cometofjustice

[cometofjustice]

Yesterday I was thinking about how my Duo muse doesn't have any personality flaws. At least... not in the traditional sense. He doesn't have any vices and never acts selfishly. His intentions are always 100% pure. When I thought about it a bit more though, I realized that he does actually have a flaw. I think that sometimes he might actually be a bit too polite for his own good. He's so concerned with trying not to offend anyone that there's times when he doesn't voice his true needs or feelings, or say what really needs to be said. He doesn't want to be a burden either, so sometimes he'll try to deal with his problems all by himself so as not to 'trouble' anyone. That being said, he does still accept kindness and hospitality when it's offered to him. He knows that he needs it to survive. I guess that the point is that he rarely asks for it though.

I also only say that he behaves this way sometimes because he does have better judgement. He just... doesn't always listen to it, depending on the circumstances.

[cometofjustice]

I meant to post these yesterday but for some reason my tumblr app wouldn't let me upload images and then deleted all the text I originally wrote. 😤

Anyways, the first drawing was supposed to be part of some expression practice, but I ended up finding it so distracting that I ended up not making any more. XD

It's an actual face Duo has made in a thread before. It was from this specific moment when he yelled at some other muses to get away from an Evil Energy cluster, and waited for a second to see if they'd listen.

The other sketch was supposed to show how Duo's pupils would glow cyan when he's in a fight, and also to help me figure out how his eyes might look when he's angry.

The last was was just me trying to figure out which tooth design to use for Duo. I'm... still not totally sure which one would look best, so I'm open to feedback here.

[cometofjustice]

A while ago I was trying to figure out how Duo's head would fit into his helmet in his original form, and realized...

It doesn't. 😤

There's plenty of space for his cranium, but no room for his jaw. I might have to do a bit of reshaping to make it work. Another thing to consider is that his neck armor is too thick for him to be able to look up, which is essential if you want to be able to see where you are going while flying.

The only reason why I'm trying to figure this stuff out is because I've been considering trying to draw what Duo would have originally looked like helmetless. Astrean Guards' helmets aren't really meant to come off (except for repairs), but I still thought it could be interesting.

[cometofjustice]

Some headcanons I came up with while I was gone:

I recently realized that when Duo consumes matter for fuel, he might actually be specifically using the carbon in what he eats to make energy.

Also, I imagine that when Duo's body is in the process of repairing itself, the regenerating metal looks sort of like raw mineral formations. How the metal grows back exactly is a mystery, but I do know that it's somehow materialized out of his Energy reserves. I also haven't exactly figured out how quickly his body regenerates, but I can imagine him being able to get back into fighting shape within a matter of days if the conditions are ideal.

[cometofjustice]

"Sadly, yes... I have even fought some before; both willingly and unwillingly Evil." He said. "...Why do you ask?"

(had a bit of trouble finding your ask box for a second there, lol)

Hey Duo-san, have you listened to this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNLVDRF5Yjg

(if you don't trust me and don't want to click the link, then you can look up "Stuff we did-married life(1hour slowed with rain))

*duo turns to face Z and just sees his face filled with golden tears*

It-it's pretty good! *trying really hard not to cry* it's a great piano piece!

As Duo listened to the song, the gentle piano and the pitter of rainfall gave him a feeling of tranquility. He momentarily considered taking a recording so he could keep it in his ship's music library.

But... when he had glanced back at Z, he nearly took a double-take upon seeing his tearstained face and high emotional aura.

"It is..." Duo replied softly. Although his voice was calm, his maroon optics were full of concern. He briefly looked around for something, before producing a hankie.

"...Here. Dry your tears with this." He said, offering it to Z.

[cometofjustice]

Duo's lower lip had tensed in mild embarrassment during Krigg's pause. He was just about to utter a 'nevermind' when he heard her speak up.

"It's alright. I can eat almost anything as long as it can be converted into energy. Organic matter can work, but liquid fuel would be ideal." He said. "But... You don't have to give me anything if there's not enough to spare. I don't need to eat to survive."

cometofjustice​:

Duo had made no further reply, but he gave Krigg a full smile before she left.

Once the sound of her tiny footsteps had disappeared down the hall, the large robot tried to get a bit more comfortable. He subtly shifted closer to the wall, before relaxing his limbs and leaning back a little.

His lids felt sightly heavy as the instinct to rest and conserve his energy begun to set in, but he knew that wouldn’t be wise. A black-and-turquoise energy burn still ringed around his neck, and stretching the damaged synthetic skin too far would cause him excruciating pain… he had to keep his head upright.

After a few moments of sitting in silence, a certain thought rose to the surface of his mind.

“(…I need to eat something.)”

This was a familiar craving to him. It always seemed to ‘trigger’ every time he had taken a significant injury, but it was never so strong that he couldn’t ignore it. Still - even though it could be safely disregarded, he knew that taking in additional energy would supplement his repair systems and improve his recovery time.

He gazed down at the radio on his chest for a moment… Krigg had told him to call her if he needed something, but he was reluctant to do so. He technically didn’t ‘need’ anything at all right now, and he didn’t want to dip into Krigg’s supplies for something nonessential.

Just then, he heard the small speaker crackle to life. He pressed the touch dial to reply.

“I’m receiving you clearly on my end as well.” He said. “…-do you have anything to eat?” He added without thinking.

“…Eat?” Krigg’s hands froze over the keypad of the Revenger in the middle of inputting a diagnostics and self command into the systems. Not that it would have been much use - it was easier to point out the parts of the holographic screens surrounding the cockpit’s interior NOT covered in bright red warning pop-ups. Regardless of any diagnostic the ship’s systems could make, she’d have to go in blind and fix the biggest holes in the hull before worrying about the more finnicky little things.

…Oh, yeah, where was she again? Ah, right. Eat… Eat??? Krigg’s head dipped back down to the communicator clipped to her jacket. She stared at it, as though it could provide her with context for the outlandish request, especially coming from a non-organic being. Then she realized she’d been quiet for a handful too many seconds, and pressed the responding key. “Uuuhhh- I mean, I do have a pantry -” Which she wasn’t too keen on sharing with him, if she could be honest. Given the size of the guy, his hypothetical appetite spooked her a little. “But what do you mean exactly by that? Hydrocarbons, metal ions, liquid fuel? Or just regular food?”

It sounded weird that such a large, advanced ‘bot would need /food/ food - some organic compounds and metals to power his self-repair systems was more likely. But then again, a lot of species in the galaxy had unusual dietetary requirements, and didn’t take well to galactic standard grub, instead requiring specific proteins in their diet to not go into shock or get sick. She was not sure that applied to him, though.

Either case, better safe than sorry. Space indigestion was no joke. “You might need to give me pointers because food specificity is NOT something I want to chance!”

[cometofjustice]

I just realized that if someone offered Duo a tangerine, he would just eat the whole thing in one bite, peel and all. XD

Though... I think that even if he did know the right way to eat it, he would still eat the peel anyways since he knows there's still a bit of energy he can harvest from it.

[cometofjustice]

Sometimes I kinda think about the Evil Energy faction that used to be around, and I feel I kinda have to be careful when writing about the things they did. I don't want to get too grimdark with them considering that they're in the Mega Man universe, but they*are* supposed to be pure evil...

I'm starting to think that maybe they were so screwed up that their names and deeds have been wiped from history. They did leave some sites behind, but they majority of them have been completely annihilated by the Justice faction, and later the Astrean Guards.

I know that when Duo finds remnants, he destroys them as well. He finds the sight of them utterly detestable, since deep down he has a vague ancestral memory of the things that went on in those horrible places.

[cometofjustice]

Sometimes I like to think back to the time when the creators of the Astrean Guards were around, back before the discovery of Justice & Evil energy caused them to start warring against eachother.

I imagine there being these sprawling, gold-tinted cities, with decorative alien flora adorning the buildings. The streets would be filled with living robots of uncountable varieties. There would be a lot of people too, but a bit less than the robots somehow.

I can imagine that this civilization was partially automated by their machines, and each one would have a specific purpose to carry out.

When I imagine the people and robots interacting, I often visualize the robots being maintained, being led somewhere, and/or being given instructions by them.

Even though the robots were all essentially servants, they actually had rights, since they had been fully recognized as living beings even further back in history. They were allowed to rest from their work from time to time, and to form relationships with other types of robots. When they would inevitably become worn-out or obsolete, they would be allowed to retire.

As for the people, I imagined that they would still have plenty of jobs too. In the future, they would even sometimes fight as soldiers in the Energy War.

[cometofjustice]

I'm just wondering, but would you guys be interested if I posted life updates for my Duo sim on here? I started a new game with him last night, and things have already taken an unexpected turn.

[cometofjustice]

I made Duo in The Sims!

I finally finished him up, and I'd say that he definitely turned out way better than I expected. ^^

I kinda threw realism out the window while I was designing him, so I was kinda worried he'd end up looking weird like some of the neon abominations I had made when I was 15, but I think he's... actually sort of stylish?

Anyways, his traits are: Brave, Good, Nurturing (since I HC him to be good at communicating with children), Vegetarian (to reference his special diet), and Workaholic. I may also have him later gain 'Disciplined' or 'Unflirty' through the University expansion. For those uninformed, you can basically pick a 6th trait for your sim when they graduate for the first time.

His favorite food is Fruit Parfait, his favorite music is Electronica (because I had no idea what genre to pick), and his favorite color is blue.

By the way, the CC for his scarf actually came from a Russia Hetalia sim I downloaded a really long time ago (back when I was intrigued by the show but was too young to be allowed to watch). Another detail is that while I was trying to pick out gloves for him to wear, I realized that the fingerless gloves could be mismatched, so I used that to try and replicate his asymmetrical hands.

By the way, the CC for his scarf actually came from a Russia Hetalia sim I downloaded a really long time ago (back when I was intrigued by the show but was too young to be allowed to watch). Another detail is that while I was trying to pick out gloves for him to wear, I realized that the fingerless gloves could be mismatched, so I used that to try and replicate his asymmetrical hands. I originally was going to go with the default pure-white skin, but I thought it should be smoother so I went and got some fancier CC skin. I think it makes him look slightly cuter somehow. 😊

I will also admit that it feels a bit wrong to see Duo shirtless, but I couldn't find any good tops for him in swimwear. 😖 He has the coolest swim trunks around at least.

[cometofjustice]

Duo had made no further reply, but he gave Krigg a full smile before she left.

Once the sound of her tiny footsteps had disappeared down the hall, the large robot tried to get a bit more comfortable. He subtly shifted closer to the wall, before relaxing his limbs and leaning back a little.

His lids felt sightly heavy as the instinct to rest and conserve his energy begun to set in, but he knew that wouldn't be wise. A black-and-turquoise energy burn still ringed around his neck, and stretching the damaged synthetic skin too far would cause him excruciating pain... he had to keep his head upright.

After a few moments of sitting in silence, a certain thought rose to the surface of his mind.

"(...I need to eat something.)"

This was a familiar craving to him. It always seemed to 'trigger' every time he had taken a significant injury, but it was never so strong that he couldn't ignore it. Still - even though it could be safely disregarded, he knew that taking in additional energy would supplement his repair systems and improve his recovery time.

He gazed down at the radio on his chest for a moment... Krigg had told him to call her if he needed something, but he was reluctant to do so. He technically didn't 'need' anything at all right now, and he didn't want to dip into Krigg's supplies for something nonessential.

Just then, he heard the small speaker crackle to life. He pressed the touch dial to reply.

"I'm receiving you clearly on my end as well." He said. "...-do you have anything to eat?" He added without thinking.

cometofjustice​:

Duo had almost raised his left arm to catch the coin-like object, but the soreness sharply reminded him to keep still. He curiously peered over his breastplate at the device as he listened to Krigg explain its purpose.

“Alright.” He said with a nod.

Just as she was about to leave, Duo remembered that he had something more to say.

“Krigg-” He spoke up. “…Thank you.”

Krigg froze in the middle of her departure with one foot up in the air, comically enough, before shooting a small look of surprise over her shoulder. She slowly placed her foot back down, shuffling to face the ancient being, only for a sheepish grin to creep up onto her face, skin darkening subtly. She reached up to nervously paw at the skin behind her neck, antennae rubbing together.

“Bah, it’s nothin’ much.” She chuckles nervously, tone dismissive as her free hand is waved into the air for emphasis. “You saved my bones, it’s only fair I return the favor. ‘sides, between travellers, it’s common courtesy to help one another when you can. Survival in the void doesn’t hold onto much - every bit of aid counts.”

“ ‘sides. I’m not the superstitious type that thinks it’s conducive to souls drifting forever in limbo, but it’s not right to leave injured people out voidside. Your life shouldn’t end in the cold dead space between stars… even if I don’t think you were anywhere close to kicking the bucket.” Krigg added after a pause, snappily turning around and pittering away from view, affixing her own end of the radio to the collar of her jacket.

A minute or two later, a voice crackled from Duo’s own receptor. “Yep, works just fine!“

[cometofjustice]

Painful memories subtly flashed across Duo's eyes.

A time he was backstabbed by someone he tried to help... a time when he took a severe wound to protect someone, only for them to be yanked away and for him to be spat on and scorned while he laid there bleeding... the first time he held the hand of a dying man he was too late to save... Those were the moments that had pierced his heart.

"...Yes." Came his small reply, his optics now downcast and unfocused.

"Z... Let me tell you something." He began quietly. "...Sometimes... Doing what's right can be painful. Sometimes people will turn against you, and only reward your efforts with cruelty. But... never let it make you regret the lives you have saved... Fight only for Justice...not for repayment."

"...Do you understand?" He added, his expression unchanging.

(had a bit of trouble finding your ask box for a second there, lol)

Hey Duo-san, have you listened to this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNLVDRF5Yjg

(if you don't trust me and don't want to click the link, then you can look up "Stuff we did-married life(1hour slowed with rain))

*duo turns to face Z and just sees his face filled with golden tears*

It-it's pretty good! *trying really hard not to cry* it's a great piano piece!

As Duo listened to the song, the gentle piano and the pitter of rainfall gave him a feeling of tranquility. He momentarily considered taking a recording so he could keep it in his ship's music library.

But... when he had glanced back at Z, he nearly took a double-take upon seeing his tearstained face and high emotional aura.

"It is..." Duo replied softly. Although his voice was calm, his maroon optics were full of concern. He briefly looked around for something, before producing a hankie.

"...Here. Dry your tears with this." He said, offering it to Z.

[cometofjustice]

I haven't found a way to add this to Duo's bio yet, but I imagined that he kinda follows a certain 'diet.' Though... it's actually more of priority list of things he can use as energy sources. It would go something like this:

Solar light

Liquid energy

Liquid fuel

Solid fuel

Powdered refined ore

Powdered raw ore

Anything classified as "fruit" or "nectar"

Humane animal extracts (such as milk or honey)

Dead plant matter

Other dead organic matter

Dead animal flesh

Some other notes:

One thing that his kind are strictly forbidden from eating under any circumstance are the bodies of sapient beings - even if said body happens to be made from a material on this list.

I wasn't sure how to convey this in the list, but Duo only kills organisms for food as a last resort. It'd take some really specific circumstances to get him to that point though, since he can get solar light just about anywhere.

Duo has to specifically consume ore in powdered form since his jaws and teeth aren't actually strong enough to crush it up. He pulverizes the ore with his fist before washing it down with a liquid.

Peaches are one of Duo's favorite Earth-fruits. Whenever he's done eating, he tries to plant the pits in a good place if circumstances allow. He does the same for any other fruit he may eat too.

[cometofjustice]

Duo caught Z, and allowed the hankie he had offered to slip from his fingers.

He gazed down at him in surprise for a second, before gently wrapping his arms around him in return. He patted him on the back to try and console him.

(had a bit of trouble finding your ask box for a second there, lol)

Hey Duo-san, have you listened to this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNLVDRF5Yjg

(if you don't trust me and don't want to click the link, then you can look up "Stuff we did-married life(1hour slowed with rain))

*duo turns to face Z and just sees his face filled with golden tears*

It-it's pretty good! *trying really hard not to cry* it's a great piano piece!

As Duo listened to the song, the gentle piano and the pitter of rainfall gave him a feeling of tranquility. He momentarily considered taking a recording so he could keep it in his ship's music library.

But... when he had glanced back at Z, he nearly took a double-take upon seeing his tearstained face and high emotional aura.

"It is..." Duo replied softly. Although his voice was calm, his maroon optics were full of concern. He briefly looked around for something, before producing a hankie.

"...Here. Dry your tears with this." He said, offering it to Z.

[cometofjustice]

Decided to try making Duo in The Sims 3.

He's still a WIP (and admittedly a bit cursed), but I really did not expect to get anywhere at all with this. XD

Normally I try to aim for more realism with my sims, but I decided to take advantage of the fact that he's not from Earth to give him some unusual colors. Once I turn him loose on the sim world, I may use mods to try and give him some alien DNA so that he'll be able to use his psychic powers. Though... I'll have to remove the black-eyes effect from him every time I start up the game using NRAAS.

I originally thought of making his lifetime wish to become an international super spy (which is the highest level in the Law enforcement branch), but the game also suggested the Firefighter career too. I might go with that one instead since I've never had a firefighter sim before.

I might keep him single since he really tries not to form romantic relationships in my verse, but that's only to protect the people he cares about rather than his personal preferences. But... In the sim world he would have a much more stable living situation (with NO Evil Energy), so... maybe he actually could settle down with someone. But... would he want to? 🤔 Either way, it wouldn't be a priority of his.

[cometofjustice]

(had a bit of trouble finding your ask box for a second there, lol)

Hey Duo-san, have you listened to this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNLVDRF5Yjg

(if you don't trust me and don't want to click the link, then you can look up "Stuff we did-married life(1hour slowed with rain))

*duo turns to face Z and just sees his face filled with golden tears*

It-it's pretty good! *trying really hard not to cry* it's a great piano piece!

As Duo listened to the song, the gentle piano and the pitter of rainfall gave him a feeling of tranquility. He momentarily considered taking a recording so he could keep it in his ship's music library.

But... when he had glanced back at Z, he nearly took a double-take upon seeing his tearstained face and high emotional aura.

"It is..." Duo replied softly. Although his voice was calm, his maroon optics were full of concern. He briefly looked around for something, before producing a hankie.

"...Here. Dry your tears with this." He said, offering it to Z.