot of reliable sources... so I need you to be honest with me. Promise?”

Malia offered the pinkie finger and Shannon linked hers.

“Always.”

The soft clink of the small device when it fell into the metallic tray marked the beginning of a new unfamiliar chapter of her life. But Malia hoped it would be the best yet.

Lying on the grass side by side, Troy and May were in identical positions: arms bent, hands pillowing their heads, long legs stretched, and eyes focused on the blue sky above.

When did they become so alike?

Faces bathed by the soft golden glow, their eyes followed the clouds turning shades of orange and pink; fingers pointing while they probably guessed the forms, they resembled, a game the trio often plays together.

Like the apple trees in the new orchard, may grew taller last spring. The roundness of her face, immortalized in the drawing Malia hung on their cabin wall, had disappeared, and her voice lost the honeyed childlike melody, becoming hoarser. She’s growing up into a sweet troublemaker teen that still hangs with her adoptive parents, loves storytelling – Troy has most of her favorite tales and anecdotes –, gets excited with little things like new blooms each spring, making flower crowns and riding horses, but also carries too many scars in her young soul but somehow she never lets the sadness drown the happiness glowing in her eyes.

With a spring on her step, Malia crossed the remaining distance and knelt in the small gap between them. First, she kissed the girl’s forehead, who smiled, then turned around to gently press a kiss to Troy’s shapely lips. However, the man had other plans. Encircling her shoulders with his free arm, he pulled her down, turning the sweet gentle peck into a passionate kiss. Maybe too passionate to be given in public. But he always has a little trouble following etiquette when it comes to Malia.

“Gross!” May cried and covered her eyes with one arm. “Get a room!”

“Why is she sounding like Angel?” Malia whispered.

“I have asked myself the same. It’s either one of those Freaky Friday’s situation and we’re parenting a thirty-year-old woman with an unhealthy kink of blowing stuff up or this is a bad case of teenager...”

“Hey! I can hear you!”

“Good! It means your hearing is fine. Keep it like that!”

They laughed and May rolled her eyes for good measure, but a small barely there smile pulled at the corners of her lips. A hint the little girl still lives inside the 5’3 teenager.

“So...” Troy’s gaze and undivided interest returned to Malia. “Did you do it? Is it gone?”

Malia pressed a finger to his lips and with a nod signalled May’s presence, and discreetly raised a thumb in a positive sign.

“Then what are we waiting for?” he asked already pulling himself up in a swift motion.

Despite knowing it was impossible to get pregnant this soon, Malia laughed at his excitement, and allowed him to hold he held her hands to pull her up. Nobody knows when the apparently peaceful day can turn into a nightmare, and she shouldn’t pass the opportunity to just be happy, silly and hopeful – and let him fuck her brains out.

“Hey! Where are you going?” May cried, and they whirled around giggling.

“Getting a room!” Troy replied with a shit-eating grin.

“Eww! I’m a child! I don’t need to know that!”

“But you asked!” 

“Can I stay with Angel and Luna tonight?”  

“Sure, sweetie,” Malia said. “Don’t forget the rules!”

“Brush my teeth, keep it down and don’t blow things up – unless absolutely necessary.”

“Love you!” Troy and Malia cried back in unison and blew her a kiss.

Giggling like mischievous children , they darted towards the small cabin holding each other's hands.

While they sprinted through the field, a gentle breeze carrying the scent of honeysuckles blew through the taller grass blades creating green waves.

Life is good, Malia read in Troy’s eyes the same thought that crossed her mind.

Before the door closed behind them, Troy’s hot mouth was already on Malia’s neck, sucking on her skin.

“Eager much?”

“Don’t shame me for being a hundred percent devoted to a cause,” he whispered into her ear and nibbled at the earlobe. “Pants down.”

“So bossy.” She laughed while kicking the sneakers off her feet. His white t-shirt joined them on the floor.

“I’ll make you come and put a baby in your belly.”

His bare chest pressed against her back while his hands explored his favorite curves on her body.

“Hey, careful,” she said while moving his hand away from the bandage on her lower abdomen and up to the curve of one breast.

“Sorry,” he breathed and promptly used said hand to grab her breast over her clothes, while the other fiddled with the buttons of her denim pants. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No worries. I’ll be patient,” he whispered against her neck. “We won’t leave that room until there’s a baby in the oven.”

“Don’t you dare!” She crashed her lips to his in a passionate kiss and pushed him towards the bedroom.

While they blindly moved together, she pulled away from the kiss momentarily. “Shannon said we have to be patient. It can take a while for my body to be ready.”

“What?” she asked in shock, and he placed a hand over her stomach.

“This oven. Old World slang.”

“That’s creep.”

“I like the analogy.”

“Anyway. If I can get pregnant. Shannon will run some tests to be sure...”

He spun her and pressed her back against the wall. “Good luck to not end up like one of those corpses in the lab.” He chuckled pulling her t-shirt over her head, and kissed his way down her neck to the valley between her breasts.

“Don’t think for a moment she won’t poke you too.”

“Why?” He raised his face and looked up. His eyebrows knitted together so closely, that scrunched his forehead. “Didn’t you tell her we’re doing this Old-World style?”

“I did, but she wants to help.”

“Well, she can always join us. I won’t kick her out of the bed...”

She glared and punched his bare shoulder.

“Hey! What’s that for?”

“For being the wrong kind of horny now!”

“It’s a joke!” he chuckled. Hands on the curve of her lower back, he pulled her close, but she playfully shoved him away. Pretending not to be eager to see the rest of his clothes joining the growing pile of discarded ones on the floor. “You love my horniness. It’s my best feature!”

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

It’s so not.

There’s so much she loves about him, but she won’t inflate his ego any more.

“Are you forgetting I was the one who suggested being exclusive?”

“You were jealous of how many people worshipped me...”

“I’m so not the possessive type –” He moved closer and in one swift motion his hands slid inside her jeans and underneath her panties and firmly palmed her ass. Malia shivered and let him pull her closer again to whisper in her ear. “– And you know you are the one and only for me, Maly.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you.”

“Do you now?” she teased.

“When have I not?” He kissed one cheek and then the other. “I loved you before I knew what love was...”

She inhaled deeply and allowed his lips to trace the curve of her neck, and her heart fluttered.

Malia and Troy aren’t fluent in feelings. They won’t compose songs or deliver long speeches about their undying love. But whenever they do talk about their feelings, they mean it. They mean everything to each other.

“I love you too,” she whispered against his black hair, while holding him tighter. Her heart so full of love. “Let’s make some cute babies!”

“Don’t ask me twice,” he said pulling her legs up to encircle his bare waist, and kicked the door closed. “In the blink of an eye, we’ll have a trio of loud kids quacking around our home!”

He laughed and stared at her smiling but unknowingly expression while he carried her to the bed.

“Seriously?”

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t believe you still didn’t get it.”

“Can I hold him now?” May’s voice came as the softest whisper as if scared not only to wake up the baby but disturb the order of the entire universe. “Please?”

Her pleading drew Malia’s attention away from the baby in her arms.

For the past several minutes she has been practically hypnotized by him quietly sleeping in her arms, oblivious to the two sitting on the bed at each of her sides, welcoming the baby into their little loving awkward family. There were so many emotions in her eyes and face that shone despite the weak flame from the only small lamp Troy put beside the bed.

Nodding, Malia passed the baby to the eager arms and helped May hold him steadily.

She didn’t need to tell her to be gentle, because she touched him as one of the delicate seedlings she cultivates. Her fingers ran through the black and thick hair that looks almost like a wig on the top of his little head, and gently stroked the side of his face, drawing them along his chubby cheeks. His lips drew together like he was ready to have another go at his mother’s breasts for another dose of milk, but his eyes remained closed shut, and a serene expression returned to his face as he continues to sleep.

Malia and Troy shared an affectionate look and he leaned his head on her shoulder and rested his hand over hers.

“You should be resting. Doc’s orders,” Troy whispered. “I can take him to the crib and keep an eye on him.”

“I’ll help,” May offered.

“Five more minutes.”

“You said that half an hour ago...”

“How do you expect me to sleep now that he’s finally here?”

“You’ll regret it when you’re low batt and a parade of visitors come to meet the baby first thing in the morning...”

“Another reason I can’t sleep: we have to name him.”

“What about Huey?” Troy could barely stifle his laughter with the back of his hand.

“We’re not naming our son after a cartoon duck!” Malia snorted, and this was definitely the reaction he was expecting all-along.

“Took your sweet time to figure it out!”

“Not all of us are obsessed with Old World’s stuff..."

“That’s called culture.”

May shushed them and they smiled.

“Any suggestion?” Malia whispered.

“I like Cedar,” May said, “and Knox.”

“Knox,” he said and hummed in consideration. “I like it. But don’t you think he looks like a Neo?”

“Neo means new,” May said softly, “And he is the first baby to be born in the new colony. Very symbolic.”

“And it’s the name of that cool guy with shades who got out of the Matrix to save the world.”

“Hero name. Rad!”

“Isn’t it too much pressure to a little baby?” Malia pondered.

“Our baby is destined to do great things,” he said softly. “Also, it’ a short name. If he turns out to be dumb, he won’t have a problem learning it.”

“Man! That’s so mean!” Malia elbowed him. “How can you say that about our baby?”

Laughing, he held her hand. “It’s a joke. How can he not be awesome if you made him yourself?”

“We made him.”

She leaned her head over his, and asked softly, “Do we all agree with Neo?”

“It’s not as great as Cedar... But I like it.”

Birds chirped and through the window shutters warm spots of sunrise peppered the opposite wall.

Breathing quietly in her sleep, May’s long dishevelled hair had fallen over and covered her face. Malia’s fingers pulled them back and after pressing the softest kiss to her temple, she rolled over, getting out of the bed. The painkillers were wearing off and she desperately needed to pee. After taking care of both needs, she found the crib empty.

In the other room, where they do basically every other activity that is not sleeping – and making cute babies –, Troy was sitting on the improvised couch which was basically an old mattress over a wooden structure covered with throwing pillows and a nice quilted blanket she and Eli made on their spare time two winters ago.

Eyes closed, Troy covered his shoulders with the blanket and held the sleeping baby against his chest.

Malia leaned against the wall and smiled at the scene.

“Why are you up?” he asked without opening his eyes. “I got it covered.”

“I know. I was just appreciating the view. Never imagined you could look hotter,” she teased.

The man’s eyes fluttered open, and his smirk turned into a full grin, “Haven’t you heard? Being an awesome father is the new sexy.”

“Definitely,” she said sitting beside him carefully to not disturb the baby’s rest.

“Have you got any sleep?”

“Sleep is overrated.”

Troy rested his head against hers, and asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper, “How are you feeling?”

“Exhausted. Sore. Happy. Like a badass for delivering this awesome baby... 75% amazing, 24% tired and 1% terrified it’s a dream...”

“It’s 100% real.”

“Hmmm... That is exactly what Dream Troy would say...”

He chuckled and raised his head to meet her eyes.

“What can Real Troy do to convince you it’s all true?”

Malia smiled, and her gaze moved from his affectionate brown eyes to the baby in his arms, lightly wheezing in his sleep. It has just been a few hours, but her heart is so full of love for this child and this urge to protect him. How can it be so?

“Real Troy can give my beautiful baby back so I can smell his head again... and nurse him. That would be great.”

Smiling, Troy leaned and let Malia carefully take Neo from his arms. The baby yawned and his eyelashes fluttered but his eyes remained closed. Malia sniffed the top of his head and smiled, before offering one nipple that was readily taken by an eager and tiny toothless mouth.

“Anything else, mama bear?”

“You can kiss me and get some sleep.”

Troy kissed her lips but didn’t go to bed. He fell asleep leaning over her shoulder, and Malia closed her eyes too, enjoying this happiness.

Sometimes this world isn't shitty, sometimes life is good. Just like now.

[bluiex]

Idea for All’s and Fren’s AU suggestions that Grian is a spy. (All feel free to take anything I spout. I love giving people brain worms when I myself can’t writing them. :D)

Perhaps after finding out that Spore infected are still people and can act as such, Mumbo goes to a scientist who is studying this. Cub.

Cub, in this idea hasn’t been infected yet, is all too eager to show his findings. He’s been instrumental in many of their advances in this war. And from what he’s observed, spore infected individuals both are themselves and still connected to the Hivemind.

“You see Bdubs often believes they have their brains turn to soup. And while this is true, for a time, once the infection takes hold fully they can still retain memories and emotions of who they are while also being connected to the larger Hivemind. But this isn’t true for everyone.

My studies have found that some do just end up fully brainwashed. But this isn’t true of all people within the ranks. It seems it has to do with one’s willingness!”

Mumbo is just intrigued by this, he mostly only hears the part of how many seemed to be zombie like and feral. But Cub has been working with those captured that are more coherent and aware.

“We’ve noticed 5 things apiece that set these ones apart from others. 1. Name response. 2. Memory triggers. 3. Hand eye coordination. 4. Faster response time. And 5. Conversation. Those who were infected by force often can do these simple tasks with ease those that aren’t. But those who were willing to be infected will have their individuality! It’s all very facinating stuff. “

Mumbo just nodding along in shock to it all. This is… a lot to take in. And kind of shakes what he does know about these rebels. They aren’t some monsters and are very capable of thought and individuality.

OOOO yeah I like the whole willingness, being a big factor in how much they can do as a sporeling. but also Father Spore can make them not like mindless drones, depending their rank

[kendrixtermina]

(there is a perpetual uneasiness in the state of being conscious)

I.

I am awake in the darkness,

afraid to die.

A helpless thing dissolving in the acid of time,

like every other helpless thing that dares to stick out its bony hands.

Whatever I look at,

whatever which angle I stand to contemplate it from

I cannot think of anything but sad things.

I just want to tear everything out.

I think I can just barely bear it only as long as nobody talks to me.

I am raw and bloody and bruised and sore

wherever anyone has even thought of laying hand of me

wherever the fabric has pressed with the slightest force

overwrought fibres hanging out like tattered cloth

vise-gripped into some inadvisable state of tightness and bentness

Ah yes,

something is taking its sweet time

taking ever such slight bites of me,

vestigal rudiments withered from disuse

The days pass through me and I cannot hold them

To be witnessed would be intolerable.

II.

I am a cluster of eyes, taking off its skin.

I am a vague outline of silhouette, a possibly seen shadow,

depositing a little something on the table.

I am the memory of a dancing drunken fairy

that ceases to make sense in the morning.

I’m that old lady that the physicians didn’t properly bother to revive.

I’m that forgettable office drone you assembled

using a cheaper than usual package of ACME robot emotions.

I’m that questionably designed doll that was found kind of creepy

even when it was new and sparkling,

when it hasn’t been any of those things in a long time.

I am the thousand hands pulling at red flesh so as to turn it into something not recognizable.

I am a family portrait of mushrooms, framed in a dramatic composition.

I am that thing in the living room chair

that can’t be bothered to stop burning.

I am those pitiful remains there hanging off

that alien flesh blob on the ceiling

where maybe a head once could have been, some while back.

I am the lurid zombie that grins back at you,

in some obscene state of undress,

maggot holes all bared,

asking audaciously of worms.

And I am that blasted monolith in the distance

that never ever seems to come the slightest bit closer,

no matter how many ardous days of journeys you waste towards it.

III.

The angels envy us.

The dead wish they were alive,

and the more time you spend talking to a doll,

the likelier that it is to be running away screaming

at the prospect that it might be turning into one of those very very real girls.

The only conclusion one can be possibly left with,

is that all states are intollerable, all ways of being.

Some way temporarily just have convinced themselves,

that this ardor is worth suffering,

and thece lies their vilest snare.

But I don’t think that anyone really believes it,

not while they’re not actively trying to convince themselves of such.

Even beauty surprises us, because it’s so unlikely to encounter any reprieve.

If it were the default case in any sense, why even feel more contentment

than in the intake of needed, but rather unexamined breath?

While you know that you live, you know you can die,

but without knowing, nothing leaves a mark on you.

So you’re free then to know, to notice

the animatronic plastic peeling off the clunky hydraulics in your hand.

The infected, reddish rim where the tube pokes right out of your flesh.

The mushroom-eaten, the dried up fleshbags,

the dim silhouettes and all the jellyfish that you dimly might have exhaled.

They stand there waiting in an afterworld you’ll have precious little say in.