#always love me a good ol robot/cyborg design

[funkinmadnesss]

Spoiler doodle because i rlly love him and Black ace's designs

[atamascolily]

lily liveblogs “terminator: dark fate”, part four

In which Sarah Connor suffers for the cause in the most ironic way possible.

(one, two, three)

I've already waxed poetic elsewhere about the "My entire body is a weapon"/ "Save it for the ladies" exchange, but let's just say the Rev-9's claim of "Metal hip - two tours in Afghanistan" is a) a great manipulation, and b) might even be true - certainly the part about the metal hip is! And the "thank you for your service," / letting him pass through is just... the irony... I can't even...

(and also, this MAKES SENSE when you realize that Legion was designed to process people and manipulate/control them and THAT'S why he's so good at it).

Sarah Connor gets picked up by a smarmy dude named Officer Rigby. "You belong in your own private cage," he tells her. He's probably going to die soon, and we are not supposed to be sorry about it. (And meanwhile, some random dude yells in the background, "I want to go, too!" No, you don't. Trust me.)

Grace does not believe in bureaucratic bullshit. And she won't accept "detainees" instead of "prisoners". YASS. At least there's fresh meds for her.

Oh! I just realized why she steals the guy's clothes.. it's because nothing else would fit her. It's tough being so tall.

Grace pulls the fire alarm and Sarah recognizes an opening when she sees one and manages to kick Rigby in the groin and take him and both her guards down with both hands in cuffs behind her back. LEGEND. Kyle Reese would be so proud of her, especially since he pulled the same stunt back in T1 in the police station sequence. 

Grace starts opening doors and people rush to get out, oh please let this not be a slaughter.

The dude who was with them (Flacco?) slams the door into the Terminator's face and he gets punched into a wall for his trouble. I hope he survived...

The Rev-9 jumps UP into the rafters, holy shit, and is scrabbling over the metal fence like the Rev-7s in the future scene, and it's so a) predatory and b) so feral and inhuman... and that guard who sassed Dani looks terrified as hell as she faces him down.. and gets slashed for her troubles.

Slaughter ensues, but only people in official uniforms thus far... Every one of them is mobbing the Rev-9 and just getting stabbed.

Oh, good, they found a helicopter. Someone gets punched out the door after them, and you think it's the REv-9 who did it, but it's actually Sarah! YASS. Dani wants to wait for her and Grace wants to get away. Dani doesn't want to leave Sarah (hey, callbacks to earlier!) and jumps out of the helicopter with the gun as the REV-9 runs at her. Dani starts shooting the REV-9 which is very cathartic for her, but Sarah tackles her and pulls her into the helicopter. The REV-9 jumps for it, but misses, and falls the ground and just looks... annoyed despite having no expression whatsoever.

The REV-9's accent with the sheriffs is interesting. There's the same "good ol' boy" attitude as "That's a nice bike" in T2 and the same cut back to our heroes that speaks volumes.

Cut to a forest in Texas. I have no idea if this is botanically accurate or not because I have no experience with Texas flora. But there are pine trees and maple trees, I can tell you that much.

I like how Sarah and Grace are ready to draw when they knock on the door of this ordinary-looking house in the woods, and Dani just looks at them like they're crazy.

Hey, and it's the same music as in the prologue, as Sarah recognizes the Terminator! He says her name and she raises her gun to shoot him except that Grace intervenes and she hits the ceiling.

“My name is Sarah Connor, you killed my son, prepare to die...” No, okay, she doesn’t actually say that, but I’m gonna do it for her.

Sarah stalks off when they won't let her shoot the Terminator. Dani and Grace exchange a look, and Dani goes after Sarah while Grace deals with Carl (his nom de... paix, I guess). They have the ... "So you're a cyborg, too?" talk, which goes about as well as you can expect.

Poor Sarah looks so broken sitting outside alone. Dani uses her people skills to rally her. Sarah's admission that she never took photos of John is a) heartbreaking, and b) good tactics, especially given how previous Terminators used photos, and how the REV-9 uses facial recognition software.

Sarah's sarcasm as she contemplates Carl's family photos is biting and hilarious and poignant especially given what she just said to Dani (and how a photograph was what brought Kyle to her in the first place). MY HEART.

We are meant to parallel Carl's treatment of Alicia and Mateo with Sarah and John, and Sarah and Carl in "Without purpose, we are nothing". The irony that Carl understands Sarah in this way, and that Sarah has been getting her raison d’etre from a Terminator the whole time... way to lay on the pain, writers!

I've heard a lot of critique of this film claiming that Terminators just wouldn't act like Carl, and I think that's not accurate. What exactly do people think a Terminator WOULD do after they finished their mission instad? It's not like Skynet or Legion or whatever gave them any other programming, and we know from T2 they can't self-terminate. So what are they supposed to do, just stand there??

Even though Carl doesn't have his chip removed the way the T-800 in T2 did, Terminators are very accomplished at learning and mimicking humans. They are adaptable. And I think the filmmakers are right that the T-800 would try to find a new mission--paralleling the old one--to give his life purpose. I think this is a very plausible plot device, and also a great opportunity for irony and parallels, which this franchise thrives on and I personally love.

(There's great fic from Carl's POV on A03 by Tyellas that expands on this that I LOVE, so you should all go read it RIGHT NOW.)

I also LOVE the growing parallels not only between Sarah and Carl, but Carl and Grace that the film keeps emphasizing YASSS.

Sarah is NOT PLEASED to learn she's been manipulated the whole time by the robot who killed her son.Understatement of the year. I was wondering when she was going to shoot him!

"Do you believe in fate, Sarah?" OW, MY HEART.

Oh. Interesting. So when Sarah destroyed Skynet, she released Carl from his programming, thus allowing him to learn?? Okay, I'll buy it. Which means that Carl was released at the same time as the other Terminators in all three films (though we get into the simultaneity problem, but that's a headache for another time). It's plausible if I don't think too hard about it, so I'll buy it. I wish people would stop calling plot elements they don't like/agree with "plot holes". That's... not what it means.

[so who is sending the other terminators? Are they from Legion or Skynet? what is their purpose? Since Sarah is a wanted woman in America, it makes sense if she was killing Terminators in Mexico, which makes me wonder if she's been protecting Dani until now???) I have a feeling the film will not answer this question.]

There's a dog curled up at Carl's feet when they cut to the next scene. This is NOT a plot hole, as some people have claimed. This is actually a clue that Carl IS as human as he claims to be... i.e, he seems to have mastered whatever subtle cues that makes the dog recognize him as human, and not a foreign predator. Obviously, YMMV, but I don't see it as a plot hole.

The secret storage armory is de riguer for a Terminator film, but I also enjoy the deadpan social commentary about human barbarism coming from a reformed murderbot. "And also, this is Texas." He's definitely living in the right state for that.

Wow. The training lesson at the shooting range was everything I could have hoped for. I love Sarah's wry smile as the watermelons explode.

OF COURSE SARAH CONNOR "KNOWS A GUY" with an EMP, lol...

Kudos to Carl for getting his family out of the way and for preparing him for this day. But it's clear he won't be back.

... how about that leather jacket and sunglasses? because he's about to start being way less human and way more machine.

oHHHHH he leaves the sunglasses behind, I was NOT expecting that. NICE WORK.

hello rev-9 smashing the family photographs, that's not symbolic of anything at all.

Hey, did they take all the guns with them or is the REv-9 going to use them against their owner?? was leaving the photo of the van on the fridge intentional? Too early to tell! Either way, ironic given Sarah's caution with photos earlier!

Sarah's withering expression as Carl lectures about interior design is GOLDEN.

I now want a road trip movie about this dysfunctional found family. I cannot believe they are only together for less than 24 hours. Thank goodness for fic.

"I don't commit treason for just anybody," is such a great line and one of my favorites in this film.  

Of course the EMP is probably going to disable/take out Carl AND Grace AND the Rev-9 because that's just how this kind of movie works, but there you go.

Sarah telling Carl to shut the fuck up is GOLDEN, they work so well together. Mommy and Daddy, indeed.

AHHH, the major bringing them the EMP on the sly gets shot. It's tough being a minor character in these films. Dani pulls him into the van but I can't help but notice in that position he's a human shield.

Okay, so leaving photos on the fridge was NOT intentional... maybe Sarah should have had an op-sec chat with Carl about that??

Oh, hey, the flesh-like bit of the REV-9 jumped out of the copter while the chassis keeps flying. That's a neat trick. And the moment where the fleshy bit jumps in and they merge is always cool.

Okay, so they're going to the air base. I guess another fight is in order. Ah, this is where the planes are coming in. Apparently, Grace is piloting. That answers my question from the trailer.

They just run the van right up the ramp and the Major is there to take awkward questions. "District contractors" indeed. I hope he'll survive this movie, but I have my doubts. Oh, he's not going with them - I don't know if that increases his chances or not. WHAT THE HELL KIND OF RELATIONSHIP DO HE AND SARAH HAVE ANYWAY??

They didn't bother to close up the back before taking off??? Wow. Okay, I guess that works...

Carl uses himself as a shield for Sarah, which just makes her mad...

The Rev-9 flips out of the burning helicopter onto the ramp, and Carl just takes him down and shoots him. It doesn't take, but it's pretty glorious. SARAH AND DANI ROLL THE VAN OVER HIM OH MY GOD.

Needless to say, I'm pretty sure the Rev-9 will be back... in an EVEN BIGGER PLANE.

Oh, so the EMP is dead...? Maybe they can improvise something.

Flasback! Dani beats the punks that are harassing Grace and talks the last guy into not shooting her because "this is what Legion wants us to do". FUCK YEAH.

"FUCK FATE" is basically the motto of this series (and a slightly more concise, if vulgar, reframing of "no fate but what we make for ourselves" or "no fate" in T2).

OH MY GOD THAT LOOK ON FUTURE!DANI'S FACE WHEN SHE RECOGNIZES GRACE...

"You are the future" - okay, this is very moving and dramatic, but I feel like Grace should have mentioned this back on the TRAIN why the fuck did she wait this long.

"You're John..." Sarah gasps... and just adopted a kid. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, Y'ALL. Carl was right, she needs a purpose or else she’s just going to self-destruct.

YESSSSS, I love it when movies answer my questions: apparently future!Dani told Grace not to mention it earlier, because younger!Dani wouldn't be able to handle it. Ah, the ouroboros of causality... I'll buy it, but I still think the film would have been stronger if they had had this conversation earlier on the train.

plane vs. plane hijinks ensue. Grace puts the ship on autopilot so she can actually do stuff. There's a lot of flailing as the ship starts to explode. The REv-9 climbs aboard and uses his oozy bits to rip all the flesh off Carl's hand. There's a humvee with a parachute, but the way the scene is laid out, it's kinda convolunted, but okay.. ... They bust the door open so the humvee can drop out. Carl pins the chassis to the plane but the oozy bits escape and go running free towards them. The plane explodes seconds after the humvee pulls free and parachutes to the ground.... okay.

Sarah Connor's "Aw, fuck," as they land on the hydroelectric dam is GOLDEN.

[greensungnostic]

holy shit shark robot girl is incredibly cool tell me more pls

(( I like to think of her as more of a foxish kobold, that tail just happened to look fun on her. As for her backstory -which is set in an SL sim that’s current day but much more technologically advanced to a galactic, cyberpunkish civilization -

When asked to fully self-identify, she/it will do so along the lines of “Unit V1XEN, Polyfunctional Unit Prototype, a multipurpose service unit created by {REDACTED}. This unit was built as a test-bed for various cutting-edge technologies and as a prototype for a potential future Drone platform. This unit’s modular design provides ease in replacing parts for more specialized tasks, and contains protocols for numerous applications, ranging from culinary to security, reconnaissance to retail, heavy construction to personal companion. How may this unit assist you today?”

The rest is a bit bad-endy so I’ll put it in a readmore:

In reality she’s not a robot but a heavily-tampered-with brain-in-a-jar cyborg, formerly a human with a love for robots and cybernetics, taken in from some sprawl city on Earth by some shady cybernetics firm. A sketchy contract of free room, board, and free augments in exchange for acting as a guinea pig for their tech, but with no outs or expiration-dates on the contract. So little by little she got more and more of her replaced with shiny synthetic parts, her mind tampered with both cybernetically and a little of the good ol’ mental conditioning, and generally made almost all the way into a full unit, meant to be the start of a Drone Hub when all is done. Her brain’s still in there as an ‘experimental processor core’ but it’s mostly augmented and she’s mostly Unit. Before she could be fully converted though, the feds caught on to the company’s shady dealings and they messily scrubbed all references to themselves from her hardware and software - the aforementioned {REDACTED} -  and dumped her on a shuttle offworld to cover their tracks.

A good amount of non-unitlike personality shines through when she’s not set to a more regimented Persona Core, and there’s a few unusual bugs and glitches in the system too from some “post-market modifications” made by a sketchy user she fell into the hands of for a while. She didn’t always have the red palette and horns/fangmouth for instance, it was more of a smooth glossy helmet before.

All in all she’s a spunky defiance of - and yet also total bait for - bad-end stuff, and she gets in a lot of mischief. Who knows if she’ll get busted for what she is, she has a few folks who kind of protect her but also may convert her fully later down the line anyway. Who’s to say?

Thanks for coming to my TED Ramble about my dumbass robot character.))

[batslime]

Psst, Minn! I have a serious question: How would you rank McCree's skins? Whether by how good they look, or how thirsty they make you lol

#1. Classic good-ole bastard man indigenous/ maya vaquero Jesse Mccree. This is such a good design. Like call me a slut and maybe it’s my small-farmer-town origins but. Sci-fi cyborg cowboy. People make fun of his belt and rightfully so but big belts are sexy because taking them off is sexy. The chaps. The serape draped over his fucking hot robotic arm being a nice touch of a vibrant hue. Chaps. I like his beard. Still wish his hair were scruffier rather than the weird shape it is in game. Chaps. The chest plate/ strike face vest adds a great shape and the color brings a nice contrast to the rest of the brown. C h a p s#2. Van Helsing. This makes his long hair tolerable because it looks fucking good on this one. Damn good. According to fanart he is indeed very VERY bad at his job as a monster hunter. I didn’t like how bulky and clunky it looked at first but it grew on me. He jingles when he moves even more than usual. Alludes to werewolf Mccree so I’m already thirsty. I fucking love Halloween but I’ve missed it the past two years so I hope to buy a fuckton of lootboxes to get every Halloween related cosmetic for this big fuck. I am literally already putting cash aside so I can splurge during Halloween#3. Lifeguard. This one is an acquired taste. I only came to like this one once I became a thot for Mccree but rest assured I made fun of his frosted tips before that even tho my hair always looks like that when I try to go blonde too. I couldn’t put this one as #2 because he’s so skinny and he looks naked with as little hair as they gave him. They literally animate his heels separating from his sandals when he does his dance emote and that’s fucking crazy. This skin made me realize how devastatingly huge his hands are#4. BLACKWATCH is good. There’s not even really anything more I can say about it it’s just a real nice skin. Sherlock is also about this level. They’re güt#5. White Hat and American are both pretty cute despite basically just being recolors. White Hat looks like he’s trying to be fancy and as abhorrent as America is as an establishment I am here for native Americans taking it back and the colors look nice on him#6. I’m gonna go ahead and put all the other recolors/ Riverboat/ Scrooge at this level together because while they look fine I don’t particularly care for them. I’d USE Riverboat in game but I’d prefer the previous #-80. Magistrate and Gambler because the first one is yellowface and he looks like Hanzo and the latter cuz he looks white

[spin-attaxx]

1, 2, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 26, 27, 31, 33, 38, 40, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50

1. Your first OC ever?

Already answered.

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs?

Oh god, it largely comes down to Jessica, Lumina and Charn. But if you put a gun to my head, I’d have to pick Jessica. She’s the oldest of the three, and I feel like I relate to her more.

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”? 

Lumina, no question. If she sees someone feeling down, she’ll do her best to cheer them up and make them feel better, and even when things seem at their bleakest, she’ll find some way to find hope in the situation.

In fact, I imagine seeing a genuinely upset Lumina would break anyone’s heart (unless they’re Charn or Shade).

12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lot 

Already answered, but since I get to say another one, I like @jezmm​‘s Alice Grayson. I like her design a lot (particularly her long red hair and blue flares), and she’s a pretty cute character.

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory 

Hmm, not sure if introduce is befitting, since I’ve drawn her once or twice, but I imagine Tesla has it particularly rough compared to the other Elementals (all of whom can claim to being the last of their kind and losing at least one friend or family member).

She was once a kind-hearted Electric Elemental in a high class aristocratic city on a Mystic planet far from Enchantus. Things were bad enough when her Time Elemental fiancé up and died one day (along with, mysteriously, every other user of Time magic in the universe), but when a bunch of haggard refugees came to the planet some years afterwards warning about some android named “Charn”, she dismissed them and chose to stay.

Then Charn came and did what he does best; annihilate the city, kill everyone, them proclaim himself the ruler and creator of the planet and torture what survivors were left into believing him without question (”2 + 2 = 5″ style). Though Tesla escaped, she became more jaded and cynical now that she was forced to live her immortal life in squalour fleeing from his threat.

Today, you’re likely to find her glugging down unhealthy amounts of alcoholic, poisonous and generally unpleasant drinks, swearing her head off at those who slight her, and taking immense pleasure in talking down idealistic minds, all while craving the days of her old life.when she wasn’t such a bitter lightning cloud of loathing.

17. Any OC OTPs?

Three come to mind. Ivorn x Lily (the thought of an easily flustered metal technology geek and a calm and peaceful Plant Elemental being in a relationship always felt right to me), Shade x Evil (even if his original goal of proving Elementals can be evil is kinda null and void now, he just loves doing things he shouldn’t do), and Charn x Himself (dude has an ego the size of the universe. He wouldn’t actually compliment alternate versions of himself, though - he’d kill them so there’d only be one Charn).

18. Any OC crackships?

Beta and Jessica. The idea of a psychic robot having a crush on a socially-awkward human he’s trying to kill on threat of death sounds both plausible and totally bonkers at the same time. In fact, Beta X Cassidy also counts, only it’s instead with a human who’s got steelier nerves than he does.

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

I’m probably going to say Jessica. I feel like she’s changed quite a lot since I first doodled her as a semi-afterthought to round out a trio. I’ve always wanted to make a Metroidvania game, and Jessica was originally just one playable character (and not even the “main” one). Eventually, she became the main character of the trio, and now she’s the only playable character.

That’s because I keep thinking about her character and her role in this story;s world. I devised her with the idea that what would normally be the mysterious aloof serious side character to a more conventional and emotional protagonist would instead be the main focus. I freely admit much of her personality is derived from mine; being hard to approach, somewhat anti-social and always living with the feeling that she’s being judged every moment and that deep down she’s a failure at what she wants to be.

(That said, I think it’s fair to say that I’m more well-adjusted and approachable than she is lol.)

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)? 

Lumina’s the most obvious one of the lot. When it comes to genres, she’s very adaptable and open-minded, but she prefers upbeat pop songs. Especially with 80′s/90′s synth sounds or catchy dance songs (think something like “Butterfly” by smile.dk?)

As for her voice, I don’t know any singers who’d fit her, but I’ve always felt that Tara Strong would be my first pick for her. So I guess something like this, only more upbeat and with a more British accent?

(In case the link dies in the future, I’m referring to Ember McLain from Danny Phantom, which I actually saw little of back then.)

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how?

Already answered.

26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will? 

Already answered.

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song?

While I don’t think a full-on OC was inspired by a song, Lumina’s design was altered after I heard the theme to Jem. At the time, she was a fairly generic pink-haired pixie girl in a white and pink jumpsuit, and then after hearing it, I (for some reason) decided, “Hey, what if I made her super J-pop idol/80′s glam girl?” and tweaked her outfit and gave her her big poofy ponytail. I regret nothing.

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really) 

Lily’s would be super pretty and calming, with reblogs of cute animals, pretty flowers, relaxing scenery, and the occasional conversation/picture/embarrasing situation with Ivorn.

33. Your shyest OC?

Jessica. She never starts conversations, always sweats and panics internally while talking to someone who isn’t a close friend or family, and is more comfortable staying inside than going out in public. Though if you’re antagonising her and/or trying to kill her, she gets more of a backbone and snarky lip.

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer?

Hmm, maybe Lumina? I imagine it comes with her performing onstage, though I magine someone else may have more natural talent at it than her. Cassidy, maybe? I dunno.

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share! 

Honestly, any time I get fanart of them, especially if the artist did it without me prodding them about it or as part of a mutually beneficial art trade or the like. It makes me super happy that there are people who liked them enough to draw them when they didn’t need to.

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess 

Already answered.

44. Something you like about your OCs in general 

I guess the fact that I’ve created a range of characters with their own lives, backstories, personalities, relationships and futures in a world of my own creation, which I can control as I see fit. Like, sometimes I’ll see a character like Genesect that makes me go, “Wow, that looks so cool/cute/whatever, I wish I came up with that!” And then I look at any one of my characters and I feel better because I came up with them before anyone else did.

45. A character you no longer use? 

Admittedly they were in a sort of limbo status for quite a while anyway, but Stuart and the third robot character aren’t likely to be part of the TSOTS-verse any longer. Besides the fact that Jessica’s gameplay style differs from traditional Metroidvania characters like Samus and I was afraid their styles would be weaker by comparison (plus extra work), I was never really able to come up with a concrete design for Stuart, nor could I settle on a name for the robot (for the longest time I went with Dave, after David Bowman from 2001, but that never sat well with me, and the only other alternative I could think of was ROM, which is taken). Will they get a new lease on life in the future? Maybe, but for now, they’re dead in the water as far as major uses go.

Still, at least they’re better off than a third Charn minion alongside Beta and Cassidy. He was an old man who’d be a cyborg, and the reveal of this would have him decking a reluctant Dave in the face. That’s about the only thing I miss from axing him; I think having Beta and Cassidy in a duo is a better choice for their characters.

48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure 

Voidica. A nice girl who’ll gladly accept anyone as her friend, and born to a universe with Charn in it. And then Charn killed her off in cold blood, with zero chance of her coming back or having any kind of afterlife.

49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes 

Lumina, no question. Shade and Jessica get driven up the wall by her antics when she falls in love with a new meme.

50. Give me the good ol’ OC talk here. Talk about anything you want

- Shade’s character of being a total bastard just to prove he can be is basically one giant spit in the face to the Pokémon animé (and I guess to a much lesser extent the games), which made the bold claim of saying that Pokémon - who are more or less as clever/sentient as humans - cannot be evil, and routinely made Pokémon that followed that statement to a T or else turned good (mostly legendaries like Deoxys, Darkrai, Kyurem and Genesect). In fact, I think a precursor of his character came in the form of my headcanon for Genesect in my (short-lived) playthrough of Black 2, where he was a homicidal maniac who only tags along with the protagonist so he could get back at Team Plasma for ditching him in favour of the Tao trio.

- If Shade ever does a good deed entirely of his own will, he’ll go out the same way as Rorschach from Watchmen.

- Charn’s name came from a book I read years ago, “Through the Dragon’s Eye”. His design, meanwhile, started as a generic final boss doodle I off-handedly made, then changed many times since then. Ironically, his head remained consistent in all of them (though his eyes were less triangular and villainous.

- I came up with several possible backstories for Charn, such as him being a robot controlled by a t-rex’s brain (yes, really). I even toyed with the possibility of pulling a Joker and giving him no clear-cut origin, though now it’s far more defined.