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muzzleroars · 11 months

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REALLY got hit with the line "Now this is a fight worthy of God's Will" and I need to talk about its significance, because it was always interesting to me that it's spoken by Gabriel as the Apostate of Hate. It comes in the second half of the fight in Heresy and while that one is incredibly interesting for the character development it shows in Gabriel, I’ve been thinking more and more about the encounter in Gluttony and just how the two are linked together. I discussed Gabriel’s nature as a warrior in detail here, but in short, he is a being made to fight for God, the battlefield being a holy place for him and where he fully connects to himself as an angel and to God as he fulfills his service to Him. It lights the divine spark within him, it is what causes his passion to burn fully bright and he is completely Gabriel, the Strength of God, in those moments. So where must he be when V1 meets him within Gluttony, what can he be feeling when he has fought thousands upon thousands of machines? There is no honor in these battles, there is no real victory, and Gabriel is growing dull, numb, devoid of any meaning. The machines are beneath him, they offer no challenge and they lack the capacity to recognize him as the angelic warrior that he is. His knightly virtue is smothered, stagnant, his very soul bled dry by mindless engagement after mindless engagement. He is totally disconnected from the self, an angel without their divine purpose and instead acting as a punch clock exterminator.

When V1 arrives, it’s the same despite a flashy entrance – He is more mechanical than his opponent, relying on automatic, rote tactics and repetitive maneuvers. He gets away with it for a bit, so thoughtless that he even pauses in his taunts as his pride dimly flickers to life, V1’s own movements clumsy and poorly timed due to facing an angel for the first time. But V1 is fully engaged, V1 is tuned to every movement that Gabriel makes, the data he nearly hand feeds it – every second its AI is learning, devouring each pattern and quickly mapping out Gabriel’s now own mindless motions. Soon, it’s landing hits, soon he isn’t, soon something starts to feel off. Halfway through the battle, something is wrong. It clicks for Gabriel when he begins to bleed and it seems V1 isn’t harmed. It’s still the same machine? How long had they been fighting? Confusion overwhelms him as he attempts strike after strike and V1 dodges with ease, why can’t he hit it? Why is it still here? The only answer he can flail for is anger, to burst into a rage when the battle refuses to bend to his will, to end. He had gotten sloppy, lazy. Battle, the one thing that connected him directly to God, that was his divine purpose and made him Gabriel, has become so automatic he’s blocking it out. The fire is gone. It enrages him, he flies into a fury at V1, this stupid robot that won’t die and becomes the avatar of his dead passion. A corpse with a pulse, an angel reduced to pantomiming the purpose God gave him against endless mechanical dolls, why, why, what’s happened to him? Nothing is real, he realizes he can’t remember any of the fights he’s had against these machines and his hands have been empty of his true, heaven-forged swords for each one of them. And in his rage, in his furious motions, as he’s consumed with how pointless and ridiculous he looks fighting this minuscule machine, his body falls to the floor, bleeding. His wings support his weight no longer, and every muscle refuses to obey him. He’s lost. Everything is empty, he shouts and throws a fit in utter shock, but has he truly burned down to ash?

And when he returns in Heresy, he is choked with his own anger, his grief, at his failure but too at his total loss of connection to himself, to his God. God, now dead in reality and dead in his own soul. There is nothing left, and so he doesn’t even have a choice in becoming an apostate angel, God is dead and he can no longer even feel him. V1 enters as the avatar of that loss, burns in his mind as a last desperate attempt to claw back the shreds of what’s left of Gabriel and he initially believes he must kill it to do so. To know God’s warrior isn’t fully burned away. But then a change happens again halfway through the battle, that primal spark lights and his wings bloom into brilliant gold and indigo, ecstatic. He is wielding his swords once more, they form into his hands and he is bleeding despite pouring what’s left of his strength and passion into this last battle. V1 meets him, it learns every second and it dances in perfect time with him, a true, real battle, after all the years of the Council bleeding that passion dry. “Now this is a battle worthy of God’s will” he shouts as a man risen from the dead – V1 lights him again as the angel he had forgotten he was even with the light now torn from him, his identity is restored even as he falls and V1 moves him as God once moved him – it changes one last time into the avatar of the God he lost. This is war, this is what he was handmade for...and it has been absent for so long. This machine restores him as Gabriel, returns his love and his passion and his divine ecstasy without the need for anything else – he is Gabriel once again even without God, without his light. It’s thrilling, exhilarating, what else could he do but fall in love when he is given his self back, when he is given the chance to be everything he is without being used by another?

#i am thinking. this is all obvious. AND YET.#i had to write it all out because it means so much for their relationship #to me this is why gabriel falls in love. that he was given himself back fully and without a god #i know how he responds to v1 can be interpreted in many different ways #but this is how i see it and why i just. WHY THEY JUST MAKE ME. UHUH.#gabriel #v1 #gabv1el

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just-observing-here · 8 months

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I love V1's design so much. I love how insect-like its appearance is. Its multiple wings, its outer armor that's like an insect's outer armor, its one optic. I love how dehumanizing its design is to itself, especially compared to the other creatures in hell. Most of the husks and demons have human-like qualities, albeit being just a face and such, and while V1 is definitely still anthropomorphic it's also losing its human-like qualities as the game progresses! Think about the fact it gained 2 new arms for itself and how that breaks its human figure, not only that but adds to its insect like qualities! The fact that its qualities are insect-like add to its character a lot too! Bugs are considered weak and disgusting by most of the population; However, bugs were the first to do many things considered revolutionary to humans. Flight, civilization, art, all of it! They were like the version 1 of humanity in a funny way. But, in an ironic fashion, as it loses its human look we learn of its more human-like qualities in its behavior. Its "You're not getting away this time" with the V2 fight. The fact that's it's basically going to run its blood source to 0. Its march to its own destruction being its most humanlike trait. I love that so much. In Act 3, I'm hoping Gabriel drops the "machine" nickname and refers to V1 as "Hellspawn" or "Pest." Bringing more of the insect like comparisons while showing that he sees V1 as more than a machine now!

I love how the only thing that actually humanizes V1 is its bringing of its own doom. Its violence and insatiable need is what makes it feel more alive.

I love how its actions could be considered heroic in a messed up sense. Hell was a mistake made by God and V1 is destroying it. The council was corrupt and it made Gabriel realize this. It finally gave Gabriel a good fight. It freed Minos and Sisyphus. It's permanently killing the tortured and freeing them from hell. Of course, in a very messed up way…

I love the comparison of Humanity (God's creation) gaining free-will against his will and machines (Mankind's creation) gaining free-will against their will.

I love the parallels of Gabriel's and V1's designs. How both stories are told and how they relate to each other.

I fucking love Ultrakill. There's so much more I can cover but this post is already a lot. Be free to add other things you love about the game and its lore.

#Ultrakill #I hope people understand this #I just decided to throw all my favorite findings about Ultrakill on a post #Long post #V1 #v1 ultrakill #gabriel #gabriel ultrakill #Minos prime #sisyphus prime #I love ultrakill #Thank you for this wonderful game about a go-pro invading hell and beating ass

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icarus-n-flames · 2 days

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So multiverses exist in DC. I think I read online that there is a version of Charles and Edwin that are in Gotham? Charles is actually alive when they meet for a good bit. Anyway I brought this up to say that what if it takes Charles seeing another version of himself be so OBVIOUSLY in love with Edwin to get his shit together?

Like imagine the Doom Patrol Edwin and Charles somehow end up in this universe and they decide, well, who better to get them out of this than themselves so you’ve got them all together trying to solve this situation of getting them back to their universe.

So for the sake of my sanity I will refer to Doom Patrol Charles and Edwin like so: v1!Charles v1!Edwin

In the meantime you’ve got Edwin who has confessed and v1!Edwin who has decidedly NOT confessed. Maybe you’d have Edwin a little curious as they work together on exactly where their relationship is. Like, to him it seems pretty close bordering on something else but he is constantly reminding himself that they’re just close like he and his Charles. That gives him a little ache to think about: “his Charles”

Anyway so getting all curious he has to ask if v1!Edwin has mentioned his feelings for Charles yet which gets him a look so severe… “Why would you ask something so ridiculous as that? Why would I tell him that I am in love with him?” And not thinking Edwin is just like “I am, I only assumed other versions of myself would as well…was I incorrect to assume so?” And boy v1!Edwin getting all shifty but now HE’S curious too because, did this version of him CONFESS HIS FEELINGS? Now he’s wondering how it went but terrified of the answer so he’s a bit prickly about it.

Then we jump to the Charles(s) who are just playing ping pong with the one braincell (I’m joking, they’re being proper efficient). They’re probably getting a bit more done than the Edwins that’s for sure. That is until they get distracted. They probably talk about Crystal and how different their meeting her was. Charles probably talks about the hilarity that was being trapped in Port Townsend just minus the hell bit.

After a while of working on this case together, Charles starts to pick up more and more on the way the V1 versions of themselves act. He can’t help but think to himself that they look, well, a bit like a couple don’t they? V1!Charles is fiercely protective even from him and maybe a bit possessive, even if lowkey. He also picks up on the way they look at one another. Is he really seeing the same look in V1!Charles’ eyes that V1!Edwin is tossing him? It makes him uncomfortable but not in a bad way, just in a way that it makes him restless and jittery like one too many coffees or too much sugar first thing in the day. He also kind of feels like the last to know something but WHAT exactly just hasn’t broken through yet.

Eventually it does. Perhaps it’s the way they rush to one another after a tough situation or maybe it’s the way he notices V1!Charles all but snuggle into V1!Edwin when they hug it out and that little smile that V1!Edwin secretly smiles because his Charles can’t see. V1!Charles is in love with his Edwin…which brings up a whole lot of questions.

It’s watching himself with another Edwin that shows him that holy shit he’s definitely in love with Edwin if he’s acting like that and looking at Edwin like that all the time.

To me it’s just a bit of comedy to have to look at yourself from the outside to figure out just how you feel on the inside.

I had wanted to type so much more but adult responsibilities got in the way and I lost all my little thought threads ;(

#dead boy detectives #charles rowland #edwin payne #payneland #just rambling and talking to the void #fic idea maybe?

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glitteringcrab · 1 month

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SCHEMATICS BOOGER-AIDS-V1 (aka: the first Omega Device)

Season 6, Episode 10 "Ricktional Mortpoons Rickmas Mortcation"

At the beginning of the episode, we see Rick C-137 attempting to track Rick Prime using a killbot (presumably stolen during S6E1):

By the end of the same episode, the view pans out and we get a full view of Rick's sub-basement:

Note the hologram of naked Rick Prime dancing in the centre.

Season 7, Episode 1 "How Poopy Got His Poop Back"

Instead of the hologram of the naked dancing Prime, we have a computer monitor.

When Morty asks him if he's made any progress, Rick sarcastically replies that he totally found the version of himself that killed his wife (heh) and they had a big fight offscreen and Morty just missed it!

Season 7, Episode 5 "Unmortricken"

We see a view of Rick's sub-basement again, and guess what?

There is a clone in there now...!

So, the first thought that pops in our minds is that between S7E1 and S7E5 Rick C-137 went out hunting, defeated and successfully captured one of Rick Prime's clones!

...But Rick's line in S7E1 suggests that the fight might have happened shortly before the beginning of S7E1, and the Prime Clone was being analyzed offscreen somewhere at the time.

Alright, let's head off to the next point.

Inside the Box, Rick Prime announces to the Ricks captured that Diane has been erased from every universe across infinity.

To which Evil Morty responds:

Even though Rick C-137 knows how the infinite murder took place:

Evil Mortyyyyyyyyy... You had stolen Rick C-137's memories! Rick C-137 knows about this weapon, so you should know about it too! I mean, maybe Eyepatch Morty has passed by sentimental trivia of Rick's life when he watched the stolen memories, but this sort of weapon is definitely the sort of thing that would pique his interest (as we saw).

Why is Evil Morty not familiar with the Omega Device?

Well, the conclusion I get from the above is that Rick C-137 found out about the Omega Device after S5E10, after Evil Morty finished scanning his brain (and, uh, well, Evil Morty probably reached the same conclusion).

Gee, which inferior would that be?

(and I'm wondering if some sort of unspoken communication is passing between Rick C-137 and Evil Morty at that moment, because the moment Rick C-137 mentions the name of the device Evil Morty glares at him, understanding that something occurred after he had scanned Rick C-137's brain. And Rick seems quick to deny any involvement: he only heard the name of the Device from some random, "inferior" Rick lol. This does not seem to placate Evil Morty.)

Back at the safety of Rick's sub-basement, Evil Morty chastises Rick C-137 for not learning to cut his losses and quit:

And well, that line makes sense because Rick has ruined his life searching for Rick Prime, but it will make even more sense if my theory is correct :P

Rick, in turn, is already aware of the fact that Evil Morty is scared of the Omega Device.

Which, well, makes sense, but I remember being surprised at that moment. The possibility of Rick Prime targeting Mortys out of spite had not crossed my head, although from what we now know of Rick Prime, it's actually to be expected.

Let's head to my third and final point:

Rick, Rick, Riiiick... Why would you be bummed he built it again (after it was presumably destroyed somehow, by someone, in the past)? Of course Rick Prime built it again, why did you expect/hope it'd be otherwise?

And why would Rick Prime building the machine again be "impressive"? Even from Season 1 Diane was never around, she's been dead for years, obviously from the Omega Device! That's plenty of time for someone to destroy the first Omega Device, and for Rick Prime to build it again.

Of course, it's possible Rick Prime made the first Omega Device a long time ago, killed Diane, then had a clone guard his superweapon for many years, and Rick C-137 found and destroyed the weapon only recently (so of course he'd be surprised and bummed that Rick Prime re-built the weapon so soon)...

BUT.

Interesting line, isn't it? And doesn't Rick appear to be seething in this scene?

Now, supposing Rick Prime has been messing with time... Isn't it possible that:

Shortly before S7E1 Rick C-137 managed to trace one of Rick Prime's clones/decoys, which eventually led him to the Omega Device v1 (pardon, Booger Aids v1)

And that Rick Prime's clone retroactively killed Diane across all infinities?

Wouldn't this theory make Rick's line in the above screenshot a lot more literal?

Wouldn't it make Evil Morty's glare in the box a lot more accusing?

Wouldn't it give more meaning to Evil Morty's remark about Rick C-137 "reaaally learning [his] lesson about chasing this guy"?

Wouldn't it make the threat of the Omega Device a lot more imminent, and a lot more personal, to Evil Morty? After all, if Diane is gone, killed a few months ago in retaliation not to a hundred different Ricks pissing off Rick Prime, but specifically to Rick C-137's failed quest for revenge, who is next when Rick C-137 next fails?

Wouldn't it make Rick Prime's line ("this guy does not know when to quit") a lot... heavier?

Honestly, for me, the cherry-on-top of this theory is the possibility of Rick Prime and Rick C-137 bickering: Rick Prime's clone proudly presenting the "Omega Device", Rick C-137 calling that name dumb, and then Rick Prime changing it to: "the weapon too cool for a name" lol

#he built it again #rick prime #rick c-137 #rick sanchez #omega device #rick and morty #rick c137 #rick c 137

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ohbaby-here-we-go-again · 23 days

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Hello ! So I saw @kaddyssammlung do an analysis of ‘Granite’ and as it’s one of my favourite sleep token songs, particularly from a lyric perspective, I was inspired to do one of my own :]

General overview of lyric/story construction:

Ok so for me part of what makes this song so great is the story telling and use of double imagery. Conceptually it’s split between talking about a bad relationship (A imagery) and a car crash (B imagery), though the lines dedicated to B imagery can almost always be read as metaphors for the bad relationship. For me I also see it as a story split up into 3 different time slots: past (focuses just on vessel and the relationship), present (vessel in the car crash, and in moment leading up to the crash), and future (post crash where I think that vessel/his character has died). I generally see the first verse as future, the chorus as present and, the second verse as past.

Line by line analysis:

“Sulfur on your breath”

For me I always associate Sulfur with Hell, specifically the concept of ‘fire and brimstone’ (brimstone is an old name for Sulfur) and the ‘lake of fire’ in the bible which burns with brimstone. From this line we learn a lot about the person vessel is singing about (I’ll refer to them as S).

Vessel uses Hell associated language to describe S, meaning he knows they aren’t a good person/aren’t good for him. Additionally, when sulfur burns it produces sulfur dioxide (SO2), which turns into (potentially deadly) sulfurous acid (H2SO3) when it comes in contact with water - something our moist lungs have a lot of. So for someone to have “sulfur on [their] breath,” and potentially in their lungs, alludes to the idea that this person is not only bad for for vessel, but also self-destructive to a dangerous degree.

Also fun fact: Sulfur burns blue and when you see it, particularly across large areas, it looks a lot like water. Which I just thought was neat considering sleep token’s love of using water imagery and the colour blue.

“Granite in my chest”

This is definitely some sweet sensory imagery from vessel to set you in the song’s mindset/emotion

But I also think within the context of the story, the granite he could be referring to is the little bits of decomposed granite they sometimes use in road base. if the car crashed and he ended up on the road with chest injuries, he could very well have got some of those little bits stuck in there.

“You won't ever have to talk about it // You'll never have to talk about it”

I feel like the ‘it’ he’s talking about here, is referring to both their relationship and the crash/his body. Like S never wants to talk about how toxic their relationship is with vessel, and when they crash the car, they run away from the site/ves’s body and don’t talk about it for legal reasons to not go to jail for manslaughter.

Also the reason I think ves (in this song) died in the crash is cos of the chorus phrasing - specifically the past tense and use of the word “body” to refer to himself.

“Fury too damn late”

I agree with the idea of seeing someone for what they really are/wishing he got angry sooner. Like, maybe if he did, and decided to leave, he wouldn’t have been in the car with them when it crashed (and hence wouldn’t have died).

“Reason dislocates”

Vessel at it again with the awesome imagery that ties songs together ! The word ‘dislocate’ definitely ties in with the car accident imagery. But using it to refer to ‘reason’ makes me think he’s using it to describe/explain his not leaving/bad judgement. Like if you run it on from the line above, he’s saying ‘I didn’t get mad and leave when I should have because I wasn’t seeing the relationship with sound reasoning’ (due to an injury aka ~past trauma~ baby).

CHORUS

“I was more than just a body in your passenger seat”

Here B imagery is being used. with now deceased vessel talking to S about how, because they didn’t value him, he’s just a body in their wrecked car.

Additionally this could be metaphorical for their relationship. Vessel feeling like S is very controlling, maybe specifically over him, maybe just over the type of relationship they had. Either way he didn’t feel like he had much agency in what was going on.

“and you were more than just somebody I was destined to meet”

Honestly I’m not super clear on the meaning of this line, but I think he’s talking about how his own trauma, and self destructive tendencies, lead him to a lot of toxic relationships (including S), but despite that he feels he really did love S.

Like, because he hasn’t healed from something in his past, he repeats these patterns when it comes to the people he gets with. This can be the result of something called ‘emotional addiction’ where you seek out things that trigger certain emotions in order to produce chemicals in the brain that mimic a ‘reward’ feeling (similar to drug use). Often this is the result of when you’ve had periods of your life (often in childhood) that were unstable and chaotic, so you brain has come to register ‘home’ - and by extension ‘safety’ - as something choatic, and will hence seek out people that provide those ‘emotional hits’ even if they’re not good for your physical and/or mental health.

So basically ves is saying ‘ yea, I got with you because the trauma cycle I’m in makes the traits you exhibit attractive…but then I loved you for who you are. Your soul meant more to me than the chemicals.’ …. which obviously isn’t a super healthy thought, but it is honestly heart breaking, and makes me want to give vessel a hug if that’s anywhere close to the truth.

“I see you go half-blind when you're looking at me”

Ok so i feel like this is talking about both ves feelin like S doesn’t see him for who he is in the relationship, but also if they’re in the car, potentially arguing, S turning to look at vessel while driving means they’re ‘half-blind’ to the road…which is obviously not good.

“But I am // Between the second hand smoke and the glass on the street”

This could be painting an image of both the car crash, ves’s body laying between the glass and smoke of the wreck, and earlier in the relationship, where vessel and S are hanging out and there is smashed glass (possible from alcoholic drinks) and smoke from cigarettes. Images which conjure a chaotic and self destructive atmosphere, playing off the themes we’ve seen in vessel and S so far.

“You gave me nothing whatsoever but a reason to leave”

this line is pretty straight forward. No matter what time slot we’re in S wasn’t treating him good.

“You say you want me, but you know I'm not what you need // But I am”

At first I was a little confused by this line because it sounded like it was contradicting itself. But what I think is happening is vessel is quoting S, saying they ‘wanted to be with him but on some level knew the relationship was toxic and not good for either of them,’ and then vessel is say ‘no I am what you need.’ It feels like this is another ‘vessel no!’ moment…. Like while this song does talk about S in a way that you can tell he understands that S and the relationship weren’t good (man’s is comparing it to a car crash were he dies, so there’s some self awareness) there are these softer moment like the ‘more than destined to meet’ line where he shows that despite all the bad shit, he really loves this person. To the degree where if the Big Thing (in this case the crash and death) hadn’t of happened, it sounds like he might have still pursued this relationship, or this ‘love’ he’s feeling. Which honestly is kinda a theme with ST songs.

Like if you look at some of the others you see this theme of vessel (or the character he’s created) being in these relationships that aren’t good for him because he is so desperate for someone to love him that he either ends up betraying himself - “I might break and bend to my basic need to be loved and close to somebody,” - he tries to take care of the person he’s with (which would make him needed and therefore loved) “I will be watching for your enemies //To let them know that they contend with me,” “give me all that you can give // All your darkest impulses” -or he’s like cool yea it’s ok if you fuck me up so long as for a moment I feel loved “a sacrifice in your name //But I know you've got a taste //So just take a bite of me,” “I know for the last time //You will not be mine //So give me the night.”

….anyways psychoanalysis tangent over sorry haha

“When you sit there acting like you know me //Acting like you only brought me here to get below me”

pretty self explanatory. Ves is feeling used, and S sees the relationship as something different than what he does.

“Never mind the death threats, parting at the door //We'd rather be six feet under than be lonely”

Giving you scope of the relationship, where they seem to have intense arguments that involve at least one of them threatening the other and then leaving…only to come back because obviously neither of them like to be alone with themselves so for long periods of time - making even the (potentially many) ‘bad days’ of the relationship ‘worth it’ in their eyes.

“And if you had a problem, then you should've told me //Before you started getting all aggressive and controlling”

Also pretty straight forward. vessel is expressing frustration at S’s lack of communication and emotional maturity

“You only drink the water when you think it's holy”

it sounds like S is very stubborn. Additionally, you need water to survive, and only drinking the water that you have decided is ok, based on some arbitrary reason, could be bad for your health if it’s not readily available (you need to hydrate!), and put a strain on relationships you have with people who just want what’s best for you. This could also allude to some religious friction within the relationship but obviously I can’t guess specifics.

“So keep an eye on the road or we will both be here forever”

back to B imagery related to pre car crash. Obviously literally S should be watching the road so they don’t crash the car and kill them both (which would mean they both stay there forever). But there’s also an element of hey if you keep acting the way you do this relationship will never get better and we’ll be stuck here emotionally forever (because again ves seems to really love and be invested in S and not want to leave the relationship).

After this the chorus just repeats.

End Notes:

Obviously I don’t know vessel or anything about his life so this is all speculation based on the vibes of the song haha (plus he might not even be writing from personal experience ya know?). Idk I just really like this song (ngl there are portions of it that give me spider man meme moments haha) and I wanted to share my thoughts with you guys :)

Also I love love love the way ST writes lyrics so if anyone thought this was interesting and wanted to hear my thoughts on other songs, I have many and am willing to share pfft

#sleep token #sleep token band #sleep token vessel

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bradshawsbitch · 1 year

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white christmas | bradley bradshaw x f!reader

this is my contribution to @notroosterbradshaw 's #hello december playlist challenge! my song was 'white christmas' by bing crosby - so feel free to listen to that to get in the mood!

what to expect in this fic: Bradley couldn't remember the last time he hadn't spent Christmas on some type of naval base. After all, he figured it would be better to work through the holiday than sit all on his lonesome. Lucky for him, his girlfriend of two years has other plans this Christmas. You can expect northern lights, snow lanterns, a little good ol' whimsical fun in the Swedish wilderness!

warnings: afab!reader, she/her pronouns, christmas content, santa clause, reindeers, foreign countries (if you're not swedish), mentions of ditching a plane, mentions of security measures on planes (listen, I couldn't help myself. I used to be a flight attendant), mentions of alcohol, l-bombs, random information about swedish christmas tradition, fluff, whimsical stuff.

disclaimer: this was such a fun challenge! and I went a little self indulgent and figured I'd teach y'all some swedish christmas fun! I added some links along the way to help visualize some Swedish stuff that people perhaps have not encountered before. enjoy!

Bradley was sat by the window seat of the Airbus A330 from Chicago. Glancing over to his side, your head had already settled on his soft, hoodie-clad shoulder. During your previous flight from LAX (in a smaller Boeing 737-900), you’d been granted the window seat. On this longer flight though, Bradley had offered to sit by the emergency exit over the wing.

The flight attendant had looked so relieved it was almost comical. They were always surveying their passengers, and he was grateful that they took the extra step to make sure able bodied and stronger looking people were sat at the emergency exits should they need to evacuate.

His girlfriend had given him a small smirk as he’d sat down at the emergency exit seat, and he could tell she was about to tease him light-heartedly. “Oh, I’m a pilot,” you’d giggled, soothing your words with a soft kiss to his shoulder. Bradley had only offered you a smile back, and as he felt the aircraft vibrate for takeoff, he’d smirked and decided to annoy you further, leaning over, letting his lips ghost by your ear as he murmured:

��V1,” as the aircraft hurtled by the last safe speed for which the runway would allow it to stop in case of engine failure or error

“Rotate,” he continued, right as the nose rotated and started it’s ascent, mimicking the words currently spoken in the cockpit by the first and second pilot. He’d snickered as you rolled your eyes, muttering “Show-off,” before turning to read your book. That had been at the beginning of your twelve hour flight, which was now soon coming to its’ close - with you snoozing softly on his shoulder.

He glanced over to the other emergency exit across from him, where a woman in her late 40’s sat with a crossword. Bradley had heard her tell the attendants that she too worked as a crew member, and was very familiar with the procedure should they need to make an emergency landing, or ditch.

Just the thought of ditching this enormous plane made him shudder. He was quite glad that he’d never attempt it in his jets. More often than not, even with a bigger, slower flying aircraft, landing on water was tricky. If the water was rough, a bigger aircraft like this sometimes broke off in the middle. It wasn’t impossible though, and he spent a good 5 minutes thinking of successful ditchings before kissing the top of your head, inhaling the sweet scent - one that instantly brought him peace and comfort. The rest of your flight to Stockholm Arlanda airport was uneventful, some turbulence here and there but it was to be expected.

As Bradley took in the sight of you snoozing on his shoulder, he couldn’t help but smile. Bradley hadn’t asked for leave from work over the holidays since he’d joined the Navy. There was never a reason for him to be home over Christmas, and most years he’d actually ask if there was any available work for him, just so that he’d have something to do on what most would consider one of the more cheerful days of the year. The exception had been last holiday, when you’d asked him if he wanted to come around for dinner with your parents to celebrate Christmas; the year before that your relationship had been relatively new, and you’d exchanged gifts on the 26th instead.

So, last New Years, after a few too many drinks - Bradley had confided in you his secret of having worked during the holidays since his early twenties - and that he’d often been stationed somewhere there really wasn’t any snow, and how he really wished for one of those White Christmases that you saw on TV. Bradley would be the first to admit he got sappy when drunk, but your response had been so sweet - promising him a white Christmas next year, and he was almost sure he heard you swear that he’d never have to spend Christmas alone again.

And so, a few days into the new year, the two of you had begun to plan the journey you were currently on. A journey that would take you deep into the Swedish snow, up in the north where a small village called Jukkasjärvi lay. You’d decided upon it together, both agreeing that staying a night in the iconic ice hotel was a sure thing for the Christmas bucket list.

Bradley knew his girlfriend had spent the entire year researching everything Christmas-related in Sweden, and he also knew she was dying to tell him every single thing she’d found. The two of them had scoured the internet for fun things to try whilst in Sweden, and they’d narrowed it down to a list they figured they would manage during their two week stay.

The first week was for exploring, experiencing their bucket list, and lastly, Christmas. The second week would be for lounging, relaxing and just generally enjoying each other’s company in the wooden cabin they had booked for themselves for the second week. Bradley had insisted on one of the cabins that had a sauna, because he desperately felt he’d need one in the cold climate.

You had teased him, asking him if he knew that it was tradition in the northern countries to sauna in the nude, and then roll in the snow in between sessions. He told you promptly that he did not know that. It sounded almost like a torture tactic. After he’d told you so, you’d forgone telling him about the use of smaller tree branches as whisks to whip against your back. He wasn’t ready for that information yet, you’d decided.

As you successfully landed at Arlanda airport, the two of you sleepily made your way underground for the next part of your travel itinerary. You’d decided that you might as well take the night train to Jukkasjärvi as soon as you’d landed, and you’d only have to switch to a bus when you made it to Kiruna, a town that lay only 30 minutes away from your final destination.

Getting comfortable in the bunk bed you’d booked, Bradley smiled as you snuggled up against his chest and fell fast asleep. Bradley, however, found himself too excited to let sleep grasp at his consciousness just now. He was spellbound as his eyes gazed out at the gray night sky, already seeing thick snowflakes falling around the moving train. But soon, the warmth of your body, the gentle rocking of the train, and the flurry of snow outside the window of the compartment had him lulled to sleep.

Bradley was fucking freezing. Of course, he had anticipated that the Northernmost cities or villages of Sweden would be cold, but this was beyond anything he’d ever experienced. He was surprised to find he liked it. It kept his head surprisingly clear as he inhaled the icy air.

He was suddenly glad the two of you had researched extensively what type of gear you’d need to sleep in a hotel made of snow and ice, because his wool thermal underwear, his fleece midlayer, his balaclava, warm hat and mittens kept his body sufficiently warm in the coveralls the ice hotel had provided you.

He snuck a peek at you, where you stood, enraptured by the guide that had welcomed you. The guide had first informed you that the temperature was about -15 degrees celsius, which meant that it was roughly 5 degrees fahrenheit. The guide then started telling you about the Polar nights, or as they called it, mid winter nights “Oh my god, Bradley that sounds magical” you whispered to him, your voice laced with an endearing amount of excitement.

He smiled down at you and squeezed you close to his side to show he was excited too. The polar nights were a period of time in Lapland where the sun never dared to show itself, the guide expressed, and the only light they got were two hours near noon that they called “blue hours”, when the night sky turned a little lighter blue, and the white snow reflected that soft light to make it illuminate the nature just a little bit. Your eyes were twinkling excitedly, and Bradley thought he might not have seen anything more beautiful in his life.

You were looking up at him, giggling softly as the hot breath made wisps of smoke appear in the cold air. “You have ice in your mustache, Roos,” you murmured, in awe of the fact that almost every single individual hair of his mustache had ice crystals on them, on the bottom from the moisture of his lips, and the top from where he exhaled warm air onto it.

Rooster was pretty sure he could feel the hairs in his nostrils freezing as he inhaled - it was a weird sensation, but something he got used to surprisingly quickly. “Yeah, well your eyelashes are icy too,” he mumbled with a quick smile before nudging your side, to make you turn your attention back to the guide.

The guide was smiling at the two of you, explaining how the inside of the ice suites were actually about -5 to -7 celsius due to the insulation that the snow and ice provided (Bradley thought that sounded like a contradiction if he ever heard one), which was about 19 degrees fahrenheit.

As the tour ended, the two of you made your way into the hotel. Bradley was blown away at the detail with which the artists had sculpted ice to look like art. He could hardly voice how in awe he was, which caused him to just gape and stare at the interior. You, on the other hand, were ohh-ing and ahh-ing and pulling on his hand to drag him further in to explore the ice bar, and the ice church. The two of you shared a very cold drink in one of the bars icen glasses, giggling and sharing an excited kiss over the first drink of the night.

“Happy holidays, Bradley” you sighed happily, leaning your body into him. Bradley was used to having you close, so the distance your thick clothing provided had him whining softly at not being able to have you closer to him.

“Happy holidays, my love. This is already above and beyond any of my wildest dreams right now,” Bradley confessed into your beanie clad head, pressing a soft kiss to the fabric, hoping you felt the sentiment of it. It seemed you did, since you offered him a breathtaking smile that had his heart doing double time somewhere under all his layers of clothing.

“We can’t forget to watch for the northern lights tonight!” you reminded him softly, sipping on your drink. He shook his head, smiling at your eager tone. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, sweetheart,” he had listened to your calculations, and the general knowledge you’d picked up about the aurora borealis, and he hoped you’d get to experience one tonight.

After a chilly night in the ice suite, you spent the rest of the week in your booked warm hotel room, enjoying fancy dinners during the evenings (which, admittedly, didn't always feel like evenings due to the almost constant darkness), treating yourselves to glasses of prosecco and wine. Giggling with each other in the room beforehand as you dressed up fancy. Bradley alternated between slacks and a button-up, and full blown suits. A favorite of yours was his navy blue one, that he wore tonight, on the 22nd of December.

“Have I told you that you look gorgeous in this?” you said, voice a low murmur as you slung your arm around his neck in the elevator on the way to the dining hall.

“Nope,” Rooster smirked, dropping down to give you a breathtaking kiss “But thank you, sweets. You look real handsome,” he teased, noticing that you referred to him as the endearment he most used for you - ‘gorgeous’, switching up the endearment to the one you most used for him - ‘handsome’. But he’d have likened your look to ‘beautiful’ in all reality, because that’s what he could best describe your deep green attire, hair and makeup all done up and pretty.

As you sat down to eat, you figured you’d go over the plans you had for the morning. Bradley had been looking forward to this one all year. You’d booked to go sledding, to see the reindeer farm located on the native Swedish land.

Bradley and you had spent countless hours searching for the perfect place to be able to interact with the reindeer, and the perfect opportunity seemed to be close enough, with a museum of the Sàmi customs and cuisine, which gave you a two for one experience - culture and some good old fashioned Christmas experiences.

“What if we see Santa?” you exclaimed excitedly as you raised your glass to your lips. “Why would you say that?” Rooster furrowed his brows, feeling like he might’ve missed something important here

“Roos, he lives here!” his girlfriend exclaimed, as if mortally wounded that he did not know that Santa Clause resided in Jukkasjärvi. “I thought he lived on the North Pole?” Bradley laughed, and you shook your head vehemently “No, babe. The Swedes insist he lives here, in Lapland. Of course, I saw some forums argue he lives in Finland - but I choose to believe he lives here. Wouldn’t it be great if we saw actual Santa?”

Bradley could only smile at your satisfied smile over the rim of your champagne glass, a determined twinkle in your eyes. He loved the fact that you were kind of whimsical, trying to make this a real White Christmas for him to remember - and he couldn’t exactly help that it made his heart grow three sizes.

“And how is it that you know this then?” Rooster inquired, smiling softly as you took a bite of your meal. He had an inkling that you’d gone all in for the research, to surprise him with fun facts during your trip. Your bashful smile confirmed his suspicions.

“Well, I might have read up on Swedish Christmas traditions - wouldn’t it be fun to follow them? I’ve even booked their Christmas smörgåsbord!” Bradley couldn’t help but throw his head back and laugh at the excited sparkle that hid beneath your lashes, his chest filling with warmth for his girlfriend again. “There’s a Christmas smörgåsbord? Is that tradition?” he inquired curiously.

“Yup! There sure is. They have small sausages, meatballs, of course, and a ham that they eat with sweet mustard - and some weird pickled herring. I’m a bit wary of those, but we have to be brave, Bradley. We have to show the vikings we’re one of them,” your soft giggle mingled with his laughter, as the soft voice of Bing Crosby meandered through the dining hall, singing about White Christmas as the snow fell peacefully outside of the window.

“Is that on the 25th, then?” you shook your head no, “Swedish folk celebrate Christmas on the 24th. Which makes sense if Santa lives here! He’ll do these countries first, and then come to us. I knew that man couldn’t possibly do the whole world in one day!”

As dessert was served, and your glasses began to empty, the two of you were feeling giggly, sleepy and all around filled with warmth and Christmas cheer. As you stood up after having paid, Rooster wrapped a large arm around your frame, pulling you into his chest to place a lingering kiss on the top of your head. “This was one of the best ideas we’ve ever had, darling,” he murmured, placing a couple of more kisses against your temple as you slowly made your way up to your room.

Cold, biting air nipped at Roosters cheeks as the sleigh moved forwards in the snow. It was a clear sky today, which heightened the chance to see the auroras considerably, you’d told him happily after the two of you enjoyed a lengthy breakfast together. You’d made Bradley try some Swedish spread called ‘kaviar’ to which he retched for a good three minutes, before he swore revenge upon you, making you giggle as he pretended to glare at you.

Bells were softly jingling as the large horses trotted along the small streets through the tiny village, headed towards the snow clad boreal forest. Bradley was squinting to see the houses that lined the streets. Some of them had snowmen and women in their front yards, but many of them had weird, cone shaped little snow buildings by the entrance to their homes.

He furrowed his brows, pointing with a mittened hand in the direction of one before he asked out loud “What are those little lit up things? Are those made of snow?” he watched as you turned your head to inspect them too, before the driver of the carriage half turned and smiled.

“Those are snow lanterns,” he spoke, before gently saying something in Swedish to one of the horses to calm it before continuing “they’re made out of snow. Mostly children will make them by making snowballs, and arranging them in a cone shape. Their parents will then put a candle in the cone as the dark falls, and it works as a pretty lantern the children can watch from their windows before they go to sleep. Some parents tell their children that’s how Santa will find their houses.”

Bradley thought to himself that if he ever had any children, he’d make snow lanterns with them to make sure Santa and his reindeers found his house. The smallest stitch of sorrow settled deep within his chest, before he caught sight of your face - looking as enamored as he was by the idea of snow lanterns.

“Maybe we could make one later?” Bradley told you softly, smiling down at your bundled up form. “Sadly, the snow is too dry to form anything. They must’ve made these earlier in the year, when the snow was still wet.” the driver said before turning around completely to steer the horses into a narrow path in the woods. At this, your face lit up, and Rooster could tell that that was something you had read up on.

“Roos, did you know that the native people of Sweden are said to have about one hundred different lexical words for snow? Like the quality of snow matters!” you looked so beautiful like this. The soft light of the day, the crystal white and sparkling snow whirling all around your face, cheeks cold and eyelashes frosted. He had to take a deep breath to settle himself, a lopsided, goofy smile on his face. “Is that so? What type of snow is this then?”

“Well, seeing as it’s so cold, I’d say this is probably the powdery sort. The kind that when you throw it at someone, it just dusts away in the wind. I would guess that to make snowmen and snow lanterns, you’d need the heavier, wetter kind that falls in the beginning of the season, when it’s not below freezing,” you surmised, and Bradley just chuckled, ruffling your hat on your head “That’s my smart girl!”

As you approached the reindeer farm, Bradley could practically feel you vibrating with excitement beside him, and as the sled came to a stop, Bradley jumped down, offering his mitten clad hands out to you to help you down.

His heart stuttered a bit at the breathtaking smile that had formed on your lips, and he opted to seize you by the waist, lifting you down instead. Your happy peal of laughter as he spun you once, made a large grin appear on his lips as well. “Hi, baby,” he murmured, as your arms snaked around his neck, leaning down to peck his lips lovingly before he let you down.

The afternoon on the 23rd was spent petting and feeding the reindeer, cooing over how absolutely sweet and adorable they were, eating candied almonds you bought (and learning they were popular here during Christmas), had a glass of mulled wine each with almonds and raisins in it, and learning about native Swedish customs and culture. As the two of you meandered towards the end of the little market they had put up, suddenly Bradley heard his girlfriend suck in a heavy gasp.

“Bradley!” you whisper-screamed, jumping up and down whilst pointing towards the thicker forest a bit away.

There, between the thick cover of pine trees, a soft gold light was moving slowly in the thick snow. Bradley furrowed his brows, staring more intently as he caught a glimmer of red flashing in the soft light.

“Oh my God, Roos!” your voice was borderline hysteric with unbridled, childish excitement, and Bradley himself couldn’t help but feel somewhat the same way as you. There, in the woods, was undoubtedly a man, who was quite large - his thick white beard decidedly not a fake one.

One of the reindeer close to you, heard the ruffle of movement and it snapped its head around to look at the man. It slowly turned and started walking towards the man, and both yours and Bradleys’ jaw dropped as you faintly saw the man chuckling, a small piece of parchment sticking out of one of his deep, worn pockets.

Bradley hardly wanted to blink, but he had to gauge your reaction - were you seeing this!? Were his eyes deceiving him? But no, as he looked at you, the same stunned, wondrous facial expression was on your face as well. “Baby…” Bradley said incredulously, and when his gaze returned to the spot where he’d seen the man and the reindeer - they were gone.

“Was that…?” Bradley started, and you only nodded mutely, completely flabbergasted at what you’d just witnessed. “I need a moment,” you told your boyfriend and he nodded, only letting one small laugh escape his lips as he shook his head - a new found twinkle shining in his amber eyes as the two of you ordered a cup of hot chocolate, Bradley opting to have the smiling girl clad in a Gákti (a traditional dress for the Sàmi) fill his cup with a minty liquor as well.

As the two of you sat in the carriage on the way home, silence stretching through the darkness of the night, the moon illuminating the snow enough so that every single detail of the landscape was still dimly visible, you finally spoke.

“That was the real Santa Clause, wasn’t it?” your voice sounded revered, and serious. “I am so fucking sure that that was the real Santa, didn’t you see the reindeer approach him!?” Bradley could barely contain his mirth “Shh, Bradley! No swearing!! He’ll know!” you hissed before triumphantly saying “I told you he lived here!”

“Oh, fuck! Shit, I mean–” he laughed at himself “I won’t swear anymore,” before silence fell between the two of you. However, the night wasn’t completely silent anymore. Aside from the soft noises from the horses, and the bells jingling softly, a peculiar sound met their ears.

The driver smiled softly “I believe we’ll see some northern lights soon,” you gasped softly at the drivers words “Oh my god, I read that some people can hear the auroras,” and as soon as the words were out of your mouth, the sky exploded in shades of green, blue and at some spots violet as well.

The sharp intake of air from you was the only thing filling the night, except for a peculiar crackling sound. It was so overwhelming, seeing the lights dance slowly across the expanse of the night sky. Bradley had never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life, and as the sled slowly came to a stop, he noticed that his tears had already frozen on his cheeks.

When you’d admired the aurora in awed silence for a few minutes, the driver softly had the horses come to a walk again, sensing that staying still for any longer would have them freeze. However, the lights were still slowly dancing back and forth over the skies, and Bradley was sure he’d have a kink in his neck from the way he couldn’t bear to rip his gaze away from this phenomena.

All at once, Bradley could understand why the Sàmi, and natives in his own home country might believe that a higher being was sending them omens through the lights. They were breathtaking, and if he hadn’t known the science behind the lights - he was pretty sure he too would believe that they were otherworldly. Perhaps he’d choose to believe they were either way.

The two of you reached your room, drawing a hot bath before peeling your clothes off. When you’d warmed up a little, the two of you chattered excitedly about what you’d experienced that day - arguing over who had been the nicest this year.

“Listen, I am one hundred percent sure Santa saw me give Hangman the last piece of the birthday cake earlier this year!”

“Bradley, that was his birthday cake!”

“So then it was pretty nice of me to let him have it, right?”

Waking up on the 24th, Rooster nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck, inhaling your sweet scent as you slowly came to consciousness. “Merry Christmas, Roos,” your soft voice had a sleepy hint to it as your fingers carded through his slightly longer locks.

“Merry Christmas, love of my life,” Bradley sighed happily, placing soft kisses to your exposed neck as his arms wound tight around your midsection. The two of you lay wrapped in each others embrace for a big part of the morning, before exchanging a single gift with each other.

Later that day, you joined the other residents in eating a Christmas smörgåsbord, listening to Christmas songs, and lastly, dancing around the large tree that sat in the lobby. Drinking Christmas ale, mulled wine and sparkling cider. It was the best Christmas Bradley had had for years, and as the jolly type of music wound down to a beautiful Swedish rendition of ‘O Holy Night’ transitioned into ‘White Christmas’, Bradley once again embraced you, swirling you around in a slow dance.

His lips found yours in a kiss that felt as if the northern lights had exploded within the two of you, and were dancing merrily between you.

“Thank you,” Bradley murmured against your lips “for giving me the best Christmas of my life,” he continued, pulling back to admire your beautiful, twinkling eyes.

“Thank you, Bradley,” you replied softly, squeezing his hand before resting your cheek on his sweater clad chest, swaying softly to the tune of the beautiful song that rang out in the winter night.

a/n: ahhh!!! I hope you guys liked this one! I added links to give a visual to things that not everyone knows of or has seen before. I hope it wasn't distracting! Please let me know what you thought of this whimsical little fun fic! <3 lots of love to those who don't celebrate christmas, or have a hard time with christmas as well - I love you so much<3

#bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw x you #bradley rooster bradshaw x you #rooster x reader #rooster x you #bradley rooster bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley rooster bradshaw fluff #bradley bradshaw fanfic #my writing #hello december playlist challenge

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ultragift · 5 months

Text

FROM: @vidra-comprehends

TO: @gayrhys

Two robots stare at the old paper. It has legible words on it and is more or less intact compared to the other pages lying around, which the two have already checked. Despite the halcyon weather, V1 keeps it pinned under its foot while V2 reads it out loud.

To my dearest friend!

My fingers are swiftly losing their mobility as I am writing you this letter. Forgive me if it is not very pretty.

While you are scorched by the Sun, I am to suffer its eternal absence. Those around me still moving are banding together, trying to find warmth in the others’ presence, but our bodies only radiate more coldness.

From time to time, the Lake’s ice carries to us the echoes of a great scream. It is terrible, but not at all terrifying. Still, should I venture too close to the middle, I would surely witness something unfit for a human soul. The only other sounds are the heavy steps of souls and the singing ice.

Even as the Greatest Cold overtakes me, I stand by my decision; letting you continue would have been an even greater sin. I hope you will find it in yourself to acknowledge why it was necessary as I will likely never again have the ability to think like a capable man, and so, I could not change my mind even if I wanted to.

With no remorse nor disdain left to warm me-

V2 looks up to see V1 already walking towards the edge of the frozen lake. "You read quickly." V1's rusty speech box spits out a few words. "REMAINING TEXT: IRRELEVANT.”

A strange sensation not unlike overheating registers to the red machine. How dares it? V2 wants to shake it by the shoulder and scream. His fury overpowers his common sense as he takes a few quick steps towards the blue machine, who - in the meantime - has started stomping on the thin ice by the shore.

"Irrelevant? What is wrong with you?! What is wrong with you in general?!"

A quick shot of its revolver makes him freeze in place. He is not at all sure that V1 missed on purpose. His steps are very careful as he catches up to it, but his voice is still full of anger. And condescendence. "You don't get to say that. They matter so much. Do you hear me? They matter! This letter meant something to someone. Hey, are you listening?"

V1 seems to be more invested in the chunks of ice it managed to free.

"Seriously, even after everything we've witnessed on our way down here...? Don't you see? There is so much harm...or there used to be so much harm in the world. No. There still is. These souls are suffering. And the best we could do was k-" An inexplicable error in the speech software. V2 doesn't start again, but he is unable to take the pain out of his voice. "We were built to protect them, you know."

V1 finally looks up, but it simply points a cold finger at V2. Of course. He was built to protect.

"Why did you repair me?" It was built to kill.

The V models are incapable of shrugging, but V1 does something similar enough. "DAMAGED." "Hm? What do you mean?"

V1 is clearly not comfortable speaking, but V2 has to know. He has to know the truth if they are going to end here. Or at least one of them will. This layer welcomed those who were willing to go to any lengths for a little personal victory. "REPAIR PROTOCOL. FAILED TO...SEPARATE."

V2 thinks for a few seconds. "Did you believe you were repairing yourself?" This wins him a thumbs up.

It was like tying a tie on someone else for the first time. The blue machine knew how to work on itself, but when the protocol kicked in under the pyramid in Greed, it found that the body is seen from an irregular angle. In the end, V1 resorted to holding the other machine to its chest to be able to work properly.

"But you know now that I'm not you, right?" Another thumbs up. V2 doesn't force the conversation further. He focuses on the ice instead. The written pages scattered all over the area don’t stop at the shore, partly or fully frozen like semi-aquatic plants during a harsh winter. The hole V1 made is rapidly freezing up, but something is still clearly visible at the bottom.

“Did you have a chance to see what that is?” Instead of an answer, V1 gives the fresh ice a good kick, splashing water all over the place.

“Hey, watch out! This can damage both of us! Especially your absorbent plating. It would be smarter to- What is that? Is that a fishing rod?! Where the Hell did you get that?” Its hands occupied, V1 nods. “What?!”

The thing they saw at the bottom is soon reeled to the surface. It is a book. Unfortunately, it immediately freezes as it is removed from the water; there’s no chance of opening it without destroying the paper. V1 doesn’t seem satisfied until it brings up half a dozen books, all acting the same way. It doesn’t give V2 much time to consider any implications or greater meaning the scene might have, heading deeper towards the middle.

“We should prepare for that fight thoroughly,” V2 warns. His predecessor doesn’t react. Its steps are light and it gently swings the fishing rod from side to side as it walks. Not for the first time today, V2 feels very lost. “If you’re not going to fight... What are you even looking for?”

Speech has never been so easy for V1 as it is in this moment. “FISH.”

#ultragift 2023 #ultragifts

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bestworstcase · 5 months

Note

I urgh, made a reblog earlier on your post about The Shallow Sea, asked a question there which you might have seen and then accidentally deleted it (oops!)

Anyway I wanted to ask do you think the fanus’s struggle for equality will be involved somehow in salem’s villian-to-hero arc? Because fanus and salem (and grimm) are just so heavily connected. She actually had a very great chance with sienna but unfortunately adam killed her.

And also if you could elaborate this salem being the god of animals thing, did she actually created fanus or it’s more about symbolic connection?

An additional note which’s just something I found very interesting. In the opening of v6, adam appears as the leader of white fang while the song goes ‘the river knows to reach the sea’. Besides the chronological order goes cinder-adam-the rest of salem’s force. (Added that rising is a salem song)

oh i. i think about salem and the faunus and grimm only a normal amount. there's more that i've written on the topic than that (among others, i have a relevant post about tyrian and his worship of salem somewhere but i cannot for the life of me find it) but tumblr, u know.

not directly faunus related but the god of choice post is salient because rwby handles divinity in a very polytheist way, and while the recent alchemy post was just for fun it does also lay out the thematically essential death/resurrection element of salem's immortality with more clarity.

(my other mythology tin hat is that salem was the original inspiration for 'the warrior in the woods') (<- tangent).

TL;DR: i think she is the literal, though possibly indirect, creator of the faunus (through her combination of human + grimm into own being; the faunus descend from this harmony of opposites in some way) and that at some point in history, she belonged to faunus civilization and the mythical figure of the 'god of animals' arose through a combination of worship of salem herself + stories she told about the brothers in relation to her transformations.

(notice that the god of animals in 'the shallow sea' resembles darkness in character, and the one in 'the judgment of faunus' resembles light, but both versions are also unrecognizable as the brothers because they interact with their chosen people in a reciprocal manner—faunus choose to be changed in both stories. where ozma uses myth to guide humans toward what his god wants them to be, salem used myth to uphold her idea of what the brothers should have been and what kind of gods deserve reverence.)

the narrative has not ever been shy about making symbolic connections between the faunus and the grimm—like, blake reveals her ears for the first time whilst gazing at and identifying herself with the beowolf trampled underfoot by human huntsmen in beacon's statue. the white fang wear grimm masks because "humans wanted to make monsters of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters." qrow in the faunus WOR episode more or less explicitly describes faunus as in-between humans and grimm.

(<- which is not necessarily accurate because qrow's narration is chock full of obvious subconscious bias—to the point of straight up saying "honestly, it's not too hard to sympathize" with the perspectives of humans who hunted down the faunus like animals because "seeing something that looks like you and acts like you walk out of a forest and reveal a pair of fangs can be… upsetting" and in no way are we meant to take that as an objective statement; in V1 weiss is unambiguously portrayed as the one in the wrong for hating faunus on the grounds that the white fang is at war with her family's company, a reason that is a lot less shaky than "fangs are upsetting" and yet is (properly) framed as irrational and bigoted.

but qrow's perspective is meant to reveal cultural attitudes, not objective facts, and his overt placement of faunus between humans and grimm is interesting in the context of everything else the narrative does to draw a connection between faunus and grimm)

salem is "your grace" to her followers and ghira is "your grace" as the chieftain of kuo kuana, implying that salem might outright self-identify as a faunus. she wants to secure sienna khan's alliance (<- a genuine activist) and drops adam (<- a terrorist) like a hot potato after he murders her, she explicitly has no plans to attack menagerie, and menagerie doesn't… seem to have a grimm problem… like at all. zero grimm attacks in kuo kuana across two volumes there and not a single character in menagerie mentions them as a problem.

so rwby is not exactly being subtle.

generally, i do not think the heavy emphasis put on the white fang arc was solely being overambitious about doing a Racism Subplot; i don't think it's coincidental that the narrative completed the white fang arc and then immediately launched the "salem backstory" arc with the lost fable. the white fang arc sets up for the lost fable and salem's arc is inextricable from the faunus-persecution narrative because she, in every way that matters, IS a faunus herself.

and i think that is very much going to eventuate in V10+ yeah. it's already beginning to—the affirmation of jabber's personhood and overt sympathy afforded to neo and the cat, in tandem with blake's arc in V9 being toward vocally embracing and taking pride in being a faunus as the culmination of her journey out of shame in V1-6 and quiet figuring-herself-out in V7-8, points strongly in that direction.

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killerrobot-killingmatch · 9 months

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V1 Propaganda

it's literally a war machine powered by blood. after the fall of humanity it ventured down into hell to keep searching for fuel, and has since been on a warpath and emptying out hell. it managed to defeat its successor (V2) and has also managed to give an angel a religious crisis thru the power of homoerotic battles

OH GOD PELASE PLEASE PLEASE This is THE MURDER MACHINE ok I need to calm down.. Every machine in ultrakill’s world is fueled by BLOOD. MANKIND IS DEAD BLOOD IS FUEL HELL IS FULL V1’s mission is to literally kill EVERYTHING in hell, DEMON, HUSK, MACHINE, ANGEL V1 KILLS ALL OF THEM V1 was built for war, but never made it to mass production as the war ended and there was no need for it now.. so V1 is the only prototype to exist. It is a one machine army capable of, as I said, wiping out the entirety of hells denizens. Which is what’s happening right now in game!! V1 is so powerful that it’s beat up an angel TWICE. The creator, Hakita described it as “imagine losing to an ant” because angels are that powerful! And V1 is THAT POWERFUL Uhhh idk how to describe this goodly but: The game has an SSS-style mechanic, uknow like getting a really cool combo kill streak going on, and killing enemies real stylishly. This isn’t canon canon but you could deffo see it as canon: I love the thought that with the inclusion of the sss style meter, you could interpret as V1 having that in its systems. So it’s a really cool stylish murder bot who kills you really coolly! And V1 could also be a reflection on the player, in that YOU the player are having fun killing, so by extension.. V1 also enjoys killing. No offence but this thing is literally so powerful , with an unnameable kill count as Hell has the majority of the human population, plus other uncountable machines down there too!

V1 is a supreme machine built for war—purging all life it comes across to satiate its (literal) thirst for blood. Though its exterior plating doesn’t offer much protection, it has the advantage of being able to refuel and repair itself on the fly, rejuvenating on contact of an enemy’s blood rather than through a separate refueling process. Its lack of durability hardly matters, as oftentimes its movement capabilities combined with its ever-growing arsenal are able to reduce an enemy to ribbons—whether they be human, husk, demon, machine, or angel—before they get a chance to land a hit.

"MANKIND IS DEAD. BLOOD IS FUEL. HELL IS FULL." is the tagline the game opens up with. V1, the playable character, and other robots like it are more than implied to be one of the major factors in humanity's extinction in the Ultrakill universe. It is stated in a terminal that it was built for war. A key mechanic of the game is the ability to absorb fresh blood of damaged/killed enemies in order to regain health. One of the things you're graded on at the end of the average level is how many enemies you killed. I would add more but it's highly unlikely that I'm the only one to submit it.

killer robot literally fueled by blood, on a trip through hell killing everything in its path and having fights with the archangel gabriel that are gayer than gay sex

V1 was built during a time of war. It's a hyper-efficient killing machine that runs on blood. Due to the subsequent death of humanity, it has ventured down Hell to look for fuel. Its main advantage is its unique exterior plating, which allows it to directly absorb blood splatter, instead of having a separate refueling process like the other machines. V1 is the only machine that was built this way. This does make its armor weak and flimsy, but its abilities make up for it. V1 is very agile with the ability to slide, dash, and jump extremely high (if we consider slam storage to be canon). It wields five different gun types, 20 weapons in total with the variants, and four (currently three in game) different left arms. It can also ride on top of the rockets it shoots out!! It's also very silly with its built-in style system. If you do cool tricks and combos you get rewarded. This robot has the ability to feel whimsical fun when mass slaughtering enemies isn't that so cool?! V1 was able to, with the help of other machines, purge all life from the first three layers of Hell and is currently continuing its path of destruction. Its notable victories include: -Beating Heaven's most respectable angel and the Righteous Hand of the Father, Gabriel, twice. And genuinely making him atheist (possible third fight? #early access game) -Defeating its successor, V2, and then killing it during their rematch with no remorse -Killing both Minos Prime and Sisyphus Prime. Prime souls are a manifestation of sheer power that don't need a physical vessel to exist. These two are hardest bosses in game It's the most killer robot that has ever killed in my opinion :D

They run on fresh blood. ULTRAKILL itself begins with a short text ending in MANKIND IS DEAD / BLOOD IS FUEL / HELL IS FULL. Literally the entire game is just them slaughtering enemies as quick and stylistically as they can, and finding more creative or clever ways to kill things, especially in numbers or in midair or with a combination of different weapons, is heavily encouraged by its mechanics!! Ranking up your Style and Kills meters to the max are needed to access certain parts of the game!!

In a tournament full of bloodthirsty robots, here’s a robot who actually runs on blood. All of humanity died and was sent to Hell, so for V1 to continue functioning, it enters Hell and slaughters everything in its path so it can absorb blood. It also beat up an Angel so badly he turned atheist after he lost to V1 twice. Funny little bloodthirsty GoPro

Literal killing machine made for war and built to be fuelled by the blood of the enemies it kills, but, humanity dies out one day so it simply goes to hell and tears it up down there in order to get more fuel! V1 is capable of killing angels, hellspawn, and even other machines down in hell using a variety of weapons it collects!!! Its also a silly guy :]

it's just a silly little guy who is rampaging through hell killing everything in its path to obtain the blood it needs for fuel. it's even gay

V1 is capable of killing everything in Hell in the most elaborate bullshit ways

This robot literally runs on blood to survive. It's a short and tiny killing machine, and good enough at fighting to make an angel question his sexuality. It can (debatably) compose music too!!! Right now, it's undefeated. But that may lead to its demise when it finally runs out of blood.

sure your fav is a killer robot, but do they have a style meter that encourages them to kill with as much swag as possible?

I LOVR V1 SOO MCUH. THEYRE A VAMPIRIC SECURITY CAMERA MACHINE WHO SHOOTS COINS AND PUNCHES BULLETS

#roboganda

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muzzleroars · 11 months

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what would gabriel’s human guise look like? is it any different from how hes portrayed in renaissance art? :3

quite a bit different! my idea about him kind of shifts around, but in general i go with something like this:

gabriel has one of the best human guises, but he does retain a couple features that betray his heavenly origin - the opalescent "jewelry" is actually bands of divine fire and his eyes are oversized for his face with reflective, sheep-like pupils (i imagine this is true for all angels, including raphael who is otherwise perfect in his guise). he doesn't emote very much, too used to having his face covered with feelings conveyed through his body or wings, and he doesn't bother doing anything with his hair lol (MAYBE putting it up sometimes at most)

he doesn't show it to v1 often, and he likely only did so the first time after v1 asked him about the statues of the guise that adorn his tomb. it's very strange for both of them (after v1's initial threat display lol), gabriel flooded with memories of his time as messenger and all the humans he met, while v1 itself is confronted by the first human face it's seen in a long, long time...they both sort of wordlessly agree it's best if he doesn't take it out afterward

#the only time he MIGHT is to avoid dealing with demons #they don't seem to attack him nearly as much if he appears like this #and this is it. the guy who said 'be not afraid'#not bc he looked weird or terrifying. but bc he was socially awkward #cake answers #doodle tag #gabriel #(late night posting BC.....im shy. jumpscaring whoever's awake with human gabe)

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shuttershocky · 10 months

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fuck yea mate!

Hope you have a blast with the game, the depth of movement techs and weapon combos is honestly the best part imo.

Plus I'm sure you'll destroy v2 later on, the best thing abt this game is how it makes you want to feel the improvements in the way you use your arsenal, it actively pushes you to not only feel powerful but be powerful.

Also Gabriel n1 babygirl covered in gore

You know what's one thing I love apart from everything you've already mentioned?

For a game with story as a low priority, there's so much thought put into its presentation. Ultrakill is bursting with so much unspoken character in all its design choices I can't really call it anything other than brilliant.

The idea behind the first V2 fight is a video game classic: include a boss who is basically just you, such that fighting them feels like fighting another player. V2 has all of V1's movement, their Piercer Revolver, and the Core Eject shotgun. Your only real edge in the bossfight is that you found a Nailgun in the Limbo layer so you have one weapon they don't, and that shots ricocheted off coins won't miss. With that in mind, one of the simplest techniques to beating V2 for the first time is hosing them down with the nailgun and then using coins to hit them while they're zipping all over the arena for easy damage. You win, V2 flees with their life, and you get a new Knuckleblaster arm.

But Ultrakill is completely aware of this, and uses that knowledge for sheer dramatic effect. In the 2nd V2 fight, you go up a massive pyramid as a familiar bass line starts to play. You enter the throne room, and V2 is there, waiting. They stand up, crack their knuckles, and reveal a new trick: they got a nailgun now too, and can hose you down just as fast as you did to them back in Limbo. You panic a bit, toss a coin for the old reliable trick to hitting a fast moving target, and V2 whips out their revolver and ricochets a shot off of YOUR coin as you think "Oh. Fuck."

It makes the chase down the pyramid so intense. You HAVE to end this rivalry here— V2 learns fast and there's no guarantee V1 can come out on top if a third duel were to happen—but at the same time V2 fucked up by coming back for another round in the first place. Their life was already spared back in Limbo; chasing V1 deeper into hell just to exact vengeance was NOT a smart move, and that's why the climactic duel takes place in the Greed layer baby. It's thematic!

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reds-ultrakill-brainrot · 1 year

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Hello, it's me again. Thanks for seeing my request for "v1, v2 x reader gone from hell". I would like to see modern au and all the characters together, this is my original idea. Thanks for your work =)

Hell Wasn't Full

modern au headcanons (included characters; V1, V2) x reader content (read platonic or romantic)

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V1 - i honestly don't think V1 would get a job, they are't particularly social nor have any motivation to get one out of personal achievement - they are a decent roomate, V1 will help maintain the place and keep to their room most of the time that they are home, but dear god don't ask them to do the dishes, its not that they are incapable of it, they just tend to hand the dishes too... firmly (that or invest in plastic plates and cutlery) - is almost always out of the house, they tend to wander the streets and perform a little unauthorized artwork on buildings. they will be happy to have you tag along, as long as you can keep up when they run from the police - V1's room is a tad unorthadox, mainly because it lacks a bed, most of the room is full of decorations, a desk is nestled in the corner along with a bean bag in the middle of the room. the previously mentioned decorations are half self created, otherwise they are illegally aquired, most often street signs - their favourite activity to do together is to visit the local cat cafe, while they can't eat they do love spending time with the animals. it gets to the point that the workers recognise them by name, they greatly appreciate the amount of money that they spend in the store, as it turns out when V1 has access to money they will just tip $200 - is very interested in art and frequents museums and art galleries, its to the point they start to get noticed in said places. they don't tend to interact with anyone, mainly due to the fact others struggle to understand them. if you offer to join them you will be roped into speaking with the artists and museum curators - will take a vested interest in your day to day life, and if you have a job V1 is very happy to walk you to and from work, you will find yourself much safer for it, not many people will bother you with V1 making agressive eye contact with anyone who comes near you - enjoys learning how things work and mastering them, and once you introduced them to the concept of laundry you made an absolute cleaning monster, they have it down to an art at this point, and have internal timers set to arrrive at the washing machine just as it ends. you aren't burdening them with the task either, they derive genuine enjoyment out of speedrunning laundry - likes to randomly leave you gifts from time to time, both of their own creation and ones they aquired (legality pending) elsewhere. they very quickly pick up on your interests and favourite things, it does tend to help that they can review footage from previous conversations - is happy to meet your friends, V1 cares about what you care about, and if you value someone enough to let them into your life then V1 trusts your judgement. its unlikely that they will keep in contact with them unprompted, but they still make an effort to be polite (polite being V1 doesn't ignore them) - V1 has a small wardrobe of clothing that they have somewhat crudely altered to fit themselves, they have an interesting idea of fashion but its always fun to see what outfit they've concocted to wear for the day

V2 - an evil part of my brain wants to suggest that V2 gets a retail job to rub it in V1's face that they have a job, only to find near instantly that they fucking hate retail, but that idea would require them being hired in the first place which honestly no sane person ever would - to say their room is unorthadox is an understatement, it is one large metal table spanning most of the centre of the room surrounded by shelves stocked with all parts imaginable. the only object one could imagine sleeping on is their wheelie chair, though that would be on the off chance they aren't inhabiting it - V2 doesn't have many hobbies, what they do with so many hours in the day you ask? scheme about different ways to ruin V1's day. yes they quite literally sit in their dim room like a cartoonish villain and come up with ways to annoy V1. often times these ideas are more minor inconveniences but they gain such genuine joy out of doing it V1 has decided to just deal with it - if you intend on making V2 a good roomate, it will take a lot of time and interventions. V2's appreciation of you is most likely the only reason they listen to you when you firmly tell them to stop pouring glitter in the detergent. - is extremely interested in inserting themself into as much of your daily routine as possible, unlike V1 they do not appreciate doing chores but they like spending time with you, and by joining in chores they have plausible deniability as to why they spend most of their time with you (it is extremely obvious, they just refuse to acknowledge their endearment to you)- on the off chance they aren't plotting V1's "demise" they like to tinker with electrical devices and finding ways to automate things. they seem to have an innate sense of when something is broken and will very quickly appear and work their magic. watching them work is quite fascinating and will definately boost their ego - greatly appreciates quality time, simply letting them be near you while you work or participate in your hobbies is the ultimate form of bonding for V2. if you offer to help them with their mechanical work they might, might even thank you for it - speaking of mechanical work they are very well versed in almost all things related to mechanics, metalwork and electrical work. if you have a car you will find they have a vested interest in its maintinence and performance. at your request they will stray from illegal car mods but they will definately think about it - will meet your friends with only a relatively small amount of reluctance (relative to their normal opinion on interacting with people). in reality V2 is just concerned you are going to find someone to replace them, but they will never explicitely let you know that lest their ego simply disintigrate - V2 didn't originally care for wearing clothing, but once they figured out they could wear matching clothing with you they suddenly decide they like to wear clothing. not much of it mind you, they only tend to wear shirts or jackets but they will colour/pattern match you as often as possible Dual Headcanons - there is an ongoing game of tag involving the knuckleblaster, it trades owners very frequently and is progressively being stolen in more elaborate ways. V1's attempts at aquiring this tend to be more covert than V2's, who tends to launch themself at V1 from unseen location and attemps to rip the arm right off - as much as the two have a (mainly one sided) rivalry with eachother they are strangely familial. said brotherly affection appears differently in each robot, V1 tends to help V2 without their knowing, always making sure they have whatever parts they need for their new projects. V2 tends to be protective of V1, moreso in the way that they are the only one allowed to annoy V1. - if you intent to take the both of them out to spend time together expect V2 to become even more intent on stealing your attention away. prepare for childish antics afoot

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thanks for clarifying, i honestly enjoyed writing both. this post feels smaller than i would want it to so i might add more later. stay tuned for that romantic minos headcanon post, it's coming i swear!

#v1 ultrakill x reader #v2 ultrakill x reader #ultrakill x reader

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