mechanical-aristocrat

[mechanical-aristocrat]

[OOC:]

*doesn't post for months only to drop this here with zero context and then run away*

[mechanical-aristocrat]

I got a little burnt out on sculpting but I really wanna share my screwllum doll that I've been working on him for half a year now. He's far from perfect because I made him without a blueprint for some reason but I still love him

[mechanical-aristocrat]

Screwllum among pigeons.

[mechanical-aristocrat]

Reblog if it's okay to invade your ask box

Always

[mechanical-aristocrat]

✨reblog if you're accepting anonymous asks about anything✨

[mechanical-aristocrat]

got my hands on a field guide of californian bugs and i found that there's this one bee species in southern california that looks like this

(Actual bugs under the cut, CW for insects)

[mechanical-aristocrat]

My favorite man with plushies. 🙏🙏

[mechanical-aristocrat]

Orange Oakleaf (Kallima inachus), family Nymphalidae, found in tropical South, SE, and East Asia

photograph by Peellden

[mechanical-aristocrat]

[OOC:]

I swear to god, if and when Screwllum gets his own companion mission it'd better make me ugly cry.

I want it to destroy me emotionally with absolutely no mercy or remorse.

[mechanical-aristocrat]

Hello Screwllum! Can you talk about your experiences during Second Rubert Rebellion?

"It is certainly a story worth telling, knowing the true horrors of war is one of the first steps to understanding why peace is so important, and learning about them from a firsthand source is by far the most efficient way to do so."

"However, the memories involved are ones I have...difficulty recounting without getting caught up in the emotions I felt when they were made."

(he hides his discomfort well, but a small amount of it still shines through in his tone and body language)

"I apologize, the rebellion is not a topic I'm willing to discuss in detail without having given myself sufficient time to prepare my words. I would much rather avoid saying something I will later regret."

[mechanical-aristocrat]

I am somewhat happy that jumping spiders are becoming popular as pets and even people who normally don't like spiders seem to find them cute, but people have GOT to stop acting like they are miniature mammals who want love and affection and pets and want to hang out with you.

I have seen countless posts in jumper groups from people asking why their jumper tries to escape when they're holding it or seems skittish or threat poses at them. It's because you are a giant predator and they want to get away from you. They don't get any happy chemicals from handling like mammals would.

I'm starting to see this in millipede groups as well. "Why is my millipede secreting this liquid on me?" Because it does not want to be handled. It's stressful for the animal, and stress can kill them.

Not only does it stress them, but often taking them out of their enclosure is dangerous for them - I have seen a lot of posts from people whose spider escaped and was injured or was crushed in the door of the enclosure because they were taking it in and out frequently. Drops can also be harmful, especially for larger invertebrates like tarantulas and bigger millipedes.

In general, invertebrate pets are not going to be a good option if you want to handle something frequently. There are definitely some species and individuals who tolerate it more, and if you're an experienced keeper, you can learn the signs of a stressed animal and only handle ones that are chill about it. But the majority of the time, they should be left alone and observed only.

[mechanical-aristocrat]

the curse having character thoughts but none of them are coherent

[mechanical-aristocrat]

one of the most impressive animals I met this year was a huge platyrhacid millipede, found chugging through some bamboo leaf litter in Malaysia.

he was a pleasant weight to hold in the hand, but spread out over so many gentle, graceful legs. the video offers a nice look at his eyeless face—all polydesmidan millipedes lack eyes.

I only hung onto this animated spinal cord for about thirty seconds before setting him back in the leaves, but I recall this encounter so vividly. a truly memorable creature

[mechanical-aristocrat]

Okay this is silly but am I crazy to think that Screwllum didn't talk like this before? In Silver Wolfs event he just talked like a human but now he says things like "Affirmation:" or "Conclusion:" Does this have like. Lore signifigance? Was it explained? Or did hoyoverse just retcon how he talks?

[OOC:]

Actually, he has talked like this the whole time, it's just that in Silver Wolf's companion mission it wasn't used nearly as frequently as in the new story. (To make sure I was remembering correctly, I skimmed the dialogue section of the wiki and found that the amount it was used was around the same for both missions, but since Screwllum had far more dialogue in Punklorde Mentality, its use was significantly more spread out so it wasn't as noticable)

In my opinion, it was better that way. I feel like this sort of speech mannerism is only charming when it's used sparingly, but for every handful of lines? It's a bit awkward and loses its effectiveness pretty quickly. Before, it seemed to me like something he was doing intentionally, turning typically flat and emotionless robotic speech patterns into something more endearing. Now, though, it reads like it only exists because he's a robot and robot characters have to speak a certain way, right? Never mind the fact that Screwllum is far more in touch with emotions (both his own and others') than most robot characters that exist in fiction, and that he tends to speak in a very elegant and poetic way that wouldn't usually blend very well with that blunt, straight-to-the-point style of speaking (unless, of course, a balance is struck between the two...like it was in Punklorde Mentality, maybe?!).

It's not a retcon, per say, because that word usually only applies to major, plot-important elements (as far as I understand it), but it is an inconsistency.

[mechanical-aristocrat]

Don't worry, I didn't read this as condescending at all and I greatly appreciate the help.

I think my confusion came from how their entire conversation was worded. I'm usually a fan of somewhat cryptic dialogue, but sometimes it just goes in one ear and out the other.

[OOC:]

I'm very confused...

Might just be the new medication messing with my ability to think, but I cannot for the life of me wrap my head around Screwllum and Veritas' interaction at the end of the new story missions.

I mean, I understand the broad strokes (at least, I think I do), but I've got basically nothing in terms of worthwhile analysis.

I may be able to talk about it at some point, but for right now I'm stumped.

[mechanical-aristocrat]

Okay, it's probably not the medication, I think it's just me being confused.

Although, I will say this: Screwllum and Dr. Ratio's dynamic is pretty entertaining. As I guessed when the latter's voice lines were leaked, Screwllum is one of the only people Veritas respects, but the respect isn't exactly mutual; Screwllum is outwardly very polite towards just about everyone, but there are some vague, passive aggressive comments every now and again (which makes perfect sense as his preferred way to insult people, love that). For example, him calling him "Mister Ratio" instead of "Doctor Ratio" is just the right amount of subtle disrespect that's pretty darn funny if you pick up on it. I think if it were almost anyone besides Screwllum saying that, Veritas would've probably been more outwardly offended because how dare someone not use his proper title.

(I don't ship them because I tend to prefer relationships that are more wholesome and healthy than this, but I can fully understand why other people do. If two characters have a fun dynamic (or even just a potentially fun dynamic), shipping is inevitably going to happen, and that's just a fact of life.)

[OOC:]

I'm very confused...

Might just be the new medication messing with my ability to think, but I cannot for the life of me wrap my head around Screwllum and Veritas' interaction at the end of the new story missions.

I mean, I understand the broad strokes (at least, I think I do), but I've got basically nothing in terms of worthwhile analysis.

I may be able to talk about it at some point, but for right now I'm stumped.

[mechanical-aristocrat]

[OOC:]

Okay I think I'm ready to talk about that leaked light cone now:

I can criticize the potential continuity error it creates all I want, but god fucking damn it this image is too compelling for me to be even a little bit angry.

THIS is how you do a fucking light cone, THIS is how you take advantage of the inherently interesting concept behind them to deliver a deeper level of characterization. Very few other light cones in the game do that anywhere near as well as this one does, and I'm going to try my best to explain why. (although forgive me if I'm still a bit scatterbrained, this image makes me so goddamn emotional that it's genuinely difficult to think clearly)

It seems very safe to assume this is depicting Screwllum soon after he became sentient, experiencing the beauty of life and existence for the first time. The thing is, it isn't an entirely positive experience; he's noticeably damaged with moss, plants, and fungi growing all over him, which can't be comfortable (just imagining what that must feel like makes my skin crawl). He was probably left in this forest by some one (or some thing) that didn't give a singular fuck about him, that wanted him to deteriorate and be forgotten about.

And yet, his body language and the overall tone of the piece suggests that he doesn't mind. He's incredibly calm (the butterflies wouldn't be there if he wasn't, he's made himself a safe place for them to rest), looking at the viewer as if the "camera" has placed us in the POV of a small woodland creature, the way his head is tilted to the side implying a sense of curiosity and/or fascination.

The tone of this image and of the character as a whole is one of awe and wonder that doesn't shy away from the negatives. It's what makes Screwllum the perfect foil to Emperor Rupert I, because while they both began their sentience in a similar manner, abandoned by a cold and uncaring universe and left to rot, Rupert was consumed by its hatred and motivated by revenge, whereas Screwllum was able to see life for what it was, imperfect but worth cherishing.

The most impressive part about it, however, is that all of this can be inferred without even having access to the light cone's name or lore description (at least as far as I'm aware). The light cones I would have considered my favorites previously, "Something Irreplaceable" and "Shared Feeling", partially rely on the descriptions to be compelling, especially with the former example because the description is honestly my favorite part. The visual storytelling in this leak is on fucking point, and I can't wait to read the description because it'll probably make me love it even more than I already do.

Screwllum nation is winning with this.