#ec 4o!geno

[spotaus]

So that one trend...? But DustedAfterDeath instead ♡

(Gif version below the cut. Flashing lights warning!!!)

GUYS

I couldn't help myself. I just think that some electronic posters would still work in the city and like...

Idk guys, I just love these funky lil guys!!! This is Geno (pre-injury) in the poster, with Dust (center) and Reaper (right)!

Canonically, Dust met Reaper years before the plot of the main story in Ec-4o.verse. In a city. Where there would very likely be posters and signage showing mantras from before the downfall.

I think it'd be interesting if Geno (one of the head programmers of the Ecto-reprogramming) got put up as the poster child for the initiative. A new upstart programmer with the people in mind would sway hearts, right? Well, it did. Geno's lucky he got so many prosthetics, because a *lot* of survivors blame him for the incident thanks to how often he was publicized, even when he didn't want to be.

And idk. I think it's a cute fate moment, where Reaper just saved Dust and they're traversing the ruins of the wastes of the city, and Reaper shows clear distaste for the sign, but Dust stops and stares for just a second longer. Somewhere inside he recognizes that the guy in the ad is someone who was responsible for all this, for all the destruction and bloodshed. He's not sure how to feel about it. He seems larger than life.

Interesting how Reaper's seen it a hundred times and doesn't even look back (despite how he'd gaze at that face, changed but yet the same, every day with love later on) and how Dust takes a moment of the life he nearly just lost to stare at the image of someone he's never seen before (and wouldn't recognize for ages again, because Geno isn't who he was back then anymore). Interesting too how Geno's face was seen by both of them before he could see them in person and prove himself to be larger (than them both, he's tall, but not larger than life) and more of a character than either of them could've ever dreamed. Someone with enough heart to hold both of them.

And for context:

The composition of this is so good and I fell in love just a little ♡

[satsukidoodles404]

Merry Christmas ft. Ec-40 Verse Reaper Geno and Dust!

*Casually switches art style* So, Holidays am I right? I've been on a Ec-40 verse brainrot recently and just had to draw something with them for the holidays, and ended up with these dumdums! :D if you don't know what Ec-40 verse then stay confused-

Ec-40 Verse belongs to: @spotlightstudios and me!

Also, little close ups of their outfits!

[spotaus]

YOU!!!!!!! 🫵🫵🫵🫵

Ought my boys look so cute??? Thank you so much for drawing them frfr!!! I am in awe!!!!

Okay so, hello! @spotaus here! (have to send asks from my main-blog smh) I saw the post about drawing folks' aus and immediately wanted to send ya smth lol!

I wanted to offer up my silly Sci design from one of my aus! (Though, I know you said you were doodling smth already so there's no pressure on ya at all to doodle him too, haha!) But frfr best of luck with your doodling! Have fun! >:D

have your beautiful boys >:3

1,

and 2 the one i was doing yesterday

[spotlightstudios]

What's your favourote Ec-4o moment?? (Remembered that epic scene you drew a lil while ago)

I really like this ask. I'm not gonna do any doodles for it, but I'll have to say it's probably between two scenes I have planned.

One isn't technically a moment, but it'll be any time Abyss' gang (Abyss, Cypher, Ganz, Blackberry, Razz, or Paper Crane) get involved with the main cast. Whether they're just bringing back stolen parts in the middle of the night, fighting monsters on the horizon, or directly protecting the group and escorting them as more and more enemies lock onto the location. They're just really, really cool! (Plus their base is an old gas-station and they're the prime example of an apocalypse group :D)

The other is probably the pre-story where Geno gets injured and becomes a Semi for the first time. (Spoiler Territory Here) He's the guy who singlehandedly stopped the war after helping with it unwillingly for so, so long. He played a careful game of chess, sacrificed so many friendships and broke so much trust, and wouldn't have survived his plan if it weren't for a creation he was planning to destroy. (Said creation later drives his only trusted friend a bit insane.) I have a lot of fun making all sorts of plot twists and terribly angst moments for these guys, but this one is my all time favorite!

Bonus scene: In the oldest version of this story, Killer's big secret was revealed a lot earlier on. Aka, Dust shoved his hand into Killer's eye-socket and screwed in a little L.E.D. bulb. And it WORKED. Originally the bots call him out on it, but this was how they confirmed it, and this was the funniest and stupidest lil draft I have in my docs for this project lmao.

[spotaus]

Haha... The Boys in Ec-4o.verse! (Reaper, Geno, and Dust!)

[spotaus]

Woah!!! Ec-4o.Verse reference?? Bringing you Geno! (With a bunch of notes that are intelligible off to the sides-)

Cropped versions for easier reading/zooming! But to be more fun about it, here's a Lore Recap for each design! (I'd say these designs are from... hmm, a hundred years or so? He's a Boss Monster so he lives a lot longer.)

(Tw: Mentions of Death, Self-Loathing, Mental Illness, and I feel a few other things)

Pre-War:

Geno was a normal guy, had a dayjob, but was beloved by his friends for being a Programmer. He was lazy, had awful work ethic, but would pump out amazing quality work for cheap as long as he was given the time to do things at his own pace. He has a passion for Psychology, but was awful socially, so he designed programs that mimicked mental illnesses in Test Ectos (ectos not embedded with personalities or magic) so people could research mental health without risking patient wellness. He made A.Z. too, the first real mimicry of mental illnesses in children. Geno got attached and kept A.Z. himself, the last prototype of the code. The finalized ones can be found anywhere, but he kept A.Z. around, and even though A.Z. wasn't sentient it was such a good mimicry, Geno practically treated him like a son.

Geno was known for his work, and was contacted by the government of his country to come and work on a big nation-wide upgrade they were planning to improve ecto functionality. Again and again Geno simply ignored their letters, emails, chats, and attempts to call. It wasn't his field of study, so he could care less. So, all that led to the government sending people to confiscate A.Z. from Geno and shut down his workshop under the pretenses of 'unethical programming methods'. He was forced to relocate, and A.Z. was basically held as blackmail to force Geno into working. (Since A.Z. wasn't sentient, he was simply property, and therefore there was no legal issues with the government taking him.)

Before/During the War:

In this time, Geno was among hundreds of other talented people from all across the country who were 'recruited' to work on this project. People who didn't comply with orders went missing, loved ones were "lost" and life projects destroyed. Geno was part of the Programming team (there were also Medical, Bio-Enhineering, and Engineering teams) and he was initially supposed to just shut off the programs within an Ecto that gave them emotion protocols, even the ones infused with magic.

But, as things went on, he was told to do more and more. He was involved in more marketing and branding and announcements. He was made to be on screen, be the face of the change. His background was good for publicity (man who studied ways to harmlessly study mental health) and he was supposedly trustworthy. By day he'd stand up beside someone and listen to them implore people to bring their ectos in for this quality of life upgrade to their nearest government office. By night he'd be slaving away infront of code, being forced to find a way to make these robots kill people. Just enough people. To nullify themselves when it was all over. I'm his despair he tried to make it so that their emotion drives would at least register these events as something positive, so they felt no distress if they were sentient. He tried so hard to stop but any backlash did nothing. So he kept his head down and worked quietly.

And then he was transferred locations. Somewhere closer to the heart of the operation. He met Sci, a man unaware of the Culling Orders or the heartache, because they government had been treating him well. He was a bio-engineer, and his project (nicknamed Fresh) was like if a self-healing code was a living thing and could slow, or even heal, wounds. The government wanted it, in the case that it could unlock immortality. Sci was getting funding and a cushy life. Geno realized Fresh was the best way he coukd possibly end all of this war that was in the works. For good.

So he poured hid heart and soul into finishing that code. "A change of heart prompted by wanting so desperately for his prized project, AZ, to be saved" He claimed. There were a few useful bots that filled through the office. He offered to install code that would prevent the Culling Order from activating inside them since they were going to be preserved. While adding code he added failsafes and kill codes and important information from his and others work he wanted saved. He added the names of every researcher he knew had been drafted into this unwillingly. He did it in secret, so entrenched in code only another programmer would notice.

And then the war started, and Sci learned the truth, and people started dying. Geno had to convince Sci to help him after that. Sci feared being killed. He feared not being able to finish his work. He feared not being protected from the pain and destruction outside. It was a long plenty of *years* that Geno had to configure just the right plan, just the right way to ensure that Sci abd Fresh would survive it. That the rest of the base would be no threat and that it'd stop the Ectos and the Culling Code.

And then he did it. He put an end to the war, at the price of all the power on the continent running to every piece of tech, and at the price of his own arm and eye.

Post-War:

Geno was disfigured. He knew that to make an EMP large enough to cut off all electricity, he would need to overload his own master consol to the point of battery meltdown. An explosion. He didn't tell Sci. Only mentioned he'd need Fresh on-hand. So when it exploded, his left arm (non-dominent just like he planned), his chest, and the right side of his skull (his left eye was better) were demolished in the blast and dusted near instantly. Sci and Fresh managed to save his life, and Sci, resident Bio-Engineer, was able to replace his missing limbs and his wounds with spare ecto parts over the course of a few weeks.

Geno was slow to recover, nearly on the verge of falling down during recovery (He didn't know where they'd stored A.Z. if he was even still in-tact, he had been the reason so many humans and monsters had died, and now to reverse his mistake he'd taken out the electricity the country had been relying on for the past thousands of years.) But he pushed through. He was Determined. He needed to get to the four robots he embedded information and failsafes into. But they were scattered across the country for aafe-keeping. Incase he'd failed. So he has to hunt them down.

As soon as he can he leaves. Sci stays. Geno promises he'll come back (he doesn't). Geno takes a medical uniform, packs the supply belt with programming tools, and moves out. He enters the main story while on this trek to hunt down his Ectos. Not a single one is where they should've been, and he can't help but be furious, praying to a non-existant God that they weren't scrapped by heathens out for parts or destroyed in a rage by scared survivors.

Looking for the four? One day their trackers finally Light up again. One by one. All in the same location. And Geno follows it like a moth to the flame.

[spotaus]

Thinking about my ec-4o babies again and I like. I feel like I need to flesh out Reaper some more... like, I'm going one character at a time, but many of them already have basic motivation or plot beats they overcome. Reaper has that... but not enough

Okay, so I got thinking about Dust (technically a Main Character alongside Blue) and then Geno (a side character with a LOT of plot relevance). And I subscribe to DustedAfterDeath for this au, so next my mind went to Reaper. But like. Reaper never naturally got much extra depth from my working on the story...

Reaper's jist is that he was raised in a long, long line of folks who lived alternatively from the rest of society. He was raised to believe that society without tech would be better. That everything from convenient vending machines to life-saving medical technology, everyone would be better off without it. That Technology was choking out the natural and magical worlds it relied on.

And... the mindset wasn't entirely wrong.

Only, they weaponized that into an irrational fear they set upon their communities, and isolated them from the outside world. They doomsday prepped, for decades, abd when the war finally came, they were too well prepared. They largely survived.

Reaper, a fit man who could leave and not be swayed by others, ventured out onto the wasteland. He was armed with rudimentary tech which allowed him to over-load and disable any tech he came in contact with. He was cleaning up any loose ends. Killing bots, and anyone who dared to have modified their own body with Tech in any way.

So, off he went. He worked mercenary jobs for free, killing bots and semis that bothered organic civilizations. He gained a reputation. "Death". He stumbled upon Geno, and unable to kill him, it starts a whole journey of renouncing his beliefs and turning over a new leaf.

Quick Note: Geno's soul absorbed a lot of electrical energy, so while the war ended, he was one of the few power sources left in the world. Reaper couldn't disable the tech *or* kill Geno because of this overwhelming magic that would drag him back together DT style.

I never thought beyond that. The biggest factor here, his renouncing his old life, has very little prompting in the og tale. I'm going to try abd fix that here thru brainstorming lmao.

So, Reaper, as he lives, has a *very* strict moral system, as well as a loyalty system. As he sees it, there are personal grudges, and there are betrayals of his faith. The latter is what gets people killed. He also has a strict rule with trust. Certain people he registers in his mind as 'ally' and when they make that list, the only way they'll be harmed by him is if they go against his core beliefs.

Geno, aside from being unkillable, manages to *redeem* himself in Reaper's eyes. When he frustratedly explains that he was the one who ended the war and temporarily destroyed all the tech. This information is vital to Reaper. He thinks he can get a secret from Geno, a way to make his life's goal cone true. And so he allows Geno to live. In fact, Geno swears to him that when he finishes this last task of his, he'll tell Reaper what he did to make the EMP.

Of course, this is a beneficial meeting of two with completely opposing beliefs. Geno loves ectos, at least he loves some of them, and programming/tech have been his whole life. He lets Reaper join him willingly, because Reaper is obnoxiously good at being a bodyguard and warding off threats which Geno physically can't (chronic pain). Also, the secret he'll tell Reaper won't endanger anyone, because the only way Geno made an EMP that big was because he sabotaged the main power source. Now a lot of electricity was magic-infused and didn't abide by the same rules at back then. It'd be too late for Reaper to do anything.

Meanwhile, Reaper, of course, thinks he's getting a free way to destroy all tech if he follows this half-dead science guy. And, ontop of that, Geno is a useful beacon to discover wandering bots and semis. So of course he follows him. He's civil at Blue's when they finally arrive, because he's biding his time to simply slaughter them all later.

But. Geno and Reaper don't get along. The prejudice they hold for eachother gets in the way of most meaningful conversation, and they end up bickering. Geno once told Reaper he was no better than the bots after he slaughtered a group of Semis, abd after that neither of them could get a glance at the other without a hostile 'what?' Or a slur or jab. By the time they arrive at Blue's, Geno is so sick and tired of Reaper, and Reaper really, really wishes he knew how to kill him.

Then there's Dust. Dust was on Reaper's 'ally' list. Reaper taught him how to properly fight, and how to use manual guns, years ago during the war. Seeing Dust again was a treat. Seeing him harboring ectos and semis and a Techie was less than charming. Dust himself didn't break any of his morals, though, so they remained on shockingly good terms. Reaper was their ticket inside, and he was *only* amicable to Dust, and occasionally Horror when he came by. He often joked about short-circuitinh the bots or would fry one of Blue's or Geno's work stations. It happened so often that Dust had to chew him out for it.

And honestly, he wasn't giving up. Geno nor Dust could change his mind, and even the revelry around the base did nothing to persuade him to loosen up.

Until he met Saejun.

Saejun was an ecto made for farming and tending to plants, years ago before the war. He was never upgraded or installed with the virus, and Rust had found him out half-buried along a dirt road. When he was fixed up, Saejun insisted he could bring some life back to the desert waste they were stuck in.

He did just that. He tended to plants across the property, encouraged magical abd non-magical creatures to habitate the place (mostly bugs + small nature spirits) and he would grow green life again. Hydroponics lined the sides of the warehouse, and during Reaper's stay they just kept growing. It was once when he'd been out looking for Dust that he noticed Saejun tending to the garden and playing with little nature spirits. He'd approached, doubtful, but upon inspection found that the magic in the area really was thriving. So close to walls of machinery, amd running along the body of tech itself.

It was his first proof in his whole life that the two things *could* and *did* co-exist. That it was Tech which was now bringing it back. He wasn't even programmed for anything beyond basic crops, Saejun just had a passion for plants.

*that* is Reaper's turning point. Where he finally starts looking at everyone differently. Asking Blue about why he builds and repairs bots. Why the bots stuck around, their purpose, what they do now. And, eventually, he asks Geno to explain coding to him. Just a bit. <- This last bit is met with hostility from Geno, which perpetuates this social barrier between them. Meanwhile Reaper really did want to reconcile.

It takes Dust, seeing this change and noticing the effort, for him to force the two of them to sit down and talk things out.

And after that, Reaper understands a lot more about hinself, and the world, abd everything he's done. He doesn't really regret it, but he doesn't let himself forget to change his ways.

Also it's still that Reaper talking things out with Geno makes them both really vulnerable by the end. This weakness displayed breaks them past eachother's shells and manages to get them to hang out more often, talk about eachothers interests, be normal guys.

And then Geno and Reaper fall in love (Not a quick turn-around, I prommy), and after time amd discussion, Dust is pulled in (because he and Reaper have history and mutual Crushing, and Geno and Dust have an obnoxious amount in common). The three of them all get along.

But, yeah, finally fleshed out Reaper some more. His past was so isolating that all he needed was the little push to see that not everything was bad and horrible and evil <3

[spotaus]

Finally making a timeliness design-guide for Geno from ec-4o.verse! (Just a wip tho)

[spotaus]

Ough. I think that New Age AU Nightmare should accidentally unite rival kingdoms. Usher in a new era of peace style.

Like. It's my au so I can do as I please, but I REALLY like the idea that Reaper is the first adult (besides his Knights) who really takes Night seriously.

Reaper only knows him as the Teen King, but he'd heard rumors of the usurping before and chose actively not to mess with Night, assuming he was a loose cannon and might declare war. He *did* inherit a huge army, after all. So when Reaper asked for the treaty, he was pleasantly surprised to hear Night was open to the idea. They talked through letters for almost a year before anything went through, and Night was always well-spoken and blunt about his beliefs and what he wanted, but also didn't skimp on the thinly veiled threats.

Reaper was impressed, and had a deep respect.

And then he arrived, and Nightmare was like, fourteen. And of course, he didn't say anything, but he payed close attention, and Night spoke the same way he wrote. It was definitely him. So... Reaper just rolled with it. And was proven so so correct for doing it. Because Night far exceeded the accomplishments Reaper had been expecting, and cherry on top, Night had Geno's little brother. The entire point of getting the treaty.

Of course, Nightmare would be a powerful enemy to make, so the treaty went through, but it worked great because it seemed Error would be staying, and visits would have to be arranged.

So. My point here. I think Reaper is someone who's willing to talk to Nightmare as a friend, and commiserate over ruling, share news, strategies, and just have general talks that Night enjoys.

Along with that, I think that anytime there's a big event where the royals of different kingdoms meet up (think Galas or political hearings) Reaper acts as Night's entry into the world of the royals. Reaper's been alive for longer than most current rulers could even remember, so him treating *Nightmare* of all people as an equal? It immediately gave him a boost socially that he needed. And he has the heart and the knowledge, at this point, to justify Reaper respecting him so much.

And by the time Nightmare is grown (and probably brings his nuclear war-head crafting husband Wizard to events), everyone respects him. He has other royal friends. He has a place there, abd people listen to his insights, abd he helps other kingdoms resolve their systematic issues when he can. And a mix between Scary Dog Privilege (Reaper + Error + Knights) and just Genuineky Being Good At It, makes him accidentally kick off a longer era of peace between a lot of the kingdoms. The kinda thing you hear about when ancient civilizations have that one peaceful era.

I just think it'd be so so ironic if he managed to get through all of this trouble, and have all these odds stacked against him, and actually be able to kinda naturally improve things!!!

Also @ancha-aus ! (I might start tagging u in these since I don't post regular drabbles- lemme know if you'd like me to Not do this lol 🫡)

[spotaus]

Something, something, ec-4o!Geno totally studied psychology in his freetime, it was his passion aside from programming, and he sees everyone and just kinda... subconsciously clocks their trauma?

Like, he's not the best guy ever so he usually uses it *against* people, but the further into the story? When he realizes he has friends again? He's careful about making loud sounds around Horror. He makes sure to warn Reaper when he's entering a room. He's always keeping his distance from Error and the other etcos. Most damningly he clocks that Dust has something, he can't quite pinpoint it, but he notices he's talking to someone.

He does that thing where he tries to play along one time, and lies and says he can see Phantom. Dust kinda freaks a bit, but just kinda swears Geno to secrecy. And then every time Dust starts to act weird or talk to phantom, Geno gets a general target location and just wafts him away or de-escalates towards the air instead of Dust. And it works, and he's a lot less stressed. But then. Y'know. Geno starts noticing the static impressions left on screens around the workshop. The ones that fizzle and follow Dust? The ones that are... vaguely person-shaped?

[spotaus]

Gonna be sick (New Age thoughts are consuming me-)

Just a quick jot of ideas to ruminate on for myself lol.

1) Geno, Dust, and Reaper drabble. Whether that's expanding on their first visit from Dust's pov or that snippet where his shoulder gets obliterated idk. Maybe even Killer's teasing as a b-plot. Just. Those three make me feel big emotions and I feel crazy-

2) Cross rooting around in the castle on his spy mission. If I were more interesting it would be proceeded by a fluff drabble about the month or two he sticks around to prepare, either from Blue or Dream's perspectives even, but I'm not that cool. Instead, probably gonna jump-cut straight into the Him Arriving bit.

3) Blue and Dream meeting. Dream is so so distressed upon arriving to this allied kingdom, and the people are kind enough, but everything is so different and scary and his brother, his *brother* is different abd sent him away. Now he's alone. He's holding together poorly, but tries to at least keep up appearances and train. (Training helps distract him) and during a training session with one of the Knights, he's introduced to Blue. The squire about his age who is always around for Dream's combat lessons. And. The squire who runs into Dream when he's had enough and makes a reckless choice.

4) Rewrite the first drabble (the starting chapter if you will-) I need to add in the dynamics I've made since then, and also slip in Ccino.

5) Nightmare getting his first cold since becoming young again. His immune system is trash, now that the pollens and germs are hitting him after years of being atrophied beneath the magic. So ofc he catches a cold very. Very quickly. And who is better to help him than Ccino, and who's better to keep watch than Cross? (Just wanna write a ting of angst in this one too.)

6) Dust. This would *probably* be a world building piece that focuses on Dust before he was imprisoned, and then how he was caught, and how he ended up with Nightmare. In theory this could span up until Killer was put in charge of Dust, but I can imagine it would stop after Dust accepts Nightmare's offer of work, then continue somewhere after.

7) Ccino-centric one! I just need to get an idea of a single day of his. Maybe one of his few days off? Just slice of life, him enjoying the day, paying tribute, visiting friends in the city.

8) Cross and Lust domestic drabble. Along the same vein, I just think a quick look into their lives would be nice. Maybe from Lust's perspective, since Cross kinda has red alarms going off in his brain because he's full of puppy love, and while it's definitely not shallow/all he thinks about, it is very... him. Lust is a lot more composed about it.

9) Same vein again, Crop and Horror. I like to think Crop was one of the folks Horror visited while trying to find fixes for farms. Crop was abroad for a long time and recently came back when he heard of his brother's plight with the messed up farm. The two of them did a lot of brainstorming and, in return for using their plot as an experimental lot, they were paid handsomely by the royal treasury. Horror and Crop were in contact for a *long* time, and eventually it became a consensual workplace relationship lmao. Just one of Horror's days off he goes home to visit his family, and finds Crop was there to visit as well as a surprise!

10) Away from Ship stuff, Error perspective, post running away! Probably from Geno leaving up until he was hired by Nightmare. Error is a chaotic little shit, but he was also like. 11 or smth. Miracle he wasn't killed. He's crafty and silly and so so sad.

11) Cross and his fucked up dog. That borzoi haunts the narrative in the funniest way physically possible. It's such a funny dog, and I think it'd be such a menace and very fun to write about Cross losing it and panicking. Maybe. Maybe Dog perspective even.

12) Some scene. Dunno which one. Cat perspective. Limited knowledge, only seeing eyes. Would be pretty cool.

13) Dust with his horses. Maybe the wild one he tamed even!

[spotaus]

I uhh, had an idea and had to run with it lmao-

At first it was just gonna be Reaper looking at Geno and Dust, but when I was sketching I ended up making a whole scene before remembering to add Reaper-

Geno broke his arm (tried to program and modify it, but he's not the modify-guy) and Dust is staring at it in confusion (cuz how did he get everything so tangled that it exploded???). Reaper is just admiring from a distance.

[spotaus]

Ec-4o!Sci ♡ (Bio-Engineer who somehow maintains a Lab in the apocalypse)

[spotaus]

I am so sorry for peer-reviewing ur tags like this but YIPPEEEEE!!!! I'm doing my duty and spreading propaganda of our boys!!! 🫡

(No but frfr if anyone is looking thru the tags and seeing this, just know that @satsukidoodles404 is the one who suggested this ship to me *years* ago now, and I have had them in my brains ever since 🙏 everyone say thank you to Satsuki /lh)

Doodling The Guys! (I love these goobers lmao)

[spotaus]

I love when characters have a special space all their own that only ppl they love (platonic, familial, romantic, etc) are allowed into.

[spotaus]

Did some redesign mock-ups for Ec-4o.verse Cross, Fresh, and Error!

These guys didn't really *need* redesigns but I was having a ball with Trech (Ec-4o!Fresh) and gave him Arcade Carpet designs and decided I needed to redesign some others too! (Check below the cut for Old Designs, Lore, and a Stupid Screenshot from my pal @/Neonsix67)

So OLD DESIGNS:

(We're gonna act like I drew Trech more than twice-)

So, old art, yucky, whatever. We know the drill lmao- but because Ec-4o.verse is such an ongoing project these guys have been through a bunch of redesigns. Regrettably, me from 2 years ago was unaware of Layering and Shape Language, so they look kinda gross.

Cross' design has consistently been my favorite I think, just because he was a later addition and so had a bunch of my newer ideas integrated. They all have their flaws tho (Cross was too lean and got thrown between Baby and Grown Guy too often in my art. Error uhhh... yeesh. When I say I couldn't draw him, I meant it. I never knew what to do with his wires and I kept putting him in armor? Fresh just wasn't fleshed out enough. He was that SparkleDog of my verse.)

Also: I wanted Fresh to be top-heavy, like, big baggy round clothes on his upper half then lil guy legs. Cross I wanted to be more flat and strict, hense his clothes being all Tube-shaped. Then Error needed Triangle vibes. His old design was too Rectangle for me. The exposed limbs are mostly just for me because I love a-symmetry and also I don't keep a consistent clothing style, so I like to keep a visually interesting element (like a limb) exposed for clarity's sake when I draw them in new poses later.

LORE:

Cross: A robot (Ecto) who was initially a Guard-Model ecto. He was one of the last to be turned over when the government was rallying citizens to donate their bots to fight in the war. He was remodeled and supplied with a special task by his Programmer: Protect THE FILES at all costs. He's rather small for a guard-bot, but makes up for it with his agility and sheer stubbornness. Blue finds him heavily damaged and on low battery in an old lab, guarding a room that was sealed tight. His Old design utilized Shields (scarf detached to become them) but his new design is much more focused on quick bursts of offense. If he gets you first, then you're no longer a threat.

Error: an Ecto who was one of the first bots handed over. He was a former data storage bot that worked at a small library. As one of the first data-bots to come in, he was immediately modified and put to work alongside other Ectos to compile all of the nation's history into their data banks. Error was particularly receptive to overloads of data, so he continued to be modified and made into the prime data-bank. When the war started, he was eventually hidden away and sealed in an air-tight room. Eventually Cross was sent to guard the door. They were eachother's only company for... years? Error isn't fond of touch or tampering with hid systems, as everything he knows is barely abd haphazardly stored on unsafe files. Each Crash he endures takes more and more of his own personal data away, and he refuses to lose any more.

Fresh (Trech): A Parasite that was created by Sci to repair living beings in the same way that an Ecto can auto-repair itself. Fresh is actually a liquid that, when placed in contact with a wounded/dying person, it can invade their systems and stop all forms of bleeding/dusting. Fresh wasn't supposed to be sentient, and was meant to be scrapped, but he ended up being vital in stopping the war. In turn, Sci granted him freedom. Fresh can inhabit humans, monsters, and Ectos, but prefers skeleton monsters. He often defies the logic of his world, but what Fresh doesn't? Blue meets him far into the story after he's unraveled a lot of mysteries. Fresh just drops by after hearing rumors of Blue's repair work, and is met by less-than-warm reception from Error and Geno.

Other:

I was trying to save the image and my phone was bugging out, so I sent it to Neon. Safe to say she has peak comedic timing 😌💖 (For the record, we are both adults, and also my parents are aware I draw utmv stuff, so she had to make the threat actually a threat lmao---) I also love Chilchuck talking with the Operator. We are the dynamic duo frfr.