#he’s a yorha defect

[the-east-art]

There’s aren’t really anything but do you understand my vision. The reason I haven’t posted art in four days is cuz I’ve been playing nier nonstop

[abimee]

not saying me comparing automata to ac4a took away from it but i do think part of my expections were a mix between vastly misunderstanding the nier raids in 14 and assuming automata was going to go in an ac4a-esque way. [very loud obviously joking voice] maybe if they had a Defend Line Ark/Defeat White Glint type scenario this game wouldve sold a bajillion copies

[ideas-on-paper]

NieR: Automata Ver. 1.1a Quick Review - Episode 2

[WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE GAME AND ANIME]

[Use of he/him pronouns for Plato at my own discretion]

While the first episode of the Nier Automata anime was composed almost exclusively of action scenes, the second one takes its time to slow down a bit and illustrate some of the lore and background. This is certainly a nice change of pace, and a great opportunity to ease people who have never played the game into the setting.

The episode starts off with a speech from the Council of Humanity directed at the YoRHa androids, which also takes place in the game exactly at this point. However, in contrast to the game where all we see are the Operators standing in the Server Room, we also get a glimpse of various other, Earth-stationed YoRHa members who are receiving the transmission simultaneously. I thought this was a really nice change, since it gives you a broader perspective of YoRHa in general.

Quite unexpectedly, right after the introduction on the androids' side and the standard anime opening, the episode launches straight into the story of Plato 1728, a defective machine lifeform we only get to see in Nier Automata's DLC (which I personally didn't play but watched a walkthrough of). In the beginning, we see some shots filmed through "the machine's eyes", such as the booting sequence which looks really incredible - unfortunately though, the expositionary text displays are also back again. (This is the one part of the game's presentation that really started to annoy me over time; I thought it was fine with Simone, but especially during the later part of Route C, it got way too much for my taste and I was just sick of it.) The picture book scenes are also there, and though I wasn't the biggest fan of those either due to how cryptic they were, it seems like they have been shot with live-action props, which gives them a very unique look.

We get to see some shots of the factory environment from the DLC, all the while exploring Plato's backstory. Like all the other machines, he is was created to fight the androids, but after picking up a discarded book and finding a bookmark with the image of a Lunar Tear, he seemingly doesn't want to fight anymore. Upon discovering the real-life equivalent of the flower in the City Ruins, he and some of his buddies decide to try cultivating the flower, with their trial-and-error gardening leading to some hilarious situations. It's cute, but that's basically all there is to it, really. (I felt that the game was trying a little too hard to make you empathize with the machines at certain points, so I'm pretty much immune to it by now.)

In the following scene, Lily and the Resistance members are also introduced, and we get a general summary of the current situation and the conflict between the androids and machines. However, Lily (who replaces Anemone in this adaptation) is less than enthused about the rallying transmission from the Council of Humanity, silently commenting on how the guys on the Moon are able to display such bravado while the Resistance has never received a single firearm to support their cause. Furthermore, for the very first time in Nier Automata, we get a glimpse of the Moon itself - the "dwelling of the gods" as far as the androids are concerned - and by the looks of it, it's dented on one side, almost as if an impact of considerable size happened there. (Please don't bother to give me the lore explanation for this; I would rather enjoy the mystery of it instead of having to deal with the time/dimension traveling shit Yoko Taro usually comes up with.) Either way, it's obvious that Lily harbors considerably more mistrusts than Anemone and acts somewhat disillusioned, which might add an interesting new perspective to the Resistance. (However, please note that this does not mean I'm viewing the Resistance as the "good" organisation as opposed to YoRHa. The Resistance androids have enough questionable actions on their record, starting with their treatment of Devola and Popola - which is still the same in the anime - because no matter the circumstances, treating someone as an outcast of society and actively shunning them is an inexcusable crime for me. Not to mention the VERY dubious note from Jackass you receive after Ending C/D, which was one of the main reasons why I didn't finish Ending E.)

Next up is the Bunker scene which leads to 2B and 9S descending down to Earth to assist the Resistance, which plays out mostly the same as in the game. I will say though that while they couldn't replicate 2B's booting sequence for obvious reasons (which was one of the most innovative and creative game menu introductions I've ever seen), I was very happy to see they kept 9S' flustered reaction to 2B's comment that his voice is soothing. ;-)

After sending our two protagonists off, the Commander also has a brief inner monologue, saying "2B, 9S… Take care of yourselves." Ever since playing the game, I got the impression that the Commander might have had qualms about her actions from a certain point, but I couldn't discern when exactly this change of mind happened. Was it after learning about the extinction of the aliens? Or even before? Either way, we'll have to see if the anime elaborates on that.

We then cut back to the Resistance members, who are facing a downward fight against a horde of rampaging machines which suddenly overran the City Ruins. Being at a disadvantage and severely outnumbered, they decide to detonate a bridge to stop their advance (though it looks slightly different, the surroundings suggest it might actually be THAT bridge; makes you wonder how often they had to repair it by now). At the last moment, Lily manages to hit the bursting charge with her rifle while the rest of the enemy machines is bombarded by 2B and 9S from above, sending all of them tumbling into the abyss. Unfortunately, Plato was also caught in the crossfire, his broken body landing on a cliff where he glances at a withered Lunar Tear one the last time.

In the meantime, 2B and 9S finally make their entrance - and this time, the animators had the grace to make both of them look equally bad. It's obvious they simply skipped the step of integrating their hand-drawn bodies into the CGI flight units to spare themselves some time, but in the process, it makes the animation look somewhat cheap. I'm aware that combining 2D and 3D isn't an easy task, especially when the two of them touch, but there are productions that show it can be done if you're ready to invest the effort.

Here's, it becomes clear that Lily takes over Anemone's role in this, because she recognizes 2B as "No. 2" the first time she sees her. Lily is briefly attacked by a reanimated machine, but it's dispersed off rather quickly with the assistance of the pods. While the other Resistance members excitedly welcome the two YoRHa androids, Lily is lost in silent musings whether the Council of Humanity truly sent them the help they so desperately need.

One detail I greatly appreciate is that Devola and Popola are established early on as characters: When Lily gets wounded, they immediately cure her, which gives them a lot more presence this early in the story compared to the game. (At least it feels a lot less awkward than meeting them later on and the game just going like "okay, these people are important now".)

The last scene of the episode - and probably my biggest point of criticism - is a shot of the machine conglomerate in the desert and the implied/imminent birth of Adam. There are two main differences from the game here: First off, 2B and 9S are not shown to be present, which raises the question what even prompted the machines to strike up their trademark chant of "this cannot continue" and fuse all of their bodies to create Adam. Second - and this is what REALLY bugs me - they're shown to be reading instead of trying to imitate human sexual behavior like they do in the game. The reason why I loved this so much is because the way it's presented in game, it feels like the machines are trying to unlock the "secret knowledge" of humanity by mimicking their actions - except that it kinda doesn't work since, well, they aren't human. This impression is completely missing from the anime, and thus, the adaptation of this scene falls far behind its game counterpart.

However, this huge letdown is somewhat compensated for by the ending: because for the first time, we get to see the actual outro of the anime. It's a very touching scene, with 2B and 9S standing in a cornfield, him flashing a bright smile at her. 2B is visibly moved and runs towards him, abandoning her sword stuck in the ground, but as soon as she is within arm's reach, his form dissolves into nothingness. This scene - without even using any words - does a better job at conveying 2B's feelings for 9S than everything we get from the game. Discounting the fact that it's technically the outro, I'd say it's definitely the best scene from the whole episode.

After that, we once again get a lore skit with puppets. By shamelessly disguising himself as the sender of a fan letter, Yoko Taro asks his own characters what resources androids need to function, and 9S explains that while regular (=Resistance) androids only need water, the YoRHa models don't need to consume anything at all. I find this mildly curious since I remember it being explicitly stated in YoRHa Boys that YoRHa androids have a water tank as well, though maybe that's a feature the newer models don't come with. (Or maybe Yoko Taro simply retconned his own lore again. I wouldn't be surprised by that either.) Anyway, the episode ends with 2B removing her own OS chip and effectively killing herself. (At this point, you may wonder whether she has a death wish.)

Still, overall, I'd say I liked this episode way better than the first - that is, if I still had any genuine feelings for Nier Automata left. It's difficult to explain, but while I'm technically aware what I would be feeling, the emotion just doesn't reach my heart - at this point, the only thing I feel about the game is total, all-encompassing indifference. I suppose it's like looking back at memories with your ex - you know how you felt in that exact moment, but you just don't feel the same anymore. I doubt that my past love for Nier Automata can ever be rekindled (provided that I'd even want it to be rekindled), but I'm going to keep watching for now if simply to see what they make out of this.

[cryo-regalia]

the curiosity of obsession

for so long, the idea of having a human in their grasp felt like it was slowly slipping from between their fingers. it’s thanks to an unexpected trip to an underground lab that their dreams are rekindled, all starting with a living being encased in a cryostasis chamber ft. adam and eve

— THEMES: yandere au, spoilers, project gestalt is mentioned a few times, bruises, eve being a jealous little baby, fem!reader, mention of deprivation of necessities

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT | 18+

It was common knowledge to every anthropomorphic living being that the remaining humans that had yet to be wiped out from extinction resided on the moon. What they did on a planet known to be uninhabitable remained a mystery, but such a thing wasn’t necessary knowledge to some who were content to know they were active until the day they could return to Earth. If humans were still around, the only issue was convincing them the need to return. Such proved to be enough to fuel the will to fight for many Androids within Project YoRHa, that hadn’t defected. Adam and Eve could do a lot of things, but getting themselves into the heavily protected database and network that was YoRHa was easier said than done. It certainly wasn’t impossible, but the secrets within the organization were far out of their reach and hidden behind an untouchable digital wall. For now, at least. The Machine that dubbed himself as Adam was determined to get his hands on at least one of them and he would stop at nothing to make that a reality. He had to examine. Observe. Learn. Experiment. He yearned for the knowledge no machine like him could truly understand or experience on their own. They weren’t beings made to feel such an incredible concept like emotions, but when he got a taste of what he described as curiosity, his thirst for knowledge expanded tenfold.

Humans were not born with a set of vague and simplistic directions like he and his kind were, and what they thought of exactly was unknown due to their limited abilities upon being removed from their mother’s womb. He dared call their fetal selves brainless and ignorant. They couldn’t mimic movement and speech until later phases of their life, couldn’t relieve themselves properly without the assistance of their parental figures, and had to go to educational institutions in order to be granted with the information they craved and a thin piece of a tree that spoke of their success. A college or university degree, Adam remembered them being called. They weren’t born with the data as Machines like himself and Androids were—could one even say that he or any lifeform unnatural and of mechanical origin were truly born? They were a blank slate in that regard, choosing to learn what they wanted and had to take time to come to understand and use it practically. Their bodies were weak sacks of flesh that could be sliced into with the smallest of weapons should its blade be sharp enough. He found it ironic that their modes of transportation, their own mindless creations meant to serve them, were just as dangerous as an ordinary knife.

Ever since he learned about the creatures on the brink of extinction, Adam had been awestruck by the idea of them and what remained of their once prosperous species. To think that their very kind dominated the planet to the point of ruling it, and yet now a presumably small collective society of them remained on a rock vastly unlike Earth. There was something profoundly interesting about that and only fed the insatiable hunger that was his curiosity. Humans could live their lives the way they wanted, each and every one of them experiencing something entirely different from the person beside them, unaware of the existence of billions of others within the world. They faced struggles due to their incapability or the hardships forced upon them from birth, like poverty, debt, discrimination, birth defects and so many others that would have taken too long to list. The Network could supply him with as many answers as he had questions, but to take them at face value would be...absurd. Nonsensical. Ludicrous, that was without question. Everything about them made his mind race in search of hundreds of answers at a time in a database he was so close to memorizing, and while he got his answers, he lacked the capacity to truly appreciate its meaning and capabilities.

After all, what good was knowledge if you didn’t precisely understand it?

Putting it simply, Adam was quick to learn that the machine who dubbed himself as his brother didn’t share the same thoughts and beliefs as he did. That wasn’t to say he was disobedient and refused to see things the way he did. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He may have sprouted from his older brother’s rib, but it was clear that his minimal opinions remained separate from Adam’s much more intensive fascination. Eve—a name that Adam chose in conjunction to his own after reading what was called the Bible in a human religion—followed his every word and step with an eagerness that was ultimately surprising but not unwelcome, and he was quite intelligent, but didn’t put it to use very often in favor of raising his fists. He asked questions, like what and why they ate or why they wore clothing, but never delved any deeper than what was presented at face value and accepted it rather quickly if it came out of his big brother’s mouth, anyways. In the words of humans, he was like a lost puppy, constantly following him around and yearning for his approval no matter how trivial the act was. He didn’t see the humans as fountains of knowledge or a rarity; only a few could get their hands on as the older machine did, only something that the Androids swore to protect and nothing more. But he knew that his brother wanted the humans on the moon, desperately so, and he would do anything to make Adam’s wishes come true.

It was a chance encounter that the two machines were able to locate the building they currently lingered inside of. He dared to call it fateful and minutely wondered if it was the blessing of a deity refusing to make itself known or just happenstance. The more Adam explored, the more he learned it was more like a grand but obviously abandoned facility with steel walls that kept it from crumbling beneath the weight of the earth and Flooded City above them. Animal lifeforms made their homes in every nook and cranny they could to avoid the incessant battles between machines and Androids above, or simply enjoy the peace and quiet of it all. It was to their luck that they graciously kept the artifacts intact and left alone where they were promptly identified and researched. Any electrical functions were either cut off and out of working order entirely or lacked enough power to work long enough to fulfil their purposes. Rust had made its way around as though it belonged, some pipes and wires had been chewed through, and bulbs from the already broken lights were shattered and scattered along the floor busy with debris. The state of the place was of no surprise to either of the machines, and more of a nuisance to the youngest who remained bored and disinterested in what was around them.

Eve wandered around, anyways, on his brother’s request to find something, anything, that would be beneficial to their research and exploration of human life and their unique cultures. He wasn’t sure where to start, if he was being honest. To him, these were just hunks of metal and other material that were way past their prime that they could have been considered something else entirely. He didn’t really care what this place was and he certainly didn’t know. His brother wanted it—his beloved big brother who knew everything and was always right—and so he would get it for him. He was trying, he really was, but he had no idea where to start and what was all that intriguing. With a sigh of growing defeat, he glanced and craned his neck back to where Adam stood. His back was to him and he delicately lifted strange glass objects up into the air between his fingers, the red of his gloves reflecting off of it. His mind immediately told him those were called beakers, but he also didn’t care enough to look into them. He continued through the hallway with wide but slow steps, eyes sweeping around for anything and everything. Much to his displeasure, he found nothing of interest that they didn’t already know about so he continued on until he was able to complete the task given to him.

And then the crunching of glass and earth died beneath his feet as he slowed to a stop in front of something blocked off, but he could faintly see something on the other side of it. He pulled the crippled beams and debris out of the way and to the side until they were a chaotic pile against the wall and quickly forgotten. A door? He tapped his fingers against the closed entryway that reminded him of the alien mothership, but without the glowing lights that indicated something that was once extraterrestrial. He knew it wouldn’t be hard for his brother to get through the lock on his own, but he was so tempted to drive his fist through it and just tear it apart from there. It was just a bunch of metal in his eyes and he figured that they could easily repair it, but he knew he’d get in trouble if he did. All because Adam wanted to preserve it in the way they found it, whatever that meant, but he did as his brother said and kept his fists to himself. But it was so, so tempting. Instead, slender fingers curled around the handle and turned it, but it didn’t make it halfway. His brows furrowed and he tried again with a little more force, but got the same result. Some stupid lock was stopping him? Was this some kind of joke? He grit his teeth with an overwhelming ferocity and reeled his fist back.

“Find something?”

Eve’s head swiveled around to face the machine behind him and he was quick to drop his fist at the sound of the voice. Adam’s brow was raised as he looked between him and the door. He shamefully dropped his head when he realized he was caught, but nodded in response to the question. His boots made light taps against the floor until they came to a stop beside Eve, the red tips of his gloves coming to rest upon the rundown metal with a smooth touch that was much more gentle than the short-haired machine’s. Red eyes slid closed and his shoulders slumped while a golden mist appeared over his fingers and spread across the door in blocky motions until it reached the circular frame. Eve smirked and crossed his arms along his bare chest, shifting on one leg as the door opened with a soft click hardly a minute afterwards. Adam drew his hand away as the dim glow faded away like it wasn’t there to begin with and his eyes slid open, clearly triumphant but unsurprised. They watched as the doors hissed as they twisted around and opened with only a moment of reluctance before clicking into place within the wall. A cold gust of air flooded past them as dust kicked up, but neither of that bothered the two as they stepped in one after the other.

It had the same issues as the rooms before it and it was immediately noticeable: the lack of power, debris, animal nests and infestations. It was far bigger than the other rooms, however, and much more crowded with pieces of furniture that were cluttered with ceiling tiles, papers, writing utensils, and broken technology that either wouldn’t turn on or were shattered. Eve didn’t think repairing them would be too big of an issue, but he wondered if doing so would be worth it in the end if there wasn’t anything good saved in their databases. Mammals they identified as rattus’ (or rats, as they were commonly called) scurried by their feet when they were disturbed and hid themselves in pockets of the walls or out of the space entirely with sharp squeaks and chattering. They parted when Adam gestured for him to do so, and he immediately (albeit disappointed) removed himself from his side and walked the opposite way. Green painted the walls as vines poked out from the ceiling tiles and some crawled their way down to the floor. Files were opened and scattered along the flat surfaces of the room or fell onto the floor at some point and became mixed up in. Project Gestalt was written on the front of one of the files in thick writing and full of papers covered in text. What did that mean? Gestalt. What a weird word. He didn’t really know so he brushed it off and kept moving.

“How peculiar,” Adam mused as he inspected one of the many desks lined into rows.

“What is, Brother?”

“This room,” the long-haired Machine said and gestured around with a graceful wave of his hand. “It’s the only one with a security system—one ingrained into the Network, nonetheless. We’ve only encountered common steel doors that could only be secured with a lock and key. Now why is that? What could they possibly want hidden?”

Eve hummed. “I don’t know.”

Adam, if he was displeased with the answer, didn’t respond or show any signs that the other Machine could pick up on. It bothered him a little bit; he couldn't decipher him, but he was glad he wasn’t in trouble! That was always a good thing! Eve watched as Adam continued to wander around lost in his own thoughts and found himself almost glued to the heels of the lithe being in front of him. He shuffled through drawers and the papers that were strewn about on the aged desks like they were to be returned to another day. He tried to read them, but he didn’t understand what any of it was talking about. White Chlorination Syndrome, maso, the Legion, Red Eye, he didn’t get it at all. He was sure his brother understood it, but he didn’t get the appeal of it when there were better things they could be doing. Like playing! But, with a grumble, Eve forced himself to remain patient. They could play after like he was told. The half-dressed machine stopped where he was walking to stand behind one of the seats, yanking—at the warning glance he got from his big brother, he pulled it off a bit more carefully—the cloth from where it hung off of the backrest. Some kind of lab coat, he guessed as he raised it up into the air. He pulled it a bit closer to his face when he noticed something along the side of it: [Last name]. What was that? Was it like a “Gestalt”, whatever that was? With a halfhearted shrug, he tossed it back down where he found it and kept walking.

The long haired machine eventually came to venture into the very back of the spacious room, an area that he quickly maneuvered around to be by his brother’s side. Hung up by the ceiling titles and spanned from one end to the other was a long curtain, its original color most likely faded into the foul tan hue it was then. It was the only part of the room that was untouched by the clutter of stationary products but the scattered rubble and dirt from above was inevitable. It was easily tossed to the side to reveal what was once hidden behind it, and it took both of them less than seconds to process what was in front of them in all of its decaying glory. The two machines froze in their place and stared past their reflections and into the equipment lined up against the wall. Ten long capsule-shaped pods leaned back at an angle, thick pipes connecting from the cracked ceiling into the confined space. Bulbs lined the exterior of the glass and, by the looks of it, they were still in working order and would continue to glow if the electricity wasn’t cut off. The inside looked similarly to a normal bed, with a small pillow attached to the back and what he assumed was a mattress or a soft surface to support whatever was meant to lay inside. Was this paralyzing feeling shock? Adam would have wondered in acute curiosity if it wasn’t for the bulbous sockets of a skeleton staring back at him.

Each of the chambers were occupied with the remains of what was once organic life, instead reduced to a form devoid of that. The glass that once acted as a divider between the laboratory and the inside was either shattered completely and laid in shards along the tiles or had large asymmetrical gaps that released whatever was meant to keep its contents preserved. Nests were built within the rib cages or whatever crevice the intrusive vermin could crawl into and claim as their home. The darkened bones, if not snapped out of place and motionless at the bottom, were gnawed away and its once perfectly symmetrical form was left behind in ruins. Ruined clothing hung uselessly around their forms or by their feet if it lost its original support around their hips or shoulders. Unfortunately, this was the exact opposite of what Adam was looking for. It would be foolish of him to scavenge them for life that had faded long ago. And yet, with a desperation he recognized was unlike him, he moved from one to the other in search with a frantic pace that he recognized was unlike him. He let nothing stop him as he inspected each and every one of the chambers as though he would find something that stood out from the others. He forced himself to remain calm, composed, but he could feel an anticipation in the back of his mind that he couldn’t yet put a name to.

Then he stopped. The final chamber beside the rusted generator stared into him, daring him to identify what was inside and prove his suspicions right or wrong. Several long cracks spread along the glass but was otherwise still whole and kept the air inside from pouring out, but could feel some of it brush against his exposed artificial skin. Adam’s hand raised into the air and set itself against the fragile material with gentle taps of his fingers. It was cool, he recognized. It wasn’t room temperature like the others. It was growing increasingly warmer the longer it was left alone, but its chill was quickly diminishing. It wasn’t the good condition (as good as it could be considering the circumstances) that left him shocked, but rather what was inside. Not a skeleton like the nine others that had undoubtedly seen better days, but the fleshy body of a living being. Their eyes were shut and they laid back in a peaceful slumber, unaware of the war and restless fighting ongoing in the world above their compartment. The rising and falling of their chest gave away the signs of life they held a fleeting grasp of. Their skin clung to their bones and their cheeks were hollowed from malnutrition after so much time left in cryostasis. Adam made a note to himself to collect the proper nutrients, or for Eve to do that for him. It was truly a miracle that the being inside was still alive.

Quickly undoing the lock, Adam pulled the door to it open and reached out to the sleeping human. A human. It didn’t feel real but this was reality. They finally did it. They had a human with them, a human on Earth. When he pulled them forward and out of the bed they laid in, they fell limp against his chest and he stilled. Their breath trailed against faux skin between strings of silver hair and had it not been for the arms wrapped around them to support them, they would have fallen to the ground. They fit perfectly within his hands, he realized immediately. Like they were meant to be in his grasp. That was a peculiar thought, but he set it to the side for further examination later on. They were so soft and he could feel the curvature of their bones beneath his fingers that he traced for just a moment. The exposed skin was smooth, chill from the air that once surrounded them, and he criticized their current state. That was no fault of their own, but it was something he would have to change once he got some answers out of it—he would be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued by how humans reacted to being in such a weak form because of illness, malnutrition, injury, and the list went on. In a single swift movement, the machine turned his back to the chamber and the remains that laid in the others and took wide steps towards the door with the unconscious human held tight in his arms.

“Brother?” Eve questioned, trotting up to walk beside him. His eyes, identical to that of Adam’s, looked between him and the woman in his arms. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to bring her home.”

• • • L O A D I N G •  •  •

Eve wasn’t someone who looked deep into what was around him, rather focusing on what he saw at a surface level. He didn’t see the world the way his brother did and while that was upsetting (he remembered he was so disappointed in himself when he couldn’t understand what Brother meant when he was explaining a human philosophy), he eventually got over it. The rubble that was the city was exactly that to him. A mess of what was once a whole bunch of buildings. The land around it was destroyed, the nature growing over it anyways with not a single care of where it went but eager to continue growing with nothing stopping it but a lack of soil. But to Adam, that mess was history, clues of what once was and remains that needed to be preserved. The way the flora grew was a means of observation, something to be compared and observed in a controlled environment. It was boring and didn’t make much sense, if you asked him. It was just trash at this point and no one, no civilization, was ever going to live there again. But if it made him happy, he would support Adam and his curiosity for as long as they lived. That’s why he kept his mouth shut, because he knew that it meant more than he realized to the machine he cared for so much. Eve hoped that he could make his brother that happy one day. No. He knew he would, he was just getting started!

Emotions weren’t much different, when it came to his opinion. He would ask Brother what something meant and the older machine would hypothesize for a moment in calming silence, offering different words that he didn’t always know the meaning of until one fit. He wasn’t completely sure if it was even the right descriptor, but it made his brother happy, so that’s what mattered most to him. But this bubbling feeling in his stomach area, it was so weird. He brushed it off at first, thinking nothing of it as he carried out the request given to him, but then it continued, growing more and more and staying with each passing day. Why? What was going on with him? He wondered, sometimes kicking or punching an object he knew wouldn’t get him in trouble out of frustration. And then it hit him when red eyes locked onto [eye color] one day. It was thanks to this human that things were different. With Adam. With him. The two were never tied down to one spot for this long, wandering wherever they truly wanted with nothing to tie them down. They’d often return to the long dinner table full of seats that went untouched, each of them sitting on one end as Adam read and ate the plant matter given to him, but he didn’t remember the last time they did that. It was all her fault, this human’s fault for taking his brother away from him like she didn’t know what she was doing.

He agreed to take...uh, what was the world again? He always forgot it, it was too long on his tongue. Representative? No...Residency? Yeah! That word! He agreed to take residency in the abandoned kingdom within the forest, untouched by Androids after the appearance of who they learned to be called A2 before 2B, and 9S appeared, but it was littered with machine lifeforms. At first, he thought they were just staying there until they could find somewhere better to go, or hop place-to-place. He thought that was the plan, although he silently chastised himself for assuming. Brother didn’t like when he assumed things. But then a week according to the weird monthly system in his database told him a week went by, then another, then yet another. Eve didn’t have a problem with the castle or staying there. It was the reason they were there that really got him going and had him taking trees down one after the other so he wouldn’t do the same to the woman and get in trouble. The human was settled down in a humongous room, the bed fixed up and covered in several sheets and pillows that was more than what was explained to him about necessities for sleep. It was thanks to his brother that they were so comfy and warm during the cold term. At least they said thank you, but it took awhile and he was sure they didn’t really mean it. He would have jumped at the chance to thank him!

As angry as he was, Eve couldn’t say no to what Adam told him to do. He didn’t want to, he wanted to be a help and make his brother proud of him, and so he did it. Something like this wasn’t how he expected to spend his day. It was so boring and he didn’t get it at all. He promised to get it done, anyways, and shoved the old toy he found in a secret spot as if the human would steal it if he left it out. Adam thought it would be a good “bonding experience” and that it would “resolve the tension between them”—whatever that meant—and he had faith in him that he would have good results. Eve was more than prideful of the compliment, but he had questions. Why not just wear what she had now? Was that not good enough? Apparently she needed clothing and other materials to survive. Why didn’t women just go shirtless? He didn’t see the point of needing a shirt, it could get so restrictive. Thankfully the walk to the apartment complexes in the desert city didn’t take too long and they weren’t interrupted by any of the Androids. He checked that shopping center place, but it didn’t have the right size in what she would wear and what did was too torn to be used or even considered a shirt. Problem was that he was getting bored and way too quickly. Did he regret this? Absolutely, he wanted this done and over with. But grabbing some clothing wouldn’t take too long, right?

The muscular machine stood guard at the door so she wouldn’t run off like she tried to multiple times back at the castle after waking up. He wouldn’t take his chances and if he grabbed her too roughly he was afraid of getting in trouble. He didn’t want her skin to be that weird purple and blue color again, he didn’t mean it. Weirdly, it turned green and yellow and left after! He eyed the windows, some cracked and others still intact, so she didn’t throw herself out of one of them or escape through the stairs that looped up towards the rooftop and down below to the sand. Eve rocked on his feet as he watched her move around yet another room in the complex, going through dressers and closets one after another. A small lump of clothing was piled off to the side and slowly started to grow, and he had a small feeling he would be the one to carry them. Why didn’t she just, you know, take it all? Sure, it might be a bit big, but she needed clothes, right? They could take care of it back in the forest if she was worried about not being able to carry it all. Red eyes wandered around the room, past the abandoned objects and to the window. He craned his neck to peer out of it and just as he grew just as bored with that as he was with waiting around, Eve caught sight of something silver at the bottom but couldn’t make out what it was properly.

“Human.” The woman turned to face him and he pointed to the strange object. “What is that?”

With cautious steps across the floorboards that nearly had him rolling his eyes, she approached the window and stood in front of it. She watched him between her observation in quick glimpses, but he kept himself still. “What? You mean the playground?”

Eve perked up right away. “Playground? What does it do?”

“You don’t know what a playground is?” She asked in disbelief. When she got a grumble in response, that was enough for her to know her answer. “You play on it? Go on the swings, go down the slides, hang from the monkey bars,” she explained and then paused. “But they’re probably scorching hot at this point.”

It took him a moment to realize that she had actual feeling in her hands, not just artificial feeling like he and Adam did. Words were supplied to their minds and the sensation of temperature, touch, and pain weren’t something they could understand unless they disconnected themselves from the Network. That’s what Big Brother told him, and Eve was proud to know he remembered it. It would hurt her a lot more than it would him, he realized, but not if she was careful. The human woman wandered around, running a hand through knotted hair (he sort of remembered that she said something about needing a bath, whatever that was) before continuing with her search through a line of jackets and let some lay limp in the pile on the bed while others were returned to their hangers. While she was busy, Eve wondered for a moment. Brother wouldn’t mind if they took a little detour for a bit. She had her clothes so mission complete, right? Without so much as a word, he swiftly traversed across the room, grabbed her wrist, and tugged her behind him out of the room and down the hall. He didn’t look back and guessed that the shuffling of fabric was her juggling the clothing in one arm. She pulled against his hand and yanked herself away from him, and if it wasn’t for the purposefully weak grip on her, her attempt would have been fruitless.

“Hey!” The woman barked and glared at him when he spun around to face her. He was quick to match her expression, but she refused to falter. “You can’t just drag me around!”

“Will you stop complaining already? I wanna play!”

“Play? What are you? Two?”

“I’m Eve!”

With a groan, the machine released her and tossed her wrist back at her. She caught it in her palm and rubbed at the skin, but suddenly yelped when he grabbed her by the waist instead. Eve threw her over his shoulder with ease and wrapped one arm around her legs and from kicking him. It wouldn’t have been the first time and definitely not the last, but it was really annoying. He wanted to treat her like Adam did and like he told him to, but she was really getting on his nerves. First taking his brother away, and now calling him by the wrong name? That was just rude! He continued down the hall as fast as he could to get her complaints to stop and to arrive at this playground faster. What were monkey bars? He’d love to try them out! He heard something like that from Adam before, but only once! And a swing and slide, those really had him excited! It sounded simple enough; how did he work them? He trotted down the stairs in growing anticipation, the shattered windows hinting at getting closer to ground level or whatever was now considered that with all of the sand that flooded it and the other apartments. Glass and other materials crunched underneath his boots and broke into smaller pieces if he hadn’t done so on the way up the first time around. Eve was trying to ignore her to the best of his ability, but was struggling to when her voice was right in his ear.

“Let go of me, jackass!”

Eve didn’t respond, harshly biting his tongue before he could say anything that she would repeat to his brother. He heard that humans could bleed if they bit hard enough, some even taking it right off by accident. Would she stop if he made her bite her tongue? How would he even do that? Despite her jabs to his head and the tugs to his hair that forced his hair back, he continued on and focused on his current objective and swat at her hand with his free one. Soon it turned into some kind of war, the two exchanging hits back and forth. It took him a few seconds and a couple weak smacks from the human he carried that he realized he was having fun. This was so weird. Was this normal? He’d have to ask when they got back to the castle, but it left him in a little bit of disbelief. It was for that reason that he continued, even when he missed because he couldn’t see her and didn’t mind as much when she hit his upper back. It was when they were met with the beams of gold from the sky that the two stopped, but he was granted one more smack to the back of his head. His pace quickened until he was almost running, getting closer and closer to the shining silver playground. He realized that the human had stopped complaining, he didn’t know when, but didn’t mind that either.

When he stood in front of it, he finally set her down as she so wished. By that, he meant lifted her from his shoulder and dropped her without so much as a care. She fell onto her butt and any relief was turned into annoyance as she held onto parts of her body and groaned before picking herself up from the ground, sending him a glare he returned. Eve carefully watched her for a couple seconds to make sure sure wouldn’t wander off and was ready to stop her if she was, but when he noticed she didn’t move from her spot aside from getting up to stand, he eased up a bit. He kept an eye on her from the corner of his eye, but gave his remaining attention on what he was really here for. It was a lot different from what he expected and heard of. Wasn’t there supposed to be some kind of plastic building attached to it? Or those rope courses! Or some kind of pole, but he didn’t know the point of that. He was a little disappointed by how simplistic it was, but would take what he would get if it meant he could finally play. His feet sunk further into the sand as he got closer and he pulled on the human’s sleeve to get her to follow and only let go when he stopped and she was beside him. Eve cocked his head and ran a gloved finger down one of the poles supporting it, a white line following the red tip over his finger.

"Do you seriously not know what that is?” The woman asked.

Eve shook his head as he stared forward. “Show me how to use it.”

When he was met with silence, he looked down at her. Her arms were crossed along her chest indignantly and her head faced the building they were just in. For a second he thought she was distracted, but then quickly realized when he nudged her shoulder that wasn’t responding. Beads of sweat formed on her skin and she only shifted out of her position to wipe it from her brow but return to how she was like she didn’t move at all. He nudged her again, called for her attention, waved a hand in front of her face, kicked at her foot. Nothing at all. Was she broken? He couldn’t have done something, unless it was a delayed response to being dropped. No, humans reacted differently to getting an injury from what he heard. She heard him before, so was her auditory system malfunctioning? She was still moving, still breathing, so she wasn’t dead. He didn’t want to think about what would happen to him if she died. Fortunately, by the rising and falling of her chest and the brief licks to her lips she was still conscious. Then it sunk in and in that moment it took all of his self-restraint from snapping her or the bar he touched in half. She was ignoring him!

Eve grit his teeth and said the first thing that came to mind. “Brother really isn’t going to like to hear that you’re not listening to me. And don’t think about running. He’ll really get mad.”

The human woman turned up to him in horror, her head snapping to face him and her jaw nearly dropped. “You wouldn’t.” When she realized he was serious, she swallowed and faced the play-set.

He watched intently as she wandered to what he realized was the swing. Eve was quick to mirror her and approached the one beside her but without the irritated and displeased grumble. When she sat down, he sat down and quickly fixed his footing to match hers. When she placed her hands on the chains supporting the rubber seat, he held onto the chains and held onto them with a gentleness strange to him so he didn’t accidentally snap it in two. She pushed off against the golden grains that kicked up a small wave and just as he thought she was trying something, he relaxed. She swung back and forth, that’s all, again and again. Knowing that, he replicated those very movements. He leaned back, resting his weight on the seat, and then raised his legs in a brief experiment. He didn’t move at first, much to his frustration, no matter how many times he kicked at the sand. He watched her again—what was he doing wrong?—and looked down to his boots. He extended his legs and leaned back when he swung forward and brought his legs in when he swung backwards, repeating that again and again until the pull of gravity was starting to tug at him. The human didn’t gain as much air as he did, he noticed, but she was definitely watching him in surprise.

The wind relieved any of the heat that beat against his artificial skin and as jolting as it was to be thrown around, there was something fun about it. The short and choppy ends of his hair brushed against his face and the back of his neck. The rest fluttered and he minutely wondered what it would have looked like with his longer hair, but liked the cut he had now. Then he felt it. Not his hair or the wind or the blistering sun or the human’s eyes on him, but the weird feeling that pushed his eyes up, blurred the sides of his vision, and had his chest and shoulders bouncing. He kept swinging and realized that it lingered the higher he soared, but dared to release one of the chains to pat his face curiously. His lips were pulled up at the corners and smushed his eyelids in a way that not even Brother had caused, and that left him confused. It was a little annoying, too, but he figured out that it wasn’t permanent and that he could fix it with his fingers for a few seconds. He was laughing and Eve was surprised to realize that he was okay with, all while knowing that she was the cause of his bubbling laughter.

After that, their ventures to the desert became much more frequent until it was something he expected to do whenever she was given the free time during the day. More often than not they would return to the playground, but other times they would play a game called tag and sprint across the sandy plains. He would purposefully remain slow so she could catch up and so he wouldn’t instantly win, slipping past the hand outstretched to him to tag him as it. The machine thought he would grow bored and frustrated by her human limitations, but found amusement in watching her. In being by her side and learning, eagerly eating up whatever she had to say even if he didn’t understand it. Eve eventually learned that those boxes beneath the archway were called vending machines and would store drinks and snacks, but none of what remained were any good. He would have brought her to the Amusement Park and asked about all of the rides, but quickly found out that the Androids visited it a little too often when he was scouting the area. They couldn’t know, after all, she was his and Adam’s little secret! He couldn’t risk her being taken away, he didn’t know what he would do if she was. The thought of that made him...sad, he realized as he swung their arms back and forth, hands intertwined. She would pull away sometimes, but he guessed she was just slowing down and waited for her to catch up or tugged her along when he assumed the sand was pulling her down.

You must not spoil her, Eve, Adam told him before they departed. He left what he learned was a kiss on her head and she made the strangest face, but he didn’t think anything of it. She’ll start to misbehave.

Eve didn’t understand why he was told that. He stared in confusion but bobbed his head, keeping his mouth shut despite the conflict stirring in his mind and continued on their way. He kept her in his grasp where she fit perfectly in his hands, in his arms, and he refused to let her down for a solid few minutes until he absolutely had to. At first, she squirmed and wanted down, but after awhile of getting nowhere and smacks to the back of his head that he no longer minded too much, she gave in and wrapped her arms around his shoulders so she wouldn’t fall when he bounced from tree branch or rooftop to another and relied on the foliage or remains of the ruined city for cover from whoever may have been around. Fortunately for him, it wouldn’t take long before he understood the reason for his brother’s warning.

•  •  • L O A D I N G •  •  •

“What happened to that pretty voice of yours, my dear? Surely you can explain this to me.”

Adam was met with a thick silence he quickly became accustomed to, as he had for the past half an hour.

He wasn’t mad or frustrated like Eve may have been in such a situation. Instead he kept his composure and patiently waited until she was ready to speak. He had as much time in the world, if it took her a few days to finally say something then he would wait that long. Sometimes answers demanded patience and that’s exactly what he would give in exchange, but that didn’t stop him from watching her. He was convinced he was just examining her body language, and to be frank there wasn’t much to look for when she laid in an exhausted pile on the bed. She had run for so long, dealing with the tree branches slapping against her body that had left red splotches on her skin that wasn’t covered by her shirt. For a woman with a mouth to her, her silence spoke volumes. He almost missed her cursing. But the more he gazed at her, the less he saw her in a scientific perspective and more of a subjective lens. How perfectly her hair framed her face, the beauty of her features, her personality and the way she unintentionally continued to fuel his curiosity and spawn answers only she would be able to know and therefore drive him to keep her around. The way she was able to change Eve’s viewpoint of her so easily had him in awe, she was utterly fascinating.

It was no doubt difficult to get an answer out of her, but he always managed to in one way or another. He would be a liar if he said he took pleasure in depriving her of her necessities or left her locked in her room, and avoided those options as much as possible in fear that something unexpected would happen if he did. If he could, he would let her wander the forest and watch her from a distance to see what she did. If she would hunt an animal for sport or primal need for food if left alone for long enough. If she had the knowledge to identify whatever flora grew around her and pick out what was and wasn’t edible. If she would ever come running back into his or Eve’s arms out of loneliness or a desire for their company. He didn’t mind the idea of her returning and leaning towards his fellow machine, but imagining her in his embrace created an odd feeling within his chest he didn’t particularly mind. Nonetheless, that was but a fantasy he was still working towards. He couldn’t let her out of his sight. Not anymore, not when she sneaked out and nearly made it towards the Machine Village before Eve finally caught up to her. It was a disappointment to learn that she tried to escape and find some kind of sanctuary from whoever she ran into first. If it wasn’t for the fact the Androids would wretch her away at the first instance they got, he would have seen how she reacted in response to meeting them and the peaceful Machines, like Pascal.

Adam stepped closer to the bed and sat down at the edge. [Your name] forced herself to face away from him, but that didn't stop him from leaning over her and taking her face in his hand. Angered [color] eyes stared back at him and a grin rose onto his face, causing her own expression to falter. “How alluring you are when you look at me like that,” he admitted with a small and borderline dreamy sigh. “I wonder, do you look at Eve this way?”

She continued to say nothing, but yelped when the tips of Adam’s gloves dug into her cheeks. “We’ve given you a home, food, water, clothing, protection. Why is it that you keep fighting us? Do you find humor in it? Or a thrill? You know I’ll listen, and I’ll wait as long as it takes. It would be in your best interest to talk, my dear. I can do this all day.”

© cryo-regalia, all rights reserved. do not edit, translate, or repost my work on any platform.

[nierly-amazing]

NieR: Theatrical Orchestra 12020--Automata dramatic reading transcript

Alt title: THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO FUCKING MUCH IT HURTS

Art and transcript provided by @shirl_geem on twitter! Follow her, her art’s great!

NieR:Theatrical Orchestra 12020

NieR:Automata

Investigative Operation Overview

New machine-lifeform signatures detected in a previously neutralized enemy base. Said base is a large-scale facility located in the Pacific Ocean.

Communication from the squad stationed there was ceased, making the situation impossible to ascertain. Satellite photography is also impossible due to the base's location on the sea floor.

The Council of Humanity is making preparations to retake the base, but understands it may be a trap created with a new type of enemy weapon.

For this reason, the Council of Humanity has decided to send a small team as an advance scout force.

The task of investigating the base and ascertaining the safety of its personnel has been assigned to YoRHa units 2B and 9S.

--Operation Name: Uranus

Advance Force Registered:

YoRHa units 2B and 9S

Specifications:

Modified flight units (underwater-use)

Close-combat assault armor

Type-3 swords, pressure-resistant suits, anti-icing coating

12 modified canaries, salvageable backup memory storage, reactive barriers

--Escort Unit Details:

Lead escort duties to be carried out by Hunter units K1 and K2

K1 unit overview: 8 flight units, 1 transport unit

K2 unit overview: 4 flight units, 1 Hummingbird aircraft carrier

Defensive radius: From 8,000 meters above the objective to the ocean's surface.

--Status of the Target Area:

Depth: 1,200 meters

Water temperature: 3 degrees centigrade

Machine lifeform energy: 3,200 units

Estimated machine lifeform count: 32 individuals

Communication status: Unknown

--Supplementary Information:

Target is 32 km north of the hostile submerged facility that was destroyed on August 13th. According to the deep-sea patrol unit, there is no relation between that facility and the target.

However, as there remains the possibility of attack by escaped machine lifeforms or rogue androids, all information pertaining to Operation Atlantis is to be disclosed beforehand.

Time to Arrival at Objective: *10 second timer appears on the screen*

This operation has been placed under direct control of the Council of Humanity. Any recording or other archival action is strictly forbidden.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

2B: So this is the machine lifeforms' advance base...

9S (narrating): The base we infiltrated was an expansive underground space with countless, intertwining support pillars.

2B: Temperatures are low... Pod, scan the periphery.

Pod 042: No machine lifeforms detected. No signals found on sensors or canary system.

2B: Is that... a dead android? Pod!

Pod 042: Affiliation unknown. Possibly a member of the unit stationed here. Fusion reactor non-functional. Heat analysis indicates it was destroyed more than 48 hours ago. No external wounding detected.

2B: No external wounding? Could it have been an EMP blast?

Pod 042: Negative. No characteristics of EMP damage detected in circuits.

9S (narrating): As we looked around, we found more androids strewn across the room like a child's forgotten toys.

2B: What on earth happened here...?

9S (narrating): The machine lifeforms that supposedly destroyed these units were nowhere to be found. All that remained was a chill, an eerie silence, and an android mass grave.

2B: Access the Bunker database.

Pod 042: Negative. Bunker communication is not possible.

2B: Keep scanning the periphery and let me know if you find any irregularities.

Pod 042: Affirmative.

9S (narrating): It was a gloomy place, untouched by the sun. The ceiling was a mass of cables tangled around interlocking steel. It was like being inside some kind of massive creature...

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Record Archivist: Pod 153

Analysis: Stationed friendly squad consisted of 36 individuals. Only eight individuals were confirmed in the target area.

Hypotheses for the other 28 individuals: Abduction. Predation. Desertion. Rebellion.

Proposal: Commence preparations for close combat.

Record Archivist: Pod 153

Analysis: Target base consists of four strata

Current location: First stratum

Area: 32,000 square meters

Temperature: 2 degrees centigrade

Humidity: 88%

Scans indicate a high probability that this area is a hangar for machine lifeforms.

Record Archivist: Pod 153

Alert: Examination of target's first stratum complete. Cause of androids' cease in function remains unclear. There is a high probability that neglecting to investigate this factor may cause impediments to the main force that follows us.

Proposal: Investigate the target's second stratum.

Alert: Target's second stratum reached.

Alert: Android bodily fluids detected on nearby wall. The residual shape appears to form sequences of letters.

Hypothesis: They are warning messages left by androids while still alive.

Analysis: The messages are as follows:

"The Bunker will fall"

"Destroy Command"

"Run"

"They must be killed"

"Help" "Help" "Help"

"Help"

Hypothesis: Thought circuitry of corresponding androids underwent some manner of attack.

Analysis: There exists a weapon in the base that can cause a logic infection.

Proposal: Hack the central cortex of the base.

Alert: Enemy thought center reached.

Analysis: Protection of YoRHa unit 9S is top priority.

Alert: Deploying virtual canary.

Proposal: Encrypt channels to long-term memory areas.

Proposal: Increase speed of thought-analysis region.

Alert: Central memory space located. 82 hostile defense layers and 1,343 attack-type security systems detected.

Alert: Virus employed by enemy defense layers. Executing sustained vaccine deployment.

Commencing Assault

Analysis: Defensive layers of central memory space infiltrated.

Data recovery and decoding complete.

Initializing visualization and extraction of records.

Visualization: 20%

Visualization: 40%

Visualization: 80%

Visualization complete.

Extracting...

Stratagem Information 111029E

Analysis of intercepted communications from the human army over a period of time has yielded the following data:

The majority of cargo bound for the human server on the moon consists of empty containers camouflaged as supplies.

Specific sequence patterns have been identified in video communications from the Council of Humanity.

Stratagem Information 111029E

Multiple models of supposition have been created based on the results of the above analysis.

Of these, the most probably conclusions are as follows:

The existence of the Council of Humanity is a pretense.

Humans are already extinct.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

9S: The Council of Humanity on the moon... So mankind... doesn't exist? No, this is a trap. The enemy is trying to make us second-guess ourselves. Pod, use laser measuring to reveal the structure of the enemy base.

Pod 153: Affirmative.

9S: 2B, I think there's a good chance this base is some kind of tra... 2B? Huh? Where'd she go?

Pod 153: Analysis complete. Displaying base structure.

9S: First we should figure out where 2B... Wait, this base is weird. There's one massive core at the center with a network of pathways for energy conveyance. It's almost like it's one big machine lifeform...

Pod 153: Alert: High-frequency vibrations detected in lower levels.

9S: High fre-- Agh!

2B (narrating): As 9S's vision fades out, a mysterious sound grows around him. crunch... Crunch... CRUNCH... The sound gets louder every time.

9S turns toward the sound to see an android's corpse.

A dark shadow sits atop it, its hands clamped around the android's thin, white neck.

9S: No...

2B (narrating): The shadow is 9S, and the corpse he's strangling-- with its slender fingers, black eye covering, all-too-familiar dress, and white hair-- is none other than...

9S: 2B...

2B (narrating): The sight playing out before 9S was one of his own twisted desires.

9S's deepest desires are laid bare. He wanted to kill her. Destroy her. Mutilate her.

9S: No! That's not true! I don't want that at all! Wait, I get it... It's the infection. This is what the enemy's infection does.

2B (narrating): Using thoughts of denial as an opening, the curse spreads. He knew. He was aware she was trying to kill him. He concealed. He hid away his intimate, innermost desires. And there, in the never-ending spiral of massacre... filled with false hopes and prayers... was the pleasure of despair.

9S (screams and cries): Please stop... 2B, I... I...

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Record Archivist: Pod 153 Alert: Vital signs declining for YoRHa unit 9S.

Alert: Reverse-hacking by enemy machine lifeform detected.

Alert: Defect detected in memory area.

Alert: Shifting to consciousness-protection mode.

Analysis: Increase in offensive enemy activity confirmed.

Analysis: Maintaining consciousness-defense form is impossible.

Due to the instability of YoRHa unit 9S's consciousness, executing the recommended counterattack is impossible.

Report: The decisions that follow constitute unauthorized support.

Declaration: Commencing rescue of YoRHa unit 9S.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"January 30, 11,942 (4:25 AM) YoRHa unit 9S enters service.

Analysis: This pod initiated recording of pre-determined monitoring subjects 9S and 2B.

Analysis: In the midst of collecting great volumes of data, this Pod ascertained that 9S is repeatedly destroyed by 2B.

Analysis: These acts were not delineated in any Project YoRHa implementation plans this Pod was informed of.

Analysis: Intervention in above acts is impossible for this Pod, as they are delineated processes for the core program of Project YoRHa.

However, this unit, in its continued recording of the activities of YoRHa unit 9S through a repeated cycle of combat and death, ultimately gained a sort of knowledge.

It is an internal command akin to emotion, far beyond any support assignment. The closest human analog would be the feeling called "maternity."

As such, reporting unit Pod 153 will abandon self-defense protocols and shift to launching an offensive against the enemy.

...I am glad to have met you, YoRHa unit 9S.

Farewell."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

9S: Ugh... Okay... I set the trap in the central system, and the camouflage repair on the enemy barrier is complete.

Pod 153 (narrating): The remains of Pod 153-- its circuits thoroughly fried- lie at his feet.

9S: My pod... saved me, huh?

Pod 153 (narrating): 9S hears a sound. He looks up to see 2B standing before him with a calm expression.

9S: Oh, 2B! Glad you're safe. I was just putting a logic virus in the enemy's central--

Pod 153 (narrating): 9S realizes something.

2B: Say, 9S...

Pod 153 (narrating): Her eye covering is gone.

2B: It's cold here, so...

Pod 153 (narrating): She holds a weapon in her hand.

2B: I want you to warm me.

Pod 153 (narrating): And her eyes... are crimson.

9S: She's infected!?

Pod 153 (narrating): Her white blade crashes down on 9S with the swiftness of lightning. 9S blocks the blow with his scabbard.

9S: Damn it! How could this happen?

2B: YoRHa's existence in this world has no meaning.

9S: Requesting access to 2B's motor system! Administer emergency vaccine!

Pod 153 (narrating): His request is denied. 2B swings her sword again, continuing her frenzied dance.

2B: We must stop the tragedy that recurs without end in this meaningless world.

9S: 2B, stop!

2B: Tell me, 9S...

Pod 153 (narrating): With the smallest of openings, 2B's blade finds its mark.

2B: Wouldn't it be wonderful to fade away together?

Pod 153 (narrating): The blade cuts into 9S's armor. A bright red message appears in 9S's vision:

Proposal: Destroy YoRHa unit 2B.

9S: I could never do that!

Pod 153 (narrating): 2B's sword swiftly pierces through the left side of 9S's chest. 2B's blood-red eyes draw close to his face. With defeat so close, 9S plays his final gambit... He places his right hand on 2B's cheek.

9S: ...Commencing hack.

Analysis: Commencing salvage of 2B's consciousness data from the infected area.

"The memories I have left aren't all bad. Wind rolling through ruins. Light flickering on water. The sound of swaying trees. I cherish everything we saw together. This isn't a curse. I... decided to be with her. I made a choice."

2B's infection had spread to the deepest portions of her memory unit. It's a troublesome virus-- and an elegant trap.

For if the infected section is removed, the individual becomes unable to maintain a consciousness.

As 2B's consciousness grows more infected, 9S readies his final, desperate plan.

...It was the only way she could be saved.

9S: Hey, 2B? The time we spent together holds eternal value for me. Heh. I'm serious, you know. I'm swapping your infected area with my memory storage.

"In a sea of collapsing emotions, I saw 2B's light. Even if I've lost everything, I have no regrets. Because I chose to live... for her sake."

--Texts on the screen appear--

9S: You're 2B, right? 9S: My name's 9S. I'm here to provide support.

2B: 9S... the time I was able to spend with you... 2B: It was like memories of pure light... 2B: Thank you... Nine...s.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

2B: ...Gya!

Pod 153: YoRHa unit 2B activation verified. Good morning, 2B.

2B: Pod... Where's 9S!?

9S: Nnngh...

2B: 9S! Are you all right?

9S: 2B... I'm glad you're okay.

2B: We're withdrawing. Pod, administer emergency maintenance to 9S and tell the Bunker--

9S: No. I can't go back. If the infection spreads, I may end up attacking you.

2B: Stop talking nonsense, 9S!

9S: Commencing... self-reformatting...

2B: Stop!

--2B and Pod 153 at the same time as their voices start fading away.--

2B: Please! Please don't die on me! I'm the one who should die! What's the point of my staying in this world? Please don't save me, 9S...

Pod 153: Alert: Infection critical in YoRHa unit 9S. Sensor signals lost. Black box defensive standby-mode activation failed. Temperature rising. Proposal: Cool body and cerebral unit immediately.

9S: Auditory sensors... down.

My temperature regulators are at their limit...

It's so quiet...

So this is how it all ends...

It's sad that I'll lose everything, but...

the curse of my sins will disappear as well...

The time I spent with 2B was precious to me.

There isn't a single detail I don't remember.

...Heh. I bet I sound so stupid right now.

You know... I'd really like to...

go back there with you again... 2B...

2B: Our prayers were never heard.

9S: Our future was closed off.

2B: Despite it all, the fact we'd fought together...

9S: ...was a miracle that shined brightly.

9S: You were always with me...

--9S and 2B at the same time.--

2B: Thank you, Nines.

9S: Thank you, 2B.

[straye]

YorHa Unit A Type 47’s name ‘Kogami’ came from the fuzzy false memories installed into him of a man named ‘Kogami Shinya’. He’d only began to refer to himself as it after he and the squadron of other androids decided to go by other names (the names in their ‘memories’) to instill a sense of familiarity outside of their numbers. The names never stretched too far away from that, since Command / The Council of Humanity had to grant one access to a name, and that itself was a hassle; thankfully, they at least permitted nicknames. After his execution order and defection, though, he abandoned his unit letter and number, and decided to completely go by ‘Kogami’, symbolizing him shedding his status as ‘just another number’ or YorHa Unit. The Resistance still has a nasty habit of calling him ‘47’ or even just ‘Forty’, but most of them remember to call him ‘Ko’, ‘Kogami’ or even ‘Gami’.

[gnbrkrs]

(5.5 SPOILERS) The weekly YoRHa records so far and some of my thoughts regarding the thing.

So I decided to put together a compilation of Konogg's records featured in the weeklies that I've got so far. For those of you that don't know, each time you do the weekly in Komra after completing the quests that follow the Tower of Paradigm's Breach, there will be an additional quest available from the Dig Site Chief, in which he gives you a new recording from Konogg. The quests so far also deal with Glagg, the village elder, acting increasingly odd, which I will touch upon later.

I would also like to make a small disclaimer that my first-hand knowledge of the Nier/ Drakengard franchise is extremely limited, and mostly comes from outside sources like the wiki, fans of the franchise that I know, and me briefly playing Automata (I am too broke for the Replicant remake right now). If you see anything that is inconsistent or wrong in my assumptions, feel free to point this out to me, I will correct them later.

Below, you can see the first 5 messages (which is what one would get so far if they have been doing the weekly since the raid's release) from Konogg, which reveal what he is doing after losing Anogg and setting off to find out more about the spheres himself, as well as a few bits shedding more light about what happened at the Tower of Paradigm's Breach.

Though first messages appear to be largely introductory, the latter ones appear to give us some rather interesting information (which I am curiousl how Konogg obtained). The fourth message appears to indicate that the 2B and 9S we interact with are either copies or new bodies made through the spheres with their consciousness transferred, which could explain the 2B corpse room we see in the Copied Factory instance as the first few defective copies/ bodies.

The fifth message, however, makes me extremely worried about Konogg. His tone appears almost obsessed in the last sentence, as if he is planning to do something extremely reckless with the spheres, which makes me worried about both him and the rest of the world. From what I have understood, the white spheres are bad news in the Nier/ Drakengard universe, which is why what he says does not make me optimistic at all, just as the next thing that I am going to talk about.

Another notable thing that persists through the weeklies as you progress through them is Glagg the village elder's increasingly odd behavior, as shown in the image below (which is a log of the last weekly's dialogue).

Though I do not have any direct confirmation of this, I have come to suspect that Glagg has contacted the White Chlorination Syndrome (aka Nier-verse's salt disease that destroys worlds) and has begun to exhibit the early stage signs of it. The way I was explained it, the victims of WCS make a subconscious "choice" to either serve a god and gradually turn into a berserk monster, or slowly turn into a salt pillar. For now, it appears that Glagg's erratic behavior is in line with one going berserk and becoming a monster on latter stages, and then there is the fact that both we and Konogg visited the Copied Factory, which contained the white particles in the air and on the items.

A few comparisons have been made between WCS and Tempering and how Hydaelyn's influence may protect the WoL from it's influence, though I am not entirely certain of it yet and doubt Natsuko Ishikawa would allow something like a WCS infection to happen to the WoL with the future story plans (which could be the disagreement they mentioned in one of the videos about the making of Shadowbringers, where Yoko Taro said he wanted to get WoL to do something messed up, only to be told that that's a big no-no by the writing team).

However, the WoL's likely safety does not mean safety for the dwarves or the rest of the world. Glagg is still in the village and not isolated, several items have been brought to Komra from both the Copied Factory and the Puppet's Bunker, possibly containing more particles on them, and the dwarves begin to trade these parts with the rest of the world starting from the third week of quest completion, possibly spreading the WCS further and unknowingly putting the rest of the world in danger. And then there is Konogg, who may be infected due to visiting the Copied Factory area with the particles. It is quite possible that a new threat may arise for the First in the form of White Chlorination Syndrome, just after the world has set on a path of recovery.

While the YoRHa questline makes a passing mention to WCS's similarity to the stoneblight disease Lamitt cured, I have serious doubts Yoko Taro would allow something as serious as a WCS cure, knowing both a little of Nier lore and Yoko Taro's notoriety with making tragic endings even more tragic by adding context in following installments. Could it be that we have very well been baited into dooming the First once again after saving it?

I plan on keeping this thread updated as new weekly installments release and I get new information. If you have any extra comments/ points to add, feel free to do so. I also may try to take a peek at the game's files through no-good means to find out more once I have more time (last few weeks have been busy both IRL and in-game, with me finishing my Master degree, doing paperwork required for a job and camping a plot for my and my friends' FC). For all the questions and ominous theories that arise, one thing is perfectly clear: the YoRHa questline did not end with the Tower of Paradigm's Breach, and has a lot more in store.

[akirakurusuimagines]

de[F]ect

@p5auweek​ day six: Future/Android AU (NieR: Automata)

For reference: 10B (Joker), 15O (Oracle), G18 (Reader), Pod 451 (Mona)

The Bunker was a cold, emotionless place. The grey-scale and monotonous design only furthered that depressing analysis. YoRHa unit 10B despised staying in the Bunker unless it was absolutely necessary, much preferring the endlessly blooming life that he found while on missions on Earth. His heart, though he did not have one, yearned for the color, for the animals, for the history humanity had left behind. He pressed his forehead against the glass, his body reading the drastically cold temperature and attempting to get him to move, but he didn’t mind. He held his visor loosely in one hand, letting his grey eyes absorb the beauty of the Earth from Space. 

From what 10B knew of humanity, they didn’t appreciate the beauty of their world enough⁠— one of the very reasons why there were only a scarce number of humans remaining, residing in their comfortable homes on the Moon, waiting for the day where battle units such as himself would completely eviscerate the machines, and subsequently, aliens, in order for them to return to Earth. 10B scoffed, a sarcastic smile twitching on his face as he stared at his own reflection, messy black hair and fair skin, a complete reflection of the same dull tones he hated. He doubted there would ever be an end to this war, but alas, such comments would never fly if the Commander got a hold of it. He would surely have his memory wiped and body reconstructed. 

“Helloooo!” A light voice sprung to life in his head, surprising him for a moment before realizing who it was, and sighing as she began to whine, “Bunker to 10B! Pay attention to your operator!!”

Upon realizing it was her, he quickly put his visor on, once again covering his eyes in a veil of black. “I read you, 15O. What is it?” 10B responded in a monotonous tone, betraying the thoughts he pondered over. 

“The Commander wants to talk to you. Don’t worry! It’s nothing bad,” 15O explained, a smile on her face, “I’m sure it’s just the new mission she wants to put you on! I know you want to go back to Earth as soon as possible, sooo… I may have mentioned that you wanted to run errands.” He watched her brightly colored hair bounce as she talked, sitting improperly on her chair, looking as happy as ever, talking to him. Though he was jealous of her unique defect that helped her stand out amongst the swarm of YoRHa units, he also pitied her, knowing she would never experience Earth firsthand. She didn’t mind, naturally, finding herself much more comfortable in her little cubicle, talking solely to him and to their Commander. 

10B stared silently at 15O for a moment before breaking his composure, offering her a smile and a soft chuckle. “Read my mind, huh?” 

“Of course! I know you like the back of my hand. So come on, get going already!” 

“Thank you,” he gave her one last smile before she ended the call, turning back to the large window and glancing at his reflection one last time. “It’s showtime.” 

10B exited the Flight Unit as hastily as possible, landing on the grass, his trusty pod immediately hovering over his shoulder, ready to provide assistance, though he paid it no mind. His mission was rather simple in theory, but he knew the Commander didn’t mind if he took some extra time on Earth, especially if he were to make use of that time by strengthening YoRHa’s bond with the Resistance Camp. 

He decided to make his way there first, having long since memorized the way, in order to grab some intel on this supposed obsolete YoRHa unit that was spotted by a scanner. If he remembered the Commander correctly, his target is a gunner⁠— one of the prototype models that became the baseline for battle units like himself. Frankly, he was curious to observe this unit, even though he was aware his mission was to neutralize them as defected androids were always considered a threat to the existence of YoRHa and to the 12th Machine War overall.

Regardless, he needed information to even find them, so 10B made his way inside the lively camp, feeling much more at home in this area than he ever did in the Bunker. Many androids, some deformed, others in perfect shape, greeted him, once again grateful to see his return, as it usually meant they would gain some traction in their businesses. 10B did like to keep his weaponry (and pod) as updated as possible, considering his frequent encounters with machine lifeforms that, more often than not, required dispatchment.

“It’s been a while,” the calm and collected voice of the resistance leader, Anemone, called out to him, “the Commander updated me on the situation. You want to know where that YoRHa soldier is, right? I did you a favor and rounded up as much information as I could. Here, I’ll send it to you.” 

10B wasn’t exactly surprised⁠— Anemone was incredibly reliable, so it figures that she would’ve prepared as much intel as possible for him already. “Thanks,” he shifted his weight between his legs and twisted his dark bangs in front of his visor, “is there anything you need me to do in return?” 

Anemone chuckled, but waved it off. “No need,” she said, “you helped us out more than enough last time. We still have plenty of supplies.” 

Though a bit disappointed, 10B gave the leader a curt nod before racing out of the resistance camp, aimlessly wandering near the rivers while his pod processed the information he was given. 

“Report: The wanted unit was last spotted near the abandoned amusement park,” the pod’s unusually high-pitched voice announced. “Analysis: YoRHa unit 10B should examine the amusement park for further clues on the whereabouts of unit G18.” 

 “Thank you, Pod 451.” 10B raised his gloved hand and gently rested it on top of the pod, petting the assistant and smiling at the content rumble it made.

10B didn’t often visit the abandoned amusement park, preferring the bright greens of the forest, though he did appreciate the grandiose use of lighting and what his pod referred to as “fireworks”. He walked slowly inside of the amusement park, his fingers twitching, holding himself back from pulling out his weapons and attacking⁠, noticing how peaceful the machines themselves were. It was strange, but considering the number, it was better that he didn’t instigate war here. Even as a specialized combat unit, he didn’t need to return to the bunker this early to repair damages caused by a swarm. 

“Hypothesis: unit G18 is hidden somewhere in the area,” the pod abruptly spoke as he wandered deeper into the heart of the amusement park, the music blaring from the speakerphones dying down as he approached the empty area, popped balloons and scattered confetti littered the floor like corpses. “Proposal: unit 10B should proceed with caution.”

No sooner than the pod spoke did 10B just barely dodge an incoming flurry of quick bullets⁠— undoubtedly YoRHa. Machines weren’t capable of such things. “Pod!” 10B commanded, “Activate M Shield!” 

“Understood.” 

The pod’s voice was barely loud enough to hear compared to the incoming bullets, hitting every possible target in sight. 10B was stuck on the defensive, as irritating as it was. He continued to look around, paying particularly close attention to the shadows that the android was certainly hiding themselves in. 

“I knew it was only a matter of time before YoRHa sent one of their pretty and shiny new androids to kill me!” you yelled from your perch, aiming the gun you were equipped with with great precision and skill, watching as the walls behind 10B crumbled, trapping him in there with you. 

“Since when was I going to kill you?!” 10B snapped back, “I want to talk!” 

“A battling unit has no need for talking!”

10B grit his teeth, locking onto you with his pod before racing towards your shadowed figure, gripping his knife tightly, hoping to subdue you enough so you wouldn’t try to blow his face off.

You effortlessly dodged, hundreds of years of experience surviving on one life compared to a normal YoRHa unit’s ability to upload their memories to the server coming to your advantage. However, you did underestimate 10B’s abilities, not realizing the reason that he didn’t have a partner despite being considered a serious threat by the Commander was because of his incredibly versatile abilities and quick adaptation to situations. 

In the end, you two were left at a standstill, no matter what one did, the other effortlessly countered or dodged, the entire situation becoming increasingly frustrating to 10B. He really did only want to talk, for now at least. 

“Pod,” he spoke in a soft voice as to not attract your attention, “activate gravity.” 

“Commencing program.” 

10B watched as you tried to dodge the force of gravity that the pod unleashed where you were, only to be sucked right back into the center of the dome and pinned to the ground under the crushing weight, trying to move but failing. He rushed over and securely pinned you down, keeping you stuck there, defenseless. 

“Just kill me already!” You seethed, passing off your fear as rage as best as you could. You didn’t want to die⁠— of course you didn’t. No one would remember you, nor your comrades if you did. You had to live, somehow. 

“I’m not going to kill you,” 10B promised.

His pod, however, immediately interjected. “Inadvisable⁠—” 

“This is an order, pod, stay quiet.” 

“....”

“Good,” he sighed a breath of relief, looking sternly at your time-worn features. “I’ll let you go if you promise not to shoot. I was serious when I said I wanted to talk.” 

Nodding, you could only watch in amazement as he sat up, keeping his promise. You were tempted to run, every circuit in your body telling you to, yet you felt it would do him a disservice, considering how he was going against direct orders to spare your life. The least you could do is heed his request. 

“I… I want to know what it’s like,” 10B began, speaking slowly and carefully, putting thoughts to words in a way he’s never done before. 

“...What’s like?” 

“Being here on Earth without any obligation to YoRHa or the resistance.” 

“Are you thinking of defecting⁠—?” you stared at him with wide eyes, sitting up slowly. When he didn’t answer, you pressed your lips together, trying to figure out how to best explain it as he shed his visor and discarded it, staring at you with such wide, interested eyes. “It’s peaceful. Of course you have to fight and scavenge to survive, but I’ve done it for over a hundred years, so it’s not impossible, but… it’s good. Machines are rather friendly when you meet the right ones, you’re free to go wherever, do whatever, it’s freeing.” 

“I see…” 10B’s gaze caught on the black visor and he frowned, not wanting to leave his Operator behind, but at the same time, intensely desiring to break free from the suffocating chains of YoRHa. Perhaps he would grow to regret it, in which case, he would return to the resistance camp to be executed. However… “Pod,” he spoke it to life, watching as it whirred with uncertainty, “remove me from the Bunker’s server.” 

“Invalid command.” 

“Overridden. Do as I say, pod.” 

“…” the pod flickered, clearly hesitant. “Initiating sequence.” 

“What are you doing?!” you exclaimed, exasperated. “You’re insane!” 

“No, I’m not,” 10B replied coolly. “Pod, while you’re doing that, get me on the line with Operator 15O.” 

A few moments passed before 15O’s voice buzzed in his ear. “Aww, I never thought you’d be the one to call me!” 

“Listen to me, okay?” 

“Why? What’s wrong?” 15O’s voice quivered slightly.

“I’m not coming back,” 10B said.

“What?”

“I’m defecting. You have nothing to do with this. Commander won’t punish you. …I’ll miss you.” 

“Wait, you can’t⁠—!” 

10B hung up abruptly on her, sighing, his eyebrows pinching together. He was worried about her, but he figured Commander would simply wipe her memory anyways, saving her pain.

“You’re just going to leave everything behind?” you asked, completely astonished. Every YoRHa unit you’ve come across was always completely devoted to their service, and yet, this strange unit, who was supposed to kill you, immediately chose to run? 

10B laughed softly and rubbed the back of his neck as the pod announced the minute it had left to completely cut his ties to YoRHa’s server, making him appear dead. “I suppose so. I… I want to live⁠— I’m tired of fighting a useless war.” 

“I see… in that case… will you come with me?” 

“If you promise not to shoot me again,” 10B stood up and offered his hand to you, which you gladly took, smiling for the first time in who knows how long. 

“Command completed,” the pod spoke, interrupting the moment of strange tenderness between the two of you. “Pod 451 will remain at unit 10B’s aid.”

“...Thank you,” 10B was relieved to hear it. 

Shifting topics, you glanced up towards the night sky, where the fireworks continued to go off, one after another. “Let’s go, they’ll come searching for your body quickly.” 

“Understood⁠— woah⁠—!” 10B exclaimed, not expecting you to dash off while still holding his hand, causing him to lose his footing for a moment, and yet, he couldn’t be happier. Who said androids didn’t have emotions? 

[denpring]

just finished playing nier automata and it made me feel things, therefore obscure crossover where connor, risa, and lev are androids who defected from yorha feat. probably doesnt fit into canon worldbuilding at all

(lets just say they were the more experimental lines before 2b/9s since they have letter-number order instead of vice versa as well as more male androids)

C0 (combat type number 0): the prototype of a experimental new line of androids, turned out to be too unstable and troublesome; was meant to be disposed but he somehow broke free and ran away to earth, with only one arm missing (he later got a new arm from R0)

R1 (reconnaissance type number 1): the first sucessful android of the new reconnaissance line...or so it was thought until she colluded with multiple other androids to go AWOL, even somehow managing to not fight R0 or C0 to death along the way

L3 (limiter type number 3): a limiter type meant to stop other androids if they ever start going haywire, but it seems that he went off the rails himself after being kidnapped by C0 and the group and getting an unstable repair on earth (before he had shorter hair)

---

descriptions of others i might draw later under the cut

R0 (roland): prototype for recon line, unusually aggressive considering his type's purpose, and was originally planned to be put down with some others. notably doesn't get along with C0 and R1...or rather, didn't, until he died.

C4 (cam): the "perfect" combat type, made up of parts from different androids to offset the overly aggressive base, and it was mostly a success except he insists on bringing back R1 to YoRHa, and threatens to not do his job until they do.

H4 (hayden): a healer type who can't fight but somehow always survives in midst of the awol android turmoil, probably because they all need someone to heal them after fights. he uses this to his advantage and trolls everyone.

M1 (miracolina): a maintenance type, often called "meddler type" by other androids since it's the type's job to check up on, and keep track of, everyone. turns out this tendency doesn't go away even if she gets kidnapped by some awol yorha androids working with L3. she doesn't stop lecturing them just like she would back at the bunker.

S7 (starkey): a scanner type who's way too curious and rebellious for his own good, and ended up going awol after learning yorha was planning on getting rid of him. good at manipulating others with just words, but if that doesn't work, he has no qualms about hacking them, either.

B4 (bam): one of the early battle types, who never got along with others of her line-- or anyone, for that matter, and decided to collaborate with S7. however she started having doubts about S7's ways and deep inside she's thinking of the possibility that she might have to put him out herself.

Una: one of the resistance androids with a rather disdainful attitude towards yorha-- turns out this is because her lover and fellow resistance fighter, wil, had his parts secretly salvaged and used by yorha to make C4 after he was mauled to death by machine lifeforms

[rumongray]

NieR: Automata, The Wandering Couple

So I’ve been playing NieR: Automata off and on, it’s still fun and the story is...yeah. It’s fantastic. But the subject of the title above is for a side-quest called “The Wandering Couple.”

As I’m sure you can figure out, I’m going to spoil this sidequest because I want to talk about it. SPOILERS for “The Wandering Couple.”

First, for those who don’t know the world, a quick primer. Post-apocalyptic Earth, humanity is living in a bunker on the moon due to aliens who created machine life-forms. Androids, created by the humans, were sent to battle the machines on Earth to reclaim it for humanity. The androids who were on earth, fighting the good fight are called The Resistance. However, your player characters are from a unit called YoRHa. YoRHa is, essentially, a group of top-of-the-line androids. They’re like...special forces androids with very specific missions given by their commander. They work with the Resistance because they are, essentially, on the same side, but YoRHa ops are usually of much higher...stakes and the like.

So you meet a couple from the Resistance who have defected in order to live their own lives and escape the fighting. A male and a female. I’ll refer to them as A and B I suppose.

The first time you run into them, A has a busted leg, and the quest is simply to get them the parts to fix his leg. Simple enough, they thank you, give you some rewards and then move on.

You then run into them near a flooded city, where they say that they want to travel across the sea, and that someone called The Emancipator will help them do so. They won’t do it for cheap though, and they need you to give them 50000 G in order to pay him for the voyage. Now...the first time I played through the game (getting ending A), I didn’t have the money. But the second playthrough I did! So I have them the money and, same thing here, they thank you, give you some rewards and move on.

You return there later and you find A on the ground, and he’s jacked up hard. He tells you that The Emancipator attacked them and was only scamming the androids for money. B is nowhere to be found, and A gets repairs. Your characters then go to find B, who is also pretty fucked up and needs a rare part for repairs. After getting it, A shows up, and B laments that going on the run from the Resistance might have been the wrong thing to do.

She says that life on the run is too hard.

A agrees but asks what there is to be done. B comes up with the idea to return to the Resistance, saying that if they get reformatted, AKA having their memories wiped, they’ll allow them to return.

A fights against this, saying that he’ll “forget about how he feels” about her. B is distraught, saying that if their life continues to be this inevitable hardship, she’ll grow to hate A.

She then says “Even if we get reformatted, I know I’ll fall in love with you.”

A agrees and says to start with him. Your characters agree and reformat his memory. While he’s lying there rebooting, you go to B and say “Okay, now for you.”

And she says “...no, that’s alright, thanks.”

Of course, your characters are confused, so she explains. Her entire plan here was to get A reformatted, with the goal to turn him into a combat-model android, so that they’ll “never have to run from anything ever again.”

She also says “While I’m at it, I’d better delete all his namby-pamby ways. I need someone more forceful in my life, you know?”

And when your characters express shock at this, she just brushes it off.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that! This is the sixth time I’ve had him formatted, and it’s never been a problem.”

...

Yeah. I’m going to be real with you here, there are some other sidequests that have good writing like this, but this one...left me standing in stunned silence. My jaw dropped when that last line went up on my screen. Once the quest was complete, and I had gotten my rewards, I just...stood there. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I’m still reeling from it, because after it happened, I knew I had to write about it here. So this is still pretty recent. Fresh in my mind and just...it just hit me really hard. I thought about the quest and what happened, and wondered if The Emancipator was a really swindling the two, or if maybe B paid him off to attack the two, to keep the illusion going. We actually don’t know if that’s the case, either, but now I couldn’t put it past her!

This shit is so fucked up. It’s...abuse! It’s literally abuse!

And it’s given me some interesting reflection on my reactions to immoral shit. I realize that a lot of time, I go straight for revenge or some kind of justice more than anything else. When the quest is finished, the game fades to black and fades back in, and the couple is just gone. And that infuriated me. I wanted to talk to them again for further clarification. I wanted to read that line one more fucking time. I wanted to grab that android and purposefully reformat her. Or even kill her and let A live his own life without her constantly controlling him. It’s so goddamn sickening and the game doesn’t give you that satisfaction. It doesn’t give you the catharsis of resolving this in a way that seems “fair,” or “right.” It’s just something that I have to accept. Somewhere out there, A and B are together, and A is being reprogrammed. He’s being custom-made for B’s desires, needs, and whims.

And that makes for a brilliant story.

I just...I dunno. I suppose that’s really all I have to share about this. Man this hit me hard.

Please support Yoko Taro’s works, because he’s a brilliant writer and game designer.

[addoves]

since i was prompted:

A7 & 7B are in reference to A2 & 2B -- luke, 7B, who was created to replace and hunt down A7, asch, after his disappearance. the problem with this is: luke has never left the bunker before (for non-automata fans: the bunker is a space station that yorha units use as their base), and unfortunately is an execution unit who's never killed before.

i think at some point asch found out about the truth of humanity & what their purposes as "androids" are, leaving him to defect from yorha. but he was their best unit, and that knowledge is confidential, so they needed someone to replace him. which leaves luke, who's kept in ignorance & inside the bunker, in fear of him ending up the same as his predecessor.

nier automata at its core is a tragedy... of lies and deceipt and an unfair future. and of striving to live in that world regardless. which i think really fits luke & asch especially-- they were both born to die before they'd even become adults. their lives from the start were nothing but fodder for a war. yet they both wanted to live with all they had. it fits.

does anyone want to hear about my nier au.

[hawkeyedflame]

I haven't played Nier, and don't plan on it due to money, but I gotta know. Why are their eyes covered?

That’s a great question! As far as I can recall, they don’t actually explain it in the game (or if they did I missed it). My guess is that they’re tactical visors that provide their HUD, although since they’re androids it’s entirely possible that their HUD is built in to their eyes.

Symbolically the masks represent two things, by my interpretation. One is that, in covering the eyes, they largely hinder the expression of emotion, which serves the fact that the organization technically does not allow its members to express emotion. “Emotions are prohibited” is 2B’s mantra. She says this to 9S quite a few times, especially early in the game. This sort of sounds like an in-game explanation rather than a symbolic one, except that 2B is the only YoRHa android who actually attempts to follow this “rule.” Every other android displays complete disregard for it. Blatant disregard, even; at one point 2B’s operator, 6O, calls her crying about how she asked another YoRHa android out but she rejected her, and a somewhat ruffled 2B tells 6O that she isn’t the person to be discussing emotions with.

(The next bit is extremely spoiler heavy, so anyone reading this who hasn’t finished the game, read at your own risk.)

2B only cleaves so stringently to the rule because of her designation, however. She is not actually a B (battle) model. That name is a cover for what she really is: an E model. Her job is to execute 9S (a scanner model--they hack the machine servers) whenever his built-in curiosity inevitably leads him to illegally obtaining confidential information from the YoRHa servers. When she kills him, his memory data is erased and he’s basically given a factory reset, where only his default personality data is spared. 2B has killed 9S countless times, and every single time, he returns to work with her, having no memory of her or the time they spent with each other. And every time, 2B loves him. No matter what she tries or how she attempts to distance herself from him, she always ends up loving him. So she repeats to herself, over and over, “emotions are prohibited,” hoping that saying it will make killing him less unbearable. (Spoiler: it doesn’t)Now for how that ties in to the masks? Well, 2B has a few rare moments where she expresses intense emotion, usually when 9S is in danger. During those times, she typically is not wearing her mask. At the end of route A, for example, when she has to kill him the first time (for us players, but for her it’s probably been hundreds of times), she is not wearing her mask (nor is he). She’s also crying. “Emotions are prohibited” my ass, 2B.

The second thing the masks represent is being blinded to the truth. This one would be ridiculously long winded to explain in detail, but suffice to say, everything they believed in and fought for was a lie. 9S removes his mask once and for all in the final tower when he fights copies of 2B designed specifically to torture him emotionally (he’s quite unhinged from grief and loss of meaning in his life at this point, however, so instead of breaking down, he starts laughing as he kills them). He learns the whole and terrible truth about Project YoRHa, the machines, and 2B from A2 shortly after. A2 has not worn a mask since she defected from the project after learning that her squad mates (whom she loved and cared for deeply) and her were nothing more than research fodder as the organization attempted to make more powerful android models.And 2B? 2B died without knowing the whole truth. She only knew that the YoRHa bunker server was built with a back door to let in a lethal virus, which forced her to kill countless infected androids, including her own operator, and which eventually overwhelmed her as well. She cuts her own mask off as she asks A2 to kill her before the virus steals conscious control of her body, and dies just moments later.

So yeah.. the masks are not just for aesthetic, although they do look pretty cool. They’re actually a really, really powerful symbol that ends up very central to the theme of the story.

[savants-nine-and-twelve]

Emotions Are Prohibited (Nier Automata AU Drabble)

12A was often nothing more than a headache for 9A. YorHa’s commander seemed to think that Nine could keep him in line, though perhaps it was simply just because they were the last two remaining units of their type, for the other twenty four had all been defective failures that were destroyed in battle long ago.

Yet Twelve seemed to have no problem with reckless behavior on the battlefield, often self destructing when it seemed to be the only solution, and had a knack for throwing together small explosive devices out of old parts he found while on scouting missions. Each time he was able to successfully upload Twelve’s memories back to the bunker, and each time he was given a new body he gave him a firm lecture. With time it seemed to finally seemed to sink into the brunette’s head, though Nine had a bigger problem on his hands: Twelve was far to emotional.

“Emotions are prohibited.”

He had had to remind him of that firm rule again and again. Sometimes Twelve would simply just sigh and roll his eyes, while others he would mutter “Yeah I know” under his breath before moving on. Yet the brunette android was still far to soft, taking pity on machines that weren’t hostile as well as making curious comments aloud wondering if the ones they destroyed really did have feelings given their speech patterns. Nine often replied with a sarcastic comments until the subject was dropped. However once he caught sight of Twelve casually flirting with and even kissing a male blonde Android, something with a ‘P’ if he remembered correctly, though couldn’t say he cared enough to actually make an effort to remember names. As soon as he and Twelve were alone back on earth for another mission he firmly yanked the brunette aside for a harsh reality check.

“You need to stop this madness. How many times have I told you that emotions are strictly prohibited? If command finds out just how emotional you really are they’ll think you’re far to vulnerable to be trusted as you are and haul you off to be reprogrammed or even scrapped.”

Twelve only rolled his eyes and shrugged out of Nine’s grip.

“I’m not like Five. There’s nothing to worry about.” He assured, dusting himself off and proceeded to walk towards their destination.

“Really now? Because it certainly looked like you and that blonde Android have something serious going on.”

The brief sight he had caught of them snogging internally disgusted him, though he was that way with any sort of open display of affection. They were machines of war; love was a silly unrealistic fantasy for their kind.

“There are plenty of stories in the human archives about cases of forbidden love Nine, though if it makes you feel better I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Grunting in response Nine then decided to just let this be for the moment. Twelve wasn’t as stupid as he came off to be all the time, though he would still be keeping an eye on him for his own good...

“You left me there to die!”

5A’s screams of vengeance were endless as she violently lashed out against both Nine and Twelve in pure rage and blood lust. Both had received reports of a rogue android that needed to be dealt with, but neither had expected for it to be one of their former comrades that had been presumed dead for years. 

It was all to clear that she had grown far to unstable to be considered sane. Detaining her wasn’t an option for no amount of reprogramming could be her salvation at this point. Bringing her back would only further prove to Command that the A units really were unstable and defective failures. 

Nine wanted to end her life as quickly as possible, fending off her attacks with his katana the best he could as she seemed to focus solely on him. All odds were against him, her speed besting any strategy he could come up with. One little slip up with his foot work and he was suddenly on the ground and at her mercy. He swore she growled at him before flashing a victorious smirk and raising both her blades to impale him. It was Twelve that rushed to his side to save his life...By taking the full force of the blow for him.

Letting out a choked gasp as he was impaled Nine found himself crying out in horror. Getting back to his feet in an instant he then swung his heavy broadsword to shamelessly decapitate Five, then caught Twelve before he could fall. With his vital circuits sliced through beyond repair and his black box signal fading all he could do was once again quickly upload all of Twelve’s memories back to the bunker and carefully remove his custom plug in chips so that they may be re implanted into his next body. His report was made to command followed by a swift return to space now that the mission was complete. No room for grief, and after all why would there be? Twelve had fallen many times before, nothing new. 

Unfortunately he could tell right away that something was off about the “new” Twelve that he bumped into days later. His smile was gone, as well as his skip in his step. He wasn’t even gazing out into the stars with awe as he often did, didn’t appear to be sneaking off to be with his boyfriend either. A sense of dread began to fill him, and once he called out to him for attention Twelve’s words shattered him:

“I’m sorry, do I know you?”

Nine was certain that he had uploaded Twelve’s memories correctly just as he had done many times before so there couldn’t have been a mistake...Unless command had caught on to Twelve’s emotional flaws and had decided to completely reprogram him after all. 

Nine felt himself waking with a start, blinking in confusion when he found himself staring up at the ceiling that he knew to be in the spare room of the resistance camp.

“Nine?”

Sitting up to see Twelve glance at him in concern from across the room made him breath a soft sigh of relief. His Twelve was fine after all, as seen by the secure call he was currently making to his stupid blonde boyfriend.

“I’m fine. Get some rest.” He stated, laying back down and rolling back over to he wouldn’t have to face him.

Was that all just a dream then? That’s what humans called it right? Though he couldn’t help but to gulp nervously knowing that Androids weren’t supposed to be able to dream. Had to be a flaw in his code somewhere, and one that he would have to keep to himself to avoid being dragged off for the worst. 

For the first time Nine found himself laying there and actually being afraid. Afraid of loosing Twelve as he knew him for good, afraid of what awaited them should command indeed decide that they were flawed and needed to be deposed of, and afraid of his other emotions that he had been so desperately trying to bury all this time. He had been in denial that he actually cared for Twelve because like it was always said:

Emotions are prohibited. 

[nierly-amazing]

A thought on defecting

I mentioned it in my long-ass post the other day but I want to go into more detail in a shorter thing but like...

People are saying “2B should have defected with 9S, look at how A2 survived even with pursuit teams sent after her!”

1) 2B and 9S didn’t know about A2 until the events of the game because she killed them every time before that and command didn’t update them about her lest they get any ideas.

2) 2B knows how effective E-units are; she is one. You can’t fault her too much for thinking she wouldn’t be any different than any of her targets if YoRHa sent another team after her and 9S. It’s likely she wasn’t aware of any successful deserters before A2 encounter in game.

3) A2 is literally falling apart when you see her. She’s missing skin and covered in dirt. If YoRHa didn’t fall, it would have been only a matter of time before she either got killed by machines/YoRHa, or just plain died due to lack of maintenance. 

4) A2 and 9S have wildly different threat levels to YoRHa and android forces in general. A2′s only ‘crime’ is finding out she was supposed to die in the Pearl Hardbor descent. 9S consistently finds out the biggest secret YoRHa is hiding from everyone and if he lets it get out it could completely destroy android morale across the globe and cost them the war.

If 2B and 9S deserted, it’s likely YoRHa would have a way different response to them than they did with A2. He;s a way bigger threat so they’d obviously have a way bigger response to take him and 2B down. So yeah

2B’s not perfect by any means; maybe she could have found a way to defect or prevent 9S from digging but chose the less risky path. But give her a break, she doesn’t have many options and is having a hard enough time just staying alive. She tried so many other things to try to break the cycle including asking him to kill her.

[nierly-amazing]

yo talk to me abt 2b and 9s. i need friends 😭

You want me to talk about 2B and 9S? YOU WANT ME TO TALK ABOUT 2B AND 9S????? ARE YOU SURE?!?

OKAY FRIEND

THEY ARE BOTH SO GOOD I LOVE THEM.

THEY ARE SAD BROKEN IMPERFECT CHILDREN WHO NEED LOTS OF TLC.

And there are people out there who are too hard on one or the other and it makes me S A L T Y because they’re shoving their moral purity bullshit on two deeply broken characters and expect them to make the right decisions all the time.

Of course they’re gonna make mistakes, of course they’re going to choose the wrong options. They may be androids, but they are pretty damn human.

2B’s trapped in a cycle of killing the one she loves over and over and erasing his memories of her and everything.

Defecting isn’t really an option in her mind. She’s an E unit so she knows how successful they are; she probably wouldn’t think they’d last very long out there with no way to maintain and repair themselves. She doesn’t know of any successful defectors; command never tells them about A2 when she kills them, obviously, because they wouldn’t want to give anyone any ideas if they found out there was someone who’s survived years on her own out there (albeit falling apart and only surviving out of spite).

Plus, A2′s much less of a threat than an E-model and their best scanner model who is powerful enough to hack into the Bunkers defenses to dig out classified information. A2′s just some prototype who found out she was sent down to die yet continued to survive out of spite. 2B and 9S had the potential to cause a LOT of problems for YoRHa, since 9S found out one of the biggest secrets kept from all androids and other info that could possibly be very dangerous if the enemy got their hands on them. So it’s pretty likely they’d put a lot more effort into killing them than they did with A2.

A2′s circumstances are different than 2B and 9S’ anyway. Her only order was to die at the end of her mission. So for her it’s either let yorha kill her, or go on the run until she eventually gets killed by them or a machine. There are no other options for her. She has no one left to protect or worry about losing, nothing to tie her back.

And she was in a similar situation to 2B; they all did find out they were programmed to die after the mission but chose to see it through anyway instead of defecting.

So if command ordered her to kill 9S again and said they wouldn't reinstate a new one, who says she wouldn't take him and gtfo?

2B hates her job so much that she once chose death over killing him again, and the only reason she survived because he killed himself instead and made her promise to keep killing him. He wouldn't let her take the 'easy' way out because he knew that wouldn't solve anything.

That promise kinda complicates things too. Since it kinda invalidates what the next 9Ss might be feeling so now she’s even more stuck since she has orders from command AND orders from the 2+ 9S that made her promise.

Like, her job hurts her to the point where her own data corrupts in a way that’s ‘physically’ painful to the ‘touch’ (aka memory thorns).

She’s tried what she could to try to stop 9S from coming to the same conclusions as last time. She’s even tried to get command to retract their orders before but to no avail.

She’s cold and strict with him, but never outright cruel and mean. And, heck, maybe she could have been gentler on him, maybe she could have been herself more to make life easier on him. But like at what expense to her? The closer she gets to each of them the harder it is on her to kill him. Remember the whole “as close as possible yet eternally distant” thing?

So like, she could have made some better choices, but she was pretty stuck in what she was doing. She was stuck walking down a path where any decision she made could have bad consequences, so geez, give her a break for choosing the ones that had less terrible consequences (at least in her mind).

AND NOW FOR THE BOY

I already gushed about the poor boy at length [Here]

BUT I can still gush a bit more anyway. 

Some people are too hard on him too. Like do yall really expect someone who was:

A: Thrown into an endless war from the day he was born with no ability to quit. 

B: Given all the emotions and wants and needs of a human and then prohibited from expressing or trying to get those needs met.

C: Paired up with someone who’s emotionally distant to him and he doesn’t know why, falls in love with her anyway, only to find out she has to kill him over and over and is falling apart at the seams because of it. 

D: Has his memories wiped but some remaining something still draws him to her to the point where he’s willing to sacrifice himself for her after only ‘knowing’ her for an hour or so.

E: Programed to be incredibly curious then punished when directing that curiosity in a way YoRHa didn’t like.

F: Tortured and violated by some creepy humanoid machine and forced to face his complicated feelings about her and the world in a definitely not healthy way.

G: Thrown into traumatic battle after battle the moment after she starts reciprocating feelings for him.

H: Watched almost everyone he knows and cares about die in the span of an hour, many of whom he had to kill himself.

I: Watches the most important person to him get stabbed right in front of him, just when they were finally free of their cycle.

J: Wakes up thinking she was murdered in cold blood and fucking nobody thinks to tell him it was a mercy kill. Anemone knew, the pods knew, the weapons dude knew, A2 obviously knew and had multiple ways to take 5 minutes of her day and safely let him know 2B was infected, but didn’t. 

K: Intentionally tortured by the machine network because the Red Girls had some weird fascination with him. 

L: Had no real support network because androids in the middle of a 6000 year war likely dont have any grief counselors. 

M: The only time he’s had contact with A2 she said some cryptic bullshit that could be easily interpreted as taunting or something by him.

N: I could probably think of more to get all the way to Z but I want to do something else now.

Like yall really think someone who has gone through that much trauma with little to no support would be expected to behave like some morally pure uwu angel and make all the right decisions? Could he have acted better and made better decisions? Probably. But give the poor guy a break. He’s an endlessly fascinating character to study and relate to despite his flaws and mistakes.

Anyway I love them both so much despite their flaws and mistakes and they are an amazing pair because of the potential to grow and heal with each other after they wake up after [E]. They’re finally free to be as emotional and supportive of each other as they want and finally get t-shirts. 

And i just love who they are too. 2B is a gentle and kind person when she’s not forced to be cold and strict. 9S is just a curious ball of energy and is super sweet and respectful to 2B. He can be kinda snarky but he always backs off and respects her boundaries.

And just, I love the role reversal in this pairing. 2B’s the strong stoic one, where 9S is the bubbly support. It wouldn’t have half it’s charm if the genders were reversed.

There’s just SO MUCH POTENTIAL with these two. Like before I had no real intention of reading or writing fanfiction but then I played nier and I probably have written nierly (heh) 200k words over all my fics but now like, I just want to explore so much with them and their complex and unique relationship and uguh just

I

JUST

LOVE

THESE

LOUSY

GOTH

ANDROID

BABS