#this can be taken as kin or just as a general robot appreciation post !!

[mechacringekitty]

robots that crash and glitch robots with bad cable management robots with voice glitches robots missing a fundamental component robots operating on outdated systems robots that have a virus robots that are rusted and disused

broken robots :]

[rhydium]

Info dumbo about the StarFinite story?

aright u asked for it anon GET READY [cracks knuckles] this is gonna be long so obligatory cut in 3, 2........

...1!

so the uh, the au! the story!! w/e yall wanna call it! full disclaimer, i only began working on this whole thing a while ago, but it's totally taken over my fukn brain. like, we're talking big hyperfixation hrs. am i cringe for being this invested in my own content? yes? cool i do not Care >:3€

i should also throw it out there real quick that i am kin w/ infinite, n this is actually one of my two canons (both of which are my own aus lmfao wow). i didn't go into it expecting it to be but sfsfsgdfs here we are ig!! for that reason it's got extra importance to me n this definitely contributes to the euphoria i get from it!! it's a lil odd writing ur own canon,,? but i kinda just go w/ the flow!

the au n, the story that i will start Eventually, revolves around infinite n starline (obvi) n it's honestly just ... the tl;dr is big healing momence n, what's this? uh oh sisters !!! they are falling in love 😳😳😳

uhhhh so infinite is an android, made by eggman. that's like, the most notable canon divergence here! super important context to have. i've got a whole big theory on the possibility of sega originally intending infinite to be an artificial being (which i explored in the works for my Other canon too), stemming from not only the scene in forces wherein infinite comments on sonic's "data", but a line of dialogue from tails in one of the last stages of the game where he Literally Says "so this is where eggman built infinite". that ... i mean. that contrasts w/ episode shadow pretty hard don't it?? would explain why that dlc was so rushed, n the comic too. ANYWAY adsfsfs um that's a seperate ramblepost. yeah!!!

they are also agender n use they/them (primarily) as well as he/him!! so i'll be refering to them w/ those pronouns!

after the war, infinite is taken in by the resistance n, instead of being dismantled, they're basically given a chance to rehabilitate themselves. it's agreed that they won't be reprogrammed, as despite the potential risks, it feels wrong to do so; like a violation of their free will, individuality n thinking. if infinite is to be a good person, it's not gonna be bc other ppl recreated their entire personality, it's gonna be bc it's what they themselves truly want. robot ethics idk man!! u can't tell me that sonic n co wouldn't offer this to infinite if they offered it to metal in IDW,,,, i am Standing By This!!!

it's, yknow, a bit rocky, at first. infinite has to really fight the urge to return to eggman (something they already tried once, before the resistance found them; they were cast out). it's a struggle against what they were built to do, against giving into unhealthy familiarity over facing a, while healthier, unfamiliarity. new faces, a new life, turning their back on their mission n creator, it's like, a lot.

they work for/with the sonic crew, rebuilding the world they tore down as deemed fitting justice, being closely monitored for a bit as a natural precaution. as it becomes apparent infinite truly no longer has any ambition to harm others (they don't have much ambition for anything, really), they're then granted more freedom, n start taking on more important missions!! it at least gives them something to do, keeps them occupied. they have issues with dissociation, unreality, whether they're truly a real person bc, well, android. feeling purposeless, n a lack of worth, especially. a need to prove themselves. heavy stuff. i'll kinda go into that a bit more in a sec. their work grounds them, if only temporarily.

n soooooo... IDW comic stuff happens. metal virus time. starline gets kicked out of the empire.

now, as the comics are ongoing, n as this is already an au, there's gonna be divergence, n i must admit i haven't planned out all that yet. there's a lot i have to consider!! infinite being w the resistance/restoration is a big game changer ... tho i Do believe that they were absent, likely on a far out mission during most of the chaos. eggman doesn't know abt them, nor does starline or anyone else other than the sonic crew; n some civilians that recognise them.

i'm not 100% sure of Exactly when it happens, but i think it's just after bad guys, that infinite is sent to locate n bring in starline. it doesn't prove too difficult. there's a whole, starline realising "oh fuck it's you???", some bickering n, the two don't hit it off right away. they're both kinda like. not mentally stable ddgddgdds,,,

so uh. starline ends up essentially going thru the same sorta shit as infinite. careful watch, rebuilding, all that jazz, making sure he can be trusted. he's like... very very lost, quite like infinite is. the world has kinda calmed down, in the meanwhile.

it's at this point i'm gonna go ahead n drop a bit of a ramble i subjected my friends to a while ago, to articulate the way i see the two, n their dynamic together!! i was considering making this it's own post a while ago!

analysing their characters a bit... let's look at starline. Like. so we have this, in bad guys, which SENT ME tbfh;

i feel like it's the moment that triggers starline onto the path he is rn canonically,,, he's clearly like. rly mad n bitter. the core of this?? he wants his work n his efforts to be acknowledged.

he's big angry. still kind of in denial at this stage. he has himself obsessed w/ the idea of making eggman see him as Worthy, that if he just tries hard enough, that'll happen. he's dependent on eggman's validation, n i mean, it's no surprise; he's followed him a Long Time by the sounds of it.

then in the recent issue, hold the fuck up, bc we got, This;

god. my god it's all comin together now homies. this???? this right here??? it is the CLASSIC "i have to do this to prove i'm strong n powerful n smart n worthy n should be respected please Give Me Acknowledgement" ..... n who else is Like That? can u see where im going w/ this?

i think most ppl are aware of infinite's character being extremely indicative of self worth/esteem issues n the need to prove themself, right?? the extreme adversity, repulsion, perhaps even fear toward the idea of being weak. the compulsion to prove otherwise, to show their strength, to become powerful, to conquer to make a point. their theme exudes this same energy as their behaviour in-game; an aggressive attitude, trying to assert themself, while if u rly listen...? the lyrics are actually really sad in places. it reeks of cover up, although composition wise, a v interesting thing to note is a lot of the more telling lyrics are prominent while some of the affirming ones are in the background. indicative of a desire to have their true feelings be heard but caught in a vicious loop?

okay okay that's yet Another different analysis. AHEM.

not to get deep on main (oh who the hell am i kidding that's the point of this entire thing) but i think starline has issues w/ his worth in a similar way to infinite. they both seem to have this need to Prove something, whether it's to others or themselves, n get caught in a toxic spiral of doing worse n worse things for Some kind of validation or acknowledgement. they'll go to really big lengths chasing that, n both of them ultimately sought validation in the wrong place n wrong way.

this is a big part of my starfinite dynamic,, n so, what happens, as they get closer n open up??? we have them BOTH realising together that they don't have to do fuck all to prove anything to anyone. they don't need to do all this to show they're strong n smart n worth something, not to anyone else OR themselves. they're enough as they are. they bond over that shared feeling that they have to do xyz, to prove themselves, n that desire to just finally be acknowledged n appreciated n help each other thru it. to help each other understand that other ppls approval, or lack thereof, doesn't define them, their strength, intelligence, and worthiness.

i feel like they have an interesting parallel between them in like... the above could be taken as a general analysis, but to go more in depth on this au specifically?? ...

starline followed eggman for presumably a long time n it no doubt left him feeling a heavy and deep regret for all that time wasted n spent on an unhealthy path. infinite kinda teaches him that what matters is what he's doing Now n also reminds him that if none of it happened, starline wouldn't have learnt a lot of the serious skills he has. n while starline still feels bad, he also realises himself that, he likely never would have crossed infinite's path if none of it happened. for that reason, he wouldn't take it back.

infinite has only been recently made, on the other hand. they haven't really existed long, yet, but so far their experiences haven't been very positive n it can be .... discouraging. starline sorta, shows infinite their limited experiences w/ the world are a very tiny fraction of what's out there, n things can absolutely change, yes, including for the better; that's the essence of life, a neverending, constant flow of change.

it's a big tale of moving on n letting go, honestly; made easier as they're doing it together. n as they heal n grow, well... these bitches gay. sfshshdgds like, ig that's putting it p bluntly but!! they start to trust each other, understand each other more. as they get to truly know who the other is, they both start developing The Feelings. they're both pretty oblivious n the reveal is totally unknown so far!! yeah, i know, bummer. i suck. boo. adafsfsds however i can say there will be lots of content in the making!! if that soothes the soul! i've got of ideas i hope to bring to life.

ofc there's still a lot of more specific things i haven't covered here so! if y'all want more juice hmu w/ more focused questions but !! this is the overview n i hope it was a decent read now that gave some uhhh! Cool Insight! yea!!! ✌

[soundwavereporting]

title: the moth and the robot

fandom(s): Transformers IDW1, Godzilla Heisei series

characters: Cosmos (the robot), Mothra (the moth)

summary: set directly after the 1992 Godzilla vs Mothra movie. Intent on keeping her promise, Mothra heads to space to stop a planet-destroying comet.

notes: totally unbeta’d, feedback is always appreciated.

Yesterday, she had made her first friend in half a century.

Today, that friend was dead. Alone, she hurtled through space, lacking even the fairies. They had been left on her island to guard her egg--at some point between the airfield and now, she had resigned herself to the notion that she was destined to be alone.

Which was fine.

It wasn’t like she was lonely; the fairies were good company when they were around. Once he had seen the sense in working together, even Battra had accepted her offer of a tentative alliance to defeat a stronger enemy. Privately, she wondered if he had been lonelier than her, truly lacking any kin besides the planet itself. She wondered if anyone would have ever been able to understand him.

So, she was happy enough being alone.

Battra had not told her the exact location of the Gorath comet. He had not lived long enough to know how to navigate the stars and currents the way she had, but she could feel its presence, tingling in the back of her mind like a headache. And she could hear something else; a soft static just behind her eyes.

She suspected it was nothing more than a satellite. The humans had started sending them up into space some time ago, though she had not thought they would be so far from the earth. She made a mental note to ask her fairies to ask the humans about the satellites once she got back.

Ah.

There—slightly larger than she had expected, green and round—was the satellite. Mothra tucked in her wings as she approached, landing softly on the satellite. It smelled like alien metal. Beneath its core components, she could feel its circuitry humming, felt the engine pulse under her feet.

The satellite made an offended sputter. It jerked away from her, metamorphosing in a whirl of green and white and silver, until it had evolved completely, becoming a strange, two-legged creature with a blue eye screen that matched her own eyes, gawking up at her.

It chirped and chattered angrily. Mothra frowned, straining her ears as she tried to make sense of the little alien’s language. It was a little alien, wasn’t it? Surely the humans were not so advanced that they had learned to design mechanical beings such as this—surely they had some generations to learn and grow before repeating the mistakes of the Elias. If the humans could make little robots intelligent enough to travel so far, to chirp angrily at her, surely their technology was not so far from reaching the point where they would desire to control the earth’s climate.

Perhaps, Mothra realized despairingly, her friend had not been wrong to act so quickly.

“—¸.•..>?” The alien gestured to her with one hand, then to the vast expanse of space around them all.

Mothra blinked. It hadn’t run, nor had it tried to attack her.

She backed up, far enough to easily dodge the alien if needed, close enough that she didn’t think the little alien would think too badly of her.

“Mothra,” she said. “My name is Mothra.”

“Mothra!” The robot tapped his chest. “Thank Primus the translator picked up your language. You understand me?”

Mothra’s eyes had gone wide in awe. Fascinating. The alien—now, she was sure it was an alien—could understand her! “I understand you.”

The robot’s eye screen flashed. “Hi, uh, Mothra. I’m Cosmos.”

Mothra’s antennae twitched. An appropriate name. Were his species named after their functions? Mothra supposed she had named herself. Or perhaps the Elias had. It had been so long, she could no longer remember.

“It’s nice to meet you, Cosmos,” Mothra said. Now that she was paying closer attention, she could hear it: what she had believed to be the satellites’ circuitry humming was Cosmos’s voice, quiet and constant against the silence of space. “I believed I was alone.”

“Oh!” Cosmos tilted his head, eyes watching Mothra with an expression she wanted to label as curious. “I’m usually by myself out here. I mean, not totally alone, but, you know: lonely.”

Curious, Mothra tapped Cosmos’s arm with one leg. She could practically taste it, sharp and sour at the back of her throat. Wishing desperately for something out of reach.

She wondered if Cosmos could sense her loneliness.

“So.”

They had been floating in silence for perhaps a minute. Mothra was used to the silence, but apparently, Cosmos was not.

“I’ve never seen a ‘Mothra’ before,” Cosmos asked. “Are you just…out here for fun? For recon?”

“I made a promise,” Mothra said. “To a friend. There’s a comet—an asteroid, I think—that’s going to hit the planet we live on. I promised I would stop it.”

Cosmos nodded. “I’ve surveyed this quadrant for the last cycle looking for artificial weaponry, but I did collect data on a medium-sized comet that’s scheduled to enter the SOL-84 system within the next half-cycle.”

Cosmos pointed somewhere to his right. “I guess I can’t upload the exact coordinates into your processor, can I?”

“No.” Mothra blinked. “But I can sense its presence, just as I heard you.”

“Huh.” Cosmos dropped his hand and crossed his arms, looking away from Mothra. Then: “D’you need…help, stopping it?”

She hadn’t even considered asking. Surely Cosmos had his own missions to complete, his own promises to uphold, but if he was offering…

“Alright,” Mothra said. After all, Battra hadn’t told her how he planned to stop the thing. “Thank you.”

“I’m technically not supposed to have this,” Cosmos was saying. “But my boss, uh, well, I’m not sure where he got it, or who developed it, but it works!”

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

Cosmos shrugged. “It’ll get the job done. We haven’t been able to study black holes in too much detail, but I think it’s safe to say that your comet won’t cause you any more trouble. Press the big button. Second from the left.”

Mothra tapped the button. It flashed yellow and she looked up, studying the deactivated sensor net.

She and Cosmos had spent the better part of a day planting tiny metal circles the size of Cosmos’s hand around an asteroid belt. According to Cosmos, once the comet entered the sensor’s range, a highly experimental (yet safe) black hole would be created. Once it had consumed the Gorath comet, Cosmos would activate another highly experimental (yet safe) device to render the black hole harmless.

Mother knew little of human (or robot) technology, and all of the more technical words Cosmos had used to explain had failed to translate into her language. From what little she understood, Cosmos planned to disrupt the inner workings of the black hole, destabilizing something in its orbit in order to dissipate its energy.

“After this,” Cosmos said, “Are you going back to earth?”

Thoughtfully, Mothra tapped her fingers against the metal controls. She hadn’t considered going anywhere but Earth, but the robot’s tone made it seem like there was another option. She could stay with him, perhaps. For a time. Yet, the seal she had placed on Godzilla would not last for long. She had a year—perhaps two—before he awakened. And when he did, Mothra was unsure if she would be able to stop him by herself.

“Yes.” Mothra turned to look at Cosmos. She couldn’t tell what the robot was thinking—without spending more time around him, it was nearly impossible to pick up any but the most urgent of his thoughts. Nor could she understand his body language: he had no discernible eyes, simply that shining blue plate of on his head. He didn’t even have wings. The robot watched impassively as she found her voice, and spoke:

“I am sworn to protect my planet,” Mothra said. “And I must return. However, I would welcome the help if you wanted to come with me.”

Cosmos had been slouching on an asteroid, but as she spoke, he straightened, as though he were startled.

“You’d want—you just met me!” Cosmos said. “What if I were a Decep—a bad guy, out to destroy your organic species?”

“There’s only one of me,” Mothra said, ignoring Cosmos’s half-uttered apology. “Besides, if you wanted to kill me, surely you would have done so already?”

“I guess.” Cosmos shrugged. “I mean, I’d love to. It sounds much nicer than staying in space all the time. Are there other people where you live?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.” Cosmos checked one of the screens on his wrist and turned in the direction of the comet’s approach. “And you were the only person they sent to stop this thing?”

“I was the only one who could do it.” Mothra frowned. “The only one alive, at least.”

Which was true. Though he could fly far faster than her, she doubted even Rodan would have the strength to travel this far with no air. Plus, if Rodan died in this airless, frigid place, he would never come back. Mothra would.

“Oh.” Cosmos looked back at her. “I know what you mean. I’ve been one of the few spacefaring bots who survived this long into the war, so I’m always posted out here. I mean, not here, specifically. Wherever Prowl or Skids need me.”

“What strange names you robots have.”

Cosmos snorted. “You’re literally a giant moth.”

“Fair point.” Just a few hours ago, it had been little more than annoyance—helpful, even, as she navigated the stars—but now, pressure in her head was reaching a crescendo. If the comet did not enter the asteroid belt soon, she would need to retreat before it got any more painful.

“Will you be alright?” Cosmos asked abruptly. “Going back to the earth alone?”

Mothra was quiet as she considered his words, scratching at the scales on her neck as she thought. She hadn’t taken the time to properly clean herself after the fight, and her fluff was still covered in the ash and debris of Godzilla’s radioactive breath. At least she hadn’t gotten any blood on her, Mothra thought morbidly.

Yes, she had realized in the last few hours: she was lonely, had been lonely for some time, and acquiring and losing a friend in the span of a few minutes had only forced her to realize that. Had that been why she had asked Cosmos to return to earth with her?

“I—“ The pressure in her head spiked, and Mothra looked up to see the comet, once little more than a speck on the horizon, now looming above them. “I think we’d better move back.”

“Agreed.”

Together, they flew to the furthest tip of the asteroids, as far from the comet as they could get before Cosmos lost the signal.

“You ready?”

Mothra nodded.

Cosmos pressed the button.

The light was strong enough that Mothra had to look away, and the blast that followed had her huddling beside Cosmos as rock and ash pelted their bodies.

It hadn't made a sound.

When Mothra looked up, there was no sign of the comet—hardly any sign of the asteroids themselves. What little remained floated aimlessly; some of the rocks had been split open, revealing shimmering crystals and dark obsidian. It was a beautiful sight, and Mothra wished Battra was here to see it.

“Thank you,” Mothra said. “I don’t know how I would have done it on my own.”

“Hey, anytime.”

Mothra imagined Cosmos was smiling. He had to have a mouth, didn’t he?  

“You know,” Cosmos said. “I know you’ve gotta go, but if you’re ever in the quadrant…”

Mothra moved to bump her head against Cosmos’s forehead. Among her species, it would be considered a fond gesture—one of respect and solidarity. But Cosmos leapt back, emitting a harsh, staticky yelp.

“Sorry!”

“Oh! No, no, it’s okay.” Cosmos hesitated, then patted Mothra’s forehead awkwardly. “Caught me by surprise is all.”

Collecting the equipment took far less time than setting it up. In no time at all, Cosmos had transformed back into his strange, circular form, and Mothra had reoriented herself to face Earth.

“Thank you,” Mothra said, again. “I do hope we will meet again one day.”

“Me too.”