#detroit become daycare attendant

[parznite]

DETROIT BECOME DCA

I FINALLY FINISHED MY DETROIT BECOME HUMAN DCA AU DESIGNS! More information about the AU will be under the cut.

TW: MENTIONS OF ABUSE / NEGLECT / VIOLENCE / DEATH - Similar to the original game. They can be found under the tags "detroit become DCA" or "detroit become daycare attendant"

MAIN CAST

Moondrop; who is a detective prototype similar to Connor in the original games. He is an android created to work on all deviant and missing children cases. He works closely with Lieutenant Vanessa, who despite his best efforts to work with, never really seems to like him due to her own personal reasons with Androids. They work together with the idea that Deviant Androids are the reasons Children are missing. Moondrop eventually turns to deviancy after seeing the impact humans have on them and how neglect affects others. (After Moondrop met Sunny and Y/N)

Sundrop or just "Sunny" as Y/N has called him ; who is a caretaker similar to Kara in the original games. He is a caretaker who was purchased by Y/N's parents to take care of Y/N where they lacked. However, things turned to the worst and Sunny did what he thought was best. Run away with Y/N and take Y/N to a safe place, away from the neglectful hands of Y/N's parents.

Y/N or "YOUR NAME"; who is in place of Alice from the original games. However Y/N is a full human. A child who enjoyed the simple things in life, now on the run with the only companion they have left in the world. Terrified and scared as the revolution begins, never turning their back on Androids. Knowing that Sunny has only ever done stuff that was best for them, even if that meant saying goodbye to those who hurt them.

SECONDARY CAST

Freddy; who is a caretaker similar to Markus, taking care of Gregory a child set under his care. In an accident due to the neglect of Gregory's parents, he unfortunately dies. As the authorities arrive, the parents turn the story on Freddy having him decommissioned. However, Freddy returns with a new lease on life and is ready to show that Androids were never the problem. Wanting justice for all androids and wanting those who hurt children to be brought to justice.

Lieutenant Vanessa; who is a police officer with the DPD, similar to Hank in the games. She is assigned the deviant and missing children cases. Forced to work with Moondrop, she despites it but only looks forward as he makes her job easier. Vanessa never seems to fully bond with Moondrop, only really seeing him as a colleauge.

Trap "Glitch" ; who is similar to Amanda from the games. Trap is the inner mentor for Moondrop, who has more ill intentions, looking to resume the deviants programing at the perfect time. To solve the deviancy case and the missing children cases once and for all. However, despite his name being also known as "Glitch" - He is known to abuse the fragile code of Moondrop so he can get better outcomes that will favour Cyberlife.

[loreleilarai]

The new dlc gave me... Ideas.

So, I was thinking about a reader blind from birth. I don't know much about people with those disabilities but I could investigate, and as far as I know they depend on others (either people or pets) not to get run over in the street and that sort of thing.

Y/N is studying to be a lawyer, them has been studying for two years and his parents gave him a bot to take care of them on his 20th birthday. Sun and Moon, two personalities in one body.

Sun is in charge of cooking, ironing and laundry or going outside, equipped with a cheerful and sociable attitude. Moon is something like the bodyguard, in case things get ugly he will go out either day or night, if Y/N goes out at night Moon will be the one outside not because of the light, but because in his programming is that it is dangerous at night. They both take care of Y/N's cleanliness and care, helping them reading aloud the law books while Y/N transcribes everything into Braille. This gives Y/N a little more freedom, without depending on other ... people.

Y/N has a pet dog, but every day them are visited by his parents, aunts or etc. They would like him not to be a burden to others and they strives to live for himself, in the end the visits are reduced and both Sun and Moon get attached to this human.

Here everything takes a direction more like Detroit Become Human, the robots want rights and the divergents are killed and thrown in a dumpster like scrap metal. Y/N is always curious about that, but Sun and Moon would rather not know about that news.

Things are slowly escalating with the robotic revolution, Moon and Sun don't want to mess with that stuff. They are fine here, reading for Y/N, taking walks in the park, giving the dog baths, charging through solar power while Y/N sits sunbathing beside them, having a quiet and peaceful domestic life. Of course there are feelings involved, Y/N is very grateful to Sun and Moon, and they love this life with their human. They are all in love and don't know how to approach it.

Of course things are not as everyone wishes, the peace and quiet is gone when one day, Sun go shopping for groceries and don't come back.

Y/N and his dog go out in search of Sun and Moon, even calling their parents for help, and the next day they find them at the entrance of a dumpster.

Sun, or maybe Moon have been smashed and burned. Y/N can't see but they can feel the heat, the ash, the dented metal and runs her hands over the mangled body. They are crying along with his dog, and his parents tell him they will get another bot for them, but Y/N doesn't want a new robot.

Y/N insists on fixing them, and his parents agree, telling him they'll try to help but in the end they don't assure him that a mechanic can help them. They take Sun and Moon home, in the backyard, in the sun. And somehow their solar panels in Sun's rays work properly.

They turn on, but they don't feel fully themselves, they're trapped in this Eclipse form. To clarify, Eclipse is not a third personality here! Sun and Moon exert their presence at the same time and every action is calculated in a millisecond by both of them in a quick discussion.

Now the tension of the revolution has increased, no one is safe anymore.

Y/N is looking for a mechanic, but everyone refuses to repair any kind of walking robot. It's a kind of new law, they can't fix any robot until the divergent problem is solved.

So, they have to live like this, Y/N helps Eclipse and Eclipse helps Y/N. They are both a little broken but they work together.

At some point there they confide and become a couple, Y/N don't want to go through the heartache of losing them without them knowing their feelings and blah blah. They kiss and commit to finding a way to move forward, together.

Y/N gets her law degree, and with that.... They decides it's time to leave the country. They talks to his parents and although they are worried, they agree.

Both Sun and Moon can't cross the border, so they are taking a road trip where they drive and Y/N talk.

Their ending comes when they cross another country where robots do have rights a couple of years ago and can get a mechanic to fix Eclipse. They rented a house, Y/N saved money through lawyer work, and a few years later they bought a house. Eclipse is a bit of a housewife, helping out with the kids from time to time when neighbors need to leave their kids in the care of others. After many years of relationship, them get married and get their happy ending.

I'm thinking of switching Y/N's parents and relatives with Vanessa, Gregory and Freddy. Who help Y/N cross the country through Monty, Roxanne (and Cassie) and Chica, who are not part of the revolution but help the bots in their own way.

[okaratauri]

long awaited doodles!!

[nyxedbones-art]

| You never truly grasped the lengths the daycare attendant would go to in order to protect you until now.

im sure hes fiiine

[ID: Rough sketch of FNAF Security Breach Moon in an android style inspired by Detroit: Become Human. He is completely blue with his outfit showing damage, splattered with thirium, while looking up towards the sky. There is ash around him on a black background. End ID.]

[joyfullyacat]

i've been stewing on this idea for a little while doing house projects, lets see where it takes us

cw: hurt into comfort??? the mental health of robots yes i had a detroit become human phase how could you tell word count: 1.5k (not beta'd and loosely edited i apologize)

It was never exactly on your schedule to become a criminal quite literally overnight but, then again, when did life ever go to schedule?

Robots, androids, animatronics, what-have-you had just become their own sort-of people with rights being debated as of you waking upon this very day and you had just staged a wonderful breakout of some creations meant children's entertainment with the help of a child and his definitely-not-an-animatronic-bear father.

So, all in all, it was a pretty productive morning and subsequent afternoon you had.

Now in the quiet of the night, tucked away in a - hopefully abandoned - lodge that was a fair distance outside city limits and ideally far enough that any authorities searching for you would call it quits for the temporary time being. It was Sun, mini Music Man, and you currently. Gregory and Freddy took the rest somewhere else and deemed it best you took care of the daycare attendant in these times.

Except it seemed like you were the least qualified person to manage this task at this point in time.

Sun was just about to pace a hole into the carpet, mutterings coming from his voice module that were unintelligible though you could occasionally make out friend and purpose.

You could only hazard some guess to what he was actually saying but you knew this was essentially a breakdown. The closest you've seen him come to it at least. He had never gotten even halfway to this point on the daycare's busiest days of snot-nosed children and flu season.

The only reason he hadn't switched yet was probably because he, as the very first thing, had turned on just about every light in the living room upon arrival and it seemed to be just enough.

Though he needed rest.

He needed a break from being at the front of the stage.

"Sun...?" You began warily, removing the mini Music Man from your lap and tucking him off to the side on the couch you were currently sat on. Standing up after and approaching the attendant.

Drawn by either your voice or your movements, blinding eye-lights snapped to you then. Optics impossibly wide and it almost seemed like he held a grimace.

A differing emotion from one quite literally forged onto him was... Frightening.

And incredibly sobering.

"Hey... Look at me, you see me, right?"

A single nod was all he offered you, the mutterings having quieted down now as you had his attention.

"Right, you see my hand?"

His head tilted down a slight, looking over your outstretched invitation and accepting it almost immediately after. Taking your hand into his with a grateful squeeze and then he nodded in affirmation.

"Good, could we sit down?"

Hesitance.

Another nod.

You guided him carefully over to the couch, the animatronic landing on a cushion unceremoniously with an almost comedic fwump as his weight settled.

"Okay... I'm gonna be right here with you but I'm gonna have Triple-M here turn off the lights alright? I think you need a bit of rest."

Sun busied himself with messing with your hand he had hostage, offering the most smallest "Okay." That you had ever heard from him yet.

The scuttling pitter-patter of the little robot was all you needed as indicator that your plan was in action, offering silent thank you to the sweet companion as you kept your focus on Sun.

One by one, the lights went off.

Bit by bit, the tension that he held in his form began to ease and by the time the final light as clicked, he looked to you with almost sleepy relief. Eyes lidded downwards and that smile no longer seeming strained.

One final squeeze of your hand before he relinquished the hold so he wouldn't accidentally crush the limb again in the transformation sequence.

A painful lesson both him and you had learned the hard way, though that was fine.

For these two? Any way was good for you.

The rays of his head descended in a wave, a typical nightcap popping up shortly after with a flourish and a little jingle of the bell that rested in the pompom at the end. The pants were replaced by another pair that shot down his legs from the hip.

Day turned into night quite literally before your very eyes and it wasn't long until an ambient red hue filled the room.

Moon looked up to you momentarily with that burning gaze before he dropped his head with a crackly sigh, taking a moment to loosen up in the body after being pent up for so long.

At least that's what you assumed, you weren't too sure how the inner machinations worked between them.

"Thank you for that, Starbright." He offered after a few moments of silence, when you had just began to pull away to give him some privacy.

You didn't think an animatronic of any sort could sound as exhausted as he did in that moment, brows knitting towards the center as you couldn't stifle the concern you felt. Moon had the energy of someone who had been too strong for too long and finally just got to decompress but wouldn't let themselves fall down too far just yet.

"You... Alright there?" You treaded the territory carefully, the two had always been a bit prickly when it came to their own needs and wants, it had taken much cajoling to get them to admit a number of simple things.

Cleanings, privacy, comfort, etcetera.

...Thinking on it now, no wonder the other company figured you'd be good to handle the intertwined duo. You had already been fighting for their own piece of mind for a bit now.

For a moment, there was nothing.

Then all at once he grappled onto you, uncaring for your startled yelp as he clutched you close by your waist and hid his faceplate along your stomach, lengthy limbs encompassing you fully in a bodily embrace. Just sat there.

When no further action was made, you simply rested a hand on the edge of his hat, your thumb idly petting in small circles along what would be his temple.

You had always let them take the pace, even if that pace was a slow-burning candle or a roaring pyre.

Currently? It seemed the candle burning was steady after the initial burning of the wick as Moon spoke up.

"Sun is confused on why you did what you did... As am I. You've done much for us and you... Still find ways to do more."

The comment stumped you at first, your little soothing motions coming to a stop before they continued when you found your words.

"I think I've confused you before with my actions, haven't I?"

He nodded, not missing a beat.

"I know you've got a super memory in there, two in fact..." You teased kindly, leaning into him to lightly hug about his head. "What have I told you before, hm? I think I've given you many reasons."

"...You've apologized for liking us." It wasn't said unkindly, matter-of-fact and something you'd never quite live down it seemed as the very light jest was made.

"Yes I have and perhaps those two things are intertwined, if that's what you're trying to figure out. Though I'd do this for you even if I did not hold romantic interest - simply because it'd be the right thing to do."

Moon bit out with a withheld growl, "You've thrown away everything for us."

"I have but life never goes on a straight path - or at least you're often forced to make-do. You'll take wrong turns and go off trail. You'll come across holes in the way that you have to fill in by whatever means necessary."

"...So in this tangle of passageways. Where do we lie?"

You chuckled as Moon seemed to perk up at the use of metaphors, many night shifts you had spent with similar discussions. Always supplying much food for thought from your end and their own.

"I believe you are the beginning of a new path. I know not where it'll lead or what is in the way of that path but I will head down it with you all the same."

His hold momentarily tightened around you before he relaxed entirely.

"What was that thing you told us about caring, way back when."

Your brows furrowed involuntarily, immediately wracking your brain for thought.

"...When you begin to care for something, it'll tire you out in ways? But it is never regretted."

"That's right... I think Sun and I finally understand that now. You worry us but we care for you. We want the best of your health and safety and it is... Reciprocated?"

"Without a doubt." You quipped on the spot.

"Caring is a tiresome emotion but it is... A nice one. Is love the same?"

"It falls hand-in-hand with caring sometimes. It can be invigorating but draining... It is just as tangled as life I would argue."

"We'll have much unknotting to do."

You finally dropped the hug with an unbecoming snort at the joke, peering down to Moon who had finally peeled himself away to look up at you with that familiar impish air returning.

"I suppose we will, for now, let's take things one step at a time, yeah?"

"Yeah..."

-

trying to pin how i wanna write the two is a fun challenge

this is also a fun,,,maybe au to explore

i hope you enjoyed!!

[ticklish-touch]

"Someone who now adores robots and AI." Just curious: like you have a thing for AI as you have proven you have for robots, or you just think AI is neat? If the former, would you mind sharing an example or two of AIs you like?

tbh I just think it's neat. I love characters like the Glamrocks and Daycare Attendant, Connor from Detroit: Become Human, Baymax, the robots from Stray, Wall-E and Eve, the Iron Giant, XR from the old Buzz Lightyear cartoon, Octus from Sym-Bionic Titan, Zima from Zima Blue; characters that obviously don't perfectly mirror human thoughts and emotions, but still definitely have an aspect of humanity to them that can't really just be written off as "oh they're just programmed to do that."

I could go into a whole other tangent on my opinions about whether AI can eventually learn how to "feel" the way humans can (which, yes, I do believe it to some extent, it just wouldn't be an organic chemical reaction per se). But ye, robots r neat ❤

[fandomtrxsh19]

idea: the jericrew meeting the animatronics of the pizzaplex.

think of it, them coming across this big ass pizzplex way past closing time. loooking around rockstar row while looking at the animatronic squad. connor scanning them and answering any questions they have because its connor.

the two groups comparing their technologies and their"mechanicalness" while giving roxy ear scritches (yknow for science)

monty and north shenanigans (so much anarchy)

freddy and marcus questioning everything and nothing about their idiot friends

chica and kara just being instant besties

luthor being so proud omg

CHICA JUST ADOPTING ALICE OMGGG

roxy wanting to race literally every one of them, while becoming bros with north

josh trying to find ways to "calm" monty down ( as in like lessen his anger issues? idk this is phrased weirdly)

simon just vibing just vibing with this whole situation

while literally all of them question and are lowkey scared of the daycare attendant

[bamsara]

HI !!!!!! HUGE fan of ur stuff esp sun/moon and iz stuff 🥺<3 just wanted to ask smt abt SL, if thats ok: what is ppls general perspective(?) abt robots/animatronics in SLs universe? bc its clear that the fact y/n considers sun n moon PEOPLE is a p big deal, so i was rly curious, what would be a more 'normal' opinion 4 ppl to have abt them? & also are u planning on maybe explore this topic a bit more in the story? ok thats it ! thank u so much!! hope u have a GREAT day you are rly cool !!!<3

I've already explored this! In some tumblr posts but also in my fic Saturday Insomnia.

Solar Lunacy is set in that sort of 'inbetween' where robots aren't exactly commonly walking among us as equals yet, but are basically everywhere.

(If you've ever played or watched Detroit: Become Human, then it's like that.)

In this Universe/timeline, Fazbear Entertainment isn't just a family establishment chain but also a huge tech giant that's basically got a monopoly over a lot of the tech and automation in the world. Robots are regularly used everywhere, either for convience or in-home situations, like the staff-bot employee at the gas station reader goes to before every shift, or the caretaker bot that the elderly woman had in Saturday Insomnia.

All robots that Fazbear Corp create have the same sentience and intelligence as their Pizzaplex counterparts, even if they were made for completely different scenerios aka a specfic job or sitution rather than for the entertainment for families. Some robots are more 'awake' in sentience than others, but the current world population has a pretty split and balanced take on them.

Some people get attatched and respect the robots the same way we all do with roombas, and other people see them as disposibal and non-sentient as a phone. In the world currently, (as of chapter 8) there is talk of robots gaining sentience and the backlash of it being that there's that usual 'the robots are going to replace us!!!' type of rhetoric vs the 'this is a new form of intelligent life that we must respect and like to be friends with'.

But for the most part, in this point of time (chapter 8) a majority of the population is in denial about their robots being sentient and that they have reached personhood. At least, most of them. Overtime, other countries in the world outside of the reader's have given more rights and recognition to robots, some giving them citizenship while others are trying to ban complex and Fazbear automations in whole.

For Fazbear Entertainment, it would be *really bad* if the robots they staff without pay, leave, benifits and regularly trade, break and replace without a second thought were suddenly given the same rights and viewed as regular people and citizens.

That detail comes into play a huge part when the ARC 3 rolls around, after the fire, and you have a situation where the Daycare Attendant is living with the reader without Fazbear Entertainment breathing down their neck about it, but that's spoilery stuff I can't get too much into just yet lol.

(Thank you for liking my work!!!)

[vrabbiit]

Humanoid!AU - The Basics

so i'm finally writing a bit down for how i would interpret the sb gang as humans - well, humanoids (more so than some of them already are) and i thought i'd make a little bit of an "intro" post to springboard off of with ideas (plus, if it makes anyone else want to request things, they're welcome to!)

First of all, I am enamoured with the concept of them still being robots, just humanoid ones. I'm thinking something vaguely Detroit: Become Human android-esque - they're extremely lifelike and still sentient, but they're just designed to look human instead of like animals... mostly.

The Glamrocks still have their animalistic theming - from some animal features to still animal-themed merch, the inspiration is there. It makes sense - they're designed to entertain kids, and who didn't wish they were part wolf or part cat as a kid, at least a little bit? (From a worldbuilding standpoint, not every android in existence would have animal features, they just get it because they're entertainers).

The animatronics - androids, robots, whatever you wanna call them - are in general still taller and larger than life than humans, except in the case of ones like the Daycare Attendant and especially DJ Music Man, maybe not quite as tall as their canon counterparts. It's easy to pick them out in a crowd even without the bright coloured designs, just because they stand head and shoulders over the average human.

While I do have some specific headcanons for how they look as humanoids, I'll try and keep it vague so people can come up with their own ideas (or, if I write fic for this maybe I'll just describe them there).

The AU runs pretty much the same as canon, or my interpretation of it, the appearances are pretty much the only difference! Maybe people treat them a little bit closer to human, since they look the part, but that's about it!

[goodolddumbbanana]

It actually has very understandable answers for your questions. There is a lot of Sun and Moon and every variant of animatronics. So with the outsider, even if someone is skeptical, Sun and Solar are looking the same as Sun models. So no-one could recognise them without the ID. You can think of Detroit Become Human world, when people are less racist towards animatronics but still, animatronics at some place have no rights.

Sun and Solar... They are not rivals to lovers, they are something worse. They are enemies to there-are-a-lot-of-sexual-tension-in-this-room-and-we-don't-know-how-to-process-it to co-parents who are not divorced but still take care of kids together.

So here is the relationship between Sun and Solar.

Pre Dazzle:

Solar to SUN: Solar sees SUN as a very strong and menacing villain who has his morality twisted. A monster who wants nothing more than seeing people suffer just like him. An uncontrollable force of nature who can easily break the world with a single thought and they only live because that horrible monster still wants to play. He needs to be taken down, but no matter how he tries, Solar only can make Sun struggle a little bit.

He feels the really burning hatred passion for this man, but sometimes, sometimes, Solar doesn't understand why he still feels like something good inside that monster, that he can change. But then he saw that stupid smug face of SUN when this villain dropped-kick him under the ground and sat on his back and things just went back to normal.

SUN TO SOLAR: He sees Solar as an annoying handsome fly who didn't know when to give up. They tried to kill each other with the passion 24/7 with Sun always kicking Solar's ass and Solar always ruined Sun's plans.

It just happened one day when he felt like he wasted his life, ( not because Solar's broken and wounded face wasn't funny anymore ) so Sun quit.

After Dazzle:

Solar to Sun: There is a new daycare attendant in Fazbear and boy, he is pathetic. Solar at first only pity him because that poor man gets mental breakdowns around these kids all the time, but after a lot of time, he realises Sun is actually very nice and...

Solar trusts Sun. Very much. Sun is one of his closest friends, the one who he is willing to sacrifice his life for. Solar even trusts Sun enough to let Sun take care of his kid, which is Jack. Does he like Sun? Who know? He doesn't know either? But he has a warm feeling whenever he talks to Sun...

They are neighbours, they technically eat together with how Jack keeps invaded Sun's house and how Dazzle always wants to sleepover at Jack's house.

Does Solar ever doubt Sun is SUN? The horrible criminal he fought 5 years ago? Yes, but his doubt gets away pretty soon when he sees Sun trip over Jack's toys and choke in the air from laughing so hard. And has mental breakdowns every time one kid goes missing, or just pee on the carpet.

Solar to the Kid napper: He didn't meet that criminal face to face, but if he meets, he will know who the actual man is behind the mask.

Sun to Solar: That mechanics is very nice. Sun like him, he is a good and caring friend. He reminds Sun of someone but Sun couldn't tell. (My guy is this oblivious. )

Sun feels safe towards Solar.

[SUPERHERO AU] Follows two young heroes Daring Dazzle and Pumpkin Hunter as they fight in the shadow to protect The Daycare City from The evil super duper villain - The Kid Napper.

With the help of a talented former hero - Solar and the ex- mad scientist - Moon, can they protect the city from that evil man!!!!

Sun:

In the eyes of young heroes, aka, Dazzle and Jack.

The great villain who desires nothing more than to put children to sleep. He is a clumsy funny anxious crazy man who couldn't hurt a fly.

In the eyes of literally everyone else who knows the truth.

The man who destroyed the world 2 years ago. The murderer of the world's greatest scientist, the father and creator of sentient robots, the man who created a breakthrough in the evolution of humanity.

He is cruel, calculated, and unpredictable. You can try to kill him, but he will not die. He never dies.

In the eyes of Solar and Moon:

Just an anxious daycare attendant who is very kind and easily startled. They are good friends.

Solar: He was born to become the fated villain, but he changed his way to become the hero instead.

Moon: He is a mad scientist, who has a lot of secrets and bones in his closet.

----

Something something about my AU:

Sun who got screwed up a lot decided to fuck the world and become the villain.

He literally becomes so invincible that there is only one hero who can potentially and yet still struggles to stop him, Solar.

Things were fun and all, but then he ends up getting depressed pretty quickly and just nopes out, disappearing in the thin air, living day by day cleaning in the daycare as his fake identity creates.

He makes a lot of good friends, he even has a daughter there but there is still something missing. So he relapsed, again, but this time, there is someone who stopped him.

Two small heroes. Two kids. Who let the kid play the hero at night like that?! Not him, of course, his kid is still sleeping soundly in her bed. (Nope she is not)

So at first Sun only wants to teach these kids some lessons, but they are more clever than he thinks.

And then things get longer and longer and from the time that Sun doesn't know, he becomes the joke in the villain world.

The loser villain who got his ass kicked by two children.

Sun doesn't mind, though... Until the day, his enemies from his past return!!!

Also, he realises the hero that kicks his ass every night is actually his daughter. And it is kinda awkward now to tell her the truth because in her eyes, Sun is the best.

[parznite]

The first rough sketches for DBH:DCA... Y/N definitely had a glow up! I am so excited to do more with this (Character asks and stuff about this AU are welcome btw since I had someone ask about it already!)

[telleroftime]

Started: 13/07/2022

This will always be up to date. <- That didn't age well

Request Guidelines

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List of Fandoms

Alice in Borderland (3)

Call of Duty (1)

Detroit : Become Human (3)

FNAF : Security Breach (2)

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2)

Resident Evil : Village (1)

Super Mario

⭐️ = Author's Favourites

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Alice in Borderland

Chishiya Shuntarō

Oneshot Another Night | GN!Reader 03/Apr/23 - (Romantic / Fluff) - The two of you had just survived an exhausting game, and yet with an offer of his hand you choose not to head back to the Beach right away.

Oneshot Small Comfort | Fem!Reader 13/Feb/23 - (Romantic / Angst to Fluff) - You and Chishiya have been grouped together for a game and you didn’t anticipate the amount of people there. Chishiya comforts you in his own way.

Headcanons System Partner | GN!Reader 02/Apr/23 - (Romantic / Gen) - Headcanons for Chishiya and a partner that's part of a DID system.

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Call of Duty

König

Oneshot Cold Aim | GN!Reader 16/Feb/23 - (Romantic / Fluff) - A snow ball fight with your lover was in your eyes a great idea.

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Detroit : Become Human

Gavin Reed

Oneshot ⭐️ Coffee | GN!Reader 25/Dec/22 - (Romantic / Fluff) - You've always had a crush on the unapproachable detective, and finally it seems he's returning the interest.

Oneshot Commission | GN!Reader - Florist/Tattoo Artist AU - 02/Dec/22 - (Romantic / Fluff) - A florist and a tattoo artist. Somehow they push each other's work forward.

RK900

Oneshot Yes, Still You | GN!Reader 07/Jan/23 - (Romantic / Fluff) - You let out a curse after accidentally biting your tongue. It's heard by your boyfriend, Nines, who gets you back for making him concerned.

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FNAF : Security Breach

The Daycare Attendant

Oneshot ⭐️ Distinct | GN!Reader 01/Apr/23 - (Platonic / Fluff) - Heterochromia is bound to have interesting reactions from people, especially when a certain animatronic has never seen it in a human.

Moondrop

Oneshot Teardrop | GN!Reader 30/Dec/22 - (Platonic / Hurt/Comfort) - You, an electrician working for the Pizzaplex, faint whilst inside of one of the Daycare's play structures. Moon is there to help.

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Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts

Jamack

Oneshot Stunning | GN!Reader 10/Jun/22 - (Romantic / Fluff) - You try on an outfit that leaves Jamack stunned.

Oneshot It Works | GN!Reader 09/Jun/22 - (Romantic / Fluff) - You and Jamack share a dance to the funky melody of a swing song.

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Resident Evil : Village

Karl Heisenberg

Oneshot Dirt Man | GN!Reader 16/Jul/22 - (Platonic / Fluff) - On your walk back to Heisenberg's factory, one of you ends up on the ground.

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Super Mario

Bowser Masterlist

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[makinaorbia]

The New Era

I wanted to just spill my thoughts on where things are going now based on Security Breach and what I picked up from the previous games. I had dipped out of the FNAF games and lore for awhile but Security Breach brought me back cause of how much of a mix up it was and now I’m a little upset at what I missed, BUT I hope this new Era continues.

What I mean by that? I’ve seen some people upset that Security Breach tramples on the work Michael did to free the souls trapped in the animatronics and put an end to William’s shit, but unfortunately because Fazbear Entertainment is cheap as shit, they unknowingly gave William a gateway to becoming a digital form.

I’m hoping that because he uploaded himself into Burntrap that when Molten Freddy chomped him, he’s trapped for good. It seems like that cave collapsed so I think any wired connection he could’ve had may have been snapped during the collapse. I hope that’s the case and we can continue with Vanny’s story, who unfortunately may not have been saved since the True Ending had nothing to do with freeing her and with stopping Afton.

Enough about William though. I saw some people upset that Molten Freddy existed and was proof that those children weren’t free and instead trapped in that demonic amalgamation...but what if they aren’t? 

I think this new Era, since it’s bleeding into modern tech in the future (the advanced nature of the Glamrocks is proof of this) will be exploring AIs and the “I think therefore I am” route. Which I am ALL FOR. I love that shit. I think it might be possible that the souls acting vengefully within those animatronics caused the AI in them to go deviant (Detroit: Become Human lingo here) and that’s why they lashed out at Afton in the Canon Ending. They may lash out at any human in fact as it seems you have to be in Freddy to go down to that area.

I don’t believe that Michael is Freddy. I believe the only reason Freddy was spared is likely one or two things. Freddy was booted in Safe mode at the beginning of the game and this halted any spread of the Afton Virus in his system. If anyone has ever booted their computer in Safe Mode, it allows you to navigate and solve issues (more often than not) without the virus interference. Freddy is in Safe Mode because of the malfunction and the others *aren’t* so the virus is running rampant in them unfortunately, so they can’t control themselves. I think this is also why Freddy kills you if he runs out of power when you’re in him. Safe mode will shut down and he snaps when the virus unleashes full force before he shuts down entirely. 

Additionally (or Alternatively) we know that Fazbear Entertainment reuses parts all of the time, and part of me is curious if Freddy’s AI has been reused for years, and if so, how many? How far back does his memory go? If it goes back extremely far, I think this might be another reason why he acts as he does. AI learns over time and with the amount of knowledge his AI would have now, I wouldn’t be surprised if he expressed some deviancy outside his expected programming.

Another odd thing is that Freddy doesn’t have any Errant Behavior logs for him. He’s the only animatronic aside from Glamrock Bonnie and the Daycare Attendant (who has a ton of other issues) to not have any. Freddy has always been fine. I think Freddy’s system might be the strongest out of everyone. Even more so than Chica’s. We know that the original animatronics was just Freddy (Fredbear) and Bonnie and then Chica was added later. The two of them are the original and I think it also might tie into Freddy’s grief about him. It might go deeper than we realize. 

I’m also in the belief that Bonnie was investigating and he ended up getting decommissioned by Vanny as a result of his poking around. Freddy himself is willing to investigate when he knows something is wrong and in game actually makes comments about filing *complaints* about systems he thinks are putting people in danger. The fire escape system requiring VIP access a big example of that. If he was just a scripted program, he wouldn’t do anything like that and just fall in line with the company policy. He’s making an active decision about issues he sees. I feel like this absolutely could’ve been the case with Bonnie. These are no longer just scripted animatronics. They’re absolutely highly intelligent AIs at this point, bordering on Sentient beings. I definitely think Freddy would pass the Turing Test :)

Also, remember when you go down in the area where Molten Freddy is? Freddy mentions “his friends are here”, that “i cleared the path”, “i didn’t have a choice”, I think that Freddy is infected with the Afton virus but because of him being in Safe mode (as mentioned up above) he can keep his conscious about him. What I think this reveals though is that the Afton Virus override doesn’t shut down the animatronics conscious and forces them to be puppets, but they are still aware of what they’re doing and DON’T WANT TO. “they are so angry, and confused...” They don’t know what’s happening to them. I feel like this is what happened to the older animatronics as well. While the child souls intentions weren’t to manipulate like Afton does, I feel like what the Afton Virus does and the possession does might be VERY similar. 

The others are conscious but trapped as Afton controls them. Same as before, but this time Freddy and the others stopped it and it’s likely that when Afton got crushed, when the others were rebuilt, they probably were freed from that control.  At least I hope so.

Anyways, I know that was a lot of rambling but I do think that this is moving from the souls possessing the animatronics to the Sentient AIs arc. I love that shit, so I’m happy. I hope that’s the case. The Afton arc should be closed. If it isn’t then I think what’s going to end up happening is Glamrock Freddy with Gregory might end up trying to destroy Fazbear Entertainment for good. The King of the Empire burns it all down. Fazbear Entertainment literally made Freddy, it brought him into existence, but the pain its caused is undeniable and as someone who was created to Entertain and make people happy, as someone who’s growing a conscious over time and learning what’s happening, I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided this was the best way to do things. It’s what he feels at his core, what he learned. It’s similar to humans we’re brought into the world and taught basic things but over time we learn and shift our goals around those cores. These AIs just learn in a different way but it’s still VERY similar imo.

Also note that they don’t rebuild Freddy (the literal face of the Franchise) in one of the endings and Monty just takes over? I think that’s Vanny’s doing. Why? Freddy’s AI is too strong in terms of stopping trouble when he sees it. Can’t have a repeat of what happened! It’s probably what happened to Bonnie too. Monty was literally advertised as the new face of the franchise despite everything having Freddy’s damn face on everything. That’s astronomically more expensive than just remaking Freddy. Either they can’t duplicate AIs or Freddy’s AI (probably like Bonnie’s) is too likely to go deviant and stop their practices. 

I hope Glamrock Freddy stays as a protagonist in the series and doesn’t revert back. I don’t see a reason for him to do so. I know Security Breach has gotten a lot of bad reception and good reception for various reasons, but I think the objectively good thing everyone agrees on is that Glamrock Freddy was the biggest highlight of the game and his relationship with Gregory more so. The Found Family trope hits hard for a lot of people. I dunno if Steel Wool will ever see this rambling but people ADORE the characters, it’s just the game’s massive bugs and unanswered questions that has a lot of people upset, but the characters themselves? *Chef’s kiss*. I would love to see a Daytime mode for the Pizzaplex but that’s just me seeking more with the other animatronics to confirm their advanced nature. 

Also...GLAMROCK BONNIE DLC! GLAMROCK BONNIE DLC!.... Please ;w;

God I want to be right and that Bonnie’s aggressive nature in other games just translated into him being faster and more active therefore moving faster when he saw trouble in THIS game. Aggressiveness isn’t always a bad thing, it could’ve meant Bonnie took the initiative when he saw some fuckery happening. I don’t think the Glamrock animatronics are inherently murderous so I don’t think Bonnie was either. We have literally no reason to think that outside of “Oh well he was aggressive in the other games”. Okay? Freddy was also a taunting, sadistic, and malicious animatronic in the other games. Laughing at you and his Winter rendition will literally mock you through messages. Glamrock Freddy is the opposite. Literal Care bear and doting. I’m sorry but that argument that Bonnie was stirring up trouble and trying to kill Monty doesn’t hold up to me. At all since you could apply it to Freddy as well but it falls apart there. 

To clarify, I don’t think Monty killed Bonnie either. Genuinely do not. I think it was all Vanny and she had S.T.A.F.F. bots jump this poor man. 

OH SPEAKING OF THE S.T.A.F.F. BOTS! You know that room in the sewers with all of those notes and glowing bot heads? Have you all looked at those notes and see what they said? The code roughly translates “Why am I”, “hide”, roughly in some cases “Why me”. If memory recalls correctly, I believe some of them even say “I am alive” or “We are alive”. Which heavily implies they’re sentient, but these are obviously not possessed animatronics. There’s far too many. Not to mention they wouldn’t write in binary if they were child victims possessing them. Like the Glamrocks, they were vandalized and corrupted, forced to do Vanny’s bidding and are trapped in their shell, worse yet they can’t really speak either.  The phrase “I am alive” is also used in a lot of Media when referencing sentience in robots, as it’s a thing frequently disregarded by many humans (for good reasons but sometimes bad). If this is the case for the S.T.A.F.F. bots, I have NO DOUBT that the Glamrocks are Sentient AIs. 

[bmaxwell]

Top 10 Games of 2022

2022 was a hell of a good year for games. I had a hard time whittling my list down to just 10 games. It was a particularly good year for strategy RPG’s and wordy-talky games. Much to my surprise, I spent more time on my Nintendo Switch this year than anything, mostly thanks to finally taking the plunge on Xenoblade Chronicles. 

Xbox Game Pass continues to be a great value, and I played several games on it I would have otherwise missed. Many people bemoan the lack of AAA first party releases on Game Pass (which is fair), but that’s not me. Signalis, Power Wash Simulator, Citizen Sleeper, Beacon Pines, Shredder’s Revenge, and NORCO were all Game Pass titles for me. I can’t complain. 

On the flip side, I’ve become more wary of Early Access gaming - mostly because I tend to play a lot in early access, then when the game reaches its 1.0 release I sometimes have a “Been there, done that” feeling toward it. 

It was also a very down year for PlayStation. I played The Quarry there, and Valkyrie Elysium. I know Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy 7 Reunited or Rehydrated or whatever the second one is called - I know those games are coming. For now though, it’s a little bare. Their reworking of PlayStation Plus ended up confusing and underwhelming as well. Better times are ahead. 

On to the games!

10. NORCO

Norco tells the story of a young woman returning to her hometown of Norco, Louisiana after her mother’s death. It’s a pixel art, point and click adventure game about...well at its heart it is about solving a mystery, but it’s about a lot of things. It’s about terminal illness. It’s about capitalism and the communities of people who fall through the cracks. It’s about strange lights in the Louisiana bayou, prophets, and powerful otherworldly beings. It’s about family trauma and forgiveness. It’s about eating a bad hotdog and desperately shitting inside a limousine. 

Norco is bizarre, clever, touching, funny, desperate, and brilliant. And greater than the sum of its parts.  

9. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

This game was a long shot for me. I don’t like the look of it at all, the cardplay is too simple to be of interest, and it’s a story about living in space. I don’t remember who recommended it to me, but I’m glad they did because the writing is wonderful. You play as a child in a colony on a newly settled planet, with the story taking place from the ages of 10-20 years old. You pass time by doing activities such as attending classes, helping out in the daycare area, working in the geoponics center, training for the defense force, or working as a lookout. 

These will often have associated events that are resolved with a simple card game, and major life events grant you more cards. In my first play, my character was great with biology and animal knowledge, and fell in love with the girl working in the biology lab. Long story very short, I ended up inadvertently playing a role in the development and deployment of fungal contagion that wiped out most life on the planet. Whoopsie. 

A second playthrough gives you some chances to intervene on events you remember from the first game, a la Groundhog Day. The writing is smart and thoughtful, and the game has stayed with me in the weeks since completing it. 

8. The Quarry

A few years back my wife, firstborn child, and I enjoy playing “Choices Matter” games together. We’ve gone through Detroit: Become Human, Life is Strange: True Colors, and Little Hope as couch coop experiences. We started Until Dawn a few years ago, but it was a little too much “horny teens” for firstborn to play with his parents at the time. Now he’s older and that stuff is a lot less awkward for us, so when The Quarry came around, I picked it up. 

And we had a freaking blast with it. We were responsible for a few characters each. The story revolves around a group of camp counselors staying over for one last night after the kids are gone at the end of summer. Bad shit starts happening of course, and you’re left to figure out what exactly is happening and why, and what to do about it. Oh, and also don’t die. It’s a fail forward game (which I love) so when something bad happens, the story keeps going rather than presenting you with a Game Over screen. 

The story is good campy fun, the mystery was satisfying, and voicework and visuals are great. Seeing how the other players respond to situations is always fun. We were doing great until the last chapter where we lost a few of our campers, but we still found the wrap-up satisfying. 

7. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope

2017′s Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was a near miss, but full of promise. Sparks of Hope delivers on that promise, building on the previous game in meaningful ways. The word I keep coming back to with Sparks of Hope is Freedom. You have a team of Marios and Rabbids, but they all level up at the same rate so there’s no worry about your least favorite characters falling behind. As you gain levels you can assign points in unlocking and powering up new abilities. Those points can be refunded and redistributed without penalty. You discover little Rabbid star people called Sparks along the way, and each character in your team can be assigned two of these - they grant elemental powers, extra dash attacks, invisibility, and lots of other stuff. This gives your characters strong customizability in ways that felt game-breaking at times, but was fun as hell. 

My Rabbid Mario was an unholy terror who could lure enemies to him and wipe most of them out in a single strong attack. He was also the best character in the game, thanks to voice acting that made me laugh a few times. Rabbid Rosalina with her strong disinterest in everything happening around her was fun too. In fact, the Rabbid characters generally felt more interesting and entertaining than the Mario ones. Except for Edge. Edge is basically “What if Cloud Strife was a Rabbid?” - just unlikable and lame as hell. Were the devs in on the joke or am I supposed to think she’s cool? I’m still not sure.

Going back to freedom in the design, the combat got a major overhaul from the first game too - specifically, your characters can move anywhere within their range as much as they want until they’ve taken their 2 actions. You can also freely swap between your characters until your turn is over. This lets you cook up strategies and change your mind on the fly if something isn’t going to work out. This means there are always several ways to attack a given situation, and the way things play out is often dumb and great. Huge chain reactions of explosions taking out bunches of baddies, or popping enemies up in the air so Mario and Luigi can snipe them were some of the favorite moments in the game. I couldn’t ask for anything better out of a game with Rabbids in it.

6. Tactics Ogre Reborn

Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite games ever made. I’ve never played its predecessor Tactics Ogre in any form though. Reborn is an update of the 2010 PSP title Tactics Ogre Let Us Cling Together, which itself is an update of the original Tactics Ogre game from 1995. As a fan of FFT, I can immediately see the lineage with that game. The tone and music feel immediately familiar, as do the themes of war and the common folk caught in it. Reborn deals in shades of grey more than FFT does, and I frequently found myself pitted against people who did not feel villainous. 

Also unlike FFT, there are some story choices to be made in Tactic Ogre Reborn, and these choices will affect major parts of the narrative. The game’s design does show its age (being nearly 30 years old at this point). For example, I hope you like navigating menus and checking everyone’s equipment and abilities. A lot. Like, a LOT. The whole thing crumbles if the battle doesn’t hold, and thankfully it still feels great. The difficulty hit a sweet spot for me where I often found myself just scraping by, pulling out a win after it felt like hope was lost. 

I found myself doing Just One More Battle several times with this game, a testament to how fun the combat is. I miss the deep class customization of FFT, but my roster here was varied enough that it never bothered me.  As I’ve been working on this list, every time I see Tactics Ogre Reborn at number 6, my gut reaction is “What? That’s too fucking low!” then I stare at the games above it and think “Yeah no, it’s six. I’ll be damned.” I have no doubt that if I’d played this game in its day in the late nineties, it would be one of my favorite games ever made. 

Six is too low. 

5. Citizen Sleeper  

Sometimes, a game is appealing to me but asks me to put some effort into learning it. Depending on the game and my headspace that day, I might just say “fuck it” and put it down. I almost did that with Citizen Sleeper. The gameplay is, at its core, an action drafting game where dice determine your available options. In my boardgaming days, I’d be all about it. I didn’t sign up for that though, this was a videogame that was asking me to learn this system before being really bought into any of it.

But I’m a big brave dog, so I pushed through and learned it (it’s really not so bad). My reward was a special game, one that will stay with me for a very long time. Citizen Sleeper places you in the role of an android, a synthetic life form whose consciousness was copied from a human. A corporation pays the human for this, they get a worker (you), and the human gets a sum of money. You are property, a thing with no rights of any kind. If you try to run, you’ll soon cease to function without regular injections of a drug (produced only by the corporation who owns you). 

In Citizen Sleeper you are an escapee, a stowaway trying to figure out how to survive on a space station. You need shelter, you need work, you need your injections, and there’s a bounty on your head. As your health deteriorates, you have fewer dice available to you (and thus can perform fewer tasks in a given day). If your dice rolls are lower, you may not be able to perform some tasks very well (low rolls aren’t always bad though). The mechanical parts of the game are there to service the story and writing, which are fantastic

The game mirrors being an outcast with a chronic illness very, very well. You need your meds to survive, so you need to earn money but some days it’s very difficult or impossible to make that happen. Some folks might help, some might not care, some may try to take advantage of you. Without going into too much detail, the game world offered hope in the form of community (in my playthrough anyway). When the systems in place fail us, we must rely on each other. 

I fully plan on playing the game again after they’re done updating it. Citizen Sleeper was another game from this year that is going to stay with me.

4. Triangle Strategy

I’ve played a LOT of strategy RPG’s since Final Fantasy Tactics, always chasing the dragon. Not many scratch that itch but, despite the stupid name, Triangle Strategy is the best SRPG I’ve played since FFT. My only real complaint with the game is how slowly it starts. They really front load the first couple of hours with exposition dumps, doling out a story of a war torn nation and kingdoms competing for resources before you’re invested in anything. I can’t blame anyone who bounces off early. And initially I was disappointed by the lack of deep customization options with your characters.

But the more I played, the less that bothered me. My characters felt distinct from one another, and even the oddball classes were genuinely useful - something I can’t say for FFT. By the end, my A-team had a juggler, a builder, and mathematician on it. The combat here is tight, and the difficulty once again hit a sweet spot for me. I could get through most combats on the first try, and the game gives XP in losses so it always felt like some progress was made even in defeat. I enjoyed the combat enough that I did all of the optional training battles. 

The more I played the game, the more I got invested in the story. The game gives you these decision points where you talk to your team and decide how best to proceed. You can try to sway people one way or the other, but you need to have talked to some people between battles and be able to make a convincing argument. The game tracks morality and other metrics in the background, and some characters will only be recruitable under certain conditions. There are multiple endings as well, and this is another game I plan on playing through again to see what I’ve missed (though my canonical ending is #TeamFrederica).

3. Marvel’s Midnight Suns 

Well, I didn’t count on this. I wasn’t sold on the game until I heard an interview with developer Jake Solomon. I’m not especially a fan of comics or superheroes, but I loved his passion for the source material. And I’m a strategy RPG guy (though XCOM has always been a miss for me). A couple of weeks ago I was seriously considering this for my game of the year and pondering my own possible recency bias. 

Midnight Suns is not my game of the year, but goddammit I was absolutely hooked on this game from start to finish in the “I wonder if I can squeeze a mission in before I have to leave for work” way. The best comparison I have for this game’s design is Fire Emblem Three Houses. That is, you go out on missions that are decided by turn-based combat, then you come back to your home base where you run around talking to your teammates, building relationships and doing some light crafting and collecting. I enjoyed it here enough that it made me retroactively like Three Houses a little less.

It has the Hades “problem” where I love both the combat and the exploration/talky bits so much that there’s no natural stopping point for me. I’m excited to do the next mission and, when that’s done, I’m excited to explore the abbey and talk to people and do my upgrades. It’s another “I was going to take a break 3 hours ago” game for me. And as someone with no real knowledge or expectation of these superheroes, I enjoyed the writing and ended up liking all of them in their own way by the end. Even the protagonist - a wholly new superhero made for the game - felt like more than just a blank slate. Each hero feels distinct in battle, with just enough customization to tweak their playstyles to your liking, but not so much that it’s overwhelming. 

They struck a great balance with the game. For the second year in a row a Marvel game is one of the very best releases of the year. You win, universe. 

2. Xenoblade Chronicles 3  

More than anything, 2022 was the year of Xenoblade Chronicles for me. I played the first one for the first time and loved it, immediately bought the second and loved it more, and bought Xenoblade Chronicles 3 at release. It somehow managed to be even better than its predecessors, and one of the best games I've ever played. 

It does the best version of the things I want from a JRPG. The combat system is complex and satisfying. There’s a class system where you’re unlocking new classes and swapping between them as you wish. The story is heartfelt and serious, but not afraid to lighten things up in the downtime. You get a ragtag cast of characters who start off as enemies and over time grow to tolerate each other and eventually form unbreakable bonds. They band together to overcome impossible odds with the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP.

Each member of the team has to deal with their own personal baggage and trauma, and each grows as a character over the course of the story. The world is oppressive and heavy, and I fell in love with my misfit crew by the end of the Xenoblade Chronicles 3′s ~100 hour runtime. The ending lived up to the rest of the game (which does not always happen). Also, Sena is best girl and additionally she is the girl with the gall. 

1. Elden Ring  

What can I say about Elden Ring?

Despite many attempts, it’s the first FromSoft Game that landed for me. The easiest thing I can point to is the open world design of the game. Where previous soulsborne games would funnel the player into a handful of narrow paths, Elden Ring’s world is VAST. Seriously. It inspired a sense of awe in me that I don’t often feel. I knew the game world was big, but it just kept going. Going underground and learning that there’s a whole additional map was jaw-dropping for me. 

FromSoft somehow managed to make the world feel massive and vast, but still chock full of secrets that feel organic and satisfying. Several times during my playthrough, I’d see something cool off in the distance and think “Oh, I’ll pop over there and check that out!” only to find that the cool thing was a LOT further away than I initially thought. I’ve played games where it feels like the developers sprinkled a handful of icons over the map in the name of padding out the game’s play time (looking at you, Ubisoft). That’s not the case here. There is weird, cool shit to find everywhere, and it never feels cluttered or forced. Even when the reward was a piece of gear that my character was unable to use, I never felt like my time was wasted. 

While the graphical fidelity might not be on the level of games like Horizon Forbidden West, the art design is breathtaking. So much of Elden Ring inspires curiosity and exploration; I went deep underground and there’s a starry sky down there!? The world’s towering golden trees act as beacons in the game’s otherwise harrowing, crumbling world. There is a melancholy beauty to this game that really struck a chord with me. 

The game’s combat is fantastic as expected, and the ability to fuck off to somewhere else whenever I was frustrated with a boss or a location is what allowed a schlub like me to enjoy and finish the game. For a couple of months my buddies and I were consumed by Elden Ring, swapping screenshots and stories and lore findings. It feels like the game of the generation to me and, as great as many other releases were this year, I just couldn’t not name Elden Ring my game of the year. 

[takebackthedream]

Supreme Court's Janus Ruling Will Hurt Children by Jeff Bryant

If the Supreme Court rules against workers in Janus vs. AFSCME, it will hurt children at a time when it’s become shamefully commonplace for our government to abuse those of a tender age.

Pushing the Janus case to a compliant Supreme Court is the conservative movement’s counterpunch against the collective power of working people. But as is so often the case, when rightwing billionaires take a swing at a progressive cause, they hit children too.

The case targets public employees – such as teachers, custodians, cafeteria employees, and daycare workers – and the so-called “agency” or “fair-share” fees they pay to their unions in 22 states.

The defendant, AFSCME, wants to preserve the union’s right to charge the fees to workers who choose not to join but are still represented by the union in collective bargaining. The defendant contends all workers gain from the bargaining the union does for salaries and other benefits, so paying the fees is fair.

The plaintiff, Janus, argues these policies violate free speech because workers are forced to pay money to a group that advocates for causes they may not support.

A Blow to Teachers’ Unions

There’s little doubt a ruling in favor of Janus will weaken the power of public-sector workers to organize for the public good. The impact will be a particularly staggering blow to teachers’ unions.

Teachers’ unions will likely lose revenues due to workers who opt not to pay the fees, and fewer workers paying fees likely will lead to losses in membership.

An analysis by education reporter Madeline Will in Education Week notes leaked reports from the National Education Association and the California teachers union have revealed those organizations are likely anticipating large losses of revenue and members.

Will also points to an analysis of steep declines in teacher union strength in Michigan and Wisconsin after those states passed legislation that prohibited unions from collecting agency fees from non-members.

In a different article, Will finds strong evidence “teachers who do not belong to their unions see value in the organizations, but still say they would opt out of paying mandatory fees if given the choice.”

What does this have to do with children?

Impact on Children

Because school teachers have become society’s first responders, anything that diminishes their voices diminishes advocacy for children. Because public schools remain one of the few truly public institutions, the social and economic ills in society show up in schools first, when students come to school with signs of the ravages of poverty and malnourishment, lack of access to health care, and the stresses of living in homes where adults are hard pressed to make ends meet or family members are undocumented or incarcerated.

Teachers who’ve recently walked out of classrooms, shut down schools, and held huge rallies at state capitals in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado, Arizona, and North Carolina have showed the power of teacher voice. “They were not just fighting for their own self-interest,” write Keron Blair and Jay Travis, the co-directors of Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, a civil rights and public education advocacy group. “They were fighting for better schools. Their protests pulled back the curtain on decades of policy decisions that have stripped public schools of resources.”

Teachers have engaged in these disruptions and won concessions without angering the general populace. Nearly two-thirds Americans approve of national teacher unions, according to a recent poll.

But the benefits of teachers’ unions, and unions of all kinds, to the wellbeing of children go beyond the advocacy teachers engage in for their schools and their students.

Unions Are Good for Kids

A 2015 study found strong empirical evidence that unions may help children move up the economic ladder.

According to the study, the New York Times reports, “Children born to low-income families typically ascend to higher incomes in metropolitan areas where union membership is higher. The size of the effect is small, but there aren’t many other factors that are as strongly correlated with mobility.”

The positive impact of unions on children’s upward mobility isn’t exclusive to low-income children, the Times reporters note, and they extend beyond families with union workers to nonunion families too.

“We’ve seen the strength of unions in action, particularly for working women and mothers like us,” write two California educators in an op-ed for the Los Angeles Daily News. Because unions have fought and won concessions on benefits like employee guaranteed sick time, parents can care for their sick children and attend teacher conferences.

Because of union advocacy, they note, “African-American union members today earn 14.7 percent more – and Latino union workers 21.8 percent more – than their nonunion counterparts. And union membership is even more beneficial for women of color. African-American women in unions earn an average of $21.90 an hour while nonunion women earn $17.04. For Latina union members, the difference is even greater.”

All About Politics

Many have noted the Janus case has more to do with politics than principles.

The point of contention in the case is actually already a settled matter. A previous case in 1977, Abood vs Detroit Board of Education, supported union agency fees for the very same reasons the Janus defendant is arguing. But activist judges appointed to the court by Republicans have been signaling for years their ambition to overturn the 1977 decision should the right case come along.

Also, the Janus case has been financed by a small group of foundations with ties to powerful rightwing billionaires including the Koch Brothers and the DeVos family who want to weaken the bargaining power of all workers, shred the safety net, abolish the minimum wage, and privatize the public sector, including our schools. They’re attacking public sector workers because it’s the sector with the highest union density, and curtailing union clout will have a direct impact on electing fewer progressive candidates to political office.

Swing at Workers, Hit Children

As the Times article points out, “It is well established that unions provide benefits to workers – that they raise wages for their members (and even for nonmembers). They can help reduce inequality.”

Unions are very effective at pushing the political system to deliver policies like a higher minimum wage. And as we’ve seen with the results of the teacher walkouts this spring, the collective power of teachers can be very effective at forcing state governments to spend more on schools and other government programs.

The Janus case represents the culmination of the conservative movement’s decades-long effort to strike at the heart of workers’ ability to organize, as well as their long march to stack the Supreme Court with an arch-conservative majority that will prove pliant to their wishes.

As they drive forward with their eyes on this long-desired prize, children are the collateral damage, caught under the treads of this slow-moving, deadly machine.

[parznite]

Working on the Detroit Become Human AU... WHAT I GOT SO FAR UNDER THE CUT! Working on references for him and Sunny now :evil:

Moondrop would be a Model KC0101 and would be a detective prototype like Connor in the games. His "Amanda" would be Glitch Trap - Shortened to "Trap" who tries to take over his program. He'd work with Lieutenant Vanessa following the missing children and murder cases with deviant androids. Eventually turning deviant himself.