#then railgun is the way to go

[greenteaandtattoos]

orrin getting to gush about one of their favorite series and characters in existence mikoto misaka from a certain magical index/a certain scientific railgun in the year 2024?? it's more likely than you'd think.

[atsuchiii]

I JUST FOUND OUT THAT ONE OF MY FAV MIKOMISA FANFIC JUST UPDATED

[technoarcanist]

WAR NEVER CHANGES. BUT,

WARFARE NEVER STOPS CHANGING

"I've seen countless reasons why most mech pilots don't make the cut, but one of the largest hurdles are the physical alterations. The implants and modifications done to the fleshware is so extreme that it's enough to push most would-be pilots away from day 1.

Back in the day, when mech tech was still in its wild west years, when the technology was still in its infancy, things were different. Levers, joysticks, switches, a chair, most of the first models were something between the cockpit of a construction vehicle and a fighter ship.

Pilots in those days still consisted largely of the usual suspects. Test pilots, army jocks, space force veterans looking for something new, the occasional crazy who lucked their way up the ranks. All you needed back then was to be fit enough to work complex machinery. 'Handler's wouldn't be a coined phrase for nearly a decade. I still remember being a kid and seeing repurposed older models in the mech fighting streams.

Everything changed with the Bidirectional Cerebellum Computer Interface. To say nothing of how it changed civilian life, it was a military marvel. The BiCCI saw the creation of Mechs as we understand them today. The first generation were just retrofits, older models with a pilot's chair, and even manual controls to use in an emergency, but even then we knew that was only temporary. Before long, sleek frames of sharp angles, railguns and plasma cannons were rolling off the factory floor.

Like many things, it began small, optimising first for cockpit space by removing the manual controls. Before long, my then-supervisors thought, "Why have this glass? Why not hook the pilot's eyesight right into the advanced multi-spectral camera system? Before long, cockpits were but soft harnesses made to house a living body, their very soul wired into the machinery. Obviously, for security reasons, I cannot tell you everything about how our latest cockpits work, but suffice to say we've been further blurring the line between pilot and frame ever since.

This drew a very different crowd. Out were the army jocks and powerlifters. The only ones who even dared to have the interface hardware installed into their brainstem and spinal cord were the dispossessed, the misanthropes, those who sought not to control their new body, but to be controlled by it. No AI can work a mech properly on its own, but our pilots are never really in full control either anymore. Those who do try to go against the symbiosis get a nosebleed at best, and vegetative seizures at worst.

And that was that. The only people left who pilots these things are those who had already been broken, those who sougt a permenant reprive from being anything resembling human. A lot of my department quit around this time. I've lost a few friends over it, I'm not shy to say. Did we knew we'd be bringing in the more vulnerable people? Of course we did. But, the wheels of progress must turn, as they say, and it wasn't like we were shy of volunteers.

In our latest models, we have refined an even more advanced frame. Again, security detail prevents me from divulging too much, but one breakthrough we've made is decreasing action latency by approximately 0.02s by amputating the limbs from our pilots and replacing them with neural interface pads.

Using the pads where the limbs once were, pilots are screwed directly into the cockpit, which itself can now be 30% smaller thanks to the saved space. And, of course, we provide basic humanoid cybernetics as part of their employment contract while they are with us. Not that most of them are ever voluntarily out of their cockpits long enough to make use of them. Even removing the tubes from their orifices for routine cleaning incurs a large level of resistence.

And, yes, some of them scream, some of them break, some become so catatonic that they might as well be a peripheral processor for their mech's AI. But not a single one, not even one pilot, in all the dolls i've ever trained, have ever accepted the holidays we offer, the retirement packages, the stipends.

As you say, there are those who like to call me a monster for my work. I can see why. After all, they don't see the way my pilots' crotches dribble when I tell them I'll be cutting away their limbs, or the little moans they try to hide when we first meet and I explain that they'd forever be on the same resource level as a machine hereafter.

Those who call me a monster don't realise that, even after going public with how we operate our pilots, even after ramping up mech frame production, we still have more than twice as many volunteers as frames.

Those who call me a monster cannot accept that my pilots are far happier as a piece of meat in a machine of death than as the shell of a human they once were.

Those who call me a monster never consider the world my pilots grew up in to make them suitable candidates in the first place."

-Dr Francine Heathwich EngD

Dept. Cybernetic Technologies @ Dynaframe Industries

[In response to human rights violations accusations levied by the Pilot Rehabilitation Foundation]

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 422 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

tagline 差しのべた手で送り出してーー さしのべたてでおくりだしてーー sashinobeta te de okuri dashite-- Sent off by the hand that reached out to him--

1 青山くん！ あおやまくん！ Aoyama-kun! "Aoyama-kun!"

2 走れ☆‼︎緑谷くん はしれ☆‼︎みどりやくん hashire☆!! Midoriya-kun "Run☆!! Midoriya-kun."

3 白く… しらく… Shiraku... "Shiraku-..."

1 攻撃が通じない‼︎固すぎる‼︎ こうげきがつうじない‼︎かたすぎる‼︎ kougeki ga tsuujinai!! kata sugiru!! "Our attacks don't go through!! He's too hard!!"

2 AFOと違ってマボロシにマジレスしてくンだけど！ オール・フォー・ワンとちがってマボロシにマジレスしてくンだけど！ OORU FOO WAN to chigatte MABOROSHI ni MAJIRESU shitekuN dake do! "Unlike All For One, this guy is mad-seriously responding to my illusions!" (Note: The slang Camie uses here, MAJIRESU, means "a serious reply on a message board such as 2ch.")

3 "道"をつくるんだ‼︎ "みち"をつくるんだ‼︎ "michi" wo tsukurunda!! "Make a path!!"

4 死柄木に至る道を‼︎ しがらきにいたるみちを‼︎ Shigaraki ni itaru michi wo!! "A path that leads to Shigaraki!!"

1 「全因解放」 「ぜんいんかいほう」 「zen'in kaihou」 "All Factors Unleash,"

2 その本質は"感情任せ"に膨れ上がることではない そのほんしつは"かんじょうまかせ"にふくれあがることではない sono honshitsu wa "kanjou makase" ni fukure agaru koto de wa nai "the essence of which is not to leave all to my emotions and swell up."

3 数多の力を"抑し" あまたのちからを"よくし" amata no chikara wo "yokushi" "It's to suppress numerous powers"

4 "支配"してこその故 "しはい"してこそのゆえ "shihai" shite koso no yue "and control them."

5 数で勝ると思うなよ かずでまさるとおもうなよ kazu de masaru to omouna yo "Don't think you've outnumbered me!"

1 葉隠X はがくれX Hagakure X "Hagakure! [line cut off]" (Note: This text line is cut off. I assume the full text is "Hagakure-san!!" which wouldn't change the meaning here.)

2 光線の類Xわたし こうせんのたぐいXわたし kousen no tagui X watashi "The type of light rays X me." (Note: This text line is cut off. Based on the context, I can only guess she's saying something to the effect of "No matter the type of light rays, I can refract them!")

3 電磁投射砲！ でんじとうしゃほう！ denji toushahou! A railgun!

4 用意 ようい youi "Ready."

5 ウェイ UEI "Oui!"

1 小賢しい こざかしい kozakashii "Clever."

2 これ以上皆をーー これいじょうみんなをーー kore ijou minna wo-- "[You won't hurt] everyone any more than this--!"

3 全身ズタボロだろ！温存しろ！ 全身ズタボロだろ！温存しろ！ ぜんしんズタボロだろ！おんぞんしろ！ zenshin ZUTABORO daro! onzon shiro! "Your whole body is in tatters! Preserve [your strength]!"

4 あいつに届く力はおまえだけだ‼︎ あいつにとどくちからはおまえだけだ‼︎ aitsu ni todoku chikara wa omae dake da!! "Only you have the power to reach that guy!!"

5 俺たちが禦ぐ‼︎ おれたちがふせぐ‼︎ ore-tachi ga fusegu!! "We will defend!!" (Note: This word for "defend" is the same All For One used in chapter 363 when he said that heroes are the ones who "defend/protect.")

6 行け‼︎ いけ‼︎ ike!! "Go!!"

1 ママ！お姉ちゃん‼︎ ママ！おねえちゃん‼︎ MAMA! oneechan!! "Mama! Big Sis!!"

2 パパお姉ちゃ‼︎ パパおねえちゃ‼︎ PAPA oneecha!! "Papa, [it's] Big Sis!!"

3 梅雨っ つゆっ Tsuyu "Tsuyu-!"

4 ガンバレお姉ちゃあん ガンバレおねえちゃあん GANBARE oneechaan "Do your best, Big Sis!" (Note: From this point on, understand that I am using "Do your best" as this chapter's translation of ganbare. This word is something shouted when cheering someone on, such as at a sporting event. It could be translated in many ways into English, including "Do your best!" "You can do it!" "Go for it!" "Hang in there!" "Keep at it!" "Good luck!" "Give it your best!" etc. etc.)

5 障子くん… しょうじくん… Shouji-kun... "Shouji-kun..."

6 がんばれ障子くん…！ がんばれしょうじくん…！ ganbare Shouji-kun...! "Do your best, Shouji-kun...!"

7 俺たちの機動力じゃこの猛攻をかいくぐるのは難しいが おれたちのきどうりょくじゃこのもうこうをかいくぐるのはむずかしいが ore-tachi no kidouryoku ja kono moukou wo kaikuguru no wa muzukashii ga "With our mobility, it will be difficult to evade this onslaught, but"

8 少しだけあなたを運ぶことぐらいなら すこしだけあなたをはこぶことぐらいなら sukoshi dake anata wo hakobu koto gurai nara "if we can carry you just a little..."

9 障子くん しょうじくん Shouji-kun "Shouji-kun!"

10 梅雨ちゃん！ つゆちゃん！ Tsuyu-chan! "Tsuyu-chan!"

1-2 根性‼︎ こんじょう‼︎ konjou!! "Guts!!" (Note: I think they're shouting this word to hype themselves up.)

3 鋭ちゃん‼︎ えいちゃん‼︎ Ei-chan!! "Ei-chan!!"

4 三奈‼︎ みな‼︎ Mina!! "Mina!!"

5 頑張れ‼︎ がんばれ‼︎ ganbare!! "Do your best!!"

6 頑張ろ‼︎ がんばろ‼︎ ganbaro!! "Let's do our best!!"

7 うん!!!!!! un!!!!!! "Yeah!!!!!!"

1 何だ なんだ nanda What's this?

2 屍肉にしか見えぬ者共… しにくにしかみえぬものども… shiniku ni shika mienu monodomo... These people I can see as nothing but dead carrion...

3 何故 なぜ naze Why

4 死なない しなない shinanai won't [they] die?

5 ろくに動けていないのに ろくにうごけていないのに roku ni ugokete inai noni Even though they can't move very well,

6 目玉だけが めだまだけが medama dake ga only their eyes-- (Note: He's saying that the most they can move is their eyeballs, or in other words, they can only watch and do not much else.)

7 目玉をギョロギョロさせるだけの めだまをギョロギョロさせるだけの medama wo GYOROGYORO saseru dake no Helplessly watching on...

8 出来損ないに渡ってしまった事が間違いだって できそこないにわたってしまったことがまちがいだって dekisokonai ni watatte shimatta koto ga machigai datte Conferring this power to someone so worthless was a mistake! (Note: Text from speech bubbles 7 and 8 is a flashback to chapter 287.)

9 そうか緑谷 そうかみどりや sou ka Midoriya So that's how it is, Midoriya.

10 緑谷出久… みどりやいずく… Midoriya Izuku... Izuku Midoriya...

1 緑谷!!! みどりや!!! Midoriya!!! Midoriya!!!

2 おまえの omae no Your

3 弱さが よわさが yowasa ga weakness

4 ガンバレ GANBARE "Do your best!"

5 頑張れ‼︎ がんばれ‼︎ ganbare!! "Do your best!!"

6 オールマイトにはなかった OORU MAITO ni wa nakatta is what All Might didn't have.

7 頑張れ…！ がんばれ…！ ganbare...! "Do your best...!"

8 弱き強さが よわきつよさが yowaki tsuyosa ga The strength of weakness

1-2 こいつらを何度でも立ち上がらせているのだ こいつらをなんどでもたちあがらせているのだ koitsura wo nando demo tachi agarasete iru noda is what makes these guys stand up again and again

3 おまえがその足を止めぬ限り おまえがそのあしをとめぬかぎり omae ga sono ashi wo tomenu kagiri so long as you don't cease your steps.

4 射出座席は切った筈X ベイルアウトはきったはずX BEIRU AUTO (kanji: shashutsu zaseki) wa kitta hazu X "Must have bailed out (read as: ejection seat) X" (Note: This text line is cut off.)

5 あんたの仕業だな あんたのしわざだな anta no shiwaza da na "This is your doing, isn't it,"

6 オールマイト OORU MAITO "All Might?"

1 あの子らが目指したのは… あのこらがめざしたのは… ano kora ga mezashita no wa... "Those kids were aiming for..."

2 完全勝利だから… かんぜんしょうりだから… kanzen shouri da kara... "a complete victory, so..."

3 喪うものは少ない方がいい… うしなうものはすくないほうがいい… ushinau mono wa sukunai hou ga ii... "it's best if we lose fewer people..."

4 どの口が… どのくちが… dono kuchi ga... "Look who's talking..."

5 緑谷少年…あの日君が駆け出したから みどりやしょうねん…あのひきみがかけだしたから Midoriya-shounen...ano hi kimi ga kakedashita kara Young Midoriya...because you dashed out that day,

6 私も体が動いたんだ わたしもからだがうごいたんだ watashi mo karada ga ugoitanda my body moved, too.

7 あの日からずっと君はーーーー あのひからずっときみはーーーー ano hi kara zutto kimi wa---- Ever since that day, you----

8 頑張れ がんばれ ganbare "Do your best!"

9 頑張れ！ がんばれ！ ganbare! "Do your best!"

10 初日の下校を思い出す！ しょにちのげこうをおもいだす！ shonichi no gekou wo omoidasu! "I remember when we left school on the first day!"

11 今なら彼女が言っていた事もよくわかる気がするよ いまならかのじょがいっていたこともよくわかるきがするよ ima nara kanojo ga itte ita koto mo yoku wakaru ki ga suru yo "Now I feel like I really understand what she was saying."

12 麗日さん うららかさん Uraraka-san "Uraraka-san"

13 もう病院つくから… もうびょういんつくから… mou byouin tsuku kara... "is already headed to the hospital..."

14 頑張れ…皆も頑張ってる がんばれ…みんなもがんばってる ganbare...minna mo ganbatteru "Do your best... Everyone is doing their best, too."

15 でも demo But

16 「デク」って 「DEKU」 tte "Deku," well…

1 「頑張れ‼︎」って感じでなんか好きだ　私 「がんばれ‼︎」ってかんじでなんかすきだ　わたし 「ganbare!!」 tte kanji de nanka suki da watashi (literal translation) I like how it's got a feeling like, "Do your best!!" (official translation) It just screams, "Do your best!!" I kinda like it.

2 がんばれ…！ ganbare...! "Do your best...!"

3 今すぐ全ヒーローを日本へ向かわせろ！ いますぐぜんヒーローをにほんへむかわせろ！ ima sugu zen HIIROO wo nihon e mukawasero! "Have all our heroes head for Japan right now!"

4 しかし大統領AFOが勝利しー場合　我が国の保 しかしだいとうりょうオール・フォー・ワンがしょうりしーばあい　わがくにのほ shikashi daitouryou OORU FOO WAN ga shouri shi-- baai wagakuni no ho- "But Mr. President, if All For One is victorious, our country's protection-"

5 知るか行けえ しるかいけえ shiru ka ikee "Who cares? Go!"

6 皆の声が みんなのこえが minna no koe ga Everyone's voices,

7 聞こえる きこえる kikoeru I can hear them.

1 頑張れ がんばれ ganbare "Do your best!"

2 がんばれ ganbare "Do your best!"

3 頑張れ がんばれ ganbare "Do your best!"

4 がんばれ ganbare "Do your best!"

5 ガンバレ GANBARE "Do your best!"

6 頑張れ がんばれ ganbare "Do your best!"

7 ガンバレ GANBARE "Do your best!"

8 がんばれ ganbare "Do your best!"

9 頑張れ がんばれ ganbare "Do your best!"

10 がんばれ ganbare "Do your best!"

11 がんばれ ganbare "Do your best!"

12 がんばれっ ganbare "Do your best!"

13 私の最高のヒーローだったよ！ わたしのさいこうのヒーローだったよ！ watashi no saikou no HIIROO datta yo! "...you were my greatest hero!"

1 頑張れ がんばれ ganbare "Do your best,"

2 出久‼︎ いずく‼︎ Izuku!! "Izuku!!"

tagline 1 No.422　緑谷出久：ライジング　堀越耕平 ナンバー422　みどりやいずく：ライジング　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 422  Midoriya Izuku: RAIJINGU  Horikoshi Kouhei No. 422 Izuku Midoriya: Rising Kouhei Horikoshi

tagline 2 仲間が拓いた道の先ーーー みんながひらいたみちのさきーーー minna (kanji: nakama) ga hiraita michi no saki--- Ahead of the path paved by everyone (read as: [his] comrades)---

[thathomestar]

played through the black mesa blue shift mod, up through the xen chapter since that's all they've released so far. the mod aims to remake the entirety of blue shift in the style of black mesa, and boy howdy does it deliver on that, for better and for worse.

they actually establish a couple supporting characters, more security guards and scientists, which is nice. in the original game it was basically just dr rosenberg, so more named characters is a good change imo. feels like you're actually rallying people together to fight your way out of black mesa.

a weird thing this mod does is take away player control sometimes. i can understand it for specific sequences, like when the elevator crashes at the beginning or when you first teleport into xen, but it also does it for some mundane things too, like inserting a keycard into a switch. why? half-life's whole thing is letting the player be in control the whole time.

the first few chapters are well paced, but it starts feeling like its padding a bit when you go off to find dr rosenberg. you have to do this whole song and dance moving a train back and forth and turning it around properly on turntables to bust him out. they could have cut out some of the tedium there a little.

my problems really start when it comes to the xen chapter. the original blue shift xen chapter lasts for roughly 30-40 minutes for a first time player, though someone like me was able to speed through it in under 15. with the black mesa mod, they have stretched out the runtime of this chapter to 3 hours.

it starts off pretty strong, you're making your way through xen, taking in the sights and finding all the stuff the previous science teams have left behind. about 90 minutes in i was wondering when i'm gonna get to the focal point relay thing, the whole reason calhoun goes to xen in the first place.

but instead you keep detouring through black mesa outposts and alien factory things and it just gets so long in the tooth. it'd be one thing if you get to one of these places and you're there for 5-10 minutes at most, but you typically spend over 20, sometimes even 30 minutes at these places.

there's one bit where you inexplicably decide to jump on the back of one of the giant flying manta rays and it flies around for like 15 minutes like an autoscroller section until it gets shot down by alien railguns, and then you spend 30 minutes making your way over to and destroying the railguns. and the whole time i'm just like... when are we getting to the focal point thing.

so finally you get to the focal point relay and turn it on but it gets jammed by a signal so you spend another 40 minutes blazing through ANOTHER alien factory so you can blow it up and you make your way back to the focal point thing and the portal's open but alien controllers keep telekinetically grabbing you and yanking you away from it... and it's just so exhausting. i got burned out.

not to mention the weirdness with how they handle vortigaunts. so in black mesa they do this whole thing in xen to show that the vorts are slaves and don't actually want to fight you, but calhoun never encounters any of that stuff. for the first 2/3rds of xen in this mod, vortigaunts are constantly trying to kill you non-stop. then all of a sudden they don't attack you anymore. why? because i, the player know they're not really bad? why would calhoun know that? it doesn't really make sense to me.

xen is cool. i like xen. if you told me "we're adding more xen to blue shift" i'd be like alright that's cool. but 6-8 times more? that's way too much. xen in blue shift was never meant to be a long trip. calhoun was supposed to get in, find the focal point relay, align it, and leave, not go on a grand alien gallivanting adventure. that's for gordon to do.

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 7)

The one thing Uzi did not mind about her transformation was her ability to fly alongside N during scavenging missions. He often had to slow down (thrusters will always be faster than manual flying), but it didn't seem to bother him in the least, especially when she was sharing her favorite songs with him over short-range.

And no, it didn't all consist of Nightcore thank you very much. She was sharing the ones she thought he would like.

Of course, N liked all of them, so she probably could blare Nightcore at full volume and he'd like it, but she was still keeping it mostly mainstream, mostly because he seemed to like singing lyrics if he knew them, which was fun!

Because he was good at it.

He nailed nearly every note so long as he was familiar with the song, and it was gorgeous, his voice smooth as butter and just high enough to reach the minor keys without sounding off.

And yes, it did make her core flutter like it was full of a million butterflies, but that was besides the point.

“Hang on, lemme give you this one.” She sent another over to him, her wings flapping above her as they both glided comfortably.

“How many do you have?!” N asked excitedly, although it was definitely in the sense that he was eager to hear all of them and not that he wanted her to stop.

“Years worth of emotional repression leads to years worth of saved angst, what can I say?” She replied, poking a little fun at herself, she pushed ahead as he opened the audio file, scanning the ground for any parts she needed.

This one was a little angry sounding, but the guitar was nice, and there was a woman singing in the background that he wished didn't sound so sad, but it was pretty, at the very least.

“Do you want me to just give you my playlist? I've kinda just been sending you singles from it this whole time.” She fell back in line with him, wings beating above her, wow, he never realized how strong they looked before.

“Yes!” He beamed, being ecstatic to listen to more, it was leagues better than anything he'd ever heard play at the manor, plus he felt as if he was learning quite a bit about her just through her saved songs.

He noted the complete lack of love songs, there were plenty of breakup songs, but it didn't seem that Uzi had either never felt that way about anyone or she may have just not liked the sappiness of them. He wasn't sure, he was kinda hoping for the latter, she deserved someone to make her happy, surely?

“Here. But we can't spend all night doing this, it not really what we're here for…” She sent him a massive folder that was going to take a bit to install, in the meantime. They both flew upwards, trying to spot things from higher up.

“No worries, what are we looking for?” He asked, just replaying the same songs he'd already listened to on repeat, just at a lower volume.

“A hardware store preferably, that explosion melted all my railguns internals… stupid J… pain in my ass even in death.” She added, sounding bitter. He didn't argue.

“Hmm, I think I saw one last night. I can send you the map data?” He offered, not noticing how closely they were flying, he could feel each beat of her wings. The urge to wrap his tail around her hit him suddenly. She wasn't in danger. What was this about?

“Sweet! Yes!” She gave him a thumbs up, and so he sent the map data to her, and she went silent looking it over intently.

And here he was admiring how she could intently focus of his map data while also flying near perfectly again, if he ever needed to revist a location he had to stop flying lest he hit something. Not her though, her mind was so lightening fast. Not just in this, but in everything.

Man his best freind was so cool. And pretty.

She… was pretty. But that was random.

“Yeah, you did pass one, this way!” She did pause in the air for a moment, but only to turn to him and make sure he was following, he nodded, letting her lead him.

Her tail swirled behind her as she kept herself aloft, it was graceful in it's own way, since she had to think more about consciously flying then he did, and so she ended up doing more spins and tricks in the air just by flying normally. It was almost like watching a dance, albeit a bat-like one.

“We're here.” He heard her shout before diving, and he followed without question, landing beside her with a metallic thud in contrast with her graceful perfect landing.

Okay, what the heck was going on with him today?

“Anything specific?” He asked, dusting the snow off himself before it melted and refroze to his chassis. Ignoring the random intrusive thoughts that seemed to be increasing in frequency and intensity.

“Small screws, wiring, oh! And capacitors! Lots and lots of capacitors.” He knew at least what two of those things were at what they looked like, so he nodded and followed her into the blasted out store after beating the snow out of his cap.

Her tail whipped around into a flashlight, pointing it at the rotten shelves and the icesicles hanging above them, a skeleton was at the counter, still in uniform, and still in the position of looking bored.

“Split up? I'll look for the capacitors, you get the screws and wiring?” She turned to him, with the absence of others she always seemed to smile, he gave her a thumbs up and beamed her one right back, before turning and wandering to the nearest shelf, leaving them both alone with their thoughts.

Uzi was already searching deep in the electronic section, trying to find capacitors that weren't completely broken or frozen, with a task at hand her mind was blessedly empty for once, enough that she was humming absent-mindedly whatever song had gotten trapped in her head.

She didn't sing, she didn't like her voice and thought it was too deep for most songs, but humming was fine, if it wasn't done in front of other people. Robo-God forbid someone hear her not being aggro for ten seconds. But here she was alone, and N was on the other side of the store, he couldn't hear her.

And even if he could, it was N. He wouldn't ever make fun of her for anything.

She smiled. At this point trying to deny her feelings was pointless, he made her feel so special, so wonderful. And he was so happy to spend any time with her, whether it be listening to her music or watching a movie or agreeing to visit a baby with her. He was always down, loving every second.

It rubbed off on her, she found herself smiling more, liking her life more, liking herself more. She was beginning to feel less like a freak and more like a person, all thanks to the lovable goofball she called her best freind.

And she wanted to call him more, connect with him more, but… she couldn't be certain he felt the same way. He was always so loving but he was like that with everyone, he cared, and that's just who he was.

So nothing he did proved he liked her like that. Romanticly. Never in a million years did she ever think she would be longing for someone, or even have a crush in the first place, but here she was, admitting to herself that… she was in love. Ew

But at the same time, the way he had been looking at her in the nursery, with a small smile on his face and his eyes digitally half-lidded. He looked… almost like he wanted to kiss her.

But that had to have been her imagination, he'd asked if she felt better right before, maybe he'd just been concerned.

With a victorious gasp she found a whole box of preserved capacitors and quickly stashed them in her bag before going off and trying to find the boy in question, core full of butterflies but also very very heavy.

N had finally finished downloading Uzi's monster of a playlist and was skimming through it while picking up his second box of screws, he doubted she needed this many, but being an overachiever never got him in trouble before.

He fingered the wiring he had in his pocket, feeling satisfied that he'd completed his task and yet still felt anything but.

He was… confused.

Uzi was his friend, his best friend. And yet the more he thought about her the lighter his core got, in a way that was new to him. Well no, that was it wasn't it? It wasn't new.

It was just attached to a new person.

But… he didn't have a crush on Uzi did he? He could form sentences just fine around her, he wasn't nervous or artificially sweaty. He just wanted to be close, to protect her. To be there when she needed him. That wasn't romantic. It was protective! Like all friends should be!

And yet he still felt unsatisfied, like he was missing something.

“Hey! Did you find what we needed?” He heard her before he saw her, bounding up to him with a crooked smirk, her tail twitching behind her and her wings folded against her back. She was cute…

He shook off his thoughts again.

“Yeah! Here!” He he presented the screws and the wire to her with a smile, his tail twitching as her hand grazed his as she took them, no that wasn't a spark you're imagining things.

“Thanks!” You ready to head back? It's going to be morning soon.” She asked, punching his shoulder playfully, a small laugh left his mouth.

“Yeah! And we can listen to music together on the way back!”

“Sure buddy.”

And with that they took off, commenting on songs and cracking jokes about the stupid ones, flying high to get home faster. With each minute he felt himself relax, whatever confusing mess his thoughts were causing right now didn't matter, they were laughing, and she was smiling. He would figure it out later.

“Is… is this song about a potato?” He asked slowly, causing her to snort before devolving into a fit of laughter.

“Y-yeah? I thought it was funny, and I rigged the teachers lounge to play it on repeat once.”

N didn't want to ask why, but he felt that it was a very Uzi thing to do.

“Hey, I might need to crash at your place tonight. Charge is low and I don't wanna pass out on the way home.” As she said that, a little low battery symbol appeared at the top right corner of her visor, showing she wasn't lying.

“Sleepover!” He shouted, making her smile again, he really liked her smile…

“Yeah, whatever.” She rolled her eyes, but her words lacked any sort of bite. There was a brief comfortable silence before;

“Oh… this one's kinda sad.” His face fell at little as he listened. An orchestral swell being out of place in the rest of the playlist.

I am tired of this dream….

Will it ever end for me?

“Sorry, I don't have a lot of happy ones that aren't also sarcastic…” She admitted sheepishly, she probably should find happier songs now that she was thinking about it. She felt happier now, what was the harm? So long that it was only her and N that would ever hear them.

I don't have the will to know…

Can you help me see?

“Oh! Duet!” He hummed happily, that fact alone seemingly making him feel better about it.

Let my body keep you warm…

Let my essence be your breeze.

Oh. This was a love song, and a rather longing one. He looked over Uzi's playlist, this one was added only recently. About three months ago, huh that was around when prom happened.

Can you hear me calling?

Please look out for meeee…

“N! Look!” Uzi shouted and he looked up, the gas giant was being eclipsed by Copper-9s barren moon, causing the entire night sky to be lit up in a burnt umber red. But he'd be lying if he said that was what caught his attention.

Can you set me free?

Will you take my soul away?

Uzi was silhouetted in the light perfectly, sending warm oranges and reds bouncing off her features like she was gazing at a roaring fire, she was hung in the air, snowflakes falling slowly around her, the light turning them to embers dancing in the air. She was smiling, her hands reaching out to touch one of the dancing flames.

Casting me in cold

Bury me in bones

Rest eternallyyyyyy…

He felt all the moisture in his mouth evaporate on the spot, and any further thought through his processors die. If flying wasn't an automatic process, he would have fallen from the sky in shock.

She looked beautiful.

Will you take me home?

Can we see the moon again?

Dancing in the dark

Till we fall apart

I can't end this dream...

Next ->

[inbabylontheywept]

The Vengabus is Coming

Alakan pinched the bridge of his nose. On one hand, certain death. On the other hand, human bullshit.

He weighed the options carefully. His self-respect fought tooth and claw with his will to live.

The will to live won. It was a near thing, but internal battles were winner take all.

“Fuck it. We need armor. Send them in.”

---

The radio crackled. It was a quiet sound, but still a welcome reprieve to the blisteringing swarm of beams from the nearby laser gatling. Alakan fished it out of his front pocket, raising it near his ear eagerly.

“Callsign ‘Ape-Mode’, do you copy? What is your ETA? We’re pinned down bad up here, if they can get a second angle set up we’re toast. ”

The speaker crackled again. There was a sound like a horn on the other end. Maybe an alarm?

“Callsign Ape-Mode, is your vehicle intact?”

There was no verbal response back, but a faint chanting could be heard in the background, just beyond the range of his hearing. Alakan cranked the volume knob to max, desperate for any possible information about when the armor would arrive. Instead, he seemed to catch the opening part of some kind of human war ritual.

“We like to party! We like, we like to party! We like to party! We like, we like to party! We like to party! We like-”

Then the radio cut off abruptly.

He took several deep breaths before pinching his nose again.

Fucking humans.

---

The Vengabus is coming! And everybody's jumping! New York to-

The chanting was back, almost incomprehensibly loud. The gatlings were earsplitting on their own, but the human war chant made them seem like whispers in a library. The noise was so loud that identifying the source was almost impossible. It seemed to be coming from all sides at once, a hulking wall of sound. He reached down to shut off his comm only to find it was already off.

Oh. They must be here then. That would explain the unwarranted assault on his earholes. He took a peek over the edge of his foxhole and froze.

Even by the standards of human bullshit, this was egregious.

The tank itself was standard DFP issue. The bright yellow paint job and makeshift stop sign definitely were not. And the speakers looked borderline illegal. Strands of copper wire poked from each of the generator sized boxes strapped, welded, and glued to random points all over the chassis. The conductor feeding each of the abominations seemed to be repurposed twinkle lights, cutting zigzags between each box before drawing into the hatch.

The gatlings stopped, evidently as taken aback as everyone else on the battlefield. The moment of relative peace was replaced by insane furor as every gun on the opposite side of the canyon seemed to realize that there was a big juicy target barreling towards them.

The tank took the swarm of beams like a champion. Faint clouds of yellow smoke trailed behind the racing vehicle as its makeshift paint job was incinerated, but that was probably a blessing in disguise. The wall of noise fell down several notches as one of the gatlings made a point of targeting the ear splitting speakers.

The tank had been content enough to just absorb enemy ammo as it barreled its way to the middle of the battle, but this was a personal affront. The railgun on the top of the vehicle locked on to the offending turret and began dropping ferroslugs. The first was more than enough to obliterate its hated foe, the other three were just to desecrate the memory. Each shot had the unfortunate side effect of distorting the noise coming out of the speakers, the voices going up like chipmunks with every thump of the MAC.

The wheels of steel are turning! And traffic lights are burning! So if you like to party, get on and move your body! The Vengabus is coming!

A kinetic slug slammed into the road just behind it. If the tank had been going anything less than max speed, it would’ve been splattered. Any sane tank operator would’ve launched their smoke cover, changed course, and avoided the slugs by serpentining.

These were not sane tank operators. The hatches for the smoke cover opened, but instead of smoke grenades getting flung from the hydraulic catapult, out flew hundreds and hundreds of gleaming chemlights. The laser gatling atop the main cannon opened fire, not at any enemy, but simply while spinning in circles at maximum speed.

None of this should have done a damn thing, but the effect was amazing. The lights, the noise, and now the laser effects-the enemy had been trained for what to do in a warzone, but they had no fucking idea what to do at a disco. All it took was one of them to break ranks, and the rest followed suit. Alakan watched in awe as the troop of 80 enemy combatants bolted up the far side of the valley, casually pursued by the still smoldering Venga-Tank, chipperly screaming out its war cry as the recording device on the inside hit a well planned loop.

The Vengabus is coming! The Vengabus is coming! The Vengabus is coming! The Vengabus is coming! The Vengabus is coming! The Vengabus is coming!

The noise, blessedly, faded to black as both made it over the hill.

He climbed carefully out of his foxhole, wiping the dirt from his palms onto the front of his pants when he was done. One of the newer soldiers jogged up to him, as baffled as he’d ever been.

“What… What the hell just happened?”

Alakan shrugged.

“Trust me, they don’t know either. Fucking humans.”

[star-dust-no-name]

Hanging Out With The Drones

☆Main Series Masterlist☆

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*✩‧₊˚

Sypnosis: After landing in Copper-9 with N V and J they each have a schedule on who watches over you, so how do does days go with each one of them? +Bonuses at the end

Murder drones x child reader (platonic)

Gender neutral reader

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*✩‧₊˚

N

• Mostly spending the time coloring and showing each other drawings that you made

• He gives you piggyback rides when you want to

• N 100% gives you his hat just for fun (or if you want it)

• Whenever you're hungry, he literally searches his whole data just to be able to find some sort of recipe you'll like

• He teaches you about all kinds of dogs and how they behave with their owners

• Hide and seek every time

• If anyone tries to hurt you or threaten you it’s the only time where he’s fine with taking his time in killing a worker drone

• Of course he’ll never kill in front of you (no need to see that side of him after all)

• He’s the type of person to play peek a boo with you (but let’s face it you aren’t really into that but you just pretend you do)

• He’s happy that he can finally make someone laugh and smile

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*✩‧₊˚

V

▪︎ V is confused after all she has no clue on what to do

▪︎ Staring contests almost all the time

▪︎ After being bored she randomly decides to teach you self defense

▪︎ She’s just bored after all (definitely not getting attached to you and wants to make sure you can defend yourself if anything happens)

▪︎ You hungry? 100% tried to kill a worker drone for you but then remembered you’re a human

▪︎ Rapidly sent a message to N about what you like to eat because she just realized she has no clue on what to feed you

▪︎ Don’t worry though after all with Tessa she got a lot of practice with making human food (She’s basically your personal chef)

▪︎ The drone to teach you all the ways to destroy a worker drone

“So then you see this button right here yeah that’s the inner core go for that piece and they’re dead right away” “PLEASE LET ME GO I HAVE A FAMILY TO FEED”

▪︎ Yeah she taught you with a real worker drone she randomly stumbled upon

▪︎ And she would do it again to make you laugh

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*✩‧₊˚

J

° She’s willing to take care of you

° Only because of the company orders but later she found out she actually liked taking care of you

° You remind her so much of her

° She often makes you clothes from cloth and other materials that she found

° Any designs you make on paper she makes it into reality (like clothes and plushies)

° After all it’s in her mission to take care of you and make you happy

(And perhaps she can have some fun while at it)

° She often teaches you about drones and her wonderful company JCJenson

° Funnily enough you were happy about the company because they created J, V and N and also because you never saw J so happy apart from talking about JCJenson

° Out of all the drones she’s the most responsible when taking care of you and always making sure you have all your needs met

° It’s what the company wants after all!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*✩‧₊˚

+BONUS (Just for fun:P)

Uzi

¤ “What the…”

¤ Somehow she stops herself from swearing cause you are literally a child

¤ She has no clue why she’s suddenly being nice to you especially since you are a human

¤ She lets you play with her railgun and funnily enough she finally feels as if she has a friend

¤ Especially weird cause like about her whole killing all humans thing

¤ She’ll make an exception just this once for you though

¤ She has no clue what to do with you after you get bored of her railgun

¤ So she might’ve taught you how to play video games

¤ And she might’ve taught you on how to absolutely beat the sh-t out of online gamers

¤ Just some fun silly times

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*✩‧₊˚

Doll

¤ …

¤ Doll is certainly surprised

¤ After all a human in Copper 9?

¤ How the hell are you even alive?

¤ Well it doesn’t matter as the first thing she does is try to gain information

¤ Therefore she finds out who your parents are

¤ Even though she does indeed hates your parents for killing her parents she not about to kill you out of spite

¤ No…after all she might need you later on

¤ So she made sure that you were all warm and cozy before she dumped you outside in the snow and giving you a very hot and sweet drink called Sbiten (No alcohol added of course)

¤ Pleased to say you were so happy about meeting another drone explaining it all to N while V and J gave each other a look

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*✩‧₊˚

Tessa

× R

× E

× D

× A

× C

× T

× E

× D

× …

× Sister…?

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*✩‧₊˚

Cyn

¤ You

¤ Will

¤ Help

¤ Me

¤ Human

¤ *giggles

¤ maniacally*

¤ I

¤ Have

¤ Plans

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*✩‧₊˚

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*✩‧₊˚

Authors Note: So like this will be like one shots but still like apart of the story basically like filler so you guys have some entertainment and also like world building where I can go in further detail, if you want you can also like ask for some scenarios

-Stardust

[kittydragondraws]

Murder Drones - Trauma and Healing

I was once of the opinion that Murder Drones never really had a theme or message. It was kind of just, watch the funny robots be funny.

But the more I've thought about it the more I've realized, Murder Drones does have a theme. And that theme?

Trauma, how it affects people, and how to heal from it.

In this essay I will go over five of the characters of the show, Uzi, N, V, Doll, and Tessa, and describe their traumas. How it affects their actions, and what they do to heal from them.

Uzi - Lonliness and Acceptance

Uzi grew up with no friends, classmates who either hated or ignored her, an emotionally negligent father, and a dead (*cough* in church *cough*) mother. Truth be told, she had no one. No one to talk to, no one who would listen to her, no one who cared about her.

She was alone and very vulnerable. However, she didn't like that. She didn't want people to see her as vulnerable, she didn't want people to see her as weak. So she developed her edgy, "not like other girls" persona to convince people that she wasn't dying inside. That she took all her pain in stride and was owning it.

However, her coping mechanism of creating her goth girl persona didn't help in the long term as it didn't combat her true problem. She was lonely, lonely and... just wanted someone who cared about her.

And one day, while going out to find the last piece of her railgun she needs to save the world and earn her dad's respect and stuff, she meets N. N, the bloodthirsty drone killer, who was willing to sit down and talk to her.

Sure he was blind and thought she was a fellow Murder Drone, but he didn't immediately push her away as emo. Sure he admittedly was used to much worse treatment from much worse people, and Uzi was probably a saint compared to them (which we'll touch on in his part).

But even afterwards, when he realized she was a Worker, and that he would get in massive trouble with J if he let her go, he willingly spared her life. Saw her father leave her to die, and took pity on her.

Where the two came to develop a connection and eventually, friendship.

Uzi had made her first friend.

N - Self Worth and Free Will

His whole life, N has been used and abused.

While we don't know much about his first life, his life before the Elliots, we can only assume he was still treated as a slave, as much as the rest of the Worker race is.

His life with Tessa and her family, while seemingly happy, he still lived with them as a servant. Tessa may have been a good owner, but she was still an owner. He, J, and V might have been good servants, but they were still servants.

His life as a Disassembly Drone was probably the worst. Not only did he have his entire body forcibly changed against his will, but he now was forced to take innocent lives as he relied on their bodies for sustenance. Not to mention he also had his brain swiss cheesed to hell and back, and didn't even know because well... can't remember things well when those memories are full of holes.

Not to mention, the people he was forced to serve under were awful to him. The most obvious one is J, who was him as a waste of materials and space. She literally wanted N dead, leaving a piece of paper that read "kill yourself" in a dog book that she knew N would read, as a Disassembly Drone telling N that if the company allowed it she would kill him herself, and literally stabbing him with a deadly virus after she saw he had dissented.

However the Solver, the Solver was worse. It killed him several times over, wiped his memories of his past deaths, turned him into a monster, and forced him to kill an unspeakable amount of humans and drones. It could clone him an infinite amount of times. If one clone learned too much or got too rebellious, there were always the next hundred. He was disposable, in episode 7, the solver literally said he had served his purpose. The worst part? There's no way of truly knowing what the Solver did to him or forced him to do. How many clones of N it tortured, killed, and replaced.

But what's even worse than this? He enjoyed it. Well, enjoyed is a strong word. But he saw it as okay. He believed that being treated like trash was normal. He literally thanked J for stepping on his neck. He thanked J for "looking out for him" after getting stabbed with the virus.

When Uzi questioned him about what the "company" would do to him after they were finished with their mission on Copper 9, he didn't know. He was blindly following orders, doing what he was told. With no thought to the consequences. He never considered that JcJenson would view them as a bunch of useless, worthless, disposable robots...

Then he meets Uzi. Sure she's a bit rough around the edges, but she doesn't hurt him or belittle him. She values his opinions and him as a person.

She doesn't see him as a means to an end. She sees him as N.

V - Protection and Attachment

V hid information from and hurt N, yet she did it to protect him. V remembered more than N from the manor. More of the killing, the bloodshed, the forced experimentation, more of the Solver.

She didn't want N to remember. To have the same painful memories she did. So she did her best to keep them hidden from him. Keep him in the dark about the Solver.

How did she do that? Avoid telling him anything she knew, anything that he could use to get closer to the truth. She wanted him to stay in blissful ignorance, something she would love to have.

However, her desire to keep N safe didn't just extend to keeping him safe from the Solver, but keeping him safe from her.

She was afraid of loosing N, and the pain that would bring. So if she developed a deep emotion attatchment to N, like say... reciprocating his crush... it would only hurt if she ever lost him again. And she wasn't ready to deal with that pain.

So she pushed him away. pretended to be mean, pretended to be crass, pretended to not notice, not care, literally pretended to forget his name. No attachment, no pain.

But then, Uzi comes along, and her eye starts glitching to show a Solver symbol. V remembers their orders, kill all the Solver infected drones on the planet. But N, N likes this little drone. he sees her as a friend. He won't let V kill her, becuase he doesn't know what she can do.

It would be so easy for V to go behind N's back and kill her, afterall, N's made friends with rocks before. He'd get over a pathetic Worker, right?

But as time goes on, V starts to understand more about Uzi, about why N likes her. She's smart she's kind, she gives a damn about his opinions. She tells him things... that's more than V ever could've done.

And when V realizes N doesn't need her protection anymore, she's willing to let him go.

Doll - Obsession and Isolation

Doll just wanted to be normal. She just wanted to be free from the Solver's influence and live a normal teenage robot life. But she also wanted revenge, revenge on the drone that took her parents from her, revenge on the drone that set her down this path on the first place, V.

After becoming an orphan, Doll became obsessed with getting her revenge on V, to the point she no longer cared about anyone else. Including who lived and who died. Of course, being Solver infected, she had to drink the oil of the Workers around her, so it's hard to fault her for that.

However, it's hard to tell how many drones she kills out of necessity, and how many she kills for other, less justifiable, reasons. The amount of oil she has in her house? You can't tell me she drinks all of it, at least, not before killing more Workers. The prom girls? That was to lure V into the bunker. Even at prom, She kills two (I think) other Worker Drones, for the crime of getting in her way. Why?

V, everything Doll does, is about V. All of the prom-related deaths she caused, were about V. Doll was obsessed with V, all she cared about was killing V to avenge her parents, not caring about who else she had to hurt to do so. All that mattered, was that V ended up dead.

But after Prom, when she had failed to kill V, and ended up getting killed herself. She learned that Uzi had the Solver as well, finally, someone who could understand her pain, someone she could help. But even after learning she and Uzi are in the same boat, she still chooses to go alone.

At every turn she either leaves Uzi to her own, which usually ends in Uzi getting hurt, or she actively antagonizes her, setting back her own progress in terms of investigating the Solver to further her own goals. Even going as far as to sentence Uzi to death by dinesaw after getting to the elevator.

However, in the end, her relcutance to accept help would be her downfall.

Both Uzi and Doll ended up getting confronted by Tessa, whose goal was to have both dead. However, what separated them in those moments was that they had backup. Or at the very least, one did.

When Tessa had been pinned down by Uzi and was about to be stabbed N was there, knife as hand, ready to do whatever it took to save Uzi. He had had enough of Tessa's shadyness, and now only cared about her.

However Doll, Doll was all alone. When she was attacked by Tessa, she had to try to protect herself. She didn't have anyone she could turn to or rely on for help in that moment. So she ended up getting killed by the very monster she was fighting against.

In her last moments, all she could do was find Uzi. And hope that she'd be able to fight back.

Tessa - Love and Compassion (And Getting Skinned Alive By God)

Tessa's parents hated her. Her mom, Louisa, seemed to view her as an embarrassment and while we don't know much about her relationship with her father, James, it can be assumed he was either generally apathetic to his daughter or found her creepy.

Either way, he didn't care much about her, as he was complicit in Lousia's abuse of her, which included chaining her up to her bedpost like she was a misbehaving dog.

Yet, despite her loveless upbringing, when she was given the opportunity to essentially be a mother to the Worker (Zombie) Drones she rescued from the dump, she chose to be the opposite of what her parents were.

While her parents were cruel and demanding, Tessa loved her drones, flaws and all. She was them almost like her children, little ones she had to protect, keep happy and safe. Heck, she probably cared for them more than she should've, considering that they were robots.

However, there was one drone she had found. One who was different than the others, in a way she could never guess. Cyn, little Cyn. She was different than the other Drones Tessa rescued, she was small, had an odd way of walking, and an odd way of talking. But that was okay to Tessa, she was a Worker Drone deserving of a home.

Tessa could've never guessed that by bringing that Worker into her home. She's not only cause the deaths of her parents and countless other fancy rich people, but also her own and lead to the destruction of the entire human race.

The worst part? She couldn't find peace even in death. With her skin being worn by Cyn and used to masquerade as her, tricking her once beloved drones into assisting the very entity they were trying to defeat.

In Tessa's heartfelt attempt to try and break the cycle of abuse, she ended up causing something worse than she could even imagine.

Trauma is a complicated thing to talk about, and an even more complicated thing to get right. However, I do applaud this show for not only tackling the subject but showing such a wide branch of ways the characters cope with it. From finding others to confide in, to harming others in the pursuit of their own interests. And it pains me the fandom can't recognize this.

So many times have I seen people in this fandom either use a character's trauma as an excuse to absolve them of all blame, or ignore it and try to spin them as the second coming of Satan. When these characters are much more complex and fascinating than people give them credit for.

Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you have a good day.

[thatguywhodoesstuff]

A Few Jhad Incorrect Quotes More

The long awaited(?) fifth installment of my Jhad Incorrect Quotes Series.

———

Thad: Did J just tell me she loved me for the first time?

Uzi: Yeah, she did.

Thad: And did I just do finger guns back?

Uzi: Yeah, you did.

———

Rebecca: I like your top, J!

Thad: (Jokingly) I have a name, you know.

J: (Pinches the bridge of her “nose”) *Sighs* Why? Why are you like this?

———

Thad: (Ecstatic) J and I got married!!

Uzi: Don't share your personal problems with everyone.

———

Thad: I'm so happy, I could kiss you!

J: Um...Neat.

(Later)

J: (Lying face down on her bed) I said "Neat," Uzi. Who the fuck says neat these days? It's not neat to say neat but I said it anyways because I'm fucking stupid.

Uzi: (Reading a book) Don't beat yourself up too much, J. Everyone gets nervous sometimes. Remember what I did when N confessed his love for me?

J: (Looks up) Didn't you thank him?

Uzi: (Closes the book and looks at the ceiling) I fucking thanked him.

———

N: Why is J crying on the floor?

V: She’s drunk.

N: And?

V: She saw a picture of Thad’s wife.

N: But… she’s Thad’s wife.

V: I know.

———

Uzi: I sleep with sick as hell railgun under my pillow.

Doll: Я сплю с ножом.

Thad: Both of you are so weird.

Uzi: (Cocks an eyebrow) Oh yeah? What do you sleep with?

Thad: J.

———

J: I can't take this anymore, someone needs to take me out!

Thad: In a dating type of way, or an assassination type of way?

J: I don't know, surprise me!

———

J: Do you want to explain the text you sent me last night?

Thad: It was autocorrect.

J: Autocorrect wrote "You're so hot. Please step on me."?

Thad: Yes.

———

Khan: (Sees J and Thad together) They're cute. I would put them on a boat.

Nori: (Caught off guard) You mean... you ship them?

———

Thad: Are we fighting or flirting?

J: Wha- I'm pinning you against a wall with my hand around your neck!

Thad: Your point?

———

J: (Rocket launcher at the ready) Get the fuck out!

Uzi: (Unfazed) What's up your ass this morning?

Thad: (Groggily walks in) *Yawn* ...Hey.

Uzi: Hmm... never mind. (Runs out of the pod to tell the others)

J: WAIT NO!

———

Darren: So... I've seen you've been spending a lot of time with J recently.

Thad: No, Darren, it's not what it looks like, I swear.

Darren: Oh really? So no reason for me to be jealous?

Thad: No! You're the only one for me.

Darren: Is that so?

Thad: I promise! J and I are just dating, okay? She’s my girlfriend.

Darren: So there are no best-friends-feelings involved?

Thad: You are still my one and only best friend! She’s just the love of my life, nothing more!

Darren: But I'm still the platonic love of your life, right?

Thad: Of course bro!

Darren: (Takes off his sunglasses, teary-eyed) Bro...

J: (Deeply confused) What the…?

———

Thad: Talk dirty to me, baby~

J: The dishes.

Thad: Wh-

J: They've been there for 4 days and it's your turn to wash them. You still haven't cleaned them and I have asked you to do so several times.

———

(J comes home absolutely drunk, undresses, and stands in Thad’s bedroom.)

Thad: Babe, are you… coming to bed?

J: No thank you, I'm sure you're lovely but I have a boyfriend.

(J falls face first on the ground and immediately falls asleep)

Thad: (Shakes his head)

———

N: If you want my advice-

J: No offense but you're the last person I want relationship advice from. You tried to kill your girlfriend. Multiple times.

N: First off, that was before we started dating. Secondly, she’s also tried to kill me.

Uzi: It's true. It was mutually attempted murder.

———

J: Time sensitive question how flirt boy.

Uzi: Throw rocks at he.

Lizzy: Hot Dogs.

Doll: Убей его.

J: Thanks guys.

———

J: I love you.

Thad: I love you too. I've waited so long to hear you say that.

(They kiss passionately)

V: (To Uzi) You owe me 20 dollars.

———

J: Thad, you love me, right?

Thad: Normally I'd say yes without hesitation, but I feel like this is going somewhere I won't like.

———

J: (Comes out of the changing room wearing silk pants) How does this look?

Thad: Like it slips on and off really easily.

J: (Blushes)

Thad: (Blushes) No, I didn't mean it like that-!

Lizzy: (Teasingly) We know what you meant~

———

Cyn/The Absolute Solver: Did you take out Thad as I requested?

J: Thad has been taken out, yes.

Cyn/The Absolute Solver: Giggle. Excellent, now to-

J: It was a great restaurant. We had a romantic candlelit dinner and Thad proposed afterwards, we're filing the wedding papers.

Cyn/The Absolute Solver: ಠ_ಠ

———

Thad: (Smiling proudly) Well, J and I finally did it!

The Rest of the Squad: *Gasps, shocked expressions, etc.*

Thad: That's right... We kissed!

The Rest of the Squad: ಠ_ಠ

———

J: I don't need to go to bed. I'm not tired, I'll be fine.

Thad: But, babe, I'll be so lonely without you. Come curl up in my arms so I can feel whole again.

J: (Flustered) O-oh. Well… Wait. Are you trying to seduce me into healthy sleeping patterns?

Thad: …Is it working?

———

J: You look good in that hoodie.

Thad: You know where else l'd look good?

J: (Zero hesitation) My bed.

Thad: (At the same time) By your side- Wait, what?

J: (Blushing and averting her gaze) Nothing!

———

Thad: Bro-

J: No, no, hold up, rewind. My tongue was down your throat just a second ago and now you're calling me bro!?

———

[bladekindeyewear]

Murder Drones - Homestuck Classes/Aspects

The eighth and final episode of this independent-animation Youtube series came out just over two weeks ago (MUCH longer than that by the time I ever finish this draft post, oh god it's been three months), and after having binged through it and a bunch of reactions TO it and bonus details / theory content, I couldn't resist coming up with Hero Titles for all the main characters based on the Homestuck Classes and Aspects system I've spent so much time helping analyze.

Please note that THE MAJORITY OF WHAT IS UNDER THE CUT IS HEAVY SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES. Please do NOT click the read-more and spoil yourself on one of the better triumphs of indie animation I've seen (in my biased perspective), from Glitch Productions, the studio making The Amazing Digital Circus. Watch the first minute or two of Episode 1 right now instead and if you're not hooked by the dark comedy, relentless pause-bonuses and lampshadey character writing that (though it's not for everyone) I promise only gets better FAST as the episodes continue and an actual mystery unfolds, then just ignore this post and come back some other time if you ever decide to finish watching the series. I'll be justifying my takes in detail and listing very spoilery twists and concepts below the cut, so this is all I can give you of my opinions before spoiling anything, because I can't even list all the characters and the most interesting classpects without giving away things you're better off watching all eight episodes before seeing. Have a first taste, the rest is under the cut if you've finished Murder Drones:

Uzi - Witch of Void

N - Heir of Hope

V - Knight of Mind

J - Maid of Doom

Oh you're under the cut now? Time to list the OTHER characters before I go in depth on each!

Doll - Witch of Space

CYN - Thief of Heart (ascended, with heavy Page of Mind duality having mastered her role)

The Solver of the Absolute Fabric - Muse of Void (the true enemy, the unknown eldritch entity/program who seduced CYN with an explicit Choice and is potentially driving the universe itself towards the Big Crunch while relentlessly fueling itself with planetary mass!)

UZI DOORMAN - Witch (or Knight?) of Void

"Easy, morons. It doesn't work... yet! It doesn't work yet. Who said it doesn't work, maybe it does!" (Uzi flicks the [railgun's] switch and laughs evilly.)

"The humans sent you without a communication relay and reformatted your memories to soup. Covering their tracks means they're past negotiating."

TEACHER: "Uzi, give Braden back his sentience." BRADEN (controlled): "Bite me-- her! I started it, and also, I'm dumb." *Head bursts into flames.*

"My crazed ramblings! Stay outta my freaking room!"

N: "Before we met, scary stuff was actually... pretty scary. And tonight too, 'cause you weren't with me to make it fun, somehow."

"I am a ghost witch! And I'm tall. Heheheh."

"Important hacking going on!"

N and V's displays: "ADMIN [CYN] OVERRIDE... [100%] -- ASSIGNING PERMS :// USER ID: DARKXWOLF17 ROLE: ADMIN"

"Nobody traumatizes these weirdly hot robots but me!"

"I think dumb things are super cool, and I - AM - FREE!!!"

Okay, Uzi's hero title was one of the toughest to nail down. I kept having doubts at every turn, trying out alternatives, so let me try to dismiss those doubts/alternatives for you the same way I did for myself.

Rage? It might capture some of her edgelordiness and her attraction to the terrifying, but there's a venn diagram overlap between plenty of aspects, and the one between Rage and Void is filled in liberally here. What Rage doesn't fully account for is how Uzi always goes for the tastes and options that everyone else is dismissing, how she serves as an ignored champion, how she embraces how others in darkness can be good instead of just embracing darkness, and how she isn't as defined by her rebellion against optimism or fear as by her rebellion against those who would own her, how she refuses to submit her agency and controls the submission of others, as per the Agency/Submission axis of the Light/Void spectrum and a Witch's dominion of controlling and manipulating that difference.

Knight? It's extremely tempting to write off all the Witch mentions and imagery as funny coincidence while focusing on how she actually mostly weaponizes the power, but I again focus on how much of her personal journey is about control as an edgy teenager, by her parents, by society, by her own powers, the statement always shaking her free being the declaration that "YOU DON'T OWN ME!", combined with the skillful Witchy way she wrests control of the submission built into N and V and draws out the secrets she needs especially in Episode 5, and eventually projects control over even the Solver power's original owner. The Knight is the class that exploits and weaponizes the aspect, leaping through loopholes like a sword dance. The Witch is the class which controls, changes, and manipulates the aspect, grasping and shaping it like clay between their hands.

And so while I leave you to be free to believe Uzi is a Knight if you still want, I would contend that the title that best embodies her throughout the series and her journey to self-actualization is that of a Witch of Void. Void players are almost always attracted to that which repels and confuses others. Uzi is a girl obsessed with ideas that are dark and rejected and unpopular, the scary and misunderstood, enamored with the creepy and destructive and monstrous and vampiric (the Disassembly / Murder Drones are obvious Vampire analogues with their bat-like blood-drinking, wings and sleeping upside down, sunlight weakness, staking them through the Heart being the only way to keep them from regenerating, the "Bite Me" phrase, and is also reflected in how the Solver curse breaks mirrors that vampires classically cannot be seen in). She delves into secrets, mastering her control over unknown powers and advantages episode by episode. She rebels against control, everyone and everything constantly urging her to Submit like a Void player tempted to alcohol, and instead seeks Control and agency for herself and everyone she comes to care about while subjugating the enemy. She shares many classical Void player tropes-- a hacker controlling others, even manipulating submission by freeing N and V by rewriting HERSELF as their system administrator in Cyn's place so her instructions could no longer puppet them. Her main weapons are an energy rifle (railgun) like Roxy, unarmed combat like Roxy and Equius (Void because you wield Nothing), the reality manipulating powers of the Solver wielded like a Witch including the almighty [NULL] command of black-hole-like deletion creating voids in space that not even Doll attempted, and finally a weapon inherited from her very similar mother: A pickaxe, a tool classically used to unearth things from the depths. I couldn't pick a more varied and fitting arsenal for a Witch of Void.

Her ultimate battlecry in the final episode is essentially I am cringe but I am free, fitting for any Void player, and she completes her journey by refusing to be Controlled or submit her agency to any but those she trusts most, and in fact subsuming Control of the reality-warping power and individual who most sought to control her and everyone else, becoming its master, and yet submitting somewhat to the way of life of the worker drones and her classmates living in their underground bunker. "And yep, that's how I learned nightmares are real, and we probably should have stayed behind the ol' doors! And that maybe I don't actually hate it here. As much."

DOLL - Witch of Space

"Как мило, но мне твоя помощь не нужна." ("Cute, but I don't need help.")

Doll: "Я не позволю ему использовать меня, чтобы поглотить планету! (I will not let it use me to consume the planet!)" Tessa: "Hmm... Not sure it needs you, buddy."

The supernatural reality-editing power known as the Absolute Solver normally has four known functions, each with their own symbols: Translate (move), Scale (crush/expand), Rotate, and Edit, not counting the [null] command that only comes with a direct connection as one of the Solver's main hosts. Doll exhibits more comprehensive control of these spatial-manipulating abilities and their versatility than even CYN! She repositions/teleports herself at will, not only spatially manipulates objects but uses Edit to replicate them (an act of Creation we never see CYN or Uzi pull), and refuses to relinquish control of any situation she's involved in unless forced to retreat and watch from the shadows, warping around between the targets she's observing like a ghost. And the whole time, she follows a very Aradia-reminiscent ghost girl schtick.

Specifically, the way Aradia acted and the powers she used while inverted to a Bard of Space! The way Aradia behaves after her god-tier resurrection as an ascended Maid of Time hardly resembles Doll's behavior at all! It lines up surprisingly perfectly.

Thematically, Murder Drones doesn't really follow the "Space/Time = Creation/Destruction" axis association very much, unlike many other works of fiction that quite prominently do. Freed from that obligation in this framework, Doll can act as a Witch of Space even more blatantly destructive and active than Grimbark Jade Harley, making the crucial mistake of trying to tackle and control a problem all by herself that she had no actual hope of overcoming alone. One of the most active classes there is, a Witch is often tempted by their role to take ALL the control for themselves, and usually pays for it.

Gosh, isn't it satisfying to see what it'd be like for a Witch of Space to fully use her powers in close-quarters combat?! What a fantastic display.

N - Golden Retriever Heir of Hope

"Sure! I love doing anything!"

CYN: "You know, you're one of the main reasons I wanted your team to retain your personalities. You always surprised me. Loved doing... anything."

"[After having a hand shoved in his mouth, nervously reassuring, clearly not having enjoyed it.] Sweet! Uh, I'm open to new things, I guess."

"(To V) I'm so, so sorry. Have fun repressing this!" Licks V's sword, revolting her and making her lose her grip.

With the easy way N makes friends with absolutely everyone, including the viewer, you'd think he'd perhaps be somewhere on the Blood aspect, such as an Heir of Blood like the Mayor-- but the specific WAY that N makes friends so easily is important, and very reminiscent of Jake in his Page of Hope role. He consistently completely defies everyone's impressions and expectations of him, the contrast winning them over in mere moments-- he takes the SIDE of those deliberately against him, giving advice to them and wanting them to be happy even as they're literally trying to dissect him. He's unbelievably optimistic and almost always open to EVERYONE the moment they aren't completely terrifying him. He opens himself up to everything even more than Jake does.

And more importantly to the nuance of his role and how skilled he is with it: He takes in the weird ideas of others, no matter how offball or repellent, and consistently redeploys them in new contexts to his advantage. Like using the idea of how revolted he was at Uzi sticking her hand in his mouth to lick V's sword to get her to disengage. Like taking in the reasons Uzi gave him to rebel against authority in Episode 1 and readily deploying a full rationale based on them against his superior officer J. Like when he took Uzi's language of how he and Uzi "just kinda, like, hang out a lot <3" to throw the oddball of him and Uzi dating as the most IMPOSSIBLE to imagine method to finally snap Uzi out of being controlled out of romantic embarrassment while making her mother even more motivated to finish her daughter's smackdown. An Heir is the passive counterpart to a Witch, making N theoretically the nexus through which Hope flows and is manipulated and changed in himself and others. He changes others' perceptions of what is possible. His very belief in others and the optimism he pours into them changes them, changing V, even in her memory visions with the remark about golden retrievers' gentle mouths.

A Hope player can also expect to be challenged by a test of Rage, and fear is constantly what keeps N penned in and a defining character trait he repeatedly encounters. Two SPECIFIC challenges he faced and had to conquer were Rage challenges, which made him adopt a split "O_X" face the ONLY TWO TIMES he did so in the series to show the conflict between the need to murder or cut short contrasted with the need to look for hope, where he felt he had to align himself AGAINST the breadth of possibilities and optimism to do something drastic that would cut all possibility short by dealing death:

Episode 1, threatening Uzi: "I'm sorry. I really enjoyed our time together, but I can't have you shooting V with that thing."

Episode 7, threatening Tessa: "You knew about the patch. Yes, or no? One. Chance."

V - Stray Cat Knight of Mind

"The humans programmed us to solve a problem. Where's proof of your backstory? The one where your kind's so conveniently innocent?"

"Uh, exactly. We show up fabulous, the sad purple one lets us in, cause she has no friends, we kill everyone, and pop her little head off."

"…Promise me you and that purple thing will stop prying into that stuff. If you free me now, I promise we'll only kill what we need to survive. Just you and me, N…" (Glancing meaningfully to make N look at the key to her chains... which we learned beforehand she was secretly already free from, even though she honestly wanted N to agree to this.)

N: "Uh… V, if you're hiding something, we can figure it out together. Even if we each only have pieces. Please, what do you know-" (V slices his head off.) V: "What's best for you. Even if you hate me for it."

"Yes, best friends. So easily manipulated…"

"I'll.. kill everyone.. after [giving a prom queen speech]? It's not vain, it's... extra sinister…" (Making excuses to convince herself.)

(Manipulating Uzi to stay stop stealing N's attention away from her--) "Better to stay distant, though. Don'tcha think? (She looks over at Uzi's backpack.) Since I'll have to kill you next? (She scratches Uzi's (solver) eye and prepares to leave.) N's made friends with rocks, by the way. He'll move on just fine."

"We do our jobs, and that thing leaves us alone!"

CYN: "Do your job, and I leave you and N alone. Right, V?"

(Yes, in case you didn't notice, N is a dog and V is a cat. It's incredibly obvious in retrospect, right down to V hissing. (See this meme that isn't mine, and in V's case food is ALSO murder.) )

V play-acts a madwoman's façade from the very beginning to disguise her goals. From the very beginning, she REMEMBERS enough of her past to commit to the deal she explicitly made with Cyn-- she does her job, and Cyn will leave N alone, leave V and N together. She offers falsehoods and doubts, fights viciously to get away with what she wants within the confines of any agreements she makes (even the one with Cyn), willing to use any façade as a weapon and exploit every decision, to fuck with other's heads to advance her goals and keep others the hell out of her OWN head. She loves the images she throws her whole self into projecting, even loving the false ones, and how each disturbs others or earns her praise. She's a surprisingly nuanced, entertaining, and practically quintessential Knight of Mind!

J - Maid of Doom

"Way to go, stud. The company's gonna love this. With this colony wiped, we'll make top team this quarter, for sure. You know what that means… Branded pens~!"

"Noted, traitor. We'll circle back after I right-size your existence!"

"Sorry, boss. Corporate's spoken."

Tessa: (Overdramatic) "It wants paid time off… To attend UUUNION NEGOTIATIOOOONS!" J: (Finally at her limit) "THIS IS AN UNRELATED LAYOFF!"

"It tricked you. If I promised you anything… It tricked me, too."

"You know there's no escape, even in death!"

This one's pretty open and shut, her motivations and personality are pretty straightforward in this story. J is a drone comically obsessed with the strictures of Bureaucracy and enforcing the authority of capitalists downward against labor. She obeys hierarchy, and sacrifices whatever she might think is fair or right for the leash of whoever's on top. Doom is the aspect of Order, sacrifice, anxiety, constraints, and in some ways Anti-Life. Corporate bureaucracy is the perfect analogue, as the Condesce and Jane Crocker have long proven, and J is a wellspring of that corrosive essence who Serves and spreads it.

I could see some arguments for Blood based on the focus on chains and obligations and destruction enacted/invited unto Blood, but those mostly fall into the venn-diagram overlap and her obsession with obeying the TOP of the hierarchy to the exclusion of the bottom, with cooperation only within the strictures of the rules of those "above", aligns her much stronger with the Life/Doom dichotomy than the Blood references. Sollux and Karkat were best friends for a reason, Blood and Doom can be pretty tight.

CYN - Thief of Heart (Fully Realized!)

"More like you are our cute puppets. It hurts our feelings you don't remember us." (Creates a hologram of Nori, Uzi's mother.)

"Easier to assimilate than explain."

"Giggle. I am so naughty. The flesh demands invitation."

Tessa: "Cyn! If that little butler dies for your sake, I swear!" Cyn: (Playing with dolls) "Mm. I have.. backups."

"You will not have to discard your pets, and I will not discard you. Best stay away from the gala, though. You seem squeamish."

Manipulating N as Tessa: "When we get to the labs and find that list, I'll need you to choose the universe over one little drone, N. Before she's not herself anymore..."

"Thanks for the new host… intern."

"You know, you're one of the main reasons.. I wanted your team to retain your personalities."

"Thanks for clearing the way on this planet, too. Let's eat."

"That's really sweet, big brother. Too bad you've served.. your purpose. Don't worry. Your backups will forgive me."

"I see. You will not talk to me because I have hurt… your feelings." (Mimes her finger down her cheek like a tear, grinning.)

"Okay. You first, eager beaver. Heeheehee." (She begins clawing at N's chest.) "Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. LetmeinLetmeinLetmein"

CYN, I can say with some certainty as someone with autism which her primary personality and mannerisms mimic, is profoundly her own weird self and behaves VERY obviously differently from everyone around her, physically and vocally... unless she's roleplaying other people! If you have autism too there's a good chance you can relate to the roleplaying aspect of this. We don't even know what Tessa's classpect would really be, because she was just mimicking her the entire time, part of why this had to be under the cut. She convincingly stole her identity, mannerisms, even her skin to achieve her hungry, gleefully heart-slurping goals.

When we see her most, she's at the absolute PEAK of her hero (villain) title's power, fully balanced with her Page of Mind inverse/sub-role in puppeting illusions, seizing direct control of the infected, and trying to deceive others with horrifying, demoralizing visions specifically tailored to pierce their individual Hearts and hit them with what they care about most. She's a terrifying Thief of Heart who (apart from literally tearing the hearts out of other's chests) steals the individual uniqueness of others, and USES others' individual uniqueness to steal everything from them. She's much like a horrifying Page of Mind who went from playing with her dolls to playing with drones, using the fact she could clone others from backups to completely disconnect her from any sense of moral responsibility to them, raising an army of zombie followers in her image, slaved to her administrative control, and even later let her squads retain their original personalities specifically to exploit their uniqueness to accomplish more than she'd otherwise be able to expect from mindless slaves. She struck devil's deals with those she let keep their personalities, like V and J, using what she knew of their personalities to give them offers they couldn't refuse and letting them keep EXACTLY enough of their Minds to balance effectiveness with her manipulations. Her thrilled confidence at unleashing her true form and personality, shamelessly facing the cast as herself in episodes 7 and 8 having fulfilled her promise to Tessa that she would not discard her in the most horrifyingly literal way possible, is incredibly intimidating. What an amazing, love-to-hate-her antagonist with such power-hungry but initially-understandable motivations. I fucking love it.

And the wildest part is that she's actually only half of the real villain.

The Solver of the Absolute Fabric: Muse of Void

Tessa: "We know it mutates in damaged AI. It took Cyn as a host, then it took everything. The humans here saw what was happening at home. Thought they could understand it. All they did was spread it."

"[I am] The Solver of the Absolute Fabric, the Void, the Exponential End."

(Corkboard in the secret Cabin Fever facility--) "FUN TIME TO UNIVERSE BIG CRUNCH: 87"

CYN isn't ACTUALLY the Absolute Solver itself, only its primary host, perhaps almost a merged personality. Believe it or not, there's a Doc-Scratch-like antagonist behind EVERYTHING that happened with Cyn, and just like me you will have COMPLETELY missed it unless someone told you or you happened to pause or step through a FEW FRAMES of what flashed onscreen on CYN's visor when she first restarted in the garbage pile at the beginning of Episode 5:

The transcript, best as I can tell, which I'm sure will give any Homestuck veteran some serious Doc Scratch vibes:

[][][]hello :] I see you are [disposed (?????) pful/sad] I see you are inoperable- (?????) end]] --- I fD--t]] [selfDestruct(?????),]end]] I see we could [trl] [scl] [rot] [edit] for you I will not discard you [][][][][][Absolute[Sys(???)] Access? Y/N [.0001%] rush I see you will be here for _ [a while]

The functions [trl] [scl] [rot] [edit] refer to the four explicit powers of the Absolute Solver besides [NULL], which are Translate, Scale, Rotate, and Edit, each with their own unique symbol that appears when someone uses it as we've covered. (There's more depth you can wiki-dive, and it's so cool to see how every time the powers are used the abilities switch out and do such specific things in such varied ways. I also love the theme of the [trn] (Translate/Move) symbol being used to represent CONTROL over others, too, the symbol papering over the eyes of the possessed completely.)

CYN didn't just develop her eldritch powers from a reboot glitch-- an ENTITY OFFERED HER POWER THAT SHE ACCEPTED in order to resurrect, an incredible realty-warping power it offers to dead AI to give them new (un)life in order to advance its universe eating goals. It's the source of a power that defies the laws of reality, is allergic to Light, and has to manipulate lesser entities into submitting to its power in order to truly control them. It selects those who have been discarded and forgotten, dead without agency, and tempts them like the Devil. It disguises its true form's manifestations (the giant bugs and camera-projectors), literally hides extra mass in shadows, unfolding from pocket dimensions, and each of the users who access its powers (Uzi, Doll, and CYN) use its Voidy toolset in different ways that align with their own natures even while the power and its endower's motives hang Muse-like over the entire plot like a shadow itself. The Solver's ultimate "host" even takes the form of a sort of singularity inside the core of the Heart of one possessed by the power's main focus, the locus puppet of the Absolute Solver's motives. No wonder CYN and Uzi can coexist in the end, if with some bags-under-the-eyes difficulty as Uzi the Witch constantly keeping both her and the power itself under Control.

That about covers the cast, and whether you agree or disagree with my title choices I hope I gave you some interesting things to think about! Classpect analysis while I was watching made me appreciate how clever the plot and character writing was for this series even more as I was watching it, and if any of this helped you appreciate Murder Drones more that's the best compliment I could possibly earn. <3

[allwormdiet]

Sentinel 9.4

Back in the saddle again

You know, I'm not sure if tinkers actually are "supposed" to be smart. The other examples we have to work off of besides Kid Win are Bakuda (constant state of fucking around and finding out until it killed her), Armsmaster (he of the dumbfuck raid boss solo plot), and Dragon (actually no notes on Dragon's relative intelligence), plus Chariot in just a minute here who literally only succeeds at being a mole because the Protectorate allows him to succeed as a ploy

I'll concede that they're adept engineers and scientists, sure, but you can know how to build a nuclear reactor and still be dumb enough to build it in your backyard. There's no single measure of intelligence that everyone measures high on, that's just not how it goes.

Then again like two-thirds of this chapter are lowkey about Kid having self-esteem issues so like, I get that he's being hard on himself. I feel like half the cape POVs we've gotten so far have self-esteem issues, never mind Taylor Hebert Queen of Self-Image Problems

I'm gonna skim over a lot of this fight like I had in 9.3, but while this can't feel good for one's confidence, honestly I'd mostly just be relieved. Like, yes, let the villains whose powers are Railgun and The Fucking Sun take it easy on me, that's fine, I like my body parts staying in the configuration they have.

Thank God he actually has a chance to feel like he's contributing, without the horror of accidentally killing someone

Wow, Trickster sucks. Why do they put up with this guy?

So, somehow I doubt he's somehow lacking in a specialty, but from the description of his apparent focus issues (plus the fact that taking medication to help with focus nearly took him out) I wonder if the way his tinker stuff goes involves having a bunch of little things, if the lack of focus is somehow a sign of what his specialty actually is.

Oh fucking boy

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay (sarcastic)

Also I don't know why they specifically would go to cities that have already been Endbringered but there's a real "kick them while they're down" energy to it that I do not care for. Goddamn jackals.

Is it the "another tinker" thing or the "that wasn't Armsmaster" thing that he's more excited about lmao

Weld's adapting a little better to his role, and Clockblocker is able to keep his mouth shut and play along, so things are improving.

I dunno man, it's a citywide apocalypse, does bedtime matter anymore?

Hey what the

Fuck

is going on here

Tinker-to-tinker communication

Y'know, now I'm curious what the wages are for a non-Tinker Protectorate member. Obviously Tinkers can have it made if they've got something the higher-ups want, but is Miss Militia making enough to own a house? Is your income tied to merch sales?

Think this is the first time someone has outright said triggering as a parahuman rewires your brain to some extent. Curious to see further elaboration on that.

I think if you're gonna hire a mole, you should make sure they can lie convincingly. That feels like step two.

(Step one is "make sure you can trust this person to be a mole for you")

Fucking gottem

Well hey Kid, looks like you're pulling your weight after all

Current Thoughts

I do think Sentinel is a neat arc but I'll admit, in recounting and rereading this it lost me a little bit. That might just be the Travelers fight though, I could feel the lack of stakes to the fight like a gap between my teeth.

Kid seems like a solid character, classic impulsive inventor with an actual exploration of what that impulsiveness does to his work ethic and self-worth. I'm glad he gets a chance to shine here and I hope he figures out his exact specialization so he can stop being so down on himself

The Wards do seem to be coalescing into more of a team as things progress, sure would be a shame if the resident lone wolf was to fall for obvious bait and disrupt that or something.

[dandorime]

MAGIC ANON TIME

Ur pheonix now has cat ears ^._.^

It is an ordinary day at the EOD headquarters. Phoenix is sitting at his desk as Reginald explains the details of their next mission, referring to slides on the overhead projector.

Reginald: ...which means the only way you'll be able to avoid detection is by making a HALO jump out of a B-2 stealth bomber. I do believe you've been trained and certified for low-opening jumps out at Red Rock, correct?

Agent Phoenix: ദ്ദി ._. )

Reginald: Excellent. Although, this might be a bit of a challenge nonetheless, as you're going to need to carry approximately 20 lbs additional kit -- that's the weight of the thermite you'll need to burn through the anti-ballistic armor, you see. I know that's a lot to ask, considering all the specialized radio tech we'll already have you carrying...

Agent Phoenix: ദ്ദി ._. )

Reginald: That's the spirit, Agent! Now, keep in mind you'll also need to deal will the automated railgun sentries on the production floor. They're heat-seeking and sound activated, so you'll have to be stealthy as a cat to avoid them. I'm afraid we can't help you with any special technology here, but...

Agent Phoenix: ദ്ദി^._.^)

Reginald: Good form, Phoenix. Good form.

[grandisknight]

keep a secret, please!

summary: MC has unannounced company one morning in the middle of handling a particular firearm.

tags: canon compliant, light-hearted, conversations, firearms, "MC" as a nameholder, she/her pronouns used

wc: 1.3k | ao3

notes: happy main story update and zayne branch release day!!! i saw simone's gorgeous face and knew immediately she was a girl's girl so this naturally came about ₍ ᐢ.ˬ.ᐢ₎ / references to sylus' myth pair (relentless conqueror) are made!

dividers from cafekitsune

“No. Way.” A voice punches out their discovery in awed breaths, looking over MC’s shoulder.

“Huh?”

MC thought she could have a moment alone at her desk, comfortably laid in the Alpha Team headquarters. That was usually the case on most days, with the team (more often than not) out on missions or convening at Captain Jenna’s beck and call when an important discovery is made. MC’s gaze quickly scans the room, to find it was just the two of them, and almost lets out a sigh of relief.

The two of them, yes, and an unissued firearm in her possession. The implications alone could send MC into a spiral of how the Association’s rules and regulations would tear her apart—she’d rather not deal with it on such a fine morning.

Though caught red-handed, MC makes an effort to turn in her chair and block the table top view with a tight-lipped smile.

“Simone.”

MC greets with feigned nonchalance to simmer the jump in her beating heart. She eyes her appearance, from the top of her ponytail down to the buttons of her uniform. “What are you doing here?”

It wasn’t that finding her former colleague of the Armament Tech division was unwelcomed—more so, it wasn’t an everyday occurrence in the first place. Only recently did the two become well acquainted after MC’s firearm enhancements and return to Linkon, clicking almost immediately following a fruitful conversation.

“I was going to get something Lead Andrew left at his desk,” Simone answers, though her gaze was anywhere but on MC’s poor acting. Rather, it was ardently glued to the desk space behind her, where the wrinkled corner of a small cloth greeted the eye.

“Oh, well, Captain’s desk is over there—“

“You have the Harrier 700?” Simone blurts out, and it’s only then that MC meets the girl’s gaze. Rounded with excitement and tangible curiosity, the gray orbs reflected MC’s own look of shock at the announcement.

“I… Well,” MC concedes, rubbing her temple in thought to conjure an explanation. To which, she ran to a blank—after all, how could she make excuses around someone whose expertise laid in weaponry modifications? She couldn’t, at least not in these circumstances, and turned to a proposed compromise instead.

“Promise not to tell the Association? I know we’re supposed to keep to the ones they issued.” MC turns back around then, slightly moving over to allow the newfound company a place next to her. Her hands hover above the weapon in thought. “But this one was a particular case, to put it mildly.”

Memories of her time with Sylus quick flash past her mind, and the very rooftop that bared witness to their exchange. That very night in a foreign country, which cemented another pillar in the foundation of their complicated relationship—a ‘mutual use of each other,’ one that simultaneously gives and takes while learning all the same.

“I swear on my beloved railgun this stays between us,” Simone assures. Hip to the desk, she gestures downwards. “And this beauty right here.”

Simone taps the exposed crystal nestled into the barrel, shining in a radiant crimson that resembles the gifter’s gaze. It rings MC back into the present, dispersing the clouds of memory in their recollection. 

She resumes her actions prior, taking the wrinkled cloth and delicately wiping between the engravings. She’s careful to dust away the surface, mirroring the care the peculiar crow boss demonstrated during one of their confrontations.

“You recognized the model so quickly,” MC mentions, turning over the heavy model in hand to rinse and repeat. 

Simone tilts her head, finger lifted in voiced thought. “It’s such a rare commodity in the market, how could I not? Everyone and their mothers would kill to own one.” She redirects said finger to MC, wiggling playfully and curiosity growing. “How did you manage to snag one of these bad boys, anyhow?”

“A crow’s nest has its treasures,” MC offhandedly remarks. Not wanting to ruffle any more feathers, she puts the cloth aside to change the subject. MC raises the weapon between the two of them in offering, akin to gracing a child with a candy they sought after. 

“Go on, I could tell from the moment you spoke up you wanted to take a closer look.”

Simone gasps in gratitude, “Oh, you rock!” 

With the grace of cradling a newborn, Simone carefully weighs the renowned firearm and gazes in awe. “Amazing, you don’t even need to modify it… ah, the protocore can go here… these barrels are…” Mumbles under her breath continue, fascinated that the illustrious piece of advanced tech was in her grasp. 

It truly was an impressive artifact, on a scale of its own and of greater weight in comparison to the Association’s issued weaponry. An overall hard exterior of onyx was decorated with trims of crimson, bulky to accommodate the powerful pellets within. 

MC’s eyes follow every contour of the metal as Simone inspects it—if she looked hard enough, swirls of familiar red and black could be imagined. Fleeting memories once more of the battlefield blink past, an energy storm magnified by resonance and raw ability perfected into every single bullet that rang out. The sensation of fighting with such a relentless conqueror has her heart surging, and her fingers twitch for a brief second.

“This is the real deal,” Simone concludes, thoroughly impressed. Her eyes glimmered with a sense of pride, as if it were one of her own. “My regards go to whoever handled it before you. They know their stuff—say, do you think I could get in touch?”

“He’s—I mean, they’re not much of a day person,” MC catches herself, biting her tongue when his name nearly slips from it. Nope, not today (or ever, possibly) was she going to expose her curious relationship with the Onychinus head. Though he enjoys the company of her colleagues, she wouldn’t hear the end of it with gossip floating about. And she doesn’t get paid enough to deal with more than one headache at a time.

MC nods instead. “I’ll make sure to pass on the regards.”

Simone raises a brow, but doesn’t press the issue further. With a wink and hand sliding the weapon over, a cheery demeanor repaints her face. “If you ever need a touch up or two, you know where to find me.”

Slotting it back into its hidden holster, MC regards her once again with a more relaxed smile. “You’re one of the best,” she spoke earnestly. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

A ring shrills from Simone’s watch then, to which the girl lets out a less than please groan. “Ugh, I forgot Andrew’s waiting on me.” She slides away from the desk space, waving to MC and her steps following behind. “Your secret’s safe with me! I’ll see you for the mission later?”

“Mm. See you then.” MC waves back, watching the girl quickly find the object in question before scowling at her watch—yet another call came through, and her voice faded into the departing hall with a ‘Yeah, yeah. I got it. Relax, won’t you?’

The office space resumed the tranquility from moments ago, specks of light and dust filtering through the air. MC leans back into her chair, mindlessly staring at the high ceiling before his face comes to mind. It had been a while since their last rendezvous, though his presence lingered in conversation today alone.

Faint buzzing shakes a small space of her desk, redirecting her gaze to the caller ID with pursed lips. Speak of the devil. A thumb swipe and press to the ear later, MC answers with, “It’s not like you to be up this early.” 

The voice that drips into the receiver is slightly rough around the edges, though laced with a fond chuckle. “That’s a new way of saying good morning, sweetie.”

[yukkoislost]

i am BACK GODDDAMN sorry no magical girls or md omori to be seen atm 😞 i have ocs tho LMAO

listened to my heart?? and decided to draw ocs before i go absolutely insane. i mean i have three perfectly fine md ocs to work on so i might as well

i never did tell you what i had planned for asta huh

oc dump below cut that no one asked for <3

the three musketeers of my account HDJEHDHS

allow me to introduce them properly, i guess?¿ they each have their own individual posts but those posts were kinda rough around the edges,,

ASTA ✨

asta is my first (disregarding older ocs) md oc i've made. she's ridiculously smart (for the most part) but is also inherently a scaredy cat. she hates change and hates the unknown, sticking to a routine that she's used to for comfort.

like doll, she doesn't have her parents anymore and they're also partly the reason she doesn't have a courage. her parents' death had killed her curious spirit. they had always been more overprotective of her, considering they had both escaped unscathed out of the cabin fever labs situation.. (070 and 072, working on that) if asked, her strongest emotion is Fear. she's allowed it to control her life so much she doesn't know what it's like to live, despite being alive. because of this, even though she had been offered a spot with the cheerleaders, she didn't take it as it would mean a deviation from her comforting routine.

of course, her routine can't last forever. life in the bunker is boring but it was safe, and that's all she needed. (going into how she would be a part of the story? in progress though) she and uzi never knew each other personally. she sat at the back of the class while uzi was towards the front. she preferred not sitting too close to her because of her, uh, personality and actions? either way, she doesn't feel safe with uzi around because of uzi's inventive mind, and her tendency to do and create dangerous things (e.g., her sick as hell railgun. and also the whole braiden thing). asta wasn't necessarily shunned, she just had a small group of friends that she preferred sticking to (until doll killed them in the days going onto the promening)

getting the absolute solver string was NOT on her to-do list, but as mentioned, routine doesn't last forever. she hated the solver string and actively tried to ignore it, but it was difficult because if fucked with her systems and caused her to crave oil (which is a whole other thing and also the point where she finally accepted that she can't keep brushing away what she doesn't want to face). did i also mention she hears the solver's voice in the back of her head, because yeah that happens.

either way, since gaining the solver's string, she is also made aware that uzi and doll both had it but didn't try to reach out for help, still strongly controlled by her fear. my plan for asta was similar to how nori was the solver's secondary host (since cyn wasn't on copper-9 at the time), she would become puppet to the absolute solver, and in turn the third official host because of how lowkey she was and doll and uzi not knowing she had the solver. naturally, asta hated the idea of becoming a pet for the solver and constantly tries to override the solver's control on her (eventually succeeding. it leads the solver to want her death because it fears that asta will take over)

this is all canon divergence ofc :3

SERIAL DESIGNATION E 🐾

my second md oc, and first and only disassembly drone oc (for now? maybe haven't decided). serial designation E (also known as E or cerberus) is the outcast of his three-drone-squad. he had once tried to fit in better with the rest of his peers but after the first attempt, decided that it was too bothersome and they didn't deserve him anyway. or, that's how he phrased it in his lonesome.

he's the laziest of the bunch and hates any extra movement, preferring to kill prey quickly than to draw it out and have fun. he only hunts when his oil levels go down to 15% and if given the choice, he would've chosen to not need to eat at all. he isolates himself and has a small space set up away from the pod and essentially, his squad.

he didn't always used to be like this though, as mentioned whenever he tried his best to fit in with the rest, he did work hard. it wasn't enough though (nothing ever is). outcasted for his strange feature of having three nanite tails instead of one, he was always made fun of and in the beginning was also nicknamed Dog by his two other squad members since he wanted so bad to feel like he was needed and important to them, to the point he would willingly have done anything for them. but that was in the past. there's no point.

as a butler in the elliot manor, he has occasionally come across J, V, N and cyn. hard not to when they hang around the young mistress so often, especially J as her personal maid.. or something. he doesn't remember too well. much like his currently disassembly drone self, he took whatever shortcut he could find back in the mansion. he isn't a good person. he wasn't good then, and certainly isn't any better now. maybe a little. back in the manor, he hated doing work. he severely lacks motivation and seriously can't find a reason that he should be bothered other than the humans could kill him, or whatever. it didn't matter, or maybe it did? he wants to live (does he?) he doesn't remember.

anyway. that life is far behind him now. his squad was sent to copper 9 by JcJenson in spaaaaaaaaace (i forgot how many A's were in the space) to clear out the worker drones of course. he's got a chunk of missing memory somewhere in his head.. somewhere dark and somewhere fleshy. probablly not important. he remembers his quad but he can't find them, only alerted that a new pod and three new disassembly drones had landed– J, V and N (where was the other one? who was the other one? someone is not missing)

the forest breathes life into the dead landscape.

how long had he been asleep for?

OCTAVIERY 🦉

the oc that y'all would be familiar with. octaviery has more posts than asta and E combined (i think). the accidentally acquired child of N and uzi somewhere within the events of cabin fever

the good, quiet child of nuzi,, if you disregard his love for 'extreme sports' (read climbing into places he doesn't belong, and eventually getting stuck like an idiot). since his parents are both verbally loud and open, he never really had to ask for anything himself because his psuedo-parents dealt with it for him, leaving him to be the only introverted person of their small family.

he grows faster than a normal drone would, and thus reaches the age of a young teenager even while uzi is still in school. (yes, he is, in fact, taller than uzi. not taller than N though)

he doesn't know his true purpose.

AND THEN I GOT LAZY TO TYPE🤞

[diorysuss]

i’m gonna be honest I do NOT blame khan for leaving uzi. the circumstances were not lined up in his favor, and we had an entirely different perspective from him as well, like

1. it was a complete lose-lose, he was going to lose his daughter either way if the dissasmbly drone got into the bunker, so he chose to minimize casualties.

2. he didn’t know uzi’s railgun worked, as uzi had lied to him and insisted she was inspecting doors. all previous renditions of the railgun had failed so logically he had no reason to believe it would work now

3. disassembly drones to workers at the time were the equivalent of a xenomorph. bloodthirsty. animals. khan did NOT know N like that.

4. he is obviously very guilty and mournful of leaving uzi. this is not a decision he wanted to make, hell he even hesitates before backing down.

now, am I saying this magically forgives khan? hell no !! he still emotionally neglected uzi, was a coward, and failed to connect with her in his grieving of his wife (which leads to his obsession with doors but yall ain’t ready for that conversation) but i’m tired of people completely assassinating his character for the sake of victimizing/traumatizing uzi more

he’s still my absolute girlfail