#xyzoul

[joviantwelve]

the newest meme, OCs my friend chat have adopted as mascots edition: Carmichael and @diddgery's Vixie

[joviantwelve]

This came out so good! 😭 LOOK AT THEM

commission for @joviantwelve of their characters, Ivanna and Carmicheal! thank you so much!!

[joviantwelve]

[joviantwelve]

What are “current” androids like in XYZoul, out of curiosity? I noticed that Carmichael was a bit out of date around the time the story starts, so I wonder what newer models are like. Are there any aesthetic differences, things of that sort?

(Totally not rotating the idea of my own robobutler in this setting, if that’s okay of course)

fun question! I'm using them as a device to comment on where I feel modern tech is going, so the "rapid evolution of the tech" early adoption period is over in present canon. base system capabilities are still similar as they were from years back. the AI they come equipped with still learns things at similar paces, still has similar conversational functionality, etc, but since this is also satire, the newer ones also have more bloatware, harder to hack walled garden-style OSes, subscription-based update cycles, harder to open/repair, or internet-connected spying features no one asked for. LMAO

other improvements would be more or less what you expect from the endless forward march of technology, like faster connection speed, more storage, wider customization options, more fluid/realistic movements and responses to terrain, larger batteries and more convenient ways to charge them, etc.

the notable thing for Carmichael specifically is that he still has a mostly "mechanical"-looking body with joints and such. the only places with synthetic skin are his neck/face, hence why he's fully clothed. it was a cost-cutting measure in-universe, so that sort of tech is more feasible now.

I really like to think of "sentient robotic life" as being similar to computers, so that's the angle I take. so for Carmichael, he came from a small forward-thinking manufacturer that since went out of business, so he'd be like. the kind of computer you hear about 20 years after it was discontinued as like an Interesting Tech Oddity that's only really appreciated by Hobbyists nowadays. dshjkfhsdf

Carmichael's manufacturer had an emphasis on human form before it became more feasible in-universe, so at the time of purchase he was seen as fancy but also expensive, form over function, a bit costly in comparison to what you got features-wise but Ivanna wanted a funny little butler bot SO HEY! in that sense she got everything she wanted.

note about "butler bot"--manufacturers also vary on what purposes they create their androids for. some of them are generalist/hobbyist focused but others come equipped with software and hardware for specific industries, usually service. Carmichael's function is "personal assistant" at the base, and he's technically more like a valet or a concierge, but yknow. it's the post-apocalypse 2100s no one knows what an early 1900s butler is like anymore nor do they care. it's all in the presentation.

aesthetics would be down to the manufacturer and the buyer's preferences--since they're a very expensive consumer product, most of them are customizable and built to order. if you just wanted an in-home robot helper, or a robot to help with industry automation, there are capital-R Robots for that, streamlined for those purposes and thus not human at all. androids don't get made for hard labor because it's a waste of resources; they're specifically to replace humans in human-facing jobs, or to be Rich People's Personal Assistants. customization is more or less the highlight, and I imagine the manufacturer's suite of available styles factors into a prospective buyer's decision. there are some that look fully human, but others still that play up a robot look deliberately, with no synthetic skin at all. please, imagine with me a gamer LEDs-style android. thank you.

as for your parenthetical, I certainly don't hold any copyright over the concept of androids, or butlers, or android butlers. if the character's design and story context are different beyond those two factors, then there are no toes stepped on 👍

[joviantwelve]

So, that new meme...

[joviantwelve]

I STILL LOVE THIS!!! tysm!!

Art Fight 2023: Computer Shenanigans

Left OC is XYZ🕒ul (Pronounced space-time-soul) by @joviantwelve

Right OC is Ephemeris [Bragi Form] by me

[joviantwelve]

The final ref pic I’ve done so far, the titular XYZ🕒ul!  There’s a few specifics since their design is abstract, so I had to make a ref sheet and everything.  They’re an anonymous hacker that’s gained infamy from cracking things others can’t (such as android OSes).  They’re notoriously hard to get in contact with, and the current hot rumor is that they’re some sort of rogue AI.

They say it’s supposed to be pronounced “spacetime soul,” but no one listens to that.  “X-Y-Zoul” is usually how it ends up.  Over time they’ve just sort of accepted it.  I guess it’s more like the meaning of the name, now, rather than literal pronunciation??

I don’t have a bio for them yet, partially because they’re deliberately mysterious for half the story, and partially because I’m still working out the timeline of things.  They will run into the protagonists...eventually.

[joviantwelve]

in celebration of finally getting all these guys on tumblr, I have made an edit.

[joviantwelve]

Kaduceus Mourani, a minor XYZoul character.  this is his ref pic for now but I wouldn’t call it “formal” since I’m still playing around with some colors and outfit details.  (& also the proper ref pics have less active poses on purpose, but I really like drawing fun poses...)

He’s the back-alley neurosurgeon that implanted the prototype psionic circuit into Azriel’s brain.  He’s a bit of a mad scientist, running an underground fighting ring of cyborg combatants, that often come to him for performance enhancing add-ons.  Free test subjects!  He is offended when you tell him he’s not a real doctor. 

He’s also trans and Deaf.  After a lifetime of being incredibly prodigious in the field but no one giving him opportunities, he simply did surgery on himself.  His visor and stitching on his arms are part of his pride and joy, an implant he invented that actively “translates” his signs in a text-to-speech voice, and interprets the voices around him as text on the visor for him to read.  No one wanted to accomodate him, so fuck it, he accomodated himself.

The text-to-speech voice is one of those current-day, obviously robot ones.  Personally I hear it as Microsoft David.  Kaduceus himself is incredibly blunt and sarcastic, which produces funny results when ran through the voice.  He doesn’t care, though; if he wanted it “realistic” he would’ve done that instead.  Plus, he’s surrounded by cracked out cyborg bodyguards.  Are you really going to criticize this guy??

I am slightly obsessed with him if you can’t tell.  I feel like I made an anime version of a crash bandicoot villain here or something.

[joviantwelve]

OGHHHH these are so good! I was so happy to receive my boy as my first 2023 defense 😭 thanks again!

first two artfight attacks! for @joviantwelve and @thebeeskneesocks

i dunno if all my attacks will be fullbodies but these are. woo!

[joviantwelve]

Rei, Azriel's roommate, just kind of chilling as lowlifes together before Carmichael came along.  Rei was also formerly something similar to a brainwashed supersoldier, but they got better partially because of Azriel having that funky emotion manipulation chip in their head.

Azriel can be good for something, I guess??  Rei kind of considers them like an older sibling.

[joviantwelve]

A recent piece...that I like a lot...because I am gay...and have brainworms.

[joviantwelve]

What I’m assuming the average viewer may think: What’s the symbolism here???

Me drawing this picture: How did I never know about the symmetry tool before

[joviantwelve]

Hoping this doesn’t get pushed down by the Nintendo Direct news...but here’s PHANTOM!  I just finished her bio today for this post!  Woo!

...Her bio took a bit to get together because her role in the story has changed a little.  Previously, she was already a leader-type to the characters, but I felt it made her a little bland, especially since I was seeing her as detached and aloof.

Now, she’s APPROACHED by Azriel et al., and has to decide to become the leader of this ragtag gang of chucklefucks, which is a bit of an uncomfortable space for her, since she prefers secrecy.  So, character arc obtained!

[joviantwelve]

It’s Carmichael!  My latest blorbo OC, now in his proper reference where I fixed his hair and eyes and everything.  His old one looks so weird now even though it’s not even three years old yet...

He basically kickstarts the plot, as Azriel finding him leads to him becoming his own person, but also C3 trying to track him down, because he’s “““theirs”““ and whatever.  Which leads Azriel to seek outside help, which brings the main characters fully together, etc.  Think of him like the first domino.  A butler domino.

I like to think he would be good at a car chase, so I need to fit a reason for a car chase in there somewhere.  Chauffeur power.

[joviantwelve]

who that red and black cybergoth beefcake dude is? he a robot? some guy who just thinks robot tattoos would make him look badass? antagonist, or just an edgelord?

(context: this post)

God. okay. his name is Bruno, and he's one of the pit fighters managed by Kaduceus. (context for that also, to save some scrolling)

I introduced him in a friend server a bit ago and this honestly sums it up:

The whole fighting ring related stuff mostly takes place in roleplay with @thebeeskneesocks, as it doesn't have a major impact on the story (Kaduceus himself is the only link to the protagonists), but it is kind of funny to just create the World's Worst Group of People. also, it's a good place to shove all the really "out there" designs into.

As for Bruno, he's had mostly internal enhancements for reflexes, pain tolerance, etc. I think the glowy tattoos are also for covering up surgical scars. He's 100% absolutely a heel, but I am not sure of his stage name quite yet. His style is specifically "rivethead" but I'm looking for like....more than just that. That's like calling someone The Emo. Which--okay, maybe "The Emo" might have its place somewhere, but not here!!

I call him a robot kinnie because he loves to describe himself as a "killing machine" and whatever. (Also not quite a stage name, it's too generic.) He relates to androids only in the hypothetical "AI uprising killing humanity" sense, because he thinks that's badass. He has never spoken to an actual android, and he wonders why.

Diversity win! He's also the gay equivalent of an epic divorce man. He's constantly dating twinks and being rude to them and then they break up with him, and again, he wonders why. He assumes time heals the wounds he has not apologized for, and a week later he's texting asking to hang out. 20 times. In a row.

He's awful and cringe and I made him this way to be the funniest character in this little microcosm of the universe. Which is saying something, because Kaduceus is right there. I'm sorry if Bruno's Gary Numan-slash-The Matrix-inspired appearance made you think he could be cool at all.