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littledraga · 9 hours

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Roomba Roller Coaster

After a long day of practicing and writing, Zer0 was excited to have a break to play! Happily trotting up to The Spine’s room, he was on his way to ‘borrow’ The Spine’s red fire truck.

Nearly skipping up the stairs, he saw one of the Roombas spinning in a circle.

“That looks like fun!” He giggled and hurried over to spin on his toes to mimic his little friend.

Round and round he went until he fell over with a loud laugh, even as the room spun. Robots could handle a lot of things, but even they got dizzy! Or at least, he liked to pretend he did.

While Zer0 lay down and giggled to himself, the Roomba continued to spin around until they bumped into Zer0. Once, then twice. And a third time for good measure before they finally turned around and zoomed in a straight line.

Zer0 sat up, watching the Roomba for a moment with a grin.

“I bet that’s fun too!” But scooting along like a Roomba was a lot harder for a large robot with arms and legs instead of wheels. It took a few tries.

First, he tried to pull himself on his hands, and that worked, but it was a little awkward to scoot like that. Next, he tried to use his legs, that was better, but he didn’t like the friction. And it was a lot slower.

Lifting up and crawling worked a lot better. With a laugh, he was off again! Shuffling down the hall, he chased after the Roomba.

“I’m catching up!” he told them as they raced down the hall. At least, until they came up to a set of stairs on the other side of the hall.

The Roomba stopped, seeming to give out a distressed beep before backing up and spinning around again.

Zer0 stopped one foot on the first step. His head tilted curiously, as he watched them. Right, only the spider Roombas could go between floors. Wheels and Roombas didn’t mix very well. And that wasn’t very fair! There was so much manor to explore!

Sitting down on the step, Zer0 watched his friend slowly roll away to find something else it could clean. That wasn’t didn’t seem right at all, being trapped on one floor of the manor. He got to go wherever he wanted! Even if he wasn’t supposed to.

Hand under his chin, he sat and thought for a while. There had to be a way to make sure it was fair for everyone. Who wanted to be stuck in the same place forever? It felt like he could cry, all the fun things the Roombas missed! And what if they missed each other! The thought of them trapped apart made oil bead up in his optics.

Suddenly, Zer0 sat up straighter and snapped his metal fingers with a bright grin. Roombas couldn’t use the stairs because they’d fall or get stuck with their wheels. But wheels could go down ramps. Like a slide! If Zer0 made a big slide then the Roombas could go all over the house. It was the perfect plan.

Jumping up from where he sat, the heavy bot nearly tumbled down the stairs. Arms waving like a fledgling bird, Zer0 laughed brightly and yelled while he tried to keep his balance.

And once he got his bearings again, he was off! Down the stairs two at a time, he went searching for something in the manor that he could use as a slide for the Roomba’s. There had to be something!

Searching was becoming a task in itself. Anytime Zer0 found something he thought would work, it was too small or had a funny curve or angle. A bookcase would have been perfect, but they’d have to climb it to get to the top. That was the opposite problem!

While Zer0 was trying to right said bookcase, and not trip on the knocked over books, Rabbit came around the corner as she shoved a Moonpie in her mouth. Watching her brother a moment, she tilted her head, pieces of pastry falling to the floor while she tried to chew.

“W-whatcha doin’ d-der, Zer0?” She asked and took another bite.

Zer0 jumped, dropping the heavy bookcase with a thud and a crack. Hopefully, no one would notice that. Looking around, he made sure there wasn’t anyone else around. Rabbit wouldn’t get after him for breaking something, but most of the other Walters and workers would.

“I’m making a stair slide,” he happily chirped.

“Or I will once I find something long enough that I can use as a slide anyway.” Picking up the bookcase again, he started to drag it back into the lounge he had borrowed it from.

“O-oh?” Following Zer0, she skipped alongside him.

“You could use a sled! I used to do that before Spine took it away after I broke some vase. It was really dusty. I don’t know why anyone cared that it broke!” she lamented.

Setting up the bookcase, he did think about that. A bunch of Roombas going down the stairs on tiny sleds. That would be a lot of fun, and he laughed.

“Maybe, but that might be hard for all the Roombas to keep trying to collect them!” He explained.

Suddenly, Rabbit’s face lit up. Now, that was a different problem to solve. And she knew exactly what they needed to do.

“A rollercoaster!” she shouted, jumping up in excitement.

“We make them a roller co-coaster, and they can go up-up and down whenever they want! And they can have a b-b-blast!”

Gasping, Zer0 danced in place.

“That’s the best idea EVER, Rabbit! They can have so much fun on a rollercoaster!” Rushing out to the hall, he paused.

“But, how do we make a roller coaster?”

A twitch, and she grinned widely. Hurrying out of the room, Rabbit grabbed Zer0’s hand and made a mad dash for the labs.

“We’re gonna need some tools! I know just what to do.”

Down in the labs, they grabbed what they could carry, from rods and metal sheets to power tools they couldn’t even name. They’d need a little bit of everything to make the perfect roller coaster.

Building a roller coaster took a lot of work. Especially when there was very little planning.

“Do you think the loop is big enough?” asked Zer0, waving a hand to a loop that nearly touched the ceiling.

Humming, Rabbit tilted her head to the side as she looked it up and down.

“I dunno-no, think we can make it any b-bigger? We want them to have a-a good time.”

“Who do you want to have a good time, Rabbit?” Asked The Spine as he stood at the bottom of the stairs the two had managed to build so far. His arms were crossed while he watched the two.

“The Walters don’t like us using the power tools,” he reminded them, nodding to the drill in Zer0’s hand.

“Nu-uh!” chimed Zer0, holding the drill closer.

“They only said you couldn’t use them to make a cattle pen! And we’re making a Roomba roller coaster!”

Steam wisped from The Spine’s vents, and he shrunk a little on himself, embarrassed of the memory of them dismantling the pen he’d made on the grounds and scolding him for wasting wood.

“I’m pretty sure making a giant roller coaster in the hall is something they don’t want us doing,” he tried, still sulking a little.

“B-but Da Spiiine!” whined Rabbit as she hurried down the stairs with a Roomba in hand.

“They’re stuck on their floors!” she reminded him, holding up his favourite buckaroo.

“Don’t you want them to have fun and explore?” Holding the Roomba closer to him, she gave him her best puppy eyes and the Roomba beeped almost sadly.

What resolve The Spine had melted away as he took the Roomba. They were ganging up on him!

“I suppose if that’s what you want to do, cowboy. I can’t tell you no, now can I?”

While his siblings cheered, The Spine put the Roomba down with a little pat to let them go exploring a whole new floor. Rolling up his sleeves, he would get to work helping build the roller coaster so it wound around the floor and back up another.

They used books and built legos for support as it twisted and looped around. String held the high loops to the ceiling so they would stop toppling over after the first fall snagged on Rabbit’s wig, and it took an hour to fix it.

But eventually, the first roller coaster floor was done!

“N-now we ju-just have to test it!” exclaimed Rabbit while she grabbed a nearby Roomba that beeped repeatedly for being lifted suddenly.

“Rabbit, shouldn’t we test this with something other than a Roomba? What if they get hurt,” worried The Spine.

“It’ll be fine! We did a great job. Right, Zer0?” She asked and nearly flew up the stairs to put the Roomba in place.

Looking over their work, held together with wobbly screws and tape, Zer0 gave a sharp nod and grinned proudly.

“It’s perfect! The Roombas are going to have the best time, The Spine!”

Well, if they were both confident, it couldn’t be that bad, right?

Rabbit squealed and spun on her toes before putting the Roomba on the roller coaster.

“Alright! The first ride of Walter Manor’s a-a-amazing spec-spectacular Roomba Coaster!” cheered Rabbit before letting go of their little friend. They beeped loudly as they started to slide down faster than they’d ever gone before. Down and down they went, picking up speed right up to the first loop, and then they kept going. Right passed the loop, and they shot forward like a bullet. Straight passed the other bots and down the hall.

Zer0 and The Spine tried to catch the Roomba, yelling for them to come back while the two chased after them.

But the Roomba didn’t get a chance to go far as Six rushed around the corner when he heard the yelling. Panicking robots was never a good thing.

Wrench in hand, Petes barely had a chance to drop it before the Roomba went flying into his chest, sending him sprawling onto the ground with a yell of his own. Sitting up, he tried to adjust his mask while he rubbed his head. Everything seemed alright, at least. Looking down at the Roomba in his lap, Petes sighed. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised.

Checking the Roomba over, he sent the poor thing on its way before climbing to his feet.

“Spine, why is there a Roomba launcher next to the Study of Salsa?”

The bots all shrank back a little at the question. But The Spine adjusted his tie and mimicked clearing his throat.

“We wanted to give them something fun, Petes. They work just as hard as any of us. They deserve breaks too.”

“Y-y-y-yeah! Like a rollercoaster!” added Rabbit quickly, as she rushed down the stairs to stand next to Spine.

There was a long pause while Six just stood there, staring at the trio through the keyhole of his mask. Long enough that the bots began to shift uncomfortably. It wasn’t like the Walters to wait to scold them.

Brushing off his slacks, Petes picked up the oversized wrench and popped it on his shoulder. Nearly dropping himself with the weight.

“You have to give them some kind of guard rail or something to attach them to the coaster, or they’ll just keep flying off,” he explained while he started to measure the rails.

When they were still standing frozen in place Six looked over his shoulder.

“Well, come on! We’re going to need a lot of metal rods!”

#spg #spf fanfic #fanfic #Zer0 #Rabbit #The Spine #Peter Walter VI #Roomba

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littledraga · 6 days

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FBS Draft Scene: Still Undone

Word Count: 1600

Author's Notes: This has been a landmark scene in my head for a long time, but I realized recently I had never really told anyone about it! This takes place in the middle of the story. Content Warning spoils the heaviest part of this segment, so try to skip over it if you want to be surprised! Sorry I can't blank it out!

Summary: While searching the abandoned winter grounds of the carnival Taps once worked for, he and Riker discover the body of Hinge, Taps' childhood sweetheart. Title comes from Orville Peck's 'Hope to Die,' Taps and Hinge's theme.

Content Warnings: Dead robot, body desecration, attempted revival and subsequent putting down

Previously: Taps and Riker were being dragged back to New Amida by Kilroy and Lucy, but at a split second opportunity, stole their car and made off. While laying low, Taps is revealed to have an emotion blocker in his head, which Riker hastily removes, causing Taps to start experiencing extreme mood swings and reactions. Afterward, they decide to search for clues as to the whereabouts of Lindy, Taps' missing sister, and the first place to search is where Taps saw her last-- the carnival winter grounds where they worked together, now abandoned.

　Taps shuffled through the dusty papers in the desk drawers, keeping the lights of his eyes dialed up. Riker had their one flashlight tucked between his cheek and his shoulder and was picking the locks on the filing cabinet on the other side of the room, muttering under his breath. They’d checked a few other rooms in the deserted building before finding this office, all of them trashed in the time since the winter grounds were abandoned. The rooms had been shifted around after Taps left the carnival, except for the big storage room where they’d found, miraculously, a still sealed gallon of diesel.

　　Taps was trying not to let that diesel’s presence distract him. There were lots of reasons why a carnival might have that on hand, not just the one that he feared. Right now he had to focus on finding clues of where Lindy had gone.

　　“Got it,” Riker said, pulling open the top cabinet drawers. He wrinkled his nose at the contents; they probably smelled musty. “What year did you leave, again?”

　　“1959,” Taps said. “November.”

　　“Right, so--” Riker paused. “You were built in ‘47? Christ, you were still a kid.”

　　Taps silently straightened up and walked around the desk. “Demétrio had to move our contracts fast,” he said. “Medical bills. Here, I found a key, if there’s nothing in that one.”

　　In the second-to-bottom drawer, they found something. The manila folder nearly crumbled as Riker shifted it up into the light. It was unlabeled, but as Riker flipped through the tops of the papers within, he perked up. “Contract receipts. Jackpot.”

　　Taps leaned closer, staring at the papers as Riker jumped to the back of the folder. Focus, he thought. Don’t think about--

　　“Bettencourt!” Riker exclaimed. He grinned at Taps, pointing to a yellow page. “Bettencourt, L. Sale of contract: 1961. I can’t believe we fucking found it!”

　　Taps was frozen; his engine slowed. Riker’s smile began to dim.

　　“Hey,” Riker said softly. “You OK?”

　　“Yes,” Taps said, voice stiff. His illuminators had turned to pinpricks. “Yes. I just--”

　　Riker reached out and rested a hand on Taps’ shoulder. “Relax. This is big, and you’re just getting your feelings together. You need a minute before we get out of here?”

　　Taps vented a small burst of air, his head dropping forward, and he nodded.

　　Riker gingerly folded the receipt along its age-old crinkles before putting it in the inner pocket of his jacket. He stood with a grunt, rubbed his knees, and then held his hands up to his mouth, puffing a faint, misty cloud of hot air over them.

　　After a few minutes, the pair stepped out into the hallway, the shattered window at the closer end spilling moonlight across the floor. They walked carefully toward the exit, but stopped at the door, hearing whooping voices in the distance.

　　“Those damn teenagers are still here?” Riker growled. “Shit. They better not fuck with the car.”

　　Taps opened the door a crack and peaked through. “I can see their flashlights. They’re between us and the van, but I don’t think they’re moving toward it.” Taps paused, thinking. “There’s should be another way around, through the warehouse. I think the door was this way…”

　　They slipped as quietly as they could through the office building to the side door, then darted to the warehouse. Like the office, any sort of padlock had long been broken off, and the door opened with a soft creak. Riker flinched at the sound, then ducked inside, turning to wave Taps through. Taps only hesitated for a split second.

　　The main chamber of the warehouse was a disaster. Riker tried to keep the flashlight pointed at the ground as they walked, but the light would twitch nervously toward any open doors they passed. Riker’s foot collided with something and he yelped as it tumbled forward; Taps froze again, staring at the black diesel canister lying on its side, lit up in the circle of yellow. Riker breathed through his teeth.

　　“Christ, thought that was a rat for a second,” he said.

　　Taps stepped forward and picked it up, sloshing the liquid inside. Riker frowned at him-- or more specifically, at his eyes. Taps could feel his lights narrowing again.

　　“Taps?” Riker asked, voice a quiet hiss. “What’s the matter?”

　　“There was another robot,” Taps said. “His name was Hinge, and he ran on diesel.”

　　Riker stared at Taps for a moment, and Taps stared past him. There was a large doorway with no door just ahead of them, with smears on the ground, grimy shoe prints leading in and out. Before Riker could form a response, Taps had moved into the doorway.

　　There was something in there, against the far wall.

　　Taps’ footsteps were jerky as he took one, two steps in. Even with his illuminators turned all the way up, the shape was hard to make out. But it was big and bulky, crumpled forward over itself.

　　The flashlight shone past Taps shoulder, and Riker swore.

　　Hinge’s body sat with its back against the wall, head bowed forward over its bent legs. The left arm was missing below the elbow, and the chassis and the wall surrounding it were covered in spray paint. The graffiti on the wall made a terrible halo around the slumped form.

　　Taps barely registered his legs moving. He walked forward as if compelled, the carnage that had wracked Hinge’s body more apparent with every step. At some point he had dropped the diesel canister; it wasn’t in his hand when he knelt, almost falling, and reached out to touch Hinge’s knee.

　　“You stayed,” Taps whispered to the corpse. “Why did you stay?”

　　Taps couldn’t stop staring at Hinge’s face-- the hanging jaw, the dark holes of his glass-broken eyes. Some irreverent vandals had messily applied zigzags and meaningless blobs and a singular holographic sticker across his wide torso. Hinge would have hated it. Would hate it. Hated it.

　　Taps stood and turned sharply, nearly knocking into Riker. He ignored the words that stumbled out of Riker’s mouth and snatched the diesel canister off the ground, unscrewing the cap as he hurried to Hinge’s side. His fuel intake was just behind his left shoulder.

　　Taps did not stop pouring when Riker grabbed his arm and pointed the flashlight in his face, but he did start to hear him again.

　　“--can’t do this, buddy, there’s nothing left--”

　　“He has two ignition switches,” Taps said. “One on each side. I can’t reach both at once.” He turned his head and locked eyes with Riker. “I need you to hit the other switch.”

　　Riker’s eyes were round, the whites of them catching the light that bounced back into his face.

　　“What? No. I won’t,” Riker stammered. “Taps--”

　　“Do it,” Taps snapped. And then, venomously: “You owe me.”

　　Riker’s jaw snapped shut, and slowly his brows furrowed, the crease between his eyebrows deepening darkly. For a long moment he said nothing. Taps removed the nozzle from Hinge’s intake, and was just feeling the stirring of hesitation when Riker whipped around. Taps thought he might be storming out of the room, but he turned at Hinge’s feet and came back to his other side.

　　“You’re going to fucking regret this,” Riker snapped, casting the light over Hinge, looking for the switch.

　　Taps reached out and pried Hinge slightly more forward from the wall, enough to slip their hands beneath his shoulder blades. “Just press, and hold for three,” Taps said. “One… two… three--”

　　There was a gurgle and a bang from within Hinge’s chest, and he jerked violently. Black smoke spat from his mouth, and one eye flickered. Riker pulled back, and Taps’ hands snapped out, ready to steady him.

　　“Hinge? Hinge!” Taps cried. “It’s alright, it’s--”

　　Hinge continued to spasm, and Riker jumped back as his only arm swung aimlessly. Sounds gargled out of his voice box, a waterfall of half-words and metallic screeches, and with a full-body jolt he fell onto his left side, nearly taking Taps down with him. Hinge-- his body-- contorted on the ground, thrashing and scraping itself on the concrete, howling.

　　Taps stared and realized what he had done.

　　“Hold his head.”

　　Riker was holding a long metal rod, some piece of detritus from the floor.

　　Taps could have screamed, but with threadbare restraint, he did not. He only knelt and did his best to hold onto Hinge’s head, a hand on both sides. Hinge was--had been-- was so, so strong, and it was difficult to steady the head.

　　Riker missed the first blow, the end of the rod bouncing off the center of Hinge’s faceplate. The second spike hit true, going deep into the eye socket, back into the elongated skull. Riker wrenched the rod to one side, then the other, and with a snap something gave away, and Hinge’s body went still.

　　Taps kept holding the head as Riker-- Riker was crying, Taps dimly realized-- as he pulled the rod free and tossed it aside. The flashlight had been left on the ground, pointing at Hinge, and Riker retrieved it, knuckles bone white around the grip. He was breathing heavily, teeth grit, and his wet eyes shot accusing darts at Taps.

　　‘“I owe you?”’ Riker hissed bitterly. “I should have told you to get in line.”

　　And then he did leave, stalking out into the hallway. Taps heard him begin to retch, and he looked down again. He ran a hand over Hinge’s forehead.

　　“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry, love. You deserved the whole world. Better than this. Better than me.”

#fbs

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littledraga · 2 months

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@ranchdiip

I feel like you'd like the gut punch of this one

"Repentance"

#itsv

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littledraga · 2 months

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so I didn't know if female jesters had been a thing in the past and looked it up and was introduced to mathurine the fool, who gave one of the best burns in history in a silly little way.

also she apparently stopped an assassination?? amazing.

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littledraga · 2 months

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Freddie as a guardian angel!

He’s playing his music from a magical recorder that reaches whoever needs it ❤️

For mrbadguymercury

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littledraga · 2 months

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Miguel O’Hara moans!

#itsv

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littledraga · 2 months

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#itsv

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littledraga · 2 months

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Patreon | Ko-Fi

#ffxv #look how soft they are!

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littledraga · 2 months

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leave your laundry on the floor for them

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littledraga · 2 months

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Writeblr Intro: The Five Bright Stars

Writer's Alias: Muse (they/them)

Writer Demographics: 30+ years old, white, aroace and agender

Writer History: I've been writing since I was about 10 years old, on and off, mainly in gen fanfiction and collaborative roleplay settings, though I've always had original characters. I've run a few creative blogs in the past, though this is the first one completely dedicated to an original project.

The Project: The Five Bright Stars is queer dramatic speculative fiction, set in a world parallel to real life where sentient automata were invented in the late 1910s, then created en masse post WW2. The novel focuses on Riker Venczel, a middle aged human trying to escape the controlling grip of his cousin, and Taps Bettencourt, an Antique-class robot who, upon losing his job and home, seeks to reconnect with his estranged family. While the present action follows the pair as they flee New Amida, the Rusty City, frequent flashbacks show much of their lives previous.

Themes: Recognition of abuse, Moving forward without forgiveness, Queer acceptance, Systematic entrapment under capitalism, The value of anger vs passivity

Aesthetics and Vibes: The Rust Belt, ghost lights in dusty old theaters, long empty roads, grime under fingernails, denim clothing, satellite dish fields under the stars

Specific goals for this first draft under the cut:

Goals for First Draft of 'The Five Bright Stars' (Subject to change)

Do's -Robots as allegory for disability, queer identity, objectification, working class struggles -Give equal time and depth to Riker and Taps-- Taps currently has fewer character flaws -Figure out a more realistic structure for robot self-advocacy organization(s) (CoACT) -Flesh out the first period of Taps' life, including Demetrio's rivalry with other wealthy property owner(s) -Flesh out backstories for the other Stars -Find balance of sexual themes; acknowledge sex's role in characters' lives in both positive and negative ways without shying away due to personal fears of judgement -Represent maligned identities -Flesh out the plot past the midpoint/return to New Amida

Don'ts -Avoid robot = race parallels -Do not "sand down edges" of character personalities, conflicts -Avoid villifying more militant or self-denfense oriented groups in relation to moderate ones -Be mindful of tokenism -Don't hold too tightly to established or old story elements simply because they've been around for a while -Avoid making Todd's physical disability seem without challenges as opposed to Riker's mental disabilities

#fbs

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