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popatochisssp · 8 months

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OMG all the new boys are fascinating but ummm Swapfell Fruition especially?? Sounds so good?? I would love a full lore dump on this concept, I love the idea of Vi playing the long con to get rid of Gaster and it all sounds so good. Incidentally I need to read Dirty Laundry again lol, everything you make with regards to any version of Swapfell is just *chef's kiss*

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Swapfell Fruition

A young Sans’ attempt to kill his creator, the Royal Scientist is a failure.

Gaster survives the scuffle that would’ve toppled him off of the CORE’s scaffolding and gains the upper hand, subduing his traitorous creation and forcing him—and the younger one he’d been trying to escape with—back to his labs.

Sans was reckless, tipped his hand too soon and without the luck to have succeeded on the first attempt, Gaster learns that he is a sneaky little backstabber, capable of appearing obedient but hiding ruthless intentions.

He's almost proud… but of course he can't have that.

It becomes clear to the Royal Scientist that obviously, he needs his creations to have some kind of failsafe. The little one hasn't shown any signs of disobedience yet, but his primary caretaker is a crafty little snake, no telling what he could influence him to do, if given the time or the chance—so it’s back to the drawing board, to the operating table with them both.

Papyrus, at his age, doesn't really know what happens to him, only that whatever was done to him hurt, a lot. He wakes up after in the room he’d shared with his brother, scared and hurting and alone, and when Sans finally reappears, he goes to him for a hug.

Except…

Sans doesn’t hug him back.

He doesn’t hug back, and he doesn’t say anything, no matter how much Papyrus begs him to…

And the next time Gaster summons them to the lab, it’s Sans who picks him up and keeps him from squirming away, holding his arm out for Gaster’s needles.

Papyrus doesn’t understand the betrayal, at the time or in the years that follow.

His hurt turns to bitterness and resentment as his once gentle and protective big brother starts to actively help their creator change him, gradually shaping him into a stronger, more efficient killer.

But even with all the modification and training he’s subjected to, Papyrus isn’t quite the solider or war machine Gaster had planned he would be—he spooks when caught by surprise, he’s easily distracted by irrelevant things, his loyalties twist and sway far too easily for Gaster’s liking…

Well, the Royal Scientist is nothing if not resourceful, certainly able to work with…limited materials and still produce something of use.

With the right mental conditioning, and the right handler to make use of it, Papyrus will still be a valuable asset for the Empress.

After all, there’s always political enemies to the crown that her highness would surely prefer to have…removed, discreetly, and other such dirty work best done in the shadows.

Fast and stealthy, like an assassin, seems more suited to Papyrus’ abilities anyway.

And as for a handler, who better than Sans to fill the role?

Gaster’s prototype was largely a failure, but certainly intelligent and organized, presumably capable of researching and observing targets, briefing the asset on situations and targets and memorizing the trigger words and phrases necessary to keep him operating at peak efficiency.

Sans doesn’t protest.

He doesn’t protest much of anything anymore, not since…

………

Well, it’s not like he’s ever spoken about what happened when everything changed, not even to Papyrus, so when he goes along with this too, neither Gaster nor Papyrus expects otherwise.

So, that’s how it is.

Papyrus becomes the perfect assassin and Sans doles out his marching orders, occasionally following behind on missions to jerk his leash and keep him on track.

Between them, it’s…complicated.

Sans is still Papyrus’ brother, the closest thing to an ally that Papyrus has, both of them stuck in service to a power-hungry, unethical prick.

There are moments where they’re okay, times where a joke will slip out and one of them will laugh, injuries tended to, backs watched under fire, and dozens more little things that just wouldn’t happen if they were nothing to each other.

But the moments never last long.

Reality always comes back in sooner or later—usually in the form of Gaster, demanding an update or issuing new orders or calling them back from the field, to which Sans always, always complies.

Papyrus takes it as a reminder of where Sans’ real loyalties must lie.

He’s some kind of brother, not always awful, and maybe he does care about Papyrus, a little bit, but he answers to Gaster above anything or anyone else, apparently by choice.

He can’t be trusted, not really.

And Sans…

Sans stays quiet and does his job.

Quickly, efficiently, and to the letter—exemplary service, always.

Irreproachable.

He’s almost completely beneath suspicion by the time the last human falls into the Underground.

Gaster couldn’t be more thrilled.

This is a golden opportunity, the perfect chance to prove his worth to the Empress and earn clout and accolades innumerable—to be the one responsible for capturing the seventh soul and freeing all of monsterkind from their centuries of imprisonment and allowing the war against humanity to finally begin!

Well, technically, it would be his creations doing it, but it’s his name that history will remember, him who would rise into legend as the most brilliant and ruthless monster to ever live, the catalyst in humanity’s downfall.

He doesn’t waste so much as a minute before summoning Sans and ordering him to handle it, immediately.

Meet with the Empress, alert her that there’s a human loose in the Underground, and offer her the services of the asset in ending their free roam.

Sans agrees, as he always has, and goes to fetch his brother for the job.

Papyrus is admittedly a little blindsided when not two seconds out of the labs, Sans pulls him aside, out of range of known cameras and recording devices and hisses at him to listen.

He doesn’t know what to make of what Sans says after, either—that he hasn’t earned it and he knows that, but he needs Papyrus to trust him right now, because he is going to lie and everything depends on Papyrus going along with it.

In spite of their messy history and every uncharitable thing Papyrus has ever thought about Sans…right here and now, something in his gut tells him this is no trick.

He agrees to ‘go along with it’…whatever ‘it’ is.

Sans waits until a certain amount of time has elapsed, and then he makes a call to Gaster with Papyrus present to listen.

Gaster is informed that there’s a problem with the latest target. The asset’s programming isn’t taking and he’s refusing to track down the human.

This is, of course, news to Papyrus, who hasn’t been assigned his target yet.

But…Sans said ‘trust me’ and ‘play along,’ so that’s what he does, complaining that he doesn’t want to kill a child, just put him back in his cage and do your own dirty work, old man…

Helpfully—always helpful, always intelligent, always reliable—Sans postulates a conflict of orders might be causing the programming to bug like this. Gaster’s overarching orders are for the asset to kill targets assigned to him, but the Empress has unfortunately countermanded that the human must be brought to her alive.

And again, Papyrus knows differently because the Empress hasn’t given him any orders, they never made it to her for orders to be given and Toriel likely doesn’t even know yet that a human has fallen.

But he said he’d go along with the lie so he keeps his mouth shut, even as he hears Gaster curse on the other end of the line.

Gaster finds Sans’ assessment of the situation as reasonable as it is frustrating, but minds are complicated machines and often behave strangely when conflicts arise. Just look at the Empress, who knows that humans must be killed to free her people, but feels she must perform the act herself instead of the far more convenient option being presented to her!

The asset’s orders being in conflict is a far more annoying stopping block, though, yet another barrier in the way of all the glory that Gaster has so painstakingly earned.

Time is short, stakes are high, he refuses to recall his creation just to debug it and resolve the glitch, not now.

Instead he makes his fatal mistake.

He overrides the asset’s failsafes.

All of them.

Impatiently rattling off a code that nearly makes Papyrus stagger from a feeling like weight being lifted, Gaster disconnects the call with a sharp command to Sans to ‘handle it,’ now that there were no restrictions on his targets or what he could be ordered to do.

Sans is only quiet for a moment before handing a picture to Papyrus, locking him on and beginning the usual debrief.

Papyrus can’t fully grasp what he’s looking at, not at first.

“………confirm target?”

“WINDINGS GASTER, THE CURRENT ROYAL SCIENTIST TO THE CROWN.”

As with any briefing, Papyrus must be informed of his target’s connections, abilities and assets.

Gaster has strong ties with the crown, and between that and his own paranoia, security around him will be tight. He’s intelligent, strong, and merciless, and he won’t hesitate to make use of anything at his disposal in a life-or-death situation.

As an example, he had implanted a condition into his private assassin’s mental programming that would prevent him from acting against or outright attacking him—so it’s fortunate they’ve already cleared that concern.

Now, the top priorities are to ensure that Sans is physically far away from Gaster when the mission is executed, and that Papyrus is at no point seen by Gaster before he’s dead. The entire operation could be sunk if both of these conditions aren’t met.

“why?”

“THERE’S AN ADDITIONAL FAILSAFE, IMPLANTED IN YOUR SOUL. IF GASTER REALIZES YOU’VE BEEN TURNED ON HIM BEFORE YOU’VE SUCCEEDED, HE CAN INSTANTLY DROP YOUR HP TO 1.”

“………and why am i doing this without my handler?”

“BECAUSE I’M COMPROMISED TOO. IF HE SEES ME OUT OF PLACE OR SUSPECTS I’VE BETRAYED HIM AGAIN, HE’LL USE THE FAILSAFE IN MY SOUL TO REMOTELY CONTROL MY BODY AND MOBILIZE ME AGAINST YOU—AND OF COURSE, AT THAT POINT, HE WOULD KNOW THAT YOU’RE TARGETING HIM AS WELL AND BE PREPARED TO KILL YOU.”

And that…

Well.

That sure is a hell of a lot of new information that Papyrus will have to process later, when there’s not a strong compulsion in the back of his skull that there is someone he needs to kill.

He’s a professional, when he’s working.

He will focus on the mission.

To keep up appearances, Sans departs to find the fallen human and trail them on their journey through the Underground. He very much wants to ensure they reach the Empress safely, but there’s an added bonus of being exactly where he’s supposed to be and doing exactly what he’s supposed to do should Gaster check in on him—no need to arouse any suspicion, not before it’s far too late.

In the end, when Chara has befriended monsterkind against all odds, winning over the Empress herself and freeing them all to a life of peace with humankind on the surface, the death of the Royal Scientist is an incidental discovery.

Sans takes responsibility for it, pleading for the Empress’s mercy.

Gaster had wanted the human—kind young Chara, to whom Toriel has taken such a liking—killed immediately as soon as they emerged from the Ruins, and he hadn’t thought that the Empress would condone such an order in light of what she’s always held to regarding fallen humans.

Gaster had been adamant, though, and Sans… Well, he only wanted to serve the will of her highness and to do so, he turned the asset against their master. He hopes only for some leniency for what he’s done, Gaster may have been their father but—

Strangely enough, it seems Toriel had no idea that the asset and his handler were the Royal Scientist’s children. He’d always told her they were employees, volunteers for the things that were done to them and the missions they were told to undertake.

Learning that they had actually been created, intentionally molded and pressed into these roles without a choice in the matter…

Toriel, an Empress first but a mother a very close second, can certainly afford leniency.

The brothers are let loose in spite of their crime, with a bit of funding from the Empress to get on their feet after everything. The money is partially back-pay for their joint service as the crown’s black ops division (for which they were never actually compensated before), and partially amends for how long their…circumstance…went unnoticed.

Sans offers to split the money and part ways with Papyrus, if he’d prefer.

But Papyrus has learned a lot in the past few days to…completely and utterly recontextualize everything he ever thought was true about his handl—…his brother, and…maybe he should stick around a bit. See what’s what.

Vi (Swapfell Fruition Sans)

Extremely restrained and closed off from so many years of being unable to talk to or trust anyone, not even his brother. An accomplished liar but socially unpracticed, tending to read as cold and unfriendly to those who approach him. He’s more awkward than genuinely hostile, though

Issues with being watched, spent most of his life simultaneously going unnoticed and being intensely over-monitored so his feelings about being observed—regardless of context—are complicated, runs hot and cold on it

Complicated feelings for his brother, too: he loves him, of course, and he failed him in many ways, but he was also stuck between him and Gaster for a long time and caught his fair share of hell from both sides and there’s some resentment there for that. He wants to fix things, but he’s not really sure how and just…awkwardly trying his best

Well-organized and skilled at research and thinking analytically, tends to approach most things with a problem-solving attitude and an eye-socket for detail. Extremely talented at finding loopholes and ways around or through the rules—though his respect for said rules is very low to begin with

Likes high and secluded places, mostly rooftops but anywhere it could be difficult for other people to get to. Whether or not those places are restricted by fencing or padlocks or lack of ladders is immaterial, if he finds a high spot he would like to be, he will get to it one way or another and perch as long as he pleases

Hunter (Swapfell Fruition Papyrus)

Impulsive and driven by self-interest, the years of mental conditioning have broken down his fears and inhibitions to nearly nothing. He does what he wants, when he wants, with little concern for anything else—a dog off its leash who’ll only heel when it’s good and ready to. Unfortunately charming enough to mostly get away with it

Problems with authority, for obvious reasons. Likely to try to bend or break any rule presented to him, just to see if he can, and a severe lack of respect for anyone trying to enforce those rules upon him (especially the arbitrary ones)

Conflicting and highly jumbled feelings for his brother, making them a matched set: he disliked him, maybe even hated him a little for a long time, for helping Gaster turn him into what he is and for being the one to yank his leash and pull his strings…but that was before he knew that he had a kill-switch in his soul and that his brother was up on strings on his own, being pulled by the jackass they both apparently hated… It doesn’t erase everything that happened, knowing that, but it does…change things. (He wants to fix things too, but he’s not sure how either, so they’re both just awkwardly trying)

Needs ‘tune-ups’ every so often to reinforce his mental conditioning and make sure all his programming is intact, even now that Gaster’s gone and he’s retired as an assassin. Going too long without re-upping it causes deterioration, compulsions ‘leaking’ without being triggered and causing headaches and erratic, sometimes violent behavior so…best for everyone to keep his head maintained regularly

Absolutely loves nature and wilderness, hiking, camping, and climbing trees is his idea of an excellent time. Could absolutely go off on a run and disappear into the trees and not be seen or heard from for a week, likely to get some forest-cryptid lore started about him—possibly on purpose

#anonymous #headcanons #undertale #swapfell fruition #sff!sans #sff!papyrus

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inconspicious-random-thoughts · 2 months

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Assuming the "mass hypnosis" theory doesn't play out, I have my own theory on how the Vees will try to take over Hell, or at least Pentagram City. Angelic steel made weapons have been presented as the strongest and most powerful weapons in the Hellaverse, and we know that Vox runs a company that's always making technological breakthroughs. Maybe Vox will salvage what little bit of the steel he can find and build an army of angelic drones/warbots. He can either use these machines to wage war on the other Overlords or sell them to gangs and crime lords throughout the city to cause chaos for the Overlords in his stead that he can use to further the common demon's dependence on the Vees resources. Plus, I just KNOW that he'd make an angelic superweapon specifically to kill Alastor (maybe his own holy mech suit with a battle axe like the one Adam used just to rub salt in the wound).

It's a little bit of an over-the-top theory, but I think the possibility is there.

Also, if you get tired of me sending you my theories and questions nonstop, just tell me you're tired of me and I'll give you breathing room.

Greetings.

I'm not tired of them at all. Quite the contrary. I'm more merely bewildered to be approached by them is all. But I in fact, quite enjoy the topics of discussions. It also brought somethings to my attention I haven't stop to considered before. I enjoy your thoughts and theories as well.

For those reading and unaware this is a follow up question from :

I think Vox creating a mecha would be hilarious. I don't think it will happen, but I can also see when everything else fails, Vox will use it as a trump card and it be so over the top that it just comical. For whatever reason, it gets destroyed quickly. Funnier if the Vees were "blasted off agaiiiiin" like team rocket.

But your idea of combining Angelitic steel to Vox machines is not far fetched at all and not something I thought of. In fact, it was already hinted at in the show.

Vox at the time was pretty much making shit up in front of paparazzi but I think he general pulls all nighters to solve the design/program on whatever product he promise and make them actually happen. He promised Angelic security to his consumers. He already figured out that he needed the angelic steel for it because he quickly demanded to his assist to cancel all meetings of the day but get Carmine on the books.

So, I assume he did actually have that meeting and bought a bulk of steel from her already. He has the material already since after episode 2....which is roughly 6 months Vox got to experiment with before extermination day.

Now, he was making defense system, but as the saying go, a best defence is a good offence. He can easily tweak his products and redesign them to be more oppressive offensive task force he can control. Or even more sinister, have his consumer buy the defense system but have them turn around against them once they solde enough.

Carmilla probably be beyond piss that her steel supply is used for to oppress and also against her as well. She may be a overlord but she vibing she actually cares the state of Hell and the city. The balance and order of things. She's a true uncorrupted politician.

Even if Voxtech Angelic warmachines doesnt come into fruition, I have no doubt that Vox does not carry an angelic blade or gun with the angelic bullets as a precaution. Especially after witnessing Alastor defeat and that alone would put ideas in his head about being able be to similarly wound Alasor himself.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel headcanon #hazbin hotel theory #alastor the radio demon #hazbin theory #hazbin thoughts #hazbin vox #hazbin hotel vox #vox #hazbin vees #hazbin hotel vees #the vees #voxtekoverlord #vox hazbin hotel #vox the tv demon #voxtech

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jones-friend · 6 months

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ITS NEW GAME TIME

Apiary is a worker (bee) placement game about bees in space! It runs 1-5 players in 60-90min.

I greatly enjoyed this game. Even with my gencon haul this charmed me the most, I found Apiary to grok with my brain just right with lots of gears and cogs to set to make your great machine. I totally see why its making best of the year lists and will hit best of the year for me as well.

In Apiary each player oversees the construction of a hive in space. Players start with a mat showing a unique layout, a landing pad with 3 workers, a unique faction tile with their own ability, and a few starting resources.

Each worker has four sides, 1-4. This strength factors into how good the actions they take are. Workers are placed on corresponding actions which fit 1-2 workers at a time. If someone is already there the worker is bumped off, either returning to the landing pad to be retrieved later or increased in power and returned to your active row to be used again.

On a turn you place a worker (bee) or retrieve all workers. Placing workers allows you to gather or exchange materials, build out your hive, acquire workers or new Hive Frames that allow you to extend the hive, or draw cards that can be used for instant gains or late game points. If you retrieve all workers they generate income through your farms and bump up in power. Workers maxed out on power Hibernate, the worker token is discarded and a tile placed on the Hibernation Combs for a bonus and to compete for points.

Spaces are exceedingly limited and bumping happens regularly. Theres a lot of small details in this game you can work to chain huge gains in a turn. And each action feels unique with interesting choices to make. For example when you explore do you gain a bonus for revealing a new planet and filling out resources on it or revisit an old planet to get more stuff?

Its the kind of game where you need to dabble in a little bit of everything to make it work. You need to plant a few seed cards, get a carving active, play the queen’s favor, build out your hive or at least one frame, work your faction bonus and upgrade it. And the more you make these elements work in concert with each other the higher your score will be.

I absolutely loved this game and am excited to play it again sometime soon. There’s a fat stack of factions with different abilities and starting resources and we saw so little of each tile stack that its very hard to have similar games every game. It was also helped by having one of the most thorough appendices of a game I’ve seen, with each card numbered and explained. I highly recommend Apiary and if the game appeals to you then you should most definitely check it out!

#Apiary #board game #board games #tabletop #tabletop games

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poppy-in-the-woods · 7 months

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Capitalism encourages innovation, they say. Lie. Capitalism only encourages money. Growth for the sake of growth, but that growth is only for the few on top.

Capitalism kills creativity, turning creative people into cogs of the machine, thus negating them the time necessary to create, or turning them into "content creators," incessantly churning out more and more content so they can stay on top, trying not to offend the algorithm gods. That is not the breeding ground for innovation and creativity, artistic or otherwise.

Do you know the Fermi paradox? I am jow convinced that the reason all those possible alien civilizations have not visited us yet is because they're all inmmersed in battles against their own versions of capitalism. The truth is, things don't cost money, they cost time (including the time spent on educating the person who made that thing) and resources (not only the materials but also the tools and the space to do it). Money is just the way to translate that. In a perfect system, everything would be fairly priced, and nobody would have to struggle. But this is the real world and is far from perfect (No nos queda utopía, ninio, solo capitalismo).

And to top the mess, the cherry on top, as usual, is politics. I don't think at any point in history we had leaders who really cared about their people. Maybe they started as caring, and then power corrupted them, I don't know. But I don't see they care about anything else than getting their pockets lined.

In conclusion, I need to get friends with some Gen Zers so they can teach me their positive nihilist ways and their absurdism because, as a millennial, all I have is despair and existential dread, which are not very good to my mental health, to be honest.

#poppy's thoughts

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finetechtoolings · 8 months

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Setting Up A Boring Head

Boring heads are frequently utilized in machining operations for creating precise and accurate internal bores in workpieces. However, setting up a boring head is not a piece of cake; it involves essential steps like installing the head on the machine spindle correctly, choosing the most suitable boring bars and inserts, and deciding on the feed rates and speeds. The blog below will take you step-by-step through the boring head setup procedure.

Mounting on the machine spindle

Before starting out, make sure the machine is turned off and the power source is unplugged. Additionally, ensure that you’ve put on the proper personal protective equipment like gloves and safety glasses.

Next, look for any dirt, debris, or traces of previous operations on the machine’s spindle as well as the taper on the boring head. If necessary, carefully clean them with a lint-free cloth and a mild solvent.

Thereafter, examine the boring head and machine spindle taper for damage. The precision of your machining could be impacted by any wear or damage indicators. If there are problems, think about getting them fixed or replaced.

Once everything is checked and corrected, the next step is to firmly secure the boring head by fastening it to the machine’s spindle. Make that it is seated in the taper and properly aligned. To fasten it in place, use the drawbar or other suitable fastening devices. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when tightening; exceeding them could cause spindle and head damage.

After installation, check the boring head’s runout using a dial indicator. This step ensures that the boring head moves concentrically with the machine spindle. If necessary, modify the setup to reduce runout.

Picking the right boring bars and inserts

There are a number of factors you need to consider while selecting the boring bars and inserts; some of the most important ones mentioned below.

Workpiece material: Take into account the workpiece’s material before you begin to machine it. Specific tooling is required for various materials. For instance, you need to use high-speed steel for softer materials and carbide inserts for harder ones.

Bore size: Opt for boring bars with the correct diameter for the desired bore size. Make sure the boring bar has adequate length to extend to the appropriate depth.

Toolholder type: The toolholder type on the boring bar should match the toolholder type on your boring head. Straight shank, Morse taper, and collet chuck are examples of the most common types used.

Insert geometry: Choose inserts with the appropriate geometry for the type of cutting you’ll be undertaking. There are several typical insert geometries, including diamond, square, and round. For advice on particular uses, you may refer to the insert manufacturer’s recommendations.

Cutting speeds and feeds: Calculate the cutting speeds (in surface feet per minute) and feeds (in inches per revolution), based on the material of the workpiece and the tooling that has been selected. For exact figures, you may consult cutting speed charts or employ a machining software.

Tool coatings: If you want to extend the life of your tool and improve chip evacuation, especially when working with tough materials, think about employing coated inserts such as TiN, TiCN, or TiAlN.

Determining feed rates and speeds

The majority of insert manufacturers offer suggestions for cutting data in their catalogues or online resources. These recommendations also include cutting speeds and feed rates for particular materials and insert types.

Using the cutting speed, determine the required spindle speed by using the calculation “(Cutting Speed x 3.82) / Boring Bar Diameter”. Also, make sure your machine can turn at the calculated speed. Match the predicted spindle speed with the machine’s spindle speed. While manual machines may need manual tuning, modern CNC machines frequently offer automatic speed adjustments.

Next, use the formula “(Spindle Speed x Chip Load) / Number of Inserts” to determine the feed rate. The insert manufacturer will normally offer the chip load information, or it can be estimated using the insert geometry.

If you’re using a CNC machine, programme the proper feed rate into your CNC control software. For manual machines, you can use the feed rate controls to select the desired feed rate.

Make a test cut on a scrap piece of material to make sure the feed rate and spindle speed are acceptable before beginning the main machining process. Make any alterations if required.

As you can see, having a right setup is just as crucial as purchasing a suitable, high-quality boring head if you want the internal bores of your workpieces to be exact and precise. Therefore, purchase your boring heads from prominent precision boring head manufacturers in Bangalore, one like FineTech Toolings, and then always follow safety precautions, review the manufacturer’s instructions for your specific equipment and tools, and follow the aforementioned guidelines to setup your boring head just right.

#BoringToolsSuppliersInBangalore #PrecisionBoringHeadManufacturersInBangalore #BoringBars #BoringTools #BoringToolsSuppliers #FineTechToolings

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thequietmanno1 · 11 months

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Thelreads, MHA 273, Replies Part 2

1) “This is seriously fucked up, everything about how this quirk worked was revamped to the point of madness. Shigaraki was already terrifying with the raw power of it, but now- holy fuck, now I`m truly scared.”- Tomura was dangerous on an individual level when he first appeared, but it seemed laughable that his Quirk could be a threat to All Might if the later didn’t have several limiting factors in place to leave him vulnerable to his Bad Touch. Now, with Decay mastered to the point he can devastate a city with it alone, having the poer of AFO backing him up is just complete overkill. Tomura’s Decay is now potent enough he could theoretically stand a chance of killing All Might in his prime with it. 2) “Wait what the fuck- Are those the quirk erasing bullets? Oh jesus fuck I forgot that they even existed for a moment- Well, it was like, only one back then, right? Or aren`t those bullets, are they quirk flasks? Wait, did the doc managed to collect genetic material from Overhaul?”- He managed to duplicate the Bullets from the samples they retrieved from Overhaul- and it was technically Eri’s genetic material that was powering them – which means that, which Garaki’s capture and the machine being broken, those few remaining bullets Tomura’s salvaged are all that’s left of that game-breaking trump card. Dangerous in a long-term prospect, but as it stands, Tomura won’t really have any need of them to get the job done – their main threat was wide-scale distribution to the grunts of the PLF as a means of turning the odds against the more-skilled heroes they’d be contending with. Still, it means that X-Less’s actions weren’t entirely for naught, as he’s left Tomura with a still-limited number of available bullets to use. 3) “YEAH SHIGARAKI, WE NOTICED, BUT WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SERIOUSLY LET YOUR PHONE CHARGING RIGHT BY YOUR TANK?

WEREN`T YOU INSIDE THAT SHIT FOR MONTHS? SHIGARAKI PLEASE THAT`S GONNA FUCK UP YOUR BATTERY”- Tomura’s rich now thanks to Re-destro’s resources, he can afford to burn through a few phones – and it also indicates that Tomura wanted to waste no time in enacting his ‘purge’ of hero society the second he got out of that tank. He wanted direct access to Machia and his troops from the word go, and that resolute lack of hesitation with getting shit done bodes poorly for everybody… 4) “Yes, but some moron with an X over his crotch ended up messing everything. Now we`ll have to make shit up on the fly.

God, this is gonna be fucked up”- Flying by the seat of our pants and making it up as we go. Time for Izuku’s moment to shine then. 5) “MACHIA GOT HIS SCENT SOME CHAPTERS AGO, I REMEMBER THAT, BUT NOW HE HAS DIRECT ORDERS TO ACT, AND SOMETHING TELLS ME HE`S GONNA TAKE IT REALLY SERIOUSLY

AND THIS IS HOW EVERYTHING SPIRALS OUT OF CONTROL, RIGHT?”- Two unstoppable monsters at either battlefield, and neither combatants facing them seem capable of even slowing them down, let alone defeating them. They call the Secret Weapon a ‘game changer’ for a reason… 6) ““A few moments before hell breaks loose“ you should add, because fuck me those people have no idea that they`re right over Yellowstone before it blows up.”- Nobody expects the secret Kaiju monster hiding in the basement…. 7) “Poor Fat, he ran so much to get here, just to have to run all the way back”- Fatgum will have burned himself back into Fitgum by the end of this from all the exercise. 8) “Alright, so Geten merely managed to throw them off the groove for a moment, but they are already back at it full strength, which is an actual problem, because that means they are getting closer and closer to Machia without knowing he`s up again.

Fuck`s sake”- Genten was just a precursor to the absolute chaos Machia’s going to unleash – and the scariest thing is that the big lug is doing it all unintentionally, just following his orders without specifically caring about any immediate context around him. 10) “Didn`t that dude die-

…

OH GOD

THAT IS TOGA, ISN`T IT?”- I think we found the Imposter…. 11) “Yeah well, Dabi had… other things to handle… And funnily enough, if he had taken someone with him he probably could`ve have taken down Hawks back then, but he just disappeared without a word. Dammit Dabi.”- Dabi had something a little different in mind to what his ‘allies’ did when he went off to do his own thing. At the very least, none of them would have been ok with him risking Twice’s life like that, even to further his own goals. As Ironic as it is, Dabi’s efficiency makes him a boon to the League in spite of his absolutely horrible team player mentality. 12) “OH GOD SO IT IS HER DOWN THERE

JESUS CHRIST, TOGA IS ON A RAMPAGE RIGHT NOW, AND GOING BY WHAT COMPRESS SAID, IT DOESN`T LOOK LIKE SHE`S AS MENTALLY STABLE AS SHE WAS BEFORE”- Toga was an efficient and stealthy serial-killer back when she was Mrs Nice murderer. With Jin killed like that, she’s in no mood to play nice anymore. 13) “OH GOD THE GROUND IS CRACKING, HE`S COMING

I KNEW HE WOULD COME OUT EXACTLY WHERE THEY WERE

BECAUSE WHY WOULDN`T HE, THAT`S WHERE THE MOST CHAOS CAN BE HAD”-Given that was just his hand emerging, it seems machia’s gone full giant underground to easily dig his way to the surface, so it doesn’t matter when they are, that whole Villa is about to get worn like a hat. 14) “OH AND HERE HE COMES TO FIGHT SHIGARAKI

HE THINKS HE HAS A SHOT- WHAT, YOU`RE GONNA THROW A FIRE TORNADO AT HIM? DID YOU EVEN SEE WHAT HE DID THE MOMENT HE WOKE UP?

YOU ARE WAY OVER YOUR HEAD HERE ENDEAVOR

THIS IS NOT A HUMAN ANYMORE, YOU`RE DEALING WITH A DEMON MADE FLESH. SHIGARAKI ALMOST RIVALED THE GUN DEVIL HERE

YOU`RE GONNA BE MADE INTO ASHES BEFORE YOU NOTICE”- Sadly, it’s either try and fight him now, even hopelessly outgunned, or let Tomura rampage over everybody and fight him later when the situation’s gotten even worse. Tomura’s become an implacable force of devastation that’s an enemy to heroes everywhere, and the best chance is to fight him before he’s used to his new bag of tricks, or else he’ll destroy everybody once he’s mastered them all… @thelreads

#bnha #thelreads #chapter replies #my hero academia #mha 273

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kelvinwatertech · 1 year

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Semi Automatic Composter Machine

Are you tired of throwing away your food waste and contributing to environmental pollution? Do you want an efficient way to turn your organic waste into nutrient-rich compost for your garden? Look no further than the semi-automatic composter machine! This innovative appliance makes composting easy, even for those without a green thumb. In this blog post, we'll explore everything you need to know about semi-automatic composter machines, from their different types and pros and cons, to what foods work best with them and delicious recipes to try out. Get ready to revolutionize the way you dispose of food waste while also helping our planet!

What is a Semi Automatic Composter Machine?

A semi automatic composter machine is an appliance that helps you compost food waste and other organic materials quickly and easily. It uses a combination of heat, moisture, and air to break down the waste into nutrient-rich soil. Most semi automatic composter machines have two chambers: one for adding fresh waste and another for curing compost. The addition chamber has a lid with small holes to allow oxygen in while keeping pests out. Inside this chamber, there are shredded leaves or paper as a source of carbon to balance the nitrogen-rich food scraps. Once enough material has been added, you simply turn on the machine, which will mix everything together and provide enough heat to speed up decomposition. Some models even have sensors that monitor temperature levels and adjust accordingly. After several weeks of regular additions and turning cycles inside the machine's container, your finished compost should be ready! This nutrient-rich soil can then be used on plants or garden beds to improve their growth without any harmful chemicals from synthetic fertilizers. A semi automatic composter machine offers an efficient way to reduce food waste while also creating valuable resources for gardening enthusiasts.

The Different Types of Semi Automatic Composter Machines

Semi automatic composter machines come in various types, each offering unique features and benefits. One type is the drum-style composter that rotates on a horizontal or vertical axis. This type of composter requires manual turning to aerate the waste for faster decomposition. Another type is the tumbler-style composter that has a rotating chamber mounted on an axle. You can easily turn this machine by hand without leaving your spot, making it more convenient than a drum-style one. A third type of semi automatic composters is electric composters with automated systems and built-in sensors to maintain optimal temperature, moisture level and airflow for efficient decomposition. These high-end machines are perfect for those who want to invest in a fully automated system. There's the hybrid style as well which utilizes both electricity and manual labor. They have an electric motor that helps rotate chambers but also requires you to occasionally manually add food scraps or other organic materials. All these different types cater to different needs of users so choose wisely based on your requirements!

Pros and Cons of a Semi Automatic Composter Machine

A semi automatic composter machine is a great investment for anyone who wants to reduce waste and make their own compost. However, like any other product, it has its pros and cons. One of the biggest advantages of using a semi-automatic composter machine is that it can help you save time and effort in making compost. It is more efficient than traditional methods because it can process organic waste faster. Another advantage of a semi-automatic composter machine is that it reduces the amount of waste that goes to landfills, which helps to protect the environment. By turning your kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich soil, you are contributing to sustainability efforts. On the flip side, one potential drawback of using a semi-automatic composter machine is that it requires electricity or battery power to operate. This means that if there's an outage or if you don't have access to electricity, you won't be able to use your machine. Additionally, some models may not be suitable for larger households or those with heavier usage as they might not be capable enough in terms of size and capacity. While there are both benefits and drawbacks associated with using a semi automatic composter machine, overall they provide an easy way for people looking at reducing their carbon footprint by recycling food scraps into rich nutrients for plants without much effort on their part compared with traditional composting solutions..

What Foods to Eat with a Semi Automatic Composter Machine?

When using a semi-automatic composter machine, it's important to know what foods can be added to the machine. The good news is that most organic waste can be composted with a few exceptions. Firstly, fruits and vegetables are great additions to the composter. They contain essential nutrients and minerals that will help your plants thrive once you use the compost as fertilizer in your garden. You can also add eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, bread scraps and grains. However, avoid adding meats or dairy products as they won't break down properly in the machine and may attract pests. Oily or greasy food should also be avoided since they tend to slow down the decomposition process. It's important to note that you should always cut up larger pieces of food before adding them into the composter so that they decompose more quickly. Also, don't overload your machine with too much food at once - this could cause clogs which would make it difficult for your composter to function effectively. By knowing what foods work best for your semi-automatic composting machine you'll be able to produce nutrient-rich soil for all of your gardening needs!

Recipes for a Semi Automatic Composter Machine

Using a semi-automatic composter machine to compost your food scraps is not only eco-friendly but can also provide you with nutrient-rich soil for gardening. But did you know that it can also be used to create delicious and healthy meals? One recipe idea is to make vegetable broth using your food scraps. Simply add onion peels, carrot tops, celery leaves, garlic skins, and any other vegetable scraps into the composter machine. Once it has gone through its cycle, strain the resulting liquid and use it as a base for soups or stews. Another recipe idea is to make pesto using herbs like basil or parsley along with garlic cloves and nuts like pine nuts or almonds. Add these ingredients into the composter machine along with some olive oil and let it do its job. The end result will be a fragrant and flavorful pesto that can be used as a dip or spread. You could even use your semi-automatic composter machine to make homemade fruit leather by pureeing fruits like strawberries or blueberries along with honey or maple syrup before putting them in the composter machine. Spread out the resulting mixture on parchment paper and bake in your oven until dried out. There are countless ways to incorporate your semi-automatic composter machine into cooking delicious meals while reducing waste at the same time!

Alternatives to the Semi Automatic Composter Machine

While a semi automatic composter machine can be an excellent addition to any household, it may not be the right fit for everyone. Fortunately, there are alternative methods for composting that can still yield great results. One option is vermicomposting, which involves using worms to break down food scraps and organic waste. This method is ideal for those who live in apartments or have limited outdoor space since it can be done indoors with minimal odor. Another option is traditional composting using a bin or pile outside. While this method requires more effort than a semi automatic composter machine, it's still relatively easy and inexpensive. Simply collect your organic waste in a designated container and mix with dry materials like leaves and twigs before adding to the pile. Bokashi composting is another popular alternative that uses microorganisms to ferment food scraps instead of breaking them down through decomposition. It's also suitable for indoor use but does require purchasing specific bokashi bran as well as an air-tight container. There are various alternatives available depending on your needs and preferences when it comes to composting.

Conclusion

To sum up, a semi-automatic composter machine can be an excellent addition to any household or small-scale business looking to reduce their waste and create nutrient-rich compost for plants. With its various types, pros and cons, food recommendations, and recipe ideas, there is something for everyone when it comes to these machines. While they may not be the perfect solution for every situation, the benefits of using a semi-automatic composter machine are hard to ignore. They offer convenience, efficiency, and sustainability all in one compact package. If you are considering purchasing a semi-automatic composter machine or already have one at home or work, we hope this article has given you some helpful insights into how best to use it. Happy composting!

Visit - https://kelvinindia.in/semiautomatic-composter

#semi automatic composter manufacturers #composting for waste disposal #semi automatic organic waste converter #Semi Automatic Composter #semi automatic composter manufacturers in India #semi automatic composter manufacturers in Gurgaon #Natural Composter #Fully Automatic Composter Manufacturers

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sjainventuresltd · 2 years

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7 Ways To Embrace Artificial Intelligence In Architecture

1) Design ProcessRead: Role Of Artificial Intelligence In The Future Education Sector2) Project Planning3) Construction Processes4) Material Production5) Energy Usage6) Human InteractionAlso Read: Introduction To Data Mining Solutions for Business Need: Concepts and Techniques7) Human Experience

With the technological advancements that have been made in the field of architecture, the arrival of artificial intelligence (AI) systems has turned the architectural industry on its head. The integration of AI into architecture has caused designers to rethink everything from user experience to building design and construction. So how can architects begin to embrace artificial intelligence in architecture industry? We’ve compiled a list of 7 ways that you can start using AI to revolutionize your work as an architect today!

When it comes to architecture, there’s still one thing that humans can do better than artificial intelligence – conceptualize and design groundbreaking structures that no one has ever built before.

However, as artificial intelligence gets smarter, we are seeing more and more applications of AI in the design process, with AI now able to carry out many of the menial tasks associated with architecture, freeing up architects to innovate and focus on the big picture.

Artificial intelligence in architecture has huge potential to dramatically change the way we design and build buildings and infrastructure. The following are seven ways that AI can affect your profession in the near future, as well as some additional resources on how to embrace AI in your own work as an architect.

Ways To Embrace Artificial Intelligence In Architecture

When architects build the environment, they have traditionally relied on hard data: a set of algorithms and guidelines that govern the dimensions of space. But recent advances in computation are challenging this approach. Computers can now measure emotion and movement.

They can process inputs from smartphones, cameras, smart televisions, and even people's biometrics. Advances in machine learning will give architects new tools with which to interpret and explore design decisions, leading them towards a more democratic process where human intuition becomes intertwined with an AI architect.

The advent of 3D modeling and rapid prototyping has changed the landscape of design, making it possible for architecture firms to create models quickly without ever having their hands on a piece of paper.

Combining this technological innovation with advancements in AI, firms can now augment their modeling process by using AI-enabled photorealistic rendering. By applying different materials or colors and generating natural ambient lighting, you can create stunning images which capture the essence of your design. This is the power that artificial intelligence in architecture holds.

We believe that the most important driver of our work is how we come together as an interdisciplinary team. Over the course of any project, many specialties are needed in order to successfully carry out the task at hand. A few examples include structural engineers, civil engineers, cost estimators, CAD technicians, and of course designers.

AI and Machine Learning are technologies that are used in a range of subjects, one of which is Architecture. Artificial Intelligence in Architecture helps us design the buildings we want, by selecting the right materials, textures, and even dimensions.

It also reduces our workload because it creates designs that need minimal human intervention. And it solves some of our problems like when clients have limited choices for building construction material or when architects can't choose between two competing design principles for a building facade.

This change is no different than the introduction of computer-aided design (CAD) and building information modeling (BIM) which was formally coined in 1987. The lack of these tools would be almost unthinkable now and they both led to productivity gains and significant decreases in construction errors.

AI has been on the horizon for some time, but over the last few years, tech companies are shifting their focus away from autonomous vehicles or chatbots and towards architectural design, urban planning, or building maintenance.

Artificial Intelligence and architecture is here and it will not go away. Yes, it may not be plug-and-play, but if architects want to succeed and stay relevant, they will need to evolve with the times. AI can do things for us that we humans just can't do on our own. It's time to stop fighting progress. It's time to start embracing artificial intelligence in architecture.

The next era of design could have artificial intelligence doing much of the heavy lifting, allowing designers to focus on creative and innovative problem-solving while using their human brains to come up with ingenious solutions to complex problems. Artificial intelligence in architecture is not going anywhere so get ready.

As A.I. becomes more of a reality, it's important for designers and builders to adopt and embrace the technology while still maintaining human interaction. Doing so will help both professions evolve while still providing quality design that is driven by human needs. For example, architects could use an AI chatbot like What-3 Words as an assistant with tasks such as scheduling meetings or sending contracts.

The chatbot would then interact with the architect’s staff who would do the actual work and provide feedback on how their day went. Such automation frees up architects to focus on what they are good at – designing spaces that meet people’s needs.

For centuries, architects have dreamed of designing a skyscraper that would climb ever-higher and out of the earth. The Burj Khalifa takes us closer than any other design by revealing the unbelievable possibility of an entirely unsupported structure, with the addition of built-in environmental systems that regulate light, temperature, and ventilation.

Conclusion

But will we really be able to build what our imagination dreams up?

Architects everywhere are beginning to grapple with their role in an AI-driven world.

Each of the above aspects points to the same conclusion, namely that future architects will focus increasingly on using artificial intelligence to meet all requirements of the customers rather than designing as much as they already do.

Sjain Ventures can enable businesses to leverage the benefits of Artificial Intelligence in architecture. Since the beginning, Sjain has provided services to clientele all around the world and has successfully completed a plethora of projects. We have always been a leader in adopting developing technologies and have assisted businesses in implementing them thanks to our experienced and knowledgeable team of developers.

An increasing number of architectural engineering projects are using AI, and our expertise can help you with your project implementation. Book an appointment with us with your needs, and our knowledgeable business development manager will handle it.

#embrace artificial intelligence in architecture artificial intelligence in architecture #artificial intelligence and architecture

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rolliconsumer · 2 years

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Minechem polytool upgrade

MINECHEM POLYTOOL UPGRADE MOD

MINECHEM POLYTOOL UPGRADE UPGRADE

MINECHEM POLYTOOL UPGRADE MODS

Although not strictly required like the other two mods above, Thermal Dynamics provides the pipes and cables needed to transport energy. Thermal Expansion is out of the scope of this wiki, but other online resources (such as Feed the Beast's wiki, provide information on getting power generation up and running.

MINECHEM POLYTOOL UPGRADE MOD

This is the central mod that provides means of generating and storing the energy used by Minechem machines. Thermal Foundation (required for Thermal Expansion).Besides the things you already listed, Minechems polytool can be quite.

MINECHEM POLYTOOL UPGRADE UPGRADE

The following are not required to get Minechem loaded, but they are necessary to actually play around with the mod. through to get Titanium, it isnt that large of an upgrade over diamond. Once MC Forge is installed and ready, place the CoFHLib JAR into the mods directory. See the MC Forge installation documentation for platform-specific instructions. If not, then Minecraft Forge must be installed using the Installer provided on the Downloads page linked here. If using a launcher, this step is usually done for you. The following are absolute must-haves in order to get Mine Chem loaded up and working correctly. With the introduction of the Lean Project, back in 2013, and the heavy investments in the production, our. In 2014, the premises have been completely renovated and enlarged. The company is based in Le Locle since 1946. Ultimately, it is recommended to do modding through a launcher such as Feed the Beast or the AT Launcher, since they usually provide mod packs that include Minechem and handle a lot of the initial setup they may also provide an option for a vanilla Minecraft with just Minecraft Forge installed. is specialized in the production of tungsten carbide and diamond cutting tools as well as precision reamers. The following instructions are for the latest version, 5.0.5. Turn your coal, sugar or even spider eyes into diamonds Source: Minecraft forum thread The chemistry turtle will help you with your chemical production. Operate the Chemical Synthesis Machine to turn elements back into items. Use the microscope to discover new molecular structures. As of version 5.0.5 for Minecraft 1.7.10, Minechem machines use Redstone Flux from Thermal Expansion however, older versions for Minecraft 1.6.4 use Universal Electricity. Craft machines that decompose minecraft items into elements and molecules. Another way to obtain Calcium is combining two Neon tubes in the Fusion chamber. Up to 50 Turbines (each produces up to 100-500 RF/t depending on material) Up to 10 Fuel Tanks (each adds 16 buckets of fuel capacity) Up to 10 Power Capacitors (each adds 1M-25M RF storage capacity, depending on tier) Up to 5 Fluid Intake Valves.

A Microscope and Chemist's Journal to analyze everything and record discoveries. Calcium is a element in the Minechem universe.

A Chemical Synthesis Machine to combine basic elements and molecules in order to recreate items.

A Chemical Decomposer to break down items and blocks into their constituent elements and molecules.

Obtainable through decomposition of: Arrow. Silicon (14) Polytool effect of automatically decomposing mob drops into their constituent chemicals and elements. However, your basic Minechem setup should have. The Sandman Will Keep You Awake - The Loop. But I don't feel the need to upgrade from my beloved tinkers tools. Today when I logged on it was all the way up at 100,000 RF (100), so I synthesized my polytool, which obviously used some of the stored power. MineChem has a very expensive polytool which can be customized to do whatever you want. The milk is then displayed in the tank slot in the GUI of the Chemical Decomposer.Familiarize yourself with Minechem by taking a look at the various Machines, Elements, and Molecules you have at your disposal. Then the synthesizer is a whole other oddball last night I used all of the power stored in the synthesizer and it was slowly going up to 100 RF, then 200 RF, and so on. To do that, the player can use for example the Fluid Pipes, Tank and Engines from BuildCraft. It can also be produced with the Chemical Fusion and Fission Chambers. However, it can be extracted from few materials, such as Milk (but not Milk Buckets) or some chemical compounds, with the Chemical Decomposer. Since it is an element, it can not be synthesized. It has the atomic number 20 and the attributes Stable, Alkali Earth Metal and Stable and is needed to synthesize some chemical compounds.Īs upgrade for the Polytool, Scandium increases the amount of dropped Bones if the player kills a skeleton with the Polytool. Calcium (Ca)Ĭalcium (Ca) is an item and element added by MineChem.

#Minechem polytool upgrade

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thornedrose44 · 4 years

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Ends of the Earth

(Read it on AO3)

The world ended.

Well, that's not technically accurate… humanity's time on earth ended, a lot sooner than to be expected which is where the tragedy of it all lies, if Lena were to guess.

Not that Lena's own time on earth had ended. She was still here, pottering on, miles underground, fiddling with forgotten experiments and watching endless hours of television that she never had time for before…

She wondered if this was what retirement was like…

Admittedly, Lena had always imagined it involving more travelling, maybe some gardening and it had never been lonely. She refused to acknowledge that when she thought of getting older it was with crinkly blue eyes and silver streaked blonde hair at her side which always helped soothe the ache in her chest that such morbid thoughts produced. Now, even that fantasy was well and truly gone.

She would only ever get to watch herself grow old now, at least she didn't have to worry about the paparazzi's comments about her receding good looks.

It wasn’t a bad life, not really. She had enough food to see her through old age or until the tempting call of the void summoned her. If Lena was being honest, which she kind of had to be when the only person she had left to lie to was herself… She knew it would be the latter that would take her in the end.

See the thing is… Lena hears… things.

They’re not real, or they are but they are merely the sounds that an empty building creates to keep itself company. The groan of a pipe. The squeak of a beam. The hiss of a fridge. The knock of a mechanised system keeping the air breathable and the water on hand.

Lena still had enough of her sanity to convince herself that the sounds were a natural part of her safe haven (‘prison’ more like). But there were mutters at the back of her mind that said other things. That squeak was a mouse still alive on the outside. That groan was a ghost, trapped forever alongside Lena. That hiss, the blast-proof doors whistling open and irreparably bursting Lena’s protective bubble. That knock…

The knock was the worst.

The knock was the call of the void that allowed Lena to fantasise. To dream.

That knock meant she was no longer alone.

That knock… that knock could be everything she ever wanted…

That knock could be Kara…

And that…

Lena knew that it would be the void that got her before old age. It would be that knock, her loneliness and the hope of seeing blue eyes just one more time… just one more time…. That would do her in.

***

The first six months hadn’t been too bad. Lena had kept herself busy making the repairs she needed to keep her safe haven ‘safe’ for as long as possible. The Children of Earth’s final attack, that had prompted humanity’s departure two months ahead of schedule and Lena staying behind to ensure their escape, had wrought significant damage to the structure of the bunker.

The work was dull. But it was good. It kept her hands busy. Her mind distracted. And it meant she could fall into bed, utterly exhausted and free of thoughts of what ifs and almosts and not yets and soons and new beginnings…

The majority of the work required for Lena’s home to be brought to tip-top shape was done after six months. The next six months were about optimisation. Trying to make her home… more homey… An already difficult task when there was little in the way of colour to decorate the concrete bunker, but a nigh on impossible task when Lena’s home had never been four walls but blue eyes, golden hair, a bright smile and a warmth that made even the darkest moments survivable.

It was the second year that broke something in Lena that she would never get back again.

It made the light in her chest steadily dim and extinguish.

A candle that had remained alight with the childish possibility that Lena would get her miracle, her last second save and a happy ending.

She knew it was impossible. Knew that the surface of the Earth was not accessible to another living being. That the transmat portal could not be repaired, the necessary materials completely depleted - even if Lena had the materials to repair it, she wouldn’t have been able to generate a high enough voltage to power it. That the survivors were now countless lightyears away and a ship travelling to her would arrive long after she had turned to little more than dust in this mausoleum.

To survive the breaking (more specifically the ‘breakdown’ that had Lena spending pretty much the entirety of a month drunk off her ass), Lena found a routine. She found a routine and stuck to it.

A routine that kept her busy, mentally and physically occupied because if she stopped… if she let her thoughts wander… Well, that knock started to sound rather enticing.

Lena performed regimented checks of her safe haven and its equipment.

Lena had time for reading. For television.

Time for fun science experiments she never had time to progress when the scientist part of her was told to give way to the business woman part.

Time for exercise; soft curves hardening to muscles as she threw around equipment and worked tirelessly and rigorously.

Set meals.

Set bedtime.

Set wake-up.

Day after day passed by in this fashion. Weeks. Months.

Two years in her concrete bunker became three, became five… and before Lena really knew it… she was rapidly approaching a decade in this prison of monotony.

***

It had started with an innocuous ‘beep’.

A fucking beep foretold the destruction of Earth - Lena prayed that humanity, when they re-told the story of the fall of their first home, would ignore that particular aspect of the tale.

It had all started out as a minor reading on a random L-Corp machine tucked away at the back of Lena's lab. (It had been the beginning of yet another half-formed experiment by an idealistic Lena when she thought that being in charge meant she could spend time on her own projects. How utterly naive she had been.)

Lena had taken it over to the DEO where she and Brainy looked over it together for a weekend - mostly because Lena had nothing better to do, what with her friendships being more or less non-existent since her near defection back to the Luthors and despite her subsequent assistance in bringing down Lex.

Lena assumed it was an atypical reading, a presumption that had been reinforced by Brainy with knowledge of the future. Because if this erroneous result was in fact true and accurate then… the Sun clearly had it in for the Earth.

It was heating and expanding at a ridiculous rate. A rate which would make the Earth uninhabitable in a mere handful of years, the heat and radioactivity increasing to such a level that it would be like living in an overpowered microwave.

So, the result had to be wrong because as far as Brainy was aware the Earth was very much still standing a thousand years down the line.

It took a month, with nearly all of L-Corp's resources working on it to find out that, as it turns out, the future can change.

Which was great news for those strongly in favour of free will and heavily against predetermination. Less great news for those that had recently got a mortgage for a new house…

It was full go then.

The next two years were some of the worst and best of Lena's life.

The sun's sudden failure was a parting gift from the Daxamites, who were big believers in ‘if I can't have it, you can't have it either’. Lena assumed Lex would appreciate the pettiness of the action.

The first six months had been filled with hope and a fervour to fix it. Solve the problem like the Superfriends had so many others before. Kara was their guiding light, tirelessly chasing down every lead, ready to get whatever Lena, Brainy and the whole cohort of scientists required at a moment's notice.

Lena, however, wasn't hopeful. She wasn't an optimist. Not anymore at least. Maybe once, when she was young and her mother was there to chase away the monsters under the bed and lift her into the air when the sun was at its warmest.

She had been hurt, though. Lied to and betrayed far too much to have faith in some intangible and, as of yet, unknown success. She was a Luthor. Raised to be resourceful, stubborn and with a tendency to doubt.

So, whilst her team of great minds slept, Lena would stay awake an extra couple of hours and plan and prepare for the worst. Because you never know when 'just in case' would be the only option left.

Lena and Kara's friendship over that six months steadily rebuilt.

It rebuilt over peace offering coffees brought to Lena's side by fidgeting fingers, “You look like you need it.”

“You didn’t have to.” Lena would always remind, not wanting there to be an obligation, not wanting Kara to be there unless she wanted to be.

“I know… I wanted to…” Would always be murmured back, soft and sincere, a rope cast out in the darkness.

It was rebuilt by softly spoken encouragement when either flagged.

“What use am I? It’s not like I can punch the sun better.” Kara huffed on days when she was left to pace without direction waiting for the next task, the next lead, the next… whatever...

“No, but I know that you would if you could.” Lena would reply, earning her a small upwards tick to Kara’s lips that made Lena’s heart flutter with something other than a constant state of anxiety. “You are more than just your powers, Kara. Far more.” Lena would whisper earnestly, and Kara would simply rest her head on Lena’s shoulder.

It was rebuilt by fingers gently interlacing to offer comfort, “We’ll find something.”

“Together?”

“How else? A Super and Luthor are unstoppable, didn’t you know?”

It was rebuilt by Kara sharing her fears of losing yet another home and Lena listening, “I don’t know if I can take another loss like this.”

“I know, I can’t even begin to understand what you must be going through, but it's not going to be the same as last time, you know?” Lena would murmur, soft and hesitant, afraid of stepping wrong, afraid of treading on Kara’s open wounds that she had never known were there before. “If it does happen…” Lena would tack on (always if, never when) in those first few months. “You won’t lose everything. I won’t let you. Everyone that can be saved, will be.”

“Is it bad that I don’t… I can live with a few losses… I can, but there are some… Some that matter more...” Kara confessed haltingly, blue eyes wide and scared as if she was revealing something she wasn’t sure Lena was ready to hear yet.

“No, there’s nothing bad about that. At least,” Lena murmured, ducking her head as she curled her fingers tighter around Kara’s, her thumb rubbing back and forth over knuckles, “I don’t think of myself as a bad person for it.”

“You’re not.” Kara would insist, finally covering over the hurt of ‘villain’ once and for all.

It was rebuilt in Kara carrying Lena to her cot in the backroom of the labs whenever she found her slumped over her keyboard in the early hours of the morning.

“Hmm…” Lena would sleepily hum as she felt herself being cradled in Kara’s arms who never used super-speed when she was carrying her anymore, something Lena was grateful for as it gave her precious extra seconds of being safely ensconced by everything Kara.

“Sleep, Lena, just sleep.” Kara would mutter tenderly, lowering her onto the blankets and pressing an almost imperceptible kiss to Lena’s forehead which guaranteed Lena pleasant dreams.

It was rebuilt on tragedy and hope. It was rebuilt on optimism and pessimism. It was rebuilt by two people who just wanted to save each other in whatever way they could.

***

After six months, it was known. It was known that there was no Hail Mary that could undo what had happened.

Now, it was just about survival… and, for some unfathomable reason, everyone was looking at Lena to ensure that.

“Me! Kara, they’re looking at me to… to… save them!” Lena yelled incredulously once she had returned to the sanctuary of her lab and it was just the two of them (as it often was now).

“Yeah… they are…” Kara replied with a shrug like it was obvious and understandable.

“Me! A Luthor!”

“No. Not a Luthor.” Kara declared firmly, lifting her chin in that way that always made Lena’s knees just that little bit weak. “Lena. The woman that has saved this planet and its people time and time again. A woman who has proven herself selfless and a hero in every way possible. The person that I…” Kara swallowed thickly and in that moment, Lena couldn’t breath, couldn’t move, couldn’t even think. Kara stepped towards her, strong and confident, reaching out to take Lena’s hands in her own, squeezing them tightly as earnest blue eyes stared deep into lost green. “Lena Luthor, you are my hero and I am always looking to you to save me.”

Lena finally inhaled a shuddering breath, nodded her head once and got to work.

The first step was the underground bunkers that would provide shelter for humanity whilst a more long term solution was achieved. The bunkers were not designed to be aesthetically pleasing or even remotely homely. They were functional, quick to put in place and hopefully temporary (which they would be for all but one).

Whilst the bunkers were built, Lena and her team were given two momentous undertakings that were critical for humanity’s continued existence:

Find a suitable new planet to call home.

Figure out how to get the entire population of Earth there as quickly as possible.

Lena hated the second six months of those two years. Kara was barely around, constantly buried under miles of earth, supporting the construction teams in their work, her help was crucial as having someone who could manoeuvre large weights delicately removed the overheads of large pieces of equipment and the time they would take to get in position and slowly carry out the task. When Kara ever did manage to poke her head above sea level, she was off to far flung places trying to minimise the impact of whatever natural disaster was occurring due to the Sun’s interest in making Earth a holiday destination for lava monsters in the near future.

Kara only ever made it back to National City for the occasional weekend once a month. A weekend that she mostly spent sleeping after having pushed herself past the point of exhaustion.

Kara had taken to sleeping in Lena's cot whenever she was back, holding Lena close instinctively whenever the former CEO managed to collapse beside her after her own ridiculously long days.

“You know, you have a far more comfortable bed at home? With proper sheets and pillows and blankets and all those really good things that are conducive to sleep…” Lena drawled as she slipped off her heels and sat on the edge of the cot that was already filled with a dozing superhero.

“I could say the same thing to you.” Kara yawned in return, shuffling to the edge of the single-person cot to leave a reasonable gap for Lena.

“Yeah, but…” Lena began to argue, biting her lip; Kara was out there everyday pushing her body beyond its limits in places with little sun, little hope and little in the way of comfort. And when she was granted a few hours of reprieve, just a few measly hours to rest before she was pulled back under, she spent it in a darkened back-room of a laboratory.

“No buts.” Kara cut in, tugging at Lena’s sleeve to pull her down into the empty space and open arms. “I’m here because…” Kara murmured, nuzzling her nose against Lena’s forehead whilst kindly ignoring Lena’s pounding heart, “Because I want to be here.”

“I want you here too.” Lena would eventually reply once her heart had returned to a normal beat and she was sure Kara had fallen into a deep slumber.

(The Superfriends talked about Kara never returning home and choosing to be wherever Lena was amongst themselves, but they never brought it up with either woman, presumably out of respect or simply being too busy with the impending end of the world).

During that time, Lena was under more stress than she had ever been in her entire life. A whole planet on her shoulders and she was being crushed under the weight of it all.

On the plus side, it was the longest anyone had ever gone without spitting her last name out with disgust. It was difficult to damn the person working tirelessly to save you. Not that there weren't some that tried to call her saviour and devil in the same breath, but the Superfriends, who had become her friends again, would put a stop to it before they ever got to the second part of their sentence.

Lena knew that Kara had asked them to look after her whilst she was away. And she appreciated the thought more than she appreciated the actual looking after. Alex had taken to looming over her shoulder like a bodyguard and frog marching her to the canteen at set times to eat three meals a day. Nia, meanwhile, insisted that Lena walk up and down the white-washed corridors of the laboratory at least twice a day to ensure she exercised.

She grew to love them all: Brainy who was constantly by her side, Alex who was holding her up when she nearly collapsed from exhaustion and Nia who always managed to remind her of the small things she was fighting to save when she got lost in the big picture. She loved them but every time they pulled her away from her work, Lena would hear a voice in her head whispering an ominous countdown.

***

One year post-world-ending-beep, and humanity was tucked away in its new home - the bunkers underground.

Lena and Brainy had finally found a promising planet that they could call home, code-named Goldilocks until an actual name was selected when they finally stepped foot on it (it felt weird officially naming something that they had never seen or experienced). Now, they just had to get everyone there and Lena doubted that there was an intergalactic moving service - maybe that could be her new business venture after her secondment as humanity’s supposed saviour was complete.

Their best option was the transmat portals (mark two) that she somehow needed to make so that they didn’t require a corresponding portal on the other side. Their idea was more of a wormhole or slingshot, that flung them across the galaxy. They had transports that they could load people up in, they now just needed to create the ‘road’ or ‘shortcut’.

Lena spent day after endless day with Brainy in contact with Earth’s greatest physicists trying to solve problems and reconcile theories that would probably have taken centuries to solve, but mother was the necessity of invention. And dear god, did they need this invention.

The pressure was destroying Lena and more importantly it was creating a gulf between her and Kara that they had so pain-stakingly worked to remove over the last year.

“Lena, you need to eat.” Kara pleaded, her fingers making only fleeting contact with Lena’s elbow, the last time she had made contact Lena had flinched which had hurt Kara in a way that no physical attack ever could.

“I’ll eat later.” Lena replied sharply, her eyes remaining fixed on the board in front of her.

“Come on, Lena. Everyone else has taken a break.” Kara murmured, gesturing to the empty room and the blank computer screens.

“I’m not like everyone else.” Lena responded absent-mindedly.

“I know, I know…” Kara soothed, fingers twitching with the obvious desire to pull Lena into her arms.

It had been weeks since Lena had been in Kara’s arms but Lena knew… knew that if she sunk into Kara’s embrace, she would crack open and she didn’t know if she would be strong enough to put herself back together again.

“Just, I’m here… for you… always.” Kara promised with a sad and lost tone of voice that made Lena’s throat tight and scratchy.

***

The Children of Earth were the single most irritating thing about the end of the world, and Lena knew that was saying something.

They were also the people that saw Lena’s near year long record without an assassination attempt as a challenge.

They were a fanatical group that believed if the Earth was ending, the human race should too. That was pretty much it. Considering the rather bleak sales pitch, Lena was impressed by how many people they convinced to eagerly join up.

Unsurprisingly, Lena was the number one target on their (s)hit list - what with being the main person working on getting them all off planet. Kara, took to being by her side almost constantly, an ever present shadow to the youngest Luthor; dark, steely blue eyes and a harsh frown on the world’s celebrated heroine made even the most committed of assassins think twice.

Kara’s shift to bodyguard came after the very first attempt on Lena’s life.

Lena was at her desk in her laboratory, making changes to an algorithm in the dead of night, the rest of her team retreating to their beds for a few hours whilst they could. It was Lena’s shaky hands that saved her life (exhaustion, stress and a near constant caffeine overdose had produced tremors in Lena’s long fingers that Kara couldn’t bear to look at anymore), Shaky hands reaching for a mug of cold coffee. Shaky hands so tired they couldn’t summon up the strength to hold it steady. The porcelain slipping through her fingers and rushing downwards to smash onto the floor.

Lena instinctively scrambled after it, pitching herself awkwardly downwards and to the side,

It was this that saved her.

Ensured the bullet aimed for the centre of her back actually hit her shoulder.

It was the sharp inhale of pain and whisper of Kara’s name as she fell off her stool that saved her.

Because Kara was always listening out for her. On hand and ready the second Lena needed her.

Lena didn’t hit the floor. Didn’t smash into the ground like her coffee mug.

Warm arms were around her before she even got close.

“You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.” Was whispered endlessly on repeat as she was carefully transported to the medbay where Alex and Eliza (quickly roused from sleep by a terrified superhero) got to work. Lena didn’t ask about the assassin, she knew she was safe with Kara watching over her and the Danvers so tenderly cleaning out her wound and that was all that really mattered. She didn’t have any space left in her mind to think of anything else, so overwhelmed with all the problems she had been asked to solve. There was no processing power left to confront other unknown questions.

Kara didn’t leave her side from then on. Not that Lena would let her. Not that night.

Their hands were clasped tightly together and would stay that way even when it inconvenienced the two doctors, who were wise enough not to raise it as an issue.

Lena’s wound was dressed efficiently and in such a way as to minimise scarring, Eliza and Alex returned to bed as they moved away from early morning, and the leaders of the survivors underground were made aware of the threat against their chief scientist. If Kara, as Supergirl, hadn’t insisted on serving personally as Lena’s protector, Lena was pretty sure the leaders would have demanded it, having grown equally fond of and dependent on the youngest Luthor.

When it was just them… just Kara and Lena… that’s when Lena let the tears fall and the sobs wrack her body. She was cradled carefully in Kara’s arms in an instant and everything she had been holding back burst out of her in an unending stream.

It was cathartic, letting it all out whilst Kara just held her and listened and whispered words of reassurance and affection.

The gulf that had formed, disappeared in an instant as Lena buried her head into the crook of Kara’s neck murmuring apology after apology for keeping her out, for putting distance between them, for not being good enough, for not saving Kara’s second home.

Kara listened, rejecting every single apology with a firm voice and understanding blue eyes.

“Don’t push me away again.” Was all Kara asked for.

“Never. Never again.” Lena promised, not knowing at the time how she would be forced to break that promise less than a year from now.

***

The looks and hints and flirts and teases started in earnest then - they had always been there but boyfriends, secrets, distrust, confusion and hurt had blanketed it and kept it from growing. Now, it was just them and the end of the world.

Their days were spent together, Lena trying to save the world and Kara just trying to save Lena.

“You know I was a prodigy back on Krypton…” Kara revealed her past quietly as she was oft to do when the lab was empty and the bunker was blessedly quiet.

“In writing?” Lena asked, abandoning her work to give Kara her full attention - Kara was the only thing, especially when she was like this (soft, vulnerable and eyes aching with the loss of one home) that could make Lena turn away from the screaming voices inside her head.

“No…” Kara laughed lightly, “I was to be the youngest to join the science guild.”

“Really?” Lena murmured in disbelief.

“Hmm…” Kara hummed, her mouth quirking up at the edges; Lena’s eyes dipped down to stare at the movement as they had begun to do with increasing frequency.

“Then why…” Lena began curiously wondering why Kara would turn away from something she had been preparing for and so obviously excelling at.

“Because, on Krypton…” Kara reached out with tentative fingers and pushed a dark lock of hair behind Lena’s ear. “We didn’t have people like you. People who worked on the ‘just in case’. People who spoke up. People who… thought everyone should be trusted with the truth. People who thought everyone deserved to be saved, not just the select few.”

Lena grabbed Kara’s hand and brought it to her lips, pressing a comforting kiss to its palm as Kara revealed her scars to her.

“I didn’t see science the same.” Kara confessed, her gaze turning far-away and distant as she took in the scribbles on the white-board like she recognised the odd syllable of a language she hadn’t spoken in years. “Science was elitist. Science led to hubris. Science failed to save us. But it was the lies that damned us in the first place. So… when I had the chance to start again…” She trailed off, expression melancholic and wistful.

“Thank you for telling me that.” Lena whispered sincerely, once it was clear Kara had nothing left to say.

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” Kara chuckled dark and pained in a way that made Lena’s heart crack across the surface.

“What is?” Lena prompted, squeezing Kara’s hand tightly in the hopes of grounding her.

“If I had been a journalist on Krypton, I could have made a difference. And if I was a scientist here, I could have made a difference.” Kara said, her smile a dark and broken thing that looked just wrong on her face.

“You make a difference, Kara. Every day. Just by being you.” Lena declared, green eyes sharp and jaw clenched determinedly.

The twisted smile receded back to something soft and adoring. “Maybe for the next one I’ll switch back to science, I mean how long do you think it would take me to get upto speed?” Kara questioned teasingly jerking a thumb at the board covered in excessive equations.

Lena let go of the heavy moment, though she wanted to reinforce to Kara that she was perfect just the way she was. But there would be other moments, other conversations, other secrets shared, other wounds tended…

“Depends on your teacher. With me there to help, I could make you an expert within a decade.” Lena asserted with a confident wink.

Kara’s gaze narrowed, a smouldering smirk slowly appearing as the kryptonian leaned into Lena’s space, “Is that so? Professor?”

Lena gulped.

***

It was a known yet unspoken thing between them.

They spoke around it, danced right up to it, fogged up the glass with eager breaths and pressed against the membrane with curious fingers. Lena knew Kara felt it, in the same way Kara knew Lena felt it. Though, both were too fearful to define it, to say how deep it ran, how much it meant to either of them.

It was ambiguous in its immensity, not in its existence.

Whenever they brushed up against it, and came close to breaking that barely visible wall between them, they were pulled back with murmurs of ‘soon’ and ‘almost’...

They were both too dutiful, too dedicated to the task at hand to leave room for much else. And they both didn’t want to start when they couldn’t commit all of themselves to each other. Wanted their chance to have the highest probability for success that it could. Because that's what they both deserved.

“The first sunset.” Kara murmured when they were cuddled up together on Lena’s cot in the small room put aside for the chief scientist at the back of the lab in the bunker. “Me, you and a picnic under the very first sunset.”

“Sounds romantic.” Lena teased, rubbing her cold nose against Kara’s clavicle.

“I’ve got it all planned.” Kara admitted honestly. “Every last detail.”

“You’ve really thought about this…” Lena said in awe, pulling back to look down into soft blue eyes.

“It’s all I think about…” Kara replied, her fingers stroking up and down Lena’s back - Lena wished those clever, clever fingers would sneak under her sleep shirt and run along her bare skin.

“Soon.” Lena exhaled their now common commitment.

“Soon.” Kara echoed.

***

The transmat portals were nearly done. Ahead of schedule which was probably a first for any project, yet alone one on such a large scale.

The only problem was the energy source. It was… rather unstable and the amount of energy required to power all the portals at the same time was substantial. To ensure the tentative peace between all leaders and those involved, an agreement was made that all the portals would activate at the same time and humanity would pass through in one go to ensure that there was no group given an advantage.

Lena understood the political reasoning but it was an engineering nightmare.

They were working on putting power stabilisers on the portals to limit the impact of unwanted surges, when the Children of Earth made their play.

Coordinated explosions that threatened the sanctity of the bunkers moved the scheduled departure date up and prompted a mass evacuation. Kara didn’t want to leave Lena’s side but the people needed their Supergirl and it wasn’t fair for Kara to stay by Lena’s side when she was far from the fighting and others needed her to be their shield. Kara left her side with a promise of, “Soon, we’ll get our sunset.”

Lena had prepped the transmat portals from the command centre, monitoring the power levels with a wary eye as the bunker shook with the ferocity of the fighting. Lena watched over transport after transport, making changes as required to keep the power stable. As the numbers of those left to go through began to dwindle, Lena sent her team of loyal scientists led by Brainy (who she had to order to leave) on their way, leaving one transport for her and the soldiers holding off the Children of Earth.

Lena struggled, as time ticked ever onwards, to keep the power surges under control and the transmat portal open. With the energy already expended, Lena knew if it closed… it wouldn’t be possible to open it ever again.

The soldiers led by Alex and Nia appeared following a large explosion that completely caved in an entire section of the (thankfully, now empty) civilian barracks. Held up by Alex and Nia was Kara, bloodied and bruised, skin a sickly green as her eyes fluttered weakly and her mouth moved trying to form words, fighting desperately to remain conscious. A battle she lost a second after catching a glimpse of Lena hurrying towards them.

They made their way as a group (Lena and those that had taken the pivotal last stand) to the transport when the evacuation alarm was joined by a clinically detached voice calling out, “Power Level Critical.”

The transmat portal flickered before brightening and then dimming almost immediately. The power surges threatening the very integrity of the portal.

“Lena, we have to go now!” Alex shouted, jerking her head towards the last transport that her group of soldiers were already piling into when she saw Lena freeze mid-step.

Lena doesn’t remember making the decision. It was just instinct. She could work out the variables, could see the solution and just… acted. It didn’t require actual thought.

There was the portal that wasn’t safe for a transport to go through unless someone was making the necessary adjustments to the power in the command centre.

There was Kara, hurt and beaten but still so alive and so beautiful and without a doubt the love of Lena’s life.

It was never a choice, so how could Lena have made a decision.

“No, you have to go. I need to keep the power levels under control. You won’t make it, otherwise.” Lena said, her voice eerily calm and collected for what she was about to do.

The looks of absolute, sheer horror that appeared on Alex and Nia’s faces as understanding dawned would stay with Lena forever. It was the moment she realised she was making a sacrifice and not just carrying out a simply logical action.

“No, Lena…” Alex gasped, her brown eyes turning watery as she hefted Kara higher as if.. As if she was trying to shake Kara awake so that she could bear witness to what was happening.

“There’s no other way.” Lena declared, striding forward to cup Kara’s perfect face in her hands before leaning down to press a soft, farewell kiss to Kara’s cheek. “I was really looking forward to that sunset.” Lena whispered quietly.

Lena took one second to memorise that light vanilla scent that she would always associate with Kara before letting go of the kryptonian and looking to the distraught sister, “Keep her safe.” Lena requested simply, “And…” Lena swallowed thickly, “Tell her to be happy. Just happy.”

And with those final words, Lena sprinted back to the command centre, yelling for Alex to “Go!”

It was a close thing in the end. The power surges were seconds away from blowing the portal, and the bunker along with it, to smithereens when the transport finally zoomed safely through to humanity’s new home. Lena cut off the power just in time to limit the extent of the explosion that followed. The portal blasted apart but it didn’t have enough oomph to rip through the bunker.

It did knock out the lights, though, leaving Lena in absolute darkness for the first week of her new existence as the last human on Earth.

***

Okay, so Lena needed to admit to something… just a small thing… it was just, she knew it made her sound… you know… not really all there…

She had a dog.

A… uh… robot dog… that she had built for herself for company…

And, you know, Tom Hanks had a volleyball so, in comparison to that Milo seemed far more… sane…

(Don’t worry she had resisted the urge to call it K-9 and she had made it far more mobile and life-like than the rather square Doctor Who companion).

His name was Milo, after the main character from Atlantis, one of Kara’s favourite films. He was sleek, more grey-hound shaped than terrier, but moved rather clunkily. He had a tendency to trip when going up or down staircase B5-1 since that particular set of stairs were a little steeper than the others in the bunker and Lena had forgotten to factor that in when she created him. Now, she found the little stumble he made on those steps gave him character, made him seem even more alive than the adaptive AI that operated him so she never bothered to fix it.

Lena resisted the urge to give Milo a voice, since a robotic voice coming from her robo-canine companion kind of ruined the image that she had of Milo being a real dog but she couldn’t stand the silence anymore, couldn’t stand only hearing her own voice.

That was the other thing… after a year she’d started narrating for lack of a better word. Commenting on her work, speaking her thoughts aloud rather than keeping them inside her head. Partly to add some sound to her quiet life and partly (but mostly) to remind herself she was still here, still had a voice.

If a tree fell in the forest would it still make a sound?

Did Lena still exist if no one was around to see or hear her?

In year four of her solitary existence, the narration became full-on conversations with herself which eventually prompted her to create Milo after she realised that she had gone to bed two consecutive nights in a row angry at something she had said to herself.

Milo spoke to her in song.

“You’ll always be here to keep me company, right Milo?” Lena would ask after crying over The Notebook.

“I’m never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you.” Milo would blast at her through the speaker in his mouth alongside a friendly wag of his tail.

Lena was working on a beam with a crack in it, bending her head down to check on Milo who was looking up at her through green LED lights. “Did I get it all?” She called down.

“Higher, higher and higher. I said your love…” Milo directed, his LED eyes emitting a beam of light to point out a spot above Lena’s head.

He was a good dog overall, though he definitely had a preference for 80s classics much to Lena’s equal amusement and chagrin.

***

She tried not to think of Kara. But it happened.

The longest she had gone, not including sleep (though most of her dreams involved her blonde best friend so it wouldn’t have helped her average anyway), was three and half hours. An event which occurred during her drunken month in year two; she had grown irrationally angry at the transmat portal and had taken a crow-bar and smashed up the remains of the structure whilst listening to screaming death metal music.

She knew Kara would mourn her, miss her at least for the first year. But Lena knew she would keep herself busy. That there would be near endless tasks to occupy her mind and distract her heart and that whenever there was a lull or a break, the Superfriends led by Alex would be there to soothe whatever pain may surface.

Hopefully, by the second year Kara would be able to think of her and it be a joyful experience rather than one of pain. She knew Kara would still think of her often even one year removed from their separation (loss). Knew she had been significant enough to Kara to leave a wake behind.

By the third year, Kara would be ready - Lena didn’t doubt - to open her heart to another, to find someone else to fill the spaces Lena fleetingly occupied. There would be plenty ready and waiting, many probably far more deserving than Lena.

Kara would find someone else to share that sunset with.

Years four to six, Lena hoped Kara would be rediscovering her passions, that her new home would be stable enough that Kara could get back to the things that made her happy. Lena hoped Kara was still writing, still turning her hand to paper and creating wonderful prose.

Years six onwards… Lena imagined Kara with a family of her own. The image would shift and change but there were always two children underfoot that Kara adored and both of which had inherited Kara’s blue eyes and pure heart. The other person in the picture was blank-faced, their features undetermined. Male or female, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was they put the brightest smile on Kara’s face possible.

“Just be happy.” Lena would whisper her plea out to the universe last thing at night and first thing in the morning. Because, if she said it enough, willed it enough then there was a chance she could make it true. Make the picture in her head of Kara real just by wishing it hard enough.

***

It was the start of her ninth year - Lena kept track by way of scratching into the walls a tally since it pleased her to think she was leaving some indelible mark on this place even if no one else would ever see it - and the knock was starting to become just that little bit more enticing. Lena had started to find herself walking up to the large blast doors and just… staring at them for hours on end.

It was only Milo that was keeping her going by this stage, blasting out, “Don’t you forget about me”, and “Oh, won’t you stay with me? ‘Cause you’re all I need”, whenever Lena’s fingers so much as twitched towards the manual override button.

Lena didn’t think too deeply about how her only reason for carrying on was the potential guilt that came with breaking the heart of a robot dog.

“Spread it like peanut butter jelly...”

“Whilst I appreciate that you found the perfect song for my current actions”, Lena chuckled, casting an amused glance over her shoulder at her companion, whilst she spread the peanut butter over the plastic-like bread that had been made to last decades, “I don’t think you realise what that song is really about…”

Milo’s head tilted to the side at the words - Lena had designed him so that when he was processing new information or analysing anything he would tilt his head to the side like a real dog.

“Oops!... I did it again…” Milo proclaimed, dropping to the ground with an embarrassed shake of his metal head.

“You’re still my best boy, don’t worry.” Lena reassured, finishing off preparing her lunch and making her way to the little living space she had made herself, a rather ratty red sofa and television screen had been added to the small room behind her lab that she had made her own. She had just sat down and was about to take a bite of her sandwich when-

Bzzzztttt…

That was new.

The buzzing sound was so loud and clear that it felt like the entire bunker was vibrating with it. Lena was on her feet in an instant, Milo by her side, as she grabbed her tablet and went towards the source of the sound. As soon as the sound had begun, though, it decreased in volume to a mere hum. Outside Lena’s lab, in the long corridor covered in tally marks was a bright purple circle with blue streaks of light hovering below the ceiling. Beneath the light in a crumpled mass was a figure dressed in dark blue and crimson red with a silver cable connected to their centre which disappeared back up into the portal.

“Okay, I got the angle slightly wrong… Yep, face planted…”, The intruder groaned as they pushed themselves up to reveal a mess of hair. “I know, I can fly but I wasn’t thinking about flying and didn’t react in time… and-” The figure struggled to their knees and shifted round, finally catching sight of Lena who was simply standing there, mouth agape, leaning on Milo to keep her upright.

Kara.

It was in that moment that Lena saw a shade of blue she had been deprived of for over nine years. Kara’s eye colour, though, was possibly the only thing about her that hadn’t changed.

Familiar golden curls had been cut away to be replaced by slightly darker blonde with the odd streaks of silver that only just grazed a jawline Lena’s fingers had traced countless times. Also gone was Kara’s defined and overly muscular body, she looked thinner… almost gaunt. Her cheeks hollower than they had ever been before. The crinkles around her eyes were nowhere near as deep as Lena had imagined them to be whenever she thought of Kara with her family. There were instead, however, lines around her mouth that implied she frowned more than smiled and that… that cracked whatever fragile grasp of reality Lena had left completely apart.

Because of this - Lena no longer trusting her eyes, unable to accept an existence where Kara hadn’t been happy, as Lena had begged the universe to make happen everyday - she didn’t truly see the expression on Kara’s face.

She didn’t see the sheer joy, the tears of elation, the broken smile that couldn’t smile as wide as it wanted due to being so out of practice.

“You’re here… You’re really here…” Kara breathed out, her blue eyes drinking in the sight of Lena shifting shyly from foot to foot as she stroked the smooth metal surface of Milo for comfort.

“Kara.” Lena murmured, testing the word out in her mouth, trying to see if she still knew how to say it after all these years.

“Lena, you’re here…” Kara whispered totally awestruck, getting to her feet and taking slow, careful steps towards Lena, her fingers reaching out for the raven-haired woman.

“I don’t under-... this isn’t real… you’re not real… you can’t be real…” Lena stammered, shuffling backwards away from the ghost in front of her, unaware of the gasp of pain that it caused. “Did I answer the knock? Is this a dream? Milo analyse the surroundings and conditions.” Lena ordered, dropping her gaze to her tablet as she tapped frantically against the screen, mumbling her every thought out loud as she had become prone to do over the years. “Hallucination, most likely… potential causes… sleep deprivation? Unlikely, I have a set sleep schedule. Radioactivity has finally penetrated the bunker and has caused a multitude of health problems. Possible, though I take regular readings of-”

“Lena! Please, stop…” Kara cried, collapsing to her knees in front of Lena, tears streaming down her face. “I’m here, okay? I’m really here!”

“No! No!” Lena shouted in return, “This isn’t real! Because… because…” Lena’s breaths came out sharp and panicky as she was overwhelmed by a tempest of emotions she had worked so, so, so hard to deaden herself to over the last nine years. “You’re meant to be married! You’re meant to be happy! You’re not meant to be here…”

Fingers curled delicately around Lena’s biceps; she wasn’t even aware that she had fallen to her knees as well, that she had brought her hands up to cover her face.

The touch and its sheer gentleness almost made Lena jerk away but the barely there scent of vanilla instinctively made her lean forward instead, her head moving to rest as it always used to do on Kara’s reliable shoulder.

“Lena, how could I be happy without you?” Kara whispered, her fingers moving ever so carefully from Lena’s biceps, round to her back… so tenderly wrapping Lena up in her arms. “Let me take you home, please, please Lena… let me take you away from here, please…” Kara begged, pressing featherlight lips against Lena’s forehead. “Let’s go see that sunset, yeah?”

Lena pulled away so that her hands could move to cup Kara’s beautiful, anguished face, thumbs wiping away the endless tears, “You still want to? Even after all this time?”

“It’s all I’ve thought about.” Kara confessed, a breathtaking smile overtaking her face… and that… that one smile made it all worth it… made nine years in darkness… nine years alone all worth it.

Lena loved how that smile stretched under her palms and she wondered how it would feel under her lips; the thought barely even crossed her mind before she started to lean forward to find out, Kara inhaling sharply as she realised what Lena intended, when-

“Sha-la-la-la-la-la, music play, do what the music say, you wanna kiss the girl.” Milo sang out for them, his metal tail thumping happily against the concrete floor, his green LED lights looking between his best friend and this blonde newcomer excitedly.

“Thanks, Milo.” Lena chuckled wetly, glancing over at her robo-dog before looking back to find Kara’s blue eyes sparkling with joy at her. “I have a robot dog, now.” Lena explained needlessly, cheeks turning an embarrassed pink.

“I can see that.” Kara replied with a laugh, her hand reaching out to brush through Lena’s dark hair, as she asked her voice brimming with hope, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, yeah, I am…” Lena admitted with a fervent nod of her head before pressing a delicate kiss to Kara’s cheek. “I want to see that sunset.”

#supercorp #lena luthor #end of the world AU #happy ending (I promise)#I cried writing this but adored it (what does that say about me?)#Would people be interested in Kara's POV?#Or another part following their time post-saving?

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the-hydroxian-artblog · 4 years

Note

I’m just admiring how everything seems to sidestep how Eggman left the land of the living. Like as far as I can tell, all we need to know is that it happened a while ago and that Orbot might be involved. I bet there are multiple unconfirmed stories just floating about, ranging from he had a heart attack to a test of his next weapon at one of his facilities went horribly wrong. For a select few, they believe he’s still alive and hiding, but whoever believes that 100% are usually nutjobs. Sticks?

“Don’t get me wrong, Eggman was beginning to outlive his usefulness for GUN-- but sure enough before we could even do anything, his amusement park mind control fun house blows up, and he isn’t heard from again.

“Normally I’d think he just went into hiding, considering the badniks have kept the lights on at his bases for years now-- They claim they simply ‘haven’t heard from him’, but I’m sure that claim is only technically correct.

“But whatever they’re planning doesn’t line up with his usual schtick of pretending to turn a new leaf.

“Talks of wanting to take their efforts ‘in a new, constructive direction’. They took the ‘Eggman’ out of the empire’s name, for pete’s sake. They donated the giant floating laser cannon they used to split the earth into pieces. They donated it. To us. GUN. We already HAVE one of those, and they just gave us their own.

“Likewise, the Doc had a ‘pattern’.

“He only had so much in resources between his attempts take over the world, but he’d be so impatient that he’d burn himself dry with each plan, wait until he’s gathered more resources, and try again as soon as possible. For a solid decade he’s never strayed from that cycle. The stock market adapted to it. People used to just know when he was gonna try something stupid, and they’d invest accordingly.

“But now, the ‘World Domination Cycle’ (coined by yours truly) has been broken for some time. The ‘Auto-Empire’-- They’ve been giving away resources like chaos drives by the tons to impoverished countries, installing power generators and water cleansing machines at villages and farms, and educating residents on how to operate them and build their own if the badniks weren’t trusted enough-- and after some initial resistance, it’s been earning them solid good will. Enough good will that they’ve managed to station some ‘peaceful’ bases with the consent of locals.

"Normally Eggman will do something ‘charitable’ to lure people in during the cooldown of his domination cycle, but the badniks’ approach has been excessively generous throughout while keeping weapons production at the lowest its ever been. Meaning, no resources to allocate for the next takeover in a cycle, while being far too vulnerable to even attempt a takeover without suffering serious losses.

“They’ve even been giving schematics of their technology on-request. They call it their ‘Open Source Method’. We’ve done raids and forcefully confiscated some of the other things they’ve installed, and we found nothing malicious. Nothing exploitable. No secret mind control devices, or obtuse technology hiding some nefarious ulterior purpose. Every computer they’ve donated can be easily taken apart and repurposed, made out of materials no more complex than the stuff you can find at a PC store.

“Ridiculous. You’d think no one would trust them in the first place. But they’ve been pulling it off, starting with the countries left to starve due to injustices-- countries cheap labor is normally outsourced from, countries once unstable due to resource issues. And they’d creep along, stationing more bases, earning enough good will from gullible first-worlders to buy some of their products, selling at a loss without breaking any pricing laws. It’s all a coordinated strategy, a slow-burn kind of domination rather than the ‘take over the world by force’ trick we’ve already seen a thousand times. The opposite of everything the doctor does.

“And it’s working. There’s talks of giving a badnik a seat at the UN, for god’s sake.

“My gut tells me Dr. Eggman wouldn’t approve of this without at least smearing his face on everything to take all the credit, and it’s never been wrong before.

“Either this is his biggest con yet, or he’s not in charge anymore.”

#Sticks #Sticks AU #Sticks the Badger

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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From Lupin III to Inspector Gadget: Examining the Heirs of Arsène Lupin

https://ift.tt/3p5oPe7

This piece contains spoilers for Netflix’s Lupin.

As Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief created by Maurice Leblanc in 1905, is a renowned master of disguise, it is fitting that he has inspired a number of literary characters to take up his mantle. Arguably the most recognizable riff is Lupin III, a copyright-infringing, quasi-canonical descendant by way of Japanese manga and anime. Yet it wasn’t until Netflix’s new French mystery comedy-drama series Lupin—which reinvented the source material through Omar Sy’s Lupin and the lenses of immigration, racism, and fandom—that readers and viewers have truly been challenged to consider what it means to inherit, whether through blood or through books, an iconic character’s legacy. Consider this a field guide to the many different Arsène Lupins.

What is immediately intriguing about both Lupins is that neither is as white as the top-hatted, monocled thief that Leblanc created over a century ago. Assane Diop (Sy), the charismatic lead of George Kay’s Lupin, is a Senegalese immigrant whose father Babakar (Fargass Assandé) brought him to Paris for a better life. The lethal mix of elitism and systemic racism that they encounter via Babakar’s employers, the Pellegrini family, are what shape young Assane’s life into a revenge narrative, but also become tools in his career as a gentleman thief. Yet even Lupin III, created in 1967 by manga artist Monkey Punch (a.k.a. Kazuhito Katō), is introduced as the French-Japanese grandson of Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin. In the Lupin the Third Part II episode “The Southern Cross Looked Like Diamonds,” which concerns Japanese casualties of the Pacific War, Lupin discusses his dual heritage. Both adaptations add texture to their Lupins’ stories by not allowing them to move through society quite as smoothly as the original French thief.

That said, Monkey Punch’s Lupin III certainly benefits from a fair amount of family legacy by carrying on his grandfather’s and father’s reputation as a world-renowned thief, marksman, master of disguise, womanizer—you name it. He’s almost more of a reincarnation of the original than a descendant, with the only real change being the shift in period from the early 20th century to the swingin’ sixties. Monkey Punch also drew from Lupin III’s contemporary James Bond to enhance some of those darker and more adult aspects in the manga, while basing Lupin’s on-again, off-again romance with bombshell spy Fujiko Mine on D’Artagnan and Milady de Winter’s relationship from Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers.

According to a 1995 issue of Manga Mania, Monkey Punch had initially considered keeping the blood connection a bit more under wraps, having not obtained the legal rights from Leblanc’s estate, but was convinced to embrace the Arsène Lupin connections. While Monkey Punch’s adoption of the Lupin persona wasn’t kosher by copyright standards, it was also very much in the spirit of the character—asking for forgiveness rather than permission—as well as the creator himself: Leblanc borrowed Sherlock Holmes for a few Lupin adventures before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle realized, and only then changed the detective’s name to “Herlock Sholmes” for subsequent showdowns. Still, it did eventually backfire for him, though it also led to, fascinatingly, beloved animated character Inspector Gadget (more on that later).

Lupin Part 2: 2021 Release Confirmed by Netflix

By Kirsten Howard

Perhaps the most beloved iteration of Lupin III is in Hayao Miyazaki’s 1979 film The Castle of Cagliostro. Monkey Punch’s manga cast Lupin III as a rather unsympathetic master thief: callous about his victims, a caddish ladies’ man who often harassed women he saw as little more than sex objects. While the anime quickly established a moral code—stealing from rich people who either deserved it or would not overly suffer for it—it was Miyazaki’s film that gave Lupin III real heart. In rescuing princess bride Clarisse from a Gothic marriage, he displays a surprising sense of chivalry, especially when the plucky girl wants to be his sidekick. Lupin’s silent agony over turning her down lends the otherwise carefree heist film a shocking touch of melancholy, and lays the groundwork for a more well-rounded Lupin III in future outings.

The Lupin III bloodline has extended several generations into the future, though none of these descendants made much of an impact beyond their respective adventures. First there was Lupin III Jr. (yes, that’s his name), the son of Lupin III and Fujiko, who only ever existed in the manga. Elusiveness of the Fog, the nineteenth Lupin III TV special, uses a time machine to jump ahead to 2883 and glimpse Lupin XXXIII, a.k.a. Lupin the 33rd, identical to his green-jacketed ancestor. He gets three whole lines and mostly seems like an excuse to show that thirty generations later, little about the iconic thief has changed.

In between those two there was Lupin the Eighth, would-be star of a 1982 spinoff created in collaboration between Lupin III studio TMS Entertainment and French-American studio DiC Entertainment. The Lupin VIII series would have jumped a conservative five generations ahead, with the familiar crew’s great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren carrying on the same names, traits, and rivalries and romantic entanglements. But when the Leblanc estate got wind of this Japanese/French collaboration showing up on their continent, they put the kibosh on the project; only the pilot was animated, and was shut down before vocals had been recorded.

Because TMS and DiC had already lost their investment, they scrambled to come up with a replacement for the timeslot. And so Inspector Gadget was created, with the trenchcoat-clad cyborg bumbling his way into viewers’ hearts. Despite his complete lack of suaveness compared to any version of Lupin, you could say that, in terms of staying power, Gadget was Lupin III’s true successor.

Yet while Lupin III had every familial and financial resource at his disposal to continue his grandfather’s and father’s work, everything Assane Diop needs to know he learns from a book. The Arsène Lupin books, which Babakar gifts him right before he is framed for stealing the priceless Queen’s Necklace from the Pellegrinis. Babakar’s arrest, guilty plea, and prison suicide leave Assane burdened with a strange inheritance of misfortune, words, and blood money—as Madame Pellegrini (Nicole Garcia) pays for fancy schooling he otherwise would not have been able to afford. Attending a prestigious academy is where he forges friendships with fellow morally gray criminal Benjamin Ferel (Antoine Gouy) and his eventual partner Claire (Ludivine Sagnier) and learns how to code-switch among his peers.

Presumably, that upbringing creates the scaffolding of connections that allows him to move through high society, but his wealth and prestige in adulthood is all due to Arsène Lupin. Assane studies those books like religious texts, like instruction manuals, like the last connection to his late father. His obsessive fandom provides him the blueprints for foolproof heists that he enhances with his own experiences at playing with disguise. Though he does later employ prosthetics for his appearance as Twitter user Salvator, for the most part Assane doesn’t obscure his face. Instead, he trusts in his marks’ implicit racial biases that they will buy him as a deadbeat dad and immigrant janitor Luis Perenna, then not blink twice when staring him in the face as millionaire Paul Sernine in the course of the same evening. In prison, he literally counts on a white guard’s inability to differentiate between two black men to switch places with a prisoner.

Assane also continues his father’s tradition of gifting the Arsène Lupin books to his own son for his 14th birthday: Raoul (Etan Simon), French-born, mixed-race and equally enamored of the gentleman thief’s adventures. While it’s unlikely that Assane wants his son to make the same dangerous enemies, he clearly wants Raoul to see himself in the character—and to see his father, who understandably has difficulty showing his true self to anyone.

This by-the-book adaptation (Arsène Lupin entered the public domain in 2012) engages with the notion that anyone can embody an iconic character—that their skin color or class upbringing doesn’t have to match the original, that they don’t have to be a blood relation to inherit a persona. For all that Lupin III exists in his own right and will endure as a classic franchise, Assane Diop’s Lupin may be the truer heir to the gentleman thief’s legacy.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Lupin is available to stream now on Netflix.

The post From Lupin III to Inspector Gadget: Examining the Heirs of Arsène Lupin appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2XVYtzq

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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im-the-king-of-the-ocean · 4 years

Text

Rose Puppetry

*saunters onto your dashboard*

sooooo who ordered the Nuts and Dolts Steampunk AU?

@misstrashchan

(chapter 1 of 2, bc when you get over 1k words and are still on build-up, you may as well just split the fic into two chapters - well that and I really need to tend to my other fics too, but want to share this one now)

I’m gonna make y’all wait for that sweet sweet satisfying closure

(also, forgot to mention, this is roughly inspired by the Mechanism’s Once Upon a Time (In Space) album - do with that information whatever you’d like)

Blinding sunlight glares into everyone’s eyes as the drop ship ascends above the heavy cloud of pollution fog ever present over Mantle and cuts into the crisp, clear, blue sky. The men among them wince and shield their eyes. The rewired Mantle Street Soldier Units (MSSU-132s) don’t react at all. Penny adjusts her eyes’ aperture until she can see perfectly again.

It’s been a while since any of them have seen daylight. Mantle’s manufacturing plants create and maintain a thick smog that tends to absorb anything but rain too hard to be stopped. Atlas Prime’s bulking shadow, too, stops most any light from reaching its sister city’s streets.

Their pilot cloaks their ship and gives Penny her cue. She begins emitting radio interference that should make them undetectable to Atlesian scanners. They fly toward the dominating stronghold in the sky. No one who can breath does so very loudly, as if they’ll be heard over the increasingly loud whir and whine of Prime’s great Flight Engines.

Atlas Prime, formerly just the City of Atlas, can be considered one of the greatest marvels in the world. An entire city in the sky, kept aloft by the largest, most powerful steam engines to ever exist. A century ago, its founders built Atlas as a symbol of innovation, one meant to inspire future generations to look up and dream of what they could accomplish if only they applied themselves. Though their aspirations and intent were genuine, those distinguished inventors failed to take into account the sheer amount of resources maintaining the City of Atlas would require as it grew.

In the beginning, historical documents claimed, Atlas’s needs led to an economic boom in Mantle, as money flowed freely from the flying city to pay for everything it took. Then, something (the relinquishing of the Schnee Dust Company from its founder into his son-in-law’s hands, a handful of brave historians who no one has heard from since, claimed) changed.

Atlesians, growing content and complacent in their power, started to hoard their wealth. They paid less, demanded more, and drove independent, Mantle-run businesses into the ground when they refused to comply with Atlesian wishes. It wasn’t long until Mantle became little more than a collection of mass production factories kept firmly under Atlas’s thumb after that.

The hunger of Atlas, though, is known to this day to be an insatiable beast. Mantle could provide it with building materials and fuel, but their shared location in bitter Solitas meant food beyond what arctic creatures could be hunted or the scarce few crops that would grow in their soil was an impossibility.

Thus, the Atlesian Conquest began.

The elderly, Mantle’s grandmothers and grandfathers, when they have a rare moment of rest, will sit and rasp out the story of the day Beta Atlas detached from Prime and flew off into the horizon in the direction of Vacuo. Not to return before news of the invasion into the desert kingdom filtered back to Mantle’s streets.

Beta Atlas was only the first of the Atlesian war machines. Since its launch, fortresses too numerous to count have been built and flown off to conquer Remnant. Every now and then, reports of new victories or surrenders will play on the nightly news radio broadcast.

Vacuo remains stubbornly independent, despite all the General King of Atlas’s best efforts. Although, it’s rumored Vacuo’s once fabled oasis have all been drained and little more of worth remains in the desert. Thus, without anything of too much interest to keep it, Atlas’s attention has turned elsewhere.

Mistral signed a treaty with Atlas as quickly as it could, and thus remains untouched by war. No one knows how long that will last. No one in Mantle believes it will. The people of Mistral, Mantle’s inhabitants whisper amongst themselves, are fooling themselves if they think Atlas will let anyone remain out of its complete, dominating control for long.

However, that’s a fight for another time. Currently speaking, Atlas’s eye is transfixed upon Vale, where its conquest has met strong resistance. Despite having lesser technology available to them, the Huntsmen Army of Vale have fought Atlesian forces back again and again. Stories have spread about Vale’s legendary huntsmen and huntresses and their clever tactics. They might not be stronger or more powerful than Atlas’s robotic forces, but they’re definitely smarter. Unpredictable.

For the first time in a very long time, there’s whispers of hope that something might be able to stop Atlas.

Penny finds and clasps her hand around the gold locket she wears around her neck, without taking the trinket out from under her shirt. It would shimmer and shine and draw too much attention if she were to do that. But, holding onto it grounds her, reminds her of her mission.

Penny once believed in Atlas. She was built to carry out its will. Sent to Vale long before the first flying war fortress, and disguised as a regular, human girl. Her mission was to observe and spy. She’d been programmed with curiosity, to learn as much as she could. And she had. Too much, in fact.

For her entire existence up to her deployment in Vale, all Penny knew was solitude. Unlike the rest of Atlas’s automated army, she wasn’t mass-produced. Penny is the singular product of blueprints uncovered in what was revealed to be the long lost workshop of Pietro Polendina, one of the last Great Minds of Atlas. Whereas many only saw her blueprints as the frivolity of a man who didn’t live in a time of war, General King Ironwood himself had seen potential. He’d ordered Penny’s creation, given her weaponry upgrades, cared for her, kept her safe as his ‘secret weapon.’ Then, the day had come where he told her it was time to fulfill her destiny.

She’d been ecstatic. She was finally getting to go out and See The World and help bring an entire kingdom into the safety and security of Atlas’s rule, wasn’t it wonderful?

It was. For a time.

Vale is a beautiful kingdom. Rich and vibrant in ways Penny never could have dreamed after only knowing a greasy, barely illuminated lab as home. She’d loved exploring. Finding and studying in the great libraries open to all. Wandering around outdoors where the sky isn’t a perpetual exhaust gray, where birds sing, and where little multi-colored butterflies flutter everywhere.

It was chasing after such a butterfly that Penny had stumbled into someone and the direction of her life had forever changed. She learned what it was like to have a friend in the following days. To not constantly feel alone.

To fall in love.

Here now, in the rebellion drop ship, Penny wishes she could open her locket. Just so she can see Ruby’s face again. Sure, if everything goes well on their mission, she will see Ruby again by day’s end.

But nothing is ever certain, especially in war.

“Get ready,” the pilot tells the rescue team. “We’re arriving at the drop point.”

Penny braces herself. Regardless of their success probability (currently hovering at a frustrating low 67%), she will do everything she can to save Ruby.

Because she loves her dearly.

And because it’s Penny’s fault she was captured in the first place.

#rwby #nuts and dolts #penny polendina #whirls writing #steampunk au #this is what happens when you let me listen to steampunk music y'all

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rpgsandbox · 4 years

Link

I urge you now: do not open this book. Do not read its contents. Walk away, live your simple life, and keep these creatures of darkness in the shadows where they belong.

Opening your eyes to this horrible world, where demons possess dolls, the undead stalk the night, the Devil walks among us, and mummies march from their tombs, is an act of incredible bravery, or perhaps, complete foolishness. Turn away now, before it’s too late…

No? Well, in that case, I introduce you to a little game we can play, called

They Came from Beyond the Grave! is a dramatic, hammy, and horrifying tabletop roleplaying game encompassing the shock, terror, eroticism, and humor of 1970s horror. This game allows you to play with all the magnificent content from the movies of Hammer, Amicus, and Roger Corman, and promises fun and thrills of the horror movie genre!

In They Came from Beyond the Grave! you play humans faced with the horrors of the supernatural. You’ll find yourself pitted against vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and constructed critters, along with demons, slashers, and THE DEVIL HIMSELF. Adventures range from the one-shot exploration of a haunted house, to the multi-era play across the 19th century and 1970s.

They Came from Beyond the Grave! contains a mix of serious threat, unmitigated ham, and nonsensical farce. We never tell you what is amusing and what is not, but we do provide you with the tools to make a seriously fun game incorporating all the elements of 1970s horror movies. This game provides rules for funny quips and amusing cinematics for incorporation in a story, along with dozens of special powers and story devices.

They Came from Beyond the Grave! uses the Storypath System, provided in full in the pages of this book!

This They Came from Beyond the Grave! Kickstarter campaign is designed to enable Onyx Path to create a hardcover rulebook, a print-and-play PDF of Quip and Cinematic cards, and a Director screen to aid play. Exceptional funding may allow us to add Stretch Goals that further develop the setting and add additional materials for play, including more scenarios and additional threats! We also want to get at least one print run into traditional distribution and available for sale at game and hobby stores.

Design not final, still in progress.

We want to create an 8.5" x 11" hardcover rulebook with a dynamic cover and full-color interior art. We estimate the book will be more than 200+ pages and will be traditionally printed on high quality paper stock. In addition, we want to create a print-and-play PDF with more than 120 Quip and Cinematic cards to use in-game.

Chapter One: Archetypes - This is where you’ll meet this game’s playable Archetypes. The Dupe, the Hunter, the the Mystic, the Professor, and the Raconteur each occupy different roles popular in the horror movies listed previously.

Chapter Two: Character Creation - If you’ve chosen the Archetype that appeals to you and already have the kernel of a character concept in mind, here’s where you go to flesh that character out in full.

Chapter Three: Skills and Attributes - Your selection of abilities is an important, defining aspect of your character, which is why Skills and Attributes get their own chapter where they’re all detailed for your pleasure.

Chapter Four: System - The Director will want to read this chapter to get a handle on how to run and play They Came from Beyond the Grave! This chapter breaks down the basics of dice rolling all the way through to Complications on actions, Conditions for characters, and scenes involving clue-solving, drama, and death. The players should scan through this chapter after creating characters just to discover the basics.

Chapter Five: Cinematic Powers - Here’s where you’ll find some of the best powers and tools for your horror games. If you’ve ever wanted to insert a missing reel to escape peril, produce copious amounts of blood to fake your own death, score points for coming up with a cutting one-liner at just the right moment, or explode with amazing Stunts when you succeed spectacularly, this is going to be a fun read.

Chapter Six: Monsters - What is a horror movie without a monster? Oh, some of them are human and fragile enough, but this chapter contains everything from Stalking Killers to Dracula, and Possessed Dolls to Abaddon, the Locust King. You’ll find no shortage of enemies to incorporate into stories and base entire plots around right here.

Chapter Seven: The Director’s Chair - All the advice an aspiring Director could need to run a game to hit a certain tone or mood, including a dissection of the different kinds of horror movies you might wish to emulate. This chapter goes into full detail of what a Director should and shouldn’t do to really get that 1970s horror movie feel across.

Chapter Eight: This Horrible World - Maybe this is your first RPG, or perhaps you’re struggling to come up with sets, events, and plots for your game of They Came from Beyond the Grave! Whatever the case, this chapter contains everything you need to start the flow of ideas. Both the 1970s and the 19th century, as they appear in films, are detailed lovingly for your use.

Chapter Nine: Scenarios - Two full scenarios, one involving the machinations of THE DEVIL HIMSELF, another embracing the characters, stories, and mysteries of Edgar Allen Poe’s trove of stories, each ready to run directly from the book.

Appendix One - Here we have the list of Quips present in the Cinematic Powers chapter, but easily locatable near the back of the book. This appendix is especially useful for players lacking a deck of Quip cards.

Appendix Two - Here you’ll find a helpful list of Stunts and Cinematics, stating their names and costs.

They Came from Beyond the Grave! is powered by Onyx Path's Storypath system, and includes all the rules you need to play as a brave (or foolhardy) hero dealing with supernatural threats, including rules for creating characters with a mix of options to customize your Archetype. It also has ready-to-play scenarios, along with information on the cinematic version of the 19th century and 1970s that you can incorporate into your game with a new spooky atmosphere. And, finally, dozens of antagonists, including a chaotic assembly of horrific haunts that create a host of locations and events for players and Directors to explore.

The Storypath system is Onyx Path's rules set designed specifically to allow the sort of rules scaling necessary to seamlessly enable players to play ordinary people as well as mystics and monster hunters.

The basics of the Storypath system should be familiar to anyone who has played many other Onyx Path games of action-adventure or heroic exploits, as it is a 10-sided dice pool system, where in order to resolve an action you basically roll a number of dice equal to the character's Skill + Attribute and must roll an 8 or better a certain number of times in order to succeed in the action.

That is the very basic resolution system, but we expand on that to further enhance how your gaming group can build their stories. Failing to hit your number of successes, or having more successes than your required amount, are built-in options in the rules. Here is a handy graphic that illustrates what we mean:

To further explain the basics of the Storypath system, here is a small PDF download that goes into more detail: SYSTEM PREVIEW PDF.

The primary goal of this Kickstarter campaign is to create the best version of They Came from Beyond the Grave! that is possible. Your support allows us to fund the best production, use the most appropriate components, and possibly even contract more art for the core book. We hope to not only deliver a beautiful book to all of our backers, but also fund at least one print run to be sold through distribution and into book and hobby stores that are so vital to our community.

Beyond that primary goal, we hope to gain additional funding to explore more of the world of They Came from Beyond the Grave!, possibly creating additional content in the form of scenarios, threats, and ready-made characters. The greater our funding for this project, the more resources we are able to explore this thrilling world.

Beyond those campaign-specific goals, we hope to do what our games have always done — open a path to a new world; a setting for our community to build new stories and entwine imaginations. Every person who participates in this campaign is joining with the goal of bringing this game into the world — and like our protagonists, this mission binds us with common purpose. When you back this project, you join our amazing cast of characters as we create our adventure together.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Thu, August 20 2020 7:00 PM BST

Website: Onyx Path Publishing

#RPG #kickstarter #They Came from Beyond the Grave!#Onyx Path Publishing

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mocacheezy · 4 years

Text

(forgot to actualy post this when I first wrote it, anyways, rechecked the info with the help of wiki, so have my thoughts on TFA Megatron (S1))

So I finished the first season of Transformers Animated, and let me just… Let me just EXPRESS my feelings for TFA S1 Megatron and the shit that happens to him:

So Megatron has the Allspark in his sight after so many many years of searching. It’s on a tiny Autobot repair ship, shouldn’t be a problem to get it right? Except while fighting the Autobots a bomb planted on him (by Starscream, he should see this coming) detonates. He survives that with damage to his right arm, gets inside the ship and is facing off against 5 autobots (clearly repair crew, and not in sync) in no gravity. One of them manages to cut his arm off, he is down by an arm, big deal, ‘tis but a scratch, he’s fine.

… No like seriously, this doesn’t stop him. He ALMOST GETS THE ALLSPARK!

Except that the leader of this troublesome repair crew kicks him off ship, causing him to crash on Earth. The only thing intact is his head (that Sumdac finds). Is he dead? Is he in a coma? Whatever it is, Sumdac tinkers with what he found.

50 years later, Megatron wakes up, can’t move, can’t do anything really because he is literaly a HEAD (ᵃˡˢᵒ ʷʰⁱˡᵉ ⁿᵒᵗ ʳᵉˡᵃᵗᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵉ ʳᵃⁿᵗ ᶠᵘˡˡʸ,ⁱ ˡᵒᵛᵉᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵉᵖⁱˢᵒᵈᵉ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵇᵘˡᵏʰᵉᵃᵈ “ˡᵒˢⁱⁿᵍ” ʰⁱˢ ᵇᵒᵈʸ…ᵖᵘᵗˢ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵍˢ ⁱⁿᵗᵒ ᵖᵉʳˢᵖᵉᶜᵗⁱᵛᵉ), sees that Starscream was the one who tried to kill him and almost suceeded (or did he suceed? Again, not 100% clear on the function of that Key… It heals, it upgrades, it gives life and sentience… Did it REVIVE Megatron or did it just wake him up?)

And what does he do?

I MEAN LOOK AT THIS?!

He is LITERALY ONLY A HEAD, WITH SO MANY OF PARTS EXPOSED OR WIRES HOOKED UP TO SUMDACS MACHINES.

MACHINES THAT HE CAN’T USE, BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO PRIMITIVE.

AND DESPITE ALL THAT!

THIS GLORIOUS FUCKER!

STARTS PLANNING RIGHT AWAY! HE KNOWS THE SITUATION IS BAD AND HE BIDES HIS TIME!

He eventualy risks what little… Advantage? Is being locked away in the dark an advantage? When there’s autobots around being hailed as heroes, yea I think it might be though Megatron wouldn’t admit it… I think? Not outloud that’s for sure

Anyways, he risks it with exposing himself to Sumdac.

And then proceeds to deceive Sumdac! Like, Sumdac is smart. I actualy did need to take a step back and go “damn this poor man really is way over his head”, because on the first glance it seems really dumb to fall for a lie like that.

(I actualy would love to talk about the Professor in the future, especialy by just looking at him as a character on his own… BUT THIS IS MEGS SPOTLIGHT SO *yeets away for another time*)

AND MEGATRON IS NOT 100% GOOD AT THIS “I am an Autobot” THING. He lashes out! He is impatient, he is angry to the point of wrecking the lab with the energy surges and there are moments when Sumdac doubts that he himself can fix this mess he made, especialy with how angry this “Autobot” is.

But SOMEHOW, this glorious FUCK manages to turn most of the damage those outbursts cause into very convincing explanations for his reactions, WHILE also pretending to be useful and “helping”.

He can see almost everything from where he is, once he masters the connections with the cameras and etc. in the tower and things across the city. He deflects or “explains” why his plans included flamethrowers for amusement bots, and, let me say this again!

HE IS ONLY A HEAD AT THIS POINT IN THE SERIES!

A HEAD!

He is pretty limited with what he can do HIMSELF! Sumdac is not an ally, he is more of an enemy that isn’t aware of the power he holds over Megatron.

And he is doing everything FAR too slow.

That everything being mainly, getting Megs a body.

AND WHAT’S EVEN BETTER?!

There are so many robots around, all of them reverse enginered from Megatron himself, and none of them are of use to him. And when he DOES manage to get them to listen, something always interferes (Dinobots were a semi sucess, Soundwave rebelled, but did end up wearing a con badge (and boy was it eerie to hear Soundwave say ‘machines supperior to humans’ and how they will be all destroyed… Great episode that one) ).

So the robots of this planet are useless to him. He has to try and find a way to manipulate human criminals to do his bidding, getting him the materials Sumdac apparently can’t get without raising suspicion. Not that it’s hard, but they are useless as well, especialy with the Autobots meddling, so that also fails.

And there is always that Key. That he can’t just ask for, but can’t get no matter how he tries. And by god, does he try.

His only real, longe term-ish line of self defense at the moment is Sumdac and his guilt over using a friend of the Heroic Autobots…

AND THEN!

HIS DECEPTICONS ARRIVE!

And he isn’t even sure if he can trust them, given that his Second In Command blew him to pieces. So he has to gamble and hope for the best with Lugnut.

Which is clearly tiring because, as much of devout follower as Lugnut is (the fanfics are all spot on, writers of TFA Fandom amazing job portraying this mass of devotion), it gets annoying real fast when you are trying to get things done and really need to get a body asap, and the only one you can count on is determined to sing praises to you everytime you give an order.

Not even THAT seems to bring him any closer to his goal. And then Sumdac finds what remained of his body.

Pretty good for 50 years of weather exposure, eh?

BUT it seems he will have to keep waiting, because the blizzard that is raging outside causes a blackout, so the Tower is using the backup generator, so Sumdac declairs a delay in repairs.

Megatron alternates between bluster and sweet-talk to try to get his way, but it’s no use. Megatron attempts to call Lugnut again for assistance.

(Source: tfwiki)

From the looks of it, he came back online at the begining/end of fall, so he’s been,

pretending to be an Autobot (one who is a friend of bots he knows very little about, the ones who caused him to become like this in the first place)

pretending to be useful and helpful to Sumdac in exchange for attempted repairs (all of which have failed)

keeping his temper in check (good thing he can save the slip ups with quick thinking…)

for about… 3 or 4 months?

And no way to leave the lab?

With Sumdac as his only company?

Probably also in discomfort given THAT HE IS HOOKED UP LIKE THAT?!

With his ghoulish hand in sight that was/is CLEARLY being used as a chair for an organic?

… Yea. Imagine doing all that, being this close to finaly making progress, and instead being told “Weather bad, no can’t do, wait a while longer”.

So if Sumdac fears enough for the safety of his planet, he’ll surely work faster right? That seems to work somewhat…

Then comes Starscream.

The absolutely last Decepticon Megatron needs right now. So Megatron has to pretend he doesn’t know Starscream tried to kill him. With Starscream CLEARLY planning to kill him for good this time.

He is a head, what can he do?

We can soon see Megatron can take great joy in punishing that fragger, with limited resources he has, while Sumdac finaly works on his body.

The only fun perk of being a “friend of the Autobots” so far.

And then Blitzwing and Lugnut arrive. I swear, I was sure with all the talk Lugnut was doing, there was no way Megatron will actualy get that body.

Good thing they got the Key and that Sumdac didn’t think/wasn’t able to put in any override codes or sound the alarms.

What followed was a gorgeous villain reanimation/reconstruction scene and I loved every second of it. I mean, just look at this.

So, Megatron finaly has a fresh new body.

(gorgeous fucker)

He fights the Autobots, (if I start talking about the details, this post will never end), defeats them and does a magnificent job of offlining his SIC.

(Like, I love TFA Starscream. I really do. This purple bastard is a joy to watch, but given what he did, seeing him get offlined in such a dramatic, yet quick and efficient way(and knowing he comes back anyway)… Let’s just say, I was very pleased.)

The “Fuck you Starscream, Die 1.0” however, lets the Autobots escape and the chase begins.

Here I would like to thank the animators for giving both Bots and Cons gorgeous Magical girl-esque transformation scenes, because they are all beautiful BUT MEGATRON, HOLY HELL, I AM LOVING THAT HELICOPTER!

And they are back on the Ark, fighting in much the same way they were the first time,

But Megatron has no apparent weaknesses, except perhaps being cluttered with little shards of Optimus Prime after he finishes beating on the Autobot. Their one-sided fight carries them into the hold of the ship, where Megatron succeeds in acquiring the AllSpark…

Megatron manages to GET THE ALLSPARK!

SO MANY YEARS OF FIGHTING AND SEARCHING, AND HE HAS IT!

And he puts it in his spark chamber. Or in front of it.

…

Megatron. You just put an anchient artifact in your chest.

I… Listen, this is a step above Megan and his SpaceCocaineStraightToSpark Nonesense, BUT ALRIGHT!

I GUESS IT IS “SAFER” THAN HOLDING IT IN YOUR HANDS WHILE FIGHTING AND GLOATING.

Before he can celebrate, he is temporarily downed by Isaac, who knows enough about Megatron’s circuitry to disable his equilibrium sensors—

(”well fuck you too Sumdac”, I mutter to myself)

but although he drops the AllSpark Key in his stumble, the tyrant isn’t down for long. Megatron is about to finish Prime, when Sari hurls Prime the Key…

the kid Megatron could easily crush when she was standing infront of the Allspark (BUT HE DIDN’T!) throws the key to Optimus.

…

Who proceeds to jam it into the Allspark.

…

In your chest Megatron.

…

Where your own spark is, Megatron.

For the Lord of Decepticons and quite an old fellow, who I’ve just sung praise to, that was so dumb…

A destabilized Megatron flees the ship before the AllSpark explodes inside his chest, dispersing its energy throughout the atmosphere.

HE BLOWS UP! AGAIN!

This time his body is mostly in one piece, and he has Sumdac as a hostage but…

This Megatron does not have luck on his side.

He really does not.

The only reason he is still functioning is, that he is too stubborn to give up and die.

The whole “TooStubbornToDie” does seem to be a Megatron trademark, and makes me love his character even more.

TFA Megs. S1 and I already love him so much.

To finish up this rant of mine…

Someone get him a damn blanket and force him TO TAKE A DAMN BREAK! REST YOU STUBBORN FOOL!

#Moca screeches #Moca watches #transformers animated #tfa megatron #seriously dude please take 5 minutes off #Long post #For some reason the read more is not cooperating

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