#OC Duster

[sfblah]

The Cleanup Crew - Tactical Maid Service

[Previous Chapter]

Chapter 2 time

Now to meet the rest of the main cast. Things still haven't really gotten tactical yet, but should I finish the third chapter sometime this century I promise this series will actually live up to its name eventually lol.

Female sneezes - Various causes

Operation "Crackers"

Cleanup Cafe. A cafe. With maids. A maid cafe.

And today, with one more maid than before.

Over an hour remains until the cafe opens, but she goes around back to the staff entrance anyway. Her hand stops short of the door handle, and her shoulder-length ponytail sways in the breeze for a moment before she finds her resolve and steps inside. 

The break room is more or less what she expected: a table, a few chairs, a series of lockers, and an outdated computer in the corner. The only thing that might seem out of place in any other cafe is the collection of weapons displayed on one wall. Pistols, rifles, shotguns, and so on, most of which she recognizes from various video games. Her eyes drift across a few empty pegs, and she can only hope she wasn’t supposed to bring her own.

“Ah, Miss Bucket, you’ve arrived.”

A low, calm, and mature voice, but it still startles the maid enough to make her jump. It sounds like the same person she’d spoken to after her assessment, but there’s really no way to be sure. And… ‘Miss Bucket’? She really should have done more to assert that that would not be her nickname.

A tall, proper woman emerges from around the corner, blonde hair in a claw clip updo and clad in a black and white maid outfit. Sharp but tired eyes pierce through the large, circular lenses of her glasses, and Bucket finds herself frozen to the spot.

“Uh. Hi,” she stammers, unable to give even a little wave. Why is she so anxious? She already got the job. Just clock in, collect a paycheck, and…

“Again I’d like to welcome you to The Cleanup Crew. You may call me ‘Kerchief,’ or simply ‘Manager.’ I hope you enjoy your first day with us.”

Bucket fidgets in place.

“Um, yeah. You too. I mean… Yeah.”

“Please don’t be nervous,” commands Kerchief, her flat tone of voice doing little to reassure her new subordinate. “I’m sure you want to meet the rest of the team, but first, I have an assignment for you.”

Bucket gulps. Is this going to be some kind of initiation thing? Something to get blood on her hands and keep her from running off and snitching? Kerchief begins to move away from the weapon wall, and Bucket enjoys a moment of relief before her manager pushes open the door to the kitchen.

“Your first task is to prepare something to eat. It could be a meal, a snack, anything that strikes your fancy. Then, you are to come out to the floor and serve us as if we were your customers. I think that would be a lovely way for you to introduce yourself.”

After Kerchief disappears into the next room, Bucket takes a second to shake out her nervousness, wiggling from her feet all the way to her head. She skips through the door, and… It’s just a kitchen. No command center, no vast collection of weapons. Hardly any euphemisms for murder to be found. For better or worse, the maid has little time to catch up before Kerchief is already on the way out another door.

“We’ll be right through here, Miss Bucket. See you soon.”

“Wait, I…”

And the door swings shut.

Bucket limply lifts her hands and lets them fall back to her sides. Great. Time to navigate this whole-ass restaurant-ass kitchen, because she definitely knows how to do that. Gotta start somewhere, just open a cabinet, any old cabinet.

Seasoning. Condiments. Is salt a condiment?

The pepper grinder lays on its side, along with a sprinkling of that black and gray dust. Bucket frowns and shuts the door, grumpily pressing her fingers across the underside of her nose as she turns away.

Just make something simple. More involved than handing out ketchup packets, but this didn’t exactly seem like a Michelin star operation.

Bucket squats down, checking the cabinets below the counter this time. Her eyes clench shut and she gives her pudgy nose an upward wipe with her palm, still feeling a peppery itch somewhere inside. Then, once she finally has a chance to look… Flour!

Perfect! Flour goes in all kinds of stuff, like bread, and other things made out of bread. Bucket grabs the bag, struggling with its surprising weight for a moment, and slams it down on the counter. She spies a stack of mixing bowls at the other end of the counter, and she slides over the biggest one she can get her hands on. Ready to finally get started, she tears the bag of flour open and begins to pour.

Suddenly, Bucket’s mind and expression both go blank. Flour continues to flow as the maid’s teardrop-shaped nostrils flare and constrict. Like it or not, it seems the pepper is ready to leave.

“ah… ah-ahh…”

The last of the flour falls into the bowl as Bucket’s breathing begins to heave and hitch. The bag wasn’t big enough to completely overfill the bowl, but a veritable mountain of white powder stands before her nonetheless. At least, until…

“aaAAH-CHOOOO!!!”

The hapless maid sneezes up a blizzard that envelops half the kitchen. Her face and clothes above the waist are completely covered in flour, a few clumps falling away as she weakly opens her eyes. She barely has time to realize what happened before her face scrunches up again and she delivers another “haa-CHHHOOO!” into the bowl.

After the second explosion of flour settles, Bucket cringes and cracks one eye open. The blow is softened ever so slightly by the kitchen’s already largely white decor, but the powdery mess is undeniable.

“Oops…” she mumbles, sheepishly rubbing an outstretched index finger back and forth under her nostrils. After a look over her shoulder at the door to the cafe floor, Bucket makes a token effort at brushing herself off as she runs back to the break room. Partway there it occurs to her that she really should be doing this outside, and so she flings herself through the exit door. Maybe she can change into a fresh uniform and pretend none of this ever happened. Just sweep the flour out and then the wind will… Th-the wind will…

“ah-ahh-ahhh-CHOOO!!”

A layer of white bursts away from the maid as she sneezes again. She snuffles and rubs a finger hard under her nose, bending it from side to side. And when she straightens up, Bucket finds salvation gazing upon her from across the street.

Paying no attention to any potential traffic and still blotchy with flour, Bucket flees to the catty-corner convenience store. She clumsily ducks down to hopefully avoid being seen through the cafe’s front window, and a moment later she sneaks her way back with equal care, hugging a tub of premade frosting and a box of club crackers to her chest.

“Um… H-hi, master. Sorry for the wait,” Bucket stammers, finally emerging from the kitchen. One hand holds a plate of frosted cra- Frosted cookies, while the other timidly rubs her nose. Her voice cracks when she sees not one, not two, but three fellow maids seated around a table. One of them is Kerchief, her manager from earlier, but the others are new to her.

On the left is a pale, gloomy maid with a bob of green hair and long, straight bangs that completely cover her face above the cheekbones. Including both eyes. If she even has eyes. And on the right sits a boyish, muscular maid wearing a lopsided smile. Dark skin, short and spiky black hair, and a bandage across the bridge of her long, upturned nose. Both turn to face their new companion, and each gives a little wave. Bucket swallows nervously and resumes her approach.

As she arrives at the table, muscle maid leaps from her chair and rushes over.

“Hey there, Bucket! Pleased to meet’cha!” she exclaims, offering a hard slap on the shoulder. Her other hand flies to the plate and pops a frosted cracker into her mouth.

“Ooh, nice cookies,” she says as she chews. “Sweet and salty’s a good mix. Anyway, call me Duster!” She pauses to swallow. “And this is Mop!” She gestures to the green-haired maid, who ‘looks’ up at Bucket and wordlessly waves again. “Welcome to the team!”

Kerchief, Duster, Mop, and Bucket. What a world. Settling into panic mode autopilot, Bucket deposits her plate on the table and sits in the one vacant chair. Mop and Kerchief each take a cracker of their own, and Bucket feels a massive weight lift from her shoulders when neither offers a complaint.

“What’s your secret ingredient?” Mop suddenly asks, startling Bucket out of her trance. Her lips part, but before she can bullshit an answer, her nostrils decide to respond for her. “Well, I… I… ah… ahh… CHOOOO!!”

[hallowshumour]

Defense mechanism. 💢👊‼️💥

[dust-tastic-1983]

I imagine their dynamic was rather tumultuous during the first few months of their relationship. He chills out after a while.

[theboxfort]

Attacks from the first week of Artfight! (Ignore the fact that I literally just finished the last one an hour ago)

Tags below!

The Feather Dusters @shpexboi @naniac

Loss.jpg @toasterhatesyou @whipedcream

Pytha @/clausilly on twitter

Candy Mass Attack @goldenpaintyaoi @artstrangerous @spaceblobz @looneyballoonie @kuruoze @cactus-zombie @caramelfrappe19 @3zekiiel @flowrr-plant @bunnerscrib-28 @cyancatart @scruffedknife @meowm4il

(People who aren't on tumblr (or at least, I can't find their blogs) artemisII, naxxorus, Paptrisha, waffleccandy, RexTheHusky, ARandomIdiot36, NetherWorks, moon_bloomz, Chambee, Another_Person, oreomint

[coochie-sniffer3000]

@bear-7116 @spicyypitohui2 @kimi2bimi @koterkot @2cypress (TELL ME IF I MISSED YOU!!!!)

I LOVE MAGMA DOT COM!!!! i had a lot of fun doing this it was crazy. highlights include the crucification of duster “nut buster” christ (ft chip and 2 hobos)

[doobidie]

[dromaeo-sauridae]

sum arfurs and a screenshot redraw idk i just need to figure out how to draw bgs

[jetii-mando]

Almost too late for May the 4th, but I made it nonetheless! Everyone meet my Kaminoan OC, Saun Hal, and four of her CC cadets! CC-7238 “Blindside”, CC-6204 “Riptide”, CC-4155 “Doe” and lastly CC-8353 “Duster”!

Anyways this is your local PSA to make and love your Kaminoan OC’s! Cuz they are very fun to make :3

[touteytout]

outfits

[pnkrathian]

The Robo Lucky AU Summary/Masterpost!

I’ve said bits and pieces about this AU before, but I don’t ever think I’ve posted a more comprehensive summary of it here. I wasn’t able to get into EVERY single part of his story because I wanted to keep this relatively short, but this will give the gist of things.

Robo Lucky is the star character of an AU of mine for the video game Mother 3. Currently, he’s my most beloved OC, and my most beloved AU. I’ve split it into three “Acts”.

Act 1

Lucky was created by Porky, dictator of the Nowhere Islands, as a replacement for the real Lucky, Duster’s alter ego, in the world’s most popular band, the DCMC, because of his choice to leave. Robo Lucky’s original form was made to be identical to that of the real Lucky, with the exception of faint robotic seam lines on his face, joints, and other key articulation points on the body that are only noticeable if you happen to look close enough.

His purpose was to watch over the rest of the DCMC in order to keep them in-line, to spread pro-Porky propaganda to the DCMC’s fans, and to eliminate Duster as quickly as possible before the general public could notice anything was up. He is very skilled at mimicking the personality and mannerisms of the real Lucky when he needs to, but his real self comes through when he’s ready to attack. In reality, his personality is completely different from Duster’s. He’s chaotic, he’s irrational, he’s emotional, and he can be more than a bit sadistic. Even though he’s a robot, he actually feels and can show just as much emotion as a human can, and he is fully sentient, unlike some of Porky’s other robots.

When he chooses to attack, you’ll never see him use his legs like Duster does, but you’ll see him use a variety of gadgets coming from inside his robot body instead. Things like saw blades or tasers replacing his hands, flamethrowers and guns coming from his mouth, or a jetpack coming from his back. In all honesty, if you can think of a weird robotic gadget or weapon he could have, he probably has it. He’s meant to be both a very silly and very scary character, to have those horror elements without sacrificing a sense of the Mother series-type humor. He can be a true horror villain at times, but other times, he’s the kind of villain who will sing a catchy song as he tries to stab someone. He’ll almost always be showy or flashy when he has a chance to be. (Although I don’t officially ship him romantically with Duster, he miiiight give Duster a lil homoerotic pin against the wall as well as other similar stuff. As a treat. :3)

As Robo Lucky spends countless times trying to eliminate Duster and his other party members (except for Boney, because in his words: “Who would kill a fucking dog? I have at least SOME standards, asshole!”) and failing, only to be rebuilt stronger but then to fail again, his desire to kill Duster shifts from following his orders to true jealousy and hatred. He begins to resent Duster for being stronger than him even though he was built to be an incredibly powerful killing machine, he resents him for having his friends while he’s still feared, and he resents the fact that he was built to look like him, and therefore he blames his miserable existence on him instead of the scientists who built him.

I cannot stress enough that he is not Duster but “evil”, but a completely different guy who has been forced into a Duster body and forced to pretend to be him, manipulated to believe that eliminating Duster and replacing him is the only way he can achieve happiness, or even a right to exist in the world.

Duster is finally able to “tame” Robo Lucky during their final fight, which happens right after the final DCMC performance in the Empire Pork Building. After fighting with the last of his power, he is finally defeated when Duster is able to kick his head clean off his body. This does not kill him, as he is a robot, but Duster pities him, so instead of destroying him, he takes him, which eventually leads him to follow everyone else into the next world after the final needle is pulled by Lucas.

Act 2

For the next ~2-3 years, Robo Lucky lives as a talking head with Duster and the rest of the DCMC. Now, he’s completely powerless, with none of the gadgets inside his body to help him. He no longer even has his wig, his head is now bare, leaving the clear head casing showcasing his main internal processor underneath. At first, leaving him as a head was a punishment of sorts, to get him to think about the damage he had caused. But gradually, although not without struggle, he realizes that Duster and the others are beginning to care about him, and they are trying to show him that he doesn’t have to go down the path of violence or hatred, that there can be good things in life, that there are people out there who care about him, and that despite his purpose for being built, there is good in his heart, and he can choose to show it and he can chose to figure out who he really is. Eventually, it leads into a whole redemption arc for him where he becomes almost like family to Duster and the others, and eventually, once the others are able to trust him enough, he is able to get a new body built for himself. In addition, Duster also grapples with the fact that even though he did it in self defense, he had taken almost all of Lucky’s physical autonomy away, and begins to feel deeply guilty for his actions. After they both realize the gravity of what they had done to each other, and both regret it, they come to an agreement. When they’re both comfortable enough with each other to be vulnerable, Lucky tells him that he thinks the two of them should be “even” now. Duster suggests that the two of them should start over; to try to move forward, to see each other as people, as equals, as friends. They realize that all the fighting and competition between the two has caused both of them nothing but suffering, and yes, they absolutely have the capacity to get along, against all odds.

Act 3

Robo Lucky was able to design his new body himself, with help from the scientists still left, of course. During his time as a head, he’s learned that replacing Duster isn’t truly what he wants, but instead, he wants a chance to figure out who he really is as an individual.

When he gets his body, he still looks a bit similar to Duster, to avoid having to make him a completely new head, but with a nose that is more pointy than hooked downward; longer, fuller, curlier hair; bigger, brighter, eyes; a softer, younger-looking, less angular face; and facial hair that is thinner above the lips and fuller below them. His body shape is a little more lean and top-heavy than Duster’s (For context, my version of Duster’s body is a bit more on the chubby, pear-shaped side), and he is a bit shorter. In addition, he also takes care of his hygiene better than Duster usually does.

Now, Robo Lucky still does have some of his old personality; he still can be emotional, dramatic, a bit chaotic, and (for lack of a better word) still a bit of a dickhead or a little shit sometimes, he now is also passionate, energetic, goofy, VERY affectionate, and overall, happier than he’s ever been. He now takes joy in entertaining people for what he can do himself, and he has taken quite a liking to singing (and he’s really good at it, too!). Duster has even abandoned the use of “Lucky” as a stage name for himself, choosing to use his real name to the public. Therefore, “Robo Lucky” is free to become the one and only Lucky. According to Duster, it was his name all along.

Of course, Lucky still is far from perfect, but compared to before, he has come miles and miles ahead in self- improvement, and has finally been able to live his life as his true self.

I do have a lot of art from all three Acts that I will post! However, most of the art I do nowadays revolves around Act 3, with Lucky in his true body, figuring himself out and interacting with the other characters around him, mostly Duster. Eventually, he and Duster not only become best friends, but they develop a sort of queerplatonic-type relationship. It's not exactly clearly defined, because having a relationship with a robot who isn't you but was made to look like you but now doesn’t look like you… is definitely not a thing that happens often.

I even do other art and stories with Lucky that goes beyond the realm of Act 3, exploring his extended life after Duster and the other characters he started out with pass on. My ideal personal version of Mother 4 even piggybacks off this AU instead of canon, because honestly, it’s canon in my heart. I plan to write more about it here later, but long story short, it involves Lucky living in a new world, meeting new companions along the way, including *gasp*... a lover?

Pre-redemption/pre-new body Robo Lucky goes by he/him, but post-redemption Lucky goes by both he/him and also sometimes she/her!

[imjackforest]

A complex shot from a film I am slowly making. This took 9 hours to film Dec 7, 2022

[shslivalice]

reminder i carry them with me around :)

[zerointel]

group therapy

[tanalogyosc]

"Do not create a mess, i had just cleaned this place."

Name: Dorothy Heather Object: Feather Duster Gender: Female

A maid of the Custard Manor who is straightforward about what she likes and what she does not.

Feather Duster tutored Madeleine when he first applied for a job in the manor, opting to give him her own uniform when she found out Madeleine preferred maid outfits.

While she does seem a little bit rude, Feather Duster is both proficient and good at her job of keeping the manor clean. It's even more amazing that she is able to keep everything clean despite her asthma.

One thing to note, though, is do NOT make a mess when she's around!

[smaiart]

❎The XFIRE Board Enthusiast

Duster | 15 | Combat Racer

A soft-spoken, laid-back snow leopard whose family owns the local board shop.

Due to his tidy nature, he’s become “caretaker” of the team's garage, arriving before everyone else and having their favourite hot beverage ready.

[ellieloves2draw]

lesson from last night’s dnd session: don’t try to learn the true name of a god without PPE