#but the only reason you found out he was a synth was by checking his dna

[iliterallydecepticanteven]

so guess who finally played blind betrayal

[everydayyoulovemeless]

A little bit of an angst request but could you write the companions finding sole sobbing and injured, thinking their companion abandoned them after accidentally getting separated

Fo4 Companions Reactions To Sole Being Emotionally Distraught After Being Separated

➼ Word Count » 2.1k ➼ Warnings » Angst, Mentions of Blood

MacCready starts to yell a little, not because he's mad but because he's scared and doesn't know what he's supposed to do once he finds you. He'll quickly stab a stimpak into you, throw you on his back, and take you to the first stable location he can find before shushing your sobs and promising you that he's not going anywhere. He'll sit with you like that until you fall asleep, and he'll still be in the same spot when you awake. He hates that you thought he'd just abandon you. It makes him think you see him as just another merc only out for himself, and he can't stand that. He'll try to do as much as he can while you recover just to try and build that trust with you and show that he really is here for the long run.

Nick lets out a relieved sigh once he spots you, only stopping when he notices the blood covering the ground and the tears that are streaming down your face. He'll crouch down beside you, worry evident in his neon gaze as he checks you over for any cuts or broken bones. He's not as good at fixing up humans as he is with machines, but he'll do his best with the things he has with him. He's gotta admit, he's a little hurt that you thought he'd just desert you once things got tougher, but he swallows the feeling down. Maybe you're just not used to traveling with synths? He really hopes it's not because of what he is and due to some other unknown reason, but the thought seems to linger. He won't question you about it at all, instead just doing his best to get you to safety and disinfect your wounds the best that anyone can in a wasteland. He'll be a lot friendlier to you after the incident, hoping you'll eventually begin to trust him more.

Cait doesn't blame you for thinking she'd leave. If it were anyone else, she probably would. There isn't room for any trust in this world, but you'd been nice to her this far, and she felt the need to repay that debt. She'll march up to you, bat in her hand, saying something along the lines of, "We've only bin separated fur a couple o' minutes, how'd ye git yersel' so messed up?" She says it to lighten the mood, but is quick to start wrapping bandages around your injuries. She allows herself to be a bit softer, letting her guard falter as she focuses on getting you in better shape than how she found you. After it's all over, she'll ignore that it ever happened, refusing to ever mention the occurrence out of respect for your reputation and want for your continued companionship.

Danse is completely baffled that you thought he could ever do something like that to one of his fellow soldiers? He has experience with this exact type of reaction and, although he'll be stiff and awkward about it, he'll let you lean on his shoulder as you regain yourself, picking you up and guarding you as he takes you back to the nearest camp he can think of. He'll be less harsh towards you, with slightly fewer demands and making his voice a little softer. It's a traumatizing thing to go to, and he understands that. He'll be there with you every step of the way, knowing exactly what to do and who to take you to if things go south. He's probably one of the best ones on this list.

It hurts Preston to know that you thought he left you. He's not sure what he did to make you think that he'd ever abandon you but he's desperate to fix whatever it was. He's firm in his actions, having done this countless times before, kneeling down beside you to inspect your injuries closer before deciding on what his next move will be. He's muttering apologies the entire time, saying that he "didn't mean for you both to get separated like this." He might actually start tearing up himself at the sight of you so vulnerable distraught. He just ends up hugging you, promising that he'd never intentionally leave you stranded like that, before throwing your arm over his shoulder and helping you to the nearest form of shelter.

You can hear the panic in Codsworth's voice as he frantically floats over to you, handing you a cup of purified water. His heart breaks when you say you thought he abandoned you. He waited at the house for two full centuries, hoping that one day he might see you and your family come from over the hill, and you still thought he had it in him to ditch you? He doesn't understand your reasoning with it, and he's not sure if he wants to. The mere thought of deserting you in a possibly dangerous environment tears him apart, but he'll push it all to the side to focus on getting you to safety. He'll loosen up about it after everything calms down, accepting that you mostly have some form of unresolved trauma from the vault or the wasteland that has nothing to do with how you feel about him. He does still wonder if you truly don't see how important you are to him, though, and it hurts him to think about it, but whether you like it or not, he's a part of your family, and he'll do whatever he can to keep that title.

Piper gets a little annoyed at you. Her boots echo along the ruined concrete, an exacerbated hand running down her face as she asks what you really think of her. Do you see her as just some merc looking for the first opening she can get so that she can ditch the contract and take the caps? She's been advocating for you since day one, fighting against the entire idea of forgetting about things when life finally gets tougher. She refuses to leave anyone behind and finds it a little insulting that you thought she'd run without a second thought. irritated as she is, she'll still patch you up the best she can before running to get security to help you back to Diamond City. She'll let you rest for a day, but once you're deemed better, she'll lecture you for hours saying how she obviously cares for you, otherwise, she wouldn't have gone in the first place. The two of you are ride or die, and you need to trust her for it to mean anything.

Curie's at a loss for words when she sees you. The two of you were only separated for so long, how'd you manage to get this hurt? Her first priority would be to focus on patching you up. It won't do her any good trying to calm you down if you're passed out from the pain and blood loss. She's gentle with her every action, ensuring that you're looked after and doing ok. After that, she'll take you to a secluded area and dote on you some more, rubbing your shoulders gently and asking you what happened. She doesn't mind that you thought that of her, from a medical perspective, she can understand how fear and injury can cloud someone's judgment or perception of reality and is mainly just focused on making sure you're feeling better before either of you head out again.

Strong doesn't understand why you're crying and will just throw a piece of raw meat at you and tell you that you both need to start moving again because the place is "too dangerous for puny human". If he notices that you physically can't move, he'll begrudgingly throw you over his shoulder and carry you to wherever until someone with a bit of medical training (most likely a caravan) can look you over, all the while he's making fun of you for being so weak.

Hancock feels horrible when he finally spots you in the distance and is quick to stab some med-x into you to help ease your pain. He isn't all too sure what he's meant to do to help you out, so he just grips your shoulders and props you up against the nearest wall before sitting down beside you with a heavy sigh. He'll give you a minute to compose yourself a little bit, offering you a couple stimpaks before gently asking you about what had happened. He isn't all too hurt about you thinking he abandoned you, he'll mostly chalk it up to a bad chem trip. Hancock will sit there and listen to your sobs for as long as you need before steadily helping you up and taking you back to the Old State House, where he can better watch over you for the time being. He understands fully what it's like to have all reality warped in an instant of fear and confusion and will be glad to give you all the space and time you need to recover from your injuries and breakdown.

Deacon’s not sure what to do. He’s mad that he let you both get separated and wants to help calm you down, but he has no idea how to go about it. He’ll stand there silently for a while, at a loss for words for one of the first times in years, before finally deciding to just ignore your mental anguish for now and focus on the large gashes covering your body. It stings that you don't seem to trust him, but it stings even worse that he can't really question you for it. I mean, he's done nothing but lie to you for a good portion of your travels, but he didn't think that it'd affect you like this. Or at least he hopes it was just his lies, he wouldn't know what to do with himself if there was another untrustworthy aspect of his personality that you didn't like. He wants the best for you, he truly does, and he feels so incredibly guilty seeing you whimper on the ground like this. So much so, that he'll gradually try and change his behavior around you to make himself seem more reliable. He understands the reasoning behind why you might feel this way, he disappears on people all the time, but he never wants to leave you with the impression that'd he'd do it at a time as drastic as this.

X6-88 immediately teleports you to your room in the Institue and takes care of you in a strictly professional manner. He'll calmly do what he needs to do to fix up your injuries and frequently give you one-word responses to your incoherent sobs. He won't let you leave your room for at least the next 3 days and will be right there with you the entire time. He's constantly checking in on you to make sure you're doing better both emotionally and physically and hopes that this will be enough to prove that the Institute has nothing but you're the best interest at heart. He would never leave you for dead and uses this experience to show how the wasteland is horrible and you should just move into the Institue full time.

Dogmeat is confused and incredibly worried. He’ll lick your face repeatedly in an attempt to get you to stop crying. Once he notices you're injured though he’ll start barking hoping someone will come along and help.

Old Longfellow has never deliberately left one of his loved ones behind and will never plan on it. He wastes no time getting you on his shoulder and rushing you to the first location that gets you both out of the fog for a decent period of time before glancing you over. He's very firm in what he's doing and will use this opportunity to teach you basic medical skills so you never have to worry about being left behind and injured. Longfellow has experienced his fair share of close calls while alone out here in the Far Harbor forests and will willingly tell you everything you'd need to know about survival to ensure you're safety moving forward.

Gage thinks you're stupid for putting yourself in such a vulnerable position like this, but doesn't blame you for thinking that he'd abandon you, I mean, he did it to Colter, it makes sense you'd think he'd do the same to you. He'll come over beside you and tell you that you've done way too much for him to even want to abandon you. If he did, the other Nuka-World leaders would skin him alive. He'll then have you climb onto his back before he carries you back to the park to get you looked at by someone more capable than he is. No hard feelings on his part.

[imagine-silk]

Hi! I’ve got a request if you’re still doing fallout 4 ones. Can we have our companions reaction to a SoSu who affectionately treats synths, especially their synth companions, as their grandchildren given most of them were made with Shaun’s DNA?

Like checking in on them a lot, making sure they’re taking care of themselves, being a bit overprotective given the lose of their spouse and Shaun, etc.

》Very cute. I've actually seen a comic that covered this topic kind of by nimblerscout here.

》I'm gonna retcon the plot a bit so the player knows they need to get to the Institute but needs to find a way in. So they know what a synth is and where they technically land on their family tree.

【Cait】 "Should I care? All I'm hearing is there a lot more people on the planet."

At first she doesn't really care, the act is genuine at that point. But when she sees how well you treat them and almost baby them she gets a bit jealous. No one ever did that to her, even when she was young. She will never admit to it, not even if you tried to torture it out of her. If you fawn over one of your grandkids in front of her she'll roll her eyes and look away pouting. Sometimes she'll think about if she's a synth so she can get the same treatment.

【Codsworth】 "Just so you know, I don't expect to make five-hundred lunches everyday."

He supports the idea to a reasonable degree. He loves the idea of you having grandchildren. Maybe you have a little more than the average nuclear family but that's they charm of it, wouldn't you say. That being said he will not allow you to house them all, there's hundreds of them. They can visit but only a few at a time and no more than four can live with you, not including Shaun, he will always make room for the young master.

【Curie】 "Oh my! A gift? Thank you. What a lovely thought."

When she gets her new body you immediately treat her as family. Not that you didn't treat her good before it's just different. And she loves the way you make her feel, absolutely loved and pampered. She doesn't really see anything you do as weird or questions it because you are technically right, she does come from your DNA one generation removed. With her new emotions you help her express what exactly she's feeling and try to give her positive emotions to understand first by giving her gifts or asking what she's working one and allowing her to talk your ear off. She's also the one that is most comfortable calling you grandpa/grandma.

【Danse】 "Good boy."

He was very confused when Dogmeat kept smelling him and basically fell in love with him immediately. Not that he ever really complained about it, he actually got very attached to him. If you were traveling with him Dogmeat would stick to him like glue. After he found out why and that you never told him it fundamentally broke something inside him. You knew and that's why you always tried to steer him to a different path. Your love was not only conditional but irreplaceable and would never stop. Unable to turn to anyone else he leaned into your love, knowing what it meant now. He can't remember the last time someone treated him like a child, not even in his earliest memories.

【Deacon】 "That's better than anything I could come up with."

He thinks it's funny... up until you give him the details about your son and spouse. He'll try to joke on the subject and shows you around the Railroad HQ, introducing who's your grandkids and who are just regular people. Because you have such a personal stake in synths well-being he has no doubt about where your loyalties lie. If you want to keep it a secret he won't tell a soul. You wanna tell the whole Railroad he'll get the equivalent of popcorn ready to watch the whole thing go down. He will also help you deal with Desdemona by stalling her so you can spend as much time with your son as you can.

【Dogmeat】 Sniffs before letting out a happy bark.

He's noticed how you are more protective of some people verses other, and he can tell the difference with how they smell. He can smell if someone is a synth or not which outs a lot of people as a side effect. To make up for it he is extremely protective of them and will go to bat for them as much as he does for you.

【Hancock】 "These are our new brothers and sisters. Give them a warm welcome.

As much as he didn't like the Institute after they were gone and the synths were displaced he had no issue with them, quite the opposite. He is more than willing to integrate them into Goodneighbor safely when news spread that the Institute was gone. Everyone is welcome in all shapes and sizes. When he sees you doting on them every time you visit he laughs. When you tell him they are your grandkids he laughs even more and encourages your behavior. The idea of you having nothing but love for freaks and weirdos makes him happy. You love the residents both old and new so he's all for it.

【MacCready】 "Grandkids? I mean, I guess you could call them that. I'd go for 'clones one generation removed' but whatever you say."

At first he doesn't understand why you even care for them in the first place. Sure they have your DNA but can you even call them your family. Once you explain exactly what happened he imagined if his son grew up and had kids he'd probably kill for them. Still, his son would never have hundreds of kids but he can kind of understand it. If he spots one of them he'll also help them knowing you'll probably pay him for it, or if you already have a close relationship with him because he knows it will make you happy.

【Nick】 "I'm not even sure we come from the same branch. Got a bit too many holes in me, if you know what I mean."

As far as proving you have the same DNA he doesn't really care about that in the slightest. If it makes you happy to believe that he's fine with it. But do not treat him like a child. He'll humor you most days and will allow you to go out of your way to help and protect him but he draws the line at patronizing him. He's mentally older than you and has to deal with weirdos and bigots all the time, don't add to that list of people that annoy him. But if you wanna crack a joke or two about it that's fine by him. Sometimes he even finds it funny.

【Piper】 "You knew?!"

You don't tell her about what Dogmeat does and what it means, you tell her it's just something he does that you can't explain. After you find the Institute expecting your son to welcome you with open arms you find out he's dying. So you spend what time you can spare with him as he slips away inch by inch. Piper doesn't know anything about what you're going through with him though and thinks the only reason you haven't destroyed the Institute is because your little boy is still in there, that you still need to find him or gain a way to access him. When she does find out she's pissed. When you've finally dealt with the Institute, after your son died, you decided to tell her. She doesn't stay mad for very long because you did follow through and ended their reign of terror.

【Preston】 "Can you... maybe help me figure out where to place them?"

He does and doesn't understand. He cares about the hundreds of synths that were displaced and you had a direct cause in that happening. Of course you felt a responsibility to them. But to treat them all as your children was strange to him, even more so when you had a hard time choosing where they should go. They couldn't stay in one settlement, there were too many. He regrets ever going to you to help decide this, you were taking a long time because 'you didn't want to choose favorites between your grandkids'. He ended up taking care of it and watched you say bye to every single one.

【X6】 "Could you refrain from touching me? No, I am not embarrassed, you are dirty."

He tries to avoid your fawning and doting as much as he can, especially while the Institute is running. If you don't listen to him he will eventually get annoyed enough to smack your hand away and tell you to stop again. But after a long period of time he just doesn't comment on it hoping you'll stop one day. You don't. When the Institute is gone and he gets stranded on the surface he better understands where you're coming from and will allow you to dote on him. But he will never allow you to protect him. He will always put himself between you and danger, forcefully if he needs to. You could talk him into most anything, a family picture, give him gifts, in private you can even get him to call you grandpa/grandma. Only in private.

[lucaaazd]

Hey so, do you have any thoughts/ HCs abt piek? I don't have the best grasp on her, but you seem passionate and I'd love to know what you think

Hi there friend!

“You seem passionate” 😭😭 hahahahaha I am. I never thought much about her until recently with my “Annie grew up in paradis” AU rendering female Titan Pieck a possibility. But here are some of my hc’s about her (mostly modern au):

Her FT would be godlike and super tall with that slick ass Eren founding Titan hair.

(Modern nyc au) she grew up in the east village near Tompkins, specifically stuy town, with journalist parents. Hope that’s not too niche lol. She sings & plays the synth (has classical piano background) and makes the sickest experimental indie art pop with Annie (guitar & bass). She actually reminds me strongly of Björk the singer (Mikasa does too a little) and I feel like that would very much be her style. She would have great vocals, airy and melancholic and a little smoky.

Very artsy pothead. One of those kids who thrift even though they come from money. I imagine her fashion to be like, whimsy goth. Eclectic, girly, casual but also a little witchy. Lots of big pants and loose shirts.

Idk what her and Annie’s band name would be. Something funky that has to do with space, probably.

She’s a very chill drunk. Would let men buy her drinks at the bar and straight up lie and play with them lol. “Yeah my name’s Emily <3” “My boyfriend’s a cop. He’s actually stationed at 59th street not too far from here :D” “wow really, u grew up around here? Same, I think my mom knew ur dad back in the days and she told me he like, had seggs with his sister’s boyfriend 😳”

She became friends with Annie through sports. All the other girls talked shit about Annie for being cold and stuck up. The only reason Annie was still on the team was bc she was a really insanely good player. Pieck was the only person who’d talk to her.

Her ex boyfriends are all friends with each other. She’d dated whole friend groups in the past. Doesn’t mind what they think tho.

That’s it for now! I love talking abt headcanon’s so let me know if u have other questions <333 check out my modern au fic here if you’d like something fun & melodramatic to read that gets into like, murder mystery later

[chevvy-yates]

10 for the Uncommon Questions for OCs - for all the boys please!

10. What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

Vijay rarely lies. But in this case having met Arki — well… He definitely sorta starts lying to Ryder(!) about uh— 'not knowing him properly' — when in fact they already had a very hot night at the No Tell Motel right after their 3rd meeting (it's always been short meetings). It's not that Vijay does this on purpose. He just thinks he shouldn't talk about it because he feels Ryder seems to have something against Arki (and Ryder's reason stacks up, tbh I do understand him). It doesn't haunt him, he just feels a bit bad about it afterward — especially when Ryder finally checks, there's something going on between those two (Ry's a bit low, counting one and one together at times — forgive him please).

When people ask him about his glowing circuit lines on his skin, if it is accidentally showing (as in activated). Jay then says it would be some sort of a brand new fashionable tattoo mod. It just requires to have your skin replaced almost completely (depending on where you want to have it) and added together with new synth realskin. Only Jaysen likes to tell it a bit more gruesome: Depending on the ripper doc's skills it can be really painful because you need to peel off all the skin parts from the body then install the mod and new skin. Jay finds it amusing how people look at him disgusted yet fascinated. It all is a complete lie though. His glowing circuit lines aren't just a tattoo, it is some—REDACTED

When he gets asked about his family Ryder lies about it. He tells that his parents died by getting robbed and shot afterwards while he was at his grandparents place. Grandparents are already deceased as well, so he has no 'family' alive anymore. His family are his best friends (which isn't a lie). Does it haunt him? It sure does. Everytime he needs to lie — technically I do not really see this as a lie (yet it still is?), but Ry never felt he belonged there but see, blood is blood — about his Corpo background it opens some healed wounds again. He could tell the truth about it (try imagining him telling someone he's the son of the CEO of Militech — nobody would probably believe him either, which would be funny too in some way) but he is just really careful not to do it. The city has ears everywhere and he doesn't want to be found by his family nor face his superior ever again, or his brother, or mother. They are dead to him, yet he always gets to see either Wilhelm or Karl on the news when they've got something tremendously new to show to the public.

Thyjs is super bad at lying, so he chooses not to lie anymore. If he would only try, people would find out very fast because he's definitely not gifted in this task. He tried lying as a teen many times but his parents always found out and especially his father (a Militech admiral) did order extra rounds when it came to Militech training, once he found out his son lied about something by just telling Thyjs' supervisor his boy needed some extra training (e.g. run more miles, do more push-ups). Thyjs knew it was because he tried to lie or hide something from his father. It was just usual things like "I feel ill" when he didn't want to go to training, so it does not haunt him. He just wanted to be a teen and do what normal teens his age did. His military training was very strong concerning discipline and when he was past his teenage age he already was the brave loyal soldier boy ready to execute given commands.

[obstinaterixatrix]

so like adding machine is a musical that was. somehow produced. in late 2000ish if I'm remembering right (I'm not looking any of this up) and it's based on an early 1900s play (1920s maybe?) that is apparently a landmark of American Expressionism (I don't know what that means) (sister explained it to me and I don't remember) (it's like. more metaphoric and symbolic. more abstract.) and it's like. weird. it's really weird. very syncopated very a-rhythmic and it's at some points basically an opera. and the thing is, it has REALLY good music. like it's very industrial and avant-garde and strangely catchy if you get it stuck in your head. but because this is early 20th century american expressionism the writing kind of sucks. probably not "objectively" there's a lot of artistic merit to be found but I hate it. fascinating though. There's one song where they're just calling out numbers and honestly? as a guy who likes number channels? I really liked it. until one of the guys starts basically singing "I LIKE WOMEN I LIKE WOMEN" like ok dude. also for some reason everyone's last name is a number. I'm not gonna go into the plot too in-depth, because I don't really understand it from the music alone and I'm not going to investigate. basically there's an accountant who's miserable and also having an affair and he's sure he's getting promoted but gets fired and this is the song where the main character kills his boss

the music underscoring the scene is a great contrast to the severance speech and the way it builds up is really good. also the way they use EFFICIENCY EFFICENCY BUSINESS BUSINESS as basically percussion is really solid vibes

anyway the next song I really like is one of the only normal songs in the musical

it's basically a pastiche of those 20s-40s love songs, I really like the tune and lyrics. the part where it goes 'a real life fantasy' has such good swoop to it. it's also super easy to predict some of the lyrics which, honestly, sometimes I really like, it's fun to listen to these kind of songs the first time and try to guess what the rhyme will be. I know it's sung by the the woman the main character is having an affair with but other than that I have no idea what it's doing in this musical. it shows back up for an interesting reprise.

there's some other really interesting songs, 'the party' is one I honestly enjoyed where it's just the worst dinner party with the worst people you can think of and the rancid vibes are captured really well. I'm not linking it though because it's the song where for like eight measures they go like 'HEY CHECK OUT HOW MANY RACIAL SLURS WE KNOW'. and then after he gets sentenced to death the main character's wife brings in his favorite meal and there's like. this 30 second song where he goes like "HAM AND EGGS! HAM AND EGGS!" and that's the song. okay apparently I lied about not summarizing the plot. so the thing is the main character talks to this other guy on death row and the other guy goes like 'yeah I know exactly what happens in the afterlife, heaven and hell, sinners get punished' etc. and then they both die and THEN it turns out the afterlife isn't like that and the thing is. I think I mentioned the performers are good (I'm not reading all that I wrote this is a ridiculous post) and this performance is. GOOD.

like he goes FULL meltdown about it and the actor kills it honestly. and it's such a discordant and weird song, there's synth there's banging on the piano and the way it builds up to him shrieking NO!!! is just interesting. I don't think people would enjoy listening to it but I think it's really funny. it sounds awful I love it.

okay so the next one needs a content warning for suicide mention

this is the reprise because the paradise part of the afterlife opens up for the love interest and the main character. and basically the mechanic is anyone can be let into paradise when They Understand but the main character goes like "I'M NOT GONNA HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE WHO AREN'T RESPECTABLE" like it's really funny actually I'll link it. content warning for bigotry and... I'm not sure if it would count as a gendered slur or not, but well. misogyny? I guess? well I'm gonna link the last three songs because they're really good in terms of the main character being shit and eating shit

So 'freedom!' is him having this meltdown of 'what do you mean People Who Aren't Respectable are allowed in paradise I'm not going in there with the woman I love I'm too bigoted'

and 'freedom! (reprise)' is the main character fucking off somewhere away from paradise to go like ho hum this is great I love being alone and bigoted'

and then the main character's BOSS (who he murdered) comes and goes like lol we're putting you back in reincarnation because you suck so so bad and you keep doing this to yourself so now you're here forever IDIOT. apparently the main character's in time prison via eternal reincarnation because he ALWAYS picks bigotry over enlightenment and there's this line of "you chose the machine, Zero, every time, now it chose you" which I think is hysterical. this man is NOT escaping samsara. LOL.

anyway I do actually have like legitimate thoughts about themes and metanarratives despite not being the target audience for this at all, I don't particularly like this musical, but the ending fascinates me because the ideas of Value As A Person is intrinsic to the main character's fatal flaw, which I think is the complete buy-in to ALL elements of toxic socialization. he's a miserable wage slave that completely bought into the idea that labor would lead to reward rather than exploitation, and when challenged he responds violently. he's someone who buys completely into 'respectability', even when he stops being a 'respectable' person, which means he has no empathy or understanding for anyone who's deemed as having no value to society (or tarnishing the value of society; he refers to sex workers with disdain, he's got a knee-jerk reaction to 'they let murderers in there', it's a very surface level engagement) (or rather, a complete unwillingness to engage) and what I think is interesting is the lack of empathy towards others, the inability and unwillingness to challenge those ideas of Value not only prevents him from connecting meaningfully with others, it also completely cuts off empathy for himself--he's A Murderer and therefor A Sinner who rejects other Murderers and Sinners. it's a positive feedback loop, the more he reinforces the toxic socialization the more he cuts himself off from other perspectives or any meaningful exploration of the human experience and that's how he traps himself into a miserable cycle forever. LMAO. which is why even though I don't like the musical I quite like the musical.

[luxnebula]

Heavy metal for people who don't like metal

I'm not a much of a metalhead either, but I listen enough to have found some artists and bands that are palatable for people who don't like metal. I've figured out three reasons why people don't like metal: 1. the growled vocals sound unpleasant, 2. it's too gloomy and dark, 3. the lyrics are too violent. These are the angles I'm approaching these recommendations with.

Heavy metal without growled vocals

The most obvious choice here are bands that do mostly instrumental music. Apocalyptica has unique spin on this because they use mostly cellos for their music. They started their career making Metallica covers with cellos, but I think their sound really started to improve when they started doing original compositions.

Then there's Oceill, a very new band who only have one album out. I especially love their sweeping, adventurous sound and the inclusion of synths.

Arch Echo also makes some bright bangers with similar soundscape as Oceill. You might also want to check out the subgenre of progressive metal (or prog metal), if this sound is to your tastes.

As for heavy metal that has clear vocals, you can't go wrong with Nightwish or Evanesence.

Diablo Swing Orchestra also has a very unique take on metal, combining it with swing jazz, of all genres:

Heavy metal that isn't gloomy

Try Jonathan Young! He's most known for covering Disney songs in heavy metal, but his original music is definitely worth a listen too, especially his first album Starship Velociraptor. He has a lighthearted, fun take on metal, especially in the song Best Band in the Universe.

Korpiklaani has its wistful moments, but most of the time, their sound is very cheerful.

I've hit the video limit, so I'll have to link the rest of the songs I'll recommend lol. Here's Viima by Korpiklaani.

Heavy metal that doesn't have violent lyrics

Of course, the above songs. But there's also Voyager, who were in Eurovision in 2023. Promise, Colours and Ascension are some songs that I'd recommend.

Devin Townsend makes very atmospheric and almost soothing music at times. Try Save Our Now or Call of the Void.

BABYMETAL from Japan combines metal with j-pop. Try Gimme Chocolate!! or Oh! MAJINAI.

[novafire-is-thinking]

Behind the Playlist - Transformers: Prime Edition (Part 5 of 22: Bulkhead)

Link to the other posts in my Behind the Playlist series

✧ ✧ ✧

Bulkhead’s playlist took me a while to put together, mostly because we got very little background history and there were only a few traits of his I took note of when watching TFP. I still managed to find at least a couple of good songs that I thought fit him well.

Intended overarching themes and/or qualities: Compassionate Duty, Pushing Back, The Team Player

My personal favorite(s) from this playlist: Soldiers, Back in the Game, and Fighter

✧ ✧ ✧

Full song list and explanations under the cut:

Reckless by JAXSON GAMBLE

This first one reminds me of the Wreckers as a unit and how they come across compared to the other branches of the Autobot army.

Rise by Skillet

Understandably, Bulkhead carries an anger at the unfairness of the world��his and ours. Of course, he isn’t the only one. But he has a tendency to take a tough stance against it compared to someone like Ratchet who either tries to hide from it or act as background support. (Except when he’s on Synth-En Lol)

Street Fight by Adam Jensen

Hand-to-hand combat is Bulkhead’s specialty, and I thought this song kinda fit that aspect of his role on Team Prime.

Enemies by The Score

“Cause I believe underneath / I won't ever lose composure / No defeat, won't retreat / Hold the line until it's over / All my scars are tattoos, they're a work of art / I believe, underneath / I was born to be a soldier / Reaching for my destiny / Goodbye to my enemies”

Bulkhead: “Miko, check it out! New battle scars!”

Soldiers by GoldTop, Sam Tinnesz

“You're not an outsider / You are a born fighter / Go and take it back / One battle at a time”

After his run-in with Hardshell that took him out of the fight for a while, Bulkhead needed his Wrecker spirit to be reignited. He had to realize that he still added value to Team Prime. This song would have been a good reminder of that.

For Home, Country, And Family by Brian Tyler

Fowler: “Look soldier. You know as well as I do there’s the mission, and the reason why you take the mission.”

Bulkhead: “Honor…duty…”

Fowler: “Family. Which is why you need to do whatever it takes to finish this job and come home safely.”

Hold Me Up by Sam Tinnesz

Bulkhead leaned on Miko’s friendship to get through the final days of the war as much as she relied on his. It was never a codependent type of friendship either. I saw a healthy interdependence.

Head Up by The Score

Another song Bulkhead may have found himself listening to when things didn’t look great for him.

Back in the Game by Future Royalty

Can anyone say “comeback anthem”? 😎

Fighter by Future Royalty

Bulkhead’s a Wrecker at spark and the muscle of Team Prime. Need I say more?

Heroes Rise by Tommee Profitt, Sam Tinnesz

*insert cliché hero quote here*

B.E.A.S.T. by Once Monsters

“You're messing with a / You're messing with a beast

But I've still got a heart / And a place that I call home / But hidden in the dark / Is the side that I don't show

But I've still got a heart / And a place that I call home / It's only when you beat and kick me down”

I think this song perfectly captures both Bulkhead’s warrior spirit and his gentle soul. He’s highly compassionate, but if you mess with him or his family, the beast comes out.

✧ ✧ ✧

Notes:

This post series is in alphabetical order. Next up are Bumblebee and Cliffjumper.

As I add more songs to the playlist, I’ll update this post.

[commonwealthoccurences]

Companion HCs: What They Wear On A Day Off

Cait:

A tanktop and comfy pants/shorts, probably

Barefoot all the way unless she decides to go outside

(Probably won’t go outside)

You’ll find her wrapped up in a blanket, depending on the weather, napping on the couch most of the day, or sipping a cold Nuka Cola

Curie:

Remaining practical, probably well-fitted pants with a comfortable but functional blouse

She never knows if her day off is going to be cancelled, and she likes to be prepared

Keeps thin shoes on, but not clunky boots

Probably reading

Danse:

Doesn’t believe in days off

Still wears a casual Brotherhood uniform and heavy boots

Can be found tinkering on his guns or armor, or discussing projects/missions with Sole

Deacon:

Such a wildcard, but anything comfortable

Also believes in running around barefoot if he can

Also a reader! Either that or he’s coming up with over the top schemes with Sole that they won’t go through with

(Probably)

Gage:

Asleep. The entire time. Only wake him up if you have a death wish, otherwise you won’t see him the entire day.

No pants and a tanktop and a blanket

Actively snoring the entire time

Hancock:

His loose-piratey undershirt and a more comfortable version of his usual pants (a bit looser and not as stiff)

Chest? Out.

Lounging on the couch in his quarters, probably high off his ass

Haylen:

A soft long sleeve and pajama-style shorts

Reader part three, or tinkering on her weapon

Barefoot 

Will throw hands if you try and interrupt the rare free time she gets

MacCready:

Probably his normal clothes: he has a semi-regular morning routine and sticks to it for a sense of stability

Either reading comics or running through inventory/making repairs to his belongings

Enjoys sewing

Nick:

Also sticks to his normal clothes, he doesn’t really have a reason to change considering his synth status

Might lose the coat, though, considering it’s billowy-ness

Takes a walk around Diamond City and checks up on everyone, probably spends time with Travis

Piper:

Also asleep most of the day (she still has Nat to take care of)

So pajamas

Definitely makes sure she and Nat have designated time together; it’s not often she can give her sister all of her attention

Preston:

Less formal/stiff pants and a loose t-shirt, socks with shoes nearby at all times just in case

Leaves the hat on a hook

Sleeps in, has a nice cup of tea and a slow morning, and then talks with settlers about stuff other than being productive

Sturges:

Will walk around his house with no pants if he lives alone (and there aren’t holes in the walls still)/with a romanced!Sole

Also part of the loose t-shirt club

Kinda a workaholic and makes sure to note down what he needs to do the next day

X6-88:

During the Institute he knows nothing other than his assigned uniform and no time off

If he’s left the Institute, however, he becomes such a fan of soft, loose clothing because it’s a big contrast to the well-fitted, stiff leathery materials the Institute use for protection

Oversized long-sleeve and looser pajama pants

Needs be taught what time off is

[batarangsoundsdumb]

hae interrogationes multae respondeant quia demens .

if you read this entire ask post you deserve a gold star and financial recompensation

Um, Obviously because when you’re adopted by a white guy you automatically become white duhhh

this is about this post lmao and yeah youre absolutely right, you have to hand your poc card in when you get adopted by a white guy.

Do you think Cass would listen to Yanni, the YouTube channel epic symphonic rock, or some other stuff? There's some cool mashups but idk if that's up your alley, I kinda feel like I'm pushing it with my weird taste of music by recommending an orchestra cover of metal, but i just love that sort of thing and mashups :P @harvestyourcherries 

i haven’t heard of that? but in my personal (correct) opinion steph listens to classical music, and then both modern and older, and then also stuff like black sabbath, iron maiden, but also hardrock and hardcore. i like the idea of cass just liking the most extreme screaming songs full of noise and then also listen to pachelbel’s 370th sonata yanno? THANK YOU for the rec tho

speaking of ur cass playlist hc...reminds of the time (yesterday) i found 2 playlists randomly on spotify from the same user. one was abt 3 hours of instrumental/classical "dark" & "nostalgic" music. the other almost 11 hours of nothing but hardcore bass/synth/electronic music. just an incredible tightrope act to put on in public. the synth one was also called like "psalms for synth sluts" which is Also incredible

tbh i LOVE synth SO MUCH like for no reason at all but then also cannot handle a poppy electronic beat lmao. but this seems like the kinda thing i’d do but just in one (1) playlist bc i just sort songs by vibe instead of genre? that’s how i end up with britney spears and billy ray cyrus in the same playlist. 

Oh, I want Kate Kane playlist next! It would be amazing if you could do one when you have time and will 🙏

how rude would it be of me to just say no? like sorry kate but idk you and also you seem way too keen on the us military for an institution that homophobically targeted you? (and also commits war crimes) but let’s unpack the fact that the institution that caused the death of your mom and sister and also got you blacklisted for being gay is still one you align with???

'yes i am' 'no you're not' 'yes i am' 'no you're not' 'yes i am' 'no you're not' 'yes i am' 'no you're not' 'yes i am' 'no you're not' 'yes i am' 'no you're not' --- when i tell you i fucking screamed LOL!!!!!!! i can imagine the cameraman not knowing if he should cut to commercial or keep it on these two weirdos fighting on stage (bruce definitely ruffled dick's hair/noogied him right?? 

about this post but yeah lmao. this cameraman just turns to like the audience to get a reaction and it’s just multiple moments of CLEAR shock.

you are the only funny person on this hellsite

how egotistical is it for me to say that i get this ask multiple times a month? bc it literally happens so often it’s hilarious to me.

Wish there was more john/Bruce content 😔😔😔 was so hungry I actually looked at canon media 😔😔😔 (Justice League Dark babeeeyyyyyy)

check out batman: damned for some mediocre content but at least it’s john/bruce (also very interesting story and stuff, just got very >:( over this weird part where harley quinn tried to r*pe bruce or something? it’s not for everyone)

dick grayson but he's nicki minaj

his anaconda don’t want none,,, unless...... 

Dick Grayson was never a cop, he played Marshall on Paw Patrol

you are SO right. also paw patrol is a fucking good show idc. that shit could’ve been the new steven universe on this hellsite.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CS1lI0bLI7-/?utm_medium=copy_link

...

why do people keep reposting my CONTENT. if you are not funny yourself don’t just grab shit off of tumblr and post it on insta,,, get a life. sidenote: should i start an insta and get all these ppl to take my content down that would be funny as hell.

Might I suggest for a Gotham City Meme: something about the true crime fandom thirsting for the rogues gallery

ok can i just say something slightly controversial?? no? i don’t find true crime ppl who are into criminals funny, that shits disturbing irl im not gonna bring that into my very chill universe.

i may have never seen a 'jason cleaning guns in sink' fic but i do know he WOULD

THANK YOU

bestie im sorry to say this to you but while you can, and people do wash their guns in the sink, that is a lot of lead in a very vital part of the kitchen.

people tend to do it in the bathtub.

WHY???? like damn why do you even have guns

i dont think i read many gun sink fics exactly but i have read lots of fics where jason cleanes his guns in the living room. usualy dissembles them and cleans them with a rag i think

lmao fair enough, like i think that’s a large part of what i remember as well.

if you say you've seen/read gun sink fics I believe you. I think those of us who didn't see them are lucky or maybe didn't search for fics by tags or something idk

i mean ive never sought them out but i HAVE seen them,, like definitely i know almost for certain.

saw your tags and I'm interested in Steph/Kara now. They would be the most chaotic couple <3

literally thoooo, i have a wip where they get together in a zombie apocalypse and like UGGGHhhh i am so in love with them.

I am the Breece anon. Thanks for the recommendation; am reading now. I’ve always been a hardcore Superman fan because I love my pure himbo farm boy. My logic is, if one Bruce is a Broose, then multiple Broose are a herd of Breece. And this is a hill upon which I will perish.

fair enough,,,, like moose, meese, goose, geese, bruce, breece. i get your logic and i stand by it as well. (glad you enjoyed the comic recs!!!!)

It's a beautiful day in Gotham, and you are a group of horrible Breece

OH my god dude lmao

there only being 42 fics on ao3 for tim and bernard is honestly so sad i need more

it’s like twice that now!!! we did it lads. (tho very sad that my fic isnt number one but like number 4 :((((  )

i'm too late you already did the poll lol but may i suggest bethy (bernard + timothy)

shit dude that wouldve been so fucking funnyyyyy. think ppl have just stuck to timber tho, tim/bernard kinda died down recently and i think it’s too bad, they’re a great couple and i love them.

Wait, hear me out

Bernothy @redlightofdawn

great recommendation (lmao this ask is from like a month ago) but very sorry to announce that NARDTH is the superior shipname

Wait, we know that bernard likes milfs (Tim's step-mom) but what about dilfs? gilfs?

Wait no, I regret sending that ask

these were two seperate asks and they’re HILARIOUS. in my personal opinion tho,,, milfs, gilfs, dilfs are just about vibes and bernard is just attracted to sexy ppl who may sometimes be milfs, dilfs, or EVEN gilfs.

crime in bludhaven would drop to half if nightwing had a boob window. in this essay i will-

WHERE’S THE ESSAY ANON, WHERE’S THE FUCKING ESSAY

Wait if Barbra and Tim r at opposite ends at all times what happened to Barbra once everyone’s Tim’s ever love before started dying lol

she won a lottery ticket and spent 2 weeks on a resort in the bahamas before returning home and finding out that the joker was arrested for tax evasion and then spent a month staying at her big tiddie goth girlfriend’s house before conner came back to life and she broke her pinkie playing table hockey.

Why is the opposite end thing so funny and compelling to me. Tim comes back from his depression quest for Bruce and Babs is now a literal god

lmao when tim loses his spleen barbara reaches nirvana.

Are you still taking music recs because I have three songs that remind me of Jason that I think you'd like

send to me or lose a toe

🌸 ⭐ put this star into the inbox of your favorite blogs. it’s time to spread positivity! ⭐🌸😋

thanks, i wont tho on account of i wont.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMduBy3Sr/

⬆️

This is the whole of Blüdhaven and everyone anywhere.

Nightwings ass alone saves more people in a calendar year and does more for so society than most heroes do their whole career.Also u are one of the funniest tumblr pages out there. The vibes are unmatched and the memes and tags ✨send me✨.Thank u and goodnight @julia-flow 

fanksss also lmao.

That's going to be a little bit difficult to explain, but

There's some music that you listen to and you think, "oh my gosh, I can perfectly imagine Dick Grayson singing this song, with the same voice as the singer because that voice matches with Dick Grayson"?

oh yeah totally lmao. i have a lot of songs that i think are just entirely dick grayson yanno? kind of all of my playlists have that vibe, but i really find bleachers to fit with dick? idk.

"Lois lane/Superman" fics this, "Lois lane/Clark Kent" fics that, (/lh) let's get into the real good stuff. Some people ship Lois, Clark, and Superman as a throuple. Most popular fic tag for sure

yes totally, i think they’d be absolutely killer on ao3 and clark gets so fucking embarassed about it.

I miss your post, hope you’re doing okay!!

haha this was like 2 months ago, but i was doing fine then too! just didn’t have a lot of inspiration in terms of content.

Doot doot!

noot noot

I’m confused. What did DC do now? Like with nightwing? And another sibling? Please spoil everything for me

lmao they gave him a secret sister plotline where they had his dad cheat on his mom with tony zucco’s wife, bc dick’s life wasn’t traumatic enough yet.

sorry but it's so funny that batman is called "the dark knight" when the gotham city baseball team is called the gotham knights. it'd be like if a vigilante was running around new york called like "the scary yankee"

lmaooo no. but like yankee comes from dutch names or something so wouldnt it be HILARIOUS if gotham knights came from like german names and bruce would be running around called the dark KLAUS UND NIEK @graysonnightwing 

(not a batcest shipper) it’s so funny to me that the responses are “i’m a batcest shipper because i can differentiate fiction from reality and and it doesn’t bother me personally, but i understand why you oils think it’s weird” to “i wish all batcest shippers a very fucking die”

yeah lmaoo. i personally basically flipped my entire stance around to ‘i dont care please leave me and everybody else alone’ bc i think there’s really no point in starting a moral dillema over some fucking fandom bullshit. Please just,,, go home,,, log off, find a nice forest to have a little walk in and remember that somewhere in history, somebody probably died in the place you’re standing. and you will also die someday, and somebody will have to look at your internet usage and see you fighting multiple people anonymously while being named ‘nightwingsbuttchin200186′ like... calm down, we’re all gonna die this is not the thing to worry about.

so since like "wards" don't really exist in modern society almost all the batkids are foster kids, right? i used to work in the system and imagine: monthly visits from social workers and guardian ad litems, bruce having to get permission to take the boys anywhere out of state, calling their social worker at like 8 a.m. like "yeah dick broke his arm again... a gymnastics accident this time...." their poor social worker. bruce send her a huge bouquet and box of chocolates every month to stay on her good side

i imagine the social worker just getting into the case like ‘yeah let’s get this kid a good guardian’ and then ending up having to work with 22 y/o bruce wayne and his 50 y/o dad. and so this social worker is like ‘okay we can work with this, this is the best home i can find’ and then like it ends up landing on its feet and then the kid gets adopted and then they get a call a year later like ‘uhm so hi, this kid tried to steal my tyres can i adopt him?’ and like 3 years later. ‘okay so basically, my neighbours’ kid imprinted on me and now they’re dead, can i keep him?’ two years later it’s like ‘okay so this assassin child-’

ever since I saw that one post of yours, the meme that's something like "I know that abba's backup dancer got me" with a picture of discowing, I've been haunted. Every once in a while I'll be minding my own business then the image of abba's backup dancer dick grayson aka nightwing aka discowing will flash in my mind and I'll be frozen in place. Today at work I was in the middle of folding clothes and suddenly once again discowing entered my mind and I suddenly lost the ability to see anything except He. Thank you.

wow. the IMPACT.

Braver than any US marine man props to you🤝

this shit is about the time i wrote an article on batcest, like man,,, the fact that i didn’t get cancelled is MIRACULOUS. also like,,, uh if anybody on here did gossip on me,, send screenshots i’d love to see it.

Hello, just wanted to say your article was great. Thank you for taking the time to provide an unbaised answer. It should provide people with nuances they couldn't possibly conjure on their own.

May I ask where your username originates from?

yes you may (also thanks!!!) i thought it up when i was trying to find an original username bc i didnt want to be called like ‘timdrakes something something’ or ‘jason todd something smoething’ or ‘dick grayson something something’ yanno? so i thought batarangs, they sound so dumb and that’s my username story... now it’s my whole entire brand lmao.

yno that bit in kick ass where red mist asks kick ass if he wants a hit of his blunt, was that the inspo for stoner tim

no? it’s bc i think stoners are hilarious and drugs are great. (dont do drugs tho) 

How would u feel if someone actually wore one of those bruce or ollie pride shirts u edited

fenomenal next question.

Dick as lil huddy and Jason as James gave me radiation poisoning and now I’m screaming crying throwing up so thx for that

(Rico suave as Tim is perfect tho literally no changes needed)

i was so funny for that shit wasn’t i??? lmao i loved those weird ass fancasts

You're doing the Lord's work by providing us with all these Gotham/Metropolis citizens memes, thank you for being so relentlessly funny @nellethiel-aranel

you’re welcome!! i really enjoy making memes, but getting validation for my content and my memes is REALLY nice.

Bruce is such a slut in your memes and honestly i love that for him @rhodey-rhudert-rhodes-main 

he’s that much of a slut irl too dw.

Bruce and Alfred have an emergency pride flag for the batkids. Oliver Queen printed an emergency "I love my gay son" t-shirt and as soon as Roy told him he was dating Jason, Oliver started wearing that shirt everyday and Roy always cringes when he sees it. Oliver also has an emergency "I love my lesbian daughter" shirt just in case for Cissie.

lmao YES i had a post like this bc like all of their kids/family members are so gayy

stop bringing back batfam fancasts it is not real it is not real it is not- 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

oh yes it is my darling.

did discowing burn down the notredam because he hates the bees? @allulily

no he did it bc fuck the french.

im gonna beg for 1 thing and 1 thing only. please please please put physical by olivia newton john on dick's playlist

okay then beg. bc i wont. physical reminds me too much of glee and that hurts me mentally.

your playlist is sorely missing some Madonna. Specifically Into the Groove, Like a Prayer, and Vogue

i’m scared of madonna that’s why she’s not on there. she haunts me in my dreams.

suggestion: son of batman by aaron dews for dick’s playlist🤩

sorry, i listened to it and the vibe didn’t agree with me.

Hear me out, metropolis citizens sending rare pair fics of Clark Kent x Superman fics to Lois to edit

yes, absolutely hilarious. even more funny if they send like physical copies, no address attached and lois sends it back marked with red ink, SOMEHOW

Imagine all the smut Clark must of read editing the fics

clark reads smut confirmeeed

NOT LOIS READING SUPERBAT PORN AND EDITING IT A 2AM 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

hc that alfred is a meta that boosts healing factor of the people around him. if the bats are injured as much as they seem to be they would be doing bat stuff MAYBE half the year. no one including alfred knows about this. whenever the kids move out they inexplicably dont recover from injuries as fast and feel better whenever they visit the manor they just chalk it up to homesickness. bruce just thinks he heals really fast. alfred thinks everyone doesnt take care of themselves properly @finchcollector

that’s actually such a great idea, but i think that alfred would find out and learn how to concentrate it better so he can help more people, bc he’s great and i love him.

One of your dickfast posts reminded me of that tweet that goes: 'so you've had sex how many times? Yeah technically that's not a bromance' lol that's dickwally or dickroy

literally tho. like that’s all of dick’s friendships. once it gets past a certain time dick is like ‘wow i wonder what it would be like to make out with wally, wally come make out with me’ and wally’s like ‘we’ve done this like 40 times, dick, you know what it’s like’ and dick is like ‘sorry are you complaining?’ and they just make out.

superfam and batfam associations??

-batman and superman

-dick/barabara and supergirl?

-conner and tim

-jon and damian

pls enlighten me I am confused

nope,,, uhm batman and superman, but dick and superman as well, and then conner and tim, jon and damian and steph + babs with supergirl

I came across a fic in which Wonder Woman calls Batman "Stella" (like Stellaluna, the children's book) and I can imagine the batkids hop on the trend and maybe copies of the book appear at random places (aka, everywhere Bruce frequents)

sorry can’t reciprocate that was the name of my high school chemistry teacher and it gives me nightmares to think about.

good human what are your pronouns?

wouldn’t you like to know?

I need me some gothamites preferring harley over joker memes

everyone prefers harley over joker youre just very fucked up if you dont

don't understand why people try to add like veteran policy to the batfamily

dick pulling out his veteran batfam member card so he can eat first: step aside, peasants

Do you know the song Simmer by Haley Williams? It (the first verse anyways) reminds me of Jason? It's about rage.

damn yeah i LOVE HAYLEY!!!! youre right thoo

Okay so I like listen to your stoner Tim Drake playlist 24/7 but would he listen to skegss? Also I keep adding songs mentally it’s killing me 😩✋���� Anyways,, I literally love and worship your playlist 😃🤞🏼 And uh yeah have a good day ✨

stoner tim drake playlist is lyfeeee. also dont know who skeggs is? i’m stupid? have a good day!!

All the Robins (and Batgirl) decide to trade costumes for one night just to fuck with Batman and all the villains in Gotham. @subspacecadet 

batman knows it’s them youknow but like,,, what does he call them? he’s like ‘red hood?’ and 3 people answer and he’s not about to compromise some identities so he’s just Pissed.

I aspire to treat cops the way my dad treats them. This man is a 45 year old Asian immigrant to the US and the treats them like his pets. He talks about them like unruly children. Sometimes he pays off local cops to shut up and stop acting racist. And usually it works. I don’t know why but I can see Oliver Queen doing this

vibes... and also yes? oliver queen handing a local cop a donut to shut the fuck up lmao. but yanno i commit enough crimes to not really want to ever see a cop ever, so they kinda scare the everloving fuck out of me.

seeing as tim hasn't aged in years, that means he was 17 at peak emo tumblr era. im back on my emo tim bullshit and im not letting it go

emo tim had a wattpad account send tweet

People seem to think that batman is so dark and serious when the rainbow batsuit is right there. He wore it with no shame.

dude the 60s were a DIFFERENT TIME

dick grew up in a circus, jason grew up on the streets, and tim was probably raised by the internet

all of them cuss every other word and you cannot tell me otherwise

bitch i KNOW but dc has to change to an 18+ rating if they want to sell comix with swear words in them so we gotta deal with imagining the swear words in ourselves

thoughts on teen titans and young justice

haven’t seen teen titans on account of havent seen it and young justice was LITERALLY my favourite thing ever, tho i do gotta admit it’s not at all similar to the young justice comics unfortunately. i really wouldve liked to see timmy bart kon cassie and cissie animated on tv!!

ew ew ew how to delete batcest shippers I genuinely digust them

log off tumblr?

Okay as poc who was called racist for calling an Italian pastabrain: in the batfam are Italians bit Damian just yells various insults about the others being Italian. Just him yelling “What are you doing you moronic spaghettihead!” At steph etc

huh? i meant real italians. homeboy is telling steph he hopes she chokes on her fucking garlic.

I think it's dumb as hell to pull the batman is the best fighter in the batfam argument because like it's just irresponsible of Bruce to let his kids fight when they couldn't possibly be on his league or something

fair enough, but also like who cares they could all kill you just sit down and take a beating.

lady shiva, thalia al ghul and Selina Kyle are all milfs @notanothertimburtonenthusiastugh 

unfortunately, i have to admit,,, you’re right

why tf didn't someone give joker a death sentence already? like he's a mass murderer...give him the electric chair treatment wtf

idk i think plenty of people would have tried to murder him already (boring answer is: he is a popular character so they can’t kill him off bc he brings in lots of money)

There’s no such thing as “ copaganda”.

all american media is propaganda. happy to clear this up for you

is it bad that I find lady shiva owa owa

no. find her as owa owa as you want.

aight I'm guessing the order of your favs in batfam:

1. tim

2. Steph

3. dick

4. Duke

5. the rest

you’re wrong but it’s cute that you tried, i generally don’t have favourites, but i have a special place in my heart for steph, tim, dick and cass. bc they were like my introduction to batfam. but damian, jason, duke, bruce, babs and alfred are NOT FORGOTTEN OR UNLOVED

oh my god i was literally just readily willing to believe that italians werent white ty for clarifying it was a joke im so dumb sdkvjskdfs

i mean some italians aren’t white? italian is a nationality as well as an ethnicity, so like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

since I saw so many people doing headcanons about the nationalities of batboys, I see Dick as an Italian.

dont know if youre serious or not, but sure.

super random but

jason 🤝 damian

old english

lmao fair enough.

tim absolutely has 1 gay uncle and his parents shit talk said uncle all the time so after bruce adopts him he specifically reaches out to this uncle to be like "heyyyy just so you know you majorly influenced my life yes i know i havent seen you since i was 5 and at the family reunion yes i know you dont remember my name idc thank you im gay too" and then they never talk again.

yuppp lmao that’s definitely something that could happen. i can also consider tim having no family members, like none. until he does like a dna test and he realises he has like an aunt living barely 2 miles away from him who’s like some illegitimate child of his grandpa.

I dare you one of them sends clark superman/clark fic and clark corrects the shit out of it and then goes like ps his dick is not that big, just telling as someone who has seen it. internet either explodes or goes who tf did he not fuck at this point.

i think everybody would call clark a buzzkill and try to cancel him over that.

so you're telling me Tim Drake wouldn't buy Starbucks?

no. dunkin donuts all the way

One of my favorite things is imagining people finding out jason came back from the dead and being like "oh no does he have magic powers now?!?!?" and he just pulls out a gun and tries to shoot joker

now he doesn’t even have the gun :) lmao

my favorite batfamily fanfictions are the ones where they use their shitty codenames, unironically, in any context

bruce gets codename ‘ugh’ everytime. he hates it.

crazy that tim being a 17 y/o ceo and a stoner who does brand deals are all actual canon things written in detective comics comics and not made up for shits and giggles by you, tumblr user batarangsoundsdumb @rowdeyclown

SO CRAZY HUH?

batman au where everything is the same but his utility belt is bright pink

absolutely, but i raise you, his boots light up like sketchers when he kicks people.

unbeknownst to the superhero fandom writers in the dcuniverse, clark and BRUCE are one of the most prolific fanfic writers in the superhero rpf tag on ao3. clark writes the best lois x superman angst, full of unhappy endings and scenes that are a so detailed you'd think you were in the middle of a superhero beatdown. bruce made an ao3 account to fuel "the do the butts match" thing, and makes batman/bruce fics from time to time. he wrote a superbat fic as a joke but ended up making it REAL porny. @concrastinator

dude they’re WAY too busy for that. Oliver Queen and Hal Jordan on the other hand are the most prolific fanfic writers in the superhero rpf tag writing what is Mostly porn.

When the dining table topic gets to politics, Steph says "eat the rich" as the solution

bruce just silently takes away her fork and knife while she’s talking.

[persephone-plasmids]

The Funhouse

Deacon and Sole Fanfic

[AO3]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

The Funhouse

“I take it finding Danse and MacCready is now our second priority?” Deacon asked as he followed Sole from the junkyard outside of Nuka-World to the Kiddie Kingdom.”Because you know they’re investigating Dry Rock Gulch, right?”

“They’re big boys, they can take care of themselves,” Sole answered dismissively with a wave of her hand. “And I already told you, we’ve got more important things to do.”

“More important than finding the kidnapped Synth?” Deacon asked, a grin on his lips as he trotted to catch up with Sole.

Their hands brushed accidentally as he walked beside her and he quickly pulled away. Deacon was finally starting to learn to keep his physical distance from Sole. He needed as many safeguards from whatever spell she had over him as he could get. The sunglasses were a start, but avoiding their regular casual contact was starting to be a necessity.

Trying to ignore his attraction to Sole had become a losing battle, so Deacon was playing the defense game.

“Obviously nothing is more important than finding the kidnapped Synth,” Sole said. “But there’s no reason they might not be in the funhouse at Kiddie Kingdom.”

Deacon gave Sole a skeptical raise of his eyebrows. “I mean, while we’re at it, the kidnapped synth could very well be on the roller coaster in the Galactic Zone. We should probably check there too.”

“We probably should.” Sole nudged Deacon with her shoulder, giving him a cheeky smile.

He laughed nervously but took a tiny step away from Sole to discourage any further touching. It wasn’t because he didn’t want Sole to touch him. It was because he did.

“Listen, Charmer, I’m all for having a good time, but isn’t this place… kinda creepy?” Deacon asked, glancing at the derelict theme park over the top of his sunglasses.

Sole stopped in her tracks and turned on her heel to face him, the apples of her cheeks round with glee. “Are you scared?” She dragged out the last word in a taunting way, poking her finger into his chest as she said it.

Again with the touching.

He wished he didn’t love it so much.

“Obviously I’m a big strong man. I’m not scared of anything,” Deacon began. “I’m just worried about your poor feminine sensibilities. I’m not sure they can handle this place. Women’s brains just aren’t wired for this sort of thing.”

Sole narrowed her eyes at Deacon, sizing him up. She knew he was joking, but she still took the opportunity to take a step closer to him, her voice low. “I think we both know who the brave one is in this partnership.”

She was much too close to him. He swallowed hard and tried to play off his discomfort with a laugh, but it sounded wrong.

“If you’re so brave then why don’t you go into the funhouse first?” It was a lame dare, but he needed any excuse to get her away from him. All he wanted to do was crush his lips to hers.

“”Watch and learn, stealth boy,” she said, using her favorite nickname for him.

Sole walked confidently through the funhouse doors, swaying her hips as she did so. Deacon hated the way his eyes automatically roamed over her curves when she wasn’t looking, but he couldn’t deny that the view was impeccable.

“Are you coming?” Sole asked over her shoulder.

Deacon gave himself a little shake and ran into the funhouse after her. “You know, if you wanted to die, there are much quicker and less terrifying ways to do that.”

“But where would be the fun in that?” Sole asked, taking Deacon’s hand in hers and leading him through the first set of doors they found.

The two were immediately set off balance by a black and white room with a spinning floor. Sole collapsed into Deacon’s arms, knocking him against the wall as he held her up with his arms around her waist.

His plan to limit their physical contact wasn’t off to a great start.

Carnival music played in the spinning room and when Sole regained her footing, she didn’t pull away from Deacon like he thought she would. Instead, she leaned her weight against him, pushing his back more firmly against the wall.

“Thanks for the assist,” she said, wrinkling her nose up at him in a smile.

Why did she have to be so adorable?

“Any time, Charmer,” he answered, his voice as unsteady as he felt. “You need help getting back on your feet?”

He was trying to get her away from him again. But she didn’t move. Instead, she only leaned against him more firmly with a devilish grin on her angelic features. “I actually like where I am right now.”

Deacon tried as hard as he could to keep his cheeks from flushing. “I can’t say I blame you. I tend to have that effect on women.”

When in doubt, default to joking.

“I spend most of my life breaking hearts. It’s a gift and a curse.”

Sole bit her lip as she looked up at Deacon through her eyelashes. “More gift than curse I’d say.”

Deacon was incredibly grateful for the sunglasses that hid the fact that he was openly staring at Sole’s lips now. They had a cherry tint to them from the lipstick she’d been rationing since leaving the vault. And they looked even fuller when she took her bottom lip between her teeth.

It took Deacon a moment to regain his senses and when he did, he desperately thought of some way he could joke his way out of this. “Just imagine how hard it is for the people who don’t get to see this beauty up close? All they can do is fantasize. But you? You’ve got a front row seat to this walking piece of art.”

“A front row seat?” Sole said with a challenging raise of her eyebrows. “Is this an interactive show?”

The room was still spinning, though Deacon wasn’t sure how much of that was the actual funhouse anymore.

“It could be,” he said.

Why had he said that? He was trying to keep his distance.

Sole let a tiny grin tug at the corner of her mouth as she stared at Deacon in the spinning room. She almost looked like she might pull away from him and at the mere thought, panic rose in his chest.

He didn’t care how complicated it would make things. He didn’t care that he had sworn off personal relationships. He wanted to be close to her.

Without another thought, Deacon pulled Sole tightly against his chest and pressed his lips to hers. She instantly melted into the kiss, moving her lips over his softly at first. Her softness, however, was quickly replaced by more desperate kisses as she pressed herself against him. Sole took a handful of Deacon’s Cappy shirt to pull him closer, even though they were already incredibly close. She tangled her hands in his hair that he’d grown out and dyed dark, just because he knew Sole liked it that way.

She inhaled him as they both moved together, fitting like puzzle pieces. Deacon didn’t even care that the room was still spinning and that there were probably ferals nearby. All he cared about was this moment with Sole. This perfect moment where he was finally taking what he’d wanted for so long.

When Sole moaned into his mouth, he got chills all over his body. He’d thought making Sole laugh would always be his favorite accomplishment, but this sound he’d just elicited from her had just topped the list. It only encouraged him to deepen the kiss, hungrily moving his hands over her hips, across her waist, up her back, and into her hair.

He felt like he couldn’t breathe, but that was the last thing he cared about right at that moment. He’d happily die like this. Sole continued to kiss him like she’d wanted this as much as he did, even though he had a hard time believing that.

Deacon wasn’t sure they’d ever break apart, until a raspy voice rang out over a scratchy loudspeaker in the room, instantly causing Sole to jump away from him. “While I appreciate the show, I’m usually the one providing the entertainment here.”

Even though Sole had broken the kiss at the sound of the mysterious voice, she still held Deacon close, her arms around his waist.

“Who was that?” she asked in a panic.

He wasn’t sure if she was panicked because some mysterious person  was apparently also in the funhouse with them, or because they’d been caught in a compromising position.

“Just thought we’d be an opening act,” Deacon said to the otherwise empty room. He was trying to play it cool when he was internally losing his mind over the kiss he and Sole had just shared. “What can we expect from the main attraction?”

Deacon kept a protective arm around Sole in the spinning room, his eyes darting all over to try to find the source of the voice.

“I am Oswald the Outrageous, and you two are trespassing in my territory.”

Spotting the loud speaker overhead, Deacon took Sole’s hand in his and pulled her through a nearby red door that led to a hallway full of spinning tunnels. If he hadn’t been dizzy enough from the kiss, this room was sure to do him in.

“Sorry for the inconvenience,” Deacon began, making sure to speak loudly enough for Oswald to hear him over the hum of machinery in the funhouse. “We were just looking for a friend of ours. Goes by the name of H3-56.”

“You weren’t looking very hard, were you?” Oswald asked, his voice sly and suggestive.

Had Deacon not been worried about how much of a threat this stranger posed, he might have been embarrassed by the man’s words.

“H3-56 wandered into my territory, much like you two did.”

“And did you give him the same warm greeting?” Deacon asked.

“We need to find out where this person is,” Sole whispered to him, her eyes full of concern in the green glow of the hallway.

Deacon nodded in understanding but didn’t respond.

“Turns out H3-56 is a freak like me,” Oswald said. “He understood what it’s like to be cast out by the rest of society… so I let him go.”

Sole gave Deacon a surprised look. “Well, we appreciate your hospitality,” Deacon began. “I guess we don’t need to keep searching. Thanks for doing our job for us. We’ll just be going, but don’t worry, we’ll visit your gift shop on the way out; pick something up for Dez.”

Deacon began walking back towards the spinning room with Sole’s hand in his, but the door instantly slammed in front of them, barricading them in the hallway.

“Not so fast,” Oswald said, his voice full of menace. “I let H3-56 go out of the goodness of my heart because they were a kindred spirit. As far as I can tell, you humans don’t have to deal with the same hardships as Synths and Ghouls. So I think it’s time we have a little fun.”

Sole inhaled sharply at Oswald’s words. “Listen, we came here to rescue H3-56, not hurt him. We’re sympathetic to Synths and Ghouls alike. One of my best friends, the mayor of Goodneighbor, is a Ghoul.”

“Oh, I see,” Oswald said. “So because you have one Ghoul friend, you’re sympathetic to my kind?” His voice sounded incredulous now.

“I’m not trying to say--.”

“Tell me, Vault Dweller, do you kill Ghouls out in the wasteland with that fancy gun of yours?”

Sole looked down at her holstered gun with a furrowed brow. “Only when they’re feral and I don’t have a choice.”

Deacon could see the regret in her eyes as she spoke. He knew Sole didn’t particularly like killing, even when someone deserved it. It was something she’d held onto from her pre-war days. Maybe because she’d seen the effect it had had on her former husband when he was in the military. Maybe just because she was a compassionate person. But the fact that this stranger was accusing her of being a heartless killer when Deacon knew she was anything but, set his teeth on edge.

“Listen, drama queen, Sole doesn’t need to defend her actions to you. Now either you let us go, or you can step out from behind your wall of protection and we can handle this one on one.”

“I think you’re forgetting about the third option,” Oswald said, his voice now much happier than it had been only a moment before; almost manic. “The one where I show you that anyone is capable of being a monster. Even your sweetheart.”

Deacon didn’t have time to ask what Oswald meant before the hallway filled with green noxious fumes. He let go of Sole’s hand to cover his mouth. At first he worried that it might be aerosol radiation, but the sweet smell of the gas only gave him a headache.

“HalluciGen?” he asked, coughing slightly as the gas continued to fill the room.

Deacon looked over to Sole to make sure she was okay but the look he saw in her eyes terrified him. Her wide green eyes were darting around the room in pure abject horror.

“Sole?” Deacon asked, stepping closer to her. But the second he moved towards her, she lunged at him, her hands finding his throat and squeezing tight. “Sole!” Deacon choked out, trying to wedge his fingers under her surprisingly strong, nimble grip.

“Amazing, isn’t it? What the HalluciGen gas can do to ‘good’ people.”

“Sole,” Deacon choked again, trying desperately to pry her fingers away from his throat.

Her eyes were crazed and watery and she tightened her grip on him. And while he had been reveling in their close contact only a moment before, this wasn’t quite what he’d had in mind.

“Sole, you have to let go,” he choked. “I’m on your side… always have been.”

At the familiar words he’d said to Sole a million times before, her grip loosened ever so slightly. Her brows were still knitted together in confusion and terror, but the moment of clarity was enough for Deacon to forcefully pull her hands away from his throat and pin them to her sides.

Sole almost immediately began fighting back against him again, trying to break free from his grasp. Deacon wrapped his arms around her middle, sure to keep her arms pinned in place as he lifted her off the ground and unceremoniously carried her to the opposite end of the hallway, where a door stood open, leading back out to the lobby.

Once they were away from the green HalluciGen gas, Sole’s fighting grew weaker. She still struggled against Deacon’s grip, but her heart wasn’t in it. Instead he held her tightly while she whimpered, her eyes opening and closing rapidly as she came back to herself.

“You back with me, Charmer?” Deacon asked. “Or are you still going to try to pop my head off with those tiny little hands of yours?”

Sole’s eyes met Deacon’s behind his sunglasses as she blinked a few more times. “Deacon?”

“There she is,” he said, his smile returning. “You must really be into some weird stuff in the bedroom,” Deacon joked.

“Deacon,” she warned, her voice low.

“No, I mean it. I enjoyed our kiss too, but that escalated quickly.” He puckered his lips at her as he smiled.

“It’s not funny,” she said. “I… I couldn’t tell it was you. I couldn’t even tell what I was doing. I just knew I was trapped and needed to get away.”

Deacon’s face fell at her words. Maybe joking wasn’t always the best default. “You’re safe now,” he said.

“Is she, though?” Oswald asked, though now his voice sounded clear; unchanged by the static of a loudspeaker.

Sole and Deacon turned to find the Ghoul standing near the entrance to the funhouse in all his dramatic glory.

His scarred skin glowed green between the cracks, only making his suit and top hot that much more impressive.

“Pleased to meet you both,” the Ghoul said with a deep bow and a grin.

Deacon didn’t know whether he should be furious at the Ghoul or impressed by his showmanship.

“Dude, I appreciate a dramatic entrance as much as the next egotistical narcissist, but you could have really caused some damage in there,” Deacon said. “Also, I totally love your hat and want to know where I can get one as soon as we sort all this out.”

Sole hit Deacon on the arm, but he simply looked over at her and shrugged.

“It’s a killer hat,” he said.

“I feel like my reception of you was more than fair, given that you trespassed in my territory in order to hurt a Synth,” Oswald said, his voice much more impressive in person.

It had a dramatic quality that reminded Deacon of the old Silver Shroud radio show.

“I already told you, we were trying to save the Synth,” Sole said, her voice heavy with annoyance. “We thought he’d been kidnapped.”

Oswald regarded them for a long moment, his green glowing eyes moving between the two. “I don’t suppose…” his words trailed off as he screwed his face up in concentration. “Do you have a geiger counter?”

At his words, Sole’s face lit up. “Mine’s in the shop,” she responded.

The instant those two sentences were spoken, the tension in the room seemed to melt away.

“H3-56 told me to use that phrase if someone came looking for him,” Oswald said. “He told me it would help me know who was a friend and who was an enemy.”

“He was right,” Deacon said. “Although I wish you would have used the phrase before you tried to poison us with your Hallucigen gas.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Oswald said. “It wouldn’t poison you. It would just make you two kill each other.”

Oswald waved his hand as if this were an important distinction.

“Why didn’t it make Deacon go crazy?” Sole asked, looking over at the spy in confusion.

“Extensive Railroad training,” Deacon said. And when Sole gave him a look like he was joking around with her again he pressed on. “I’m actually serious this time. After Dez and I found the HalluciGen Inc. lab, we knew this stuff would be dangerous if it got into the wrong hands.” Deacon gave Oswald an accusatory look as he said this.

The Ghoul just shrugged in an unconcerned way.

“Dez had the field agents work to build up an immunity to it,” Deacon went on. “It’s not easy to do, but it’s not impossible.”

Sole gave Deacon a guilty look at his words. “So you were totally lucid while I tried to kill you?”

“Like I said, if that’s the kind of thing you’re into, I’m not going to shame you. I’m an open-minded guy.” He gave Sole a grin that made her cheeks turn a dark shade of red.

He loved that he could make her blush.

“Okay, well this mission has been sufficiently awkward,” Sole said, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked over at Oswald. “Thank you for… not killing us… I guess.”

“My pleasure,” Oswald said with another deep bow.

“And thanks for the intel on the Synth. I’m happy he was able to get out of the Commonwealth safely.” Sole gave Oswald a tight-lipped smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Deacon? You ready to go find Danse and MacCready?”

“Sure thing, boss” Deacon said, giving Oswald a nod.

Sole began walking towards the exit of the funhouse, careful to avoid Oswald’s eyes as she walked. When Deacon followed her, he stopped just short of the door and turned to the Ghoul with a grin.

“Okay, but seriously, where did you get that hat?”

[Part 5]

[theggning]

Codsworth Is So Underrated, You Guys

ALTERNATE TITLE: Codsworth and the Totally Understated Mindbending Evolution of Artificial Consciousness

I find Codsworth is often the most underrated of the 16 companions in Fallout 4. Your faithful robot butler is among the very first you can recruit and an excellent early-game ally, but he has a few disadvantages in gameplay that mean he’s often sent back to Sanctuary before long. Codsworth is a mid-to-close range fighter only, cannot wear armor or be equipped with weapons. He cannot be healed by stimpak, which makes him a liability if you’re playing on Survival mode. He has no companion quest of his own, so unless you particularly enjoy him there’s not a compelling reason to keep him for a long time. He also becomes recruitable exactly 2 minutes after adorable puppy Best Boy Dogmeat, so he is often (understandably) replaced just as soon as he’s made available.

But there is this great, completely understated facet to Codsworth, so understated that the game does not draw attention to it in any way. And yet, it is a wonderful reflection of many of the themes of Fallout 4 and, I believe, a pretty strong indication of its thesis statement.

Now what in the hell am I talking about?

Like many sci-fi/fantasy universes, the Fallout series is home to many highly-advanced robots. Robots were commonplace before the Great War, and many have survived the bombs intact and in working order. Others have been built or modified by wastelanders to serve various tasks (Percy, Ada.) The most important thing to understand about robots, though, is though they may have vivid personalities programmed in, they are widely accepted to be objects. They are thought of the same way as an appliance, a machine built for a specific purpose and programmed to follow a strict set of protocols.

Many jokes revolve around the relatively rigid intelligence of robots. Pre-War, many were deployed in inappropriate jobs or designed haphazardly (Mister Handies acting as nurses in a hospital, “paramedic” Protectrons with massive deadly tasers for hands, military robots constantly going haywire and erupting in friendly fire.) Others continue to man businesses and play out daily tasks as they were programmed to do over 200 years ago. Most robots are incapable of understanding anything beyond their initial programming, and most pre-War robots are completely unaware that the Great War ever happened.

When the Sole Survivor reunites with Codsworth at the ruins of their home, it seems like he, too, doesn’t understand what’s going on. He talks about tending the (dead) garden, references the (ghoulified) neighbors, and generally acts like the chipper robot butler Sole left behind on their way to Vault 111.

But there is something slightly… off in Codsworth’s dialogue here. Though he acts like the war never happened, he also specifically mentions details that suggest it did:

Player Default: Codsworth! You're still... fully operational?          

Codsworth: {Defiant} Well of course, mum. You can thank the fine engineers at General Atomics for that! At least, you could have. Had they not been... vaporized.

A bit over 210 actually, mum. Give or take a little for the Earth's rotation and some minor dings to the ole' chronometer. That means you're two centuries late for dinner! Ha ha ha. Perhaps I can whip you up a snack? You must be famished.

You've no idea the desperation for human contact one develops over 200 years. {Upset, recalling bad memories of encountering raiders and scavengers. / Disgust} And when you do encounter them? Oh the cruelty! You're either... target practice or... spare parts!

Even stranger, Codsworth mentions details that are plainly made-up (or some kind of delusion):

Codsworth: It's been ages since we've had a proper family activity. Checkers. Or perhaps charades. Shaun does so love that game. Is the lad... with you...?   

Player Default: Codsworth... listen to me carefully... have you seen him? Have you seen Shaun?              

Codsworth: Why, sir had him last, remember? Perhaps he's gone to the Parker residence to arrange a play-date?

(Shaun is an infant. He is too young to play charades or to go to the neighbors for a play-date.)

So at once, Codsworth does and does not acknowledge the war. He does and does not seem to understand what’s happened, and he does and does not seem to follow Sole’s urgency regarding their spouse’s death and Shaun’s kidnapping.

And then, after a speech check, Codsworth finally snaps and breaks down sobbing in despair. Not only does he understand that the war happened, he has developed the ability to get depressed about it. Longing for human contact and with nothing else to do, he’s even developed coping mechanisms to help him try to deal with his loneliness and despair—futilely trying to do his chores and deluding himself into pretending everything is completely normal.

Wait a minute. Sobbing? Despair? Depression? Coping mechanisms and delusions? This Is all pretty sophisticated stuff to be programmed into a robot, and if you spend more time with Codsworth, the reality of what’s happened to him becomes apparent:

Codsworth has evolved beyond his programming. In his 210 lonely years of existence, he has developed emotional reactions and self-awareness far beyond that of most other robots, and, indeed, has basically evolved an artificial consciousness.

“Emergent intelligence” is the theoretical ability of an AI to eventually develop something resembling human thought processes, and it seems that our dear Codsworth has undergone this. Traveling with him, he displays many sophisticated thoughts and behaviors far beyond what most robots are shown to be capable of. He has memories of pre-War time and places, and understands how various locations have changed. He is capable of learning new information and forming opinions on it, gaining his own understanding of the people and factions in the Commonwealth. He can feel happiness, sorrow, fear, disgust. He can anticipate things, predict danger and imagine how people might respond to your actions. The mere he fact he has opinions and a moral code that he applies to you shows he has free will, something even other robot companions don’t (Ada has a personality, but absolutely does not care about your actions.)

He’s also smart enough to make many wry observational jokes, and to lay one hell of a sick burn on you:

{Joking - Found an old bowling alley. / Amused} Fancy a game, mum? Something tells me the bumpers are no longer available.

 Codsworth’s intelligence is even more sophisticated than that. He displays stunning self-awareness, frequently referencing the fact he is a robot and what that means. He is very proud of his background as General Atomics’ finest, and seems pleased with his robot nature and his lot in life. (Unlike Curie, I don’t think Codsworth would ever really want to gain a synth body. He seems quite happy as he is.)

Here he is making reference to still feeling the tug of his programming:

{Seeing an office with chairs arranged in a circle. / Neutral} I've the most incredible urge to rearrange those chairs in a more perfect circle.

Understanding when other robots are restricted by theirs:

A pity. It appears Deezer's programming is too severe to allow for normal conversation. Ah well.

And when they’re actually not:

Codsworth: Greetings, sir. Good to see another robot in town. That chef hat becomes you.

Takahashi: Nan-ni shimasho-ka?

Codsworth: Takahashi you say? I'm Codsworth, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Takahashi: Nan-ni shimasho-ka?              

Codsworth: Is that so? Well, we both know RobCo is no General Atomics. It's not surprising it failed, shoddy work and all.  {Friendly - trying to cheer up another robot. / Friendly} Chin up, though. Never know when parts may turn up.

 And here’s Galaxy Brain Codsworth ruminating on his own state of being and contemplating his nature:

{Disappointed that he can't be 100% human sometimes. / Sad} It's unfortunate that I lack the proper design to consume liquids. Something about camaraderie over a few drinks is very inviting.            

I suppose if I had the hardware, I'd have the software as well. I'd hate to see how that'd affect my honesty and manner settings.

{Reconsidering what he thought was a good idea. / Thinking} Indeed. Perhaps I should rethink my initial desire.

Hilariously, Codsworth does not seem fully aware of how remarkable his intelligence is. He occasionally says things like “if I had feelings” and “if I could feel things,” indicating that in some ways he still believes he is only a robot and defines himself by what a robot is and does.

But as we can see, our humble robot butler has essentially evolved to become the smartest, most emotionally intelligent and person-like robot in the Commonwealth*, and potentially in the series.

([SIDE NOTE: Other FO4 robots nearing Codsworth’s level of consciousness and developed personality include Captain Ironsides, KLE-O, Whitechapel Charlie, and perhaps Takahashi. Curie is close, but also receives the unfair advantage of being uploaded into a synth body with a human brain. Jezebel also functions off of a human brain. Nick is not a robot, he’s a synth (though he does jokingly refer to himself as one) and also has the advantage of a human brain encoded on his processor.])

Also hilariously, the game basically does not acknowledge Codsworth’s impressive evolution. At all. There is absolutely no direct mention of it in the script. It is all left to ambient dialogue and the player’s own observations. And because so many people overlook Codsworth as a companion, they may not even realize exactly how unique his expanded consciousness is.

Now, you might call this total lack of mention a mistake, an oversight on Bethesda’s part, or that old chestnut “bad writing.” I don’t think it is. I think it’s a deliciously subtle little detail to include in a story about humanity, machines, artificial intelligence, and what makes a person.

Many of the themes of FO4 revolve around synths—distinctly not robots, but androids, artificially created beings with fully organic human bodies. Most of the storyline factions have strong beliefs about synths and the relative humanity thereof. The Institute believes that synths are objects, tools, machines no different from a robot who are only simulating their personalities through programming. The Brotherhood believes synths are monstrous abominations, a danger to humanity itself, technology run amok which needs to be destroyed. The Railroad believes they are people. Not humans, but people, built instead of born, free-thinking beings that deserve to be treated with respect and given rights.

Through quests, dialogue, notes, worldbuilding and other venues, players explore these questions. What makes someone a person? If your personality and memories can be rewritten or programmed, then who are you, really? Where do we draw the line between humans and machines, and how do we decide who belongs where?

Meanwhile, as the player contemplates the nature of personhood and the definition of intelligence, their robot butler quietly evolves into a fully-conscious person on his own, right beside them.

Codsworth is unquestionably a machine, but also unquestionably beyond the appliance he was built to be. Which to some philosophies and players should really beg a few other questions. If a robot can be considered a person, then what makes synths so different? And how many excuses do we have to make to pretend otherwise?

Ya boy Codsworth may not be flashy, or powerful, or kissable. He may not be the most glamorous companion around. But he is a good friend, a beloved member of the family, and above all else, a loyal butler—content to serve, quietly and humbly doing his job where some may never even notice him-- or the fact that he’s casually become his own person and sent generations of roboticists and philosophers spinning in their graves.

[catboyshinsou]

it doesn’t have to be 18+ but i keep thinking of like,,, singer/performer y/n x keigo ??? like he goes to a performance and gets flustered or soth over the lyrics or the choreo,,,, thank you <3333

Eyes don't lie

pairing: Hawks x gn! performer reader

warnings: none rlly ? choking mention maybe

summary: hawks is assigned as security guard at an upcoming artists show

a/n: sorry it took so long :P also i hope this is okay for u even if i drifted from the request a bit <3

In a world full of quirks, heroes act as celebrities and law enforcement. There wasn't one country or place you could go where people didn't adore heroes, even in the tiniest villages you could find one or the other All Might or Endeavour fan lurking around the streets.

You yourself weren't a fan of heroism. You could appreciate the ones that dedicated their life to it, whether it be as a part of hero society or a mere fan but the streets just weren't your terrain to play on.

Yet you loved the spotlight, being admired and making people smile. Being on the big stage and having a stadium chant your songs with you while your dancers and band hyped everyone up. That was what you'd craved all your life.

It was the first time in a while since you performed in Japan. You tried to visit home as often as possible and give it the best performances even if your management wanted to focus on your breakthrough in the west. It wasn't like you didn't have a big enough fan base in the west to not sell tickets but somehow your management wanted to make you a real deal, even though you did this for fun not fame.

“KYUSHUUUUU! HOW ARE WE TONIGHT?!”

After your band played the opening of your intro song, you stepped on stage with confetti flying through the arena. The crowd cheered at your appearance while also humming along to the melody. You adjusted your outfit, pulling on the places that had moved from their original position while getting ready to start the night.

It wasn't unusual for heroes to be recruited as security forces in public events. Especially with the League of Villains on the rise and using public spaces to intimidate people, the commission was extra careful on the streets.

Hawks, currently number 3 hero on the Japanese Hero Billboards, sat in the security booth with his feet kicked up and a soda can in his hand. The venue was his patrol territory, it was close to his agency and had the best layout for him to keep an eye on everyone.

Though he didn't do this on his own accord. Concerts were worse to watch over for him, the music and constant movement made it hard for him to actually listen to potential threats. His feathers sensed everything, even giving him a light headache from having to process everything but still stay alert enough to react as fast as possible.

“I know I haven't been… too present in Japan the last few months…” You walked around the stage, waving and winking at the front rows as your stage crew changed the setups. The spotlight only showed you, everything else in darkness except for some flashlights in the crowd and light sticks that weren't yours, blinking in a colourful pattern. You weren't sure if it was trying one's best to support or mockery but either way you appreciated the effort.

The crowd booed in response to your comment on your almost year abroad, all in a lighthearted manner of course but your tummy couldn't help but turn. Especially at this next number which was again, not entirely your idea but part of the plan of breaking through in the west. At least they gave you the opportunity to choose the song.

Hawks watched you intently, cocking an eyebrow at your trembles and tight grasp around the mic. There was a bunch of his feathers placed around the stage area to keep you as safe as he could and the one that you had around your neck was the loudest of them all.

Of course nobody in the audience noticed your nervousness, it took a trained eye to look through the cover of a pop star but your elevated heart wasn't from your performance and the shaking in your hands most definitely not from you being tired. He looked into the crowd.

Was there anyone suspicious he had missed? No that couldn't be. Him and 3 of his sidekicks were watching over this place, there couldn't be any type of danger around. Maybe it was something personal? An ex maybe? Would that pose a threat to you or the crowd?

Hawks’ thoughts were cut off by a synth or some type of organ playing two chords and the lights getting brighter on stage. This hadn't been part of the rehearsal in the morning, was this the reason you trembled so much? A new song?

The crowd went quiet as you positioned yourself in the middle of the stage, mic clipped into the stand and your foot tapping to keep you on beat. When touring through England especially, you had heard this song up and down on the bus you used whenever you travelled in the country.

The simplicity of the progression that pulled through the song, the adding of instruments as a way to build up for the high of the song to then slowly dropping instruments until it came back down to the organ and guitar as it was in the beginning…. Something about it had just struck you and you were more than glad to perform this in your own rendition in your home. Yet you couldn't keep focus on what was happening.

Come on, breathe, y/n you've practiced and it will be okay… Your inner monologue went wild as the synth waited for you to finally start the song. The crowd became restless at the tension you'd built up with seemingly no resolve, you felt more judgment on you than normal.

Your eyes searched for something to ground yourself with, like you used to when you were a rookie. Anything or anyone to look at while you performed to keep your nerves from getting the best of you.

Then your eyes met those of the pro hero assigned to security this time. Hawks’ yellow eyes sparkled as he winked at you with a smirk. His arms rested on the railing of the security lounge, laying over each other and hiding most of his face. The red wings poked through from behind him and you could see that he took off his signature feathered jacket. You took a deep breath before intently looking him in the eyes.

“I'm going back to 505… If it's a 7 hour flight or a 45 minute drive…” Your hands grabbed the mic and the stand as you swayed to the beat, lulling the crowd to do the same and take out their lights. There were quiet screeches from a few people who seemed to know the song. But you didn't let them disturb your new found focus or let them stop your new found anchor look.

“In my imagination, you're waiting lying on your side… With your hands between your thighs…” The guitar kicked in. Your hands left the mic and you stretched them into the air to get rid of their stiffness. The confidence of the first song came back to your core, no trace of nerves found in any of your movements.

The pro hero lazily stared at you after your first eye contact, relaxing as the feather around your neck got quieter. He raised his eyebrows at that last line, even if he knew that it probably wasn't at all intended for him. Your not breaking eye contact suggested something else but he wouldn't fall for the invitations of a worldwide known pop star. He was more than just smarter than that.

“Stop and wait a sec…” You stretched out your hands towards the security manager and tilted your head as you sang the next words. You had loosened up quite a bit as the instruments joined for the first verse. “When you look at me like that my darling, what did you expect?”

The hand slowly came back towards you and softly grabbed your neck before smoothly rolling into a cheek hold. “I'd probably still adore you with your hands around my neck… Or I did last time I checked…”

Pro hero Hawks had been trained to be a hero longer than he could remember. His training included quirk enhancement, multiple language studies and espionage training which had also taught him to stay cool in every situation.

Yet his cheeks flushed red and he rose from his slouched posture as your pointed at him and almost seductively grabbed your neck, all while not breaking your eye contact with him. He cleared his throat multiple times and averted his eyes whenever it became too much for him. Hawks couldn't be charmed by such simple actions. That's what he told himself anyways.

Having regained your confidence after fearing that your audience would be disappointed, you closed your eyes and went through the rest of the song in the lower register of your voice. It was nice to perform something like this between your usual set. It almost cleansed a palette like coffee beans after entering a perfume shop.

But then the bridge hit. The kick drum and snares were hit in unison before a quick second of silence fell, your hands flinging towards the mic and you opening your eyes on beat. “BUT I CRUMBLE COMPLETELY WHEN YOU CRY. IT SEEMS LIKE ONE AGAIN YOU’VE HAD TO GREET ME WITH GOODBYE”

You opened your lungs and let out the higher notes, almost screaming them out as your eyes looked at Hawks again. The instruments filled the room completely, screaming in their own way but also complementing each other.

Like a wave, Hawks was hit with your passionate voice singing him those words as if they had been only written for him. His embarrassment to be addressed in such a manner switched to curiosity and excitement. He tipped one of his sidekicks on the shoulder.

“Make sure we act as security on their next performance in Japan too.”

“But Hawks, we aren't a security agency-”

“Oh yeah? Well for them we are, I want to be part of the security team for every japanese performance to come.”

In a stern but gentle voice, Hawks commanded him to find your manager to arrange future collaborations. His flushed cheeks reappeared when you finished the song and just stood there, eyes closed and sweat glistening on your face as you breathed out the last emotions of the song. Something about you looked, ethereal. Was that the right word for it? He didn't know, but it felt right in any way .

[slocumjoe]

2 headcanons per companion

Cait:

- Touchy person. After learning and understanding that it doesn't inherently mean pain, learns to speak and hear it as a love language. Her touches are very jock, though. Shoulder slaps, light punches, hair ruffling, kind of an older brother form of physical affection. Often gets into play-fights with MacCready.

- Has a lovely singing voice, but no one knows because she never sings. Ever. If she sang, it would be a quiet, raspy croon. The type of singing you'd expect to hear in a castle ruins at the coast during a storm. Haunting and enchanting.

Curie:

- Amazing baker, not so good at cooking. Baking is a science, cooking is more about intuition and creativity. She's a by-the-books girl, and unless she has an exact recipe, her cooking is going to taste like anxiety. Great at breads, burns eggs. Always makes delicious muffins, her soups and stews are flavorless and soggy.

She has no idea. Thinks it's fine, and no one will dare tell her to stick to dough-based foods.

- The first time she got drunk, it was off wine. She woke up with her head in agony and on the roof of a shack about 50 miles away from Sanctuary. And with a tattoo on her back. Doesnt know about the tattoo. No one knows about the tattoo. It's a spoon. A very poorly done spoon. Possibly a ladle.

Danse:

- This man may as well be a bear. He has a big appetite, sleeps like he's hibernating for winter, is covered in thick body hair. Danse will wake up only for his natural alarm, his clock alarm, or someone walking up to him and telling him to get up. No noise or physical disturbance will wake him. Nothing. As for his stomach, he isn't a glutton, but look at him. Big guy needs fuel. He can eat a normal amount and be fine, but could get himself kicked out of Golden Corral.

- Speaking of food. He eats everything with no reaction regardless of if he likes it or not. It looks like he's bored even if he's eating the rare good meal. Food is just something neutral, with cons to certain things. He prefers plainer flavors, but is immune to spice. Can drink an entire bottle of Tabasco sauce, Sriracha sauce, and a chile sauce with no expression. The blank stare and spice immunity aren't synth things, Curie and X6 are just the opposite.

Deacon:

- Takes long walks at night through settlements. Feels at peace in liminal spaces. The ruins of Boston and all the other destroyed cities don't have the same effect. Something about being the only one aware, living unnoticed in a place filled with people. It's lonely, but nothing gives the same clarity.

- Hates subway tunnels. Go on forever, too long to see what's at the end, something could be at any corner - they creep him out. If you still, you'll hear something. Machinery even when the place is inactive. Shuffling. Even stiller, might hear breathing echoing from way down a tunnel. Hates it to hell and back. Has to take a long smoke break if he has to go in one alone.

Hancock:

- Weird with kids. Likes them, but worries about himself. He isn't the...best example. He has no filter, they can tell something is wrong about him, and he just doesn't know how to act. They're just tiny humans, but there are rules. He doesn't want to accidently hurt them or inspire them to follow his screwed up footsteps.

- He doesn't care about what people think unless he cares. Some schmuck sneering at him when he pops a mentats? That guy's issue. Nick's frown? Curie's wide-eyed fretting? The way Cait's face goes soft and her eyes crinkle in sympathy?

...that matters.

He starts using less.

MacCready:

- Extravert. He needs his space, but hates being alone. Not having a support to fall back on is terrifying. The most anxious he'd ever been since Lucy died was his time alone in the Commonwealth. Sure, he had people, but not...not people of his own. Not a family. Leaving his boy was hard and being alone just as. Was often nauseous and prone to headaches until the SoSu.

- Hates the acknowledgement of intimate body parts in public. Hancock and Cait went on a tirade of sex jokes and he was just as, if not more, squeamish as the other prudes. While exploring a vault, a sex ed video came on the projector and he was red as a tomato for hours. It didn't help that he was standing in front of it and...well. You know what happens when you stand in front of projectors.

Goes all blushy when more adult talk comes up. Apparently Danse didn't know what m*sturbation was and that moment in that room nearly had him crawling out of his skin.

Nick:

- Has a little switch in his brain that decides if he's capable of math. One day he'll be a walking calculator, another he'll forget that 7 is more than 6. He was a weird math student. Did all the reading and none of the work, aced the tests. You put him under pressure and he'll crank out the craziest equations, but you ask him to multiply two 4 digit numbers and you can see a little blue swirl in his eye before he sighs and goes to fetch scratch paper. Being a good tester doesn't mean he's not a born theater kid.

- Coat pockets are portals to other dimensions. Has everything you need. Bobby pins? Check. Ammo? Check. Food rations? Clean water? Smokes? Check. A small statue of Cappy? A page from a magazine that was never released due to a MLM scam in the publishing company? Half a pair of sunglasses?

Sometimes puts random garbage in his pockets just to screw with Ellie. Other times, genuinely doesn't know where things come from. Once found a yao gui claw in his chest pocket. It's a good luck charm, but he never picked it up and no one could have slipped it in. Jokes about the coat being haunted, but only half joking.

Piper:

- Opposite to Nick, things go missing in her coat. Nick calls it "the washer" for some reason. She'll drop a pen in a pocket and never see it again. Double checks the pockets for holes and splits before heading out. Still loses things. Once lost a whole pistol.

But more interestingly. She lost a purple gel pen.

Week later, Nick pulls a purple gel pen out of his pocket.

Has a corkboard for the theories about the connection.

- Makes an amazing stew of yao gui, carrots, potatoes, stingwing honey, and various herbs. Its a family recipe that just isn't a normal stew, there's something different about it. When asked, will joke that it's human meat. Very few people realize she's joking. Either way, it has a flavor that sets it apart from other stews.

The secret?

There's a mutated form of garlic in the southeast part of the Commonwealth.

Only her family knows where it grows and what it looks like.

Preston:

- Not so much of a night owl as much as he just...doesn't have a steady circadian rhythm. You can find him in the kitchen at 1 pm asleep on the counter in the middle or awake at 1 am making a 3 tiered cake. Doesn't have an alarm clock. His sleeping pattern bothers even the poorest sleepers. Danse is visibly upset when he describes his schedule.

- His history of partners, both romantic and purely sexual, is crazy. He has the most interesting and horrifying stories. One girlfriend was convinced she was the reincarnated Mistress of Mystery. A boyfriend cheated on him with his step grandmother. He was once involved in a multi-person break up because apparently his boyfriend was in a poly relationship that went south on all fronts due to a chem deal's profits going missing as they were about to split the caps.

Don't ask about Marge.

Marge was...probably something he imagined during a fever.

X6:

- His pantries and fridge have nothing but junk food. He likes vegetables and fruit, but they take up valuable sugar space.

Once ate a giant, 200+ year expired cheesecake and puked for an hour. When Nick found out, popped a fuse. X was out of commission for...so long. Turns out he's lactose intolerant.

- Has been flirted with so many times. Each time, turned pink and lost all control of his words. He becomes a stuttering, cherry-cheeked mess at romantic interest. Not because he reciprocates, he just wasn't trained for it. There is no protocol for "Wanna come back to my place?"

Someone kissed his cheek and he actually ran and jumped out of a window to escape. Hancock has it on video and sometimes watches it to produce serotonin.

[dropoutparty]

ngc ramblings part 3- chapter 5

here we are at part 3!!! sorry this one took so long, i originally was gonna make this post include entropy and extus (along with finally talking about face in depth) but it was so fuckin long that im splitting it into 2 different posts! the next part isnt done yet but im like almost halfway done so it shouldnt be too much longer until its out! also before we get into this one:

tw for: death, animal death, and suicide. pls take care of urself and don't read this if those things are triggering for u <3

ok lets get on with the post

at the start of entropy zach doesnt waste any time getting right to the point. this place is bigger than the other planets so far, and zach says the music this time around is a melody that “started out normal but then got distorted” played by a violin sounding instrument. even tho i do sometimes forget that this is supposed to be a creepypasta im not surprised that he said it made him feel depressed and unnerved lmao. anyways, this planet has all new level types in it!! no reused ones!! ok now this is epic. the bosses this time around are megalon, battra, and mechagodzilla, but itll be a good while before we get to those guys because this chapter is long as hell holy shit?? buckle up babez <33 now, before i get into the meat of things as usual im gonna talk abt the planet name! entropy basically means “a lack of order/predictability or a gradual decline into disorder” and that's very accurate to this part of the story. at this point, red is pissed off and is getting desperate, which means from here on out things are going to be getting more intense and more unstable. this world is the turning point in the overall story, basically.

now with that out of the way, zach first goes to the worlds quiz level as usual! this time something was different. usually, in the quiz levels there would be goofy ass music playin in the bg (specifically the GH1D0RA cheat music, if you wanna like listen to it ig?) but from here on out its been replaced by the music from the games password screen, which zach called creepy earlier on in the pasta. im gonna glaze over the quiz again this time, but when we get to the next planet ill talk about all of the quizzes in depth all at once. basically all you need to know for now abt what happens here is face asks “do you like mothra?” and when zach picks no (after going on a tangent abt how mothra sucks lmao,, bro i swear im good at the game my controllers just messed up /s), face enters bastard mode and goes “TOO BAD!” and boom now zach cant play as anyone but mothra. zach is pissed for now but little does he know this is just going to become an even more epic gamer bc of this,, youll never get better at something if you never try and all that.

after that, zach moves on to the first level type- the forest. immediately zach gets an eerie feeling from this level bc he has some kinda fear involving forests at night (i can think of a reason why but ill have to talk abt that later just to be sure). hes also not feelin great about being forced to play as mothra, so the pressure of it all is def starting to get to him by now. the music in the forest is woodwinds followed by slow, rhythmic drums and chiming bells. must have been some ominous woodwinds and bells bc it made him feel like he was intruding somewhere he shouldnt be (oh rlly?? u dont say,, everything up until now has been fine /s). getting into the level itself, eventually zach comes across some weird deer-like monsters just vibing and scares them away when he gets close. later in the level he finds more of these weird deer along with a sloth-like creature on some of the trees and some raptor dudes killing some of the deer. zach shoots one of the raptors but thats about it. nothing really happened in this level but zach noted that he didnt feel like he was playing a video game, but instead it felt more like he was exploring a forest in another dimension. thats interesting for reasons ill ~get to later~ (yall must be so tired of hearing that by now omg,, i know im tired of saying it at least. i was gonna wait until after replay to talk about things but i severely underestimated how long this whole project would be, so i might make a post for the “more on that later” stuff before i get into replay. let me know what u think i should do).

anyways, the next thing zach checks out is the first tv screen level so far. these levels just play an animation with some music in the background, and theres a different animation per level. this time around the animation is of a kid with a beaver(?) head licking a lollipop and the music is the GH1D0RA music that the quiz levels used to use. the only thing of note here is that zach says he had a shirt that looked just like that when he was a kid. after that, were off to some of the weirdest fuckin levels in this whole thing imo- the hourglass levels. these levels have an entirely brown color palette, with grandfather clocks standing in the background (the level appears to be in like a hallway or something) and various time measuring things floating in the air. the music is the same as the board (ig cosby just didnt feel like thinking of what theme this place would have lol). after a little bit zach was rlly happy to see actual enemies from the normal game show up! these are basically like aircraft, tanks, etc. thats not the main attraction here tho, bc this level has its own unique mechanic! this mechanic is the colored hourglass items you can pick up. there are three of them, a blue one that slows time down and makes enemies from the past appear, a red one that speeds up time and makes enemies from the future appear, and a green one that made the time flow normally and spawned enemies from the normal game. zach found the blue one first, which caused a bunch of prehistoric enemies based on real animals to show up. after that he found a green one and fought normal enemies again, and then he found a red hourglass. the future enemies here look like aliens to me, and zach says that one enemy reminds him of something he saw in a book once. eventually, a special future creature showed up and zach was suddenly in a boss battle! or a mini boss battle? that description is probably more accurate. this guy doesnt have a face, and he can only attack by shooting a beam from his face, it sure does look cool! after zach beat it tho, he was off to the next level type, which is basically a toxic waste dump.

zach called it grungy and inhospitable, with the music being a synth ambient loop that made him feel dizzy while he listened to it. this is important because this is the first instance of the game making zach feel something *physically*, not just psychologically. all of the enemies here are mutated to some degree, with him first seeing green mummies with bird skulls coming out from vats of toxic slutch and a brownish cow skeleton monster with spider legs. later zach comes across a deer from the woods, drinking some toxic slutch (delinchous). zach got close to it to try making it stopped but suddenly some enemies came out of nowhere and scared it into running right off a ledge and into the slutch. rip :pensive:. after that zach found more mutated enemies (i.e some things with tentacles and some other deformed thing with human teeth) before he finally gets to the end of the level, where theres another miniboss waiting for him!! this ones a toxic sludge monster with a whale skull who attacks with a mouth projectile and by charging into you. the monster sank into the slutch and thats all for this level babeyy!

the next level is another forest, but this time its winter! its still at night, but this time zach doesnt feel off put, which he mostly attributes to the music. he describes it as a gentle, calm song that almost sounded romantic. the entire first segment of this level had no enemies in it, but dw this level is interesting i swear. the next segment starts out just as empty as the last one, but this time its silent. that is, until the music from “unforgiving cold” starts playing. yaa you remember that place!! i think i said it was less interesting than i remembered but its interesting again now bc it was foreshadowing these levels!! anyways soon after the music started up, zach started to come across tons of frozen bodies of the deer from earlier. some were mutilated, some werent, but they were all frozen and covered in snow. eventually zach does come across something living though, a sloth creature from earlier! its just vibing when suddenly the winter versions of the raptors from earlier rush in and fuckin obliterate the sloth thing. those things just blindly try killing everything in sight, and even start fighting themselves before zach finally gets to the last part of the level.

now this is where shit starts to get crayzay. this part opens up to a big empty field with a full moon and the nice music from earlier back. despite the nice music tho, zach immediately starts feeling dread and eventually he finds a lake. the lake comes down from the sky and starts to crack like an egg, a humanoid figure curled up in the fetus position dropping into the lake below and the moon halves disintegrated. this spawned the moon beast, the hardest challenge zachs had to deal with so far. after he finally defeats it, the screen goes to black and the name “melissa” is on screen, written in red. after that, the screen then says kys. the word kill then fills up the screen, layering over itself until it forms a picture of reds face. its now that we finally get to hear abt the whole melissa thing (which makes it sound like shes been mentioned in the pasta before this but thats not what i mean lmao). to summarize, zach had a middle school gf named melissa (also bro middle school?? wadda hell) who often went into “episodes” where she would stare off, expressionless, before trembling and putting her face in her hands. she and zach hung out in a field at night a lot but one night she just stared at the moon the whole time before running into traffic and dying.

NOW its finally later!!! were not done with entropy yet, but this is the end of part one of entropy so i wanna just take a little break to talk about things so far. this planet is FULL of symbolism and foreshadowing. to start off, i think a lot of the questions face asks at the beginning foreshadow things that happen. some examples are “is time slipping though your fingers?” which could allude to the time levels, “do you have any regrets?” which i think obviously foreshadows the whole melissa thing, “is it safe to go out at night?” and “do you find it hard to sleep at night?” both follow the same kinda theme, which i think relates to how the melissa incident happened at night, specifically out at night. i dont think the forest levels have anything too important in them, other than to introduce the presence of an innocent, harmless creature that doesnt deserve what happens to it later (aka the deer things) which might symbolize melissa. more evidence for this symbolizing melissa comes from the encounter with the deer in the toxic dump and the winter forest, where in the former zach tries to stop it from hurting itself but is too late, being forced to watch it die, and in the latter the same innocent thing from earlier is found dead close to where the real incident took place. the two big themes to keep in mind here are death and time, more specifically the past. most of the enemies here are either made from bones or kill other enemies, there's a dedicated time level referencing things that zach remembers seeing at one point (aka that one alien zach recognized), the beaver head had the same shirt as child zach did, it all connects to zachs past and the death of melissa. as for the moon beast, its the most obvious reference for reasons ive already explained. i dont really know what the moon cracking open and dropping a curled up human into the lake could mean other than some other thing melissa related, but i *do* think that the fact that the moon beast is the most difficult thing zach has faced so far is symbolic of the fact that the trauma from this event has followed him throughout his entire life, and its something he struggles with daily. it could even be the reason why he said no when face asked if he could sleep easily at night. the moon beast also has some black fur around its neck, which i think is meant to represent a tire track, referencing and/or mocking the way melissa died.

its so cool how this entire part of the story builds up to and foreshadows the bomb it drops at the end of the part, giving people something to look back on. a lot of ppl say that as soon as the melissa stuff gets introduced the story goes down in quality, and i do somewhat agree with that sentiment, especially if they want the story to actually be scary, but i think the direction the story goes from this point on is so unique and cool. it does follow the whole “theres a ghost in the game” troupe (even tho it was probably seen as a spin on that originally) but it doesnt do the same cliches as so many other gaming creepypastas do and it really takes the concept and makes it its own. i just think its neat,,,

anyways im done gushing abt this story, lets get on with part 2 of extus!! basically zach has a fuckin panic attack and, after taking a few minutes to calm himself down when its over, he decides that he has to finish the game now because if he doesnt its just going to haunt him for the rest of his life. zach has now realized that the game is “alive” and can somehow see his thoughts and memories, so understandably hes pretty freaked out by it at this point. when he keeps playing, the first thing he does is check out another tv screen level. this time, the animation is of a fish dude just kinda standing there with his mouth flapping open and closed and the music is the neptune board music from the original game. the only reason i can think of for why this is here is maybe the game is mocking zach for the panic attack he just had (bc when u have a panic attack you feel like you can barely breathe, if ur lucky enough to have never had one before and u dont know) but thats abt it. its probably just a random goofy thing cosby threw in there.

anyways, the next actual level is the first labyrinth level. this time around, its a gold labyrinth specifically. the music in these levels is a slow, ominous drum beat with female vocals occasionally coming in and (basically from here on out) the monster zach plays as is now half the size it used to be. i think this shows how zachs feeling at this point, like this whole thing isnt just being a big strong monster and beating up enemies any more, he feels small and scared and helpless in the face of something potentially dangerous that he doesnt understand maybe his confusion about the game is the reason *why* theres so many labyrinth levels here in the first place. anyways im getting ahead of myself. personally, i think the aesthetic of the gold labyrinth is very similar to the green temples back on trance. while trance had a more circular and soft theme to it's architecture and sculpture, entropys is much more square or rectangle oriented. despite this, i think that the golden mazes at least are another religious kind of building, and the architecture is just different because theyre two different cultures who just happen to worship the same spiritual figure (aka melissa. did i say that earlier? i think i did,, if i didnt well the religions worship melissa, not knowing she's a dead human or anything. probably).

moving on, zach notes how the gold labyrinth would probably have been impossible to navigate as any of the other monsters, so turns out face being an asshole was a blessing in disguise after all huh? anyways this place is full of weird gold monsters, lava/fire traps, and stone faces (both in more of an easter island head style and in the regular feminine headshot weve seen so far). zach comes across two feminine heads, one that is more adult looking and pure gold, and another one that looks much younger and whos eyes have red irises and blue scleras. this statue apparently looks a lot like melissa did on the night she died, so zach leaves it pretty quickly. i *think* this is the first time we see the color blue associated with melissa? if it isnt sorry abt that, its been a couple days since i worked on ngcr so ive forgotten some of the smaller or more subtle things by now. GOD i keep getting side tracked ANYWAYS eventually zach finds a non-gold enemy and sees it get picked up by like an arcade crane claw. hes curious so he follows the claw, only to see the monster be put in a big gold cauldron and walk out the side of it as a gold monster.

gonna be honest, no idea what the hell this could mean. like? theres been no themes of corruption or good things becoming evil so far so this just kinda. exists,, yea idk lol. im not part of like any discord servers or anything so all this theorizing and analysis has just been me, maybe getting some small ideas from like random youtube comments or something, so if something ive said so far has been unanimously disagreed with somewhere i dont know about it. thats also why this isnt really a definitive or comprehensive analysis (even tho im trying to be as comprehensive as i can).

anyways zach finds the exit soon after and hes on to the next level type (there's so fucking many of them ik dont worry weve almost gotten to all of them now), the indigo cliffs. the background of these levels is similar to the blue mountains from trance, but now the moon and clouds from the toxic dump background is also here (and colored indigo to match). the music here is just a deep rumbling noise. the first “enemies” he sees here are just a bunch of multicolored little guys coming out of a hole in the ground and jumping off a cliff. were continuing the death theme yall!! anyways zach continues, flying over some more weird creatures (tho some of them just look like dinosaurs lol) before he sees a bunch more of the multicolored guys out and about but this time theyre getting grabbed by birds!! wadda heel!!! zach comments on how the multicolored dudes seem eager to die and thinks maybe the moon has something to do with it (like melissa dude wat!!!! that's crazy /s). at the end of the level there were some more multicolored dudes just walking into a creatures mouth so zach attacked the thing and killed it and the levels over yay!

now its time for the bosses babeyy!!! first zach fights battra (basically an evil moth kaiju), the music is varans theme. battra starts off in his larvae form, where he basically just fought by running into you and shooting stuff at you. while fighting this form, zach noticed that the game buffed mothra because his gamer skillz were too cringe lmaoo. he beats the larvae form and battra goes into his second form, where hes basically a stronger clone of mothra (misogyny). zach fights battra and has fun doing it (for once,, good for him) and he wins yay! next hes fighting megalon (a big beetle/bug kaiju), whos music was gigans theme. im tired when im writing this so ill just give you zachs description of how he fought: “strong, persistent, but dumb”. after this, zach checks out the last tv screen of entropy. this time, it shows a big buff guy with a sack over his head hit a womans head with a sledgehammer while shes tied to a table or something. the music for it was the password theme. i think this is probably here because red is getting angrier? like this guy is still here after i triggered his ptsd?? what the hell!!!

anyways before we get to the last boss we have one last level type to get through- the shadow labyrinth. at this point, zach starts to feel drained because no shit sherlock you just had a panic attack and youve been playing this game for fuckin several hours at this point of course youre fuckin drained. anyways zach enters the shadow labyrinth, which is a black recolor of the gold labyrinth. the music is “evil ambience” similar to unforgiving colds music but distinctly different apparently. there werent any enemies so zach just kinda wandered for a while until the lights turned off, darkening the whole screen and (secretly) spawning tons of spooky enemies thatll chase and hit mothra in the dark. eventually the lights came back on and zach started scrambling to the exit. when the lights turned back off, zach was able to find one of the melissa looking statues and stood next to it. it warded off the monsters while the lights were off, so zach was safe. i think this shows 2 things: 1) its a little more validation for my “religion in this world worships melissa” theory and 2) it foreshadows the way melissa wants to protect zach at the end of the game. zach beat the shadow labyrinth a lot faster than the gold one so were done with all the stages now!! now theres only the last boss and red and were done with entropy!

the last boss is mechagodzilla, but when zach starts the level, normal godzilla is there instead!! its whatever tho bc soon the disguise is gone and its just pretty much the normal mechagodzilla fight (but now hes got a gay beam). at about half health tho, mechagodzillas sprite breaks into pieces like gezoras did way back on earth and reforms into not-mechagodzilla. even tho it looks uncanny (and the usage of the face statue on the front is probably there to further mock zach bc melissa) zach beats it p easily and now its time for the chase. ba dum ba dum thats the sound of a chase.

as usual tho, before i get to the red chase its time to talk about entropy as a planet!! i think the best way to describe the layout is “a big forest with a toxic waste dump in it takes up half the planet while the other half is a large religious temple/labyrinth with a dangerous underbelly”. there doesnt seem to be any intelligent life there now (its all dead by now probably) but there was at some point at least because imean the huge labyrinth is there dude!!! i dont have much to say for this section tbh bc i feel like i've already said everything i wanted to, so its time for the chase ig!!

basically the chase with red here takes place in a labyrinth level bc of course it does. this labyrinth, however, seems to be made of some kind of organic matter. is it flesh? organs? nondescript viscera? idk but it's pulsating and bloody. also this time red has wings too!! anyways, basically zach avoids red throughout the maze, red breaks through one of the walls with his big alien tongue, and zach gets to the end of the maze. nothing crazy happens at the end of this chapter (i think it was crazy enough as is) so thats the end of that and now its time for the penultimate planet- extus.

[passionate-reply]

In 1993, Billy Idol--yes, that Billy Idol--went completely mad and made an electronic album full of futuristic themes, samples, and techno beats. Many consider Cyberpunk one of the worst albums of all time, but on this week’s installment of Great Albums, we provide a somewhat more positive approach. Check out the video, or read the transcript below the break!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! In this installment, I’ll be taking a look at an artist one might not normally associate with the usual “pantheon” of synthesizer jockeys I usually talk about: Billy Idol. Initially known as the frontman of punk outfit Generation X, Idol found success as a solo artist in the early 1980s, fusing tough-as-nails punk aesthetics with a lavish, almost camp sense of glam, and his visually arresting pop-rock made him an MTV-friendly star of the “Second British Invasion.” While one couldn’t fairly argue that Idol was an “electronic musician,” his early work does contain moments of mild electro-curiosity, perhaps most notably the mercurial ballad, “Eyes Without a Face.”

Music: “Eyes Without a Face”

But despite the minor synth touches of the hit single “Eyes Without a Face,” few in the 1980s could have possibly expected the turn Idol’s career would eventually take by the time of his 5th studio LP: 1993’s Cyberpunk. Cyberpunk is, of course, an album with a reputation that precedes it, and that reputation is not a particularly good one. Cyberpunk is a deeply fraught album, which commercially underperformed upon release, and did even worse in the eyes of critics, with the magazine Q dubbing it the 5th worst album of all time. In the nearly 30 years since the album’s release, opinions on it don’t seem to have softened that much, either. But as with everything I choose to talk about, I think Cyberpunk is worth listening to. I think it’s a daring and challenging work of art, and one that stands on its own terms when approached head-on. Whether you’re familiar with this album or not, I encourage you to give it a fresh listen, and a fair shake.

Music: “Wasteland”

Perhaps the most immediately apparent feature of Cyberpunk is its increasingly electronic soundscape, including a prominent sample-based hook on the track “Wasteland.” The album was created in less than a year, and chiefly through use of computers and digital audio software, which Idol evidently found easier to explore and use than earlier forms of music technology. I’m partial to the argument that sees the use of digital software as perfectly compatible with the famed DIY ethos of punk, and hence, not far from Idol’s wheelhouse at all. In the 1990s, computers were still something that far from everyone owned, but in our contemporary world of Soundcloud rappers on seemingly every street, it’s easier to accept the notion of computer music as a grassroots, egalitarian field where even the unskilled are welcome--perhaps even moreso than punk ever was, in the 20th Century. This is one sense in which I think Cyberpunk has aged better than anyone could have possibly imagined. Besides pushing the texture of Idol’s music into new territory, Cyberpunk is also a fairly risky album structurally, opening with a sort of manifesto being read, and peppered with brief interludes between its tracks proper.

Music: “Interlude 3”

It’s only fitting that an album so concerned with the bleeding edge of technology might also try to push the boundaries of the still-fresh CD age. Liberated from the confines of designing chiefly for vinyl, artists like Idol were empowered to create CDs that ostensibly had 20 “tracks,” with no need for empty grooves to separate these brief interludes from the album’s major compositions. This avant-garde touch adds significant amounts of texture to the album, and, dare I say, a sense of world-building. Undoubtedly, one main reason why this album was so poorly received at the time is that it is, quite simply, not what one expects a Billy Idol record to sound like--at least, with the possible exception of its second single, “Shock to the System.”

Music: “Shock to the System”

“Shock to the System” feels like something of an orphan in the tracklisting of Cyberpunk. While tracks like “Wasteland” certainly maintain a rough-edged rock mentality about them, and could never be confused for straightforward techno floor-fillers, “Shock to the System” feels more like it was tacked onto the album just so that it would have something that appealed to those who exclusively prefer Idol’s earlier style--and, given that most of Idol’s greatest hits compilations tend to include “Shock to the System” and nothing else from Cyberpunk, this may have worked. Cyberpunk, as a genre, is often concerned with political themes--its great literary progenitor, William Gibson, once said that “the future is already here, but it’s unevenly distributed,” epitomizing the extent to which the intersection between technology and class is a central issue in cyberpunk media. “Shock to the System” is the most overtly political track on Cyberpunk, inspired by the wave of riots that broke out in Los Angeles following the acquittal of police officers alleged to have used excessive force in the arrest of a Black man, Rodney King. While the role of computers in daily life has changed a great deal since the 1990s, police brutality and anti-Blackness have sadly remained quite similar.

Few have commented on the perhaps uncomfortable implications of Idol’s dramatization of the LA riots from outside, which seems to transmute the scene into one of high-tech fantasy while largely eliding over the racial implications of why people were rioting in the first place--something that seems particularly strange when one learns how upset members of the underground “cyberculture” were about the alleged co-opting and appropriation of their culture. Some have characterized Idol as an honest appreciator of cyberpunk who just wanted to make art that engaged with its ideas, and others more cynically consider him a profiteer who thought he could commercialize a more palatable version of the counter-culture. While the latter hypothesis may well be true, I’m not sure if it can rightfully be said that Idol had “no right” to mine cyberculture for inspiration, particularly since cyberculture has often encouraged amateur participation. Still, as a sometime fan of the literary genre myself, I’m tempted to agree with those who have questioned how deep Idol’s understanding of cyberpunk actually was, particularly when faced with tracks like “Neuromancer.”

Music: “Neuromancer”

In William Gibson’s novel of the same name, Neuromancer is a super-advanced AI with the ability to preserve people’s personalities in virtual reality...though you probably wouldn’t have guessed any of that from this track. Many who interviewed Idol seemed to think he had a weak grasp on the finer points of cyberculture, and even Gibson himself, upon meeting Idol, failed to take him seriously. Still, I don’t think it’s entirely fair to draw a line in the sand, as some have done, and say that Idol was particularly, individually, responsible for the dilution of cyberpunk ideals, as presented by authors like Gibson. While it may be easy to poke fun at the clownish, overwrought figure of Idol, as the embodiment of people who love books they don’t understand, it’s not like that many people owned this album. I think the success of popular films like Blade Runner and The Matrix has done much more to simplify and proliferate ideas cribbed from Gibson.

But however you feel about this, it’s clear that Cyberpunk was an album that ended up appealing to nearly no-one--it alienated Idol’s existing fans with its stylistic diversions, as well as feeling too commercial and inauthentic to cyberpunk enthusiasts. Something else that I haven’t seen mentioned in discussion of this album is the fact that Billy Idol really wasn’t the first to combine the ideas of cyberpunk and music. By the early 1990s, industrial acts like Front 242 and Front Line Assembly had already been making electronic music about cyber brain implants for years, albeit largely underground and often unnoticed by rock-focused critics. I can’t help but think that the prior existence of this stuff was yet another factor that caused Cyberpunk’s failure to thrive. Compared to the electronic body music scene, Cyberpunk comes across as less subtle, less insider, and much more surface-level.

The cover art of Cyberpunk has attracted nearly as much derision as the associated music. The image of Idol’s face bleeds and distorts “into” and “against” a gridlike field, perhaps the greenish terminal of an early computer screen, a representation of the hacker figure entering the virtual world of cyberspace, and identity blurring along those lines. With its wobbly image distortion and queasy complementary colour palette of yellow and purple, it instantly evokes not only cyberpunk aesthetics generally, but more particularly the fusion between cyberpunk and another popular aesthetic of the early 90s: psychedelia, which experienced a substantial resurgence around this time, related to rave culture and its embrace of hallucinogenic party drugs. So-called “cyberdelic” themes abound on the album as well, particularly on the hypnotic “Adam In Chains,” a track that sounds less like 80s New Wave, and more like 90s New Age.

Following the release and subsequent panning of Cyberpunk in the 1990s, Billy Idol went silent for over a decade. While he claimed that his disinterest in making new music was rooted moreso in mismanagement by Chrysalis Records than it was the album’s failure, it’s very tempting to look for a correlation here. Over the years, Idol was often asked if he ever planned to make more electronic music, and consistently claimed that he was chiefly interested in guitar-centric rock, while never completely trashing his vision for Cyberpunk. True to his word, when Idol finally did return to music with 2005’s Devil’s Playground, he delivered on his “classic” sound, and he’s continued to do so ever since.

Music: “Scream”

My favourite track on Cyberpunk is its lead single, the total showstopper “Heroin.” “Heroin” is actually a cover of a song by the seminal Velvet Underground, and it’s everything I think a cover ought to be: exciting, bizarre, and capable of taking something familiar and kicking it into a whole new territory. What’s the point of covering something without changing it and doing something a bit different? “Heroin” is naturally one of the most psychedelic-oriented tracks on the album, being a cover of a drug-themed 1960s classic, as well as one of the tracks with the most influence from dance genres like techno, boasting a very appealing extended outro that makes it feel like a 12” remix. While I think Cyberpunk is a fascinating album, “Heroin” is the one track I think really crosses the bridge from being interesting to being, quite simply, good, and it’s something I’m much more inclined to sit down and listen to recreationally. That’s everything for today--thanks for listening!

Music: “Heroin”