#source: Love Death and Robots Three Robots | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

anaktoria-of-the-moon · 1 year

Text

One Hundred Thousand Wisdoms for Dealings With the Fae [an ACOTAR reimagining]

Three sisters, three journeys, and three fickle fae lords share one fate. (Read it here.)

The Wicklighter girls count three: gentle Aislin, brave Eire, and cunning Niamh. Like other mortals - ever since the ancient war that sent faekind into hiding and cleft the land in two - the sisters have always dreaded and hated the Fair Folk, whom mortal legend calls both fearsome and deadly. When Eire kills a fae wearing the guise of a bloodthirsty wolf, Niamh gives herself up to the Folk as a bride, hoping that they then might not take her sister’s life in revenge. Spirited away, Niamh meets with an unexpectedly alluring face of the beastly fae. So do her two sisters, who each cross the fae through their own struggles to mend what’s left of the Wicklighter family. Having learned new truths about the nature of the struggle between faeries and mortaldom, they must ask themselves: Can they trust age-old enemies of mankind whom they’ve come to love - and risk the safety of kingdoms for their sake - or do these wild, strange roses conceal only a bounty of thorns?

“Is this an ACOTAR fanfic?” Yes and no. It’s a ground-up rewrite that ended up deviating quite a bit from the source. You’ll find obvious analogs to the Archeron sisters (Feyre, Elain, and Nesta are reimagined as Eire, Aislin, and Niamh respectively; Feyre’s now the middle sister, Elain the youngest), and some broad plot points and narrative thrusts are maintained (the story still begins with Eire felling a wolf who is really a fae in disguise, for whose death the fae demand the exchange of a mortal life in turn; there is a magic wall that keeps mortal and fae lands apart following a now-ancient war between the two; there are fae courts ruled by lords of great and wild power, though the particular courts and lords differ greatly from those in the source). If you loved ACOTAR as is, you may or may not like this story. If you liked the broad aesthetics of ACOTAR (fae, wild magic, and romance between plucky mortal women and powerful, melancholy faerie guys) but were disappointed with the specifics of its execution, you might like this more.

“How long is this going to be?” Honestly, I don’t know. Long, probably. I have a lot planned.

“Is this a romance? Will there be sex scenes? Is this OK for younger readers?” Yes (though it’s not only romance); yes (eventually - we have a lot of plot to cover before that happens); probably not, but I’m not your mother.

“What makes this different from ACOTAR?” Well, aside from like, everything, I’m consciously trying to make this a much more diverse story (e.g., ⅔ of the non-female romantic leads are planned to be unambiguously non-White - one has extremely dark skin with vitiligo, the other is East Asian-coded; one non-female romantic lead is planned to be genderfluid, and another is bisexual, both with on-page representation of this). I’m also trying to walk more of a line where dynamics and behaviors may not always be healthy but, in cases where they are not, they are acknowledged as such and the narrative appropriately and satisfyingly shows development away from those dynamics and behaviors (or does not present characters perpetrating them as “good” or broadly admirable characters if they do not develop out of said dynamics and behaviors). You can find a longer (non-exhaustive) list of stuff I’m trying to achieve with this fic here.

“Why?” Well, because I like doing this. It’s fun.

“Where’s the credit for your cover art?” That’d be me. I mocked this up from scratch in Krita at like 1 AM with my own puny mortal hands (no AI, promise - I do not trust the robots). I am not a professional artist, so you get what you get.

“Who are you?” Here’s the answer.

Enjoy! (Or don’t. Again, I’m not your mom.)

#acotar rewrite #1htw #original fic #anti sjm #sjm critical

55 notes · View notes

genlossneg · 1 year

Text

thank you for this blog im boutta post a lot of my suffering in here enjoy the essay

I’m not a ranboo fan at all, i just heard about a cool horror project from a name i’m familiar with and i was excitedly waiting for perhaps a new kid on the block with cool content and the resources to do so. I’ve seen what people with three coins and a piece of lint can do out of passion, and so i expected that someone that has far more resources out of the gate would be able to really take it out of the park if they were equally as passionate. I’ll just grab a couple of points and elaborate.

Intentionally bad.

This is the poorest excuse for low quality content I’ve heard. Not a single self-respecting creative that actually cares about their project would make something ACTUALLY bad. Anytime you see something that’s intentionally bad and yet somehow beloved, look DEEPER. Because behind that veil of “bad” is actually often a HUGE amount of effort and care put into something a creator cared about.

Intentionally bad content is still made with the intention to be fun to watch, to be entertaining. There is very little entertainment found in any of the genloss bad content.

Lack of horror content

The main excuses i’ve seen is that they were scared of Twitch TOS, to which I say lolwhat. You had two whole years to contact twitch and talk it out with them and figure out what part of your project and show would fly and what wouldn’t, and instead you opted to really cut out any horror aspect at all for fear of being banned on twitch? And even then, content more gorey and disturbing than this is allowed on twitch. If Until Dawn flies on twitch, I think gen loss could have gone wilder.

And if they REALLY didn’t want to risk it, for the love of god at least be creative with your attempts to circumvent it? The goofy poor editing of the red in ep2 during the surgery sequence took me out of it entirely and confused me so much. You know what they could’ve done? TURNED THE LIGHTING A STARK RED. THAT’S IT. THE MOST BASIC THING, TO AT LEAST REALLY GET ACROSS THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG.

The acting

I was a theatre kid in highschool and let me tell you even the 13 year olds acted with more passion and devotion to the role than 95% of the cast in gen loss. Even during improv. You can tell that there is basically no script to gen loss and that its purely “X will happen then Y will happen and we need to fill it with conversation and improv” with zero direction on tone or anything. It was so painful seeing how little effort had gone into the acting. Ranboo can’t act for shit and should have gone through some acting classes before taking on a live show. The only ones that were visibly trying were charlie and jerma and the people who were frozen robots during ep3 (because as someone who had to stay frozen in pose hours on end for a play while on-stage, that shit is HARD)

Hetch’s acting was even more laughable, and his fakeout death was… something. An incredibly cartoonish “uguguhh” exiting his mouth- really? Also It was so frustrating to have his voice come from seemingly nowhere. There was no source to his voice.

It sucked so much seeing ranboo actually TRY to be better in his acting in episode 3 because when he suddenly started being intense it felt WRONG and out of character, because there was no natural leadup to him being like that. ep 1 and 2 were so bad that even when ep 3 was better it felt disappointing.

Lighting

Its already been mentioned by film student anon that the lighting is such a huge amateur mistake but I want to touch upon the creative aspect of the lighting a little more.

There was such an utter lack of using colored lighting to really set tones in scenes and it SUCKED. Like, already with the lack of outright horror blood and gore, they NEEDED creative lighting to at least intensify scenes! Add some damn flickering lights! Green lighting? Something- anything. Again, TEENAGERS have been more creative with lighting in a performance and all they had was four colors to work with and nothing fancy.

Camerawork

I wish they would have actually done good camera work. Set up some cameras in locations and acted in front of them instead of having someone follow ranboo around and having some “lore” explanation for it that makes little sense. Having moving cameras that are shaky and constantly cutting people frame-wise is just not pleasant to watch and does not add anything useful. On top of the camera quality jarringly changing between shots constantly it just… ruined the flow.

in ep3, we had an explanation for why there’s a camera following ranboo, and we got some REALLY COOL ESTABLISHING SHOTS THAT…. made no sense in lore. Why would the “drone” following ranboo take establishing shots? It’s supposed to follow ranboo- but then later it gets dismissed and we suddenly have sharp camera cuts to what im guessing was a prerecorded scene due to the camera quality change and it just felt. So sudden and jarring? Like okay you just dismissed the camera and now we suddenly get a different non-canon camera because they remembered we actually need to still see whats happening.

Lore/Story

The lore and story we have gotten so far is so scatterbrained and nonsensical. + knowing that this project isn’t actually what gen loss was supposed to be (which: Why are you advertising it as gen loss then, ranboo? You’re just staining the name of your passion project). So much of genloss is in the “I guess” category of why things happened. But the consistensy also felt so off. From what I understand, Charlie is the slime demon, and was the guy on the gurney, and was also in ep 3 as himself. And all those other versions WERE the ep3 charlie. How? Charlie died? twice? According to what has happened? But he’s alive anyway at the end until he gets killed again by a cheap backrooms monster? But supposedly everyone else did actually die?

I just. Genuinely do not understand what the story here was. What the point was of everything. I’m not gonna ask who the characters were because the characters were just the streamers and nothing special or new. If you know the streamer, thats the “character”. It’s just godawful writing.

Viewer interaction

Viewer interaction was pointless and didn’t matter. Either every choice the viewers made was gonna happen anyway, or ranboo decided to ignore it lol. It felt like there was no impact to viewers doing anything to influence the show and the show probably would have been largely better had viewer interaction not been a thing at all.

also idk maybe making ranboo’s “character” aware of the audience from the get go would have been more fun as they could’ve been trying to get the audience to do anything while we’re just watching quietly. And they could’ve gotten more and more desperate with the audience as things went on. But then again that requires actual acting skills that ranboo barely has.

Just as some final words, this really feels like a case of someone who has never done anything like this thinking they can do this because they’re famous and well-liked online. I know ranboo makes a lot of money, so they certainly had enough money to make something good. Take some film classes or acting classes. Instead they became overambitious and made just a generally unpleasant show that is not going to make me want to watch any future gen loss content in good faith.

The entire show depends on going “MY STREAMER!!! THATS MY STREAMER!!!” and would not survive on its own merit. The hype towards gen loss was misleading on what it’d be, and the fans made amazing fanart that does not live up to the reality of what they got and i feel genuinely sad for them. The fanbase made a better interpretation of what gen loss is WITHOUT EVEN NEEDING GEN LOSS TO BE OFFICIALLY RELEASED.

also a final thing about the merch but why is the merch so bad lol. Its such boring design. The gen loss logo appears barely anywhere in the show itself. The fans could’ve had some sort of cool merch, like masks based off of ranboo’s mask and the showfall robot masks. Shirts and merch based off of the slime demon and warehouse master.

Anyway sorry for the huge wall of text I have just been going insane abt this to my friend in dms enjoy

————————————————–

i could probably spend hours responding to all of this! thank you for the mini essay, you make a ton of great points. i really sympathize with the “not a ranboo fan” stance because my friends are way more fans of him than i am, and were way invested.

i personally haven’t heard any “it’s supposed to be bad!” defenses but i can totally believe there are people like that out there lol. i definitely in the “there’s no entertainment when it’s bad”. you’re entirely right about the lack of horror! i was so confused after the first stream and everyone was like “it’s not supposed to be horror yet! you don’t understand!” and then it took until the 3rd stream for anything significant to even happen, and even then it was weak.

charlie and jerma did so much for gen loss man, ranboo’s acting was just.. not that great and when it was, it felt so jarring. more interesting lighting would’ve been so fun! so much could’ve been done with that, and that’s especially clear when they switch cameras because they had the ability to film this incredibly and just.. didn’t. i feel like we didn’t get so much lore that we should have, especially with how long the streams were. i hope we get something clearer later on.

the idea of him being aware of chat the whole time would be cool, but idk if it would’ve worked with the “brainwashed” thing he was doing. overall i agree - gen loss was super hyped up and in this form, it didn’t live up to it as well as it could have. once again, ty for the mini-essay, it was a great read!

#submission #gen loss neg #gen loss crit

35 notes · View notes

blackstarchanx3new · 10 months

Text

Creations AU, But I obnoxiously over explain it PT 2

Ahh Creations AU

My sweet sweet FNAF AU.

Oh how I love you dearly despite your doofy old art. ❤️

Jeremy and Mike continue their conversation,

Jeremy mentioning Michael's "Dad" as an important figure in the pizzeria and someone who wants to keep secrets about shading happenings down below.

Who is he to Freddy's?

WE DUNNO.

We already know deaths take place here so shady things going on down below aren't out of the realm of possibility.

Bonnie proudly proclaims HE knows what goes on as a friend of his occasionally visits the surface, seems like Bonnie is just friends with a lot of Freddys.

Michael's sister died at a location called "Circus Baby's pizza world" now a rental place that houses the same animatronics down below. Jeremy refutes this as nonsense.

Bonnie is firm in it being true.

Mike is shocked.

Jeremy and Bonnie continue to bicker and Mike feels solidly like he isn't in the loop about things here.

Jeremy wants Bonnie and by proxy Mike to leave so they do. Their shifts end at 6 Am.

Mike is now very curious about what else Bonnie knows and hasn't spoken about. For obvious reasons.

Bonnie feels he doesn't owe Mike information, which it seems Bonnie has a wealth of. Apparently Bonnie just, knows a lot about people around here. How does he get this info?

Do people TELL him this or does he get dirt on people?

Mike continues to use bribes to try and get what he wants.

Leading to the conformation Mike in fact: Does NOT smoke...

Which leads to the question: Why was he carrying cigarettes?

There's two explanations:

Be bought them specifically to bribe Bonnie after he saw Bonnie smoking on night 1.

He had them before that for some reason.

Bonnie continues to show he has no regard for other's personal space or comfort in the way he takes the cigarette from Mike.

Is Bonnie this personal with everyone or....? He seemed uncomfortable with Freddy invading his personal space earlier but that just could be because of where Freddy was positioned.

Bonnie why do you incessantly keep patting Mike's head. I know his hair is a complete mess but that's not gonna fix it. XD

Jokes aside: Bonnie's alright with spilling more of Michael's past as long as Mike doesn't say it came from him.

Michael's dad who we now know as "William Afton" (Conforming Michael's last name is Afton) has lost three of his children due to incidents at Freddy's.

Bonnie details how they died, but Mike is particularly disturbed by ONE in particular...For some reason.

If yall have read FSR and it's over analysis ya might have remembered me mentioning suicidal shit is a THEME in my work?

Yeaaaaah our boy Mike is flirting with death and doesn't care if he flirts back.

Makes sense, he seems to know what kind of place this was as he wasn't phased by walking talking robots.

Bonnie's weirdly optimistic here asking "Why not fight for a future?"

Bonnie's the type of guy who fights for shit he wants. Clearly. Man is stubborn.

Mike brings up he has one thing left to accomplish and said thing will happen if he dies or not. As if his mere presence here will do SOMETHING.

Aparently Bonnie has been a source of joy despite their seemingly unpleasant interactions. Likely for whatever reason Mike recognizes him.

Bonnie seems to feel a little guilty due to his actions but Mike assures him being insulted by his "Favorite" animatronic is funny.

Bonnie seems to be rather happy with being someone's favorite robot. This is a high honor evidently.

Maybe a little embarrassed too, dragging Mike along until they reach the backstage room.

Lamenting Mike should at least ACT like he wants to live.

Mike just cozies up into his hug without a verbal response. He doesn't mention he'll try which is kind of sad.

For whatever reason Bonnie is a literal comfort character to Mike.

Talking about actual comic development for a sec: You can usually tell which segments I started or stopped at. "Chapters" if you will. But the size of them VARY. Again, indie comic creator privileges.

Either way Mike rambles his plans to befriend Michael as a "Next step" he seems to have a plan in action...for something we aren't privy too for whatever reason.

This comic doesn't like to explain ANYTHING to you. Which confused a LOT of people. You gotta pay attention which is smth people HATED doing specifically on Webtoon.

A LOT as I've gone over is paying attention to dialogue from the characters as THEY reveal things about other characters which open up the story.

Knowing GENREAL Fnaf lore HELPS but a lot of people couldn't FULL detach what they knew and ended up confusing themselves by not applying "This is an idea not a firm cannon in this comic" approach I was going for.

Example: Robots are possessed thing I mentioned earlier.

In CANNON games: The FNAF 1 gang are possessed by kids.

In Creations: They are still possessed but not all of em are by kids. You can tell through context clues which ones aren't for sure based on their habits: Such as Bonnie smoking and Freddy being a sex addict.

So the IDEA of robots being possessed was kept but isn't a 1 to 1 reflection of the games.

People did not get this and it infuriated me. :)

There's also a prevailing THEORY in the fandom Michael and Mike are the same character.

Often they wouldn't use CANNON Fnaf material AT ALL to try and figure out Creations weird story: They'd pull from fan theories and FANNON/other comics.

Why? I could not fucking tell you. It makes no damn sense to me.

This comic lays a LOT out if you just read it at it's indented pace and not scroll a million miles a minute.

It's a slow burn. We establish a LOT before we get to the balls to the wall insanity. Because we're building unease with everything we learn about everyone in this building and even Mike himself.

NOBODY IS TRUSTWORTHY, NOT EVEN MIKE as Mike is clearly an unreliable person for information as the audience at least for now, considering he is a manipulator. Maybe we can trust Bonnie. But even then, Mike trusting Bonnie might be a character flaw of his attachment to the character and NOT a rational decision as we've seen he gets weird about this character in particular vs the other people and robots.

Anyways, as Mike explains befriending Michael is a good idea, Bonnie knows friendship isn't this guy's real goal and Mike is like

"Well no shit"

Bonnie's apparently "No snitch" which explains why everyone tells him things I suppose.

Well well well.

Mike's investigating this twisted place. Makes sense.

Mike self proclaiming himself "brave and stupid" is funny to me. Bro fully admits what he's doing is stupid as fuck and I love that he's self aware. X'D

Someone is established/implied to be helping Mike. So I'm sure we'll see them eventually. For now whoever Mike's working with is a faceless entity of unknown status or power.

Is Mike with the police, a private investigator...Who is he still???

This doesn't truly answer who he is FULLY here...

Either way Bonnie doesn't pry. But this establishes Bonnie isn't all muscle and no brain. Since he picks apart Mike IS working with someone with little to no info.

So right off the bat:

This is a clear lie from Bonnie. We KNOW Micheal has disclosed info with Bonnie that Bonnie hasn't yet shared with Mike. From Bonnie's little rant on "Not owing Mike info" and knowing things Jeremy Fitzgerald, who is ALSO implied to be Michael 's close friend DOESN'T KNOW.

Why is lying? Well could be for many reasons?

He doesn't wanna drag Mike into this further due to his obvious struggles with his mental health.

He doesn't want Mike to use Michael.

Either way he concedes to getting Michael to meet with him. Because a character flaw Bonnie has:

He will sell you out for things he wants.

Again we are warned about the danger of the Circus Baby's rentals animatronics specifically Michael's "Friend".

Bonnie adding quotation could mean a lot of things, but it comes off as he doesn't consider this "Friend" to BE a friend. Which could tell us a lot about how Bonnie feels about this "Friend".

And we get to see Michael we know it's the next day from Bonnie's instructions on where to meet him.

And he looks...interesting...

If ya thought Mike's pale skin tone was odd this man is lilac with purple eyes. And a a goofy hair cut. It does get better I promise.

Mike...Ya seem a tad distracted buddy.

This is Michael! Introduced properly. His name tag indicates he's also called "Mike" on occasions.

He's tall (At least compared to Mike) and is apparently friendly.

Also fun fact:

The first draft of this comic was a shitpost comic that got lore when Michael came in. Michael's OG concepts got mostly abandoned but ONE aspect of him has stood the test of time.

Bonnie seemingly has introduced Mike to Michael as somebody who wants to be his friend...

Perhaps a little white lie on Bonnie's end.

Mike says another of my favorite lines "Yes, I'm very lonely" which just sends me whenever I see it because, fuck it's funny what do you want from me? X'D

And they swap numbers.

Smth some Fnaf fans got hung up on was the technology in the AU:

It's an AU. Fuck off. X'D

They have smart phones because I said so. The robots are technologically insane what makes you think a smart phone couldn't exist??? X'D

Micheal "Talks to robots" quite frequently. William's apparently built nearly everything in the building.

Neat.

Michael wants to follow in his footsteps. How sweet.

Mike is STILL asking questions helpful to his investigation if you notice, also intentionally wording himself in a way that makes Michael and his experiences sound familiar.

Mike is clearly being a fake bitch here which I find funny. Micheal obviously can't tell as he overall comes across as naïve and eager to make friends.

Makes sense since 3 of his siblings are dead and he almost exclusively talks to robots outside of Jeremy Fitzgerald it seems. Wonder if he had a good relationship with them before they died...

Mike is shown to be genuinely uncomfortable by the mention of "Fredbears" for some reason. They both share a fondness for the Bonnie line of animatronics specifically.

They decide to meet up later outside of work.

Oh my.

You can tell I liked drawing this animatronic because these pages have BUDGET.

This thing clearly isn't a fan of Mike.

Could this be the "Friend" Bonnie warned about?

Goodness me that's a big ol animatronic. It's stripped bare of any plating so it's just an endoskeleton comprised of twisted cables... It uses said cables to it's advantage so it's comfortable with it's body. It was presumably spying on the conversation by hanging on the celing this whole time...

Did Michael know it was here?

It only wears a mask with segmented face plates. One of it's eyes appears to be completely malfunctioned. It's clearly meant to be a clown. Very different style of robot from the ones we've seen so far: Being it's a HUMANOID one...

It also skips threats and goes right to direct violence towards our boy Mike.

Which he responds too with...

THAT.

A reaction that seems to wig the robot out.

Still offput Mike makes a goof first impression, to "Ennard". Michael's "friend".

Something from older concepts from this AU:

Mike was a "badass" (Not even my words lmao readers thought he was badass. X'D I have to agree Mike's awesome I love him.) dude could go through a lot with a blank expression.

Though here he smiles and looks kinda, dead inside. But what's new.

Despite it's power Ennard appears to be insanely childish with their speech. Calling mike a "Jerk".

Ennard repeats a similar sentiment to Bonnie when Mike responds with THE MOST BADLY INTURPRETED LINE IN THE ENTIRE COMIC SO FAR:

People genuinely did not understand this scene.

"Thanks I love you. Bye. Tell 'em I said hi"

If you didn't catch WHY Mike said that:

He's clearly disassociating right now because of how much REAL DANGER he is in. You can tell from the way he slowly just stops looking AT Ennard and kinda through him. Mike's like, not fully home.

That response, is the kind of thing you'd say to someone while ending a phone call as quickly as possible with a family member or something.

It's a response that doesn't match A SINGLE THING THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT and shows an ODD amount of familiarity with someone he literally doesn't know. And it clearly flusters Ennard because he has no idea what Mike is talking about because this whole response is very weird without any prompting.

It's like something he defaults to when he can't deal with who he's talking to and wants to get away.

And he does. Leaving through the door.

Mike seems satisfied with himself as he goes back to whatever he's doing.

Michael clearly is someone of importance if he has a freakin' giant body guard.

Mike's working night shift again. That is his job...And he sees a child on one of the cameras.

Weird.

He's probably sleepy from working a bit into dayshift.

Oh. Somebody's watching you buddy.

Could it be...the same golden bear that was a giant floating head in the hallway?

They match his steps as he walks down the hall staying just out of site of the viewer AND Mike.

Huh. So Mike knows ANOTHER person here...That kid is familiar.

He's still being shadowed.

Aw.

A little baby.

"You" is apparently just who this is.

Do you know their name Mike?

Chasing chasing

Oh hello Bonnie you're getting touchy with Freddy huh?

The stage seems to have a door on it...For some reason.

Well shit Freddy you didn't have to say it like that.

HUH.

So Bonnie can't see this kid. Weird.

Again Bonnie showing concern about Mike because he's cool.

Oh my.

Oh dear.

PICTURE LIMITS ON TUMBLR I'M SCARED TOO MIKE

Jokes aside. What a cliff hanger.

The art style looking wonky there...

Wonder why Mike ran into the break room...What's in the break room buddy?

#fnaf creations au #fnaf au #fnaf comic #fnaf fanart #fnaf art #fnaf 1 #five nights at freddy's #fnaf #jeremy fitzgerald #mike schmidt #bonnie #freddy fazbear

24 notes · View notes

obsidianstrawberrymilk · 2 years

Text

My issue with Korra isn’t that the characters were uninteresting tbh - it’s that they were the exact opposite of that. There was so much room for exploration. Avatar was such a good show (with flaws) because developed it’s characters fantastically (up until Aang’s S3 arc, which could have been handled a lot better imo) - they took the troupes it would’ve been easy to resort to - naggy mom friend, happy go lucky kid, badass girl, edgy guy - and showed the complexities behind them. Aang hides the loss of literally his entire life behind his cheerfulness, and it’s shown how he snaps, gets angry and runs away. Toph’s entire persona is carefully crafted to defy the helpless role she’s been cast in her whole life - she’s not just badass, but badass purposefully. Zuko has a desperation born of years of abuse behind his angst. Katara has survivor’s guilt and trauma, forced parentification, and rage behind her hot temper and mothering, and is allowed to explore those. Sokka is goofy, but he’s intelligent, cunning, and it’s shown how his goofy façade hides his insecurities over his own skills and masculinity.

Korra never gave it’s characters room to breathe. We never got the chance to see who they were past the love triangles, too-fast plots that were dropped after one season, and robots for some reason. Mako was introduced as the edgy love interest, and despite how interesting his backstory is and all the potential behind it (especially with his parallels to Katara - he has so many!!), that’s who he stayed. Bolin, same as the goofy comic relief. Asami, she just... has no real personality. She’s... strong willed. Sometimes she’s angry, I guess. There’s never anything even to hold onto with her - her feelings over her mother’s death are never really explored, nor are her relationships with really anyone sans her romantic bonds with Korra and Mako. Her scenes with her father in S4 showed hints to some potential, but it wasn’t enough to make me invested in a character I had spent three seasons up till now looking at as a blank slate - the Token Badass Nonbender, and that’s that. Jinora’s one of the more interesting characters on the show, but there was a lot more room to explore her insecurities surrounding if she can live up to her grandfather’s legacy, her spirit abilities, and Kai and their relationship especially.

Really, it’s just... Mako’s parents were killed in front of him when he was eight, and then he was forced to basically raise Bolin without a home. Bolin had no stability in his life for most of it, and his only real trusted figure was his two years older brother. Korra is an avatar who was never given a chance to develop any identity outside of that, seeing the world, one carved from the ashes of imperialism and genocide, for the first time. Asami has a father who manipulates her and works with terrorists, but unlike Ozai with Zuko and Azula, genuinely loves her. Even within just these four there are such interesting ways you could go. But Korra was really the only one allowed to develop at all, and even then, for some reason she has to be brutally tortured to... ‘humble’ her? Like, I did like that arc, but there’s also some... things going on there.

Maybe there could have been an episode like the Southern Raiders but for Mako, where he and idk Asami? anyone really, hunt down the firebender who killed his parents, and he’s forced to confront the source of his trauma that started it all. Maybe we could have a storyline about the Triple Threats, Mako and Bolin’s time with them, how bad their circumstances were and some of the things they were forced to do. Maybe something like The Beach but for Asami, letting her crack and break about her complex feelings towards her father. We could have seen more of Mako being an older brother to Kai, Kai’s development from selfish and flightly to kinder and more grounded with Jinora. Maybe we could have been shown more of Kai’s backstory - his parents? Idk.

Korra, of course, would still need to be the focus. Maybe something like Nightmares and Daydreams but darker, like, towards the end of every season to explore how the pressure and trauma from being the avatar is negatively affecting her. Idk.

Just... let the characters develop. Breathe. Be people and not just caricatures or placeholders, yk? This goes for Jinora, Ikki and Meelo, Kai, the Krew, the adults, everyone - Korra had four seasons. Maybe not time for everyone, but at least for more than they gave. At least time for the main four.

#legend of korra #avatar #korra #mako #asami sato #bolin #jinora #kai #character development #or lack of it #just let them be people yk??#let them have trauma #let them have depth #let them grow beyond love interests of comic reliefs #not to mention all the political and thematic exploration korra moved to fast to cover but whatever ig #legend of korra critical #lok #lok critical

153 notes · View notes

moonymanoush · 1 year

Text

Love, Death + Robots: Jibaro Analysis

The synopsis of the episode (16-17 mins long) revolves around a siren and a deaf soldier. In the very beginning we are introduced to a group of conquistadors. (Spanish colonialists, this is where my belief that the theme is about colonialism and greed instead of just toxic relationships nowadays. I’ve seen people say it’s about toxic relationships and they’re free to hold their own beliefs, but I kindly disagree.) Note at this point that the Siren is watching from the lake, but not attacking anyone. As the conquistadors approach the lake, the deaf Conquistador Jibaro sees a golden scale in the lake. Fascinated he pulls it out of the lake, marveling at the scale. Meanwhile, the other conquistadors have broken away and are being blessed by the Catholic Church. While this can be left up to interpretation, it appears the Catholic Church have hired the conquistadors to rid the lake of the Siren and likely steal the Siren's gold (as the Catholic Church has a rich history of stealing valuable items lmao literally look at all the museums in Britain, 99.9% of artifacts are stolen). Whether the Siren has been indiscriminately attacking people or simply defending herself and the lake, the conquistadors are sent on a death mission. (special note: I don’t want to write the entire summary on my own because it’s around 1:30 a.m. and this isn’t a school paper where I have to cite my sources so I copy pasted info about the episode and then wrote my thoughts) Moving on, upon removing the gold scale, the Siren appears out of hiding, and begins her magical and fatal screaming. The Siren, covered in the gold of her attackers and likely her own prey, uses her bejeweled body to her advantage, dancing in a seductive and disarming manner. The Siren appears to collect the gold of those that she has killed, either out of shame for her own appearance, loneliness, greed, or a mixture of all three. The conquistadors AND the catholic priests and nuns become filled with a crazed lust, even attacking and killing each other in order to reach the siren, driven mad by their own greed and selfishness. The deaf Jibaro, unable to hear the Siren's scream, watches in confusion and horror as the other conquistadors are dragged to their deaths. However, Jibaro seems less concerned with the deaths of the conquistadors and catholic nuns and priests, and instead cannot keep his eyes off the siren before eventually attempting to flee.

The Siren, now realizing that the Jibaro cannot be lured by her screams, becomes fascinated- infatuated even. The Siren has only encountered those filled with greed that she can easily lure to death. Having never encountered a person immune to her screams, she appears to believe Jibaro is different than the other conquistadors. She stalks Jibaro, observing him in his sleep, even smelling him, and ultimately laying down beside him in a human-like act. When the deaf Jibaro wakes up, he is startled by the Siren, but does not appear scared- grabbing her in an attempt to stop her from fleeing from him. When he grabs her several gold scales become embedded in Jibaro's palm. Realizing that the gold scale he picked up earlier in the lake in fact belongs to the Siren and the value of her bejeweled body, Jibaro becomes greedy, and pursues the fleeing Siren.

The Siren, realizing that he is not afraid, attempts to seduce him in the waterfalls and communicate her infatuation. As she is dancing against Jibaro, he quietly pulls a gold scale from her stomach, causing her to bleed and foreshadowing the following events. Distracted by her pursuit of Jibaro, the Siren tries kissing Jibaro, accidentally hurting him in the process with her bejeweled tongue and lips. Jibaro, now fully aware that sex is out of the question prepares to strike; The Siren realizes she has drawn blood, but still fascinated tries to kiss him harder despite the pain it causes Jibaro- it should be noted that when Jibaro pulls away there is blood but seemingly no damage to his tongue or lips, likely due to the Siren's healing properties. Using her intense attempts at seduction to his advantage, Jibaro pushes her back, kissing her a few times softly on the face as a further distraction ploy and then knocking her unconscious.

While the Siren is unconscious, Jibaro violently rips all the gold scaling and jewels from her body, ignoring that its harming the Siren and causing her to bleed out, a nod to the pillaging and raping done by Spanish conquistadors. Just as a rape violates and strips a woman of her self worth (this isn’t to say that a woman has no worth if she’s raped, just that the act itself is extremely brutal both physically and mentally) Jibaro stripped the Siren of her self worth..literally. Once satisified with his spoils, Jibaro pushes the Siren down the waterfall as if she means nothing, no longer of use to Jibaro now that he has gained his gold. The Siren's body drifts back into her lake, and her desecrated flesh bleeds into the lake, causing the lake to become imbued with magical healing properties. Jibaro, still consumed in his greed and trying to haul the gold back to his campsite which he can now claim entirely to himself and not share with the other dead conquistadors, fails to realize that he has backtracked himself to the Siren's lake. He drinks the bloodied water, and finds himself able to suddenly hear, which causes Jibaro to panic and bring himself even closer to the lake.

As Jibaro realizes that the noises are actually sounds that he is hearing, which is shown by him slapping his hand into a puddle of water and listening, screaming, and then ultimately connecting the sound of chirping to birds overhead, the Siren, now regaining consciousness, comes out of the lake and upon looking down realizes that in her naivety, she was violated, stripped down to essentially nothing and robbed of her ornamentation without consent. Realizing that Jibaro is just as greedy as the other conquistadors, and that she has allowed herself to be fooled in her infatuation, the Siren begins screaming in shame, pain, rage, and humiliation. Jibaro, now able to hear, cannot resist the Siren's screams any longer, and is ultimately drowned by the Siren. The Siren was a monster, killing anyone who may attack her or the lake, but Jibaro was greedy, consumed by his own need for financial gain. The siren may have been born a monster, but is largely just following her own nature, defending her own jewels and lake; while the conquistador who was not born a monster became a monster by his own greed. Even then however, the Siren is not without fault, inflicting her own pain on Jibaro with little thought- just as one would see in a toxic relationship.

The siren while initially implied to be the predator, is shown in reality to be the prey- doomed to never receive love or affection and be pursued to the death by those filled with greed, but abusive and harmful herself by her own nature. In the end, Jibaro's greed was his own downfall, but both parties suffered the consequences of the toxic relationship and each other's abuses to each other, just as the forced colonization of the central, south, and latin american communities. The Siren, though stripped and ashamed, gets the last laugh, using Jibaro's own shortcomings to bring him to his demise.

Another note: I don’t know if the soldier’s name is actually Jibaro, the name itself is a Puerto Rican word referring to traditional self sustaining farmers who worked with the land (funny because the soldier is so greedy). Regardless, I’ve seen some people say the soldier is Jibaro while others say it’s the siren. I have no idea who is right so I just wanted to include that here.

I also saw another analysis that the siren is the embodiment of greed itself. Here is the theory verbatim from another person:

“ It is in its nature to lure things to it. It doesn't kill. They kill themselves reaching for it. But it cannot help but lure things to it. That is its nature. It longs for someone to reach for it but not out of greed. The Jibaro is innocent at the start. His deafness is his innocence in this case. It pursues him because it cannot help but to lure. It feels he is one that can reach for it but not out of greed. He grows greedy and strips it of its gold and throws it to bleed out in the river. The river is filled with red. This is his guilt. He cannot out run his guilt. He drinks from his guilt. In imbibing his guilt... He loses his innocence. He gains the ability to hear.

The Siren is heart broken that he has lost his innocence. She cannot go against her nature. And he cannot go against his.”

I think this theory might be valid, especially since she saved the soldier’s horses and didn’t kill any of them since they are innocent creatures. I don’t know why this episode hit me so hard but as a woman and as an immigrant I could relate to the siren and I felt her pain when Jibaro betrayed her and tossed her aside like she was nothing. Overall, I just really enjoyed this episode and I sometimes go a bit manic and overanalyze shit so thanks for bearing with me. Goodnight!

#jibaro #love death and robots #my analysis #tv shows

35 notes · View notes

cornedbread · 9 months

Note

Hey so what is your favorited Bbieal au ship

:))

Apologies for late reply 🙏

TL;DR my favourite ships are Shybi, Billfriend, Joedina, Olivialex and Dollex.

Shybi 😮🧤 (Shy John x Billy)

Best friends to lovers trope + “Light in the dark” trope — very cliche but I adore it very much. I think that Billy always tries to portray himself as “well-made” to the public, but behind closed doors he’s literally everything except “well-made.” He’s emotional (Non-Emotional Creature being used to “clean up trash”); he doesn’t know how to deal with his emotions adequately (Vending machine of Beer, need I say more?); he’s tired (shoutout to Billy’s three jobs, mad respect to single-parent fatherhood 💪); he’s arrogant sometimes (This isn’t inspired by canon, I think Billy would have an ego from being always told he’s “well-made”); he’s haunted by things that aren’t there (The Great War, circa 1985, from CBA).

But despite all of this, there’s always one guy who has his back. And it’s his best friend, Shy John (⌒▽⌒) Why do I think that? Well, in the mods the only character to consistently appear is Shy John. Wherever Billy is, Shy John is there too. And of course Billy is very greatful for Shy John’s care. So much that he makes prioritises Shy John’s well-being over his (Funfact: Shy John’s sprite is the only one that is “undamaged” in “11 Years Later”). But not in an obssesive way, more of a “As long as he’s okay, then everything is okay” — self-destruction is not well-made!

Billfriend 🧤⏰ (Billy x Girlfriend/Old Friend)

So much of this is headcanon/personal interpretation because Girlfriend & Old Friend literally have 0 personality in the source material 😭

I think their relationship is tragic, Billy loved his old “friend” so much he built a robot to subsitute her. But the robot is a robot, therefore she can’t replicate Old Friend perfectly. I also find it poetic that Billy’s Girlfriend is only known as “Billy’s Girlfriend,” a title is the only thing she can replicate. She can never replicate his old friend… Someone that shared memories, struggles and celebrations with him…

This is also equally tragic from Old Friend’s perspective. She’s perceived as a dead soul, when in actuality she’s very much alive but trapped in The Office™ like she’s “Kaiba getting banished to the shadow realm.” If we’re to assume this is the same Office™ that FileName2 is trapped in, then Old Friend can still see Billy. But only as a spectator. She can’t interact with him; only watch his life progress with others, as her’s is trapped in purgatory alone.

Joedina 🍾🥔 (Joe x Baldina)

They’re both losers, therefore they should kiss. And then maybe along the way, they’ll help eachother become not losers. Mutual improvement!

Olivialex 🫒🌷(Olivia x Fake Alex)

It’s not the killing that they’re infatuated with. Olivia wants to genuinely hunt down and kill Alex for justice; Alex wants to hunt down Olivia as a way to mess with her and keep her for himself. Olivia is playing hero, while Alex is acting like a wannabe-yandere. Though they want to kill eachother, they just can’t… Olivia sees Alex as a fascinating discovery, something to be studied and cultivated; Alex sees Olivia as a desireable asset for doing work and keeping him company. They say they don’t want to be friends, but perhaps in a timeline where they didn’t want to kill eachother so bad, they could be co-workers.

They hate eachother so much it wraps back around to infatuation. They don’t love eachother, they’re just so obsessed with killing the other that they end up dedicating their whole lives to it. But once they actually get to killing or losing the other person, suddenly it feels wrong. Because after death, what do you do now?

Dollex 📓🌷(Dolly x Real Alex)

Mostly headcanon for Real Alex because he has 0 personality in source material ⚰️

From a bus stop to a weird house, Dolly and Alex are good friends who’ve gone through alot. When I say “gone through alot,” I mean Alex’s depression. Alex is troubled by many things: his work, the value of his life, his aspirations and most strangely… His house. To qoute Dolly from the MrDrNose discord server, “It was a weird and old apartment.” Maybe it’s the scratches on the walls; or the empty plates with steak juice despite Alex saying he’s not fond of eating meat; or the copious amount of broken broomsticks. Either way… Dolly thinks it’s best to ignore it. The only demons she knows about are Alex’s inner demons that make him feel miserable. And those are the only demons she’s willing to deal with. It’s not her job to care for him, it’s her choice. She loves Alex and wants to see him get better, Alex is in denial that someone can be so caring and kind towards him. But over time he learns to accept Dolly and her kindness into his life. And when he improves he’ll remember all the times Dolly helped him, so he’ll surely help Dolly when she’s in her darkest moments too! Snap out of this self-loathing and self-pity, finally do something with his life and help another life! So that both lives can live happily.

At least, that’s how it was supposed to go. If it wasn’t for the demon (literal) in the house and the demons (figuratively) in the mind…

10 notes · View notes

queer-ragnelle · 2 years

Text

An Arthurian adaptation need not resemble its source when the creator cares about thoughtful storytelling and themes. This transcends medium and genre. I’m not a snob about “accuracy” so much as a stickler for adherence to the respect of one’s audience through sustained narrative quality.

Examples forthcoming.

Camelot 3000 comic is set in the far future. Everyone is reincarnated. Tristan is reborn as a woman, and has to overcome dysphoria and questioning of sexuality in order to properly embrace their new life with Isolde, another woman. Kay explains that he was unruly all those years ago to deflect criticism off of Arthur and direct it at himself, an attempt to subtly aid his brother in maintaining a positive public image. Guinevere is a military commander whose role in the love triangle remains intact aside from the ending. The fellowship of the Round Table are battling aliens while grappling with their new identities and personal journeys. It concludes after Arthur dies, and Guinevere reveals to Lancelot she is pregnant, but doesn’t know by who. He says he will love the baby regardless. So they escape their doomed fate of the medieval source.

Monty Python and The Holy Grail movie (and musical) takes one of Arthurian Legend’s darkest and most tragic stories and retells it as a comedy. Every trope is subverted to an extreme. King Arthur’s supremacy and the conventions of his story are constantly challenged. Serfs question the Divine Right of Kings and “didn’t vote for” Arthur. The Black Knight denies his inevitable defeat, suffering “but a flesh wound,” until he’s nothing more than a torso and a head. French sentries refuse Arthur’s appeals for entry and mock him from the battlement. Meanwhile Galahad endures the Castle of Maidens only through the help of a queer-coded Lancelot (which becomes explicit in the musical when he marries a man). Not only a complete reversal of their medieval roles, but conflict from Guinevere and Elaine is entirely absent (except in the musical which includes a character named Sir Galahad’s Mom). The group then faces the Bridge of Death. Lancelot contrasts his medieval counterpart yet again by answering a simple question and succeeding, OC Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot fails an absurdly challenging one, followed by Galahad’s failure of another easy one. It ends with Arthur and Bedevere searching for Lancelot, and ultimately results in their arrest by the police.

High Noon Over Camelot is a folk album that retells the story as a dieselpunk western. The three Pendragons—sheriff Arthur, quick-draw Guinevere, and sharpshooter Lancelot—run Camelot as a polyamorous throuple. The love triangle conflict is turned on it’s head which opens the story up for exploration of side characters and their niches. Arthur’s daughter Morgause is not killed by the Ghouls (Saxons) as he thought but instead raised by them, eventually transitioning to Mordred. The Hanged Man, a robot named Merlin, gives three prophecies: Arthur’s son is alive, Gawain’s hatred of the Ghouls is unjust, and Galahad the preacher should sit in the Siege Perilous. Only Galahad heeds the prophecy. Driven mad by the power of the Siege Perilous, he has visions of the space station’s imminent danger, which can only be helped by restarting the GRAIL system on board. So the Pendragons depart with the Grail Knights, leaving behind Mordred and Gawain in charge of Camelot. Mordred tries and fails to pass a peace treaty between Ghouls and Camelot when a fight breaks out and Gawain goes berserk. A hopeless Mordred ends up abandoning his convictions and heads for the space station. He corners the Pendragons as they reach their goal, the Grail Knights having fallen to get them this far. Mordred kills Lancelot and Guinevere, wounds Arthur, then ejects him into space inside a life-pod. Lastly he crashes the station, killing everyone on board and himself.

The Knights of Breton Court is a trilogy by Maurice Broaddus that retells King Arthur’s story in a modern inner city American setting. Street hustler King attempts to reconcile a group of drug dealers, gangbangers, and well-meaning but lost street kids into a uniform front. All kinds of issues arise to comprise his vision, sometimes borne of character flaws within his crew and sometimes otherworldly forces. In some ways, this series could’ve stood to divert even further from the medieval literature that inspired it, as it suffers from the same pitfalls causing modern readers to drop antiquated literature. The meandering plot, inconsistent pacing, and multitude of characters can read nonsensically to someone unaccustomed to the style. The central thread, King [Arthur] and his goal, is sometimes lost. In trusting Broaddus, I think this criticism relates not to his ability as a writer, but can be traced and attributed Le Morte d’Arthur. Regardless, that’s neither here nor there. The point is that The Knights of Breton Court’s shortcomings are unrelated to its divergence from medieval sources. Although it’s not my favorite, it illustrates beautifully how far a novel can stray while keeping itself firmly under the retelling umbrella. The Indianapolis setting and reimagined personas for the knights is it’s greatest strength, but would be fundamentally broken if Broaddus had stripped it of its original essence. They are intrinsically linked. Also Kay is an unfriendly Rottweiler.

These examples offer thought provoking changes while utilizing the framework of existing characters and their established dynamics/traits to subvert or deepen the meaning behind them. For all the differences between the adaptations and their shared source material, it works, because the creators committed to the bit. This isn’t to say all retellings toe that line effectively.

Cursed is a novel and Netflix series written by Tom Wheeler, illustrated by Frank Miller, and produced by them both. Considering the amount of involvement these two had on both the book and series, it’s safe to assume their creative control was absolute, and each of these mediums fully realized their vision for the story. However, regarding Miller and Wheeler as storytellers with a vision implies they are creatives. It assumes a passion for the project, some semblance of personal expression through art, which is unsubstantiated by the artificial depth of significance displayed in Cursed. The series was green lit before the book even published, so that should give you an indication of the true motivations behind this retelling. It wasn’t made for the love of the source material realized through an artist’s unique perspective, but quickly drawn up and produced to capitalize on the joint products as much as possible.

I will spare everyone a long-winded review of this wretched book and show. They fulfill none of the promises made in the back cover blurb and series description. It’s an insult to the audience’s intelligence. But the point is, the Arthurian elements are not integral to the story, but rather recognizable set pieces and props artificially painted on like a brittle veneer. They exist solely to capitalize on what Miller and Wheeler hoped was an existing audience without the need to develop worthwhile story and attract an audience on their own merits. What they’ve done feels not like inspiration or transmutation, but appropriation of something they neither respect nor care to understand. That is the stipulation, for me, to garner enjoyment from a retelling, regardless of how far it strays from the sources it claims aspects from. An artist must comprehend their material, their muse, their emotional connection to the piece in order to properly manipulate and utilize it. Miller and Wheeler are not artists and their lake is a puddle.

#Arthurian legend #Arthuriana #literary criticism #literary critique #idk what else to tag this as I am ranting #I am not a proper critic I don’t even write goodreads reviews #I just hate how many people in writing groups dismiss arthuriana out of hand bc the image has been tainted #making anything worthwhile takes work and I wish nepotism in publishing and Hollywood didn’t constantly muck it up #somehow arthurian retellings as a genre is both over saturated and in dire need of a rennaissance #it would seem the public opinion at least in writing groups online is poor #and this is entirely the fault of capitalism #Disney remakes their own films and unpublished writers with money get movie deals for weaksauce stories #if you don’t understand that ‘arthuriana’ is not what you’re writing about you need to take a step back #consider arthuriana the genre as well as the subject #but that is not enough to carry a narrative what are you saying with your work what is the theme what are we exploring #I don’t relate to arthurian characters bc I recognize their names I relate bc of the human condition and struggles even when they shift #from story to story it’s okay if it’s new just COMMIT have some authenticity #nobody wants to show their ass when writing anymore it’s pathetic #put your passions into your work or fuck off #Monty Python set out to highlight the joy of comedy with King Arthur and some coconuts and we loved it #Broaddus wrote about his very personal experiences where he grew up discussed race and wealth disparity thru King Arthur as a gang leader #I’m sold on that bc they cared about making it #anyway I am done lol

16 notes · View notes

ask-lock-shock-and-barrel · 2 years

Note

What was your inspiration when creating your version of LSB in reboot mode? *I LOVE your take on them, please keep it up! You're an amazing artist :)*

((Ahh gosh thank you! I'm so glad that my takes on the trio have been so well recieved. I know 'modernizing' nostalgia can sometimes come with a mixed response, but so far nobody has send flaming lawn darts to my house for giving Lock a smartphone, so I call that a success.

My inspiration came from a LOT of sources. When it came to a 'reboot' mode, I took a look at what things I liked from modern reboots of older cartoons. For example, Ducktales 2017 and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. One thing about both of those properties was their use of a group cast where the 'main' characters were created in the past as a unit. And as a unit, they are fun and engaging, but you can only go so long before it's just four turtles going "haha pizza, cowabunga" or three ducks with different colored hats, and you kinda want to see them become characters who can work just as good as individual people as they do in a group. And both those reboots did that in an amazing way! And the humor tends to feel a little 'smarter', or doesn't treat the audience like they're dumb, and doesn't have to rely super heavily on pop culture references (but in all fairness, I think those can be funny when it comes to puns, like Tick Tock or Eye Phone), or feel super dated.

For Lock Shock and Barrel, I kind of wanted to flesh them out into characters who act like kids, and not constantly obsessed with resurrecting Oogie Boogie or being clones of each other. They're still chaotic and enjoy causing trouble and being a pain in the ass for Jack, but it's because they like to have fun in the context of their world, where death and maiming are way more socially accepted than in our world. They're not amoral brainless robots set out to destroy that world either, they have their own moral codes, flawed and still developing, but they've got 'em. And kids can be bratty! But even bratty kids have interests, quirks, likes, dislikes, etc, and they can grow out of that brattiness over time. I know some may think that my characterization of the three puts them in a bit too much of a 'good' light, but I don't really see them as set 'heroes' or 'villains' on this blog, moreso little rotten kids who are going through their everyday lives, and having their own sets of challenges to face.

Now onto their personalities individually, Lock was heavily inspired by Dewey Duck from the reboot of Ducktales, down to me headcanoning his voice actor for Lock's voice. They both are hyperactive, Gen-Z adjacent, into 'theatrics' and trends, and being the entertainer. But Lock's not as set on being 'heroic' as Dewey is, and he's not as morally adjusted either. He loves to be the center of attention, and it comes off as irritating arrogance a lot, and he's something of a hypocrite. He has poor self-esteem which he masks by inflating his ego whenever possible, and he's a big crybaby. He likes to be leader because he wants the attention and clout, but deep down, he just wants the security of knowing he won't be alone, and that his friends will be there for him whenever he needs them.

Shock had a lot of different inspirations. I drew a lot of ideas from characters like Lisa Simpson, known for her intelligence and social anxiety, Lena from Ducktales, who is often dry and sarcastic but warmhearted and caring, and Horse from Centaurworld, who's hardened and brash from the war-torn world she's from and has to learn to open herself up to others. There's a few others I drew inspiration from, but those were probably the big three. Shock may not have come from a 'war-torn world' per se but she's seen and experienced enough things in life to give her a deeper maturity and wisdom than the other two. She discovered her thirst for mischief and chaos when she met Lock and Barrel, and thrives on getting to use her intellect and cleverness to cause trouble, and make her forget about her worries. She's still struggling to open up to other people, and allow herself to be vulnerable, as she wants to be the strong one for her found family, and fears she won't be able to do that if she lets her guard down.

Barrel has a lot of inspirations too. I think a big one happened to be myself, as I tend to be a very smiley and cheerful person who loves their friends! I also took a look at characters like Steven Universe and King from the Owl House, who are sweet and childlike characters who develop a deeper maturity over time, and have something of troubled beginnings, but those beginnings do not stop them from being happy with life and their friends and family. Barrel, as I've characterized, had quite a rough beginning, losing their family and home very early in life, and being alone for a period of time before meeting Lock, their true big brother, and best friend. They've found more than enough things in life to make them happy, and so long as they have their family, they are happy with whatever happens. They just wish that Lock and Shock would truly see them for how smart they really are, and not see them as just the baby of the three. And over time, it has caused them to be a bit more blunt and sassy, but not in a mean way. But at the same time, Barrel is reluctant to stray too far from the other two, and as a result, they get roped into a lot of nasty pranks and schemes the other two pull that they almost would never do on their own. They're the most empathetic and moral of the three, and most adults think that when they're by themselves, they're a genuine sweetheart.

Sorry this is a lot of rambling, and honestly I could write a whole essay about the trio and how I characterized them, but that would take me DAYS. So enjoy this salad of words.))

#tnbc #the nightmare before christmas #lock shock and barrel #answered qs #tnbc lock #tnbc barrel #tnbc shock #ooc #blog lore

21 notes · View notes

goldemas1244 · 1 year

Text

Kaloshta (Father) - A Mobile Legends Fanfic

Necessary content warnings:

Contains mentions and themes of:

(Blood, injury, death, gore, passing out, Asian parenting / tough love (which may include themes similar to but may or may not be: physical abuse, mental abuse, emotional abuse, degradation, abandonment, trauma, yelling, not knowing whether the question is literal or rhetorical, hurting for the sake of love and survivability, etc.), depression, graphic depictions of inner monologues, loss of self-worth, freezing to death, bleeding to death, character death in general, resurrection, and anything you'd expect from a 50/50 stereotypical Asian household)

Bonus note: NOT ALL OF OUR FAMILIES TREAT OUR KIDS THIS WAY. MINE DOES THOUGH. My dad has yet to rip out my antennae but that's because I don't have any-. He doesn't like my sitting position and my incompetence though.

Necessary writer's note:

{FINALLY we've gotten the tags out of the way.

So to clarify this was made on a whim. I obviously do not condone any of the content in this and urge you to raise your offspring like you mean it. This is but a reflection of the (50/50 stereotypical) Asian household. Not all of us treat our kids this way. Not all of us believe that tough love is required for better young. But hey, it's culture.

But it's mostly a reflection of my life so far. Hey, you make a few mistakes and suddenly you're very numb in the cheek and probably concussed. And you get very weird kinks. Most of the stuff in this is just stuff I've actually experienced. And of course I turn it into gut-wrenching angst.

Note: I am fine. I am alright. I am not hurt (yet). My father DOES scare me still but I blame it on the telly. He watches too much Netflix. He humours me on my monster/alienfucking expeditions. He shows me Transformers clips because he knows I find robot aliens hot as fuck.

Note 2: Understandably, this is a very sensitive topic to write about. Forgive me if you feel offended or uncomfortable reading this. Just know that I do not write for content, rather I write to satiate my inner desire to write. And sometimes that means refractions.

Having said that, enjoy the read!}

%%%

Blood. Short for haemolymph actually. In a blizzard and the icy snow.

He had just barely made it out alive. He had run away, clinging onto the last few breaths he had. So far he could hope nothing was chasing him. If there was, it would catch him soon.

His claws plunged through deep snow and he felt himself falling. Yet he stood back up, and reached out to thin air, desperately trying to pull himself further away. Further away from where, he couldn't say. All that remained of his thoughts had slipped away. Only instinct remained.

And it told him to keep going.

Footfalls scarred through the blizzard as the burning ache in his body began to throb. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't remember how to. All he could do was escape.

Only but a few minutes ago, he was in his element. A battle was raging, his nightmaric spawns were decimating, and his aim was steady. Before him were two lovers, and they were both primed to strike.

He had taken them down, but not with minor losses.

Soon there was nothing left on the battlefield save the husks of two colliding armies. Brave souls giving up their lives for a cause. One to protect, one to survive.

And the three of them were still left. Zhask, Aurora, and Tobias.

Tobias was on his knees. Zhask had done enough to him. His last breaths were well-spent, but not to Zhask. No, to Aurora.

He'd told her they'd attack together. He burst through whatever remained of the swarm Zhask could summon. He made sure Aurora could reach the source-

And the pain....

The sharp shooting pain coursed through his chest into his brain. It felt as if all his blood had been frozen, yet it drained from him in thick amounts, warmer than ever.

He took a few steps back. Aurora had pierced him in a critical spot with her own arm, frozen into the shape of a sword. It had severed itself from her body, leaving a gaping wound where it once was and a bloodied trail leading back to its socket. Jagged spikes of ice ripped through the soft flesh inside of him, tearing him apart from within.

It was cold, far too cold.

As the blizzard swooped all around them, he took one last glance at them. Tobias was dead. Aurora was in agony, but still alive. And Zhask himself was losing his energy all too fast. His swarm was rapidly dying out and the weather was against him.

So he went against the weather.

Zhask ran away. As he always did. As he never should have done.

And now here he was, miles away from any civilization, acres away from salvation, and half buried in snow and ice.

His legs shook. The pain was unbearable.

He reached for the frozen sword and arm of Aurora. No blood leaked from the severed limb now, rather it had become one with the ice. He grasped it tightly with his free hand, and with a hiss, pulled it sharply and threw it aside to be consumed by the storm.

Rookie mistake.

If it was unbearable then, then it was deathly now. Haemolymph flowed out in bursts from the open gash, half-frozen. The jagged edges of the sword had sliced through tender muscle tissue on its way out, more than it initially had prior. His frozen claws clutched at the wound and he chittered in utter agony, doubling over as they instinctively curled around it as one does to their chest during a heart attack.

He couldn't let go. Despite all his conscious thoughts and efforts he just couldn't let go. All his muscles were telling him to stop the bleeding no matter how.

But no matter how hard his instincts betrayed him, he couldn't cover the thick shell good enough. His magic was useless. He was weak and so was it. Domorey was exhausted herself. There was no way to heal.

He couldn't stop it. He couldn't stop the numbing pain. He couldn't stop the thick blood pouring out in waves. He couldn't stop the racing thoughts in his mind.

He couldn't.

He just couldn't.

His muscles tensed and he fell to his knees. Domorey fell with as he used her to brace himself. His eyes watered dryly as the pain only doubled from the momentum. He wanted to vomit, but all that came out was more blood.

The blizzard stung him where he hadn't been stung before and he lowered his head in defeat. So this is how Zhask dies for the upteenth time. Alone, in a temperature he never could fathom, with a wound he couldn't close. With no magic, buried in the cold embrace of despair.

He wasn't ready to accept that. Not his soul. Not with what's coming for him. But his body begged to differ.

"Sh-... Shaloshta...."

With one last attempt to stand and walk onwards, Zhask fell back onto the cold hard snow. His ears rang. His vision began to blur, his hands were losing their grip. He couldn't breathe anymore. He couldn't even muster enough energy to keep his heart pumping. And within a moment, all was black.

%%%

He awoke to white noise and darkness. He could see himself clearly however, clean yet scarred fresh. Domorey was gone. Balling his hands into fists he began to push himself up.

There was still some pain but it was numbed by some otherworldly force. He brought his hand to where the stab wound was and found out that it had somewhat healed.

Here in the void. Again.

"Disappointing!"

His eyes widened and his head jerked up violently. He'd know that voice from anywhere.

"Ka... Kaloshta?" he silently whimpered, yet much to his dismay he'd forgotten how acute his father's hearing was compared to his.

Heavy steps sounded themselves and Zhask desperately tried to crawl backwards, inching away, retreating as best as he could. But to no avail. His back hit an invisible wall violently and his antennae raised themselves up to protest.

"I told you not to use those with me."

Zhask screamed as he felt all four of them being pushed violently upwards against the wall. It felt as if they were going to break off from him at any moment, much so with the force of gravity pulling his body downwards. He struggled against the chokehold, gasping, desperate to escape the grasp but it raised him up higher, earning him a grinding noise as they were pushed harder against the wall like nails on a chalkboard.

It wasn't long before his eyes could finally focus on his own flesh and blood, yet only stared forwards as the familiar figure came into view.

"Zhask!"

A green husk hunched over him, eyes glowing brightly in the faux blackness of their surroundings. They burned into the air like sulphur. A ferocity bloomed in them like none other.

"You dare disobey your Kaloshta?"

A large clawed hand, larger than Zhask's own face, cupped his chin and forced his head violently upwards. Zhask could see his antennae clearly now, held up by his father's other hand. The horns on his head scraped against the wall. One of them even broke off at the tip.

To a vertebrate, it would've snapped their neck. But for Zhask, this was a familiar feeling.

It felt like home, it felt like family, it felt... painful.

"Your antennae show off too much emotion," his father growled. "It's one of the things I hate about you." He lifted his claws off of his son's chin and grabbed his shoulder. "It shows how afraid you are."

Held in place by some mental force, Zhask couldn't move his head nor his arms and legs which dangled like a stringless puppet. All he could do was freeze himself. Take it all in like how he used to. Not that he was used to it as much as the occasional slap, but he was used to it. Every time he'd failed practice he'd get himself hurt. His fault of course. As always.

He missed his father. He loved him, he genuinely did. But this? He didn't miss this. Not for his entire life.

"Please, Kaloshta I'm sorry!" he begged as his voice cracked with pain and his body curled up into itself despite the... gravity of the situation. "I'm sorry! I won't use them ever again just please Kaloshta let me go!"

"You disgust me. How dare you talk back to me!" With one harsh pull, his father tore shell from membrane, muscle from vessel. Zhask's eyes widened and he could only gasp as he was thrown to the ground now with nothing on his back.

He felt so ashamed of himself, didn't he? Oh yes, the price for disobedience and stupidity. You lose what you love. And what Zhask loved was his antennae. It made him comfortable, it helped him regulate his body temperature, it helped him smell, it helped him sense, it helped him to express his emotions, and it helped out with so many more things. Not to mention his father too. Oh, but now-

Now they're gone. Replaced only by a stuffy feeling and his haemolymph flowing out of his back. At least he couldn't smell the blood now.

"Always wanted to do that," mumbled his father as Zhask desperately tried to stifle his tears and stand up again. "But your mother, she coddled you. I'd always believed she was too soft, but I couldn't do a thing about it." His steps began again, and Zhask could hear a clinking sound as those vital parts of his body were oh so carelessly thrown away.

His father loves him. He really does. Zhask remembers how he used to take him outside and play with him when he was younger. How he'd begrudgingly read him bedtime stories. How he'd rarely but truly said sorry, how he'd always hugged him, how he'd never once forgotten how much he loved his son.

But when DID that all change, really? When did this start happening to Zhask, Prince of the Kastiyans? When did his father become a monster? What happened? Was it because the prince grew up? Was it because he was immature? Because he was older, that he didn't deserve as much love as he used to?

He remembered when his toys were broken all because he wanted to play with them while another foreign prince wanted to intervene and he didn't want to share because he knew they'd ruin it. He remembered getting whipped because he was weak in his test scores. He remembered the sorries his father gave, he remembered the silence. The silence meant he wouldn't forgive him. And then, over tea, they'd get back together because he was the only son.

Hugs became fewer and farther between through the years, and so did the kisses. But despite his father's complaining Zhask knew he secretly enjoyed it. Annoying his father was a favourite pastime of his whenever he was available and was in a pleasurable mood.

He knows his father was trying his best. His best to protect Zhask, his best to ensure he survived throughout the conquests, his best to ensure he managed to live on to rule Kastiya. His slaps were a lesson to learn, his whips a delicate cruelty, all so he would act better in future. Even if they scarred him. Even if they gave him permanent damage.

But sometimes, as implied, his best hurt and he was a monster.

His mother was softer but she could be as harsh as he was. Not that it mattered to Zhask, she was always busy so it made sense if she never came to be well-moody. Yet she feared her husband for the obvious reason as well.

Zhask could never stifle his tears, even from youth. Usually when this happened he'd walk off to his room, pretending to yawn and rub his eyes as if he was tired. Then he'd go into the shower or wrap himself up in his bed. He never locked his door either because his father would break it down so his butler was always there to check on him. Not that he'd ever wanted him to. And if he did Prince Zhask would have to put on a genuine emotional mask in fear that his butler would slip the metaphorical beans.

But of course in these events there was no room to pace to.

The footsteps stopped. Silenced. And so was Zhask. Though one out of anger, and the other out of terror. Zhask desperately tried to hide his tears away but the pain was intense and he just couldn't help it.

Like with the bleeding....

"Your Shaloshta isn't here," his father quipped and Zhask could hear his armoured plates creaking with age as he knelt. "Neither is your Heria. So I'll tell you this right here."

"Look at me."

Zhask turned to face him. Proportionally, so did his father's backhand and he fell back on his elbows.

"You are the reason Kastiya is lost!"

There it was. The guilt-tripping.

"Look at me!" Zhask hesitated, and had his horns pulled up so he could face his father. "Because of your recklessness, The Astrowardens have DESTROYED Kastiya! One of them is hunting you down, and here you are, dead as a star because of your own foolish mistakes! What have I raised you for?!"

Zhask only could stare. Was it a rhetorical question? But it sounded so genuine he should-

"ANSWER ME."

Genuine it is then.

"You... you raised me to lead Kastiya," Zhask began, stutteringly repeating the words his father used to swear. "You raised me so I could protect Kastiya, to keep its glory. You raised me so Kastiya could prosper. So that we could rule supreme. You raised me so... I'd have a home?"

"TALKING BACK TO YOUR ELDERS," he yelled out, despite having asked the question initially. "You are a disappointment. You have disappointed me, you have disappointed Kastiya, you have disappointed your subjects. As if there are any because they're all dead! And I should know because that's your doing too!"

He released his grip on Zhask. Zhask could only stare into space, fixed in the position. He didn't even turn to look at his father, now retreating back into the darkness.

"You are the reason I died, Zhask. Remember that. You are nothing. A pig-child. Wasted filth."

Footsteps receding.

"You are not my son."

Pain slowly enveloped Zhask's body once more. Not the pain of what had happened to him, but the pain of coming back.

Good. He never wanted to stay anyway.

%%%

"Ow...."

Zhask awakens once more, this time back in the snow. He instantly shoots up, but winces at the pain. His chest is still bloodied and he still has scars, but they seems to have healed slightly. The short death-rest has given Domorey enough mana to regenerate himself, thankfully.

He hears a little chirp infront of him. Before him is his passive spawn, the backup guard for his body. It moves towards him, albeit a little shakily from the cold. It nuzzles him and Zhask can feel its warm laser heating up.

He looks around him. Behind Domorey, there is a calm, serene white. The blizzard has stopped. He looks back and sees that his antennae are still there. They're only frozen from the exposure. He sighs in thankfulness.

The little spawn hops onto Zhask's arm, latching onto it. It camouflages itself on his glove. He pets its little head and grabs Domorey.

He is capable of standing on his own two feet. And so he does, leaning onto Domorey for balance. He tests his footing on the icy floor beneath him and realises it's created a nice little step-path. His feet don't sink in, rather the snow has solidified enough to stand on.

Slowly but surely, Zhask begins to walk forwards, limping through the snow. He remembers his past, he acknowledges the present, and he looks out for the future.

But his heart sinks.

He will never forget what his Kaloshta had done to him. He's still shaken by that death-dream he had, the only flaw to his immortality. He's depressed but he brushes it off.

They love each other, don't they? This is what your parents do to help you grow stronger, right? He deserves it for his failure, doesn't he?

Zhask's first death was to save him and his revival was met with a slight scolding and a warm hug. The rest were merely trivial, but he got scolded more and more often as time went on and the hugs became less and less often. In the end, it's all just a forgettable memory when he wakes up. This wasn't even the worst he's had. The worst was that one time he drank himself to death over a lost love. He got a real beating for that.

But he WILL prove he can live up to his father's wishes. That he's not what his father claims him to be. That he can still feel his father embrace him lovingly again, even for just a few short moments. That he's not a failure, nor a pig-child, nor whatever else he says.

And maybe this time, he'll try not to die again.

Or even sleep for that matter. Just in case.

#Anyways that's why he's so sleep and touch deprived #My poor sweet baby bean #How dare I traumatise you with my own upbringing #writers of tumblr #writing #fanfic #angst #golden writes #abuse #abuse cw #asian parenting #tough love #blood mention #death mention #character death #long post

4 notes · View notes

sepublic · 2 years

Note

Ok, so it's obvious you love Beast Wars, but what about other series? Earthspark? Cyberverse? Prime? Robots in Disguise 2015? IDW 2005-2018?

I grew up primarily on Transformers Animated and, alas, the Bayverse, the latter of which I think was my first proper introduction to the franchise; Though I do have VERY faint recollections of previous series, particularly Armada and its keys...

I only really knew those from their toys, though I do remember a clip from an Armada CD; I had Cybertron Longrack, as well as Armada Excellion vs Thundercracker, and Skyshadow; Not to mention the Robots in Disguise Deluxe Mirage with that color-changing sticker. There was Deep Space Starscream from the Movie lineup, and Fast Action Battlers Jazz.

I have fond memories of my cousin’s Deluxe Scorponok and RotF Soundwave, whom I envied; The latter toy I remember him pitting against my own, particularly my Bionicles, and the constant fights and back-and-forth of Soundwave becoming a good guy, just to be a bad guy again, etc. We wanted to reap the fun of either scenario.

Then Animated Lugnut, whom with Thok from Bionicle have the same story for me; Originally I got someone ELSE from their line, but a factory defect meant I had to return it, and settle for a different character. In my case, I originally chose Animated Starscream, but then his head popped off and wouldn’t come back on, hence the switch to Lugnut. I also had Animated Oil Slick and a McDonalds version of Animated Bumblebee.

Regrettably, I’ve lost ALL of these toys over time, not sure how. But yeah, I had toys from the Unicron Trilogy and a distant memory of watching a CD that came packaged with a clip from the show of Armada Jetfire; Otherwise, the Michael Bay films were my introduction, followed by Animated, which I DID watch all of! I remember as a kid being frustrated by the loose ends of Animated’s finale, so finding out the show was actually cancelled explained a lot; As a kid, Blurr’s death traumatized me, but hearing he survived and would’ve recovered was a relief.

Ultimately, my knowledge of any other series besides the Bayverse, Animated, Beast Wars (and technically Knightverse) is solely through cultural osmosis, some dives into the TFwiki (was surprised yet amused as a kid at its snarkiness), and Chris McFeely’s guides on Transformers characters throughout the ages. Before that I also remember watching the first three or so episodes of G1 on Netflix (getting to see the source material for the Bay films and how removed they were was a surprise), and years later, various clips of G1 on Youtube as well; I also watched the original 1986 animated film, and the episode where a human girl has a crush on Powerglide.

As someone who DIDN’T grow up with G1 and thus can’t be accused of a nostalgia bias... Tbh, I really do find it THAT good, but I might just be influenced by the bandwagon. I just think it’s really funny and find a lot of the designs charming, and the ‘86 movie is legitimately raw and well-written. I watched Bumblebee Movie opening month, was disillusioned like a lot of people by the Bayverse, only to be astounded by the first trailer and stoked by the transformations of Bumblebee and Blitzwing, which felt very toy-esque and whom I could actually keep track of!

In general, I remember sort of falling off of Transformers after Dark of the Moon... But then @ganymedesclock started watching Animated, which reignited my curiosity. This led me to revisit the series, as well as the Transformers franchise in general; And that led to a DEEP rabbithole that’s culminated in me going through all of Beast Wars, naming and understanding the toys I had as a kid (and desiring them again with the context of what their characters were like).

It also led me to getting a couple of toys from the Studio Series line, particularly the Constructicons. Sue me, I think the Bayverse designs and films have SOME artistic merit, even if it’s largely garbage, they’re kind of a guilty pleasure at times, and the toys have a necessary simplicity that makes the aesthetic easier to digest. And like everyone else, the ideas of a rewrite, and/or my own Transformers continuity, have taken root in my head.

#transformers #maccadam #transformers animated #tfa #bayverse #ask #reply

10 notes · View notes

creamium · 1 year

Text

Day 1 - Pharma (Love)

should have posted this yesterday but I fell asleep early and missed my chance. An extremely super self-indulgent writing challenge I made for myself where I take Transformers characters and give them Lantern Corp rings.

First is Pharma (naturally) and the Star Sapphires. An impossible AU where Pharma once again survives after Adaptus and Tyrest perish; the Autobots managed to salvage his parts and gave him back his memories through mnemosurgery. No particular universe for the Star Sapphires; I just mash together bits of GL lore I like and use it as always.

"Pharma of Cybertron, Sector unknown."

"Hmph...an emotionless machine?

"Yes, a non-organic being but one with strong feelings of love nonetheless. He hails from a planet known as Cybertron. It is, or was, populated with sentient mechanical life."

"And what makes you so sure this...robot is worthy of a Star Sapphire ring?"

"My queen, we detected a strange anomaly in this unknown sector some time ago. Our investigations yielded this: the being you see on the screen was a doctor to his people. He somehow survived a fatal blow, most likely attributed to being non-organic life, and was subsequently possessed by a god-like being. He managed to overcome this possession through the residual feelings of love he held for another."

"I see...killing a deity by the force of his love alone...I understand now why he would appear as a candidate. Very well, I shall extend the offer."

---

"Pharma of Cybertron, you have great love in your heart."

Pharma nearly jumped out of his plating when he heard the disembodied, ethereal voice speak to him from seemingly nowhere.

"Although your love has forsaken you, all is not lost. The Star Sapphires seek to make your heart whole again."

The voice had been one thing, but a pinkish portal opening up in front of him nearly made him fall from the small bench where he'd been seated. There admittedly wasn't much room in the small prison cell in which he'd been confined in but the pink starburst seemed to be coming out of the opposite wall. That should have been impossible as there was nothing on the other side of that wall.

And what it was saying...great love? His heart? Did the voice mean his spark?

Almost wistfully, a ring floated from the pink starburst and slowly drifted towards him.

"Who are you? What is this?" Pharma asked the voice as he stood to his pedes.

"The power ring of the Star Sapphires. Accept it, and its power will be yours to wield."

Pharma's optics scanned over the floating ring before him. It appeared to be a simple piece of jewelry, something that Cybertronians typically did not wear. It did seem to glow with the same pink light as the starburst-shaped portal, but...

Pharma sat back down, "I don't seek power...I just want things to go back to how they were."

"They can." The voice said softly, gently, "I've heard quite a lot about you, doctor."

"You know who I am?"

"Indeed, Pharma of Cybertron, I-"

"Alyon. The hotspot was called Alyon."

"Forgive me. It seems we have much to learn from you and your sector. You see, the Star Sapphires do not consort with emotionless robots, but you are quite special. Your species is sentient as well as emotive. But you are special in your own right."

Pharma crossed his arms and leaned back as best he could against the wall the bench was fashioned to, "...how so?"

"You've cheated death, not once, not twice, but a total of three times. My sources tell me you bested a god-like being...not a small feat by any means."

"I...don't really remember. I did die, but my spark..." Pharma placed his hand over his chassis as he looked away, obviously trying to recall the memories.

"But your heart remained. Your feelings of love were so strong, they helped destroy an evil being. I believe it makes you quite worthy in our eyes. And your love...Ratchet, is it?"

Pharma immediately sat up, shooting forward, "How do you know about that?!"

The ring floated closer to his face plate causing him to inch slightly back. The ring...?

"If I put this on, what will happen to me? I just want everything to be normal. I don't want power or strength, I just want-"

"Ratchet? Accept our ring and you can have your love again. The ring will give you strength, yes, the ability to survive in deepest space, the power to open a portal to the one you love most, and of course, the power of conditioning."

"Conditioning?"

"The ring can create a harmless crystalline shell, removing all negativity and replacing it with love. Isn't this what Ratchet needs? You could keep him safe, remove his negative emotions..."

"I..." Pharma's hand was slowly beginning to reach for the ring, but he stopped short, "I can't. Even if I took the ring, I can't leave. If I escape from this cell, the Autobots will never trust me again."

"I see...so you reject the ring?"

Pharma slumped over, his hands on his knee joints, as he stared at the floor, "The trial. After the trial, depending on what happens...can you ask me again then?"

"Very well." The voice echoed, "The ring will remain here with you until you decide to put it on."

The ring floated over and Pharma opened a hand, the ring softly settling down in to his palm. The light from the ring faded once it touched his plating, dulling to appear as a simple, pink ring.

"I hope you will make the right choice."

---

Pharma placed his hands on the violet-colored crystal before him, slowly lowering the side of his face plate to it. Ratchet was safe here, just like Aga'po had claimed. Zamaron was very different from Cybertron and quite a distance from it as well. No one would find them here.

"I don't know how long it will take, but we can be happy here." Pharma said softly, recalling what Aga'po had told him in the beginning. If Ratchet stayed encased, the crystal would remove negative emotions and replace them with love. Ratchet had turned on him at Delphi, but they had been close once before. They could be that way again.

"As for you..." Pharma trailed off as he turned around, floating in mid-air from the power of the ring more so than his own alt mode.

The former bot turned Star Sapphire grinned wickedly at the sight of the former leader of the DJD, equally encased in a violet crystal just as Ratchet was. He'd been about to fire his signature double-barreled fusion cannon when Pharma had used the power ring to trap him in a crystal.

"I don't think you'll ever learn, Tarn."

#writing tag;#complete #archive #personal writing challenge #not tagging

2 notes · View notes

hjremi · 1 year

Text

under the cut is some random information i've collated about remi, feel free to read to learn more about him. will update as more information comes to light / i learn new things some of these do contain triggers, which are tagged below.

BASIC INFORMATION: NAME: remington clifford [ no korean name ] NICKNAME: remi BIRTHDATE: april 17, 2000 [ 23 years old ] ZODIAC: aries GENDER: nonbinary, he/him preferred SEXUALITY: bisexual OCCUPATION: freelance programmer LINKS: his full bio. please heed the tw. his pinterest. his tags. his playlist.

FUN FACTS: -owns a used pickup that he loves half to death, it's got a myriad of problems that require a lot of upkeep, but he wouldn't trade it for the world -owns a bunch of vectors because he thinks they're cute, also carries a tamagotchi around with him on his lanyard with his keys, he really just likes little robot pets -does not know how to swim ?? not sure why he's on an island in that case -most of the burns / scars he has are on his arms / chest, but he does have a scar on one cheek / side of his jaw / in his hairline on his left side [ which incidentally is the side his hearing is worse on ] -is ambidextrous but favours his right hand lately as his left experiences some mobility issues -is literally 5'4 bless his heart -plays a lot of video games, and has participated in esports tournaments before [ nothing recently due to a lack of anonymity for contestants ] -basically picture the type of kid who would've been at the big hero 6 school and that's basically remi -previously went to MIT before coming to korea, misses that more than anything else in america as he had resources to do a lot of the things he wanted to readily available to him. -builds computers in his spare time, usually as commissions or he sells them after the fact -double major in computer science and robotics with a minor in electrical engineering, is also taking korean language and ksl classes to help communicate easier, since english is his first language, does plan to take asl classes later on -his thesis is about a hearing device capable of translating sign language to speech with gesture recognition, as well as translating other spoken languages in real time and potentially even being able to translate lip reading into speech, if he can figure out how to make it happen. at his previous school, he was dabbling in mixed reality / augmented reality, but there aren't resources to do so here in hanjeong. -is super passionate about the environment and especially about renewable energy omg, he's currently trying to get the grocery store he lives in switch to solar panels, as he uses quite a bit of electricity. he would prefer to use marine/offshore energy, since they're on an island and all, but has been assured by multiple people that anything he attempts to set up would mysteriously be destroyed, so he has settled for solar power. it's incredibly difficult to set up with the trade restrictions when it comes to sourcing things he needs, however, causing a growing amount of tension. -he's very ambivalent about the whole supernatural thing. tbh whenever he first found out he thought they were joking, and even now he doesn't really bother himself with it all that much, seeing as he doesn't really encounter it that often in his day-to-day life. -is very staunchly anti-government and anti-police. thinks the idea of modern monarchies [ three in the same place, even ! because they can't pretend that the captain's descendants aren't a form of modern monarchy ] is possibly the most idiotic thing he's ever heard, and refuses to acknowledge any of them. whatever they're doing doesn't concern him, anyway. -really badly wants to go ghost hunting, but doesn't want to go by himself because that's boring. -is afab, has not had any gender-affirming surgeries, he doesn't ever really bring it up though bc honestly it's not relevant in most situations. he might refer to it offhand though, feel free to have your character react however. THE GOOD: clever. strong-willed. spontaneous. easy-going. THE BAD: irresponsible. absurdist. flippant. impulsive. THE UGLY: physically cannot stop getting in over his head.

#$onlyIf[$getGlobalUserVar[headcanon;$authorID]==true #$onlyIf[$getGlobalUserVar[about;$authorID]==true #injury tw #scars tw

2 notes · View notes

silverspleen · 1 year

Text

People are like “hm Love Death and Robots sure does have a lot of military scifi in it, why is that, I sure don’t like that” and I must inform you that *squints* Someone on the production and/or writing team has got to be specifically a very narrow subset of military sf fan, because so far season 1 and season 3 have multiple stories directly from the military sf short story collection SNAFU. Someone on the development team is a SNAFU fan (it’s probably Tim Miller). SNAFU is an anthology of literally only military sf, with twelve (YEP. count ‘em. TWELVE.) anthologies around various flavors of military scifi. Entire series just of“guys with guns fight monsters/demons/werebeasts/radioactive monsters.”

The publishing house who releases these, Cohesion Press, is the one that collected all of the stories for the official LD+R anthology book release on Amazon (you can buy all of the stories from season 1, and season 2+3). The guy who owns Cohesion Press (Goeff Brown) has in his bio on the site that he works with Deadpool’s Tim Miller as a senior story consultant. Like Tim Miller who MADE Love Death + Robots in the first place. Was there an actual conversation between them about including stories from the anthology in the show? Yeah probably.

So yes, you are absolutely right there is a bunch of military sf in that anthology and that’s most likely why.

As for the others non-SNAFU military sf stories, it’s not unreasonable to think that whoever on the team that really likes SNAFU is probably also recommending other military sf. Like for Shapeshifters (which is not a SNAFU story but like.... a very clear-cut military story).

Plus military sf is just like... Pretty mainstream popular with the blood and guns and titties crowd of twentysomething young men, which is usually what people think of when they hear “adult animation.”

(Obviously they are wrong, but we’re talking like Average American Adult thinks adult animation means 1. South Park/Family Guy 2. porn or 3. something with gratuitous gun violence and porn, and something called ‘Love Death + Robots’ evokes that vibe.)

(For reference I own three of the SNAFU anthologies, the original one, the werebeast one, and the “monsters” one. I have not read them yet they are on my TBR. Why yes, I do own too many books.)

Anyway. I enjoy military sf, hope you enjoyed my infodump.

I am very excited for season 4.

LD+R SNAFU stories under the cut! As well as the article I referenced.

Not my information, sourced from this culturedvultures article

Season 1

The Secret War - SNAFU: Hunters

Suits - SNAFU: Future Warfare

Sucker of Souls - SNAFU: Survival of the Fittest

Season 2

n/a

Season 3

Kill Team Kill - SNAFU: Unnatural Selection

In Vaulted Halls Entombed - SNAFU: Survival of the Fittest

#love death and robots #love death + robots #apparently they're free to choose whatever stories they want but like #that is not a coincidence #FIVE stories from the same source #military sff #The Dragoon Diaries

5 notes · View notes

a-flickering-soul · 2 years

Note

what is spg?

(this is an invitation to info dump)

I'm going to be honest, Anon, this is kind of a terrible ask to get because I genuinely don't know where to start. The thing about SPG is that the lore, worldbuilding, and backstory is incredibly intricate and at times quite tragic, but the nature of the live act that actually composes Steam Powered Giraffe is at its core a stand-up comedy act with some singing at times performed by essentially clowns that move funny. SPG is a fandom that by design is meant to mock you for deepifying something that seems like it shouldn’t be deepified, but in fact has been deepified since 2009. I know this is an open invitation but I do still have some sense of pride, so I promise you that I am going to do my damndest to keep this a readable length.

The general 'gimmick' of SPG is that this is a band comprised of three members (The Spine, Rabbit, and a third or fourth member that rotates out depending on the era) and they've been performing since they were built back in 1896 (you know, back when it was still illegal for women to read and write, and all the me-men dressed like Mr. Peanut) (*looks into the camera like I'm in The Office*). They are played onstage by real live people in incredibly intricate face paint, costuming, and (my personal favorite) physically act as the automatons they're playing, which leads to this really interesting uncanny valley effect that I personally find really entertaining to watch. Also, I really like the music! They span quite a few genres (American folk, motown, and rock, to name a few), and they have consistently really tight harmonies and nice lyrics! I've been looping their discography for quite a while, because there's just a lot of variety! Very much recommend and I will release my ranking of their albums or songs WITH reasons why at the slightest provocation.

Pretty cool, pretty fun. The lore, though, is where it gets fucking batshit. These robots are so fucking sad dude I can think about them and unlock hidden emotions. I promise to god this is all canon even though they will misrepresent their own lore and make it incredibly hard to find. Basically, you could listen to Brass Goggles and get the broad strokes, but really, it all starts with a love triangle back in 1896.

A young up-and-coming scientist, Peter Walter I, and his friend Thaddeus Becile, were both madly in love with an incredibly bright young chemist, Delilah Morreo (who, coincidentally, was a lesbian, but unfortunately for them neither of them knew about her Boston marriage). Delilah, sadly, hubrised herself into an early grave, but not before sparking a war of invention between the two men to catch her eye. Walter, pushing the boundaries of steam power at the time, strove to create sentient artificial intelligence, while Becile pivoted towards weaponry.

With Delilah's death, however, this once-friendly rivalry spiraled into anger and resentment. Becile, in his own attempts to win her attention, had previously discovered the unearthly Green Matter--similar to Blue Matter, but more unstable, with a necromantic bend. In an attempt to keep up with him, Walter discovered Blue Matter in a rift from an alternate dimension--a powerful, generative substance that could imbue a mechanical body with life. With this, he created our Steam Man Band as we know them today. They were initially meant to catch Delilah's eye, singing and dancing to entertain her, as well as a giant steam-powered giraffe automaton (Delilah, apparently, had a fondness for African savannah wildlife), but, of course, were never seen by her while she lived.

Now, this Green Matter could be found in the newly-discovered Rock Candy Mines of Africa (please for the love of god bear with me), and as Becile became more and more unstable, he sought to take control of this power source in attempts to bring Delilah back to life (he does, in fact, succeed, but not in the way he intended) and seize control. This is where the first of the many wars the robots serve in takes place. The Weekend War was fought between the necromantic zombified armies of Becile, and the steam-powered automatons of Walter--it lasted a single weekend, but was sufficient enough to prevent Green Matter from falling into the wrong hands, and to traumatize a whole bunch of very young, very new AIs.

From then on, the robots bounced back and forth between trying to fulfill their original life purpose--to sing, dance, and entertain--and being drafted into wars in order to aid funding for the slowly-growing Walter Robotics. They fought in three further wars, being WWI, WWII, and (I know.) the Vietnam War, before eventually refusing to fight in any further conflict and pivoting entirely to performance

That's the main background, and this is already at 800 words, but man. Man. I could say so much more. There's so much lore, and I haven't even gotten into their Patreon yet to get to the really deep cuts. Delilah Morreo is an immortal vampire hunter now. Rabbit is literally trans and her power source created a rift in spacetime. There is someone named Pomene who seems important but I can't find any traces of them anywhere. There is a whole fantasy world with different cultures and races and magics that just rarely gets brought up. Uncle Ralphie (from the literal outro of 'Steamboat Shenanigans') is a real character who is known. I haven't even touched on the Vice Quadrant, which is a space opera spanning two alternate timelines where a huge space lady and a lost astronaut fall in love maybe? And there's an evil astronaut there too and space whales and some twunk who can swap between timelines?

This is why I've been here for seven months. The lore is infuriatingly complex and ridiculously hard to track down and insanely tantalizing to me. And then I watch their live stages and it's like. Fart jokes. I can't overexplain enough how this makes me feel. And the music fucks. That's 1000 words, and I'll cut it there, but I am so so willing to explain anything from SPG's lore that I can so please send me asks literally anyone about anything relating to SPG I am DYING in here please for the love of god--

#sorry i didnt add a read more do you still think im hot #answered #anonymous #spg #steam powered giraffe #i genuinely can't overstate. this is the bare minimum lore backstory. there is SO MUCH MORE #the character backstories the worldbuilding GENUINELY the timelines the insane bullshit alternate universes the AUGH #the fake science the fake biology the politics oughehghjdfhjerhrhhrrrrr #it makes me crazy. it's so good to chew on. it makes me nuts. there's so much to talk abt. literally an arglike.

12 notes · View notes

blametheeditor · 2 years

Text

Mike Messed Up: Chapter 6

First | Previous | Next

Warnings: frequent cursing. Mentions of murder and death. Mentions of being restrained.

Back Of Book Summary: Mike was just another night guard waiting to be killed by the end of the week. No more, no less. The thing is, how exactly are you supposed to react to your victim never hearing Phone Guy's messages, and instead is assigned to clean the dining room long after the clock strikes midnight?

____________________

Mike never thought he'd be giving a robot something like taste buds. But, well, that's his normal now.

After tightening the last bolt to Chica's jaw, Mike steps back to beam at his newest creation.

"Well? Does it work?" he asks.

"I'm so excited!" the bird exclaims as she races for her newest pizza creation. She hesitates, staring at the piece as if it'll attack her, but finally she sinks her teeth into the slice. "Oh my God! I can taste it!”

"That's aweso-!" Mike's cheer evaporates as Chica spits it out and dumps the entire thing into the trash. "Uh, you don't like it?"

"Oh no! I love the new upgrade! I just had tried a new recipe and it tasted awful." She races forward and wraps her mechanical feathers around the man in a practiced hug, careful to not almost crush him. "Thank you Mikey. You're the best."

"Anytime," he smiles, hugging her back. She frees him and goes about making a new pizza with her new taste buds, allowing Mike to walk into the dining room and finally sit down. Out of the three he's done, Chica was the hardest to do.

He made Bonnie faster, quiet on his feet, and maybe put a little item in there where if you press the top of his head, every cuss word you can think of is unable to be spoken by the rabbit. For Foxy Mike had some help from Freddy to gather the necessary fabrics to cover his legs and feet like he was supposed to have, also dimming his eyes down so the fox could see better and not stand out too much. He had also fixed the gaping hole in the animatronic's chest, making sure no mechanical parts could be seen. For Chica she got her life long wish to taste the pizzas she made, along with a new system that if she got water on her, she'll have enough time to get it out of her instead of having to shut down for a day or two until the water evaporated from her circuits. Freddy had to help him once again with that one, not able to understand how to add the new system in, and Mike was grateful the bear knew almost as much as he did about mechanics.

Speaking of which…

"Yo Bonnie!"

"You called," the rabbit purrs, seeming to appear out of thin air.

"Fuck you!" Mike screams as he punches the animatronic’s arm.

"Sorry sorry. It's too hard to not scare you." His red eyes look over the man and a grin appears. "You need some help doing something. And this something may or may not be against someone's will?"

"Stop reading my mind bastard," Mike smiles, but nods in affirmation. "I've tried to ask Freddy what I can do for him, even just checking to see all of his systems working properly, but he always says no."

"Did you offer to do it after you did us?"

"Yes. Still wouldn't bite." Bonnie looks deep in thought at this, looking Mike over as he does.

"You aren't going to use this against Fred right? 'Cause if you do, you'll have hell raining down on you from three sources."

"No! Bonnie, I just want to help him. Please?" Mike pleads. The animatronic stares at him, but as Mike doesn't even blink under the clear scrutiny, he nods.

"Our free-roaming mode is systematic. At 12:00 midnight our servers unlock so we're free to do whatever we want. But, if you haven't noticed, any time before that we can't move a muscle. That's because the system also has it so the free-roaming is off after 6:00 to 12:00." Leaning closer, Bonnie glances around to see if anyone was listening. "If the operating system isn't working, then we have a manual switch. Flip it off, and Fred can only move his eyes and mouth while talking, meaning he can't kill you with his fists but he can with his glare."

"Would you, mind helping me?" Mike looks down after asking it and yelps when Bonnie grabs his arm.

"Let's go do it now! I've got so many ideas for what you can do!"

The two race down the hallway and into the office, a smirk on both faces when they spot Freddy leaning against the desk, his back to them. But before Bonnie could tackle the bear, Mike puts his hand up, a familiar voice speaking.

"Hello, hello? Uh, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact..."

"Freddy?" Mike asks. The cord to the phone is ripped out as the animatronic looks over his shoulder to the two standing in the doorway.

"Sorry for snooping around your workspace Michael. I was, curious as to what every guard heard at night." Turning completely around Mike stares at the sorrow filled in Freddy's eyes, how sad and lonely they are. But then he puts a big grin on his face as he chuckles. "I actually remember stuffing that guy. A lot louder than the others."

"He was such a whiner," Bonnie agrees. Mike fidgets in his spot between the two as they talk about killing a night guard, which he was currently working.

"Can I ask an odd question?" Freddy's cold eyes lock onto him and he can't help but gulp.

"Of course Michael. You've done more than earn a question."

"Well, I mean. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and fixing you guys up, but." Bonnie looks at the guard from where he stands behind Fred, originally thinking he was just trying to keep his attention for him to turn off Fred's free-roaming mode. But, the kid was really nervous. "I uh, wanted to know why you stuffed all those guards."

The two animatronics stare at the man, both wide eyed with shock at the seemingly random question. And why ask now of all times? In the office where all the horror occurred?

"You have to know, everyone who had this job before you was actually a known criminal." Bonnie looks up at Freddy as he talks. "I don't know how it came to be, just that management promised we could stuff the fuckers without any guilt."

Freddy sighs at his friend confusion. "I was angry. After the kids were killed, I felt as if I could've done something. So, striking a deal with your boss, they promised to only hire known criminals that were either running from the law, or never got convicted for their crimes. One less murder on the streets. And every night, we would, kill them."

"So, you, had a valid reason to do it." Mike looks back up and searches Freddy's eyes as they turn sullen.

"Yes and no. I shouldn't have immediately gone to killing. The others joined soon after I killed the first one, no qualms about it." A loud sigh like noise escapes Freddy's throat as he looks down. "Seeing you here though, a mere child, means the last few we got might've just been regular people and Mr. Seal no longer cares. I should've been a better leader."

He turns and walks down the hall away from the two, away from his friend and the man who was going to be the next victim, away from the screams that only now are starting to haunt him.

Suddenly something leaps onto his back and Freddy roars, thinking he was being attacked.

"Shit Fazfuck! Never heard of a fucking hug before!" Mike laughs. The bear immediately goes still but he doesn't stop from trying to reach for the guard.

"A hug is from the front Michael, not the back," Freddy begins.

"Well you were practically running away so I had to do something," is all that's retorted back. Freddy waits a moment and huffs when the man still doesn't get off, and in a position where the bear can't grab him.

"Are you finished?"

"Do you know why I'm giving you a hug?"

"No, now get off before I take you off."

"It's not your fault," Mike mutters. The animatronic stands frozen, listening, and he quickly continues as to not lose the attention. "You were promised only criminals, and the son of a bitch got lazy and dumped whoever's sorry ass came in the door to the night shift. Doesn't mean you should be blamed. If anyone should it's Mr. Fuck. Oh, and everyone who's taken this job too, the dumbasses."

"You work this job Michael," Freddy smirks.

"Yeah, dumbass." As the bear laughs Mike slips off his back and yelps as he's swept into a hug. A moment goes by as they sit there, simply enjoying each other's company.

"This never happened," Freddy mutters.

"Nope."

"Yes it did!"

They whip around to see Bonnie grinning evilly as Chica and Foxy lean into the hallway next to him, each with wide smiles.

"You're so cute!"

"Didn' know ye were a softy cap'n!"

"Fuck my life," Freddy groans. Mike bursts out laughing then points to Bonnie.

"Now!"

#FNAF #nope i still haven't edited #not even to fix a few words #absolutely did not happen #we die like phone guy on night four #older writing #Mike Messed Up #BTE writing

5 notes · View notes