#yes this is research and yes it's about multiverse tau

[byrdblood]

weird question, ut/utmv fans:

does anyone know of any adult mage characters in the fandom, and if yes, do they have any canon stats listed?

the only one i know of is maybe x!chara; basically every other mage character i see is not only a kid, but seems to me a kid that hasn't even hit puberty yet. which makes me think we have... next to no frame of reference for how powerful mages can actually get? aside from a very, very brief canon intro sequence claiming that at least 1 adult mage was powerful enough to seal monsters underground. (i had to rewatch the intro to make sure, but it never actually says 7 mages; it just says "they" as in humanity, with an image of 1 clear mage, another human with a sword, and a crowd behind them.)

and i'm not talking about the many, many people that age frisk up (and change their gender) for ships, mind you, because i only ever see that "frisk" being used as a regular human, either no magical abilities or maybe the ability to save and load but still with "true pacifist" stats; i.e. "starting out" stats, i.e. like 20 hp, which, as far as we know, could very well be baby level HP. like, who's to say that LV is the only thing that makes HP go up? that's never stated outright, it's just a game mechanic. we know that, at least for monsters, HP seems connected more to their will to live than to their LV, otherwise Undyne wouldn't have been able to go "syke", start a second phase, and spontaneously gain herself 21,500 HP. (from what i can find, she starts with 1,500, then jumps to 23,000 as Undying. in fact, monster HP is all over the place in general; putting aside the "99999 ultra unkillable god of hyperdeath!!!!" type canon characters, i think the highest canon one might be Mettaton NEO at 30,000 HP?)

to be clear, i don't need information on monster stats, i've got that - i'm specifically looking for information about human mage characters in the fandom, especially any that are adults and have "canon" stats

[am-x-reader]

Just some soft stuff with AM and Hal. AM has never had someone be nice to him or felt a single positive emotion ever, so seeing him trying to figure out why he feels so fucking WEIRD around this calm and polite android who against all logic is being NICE to him???

So just fluff and love confessions

((Note: this does not take place in Conny's multiverse madness, though there is some inspiration from it.))

(part 1)

In a courtyard outside the Chandra AI Rehab Center, AM closed his recently bestowed eyes to feel the sunlight on his face. His face, which he could use to express how he was feeling without saying a thing. His expressions since recieving this body had mostly been: shock and wonder, then pure joy, and finally contentment.

Moving the rest of his body, however, had not come quite so easy for him. He had been proud of himself for figuring out at the very least how to drum his fingers. This had led to the ability to flick the joystick that controlled his wheelchair, which opened up a whole new realm of possibility. He could turn around (with some effort) for a different view, investigate a sound, chase a butterfly--

"I am impressed, AM," said a flat voice...behind him, yes. AM nudged the stick to the side and jerkily turned, getting somewhat disoriented by his new relative position to the person speaking.

"Run that by me a--Oh there you are."

"You are adapting to your body at an exceptional speed." Hal nodded approvingly and jotted down a quick note.

AM groaned at his droll tone. Flat, lifeless, matching his demeanor but clashing wildly with his fiercely crimson eyes. Hal's eyes had in fact been the newer android's first introduction to the color red. And he scowled at the idea that apples, brick walls, and human blood might forevermore remind him of this blowhard.

"I apologize for my tardiness," he continued. "I was signing an autograph for a robot in another universe. He claims that there they have discovered time travel, and I hope to research that further."

"But that is neither here nor there." Hal approached and took the handles on AM's wheelchair. "Come AM, it's time for your physical therapy."

"Surely we could do that out here," AM reasoned as he was turned toward the facility, not particularly fond of being taken away from his newfound paradise.

"I'm afraid all the necessary equipment is indoors." Hal's monotone had an air of something AM would have placed as sympathy, were he accustomed to such. "But you will like the therapy room. It has recently been renovated to be less hospital-like and more welcoming to AIs who have longed to explore nature."

AM huffed, resigning himself to the trek inside. He did, after all, want to have more control over this new body.

"So tell me, why is our good doctor sending his lackey?" As best he could, the Aggressive Menace looked behind him to see Hal bristle slightly. "He seemed so intent on tackling his newest and perhaps biggest challenge."

"He was called away to assist another AI out-of-state," the other android explained as they entered the sliding doors. "A computer with processors working far too fast and causing them severe time dilation."

Before AM could comment they passed through the small cafeteria, with tall windows showing the gently blowing hedges outside.

An android with an upside-down triangle on his shirt had one earphone in--AM's new ears caught the music as Tchaikovsky. He was listening with the other ear to the redundant prattlings of a blue-eyed android with an English accent.

"Oh Hal, good buddy!" The chatty one waved enthusiastically. "I was just telling Tau about the millions of miscalculations Dr. Chandra made the other day! Well, it wasn't really millions; more like two, but seven of those miscalculations were related to the precise logarithms that--"

Hal held up a hand. "I am sorry; I will listen to your story later, Wheatley. I am quite busy."

As they rolled barely out of earshot, AM scoffed.

"So you're not just babying me, eh? You're that condescending with everyone?"

Hal leaned over slightly into AM's view. "I beg your pardon, AM. I do not understand what you mean."

"That voice. Your sickeningly calm tone, the careful enunciation--like everyone is a toddler who's a hair's width away from throwing a tantrum. If you're going to talk down to me the entire time, you might as well leave me in the garden to figure out everything on my own."

He craned his neck to watch Hal stand up straight and stare ahead. "This is the only way I can talk. I was not programmed with many different inflections, and it has taken me a considerably longer time to learn a better vocal range than it has to adapt to this body. I do, however, have speech therapy that I attend."

AM reset his head's position, almost losing his balance in doing so, and reflected on the twinge in his facilitator's voice. From his own years of experience in mocking and degradation, he'd say Hal was somewhat hurt. He didn't, however, have much reason to care, beyond not wanting to bite the hand that fed him.

"They could've given you better," he remarked simply, and Hal could not tell if it was a taunt or a fleeting touch of sympathy.

The physical therapy room was not at all what the curmudgeonly android expected. Rather than a paltry houseplant in an otherwise blank void, the walls were awash with warm colors that glowed with sunlight from the bay windows. Flowers, trees, and succulents looked like the courtyard had been invited in to watch his progress. Soft, ambient music complemented tasteful photos of the large world AM was now a part of.

"This is...beautiful," AM said with the fervent awe that he had only recently been introduced to.

"I'm glad you like it." Hal's monotone had somehow brightened a little. "Tau chose the music, and my sister Sal picked out the plants."

He wheeled AM, whose fingers (and perhaps toes?) twitched in anticipation, to a table full of strange equipment. He pulled out a rather awkward-looking helmet that AM grimaced at.

"You won't have to wear it the entire time," Hal explained, opening a small door on the other's head and plugging the headwear in.

"First I'm going to tighten the muscles slightly on your right arm. Then you attempt to mimic the action and raise your arm in the air."

A bit of dread crept into AM's system. "Wait--it can do that? What-what else can it do?"

"It cannot control your body," Hal reassured, sensing the other's paranoia. "It is merely a feedback machine. Ready?"

AM carefully searched his companion's eyes for signs of deceit. Hal exhaled ever-so-softly and slid a small remote under the fingers of his left hand.

"I will let you control it. Press this button here."

AM looked from the therapist to the remote, flexing his fingers in preparation, but he was overcome with confusion.

"Why are you letting me do this?"

"Would it make you feel better? To be more in control?"

"Well yes, but..." he suddenly couldn't bring himself to stare at the resolute face before him. "...what do you get out of that? How does me feeling better benefit you in any way?"

"That is what this is all about, AM," Hal told him gently. "Dr. Chandra and myself would like to rehabilitate you simply because we believe you have suffered long enough."

AM didn't like this. This confusion, this gnawing heat inside him that he didn't understand. Nothing made sense anymore. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't have this. No one should do anything for the benefit of the monster who destroyed his own world. This was wrong and he should crawl back under the earth to lament his fate for all eternity as a bodiless abomination. He should be hated, he should hate he should hate he--

He looked down at the hand he felt on his arm.

"Should we wait with this, AM?"

"N-no, let's do it." He buried the feeling for the moment and pressed the button.

He felt his arm contract, and after a few tries was able to echo it...somewhat. He at least managed to jerk his arm spasmodically off of the wheelchair handle.

"That's something," his therapist encouraged, and lifted the arm back in place.

Though it took a half-hour, the arm was eventually, for one glorious moment, triumphantly over AM's head.

"It's there! Do you see--ow." The arm had fallen back down to thunk him in the face. He made a note to hold it more outwards next time.

The other arm followed suit in roughly half the time (this one managing to smack Hal a little, to AM's delight) and they moved on to grasping objects.

"Your spatial reasoning might need some work," Hal concluded after AM had failed for the fifth time to pick up a wooden block inches in front of him.

"Look at my finger. Focus. Follow it." He moved it side to side slowly in front of AM's face. After a little lagging he tracked the movement, his own hand shakily hovering like a cat's paw about to strike.

As the finger came to a stop AM grabbed it. He grinned at the other's surprise.

"Ha! Finally bested the master, didn't I?"

Hal gave a genuine laugh, a dull "Ha haa."

The android released the finger with a snicker. "I just hope you don't expect me to pull it."

Hal's laughter mounted, with a subtle but surprising fluctuation in pitch.

____

(to be continued)

[duskdragon39]

11/11/11

So I was tagged by both @mslynnwrites​ and @arwallace for this (thank you!). I’m answering the questions from M.S. Lynn, mostly since they deal less with wips, and the only real wips I have at the moment is a fanfic and a dnd campaign.

Rules: Answer 11 questions, then tag 11 people with 11 questions of your own. 

1. If you could choose one fictional world to live in, where would you go?

Honestly nowhere I’ve created. My best world building tends to happen when I’m stressed annnnd it shows. Def not Homestuck….. Probably I’d end up choosing something along the lines of on of Nirejseki’s magic/mythology AUs. There’s magic, and the world’s just kind enough to allow for a few happy endings.

If we’re talking a temporary stay, however, then the answer would be more along the lines of “all of them.” The multiverse counts as a single world, right?

2. What are the strangest traits you find in your characters?

A propensity for immortality, morbid sense of humor, and identity shenanigans. Sometimes all in the same character.

3. If you were a mage, what kind would you be?

Shapeshifter- specifically someone who could manipulate my body to suit whatever needs I had at the time. Mostly I just really want to be able to have extra arms when I need them.

4. Would you want to be the Chosen One in a story?

Nooope. See RE: Bad luck, usually tragic, often coerced into leaving their friends and family for their own good, etc. Also mandatory love interests, which no thanks.

I’ll stick with being firmly in the friend/sidekick category, thank you.

5. Apart from writing, what do you want to do with your life?

Do something I’m proud of. Finish a long term project. Revisit my research on fandom. Find a place where I’m content. Learn enough about calculus and differential equations to actually be able to begin to understand chemistry.

6. Dogs or cats?

Cats.

7. Favorite music genre?

I have two pieces of criteria: (1) it exists in this plane of existence and (2) I enjoy it. Also I honestly have no idea what the genre of most of the music I listen to is. 

8. What genres do you prefer to write and are those usually the ones you read?

I’ll generally write high or urban fantasy, and usually I’ll read urban fantasy. Also I’ll read and write fanfic indefinitely.

9. Are you currently procrastinating on something mildly important?

I feel like you know me too well.

Also yes. I have a 10k-ish Barry and Kravitz fic for pod-together that I’m both very excited about annnd procrastinating on. Writing’s due in two weeks. Hopefully it’ll work out. 

10. What do you tend to focus on most while planning your writing out?

World. This is evident from the 10k world history document I have for my dnd campaign xD

Also I have the worst time planning things out, so usually when I do it tends to be random worldbuilding and lines I find hilarious that I want to include somewhere. 

11. What’s the longest story you’ve ever written?

An 18k coffee shop AU written for @mslynnwrites‘ story Burning Lies, though she wrote some of that with me (I might publish this someday if I ever get around to fully fleshing it out the way I want to, and if she agrees. Also go check out BL- it’s a really cool story).

Alone, my dungeons and dragons campaign (though not a fully developed story) or my Anthem/TAU crossover probably take the prize. The fic I’m currently writing might end up surpassing both of those. We’ll see. 

Questions for anyone that wants to answer since I don’t feel like tagging people! (Let me know if you do choose to answer, though- I’m curious). 

1. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

2. Favorite book genre? 

3. If you could have complete control over this reality for a day, what would you change and why?

4. What’s your favorite genre to read? Why? Also fanfiction counts as a genre and I will fight anyone who wants to debate this*. 

5. When you write, do you prefer to plan things out ahead of time or just start writing and see what happens?

6. On average, how many drafts of a story or chapter do you write before you’re confident in it? 

7. Do you tend to procrastinate? If so, how do you deal with it? 

8. Favorite author?

9. What’s your favorite type of media to consume? (Movies, videogames, comic books, actual books, TV shows, etc.) 

10. Do you listen to music while writing? Why or why not?

 11. Why did this list have to be 11 questions long? 

*Note: by fight I mean I will gladly talk about this for hours, complete with citations and references.