#Bot Framework

[lordichamo]

SO UH. ITS REALLY FUN TO DESIGN/REDESIGN BOTS.

Design Notes (WARNING. LONG AS HELL)

General note: if im givin em (slight) digitigrade legs im givin em a tail. for balance. and for funsies.

Daigo (M-DIG)

its his stupid lil jacket

to differentiate him from fishiki (both predominately white/monochrome bots) only his upper half is white. again. jacket...

platforms. #shortkingdaigo

slightly wider waist (still. snatched as hell. bc the bots look like that)

Mine (M-MIN)

kirin influence

rgg can pry his red/brown/gold color palette out of my cold dead hands.

pretty sure the lil fur tuft on his tail is real fur.

congrats! you programmed a robot that can experience love! unfortunately this means that he & his bf are going to be Insufferable

Has the gunshot wounds Mine sustained on The Ruff

ALT: he uhm. he fell.

Ryuji (M-RYJ)

BIG FUCKIN DRAGON !!!!!!!!!

added in the black from his coat trim. + the other colors are a combo of his suit + the one dragon from the strength tarot.

also wider waist than default

Has the gunshot wounds Ryuji sustained in the finale

ALT: i think they just . gave him a random spare part arm HJGHKWEHTLEW it doesnt even match w/ his colors..... doesnt even turn into a gun either booo

Nishiki (M-NSK)

hes fish !! i was allllmost considering giving him a fancy lil tail fin thingy but mrrr. nah.

again . lots of focus on differentiating him & daigo. adding more colors n shit helps

if u look reeeeal close in the midsection the uhh. black section has a real faint y0 shirt design.

shortest of the 4 if you don't account for Daigo's platforms.

ALT: i had to look up. so many burnt out cars. anyway. he exploded.

Kiryu

dragon elements but more normal abt it. he doesn't care as much as ryuji (who is. #1 territorial dragonposter rep)

bulkyyy. his legs are the closest to what the actual canon bots have???

Akiyama

bird but also catboy. stray cat strut......

first robot to experience the effects of smoking (outdated)

the lil gold accents come from his lil necklace

Saejima

yes the fur pauldrons are real fur. scritching him....

obligatory tigerposting. this does mean he's SO patterns though.

Tanimura

this guy's got turtle shells. rounding out the whole 4 gods motif

otherwise. pretty standard design. shortest of the 4. etc.

Masato

a lil busted to hell n back

most exposed wiring

most snatched waist of the bots

Cancelled Governor Ryo Aoki

literally just repurposed the masato bot lmfao

anything pure blue was entirely replaced, otherwise they just kinda sorta. painted over. lmao.

bulkier replacement legs since support was an issue

[maestriadosnegocios]

5 Melhores Alternativas ao Chat GPT

Vamos te apresentar as 5 melhores alternativas ao Chat GPT

1 - Dialogflow O Dialogflow, anteriormente conhecido como API.AI, é uma das plataformas de chatbot mais populares do mercado.

É propriedade do Google e oferece uma ampla gama de recursos, incluindo reconhecimento de voz, análise de sentimentos e suporte multilíngue.

2 - IBM Watson Assistant O IBM Watson Assistant é uma plataforma de chatbot desenvolvida pela IBM.

É um dos chatbots mais sofisticados do mercado e oferece uma ampla gama de recursos, incluindo reconhecimento de voz, análise de sentimentos e suporte multilíngue.

3 - Amazon Lex O Amazon Lex é uma plataforma de chatbot desenvolvida pela Amazon.

Ele vem com uma ampla gama de recursos, incluindo reconhecimento de voz, análise de sentimentos e suporte multilíngue.

4 - Microsoft Bot Framework O Microsoft Bot Framework é uma plataforma de chatbot desenvolvida pela Microsoft.

É uma das plataformas mais populares no mercado e oferece uma ampla gama de recursos, incluindo reconhecimento de voz, análise de sentimentos e suporte multilíngue.

5 - Wit.ai O Wit.ai é uma plataforma de chatbot desenvolvida pelo Facebook.

Ele vem com uma ampla gama de recursos, incluindo reconhecimento de voz, análise de sentimentos e suporte multilíngue.

Uma das principais vantagens do Wit.ai é que ele é gratuito para uso pessoal e empresarial.

Algumas outras coisas a serem consideradas incluem:

1 - Escalabilidade: a plataforma deve ser capaz de lidar com um grande volume de tráfego e solicitações. 2 - Segurança: a plataforma deve ser segura e capaz de proteger informações confidenciais dos usuários. 3 - Suporte: a plataforma deve ter um bom suporte técnico para ajudar em caso de problemas.

Uma ressalva importante:

Ao escolher uma plataforma, é importante considerar suas necessidades específicas e comparar as opções disponíveis para encontrar a melhor solução para sua empresa ou projeto.

Além disso, é importante lembrar que a tecnologia de chatbot e assistente virtual está em constante evolução, e novas opções podem surgir no futuro.

Conclusão

Independentemente da escolha da plataforma, é fundamental garantir que o chatbot ou assistente virtual esteja adequadamente treinado e personalizado para atender às necessidades do seu público-alvo.

Com uma abordagem estratégica e bem planejada, as plataformas de chatbot e assistente virtual podem ser uma ferramenta valiosa para melhorar a experiência do cliente e aumentar a eficiência dos negócios.

Bem pessoal, esperamos que este Post tenha sido útil para você e te ajudar a usar ou escolher dentre as 5 Alternativas ao Chat GPT

Você pode encontrar muitos outros Posts semelhantes a este clicando no link: https://www.maestriadosnegocios.blog.br

[nnctales]

Construction Contracts: Types and Special Contracts

What is a Contract? A contract is a legally binding agreement enforceable by law, typically involving the execution of work, supply of materials, or performance of services. Essential elements include a mutual agreement and enforceability by law. It creates obligations, defining rights acquired through acts or forbearances. Not all agreements are legally enforceable; for instance, recreational…

[randofics]

Being able to reach where the bots can't

The men on base couldn't pull something out of Optimus's engine block. It was deep inside, wedged in the cables and framework. Without thinking, you offered to try removing it. They stepped aside, and you slipped underneath Optimus's bumper. The men watched incredulously as your body disappeared inside the engine space. You wriggled between the frame and the giant engine with a small light clenched in your teeth.

Your body pressed into the warm metal around you as you searched. When you spotted the offending piece of debris. You ever so gently twisted and coaxed it out of where it had been wedged. You felt him shake around you when it popped free. Dropping it to the concrete below with a clang, you wriggled your way out. Your clothes and hands had stripes of smudged grease and other remnants of vehicle fluids all over.

You popped your back after you slid out from under him and patted his hood. "Good to go, Optimus."

He'd never admit it, but having you pressed against the inside of his engine space felt... well, it made him feel things, to say the least. He thanked you, of course. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, but the thoughts running through his processor would've made him blush if he were able to.

-------

Crosshairs could feel that something was off as he moved. Almost like when humans get a stitch or muscle cramp. You noticed him moving to try and free whatever may be stuck or out of place. "Hey, Cross you, alright?" He looked up as he was feeling under his chest panels. "Something feels off, but I can't tell what or where it is."

"Can you transform? Maybe I can find it." He did as asked, transforming. "Where can you feel it in this form?"

"My engine space as far as I can tell." He pops his hood, and with a small flashlight, you look over parts of his engine block that are visible but can't see anything out of place. You lean over the side, looking between the frame and block. Something blue catches your eye, and you bend over, slipping your hand into the small gap. You feel Something wet and remove your arm to look at your fingers. Drops of blue enerjon color your skin and you hiss. "Looks like something cut one of your cables. Not all the way through, but you are leaking some enerjon. I can help stop the bleeding with some electrical tape if you want?"

"Please do. It can take a while for cables to seal on their own." You grabbed the electrical tape and practically climbed into his engine to reach the cable deep inside. Your chest and face were pressed into his engine so you could reach. As gently as you could, you wrapped up the leaking cable. Pushing up into a sitting position on your knees, you breathed a sigh of relief. "Just come get me when it feels like it's sealed up."

You closed his hood and walked back to do whatever you'd been doing beforehand. He watched your hips sway as you left. The feeling of your hands on his cables and block lingered long after you left, and he couldn't help the shiver that ran down his back strut.

-------

Bumblebee could've sworn he felt something in his undercarriage as he was driving with you to run an errand. When he ran over a bump, it stuck him like a thorn. He spoke his concerns over the radio, and you offered to take a look when you got back to base.

Later, you had him drive up onto a pair of car ramps. With his undercarriage exposed, you slid underneath him to search for anything that could be problematic. Nothing in his front half stuck out to you, so you slid further back, and almost at his rear axel, you spotted something shiny and out of place. It was lodged in the crack around his gas tank. "Bee, I found it! I'll try to pull it free, but you can't move, ok?" A beep and wirr was all you got in response, so you took it as an ok.

Lightly, you touch the underside of his tank, and he shakes at the contact. Your other hand grips the edge of the metal object and gives it a light tug. It shifts a bit but doesn't pop free. With more force, you tug and wiggle the piece, and it pops free. Bee jumps an inch but stays on the ramps, and you slide out from under him. A deep male voice from an old show speaks over his radio. "Thank you, love, you're a life saver!"

You give him a pat on the hood and examine the metal in your hand. "Looks like a piece of tin roofing. Good thing it didn't cut any cables or your tires."

The feeling of your hands on his undercarriage stayed for a while after you left. He wondered what it would be like to have you wash him by hand rather than going through the wash station at the base.

-------

Ratchet lost an important piece of the machine he was working on in a crack just small enough that his didgets couldn't slip through. He would've had Arcee help him, but she was still out on patrol. He looked over to you, sleeping on the couch. You were the only human on base at the moment, and he really needed that piece. Reluctantly, he walked over to the raised platform and called your name a few times.

You stirred and turned over to sleepily look at him. "Mmh, I'm up. What is it?" You stretch and yawn while still laying down. "I apologize for waking you, but I need your assistance with something." Standing you rub your eyes to clear them. He takes you in his servos and places you on the floor before the gap in the wall. Looking up at him questioningly, he finally tells you what's going on.

With him shining a light into the gap, you slip through all the way till your wide hips stop you from going further. The piece is thankfully within reach, and you just have to angle yourself to grab it. Your rear stuck out in full view, and he tried looking away, but his gaze kept slipping back to you as you reached for the object.

When you stood up holding the object in hand, he picked you up and placed you on the platform again. He thanked you but couldn't look you in the eye. You smiled up at him, none the wiser of the thoughts running through his processor.

[tinydefector]

hello, can you do, Yandere Cyclonus x Cybertronian reader x Yandere Tailgate, where the three are conjux endura, and Cyclonus and Tailgate try to get the reader pregnant, Kink breeding

Sparking grounds

Cyclonus x Cybertronian reader x Tailgate

Work count: 1.2k

Warnings: smut, hand jobs, breeding kink, possessive partners

Cyclonus masterlist

Tailgate masterlist

_____________

Soft optics linger on both Tailgate and Cyclonus as the Two Bots block the door. "Hello, sweetsparks, what are you both up to?" They ask while subtly while trying to sneak past them. Red optics narrowed dangerously upon their form. Cyclonus growled low as Tailgate paced the threshold of the room, his own optics lingering on their Conjunx. 

When they try to make a bolt for the door, Cyclonus is the one to grab them by the waist lifting and spinning them to face Tailgate "Escaping our chambers after repeated warnings was poor judgement, Conjunx." Cyclonus grumbles against the back of their helm. He massagea the cabling and joints between their  plating with gentle digits. "You know you shouldn't be up yet," he whispers.

 Tailgate chirped in agreement, servos moving to grip their hip plating as he pressed up against them, pinning the bot between the Seeker and Minibot. "We only you at your best, sweetspark! Your well-being is very important. Carrying will tax your frame, so you must rest. " His visor brightened beseechingly above his faceplate. 

Both bots' servos greedily press against their carrier chamber, pushing and pulling against the framework of their body, earning small whines from them. Cyclonus loomed over their pliant form, scarlet optics afire. "You will return to berth now," he commanded, field surrounding them. Tailgate twittered anxiously as he massaged their frame. "Please, sweetspark. We can have you straining yourself." His field meshed protectively with Cyclonus."The Decepticon rumbled in approval, brushing kisses upon their supple lip plating as he tilted their helm back to meet him. "We can't have you wandering while we wait for your chamber to take." He purrs against their lips. 

They nearly moan out as Tailgate begins grinding against their interface panel. "Boys, as much as I'd love to stay in berth all day, I need to fuel, I also need to stretch, i cant stay in berth all day for days on end" they whine while pressing a soft kiss to Tailgate's helm. They nearly squeal when Cyclonus grabs them. A whine leaves them as Cyclonus nips at their neck cabling. The two mech move to place their Conjunx on the berth. They giggle as the two bots press against their body. A soft moan leaves their lips as Cyclonus and Tailgate lock them between theirs bodies. 

Interface panel snapping open for the two mechs leaking a mix of lubricant and a mix of transfluid from all three. Tailgate's digits delve in quickly running over the nodes of their valve and across their leaking spike. They arch into his touch as moans begin to fall from their lips. A deep Rumble leaves Cyclonus, low in approval, he nipped fierce affection upon supple cabling under plating, grinding his own interface panel against their form. His protocols shrieked triumph as they lay in submission between them. Tailgate nuzzling sweet nothings against feverish armour as his digits sink into the dripping heat of their valve.

 "There there, no more fretful wandering, sweetspark, let us fill you full again," he soothed, tracing delicate seams in soft promise of another session of breeding. Cyclonus rolled his prominent array flush to pulsing panels, talons holding them steady. "We shall fuel and exercise your frame together, as is proper as your Conjunx's," he vowed, thick cable pressurizing to blunt heat against weeping seals. Tailgate hums in agreement, spike surging thick readiness at the addictive scents of his aroused partners.

Cries leave them as bot mechs press their rigid lengths in. Tailgate kissed away the choked cries as the two thrust in slowly, locking their forms together. He peppers kisses across their form, worshipping every paint speck, dint and scratch across their frame. "Will make such a good carrier for us," he calls out. Deep whines leave them as they both sink into their valve, body clenching tightly around their spikes. Their own spike rubs against Tailgate's tanks with each deep thrust from their lover's. Their head leans back into Cyclonus' shoulder plating.

 A shuddering cry spilled from overwhelmed lips from the bot pinned helplessly between Tailgate and Cyclonus' relentless efforts. Cyclonus snarled fierce approval into heaving necklines, increasing merciless tempo, grinding deeply into their valve. His taloned hands massaged rapid nodes of their spike, smeering transfluid across Tailgate's midsection, twisting and tugging against their spike as Tailgate's digits work the nodes of thier valve, dancing across them and playing them like he is the only one who knows how to make them sing.Their twitching spikehead spurts bright pink fluid against clenched abdominal cables in sensual counterpoint swelling rapture beyond bearing. Their valve clenching desperately tried to milk them both for every drop as they rut into them.

"Overload for us, sweet carrier," Cyclonus commanded against kiss-bruised lips, surging rigid pistons to nestle against hidden nodes, their vision fading from pleasure as their visual system shuts down. Tailgate keened agreement, frame cantering needfully into them. "Our carrier, going to swell you with our sparkling, our  Conjunx," he moans out against their lipsWhen shattering ecstasy claimed them with sinful sob, the two mech drank in their shuttering form with violent greed, both picking up their pace, slamming into the bot pinned between them. More moans and whines fall from their lips as they arch into their lovers' touch. They cup Tailgate's helm kissing him deeply. They groan loudly as they grind back into Cyclonus. "Primus, please," they whine out loudly as the two mech continue rutting into them. " Cyclonus,  Tailgate, please." they cry out, face pressing into Tailgate's shoulder, their overload hits hard. 

Transfluid gushes from them as they continue to buck against both seeker and minibot. Cyclonus lets out a snarl as he snaps his hips a few more times before burning himself to the hilt. He eagerly overloads within them, painting their chamber with his release. Tailgate follows quickly, mumbling about how beautiful of a carrier their sweet Conjunx will be. The three bots lay together on the berth, venting heavily as they press closer together. Neither Cyclonus nor Tailgate pull away, keeping their lover plugged and full with their transfluid. "Don't move," Cyclonus growled against their audial processor.

Little whines leave them, but they settle against him as Tailgate peppers kisses across their face. "So good for us, Sweetspark, going to have you sparked soon enough" he coos. "You two aren't planning on letting out of berth, are you?" They whine loudly in playful annoyance. It earns another growl from Cyclonus and a small smack to their backside from Tailgate. "No moving, we have to make sure you're nice and full," he states. They sigh softly but snuggle into their Conjunx's recharge, slowly catching up to them after their third round of interfacing that cycle.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi! You have a really cool blog and have been getting me into indie RPGs, so firstly just thanks :) But anyway, any RPGs that could work well in a play-by-post format, even if you'd need to homebrew or hack it a little? Online friends on the other side of the world are a beast.

THEME: Play-by-Post.

Hello friend! So I haven’t done a lot of play-by-post games, but I’ve tried it out once or twice. I think in many cases, you might not even need a ttrpg in order to do online roleplay; I’ve played in Star Wars pbp that used the FFG system, but I’ve also seen Star Wars forums that are completely text-based and host their own wikis on information that’s been established in their world to keep track of what's happened so far.

That being said, I can understand having a framework to help guide you, especially if you enjoy the structure of traditional ttrpgs. The possibilities of playing these games by post are vast, although I'm noticing that most of the old forums have migrated over to Discord these days - and Discord makes things like rolling dice so easy, so it makes sense!'

If you're converting a ttrpg that uses dice into something that is play-by-post, you'll have a dice-bot, while if you're using a game that has no dice, or is a little more free-form, then that's one less mechanical piece that you'll need to worry about. Other considerations will likely be things like where you put character sheets, whether the game will be organized in a West Marches format or more like a traditional story, and how often players will be expected to write up what they're doing.

All of this is to say that the following recommendations are just the tip of the iceberg, really. Some of these are designed for play-by-post, while others are just games that I've seen out in the wild before.

Lords of Creation, by Five Points Games.

Lords of Creation is a rules-lite cooperative world building game with a focus on the Divine. Players create Divinities and populate a fresh, open world with a focus on myth telling and lore. The game is intended to be played via Play by Post, allowing players to run multiple societies, factions and elements at once.

Five Points Games clarifies in the game text that this game isn’t really their brainchild, but rather the culmination of play-by-post roleplaying on old WOTC forums. It’s a game about divinity and world creation, and each “turn” of the game takes place over the course of a real-time week. I think this gives a lot of time for each player to be involved in each step of the game, as well as providing in-universe ways to manage players who no longer participate, or who need to stop playing for one reason or another. Lords of Creation is also GM-less, allowing everyone to participate in a partial player, partial GM-style role.

Yowl! What A Strange Hotel, by Zargo Games.

Yowl! is a reviewing service that allows customers to rate establishments from 1 to 6 stars and tell the important details of their stay in a handful of paragraphs. This game is about telling the story of a particular establishment, in this case a hotel, through a series of Yowl! reviews. Reviews are from a different perspective each time, and should reveal something interesting and unusual about the hotel. Is there a dark secret that the hotel is hiding, or is something even stranger going on?

Yowl! looks to be designed for a shorter length of play. Together you will create a strange hotel, and then take turns leaving reviews, letting little pieces of information contribute to a larger story-line as you go. I think this is a relatively simple way of playing by post, although it relies mostly on each player’s creativity, as the game doesn’t come with any prompts.

World /Chronicles of Darkness Games (currently published by Onyx Path).

The World of Darkness franchise is a beast, and has been fuelling play-by-post form play for decades. There’s a number of reasons this collection of settings has been so popular.

It’s focused on factions and politics, which means that a large number of people can join in and fill out various political groups and start plenty of drama with each-other. Because the drama is so juicy, dice rolls can fade into the background. (I don’t think that stops you from being able to use it in a small group though!)

It’s got oodles and oodles of lore, but it’s set within the real world, so players can use something like Google Maps to create a fantasy version of a real-life city, and it provides a solid frame of reference.

It’s been around for a long time, which means that there is so much in terms of resources and advice that you can look at, such as the Onyx Path forums, or the WoD Discord Server.

The Chronicles of Darkness games are specifically designed to be cross-compatible. Changelings, Hunters, Vampires, Werewolves and more can all interact in the same universe - as long as the GM is on board with it. Most of the base rules are the same, with some tweaks for each splat, so if you have some players that really want to play a werewolf, while others are more interested in becoming mages, you can combine the two no problem!

Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine, by @jennamoran.

The Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine RPG is a dice-less RPG from Jenna Katerin Moran, author of the well-regarded Nobilis and an important contributor to Eos’ Weapons of the Gods and White Wolf’s Exalted RPG.

Pursue fabulous quests. Progress through Issues. And find a place for yourself in a world of breathtaking beauty.

Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine doesn’t require dice, but rather asks you to role-play through scenes and spend points in line with your character quests. You gain XP for the experiences your character has, the way they interact with other characters, and the steps they take to move towards completing their quest. Because character advancement is dependant on role-play, I think Chuubo’s is a great way to prompt interactions in a play-by-post setting, and character advancement is both a compelling reason for folks to participate and an engine that feeds the storytelling machine.

The rulebook for this game can be a bit of a big read, but there’s a starter adventure included, with pre-built characters to help you get going.

Kids on Brooms and Teens in Space, by Hunters Entertainment.

Kids on Brooms is a collaborative role-playing game about taking on the life of a witch or wizard at a magical school you all attend that uses the “Powered by Kids on Bikes” system, first used in the award winning Kids on Bikes. Kids on Brooms is a rules-light storytelling system that takes you on magical adventures.

Teens in Space is a space opera RPG that uses the “Powered by Kids on Bikes” system. Teens in Space is a rules-light storytelling system that takes you into the cosmos for adventure and profit.

Both of these games use the teen-horror inspired game Kids on Bikes. Since these games rely heavily on polyhedral dice, I think setting up a discord server that also has a dice bot is the way to go with this one. You can choose a character from archetypes provided in the books, or create your own piece-by-piece. Different locations could be represented by different Discord channels, and since these games seem to work really well in regards to mysteries, I think a GM could focus on putting clues in different locations for characters to find, allowing the characters to slowly piece together a mystery over time.

I think Kids on Bikes is a kind of game that is going to require a lot more work to replicate as a play-by-post game than some of the other games on this list, because characters will need to roll dice in order to get things done, and it's best used in a small group. However, one thing I think really works well for these systems is the relationship questions that you roll on to determine how your characters relate to each-other. It gives you a connection right from the get go, and it can give the players something to work with while they're finding their feet.

Belonging Outside Belonging Games.

As a rule, Belonging Outside Belonging games don’t require dice, and as a common feature, BoB games don’t usually require GMs either. Characters are typically organized into playbooks; tropes or classes or collections of abilities that both define characters and make it easier for new players to find their rhythm. These playbooks will come with three categories of abilities: things that you can always do, things that require a token to activate, and things that reward you with a token when you do them. These games also usually include the setting itself as a playbook, or a divided series of responsibilities handed out to each player.

I can imagine a play-by-post form of game moving between descriptive scenes and active scenes, with players alternating between introducing elements of the setting / narrative obstacles; and describing how their characters react to these new events. (I've also seen this kind of thing happen on a Wanderhome server.)

Some Belonging Outside Belonging games that sound interesting to me are Lunar Echoes (a solar punk hack of Wanderhome), Geese at the Beach (chaotic water fowl looking for shines), and Capitalites (urban Asian young people trying to figure out who they are).

I hope you found this useful!

[e-vay]

The Sonnet of Domino & Phlox - Ch2

[A/N: Click here to read the previous chapter. This story is also available to read on AO3]

“Aren’t they something?” an older gentleman asked with a sigh, adjusting the glasses on the edge of his long snout.

Domino continued affixing a spray nozzle to a hose but shifted her eyes in the direction of the shrew’s gaze. “Uhh…” she hesitated, unsure what to make of the orange, mechanical bipeds that stomped down the street. With each weighty step, the ground trembled and rattled the ladder the hedgehog was standing on. “What exactly are they, Mr. Mayor?”

“Our ticket to the future, that’s what!” The politician boasted. “Two months ago this eccentric human rides into town on a floating caravan! He requests a meeting with me, claiming he’s some kind of genius inventor who wants to help this great city reach its full potential,” He adjusted his vest with pride. “That’s when he showed me the blueprints for these beauties.”

Hedgehog and shrew watched as the two large robots paused in the middle of a large patch of untouched earth. With a metallic groan, the crude “hand” of one of the machines retracted into its arm and was replaced with a long drill head. It stiffly bent forwards and began boring into the ground. The bots were impressive but noticeably rough in their assembly, including large clunky bolts and bright orange paint hastily splashed onto the metal framework. The designs didn’t have the polish and finesse that one would normally find on something like a car, but perhaps that was to be expected from a budding inventor. Domino certainly didn’t know any better. Still, something about the eerie “smiley-face” logo that was stamped on each mech didn’t sit right with her…

“He told us these were cutting edge technology, that they would put us centuries ahead of neighboring towns, and golly was he right. They were only delivered a few days ago but they’ve already streamlined our building processes and made huge improvements to the city.” The mayor’s speech was interrupted by the sound of townspeople cheering as the two robots completed their construction – a well with a hand pump – in record time. Young children ran towards the well, heedless of the metal giants, and used the pump to draw up fresh water that they then splashed at one another. 

“Huh…” Domino mused. She returned her attention to the hose in her hand and sprayed a steady stream of water in the freshly cleared gutter that hung along the roof she was leaning against. She tilted her head either way, making sure no drips escaped from the seams of the gutter, before looking down at the rain spout and assuring that the water ran clear without any blockage. Satisfied with her work, she turned off the hose and descended down the ladder. “Gutter’s clean. You should be set for the winter.”

“They might be a little crude now, but with our investment, he promised the models will only get better,” The shrew said more to himself than the girl next to him. “Soon enough there’ll be smaller models, capable of doing just about anything!” He suddenly turned to the girl with a wide smile. “Just think! You’ll never have to be bothered with odd jobs ever again. It’s like he told me: ‘The Botniks are here for you!’”

Domino did her best to force a smile but couldn’t help but rock on her feet from discomfort. Odd jobs were how she got by. What was she meant to do if these “Botniks” started popping up everywhere? Well, best not to fret about it now.

“Um… Mr. Mayor?” the teal hedgehog hinted awkwardly. “I finished clearing the gutters.”

“Ah! Right, your payment!” The shrew took out his wallet and began counting the contents before hesitating with a pained smile. “Uh… You’ll have to forgive me… The salary posted on the job board is… outdated. We used most of the city’s annual budget investing in our ‘little’ robot helpers here so I can only give you half of what was originally offered.”

Domino’s quills bristled. HALF?! She nearly screamed out loud. Gee, would’ve been nice to know that BEFORE I scaled this blasted roof! She bit her tongue and took a deep breath in. This meant she’d need to take on more gigs than planned, and letting loose some snarky remarks to the mayor of all people would definitely get her kicked out of town before she’d made enough money. She forced a tight smile and politely pocketed the payment handed to her. 

“Nooooooo sweat…  If there’s anything else ya need that your big bots are too bulky for, just holler!” 

She turned on her heel before she said something stupid. 

Glancing up at the town clock, Domino’s grimace was quickly replaced with an excited grin. She sprinted towards the city gate with glee. After all, it was difficult to stay glum when she was promised an adventure with a charming purple hedgehog.

—

“Did those ‘very important duties’ of yours involve drinking 8 cups of coffee?” Phlox teased. He briefly took his attention away from the instructions in his notepad to look up, noticing the teal hedgehog jumping from tree to tree above him. 

Domino seated herself onto a branch and swung backwards into a knee hang so she could lock eyes with Phlox. 

“What makes you say that?” she winked. 

Phlox trepidatiously hopped over several large rocks to meet up with the girl who had gotten far ahead of him. “Oh, I don’t know-” he shrugged as he squeezed his way through some dense bushes. “-all the running and leaping about like a grasshopper could have something to do with it!”

Domino giggled. Phlox may have called himself a nature photographer, but it seemed he had the enthusiasm (or lack thereof) of a city dweller. Escaping the city walls and going on an escapade–however small–always filled Domino with energy. She simply couldn’t keep it in! The lady hedgehog laced her fingers behind her head and closed her eyes, swinging casually from the branch as she waited for her hiking partner to catch up. “I’m just in my element. Besides, I’m itchin’ to see this hidden treasure of yours. You need to keep up!”

If her eyes were open, she’d see a devilish spark light up in Phlox’s eyes. He might have been the quiet type, but he was extremely competitive and loved a challenge. He secured his camera tightly to his side and took off in a sprint. Keep up? Oh, he’d show her. 

“Like this?”

Domino’s eyes jolted open as she felt Phlox’s breath tickle her nose. She let out a high pitched squeak upon realizing the guy she thought was several yards away was nose-to-nose with her. The shock made her loosen her grip on the branch and she was in for a quick plummet to the ground. 

“Whoa!” The indigo male threw his arms out and caught her, holding her securely to his chest. He was strong! Of course, her transient lifestyle and meager diet left her on the smaller side, but Phlox held her as if she were weightless. The muscles in his arms were dense and firm against her slight body.

“I didn’t think you’d startle so easily,” he teased.

“Yyyeah, well-” Domino began to excuse herself, but couldn’t find the words. Geez, what was it about this guy that made her so tongue-tied? Sure he was plenty sweet, certainly nicer than most people she’d ever met. And yeah he was good-looking—she couldn’t deny that. Now she noticed how nice he smelled, too; something woody, earthy, almost sweet, like sandalwood. And his fur, so warm and soft…

Her fingers combed through the shaggy, wheat-colored fur of Phlox’s chest, sending a shiver up his entire being. His heartbeat quickened against her fingertips and she swiftly withdrew her hand realizing what she’d done. Domino looked up to find his muzzle as scarlet as hers surely was. “Uh…”

Phlox felt the urge to say something, but his shyness got the better of him. He instead cleared his throat and set the young woman back on her feet. “Sorry for scaring you…”

“Nah,” Domino replied. She twirled the tuft of fur near her cheek bashfully as she ruminated over what just happened. She shouldn’t be getting close to someone like this. Letting someone in only led to betrayal or disappointment. Besides, what did she have to offer him? She had no home, no money. Relax. She reminded herself. It’s okay to have a little fun…

“Besides, you just gave me an opening.”

Phlox’s eyes went wide. With his voice barely above a whisper, he asked, “To do what?” 

“To do… this!” Domino snatched the notepad from Phlox’s hands and bolted away.

“H-HEY!” The boy shouted before swiftly chasing after her. He was not nearly as graceful navigating the woods as she was, especially with a camera slung over his shoulder, but he managed to stay close on her tail. 

Domino cackled over her shoulder. “I thought you said we needed to see this grotto at a certain time of day! So hurry it up! Or are those cool jeans of yours slowin’ ya down?!”

“These pants provide full mobility!” he shouted. The two laughed as they weaved their way through the forest, Domino skimming the instructions in the notepad and leading them the rest of the way to their destination. 

She abruptly stopped in front of a wall of weeping katsura trees and Phlox had to clumsily skid to a halt to keep from crashing into her. Domino looked back and forth between the green palisades and handwritten notes. “I’m pretty sure this is it,” she confirmed. She returned the booklet to Phlox before presenting an arm to the curtain of emerald leaves. “This was your goal. After you.”

Phlox shook his head with a smile. “Together.”

A little taken aback, Domino simply nodded in agreement and squared herself up beside Phlox. Both hedgehogs drew back the partition of leaves and stepped forth.

The grotto was truly a sight to behold. Dozens of large trees stretched and twisted amongst each other as if embracing in a circular huddle, leaving a medium-sized clearing in the center. Fountains of leaves and vines draped about the branches, painting the enclosure every shade of green. Tiny sprigs of yellow and white wildflowers dotted the forest floor, their blooms diminutive and modest but still serving as a beautiful compliment to the rich viridescence of the grass they sprouted from. Silky, golden rays of sunshine poured through the canopy in beams so crisp, they looked as though one could reach out and touch them. The early autumn breeze glided along the treetops and the soft pitter-patter of the leaves tickling each other echoed down into the grove. The willowing trees all made for a perfect shelter, completely cloaking this little slice of heaven from the rest of the world. It was only the two hedgehogs and a sparse flight of fluttering insects that were privy to this space.

Domino’s breath wavered in awe. She silently stepped deeper into the natural arbor and sat down with her knees pulled to her chest. Even though she spent the entirety of her life out on the road, the planet never ceased to amaze her in new and spectacular ways. She folded her arms over her knees and rested her head on them, sighing with a soft smile.

Phlox took a deep breath, letting his lungs expand entirely with the crisp fresh air before releasing it and setting to work on adjusting his camera. As he delicately fiddled with the device, he couldn’t help but notice Domino’s silent reverie in the corner of his eye. His heart filled with pride knowing the young lady seemed just as touched by the setting as he was. He walked over to her, whispering as not to break her daydream.

“This is why the timing was so crucial,” Phlox said softly. “I’m sure this spot is beautiful all the time, but at this exact moment, at this exact time of day? It’s-”

“Heavenly,” Domino concluded. It was true. The sunbeams filtering through the trees managed to diffuse the light to give the space an ethereal glow. Anything that was lucky enough to catch the direct sunlight appeared to have a soft, colorful halo as the light bounced off its surface. Phlox nodded and headed off to document the scene.

Meanwhile, Domino reached forward and let her arm glow in a sunbeam as she let all the worries that normally plagued her mind dissipate. Here in this cove, she didn’t have to concern herself with the upcoming winter. She didn’t have to think about how–or when–she’d find her next meal. Even the looming threat of “Botnik workers” that would soon replace her managed to escape her mind. Right now, she could just be. Her eyes studied every leaf, every blade of grass, every sway of the branches that hung above her head so that even on the bad days, she could look back at this moment and feel peace.

Eventually, her attention shifted to the indigo photographer at work. He walked so carefully and quietly it was as if his boots weren’t even making contact with the ground. At one point, the boy managed to approach a flutter of blue butterflies that didn’t seem phased by his company, shining and dancing in the late-afternoon sun like fairies. She wondered if it was possible to capture the serenity of this moment in a photo. It would be nice to see if he succeeded, but he likely wouldn’t develop his roll of film any time soon. She’d be long gone before those photos would come to light. The thought caused a strange weight in her chest, a sinking feeling she shouldn’t allow herself to feel. She diverted her attention to some of the wildflowers beside her.

Neither were sure how much time passed as they each quietly enjoyed the space, together but individually in their own ways. Once satisfied, Phlox walked over and took a seat next to Domino. “I didn’t get to ask you earlier...” he broke the silence, but his soft, honey-smooth voice was so reposeful it might as well have been part of the ambient melody of the forest.

“Hm?” Domino hummed, looking over to the boy beside her.

“What’s your dream?”

The girl leaned back with her palms behind her and surveyed the shelter of leaves above them as she pondered. Her dream. Such a big question. What should she make up this time? What would impress this guy the most? ‘To conquer a mighty dragon’? ‘To soar among the stars’?

“I want to make a difference,” she found the truth slipping from her lips. She shook her head and shrugged with defeat as if that goal was too ambitious for someone like herself. “Even if I can do just one good thing.”

Her words were so simple but there was such a bitter heaviness to them. Did she really think she was of such little significance? Phlox hardly knew her, yet he sensed something positively great about her. The brief hours spent in her company were already changing him, encouraging him to become more of the person he was striving to be. What or who made her think so little of herself? He wanted to ask, but wisdom told him if he did, she’d likely withdraw even further.

Instead, he placed his hand on hers and gave it a firm squeeze. 

“You will.”

Domino turned to Phlox with a soft gasp. His words sounded so genuine. Oh, how he looked at her, too. The way those green eyes surveyed her made her feel like she was the only thing in the world. It was intimidating. It was exciting.

Though her heartbeat grew louder in her ears, she still managed to pick up a faint assortment of sounds off in the distance. Chattering? Shrieking? She wasn’t sure but it was quickly growing louder. At the same time, she and Phlox looked towards the barrier of trees and noticed the branches and leaves beginning to tremble. Something was rushing through the forest and rapidly making its way towards the grotto. The tops of the trees shook and the roar of what sounded like a crowd was quickly upon them. Domino only briefly saw a flash of color burst through the curtain of leaves before closing her eyes and throwing herself on top of Phlox to shield him from whatever threat found their hiding spot.

The roaring now completely surrounded them, making its way over their heads and echoing all around them in the grotto. Domino tried to flatten herself and Phlox as close to the ground so they wouldn’t be hit. But despite the overwhelming noise, nothing struck them. She heard Phlox gasp. “Minnie, look!”

Domino opened one eye to see Phlox looking skyward, a wondrous smile on his face. She hesitantly turned just enough to peek over her shoulder and gasped as well. Hundreds–no, thousands of colorful birds were flying in mass above the canopy. Despite their numbers, they all moved together in perfect harmony, creating a magnificent, undulating patchwork of color in the sky. Domino rolled onto her back and the two hedgehogs watched in awe. She knew that birds were likely to migrate before the winter months hit, but she never witnessed something quite like this. The setting sunlight shone through their wings as they fluttered above, painting the entirety of the sky with a brilliant rainbow. Just as quickly as they had approached, the last of the birds flew past and the grotto returned to the peaceful silence once again.

Phlox and Domino both blinked. The moment had come and gone so quickly, it was almost as if it didn’t happen at all. They turned to each other, Domino’s head still resting on Phlox’s arm, and at once they both giggled in breathless bewilderment. 

“What are the odds of that?” Domino grinned, placing a hand on her forehead in disbelief.

Phlox smirked confidently. “Right place, right time.”

“Ah yes, your ‘super power’,” the girl rolled her eyes and began to shove herself away. However, Phlox quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight to him. She squealed with laughter and fought against him in protest.

“Don’t mock my talent,” he chuckled while Domino squirmed in his grasp.

“Lemme go, you brute!” The teal hedgehog shoved her palm into Phlox’s face, making him laugh even harder. Still, he held her close.

“Naht ‘til you apahlagizsh,” he muttered under the pressure of her hand. 

Domino removed her palm and leaned in with a playful scowl. “Never.”

Phlox met her smug glare. “Then I’ll never let you go.”

Domino stopped struggling and her smile faltered a bit. She knew he was joking; after all, she started this game, but something about those words… Something inside her wanted them to be true. She enjoyed the feel of his embrace. She wanted him to hold onto her endlessly, and the thought made her curse to herself. ‘Wants’ were stupid, frivolous. Her lifestyle only allowed for ‘needs’: shelter and sustenance.

Domino was beginning to realize that Phlox’s presence caused an entirely different kind of hunger within her.

The male’s chuckles diminished as Domino stared at him quietly. His cheeks and chest grew warm as he suddenly registered just how tightly she was pressed against him. Phlox searched her cyan eyes, wondering what she was thinking. Was she upset? He was inexperienced with flirting; had he gone too far? She wasn’t pulling away, though. Her gaze briefly flickered to his lips and his heart raced faster and his purple fur prickled up. 

“...Do… you realize what that was?” Domino whispered.

Phlox’s eyes widened. Was she asking about his sudden shiver or the display of birds they just witnessed? He hoped it was the latter.

“Uhh… a… murmuration…?” 

“A-K-A…?” she nodded expectantly and a smile began to curl on her lips.

Phlox’s eyelids dropped with realization and he sneered, “Don’t. You. Dare.”

Domino sat up and poked at Phlox’s chest to punctuate her words. “Those were FLOCKS of BIRDS!”

“That’s it!” He went to snatch her again, but Domino was too quick for him this time. She sprinted to the edge of the grotto and giggled while she waited for him. Phlox hurriedly packed up his gear and threw his camera strap over his shoulder. “You’re in for it now!”

The girl squealed and darted away as Phlox chased her all the way back to the village.

—

Domino let out a long yawn after collecting payment from her most recent task. Despite completing her fourth odd-job of the morning, she still found herself struggling to stay awake. Then again, she did have a hard time falling asleep last night…

It wasn’t the cold that kept her awake. No, she was plenty used to sleeping outside in all manner of harsh weather conditions. What kept her up were thoughts about that damn boy. That quiet, dazzling boy. 

She didn’t recognize herself when she was around Phlox. Talking to him either led to embarrassing, truthful slip-ups (she still couldn’t believe she’d told him her “dream.” How stupid!) or left her unable to speak at all! And that stunt she pulled in the grotto to try and save him… What was that?! She’d lived her whole life looking out for herself. Her entire existence was all about self preservation. So why did she throw herself on top of him when she thought they were in danger? Domino was annoyed with how quickly her priorities were shifting. And even more annoyed by how good it felt to care about somebody other than herself for once. 

Tossing and turning over all these thoughts left her with little shut-eye last night. 

An idea came to her suddenly. Perhaps a cold dip would wake her up! Besides, after doing all the dirty jobs that the townspeople didn’t enjoy and the “Botniks” were too clunky to complete, she could use a bath. 

She exited the city and headed downhill. Her years traversing the wilderness trained her to easily find rivers, and after carefully listening for running water and taking note of the ways the trees leaned, she found what she was looking for.

It was a serene creek with blue-green water that was clear enough to see the bottom of the river bed. It would be plenty deep enough for a proper swim. A medium-sized stack of boulders allowed for a steady flow of water to gently trickle down into the larger body of the creek. On days where the weather was more severe, she imagined the waterfall would crash into the river with a thunderous roar. But on this mellow autumn morning, the water was calm and tranquil. 

It made her think of Phlox. 

“Chaos,” she cursed to herself. The Domino she knew would have just shrugged it off and gone about her business. But this new, thoughtful Domino realized this was the exact kind of scene Phlox would love to photograph. The idea of gifting him with this little treasure and seeing the look of excitement on his face was too much to resist. “So much for ‘priorities’ huh?”

She convinced herself that this would be her way of repaying him for the grotto trip yesterday, nothing more. Satisfied with that reasoning, she hurried back to town in hopes to find that photographer that seemed to be making a home in her mind’s eye. It didn’t take long for her to spot him. The young man was sitting under a shade tree, writing in his notepad. Butterflies filled her stomach at the width of his smile upon hearing her call his name. The feeling intensified with how quickly he agreed to go with her. 

“I’m telling ya, you’re gonna make this place THE travel destination once the world sees all your photos. Especially of this spot I found!”

“Had I known you were a location scout, I’d have hired you sooner.”

“You can’t afford me. Heiress, remember?” Domino teased with a wink. “I’m offering you this location on the house.” Phlox laughed his mischievous laugh as he followed the young woman. Once they reached the creek, Domino raised her arms into the air and spun around with a triumphant, “Ta-daaaa~!”

The purple hedgehog placed his hands on his hips and his grin was brighter than the sun. His reaction was even better than she had pictured.

“So, whaddya think?”

“I think,” Phlox chuckled, lowering the camera from his shoulder and placing it on the ground. Domino blinked as he kicked off his boots. “This is going to be so cold!”

“What?” Domino scoffed while Phlox removed his beloved pair of jeans and pried off his gloves. “You’re really gonna jump in there?”

“Like you aren’t?” Phlox raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile plastered on his sandy muzzle. “That’s why you came out here in the first place, right?”

“I-” she scratched her quills and shrugged, “I guess I just took you for the prissy, hot-shower type.”

The boy turned to face the girl while walking backwards and used his fist to make a stabbing motion into his heart. “Minnie, you wound me!” He spun on his heel with a laugh and ran towards the creek before leaping into the air, curling into a spinning ball, and crashing into the water with a mighty splash. 

Just as quickly as he had jumped in, he resurfaced and his voice cracked as he shrieked. “I WAS ᴿᴵGᴴᵀ! SO CₒᴸD!”

“PFFTT!” Domino burst into a fit of laughter, doubling over and holding her stomach. “Gaia! I had no idea your voice could reach that high!”

“Shu-shu-shushhhh up and guh-get in here!” Phlox demanded through chattering teeth. He swam to face the other way so Domino could strip down to her undergarments without him watching. 

Domino shook out her hands to mentally prepare herself for the cold plunge before jumping into the water, wailing. She resurfaced with a gasp. Well, she certainly wasn’t tired anymore. 

“Whu-whu-whyyy duh-duh-did we d-do thissss?!” 

Phlox’s ears were pinned flat to his head. “‘Cuz wuh-we’re young and sssss-stupid!” 

“C-c’mon Young, ssswim with Stupid,” Domino laughed despite her shivering and waved him over to follow her as she began to swim. “The mmmore ya move the w-warmer you’ll be.”

The two hedgehogs made a game of who could swim the fastest from one edge of the creek to the other, and before long they had quickly adjusted to the temperature of the water. It turned out that Phlox was an excellent swimmer, capable of doing laps around Domino. The girl rolled her eyes as he gloated over his many wins.

“Ya know, I think I liked you more when you talked LESS!” She startled him with a tackle and dunked him under water.

He sprang back up and shook off his quills. “You opened this Pandora’s Box, there’s no putting it back now.”

“Oh yeah?” She went for another tackle, but now that he was onto her, he dodged and left her rolling face-first into the water. Domino made several more attempts, but Phlox would either stay so still it was like slamming into a brick wall, or he would use her momentum against her to make her plunge face first into the water. 

Her most recent effort left her clinging to Phlox’s side, trying to push his face into the water with no success. “Grrrrr why won’t you go down?!”

Phlox laughed and pried the girl off him with ease. “I love your enthusiasm. But you won’t beat me in a battle of brawn.” He tapped his temple. “You’ve got to assess the situation and play to your strengths.”

The teal hedgehog let her head fall back and groaned with frustration. “You said it yourself: I’ve got no strength.”

“I meant ‘do what you’re best at,’” Phlox scratched the fluff of his muzzle as he pondered for a moment. His green eyes suddenly lit up and he snapped his fingers. “I know a game we could play!” He swam a distance away to make room between the two hedgehogs. “I’m going to guard this end of the creek. If you get passed me and make it to the bank, you earn a point.”

Domino’s shoulders sank. “You’re the better swimmer and you’re bigger than me. I’m never getting through you.”

Phlox smiled with encouragement. “Assess the situation, Minnie. You’re smaller, but that makes you faster and more slippery. Use that to your advantage to get around me.”

“Hmm,” Domino considered, her pout turning into a genuine smile. “Okay, I’ll give it a shot!”

“But!” Phlox held up a finger. “To prove that I’m not going to just let you win, let’s raise the stakes. If I catch you, you have to answer a question. Truthfully.”

“Pfft,” Domino sputtered. “That’s not much of a reward.”

“It is to me,” Phlox grinned. He stretched his arms out to either side. “Now show me what you’ve got!”

Domino’s eyes twinkled with determination and she rushed forward. She originally tried swimming to the side of Phlox’s reach, but he was able to quickly catch up to her. She panicked at the last minute and tried to charge him, but he caught her and she went limp in his arms in frustration. 

“Next time, don’t give up so fast. There’s still a chance to break free.” Phlox shifted the girl in his arms so he carried her bridal style and swam them back over to Domino’s side of the river. “So, how many siblings do you have?”

“70.” She moped. 

“Hey, I won my prize. The truth. How many do you really have?”

Domino rolled her eyes and shoved herself off him. She muttered quietly, “It’s just me.” Her answer was guarded, but Phlox couldn’t help but pick up the loneliness in her tone. He tried to lighten the mood with his own response as he made his way back to start-position. 

“Wow, the center of attention, huh? We’ve got two litters in my family. 3 brothers and 1 sister. I’m right in the middle.”

“5 guys in one house? I bet the place stinks!” Domino teased, finding her sense of humor again. “Ugh, you have no idea!” Phlox joked and rubbed his nose. “When I first started out on the road, I felt like I could breathe for the first time in my life!” The girl attempted to swim by him again. Phlox grappled for her and though he did briefly get his arms around her, she was able to wiggle through his forearms and kick off his back to propel herself to the creek bank. Domino couldn’t help but dance along the shore at her win. 

“See that’s it!” Phlox threw a fist into the air. “Show me what else you can do. Besides those sick dance moves.”

Domino hurried over to her side again and strategized. She knew he would just keep catching her if she tried to swim around him, and though she could wiggle free, she’d get exhausted in no time. She looked down and noticed how similar the blue-green shade of the water was in comparison to her own fur. 

She squeaked as she was suddenly rushed and held tightly in Phlox’s grip. 

“What the HELL?!” she squirmed. This time he locked her forearms across her chest and she couldn’t wiggle loose. 

“Who said I couldn’t leave my post? You were taking too long and I have questions!” 

Domino slumped against Phlox’s furry chest, defeated. Her voice was monotone, “What is your question, O devilish Phlox?”

“If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

Domino giggled before her eyes went wide. “Ohhh, those hash browns from yesterday!”

“That’s it? Hash browns?” Phlox cocked an eyebrow. Domino shoved off him so he could return to his position. 

“I’m not a picky eater and those were good! Why, what would yours be?”

“Chili. The spicier, the better!” Phlox answered before whispering under his breath, “Hmm. I could learn to make hash browns,” Meanwhile, Domino returned to her plan that she was formulating before she was last captured. She took a deep breath and submerged herself completely underwater. 

“Uh-oh,” Phlox panicked. The only patches of Domino’s fur that weren’t teal blue were her cheeks, stomach, and the inside of her ears, and while she was underwater, she was just about invisible. His eyes searched frantically, trying to figure out which side she would attempt to get around him. He yelped when he felt something brush the undersides of his paws. Once he realized it was Domino swimming below him, it was already too late and she was on his side of the river. 

“HaHA!!” She cheered and shimmied her shoulders in a victory dance. 

“Very clever,” Phlox grinned. “I’m onto you now.”

Their game went on for several more rounds, with Domino taking the lead by a substantial amount. Still, Phlox was determined and managed to get a few more answers out of her before their game was through:

“What’s your biggest pet-peeve?”

“When people are snooty. Get outta here with that crap!”

“Morning-bird or night-owl?”

“Of course you’d ask a ‘bird’ question, ‘Flocks.’ I always start the day bright and early.”

“What’s your favorite thing about yourself?”

“Oiiiii… Hmmm. My resourcefulness.”

“Excellent choice. I’ve never seen anyone wield a roll of tape better than you.”

“And you never will~” 

“Would you ever want to have kids one day?”

She had to think about that one for a moment. Logistically, her lifestyle wouldn’t allow for that kind of thing. It wasn’t responsible. But Phlox did ask her to answer honestly. A soft smile formed on her lips. 

“Yeah. I would.”

Phlox bit the inside of his cheek in hopes to suppress his smile and the blush creeping up his neck.

Domino attempted one more round, but at this point she was drained and Phlox caught her without much struggle. 

“Okay, okay,” she panted and the young man released her. “You win. I’ve had enough.” The girl huffed and puffed, struggling to tread water with the amount of energy she’d exerted. 

The boy chuckled and took her hands into his. “Here, catch your breath.” He was surprised that instead of merely holding onto his hands, Domino pulled herself close to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She rested her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes as she attempted to regulate her breathing.

Phlox was certain she could feel the pounding of his heartbeat, but surprisingly he wasn’t all that ashamed this time. Domino had a way of making him feel excited and calm all at once. It encouraged him to be bolder, braver, more accepting of his quirks. 

“I can tell you wanna ask me another question,” the girl teased. 

“I do,” Phlox admitted, his voice much softer and reserved, like the first time they met. “But it’s not part of the game.”

“C’mon, you caught me so you earned it,” Domino leaned back enough so she could look Phlox eye-to-eye. Her mouth curved up into a smile at how red his face was. “What?”

Be bold. He told himself. Be like her.

“Can I kiss you?”

Domino’s jaw dropped with a soft gasp. Of all the things he could’ve asked, this was the last thing she expected. Before these last two days, nobody even bothered looking her way. Now not only did she have the undivided attention of this dashing young man, but he wanted to kiss her? Phlox could easily have any girl he wanted, so why would he waste his time with somebody like her?

Well, she thought, probably because he doesn’t actually know me. If he did, he’d leave. 

It would be smart to say no. But when would she ever have this opportunity again? She’d be gone by tomorrow, having never kissed a boy. A beautiful, kind, lovely boy.

“…Yes.”

As soon as the word left her lips, Phlox took her face into his hands and kissed her. She was alarmed at how quickly his mouth was on hers considering how shy he’d been just a moment ago, but it was a welcome surprise. Her arms remained wrapped around his neck and she closed her eyes as she returned his kiss. 

Phlox sighed happily into her lips, his thumbs stroking her cheeks as he cupped her face. He’d never kissed anyone before, but from the moment he first laid eyes on this young lady it was all he could think about. She was so unique and adventurous and funny! Oh, how she made him laugh like he was a little kid again. He was generally in good-spirits most of the time, but he hadn’t felt happiness like this for a long while. Being in her company was like floating in the clouds. The kiss broke just briefly as his mouth subconsciously curved into a smile, but he did his best to force it down and match his lips to hers once more. 

One of Phlox’s hands gently combed down Domino’s long cyan quills and that burning hunger flared up in her lower belly once again. His lips were too lovely, his touch too wonderful. This was dangerous. 

Regrettably, Domino broke away and rested her forehead against his as they both attempted to catch their breath. “I’m not so good at multitasking… We should probably get outta the water now,” the lady hedgehog suggested. 

“Yeah, okay,” Phlox chuckled breathlessly. The two swam to the edge of the creek and Domino pulled a towel out from her backpack. She dried herself off as much as possible before tossing it to Phlox while she got dressed. He pulled on his pants and boots then laid in the grass next to the girl and quietly admired the clouds with a smile on his face. 

Domino was grateful for the silence, trying to make sense of all the weird thoughts and feelings swimming around her mind. She knew it was a bad idea to let somebody in like this. The closer Phlox got, the sooner he’d realize what a joke she was. She knew she would need to leave before that happened. So why, why did she feel this constant urge to let him in? She chewed on her lip but silently cursed to herself as she could still taste him. 

“Hey, so…” she started, despite her better judgment. Phlox turned his full attention to her. “I’m no chef, but… I make a pretty good stew. And you said you like chili, so, uh… I was wondering if you’d…” she clapped a hand over her face and sighed. “-If you’d let me make you something. You know, to pay you back for… everything.”

“Pay me back?” Phlox asked, his brows furrowed.

“For breakfast, and the grotto,” she threw her hands into the air, “and all the tactical combat lessons you just gave me!”

“Hey, I did those things because I wanted to. You don’t owe me anything,” he did his best to reassure the girl. He propped his head up with his hand and gave a mischievous smirk. “But if it’s a date you’re suggesting…”

“Chaos,” Domino muttered. Still, she couldn’t help but smile. 

“You have to ask me proper. I’m old-fashioned like that.”

“Ugh,” she rolled her eyes before turning to face the boy who was all but wiggling with anticipation. “Phlox. May I make you dinner? As a date.”

“Yes.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before rolling over to grab his camera. His face was bright red, but his smile was confident as he removed the lens and adjusted the settings. “Now, to capture this little gem you found me!”

Domino packed up her bag before swinging it over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you at the inn you’re staying at, yeah?”

“Okay!” He snapped a few photos. “What’re you up to today?”

Oh, just buying a cheap jacket and a bunch of nonperishables so I don’t starve this winter. Impressive, right?

“More business meetings. I heard the mayor’s a big-time investor. I’m gonna see if he will fund the latest board game I’m developing.”

Phlox slowly lowered the viewfinder from his eyes. Why was she telling stories again? He thought after what just happened… Why couldn’t she just tell him the truth? He closed his eyes and sighed. Who was he to tell her what to do? Besides, it was like he told her: she didn’t owe him anything. All he could do was hope that she’d learn to trust him eventually. 

“Knock ‘em dead, Minnie. I believe in you.”

The girl gave him a playful salute before heading back into town, leaving the boy alone to his thoughts. 

Domino hadn’t even made it to the market before hearing a thunderous crash and the screams of several townspeople. People sprinted away from the townsquare in a panic. The old Domino might have followed their lead and scampered away as well. But over these last couple of days, she found herself evolving. Even more important than self-preservation, she felt a stronger urge growing in her heart: the need to protect. Without hesitation, she raced towards the sound of the commotion.

[CHAPTER 3: Coming Soon]

[A/N: I used the art of Nathan Fowkes as visual inspiration for many of the scenes in this chapter. If you aren't familiar with his work, I highly recommend checking it out!]

[in1-nutshell]

Hello could I have idw windblade x male human in it windblade is first finding out about humans and falls in love with them

Lets go Windblade!

Hope you enjoy!

Windblade falling for Human Buddy

SFW, Platonic, Hinted romance, Human reader

IDW

It was Thundercracker who introduced Windblade to Buddy.

Windblade had gone to Earth in Starscream’s place as something big had popped up and forced him to stay.

Whether there was something that actually came up, Windblade was excited to finally see Earth.

She had seen so many videos and read many data pads on the infamous planet and was ecstatic to finally have a chance to see it with her own optics.

Chromia was less excited than her friend, preferring terrain she knew, but someone had to protect her.

Thundercracker and Buster were the one’s who first welcomed them to the planet when Buddy and Marrissa came in.

Marrissa and Buddy look up at the two new bots. Marrissa: “Welcome to Earth Windblade and Chromia. I am Marrissa and this is Buddy. We will be your human liaison’s during you stay on planet.” Buddy was still looking at the bots. Marrissa nudged Buddy on the side, snapping him out of his trace. Buddy: “Pardon me, I am still new to Cybertronians on the job. As Marrissa said, I am Buddy. If you need anything or have any questions, please feel free to ask.” Windblade: “Buddy, I have a question.” Buddy: “Yes?” Windblade: "Is it true that there are turbo foxes on Earth? I read on the way here that there were.” Chromia and Thundercracker look at her curiously. Not the type of question they thought the City Speaker would ask. Buddy: “We don’t have ‘turbo foxes’ but we do have the smaller organic version of them. Also depending which type—” Windblade: “There’s more than one type?” Buddy: “Yeah, I mean, yes. On Earth we have different types of foxes. If you follow me, I think we rescued an injured one that was caught in a bear trap a couple days ago. If Berny hasn’t released him yet, we can still see the little guy.” Windblade fluttering her wings a bit: “Yes, please!” The jet follows the smaller human happily chatting about the fox. Chromia, Marrissa and Thundercracker: “…” Thundercracker: “You know, that sounds a little like one of the screen writes I have drafted.” Chromia glaring at the human from a distance: “And how does it end.” Thundercracker: “They both fall in love—” Chromia: “Nope.” She marches right behind the pair. Thundercracker: “I bet a tube of wax Windblade falls first.” Marrissa: “Thundercracker! That is highly inappropriate!... Anyways, Buddy already fell for her.”

Chromia was Windblade’s shadow everywhere she went with the human.

She didn’t believe that her friend could fall for someone she just met.

She was smarter than that!

Buddy sensed the hostility coming from Windblade’s companion and tried including her in as many activities as he could.

He had already brought done Windblade’s walls with showing the foxes and some of the more peaceful areas outside the base.

Chromia was a harder challenge, but Buddy was always up for a good challenge.

It came in the form of the indoor racetrack and Cybertronian sized sparring ring.

Buddy was the sole pilot of a prototype mech suit created to help other Cybertronians on Earth if trouble came around.

Apparently sparring was the way to get through to Chromia.

Buddy slamming down on his back in the suit. Windblade and Thundercracker wince at the sound. Chromia walks over his suit. Chromia: “Your form is sloppy and slow.” Buddy: “Yeah, well it’s kinda hard when you’re still getting used to the new framework.” Chromia smirks and offers him her servo. He takes it and lets her pull him up. Chromia: “Despite that, you did manage to get a few good hits.” Buddy: “Is that a compliment I hear?” Chromia: “Please, you’re a decent fighter for a human…maybe we should get a new sparring partner. Windblade get your sword.” Buddy: “What?” Windblade: “What?” Thundercracker and Marrissa: “What?” Buster: “Woof?”

Buddy didn’t stand a chance.

Not that Windblade was a better fighter than he was.

No…

It was that he didn’t want to hurt her, which ultimately lead to him getting his behind slammed on the ground for multiple rounds.

After the ‘fight’ Buddy offered to show them around more places around the base and to see the sunset.

This seemed to be the pattern for the rest of the visit.

Work, sight see, spar, sight see, back to base.

The sight seeing only increased once Marrissa helped Buddy get clearance for certain airspaces.

Windblade had a soft spot for leisure flies around dawn and walks near the bases forested area.

The two were rarely seen apart during the whole visit.

Sadly, the visit had ended too soon for the pair.

Buddy, Marrissa, and Thundercracker waving at the ship as it disappeared out of sight.  Thundercracker: “That was a nice visit. Better without Screamer here.” Buddy: “I will never get how out of the ‘trine’ thing, YOU came out with a semi stable moral compass.” Marrissa: “I second that.” Buddy starts moving to the door. Thundercracker: “You’re not upset that Windblade left, are you?” Buddy blushes a bit before shaking his head. Buddy: “We knew the visit was short Cracker.” Marrissa: “So you aren’t going to miss her?” Buddy: “I didn’t say that. She is a good friend—” Thundercracker fake coughs loudly while Marrissa gave him a knowing smile. Buddy just huffs and walks back to his office desk. PING! Buddy looks down at his tablet to see a message. Windblade: “Can’t wait till I visit again! Miss you already!” Buddy blushes and smiles. Buddy: “Can’t wait either.”

How Buddy was looking at Windblade when she steps out of the ship.

[just-dreaming-marvel]

LEGACY ~ 9

LEGACY MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 1,742ish

Summary: You were taken by Ultron. Vision is born.

Notes: This one is more of a filler chapter. Hope you still enjoy it!

Natasha and Clint honestly thought that they would be verbally assaulted when they returned with the cradle and news that Ultron had kidnapped you. Instead, Tony’s response was even more frightening. He was completely silent. His face was like a blank slate, giving nothing away.

“Tony,” Natasha carefully took a step toward her friend, “we will find her. I promise.”

“You better find her,” Tony’s voice grew louder and angrier with each word, “or else.”

Clint and Natasha quickly went downstairs to find where Ultron had taken you.

“Tony,” Bruce walked over to the man. “Clint and Nat are probably the best to be looking for her. They will find her. We will handle the cradle.”

“If they don’t find her, I will kill them.”

~~~

You groaned as you began becoming conscious. Your head was pounding, mostly due to the hit you had taken. Looking around, you noticed that you were in an old cell in some old base. Ultron was standing outside of it. There were hundreds of Ultron bots being built around him.

“I wasn’t sure you’d wake up,” Ultron admitted. “I hoped you would, I wanted to show you something. I don’t have anyone else.”

“Maybe that’s a sign that you’re on the wrong path,” you grumbled as you pushed yourself to sit up.

Ultron scoffed. “Maybe it’s a sign that everyone else is… I think a lot about meteors, the purity of them. Boom! The end, start again. The world made clean for the new man to rebuild. I was meant to be new. I was meant to be beautiful. The world would’ve looked to the sky and seen hope, seen mercy.”

“They still can.” You stood up. “You can change direction before it’s too late.”

“AH! That’s what you think. Instead of hope and mercy, they’ll look up in horror because of you and your Avengers. You’ve wounded me. I give you full marks for that. But like the man said, ‘What doesn’t kill me–” Suddenly a larger Ultron came up from behind and destroyed the smaller one, “--just makes me stronger.” You backed up against the wall, though there were bars separating you from him. “The same could be said for you… Too bad I’ve decided that you’re not worth it anymore.”

Ultron turned around and walked off. You were slightly relieved that he had decided to leave you alone. Looking around the room, you tried to find something that you could use to somehow get a message to the Tower. There was old radio equipment in the cell. Maybe you could throw something together. You knew that the Team would be looking for you, Tony wouldn’t stop until you were found.

You began to pull apart the equipment and fix it into something new. You were thankful for the time you spent in the lab with Tony, though you felt your ability to do this quickly and accurately had to do with more than just lab time.

Using two wires and an old SHIELD frequency that you somehow knew about, you began sending a message in morse code. You wouldn’t stop until someone was on their way.

~~~

“This framework is not compatible,” Tony stated. 

After sending Nat and Clint off to search for you, he knew it needed to be prepared to fight. He convinced Bruce to place JARVIS, who he had found at Nexus, in the body in the cradle. Whatever Ultron was building, could also be the way to defeat him and bring you home.

“The genetic coding tower’s at ninety seven percent,” Bruce informed. “You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes.”

Suddenly, Steve and the Maximoff twins appeared in the lab.

“I’m gonna say this once,” Steve warned.

“How about ‘nonce’?” Tony retorted.

“Shut it down!”

“Nope, not gonna happen.”

“You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“And you do?” Bruce asked, clearly angry. “She’s not in your head?”

“I know you’re angry—“ Wanda said, stepping up.

“Oh, we’re way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade.”

“Banner,” Steve called, “after everything that’s happened—“

“That’s nothing compared to what’s coming!” Tony argued.

“You don't know what’s in there!” Wanda retorted.

“This isn’t a game,” Steve said.

“Oh, I know it’s not,” Tony’s anger was getting the best of him. “My daughter’s life is not a game.” Guilt was gnawing away at Steve.

“The creature–” Wanda was quickly cut off by Pietro speeding around to destroy the lab equipment.

A shot suddenly came up through the class floor. Clint had shot the bullet, shattering the floor, and causing Pietro to fall through it. Clint and Natasha stepped on his legs, holding him in place.

“Pietro!” Wanda yelled.

“What?” Clint said. “You didn’t see that coming?”

The computers in the lab and the cradle began beeping. 

“I’m rerouting the upload,” Tony said, hurrying to the computers.

Steve threw his shield at the equipment, stopping Tony. Tony threw an arm out, a gauntlet flew into the room and formed around his arm. It charged quickly and he sent a blast Steve’s way, knocking the Captain down. Bruce rushed behind Wanda, holding her in a choke hold.

“Go ahead,” he whispered to her, “piss me off.”

Clint and Natasha rushed up the stairs, guns in hands. Steve jumped up and headed for Tony. There was a sudden crash, causing everyone to look in the direction of it. Thor slid into the lab, jumped onto the cradle, lifted up his hammer, and began to summon lightning. 

“Wait!” Bruce yelled.

With the hammer fuming with lightning, Thor hit the cradle. He stopped as soon as the cradle began beeping. Everyone stood there, waiting for something to happen. The cradle exploded open a few moments later, sending Thor flying backwards and the red-skinned body appeared from the cradle. The body straightened up and flew at Thor. Thor tossed him out of the lab’s glass wall and into the living room. Thor and Steve jumped out behind him.

The body stopped at the main window, hovering. It stared at its own reflection as the others exited the lad and made their way to the main room. Thor set his hammer down and slowly made his way towards the body. It flew down next to Thor, changing its appearance to seem like it was wearing clothes.

“I am sorry,” the body spoke up, sounding like JARVIS. “This was… odd.” He looked at Thor. “Thank you.”

“Thor,” Steve’s authoritative voice rang through the room. “You helped create this?”

“I had a vision,” Thor explained. “A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its center is that.” He pointed to the gem in the man's head.

“What?” Bruce questioned. “The gem?”

“It’s the Mind Stone. It’s one of the six Infinity Stones. The greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities.”

“Then why would you bring—“ Steve started.

“Because Stark is right.” 

“Ooh, it’s definitely the end times,” Bruce muttered.

“The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron.”

“Not alone,” the newly made mad added.

“Why does your vision sound like JARVIS?” Steve asked.

“We… we reconfigured JARVIS’ matrix to create something new,” Tony replied. He walked around the man, studying him carefully. 

“I think I’ve had my fill of new.”

“You think I’m a child of Ultron?” The man asked.

“You’re not?” Natasha asked.

“I’m not Ultron. I’m not JARVIS. I am… I am…”

“I looked in your head and saw annihilation,” the Maximoff girl said, stepping forward. 

“Look again.”

“Yeah,” Clint spoke up. “Her seal of approval means jack to me.”

“Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone,” Thor informed, “and they’re nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side—“

“Is it? Are you? On our side?” Steve questioned.

“I don’t think it’s that simple,” the man stated.

“Well it better get real simple real soon,” Clint warned.

“I am on the side of life. Ultron isn’t, he will end it all.”

“What’s he waiting for?” asked Natasha.

“You.” 

“Where?” Bruce wondered.

“Sokovia,” Clint jumped in.

“He’s got Y/N there too,” Natasha said.

“You found her?” Tony’s attention was quickly drawn to the two assassins. 

“She’s smart. Sent a message through old SHIELD channels.”

“That’s my girl… Wait, old SHIELD channels?”

“It was one we knew that HYDRA had access to.”

“Oh.” Tony was starting to grow concerned about what things your memory was bringing forth.

Bruce brought the attention back onto the new guy, “If we’re wrong about you, if you’re the monster that Ultron made you to be…”

“What will you do?” The man asked. He looked around at the group. “I don’t want to kill Ultron. He’s unique, and he’s in pain. But that pain will roll over the earth. So he must be destroyed. Every form he’s built, every trace of his presence on the net, we have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don’t think I’d know if I were one. I’m not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me.” Then he lifted up Thor’s hammer and offered it to him. “But we need to go.” 

The group stood in shock as Thor took the hammer from him. The man then walked off.

“Right…” Thor nervously said. He walked over and gave Tony a pat on the shoulder. “Well done.”

“Three minutes,” Steve commanded. “Get what you need.”

~~~

Steve, Bruce, and Tony fought themselves at the quinjet, waiting for the others.

“No way we all get through this,” Tony noted. “If even one tin soldier is left standing, we’ve lost. It’s gonna be blood on the floor.”

“I’ve got no plans tomorrow night,” Steve responded with a small smirk.

“I get first crack at the big guy. Iron Man’s the one he’s waiting for.”

“That’s true,” the new guy said, walking past, “he hates you the most.”

“I’ll get Y/N first then I’ll–”

“I’ll go,” Steve said. “I was supposed to watch her. I should bring her back.”

“I’m her father.”

“You are also the one that Ultron’s expecting. This could be a giant trap.”

“Fine. But I swear to God, Rogers, if you don’t bring her back home alive, I will have your head.”

“I’m surprised you don’t already.”

next chapter >

[littlemisstfc]

How The Bayverse Failed Optimus Prime

Hello, hola, こんにちは。

Welp, it’s been eighty four years since I have written a Transformers essay for Tumblr, huh? I do deeply apologize for my months-long hiatus on this funky T app. I was busy being a gaslighting, gatekeeping girlboss in the wilds of the bird app and that funny video app I think the kids call Taki Taki. Huh. What an odd name for an app. 🧐

Wait, what am I talking about? Wait, I remember. Anyways…

Oh, sweet little Bayverse, my dear archnemesis. Everyone and their mothers have the universal opinion of all opinions: the Bayverse is fundamentally flawed. Even if you hold nostalgic opinions about this franchise, by all means more power to you, you cannot deny that it’s a film series that is basically an 12 year old edgelord’s wet dream. Loud, obnoxious, filled with every horrible stereotype of the human race imaginable (from women to people of color to people with common sense), and lacks an understanding of what made Transformers special. If this movie was a person, it would call me a slur. 😭 But that’s a discussion for another day, and I’ve already made a video about the misogyny of the Bayverse if you’re curious. Check that out in your spare time! 👍🏽

In a nutshell, the Bayverse movies are not good, and there’s no better representation of why the movies lack a basic understanding of the franchise it was adapted from than a character that is essentially a childhood icon for many people:

Optimus Prime.

Everyone and their mothers hold a universal opinion that is sadly present: this man is a maniac who basically says, “GIVE ME YOUR HEAD.” However, Imma about to say something that not only caused a flame war when I brought it up a while back on Twitter, but reflects how the portrayal of Optimus in the movies is flawed in insidious ways:

Optimus is the victim of bad character writing as well as the lack of understanding his core personality. Thus, as a result, this resulted in the, “Bayverse Optimus is a psycho phenomenon” that demonized his visible mental health issues. He was a traumatized individual affected by the tragedies he had to endure throughout his entire life, and the movies did not do his hidden character arc justice. Come along with me on this journey of understanding Bayverse Optimus as a person, not as a demonic caricature that is unfortunately common in the fandom.

3, 2, 1, PINGU.

A Tale of a Bot: The Long Road to A Broken Mind

Optimus’ current personality and outlook on life in general is a result of having a life filled with betrayals and tragedy. Having been orphaned at a young age after the Fallen has killed off the lineage of the Primes, he was taken in by Sentinel Prime as a pupil. Having worked with other Autobots in revitalizing Cybertron into a hospitable world, he was selected by Sentinel to lead the Autobots. At the same time, his true heritage was revealed. However, feeling overwhelmed by the responsibilities of his prestigious family history, Optimus turned down Sentinel’s offer. He accepted the responsibility of co-leading Cybertron with his childhood ish friend Megatron, as he is the fair to the latter’s firmness. However, throughout their rule, they clashed multiple times over multiple scenarios such as the arrival of enemy invaders and the discovery of a relic. This was mostly fueled by Megatron’s own resentment and jealousy towards his co leader due to Optimus’ Prime heritage. The boiling point that exploded into war was Megatron and his followers ambushing Prime and his companions while on a trip to Metrotitan. Thus, along with the apparent death of Sentinel through the latter’s ship being shot by Starscream, this drives Optimus in adopting a rage induced mindset towards Megatron. The one he grew up, the one he confided in, the one that he adored so much, the one who has betrayed his trust all for a vain and arrogant quest for the ultimate power. It lays the framework for Optimus’ jaded, yet hopeful outlook on life, something that the movies at least did a job in conveying. It’s also helped by Peter Cullen giving it his all as usual in conveying his sadness buried underneath his stoic demeanor. Thus, along with a few more shenanigans in the comics, this is where the first two movies started.

I appreciate the comics existing, because they took the time to actually develop Optimus’ personality and his mental state as seen in the film series. We see him as a hopeful, naive bot who hopes that one day, Megatron can change his mind and Cybertron will be alive once again. Unfortunately…the one predictable aspect of life is its unpredictability, and god dammit…it reared its ugly head as all hell breaks loose after a certain old bot returned in Dark of The Moon. Dark of The Moon is the true outlier among a sea of mediocrity and awfulness, for the best element it got right: how Sentinel’s betrayal deeply affected Optimus in the long run. This is someone who raised him when he had nothing, someone he deeply loves as a father, someone he trusted whole heartedly. And how does Sentinel repays Optimus’ loyalty and adoration for him in DOTM? Tricking him and the others into leading him to the Allspark, since UH OH he is a Decepticon spy all along, killed the Hit Me With Everything You Got robot, helping Megatron invade Chicago, and planting Seeds in order to revive Cybertron by killing Earth. Optimus saw his mentor going down a path similar to Megatron, which essentially broke his idealistic viewpoint into devastating shards that could never be put together again. I find his confrontation with Sentinel after defeating him in battle very compelling, because you could feel the heartbreak, the anger, and…the disappointment that his mentor is not the the man that he loved as a father. It was Sentinel’s choice to go to the Dark Side, it was Sentinel’s bed to lie on,

Sure, the day was eventually saved in the end. However, everything that Optimus knew and all the people he loved is gone officially. He got his main band of amigos, that’s good. However…he is basically alone in dealing with his thoughts. The universe is a cruel mistress, and it keeps putting our Flamin Hot Cheetos boyo through the ringer.

We get to Age of Extinction, years after the Battle of Chicago. Now on the run thanks to the American government being the American government, he has no one. His friends are also in hiding, Autobots are fugitives in the planet they sought refuge in, and humans are willing to turn him into the authorities. This drives his mental state into something even worse as it is, as years of trauma and stress has finally caught up to him. Like, dude legit needs some weed to soothe his nerves and it is HAUNTING. Reduced to a broken, traumatized man in the safety of a barn, he is left with major trust issues. However, one day, a kind human by the name of Cade Yeagar did the unthinkable: he didn’t turn in Optimus to the authorities. Instead, he chose to repair our Flamin Hot King out of the kindness of his heart once he realizes that Optimus is no ordinary car. Even with the pressures of his family’s financial situation, Cade still chose to help Prime. This is the first step to breaking the first wall of Optimus’ mental state: his trust issues. For a movie infamous for being one of the worst movies in Transformers history, it does a surprisingly excellent job in portraying Optimus’ and Cade’s relationship in a natural progression. They’re both bird of a feather; they’re both tired fathers raising a rebellious teenager while also trying to make it in this crazy ass world. Thus, with Cade still helping him even when his life is in danger multiple times, Optimsu learns to open up to other people for the first time in probably centuries. He reconnects with his teammates, he begins to regain his faith in humanity and the universe, and he opens his spark again to love. By the end of the movie, Cade became the person that Megatron and Sentinel had failed to be, someone who is actually similar to Optimus’ other close friend Elita One. 

Soon, The Last Knight arrived and things got worse for him. Subjected to brutal torture at the hands of Quintessa, who tried to force him to love her as a mother, he reached the breaking point of his sanity. An empty shell of his former self, a representation of everything that he went through, the painful reminder how he felt about himself for so long…true, he was rescued by Cade and regained his grip on sanity in order to save the day. However, it means that he’ll have to carry the scars of the single most traumatic moment of his life so far… honestly, say what you want about The Last Knight. However, through this one hidden gem underneath a pile of mediocrity, lies a character that suffered for so long to find the love and happiness he desperately wanted, that suffered for the liberation of his people, that suffered because his lineage ensures that he couldn’t find happiness possibly for a long time…

But an Autobot has no tears, and therefore he suffers so much more.

So, riddle me this, dear TORB Nation: how does the movie portray a genuinely compelling character arc that reveals another side to Optimus Prime?

BLOWING UP SHIT AND BODIES BODIES BODIES ON THE MOTHERFUCKING FLOOR, AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The movies not only twisted such a character arc into simply nothing more than, “Optimus angy,” but it’s genuinely disgusting that his visible mental issues was thrown under the bus because heaven forbid, we have an emotionally complex protagonist. They don’t understand who Optimus Prime is. Optimus Prime is someone who pushes through his sorrows and chooses to remain a kind person in spite of said trauma. However, the movies twisted his character into another angry badass robot, never highlighting his kindness, It only highlighted his sadness. I cannot believe that Imma about make this comparison (mostly because one of these outcomes is arguably better than Bayverse in all ways), but fuck it. I need to say it:

EVEN MOTHERFUCKING TRANSFORMERS PRIME KNEW TO SHOWCASE THIS VULNERABLE SIDE OF OPTIMUS THAN THE BAYVERSE EVER DID.

Like, TFP Optimus is a pretty brick with no personality trait other than Badass Stoic Optimus that plagued the 2010s. Still, still, still, it made sure to highlight his vulnerability in a respectful and careful manner. Said respectful and caring manner is barely there except for hidden bits from time to time due to the lame ass, “Primes don’t party” logic and moments that personally grind my gears, but that’s a story for another day.

Anyways, my point is that Michael Bay would rather focus on style than substance when he’s not busy terrorizing women. Even if you’re an apologist for him, it resulted in the movies being broken for better or for worse. Mostly worst. Because of the movies being broken, it continues to do an even worse job in The Last Knight, as it focuses on the same stupid shit as usual and throws Optimus under the bus as usual. He isn’t given time to breathe, time to fully flesh out his personality and state of mind in a caring and graceful manner. Like…this honestly upsets me just as much as the disgusting elements of the Bayverse as a whole.

This Optimus Prime is someone who was me when I reached my breaking point in the lowest moments of my life. I understood where he was coming from, I understood his pain and anger because of all the heavy shit he went through. For a long time, he has a special place in my heart as I got older because he represents who I was in a time of my life where I was just as vulnerable and broken as him. So, don’t ya’ll (especially those on Twitter) ever fucking say he is a psycho because to me, that shows the ugly side of your personality. He was me, he was a character that came in a point in my life that helped me through difficulties in my life. He is a character that has the most bastardization of any character I adore in fiction, because of the insidious nature of the movies he was in for a decade. 

Bayverse Optimus Prime is more than the “GIVE ME YOUR FACE” guy. He is a character with hidden LAYERS that is done dirty by the Bayverse movies. I will continue to repeat this statement: He is more than, “GIVE ME YOUR FACE.” 

Conclusion: Why Are Y'all Booing Me? I have a third eye.

I have to put up with this “Bayverse Optimus is a psycho” bullshit for YEARS, I deserve to be a feral gremlin DAMMIT. After a long time of seeing one of my favorite iterations of Optimus Prime be reduced as a funny murder guy by the non Tumblr fandom, because of the Bayverse movies bastardizing his character, I have to put my foot down. If y’all can’t see my viewpoint, that’s fine. However, I’ll continue to be a passionate fan of this Optimus Prime and gatekeep him from the fans who demonize my boyo into nothing but a caricature. He is the big titty goddess in this household with so much more going for him. I’ll never stop to be his ace attorney for as long as I live, because he was someone who was me. Someone who opened the doors to introducing me to one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. He was the light in my darkest hour…

Anyways, good night Tri State Area. Pingu.

[kiragecko]

Trying to learn phonology as a Canadian is HARD.

Phonology is the study of how languages organize sounds. And most of it involves matching the sounds of whatever you're studying to this mental framework of possible sounds that you learn. But since most western teaching methods involve written texts, you have to be able to map those texts to your own dialect, so that the symbols used actually have MEANING.

There isn't a lot of guidelines for mapping things to Canadian English. Most sources tell you it's similar to American English. Sometimes, one or two exceptions will be highlighted.

But, in 15 years, NOBODY HAS EXPLAINED CANADIAN 'A' TO ME.

You see, Canadian English doesn't really HAVE an 'a' sound. We have a spectrum.

'a' before an 'n, m, ng' is pronounced almost the same as the 'e' in 'beg'. [ɛː]

'a' before 'g' is pronounced SLIGHTLY lower [æ̞ə]

'a' in words like 'bat' or 'rack' are even lower, and also farther back. But they can vary wildly between speakers and individual words. [æ~ä¹]

'a' in words like 'palm, father' are pronounced near the back of the mouth, in many speakers identically to the 'o' in 'rock, bot.' (I pronounce them SLIGHTLY differently) [ɑ~ɒ]

and up to 50% of loanword 'a's (like 'façade, lasagna, lava, plaza') are pronounced IN BETWEEN 'bat' and 'palm' (and 'bun') [ä~ɑ~ʌ]

General American has three sounds here, nicely grouped. Charts of English dialects split up 'ham', 'bad', 'lad', 'pass', and 'father'. (Most dialects group these into either 2 or 3 distinct phonemes.)

But in central Canada,where I live, (and which is most likely to use weird in-between sounds), there's no real GROUPS. Everything blends into everything else. Trying to figure out the difference between /ɛ, æ, a, ä, ɐ, ɑ/ was SO HARD.

Anyways, I am very grateful to Charles Boberg for ACTUALLY RESEARCHING CANADIAN ENGLISH. Things make a lot more sense now.

¹ 'ä' is the greyed out 'a' in the picture.

[centrally-unplanned]

On the object level, I do find myself just very frustrated with any AI singularity discourse topics nowadays. Part of this is just age - I think everyone over time runs out of patience with the sort of high-concept, "really makes you think" discussions as their own interests crystallize and you have enough of them that their circularity and lack of purpose becomes clear. Your brain can just "skip to the end" so cleanly because the intermediate steps are all cleverness, no utility, and you know that now.

Part of it is how ridiculous the proposals are - "6 months of AI research pause" like 'AI research' isn't a thing, that is not a category of human activity one can pause. The idea of building out a regulatory framework that defines what that means is itself at minimum a 6 month process. These orgs have legal rights! Does the federal government even have jurisdiction to tell a company what code it can run on servers it owns because of 'x-risk'? Again, your brain can skip to the end; a legal pause on AI research is not happening in the current environment, at all, 0% odds.

And the other part, which I admit my own humility on being not an AI researcher, is that still am not convinced any of these new tools are at all progress towards actual general intelligence because they are completely without agency. It seems very obviously so and the fact that Chat-GPT is not ever going to prompt itself to do things without human input is just handwaved away. The idea that it will ship itself nanomachine recipes and hack Boston Dynamics bots to build them is a fantasy, that isn't how any of this works. There is always some new version of the AI that can do this, but its vaporware, no one is really building it.

Its not shade on the real AI X-risk people, I have heard their arguments, I get it and they are smart and thorough. Its just a topic where every one of their arguments I ever engage with leave me with the feeling that I am reading something not based in reality. Its a feeling that is hard to push through for me.

[microwave-kid]

Saw a post on my dash about Valve not making 3rd entries in game series with Portal as an example of the huge missed opportunity, but I honestly feel like out of every series Portal is the only one that doesn't NEED a sequel. Basically the only major plot-point that wasn't resolved was the Borealis which was meant to play into Half-Life 3, everything else - the state of Rattman, Wheatley being trapped in space, Chell just kinda being left in a corn field, GLaDOS deleting Caroline - they would all just kinda be cheapened immensely by expanding upon them explicitly (I honestly feel like the Portal universe is already experiencing severe Flanderization with all the spin-offs Valve releases to demo their new hardware).

Series like Left 4 Dead and Half-Life ended on cliffhangers, not to mention their core gameplay loops could be wholly expanded upon.

Team Fortress 2 also currently has a narrative cliffhanger and has since January 2017, not to mention that it's been so neglected and overrun with hackers and bots that I'm genuinely shocked that Valve hasn't received a class-action lawsuit considering the game is literally unplayable a significant portion of the time yet they regularly add new microtransactions to buy without ever updating the core game.

Day of Defeat is a cult game and considering its origins as a mod for Half-Life I feel like Valve is really missing an opportunity not creating a Source 2 sequel using Half-Life: Alyx as a framework.

Honestly it would even make more sense to make a Dota 3 even though Valve already updated Dota 2 to use a new engine and all.

Portal is like the only time Valve has EVER decided to make and conclude a series, and while I get that the universe lends itself to expansion that does make it sting a bit when it's the ONLY series they EVER make spin-offs for.

If you're wondering why I didn't mention Counter Strike, that's because a new CS game is actually coming out in a few months. And honestly considering the way Valve titled it they HAVE to be self aware by this point

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

Amidst the ongoing legal jabs from both Twitter and Elon Musk’s legal teams, it becomes pretty easy to lose the narrative. But while media coverage would likely give the impression that Musk is simply trying to weasel out of a $44 billion deal, the two parties’ conflict is actually based on a key issue: Twitter bots.

Twitter has maintained that less than 5% of its users are spam or fake accounts, even in its filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Musk has scoffed at this estimate as the Tesla CEO believes that the number of bots on the social media platform is far higher. An estimate from Dan Woods, the Global Head of Intelligence at F5 and a former FBI special agent specializing in cybersecurity, suggests that Musk’s hunch is spot-on.

In a post on F5’s official website, Woods, who also worked for the CIA as a technical operations officer specializing in cyber operations, estimated that over 80% of Twitter’s accounts are actually bots. Woods was able to come to this conclusion after analyzing the social media platform and its countermeasures against automated accounts.

“When I consider the volume and velocity of automation we’re seeing today, the sophistication of bots that a given set of incentives is likely to attract, and the relative lack of countermeasures I saw in my own research, I can only come to one conclusion: In all likelihood, more than 80% of Twitter accounts are actually bots. This, of course, is my opinion,” Woods wrote.

The former FBI agent noted that bots are generally designed to accomplish a goal. In Twitter’s case, a key goal is to gain followers. More followers mean that an account becomes more influential, which could potentially be a security risk. What’s interesting is that there’s a means to get bots for Twitter, with countless entities offering Twitter accounts, followers, likes, and retweets for a fee. Some are even offered in the dark or deep web.

For research purposes, Woods tried these services on a Twitter account he created. And sure enough, they do work. The former FBI agent paid less than $1,000, but the account has now gained almost 100,000 followers. Woods even tried posting straight gibberish and paying a fee to have his followers retweet it — and they did. With this experience in mind, Woods took his tests further, and the results were pretty damning for Twitter’s anti-bot measures.

“I began to wonder how easy it would be to create a Twitter account using automation. I am not a programmer, but I researched automation frameworks on YouTube and Stack Overflow. Turns out, it’s easy.

“Taking my testing to the next level, over a weekend, I wrote a script that automatically creates Twitter accounts. My rather unsophisticated script was not blocked by any countermeasures. I didn’t try to change my IP address or user agent or do anything to conceal my activities. If it’s that easy for a person with limited skills, imagine how easy it is for an organization of highly skilled, motivated individuals,” Woods wrote.

[niimda]

I've been following some of those plural poll blogs for a little while now. I think it's fun to answer questions, especially ones that make me have to think really hard or consult others. It's a good way to learn about the worlds I inhabit and the people I inhabit them with, but I've been noticing some (if not most) of the questions are almost.. not applicable to us or our experiences. Specifically now: questions that want you to answer as or for the collective.

"Collective favorite [X]", "[Y] that describes everyone", "Collective opinion on [Z]."

While thinking about these questions I realized that it probably feels pretty bad to be expected to be radically different from everyone you share a brain with. That kind of expectation can unintentionally de-legitimize peoples' experiences and make them feel like they aren't "separate enough" to count.

At the same time, we don't have…a collective anything. Even this body is off-limits to at least one person. Trying to make all of us agree on something has made us run into more butting of the heads than anything else in the past six years, and that feels very strange! Being asked to exist cohesively and uniformly causes some of the most upset I've ever seen.

My favorite ice cream flavor is pistachio. Verin likes specifically Quality Dairy's Death by Chocolate. Oliver wants nothing to do with any of it. To answer with a single "collective favorite" would mean disregarding most opinions in favor of one. It's a silly example, and it's true most of the questions tend to be silly and un-serious in nature. So why should we have to fight over whose favorite gets the spotlight?

There are plenty of other common plural-community things that don't apply to us, being a system of less than ten with only one (introverted) introject. We don't tend to subscribe to common frameworks (roles, origin labels, and the shiny new consciousness labels), and microlabels in general just don't seem to have that luster. Being unconventional isn't new to us for many, many reasons.

The polls aren't even really my main concern here. We don't follow many, so it's possible it's just a few of them. But it's not the only context we're expected to present as less individual than we actually are.

The name of the group, Solsten, is neutral at best for more than half of us, but existing without a link to others in the system online is heavily frowned upon. "System tags" are commonly required in Discord servers that have bots for accessibility. Intra-system communication in public is laughable & weird at best, and outright banned at worst. We are expected to be a very single group of people.

We've known about each other for years longer than we've known about the plural community, so I guess it makes sense that we don't fall in with the norms presented here. We're in the age range now where we're "too old" for the youngest members to be comfortable with, and "too young" for the oldest.

The easiest thing for us to do has been to find others through our interests, and we've been very lucky to find three(!!) other systems who we're now very close with. They don't seem to be as interested in alterhumanity as I am, but I think all I can really do is take what I'm given. They listen and allow us as much space as we need to be uniquely and separately ourselves.

This was sort of an aimless ramble from the get-go. I haven't been here long enough to make in-depth critiques of common trends. (It's my understanding that other platforms like Dreamwidth and some personal websites host wonderful content of that variety.) But maybe we should start making all of our coworkers decide if they all had to be one animal what it would be. Even if our coworkers are already strongly and separately wolves, birds, and human beings.