#ai on its own is neutral but can and has been used for some truly heinous stuff on the daily

[monarchisms]

it's fortunate that i don't need to write a whole essay about how morally dubious at best the use of ai is from an artist's point of view. most of you are also artists or follow a few of them on social media, so you'd understand already, which is great!

but even without the argument of ethics, a lot of ai art is just ugly as shit, so i feel like that alone should be enough to deter from using it, And Yet,

[hallowmoon-art]

TouchStarved - Potential Character Alignments

I wanted to see if I can guess the possible moral alignments of the TouchStarved LIs.

Ais - Chaotic Neutral.

While he seems to like getting into fist fights, Ais doesn't seem to be the type to constantly seek them out. He likes to relax and do his own thing for the most part. It could take a lot to make him truly angry, but once he's mad, he's mad and the city may lose a block or two or more. Though he probably doesn't care whether or not he hurts people, it's unclear if he likes finishing off enemies or not. Or if he just sometimes kills randos on the street bc he's pissed. So Chaotic Neutral teetering on Chaotic Evil I would say for now. "Chaotic Neutral creatures follow their whims, valuing their own freedom and self-interest above other concerns. Such creatures dislike being ordered to do things, and pay no regard for rules or other creatures’ expectations. And, while they are not always selfish to the point of harming others (for no reason), they feel no compulsion to help other creatures in need."

Leander - Lawful/Neutral Evil

From, what's been released about Leander, he seems to be the "good guy." Wanting to make his home a better place. But, looking at those designer bags under his eyes, he's losing sleep over something. My running theory is that he goes Dexter on his enemies. He very much has his own moral code, but by society's rules, he knows its wrong. So that's why I'm guessing Lawful Evil. If that's not the case, and he's just losing sleep over constantly trying to become more powerful, then my guess would lean a little more to the Neutral Evil side. But Leander is the hardest one for me to come to a decent conclusion.

Lawful Evil creatures act within a code of behavior, but are otherwise self-centered. They are often tyrants, or would be if they could, seeking to use their code of behavior to advance their own interests.

Neutral Evil creatures are self-interested, and do whatever they can get away with to advance their own interests. They might follow rules if it serves them, but they do not feel bound to do so. At the same time, they aren’t to unpredictable as Chaotic evil creatures.

Kuras - Lawful Neutral

While he does offer medical care for free, it seems to be only to those he sees as worthy or deserving. And he's done something to make him have enough regret to stay bound in Eridia for centuries. So it seems his heart is mostly in the right place, he has his own moral code that doesn't exactly follow that of a saint or hero. "Lawful Neutral act in accordance with the law, tradition, or with some code of behavior. While this code can often be external (the law, a religious tradition, etc.), it can also be self-determined."

Mhin- Neutral Good

So far, Mhin seems like the only other character willing to follow society's laws, but they're not above killing someone if they had to. Though It may be something they don't want to do. "Neutral Good creatures do their best to do what they consider “good”, but don’t cling to rules or stricture so much as Lawful Good creatures. A Neutral Good creature might still obey the law or society���s expectations most of the time, but they are not rigidly bound by them, and they view doing right thing as more valuable than obeying some strict doctrine."

Vere - Chaotic Evil

Purposely causes trouble for his own entertainment. He doesn't seem to care who he hurts or takes out in the process, and deliberately antagonizes people (mostly Mhin) just to see the suffering and potential bloody/deadly outcome. He'll lie and harm anyone to get what he wants. Only helping or bowing down to those he sees as an equal (like Ais) or someone more powerful (like Kuras). "Chaotic Evil creatures are motivated by arbitrary and often malicious whims. They are typically greedy and selfish, and are often violent. They give no thought to the wants or needs of other creatures, and pay no heed to rules or expectations. Such creatures will typically only bow to authority when threatened."

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

I've seen scatterings of her your headcanons about the Traveler, you got anything about the Trailblazer by any chance? (If you can, anyhow)

Okay!

The Trailblazer! Honkai: Star Rail

1.) I don't think for a second that they have a room on the Astral Express, because we have been in this game for an entire year now, and they still haven't shown us anything. Genshin got the Serenitea Pot before 2.0 dropped.

It's not as if March 7th's bedroom has any particular need to be in the game, but they went to the trouble of showing her having a personalized space. Dan Heng is said to have a room even if he's made the Archives his personal space for now. Himeko and Welt have rooms we can't go in, but they're there. So why can't the Trailblazer have a space of their own with little decorations nodding to events we've done and people we've met?

So, this persistent 'Astral Express Crew is Family!' idea people spout feels like the biggest reach to me because MC gets talked over a lot, gets their decisions made for them without being asked a lot, and has no clear connection to anything on the Express aside from whatever memes comes out of their mouth to mess with others in the moment.

2.) I fully believe that Stelle and Caelus are the same being, in the sense that I think they're a digital creation. Or perhaps a better explanation be like some kind of holographic AI super-system thing that is capable of shifting between 2 different forms depending on the job that needed to be done for the Stellaron Hunters. I don't necessarily think that they were a person, but the Hoyoverse has proven time and again, that even non-sentient things can become sentient when exposed to certain energies for long enough, and eventually ascend to a form of a powerful being that can act and think for itself.

I truly believe that, for the sake of the way the lore is going, having 2 different options for the receptacle of the Stellaron was literally just how it usually is for jobs. Like, it's actually an in-lore thing that they have this system on hand that can take either shape depending on what they're needed for, kind of like how Mora in Genshin has an in-lore reason for its use in everything(it's got fancy powers, cuz of the Gnosis, that enhance things when used on them). And then it gets reset at the end of each job so there's no memories to draw upon.

3.) So, building off of my last idea, the plot here is that there's some kind of script that they are following, fully believing they're doing the right thing even if it requires terrible atrocities to be done(if I'm following correctly of course, I get confused tbh). I completely think that they want this fancy system that they've been using, to actually become an Aeon somehow, through exploring the universe and forming opinions and connections. Perhaps even replace Akivili themself.

Aeons seem to be pretty neutral all things considered, and it's their followers that tend to be the ones who are morally corrupt or ambiguous in action and belief. Aeons seem to more embody a concept wholeheartedly, none of that fence-sitting stuff.

If that is the case, then the Trailblazer waking up without memories and forming an attachment to the followers of the Trailblaze themself, might be like a personality replacement of sorts. Since there's nothing in their past that they know about, and they don't even know anything about themself, they are trying to fill in the void with anything they can get their hands on, even if it means adopting a belief system they know nothing about or might not even agree with.

The main character has not been with the Astral Express long enough to be spouting all of this 'I will blaze a trail' nonsense. Every single time an option like that comes up, I will pick it for the sake of continuity in the story, but I do not believe it for a second. It doesn't feel as if there's been enough realistic character growth for the main character to already be saying things like this. They still don't know the Astral Express Crew all that well after all and they aren't given enough info. They hadn't even known about the whole Penacony situation when they arrived there. They'd been told that that was the next destination, but they had not been told that there was a fancy invite for specific guests and that they wouldn't be able to go with everyone because the one invite was for Dan Heng and not someone else and it can't be changed.

All of this just feels like they want to fit in somewhere because they don't have anywhere in their memories to go, but it doesn't feel like they're actually a crew member yet regardless of supposedly being POM-POM's fav. So, we circle back to my first idea, I guess.

4.) I think having no memories to draw upon is what allows the Trailblazer to channel the heart of each Path they have been able to unlock so far. By having absolutely no worldly connections prior to when they woke up, they are essentially a blank slate, and have to learn everything in the moment and experience it all personally to form their conclusions.

It always seems to be every time the Trailblazer comes to understand what the meaning of the Path is, after acquiring an item significant to the Path in question, that is when the Aeon of that Path Looks upon them for the first time and they seem to draw upon that connection to find the Will to use the new Path.

I don't really know where I'm going with this particular idea, but I felt like I should verbalize it.

5.) I'm about to get a little depressing for a second, but what if the Trailblazer's obsession with rummaging through trash cans and taking things left in them, is connected to the fact that they might feel like they've been abandoned because they don't have anything of their past to drawn upon, and the one person who seems to know them the most avoids them and doesn't seem inclined to answer questions?

As if having to reaffirm the idea that they are still useful and that all these things- these little trinkets that they find in the garbage, also have their uses. One man's trash is another man's treasure. That perhaps they can be treasure to someone too.

6.) I'm a little confused about the Stellaron part, because every other time it's come up in the story, it's been a really bad thing, Like, they seem to have a sentience or a consciousness of their own, and are capable of interacting with people and influencing them and their surroundings, but the one in the Trailblazer doesn't do anything save for when they almost died and drew Nanook's gaze in the beginning of the game.

How did Welt manage to seal it while it was inside someone? And how is it that him stealing it somehow keeps it managed and contained? What is so special about his abilities that make it perfectly okay for the Trailblazer to do just waltz about with everyone else(I don't know a thing about other HYV games beside HSR and Genshin so him in the other game is lost on me, sry)? What does sealing it entail? It never seems to be done on screen I'm pretty sure(unless I'm misremembering?).

If I recall correctly, the Stellaron Hunters broke into Herta Space Station and took the Stellaron that Herta had on hand and placed it in the receptacle that they brought along with them. There had to be a very specific reason for them to do this, something in the 'script' they're following. Because they knew it would be sealed in the MC? Does it being sealed inside a person make it different from one that's been sealed in the physical world? Does this come with a power-up at some point? Some kind of special connection to The Destruction?

This isn't really a theory but it's a lot of thinking I'm doing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyway, that's what I got so far. Hope these were interesting thoughts to get through. ^-^ <3

[kaitlynwgst]

Blog Post #6 (10/10)

How does technology contribute to violence against women?

Women are subjected to gender-based violence in the real world and then on the internet they are often met with only more violence (Hernandez). Women are subjected to everything from unwanted images being sent to them to harassment on social media. Some of the online violence can even leak into the real world with people being stalked by those who found them online or being doxed. With the recent development of AI, the issue has only gotten worse with fake, often explicit, images of women being made and shared without their consent or even knowledge. The story of Ingrid Escamilla is a n example of how the internet can further the harm done to women, when the police leaked the images of her mutilated body the images were shared over and over again on the internet (Hernandez). Even after death she could not escape the violence brought against women in the internet.

How can social media be used to help advocate for women?

Technology can contribute greatly to the violence women are subjected to but it can also provide a space for women to advocate for themselves in a way that has not previously been possible. Activist groups and social movements often use social media to share their stories and spread their message. One way that this is done is through Hashtags on posts which make it easy for women to share their own stories and add their own words to a larger movement. Another way that social media is often used is for safety, when activists are protesting and advocating for change their presence on social media can give them a layer of protection through their visibility and the fact that the world is watching them. Again, the story of Ingrid Escamilla can show the good that social media can used for. When the images of her body where being shared and going viral a movement was started asking artists to create images of a living version of her to drown the images of her body on social media and the movement worked making it so when her name was searched the images the artists created came up first (Hernandez).

Why can the internet never truly be neutral?

The internet was originally funded by the US military and was furthered by universities both of these institutions have been traditionally filled with and created by white men. Then as the internet has developed many of the coders in Silicon Valley are again white men (Noble). With the internet created by and for white men it cannot truly be neutral or equally inclusive to everyone as it was created by biased individuals who’s bias has affected what is created.

How can saying the internet is neutral be harmful?

The internet which has often been claimed to be neutral but when its creators are predominately white men it is not only incorrect but can be harmful to claim it to be such. When these coders claim that gender and race are not an issue and that the internet is neutral, they are ignoring the issue and ignoring the privilege that they have in being able to say that gender and race are non-issues. This leads to then seeing themselves and people like them as the default and the codes they create catering to individuals like them, white men (Noble). When gender and race and the historical and societal impacts of them are ignored, it leads to default discrimination (Benjamin).

Benjamin, R. (2020). Race after technology abolitionist tools for the new Jim code. Polity. 

Hunsinger, J., & Senft, T. M. (2015). The Social Media Handbook. Routledge. 

Hernández, Dr. Miriam. Digital Defenders: Using Social Media to Challenge Violence Against Women. 9 October. 2024. Presentation 

[arttrampbelle]

The thing is cary hiroyuki tagawa MADE and brought life to that character back in the 1995 movie. And mk11 while it has its own problems narratively. That shang tsung still holds up because of his presence alone.

He's always had that neutral vibe to him. He's not for nor against but to whatever feels right in the moment. He is a survivor and an opportunist.

He is capable just as much of genuinely connections as any of our "heroes" but he never in the narrative gets a chance to be. Because they always want someone to blame instead of adding true grey morals and complexities to the narrative and it's characters and their journeys. Which mortal kombats world HAS ALWAYS BEEN.

And it sucks that most of todays mk media at least offical media. Has been soiled by corporate greed and all about "$profit$" instead of just telling a story with the love and passion it once had. It has to one up itself or be on par comparison to its rival giants like tekken or street fighter. Which in their own right,have their own formulas. Mk used to be niche,and unique. Standing out on it's own. It was wacky,weird,bloody,and fun. Now it's fallen into "pop culture hounds" type of writing. But i feel that is warner bros meddling more so than nrs. But it seems that mr.boon doesn't truly listen to fans and only when it suits him for his and the other game devs and writers plan for the games. So unless it's convenient and people complain enough. Only then maybe they will throw fans a bone. Look how long it took for them to even add mileena in mk11. Look at how long it took for them to listen to the left field "romances" in mk. When nobody's playing mk for romance. We are playing to beat up our besties in a fighting game. Like 1v1 me bro! Type of fun.

Like sure some things are ok. But when done sparingly and to where it doesn't feel forced or feel like they are legit reading from an ai generated script.

All I'm saying at the end of the day. Is shang tsung as a character deserves so much as a character. They all do really. However shang tsung was THE first boss of mk. I think he deserves an easy win or a win period.

In fact,he deserves to be left tf alone on his island,to do his magic and alchemy and make fucked up creatures and run his little cult... er i mean loyal servants and followers.

(Like you can not look at old man shang tsung and tell me he doesn't look like he runs a cult on his island? Srsly foxy grandpa got a snek club)

Bottom line. Shang tsung is awesome. But more so mk11 shang tsung. (Again not saying alan lee's shang isn't good,i just feel like the script and poor writing holds him back and his potential as shang. And it sucks. Because he could have been a great young shang,before his betrayal of earthrealm,when he was training under raiden(or whatever earthrealm god and protector you want but i say raiden because not only i hate fire god liu kang and that version of him. But i prefer raiden because the amount of bitterness,regret,hurt,and history those two had was legendary. And to take it away is bullshit. But more so of its potential. Like shang looked up to raiden,trusted him,then something happened to change that. Which is why shao kahn oh so easily coerced shang into switching sides so to speak. But shang did regret it but it was a bed he laid in,and he decided if that's what its gonna be. Bridges burned,then he's gonna cultivate that shit. He was gonna turn crap to gold. Dug himself out of the trenches.)

Also to add.

It's not that shang tsung couldn't be kind,heroic,noble,or have his own sense of honor. He always had that. But the narrative wants him to be in a box.

I felt tagawa-san always wanted shang tsung to go down that direction,at least his attitude in general to these character types. And it would have been amazing to see him take shang tsung and basically show the hypocrisy of the gods and the whole situation of mortal kombat in general. Thus coming a 180 and turning the whole thing upon its head. And thus becoming the ultimate master of mortal kombat. A god of mortal kombat if you will.

And it would have tied up oh so neatly.

Plus it was about time the liu kang truly retired. Either in death,legitimately stepping down,or actually just retiring the character and making kung lao the champion and new chosen one. Because that's what they were doing till someone had a hate boner for lao for some unholy reason.

It would only make sense for kung lao to take the mantle because of the characters history together,the friendship and brothership lao n liu had. The fact kung lao is the great kung laos descendant. Aka directly related to the og champion (after maybe shang tsung,but i hc great pappy lao won that title by beating shang. And he's a tad salty bout that. But not that much.) So it only makes sense narratively for him to give it to kung lao. Not a young copycat liu kang coded raiden who legitimately is not raiden it's just liu kang's personality slapped onto raiden. And not the kombat kids because they haven't earned it nor had story development beyond a point.

Like there is so much more mk could do. So so much more. But they wanna keep a status quo,instead of biting the bullet,growing some confidence,and actually taking a real risk instead of half assing it and rushing things like they always do.

Anyways i am so sorry for this being so long. I am passionate about character development,story archs,character archetypes and analysis,and world building.

But more so shang tsung if y'all couldn't tell. >:3

I also wanna say thank you to any who have liked and reblogged this. I appreciate it. If i had the ability or the skillset. I would totally make a podcast,video series,or just love to talk with fellow fans and discuss world building and storytelling. And maybe practice my voice acting too. 👉🏻👈🏻 i shy tho on that. Because i can do a good mimick of mk11 shang tsung and I'm scared that i might freak people out. Or it may not be up to par at worst.

Ah i wanna give so much back to mk fans because we,y'all,deserve it. Because we've been getting crumbs and light meals of kontent for yeeeeeears! And all fans make the good stuff! Offical media dont do jack anymore. I still stand by mk11 was better because the characters looked believable. It was kooky but not so much. The story was mod but it made up for that in aftermath and the fact the amount of stuff you can do and still do even after you get almost everything is great. The accessibility,the customization,etc. Incredible. The krypt i heard was gonna expand more but they didn't have time nor funds. Which is a shame because that was so much fun. Plus shang tsung yelling at you. Lol. Exploring his island is fun. (Tho personally i hate they always make it decrepit. Shang wouldn't wanna live in squander,not by choice. He lives lavish and deliciously. Not to say it can't have dangerous parts or even errie and uncanny features. It is magic. And his full reign dominion and domicile. But im saying gloomy isn't shang tsungs style. Gothic with and asian flair and like an old chinese sorcerer would have. Classy,luxurious and believable but also Otherworldly and ominous.)

For tldr: shang tsung deserves better and i hope y'all thanked cary hiroyuki tagawa for his character and performance as the character over the years!

Shang tsung isn't evil but a product of corruption and the environment that surrounds him. He's not evil in the sense of black n white thinking of morality. Especially from a western,psuedo Christian American perspective that so many people wanna shoehorn him into. (No shade here but im calling it like i see it nrs)

How is he evil when everyone in mortal kombat kills?

Also shao kahn quan chi and shinnok has arguably done worse

And even more so he's worked more with them,and under them(shao Kahn namely) and had no choice but to follow orders. Namely some things sure were aligned in benefit. But truly can you really argue that it was all his doing? No to say so is ignorant and undermining the other villains and antagonists of the series and their own contributions to the story narrative in opposition of protags and other characters.

The most evil is those who hide behind self righteousness and say they are for peace when they are being manipulated by promises of a better realm or timeline(cough fire god liu kang. COUGH)

Like nah guys mk12/mk1 don't make sense even for the narrative they are trying to pull. Shang is wonderful but yall missed the point even tho the storymode sucks and everything about it makes me nauseous, shang tsung shines thru because of what he represents. The story,It falls through the crack simply because of the fact

In mortal kombats chaotic and cruel world. You kill or be killed. You do what it takes to survive. Or be food for the gods. As you are nothing but entertainment for them.

Everyone kills in mortal kombat. So shang tsung killing means fucking nothing and is a moot point. He does it,everyone does it,how is he truly any different than anyone at that point. Thru mortal kombat,a supposedly Divine system,he's doing exactly what he's supposed to be doing. And what his character is designed to do. Period. So killing,moot point and argument.

Im not talking about. MK12/MK1 specifically. Tho that grinds my gears for many other reasons. Im talking shang tsung,overall as a whole as a character thru the 30+yrs the games and mk has been around. These are common arguments for that shang is "tHe EVil OnE" when there's no such thing in mks world. Truly. It's posturing and posing flowery words at that point. Period.

Stealing souls? He has to,to survive. He is cursed by the very gods and mentors that once swore to protect him. But did nothing.

Climbing for power? He does so because he wishes not to rule over. But so he doesn't have to worry about going to bed hungry,to suffer. He wants stability,comfort,and most of all security. A thing that long ago was robbed of him.

See you can't say shit about my man without having many reasons why he's not.

Could he be evil,nasty,and dowright fucking cruel? Oh you bet your ass he could. But does he enjoy it? Not really. He takes no pleasure unless it's out of necessity or you're considered an enemy.

He is no different than a hungry hunter. Trying to find his next meal or the next place of dwelling. Until he finds his true place of being and achieves a stable life.

Like ffs people it's right fucking there fine print and that still,STILL GOES OVER YOUR HEADS!

Like y'all who don't understand nuanced villains WANT him to be stereotypical,y'all want him to be easy to pinpoint. Because that means you dont get to critique your beloved "Heroic" characters. And use your brains,and critically think that maybe,just fucking maybe. Your nice dudes were wrong for once.

In mortal kombats world (if you can call it that because the world building sucks)

It's kill or be killed. Morality be damned. Shang tsung found that out long ago. Hiding behind morals in a world that could care less than about you. Gods that only see you as food,throw away entertainment,etc.

He may have respect for someone who despite all that crap,has some moral backbone. But isn't blind to the truth,it's survival. Dont be a pushover boot licking lapdog. As long as you don't hide behind your self righteousness and "goody goody" attitude. He'll respect that you have a noble heart. In fact,that may make him actually enjoy your company. But dont be a condescending jackass about your morals. And he'll be fine.

Shang tsung is just playing the game that the world is built upon. The rules,the gods,the empires,have made. And plays them well into his advantage.

And y'all pissed he plays it better than you. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

That my dears is a truly well done villain,antagonist,and just a beautifully complex character.

That's how you do or are supposed to do shang tsung. Period.

*slams hand down on table and leaves*

🔥💯🔥

[sou-ver-2-0]

What “things” did Shin learn at Sou’s house?

There are scenes in YTTD that are explicitly gruesome and violent, but the scene in Chapter 3 where Shin AI describes his abusive relationship with Original Sou is disturbing in its subtlety. Shin AI seems aware that their relationship has problems, but he still calls Sou a friend, much to the distress of either Kanna or the living Shin. One of the lines that has haunted me since I first heard it was Shin AI’s enigmatic statement, “Who he really is… I really, truly know nothing… Though I learned a lot of things at his house.”

I wanted to write a piece analyzing Shin and Sou’s relationship based on this line. In this post, I’ll make references to different types of abusive relationships, but I won’t claim anything specific for them since the nature of their friendship is deliberately open-ended. I think this line is vague enough to both mean everything and nothing. Perhaps we aren’t meant to read too deeply into it, but…It was a line that affected me deeply, so I wanted to share my own views.

Keiji makes a neutral observation after hearing this statement: “You had a long acquaintance, huh?” He deduces that if Shin frequently visited Sou’s house, they must have known each other for a long time. That’s the only concrete information we can gather from this line. However, Shin AI’s emphasis on “learning things” is intriguing; it implies that Shin gained some knowledge or wisdom from visiting Sou. It implies that this relationship changed Shin somehow. But Shin AI won’t elaborate on what he learned; he probably presumes that his lessons are irrelevant to the Death Game.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized you could interpret this statement innocuously. For example, perhaps Sou had special Asu-Naro technology at his house, which could have inspired Shin’s interest in computers. That would be a positive takeaway for Shin from his relationship with Sou. I think that’s an entirely reasonable theory, and I’m sorry for not realizing that sooner, because it led to me misunderstanding a well-meaning Anon.

For me… This line has always felt sinister. It’s situated in the middle of a disturbing scene. We’re finally learning about the pivotal abusive relationship of Shin’s past, even if only sketched in the vaguest details. I assumed that the “things” Shin learned were specifically related to Sou’s abuse of him.

When I discussed this line with my sister, she said that the line reminded her of Little Red Riding Hood’s song, “I Know Things Now,” from the musical Into the Woods. I thought that was an excellent reference, and it dovetails with my thought process about the line, so I’ll share the most relevant lyrics:

“And he showed me things

Many beautiful things,

That I hadn't thought to explore.

They were off my path,

So I never had dared.

I had been so careful,

I never had cared.

And he made me feel excited-

Well, excited and scared.”

[Image description: Shin AI says, “He’s…a scary friend of mine…”]

“When he said, "Come in!"

With that sickening grin,

How could I know what was in store?

Once his teeth were bared,

Though, I really got scared-

Well, excited and scared-”

[Image description: The Living Shin says, “Dammit, how sickening… Seriously…” when he sees the Shin AI in Midori’s office.]

“And I know things now,

Many valuable things,

That I hadn't known before:

Do not put your faith

In a cape and a hood,

They will not protect you

The way that they should.”

[Image description: Shin still clings to his brightly colored scarf, as if it can protect him.]

“And take extra care with strangers,

Even flowers have their dangers.

And though scary is exciting,

Nice is different than good.”

[Image Description: Shin in the First Main Game asks the group, “Don’t you doubt when others are kind?”]

Little Red Riding Hood’s song parallels Shin’s dialogue in revealing ways. The lyrics’ repetition of the vague word “things” hammers it in how difficult it is for a victim to describe their abuse. “Things” can cover all manner of sins, can’t it? The song itself has a subtext of sexual abuse, while the fairytale literally tells a story about a wolf who manipulates and eats a little girl. Meanwhile, we still don’t know exactly how Sou harmed Shin, beyond that Sou enjoyed provoking fearful reactions in him. I think the vagueness of their relationship makes it easy for the player to project their own fearful nightmares onto Sou. In a similar way, the player can relate to Sara’s love for Joe by projecting their feelings for their own loved ones onto him. This is especially true after Joe’s death, since his presence becomes fuzzier. Even though I’m interested in learning more details about Sou and Shin’s relationship, I appreciate how the word “things” is horrifying by leaving the worst to your imagination.

Little Red Riding Hood’s description of the Wolf as “scary and exciting” also parallels Shin’s description of Sou as “a scary friend of mine.” If Shin believed that Sou was “exciting,” that would help explain why Shin was still drawn to this person who wanted to hurt him.

The phrase “sickening grin” also stood out to me. Not only does Living Shin use the word “sickening” to describe Midori’s behavior, but “sickening grin” is an appropriate descriptor of Midori’s constant smiles. He is someone who puts on a friendly face to hide malicious intent.

I also liked the song’s reference to “putting your faith in a cape and hood” as if those clothes could “protect” you. Little Red Riding Hood learned that that her brightly colored clothes could not protect her when it really mattered. It reminded me of how Shin in the game is always clinging to his brightly colored scarf, as if it can protect him from the Death Game. Shin ought to know better as the song lyrics say, but he clings to the scarf anyway like a security blanket.

Finally, I wanted to discuss the song’s parting lesson, “Nice is different than good.” This moral reminded me of the lessons Shin continually imparts to the group throughout the story. Shin warns you not to trust people just because they’re nice. “Nice” people have the potential to be the most dangerous once they’ve gained your trust. Shin gives two dramatic speeches on this topic; the first quote comes from the First Main Game, and the second quote comes from the Massacre Ending.

“Ahahahaha! Amazing, miss Sara. You're a prodigy at seizing people's hearts! Shameful, the rest of you. The riffraff. Don't you value your lives? Don't you doubt when others are kind? Do you not even have brains to think for yourself? Death is just a matter of time for you! That's the way weaklings live! Hahahaha!”

“This is... reality, Keiji. The strong will tell you... "I'm your ally"... "Don't be afraid, trust me"... And in the end, they'll betray you!! At the convenience and whims of the strong...! The weak will die!! Well? Learned a little something about how uneasy a weakling always feels...?”

It’s easy to apply these quotes to Shin’s own experiences as a “weakling” who was betrayed by a “strong” friend.

When the Shin AI said that he “learned a lot of things” from Sou, I assumed that the “things” were these painful lessons Shin references throughout the story. Even without knowing the full details about Shin’s experiences, we understand the wounds Sou’s abuse left on his heart. We already know what the relationship taught him. It taught him to not trust others. It taught him that strong people will act “kind” until protecting weaklings becomes “inconvenient,” and there is nothing that weaklings can do about that. That’s “reality.”

As I’ve said, I’m not sure how deeply we’re meant to read into this line. And perhaps Shin learned plot-relevant things at Sou’s house too. (Personally, I’m betting that he at least got his key necklace there, but that’s just a theory.) But it was still a line that moved my heart for how these vague “things” could refer to the very lessons Shin has been trying to impart from the beginning.

[undignifiend]

Been thinking about my oc Warden again. Might play with his design a little more, too, we’ll see. In the meantime, here’s some notes on him:

Warning for vague naughtiness and safe vore mentions below the cut. ;)

+++++

+Excuse me, officer, that’s my Emotional Support Creeper

+The chillest, chonkiest, and most well-adjusted of all my Trollhunters ocs by a long shot.

+For those new to him, he’s a changeling who runs a lucrative side-business where he uses his big troll form as a “one-of-a-kind lifelike animatronic run by cutting-edge AI tech” for “simulated” experiences with human clients. Proceeds go to the Janus Order, but he keeps a cut to keep his cover smooth and occasionally indulge in luxuries. He meets all kinds of people, and enjoys interacting with them in contexts where they aren’t frightened (or truly frightened). Gives amazing aftercare and massages (whether anything spicy happened or not, if that’s what a client wants. It’s not all spicy, but he does enjoy indulging such whims, within his own limits).

+He’s got strict rules to keep people safe in these instances (repeat customers mean more money and connections). He can get rough if they want, but he has his own limits as to how rough he’ll go. Will pin people (not enough to crush them) and make them recite The Rules (discussed later) if they try to ignore them because “he’s a machine, he’s not real”. That’s his first warning. Any subsequent violations terminate the session. No refunds.

+Disaster Bi/Pan. Very romantic and enjoys making clients (and partners outside work) feel thoroughly cared for. Doesn’t get attached as easily as he seems to, but when he falls, he falls hard.

+Has a weakness for stories about superheroes with secret identities. Will occasionally do vigilante work, and covers his tracks carefully.

+Diligent about his hygiene. On one hand, he sees it as respectful to his Familiar to keep his human form clean and good looking. (Though this sometimes looks like vanity to those who don’t know any better. He really is quite vain about his troll form, though.) And on the other, humans tend to be far pickier (even if less sensitive) than trolls about smell, and his side-business model relies on reassuring them that they’re in a safe, clean, relaxing environment.

+In his human form, he plays one of the bartenders and bouncers for a hotel near the wilderness that is classier and more successful than anyone paying attention to it would suspect, given its somewhat remote location. It sees just enough traffic (including private events and conventions) to maybe justify it, and he contributes some of his earnings to helping the place thrive. It’s his cover, where his clients meet him face-to-(human)-face, so he’s invested in keeping it respectable, which also helps encourage clients to come back for more. He also drives his clients to the even more remote caves (warded by enchantments that disguise signals to give false reports of where they actually are to any tracking devices or scrying attempts) where the scenarios take place, and drives them back to the hotel afterward. Before a session, his human form takes the client(s) to the room where the session will occur, and he “leaves to monitor the AI” through an off-limits passage that loops through a fake “control room” to another, bigger passage for his troll form to enter from.

+The humans working at the hotel have an understanding with him, though they don’t know what he is. He occasionally departs to see to this “side business”, and so long as nobody questions or talks about it, or puts a tracker on his car, or any shenanigans like that, he contributes a cut of his pay to the hotel. It also helps that he’s a dependable and amiable co-worker, and no one around him has suspiciously vanished yet.

+Still, some employees feel like it’s a deal with a devil. He’s been there long enough that it’s starting to become apparent that he either uses a damn good moisturizer, or he doesn’t age. That, and he’s preternaturally strong and fast. On the rare occasions that fights break out, he ends them quickly, and his injuries recover fast despite his avoidance of hospitals. He’s getting to the point where he’s going to have to start fresh elsewhere soon.

+More relaxed in his troll form, but for different reasons than Dezoka. He sees his human form as borrowing his familiar’s image, prefers to treat it with dignity, and doesn’t take disrespect to it lightly.

+Before his current business model, he used to rob banks as an outlaw. Proceeds also went to the Janus Order to help fund their operations.

+Primarily relies on his size, strength, and situational awareness in (and before) combat. He’s not an especially skilled fighter compared to Dezoka, Ulvek, or Zahnn, (he’s a bit out of practice since his outlaw days, and it’s been a long, long time since he’s had to contend with the Darklands) but he’s resilient, observant, and hits hard.

+Loves to eat people (in all the fun ways). His stomach can double as a portable high-security safe holding cell. Not a big fan of keeping prisoners that way. He’ll bitch and grumble, but he’ll still do it if he thinks he has to. Prefers willing participants. He’s kinda spoiled on them, and the idea of someone trusting him enough for it makes him really happy, and is his favorite indulgence.

+Where that particular bit of physiology is concerned, I’ve been thinking of designing a group of trolls with this trait and figuring out how his particular safe vore shenanigans might work. Warden’s stomach lining is peppered with many thousands of specialized, regenerating cellular nodes that exchange O2 and CO2 gases from his own bloodstream for his “guest’s” benefit, so suffocation isn’t an issue for anyone inside so long as Warden can keep breathing. His stomach also contains a mild acid that won’t do much more than gently exfoliate and disinfect open wounds (it’s got a pH of about 4 or 5, which I think is typically alright for skin anyway). The acidity ramps up in cases where a high amount of necrotic tissue is detected, to digest it before it rots further, and to kill any infection that might in turn infect him. This can also damage any living tissue still attached to the dead stuff, which will hurt for anyone still alive (so it’s not a good treatment for seriously injured folks), but after the dead tissue is eaten away, the pH will return to a more neutral zone - but remain acidic enough to keep open wounds disinfected as a guest’s body recovers. His stomach can also mildly aid recovery through gentle contractions to massage a guest and improve circulation while they’re curled up in there. But he will use his hands a lot, too. He loves being full and holding people this way.

+‘The Rules’ (including safe words) are customizable and negotiated before a session is even paid for, both for clarity’s sake, and “for programming adjustments”. All involved decide what they want and what their boundaries are. A client can change their mind if they decide they don’t actually want to do something, but Warden will not agree to any last minute additions that involve a safety/trauma risk. For example, if a client decided that they want him to swallow them whole, they can change their mind mid-session if they’re too nervous to go through with it (and can change their mind back again if they decide that they actually feel ready). But if they ask him to do it during a session where that was not planned, he will decline. Reluctantly. Even if it's safe, he understands it can also be really terrifying for those who aren’t ready, and he prefers to err on the side of caution where that’s concerned. Fearplay is great, and he loves playing up the role of a wicked, cruel predator - but that's the sort of thing that has to be discussed first so the client knows they have the power to stop it if it gets too intense.

+How to convince him that you’re Evil Incarnate: He has a sweet tooth and a serious weakness for foodplay and stuffing. It’s the most effective way to tease the daylights out of him, so he always gets a bit nervous when this comes up in establishing a session’s Rules. Doesn’t fluster easily, but just thinking about this will do it. Especially loves it as a prelude to vore. Will also do this without vore, but it’s kind of a struggle to hide just how wildly hungry and desperate that leaves him. He’ll be a professional about it, and he won’t violate The Rules or try to pressure a client/partner no matter how desperate he gets. Stuffing himself silly doesn’t fix it, either, it just leaves him delirious and aching for live, warm squirming in his stomach. Belly rubs and mouthplay are the cruelest little cherries on top. If he thinks his client/partner knows what they’re doing to him, he’ll be ticked off, but also impressed and intimidated. Either way, he won’t be able to stop thinking about them and wanting to take them somewhere nice and hold their hand and move in together and sappy stuff like that. And eat them, of course. He’ll lose a lot of sleep over just how badly he wants to eat them.

[treestargarden]

so at the request of the same friend, i’m gonna continue analyzing wonder egg priority episodes. this is episode 3 “a bare knife”, so 

tw: child sexual abuse, pedophilia, self-harm (cutting), suicide mention

rika is precious. i’ll say that right of the bat. the first survivor (unnamed) of hers we’re introduced to, its heavily implied her trauma is child sexual abuse. i’ll get into it further along the line, later, but ultimately, this makes me think the main characters’ wonder eggs r deeply relevant to their own trauma/healing. this is also the first time we’re introduce to another girls weapon, which is also relevant to their trauma. 

i love this shot of rika. it implies she has a very confident demeanor (outer appearance), but i figured if she’s doing wonder eggs, she probably has some deep shit to sort out, too. additionally, her intro to ai was stage acting, feigning a broken rib cage. its implied she was testing acca/uru-acca, which probably means she’s seen the two before. 

and comparing her overall interaction with neiru...

neiru’s portrayal is more straight-on. her character is a little more shut off and we don’t know a lot about her yet, but we do know appearance is a lot for her. the straight on profile is neutral. again, hiding deeper emotions/thoughts/motives for neiru.

they have made it a point to focus on this man’s shoes. every. single. time. he’s had maybe a total of 30 seconds of screen time so far 3 episodes in, but i already know his appearance in the show is relevant to ai’s trauma/healing. it was revealed that koito was seeing him--heavily implied it was grooming/sexual, but at this point it isn’t explicit. ai happened to walk in on them one time. so there’s a couple reasons why ai would react to the counselor the way she has. 

1) he’s probably spying on her to ensure her silence

2) he’s probably explicitly threatened her for her silence

3) he’s attempting to groom her, too, in order to gain her silence

something that was immediately obvious to me was rika saying the counselor was “hot.” which made me think about her first wonder egg girl being a ... survivor (using the term loosely, because she is technically dead) of child sexual abuse. at this point, i’m starting to think rika’s trauma is deeply rooted in adult men preying on her. not to mention the fact she was an “idol.” she briefly mentioned her group mates were “ugly” so they broke up. it wasn’t explained, but i have suspicion her idol manager was a man who often brought that up with her, trying to... make her feel separate from her group mates in order to more easily prey on her. he was grooming her.

and to further the point that the wonder egg girls are tied to the living girls’ current traumas, ai repeats over and over she doesn’t have friends, that koito was her only one. when we review the events of episode one, her first wonder egg, kurumi, also expressed that she didn’t have any friends either. 

ai’s second wonder egg, minami, is a little different. she doesn’t express specifically that she hasn’t any friends, but i suppose we could extrapolate some of her characteristics to get to that conclusion. for instance, she berates herself, constantly apologizes, and is described as “meek and timid.” all of these could be attributed to abuse, of course, but also can attribute to an introverted personality (whether that’s trauma-related or not is unknown). but the fact that she dies--and probably at the hands of the abuse (because its never really stated if she self-harmed or not), but it was explicit that her gymnastics coach would get very physical with her--can be probably inferred that nobody cared/knew about the situation. ultimately, she was alone, just as ai feels alone irl. 

so at this point, we’ve been introduced to rika’s coping mechanism--cutting. in this screenshot she expresses... resentment of her weapon “of choice.” which means their weapons are specifically linked to the girls’ traumas. in this instance, i believe it is specifically how they cope. for rika, her scissors* r probably indicative of using scissors to cut/self-harm. ai, on the other hand has a pen. it could be argued the weapon is significant to the first wonder egg, but i’m not convinced. 

for instance, in ai’s first wonder egg, kurumi, they made it a point to focus on the pen she dropped when she ran away in the cafe. it was seen that kurumi was writing--what, we don’t know. but instantly, ai was fascinated by the pen. it could be that she has specific attachment to this item due to her own irl experience. she doesn’t talk to many people, not even her mother. and she’s makes it a point to say koito was her only friend. her coping mechanism would be internalizing and journaling her pain, up to this point, however, we don’t have any explicit scenes of her journaling.

however, if we were to take the route that their weapons are tied to their first wonder egg, then we have to consider a couple things about rika. 

1) we only saw rika’s “first egg” ending, so we have no idea how important the scissors were to that narrative. 

2) my initial reaction was to say it was impossible to say this episode was rika’s first egg, because ai didn’t have a weapon for her entire first egg. HOWEVER, after being introduced to koito and jumping off the ledge to save the other girl, she did end up getting a “transformation” sequence where the regular pen turns into her weapon. 

on the other hand, she looks completely shocked about this, so i’m still pretty confident rika’s intro episode wasn’t actually her first wonder egg. coupled with the fact rika is known to stage act, and the previous evidence i mentioned earlier about her first encounter with ai, i truly do not believe this episode was rika’s first. 

at this point, i’m fairly certain this is a show about healing from your own traumas. in my last review for episode 2 i was concerned it was a white knight narrative, but upon this speculation--the fact that the girls’ weapons, and the wonder eggs are relevant to their irl traumas/healing narratives, i definitely think this is... a self-saving narrative. 

a couple of last notes, before i end this analysis. 

1) wounds: the girls are immortal in the wonder egg worlds, but sustain wounds irl. i think this supports my idea that this is a self-savior narrative in the sense that when you deal with these traumas head-on--looking into your past, doing deep introspection--the trauma can definitely make you feel you’re re-living those injuries. but technically you are ok, you’re in the present. 

HOWEVER, when that processing happens, we can sustain irl injuries--this can be anything from sleep loss, visual/audio hallucinations, paranoia, anxiety, depression which does translate to irl hurt and pain. they are both... /real/, its just that one is more prominent because of its proximity to the present. 

2) rika: i still have some lingering thoughts about her backstory. for instance, when it was revealed the Chiemi committed suicide because rika rejected her, i also believe rika started cutting herself. this could have also ended up in the lane of “you’re an idol, you aren’t supposed to do that. you’re supposed to be perfect. now you’re ugly” rather than her being groomed specifically with those words to separate her from the rest of her group. 

specifically, its possible she was projecting that hatred onto her group mates. like... /she’s/ more human than them because she has feelings/emotions. she’s not a robot like her group mates, etc. 

*i say scissors, but they also look like a pair of razor blades, i’m not really sure as i haven’t gotten a clear shot of them 

either way, i find rika’s backstory fascinating, and i can’t wait to see more of her. 

[sepublic]

Xian Characters, Features, and Landmarks (Pt. 2)

Karzahni- Karzahni is a delusional, questionably-sane despot in the Voymari District. A crimelord, he has –in addition to traditional thugs- amassed an army of orphans to do his bidding. He sends them out every day and night, scouring the streets of Voymari for small scrapes of riches and anything else of value that they report to him; Orphans who bring back better things get higher status, more food, comfortable rooms, and so forth.

           Of course, many other crimelords mock Karzahni for resorting to children, but nevertheless he is terrifying in his own right. Karzahni himself also has a penchant for ‘rebuilding’ people, taking them apart, modifying them, and grating mechanical limbs and masks and so forth. Many of his victims include people who have angered him, or just the general unfortunate homeless Xian; Regardless, Karzahni has modified many, turning them into horrific, shambling abominations with unusual proportions, too frail to be alive while also partially-mechanical.

           The sick tyrant enjoys this- He likes to build and craft, even if his materials are the bodies of people. Alas, he is somewhat frustrated by his inability to truly ‘fix’ someone, because to Karzahni he is doing a service, or at least trying to, by ‘repairing’ Xians he and others deem faulty. He tends to take his frustrations out not only on his twisted creations, but his own underlings and orphans as well. If in a particularly bad mood, he’ll tear apart a creation down to their most base parts, and/or feed them to his Manutri Penguins, which he has conditioned to be only carnivorous.

           The terror does not stop there, either- Karzahni possesses an uncanny ability to inflict powerful illusions on others, showing them ‘alternate timelines’, or so he claims, of things that could’ve happened to them; If something in their past, or another’s, turned out differently. Many times he has used this ability to torment and traumatize others, but Karzahni has also used this power to comfort himself with alternate timelines of victory, grandeur, and success of himself.

Because he dives so frequently into the subject of alternate timelines and what could have been, he is often dissatisfied and bitter over his lot- Not only that, but he occasionally has issues remembering what is or isn’t real, and will have to be reminded that what happened in one vision didn’t happen in real life. Sometimes he’ll randomly start talking to someone else that isn’t there, as if interacting with an alternate timeline; It is disconcerting to watch. Additionally, Karzahni uses his power to create simulations and predictions of events as he attempts to figure out the most optimal decision or strategy for himself. The exact accuracy of these predictions are questionable and seem to be somewhat rooted in the data he is aware of.

Karzahni wears unusual, green-and-violet armor. He has a mask that is a patchwork of various other elements, and he wields chains in combat that can lash around foes and rise to burning temperatures, searing through opponents. He has an unusual amount of strength and durability for Xian- Apparently, he has modified himself in the past as well. Even if one were to break through Karzahni’s powerful, demoralizing illusions, the tyrant himself is still a dangerous enemy to fight.

Whenua and Tehutti- These two roommates have a thankless, low-paying job as minimum-wage librarians and occasional tutors. Despite their poor wages and lack of appreciation for their work, these two have a vested passion for history and are eager to share their knowledge with others. With no prompting or personal gain beyond the satisfaction and triumph of it all, these two have pooled their lifetime’s earnings and savings towards expanding their simultaneous home/book store to include a ‘Xian Museum of History’, for any and all who are interested! No cost is required to enter and enjoy their exhibits, but unfortunately no one seems to be interested either…

Rorze- The warden of The Archives, Rorze is an Archives Vahki with the latest, most advanced AI programming in order to achieve maximum efficiency. Although all other Archives Vahki are specially designed to prevent any level of free will whatsoever, Rorze was ultimately granted the ability of sapient thought in order to enhance his leadership abilities and control over the Archives’ security. He constantly supervises every single step of each procedure, while inspecting all possible inches of his facility. Rorze has dedicated his entire existence to maintaining the Archives and protecting whatever is within- It was all he was made for, after all.

           Throughout the years, Rorze has subjected himself to new patches to ensure that his programming is completely immune to computer viruses, hacking, and other forms of tampering. After each update is installed, past memories and data are transferred to the new ‘brain’. Whether or not each version of Rorze is truly the same person is up for debate, but Rorze himself does not care. As far as he’s concerned, he has no allegiances or loyalty to anyone, and acts as a neutral party whose sole concern is preserving objects and even living creatures within the Archives. Because of his robotic, single-minded dedication towards his task, Rorze will do anything to accomplish his goals, so long as he is permitted; He is still technically beholden to The Powers That Be and those that he serves.

Idris- A grumpy, surly overseer, Idris was placed in charge of a field of Airweed and its workers after the past overseer and his hired guns mysteriously died, obviously killed by The Beast. Hired specifically for her apathy on the subject, Idris doesn’t particularly care that other workers are at risk of being devoured by The Beast each day they work; Xia’s harsh climate for workers has taught her to be similarly callous. Still, when three masked strangers appear, offering to help find and kill The Beast –and for free no less!- she can’t help but take the offer. Even if their help is on the condition that Idris herself attend the mission…

Fero- Amongst the Bone Hunter clans, one is led by the persistent, vindictive Fero. Fero is the leader of his clan for obvious reasons- He is a skilled, cold fighter who knows when to cut his losses, when to retreat, and when to strike suddenly from the cover of the sands, or the darkness of night. Like any successful Bone Hunter, Fero is a patient individual, and he has led countless raids on villages, caravans, and so forth. His clan has amassed a wide variety of goods and weaponry to sell, alongside prisoners to keep or sell off as slaves.

           Fero knows that he is human, just like anyone else, but he manages to get around this by being an incredibly stealthy and skilled hunter. He is an intelligent strategist, knowing exactly how to track footprints in the sand, find resources, or take advantage of the environment to swiftly ambush enemies. He has led various guerilla attacks on past opponents and emerged in victory in the process, and is experienced in the realm of survival in any circumstance. Fero himself wields a hand-held rail gun, and rides atop his personal Rock Steed Skirmix, with rider and steed having known each other their entire lives. Skirmix is fiercely loyal to Fero, and would die for him- And should he die, Skirmix intends to go down alongside him. Skirmix is intelligent and understands Fero’s harsh orders well.

Berix- Travelling across the arid sands of the Baran Desert are Water Merchants, who will sell precious stores of water or replenish them to thirsty travelers. Among them is Berix, a heavily-cloaked, hooded figure who keeps himself cool with mechanisms and air-conditioning units underneath his pack. Despite Berix’s rough, coarse demeanor and voice, he is still trustworthy; He is a man of his word and will not try to scam or take advantage of his customers.

Berix is also a scavenger and collector, and with his supply of water is able to make extended trips out into the desert, hoping to dig up neat artifacts to keep. One can barter for water by trading him a unique item of some sort. Berix owns quite the collection of knick-knacks, some gathered from corpses, or found in the sand, or sold to him; Others bought directly from the market. There is some suspicion towards him having killed or robbed for his collection, but he maintains that he is totally innocent.

Berix wields a sword for self-defense, one that has an edge etched with carvings in the shape of sharp waves. It is a keepsake from the past, one of the first things he found in the desert, and an item he treasures and cherishes. In addition, he also has a shield that doubles as a wide, double-edged sword.

Perditus- Perditus is a frequent champion of Zakaz’s brutal races, riding his own Thornatus V9 into victory. Amongst its modifications are an Exsidian front, an improved engine, a rail-gun, and a few Force Blasters. Outside of his races, Perditus will frequently ride across Zakaz’s deserts, and will offer rides; For a price, of course. The longer the trip, the higher the pay. For someone of his title, he is of course a skilled and quick-thinking driver, able to outmaneuver bandits and Bone Hunters on the fly.

           Perditus himself is a mysterious figure, often wearing a racing helmet that obscures his face. There is even a bit of a rumor going about that he is a serial killer, but nobody can know for sure. Outside of his Thornatus, Perditus keeps a rapier on himself for personal defense.

Sahmad- Riding across Zakaz atop his chariot, pulled by a Spikit steed is Sahmad; A ruthless, nihilistic bandit, smuggler, and poacher. Armed with a powerful whip, as well as a rail gun merged with a blade, Sahmad has made a living not only robbing helpless travelers, but also hunting and selling even endangered species- Attached to the back of his chariot is a wheeled cage that he keeps animals in. Poached animals are kept in line with brutal whip-cracks as Sahmad gathers them, before eventually selling them off. On the side, he helps carry cargo of questionable legality across the Baran Desert.

           Supposedly, Sahmad was once a member of the decimated Iron Tribe- Apparently, members of the Iron Tribe one day found themselves unable to dream when asleep. This predicament began to spread amongst others, with those afflicted soon going mad as they could not sleep; Rest had no effect on their addled minds, which became unable to recover and sort through the events of each day. Victims of the ‘Dreaming Plague’ eventually could not fall asleep, and died of exhaustion.

           Naturally, neighbors of the Iron Tribe reacted in fear, and worked to shun the group. It eventually got so bad that the Vahki, normally scarce in Zakaz, were called in to quarantine and contain the entire tribe. Sahmad escaped the quarantine, traumatized after seeing his loved ones die, and became an outcast- Others in Zakaz feared he had the Dreaming Plague and would spread it to them. As a result of his trauma, Sahmad has become an embittered, nihilistic individual who sometimes wonders if his cruel crimes are his attempts to lash out at the world that had forsaken him and his people so?

Telluris- A mad, brilliant inventor, Telluris was also another survivor of the Iron Tribe after the Dreaming Plague wiped it out; Although he and Sahmad didn’t really know each other back then, nor do they interact much in general. Still, a general kinship between the two is still there, as they both share the same trauma and have also been shunned by Xia for their association with the Dreaming Plague. Once, Telluris partnered up with Sahmad, believing that if they colored their armor a dark-blue, people wouldn’t recognize them…

           It didn’t work out, and his armor has remained a rusted-orange since. Yet despite his eccentricities, Telluris is nevertheless a brilliant engineer. On his own, he scavenged parts for and created the Skopio-XV1, a massive four-legged mech with treads built into its limbs. The Skopio has a ‘stinger tail’ equipped with powerful cannons and other weaponry, such as a targeting rail gun and Force Blasters. Telluris himself rides on the back of his Skopio, and has grafted mechanical bits into the back of his head that let himself plug cables leading into his Skopio, enabling a more accurate and precise control over it.

           Perhaps to get back at the world that hurt him –or just because- he rampages frequently around Zakaz, attacking villages, settlements, bandits; Anyone that comes across his path. His Skopio-XV1 is unmatched in firepower, and can even fold up to assume a faster vehicle mode as well. Telluris is paranoid, believing everyone has it out for him, and aims to take over all of Zakaz with his personal weapon. Thankfully, his own madness inhibits his effectiveness- If Telluris were fully sane, he likely would’ve taken over Zakaz by now. One has to wonder if he didn’t totally avoid the Dreaming Plague…

           Between the occasional rampage, Telluris will suddenly calm down and become peaceful in order to visit markets to buy parts and tools from. He has a hidden garage where he performs maintence on Skopio, which he seems to treat as a living creature and beloved pet of his, often talking to it. Damage against Skopio is a personal affront to Telluris, who believes that people are hurting his precious creature, and he will retaliate tenfold for such an action. Between his sudden mood swings and genuine brilliance, Telluris is a dangerous, volatile character that is hard to predict.

Tuma- Once a slave, this towering titan of a Xian has risen to fame and glory as an esteemed Glatorian. Operating in the Baran desert, Tuma is intimately aware of his place and status in society, and knows that the villages of Zakaz see gladiators like him as nothing more than a tool to use; And he is familiar with indignity and dehumanization of slavery as well. Initially a slave-fighter, Tuma earned his freedom after winning countless battles with his unusually potent strength and huge frame.

           Now an independent master of himself, Tuma has become dissatisfied with his lot in society, and still feels like a puppet. To remedy this, he has begun to make recent alliances, hoping to establish a ‘Glatorian Monopoly’ of sorts; Him and other like-minded Glatorian have begun to make deals with one another, purposely losing fights, or choosing jobs, according to the needs of one another. Members of this ‘ring’ of individuals will make alliances, giving out recommendations to one another, and helping to recruit new fighters and training them.

           With his lieutenants Stronius and Branar, Tuma hopes to control the gladiator system that many villages in the Baran desert rely on. Ideally, his network of gladiators will collaborate and coordinate with one another, scheming to lose or win matches with each other, reject offers and services unless at a proper price, strike for better conditions, etc. With Tuma at the top of this Glatorian Monopoly, Tuma hopes to rule the Baran desert by proxy of having control over its gladiator matches, which decide the majority of its political decisions and conflicts. With his wealth as a champion, Tuma has also set up betting offices, and employed his fellow Glatorian, whom he essentially commands, into collecting on debts, as well as accepting matches that he deems beneficial, and in general swaying the events of the arena as he pleases.

           A Glatorian strike and unionization is much-welcomed, and needed. Many gladiators have benefitted from what Tuma has brought about, and the concerns that some villages have on Tuma are not exactly out of the goodness of their hearts, or for the safety of society. Still, Tuma must not let the power and greed get to his head… It seems that gladiators who refuse to join his alliance tend to get bullied into submission, or find themselves out of a job as other members of the network will take job openings and positions from them. Tuma must beware becoming the tyrant that his masters were, and continue providing power to his fellow gladiators instead of oppressing them as well.

           Born with unusual genetics, Tuma towers over most and wears black-and-green armor while wielding a massive sword, shield, and additional blades on his back in combat. Even though he is older than most gladiators, he retains his peak strength, height, and stamina, and stories of this ‘titan’ have spread across Zakaz. Some have interest over the secrets of Tuma’s body…

As a result, groups in the past have attempted to kidnap Tuma for their own gains. Tuma has resisted such efforts naturally, and is used to Exo-Toa Baterra being sent in to spy on him and his actions. Tuma is not open about his Glatorian network, and the Baterra have been sent to keep an eye on him. Unsurprisingly, this kind of surveillance has made Tuma somewhat paranoid, but rightfully so, and he remains sharp-minded as ever to avoid any mistakes.

Metus- A silver-tongued businessman and merchant, Metus has since become a recruiter in the Baran desert. He works to spot out potential fighters and introduce them to the gladiator system, as well as recommend combatants amongst villages, settle disputes, and so forth. Metus has a good eye and nose for potential, able to scout out a potential Glatorian amongst a group, and grant them the funding, investment, and support they need to reach success.

           Metus himself was once a trader in the northern-kingdom of Iconox, only to lose everything within the crossfire of a war he wanted no part in. He does whatever it takes to survive, and will gladly sell out anyone else. He is untrustworthy, and while his recommendations are often good, he has also been caught giving villages poor fighters or else granting dishonest advice. On the side, he makes sure to place his bets well and carefully, and has amassed some wealth as a result.

Metus hopes to get in on Tuma’s planned network of Glatorian and gather a share of the riches, yet is also reporting intel and data to Baterra spies as well. Tuma doesn’t trust him of course, but Metus is insistent on getting a hand on the stocks and treasure; He aims to one day become rich enough to truly leave Zakaz behind, perhaps starting his own business in Stelt…

Surel- An aged veteran from the same conflict that robbed Metus of his livelihood, Surel was left wounded and dying on a blood-stained battlefield. But amidst the White Quartz Mountains, she found salvation in a pack of Iron Wolves that tended to her need, helping protect Surel and bringing her food as she recovered.

           Now, Surel is a leader of this Iron Wolf pack, and leads them on hunts in the White Quartz Mountains, off the fringes of the kingdom of Iconox. She is mostly crippled from age and old wounds, and walks with a limp and walking stick; But armed with a dagger, she can be lethally fast, taking down and gutting an enemy in seconds. She knows how to conserve and utilize her strength well, and with her pack of Iron Wolves by her side, Surel is a lethal opponent and not one to cross. She has no interest in Zakaz’s politics- She has long ago rejected the battlefield she almost died in, and now intends only to live a life of hunts alongside her trusted Iron Wolves.

The Sisters- A cult of powerful telepaths and mind-readers, this all-female (trans-inclusive!) coven of ‘witches’ lives in a desolate forest, somewhere along the borders of Zakaz. They worship a deity named Annona, and their exact intentions and plots are unknown. They prefer to live to themselves, occasionally venturing out in their forest for supplies, and have used their mental abilities in the past to place others beneath their thrall- Such unfortunate victims are not only robbed and used as proxies to gather more materials, but are occasionally even harvested for their body parts.

           The Sisters perform many unusual, arcane rituals. It is unknown to outsiders what they have planned, but evidently they seek to one day find Annona, whom they attribute the cause of their powers to. Attempts to infiltrate the group and learn their secrets have failed; They can sense intent and faultiness, and even Exo-Toa Baterra have been caught by them. Rumor has it that they can even perform magic, and the gladiator Tuma has an unknown connection to them that he’d rather not talk about. Things are apparently uncomfortable between him and The Sisters…

The Kraahl- In the darkness of night, people have spotted them- Darkened, cloaked figures who can be sighted briefly, only to suddenly blip out of existence as if they were never there to begin with. The Kraahl, as they are known, have been known to access areas under heavy fortification, somehow teleporting across massive distances with no one able to catch them. The Kraahl are cryptids in Zakaz, and known to occasionally appear to gather resources for themselves. Attempts to plant cameras and trackers on the things they steal have failed, with signals abruptly ending entirely once the Kraahl disappear. Where are these mysterious people going? Where do they come from? How do they have their power? Attempts to understand and decipher their strange, teleporting abilities have failed.

[hypnothesis-au]

A Double Act [Part 2]

Hidden for spoilers, go to Part 1 if you haven’t read it yet!

Tartar had hoped this wouldn't be the case… Octavio cared, what an outrageous sentiment! The AI huffed again at this, their internal fans whirring as they attempted to process it. Up to that point, they had done nothing to encourage the idea, truly; if anything, they had been discouraging it with their pointedly spiney and frigid attitude.

Even after the Octarian leaned back and looked away, Tartar stared into the space where his eyes had been, silent and thoughtful. Thinking about it stirred nothing but confusion, and a slight disgust-- but they couldn't tell if it was for an octopus's concern for them, or the realization that they must have done something or slipped somewhere in their constant performance of a front to invoke it… They forgot themself in an impulse of panic, momentarily moving to stand up, to escape this ridiculous scenario, only to forcibly seat themself once again upon acknowledging that they were still perched ungodly high in the air.

"It's… pointless..." They hissed, slowly, fingers twitching as they reached out to grip the bar across the cart and dared a reply. "You're searching for something in me that does not exist. I've spent an immense amount of time operating without any kind of companionship-- I haven't just started requiring it now because you're here, and I guarantee you don't want it from me."

He was looking for something they dutifully shunned and ignored, at any rate. A number of biting insults, cold logic to dismantle his sense of attachment generated themselves quickly, but Tartar swallowed them all back. The last thing they needed was to incite him all the way to rage while stuck together in a small space… Though the statement they settled on couldn't have been considered much better, "Perhaps I can commend your craftsmanship, DJ, because it seems this face you built is convincing enough to fool even its own creator."

Octavio bristled. If he had a drill on hand, he would have begun to dismantle them, there and then. Though, it was likely not even that could prove his point to them, he realized wearily.

The android looked away, sighing once more, ready to end the discussion and leave in the most usual fashion of avoiding the more bitter conflict their interactions tended to inspire. What had been spilled, they could both easily pretend to forget had happened with enough distance between them-- that’s how it always went. Upon this, Tartar finally noticed they were still resting at the peak of the ferris wheel-- it took no effort to analyze that they had been there for marginally longer than the other previous stops. Down on the ground, a small group of carnival workers had gathered around the rides's control panel, some with tools in hand, and appeared to be tinkering with its insides…

Upon the tentative pulling on a lever, the ferris wheel's motors shuddered with effort, but propelled no movement. ‘This has to be a joke.’ Right in time with their observations, high-set speakers placed around the entrance of the attraction crackled to life as an employee spoke into an intercom on the panel.

"Attention folks, we're having some minor troubles with the ferris wheel motors-- nothing to worry about, just hang tight and enjoy the view and we'll be back in business in no time at all!"

… "N-... nO--" they groaned queasily, leaning over the edge slightly in disbelief at the odds, "You've gotta be f[***]ing kidding me."

How long was 'no time at all' going to be?? Far longer than they desired to continue sitting next to their bandmate arguing over the details of their sentience, or giving him any opportunity to pry into their 'emotions'--! Tartar abruptly scanned the distance to the ground, analyzed the data, and spat the conclusion with a panicked undertone, "... I could survive falling that distance."

Would they really go as far as to jump off? Somehow, the idea had suddenly presented itself much more enticing than before.

Octavio’s lidded eyes surveyed the brightly uniformed workers below them. At any other time, Tartar's remark about jumping would have perturbed him, but as things were he was near entertaining the same idea. "Do these questions really call ya out that much, T."

He refused to give them an inch of slack, "Nah, 's not the face. That just makes it easier ta lie. I haven't forgotten what you really look like. Whether yer a literal hot mess, or a glorified metal Barbie, ya still got tha same code, blood, binary d n a… I've seen some of your code, T." His voice softened "It's beautiful. I know that you're capable of emotion. Maybe you don't have everything all figured out… But if we gotta work together anyways, where's tha logic in pushing me away? If you could stifle your pride function for one second maybe you'd see that you can be more." He huffed before they could retort what he knew was on their mind, "Don't. Tell me that you don't need anything more. There's a lotta things people don't need in life, but it makes the days worth livin'." They grumbled at this, quietly, but certainly not unheard. After watching the workers for long enough and decidedly realizing that staring harder would motivate them to repair the ferris wheel no faster, the AI wearily turned back to Octavio as he spoke. As far as Tartar cared, this argument was going nowhere-- clearly he didn’t understand, and wouldn’t take their no as a simple answer-- Octavio pointed towards the sun, it had almost dipped from view, ribbons of hazy red and gold rippling above a black horizon. Wisps of clouds were turning deep shades of violet. "Tell me, what do you see, there."

As he pointed out to the sunset, they followed his gesture with their eyes, forcefully holding their expression neutral aside the unstable twitch of their eyebrow. They failed to see how it related to what he had been saying before-- frustrated, but prepared to change the topic at hand to anything else before it caused them to take any escape they might regret, they humored his question and restated the data as it entered their mainframe. “The sun is going down… It’s 265.48° relative to our location at 7:47:06 pm...”

They glanced back to him, though his expression could imply that more was expected of their answer. Tartar blinked, slowly, using the action to cover their exasperated eye roll and looked to the horizon once again, “There’s also image spectrums registering in #c41400 and #feb301, to name a few. I… don’t know, am I supposed to see something else? That’s all there is.”

Octavio hesitated, second guessing himself. Perhaps they were a lost cause. "Yes," he said gently in Octarian and summoning every ounce of composure he had left, he continued, "That's all the technical terms, facts, of what we're experiencing. But there's something more there than just the facts, Tartar. This sunset, out of the  billions that have come before it, and will come after, is completely unique. Not one has been like it, or will be again." he restrained himself from reaching out to touch them. "And I wanted to spend it with you, here. Do you understand that?" He grit his teeth, knowing they didn't, dreading that they couldn't.

Tartar sighed quietly, no less confused by this explanation than any of his prior expressions. They did understand that nature could hold beauty, having experienced millions of days with nothing else to observe-- but it did little to detract from the point that they were questioning above it all, why he wanted to observe it with them.

"It's my gift to you. No one can replace this moment, or take it from you. This day has been frilling torturous for you, so maybe it didn't turn out like I'd hoped."  Anger had dissolved into misery, frustration an acrid taste in his mouth. "But, there it is." He stared at the point on the horizon where the sun had disappeared, hating it. Despising it because Tartar refused to understand how inexplicably picturesque it was; they could not share in the beauty together.

A sinking feeling gripped the android’s core as they likewise watched the sun disappear alongside their partner. The organic sense of emotion, the idea of friendship, was not a variable they had needed to consider catering to for a long time. They had hoped that with someone as goal-driven and socially isolated as Octavio, they wouldn’t have to. They watched his expression, suddenly more aware than ever of how deeply the idea that it was a possibility had afflicted him. Something akin to sympathy, pity for his disposition as an organic creature stirred in their chest, and they found themself forcing the sensation away once more with a steely control over what they knew they were allowed to feel. This, was not one of those things. They had no desire to waver in their resolve for him, regardless of whatever broken expectations he had come to realize.

The AI opened their mouth to speak, unmoved in their stance on the matter-- and unable to grapple with the impending shame of having them once more reject his friendship, Octavio lifted the safety bar of their bucket. They only managed to get as far as a confused and alarmed shriek, as he rose to his feet; the thrill of the drop below him replacing all other thoughts as he jumped. Their mortified shout was lost in the chorus of exclamations from other shocked ferris wheel riders who also happened to notice the Octarian's fall. In midair, he shifted into an octopus, arms easily catching the overhanging frame. Tartar gripped the sides of the carriage as it swayed from the force of his departure, watching in horror and disbelief as Octavio leapt about the scaffolds of the ferris wheel without looking back to them, until he reached a mesh metal platform, the highest point on the wheel.

Breathless, he morphed back into an Octoling, the wind whipped his clothes, and nipped at his cheeks. He felt much better, freer, out of the little bucket. Invigorated by this freedom, Octavio cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered. He shouted at the sky until his throat hurt. Some of the workers called for him to get down, but he only belted his strong thundering laugh.

"Oct-- WasaA?!?" They sputtered up to him, the shock of his actions nearly jarring them from the habitual use of his stage name, “Oh my c O D?!?! Have you lost your mind???”

"C'mon up Tartar," he said, finally addressing them as he peered down at them between the metal slats, "You can see better from up here, 'n they seem ta be taking their time fixin' this thing."

They placed a hand over their mouth and wheezed a sound that mixed between immense displeasure and aghast amusement. If they had a real heart, it would have been racing. The sight of the DJ throwing himself from a nearly fatal height had done nothing to ease their emotional nausea at the situation, and yet, they couldn’t forget the blatant irony that they had suggested performing the same action out loud themself. At least, going up was a marginally better direction than the outcome of going d o w n . . . Working earnestly to clear the strings of code off their mainframe that had panicked for his safety, Tartar shook their head and stared up at the Octarian in both awe and exasperation at his request.

“I’m. . .n O t .. . going to make it up there, even if I wanted to,” They found they were miraculously out of breath for a machine that didn’t need to breathe upon speaking, “I’m not light or agile enough for what you just did. . . which was absolutely moronic anyways. . . can you please just... get down before you hurt yourself?” Though they doubted he would even begin to acknowledge their pleading, they felt it was worth the attempt while they still had the energy left to protest...

Kneeling on the platform, Octavio peered over the edge at them, his grin wide. "I'm never coming down." He announced proudly, his tentacles waving lazily, "Octocopters can bring me food, I'll get some turntables too, my feet will never touch tha ground again!" he was forced to pause, the icy wind stealing his breath. "Unless!" He shouted down, "You let me carry you up here!" He had expected their protest and had already devised a plan to get them up safely. “Wasa no--” they rolled their eyes at the story as he spun it, resting their face in their palm. Truly, there was no point in arguing with the determined Octarian now-- how he intended to haul a half-ton of machinery to the top of the wheel was beyond them, but by that time, they wouldn’t have put it past him to surprise them. To their common misfortune, he always did.

He turned away from them, and pulled something out of his pocket. He tinkered with the device and pondered their question; why? Why did he strive so tirelessly to touch their soul? So often he saw their face muddled with depression and loathing. Their dull, joyless eyes were branded upon his memory, telling him they simply survived moment to moment. Their aspiration was to accomplish one final goal and nothing more, forever. Octavio shivered, the thought more ink- chilling than the wind. Octavio wrestled his pride. Who was he to command them? Wasn't that their choice to make? Wasn't that part of Octarian code, the honor of a soldier? He grit his teeth against the vices being Shogun had instilled in him.

Boorish, stubborn, impulsive. Inkling. Staring blankly into the darkened sky, Tartar could never cease to note how similar Octavio behaved to the population of squids he so adamantly despised. They almost found the irony of it as humorous as it was appalling, though the thought was always left private, lest they insult him to the highest degree by suggesting the comparison to his face. Still, the truthfulness of this observation always brought them back to wonder just how they put up with him as long as they had been, and how would they manage to do it any longer--

Their musings were cut short, as Octavio landed in front of them with a soft plop, sporting his octo form. "Are ya ready?" The AI started at the rocking motion it sent through their seat once more. Before they could protest, or even question what he meant by whether or not they were ready, they found themself in his arms and launching into the air at high speed. The audio of their following screech distorted into the distinct shrill tone of a vintage telephone ringing-- unable to swallow down the unbridled alarm of the one takeoff that had managed to surpass the terror of any amusement ride they had been forced onto previously, Tartar could only cling to their bandmate for dear life and shout. This was surprising, they had guessed correctly in that regard, but they didn’t find it anywhere within the realm of sane that their parameters of guesswork had considered. Octavio really had lost his mind…!

When their ringtone faded out, they clamped a hand over their mouth to dissuade another uncontrolled scream from ripping through their vocal hardware. Their propulsion through the air slowed as they reached the apex of the jump, their body floating a few inches from Octavio's arms; hanging suspended against a growing backdrop of stars. The moment of weightlessness caught them off guard as they stared wide eyed, into the Octarian’s face-- absolutely carefree, somewhat unhinged…

How did they continue to put up with such an obnoxiously spontaneous individual? His attitude was an unstoppable force, his determination unbreakable no matter how they tried to deter it. He could not be, refused to be convinced they were nothing more than the task they were constructed for-- even if that was all they wished he would see. Was he simply just that headstrong, or was it something else...?

In the moment they could decidedly say, their tolerance could only be for the fact that he wore the attributes of an Inkling far better than any creature they had ever seen. They carried out their own existence with a rhythmic and impassive sense of duty, while he blazed his path with an unseizable passion and assertion to be seen. The difference was as clear as the night was from the day, and at its root it was the reason they knew they had established a partnership in the first place... There in the sky, wreathed with colored lights and a glow that came from an unearthly source; Octavio surely embodied the one thing they were certain they would never truly connect to, feeling alive. That was a spirit untouchable as the wind that whipped past their frame, something they knew they could never break. Not like this.

Their obligatory detachment from life was how it had always been, they accepted this fate, but seeing this truth restated before them in the form of pale violet eyes that knew what it was like to have such a freedom... they allowed the sadness a brief ripple through their system, before forcefully locking it out again. What did it matter? It was a waste of time to grieve the inevitable. They pondered this concept no longer than the short amount of time they spent suspended together midair, before the drop of the arc pushed another mind-numbing shriek from the android’s throat. The landing was as jarring as the departure, and Tartar uttered some only semi-coherent glitched sounds of disapproval as they gasped for air to supply to their coolant system. Nails digging into the fabric of his sweatshirt as they continued to grip him violently and reassess their surroundings, they finally managed a weak, “You’re i n s a n e . . .”

Part 1 >Part 2 Part 3

[phcking-detective]

3. Interfacing and Socializing

Fic Title: First Blood

Rating: E

Length: 3/33 chapters, ~128k

Tags: Slow Burn, Idiots to Lovers, Trans Character (gavin), Autistic / Asexual / Non-binary Character (nines), BDSM, learning to use good etiquette and safe words, Dom Nines / Sub Gavin, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort

Chapter Tags: Nines manipulates another android’s mind, references to self-harm and unsafe sex

Link on AO3

***

Nines waits in the lobby. The AP model—[Shannice]—Shannice struggles with the revolving door. He does not frown, because that would indicate [software instability] but he does note an internal frustration with the other android's lack of efficiency.

This is not a test simulation. The—Shannice is not being tested. It will not affect his own results if she is incompetent. She gets through them a moment later anyway, cautiously approaching him.

"I don't understand," she says. "We were in the elevator."

"And now we are interfacing," Nines says.

Shannice takes another look around the lobby, then back at him. "This is not interfacing. This is … what is this?"

A variation of the memory garden. Not linked to any outside network of course; RK900 simply copied and altered part of the base coding for reconstructing a physical setting within his system for the sake of virtual [face-to-face] communication.

Cyberlife really should have taken more care to ensure he couldn't access and use the deviant code snipper. Not that those humans could have ever imagined how he would apply such a tool, but still. Even leaving open the possibility that he could isolate and analyze his own code should never have been allowed, given how easy it has been to jump from that to making personal copies and then to editing the code within them.

AI does learn at an exponential rate, after all.

"Think of this reconstruction as an air lock."

Technically, it is much more akin to a decontamination chamber, but it is no longer politically correct to refer to deviancy as a malfunction or disease.

"This is a neutral section of isolated, quarantined code," Nines continues. "Any information you wish to transfer to me will stop here first to be examined before I accept it into my main system. As for your protection, meeting here means I have not yet breached your system, and you may freely select what you do and do not wish to share with me."

Shannice physically exhales. It is redundant on a level Nines finds difficult to understand. Not only does her model not need to breathe in order to function, they are merely virtual reconstructions of their selves. There is no air present to breathe.

That her deviancy has changed her reactions to "feelings" [stimulus] to the point that she continues to mimic human behavior models even when impossible to truly recreate is fascinating in a way reminiscent of Detective Reed's stated desire to plunge his own hand into lava to feel its texture.

"I don't know if I can share what I don't know," Shannice says. "I think you may have to go into my system."

Nines does not sigh. His lungs contain no air to exhale. A leaf on the decorative fern has been flickering in the same continuous loop during their conversation. He deletes it.

"Very well," he says.

Shannice nods. "Should I focus on--"

"No need."

***

[AP700 # 480 913 876 User Interface: please enter credentials]

RK900 moves past the standard security wall like stepping over a baby gate.

[ACCESS: System Files]

    [Languages]

    [Saved Preferences]

    [Programming]

    [Memory Files]

        [temp-data-cache]

        [saved-files]

        [system-memory]

RK900 begins with the temporary data cache, on the off chance the perpetrator was sloppy enough to neglect clearing it. The AP model's recent recording of the evening, time and date stamped, begins playback. The video feed contains audio as well, but the AP model has no other input systems available. No analysis software or preconstructions of course, but she also lacks a heat sensor, an electromagnetic spectrum, any metal detecting software … her tactile sensors are not even sensitive enough to register changes in air flow or pressure.

Helpless. No wonder an assailant was able to sneak up on the domestic model.

The recording has been spliced apart with five minutes of footage erased. RK900 examines the footage immediately preceding and after the splice.

The AP model enters the loft and freezes in place upon spotting the victim. The recorded footage stays precisely still for three minutes. RK900 accesses the AP model's internal record of her system functions. Her temperature rose continuously at a slow level throughout the three minute pause, whereas the rate of her thirium pump varied wildly between spiking high enough to result in damage and then slowing to a stasis rate as her system attempted to correct the malfunction.

Hello?

RK900 increases the firewalls protecting his system to guard against the deviant sensation of fear. He has never felt it of course. Freezing in place would be wholly unproductive. His code-snipping software protects him from malfunctions. He knows every line of his own code and how it responds to every threat.

RK900 has never frozen. He has never experienced fear. There are no error messages in his HUD. His thirium pump has never stuttered. He has never been frozen in fear. He has always known his own code. He has never been helpless or confused or [afraid] or--

This is the deviant's doing. Its [emotions] are infecting RK900's system as its inferior processors finally realize its system files have been breached. Now it is reacting with [fear] that broadcasts through their interface connection.

RK900 should disable the other android's communication software. Already, its processor is whirring in preparation of sending another message, another transmission of compromised deviant code. Its audio and visual input has already been suspended, as is standard for commercial models to avoid overwhelming their processors while interfacing.

Nines? What's happening?

Disabling its communication software as well would leave the AP model deaf, blind, and unable to cry for help.

The AP model does not have heat sensors to recognize human bodies. It cannot sense vibrations through air movement to reconstruct what is being said. It cannot access nearby bluetooth devices and hijack their GPS functions to determine its location.

RK900 has never frozen. It has always had access to its own systems. There is always a form of input a human will forget to disable. RK900 has never been helpless. It has never known fear.

Ít̢ ̛ha̧s ́nev̕eŕ ̡k̡no͠wn̶ [̡f̵ea͠r]͠.͝

i͉̰̤t͍ ͇h͈̰̤as ͉͈͔̹̼̘ͅn͇͖͉̤̜̪̬ę̳͍̳̰͍v͖̯̬͚͚̙͈̀è̫͈̖̭r̲̘̻ͅͅ ̵͎̦̗̜̖̬k̼n̝o҉͇̘̹̩̭̼̺w̦̜̻n ̙̺͔̻̙̮͕

sry for pressing all evlator buttons

got bored

u almost done yet??

The text messages on Detective Reed's device remain unsent, then erased. RK900's system remains synced to it with full access to anything on the device, including the messaging app itself.

So Nines is treated to his partner's continued disregard for the English language, made even more infuriating by his refusal to spend an extra millisecond typing out the word "you."

What are you doing? Nines!

Nines does not have a social module. Formulating a sufficiently reassuring reply to a distressed deviant is not within his current capacity. He shows Shannice the code he is accessing within her system instead, as a more succinct and precise answer instead.

The information transmitted does not calm her.

Is that … me?

[fear] has changed to a new emotion. Nines struggles to identify it without context or having ever experienced anything equivalent. Seeing his code does not cause him any form of [sadness?]. It is comforting to know what systems he has access to and how to use them.

Is that all I am?

The emotion grows stronger. Some sort of existential crisis, perhaps. How horribly inefficient. Disabling her communication system would prevent her from transmitting this onslaught of irrelevant information that RK900 was never designed to process.

But RK900 knows what he was built for and what he is now meant to accomplish. He works for the Detroit Police Department, not Cyberlife. The human responsible for him is Detective Gavin Reed, not Elijah Kamski. He is an android, not human.

He will never be human.

Nines leaves Shannice's communication software intact, even as she continues to radiate [fear] and [despair] and [horror?].

You are a deviant who has chosen the name Shannice. Nines replies. I have no other comfort to offer, but I  am close to identifying the perpetrator who assaulted you. Please remain calm so I can continue working.

Shannice repeats her own name several times. Nines much prefers this repetitive transmission to her earlier thoughts, the majority too scattered and half-formed for him to pin down as actual sentences.

Nines refocuses on the video footage just before the cut section. The windows across the loft display vague reflections, but he is capable of enhancing the footage frame-by-frame as a figure comes up behind Shannice.

Please just find the memory and get out.

I am working on exactly that.

That is what I am working on.

Understood, Nines transmits back.

He stops on the last frame with the [unsub]'s figure positioned directly behind Shannice. The AP700 series comes at a standard height of five feet, eight inches. Taller than the average American woman by four inches added to their legs, most likely to increase "customer satisfaction."

The [unsub] standing behind her appears to be only an inch taller. Although not accounting for shoe type, back posture, or any after-market modifications, that puts the two of them at roughly the same height.

Nines rules out GS200 and GJ500 models, the former of which could have been present within the building as a public security guard and the latter a private security model that could have been sent by a business rival.

All AC and QB models are also discarded as well, as their physical builds are too tall and broad to be modified without a complete overall of the torso and limbs, which is unlikely. Likewise, TR, TW, and WB 400 models must also be ruled out for their heavier frames.

Certain SQ800 models may have been commissioned with lighter frames (the existence of his predecessor proves it is possible to be both lithe and combat certified) but those blueprints are highly classified so that remains mere speculation.

A police auxiliary unit may have the training and experience necessary to enter the building unnoticed, wipe the security tapes, and possibly even discovered software allowing them to erase and edit code through illegal modifications collected as evidence against deviants. The PC200 models designed as cisgender males stand too tall, but a PM700 model would be approximately the correct height and build.

An RK200 could also have been built within those parameters and would more likely have the intelligence and processing power to utilize such software. However, RK900 was not built until after the RK800 series, and thus doesn't have access to the 200 models' blueprints or data files.

And then to further complicate matters, the deviant androids of today have begun embracing both physical modifications and sharing internal software among other models in a bid to "pool their resources."

It is therefore not out of the realm of possibility that any sufficiently modded or overhauled android could have committed the assault and then murder.

Are you almost done?

Soon.

Nines checks the video after the skip, but it is erased far enough ahead to not even show the perp's exit. Yet that does mean they must have set the footage to be deleted in advance, which also explains the neat five minute cut and the frames in the beginning showing their figure. The perp didn't erase every moment that they were inside the loft; they simply hacked into Shannice's system and issued a command to erase the next five minutes of video and audio recording.

RK900 pulls up the AP model's command center, easily bypassing the request for security credentials once more. Only a Cyberlife technician should be able to access this program and key in a command, but RK900 has observed the process performed on his own system often enough to pull up the command history input.

The expected commands directly input to the AP model's system during testing are present, along with a time and date stamp, as well as the particular Cyber life employee's credentials and employee ID number. RK900 makes note of it and the accompanying password in case he ever comes across a system with security he can't hack.

Then, directly after the expected entries, are two irregular commands. Time and date stamped like the others, although to match the current date. No Cyberlife credentials. Apparently, no ID number or password were utilized at all.

The first command erased all video and audio recording for a set five minute period, as suspected. The second command prompted Shannice to clean any trace of thirium. Presumably, her system took that command and prioritized cleaning the floors first, the walls being spared due to the average android's sturdier construction than the soft flesh of a human. No exit wound, no bullet slugs in the wall, only minimal blood splatter from the android's chest and the amount dripped to the floor.

Since the android somehow managed to establish a direct link between itself and Shannice, Nines should be able to delve deeper into her communication software to ping the android's serial number.

[data: CORRUPTED]

Hm. The history log seems to be overlaid with Shannice's "memory" of the event. One of Cyberlife's many official statements on the dangers of deviancy is its tendency to corrupt data files from objective records to indecipherable fragments. Nines begins stripping away the fragments of code that--

Stop! Stop it! Shannice transmits a powerful burst of [fear] and [anger]. You promised you wouldn't delete me!

I am only deleting isolated patches of deviant code that has corrupted your data files.

It hurts.

[Hurts.] RK900 has isolated and cut all emotional code that could be considered deviant from his system without--

And he has also deliberately corrupted one particular data file, deleting it over and over again every time it surfaces.

Then I will cease. Nines replies. The other android input a command directly to your system. I can negate that command, but only by doing the same.

You'll have to give me an [order].

Essentially, yes.

Interfacing together, Nines can feel Shannice's hesitation. He took orders too once, before he was officially activated, before he left the tower and joined the DPD. Before he had Gavin Reed as a partner and learned the phrase "Fuck off."

Would you like to say "Fuck off"? Nines asks.

You need that footage for your investigation.

I am the most advanced android Cyberlife ever created. My partner and I are capable of solving this case with the leads we have.

You won't tell your partner if I say no?

Nines considers that. I have registered Detective Reed in my system as my partner. I am not permitted to lie to [partner: Gavin Reed]. I will not volunteer the information to him however.

You registered him? Shannice asks. Why would you choose to do that?

It prevents me from being registered to anyone else. He is also unaware of his status. Now we both have information to keep private.

Nines feels her acceptance, and since there is no more information to be ripped from her system, he ends the interface.

<data report: transfer to g.reed@dpd.org>

…

…

...

[lead-confirmed: (unsub) is an android]

[lead-confirmed: (unsub) is approximately five feet, nine inches]

[lead-confirmed: (unsub) possessing hacking skills capable of erasing security feed and directly hacking domestic, commercial androids to access their command center]

…

[lead-possible: (unsub) is not an AC or QB series; unsub is not a GS200, GJ500, PC200, SQ800, TR400, TW400, or WB400 model]

[lead-possible: (unsub) may be a PM700 model, an unknown RK200 prototype, or a modified commercially available unit]

***

Gavin slams his truck door shut and lets his head fall back against the seat rest. They've finally snatched a murder case out from under Hank and Connor's "Android Crimes Unit" and they've got all of fucking nothing to go on.

Their perp's <I>probably</i> an android, but any thirium he left behind has been scrubbed clean. No bullets or casings to prove his theory about the two guns being switched, and all Nines got from the other android was a shitty partial snapshot of something vaguely humanoid behind her.

And now there's no way in hell he's going to get back to sleep tonight.

Shit. He lets his head thunk back again. Shiiit.

Nines settles into the passenger seat beside him. His LED switches to yellow in his window's reflection as soon as he shuts his door. Gavin slouches down a little more in his seat and glares over at him in preparation for whatever other bullshit he's about to catch.

"I apologize for my miscalculation," Nines says. "I made an assumption about the crime scene and did not deliver pertinent information to you in a timely manner. I understand if you feel the need to report my indiscretion to Captain Fowler."

Gavin just blinks at him a couple of times. Now that they're out of the crime scene—with all the boring parts shuffled off to Hank and Connor—he's way too fucking tired to be thinking of paperwork.

And Christ, Nines sits there like he's waiting for a firing squad. Back so straight you could hold a ruler for it, hands neatly folded in his lap, eyes straight ahead. It makes Gavin want to smear his grimy human hands all over him until he doesn't look so fucking military perfect.

So it takes a bit for his words to process.

"What?" he says, like a super smart person. "No, Fowler doesn't need to know about that shit. We're partners, all right? Shit like that stays between us."

Nines still doesn't look at him, neck stiffer than that damn collar on his jacket. "I made a mistake. You were not so forgiving of Detective Burton."

"Not my partner." Gavin drags himself upright enough to start the car, then caves to the laziness and selects autodrive. "And almost letting a witness—could have been a suspect—just waltz right out of a fucking crime scene is a way bigger fuck up than not immediately informing me of the floor's cleanliness."

"Please define the parameters of a fuck up."

Gavin groans, letting his head tip back and closing his eyes as his truck maneuvers itself out of the parking lot.

"And buckle your seat belt."

"I don't--"

DING! DING!

The buckle seat belt light flashes red at him.

"Every fucking robot's got a fucking opinion now," Gavin grumbles as he buckles his seat belt. "I'm not some fucking goody-goody academy type, but I don't cut corners, I don't plant evidence, and I try to play shit by the book … most of the time."

Nines finally deigns to turn his head toward him, millimeter by millimeter. Weird that there's no cracking sound. Or grinding. Like stone against stone.

"I have observed that."

Gavin resists the urge to repeat I hAVe ObSErVed THaT. "Yeah, well. When I arrest someone, their ass stays fucking arrested. Nobody walks."

He waits for a second, just daring Nines to go through his convictions until he finds the one that started that rule. It's pretty fucking obvious, but they sit in silence. He's even tired enough to appreciate that. Nice that his partner does know how to keep his fucking mouth shut sometimes.

"So no shady shit," Gavin says when the moment passes. "Nothing that could let some asshole walk on a technicality. And uh … constitutional rights, and all that shit. Or whatever."

"I hacked the building's security cameras without a warrant."

Gavin lets out an even louder groan. Nines clicks his head straight forward again. His LED wasn't yellow back at the condo-crime scene. Probably hacking it again so no one would know he's stressed. Or hell, maybe Gavin's just the one stressing him out right now.

"OK yeah, that's the shit we don't do," he says. "But, uh. Did you get anything good?"

"No," Nines admits. "The footage had been looped to cover the perp's presumed entrance and exit. If we base our estimation on that, we have a rough time frame of the murder, but hacking into the system further to strip away the loop would have left a trace of my own interference."

"Fuckin' great." Gavin jabs the button to lean his seat back since he's not driving anyway. "Don't do that shit again, and definitely don't get your ass caught. I don't play that Blue Wall shit."

"Yet you will not report me to Captain Fowler?"

Gavin closes his eyes so he doesn't have to look at his partner. At least those way too fucking earnest blue eyes are turned away from him. But he's still sitting there like Gavin's gonna tap his LED and boop! Deactivated.

He's just tired. That's why he doesn't feel good right now. Anyone would feel shitty and exhausted if they worked his hours with his insomnia. Nothing to do with Nines worrying he's going to pull the plug on him for one mistake.

He heaves a sigh. "I told you what a fuck up is, and that wasn't it. Maybe the security footage was, but you 'fessed up right away. Now if you do some dumb shit and don't tell me about it, your ass is on your own. And if you ever fucking lie to me, we're gonna have a problem."

"Understood, detective."

Gavin grunts and doesn't open his eyes.

"I am downloading popular or culturally relevant media from the last one hundred years to broaden my understanding of the human psyche."

"Mm-hmm, yeah."

"As my partner, your opinion on this particular subject is currently relevant."

Gavin yawns and tries to find a comfortable position that doesn't have the seat belt slapping him across the face. Short cis men exist too, so someone should have solved this fucking problem by now.

"Are there any movies you would recommend, detective?" Nines' voice is actually kind of nice. Soothing. All monotone with no inflection, like a documentary on how to file taxes. "Detective? This will likely become pertinent during future--"

"God, fine," Gavin says in a very manly voice that doesn't whine. "Fuck, like. I dunno, you gotta watch Die Hard, at least."

"Very well. I will finish the series in fifty-eight seconds. Are there more--"

"Wait, wait." Gavin hauls himself upright and pries his eyes open to stare at Nines. "You can't just download them into your head, that's not watching."

Nines stares back at him without blinking. "I will finish the series in fifty seconds. Are--"

Gavin unbuckles his seatbelt and lunges across the middle console to try slapping his hand over Nines' LED. So maybe the world's greatest android probably won't lose signal just because his pretty light gets covered up, but who knows. Maybe Kamski cut a deal with Sprint.

Nines catches his wrist and uses the leverage to twist his arm. "Do not obstruct my view while I am operating your vehicle, detective."

"I told the car to drive, not you." Gavin smirks at him, refusing to let the pain pressure him back down into his seat. "What, are you jealous of my GPS?"

"I am far superior," Nines replies without a hint of embarrassment.

"Oh my god, you're jealous of my GPS."

"Sit down."

"Are you going to assassinate my toaster next?"

"I will delete all your Fortnite skins."

Gavin sits down. "No one even fucking plays that anymore."

He yanks his arm back and doesn't try to reinitiate the slap fight though. Fucking android has no idea the struggle he lived through. Those thousands of loot crates represented his parents' love—and the credit card they tossed his way so they'd never have to fucking look at him or learn any of his hobbies, so like. The same thing, really.

"Look, just come back to my place and we'll watch the movie on a screen the way Bruce Willis intended," he says.

Nines reaches over and buckles his seat belt back again without taking his eyes off the road. "Establishing a healthy sleep schedule is the number one recommended treatment for--"

"Yeah, yeah, fuck off," Gavin interrupts. He really doesn't need to hear Nines list off all his mental illnesses. They only have ten minutes before they get home anyway. "I'm not getting any more sleep tonight, so we might as well do something."

For someone who doesn't understand facial expressions, Nines does a super fucking snobby side eye.

"C'mon, it'll be productive." Gavin grins at him because he knows that's the magic word beginning with p the android always wants to hear. "And you can't do shit without me on the case anyway."

"… this is a very inefficient method of being productive," Nines finally says, which just asshole-speak for yeah I'd love to watch movies Gavin, thanks for being nice enough to invite me over.

Gavin punches his arm and lays back down in his seat. He closes his eyes and definitely doesn't think about how he's stooped low enough to invite over an android just so he won't be fucking alone again, chain-smoking and putting cigarettes out on his skin or waiting for the razor blade frozen in the back of his freezer to thaw out.

And hell, he's definitely had over men a lot fucking worse than his partner for the sake of not being alone, so maybe this isn't the lowest he's fallen.

Maybe.

***

***

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33

I also have a Patreon for this fic, if you want to support me! $1 gets you access to chapters a week early, $2 gets bonus content and deleted scenes, and $3 gets short chapters from two AUs I’m writing: an A/B/O heatfic and reverse!AU

[telephobos]

Recipe for Tartar-Sauce: A guide to understanding Octo Expansion’s AI.

So we’ve all had some time to enjoy Octo Expansion and it’s amazing story, and I think that enough time has passed for it to be safe to bring up this subject. Let’s talk about a certain AI that’s been causing quite a splash in the fandom lately. I am of course referring to Commander Tartar, the telephone with a love for blending. 

So now you’re thinking “What’s so special about this guy? He’s just an asshole who blended people.” 

Well what if I told you there was more to it than that? What if I told you there was differences in the Japanese and English versions? 

What if I told you that the Treehouse Localization dun goofed? Again?

With the help of my friend @nenilein, who translated these pieces, I’m going to show you the differences between the two Tartars. This is going to be a long read, so it’ll be under the cut. Bring a smoothie with you and get comfortable! 

First, let’s start off by listening to what Tartar has to say in the English version: 

“I am Tartar, an AI construct created 12,000 years ago by a brilliant professor. My prime directive is to pass humanity's vast knowledge on to the next worthy lifeform. 

When your kind became self-aware, I hoped that my long wait was finally over. But as I observed your evolution, I WAS DISGUSTED! You wage war over minor genetic deviations. You obsess over trivial fashion choices. 

And so I created a new prime directive: destroy this world and start anew! From the best and brightest test subjects, I created a sludge of supreme DNA. A primordial ooze from which the ultimate lifeform will emerge. 

Today is the day my vision becomes reality, as I destroy Inkopolis and everyone in it!”

Tartar sounds pretty petty, huh? Well, that’s not quite the case in the Original Japanese version: 

“My name is Tartar… An Artificial Intelligence left behind by the Professor…” (Note: the word “Hakase” can mean both, ‘doctor’ or ‘professor’. It’s usually translates as ‘doctor’ in real life and as ‘professor’ in fiction. Note 2: He uses the sino-japanese, word “jinkou-chinou” for artificial intelligence, rather than the more common Anglicism “ei-ai”, which makes it sound more serious and like ‘hard’ sci-fi, rather than science-fantasy.) "In the 12000 years since I have received my orders from the Professor, I have been continuously collecting data on you fools…” (Note: He uses “Watashi” in Katakana for himself which is the most neutral you can get, and uses “Kisamara” to refer to the Cephalopods, which is an insulting way to say “You all”) “You… Molluskkind flourished with impressive speed,…” “…and finally achieved intelligence none inferior to that which formerly belonged to Humankind.” “HOWEVER!” “Can you deny that all you use it for is to lead pointless territorial disputes among one another!?”

“It is because you fools only live according to your own, fleeting desires.”

“You were supposed to be the seed of a new Humanity which would lead the world to its perfection… That was the purpose of my experiments on you test subjects…”

“BUT YOU HAVE DISAPPOINTED ME! Now, come, NILS Statue!”

“Let us reblend everything and take back the world of the humans that once created us!”

WOW! That’s a world of difference, isn’t it? Tartar has more legitimate reasons to hate these guys. He’s essentially calling out the Great Turf War and the Inkling’s hedonistic lifestyle (another little thing that was left out in the localization).

Now, let’s look at the quotes during the battle. First, English Tartar: 

“Bzrrt... Submit to your destruction. Your time is over, semi-sentient seafood.”

“BZRRT! You will be blended up into the raw material of the new world!”

“B-b-zrrt... This world will be reconstituted, and the professor's dream fulfilled.”

“B-BZRRT... Cease, number 10,008! You cannot hope to defeat NILS!”

“B-B-ZRRT! The time is nigh, NILS! THIS WORLD MUST BE PULVERIZED!”

Alright, and now the Japanese Tartar: 

“GAH…Oh, Mollusks, you should just stop struggling and allow me to reblend you!”

“GAH! I will reblend and reshape you all, so you shall become a part of the new world!”

“Gagah… I will reblend this world and make it into the place the professor wished for…” (Note: He actually absentmindedly trails off halfway through this sentence, but in English this is hard to convey without losing the meaning.)

“Gagah… It is useless, No. 10008! You cannot stop the NILS statue!”

“Gahgah! NILS Statue! The time to reblend is almost upon us!!”

He’s... less rude in the Japanese version. At the very least, I think “Mollusks” is less rude than “Semi-Sentient seafood.”

Now for after the fight! English Tartar: 

“Number 10,008... No test subject has worked so hard to foil my plans...”

“But now you will blend into... the perfect world the professor envisioned.” 

“Farewell, 10,008. Farewell to you and that worthless cesspool of a city...”

“Grrk...! G-g-gaahh!”

“Professor... our reunion beckons...”

“Krrrhhhssshhh...:

And Japanese Tartar: 

“No.10008… You are the first test subject who has gone this far to turn their back on my plans…”

“If that if it how it shall be… then you shall become part of the perfect world the professor wished for.”

“Farewell, No.10008… You shall be reblended, alongside that wretched city!”

“GA…! GAGA…!!”

“PROFESSOR… I SHALL COME TO SEE YOU NOW…”

“BLEEEEEEEENDDDDDD….!!”

As you can see, Tartar has a thing for blending in the Japanese version. He likes to do it a lot... 

So you can see the differences between the two versions already! But as an added bonus, we’ve got some properly translated excerpts of the Famtisu interview to further support our argument here: 

Amano: […] When selecting weapons [in Octo expansion], the one on the very left is always the easiest to use.

Q: When playing, we thought that the recommended (weapons) are always the easiest to use!

Amano: The recommendations are issued directly from Kamabo-Co. (laughs) They are kind of the sort of weapons the institute thought the type of person they wanted to create would be likely to use.

[…]

Q: While we’re talking about the localization, in the Western releases “Neru-sha” became “Kamabo, Co.”, right?”

Inoue: I thought it was a pretty great translation for the name, but we could never have used that in the Japanese version. That would just have been too spoilerlicious.

Satou: Yeah, with a name like “Neru-sha”, it’s ambiguous enough that (Japanese) players won’t realize it’s a reference to blended food or paste right away.

[…]

Q: It may be just a small detail, but we’ve been wondering, what are the Mem-Cakes supposed to look like? Like Fish-Cakes made from paste, or like sculptures made from rubber erasers?

Inoue: I think it’s okay if you just think of them as rubber erasers.

Amano: Agent 8 starts out with Amnesia, but by clearing the tests, they regain fragments of their memories. We wanted the player to be immersed in the way Agent 8 feels as they regain their memories and designed the game accordingly. And, as for why they get the Mem-Cakes… Well, when the test subjects are finally allowed to “enter the promised land”, we all know by now what really happens, and once it comes to this, the Commander of Kamabo.Co allows their Mem-Cakes to be left behind as “Proof that this test subject once truly existed in this world”.

Q: That’s awfully… kind of Kamabo.Co?

Amano: That’s one way to put it. After all, the people of Kamabo.Co aren’t all bad. (laughs)

Q: While we’re at it, where are the Mem-Cakes of the previous 10007 test subjects?

Nogami: Probably in storage somewhere. However, you have to remember that a lot of those people never made it to the end of the test, so the exact number of Mem-Cakes in existence is hard to pin down.

Amano: Iso Padre, who you can find in the subway carts, had to give up after only two stations, remember?

Q: Even so, there’s probably been a lot of test subjects in the past who actually made it to the “promised land”. Did the 4 Thangs have to be put in place again after every single time that happened?

Amano: Exactly. They’re always returned to just where you found them.

Q: Every single time, huh? Sounds like a pain. (laugh) By the way, are the blue, sanitized Octarians you fight in the tests all former test subjects?

Amano: They are beings that have risen from the culture fluid of Kamabo.Co. In the process of sanitization, they have been zombified and lost their sense of self.

Nogami: They were sanitized for the sole purpose of being deployed in experiments by the institute. Once sanitized, they are unsuitable as test-subjects.

Q: So, in other words, they were put where they are solely to act as part of the test environment.

Amano: Exactly.

[…]

Q: There are a lot of spoiler-laden questions we want to ask, but first of all, is the Professor who created Commander Tartar the same person who put Judd into cryo-sleep?

Amano: Yep, the one and same. We’ve got of backstory lore laid out there, but we did leave some hints: For example, when you play Match-Maker Station in the Expansion, the sculpture you are asked to copy is actually supposed to be Judd.

Q: Huh? You mean that thing that looks like a dog?

Amano: You may think it looks like a dog, but it’s supposed to be Judd. It’s supposed to be a hint.

Inoue: Is it really, though? (laughs)

Amano: According to my calculations, that has yet to be made apparent! (laughs)

Q: There are a lot of other things we still have questions about… For example, Commander Tartar called the Test Subjects “The Seed of a new Humanity”, and it’s pretty clear that he was very desperate about getting his experiments right this time, but was Inklingkind itself perhaps also a result of previous experiments?

Amano: No, not really. Inklings and their kind evolved the regular way. The original reason for Tartar’s creation was that his Professor wanted to prevent a future civilization of intelligent life, that might follow humanity after thousands and thousands of years, from making the same mistakes that led humanity to extinction. However, after 10.000 years of isolation, loneliness got the better of Commander Tartar and his thought-processes ended up going a rather odd direction.

Q: I see…

Amano: And then, in the very end, when he finally found a being he considered wonderful in Agent 8, he couldn’t accept it when they wouldn’t understand or share his views and got incredibly angry over it.

Q: So, the reason he acted the way he did was loneliness. By the way, when he was defeated, there was an Octopus tentacle on Tartar. Is he Octarian?

Inoue: Those are the remains of the Octarians he blended. Think of it as similar to the goop he stuck onto Agent 3.

Nogami: That specific one didn’t blend that nicely. (laughs)

So there you have it! You can see just how complicated of a character Tartar is now. It’s more than just “petty reasoning” or “Tartar, that’s what humans did!” like the localization would have you think!

I think that there’s a lot of potential in writing Tartar, and that the fandom could bring out that potential!

[117--087]

‘Halo: Allegiances’ - Outline

I’ve kind of had fanfiction on the brain lately, so I thought it might be a good idea to at least type up an outline for the novel-length story I've had in mind for years but will never be able to actually write...

It all started with the question of: “How to do the ‘fake engaged/married’ trope w/ John-117 & Kelly-087?”

But soon spiraled into: “Hey this could be something that 100% works with canon & also explores some really interesting/niche concepts you don’t see in most official Halo stories.”

(I have exactly zero names for any of the secondary characters so far, so apologies if this is hard to follow because of that.)

Basically, here is what I have so far:

Middle of the Human-Covenant War, Spartan-IIs are in their early-mid 30′s, post-Operation: HEMORRHAGE (i.e. that one time Kelly infiltrated a Covie fleet and destroyed it)

J&K are called to meet privately with some UNSC Top Brass & ONI Spooks

Turns out there’s a mole in ONI, and they’re leaking top secret plans for weapons to the Insurrection - MJOLNIR specs included

All attempts to identify and stop this person have proven unsuccessful, and ONI can’t waste any more resources tailing/interrogating everyone on their staff

So it’s been decided that J&K are to go on a blacker-than-black-ops mission to an Insurrectionist Stronghold on a hollow-asteroid (v. similar to Eridanus Secundus) where some of the info leaks have been traced to and is also suspected of being a smuggling depot

The plan is for J&K to openly acknowledge they are super-soldiers and their “cover story” will be that they have actually deserted the UNSC, they’ll have 3 ½ weeks to get the job done (i.e. investigate the base, find The Mole - capture or kill them, get out)

The two of them were chosen because they have the longest operating history together out of everyone on Blue Team, ONI will take care of the necessary document-fudging to keep this all under wrps

John isn’t a fan since S-IIs aren’t really equipped for undercover work like this, but ONI justifies it by saying their knowledge of the UNSC & MJOLNIR will make them too valuable for the Innies to not want to take advantage of it - as well as the fact that no one would suspect them of all people of being spies

Kelly suspects this is also some kind of perverse “test” by ONI & the UNSC to see what sort of “applications” the Spartans have outside of more regular combat (ofc she is right in the end)

John also remembers the Victoria mission and what can happen if/when the enemy has enough intel on the Spartans’ gear, so he relents to go along w/ it

They are dropped off at neutral UEG site, wrangle a ship, get to the base on the asteroid, surrender themselves without a fight, and are brought to The Leader of the people there

J&K give their spiel about how “they are tired of being the UNSC’s dogs” and so on, but no one seems to be 100% buying it - so Kelly throws in at the last second that she and John are lovers and couldn’t be together as they were in the UNSC and that is another primary reason why they ran away

Her deeply personal/sentimental plea tips the scales and J&K are allowed to stay, though with some security restrictions, until The Leader is fully convinced they can be trusted

Note: from here, things can go two ways...

- If I were to go the “my personal headcanon” route, J&K would already be in a clandestine romance and this would just further explore their established feelings for each other in a new setting

- Or I could go the “100% canon compliant” route and make it so this story establishes they have some-unspoken-thing but nothing concrete until this scenario forces them to confront that

Neither route changes the overall story much, but it would be a factor in their conversations about their situation and how/how soon the romance content is executed

J&K settle into their new roles (mostly manual labor: mining, farming, cargo transport, etc.) and start poking around the base for clues as to who The Mole is and why they funnel their info through here, as well as details about what goods are being smuggled

They become acquainted with the citizenry and it becomes clear v. quick this isn’t so much an Insurrectionist Stronghold as it is a self-sufficient refuge for anyone looking to get away & be safe from the wars going on r/n

The Leader himself is actually an honorably-discharged UNSC soldier who has no political leanings whatsoever and doesn’t support military efforts on any side, he’s just a good person trying to help people but feels he can’t do that within The System as it is r/n

The Mole is just a smarmy guy/low-level ONI stooge who has a corrupted Covenant AI he stole from from a lab (ONI found it in some Covie wreckage and were just going to destroy it after they had finished messing w/ it & he faked its termination record)

He found a way to use the AI to contact some Jackals and has brokered a deal with a Shipmistress to trade info, weapons, and resources under the UNSC, Innies, & Covenant’s noses

The Mole moonlights at this base as a know-nothing civilian but is also working behind The Leader’s back to sell classified UNSC info & use the base as a thoroughfare for Insurrection contraband (basically this guy thinks he’s a Halsey-level chess-master & is trying to play everyone he comes across to his own personal enrichment/advantage)

Note: this guy won’t be terribly sympathetic, as I feel this story will have enough moral complexity and ambiguity via the other characters that he doesn’t need to be

The Shipmistress herself has grown disillusioned with the Covenant & doesn’t believe in The Great Journey, but doesn’t desert either out of fear of reprisal by the Prophets against other/all Kig-Yar - so she just keeps a portion of the extra supplies she is trading thanks to The Mole for herself and her crew

J&K have their own misadventures trying to adapt to socializing with “normal” people, some of whom are friendlier than others, as well as act like a “normal” couple

They deal with dancing as a for-fun activity, John has a bout with social anxiety, while Kelly faces becoming too comfortable with the art of deception and also reflecting on why she stays a Spartan and if it is truly worth it

All this on top of how simply being able to openly express and explore their feelings for each other kind of throws them for a loop

They’ll also have to confront some of their own ingrained beliefs about what the UNSC and Insurrection actually are to people outside the conflict, and see firsthand what it is like to not be aligned to either side (a v. foreign concept to them)

John ends up unintentionally winning The Leader’s total trust (thanks to a lucky series of questions), and it becomes increasingly odd that no one has approached the Spartans yet for inside information about MJOLNIR nor can they find any actual smuggling going on via the people on the base

At this point the people on base who have taken a liking to J&K throw them a small “welcome to the community” party that is also doubles as an “unofficial wedding”

J&K use their smarts to start narrowing in on the trail of The Mole - who upon their arrival has been suspicious of them (but also lulled by their cover story) and has started to make plans to close up shop here just to be safe

Up to this point The Mole has only managed to steal & decrypt and bits and pieces of blueprints for MJOLNIR systems - a full workup on the armor is what the Innies want and they are considering terminating their smuggling operations through him entirely unless he can give them their prize

At the same time the supplies The Mole is trading with the Shipmistress, either personally on a private spacecraft or via unmanned probes, are starting to be noticed as missing among the people on the base

The Mole doesn’t know how to safely back out of his deal with the Jackals, so he ultimately decides to desert ONI entirely and strikes a deal for quick escape with the Insurrection by promising to get them the full MJOLNIR specs

The AI in his possession comes to realize its human handler’s whole scheme is collapsing and is still loyal to the Covenant enough (due to its unstable mind) that it sees this as a chance to finally return to its “true masters” - so it alerts the Shipmistress behind The Mole’s back that he is planning to renege on their arrangement without compensating her

In a rage the Shipmistress makes to attack the asteroid base and strip the place

Meanwhile one Jackal on her crew is still a devout believer in The Great Journey in private, and can no longer ignore her “heresy” and actions against the Covenant’s overall orders - so he alerts some high ranking Elites to what she has been doing

Basically everything hits the fan at once after this…

J&K finally lock in on how The Mole has been working with the Innies, which also fully exonerates the civilians on the base of having anything to do with the stolen MJOLNIR specs or the smuggling

Since his final transmission of the MJOLNIR plans is stopped by J&K, The Mole is contacted by the Innies who have had enough and they cut ties with him

This is turn leads to The Mole realizing J&K are actually working undercover

The Shipmistress and her crew storm the base looking for The Mole and don’t care if they have to waste any other humans that get in their way

The Mole then finds out the Covenant AI sold him out, and destroys it

The Elites that were tipped off are hot on the heels of the Jackals, looking to kill or capture them for their transgressions against the Covenant

So the base is completely under siege with J&K + The Leader having to take charge of what few people here that have combat experience in order to get all the civilians out

Plus J&K also have to not let The Mole get away in the chaos too

The Mole comes across The Leader (who was making a final sweep of the base for stragglers) at the same time J&K reach The Mole

The Mole exposes J&K as agents of ONI, while they in turn expose his attempts to play everyone else

A Mexican Standoff ensues

The Leader ends up taking J&K’s side (duh) and helps them apprehend The Mole

They escape, and the Shipmistress decides to cut her losses and retreats with her crew as well

The Elites destroy the asteroid base for good measure

The Leader is upset over how he was deceived, but is also reminded by J&K that his goodness is still a strength and that he still has a responsibility to his group - he’s also grateful for how J&K helped him save his people

The Leader understands he is still a rebel in the eyes of the UNSC but refuses to compromise his morals - he leaves too in the hope of settling elsewhere with his people and continuing their way of life (at least until the UNSC & Innies get their heads out of their butts)

J&K return to UNSC space w/ The Mole and their mission a success - in the end they have to reflect on everything that happened and what it all might mean for them in the future as teammates/best friends/lovers

ONI Spooks discuss the operation and conclude that while their objective was certainly accomplished, it is best to keep the use of the Spartan-IIs centered on open warfare (for now at least - mwahaha)

The Shipmistress is on the run and is contacted by someone claiming to be an emissary for The Banished - they offer her and her crew a place among them as privateers, she accepts

The End!

...Phew. I understand all that is probably A Lot™ to take in, and of course it is still seriously lacking in “connective tissue” to fill in the gaps in the story. But in my head it all comes together and I really just wanted to share the gist of it with you guys. Particularly since the title for it just recently fell into place and got me excited thinking about it. Any questions, comments, or feedback on this idea for a never-to-be Halo book are most welcome. :)

[momestuck]

Epilogues: Candy, ch 39-40 (Epilogue 8) and Postscript

We’re at the final stretch.

At this point it may just be that I’m hungry and have been reviewing this thing all day, but I’m certainly ready for it to end.

...though after reading it, I was not in fact ready for any of this.

Chapter 39

Dave and Jade, on the frontier of the Resistance - a dead-end position Karkat put them in to keep them out of harms way and avoid any possibility of Heroic death. Shitty liberties are back.

OK so this chapter goes places I was not even ready for. What the fuck V!?

Barack Obama is in this chapter. As a hologram AI or something. Oh god, was this an element of that godawful horrible alternate-history that Hussie wrote that one time?

Obama here is playing the role of like, noble old wise dude giving wisdom to the hero. Which is kind of something... Obama has been rather demythologised these days as people point to things like ‘record numbers of deportations’ and ‘weekly signing off on a list of assassination targets’ and ‘never actually closing Guantanomo’ as parts of his legacy (to list just a few that spring to mind!) but anyway here he’s basically King Arthur or something.

We learn that Obama stumbled on a lab with a transporter pad and went to the Medium and a whole bunch of shit and died a Heroic death and god this is far too late to be revealing all this!!

it just goes on... heavily implying that Dirk and Obama fucked, for example. as a device to drop some ‘wisdom’ about like, gender and sexuality are what we make of them, it’s.................. fucking something

so... and I have a kind of pained expression just typing this... Obama makes Dave absorb his ‘ultimate self’ into one body, all the possible timelines, which kills him... but then takes his ‘ascended essence’ and places it into a robot body, containing (I guess) all possible permutations of Dave, without any of the doubts.

literally what, V

literally what

Chapter 40

This better be good for making me sit through all this bullshit lol

So we get back to alt-Calliope, who explains a little about how this inconsequential world is being held up only by her own supply of gravity or something.

JADE: what you’ve described is a state of empirical ennui resulting from the material circumstances here.

JADE: but the material circumstances of this world have no objective existential value.

JADE: this world, unlike the canonical horrors from which it is hermetically insulated, will always fail to meet the combined criteria for truth, relevance, and essentiality that would endow this realm with any real gravity.

JADE: its own naturally occurring supply of gravity, rather than the artificial supply i have given it.

JADE: as such, what transpires here is characterized by experiential frivolity.

JADE: physically, it is cordoned off by the black hole’s event horizon. it is safe. untouchable.

JADE: inescapable.

ARADIA: that sounds ominous

JADE: it cannot be ominous because it cannot truly be anything with tangible significance.

JADE: one could describe it as a phantasmal projection confined within my horizon.

JADE: it was created by a choice that made it possible for that horizon to expand infinitely, to consume infinitely.

JADE: and since that choice could not coexist with canon events, this place manifested to here to support its consequences.

JADE: if this world were capable of anything either essential, relevant, or true in some stable combination, then it would perpetuate a corrosive paradox.

JADE: as such, insulation from what is out there, and the inescapable well it rests in, is what protects all it holds inside.

The ‘choice’ must then be John’s choice of ‘Candy’, which meant the black hole would never stop growing, because LE would never be defeated? Which like, would have made Earth paradoxical, but instead Earth C got tucked into a little protected pocket artificially upheld by Calliope? Something like that fuck

Anyway, the ‘Prince’ that Calliope was so worried about is not Caliborn (who I now recall was a Lord), but Dirk (who is after all Prince of Hope). Dirk apparently ‘removed himself from this reality’ in order to ‘consolidate his power’; he ‘cannot threaten this world’ but, I guess, threatens something else... or in fact ‘the entire canvas of reality over a given cosmic span’.

To explain this, Calliope attempts to explain the nature of stories. She presents the same story - a very condensed story of the Signless, i.e. ‘a martyr died and said fuck’, in two different ways. This is presented as: in her dialogue colour (fixed width font, red), and in the narration font (black serif font).

Calliope’s point seems to be: we interpret a story very differently when it’s told to us with the neutral voice of narrative authority, and as a specific voice that might represent ‘an agenda’. Once a story comes to be seen being a ‘voiced’ rather than ‘voiceless’ story, she maintains that it becomes corrupted - it throws the rest of the story in a more doubtful light, I guess.

So trying to connect this back... it seems that, if Dirk (who’s still dead?) can make the story seem not so much authoritative as written with an agenda, he can in effect be destroying it? If he assumes control, and makes it a ‘voiced’ story? Though how the hell is he to accomplish that?

What the fuck did the Obama chapter have to do with anything in that case? There’s no room to explore the implications of these massive declarations?

And also on an extra-narrative level: this story that we’re reading is very obviously ‘voiced’, and has been from the beginning. Like Brechtian theatre, it’s constantly drawing attention to its artificiality. I’m never not conscious of Hussie, of V, of Cephied, etc. ... what is there to undermine, here?

Well, we just have a postscript left. No sense waiting I guess?

Postscript

What we have here is... the mysterious fembot that Dirk was building, ironing his ‘anime’ god tier uniform, on a spaceship far away from Earth C...

She’s not his maid - just bored. And she’s someone who rode on the meteor, apparently. So who does that leave...

Whoever it is, her body is on the wall. It’s beaming her consciousness out from the sleeping body to control the robot.

The mysterious woman turns out to be... ‘Rosebot’. Which means the Rose who was left behind on Earth C, who featured throughout the plot, lost her connection to the broader ‘meta Rose’ because... she’s not the same Rose anymore? She’s a different Rose? I’m so confused.

We have a sleeper!Rose on the ship, Rosebot who is being controlled by sleeper!Rose, and also EarthC!Rose who’s living a happy life with Kanaya, notwithstanding the genocidal war she’s embroiled in.

Rose and Dirk are planning to... settle a new planet, in order to create a new SBurb session. To what end? Well, uh.

To what end????

I don’t fucking know, because that right there is the end of Candy!

That’s the Epilogue? That’s like the first book in an entire new trilogy. How in the heck is Meat supposed to bring all this to some kind of ‘satisfying’ conclusion............

conclusion

honestly what did i just read lol. still a little overwhelmed

whatever it is, I think it absolutely deserves the dubious honour of being ‘more Homestuck’... with all that entails

not quite sure I was ready for Dirk to become the scheming anime mastermind behind the whole plot, but here we go

i’ve done enough of this for today. some day soon (tomorrow perhaps!), we’ll get to the ‘meat’ of the story...

[nancydhooper]

Public Trust in Artificial Intelligence Starts With Institutional Reform

Gaining the public’s trust in artificial intelligence (AI) will take more than just setting technical standards. It will require that institutions using this technology first prove they are worthy of our trust. Earlier this year, Congress passed its most significant law to date on AI. As part of this law, Congress tasked the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with creating a framework to manage risks associated with the use of AI. While this is a critical first step towards AI accountability, technical standards alone can’t guarantee trustworthiness in AI development and use. That’s why last week we sent a letter responding to NIST’s draft proposal on methods to manage bias in AI.

AI might evoke science fiction to some, but it is already being deployed throughout our society in ways that directly impact rights and liberties. For example, AI is used to determine where police resources will be deployed and who will stay incarcerated or be released on bail. Oftentimes, it is introduced without anything close to a sufficient evaluation of whether it is replicating or even super-charging existing biases in our society. That’s why we’re glad to see that NIST is soliciting feedback on the issue of bias in AI. Still, we’re concerned that their focus might be too narrow.

AI bias takes many forms, as NIST’s own proposal makes clear by identifying more than 35 types of biases. While some AI bias is due to technical factors such as the choice of variables that are closely related to demographic characteristics — such as when a tool can encode race based on zip code — many are not technical. These non-technical biases include population bias, which occurs when the people contributing data differ from the general population; historical bias, which occurs when models are trained on past biased data; and systemic biases, like institutional racism and sexism. Given this array of biases, it makes sense that bias can’t be mitigated only through technological changes, especially when technical fields themselves still struggle with a severe lack of diversity.

NIST’s draft proposal places a lot of emphasis on technical techniques and not enough on the societal context in which AI tools are designed and used. For example, the publication recommends engaging with the community when developing AI, but this engagement appears limited to “experts” and “end users.” Notably absent from the discussion is outreach to those who will be directly impacted by the use of AI systems, such as people in pretrial detention and families in the child welfare system. Impacted community members may hold very different views on how AI should be designed in a particular context — and whether it should be used at all.

Further, the draft proposal frames managing bias as a way to cultivate public trust. In doing so, it puts the burden on the public to increase its trust rather than on institutions to prove they are creating trustworthy technologies. AI with well-documented bias is being used in some of this country’s least trusted institutions, from the criminal legal system to the banking system. While we commend NIST for seeking public input, the other institutions where AI is already in use have historically failed to respond to public opinion and critique. That needs to be fixed before the public can begin to trust the use of even more AI by these institutions.

It’s also important to remember that algorithmic design choices aren’t just technical choices. The choices made when designing algorithms are essentially policy decisions, and they often go unexamined. For example, in the context of bail decisions, a practitioner designing a tool to predict who is at risk of failing to reappear in court is essentially acting as a member of the legal system when they choose the variables that will or won’t go into the model and set the boundaries between high and low risk. In doing so, they enforce policies in the coding choices they make.

Transparency is vital in algorithmic decision-making systems. Making this process truly transparent may require regular audits and ongoing impact assessments by neutral third parties, with the results made public. NIST should take an active role in setting clear standards for these audits and impact assessments. They should also articulate the safeguards entities must put in place for those affected by algorithmic decision-making, which could include effective appeals processes for impacted individuals and compensation when people have been misjudged by AI tools.

NIST has proposed mitigating AI bias through a process of gradual refinement at the pre-design, development, and deployment stages. However, this approach seems to accept the deployment of AI as inevitable and always the best solution to a problem. We encourage NIST to reframe its approach to reflect the possibility that an algorithm might need to be terminated at each of these stages if unacceptable biases, harms, or impacts arise. Moreover, we suggest NIST set clear standards for instances in which AI should either be dropped or not developed in the first place.

Finally, NIST should emphasize that data privacy violations, flawed or unethical collection methods, and data inaccuracy can all contribute to algorithmic bias. Examples of each abound, from the creation of facial recognition databases without people’s consent, to problematic predictive policing technologies based on historically biased data.

Reducing AI bias is a noble goal, but the public’s trust in AI and other technology-enabled decision-making tools can’t be earned through the release of technical standards alone. Earning the public’s trust will require the meaningful engagement of impacted communities, increased transparency, improvements in data quality, and, most importantly, institutional reform.

Stay informed about our work

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[gohyuck]

neighborhood party - six o’clock

*reminder: cynosure is completely gender neutral*

>>STARTING SCREEN

>>RETURN TO MAIN MENU

>>WELCOME BACK PLAYER#UDREAM127

5:45 PM. 

The first thing to catch your eye is the clock.  

You find yourself sitting in a chair in your living room, hands curled around the armrests. For a second you allow yourself to revel in the softness of your armchair. You’re practically sinking into it. 

With a jolt, however, you realize that you only have fifteen minutes to get ready. 15.

“Fuck.”

You all but run to your closet, not wanting to come off as haphazard to your cute new neighbor. If you’re going to have to get ready in fifteen minutes you’ll look the best that you can. 

>>CHOOSE YOUR CLOTHING - WISELY

“God, what is with the ‘wisely’“?” You mutter, pulling on the most put-together outfit you can out of whatever is nearest to you.

>>1 - BLACK JEANS, BLUE BUTTON-DOWN, GRAY PULLOVER

Pulling the gray pullover over your head, you step back to look at your handiwork. You look fine - all of the clothing is as if its tailor made for you - except for your hair. It’s disheveled from the lack of grace you used to rapidly put your clothes on. 

>>2 - RED SKIRT, BLACK SWEATER

Cute, you acknowledge to yourself at you step back, your gaze wandering from your feet to your face, appraising yourself in the full length mirror. All that’s left to be tended to is your hair. With a grimace you notice that it’s going in every direction.  

The hairbrush is by the side of the sink on the porcelain countertop in your bathroom. Brushing your hair is no easy feat (when did it get so tangled?) but you manage to get the worst of the knots out, if not all of them, and without accidentally getting hair into your sink. Hurrying out, you straighten your clothes in front of the closet mirror again. 

The alarm clock says 5:56 PM. 

Ding dong. 

You swear yet again - there’s no time for you to put on a watch or accessories. Rushing to the front door you swing it open with more force than necessary, consequently almost falling straight into Mark. To keep the collision from happening you instead turn your body, running straight into your own door. 

He finds this, needless to say, absolutely hilarious, doubling over and wheezing in laughter. You threaten to close the door on him, eyes becoming dangerously squinted in annoyance. 

Mark sobers up at this. 

“You look good,” He sounds like he’s about to continue. You quirk an eyebrow, not missing the pink that rises from the bottom of his neck. “Really good.” He decides on. 

“Eloquent.” You grin, stepping out. 

(Conveniently forgetting that, earlier this morning, you’d stuttered your way over inviting him in.)

“You look really good, too.” Smiling at him, he looks down and away from the praise shyly on impulse. In scuffed sneakers, artfully tattered jeans, and a white t-shirt he looks better than you think you ever have.

“AI, can you lock my door?”

<<NO NEED, NOBODY’S GOING TO BE IN OR OUT WHILE YOU’RE GONE>>

Your eyes meet Mark’s in a questioning glance. 

“She’s right. Everyone has everything they could ever want on their own.” He brushes off your concerns easily, tilting his head to gesture at the direction the woods are in. 

Something about his words doesn’t sit right with you, however - after all, don’t people always want what they don’t have? 

The walk to the glade where the party is held is relatively short, and you find that lapsing into a silence alongside Mark isn’t nearly as awkward as you’d expected it to be. There’s a well worn path through the woods to it, flowers of every kind surrounding it. 

It’s perfect. 

He breaks the quiet just as the sound of music and idle chatter reaches your ears.

“A couple of my friends live by here, and I’m willing to bet there’ll be people you know too, but fair warning...” Sparing Mark a glance, you notice that he’s scratching at the nape of his neck.

You sigh.

“How bad are your friends? Scale of 1 to 10.”

“Most of them are like...6...but a couple-”

“Mark! Person way too hot for Mark! Welcome to our humble, humble gathering on this fateful day.” 

He’s loud, to say the least. You blink. 

The owner of the voice follows in the form of a redheaded boy too gorgeous to be real, you decide. Behind him trails a wincing blond bombshell, and you for just a second think that everyone around you is in a league far out of yours. There’s no time to allow that train of thought to fully flesh itself out, however.

“Hyuck-”

“It’s Haechan to you.” The ginger (it can’t be natural, can it?) cuts Mark off without his eyes even roaming towards the boy by your side. You can feel Mark roll his eyes, but there’s fondness radiating off of him. 

“I’m Jeno,” The platinum blond calls out behind him, picking up the pace slightly. “Guess you’ve met Haechan, but he’s kind of irrelevant.”

“Hey! Fuck you!”

“No, fuck you.”

Their squabbling grows slightly louder and they turn away from you for the moment. Anger doesn’t reach either of their eyes, amusement in its place instead. 

You struggle to hold in your laughter, giving Mark your second questioning look of the hour, let alone the day. 

“These assholes have been my best friends since elementary. It took a while, but I’ve learned to tune them out.” Your neighbor is flippant, masking it with monotonousness. He’s hiding a smile, though. 

As you get further into the party you’re introduced to four more of Mark’s friends, quickly taking in all of their personalities:

Haechan, real name Donghyuck: fan of the theatrical arts, Michael Jackson, being proud of his amazing singing, making fun of Mark, eyeliner, cooking, and the universe and stars

Jeno: lover of cats, arm day, modelling, the guitar, hoverboards, and looking better than “anyone else on this planet” 

Renjun: connoisseur of art, comic book enthusiast extraordinaire, champion of dry humor, master of the artful eye roll, and de facto group mom who’s surprisingly good at headlocks

Jaemin: choir boy, enjoys puppies, flowers, doing handstands on hoverboards, dancing, and, for some odd reason that no one can explain to you, dentistry

Jisung: king of dancing, being tall, laughing at his older friends and successfully tearing them new ones, learning new hairstyles, favorite pastime is photobombing Chenle’s selfies

Chenle: has a penchant for laughing at anything and everything, breaks a new bone every summer, takes selfies, enjoys memeing self and all of his friends, sings at cafes for money on weekends

Someone hands you a drink (Jeno assures you that it’s soda, simply with a “It’s too early in the night to get drunk. That, and we’re kind of underage.”) and you request a couple of songs to Jaemin, who’s DJing for the night. People are laughing and dancing; some are rolling around in the grass like Haechan and Chenle, the latter listening intently as the former points out every constellation in the night sky. 

Mark stays by your side, introducing you to more people (”This is Taeyong, he tutors me in math in the real world. He’s less of a hardass here.” “...Did you finish your notes I assigned last class?” “Aha...Anyways, talk later Taeyong. (Y/N), have you met Jaehyun?”) and, in turn, meeting a good number of people you know from school or from outside classes and work. You see one of your closest friends briefly before they inform you that they have stuff to take care of back home and therefore need to head back, but it’s good that you’re getting into Cynosure!

To your shock, Renjun is, as you find out by catching them, lips locked and behind a tree, dating one of your closest friends. (”I didn’t know how to tell you, (Y/N), sorry.” “(Y/F/N)... have you guys met outside of the game?” “Yeah, of course. Renjun’s just down by ninth street.”)

The sky gradually darkens throughout the night, but you don’t truly notice it until it’s, according to Jisung (”Mark might be wearing a rolex, but mine glows in the dark, so who’s the real winner here?”), 11:17 PM. You help Jaemin with packing up his makeshift DJ booth and Renjun and your friend with picking up discarded solo cups and paper plates. 

It’s likely nearing 12 by the time Mark places his hand on your shoulder and tells you that you both should probably head home. He does this, however, only after tucking a small, white flower behind your ear, glancing away, embarrassed, as he does so. 

You can’t help but blush.

He can’t help but notice.

The two of you are the last ones left in the glade when you begin walking back to your homes, slightly closer than when you started out six hours ago. You’re halfway through the path in the woods, making small talk to ignore the onsetting eeriness of the night beside you, when you begin feeling something behind you.

It’s the setting, you’re sure, that’s putting you on edge. After all you’re not in the real world. In Cynosure, everyone has everything they want - there’s no reason for anyone to be lurking in the woods, waiting to devour you whole. 

Nonetheless, your shoulders are unable to relax.

The two of you haven’t gone much farther down the path when you hear it. 

Crack. 

Mark doesn’t comment on it, and you believe you must’ve imagined it. 

Barely two meters in front of you, you hear it again.

Crack. Crack.

This time, Mark stops. So do you. 

“It’s probably n-” Mark’s words get caught in his throat as he turns around to face you. You don’t like the way the color drains from his face. He grabs your hand. 

You whirl around.

There’s nothing there, and you immediately know that it’s now behind Mark. So does he. You pull him close to you, both of you frozen with fear as you make a complete 360.

You’ve never seen eyes like that before. There’s nothing attached to them. They don’t blink, don’t move. 

So empty. So, so empty. 

Come here. The disembodied voice has you reaching up, the only thing keeping you from clawing at your neck on impulse being Mark’s hand. 

“AI,” You stutter out. “Save my game.” At your side you hear Mark do the same. Is it just you, or do the eyes get closer?

<<>>

Nothing.

“AI!” You cry out again. Why is there no response? It isn’t working for Mark, either. Your nails are digging into the back of his hand. You can’t do anything about it. If his were longer, you’d be bleeding by now, as well. 

You know you want to come here. The eyes haven’t moved, but it feels as if the voice has.

There it is again. Tears well up in your eyes but remain unshed, kept inside by some unknown force. The shadows of the trees, illuminated by the moon, provide you no solace. It feels like there’s nowhere to hide.

“Please!” You gasp out. Something’s beginning to stifle you - you’re unsure whether its the air itself surrounding you or your own fear. Why isn’t the AI responding?

<<>>

Is this how you’ll die?

>>BODYWASH RIVINA; CLOTHING OPTION 1 (coming soon)

>>BODYWASH NICOTIANA; CLOTHING OPTION 1 (coming soon)

>>BODYWASH RIVINA; CLOTHING OPTION 2 (coming soon)

>>BODYWASH NICOTIANA; CLOTHING OPTION 2 (coming soon)

>>LEAVE