#WHAT DOES THAT TENTACLE DO. SCIENTISTS WISH TO KNOW.

[quietwingsinthesky]

cursed rarepair anon: i was building up suspense >:) the ship is Brian The Ood x Time Lord Victorious Ten

What That Tentacle Do-

[kakisocks]

Bottom!Anakin with a pussy fics

If you've been searching for a compiled list of trans Anakin fics I've made this list! Read the tags, all will be completed fics, and none of them will feature Anakin with actual breasts.

It's Always Been You

GFFA-verse Unable to admit to their feelings, Anakin and Obi-Wan seek alternate means to relieve themselves of their sexual frustrations. or The idiots are in love and too stubborn to do anything about it. In classic Obikin bumbling style, they accidentally end up picking each other at a gloryhole.

Show Their Truth

With every action, Kenobi proved Vader's Master a liar.

Heavenly Tension

“What did you do before I got here?” Obi-Wan asks casually, and Anakin will never be over how he can talk about sex like this when Anakin still stammers over his words. “Just fingered myself,” he says with a bashful shrug, “It usually works but it wasn’t enough.” Because his fingers aren’t Obi-Wan’s, thick and determined and deft. Obi-Wan makes another of those cooing sounds that make him feel like a youngling. “Aw, and not even your vibrator was enough?” Obi-Wan asks, picking it up from where Anakin had tossed it aside. “N-no, it was too much,” Anakin explains, trembling slightly as Obi-Wan rubs soothing circles into his skin. “Sweet boy,” Obi-Wan purrs out as he puts the toy aside, “I’ll take care of you how you need, don’t worry.” (Or, in which Anakin needs his Daddy to help him come but he learns that's okay.)

Good Things Come for Boys Who Wait

“Would you like to?” “What?” Anakin asks, confused once more as Obi-Wan waits patiently and expectantly for something. His fingers on Anakin’s hip burn. He wishes he could have more. “What it’s like to be eaten out — would you like to know?” Obi-Wan’s voice has taken on a huskier quality, and Anakin could die. or, Anakin has never been eaten out. Obi-Wan shows him what it’s like.

improper methods of scientific inquiry

Anakin stumbes upon a new and interesting species while bathing. Obi-Wan is a scientist at heart. -- For day 2 of monsterfucker march: plant monsters and tentacles!

make it hurt cuz we love it when it burns

Anakin wants to be a good boy, he really does. It's just so hard. Especially when the punishment for his failure is so enticing.

In the Heat of the Hour

A small gasp captured his attention fully, Obi-wan’s head snapping towards the door to see his omega, so shy and flustered standing at the doorway. He rose to rest on his knees, tightening his hand around his cock to relieve the pressure. Not able to suppress a growl, he watched how Anakin’s eyes seemed glued to his cock. His alpha wanted the omega under him, to praise him for coming to his alpha like a good boy. Anakin watched him closely, eyes finally flickering up to meet his own before he took a slow step back. “I shouldn't be here..” he muttered, taking another slow step back. A small whine caught in the omega’s throat when Obi-wan’s eyes narrowed, the boy coming to a standstill outside of the door.

don't like the cameras but I love it when you ogle

His Master just had a different, special way of showing his appreciation, his affection, his love for Anakin.

[strunmah-mah]

Touchstarved Characters as DnD Classes

Ais

Given the existence of Ocudeus and Ais's relationship with it, Ais is an easy choice for a warlock, a person who gets their powers from a patron entity. My choice would either be The Great Old One, or The Fathomless. The both have those eldritch vibes but with slightly different emphasis. The Fathomless buts a strong emphasis on the oceanic tentacle monster, while The Great Old One has some tentacle imagery but focuses far more on the effects Eldritch beings have on the mind. Which one you think suits him more comes down to personal preference I think.

Leander

Given that magic for humans seems to largely be a learned skill, and stuff devs have said about Leander coming from a more more formal background giving him access to a proper education, Leander would 100% be a wizard. With as little information as we have about him exactly which school might be harder to pin down, but for the purpose of this I'm going School of Illusion. I think it works both as a fun reference to the first spell we ever see him cast (the illucitory lily) and a sort of foreshadowing of him duplicitous nature.

Kuras

As an angel, Kuras's divine power is innate to him in a way that I think the Divine Soul Sorcerer would be best at replicating. Not really sure what else to add, this might be an even easier pick than Ais as a Warlock.

Vere

Vere is interesting. Given our first impression is that of a snarling shadow beast in the corner of out vision, part of me is inclined towards Shadow Magic Sorcerer. His power seems to be innate to him and I think the Hound of Ill Omen ability synergizes well with Vere's status as the Senobium's hunting dog. HOWEVER, the devs recently dropped the extra bit of lore implying that Vere used to be worshiped as a god, which does make an interesting argument for casting him as a cleric. I don't think most cleric abilities mesh as well with Vere's in game abilities, but thematically the Ambition Domain meshes well with his personality.

Mhin

Mhin is the one I'm least confident on. Their attempt to sneak into the Senobium speaks to them being a Rogue, The revelation that they're regular collecting bounties from soulless hunting points them to being a Ranger, and the Alchemist's observation that their a scientist suggests that when the full games drops they might be something of an Artificer, or depending on your tolerance for psuedo canon, maybe a Blood Hunter? IDK, I'm a little bit at a loss of what to do with this guy.

Bonus the Origins

Now given that all Origins more or less have the same skill set with some flavor difference All of them could easily be Aberrant Mind Sorcerers and be done with it. Their power is innate to them, and that power is power over the minds of others. It's a good solid choice, but if you wanted to give the Origins more influence over their skills sets below would be my choices

The Unnamed

Raised at a temple as an oracle? The Unnnamed is a Cleric. Given that it was thought their ability could create a groupmind the Solidarity or Zeal Domains could be an interesting choice, That the people under their influence are so violent could be an argument for the War Domain, or that everyone was so mislead as to what your ability is could be an argument for Trickery Domain. Ultimately as a self insert the Unnamed's background is fluid and any choice is valid, but thematically I think I think those four could all work really well. TBH I really wish there was a Madness Domain or something so you could channel that Dionysus Maenadic energy, I think that'd work really well, but homebrew is not my area.

The Alchemist

This Origin knows magic, magic is a learned skill for humans, The Alchemist is a Wizard, maybe an Artificer. Again, self insert, either choice is valid. If you go Wizard I think School of Enchantment could be a good choice, would tie into their powers a bit better then some of the other options. If you go Artificier there is an Alchemist subclass, it's a match made in heaven

The Hound

The Hound has a very specific archetype built into it and that is the Rogue: Thief. They're a street kid who survived by stealing. I don't know if there's another choice that could work for this Origin even half as well. works for this

[burins]

Clark for the headcanon meme! :D

:D

Headcanon A:  realistic

Clark loves the farm. He does not want to be a farmer. This is a source of tension as the Kents grow older, because of course no one wants to lose the family land, and the likelihood of some kid springing up out of nowhere with a passion for animal husbandry and wheat cultivation is.... low. Not impossible! But low.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

Clark is a horrible cook. He is capable of microwaving canned ravioli and making instant mac and that is about it. Luckily his body does not actually require physical nutrients because he eats like a college freshman encountering a kitchen for the first time. His sense of taste also doesn't quite line up with human-normal, which means that sometimes he doesn't bother microwaving the canned ravioli and just eats the can. What? There's no one to see him do it. He likes the crunch.

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

Clark spends a lot of time down in the Fortress scanning through the data banks. Nearly everything he learns is something that might otherwise fade into obscurity. (Kara was a teen when Krypton was destroyed; she was a smart kid, but she grew up in a world that was actively falling to pieces around her. And how much does your average teen know about governance structures and historiography?)

It feels like poking at a wound, to learn these things that no one else alive knows, that presumably thousands and millions of scientists and doctors and scholars had argued over for centuries. There's a great deal of data about logistics, agriculture, history, engineering, politics. But he can't find anything about what an average apartment would have looked like, or what kind of toys babies played with. He doesn't know how his parents would have dressed him, if there would have been a baby shower, if they would have put him in a crib or strapped him to their chests. He should ask Kara, but he doesn't.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

Kryptonian genitals are based on a manifestation of your will. Because of being raised in your standard cisnormative cultural soup, Clark does not figure this out until he is about 26. He spent his entire teens terrified that puberty would bring out something noticeably alien in him, and so he has the world's Most Average Dick. And then he starts idly fantasizing about Bruce railing him and is deeply betrayed when his junk starts... changing?

Cue the world's weirdest conversation with his cousin.

Clark: what is happening to me? Am I going to start laying eggs?

Kara, dubiously: I mean do you want to lay eggs?? I guess you could if you wanted to. Seems kind of weird to me, I just kept the standard assortment of tentacles, but I don't know what humans think is normal. I mean, there's nothing wrong with eggs if you want eggs. Just not my thing.

Clark: I don't want eggs!

Kara: Geez, okay, you don't have to have eggs then. No need to bite my head off.

(she is trying to be supportive of her cousin and his attempt to work through his weird human hangups! however she wishes he'd ask Kelex these questions. I mean, honestly. eggs.)

(send me characters!)

[spiderh0rse]

freeman's mind notes part 12, e56-60

e56

"ngyah."

believes Murphy's law is out to get him

ROCKET LAUNCHER POG

willing to drink reactor coolant water. Tbh it is clean.

silly Freeman. These aren't Shock Troopers

thinks honor in fights is a useless or detrimental thing.

dodges barnacle meat

more guns, less madness

so upset he's right about everything. Wishes his conclusion about the reactor melting down was incorrect

thinks he's the only person with enough urgency in the situation

screams at the possible murderer guard

oh I know where we are :>

out of 9mm ammo!

"YOU WEREN'T THERE AND NOW YOU'RE REAL. THIS IS INNSBRUCK ALL OVER AGAIN." now what does This imply? ghosts? more drugs than usual?

his hallucinations shoot back at him, he claims

e57

keeps worrying about the building collapsing on him

MORPHINE

immediately gets it in him. uh. where?? Did he inject that?

underwater mumbling :)

talks about the morphine as him needing that. well I'm sure he's in a lot of pain

"it's flooded! I'm a hero!"

running panicking yelling

hit by the electricity and just kind of flinches and yells

hasn't felt this good since he thought he was going to leave Black Mesa

he generally just seems a lot calmer and less inclined to putting together complex thought right now

repeating himself a tad

worried about an overdose if he takes more morphine

talks to a crate

more morphine anyways.

HEV SUIT VOICE HEV MY LOVE

gman sighting :D

ceases to be drowsy upon getting shot at

"we've got enough monsters for at least nine weeks"

"I was meant to turn this"

buttons! :D taps a ton of buttons

considers cold fusion a bad joke

thinks the portals are trying to read his mind

thinks the metric for not taking too much morphine is He's Still Walking

sir why are you asking some guy if he's an oracle

favourite dirty harry movie is the one where he kills some giant tentacle monster

wants to skip down the hallway

got a BEE in his Mouth

upset that alien blood made the hallway all dirty. He wanted to roll around in it before, when it was clean. Not now.

"bah >:("

now convinced the teleporters are holograms

thinks he's impressed by the hellportalroom because he's high

hes going to test his theory like a true scientist (on drugs)

plays with the portal output and walks into the portal input and cuts out immediately

e58

new intro, residue processing outside segment

thinks he just lost memory and that explains why he's suddenly somewhere else

BARELY avoids getting impaled on some falling metal

knows Mr. T's catchphrase :)

"I'm *Gordon. I can do both your jobs."

Eddie can't do makeup for shit. This does mean he's let Eddie do stuff to him, or watched, at least

thinks sugar is functionally the same as food

does not drink the soda.

can't decide if he'd rather have food or more bullets but doesn't want to eat headcrab rn

points his rocket launcher at a guard

hates when he's made to kill his target and him both

fully thinks there's not going to be any survivors of Black Mesa. Presumably including himself

cheers at explosions :3

thinks surprises where people end up dead are the biggest ones.

thanks a corpse for giving him more bullets

can't be sure if HECU talking are just voices in his head or real

has only now noticed he's outside

"ahhhhh. Ah."

loses track of what he's doing in the middle of doing it. Stands there for a moment.

correctly predicts the black ops actions

wishes he had a walkie talkie to decoy soldiers towards his voice

he has the power of chemistry (being very drugged) on his side

burning alien smells better than he thought it would

spacing out CONSTANTLY

return of the door opening ghost!

clickyclickclickclick

no longer trusts the ghost

a ghost mildly harassing him, giving bad advice, is something he's not as prepared for as people attacking him

thinks he can lift a giant concrete slab

e59

can't lift the concrete

wishes the HEV suit had pneumatic jacks

sneezes!

doesn't want a dying man to touch him

the weird yowling is back

doesn't like performing dance of the Geiger counter

delighted to see a soldier getting eaten by a barnacle

doesn't like that zombies are getting smart

flash of green?

thought he heard someone green.

aware he has head trauma. Thinks he may have synesthesia

if he thought he could pull it off he'd put a zombie in his HEV and let the military kill it

Slur count: Seven.

he's seeing the stupidest soldiers, he thinks

wants to publish a research paper about musics effects on soldiers in active warzones

sounds a bit more lucid right now I think?

has never seen anyone in Black Mesa die from carbon monoxide poisoning. This is not true of every job he's held.

kills space rancher's alien pets :(

loud elevator music...

didn't get to see how his unethical experiments on his coworkers went because of the rescas

lets a guy live because he cowers appropriately

green flash two...

does try to rescue a half headcrabbed guy

he's aware he's going to remember certain worse parts of these days more than others

chuggachuggachuggachuggachuggachugga

suddenly loud and violent

"no, this isn't working! let's do it some more!"

giant aliens are determined to fuck him any way they can he says

goes to his death kicking and screaming. green flash three.

e60

gets back and immediately shoots a single scientist. Conveniently the same guy Martinis kills on accident

thinks he's been summoned like a demon

referring to himself as The Freeman again

TELEPORTATION POG

he is dizzy from awful rotating teleporter room

wonders how the teleporter works. Thinks he may be making clones of himself and dying on loop whenever he enters the portal

"making sacrifices for the greater Gordon"

pronounces calliope as an american would

doesn't feel any air displacement with the teleporter. That's. Actually really interesting

oh hey that was gmans miniature sun

didn't notice the numbering on the portals

food still on the mind

wonders about the redundancy of teleporter testing bullshit

yells as he falls a great distance. Clocks that momentum isn't preserved when going through portals. that's so cool.

unimpressed at vortigaunt teleportation now that he can also teleport

episode cuts off as he enters a portal

[artsy-hobbitses]

Since TFA didn't get far enough for us to know how Isaac got the protoform that would become Sari, I'm curious to know how he did so in TTB.

I imagine it was a part Astro Boy, part Battle Angel Alita situation.

Sari was made based on the Primes' wartime accounts of Rung. Her creation was likely funded by Zeta, who wanted to see if Rung's gifts (nannite-based shapeshifting, vast technological inter-connectivity, the ability to self-learn based on data derived from recorded memories) could be wholly translated to AI assets which could be mass-produced.

Isaac had lost his daughter recently and was lured by Zeta's promise of being able to bring his daughter back to life using her DNA and the technology for Cold Constructs---however, it could not be legally done where he was (India), therefore he went to the USA

One of her first bits of 'protoform' programming was to be able camouflage herself/make herself appear innocuous depending on the people she comes into contact with. She imprints on them and does a base scan to take on a form that would be most beneficial to her survival among them. Kind of like a cuckoo, but if the chick itself is doing the I'm in your nest pretending to be one of you scthick. Basically, she's the nightmare changeling you hear about in legend, but she has never used this ability except for once;

Isaac was the main scientist working on her creation and sometimes he would talk to her, just casual chatter whenever he was the only person left behind to run diagnostics on her. He was still grieving at that time, so it felt good to talk to someone about that grief and the reason he was here without being judged for it (what did a protoform care that he basically wanted to fight god and bring his kid back in a method banned over several countries?). Because he was the main person who interacted with her and who seemed to have her well-being in mind (as compared to Zeta, who only asked questions about her progress and other scientists who only spoke about her in terms of data), she imprinted on him, but not in the way Zeta or he expected---on a night which was rough for him emotionally, and she tried to break out of her containment unit to help 'fix' her creator who seemed to be 'broken inside'. (At this point, she resembled a smaller version of true-form Rung, metallic plates and tiny tentacles and all). When he picked her up, she immediately imprinted on him and took on the form of his deceased daughter---her little AI brain figured that he was sad because he 'lost' his daughter and he always said he wished to see her again, and she wanted to make him happy.

Except oops he's horrified and chucks her back into her containment unit, calls in sick the next couple of days and reflects on what the fuck he's actually doing here.

The question only gets louder when he does eventually come back to work, and on another late night, she (having reverted back to her original form after seeing how badly she affected him) managed to talk to him via binary to say she was sorry she made him mad, and to ask what she did wrong. It dawns on him that the AI asset/weapon Zeta is asking for sounds like a child and thinks like a child (because of the 'natural learning' programming) and he's made one to give away to be weaponized by a government in return for his own, and suddenly that feels like a very shit deal.

Zeta (who does not know of this incident) noticed that he's been acting odd around the Project recently, and Isaac is aware that he's sus af right now and can't do anything drastic. He does, however, call an old politician friend for help ie. Senator Sharifuddin Waseem/Shockwave, who shares his same interest in robotics (and graduated from the same university).

Sharif is able to secretly arrange transportation for him, but he needs to figure out a way to sneak the Project out without being noticed, so he makes a decoy to put in her place and then asks her to do what she did before (but a little different, because carting around a person known to be dead won't help his case), dresses her up and brings her out, passing her off as a visiting family member.

It's morning before anyone notices something's off at the office and he's not picking up phonecalls while he's on a private chartered flight headed for Sharif's secret Institute which would provide him and the Project sanctuary while the situation with Zeta's labs blows over.

It's around this time that he realises that the Project has imprinted on him not as a host/for survival, but like a child to a parent figure, so he decides he's going to adopt her and raise her as a person, not a potential weapon, and names her Sarita 'Sari', amalgamated from the name of his deceased daughter, Sitara.

Because she was brought out of the experimentation phase early (and he does not want to continue experimenting on her), her abilities, while considerable, do not (as of yet, she's still 'growing') match Rung's and she doesn't actually know about them or use them, because Isaac raises her as his child and doesn't tell her about them, figuring that they would be better kept in dormancy. She does sometimes ask him why he created her (initially she thinks all kids come out this way), he doesn't really give her a straight answer (in truth he can only extrapolate because Zeta was never honest with what exactly the plans were for her at that stage, except that she would be a 'government asset' and he's seen what those do) but tells her she's loved regardless of the reasons that brought her into this world.

[zafirosreverie]

I don't know if your requests are open, but I'll try anyways. Could I maybe request a Olivia Octavius where she's working with the reader, who's a shy type but is really smart, like maybe genius smart and she's working under Liv. Anyways, the thing with reader is she's also a spider person, but she never used her spider powers to save the world, she chose to keep it secret instead. And like while working alone she sometimes uses her webs and sometimes with Liv, she notices that reader's instincts and reflex are way too advanced to be a normal human being and gets suspicious.

So Liv confronts reader in her house, in her Doc. Ock outfit and reader's all like: "I know you're threatening me and all, but you're so pretty up close and it's distracting me, pls make out with me"

Please and thank you!

Here it is! I hope you like it :)

I think there's a spider here (Olivia x Fem!Reader)

You should have known that sooner or later she was going to be suspicious. She was the most brilliant person you had ever met, after all.

You had been working under the wing of Dr. Olivia Octavius ​​for a few months now, and you had absolutely enjoyed every second of it. She was smart, innovative, always one step ahead of everyone, her eyes lit up a bit whenever she found something fascinating, and you felt very lucky to be one of the few people she trusted with her work.

Of course, you knew about her alter ego, not that she really tried to hide it (you suspected that actually everyone in Alchemax knew about it), but it was just something that was not talked about out loud. Which was fine with you actually, because leaving Doc Ock in the dark meant you could leave your secret in the dark, too.

You see, it turns out that Olivia might not be the only one with special abilities. As cliche as it sounds, a radioactive spider has bitten you when you were younger, giving you powers, blah blah blah. The world already knew the story of Spiderman, which was quite similar to yours, so there is no need to hear it again. The difference between you and him is that you never wanted to play the hero. So you hid your skills for years, and you were more than happy to keep it that way.

Although, that didn't mean you didn't use them. In fact, you were so used to doing it that it came naturally to you. The problem was when you started using them in the lab.

At first, you were careful not to do it in front of Liv, but as you became more comfortable with her, you forgot to be cautious. That and, the truth is, you were quite distracted by the scientist that little by little was winning your heart, to the point where you forgot that the shadow of Doc Ock was still there and that she would probably hate you if she discovered your powers.

Which happened sooner rather than later.

________

Olivia frowned as she watched you work at the table next to hers. She would be lying if she said that she hadn't paid attention to you from the beginning, because the truth was that you had caught her attention from the first day you entered Alchemax, too shy but with a sparkle in the eyes that the scientist had only seen before in herself. That was why she took you in as an apprentice, even though she usually wouldn't allow new interns to be so close to her and her work.

It quickly became obvious that you were brilliant, and she marveled at the genius that was hiding behind that shyness and flushed cheeks. It didn't take long for you to grow closer, staying late into the night together, bringing each other coffee, helping each other on your projects, and developing a friendship that Olivia desperately wished would turn into something more.

It was then that she began to notice the changes in you.

It began in a subtle way, with a screwdriver that moved into your hand quickly, as if it was being pulled towards you by an invisible string. Then when the light in the lab went out, she had gone out to go up a ladder, but when she came back you had already changed the light bulb.

Finally, last week, Olivia had accidentally dropped a tray of delicate things. You had reached out your hand and caught it, without even looking up from your work.

Today, Olivia watched as one of your hands moved slightly upward, while a magnifying glass crawled up to your hand. The woman did not miss the small white thread that seemed to join your hand to the object.

Maybe it was time for Doc Ock to pay you a visit.

___________

You sighed as you got out of the shower, your muscles relaxing thanks to the hot water. You barely managed to wrap yourself in the towel, when your senses alerted you to the danger. A second later, you heard a loud bang downstairs.

You quickly got out of the bathroom, but couldn't take another step before a tentacle wrapped itself around your waist tightly and pulled you.

"My, my. It seems I came at the right time."

You gasped as you came face to face with Doc Ock. Her eyes traveled all over your body, making you blush deeply when you realized she was staring at you hungrily.

"I think we have a lot to discuss, spider" she said, pulling you closer.

Oh no. She knew it. She knew about your powers.

"I-I" you stuttered. You wanted to explain yourself, you wanted to defend yourself, but her face was too close to yours.

"You you what?" she growled "You better start talking, Y/N, because I don't like spiders"

The tentacle tightened around you, making you gasp and ... you definitely didn't want to think about your body's other reaction.

"Well?" she whispered dangerously, bringing her face closer to yours.

"I know she's threatening me, but why does she have to be so beautiful?! Either you back off woman, or you kiss me right now, because I can't concentrate if you're so close" you thought.

Except, you didn't think about it. You said it

Liv blinked and pulled away slightly. Your eyes widened when you realized what you had done.

"I-I-" you started, but a pair of lips slammed against yours.

You were surprised by the doctor's sudden action, but quickly wrapped your arms around her neck, kissing her back.

You were so lost in the taste of her mouth and the smell of her invading your nose, that you did not realize that the towel that covered you had slipped. Liv giggled when she pulled away from you, running her eyes over your body again, this time with nothing to stop her from seeing you completely.

"It's not what I had planned" she said wrapping her arms around your waist again "But I think we can take the interrogation to the bedroom" she whispered in your ear.

And what an interrogation it was.

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Can i request cyberverse quintesson scientist putting soundwave on a jar and getting off from him

Super crazy request i know, but that guy was just so horny for soundwave its just doesn't leave my Head

Thats fucking disgusting, you should be ashamed of yourself. I say as I hop on this ask SO fucking quickly-

(Also fuck you for being the only one to get me to lewd this species, so go to hell)

"Ah, there we go! A special little place for our special little prize!"

Not only did he add another to the collection, not only was it BLUE, but this one had SUCH a little attitude! Sure the other's struggled, but none of them had such a MEAN disposition. None had such a hatred in their optics for him. He was so fiesty, it was a struggle to even get him in his special little container, but he managed. It was essentially nothing more than a jar, but specifically equipped to deal with his collection.

"I know it's uncomfortable, but you're SO special! You need your own little space, I wouldn't want you to get hurt. Don't worry, I'll make you something bigger for you to wander around in! A nice tank, maybe. I could build you a little landscape to play in! How does that sound?"

"Not. Interested."

Oh, such a cold personality. It was perfect! All Soundwave's were more or less the same, but this one. This one had so much vitality, wrapped in a shiny, new paint job! He grinned, putting the jar on the table, adjusting it for a moment, then admired the view. Soundwave just stood there, arms folded over his chest. Even after he fixed him, he was still acting so high and mighty, it was precious. It was...cute. Too cute.

"Do you have any other complications? How are you feeling after my adjustments?"

"I'm fine. Thank you."

Oh so polite! Even if it was said in a foul tone, it was so amusing to him, he wished he was recording him. This Soundwave was his favorite by a mile. So sleek, so stuck up, so imposing. Like a princess, honestly.

“That’s so swell! I can’t stand the thought of you being broken. I take care of all my toys!”

“Not a toy. I can’t wait till Hot Rod gets here.”

Ah these Soundwave’s. All of them thought they were entitled to having their own little lives. But no. They were all his. Especially this one. He'd be damned if some little red ride would come in here and take what belonged to him. The scientist shook his head, lightly clicking his tongue.

“You don’t need him! It’s okay, you’re plenty safe here! Adorned, precious, valuable. I won’t put you with the other’s like I thought I would. You’ll be the first thing I see when I walk into the lab!”

Soundwave didn’t give him any response, aside from a mean look, but that was enough for him to lose it. He usually did this away from his toys, but he didn’t want just a picture or an image in his head. He wanted the live, genuine expressions as he pulled himself out of his panel. His species were built with spikes like them, but they were a bit different. Instead of one solid spike, it was much more...mandible. To put it bluntly, a tentacle. A tentacle that was so sensitive to the touch, it felt DAMN good to stroke it, especially in his lab. It took Soundwave (a smart little thing he was) but a second to know what he was up to, and turn his head, clearly in disinterest. And something about that was just so terribly alluring to him.

“Oh you have SUCH an attitude, don’t you?”

He hated how flushed he was getting already. Hated how he was panting as quickly as he was. Soundwave didn’t like him, and he looked oh so pretty, nose turned up in the air. No wonder his cock was already slick in his fluids, no wonder drool was falling from his lips.

“You could at LEAST look at me, you know. A proper thank you for fixing you.”

“I’d rather be broken again.”

So snarky. So coy. One of his tentacles grabbed the jar, turning Soundwave to look at him. The action was so fast, it sent Soundwave right on his ass. Oh he looked helpless now. Such a temperamental, such a highty thing, when in reality, he was so vulnerable to the world.

“Look at me. Look at me with your optics. You insignificant little thing.”

“Alright. So you can tell I mean it when I say, you’re disgusting.”

Oh the unflinching nature of him. The anger in his voice. Not to mention finally meeting his optics. If he let him out, he KNEW he’d shoot him right in the face. It was just enough for him to finally cum, finishing right on the jar. Soundwave averted his gaze again, clearly finding it gross. But it didn’t matter. It only mattered that he finally finished, and it was possibly the best overload he’d ever had. It made his mind hazy, his body hot. It was incredible. He sighed in relief when he finally let the jar go, putting himself away.

“Ah...I haven’t done it in front of them before. You’re so special to me, Soundwave~”

“Uh huh. Can you at least clean the jar?”

“Hmm...I don’t think I will. I want you to be used to seeing it. You’ll be familiar with it soon enough.”

He drifted away from the messy jar, starting to get back to his work. Though, he was PLENTY distracted with new ideas. What if he put himself right on the jar this time, give him a full view? What if he just put the whole jar inside of him? What if he opened the lid and just….

No, he had to work. Playtime later. Much as he hated waiting, especially since he felt his glare boring holes right into him.

Soundwave really was special.

[raitrolling]

Whispers of the Depths

[Easy reading version on Toyhou.se]

There is a rumour shared amongst the residents of Vernrot Harbour: If one speaks to the sea, the sea will answer. The soft, music-like whispers of the ocean compel the troubled souls to seek out the sea to alleviate their troubles; some will verbalise their thoughts to ensure the sea will hear them, while others know that all they need is to make a wish. The ocean knows what one may be searching for, and offers their suggestions to all who seek them out. The majority of the time it’s something simple: A reminder of what one may have forgotten to purchase while out grocery shopping, a suggestion to text that number back, a name for a recently-adopted pet.

Other times, the ocean will tell one of their deepest desires.

The screenplay writer finds the ocean to be a source of inspiration. Whenever they’re struggling to move the plot forward, a wander down the shoreline will ease their tension. Shoes in their hand, feeling the waves lap at their feet through the thin layer of stockings, listening to the sweet suggestions swimming around their mind. Delve into the mind of the protagonist. Use the environment as a reflection of their mental state. Focus on cinematography. Blend fantasy and reality. Embrace the physical and mental collapse of the protagonist’s world. They wish it wasn’t raining so heavily so that they could take notes, but they know deep down these suggestions will stick in their mind. The psychological is their bread and butter, but perhaps they haven’t taken it far enough. Maybe then the director may truly love their work, without edits. But does the director’s opinion truly matter? Wouldn’t it be better if someone disposed of him? No, it wouldn’t, because then the writer would be out of their dream job. But then you would be free.

Freedom. They like the sound of that.

The scientist seeks a new discovery, something he can share with the world. Ocean life is endlessly fascinating, and with so much of the depths left unexplored who knows what he can find? In fact, he has been fortunate enough to discover something new already! There is a short boardwalk off his hive where he sits, carefully cutting up the purplish organs he has been preserving for research purposes. The two halves of the heart slowly reform, creating two perfectly identical copies of the same organ. He tosses one into the dark water, and for a brief second witnesses an inky black tentacle snatch it up and pull it into the depths. Thank you, it sings. Its short song is as beautiful as the screams the regenerating seadweller sang to him once he discovered the scientist had been harvesting his insides. Perhaps there is some correlation between the two? It warrants further research, especially since no cephalopod he has heard of has been reported capable of song. Do you wish to study us? Come closer. The ocean beckons like a siren. The scientist begins removing his lab coat and takes off his shoes, placing them neatly aside. It would be nice to see the creature firsthand, wouldn’t it? To study it in its natural habitat? No. Perhaps such a discovery is worth sharing first.

He stops before he can lower himself into the water. Of course! Epsilo. Epsilo loves studying the ocean too. He would definitely love to study an undiscovered species of squid. He should let him know.

The lighthouse keeper knows the reality of these rumours: The whispers are, in fact, the horrorterrors slumbering in the Deep, slowly but surely taking over the minds of those who listen. They do not truly understand what those who seek them out truly desire, and merely reflect what one wants to hear. Nothing but meaningless sounds that the brain interprets into the subconscious wants of the individual. He cannot truly gauge their benevolence, as while their influence may be passive the possibility of malicious intentions is more than zero. There may be no harm in listening to them, but who truly knows what path they may take the more suggestible residents down?

And yet, when he walks down the pier with his fishing gear in hand and hears the gentle whispers pass his ears saying they will return soon. you will see them again, he cannot help but feel reassured.

[ketchup-monthly]

Sanders Sides D&D 2

Ooh fresh take: Jan is virge’s patron and that’s why there’s beef

Also: Jan is some sort of fae related being

Jan: i need you to do something for me Virgil: no Janus: that's not how this works!! Virgil: watch me :P

Okay so I was thinking of Patton as a cleric cuz ooh healer however, Patton as a Druid makes me so happy

I want logan to have Rage

(Also that could tie nicely in an arc about Logan learning to accept feelings)

but barbarian logan is going to be a scholar again and is gonna be smort

bc hes logan. he cant be not smart

Oh I figured he’d be the bbeg that eventually joins the party (hurt/comfort baybee!)(Remus)

he was the bbeg but then joined the party as a bardbarian or just a bard

plus, actual bard who accidentally casts vicious mockery instead of bardic inspiration

Side note: please include a scene where Remus attempts to seduce the dragon

also with this second au, i can start them at like level 5 so people can multiclass

Pat as cleric/druid

gasp logan as artificer/barbarian

janus sorcerer/rogue

because basically everything but alchemist would work well with barbarian, but alchemist feels very Logan

bc mad scientist being actually mad

alchemist logan making an experimental potion and going "here im not sure what this does but im sure its fine! someone drink it"

Remus does it voluntarily, but Logan usually tries to get Roman to drink it

Virgil will occasionally drink it when he's on his last legs and is just like.....100% done with the party

remus as a wild magic path barbarian and just fucking teleporting or doing something equally ridiculous whenever he rages

Oh my god Remus with rage would be a force to be reckoned with

You gotta describe the first time he goes into a rage really dramatically

obviously virgil is trying to "escape" his patron, Janus (really just do whatever he says to not do out of spite)

Eldritch knight roman

Feywild warlock virgil

hey so in the second d&d au, should roman and remus be actual full siblings but like remus went darkside and like romans just trying to get back at him for putting a dark stain on the family name

hey hey hey what about warforged Logan? (essentially a robot)(so like "i dont feel anything" becoming real)

okay hear me out. elf roman and elf base simic hybrid remus. so like maybe the reason remus went darkside was experimentation? so like. hes elf but special

FALLEN AASIMAR VIRGIL

virgil just transforming in the middle of a combat scenario and like his eyes turn into black pits and flightless skeletal wings appear on his back and like everyone near him has to make a charisma check and like he deals extra necrotic damage

Pat is the one human stuck in a band of misfits

so with it, roman would be a full elf, and remus would be an elf that has tentacles bc octopus

So robot logan

i meant literally he doesnt feel anything

like he has all the emotions, but he doesnt physically feel the need to like eat or sleep or stuff like that

he just.....he pretend he don't have the feelings.....but he do.....he feel so much and he hides it all in his littol mechanical heart <3

plus......if he warforged, then like.....AC huge

he stands in front of friends.....he protecc...."no, i don't have feelings, i am physically incapable of affection" but he do!! he do! he take hits for them because he do!! he care so much

Bro he spouts all this and then he uses a reaction to dive in front of someone and everyone’s just like oh

LIKE ROMAN STILL BEING MEAN TO LO BC HE THINKS HE DOESNT HAVE FEELINGS BECAUSE HE DOESNT HAVE A HEART BUT HE DOES

hey hey everyone needs to grow

and logan standing up for himself and other people stepping in and saying no stop thats not right

plus if canon wont give me roman facing the consequences of his actions towards Logan......

but also Roman learning how to properly handle his own emotions and how he interacts with others

logan who doesn't view himself as anything more than a machine to be useful to others

the party giving logan love and affection until he slowly learns his own worth as a person

Roman and Logan not getting along (maybe Roman has a Lore reason to distrust Warforged, maybe not) and slowly learning to trust each other

when Logan is feeling real down or having some issue, Roman actually comes through to help him, showing how far both characters have come

Okay yes but also can we please give Roman more confidence than canon? Like I’m sooooo sick of low self esteem being played for laughs or just being really really sad

this boy is going on a mission and will slap his brother upside the head and tell him to shut tf up remus youre not a monster just come back home and he will do it alone if need be

OKAY SO WHAT IF HE ORIGINALLY WENT ON THE QUEST JUST TO STOP REMUS ONCE AND FOR ALL BC ROMAN THOUGHT HE WAS A MONSTER, BUT ALONG THE WAY, AND AFTER LOGAN, HE CAME TO REALIZE THAT NO, JUST BECAUSE REMUS (AND LOGAN) ARE DIFFERENT, THEY ARENT MONSTERS, JUST DIFFERENT

AND LIKE IN THE FINAL PUSH TO MAKE REMUS JOIN BACK WITH HIS BROTHER, ROMAN IS PROJECTING HIS OWN FEELINGS ONTO REMUS AND EVERYONE IS LIKE WOW BRO YOU GOOD THERE, BUT ITS A BIG MOMENT FOR LOGAN, ROMAN, AND REMUS

im unsure as to how, but it happened when he was an older teen/young adult. a simic scientist either picked him (read: kidnapped), or remus volunteered (potentially to escape court life, unaware what exactly the experiment was going to do to him physically

bc also, remus and roman are royalty

so like. how best to get at the nobes/royalty/rich famous people than by turning their kid into a monster

wait, wait, wait, because i'm lowkey a sucker for this trope, but i'm not sure if it fits Remus: the experiments left him with some fairly significant physical pain/uncontrolled magical reactions. through some combo of trying to deal with that and trying find a cure for his pain, he keeps like....absolutely wrecking random towns on accident but also deliberately wrecking certain places looking for either a) vengeance on the guy(s) responsible or b) someone who can make the pain stop

SO LIKE. WILD MAGIC BARBARIAN DOING WEIRD SHIT TO HIM WHENEVER HE RAGES

AND LOGAN COULD MAYBE HELP WITH THE PAIN AND SHIT

BC ALCHEMY

Yknow, for simplification purposes, we could say the True Bbeg just gave Remus lycanthropy and Remus hasn’t managed to control it yet

lycanthropy but simic shit?

Mr. I-Don't-Have-Feelings sees the poor dude in pain and also Roman in emotional pain from seeing his brother in pain and is absolutely like "i must resolve this like right now, immediately" because he definitely doesn't hate seeing his friend suffering, or his friend's brother whom he's just met

he definitely doesn't relate at all to the idea of someone else shaping your body and absolutely does not sympathize with Remus's plight

i was thinking the grappling thing and either manta glide or the ability to breathe underwater for the simic stuff, but like he doesnt have control over the tentacles yet?

Manta glide seems like we could have fun battle scenes

he just jumps off a cliff to avoid mushy talk/dealing with his actions/roman

Roman: Remus just because you're a monster and though i wish i was an only child-- Remus, jumping off a cliff: byyeeeeee Patton: Roman, look what you did! Virgil: dammit jan what did you do? Janus: why do you think i had anything to do with that? im a fae, not a genie Logan, thinking: what an asshole. i wish i could do that

oh my god Logan always being tired mentally bc he cant sleep

Oh my gosh I love that. So Remus got kidnapped super young, (from royal family) they never found him, as a result Roman had to grow up super fast (side effect: lowkey inconsiderate and forgets to ask for others input). Meanwhile, Remus was experimented on by True Bbeg and came out with some trauma and super cool additives

yep! chronic pain and ptsd and all sorts of other shit!

so like, simic hybrids are usually created when they're adults. but what if the true bbeg decided to go younger to see what would happen, and thats why remus has chronic pain and stuff

he was still growing when his genes were spliced, so hes dealing with growth plates shifting and his body maturing and puberty and body changes and stuff

Pat is going to have a lighthearted story. Im saying that now. Hes the one without all the baggage

Sure, but his parents have to lowkey be the really kind people who are surprisingly always down for violence

everyone: multiple crises Pat: y'all need help Pat: love and affection in spades for his little band of misfits

Patton (which I think would be pretty simple, honestly he might just see danger and jump in and suddenly everyone in the party has Feelings)

Logan

Mhm. So how did he grow up? Was he just poof created? Wait

What if he was created by the king?

To make up for remuss disappearance

wait, wait....angst......he was created to fight (hence the barbarian stuff) but alchemy is his real passion

wait so like. a second son???

hes there to replace remus?

Yea! (But like in a sympathetic grief way) But that causes a bit of a complex in Roman and ergo Roman and Logan have a bit of a beef

okay so like. hes there to be a companion for roman, and like take remus' place, even though hes not actually in line for the throne?

LOGAN AS A KNIGHT

and just......the conflict of being created for a specific purpose (plus being, you know, robot and technically incapable of deviated from said purpose) vs the fact that he actually does have independent consciousness and like....wants to live life for himself

the parents made Logan a barbarian in hopes that him and Roman would be safe

okay. so logan was created by the king with the sole purpose to take remus' place as romans brother/companion, and to be his like guard? protector? and fight, but logan wants to be an alchemist and study shit

wait, wait, wait.....thinks about Asimov's Laws

he.....his first operative is protect (specifically protect Roman)

oh man. so hes literally just a shield

his second level operative is just like.....care for Roman's emotional well-being, but he doesn't really know emotions because he was kinda just spawned and nobody told him how

and he just....kind of....lets Roman treat him like garbage and take all his grief out on him because he's staunchly in denial of both having feelings or knowing how they work

Anyway Yea so Logan created by royal family in place of Remus which created angst between the two “brothers” and identity issues in Logan. Their arcs are learning how to healthily process emotions plus Roman apology and Logan commits to alchemy

So big question: why did virge make a deal?

Tricked

he gave janus his name

and instead of janus like killing him or whatever the fae do to people who break the rules of dealing with the fae, jan was like. hey. i'll give you magic, but do what i say

Janus is lawful neutral, but leans towards being selfish

hes self serving, but he has a strong set of morals and rules he follows

Tho I want to Virgil to also not be pushover so let’s say loophole happened and Jan has to stay with virge (hence why Jan is a part of the party)

okay so a couple of the rules are dont give a fae your true name and don't try to figure out their true name

So

what if virgil accidentally gave up part of his true name, and got stuck in the deal, but then figured out janus' true name

so in the same vein that janus had control over virgil, virgil now has more control over janus

he still gets his magic from janus, so he cant break free completely, but virgil has more freedom and can occasionally tell janus what to do or when to shove it

there should a running gag where virge can explain how he learned Jan’s true name but Jan can make something loudly censor him every time

(he learned his name bc once he heard janus practicing his evil genius voice and talking to himself in the mirror and janus said his true name)

so maybe janus sent virgil on the quest to protect a town or stop something related to remus, but virgil dragged him along

he might just be trying to protect a town thats close to a ley line, or something fae-related, and they just happen upon the whole thing

janus is selfish. but lawful vs chaotic is where he comes through, in morals vs doing whatever. janus has a strong set of loyalties to the fae, and to himself

so like....Remus is just too close to Jan's stuff and he wants to take him down

Virgil is just like....exhausted and said "fine, but if i gotta do this, you're coming, too"

or at least figure out a way to protect his place, even if it doesnt mean fully taking out remus. just moving him would work for jan

Janus: virgilllllllllll hes going to mess up my magic storage locker Virgil: Jan, its empty Janus: but its mine

Yea. Remus attacks a city away from the fae: Jan: Yknow I’m gonna sit this one out Virge: oh no you don’t, get up

Or

Janus vs Janice

so his real name is Janus, but Virgil calls him Janice

Virgil: This is Janice Janice: with a “U-S” Virgil: mhm, sure Jan

I'm a big fan of just like any of the old theory name being various aliases for Jan

Damien, Dante, Ethan, Declan, etc, etc

[petitprincess1]

Penumbra was trying to get the cure for the numbra illness by working on the genes of a cartridge flower but then she magically forgot. Now she just punch heroes or sell weapons. I dont know if Alan didnt like where the plot was going so he drastically changed it with SunBlast returning from the dead or if he just forgot. I think is the first, because without the numbra illnes there wouldnt be any conflict.

Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked if that's pretty much why a lot of plots just get dropped or wrapped up quickly. I just feel like they're doing whatever takes to keep people interested, so if a conflict ends, then people will possibly become disinterested. That's my guess tho. At the end of the day, it isn't my show and I don't know how Alan makes these decisions.

However, I kinda wish we would go back to the original plot of Pen finding a cure. Anything that BHO does to "fix" this would be seen as a good deed because so many people view Penumbra as the "uwu, bullying is wrong, so gentle" scientist.

No amount of Demencia going "we're the bad guys" would fix that. Also, what a waste of a good line on defeating a fucking baby. I don't care if that baby was the spawn of Cthulhu or whatever it was, it was still fucking baby and a hero at that. Also, also, what an even bigger waste of a line from a character that did fuck all. She got bitch slapped by the damn child and was immediately knocked out of the fight.

"Well, Petit, that was a super-powered baby." You do realize that she's fighting against super-powered beings, possibly, on a daily basis, correct? If she can't handle a tentacle slapping her, then what can she handle? She was able to almost defeat Sunblast, but a baby takes her out? Are you saying that untrained tentacle baby is stronger than Sunblast and Demencia? Wtf. Sorry for the sidetrack. I just...can't.

[thanksjro]

Dark Cybertron Chapter 1: Welcome to Comic Event Hell

You know what readers love? When the stories they’ve gotten invested in over the course of a couple years get interrupted for some pseudo-crossover bullshit.

And you know what writers love? When the story they’ve been crafting over the course of a couple years get interrupted for some pseudo-crossover bullshit.

Did I say love?

Because I didn’t mean it.

“Dark Cybertron” was penned by John Barber and James Roberts, with collaboration with comic writer and artist Phil Jimenez, and was published from early November, 2013 to late March, 2014. Atilio Rojo, James Raiz, and Livio Ramondelli did the art, each responsible for scenes in specific locations, with Robert Gill filling in as needed. Alex Milne, Andrew Griffith, and Brendan Cahill would also contribute pencils to the first issue and the back half of the series. It was a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the franchise, and the second birthday of Phase Two... which went on for over four months, but never mind that!

Both "Dark Cybertron” and its preliminary materials were made to go alongside the Transformers: Generations toy-line, each issue being included as a toy pack-in with whatever character was being featured… or, at least, that was the plan. Sometimes it didn’t work out. Regardless, this storyline was created to sell toys directly, as opposed to the MTMTE/RID series being made to sell toys more through the power of suggestion. It’s a small distinction, but important, because it will help explain any lack of soul one may perceive while they read “Dark Cybertron”.

“But Hannz!” you cry out, reaching to grab me by the throat and shake me like a rag doll, because to you I’m merely a faceless voice on the internet. “Surely by calling this specific storyline soulless, you’re completely ignoring the very nature of this franchise that you’re almost uncomfortably invested in!”

To which I’ll say this: look, I’m pretty realistic about where my giant space robots came from; Transformers as a franchise would not exist the way it does without Ronald Reagan introducing the Free Market to literal children and fucking up how we interact with media for the rest of time. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, and that rings especially true when I’ve got a Spinister on my bookshelf staring me down as I write this, that was likely made out of plastics which either involved blood oil or unethical labor practices, if not both.

However!

The choices of a company to have their comic license holders to cook up an entire plot that derails what they’ve already got planned out for toy tie-in comics is a completely different animal than what IDW had had going on up to this point. Phase Two had been about exploring different ideas that hadn’t been able to be explored during the war, and seeing what happens when you take away a third of the logline for Transformers G1 as a whole. Being a part of a brand of toys was almost inconsequential to how the stories were being told; even the Spotlights, which were also toy tie-in comics, had plenty of charm to them, if only because there weren’t quite as many constraints placed on the writers, and they were stand-alone issues.

Of course, being tie-in comics isn’t the only reason that “Dark Cybertron” is a bit of a slog, considering everything IDW itself was trying to get done within this storyline, but we’ll cover the publishing company’s/Simon Furman’s/Transformers’ tumultuous relationship with the concept of gender identity and expression later on, when it becomes relevant to the story proper. This point also ties into the interesting origin of Windblade, who we’ll meet in a few issues, and what happens when you let your fanbase have a taste of power and forget that people might like to see themselves represented in the media they consume.

“Dark Cybertron” is what ended up making me stop reading MTMTE the first time I tried it in 2015. A big part of it was because it forced the reader to need so much information from RID and even events prior to Phase Two, it wasn’t very fun to try to parse what was going on, on top of the writing beginning to flag because of obvious constraints to what Barber and Roberts could actually do, both within their deadlines and the rules put in place by their higher ups for the event.

 “Dark Cybertron” is the result of the sort of executive meddling that kills reader enjoyment by requiring writers to cram their two worlds together as quickly as possible, without the option to go for nuance because there simply isn’t time. The reason we have four separate artists for the front half of this story is because Milne and Griffith didn’t have time to draw both their current workload and “Dark Cybertron” at the same time... but sales probably went up due to the nature of how the story was published, so I’m sure they didn’t really see a problem with it.

That’s a general “they”, not a Milne and Griffith “they”.

In short, we’ve got license contract obligations, fan-poll obligations, and gender stuff fighting for space within the next 12 issues, which will be published in the span of roughly four months. Things are probably going to be a little bloated and sloppy.

Regardless of any of these points, this is what we’ve got. It’s not like it’s all bad- “Dark Cybertron” has the benefit of being written by two people who had been working closely before it had even been conceptualized. Barber was the senior editor for MTMTE, and IDW as a whole until he left in 2016. It also isn’t a proper crossover- y’know, where two completely separate titles get mashed together for a bit. MTMTE and RID exist in the same universe, just have their own things going on, so a decent amount of things still carry over without you needing to have read every single thing in both. The writing, while not quite up to par with pieces that had more creative freedom and breathing room between scenes, is still recognizable as being Barber and Roberts’. Their voices are still here, they’re just strained under the weight of everything that has to be said inside of 12 issues.

With all THAT out of the way, let’s dive in to Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1.

We get a quick rundown of the most basic information you’ll need for this entire story to make sense, as we reintroduce the fact that Shockwave is an ecoterrorist with more agendas than a daily planner factory on meth, and also that he grows magic crystals. I don’t care what he says, the Ores are fucking space-magic. If you don’t want to read through all of RID for everything else, please see Robots in Disguise (2012), #1-22- A Recap, For Reference Purposes.  We also get a quick rundown of the Lost Lighters’ deal, as Swerve potentially has a meta-episode.

Be careful what you fucking wish for, bucko.

Our story proper starts with a flashback to the shittiest road trip Cyclonus ever went on, as the Ark 1 finds itself at the edge of a mysterious portal. This is likely why he wasn’t super thrilled when the portal to Luna 1 showed up- portals are probably a touchy subject for him.

Jhiaxus doesn’t know what this portal is- surely this means that science has failed us, and it’s time to call in the religious crowd to try and suss out what’s going on here.

It’s moments like this that make me wonder what exactly happened in the Dead Universe that made Cyclonus’ cheek meat just pack up and leave.

Now, we know that Cyclonus is correct here, because we as readers have more knowledge than the characters at this point, but Jhiaxus tries to write off this theory as hogwash, because he is a man of rationality and science. This is a slight removal from his character in the present, whose most notable traits seem to be a lack of ethics and screaming.

Everyone here seems to be slightly different from their current iterations, actually; Galvatron doesn’t say a word as he steps between Jhiaxus and Cyclonus, only using his body to communicate that the scientist might want to back off. Cyclonus himself is certainly the wordiest we’ve ever seen him to be, droning on through his actual thought process before he comes to a conclusion on what exactly they’ve found. Compare this to the Cyclonus of today, who only deigns to grace everyone with his voice if they outright threaten him, have something he wants, or are Tailgate. If he were to ever pull this verbal meandering on board the Lost Light, people would probably assume he’s having a stroke.

Nova Prime- you remember him, don’t you?- gives not a fuck about the Dead Universe, only what it means for him personally. And what it means for him is more locations to subjugate, because he is cartoonishly evil. His character is the least removed from his present-day iteration out of everyone. He tells the crew they’ll be getting a little closer, only for the portal to do the work for them, by way of dark energy tentacles.

Wow, the pilot for the Ark 1 really is just straight-up named Butt, isn’t he? And what the fuck is that face you’re making, Cyclonus? Are you- oh my god, are you emoting? Oh my god, he’s emoting.

As the Ark 1 is pulled to its doom, Jhiaxus makes a quick phone call to Shockwave to tell him he’s his favorite, and to keep up the good work.

In the present, Shockwave reflects on just how friggin’ long this whole ordeal has taken. Fortunately, Waspinator and the Titan are almost here, and he can hardly wait.

Not, uh, that he’s got emotions or anything. It’s been established that he doesn’t have those anymore. Is impatience an emotion? Does that count?

Shockwave seems like he’d be really frustrating to write for.

Anyway, the Titan shows up, the Ore inside him and the Ore in the underground Crystal City combine, and the Titan starts screaming because everything hurts. Shockwave’s about as thrilled as he can be about the situation, given his lack of emotions.

Above Crystal City, we finally get back to that nonsense about the early sunrise, as someone- maybe Starscream, given the color of the narration box- waxes poetic on the planet of Cybertron, wartorn and wild in its rebirth, ruled by paranoia that has nothing to bounce off of, and so creates its own walls.

Then we get a detailed shot of Rattrap’s mug, and the moment is broken.

Rattrap’s character is a lot of fun in everything he gets tossed into, but you’re a goddamn liar if you think he’s pretty to look at. You are lying to yourself, and I won’t apologize for saying it.

Starscream walks out of his room in his hot new body, feeling fine and ready to take on the world. We’ll check in on him later in the day to see how that positive mentality is working out for him.

So, the sun hasn’t moved, and it’s way too early for the sun to even be up right now. That’s weird. Because I guess he didn’t know how the sun works, Starscream’s only just realized that this is perhaps a problem. He does some computer work and realizes that this is indeed a very bad thing, and asks that Rattrap call the Autobots. Not the ones who fucked off into the wilderness, the other ones. The gay, space ones.

Up in space, Orion Pax and his pals have found themselves in dire straits, the collapsing Gorlam Prime sucking their ship back down as the Death Ore consumes everything.

That’s not how engines work! And I think it really says something about the “Prelude” issues that I completely forgot why Wheelie was down an arm for a solid five seconds.

It turns out that Orion was the narrator the entire time, which I should have known- since when is the once and future Optimus Prime not the primary voice in any media he appears in?

It’s looking rough for the fellas, but luckily we’ve got to get the plot rolling, so the Lost Light VZZZZTs into existence and picks up the Skyroller to place it gently into its belly.

Orion isn’t exactly jazzed about the fact that Rodimus didn’t listen to what he told him, not even bothering to thank the guy for saving his life. I say y’all keep going on your Thunderclash Quest and leave this ungrateful loser behind. No space yachting for you, Orion.

The rest of the Pax Posse enter the Lost Light proper, and Hardhead reveals that he nearly joined the Quest, before he saw who all would be coming with, while Garnak has a tearful reunion with Rodimus. The fact that he’s calling him Sir- which I don’t recall him doing in Transformers (2009), at least not in a way that seems reminiscent of an unfortunate Antebellum Period Romance- feels rather weird, but I’m glad someone’s fucking happy to see Rodimus at least. Ultra Magnus asks Orion if he’ll be assuming command of the vessel, as Rodimus tries not to look horrified by the thought alone, but fortunately Orion’s not going to pull his “I’m Optimus Prime and I Can Do What I Want” Card just yet.

Smash cut to the bridge, as Rodimus tries to make himself sound competent, when Starscream calls. Orion doesn’t like that Starscream has their number, Perceptor almost reveals the fact that this ship technically doesn’t belong to a faction, likely due to being purchased after the war, and Cyclonus gets brought in for his professional opinion.

As it turns out, that early sunrise isn’t a sunrise at all, but a portal to the Dead Universe. This is a problem, because the Dead Universe really sucks, and you don’t want to go there, especially if you enjoy being alive. Orion seems more concerned about the fact that Starscream is ruling the planet, and Bumblebee is nowhere to be found.

Speaking of Bumblebee, he and all his camp buddies are psyching themselves up for a confrontation.

Swoop, please, this is hardly the time for crudeness.

The Dinobots, sick of Bumblebee’s dithering about, decide they’re going to fight the fucking sun and gear up. Prowl, though generally disliking their brand of problem-solving, does share his begrudging respect of their can-do attitude.

Their can-do attitude over fighting the fucking sun.

Then an earthquake happens and the ground rips open to reveal that Titan that Waspinator showed up with.

Shockwave takes over the narration at this point, and we get artsy, as we see events that haven’t transpired yet over musings on the nature of... time? Maybe? It would be in line with Roberts’ go-to topics, but honestly the whole thing’s kind of vague so I couldn’t give you a solid answer. Shockwave gets awfully introspective for a guy who shouldn’t care, I know that much. The point is, he is inevitable and is super good at logic and science.

Also, Nova Prime and Galvatron are back, which is cool, I guess. Not sure where Galvatron had gotten to exactly after the events of “Chaos”, but he’s back now, so it doesn’t matter too terribly much. Shockwave serves them, which we’ll probably get an explanation for at some point.

God, you can practically taste the desperation to pin all these plot points together before the entire thing implodes on itself.

[uraharashouten]

@xyuuken​​ said:

does kisuke consider himself ethical?

ethics

Pronunciation /ˈeTHiks/ 

PLURAL NOUN

usually treated as plural Moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity. ‘medical ethics also enter into the question’

The moral correctness of specified conduct. ‘many scientists question the ethics of cruel experiments’

I think I’ve touched on this in other ways before, but perhaps not directly, so thank you for the opportunity!

To restate the question: does Kisuke believe his own behavior and activities to be governed by moral principles? Does he consider them morally correct?

If I were to take this opportunity to deep-end on where moral principles come from, and why we have ethics, we’d never get out of this meta. And that was starting to happen before I put on the brakes and began rewriting the ten paragraphs I had so far. So instead, I’ll just recommend you look into that on your own; maybe starting with The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt.

I’ll just assert that Kisuke does seem to have his own set of guiding principles: a desire for forward progress, balanced with compassion. There is much he says and does to maintain the balance of the universe throughout the series, but unlike Mayuri, Aizen, and Yhwach, he is unwilling to increase non-consensual suffering for it.

But wait, you say. Doesn’t he have consent issues? And doesn’t he get carried away with the possibilities of research avenues without considering consequences? …and here’s where our concept of what’s ethical probably does clash with Kisuke’s. We can look at him implanting a foreign object in an unwitting young lady, or effectively killing and torturing a young man to help him grow stronger, or turning a woman into a mindless beast to help win a battle, or creating his own child soldiers from unknown genetic material, or creating a sentient wishing-stone capable of stupendous and terrifying power, and collectively tilt our heads and say ehhhhhh… looks like some potential for suffering to us. But what’s interesting is that in none of those cases did he deal lasting damage. Before he ever implanted the Hōgyoku into Rukia, he had already developed a harmless means of retrieving it. Before he tormented Ichigo, he was fully aware of his potential and had his buy-in. Yoruichi may hate that form, but he knew she’d revert back. He was beside Tessai (and beside himself) when Ururu was injured; he clearly hadn’t intended her to engage with a force that powerful. And the Hōgyoku… well, he did try to destroy that, very early on, but I don’t think he was aware that it was aware. Plus, he failed.

There is a darkness in him that’s evident when his bloodlust is invoked. He seems to enjoy a fight just a little too much. And he’s all too keenly aware of his own proclivities to push boundaries. He knows the power he wields could do just as much harm as good, and the temptation to wield it indiscriminately is ever present. Perhaps that is why, even in battle, he practices surprising restraint. He had Benihime at Yammy’s throat and didn’t deliver the coup de gras. He lopped off one of Luppi’s tentacles, but that didn’t seem to set him back. He split open Askin’s arm and not his head. Why doesn’t he go for the kill?

In fact, in general, if we look at his actions, it is difficult to really read out of them any deliberate intent to harm. And this, to him, is self-consistent with his  principles, and qualitatively different from deciding that any amount of harm is justifiable. So from his perspective, is he ethical?

I’m not going to answer that, because I can see him pulling down his brim and giving me a sinister chuckle.  Fine, Kisuke, play the villain if you like.

[cloudbattrolls]

Sleep With One Eye Open

Notes: Vernrot belongs to @raitrolling! 

Thrixe Varzim || 11.5 sweeps || Vernrot || Present Night

It’s the night after you made it to Vernrot, threw that obnoxious cusp into the harbor, and slept over at Lusien’s hive. But you need to stay at a hotel the rest of the time; you won’t trespass on his hospitality like that. Plus, the more time you spend around him, the more risk he’ll see you as...never mind. You need to be practical, figure out which QPIN contacts need to be checked on, which trade channels might need extra muscle -

“Stop.”

Your fins twitch in recognition, despite your attempts to stop them. You know that hard feminine voice, and you wish you didn’t.

Slowly, to emphasize your complete lack of eagerness to talk to them, you turn to face the two women who’ve apparently followed you here. Unless you’re just that unlucky. 

Neither are tall, one olive and the other yellow. The yellowblood’s short horns are covered by her curly hair, her skin slightly darker than yours and her eyes serious above her grimly set mouth. The olive wears a grin that could seem innocently eager to a troll who’d never met her before, her short straight hair barely reaching past her large, round ears. Both are dressed simply in gray and black clothing, breath from their warmer bodies turning to fog in the cool air.

It was Zelist who spoke to you, and she does so again.

“It’s been long enough. You haven’t contacted us once since you left Derevnya. Our scout observed you coming here of all places. Why?”

You stare at her, annoyed even though you know you shouldn’t be. 

“What are you doing in this town if not pest control, Varzim?” Purrs the oliveblood, now holding a long, sharp knife coated in some sort of glistening substance.

You never much liked Marisa; you don’t think most trolls do, even in her cult. Maybe it’s something about how she always smells of the undead.

Sure enough, Zelist glares at her sharply. “Give him a chance to explain.” She says, voice hard, but her eyes are on you and her suspicion is plain.

“I’ve tried to fight the horrors here. I never made any progress. So I gave up; they’re not actively hurting people, at least. Vernrot is…” you wave a hand vaguely. “Stable. Even if it’s not the kind we’d like.”

“That’s complacent talk, Varzim.” Says Zelist, arms crossed. “You could’ve asked us for help.”

You give her a look, fins twitching as your mouth curls in disdain.

“You people don’t do subtlety. I didn’t want to attract attention.”

She shakes her head, gaze detached but disapproving like one of your proctors would’ve been and for a moment you feel a flicker of guilt. Maybe she’s right. Maybe you should have talked to them, asked them for help...

“We let ourselves be corrupted before, but things have changed. We keep an eye on the other cults now, regulate summonings and artifact use. Everything is getting better. We should be allies, Varzim. We have the same enemies.”

Are the horrorterrors here your enemies?

Of course they are. All horrorterrors are anathema to trollkind. Different faces of the same incomprehensible forces, unable to understand trolls or respect their wellbeing. Too strange and terrible to bargain with.

But the ones here didn’t attack you unless you did first, and when you apologized how Lusien suggested, they went away...

No, you still can’t trust them, you decide. Horrorterrors are always bad.

Still, you trust the blueblood even if he’s wrong. You trust him because he’s the best thing that ever happened to you. 

Even if it treats him badly, Lusien doesn’t want you to hurt Vernrot.

“Maybe we should work together.” You admit. “But I can’t attack this town. I mean, I’ve tried - I think if we threw more at it it would retaliate harder than we can hit. If we find a way to remove the horrorterrors here it can’t be with any collateral damage.”

You remember Sayamh, but push the memory away. He was too far gone to save, the undead wretch. He was better off as bullets.

Zelist purses her lips and Marisa laughs before speaking in her mocking tone.

“So soft you’ve become! I wonder why. Is it ‘the town’ or someone in particular? Something in particular?”

“How dare you.” You say softly, baring your fangs at her implication. “I would never be friendly with a horrorterror. I’m thinking of all the trolls here. None of them have any idea what’s happening! They wouldn’t understand what we were doing. They can’t see it even when it’s in front of their faces.”

Except one, forced to witness it alone as everyone thought he was insane. 

“Then they’re better off purged anyway.” retorts the yellowblood dismissively. “If they’re so oblivious, they could enable the forces here by accident and let something out. The risk isn’t worth it. So help us, Varzim, prove all our suspicions are baseless. This can be easy and straightforward. We can all go hive happy.”

She holds out a hand to you, eyebrows raised.

You believe her. The lowblood is a lot of things, but unlike the olive she’s a woman of her word. She’s practical. Her goals make sense.

You shake your head anyway.

“No. You’re going to fail and this isn’t my fight. I’ll find other terrors to destroy.”

Zelist and Marisa exchange a look, and with a sigh, the yellow hands the green some caegers. The latter pockets them, smug as a satisfied meowbeast.

“Don’t bet against me.” Purrs the higher caste. “I told you when he didn’t cull that possessed cusp it was clear where his loyalties lay.”

Your fins flick in surprise. They know about the scientist? 

“I’d hoped he’d have a good explanation.” Zelist retorts acerbically. “Clearly I was wrong.”

Marisa raises her knife and you knock it out of her hand, so quick that -

You’ve been stabbed.

“Such a simple trick to fall for.” She whispers, and her other hand withdraws a long, serrated blade covered in violet blood that wasn’t there a moment ago.

You try to kick her. Your body doesn’t move. The blood seems to drip off the metal in slow motion as you find you can barely even breathe, frozen in place with outstretched arms. The damp air is cold on your wound, which...isn’t closing.

Your wound isn’t closing.

Zelist shakes her head, and raises her hand to make a short signal. Dozens of other trolls come out, completely covered up in body armor, nets in their hands. 

Your wound bleeds freely, staining your body armor, staining your new shirt.

The trolls close in, nets crackling with energy.

No. No. No. No.

The nets surround you, wrapping you up in a hopeless tangle as they shock you, and your wound isn’t closing - 

You can’t speak. Can’t regrow. Can’t do anything.

Then you remember what you practiced with Teagan, what seems like a million sweeps ago now.

You take their minds. Despite the temptation, you don’t attack like you did with the indigo who threatened Lonnen. You only make them set you free, back off, leave this place and forget what happened, forget the cult itself; you grow new pathways in their minds, wiping away the old.

Breathing heavily once free of the nets, you turn to the pair of women who stare at you, whatever Marisa did having worn off or been purged by your body. Zelist is slack-jawed in amazement while Marisa exhibits a surprised sort of hunger, leaning forward slightly while still holding her blood-covered knife.

“Listen to me.” You say - snarl, really, despite straining yourself to sound civil. “I don’t want to fight you. But I will if I have to. This town is mine.”

Silence reigns for a few moments as the wind blows, bringing the scent of salt and fish.

“Since when could you do that, Varzim?” asks the yellowblood quietly. “You didn’t have that power when you fought the Siren.”

“I didn’t.” You agree. “I’ve learned more about my abilities since then. None of which I feel like sharing with you.” You remark, dry. 

You give them a wry smile with a great deal of sharp seadweller teeth. 

“Something about being stabbed and manhandled has put me in an antisocial mood. We’re done here. Go, before I make you leave.”

The two exchange another look. 

Then Zelist pulls out a gun that reminds you uncomfortably of Sochet’s. The runes, the metal, the make...they’re almost twins, but this one is far newer. 

You duck as a bullet whistles over your head, and you can feel it’s like the ones Sayamh died for - horrorterror essence turned against its source, anathema to your very existence. You pull out your own gun, shooting to keep her and Marisa - damn olive stabbing at you - back.

You fend off both of them, letting your training take over, and get up close to Zelist, knocking the gun out of her hands - even that hurts, making you shudder down to your core.

Then Marisa shoots you in the back and you feel yourself...melt.

Your existence starts to break down, your very presence in reality degrading.

But you can regenerate again.

As the bullet is flung back at its owner, as your monstrous nature takes over and you grow jaws and eyes, tentacles and tendrils growing as your choir of voices sings of victory, of growing unrestrained by troll shape, you struggle against it, but perhaps not as hard as you should.

Trolls warp into nonsense masses of flesh in your sight.

You sing in confusion. In fear. In joy. What odd creatures!

You sing unbothered by what your own flesh just went through, but the whispers of the others grate on you. An irritant, itching at your growth. 

So you raise your voice to drown them out. 

[spiderh0rse]

stark's mind notes part 4, e16-20

e16

wonders how Godzilla's creator would react to the situation. Familiar with his more frontfacing philosophies

wouldn't go out there without his armour

would be more confident with a companion

maintains hope that literally anyone other than him is doing work and turning on the oxy+power

loud noise :(

works out the sound mechanic pretty well. Seems pretty set on the alien echolocation thing. First headcrabs, now the Tentacle

Blaze-orange,, that's a FREEMANISM

laughs once he's out of immediate danger

has seen some of the Godzilla movies!

the cynic in him maintained despair in the scientists doing work here

Ashton? This name is associated with shitty pranks. Specifically shitty pranks.

NOW he wonders about the water depth when trying to break his fall with it

prepared to have a breakdown if nothing helps his goals

bothered by how unhygienic the vents are

underwater mumbling!!!

wants to throw up but figures this is not the place to do it

pretty sure he's just putting the zombies out of their misery

e17

Desc: professes that Stark talks to his "dark side" in this one

new titlecard! Very anime

LOVES when potential avenues of escape are cut off /s

he's just so jovial about everything (he sounds on the edge of tears)

oh yeah he's acknowledging that he's doing his whole "descent into madness" thing and that he's got to cut it out. That he can turn that on and off is. Concerning.

anticipates being ACTUALLY completely mad in about five hours

considers himself the wrong man in the wrong place

made a pun on accident but isn't too fussed about it

definitely had a bit of an issue breathing in the wind tunnel

purposeful pun!

takes a moment to breathe and take stuff in

either shakes himself off or gets a bit dizzy at the top of some stairs

has not been shot at before!

getting the gamer's mindset (more bodies = more important)

remains unconcerned about the headcrabs. I'd genuinely consider those the biggest threat in the building always

choked by a barnacle. That sounds SUPREMELY unpleasant

he is the MASTER of hide and seek

never good at basketball before

thinks maybe someone committed suicide in a back room

considers the "still alive despite everything" thing he's got a curse

does smoke. Nicotine, to be clear

R. L. Stein mention,,

apologizes sarcastically to the tentacles for leaving them

he has lots of free time AND blood on his hands! :)

reasons the scientists turning on the power are dead

personally thinks the matter of saving people here is a lost cause but wants to try anyways

trying to not kill things so he doesn't go mad faster

thinks the sleeping houndeyes are cute :)

hopes 2010 doesn't have him kickstarting the second apocalypse. This is in reference to the New Year, so it's 2009! Slightly after Homestuck released if i remember ResCas day properly

references some guy who. Sent out mail bombs i think?

very vanilla. Does not approve of choking as a kink

rambling and knows it

e18

has a checklist of things that happen to him when he's careless. Included: elevator breaking (which given modern regulations ONLY happens with deliberate sabotage or extensive damage)

delighted and shocked at the sight of a single living scientist

insults himself for forgetting briefly about the lambda team

still pissed about the lack of a helmet

his autobiography,, isn't going to write itself

"the ends justify the means" what if I say the means justify the ends huh?

understands he is just saying stuff recreationally

startled badly by some guy who proceeds to be rude to him. Stark ceases to act like he cares about the guy

doesn't have a great sense of smell

worried about what the military will do with more time.

not in the mood for internal bleeding >:(

familiar with bond villain stereotypes

thinks he comes up with cool ideas. wishes he'd become a director

Dr. Gordon "opiate plus alcohol equals heaven" Freeman

wonders what Freeman is doing right now. Seems to wish him poorly

says "stifled" like someone who's only read the word and never heard anyone say it

tries to say a cool one liner but distracted by HOT ROCKET

familiar with Predator but is more of an Alien man

familiar with the story of David and Goliath. Fancies himself David.

e19

gets mad at stupid questions easily

wishes the military would have to deal with this kind of bullshit

thinks no one can both aim to survive and work towards good at this time. Continues to work towards good.

"haven't discussed the details of my contract with the cosmic overlords who have granted me partial amnesty" hm...

resurfaces for half a second "heycooliwa" sright!

abandons a room full of burning waste on account of Smells Bad and Bad For Lungs

the homiest room in the game, toxic waste turbine river, does not appeal to him

pessimistic about a door working and opening

hits it with a crowbar a bunch and leaves when it fails to work

has seen so many OSHA violations today

understands that you CRAWL on thin suspended things. Lower center of gravity = better balance

his heart has had numbers done in it today

makes a bunch of goofy alliterative nicknames for the radiation river

insists a grate stopping his progress is TREASON

doesn't work out every day or anything like that, but he's not out of shape

keeps forgetting to ask for a map. WHERE HAVE I HEARD THIS BEFORE

hates the work harder not smarter slogan

claims he thinks gravity can't do anything to him because he's killed a giant

glad he has to deal with radiation less right now

"the n in fun stands for nuclear!"

unnerving noise! he's Bothered.

e20

wants a MAP.

he was joking about a trend of fighting giant monsters before. Now? Probably will have to fight one.

"Ey, look, there's Stark, let's just paparazzi him to death," complete with bad brooklyn accent

not sure how many times bad design has stymied him

snarks at a no smoking sign. cites definitely not needing stress relief

"hoo-ha or whatever"

ignores the gargantuar lighting up some soldiers aside from the flamethrower hands

tells some vortigaunt that they're trespassing

thinks he's being paranoid right now but it's warranted

uses his tripmines to keep any ambushes from happening

low on ammo :(

going to look for medical supplies to help out that guard. Completely forgets the medkits by the magnum rounds from earlier

considers the headcrabs annoying now, not outright dangerous. Which. Hey. No they're the worst thing here.

wondering why the HEV suit keeps track of his ammo

SO pissed off and he can't even sue

thinks the grenade launcher will be interesting to use. Thinks he shouldn't use it in small spaces

not taking some marines guns because Body Fluids

doesn't want to deal with androids

does not think highly of soldiers. Says they don't care for their victims. Also says the feeling is mutual.

[genuflectx]

4th Dimensional Being/OC - CH3

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 

Full Length: 19,543 Chapter Length:  2,218

Main Themes: Other dimensions, tentacles, confinement, nsfw Other Warnings: politics,  "godly" behaviors, vomit, feeling of loss of autonomy, comparison to a toy

(all images in aesthetic board are labeled for reuse with modification or are mine)

The next chapter gets nasty...

The 4DB Chapter 3: The Virus

They were all chattering like cicadas, a loud distant drone in the back of her head. Chris missed her phone. She missed Vincent. She even missed Mildred's occasional snarky comment. Instead she was here, the beginnings of a headache blooming, listening to the test subjects debate the pros and cons of their situation. Chris absently and quietly picked at her food.

John was grumpy. He complained that he shouldn't even be here. “Whatever this thing is it's keeping me from my job,” but he secretly thought that perhaps he'd be revered for his 'sacrifice,' assuming he was allowed to even talk about it after it ended.

“What do you do again?” Asked Cole at Chris’s side smartly.

John became red in the face but kept his composure. “Very funny.”

Aaron, nearly slumped over the cold metal table, shrugged and snorted. “Why's a ~mystical being~ need any of us anywho? A security guard, an energy-guy, a mayor, a fucking clerk for God's sake,” he gestured towards Chris.

“Well I know why he'd want me!” Boasted Nathan. “Must of saw me on the field and thought wow, I need him in my soon-to-be-cult!” His laugh was so loud. John sneered when he elbowed him.

The conversation just felt so shallow. Chris should have opted to sit with her roommate Morgan, but she had looked out of it ever since she'd first spoken with Gabriel the day before.

“So uh, what did it say to you guys?” Cole changed the subject suddenly.

Chris looked up, glancing around. Some of the men looked rather uncomfortable.

“Fucker wanted me to describe war to him,” Nathan answered quickly, his expression confused but vaguely amused. “Apparently they've had no wars. Not one. I think he's a liar, what a load of shit.”

John shrugged, leaning back a bit. “I was asked about my job. It was very tame.”

“Hey Chris, what did it ask you?” Cole nudged her from her thoughts.

The security guard chuckled. “How to send a letter?”

She ignored him. God, some of these guys were obnoxious. “It asked me about our government and how it treated me,” she shrugged, looking back at her food.

“I wonder what the eggheads will do with those recordings,” Nathan interjected. “Not like they can hear the bastard. It'll just be a bunch of government losers ranting about their jobs. Oh, and then me having to explain every damn World War like I was a school teacher. Whatever that thing is... it knows nothing about us.”

At least Chris could agree with that.

The experiments continued. The scientists began to fill out; the building became more abuzz with life than it had at the start. Suddenly the subjects felt surrounded. There was always some straight-laced woman or expressionless man beside them. Tailor, Sparrow, Rock, Dove, they all came with some codename. And, even in the reports of which the subjects could not access, Chris and her comrades were coded as well. Like they were trying to hide who they were, what they were doing, to keep their discoveries a secret from the rest of the world.

Regardless, a week had gone by and the only thing they'd discovered was that the 4DB was communicating directly inside of the subjects' heads. They tried to figure out a way to at least record the brain readings of the subjects' during sessions, and indeed found ample evidence that the auditory system was being stimulated. It was telepathy. Unfortunately they were having difficulty figuring out how to translate the brain's signals into actual words. They would have to stick with word of mouth.

“Have you learned anything about us?” Chris asked, walking around the pink square casually.

“Much. You are each individuals, like us. However, you are perhaps more individually inclined than I estimated,” they admitted curiously.

“I hope that helps you re-consider exterminating us. Cause... ya know, I sorta wanna live.”

Gabriel paused. “All things want to live. Even a virus wants to live.”

She scrunched her brows, angry. “We are not a virus, Gabriel. Grow up.”

“...No, I suppose you are not.” Gabriel went quiet for a while.

Chris calmed a bit and finished her circle. She leaned against the wall. “I wish I could go back home. I miss my friends. The people here- they're... I don't know. Not my sort. I'm tired.”

That was almost enough to make Gabriel feel some guilt, but if they had not plucked Chris from her home they'd have plucked someone else. “I do see the way you look.”

She rose a brow, confused. “Huh? What's that supposed to mean?”

“The way you look. When they speak.”

For a moment she was beside herself, believing they were saying some sort of gibberish. But then it clicked. Her brows shot up and her head went light. “You watch us when we're not in the chamber?”

“Of course I do. I am not confined to one spot,” they shook their heads.

She paled. Then she reddened. “Nooo no no, do you...” her voice got quiet. “...see us when we... pee? And shower?”

Apparently that was funny because they laughed strangely. “Yes. Now I see you are embarrassed. Do not be embarrassed, for I can see any part of you at any time if I wished. I can see all your organs. Like now, your heart has sped up.”

Chris placed her hand to her heart as if she could hide it. It was sort of cute. “Y-yeah? Well can you see I'm going to vomit?”

They looked to the right, down the vague rivers of time. “Maybe. A long, long time from now.”

She sighed, sort of sick. “Well Gabriel, nice knowin' ya. I'm out for the day.” Chris absconded from the chamber five minutes early. The scientists were not pleased.

As days ticked on Chris could see how the results of these studies were wearing away at the morale of the scientists. Some were exhausted, some were disappointed, some were scared and angry. They grew impatient with the 4DB. It still only spoke to them to issue commands. Then, one day, when a particularly irritable scientist got cocky, the 4DB actually laughed and shoved them. Right in front of their colleagues. None of the subjects saw it, but of course they heard about it through the grape vine.

The scientists wanted to stop sending the subjects into the chamber to test the limits of the 4DBs relationship with the lab. However, too many feared some retaliation so such a test never came to fruition. Instead, they spitefully released one lesser subject's contracts and then started increasing the amount of time the remaining subjects would spend with the scientists. Gale began to meet with Chris once a day, though in a much more comfortable room than the one they'd first conversed in.

“How have you settled in?” Gale asked, leaning comfortably in her chair and crossing her long legs. “A week and a half far from home... you must miss your friends.”

At this point she was almost too nervous to voice her true feelings. “Yeah, it feels more like a month,” she answered instead, uncomfortable.

Gale nodded and drummed her fingers on the table between them, observing Chris. She changed the subject masterfully. “You know, your recordings are the most interesting.”

That made Chris perk up, a bit of adrenaline pushing into her veins. “What do you mean?”

The other smirked, entertained. “You're the only subject so far who sounds almost friendly with the 4DB. And don't think we didn't notice you named it, too.”

Chris didn't want to admit that hearing that made her feeling sort of... special. “I didn't know you listened to the recordings,” her cheeks tinted.

“Of course! And transcribe as well,” Gale explained. “You call it Gabriel. Like before it made its presence known to us, like Gabriel's Children. The other subjects... well. Gabriel seems to get something from them that we just don't.”

Chris glanced down at her hand fidgeting in her lap, embarrassed.

“But wow, does it talk to you. Maybe it's your time in retail. You just have a way with small talk,” she began to laugh. “So Chris, I have a proposal for you.”

She lifted her eyes. “Um... y-yeah?”

Gale leaned forward, face friendly and tone pleasant, but Chris could feel the strange aura emanating from her piercing eyes. “Get closer to it. Make it friendly. It obviously favors you and we need that. We are more then well aware- based off your recordings and reports- that the fate of the world, no, maybe the whole solar system, depends on Gabriel's opinion-”

“Well there are more than one 4DB,” you interrupted.

She looked only slightly aggravated at the interruption, then continued. “-And Gabriel's opinion might just fall on its opinion of you. Try to get it to talk to us more naturally. Not just commands. It's not working with us like we'd like. And in return? You'll get cell phone access again,” she winked. “Have some time to chat with those friends you miss so much.”

Chris agreed. That wouldn't be so hard. All she had to do was keep doing what she was doing. The world would learn more, she would get her cell phone back, and maybe with some luck Gabriel wouldn't vote to destroy the Earth.

But then, during the next session in the chamber with the pink square, she found a tense heaviness in the air like standing underwater.

“I heard your conversation,” Gabriel said immediately, emotionless.

Shocked and anxious, Chris tried to play it off as nothing. “That was just... it was just-”

Gabriel cut her off. “Quiet. You miss your human friends.”

She was uncertain if she was allowed to reply or not, stunned. Instead she just nodded stiffly and crossed her arms.

“And if I comply by being more 'cooperative' with your knowledge keepers they will allow you to speak with these friends,” they went on. After a pause they added: “I am indifferent to your plight.”

When Gabriel said nothing else Chris took it as her cue to respond. She was quiet, as if trying not to be picked up by the small microphone clipped to her shirt. “I... nothing would change. All we have to do is talk. Just like before. That's all they really want.”

“We shall see,” Gabriel said plainly.

The problem was that their plan began to work, despite Gabriel being aware of it. Though they didn't necessarily speak directly to the scientists they did grow warmer to Chris. Chris had a way about her that just made Gabriel so... interested in her. She didn't make cutting remarks (as if that would have hurt anyways), she didn't refuse to answer their questions, and she didn't make light of the atrocities of her country. She just talked. Like speaking with Gabriel was the most natural thing in the world. They didn't quite mind the nick-name anymore either, if they were honest. They hated that they were warm with Chris.

Gale was 'happy' the two of them were still getting along. Chris didn't tell her Gabriel knew about the plan, but they obviously suspected it. Everyday the scientist looked a little more intense. Gale continued to drill it into Chris's head to get Gabriel speaking with the scientists. Was it more cooperative today? No. How about now? No. Gale held back her irritation. At the end of each daily session she was led to her room feeling uncomfortable and alone. Chris still hadn't gotten her cell phone back. Her friends probably thought she was dead.

“Has it really been three weeks since this whole thing started?” Chris sighed, sitting on the cold floor. She fiddled with the rim of her shirt's neck, knowing full well that would cause sound disturbance in the recording. She'd get a mouthful about that.

Gabriel, who was sitting comfortably beyond the barrier, twirled their tentacles around one another absently. “For you.”

Chris nodded. She was quiet a moment. “Then how long is three weeks in your dimension?”

“For you it is sixty seconds to a minute, sixty minutes to an hour, twenty-four hours to a day, seven days to a week. For me it is... time functions differently,” they tried to explain. “I've only met you a few 'days' ago.”

That was hard for her to wrap her head around. “And are you really learning by doing this? Keeping us here in a box? Just talking?”

“Yes,” they replied simply.

They really were. They not only listened to word-of-mouth, they saw into the deep wrinkles of the subjects' brains, saw their bodily chemistry rise and fall. They watched for reactions to key words, how the subjects interacted with one another and their human 'captors.'

Chris shrugged, pursing her lips. She didn't seem to believe them. “Ooookay. Ya know this could go a lot faster if you also spoke to the scientists.” Of course they both knew what Chris was trying to do.

“So eager to hear your judgment.”

She shrugged again, somehow feeling rather fond of Gabriel in that moment. “Nah... just to hear my friends' voices again.”

Soon, Gabriel automatically thought, surprising themself.

Chapters 4, 5, and the epilogue will remain Patron-only content! However, eventually the full story will be edited more and added to Gumroad as an e-book as well. So if you’d like to get to the nsfw or read the rest, check out NSFWGenuflect on Patreon or wait for the Gumroad release :}