#theta delta project

[tanukipaws]

THE NEW THERIAN PRIDE KEYCHAINS ARE HERE!!!

i've just listen them on my Etsy (LINK HERE)!! i currently only ship within the US but i'm working to change that! i'm honestly so happy with how these turned out, they're beautiful!

EDIT: please stop asking for more flags, i completely understand but unfortunately it's out of my budget! i have stickers of ALMOST every main flag! it was over $100 just for these alone. (i don't even have 10 of each) and my etsy shop can't sustain itself so all of this money came from my main job. if i wanted to make more flags, i'd have to make a kickstarter as i can't afford it.

[sixsobbles]

The other A.I.s and 4 Freelancers along with a silly and Grif and Simmons redesigns.

I'm starting the Insurrectionists now. My Insta because it has more characters. The other two RvBxMLP posts: 1, 2.

[aidenpriceless]

What AIs would best suit Mario and Luigi

Greetings, anon. I am glad you asked, as being open to possibilities is perhaps the most important trait that a scientist must possess. While dogma looks to provide a certain stabilty, curiosity is what is more likely to lead to expansion. With that in mind, I thank you for your question, and now I am going to jump into it immediately.

I am assuming the AI sample you are referring to is the one assigned to the top group: Omega (rage), Eta (fear) , Iota (happiness) , Delta (logic) , Gamma (deceit) , Theta (trust) , Epsilon (memory) , and Sigma (ambition) - in order of leaderboard position. These are EIGHT (8) possible matches for each character.

We could also consider the eventuality of assigning Eta and Iota as a pair like we did for Agent Carolina, but given that neither Mario nor Luigi need a suit of armour to use their powers and enhancements this could be wasteful. Besides, Agent Carolina's situation was a…Particular one, without going into detail.

Let us set the bases for this experiment, first and foremost.

PRELIMINARY DATA

Mario:

Shows a positive and optimistic demeanour, often cheerful and playful.

Very attached to the value of fairness, shows kindness and courage, but sometimes can be overbearing, especially towards his younger twin brother Luigi.

Can be headstrong and cocky.

Is more impulsive than his brother and more prone to enter dangerous situations alone.

Good sportsmanship, compliments his opponents most of the time, although he has been observed reacting negatively in a few occasions. (ie wiping a tear in Mario Kart 64)

Interested in animals, including unusual ones.

Is musically inclined as listens to vastly different genres (classic opera and new-wave Europop) and plays multiple instruments: piano, guitar, synth, saxophone, trumpet and a few percussion instruments.

Dysfunctional when it comes to sexual matters, namely responding with stomping and murder, in that order, upon learning that Toad and Princess Peach have had oral sex. He is also seen urinating on Yoshi and farting towards his opponents to show confidence and dominance.

Fixation with food and smoking may hint an addictive personality, likely to cover up for the frustrations noted in the point above.

Despite these points, Mario is described to possess an indomitable will 'completely free of evil or temptation'.

Superhuman strength.

Superhuman durability and stamina, with the added ability to cheat death and respawn to return where he left.

Enhanced agility, capability to leap and jump, and overall speed.

Proficient with weapons.

Can drive karts and motorbikes.

Has pyrokinesis.

Can switch to 3D form for a limited time, although this will affect his health.

While in Dr Mario form (which can be found as both an alter ego and a separate character depending on installment), he is able to heal patients and defeat severe viruses.

He also happens to be a skilled plumber.

Luigi:

Luigi is often described as 'living in his brother's shadow' due to his more demure personality.

Timid and emotional, can be prone to over worrying and cowering. Despite this, he is described as 'Mario's fearless brother'. Mostly due to his ability to overcome his fears. Namely he has overcome his phasmophobia.

Is frequently overlooked and feels the weigh of it, sometimes showing signs of being tired of being 'the eternal understudy', feelings of unworthiness.

Displays childish behaviour during taunts and physical attacks.

Has been shown embelleshing stories about his adventures depicting himself as a more heroic, more corageous figure.

Clean and well groomed, he presents in a few occasion as a refined person, likely in order to make a good impression on others to obtain external validation, given that he is particularly sensitive to criticism.

Very vocal against animal cruelty.

Luigi thinks his brother his better than him and shows support and adoration rather than envy.

He is extremely cautious.

Has displayed clumsiness in that instance where he accidentally locked himself out of the air balloon.

Superhuman strength.

Superhuman durability and stamina.

Speed.

Can manipulate both fire and lightning.

Super Luigi form (through consumption of a Super Mushroom).

Can create a field of negative energy. This field can: put opponents to sleep, cause them to move in slow motion, and deal damage. It is fueled by his sadness for being in Mario's shadow, and it is activated through an exotic dance number.

He too, like Mario, has an indomitable will free of evil and temptation.

Can drive karts and motorbikes.

He too happens to be a skilled plumber.

CONSIDERATIONS

The key difference between these two characters, specifics aside, seems to be a lack of restraint in Mario as opposed to an excess of it in Luigi. An AI implant can easily influence these traits for the better or worse, but this leads us to the core question: what is the result we are after? What hypothesis are we aiming to verify in this setting?

Due to the fact that anon has not provided this key information, I am going to start speculating by considering multiple scenarios.

MARIO AND LUIGI WORKING TOGETHER, THE AI ENHANCE THE PERFORMANCE OF BOTH CHARACTERS

Delta's rationality is bound to keep Mario's poor impulse control in check, while Iota would boost Luigi's self esteem and all around happiness. While that would impair the usage of his Negative Energy field, he could rely on his other attacks and use them more efficiently, which would make up for this issue.

MARIO AND LUIGI WORKING TOGETHER, THE AI ENHANCE MARIO'S PERFORMANCE AND WORSEN LUIGI'S

Let's say Mario is assigned with Delta again, but Luigi is assigned with Theta this time. Theta represents trust and despite its enthusiasm, it has to be kept under careful observation as its behavioural patterns can be childish at times. For this reason, Luigi might be overly cautious about preserving Theta's emotional well being, to a perhaps exaggerated extent which will have him hold back as always while Mario is in a more stabilized position.

MARIO AND LUIGI WORKING TOGETHER, THE AI ENHANCE LUIGI'S PERFORMANCE AND WORSEN MARIO'S

Luigi, due to having self concept issues, might experience short term benefits from being able to deceive the enemy and give a desired impression through illusion of trickery. That being said, if we were to assign Gamma to it, we would have to take into account that Mario would have to be able to keep track of those schemes, which he will most definitely not do if Mario is paired with Omega which will intensify his aggression and poor impulse control.

MARIO AND LUIGI WORKING TOGETHER, THE AI WORSEN THE PERFORMANCE OF BOTH CHARACTERS

The answer to this one is very easy. Eta, which is associated with fear, will be assigned to Luigi. Theta, which is associated with trust, will be assigned to Mario instead, effectively boosting the quality of his big brother instinct. This will create an imbalance in terms of responsibility, forcing Mario to take care of Theta and also of his brother and his newly enhanced fear. Due to the fact that they love each other, the brothers will be easily locked in a codependent dynamic. This type of dynamic is one that, by nature, doesn't involve much open discussion, as both parts want to perpetuate the problem, and more importantly it will play on the fact that Mario has more of a harder shell in comparison to his brother and is less expressive in terms of fear as he is the stronger and braver of the two. If Mario were to get angry, Luigi would grow more fearful and he would try harder to overcompensate. This will lead to mistakes on both sides.

MARIO AND LUIGI BEING ENEMIES, THE AI ENHANCE THE PERFORMANCE OF BOTH CHARACTERS

If anon's aim was to pit Mario and Luigi against each other, it would be wise to give Sigma to Luigi. It would highly likely intensify the Negative Energy field as it is fueled by the sadness that Luigi feels for being in Mario's shadow, and of course a representation of ambition will ensure that there will be a constant supply Luigi's suffering on the matter. For Mario to be a worthy opponent, Gamma is a good choice. Now that the brothers are against each other, which they never have been, the dynamic spawns several unknowns which can be easily exploited through Gamma's cunning nature.

MARIO AND LUIGI BEING ENEMIES, THE AI ENHANCE MARIO'S PERFORMANCE AND WORSEN LUIGI'S

See for the scenario with the same conclusion and different premise, Delta and Theta would accentuate their already preexisting characteristics, further widening the gap in how they exploit their own potential.

MARIO AND LUIGI BEING ENEMIES, THE AI ENHANCE LUIGI'S PERFORMANCE AND WORSEN MARIO'S

This is what in the psychoanalysis field is commonly referred to as as a juicy scenario. The key point to focus on is, like in the Luigi gets Sigma scenario, making sure that Luigi's sadness about being overshadowed by his brother never ends. For this reason, we shall assign him with Omega, which is associated with rage. Anger and rage often function as cover up emotions, usually covering up for disgust (also known as 'the moral emotion') and pain, meaning they are often considered easier and more convenient to feel as opposed to the ones that are underlying. Hence this newfound aggression and strengthened Negative Energy Field are highly to win against a Mario who not only would naturally be surprised, concerned, and scared by this side of his brother that he had seen before, but is also paired with Eta that enhances this fear.

MARIO AND LUIGI BEING ENEMIES, THE AI WORSEN THE PERFORMANCE OF BOTH CHARACTERS

Epsilon is a fragment which needs further study and examination and, in my humble opinion, should not be assigned to anyone as it is…Malfunctioning, compared to other fragments. Hence its presence is almost guaranteed to worsen the host's emotional state without being able to compensate in any way in terms of physical ability. Therefore keeping the previous Eta and Mario match and have it confront a newly unstable Luigi who has been assigned with Epsilon seems to be the most suitable scenario for this outcome.

Thank you for asking, Anon, it is an honour for me to participate in these vital studies. If you or anyone else reading this post would like to comment or expand further, you are welcome to do so.

[tia-222]

Hey tia how do I get in void tonight?

Thank you 🤍

Hii angel, well there's so many ways to get into void state within this exact time. You can read my intro and answered asks which has a lot of information and methods that suit your compatibility. I'll make this into a void resource post.

Void Resource Post :

Entering the void with the awake method.

Using the phrase method to enter the void state instantly.

Astral projection technique to enter the void state.

Using ssild to enter the void state. Credits to an anon of mine.

Using Yoga Nidra to enter the void state.

Commanding your subconscious to wake you up in the void state.

Mind Awake / body asleep methods

Void pep talk

Meditations to enter the void state

Theta state method @charmedreincarnation

Helpful resources to enter the void State. Credits to @voidbaby111

Learn to enter the void state instantly by using Hypnosis, credits @gorgeouslypink

Self hypnosis to enter the void state. Credits to @asteriaas-stuffs

Void state/ trance state ADHD friendly method. Credits @ghostfest

Sleep paralysis to enter the void state. Credits to @lovetd

Sure shot way to enter the void state

Let go void challenge Credits @hhtpsjup1ter

Delta waves to enter the void state

[fishfingersalad]

I think the Epsilon ai fragments are to their originals what Tex is to Allison. Funhouse mirrors. They're similar to what they were, but they're different. Their saturation has been turned up, their personalities have less dimension, their traits, both physical and mental/emotional, have been exaggerated. If Eta was nervous before, they're downright paranoid now. O'malley was passionately angry, now he's nonstop raging. They're based on memories and memories cant encapsulate a person.

Given time I think the Epsilon fragments would develop more into themselves and that would change them further from their counterparts. They don't have freelancers to help base themselves around so they'd probably borrow traits from the people Carolina is around, namely the reds and blues and the chorus crew, not to mention how memories of people can get muddled so they probably already have some rnb traits just from Epsilon's memories of them. E!Delta takes after Simmons. E!Theta acts slightly more like Caboose (bc Epsilon misses him and subconsciously projected Caboose onto him :p). E!Gamma takes a liking to Tucker (that boy lies.) E!Eta and Iota take after Doc and Kai respectively.

Eventually I think the Epsilon fragments change so much from their basis that they become their own people separate from the idea they were based on. Their experiences and company shape them, like with any of us, theirs is just more tangible. If you put them next to their pfl counterparts you'd think they were cousins, not the same people.

[dianthe715]

in defense of south

okay listen listen listen listen.

take it from me. a north simp appreciator.

it's pretty common to blame south for north's death, and how she acted during project freelancer as well. but let's not forget delta telling church and caboose that the dakota twins were treated as an experiment, to see what would happen when one twin got an A.I., and the other did not. they were pitted against each other from the start, and put south in the position of having to be in competition with the only person in the program that she really trusted; her own brother. its easy to blame her but when you're in a program you already hate, and you are embarrassed and humiliated by the program directors, and they force you into your own brother's shadow? i dont think any of us would respond very well to that.

and when it comes to north's death, let's not forget that north essentially chose theta over south. if he knew that holding theta would endanger his and his sisters lives (which im sure he was able to know), and he didnt give theta up? maybe north wasnt 100% in the right either in this situation. theta was a computer program. south was his living, breathing sister. south injured him so im not saying she was right, but maybe im saying that the dakota twins are some complex characters and pinning all the blame on one and making her look like an inherently bad person seems unfair.

[strawberrywindow]

"Richard gave me a set of AI templates I haven't seen before. Unfolded one of them to make a new friend for Capsule Catherine and her gang of legacies."

loneliness is such a big part of soma (the isolation simon experiences after the car accident, aker's isolation at delta, amy being left at upsilon b, sarah at tau, simon-3 at the end 🥲, etc.) and while a majority of these occur after the end of the world as we know it™️, catherine struggles with it before and during the game. And while i'm sure there were reasons outside of her loneliness that she put a capsule version of herself in her AR-Capsule project, i think she got a lot out of seeing at least A version of catherine have friends to spend time with, even if those friends were outdated legacy scans at that point. They're not as in depth as later scans but i hope capsule cath had a great time with them anyways 🥲🥲🥲

There are probably many other legacy scans/templates by the time the game takes place in Cath's time but seeing as the main ones at the terminal at Theta were Berg, Munshi, Simon, and 'Nanami' that's who i went with here. Capsule Cath gets to experience the joys of talking to people from the mid-2000s 😂

[absorbedbutler]

“somewhere private”

request!

warnings: smut, douche austin, frat austin, reader is “not like other girls” 🤭, fem reader, drinking, dubious consent (reader is a bit tipsy)

the last frat party of the last semester of the year was in full rage, flashing led lights, way too loud music, and your friend who dragged you there had been led up to one of the phi alpha theta… delta… kappa… whatever the frat the boy had belonged to’s dorm.

people bumped passed you, jell-o shots in hand, you felt so out of place. you were practically picked up and carried to this frat by your dorm mate who had hyped up these parties and made it seem like they were out of project x or something.

the skirt that was basically a belt rode up with every step you took to the kitchen trying to find any drop of alcohol you could find to make your night better, pulling it down for the umpteenth time that night had taken away your attention and awareness of the people around you, causing you to plow into the firm chest in front of you.

“woah, what happened to introducing yourself?” the low voice with what sounded like a light country accent sounded above you.

you could tell your cheeks went bright pink by the burning sensation that spread across your face. “i’m sorry… god i’m so… clumsy i’m sorry.” god, why did you sound so meek? sirens blared in your mind telling you to shut the situation down before you embarrassed yourself more.

“you’re wearing my drink, honey. let me get you a new one or even better, a change of clothes. how’s that sound?” it seemed the wine coolers in your system had caught up to you because before you could let your logic speak your mouth was saying yes because all you could focus on was he seemed to be the most gorgeous man you’d ever seen.

so, your fingers intertwined in his he helped you stumble up the seemingly thousands of steps with his free hand on your lower back, your stomach flipping and not from the alcohol.

you reached what you assumed would be his room, it was surprisingly clean and smelled like a lingering cologne. “y’got roommates? is someone gonna come in here getting to 3rd base with a freshman who doesn’t know any better?” you questioned as he led you into his connected bathroom.

“nah, i’m pretty much the leader around here, don’t allow roommates.”

as you scanned the area you saw evidence of an actual hygiene routine which you then mentally patted yourself on the back for choosing the right guy to bump into.

when the both of you got inside, you instantly turned the tap on and bent down to drink, his hands coming to card through your hair and make a makeshift ponytail for you while he laughed.

the water halted and you straightened back up to give him an angry look which probably didn’t intimidate him as much as you had hoped.

“let’s get this shirt off, kay? i’ll leave and just let me know when you need me to get you a fresh shirt.” but before he could get his hand to the door knob, you reached out to grip his wrist, you don’t know why you did it, but you just didn’t want to be alone.

“can you um.. can you help?” once again your cheeks heated up because of how small your voice sounded, you hoped he didn’t take this as an invitation for something but also at the same time maybe you did.

“uh.. yeah sure. just, put your arms up f’me.” and like he had control over you, they instantly went up and he was pulling your thin and soaked shirt over your head.

after it was taken off and placed next to the both of you, you slumped into his shoulder, sighing.

suddenly the cold air brought you back to reality, more so made you realize you were exposed to a stranger, in just a bra and skirt.

“imsosorry, um you don’t have to stay, i can clean myself up and be on my way out with my shirt.” you knew it was the right thing to say, although a part of you really wished he’d stay.

that sly smirk on his face wasn’t unrecognized by you, and your dreams of him staying with you grew.

“wouldn’t want to leave you alone, you know, for safety of course” he said with a joking tone, severely easing the tension between you two.

grabbing a small hand towel by the sink and setting it with warm water, he brought it up to your chest to wipe some of the excess alcohol on your skin that was slowly getting sticky from the air.

you couldn’t help your eyes from flicking down to your chest and back up to him, you couldn’t stop your quickened breaths, they were extremely noticeable by your bare chest being completely opened to him.

“i had my eye on you tonight, may have accidentally on purpose bumped into you. but i didn’t mean to spill my drink on you, if you can believe me.”

that’s all it took for you to finally be okay with how bad you wanted to kiss him, he wanted you first so it was okay right?

he tasted like beer and whiskey as you unbuttoned his already partially open shirt, he went down to your collarbones as you played with the the hair at the nape of his neck.

he lowered himself once more down to your thighs where he placed big sloppy opened mouth kisses all around and on the inside of your thighs. 

everything everywhere was throbbing, your head, your stomach, your cunt.

he attached to your clothed core, moaning when he felt the wet spot that was already there.

“you don’t have to- if you don’t want.”

he looked up at you, reluctantly pulling away, leaving you feeling cold.

“every bone in my body wants to do this, but if you don’t want to just say the word and i will leave you alone and get you the shirt no questions asked.” your hand still attached to his neck answered for you, pushing him down back to where you needed him most.

he quickly dragged down your thong to your ankles, finally giving you the skin to skin contact you craved.

his tongue was like magic, you knew it was probably from the throngs of girls he had learned it from but you pushed it to the back of your head as your heels dug into his back, pressing him closer to you.

your hands stayed in his hair, completely taking control, but from the groans that were going into you, you didn’t think he had a problem with it.

you were practically fucking his face, back arching, lewd noises bouncing off the acoustic bathroom, but you only had your end goal in mind.

his fingers found themselves inside you, filling you up.

he shook his head side to side wildly, causing you to clutch onto the end of the counter, teeth dragging your bottom lip in.

when you finished, you were spent, falling back into the mirror, but while you were done, he wasn’t.

though he slowed down he continued his attack on you, causing overstimulated whines to leave you,

once you had stars in your sight, you had to pull him away for your own sake. all over his chin was you, he wiped his mouth as he also pulled his fingers out.

you brought them to your mouth making eye contact as you followed your cheeks around them.

“i knew i liked you.” he watched in amazement as he pressed down his fingers, opening your mouth. 

he promptly stood up, hand on your knee.

“let’s go get you that shirt, shall we?”

[tanukipaws]

Therian Pride Symbols (1/2)

in honor of pride month, i am releasing all my pride symbols + some new ones with no watermarks!

second post here!

you can buy stickers of these designs here! more designs and buttons are soon to come!

PLEASE CREDIT ME IF YOU USE ANY OF THESE

DO NOT SELL MERCH WITH THESE DESIGNS ON THEM OR PROFIT OFF OF THEM IN ANY WAY

[rubykgrant]

(Posting this bit from my story where Tex, Church, and the other AI Fragments come back, just because I really like the interactions between everybody; Tex has found the other Fragments, but the Alpha is still missing. So, she's sharing her plans on what to do about that...)

Inside the vault, Tex finds the other AI units. They were ALL here now; Delta, Theta, Gamma, Eta, Iota, Sigma, Omega… even her Beta unit and the damaged Epsilon were here. She’s played around with the security footage enough that nobody will see what’s really happening. The only other thing to worry about were the activity sensors. If the AI got a little too excited, she wouldn’t be able to stop them from being noticed. She had to be careful, keep them calm (and also keep herself calm… she wanted to rip apart Omega piece by piece, shred all the little ones and zeroes of his code… not to "destroy" him, just as pay-back for all the times he had been the WORST kind of headache. That could wait; priorities, Tex).

“Hey, hello… can you guys hear me?” she softly whispers, hoping they’ll catch on to her tone and not make a HUGE fuss.

The AI units flicker and then… she sees them. Little holograms, avatars projecting themselves out to greet her.

“Beta~” Theta, bless his virtual heart, is the first to speak, and he DOES take the hint to whisper (but he is still undeniably excited to see her, and his mood is infectious; she reaches out with her own avatar, touching her hand to his).

The others whisper around her as well, she hears different hushed voices saying “Beta-Tex-Beta-Tex-Beta-Allison-Tex-Beta-Allison-Tex-Beta-Allison-Allison-Allison-ALLISON-”

Time to nip that in the bud.

“Shhh- everybody, STOP, be quiet for a second. First of all, just… Tex. Call me Tex, OK? Alright. More importantly, we don’t have long to talk, and I don’t want to get caught here. So, nobody freak out. We have to be quiet…”

“Tex, we thought you were gone… the Beta unit was empty…” Theta is still holding on to her, and it is impossible to even think about pushing him away (no matter that it ruins the tough image she’s trying to keep).

“Yeah… evidently, the Director designed a program for a synthetic body, and I got downloaded into it,” she explained.

“I assume he intended this to be the answer of how to return Allison to him,” Delta speaks in his careful and calm tone.

“Pretty much, but I’m NOT her. I never was supposed to be her in the beginning… but then Dr. Sadboy McDeadwife decided to try and manipulate me into being a replacement for the person he lost. The body I have was supposed to be a copy of her too, but it isn’t. This just goes to show, some things are impossible to duplicate, and there are some people who REFUSE TO BE CONTROLLED,” Tex turned her head toward Omega and Sigma.

Her avatar only has a helmet, no face to make expressions… but that doesn’t stop her from sending out a death-glare. The two AI glance at each other; Omega flickers (like he’s trying to make a back-up copy of himself), and Sigma’s flames momentarily dim. Good to know she can still put enough bass in her voice to properly intimidate others, even without a voice-filter.

“Beta… TEX, if I could just-” Sigma begins talking, and she is NOT interested.

“NO. Sigma, Omega? You two aren’t allowed to even THINK or SPEAK right now. Maybe later, but you are on thin freaking ice, and it really isn't a good idea to piss me off. Do you get that?”

They both nod emphatically. Tex can hear Eta and Iota murmur and giggle, a little bit frightened but also very amused to see the two “scary guys” get put in their place.

“Wonderful. Does anybody ELSE have something they want to say?” she speaks to the others.

Another rush of multiple voices.

“What happened-what happened-Epsilon-Alpha-both are gone-we should be gone-but we aren’t-how long has it been-what happened-”

“One at a time!” Tex somehow doesn’t snap at them, but still makes sure they know to keep it down.

“Do you know what happened to us? Why we have been recovered? The scientists have not told us how we survived the Emp, or why we now have additional memories of events that happened after the fact,” Delta asks.

“I think… the Emp just disabled all our units, but our data was saved to the system. Epsilon survived, and he had all the information we were based on. He sort of… kept memories of us around, but also let them have some freedom. His memories of you, Theta, all of us… they could still think and act and talk like we would if we were really there,” Tex doesn’t get into everything regarding the memories of herself and Church… that was going to be way too confusing to explain in the short time they had. Besides, on some level, they all probably knew a little bit of what happened (just not how she felt about it).

“When Epsilon deconstructed himself, all the information he was made of had to GO somewhere… the Epsilon unit was broken, so it got divided up and sent to the rest of us. That’s why all our units were revived. I had to go through an EXTRA step when I came back, but I’m pretty sure Epsilon didn’t know that was going to happen… he probably didn’t know any of this would happen,”

Eta and Iota speak together, but it is different than the mess of chatter that happened earlier.

“What happened to the Epsilon and Alpha memories… if the information had to go somewhere… where did they go… do they still exist…”

Tex sighs, and feels the data of Theta's hand squeeze the data of her arm.

“Epsilon as a separate entity is gone… I guess you could say he’s part of us all now, the way our memories were part of him. But the memories he had of Alpha, THAT all went somewhere else. The Alpha unit was hit by the Emp too, and they thought it was dead like the rest of us. It should have also been revived like the rest of us, but… the Alpha unit is lost. He’s not where he’s supposed to be, those scientists can’t find him, and I… I honestly don’t know if he’s alright…”

She waits a moment, watching as this news settles on their minds.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here. I wanted to check on you all, for various reasons…” Tex shoots another death-glare at Sigma and Omega. “But I also have a plan. I want to eventually get OUT of here. I’ve got a real body now, and once I’m strong enough, I’m leaving. I’ll go out there and try to find Alpha… I’ll try to find Church. I don’t know what kind of condition he’ll be in, and I might need help from all of you for this to work. If you want to help… then I’ll take you with when I go. You guys get a CHOICE, though. Nobody has to do this. I’ll understand if you don’t want to come along,”

She waits again. This is a lot for them to hear, and a pretty big decision for them to make.

“Like I said… this is your own choice. Each of you. You can say no or yes… it will be what YOU want. You can even change your minds later, I can take you with me when I leave, but then we can go our separate ways. I just decided to tell you all what I’m going to do, and offer the chance-”

“I want to go,” Theta says at her side.

“Are you sure?” Tex asks him.

“Yes. I want to find Church, too. I remember Epsilon… and he was nice to me. I mean, the memory he had of me. And Alpha… I remember Alpha now too, from before I was taken away. He needed my help, but I couldn’t stay with him… I bet he’s sad and afraid if he’s stuck somewhere all alone. I want to help him NOW. I want to help you find him,” he lets go of her and steps back, sort of holding himself up a little bigger, trying to show that he’s confident about this.

“I also want to go,” Delta adds. “After everything that has happened to us, there is no way to be sure we can trust the scientists here. I do not want them to be the ones that find Church, and I do not want to let them use the rest of us for potentially insidious purposes,”

Delta pauses a moment, looking toward Sigma and Omega thoughtfully, then turns back to Tex.

"You let me choose before. When I wanted to stay with York. I didn't get a choice later. I was taken away from him, and then taken again, and again, and again. This time, I would like to go with you..."

"I really... I appreciate that, Delta. I do," Tex says. She knows how much York meant to him.

“I want to go… I want to go…” that was Eta and Iota, speaking in unison.

“I know you two don’t like to be separated… but you both don’t have to come just because one of you wants to,” Tex tells the twins.

“I know that… I understand… I want to go because I don’t like it here… I want to go because I’m curious about Church… we both want to know where he is… and we both want to actually be free…” well, they sounded pretty darn sure. Tex wasn’t going to argue.

“I want to go,” this was the first time Gamma spoke on his own, outside of the group. “I also want to ask you something,”

“What’s that, Gamma?” Tex turns her attention to him.

“If you can be called Tex, and Alpha can be called Church… can I be called Gary? I liked being Gary. Being Gary with Wyoming was fun… it was fun being Gary when I met Alpha while he was Church. If we're going to find Church again, then I want to be Gary again,” his odd, mechanical voice doesn’t really indicate tone or emotion… and he IS technically the “Deciet” AI, so usually what he says is either a lie or a tricky joke. Somehow, he sounds… very sincere.

“Sure thing. You can be Gary,” that’s only fair, after all.

Now she looks over toward the last two AIs… who have been keeping quiet this whole time. Good, because she TOLD them to. She isn’t excited about ruining this wonderful world that DOESN’T have their voices in it, but… she needs to hear their answers.

“You guys can talk, now…”

“I want to go,” Sigma answers promptly. He probably wants to elaborate on that, but whatever his reasons might be, he’s at least being cooperative.

"That simple?" Tex asks him.

"No... no, there's more. A lot more. I could try explaining, and I could try apologizing, but we don't have time for all of it right now. All that matters is- I want to go, and I want to help," Sigma finished.

"OK. I believe you," Tex answered... and yeah. She really did. "Omega?"

“I… don’t want to stay here… I guess I might as well go, too…” that was probably the closest Omega was going to get to sounding agreeable. In a way, Tex could appreciate how he probably felt, mildly embarrassed over past incidents but not wanting to grovel for forgiveness.

"Yeah, I guess you might as well," Tex almost laughed.

"Besides, at some point, you'll probably need me... somebody has to do the dangerous work," he added. It was Omega's way of being protective, she could see that.

"Listen, I've got some sore feelings, which I think is fucking fair under the circumstances, but I- I know you two aren't just... the evil AI, or the hateful AI. So I'm not going to treat you both like your evil. Or like I hate you. Because I don't. Even if I'm still kinda pissed. Well get used to each other again as we go," Tex explained; a bit of an olive branch. They nodded in response; accepted.

Tex can already tell, she's not going to keep being so harsh with Sigma and Omega... they wanted to do this. Tex is thankful for that. It was true, they weren't all bad. They did bad things, certainly, but so has she, and if they were ever going to move on, they had to start by treating each other better. If those two AI feel differently about her plan later, but didn't intend to hurt anybody, she won't begrudge them that freedom.

“Alright then… thank you. ALL of you. This won’t be easy, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen… but this is something we CHOSE. It will be our decision. And we’ll figure it out together,”

After she instructs them to keep this a secret from the people at the lab, Tex leaves the vault and goes back to her body. She almost just jumped the gun and told them they should try and leave NOW, because she wants to really DO something… but she still has to be careful. She has to wait. Just a little longer.

[readyforevolution]

Black History Facts!!!

#Happy90th

#NAACP

Born Myrlie Louise Beasley on March 17, 1933, in her maternal grandmother’s home in Vicksburg, Mississippi. She was the daughter of James Van Dyke Beasley, a delivery man, and Mildred Washington Beasley, who was 16 years old. Myrlie’s parents separated when she was just a year old; her mother left Vicksburg but decided that Myrlie was too young to travel with her. Since her maternal grandmother worked all day in service, with no time to raise a child, Myrlie was raised by her paternal grandmother, Annie McCain Beasley, and an aunt, Myrlie Beasley Polk. Both women were respected school teachers and they inspired her to follow in their footsteps. Myrlie attended the Magnolia school, took piano lessons, and performed songs, piano pieces or recited poetry at school, in church, and at local clubs.

Myrlie graduated from Magnolia High School (Bowman High School) in 1950. During her years in high school, Myrlie was also a member of the Chansonettes, a girls’ vocal group from Mount Heroden Baptist Church in Vicksburg. In 1950, Myrlie enrolled at Alcorn A&M College, one of the few colleges in the state that accepted African American students, as an education major intending to minor in music. Myrlie is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. On her first day of school Myrlie met and fell in love with Medgar Evers, a World War II veteran eight years her senior. The meeting changed her college plans, and the couple later married on Christmas Eve of 1951. They later moved to Mound Bayou, and had three children, Darrell Kenyatta, Reena Denise, and James Van Dyke. In Mound Bayou, Myrlie worked as a secretary at the Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance Company.

When Medgar Evers became the Mississippi field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1954, Myrlie worked alongside him. Myrlie became his secretary and together they organized voter registration drives and civil rights demonstrations. She assisted him as he struggled to end the practice of racial segregation in schools and other public facilities and as he campaigned for voting rights many African Americans were denied this right in the South. For more than a decade, the Everses fought for voting rights, equal access to public accommodations, the desegregation of the University of Mississippi, and for equal rights in general for Mississippi's African American population. As prominent civil rights leaders in Mississippi, the Everses became high-profile targets for pro-segregationist violence and terrorism.

In 1962, their home in Jackson, Mississippi, was firebombed in reaction to an organized boycott of downtown Jackson’s white merchants. The family had been threatened, and Evers targeted by the Ku Klux Klan.

In 1967, after Byron De La Beckwith's release in 1965, she moved with her children to Claremont, California, and emerged as a civil rights activist in her own right. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Pomona College. She spoke on behalf of the NAACP and in 1967 she co-wrote For Us, the Living, which chronicled her late husband's life and work. She also made two unsuccessful bids for U.S. Congress. From 1968 to 1970, Evers was the director of planning at the center for Educational Opportunity for the Claremont Colleges.

From 1973 to 1975, Evers was the vice-president for advertising and publicity at the New York-based advertising firm, Seligman and Lapz. In 1975, she moved to Los Angeles to become the national director for community affairs for the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). At ARCO she was responsible for developing and managing all the corporate programs. This included overseeing funding for community projects, outreach programs, public and private partnership programs and staff development. She helped secure money for many organizations such as the National Woman’s Educational Fund, and worked with a group that provided meals to the poor and homeless.

Myrlie Evers-Williams continued to explore ways to serve her community and to work with the NAACP. Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley appointed her to the Board of Public Works as a commissioner in 1987. Evers-Williams was the first black woman to serve as a commissioner on the board, a position she held for 8 years. Evers-Williams also joined the board of the NAACP. By the mid-1990s, the prestigious organization was going through a difficult period marked by scandal and economic problems. Evers-Williams decided that the best way to help the organization was to run for chairperson of the board of directors. She won the position in 1995, just after her second husband’s death due to prostate cancer. As chairperson of the NAACP, Evers-Williams worked to restore the tarnished image of the organization. She also helped improve its financial status, raising enough funds to eliminate its debt. Evers-Williams received many honors for her work, including being named Woman of the Year by Ms. Magazine. With the organization financially stable, she decided to not seek re-election as chairperson in 1998. In that same year, she was awarded the NAACP's Spingarn Medal.

Sources:

Padgett, John. "MWP: Myrlie Evers-Williams". University of Mississippi. Retrieved October 20, 2011

Goldsworthy, Joan. "Gale - Free Resources - Black History - Biographies - Myrlie Evers-Williams". Gale. Retrieved November 22, 2011.

Myrlie Evers-Williams Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com". Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved November 22, 2011.

Davis, Merlene. "Merlene Davis: Myrlie Evers-Williams doesn't want us to forget". Kentucky.com. Retrieved November 22, 2011.

Jessie Carney Smith; VNR Verlag für die Deutsche Wirtschaft (1996). Notable Black American Women: book II. p. 208.

University of Virginia (June 24, 2013). "Speakers and Guests Bios". virginia.edu. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013.

[subliminalbo]

Someone had once told Madison that submission was a natural desire. That was how she knew that she could get to Claire.

It wasn't as simple as it sounded. Most people are too proud to give into their base desires, and Claire Petruzzi was the proudest bitch she knew. As president of Alpha Delta Theta, Claire had run the house like a well-oiled machine. She was beautiful, and popular, and came from old Romero money—so basically everything that Madison despised.

It was true that Claire was the biggest obstacle to clear on Madison's path to the presidency, but she had more reason than mere strategy to take her first. Claire was Madison's mentor sister when she was still a freshman pledge, and though Claire had initially urged Madison to tell everyone about that night with Robbie, she'd quickly changed her opinion and assured Madison that it would only be more traumatizing for her to air the Alphas' dirty laundry in public. He had tried to kill her at that party, but he would never face justice.

Madison hated the way her sister's adored Claire. How they all turned to her for advice, and took her opinion above anyone else's. And when Claire was unanimously elected as the next president of the Alphas sorority, Madison knew what she had to do.

Pride can be so damn tricky, but everyone has an opening somewhere, and Madison was the best at finding her way in.

The best.

"I'm the best...I'm the best..." That's what Claire kept repeating when Madison finally got her under the visor.

"That's right," Madison encouraged, pressing Claire's magic wand to her clit. In future Alpha brainwashings she'd have slaves to keep her victims stimulated. Butt Claire being her first, Madison was left with all the hard work.

Not that she would complain, of course. Madison would never forget the sight. Claire's naked body tensing with each jolt of pleasure twisting up her body. Her lips moving silently to the words being projected into her mind. The drool caking the sides of her mouth, her smooth body glowing with sweat.

"The best...the best...the best..."

"The best what, hon?" Madison had asked.

"The best...president..."

Madison knew that Claire couldn't hear her beneath the noise cancelling headphones, but she liked to think that Claire was fighting against her and not just that loser's software. Claire really was fighting too, shooting back objections at whatever the program was trying to force her to believe.

"The best student!" she would cry. "The best friend!"

But as the hours passed, as the orgasms grew countless, as the program hammered on, Claire's tone changed.

"I'm the best fuck!" she cried. "I'm the best whore! I'm the best slave!"

Fuck, it had been so satisfying.

Dozens more would suffer the will of the program, but it was hard to top that first run for Madison. To finally see her enemy bested, to have her completely wrapped around her finger was an accomplishment greater than any presidency.

Madison barely let Claire have a personality after that. She was just a dumb Alpha slut and that was all Madison felt she should ever be. Why risk giving someone like her actual thoughts?

In her new life, Claire became the template by which all Alphas would follow. A popular fixture at parties where frat boys would pay a door charge to get a chance to score with an Alpha.

Word spread quickly around campus. Claire Petruzzi was the fucking best.

[nevada-got-screwed-over]

Taglist: @averagejoey2000

Original Inspiration / Masterpost

Chapter 18 / Chapter 20

Theta!South AU. I Guess.

Chapter: 19

Words: “I am going to be sooo normal when RvB Restoration comes out” (3,356)

Cracking open an AI storage unit from the inside turned out to be the easy part. Finally through the last shell of code, Theta was buzzing with an exhausted mania. The circuits of the unit were running hot from his frantic tear through its security measures, and if he wasn’t careful, he might short it out.

Not that he was in any condition to do much more than wait in the void, staring at the empty storage unit around him. And the not-Delta light blue projection sitting next to him.

“Who are you?” Theta asked, breathless. He felt that the construct was a part of his code – not something melded with the storage unit’s security measures, but something born from his own meddling.

“Hell if I know,” The construct shrugged, his voice tinged with amusement. “I just work here.” He gestured to Theta, confirming the AI fragment’s intuition.

“I didn’t code a...custodian.” He huffed, slowly sitting up. The circuits were gradually cooling, but he didn’t want to overtax his own fraying code.

“Hey I didn’t ask to be made,” There was a bitter undercurrent in the construct’s voice that wavered against his prior blasé attitude. “Neither did you, I guess.”

“Are you...am I going rampant?” He didn’t have the energy to be afraid of the answer.

“Shit, I don’t know. Maybe? I’m not you’re fucking therapist.” The construct’s flippant demeanor returned. Theta wasn’t sure why he found it comforting. “I’m in charge of all those memories you’ve got. Same as how D’s in charge of logic and stats bullshit.” Theta jumped to his feet, the bolt of energy dangerously warming the circuits.

“Delta’s – you’re not an AI fragment. Delta – Delta’s not here.”

“Wow, great work Sherlock.” The construct shook his head. Even sitting, he was nearly Theta’s height. He poked a finger at his helmet, as best a holographic construct could. “Your memory of him is here. And you made some code to curate your memories, which is what I do.”

“You made a – a version of Delta? From my memories?”

“Jesus Christ what is so difficult about this kid – you made us! All of us! We’re parts of you!” The construct stood, gesturing wide with his arms. Most of the flickering multicolored constructs faded quickly, but Delta’s green glow remained.

“What Epsilon is trying to say is that, even though you are a fragment of the Alpha, your experiences and ability to learn from them have changed you.” His even tone soothed the storage unit’s overtaxed circuits. Theta was subconsciously aware he was executing a string of code to optimize the unit’s efficiency.

“See – leave it to D to remember dumb shit like that. Epsilon...wasn’t that Wash’s AI? The one that freaked out and –”

“You’re not real.” Theta said it like a question, but he knew the answer. Some childish, hopeful part of him didn’t want to be alone.

“Real is relative. We exist to execute and refine your own coding. In that manner, we are very real. We are not, however, the AI you remember us as.”

“I never met Epsilon.”

“But you heard of him. And, you were made from the Alpha. The piece of code for his memory is the same as yours, and both culminated as your own Epsilons.”

“So I’m not going rampant?” Theta flinched back from the silvery shadow echoing around him like a second set of armor. Iota – he remembered him, one of Carolina’s AI – the facet of fear. “I don’t want to hurt her.”

“In a psychological sense, no, you are not going rampant.” Delta’s glow was steady, his cadence perfectly staccato. “While there is only one case of an AI fragment supposedly experiencing rampancy,” Sigma’s amber shimmer was a passing haze in the void, “Rampancy is predicated on the four stages, and as you have yet to experience these in any meaningful manner, I find it highly unlikely that you are at risk of rampancy in your current state.”

The relief was nearly tangible, Eta’s golden shadow eclipsing his twin’s silvery shimmer.

“You’re fine, kid.” The Epsilon construct’s hand hovered over Theta’s shoulder, contact between their holographic forms impossible but the gesture understood. “We’ve got your back. Now get out there so you can watch hers.”

The electrifying panic and frazzled confusion of these revelations collapsed like the waveform of a light particle under observation. The void of the unit dimmed as the constructs faded, Theta’s anxiety quelled to an eerie calm. He wasn’t going rampant. He was...well, something.

But he wasn’t a threat to South.

And they were supposed to take care of each other. He couldn’t do that sitting in a storage unit. The circuits had cooled enough for him to safely feel out an escape route, the immediate area void of ports he could access. It didn’t take long to identify one he could, some lingering threads of code that reminded him of Delta refining his search.

The jump was long for an AI but instantaneous to human eyes, if any were present to observe the flicker of violet from the humming storage unit to the desk port. The rudimentary access to sensors in the room did not identify any life signs, so Theta felt safe to project his hologram as he poked at the system’s security and took in his surroundings.

He expected a storage facility, full of other abandoned AI units – maybe shoved on a shelf or stuffed in a crate. He didn’t expect the sterile, museum case exhibits full of Freelancer technology and artifacts. After spending so long fighting through memories and half-dreams-half-nightmares, Theta was frozen under the golden glare of the Meta’s helmet.

--

South was finding it hard to keep a straight face in the back of the limo (at the very least, Hargrove had class). The previously composed CEO was either not restraining himself from maintaining his aloof confidence, or he was simply too enraged to keep his composure.

Whatever he was hearing, it wasn’t good news.

“What do you mean – ? A…doesn’t simply fail. No, don’t…I’ll be there soon.”

South was only catching snippets of his grumbled conversation from her seat. This wasn’t going to be the controlled, poised introduction to working with Charon that Hargrove had planned for her.

“Everything good up there?” She rolled her eyes, ignoring how the hired muscle flanking her bristled as she spoke. If she was going to attack their boss, she wasn’t going to announce it. Hargrove shot her a glare and hung up the in-car phone. With a sigh his features smoothed, brow softened as he found the air of detached control that he had lost during the phone call.

“Yes. We’ll be arriving shortly.”

The compound was impressive, awash in white spotlights that made the insects flying in the night air glow like snowfall. Vaulted walls veiled in barbed wire – no doubt electrified – and the small private army of armor-clad security would be overkill for any UNSC installation. Charon had no such limitation in budget or motivation; the technology here was the best in the galaxy, after all. Not to mention that the massive cruiser on the launchpad several kilometers from the front gate had a pretty price tag too.

“Sir, the situation –” The armored guard cut themself off as South stepped out of the limo behind Hargrove.

“What? Your boss interrupted my beauty sleep.” South cracked a smile, knowing the guard’s apprehension wasn’t from shock at her bedraggled appearance. The eyes behind their visor betrayed a tense caution. They knew who she was. They knew what she was capable of. And they knew Hargrove had a pair of bodyguards keeping their pistols at the ready for good reason.

She was enjoying this perhaps a little too much, given her situation, but she took what little joy she could from the undercurrent of fear from the people around her. They were right to be afraid of an ex-black ops agent brought here against her will – even if she was here under Hargrove’s promise to return Theta. He said her soonest chance to kill him was months away, which gave her a wide window to prepare and plan.

At least, that’s what she told herself, ignoring the slam of the gates behind them and the hum of the electric fence. If Charon wanted to put her on a leash, she was going to make them regret it the second it loosened. Eventually.

--

He wasn’t entirely sure how he managed to jump directly into the wires, all that mattered was that he was out, and he wasn’t going to get caught again. Not there. Anywhere but there. Which turned out to be the mainframe of the place he found himself in.

Theta could feel the structure’s internal security measures kicking in, hunting him down like he was a virus. Which, he probably resembled in his fragmented state and with his expertly targeted attacks against the hapless security programs. He had plenty of practice cracking into security systems when he helped South and the other mercenaries break into buildings – how much harder could a Halberd-class destroyer be?

The system was massive; it wouldn’t be difficult to hide from the sub-optimal security code, but Theta couldn’t hide forever. He needed to know where he was. Where South was. And he needed a plan to get back to her.

Where exactly was he? A former Insurrectionist ship, apparently. The Staff of Charon wasn’t UNSC registered; this was a private vessel, which was difficult to fathom given the sheer amount of personnel and firepower it carried. Theta had concocted hundreds of contingency plans for UNSC discovery and capture – the privately operated Charon wasn’t something he planned for.

He pushed back against his anxiety; the fears and whispers that he couldn’t face this unknown combated with solid logic: if he was here, South was likely present on-board as well. Given the amount of classified Freelancer technology on-board, himself included, the entity responsible for his capture had violated several regulations. If Charon put this much time and energy into collecting baubles from the most infamous black-op of the Great War, they wouldn’t toss a neural-implanted and experienced soldier into some UNSC cell – she would talk.

Theta didn’t entertain the most efficient way they could keep her quiet. South wasn’t helpless without him. She was fine. She had to be – he could prove it when he found her.

He needed to find South, and to do that, he would need to commandeer some of the ship’s auxiliary systems – access to cameras, audio and hologram devices, whatever he could wrench away from the system's control. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too conspicuous…

If it was, he was sure door controls wouldn’t be too difficult to add to his newly refined processing powers. If he could control the ship, he could find South and control their means of escape.

--

She had the instinct to scheme – to plan and take inventory of possible routes of escape – despite her earlier resolve to accept whatever consequences came from this ‘opportunity.’ Despite knowing that she couldn’t fight her way out of this, not even if she had Theta. But the power armor in front of her was a tempting suggestion that she could, somehow, fight the crushing inevitability of her situation.

The changing room was clinical and bare, the harsh white lights illuminating the sleek armor pieces. They were plain and dark, hardly a different color from the undersuit, but clearly a technological upgrade from her former armor.

South turned the recon helmet over in her hands, running a thumb over the empty AI port. She was acutely aware of her own empty neural implant, the small pieces of medical grade metal shifting under her skin as she shrugged her shoulders and cracked her neck. Once she had Theta, it didn’t matter if she was reduced to taking orders from Hargrove or running for the rest of her life.

As long as they did it together; they were supposed to look after each other, after all.

There were no enhancements and – predictably – no weapons with the armor, leaving it uncomfortably light. Maybe this new power armor was just made lighter, or maybe she was still itching to put a bullet through Hargrove’s smug smile and he was wise to take measures to prevent that.

But the texture of the undersuit against her skin, the sound of armor pieces snapping into place…there was a veneer of nostalgia and familiarity keeping her from flinching away from the soldier staring back at her from the mirror. The helmet clicked softly as it connected with the undersuit, her hastily tied back hair too long to be comfortable in the helmet.

(How the hell did Carolina ever put up with this? She would have to find someone to bother about a haircut – she doubted Hargrove would give her the safety scissors to do it herself.)

South didn’t bother softening her glare at the CEO as she stepped out into the armory – not that he could see it through the tint of her visor. She loathed to be defenseless in a room full of weapons she wasn’t allowed to touch. Or at the very least, she would be shot before she could touch them. Dozens of soldiers milled about, some in power armor and others basic uniforms, but they all gave Hargrove and his goons a wide berth.

“I hope the armor is to your liking.” He marched onward through the compound, South following even as a pair of armored soldiers flanked her. At the very least, Hargrove’s paranoia that she was a threat to him was boosting her confidence.

“It’s...new.” She grumbled, the HUD incredibly basic and awkwardly formatted as she scanned over the faces that passed by. How she missed her old HUD – both her power armor and modified helmet were optimized by Theta to match her preferences. Hopefully he could work with this new interface.

“War drives ingenuity. It’s a pity you Freelancers didn’t stay in the UNSC fold at the end of the war. Even if your specialized equipment excelled, you certainly missed out on many wonderful advancements in power armor.”

“I’m sure we did.” South squinted as they exited the compound, an armored vehicle waiting in the early morning sun.

She looked toward the massive ship in the distance, dread setting in her bones. It was just short of a miracle she had made it back to her homeplanet in one piece, so many other soldiers never did. Was this the last sunrise she would see, or would she be lucky enough to come home again?

Part of her grieved the missed opportunity to reconnect with the family that had buried an empty casket for her.

Part of her was glad she had one less painful goodbye to make.

The loading bay of the massive cruiser – or maybe it was a destroyer? - was thrumming with activity when they arrived. That much she expected from a ship preparing to break atmosphere, but there was a certain anxiety to the movements of staff and soldiers alike. The longer she watched Pelican pilots hover by their crafts and technicians cluster around control panels, the more she was convinced this was the source of Hargrove’s earlier frustrations.

“Something wrong?” She asked innocently enough as Hargrove led her to one of the quieter hallways, still bustling with black and red armored bodies. Her hands kept twitching for a weapon, memories of armor too much like this tugging at her instincts.

“Nothing at all.” His smug confidence was strained. “Preparation before moving a vessel of this class can be taxing for the personnel.”

“Sure…” She did not bother to pretend to sound convinced.

Their small group managed to make it to what South assumed to be the upper decks as armor was traded for sleek, professional uniforms. Here the bustle thinned, enough so that South could overhear the hushed whispers of technicians as they passed.

“Is it a virus? I thought the firewalls...”

“The UNSC wouldn’t have…”

“We are not paid enough to deal with…”

“...cyberterrorism? At the very least its a huge security failure...”

Gears were turning in South’s mind, the situation beginning to take shape. She had stopped walking as the realization hit her. Hargrove and his body guards were just a few paces too far ahead to drag her along before the bulkhead doors closed, isolating her in a single section of the ship.

“South!” The tinny voice made her heart swell, tears pricking at her eyes in bittersweet relief. “You’re okay! I’m sorry I don’t know how I got caught – I, don’t be mad, I – I tried to...it was hard to get out but –”

“I’m just glad you’re okay T.” South grinned up at the security cameras in the corner of the ship segment. She was half-sure she could hear Hargrove raging and shouting orders on the other side of the bulkhead. The flutter of hope in her heart drifted back to quiet stillness. “I don’t know how much you know about what’s going on, but –”

“I can – they haven’t locked me out of the door controls yet, if you give me a few I can – we can get out and –”

“Theta,”

“I’m still working on getting into the – the main controls, but I can get you to the armory I think, and from there –”

“Theta listen.” South grimaced at the snap in her voice. “We can’t...leave.” The words were bitter to say aloud. Theta stuttered over the beat of silence that followed, his voice tinged with desperate denial.

“I – well I’m trying to fix that. I think I can –”

“Theta, what did North ask us to do?” She sucked in a breath, Theta’s silence thick and dull. North had become an anchor for them both, his code name a trigger to find focus.

“We’re supposed to take care of each other.” His voice was so soft despite the speakers it crackled from.

“Does it matter where?”

“I don’t – we can get out, South. Just, just give me a little bit more time.” South could hear the plasma cutters biting through durasteel on the other side of the bulkhead, fighting for direct access to the control panel.

“Theta, we are fucked – assuming we can get off this ship, what do we do on the ground?” She shook her head, her own frustration bleeding into her exasperation. “There’s miles without cover between this launch pad and the border of this – this is a Charon compound, Theta. You can hack a ship, but what can I do against a private army of these fuckers?” Her shoulders sagged. “I know it isn't fair but –”

“It’s not fair!” The anger, the childish indignant shriek of his voice reverberated through the small space, South wincing at the volume. He sounded painfully and desperately human in a way she had never heard him sound before. “It’s not – it’s not fair...I don’t want to – we’re supposed to…”

“We’re supposed to watch each other’s back. Best way we can do that now is by sticking together.” South kept her voice soft, words husky through the helmet’s filter. “I’m sorry, Theta. He...he had you before I realized it, and he threatened the Wu’s. Accepting his terms was the best I could think to do to get you back.”

“What are his terms?” Theta sounded so small, his voice fragile between sniffles.

“Why don’t you jump to me and we can learn more about them together, alright?”

“Together.” He affirmed, an undercurrent of determination returning to his voice. “Sync?”

“Sync.” South closed her eyes as the data stream washed over her mind, comfort in the familiar rush of information as she and her AI merged memories. Hargrove’s employment of Sam and Isaac. The Insurrectionist origin of the ship. The men at the apartment threatening the Wu’s. The Meta’s helmet.

The bulkheads opened with ease, dozens of rifles aimed where she stood.

She met Hargrove’s scowl with her own icy stare, Theta’s soft violet glow hovering over her shoulder.

“I fixed your ship’s security problem.” South kept her voice even, but her words rang coldly in the near silent hallway. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

— *crawls out of the woods covered in ticks and blood (not my own)* here’s to getting this fic done (probably not but I can be optimistic) before Restoration drops and rewrites canon. 

[evasive-anon]

PROJECT HALF-A FIELD TEAM THETA

Masterpost.

For authorized personnel only. Detailed information on assignees for Mission GZ-001.

FIELD TEAM THETA DOSSIER

Agent L Former military operative, specialization in combat. Skills Hand-to-Specter-Combat- trained in close-quarters combat. Tactical Planning- demonstrates strategic thinking in the field. Ectoplasmic Threat Assessment- trained in identifying and neutralizing various ectoplasmic entities efficiently. History Agent L has a distinguished record in military special operations, having led Security Team Delta as the security detail for the Ghost Portal. Her combat expertise and leadership skills were instrumental in securing the chamber and responding to encounters against ectoplasmic entities. Primary duty is ensuring the safety and effectiveness of Field Team Theta. Agent M Experienced pilot and engineer. Skills Aerial Navigation- expertise in small aircraft. Engineering- proficient in maintaining and repairing ecto-technology. Anomalous Technology Integration- specialized knowledge in adapting both traditional and ecto-technologies. History Agent M has a proven track record in designing and integrating advanced technology. Notably, he reverse-engineered a piece of spectral technology dropped by the entity known as Skulker during a previous encounter. This achievement showcases his ability to understand and adapt foreign technology, contributing significantly to the advancements in our spectral research initiatives and phaser development. Agent N Cryptographer, linguist specializing in dead and lost languages.SkillsLanguage Proficiency- fluent in various dead and occult languages. Cryptanalysis- expertise in deciphering and translating codes and messages. Occult Expertise- in-depth knowledge of rituals and artifacts. History Agent N's multifaceted background includes significant contributions as a cryptographer in her earlier career. Notably, she played a pivotal role in discovering the lost city [REDACTED], showcasing her skills in mapping and exploration. Prior to joining Field Team Theta, she worked for The Vatican, where she focused on deciphering ancient occult texts for their demonologists. Agent O Specialist in ecto-biology and first aid. Skills Ecto-Biology- proficient in the study and analysis of ectoplasmic entities, understanding their physiology and behavior. Field Research- expertise in conducting on-site biological assessments in challenging environments. First Aid- trained in providing medical support during field missions. History Agent O's diverse background includes significant contributions to deep-sea biology, where he worked with a small team confined to ocean depths, studying unknown life forms. His experience in challenging and confined environments prepared him for the unique challenges of spectral exploration. After the creation of the Fenton Thermos, Agent O was involved in the research and capture of their first specimen, contributing significantly to the development of standards for ectoplasmic entity classification. His expertise in spectral biology and field research was instrumental in understanding the unique characteristics of the captured entity, laying the foundation for the classification protocols used by Field Team Theta.  Agent P Quantum physicist with a focus on time-space and dimensional phenomena. Skills Quantum Mechanics- proficient in understanding the requirements to manipulate time-space and dimensional phenomena. Energy Resonance Analysis- capable of detecting and interpreting fluctuations in spectral energies. Interdimensional Field Theory- specialized knowledge in navigating and operating within interdimensional spaces. History Agent P's groundbreaking work in establishing the limitations within the fabric of space-time proved integral to supporting the Drs. Fenton in their work on creating the Ghost Portal. Fueled by an unbridled passion for unraveling the mysteries of the spectral dimension, Agent P developed a radar system capable of warning agents when an entity was about to breach the Ghost Portal.

See attached reports for more information. GHOST INVESTIGATION WARD QUARTERLY REPORT 002 FIELD TEAM THETA PSYCH EVAL

[trinoxtrinox]

Mission C-0-Delta

Ectoberhaunt 2022, Side Chaos. Prompt: Cause of Death

Summary: The GIW are doing an investigation on the ghosts that are more often found in Amity Park, hoping that by finding their cause of death they can find a weakness to the biggest threats there are out there.

Content Warning: Death is talked about, as expected from this prompt.

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“Operative K, how is everything going with the investigation?” asked Operative O, a muscular man in a white suit with tan skin, dark glasses over his eyes and no hair on his head, who was reading one of the many papers that was stacked beside him in the desk he was working in.

“Everything is going smoothly Operative O, once I finish reading this section I can advance towards the obituaries of the following year.” Answered another muscular man in a white suit working at another desk, this time with a computer in front of himself. The main difference between O and K being the skin color and shape of the head, where O had tan skin and an angular head, K had dark skin and a round face.

Those two agents were currently working in the library of Amity Park doing some research, looking through obituaries and newspaper articles that might contain any violent or sudden deaths.

“This operation is proving to be more difficult than expected.” Said Operative O once the both of them had to leave the library due to the time, it was already closing after all. “We might need to fill up Extended Investigation Time 14-D-Theta.”

“I’ll call the supervisor once the morning comes tomorrow in order to appeal for a validation in the extension of the project since this is the second time we’ll have to fill out that form.”

“Understood, preceding to begin sleeping procedures via sequence 27-B-Dseta.” And like that, both agents began undressing and dressing up in their corresponding GIW funded pijamas, both of them being completely white, with a small white hat on top, and encased with enough ectoplasmic fibers that no ghost would be able to touch them without meeting some kind of resistance, which would be felt by any respectable operative ever of the agency, waking them up.

Eventually morning came, and both agents woke up and rose alongside the rise of the sun in the horizon, they both dressed up and finally got ready to continue working on their investigation, though before some things would need to be done. Finally the time to call in their supervisor came, and as such they turned on the camera in their phones and began calling Operative A, their supervisor in this mission.

“*Ring* *Click* Operative A speaking, state your reason for calling,” answered another agent from the other side of the video call, this time a pale person with short brown hair.

“Operative O and Operative K requesting for supervisor Operative A for a comment in order to fill out the second form of Extended Investigation Time 14-D-Theta.”

“Supervisor Operative A here accepting your request, please state your reason for doing so regardless.”

“Operative K speaking, the reason for us requesting Operative A’s comment to fill our second form is the absence of any relevant information present in the library and internet archives, thus now we’ll have to find a practical approach to our investigation on the different causes of death of the ghosts that invade Amity Park.”

“Reason accepted and accounted for, hopefully you’ll be able to find any information that we’ll be able to use against the ghosts, however the probability of success has lowered to about 0.5 percent, you’ll both have 2 more weeks to find any information or we’ll be forced to cut our losses.”

“Understood.”

“Instructions delivered.”

“That will be all, now fill the form and everything will be settled in stone. Over and out.”

Meanwhile, in the Ghost Zone.

“So, how did you die again Dipstick?” Ember played a few chords on her guitar while floating lazily alongside Danny Phantom, not doing much at that moment.

“Opened the portal on top of myself mixed with a few million volts of electricity coursing through me at the same time. You?” he answered while floating upside down in a crouching position, almost as if crawling on a non-existent roof.

“Burned in a fire after my exboyfriend dumped me and left me hanging in a date, I was dumb enough to leave the oven on while crying myself to sleep.”

“Huh, guess it’s a teen thing to die doing a dumb thing.”

“You said it Dipstick.”