#screw geppetto!!!!

[venigni]

I just have so many sad feelings about Promeo. They are as tragic as Romeo and Juliet, honestly?? Like.

The thing is, I feel like no matter what happens, inevitable death of Romeo in canon aside...even if Romeo still ended up alive after the events of the game somehow: P is not Carlo, and never will be Carlo. Experiences shape who we are and the short life P experienced formed him into someone different from Carlo.

And there's just so much angst here. Even if they got together and things were peaceful in Krat, Romeo would soon come to find out that no matter how much P looks like Carlo and no matter that Carlo is indeed a part of him, P is not the same Carlo he fell in love with. He'd have to face that fact every single day. Probably multiple times a day, reminded of his first love, who is now lost.

And meanwhile, on P's end? Guilt, that he lives and Carlo could not. Obligation. Definitely a horrible case of imposter syndrome. Yes, he came to care for Romeo in his own way, but he knows Romeo loved Carlo--not him. And he also, given his heroic tendencies, might feel its his duty to make Romeo happy by being with him, too.

They'd both be compromising, and one could say that's what true love is. But every twist and turn their relationship takes seems to lead to a bad ending. That's true tragedy. I love them but god, they break my heart. I just want them to be happy puppet BFs.

[uselesstaroth]

This is a preliminary statement. I have not put much thought into it

But. I think. That Geppetto is very lucky that P does not have Carlo's memories.

[erijuice]

My Revision of Wish

As someone who loves the concept of Wish, I thought it was a decent addition to the Disney Animation Canon. I enjoyed the songs, the gorgeous hybrid artstyle, and the homage to Sleeping Beauty's wide cinemascope aspect. Unfortunately, the more I think about Wish, the more disappointed I was with the final product. For what was supposed to be a celebration of Disney's legacy, it ended up being shot with the blandification ray by the studio itself, because they had a lot of interesting concepts planned for the film. It's just impossible for me to hate Wish like everyone else on the internet, because I know there's passion behind this idea, it was just muddled and screwed over by the despicable corporate side of Disney.

Now, while I did love the final product and was also simultaneously disappointed over what it could’ve and should’ve been, I wanted to showcase my version of the film with a heavier emphasis on the wishing star’s untold origin story. This is actually an updated/edited version of my original draft, and I added a little bit of characterization as well.

SPOILERS FOR THE ACTUAL FILM BTW

Wish (in my version) is fully 2D-Animated, and contains music, orchestration and lyrics from Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, with additional output from Julia Michaels.

Cast:

Alycia Pascual-Peña as Asha

Chris Pine as King Magnifico

Amara Le Negra as Queen Amaya

Roman Banks as Orion (Star)

Summary: 

“Have you ever wondered how the legendary Wishing Star was born?… Set in a time centuries before Snow White wished by the wishing well, or Geppetto wished for his little wooden puppet to become a real boy, Wish takes place in the medieval city of Rosas, a fantasy kingdom off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea where your wishes can literally be transformed into reality. The kingdom is ruled by King Magnifico (Chris Pine) and Queen Amaya (Amara Le Negra), respected by all as the kingdom’s sole wish-granters. They live happily in peace with their royal daughter named Asha (voiced by Alycia Pascual Peña), who was set to take her parents’ throne once she turned 17. 

Princess Asha is sharp-witted and wildly smart beyond her years: a young philosopher in the making, who believes that the stars are always there to guide her. She's a shy bookworm who is very creative, she draws animations in her notepad and paints with watercolors all over her bedroom, much like Rapunzel. Asha also wants to be a musician and to inspire the people with her music. While being devoted to her goal to ensure that everyone gets their wish to come true, Asha also struggles with poor leadership skills, and she doesn't know how to be a good leader to her friends, or her kingdom. Her parents seem to make it look easy, and sometimes Asha prefers to rely on them to make her dreams come true. However, Asha believes that a bigger and stronger wish requires a much more difficult journey, and in order to achieve her wish, she must confront her own parents, two of the fiercest and most powerful villains the Disney universe has ever known.

King Magnifico is almost the same as his canon depiction, except he has no backstory of him losing his family to destruction which would've make him more sympathetic, and does not mesh well with him being a villain. He uses his magic to remove wishes from people's hearts and keeps them in his own "wish orbs" for personal keeping, but we don't find out what he does with them until the first act. Before he praticed magic, he was a philosopher who believed in the power of the stars in the night sky, inspiring Asha to develop her belief that there is magic in the stars.

Queen Amaya is a female villain who is madly in love with Magnifico and pressures Asha to be a perfect royal daughter, much in the vein of Yzma and Maleficent, with shades of Mother Gothel. She is a black dark-skinned Latina, and Asha's birth mother. Queen Amaya owns has a pet cat assistant named Cleo, who is a callback to Maleficent's crow Diablo, or Lady Tremaine's cat Lucifer.

Alright, now back to the story!

On her 17th birthday, during a beautiful royal ball, Asha notices that her parents have wondered off from their thrones, and she uncovers a dark truth about both of her parents and how they want to keep the wishes of the people for themselves. Even worse, she peaks through the cracked door of the throne room to witness that the King and Queen are crushing the people's wishes, and infusing their energy, in order to make their own magic more powerful, and thus manipulating the townspeople and giving them the false hope of their wishes being granted. Asha tries to keep what she saw a secret from her parents, but she argues that the wishes must be free and sent back to the people. After a heated argument with her parents, she runs to the forest and makes a passionate cry for help to the stars, in the hopes that they will give her guidance and strength to help her entire kingdom. (‘This Wish’ is staying btw, but with adjusted lyrics) Her plea pulls down the brightest star out of the sky and transforms it into a glowing ethereal humanoid being without a name.

Here is where we meet Orion. Orion is THE wishing star of legend. He is a glowing, Black-coded, humanoid boy around the same age as Asha. Newly formed, he has no name and no sense of right or wrong, much like Pinocchio, but he reveals himself to be a powerful shapeshifter with magic celestial powers. The starboy is aided with the tiny, Luma-like canon version of Star, named Little Dipper, as his personal companion. Little Dipper is more mischevious than Orion, but it's also a powerful wish granter in a tiny celestial body. With a reworked, more orchestral version of "At All Costs", Orion takes Asha on a gorgeous flight, explaining his purpose to help Asha, as the duo sings in harmony above the stardust-sprinkled woodlands, with Little Dipper setting the scene. After the song ends, Asha tries to name all the constellations off the top of her head, and ultimately names the starboy Orion (serving as a subtle callback to Kiss the Girl). Asha brings Orion back to the kingdom, and she tries to teach him how to grant the peoples’ wishes. As the two plans to give the wish orbs back to the people, Asha notices that her parents are angered over the townspeople praising Orion’s descend, hoping that he will grant the wishes of all the people. Feeling threatened by Orion’s presence, the King and Queen scheme to use dark magic to kill Fate and steal her magic, so that they will remain as the only wish-granters in Rosas, but at the risk of permanently being surrendered to the dark side. (This Is The Thanks I Get, except it's reworked into a grand, badass, orchestral villain duet with Magnifico on the first verse and Amaya on the second verse)

Desperate to warn the kingdom about her parents’ true colors, Asha disguises herself (a la Sleeping Beauty) as a peasant girl, while Orion tries to disguise himself as a normal human boy. As the two try to grant the wishes of the townpeople who haven't given their wishes to the king and queen, the town descends into chaos with some wishes spiraling out of control. While it is a moment of hilarity, Asha and Orion come to a realization that some wishes should never be granted in the first place, as they're more likely to cause harm and chaos than pure good. The two comes across a group of seven teenagers modeled after the Seven Dwarfs, Asha's longtime team, and Orion starts to get to know each one of them, before planning a rebellion against her parents, and yet, Asha is secretly hesitant to disobey her parents, she confesses to Orion - in a short reprise of At All Costs - about how she used to be perfectly obedient and a perfect princess to her people. Meanwhile, Orion reveals to the Seven Teens that he’s still learning to grant wishes, but they also end up horribly wrong, but he comes to a realization that he shouldn't grant wishes that could cause harm, no matter how much they beg for it. The Teens make a promise to Asha that they will protect her secret, as well as Orion's. The duo and the teens team up to stop the King and Queen, with a reworked version of "Knowing What I Know Now."

During the epic climax, Orion and Asha create a diversion, with Asha freeing the wishes with her team and learning to be a good leader in doing so, while Orion shapeshifts into multiple forms to battle the King and Queen and distract them away from the castle, but they capture Little Dipper into the scepter, and use Dipper's magic to transform their cat Cleo into a giant dragon (akin to Maleficent's dragon form) that flies them to the top of the castle, with Orion chained up. The parents chain Asha to the top of the castle where the battle occurs, and they force their daughter to watch Orion suffer. Engulfed by the pain of losing her protector, Asha breaks into the This Wish reprise, as do the other residents of Rosas. The King and Queen try to push Asha off the castle to her death, but the townspeoples' voices lift her up, as does Orion's, and he uses his magic to make her float above in mid-air. Everyone's hearts beginning to glow and attract their wishes back to their hearts as they sing in unison. Orion transfers most of his celestial powers into Asha, who uses her temporary celestial powers to free Little Dipper from the scepter, and blast the King and Queen to their death, while Orion simultaneously creates a powerful sword to throw into Cleo's heart, killing her as well. After a moment of silence, Asha breaks down into tears and feels bittersweet that she’ll never have her parents again, but more optimistic about being the ruler the kingdom desperately needed - someone who will choose only the best wishes to come true. Orion comes down to Earth to comforts Asha with a hug, and the kingdom rejoices with the evil King and Queen gone for good.

Cut to a few months later with Asha hosting her first royal ball for Rosas, and dancing with Orion, similar to the endings of Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast. Before Orion flies back to the night sky to become the Wishing Star, he gets Little Dipper to create a magic wand and grants her the role of a honorary Blue Fairy guardian, transforming Asha’s purple queen gown into a beautiful, glittering, baby blue gown. Orion informs to Asha that Asha will be reincarnated into a true Blue Fairy after her time on Earth comes to an end, but Orion will descend back down to Rosas every now and then to help Asha. As a final gift, even though he admits his magic is not perfect just yet, Orion finally grants Asha’s wish and creates a lute for her to play for her people, but Asha realizes what her true wish was all along: To be a good leader to all of Rosas.

After Orion forms into the glimmering Wishing Star in the night sky above Rosas, Queen Asha looks down on the townspeople of Rosas with hope in her smile and she looks up at the wishing star above her, with a hope that everyone will have a wish to come true, because now, Queen Asha knows that there is no force, no magic more powerful than the power of a wish, for a wish is more powerful when it’s inside your heart.

Cut to a few nights later, after the credits have rolled, when Asha walks out onto the balcony above the kingdom. She pulls out a music sheet, and begins to play ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’ for the stars, as an homage to Orion.

My version of Wish will also contain hundreds of Easter Eggs that all pay tribute to ALL 61 FILMS in the Walt Disney Animation Studios library, all worked seamlessly into the context of the story, not just containing the ones that inspire the film like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. Anyway, all I’m saying is that Disney should’ve hired me and put me into the writers room, because as a Disney fan, I know how to make this story work and how to make it even better, and I hope you guys love this version of the story! Oh, and also, screw Disney for donating to a genocide. Goodnight Kingdom of Rosas!

[shinjisdone]

𝒯𝒾𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒮𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈

(A Yandere Pinocchio X fem!Reader fic from Lies of P)

Pɑɾt 1; Sluɱbeɾ

capitolo uno

capitolo due

capitolo tre

capitolo quattro

capitolo cinque

capitolo sei

capitolo sette

Capitolo otto

capitolo nove: is here

Capitolo dieci

Pɑɾt 2; Awɑƙeƞiƞƍ

It was a privilege to share the same blood as Giuseppe Geppetto. To be his family, his niece and take part in the marvelous worlds of puppets. The privilege to learn from him as his apprentice. The privilege to care for the things he cares for and to have the things he cares for, care deeply for you.

Tag list:

@greeknerd007 , @mitsureigen , @kame11a , @thirdblogsacharm , @sarah22447 , @blueberryhitosh1 , @written1nthest4rs , @huicitawrites

TW in general: Yandere behaviour, creepy and still puppet, dubious intentions and relationships

[TW for this one specifically include: very depressing atmosphere, angry Geppetto, condescension, strong grief, burnout, mentions of crying and sniffling, distracting oneself]

Feet rushed over the lavish loveseat, the wrench quickly whisked off the work table, the metal edge carved into the wood. He barely paid any attention to the small havoc he was creating and was instead on his knees and screwing in the last bolt with all his might. Gritting his teeth, he adjusted his grip with a deep breath and pulled and pulled and pulled until his knuckles turned white, nose scrunched up and his muscles flexing, aching.

With a yelp, briefly followed by a hiss, the tool was let go and clattered to the floor. One moment he felt how his hand shook in pain and in the next, the metal arm almost fell on his foot.

"Damn all this!"

The loud thud resounded through the workshop and you awoke.

Taking a deep breath, your widened eyes blinked, looking around the dark room. Opaque light peeked through the louvered blinds, letting you recognize your limp self in your bed. The sheets lazily covered you, a pillow was squeezed into the corner with your leg hanging from the frame. Aurorie was curled around your arm.

Wiping your clogged nose, you stayed there for a few minutes - until you heard another echo - unintelligable words. You sighed as you forced yourself out of bed with a push, gathering the sheets and throwing them back to your bed. You could make your way to the door through the darkness with doll in hand. Opening it revealed more than enough light, startingly blinding you, leaving you to cover your eyes. Patting your clothes down a few times would be enough for your uncle to look presentable. You did not get changed last night anyway.

Your feet lazily stepped down one stair at a time as you held on the rail for support. You sniffed once again but the close and hot air would leave it clogged, you feared.

Stopping in your tracks you listened. Once more there was the sound of metal clattering and of things being moved. The source seemed to stem from the long, long hallway in the back, illuminated dimly by a few lamps. You knew that hallway well but not as well as all the other rooms in your uncle's workshop. As a child the path was fun to run through but soon you'd halt at the sight of the big, wooden door with a small staircase leading to a darkness below. Just one creak of the first stair left you frightened and dashing back to the start of the hallway. A long time ago you swore to yourself that your marathon through the building would not go any farther than that door - but you were old enough to squash such fears now as you walked towards it.

A basement was just a room one floor under. It wasn't like you were buried below ground.

The closer you got, the better you could see the familiar door and its handle and the better you could make out the garbling to be Uncle's voice.

Just as your good hand reached for the handle, you started at footsteps rushing up the stairs with loud thumps. Luckily your reflexes were faster and you stepped back just far enough to not have Geppetto slam the door into your face.

"(Name)!"

Your eyes snapped to his face. Disheveled hair and an unkempt beard, as well as sweat running down his red face greeted you. He panted as if he had run a marathon down the hallway and into the basement himself. His monocle was nowhere to be seen.

The man tried to catch his breath. Just as he seemed to be spacing out to you, he quickly stepped forward, firmly closed the door shut and locked it.

"What are you doing, Uncle Geppetto?" You hesitated to reach out to him. "What are you doing? You should be resting." With a loud click, the door was locked and he put the key into his breast pocket. "Stitches are not to be taken lightly." Turning around, he had a frown matching his patronizing tone. You could tell he was biting his tongue.

"I just," Your gaze darted between the ground and him slowly, tardily even as if you struggled to be awake, to be present in this very moment. You held your doll higher up as if she were a shield. "Heard a small commotion. You've been working in the basement for the past week now...is there something important you've got to do for the Workshop Union?" For a moment Geppetto's glare softened and he looked away himself. "Important?...Yes, it is. Very much so." Swiftly he focused on you again with narrowed eyes. "It's been occupying my mind but it shouldn't yours. You're still tired, dear, and in much need of rest. Go back to your room, you'll just burden the both of us with unnecessary worrying."

The older man passed by you in a hurry, gone in an blink of an eye. Staying alone, left behind in the dark hallway, you watched his silhouette vanish. Your eyes were burning.

'Your apprentice is worried, Guiseppe.'

His face soured.

'You needn't be a mind reader but just see it in her eyes. Your niece is untrustworthy and she believes you to be as well.'

The melon hat slipped out of his hand. With a growl, he slammed it on his head. Another meeting with these narcists.

'You'd best leave the thought be. Family never betrays.'

Slamming the door shut he was met with a tempest.

He does not have time for this.

You milled towards the kitchen with your gaze catching every mess left behind. Uncle hardly seemed to have any time at all for anything above the basement - you assumed. The darkness of your room invited you to be embraced by sleep more often than not. If anything, you'd saunter down to change your bandages or to eat some snacks, as you were doing now.

Yet opening the cupboards, not many of them were filled to the brim as they used to. Coffee, tea, jam, beans, crackers, fruit, pastries have all become scarce and the rain outside wasn't tempting to go collect a few things. You'd awaken at unholy hours for any shops to be open and you'd hate for the baker girl to see you in this sorry state. You were afraid your bandages would get wet anyway. Uncle would surely get a few things on his daily outings.

Shoving a bit of cheese and bread into your mouth and pocket, you lazily made your way back upstairs. Your eyes still felt that burn and part of your mind scolded you for not at least sitting at the table to nibble on your snack but you could care less. The kitchen looked so empty.

'...Back to the news of the week in Krat - the maid puppet is still being kept under the watchful eye of the Workshop Union upon their request. Many folks believe this to be a revolutionary step towards puppets gaining more skills and becoming more useful, completely understanding humans; While many others voice out concern over the fact it cares so deeply for the baby it was made to look after. Calling it creepy even...'

The narrator's uninflected voice left you a bit surprised. You hadn't heard of that - having shut down your radio a few weeks ago. The repetitive news alongside the rain outside soured your mood.

Even now you couldn't listen. Gnawing on your cheese, you passed by the hallway connected to the staircase and your eyes, as if on reflex, immediately stared at the shut cabinet.

Uncle locked the butler puppets in there by your request. He was understanding of your burnout yet it also seemed like he could not care less for the puppet brothers. He never mentioned them after that again.

'According to the family, the infant has had episodes of tantrums after the puppet was taken into investigstion. The puppet itself seemed to call for the baby which is not included into a maid's speech system by the Workshop Union. They claim it may be possible for the system to adapt, which...'

You've passed by and shut close your door. Adjusting the blinds, you let a bit of sunlight peek out, as much as it could on this cloudy day. It was enough to properly see the messy room and you stretched, deciding to sit down at your work table for once. The bed would just tempt you to nap again.

You slumped down the table with a thump with your elbows up and holding onto each of Aurorie's hand. Chin resting on the edge, you rocked her left and right, your eyes lazily following her. A sigh escaped you as you attempted to twirl the doll.

Left and right...

Left and right...

A twirl and feigning from falling over the edge, tapping back and forth...

The silly dances of the parade puppet came to mind. It'd prance around the people, flex its mechanical arms to get a reaction out of them, stagger the men up on its shoulders as if it were a game...

Why did you feel so upset about all this? The day was breathtaking, the sights colorful and so very different compared to the bleak walls of this place and the meager spare parts of puppets lying around. The food fresher than any you could have at the bakery, toys buzzing about as children laughed and people greeting you with an actual smile on their face...

Why didn't you take that puppet's hand? At last, you would have been able to dance with everyone on the plaza, too...

You wiped your eyes before they could water. This feeling, as if a claw was constraining the inside of your chest, felt so, so wrong and you felt so, so stupid for feeling upset about the past. The festival is over. There will be no parade in this gloomy weather.

With a sniff, you held up your doll once again. To the left and right it swung as if it were that grande puppet itself. It would be wonderful if at least she could lighten your spirits and dance your woes away...

Tilting your head, you made her hop on the table. "...When you wish upon a star...makes no difference who you are..." Aurorie would tilt with every sentence you softly let out. A smile grew on your face. "Anything your heart desires, will come to you..." Holding the doll higher up, you had her tap back and forth.

"If your heart is in your dream...no request is too extreme..."

You sung higher and louder. Aurorie would nod along.

"When you wish upon a star...as dreamers do."

You tilted her arm up, holding unto her hand with your finger and the other supported her waist - twirling it around as if you two danced together.

"Fate is kind...she brings to those who love..." You let out in a soft but higher tone - as if Aurorie was singing to you. "The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing..."

The play-pretend soothed the lump in your throat at the very least.

At the peak, you'd let her jump up high as if she could reach for the stars themselves and graciously land on your arm.

"...Like a bolt out of the blue...suddenly it comes in view...when you wish upon a star...!"

At the finale, you let her bow.

"Your dreams come true."

With a smile you got rid of the last sniffles. The air had finally become a bit clearer around the room but you feared that it would be stiff and hot once you leave again. So, placing your dear friend back on the bed, sitting comfortably against the pillow, you did your best to quickly snatch some things below. It started off tame before you began collecting more and more off your uncle's worktable.

'...The people left their concerns known, believing things to go awry with the maid puppet. Some fear or observe their own puppets for any malfunciton but the Workshop Union, as well as many officials of Krat, promise that there is no need for worry.'

"When a star is born, they possess a gift or two..."

'However, recently before the incident, a group, wishing to stay anonymous, reported a similiar but more vile incident. A puppet having acted violently to another person. No evidence was laid but there seem to be witnesses...'

"One of them is this...they have the power to make a wish come true."

'Business seem to have gone low...demand for puppets has decreased and there is a fear of a sudden surge of inflation, predicting...'

"When you wish upon a star..."

'The Workshop Union nor the Alchemists seem to not have any more to say on that. Additionally, the weather for Krat seems to be staying all gloom and doom like this for the rest of the week...'

You couldn't afford to think of the consequnces now, of the future. For what else were you here but to built and create. Your heart wished to sing and be sung to, to feel this euphoria only Krat could offer. As of now, no one could offer that but only you to yourself.

It may be selfish and in your mind, it is. Yet you refused to think about your uncle's face, about the other puppets stuck in the cabinet, those outside in the bakery, in the tailorshop, in the plaza or of that stupid school and its swings and tree. Uncle would be calling you a bad child, as ridicilous as it sounded.

"Anything your heart desires..."

He seemed way too focused on whatever seemed to be in the basement anyway.

"Will come to you..."

[asterixer]

Okay okay I know I'm in the middle of writing a promeo fic (that is wildly getting out of control at 11k words and not nearly finished) but on the drive to work this morning I had another idea

I figure I should write it down before I forget:

Twins AU + some canon divergence

Krat isn't destroyed by puppet frenzies, Carlo & P are Geppetto's sons.

They both attend the Rose Estate; Carlo for Stalker training, P for Workshop (although Carlo thinks he's wasting his talents because P can whoop plenty of ass with a sword) why workshop? He wants to be able to bond with his dad, meanwhile Carlo is like you know what, screw the old man I do what I want

Anyways, Geppetto has been working on something and the boys are nosy so P steals the key to his workshop and they investigate

Turns out Geppetto has his own pet project going outside Grand Exhibition prep & general puppet inventing blah blah etc.

Aka he's made Romeo & given him a human soul (but the boys don't know that yet) so they just see this very humanoid looking puppet 'sleeping' in their dad's workshop

Stuff happens, Romeo becomes their butler of sorts around the house after waking up - but he hides the fact that he's an awakened puppet from them

Eventually reveals it to P because P is fascinated by Romeo and talks to him a LOT. Meanwhile Carlo is like lol why you so obsessed with the puppet, do you have a thing for him or something

P's also met Julian and he's like well uh, such a thing exists but I don't know if that's me or not

Except wow puppets CAN have souls? And moreover this one was an orphan from the slums who just wanted some cash & got roped into being an experiment

And that's about all I got right now thoughts-wise.

Ship fic? Probably. I've got a thing for Promeo okay I can't help it.

[mariacallous]

On the top floor of a building somewhere in Ukraine is a drone workshop.

Inside is a chaotic workbench covered in logic boards, antennas, batteries, augmented reality headsets, and rotor blades. On one end of the room is a makeshift photo studio—a jet-black quadcopter drone sits on a long white sheet, waiting for its close-up.

This particular workshop’s Geppetto is Yvan. He grins as he shows off his creations, flittering around with a lit cigarette in his mouth, dangling ash, grabbing different models. (Yvan is a pseudonym; WIRED granted some of the people in this story anonymity due to the security risk.)

Yvan holds up a mid-size drone: This model successfully hit a target from 11 kilometers away, he says, but it should be capable of traveling at least 20. He’s trying different batteries and controllers to try to extend the range. He screws on a stabilizer tailpiece to a hard plastic shell—Yvan 3D-prints these himself—and holds up the assembled bomb. It’s capable of carrying a 3.5-kilogram explosive payload, enough to take out a Russian tank.

He uses his index finger and thumb to pick up a nondescript beige chip: This, he says, is what he’s really proud of.

One big problem with these drones—which are based on commercially available first-person-view (FPV) or photography drones—is that their explosive payload is jimmy-rigged on. It requires the drone to crash in order to close the circuit and trigger the explosion.

This chip, Yvan says, allows for remote detonation from a significant distance, meaning the operator can park their drone and lay in wait for hours, even days, before it goes off. He expects this technology could, eventually, be connected to AI—exploding only if it registers a nearby tank, for example. He has created a long-range smart land mine, I note. After the idea is passed through our translator, he nods enthusiastically.

There are many of these FPV drone workshops around Ukraine—Kyiv estimates there are about 200 Ukrainian companies producing aerial drones, with others producing land- and sea-based uncrewed vehicles. But Yvan, grinning proudly, insists that the manufacturer which he represents, VERBA, is the best.

Ukraine is facing increasingly tough odds in its defensive war against a better-resourced, better-equipped enemy. Thanks to delayed aid from Washington and shortages in other NATO warehouses, Ukraine has lacked artillery shells, long-range missiles, and even air defense munitions.

These drones, however, represent a bright spot for the Ukrainians. Entrepreneurship and innovation is scaling up a sizable drone industry in the country, and it’s making new technological leaps that would make the Pentagon envious.

The age of drone warfare is here, and Ukraine wants to be a superpower.

After Yvan showed off his workshop, we loaded into the car to visit one of his factories.

Behind a steel door is a room filled with racks, where 30 3D printers are working simultaneously, printing various drone components in unison. The twentysomething employees seem accustomed to the screeching alarm—some are soldering the drones together, others are tinkering with designs in AutoCAD, one is lounging on a sofa.

Strung across one shelf of 3D printers is a black flag, a take on Blackbeard’s (apocryphal) pirate flag. It shows a horned skeleton wearing an AR headset and holding a controller, thrusting his spear toward a bleeding heart as a quadcopter flies above.

In the first year of the war, when FPV drones were providing extraordinary footage of the front lines and viral video of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) dropping grenades on Russian tanks captivated the world, Ukraine was snatching up every consumer drone it could find. Chinese technology giant DJI became a household name in Ukraine, thanks to its drones’ ubiquity on the front lines. Ukraine’s early advantage was quickly lost, however, as Russia scrambled to snatch up these Chinese-made UAVs.

“When Russia sees, from Instagram, my product, Russia starts buying all these components in China,” a VERBA executive says. The new demand from Moscow can often cause either shortages or inflation, squeezing out the Ukrainian companies. So entrepreneurs like Yvan began building their own.

When Yvan began his operation in the early months of the war following Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion, he was creating a handful of frankendrones to send to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Now, Yvan says, his operation is producing 5,000 FPV drones per month. He offers a range of systems, from a mammoth 12-inch model to a 4-inch prototype.

At first, these entrepreneurs were pursuing this project on their own—scrambling, like most of the country, to be useful in helping Ukraine defend itself. Kyiv was initially cool to the idea that a domestic drone industry was worth the money and attention, especially given the demand for more conventional arms. Some in the military, one executive says, dismissed the utility of these innovative weapons and surveillance platforms as merely “wedding photography drones.” (One executive said Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s new commander in chief, had been an early adopter inside the military, directly contracting 10 firms in early 2023 to begin assembling new technology for his forces.)

That attitude changed in 2023, when Ukraine set up Brave1, a government-run technology agency and incubator that helps connect private enterprise to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Since its creation, Brave1 has worked to streamline design, development, and procurement of new defense technology, while helping companies navigate government and military bureaucracy. Brave1 has already awarded more than $3 million in research and development grants and connected more than 750 companies to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

When United24, the Ukrainian government’s in-house crowdfunding platform, first pitched an “army of drones” to its donors in 2022, it aimed to buy just 200 units. Today, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky projected late last year that his country would produce over 1 million drones in 2024.

“I would say that we can even double this number,” Natalia Kushnerska, head of Brave1’s defense technology cluster, tells WIRED.

“We have the responsibility and the motivation to do it today and to do it very fast,” she says. “Because we don't have any other choice.”

This is a war, one executive told me, “where the economy matters.”

Even hampered by sanctions, Russia has a $2 trillion economy—about 6 percent of that is geared toward its wartime production. Ukraine’s entire GDP, by contrast, is less than $200 billion.

While Kyiv has received substantial support from its NATO partners, it faces constant pressure to find efficiencies. The economics of these drones are looking better and better.

Yvan’s drones are, compared to conventional munitions, cheap. His most expensive unit runs about $2,500, but the cheapest is only $400.

Early in the war, the Ukrainians could reasonably expect—depending on weather, the mission, and Russian jamming efforts—that about 30 percent of their drones would connect with the target. Today, good Ukrainian-made systems are approaching a 70 percent success rate.

It can often take four or five artillery shells to successfully destroy a medium-range target, such as a tank. At $8,000 per shell—which are in short supply and high demand—that is an expensive proposition. Even if it takes two of Yvan’s most expensive drones to achieve the same objective, that’s thousands of dollars in savings. The proliferation of these drones reduces the “cost-per-kill,” as one executive phrased it, and reduces the strain on those dwindling ammunition stockpiles.

Even if Yvan and other producers are making more and more of their systems in Ukraine, they still rely on Chinese suppliers for critical onboard components. That comes with a trade-off—Chinese suppliers are cheaper, but they tend to be of lower quality and are happy to do business with Russia as well. Other options, such as companies in Taiwan, the United States, Canada, or Europe, are better quality but can be several times more expensive.

These supply chains, Yvan says, are “complicated.” Drone manufacturers who spoke to WIRED say anywhere between 40 percent and 80 percent of their drone components are made in Ukraine. Asked how long it would take before Ukraine manufactures nearly everything in these drones, from the rotor blades to the onboard components, Yvan provides a bullish estimate: “six months.”

It’s not an entirely unrealistic dream. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and also minister responsible for digital transformation, said late last year that Kyiv hopes to break ground on a semiconductor factory, capable of producing 50,000 chips a year, by 2025. Ukraine produces about half the world’s supply of neon, necessary for the lasers used to make the chips.

There are already companies in Ukraine that have developed electronic design automation software—a necessary tool for producing chips—and that do electronic assembly inside the country itself. An industry source tells WIRED that a working group was formed in late 2023 to chart out how Ukraine could be a player in the semiconductor industry.

Another defense technology executive, Igor, manufactures considerably more-sensitive drones. “We definitely don’t buy anything from China,” he says. His products are more expensive, he says, “but we are looking for something that would differentiate us from the Russians.” At the moment, he says, “Russia is ahead.” He’s hoping to close that gap.

For any of this to work, however, there needs to be demand for these drones. The more they can sell, the more they can invest. “The things that they need,” Kushnerska says: “contracts and money.” Demand has certainly grown—fundraising platform United24 helped finance a fleet of naval drones and raised funds to purchase 5,000 surveillance UAVs. Other organizations have led similar purchases. The drone-makers, however, say it’s just not enough.

In early 2023, Ukraine’s parliament passed new laws to regulate how drone manufacturers can contract with the state; while profiteering is generally discouraged in the wartime economy, the law specifically allows the companies to charge up to 25 percent profit.

Yvan says he charges just a 10 percent premium for his drones and reinvests all that profit back into his operation. Representatives from other drone companies who spoke to WIRED say they operate on a similar basis.

More orders will mean more investment. Thus far, NATO countries have preferred to purchase locally-made equipment and ship it to Ukraine. That may be changing.

Bill Blair, Canada’s minister of defense, visited Kyiv shortly before I was there. While there, he announced that Ottawa would donate 800 Canadian-made drones to Ukraine. While the donation was lauded, a senior official asked the minister, “Why didn't you buy our drones?” After being briefed on the various innovations taking place in the Ukrainian drone industry, Blair was convinced. “We're also going to find ways to invest in Ukrainian industry,” he tells WIRED. “The point of the [Ukraine Defense Contact Group drone coalition] is to create capability, not only in the countries that are in the coalition but also capability in Ukraine.”

Even still, bureaucracy moves slowly. What’s more, startups—some of which are helmed by technologists or special effects gurus with no experience in procurement, let alone war—are often learning as they go. One executive, covering his eyes with his hand, says: “It’s like going completely blind.”

Not every company has been able to hack it. One executive says he’s aware of five defense technology startups that have shut down since the war began.

Much attention has been paid to FPV drones. They reinforce the idea that Ukraine’s defense is a scrappy, homespun effort. But even as the country has professionalized production of these light, agile drones, it has rapidly spun up production of other, more complicated systems.

One of Ukraine’s biggest disadvantages, from the start of the war, has been its difficulty in hitting targets inside Russia. Because Moscow has so effectively dominated the skies, Ukraine has been left playing defense.

That equation has changed substantially in recent weeks. Ukraine has had enormous success in attacking Russian oil refineries—knocking out as much as 15 percent of the country’s total refining capacity—and bombing Russian air bases. This has all been made possible by Ukrainian-made long-range attack drones.

Igor, who represents a company responsible for producing those long-range bombers, says they have developed a unit capable of flying 1,000 kilometers and carrying a 25-kilogram payload and has produced “several hundred” units for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. And they are actively working on a new model, capable of flying up to 2,500 kilometers. (It will pack a smaller punch, he said: “The longer you go, the lighter the payload.”)

These systems are more expensive: from $35,000 to $100,000. But if they can destroy millions of dollars worth of Russian equipment, that’s a bargain.

“These are no simple drones,” Igor says. “We don’t have the luxury, like the Western guys, to spend years in development.”

They’re not stopping with drones, either. They’re using the same technology to develop Ukrainian-made missiles, capable of flying farther and doing more damage to Russian military infrastructure, tucked well behind the front lines, which is regularly used to attack Ukrainian cities.

Igor’s goal is to “bring the war to Russia.” FPV drones have broadcast the realities of the front lines in high definition—long-range bombers could successfully make it feel real, he says. “They don’t suffer like we suffer.”

The effort to bring the war to Russia is advancing on multiple fronts. One of the most famous uncrewed systems of the war has been Kyiv’s Sea Baby drones. Videos have gone viral of these sleek ships clipping along the waters of the Black Sea.

According to Kyiv, they can carry 850 kilograms of explosives, go 90 kilometers per hour, travel some 1,000 kilometers—and they are invisible to radar. This is the kind of capability that the Pentagon, and other defense departments, has spent years trying to develop. “We like to joke that everything we do now, in Ukraine, takes three days—globally, it takes three years,” Brave1’s Kushnerska says.

Ask around Kyiv about these drones, however, and everyone is mum. Even otherwise talkative defense sources go quiet when asked about the Sea Babys. Asked about the vehicles, one defense executive smiled and said simply, “That’s classified.”

Kushnerska is equally evasive: “We need to keep silent about new solutions and new surprises that we are preparing for the enemy.”

The skullduggery is understandable. These uncrewed vehicles have been responsible for doing massive damage to Russia’s prized Black Sea fleet and spearheading the first major attack on the Kerch Bridge, in Crimea, in 2022.

Developing naval drones, however, is relatively easy compared to uncrewed land systems.

Over tea with Stepan, another defense entrepreneur, he lists the litany of difficulties of trying to build uncrewed land systems: They don’t travel well over tough terrain, they don’t operate well in inclement weather, and they don’t tend to go very far.

And yet, Stepan says, his company has overcome all those obstacles—which the Pentagon is still wrestling with—and has put these land systems in the field. Plus, Stepan says he’s “pleasantly surprised by how they’re being used.” He says their smallest unit, which has generally been used to deliver food and equipment, recently rescued and evacuated a wounded soldier from the front line.

Ukraine is not the only side deploying these land systems, however. In late March, pro-Kremlin channels celebrated what they said was the successful deployment of Russian-made uncrewed land systems, outfitted with an AGS-17 grenade launcher.

Ukraine believes its advantage will come from how it dispatches these systems. “You need a mesh system,” Stepan says. And that’s one of the single hardest things to do. Ukraine has started dispatching repeater UAVs, which are used to extend the base station signal, allowing the drones to fly farther and defend better against Russian jamming.

One ground drone, basically a mobile machine-gun turret, boasts an 800-meter range. What’s more impressive, however, is what happens when the land system is paired with a surveillance drone. Rather than them firing directly ahead, Stepan’s team has been training Ukrainian soldiers how to raise the weapon's trajectory, firing in a parabolic pattern and using the drone’s camera to adjust its aim. This tactic, he says, extends the drone’s firing range to 2.4 kilometers.

Doing combined operations with a couple of drones is hard enough. If Ukraine wants to really take advantage of these autonomous systems, it will need to figure out how to command multiple systems across land and air—and that’s where artificial intelligence comes in.

Stepan walks through the four levels of how AI can augment warfare: One is reconnaissance, where machine learning can be used to collate large volumes of footage and satellite imagery. Two is “copiloting,” as he calls it, where AI can analyze that intelligence and help draw insights. Third is planning, where AI can help develop “interlinked, complex orders” for multiple systems across land and air; he likens that to having AI develop football plays. Finally, step four is full autonomy, where AI collects intelligence, analyzes it, develops orders based on the intelligence, and dispatches and commands autonomous units based on that information—although humans review and approve each step of the process.

There are steps beyond this, Stepan notes, that remove human involvement entirely, but he isn’t interested in going there. Another executive recounted a story of how one company designed an autonomous machine gun, capable of conducting object detection and opening fire on its own—that was a “big, big problem,” he says, after the weapon’s radio signals were jammed and it began firing wildly. “I think we can do this slowly,” he adds.

Stepan’s systems are capable of operating at step four, he says. It means his systems have the “ability to take in variables” in real time—it allows his drones to change tactics depending on the environment. He provides examples: “What if our team is close? What if there is [electronic warfare]? What if one system loses connection?”

Kushnerska says Ukraine, alive to the concerns about and risks of AI on the battlefield, is mostly interested in using artificial intelligence only in the “last mile.”

It’s not enough to build drones. Ukrainians also have to know how to pilot them.

The last stop on Yvan’s tour is at a strip mall some distance away. Outside, a group of fresh-faced young men smoke cigarettes and enthusiastically greet him as he walks past.

Inside is a sterile classroom, with a dozen desks laid out—each featuring a tablet, a workstation, and an array of tools. In the back corner are pallets of FPV drones waiting to be unloaded.

This is Yvan’s drone school. Here, students learn not just the ins and outs of piloting these quadcopters but also how the machines work and how to repair them. Down the hallway is a large conference room where the students first test their skills—flags and checkpoints are propped up on cardboard boxes taped together into platforms of different levels. Once students can successfully navigate this makeshift course, they graduate to piloting the drones outside.

Yvan’s drones are normally painted jet black, designed to look as nondescript as possible. One drone, sitting on a desk in the training school, is spray-painted a bright orange. Yvan grins: “We’re sick of losing them in the grass.”

As Kyiv mobilized tens of thousands of ordinary Ukrainian men to fight, training has been a critical necessity. Particularly as ammunition supplies have dwindled, virtual training has been especially attractive. High-tech combat simulators have allowed Ukrainian troops to simulate real combat scenarios with rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, even anti-tank missiles. Ukrainian entrepreneurs are hoping to have dozens of these simulators online in the near future, with the goal of training 100,000 troops.

An industry source tells WIRED that a drone combat simulator went online last month, allowing trainees to simulate the entire process of launching a long-range drone strike. Version 2.0 is being rolled out now, they say, adding that it is likely the first immersive offensive drone simulator in operation. The simulator is also intended to help Ukrainian pilots practice integrating their drones with land systems, which is notoriously difficult for even experienced soldiers.

While Yvan’s drone school offers hands-on experience for users of the FPV drones, this new drone simulator allows pilots to practice long-range targeting, flying in adverse weather conditions, and countering electronic warfare.

All of this—the FPV drones, the long-range bombers, the flight simulators—is Ukrainian innovation at work. And it is moving remarkably fast. Some day, after the war is over, Yvan may well be on the front lines of a Ukrainian technology renaissance, fulfilling orders for the Pentagon. First, both he—and Ukraine—need to survive.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have made modest but steady advances along the front lines. Defense executives, meanwhile, see sabotage and industrial espionage as constant problems. Even more acute is the threat of Russian air strikes. One executive recently recounted how one of his company’s main facilities was nearly hit by two Russian cruise missiles. The risk is very real.

Leaving the school, Yvan opens up the back of his car. He rummages around and hands me two patches: One features a cartoonish and scantily clad woman wearing an FPV headset with the Ukrainian flag on the side, piloting one of Yvan’s rotocopters. The other, an army-green Canadian flag, carries the words “ALWAYS BE READY.”

[sxugaryx]

Gun safety (FANFIC)

Funny One shot ♡

The familiar sound of the activation of the stargazer was heard through the hotel, indicating that Pinocchio had arrived back, thankfully Geppetto was downstairs and he made his way to greet his son.

“Son, how was-“ But Geppetto couldn’t finish that sentence as something very out of place had caught his eye, “What do have there?!”

Geppetto’s loud voice caught the attention of everyone, making them inspect what was going on; and they were just as stunned at him when they saw Pinocchio carrying a rifle in his hands.

“A gun” He said it so innocently, clearly having no idea the difference between a normal gun and a rifle or how dangerous they could actually be.

“I told him not to grab it but he didn’t listen to me” Gemini had to defend himself, he is supposed to stop Pinocchio from getting into trouble.

“Why are you carrying it?!” Geppetto was freaking out, he didn’t know if it was loaded.

“Well, it’s a weapon so maybe it can help me fight” Pinocchio was so proud of his thought process, completely ignoring he was holding the rifle backwards.

“Hey friend maybe you be more careful, you don’t know if it has bullets in it” Venigni tried to sound calm but he clearly was nervous, his friend was more capable than most would give him credit for but gun safety is important no matter the person.

“Oh right, I should check if it does!” To everyone’s horror Pinocchio took the rifle and looked directly inside the muzzle.

“DON’T DO THAT!” Everyone collectively shouted, they were all filled with dread, even Sophia who usually has a calm demeanor has lost her cool.

Pinocchio stopped, lowering the gun but still carrying it “Huh? Why not?” He was confused, he just wanted to make sure.

Before there could even be a moment of peace a loud bang was heard, a shot was fired, landing directly into one of the walls of the hotel leaving a deep whole as the ammunition was of high caliber; Spring who was sleeping at the counter quickly ran away from the scene, too scared from the shot fired.

“Pinocchio put that gun down right now!” His father demanded, he was furious and extremely frightened, his son could end up seriously hurting someone. Unfortunately

Pinocchio took the demand very literally as he dropped the gun from his hands, and as it hit the floor another loud bang was heard, this time the bullet ricocheted in a metallic surface, until it hit another wall, precisely the bullet hit the wall nearest to Lady Antonia it was a close call, but everyone felt tense, Polendina despite being a puppet and unable to show much emotion looked as if he was about to faint.

“Um… sorry” It wasn't until now that Pinocchio realized how this wasn’t his greatest idea.

Eugéne was the one to take the weapon, she might be more of an expert in hand-to-hand combat but she knew a few things about guns, she would keep it safe along with her other things, making sure that the safety lock was on.

“What were you thinking?! You could have killed poor Antonia” Geppetto shouted at his son, Antonia’s face was pale as a ghost, Polendina was by her side now, holding her hand and using a hand fan to give her some air.

Before Pinocchio could speak up Gemini decided to say something.

“Don’t even try to defend yourself this time buddy, you really screwed up”

His father was now next to him and started scolding him more, “You are a bad boy, that was unacceptable”

Pinocchio started to cry, he had never been called a bad boy, he was always a good boy.

“You know what? You are grounded” Geppetto needed to teach him some discipline, “You aren’t allowed to go outside until I said so”

Realistically everyone else knew that not allowing Pinocchio to go outside, the only one with fighting skills that could help in this situation, was not the best idea but no one was going to argue with Geppetto about it, first because everyone had a really bad scare and second he is his father so there’s that.

“But, but, but-“ Pinocchio’s crying had gotten more intense.

“And you aren’t allowed to talk to anyone else either, you are going to be upstairs with me until you learn your lesson” Geppetto grabbed Pinocchio by the arm and walked him upstairs, he was still crying and saying how he was sorry and that he would be a good boy.

After a few minutes, the air had been less tense, Spring had even come back and started to ask Eugéne for cuddles, she could only laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Eventually, Antonia calmed down as well, and Polendina took her to the garden to get some fresh air.

After an hour Venigni started to feel bad for poor Pinocchio he was still crying, he wanted to go upstairs to try and convince Geppetto to let him off this hook and that he had learned his lesson, but Pulcinella stopped him, telling him it was best to leave Geppetto to do the parenting, and because secretly he didn’t want Pinocchio to come back down yet, ever since that boy rescued him (which he was very thankful for but still) he could tell that he was a menace, he would step forward into hordes of enemies without a plan, that boy was clearly too reckless.

Reckless but at least his tenacity was at least admirable.

Sophia got over the scare quickly, looks like her “clever one” wasn’t so clever after all, she was getting bored, since no one could see her she had no one to talk to, and with Pinocchio being grounded it was worse, she used her powers to teleport upstairs, she gently waved her hand at Pinocchio.

“Sophia please tell my father I’m a good boy!” He was begging her, Pinocchio had never been in trouble before and it was killing him.

“Pinocchio you aren’t allowed to talk to your imaginary friend either”

“But Sophia is real, Gemini can see her, right Gemini?” Pinocchio knows that he can see her too, he talks to her. Why does everyone think she is just something he imagined?!

Sophia gave a small wink to Gemini and the cricket knew why she had come upstairs “Sorry buddy I’m not allowed to talk with you either”

And with that Sophia lifted her hands making a peace sign and vanished once more into thin air.

“Son be a good boy and take your punishment without excuses” Geppetto took a deep breath, but he felt a little bad for his son, he clearly wanted to have more friends otherwise he wouldn’t have made up someone to be his friend, still, he wonders why he named them Sophia, just like… well it was probably just a coincidence.

Half an hour passed and Geppetto finally gave in, his son still hadn’t stopped crying in fact he was crying so much that he ended up throwing up, and he felt at this point he had learned his lesson, he gave him a small lecture about how guns are dangerous and gave him a list of dangerous things to not pick up. He gave his son a hug, that ended up lasting for a while Pinocchio wouldn’t let go and keep apologizing, Geppetto had no choice but to repeat over and over that he was a good boy but to never make a mistake like that again.

He headed downstairs and apologized to Antonia as well, she played with his hair and told him to simply be more careful, and because Pinocchio wasn’t done asking for affection he went by Venigni’s side and just waved his arms to ask for a hug, and his uncle Venigni did so because he loves that boy, even if he can make some very questionable decisions sometimes.

Pinocchio left again to resume his tasks, and everything was peaceful and quiet, that is until he came back holding something again in his arms.

“Look, I found a new friend for Spring!” Pinocchio was so excited to show off the funny-looking cat he found.

“PINOCCHIO THAT’S A POSSUM!”

[a-m-pyra]

Modern AU headcanon: Romeo collects completely random things. He has a shoebox full of pins, a box with erasers in various shapes, colors and prints, beer caps, screws from high school and university, all unscrewed from desks, some broken door handles, a bullet from a sniper rifle, short pencils from art majors, license plates, etc.

And, above all, he has a collection of fucking spoons from Geppetto's house.

[shadow-schemer]

finished the demo

it is a very generous demo

The police bonk stick can stagger the Warden boss when you do the special attack but I’m just more comfortable with the backstep the rapier has with the heavy attack. The bonk stick with perfect blocks is a solid recommend.

(actions that make the Springs Stir under the Read More)

Geppetto: Only tell the people you trust about the hotel

me, who will freely give assistance to anyone who asks for help: haha i apologize in advance

Events that will make the Springs Stir:

Performing the “Show Off” gesture in front of Antonia after wearing the Boarding School Outfit

Saying “She’s a cute baby” to the Lady In The Window

Listening to the entire track of “Feel”. As in you have to idle and finish listening to it once.

Sophia’s focus seems to be about dealing with the Petrification Illness. Antonia heavily implies that Geppetto is still gripped by the grief of his son’s death and will often trail off with saying that P looks like a certain someone.

And Venigni is really brave to deal with the Puppet Frenzy by going to the factory to shut it down but he’s no fighter. And he’s Eugenie’s loyal customer.

Cant wait for the full game (and screw everything up!)

[icarusthelunarguard]

This Week’s Horrible-Scopes

It’s time for this week’s Horrible-Scopes! So for those of you that know your Astrological Signs, cool! If not, just pick one, roll a D12, or just make it up as you go along. It really doesn’t matter.

We’re collaborating with the nice folks at Rotten Tomato to bring you a personalized movie pairing. There’s just one small catch… Let’s see if you can figure it out.

Aries 

You know that Video Game Movies have typically been pretty bad. So for you we have 2016’s “Pixels” with Adam Sandler in the role of Billy Mitchell… Oh, sorry. The role of “Sam Brenner” trying to beat Donkey Kong. With a Tomato score of 18% think how bad this movie was if you compare it to 2019’s “Cats” rated at 19%! If you make popcorn don’t butter it - you’ll be throwing it at the TV.  

Taurus 

Assuming you’re sharing someone’s Netflix account, you can screw up their library by playing 2020’s “365 Days”. To say this was a “50 Shades of Grey” ripoff would be far kinder than it deserves… since it’s got a Tomato rating of… ZERO. If you think you can just Fast Forward to the “Good Parts”... joke’s on you; there aren’t any. If you’re that hard up for some soft-core porn find a local estate sale and ask to see the VHS tape collection.

Gemini  

Hope you like classic horror movies because you’re getting “JAWS”... sorta. Actually it’s 2022’s “Jaws”-wannabe movie, “Maneater”. This Shark-sploitation film at JUST under 90 minutes got a 17% on the TomatoMeter, meaning it’s worse than both “Cats” and “Pixels". Since the Screen Actors Guild defines a Feature Film as needing a minimum of 80 minutes, the only true victim here is the editor. This week be nicer to workers - any one of them could be working on the sequel. 

Cancer Moon-Child 

How could someone turn a beloved literary icon from 1883 into one of the greatest film flops, and with one of the best loved actors starring? With a Tomato score of 28% 2022’s “Pinocchio” is worlds better than 2000’s adaptation, “Geppetto” with Drew Carey, which has NO Tomato score at all! This week save up and rent 1999’s “Bicentennial Man” with Robin Williams. With a 36% you’ll thank us later. 

Leo 

We’ll make this simple for you. 2002’s monster-stinker, “The Master of Disguise” starring Dana Carvey comes in with a One Percent TomatoMeter rating. Even Brent Spiner couldn’t help this movie… come to think of it, Brent couldn’t help “Geppetto” either. This week don’t go buying a new Android.

Virgo 

What can we say, except… your movie couldn’t rate much lower than that. And it doesn’t! Your’s got a 6% TomatoMeter score - and keep that in mind when we remind you that one of the talented performers in it was SIR Patrick Stewart! The film? 2017’s “The Emoji Movie”. This week re-watch 2018’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet”, scoring 88%, for the seventeenth time.

Libra ()

O-o-o-oh-h-h, aren’t YOU lucky? You get to have a face-off with Taurus for the bottom rung. Skewered with a ZERO on the TomatoMeter you get 2014’s Nic Cage blockbuster, “Left Behind” aka “What Happens When An Infinitely Powerful Being Snaps Their Fingers And Disappears Part Of The Population?” Worse yet, that same year he was in “Tokarev” at 12%, “Dying of the Light” at 11%, and “Outcast” at 4%. We understand Nic’s movies are either terrible or magnificent, but DAMN, that’s a crap year for him. This week, just let Taurus have the higher rung.

Scorpio 

Remember what we said about Video Game Movies being crap? And how “Cats” was a 19% score? Well, keep that in mind since you’re getting the same 19% rated “Assassin’s Creed” from 2016. You have a choice to make; watch this 2 hour movie all the way through, or go to YouTube and watch the animation from user “2Snacks” called “Two Best Sisters Replay - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood” 27 times. Seriously, go watch that instead.

Sagittarius 

Got Good News, and Bad News for you. The GOOD news is you get to pick between follow-up movies with a 9% or a 22% score. The BAD news is the two movies are 2015’s reboot “Fan-4-Tastic”, aka “Fantastic 4”, or 2016’s “Zoolander No. 2”, the sequel to the fAbUlOuSlY sUcCeSsFuL “Zoolander”. If you can’t choose, we'll make you watch them both at the same time!  

Capricorn 

There are a number of famous dogs in cinematic history. Scoobie-Doo, Lassie, Benji… but you are getting the worst of them all - 2022’s Zero-Rated “Marmaduke”. We’ll make it easy on you. If you want to watch a bad kid’s movie, a quick search on YouTube will bring you the 1979 release “C.H.O.M.P.S.” It’s got NO Tomato rating, but it’s free - and has Conrad Bain, Red Buttons, and Valerie Bertinelli in it.

Aquarius 

You’re also getting to choose between two horror movies: one rated 34% and one rated, believe it or not, 93%! First is Keven Bacon’s 2022 “They/Them” with an axe murderer, though it’s hard to know who to root for there… or 1954’s “THEM!” starring… a bunch of radioactively overgrown ants. Look, we’re being nice to you this time… PICK THE ANTS!

Pisces  

Wow, uhm… Remember back in 2020 when they released “The New Mutants”? Kind of a horror story built on the X-Men franchise with new, young mutants? It wasn’t well received, getting a solid 35% on the TomatoMeter. Which is, really, pretty good if you consider the last time they tried this; the 1996 Fox TV Movie, “Generation X” starring Finola Hughes, Jeremy Ratchford, and Matt Frewer. Do yourself a favour and just re-watch “Max Headroom”. It’ll have better special effects. 

And THOSE are your Horrible-Scopes for this week! Remember if you liked what you got, we’re obviously not working hard enough at these. BUT! If you want a better or nastier one for your own sign or someone else’s, all you need to do to bribe me is just Let Me Know! These will be posted online at the end of each week via Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Discord.

[sxugaryx]

Check Up (Fanfic)

A new chapter of my Lies of p Fanfic series (´ ω `♡)

The day had started normally, it was a Sunday and everything had been alright until that point.

Geppetto and Pinocchio were just finishing the household chores for the morning. Pinocchio was dusting the bookshelf, he raised his arms a bit to go to the taller places, it was a big bookshelf after all, and his Father had a big collection.

Then, suddenly, Pinocchio felt a sharp pain in his chest, it stunned him for a few seconds, the broom he held in his hand fell onto the floor, and not soon after, he fell as well, he was kneeling on the floor now, holding his hands to his chest. Geppetto quickly went to his side.

“Pinocchio?! Pinocchio what’s wrong?!“

“My chest… it hurts… a lot” Pinocchio could barely let the words out.

Geppetto almost panicked, something must be wrong with his P organ, but he had to stay rational and deal with the problem.

“Let’s go to my workshop, let me see the problem”

He helped his son get back up; in the workshop, Pinocchio sat in the chair, the same chair that used to be in the hotel, Geppetto carefully opened his chest compartment cavity.

Inside he saw something that he couldn’t just explain, or even comprehend, Pinocchio’s P organ was not only bigger but around it and the gears he saw veins, saw blood, saw small lungs had begun to form on his body, On the outside his body was fully of a puppet but inside, his body was starting to become human.

A part of him feels he should be surprised, puppets don’t grow hair, shed tears, or grow taller. But he didn’t imagine the transformation going to this extent, and he isn’t a doctor, he was worried about doing something wrong and harming him in the process.

The P organ was still mechanical, the wires of the heart connected with his body, as long as the problem was his heart, he was sure he could fix it.

Pinocchio was stunned as well, he had seen his insides plenty of times before, the many modifications made to his body, but he never expected to see the new state of his body, it was… kind of scary, seeing his own insides this way, scary but sort of exiting? In a way, he was happy he was growing.

As Geppetto explored Pinocchio’s heart, he saw the problem, a very small screw that was stuck in the back, most likely as his body was growing and changing it became loose and stuck to the back of his P organ. It should be easier to take out, but, he hesitated, making adjustments was something he did often, but he was sure that this time it would probably hurt Pinocchio’s body.

“Son, this is going to hurt,” Geppetto said as he grabbed the screw with his tools and swiftly took it out.

Pinocchio gave a small yelp as the screw was taken out, it hurt, but he then felt relieved, the pain in his chest now fully gone.

Many ideas wandered through his mind, as Geppetto finished patching him up and closing the chest compartment.

“Do I need to find a doctor in case something like this happens again?”

“Or do I need for him to have regular checkups with a doctor in general? Can he start to get sick?” No, he can’t get sick, he prayed Pinocchio would get sick, not like Carlo did.

Maybe he needed the help of an alchemist, but the only alchemist he could ever trust was Sophia, and she, well, he did eventually find out she was still alive, he managed to overhear Pinocchio and Gemini mention her, Gemini asked Pinocchio if he ever wonders what Sophia was up to now.

But Geppetto had no idea where Sophia was, and maybe it was better that way, he knew that Sophia had gone through a lot, she probably was out there, living her own life, a life of her own, and not being abused by others. Even if he had a way to communicate with her, it was best not to, he could tell Sophia really loved Pinocchio and would do anything for him.

But regardless Sophia was gone from Krat now and it would be her own decision to come back.

They went back to the living room, Pinocchio sat on the couch, but he felt tired and decided to lay on the couch instead.

“Pinocchio are you alright?” Gemini asked, in the commotion, they had both forgotten about Gemini for a moment who was left behind in the living room.

“Yeah I’m fine now, I think I just need to rest”

“You should rest as much as you can son, if you need anything please tell me, I’ll be here by your side” Geppetto was next to him, he didn’t want to leave his side.

Then Pinocchio closed his eyes, and for the first time, he fell asleep.

Fully asleep, Geppetto had a sigh of relief, the sleep should make him feel better.

He was happy, that his son could now fall asleep. Gemini was happy as well.

“Gemini, I have to make a phone call” He needed to talk with Lady Antonia, he didn’t know who else to speak to. “Please if anything happens to Pinocchio give me a shout”.

“Alright Master Geppetto, I’ve got this.”

—-

Geppetto had made the call, and he explained to her what had transpired.

“Oh dear that’s certainly unexpected, I really don’t know what to tell you or what you should do, this is a very complicated situation, Pinocchio is very special after all, yet I get the feeling you aren’t calling me for advice for his health specifically”.

Geppetto wanted to say something but Antonia spoke again first.

“You are worried that he might get sick and die right?”

She just knew him too well.

“I don’t know what to do, I’m an inventor, not a doctor, when he was fully a puppet like before it was easy to fix him up, but now, I just.. I just don’t know if I could end up hurting him, I can’t lose him Antonia, I already lost Carlo, I can’t lose him too, I wouldn’t be able to live anymore”

Geppetto was starting to sob.

“Geppetto, try to calm down a bit, I know you are worried, but currently there is nothing else you can do, remember he is not half puppet half human, he is something unique” she paused.

“You and I might not know the answer but I promise you I will try to find out, I’ll search for books, I’ll ask connections, and see what I can find, I love him too and worry for him as well if something ever goes wrong again, you can count on me for help”.

—-

After the conversation Geppetto felt his mind was more at ease, Pinocchio was still asleep.

A few days passed by, and everything seemed to go back to normal once more, Geppetto tried to put his worries to the back of his mind. Antonia had kept in contact as well, worried for the boy's sake.

Gemini and Pinocchio were playing a board game together, Pinocchio had to move the pieces on Gemini’s behalf.

“Pinocchio put that piece back! That is supposed to be mine, don’t cheat and take advantage that I can’t move them!”

Geppetto looked outside from the open window in the living room, it was a beautiful day outside.

When suddenly, getting closer and closer; finally reaching the house and entering inside, a blue butterfly now lay on Pinocchio’s hand.

[sxugaryx]

Unfair world

A new chapter of my Lies of p Fanfic series (´ ω `♡)

“No Pinocchio I’m not buying you that horse”

Pinocchio was looking at him with pleading eyes, he even grabbed his father’s clothes.

“But father they are gonna kill him just because he broke one leg, that’s not fair!”

Geppetto was starting to regret taking him to the annual animal fair, Pinocchio was a very empathetic, very sensitive boy, he couldn’t see him sad like that, he hoped that this moment wouldn’t ruin the rest of the day.

“Look, son, horses are very hard creatures to take care of and well, you see…” Oh Lord, he didn’t want to explain this. “If a horse breaks its leg, then he cannot walk anymore, but, I’m sure that he is gonna be happy here on the last few days he has left”

Oh no, that came out wrong.

Tears were starting to form in Pinocchio’s eyes.

It’s okay Geppetto just do damage control.

“Pinocchio that horse cannot walk anymore, they are in a lot of pain, and the pain will only get worse, and horses are not like us or other animals that can have limbs replaced, and then they are sad, and it’s not fair for them to live sad and in pain right?”

He understood now, understood because it reminded him of Sophia.

“I understand…” but it wasn’t fair, why does that have to happen to horses? It’s awful.

“Hey, buddy you haven’t seen the bunnies, how about we check them out?” Gemini clever as always just knew how to try and cheer him up.

Pinocchio perked up a bit, he really wanted to see the cute little bunnies, so many stories in the books he reads have them, and he was eager to finally see some in person, well he is not a human person but that’s how the saying goes.

Sometimes talking to Pinocchio was like talking with a little kid, Pinocchio always listened to Gemini went it came to fun things, things that would cheer him up, but he wasn’t much of a listener when it came to his advice, eighty percent of the time, he would just do what he wanted anyways, well it eased Gemini’s mind that he hasn’t gotten any trouble. But he still had the bad habit of shaking his cage every time he got mad at him.

Pinocchio was picking up the bunnies and petting them, he had to be careful and mind his strength, it was something that stressed him sometimes, his body was harder, more stiff, and he worried that if he applied too much pressure he could end up hurting others, he had performed Herculean feats of strength, his father made sure to make him out of the most durable, strongest materials.

Geppetto watched his son, he was so happy, he had never seen him so happy before, taking him was the right decision, he always tends to find his own fun wandering around with Gemini, but this was an actual event, made to entertain others, he was having fun as well.

He had only been to the fair once before, he took Carlo to see it, when he was twelve years old, his wife… had recently died, and he wanted to cheer him up, at least a little bit, they had a good time, it was one of his most precious memories with him. It was also one of the few times he ever took him somewhere where they bonded just the two of them.

He had heard before that when you have two children, the first one is the one you learn the most, unfortunately being the one you make more mistakes with, and with the second one, you already had more experience and knew when not to screw up. Geppetto doesn’t think that’s a hundred percent true, but it does have some truth to it.

“I can’t make the same mistakes again,” Geppetto thought to himself, he would make sure to spend more time with him, to be there for him, he now works less, and his work life won’t consume him again, but he still put effort in his craft, after all working less doesn’t mean working worse.

They looked around more, Gemini had never seen so many people in one place, he felt a bit disoriented, it really didn’t help when he got stuck tied to Pinocchio’s belt, seeing just people walk around, Pinocchio had to lift him up to make him see the animals, but he can’t carry him on his arms all the time.

“Father look!” Pinocchio pointed at a big sign, it was the newest attraction, a traveling circus had come by and joined alongside the fair, it was marketed heavily to the public, at the very end of the fair was a huge tent, that held elephants inside.

Pinocchio was speechless, “They are so big, they are huge!” he couldn’t believe animals could be so big, he had seen big creatures before obviously, but petrification disease monsters don’t really count on his eyes.

They were big, but gentle creatures, they stretched their trucks for the guests to touch them, such noble creatures.

There was a small elephant on the corner, away from the visitors, it looked scared, as Pinocchio stepped closer, the little elephant sneezed, revealing a huge pair of ears, bigger than its own body, he smiled.

“Hello, what’s your name, little guy?

“That’s Dumbo” said a man in extravagant circus attire. “He is just a dumb elephant, clumsy too, he is just a mess, he can’t perform like the others, and his mother, she got violent, we keep her away so she can’t harm others”.

“Well that’s very rude,” Gemini thought and he always wanted to say it, but it was best not to stir the pot.

Pinocchio ignored the rude man and extended his hand towards the little guy, carefully and wary, Dumbo got closer to him, Pinocchio touched his head, and Dumbo took a few steps back, but Dumbo got closer again, and let himself be petted, the small animal flapped its ears, happy to have someone recognize and cherish him.

They left the elephant tent and continued to look around for the rest of the day, once the moon was seen in the sky, it was time to call it a day, before heading to the exit, something caught Pinocchio’s eyes, he walked to see the elephants being lead to their respective cages, a cage was far away from the others, it was fully blocked, the cage was closed and it only had two small windows open with bars, the door was shut with a wooden lock, signs were around it.

“Mad Elephant” “Danger” “Keep out”

Pinocchio saw Dumbo again, going towards the cage, when he arrived, a trunk came from one of the free spaces of the window bars, picking up the small elephant, it rocked him back and forward, he could see tears in the poor creature’s eyes.

“That must be his mom” Gemini Chirped.

Pinocchio looked away, he held Geppetto’s hand as they walked to the exit, but before going outside Pinocchio couldn’t hold his frustrations anymore.

“That’s so unfair!” He told his father, “That poor elephant was nice, why do they keep her in that cage? And why are they so mean to her baby?! It’s small and misses his mom and doesn’t know any better”.

“Pinocchio…” Gemini didn’t know what to tell him.

Geppetto sighed, it was going to be hard to try and explain this because he was right, it was unfair and cruel to do that.

“Son, it is bad and unfair, animals shouldn’t be treated like that, but there is nothing we can do, unfortunately, they are the elephant's owners, and so they treat them like they want, even if it’s not okay”.

“But why? I don’t understand why nothing can be done about it”

“Pinocchio sometimes the world isn’t fair”

“Why can’t the world be fair?”

Geppetto didn’t know what to say, the world can be very unfair, he knew it, he experienced it, he lost his wife, he lost Carlo; when the whole disaster happened all those people that died, that got sick, it wasn’t fair to them.

“It’s just… how things are sometimes, it’s awful but, it’s something we have to accept, sometimes, there are moments when you can help others in bad situations, but also sometimes there is nothing you can do to help”.

Pinocchio was frustrated, but what else could he say? It was true… there was nothing he could do to fix this. And he did really have a good time for the rest of the day, he can’t let this and what happened with the horse ruin the good day he spent with his father and Gemini.

“It’s okay I get it.” He got closer to his father and held his hand again. “And thank you for bringing me here”

Before they left, they stopped by a shopping stand, Geppetto bought Pinocchio a small plush of an elephant, something good to try and remember this day by.

Weeks later in the newspaper, an interesting headline appeared “Dumbo the great flying elephant!” With a picture of the small elephant in the sky, alongside his mother.

Pinocchio smiled, and for the rest of the day, he kept that smile.

[sxugaryx]

Heartful Cry (Fanfic)

New Chapter of my Angst series 💜

“Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddy”

Geppetto opens his eyes, Carlo had woken him up, did he oversleep?

“I’m hungry Daddy”

He changed his clothes and also changed Carlo and began to prepare breakfast for Carlo, who was thankfully very calm today.

While cutting up the vegetables, Geppetto is im deep though, he feels… different somehow. Maybe he overslept but he doesn’t feel tired like he usually does, in fact he hasn’t felt this good in so long, he even feels almost younger, it’s strange.

His thoughts are interrupted when he accidentally cuts himself, it’s not a small cut either, it’s a deep one, he was too distracted and his finger is bleeding a lot.

Geppetto looks at it, his blood is blue he is confused, and he becomes shocked when the blood starts stopping on its own, his wound healing itself slowly, until the scar is removed and no trace that it happened left.

He doesn’t understand what’s going on, this certainly has to do with Carlo but he doesn’t know what to think of it.

And if his body is capable of things like this, what is Carlo capable of?

He serves Carlo breakfast and his son is in great spirits. Geppetto is happy that Carlo is in a more stable mood.

“Son, I’m going outside do you need anything?”

Carlo shakes his head.

Geppetto makes his way to leave, he puts his hand on the doorknob.

“I’m not going to follow you, Daddy”

Geppetto can tell his son is being honest.

“Or kill some if they knock”

Geppetto has a smile on his face, “You are a good boy Carlo”

—-

Carlo and Romeo are playing a fun game together, they are in Daddy’s workshop and Carlo turns on the electric saw.

“Trust me Romeo this is going to work”

…

“How else are we going to test and see how cool my powers are?”

…

“Daddy isn’t going to find out, we are going to clean it up”

Carlo doesn’t hesitate he puts his index finger on the blade and completely cuts it in half.

“Ouch” Carlo looked at his hand, and he felt a small pinch, only hurt for a moment, quickly his finger began to regenerate, it was new as new, Carlo moved it a bit and confirmed by moving his finger, that it was completely normal. His cut half completely disappeared into the air, just as Ergo would.

He turned the saw off and cleaned it, it was hard to clean it, no wonder Daddy takes so long to clean him up when he is covered in blood.

Carlo is happy about all the fun things he can do with his powers, he leaves the room and starts playing with Romeo.

It’s always fun to be with Romeo, they have been friends for so long and he always knows what to say to cheer him up or make the games they play better, he also takes good care of him, Carlo has to admit sometimes he doesn’t have the brightest ideas but Romeo keeps him grounded.

He is starting to feel tired and Carlo ends up falling asleep in the living room with Romeo in his hands, waiting for his Daddy.

—-

When Geppetto comes back, he smiles when he sees his little boy asleep like that, it’s adorable.

He covers him with a blanket and sits down, a lot of things are on his mind because the only thing he can do when Carlo is asleep is with his thoughts, if Carlo wakes up and finds him trying to see something he used to work on, his son gets hysterical. He doesn’t even bother to enter his workshop anymore, he doesn’t want to make his son upset.

Geppetto wonders who he screwed up this badly, he was a bad parent to Carlo, and he was a bad father to Pinocchio.

He had a perfectly normal family life this doesn’t make sense.

—-

Geppetto was studying in his room, with piles of textbooks about engineering, he needed to pass the entrance exam no matter what, it’s his dream to become an engineer.

He can hear the sound of objects being thrown around from his room, it’s hard to concentrate but this is what happens every day.

“YOU CHEATED ON ME AGAIN YOU PIECE OF SHIT”

He can hear his father shout at his mother, last time it was her saying those same words. They do this all the time, they cheat on each other and act shocked when the other finds out.

It doesn’t matter, he is already used to this, and he knows how to mentally tune them out. He keeps on studying, and it pays off, he gets accepted, leaves, and never speaks to his family ever again.

Geppetto has always been very dedicated his entire life, this dedication is what keeps him going. He always believed that it’s best to focus on something that you are truly passionate about and ignore everything else.

He graduated, he began to work, he got married, everything was perfect and he had Carlo. He was still focusing on his work but it was a balance because he would work and his wife would help take care of Carlo.

But then she died.

Now he had to work and take care of Carlo, Monad was a perfect school, and a boarding school so they could take good care of him, he just needed to visit him from time to time.

But his work became more demanding and as a dedicated man, Geppetto focused more on his work. After some time, when he visited Carlo his son would get upset, he wanted to be his side but Geppetto was too focused on his work, and because Carlo was upset Geppetto knew that to calm his nerves from this situation he had to focus on something, so he focused more on his work.

Carlo became distant and didn’t want to speak with him anymore, so he focused even more on his work, because if you focus your negative emotions on something positive, just like his work, it would always pay off.

Like how for years and years he had to bear witness to his parent's antics, the yelling, the breaking of things, how they would hit each other. During all that time he focused on his studies and all that hard work paid off, he became a successful engineer, and he married the love of his life.

So then why did focusing on his work not help when he was raising Carlo?”

—-

“You know why already” That’s all Geppetto can say to himself, he is an idiot.

No wonder his son is delusional, all this time he has been deluding himself as well about his past, about his work, about how he raised his sons.

Carlo wakes up and stays mostly quiet all day, he is calm and mostly in his own words, even if his son doesn’t stay an inch away from him. He is being his usual clingy self, but Carlo is being more gentle and he appreciates that his son is a good boy.

Who kills and eats people.

But a good boy nevertheless.

He can see that Carlo still feels tired, it’s only 4 pm but Geppetto takes his son to bed so that his son can have another nap.

—-

Carlo is inside the Opera house, he looks at his body, but something is off.

This isn’t his body.

This isn’t him.

He has no control over the events that are happening, he just sees them as they unfold, he understands that he is seeing his brother fighting, it’s a giant puppet, it extended a hand to his brother but he rejected him.

They were fighting, everything became engulfed in flames, then from the giant puppet, another puppet came, its glowing red eye looking directly at Pinocchio.

That puppet… Romeo. Why is his brother fighting Romeo?

No this isn’t Romeo, his friend isn’t a puppet, he never was a puppet. He wants to stop this fight, he wants to close his eyes but he can’t. Romeo is trying to talk to him, but Romeo doesn’t know that he is talking to his brother.

It’s hot, too hot, the heat is suffocating and after one final blow, Romeo falls to the floor.

“Thank you… Carlo”

Carlo can only watch as his brother absorbs Romeo’s Ergo and walks forward to meet again with his father.

No no no no

Romeo isn’t dead, Romeo isn’t dead, he is his best friend, both of them are alive and okay. Carlo knows that he did die and he was brought back, but Romeo never died, right?

Carlo opens his eyes, he doesn’t scream, he can’t scream, he wants to shout for his Daddy but words don’t come out of his mouth.

He hugs the teddy bear, no, he is hugging Romeo. This is Romeo, always has been.

Tears are coming out of his face, this is too much, his memories are a whirlpool just like his emotions. Romeo… he wants to see Romeo again, he wants to hear his voice.

The tears keep coming out of Carlo’s face, falling onto his friend, until Carlo can finally speak again, he lets out a small sob, dropping one final tear.

A dark blue tear.

“Carlo”

That voice… it’s Romeo! The real Romeo.

Carlo is holding him in his hands and Romeo speaks again.

“I’ve always been here, I never left”

All Pinocchio absorbed now belongs to Carlo, all those souls are now trapped inside Carlo’s body, as well as the ones he has absorbed himself of those he has killed.

Carlo had managed to transfer Romeo’s Ergo into the Teddy Bear. His friend was finally back, but still couldn’t speak, he was still too overwhelmed. Romeo doesn’t say any else, he has a strong will so he has been able to see what has been happening this entire time, he assumes that the other souls trapped inside Carlo aren’t aware of the situation, at least he hopes that’s the case for them. But he is happy to be back, even if just in the form of a toy that only Carlo can communicate with, it was torture being trapped inside there, although he is technically still inside, just that Carlo unintentionally has projected part of him into the teddy bear.

The door opened, and Geppetto heard the cries.

“Carlo, what’s wrong?” Geppetto hugs his son and comforts him.

Romeo is watching, he feels he should be angry at Geppetto, furious. But he isn’t, he feels calm, what he wants is for Carlo to be happy, and he is happy with his father.

Even if he was still angry, what would be the point in staying mad? It’s not like he can scream at Geppetto, only Carlo can communicate with him, and Romeo just wants to be at peace with himself.

Geppetto manages to calm him down and tells his son to play while he prepares dinner.

Carlo goes to the basement to play with Romeo, who doesn’t mind playing. Anything is better than being stuck in that never-ending void, the only thing that always keeps him going is Carlo and now he is finally with his friend. Maybe this situation isn’t ideal but best friends stick together.

Eventually, Carlo finds his voice again and begins to talk to Romeo about his upcoming birthday, Romeo listens to him excitedly. It feels good to talk with his best friend again, even if Carlo is different that doesn’t matter to him, and Romeo enjoys all the games he plays with him because Carlo is his best friend.

And because he went insane as well after everything he went through, he deserves to forget that it all ever happened. He would rather believe that he is just a little boy just like Carlo and that they are playing together.

Suddenly a strange thought comes to Carlo’s mind, he instinctively touches his hair; his brown hair. Why did he think for a moment his hair was white?

Because his brother has white hair, and his brother had white hair because…

“Sophia are you there?!”

“I’m here”

Sophia is back! That means that Uncle Simon lied, that she wasn’t visiting family… but who cares? Sophia is also here.

Carlo is going towards his toybox, looking for a toy he could transfer part of Sophia’s Ergo to but she stops him.

“It’s alright, that’s not necessary”

“Why?” Carlo is confused

Sophia stays silent, “Please respect my decision, but I assure you I am okay, we can always talk if you wish to”

Sophia doesn’t want any part of her Ergo to disappear from Carlo, because she is protecting Pinocchio. Because in this endless void, she is protecting his soul from the nightmare, he isn’t aware of what’s happening, to him, this is just a peaceful slumber

“Okay~” Carlo is smiling, he doesn’t understand just as Sophia said but he respects her decision.

Carlo’s power only grows stronger each day, at his point, the power Simon had when he became a god is only a fraction compared to the one Carlo holds.

“Although Carlo, could you do me a favor?” Sophia asks.

“Yes! Anything for you Sophia”

She whispers her request.

“I can do that, I’m going to see Uncle Simon for my birthday after all!”

Sophia feels happy, Carlo is a very kind boy.

“Carlo dinner is ready” Geppetto shouts at him, and Carlo goes upstairs taking Romeo with him.

He was feeling very needy so Carlo asked his Daddy if he could feed him and his daddy helped him eat.

After that, Carlo leaves Romeo in his room, promising that he will be back. Since Daddy is going to give him his second gift, and this is a gift that Carlo wants to share just with his Daddy.

[sxugaryx]

Porcelain (FANFIC)

New Chapter of my angst fic series 💜

Romeo screwed up, but he has no one else to blame but himself, he tried to convince Carlo to leave again, he hasn’t done it in such a long time and Carlo didn’t take it well, he was hysterical, even more than usual, until like aways he tires himself out to keep going, he finally ended up fainting, he carried Carlo back to their room and laid him to bed, he leaves him alone, he walks a few steps to the living room, where he sees Geppetto sitting, waiting for him, Romeo knows that he heard what was said.

He just stares at him, Romeo knows that he is in trouble and that he should have kept his mouth shut.

“Romeo please sit down, I just want to talk,” Geppetto says to him, Romeo obliges, he knows what Geppetto is capable of, he takes a seat on the large couch of the living room, looking directly at Geppetto.

“You aren’t in trouble”

Romeo wants to believe him but he is still skeptical.

“I know that the situation we are in is not ideal” Geppetto had started his speech. “But I can’t let the two of you leave, you know that”

He knows that he knows that he and Carlo are supposed to be dead and whatever necromancy bullshit Geppetto pulled on them wouldn’t be seen favorably by others.

“I’m sorry, I was just… frustrated” Romeo isn’t really sorry but he has to ask for forgiveness, he doesn’t want to make this harder on himself.

“It’s okay I understand, I know that at first the way I treated you wasn’t the best”

“Yeah, I didn’t like being locked in the basement” Technically he is still locked inside of here, he just has more freedoms, if you can even call them that.

“Please forgive me, I shouldn’t have done that” Geppetto is sincere and Romeo hates that, why can’t he just be an evil old man, why does he actually care about him and Carlo?!

Romeo lays down on the couch, he puts his hands up to his face, this is too much, he is feeling overwhelmed, and the fact that he realizes that Carlo feels like this all the time makes it worse because he deeply cares for Carlo and the thought of his friend constantly feeling like this makes him sick.

He can’t do this, he can’t act polite anymore.

“Why couldn’t you have just fucking leave us to die? Why couldn’t you have just let us stay dead?” Romeo doesn’t care that he is swearing anymore, he doesn’t care whatever punishment he decides to give him. “I hate you, I fucking hate you so much, why can’t you let us be free?”

Today is one of those days he really wishes Carlo would kill his father already.

Romeo expected Geppetto to be mad at him, furious, but he just looks at him with a smile, a sweet understanding smile, he gets closer to him and kneels down to his level, gently playing with his hair.

“It’s okay Romeo, I understand that you aren’t feeling well, I’m not mad at you” He isn’t mad at him, and Romeo now feels bad for saying all of that, Geppetto is such a kind man, he takes good care of him, maybe he really does see him like a son.

Romeo uncovers his face, he looks at Geppetto, he looks at his father, and he feels loved by him.

Dear Lord, I sound like Carlo now

But Romeo is starved for affection, so he lets Geppetto, he lets his father keep playing with his hair, he asks for a hug and his father gives it to him.

Romeo needs to feel the touch of others, he still remembers the petrification disease, and he still can feel the complete stiffness of his body, the cold, it was agonizing; he likes being hugged, it makes him feel warmth. He hates being cold, he remembers when, when-

When Pinocchio killed him

And how he felt cold, despite all the fire around him, he was freezing, he thanked him, Romeo thought that it was Carlo who had taken his life, and even when the ice cold of death was unbearable, he had at least died, the pain would be over.

But here he is again, alive, against his will.

He is starting to feel sick again, Romeo starts to shake, he feels cold again, his body is shivering, Geppetto, his father looks at him with a worried expression, and he touches his forehead.

“Mmm it doesn’t feel like you have a fever, but maybe you should go and rest”

Geppetto always does that, every time he or Carlo suffer the grueling pain of what it is to be alive again, and the many conflicting feelings that come with it Geppetto just sends them to bed, as if they are both toddlers.

But he really does need to rest, he is too tired and too cold.

——

Romeo is now in the basement playing with Carlo, he tries to follow along and pretend, but he still feels like he is freezing, Carlo gives him a blanket that was lying around, and he covers himself as well, both are together, Carlo says nothing, but he understands, as he was infected with the disease as well, they stay silent, there is nothing that can be said to make him feel better.

They stay quiet for hours until finally it’s Carlo who speaks up.

“I’m sorry, I… I asked him to bring you back, I shouldn’t have”

Romeo feels as if he was stabbed through the chest, “Carlo don’t say that, please never say that again” Yes this is painful, and he wishes he wasn’t here, he wishes he was dead again but this isn’t Carlo’s fault, and Romeo isn’t going to let him blame himself for it.

Carlo looks at him, he looks at him and there is a deep sorrow in his eyes, he knows why Carlo asked for him to be brought back, he was lonely and alone; no matter how horrible this situation is, he can’t leave Carlo alone, he can’t let him face this by himself.

Romeo only had two friends at Monad, Carlo and Sophia, and he didn’t see Sophia often, partly because their interests were too different and it was rare for them to hang out, especially when he and Carlo started to train to become stalkers; but also because when her parents died her uncle took over, and she was scared, Romeo had promised her that he would be by her side, and he broke that promise.

He has to stay with Carlo, he is and will always be his best friend, they even are brothers now. Romeo already failed Sophia, he failed to be there for her, so he has to be there for Carlo no matter what.

——-

“I… want to hurt myself” That’s a lie, Romeo doesn’t really want to hurt himself, even if he really wishes he was dead; but when Carlo says that Geppetto always gives him more attention, and it works, Romeo is in bed next to his father, who is confronting him and giving him reassuring words.

“You are a brave boy for telling me, for not doing it”

Romeo starts to feel less cold now, the more he gets praised, the better he feels. He never thought that he would have a family like this, he remembers back while studying at Monad how others would mock him for not having a family, he wasn’t the only orphan yet most of his peers had gotten adopted at one point or another, but no one wanted to adopt him, because he was a bad boy and did a lot of things he shouldn’t have, Romeo remembers others telling him how no one would love him because, how can somebody stand him and deal with him? He even overheard some of the faculty members say that he was a lost cause.

“You are my good boy Romeo”

He finally feels warm again, his body has stopped shaking, a deep weight lifted from his shoulders, Romeo wants, needs, more attention, so he asks to be cradled.

You are pathetic you know that?

Romeo knows that this is pathetic, that this isn’t normal, that he is an adult who should be able to care of himself, but at this moment he can’t take care of himself, he desperately needs someone to take care of him, and his father can do that for him.

——-

Carlo is trying to kill Geppetto again, Romeo is watching and for the first time ever he speaks up, he wants to tell him to do it, that if Geppetto dies then all of this will be over, to grow a spine and finally slit his throat.

“Please don’t do it”

Why did I say that?

Carlo stops and drops the knife, he starts crying, constantly repeating that he is horrible and that he is a bad boy. Geppetto is there for him, Carlo has his face buried in his father’s chest; Geppetto looks at Romeo, he looks at him with a smile.

Why did I stop him?

Romeo is freezing again, he wants to take it back, but he can’t take back what he said, Carlo is looking at him now too; Carlo doesn’t say it but he knows exactly what he is thinking, they hate him, they both hate him so much.

But they need him, who else is going to take care of them, who else is going to love them?

Romeo is crying now, he feels as if his body is made of ice, fragile, and about to break at any moment, his vision starts to fog, he closes his eyes and faints, wondering if his body will shatter into dozens of ice fragments.

——

Romeo wakes up, he can tell it’s dawn already, Carlo is sleeping next to him and he can see Geppetto sitting in a chair next to the bed, he looks extremely tired, he most likely hasn’t slept at all due to keeping an eye on both of them.

“Are you feeling better?” Geppetto asks him, he is concerned, unlike Carlo, he doesn’t pass out often, in fact, this is the first time he has lost consciousness.

“No” Maybe physically he feels a bit better, but mentally he hasn’t been this bad.

“Romeo sweetie, you can talk to me about anything,” Geppetto says in that disgusting sweet voice.

“Can you please stop treating me like a child? I’m not a child, I can take care of myself” Romeo doesn’t like being talked to that way.

“Can you really take care of yourself, Romeo?”

Geppetto’s words are simple but still have a cutting edge, Romeo starts to wonder if he is right, he sometimes gets confused like Carlo, he now feels cold all the time and he constantly has to endure being fatigued all the time, his body is stiff, it´s a chore to move even his fingers, they feel hard, it makes him feel rigid; and sometimes, sometimes he thinks this is rigor mortis, he is supposed to be dead after all. But he desperately tries to not think about that, he doesn't want to think of the muscles of his body slowly rotting from the inside.

“It’s not a bad thing if you can’t, it’s not bad to ask for help, and I’m here to protect you” Geppetto looks directly at him again, and Romeo is desperately trying to look for a sign that he is lying, that he an evil bastard who trapped them here so that they could suffer; but he doesn’t see that, why would he make his life harder this way, he is constantly doing his best to make them feel better, he doesn’t fight back when Carlo attacks him, he loses sleep to make sure that of they need help in the night he is there for either of them.

“I… don’t think…” Romeo is stuttering, he no longer feels confident in what he said before.

You are feeble, you are weak and fragile.

“I’m your father and I want to help you” Romeo really is weak because he feels sick and just wants to be told that everything is going to be okay, that all of this will be over soon.

Romeo feels like he is a porcelain doll, that he will shatter at any moment, a doll that needs to be handled delicately, otherwise he will break and he doesn’t want to be broken.

“I feel cold all the time” Romeo finally confessed.

“Then let me help you”

Can he really help him? Geppetto isn’t a doctor, he doubts that he can do anything about it. But Romeo is willing to accept anything at this point.

“Please help me”

——

Romeo has started to feel better, although now he wears a fluffy sweater all the time, it helps when the cold comes back; he tends to feel more sick when it’s deep into the night or when it’s dawn, but after eating breakfast it always dies down, his muscles are more relaxed.

Romeo isn’t stupid, he knows that Geppetto is giving him some sort of sedative in his food so that his body doesn’t feel stiff all the time, he thinks he should be angry at this, but he isn’t, Romeo is happy with just feeling better.

Right now, the three of them are resting on the couch, Geppetto is in the middle and Romeo and Carlo are each on the opposite sides, they are cuddling with him.

“I love you father,” Romeo says and Carlo says it as well, they both love their father.

Geppetto pulls them both closer to him, his precious boys know that they can always rely on him, they have been behaving so well lately, maybe he needs to give them a reward.

Maybe he can let them go outside, briefly, only outside the house, and he isn’t worried that they might try to run away.

He won’t let them run away.