#ex machina: minerva

[arundolyn]

Celica and Minerva as Crow and Justice from GGXX?

[fishing-lesbian-catgirl]

I can’t find a gif of the animation of Celica A Mercury’s Crush Trigger special :(

Y’know, this one

[mizukagami-takamagahara]

By マイケルマヨネーズ on Pixiv

This artist can also be found on Twitter and Skeb, where they are taking commissions! If you like this art, consider commissioning them!

Remember to always check an artist's rules and availability before requesting a piece.

[handeaux]

100 Years Ago, Cincinnati’s Christmas Spirit Was Inspired By A Chinless Comic-Strip Star

Over the past century, a deluge of fads and trends has overwhelmed any effort to demonstrate just how popular a comic strip called “The Gumps” really was in 1923. The comic’s creator, Sidney Smith, earned millions from the syndicated comic and its adaptations for film and radio and related merchandise including toys and games, sheet music, playing cards, even branded food items.

Artist Smith engaged his readers through long story arcs that tossed the Gump family and their neighbors into all sorts of troubles from which they emerged through pluck and the occasional intervention of deus ex machina. Smith is credited with being the first comic artist to kill off a recurring character, a bold move that swamped his syndicate’s offices with letters and phone calls.

The Cincinnati Times-Star was rather late to the game in picking up “The Gumps.” The strip had been running five years before the Times-Star added it to the comics page in February 1922. The strip caught on fast in the Queen City and readers took to the Gump family as if they were neighbors.

The Gump family consisted of Andrew “Andy” Gump, pater familias; his wife Minerva, known as Min; and their son Chester Bim Gump – that middle name inserted on the discovery that Andy’s Uncle Bim was quite wealthy. The Gumps had a dog and a cat and a troublesome but humorous maid.

Which brings us to Christmas in 1923. Andy Gump was a business executive, long-winded, opinionated, but basically a decent fellow. He was the president of a company that manufactured hairbrushes – a long-running gag because he was bald. A story line throughout the autumn of 1923 involved Andy taking on a partner named J. Ambrose Hepwing in a scheme to produce a patented combination hairbrush and mirror. As Thanksgiving gave way to December, Andy learned that his partner had absconded with all the money set aside to build a new factory. The Gumps faced a bleak Christmas indeed as the family was evicted from their home. Andy declared bankruptcy, while offering a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the swindler, J. Ambrose Hepwing.

Cincinnati rushed to assist the poor Gump family. A reward of $10,000 – even if offered by a fictional person in a comic strip – certainly attracted attention. The Times-Star gleefully reported on tips sent to the newspaper, like this one from 21 December 1923:

“I saw a man answering your old partner Hepwing’s description on Fifth street to-day. He was riding in a large automobile of foreign make and was decked out in a swell suit of clothes, black and white checked overcoat and covered with diamonds. Followed him to a prominent hotel where he registered under an assumed name.”

John L. Richey, manager of the Adjustment Bureau of the Cincinnati Association of Credit Men, stepped up, sending along a pamphlet outlining how his organization could assist companies faced with bankruptcy. As reported in the Times-Star [18 December 1923] Mr. Richey indulged in a bit of self-promotion:

“I am inclosing herewith, a pamphlet which would indicate just what steps Andy could take in rehabilitating his affairs. I thought this might be interesting to you, as credit men generally are attracted by a condition such as we see facing Andy, might like to see him pulled out of the hole by some such medium, and his crooked friend brought to ‘time’ through the same instrumentality.”

A couple days later, the Times-Star reported that Credit Man Richey had received several letters in response to his offer of guidance to the bankrupt cartoon character. One was an official application to the National Association of Credit Men, Cincinnati Branch, apparently filled out on Andy Gump’s part by an anonymous employee of the firm. The other was a letter from the superintendent of the Verona, Kentucky, public schools, applauding Richey’s offer:

“I too have been following Andy Gump in his political and business career, and I am glad to note that such men as you are to consider such cartoons from their real business, psychological and moral angles.”

The Times-Star ran an editorial on Andy Gump’s tribulations on 21 December 1923, and compared his situation with a number of local investors who had been bamboozled by a con man selling shares in a Panamanian oil company that did not exist. According to the editorial:

“The word ‘gump’ is in the dictionary, where it is defined as ‘a stupid person, a simpleton.’ It seems that Andy is just a type.”

Of course, no Christmas drama would be complete without the pencil-scribbled and misspelled note from an innocent child. Seven-year-old Dorothy Hancock of 4710 Hamilton Avenue came through. She sent along a letter accompanied by a hand-drawn check for $3,000 and a sample packet of complexion powder for Mrs. Gump. Her letter, as reprinted in the Times-Star [22 December 1923] read:

“Dear Mr. and mis gump – so sorry you lost all your money just before Christmas but I hope Santa will not forgit Chester. hope you catch Hepwing and maybe you will get bake to making happy hairbrushes for happy heads. Merry Christmas and a happy new year.”

While following the travails of its star comic character, the Times-Star ran advertisements from the Starr Piano Company on Fourth Street, where, for the price of a dollar, customers could purchase a phonograph record on which Andy Gump himself (probably voiced by cartoonist Sidney Smith) offered Christmas greetings.

In the end, it turned out that Andy’s financial woes were manufactured by wealthy Uncle Bim (short for Bimbo) who wanted to test Andy’s financial acuity before entrusting him with any substantial benefactions. Shortly after revealing these machinations, Uncle Bim was called back suddenly to Australia by a mysterious stranger. Andy and the Gumps stumbled on to further misadventures.

Cartoonist Smith died in 1935 on his way home from signing a $150,000-a-year contract to continue the strip. The syndicate recruited Gus Edison to keep “The Gumps” in print through 1959. One of Edison’s assistants was actor Martin Landau. Among the actors performing in the radio version of “The Gumps,” which aired from 1931 to 1937, was Agnes Moorehead, who later went on to star in the television series “Bewitched.”

[squadron-of-damned-writes]

Angelus Ex Machina (4697 words) by Tolpen Chapters: 1/3 Fandom: 大逆転裁判 | Dai Gyakuten Saiban | The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Video Games) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Gina Lestrade/Original Character, Sherlock Holmes | Herlock Sholmes/Mikotoba Yuujin Characters: Gina Lestrade (Dai Gyakuten Saiban), Sherlock Holmes | Herlock Sholmes (Dai Gyakuten Saiban), Mikotoba Yuujin, Original Characters, Other Character Tags to Be Added Additional Tags: Mystery, Original Character(s), POV Alternating, Romantic relationships are background, Other Additional Tags to Be Added Series: Part 3 of Clockwork Heart Summary:

Yuujin Mikotoba had visited the United States of America as a guest lecturer for two years, and now he returns to London. Upon reaching the English shores another passenger disappears. Her enigmatic older brother, and her fiancé recruit the greatest detective to find her. Who is this mysterious Miss Minerva, and who would want her to disappear? Meanwhile Inspector Gina Lestrade searches for a missing mother of her close friend and colleague in a hardboiled fashion. But of course, nothing is ever straightforward, and the unofficial case quickly spirals into something more dangerous.

Enoch Drebber would like to remind everyone that none if this is his problem, please stop getting him involved, he is not a key to either of those mysteries. He is, of course, completely right. He is not a key. His is the lock.

Obligatory Excerpt:

Well then, gentlemen,” Holmes sprung to his feet again. “Mr. Foeward, good Father, we shall call upon you in your hotel the moment our investigation makes progress. I assure you that I shall see poor Miss Minerva safely returned to her family. Do not fret, do not worry; these kind of things do take time, especially when there are so few leads.” With such reassurances he ushered them out of the door, and only once he checked through the window that they had truly left Baker Street, he turned to Mikotoba: “Well, what do you think?” “I think,” Mikotoba said carefully, “that I am going to call on a mason to extract the remaining pieces from the wall. What on Earth have you been doing with them, Sherlock?” “I was playing shogi with Iris’s friend. Leave them be Yuujin, I shall put it upon him to get them out,” the man threw his frame back into the armchair upside down, lanky legs thrown over the headrest. He maintained that it allowed him to think better with more blood pouring to saturate his brain. Yuujin Mikotoba, who had his educated medicine thoughts about it, was content to leave him like that, because it meant the detective would be quiet for at least an hour and wouldn’t get under his feet. Yuujin thought that he could finally go and unpack his belongings for the stay, but Sherlock called out to him: “I still want to hear your thoughts on the disappearance of Miss Minerva. Doubly so, for you have met her.”

[jacksgreysays]

Assassin's Creed x Dreaming of Sunshine brainstorm/fake fic summaries/spring cleaning (2023-03-18)

Back when I was in the throes of my Could/Should/Actually phase, I was also reading a lot of esama’s Assassin’s Creed fic and my brain, as per usual, went: but what if DoS? And so it started churning different types of crossovers which I lightly noted down but never pursued. I then ran into chamiryokuroi’s art, specifically that of Desmond’s son Elijah, who kind of has the memories/personality of an Isu in him. THEN those earlier notes that were percolating in my head then scrambled a bit because instead of separate AUs, my brain just smooshed them all together and then also brought up the critical point that was stopping me earlier:

In an Assassin’s Creed AU/crossover, the nearest equivalent to Desmond—genetically crafted by the Isu (who humans know as gods, aka Minerva, Juno, etc) in order to be at the right place at the right time—isn’t Shikako or even Naruto, but Sasuke. Especially going with wafflelate’s idea that the different Mangekyo Sharingan powers (also named after gods!) are indicative of different Uchiha lineages with a slight extrapolation that multiple lineages merging earlier on is why Sasuke (and Itachi) has so many different Sharingan powers. Oh, also, Desmond has something called the Eagle Eye which basically gives him psychic powers like the Sharingan.

Although, speaking of Itachi. I guess what I should have said is that the nearest equivalent to Desmond is actually Itachi—the perfect son who has all the tools and all the abilities and all the expectations of the world—while Sasuke is the spare, aka Clay (who had some of the lineages that the bad guys wanted but not all of them and not as much). Although, you know, not as bleak a future… And that’s about as much as I know of Assassin’s Creed because like many things, I mostly know it through fanfiction, fanart, and watching my friend play ACIII nearly a decade ago.

Anyways, with that in mind. My brain continued that since I wanted both sets of characters to exist as opposed to shoving Team Seven into the AC plot, that I should figure out what Team Seven was doing while the AC plot is going on since, you know, the sun burning up the planet is a pretty big deal. So obviously the sun is a problem, but presumably Minerva via Desmond had that covered. Either they fail and everyone’s dead anyway, or they succeed but there’s other stuff that needs to be considered. Such as: THE MOOOOOOOOOOON. But in all seriousness, I don’t super know how it would work, but even if Minerva via Desmond protects the planet from the initial massive solar flare, wouldn’t there be lingering excess energy or a secondary blast/wave reflected off the moon? I don’t know enough about pseudo science to know if my pseudo science makes sense.

Regardless. Excess energy or secondary wave on the side of the planet that has the moon, aka, Japan in the middle of the night (since I think the solar flare happened in the morning in New York?) And it’s pretty thematic, for Naruto canon at least, that the moon is the problem (whether or not we want to bring up Kaguya’s alien nonsense… although that is a pretty good equivalent for Juno’s evil in the AC side)

Anyway, the reason why chamiryokuroi’s art reinitiated this brainstorm is that, hey, obviously I love when Shikako is an OP almost literal deus ex machina. And Elijah almost literally has a “god” in him. Which Shikako also has had, or maybe the reverse, what with Gelel. And then whatever her beef with Jashin is. So either the Isu that Shikako has is Gelel (which is much kinder and benign that who Elijah is stuck with) or it’s “Shikabane-hime” and the personality sort of… glitched so that instead of taking over the body, muahahaha, style it just grew up as a person as in DoS. Although I’m a little handwaving how AC Sages work since apparently that relies on lineages/genetics (even though it somehow skipped Desmond but Elijah is one?) So either Shikako is an “artificial” Sage via picking up the Gelel stone or she’s a “natural” Sage and Shikabane-hime is just a chill Isu instead of the other muahahahaha evil Isu.

Then, to make Naruto match, what if, instead of Pieces of Eden (alien technology that seems like magic) the Isu on this hemisphere went with the bijuu? Maybe they were originally created to absorb the excess solar energy but over the millennia developed sentience. Or maybe they always had sentience which is what caused the Sage of Six Paths to rebel against the other gods (and also the human slavery en masse might have contributed) and while the bijuu remember the early days humans with their ever short lives forgot and so the bijuu grew bitter and resentful etc. etc.

So that’s the world building.

The plot of this fic I’m probably not going to write is actually my way of combining the three different AUs I thought of for the Could/Should/Actually and incorporating it into the above world building:

Subject Seven, like many of Desmond’s predecessors, died before they could ever meet. Whatever she learned in the Animus she never told Vidic or, at least, it never made it onto any Abstergo files.

STAY CALM. DON’T REACT. Desmond can’t tell if this is a new twist to the Bleeding Effect or if he’s unlocked something else in his Eagle Vision, but now he’s reading the shadows on the walls and that can’t be normal.

“Juno, huh,” says the girl in green, the only spot of color in the vast expanse of The Grey. “I had Jashin.”

Obviously, the way to fix 1 is simply Shikako faked her death and escaped. Or even Abstergo’s internal communications between departments is garbage and the team that was working on Sages just up and yoinked her from the Animus project. And also, what’s kinda fun about this (in a horrifying people being experimented on against their will kind of way) is that in order for Shikako to be Subject Seven while Desmond is Subject Seventeen and not have her be so much older than him (or even so much older than what I'm used to seeing her as in DoS, although this coming from me who writes future fic, lol) that means she was very young when she was Subject Seven. So we could have canonically badass twelve-fourteen year old Shikako in this seemingly normal world and then she has a full decade of being badass in time to help with Desmond’s side.

Although, in order to best incorporate 2 and 3, what an author who is not me could imply is that she died for realsies and ended up in The Grey (which from my understanding is like the coding space behind the world where Calculations aka sealing is done and might also be the afterlife but perhaps is only the afterlife specifically for Juno who hid herself in technology so that she could pop out millennia after all the other Isu had died and fuck with humanity). And from the Grey she can manipulate shadows, as in 2, and also meet Desmond “in person” as in 3 when he dies after the planet saving thing he does in AC canon.

And then the fun reveal is that, hey, The Grey isn’t actually an afterlife. It’s a pocket dimension from where you can manipulate the real world through strength of will. I’m not dead and neither are you, also would you like to meet my friends I feel like they could probably help you deal with the fact that your entire existence was a manipulation by beings that died over 75000 years ago because they have similar experiences. Would I have more relevant/similar experiences having been an Animus subject and having been in The Grey? Maybe, but I also contain the personality/memories of an Isu and I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.

Anyway, here’s also the following:

[Some kind of cool title playing off of Dreams and Sunshine that also applies to Assassin's Creed, maybe something like Of Disasters and Daydreams?]

Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted is one way to interpret the creed. A more accurate way would be to say Nothing is Immutable, Everything is Possible, but that’s just not as catchy. Or, the Isu had their Calculations, but Shikako has sealing and that’s way more fun.

[valenteal]

Okay so I just got into The Promised Neverland, the anime, I adore season 1. It was beautiful and heartbreaking and hopeful and unique. Season 2 isn’t half as enjoyable but I think this for different reasons than most people.

Everyone else is like ‘oh no they skipped over so much of the manga’ and I’m just like????? No??? Because the way I see it the whole Lambda thing is a cop out that makes exactly 0 logical sense. After season one they lost the plot. Simple as that. They did irrational things for the sake of drama.

I mean think about it, they didn’t want to actually kill Norman so they came up with this elaborate experimental plantation but it doesn’t make sense. Norman was the cream of the crop, the one they were looking forward to, they wouldn’t keep him alive and experiment on him and possibly make him inedible. When we farm animals do we do that?! It’s illogical. If they were trying to clone him I might get it but they weren’t. And then when Norman goes crazy from the torture (because drama!) part of his arguments is that the demons in charge want to maintain the status quo. They’re supposedly very happy with the current system. If that were the case they wouldn’t be doing those experiments at the cost of their best product!

And don’t even get me started on the whole ‘eating humans to be intelligent’ thing. Like… that’s not… where did that even come from!? But oh wait! There’s this super convenient solution! It’s so convoluted but also so forced, like… that isn’t how biology works. I get that this is a fantasy world but that’s too far.

If it were me, I’d have season 1 stay the same and just scrap season 2 for parts. I actually like Sonju, even if his appearance is a bit deus ex machina. His motivation for helping them is interesting and I think he creates a unique situation for the kids. I like the religious fanatic angle, and I like the kids having a mentor. If they’d just let things continue organically instead of forcing it… I mean Ray isn’t stupid, he wouldn’t carve the coordinates where enemies would see. He would have at least used code. They could have stayed at the base thing and built a freaking safe haven and then launched a quiet war against the farms. Guerrilla warfare, slowly rescuing more and more kids, building more bases. Do it realistically, none of this ‘one chemical weapon solves all our problems’ and ‘but wiping them out is wrong!’ quick fixes and simple plans stopped only by moral dilemmas. It too simplified but they try to disguise it with all the drama. It’s okay we took the cowards road and didn’t kill Norman cause he’s so traumatized we can barely recognize him! It’s okay we’re pulling easy solutions out of our asses because they trigger moral strife and end in the main characters struggling to choose the path of light! Drama!

Look, I haven’t read the manga yet but I don’t know how much more I would’ve liked it. It doesn’t matter if we get more context, it’s still just burying the plot holes and cop outs in more drama. We don’t need a simple answer, that’s not how systemic oppression is fixed, that’s not how war and rebellion works. There are plenty of ways they could have gone. Hell there are other, better ways they could save Norman! His shipment was abnormal and unscheduled, Isabella could have saved him or Minerva and his followers, something else, anything else.

I have feelings about this. Season 1 was amazing. Season 2 was just full of familiar cop outs disguised as “plot twists.” It was disappointing. This series had real potential.

[mystech-master]

Annon-Guy: BBTAG RWBY - If Sector Seven (Kokonoe, Tager, Makoto, Lambda, Celica, Minerva, Bullet and Azrael) were in RWBY, would their base primarily be in Atlas/Mistral?

Like assuming Sector Seven is a separate faction from Atlas Academy or any official stuff?

Like maybe Kokonoe is a cat faunus who worked her way to the top in spite of the racism in Atlas and ended up discovering Salem’s existence herself (maybe her mom was a previous maiden and she got killed by one of Salem’s enforcers at the time so she wants revenge to tie Nine into this). So she is like the head of this research and technology institution that isn’t in Ironwood or the Schnee’s pockets.

Tager is a primary enforcer most likely augmented a bit. Maybe a traveling band of Huntsmen hired by S7 for a mission to bring that plot from Tager’s past here. Bullet being his protege.

Celica could either also be a maiden, most likely who Nine was thinking of in her last thoughts, or as a parallel to the P.o.O. she can also have Silver Eyes. Either way, Kokonoe is using her as her trump card.

Minerva is like Penny, an Android capable of replicating an Aura. She “borrowed” some notes from Pietro to make her act as Celica’s bodyguard.

Lambda could be a similar case to Penny also. IDK maybe the Murakumos are the result of someone (the “Saya” of this AU) giving up her aura to various vessels, wether by whatever Pietro did to make Penny, or the Aura Transfer machine used to transfer the maiden powers.

Makoto is weird without making up a whole side thing on what she and her friends would be up too, but her being a double agent spy Squirrel faunus would fit her.

Azrael could just be some kind of criminal/psychopath they put on a leash b/c his semblance makes him indistructable/invincible or something. He’s kind of a villain so should we even count him in on this?

[mizukagami-takamagahara]

Thank you, and @triedpklove, who explained that the merchandise they are showcasing in this stream is being sold at Comiket- so, at the time of posting this, it's available now!

The two keychains Keomi shared are part of a set also including characters from other ArcSys properties: Guilty Gear, Under Night In-Birth, the River City series, etc.

These aren't just keychains though- notice the monthly theme? They're also being sold as illustrations on a calendar!

We also see the 15th Anniversary print by Yuuki Kato appearing for sale as a playmat, a standee, a bag, and as a postcard alongside cover art from throughout the series!

At this time, it seems that the only place to buy this merchandise will be at Comiket right now. Maybe if we're lucky, any surplus will be available for purchase online. Stay tuned, I guess?

And thanks again to all three of you for sharing this info!

the world is healing

[abyss-of-the-azure]

Not that I have Jubei yet (steam player, see), but it appears localization renamed Minerva as Mirvana in Jubei's arcade mode. what is up with this error?

K I L L M E

[arundolyn]

Celica with Delilah's colors and Minerva with Bedman's colors?

yknow i saw this ask on my phone and it cut off just before the "bedman's colors" part so maybe i jumped the gun somewhat and Made Assumptions so have updated bed colors too

if we're talking BEDMAN bedman then it'll have to be xrd shading bc i have no Actionable Bedman In Strive colors to go off of (which i couldve sword SO HARD i had done delilah colors for her... it was carl apparently LMAO)

merry delilah announcement everyone

[carhyde]

ex machina

[mizukagami-takamagahara]

Minerva model sheet

[melon-draw-ly]

local time anomaly loves her automaton wife

[broken-clover]

ACC Day 8- Crowd

This is one I was able to use a lot of personal experience for! I absolutely despite crowds, the amount of stimuli all together is just a nightmare to deal with.

Today I went back to Blazblue and used Celica, and some Minerva because you cannot tell me these two are not in lesbians with each other. 

Celica’s relationships with other people have always been complicated. She has always been incredibly empathetic, with the desire to help others and alleviate their pain with her magic. At the same time, she struggled to form many true friendships with other people. She would gladly care for others as a parent of sorts, but aside from Konoe, it was rare that she felt like she had many real friends.

She wasn’t entirely sure what to make of Minerva the first time they had met. Celica had greeted the doll politely, as she did with everyone. Minerva may have been peculiar, but she was still owed manners.

Though their meeting had ultimately been orchestrated by Kokonoe, Celica had felt genuinely touched by Minerva looking after her. Maybe Minerva guiding her and keeping a close eye on her hadn’t been a fully organic interaction, the little smiles and reassuring hands that the robot left on her shoulder certainly felt meaningful.

Her relationship with Minerva may have been a bit peculiar, but Celica could say with confidence that she genuinely loved her with all her heart, even if others didn’t see Minerva the way she did. Soft-spoken, gentle, and caring, with an undercurrent of wit. Bonding with Minerva had been all too easy, and before she knew it, Celica had found herself fostering a requited crush for her. Just thinking about Minerva made her smile.

She desperately tried holding that image in her mind as she was swamped with bodies on all sides, threatening to drown her.

To an outsider’s perspective, it was a normal Kagutsuchi rush-hour of people heading to work. Celica had been planning to take Minerva out to buy her something cute, maybe a little ribbon or a scarf at one of the shops. Without really paying attention, she had wound up separated from Minerva, and gotten stuck in the glut of people rushing by.

For the most part, Celica had gotten very experienced in knowing her limits and not forcing herself too hard. She didn’t like the term ‘high-functioning,’ but if she kept herself calm and collected, hardly anybody could guess that she was autistic just by looking at her. The crowd currently surrounding her was far more than she was prepared to handle, though, with all the noises and scents and people brushing up against her when it was hard enough just getting enough air.

“M-Minerva-” She called out weakly, in the hope that she could be heard. Celica clasped hands over her ears in a feeble attempt to block out the noise. She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut to make all the blurring colors away, but if she couldn’t see, then she knew she had little hope in finding her way out of the crowd.

She wasn’t used to feeling this overwhelmed. It was peculiar. She had been in much more dire circumstances and remained calm, but now she was in a practically harmless scenario and still almost ready to have a meltdown right on the spot. What would Konoe say?

Celica felt something nudge against her back, forceful. She bit back a distressed cry, but the sensation continued until it scooped her right up off the ground.

“Minerva…?” She found herself looking up into a familiar pair of red eyes, expression forever-calm but with a hint of worry and distress hidden in it. With as tall as she was, the automaton was easily able to lift her above the crowd line as she waded through.

While the larger set of arms carefully supported her, Celica watched as the smaller arms slipped out. One gently stroked a tear-stained cheek, and the other reached down to grip one of her own hands comfortingly.

Before she knew it, the sounds of the crowd had begun to fade in the distance. Minerva had found some empty field out aways from all the people, and sat down on the grass. She kept Celica in her grip, issuing a low, soothing hum of a song for her to focus on while she calmed down.

It took Celica a while to find her bearings again. As soon as she did, she reached up and wrapped her arms around her partner, hugging her tightly.

“Thank you.”

[melon---choly]

CRYSTAL FOREST