#but like that's so much data being kept alive

[asyourshadowfalls]

my stupid blog takes up 6775 pages of this stupid website. with 15 posts on each page. that is stupid

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Ooo you’re doing Pressure!!

May I request an artist reader who, throughout the journey found some paper, pencil and made a little makeshift sketchbook and when later bought Sebastian’s document decided to try and draw him? Like maybe both when human and current (and maybe the monsters)? 

Perhaps he saw them sketching, got curious and decided to look through it when reader left it somewhere or just straight up snatched it and held it out of their reach and sees those sketches of him. Could be hurt/comfort or angst/fluff.

Of course you’re free to change any of the details but please keep it platonic TwT

Aw love this idea! And it works considering all the paper and notebooks in the drawers of the blacksite.

............

"Great, [y/n]. One moment, you're doing some harmless graffiti on a brick wall nobody cares about. And the next, you're risking your life for a stupid crystal in hopes you'll get a federal pardon.."

Sighing, you held onto the overhead handles within the sleek black submarine, feeling it shake and rumble as it breached the water's surface. And after hearing the chime, the door hissed and opened up, the platform extending out onto the dock of a place already familiar to you: Hadal Blacksite.

'No place like home..' As you stepped out of the submarine, you could hear HQ over the PDA system informing you of your objective in reaching the crystal and collecting any "loose assets" you find along the way...

As if you needed any reminders of what you were doing here.

Immediately, you unlocked the first door with the keycard and began your journey to room 100. Along the way, you found a good handful of research data. Nothing too special aside from folders, USB drives, and a couple blue DNA vials.

Then after narrowly dodging the Angler in one area and avoiding Eyefestation's gaze in the next, you reached a room requiring yet another keycard to exit. You checked the nearby office cubicle, finding it in the first drawer you opened.

But that isn't what made your eyes light up. Rather, it's what was right next to the card that did:

A brand new pencil to go with the sketchbook you've been carrying with you.

Because you weren't given the luxury of doodling while sitting in jail for over 90 days, you felt your creativity flames being snuffed out, leaving you itching to draw something again.

Before all of this, you had a decent following on social media with your art skills, and you could imagine that they're worried sick over your sudden absence. But you hoped that, if you survive and succeed in this mission, you'll be able to come back and reassure them that you're very much alive.

And perhaps show them what Urbanshade has been hiding from the public...that is to say the sea monsters that have taken up residence in the Blacksite since its lockdown, freely roaming and haunting nearly every room you step into.

With the makeshift sketchbook you had (and somehow kept even after death), you've filled its pages with simple and detailed sketches of each creature you encountered.

But you doubt that they would let you leave with physical evidence of entities nobody else in the world should know about...unless you somehow convinced the guards that they were "original characters" that so-happened to look like them, but you had a feeling that excuse wouldn't fly.

Regardless, they've given you tons of artistic inspiration, despite your many close-calls with them in pursuit of studying their features from afar.

Thanks to the files Sebastian Solace has shown you, you've learned how to safely observe the Angler from a distance and better remember their details. They were merely a grotesque face surrounded by smoke, so you didn't have to worry about drawing any limbs or tails (assuming they had those).

You encountered their variants so many times that you could recall the little things that made each them unique--like how Pinkie had four pupils, how Blitz was missing pupils in one socket completely, how Froger was..well..a big frog with lots of needle-shaped teeth, and Chainsmoker was a sluggish blobfish through all that smoke.

Making eye contact with Pandemonium was a death sentence..as you've already learned after trying (and failing) to safely observe him through a glass window. So you draw him as you see him in his file.

The Squiddles' "intimidating" faces were scary in the dark when you least expected them, but they served as amazing inspiration. You even had a page full of what faces you'd think they make up to frighten others. It's too bad you couldn't show them, however, as that required you getting in their personal space.

Eyefestation, Good People, and the Wall Dwellers were quite..risky to observe, as they had ways of quickly and painfully sending you back to square one if you weren't careful. Even so, you made some pretty damn good sketches..and you wish you could show them off to them, too, especially to the shark who'd probably appreciate a human's drawing of herself.

Even the DiVine, who were always frozen in poses for some reason, joined your ever-growing list of muses. The oxygen gardens were a nice place for you to rest and appreciate the flora for a few moments--before an Angler came along, of course.

Then there was Sebastian.

While he was fully aware of your artistic passions, in the beginning he seemed a bit annoyed whenever you came into his shop just to sketch.....or if you took an unusually long time to reach him. He just assumes you've stopped to "doodle" and wonders if you really care about getting out of this place alive.

He'd remind you that HQ could get suspicious if you're off their radar for too long, but you've stayed in his shop for 10-20 minutes at a time and not once did your diving gear beep. So you reassured him not to fret.

It was kinda sweet that he worried over you, an expendable, although maybe that's because you actually treat him with decency..and don't take his snarky comments to heart whenever you died.

Aside from the occasional eyeroll whenever you brought out your sketchbook, he did inquire about some of the things you've drawn, and you'd show him, bearing a little pride in your work.

All you'd get in response was a "neato" or "wowie, that's how you see them?" and nothing more.

It wasn't insulting, so...you'll take that.

Obviously he was more concerned about how much research data you were willing to fork over in exchange for supplies, and how far that equipment will carry you before your next demise. So you'd eventually close the book and barter with him for whatever wares were on his tail.

Unbeknownst to him, you've actually started sketching him as of late. Now that you've met him dozens of times, it was easy for you to recall his features without needing to stare at him for reference every five seconds.

That would not only be rude, but very creepy.

Then one day, you showed up to Sebastian's shop with enough data to be able to afford his document, which described him as Z-13, "The Saboteur" who the company wanted "dead on sight" if he was spotted or trying to escape.

When you had time to read the file on your own, you learned some..pretty shocking things about how he caused the lockdown, went through torturous experiments, and was falsely accused of nine murders and was proven innocent far too late.

The most upsetting part was that he was never informed of this.

He learned that after presumably stealing his own document.

It made you feel sick to your stomach, knowing he's the reason you're being terrorized by those beasts, but you couldn't find it in your heart to be angry at him.

If anything you were angry at Urbanshade for their "guilty until proven innocent" system--or in his case, being proven innocent didn't matter.

His human mugshot was also included in the file, and even with the black censor bar covering his eyes, he still looked like quite a handsome fellow. You could make out some details, and ended up drawing him on a separate page, too, although part of you wishes you never started.

You doubt he would kill you or rip apart your book for drawing him, but considering how volatile and rude he could be at a moment's notice..you did your best to conceal the sketches when you visited his shop.

You didn't want him to be offended or reminded of his past..and make him resent the one person who he almost considered a genuine friend.

Unfortunately, you'd soon come to realize that your actions were only heightening his suspicions.

And that it was going to come to a head next time you entered his shop.

...............

"Okay, I'm going to bite...what're you really hiding in that little book?"

"Pardon?" Pausing mid-sketch, you looked up at Sebastian, wondering why he appeared so disgruntled. "I'm..uh...just doodling like I always-"

"No, don't give me that "like always" crap." He huffed, flicking the end of his tail as he crossed his two arms over his chest, staring down at you. "Last time, you couldn't stop showing me a stupid face you'd think one of those S-Qs would make...and now you won't even let me have a sneak peak of your next "masterpiece"." He spat the last word, voice dripping with disdain. "Are you really drawing something...or are you secretly writing intel to give to Urbanshade?"

"...wha.." You blinked in disbelief, wondering where he'd get that assumption from. "Why would I ever do that?"

"Oh I dunno, maaaybe because you have access to my file and know my location? I bet you're gonna sell me out to those scumbags once you reach the crystal." He gnashed his teeth. "Did they say you'd get extra cash for leaving tips on my whereabouts, huh?"

"Sebastian, there's no reason for this hostility. I'm not giving any intel to anyone-"

"Then you wouldn't mind me taking a look at this, would you? Yyyyyyoink!" His third arm was quick to snatch your sketchbook away, holding it out of your reach as you jumped up in panic.

You were already dreading his reaction.

This could very well be the end for you.

"Please give that back! You'll tear it!"

"You look frightened. So maybe I should, considering you're writing secrets about.....about...." But as Sebastian finally looked at the page, all he saw were sketches of his current self, and you began to see a shift in his expression.

It went from pure anger, to surprise and confusion, and then to....something unreadable.

"These are...all of me?" His voice became quieter as he flipped the page, only for his breath to hitch upon finding the drawings of his human form.

And for once, he was completely speechless.

The details were immaculate, everything from his hair style to the scar he used to have across his face--given to him from an angry cellmate who thought he really did kill those people and tried giving him a "taste of his own medicine".

But the way you made him look was...incredible.

That's him.

That's really him.

The man--the human--he was before...

Before...

"Yes." Your face was burning with embarrassment, and your heart was pounding with fear of both death and ridicule, now knowing that your fate laid in his hands now. "I-I'm sorry. I should've asked for your permission and I know the details aren't perfect but you didn't let me........huh?"

Ceasing your ramblings, you noticed the tears welling in his eyes, and you were stunned. Then his shaking hands closed the sketchbook and returned it to you. "Um..are you okay? I'm really sorry if-"

"I...a-almost forgot what I looked like before all of this.." He raised a claw to wipe at his watery eyes, sniffling. "They're...good drawings, friend. I'm sorry..I...I-I didn't mean to..." His voice cracked, and he forced himself to stop, bringing his hands to his face. "Why am I crying over something like..t-this..?"

He hated looking so weak in front of you, yet he couldn't help the tears that kept slipping down his cheeks. A certain sadness was weighing heavily on his heart, yet at the same time he felt...honored that you wanted to draw him, putting your heart and soul into every sketch--with him getting the most effort.

You didn't overexaggerate him as the hideous beast he and everyone else was convinced he was, but just him as, well, himself. His smiles when he realizes it's you coming through the vent again, his cheeky grins when you buy up all his supplies, and even the one time he pouted when you died to Pandemonium because you risked it all trying to draw the moldy fish-creature.

The human ones, as you could tell from the way he broke down, especially hit home for him. Just from a mugshot alone, you were able to create a near-accurate depiction of him.

It made him wonder if you two have met before any of this happened.

Sebastian sniffled, struggling to stop the tears and expecting you to make fun of him as he finally uncovered his face. But instead he saw you standing there with your arms opened up. "I feel like you could use one of these. It's okay. I know you miss being human."

".........."

"C'mon, big guy. My arms are kinda hurting--oh!"

Without warning, he accepted your embrace and squeezed you tightly in his hold. Of course he was careful not to crush your diving tanks, and you smiled in appreciation and patted his back. "It's okay, it's alright..I got you. I didn't mean to make you cry."

He sniffled a few times, but otherwise said nothing and tried making sure you weren't supporting all of his upper body weight.

Curse his size. He wishes he could experience a normal hug again.

This one will do, though.

"I-It's...it's fine. Don't worry.." He finally spoke after a few moments, calming down. "As long as you don't tell anyone about this."

"I'll take it to my grave." You chuckled, letting go and stepping away so he could straighten his back out. While he did that, you gently tore a few pages from your book, to which he blinked in confusion.

"What are you doing with-?"

"Keep them." You insisted. "In case this sketchbook falls into a pit or gets waterlogged, I want you to hold onto these. Besides, I can tell you appreciate them a lot. So...consider it a gift."

"Why..thank you." A smile appeared on his face as he took the pages carefully. "Rest assured, they'll be safe and sound." He gazed at them both one more time, feeling a tug on his heart.

But it wasn't as heavy as before.

After neatly folding and stowing them away into his pockets, he saw you already sitting in one of the chairs, your sketchbook opened to a brand new blank page.

"Sooooooo what are you going to draw this time?" He tilted his head, ear fins twitching with curiosity.

"Hm...I did see a vision of a white glowing man a few rooms back. I think he was from...the Mindscape? There was a file talking about him and some floating gears and a white ball."

"Ohh yeah, he's an interesting guy. I'd love to see your interpretation of him." Now Sebastian was 100% invested, as he curled his tail around himself, resting his upper body on it so he could see your book better. "But y'know you won't be able to leave this place with sketches of-"

"I'm well aware of that...I could always change a few things and turn them into OCs."

"Hah. You should."

"Maybe I will." You snickered, grateful that you didn't have anything to fear.

At least somebody in the Blacksite appreciated your art.

[gunpowderdtim]

It's no wonder Out happened when you really think about it. Nastya doesn't like organic life because it's complicated, it can break, sometimes it's even unfixable.

quote from gender rebels

Nastya is in love with Aurora, and in saying that she is saying "you are not organic life, I can deal with you because you are metal and algorithm and predictable" - we can see this in bedtime story when she says she'll tweak Aurora's story creation algorithm

screenshot from A Bedtime Story

Aurora is not inorganic. She is not ai. She is a space moon made of flesh and blood and teeth and bone. She is not an ai. She is a body that was taken and stripped of autonomy, of the right to self identify, of the right to think- to be imperfect and organic.

The metal is a veneer that hides how messy and traumatized and unfixable she is. From the outside she is a starship. From the inside she can still bleed.

And this makes them fundamentally incompatible. But yet, they are in love.

And really, it's no wonder Nastya fell in love with Aurora. Let's take a look at Nastya's home planet, or at least home society:

"Terminals were scattered across the planet. There was one on every street corner, one beneath every lamppost and one in every commune block." "The midwife-machine performs a series of programmed manœuvres to quieten [the baby]. It cradles it and hums at several pitches until it finds one that seems most soothing. Mechanical arms stroke the baby’s flesh even as others start the process of implanting augmented reality interfaces into its nervous system." "The Czar an atrophied frame, never present in the real world and worn to dust by the chemical compounds that kept his brain alive so it could live forever in a perfect virtual paradise. The Rabotnik a copy, a mind preserved unchanging in the instant before its death and placed in an everlasting metal frame." (Cyberian Demons)

Its safe to say the world Nastya was born into, from the very minute she was born, was ridden with technology. She has augmented reality interfaces inplanted into her from birth. It would stand to reason that being taken from this society, wherein technology is everywhere, inside and out, would stand for a bit of a shock.

Aurora too had been augmented by the Cyberia.

While it is stated that the last time Nastya had used the ports themselves was directly before her death — "The last time she had used the ports, her tutor had ripped them out of her as the rebels stormed the palace" — Aurora is laced with Cyberian technology. I'd imagine she has something of a 'bluetooth wireless connection' with Aurora, rather than the physical data transfer of files between the ports and Nastya, it may as well be similar enough.

Imagine being Nastya, going from Cyberia, wherein there is augmented reality contantly, transplanted onto a ship with metal blood, a jonny, and a vampire. To Aurora, where the only bits of augmented reality run through Aurora.

Of course she'd fall in love with her. Aurora is familiarity. Aurora isn't organic. Aurora isn't human.

And of course when the undeniable part of aurora that is organic, that is a flesh moon plated in metal with her brain hooked to machines, when so much has broken and been replaced, when, presumably, aurora is less of an algorithm, nastya leaves with the brand cyberia left on her.

Because Aurora healing, becoming more of herself and less of a starship, is messy, and organic, and human.

and hard for nastya.

‘Think how long she’s been flying you around. Think how many bullet holes you’ve punched through her and how many atmospheres you’ve dropped her through. Think how many alterations and improvements we’ve made, Tim to her guns and Ashes to her storage and Brian to her engines and the Toy Soldier to who knows what. How much do you think is left of her after all she’s brought you through?’ Nastya held up the ancient, battered piece of hull plating. Just visible under the grime and scars of particles of space junk was a fragment of the Aurora’s original logo and serial number. Jonny honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had seen a version that hadn’t been painted by the Mechanisms themselves. ‘So she’s free, now.’ Nastya gestured around at the spaceship they were standing in. ‘This Aurora can take you where you want to go. I’m going to take my Aurora somewhere else.’

Aurora was ship of theseus'd. Aurora was improved. Aurora was no longer cyberian. (both literally, and metaphorically)

So nastya left.

[hadesoftheladies]

men will be adamant that they are the ones who suffer the most above any given demographic. they will cite wars, torture in wars, gangs, murder and suicide statistics as proof. women must respect that they suffer more because more is expected of them (by other men). they have to provide and protect, so in danger, they will always be collateral damage for their family or for their country.

yet

all these are examples of how men treat men. all this, in spite of the fact that men respect men more than anyone else. so if this is how men have treated/treat people they respect, how do you think life has fared for people men hate: women?

all of a sudden, the data changes. women attempt suicide more. in wars, women aren't killed because they are kept alive for use, which is rape, which is torture. every war has women and girls tortured rather than killed, because women have use. just because they are not killed doesn't mean they are spared. to be killed in war is a privilege to women in warzones. one they covet. women face the most torture in war. women are collateral damage on the street. women are raped then killed, or just raped, that is, tortured, and they don't have to be in a gang to experience this. women and girls get tortured in their homes, by their fathers, brothers, brothers' friends. mothers, a good percent of which are minors, are left to fend for themselves and their babies, becoming the sole provider. it is more likely that a father would abandon his child than a mother. in history, fathers and brothers were protectors of their property, not their loved ones (those were sons), which was what wives and daughters were, assets that were part of his estate. protecting them was protecting his wealth, since he could trade and barter his daughter for more economic advantages or get a wife and have a free laborer on his estate. he could beat her, rape her, buy another wife. impregnate them so many times, so much, until they died early or in birth, or just stopped looking attractive enough. this is still the case in plenty of places all over the world.

the truth is that men do have it better and have always had it better under patriarchy, because that system doesn't hate them. it believes in their humanity. which is why it keeps pardoning the worst of men of the worst of crimes. just because men find men more disposable than women, since women can always be in use, doesn't mean women are privileged or spared.

men know women suffer more, both in number and in quality. historically, as well. because men would never want to be women. they are terrified of being women, let alone, being seen as women. they cannot bear the thought of being treated like women. because men know that men see women as subhuman and treat them subhumanly. they know that being seen as a woman, let alone being a woman, being seen to be woman-like, means they are up for the chopping block, whether economically or literally.

that's why they will bond over rape jokes and derogatory conversations surrounding women. in male relationships, men need to keep their distance from women in order to survive other men. men need to other women. being loyal to them or standing up for them risks them being seen as "womanly" or "woman-like" since only women are loyal to women.

if you ask a man if he'd like to be treated like a woman, he might say yes. but if you ask a man if he'd like to be treated like a woman by a man, that answer will change! ask him if he wants to be gang raped by dirty men until he bleeds or dies. ask him if he wants to be forced to give birth to his perpetrator's baby, his body tearing, breaking, bending so it can come out. ask him if he wants to be abandoned to taking care of that baby. would he prefer that risk to the risk of getting shot? robbed? men think how women treat women is the default of women's experiences. but how men treat women? no man would opt for that.

men assume that the dignity of dignified work is not in the interest of women, who are subhuman, and thus, don't have ambitions or dreams or longing to establish themselves and have wealth. that's why they get upset that women don't want to be housewives or prostitutes. yet, suggest being a house-husband or "sex worker" to a man, and they'll recoil in horror! men don't think women crave dignity! or need it!

women on the other hand, would rather be treated in nearly every situation as men are treated. men, despite their suffering, cannot fathom trading places with women.

so no. men do not suffer more under patriarchy or capitalism. not even they truly believe that.

[circeyoru]

Cannot Compute

[Alastor x Robotic Demon!Reader]

Part 1 (here) — Part 2 — Part 3

Before your more-than-welcomed death, you were a trained assassin and bodyguard of a wealthy family. Due to the nature of running an underground, there were a lot of targets on their backs. So you were one of the orphans picked up from the streets to be one of their trained assassins

No surprise when you ended up in Hell

Your fascination with artificial intelligence and robots with human skin was probably the reason why your demon form was an actual robot. You unlocked ‘skills’ and ‘powers’ like a system was given to you when it was actually your powers to begin with. You had experimented with other demons to see if they had the same powers or system you did

They didn’t. So you chalked it up to it being an extension of your power, to give you some form of control over what you can do, to show yourself your potential. And followed the other side you did, you rose in ranks, nearly becoming an Overlord but denied it and kept to yourself. You weren’t looking for attention nor the fear and worship from others. You wanted to be strong to protect yourself, to rule and live your own afterlife, unlike your time alive

You were a great informant, since you had your system power, you could store as much as you wanted on others, much like a computer save function but without limit. Even better when you could hack and bring people into a virtual reality of your making, so long as they were weaker than you, you could devour their soul or corrupt it like a virus, even with a stronger opponent, you had the edge as long as you remained there with them

When you heard of the Happy Hotel, you were interested, purely curious of how demons can change. So you offered your services as the tech person. Meeting the others was an eye-opener, they were like the friends you never had for long

Of course, you got to meet Alastor, the Radio Demon who was gone for 7 years due to unknown reasons, as your files on him would tell you. His interest in you grew when he learned that you could overpower Vox and give him a run for his money since you were capable of hacking into him, literally

“Oh, how I wish I could have seen the look on his face!” Alastor laughed at the thought. You merely tilted your head in confusion, you were only defending yourself after Vox tried to take you by force since you rejected his offer to combine forces. New data: Alastor and Vox don’t see eye to eye

That was just one of the reasons Alastor would be so excited to seek you out and bring you around, especially when you had nothing to fix or help around in the hotel. Sure, you were monotonous and stoic with that metallic body of yours, but you’d give him the faintest smiles that shined brighter than stars. That was a charm of yours, to him at least. How he loved it when that smile was mostly shown to him and because of him

New emotion: fancy. Target: Alastor, the Radio Demon. Yup, you got a crush for once in your life and the afterlife combined, even better when you had the time for it! It only ended up with giving yourself weird quests to complete. Like meeting Alastor in the longue, say ‘hi’ to Alastor, and give Alastor a smile, etc. Then you researched how to express your feelings to him. Things went well when you let the flow take you, especially when Alastor was also taking the initiative

You’d mostly be with Alastor throughout the day, only separating when he was busy with his errands in the hotel or when he was broadcasting, for you it was whenever Charlie or someone else needed you for something and your duties. Though Alastor would find some way to stay close to you

When you learned of Angel and Husk’s soul contract with Val and Alastor himself, you genuinely offered your help to them, but they both denied it. To your surprise, Alastor caught you wanting to free Husk and offered you a deal, your soul for his, to which you declined. New data: Alastor wants to make a deal for your soul

Being in Hell, you knew there was one reason or another that granted all the people/sinners a place here. So you never painted Alastor in a positive light, though it was still shocking to you since he had never been evil or bad to you directly. That deal offer was really the first time you had seen his darker self

Note: Welcome home~ I'm gonna make you wish that I'd stayed gone. Say hello to an old series of mine, written so long ago that I nearly forgot it existed. Haha~ This has 3 parts (it was a very very long one cut into 3). And this is the shortest one (I think)

So what'd you think?

Circe Y. 

My Works: MASTERLIST

Taglist: (those that don't specify to being in all the works' taglist will automatically be assumed to be in whichever series they comment on)

@aconfusedwonderland @crowleysthings @donustellaron @mistpurpl3 @lucifers-silhouette @fluffy-koalala @snowy-violet

[sewerpalette]

Little rant I might make a video out of:

Edit: disclaimer I wrote this directly after waking up so it’s very awkwardly paced and hard to read I’m so sorry.

AL-AN is not a good person, now I’ll start this off with saying that I looove his character, especially before the rewrite and this certainly isn’t an attack on anyone, just something I’d like to point out because I think the shift of perspective between both games is fascinating.

If anyone remembers the subnautica fandom before Below zero was even remotely announced, there were certain opinions flying around, people believed the architects to be the grand villain(s) in the bigger picture of the game lore for just how messed up they were, they literally hated those guys for being at fault of the sea emperors suffering and there were even theories going around that they made the kharaa to wipe out all other life around them- but it had went wrong.

But now it’s not like that anymore, no AL‘s previous actions are completely ignored because he showed some remorse for being responsible for the deaths of 7 architects specifically, together with messing up before pretty much an audience of billions, it must’ve been embarrassing- but when he apologizes he specifically only mentions the other architects, because he isn’t sorry for the other things he’s done, clearly. I mean dissecting a fetus is one thing, especially with their goal in mind, DISPLAYING it is another, like that’s just purposely gruesome. Together with all the other dissected experimented on animals in the shelves just hung up like prizes (I know the concept itself is not inhumane, but in this case it just wasn’t necessary.) also research specimen THETA anyone? Yeah we know it didn’t die because of the facility collapsing because there’s no injury displayed on its bones that would suggest that, and that part of the facilities insides also didn’t collapse, they just left it there until it either succumbed to the virus or starved to death, same with the sea emperor but they survived, kept alive by unfinished business for the next couple thousand years. Not to mention who the fuck comes up with a quarantine program that includes semi sentient killer machines and a giant gun made to shoot anything down from atmosphere, there were so many better solutions, I get the warper thing, I mean kill anything that’s infected makes sense, but the gun?? Literally why, if they send a signal through the network that this planet is diseased nobody is going to go there (we know that at that point humans weren’t advanced enough to travel space and they knew that so for who was that even for??) it was completely unnecessary to create a giant weapon in wich even more destructive weapons are stored wich let me get into that real quick because there’s also some implied stuff there, appearently AL was so desperate to get rid of his mistake that he attempted to blow up a doomsday device?? (Which would’ve destroyed most of the solar system in an instant.) In the entry it says it malfunctioned so they must’ve tried to use it, and even if they didn’t why would they have it on them anyways? Including all the other weapons. Also let’s talk about the architects in the little sanctuaries in the first game, it’s implied they stored multiple souls in like one of them, literally cramped up all their data whilst AL stored himself in a big ass sanctuary like idk man that’s kind of an asshole move. And those were just the first game events! (And there’s probably even more there.)

In BZ he can’t really do anything except for talk to robin because he doesn’t have a physical form, so there’s less to go off here but even then it didn’t seem like there were other sanctuaries in BZ for the other architects. and sure, you could make the arguement that architects don’t feel at all connected to their physical forms, wich is true, but don’t you think seeing a dead architects body, an architect from his team, a colleague, would illicit some kind of emotion from him beyond “great, now fetch me their skin.” (/j) even if he doesn’t see the attachment to the vessel, if it’s all that’s left from that time and from the crew, there would still be projected attachment onto it realistically. Also he was smart enough to hide himself from alterra because he guessed they didn’t have good intentions- scraping himself off the grid both physically and on any radars they had (presumably with hallucinations), but wasn’t smart enough to distract the critters running around infront of the sanctuary to idk get the help he needed with the failing sanctuary from the mercury, marg, or the alterrans that genuinely wanted to help instead of being eaten by sharks right infront of it.

Like man I love you but that’s just messed up.

And we know he knows he messed up, that’s why he’s so gloomy and does attempt to apologize at the end but like??? He said he wanted to make amends to his people showing that he still doesn’t care about everybody else he hurt, only those he deems as important, not the over 150 people that died on the aurora or the mercury or the degasi or the sunbeam or the research specimens or even the alterrans he’s indirectly caused death to, it is all his fault but he doesn’t see these people as important because he feels they are below him - sure you could make the arguement that he didn’t know about the ships that crashed, fair point. But seemingly he did if he could sense that alterra was there without even seeing alterrans in the first place, especially because Ryley has made contact with the thermal plant and other architect tech before, so he’d definitely know- especially based on the data robin has of the missing sunbeam and aurora incident on her PDA wich he has canonically said he read through.

And I’ll say it again I love AL, next to Bart he’s probably my favorite subnautica character in the whole game series, but I don’t like the portrayel of him suddenly being completely redeemed or being an inherently good person, he still doesn’t understand empathy or morals (you can be a good person without having those, don’t get me wrong.) and acts like a total idiot whilst victimizing himself, like yes, the other architects on the mission died and it’s his fault, they weren’t stored to keep him company and that’s his fault; neither did they like him, wich is very fair in my opinion. He can’t pull all this crap, disobey orders and get everybody killed and then pull the “but I’m sad about it so that erases everything I’ve done” like oh my god. I like him, but I would also like more content showing all this.

Sorry this was a very long kinda pointless rant and I don’t have any images because my phone which has like a whole folder of these is at home and we’re still stuck in England so it’ll have to do without for now.

TLDR: I want more morally dubious AL please and also he killed a fetus (well pretty much borderline newborn at that point) so he’s going into the fictional child murderer category for me.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 63: Mission Dark

''Get out your guns, battle's begun! Are you a saint, or a sinner? If love's a fight, than I shall die, with my heart on a trigger!''

– Angel With a Shotgun by The Cab

xXxXxXx

Sonic felt waves of agony washing over his body, as if he was being pricked by thousands of tiny needles. He didn't want to even open his eyes, wishing to just fall asleep again and embrace the dark void, but the voices he was hearing in his head kept him awake. At least, he thought those voices were just in his head.

''Sonic? Sonic, wake up?''

''Lu… cas…''

The familiar voice Sonic picked up among the noise caused him to stir, slowly opening his eyes. His vision was blurry, but he had managed to take note that he was lying on a bed and that he was surrounded by people, Lucas being the most prominent one. Sonic blinked tiredly, trying to ignore the pounding in his head and tried to sit up, but was gently pushed down on the pillows by Lucas.

''You're not going anywhere,'' Lucas said in a firm tone, reaching for his hand and giving him a look of concern. ''Do you think you can perform Chaos Surge? It'll help you heal.''

''I… I think so…'' Sonic said, feeling the warm energy that developed between them, quickly absorbing it as he felt another wave of energy, this one soothing as it spread through his body, like a spring breeze. Sonic felt his body relax, focusing on the sense of relief that pushed the pain back. The moment was fleeting, however, as Lucas was forced to cut the supply of the energy to avoid hurting himself. Despite knowing that this was necessary for his partner's safety, his body still demanded more of that soothing energy.

''This should help you.'' Sensing Sonic's pain, Lucas gave him a glass of water and a painkiller pill, hoping that this would be enough for the meantime.

''Thanks,'' Sonic said, returning the glass and trying to breathe normally, only to feel pain in his chest. He winced, noting how how his chest was wrapped in bandages, with a plaster covering the cut on his cheek, as well as bandages also being carefully wrapped around his head and quills, even though he had no idea how he ended up with a head injury. He could see faint bruises underneath his peach and blue fur, but they weren't as visible on the first glance.

''Sonic, are you okay?''

''How do you feel?''

''Does it hurt a lot?''

''We thought you had died!''

Sonic finally turned his attention to the rest of his friends, with Tails, Amy, Silver and Knuckles surrounding him, while Warren, Minami, Makoto, Lily and Touka stood in the back. Touka was turned to the hallway, talking with someone Sonic couldn't see.

''I'm sorry for making you guys worry so much.'' Sonic flashed an assuring smile, his friends feeling relieved to see him being back to his usual self, but they still remained a little concerned. As for Sonic, he felt his heart sink a little when he realized that Shadow was missing. Despite that empty sensation, he still kept a positive attitude. ''This isn't anything that a chili dog can't fix.''

''Unfortunately for you, this isn't fixable with just food. You're lucky Lucas and Touka knew how to patch you up,'' Knuckles told him. Sonic gave both of them a thankful look, with Lucas nodding and Touka just waving back in acknowledgement.

''What had happened to you? We know you've been attacked by Neo Metal Sonic, but how did he end up injuring you so much?'' Tails asked.

''I… I don't really know…'' Sonic admitted, the memories of the battle flashing in the back of his mind. ''I remember him using my, Shadow and Silver's powers, along with some powerful lightning power.''

''Neo Metal Sonic is capable of copying your bio-data, which is how he was able to use all of your powers,'' Minami explained, with Sonic nodding in response.

''What surprises me is how you're still alive,'' Lily said. ''I thought Neo Metal Sonic would end your life for good.''

''That surprised me too. He told me it was an act of mercy,'' Sonic replied.

''He probably wants to fight you again later on,'' Knuckles said, with Sonic agreeing with that sentiment. He gave him a determined smile.

''If that's so, then this time, I will be ready to kick his ass,'' Sonic said.

''However, for now, you're not going anywhere,'' Lucas said. ''I know that the Chaos Surge had probably healed the worst of your injuries, but you'll still have to stay in bed and recover properly.''

This appeared to be the cue for everyone to leave, with the team wishing Sonic good luck recovering and promising too keep an eye out for Metal Sonic in case he decides to cause more trouble. Sonic was glad to have his friends' support, but that sense of emptiness still lingered in his chest… at least, until he heard someone entering the room. Sonic's eyes grew wide in disbelief.

''Shadow?'' he muttered, still stunned, only to smile, feeling a sense of relief. ''I should've figured that you wouldn't go down so easily.''

Shadow was silent, only to walk up to Sonic with a serious expression, leaving the azure hedgehog slightly puzzled. Shadow's crimson eyes flicked slightly to the side, feeling slightly anxious, and then inhaled sharply, gazing at Sonic. ''I apologize for what had happened with Neo Metal Sonic.''

''What?'' Sonic stared at the dark hedgehog, completely bewildered. ''Shadow, what happened is not-''

Shadow shook his head, his eyes narrowing as he took a more aggressive stance. ''If I had reacted just a little faster, we could've fought Neo Metal Sonic together and you wouldn't have gotten injured like this.'' He lowered his head, his fists clenched tightly, his voice heavy. ''It was… horrible seeing you in such state.''

''Shadow…'' Sonic understood well how Shadow felt, despite doing his best to keep his emotions under control. He had seen him how he acted whenever Touka was in serious danger or back when he thought that she was dead because of him, and considering how he and Shadow were now in a relationship, with Shadow willingly opening his heart to him, it wasn't surprising that his reaction to him getting hurt would be like this. Sonic could see the guilt in his eyes, and knew that the dark hedgehog would continue blaming himself for his boyfriend's condition. Sonic sighed, propping himself on his elbows in a sitting position, leaving Shadow alarmed.

''Hey, you shouldn't be moving in this condition!'' Shadow tried to help him when Sonic suddenly felt a wave of pain in his chest, leaving him wondering whether he ended up with a bruised rib. Still, he managed to lean into the pillows in a sitting position. Shadow shot Sonic a glare when he saw Sonic grinning back cheekily.

''Don't worry, I'll sleep it off,'' Sonic told him, trying to lighten the mood, with Shadow sighing.

''You could've gotten an arm ripped off and you would still call it a scratch,'' Shadow grumbled, causing Sonic to give him a half-lidded, teasing look.

''I'm sure that you would react the same way,'' Sonic told him, only for his expression to change to a more serious one, something Shadow caught on. ''You don't have to be all broody and feel guilty for Neo Metal Sonic catching you off guard. We had no idea that this would happen, and you can bet that next time, I won't let him beat me again.''

Shadow had to admit that there was something inspiring in Sonic's perpetual optimism, confidence and determination, and while he admired his positive attitude, he also had keep reminding himself that whenever the azure hedgehog got carried away, he would end up in trouble.

''I hope that in that case, you have a plan on how to take him down,'' Shadow said, only to see Sonic's expression fall, only for a sheepish smile to creep up.

''Uh, yeah! I totally have a plan,'' he said nervously.

''Let me guess; it's rushing into a battle blindly and hope for the best,'' Shadow responded in a deadpan tone. Sonic kept smiling, despite knowing that he got caught.

''I'm sure I'll come up with something eventually,'' Sonic said, with Shadow just giving him a grumpy look, arms folded across his chest. ''But, hey, I'm glad to see that you're back to your usual self, instead of kicking yourself down for what happened.'' Shadow remained silent, his gaze softening, with Sonic patting the free space on the bed, wanting him to sit down. Shadow did as motioned, with Sonic continuing, ''You know, I also thought I lost you there…''

Shadow's eyes widened and his ears drooped, realizing he completely forgot about how Sonic felt when he saw him getting hit by that lightning blast and thrown off the warship. ''Sonic…''

''It's fine, though,'' Sonic added, flashing a bright smile as he placed his gloved hand over Shadow's and squeezed it lightly. ''You're here now, and that's all that matters. In fact, I'm looking forward to our next race.''

Shadow couldn't help but smile softly. If this was months before, when they weren't as close as they were now, he probably would've been baffled by Sonic's reaction and have a hard time understanding why he acted like this. However, now he simply felt exasperated whenever Sonic made such comments and just went along with it, well aware that this was simply who Sonic was. Shadow then leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss on Sonic's temple, Sonic's ear flicking as he appreciated the sign of affection.

''You better stay and recover,'' Shadow told him, only for Sonic to pout in response.

''I'm sure I'll be fine by tomorrow,'' Sonic said, only to feel a several stings of pain piercing his body when Shadow lightly pressed his hand against his bandaged chest, causing his rival to recoil and grimace due to the aching sensation.

''I sincerely doubt it,'' Shadow said, showing only mild irritation, his voice returning back to the usual matter-of-fact tone. ''Don't do anything stupid.''

''Mmmm, but I feel like doing something stupid,'' Sonic replied, grinning cheekily, while Shadow rolled his eyes. ''Hey, don't give me that look. If I do something stupid now, I probably won't try it later.''

''Then, what do you want to do?'' Shadow asked, figuring that he could indulge a little longer. Suddenly, Sonic leaned towards him, planting a deep kiss on Shadow's lips, with Shadow reciprocating. However, it the kiss didn't last long because Sonic couldn't anymore ignore the pain in his chest and quickly pulled back, slumping back into the pillows, hurt, but satisfied. Shadow just gave him an exasperated look. ''Indeed, this is your brand of stupid.''

''It was worth it,'' Sonic replied, still grinning as he watched Shadow leave the room.

xXx

Lucas was with Touka in the living room, both of them talking about what had transpired, as well as figuring that they should give the two hedgehogs some privacy. Their attention was drawn to Shadow as he approached them.

''How is Sonic doing?'' Lucas asked.

''Good luck on keeping Sonic resting for a longer period of time. He'll bolt the moment he gets an opportunity,'' Shadow told him, with Lucas sighing.

''I'll talk to him,'' he muttered, glancing at the two. ''I suppose using Chaos Surge repeatedly would help in his healing.''

''You'll have to be careful with it and not use it recklessly,'' Touka said, giving Shadow a pointed look, her eyes narrowed. Shadow stubbornly avoided her gaze, feeling a little anxious as he knew what she meant. Lucas felt a little sorry for the dark hedgehog.

''I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for your help,'' Lucas replied, watching the two leave and quickly walking over to Sonic's bedroom, furrowing a brow when he saw Sonic attempts to get up. The moment the hedgehog saw the annoyed teenager, he quickly lied down, acting as if nothing has happened.

''Oh, hey Lucas!'' Sonic gave him an innocent smile, trying not to show how much the movement hurt him. Lucas shot him a glare, but then shook his head.

''I won't be scolding you for trying to get out of bed, but if you don't want to get yourself hurt even more and spend weeks recovering instead of a couple of days, I sincerely recommend you to just stay put,'' Lucas told him in a firm tone, with Sonic understanding that he as still in trouble and that he shouldn't challenge Lucas. He might be The Fastest Thing Alive, but he had a feeling that Lucas would somehow catch him and drag him back to rest.

''Fine, I'll stay in bed,'' Sonic said, realizing that he shouldn't fight this. There were a few things he was curious about. ''How long have I been out?''

''For a few of hours,'' Lucas replied, sitting down on the bed, figuring he should fill Sonic in on what had happened. ''The Chaotix, Rouge, Omega, Cream and Big were fighting with us against Ferra and her army of Badniks inside the Grand Metropolis AR Field, while you and Shadow, from what I understood, were stuck at Final Fortress and confronted by Neo Metal Sonic. Once you were beaten and sent to our location, Shadow had used Chaos Control to immediately warp us to our home, so Touka and I could patch you up.''

''I'm surprised that Shadow had enough energy left for using Chaos Control,'' Sonic said.

''Touka did use Chaos Surge to heal him, but the moment he saw just how bad your condition was, he became quite distraught and channelled all of that energy into Chaos Control, and then collapsed. He was actually resting on the couch in the living room with Rouge and Omega watching over him while Touka and I tended to you,'' Lucas explained. ''To say that Touka was furious at him for using all of his energy to warp everyone to Eas would be an understatement, even if she did agree to use Chaos Control to get you here. Shadow did respond how he only wanted to warp you to somewhere where you could get medical assistance, and the rest of the group just got caught in it, resulting in him depleting almost all of his energy.''

''Heh, and he calls me reckless…'' Sonic smirked.

''The Chaotix, Cream and Cheese, Big, Rouge and Omega left once we made sure that you were fine, so we waited until you woke up and could use Chaos Surge consciously instead of draining my BioEnergy instinctively, because your body did react like that while trying to heal itself from its injuries,'' Lucas added, humming in thought. ''I suppose that, even if you're an Irregular not actively going after BioEnergy, your body still recognizes it and tries to absorb it when placed in a dire situation. Speaking of which, I'm still a little tired, but I'm planning on to use Chaos Surge again to help you heal faster, so don't worry, you'll only be confined to the bed for a day or two.''

''Even that's too long,'' Sonic snarked back, his expression changing to a nervous one, followed by a sweatdrop when he saw Lucas' annoyed expression. ''I promise, this was my last quip. I'll stay put. In fact, I'll go to sleep right now.''

''Okay,'' Lucas said, standing up. ''If you need anything, just call me.''

Sonic nodded, trying to shift into a comfortable position that would help him fall asleep easier despite the aching sensation. It was a bit difficult to find a good position, as he either felt as if he was punched in the ribs or pricked by thousand needles. Even the painkiller could only do so much in numbing his senses, with Sonic deciding to let his mind wander to not think about the pain, landing eventually on the image of Neo Metal Sonic.

I wasn't strong nor fast enough to defeat him, but I'm not going to let him bring me down. That would be the moment I would be truly defeated, and I refuse for that to happen. So, as long as I can get up again, I will continue to fight.

He nuzzled his pillow, the image of Neo Metal Sonic fading away and, as Sonic nuzzled the pillow, the image of black and white fur forming in his mind. Sonic whined into his pillow, having to admit that he wished Shadow was by his side and that they could cuddle. He missed his warmth, the soft scent of lavender mixed with the bitter taste of coffee, the deep, purring voice that made his heart flutter. While he had fun messing around with Shadow whenever he was his aloof and serious self, he also loved his gentle, caring and protective side. He chuckled lightly, noting how anxious he was initially about confronting his own feelings in regards to Shadow, and now he genuinely wanted to spend time with him like this.

But, that will have to wait.

xXx

Rouge smiled contently as she observed the three people she had called to her club. Omega was already working there as the bouncer, while Shadow had recovered quickly despite the events that had happened the day before, mostly thanks to his healing factor and the fact that Touka was keeping a close eye on him to make sure that he'd be fully rested for this, even adding Chaos Surge to speed up his own recovery. After all, there was a reason Rouge and Omega appeared at Solar Stadium when Ferra and Neo Metal Sonic sent out the Badniks, and this distraction cut any conversation they had planned short. Therefore, they decided to resume it the next day at Club Rouge.

''I will cut to the chase, since none of you is interested in long conversations,'' Rouge said. ''I got a call from a client who had asked me to go on a special mission to retrieve a valuable item, and I had figured that I could bring back Team Dark for this mission.''

''Why?'' Shadow asked. ''You claim that you're the world's greatest spy, so why would you ask for help?''

''The same reason you, The Ultimate Lifeform, are willing to work together with others instead of always being on your own,'' Rouge said, smirking slyly when Shadow frowned, avoiding eye-contact with her and not responding. She then turned to Touka and Omega. ''What about you two? Do you want to join?''

''Will there be Eggman robots to destroy?'' Omega asked. Rouge put a finger on her lips as she thought about it.

''I'm not completely sure about it, but it is possible that we might come across a few robots,'' she replied.

''1% chance of encountering Eggman robots is still 1% of me getting the chance to destroy them,'' Omega said, with Rouge knowing that he agreed with the mission.

''Where are going to? What are we even supposed to retrieve?'' Touka asked, giving Rouge a questioning look. ''I need more details.''

''I was just getting to it. My client, who is working for CyExLabs, had told me that someone stole the prototype for a directed-energy generator they were working on. To put it in simple terms, the device was initially supposed to be used as a part of a new secret weapon for ARMS, but after that fiasco, my client started having second thoughts about it. The information then got leaked, and a few days later, it was gone,'' Rouge explained. ''I have spent most of my time trying to track it down, and eventually found a warehouse outside Souto posing as an auction house for so-called high-class clientele. Unfortunately, I couldn't get inside as it appears to be invitation-only and the Irregulars guarding it weren't exactly a jolly bunch. That's when I realized that I would need proper back-up.''

''How do you know that the device wasn't sold to someone by now?'' Shadow asked.

''Do you really think that I don't do my homework thoroughly, especially when I'm being offered a generous reward for completing it?'' Rouge countered, giving him a teasing smile. Shadow huffed, figuring this was less about returning a stolen item to its owner and more about getting paid in gems.

''I apologize for even asking,'' he responded in a deadpan tone. Rouge just kept smiling, well aware that he was just being grumpy, and gave the whole group a confident look.

''So, I take it that Team Dark is back in action?'' she asked. There was a firm nod from all three of her teammates, agreeing to the mission.

xXx

''Hm.'' Rouge tapped on her AR Visor eye-piece, having used the binoculars feature, having been observing the two Irregulars standing at the entrance to the warehouse. It was nighttime, and they were at an area just a bit outside Souto that was filled with various warehouses, some still in use, some abandoned. Not many people came here, and even if they did, they only minded their own business, so it was a perfect place for those with less-than-honorable intentions to do whatever they wanted. ''It seems like there are only two guards, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are more inside it.''

''It shouldn't be too difficult to knock them out without raising any alarm,'' Shadow said, pulling his own AR Visor goggles back on the top of his head. He and Rouge were crouching on top of a different warehouse, hidden from the guards as they observed the situation. As for Touka and Omega, they were on the ground, remaining hidden behind the building and waiting for the two to form their plan.

''I suppose we'll rely on your speed and combat skills for that,'' Rouge said.

''It depends on whether you want them to get knocked out or blown up. If it's the latter, I believe that Omega would be happy to contribute,'' Shadow replied. Rouge giggled at the response, with the two leaping off the building and relying the information they gathered to Touka and Omega.

''We got two guards outside, no patrols,'' Rouge told them. ''Unfortunately, we don't know whether there is anyone inside the warehouse, since no one entered or exited the building, but the light is on.''

''There are probably guards inside,'' Touka said, arms folded across her chest. ''I suppose we'll have to sneak inside. Sorry, Omega.''

''There is still 1% chance for complete destruction. There is always 1% chance for complete destruction,'' Omega replied.

''Nice to see your optimism,'' Rouge commented, placing her hand on her hip. ''I haven't seen a back entrance, but some of the windows are shattered, so we have two ways of getting inside. Touka, you're with me. Shadow and Omega, you'll take the front entrance. Don't use excessive violence unless necessary. We want to keep things clean, boys.''

Both Shadow and Omega gave her an annoyed look, while Rouge and Touka countered with a knowing look. They certainly knew their teammates well enough. After performing Chaos Surge, Rouge motioned Touka to follow her, the latter using her hoverboard to keep up with the bat. Meanwhile, Shadow and Omega were rushing towards the front entrance, keeping a close eye on the two rather burly Irregulars. Neither of them could even react when they got knocked out via a kick to the head by a dark figure who appeared out of nowhere. This was followed by Shadow and Omega dragging their unconscious bodies behind several boxes and covering them in tarp so no one would find them and get suspicious. The two then entered the warehouse.

''I know this is a warehouse, but this…'' Shadow muttered, a bit surprised by what he saw.

''It looks like a hoarder house,'' Omega finished his thought.

The two were met by mounds and mounds of clutter; robot parts, all kinds of scrap, boxes of who-knows-what, items of value like jewelry, broken household appliances, and even what appeared to be a black gun case right at the entrance. Shadow sincerely hoped that it was empty. It was a neat freak's worst nightmare, looking like whatever was brought here was just dumped without any thought, turning the whole warehouse into a maze.

''Let's start searching. If we come across someone, we'll take them down non-lethally,'' Shadow told Omega.

''What if they decide to use lethal force?'' Omega asked.

''I don't think any kind of lethal force will be enough to take the two of us down,'' Shadow told him, with Omega making a sound of disappointment. ''But, I suppose if it comes to that, lethal force is approved.''

This immediately caused Omega to perk up, with the two resuming their mission.

xXx

''Called it,'' Touka muttered when she and Rouge spotted a guard walking between the mounds of clutter. The two had entered through the broken window and landed on the catwalk, with Touka slotting her hoverboard back in the bag she was wearing on her back so it wouldn't get in her way. ''Any idea where we should start? The device could be anywhere.''

''I wouldn't be so sure about it,'' Rouge said, pointing at the mounds. ''It looks chaotic, but that mound is solely scrap metal. I think that, despite the lack of organization, certain items go on certain mounds.''

''Now that you mentioned it, yeah, I agree…'' Touka followed Rouge as they swiftly walked over the catwalk, making sure to keep as low as possible so they wouldn't be seen and making sure they didn't make any noise. The two then stopped when they saw a guard right below them, with Touka pressing a finger on her lips to make it clear to Rouge that they couldn't talk and motioning for her to stand still. Their hearts raced as the guard stopped for a moment, looking around, and then continued to walk, not noticing the two above him. Rouge and Touka quickly made their way over to the other end of the building, keeping an eye on the clutter to see whether the device was anywhere close to them as, fortunately, Rouge's client also provided them with the blueprints of the device so they at least had an idea what it looked like.

''This is like searching for a needle in a haystack,'' Touka whispered to Rouge when they reached the other end.

''Fortunately, you're with the world's greatest treasure hunter,'' Rouge replied.

BOOM!

Both Touka and Rouge recoiled when they heard an explosion from where the entrance was, their eyes wide and glancing at each other in disbelief, with Rouge muttering, ''So much for keeping a low profile…''

''I'm sure they'll be fine. Let's go!'' Touka said, grabbing Rouge's hand, with the two running across another catwalk, being ignored by the guard who rushed towards where Omega and Shadow were, not noticing the two above them.

xXx

Shadow had to admit that he was planning on sticking to the plan of not alerting anyone to their presence, but that was a bit difficult due to a partially rebuilt Badnik suddenly waking up just as they passed by, resulting in battle between the three, with Omega gleefully firing at the Badnik. While they had managed to take it down easily, it seemed that this Badnik alerted another one, which was also partially rebuilt. Shadow decided to let Omega deal with it, while he fought off the guards that came running to their location. Some of them were armed with recycled cannons taken from the Badniks, but Shadow was too fast for them, skating between them and punching them right in the face. He could hear someone shout, followed by a blast of energy, and quickly vanished in a flash of light, appearing above his attacker and knocking him down with a swift kick. He grabbed the guard by his neck, lifting him up.

''Where is the directed-energy generator?'' Shadow growled menacingly, with the guard flailing, looking rather frightened.

''I ain't got any clue man, I was just hired to guard this place! I don't do inventory!'' the guard responded in panic. Realizing that he wasn't going to get any answer from him, Shadow threw him into a mound, the latter getting knocked out due to the impact. He turned to Omega.

''Let's find someone who can give us a proper answer,'' he said, with Omega agreeing. The two then sped through the warehouse, fighting anyone who came across them, only to come across a giant polar bear Badnik. While Shadow decided not to question the presence of Badniks inside the warehouse, he did have to wonder whether Dr. Eggman had something to do with it, but part of him doubted it. As for Omega, he didn't care, pointing his cannon arms at it, firing a missile at it and damaging its chest. Shadow wanted to help him, but he was suddenly grabbed by what appeared to be a mini-mecha, tossing him right across the warehouse. The Irregular inside the mini-mecha leapt across the mounds of clutter, landing right in front of the dark hedgehog.

''Not so tough, are we?!'' The guard grinned maliciously, with Shadow getting on his feet. Chaos Energy crackling between his fingers, he rushed towards the mini-mech, avoiding the blade that popped out of its arm and damaging the leg via a summoned Chaos Spear. His AR Visor suddenly buzzed, a small holographic screen popping next to him.

''Shadow, we secured the device,'' Rouge said. ''We're going to get you and Omega.''

''No. Go get Omega and leave this place. I'll find my own way out,'' Shadow replied in a curt tone, hearing a sigh of exasperation, with the screen closing. He turned back to the mini-mech, avoiding another swing of the blade, and spin-dashing right into the chest of the mini-mech, knocking it down. The mini-mech started to spark, with the alarmed Irregular quickly abandoning it as there was a small explosion that caused permanent damage to it. Shadow then scanned his surroundings, wondering if he could find something that would point him towards an exit, only to see some kind of vehicle partially covered by a tarp. He walked up to it and removed the tarp, his eyes widening in surprise at what he saw.

He then smirked.

xXx

Omega was grappling with the polar bear Badnik, the latter having gotten too close for his long-range attacks to properly work. Fortunately for him, a white and pink explosive got dropped on the Badniks head, alongside a Chaos Spear, causing the Badnik to stumble around and Omega firing another missile to finish it off.

''We need to leave now.'' Rouge flew up to him, holding a bag with the device inside it, followed by Touka on the hoverboard, whose eyes were now glowing orange.

''Where is Shadow?'' Omega inquired, following the two to the front entrance.

''He said he'd find his own way out. Hurry up!'' Rouge replied. They suddenly heard an alarm going off, feeling a chill running down their spine when they saw the steel door slowly pulling down. Touka pressed the accelerator on her hoverboard, grabbing Rouge's arm and speeding up, with Omega being just behind them as he used his twin jets to go faster. They managed to reach the entrance just in time, getting outside the warehouse, with the steel door closing behind them.

''I really hope that Shadow made it out,'' Touka said, worried for her brother.

However, before either of them could even say or do anything, they heard an explosion from the side of the building and ran over to it, noting how part of the wall was broken. Suddenly, they heard a mechanical noise of a growling engine, with a Shadow on a black and red motorcycle leaping out of the smoke and rubble, performing a sliding bike stop as he landed on the ground, sparks flying as the metal came in contact with the asphalt.

Touka and Rouge dropped their jaws, completely baffled by this entrance, while Omega was rather impressed. Shadow, on the other hand, had a self-satisfied smirk on his lips, looking incredibly proud of himself.

''You really couldn't help yourself…'' Touka snarked after snapping out of her stunned state. Shadow revved up the bike.

''If we're done here, we should leave now,'' Shadow said, still smirking. The rest of his team could only agree, following Shadow's lead.

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[androgynousblackbox]

More stuff for this AU:

-Vox is the benefactor for the hotel and was there literally from the start. Velvette send him an email just the same as the richest motherfuckers that she could find in hell with a copypasted message, not really expecting much from the king of hell himself, but was then surprised when Vox appeared at the door of her run down apartment claiming to be "intrigued" by her proposal. After Velvette sold her pitch to him, Vox gives the biggest laugh ever and gives Velvette all the money she needs to make the hotel, promising that if this idea of her works and they can actually turn sinners into winners she will receive a lot more money. Maybe they could have a whole franchise of redemption if all turns out okay! -Vox and Mammon are greed besties. -Velvette dates Verosika. Verosika is very supportive of Velvette´s project. -Valentino is still very much a pimp and trafficker of guns that works closely with Carmilla Carmine. He came to know about the project of Velvette after she gave a passionate presentation on the news, after destroying verbally everyone who mocked her. Valentino thought to himself that he just had to be friends with such a huge bitch. -Angel Dust and Husker are angels dedicated to the extermination. The extermination is kept a secret from the rest of heaven still, including his own twin sister Molly, who he lives with. -Adam is the oldest sinner on all of hell and the first official resident of the Hazbin Hotel. He fucking hates Vox for condeming him there, but Vox literally has no recollection of who the fuck is him. That must have been data that got lost on one of his many updates. Adam is so fucking tired of hell that will do anything to get the fuck out of there. -Lute is the second resident and a fallen angel who fell when she tried to make Husker fell. Angel Dust found her out before she could do much and casted her away instead. Originally she just wanted a place to crash, but ends up staying because it's not that bad of a place after all. -Velvette has a crush/hate on Charlie because "she is not even that pretty, I mean fuck, if Lucifer wanted a good looking bitch I could have been that" and Verosika is 100% the kind of girlfriend to be there, nod and say "yeah, babe, you are so right, you are so much prettier. Honestly Lucifer missed a chance when he didn't pick you up as his fake daughter." Velvette is also the number one fan of Charlie because clout (and also she is pretty, fuck it). -Alastor literally came back to the tower after reporting on some event on a mobile station and Lucifer had already adopted Charlie, on whom he dotted and pampered on as if she was his actual daughter. He didn't get it, but Lucifer seemed happy in a way he haven't seen him in a long time so of course he let it slide (after investigating on Charlie's background to make sure that she wasn't scamming Lucifer). After realizing that Charlie had no bad intentions whatsoever and didn't represent any danger for Lucifer, only then he started to warm up to her and treat her as his own surrogate daughter too. Obviously, since Lucifer was his then obviously they were going to have the same family too.

-Alastor at the start didn't want anything to do with Lucifer, prefering to do the overlord shit on his own, but Lucifer kept following him around and helping him out so much that he realized that it was for the best for the two of them remain together. Lucifer fell first, but Alastor fell harder kind of deal. -Lucifer had a wife and daughter when he was alive, but he was killed for an investigation he was conducting when his daughter was literally just a baby and he always regretted not being able to be there for her. Charlie fills that void for him, even if he knows the dates don't match up at all and Charlie could really never been his daughter. He was so lucky that Charlie herself carried on with her own daddy issues that makes her suck up all the affection like a sponge, instantly. -Both Alastor and Lucifer also received emails from Velvette offering to be sponsors for her hotel. They never even read it. Alastor has Sir Pentious as an assistant who reads all that crap for him and deleted it instantly because he thought it was a scam (and he was right). -Emily is the demon maid of the hotel and literally the only person who believes in redemption. Nobody has the heart to tell her that it's all bullshit made for profit, not even Vox.

(this AU is available for asks, btw! Maybe I can get inspired to write something else)

[lets-try-some-writing]

Hey there, I just wanted to say that you got me hooked on your "The Grim Dark Archives" content. Like, it's a whole twist on the normal "I´m the truly nice and benevolent protector of the innocent" and all that stuff without being a full SG au, and I love it.

The idea that, despite all, the bots are aliens...and that they have their own personal agenda and way to do things, which is completely different from the human way in all senses, is both terrifying and awesome. Now, I´m dying to know more of the au, and most importantly...how the tfp trio fits in this dark version of the tfp world.

In canon, the bots truly love them...but in this au? 1) Either they don't, but pretend they do, or the most horrifying option...2) They do, truly do, they love them to the point of madness...but in their own way, which will put everyone around the kids (cause I see them trying to hide this behavior from the kids as to make things less stressing for their charges and easier for them) on edge.

Anyway, I love your content in general, my dude. I can't wait to the next post, wish you the best!

Oh I have PLANS for the TFP kids in TGDA. Both of the options you listed are partially correct. I don't want to give TOO much away, but to put it simply, in that AU, Cybertronians do not love, period. At least, not like us.

To them, bloodline, faction, function, and usefulness define everything. Everyone has a goal and ambition, and unfortunately for the children, they fall into the useful category. Not being born Cybertronian and consequently into any group means they are not kin. Their allegiance is not yet cemented so they are not yet part of the faction. And their function is so unknown to the bots as to be unworthy of trying to decipher. That leaves them only with their usefulness to keep them alive.

I will say this:

Optimus wants Rafael alive for a reason, and he has tasked Bumblebee with his care.

Jack keeps Arcee's attention off the team, and so until he expires naturally, he is to be kept alive at all costs.

Miko is a distraction for the Wreckers, ensuring they do not begin falling out of line.

June is allowed to remain because Ratchet wants to know everything about the fleshies on Earth.

Fowler is tolerated because he is a source of data. Other agents are not actively hunted, but they are not well regarded either.

I am so pleased The Grim Dark Archives has caught your attention! I write for it sporadically, but I am so very happy it is beginning to garner attention :D

[digimonirl]

It's a sad inevitability that all good things come to an end, including our time with our Digimon. But, every ending is just a chance for a new beginning and with Digimon that means the start of a new growth cycle! Today we're going to be touching on the Digimon life cycle, focusing on how to care for a digitama and what to do while you wait for your partner's new life to begin!

First off, for the newer Tamers in the audience, Digimon do not "die" at the end of a growth cycle. Think of it more like a transformation; the Digimon will shed excess data and surround their Digicore in a hard protective shell while reforming their remaining data into a Stage I form. A Digimon is strictly speaking alive for every step of the process and even if we humans find it useful to assign terms like "brith" and "death" to the process, it's important to keep in mind that Digimon cultures tend to think of it more as a period of rest and rejuvenation rather than a strict end or start to one's life.

Next up we have the tamas themselves! Digitamas, or Digieggs if you prefer, are the natal stage of all Digimon with no real exceptions. Despite looking like the kind of eggs you'd find here on Earth, tamas are actually incredibly durable and require no outside heat to incubate. Fragments of tamas donated for research have been shown to withstand puncture wounds and small caliber fire without so much as a scratch! Lastly, Digitama also display a wide variety of colors and patterns. Patterns seem to be unique to the individual as there is no correlation between the colors displayed on the egg and what species it will hatch into. This is consistent between naturally occurring Digitama and ones that were created via a data composition machine, leading researchers to believe that the color of one's tama is analogous to finger prints in us humans!

"But Lady", I hear you asking, "That's all well and good but how do I care for a Digiegg if they just seem to hatch on their own?". Don't worry friend, there's actually a lot you can do for your partner to help them along in the hatching process! To keep things convenient for mobile readers, I'll be formatting this section into bullet points.

1. Prepare a nest or incubator for the tama: It is true that tamas don't need outside heat to incubate, but a safe environment for both the tama and the resulting newborn is always going to be ideal. Incubators are the high end solution to this, most models being the Digimon equivalent of those backpacks you can buy to carry your pets around in. They're temperature controlled and very easily portable, most actually do have straps to make them into backpacks, so it's hard to argue against getting one. That being said, if you can't afford the steep price tag, a nest will do just fine friend. Bunch up some old blankets and pile them onto a sturdy pillow and your new friend will hatch just as well as one kept in a fancy incubator.

2. Wait: The time it takes for tamas to hatch varies between individuals, and can even vary between an individual Digimon's growth cycles. Some artificial Digitama have been observed hatching in as little as ten minutes, while the longest recorded hatch time for a naturally occurring Digitama was a little under a month! Generally speaking though, most tamas take about three to five days to hatch regardless of their point of origin. Don't be stressed if your friend takes a little longer than usual, you can't rush growth.

3. Be prepared for change: While it is true that most Digimon's Stage I and II forms remain fairly consistent, it is still ultimately as random as digivolution. I've already done a resource post on what to do immediately after a tama hatches so I won't go too in depth here, but it is worth repeating that you should be ready to accept change as it comes and be prepared to help your partner with basic tasks for the few days to weeks it'll take them to reach Stage III again.

4. Last but not least, care for yourself: Even if we know our partners aren't gone forever, waiting for them to hatch can take its toll on us Tamers. It's important to keep yourself busy during this time and to use it to enrich your life away from your partner. I always take time between growth cycles to tidy up around the house and give myself a spa day. I think that having a clean home and a refreshed attitude helps both you and your partner come into this new experience with a better foot forward but you can do whatever will make you happiest! There's no right or wrong way to care for yourself, as long as you put in the effort it'll pay off.

That's all we have for now friends! As always, make sure to send us any questions y'all have on today's post and we'll try to answer them as they come. Good luck, and we hope that y'all's partners hatch soon!

[lollytea]

Just want to bring up a question about the Grom curse thing, this implies that a curse can be made by can be made per se by strong emotions. This also may have given Belos the idea of "the dangers of wild magic" he could've conveniently corrupted people who posed a great threat to him. just a thought

Oooooh!!

I'm hesitant to call Grometheus' fate a curse because I can't say for certain if that's what it is. TOH is kinda vague about how curses in this universe work or what defines them.

It's never clarified if Belos' problem is technically a curse like he claims or just some stupid shit he did to himself, without considering the possibility that the glyph/palisman magic might be uncooperative with his (at the time) human body.

I don't imagine that what Grometheus endured was a traditional curse like Eda but rather, something more similar to Darius (and maybe Belos a bit too)

Alright so, this is just a headcanon but I've always figured that this talent Darius has for shifting his whole body, flesh, bones and all, into goo mode wouldn't be like. Standard abomination magic stuff. This track is the study of controlling goo, not becoming goo. So, the stuff he's pulling off here is near impossible for any normal witch.

So, in my opinion, Darius is simply not normal. He was born with a capacity for magic that is far beyond that of a normal witch and equates to being extremely powerful. Anyway his mastery over abominations became so natural to him, as simple as breathing that his physical body went through an innate "transfusion" of sorts where he basically became one with his magic.

Cases like these are very rare and usually only crop up if a witch has bonded their soul to one specific area of magic. So if goo is what's making Darius' bile sac overheat, goo is what he's gonna be.

So, for example, another born powerful witch like Eda, who is a jack of all trades, wouldn't have developed something like this (even if her curse hadn't hindered her.) because there's too many spells and techniques being practised but no outright obsession that is being mastered enough to completely dilute her bloodstream.

Well, possibly. It's unknown if a witch can achieve this form with mixed magic. The condition is rare enough that not a lot of data has been collected yet.

Giuls and me have been exploring the same idea with Willow

(There's a lot more in-depth biological details about how this whole thing works but Giuls will probably talk more about all that at some point)

Anyway!! Grometheus!!

So, what I imagine is that Darius is an example of a successful fusion between physical form and magic, while Grometheus was an example of the same thing Gone Terribly Wrong.

See, in Darius' case, he managed to achieve a perfect union between his own sense of identity and the magic that had become part of him.

But in Grometheus' case, that did not happen.

They began as person who collected the essence of others for their research. They hoarded fears inside their own mind for years and years, maybe even decades. That's thousands and thousands of souls that they stole those fears from.

That's far too much for a normal witch to handle. But Grometheus was not a normal witch. They were powerful enough to endure it. Or at least they thought.

It was too much. Far too much. It was like deathly bacteria damaging everything inside of you. A slow and steady rot. Think food that's gone bad that's been there for months. That was the magic inside of Grometheus.

I dont imagine that this corruption was directly caused by Grometheus' negative emotions. But rather, those emotions weakened their resistance to the swarming fear that was consuming them. Maybe if they had been stronger or happier or had people around who reminded them why they were alive, they could have realized what was happening before it was too late.

There still would have been long lasting damages. But they may have been able to find the balance between themself and the magic and kept their identity intact.

But soon enough, the fear ate away at everything else that remained of Grometheus. They lost who they were. They didn't know who they had ever been.

They were no longer a witch who collected fears. They were simply the vessel for fear itself.

It's a little unclear what this ask means but I don't imagine that Belos was the one who corrupted Grometheus, if that's what it's implying. Although yes, he probably would have used this case as effective propaganda.

At the time of Grometheus' corruption, this concept of physical form and magic fusion was unheard of. No cases had been documented yet. So Belos could conveniently twist it as an example of the dangers of wild magic.

However, as times changed and studies continued, this condition became more well known in the Healing Coven as a perfectly natural (if rare) biological evolution.

Sadly, it had not yet been theorized that Grometheus' case was anything other than a reckless use of wild magic, rather than a condition that wound up destroying them because nobody knew enough to help.

The truth doesn't come to light until after their vessel was slain in the Hexside arena, but they were hardly still alive in there anyway. The truth is delivered by Gus Porter, who saw everything through their eyes during that one moment where he dissected them with his amplifier mirror.

So now, Gus has absorbed it all. The thousands upon thousands of fears all melted together into a sickening tarry contamination. Gus inherits everything that consumed Grometheus and now it resides in his own mind.

And that's where we currently stand and now the question hangs in the air. Can Gus achieve a successful physical and magical transfusion the way Darius did? Or is he in danger of losing himself to the rot?

[quasi-normalcy]

So the thing about Star Trek: Picard is...

Say what you will about the first season, but it’s meaningful. In fact, Rios says explicitly what it’s about in the fourth episode: “the existential pain of living with the consciousness of death and how it defines us as human beings.” Pretty much all of the character arcs are about different reactions to this, and the supposed “grimdarkness” of the setting reinforces this point; the Federation has become reactionary and xenophobic because it was a utopia that experienced mass death right on its doorstep for the first time in living memory. The conflict with the Synths is ultimately rooted in the fact that we die; they don’t. The fact that the finale was called “Et in Arcadia ego” really just telegraphs this; “Even in Arcadia [utopia], I [Death] am.”

And the second season, for all its many flaws, carries this theme forward, proposing that love, togetherness, and companionship are the only meaningful candles in the dark. Q is dying; he awaits meaning, and he doesn’t find it. And so he opts instead to do one last favour for Jean-Luc so at least he can spare his favourite mortal from his own fate of dying alone. Jurati is able to connect with the Borg Queen because she recognises that her own motivation is something similar: the Queen can feel herself dying across infinite realities and she doesn’t want to be alone. Seven and Raffi find each other; Rios gives up his entire life for a shot at love. It’s an infernal mess, a budget-saving exercise in want of a plot, but I’m going to be honest: I kind of adore it. I think it’s beautiful for all its flaws.

Throughout the first two seasons, we have serious contemplations of transhumanism and identity in the face of death. Picard escapes death using technology, even as his friend, a living machine, embraces his end as a necessary part of being human. Soji loses her identity even as she gains knowledge of herself as an immortal android. Jurati too embraces transhumanism and, to some extent, loses her identity by so doing, but–in an interesting twist for Star Trek–this is not stigmatized; this is framed as what’s best for her. All of this is philosophically rich, high-octane fuel for thought, as speculative fiction should be.

The third season, meanwhile–for all that I have loved (some of) the nostalgia hits injected directly into my veins–bugs me because of how absolutely lightweight it feels. Death is gone. Not just as a theme, but gone from the narrative. Sure we kill off Ro, and T’Veen, and Vadic, and Shelby, and Shaw, but it feels like nothing. Death holds no dominion; Data is back; so’s the Enterprise-D; so’s Q (or maybe he’s come in from an earlier point in his timeline; it’s not clear). Kirk apparently is alive again, resurrected offscreen sometime after Generations and kept in a covert warehouse awaiting new adventures. Apparently Terry Matalas has already formulated plans for bringing Todd Stashwick back if when he gets his “Legacy” spinoff. I’m half-surprised that they didn’t reveal that Romulus magically popped back into existence in a background Okudagram somewhere. The Federation is as “grimdark” as it has ever been depicted, but unlike the first season (or Deep Space Nine, or even the first season of Discovery), this is never seriously interrogated or problematised. We go through the motions, cargo-cult-like, of moral debate in episode 7, but it’s not connected to anything. We hear that Vadic was the product of Section 31 war crimes; Picard looks shaken up by this, but then he and Beverly immediately decide to commit some war crimes of their own by executing her. This is never mentioned again. The whole exercise feels perfunctory, as I have said above: like ten-year-olds playing with action figures. It doesn’t feel like Picard, and frankly, for all of the surface detail it gets right, it feels even less like TNG.

So no; I’m not pleased that the first two seasons were ignored.

[thegreenhordes]

Twilight's Notes. Case File: Nurse Redheart

Incident Report: Unfortunately, it seems Cheerilee progressed to a stage 2 Growler last night during Nurse Redheart's rounds. She has been helping a lot with research and keeping both the later and early stage infected as healthy as possible. However, during a routine checkup with Cheerilee, she surpassed the previous expected progression rate by almost a week and attacked Nurse Redheart as she was preparing to leave. Her teeth tore right through the protective gear and into her side. Luckily stage 2 Growlers don't often perform persistent attacks and once Redheart was bitten Cheerilee backed off. Redheart was able to leave the room without further incident and immediately locked herself in another observation room. Only time will tell if she'll recover, she already has a fever.

Day Three: Early infection has taken full hold and prognosis isn't good. We've administered every medication at the highest safe dosages and kept Nurse Redheart on bed rest but treatment hasn't done much good. Her sweating and lethargy is getting worse, and the bite wound has started to fester and ooze despite being kept clean and bandaged. I'm starting to worry that we might lose one of our best members of the medical staff. She tries to keep a brave face, but I can see the fear in her eyes. Medical supplies are running low- Some of the Pegasi have offered to go on a supply run for more, they'll be leaving later today.

Day Seven: It's almost midnight and Redheart has officially been declared unsaveable. I'm heartbroken, she and I had really started to bond. Knowing that her fate is sealed has me feeling horrible. Protective gear has been under review and stronger armored pieces are being considered. I can't let any more medical personnel get bit. I'm going to bed now, Redheart's sudden proclivity to staring is unnerving.

Day Eleven: We've had to keep all the lights off in the area around her room, she says the light feels like it's burning. The last thing I want is to hurt her. She may be infected, but so long as her mind remains intact I want to keep her comfortable. Aside from an abnormal degree of light sensitivity compared to other infected, Redheart seems to be progressing towards Type 1. No facial pustules yet, but she has the drool, persistent itching eyes and oozing bite. Irritability and Insomnia are also present. Her staring is indicative of a Type 2 however, so we're keeping observation to a minimum to avoid aggression. She keeps asking about 'the shadow ponies' she keeps seeing in her periphery. Hallucinations have been noted in her symptom file.

Day Nineteen: Something is wrong, Nurse Redheart has reached the point where she should be showing clear outward pustule growth and more aggressive tendencies- but she is currently the most docile of all the subjects. It's odd, I don't know what to make of it. Whenever somepony enters the hall of the observation lab she seems to be able to tell almost immediately and starts calling out to the visitor. But, when the visitor reaches her room she goes suddenly quiet and just stares at them from the far corner of the room. If they leave her sight she starts talking again, mostly greetings and simple requests. I visited her early this morning, and she called out to me "Oh hello, so nice to see you." Five. Times. Before I reached the observation window. Her voice was so... monotone. This doesn't feel like the normal progression paths that have been documented so far. She has pustules growing Inside Her.

Day Twenty-Three: New Data, Nurse Redheart was successfully sedated after multiple failed attempts over the last three days. Samples were taken from the pustules in her mouth and blood was drawn. I was also able to finally get a good look at her body. This isn't Nurse Redheart anymore. I don't think it has been for a while. She's still alive, there's breathing and a heartbeat, but her skin sags like there's something else wearing her hide. Examination of her extremities during sedation showed that her legs were malformed, like they'd broken in multiple places and healed over wrong. her teeth were normal, except for the four pointed fangs at the back of her mouth. I also looked at her eyes, and she- She Looked at me. Like the sedatives only immobilized her, but she was still awake. The samples taken from the infected revealed that it had indeed mutated. Nurse Redheart, or what is left of her, is now known in the infection logs as a "Type 3". Right now she is the only known Type 3. If she stays isolated then spreading this mutation can hopefully be halted- though recurrence in the wild isn't out of the realm of possibility. The others say I should nip this in the bud and put her down, we don't know what she's capable of. If she's still in an early stage of progression or if progression has stopped. She was still docile when she woke, but she doesn't speak to me anymore when I enter the lab. It knows that I know what it is, and what it isn't anymore, so the infected has ceased its communicative behavior.

Day Thirty: It screamed bloody murder when I entered the lab and wouldn't stop until I left. I've cast a spell to dampen the sound enough to do my work... I'll be suspending this study for the time being. Further Updates Pending.

[absolutely-normal-about-x]

Okay going in that direction if Volnutt is a descendant of X (Created from his Data after all). It can bring a whole slew of implications.

Shout of for @/Waythroughtheice for the idea 💥

In terms how Trigger/Volnutt being aware of this fact

Trigger doesn’t know about the lineage and is kept as extremely secret as possible. He just assumes he’s based on X by coincidence.

But of course The Master knows about the lineage (you can’t tell me events of the X to ZX would be would have records left remaining in Elysium’s library and the Maverick hunters would revered as fuck especially X). The biometal Data would have been stored in extreme security but I imagine over the years they were either lost or destroyed. Because of how important X is in Elysium, his Biometal data was preserved the longest. Only the highest members of Elysium are aware of this fact (COUGH The Master) But still we know that trigger and the master were very good friends according to the games so it’s likely that trigger might have been kinder compared to the rest of the purifier units.

Despite following the Master System like the other Units. Trigger followed The Master’s wishes and orders to end the Master system cause he knows it’s the right thing to do, secretly he loathed the Carbon Reinitialization Program.The idea of sacrificing the lives of innocent carbons for the “pure” humans to exist again makes him sick. Even if it means fighting Elysium itself.

When he was reborn as Volnutt, he had absolutely no idea where he came from. Only Data knows that Trigger’s most vital data was stored within him.

Unlike Trigger, Volnutt is similar to his father. But unlike X, Volnutt lives in a world of peace and adventure. Being an adventurous digger finding treasure and helping folks. But also never enjoys fighting, only using it when it’s needed.

He wonders if even has parents or a family like Roll. He hopes to one day meet or find them…only crashing down once he learns about his identity as Megaman Trigger meaning that he doesn’t have parents or family like Roll and everyone else on Terra.

He would have found out his “Dad” but unfortunately only has basic information about him. It made Volnutt feel lonely knowing that he has absolutely no one alive in his past aside from Data. Lamenting that he was born thousands of years after the death of his Family.

But it’s okay honestly, he has Roll, the Caskett Family, Tron, and the people that he’s helped. So he isn’t completely alone and he’s fine with it! Content even. But deep down, he wants to meet them.

The Youngest Child of X, Grandson of Light now inherits the new world that he must protect. A bizarre yet poetic tradition, it’s unfortunate that the Four Guardians Of Neo Arcadia were never given the same opportunity as their youngest brother did. He’s a spitting image of his dear Father that he’ll never meet. Unlike X who at least has Dr. Light’s Ai and some info on his Family.

But Volnutt? He’ll never get that opportunity like he did. He’ll never get to meet or know his father, Siblings, Aunts, Uncles and Grandfathers. Thinking about it Volnutt would have gotten the most Largest yet Loving Family ever known. A family that would do anything to protect and care for their youngest.

Oh X would have loved Volnutt so much, he would have been the proudest yet loving father of Terra towards Volnutt.

Maybe in different world where it’s kinder,Volnutt would of gotten to be apart of that Family.

[boundinparchment]

Dream a Little Dream of Me - XXIX

Celestia has a cruel sense of humor. He’s always known this, ever since his days as a student. But a soulmate? Really? Dottore/Female Reader Soulmate AU. Lore speculation, interpretations, etc. On AO3 here.

Assessing damages to neural networks…structural integrity…Initiating self-repair sequence…

Not that Prime did much damage to begin with, Omega noted.  He held back on purpose.  Prime may have intervened but he would not ruin the chance to get the necessary events back on schedule.  

All for her.

Did the fool even understand what he was doing?

He’d set up the perfect experiment to deal with her.  Omega wove memories together as one would a tapestry, assembled a life with her without the need for an archaic system such as soulmates, and kept her shut away from everything.  She couldn’t interfere with anything; she was too busy sleeping.  And if her mind was occupied in another space in the Akasha, she couldn’t dream with Zandik, with the Prime segment that could not afford distractions.

Besides, hadn’t he proven himself to be better, more efficient?  Emotions had no place in his synapses; the only value worth considering was the potential outcome, if the benefits outweighed the costs.

Something Omega, inorganic and playing at being human, would never feel.  He had the notion of it, had his own priorities and drives and processes that dictated his existence.  But the gap between human and machine…Prime was close to sealing it but even then…he never truly got it just right.

All the while, circuitry fixed itself, wires corrected their positions, his repairs as easy as breathing.  Omega rose from the floor slowly, testing joints and limbs and sensing for areas in need of further repair.  Steam hissed through the pipes, and the floor gave a low rumble beneath the Segment’s feet, the energy making its way elsewhere as it powered the facility.  

He would be better than any human in every capacity, not bogged down by emotions, by the necessity of constant maintenance.  

Fundamentally, that meant he would never truly exist as Prime did.  He was not driven by insatiable curiosity, by a need to ask the questions people were too afraid to, only by the selfish desire to meet his goals as dictated by his parameters.  

Omega was as alive as anyone else, deserving of recognition, of adoration.  Wasn’t he?

Why did Prime get everything?

He was the better Zandik in all but organic matter and name.

And therefore just as deserving of…

Of what, precisely?

If soulmates were nothing but divinity pulling its strings, why did Omega want it at all?  That would be taking several steps backwards; he had no use for such trivial sentiments and yet…

Yet he could only think in circles.

His inorganic systems did their best to process the raw data and emotions that Prime flooded his system with.  One moment, it felt as if he were undergoing maintenance, his circuitry on a table before him while his physical form lay empty, hollow.  

Another, as if he’d absorbed Electro energy and the only places it could go were his own wiring, the energy jolting through his systems.  

Notes played through his memory banks and his artificial heart pumped so out of rhythm that he thought it would burst at their mere sound.

No, as if it was trying to imitate the rhythm, to sync up to them.  He only ever followed his own beat and his own melody but every part of him… yearned…

Hoped.

Had Omega not also been hopeful?  That the cellist would have provided some kind of insight into the workings of Celestia, how soulmates were chosen and tied together?  That perhaps, like Delusions did for Visions, the Celestial Bond could have been subverted entirely and no one without such a connection needed to suffer in solitude.  

Prime clearly hoped for something different, however.

Omega felt what he could only frame as a steady fire in his stomach that undercut everything else; passion never dying, never stopping. 

A different perspective that still understood, fundamentally, what it was to have this sensation inside oneself that fueled everything.  A Segment would never meet that need, Omega rationalized.  How could it?  After all, he was only a branching path off of Zandik himself.

He was Zandik but he also was not.  

So then, who was he?  What was he, Omega, if not Zandik?  Why did he suffer as Prime did, if they were not the same?

Were they not both monsters?  What monster deserved happiness?

With every segmentation, all Prime ever seemed to do was further give credence to the notion that he was never going to be accepted, fulfilled, loved by anything other than his creations, than himself.  It drove Omega to the brink time and again when the hivemind began to quietly chatter and then tear one another down.  Jealousy was not uncommon, especially among the older Segments who longed for the years of the Younger ones, uninhibited by all but experience.  

Peace.  Hope.  All things that supposedly soulmates helped with.

But there was none to be found inside Zandik, deep in the bowels of the wretched organ that was considered to be his heart.  Or at least, there hadn’t been.

A flash of white crossed Omega’s vision, not unlike a refresh reboot of his operating systems, obscuring the corridor in front of him.  Instead of his interface, Omega saw her , unafraid, a gloved hand brushing away a strand of unruly hair, felt a hand in his as fingers flexed in response to her touch, awed not only by beauty but by the sheer unwavering steadiness of it all.  Something inside his chest cavity gave a small ‘pop’ and the sensations stopped, the scene disappearing in an instant and replaced by a slightly blurry view of the metal grating and pipes.

His ocular sockets felt damp.  

Omega adjusted the mask across his eyes and then brought a hand up to his hair, shaking slightly as he laughed to himself.  

No, no segment would ever be able to provide that .

Prime was such a fool.

[innernachoesandguacamole]

Input You, Output You

(I understand this may be completely redundant as there’s only so many ways one can describe the very simple and intuitive concept of ‘just be’, but my mind has run in circles with ‘what about the circumstances or senses’ despite the principle being repeated a million times over, so I thought I’d put my thoughts down to help myself better understand it, and hopefully help others better understand through this interpretation!)

I’ve recently been spending more time on my phone that I’d like on brain-numbing, meaningless stuff

Not just social media, but mindless mobile games

Just being inundated with excessive visual and aural stimulation that says nothing, means nothing once the app is closed

I feel drained and disconnected afterwards

I can’t engage with family or friends as much as I like, my thoughts drift back even when I’m not actively scrolling or playing, it’s like my mind becomes a jumbled pile of brainrot mush that doesn’t even make me happy

Yet I find myself going back again and again for that comfortable, predictable stimulation

But I recently came across an ig reel by Adam / etymologynerd that’s lingered in my mind since first watching: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_VnTi2Pjg8/?igsh=djFuYnNtZnY0c290

If you don’t feel like watching he’s discussing how ai generated content’s ability to make comprehensible… anything is solely due to the massive amounts of human-created data it’s trained on

It doesn’t actually understand or create like a person does because it’s a pattern predictor, not a soul or individual being

Once it starts training on itself it loses that conscious discerner and so the outputs get less coherent until it eventually eats its own tail and just makes nonsense

Same thing can be applied to you because the human mind-body is itself a pattern predictor that spits out whatever it’s fed - think solving an equation, drawing from past experience, a mediocre song stuck in your head because you were fed it against your will by spotify’s stupid algorithm and now you’re singing the lyrics, your internal clock being fucked up because you kept sleeping at 3am lol

The mind-body is not its own conscious entity, it can’t do anything by itself

But even with all these seemingly automatic thoughts and actions, you always have the ability to consciously step out and change the scene

You as the observer bring it into existence and continue to keep it alive through your awareness of it

If you allow your awareness to follow or focus on a certain belief or habit, your world will naturally adjust to output that initial belief again and again and again

This doesn’t necessarily have to be inherently good or bad; it’s up to you to continuously check on the data you choose to input

Are you content with what you are observing? If not, why have you not already tweaked your dataset?

As you continue to submit your power to the primitive, lifeless machine of the mind-body with manufactured fears and desires and identities, does your life feel like it’s losing meaning? Do you want enough to escape that comfort of familiarity in order to go beyond?

Is the reward of loving yourself, of returning to yourself enough for you to step out of the cycle into the vastness of infinity, even with initial resistance and garbage outputs from the pattern predictor?

Remind yourself of your autonomy again and again

Your inner foundation trains your ‘AI’ to imitate the input of your focused attention and your being

Take time to take a step back from the generated illusion and focus on what speaks to you :) as the dataset consolidates, the output will naturally reflect it

Don’t worry about the how or when

You don’t need to source, blueprint, or assemble the parts of the machine in order to install it and reap the rewards

Know it’s part of you and let the magic happen

Input ____, output ____

That’s all :)